Just In: Trevor is a Brewer (Jan 8, 2009)

The Wires (Jan 8, 2009)

Corey Deitz: The Fix is in -- and it will break radio: The current economic downturn has begun to take its toll on Traditional Radio, AM and FM. Everyday, there is news of more firings and what’s really worth noting is the fact that many of these terminations are of longtime talents on well-respected stations. Listeners will soon begin to see the results of these budget cuts as personalities disappear, often without the ability to even bid fans goodbye. That’s the way Radio works.

USA Today: Apple Tuesday said songs on its popular iTunes digital music service will cost between 69 cents and $1.29, and will no longer be saddled with copy-protection software.

Venture Beat: The first Internet radio for cars is from Blaupunkt and is on display at the Consumer Electronics Show. This car stereo can play 20,000 radio stations. You could spend your time endlessly scrolling through those on a drive from San Francisco to New York. But it uses a service dubbed miRoamer from startup Torian Wireless to get its music from the Internet.

Chris Berry has been named Vice President, General Manager of KSPN-AM (710 ESPN) in Los Angeles, leaving 630 WMAL in Washington DC after many successful years

Jerry Del Colliano: Starting in April the least popular songs on iTunes will cost 69 cents. Others will be priced at 99 cents and the hottest hits will go for $1.29 cents proving once again what knuckleheads record execs can be in a world where digital downloads are dropping even at 99 cents a song. Where else but in the record business can they come up with a strategy that says -- our sales are declining so let's raise the prices of our hottest inventory. That's the ticket.

Radio and Records and All Access: Clear Channel active rock KIOZ/San Diego PD/MD Shauna Moran adds programming duties at clustermate classic rock KGB. Moran replaced Jim Richards who quit last year.

Randy Dotinga: Talk Radio Faces Tough Times.

The Wires (Jan 7, 2009)

ZDNet: Why Windows 7 Should Be Free! Jason Perlow: Face it: Windows 7 is Windows Vista Service Release 2. And since Windows 7 is essentially a performance and usability fix for a defective product, a Windows 7 upgrade should be free to anyone who was conned into buying Vista.

Kurt Hanson: IN-DASH NET RADIO MAY FINALLY BEGIN TO OUTSHINE SATELLITE, HD. Internet radio is attracting a hefty share of media attention ahead of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, scheduled to begin January 8 in Las Vegas, primarily for gadgets that expand the reach of webcasts. Tom Taylor writes in his Radio-Info email, “The lion’s share of the ‘radio’ headlines will go to sexy stuff like in-car radio – Internet radio.” The in-car radio Taylor mentions is Blaupunkt and miRoamer’s in-dash auto Internet radio tuner (pictured left, RAIN coverage here). In writing of the device, Gizmodo declared (here), “Satellite radio is dead…this is just the beginning of car internet radio, for sure.” Tom Webster writes at The Infinite Dial (here), “The day is looming when you’ll have your choice of thousands of Internet radio stations to listen to on your commute.” Indeed, Jennifer Lane notes in her Audio4Cast blog (here) that, “Delphi and AutoNet already announced plans for an in-car Internet radio as well…It could also spell the end of satellite radio.” The Blaupunkt/miRoamer device — and Internet radio’s presence at CES in general — has been covered by MSNBC (here), CNET (here), and even AutoBlog (here). Other Internet radio devices debuting at CES include VTech’s tabletop Wi-Fi radio (see coverage below) and HP’s Net radio-ready sd828a1 digital photo frame (here).

Radio-Info: This Santa Cruz commercial station is soliciting listener donations. Michael Zwerling’s KSCO (1080) is literally asking for contributions – via PayPal – on the station website. They’re suggesting a monthly donation of $10.80 to “help us keep quality programming on the air.”

Radio-Info: CBS Radio's Houston KIKK (650)adds something completely different in afternoon drive (4pm to sunset) – “Classic Cool Radio 650” with longtime Houston standards host Ronnie Renfrow, in what sounds like a brokered-time deal on the AM that features some news and mostly brokered programming. The Houstonist welcomes the sounds of Sinatra, Ella, Diana Krall and Harry Connick, Jr.

NY Times: Some see the Blu-ray disk as a mere transitional technology.

HD Radio Farce Blog: Yet with all the HD Radio hype, is the public buying HD? This Web posting indicates that HD Radio is a spectacular failure despite non-stop suggestions to the contrary by iBiquity.

Top Story with Jack Rice Premiered (Jan 6, 2009)

Jack represents the next generation of journalists who embrace new media from video, audio, print and other forms of electronic media. And his expertise clearly sets him apart.

While Jack works for CBS Radio, he has appeared on MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, Fox News Channel, C-SPAN, NPR, and just about everywhere else. His goal has always been and will continue to be to go where the stories are happening and to provide the most in-depth reporting available.

Jack has reported and broadcast programs from around the world including Darfur, Kosovo, Israel, Palestine, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, England, Germany, Italy and the United Nations. However, he has also reported from the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the areas most impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

The Wires (Jan 6, 2009)

radiodailynews.com reports that San Diego, Cleveland and New York radio icon, and RDN Special Contributor "Happy Hare" Martin died Monday morning after a brief illness.

Mel Phillips: Sanyo has one-upped HD Radio with a stand-alone unit that combines FM and Internet radio signals. Top that, HD Radio! The Sanyo R227 also has an ethernet jack for use with a computer. It’s a clock radio if you choose to put it beside your bed. It won’t toast your bread or brew your coffee but can be used in the kitchen or any other room.

Radioandrecords: Mt Wilson FM Broadcasters talk KGIL/Los Angeles, simulcasted on sister-station XSUR/San Diego, moved Premiere's Glenn Beck into the 9 a.m. - noon slot and Talk Radio Network's Monica Crowley into the noon - 3 p.m. slot. Ousted in the changes were liberal Dial Global host Ed Schultz and United Stations Radio Network's independent populist Lou Dobbs. Following Crowley at 3 p.m. will be TRN's Michael Savage, which puts Westwood One's Lars Larson into afternoon drive at 5 p.m. Lone liberal Alan Colmes holds onto the 7 p.m. slot. Syndicated Laura Ingraham, Lars Larson, Michael Savage, and Alan Colmes remain in the lineup.

91X has moved Mookie to Middays.

All Access: ABC RADIO NETWORKS' "THE HUCKABEE REPORT" makes its official debut TODAY (1/5), and former ARKANSAS Governor MIKE HUCKABEE's twice-daily feature is launching on 38 stations, including CITADEL Talkers KABC-A/LOS ANGELES, WBAP-A/DALLAS, and KSFO-A/SAN FRANCISCO, plus CLEAR CHANNEL Talk KEX-A/PORTLAND.

Top 5 Headlines Of The Week (Dec 29, 2008 - Jan 4, 2009)

4. Christmas Season Is Over Dammit! Take Down The Decorations Already!

3. No Number 3. I Can't Get That "Hot And Cold" Song Outta My Head!

2. Chargers Beat The @#%#@ Out of Peyton Manning's Colts!

1. It's Just Another New Year. Big Deal!