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(By Loyd Ford) Radio is in the perfect position to explore closer relationships with local listeners through adventures in social media and in your own online resources. You can’t do that without a higher profile. Here are three ways to use fun, video, and local people to make more of a name for yourself.

(By Ronald Robinson) After a year of tidying up around my local radio station, being the jock “go-fer” and riding the board during remotes, I was going to be allowed to pull some weekend fill-in shifts. Although I had already determined I was going to be a professional, radio smart-ass – surrounded by the hits – when I thought of it, I was terrified. My mouth would become Burning Man-dry.

Sun Broadcast Group announced Thursday that it will present a special commercial free, three-hour 4th of July edition of its new weekend retro-mix show. The ‘80s Mix, is a weekly unhosted program that features exclusive mixes and mash-ups of hits from Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and more.

Compass Media Networks is offering a 4th of July special, America’s Birthday Party, hosted by Stoney Creek Records’ Thompson Square along with Silverfish Media’s Carsen, host of Country with Carsen.

This could be a sign of things to come for radio stations that have used text messaging to contact their "loyal listeners" without getting the proper permission or understanding the rules.

Ever get tired of hearing people bash radio and its migration of listeners to digital. Here's something that might cheer you up a bit. MediaPost has the details from Moffett Nathanson Research, using Nielsen analysis, which said the networks experienced a 5% decline in the 2015-2016 TV season. (Picture courtesy MediaPost.)

Four members of the House have signed on to the NAB's Local Radio Freedom Act, a resolution that opposes "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on radio stations. With the addition of Rep. Elijah Cummings from Maryland, Jaime Herrera Beutler from Washington, Virginia's Stacey Plaskett, and Indiana's Todd Young, the resolution now has 232 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 26 in the Senate.

Texas A&M University has a new Houston affiliate. KFNC-FM 97.5 ESPN Houston and KGOW-AM 1560 Yahoo! Sports Radio becomes the new home for the Aggies beginning this fall. The new five-year agreement kicks off with football this fall. The deal, between Gow Media and Learfield, the Aggies’ exclusive multimedia rights holder, includes football, men’s basketball, and seasonal coaches’ shows.

On June 21, 2012, US Army pilot David Ortiz of Denver was involved in a life-threatening helicopter crash serving in Afghanistan. Ortiz was rushed into surgery, where he flat-lined twice. Ortiz survived the crash, but he's living as a paraplegic due to the injuries. The incident inspired Ortiz to face a fear of his each year on the anniversary of his crash and KYGO Denver is involved