The Wires (Feb 20, 2010)

Jay Posner: News delays from Games a cold comfort. All these years later, I can still see the great Jerry Magee sitting in a Super Bowl story meeting, listening to everyone talk about which writer would be doing which features, and then asking, in his one-of-a-kind voice: "What about the news?

John Maffei: NBC delivers the goods in Winter Games coverage.

Wall Street Journal: Howard Stern, who is negotiating a new contract with Sirius, has several options beyond the satellite network. But can he get back his throne as the "king of all media?"

Gary Lycan: "I don't want to be something. I want to say something," says Bill Carroll in a phone interview talking about his arrival February 22 on KFI 640 AM to replace Bill Handel in the noon - 2 pm weekday slot

The Wires (Feb 19, 2010)

San Diego Reader: KPBS-FM Targeted Buying KPRI-FM For New Home for News Format (89.5 Would Been Classical) KPRI-FM Owner Planned To Sell For $30 Million. KPBS-FM Bid Too Low.

Gary Lycan: "I don't want to be something. I want to say something," says Bill Carroll in a phone interview talking about his arrival February 22 on KFI 640 AM to replace Bill Handel in the noon - 2 pm weekday slot.

iBiquity: AM/FM is still a fundamental part of the driving experience. Every car sold in this country comes with a radio, positioned square in the middle of some of the world's most valuable real estate - the car dashboard. But the days of AM/FM's monopoly hold on auto infotainment are long gone. AM/FM can no longer take for granted that it will be automatically built into cars, or that it will be used by drivers. No, radio has to fight for its position in the dash. The green flag has been waved in this race, and after starting in the pole position, radio is no longer leading the pack

All Access: Stations Stop The Music For Tune Tax Awareness

All Access: Salkowitz Is The Force Behind The Return Of Pulse 87

The Wires (Feb 18, 2010)

Big Three block international streaming. CBS RadioÆs decision to bar access to its online streams to listeners outside the U.S. makes for a clean sweep, following in the footsteps of top-rated Pandora and #3 ranked Clear Channel

Bill Handel ends double-duty. KFI, Los Angeles morning host Bill Handel will end his Premiere Radio Networks syndicated afternoon show, which gave Handel two timeslots on the Clear Channel talk station. PD Robin Bertolucci says the second show had been ôtaking its toll on Bill.ö KFI hires Toronto talk host Bill Carroll to fill HandelÆs midday slot.

Tom Taylor of radio-info: CBS breaks up a country simulcast in California to become ôHigh Desert Sports Radio.ö. KVFG, Victorville û up in Victor Valley û dropped out of its simulcast with Riverside-San Bernardino country KFRG (95.1) last night starting with the Lakers-Golden State Warriors NBA game. The ESPN affiliate will offer the entire Lakers schedule plus the baseball Angels. Otherwise, the lineup is heavily ESPN û Mike & Mike, Colin Cowherd, Scott Van Pelt, Doug Gottlieb, Game Night with Freddie Coleman and Ryen Russillo and ôAll Night with Jason Smith." ItÆs not exactly the deepest commitment to sports that CBS has made, but chalk it up as another all-sports effort, alongside recent conversions in Dallas, Boston and (earlier this week) Pittsburgh.

Randy Dotinga: When Big Stars Weren't Bright

Gary Lycan: Starting Feb. 25, Tom Leykis will return to local radio on KGIL/1260 AM - "Retro 1260 AM" - from 8 to 10 p.m. Thursdays with his lifestyle program called "The Tasting Room". LEYKIS is also launching a new syndication company, THE NEW NORMAL.

Radio Daily News: Spanish Broadcasting System responds to PPM ruling: SBS has been actively dealing with Arbitron, the sole provider of ratings information, since the introduction of PPM. As a member of both the PPM Coalition and the Spanish Radio Association (SRA), SBS has been one of the many outspoken critics of this new methodology. It has been and continues to be our contention that the PPM service unfairly discounts the listening audiences of both Urban and Hispanic communities. We have been consistent in our fight and have repeatedly asked that Arbitron gain accreditation from the MRC before implementing this methodology currency in any market. These pleas have been ignored by Arbitron, who has instead decided to continue its rollout despite being accredited in only two markets (they are currently in 33 markets)

Jacobs Media: One of the casualties of the media recession is that so many companies have had to lay off great employees. Left to hold down the fort are often managers struggling to get it all done. Radio was never designed for programmers to oversee two or more stations, do an airshift, and update the website, but that type of job multitasking has been the norm at many stations during the past couple of years

Rhythmic KPWR/Los Angeles morning talent Big Boy and Citadel Media will part ways effective March 28, after several years in syndication with Citadel. Big Boy's Neighborhood is currently running on twenty-five affiliates.

Desperation Times (Feb 17, 2010)

Billboards on the freeways are advertising their money giveaway campaigns with the sole purpose, of course, is to give the readers a reason to listen to the Clear Channel-controlled rock playlists with a slim chance that a listener might win some money.

Now given the fact that both of the rock stations are toast without their former popular morning show hosts as lead-ins to the midday and afternoon dayparts, the stations have to revert to giving away money instead of simply making their playlists more listenable than, say, KPRI or FM 94.9, or even 91X.

Lotsa luck without improving the stale Clear Channel playlists first before teasing the listeners with money giveaways. Guess KGB and KIOZ don't really care about the listeners; they don't care about music; they don't really know what kind of rock the listeners really want to hear. When was the last time they researched and adjusted their playlists to fit the current collective rock and roll listner base?

It would be better off if Clear Channel consolidated KGB into KIOZ and programmed something else more interesting on KGB like punk country or alternative dance.

The Wires (Feb 17, 2010)

WIFR TV: Radio Performance Tax -- If it seems the same songs play on the radio, get used to it because such repetitiveness could be getting worse

Inside Music Media: According to BIA, the radio industry will be just a $14.6 billion industry by 2013 - three short years from now. And only an $8 billion business by 2016

New York's Pulse 87 Returns Online. See for yourself at the link.

The Wires (Feb 16, 2010)

Observer-Reporter: Radio is not in tune with its snowbound listeners: Pelted in recent years by iPods, iTunes and electronics in general, radio took its biggest hit yet during Snowmageddon. Similar to a modern-day Nero, the local radio industry chose to fiddle while the flakes fell -- and fell -- and fell. Even Charlie Daniels would be appalled - Virtually the entire AM dial was droning with syndicated programming. Eventually, a real-time announcer offered a weather forecast, followed by a list of postponed or canceled events. What, though, of the real news?

Deseret News: Donny Osmond is still working on his radio voice - Osmond's show replaced Ryan Seacrest's radio show on KBEE

Inside Music Media: First, the news. RIAA is not happy that the millions of dollars it won in the Jammie Thomas-Rasset trial have been reduced - by the judge of all people - to just $54,000. At least someone in that courtroom was sane. Judge Michael Davis found that Thomas-Rasset wasn't acting for profit when she shared 24 tracks on Kazaa. Therefore, she shouldn't pay more than $2,250 per incident that is three times the statutory minimum of $750. So, the RIAA is responding by seeking an appeal. Lost in all of this is the bad publicity that this case and cases like it are giving the music business

FMQB: CBS Radio Stops Streaming Outside U.S. CBS RADIO has confirmed that streams of CBS RADIO stations are no longer available outside of the U.S. The change happened FRIDAY (2/12), due to a music royalty issue -- but also affects CBS' News/Talk and Sports stations.