News

Peter Bowen is back in Chicago, now with Entercom as Director of Sports. Bowen will oversee all sales as it relates to play-by-play and The Score (WSCR). Bowen has been Vice President and Market Manager for Cumulus Chicago and also worked for CBS Radio in Chicago and Los Angeles. His first day back is May 14.

Salem has hired Gary Spurgeon as Senior Vice President for Special Projects. The broadcast veteran has worked for Renda, Cox, and for the last 6 ½ years, as VP/GM for Radio One in Dallas and Houston. Spurgeon was a Radio Ink General Manager of the Year for three successive years in 2014 – 2016.

Univision announced Tuesday that Liz Blacker has been appointed to SVP of Branded Content Revenue. Blacker will be based in New York and report to Lisa Valentino, EVP of Revenue Innovation for UCI.

Ginny “Rogers” Brophey has been named the new Program Director for Boston Country station 101.7 The Bull. She will report to Dylan Sprague, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Boston. Brophey is a 34-year radio veteran who has focused on Country radio for the last 24 years.

Urban One is selling WPZR-FM (Praise 102.7) in Detroit to Educational Media Foundation for $12.7 million. EMF CEO Mike Novak tells Radio Ink the company will put its K-LOVE format on that frequency.

Steve Dorsey, Executive Editor/Correspondent for CBS News Radio, is a finalist in this year’s Livingston Awards from the University of Michigan, for his breaking story on the Cuba attacks and subsequent reportage.

After a mini-retirement, Mike Francesa was back on the air at WFAN Tuesday afternoon. He said it was nice to be back and a little surprising to be back. He also said, "I missed doing the show, I admit it." Francesa said he wasn't going to go through everything that went on because "some of it is none of your business."

How many radio lives does Josh Innes have? The last time we wrote about Innes was during the Superbowl when he got himself kicked off Radio Row for arguing with another radio host, something he's become known for. He's at it again.

Of course, that's assuming one of your radio stations even has a News Director these days. According to the 2018 RTNDA/Hofstra Newsroom Survey, small market news directors are making $30,000 per year. In medium markets, they are making $35,000. In large markets the salary jumps to $53,000. And in major markets, the median salary for a news director is $82,500.

Ben Shapiro now has a second podcast: The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special. The show is a long-form interview series airing every Sunday on the same feed as The Ben Shapiro Show podcast.