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Alex Curley's Semipublic benefits stations like Alaska's KSKO(FM)

The post How John Oliver and a Data Startup Give Thanks to Public Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Since Connoisseur Media completed its merger with Alpha Media, the new Connoisseur has aggressively moved to trim non-essential assets from its station stable while adding key revenue-enhancing markets such as San Francisco. A second non-rated market divestiture conducted by Connoisseur is now final.

NPR has elected a new Chair for its Board of Directors. It is a woman who joined the Board as a Public Director in 2022 and previously served as Vice Chair. She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer at business-to-business software as a service company Olo.

If you can believe it, we are nearly halfway done with the decade. And, that means it is almost time to give gifts for Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or just for the fun of it. One big national retailer recognizes this.

He's an individual who leads a production house for independent motion pictures. In recent years, he's also become an owner of broadcast radio and TV stations. Now, he's selling an AM with an FM translator in California's Coachella Valley. The buyer is a veteran broker.

Chris Ripley is aggressively moving forward with an unsolicited bid to acquire the E.W. Scripps Co. by offering to purchase all outstanding shares for $7 a piece. Pro-MVPD advocacy group ACA Connects bemoaned the plan, claiming it could negatively impact future retransmission fee negotiations.

The President of the United States has weighed in on a current proposal by the FCC to thaw its local TV ownership rules for broadcast television. For Donald J. Trump, wariness abounds, as he suggests any thawing of the rules could give the "Big Four" networks more power than they have today.

In 1983, a former University of Florida swim team member took a job as a Senior News Producer at WTLV-TV in Jacksonville. He'd later serve as a News Producer at WTSP-10 in Tampa, and in 1993 relocated to Western New York to become News Director of WKBW-7 in Buffalo. Since October 1996, he's been based just to the east, in Rochester, N.Y. Now, Chuck Samuels is retiring, and the Sinclair Inc. stations will be getting a new leader.

In February, he launched a Classic Hits operation serving a portion of the Central Coast of California while investing in a Missouri FM. This after the November 2024 purchase of an FM in New York's Adirondacks. Now, Todd Nixon has made it clear he believes in local radio in the most picturesque of settings.

The longtime NBCUniversal executive chosen to serve as CEO of spinoff operation Versant has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Golden Mic Award from the Broadcasters Foundation of America. He'll receive the honor at a black-tie event scheduled for March 9, 2026.