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Ion To Launch Mobile DTV In DC - 6/29 - Ion Media Networks plans to launch its digital broadcast "Triple Play" in the DC and NYC markets. It includes the flagship Ion network in high-def, two additional digital networks, plus Mobile DTV. MDTV allows broadcasters to use subchannels to transmit TV content to mobile devices. Ion's focus on DC is part of a broader initiative in support of the Open Mobile Video Coalition, a trade group of over 800 commercial and public television stations, working to create a showcase for MDTV in the Nation's Capital to "highlight the potential for expanding broadcast television beyond the living room to all mobile devices in the digital age." More at earthtimes.org.....

Keith Olbermann Now In HD - 6/29 - After major overhauls to its 30 Rock control room and Washington DC studios, MSNBC rolls out its high-def version today. Joining cable newsers CNN and Fox News in offering 24/7 HD feeds. No word, yet, when your local cable or satellite service will be adding MSNBC-HD. More from B&C.....

Lenders Steering CC To Bankruptcy - 6/29 -

From mysanantonio.com: The signal from Clear Channel's radio empire may be fading out. When holding company CC Media Holdings announced this month it wanted to reposition debt between its radio and billboard units, lenders for last year's massive private equity acquisition of Clear Channel signaled their intention to block the move. The lenders evidently want to steer the company into bankruptcy so they can pick up the assets cheap and sell them. The lenders apparently believe that is the way to get the most amount of money back from the loans made when Boston-based firms Bain Capital Partners and THL Partners acquired the San Antonio company in one of the last big private equity deals as the credit crunch worsened.....

TV Pitchman Billy Mays Dies - 6/28 -

Billy Mays (right), the burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean made him a pop-culture icon, has died. He was 50. According to AP, Tampa police said Mays was found unresponsive by his wife Sunday morning. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead at 7:45 AM. It was not immediately clear how he died. He said he was hit on the head when an airplane he was on made a rough landing Saturday, and Mays' wife told investigators the TV personality didn't feel well before he went to bed that night.....

Irv Homer Dies - 6/25 - Philadelphia radio veteran Irv Homer has died after suffering an apparent heart attack. He was 85. He'd worked at talker WWDB. More soon.....

Zellner Jumps From Sirius XM To CC - 6/25 - DCRTV hears that Jon Zellner is leaving Sirius XM as the satrad firm's vice president of music programming to join Clear Channel as its senior vice president of programming. He'll work with 25 major and mid-sized markets.....

Mendte Soap Opera Continues - 6/25 - Disgraced Channel 3/KYW TV anchor Larry Mendte, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of cyber-spying on his onetime co-anchor Alycia Lane last year, is trying to rewrite history. Yesterday, in a federal motion attacking his sentence, Mendte claimed that he had been promised that he'd be charged with a misdemeanor, even though he testified before US District Judge Mary McLaughlin in November that there were no promises attached to his guilty plea. To add spice to his 72-page motion with attachments, his attorney, Julia Morrow, threw in titilating details about how he had "kissed" Lane and bought her an $800 platinum necklace from Tiffany's after they became "affectionate" at CBS3 in December 2003. More at philly.com.....

7 Drops Marvell Scott - 6/25 - NewsBlues tells us that Marvell Scott, weekend sports anchor and reporter at Channel 7/WABC since 2001, has been dropped by the ABC station.....

Rosie Jumps To Sirius XM - 6/25 - Comic, actor, and former TV talk show host Rosie O'Donnell will host "Rosie Radio," a new daily morning radio show on Sirius XM. It'll launch this fall and air weekdays from 10 AM to noon on Sirius-102 and XM-155.....

WIP To Air On YSP's HD3 - 6/24 - CBS Radio is putting AM sports talker WIP, 610, on the digital FM HD3 of classic rocker WYSP, 94.1, starting 7/4. The 94.1 HD2 remains a relay of AM all-newser KYW, 1060. There are rumors that CBS may eventually put WIP on 94.1's main signal. Stay tuned.....

Stern On Absence From Satrad iPhone App - 6/24 -

From Radio-Info.com: Howard Stern (left) says a "rights thing" is keeping his show off the popular new Sirus XM iPhone app. Though some suspect that the satellite radio operator may have plans to market a separate "Stern app," for an additional fee. Stern himself observes that it can't be a question of his content, since the new app gives subscribers access to the Playboy Channel. ZDNet quotes Stern saying philosophically, "So we're not on it. Maybe some day we will be." Also missing from the popular new app for iPhones and iPod touch - Major League Baseball, the NFL, and NASCAR. The Motley Fool has more.....

New 2 & 3 VHFers Coming? - 6/23 - Scott Fybush at Northeast Radio Watch tells us that Philadelphia and NYC could be getting some new TV stations via channels 2 and 3 due to the recent digital TV switchover.....

6 Gets DTV Power Hike - 6/23 - From B&C: ABC-owned WPVI Philadelphia, which has experienced significant reception problems since launching digital TV (DTV) broadcasts on VHF Channel 6 on June 12, has received some immediate help from the FCC. The FCC granted the station a special temporary authority (STA) to boost its transmission power on Channel 6 from the relatively low 7.5 kilowatts (kW) to 30.6 kW, the maximum power for the northeastern “Zone 1” region of the US. The power boost is intended, in particular, to make WPVI’s VHF signal penetrate better into urban homes that have experienced difficulty in receiving the station on indoor antennas.....

Fox Cuts 20 At 5 & 9 - 6/22 - Fox-owned Channel 5/WNYW and Channel 9/WWOR fired 20 people Friday. The layoffs came in news production, sales, facilities, finance, and public affairs. More from the NY Daily News.....

Media Quiet About NYT Abduction - 6/22 - Several dozen news organizations agreed to remain silent about New York Times reporter David Rohde's kidnapping in Pakistan by the Taliban seven months ago. The Times went public with the story on Saturday after Rohde's release. CQ Politics has more.....

Janoff Leaves CBS - 6/22 - CBS Radio/NYC General Sales Manager Greg Janoff has resigned, but will remain in his position until a replacement has been named.....

Gary Papa Dies - 6/19 - Longtime TV sports anchor Gary Papa, 54, has died, Channel 6/ WPVI reports. Papa joined the station in 1981, and became sports director in 1990. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he told viewers in 2004, and the effects of his treatment were visible after his absences from the air. More from WPVI and philly.com.....

Rumors Of Sports Talk On YSP - 6/19 - A few days ago, DCRTV told you that Westwood One had moved its NFL primetime pro football radio package in Baltimore from Hearst's WBAL/98 Rock to CBS's new sports talker, 105.7 The Fan, WJZ-FM. Now, we're hearing more rumblings that the WW1 deal is actually part of a national package deal that'll air on a whole batch of CBS's new FM sports talkers - not only in Baltimore, but in other cities, too. Like maybe even DC and Philadelphia. Lending more creedence to the rumblings that CBS is about to flip its Washington "guy talker" WJFK, 106.7 FM, to sports talk. And maybe even struggling rocker WYSP, 94.1 FM, in Philly to sports talk, too, as maybe WIP-FM? The "orders" are not coming from the local clusters, but from CBS's NYC HQ, we're told.....

Former MSNBCer To Produce "Takeaway" - 6/19 - TVNewser tells us that Mark Effron, who for four years was MSNBC's vice president of daytime programming, is heading to NYC's WNYC radio and Public Radio International to be the executive producer of "The Takeaway," the national morning drive news program. After leaving MSNBC in 2006, Effron was president of Titan TV. "The Takeaway" is hosted by one-time NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host John Hockenberry. It is a co-production of PRI and WNYC, in editorial collaboration with the BBC World Service, the New York Times, and Boston's WGBH radio.....

FAN Surges In Latest PPMs - 6/18 - From Radio-Info.com: The May PPMs for New York City show Lite winning - and the Fan surging. Clear Channel AC “Lite” WLTW has barely flickered, 6.2-5.9-6.2, between March and May. (All shares are age 6+ average quarter hour.) CHR Z100/WHTZ remains #2 (4.8-4.9-5.1), just barely ahead of #3 classic hits WCBS-FM (4.7-4.8-4.9). All-news WCBS-AM (880) is doing a surge, too, up 3.7-4.1-4.4, now occupying fourth place. While all-sports “Fan” WFAN (660) has jumped 2.1-3.4-3.8 – possibly due to baseball. The Fan’s now tied for 7th place. As for the CHR format battle – CBS Radio’s recently-converted “92.3 Now FM” WXRK is gaining, 1.4-1.5-1.8. Its cume has risen from about 1.7 million to about 2.5 million. More at radio-info.com/markets.....

New Editor Of AC's Press - 6/17 - Neill Borowski, currently managing editor for the Democrat And Chronicle in Rochester NY, has been named the new executive editor/content director of The Press Of Atlantic City. Borowski succeeds Paul Merkoski, who is retiring after serving as executive editor for more than 20 years. More at pressofatlanticcity.com.....

Stern Sidekick Slams HBO - 6/16 - Howard Stern sidekick Artie Lange fires back at HBO after he guests - and gets slammed for being in "bad taste" - on the debut episode of "Joe Buck Live." B&C has more.....

Rivera Named PD At WUBA - 6/16 - Jose Rivera is named program director at Clear Channel's Spanish Rumba 1480, WUBA, in Philadelphia. He'll also serve as production director, in addition to his 11 AM to 6 PM on-air shift.....

More Fashion & Entertainment News At 4 - 6/16 - The NY Daily News catches up with Vickie Burns, who has just been "promoted" from news director of NBC's Channel 4/WNBC to VP of content and audience development. NewsBlues tells us where NBC's local news is heading: "Instead of fires and crime, viewers will be treated to fashion and entertainment news. Because, after all, we are the world's most uninformed and pampered society, so it makes perfect sense in an NBC-Universal cross-promotional corporate culture kind of way. It's hard to cross-promote a stabbing".....

Scannell To Head WNYC - 6/16 - Herb Scannell has been elected chairman of the Board Of Trustees of NYC public radio talker WNYC-AM/FM. He currently serves as chairman of Next New Networks and previously was vice chairman of MTV Networks.....

DE HS Radioer Boycotts Tunes - 6/16 - A Delaware high school radio station draws the wrath of recording industry after boycotting proposed music artist royalty fees. More at delawareonline.com.....

DTV Troubles For 6 - 6/15 - Channel 6/WPVI Philadelphia has experienced significant reception problems since turning off analog Friday and switching its DTV channel, according to both numerous viewer posts on its website and a story from the station's newscast. B&C has more.....

Bob Lawrence Dies - 6/15 - Former New York Islanders radio voice and Long Island WGBB program director/general manager Bob Lawrence died on 6/12 at age 70.....

Anastos Reflects After 30 - 6/15 - The Examiner takes a look at the 30-year NYC local TV news career of Ernie Anastos.....

NBC10's John Blunt Says Adios - 6/15 - NBC10's John Blunt is retiring this week and says that he came to that decision while covering the Amish school shooting in Lancaster County in October 2006 - though he did finish out his last contract. "One body too many," says Blunt, 68. "I came back and I told my news director, 'I can't do it anymore. I'm just tired of seeing killings," says Blunt, who graduated from Olney High with Mike Strug, who retired from Channel 10/WCAU last week. More from philly.com.....

2 Cut At 9 - 6/12 - Jennifer Jordan and Megan Vega are the latest victims of the slumping economy and budget-slashing at WWOR/Channel 9. Both correspondents and fill-in anchors have been told their contracts are not being renewed, and they'll be leaving this month. More from the NY Daily News.....

Stern Back To Terrestrial Radio? - 6/11 -

Bay area media commentator Rich Lieberman says the big rumor is that Howard Stern (left) is mulling the real possibility of returning to broadcast radio, as his $500 million deal with Sirius XM Satellite Radio is nearing expiration and "the novelty of satellite radio has waned considerably." There are those who wonder where the "King Of All Media" will wind up, or whether he even wants to get back to the radio business. Stern still has a loyal fan base and millions of listeners, says Lieberman, from the streets of Manhattan to the San Francisco. If Stern were to re-emerge on commercial radio, he predicts a major syndicator will work the deal, such as Talk Radio Network or Dial-Global. Lieberman expects to hear Stern back on broadcast radio sometime in 2010, reports Radio-Online.com.....

More Beck At WOR - 6/11 - NYC talker WOR (710 AM) gives Glenn Beck another hour, airing him from 9 AM to noon, starting 6/22. That bumps local talker Joan Hamburg from noon to 2 PM, and kicking Dr. Joy Browne from afternoons to the 10 PM to midnight slot. WOR will debut Dr. Ronald Hoffman from midnight to 1 AM, and cut back overnighter Joey Reynolds from a five to four hours.....

Rohm To Oversee CC's Philly Stations - 6/10 - John Rohm has been named president and market manager of Clear Channel's Philadelphia radio cluster. Including WDAS, WIOQ, WISX, WRFF, WUBA, and WUSL. Rohm will continue to manage the company's Pittsburgh radio cluster while adding Philadelphia to his dutes. He replaces Manuel Rodriguez.....

NBC "Promotes" Burns - 6/9 - Several days ago, DCRTV tipped you that Vickie Burns was gone from her news director post at NYC NBCer Channel 4/WNBC. Now, NewsBlues tells us that, fourteen months after joining 4, WNBC has "promoted" Burns to the newly created role of VP of content and audience development for NBC Local Media New York. She will be responsible for "developing and implementing an overall strategy to build audiences across all of NBC's platforms," including WNBC, NY Nonstop, and NBCNewYork.com.....

4 NYC TVers To Pool Video - 6/8 - The pool will open just in time for the sticky New York summer, as TVers WNYW, WNBC, WPIX, and WCBS commence a video-sharing local news service June 22. The stations say they'll pool "video newsgathering resources for certain events, allowing each station to increase their focus on specialized enterprise reporting. The stations will continue to operate independently in all other aspects of their businesses, including newsgathering operations." More from B&C.....

Mendte Sues 3 Newspaperers - 6/4 - Former CBS3 anchor Larry Mendte filed a lawsuit late yesterday against two Philadelphia Inquirer reporters and a former Philadelphia Daily News columnist, claiming charges of defamation and false light, according to court documents. More from philly.com.....

Knight Becomes PD Of HTG - 6/3 - Matt Knight gets promoted to program director at Press Communications' contemporary hit WHTG, Hit 106, in Monmouth-Ocean NJ. The afternoon personality had been assistant PD.....

10's Mike Strug Retiring - 6/3 - NBC10, WCAU reporter Mike Strug, who has worked on Philadelphia television for more than 40 years, is retiring. "I accepted a buyout that I’m very happy with,” Strug told philly.com "I’m in a position where I would have retired at the end of my contract anyway, in about a year-and-a-half. I couldn’t have planned it any better".....

Pinfield Returns To RXP - 6/2 - Matt Pinfield returns to mornings Emmis alternative rocker WRXP (101.9 FM) in NYC. Back in early May, Pinfield took a leave of absence to deal with a dependency issue. R&R has more.....

GM Could Sink Sirius XM - 6/2 - General Motors' demise dooms Sirius XM. Scott Moritz, TheStreet.com's senior technology writer, breaks down the impact of GM's bankruptcy on the satellite radio business. At thestreet.com.....

NYC's Naked Cowboy Sues Clear Channel - 6/1 - Radio-Info.com tells us that New York City's famous Naked Cowboy sues Clear Channel. Robert Burck claims Clear Channel radio station WFLZ in Tampa is ripping off his trademarked image. That image is of a man who boldly wears just a cowboy hat, boots, white briefs, and a guitar. Burck has made a living off his act for years and claims he’s trademarked it. His suit, filed in US District Court in Newark and reported by Bloomberg, alleges that the WFLZ Naked Cowboy "trades on" and "tarnishes" the "goodwill generated by the Naked Cowboy during his career as an entertainer." The Tampa Cowboy is featured on videos posted on YouTube, and WFLZ is offering to book him for promotional purposes using an 800 number.....

Mendte's House Arrest Ends - 6/1 -

Larry Mendte's (left) six-month house arrest will end today, when the US Probation Office will remove the monitoring equipment that's made him a prisoner of his Chestnut Hill home. Mendte pleaded guilty in the summer in federal court to cyber-spying on former CBS3 colleague Alycia Lane and passing sensitive info to gossip columns. eanwhile, Lane's civil lawsuit, in which she alleges Mendte and the station ruined her career, continues. Mendte, who has not divulged his next career move, still has to serve 2-1/2 years of probation, so reports philly.com.....

4 Cuts Jeffrey Lyons - 5/29 - Veteran movie critic Jeffrey Lyons is joining the parade of familiar faces that have disappeared from WNBC/Channel 4. His syndicated series, "Reel Talk," has been canceled and he's leaving the station next month after the last edition airs. There's more from the NY Daily News.....

Ken Dermota Dies - 5/29 - Ken Dermota, 53, a journalist and former union organizer who specialized in issues involving Latin America, died on 5/11 of cancer at Washington Hospital Center. For 10 years, Dermota was an organizer for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union in New York before moving to Colombia in 1990 to work as a freelance journalist. He wrote for Business Week, the Christian Science Monitor, Le Monde, the Boston Globe, and the Toronto Globe And Mail, and reported for National Public Radio and NBC Radio. More from the Washington Post.....

4 May Replace 5 PM Newscast With "Lifestyle" - 5/28 -

The Observer reports that rumors are currently swirling at Channel 4/WNBC, NBC's flagship station in NYC, that executives at NBC Universal are considering the creation of a daily 5 PM lifestyle show that could debut on affiliate stations around the country as early as the fall of 2009. That could spell the end, locally, of WNBC's 5 PM newscast, currently anchored by Sue Simmons and David Ushery.....

LTW Tops NYC Radio Heap - 5/28 - Adult contemporary WLTW is back on top of the NYC Portable People Meter radio ratings heap. With WHTZ, WCBS-FM, WAXQ, and WCBS-AM rounding out the top five. More from R&R.....

CBS & Tribune To Pool With Fox & NBC - 5/27 - Several months after Fox and NBC moved to start LNS - Local News Service), Broadcasting And Cable reported on May 4th that CBS and Tribune are moving to pool their Chicago stations (WBBM-TV and WGN-TV) with Fox and NBC's recently launched LNS agreement with WFLD-TV and WMAQ-TV. A story that may be fueling rumors about the possibility of Philly's Channel 3/KYW pooling with Channel 10/WCAU and Channel 29/WTXF, as well as NYC TVers Channel 2/WCBS and Channel 11/WPIX pooling with Channel 4/WNBC and Channel 5/WNYW in the coming months. More at B&C.....

Kidd Chris Returns Via The 'Net - 5/26 - "The Kidd Chris Show," last heard on CBS Radio rocker WYSP (94.1 FM) before getting yanked in May 2008 over a racist song that was performed by in-studio guest, will resurface live via kiddshow.com today at 3 PM.....

NJ's 97.3 To Stop KXW Relay - 5/26 - Millenium talker WKXW, 101.5 FM in Trenton, is pulling the plug on its 97.3 FM simulcast in Millville/Atlantic City. Come 6/1, the 97.3 signal will pick up sister sports talker WENJ, 1450 AM, out of Atlantic City.....

Cuts At 40 - 5/22 - NewsBlues tells us that Atlantic City's Channel 40/WMGM has ordered across-the-board pay cuts and fired three staffers, including sports reporter Pete Thompson.....

TVers Make Cuts - 5/21 - Nearby news. The Philadelphia Inquirer looks at how changing viewer habits, including fewer eyeballs glued to local newscasts, and the recession's slumping ad climate are causing massive cuts at local TVers.....

Cuts Coming To NBC10 - 5/19 - NBC-owned Channel 10/WCAU to lay off up to 30 percent of newsroom staff. More from philly.com.....

Changes At 2 - 5/19 - WCBS/Channel 2 has quietly changed its daytime anchor assignments. For now on, Maurice DuBois and Kate Sullivan will anchor the morning news and handle the noon newscast, while Don Dahler and Dana Tyler, who had been filling the noon slot, will continue with the 6 PM newscast. The NY Daily News has more.....

Shister Leaving Inquirer - 5/19 - After 30 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, TV columnist Gail Shister is leaving. More at philly.com.....

CSB To Survive Bankruptcy - 5/19 - Dick Robinson,who founded the Connecticut School Of Broadcasting in 1964, has won approval to buy back the bankrupt business and campuses in seven states for about $1 million. More from the Hartford Courant.....

"Pre-Packaged Bankruptcy" For Clear Channel? - 5/14 - Radio giant Clear Channel Communications has begun reaching out to lenders about restructuring the company's massive debt load just nine months after the company was acquired in a $27 billion leveraged buyout, sources told the NY Post. One topic being debated is a pre-packaged bankruptcy. The talks are at an early stage.....

ABC Radio Vet Robert Pauley Dies - 5/14 - Robert Pauley, a former president of the ABC Radio network who championed radio broadcasting at a time when television was replacing it as a dominant medium, died in New Haven, Connecticut., on May 2. He was 85. More from the NY Times.....

Geffen Using DC "Seed Money" For NY Times Bid? - 5/14 - DCRTV hears that Hollywood mogul David Geffen is putting together financing for a possible purchase of the struggling New York Times. Including some "seed money" from some big DC lefty political powerbrokers. More soon.....

WBAI PD "Fired" - 5/13 - From the NY Daily News: The changing of the guard at Pacifica's WBAI (99.5 FM) has picked up speed, with longtime program director Bernard White put on 10-day suspension, which he says really means he's fired. "This is a termination," said White in a note to his supporters after he was ushered from the building Friday. "I am not allowed in the building," he said, "and I am unable to retrieve my personal belongings that I have accumulated over my 29-year association with WBAI." Critics of White and former station manager Anthony Riddle, who was offered a reassignment last week, say these moves are necessary to rebroaden WBAI's audience without compromising its original mission as a free-speech alternative to commercial media.....

More Sliwa On 770 - 5/12 - Citadel talker WABC (770 AM) drops the hour of Laura Ingraham at 9 PM that it had been carrying in favor of a local hour of Curtis Sliwa, before his national show starts at 10 PM.....

Teen Pleads Not Guilty In Slaying Of WABC Newsman - 5/11 - The accused teen killer of WABC radio newsman George Weber had answered a Craigslist ad placed by the victim seeking a sadomasochistic partner to smother him, according to police documents unsealed Friday. John Katehis told NYPD homicide detectives after his arrest that he was neither bisexual nor gay, but was merely seeking to score a quick $60 he had negotiated from Weber for the kinky act. Katehis, 16, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday on murder charges, where his lawyer Jeffrey Schwartz argued the teen was defending himself from a sexual attack by Weber who called himself "smotherboy" and was wielding a knife. The NY Daily News has more.....

Goldman Sachs To Control Debt-Ridden Nassau - 5/9 - Goldman Sachs will take a controlling stake in Nassau Broadcasting, the Princeton-based owner of Trenton's WPST (94.5 FM) and 53 other East Coast radio stations, in exchange for forgiving part of the company's debt. In a memo to employees dated April 27, CEO Lou Mercatanti said Nassau has "been working with our lenders to come up with a viable plan to refinance or restructure the company's debt in the face of the country's worst credit crisis and advertising markets in decades." The move was precipitated by the coming due of a debt package on September 30, he said yesterday. More from nj.com.....

Tom Burlington Sues Fox29 - 5/7 - Former Fox29 weekend anchor Tom Burlington has alleged in a suit that Fox-owned station management discriminated against him for using a racial epithet (the "n-word") during a planning meeting at which colleagues discussed a news story about a mock funeral for the word. Burlington, 41, of Malvern, was suspended after the incident and dismissed eight months later, in February 2008, at the end of his contract. In his lawsuit, filed Monday in US District Court in Philadelphia, Burlington, who is white, asserts that he was subjected to a hostile work environment because of his race. The Philadelphia Inquirer has more.....

"WIBG-FM" Sold - 5/6 - All Access tells is that Coastal Broadcasting oldies WILW in Avalon/Wildwood, has been sold to Rick Brancadora's WIBG LLC for $1.475 million. Brancadora, owner of religious WIBG-AM in Ocean City, took over the station under a time brokerage agreement last month and relaunched the station as "WIBG-FM Wibbage" using the heritage calls and slogan of Philadelphia's 1960's "top 40" giant, Salem talker WNTP.....

Times Postpones Globe Closing Threat - 5/5 - After wringing concessions from all but one of the Boston Globe's labor unions, the New York Times Company on Monday postponed its threat to start the process of closing the Globe, leaving the newspaper's immediate future resting on talks with the largest union, the Boston Newspaper Guild. More from the Times.....

Dan Rice Out Of 4 Job - 5/4 - Dan Rice is finding it a bit odd to have his feet on the ground. For more than a dozen years, Rice spent much of his workdays overhead, covering the city for WNBC/Channel 4 and before that for WCBS/Channel 2. Last week, he lost his job because of a helicopter-sharing arrangement between Channel 4 and WNYW/Channel 5 that took Chopper 4 out of the air. More from the NY Daily News.....

Pinfield Takes Leave From RXP - 5/1 - All Access tells us that alternative rock WRXP (101.9 FM) morning man Matt Pinfield is taking leave from the Emmis station to concentrate on battling an undisclosed dependency. The station, which has voiced its support for Pinfield in the matter, is airing PSAs about substance abuse to build awareness of the issue throughout the next month.....

Bronson To LTW Mornings - 4/29 - Bob Bronson takes over mornings at Clear Channel's adult contemporary WLTW (106.7 FM) in NYC. He'll be partnered with Christine Nagy, who had been working alongside Karen Carson since late 2006, when the two women replaced 17-year WLTW morning host Bill Buchner. Bronson comes from Manchester NH's adult contemporary WZID (95.7 FM).....

NY Times To Sell QXR - 4/28 - Beethoven and Bach could become the latest victims of the New York Times Company's financial crisis. Rumors are raging that top suits have discussed putting classical radio station WQXR (96.3 FM) on the block to shore up the company's dwindling cash stash, which is down to $34 million after debts are weighed in. More from the NY Post.....

5 Cans Sheehan - 4/28 - Veteran New York City cop-turned-reporter Mike Sheehan has been fired by WNYW/Channel 5 after 16 years. More from the NY Daily News.....

NY Rags See Circ Drops - 4/27 - Daily circulation at the New York Times dropped 3.5 percent. The Times' Sunday circ was down 1.7 percent. New York's Daily News was off 14 percent, but rival New York Post lost even more, at minus 20 percent. The Star-Ledger of Newark shed over 16 percent. Newsday, by comparison, lost 3 percent. More from E&P.....

WARM Returns - 4/23 - Radio-Info.com tells us that Scranton's ailing WARM (590 AM) is back on the air. Citadel engineers somehow restored service to one of Northeast Pennsylvania’s oldest signals about a week after it fell silent because of transmitter and other technical problems. For a while it seemed as if the loss might be permanent, and the local newspapers and TV made a big fuss about its heritage as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's early top 40 station. The station has recently been using Citadel’s own "True Oldies" format, and that’s now back on the air.....

Additions At Pulse 87.7 - 4/23 - NYC's Pulse 87.7, WNYZ, adds former WHTZ DJ Niko for the night shift, while former WKTU DJ Borasio takes middays.....

WHYY Makes Cuts - 4/23 - Philadelphia public broadcaster WHYY (TV 12, FM 90.9) is laying off 16 full-timers and one part-timer. Resulting in a $1.2 million cut from the budget.....

Jim Nettleton To New "Wibbage" - 4/22 - From R&R: On the heels of last week's news that the legendary top 40 "Wibbage" brand of the '50s and '60s on WIBG (990 AM) Philadelphia has arrived on WILW (94.3 FM) in Avalon NJ, thanks to Rick Brancadora's LMA with Coastal Broadcasting and a signed asset purchase agreement, comes news that "Diamond Jim" Nettleton will be taking over mornings. Nettleton is a vet of such infamous Philly call letters as WFIL, WCAU-FM, WUSL, and WPEN. He also worked on the air at NYC's WABC-AM from 1969 to 1971.....

Berman's Final Day At 4 - 4/22 - Len Berman will sign off from WNBC/Channel 4 Wednesday night after 24 years as its sportscaster, but his "Spanning the World" segments will live on. Berman said the popular highlights reels will be incorporated into the "Today" show, perhaps as early as next month. The NY Daily News has more.....

Dylan Ditching Sirius XM? - 4/22 - From the NY Daily News: If we can trust the signals Bob Dylan seemed to be sending on his "Theme Time Radio Hour" program over Sirius XM last Wednesday, one of the best radio shows in recent years is all over now, baby blue. It's also true that even deciphering Dylan's cryptic signals, never mind trusting them, can be an act of madness. Dylan's such a contrarian that he might do more shows just because his listeners assumed he wouldn't. Right now, neither Dylan nor Sirius XM has made any declaration beyond rerunning shows. A note on the XM "Deep Tracks" page last week mentioned "the fall season"; then that disappeared, and the company isn't returning phone calls.....

WNUW Goes Hot AC - 4/21 - From R&R: With a playlist that now sports Beyonce's "Single Ladies," Lady GaGa, and Pink's "Sober," as well as the new Green Day track "Know Your Enemy," Greater Media's WNUW, Now 97.5 Philadelphia, has officially completed its transformation from adult contemporary to hot AC. "We have been evolving over the last few weeks and have Now officially made the change," says Program Director Jules Riley. "I think it was playing the new Green Day that gave it away".....

"Charlamagne" To WPHI - 4/21 - Radio One urban WPHI, 100.3, The Beat in Philadelphia, has filled its morning drive opening with the addition of "Charlamagne Tha God." He was last heard weekdays co-hosting "The Wendy Williams Experience" on Inner City urban adult contemporary WBLS in NYC and the other affiliates of the Westwood One-syndicated afternoon drive show. R&R has more.....

Knight To WAYV Middays - 4/21 - Radio-Info confirms that in Atlantic City, Jennifer Knight is the new midday DJ on WAYV-FM, 95.1.....

Don Bernstein Dies - 4/21 - Music biz veteran Don Bernstine, who was once music director of Philadelphia rocker WYSP, has died at age 53. He'd also worked for the Hard Rock Cafe and PolyGram, and was road manager for Deep Purple.....

NY Times Company Continues To Slump - 4/21 - The New York Times Company fell into a deeper financial hole during the first quarter as the newspaper publisher's advertising revenue plunged 27 percent in an industrywide slump that is reshaping the print media. Its shares dived Tuesday. The owner of the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the International Herald Tribune, and 15 other daily newspapers said Tuesday that it lost $74.5 million, or 52 cents per share, in the opening three months of the year. That compared with a loss of $335,000 at the same time last year, which was break-even on a per-share basis. AP has more.....

Pam Landry Leaves PLR - 4/20 - After 19 years at Cox rocker, Pam Landry leaves New Haven's WPLR. The music director and midday host and exits over budget cuts. The Wigmaster takes over the slot.....

More Cuts At NY Times - 4/17 - The New York Times unveiled plans on Thursday to eliminate several weekly sections of the newspaper in the latest cost-cutting move at the prestigious but financially troubled daily. AFP has more.....

Citadel's WARM Goes Cold - 4/16 - WARM, the AM-radio station synonymous with Northeastern Pennsylvania, is off the air after broadcasting news, music, and sports for more than 50 years. The station has been silent and a posting on its website thanked listeners for their support. “We love you and we’ll miss you,” it read. Calls to the Citadel -owned station were not returned Wednesday. “WARM is done,” said Sam Liguori. “Unless there’s a miracle they ain’t coming back.” Liguori, 72, of Forty Fort, hosted a Saturday polka show. He said the station’s backup transmitter had failed. “It’s a big technical problem that would cost a lot of money” to repair, he said. More from the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.....

Madden Bids Farewell - 4/16 - John Madden, the most recognized analyst in television sports, is calling it quits. In a statement issued Thursday morning, Madden, who was NBC's number one NFL analyst on the Peacock's Sunday night package, said: "It's time. I'm 73 years old... It's been such a great ride...the NFL has been my life for more than 40 years, it has been my passion - it still is. I appreciate all of the people who are and were such an important part of the most enjoyable, most fun anyone could have... It's still fun and that's what makes it hard and that's why it took me a few months to make a decision." More from the NY Daily News.....

WIBG Calls To Wildwood's 94.3 - 4/16 - Radio-Info.com tells us that the famous “Wibbage” name is back. Ocean City NJ’s WIBG-AM (1020) is in the process of buying Wildwood’s WILW-FM (94.3), and the oldies station is branding itself as “Wibbage FM." For many years in the 1960s and 1970s, the WIBG calls lived on Philly's 990 AM, for a legendary "top 40" outlet.....

Les Keiter Dies - 4/15 - Philadelphia sportscaster Les Keiter died on 4/14. He was 89. He served as sports director at the old Channel 6/WFIL (now WPVI) from 1963 to 1970. Before then, he called sports events for NYC's WINS radio. After the Philadelphia gig, Keiter moved to Honolulu, where he was the longtime sports director for KHON-TV. He also appeared on several episodes of "Hawaii Five-O" with Jack Lord, a Philadelphia native.....

Where Will Chris Booker End Up? - 4/14 - From the Philadelphia Inquirer: On which coast will Chris Booker wind up? Booker, ousted last May from his morning show on Q102 and let go in February from his next job at K-Rock in New York (format change), auditioned for three days last week at L.A.'s new AMP Radio. Booker is still collecting paychecks. One is from CBS, which owns both K-Rock (now 92.3 NOW) and AMP, and a second is from the remaining term with Clear Channel for Q102. Booker also recently did a tryout at Fresh 102.7, a CBS station in New York, where B101 alumnus Dave Packer hosts mornings. Booker did not return calls for comment. Assume that if he ends up in LA, girlfriend Alycia Lane will follow him.....

Phillies Broadcaster Collapses At Nats Stadium, Dies - 4/13 -

Just hours before the Phillies played in the Nationals' home opener in DC on Monday afternoon, legendary Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas died. He was 73. Kalas collapsed in the press box at Nationals Park and was found at about 12:30 PM by Rob Brooks, the Phillies' director of broadcasting. Emergency medical personnel were called and took Kalas to George Washington University Hospital. The Phillies contacted the White House and said they are not going to visit with the president tomorrow. More from philly.com and washingtonpost.com.....

4 NYC Radioers Make "Top 10" Rev List - 4/13 - NYC's WCBS, WINS, WHTZ, and WLTW make the "top 10" list of top radio revenue billing stations in 2008. More from R&R.....

Seth Everett Joins WEPN - 4/13 - MLB Radio's Seth Everett is joining WEPN (1050 AM) for the 7 PM slot to do a baseball show. He'll also do a Saturday afternoon show. Also, Bill Daughtry will do a 10 PM show on WEPN. He's been a news update anchor.....

Vargus Leaves 29 - 4/9 - Philadelphia's Channel 29/WTXF gives the heave-ho to longtime sports anchor Bill Vargus. His contract wasn't renewed. His wife, weather personality Sue Serio, remains at the Fox station.....

Freedom Tower Deal Collapses - 4/9 - From the NY Observer: A deal to broadcast 11 stations from atop the planned Freedom Tower has fallen apart, seemingly bringing to a close years of negotiations. According to multiple people familiar with discussions, the Metropolitan Television Alliance, a consortium of local television stations, last month informed the Port Authority that it would not be proceeding with a deal for its members to broadcast from an antenna atop the 102-story tower at the World Trade Center site.....

Danni To Mornings At Fresh 102.7 - 4/8 - K-Rock veteran Danni joins Dave Packer in mornings on CBS sister Fresh 102.7, WWFS. She'd been assistant program director and music director of WXRK during its alt rock days. She'll continue programming the K-Rock stream.....

WABC To Syndicate Radio Shows - 4/6 - From Radio-Info.com: Citadel's WABC, New York will directly syndicate Imus, Scarborough, and Sliwa. That news from the station comes just days after the announcement that ABC Radio Networks has been given the new “umbrella name” of Citadel Media. WABC (770 AM) says that all of its programming “is available for national syndication”, and that includes the shows already available through ABCRN – Imus in the morning, Joe Scarborough and Curtis Sliwa. WABC, WPLJ and WABC Radio Network president Steve Borneman says all of the powerhouse station’s shows are available on a barter basis (“at no financial cost”). The announcement of the new WABC Radio Network comes as Citadel sister WMAL, Washington (630) replaces the local Chris Plante show with Joe Scarborough, 10 AM-noon.....

Kris Stevens To XTU Mornings - 4/6 - Kris Stevens moves from afternoons to mornings on Philadelphia country WXTU (92.5 FM). He'll be joining Andie Summers. Stevens replaces Scott Evans, who exits XTU after 10 years. Razz leaves nights to replace Stevens in afternoons.....

NY Times Theatens To Shutter Boston's Globe - 4/4 - In a striking example of corporate hardball, the New York Times Company has threatened to shut down one of its journalistic jewels, the Boston Globe, unless the New England paper's unions agree to sweeping concessions. The Globe quoted union officials last night as saying that Times and Globe executives made the demands in a 90-minute meeting with union officials. The unions were asked to quickly agree to $20 million in cost-cutting moves to avoid the potential shutdown. The executives told the union leaders that the Boston paper will lose $85 million this year without serious cutbacks, the Globe report said. An employee briefed on the discussions was quoted as saying the Globe lost $50 million last year. The Washington Post has more.....

Paul Sidney Dies - 4/3 - Paul Sidney, a Long Island radio station executive and personality who for decades promoted the "fun and personality" of old-style local radio, died Thursday morning after a long illness. He was 69. Sidney's hoarse voice became an East End institution over his many years as a personality on WLNG (1600 AM, 92.1 FM), whose hybrid format of oldies, hit music, and local news attracted both local residents and summer visitors. The NY Daily News has more.....

Pacifica Management Planning Lockout? - 4/3 - The national board of Pacifica Radio - which owns five politically and culturally "progressive" stations around the country - has taken steps to "secure our broadcast signals should we need to prevent legal liability," the board said in a statement Thursday night. The statement was issued after the general manager of the New York Pacifica station, Tony Riddle of WBAI, reportedly wrote to the national Pacifica leadership saying, "It has been brought to my attention that you have issued an order today to change the locks on the WBAI transmitter room in the Empire State Building tomorrow." Journal-isms has more.....

Len Berman Leaves 4 - 4/1 - One of the best-known faces in New York TV, sports anchor Len Berman, is out at Channel 4/WNBC as the station continues to cut high-priced talent. The well-respected Berman, 61, who's been with the station for 24 years, is expected to remain with Channel 4 through this month. His reported $1-million-a-year salary was apparently too much for the station to carry any longer in the face of a severe advertising downturn. The NY Post has more.....

McKay Out At XTU PD - 4/1 - Bob McKay leaves his program director gig at Philadelphia country outlet WXTU (92.5 FM). He'll be starting his own colsultancy. He'll be replaced by Leo Baldwin, who also PDs Beasley sister rhythmic contemporary WRDW (96.5 FM).....

Copyright Dave Hughes/DCRTV.....