Headlines

(Special Guest Column by Rod Schwartz) You prize good word-of-mouth, don’t you? We all do. While favorable word-of-mouth doesn’t exactly create business, it increases the likelihood of establishing a preference for your business or brand in the mind of the hearer. Good radio advertising does the very same thing, only multiplied and amplified. Radio is word-of-mouth on steroids.

Thursday was Don Imus' last radio show, ending a career that started in 1968. It wasn't hours of Imus guests calling in and wishing him well, or telling him how much he was going to be missed. It was actually one live segment, played twice, where Imus tearfully thanked a lot of people -- mostly the listeners.

The Country Radio Seminar has announced its 2018 Country Hall of Fame inductees. Lisa McKay, the long-time PD at WQDR in Raleigh, who died earlier this year, will be inducted along with Mike O'Malley from Albright, O'Malley & Brenner. Three on-air teams will also be inducted.

Some say podcasters are the new minor leagues for radio. That's certainly true in the case of conservative talker Ben Shapiro, who will now be syndicated by Westwood One and The Daily Wire (Shapiro is the editor of The Daily Wire). Shapiro's podcast is downloaded 15 million times every month. The radio version launches Tuesday.

Seton Hall University’s student-run radio station, WSOU 89.5 FM, will celebrate 70 years of continuous operation on Saturday, April 14. Festivities include a gathering of more than 200 station alumni for dinner and the induction of three new members into the WSOU Hall of Fame.

The Conclave has released its agenda for the 43rd Conclave Summer Learning Conference, which will take place July 18–20 at The Doubletree by Hilton, Minneapolis -- Park Place. For the full agenda, visit: The Conclave. Registration is only $249 for a limited time.  

Westwood One and the NCAA will broadcast the 2018 NCAA Men’s Final Four in Spanish for the second consecutive year. The trio of Rafael Hernández Brito, former All-American Greivis Vásquez and Clemson Smith Muñiz will once again announce all the action for the Spanish-language Final Four® and the National Championship.

NuVoodoo Media Services will present a free webinar, “How to Win the Workplace War With PPM Panelists & Diary Keepers,” to radio stations and programming professionals Monday, April 2-Monday, April 9.

Alpha Media Mankato’s KYSM and Z99 raised $77,610 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with a two-day radiothon. The Minnesota stations broadcasted live each day for 12 hours. Sister stations KRBI and KMKO also supported with additional promotional activities.

On Wednesday, the official committee of unsecured creditors objected to Cumulus' plan to reorganize. That was followed by an objection by an ad hoc cross-holder committee. Cumulus quickly followed up with a statement that said the objections were normal and will not impact the company's restructuring timeline.