Tag: "WTOP-FM"
Thursday, November 11, 2021
WFAN, New York Unveils New Evening and Overnight Shows. Sports talk WFAN, New York announces new evening and overnight programming. The Audacy station brings aboard Keith McPherson to host the 7:00 pm to 12:00 midnight show and promoted part-time talk host Sal Licata to host of the 12:00 midnight to 5:00 am show. Both programs debut on November 15. Audacy New York SVP and market manager Chris Oliviero says, “Keith and Sal will form a dynamic evening one-two punch, as both have the passion and drive to usher in an exciting new era on ‘The Fan.’ These hours became a must listen for decades with the iconic Steve Somers behind the microphone, and that will continue as Keith and Sal entertain the tristate area nightly be it on the road or even at home under
the covers.” McPherson was most recently social media manager and podcast host for Jomboy Media. He says, “This is really a dream come true. I find no greater joy or entertainment than live sports and it’s a blessing and an honor to have this opportunity at a place like WFAN. I look forward to talking sports every day in New York and helping to lead this station into the future.” Sal Licata started his broadcasting career as an intern at WFAN in January 2003 and worked his way up to part-time host. In addition to his work at WFAN, Licata has been with SNY since 2010 and can be seen weeknights on “Geico Sportsnite” and weekly on “Baseball Night in New York.” Licata says, “Having a full time show on WFAN means everything to me. It’s an honor and a privilege to have an opportunity to talk sports every night with the most passionate fans, in the greatest city in the world, on the best sports talk station ever created. It’s all I have ever wanted.”
New York Festivals 2022 Radio Awards Now Accepting Entries. The 2022 New York Festivals Radio Awards competition is now open for entries. New York Festivals Radio Awards honors storytellers from around the globe. Since 1957 NYF has celebrated excellence and innovation across all genres and platforms, keeping pace with industry-wide developments and global trends. Vice president and executive director Rose Anderson says, “When we added nine categories for social justice content last year, radio producers and the global audio storytelling community responded with thought-provoking work. This year, we are thrilled to announce the debut of our new trophy, the iconic NYF Tower in hand-polished Gold, Silver, and Bronze.” For the second year in a row, New York Festivals welcomes JusticeAid, an organization that promotes justice through the arts and public engagement, as a partner. The NYF Radio Awards receives entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from over 30 countries around the globe. The mission of the competition is to honor the achievements of the men and women who make up the global audio storytelling community. New York Festivals invites award-winning industry leaders from around the world to become members of their world-class Radio Awards Grand Jury. The 2022 Grand jury will be set in the coming months. Those jurors will include some of the world’s most recognizable voices and captivating content producers in the radio industry. Entries are judged on production values, organization, presentation of information, creativity, and use of the medium. You can see the 2021 winners here. Although the 2021 in-person NAB Show was cancelled due to pandemic quarantine restrictions, NYF pivoted with a 90-minute virtual ceremony Storytellers Gala featuring highlights and acceptances from 100 winning teams of men and women coming from their homes in 40-plus countries. The 2022 Storytellers Gala will take place at the annual NAB Show in Las Vegas on April 26, 2022. This is the 12th year of NYF’s strategic partnership with NAB Show. The deadline to enter the 2022 Radio Awards competition is February 9, 2022. Find out more about entering here.
Brian Kilmeade is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast. Multi-media talk star Brian Kilmeade is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Kilmeade is a longtime member of the trio that co-hosts the FOX News Channel cable TV morning show “FOX & Friends” in addition to hosting his own nationally syndicated midday program on FOX News Radio. Kilmeade is ranked #4 on the 2021 TALKERS Heavy Hundred list. He is the author of seven books – two about sports and he’s just
published his fifth about key figures and stories in American History. This series brings new insights into the lives, times, and impact of icons such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston and his new one is titled, The President and the Freedom Fighter: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and their Battle to Save America’s Soul. Harrison and Kilmeade discuss the deeply nuanced relationship between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass (not to be confused with Stephen Douglas) which so directly relates and connects to the reckoning between the races currently taking place in the national conversation. To listen to the podcast in its entirety, please click here.
iHeartMedia Names Bekki Yang SVP of Sales for Twin Cities. Radio sales pro Bekki Yang is promoted to senior vice president of sales for iHeartMedia’s Minneapolis station group that includes news/talk WCTS-AM “Twin Cities News Talk,” sports KFXN “KFAN,” and KQQL-HD2/W227BF “Black Information Network,” and five music brands. iHeartMedia Minneapolis market president Greg Alexander says, “Bekki thinks big and acts big. Innovation and creative thinking are at the core of her career success. I’m thrilled to promote her to senior vice president of sales.” Yang has a 22-year history with iHeartMedia, most recently serving as the vice president of sales for Minneapolis. Yang says, “I’ve had a very long career with iHeartMedia and I couldn’t be more excited to take on this new role with the iHeartMedia Minneapolis team. I look forward to the continued success that Minneapolis has established while adding new ideas and leadership to the team.”
Winners of 2021 Marconi Awards Announced. The National Association of Broadcasters announces the winners of the 2021 NAB Marconi Radio Awards, honoring radio stations and on-air personalities for excellence in broadcasting. The awards were announced during the virtual NAB Marconi Radio Awards Celebration. Spoken-word winners of note include: WSB-AM, Atlanta, Legendary Station of the Year; KTCK-AM, Dallas’ The Musers, Major Marker Personality of the Year; KRMG-FM, Tulsa’s Dan Potter, Medium Market Personality of the Year; KYW-AM, Philadelphia, Major Market Station of the Year; KTMY-FM, Minneapolis, Large Market Station of the Year; KRMG-FM, Tulsa, Medium Market Station of the Year; WTOP-FM, Washington, News/Talk Station of the Year; and KTCK-AM, Dallas, Sports Station of the Year.
Alabama Host Cam Marston Announces Effort to Expand Radio Show. “What’s Working” – the radio show hosted by Cam Marston that focuses on trends in the workplace, workforce, and marketplace – is expanding. The program is based at WAVH-FM, Mobile and over the past four years has included interviews with a broad array of businesspeople from foresters, to brewers, to manufacturers, to authors, to Tony Award-winning actors. Marston says, “The focus of my show has always been for the benefit of my listeners in and around the Mobile, Alabama market. Now I want to bring the show across the state where I can connect with a larger spectrum of businesses.”
Inflation/Supply Chain, January 6 Investigation, COVID-19, COP26/U.S.-China Deal, Kamala Harris in Paris, and Belarus-Poland Refugee Crisis Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (11/10). Soaring retail and fuel prices and the broken global supply chain; the investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol and former President Donald Trump’s attempts to prevent the House panel from getting presidential records; the rate of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and the battle over mask & vaccine mandates; the COP26 summit in Glasgow and the U.S.-China emissions reduction deal; Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to France; and the refugee crisis at the Belarus-Poland border were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
iHeartMedia and DraftKings Enter into Multiplatform Deal. This new relationship between iHeartMedia and DraftKings is a “multi-year strategic relationship, making DraftKings the official odds supplier for iHeartMedia’s broadcast, digital, podcast and social platforms.” As part of this deal, DraftKings is now able to co-create and distribute longform content with iHeartMedia and will receive preferred access to iHeartMedia’s full roster of diverse personalities. Furthermore, DraftKings and iHeartMedia will collaborate around a wide range of possible content development opportunities, including the distribution of shows and segments
across the media giant’s radio and digital properties and integrations within iHeartMedia’s live sports broadcasts. DraftKings and iHeartMedia will also collaborate on a number of possible experiential opportunities for listeners and fans including providing cross platform interactive games. iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group CEO Greg Ashlock says, “Even though we are number one in audio sports programming, we continue to build new sports content and DraftKings is an ideal partner as we expand and innovate. DraftKings is a premier sports technology and entertainment company that provides millions of customers with the best in real-money gaming products along with exceptional safety and security through various responsible gaming measures. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership everywhere sports betting is permissible.”
Round Two of October PPMs Released. The second of four rounds of ratings information from Nielsen Audio’s October 2021 PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including: Washington, Boston, Miami, Seattle, Detroit, Phoenix, Minneapolis, San Diego, Tampa, Denver, Baltimore, and St. Louis. Nielsen’s October 2021 survey period covered September 16 – October 13. Today, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways from this group of markets. In Washington, Cumulus Media’s news/talk WMAL-FM adds a full share to finish the survey with a 4.2 share (6+, weekly AQH share) and rises to the #8 rank in the market. At Bonneville’s crosstown all-news WTOP-FM, the station dips two-tenths for an 8.3 share and falls back to the #3 rank. iHeartMedia’s news/talk WRKO, Boston tacks on two-tenths for a 4.1 share and the #8 rank while sister all-news WBZ-AM dips four-tenths for a 6.2 share but remains ranked #3. But, the winner in Boston is Beasley Media Group’s sports talk WBZ-FM “98.5 The Sports Hub,” which adds six-tenths for an 8.0 share finish good for #1. In Seattle, Bonneville’s KIRO-FM continues in the #1 position even though it shed three-tenths and wrapped the survey with a 6.8 share. You can see Mike Kinosian’s complete Ratings Takeaways for this group of markets (as well as yesterday’s first round) here.
Former President Trump Featured in New Starnes Book. Pictured above is nationally syndicated talk radio host and author Todd Starnes (right) with former President Donald Trump (left) at Mar-a-Lago in in Florida where the two sat down for a 90-minute interview that will be the centerpiece of Starnes’ new book about American culture set to be published by Simon & Schuster in 2022.
Jake Query Partners with Kevin Bowen for Mornings on Emmis’ ‘The Fan 93.5 & 107.7.’ Indianapolis sports talk personality Jake Query is joining Emmis Communications’ Indy sports talker “The Fan 93.5 & 107.5” (WIBC-HD2/W228CX/W298BB) to co-host the morning drive program with current morning personality Kevin Bowen. Query was most recently with iHeartMedia’s crosstown sports talk WNDE-AM as co-host of the “Query and Schultz Show.” The new “Kevin & Query” show will air weekdays from 7:00 am to 10:0 am beginning Monday (11/8). Emmis Indianapolis VP of programming David Wood says, “Jake is an Indianapolis sports lifer and a gifted storyteller. It was clear that
Kevin and Jake had an instant and interesting chemistry when they did several shows together in October. They are going to give Indy sports fans a consistently fun and informative show.” Query says, “During the last 22 months, I’ve been fortunate to gain many valuable, and previously overlooked, personal perspectives. One thing that needed no further solidification was my love for the city of Indianapolis. To be given the privilege to again speak to and with people from all corners and backgrounds of this town means the world to me. I’m grateful for the opportunity and am excited to be part of the trajectory of the morning show on ‘The Fan.’ It’s a great honor.”
Paul Windisch Named GSM for SummitMedia Springfield, Missouri. Radio sales pro Paul Windisch joins SummitMedia as general sales manager for the company’s Springfield, Missouri station group that includes news/talk KSGF-AM/FM and three music brands. Prior to joining SummitMedia, Windisch owned Freedom Consulting LLC, in which he helped companies grow through marketing consulting, sales training, recruitment, and operational strategy. Windisch says, “I believe we all should strive to bring out the best in others, whether that is the people I work with, peers, or clients. It’s clear Summit Media embodies these same principles, recognizing their people are their most important asset. I feel incredibly blessed and excited to join this company.”
Jerry Butler Upped to Market Manager for MARC Radio in Gainesville. Radio pro Jerry Butler is promoted to market manager for MARC Radio’s Gainesville, Florida that includes Christian teaching/talk WTMN/WRZN/WIWA and five music brands. Butler joined the company 14 months ago and has been leading the group’s local sales efforts. MARC Radio executive vice president Dave Cobb says, “Jerry Butler is an impressive mix of on-air talent, industry knowledge, experience and most importantly, results. Despite the economic challenges of the past year, Jerry has navigated our stations and inspired our local sales team to record-breaking sales. He’s earned this promotion and we can’t wait to see what he accomplishes next at MARC.” Butler adds, “My cause has always been economic empowerment. MARC Radio has assembled a team of passionate broadcasters who share our commitment to quality and growth. It’s an honor to grow with this incredible company.”
Key Networks to Rep Radio’s Fresh Eyes. Syndication firm Key Networks announces it has inked a deal with Radio’s Fresh Eyes to represent the radio culture and leadership consultancy’s services to stations for cash or barter. Radio’s Fresh Eyes is led by radio industry pros Dave Paulus and John Shomby whose goal is to work with radio groups of all sizes “to create a dominant and unparalleled employee culture, giving
stations actionable steps to a winning culture.” Key Networks chief revenue officer Dennis Green says, “When we started Key Networks, the goal was to be associated with the biggest brands and best in class product and people. Radio’s Fresh Eyes checks all the boxes, and I couldn’t be happier to be working with Dave and John on this project. They are consummate professionals who know all facets of the business and provide the leadership your station needs to win. That is Radio’s Fresh Eyes. They get it because they lived it. That’s all you need to know.”
NuVoodoo Names Andrea Parikh to Lead OOH Media-Trading Unit. Joining NuVoodoo Media Services to lead the firm’s new Out-of-Home Media-Trading unit is Andrea Parikh, whose title is digital OOH product developer and team leader. Parikh spent 16 years with Clear Channel Outdoor and in her new role will help NuVoodoo clients “leverage the intersection of mobile, social and digital media with billboards, transit shelters, street furniture and venue signage to reach consumers and in particular, the people most likely to participate in radio ratings.” NuVoodoo president Carolyn Gilbert says, “We couldn’t be happier that the person who led the rollout of digital Out-of-Home, mobile and data products at one of the world’s leading Out-of-Home media companies is now available exclusively to NuVoodoo clients in the radio industry. We welcome Andrea to the NuVoodoo team and look forward to doing even more for our clients through her extensive relationships and deep expertise.”
VA and NJ Governor’s Races, COP26 Summit, Biden Spending Bills, COVID-19, SCOTUS Texas Abortion Case, and World Series Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (11/2). Tuesday’s elections that saw Republican Glenn Youngkin defeat Democrat Terry McAuliffe for the Virginia governor’s seat and the still-too-close-to-call New Jersey gubernatorial race; the COP26 Summit in Glasgow and the issue of climate change; the status of President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and $1.75 trillion economic plan; the rate of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., the controversy over vaccine mandates, and vaccines approved for kids; the Supreme Court’s hearing of the Texas abortion law case; and the Atlanta Braves’ victory over the Houston Astros in the 2021 World Series were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.