Radio News

At the end of August, a big shift will be happening at some of Tampa Bay's biggest radio stations. Keith Lawless will exit Cox Media Group at the end of the month to spend more time with his family. This leaves the role of VP/Market Manager in new hands.

With the demise of the co-produced RAB/NAB Radio Show, many radio broadcasting industry leaders had expressed concerns that a full integration into the bigger NAB Show in Las Vegas would take away some of the more unique and focused elements the radio-only affairs had brought forth. It now appears clearer that the annual NAB Show New York conference in October will help fill that attention gap, as the industry's biggest advocacy voice has unveiled its full "Radio Imagined" schedule for 2022.

There's a new Area President in charge of iHeartMedia's Inland Empire properties. It's an individual who will now oversee Riverside and San Bernardino, tacking on "the 909" to five other California markets — and Spokane, Wash.

Jason "Big Mama" Jones is today likely determining what the next chapter in his professional life will feature. After permanently departing Beasley Media Group's "B103.9" in Southwest Florida earlier this month after stepping aside in June to avoid any equal time requirements the FCC enforces, Jones has lost his bid for a school board seat.

No, it's not a theme park like Kings Island or Magic Mountain. But, iHeartMedia believes it has created "the premiere destination for fan experiences" by doing so in the metaverse. Introducing iHeartLand, home to State Farm Park and a slate of podcasts, concerts and "major events" planned for the Fortnite-housed virtual gathering place.

In this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, Tony Michaels offers more details on why he's super-pleased to be celebrating a quarter century in Siouxland with Powell Broadcasting and why he's not chased after other radio jobs in bigger markets. "After sharing your heart on the radio for 25 years, it feels like I have thousands of friends," he shares. Learn how you can find your happy in Radio from Michaels by listening to this podcast now! LISTEN HERE

Marvin Vosper had owned and operated stations serving Blythe, Calif., and Quartzsite, Ariz., while continuing in his longtime role with TBN. Sadly, Vosper was the victim of budget cuts at TBN in September 2021. Three weeks later, he unexpectedly died in a fiery car accident. Now, both stations have been transferred to a family member who will continue his father's legacy.

The latest Spot Ten Radio report from iHeartMedia-owned Media Monitors shows that, for the week ending August 21, two brands in particular powered up a significant amount of spot plays — putting these advertisers well ahead of others using spot radio.

In the Nordic language, "saga" means "an ongoing adventure." And, the story has it, this is one of the primary influences as to how Saga Communications, founded by the late Ed Christian, got its name. "This is how I view my company and my life," Christian said in a long-ago interview with a media outlet. "Our company is really an ongoing adventure." This is the story of how a 1986 acquisition built the foundation for Saga.

With the unexpected passing of Ed Christian, the founder and President/CEO of Saga Communications, on Friday, Warren Lada was appointed interim President/CEO by the company's board of directors. If all goes according to plan, Lada will only be holding the role for a short period. And, to be placed in a role, a shift in Saga's Finance and Audit Committee had to transpire.

Over a 50+-year career in radio, Mark Driscoll established himself as an audio promo and voice narration specialist while embarking on a radio programming career that made him, in the words of WPAW-FM "93.1 The Wolf" in Greensboro morning host Dale O'Brian, "one of radio's great talents." Now, Driscoll's voice has forever been silenced, as the industry veteran has died at the age of 72.

Until Thursday, it was a Class B AM that powered down to 243 watts at night, serving the Delmarva Peninsula. This AM also enjoyed a bit of "FM revitalization" for its "Timeless Favorites" musical programming, with an FM translator. Today, the broadcast facilities are inoperable. A blaze devastated the Birach Broadcasting-owned station's offices and studios.

With a 12 cent per-loss share in the second quarter of 2021, a wider loss in Q2 2022 was experienced by the technology company actively gaining radio and TV industry clients. Analysts lowered their outlook for Veritone, which had seen growth in its stock since post-pandemic lows experienced in May. On Friday, however, a dip was seen on Wall Street.

With a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.2x Townsquare Media, investor watchdog blog Simply Wall St. says the local media company that puts digital first "may be sending bullish signals at the moment." However, the blog notes that it isn't wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation as to why it is "limited." Does this mean that Townsquare may not be as "mispriced" as Simply Wall St. thinks?

Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) has made its entrance into the world of digital marketing solutions. The company superserving Hispanic consumers across broadcast media and through its LaMusica app and web portal has launched a pure-play digital marketing department.