News

Now that we've heard from Cumulus CEO Mary Berner that, operationally, the company has turned the corner, what about the debt issue? That was another topic we discussed with the two-year Cumulus CEO in our interview that will appear in the October 9 issue of Radio Ink Magazine.

The AP is reporting that Chuck Brennan has taken KBAD-FM off the air after a ruling from state banking regulators. A note on the station website says the station is now for sale.

In a fantastic effort, Spanish media in the city organized a fundraiser for earthquake-stricken Mexico City in one day – and $11,400 was raised in a single afternoon on Friday. The radio groups involved were Lotus Broadcasting, Lazer Broadcasting, and Entravision. Donations can still be made.

It almost feels like Puerto Rico got lost in the maelstrom of hurricane relief. But Spanish Broadcasting System is doing its bit to fix that. Over the weekend, SBS sponsored an airlift and participated in a cruise shipment, sending 100,000 pounds of food and supplies raised by the company and its South Florida audiences, to U.S. territory this weekend.

John Linder, who grew up with and led the Radio Mankato group in Minnesota, as well as other broadcasting stations, died Friday morning after a nine-month battle with cancer, reports the Mankato Free Press.

Latin music station 92.5 MAXIMA (WYUU-FM/Safety Harbor, Florida) and Walmart have teamed up for a Hurricane Relief Drive in Tampa, Florida, to help the people of Puerto Rico. There will be two locations for the drive, which will be held this weekend, September 24-25.

...On Curt Crafts recent blog about crappy remotes. He's clearly struck a nerve. What are your thoughts? Do they make the industry look unprofessional? Is it time to ban the dreaded remote broadcast? If you've pulled off a successful remote recently, send us pictures so we can share what remotes SHOULD look like.

It was another sold out Smart Money event for nationally syndicated radio talk show host and best-selling author, Dave Ramsey. This time he was represented by one of his team, Chris Hogan, in Indianapolis on Thursday, September 21, at the Old National Centre.

The radio industry might be smart to re-activate a lobbying effort to get the government to mandate FM Chips in all cell-phones using the natural disaster angle. This year has been especially strong when it comes to Hurricanes (See Puerto Rico. See Southwest Florida. See Houston) and talk about activating the FM Chip, which is already in all cell-phones, has never been higher.

It's not easy to reach a broadcaster in Puerto Rico right now, or any resident for that matter. The island was slammed by Hurricane Maria and 100% of the residents on the island lost power. Broadcast attorney Frank Montero, who represents the Puerto Rico Broadcasters Association, has been working with the FCC's Lisa Fowlkes to get the Commission in touch with broadcasters on the Island to assist with emergency alert activations.