UK

Former BBC radio presenter Ernie Almond has died after a short illness

Ernie Almond, one-half of the former Ern and Vern Show on BBC Three Counties Radio, has died at the age of 80. His co-host Jonathan Vernon-Smith paid tribute on Tuesday, saying: “My dear friend Ernie Almond passed away peacefully this afternoon. I was lucky to have him in my life for 31 years. I’m heartbroken! […] […]

US

FCC Report 12/3: Houston Translator Nabbed For Multiple Violations; Nine Boston Pirates Issued Warnings

FCC Actions
The FCC has issued a Notice of Violation to SDK Franco’s 92.5 K223CW Houston for multiple violations.

Following an inspection in May following a complaint, FCC agents noted the following violations: 1) Receiving their parent signal by method other than over the air as it was retransmitting Gow Media’s 97.5 KFNC-HD2 Mont Belvieu (which is not believed to exist) via an internet stream. 2) Operating with a directional pattern not licensed as the translator was licensed to operate with a log-periodic antenna radiating at an azimuth of 220°, but was instead utilizing a yagi antenna radiating at an azimuth of approximately 310°. 3) The translator was operating with a transmitter output power of 100 watts when licensed to broadcast with an ERP of 28 watts horizontal and output power of 7 watts.

K223CW operates as “ESPN 92.5” mostly simulcasting Gow’s “ESPN 97.5” KFNC breaking away from the main content feed for some events, which was supposed the be fed from a separate programming feed on KFNC-HD2.

Pirate Actions

Nine Boston area property holders have been issued Notices of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting due to they or tenants of theirs engaging in unauthorized broadcasts. The FCC notes that the otices formally notify landowners of the illegal broadcasting activity occurring on their property; inform landowners of their potential liability for permitting such activity to occur on their property; demand proof that the illegal broadcasting has ceased on the property; and request identification of the individual(s) engaged in the illegal broadcasting.

The warnings were issued to:

Jean Chery and Marie Chery for operating on 89.3 Boston MA
Marie Pierre for operating on on 96.5 Brockton MA
Pierre Napoleon for operating on 100.1 Brockton MA
Andre Jeanty and Racimene Jeanty Reme for operating on 105.3 Brockton MA
New Fellowship Baptist Church, Inc. for operating on 87.7 in Dorchester MA
New Fellowship Baptist Church, Inc. for operating on 88.5 Dorchester MA
Pierre Forges for operating on 100.1 Mattapan MA
Robert Perello for operating on 107.5 Mattapan MA
Hugues St. Fleur and Clauda St. Fleur for operating on 105.3 in Randolph MA

Silent Notifications

Copper Mountain Broadcasting Company’s 92.1 KKCM Thermal CA (Loss of tower lease)
Zoe Communications’ 1450 WELY Ely MN (FM programming source off the air)
Zoe Communications’ 94.5 WELY-FM Ely MN (Antenna Damage)
Hyde County Board of Education’s 89.5 WHYC Swan Quarter NC (Transmitter failure)
Agape Educational Media’s 89.1 KAGP Greenwood TX (Loss of tower lease)
S Content Marketing’s 94.1 KJAZ Point Comfort TX (Loss of tower lease)

AM Changes
Latino Media Network’s “TUDN 1010” KLAT Houston […]

ASIA

Grand Jury announced for 2024 NYF Radio Awards

The New York Festivals® 2024 Radio Awards competition has announced this year’s distinguished Radio Awards Grand Jury.This year’s world-class Grand Jury comprises distinguished radio industry leaders from 19 countries across 6 continents. This jury panel of 100+ esteemed content creators, industry visionaries, and iconic voices, includes directors, producers, journalists, writers, and sound artists who personify passion and innovation in audio entertainment. The reputation and diverse expertise of the 2024 Grand Jury ensures that every entry receives the meticulous attention it deserves during this peer-judging process.“We are thrilled to welcome these globally recognized super-achievers to the 2024 Grand Jury,” said Rose Anderson, EVP & Executive Director New York Festivals Radio Awards. “Their collective wealth of hands-on knowledge, their commitment to excellence and the proven mastery of their craft in fields as diverse as investigative journalism, audio books, drama, talk, and live events show how robust the world of radio is today.”

Recruited from the ranks of globally renowned companies, these leaders and storytellers are at the forefront of championing innovative storytelling across all genres and platforms, including news, documentary, entertainment, sports, and image.The  lineup of companies our jurors represent encompasses global networks, production companies, radio stations, publishing houses and more including BBC, Radio Mitre S.A., Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, SiriusXM, Geller Media International, Pushkin Industries, HarperCollins Publishers UK, Radio-Canada Ohdio, DMC Studio Argentina, Talkers Magazine, Radio Mirchi, B7 Productions Limited, Accompany Studios, Open To Debate, Zinc Media, Bioneers, iHeart Media, TBI Media, Magnum Opus Broadcasting, NASA/JPL, Radio City, Virgin Radio UK, New York Philharmonic, Crooked Media, Seoul Media Foundation TBS, Radio City, CliffCentral, Virgin Radio UK, and Clare FM.A partial list of prominent jurors includes:
ory Belfi, SiriusXM, Vice President, Talk Programming, USA
Andrew Biggs, Imaging Producer / Director, Eyesound – New Zealand
Benoit Bories, Director/Producer, Faïdos Sonore/Créations sonores – France
Rina Broomberg, Director, CliffCentral – South Africa
Diego Cannizzaro, Owner & Director, DMC Studio – Argentina
Jennie Cataldo, Owner & Producer, Accompany Studios – USA
Chris Colbert, Chief Executive Officer, DCP Entertainment – USA
Clea Connor, CEO Open To Debate – USA
Nick Davis, Executive Director, Engagement & Inclusion, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Canada
Zayd Ayers Dohrn, Playwright/Screenwriter/Executive Producer – USA
Padraic Flaherty, Head of Operations & Group Program Director, Clare FM – Ireland
Rebecca Fortuin, Senior Audio Editor for HQ, M&B and Farshore, HarperCollins Publishers – UK
Lauren Hansen, iHeart Media, Producer – USA
Emily Harris, Bioneers, Media Producer – USA
Dylan Haskins, Commissioning Executive for Podcasts, BBC Sounds & BBC Radio 5 Live – UK
Havoc Franklin, CBC Radio, CBC Content Development – Canada
Geoff Jein, Independent Producer – UK
Steve Levine, Owner & Producer, Magnum Opus – United Kingdom
Liliana Manna, Independent, Journalist – Argentina
Leslie Mullen, Producer, NASA/JPL – USA
Götz Naleppa, Drama Director & Sound Artist, Naleppa Audio Productions – Germany
Anurita Patel, Vice President, Zonal Programming & Audacity, Radio City – India
Karen Pearson, CEO, Folded Wing – UK
Jason Phipps, Head of Content & Development, Chalk + Blasé – UK
Helen Quigley, Head of Production, B7 Production Limited – UK
Tim Rohan, Independent Journalist – USA
Des Shaw, Co-Founder, Zinc Media – UK
Helen Shaw, Founder/Director, Athena Media – Ireland
Lou Simon, SiriusXM Radio, Vice President, Music Programming – USA
Alison Toomey, Real Films Ltd, Producer/Director/Co-founder – Ireland
Mark Travis, Director Media Production, New York Philharmonic – USA
Elisabeth Weilenmann, Director, ORF – Austria
Karena Wynn-Moylan, Presenter/Producer, Bay FM radio 99.9 – Australia
View this year’s distinguished 2024 Grand Jury: HERE.The NYF Radio Awards Grand Jury meticulously reviews all entries during online judging panels, evaluating each submission based on industry-specific criteria to determine scores. The judging panels award Gold, Silver, and Bronze Trophies, with the highest-scoring entries earning the prestigious Grand Trophy. Additionally, the awards include Special Industry Awards recognizing the Broadcaster of the Year and Production Company of the Year.The annual National Press Club Award will go to the highest scoring entry in the following news program categories: Coverage Of Breaking News Story, Coverage Of Ongoing News Story, Nonfiction Series and News Podcast.NYF’s Radio Awards receives entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from over 30 countries around the globe. The mission of the competition is to honor the achievements of the men and women who make up the global audio storytelling community.All Entries in NYF’s 2024 Radio Awards will be judged by the NYF Grand Jury of 100+ producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe. Entries are judged on production values, creativity, content presentation, direction, writing, achievement of purpose, and audience suitability.Award-winning entries for 2024 will be showcased in the Radio Awards winners gallery. To view the 2023 Radio Awards winner’s gallery, visit HERE.  All award winners will be celebrated at the 2024 Storytellers Gala on April 16th.To enter the 2024 Radio Awards please visit: HERE, for additional information visit: Rules and Regulations and 2024 Radio Awards categories. The entry deadline for the 2024 Radio Awards competition is January 31, 2024. […]

UK

Jeff Stelling starts on talkSPORT Breakfast with Ally McCoist two days a week

talkSPORT’s new breakfast show line-up will be complete on Monday when Jeff Stelling joins to host each Monday and Tuesday. As announced in August, he’ll be co-hosting with Ally McCoist twice a week. Then on Wednesdays, it’s Alan Brazil and Ally McCoist before Alan is joined by Gabby Agbonlahor on Thursdays and Ray Parlour on […] […]

UK

Romesh Ranganathan to take over Claudia Winkleman’s Saturday show on BBC Radio 2

Claudia Winkleman has announced she’s leaving BBC Radio 2. The news came during her show on Saturday morning, saying she’s wanting to spend more time with her kids, and her last show will be in March 2024. Romesh Ranganathan, who currently presents For The Love Of Hip Hop for Radio 2 and BBC Sounds each […] […]