People in the News

Larry Kudlow, the former director of the National Economic Council and a current host at the Fox Business Network, will debut a new weekend show on Cumulus Chicago talker WLS-AM. The Larry Kudlow Show will begin airing on Sunday, February 5 at 8 p.m. local time.

Atlanta radio host Rickey Smiley announced on social media Sunday that his 32-year old son Brandon has died. No details about how he died were given.

Scott Slade, the morning host at Cox Media's WSB-AM (750 AM, 95.5 FM), will take a temporary leave of absence from the station, the company announced on Friday. Slade's leave will allow him to "create something new for the 101-year-old station that reflects his passion for listeners and the community."

Kudos to Compass Media Networks morning show host DeDe McGuire who continues to expand her affiliate list across the country. DeDe in The Morning is now heard on 80 stations after adding 7 more affiliates.

Bonneville's Sacramento sports outlet KHTK (1140 AM, Sactown Sports) has hired a pair of on-air talent from NBC Sports for a new local show. The program, Deuce & Mo, began airing on KHTK this Monday and is hosted by Sacramento Kings broadcaster Deuce Mason and NBC Sports California host Morgan Ragan.

iHeartMedia has appointed Pedro Escalera, also known as Pedro Al Aire, to the role of program director at KZEP (104.5 FM) in San Antonio. He will report to Jason McCollim, the senior vice president of programming for iHeartMedia in San Antonio and Austin.

iHeartMedia has appointed Spencer Bynes to Metro President for its Atlanta cluster. Bynes moves to Atlanta from iHeart's Texas region, where he served as the Area President since 2021. He'll report to Division President Kim Guthrie.

Luis "Cipha Sounds" Diaz is joining Audacy's WXBK (94.7 FM, The Block) in New York City, where he will host middays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting Thursday. He previously worked at SiriusXM's Shade 45 and WQHT.

Cynthia Alston Bell, Cumulus Media's senior marketing consultant in Charleston, received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Portrait Award during a ceremony on Tuesday. State Rep. Gilliard established the award in 1998 to honor local individuals and their service to the community.

Country Radio Broadcasters has named Tracy Lawrence as the recipient of the 2023 CRS Artist Humanitarian Award and Brent Michaels as the recipient of the 2023 Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award. In a statement, a CRB official said both individual devoted significant personal time to charitable causes.