News Audio

KBLA Will Mark the 30th Anniversary of LA Riots with Live Broadcast

The broadcast will air live on April 29 from 6 am to noon with hosts Tavis Smiley and Dominique DiPrima.

Published

1 year ago

April 20, 2022

Nearly 30 years ago, Los Angeles erupted in violence as a jury acquitted four police officers in the beating of Rodney King.

To mark the event, talk radio station KBLA 1580 Talk will broadcast from the intersection of Florence and Normandie, infamously known as the corner where four men brutally assaulted trucker Reginald Denny.

The broadcast will air live on April 29 from 6 am to noon with hosts Tavis Smiley and Dominique DiPrima.

“Historic anniversaries, to my mind, are only worth pausing to commemorate if our reflections are instructive, informative, and empowering for how to make America a nation as good as its promise,” Smiley said in a statement.

The broadcast will feature some of King’s family members, community organizers, faith leaders, and elected officials.

“We want to take this opportunity to amplify the voices of the African American community in this moment of solemn reflection and continue the quest for accountability,” added DiPrima.

On Juneteenth last year, Smiley launched LA’s first and only “Unapologetically Progressive” talk radio station for the African American listening audience.

The Rodney King riots were carried out over several days and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Years later, a federal jury would ultimately find former officers Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon guilty, and they were subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseno were acquitted of all charges, but the LAPD soon dismissed both for their role in the beating.

Ryan Hedrick

Ryan Hedrick serves as the Assistant Program Director and Co-Host of the Morning News Express at WFMD. Prior to WFMD, he hosted an afternoon program at News Talk 103.7 FM in Chambersburg, PA. He has worked at Sirius XM in Washington D.C., WBEN in Buffalo, NY, and for stations in Baltimore, MD. He has also worked at WIBW-AM in Topeka KS, earning the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) award for Major Market enterprise reporting in 2016. To connect with Ryan, find him on Twitter @SureToCover.

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News Audio

Bob Pittman: iHeartMedia Won’t Be Shutting Down Broadcast Stations

“90% of Americans listen to iHeart broadcast radio stations every month. To put that in context, the biggest TV network reaches less than 40% of Americans and the big streaming music services reach less than 30%.”

Published

16 hours ago

June 2, 2023

BNM Staff

Very few large broadcasting corporations adopted digital platforms as quickly as iHeartMedia did. iHeartRadio is one of the most popular platforms for streaming content from a variety off stations. Bob Pittman says that does not mean the company does not see plenty of value in traditional broadcast radio.

Lydia Moynihan of The New York Post spoke with the iHeartMedia CEO Friday morning. She asked Pittman if he could foresee a day when the company would be done with terrestrial radio and focus solely on digital products.

“To the contrary – the strength and foundation of our company is our broadcast radio stations,” Pittman responded. “90% of Americans listen to iHeart broadcast radio stations every month. To put that in context, the biggest TV network reaches less than 40% of Americans and the big streaming music services reach less than 30%.”

He added that any success that the company has seen with podcasting or streaming is clearly linked to the success of the its radio stations. He said that is true for its live events too.

“We use that massive and unique reach of our broadcast radio to build complementary products like the iHeartRadio digital service and our major events like the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the iHeartRadio Music Awards and the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, and it’s why we’re the #1 podcast publisher by a lot. It all starts with using the trusted voices on our broadcast radio stations and creating demand – and with our unparalleled reach we have quite an advantage over the other audio players, regardless of their cash war chests.”

BNM Staff

News Audio

Buffalo, Chicago, Milwaukee Top Markets for AM Radio

“The study shows thirteen markets that have at least 40% of listeners using AM radio. Ten of them are in the Midwest.”

Published

19 hours ago

June 2, 2023

BNM Staff

Nielsen has looked at information from the 2022 fall book to determine where AM radio is the most popular. The company released a list Thursday of 141 markets where at least 20% of radio listeners tune to AM radio in a given month. Cities in the Great Lakes region are all at the top of the list.

In Buffalo, 56% of radio listeners use the AM band in a month. The market’s most-listened to stations are both AM stations owned by Audacy – news/talk WBEN and sports talker WGR. Neither has an FM simulcast.

There is a tie for second place. 48% of listeners in Chicago utilize AM. Popular news stations WGN and WLS are both only available on AM as is the market’s heritage sports talk brand, 670 The Score. Milwaukee is the other market with 48% of listeners using AM radio.

AM radio remains very popular in the Midwest. The study shows thirteen markets that have at least 40% of listeners using AM radio. Ten of them are in the Midwest.

Last month, Nielsen used numbers from the 2022 Fall book to show that across the country, more than 82 million people rely on AM radio during a month. That is a third of all terrestrial radio listeners.

A hearing on Sen. Ed Markey’s AM For Every Vehicle Act is scheduled for Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

BNM Staff

News Audio

Fox News Radio Reportedly Facing Cutbacks

“Freelance shifts still exist on the network and current freelancers have been offered other opportunities over the weekend. Staff employees were not impacted.”

Published

21 hours ago

June 2, 2023

BNM Staff

According to All Access, Fox News Radio is tightening the belt a bit. Job cuts and staff reassignments are on the way.

Most of the effected positions are filled by freelancers. Reporters and fill-in hosts could be effected.

“Fox News Audio has reduced the number of freelance shifts and adjusted its workflow on weekends,” a source told Perry Michael Simon. “Freelance shifts still exist on the network and current freelancers have been offered other opportunities over the weekend. Staff employees were not impacted.”

One full-time staffer has confirmed that he is out. News anchor Kerin McCue had been with Fox News Radio since 2012. He told All Access that he will exit some time this month. The report does not say if that is the result of these cutbacks or McCue’s own decision.

The network does have a lower-cost plan for the weekend. Some repurposed content from SiriusXM’s Fox News Headlines 24/7 will fill newscast slots.

BNM Staff