Headlines

Russia’s lower house of parliament has banned Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The Russian government declared the organizations “foreign agents.” It's retaliation for what the U.S. did to the English-language Russian network RT.

Cape Cod Broadcasting Media, which owns and operates WQRC, 99.9 The Q, WOCN, Ocean 104.7, WKPE, Cape Country 104, WFCC, Cape Classical 107.5, and CapeCod.com, won awards for Spot News Coverage, Individual Commercial Production, and Local Program or Special Event from the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association.

Washington, DC, News/Talk station 105.9FM and AM630 WMAL raised the cash bonanza for Fisher House Foundation. WMAL’s two-day live broadcast on Friday and Saturday, December 1-2, was anchored by station personalities Chris Plante, Larry O’Connor, Mary Walter, and Vince Coglianese.

The Beasley Tampa FM’s Freak Show Personality and Program Director will host the station’s 6th Annual Toy Drive Tower event to benefit the Children’s Home Network in Tampa. Beginning Friday, December 8, at 5 p.m. through Saturday, December 16, at 5 p.m., Davis will perch atop the Toy Drive Tower, an outdoor constructed platform 30 feet in the air.

The Charlotte New Country station will host the second annual St. Jude Radiothon on December 7 and 8, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, to help raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The radiothon will be held at iHeartMedia Charlotte, 801 Wood Ridge Center Drive Charlotte, NC.

Envision and The Jim Brickman Show present the special A Joyful Christmas. Available now via download to radio, the free 24-hours of holiday content features celebrity interviews, the hottest gifts for this holiday season, and easy ways to enjoy family time together.

For what seems like years now Entercom CEO David Field has said radio is undervalued. He's never bought into the radio naysayers who say that flat revenue is the new up. He's consistently stated that radio is the most undervalued and least disrupted media. And he has always said you can reach more people, get better results for far less money, using radio, and "we should act like it." David Field is doing more than just talking the talk.

It dropped down a couple of notches on the Media Monitors weekly chart, however Amazon still aired 36,387 commercials on radio stations across America last week. That was strong enough to place third on the list.

The new call letters for Entercom's WBMX-FM (HOT AC) are now WWBX-FM. Entercom says after twenty six years as WBMX-FM the station will return the call letters back to its original station in Chicago. WJMK-FM (104.3), a Classic Hip Hop station in Chicago Entercom picked up in the CBS merger, will take over the WBMX call letters. The format at WWBX-FM in Boston will stay the same.

iHeartMedia Chicago is bringing back heritage station brand 93.9 LITE FM, when the station ends Christmas music after the holidays. The company is dumping the MYFM moniker, which it switched to in 2013. The format will stay the same (The Best Variety of the 80s, 90s and Now). Kristina Kage, Robin Rock, and Mick Lee will continue to host the station’s programming.