WWMT newsroom flooded with city sewage
A busted sewer pipe flooded the WWMT newsroom in Kalamazoo last night. A break outside the building forced water out of the restroom toilets and into the newsroom. According to Jeff Varner’s Twitter account, the flood was ankle deep in some areas.
Photo caption: “Judy trying to manage an out of control flood. We’re almost ankle deep in some places. A steady flow.”
More photos are available on Jeff Varner’s Twitpic page.
Michigan Radio raises more than $850,000
Michigan Radio (WUOM Ann Arbor, WFUM-FM Flint and WVGR Grand Rapids) surpassed its fall fundraising goal by raising more than $850,000.
Ann Arbor-based Michigan Radio, the public radio service of the University of Michigan, said today that is surpassed its fall fundraising goal by raising more than $850,000 from more than 7,100 pledges.
The goal for the Oct. 14-21 on-air drive had been $712,000.
The money raised helps pay for programming costs at the station, with membership support being the station’s single largest source of income, the station said in a news release.
WDIV newscasts defy Leno factor
WDIV in Detroit still has the number one newscast at 11pm despite the dwindling ratings of “The Jay Leno Show” at 10pm on NBC.
WDIV-TV (Channel 4) is dodging the Jay Leno bullet.
All over the country, in cities like Baltimore and Kansas City, Mo., NBC’s experimental prime-time talk offering “The Jay Leno Show” is wreaking havoc on ratings for the 11 o’clock newscasts that follow.
Leno is barely pulling in 6 million national viewers a night at 10 p.m. weekdays (his Sept. 14 debut drew 18 million) and that small audience means even smaller numbers for local news broadcasts.
NBC opted to give Leno the show, which is cheaper to make than scripted dramas, but the move appears to be costing affiliates money in the meantime.
This is not the case in Metro Detroit, where local Peacock affiliate WDIV has miraculously stayed in the No. 1 spot in spite of Leno. In fact, WDIV’s newscast has better numbers with a 9.5 rating/18 share than it had this same time last year (8.8 rating/16 share).
WNWN-FM station van stolen and vandalized
Vandals stole a custom truck belonging to WNWN-FM (Win 98.5) in Battle Creek. The truck was stolen from a locked parking garage inside the building housing the station.
It happened over the weekend, and police are now on the trail of the vandals who stole the custom truck belonging to Battle Creek, Michigan’s WNWN-FM (98.5). Midwest Communications WNWN Brand Manager P.J. Lacey tells Radio-Info the Ford F-150 truck with a country artist decal featuring Kenny Chesney, Brooks & Dunn and others was stolen from a locked, secure parking garage inside the building housing the station. “It appears they tried to peel off the decal of the artists, but when that didn’t work they covered it in black spray paint. There was also front-end damage.” Lacey adds the van was taken on a 80-90 mile joy ride, before police found it abandoned in a residential driveway. Lacey says “Overall, there was $8,000-9,000 damage, and the custom decal itself costs about $3,000-4,000.”
Shiels’ radio talk show to air on WSYM
Starting November 2, Michael Patrick Shiels’ radio show will be simulcast from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. weekdays on WSYM (FOX 47).
Beginning Nov. 2, Michael Patrick Shiels’ show will be simulcast from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. weekdays on WSYM (Channel 47). “We want to make (him) a TV star,” said Gary Baxter, the WSYM general manager.
Shiels originates his talk show at WJIM (1240-AM) from 5:30 to 9 a.m.; it airs on 10 other stations around the state.
The TV duties bring one new obligation, he joked: “I have to lose 60 pounds in the next three weeks.”
Short newscasts launched for attention deficient viewers
Trey Fabacher
WWJ-TV in Detroit launched a two-and-a-half minute newscast in January. The station’s VP/GM is considering adding additional “mini-newscasts.”
How short can a newscast be? WWJ-TV in Detroit launched a two-and-a-half minute newscast in January, which leads into repeats of the CBS network show “Two and a Half Men.” It has been so successful that more are coming.
WWJ vice president/general manager Trey Fabacher is considering adding additional mini-newscasts on the schedule, either on WWJ, its sister CW outlet, WKBD, or both. Such “snackable” newscasts run from two-and-a-half minutes to 12 minutes and are gaining audience throughout the country as viewers become acquainted with short clips on YouTube.
Short news shows are also being shown on XETV in San Diego, WBXX and WBIR in Knoxville, TN, and WBND in South Bend, IN. KPSP in Palm Springs, FL, is broadcasting the 15-minute “Eye on the Desert,” a local lifestyle program produced out of the newsroom.
‘Broadcasting & Cable’ reports on Detroit TV market
“Broadcasting & Cable” writes about the Detroit TV market in the publication’s most recent Market Eye.
It’s hard to overstate just how rough things are in Detroit: the 29% unemployment rate, the increasingly barren stretches, the NFL squad that went the whole of 2008 without a win. Most troubling was the ignominious collapse of the city’s famed auto industry earlier this year. “We’ve been eyewitnesses to the economic crisis,” says WDIV VP/General Manager Marla Drutz.
General managers in the No. 11 DMA say 2010 looks to be a lot better. Civic projects backed by stimulus money are popping up, some automotive plants are hiring, the local alternative energy industry is growing, and a governor’s race will kick cash to station coffers. A sense of optimism rises above the misery, some of it fueled by press about the city’s plans to rebound, such as the Time magazine cover story dated Oct. 5. “When the headlines are positive, it really changes the mindset of the people who live here,” says WWJ/WKBD VP/General Manager Trey Fabacher.
Despite the city’s four-decade-long population exodus, the greater DMA added a few thousand bodies in the last five years, according to BIA Financial. It’s a lively news market. Scripps ABC outlet WXYZ won total-day household ratings in May, edging out Post-Newsweek NBC affiliate WDIV and Fox O&O WJBK. WXYZ won primetime, while WDIV took evening and 11 p.m. news, the latter with a 9.1 rating/17 share, ahead of XYZ’s 7.3/13. WJBK posted an 8.5/14 at 10, and owns mornings.
Detroit radio gets ‘amped’
CBS Radio’s WVMV in Detroit has a new name: 98.7 AMP Radio. The station flipped from Smooth Jazz to Top 40 on Friday.
As exclusively reported by FMQB on Friday, CBS Radio’s Smooth Jazz 98.7 WVMV/Detroit made the switch to a Top 40 format at 5 p.m. EST on Friday. The new addition to the Motown airwaves kicked off with songs like Beyoncé’s “Sweet Dreams,” Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” and Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” before finally branding itself as AMP Radio at 8 a.m. today. This marks the second AMP Radio station in the CBS portfolio to launch this year after KAMP/Los Angeles, and the 12th CHR formatted station in the company.
Dom Theodore, VP of Contemporary Hit Radio Programming for CBS Radio, commented, “This station is ALL about the hits, and we intend to build the next powerhouse top 40 on a number of integrated platforms. 98.7 AMP Radio will be a full 360-degree audio and visual experience that will continue to evolve in step with the latest trends in music.”
Senior VP and Market Manager for CBS Radio-Detroit, Debbie Kenyon, added, “AMP Radio is a one stop destination for teen and young adult music fans – a highly savvy and interactive audience. We’ve seen more interest in this format from this audience than with any other, and our top 40 stations are performing better than ever for the company. We’ve made a number of moves to expand our footprint in this area to much success and we’re thrilled to be the next in a long line of great stations.”
WVMV in Detroit drops Smooth Jazz for Top 40
CBS Radio’s WVMV in Detroit dropped their Smooth Jazz format for Top 40 on Friday.
CBS Radio’s Smooth Jazz 98.7 WVMV/Detroit made the switch to a Top 40 format at 5 p.m. EST today, stunting with “98.7 Wheelz The Hits You Grew Up With!” Then Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome To The Jungle” aired before it was interrupted by audio of Kanye West’s recent MTV incident. When Kanye said Beyoncé made one of the best videos of all time, an announcer cut in and said, “Okay, we’ll play Beyonce,” and then “Sweet Dreams” kicked in and 987Takeover.com was born. This was followed by Black Eyed Peas “I Got A Feeling,” Eminem “Lose Yourself,” Pitbull “I Know You Want Me,” Miley Cyrus “Party In The USA,” Cobra Starship “Good Girls Go Bad,” Jay-Z “Run This Town,” Taylor Swift “Love Story,” Britney Spears “Radar,” Keri Hilson “Knock You Down,” Kings of Leon “Use Somebody,” Justin Bieber “One Time,” Drake “Best I Ever Had,” Boys Like Girls “Love Drunk,” Lady Gaga “Poker Face” and Jay Sean “Down.”
The station is running commercial free and jockless and will name itself officially on Monday morning at 8 a.m. More information is available at 987takeover.com.
‘Bob & Tom Show’ moves to WFGR-FM 98.7
The syndicated “Bob & Tom Show” is moving to Regent Broadcasting’s WFGR-FM on Monday. Clear Channel dropped the program from WBFX-FM earlier this month.
Anybody who misses the “Bob & Tom Show” can sit tight. They’ll be back — just on a different station.
Starting 6 a.m. Monday, the popular syndicated show will air on Regent Broadcasting’s WFGR-FM (98.7).
As of two Mondays ago, Clear Channel dropped the program from WBFX-FM (101.3), where it had aired for years.
Tim Feagan, Clear Channel West Michigan’s vice president and market manager, said the decision was in response to recent trends in local programming — mainly the predominance of male-targeted morning talk shows.
