Headlines

Both WBZ's Toucher and Rich and WEEI's Kirk and Callahan claim they are number one in the men 25-54 demo. Boston.com's Chad Finn digs dip into the Nielsen dilemma in the city with two highly successful and entertaining sports morning shows, four very successful pro sports teams, and legions of fans to both.

(By Jon Quick) Whether it’s an advertiser remote or the content of the 12, 14, or 18 units an hour, there must be synergy between programming and sales to optimize the commercial parts of the station sound. If you’re a programmer who believes that there should still be a wall between programming and sales, think again.

ASCAP announced Thursday it had collected record-high revenues in 2017. Last year ASCAP collected $1.144 billion in revenue -- and for the first time ever ASCAP distributed $1 billion to songwriters, composers, and music publishers. Revenue was up 8 percent and distributions were up 10 percent over 2016.

The NAB says four members of the House and one Senator have added their support for the Local Radio Freedom Act, which is a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on radio stations. Here are the new names from DC. that are showing their love for radio.

Armen Williams is the Program Director for Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan in Denver. Williams started in radio as a promotions intern at KPLX in Dallas. And like so many people in the radio business, he caught the radio bug early. This year Williams has been voted one of Radio Ink's Best Programmers.

The RAB has announced that Comcast’s Xfinity brand has been selected to receive the 2018 Radio Mercury Awards “Radio Marketer of the Year" award. Xfinity is a 52-week advertiser in local radio and the company is also big on leveraging DJ relationships.

(By Radio Ink Chairman Eric Rhoads) Give the media a little bad news, and they’ll milk it to death. Give them a chance to bash another medium that competes for dollars, and they’ll do their best to destroy their rival. Two Chapter 11 bankruptcies for radio is a chance for other media to say radio is dead.

(By Gabriel Barnes) At what point did we stop providing real marketing solutions that provide measurable ROI for our clients, and begin to focus on doing whatever it takes to hit our sales budgets? I have sat in numerous sales meetings and been on countless sales calls, and it seems that the words “return on investment” are forbidden. Why is that?

(By Ronald Robinson) According to reputable research from informed, reliable sources, radio still enjoys a reach in the mid-90s percentile. Radio, quite often, has been able to demonstrate an impressively healthy Return On Investment for many advertisers. So, how come all the sincere whining about radio’s “low, low, bargain basement rates” and the minimal preferences for radio as an advertisers’ medium?

WDRV-FM/Chicago’s The Sherman & Tingle Show recently celebrated the success of their “Give a Vet a Pet” campaign. The show, in partnership with the 1 Pet-1 Vet charity, aimed to raise enough money in one week to provide a service dog to a local veteran suffering from PTSD. They blew away their goal.