The year ThaT Was: 2007

The Year That Was: 2007
December 12, 2008
The Year That Was (2008)
As the year winds down we look back at some of the people and events
making news in News/Talk/Sports radio this past year. As usual some
of the news was good, some bad, and
some downright ugly in these tough
economic times -- but all left a mark on
the Talk media industry during 2008.
This week, we present “Part One” of
our look back at the year gone by.
January : Todd Manley is named PD at KTRS/St. Louis
… Former Red Zebra and Clear Channel programming
exec Tod Castleberry is arrested in Detroit on assault
charges … Bill Burke is named Director/Online Media at
the Associated Press … Tamara Karcev named Director
of Affiliate Relations for ABC Radio Networks Imus In
The Morning … WOOD/Grand Rapids PD Phil Tower
exits to become GM of the syndicated Alan Hunt Show …
Christopher Balfe is named President/COO of Glenn Beck’s
production arm Mercury Radio Arts … Brian Suits takes
over evenings at KFI/Los Angeles … CBS Radio/New York
VP/GM Tom Chiusano exits … Ed Crane joins KFBK/
Sacramento for mornings … Bernie Ward exits KGO/San
Francisco after indictment on federal child pornography
charges … Mike Pons is named VP/GM at the Weather
Channel Radio Network … Tony Bruno exits Sporting
News Radio Network … Omar Thompson is named SVP/
Marketing and Communications for ABC Radio Networks.
Issue 78
February: Herb Winches joins WERC/Birmingham
for afternoons as Ken Stabler and Chris Stewart exit …
Scott Pritchett is named Market Manager at Clear Channel/
Melbourne, FL … John Burkavage is tapped as VP/Market
Manager for Entercom/Greenville … Greater Media purchases
WBT and WLNK/Charlotte from Lincoln Financial Media
… Karl Rove joins FOX News Channel … Chris Baker joins
KTLK-FM/Minneapolis for mornings … Sean O’Neill named
GM at Salem/New York … Chuck Maylin joins Beasley
Broadcasting/Las Vegas as Market Manager … Paul Harris
becomes a victim of budget cuts at KMOX/St. Louis … Dave
Barber is named PD/anchor at Rhode Island’s Capitol TV …
WHDH/Boston Talk radio legend Jess Cain dies at age 81 …
Paul Proly named GM at Genesis/Orlando … Dennis Glascow
tapped as VP/Operations for Red Zebra Broadcasting …
Jason Miller joins WFED/Washington as Executive Editor …
Pittsburgh Steelers voice Myron Cope dies at age 79.
March: United Stations Radio Networks launches The Lou
Dobbs Show … Melanie Morgan exits KFSO/San Francisco
… Joe Buck retires from the St. Louis Cardinals broadcast
booth … Dave Pugh segues from DC to Clear Channel/San
Francisco as Market Manager … WCCO/Minneapolis midday
co-host Eleanor Mondale undergoes successful surgery for a
brain tumor … CBS Radio inks a partnership with AOL Radio
… Tim Scheld is upped to PD at WCBS-AM/New York as Crys
Quimby exits … Lee Abrams joins Tribune as Chief Innovation
Officer … Michael Thompson named GM at WEAE/Pittsburgh
… WFLA/Tampa-based Todd Schnitt gets a national roll out
©200 8 News • Ta lk • S p o r t s Airc h ec k ™ — Al l r i g hts re s e r ve d. To s u bs c r i be v i s i t www.ntsaircheck.com
(continued on page 3)
News • Talk • Sports Weekly
Page 2
December 24 telephone and mobile web audio service Cellecast
Airchecklets
is offering “Holiday Party,” a feature that allows listeners to share
holiday thoughts and memories via Cellecast’s “Talkback” feature.
Phil Redo exits as Market Manager of Greater Media/Boston’s
CelleCast staffers will review the holiday stories and choose the
cluster that includes FM News/Talk WTKK. VP/Radio Rick
ten best, with winners receiving a $100 shopping spree from the
Feinblatt fills in while the company searches for Redo’s
CelleCast catalog.
replacement … Congrats to Mickey Luckoff, Jack Swanson
and the whole crew at KGO/San Francisco as the Citadel
Gig Alerts
News/Talker logs yet another number one Bay Area finish in
Jeff Katz, most recently afternoon host at WBT/Charlotte, is
the recently released Arbitron November PPM survey …
ready to begin his next adventure. Reach the major market Talk
Former WNYW-TV/New York morning host and NBC News
radio veteran via the Weiss Agency at Eric@weissagency.com
correspondent Jodi Applegate joins WCBS-AM/New York
or heather@weissagency.com … KSTP/Minneapolis PD Steve
as a free-lance anchor … WCHL/Chapel Hill, NC names Joe
Konrad is on the hunt for a host who understands “alternative
Schwartz as News Director of the Vilcom-owned talker …
entertaining Talk radio that’s not dependent on national
KCMB/Portland News Director Tim Riley exits as a result of
conservative politics.” Email your best shot to him at SKonrad@
those all-too-familiar budget cuts at the CBS Radio outlet.
am1500.com … Clear Channel/San Francisco seeks a DOS for
Network/Syndication Aircheck
it’s Bay Area cluster that includes conservative talker KNEW
and liberal talker KKGN. Email cover letter, resume and salary
Dial-Global syndicated talker and money coach Clark Howard
requirements to EmileToups@clearchannel.com … Got a gig
will debut a new weekend CNN Headline News TV show on
open?
Need a new challenge? Send details and your contact info
January 3. Howard will air both Saturdays and Sundays at 6am,
to
al@ntsaircheck.com
and we’ll post it here FREE!
noon and 4pm (ET) … Former ABC Radio Networks veteran
December 12, 2008
Michael Kropp joins the sales team at Media Monitors … WGN
America will present Yule Log: The Golden Age of Christmas from
9pm (ET) December 24 through 6am Christmas morning (12/25).
Footage of the infamous “Yule Log” will be accompanied by audio
from classic programs from the “Golden Age of Radio” including
The Jack Benny Show, Fibber McGee and Molly, Burns and Allen,
and more … Envision Radio Networks Cheap Psychological
Tricks With Dr. Buff will celebrate the holidays by counting down
the “Twelve Cheap Trick Days Of Christmas” -- two full weeks of
helpful advice to sooth holiday stress -- from December 14-24 …
Radio2dot0’s “Advantage Weather” signs up Kansas’ Rocking M
Radio to provide exclusive weather forecasts for the company’s
four-station Dodge City cluster including News/Talker KGNO.
Emerging Talk Media
Sirius XM Radio debuts the Bing Crosby Christmas Radio
channel tomorrow (12/13) hosted by Regis Philbin, along with
members of the Crosby family who will share memories of “Der
Bingle’s” classic holiday radio shows … From now through
Feed-A-Friend
Last week’s third annual WDEL/Wilmington, DE “Feed-AFriend” food drive netted more than $10,000 in donations allowing
representatives from five local shelter kitchens to go nuts stocking
up on food and supplies at an area Costco.
©2008 News • Ta lk • S p o r t s Airc h ec k ™ — Al l r i g hts re s e r ve d. S e n d n e ws to news@NTSaircheck.com
News • Talk • Sports Weekly
December 12, 2008
(continued from page 1)
via Jones Radio Networks … Following a three-month sabatical
Paul Duckworth returns to WMAL/Washington as PD … Mike
Missanelli joins WPEN/Philadelphia for afternoons … Jason
Wilmot exits KFYI/Phoenix … David Drew is named OM at
Gapwest/Duluth … Retired WGN/Chicago morning legend
Wally Phillips dies at age 82.
April: John Gambling rambles back to mornings at WOR/New
York … Sean Compton exits Clear Channel to become SVP/
Programming and Entertainment at Tribune … Air America
suspends host Randi Rhodes who subsequently segues to Phoenixbased syndicator Nova M Radio … KNX/Los Angeles celebrates
its 40th year of All-News radio … 89-year old Paul Harvey returns
to active duty following a three-month hiatus due to illness …
WVNN/Huntsville founder Bob Dunnavant, Sr. dies at age 85
… Opie & Anthony re-up with CBS Radio and XM Satellite
Radio … Scott Sutherland named Bonneville/Phoenix Market
Manager as Erik Hellum exits … Greg Tantum exits WWWT/
Washington … WWJ/Detroit PD Georgeann Herbert adds
new duties as Director/Digital Media for CBS Radio’s Motown
cluster … Harley Adkins is named President/Market Manager
for Clear Channel’s DC and Baltimore stations … ABC Radio
Networks debuts Radio Perez hosted by gossip maven Perez
Hilton … Jon Madani named PD at KVET/Austin.
May: Legendary Talk radio host Bob Grant celebrates his 60th
year in broadcasting … Lynn “Angel” Harvey dies following
a long struggle with leukemia at age 92 … WOL/Washington
morning host Joe Madison moves his show to XM Satellite
Radio … Josh Leng named PD at KNST/Tucson … Retired
KOA/Denver morning co-host Gus Mircos dies at age 70 …
Clear Channel agrees to a buyout by Bain Capital and Thomas
H. Lee Partners … Al Rantel returns to the air at KABC/Los
Angeles following a four-month break to deal with treatment for
lymphoma … Bruce Collins exits at WTVN/Columbus, OH …
Andy Friedman exits Clear Channel to become VP/Interactive at
Tribune … Country legend Dolly Parton threatens to sue Howard
Stern over a controversial bit aired by the Sirius XM Radio host …
Dan Zampillo joins WGN/Chicago as Assistant PD.
June: Former WABC/New York morning co-host Ron Kuby
joins Air America Radio for afternoons … Red Zebra buys DC
AM’s WTEM, WTNT and WWRC from Clear Channel …
KLTY/Dallas GM John Peroyea is upped to VP/Operations for
Salem Communications … Longtime Meet The Press anchor Tim
Russert dies suddenly after suffering a heart attack … Legendary
ABC sportscaster Jim McKay dies at age 87 … United Stations
Radio Networks and Lifestyle TalkRadio Network ink a deal
for LTRN to rebroadcast USRN’s Lou Dobbs Show nightly from
7-10pm … Veteran talker Bruce Williams opts to independently
syndicate his long running nightly talk show … Carl Gardner
named VP/Market Manager at Bonneville/Seattle … Veteran
network exec Kraig Kitchen joins the Board of Directors at
HipCricket … Triton Radio Networks acquires the Jones
Media Group … Comedian George Carlin dies at age 71 … Bill
Hess named SVP/Programming at Air America Radio.
©2008 News • Ta lk • S p o r t s Airc h e c k ™ — Al l r i g hts re s e r ve d. S e n d n e ws to al@NTSaircheck.com
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