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(By Ronald Robinson) One of the many components of radio communications that has, I suspect, never been addressed, is the use of the many forms of the negative. It is the case where we, as natural speakers of the language, have always used the negative in our everyday speech and, of course, we use it on the air and in copywriting as well.

The National Association of Media Brokers made the announcement Sunday. Hawkins was a longtime member of NAMB. He passed away at a rehabilitation facility near his home in Wetumpka, Alabama, on Thursday, March 9 after undergoing surgery a week earlier.

Zach Bye, formerly the co-host of Big Board Sports on 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio, is making the move to Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan (KKFN-FM)/Denver, to team up with Brandon Stokely. Stokley and Zach will air weekdays from 12 to 3 p.m., beginning Friday, March 31, 2017.

WKSE/KISS 98.5 FM in Buffalo has brought in Greg Cypin to be the station’s Music Director and afternoon drive-time on-air talent. Cypin lands in Buffalo from Boise, having previously done stints in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Portland. He officially joins the KISS staff March 27.

The Milwaukee Country station, unveiled their new morning show, Friday. Ridder, Scott and Shannen will air weekdays, 5 a.m.-10 a.m. Shannen grew up listening FM106.1 and discovered a passion for country music.

Afternoon host Cortney Hicks will shift to daytime announcer in the 10 a.m.-3 p.m. slot. She will also continue her duties as V 101.9 Music Director. Hicks’ move finds Tone X taking over afternoons, 3-7 p.m. And that's just the start of it.

“Charlotte’s Plug For New Hip-Hop and R&B,” Power 98/WPEG-FM, have a new trio of hosts for their listeners -- and don’t let the names throw you off. Ya Girl Nikki will take over weekday evenings 7 p.m. to Midnight; Mr. Incognito will move to mornings; and John “Sport E. Odie” Adams will take over the afternoon shift from 3p.m.-7p.m., Monday through Friday.

The Amarillo station’s annual Jude Country Cares Radiothon was a corker, raising $50,639 and topping last year’s total by $8,000.

The new partnership will allow PodcastOne to offer advertisers audio advertising with one-to-one targeting abilities. PodcastOne will now be able to use AdsWizz’s suite of products, including Audio Ad Insertion Software for on-demand content, AudioServe for campaign management, and PodWave, a marketplace for podcast audio inventory.

According to the 2017 Infinite Dial Study, 82% of the U.S. population listens to AM/FM radio every month in their vehicles. CDs are next at 52%, digital music is at 45%, and online radio, which includes streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify, lags way behind at 26%.