Melanie Morgan returns to News Talk KSFO-AM, San Francisco, this time as part of the Brian Sussman morning show. For almost 15 years, she was co-host of the Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan show and also was a reporter for KGO-TV in San Francisco, until Talk Radio Network hired her as co-anchor of “America’s Morning News.” KSFO-AM News Director and Program Director Paul Hosley tells us, “We’re thrilled to have Melanie back on KSFO. She’s very popular with listeners, and we’re looking forward to her many contributions on the revamped morning show.”
Former Alternative “Q101″ WKQX-FM, Chicago, morning co-host Steve Tingle is headed for Philadelphia to join morning hosts Chio and Shila at Rhythmic CHR “Wired 96.5″ WRDW-FM. Tingle and his former on-air partner Brian Sherman had been seeking a new opportunity together since being ousted when “Q101″ was sold to Merlin Media and changed formats.
But now they say they “have exhausted all of” their “connections, agents and places to find work as a team,” and are each going for new separate positions. So far, no word of a new gig for Sherman.
Veteran Country radio programmer Becky Brenner is named VP and Consulting Partner with Jaye Albright and Michael O’Malley’s Albright and O’Malley, working out of their west coast offices. Brenner was most recently Program Director for KMPS-FM, Seattle, and Digital Web Manager for the CBS Radio cluster there. Brenner is also a CMA and CRB Board Member, digital media manager and consultant. Says Albright, “I brought Becky into consulting in 1992 when I was General Manager of Seattle-based BP Consulting Group. I can name several hundred broadcasters we worked with back then who immediately missed her when Infinity hired her to return to their Seattle cluster, including KMPS-FM, as its General Program Manager two decades ago. They will be delighted to hear she’s come back to take on consulting clients.”
Cumulus flips “True Oldies 106.1” WMTI-FM, New Orleans, to Sports Talk “106.1 The Ticket“ affiliated with Fox Sports Radio. WMTI-FM was already named the flagship station for the NBA New Orleans Hornets. Team analyst Gerry Vaillancourt will host afternoons from 4-7pm on the new sports talker, which will also air the syndicated shows of Dan Patrick and Jim Rome.
Another change-of-year change-of-format flip is in Baton Rouge where Clear Channel Sports Talk “1210 AM The Score” WSKR-AM flips to Gospel “Hallelujah 1210.” Baton Rouge CBS TV affiliate WAFB-TV reports, “Just one week before LSU tries for the National Championship, many of Baton Rouge’s most recognized sports radio personalities have lost their voices,” and after explaining the WSKR-AM flip adds: “Former show host Buddy Songy told 9News he got a call around 10:30 Sunday morning notifying him of the switch. He said rumors of a change had been swirling in recent weeks, but the timing of the change caught everyone off guard. Jordy Hultberg, Jimmy Ott, Tommy Krysan and Richard Condin also had popular shows on The Score. Long-time radio personalities Clarence Buggs and Scott Innes lost their Clear Channel positions last October.” The 1210 AM signal was originally a Christian Talk station as WBIU-AM until 1997 when it was acquired by Clear Channel and it switched to a Sports Talk format. It was an ESPN Radio affiliate until February 2007, when it switched to affiliation with Fox Sports Radio.
The Buffalo Bills will have a new radio home next season, after Cumulus Buffalo VP and General Manager Chet Osadchey
announces “97 Rock” WGRF-FM and “103.3 The Edge” WEDG-FM will no longer air the games. “97 Rock” has been the NFL team’s flagship radio station for the past 13 years. Cumulus Buffalo has made the decision not to renew their contract to carry the Bills’ games. “After a lengthy negotiation process, we withdrew from the bid process with the team,” says Osadchey. “Listeners will still get Bills (and Buffalo Sabres) coverage and content on a regular basis on both stations. We have enjoyed our relationship with the team and will continue to help them in efforts to remain an integral part of Western New York for many years to come.” Other stations in the Buffalo Bills Radio Network are also affected by the decision.
Clear Channel’s KTWI-FM, Bennington-Omaha, Nebraska, replaces New Country “Twister 93.3” with Classic Country “93.3 The Wolf” after a couple of weeks of stunting. This marks a return of Classic Country to the frequency of the onetime “US 93.3” which ended in 2008.
The FCC fines radio stations in two markets a total of $22,000 for EEO violations. Specifically, the Commission says the stations failed “to comply with the recruitment and self-assessment requirements” of the Commission’s EEO policy.
Max Media’s Norfolk cluster was hit with $8,000 in fines, while Clear Channel’s Greenville, SC, cluster is assessed a total of $14,000. The FCC doesn’t accuse the stations of disciminating, only insufficient advertising of available jobs. The Norfolk stations, says the FCC, filled five of 14 full-time vacancies by relying “solely on Internet websites and word-of-mouth referrals and vacancy postings on the employee board to fill those vacancies” during a two-year period. In South Carolina, eight of 13 full-time vacancies were filled only using “Internet websites and word-of-mouth referrals” in violation of the FCC’s recruitment requirements. “These failures reveal a continuing lack of self-assessment,” says the Commission’s Notices of Apparent Liability for Forefeiture.
WVKO-AM, Columbus, Ohio, will flip to progressive Talk, starting Monday (Jan. 2). An LMA that provided religious programming ends, and a new LMA for the Talk format is beginning. The new lineup features Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann, Mike Malloy, Bill Press and Leslie Marshall, according to the station’s website, which is promoting: “Central Ohio welcomes Progressive Talkers.”
Spanish Broadcasting System appoints Andrew Polsky as VP of Digital Sales of SBS Interactive, responsible for driving the overall growth of SBS’s Digital Media business including www.lamusica.com, www.mega.tv and the 21 SBS radio station websites. Polsky will also ensure that SBS’s Digital Media programs are integrated into the network’s “Original Content Strategy.” Prior to joining SBS, Polsky served as Digital Sales Manager for CBS Corp. where he was responsible for digital sales on television, radio and interactive division sites for five years. “Andrew is a great addition to our strong Digital Media team,” commented SBS Consolidated Operations CRO Albert Rodriguez. “His extensive experience and knowledge of the U.S. Hispanic market will help generate additional growth for SBS’s online community and deliver the best applications, services and programs for our valued audience.”
“SportsRadio 610″ KILT-AM, Houston, is dropping the syndicated Jim Rome in favor of a new local show in the midday slot (11am-2pm) that Rome has recently occupied. The syndicated sports talker has been a fixture at KILT-AM for more than a dozen years, but declining ratings are blamed for ending that relationship. Rome’s syndicated show will be replaced by a new local show hosted by Mike Meltser and Brad Davies called “MAD Radio” set to start next week with the new year. The new show will take a 10am-2pm slot. Meltser currently hosts a 10am-11am show. KILT-AM Program Director Gavin Spittle says Rome’s ratings “have slid to the point where a change is necessary.” He notes that radio “is a performance-based business, and we have exhausted our options.” Spittle adds, “We like Jim and thank him for all he has done for the station. He has been a huge fan of SportsRadio 610, and we have been huge fans of Jim Rome.
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