Headlines

Four months after leaving the station, which was preceded by a long farewell tour, Mike Francesa appears to be headed back to work at WFAN in New York City. The New York newspapers are reporting that Francesa will take over the 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. slot reducing the amount of airtime for his replacements, Chris Carlin, Maggie Gray and Bart Scott.

St. Louis state senator Jamilah Nasheed (pictured) says KQQZ-AM host Bob Romanik uses racist and homophobic comments on the air and she's written a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai asking that he pull the station's license and levy a big fine against the station.

Media writer Robert Feder has the story about Entercom's WBBM sending a cease-and-desist order to iHeartMedia's WKSC-FM for using the phrase "Showbiz Shelley."

The Country Radio Broadcasters have announced who will serve on the 2018-2019 CRS Agenda Committee. On Feb. 13-15, 2019, the Country Radio Broadcasters will celebrate the organization’s milestone 50th Anniversary Country Radio Seminar. Here's who will organize that historic event.

Alpha Media-Watertown, SD, stations KDLO and KS93 raised over $115,000 for Children’s Miracle Network with a two-day radiothon. The stations broadcasted live each day for 12 hours.

Borrell and Associates has issued a revised report for the amount of money that will be spent on political advertising in 2018. An additional $321 million was added to Borrell's earlier estimates, and radio will receive approximately $683.4 million, up 21.1% from Borrell's earlier forecast. If true, radio will take in 7.7% of the total ad-spend pie.

For the answer to that important question we turned to Borrell's Vice President of Research Corey Elliot. Radio managers love political season. While the industry could always do better in terms of getting a bigger piece of the overall political advertising spending pie, there's no doubt politics drives revenue at many radio stations.

The Columbia Journalism Review has a lengthy piece about how AM radio is making a big comeback in Puerto Rico following a devastating 2017 hurricane. The article focused on several stations that stayed on the air, including WKJB 710 AM, providing vital information to local residents.

In a piece called "Smartphone FM Radio Capabilities Enhance Public Safety at No Cost," Forbes contributor Steve Pociask points out how vital radio is during times of emergency. "The value of FM radio has been demonstrated again and again."

WTOP was awarded nine Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association Awards, including the award for best website, WTOP.com, and best on-air newscast. In 2018 alone, WTOP has received over 31 major journalism awards.