LA Radio: 'Piolin' Sues Staff For Extortion

Eddie Sotelo

Spanish-language radio star Eduardo "Piolin" Sotelo has filed a lawsuit against six former staff members who worked on his canceled Univision Radio program, claiming the group banded together to try to extort $4.9 million from him.

Accortding to the LA Times, Sotelo claims to be a victim of a shake-down by former employees who allegedly demanded a big payday in exchange for taking their Univision workplace secrets "to the grave," according to the civil lawsuit filed Monday by Sotelo's lawyers in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The suit seeks general damages and punitive damages “in an amount sufficient to punish defendants and to deter them from engaging in similar conduct in the future,” and legal costs.

An attorney representing the six former colleagues released a statement Monday afternoon saying the group will be filing their own lawsuit against Sotelo. He rejected Sotelo's lawsuit as lacking merit.

ALSO READ: Eddie Sotelo Lands At SiriusXM. Click Here.

Before joining Sotelo's crew, the suit claims, most of the group held low-level jobs outside of radio -- working as a fast-food server, a bakery delivery man, a warehouse employee, a medical waste hauler and a copywriter. But after going to work on Sotelo's popular radio show, the employees were well compensated and able to rub elbows with the likes of President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and entertainer Jennifer Lopez, who were guests on the show.

"This case arises from the defendants' ingratitude, unmitigated greed and desire to extract from [Sotelo] some perceived revenge and an undeserved monetary windfall," the lawsuit said.

Last month, Sotelo lost his radio program on Univision after a call-screener and performer on the show complained to Univision that Sotelo had created a hostile work environment.  The employee, Alberto "Beto" Cortez, alleged that Sotelo sexually harassed him over a three-year period.

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SiriusXM Sued For Digital Royalty Underpayment

SoundExchange Monday filed a lawsuit against SiriusXM radio to recover a massive underpayment of digital royalties for the period 2007-2012.

During this time, the satellite radio company took a number of impermissible deductions and exemptions in calculating its royalty payments to SoundExchange, including deducting for pre-1972 sound recordings and certain channel packages containing music.

In addition, SiriusXM failed to pay the legally required fees due for several late payments within the same period. SoundExchange believes SiriusXM’s underpayments amounted to $50 to $100 million or more, which it is seeking to recover on behalf of the artists and labels it represents.

Mike Huppe

“SiriusXM is knowingly withholding royalties from the creators who bring life to their service, even as the company continues to experience unprecedented and explosive growth,” said Michael Huppe, president and CEO, SoundExchange. “We cannot sit by and watch this multi-billion dollar company reap record profits from the creative contributions of artists and labels without paying them everything they deserve.”

During the same time period that SiriusXM underpaid musicians for this critical part of their service, the company saw its subscriber base grow from 17 million to 24 million, and its revenue increase from $2.06 billion to $3.4 billion – a revenue bump of 65 percent.

SiriusXM is required to pay SoundExchange for the use of the statutory license, which allows the service to broadcast any commercially available sound recording. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

To view the official filing, click here.

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Report: Internet Listening Grows, But Not Profits

The Internet Radio Broadcasting industry grew rapidly during the past five years, as consumers increasingly turned to the internet and mobile devices as an entertainment option.

The number of mobile internet connections grew at an annualized rate of 53.0% during the five-year period.

“As such, internet radio's audience increased an annualized 16.5% during the same period, far outpacing traditional radios,” according to IBISWorld industry analyst David Yang. Consequently, internet radio broadcasters have taken a larger slice of advertising revenue from the $17.3-billion Radio Broadcasting industry. In the five years to 2013, IBISWorld estimates industry revenue to grow an annualized 42.0% to $766.7 million, including growth of 13.0% in 2013 alone.

Internet radio has gained increased consumer acceptance during the past five years. According to research from Arbitron, a radio ratings measurement firm, the average time consumers spend with internet radio increased from 6.2 hours per week in 2008 to 11.9 hours in 2013.

“Smartphones and data-enabled mobile devices have made it easier for consumers to access internet radio on the go,” says Yang. In 2010, 6.0% of cell phone owners streamed internet radio in their cars, compared with an estimated 21.0% in 2013. The rising number of internet radio users made it a more attractive advertising platform during the past five years, which bolstered advertising revenue for the Internet Radio Broadcasting industry.

Firms struggled with profitability during the past five years. Due to music royalty regulations, internet radio broadcasters often spend more than 50.0% of revenue on royalty payments. In contrast, traditional radio broadcasters spend about 10.0% of revenue on royalty. Internet radio music royalty fees are paid on a per-play basis, and royalty payments increase proportionally to the number of listeners. Industry firms unsuccessfully attempted royalty regulation reforms in 2012.

The Internet Radio Broadcasting industry is highly concentrated. In the five years to 2013, this high concentration level has been steady, and because the industry is still relatively young, Pandora will continue to dominate the marketplace as new entrants will have a difficult time attracting listeners away from well-established services.

When Apple releases its iTunes Radio service in September 2013, it will likely capture market share from the established players in the industry, which also include Clear Channel Broadcasting’s iHeartRadio. Moving forward, concentration in the industry will remain high as new entrants will hesitate to enter the industry due to the inability of major players to operate profitably.

In the five years to 2018, the Internet Radio Broadcasting industry is anticipated to grow. Growth will slow, compared with the previous five years, as internet radio usage becomes more saturated. However, rising disposable income will increase the number of internet radio subscribers. Economic growth will also bolster advertising expenditure. As subscription and advertising revenue grows, IBISWorld expects industry profitability to moderately increase. Nevertheless, without music royalty reform, it will be difficult for the industry to achieve significant profit growth.

For more information, visit IBISWorld’s Internet RadioBroadcasting in the USindustry report page. Click Here.

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Online Listening Reported Soft During July

Summertime and the listening is soft.  Triton Digital has released its monthly Top 20 Ranker for July 2013.

The Ranker is a listing of the top-performing digital audio stations and networks measured by the Webcast Metrics audience measurement platform.

Pandora was once again at #1 for AAS (Average Active Sessions) for Monday - Friday 6a-8p) in the Domestic Rankings, but the number dropped from 1.7 million AAS in June to 1.656 million in July. Session starts rose from 814.9 million to 888.2 million.

Clear Channel came in second with its AAS down from 335,571 in June to 316,605 in July. The rest of the top ten remained almost entirely unchanged, with Slacker in third, followed by Cumulus, CBS Radio, NPR Member Stations, EMF Corporate, Cox Radio, ESPN and Univision, which moved into the top ten this month.

Looking at July's All Streams Ranker (M-F, 6a-8p), Clear Channel was at #1 again, but its AAS fell from 337,804 in June to 319,096. Prisa Radio stayed in second place, followed by Slacker, Cumulus, CBS Radio, NPR, EMF Corporate, Karnaval.com, Cox and ESPN.

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NYC Radio: Chris Christie Guest Hosts On WFAN

There was an extra-special edition of the “Boomer and Carton in the Morning” show Monday on WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM.

With co-host Boomer Esiason on vacation, co-host Craig Carton was joined in the Allstate Studio by none other than New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.



According to the WFAN website, Christie is a frequent caller to the “Boomer & Carton” program.

This wasn’t the governor’s first time hosting alongside Carton. Known on the show as caller “Chris from Mendham,” Christie previously hosted the show on Friday, May 6, 2011.

The two put on a terrific show that day, and they managed to top their first performance Monday. The governor was a natural behind the microphone (like that came as a surprise), and his rapport with Carton made for some very entertaining radio.

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LA Radio: Michael LaCrosse New PD At KOST, KHHT

Michael LaCrosse

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment-Los Angeles has announced that Michael La Crosse has been named PD for Mainstream AC KOST 103.5 FM and Rhythmic AC KHHT HOT 92.3FM.

He starts September 23.

"After an extensive nationwide search, we’re excited that we found our new Los Angeles Program Director from within the great talent at our own company," said Andrew Jeffries, VP of Programming, CCM+E-Los Angeles.

"Given Michael’s extensive music knowledge, management experience and ability to focus on the listener, he will propel both brands to new levels of success. Michael will be a great leader for KOST and HOT, and a welcome addition to our world class Los Angeles cluster programming team."

La Crosse started his career in 2001 as a Promotions Director at WNUA, a smooth jazz station in Chicago. In 2003 he transitioned to the Programming Department as Music Director. Over the next several years, La Crosse served as Operations Manager for Chicago’s oldies station and most recently for CCM+E-Spokane.

CR&M notes from 2006-2011, Michael La Crosse worked as the Operations Manager/Program Director for WLS-FM/WZZN-FM, leading the station to its highest ratings ever (in the PPM ratings era) in 2011. Despite record ratings and revenues, the station's new owner, Cumulus Media made drastic staff cuts at the very end of October 2011 and released him.

"I’m humbled to join the amazing teams at KOST 103.5 and HOT 92.3," said La Crosse. "These stations are among the very best in their respective formats and it is an honor to be a part of them. A huge thank you to Andrew Jeffries, Clay Hunnicutt and Greg Ashlock for the opportunity to join Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Los Angeles."

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Harrisburg Radio: Ken Matthews Joins WHP For PM Drive

Ken Matthews

WHP 580, Harrisburg's Talk Radio, announced Monday that Ken Matthews will join the station as Afternoon Host, beginning Tuesday, September 3, 2013. Matthews will host weekdays from 3-6:00 p.m. EST.

Matthews frequently guest hosted on WHP 580 for previous host, Bob Durgin, who retired in early August 2013. He has extensive on-air experience, previously serving as a Morning Show Host for B104 WAEB-FM in Allentown, Pa. from the early 90's through 2006.

"I'm thrilled to be joining the WHP580 family. The WHP team is an outstanding group of broadcasters and part of a wonderful Pennsylvania community," said Matthews. "I'm looking forward to many great conversations with locallisteners on and off the radio."

"Ken is poised and talented – I'm confident he will become one of Pennsylvania’s great newsmakers during the afternoon slot on WHP 580," said Jeff Hurley, Regional Program Manager, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Harrisburg. "He’s the perfect host to drive political discussion in Central Pennsylvania. He brings energy and excitement that’s infectious to everyone around him."

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Mobile Web Stream Listening Gobbles Up Data Plans

Now that Google and Apple are launching their own online music services, the rise in internet radio usage is only going to keep growing in the foreseeable future, and that could mean a rise in the amount of people who are using up all of their monthly data allowance before the end of the month.

According to Andy Heaps at hybot.com, the downside to this popularity is the problem of data limits that a lot of broadband providers place on their service, and someone who wants to listen to internet radio for long periods of time each day, could very well find that they eat up their data allowance very quickly indeed. And if you are not careful, you will find you are going to get a hefty bill for exceeding your monthly data limit from your internet provider.

The thing about internet radio broadcasts is that they use more bandwidth the higher the quality is, and therefore that has a knock-on effect of using more data more quickly. Internet radio transmissions are typically downloaded in Kilobytes per second (Kbps) and the standard speed of an internet radio transmission comes in at around 128 to 320 Kilobytes per second.

In order to work out how much data your internet radio hobby is going to use up, you can use a simple calculation. If you download an internet radio transmission that comes in at 128 Kilobytes per second for 60 minutes then you will have used 57.6 Megabytes of data in that 1 hour. If you stream an hours worth of internet per day for 30 days then you would have eaten up 1.7 Gigabytes of data, and of course, the higher the quality of the broadcast, the more data you will be using up.

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Times-Shamrock to Sell Newspapers, Keep Radio

Times-Shamrock Communications announced plans Monday to diversify media holdings, invest in its core newspaper market and sell off daily properties in Towanda, Shamokin, Petersburg, Va., and the Virgin Islands.

George V. Lynett Jr., publisher of The Times-Tribune and CEO of Times-Shamrock, told employees of the Scranton-based company of a long-term strategic plan to invest in people and technology in the core print market which includes The Times-Tribune, The Citizens’ Voice in Wilkes-Barre, Standard-Speaker in Hazleton and The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, as well as the company’s local community newspaper group, commercial printing operation and radio division.

“This is a very positive message for our core,” Mr. Lynett said. “For a long time we’ve known we need to diversify in order to achieve sustainable growth. This is an investment in the local markets and in that type of growth.”

The company has put up for sale four of its daily newspapers, The Daily Review in Towanda, The News-Item in Shamokin, The Progress-Index in Petersburg, Va., and The Virgin Islands Daily News in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In addition, the company’s five out-of-state alternative weeklies are also up for sale including City Paper in Baltimore, Cleveland Scene, Metro Times in Detroit, Orlando Weekly and San Antonio Current.

George Lynett Jr.

“All of these papers have been strong, profitable investments for us for many years,” Mr. Lynett said. “We have enjoyed operating in these diverse markets and the decision to sell was difficult.

Cribb, Greene & Associates, a leading merger-and-acquisition firm in the U.S.newspaper industry based in Bozeman, Mont., will handle the sales process of the daily newspapers.

Don Farley, regional general manager, informed employees in Wilkes-Barre and Hazletonon Monday about the company’s decision to sell off some out-of-market properties and refocus on the local print and radio properties.

“We believe that with smart investments in technology and people we can grow our audience, clients and revenues at The Times-Tribune, The Citizens’ Voice, Standard-Speaker and Republican-Herald and radio markets,” Mr. Farley said.

Times-Shamrock owns stations in Scranton, Baltimore, Tulsa, Milwaukee and Reno, Nevada.

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Morning Joe: Miley Cyrus 'Disturbed'

Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, is steaming mad at Miley Cyrus for her raunchy, twerk-festering VMA performance. So mad, that she hijacked the talk show’s opening minutes to spew a diatribe of the former Hannah Montana star, calling her among other things, ‘sick’ and ‘disturbed.’

Entertainment Weekly reports, while her co-hosts tried to steer the dialogue towards a general discussion of fallen Disney stars, Brzezinski wouldn’t let off her Miley-milieu:

“I wouldn’t make a joke out of it actually. That was really, really disturbing. That young lady, who is 20, is obviously deeply troubled, deeply disturbed, clearly has confidence issues, probably an eating disorder, and I don’t think anybody should have put her onstage. That was disgusting and embarrassing,” she added.

And in case viewers really needed to be banged over their heads with her point: ”The whole thing was cringe-worthy, but I feel bad for her. She is a mess. Someone needs to take care of her. Someone needs not to put her onstage and make a complete fool of herself,” Brzezinski went on.

And on: ”It was pathetic, desperate, sick. She’s clearly disturbed that she needs to do that. And if I can just be very honest after having studied this for a lot of reasons, she doesn’t look healthy.”

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The Donald Being Sued BY NY AG

Donald Trump

Donald Trump is being sued by the attorney general of New York for $40 million over claims that the Apprentice star helped run a phony school which promised to make students rich and failed to deliver on other promises.

According to The Huffington Post, the lawsuit was filed on Saturday (August 24th) and claims that as many as 5,000 students allegedly paid up to $35,000 for "Trump University" thinking they would at least meet the mogul but instead got to take a picture in front of a life-size picture of him.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman explained, "Trump University engaged in deception at every stage of consumers' advancement through costly programs and caused real financial harm. Trump University, with Donald Trump's knowledge and participation, relied on Trump's name recognition and celebrity status to take advantage of consumers who believed in the Trump brand."

Donald and his attorney have responded to the lawsuit making allegations that Schneiderman's claims are completely false and are actually politically motivated. Trumps attorney, Michael D. Cohen, told the Associated Press, "The attorney general has been angry because he felt that Mr. Trump and his various companies should have done much more for him in terms of fundraising. This entire investigation is politically motivated and it is a tremendous waste of taxpayers' money. Donald Trump will not sit back and be extorted by anyone, including the attorney general."

Team Trump is also arguing that Trump University has nearly 11,000 testimonials from students who are happy with their experience and that 98% of people who enrolled rated the program "excellent" in a survey.

In 2011, the state education department forced Trump to change the name Trump University to the Trump Entrepreneur Institute because it didn't meet the legal definitions of a university.

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Music Listening Teen Drivers Make More Driving Mistakes

Researchers in Israel say teens who listen to music of their choice while driving make more mistakes than teens who don't.

According to UPI, to find this, researchers evaluated 85 new drivers by sending each of them on six challenging trips-- two with music of their choosing, two with easy listening, and two trips without any music.

Researchers say when the teens listened to their choice of music, 98-percent of participants demonstrated an average of three deficient driving behaviors in at least one of the trips.

Without music, 92-percent of the teens made errors, and when driving with easy-listening music deficient driving behaviors decreased by 20-percent

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DC Radio: Tommy McFly Could Be Witness In Defamation Case

Tommy McFly

The defamation suit against the FishbowlDC website is already shaping up to be a real-life Seinfeld finale, only instead of the Soup Nazi, the trial's witness list includes a number of Washington, DC media personalities.

According to Washington City Paper, Lawyers for local publicist Wendy Gordon filed the suit back in January, alleging that FishbowlDC editor Betsy Rothstein and blogger Peter Ogburn "falsely depicted Ms. Gordon as a self-promoting, attention-seeking, loose party girl/cougar, constantly on the prowl for considerably younger men for casual, sexual relations." In addition to Rothstein and Ogburn, Gordon's suit also names parent website Mediabistro and parent company WebMediaBrands Inc.

Wendy Gordon, McFly (Mediabistro photo)

Attorneys for the respective sides of the $2 million suit recently filed their witness lists.

On the defense side, lawyers for Mediabistro Inc. list potential 12 witnesses, including Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson, former Washington Times editor Sam Dealey, former Washington Examiner reporter and Sirius radio host Julie Mason, and Washingtonian editor-at-large Carol Joynt.

The plaintiffs are calling 31 witnesses, including the Washington Times' Emily Miller, WIAD FRESH 94.7-FM's Tommy McFly, the Washington Examiner's Joana Suleiman, and the Washington Post's Paul Schwartzman.

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John Kruk Taken From Press Box In Wheel Chair

John Kruk

ESPN announcer John Kruk was taken out of the press box at Dodger Stadium in a wheelchair before Sunday's game between the Dodgers and Red Sox, the result of dehydration.

He was treated at a stadium medical station. according to mlb.com.

ESPN later released a statement: "John left the booth feeling dizzy and was diagnosed as being dehydrated. His vital signs are stable and he's in good spirits. We wish him a speedy recovery."

Kruk was scheduled to call the game with Dan Shulman and Curt Schilling. Kruk has worked for ESPN since 2004 and joined the "Sunday Night Baseball" crew last season.

Kruk played in the Major Leagues for 10 seasons from 1986-95 with the Phillies, Padres and White Sox. The three-time All-Star hit .300 for his career and recorded 100 homers and 592 RBIs.

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Report: ESPN Key to Nielsen-Arbitron Deal

The fate of Nielsen’s proposed $1.26 billion purchase of Arbitron likely lies with ESPN, The NYPost has learned.

The sports-media giant licenses software from Arbitron for a new project that enables it to tell how often viewers are watching the network over television, radio, PCs, smartphones and tablets.

The license expires soon, and the ability of ESPN to squeeze a promise from Nielsen that it will be able to continue to license the software is likely integral to the merger getting federal approval, sources said.

ESPN Senior VP Artie Bulgrin has been speaking to the Federal Trade Commission about the licensed software, which it calls “Project Blueprint,” a source close to the matter said. “There is nothing settled,” the source added.

The FTC is scheduled to make a decision this week on whether to sue to block the tie-up.

Nielsen, with its old-school technology of giving families boxes to gauge their TV choices, wants to buy radio ratings giant Arbitron in part to get hold of its new “Portable People Meter” technology. Nielsen developed its own people meter but, sources noted, it’s not as effective.

Regulators are concerned that if Nielsen controls the old and new technologies it will be impossible for competitors to emerge, sources said.

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Justin Timberlake Wins Big At 2013 MTV's VMA

JT

JT took home four moonmen for Best Direction, Best Editing, Video Of The Year and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis didn't trail far behind. The duo took home three Moonmen for Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Cinematography and Best Video With A Social Message.

The show took place at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, NY. There was no host for this year's show, however Kevin Hart popped up periodically and provided the audience with comedic relief.

Post by Justin Timberlake.

AWARD WINNERS, see winning videos, Click Here.

• Best Collaboration - Pink Feat. Nate Reuss, "Just Give Me A Reason"
• Best Rock Video - 30 Seconds To Mar, "Up In The Air"
• Best Pop Video - Selena Gomez, "Come And Get It"
• Best Choreography - Bruno Mars, "Treasure"
• Best Hip-Hop Video - Macklemore & Ryan, "Can't Hold Us"
• Best Direction - Justin Timberlake Feat. Jay Z, "Suit & Tie"
• Best Cinematography - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton, "Can't Hold Us"
• Best Editing - Justin Timberlake, "Mirrors"
• Best Visual Effects - Capital Cities "Safe and Sound"
• Best Art Direction - Janelle Monae Feat. Erykah Badu, "Q.U.E.E.N"
• Best Female Video - Taylor Swift, "I Knew You Were Trouble"
• Best Video With A Social Message - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, "Same Love"
• Best Song Of The Summer - One Direction, "Best Song Ever"
• Artist To Watch - Austin Mahone, "What About Love"
• Best Male Video - Bruno Mars, "Locked Out Of Heaven"
• Video Of The Year - Justin Timberlake, "Mirrors"
• Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award - Justin Timberlake

Get More: 2013 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music, Justin Timberlake

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MTV Video Music Awards Highlights

AWARD SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

Taylor Swift

• The cameraman constantly placed the camera on Taylor Swift to get her reaction as Selena Gomez accepted the Best Pop Video award.
• Miley Cyrus said that she was going to be twerking when she was interviewed on the red carpet. We had no idea she would be twerking on Robin Thicke.
• The cameraman made sure he got Drake's reaction when Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won Best Hip-Hop Video.
• Kevin Hart provided quite a few laughs in between performances.
• After performing a medley of hits, Justin Timberlake brought out 'N SYNC to perform their hits "Girlfriend" and "Bye, Bye, Bye."
• Lady Gaga sat in the audience wearing seashell bikini.
• Jimmy Fallon presented JT with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award while the crowd chanted. Jimmy Fallon mentioned several of JT's hits including his SNL sketch "D*ck In A Box."
• The cameraman also switched to RiRi while Drake performed and she didn't look very interested in the performance. Even though they were reportedly spotted dining together over the weekend.
• Danity Kane also hit the red carpet -- without D.Woods, and announced that they're back together. The also revealed that they've parted ways with Diddy.

Selena Gomez

RED CARPET HITS

• Lady Gaga styled in a long black gown and dark aviator sunglasses.
• Selena Gomez looked gorge in a long purple Atelier Versace gown with black stones adorning the front of the dress.
• Pharrell arrived at the red carpet on a bike with a crew of bikers. He wore a fedora, white v-neck, black blazer and blue cut-off denim shorts. Very Pharrell-ish.
• Rita Ora wore her hair in a short, yet flattering bob. She wore a full-length gown that had sequins on the top with a deep plunge and feathers on the bottom.
• Ciara would have won the award for Best Dressed. She wore a long sheer and sequined gown with feathers on the bottom. Future, however decided to wear a black and grey patchwork suit.
• Taylor Swift was stunning in a long, navy spaghetti strap gown with a deep plunge. However, her hair was a mixture confused waves and curls.

RED CARPET MISSES

Miley Cyrus

• Miley Cyrus arrived on the red carpet wearing a black crop top and black high waist pants that were embellished with gems. Her hair was in two small Bantu knots. Two words, not okay.
• Paula Patton was almost stunning. She wore black sleeveless sequined gown, however her hair was in overly messy curls.
• Katy Perry wore a leopard mock neck dress with gold accents. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she wore strappy sandals. Nope, not quite.
• Lil' Kim presented the Best Hip-Hop Video Award and wore an all black leather cat suit. SMH.
• RiRi went for a more, umm casual look. She wore a t-shirt and cuffed jeans.

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Miley Cyrus Twerks, Stuns VMAs

The Will Smith Family reacts to Miley Cyrus

At the 2013 MTV VMAs, Miley Cyrus stole Gaga's outrageous performance crown.

While Gaga came equipped with multiple costume- and wig-changes on her side, CNN Reports Cyrus took over the stage with gigantic, dancing bears and more twerking than viewers at home probably knew what to do with.

The 20-year-old pop star stepped out onto the stage a ball of energy, wearing a fuzzy gray leotard, as her hit single, "We Can't Stop," played. An animated and uninhibited performer, Cyrus' dance moves were a clear departure from her "Hannah Montana" days. (Meaning, they involved a crotch grab or two.)

When she reached the end of her song, the singer stripped down to a flesh-toned latex bra and matching underwear and began to perform "Blurred Lines" alongside Robin Thicke. With Cyrus acting as Thicke's back-up singer and personal dancer.

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Hartford Radio: Allison Demers Leaving WRCH

Allison Demers

For 13 years she has been the kind, sweet one… the eternal optimist who rarely had a bad word about anything or anyone, and approached her on-air job at WRCH Lite 100.5 FM each day with spirit and enthusiasm.

But, according to the Hartford Courant, longtime radio morning host Allison Demers has announced she is leaving the station.

“My oldest is going to be a senior in high school and I want to be there to do things like visiting colleges with her and being home with them and just doing “mommy” things,” said Demers, who, with husband Frank Campagna, also has a 9-year-old. “I have been in the radio business for 20 years and done so many wonderful things, I want to do this too to feel accomplished.”

Demers, who also worked at KC 101,  is part of the popular 5:30 to 9 a.m. CBS Connecticut Lite 100.5 WRCH-FM Morning Show “Allan, Mike, and Allison” with Allan Camp and Mike Stacy.

“We are crying buckets of tears,” said Stacy about Demers decision to step down. “She is irreplaceable.”

“We will miss her, she has been part of our family for a long time,” said station manager Steve Salhany.

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P/T For 28-Years, Nick Digilio Gets Fulltime Gig At WGN

Nick Digilio

WGN 720 AM fan favorite Nick Digilio has been with the station in various roles for 28 years, always in a contributing, part-time, weekend, and/or fill-in capacity. According to CR&M, that changes early next month, when Digilio finally gets his chance at a much larger role with WGN Radio, working six nights per week.

With the soon to be unveiled, all-new WGN schedule, Nick Digilio will be on that schedule working six out of the seven days.

Digilio will be on the air from Sunday night/Monday morning from 2:00am-5:00am. He will do the same hours for the following four days, through Thursday night/Friday morning. Digilio gets his Friday night off, but returns Saturday night, working the 8:00pm-Midnight shift (unless postponed or preempted by a live sports broadcast).

Nick Digilio broke the good news himself to his fans via his Facebook page Friday night.

Post by The Nick Digilio Show.

The new schedule for "The Nick Digilio Show" begins at 2:00am on September 4th.

A native Chicagoan, Digilio, 48, has worked his entire media career with WGN Radio.

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Wichita Radio: Country KFDI Wins KAB News Awards

KFDI 101.3 FM and members of its news team were recognized by The Kansas Association of Broadcasters with three Awards of Excellence on August 19. 

KFDI and its news team received awards for:

• Best Large Market Complete Severe Weather Coverage: George Lawson, John Wright, Marc LaVoie, Matthew Harding, Jacob Weston and Kyle McCaskey
• Best Large Market Spot News Coverage: Marc LaVoie, “McConnell AFB KC-46A Announcement”
• Honorable Mention Large Market Complete Newscast: Dan Dillon and John Wright, “WichitaGas Leak”

“We are honored to have our news professionals recognized for their success and commitment to our community,” said Justin Case, operations manager for Journal Broadcast Group–Wichita Operations. “This accomplishment is a real testament to the dedication and excellence our team brings to their work every day. We are proud of these accomplishments and remain committed to keeping our listeners informed and safe.”

Today’s KFDI-FM 101.3 is one of six stations serving the Wichita market that are owned by Journal Broadcast Group.

The awards will be presented during the annual KAB convention on October 21 in Manhattan, Kan.

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NJ Radio: WCTC Revamps Line-Up

Greater Media New Jersey announces legendary station WCTC 1450 AM will launch an exciting new lineup beginning today.

Program Director and On Air Personality Bert Baron will segue to mornings from middays with the launch of “Jersey Central with Bert Baron” from 6 to 9 AM.  According to Barron, the show will offer “Everything you need to know in New Jersey – news, sports, events, entertainment, politics, lifestyle, traffic and weather.”

Syndicated on air personality Laura Ingraham will move up one hour from 9 AM to 12 Noon. Former New Jersey 101.5FM late night host Tommy G. will be heard from 12 Noon to 3PM.

In addition, the “Steve Malzberg Show,” featuring the former New York TV and radio host, will return to the market, along with “BTN Live,” a sports talk show that will air from 6 to 7 PM that focuses on the Big Ten conference that Rutgers University will move into next year.  WCTC-AM is the long-time Voice of Rutgers University Athletics.

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Cleveland Radio: Room For Two Sports Stations?

John Gorman, owner of broadcast consulting firm Gorman Media and a 2000 inductee into the Ohio Radio-Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame, has followed the recent turmoil at WKNR ESPN 850 AM and monitors the performance of its top competitor, WKRK 92.3FM.

According to Crains Cleveland, last Tuesday, Aug. 20, WKNR, an ESPN Radio affiliate owned by Good Karma Broadcasting of Beaver Dam, Wis., fired four prominent on-air personalities — Will Burge, Michael Reghi, Kenny Roda and T.J. Zuppe. The following day, the station unveiled a slimmed-down lineup of local programming. Instead of featuring almost all local programming from 4 a.m. to midnight, WKNR eliminated a pair of local nighttime shows that accounted for four to six hours of airtime per day.

WKRK 92.3 The Fan — a CBS Radio affiliate that debuted as The Fan on Aug. 29, 2011 — has retained a beefed-up local lineup, but, according to industry sources, isn't pulling big audience numbers.

“The problem is there are two sports stations,” Gorman said. “Neither one is doing great in the ratings right now. That's not necessarily because of the material.

“It's because we don't have many winning sports teams,” Gorman continued. “I think you can directly tie a sports format's ratings with how the teams are doing in a particular market.”

In late March, the Cleveland Browns unveiled a radio rights deal unlike any other in the NFL. It involves in part the two all-sports-talk stations — The Fan and WKNR — and WNCX 98.5 FM, carrying Browns games in a unique game-day “triplecast.”

The three stations share Browns flagship station rights, and The Fan and WKNR divide more than 1,000 hours of annual programming produced by the team itself that includes game broadcasts, a two-hour show called “Cleveland Browns Daily,” weekly coach's and preview shows, and pre- and post-game broadcasts.

Terms of the deal weren't announced — the Browns only would say it was a multiyear agreement — but the speculation following last week's upheaval at WKNR was that the rights agreement played a role in the station trimming its staff.

Keith Williams

Good Karma Broadcasting vice president and ESPN Cleveland general manager Keith Williams tried to dispel that notion.

Asked if the firings of Mr. Roda (who had been with the station for 21 years), Mr. Reghi (a former Cleveland Cavaliers television announcer), Mr. Burge and Mr. Zuppe were motivated by finances, Mr. Williams said, “Not in any way.”

Gorman — who spent 13 years as program director and operations manager at WMMS-FM, 100.7 and WHK-AM, 1420, and another seven as a vice president and director of operations at WMJI-FM, 105.7 — isn't buying the explanation.

“My reaction is I'm sure it was a financial decision,” he said. “Those people will be replaced by ESPN network programming.”

He continued, “Getting the Browns had to cost them a few bucks.”

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Report: MLB Buys Rights to Live Concert

MLB Advanced Media, the digital media company of Major League Baseball, is branching out into the licensing business by acquiring the worldwide distribution rights for a coming concert in New York City’s Central Park, according to Brian Stelter at The NYTimes.

The concert — called the Global Citizen Festival — has no connection to baseball, and that’s partly the point. MLB Advanced Media says it wants to distribute all sorts of live events in the future, some free to users and some on a subscription basis.

“We want to gain experience selling worldwide rights,” said Bob Bowman, the chief executive of the division, which is jointly owned by the league’s 30 clubs. The clubs all stand to profit as the division sells its live-streaming services to more and more purposes.

Already, MLB Advanced Media provides the back-end technology for Glenn Beck’s Internet television channel, ESPN3’s streams of sporting events and an in-flight TV service on Southwest Airlines, in addition to the hundreds of out-of-market baseball games that it makes available through MLB.tv.

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Farmer’s Almanac Predicts “Storm Bowl”

The Farmers' Almanac is hitting newsstands today (August 26th), and the 197-year-old publication is predicting a very cold upcoming winter.

The Almanac says two-thirds of the country will have a colder-than-normal winter, with heavy snowfall predicted from the Midwest, Great Lakes and New England.

And in news the NFL won't be happy to hear, the publication is also predicting that a winter storm will hit the Northeast around the time the Super Bowl will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The Almanac uses a secret formula unchanged since 1818 to make its predictions that involve planetary positions, sunspots and lunar cycles. It claims its forecasts are correct about 80 percent of the time.

Post by Farmers' Almanac.

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Texas Radio Commercial Messes With Missouri

Radio boss Mark Dorsey is messing with Texas, but only because he thinks Texasmessed with us first.

According to stltoday.com, Dorsey, general manager at KTRS 550 AM, has pulled radio commercials voiced by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who talks about why Missouri businesses would be better off moving to Texas.

Dorsey has issued his own audio statement. Click Here to listen. 

"When the order was placed, KTRS was under the assumption these commercials were going to promote tourism to Texas," Dorsey's clip states.

"Once we, the management of KTRS, realized these commercials were instead focused on stealing locally owned companies away from St Louis, we suspended airing these commercials immediately," he said.

Perry's radio ads tout his state’s secure corporate climate, and criticizes MissouriDemocratic leadership. Perry is set to visit Missourinext week and his business ads are running on radio and television in St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia, Joplin and Kansas City.

In Perry's ad, he says, "Unfortunately, your governor vetoed a bill that would have lowered taxes and controlled wasteful spending," Perry says in the ad. "But there is a state where businesses flourish and jobs are created: Texas."

Similar commercials aired in February in California. 

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Rush Limbaugh Talks About New Cumulus Deal

Transcript From Friday August 24: 

The last month, if you read Politico or anything that linked to Politico or CNN or ABC or anywhere else, you were reading that it was over for me. That I was bad news for broadcast stations. They could not sell advertising and all of this was because of me and the controversy I engender and therefore I wasn't gonna be gone overnight, but three to four years, and that's it.  Fini, totala completa, out of there, gone. Once and for all the left would be rid of me. 

We're on 600 radio stations, and the way that was gonna happen was that a group owner, Cumulus Media, was going to cancel their contract with me on 35 of their radio stations, and that was going to end my career because one of those 35 was WABC in New York and WLS in Chicago and WMAL in Washington and WBAP in Dallas and WJR in Detroit and other such large markets.  And once that happens, sayonara, I'm in everybody's rearview mirror. 

This has been going on for a year.  We have negotiations with every radio station that carries the program, every group owner.  These negotiations just happened to end up in the public.  But the media believed everything that was being said because they wanted to.  And the image, I guess, that was created was that my heyday was gone, it was over with, and if you listen to me now, you better like it while you can, because you're not gonna be able to at the end of the year, 'cause I'm gonna be gone. 

Well, let's see.  On either Wednesday night or Thursday, we completed our negotiations with Cumulus Media, and there will not be any changes.  I will continue to be on their radio stations for the next three years.  It was really never in doubt, but I don't want to do my own version of negotiating here.  The only change that's going to happen is that on January 1st we are going to leave WABC and move to WOR in New York.  My syndication partner is Clear Channel Communications, and they own WOR, and so we're gonna go to our own radio station in New York.  And this has been mutually agreed to. 

The bottom line is, no change for you.  Wherever you're listening to this radio show today, you're gonna be able to hear it on January 2nd, 3rd, whenever I get back from the traditional Christmas break.  There will be no interruption to you.  There will be no change.  The radio program is as strong or stronger than ever.  It will be everywhere you are used to listening to it now.  If you like this station, you get to keep this station.  I'm not gonna take this station away from you and force you to go to a new one.

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Linda Ronstadt: “I Have Parkinson’s Disease”

Linda Ronstadt

Grammy-winning singer Linda Ronstadt has revealed to AARP that she has Parkinson's disease.

In an interview to be published next week on AARP.org, Ronstadt, 67, says that she realized something was wrong eight years ago when she found herself unable to sing and didn't know why.

"I knew it was mechanical. I knew it had to do with the muscles, but I thought it might have also had something to do with the tick disease that I had," she said.

According to NBC News, Ronstadt says she also experienced shaky hands, but thought it was because of an operation she had on her shoulder.

"Parkinson's is very hard to diagnose, so when I finally went to a neurologist and he said, 'Oh, you have Parkinson's disease,' I was completely shocked. I wouldn't have suspected that in a million, billion years," she revealed.

Ronstadt, 67, said that she was diagnosed eight months ago, long after her symptoms first emerged. According to the AARP interview, she now uses a wheelchair when traveling, and has aid poles to assist her when she walks.

The singer has won 11 Grammys, two Academy of Country Music Awards, and even won an Emmy, for the PBS special, "Great Performances: Canciones de Mi Padre." She first came to prominence in the 1960s as lead singer of the Stone Poneys before embarking on a solo career. Her hits include "You're No Good," "When Will I Be Loved," "That'll Be the Day," "Blue Bayou" and "It's So Easy."

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Saturday Aircheck: Rick Dees On 102.7 KISS-FM LA

From Jan 12, 1995

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R.I.P.: WHO Morning News Anchor Dick Layman

Dick Layman

WHO 1040 AM Radio morning anchor Dick Layman died Friday, according to WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa..

He was 59.

Layman had been working at WHO Radio for 16 years, said WHO general manager Joel McCrea.

McCrea described Layman’s death as “sudden.” Layman worked Friday morning, McCrea said.

“There is a hole right now in the WHO Radio Family… a hole that won’t close easily and there is a chair in our newsroom that will be very, very difficult to fill,” WHO Radio news director Jim Boyd said in a statement: 

There is sadness to report today from the WHO Radio newsroom. Veteran morning anchor Dick Layman passed away today.  He was 59 years old. Dick Layman has been known throughout central Iowa for 16 years for that deep resonate voice that brought you the overnight developments and stories that you needed to know about to get your day started.  

Dick was also from the old school of broadcast journalism.  The school that said 'confirm and reconfirm the facts' before they would be put into a story for you to hear.  He cared about content and quality.  But he also was someone who take the most complicated of stories and boil them down to the bare fact so you could understand it...and to do so at times in 20 seconds or less. 

I remember an email I received from a listener just this year concerning Dick. The listener labeled Dick's delivery 'folksy.'  When you think about it, that is pretty accurate.  He presented the news as if he was talking to you at your kitchen table.  Sitting there with a cup of coffee, explaining about the latest goings on in state government, local affairs, or something from law enforcement.  But regardless the topic, Dick Layman gave it to you straight and you knew it was accurate.  I can even recall a time when I got a call in the newsroom and he had gotten a date wrong in some news copy. Dick was kicking himself for two hours because of it. He was that kind of professional, caring deeply that he got it right before it went on the air. 

There is a hole right now in the WHO Radio Family...a hole that won't close easily and there is a chair in our newsroom that will be very, very difficult to fill.  That's what happens when you have a man the caliber of Dick Layman on your team.  Our prayer's go out to his wife, Janet, and daughter Meredith.

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Official: Rush Limbaugh Moving To WOR 710 AM

Rush made the announcement during Friday's Show.  He is leaving Cumulus' WABC (where Rush got his network start) and moving to CCM+E's WOR 710 AM.  He starts on WOR January 1, 2014.

According to Rush's announcement, he is staying with Cumulus Stations in other markets.

LISTEN TO AUDIO: Click Here.

And no one doubts for a New York Minute that Rush Hannity will be joining Rush on WOR.

There has been no comment from Premiere Radio.

Rush and Sean back-to-back on WOR would directly impact the current afternoon line-up:

12 Noon Joan Hamburg

2 PM      Dave Ramsey

4 PM      Rita Cosby

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Pandora Sez 2Q Revenue, Listening Is Up

Pandora Media shares tumbled more than 11% in after-hours trading before paring the loss to about 6% Thursday evening, highlighting investor uncertainty amid the music industry's fast-changing landscape.

Pandora's volatile stock has more than doubled since the start of the year, but investors bailed Thursday after the Internet-radio giant reported that its fiscal second-quarter loss widened and narrowed its third-quarter earnings guidance. For the third quarter, Pandora forecast adjusted earnings between three cents and six cents a share according to Hannah Karp at wsj.com.

Pandora's chief executive, Joe Kennedy, said in an interview that the after-hours volatility showed the market was sorting through the information. He pointed out that the company nearly doubled its mobile-advertising revenue for the quarter, and added that the narrowed earnings guidance was indicative of the company's desire to reinvest "a good part" of its earnings in ad sales and product development.

The company reported record revenue, up 58% from the year earlier period, and raised its third-quarter revenue forecast to $179 million from $174 million.

Joe Kennedy

But, writes Karp,  Pandora executives' bravado on recent earnings calls hasn't jibed with the more dismal picture the company has painted as it has lobbied lawmakers to reduce the royalty rates it must pay artists, record companies and music publishers for the digital use of their songs. Pandora uses a compulsory license from the government to use music digitally at rates determined by a panel of federal judges, and the rates it pays are generally higher than those paid by terrestrial radio broadcasters, which Pandora considers its closest competitors.

Pandora is involved in two separate lawsuits over royalty rates, one it initiated against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, known as ASCAP, last year and the other brought by Broadcast Music Inc., or BMI, several months ago, following Pandora's purchase of a terrestrial radio station in a bid to qualify for the lower rates broadcasters pay to use music digitally. Court decisions aren't expected until 2015.

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Total listener hours: Total listener hours grew 18% to 3.88 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to 3.30 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

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