News

The hosts from ESPN Radio are ready to rumble, it seems. Beginning July 11, they will be taking over ESPN2’s weekday morning studio debate show First Take. A different duo or trio from ESPN Radio will face off each day and thrash out the day’s top stories. Molly Qerim will be the host as the fireworks go off every morning from 10 til noon. Here’s the schedule for the week...

The Detroit News has the details about a Michigan man who lost his case claming Pandora violated his privacy by publicly sharing his preferences. The state Supreme Court ruled Peter Deacon isn’t legally considered a customer, and Pandora listeners can opt to pay to use a version without commercials but “there is nothing to suggest” that Deacon did.

(By Andy Bloom) Garrison Keillor retired last week, ending a 42 year run of his Prairie Home Companion. A few weeks earlier Consultant and Strategist, Fred Jacobs wrote a blog about Keillor's impending retirement and we traded thoughts about the implications for the industry in the aftermath.

(By Ryan Wrecker) All the way from Melbourne, Australia, Sophie Kneebone (which is a great on-air name) shared some insights into getting noticed on iTunes at the Podcast Movement Conference in Chicago. We have all wondered what it would take to get into the upper echelon of podcasting rankings, but for many reasons radio podcasts have had a very hard time achieving that.

(By Ryan Wrecker) Some speakers at the Podcast Movement in Chicago are focusing on content creation. Others are focused on monetization. Then there’s some that are just podcast enthusiasts learning how to get into the business. Regardless of what stage you’re at, it’s important to engage your listeners, no matter how few or plentiful they are.

(By Ryan Wrecker) Podcasters have a lot of questions. What’s the best way to get a podcast noticed? How do you monetize a podcast? How do you best market a podcast? At this year’s Podcast Movement in Chicago, my main focus is to connect the talented content craters in radio with successful digital audio practices.

The focus of the new podcast series is on the future of radio in the connected car. It will include backstage interviews recorded at last fall’s DASH Conference by Jacobs Media’s Digital Dot Connector Seth Resler. A new episode will be released every week for the next three months.

Tom Joyner, along with Allstate Insurance, has announced the dates for the 2016 Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion. Labor Day weekend, September 1 – September 5, families from all over the country will join Joyner and his celebrity friends for a weekend filled with concerts, passes to Universal Studios, seminars, and endless activities. The event will be held at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

Alpha Media WNGY-FM (Energy 102.3) will now be airing Brooke & Jubal in afternoon drive. The show also airs in Portland and San Antonio. Brooke has worked in morning radio for over 12 years and has hosted Top 40 radio’s first all-female morning drive show. Jubal Flagg is a standup comedian, radio host, television personality, and comedy writer.

Patrick Pendergast is the new Director of Sales of the Milwaukee Radio Alliance stations in Milwaukee. Pendergast will oversee sales for FM 102/1 (WLUM-FM), B93.3 (WLDB-FM), and Milwaukee’s True Oldies Channel (WZTI-AM).