News

(By Stacey Lynn Schulman) Earlier this week, Nielsen released its latest Total Audience Report, revealing significant increases in time spent with media. The media day has now expanded to 10h 39m on average, a +10% year-over-year growth rate. So where is radio in this new mediated existence? Let me explain.

The NAB made it clear it was not happy with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's plan to leave the current ownership rules in place. It is now taking another step to keep the pressure on Wheeler to keep the issue alive and moving in a different direction.

In 2000, Adnan Syed was convicted of the 1999 murder of his former girlfriend Hae Min Lee. He has always said he was innocent. All his appeals failed. Forbes reports Baltimore judge Martin Welch vacated Syed’s conviction and acknowledged the role the podcast played in putting the spotlight on this case.

The Wall Street Journal says Apple is in talks to acquire Jay Z's streaming company Tidal to bolster its Apple Music service because of Tidal’s strong ties to artists such as Kanye West and Madonna.

It's an LMA according to iHeartMedia Carolina Region President Dave Carwile. It's a multi-year agreement with Martz Media who will launch a new Contemporary Latin Music format called "Ke Buena 98.7 FM." iHeart will be dumping FOX Sports to make way for this new arrangement with Martz.

On Thursday, a judge refused to extend a temporary restraining order against host Peter Deibler, also known as the syndicated radio host Kane. Deibler and his wife are in the middle of a bitter divorce. The Washington Post reports Natasha Deibler told wildly different versions of a May 25 incident that prompted her to ask for the order and file assault charges against him.

In observance of the 50th anniversary of the University of Texas tower shooting, Texas Standard, the national daily news show of Texas, is producing “Out of the Blue: 50 Years After the UT Tower Shooting,” an hour-long radio oral history, five-part reporting series, companion website, and a permanent oral history archive at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. The special will be heard on 25 public radio stations across Texas. Get more details HERE.

Efficio Solutions provides stations with CRM and Yield Management software and this integration is designed to make the job of radio AEs more efficient. Users will be able to see and track production, spots on the air, and spots expiring in the account summary of Efficio from the production suite for that same account in vCreative.

Talk about breaking new ground! 99.9 The Fan (WCMC-FM) will host its first-ever “Beer Academy” on Saturday, July 16, with proceeds going to the Me Fine Foundation. The event will be held at Bull Durham Beer Company inside the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in two sessions: 1-2:30 p.m. and 3:30-5 p.m.

Alpha Media’s Country station Y93.7 FM (Salina, Kansas) would seem to be the king of blood drives. For the seventh year in a row, the station has won the “Pump Up the Volume” Blood Drive by encouraging it’s listeners to donate over 300 units of blood.