Host Resigns After Attending Alt-Right Rally
Dave Reilly submitted his resignation Wednesday night to the owner and General Manager of WHLM in Bloomsberg Pennsylvania, his father Joe Reilly. It was accepted. Advertisers started bolting from the radio station after Dave Reilly was seen in a Unite-the-Right video posted to YouTube.
Alexa: “Play A Beasley Media Station”
Getting in on the Amazon Echo craze, Beasley Media Group has chosen SonicAi, the partnership between jācapps and Amplifi Media, to power its radio stations on the smart speaker device. Listeners to most of Beasley's 63 radio stations will soon be able to call up their favorite Beasley station with a simple command if they own the Amazon device. They will not only be able to play the station's stream, they will be able to call up specific station features.
Mavericks Go Long With Cumulus
A new agreement is signed between the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and Cumulus, extending the partnership between the two companies through the 2022-2023 season. Cumulus' sports/talk station ESPN 103.3 FM has been the exclusive radio broadcast home for Mavericks coverage since 2001. Chuck Cooperstein will continue as in the play-by-play chair for the games.
Two More Florida Pirates Nailed by FCC
Jean Amilcar of West Palm Beach and Roger Bailey of North Lauderdale both have ten days to shut down and respond to the FCC for operating pirate radio stations. Amilcar is accused of having an illegal radio station at his home using the frequency 107.3 in West Palm. Bailey is accused of using 101.1-FM as the frequency for his unlicensed radio station. Read the Amilcar letter HERE and the Bailey letter HERE.
Meet Radio’s Goal Smasher
Cox Media Group's Bill Hendrich could write a how-to book on what it takes to set goals, work toward them and smash them. In some cases, as he points out in our August 14 cover story, he achieved them too quickly. It all worked out in the end as Hendrich climbed his way to the top of the Cox Media group Radio management ladder and, since July of 2015, he's been CMG's EVP of Radio and CMG Research. Not bad for a guy who was running a travel agency in his 20's.
Guam Radio Stations Freak People Out
In a case of bad timing Guam radio stations KTWG and KSTO conducted an unscheduled test of their Emergency Alert System early Monday morning. The Guam office of Homeland Security posted to their Facebook page that the stations had made a mistake.
Beasley Launches Community of Caring Initiative
The company will be utilizing all 63 of its radio stations for a new company-wide “Community of Caring” Public Service initiative. The campaign will involve PSA's and social media campaigns. Topics to be addressed include the opioid epidemic, bullying, racism and mental health awareness.
Are 6 Second Ads B.S. or The Future
That's the question Mark Ramsey asks and answers in his latest edition of Media Unplugged. And...How Hallmark conquered Hollywood. Plus...Rants and raves about what happens when you remove "donuts" from Dunkin Donuts, the scathing critique that almost doomed TV classic Seinfeld, and the billboard that features 43,412 movie nude scenes. Tom Asacker and Mark Ramsey go inside what's really happening in media.
Cumulus Turns In a Nice Q2
Cumulus reported total revenue of $290.5 million in the second quarter of 2017, compared to revenue of $287.2 million in 2016. Westwood One had a very strong quarter with revenue up over 6% to $81.2 million. Radio station revenue was down slightly but still outperformed the markets in which Cumulus operates. Radio station revenue was down .7% to $208.6 million. When you combine the two divisions, Cumulus was up 1.2% for the quarter.
Balance Sheet Challenges Continue For Cumulus
CEO Mary Berner said the company is focused on maximizing the value of Cumulus' great collection of assets, however, she added the company's massive debt continue to be a problem. "Our heavy debt load continues to constrain both our ability to do business in the short-term and achieve our full potential in the long term."















