Headlines

Although the company did not specify how the money for digital was spent with Emmis, the company reported an increase in digital revenue of 35% in March, April, and May. That helped offset national business and local spot business being down in the low single-digits. Automotive continues to be Emmis' largest category, making up 13% of its quarterly revenue. The restaurant and cellular businesses were up, and the financial and media categories were the weakest.

Following the Emmis earnings call on Thursday a shareholders meeting was held and a four-for-one reverse stock split was approved. The stock split was designed to prevent a delisting of the company’s stock from NASDAQ.

(By Ryan Wrecker) Your audience has a special connection with your personalities. How they fuel that connection differs from person to person, and the method of delivery is changing. If we’re not careful enough to recognize this new medium (and the impact it will have in our industry), we’ll miss out on monetization opportunities and the marketing and positioning of our personalities as the markets’ top talents.

Nominations close Friday for the Radio Wayne Awards (named after “Radio Wayne” Cornils, 1935-2000, who devoted his life to increasing professionalism in radio). The only way your radio team members can be considered for a Radio Wayne Award is if you nominate them.. MAKE YOUR NOMINATIONS HERE. Your deadline is July 8.

This is a follow-up to our July 5 story where we reported that WCBM's Tom Marr was headed for medical hiatus after suffering a stroke as a result of recent back surgery. Marr has been in Baltimore radio since 1967, and has been with WCBM since 1988. He died Thursday at the age of 73. WCBM Director of Programming & Operations Sean Casey issued this statement...

Thursday on CNN, Reach Media's syndicated host D.L. Hughley had a very moving interview regarding the recent police shootings. He explained to CNN's Chris Cuomo, “I don’t even go to sleep until my children come home, my grown children come home." WATCH HERE.

ESPN Radio 1230 The Fan 2 (WFOM-AM) has signed a multi-year partnership with Kennesaw State Football beginning with the 2016 season. The play-by-play will also stream at atlantasssportsstation.com.

The Detroit News has the details about a Michigan man who lost his case claming Pandora violated his privacy by publicly sharing his preferences. The state Supreme Court ruled Peter Deacon isn’t legally considered a customer, and Pandora listeners can opt to pay to use a version without commercials but “there is nothing to suggest” that Deacon did.

(By Andy Bloom) Garrison Keillor retired last week, ending a 42 year run of his Prairie Home Companion. A few weeks earlier Consultant and Strategist, Fred Jacobs wrote a blog about Keillor's impending retirement and we traded thoughts about the implications for the industry in the aftermath.

(By Ryan Wrecker) All the way from Melbourne, Australia, Sophie Kneebone (which is a great on-air name) shared some insights into getting noticed on iTunes at the Podcast Movement Conference in Chicago. We have all wondered what it would take to get into the upper echelon of podcasting rankings, but for many reasons radio podcasts have had a very hard time achieving that.