Broadcasters lobbying Trump So Donald Trump wants to spur economic growth? The News Media Alliance says ending the cross-ownership ban would help. So Donald Trump wants to spur economic growth? The News Media Alliance says ending the cross-ownership ban would help. The big-tent Alliance includes more than 2,000 newspapers and other media, and their White Paper tells the President-Elect that “the 1975 ban on media cross-ownership is grossly out of date.” We’ve been saying there’s a serious amount of interest on the newspaper side, which wants the ability to combine with local TV and/or radio outlets. That’s now barred by two related NBCOs (newspaper broadcast cross-ownership rules). Current FCC Chair Tom Wheeler led a Quadrennial Review of media ownership rules that kept the NBCOs in place, and the protests against that are growing louder. Broadcasting & Cable says the News Media Alliance including Gannett, Belo, Cox, the New York Times and the Washington Post is now lobbying Trump directly. They’re using his campaign line about incentivizing economic growth and investment. But Trump hasn’t exactly been the media’s biggest fan, and despite his preference for deregulation, he may not favor letting media companies get bigger and stronger. The White Paper also gently nags Trump about his own lack of accessibility to the press. Former Oregon station owner Greg Walden will chair the House Energy & Commerce Committee. The new 115th Congress is starting to take shape, with House Democrats keeping Nancy Pelosi as their leader, and Republicans making choices in cases where Committee chairs are term-limited by party rules. That’s the case with Michigan’s Fred Upton – whose niece, by the way, is actress/model Kate Upton. We don’t know if Greg Walden’s got any famous relatives, but he’s continuing to burnish his own reputation. He and his wife sold the group of Oregon radio stations they’d owned, as he came to Washington DC, though he may’ve kept his ham radio license active. (He’s W7EQI.) Walden most recently chaired the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Now he’s chosen as the new Chair for the full “Commerce” committee. NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith congratulates Walden, and says “his career has been marked by accomplishment and integrity…We look forward to working with him and other members of Congress and the Committee.” Art Bell and his wife sue Michael Savage and Westwood One for defamation. Art Bell and his wife sue Michael Savage and Westwood One for defamation. Bell says Westwood should’ve hit the dump button on his September 25 show, when Savage allegedly said this – “You say ‘UFOs’ [on a radio show], you wind up in the Philippines with a ten-year-old hooker and you are off the radio after a number of years...That’s an in-joke, by the way, for people who understand the business.” Former “Coast to Coast” personality Art Bell says the industry should know his story – that he married his wife Airyn Ruiz Bell in the Philippines when she was 22, not 10. The suit says she “has never been a prostitute.” And that the reason he’s “off the radio” is not “because he discussed UFOs or married Ms. Bell.” The couple’s been married ten years and have a daughter, and their suit says they “demanded that defendants make a correction or retraction of the defamatory statement.” But neither was forthcoming. The named defendants in the suit filed in federal court are Michael Alan Weiner, known professionally as Michael Savage. Syndicator Westwood One. And its parent Cumulus. The Bells are suing in the Bay Area because Savage is based there. The Bells admit that Michael Savage didn’t mention their names. But their defamation suit says “a listener of the program would understand” that Art Bell was the subject of the gibe about marrying “a 10-year-old hooker” in the Philippines and as a result being off the air. Savage didn’t launch his September 25 routine talking about another talk-show host. He wandered there, while musing about the topics he usually eschews – “I generally avoid gun questions. I know from the first day in radio. I learned you never do certain topics where you can destroy your show. Third rail...You say ‘UFOs,’ you wind up in the Philippines” – and you know the rest. The Bell suit alleges that “Cumulus and Westwood failed to exercise due care and adhere to standard radio broadcast industry practice, by not utilizing the delay button.” The suit then covers the legal ground for defamation – “reckless disregard for the truth” and “cognition that such broadcast would defame and disparage plaintiffs.” Art was inducted into the Chicago-based National Radio Hall of Fame in 2008, after ending his 19-year stint as full-time host of “Coast to Coast AM.” He did some guest-hosting after that, then returned in Summer 2015 with his own “Midnight in the Desert.” He says he halted that show after receiving a death threat. The Bells’ lawsuit was filed by the L.A.-based Gerard Fox Law P.C. A month early, iHeart takes the wraps off its two-tier on-demand subscription service. A month early, iHeart takes the wraps off its two-tier on-demand subscription service. Surprise - We knew it was due in January (September 26 NOW), but yesterday came the announcement that iHeartRadio Plus and iHeartRadio All Access are available in beta form. It’s true that they’re designed along the lines of existing subscription music services – but also to complement them. iHeart says the $4.99-per month “Plus” is “a perfect add-on to other on-demand services, enhancing the radio listening experience.” Their research shows that “84% of [current] iHeartRadio users do not subscribe to any on-demand service.” With “Plus,” you can “instantly replay songs” you heard on a terrestrial (or other) station on the iHeart platform. Then “return to the live radio station in progress.” Plus has “live and custom Artist Radio stations, now equipped with a ‘save’ button,” so you can save songs from the radio to your playlist. There are unlimited skips on the Artist Radio stations. In the pricier $9.99-per-month All Access tier, iHeart’s crowding closer to Spotify. We learn it’s “powered by Napster.” The key line is that All Access “combines the interactive radio functionality of iHeartRadio Plus [the one costing $4.99] with a complete personal music collection and library that is linked seamlessly to the radio.” There’s also offline listening. More about “the first-ever – and only – interactive on-demand radio services” from iHeart here. Al Peterson ends the ten-year run of his NTS MediaOnline publications. It’s been a decade of sweeping changes in his chosen formats – news, talk, sports – and the broader culture. Al thought about it over the Thanksgiving weekend and says “It just feels right to start a new chapter in my life – one where I’m not waking before sunrise to a blank page and a daily deadline.” The former programmer and consultant’s been chronicling talk-based radio for 20 years, first at Radio & Records as News/Talk/Sports editor, then at his own NTS MediaOnline. (Another onetime R&R format editor who started his own publication upon its demise is country’s Lon Helton.) Al acknowledges his sales and marketing partner Brooke Williams, who accompanied him from R&R to his new venture. He says “I can’t thank her enough for her friendship, profound professionalism, and for helping put my kids through college.” Last publication date for NTS MediaOnline Today and NTS MediaOnline Monthly is December 16. Peterson remains interested in radio and wants to “positively contribute” to its future. Before the trade-pub business, Al was VP/Programming at San Diego’s Par Broadcasting, did consulting through his own Peterson Media Services, and was an EVP at L.A.-based Pollack Media Group. Not many hit tunes break out of a business-talk station, but this one’s special – it’s Miami artist Jon Secada’s “Line of Duty,” supporting the police. Salem’s Miami VP/GM Jim Glogowski tells this NOW Newsletter that “It is the dream of every GM or PD to launch a song that has national appeal.” After debuting “Line of Duty” on Salem’s “880 the Biz” WZAB, Jim thinks this is that rare case. It’s “dedicated to all those who wear the badge,” and was commissioned by the Miami-Dade PBA. Any proceeds go to a charity that helps the families of “fallen officers nationwide.” Glogowski’s hoping other stations investigate “Line of Duty.” It’s available “everywhere music is sold,” and stations who desire an interview can call Stephanie Womble at 305-593-0055 or 305-972-8474. How did the station and the PBA get together? The police officers’ group has a one-hour weekly show on “880 the Biz.” The Cumulus stock price slips toward the danger zone again, shedding 15 cents – 12% on the day – to close at $1.06 a share. The $1-per-share minimum is what’s important to the NASDAQ. Keep closing below a buck a share, and you’re in danger of losing your listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market. That’s why Cumulus executed the 1-for-8 reverse stock split on October 13, after the stock had been trading in the 30-cent range. Yesterday’s 12% drop came on somewhat heavier than usual volume, with most of the damage occurring in the afternoon. Separately, Cumulus just signed a group deal with Veritone to use its “Cognitive Media Platform” to offer “near-real-time audio capture, indexing and analytics for select Cumulus terrestrial stations.” “Overnight America with Jon Grayson” comes off the menu at Westwood One on January 1, after almost exactly five years. It was January 30, 2012 when the late-night talk show based at KMOX St. Louis (1120) was added at Westwood’s predecessor, Dial Global. By then it was already clearing on CBS sisters in Minneapolis (WCCO/830) and Pittsburgh (KDKA/1020), and had briefly been added in Boston by WBZ (1030). WBZ decided to stick with its own local programming, but Dial Global/Westwood kept Grayson’s show in the rotation until now. There will almost certainly be more year-end “drops” and “adds” by syndicators – this is the traditional time for schedule changes. Here’s an “add” - “Little Steven’s Underground Garage” relocates its terrestrial radio syndication from United Stations to Sun Broadcast Group, starting January 1. “Little Steven” is musician/producer Steve Van Zandt, long associated with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. He launched “Underground Garage” as a weekly show for rock stations in April 2002, and it later begat a full-time SiriusXM channel – #21, right next to “E Street Radio.” Sun Broadcast Group Senior VP Ron Rivlin says “I’ve seen Stevie on stage more than 60 times in the last 36 years” and calls him “rock and roll’s biggest advocate.” Before the culture was talking so much about “curated playlists,” Steve Van Zandt was creating them for rock, selecting material from as far back as the 1950s. The “exit” door at the FCC opens for attorney Lynne Montgomery, who’s leaving after years in various roles. She’s most recently been a Legal Advisor in the Media Bureau run by Bill Lake, and now enters the private sector at Wilkinson Barker Knauer. WKB’s Bryan Tramont says he’s known Montgomery “for almost 20 years…she is a top-notch satellite and media lawyer” – and also “our first lawyer yoga instructor.” Lynne’s a “500-hour registered yoga instructor.” She’s at 202-383-3397 and LMontgomery@WBKLaw.com. The Media Bureau website shows Alison Nemeth as acting legal advisor – presumably handling some of what Montgomery did. More power proposed for the CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, in a “must-pass defense authorization bill that emerged from a House-Senate conference this week,” says Broadcasting & Cable. The current nine-member board would be abolished – and giving more authority to the CEO is something supported by both the current CEO and the chairman of the board. The Broadcasting Board of Governors supervises a range of government broadcasting and digital activities beyond U.S. borders, like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Meanwhile, the Public Diplomacy Council reports that BBG Chairman Jeff Shell told the Wednesday board meeting that it might be their last one ever. The new legislation would let board members serve only through the end of their terms - and the terms of all nine have officially expired. The Council says “that would leave CEO John Lansing, who himself would become subject to political approval, as the remaining firewall between politics and independent journalism, at U.S. international broadcasting.” Southern California’s “Super Estrella 107.1” trimulcast is primed for a format change, says Radio Insight. The Spanish contemporary service “let go of its airstaff and is running sweepers directing listeners to a digital platform featuring four distinct format streams.” Those are “Clasico,” rock, “Nuevo” and “Club SE.” The “Super Estrella” brand – for “Super star” – started on Riverside’s 97.5 nearly 20 years ago, then picked up the twin 103.1 signals of KDLD and KDLE. In 2003, Entravision migrated Super Estrella to the regional trimulcast assembled by the former Big City Radio. They’re all Class A’s on 107.1 – KSSE Arcadia, KSSC Ventura and KSSD Fallbrook. Together, they’ve pulled a 0.7 share (age 6+ AQH total-week share) in five of the last six Nielsen PPM monthlies for L.A. A Tulsa move-in translator is worth $250,000 to Antonio Perez, who will marry it with a former Radio Disney O&O that he bought back in 2011. The Disney deal for the AM cost Perez $300,000 cash, and he must be having fun with regional Mexican “Las Americas 1380” KMUS. (He does late mornings on-air.) Sperry, Oklahoma-licensed KMUS runs a complicated AM array, with six towers and power levels of 7,000 watts daytime/250 watts at night. Perez is adding an FM presence with a translator he found in Iberia, Missouri, named K274CX. It will appear on the Tulsa dial at 102.7. Seller is Jason Bennett’s Screen Door Broadcasting, and Jason must be confident about the deal. He’s accepting a deposit of just $1. But then Antonio’s “Radio Las Americas” will pay $250,000 in cash-at-closing. How does it feel to buy back stations you sold nine years ago – for much less? In 2007, Alan Quarnstrom sold WCMP-AM/FM in Pine City, Minnesota to Red Rock Radio for a cool $1.6 million. Now he’s just closed on their re-purchase – for $300,000. The properties are full-service-sports-soft oldies WCMP/1350 and “Cool Country” WCMP-FM/100.9. (Separately, Quarnstrom’s Q Media has lined up a translator for the AM, paying Refuge Media Group $40,000 for it, per the October 20 NOW). Q Media just closed on the $300K re-purchase of WCMP-AM/FM, in a deal brokered by Kalil & Co. A $600,000 single-station deal closes in the San Luis Obispo market, where Gold Coast Radio now owns the station it’s been LMAing. Regional Mexican “La M 107.3” KURQ Grover Beach just transferred from El Dorado Broadcasters (Jason Wolff) to Gerardo Ceja’s Gold Coast. That formally brings KURQ into the same family as Gold Coast’s “La M 103.7” KMLA El Rio, California (October 5 NOW). Broker on Class B KURQ – Kalil & Co. Plenty of deals around Salt Lake City. They turn on stations held in the Broadway Media-connected SLC Divestiture Trust II, for starters, with two sets of buyers. The trust is overseen by Jim Burgoyne. Deal #1 is for easy oldies KMGR. It’s at 95.9 licensed to Delta, Utah, but holds a construction permit to move to 95.7/Gunnison, still as a Class C1. It’s using multiple translators to reach as much of the Salt Lake market as possible. (One of those, Rural Juab County-licensed K274AV at 102.7, is the source of the current “Classy 102.7” branding – but Broadway’s moving that to 94.5/Provo, paired with sports “ESPN 960” KOVO.) The translators that accompany KMGR to buyer Kevin Terry’s “Radio Rancho” are K240EP Cedar Fort at 95.9 and K284AY Tooele at 104.7. Radio Rancho will obtain those plus KMGR in a swap that gives Broadway two translators - Tooele-licensed K240EP at 95.9 and Stockton, Utah’s K284AY at 104.7. Radio Rancho also banks $200,000 from Broadway Media, and each side writes a $1 check as part of the swap. KMGR has been operated under an LMA by Sanpete County Broadcasting, which plots its own moves – South of Salt Lake City along I-15 is Nephi, where KUDE recently changed frequencies from 103.9 to 99.1, and has applied to upgrade from an A to a much bigger C1 signal. From the previous story, you know that Sanpete County Broadcasting’s been LMAing “Classy” KMGR, the FM being sold to Radio Rancho. Now Sanpete County’s buying currently-silent KUDE Nephi, in another swap involving the Broadway Media-connected SLC Divestiture Trust I. Its trustee is Larry Patrick. Sanpete County’s swapping away its own translator, K280BJ Moroni, which broadcasts on KUDE’s old frequency of 103.9. Broadway Media will use that to rebroadcast the station that once simulcast with KUDE – American Fork-licensed top 40 “Mix 105.1” KUDD. Along with the swap, there’s a minuscule amount of monetary consideration - $1 each way. Glen Tacinelli earned his spurs for Cumulus in New York City as general sales manager for talk WABC/770. He’s held that post only since July 2015, having come over from seven years with the Katz Radio rep. He previously worked with CBS Radio and Arbitron. Cumulus market manager Chad Lopez likewise joined the Cumulus cluster in 2015, and now appoints Glen to a newly-created position of VP/Sales position - for the entire local station group. Joe Zarbano, Ben Kichen and Carlson Mozdiez are the new “program leadership team” for Entercom’s Boston sports WEEI-FM/93.7 and related properties. Market Manager Phil Zachary decides to go with insiders, to replace Kevin Graham. (Kevin’s moving to Dallas as PD for Cumulus talker WBAP/820 and news/talk KLIF/570. He succeeds the retiring Tyler Cox, who does the final handover today, and is reachable at TylerCoxConsulting@gmail.com.) Back at Entercom-Boston, Joe Zarbano advances from assistant PD to Program Director, Kevin’s former title. He’ll work with WEEI-FM, “ESPN 850” WEEI, the WEEI Sports Radio Network and the Boston Red Sox Radio Network – all operations he’s been around since he started as an intern from nearby Emerson College, nine years ago. New Executive Producer is Ben Kichen, who’s been in the building since 2006 and has recently been working on podcasts. And Syracuse grad Carlson Mozdiez moves up from Director of Integrated Marketing Strategies for the cluster to “Director of Operations for Entercom-Boston” – with “special emphasis on the company’s digital juggernaut,” meaning WEEI.com. Creatively covering the local pro golf tournament – A “keep-my-name-out-of-the-bright-lights” NOW Reader says “Back in the ’90s, I was running stations in a market where the pro tour came through every year. It was a big deal because a prominent local employer was a tournament sponsor, and we'd do live reports/updates from the course. But as the years went on, sponsorship of the reports fell off to zero and many of us on the staff didn't see the need to continue them, especially on a music station. We didn't get paid, the station wasn't getting paid, so why go to all the effort? I always picked the Sunday coverage for myself, so my staff could have their day off as usual. During one of the first years of the Golf Channel, when they focused on events that the big networks didn't cover, it was announced that this pro golfers’ event would be broadcast live on TV. The local cable company didn't usually carry the channel but they were making an exception for this tournament. So that year, instead of driving the station van to the golf course, I drove to the local laundromat and did my reports while doing my laundry and watching the laundromat TV tuned to the Golf Channel. No one was ever the wiser.” Finally ready to share your own “remote” story? Or something else that was bizarre, comical or even a bit embarrassing? Email “You Can’t Make This Up” – Tom@RTK-Media.com. News and ideas about radio, first thing every morning, in this Tom Taylor NOW Newsletter. Like what you’re seeing here? Tell a friend or colleague, and help us keep growing. And maybe we can help you - reach our rather habituated audience with your company’s marketing message (or classified ad). For that, contact Kristy Scott - Kristy@RTK-media.com or phone 818-591-6815. See you back first thing Monday morning - Tom