Industry News

Shown is a 250-pound pumpkin with the hand-painted face of show host Dave Smiley.

Turkeys famously may not be able to fly. But pumpkins certainly can’t, and that means there will be a big SPLAT on Wednesday morning in Indianapolis.

Actually three big splats. The “Smiley Morning Show” on Cumulus station 99.5 WZPL(FM) will observe its 19th Smiley Pumpkin Drop by dropping three pumpkins of varying weights from hundreds of feet onto concrete.

One of the pumpkins weights 1,459 pounds; the station will also drop a 250-pounder and a 400-pounder.

“The smallest pumpkin will be painted with ‘Smiley Morning Show’ host Dave Smiley’s face on it,” the station announced.

“The largest pumpkin will be painted live onsite by artist Gavin Goode. Listeners will determine what will be painted on the pumpkin. So far, listeners have been suggesting a COVID-19 molecule.”

The event is free, and the station is inviting anyone, particularly families, to attend in or out of costume.

The show airs 6 to 10 a.m. on Wednesday at The Shops at Perry Crossing in Plainfield, Ind., with the three drops taking place between 8 and 8:35 a.m.

The post Indianapolis Station Readies Pumpkin Drop appeared first on Radio World.

Comrex has introduced a service that delivers conferenced audio from multiple contributors to the company’s hardware codecs in high quality.

Called Gagl, the service is cloud-based and allows one to five users to send and receive audio from computers and smartphones.

“Participants can connect and send audio by simply clicking a link using any common web browser,” the company announced. “Their audio is conferenced (if there’s more than one user), and delivered to a Comrex hardware codec such as ACCESS or BRIC-Link II. All participants can hear other participants, and the codec can send audio back to them.”

A promotional diagram from Comrex for the new Gagl service.

Comrex says Gagl could be used as the hub for a round-robin reporting program or for a “morning zoo” radio show to support multiple simultaneous connections at once.

“Because it offers low latency, it’s appropriate for call-in talk radio. Gagl could also be used to allow a single contributor to connect back to the studio from a computer or smartphone.”

The service will be available by the end of the year.

Comrex said the system is easy for users of any level of technical expertise to use and that the service provides stable connections with limited bandwidth.

“Gagl uses the Opus audio encoder, with a bit rate that delivers both voice and music in excellent quality. Gagl also delivers audio directly to a Comrex codec with all the stability enhancements, pro-grade audio connections, and features that hardware codecs provide.”

 

The post Comrex Introduces Gagl appeared first on Radio World.

America’s Public Television Stations is cheering the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Chair for recommending $565 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for Fiscal Year 2024.

This chairman’s mark, courtesy of Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), will likely serve as the basis for negotiations with the House of Representatives on the final appropriations bills. The U.S. House of Representatives has already approved the same $565 million for CPB in the two-year advance funding for FY 2024.

In addition, the draft Senate bill providing appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies also includes $30 million for Ready To Learn and $20 million for public broadcasting interconnection.

“This is an important day for public television,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations. “We lost $100 million in purchasing power over 10 years of flat federal funding, and this chairman’s mark would restore much of that loss — and with it our ability to provide the educational services, the public safety communications, the civic literacy and the beloved programming which millions of Americans need and value.”

Butler adds that APTS is also appreciative of the $20 million in FY 2022 for the annual station interconnection account, and for $30 million allocated for Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports the creation and distribution of educational media content to millions of children across America.

In mid-March, the septuagenarian owner of a Class A radio station serving a rural portion of Western Pennsylvania returned to the airwaves after a short absence. His return was controversial: on November 16, 2020 this individual was placed on a three-year “restricted probation” for a series of criminal sexual acts at a sentencing hearing that most believed would save him from a FCC license revocation hearing.

Seven months later, the Chief of the Commission’s Media Bureau has spoken up. Roger Wahl is on notice that he could loose control of WQZS-FM in Meyersdale, Pa., as a Hearing Designation Order has been sent to his attention.

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When Gordon Borrell, the respected local ad trend expert who serves as CEO of Borrell Associates, sits down with four top radio and television executives at Forecast 2022, their  perspectives, projections and visions for the broadcast industry will likely be shared. A lively discussion of broadcast media’s opportunities, digital competitors and regulatory challenges is also expected.

What will they say? You won’t be able to read it here, or anywhere else, as it is an exclusive no-press session at Forecast 2022.

To hear what Borrell and his panelists have to share, you have to be in New York.

No press coverage. No recordings. Full freedom to express their thoughts with no cameras or microphones.

Who’s on the panel?

Caroline Beasley
CEO
Beasley Media Group Brian Lawlor
President/Local Media
The E.W. Scripps Company

 

Debra OConnell
President of Networks
Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution Bill Wilson
CEO
Townsquare Media

 

Don’t miss out on hearing what these top leaders have to say — along with the chance to see them face-to-face.

We invite you to register NOW to secure your seat at Forecast 2022.

 

Check out the Full Agenda Here.
Forecast 2022 is set for The Harvard Club in New York on Tuesday, November 16.

Register NOW.

Katz Media Group has elevated a veteran of the media sales organization to the role of Katz Digital Audio president.

Taking the new post: Scott Porretti. He will continue to report to CEO Mark Gray.

Porretti has been within Katz Digital for several years, rising from SVP to EVP of Katz Digital after four years in May 2018. He’s also been a SVP of Katz Radio Group, overseeing a sales team comprised of more than 250 people working across seven sales divisions.

At Katz, Porretti is spearheading the rollout of the Katz Intelligence Manager (KIM), described by the company as “a state-of-the-art proprietary audience technology for the digital audio marketplace.”

Gray said, “Scott’s in-depth knowledge and vast background in developing audio solutions across a variety of platforms has helped Katz grow its diverse digital offerings and proprietary technologies. Scott’s effective team leadership style, and his extraordinary vision in this marketplace, has catapulted Katz Digital to a place where it is now viewed by advertisers as a one-stop-shop to reach diverse audiences with unparalleled scale.”

On Sunday, it became known to viewers across the U.S. that Sinclair Broadcast Group had suffered a cyberattack, crippling newsrooms across several markets. This ransomware incident follows similar incidents at Cox Media Group, Audacy, Urban One and Max Media.

How could this happen? What should a media company consider to prevent it from happening in their organization — or is a cyberattack inevitable?

In this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, Lisa Plaggemier, the interim Executive Director with the Washington, D.C.,-based National Cybersecurity Alliance, offers important insight and intelligence on the subject in an exclusive interview with Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: National Cybersecurity Alliance” on Spreaker.

Cyber Threats and How to Protect Your Organization Cyber threats are coming fast and furious nowadays. Every day we hear of another ransomware attack or data breach, and it seems that the cyber adversaries are taking over companies unopposed. Cyber security expert Steve Morgan, founder of Cybersecurity Ventures and Editor-in-Chief at Cybercrime Magazine, sits down with Juliet Huddy for a provocative interview that will cover, in non-technobabble, how the cyber adversaries are doing it,  why people and companies are in the dark when it comes to cybercrime, and what they can and should do to protect their organization.

 

Attend this session in person ONLY at Forecast 2022!
For more information and to register, please click here.

Radio imaging, voiceover, programming, podcasting and jingles company Benztown has promoted its Custom Imaging Manager to Director of Custom Imaging.

Concurrently, Benztown has filled the Custom Imaging Manager spot with a 13-year veteran of Audacy’s Rhythmic Top 40 known as “Power 93.5” in Wichita.

Royce Stevenson, formerly of KDGS-FM in Wichita, is stepping into the role previously held by Thomas Green.

That’s the individual who in 2019 joined Benztown after serving as Audio Producer for the popular Australian morning radio show “Fifi, Fev & Byron.” Green was also Audio Producer for “Carrie & Tommy” and for multiple Hit Network programs across Australia.

Green is currently based in Brooklyn, NY.

During his 13-year tenure with KDGS, Stevenson was the Production Director for the station cluster and did station imaging for KDGS-FM and KEYN-FM, a Classic Hits station. He was most recently Assistant Brand Manager/Music Director for KDGS-FM, and hosted afternoon drive on the station.

Resource management software company Xytech has scheduled a four-day webinar series designed to showcase new features associated with its MediaPulse 10 product.

Each day of the series, scheduled from from Oct. 26–29, will focus on a different feature of the system.

From Oct. 26–27, a MediaPulse Overview is planned. On Oct. 27­­–28, time will be spent showcasing MediaPulse Personnel; on Oct. 28–29 company executives will highlight MediaPulse Transmission.

“Until we can once again meet in person, these webinar series are essential communication tools to the community,” said Xytech COO Greg Dolan. “With the version 10 update, MediaPulse provides every user with exactly the functionality they need, when they need it, on the device of their choosing, creating a reliable solution able to operate anywhere. Something the pandemic has made crucial.”

MediaPulse Overview
On Oct. 26, Xytech will host a webinar at 1pm ET/10am PT.

During this first webinar, attendees will learn how MediaPulse 10 simplifies scheduling, automation, asset management, billing and cost recovery for broadcasters, media services companies and transmission facilities in a scalable platform-independent solution.

MediaPulse Personnel
To be held on Oct. 27 at 1pm ET/10am PT, this webinar will showcase the upgrades to the MediaPulse 10’s Personnel Management features.

MediaPulse Transmission
The final webinar in the series will be held Oct. 28 at 1pm ET/10am PT.

To register for any of the MediaPulse 10 Webinar Series, please visit: https://www.xytechsystems.com/webinar/

To some, he’s the heir apparent to the late Rush Limbaugh. A New York Police Department officer from 1995-1999 and a Secret Service agent for the following 12 years, Dan Bongino took a career pivot and found success as a conservative Talk Radio host at Cumulus Media‘s WMAL in Washington.

Following Limbaugh’s passing, several radio broadcasting companies scrambled to fill the void. For Cumulus and its Westwood One national radio arm, a full court press to get stations across the country to embrace The Dan Bongino Show was put into motion. On May 24, Bongino officially went national, taking the Noon-3pm Eastern slot and gaining affiliates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Today, Bongino’s future with Cumulus and Westwood One is in question. He has practically given his employer an ultimatum. It’s all about the company’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. Bongino isn’t budging … and he’s vaccinated.

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