iHeart goes “Big” and challenges the CBS country monopoly in Chicago.

“US99.5” has had the format all to itself for many years and iHeart finally decides to chase WUSN rather than keep its six-year-old regional Mexican format on WNUA (95.5). The Chicago market is crowded with Spanish radio, including Univision’s regional Mexican WOJO at 105.1 (a 3.2 share with age 6+ AQH in the latest Nielsen PPMs) and SBS-owned regional Mexican WLEY-FM. “La Ley 107.9” pulled a 1.8 share in the December PPMs – right behind iHeart’s WNUA at a 1.9. iHeart’s tired of chasing WOJO and there’s another factor we haven’t talked about here in a long while – power ratios. That’s a way of measuring a format’s ability to convert ratings to revenue, and traditionally, Spanish stations have had a tough time converting. With country music hot right now, iHeart likes the odds of being the second country station in Chicago compared to being one of three regional Mexican stations. Chicago market president Mark Scarano promises “Big 95.5” will be “a dynamic country music leader and a breath of fresh air for country radio in Chicago.” In fact, the fresh challenge might spur CBS to put a little more budget towards US99.5 – which typically garners between a 4.1 and a 4.5 share and has been a major revenue producer in years past. Now CBS can’t take its success for granted. Sample the new “Big” here. CBS and iHeart already do battle in the country format in places like Pittsburgh (CBS continues to win), Minneapolis (neck-and-neck) and elsewhere.

You’ve been seeing the monthly online listening numbers here from Triton Digital, where Pandora keeps improving its totals, and iHeart doesn’t really match that growth. Edison Research VP Tom Webster tackles the broader subject and asks the question about “not growing.” He says “it can’t be a lack of advertising,” given the “multiple mentions of the brand and the app” in “even the briefest listen to any iHeart station.” It’s not because there’s “no growth to be had – Pandora has grown 32% in the 16 months since iHeart’s peak.” Webster says “the closest thing to a possible clue is that most all of the sites that are geared or mostly geared to the streams of AM/FM radio stations are flat or down since May of 2013.” By Tom’s calculations, “Cumulus is down 22% from that time in the September Triton numbers. CBS is down 4%. ESPN and Greater Media show modest gains.” But he says “in general, it is more than fair to say the business of streaming the content of American radio stations is stagnant at best.” So it’s not just iHeart, though that’s the largest player. Webster acknowledges that “to its credit, iHeart is more than just the streams of radio stations…But regardless, it is not achieving growth.” Read more of Webster’s analysis here.

SoCal radio revenue is down 2.2% through November – mostly due to national spot.

It’s not a question of usage by the consumer, says the Southern California Broadcasters Association – because based on Nielsen numbers, “total weekly cume listenership continues to grow.” But we want to know about the advertising dollars, and the dollars-and-cents report from Miller Kaplan is that “a closer look reveals a national spot weakness of -10.4%.” That’s mostly what produced the year-to-date decline of 2.2%. On the plus side, Southern California’s network radio ad growth was 64.7% and its NTR (non-traditional revenue) line improved nearly 15%. The SCBA says the local radio scene’s “real economic health is revealed in its new business development growth – 463 new advertisers invested $38,358,316 in the first 11 months of 2014.”

And not just for the radio industry, but the entire area. The “economic overview” of the region includes stats about unemployment (8%, down from 9.6% a year ago), job growth, and home sales (“a five-year high”). In fact, the Southern California Broadcasters Association quotes Zillow saying that L.A. and Orange Counties are “the least affordable housing markets in the country.” Renters are paying more of their income than anywhere else in America. Not only that, the forecast is for 2015 housing prices to rise 5.7%, and the report calls the situation “a housing crisis.” One very positive bit of news just broke – “The St. Louis Rams owner plans to build a new 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, right next to the Forum.” The NFL has long pined for an L.A. franchise, and the green light is on for some team to move. Dive into the SCBA Q1 Market Guidance Report, including those Miller Kaplan revenue highlights, here.

Denver’s “Front Range Sports” sells KDSP/102.3 to Colorado Public Radio for $5.75 million.

Inquiring minds will immediately jump to the conclusion that Front Range Sports engineered this because it sees a chance to grab “104.3 the Fan” KKFN Longmont out of the Entercom-Lincoln Financial Media deal. But this NOW Newsletter hears that the talks between Denver-based Front Range Sports and Colorado Public Radio have been going on for quite some time – well before the December 8 surprise from Entercom. Nevertheless, the timing might be fortuitous for Front Range Sports. Something’s going to be changing in the sports-radio constellation, perhaps Entercom preserving the Fan format by returning it to its original home on AM, which is now “Cruisin’ Oldies 950” KRWZ. But back to the $5,750,000 deal for KDSP and its booster in Boulder. KDSP’s a Class A at 102.3 licensed to Greenwood Village, to the west of Denver. But its antenna location on the side of a mountain overlooking Denver makes up for a lot of other issues, and the 1,000-watt signal reaches all kinds of places you wouldn’t expect. The 250-watt booster in Boulder helps to the north. Speaking of help – Colorado-based Public Media Company was the midwife on the deal, repping CPR and laying the floorboards for the issuance of tax-exempt bonds that will help CPR come up with the $5,750,000 price. What will CPR do with 102.3?

CPR President Max Wycisk says “this is the next natural step in OpenAir’s evolution…it meets an expressed listener need to strengthen the quality of the service while also making it more accessible across the Front Range.” The December 15 NOW Newsletter contained speculation from local broadcast pro Chuck Lontine about Colorado Public Radio’s possible interest in pursuing KKFN Longmont (104.3). Turns out CPR does want an FM home for its unique Colorado music-friendly OpenAir, now heard on adult alternative KVOQ Denver (1340). And it accomplishes that through this purchase from Front Range Sports (and not the Fan). CPR says they’ll “continue to focus on highlighting Colorado’s music community” as well as performances from bands that visit the CPR Performance Studio. Not-for-profit CPR launched the OpenAir music project three years ago, alongside its existing news and classical music services. More from Colorado Public Radio here.

Two top execs at the CBC are put on leave because of the Jian Ghomeshi scandal.

The CBC’s HR head Todd Spencer and executive director of radio Chris Boyce are both going to have plenty of unplanned time, as the Canadian Broadcasting System attempts to contain the damage from the firing of the popular host of its “Q” pop-culture program. That show is also widely syndicated to public radio stations in the U.S., but the air went out of the program when Ghomeshi was fired in October and then charged with various sexual offenses in November. There are claims that he harassed several female employees of the CBC as well as other women. The behavior he once characterized as “Shades of Grey”-like consensual acts of S&M and bondage don’t look very consensual to the authorities. The CBC has retained an outsider to investigate what happened – and why at least one former employee says the broadcaster didn’t follow up on her complaints. More from Reuters here.

The press got to roam the floor yesterday and today as many as 150,000 members of the public will be tramping the carpeted halls with more than two million square feet of exhibit space. (That’s about double the space taken by the April NAB Show.) Among the Monday announcements – HD Radio developer iBiquity and TagStation “launch their first joint product demonstrating the benefits of interactive digital radio in a connected car.” And no doubt, the connected car is a huge theme of the 2015 CES (formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show). iBiquity says almost 25 million HD Radio-equipped units have been sold in the U.S. It quotes a study showing that 71% of all consumers are aware of HD Radio, including 90% of those aged 20 to 39. As far as penetration in the car, “it says “all major auto brands now offer factory-installed HD Radio receivers as part of their model lines” – though iBiquity would love it if HD were standard across all models. And iBiquity says “More than 70 HD Radio consumer products will be available in 2015.” Those are the stories it’s telling this week at CES.

Cumulus is betting on seven-term House member Mike Rogers as a talk show host, and his thrice-daily “Something to Think About” short-forms began yesterday. Rogers is the former Chair of the House Intelligence Committee and a frequent visitor to the Sunday morning TV news interview shows. Listen to his Day 1 performances for Cumulus-owned Westwood One here.

Lori Lewis of Jacobs Media is the new Chair of the Minnesota-based not-for-profit Conclave, which produces events like the yearly Learning Conference. Lori’s taking the responsibility from Mark Bolke of RCS, who’s held the Chair position since July 2009. Here’s how she sees the Conclave situation – “There are those who complain about the scarcity of young people interested in working in radio…and then there are those who actually do something about it.” As The Conclave enters its 40th years, Lori says it “has always been the one organization vetting, nurturing and celebrating youth in radio.” Lori’s own bio includes working on-air with Bubba the Love Sponge 25 years ago and programming in Baltimore. She left Duke Wright’s Midwest Group in 2011 as Digital & Social Media Strategies specialist to connect with Michigan-based Jacobs Media as Director of Digital & Social Strategies. She’s at Lori@JacobsMedia.com. More about The Conclave here.

Marilu Henner is the frequent talkshow guest who became a host, and soon she’ll be addressing the 2015 NAB Show Radio Luncheon in Las Vegas. Henner’s written nine books, including “Total Memory Makeover,” which takes advantage of her own prowess with feats of memory. Henner’s also starred in TV series (as Elaine Nardo on “Taxi”), done over 30 films and appeared on Broadway. NAB EVP of Radio John David says Henner will talk about “her perspective for radio and audience relationships.” Maybe we’ll even get some tips on improving memory. The Radio Luncheon’s on Tuesday, April 14, and it features the induction of KROQ L.A.’s Kevin & Bean into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame. More about the weeklong NAB Show here.

Tax-time shows up in the Media Monitors list of national advertisers, with H&R Block buying 21,616 spots last week to crash the top ten. The national tax-prep service is in the company of GEICO insurance (#2 to #1), Macy’s (#1 to #2), the car-shopping service TrueCar (#6 to #3), AutoZone (back on the list at #4), and Home Depot (#4 to #5). Also returning to the upper echelons of Media Monitors’ weekly list is Walmart – which was literally not in the top 100 for the previous week.

Martina McBride joins Reba McEntire and Ronnie Dunn as a “Nash Icon” artist, signing with the label that’s a new joint venture between Cumulus and Big Machine Label Group. They say that Martina “made history with her most recent album, Everlasting, as the first solo female artist to debut at #1 on the Top Country Albums chart with an independently-released and distributed album, in the chart’s 50-year history.” In her career, she’s sold 18 million albums and had 20 top-ten singles and six number ones. Jim Weatherson is the general manager of Nash Icon Music.

Learfield, the giant college sports rightsholder, re-structures its operations by regions. Senior VP Tim Cline has the West, assisted by VP Kyle Denzel and newly-promoted VPs Megan Eisenhard and Mike McCollum. The Central region is the province of Senior VP Chris Sanders, with VPs Kelly Jensen and Chuck Schroeder. The South is led by SVP Andrew Wheeler, with VPs David Hubbard and just-promoted Dan Hawley. SVP Steve Gowan manages the East, aided by VPs Pat Fagan and newly-created VP Pam Batalis.

The first batch of four-book-a-year markets – everybody gets four quarterly books in these continuous measurement markets.

Puerto Rico – Univision may not care which of its big services is #1. This time it’s a repeat performance at the top by Spanish talk WKAQ, going from a 5.1 last Spring to a 5.9 share in the Summer book, and now a shining 6.8 in the Fall book. The second-place station with age 12+ AQH share is Spanish contemporary WKAQ-FM, 7.4-5.2-6.2. Third place goes to WZNT Inc.’s Spanish tropical WZNT, which falls out of a tie for first place but holds very steady, 5.8-5.9-5.9. This is recent high for Spanish Broadcasting System’s Spanish contemporary “Mega 106.9” WMEG, 3.7-3.6-4.5. All shares in this section are for age 12+ total week, covering Nielsen’s Fall-survey schedule of September 11-December 3.

New Orleans – Only one iHeart station achieves double digits, though its urban pair remains 1-2. That starts with urban AC WYLD-FM (9.7-10.5-10.2) and continues with urban “Q93” WQUE, 9.7-10.3-8.5. But that’s a warning sign, because the 8.5 is WQUE’s lowest 12+ share since way back in 1986. Third place stays with Entercom’s AC “Magic” WLMG (7.1-6.7-7.4), with Cumulus urban AC KMEZ up to fourth, 8.8-4.9-6.1. Entercom’s classic rock “Bayou 95.7” WKBU is fifth, 4.8-5.7-5.6. iHeart’s country WNOE continues its up-and-down pattern going back to the Winter book (5.5-4.3-5.5-4.6). But there hasn’t been much “up” lately for Cumulus-owned country “Nash 92.3” WRKN, 0.9-1.4-1.3. The leading talk-based stations are iHeart’s talk WRNO (3.9-4.0-3.8), Entercom’s talk-and-sports WWL-AM (3.1-2.8-3.7) and its not-quite-simulcast sister WWL-FM (2.3-2.2-3.7).

Oklahoma City – Still just three subscribers here, which limits our visibility, under Nielsen’s subscriber-only policy. Two iHeart stations appear to lead, with top 40 “KJ103” KJYO moving 6.8-7.1-6.3 and country “Twister” up 5.7-4.7-5.6. Local owner Tyler ties Twister for second place with regional Mexican “La Z 106.7” KTUZ-FM (4.7-3.4-5.6). That’s the best share ever for “La Z” and the highest share ever in OKC for a Spanish station. Tyler is fourth and fifth, with classic hits KOMA (6.3-6.0-5.3) and country “Jake” KJKE (5.2-5.5-5.2). Cumulus runs sixth with rock KATT (5.3-6.1-4.7). The leading talk-based station is Cumulus all-sports “Animal” WWLS-FM, 3.8-2.9-4.5. (Can you tell it’s football season in Oklahoma?) iHeart’s talk KTOK improves, 3.8-3.5-4.3.

Monmouth-Ocean – Just three subscribers here, and we’re missing many of the significant New York signals. The apparent #1 finisher is Townsquare’s hybrid news/talk “New Jersey 101.5” WKXW, 8.2-7.5-7.9. Looks like a bunch of stations are M.I.A., because the next station to be shown is Press-owned “Thunder Country” WKMK/WTHJ (3.5-3.9-3.7). (One of the stations we don’t see is Cumulus country “Nash 94.7” WNSH.) Townsquare’s AC WOBM-FM runs 3.8-3.0-3.2.

Louisville – Another step or two back toward the light for iHeart’s top-rated talk WHAS, 6.5-6.8-7.4. The Spring-book 6.5 was its lowest share ever in Arbitron or Nielsen. Next is country sister WAMZ, from which Coyote Calhoun retired late last year. It moves 7.8-8.7-7.2. Third is Alpha Media’s urban WGZB (5.7-5.8-6.2) and fourth is top 40 sister WDJX, 5.7-5.4-5.0. SummitMedia’s AC “Lite 106.9” WVEZ looks to be fifth, 3.9-4.1-4.9. Checking the roster of other country stations, behind WAMZ – Summit’s “Q103.1” WQNU moves 4.0-5.1-4.7. Classic country “Hawk” WRKA is back down from the Summer book, 3.3-4.5-3.3. Alpha’s hot AC “The Max” WXMA relishes its best book since Summer 2003, 3.6-3.0-3.9.

Richmond – A lead change, with Summit’s country “K95” WKHK elbowing its way back to the top of the podium, 8.9-9.4-9.2. Radio One’s urban AC “Kiss” WKJS/WKJM can’t keep the double-digit share of last summer and settles for second place, 8.9-10.5-8.6. iHeart’s urban “Beat” WBTJ is third, 7.1-8.2-7.4. Plenty of hand-claps for Radio One’s fourth-place gospel “Praise” WPZZ, 4.9-5.6-6.2. In October, Alpha made moves at several signals, migrating the country “Wolf” from 93.1/Ettrick to 98.9/Midlothian and adding the Petersburg-licensed 100.3 signal. The newly-assembled Wolf simulcast based at WLFV and using Bobby Bones in mornings moves 2.5-1.9-1.7. Classic country sister “Hank” WWLB took over the Wolf’s previous kennel at 93.1 and starts out 2.1-1.7-1.4.

Buffalo – Football figures prominently for Entercom’s all-sports WGR (3.3-3.9-6.1). That’s the best topline for WGR since Winter 1996. But another sort of record is set for country, with Townsquare’s country WYRK on top for the 20th straight quarterly book, 11.9-11.7-12.8. Second is Entercom’s news/talk WBEN (8.3-7.8-9.1), and third is Townsquare’s urban WBLK (9.0-9.1-7.5). Cumulus enters the picture at the #4 spot with classic rock WGRF, 6.5-6.7-6.5. Entercom’s other all-sports station, “ESPN 1520” WWKB, is the lowest-rated station among all subscribers, 0.5-0.6-0.4. Entercom, Cumulus and Townsquare are the only three subscribers here.

Rochester – Make it ten straight #1’s for Entercom’s “New Country 92.5” WBEE, 11.5-11.4-11.3. Next is Monroe County Broadcasting’s urban standalone WDKX, 8.8-8.3-8.0. Third is iHeart’s talk WHAM, 7.3-6.9-6.8. Fourth is Entercom’s top 40 WPXY (4.4-5.5 and another 5.5). Then come two very happy classic rockers, which is unusual, since most markets don’t support two classic rock stations. There’s iHeart’s “Radio 95.1” WAIO with morning man Brother Wease, 3.1-2.7-5.2. That’s the highest share for the frequency since Winter 1999, when it was WNVE. Entercom’s WCMF delivers its largest share since Summer 2007, 4.9-2.8-5.0. But it’s an off-book for Entercom’s rock “Buzz” WBZA, 4.0-4.5-3.5.

Birmingham - Cumulus-owned country “Nash Icon” WZRR sank to a 37-year low in the Summer book with a 1.9. Now it’s down even further, to a 1.5. The four-book trend is 2.3-2.4-1.9-1.5. Up on top of the ratings is Summit’s urban AC “Kiss” WBHK, with its 53rd straight quarterly win. Kiss cruises 10.3-10.0-11.6. #2, as usual, is urban clustermate WBHJ, 8.4-8.3-7.8. Third is Cumulus all-sports WJOX-FM, 4.1-4.4-6.4 – proving yet again the power of SEC football. That’s the best share for “Jox” since Fall 2011. Fourth is iHeart’s top 40 WQEN with its best book in three years, 5.1-4.5-5.9. Fifth is the Birmingham’s leading country station, Summit’s WZZK, 7.6-7.7-5.6. (The country stations here are getting battered in this particular book.) Also taking a licking is Summit’s soft oldies “Easy 97.3” WEZZ-FM, 4.3-3.0-1.8. Birmingham’s long been a market with lots of experimentation with HD Radio-fed translators, and some of them pull significant shares, like iHeart’s trio of gospel “Hallelujah” WERC-FM HD2 (2.4-2.8-2.6), urban “Beat” WMJJ HD2 (2.0-2.1-2.1) and rock “Vulcan” WQEN HD2 (1.3-1.9-1.4). Crawford’s contemporary Christian “radio that matters” WDJC moves 2.9-3.3-2.6.

Greenville-Spartanburg, SC – It’s now a nine-book winning streak for Summit’s urban WJMZ, 9.1-9.8-11.3. That double-digit share is the best for “Jamz” since Spring 2009. Then come the usual pair of iHeart country stations – WSSL (7.9-8.4-7.5) and WESC (5.9-8.0-6.0). Fourth is Summit’s rhythmic “Hot 98.1” WHZT, 4.9-4.5-5.8. Nice bumps for Entercom’s AC “Magic” WSPA (3.4-4.7-5.2) and its talk sister WYRD-FM, 3.9-3.9-4.6. There are two classic rockers here, with Entercom’s WROQ leading (5.6-6.6-5.4) and iHeart’s “104.9 the Road” WROO trailing with a third straight 1.1 share. Salem doesn’t subscribe in all its markets, but Upstate South Carolina is one of them. Its classic hits “Earth FM” WRTH goes 2.7-2.5-2.9 and “Conservative Talk 94.5” WGTK-FM runs 1.1-1.3-1.3. A couple of Summit’s HD Radio-fed translators qualify for the book – variety hits Chuck” WJMZ HD3 (1.5-1.7-1.0) and alternative “X98.5” WJMZ HD2 (1.0-0.7-0.8).

Baton Rouge – Three subscribers this time, with Guaranty joining rivals Cumulus and iHeart. This is the 34th straight #1 book for Cumulus-owned urban AC KQXL, 13.2-13.1-14.0. Next is rhythmic “Max” WEMX, 8.6-8.6-9.4. Apparently in third place is Guaranty’s classic rock/Walton & Johnson “Eagle” WDGL, 8.6-7.1-7.0. Fourth is iHeart’s top 40 WFMF, 7.1-5.6-5.1. iHeart has the leading talk-based station, which is talk WJBO (3.0-3.5-3.1). Guaranty’s all-sports “ESPN Baton Rouge” WNXX rises 2.0-2.3-2.6.

The latest two-book-a-year markets from Nielsen –

Lafayette, Louisiana – The “Dawg” scores another win, meaning that Townsquare’s country Dawg KMDL is on top, moving from a Fall-2013 9.7 to a Spring-2014 9.9 share and now a Fall-2014 8.9. But the lead is thin with Cumulus urban AC KNEK right behind (8.6-7.0-8.7). Third is KNEK’s urban sister KRRQ (7.4-7.4-6.8). Townsquare’s AC KTDY is next, 6.9-5.6-6.3. Variety/Americana-programmed “Louisiana Proud” KBON, owned by Marx and featuring swamp pop and zydeco, slips back 4.7-6.8-4.7. The leading talk-based station is Townsquare’s news/talk KPEL-FM, 4.0-4.0-3.5. All-sports sibling “ESPN 1420” KPEL moves 0.6-0.5-1.1.

Biloxi – We have a CHR battle here (April 2 NOW Newsletter) of the primate variety. Alpha’s incumbent “Monkey” WXYK is being pushed by the Coast Radio Group’s new “Gorilla” WZNF, the former classic rock “Z95.” Fortunately, both groups subscribe to the ratings, so we can chart the battleground. Alpha’s Monkey WXYK is still #1, going from a 6.7 share to 4.9 and now a 7.6 share. That’s its first #1 since Spring 2010. The Coast’s Gorilla WZNF is up 2.4 to 3.6 (in the midst of the format flip) to 4.9. Second place goes to WJZD Inc.’s urban WJZD, 7.2-6.6-6.5. In third place is Coast-owned country “Kicker 108” WZKX, 7.5-9.1-6.5. It’s almost tied by iHeart AC “Magic” WMJY, 4.8-3.8-6.3. iHeart has the leading talk-based station, talk WBUV, 4.8-5.2-5.7.

Laurel-Hattiesburg – iHeart and Blakeney are the only subscribers, and we start the rankings with iHeart’s urban “Wild 106.3” WZLD, 11.3-12.2-10.5. Next is Blakeney’s country “B95” WBBN, 11.9-10.7-10.0. Third is iHeart’s “Today’s R&B and Old School” urban AC WJKX, 7.2-9.1-9.0, tied with top 40 sister “SL100” WNSL, 6.7-7.6-9.0. Nice uptick for “It just rocks” WFFX, 4.6-3.6-6.5.

K-Twin’s choice is to go alternative rock with Minneapolis-market KTWN (96.3). They’re calling it “Go 96.3,” believing that modern rock is the best complement to the Minnesota Twins baseball franchise that owner Northern Lights is committed to. That’s because KTWN, Edina shares common ownership with the Twins, in the Pohlad family. The sports-music partnership hasn’t been working for KTWN under its previous incarnations doing classic hits and adult alternative. The Star-Tribune says the new musical approach “skews to younger rock audiences and falls somewhere between Cities 97 [iHeart’s adult alternative KTCZ] and 89.3 the Current,” Minnesota Public Radio’s adult alternative non-com KCMP. The paper’s Chris Riemenschneider says “the first track spun after the 3pm changeover was ‘Long Way Down’ by laptop pop artist Robert DeLong, followed by modern alt-rockers Cage the Elephant” and tracks from Arrested Development, the Roots and rocker Jack White. Northern Lights EVP Joe Pohlad says January will be an all-music introduction, with personalities to come in February. And soon – baseball.

Norfolk’s “Missy 92.1” evolves into classic hip-hop “92.1 the Beat” – pretty much as expected (December 29 NOW Newsletter). iHeart follows up the stunting with Tidewater native Missy Elliott with a full-blown format based on music of the era when she first became a star. Norfolk ops manager Matt Derrick says “combining the sounds of Throwback Hip-hop and R&B together allows our audience to embrace a genre of music that had influential lyrics and rhythm at an important time in their lives.” WKSA Moyock, NC (92.1) will add the Reach Media-syndicated Tom Joyner, plus local personalities DJ Bee and DJ Fountz. The Beat is a flanker to iHeart’s urban “103 Jamz” WOWI, rhythmic AC “Movin’ 107.7” WMOV-FM and CHR “Now 105” WNOH.

Salem’s “Answer” talk branding is applied to Salem O&O’s in San Diego (KCBQ/1170), Seattle (KLFE/1590) and Atlanta, where WGKA is now “920 the Answer.” Four other stations also adopt the Answer branding that Salem Senior VP Phil Boyce has been promoting – WGUL Tampa (860), WLSS Sarasota (930), WGTK Louisville (970) and KZNT Colorado Springs (1460). Boyce also says Salem is sticking with politics and hard news instead of following some other talk stations into “fluff.”

In Colorado, well to the southeast of Denver, a future Catholic-programmed station sells for $100,000 – and along with it go the prayers of the buyer for an improved signal. KLIM Limon, Colorado is currently a 250-watt daytimer at 1120, but the sale contract specifies that both buyer and seller will cooperate on an application for more power and a new transmitter location. Seller is Roger Hoppe, and the buyer is Missouri-based Catholic Radio Network. It already has quite a terrestrial empire, with seven full-power stations across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Colorado, including KFEL Pueblo (970). Its other interests include an LMA with Denver-market KRCN Longmont (1060) and (through its directors) KPIO Loveland, Colorado (1570). Broker on KLIM is Georgia-based Beth Griffin, for the seller.

“K-Love” consummates $10.5 million worth of purchases in the Charlotte and Columbia markets, filling in some important blanks on EMF’s national coverage map. The October 7 NOW Newsletter told you about the seller (Columbia International University, the former Columbia Bible College) and the buyer – California-based Educational Media Foundation. The Charlotte stations are full-power WRZM Boiling Springs, NC at 88.3 and WRCM Indian Trail (91.9), plus a translator in Mooresville. The Columbia, SC signal is WMHK, a big Class C at 89.7. Broker – Mark Jorgenson.

A $1.7 million closing in south-central Kentucky, where buyer Terry Forcht’s Key Broadcasting takes the keys to three stations. The properties are Campbellsville-licensed CHR “Q104” WCKQ and “ESPN 1450” WTCO, and “K-Country 105.7” WGRK Greensburg. Seller is Commonwealth Broadcasting, whose principal Steve Newberry is a past NAB Joint Board Chair, and the 2011 National Radio Award honoree. Broker - Louisville-based Ed Henson.

“What used to be called ‘the audience’ is disappearing into apps, messaging and user-generated content. Media companies in search of significant traffic have to find a way into that stream.” That’s New York Times columnist David Carr, talking about all forms of “traditional media” versus the self-interest that both Millennials and Boomers display when taking and sharing selfies. Carr says some have dubbed the selfie stick “The Narcissistick” – and all that picture-taking and Facebook posting has America “competing for attention in a sea of selfies.” Read Carr’s latest column here.

The studios of Roanoke’s first station are redeveloped into a loft, and AOL.com has footage from the HGTV feature about WDBJ’s original facility being fitted out for 21st century habitation. The Art Deco space still has some mics for atmosphere, but it now sports two bedrooms, two baths and a granite-top counters. Take the tour of Will Trinkle’s new/old loft here - and you’ll probably feel some pangs of jealousy and house envy (or is it “loft envy?”)

Mike Taylor is retiring for the second time, 18 months after the first such event. He’s worked in programming (on-air, production director and/or PD) in Hartford, Washington DC, San Francisco, Phoenix, Miami, Tampa and Gainesville-Ocala (founding PD at WSKY), and then he retired in Florida. In 2013 Mike felt the pull and came back as the morning sports anchor at Gainesville-Ocala-market WYKE (104.3). Now he’s retiring from that gig – and says “I’ll still enjoy your newsletter each day, but I’ll just be reading it a bit later in the morning,” coming off the morning shift.

Bill White should soon be officially announced as the new PD at iHeart’s news/talk KFBK-AM/FM Sacramento (1530/93.1). Bill’s programmed in markets such as Charlotte (talk WBT-AM/FM at 1110/99.3) and Chicago (talk WGN at 720). This NOW Newsletter hears that Bill starts at KFBK on January 20. There’s chatter out of Sacramento that KFBK morning anchor Ed Crane is out of the building.

Drex, Cassiday and Tingle is the new morning show at Lincoln Financial Media’s hot AC “Star 94” Atlanta, with two-thirds of the act in-bound from Charlotte, and the rest from Philly. Drex and Cassiday did wakeups for Beasley’s top 40 “Kiss 95.1” WNKS in Charlotte. Drex previously worked in Memphis (WHBQ-FM) and Ft. Walton Beach (WFFY). Cassiday’s been at KAMX Austin and did TV work for Charlotte’s WCCB. Tingle’s coming from Philadelphia, where he co-hosted mornings on a station that (ironically) Beasley swapped away to CBS in the deal that brought it Charlotte. That’s rhythmic “Wired 96.5” WRDW-FM. LFM/Atlanta ops director Scott Lindy says it took “months of energy to find the right combination of talent that packs the gear to do battle in Atlanta morning radio.” Of course all concerned know that Star 94’s being sold to Entercom, in a deal expected to close in the second quarter.

Bubba the Love Sponge is indeed the new morning show on Beasley’s recently-acquired WHFS-FM Tampa (98.7). In fact, for now he’s the only programming heard on the station, 24/7. That’s the end of the all-sports lineup Beasley inherited from CBS. Beasley’s asking listeners to “visit TheNew987.com and place a vote for the format [you] would like to hear. A decision on the new format will be shared in the next few weeks” – and until then, it’s all Bubba, all the time. Bubba almost slipped during yesterday’s announcement at 98.7, hinting that he’ll have an announcement soon about carriage in the Orlando market. Will that be on a station owned by JVC Media?

Moms and jocks - Programmer/consultant (“not the famous author”) Alan Furst says "The story about the young jock doing a 2am shift reminds me of when I was in college, and did weekend overnights on WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia. The big 50,000-watt signal was heard all over the east coast at night. My mother lived in New Jersey, and she’d set her clock radio for 2am to make sure I had shown up for work. Then she'd listen for a while before going back to sleep. At the time, Mom worked at rock station WDHA in Morristown. I’d call all excited to tell her that someone like Conway Twitty had stopped by the station. Then she’d proceed to tell me how the Go-Gos had visited WDHA - 'They’re such nice girls,' she'd say. Mom the rocker." Okay, ready and willing to share your own favorite story about radio? Email “You Can’t Make This Up” – Tom@RTK-Media.com.

“Thank you so much for your Tom Taylor NOW Newsletter,” says Tim Davisson, a former jock in Cleveland, Tampa and Akron who went on to be a seller in Akron and is now the ops manager at Akron-market LPFM WWWR-LP. Tim says “the NOW newsletter is one of the very first things I read every weekday, and is a true resource for this 40-year+ radio veteran.” Thanks for the generous words, and thanks to everybody who takes the time to tell a friend or colleague about us – it’s how we keep growing, every day. If you want to reach our highly-engaged readership, contact Kristy Scott. She’s at Kristy@RTK-media.com or phone 818-591-6815. See you back first thing tomorrow - Tom