Cumulus and Emmis are at opposite ends of the scale on the GlassDoor employee review site.

Just 19% of Cumulus employees posting on the site said they’d “recommend [the company] to a friend.” While 81% of Emmis staffers said they would. As promised yesterday, here’s more from an exploration of radio companies whose employees have posted reviews on GlassDoor.com, and note that some postings may come from people with axes to grind. Or alternatively, from people who’d like to polish the apple a little bit. Let’s dig in, shall we? Cumulus Media has 229 reviews, with only about 1 in five (19%) saying they’d recommend the company. 25% approve of the CEO, Lew Dickey. From the verbatims about Cumulus, the “pros” were represented by this comment – “Loved the incentive program, games, and prizes we would have in the sales department. It is high-energy, fast-paced and fun! Decent health, dental and perks.” And the “cons” – “Commission-based can be scary! If you do not meet your goals [in sales], the whole draw against your commission structure is horrid, and you can end up owing the company money. Some months you are making money hand over fist, but if you don’t budget accordingly, the off months will hurt you.” As for “advice to management,” there’s this – “providing your sales employees with a living wage/base salary would help with retentions. Those who don’t fit would be weeded out anyway, and it would only help with morale.” And morale seems to be an issue. A mirror image is provided on GlassDoor about Emmis, where 81% would recommend the company and 93% approve of the CEO, Jeff Smulyan.

Dan Mason, CBS Radio’s president/CEO, gets a 74% “approve of” rating, and 59% of the 166 people wrote reviews said they’d recommend the company to a friend. The pros come from a promotion assistant – “Good foot in the door. You meet everyone from on-air talent to sales teams. Network, and you can really move up. They like to hire from within.” And the “cons” – pay is low for promotion assistant position.” Of those who’d interviewed with CBS for various jobs, 55% said it was a positive experience and just 6% rated it “negative.” Though one poster said “they seemed desperate for AEs.” Moving on to Entercom, 54% would recommend the company to a friend, and 63% approve of CEO David Field. The pros come from a current staffer in Austin – “encourages work-life balance, enables you to own your position. Exceptional co-workers.” The cons? “Fast-paced environment that can feel overwhelming at times.” Of those who interviewed with the company, 54% found it positive, just 9% rated the experience neutral – but 36% called it “negative.”

There are just 39 reviews on GlassDoor about Townsquare, a newer company. 39% said they’d recommend it to a friend. One former employee says “This organization recognizes professional potential and encourages their employees to think outside the box to achieve their business goals. Over-achievers will feel very at-home here.” But “The pay scale can be unequal to the amount of work you must put in to get the job done. That being said, if you love your job, hard work will not be a problem when you realize there is recognition as an end result.” And now Saga, with just 16 reviews. 59% would recommend it, and 75% approve of CEO Ed Christian. What does all this say about radio? Its managers are now being rated just as college students grade professors and employees in many large companies have been doing for their managers. It’s the new reality – even if it’s not always comfortable.

Four straight Nielsen wins for NYC’s classic hits WCBS-FM (101.1).

Nobody’s managed to do that (except iHeart’s AC WLTW) since top 40 Z100 did it in the Summer and Fall of 2008. True, CBS-owned WCBS-FM is down, from a 6.9 share in the August book to a 6.8 in September and now a 6.1 for the October PPMs – but so is competitor “Lite” WLTW. iHeart’s AC Lite is off 6.1-5.7-5.4, its smallest age 6+ AQH share in almost six years, since November 2008. It’s now tied for second place with Emmis-managed urban WBLS (5.0-4.8-5.1). Lite is still the cume leader with over 4.7 million Tri-Staters, compared to ’CBS-FM’s 3.52 million. But for now – Lite’s not getting enough benefit out of that cume (enough time spent listening) to overcome WCBS-FM. CBS programmer Jim Ryan tells this NOW Newsletter that “while it was a softer month for us, it was primarily because WFAN” – with the Yankees – “made huge gains in men...so at least it stays in the family.” Overall, Ryan says “we’ve made ’CBS-FM much more relevant, with Scott Shannon in the morning and more music from the ’80s and ’90s. It’s a fun station to listen and it sounds like New York.” But there’s a storm-front coming led by Santa’s sleigh, and Ryan knows all about it, because he used to lead WLTW. Christmas music on Lite will very likely end this #1 string by ’CBS-FM for the December and Holiday books. More about the latest Day 1 Nielsen PPMs coming up in today’s NOW Newsletter.

How’s that? It’s only been eight years since controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone split them apart, to separate the supposedly faster-growing Viacom, with its attractive cable channels, from the slower-growing CBS, based around broadcasting and the TV network/production business. But now analyst Gregg Harriss at the influential Gabelli investment firm says they’d be better off under one roof again, presumably as “Viacom.” The Wall Street Journal reports Harriss’ logic. Namely, that today’s business environment favors really big companies that others – like Time Warner Cable – can’t push around. CBS had a really messy public standoff with Time Warner, while Viacom’s cable networks have been dropped by the smallish Cable One and Suddenlink. There’s also the chance to generate more synergies among CBS TV production, its movie studio, the much bigger Viacom movie business and all the cable channels. Viacom stock’s down recently, and so is CBS, from its recent high of more than $60 a share. But under CEO Les Moonves, CBS has probably grown much more than Redstone anticipated, with Moonves relentless about paying ever-larger dividends but also shooting for $2 billion in re-transmission fees for his TV stations by 2020. More from the Journal about Gabelli’s logic here.

Pat Garrett tops the first-ever “Benztown 50” list of voiceover pros, ranked by SparkNet. The rest of the top ten - #2 Scott Fisher, #3 Cousin Deke, #4, George W. Robinson, #5 John Willyard, #6 Jeff Berlin, #7 Harry Legg, #8 Scott Matthews, #9 Chad Erickson and #10 Rachel McGrath. She’s the first woman on the list, followed by #11 Steve Kamer, #12 Sean Caldwell and #13 voice of “Jack FM” Howard Cogan. You’ve heard the work of these folks with talented tonsils, though their names may not be familiar unless you’re a client, or you work around the voiceover/imaging business. Benztown plans to make the “50” list an annual event and its president Dave “Chachi” Denes says “the very best voiceover professionals shape the listener experience and build distinctive audio brands that engage, captivate and entertain.” SparkNet produced the ranking based on “number of radio station affiliates, station size and market.” It says “more than 100 radio groups provided information” for the judging. See the complete Benztown 50 list here.

Radionomy’s TargetSpot opens a new business development division, with current Radionomy VP of Business Development Thierry Ascarez telling the RAIN Newsletter he’s keeping that role and adding leadership of the new effort for TargetSpot. Thierry says “Pureplay, traditional broadcasters – any new publishers are welcome” on the TargetSpot ad network platform. He says “We have unique targeting technology, we have premium networks, let's work together.” TargetSpot and Radio combined just before Christmas last year (December 17 NOW Newsletter). TargetSpot began in 2007 with ownership from a group of funders that included CBS, Union Square Ventures and Oddcast. Radionomy began in Belgium, and it used last year's TargetSpot acquisition to gain deeper penetration into the U.S. market, while TargetSpot got access to more markets across Europe. It currently has sales offices in France, Spain and Germany.

Spoken-word conglomerator Stitcher sells itself to Deezer, bringing over 353,000 shows from 12,000 providers like NPR, Fox News and the BBC to the Deezer platform. Stitcher tells its 16 million monthly users “Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere.” VentureBeat explains that “Stitcher is especially valuable to Deezer because it is already available on most devices and platforms, including several connected cars, and is among the most popular podcast/talk radio apps” for both Android and Apple iOS.

Anthony Cumia – formerly half of “Opie & Anthony” and now an independent podcaster – signs with Paltalk to offer subscribers services like group video chat. It’s a revenue-share deal, with Cumia saying “I love the realtime conversations that take place, and it’s so much more interactive and intimate than social networks like Twitter – and a hell of a lot more fun.” He should be familiar with the technology, since Opie & Anthony were on Paltalk when it was a startup and they were still on terrestrial radio.

Keith Urban is booked to speak at the 2015 Country Radio Seminar, Friday, February 27 – leaving just enough time for convention-goers to head back to the hotel room and get dressed for that night’s sold-out New Faces Show. The talent hasn’t even been announced yet for New Faces, but CRS executive director Bill Mayne has said that dinner tickets are already sold out, and there are “seat-only” tickets from now on, on a first-come, first-serve basis. (No food, just a chance for a peek into country's future.) For a Wednesday, February 25 afternoon keynote, the CRS has booked entrepreneur and philanthropist Todd Wagner. Want to be there in Nashville for CRS 2015? Hurry and save some money, because the $399 early bird registration rate ends Friday. Details and registration here.

The telecom national ad category was soft last week, but retailers, insurance companies, auto supply chains and fast food led last week’s national radio advertisers. The top-ranking telecom player in the just-released rankings by Media Monitors was Boost Mobile at #11. T-Mobile was #19 while Verizon Wireless was all the down at #32. AT&T doesn’t even appear to have made the top 100 list. At the top, GEICO insurance and Home Depot swapped places (again), with GEICO purchasing 40,384 spots detected by Media Monitors. Home Depot was #2 at just about 35,000 ads. Then come rivals Rite Aid and Walgreens. National retail chain Macy’s jumps from #12 two weeks ago to #6 last week, followed by McDonald’s, AutoZone, Wells Fargo and car-shopping aid TrueCar.

Day 1 Nielsen PPMs for the October book –

New York – The baseball Yankees looked like a viable wild-card team until nearly the end, when even Derek Jeter couldn’t will them past the injuries and under-performances of the 2014 season. But the drama was great for Yankees flagship WFAN-AM/FM. CBS program Mark Chernoff adds that it was also “football season, and there were lots of stories out there, including Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, plus all the Derek Jeter retirement stuff.” The CBS Radio all-sports station finishes sixth in the age 6+ AQH rankings, up 3.5 (August book) to 3.5 (September) and now a 4.5 share. How about New York’s other baseball team? The Mets (second in the NL East) didn’t visibly help iHeart’s talk WOR in their first season there. WOR is flat over the last three books, 1.6-1.7-1.6. While we’re on the subject of talk and sports – New York Public Radio’s news/talk non-com WNYC-FM is up again, 2.7-2.9-3.0. Its AM sister WNYC moves 0.5-0.6-0.5. While Disney-managed all-sports “ESPN 98.7” WEPN-FM rises 1.3-1.4-1.9. How about the two CBS all-newsers? Eighth-ranked “1010 WINS” (3.7-3.7-3.6) has bragging rights over 13th-ranked WCBS (3.4-3.2-3.0). Let’s check out the music stations –

You know the top three stations in New York – CBS Radio’s classic hits WCBS-FM (6.9-6.8-6.1) and tied-for-second AC “Lite” (iHeart’s WLTW, 6.1-5.7-5.4) and urban WBLS (being acquired by Emmis, holding 5.5-5.3-5.4). Fourth is iHeart’s top 40 “Z100” WHTZ, 5.0-4.8-5.1. Fifth is SBS-owned Spanish tropical “Mega” WSKQ (5.2-5.1-5.0). Then comes all-sports “The Fan” with the Yankees, followed by iHeart’s classic rock “Q104.3” WAXQ (4.4-4.5-4.2). We don’t often have occasion to mention iHeart’s rhythmic AC WKTU, but it’s dancing a little slower now, down from a 4.4 share six months ago to a recent run of 3.9-3.5-3.4. One culprit is time spent listening. It ranks #3 in cume but its TSL is off, so it ranks #10 in AQH share. A bit less traction for CBS Radio’s top 40 “Amp” WBMP, 3.0-3.0-2.8 (but up from a 2.1 in the May book). And a step back for Cumulus country “Nash” WNSH, 2.0-2.2-1.8 (and lower for its national morning morning show). Gotham’s cume leader remains AC Lite at an impressive 4,772,400 souls. Remember that Nielsen’s “October” is about two-thirds September, with survey dates of September 11 through October 8. All shares in this section are age 6+ AQH for the total broadcast week, and Nielsen’s subscriber-only policy is in effect. Let’s head out West to sunny-but-parched southern California -

Los Angeles – K-Earth’s exhilaration at winning the market back in the June book has fizzed away, somewhat. Since the June-survey 5.5, CBS Radio’s classic hits KRTH has moved 4.7-4.9-4.5 and now 4.2. It still ranks fourth in age 6+ share, behind the usual suspects. Those are iHeart’s hot AC KBIG (5.3-5.0-5.3) and CHR Kiss FM KIIS (5.0-5.2-5.3). They’re tied for first place, followed by Emmis’ urban “Power 106” KPWR, 4.3-4.7-4.5. Then there’s K-Earth, drafted (in NASCAR parlance) by top 40 sister “Amp 97.1” KAMP, 4.2-4.0-4.1 and iHeart’s AC KOST (4.4-4.1-4.1). In this market, it’s KOST that’s counting down the days until it blasts into orbit with all-Christmas music. L.A.’s leading Spanish station is Univision’s Spanish contemporary KLVE, 3.8-4.3-4.0. iHeart’s talk KFI fights it out for tenths of a point, gaining 3.3-3.3-3.5, to its best share since June 2013. (Though it ranks 24th in cume.) Entravision’s up-and-down Spanish variety hits KLYY is up, 1.4-2.4-2.6. The alternative-rock race has CBS Radio’s KROQ (2.8-2.7-2.8) ahead of iHeart’s “Alt” KYSR (2.2-2.0-1.9). Best book since September 2012 for Cumulus classic rocker KLOS (2.2-2.2-2.4). A happy month for Salem’s contemporary Christian “Fish” KFSH, 1.2-1.2-1.4. Not so happy for Cumulus talker KABC, 0.7-0.6-0.7. It’s in the same neighborhood as iHeart’s Rush Limbaugh affiliate KEIB (0.7-0.6-0.6) and Salem’s talk “870 the Answer” KRLA (0.6-0.5-0.6). Hot AC KBIG is L.A.’s cume leader at 3,691,000.

Chicago – The market’s now about 20% Hispanic, and a Spanish station ranks third. That’s Univision’s regional Mexican WOJO (3.6-4.3-4.8), with its best share since March 2010. Ahead of it are two more-familiar stations in the top three – iHeart’s urban AC “V103” WVAZ, 5.9-5.9-5.7 and CBS Radio’s all-news/NFL Bears flagship WBBM (plus its FM simulcast), 5.4-5.5-5.6. Fourth is Hubbard’s hot AC “Mix” WTMX, 4.8-4.6-4.7, then iHeart’s top 40 “Kiss 103.3” WKSC, 4.7-4.7-4.5. Cumulus classic hits WLS-FM is flat, 4.6-4.0-4.0. The woeful baseball Cubs are no help to Tribune’s needy talk WGN (3.7-3.6-3.2). But CBS Radio’s all-sports “Score” WSCR – also carrying the Bears– improves 2.1-2.2-2.5. Cumulus talker WLS remains weak, 1.6-1.4-1.5. Chicago’s cume champ is top 40 “Kiss” at 2,341,900.

San Francisco – Did somebody say “World Series”? The baseball Giants seemed like one of the teams of destiny this year, even though they had to win a wild card game to enter the playoffs. Their longtime flagship KNBR, doing all-sports holds the #1 spot and scores its biggest share since the 2012 World Series year, 5.2-5.7-6.6. Second is CBS all-newser KCBS (and its FM simulcast), with a third-straight 5.3 share. Third is Northern California Public Radio’s non-com news/talk KQED, 4.7-4.5-5.0. Entercom’s AC KOIT is right behind, 4.4-4.1-4.9 (and counting the minutes until all-Christmas). Fifth is CBS Radio top 40 “99.7 Now” KMVQ, 4.5-4.2-4.5. An off book for Univision’s Spanish variety hits KBRG-FM, 3.5-3.9-3.0. But some encouraging news for Cumulus with news/talk KGO, 1.7-2.1-2.4 (and a Rest In Peace wish for departed programmer Kevin Metheny). Entercom’s new rhythmic AC “Q102” KRBQ, the former North Bay partner of San Jose’s classic rock KUFX, improves 0.6-0.9-1.3. That ties it with KUFX, 1.3-1.3-1.3. Note that we’re still not seeing the results for Cumulus-programmed “Nash” KSJO, since Cumulus is LMAing it from Principle, which doesn’t subscribe. In the city immortalized by Tony Bennett’s “Left My Heart” song, AC KOIT has the highest weekly cume at just over 1.5 million.

Dallas - Last month’s top five is the same, but there are some bigger gaps, such as between #1 (iHeart’s top 40 “Kiss” KHKS, 6.1-6.6-7.0) and the #2 station, Cumulus’ country “Wolf” KPLX, 5.7-5.7-5.1. Salem’s contemporary Christian KLTY is rock-solid, 4.4-4.7-4.7. Fourth is Cumulus country KSCS, 4.0-4.5-4.5, and fifth is CBS Radio’s classic hits KLUV, 3.7-4.0-3.9. Then things start looking different, with Radio One’s urban “Beat” KBFB up 3.3-3.3-3.8. It’s tied for sixth with Hymen Childs’ urban “K104” KKDA-FM (4.0-4.0-3.8). Another urban player does its best share since July 2012, and that’s Radio One’s urban AC “Old school and R&B K-Soul” KSOC, 2.1-2.6-2.9. In talk-based formats, there’s CBS Radio’s news/talk KRLD (1.5-1.8-2.5). While all-sports sister “105.3 the Fan” KRLD-FM, flagship of the NFL Cowboys, does its best share in four years, 1.5-1.8-2.5. Cumulus’ all-sports “Ticket” KTCK-AM/FM is steady, 2.2-2.3-2.2. Cumulus talker WBAP is flattish, 2.3-2.2-2.1. Top 40 “Kiss” easily owns the cume lead at 1,990,700.

Houston – It’s almost a return to the good-old-days for Radio One’s combo of urban AC “Majic” KMJQ (ranked #1, 6.4-6.7-6.9) and urban “Box” KBXX (ranked #3, 5.6-5.6-5.9). Sandwiched in between at #2 is iHeart’s AC KODA (6.8-6.7-6.2, and more than ready for all-Christmas). Fourth is Cox’s country “93Q” KKBQ-FM, 6.1-6.1-5.9. It barely holds off Univision’s regional Mexican KLTN, 5.3-5.1-5.8. Big bump for iHeart’s talk KTRH, 3.1-4.4-5.0. Is that perhaps somewhat related to the funeral of Radio One’s “News 92” KROI? Nope, couldn’t be – KROI didn’t begin stunting until October 8 (last day of the October Nielsens) and didn’t reveal its permanent format of classic hip-hop as “Boom 92” until October 13. For the record, KROI finishes out 0.9-0.9-1.0. The Houston Texans NFL team plays on CBS Radio’s country KILT-FM (3.3-4.0-4.1) and perhaps that exposure explains part of the cume growth – but CBS will want to improve the time spent listening. All-sports sister KILT also carries the games and goes 1.9-2.2-2.4. Houston’s cume champ is AC KODA at just over two million.

Philadelphia – Jerry Lee’s patience pays off, as his AC “More FM” WBEB reasserts its usual dominance, 6.5-6.6-7.1. The former “B101” is another station with high expectations about the all-Christmas goodies to come. Falling to second place is iHeart’s urban AC WDAS-FM, 5.5-6.7-6.2. Third is Beasley/soon-to-be-CBS country WXTU (5.5-5.6-5.9). Fourth is CBS Radio’s classic hits WOGL, 6.2-6.4-5.7, followed by a notable rise for all-sports sibling WIP-FM – buoyed by Eagles play-by-play – 3.3-3.7-5.3. Sister all-news KYW is up, 4.1-4.0-4.7. Weak month for iHeart’s alternative “Radio 104.5” WRFF, 4.5-4.1-3.6. It’s tied with WHYY Inc.’s non-commercial news/talk WHYY, 3.0-3.7-3.6. Greater Media’s all-sports “Fanatic” WPEN-FM follows the market’s fascination with “Iggles” football, 2.0-2.3-2.9. (Yesterday, Greater Media announced the Fanatic’s multi-year renewal with the NBA 76ers.) A soft month for Radio One’s urban WPHI, 2.3-2.3-1.9. AC giant “More FM” has a firm grasp of the cume lead at 1,616,000.

Atlanta – Up-top, there’s #1 WSB, the Cox talk station, 6.4-7.2-7.6. Then CBS-owned urban “V103” WVEE, 6.3-7.0-7.1 and Cox AC “B98.5” WSB-FM, 6.4-6.4-6.6. There’s a drop-off to the #4 spot and Cox urban AC “Kiss” WALR, 6.8-6.1-5.9. The Fishing’s good in Atlanta for Salem’s contemporary Christian “Fish” WFSH, 4.7-5.3-5.6. It’s an off-month for Cox classic hits “River” WSRV, 5.2-5.5-4.7. Not a great country book for either iHeart’s “Bull” WUBL (6.5-6.0-5.3) or Cumulus “Kicks” WKHX, 3.6-3.2-3.2. Cumulus is running its new “Nash Icon” country brand on WWHQ-HD2-plus translator, and it’s off from the 0.9 share when the combo was oldies to a 0.2. Cumulus’ news/talk WYAY is steady despite an eroding cume, 1.6-1.6-1.5. Falcons football is supporting CBS Radio’s “92.9 the Game” WZGC to its best share since September 2012, 1.0-1.7-2.1. AC “B98.5” attracts the largest cume, 1.3 million.

Nassau-Suffolk – Big jump for Connoisseur’s recently-acquired AC WALK-FM, 7.0-7.0-8.1. Second is CBS Radio’s all-sports “Fan” WFAN-AM/FM and its Yankees games, 4.7-4.7-5.9. Third is iHeart’s rebounding top 40 “Z100” WHTZ, 5.1-4.7-5.5. While the Island’s homegrown top 40 WBLI, owned by Cox, is off 5.1-5.7-4.9. Long Island is one market where iHeart’s AC “Lite” WLTW (3.5-3.7-3.6) still beats CBS Radio’s classic hits WCBS-FM (3.7-3.8-3.5). NY-market CHR Z100 outcumes everybody else at 734,600 folks.

Riverside-San Bernardino – Very little changes here, with Entravision’s “Jose,” Spanish variety hits KLYY, on top (9.5-8.7-9.4), Inland Empire’s classic hits KOLA in second place (6.3-6.1-5.6) and iHeart’s rhythmic KGGI third, 5.1-5.0-5.1). A month ago, Univision’s L.A.-market Spanish contemporary K-Love KLVE made a move here, and that persists, 3.2-4.5-4.3. Sister regional Mexican KSCA is next, 2.9-3.1-3.8. Keep an eye on Good News Radio’s contemporary Christian non-com KSGN, 2.7-3.0-3.0. Rhythmic KGGI leads in cume at nearly 650,000.

San Jose – Non-com news/talker KQED, Northern California Public Radio’s non-com news/talker, is first, 6.1-6.1-6.5. Second in this news/talk-hungry market is CBS Radio’s KCBS+full signal FM, 5.3-5.3-5.7. Third is Cumulus all-sports KNBR with Giants games, 4.5-4.7-5.6. Fourth is Digity’s hot AC KEZR (4.9-5.2-5.5) and next is its AC sister KBAY, 5.3-5.5-5.4. In the country world, one station is invisible – Cumulus-leased “Nash” KSJO, not listed because owner Principle is a non-subscriber. And Empire’s in-market country KRTY is steady, 4.1-3.9-3.9. Cumulus news/talk KGO is brightening down in South Bay, too 1.7-1.8-2.4. While adult alternative sister KFOG/KFFG gains 1.5-1.3-2.0. The hot AC, KEZR, has a sizable cume lead at 445,600.

Middlesex-Somerset-Union – Steady growth showing for Townsquare’s talk (weekdays)/classic hits (weekends) “New Jersey 101.5” WKXW, 5.4-6.0-6.8. Just six months ago it had a 4.6 share in this northern Jersey suburban market. #2 is iHeart’s NY-market classic rock WAXQ (6.2-6.4-6.3) and #3 is CBS Radio’s classic hits WCBS-FM. The next local station to show is Greater Media’s seventh-ranked AC WMGQ, 4.8-4.6-4.6. The Yankees boost CBS-owned all-sports “Fan” WFAN-AM/FM here, too, 3.7-4.1-4.5. Cumulus country “Nash” WNSH has moved 3.1-3.0-3.7-3.8-4.1-3.6 over the last six months. Sister hot AC WPLJ is a tad stronger, 3.6-2.6-2.8. New York-market CHR “Z100” WHTZ has the highest cume at 466,700.

Fargo’s new “Loft” is open for business, as a recently-relocated translator (tethered to an HD Radio signal) adds an adult alternative format to this crowded market. Owner Jim Ingstad’s supplying the Loft via the HD2 signal of his country “Bob 95 FM” KBVB, using the 250-watt translator licensed to Wahpeton, North Dakota that he owns as “North Dakota Free Airwaves.” K234BX just changed frequencies from 94.7 to 94.5, and that’s where Radio Insight catches up with the new triple-A “Loft.” Take the elevator there yourself, here.

Montreal’s LGBT-focused “Radio Fierte” CHRF begins formal testing, running promos as “the first Francophone LGBT station in North America” between the music. Blogger Steve Faguy says that licensee George Evanov told him to expect a launch in a few weeks, though no staff announcements have been made for the revived AM signal at 980. Evanov proposed a format of about 50% music and 50% talk, and Faguy says “though it would be mainly directed at the estimated 5% to 10% of the population that is gay, its music and information is designed to appeal to a wider audience.” Evanov operates “Proud FM” in Toronto, and he thinks the estimated 5% to 10% LGBT population for Montreal might be even higher. More from Steve Faguy here.

Some former Jacor pals – “Amigos,” actually – are part of a deal to buy Columbus-market WVKO-AM/FM. Frank “Bo” Wood and Bobby Lawrence were principals of Jacor in the early days, and now Wood is the leading investor in a new group named TSJ Radio. Its parent is Great West Coast Ventures, and some of the other participants are Brian Wiles and Spanish media entrepreneur Josh Guttman. Something that carries the whimsical touch of Bo Wood has 42.5% of Great West Coast Ventures, and that’s “Pancho y Amigos” – Pancho and friends. The stations they’re buying will be their only radio interests in Columbus, and their deal’s with Daniel B. Zwirn’s Bernard Ohio. The combo was once owned by Percy Squire’s Stop 26-Riverbend before it went into re-structuring – but that’s a whole 'nuther story. In fact, the sale contract in this deal references a potential complication from “certain litigation threatened by Gold Chip,” which has been LMAing the AM and has a purchase option for both signals. For now, we’ve got Zwirn accepting $743,750 in cash from TSJ/Great West Coast Ventures for these two stations – gospel WVKO Columbus at 1580, running 3,200 watts daytime and 290 watts at night, and holding a construction permit to raise daytime power to 5,000 watts. And regional Mexican “La Mega 103.1” WVKO-FM Johnstown, a Class A located northeast of Columbus. Zwirn continues to own Dallas-area AM’s KFCD Farmersville (990) and KHSE Wylie, Texas (700).

In Eastern North Carolina, Raleigh’s non-com classical WCPE (89.7) gains a foothold in Rocky Mount with the $70,000 purchase of a translator that once was licensed to Wilson but later moved to Rocky Mount. The signal is W250AZ, running 250 watts at 97.9. The FCC filing says buyer PMC Broadcasting, led by Delores Stewart, will rebroadcast WCPE, owned by Educational Information Corporation. Seller of the translator is Ronald Benfield’s Conner Media – which has sold at least three other eastern North Carolina translators. Two of those went to Beasley and one to Don Curtis (March 24 NOW Newsletter).

Kalpak Gude, Julissa Marenco and Susan Singer all take roles at the FCC that radio folks should be aware of. Mr. Gude segues from the agency’s Wireline Competition Bureau to the Media Bureau. He’s the new Associate Bureau Chief there. He’ll “primarily work on broadcast ownership and other related issues,” the FCC says, and that makes him an important contact for radio. Julissa Marenco joins from outside, as a new Assistant Bureau Chief at the Media Bureau, addressing media ownership and the just-postponed spectrum auction. She earned her master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and has been President of ZGS Communications-Station Group. Susan Singer changes from the Wireless Bureau (as Chief Economist) to be Chief Economist at the Media Bureau. Bill Lake is Chief of the Media Bureau. Also inside Lake’s division, Holly Saurer is promoted from Senior Counsel to Associate Bureau Chief.

The Raqc and Nachin Show signs up as the new morning show at Millennial-focused Spanish contemporary “Mega 96.3” KXOL-FM in L.A. Spanish Broadcasting System keeps trying new approaches and fresh talent at Mega, including bringing in bilingual musical star Shakira for its re-launch five months ago (May 19 NOW Newsletter) and before that attempting to use Miami-based “DJ Laz” Lazaro Mendez in L.A. The company’s been saying that Mega is “the country’s first Latino general market station that appeals to all Hispanics – but now the focus seems to be on “the new generation of U.S.-born Latinos.” Racquel Cordova and Ignacio ”Nachin” Sandoval debuted yesterday in the 6-10am slot.

"Good thing he stopped at the bar" - A let's-keep-this-anonymous NOW reader says "Yesterday's story about the fellow who taped his newscasts reminds me of a buddy who worked at a big-city suburban station in the late 1970s. The music was run by board ops 18 hours a day, from noon to 6 in the morning. My friend was live and did news for morning drive until lunchtime, then taped the afternoon casts. Newscast A ran at 1 and 4 pm, B at 2 and 5, and C at 3 and 6. After the taping, he'd get a ride or cab it back to the train station and go home, back into the city where he lived. Well, one day he's in a bar, waiting for his 3:30 afternoon train, and he sees a local tragedy on the TV there. As I recall, it was a plane crash. The poor guy had to chug his beverage and scramble back to the station by taxi to record three newscasts, all over again. That made a long day even longer, and more expensive. Of course the listeners had no clue about his distress and his efforts for journalistic accuracy. But it's a good thing he stopped at the bar before taking the train back home. You can’t always say that.” Got your own true story about radio? Email “You Can’t Make This Up” – Tom@RTK-Media.com.

iHeart and SiriusXM both report their latest quarters this morning, and iHeart will be an important stake in the ground when it comes to measuring the rest of the industry – and how it sees the holiday season and 2015. Analysis in tomorrow’s Tom Taylor NOW Newsletter. If you want to reach our highly-engaged readership, contact Kristy Scott at Kristy@RTK-media.com or 818-591-6815. See you back first thing tomorrow - Tom