Headlines

Media Monitors released its update on the primary elections that will take place in South Carolina this Saturday for the Republicans and next Saturday for the Democrats. Media Monitors has been tracking the political radio ads running in Greenville-Spartanburg, Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina. All the data was from January 1st to February 14th.

Broadcast Attorney David Oxenford takes a swing at this one as Ted Cruz demands TV stations pull PAC ads he says distort his voting record on immigration issues. Cruz says it's a violation of a station's FCC obligations to operate in the public interest to continue to run the ads. Oxenford details what a station can and cannot do in his latest blog posting.

Nearly 30 years ago Saga Communications was launched (it went public in 1992). Ed Christian has run the company since day one. This week, in an SEC filing, the company amended Christian's current employment agreement, extending his contract as President and CEO through March 31, 2021.

These five stations in Lafayette, Indiana now under Neuhoff Communications ownership were part of the Schurz/Gray Television sale which lead to the radio stations being spun off. CEO Beth Neuhoff said, “The incredible team, the phenomenal stations and their dedication to the Lafayette community make them a perfect fit for our growing company."

Radio Ink's Hispanic Radio Conference is being held March 22-23 in Fort Lauderdale — and we have a truly remarkable lineup of keynotes, covering everything from politics to the state of the industry to the relationship of modern performers with radio. Here's a look at our incredible lineup of speakers :

SBS' 97.9FM La Raza has launched “El Vacilon de la Mañana,” a Regional Mexican music-intensive morning show. The show is hosted by Marlene Quinto, Felix Castillo “DJ Boro”, “El Compadre Pop,” and Ramon Castillo Moran “El Monchis.” SBS says the program will also be in San Francisco, San Jose and Chicago soon.

The National Association of Broadcasters has announced the 50 finalists for the 29th Annual NAB Crystal Radio Awards. The Crystal Radio Awards recognize stations for their year-round commitment to community service. Winners will be announced and the finalists will be honored at the Radio Luncheon April 19 at the 2016 NAB Show in Las Vegas. This year's finalists are:

The Academy of Country Music has announced the full list of radio award winners for the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards. This is the second National On-Air Personality of the Year win for The Bobby Bones Show (2013). Radio award winners will not be televised due to time constraints during the live telecast of the awards at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Sunday, April 3rd. Radio winners will be invited to receive their awards at a private reception in Las Vegas, Saturday, April 2nd.

The Philadelphia Phillies and SportsRadio 94WIP have extended their broadcast partnership for play-by-play of Phillies pre-season, regular season and post-season games. The new deal keeps all games on the FM dial. In a contract signed yesterday, it was stipulated that games would air only on WIP (94.1 FM). In the last few years, Phillies games were heard on both WIP-FM and WPHT-AM.

That's the title of a long piece in The Columbia Journalism Review and it focuses on how crucial radio was in getting the word out about the Flint water situation, which is now a major national news story.