News Audio

77 WABC Wins 8 NYSBA Excellence in Broadcasting Awards

“I am proud of our talent and all station personnel that has worked hard to make 77WABC the station it once was.”

Published

4 months ago

June 8, 2023

On Wednesday, 77 WABC Radio announced that it earned eight Excellence in Broadcasting Awards from the New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA).

Since acquiring the station, John Catsimatidis has introduced numerous enhancements and made significant investments in digital technology.

“I am proud of our talent and all station personnel that has worked hard to make 77WABC the station it once was,” Catsimatidis said. “Our talent and staff are leaders in their field; our on-air personalities include the biggest names in New York. We’re just getting started. There is always more to come from the iconic 77WABC.”

The New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA) recognized 77WABC with eight Excellence in Broadcasting awards in various categories:

Best Public Affairs Program – “Back the Blue”: An all-day tribute to the NYPD, highlighting their dedication.
Best Feature – “Cindy Adams Interviews Former Gov. Cuomo”: A high-quality interview conducted by Cindy Adams.
Top Morning Show – Sid & Friends in the Morning: Sid Rosenberg and his team delivered exceptional entertainment.
Best Live On Scene – “Columbus Day Parade”: Capturing the spirit of the parade with outstanding coverage.
Election Coverage – Rita Cosby, Dominic Carter, and Noam Laden contributed to this award-winning coverage.
Best Use of Digital – “Radio Pays Tribute to Fallen Firefighter Timothy Klein”: Showcasing the power of radio’s digital platforms in paying tribute.
Best Personality, Social Media – “Curtis Sliwa: Closing of Lenny’s Pizza”: Curtis Sliwa’s coverage of the closing of Lenny’s Pizza was recognized.
Top Podcast – “Other Side of Midnight with Frank Morano & guest William Shatner”: This episode featuring William Shatner captivated listeners on the Other Side of Midnight.

Chad Lopez, Red Apple Media President, showed appreciation for the recognition given to the station. He highlighted the hard work and commitment demonstrated by the WABC Radio team, both on and off the air.

“Everyone at WABC Radio, both on-air and off, is passionate about what we’re doing and gives 100% every day. I am honored to work with John Catsimatidis and lead this team through his vision, restoring our heritage call letters to their iconic glory and bringing radio back to what it used to be and should be,” he said.

“John and Chad have made tremendous strides across all facets of radio, on-air, on-site, and online, plus video!” added Dave Donovan, Executive Director of NYSBA. We’re proud of all our member stations for making New York Radio the best in the country.”

Ryan Hedrick

Ryan Hedrick works for WIBC in Indianapolis as a Morning News Anchor/Digital Content Producer. Prior to moving to Indy, he served as Assistant Program Director and Co-Host of the Morning News Express at WFMD. His career also includes stints at News Talk 103.7 FM in Chambersburg, PA, Sirius XM in Washington D.C., WBEN in Buffalo, NY, and WIBW-AM in Topeka KS where he earned 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

WDAY Host Jeff Left Retires After 50 Years

Left worked in New York City, Portsmouth, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Fargo.

Published

2 days ago

September 29, 2023

Eduardo Razo

Courtesy: WDAY Radio Staff

WDAY host Jeff Left is saying goodbye to radio as he’s retiring after 50 years in the industry across the country. Left began his career in Cleveland, Ohio, when he was 17 years old, and his first on-air opportunity was reading traffic reports to listeners.

“I wasn’t afraid or nothing. ‘I-35 backed up 10 minutes’, and I’m just reading it,” Left said about doing his first live-reads. “I said to myself, ‘Is this it? This is fun!”

Those live-reads led to Left traveling the country and working at various stations throughout his 50-year career. He worked in New York City, Portsmouth, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Fargo.

Eventually, he returned to WDAY for a second time, working in sales, production, and as an on-air personality alongside Bonnie & Friends.

“I’m lucky enough to have 27 advertising awards, I’ve been published 23 times nationally…” Left said. “…I thought it was time, and so that is why I decided to retire.”

Beginning Monday, October 2, Jace Denman will join Bonnie & Friends as Bonnie’s new co-host.

Eduardo Razo

Eduardo Razo is a news media writer for BNM, focusing on coverage of news/talk radio and news television. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at [email protected].

News Audio

KQED Promotes Ernesto Aguilar to Executive Role

Since joining the radio station in 2021, Aguilar has been Director of Radio Programming.

Published

2 days ago

September 29, 2023

Eduardo Razo

News/talk KQED in San Francisco is promoting Ernesto Aguilar to Executive Director of Radio Programming and Content DEI. Since joining the radio station in 2021, Aguilar has been Director of Radio Programming.

Aguilar reacted to his promotion on X, formerly Twitter, and shed light on details of what the new role that he’s taking over will consist of.

“Happy to share that my role at @KQED is growing,” Aguilar wrote. “I’m now Executive Director of Radio Programming and Content DEI. In addition to the exciting broadcasts we do, I’ll also now oversee diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the Content division.

“I’ll work closely with our Chief DEI Officer and teams to ensure our internal culture and our programming authentically serves the diverse Bay Area community we cherish. I’ll also be implementing annual Content DEI plans.”

Happy to share that my role at @KQED is growing. I’m now Executive Director of Radio Programming and Content DEI.

In addition to the exciting broadcasts we do, I’ll also now oversee diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the Content division. I'll work closely with our… pic.twitter.com/Z2gYKAYMNc
— Ernesto Aguilar (@eaXLR) September 26, 2023

Before joining KQED and heading to the Bay Area, Aguilar was Executive Director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and worked in Houston’s public radio scene. Furthermore, he thanked his boss, Holly Kernan, for entrusting him with the new role.

“Sincere thanks to @KQEDKernan, my boss, for her dedication and leadership on diversity issues,” Aguilar added. “Her support for devoting resources within Content is invaluable and a step I hope other organizations learn from.

Eduardo Razo

Eduardo Razo is a news media writer for BNM, focusing on coverage of news/talk radio and news television. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at [email protected].

News Audio

Chris Hayes Taking Podcast on Road with Live Tour

Joy Reid will join Hayes while the tour is in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Rachel Maddow is the guest for the New York stop.

Published

2 days ago

September 29, 2023

Eduardo Razo

(Photo: Nathan Congleton/MSNBC)

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes is taking his Why Is This Happening? podcast on tour, as he’ll be hosting three live shows in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York. Hayes has already made a stop in Austin, but the bulk of the tour is getting underway.

Hayes’ tour this fall will begin on Oct. 9 in Chicago, then head to Philadelphia on Oct. 16, and conclude in New York on Nov. 12. Furthermore, the MSNBC host won’t be alone, as he’ll guest, including some from his network.

Joy Reid will join Hayes while the tour is in Philadelphia; meanwhile, Rachel Maddow is the guest for the New York stop.

The All In host was recently in the news after it was announced that Inside with Jen Psaki will take over the Monday 8 p.m. time slot of Hayes’ show, with the change beginning on Sept. 25.

Nonetheless, Hayes will still anchor his show Tuesday through Friday, and Psaki will continue in her Sunday time slot at noon.

Eduardo Razo

Eduardo Razo is a news media writer for BNM, focusing on coverage of news/talk radio and news television. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at [email protected].