Headlines

Just days after FCC Chairman Thomas Wheeler told a House Subcommittee new laws were needed to help the government crack down on pirate radio station, Commissioner Ajit Pai echoed those sentiments. And Pai has a suggestion for allowing broadcasters to take enforcement into their own hands.

Pai, a big advocate for revitalizing the AM band, told attendees at the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference Wednesday that of the 500 applications submitted so far, over 400 of them have been approved in the past two months. A far cry from the snails pace of getting AM revitalization out of the starting gate, which took years since Pai proposed it back in 2012.

Former Katz Executive Bob McCurdy is now running his own company called Uppingthevolume.com. On Wednesday, at the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference, McCurdy presented new data on the power of radio. The data, from TouchPoints, highlighted the high use of radio, especially between the hours of 6 a.m.-7 p.m., when consumers are in the money-spending mode.

Phillip Gabbard spent years in radio selling the product. Today he works at inMEDIAto Media Consultants & TuVisionCanal.com and spends millions of dollars a year on radio. He believes in radio and says he can easily provide his clients with measurable results from his radio buys.

The Courier-Journal has the details about a PR firm sueing ESPN 93.9 hosts John Ramsey and Mike Rutherford. The firm is called RunSwitch and its run by Scott Jennings who says the hosts falsely identified him as the source of leaked information that the University of Louisville was about to ban itself from postseason play because of a sex scandal involving its basketball team.

iHeartMedia plans to move Los Angeles Hip Hop morning man Big Boy into additional markets. Premiere Networks will now syndicate Big Boy’s Neighborhood which will continue to originate from iHeartMedia’s Real 92.3 in Los Angeles. The show will be made available to Urban Contemporary and CHR Rhythmic stations from 5 a.m. - 7 p.m. local time on weekdays and weekends.

Gospel station WLIB 1190 AM, hosted its 9th annual radiothon in support of St. Jude Children’s Hospital, raising more than $121,000. During the two-day radio-thon, WLIB and on-air hosts Bishop Hezekiah Walker and Neicy Tribbet, from Afternoon Praise, Yolanda Adams and Liz Black broadcast live from the New York studios.

Gus Garcia is a 27-year-old marketing executive for Alpha Media in West Palm Beach. He's only been in radio for two years and he's piling on success stories using digital strategies that didn't even exist a few years ago.

Jose Dante Parra is the CEO of Prospero Latino. He's a Democratic strategist and was a senior advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. As the opening keynote speaker at the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference, Tuesday, Para told attendees political candidates need to use radio and, he said, the R.O.I. candidates get from radio is huge. He said radio is what helped get Senator Harry Reid re-elected in Nevada. We spoke to Para after his keynote about what radio needs to do to get more political advertising revenue. WATCH HERE.

Popular singer, songwriter, and actor Jencarlos Canela stopped by the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference on Tuesday to heap praise on the radio industry and program directors. Canela, who recently played Jesus Christ on Fox's original live musical The Passion, said his dream was to hear his song played on the radio. "It's every artist's dream. The first time I heard my song I cried. It was an incredible moment." Canela credited his popularity to radio having faith in new artists, setting trends, and being willing to take risks.