Headlines

Stephens Media Group is buying 14 stations in Yakima and Tri Cities, Washington, from Ingstad Radio. Stephens Media Group owner David Stephens said, “These radio stations represent exactly what we look for when buying. A diverse portfolio of formats, a strong commitment to the community, and an accomplished team already in place."

LRN has expanded its on-air team with 15 major-market and network hires across its 24/7 Music Formats. CEO Steve Swick said, “This is a tremendous opportunity for small- and medium-market stations across the country to have nationally recognized, major-market, super talent on the air."

(By Barry Cohen) Open your briefcase, or your laptop, or your tablet. If your selling tools consist of antenna height, wattage, music playlist, personality line-up, bumper stickers, and a rating book, you may need a new tool kit. Dig down to the bottom. Did you find anything else?

It's called Broadcasting Hope, an industry-wide campaign with a goal of reaching broadcasters and letting them know that if they are in acute need they can apply for aid from the Broadcasters Foundation. The new campaign will run in radio and TV trade publications beginning this week.

The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters has created a new campaign called Use Your Power. The campaign is directed at the listeners of NABOB member and African American-targeted radio stations.

Our thanks to Aaron Criswell from Adams Radio Group's Classic Rocker KSNM-FM in Las Cruces, New Mexico, for today's advertiser success story. Aaron tells Radio Ink about his client Forghedaboudit New York Italian Cuisine. (Our weekly Advertiser Success Stories are sponsored by Sun & Fun Media).

The online sports industry will be explored in a new conference titled “eSports: Get in on the Action” on Wednesday, April 11, as part of the 2018 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The conference, which is produced in partnership with the eSports Ad Bureau, comprises six sessions.

It's been years in the making. The Bubba The Love Sponge ratings tampering case in Tampa was scheduled to begin today. However, we were told Monday morning the trial has been delayed and there is no start date scheduled.

(By Andrew Curran) Much has been written about the disruption created by new technology platforms such as Airbnb, Uber, and Pandora. Digital headlines create a black-and-white world of winners and losers. However, the world is rarely so cut and dry.

(Bob McCurdy) The headlines this past week regarding the state of digital metrics were as positive for that industry as the Stormy Daniels headlines have been for Trump. I've included several here and added my comments to each.