News

ESPN Radio New York 98.7FM PD Justin Craig has been named Senior Director, Programming and Operations for the national ESPN Radio network. Craig will be responsible for all aspects of ESPN Radio programming and production, including oversight of Mike & Mike, The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Russillo & Kanell, and nighttime and weekend programming.

And as a result, some shuffling on the network with Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney moving from weekday mornings (9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.) to afternoon drive (3:00–6:00 p.m.) and Damon Amendolara moving from evenings (6:00–10:00 p.m.) to mornings (9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.). Doug Gottlieb, who was hosting afternoon drive, will air his final show Friday, April 14. A new evening show and host will be named soon.

The stations are Country Legends 106.9 and Big 94.5 Country, and the final tally for their joint, two-day radiothon was $90,380. Over the two days, more than 200 people called in to become a Partner in Hope.

Colombia joins Mexico and Peru as Latin American countries where consumers can tune to their favorite local FM radio stations using the NextRadio app. Later this year, additional expansion is planned to cover more Latin American countries by offering NextRadio within the Google Play Store in Brazil and Argentina.

It's the wave of the future. Devices such as Amazon's Echo and Google's Home are all the craze these days. Give the device a command, such as asking for the local weather, ordering a pizza or play your favorite music and the device talks back to you and executes your command. Federated Media, always on the cutting edge, understands how important it is for its radio stations to be on these popular devices

Guy David has joined 98.5 KYGO Denver/Boulder to co-host mornings with Tracy Dixon, 5-9 a.m. He comes to the foot of the Rockies from K107.1 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and will hit the airwaves in early April.

Longtime WXXI radio talk show host Bob Smith died Friday at the age of 63. For 25 years, Smith hosted the two-hour 1370 Connection show for over 25 years on the Rochester, New York station. He had a stroke in 2013, which caused him to retire from WXXI.

Now in its fifth year, our Future African American Leaders in Radio list, as it has in previous years, includes people from every aspect of the business and from all over the country. On the 2017 list you’ll see several trends: Many of the people listed credit their success to having a mentor, many credit their success to a great team that works for them, and many talk about how blessed they are to have advanced in an industry they love.

Radio Ink's Hispanic Radio Conference has assembled a dynamic group of agency executives and the industry’s best managers and sellers to discuss new strategies and platforms that will please both listeners and buyers. Industry leaders and economists who will give their spin on the economic outlook and potential growth.

(By Bob McCurdy) There were two important studies published the past several weeks that are worth further comment. The first study, conducted by Alan Burns and Associates titled, “What Women Want 2017,” involved 2,000 15-54-year-old AC and CHR female listeners. Burns has been a well-respected and successful programming consultant for decades.