Headlines

The Home Depot continues to be radio's number one advertiser, according to Media Monitors. After airing over 61,000 commercials last week, The Home Depot made it 13 consecutive weeks on top of the Media Monitors chart. GEICO held on to the number two spot (41,112), following by Lowe's (33,827), JC Penny (26,082) and McDonald's (26,053).

Among the honors the NPR station won in the competition run by the Florida Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, was the coveted Anchor of the Year prize. That honor went to All Things Considered host Lisa Peakes (pictured), at the 23rd Annual Sunshine State Awards announced Saturday night in Miami.

(By Bob McCurdy) I recently read an article in Advertising Age that I've been thinking about ever since. While it dealt with one client’s view of advertising agencies, it would not be too much of a stretch to envision a local advertiser voicing similar concerns to us, given the opportunity.

The interest in purchasing FM translators continue to be high and they are selling for big money. Broker Dick Kozako tells Radio Ink that W288CS (105.5mhz) in Rochester is being purchased for $650,000 by Blue Light Communications in New York City. The sellers are Russell Kimble and Patricia Anderson

Overall, the ad market was up 3.8% in the quarter, mostly due to digital growing 11%, according to Standard Media Index. The social-media category saw spending increase a whopping 55%. Premium video was also strong, up 30%. In that category, Hulu climbed 11%. Magazine and newspapers continues to decline, with magazines down 16% and newspapers off 20%. SMI says radio also took a hit in the quarter, down 4%, and out-of-home lost 1%. This week we start to get a closer look at how radio performed in Q2 as companies begin to report earnings, including Entercom on Friday.

The day’s broadcast theme Made in America will feature senior members of the Trump Administration as program guests on approximately 20 Salem Media Group radio shows. Hosts Hugh Hewitt, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Larry Elder and Eric Metaxas will be joined by local hosts from Salem owned stations for a combined 36 hours of live programming.

88Nine Radio Milwaukee (88.9 WYMS-FM) has commissioned two colorful, original murals aimed at spurring community conversations. The non-profit station launched the mural initiative and commissioned local artists, using grant money, as a way to give back to Milwaukee as part of the station’s activities recognizing its 10th anniversary on air and in the community.

Local Radio Networks has hired Chris Reeves, Chris Hatton, and Jonathan Steele for LRN’s 24/7 format team. Reeves joins as Executive Vice President, Programming & Operations, Hatton becomes Director, 24/7 Creative Services, and Steele becomes Director, Programming Operations. LRN has 12 formats.

That’s actually Portland’s 98.7 The Bull (KUPL) which went live on Facebook at the Humane Society for Southwest Washington and ended up reuniting Ronald The Mastiff – who had been at the Humane Society for a while – with his former owner. How? The Bull’s Tony, McKinzie, and Jake captured Ronald on Facebook Live which reached a woman who recognized him.

The Austin-based funk-rock-blues band will perform during the 2017 Radio Show's Opening Reception on Tuesday, September 5 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at the JW Marriott Austin. Produced by the National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau, the annual Radio Show brings broadcasters and industry colleagues together.