Cumulus Launches More NASH and NASH Icon Stations

Cumulus announces that three of its existing Country-formatted stations will rebrand today as NASH stations and three additional stations will launch today as NASH Icon stations. These changes bring the number of NASH branded stations to 40 and the number of NASH Icon stations to 20, including the highly successful NASH Icon station WSM-FM, which debuted as the number one Country station in Nashville in September 2014 Nielsen ratings. The new NASH...

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Nielsen: Sports Headlines October Format Performances

In looking at U.S. radio listening trends in October, it’s clear that Americans were, indeed, ready for some football—and some baseball in select pennant-chasing markets. Sports radio, already on the uptick last month, shot upward in October, setting several records along the way.Nielsen reports the October listening trends for several major formats were consistent with those in September. News/Talk posted another solid month of gains, while both...

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Younger Demos Continue To Drive Country Format

Country’s cross-over appeal isn’t exactly new—country twang has found its way to the pop charts many times over the past 50 years. These days, however, Nielsen reports hybrid country-pop music reflects a new generation of fans influenced by other genres topping today’s charts, including rap and hip-hop, among others.Similar to today's pop music fan base—which tends to include women and young adults under 44 years old—many current country listeners...

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Nielsen Releases October PPMs For Remaining 12 Markets

Nielsen has released the final batch of October PPMs for subscribing stations:  Markets released Thursday are:35 Austin 38 Milwaukee-Racine 40 Indianapaolis 42 Raleigh-Durham NC 43 Norfolk-Viriginia Beach-Newport News 44 Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket 45 Nashville 46 Greensboro-Winter-Salem-High Point 48 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton 50 Jacksonville FL 51 Memphis 52 Harford-New Britain-Middletown CTTo See Topline results for Nielsen subscribing stations: Click Here&nb...

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Happy Halloween From America's Morning Show

Chuck Wicks, Blair Garner, Terri Clark, Rick PrinceAmerica’s Morning Show had professional TV/Film makeup artist and SyFy Channel's Rick Prince on the show this morning for Halloween.  Rick was on the 5th season of SyFy’s reality special-effects makeup competition “Face Off.” Check out Rick's Halloween handiwork on Blair Garner, Terri Clark and Chuck Wicks of America's Morning Show, taken at the NASH Campus in Nashville this morni...

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Chicago Radio: Steve Dahl Returns To WLS-AM Monday

Chicago radio's original bad boy is returning to the airwaves.Steve Dahl left radio several years ago and has been openly critical of the medium while he does a subscription podcast.As announced earlier this month (see posting), the 60-year-old Dahl has agreed to become the afternoon personality on WLS 890AM 890. The deal includes support for his daily podcasts. Dahl told The Chicago Tribune, "They will help sell product placement ads in the podcasts...

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Chicago Radio: Jack Diamond "Dream Comes True"

Jan Jeffries, Jack DiamondCumulus has officially announced that Jack Diamond joins WLS 94.7 FM as host of its morning show, debuting on Monday, November 3, from 5:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m.See Original Posting: Click HereJack’s radio career includes positions at WRQX/Washington, where he hosted the morning show for 24 years; KSON/San Diego; WQXI/94Q Atlanta;  KNBR/San Francisco; WRKO/Boston; WPRO/Providence and KIMN/Denver, among others.Jan Jeffries,...

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SF Radio: KKSF Adds Ed Baxter As Midday Talker

Ed BaxteriHeartMedia San Francisco announced Thursday that talk radio host Ed Baxter has joined Talk 910 KKSF 910 AM as Midday Host from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., effective immediately.“We are thrilled to add Ed Baxter to the Talk 910 line up.  Ed has a tremendous audience base from his many years on the air in the Bay Area, as well as a fantastic track record of success for advertisers,” said Don Parker, Vice President of Programming, iHeartMedia San...

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Atlanta Radio: Star 94 Adds Donny Michaels To Nights

Donny MichaelsLincoln financial Media has announced that Donny Michaels is the new evening personality on WSTR 94.1 FM StarFM.He starts Nov. 10 and will be on air from 7 p.m. to midnight.Michaels comes to Atlanta from WQSH 105.7 FM Albany, NY, where he was morning host on PopCrush 105-7.Michaels replaces Ali Mac, who left for Vero Beach, Fla. last month.Michaels is married with two great kids, Nicholas and Alia...

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Journal Reports 5.1 Percent Increase In Radio Revenue

Stephen J. SmithJournal Communications, Inc. Thursday announced results for its third quarter ended September 28, 2014.“We are pleased to report that Journal Communications third quarter revenue of $105 million grew more than 8%, driving an operating earnings increase of 40%. Earnings per share in the quarter were $0.14 compared to $0.09 last year,” said Steven J. Smith, Chairman and CEO of Journal Communications.“Journal benefitted from continued...

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NY Times Reports 3Q Loss of $12.9M

The New York Times Company said on Thursday that its third-quarter revenue increased by less than 1 percent from a year ago, as growth in its digital business offset declines in print circulation and advertising.The Times planned to spur revenue growth in 2014 with the introduction of several new digital subscription products, but those products have not caught on as the company had hoped. Total revenue during the third quarter increased 0.8 percent...

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Salem Announces Two Manager Appointments

Dale HendrySalem Communications Corporation has announced that Dale Hendry will be relocating to San Diego to lead the team as General Manager. Dale has been in radio for 32 years in several capacities, including station ownership.He joined Salem seven years ago as General Manager of Sacramento. One of Dale's strengths is building strong succession teams. Due to Dale's focus on team building, Salem is also pleased to announce the promotion of Mark...

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Cumulus Appoints Mary Giesen VP/Sales Planning

Mary GiesenWestwood One announces that Mary Giesen has been hired as Vice-President, Sales Planning.   It is a homecoming for Giesen, who previously worked at Westwood One in several sales planning capacities. Her responsibilities will include strategic development of the company’s sales initiatives, including management of commercial inventory; sales data; pricing; and performance.  Giesen will work closely with Westwood One’s agency client...

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FCC Chair Wants to Expand Political Disclosures

Tom WheelerBack in 2012, the FCC passed a rule requiring that broadcast stations post online publicly available files detailing agreements for sales of political ads. Now, according to Variety,  FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is proposing that that requirement be extended to satellite, radio and cable outlets.The proposal to expand the requirement was to be circulated among other FCC commissioners on Thursday.The proposal would not just apply to files...

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Country Consultants AOandB Set Pre-CRS Seminar

Mike O'MalleyCountry Radio Consultants Jaye Albright, Mike O'Malley and Becky Brenner have announced that their 21st annual Pre-CRS seminar will take place on Wednesday, February 25 at the Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame from 9am-12:30pm.The event features sessions addressing personal career growth, important topics facing country radio and radio in general. Guests will enjoy a performance and meet & greet with the new group A...

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Boston Radio: WKLB Honored At Tufts Pediatric Hospital

Greater Media’s Country WKLB 102.5 FM’s was recently recognized for the station’s on-going support of Tufts Floating Hospital for Children in Boston when an outside area called The Healing Garden was officially opened and named in honor of the station.The Country 102.5 Healing Garden is a unique and special outside space where pediatric patients and their families can escape their rooms and the “stuffiness” of the hospital and enjoy the fresh air...

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SiriusXM Unveils Holiday Music Channels

SiriusXM has announced its holiday music lineup featuring eight commercial-free channels celebrating the festive season.SiriusXM's holiday music channels will offer listeners a variety of traditional holiday songs, classical Christmas carols, country Christmas classics, contemporary holiday tunes, soul music, Hanukkah music and Latin seasonal music.SiriusXM's commercial-free holiday music channels will be available on multiple satellite radio channels,...

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October 31 In Radio History

In 1942..."White Christmas" by Bing Crosby hit No. 1 on the pop singles chart, where it stayed for 11 weeks.In 1968..The War of the Worlds was a radio drama, originally aired by Buffalo, New York radio station WKBW 1520 AM on October 31, 1968. It was a modernized version of the original radio drama aired by CBS in 1938.WKBW program director Jefferson Kaye (d. 2012), a big fan of the original Orson Welles version from three decades earlier, wondered...

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Chicago Radio: Report..Jack Diamond To Mornings At WLS-FM

Jack Diamond (photo)Jack Diamond, the  longtime Washington, DC, radio personality at WRQX 107.3 FM, is expected to be named morning host at WLS 94.7 FM.Insiders tell Chicago Media writer Robert Feder that Diamond will start Monday on the Cumulus Media classic hits station, Diamond joins the current morning lineup including air talent/meteorologist Brant Miller, Marty Jones with information/traffic updates and producer Dan Wolfe.The 60-year-old...

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ABC News Takes Charge Of "The View"

For 18 seasons, “The View” has been one of the crown jewels of ABC Daytime programming block. But in a significant restructuring that could foreshadow the management style of incoming president Ben Sherwood, ABC’s daytime executives are losing oversight of the show, Variety has learned.Starting today, “The View” will be part of the non-fiction branch of programming within ABC News, which produces the documentary series “NY Med.” The talk show will...

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Café Mocha Radio Gets Support From President Obama

Westwood One announces that President Barack Obama will join its syndicated Café Mocha Radio Show this Saturday, November 1, 2014, to discuss the importance of making ‘smarter’ decisions by voting to better our communities. The President has an animated and insightful conversation with show hosts Loni Love, Mc Lyte, and Angelique Perrin. Inspired by Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Café Mocha Radio created the GET SMART initiative, a total wellness, month-long movement designed to empower women to make smarter decisions...

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Pandora's Slowing Growth: Speed-Bump Or Wall?

Pandora’s earnings results beat expectations; however, the slowing and possibly dead growth has severely wounded the stock.Pandora swears by its unique service and industry-leading algorithms, but is it any special?Pandora was defenseless as it showed analysts that its growth might be coming to an end.According to Sean Chandler at SeekingAlpha, investors were quick to underline the lack of sequential growth in active users and listening hours; the...

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Orlando Radio: 'Positive Hits' Again Claims #1

For the second straight month Central Florida Educational's non-com WPOZ 88.3 FM Z88-3 is #1 (6+ AQH) in the October PPMs released Wednesday by Nielsen. The Contemporary Christian station was done a bit 7.0—6.7, but that was enough to grab the top spot.Cox Media Group's Top40 WPYO 95.3 FM spiked 5.4—6.3 to claim #2. Followed by clustermate Country WWKA 92.3 FM 6.7—6.3 at #3.  CBS Radio's Classic Hits WOCL 105.9 FM Sunny moved 5.8—6.0...

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Nielsen Release Latest PPMs For Twelve More Markets

Nielsen has released the third batch of October PPMs for subscribing stations:  Markets released Wednesday are:23  Portland OR 24  Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 25  Pittsburgh 27  Sacramento 28  San Antonio 29  Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo 30  Cincinnati 31  Cleveland 32  Las Vegas 33  Orlando 34  Kansas City 37  Columbus OHTo view topline results for Nielsen subscribing stations: Click H...

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Univision: 3Q Radio Revenue Drops 12.3 Percent

Thanks to the World Cup and digital gains, Univision Communications reported an uptick in growth in the third quarter.Third quarterly net revenue for the Spanish-language media conglom grew 5.2% to $728.9 million, compared to $692.7 million in the same frame last year, spurred by gains in TV and digital, the company said Wednesday. The performance of the radio division, however, continued to slide, according to Variety.Revenue at Univision's radio...

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Houston Radio: Sam Morton Named VP/Sales For CBS Radio

Sam MortonCBS Radio/Houston has appointed Sam Morton as VP/Director of Sales for the broadcaster's six-station cluster, including Hot AC KHMX-FM, Sports KIKK-AM, Sports KILT-AM, Country KILT-FM, CHR KKHH-FM and Spanish CHR KLOL-FM.Morton will assume his new post on November 24.Morton most recently served as Director of Sales for CBS Radio/St. Louis since October, 2013. He previously was GSM for co-owned Sports KRLD-FM, Adult Hits KJKK-FM and Classic...

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Nielsen: Slow, Steady Progress For Consumer Confidence

 Global consumer confidence edged up one index point in the third quarter to a score of 98—an increase of one point from the previous quarter and two points from the start of the year. The index, which has been on a slow and steady rise for two-and-a-half years (since Q1 2012), has now exceeded a pre-recession level of 94 for three consecutive quarters.In the latest online survey, conducted Aug. 13-Sept. 5, 2014, consumer confidence increased...

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Facebook: Music 'Likes' Determine Likely Voting Preferences

In the US, there is a documentable difference in musical genre preference between Democrats and Republicans?A comparison of bands "Liked" on Facebook and the political affiliation of the Facebook profile found that some music was more usually liked by Democrats and other music more by Republica...

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Country Music Fest Announced For NYC

Brad Paisley, Dwight Yoakam, Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley will be among the main attractions at FarmBorough, a new country music festival coming to New York City over three days next June, according to The NY Times.The festival, planned for June 26 through 28 on Randalls Island, was announced on Wednesday by Live Nation Entertainment and the New York concert promoter Founders Entertainment, which are presenting it in partnership.The country genre,...

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NASH Nights Host Kristian Bush

Elaina Smith, Kristian Bush, Shawn ParrCountry artist Kristian Bush, formally of Sugarland, joined NASH Nights Live host Shawn Parr and co-host Elaina Smith in their NASH Campus studio last night in Nashvil...

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Brad Paisley Hosts Carrie Underwood, Lon Helton

This week, Westwood One’s Country Countdown USA host and CMA “National Personality of the Year” Lon Helton traveled to the home of Brad Paisley to count down the Top 30 with Brad and Carrie Underwood. The occasion was to preview next week's CMA Awards, hosted by Brad and Carrie.  This will be the 7th time the two stars have co-hosted the TV show, and ironically, this is the 7th time Lon has won the CMA Award.  The interview was done in...

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Westwood One News Inks Content Deal With CBS Radio

Westwood One has announced that its new customized news product--Westwood One News, a next-generation, full-service news network powered by CNN—has signed on four CBS Radio stations in Top 10 markets — 1010 WINS in New York, WBZ 1030 AM in Boston, KYW 1060 AM in Philadelphia, and WNEW 98.1 FM in Washington, D.C.“Westwood One is proud to have major market CBS Radio stations join our Westwood One News Network from the outset,” said Dennis Green, Westwood...

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Fresno Radio: Jennifer Lipp Leaving N/T KMJ

Jennifer LippJennifer Lipp, who has been on Fresno radio for 20 years, is leaving KMJ 580 AM / 105.9 FM. Her last day partnering with John Broeske for“The John and Jen Show” morning show— is Friday, Oct. 31.According to the Fresno Bee, she’s headed to Arkansas where her husband has taken a job. Lipp isn’t looking to get back into radio. She plans to be a stay-at-home mom for the couple’s three children.“We are ‘Beverly Hillbilly-ing‘ backwards,”...

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Philly Radio: WPHT Moves Rich Zeoli up To PM Drive

Rich ZeoliTalk Radio WPHT 1210 AM has announced that Rich Zeoli will be the host in the 3p-6p slot on 1210AM starting Wednesday, November 5th.Rich will discuss local and national policy, the economy, the biggest news stories and issues that affect all Philadelphians, coupled with interviews of the day’s news and decision makers.“We are thrilled that Rich is moving to afternoons at WPHT.  He’s a smart, energetic, entertaining talk show host who...

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Steve Harvey, Ford Team For 'Fusion Sweepstakes'

Steve HarveyThe Steve Harvey Morning Show and Ford are now conducting the "Fall Into A Ford Fusion Sweepstakes." Beginning today, listeners of the No. 1 syndicated morning show in America can enter for a chance to win a 2015 Ford Fusion on SteveHarvey.com.Entries must be submitted by November 27, 2014, and the winner will be announced on air on Friday, November 28.The four-week long "Fall Into A Ford Fusion Sweepstakes" will take place across more...

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