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SUPPORT DCRTV'S ADVERTISERS /\ \/ Contents - Contact Us - News Tips - News Archive - Mailbag - Rant - Support DCRTV Station List - Classified Ads - Advertise On DCRTV - DC - Boston - DCRTV Plus WMMR Celebrates 40 - 5/9 - As part of WMMR's ongoing celebration of the rock station's 40th anniversary, it is bringing back some of its legendary jocks for a weekend celebrating the rich heritage of 'MMR. Alumni such as John DeBella, David Dye, Michael Tearson, Ray Koob, Bubba John Stevens, Mark Goodman, and Earle Bailey, many of whom now work for other stations in the market, will return for shifts on Saturday, 5/10, and Sunday, 5/11. FMQB has more..... News Changes At 4 & 7 - 5/9 - WNBC/Channel 4 may be on the verge of making its first major anchor change under the station's new top management. Word is that Lynda Baquero, now anchoring at 6 PM with David Ushery, will come off that newscast at the end of the month when the sweeps period ends. Also, Jeff Rossen, who has been at WABC/Channel 7 for seven years, is jumping ship. "My contract is up at the end of the month. I've decided to leave," Rossen told the NY Daily News. "Working with all the great people at WABC has been an amazing experience. I will miss them all. However, I'm ready to spread my wings on different platforms. And I'm excited about pursuing new opportunities"..... Wikipedia: Scott Shannon's PLJ Show To Get DC Outlet? - 5/8 - From the Wikipedia entry for Citadel's WRQX in DC on Thursday morning: "Mix 107.3 is... home of the 'Jack Diamond Morning Show.' Citadel Broadcasting has announced that Jack Diamond, who has been the morning host for the last 18 years, will be let go due to budget reasons. His final show will be on May 30, 2008. The syndicated 'Scott And Todd' show from sister station WPLJ in New York will replace Diamond." No confirmation. And we're hearing that Citadel is denying the report. By the way, that Wikipedia paragraph mysteriously disappeared by midday Thursday. DCRTV has reported rumors that Diamond has been involved in contract negotiations. By the way, Scott Shannon's "True Oldies" format is heard in DC, via Citadel's WJZW. Stay tuned..... Savage Leaves Globe For NY Times - 5/8 - Big loss for the Boston Globe: Charlie Savage, who won a 2007 Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Bush administration's sweeping expansion of executive power, is headed to the New York Times. He'll start there later this month. More from thephoenix.com..... Jack Gone From CBS-FM's HD2 - 5/8 - CBS Radio has retired the Jack FM moniker from the HD2 signal of WCBS-FM (101.1), which is transitioning to adult hits. A new identitity will be announced soon..... 4's New News Channel Targets NY1 - 5/8 - A local TV news war is brewing between NBC Universal's WNBC/Channel 4 and Time Warner Cable's NY1. NBC said yesterday that it plans to launch a 24-hour news channel devoted to "hyper-local" New York news starting this fall, setting up a head-to-head showdown between the two stations in markets where NY1 is carried. The NY Post has more..... Suits At 3 Not Happy About Party For Lane - 5/8 - From the Philadelphia Daily News: Rumor has that CBS3 management was none too pleased with some on-air talent attending a Saturday-night party at the Borgata in Atlantic City that Alycia Lane organized as a surprise for her boyfriend, Q102's Chris Booker, to celebrate his 37th birthday. Management, of course, is embroiled in a lawsuit with Lane, who has sued the station for alleged wrongful termination, and is seeking unspecified damages. Among staffers at the party were traffic anchor Bob Kelly, reporter Todd Quinones, and meteorologist Doug Kammerer..... 29's Video Fuels Cop Controversy - 5/7 - A half-dozen police officers kicked and beat three men pulled from a car during a traffic stop as a TV helicopter taped the confrontation. The video, shot by Philadelphia's Channel 29/WTXF, shows three police cars stopping a car Monday, two days after a city officer was shot to death responding to a bank robbery. The tape shows about a dozen officers gathering around the vehicle. About a half-dozen officers hold two of the men on the ground. Both are kicked repeatedly, while one is seen being punched. One also appears to be struck with a baton. AP has more..... 4 To Start Local News Channel - 5/7 - Insiders tell FTVLive that Channel 4/WNBC is looking to make a huge news commitment. Word is the NBC station is talking very seriously about launching a 24-hour news channel for the Big Apple. We're guessing that it would be done on one of the station's digital channels. Sources tell FTVLive that WNBC will be able to launch the channel with less staff because they will be using one-man-band video journalists to gather the news. If VJs hit the street in the number one market, it should speed along the process of VJs becoming the norm in more and more markets, FTVLive adds. More from Broadcasting And Cable..... PPM Problems Plague Philly Radio Ratings - 5/6 - From All Access: Beasley reported Q1 financials yesterday, but the jucier news happened after the numbers were told, as President Bruce Beasley, while explaining that the Philadelphia cluster "significantly outperformed" the market, and said that rhythmic contemporary WRDW (96.5 FM) and country WXTU (92.5 FM) are "incredibly solid radio stations." He then pointed his finger at radio ratings form Arbitron, when he added, "Unfortunately, because of the ongoing sampling issues related to the PPM (portable people meter) technology deployment and Arbitron's inability to get this right, Beasley and other broadcasters in the market are suffering from unnecessary ratings and share volatility that we believe continue to impact our operating results"..... NY Times & MSNBC Do Politics TV Show - 5/6 - From the NY Observer: The NY Times and MSNBC are joining forces for a new cable show. Today is the debut of "The New York Times Special Primary Edition," a political show hosted by John Harwood where Times-journos will handicap the election. From a Times memo, it appers these shows will appear as specials - that is, they won't run every week, but whenever MSNBC and the paper choose to do it..... 2's Guzman Injured In Car Accident - 5/6 - Channel 2/WCBS correspondent Pablo Guzman was injured in a one-car accident on Monday on the Cross County Parkway in Westchester County. Guzman, 57, of Pleasantville was taken to Westchester Medical Center after he lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a rock wall. He was listed in stable condition. More at lohud.com..... Brian McDonough Leaves 29 - 5/6 - LauraNachman.net tells us that Brian McDonough, who served as Fox29's medical reporter since 1989, is no longer with the station. Although McDonough's image and profile are on the station web site, sources say his last day with the station was 4/29. McDonough continues as a contributor to KYW radio..... More: "Takeaway" On WNYC - 5/6 - The NY Times looks at "The Takeaway," a new public radio show from NYC's WNYC..... NY Post Retracts O&A Story - 5/5 - From the NY Post: "On April 23 we reported that the fiancée of Gregg 'Opie' Hughes, one half of the Opie and Anthony radio show, was involved in an X-rated sex video with MTV star Bam Margera. We reported that Hughes was taking legal action against a disgruntled ex-employee of the radio duo who had acquired the rights to the video. We have since learned that this information, supplied by Steppin' Out's Chaunce Hayden, was entirely incorrect. There is no sex tape. Further, Hughes' fiancée has never met the MTV star. The Post sincerely regrets the error"..... Standish OK After Fainting At Retirement Party - 5/5 - Dick Standish is doing just fine after spending two nights at the Hospital Of The University Of Pennsylvania. The former CBS3 reporter was taken there Wednesday night after fainting at Finnigan's Wake during his retirement party. Standish, 65, left CBS3 after 29 years on the air. He says he collapsed after drinking a Coors Light on an empty stomach. Doctors at HUP gave him a litany of tests and still aren't sure what went wrong, but Standish was given a clean bill of health and planned to spend the weekend "laying low," he told the Philadelphia Daily News..... DCRTVideo - 5/4 - Some Channel 2/WCBS news memories from 1984. At DCRTVideo at the bottom of the right column of this page..... Scott Arnold To WJBR - 5/2 - Scott Arnold joins the weekend roster at Wilmington DE's WJBR. He comes from cross-town WSTW, where he did nights..... Positive Spin For Comcast - 5/1 - Area media giant Comcast reported mostly improved first-quarter earnings Thursday, although it experienced a net loss of 57,000 video subscribers. Comcast reported a 10 percent rise in income, while revenue climbed 14 percent. Comcast said average revenue per basic subscriber hit $107 per month in the quarter, up from $96 one year earlier, and $87 two years ago, indicating the impact of customers buying multiple services - TV, internet, phone. More from Broadcasting And Cable..... Memorial Service For Ron O'Brien - 5/1 - From FMQB: A memorial service for WOGL/Philadelphia radio personality Big Ron O’Brien will take place Friday, 5/2 at 11 AM at Bringhurst Funeral Home, West Laurel Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd. Donations may be made in Big Ron O’Brien’s name to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Go to wogl.com to click on the donation page. A check in O’Brien’s memory will be presented to Children’s Hospital at the "98.1 Loves Our Kids Radiothon" in September. For friends and fans who can not attend in person, the memorial service will also be webcast in real time on the Big Ron O’Brien tribute page on wogl.com. O’Brien passed away on 4/27 from pneumonia at the age of 56..... 13 Veteran James Day Dies - 5/1 - From All Access: Public television pioneer and former President of PBS predecessor National Educational Television James Day died on 4/24 of respiratory failure. In 1969, Day become president of NET and Channel 13/WNET. He also produced and hosted a nightly interview show and served as a professor of radio and TV at Brooklyn College..... Imus Slumps On WABC - 4/30 - From Crain's NY Business: Don Imus (right) may have a job, but he's not exactly setting the world on fire. The latest iteration of "Imus In The Morning," which debuted on WABC-AM in December, was ranked 20th among persons aged 25-to-54, according to the winter survey from Arbitron. The show's 1.5 share of that audience represented a 17 percent drop from last year, when "Curtis And Kuby" held the morning slot and were tied for 18th place in the demo. Among men 25-to-54 years old, Imus's show ranked 18th - down from 16th a year ago - with a 2.2 share, which was 8 percent below Curtis and Kuby's number..... Gambling Returns To WOR - 4/30 - DCRTV tipped you. Now, NYC talker WOR (710 AM) makes it official. John R. Gambling is returning to the station where his family ruled morning drive for more than 75 years. Gambling, who exited WOR in 2000 and worked most recently in middays at talker WABC, is taking over mornings at WOR starting 5/5th. "Rambling With Gambling" started with Gambling's grandfather in 1922, with his father John A. Gambling taking over and John R. succeeding him in 1985..... Cablevision To Bid For Newsday - 4/29 - Reuters reports that Cablevision make a joint bid for Long Island newspaper Newsday that would match or top rival offers of about $580 million from media titans Rupert Murdoch and Mortimer Zuckerman. Cablevision is considering a bid with Jared Kushner, owner of the New York Observer newspaper. Kushner approached Cablevision a couple of weeks ago about making a joint bid to buy Newsday from Tribune Company. Newsday is for sale at a time when newspapers are commanding low prices because of shrinking advertising sales and declining profits. Still, it has provoked a bidding war between News Corporation chief Murdoch and New York Daily News owner Zuckerman, who want to give advertisers a way to reach wealthy residents on Long Island and to cut printing costs...... Brian Phillips To WRXP - 4/29 - New NYC rocker WRXP (101.9 FM) names Brian Phillips as evening man. Phillips is a Brooklyn native and comes to the Emmis station after a stint as co-host of the morning show "Brian And Jen" at alternative rock WHTG in Monmouth NJ. He'd also once worked in the marketing department of NYC contemporary hit outlet WHTZ..... CBS Radio Slumps - 4/29 - CBS Radio reports that revenue fell 9 percent, as ad sales remained weak and the unit was affected by the sale of nearly 40 stations in 10 markets. At radio stations the company has owned at least a year, revenue slipped 6 percent. However, as a whole, CBS's quarterly earnings rose 14 percent, helped by greater profits on the TV side. More from MarketWatch..... 5 Drops Ron Corning - 4/29 - Ron Corning said Monday he felt "blindsided" by WNYW/Channel 5's sudden decision to drop him as co-anchor of "Good Day New York," but hundreds of e-mails from well-wishers have helped ease the pain. "Absolutely, it softens the blow," Corning told the NY Daily News of the messages he's gotten from viewers and people in the business. "It gives you a moment to pause, and think, yeah, maybe I'm in the right place." Two weeks ago, while Corning was on vacation in the Caribbean, his agent got a call from officials at Channel 5 saying the third-year option in Corning's contract wasn't being picked up..... Dick Standish Leaves 3 - 4/29 - From the Philadelphia Daily News: CBS3 reporter Dick Standish will retire this week after 29 years at the station. Before that he worked for 12 years at KYW NewsRadio 1060. We're told that veteran CBS3 reporter Robin Macintosh is also planning to retire soon. CBS 3 laid off 11 staffers last month and offered early retirement incentives to employees, including meteorologist Tom Lamaine, but we're told Standish and Macintosh both had decided to leave before that took place..... WLTW Holds On To Top Radio Spot In NYC - 4/29 - Despite a dip (5.5-5.1), Clear Channel AC WLTW (Lite FM) held on to the 12+ crown in New York for Arbitron's winter 2008 ratings period, but sister CHR/top 40 WHTZ (Z100) is hot on Lite's heels with its 4.3-5.0 surge. Also in the top five, Inner City urban AC WBLS stepped up 4.1-4.2, CBS Radio news WINS advanced 3.7-4.2, and Emmis urban AC WRKS retreated 4.3-3.9. Rounding out the top 10, SBS tropical WSKQ was off 4.6-3.8, CBS Radio classic hits WCBS-FM and SBS Latin pop WPAT were both flat at 3.7, Citadel talk WABC improved 3.3-3.6, and Emmis rhythmic WQHT moved back 3.7-3.4. More NYC numbers from Radio And Records..... Circ Slump Hits NY Times - 4/28 - Circulation fell sharply at most top US newspapers in the latest reporting period, an industry group said Monday, with the exception of the two largest national dailies, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Those papers eked out gains of under 1 percent, while the New York Times, the number three paper, fell 3.9 percent in the six months ending in March, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Declines at other major papers were less severe, with the New York Daily News narrowly keeping the upper hand on its crosstown tabloid rival, the New York Post. The Daily News posted a 2.1 percent decline, while the Post fell 3.1 percent. More from AP..... Changes At WOR - 4/28 - A source tells DCRTV about some WOR (710 AM) lineup changes: John "Gambling goes to mornings with Joe Bartlett as news and/or possible co-host. Donna Hanover is out. (NYC) Mayor Bloomberg to return on a weekly basis to John's new show." More soon..... Aaron Brown To PBS - 4/28 - Aaron Brown, the former CNN anchor who found cable TV an awkward fit, is joining PBS and its "Wide Angle" series and ending his on-air absence of more than two years. Anchoring "Wide Angle," a weekly public affairs series with a global focus, offers the chance "to work in an environment where people just think about making good TV and good journalism," Brown told AP. Brown, 59, who left CNN in November 2005 during a shake-up that gave his time slot to rising star Anderson Cooper, said he was contractually barred from working in TV until last June. He's been teaching at Arizona State University. Produced by NYC's WNET, "Wide Angle" begins its seventh season in July..... "Big Ron" O'Brien Dies - 4/27 - "Big Ron" O'Brien (left), afternoon disc jockey on WOGL (98.1 FM) and a former WFIL "Boss Jock," died Sunday of complications of pneumonia. O'Brien, believed to be 56, had been ill for nearly two months and was hospitalized at Paoli Memorial Hospital before being transferred to a rehabilitation center in West Chester. He seemed to be improving about a week ago, Jim Loftus, the station manager, said. O'Brien had been at WOGL, a classic hits station specializing in music from the 1960s and 1970s, since 2002. Loftus described O'Brien as a musicologist who not only knew his play list but was well-versed in contemporary music. O'Brien's first stint in Philadelphia was at the top-40 WFIL (560 AM), a home of rapid-fire disk jockeys, from 1976 to 1979. After several years in other markets, he returned to Philadelphia in 1996, when he joined WYXR (Star 104.5). In 2002, he joined WOGL, where he hosted the afternoon shift. More in the Philadelphia Inquirer. O'Brien also worked at DC's WPGC and there's a tribute page at amandfmmorningside.com..... Zuckerman Rivals With Murdoch For Newsday - 4/26 - Mort Zuckerman, the owner of the NY Daily News, believes he can snatch Newsday from Rupert Murdoch without offering a dime more than the $580 million already on the table. Late Friday afternoon, Zuckerman submitted a bid of $580 million for the Long Island-based newspaper. The bid sets up a potential bargaining battle by the owners of New York's two tabloids: the Daily News and the New York Post. Zuckerman opted not to submit a higher bid. Instead, he will make the argument to the Tribune Company, the debt-laden parent company of Newsday, that his bid is more attractive because it does not have the potential to fall into regulatory limbo. More in the NY Times..... Heart Surgery For Jim Lehrer - 4/25 - Jim Lehrer (right), the longtime anchor of PBS's signature evening newscast, underwent a successful heart valve procedure on Wednesday. "Jim plans to be back at full speed and on the program within a few weeks," the network said in a statement on Friday. A spokeswoman for Lehrer said he first felt ill last Friday. Lehrer, whose program is produced by DC's WETA, checked into the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for the procedure. Substitute hosts will fill in for Lehrer on "The NewsHour" for the time being. Lehrer decided not to anchor "The NewsHour" from WQED, the PBS station in Pittsburgh, this week to highlight the Pennsylvania primary. More from nytimes.com..... NYTimes Bracing For Cuts - 4/25 - The New York Times' news room is bracing for a bloodbath in the next 10 days. The word from inside is that approximately 50 unionized journalists have accepted the buyout proposal, and only another 20 non-union editorial employees have gotten on board. That means the ax could fall on as many as 30 editorial people in the company's first-ever mass firing of journalists in its 156-year history. There's more from the NY Post..... Luther Jackson Dies - 4/25 - Luther Jackson, 83, who in the early 1960s was among the few black reporters at the Washington Post and in 1968 became the first black faculty member at Columbia University's journalism school, died on 4/22 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. He had Parkinson's disease. Jackson taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism until 1992. His areas of expertise included urban affairs and the history of the black press. Housing and urban planning had been his beat at the Post, where he worked from 1959 to 1963. More in the Washington Post..... McLaughlin From 4 To 2 - 4/25 - John McLaughlin (right), the progenitor of TV's longest-running political talkfest, is taking his group to a new venue. "The McLaughlin Group," which has been seen on, and produced at, NBC-owned WRC-TV in DC, will move next week from NYC's NBC outlet, Channel 4/WNBC, to CBS's Channel 2/WCBS. The change ends McLaughlin's 26-year association with NBC. "The McLaughlin Group" will continue on 315 PBS stations across the country. McLaughlin, 81, also hosts a weekly interview program, "John McLaughlin's One On One," that will move to the two CBS stations and continue on PBS stations, so reports the Washington Post..... Brady On Imus - 4/25 - In Forbes, James Brady looks at the return of Don Imus to the radio dial, including NYC's WABC..... New PRI Morning Show To Debut On WNYC - 4/24 - On Monday, 4/28, PRI and NYC's WNYC launch a new morning show, "The Takeway With John Hockenberry And Adaora Udoji." The one-hour news program will feature editorial collaboration with the BBC World Service, the New York Times, and WGBH in Boston. More at thetakeaway.org..... Stern "Wack Packer" Kallenbach Dies - 4/24 - Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, a member of Howard Stern's "Wack Pack," has died. So reported Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio show this morning. Kallenbach was recently seen in commercials for "Monday Night Football" and also appeared in the movie "Jerry Maguire." According to the Stern show, which spoke to his mother, Kallenbach, 39, was serving time in a Philadelphia area jail, where he fell ill, and was taken to a Philadelphia area hospital, where he died from pneumonia. More at philly.com..... More On Opie Fiancee Sex Tape - 4/24 - From All Access: MTVer Bam Margera joined Opie and Anthony via telephone this morning on their XM Satellite Radio and CBS Radio show to deny the existence of a sex tape featuring himself and Opie's fiancee Lindsay. The denial comes after the NY Post reported on "Steppin' Out" publisher Chaunce Hayden's insistence that such a tape does exist and that a former O&A staffer bought the rights to the tape from Margera for distribution. "I think it's nonsense," Margera said of the story, adding that he, like Opie, would pay $100,000 to see the tape. "I really don't think it's true, and I'd match you on the hundred grand," the MTV "Jackass" and "Viva La Bam" star told O&A..... WBEB Tops Phiilly PPM Numbers - 4/24 - From Radio And Records: The March '08 Portable People Meter Philadelphia data shows that Jerry Lee's AC WBEB (B101) was tops in 6+ cume (1,851,700-1,877,700) and in 6+ share (9.2-8.8). Here is how other stations in the market fared (6 + cume February '08-March '08, followed by 6+ share February '08-March '08): WOGL - CBS Radio - classic hits (1,248,300-1,327,800) - (6.1-6.2) KYW - CBS Radio - news - (1,273,000-1,175,800) - (7.7-7.1) WMGK - Greater Media - classic rock (1,043,700-1,066,600) - (5.0-5.2) WIOQ - Clear Channel - CHR/top 40 (988,800-1,051,900) - (3.3-3.3) WBEN - Greater Media - adult hits (938,300-1,002,200) - (3.0-3.2) WRDW - Beasley - rhythmic (919,700-944,100) - (3.5-3.1) WISX - Clear Channel - rhythmic AC (937,100-926,700) - (2.7-2.9) WRFF - Clear Channel - alternative (830,900-865,100) - (2.9-3.2) WMMR - Greater Media - active rock (881,200-839,700) - (5.4-5.3) WDAS - Clear Channel - urban AC (721,800-779,200) - (5.7-6.0) WXTU - Beasley - country (774,100-772,500) - (4.9-4.7) WUSL - Clear Channel - urban (750,300-744,900) - (3.2-3.5) WPHI - Radio One - urban (611,400-639,300) - (2.3-2.1) WYSP - CBS Radio - rock (636,800-607,500) - (2.0-2.2) WIP - CBS Radio - sports (479,000-505,600) - (3.5-3.7) WRNB - Radio One - urban AC (514,100-496,300) - (2.9-2.9) WJJZ - Greater Media - smooth jazz (438,500-437,900) - (1.8-1.7) WPHT - CBS Radio - talk (433,100-468,400) - (3.5-3.7) Opie Rages At Bam Over Alleged Sex Tape - 4/23 - "There is no sex tape. There is absolutely no sex tape," said an enraged morning radio man Gregg "Opie" Hughes today in response to a New York Post Page Six report about a sex tape involving his fiancee, Lindsay, and MTV/Jackass star Bam Margera. The gossip column wrote, "A disgruntled ex-employee of the radio duo recently acquired rights to the video from Margera and it's soon to be released on a pay-for-play website, reports Steppin' Out's Chaunce Hayden. 'They're doing the nasty - and I mean nasty,' Hayden says. 'Hughes is taking legal action to prevent its distribution. Apparently, he's so distraught, he's banned the name 'Bam' from being mentioned on the show.'" FMQB has more. Opie and Anthony are heard on WXRK..... Murdoch's Newsday Lust - 4/23 - Rupert Murdoch is moving to tighten his already-imposing grip on American news media, striking a tentative deal to buy his third New York-based paper, Newsday, and getting his first chance to appoint the top editor of the Wall Street Journal, after the resignation of the editor on Tuesday. More from the NY Times..... Fox Appeals "Married" Dismissal Rejection - 4/23 - Fox has officially filed an appeal to the Federal Communications Commission's rejection of Fox's challenge to an indecency fine for an episode of "Married By America." Originally, the FCC hit Fox with a fine for airing the show, which featured pixilated nudity, on 13 TV stations. The latest Fox filing calls the FCC's action arbitrary and capricious. DCRTV's take: Fox owner and righty media baron Rupert Murdoch has received lots of favors from the Bush administration and the federal government, including permission to own two TV stations and a major newspaper in NYC. Just pay the fine as a "cost of doing business"..... Philly's 10 & 29 Test Cooperation - 4/22 - From lauranachman.net: An NBC10 spokesperson confirmed that in a one-week experiment that started Monday, NBC10 and Fox29 will share resources, including station helicopters and video. Fox29 will provide chopper services in the morning and NBC10 will provide chopper services in the evening. On a national level, Fox and NBC are combining for the new website, hulu.com. In other NBC10 news, industry sources say that some freelance reporters including Byron Scott are being taken off the schedule. Also, the current weekend morning anchor team of John Blunt and Lynn Berry will be split, where one will report and one will anchor. More in the Philadelphia Inquirer..... TV Show For Wendy Williams - 4/22 - Wendy Williams (right), whose bold personality and unvarnished opinions have made her an institution on radio, will launch her long-awaited television talk show 7/14 on Fox. The hour-long daily show is scheduled for a six-week run and will feature Williams interviewing prominent guests. Airing in the daytime in a yet-unspecified time slot, it is being coproduced by Debmar-Mercury and Fox television stations. Initially it will be seen in four cities: New York on Channel 5/WNYW, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Detroit. Williams will continue her radio show, which is nationally syndicated 2 PM to 6 PM daily from WBLS (107.5 FM). She does a "bonus hour" from 6 PM to 7 PM for New York. More from the NY Daily News..... Lisa G Back To BLI - 4/22 - Lisa G joins contemporary WBLI on Long Island for middays. She replaces vacated by Gabrielle. Lisa G, currently doing middays at Elmira's WNKI, used to do parttime work at BLI..... Murdoch About To Buy Newsday - 4/22 - Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is about to buy Newsday for close to $580 million, and pull off a neat trick in the process: bringing profitability to Murdoch's other, cash-bleeding tabloid, the New York Post. By combining the Post and Newsday into a joint business venture, Murdoch stands to wipe out as much as $50 million in annual losses News Corporation now incurs on the Post, with the combined Newsday-Post operation earning roughly $50 million. More from Gawker..... Notable Quotable - 4/21 - "He's got a messianiac complex." So said Rush Limbaugh today, via WMAL, about Barack Obama. Via his national radio show, righty talk titan Limbaugh is leading his "Operation Chaos" charge for Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton in tomorrow's Democratic presidential primary in Pennsylvania..... Dorgan Urges FCC To Reject Satrad Merger - 4/21 - Senator Byron Dorgan, a high-ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin urging the agency to block the merger of satellite radio companies XM and Sirius. "This merger is contrary to the public interest," he wrote in a Friday communication. "I hope that the FCC will stand up for competition in the public interest and deny this merger." The Department Of Justice approved the merger last month, but Dorgan in his letter called that decision "illogical." More from Radio Ink..... Lange Returns To Stern - 4/21 - An apologetic Artie Lange returned to Howard Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio show on Monday morning, laying to rest speculation about whether he really did resign on the Thursday before last week's vacation..... WIP & CSN's Marzano Dies - 4/19 - Philadelphia-based baseball analyst John Marzano died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 45. He was found in his home on Passyunk Avenue in South Philadelphia Saturday afternoon. Marzano, a graduate of Temple University, played major league baseball for nine years. He appeared on WIP and Comcast SportsNet, and worked fulltime for mlb.com. More from lauranachman.net..... CNNer Arrested In Central Park - 4/19 - From the NY Post: This is CNN? Kinky! CNN personality Richard Quest was busted in Central Park early yesterday with some drugs in his pocket, a rope around his neck that was tied to his genitals, and a sex toy in his boot, law-enforcement sources said. Quest, 46, was arrested at around 3:40 AM after a cop spotted him and another man inside the park near 64th Street, a police source said..... DJ Kut Leaves WWPR - 4/18 - Urban WWPR's DJ Kut heads to SupeRadio's "The Slam Jam" and "Kool Jam" for similar mix show duties..... Artie Quits Stern? - 4/18 - From nj.com: Sidekick Artie Lange will be gone from Howard Stern's Sirius show when it returns from a vacation break next week. Lange stormed out of the studio after an on-air confrontation with his assistant, Teddy. But it's not the first time Artie has said he's quitting the show, where he's been a regular since 2001. And the timing also was odd, considering it happened just before the show took a week-long vacation..... AOL Starts Occupying NYC HQ - 4/18 - With little fanfare, DC area-based AOL began occupying its new headquarters in NYC this week to bring itself closer to the heart of the media and advertising industry as it transforms itself into an ad-supported business. More from AP..... Verizon Wants To Wire NYC For Cable & Internet - 4/18 - Verizon has applied for an NYC cable TV franchise that would let it serve all five boroughs of the city with a fiber network it would build out by mid-2014. Currently, Time Warner Cable is the largest cable provider within the city, covering Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens, and part of Brooklyn. Cablevision is franchised in the Bronx and part of Brooklyn. More from Multichannel News..... Caps Score Big On CSN - 4/17 - Tuesday night's game three of the Capitals-Flyers hockey playoff series, televised regionally on Comcast SportsNet's Mid-Atlantic and Philadelphia networks, drew a combined peak audience of 357,500 households and averaged a combined audience of 234,000 households. Making it the highest-rated Caps on CSN in five seasons. The game was seen in about 8 percent of all Philadelphia area TV households. The audience peaked during the 9:30 PM quarter hour..... NYT Sees Slump - 4/17 - The New York Times Company announced Match total company revenues from continuing operations decreased 6.4 percent compared with the same month a year ago. The Times' lone radio property is classical WQXR..... New Weekend Weather Gal For 9 - 4/17 - WWOR/Channel 9 has named Shay Ryan the station's weekend weather anchor, replacing Vanessa Alfano, who is no longer at the station. Ryan will debut on the Fox-owned station Saturday. She last worked at WXYZ-TV, ABC's affiliate in Detroit. More in the NY Daily News..... 4's GM On The Outs - 4/16 - A New York insider tells FTVLive that Channel 4/WNBC General Manager Frank Comerford is going to get the boot. Word is that the NBC suits will kick Comerford upstairs to some "sales job." KXAS/Dallas GM Tom O'Brien will take over WNBC..... Doocy's Son Plays "Hardball" - 4/16 - During yesterday's "College Tour" on MSNBC's "Hardball," a question was posted by Villanova University student Peter Doocy, who just happens to be the son of Steve Doocy, who co-hosts the "Fox And Friends" morning show on the Fox News Channel. The younger Doocy asked the John McCain if he believes that Hillary Clinton "had finally turned to the 'sauce,' after taking her whiskey shot the other day." The inquisitive college student then invited McCain to take a shot with him..... CC Asks Judge For Help In Buyout Bungle - 4/16 - The legal battles over the deal to buy radio giant Clear Channel continues, as CC has now asked a New York state judge to dismiss counterclaims brought against it by a group of banks embroiled in a dispute over financing the company's buyout by two private-equity firms, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners. More from FMQB..... McLaughlin Jumps From Sirius To FUV - 4/16 - Sirius Alt Nation and Left Of Center Program Director Rich McLaughlin exits the satcaster after 6-ish years. He will join Fordham University as content director for WFUV and oversee the station's new independent music service..... MarketWatch Honored - 4/15 - MarketWatch Radio Network has won the Excellence In Financial Journalism Award from the New York State Society Of CPAs. A team of reporters, led by managing editor John Wordock, won for their entry "Tales From The Home Front: America And The Housing Slump In 2007." MarketWatch is heard on WINS in NYC and KYW in Philadelphia..... POTUS To Cover PA Primary Live - 4/15 - XM Satellite Radio's presidential election channel, POTUS '08, will broadcast from Philadelphia landmark restaurant Pat's King Of Steaks on Pennsylvania primary day, 4/22. Anchors Joe Mathieu and Rebecca Roberts will be live from Pat's from 11 AM to 4 PM..... 5 Cuts Ron Corning - 4/15 - WNYW/Channel 5 has dropped Ron Corning as co-anchor of the station's "Good Day New York," the NY Daily News has learned. Corning was on vacation last week when he learned of the decision not keep him anchoring the morning show alongside Jodi Applegate..... Another Honor For Cousin Brucie - 4/14 - The Broadcasters Foundation of America will honor Sirius Satellite Radio host and NYC radio legend Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow (left) with the 2008 Ward Quaal Pioneer Award at the NAB Show in Las Vegas on 4/16. Morrow, who for many years was heard on WABC-AM and WCBS-FM, was one of the pioneering radio personalities behind doo wop and rock. He was inducted into the Radio Hall Of Fame in 1988, the Broadcasting And Cable Hall Of Fame in 1990, and the NY State Hall Of Fame in 2006..... Rocker WNEW Reborn On 102.7 Digital Signal - 4/14 - CBS Radio re-launches heritage rock station WNEW-FM on the digital HD Radio signal of NYC's 102.7, which is now hot adult contemporary WWFS. And via wnew.com. It'll feature rock from the station's prime in the 1960s and 1970s, plus promising new artists. In addition, there'll be thousands of hours of archival rock start interviews by former WNEW hosts Scott Muni, Dave Herman, and Richard Neer..... Jimenez: New King Of NYC Morning Radio - 4/14 - The onetime king of morning radio is back, and his name is not Howard Stern. Luis Jimenez, the former star of top-rated "El Vacilón de la Mañana" on WSKQ, has knocked his old show off its pedestal, according to preliminary ratings from Arbitron. Since his much-heralded return to New York in January, the Puerto Rican shock jock who used to give Mr. Stern a run for his money has taken tiny WCAA's morning drive show to fifth place from 32nd among listeners 25 to 54 years old, according to the February monthly report. More from Crain's New York..... Fox5 Cuts Yankees Game For NASCAR - 4/14 - From FTVLive: Channel 5/WNYW, Fox5 in New York, had a great baseball game on their air yesterday. It was another classic Yankees versus Red Sox duel and it was going down to the 9th inning. With the Sox up 4-3 and two outs, the pitcher winds up and - Fox switches to NASCAR..... Susan Barnett To Anchor 3's 6 & 11 - 4/14 - With the May ratings "sweeps" approaching, CBS3 is expected to name Susan Barnett permanent 6 PM and 11 PM coanchor. The Levittown-bred Barnett, 35, has been at Larry Mendte's left elbow since the ouster of Alycia Lane in January. More in the Philadelphia Inquirer..... CBS's Woes Include Radio - 4/13 - CBS is not only struggling with a chronic third-place evening newscast and slumping primetime ratings, but it's also continuing to deal with the loss of two high-profile radio personalities - Howard Stern and Don Imus. More in the NY Post..... 880 Slams Former 4er For Doing Infomercial - 4/11 - Former WNBC/Channel 4 correspondent Joe Avellar Thursday was called on the carpet at WCBS Newsradio 880 for appearing in an infomercial. In the spots, which started airing on stations this week, Avellar anchors for the Mortgage Lending Network, which is the fictional news network in the Lend America spots. However, Avellar, a per-diem anchor for the CBS-owned news radio station, hadn't told anyone he was trading on his image as an anchor by doing an infomercial. More in the NY Daily News..... 2 Hires Miami Weatherwoman - 4/11 - As expected, WCBS/Channel 2 has hired Miami weathercaster Megan Glaros. Glaros will join the station in May and will work the weekend shift. A decision is yet to be made on whether she'll do weekend mornings or weekend nights. She steps into a slot left open when John Bolaris left. More in the NY Daily News..... Former 4er Aarons Now With HDNet - 4/11 - Former WNBC/Channel 4 consumer correspondent Asa Aarons, who was dropped by Channel 4 in October 2007, is using his skills to help people in different ways these days. Aarons is working as a freelancer at HDNews Network, part of Voom HD networks, and has been producing pieces for a "Poverty In America" series. More in the NY Daily News..... Radio One Buys NYC Social Networking Site - 4/11 - Radio One, the DC-based owner of stations primarily serving black listeners, acquired the social networking company Community Connect for $38 million to expand its presence on the internet. Community Connect, which has about 100 employees, owns and operates social networking brands including BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com, and AsianAve.com. The acquisition is part of Radio One's strategy to diversify beyond radio to reach black audiences. Community Connect, based in NYC, has more than 20 million members, making it the fourth-most visited US. social networking property. There's more from Bloomberg..... NBC10er: TV News "Not Relevant" - 4/11 - In a panel discussion about the state of local television news, Chris Blackman, news director of Philadlephia's NBC10 said, "In my 26 years in news, I've never seen things as dicey as they are now. With layoffs, shrinkage, and downsizing, we need to reinvent ourselves... We are not relevant the way we used to be because viewers don't neeed us anymore," Blackman said referring to mobile devices and the internet. More at LauraNachman.net..... QXR Slammed For Not Running Jewish Ad - 4/10 - A Jewish advocacy group is steaming after a classical radio station in New York refused to run an ad that described the daily threat of missile attacks facing Israelis in the Gaza border city of Sderot. WQXR (96.3 FM), which is owned by the New York Times, decided not to run the 60-second spot from the American Jewish Committee because it was out of the bounds of acceptability and could alarm the station's American listeners. Fox News has more..... CSN Teams With Versus For NHL Playoffs - 4/10 - Versus is teaming with a pair of Comcast regional sports network linemates on its coverage of the National Hockey League playoff series between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers. Viewers of Comcast SportsNet, regional television home to the Capitals and Flyers, will find national playoff previews, highlights, and wrap-ups from Versus' NHL studio experts. Versus, the NHL's national cable carrier, is also owned by Comcast. Each night,the two regionals carry the Flyers-Capitals series - the best-of-seven series faces off 4/11 - CSN's pre-game coverage will include a five-minute Versus national playoff preview at 5:30 PM, alternating between CSN's Mid-Atlantic and Philadelphia networks. Versus will also produce a daily national playoff wrap-up, including highlights and studio analysis, airing during CSN's locally-produced "SportsRise" morning programs. NHL coverage delivered ratings gains for Versus, CSN Mid-Atlantic, and CSN Philadelphia during the just-completed season, according to Multichannel News..... Judge Tosses Part Of Rather's Suit - 4/10 - The judge hearing former anchor Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS has issued a motion to dismiss four of the seven counts of the legal action. Three of the seven counts will remain, including the $70 million in compensatory and punitive damages Rather is seeking from CBS for breaching his contract. More at the Huffington Post..... CBS Re-Signs O&A For 3 Cities - 4/10 - DCRTV hears that CBS Radio has re-signed Opie and Anthony (right) to continue airing on NYC's WXRK, Boston's WBCN, and Cleveland's WKRK. Following the move of Howard Stern to Sirius Satellite Radio, O&A aired on about a dozen major FMers across the country. But they got dropped from a batch of stations due to low ratings. XM Satellite Radio will continue to air O&A for five hours daily, including two exclusive hours from 9 AM to 11 AM..... XM & Sirius To Remain Rivals In Canada - 4/10 - Even though DC's XM and NYC's Sirius are on the brink of merging their satellite radio operations in the US, look for the two firms' Canadian counterparts to remain rivals. The Toronto Globe And Mail has more..... AirAm Fires Rhodes - 4/10 - Suspended talker Randi Rhodes (left) and Air America network have officially parted company, but it appears she'll be back on the air via another radio network soon. Rhodes was suspended indefinitely last week by the lefty talk network following remarks she made at an San Francisco appearance, where she called Hillary Clinton a "f*cking b*tch." More at rawstory.com..... Monica Crowley To WABC - 4/9 - Monica Crowley signs with Talk Radio Network to syndicate "The Monica Crowley Show" on more than 75 new affiliates, including NYC talker WABC (770 AM). Crowley worked as a commentator on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" for four years. She is also a panelist on "The McLaughlin Group" and a Fox News analyst..... 5 Names Diane Doctor New ND - 4/9 - WNYW/Channel 5 has officially named Dianne Doctor (right) vice president and news director. The Fox station also gave Jim Driscoll, who had been news director at sister station WWOR/Channel 9, the title of vice president. Doctor, a market veteran, fills a slot that has been open since mid-January, when Scott Matthews left Channel 5 for a job at CNN. More in the NY Daily News..... Former 4 ND To CNN? - 4/9 - FTVLive tells us that former Channel 4/WNBC News Director Dan Forman might soon be popping up at a gig at CNN. Forman was bounced from NBC weeks ago and word is that he that will be hooking up with his long time buddy and former co-worker Jon Klein at CNN..... Most Radio Suits Still Men - 4/9 - Women are gaining ground, if only slightly, when it comes managing radio stations. As of late 2007, just 15.9 percent of the 10,625 US radio stations were managed by women, according to the annual General Manager Gender Analysis Study by the Mentoring And Inspiring Women In Radio group. That's a slight gain over 2006, when women managed 15.3 percent of all stations. Radio One comes in above average, with 26.3 of its station managers female. Citadel has 25 percent, with Clear Channel at 21.7 percent. CBS has just 14.5 percent female managers. More from Radio And Records..... LTW Tops NYC Radio Revenue Heap - 4/8 - From Radio And Records: Clear Channel adult contemporary WLTW took the top spot in revenue for 2007 ($62.8M) in the nation's No. 1 radio market according to figures released by BIA Financial Network. The remainder of top five in '07 revenue included CBS Radio news WINS ($57.7M), sister news WCBS-AM ($53.7M), Clear Channel contemporary WHTZ ($52.3M), and CBS Radio sports WFAN ($37.5), which was actually off by $13 million when compared to 2006 ($50.6M). No doubt Don Imus' being fired one year ago this month played a major factor in the Fan's decline..... CBS Talking To CNN About "Outsourcing" News - 4/8 - The NY Times reports that CBS, the home of the most celebrated news division in broadcasting, has been in discussions with Time Warner about a deal to outsource some of its news-gathering operations to CNN. Over the last decade, CNN has held intermittent talks with both ABC News and CBS News about various joint ventures. But during the last several months, talks with CBS have been revived and lately intensified. The plan is to reduce CBS's news-gathering capacity while keeping its frontline personalities, like Katie Couric, the "CBS Evening News" anchor, and paying a fee to CNN to buy the cable network's news feeds. Another possibility would be for CBS to keep its correspondents in certain regions but pair them with CNN crews..... John Gambling Back To WOR - 4/7 - DCRTV hears: John Gambling, late of NYC's WABC radio, is returning to his "ancestral" home of WOR. Official announcement forthcoming..... Former 2er To CNN Int'l - 4/7 - Byron Harmon joins CNN International in the newly created position of senior executive producer. Based in Atlanta, Harmon will coordinate the live news programming and breaking news coverage of CNN International. Harmon previously served as executive producer at Channel 2/WCBS..... ESPN Radio Pulls Plug On Smith - 4/7 - After three years of controversial, high-decibel sports talk, ESPN suits have pulled the plug on Stephen A. Smith's afternoon radio show. Friday, at the top of his ESPN-1050 yackfest, Smith said his last day on the air will be Thursday. Smith's ESPN contract, which expires at the end of the month, also includes TV. Sources said Smith has cut a new deal with ESPN TV. More in the NY Daily News..... Al Lewis Leaves WALK - 4/7 - Al Lewis leaves nights at Long Island's WALK (97.5 FM) to move to Florida with his family, with Assistant Program Director Pattrick Shea taking over the slot at the Clear Channel adult contemporary station..... More HD From Time Warner - 4/4 - Time Warner Cable is adding 50 new high-def channels to homes in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island on 4/30. CNN, Fox News, and Fox Business are among the channels. Time Warner will extend the HD package to digital customers in Manhattan, New Jersey, and the Hudson Valley later this year..... CC's Buyout Botch - 4/4 - More snags for that Clear Channel buyout. In the NY Times..... New ND For 5 - 4/4 - WNYW/Channel 5 is expected to name Dianne Doctor its new news director and she's likely to start as early as Monday. Barring any last-minute snags, Doctor will be reunited with Channel 5 general manager Lew Leone, who held that spot when both worked at WCBS/Channel 2. She is a market veteran who left Channel 2 in 2006, after a top-management change at the station. Before Channel 2, she was a top news executive at WNBC/Channel 4. More in the NY Daily News..... Former NYC Newser Dies In Car Crash - 4/4 - Former NYC and LA TV news anchor Will Spens, who struggled with homelessness since losing his last media job 10 years ago, died in a single-car accident on the Ventura-Santa Barbara County line Tuesday afternoon, we hear..... Peter Bush Leaves WEBE - 4/4 - Peter Bush leaves afternoons at Bridgeport CT adult contemporary WEBE to pursue auto racing. Larry Cardinger will fill-in until a permanent replacement is found..... Rhodes Suspended For Hillary Insult - 4/3 - Randi Rhodes, an afternoon host for the lefty Air America radio network, was suspended Thursday after repeatedly insulting Hillary Rodham Clinton at an event last month. Rhodes used vulgar language that likened Clinton to a prostitute - "big f*cking whore" - at a 3/22 event sponsored by the Air America affiliate in the San Francisco area. More from the NY Times..... Darian O'Toole Dies - 4/2 - Veteran radio personality Darian O'Toole died on 4/1 following a long illness. She'd worked at WMMR, WXPN, and WAXQ. More as we hear it..... 29's Tollefson Recovering After Car Accident - 4/2 - From the Philadelphia Daily News: Best wishes to Fox29 sports anchor Don Tollefson, who is recuperating after a serious car accident last week in which he suffered shoulder and neck injuries. Tolly's doctors have advised bed rest for four-to-six weeks, according to an e-mail that 950 ESPN station manager Bob DeBlois sent to staffers about Tollefson, 55, who is a parttime host on the radio station. "I just wanted to thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers and get well wishes. As I recuperate from the injuries suffered in the car accident, you guys all mean an awful lot to me..." is what bounced back when the PDN e-mailed Tolly well-wishes. No word on any accident details..... Garofalo Leaves 5, Chapman Leaves 4 - 4/2 - WNYW/Channel5 yesterday declined to renew the contract of investigative reporter Mary Garofalo. She had been with the station since 1996. Before that, she worked for "A Current Affair" and WPIX/Channel 11. Meanwhile, reporter Reg Chapman is leaving WNBC/Channel 4. His contract also wasn't renewed, reports the NY Daily News..... WAXQ Re-Signs Dashow - 4/2 - Clear Channel inks WAXQ afternoon personality Ken Dashow to a new multi-year contract to remain with the NYC classic rock outlet. Dashow has been at Q104.3 in the afternoon drive slot since 2000. He also hosts the "Breakfast With The Beatles" show on Sunday mornings. Prior to Q104.3, Dashow worked at now-defunct rocker WNEW for 17 years..... LTW Still On Top - 4/1 - Adult contemporary WLTW (106.7 FM) again tops the NYC radio ratings. More from radioandrecords.com..... Changes At WWRL - 4/1 - WWRL (1600 AM), flagship of the progressive radio network Air America for the last 18 months, dropped the flag to half mast Monday by bumping three Air America programs, including midday hosts Lionel and Thom Hartmann. WWRL replaced Lionel's 9 AM to noon show with two health infomercials and former host Ron Daniels, 11 AM to noon. It replaced Hartmann's noon to 3 PM show with Ed Schultz, the country's highest-rated liberal talker. WWRL also put the Rev. Al Sharpton's daily show into its 8 PM slot, bumping Air America's "Clout" to an overnight spot. More in the NY Daily News..... 2 Lays Off 2 - 4/1 - Veteran correspondents Scott Weinberger and Andrew Kirtzman were laid off Monday as part of a round of cutbacks at WCBS/Channel 2. The station is also scrapping its "Sports Sunday" wrapup show, which had been airing after the 11 p.m. newscast. "Sports Sunday" anchor Ducis Rodgers will continue to be the station's sports director and lead sports anchor. More in the NY Daily News..... Yankee Yanked For WEPN Gig - 4/1 - Newsday reports that the New York Yankees have nixed a radio gig for pitcher Joba Chamberlain, rejecting a possible weekly segment with Michael Kay on ESPN Sports WEPN (1050 AM)..... Vickie Burns Lands 4 ND Gig - 3/31 - Vickie Burns is leaving her news director job at top-rated WRC-TV in DC to become news director of NBC's NYC sister station, Channel 4/WNBC, which has been struggling with anemic news ratings for the past few years. She replaces Dan Foreman. Burns has been with WRC since 2003. She came from NBC's Chicago station, WMAQ-TV, where she rose from producer to news director. The NY Daily News has more..... 4 Leaving 30 Rock? - 3/31 - FTVLive tells us that a number of Channel 4/WNBC insiders say there is a big rumor going around the newsroom that NBC is looking to move WNBC out of 30 Rockefeller Center. Insiders say that NBC plans to move all or part of local news out of 30 Rock to a building in Chelsea..... Cuts At CBS3 - 3/31 - Friday's mood at Channel 3/KYW was grim as nearly a dozen people out of the staff of 330 were let go, including the assistant to general manager, Michael Colleran, and one of the station's top producers, Jim Barry, who worked on investigative projects. Some veterans, including meteorologist Tom Lamaine, are being offered early retirement, so reports the Philadelphia Inquirer..... CC Buyout Hits More Turbulence - 3/28 - Clear Channel said the private equity firms trying to buy it may not be able to close the deal on time because their banks will not provide financing, according to a Friday regulatory filing. The warning comes a day after a Texas judge issued a restraining order effectively preventing the banks from backing out of their commitment to finance the $19.5 billion deal, which was slated to close Monday. AP has more..... Cuts At Philly Foxer - 3/28 - From lauranachman.net Cuts At CBS? - 3/27 - CBS insiders tell News Blues that the TV network has ordered an across-the-board belt tightening at its 29 owned-and-operated stations after the corporation reported a 14.6 percent drop in fourth quarter profits on slipping revenue. CBS owns NYC's Channel 2/WCBS and Philadelphia's Channel 3/KYW. More soon..... CC Buyout On Brink - 3/27 - What happens if the deal doesn't get done? That's the question looming over Clear Channel and its shareholders now that the long-awaited $19.5 billion deal to take the company private has become engulfed in litigation. On Wednesday, private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners, Clear Channel's would-be acquirers, sued the deal's lenders in state courts in New York and Texas to force the banks to complete the deal. The two firms claimed that the banks wanted to replace a long-term financing package of at least six years with short-term, three-year bridge financing. Forbes has more..... WBEB Tops Philly Radio Heap - 3/27 - From Radio And Records: The February '08 age 6+ Arbitron PPM cume in Philadelphia shows that Jerry Lee's top-rated AC WBEB (B101) grew from 1,839,500 in January to 1,851,700 in February to remain comfortably ahead of No. 2 CBS Radio news KYW, which also added to its cume (1,255,000-1,273,000). Here is how other stations in the market fared (6+ PPM Cume, January 2008-February 2008): WOGL - CBS Radio - classic hits (1,200,800-1,248,300) WMGK - Greater Media - classic rock (963,100-1,043,700) WIOQ - Clear Channel - CHR/top 40 (982,600-988,800) WBEN - Greater Media - adult hits (931,000-938,300) WISX - Clear Channel - rhythmic AC (898,900-937,100) WRDW - Beasley - rhythmic (904,400-919,700) WMMR - Greater Media - active rock (840,700-881,200) WRFF - Clear Channel - alternative (768,600-830,900) WXTU - Beasley - country (753,700-774,100) WUSL - Clear Channel - urban (722,600-750,300) WDAS - Clear Channel - urban AC (702,300-721,800) WYSP - CBS Radio - rock (614,000-636,800) WPHI - Radio One - urban (576,400-611,400) WRNB - Radio One - urban AC (459,500-514,100) WIP - CBS Radio - sports (500,200-479,000) WJJZ - Greater Media - smooth jazz (453,600-438,500) WPHT - CBS Radio - talk (399,700-433,100)..... Tierney Lands XRK PD Post - 3/26 - CBS Radio rocker WXRK, 92.3 K-Rock, has promoted assistant program director/music director Mike Tierney to program director. Tierney joined the NYC station in 2007 from the PD post at sister station active rock KUFO in Portland, Oregon. He takes on the day-to-day programming responsibilities of the station in addition to his role as music director, a position he has held for the past six months. His promotion fills the void left by Tracey Cloherty, who exited the station in February. More from FMQB..... Sex Scandal Envelopes BLS - 3/26 - The NY Post reports that the younger husband of radio shock jock Wendy Williams repeatedly tried to force her female booker to sleep with him - and beat up his tough-talking wife at her own station, an explosive complaint charges. Nicole Spence, who works as the red-hot radio queen's talent booker at WBLS (107.5 FM), filed the papers with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week. Spence, 27, claims in the complaint that her boss' husband, Kevin Hunter, 33, demanded sex from her more than a dozen times and created a hostile work environment by repeatedly beating up Williams, 43, in and near the studio, according to the Post..... Sirius To Run Pope Channel - 3/26 - NYC's Sirius Satellite Radio will launch the Papal Archives Channel in in conjunction with the Pope's visit to America next month. Channel 119, to operate 4/14 to 4/20, will be dedicated to airing rare Papal recordings..... Marash Quits Al-Jazeera - 3/26 - Dave Marash, who once anchored on Channel 4/WNBC and Channel 2/WCBS, has quit his anchor gig at Al-Jazeera's English language news network. So reports the Guardian..... Martorano Gone From WIP - 3/26 - From lauranachman.net: Sports talk WIP (610 AM) midday co-host Steve Martorano will be parting ways with the station for the second time in four years, as his contract will not be renewed. Martorano co-hosted mid-days with Anthony Gargano until he was replaced by Mike Missanelli. When Missanelli was removed from the station a few months later after an altercation with a producer, Martorano was brought back two years ago. Coincidentally, Missanelli signed with Philadelphia's other sports talk station, WPEN, ESPN 950, this week..... CC Buyout Going Bust - 3/26 - It looks like that big buyout deal of radio giant Clear Channel is near collapse because of a disagreement over financing. Shares of Clear Channel plunged about 20 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday. More from marketwatch.com..... Union Wants Alycia Back At 3 - 3/26 -The Philadelphia chapter of the American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists union is trying to get Alycia Lane her Channel 3/KYW anchoring job back. AFTRA filed a grievance over her January firing for that December police incident in NYC, charging that she had not been terminated properly by the station, says AFTRA counsel Jonathan Walters. More in the Philadelphia Daily News..... Seattle's KEXP Moves Into NYC Via WNYE - 3/25 - From Lost Remote: Radio is having a tough time these days. More people are plugging their iPods into their cars (or playing mix CDs), and the radio audience is shrinking. But public radio station KEXP in Seattle is a great study on how to jump the curve. Beginning (Monday), it's simulcasting in New York, and KEXP's morning show host will split his time between the two cities. So how did a local station in Seattle suddenly move into the nation’s largest market? First, KEXP is a "discovery engine" for new music. They scour MySpace, music blogs, just about everywhere for new original bands. (Like Vampire Weekend, which KEXP played first, and now the band is blowing up.) Their playlists rarely repeat. In short, you listen to KEXP to find new music to buy, right from kexp.org (or elsewhere, if you prefer). Second, kexp.org has simulcast the radio station for years, building up a massive national audience online (bigger than its local audience). It gave away free music podcasts before anyone was doing it. This is how KEXP got noticed in NYC and why WNYE-FM did the deal. Third, KEXP is listener supported. No ads (well, there are sponsor messages that run :05). But during their sponsor drives, people donate money from all over the country..... DOJ Approves Satrad Merger - 3/24 - On Monday, the Department Of Justice approved the merger between satellite radio companies DC-based XM and NYC-based Sirius, more than a year after the two companies first announced their deal. In its decision, the DOJ had to determine whether an XM-Sirius merger was anti-competitive, or if other media companies such as Clear Channel, CBS, or even Apple, with its iTunes software. The Federal Communications Commission must also approve the deal before it can officially be completed. The FCC has yet to make a decision on the deal. The merger would combine the nation's only two satellite radio companies and create a company with about 14 million subscribers. It would bring together Sirius' most well-known content, including Howard Stern and National Football League, with XM's Major League Baseball and Oprah Winfrey. AP has more. The DOJ's ruling is at DCRTV's PR Page. DCRTV's take is in our 3/24 Rant..... 3 Hires Reporter For Website - 3/24 - Nicole Brewer has been hired as Channel 3/KYW's first reporter working primarily for its website, cbs3.com. The Overbrook-raised Brewer was Miss Pennsylvania 2005, and placed in the top ten of Miss America 2006. She'll contribute to cbs3.com and the Wake Up News on the CW Philly, reports the Philadelphia Daily News..... Tamsen Fadal Jumps From 2 To 11 - 3/24 - The NY Daily News tells us that Tamsen Fadal, who has been at Channel 2/WCBS since 2004, has moved to Channel 11/WPIX. Fadal starts today as a correspondent for the station's "CW 11 Morning News," working some days on news, other days on features. Fadal started at Channel 2 as a freelancer in 2004 and became a full-time correspondent soon after. Before Channel 2, she spent three years at CBS' station in Philadelphia, and before that, she worked in Orlando..... Suitors Line-Up To Buy Newsday - 3/22 - We now learn that several groups, besides Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which owns the New York Post, are interested in acquiring the financially squeezed Tribune Company's Long Island newspaper, Newsday. Including Cablevision's James Dolan and New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman. More from the New York Times..... WPEN Unveils Line-up - 3/21 - Following the announcement earlier this week of Greater Media sports talker WPEN's affiliation with ESPN comes word that Mike Missanelli will be taking over afternoon drive as of 4/1. The rest of the lineup will include former morning host Jody McDonald, who moves to 9 AM, ESPN's Mike Tirico at 1 PM, and Missanelli at 3 PM..... Murdoch Lusts After Newsday - 3/20 - Rupert Murdoch may not be done expanding his newspaper empire. The News Corporation chairman, who's still digesting Dow Jones' Wall Street Journal, and already owns the New York Post plus Channels 5 and 9, is now believed to have set his sights on Tribune-owned Newsday. According to one newspaper industry insider, the company has made a bid for Tribune Company's Long Island paper. Newsday also owns amNew York, a daily tabloid handed out free in New York City. More from Crain's NY Business..... Lowe To HTG/BBO - 3/20 - Scott Lowe joins WHTG/WBBO, alt rock G-Rock Radio, Monmouth-Ocean, for nights..... Russ To RXP - 3/20 - Greg Russ joins Emmis rocker WRXP (101.9 FM) to an unspecified air slot. He comes alternative rocker WNNX in Atlanta..... WNBC Anchor's Husband Arrested - 3/20 - From Fox News: A police sergeant who is married to a New York City anchorwoman was charged Wednesday with the forcible rape of a 17-year-old girl. New Rochelle Sgt. David Rodriguez, 36, allegedly returned to the girl's home and raped her Feb. 9, just hours after he and three officers had arrested her 35-year-old live-in boyfriend on a domestic violence charge. The nine-year police veteran pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in City Court, agreed to an order of protection for the girl, then posted $25,000 bail. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. His wife, Darlene Rodriguez, anchorwoman of WNBC-TV's "Today In New York," was in tears outside the courtroom before the arraignment. But she left the courthouse dry-eyed with her husband and said, "I'm here to support my husband. I believe in him. I love him. He's innocent 100 percent"..... Anderson Cooper Has Skin Cancer Removed - 3/20 - CNN anchor and "America's Boyfriend" Anderson Cooper reveals that he's been absent for a couple days because he was undergoing "minor surgery" to remove "a small spot of skin cancer" from under his left eye. He'll be back on the air tonight, and he is informing the public of the surgery only so that we don't suspect the stitches are the result of "a fist fight with Charlie Rose." Public television's Rose appeared on his show with a black eye after a fall on an NYC street..... WPEN Adds ESPN - 3/19 - Radio Online reports that Greater Media will flip Philadelphia sports talk WPEN (950 AM) to "950 ESPN" on 4/1 with Mike and Mike anchoring mornings. Other new lineup details will be forthcoming. WPEN also adds the NBA Playoffs, MLB Playoffs, and World Series to its lineup, which includes, Sunday and Monday Night Football and the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and Villanova Basketball..... NBC To Sell Hartford's WVIT - 3/19 - NBC is selling Channel 30/WVIT in Hartford, the 28th largest market in the USA. Plus its Miami station, WTVJ. According to TVNewser, NBC Universal plans to concentrate on the nation's top 10 markets. It currently owns stations in seven of the top 10: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Jose/San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington DC. NBC also owns KNSD in San Diego (market 27), which it plans to keep. In 2006, NBC sold off stations in even smaller markets including Columbus OH, Birmingham AL, and Raleigh NC..... ABC Radio Hires Former WABCer - 3/19 - George Weber, who was a victim of the budget cuts at Citadel talker WABC (770 AM) in late February, has been hired as a news anchor by ABC Radio..... Bacich Becomes Marketing Director For LTW - 3/19 - Susan Bacich becomes marketing director for Clear Channel's adult contemporary WLTW (106.7 FM). She already serves as marketing director for clustermates rhythmic contemporary WKTU (103.5 FM) and classic rock WAXQ (104.3 FM)..... Charlie Rose Takes A Fall - 3/19 - From Engadget: If you caught the Charlie Rose (right) show last night, this was the gruff ruffian you found presenting. The last thing you'd expect from the usually staid, easy going interviewer. Turns out Rose had a choice to make when he tripped on a 59th street pothole in New York City: protect his newly purchased MacBook Air, or his face - he chose the former. According to his producers, "The Macbook Air is fine, he showed us the blood stains on it this morning." Wow, in an instant he took a measurable shot to his dignity and redefined the term, "air head"..... Former CBS Radio Suit Starts NYC Biz - 3/18 - The NY Daily News reports that Joel Hollander, former general manager of WFAN, then chief of Westwood One and CBS Radio, has opened his own business: 264 Echo Place Partners, which he says will do advising, strategizing, investments and other related work. While his CBS contract was expiring, Hollander says, he considered other media positions and had an offer to lead a school of communication. But he decided he'd like to try a venture of his own, he tells the NYDN..... Slump At NY Times - 3/18 - The New York Times Company reports a 2.6 percent decline in revenues for February, when compared with the same month last year. The Times' only radio property is classical WQXR in NYC..... NY Times To Accept Dissident Investors As Directors - 3/18 - The New York Times Company capitulated to a shareholder insurrection and will support two dissident director nominees for election to its board next month, a first for outsiders at the family-run company. Scott Galloway, the founder of Firebrand Partners backed by money from the hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, has been buying shares of Times Company stock since late last year. He threatened a proxy fight to seat four directors on the company's board at its annual shareholders meeting on 4/22. More in the Washington Post..... Sirius Re-Launches Rolling Stones Radio - 3/17 - NYC-based Sirius Satellite Radio re-launches Rolling Stones Radio in conjunction with the April release of "Shine A Light," the Martin Scorsese film chronicling concerts from the band's 2006 "A Bigger Bang" tour. RSR originally ran on Sirius in the summer of 2005 with the release of "A Bigger Bang," the Stones' 22nd studio album. RSR can be found on Sirius-12 from 3/18 through 4/15..... Stamford's WCTZ Seeks Nassau Move - 3/17 - All Access tells us that Cox's adult contemporary WCTZ (96.7 FM) in Port Chester NY has applied for a move into the Nassau-Suffolk market by moving its tower to Roslyn, on Long Island. The station, which is presently in the Stamford-Norwalk market, applied for two minor changes, first applying for modification of its site to move to a tower in Roslyn, giving it a stronger signal in Nassau County, and also applying for modification of the tower site and antenna pattern of co-channel WTSX in Port Jervis NY to eliminate any countour overlap..... "True Oldies" From Shannon's Basement - 3/17 - The NY Daily News profiles contemporary hit music radio legend Scott Shannon (right), who has spent 17 years doing the morning show at WPLJ, and how he's now the mastermind behind the "True Oldies" format that Citadel is putting on its stations across the country. According to the Daily News, "True Oldies is run, literally, from Shannon's basement. He's also the deejay. But it isn't a vanity project. It's a professional 24/7 radio format. It has been picked up by stations, mostly in smaller markets, as a way to bring oldies to listeners who didn't have them"..... Sirius, Er, Spitzer Satellite Radio - 3/14 - Sirius Satellite Radio will launch "Client 9 Radio," a channel that will be devoted to the scandal involving New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. The channel run from 5 PM on 3/14 to midnight on 3/17 on Sirius-126. Featuring Court TV Radio's Vinnie Politan, C9R will explore breaking news and commentary surrounding the soon-to-be-ex-gov's exploits with a high-priced call girl at DC's Mayflower hotel. The press release is at biz.yahoo.com..... Alicia Lane Signals Potential Lawsuit Against NYC Cops - 3/14 - Former Channel 3/ KYW news anchor Alycia Lane has filed a notice of claim in the New York City Comptroller's Office alerting the city to a potential future lawsuit seeking $5 million-plus from the city of New York, the New York Police Department, and nine individual police officers. According to New York legal procedure, a party has 90 days from the date of an incident in which to file notice of claim. Lane would have one year and 10 days left to file a lawsuit. The claim, filed 3/6 by Lane and attorney David Smith, who represented her in her criminal hearing last month, names the city, the NYPD, Patrol Officer Bernadette Enchautegui - the officer Lane was charged with assaulting in December - as well as Patrol Officer Richard Lawrence. Other defendants are the integrity- control officer of New York's 10th Precinct and "John Does 1 to 6, representing several unidentified sergeants, lieutenants, and police officers of the NYPD 10th Precinct in their individual and official capacities." The Philadelphia Daily News has more..... Spitzer's Woes Good News For NYC TVers - 3/14 - What's bad news for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has been good ratings news for NYC's TV news operations. More in the NY Daily News..... Media Covers Spitzer's "Funeral Procession" - 3/13 - Richard Huff in the NY Daily News: "Fittingly enough, television made Eliot Spitzer's ride to the end of his political career Wednesday look like a funeral procession. It also had a touch of Hollywood, with an unavoidable hint of the legendary OJ Simpson slow-speed chase, as television helicopters tracked three black SUVs from Spitzer's apartment at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue to his office at 40th and Third, where it took him three minutes to apologize, quit and bolt. Every local commercial station, plus national news channels MSNBC, Fox News and CNN, tracked Spitzer's ride. Before he emerged, New York 1 had left a camera trained on his front door for an hour"..... CBS: HD Radio Not Dead Yet - 3/11 - CBS Radio is planning big changes to and some major launches via its digital HD Radio lineup in NYC. More from FMQB..... 5's Reischea Canidate To ESPN - 3/11 - DCRTV hears Reischea Canidate, who was previously a sports anchor and reporter for Channel 5/WNYW, has joined ESPN as anchor. She made her debut on ESPNews last week. Canidate will contribute her anchoring duties to both ESPNews and ESPN's "SportsCenter"..... NYC TVers Jump To Cover Spitzer Scandal - 3/11 - From the NY Daily News: NYC stations were on fire Monday with the buildup to New York Governor ElliotSpitzer's shocking press conference. But a technical problem deprived them from showing live images of the actual moment. So at the moment that mattered most, TV resembled radio, with each medium carrying Spitzer's terse statement by audio. Video of the speech aired several minutes later, looking eerily similar to the day in 2004 when New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, wife at his side, announced he was a "gay American"..... Scheld Upped At 880 - 3/10 - CBS Radio all-newser WCBS (880 AM) has promoted News Director Tim Scheld to director of news and programming, replacing Cris Quimby. Scheld was a reporter for the station from 1988 to 1992..... Bey Gone From 1600 - 3/10 - Richard Bey leaves lefty talker WWRL (1600 AM). He cites personal and family reasons. His co-host, Coz Carlson, continues..... New GSM At WBAB - 3/10 - Paul Anthony is named general sales manager of Long Island rocker WBAB (102.3 FM). He comes from Clear Channel's adult contemporary WALK, where he held the same gig..... CBS & AOL Do Streaming Deal - 3/7 - CBS Radio has inked a deal to provide programming to Dulles-based AOL Radio in a merger of the companies' internet streaming radio services. The agreement also involves CBS handling ad sales for the combined entity. AOL currently streams several CBS stations, with the deal resulting in additional stations to be launched by the partnership. CBS Radio will offer more than 150 of its stations' programming to AOL's audience and AOL Radio will integrate its more than 200 stations into CBS's operations. AOL's deal with CBS will replace an arrangement the online portal currently has with DC-based XM Satellite Radio. Locally, CBS owns a dozen radio stations, including WXRK, WCBS, WFAN, KYW, WIP, and WOGL. More from AP..... More Work For Sommers At JBR - 3/7 - Mike Sommers is taking the program director gig Wilmington adult contemporary outlet WJBR. And, he'll be doing the afternoon drive on-air shift. Replacing the already exited Steve West..... New Duties For QXR's Spurgeon - 3/7 - Jeff Spurgeon, chief announcer and morning host at the New York Times-owned classical WQXR (96.3 FM), has been named director of content for the station. He will oversee policy, development, and execution of all on-air and on-line content, as well as programming-related print content for QXR..... 4's Trish Yodice Heads Back To School - 3/7 - Popular WNBC/Channel 4 traffic correspondent Trish Yodice has traded road maps for textbooks. Yodice left the station this week - along with the 3 AM. wakeups - to focus on her other job, counseling students at Clifton High School in New Jersey. More in the NY Daily News..... NYCers Say No To Lane - 3/7 - If the reader reaction to the idea of WNBC/Channel 4 hiring former Philadelphia anchor Alycia Lane is any indication, it appears Lane might need a little time out of town before some warm to the concept. Richard Huff has more in the NY Daily News..... NYC Radio R&B Vet "Ronnie I" Dies - 3/5 - Sometimes the most modest radio shows have the most interesting stories behind them, and that was surely true with Ronnie Italiano, better known as Ronnie I, who died Monday night after a long battle with liver cancer. Ronnie was a champion of rhythm and blues vocal group harmony music in the style of the 1950s, and he played it on WNWK, WHBI, and WNYE for 23 years. As recently as last year, he sat in for Christine Vitale on WFDU, where she is one of a handful of hosts on various stations who still play that music on "specialty" shows. More from David Hinckley in the NY Daily News..... Mitch Williams To Do Phillies Pre-Game For 1210 - 3/5 - Mitch Williams, a former Phillies relief pitcher, will host a pre-game show before Phillies broadcasts Mondays through Thursdays on the team's flagship, CBS talker WPHT (1210 AM). Williams is a regular on WPHT's sister sports talker, WIP (610 AM)..... WSJ Survives Murdoch - 3/5 - The Washington Post looks at the Wall Street Journal since media baron Rupert Murdoch's takeover. Lots of changes but no major overhaul..... Imus Lands DC Station - 3/4 - Radio bad boy Don Imus will resurface on the Washington DC radio dial on Thursday, via Citadel's new oldies outlet on 105.9. Imus, who got canned from CBS Radio last spring for his "ho" remark about the Rutgers female basketball team, restarted his morning radio show via Citadel talker WABC in NYC in December. Citadel is planning to put him on WJZW, an FMer which flipped from smooth jazz to oldies last Friday. The official announcement is on DCRTV's Press Releases page..... FCC Head: "High Hurdle" For Satrad Merger - 3/4 - The proposed satellite radio merger between NYC's Sirius and DC's XM faces a "high hurdle," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday morning. According to Radio And Records, Martin was clearly very reluctant to discuss the state of the 54-week-old proposed mega-merger, but shed bits and pieces of insight on his feelings about the controversial proposal. Asked if the FCC was likely to reach a decision on the proposal sometime in the first quarter of 2008, Martin said he could not make any predictions but noted that it is "still early in March"..... NYC Mayor To Stop Visiting WABC Radio? - 3/4 - The future of NYC Mayor Bloomberg's Friday radio visits on WABC-AM could be decided Tuesday. Bloomberg had been appearing with John Gambling, who was dismissed last Friday as part of a national round of personnel cuts by WABC's parent, Citadel Broadcasting. Curtis Sliwa started in Gambling's 10-11:45 AM shift yesterday. More in the NY Daily News..... More On Citadel's Big Apple Cuts - 3/4 - We're hearing more about Citadel's recent cuts at its NYC radio cluster. Rockey Allen, afternoon man at contemporary hit WPLJ is gone, along with co-host Blain Ensley and producer Guy Patton. As is Diana Ferrito, a producer/booker on the "Scott And Todd" morning show. Allen has been replaced by middayer Race Taylor. At sister talker WABC, host John Gambling and newsperson George Webber have exited. Curtis Sliwa will take over middays, with a possible syndication deal to follow..... LTW Tops NYC Radio Heap - 3/3 - Clear Channel adult contemporary WLTW (106.7 FM) again tops the NYC radio ratings, as the latest monthly round of trend ratings is released. The NYC numbers are available from Radio And Records. Clear Channel adult contemporary WALK (97.5 FM) tops the numbers for Long Island. Those numbers are also available from R&R..... Radio One Divides Jones' Duties - 3/3 - As a result of Zemira Jones' resignation from Radio One as vice president of operations last month, the Lanham-based urban radio company has reassigned some of his duties to two of its regional VPs. Atlanta-based regional VP Bruce Demps has been assigned Philadelphia, DC, Baltimore, and Detroit. He will continue to handle the Atlanta market. Also, Houston-based regional VP Doug Abernathy, who previously handled Dallas, Houston, and St. Louis, will now oversee Los Angeles..... Stuttering John Feuds With Stern - 3/3 - John Melendez should have just shut his stuttering trap. The former Howard Stern sidekick known to fans as "Stuttering John" - who left the Stern show five years ago and now works as an announcer on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" - has made the shock jock angry. Melendez made an appearance on Adam Carolla's syndicated weekday radio show last Wednesday and ripped Stern, saying he never paid him fairly and didn't fight to keep Melendez when he quit the shock jock's radio show. Stern bit back with a half-hour rant on his Sirius Satellite show the other day, calling his former underling a "no-talent ingrate." More in the NY Post..... 2 KTUers Join Pulse 87 - 3/3 - NYC's new dance outlet Pulse 87 hires Jewelz Lopez for middays. She had worked at rhythmic contemporary WKTU. Jimmy "Showboat" Fields will do evenings. He also comes from WKTU. And, Laura Stylez joins for weekends from Univision's Spanish WCAA..... Changes At WJBR - 3/3 - Steve West leaves his afternoon drive gig at Beasley's adult contempoary WJBR (99.5 FM) in Wilmington. He's been in the radio biz for two decades. No word on his replacement. Also, Mike Sommers joins WJBR as program director. He comes from Greater Media's hot adult contemporary WBEN in Philadelphia. He'd previously programmed Wilmington contemporary hit outlet WSTW..... Big Bucks For WWFM - 3/3 - Mercer County Community College's classical radio network, WWFM, has received its largest donation ever - $100,000 from the Sunup Foundation of Princeton. More at nj.com..... Julie Chang Leaves 11 - 3/3 - Julie Chang, a correspondent for Channel 11/WPIXs "CW11 Morning News" has left the station. Chang, who covered news and did fun participatory pieces, exited after Friday's telecast. She said she's "taking some personal time off to travel" and "looks forward to waking up after sunrise," reports the NY Daily News..... Gambling & Webber Gone From 770, Sliwa Back - 2/29 - John Gambling and newsperson George Webber have exited Citadel talker WABC (770 AM), and Curtis Sliwa will take over middays on Monday, with a possible syndication deal to follow. Tom Taylor's Radio-Info.com tells us about "severe belt-tightening" coming to Citadel that could be responsible to some format changes at its stations. Citadel fourth quarter net revenues more than doubled with the addition of the ABC Radio operations, but its net loss widened to a stunning $848 million due to lower radio ad sales in NYC and seven other major markets..... BLI Suspends Host For Mastic Jest - 2/28 - A morning co-host on Nassau-Suffolk's WBLI has been suspended for making a disparaging on-air remark about the community of Mastic on Long Island. The personality, who goes by the name of "Randy," went on a riff of trailer trash jokes after a woman from the area won a free prize from the station on Wednesday. "Did your pipes freeze under the trailer?" Randy asked the caller who won. The caller said she lived in a house and was "very angry" with him. According to Newsday, WBLI Program Director Jeremy Rice said that Randy was suspended for his remarks after he refused to apologize. "He had a chance yesterday to apologize but he refused, so in the 9 o clock hour he was pulled off the air by management," Rice said. "We are not happy about what he said about the town of Mastic. It's a great town. I'm hoping he apologizes because its the right thing to do"..... 3 Suffers From Loss Of Alycia - 2/28 - According to the February ratings, the 11PM ratings for Philadelphia's Channel 3/KYW dropped two ratings points without Alycia Lane from the last sweeps period in November, however the network lead-in for CBS3 was lower in February than November. Lane was released from her contract in January after a series of incidents that culminated with Lane being arrested in New York City for allegedly assaulting an officer. Those charges were dropped by a court in NYC on Monday. More from lauranachman.net. Also, DCRTV hears that NYC's February TV ratings were again dominated by Channel 7/WABC..... Loss Of Stern Haunts CBS Radio - 2/28 - Shock jock Howard Stern may be long gone from CBS, but his absence continues to haunt the financial performance of the company's struggling radio division as it attempts to reinvent itself two years later. The NY Post has more..... Gabrielle Vaughn Leaves WBLI - 2/28 - FMQB reports that Gabrielle Vaughn is resigning her music director/midday post at contemporary WBLI (106.1 FM) in Nassau-Suffolk effective 3/27. Vaughn, who will be joining her brother's business, will stay on with the station in a fill-in capacity..... 4's News Director Out - 2/28 - Dan Forman, Channel 4/WNBC's news director, will leave the NBC-owned station at the end of March. Forman's departure comes after a tumultuous period for the station's news division, one that has resulted in changes in newscasts and personnel in an effort to boost low ratings, according to the NY Daily News..... WBEB Tops Philly Radio Ratings Heap - 2/27 - From Radio And Records: The January '08 6+ Portable People Meter radio ratings cume for Jerry Lee's adult contemporary WBEB (B101)/Philadelphia - released on Wednesday - settled back from its December 2007 and Holiday 2007 2 million-plus tallies to 1,836,500, but that was still plenty good enough to continue to lead the market. Here's how other stations in the Philadelphia market fared (6+ cume Holiday 2007-Janaury 2008): KYW - CBS Radio - news (1,159,300-1,255,000) WOGL - CBS Radio - classic hits (1,114,600-1,200,800) WIOQ - Clear Channel - CHR/top 40 (1,058,800-982,600) WMGK - Greater Media - classic rock (952,400-963,100) WBEN - Greater Media - adult hits (877,900-931,000) WRDW - Beasley - rhythmic (976,900-904,400) WISX - Clear Channel - rhythmic AC (849,200-898,900) WMMR - Greater Media - active rock (824,600-840,700) WRFF - Clear Channel - alternative (787,400-768,600) WXTU - Beasley - country (740,000-753,700) WUSL - Clear Channel - urban (632,900-722,600) WDAS - Clear Channel - urban AC (777,100-702,300) WYSP - CBS Radio - rock (880,600-614,000) WPHI - Radio One - urban (633,700-576,400) WIP - CBS Radio - sports (545,000-500,200) WRNB - Radio One - urban AC (459,700-459,500) WJJZ - Greater Media - smooth jazz (392,000-453,600) William F. Buckley Dies - 2/27 - William F. Buckley Jr., the erudite Ivy Leaguer and conservative herald who showered huge and scornful words on liberalism as he observed, abetted, and cheered on the right's post-World War II rise from the fringes to the White House, died Wednesday. He was 82. His assistant Linda Bridges said Buckley was found dead by his cook at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. The cause of death was unknown, but he had been ill with emphysema, she said. More from AP..... Karmazin: Sirius Could Survive Without XM - 2/27 - Though NYC-based satellite radio firm Sirius remains hopeful that the merger with DC-based rival XM will be approved by the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission, chief executive Mel Karmazin said yesterday that the company could survive without it. "In the unlikely scenario of a merger not being approved, we believe we are fully-funded. We believe we are going to become a profitable company on a stand-alone basis," Karmazin said during a conference call with analysts. More in the DC Post..... Perry Leaves WWFS - 2/26 - Mike Perry leaves the afternoon drive shift at CBS's hot adult contemporary WWFS, Fresh 102.7, in NYC. He's heading back to Florida. WWFS Program Director Brian Thomas is searching for Perry's replacement..... Smaller Loss For Sirius - 2/26 - NYC's Sirius Satellite Radio, whose proposed purchase of rival DC-based XM Satellite Radio is still awaiting regulatory approval, reported a smaller quarterly loss on Tuesday as subscribers to its pay-radio service increased. Reuters has more..... CBS Radio Slumps - 2/26 - CBS Radio, which owns a bunch of stations in NYC and Philadelphia, reports that earnings fell 21 percent on a 10 percent decline in revenues on lower advertising revenues, as well as the sales of radio stations in 10 cities. More from AP..... Alycia Lane Walks Free - 2/26 - Alycia Lane (right), the former Channel 3/KYW Philadelphia television news anchor who was arrested in December for punching a police officer in Manhattan, walked out of Criminal Court in Manhattan a free woman on Monday. Prosecutors promised to drop the charges, Judge Dena Douglas told her, if she stayed out of trouble for six months and performed one day of community service. The NY Times and the Philadelphia Daily News have more..... WFMU Is Progressive Rock "Godfather" - 2/25 - From the NY Daily News: "WFMU (91.1 FM) isn't the only freeform station on the left end of the radio dial. Depending on where you live, you can pick up any number of small stations, most of them college-related, that will play the hard rock, bluegrass, Beatles themes, classic pop, experimental electronica, and other music that commercial radio feels has too small an audience. But WFMU is a kind of godfather to the small band of stations determined to offer something for everyone on free airwaves. After 50 years, WFMU still has a place for a jock to rave about an indy band from Brooklyn, or another host to play music recorded on cylinders a hundred years ago"..... Ed Kasuba Leaves KYW Radio - 2/25 - After taking early retirement from all-news KYW (1060 AM), South Jersey bureau chief Ed Kasuba will go to work for an agency he covered. He'll be director of corporate communications for the Delaware River Port Authority, a post that has been vacant about four years, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer..... Not Dead: 3 Veteran Vince Leonard - 2/25 - Rumor filtered east last week that longtime Channel 3/KYW anchor Vince Leonard had died at his home in Las Vegas. CBS3's Larry Mendte called Leonard's home and left a message. Leonard himself, 82, called him back. He's fine. He had been on vacation, so reports the Philadelphia Inquirer..... Fleeing Suspect Falls Asleep In Vineland Radio Lobby - 2/23 - A Bridgeton NJ man who fled the scene of an accident near the corner of Oak Road and Maurice River Parkway was later found by officers sleeping inside a local radio station office, according to police. Officers were dispatched to Clear Communications - which owns Vineland radio stations WMIZ 1270 AM and WVLT 92.1 FM - on Maurice River Parkway at 4:10 AM to find 25-year-old Alexander Ballesteros in a chair in the building's foyer. More from the Bridgeton News..... O'Reilly Apologizes For Radio Lynching Remark - 2/22 - Bill O'Reilly (left) has drawn criticism for his usage of the term "lynching party" when defending Michelle Obama on the "Radio Factor" on Tuesday. The next night, on his Fox News Channel show, he explained and apologized for those comments: "While talking to a radio caller, I said there should be no lynching in the case. That comment off Clarence Thomas saying he was a victim of a high tech lynching. He said that on '60 Minutes' you may remember. I'm sorry if that statement offended anyone. That was not my intention. Context is everything." O'Reilly is heard locally on WOR. The apology video is at TVNewser..... NYC TV Sweeps Stunts - 2/22 - It's February. And TV stations like to hype news to juice their ratings during the February sweeps. And reporters like Richard Huff do stories about the hype. In the NY Daily News..... Eagles Return To WYSP & WIP - 2/21 - The Philadelphia Eagles broadcast partnership with rocker WYSP will continue with a new deal being inked that will also include a simulcast on CBS Radio sister sports talker WIP. The two stations will carry the same in-game coverage that has aired on WYSP since it began as the Eagles flagship station sixteen years ago. Each station will have its own unique pre- and post-game coverage. Merrill Reese and Mike Quick will continue as play-by-play hosts. FMQB has more..... Confirmed: PGC's Dillard To NYC - 2/21 - DCRTV broke the news yesterday. And now we get confirmation that Skip Dillard is leaving his operations manager position at CBS's urban WPGC-FM in DC for a like gig at Inner City's adult urban contemporary WBLS and sister gospel WLIB in NYC. Before coming to PGC, Dillard worked for Radio One in Detroit. Dillard replaces Vinny Brown, who left WBLS in January..... 3 Rockers Battle Over Big Apple - 2/21 - In the NY Daily News, David Hinckley tooks at NYC's three-way rock radio battle between WAXQ, WXRK, and newcomer WRXP..... NBC10 Reporter Returns From Suspension - 2/21 - NBC10 reporter Monique Braxton just returned from a weeklong off-air suspension. Braxton, sources say, had been suspended for making calls and inquiries about the criminal case of Steve DiDonato, of Lower Salford Township, who happens to be the husband of NBC10 Managing Editor Lisa Spinosa. More from the Philadelphia Daily News..... Elizabeth Hur Joins 3 - 2/21 - Also from the Philadelphia Daily News: Ambler native Elizabeth Hur started yesterday at CBS3 as a general-assignment reporter. The Upper Dublin High and New York University grad previously worked in New York, Salt Lake City, and Albany. Hur is fluent in Korean and once interned at Channel 3..... RNN Owner To Buy WTVE - 2/20 - DCRTV hears that a new owner is taking control of Philadelphia-market independent TV station WTVE, Channel 51. Richard French, who owns the New York-market Regional News Network, based at WRNN-DT, Channel 48 in Kingston NY, is leading a group that's paying $11.5 million to buy WTVE out of bankruptcy, we're told..... DC's Skip Dillard To BLS - 2/20 - DCRTV hears that Skip Dillard, program director at CBS's urban WPGC-FM in DC, is heading to NYC for a top management gig at Inner City's adult urban contemporary WBLS. More soon..... Antitrust Fear Of Satrad Merger - 2/20 - The American Antitrust Institute asks the Department Of Justice to kill the satellite radio marriage of NYC's Sirius and DC's XM. "In order to prevent a monopoly in the satellite radio market and the resulting harm to competition." More from FMQB..... Radio Ad Revenue Plunges - 2/20 - The Radio Advertising Bureau reports that local radio revenue for all markets was off by 5 percent in January, when compared to January 2007. National radio revenue fell a stunning 13 percent, while combined local and national revenues dipped 7 percent. More from Radio And Records..... Alycia Lane Seeks New Court - 2/20 - Attorneys for CBS filed papers in federal court Tuesday asking to move disgraced Channel 3/KYW anchorbabe Alycia Lane's NYC Common Pleas Court filing to the United States District Court Eastern District Of Pennsylvania. She was charged with assaulting a female NYC police officer in late 2007. More from the Philadelphia Daily News..... Ben Simmoneau To 3 - 2/20 - Channel 8/WGAL anchor/reporter Ben Simmoneau is returning to Philadelphia and Channel 3/KYW, where he'll be a reporter. Simmoneau has spent the past five years at Lancaster PA's WGAL..... Cousin Brucie To Host WOR Fundraiser - 2/20 - NYC talker WOR (710 AM) brings back legendary radio personality "Cousin Brucie" Morrow to host the station's 13th annual radiothon for a childrens' charity on 2/28 from 5 AM to 6 PM..... iVillage Leaving 4 - 2/19 - "In the Loop With iVillage" will leave the weekday lineup of NBC owned-and-operated stations, including NYC's NBC4, at the end of March. TV Week has more..... Former 10er Kammerer To 3 - 2/18 - Doug Kammerer will start at CBS3 working six-day weeks after he makes his KYW-TV debut on the 11 PM newscast Monday. The meteorologist, who left NBC10 in August, will do weather features nightly on the 11, but will regularly be seen at 4 and 6 PM weekdays working alongside Kathy Orr. Kammerer will also be seen at 6:30 and 11PM Sunday nights, reports the Philadelphia Daily News..... NBC's First Newscast 60 Years Ago - 2/16 - Sixty years ago Saturday, NBC launched a regularly scheduled evening news program - then known as the "NBC Television Newsreel." That evolved over time with a variety of hosts - John Cameron Swayze, David Brinkley, Chet Huntley, Roger Mudd, Tom Brokaw. Check out a few minutes of the broadcast - featuring "late news, pictures, and film from NBC cameramen at home and abroad" - at Lost Remote. There's more from TVNewser..... Matejka Leaves Press NJ Cluster - 2/15 - All Access tells us that Press Communications/Monmouth.-Ocean NJ General Manager Wes Matejka exits. He oversaw WBBO, WHTG-FM/AM, WBHX, WWZY, and WKMK. No replacement has been named..... Husband Of 4 Anchor Suspended From Cop Job - 2/15 - The NY Daily News reports that the husband of a Channel 4/WNBC morning news anchor was suspended from his job as a sergeant with the New Rochelle Police Department after a teen alleged he raped her, a police source said. David Rodriguez, whose wife is Darlene Rodriguez, was accused of assaulting the 17-year-old in her home when he ended his 4-to-midnight shift Saturday morning, the source said. The 36-year-old sergeant has not been charged with a crime. He was suspended with pay, pending the results of an internal investigation, said Capt. Joseph Schaller, who is overseeing the investigation..... Cuts Coming To NY Times - 2/15 - The New York Times, one of America's largest and most influential newspapers, is to lay off 100 newsroom staff, bowing to growing financial strains in the print media business, it said Thursday. The cuts would be achieved "by not filling jobs that go vacant, by offering buyouts, and if necessary by layoffs," the paper quoted executive editor Bill Keller as saying. The newspaper has 1,332 newsroom employees, the largest number in its history and far more than any other US paper, most of which rely on newsroom staffs of around 900. More at breitbart.com..... New Haven's "Back Page" Returns - 2/15 - From the New Haven Register: At 18 and just out of East Haven High School, Jason Gontarek worked eagerly as a stringer describing high school football games for WELI-AM. Now going by the name Jason Page, the 30-year-old's voice returns to Radio Towers Park Monday on WELI's sister station WAVZ-AM. A new sports talk show called "The Back Page" will be simulcast on Hartford’s WPOP-AM (1410) and WAVZ (1300), both ESPN Radio stations, from 3 to 7 PM weekdays..... WRXP Reviewed - 2/14 - In Newsday, Glenn Gamboa takes a listen to NYC's new rocker WRXP. "It's a good plan to try to introduce Led Zeppelin fans to White Stripes, to let Depeche Mode fans know about The Killers and The Bravery, to let Pearl Jam fans discover Spoon. It's also an interesting idea to remind rock fans that New York still is a breeding ground for loads of great new bands, including The Hold Steady and The National, who have both found homes on the station"..... DOJ OKs CC Buyout - 2/14 - As expected, the Department Of Justice has given its approval to the sale of Clear Channel to Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners. However, there are conditions set on the transaction of the rad