Hello Blogosphere,
I think it is time to update you on some of the goings-on in the radio world in the past few months.
It was announced today that Tribune Company, the long-bankrupt owner of the famous WGN radio among other assets, has finally emerged from bankruptcy. Tribune is now under the ownership of senior creditors including Oaktree Capital Management (no stranger to radio...also owns Dial Global Radio Network and station owner Townsquare Media), JP Morgan Chase, among others. Tribune has been in bankruptcy for the longest time because of a hostile takeover by Chicago real estate mogul Samuel Zell back in 2007.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the media coverage of Hurricane Sandy. In my opinion, radio did an incredible job of getting the word out to the listeners. Here are some of the aspects: Many New York radio clusters were struggling to get by themselves due to equipment failures and evacuations. For example, on Long Island, the Connoisseur Media cluster (KJOY, B-103, etc.) switched in to all news mode...part with their own staff and part using another outlet. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Connoisseur Long Island has a deal with Cablevision's local news channel, News 12, which allows the former to carry the latter's feed during an emergency like this. Another example was Cumulus Media's WABC-AM. This legendary station broadcasted its former sister station, WABC-TV, which is now owned by Disney, due to its deal with them and the former ownership. Other stations such as the legendary WOR utilized the feed of WNBC-TV. Overall, great effort by the media industry as a whole.
About two months ago, the controversial Michael Savage show has come back on the air...but, here's the kick: It is on a new network. Mr. Savage won a legal dispute with his former syndicator, Talk Radio Network. Now, Cumulus Media Networks, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cumulus Media, has graciously signed a contract with Mr. Savage to air his political talk show on over one-hundred of their 500+ stations. Shortly after this announcement, Cumulus Media announced that they will add Mr. Savage's show to their NYC flagship station, 77 WABC.
I want to wish all of my readers a happy and prosperous new year! I hope you are enjoying yourself! Stay safe and I will see you in the New Year!
Stay tuned tomorrow as I dedicate a special post to looking back on 2012 in radio! I hope you will join me!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Friday, August 31, 2012
See ya Later!
Hello Blogosphere,
This starts the hiatus for Radio...Its Not Dying People. I am going away to school and may not be able to post on a regular basis. I apologize for this hiatus...but it is needed. Just because I put my blog on hiatus doesn't mean that you should put your radio on hiatus. In fact, its just the opposite.
Please keep listening and KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Aaron Waisler
Blogger Extraordinaire
Feel Free to Contact Me With Any Comments or Questions at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or Comment on This Post!
KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Another Top 40 in Atlanta? Really?
This is the most abrupt format change I have seen in a really long time. Here in Atlanta, what used to be "Project 9-6-1", suddenly flipped from a well-liked true alternative rock station, to a hip-hop/top-40 station dubbed "Power 96.1" (See original article here.). This comes as the owners of the station and 4 other stations in Atlanta, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, is making a lot of staffing and programming changes in the Atlanta market specifically. Clear Channel Media and Entertainment is the division of global media giant Clear Channel Communications that handles all of the company's 850 radio stations and several digital services. This is only one of a few changes CC is making regarding programming. The other half has to do what is now "WILD 105.7". Speculating reports state that CC will move the alternative format that used to be on the 96.1 frequency, to 105.7. The WILD brand will reportedly disappear from the Atlanta market (See what the discussion boards of RadioInfo have to say.).
My original thought is "Why add another Top 40 station when we already have many stations in Atlanta adhering to this format?" For example, Q100, owned by rival Cumulus Media, is a hit top-40 station. Another station considered top 40 is WSTR, "Star 94", owned by another rival Lincoln Financial Media. What we really need in the ATL is a true classic hits/classic rock station. 97.1 The River is more variety and 106.7 flipped to all-news (See earlier posts). That was the last true oldies/classic rock station left in Atlanta. WE NEED A NEW ONE!! The last thing we need is another top-40 station!!!
However, I have to say that Power 96.1 sounds great!! Clear Channel is so far doing great!! Its available in Atlanta on 96.1 and worldwide on iheartradio.com.
Please feel free to give your opinion or ask questions by commenting on this article or emailing me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com.
My original thought is "Why add another Top 40 station when we already have many stations in Atlanta adhering to this format?" For example, Q100, owned by rival Cumulus Media, is a hit top-40 station. Another station considered top 40 is WSTR, "Star 94", owned by another rival Lincoln Financial Media. What we really need in the ATL is a true classic hits/classic rock station. 97.1 The River is more variety and 106.7 flipped to all-news (See earlier posts). That was the last true oldies/classic rock station left in Atlanta. WE NEED A NEW ONE!! The last thing we need is another top-40 station!!!
However, I have to say that Power 96.1 sounds great!! Clear Channel is so far doing great!! Its available in Atlanta on 96.1 and worldwide on iheartradio.com.
Please feel free to give your opinion or ask questions by commenting on this article or emailing me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Feedback Needed
Dear Blogosphere,
I am strongly considering writing a newsletter related to media and the media business. However, I need your feedback. Please fill out this form in its entirety so I can better format the newsletter if the decision is made to create it.
Thanks so much!!
Feel Free to Contact Me With Any Comments or Questions at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or Comment on This Post!
KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
New York's Oldest Station....SOLD!!
Those of you...especially from New York....who read this blog may know of a station known as 710 WOR. Many of you also may not know that it was founded in 1922 and owned since the 1980s by a little-known company by the name of Buckley Broadcasting, dba Buckley Radio. This company was started by the Buckley family in the mid-1900s and is one of the last few family-owned radio and media owners in the country.
Yesterday, news came out that the legendary WOR has ended the era of family-owned independent radio to be sold to radio mega-conglomerate Clear Channel Communications, who already owns 5 stations in New York City. This news comes about one year after the 2nd Generation of Buckley family ownership, Rick Buckley, died suddenly from a brain embolism. This deal is pending FCC approval and will be taken over through a Local Marketing Agreement, an agreement that basically says that a particular station will still be owned and licensed by the original owner, but operated on a daily basis by a third party, by Clear Channel Communications until they obtain full ownership upon FCC review.
So, with that, there goes the last legacy family-owned station in New York City. Who knows what Clear Channel has in store for WOR...probably all syndicated national shows. When and if any line-up changes occur, I will be sure to share them with you all right her on Radio...It's Not Dying, People!!!
If you want some more information, please visit All Access.
Feel free to contact me with any questions at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or comment on this post. I will try to respond. Thanks and, as always, KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!!
Yesterday, news came out that the legendary WOR has ended the era of family-owned independent radio to be sold to radio mega-conglomerate Clear Channel Communications, who already owns 5 stations in New York City. This news comes about one year after the 2nd Generation of Buckley family ownership, Rick Buckley, died suddenly from a brain embolism. This deal is pending FCC approval and will be taken over through a Local Marketing Agreement, an agreement that basically says that a particular station will still be owned and licensed by the original owner, but operated on a daily basis by a third party, by Clear Channel Communications until they obtain full ownership upon FCC review.
So, with that, there goes the last legacy family-owned station in New York City. Who knows what Clear Channel has in store for WOR...probably all syndicated national shows. When and if any line-up changes occur, I will be sure to share them with you all right her on Radio...It's Not Dying, People!!!
If you want some more information, please visit All Access.
Feel free to contact me with any questions at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or comment on this post. I will try to respond. Thanks and, as always, KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
NBC Finally Got the Message!!
Who's excited for the 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony tonight? I know I am!! However, I don't know if I will be planted in front of my television in time for the prime-time broadcast. Many of you also may be doing other things that don't permit them to be in front of their television tonight. So...NBC. the U.S. Olympics rights-holder, finally got the message after all of the flak they received for not streaming the magestic opening ceremony. THE CLOSING CEREMONY WILL BE ONLINE-LIVE!! I am so glad for this because I don't know if I can wait till the prime-time TV broadcast, especially after all of the performers who are scheduled to appear. I can't miss that!!
It stars at 4pm on-line and 7 or 8pm on TV, depending on your local NBC affiliate. I will be watching...WILL YOU?
Feel free to contact me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or comment on this post if you have any questions or comments. I would love to hear from my readers!!
It stars at 4pm on-line and 7 or 8pm on TV, depending on your local NBC affiliate. I will be watching...WILL YOU?
Feel free to contact me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or comment on this post if you have any questions or comments. I would love to hear from my readers!!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Special Report: My Heart Goes Out to Those In Colorado
Dear blogosphere,
I would be remiss if I didn't post something regarding this horrible incident that took place this morning in Aurora, Colorado.
Personally, I don't have any family or friends in Colorado. But, I send my prayers out to them anyway. I can't even imagine what those involved and the town of Aurora, itself, is going through right now. My prayers are with you, sweet people.
As for the media aspect of it, the media has been dealing with this in the best way they know how. KCNC-TV, the local CBS owned-and-operated station has been at the forefront since the beginning. To see their full coverage of this tragic day, feel free to visit their website at denver.cbslocal.com.
As always, feel free to contact me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, comment on this post, and/or visit my blog forum on the homepage. KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
STAY STRONG COLORADO!! OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU!!
Sincerely,
Aaron Waisler
Blogger Extraordinaire
I would be remiss if I didn't post something regarding this horrible incident that took place this morning in Aurora, Colorado.
Personally, I don't have any family or friends in Colorado. But, I send my prayers out to them anyway. I can't even imagine what those involved and the town of Aurora, itself, is going through right now. My prayers are with you, sweet people.
As for the media aspect of it, the media has been dealing with this in the best way they know how. KCNC-TV, the local CBS owned-and-operated station has been at the forefront since the beginning. To see their full coverage of this tragic day, feel free to visit their website at denver.cbslocal.com.
As always, feel free to contact me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, comment on this post, and/or visit my blog forum on the homepage. KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
STAY STRONG COLORADO!! OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU!!
Sincerely,
Aaron Waisler
Blogger Extraordinaire
Cox Radio Rolls with the Changes...
Cox Radio has a big corporate announcement to make: They are Downsizing!
They just announced this morning that they are looking to shed some of their radio/TV markets. As of right now, they are looking at selling 28 radio stations and 4 TV stations in slower markets in order to focus on larger markets. They are also on a buying binge, of sorts. They have their eyes on two markets where they will buy 2 stations each. These markets are Jacksonville, FL (WAWS-TV and WTEV-TV) and Tulsa, OK (KOKI-TV and KMYT-TV).
On the radio side, they are planning to sell stations in six markets. These markets include Birmingham, Greenville, SC, Hawaii, Louisville, Richmond, and Southern Connecticut. They will also sell some TV properties: KFOX-TV (El Paso), WJAC-TV (Johnstown, PA), WTOV-TV (Steubenville), and KRXI-TV and operating rights to KAME-TV (RENO)
At the corporate level, several leadership positions will either be eliminated or shuffled around.
Some of these changes include the movement of Former CMG VP Kim Guthrie to SVP, where she will be in charge of radio markets, while former Austin American-Statesman Publisher Jane Williams will take the position of SVP in charge of CMG's TV portfolio. Both will report to former WSB-TV GM and now Executive Vice President of Broadcast, Bill Hoffman.
Former Group Vice President Rich Reis is now the Vice President/GM in charge of all CMG's digital operations.
Former Group Vice President Ben Reed is now the Vice President and Market Manager in charge of the Atlanta CMG radio cluster. He takes over for Dan Kearney, who was recently tapped as VP/Market Manager of CMG's Miami radio operations. Kearney takes over for Jerry Rushin, who is retiring from the company this month.
Many more changes have been announced. For more info, please visit www.allaccess.com.
The moment this article caught my eye, I thought about my friends working both in the New York market and the Atlanta market. I was more worried about my friends working in the Long Island market than I was Atlanta. For CMG, Long Island is a much smaller market (only 2 stations). But, when I read the article further, I was relieved that neither New York or Atlanta is on the chopping block.
You can send me your thoughts and comments, as always, at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, by commenting on this post, and contributing to my blog forum. I hope to hear from many of my readers!!
They just announced this morning that they are looking to shed some of their radio/TV markets. As of right now, they are looking at selling 28 radio stations and 4 TV stations in slower markets in order to focus on larger markets. They are also on a buying binge, of sorts. They have their eyes on two markets where they will buy 2 stations each. These markets are Jacksonville, FL (WAWS-TV and WTEV-TV) and Tulsa, OK (KOKI-TV and KMYT-TV).
On the radio side, they are planning to sell stations in six markets. These markets include Birmingham, Greenville, SC, Hawaii, Louisville, Richmond, and Southern Connecticut. They will also sell some TV properties: KFOX-TV (El Paso), WJAC-TV (Johnstown, PA), WTOV-TV (Steubenville), and KRXI-TV and operating rights to KAME-TV (RENO)
At the corporate level, several leadership positions will either be eliminated or shuffled around.
Some of these changes include the movement of Former CMG VP Kim Guthrie to SVP, where she will be in charge of radio markets, while former Austin American-Statesman Publisher Jane Williams will take the position of SVP in charge of CMG's TV portfolio. Both will report to former WSB-TV GM and now Executive Vice President of Broadcast, Bill Hoffman.
Former Group Vice President Rich Reis is now the Vice President/GM in charge of all CMG's digital operations.
Former Group Vice President Ben Reed is now the Vice President and Market Manager in charge of the Atlanta CMG radio cluster. He takes over for Dan Kearney, who was recently tapped as VP/Market Manager of CMG's Miami radio operations. Kearney takes over for Jerry Rushin, who is retiring from the company this month.
Many more changes have been announced. For more info, please visit www.allaccess.com.
The moment this article caught my eye, I thought about my friends working both in the New York market and the Atlanta market. I was more worried about my friends working in the Long Island market than I was Atlanta. For CMG, Long Island is a much smaller market (only 2 stations). But, when I read the article further, I was relieved that neither New York or Atlanta is on the chopping block.
You can send me your thoughts and comments, as always, at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, by commenting on this post, and contributing to my blog forum. I hope to hear from many of my readers!!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
BREAKING NEWS: CW TO AIR HISTORIC MUSIC FESTIVAL IN LAS VEGAS!
It was just announced this morning that the CW Television Network, a network owned and operated by both CBS and Time Warner (through Warner Brothers) will officially become the broadcast partner for Clear Channel's 2nd annual iHeartRadio Music Festival taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas later this year. The festival is scheduled to take place September 21st and 22nd with the broadcast taking place October 1st from 8-10pm.
According to All Access, here is what Clear Channel Media and Entertainment President John Sykes had to say: "The inaugural iHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL was an amazing experience for our listeners and music fans across AMERICA, and this year's lineup is again going to exceed all expectations. With CW as the Festival's TV broadcast partner, we can give people who can't be in LAS VEGAS the ability to watch this extraordinary event from their own living rooms."
The CW also had some words to say regarding this partnership: "The CW is thrilled to partner with CLEAR CHANNEL to bring our viewers the exclusive TV broadcast of 2012 iHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL," said CW Pres. MARK PEDOWITZ. "What better way to kick off our new FALL season than with many of the music industry’s biggest acts on The CW."
This sounds like a great partnership to me!! Since, I can not be in Las Vegas at the time of this historic sold-out event, I will definitely be watching as well as listening live through Clear Channel's on-line radio stream!! Tune In!!
To learn more about this historic partnership, please visit www.allaccess.com, feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, or, as always, comments are always welcome! Thanks so much and KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
According to All Access, here is what Clear Channel Media and Entertainment President John Sykes had to say: "The inaugural iHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL was an amazing experience for our listeners and music fans across AMERICA, and this year's lineup is again going to exceed all expectations. With CW as the Festival's TV broadcast partner, we can give people who can't be in LAS VEGAS the ability to watch this extraordinary event from their own living rooms."
The CW also had some words to say regarding this partnership: "The CW is thrilled to partner with CLEAR CHANNEL to bring our viewers the exclusive TV broadcast of 2012 iHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL," said CW Pres. MARK PEDOWITZ. "What better way to kick off our new FALL season than with many of the music industry’s biggest acts on The CW."
This sounds like a great partnership to me!! Since, I can not be in Las Vegas at the time of this historic sold-out event, I will definitely be watching as well as listening live through Clear Channel's on-line radio stream!! Tune In!!
To learn more about this historic partnership, please visit www.allaccess.com, feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, or, as always, comments are always welcome! Thanks so much and KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
So long, Neal Boortz...but not until next year!!
Neal Boortz, host of the nationally-syndicated radio talk show The Neal Boortz Show, has announced his retirement this past Monday. He will officially hang up the microphone for the final time on January 21st of next year, which happens to also be the day of our next president's inauguration ceremony. He cites the need to spend more time traveling with his wife of nearly 40 years, Donna.
Cox Media Group, owners of his flagship radio station in Atlanta (WSB-AM), and Dial Global, his distributor, have announced that his replacement will be former Presidential candidate and acclaimed businessman, Herman Cain. Herman had hosted a show of his own on WSB, but it never attained national syndication because he had to call it quits due to his presidential candidacy earlier this year. His show will not only be locally-based like his last go-round, but it will be nationally-syndicated.
I am not a huge fan of Neal Boortz, but still a fan nonetheless. I will miss his humor and I know Mr. Cain, as accomplished as he is, will have big shoes to fill.
And remember, folks: He still has about six months left on the air!! He is not going anywhere anytime soon!! But, nevertheless, I, for one, will be listening as much as I can before the Neal Boortz mic is hung up for the last and final time!!
If you want to see what your fellow radio lovers have to say about this topic, click here
If you have any questions about this breaking news story, please feel free to comment on this post or email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com and I will try to reply.
Thanks so much and remember, KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Atlanta officially makes "news"
Hello blogosphere,
Atlanta officially made news today with the launch of an all-news station.
All-News 106.7 officially made its debut at 5am this morning, contrary to popular belief. It was originally announced that WYAY would switch at 5am from their classic hits format to a 4-hour documentary about all-news and then, at 5pm, would be their official launch. But, instead, they jumped directly in to all-news (with no documentary interruptions) at 5am.
There are mixed emotions and reviews about this new station. A few people posted on All News 106.7's Facebook page saying, quote, "You lost a listener". Others say kudos to a great launch. I agree with the latter. I have listened to a few other all-news outlets make their debut and this is one of the better launches. They worked out many of the kinks and they sound great.
Here are some of the elements (traffic, weather, etc) to the station:
Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5
If you have any further questions about this new format/station or any other post, please feel free to contact me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, comment on this post, or post on my forum on this blog. Don't forget to check me out at my new writing outlet, Examiner.com, where I am the official "Atlanta Media Examiner".
Thanks so much and KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Atlanta officially made news today with the launch of an all-news station.
All-News 106.7 officially made its debut at 5am this morning, contrary to popular belief. It was originally announced that WYAY would switch at 5am from their classic hits format to a 4-hour documentary about all-news and then, at 5pm, would be their official launch. But, instead, they jumped directly in to all-news (with no documentary interruptions) at 5am.
There are mixed emotions and reviews about this new station. A few people posted on All News 106.7's Facebook page saying, quote, "You lost a listener". Others say kudos to a great launch. I agree with the latter. I have listened to a few other all-news outlets make their debut and this is one of the better launches. They worked out many of the kinks and they sound great.
Here are some of the elements (traffic, weather, etc) to the station:
- Traffic on the 6's: Traffic is provided by a fellow Cumulus Media subsidiary, Right Now Traffic. The morning reporter is former Kicks 101.5 traffic reporter Greg Talmadge and the afternoon shift is done by former "Atlanta's Greatest Hits" DJ, Kristen Charles
- Weather on the 6's: Weather is outsourced to Fox-owned-and-operated Fox 5 Atlanta with the primary meteorologist being Joanne Feldman and others being Jeff Hill and Chief Meteorologist Ken Cook does the evenings
- Business Report: Business is provided by business publication "Atlanta Business Chronicle" with many reporters taking different shifts
- News Updates: Top of the Hour and Bottom of the Hour news updates are provided by Cumulus-distributed ABC News Radio, with many reporters.
- News: News is provided by All-News 106.7's own staff of reporters, many coming from the now-defunct CNN Radio.
Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5
If you have any further questions about this new format/station or any other post, please feel free to contact me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, comment on this post, or post on my forum on this blog. Don't forget to check me out at my new writing outlet, Examiner.com, where I am the official "Atlanta Media Examiner".
Thanks so much and KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
I'M BAAAAACCCCKKKK!!
I'm Baaaaackk!!
I apologize for being away for a while...school has been occupying most of my time. Let me quickly summarize what is going on the world of radio as of late:
The most recent development is that of ESPN New York effectively acquiring a classic urban station by the name of 98.7 KISS FM. It was a very complicated deal where another urban station in town was also involved. 98.7 KISS FM's intellectual property rights were sold to WBLS, a station founded by the late civil rights leader Percy Sutton. Unfortunately, his family's company, Inner City Broadcasting (or ICBC Broadcast Holdings), is in deep bankruptcy and ready to go under. KISS FM's intellectual property rights were sold to WBLS's creditors under the name of YMF Media. ESPN comes in to play as they buy the 98.7 frequency from Emmis Communications, KISS FM's former owners, who is also coincidentally in major financial trouble.
Another development as of late is the formation of an all-news radio station in Atlanta, my hometown. Cumulus Media, a company owned and operated by the Dickey brothers, prominent Atlanta businessmen, is converting 106.7 Atlanta's Greatest Hits, a station it bought through its merger with the bankrupt Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, to all-news. Cumulus is not very familiar with this format. So, many Atlanta media outlets are assisting Cumulus in this endeavour. For example, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, a business publication owned by the American City Business Journals division of Advance Publications, is providing business reports. WXIA (11Alive) is also assisting in the endeavour. The station is scheduled to launch its new format any day now.
*Update: The launch date is officially this coming Tuesday (May 29th), although a so-called "soft launch" is expected to happen some time this weekend.*
*Correction: It has been announced at the time of launch that the Fox owned-and-operated television station will be providing weather reports throughout each broadcast day. 11 Alive has yet to become involved in some way, shape, or form. I hope this clears some things up.*
As you might have heard, CBS Television Stations' flagship WCBS-TV is now one-half of a duopoly, two stations owned by a single company in one geographic area. CBS bought WLNY, an independent locally-owned television station on Long Island. Many plans having to do with this deal have been announced. For instance, the former Tribune Company-owned WPIX-TV General Manager, Betty Ellen Berlamino, has been named as the GM for this newly acquired station. Also, all news broadcasts as of now have been put on hold due to the acquisition. They will resume news broadcasting from the WCBS-TV studios at the CBS Broadcast Center, CBS's main production and distribution facility, some time in July. WLNY's former studio will still be used not as a broadcast facility, but as a public affairs show studio and a revamped Long Island bureau. *Update: CBS has officially launched the revamped Channel 10, as of July 2nd!! They debuted a morning show by the name of "The Couch" which features Z100's Carolina Bermudez as one of the anchors among others. Stay tuned for more!!*
This next story is close to my heart because I interned at these stations. The Long Island Radio Group, a division of Massachusetts-based Barnstable Broadcasting, back in March announced that they will be selling their four-station cluster to Connecticut-based Connoisseur Media. The deal was valued at 23 million dollars, according to radio-info.com. So far, none of those that I worked with were affected. *Update: Connoisseur Media has officially closed on the four Long Island stations formerly belonging to Al Kaneb's Barnstable Broadcasting.The deal was closed officially last week.*
That's all for now...these are only some of the big stories making news.
For more information, please feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or post on my forum page of this website. Some good websites to go to for more info on any of these or others are www.radio-info.com and www.allaccess.com. Thanks for reading and KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
I apologize for being away for a while...school has been occupying most of my time. Let me quickly summarize what is going on the world of radio as of late:
The most recent development is that of ESPN New York effectively acquiring a classic urban station by the name of 98.7 KISS FM. It was a very complicated deal where another urban station in town was also involved. 98.7 KISS FM's intellectual property rights were sold to WBLS, a station founded by the late civil rights leader Percy Sutton. Unfortunately, his family's company, Inner City Broadcasting (or ICBC Broadcast Holdings), is in deep bankruptcy and ready to go under. KISS FM's intellectual property rights were sold to WBLS's creditors under the name of YMF Media. ESPN comes in to play as they buy the 98.7 frequency from Emmis Communications, KISS FM's former owners, who is also coincidentally in major financial trouble.
Another development as of late is the formation of an all-news radio station in Atlanta, my hometown. Cumulus Media, a company owned and operated by the Dickey brothers, prominent Atlanta businessmen, is converting 106.7 Atlanta's Greatest Hits, a station it bought through its merger with the bankrupt Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, to all-news. Cumulus is not very familiar with this format. So, many Atlanta media outlets are assisting Cumulus in this endeavour. For example, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, a business publication owned by the American City Business Journals division of Advance Publications, is providing business reports. WXIA (11Alive) is also assisting in the endeavour. The station is scheduled to launch its new format any day now.
*Update: The launch date is officially this coming Tuesday (May 29th), although a so-called "soft launch" is expected to happen some time this weekend.*
*Correction: It has been announced at the time of launch that the Fox owned-and-operated television station will be providing weather reports throughout each broadcast day. 11 Alive has yet to become involved in some way, shape, or form. I hope this clears some things up.*
As you might have heard, CBS Television Stations' flagship WCBS-TV is now one-half of a duopoly, two stations owned by a single company in one geographic area. CBS bought WLNY, an independent locally-owned television station on Long Island. Many plans having to do with this deal have been announced. For instance, the former Tribune Company-owned WPIX-TV General Manager, Betty Ellen Berlamino, has been named as the GM for this newly acquired station. Also, all news broadcasts as of now have been put on hold due to the acquisition. They will resume news broadcasting from the WCBS-TV studios at the CBS Broadcast Center, CBS's main production and distribution facility, some time in July. WLNY's former studio will still be used not as a broadcast facility, but as a public affairs show studio and a revamped Long Island bureau. *Update: CBS has officially launched the revamped Channel 10, as of July 2nd!! They debuted a morning show by the name of "The Couch" which features Z100's Carolina Bermudez as one of the anchors among others. Stay tuned for more!!*
This next story is close to my heart because I interned at these stations. The Long Island Radio Group, a division of Massachusetts-based Barnstable Broadcasting, back in March announced that they will be selling their four-station cluster to Connecticut-based Connoisseur Media. The deal was valued at 23 million dollars, according to radio-info.com. So far, none of those that I worked with were affected. *Update: Connoisseur Media has officially closed on the four Long Island stations formerly belonging to Al Kaneb's Barnstable Broadcasting.The deal was closed officially last week.*
That's all for now...these are only some of the big stories making news.
For more information, please feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or post on my forum page of this website. Some good websites to go to for more info on any of these or others are www.radio-info.com and www.allaccess.com. Thanks for reading and KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Friday, February 24, 2012
"Dead People TV"
Good morning fellow blogreaders...I realize I haven't posted in a while. I have been incredibly busy. But, this just caught my eye.
Why are we, all of a sudden, streaming funerals? What is our fascination? I understand that Whitney Houston just passed away, but, do we really need to stream her funeral? In my view, broadcasters and fans should just leave the family alone during their time of grief. It would be one thing if it was a public memorial. But, since the family requested a private funeral, broadcasters and fans need to stay out of it and give the family their time to grieve their lost loved one.
Now, it was just announced today that the funeral of former Mets Hall of Famer Gary Carter, who recently passed away, will be streamed not only on the church's website, but also on a purely media website, cbsnewyork.com. What is this...funeral tv/radio? I don't get why people can't just leave the family alone.
They might as well just create a permanent TV network/stream all about funerals and dead people. Maybe that will make people happy....I think not!!
Thank you for listening to my rant and...broadcasters...read the memo and LEAVE THE FAMILY ALONE!!!
KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
To contact me about this story, feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, comment on this story, or post a new topic in the forum and discussion board on the front page of this blog.
Why are we, all of a sudden, streaming funerals? What is our fascination? I understand that Whitney Houston just passed away, but, do we really need to stream her funeral? In my view, broadcasters and fans should just leave the family alone during their time of grief. It would be one thing if it was a public memorial. But, since the family requested a private funeral, broadcasters and fans need to stay out of it and give the family their time to grieve their lost loved one.
Now, it was just announced today that the funeral of former Mets Hall of Famer Gary Carter, who recently passed away, will be streamed not only on the church's website, but also on a purely media website, cbsnewyork.com. What is this...funeral tv/radio? I don't get why people can't just leave the family alone.
They might as well just create a permanent TV network/stream all about funerals and dead people. Maybe that will make people happy....I think not!!
Thank you for listening to my rant and...broadcasters...read the memo and LEAVE THE FAMILY ALONE!!!
KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
To contact me about this story, feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, comment on this story, or post a new topic in the forum and discussion board on the front page of this blog.
Friday, February 3, 2012
An Inside Look of a Major NYC Cluster (CBS)
Dear friends,
I apologize for not posting in a while. I have been very busy with settling in to the spring semester of my freshman year of college. Anyway, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit the studios of CBS Radio's six-station NYC cluster. It was very interesting to see how a large media company operates locally. I visited the studios of 1010 WINS (NYC's all-news leader), 660 The Fan (WFAN, the sports leader and home of the future 2012 Super Bowl champion, the NY Giants, hint...hint), WCBS 880 (the other CBS-owned all-news station), and the three FM's, CBS FM (classic hits and oldies), WXRK (92.3 NOW, which is now top-40, used to be K-Rock), and WWFS (Fresh 102.7, home of Jim and Kim in the morning). I also met so many interesting people such as Joe Causi and Dan Taylor from CBS FM and Ben Mevorach, news director for 1010 WINS. So, all in all, I had the pleasure of seeing all of these classic stations which happen to all be under one roof.
The cluster was set up very nicely with each station defining its own identity with its own space. 1010 WINS was in one section while WFAN was on another. The same goes for the other four stations.
Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without thanking the man who invited me and toured me around the CBS mecca, Lee Harris. Mr. Harris has been a long-time anchor at 1010 WINS (18 years) and is a Hofstra alum. Did I mention that he is anchoring the overnight shift on Sunday night on WNEW in DC (The New CBS All-News Station, See Post Entitled "CBS is Officially The All-News Leader") and also runs his own web development business on the side? I can't thank him enough for kindly inviting me to hang out at the CBS cluster for an hour today!!
If you would like more information on my trip, feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or comment on this post and I will try my best to reply.
Until next time, KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
I apologize for not posting in a while. I have been very busy with settling in to the spring semester of my freshman year of college. Anyway, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit the studios of CBS Radio's six-station NYC cluster. It was very interesting to see how a large media company operates locally. I visited the studios of 1010 WINS (NYC's all-news leader), 660 The Fan (WFAN, the sports leader and home of the future 2012 Super Bowl champion, the NY Giants, hint...hint), WCBS 880 (the other CBS-owned all-news station), and the three FM's, CBS FM (classic hits and oldies), WXRK (92.3 NOW, which is now top-40, used to be K-Rock), and WWFS (Fresh 102.7, home of Jim and Kim in the morning). I also met so many interesting people such as Joe Causi and Dan Taylor from CBS FM and Ben Mevorach, news director for 1010 WINS. So, all in all, I had the pleasure of seeing all of these classic stations which happen to all be under one roof.
The cluster was set up very nicely with each station defining its own identity with its own space. 1010 WINS was in one section while WFAN was on another. The same goes for the other four stations.
Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without thanking the man who invited me and toured me around the CBS mecca, Lee Harris. Mr. Harris has been a long-time anchor at 1010 WINS (18 years) and is a Hofstra alum. Did I mention that he is anchoring the overnight shift on Sunday night on WNEW in DC (The New CBS All-News Station, See Post Entitled "CBS is Officially The All-News Leader") and also runs his own web development business on the side? I can't thank him enough for kindly inviting me to hang out at the CBS cluster for an hour today!!
If you would like more information on my trip, feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or comment on this post and I will try my best to reply.
Until next time, KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Monday, January 23, 2012
CBS is OFFICIALLY the ALL-News Leader!!
SEE! RADIO IS NOT DYING!! A new station has just been launched. The day is finally here...the launch date of CBS Radio's new all-news station in Washington, D.C., "All-News WNEW 99.1", that is. Even though D.C. already has an all-news station, WTOP, CBS still felt there was a void to fill. And from what I heard so far, they are right. WTOP is more geared toward politics and WNEW is general news (very much like 1010 WINS in NY). CBS is the leader in the all-news radio format with stations in New York (1010 WINS and WCBS 880), Philadelphia (KYW), Chicago (WBBM), and more. This station was originally set to go on air on Thursday, January 19th, but was postponed to January 23rd at 5am due to unexpected dilemmas. But, CBS launched it one day earlier on Sunday, January 22nd at noon. The station still has some work to do, but CBS is most definitely making progress!! Kudos to CBS for this gutzy move!!
If you would like to discuss this story, please visit the forum page or feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com. You may also feel free to comment on this post and I will try to reply.
Thanks so much and, remember, KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
If you would like to discuss this story, please visit the forum page or feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com. You may also feel free to comment on this post and I will try to reply.
Thanks so much and, remember, KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Clear Channel Radio Re-branding
It was announced today that Clear Channel, my least favorite company, is re-branding its largest and most well-known division, Clear Channel Radio, as Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. They are doing this to encompass its many listening platforms (such as iHeartRadio, etc) in to one division. This announcement comes about one year after Cox Enterprises re-branded its media properties in to one division as Cox Media Group (or CMG). This is one of the first SMART decisions Clear Channel has made (in my opinion). They are doing this to accurately represent all of the platforms their stations are available on.
If you have an opinion on this topic that you would like to share, feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, comment on this post, or post a new topic in my forum located on the "forum" page of this blog.
Again, thanks so much for reading and KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
If you have an opinion on this topic that you would like to share, feel free to email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com, comment on this post, or post a new topic in my forum located on the "forum" page of this blog.
Again, thanks so much for reading and KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
After Firing a Great Host, CBS Radio/Cleveland Flips Formats
Attention Clevelanders (or whatever we call you)....a new pop station is coming to town----courtesy of CBS Corporation's CBS Radio division. After afternoon drive DJ Nancy Alden was let go abruptly, speculations surfaced that there were big changes coming to WDOK FM/102.1. And those speculations were DEAD ON. WDOK is flipping from soft rock to a more pop-leaning format. You can listen to the stream here to see if you like the new WDOK.
If you would like more information on this story and others or you just want to discuss them with me, feel free to email me @ aaron.waisler@gmail.com or feel free to comment on this story in the comment section of the blog post.
Have a great day and, remember, KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Aaron Waisler
If you would like more information on this story and others or you just want to discuss them with me, feel free to email me @ aaron.waisler@gmail.com or feel free to comment on this story in the comment section of the blog post.
Have a great day and, remember, KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
Aaron Waisler
Monday, January 9, 2012
Clear Channel opening up its iHeart to other radio operators
The Clear Channel on-line platform, iHeartRadio is welcoming non-Clear Channel stations to the party. It was announced today that Greater Media, an owner of 22 AM and FM stations primarily in the northeast, will be joining the host of Clear Channel stations already streaming on this revolutionary platform developed by Clear Channel Communications, Inc. Back in the fall of 2011, Clear Channel announced the addition of all 570 Cumulus Media stations to the platform but, oddly enough, did not give a date. This time, Clear Channel has come to their senses and given a date (or at least a month) when Greater Media's 22 stations will be available on this one platform. This date is April 2012. The only major operator missing now is CBS Radio. Well, CBS Radio DOES have their own platform called Radio.com after all. Why would they want to switch?
Talk to you later, blogosphere!!
To contact me about this or any of my other blog posts, you may email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or just simply comment on this or any of my other posts and I will try my best to keep the conversation going!!
Talk to you later, blogosphere!!
To contact me about this or any of my other blog posts, you may email me at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or just simply comment on this or any of my other posts and I will try my best to keep the conversation going!!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Cox Media Group Acting Dumb
Cox Media Group Atlanta has been acting dumb for the past few days.
Cox Classic Hits 97.1 The River in Atlanta has just axed the morning show hosted by Eddie Money after just 3 months of being on the air. The show, which was hosted by Money from Los Angeles, CA, was not achieving the ratings expected by CMG Atlanta. I have never even heard this morning show. Come on, Cox!! Give listeners a chance!! Cox did not advertise this morning show enough....in short, it did not give it a chance to achieve ratings. Click on this link to find out more
Cox Soft Rock station B98.5 FM has decided, brilliantly (sense the sarcasm), that they will discontinue the nightly Delilah love song and dedication program. This program is and will continue to be my favorite nightly music show. I just spoke with the program director of WSB-FM and he informed me that this was purely a ratings decision. I don't believe that. I hope another station in the ATL will pick her up sooner rather than later. This is very disturbing and I bet I am not the only one who is disturbed by this decision made by Cox Radio Atlanta. There is no "real" story on the web about this decision. There is, however, a one-liner in the online radio magazine All Access. Click here for the link.
Contact me more about these CMG Atlanta stories at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or comment on this post and I will try to reply.
Cox Classic Hits 97.1 The River in Atlanta has just axed the morning show hosted by Eddie Money after just 3 months of being on the air. The show, which was hosted by Money from Los Angeles, CA, was not achieving the ratings expected by CMG Atlanta. I have never even heard this morning show. Come on, Cox!! Give listeners a chance!! Cox did not advertise this morning show enough....in short, it did not give it a chance to achieve ratings. Click on this link to find out more
Cox Soft Rock station B98.5 FM has decided, brilliantly (sense the sarcasm), that they will discontinue the nightly Delilah love song and dedication program. This program is and will continue to be my favorite nightly music show. I just spoke with the program director of WSB-FM and he informed me that this was purely a ratings decision. I don't believe that. I hope another station in the ATL will pick her up sooner rather than later. This is very disturbing and I bet I am not the only one who is disturbed by this decision made by Cox Radio Atlanta. There is no "real" story on the web about this decision. There is, however, a one-liner in the online radio magazine All Access. Click here for the link.
Contact me more about these CMG Atlanta stories at aaron.waisler@gmail.com or comment on this post and I will try to reply.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Welcome to 2012!!
Welcome to 2012, the year for radio!! Many changes are occuring or will occur in the radio broadcasting industry during 2012. Here is an outline of some of the people/companies that are already making news in 2012.
Thanks everyone and have a blessed 2012! KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
- It was announced today that Walter Sabo, the CEO of the start-up radio broadcaster Merlin Media, has resigned
- Clear Channel's Fox Sports Radio has started a new morning show with Andy Furman as the lead host
- A historic Pennsylvania country radio station, WIOO, has gone off the air due to a fire at their Carlisle, Pennsylvania studios.
- Ed Christian, CEO of radio broadcaster Saga Communications, was awarded "Broadcaster of the Year" by trade journal Radio INK.
- Cumulus Media takes no time when it comes to flipping formats. This is exactly what happened with two stations in their portfolio, WNNF in Cincinnati and WZRR in Birmingham. WNNF flipped from 80s/90s focused to country. WZRR, on the other hand, flipped from classic rock to top 40. Cumulus is really pushing it on that one....I love classic rock. They had some nerve to flip from classic hits to top 40 madness. Don't get me wrong; I like top 40, but I am on a classic hits vibe right now, so I guess I am biased.
Thanks everyone and have a blessed 2012! KEEP RADIO ALIVE!!
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