News

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  Cynthia Canty will Host Virtual BEA Week March 22-26

  Find out if your station is a big winner in the 2020 Broadcast Excellence Awards contest as you watch the winning entries throughout our virtual awards week of March 22-26 at BroadcastExcellenceAwards.com. BEA Awards Week host Cynthia Canty will join you each day to help announce 2020’s Best and Merit winners in several groups of… read more

• Cable Companies Win Lawsuit Over Maine’s à la carte Law

  The Associated Press reported on Thursday (2/25) that a federal appeals court had rejected Maine’s law requiring cable companies to give subscribers the option of purchasing access to individual cable channels rather than bundled packages. Comcast, joined by Disney, Fox Cable and NBC/Universal, Fox Cable and others, sued the state over the law. The appeals… read more

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  Entercom Detroit Launches Vaccinate Michigan Initiative

  Entercom has teamed up with Detroit sports partners Detroit Lions, Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons to launch a new community initiative “Vaccinate Michigan.” As part of the campaign, WXYT 97.1 The Ticket, WYCD 99.5, WOMC 104.3, WDZH ALT 98.7 and Newsradio WWJ Newsradio 950 are airing state-approved public service announcements about the COVID-19 vaccination and… read more

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  Brett Dahlberg Joins WCMU Public Radio

  WCMU Public Radio (Mt. Pleasant) has announced that Brett Dahlberg has joined the station as a general assignment reporter. He was previously the health reporter at WXXI Public Broadcasting in Rochester, N.Y., and has filed stories for National Public Radio, IEEE Spectrum, The Village Voice and other outlets. Brett earned a master’s degree in journalism… read more

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  EEO Audit List and March Regulatory Dates

  By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP First, the FCC today (2/25) released its first EEO audit notice for 2021. There are radio and TV stations all across the country that are included, including a seemingly high number of noncommercial stations. The FCC has said that they will audit 5% of all broadcast stations each… read more

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  WYCD’s Steve Grunwald in the Cold to Raise $50,000 for Ronald McDonald House

  This week, Steve Grunwald from the Josh, Rachael and Grunwald morning show on WYCD-FM (Detroit) is spending time in the cold to raise $50,000 for the Ronald McDonald House.  He’s been sleeping in a tent on the patio in the garden at the Ronald McDonald house in Downtown Detroit and will stay put until every… read more

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  MHSAA Names Jon Ross as Broadcast & Media Coordinator

  Jon Ross, bringing vast experience in video production and after working both as television media and in media relations, has been added to the Michigan High School Athletic Association staff as broadcast & media coordinator, a role in which he’ll focus primarily on video production, day-to-day efforts by the MHSAA Network and other communications duties…. read more

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  Jack Moves Up the Dial in Kalamazoo

  Midwest Communications is giving the “Jack-FM” an upgrade in Kalamazoo.  On February 24, the company began simulcasting 96.5 Jack-FM (WZOX-FM) on 106.5 WVFM-FM.  The two stations will simulcast until Wednesday, March 3 until a new format debuts on the 96.5 frequency. The move upgrades the format from the Class A signal to the Class B… read more

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  12 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Virtual Events Platform

  By: Seth Resler Jacobs Media Strategies When winter melts into spring, radio stations will inevitably turn their attention to the live events that have become a mainstay of the listener experience. Last year, stations were forced to cancel events or scramble to figure out how to take them online. While our view of the future… read more

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  Sports Betting Advertising Q & A Issued

  According to an MAB conversation with the attorney for Michigan Gaming Control Board and based on the rules, broadcasters who are required to be registered for accepting sports betting advertising may do so by company rather than per station. If your advertising comes through an ad agency, it is the agency that must register even… read more

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  WKAR’s Elkins Elected to America’s Public Television Stations Board

  America’s Public Television Stations announced February 16 that Susi Elkins, director of broadcasting and general manager of WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University has been elected to serve as professional vice chair on the board of the nonprofit organization. The mission of APTS is to ensure a strong and financially sound public television system… read more

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  WWJ’s 18th Winter Survival Radiothon For THAW raises $416K in Heating Assistance

  Entercom’s WWJ-AM (Detroit) held its 18th Annual Winter Survival Radiothon for THAW (The Heat And Warmth Fund) on February 12, raising $416,000 in Heating Assistance for Detroit area residents in need.  The 14-hour radiothon raised donations to keep families safe and warm this winter by bidding on items in the Online Auction. Many have generously… read more

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  The Return of the Fairness Doctrine – What it Was and Why it Won’t Return

  By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP It seems like whenever Democrats are elected to serve as President and take control of Congress, there is talk about the revival of the Fairness Doctrine as some panacea for restoring balance and civility to political debate.  In recent weeks, we have seen many articles blaming conservative talk… read more

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  Former Detroit TV Anchor Karen Hudson-Samuels Dies

  The MAB has learned that former WGPR-TV (Detroit) anchor, producer and news director Karen Hudson-Samuels has passed away.  The Detroit media icon was found dead at her home by her husband last Tuesday (2/9), just one day after taking the COVID-19 vaccine, but the official cause of her death is still unknown. One of Samuels’… read more

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