News

The Boston Globe has the details about the passing of former longtime WBCN DJ Mark Parenteau at the age of 66.

Paul “Coyote” Neumann is back after a three-year break to take over Afternoon Drive on Blue Sky Broadcasting’s KICR/Spokane, WA. Tuesday, June 7, marks his return to the mic.

Adams Radio Group -- which has stations in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Suburban Chicago / Northwest Indiana, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Salisbury – Ocean City, Maryland – has promoted Scott Smith to VP of Programming. Smith has been with Adams since it acquired stations in Northwest Indiana.

Veteran Indianapolis radio host Laura Steele has joined Classic Hits station 104.5 WJJK as host, nights. Steele was formerly on-air at WFBQ, where she was midday personality for the last 15 years.

Three times proves it for WRIF-FM Detroit’s morning personalities Dave and Chuck the Freak. For the third consecutive year, the pair have been named “Detroit’s Best Radio Program” by Hour Detroit magazine. The morning show will be featured in the publication’s June issue, which also includes the results of its annual readers’ survey.

In its spring "Local Advertising Forecast" update for 2016 BIA/Kelsey is forecasting consistent growth in local ad revenue over the next four years, which the company says will hit a total of $172.2 billion by 2020. Growth will be driven by big increases in mobile and social advertising, strong political advertising and an improving economy. So how does radio stack up against the other media? Let's find out.

Last night in New York, the RAB crowned the 2016 Radio Mercury Awards winners. This year’s $50,000 Best of Show award was given to Fitzgerald + CO for their Long Story Short Campaign for Quikrete. Chief judge, Chris Smith from The Richards Group said, "Long Story Short took home Best of Show because it expressed Quikrete’s mission so creatively and succinctly. The execution mirrored the product benefit perfectly, and made it far and away the most entertaining and effective campaign we heard."

mlive.com is reporting that veteran jock Reese Rickards, a constant at B-93 and WOOD Radio for 24 years, has been let go from the Grand Rapids-based iHeartRadio-owned properties. Rickards made the announcement himself on social media, Thursday. Here's what he wrote...

NAB's Joint Board Chairman Dave Lougee and President and CEO Gordon Smith will break ground on the NAB's future home in Washington D.C. on Monday, June 20 at 12:45p.m. The new 10-story building, at the corner of South Capitol and M Streets, is expected to be completed in fall 2018. It will have a curved facade facing M Street, a rooftop terrace with a view of the Capitol, and a 100-seat theater.

On Thursday, the staff at Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul, Minn., voted to join SAG-AFTRA, with 39 voting yes for SAG-AFTRA representation, 17 voting no and 18 challenges. The result means staff will join the union. The new bargaining unit will cover the employees who create content for MPR News, American Radio Works, and the newly formed Investigative Unit. The election allows them to move forward to negotiate a first contract.