TV Ratings and Celebrity Gossip

From Jim Carnegie at TVBR (Mail to:tvbr1@tvbrepaper.com)...

Fox nailing down 18-49 demo
The continued strong performance of "American Idol" is solidifying Fox's hold on the 18-49 demo for the 2004-'05 season to date. Fox has now moved to a 4.1 rating and 11 share in the money demo, while still running fourth in household numbers. Chart

Justin Louis to play The Donald
Does he look like a young Donald Trump? Actor Justin Louis, best known for the Lifetime network drama "1-800-MISSING" has been cast to play the real estate mogul turned NBC reality TV star in an ABC made-for-TV movie based on the book "Donald Trump: Master Apprentice" by Gwenda Blair, with the working title "Ambition." The TV movie will focus on Trump's life from the 1970s, when he began to build his empire, to the turbulent time - - both in his business and personal life - - of the early '90s. Katheryn Winnick had already been cast to play his ex-wife, Ivana. The e! xecutive producers of "Ambition" are Barbara Lieberman, Dan Lux, Vin Di Bona, Jorg Westerkamp and Michael Hagemeyer. The director is John David Coles, and the teleplay is by Keith Curran. The made-for-TV-movie is produced by Barbara Lieberman Productions in association with D. Lux-Di Bona Productions and Apollo ProMovie.

NBC Wings it for year seven
Confirming several days of speculation, NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly says "The West Wing" has been renewed for a 7th season. That will bring the plot twist of a new election as characters played by Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits seek the Oval Office that's been occupied by Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlet since the show's debut in 1999. NBC has also given renewals to "Joey," "Crossing Jordan" and "Las Vegas," plus it's extended "ER" through the 2007-'08 season.

Arthel Neville joins "A Current Affair"
TV host and veteran broadcast journalist Arthel Neville has joined 20th Television's "A Current Affair" as West Coast correspondent, it was announced today by Peter Brennan, the program's creator and executive producer. The news magazine show hosted by Tim Green will premiere in first-run syndication 3/21. Neville joins "A Current Affair's" team of correspondents of Michel James Bryant, Harris Faulkner and Tina Malave, all of whom joined the program earlier this month. Most recently, Neville was co-host of the daily talk show "Good Day Live." A veteran journalist ! and television personality, Neville began her career with KVUE-TV in Austin during her junior year at The University of Texas. The first African American female reporter at the local ABC affiliate, her general assignment beat took her to the streets of Austin covering live breaking news, politics, education, health and human-interest stories. Also the first African American female to have her own show on CNN, Neville brought more than two decades of experience to "Talk Back Live with Arthel Neville," where she reported on and participated in live, in-depth discussions on issues making worldwide headlines. A New Orleans native, she also anchored "CNN Headline News" from its Atlanta and NYC bureaus.

(Not Quite) 900 New Ideas

Renee Fonner, Promotion Director, KFKF 94.1 FM, Kansas City, moderated this year's CRS 2005 panel "900 ideas in 90 minutes" which started as 60 in 60 a few years ago and has gotten bigger and bigger: Whew! If you were at CRS-36 you saw that we did it: 900 Ideas in 90 minutes! If you missed this great panel you can still take advantage of the great ideas. You will be the star at your station because I bet you’ll find a sales promotion that you can implement tomorrow and bring in a few dollars !

You’ll find the ideas here!

How about another round of applause for this year’s CRB Promotion Award Winners!

SMALL MARKETWinner
KRKT - Sign Contest for Tickets
Runner-up KZPK - CMA Party

MEDIUM MARKET
Winner KXKC - Coast to Coast Concert
Runner-up WIVK - Mountain of Toys

LARGE MARKET
Winner WDSY - Scholarship Cruise
Runner-up KILT - Big Country Cure for Kids

These stations were chosen from promotions submitted by full-time country radio stations and run between November 1, 2003 and December 1, 2004.

Mark your calendars now for CRS 37 February 15 – 17, 2006! Start making a file now with all your great promotions from 2005 and you can enter the CRB Promotion Awards. It could get you a free trip to Nashville and CRS 37!

MADD Media Awards

The call for entries is out for the third annual competition sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. The awards recognize media professionals and organizations for outstanding coverage and advancement of issues related to MADD's mission to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. Two of the 12 awards are radio-specific: one for Outstanding Coverage of Drunk Driving Issues, and one for Outstanding Coverage of Underage Drinking Issues. Entries must have aired during the 12 months ending March 31. Deadline for submitting entries is March 31 (I know, it's the same date); winners will be notified by May 31. Get more info at www.madd.org/news/0,1056,5664,00.html.

Infinity's New Streaming News Portal

Check out: https://www.radiomat.com/.
In three years will all major companies have these for all of their formats? I'd like to hope they will, even sooner than that (including for all five of each station's new IBOC digital side channels).

The future is going to get very interesting. Guess who is going to have to PROGRAM all that?

You.

Personalities who create strong content and drive usage will be richly rewarded, more tomorrow than today.

Women Have Less Time For Everything (Listening TOO)

Thinking about Val Geller's points (Never Lose A Listener below) about the differences between men and women in terms of how they individually experience radio reminded me of this item from Radio Business Report:

Why it's difficult to reach Women 25-54

A national survey reveals why marketers find it more difficult today to reach women ages 25-54-- a powerful demographic group of 53 million women.

The conclusion: They have much more on their minds today than five years ago as more things compete for their attention, leaving little time for commercial messages.

The survey of 1,000 Americans by Ketchum PR, found that 58% of women ages 25-54 have "much more" on their minds now than five years ago. That percentage is a startling 18% higher than that of the total public, 20% higher than men ages 25-54, and 35% higher than men in general.

Women ages 25-54, the survey found, are more likely to have many things competing for their attention as they juggle multiple tasks and thoughts, and also are more easily distracted.

Underscoring how little time they have in an average day for media, the survey disclosed that, among women 25-54:
-- 59% "rarely" or "never" read a newspaper from beginning to end, compared to 52% for the total public and 51% for men ages 25-54.
-- Only half (51%) "frequently" watch a television program from start to finish, compared to 60% of men and 55% of the total public.
-- Just 47% frequently listen to the radio for more than 30 minutes straight versus 62% of their male counterparts.
-- 56% rarely or never read a magazine from cover to cover, a percentage that, surprisingly, is nearly similar to their male counterparts (57%).

The survey also found that women ages 25-54 trust experts the most for information (27%), followed closely by family and friends (26%). Want women to listen more? Follow Oprah and The View's example and have lots of informative, topical 'experts' on your show. But keep them fun, current and interesting.

And nearly one in four (23%) cites media reports as the most credible sources of information.

Marketing, however, isn't likely to be considered credible, with direct mail (3%) and advertising (2%) at the bottom of the list. The survey findings hold important implications for marketers:

-- Though women 25-54 respect the media as a credible source of information, they don't have a lot of time to absorb the information. So offering shorter chunks of information for women to digest likely will cut through the clutter.
-- Since this demographic group trust experts the most for information, tapping into experts will lend credibility to media reports, campaigns and messages.
-- While women ages 25-54 may not realize they're indeed multi-minding, they have less information on how to deal with all of the thoughts and concerns they juggle.
-- Because these women spend a significant amount of time thinking of others, marketers likely can tap into women 25-54 by showing them how their products and services can help them take even better care of others, and themselves.

Never Lose A Listener

Talk radio personality consultant VALERIE GELLER claims to be "ALONE IN A ROOM, WRITING," working on the NEW CREATING POWERFUL RADIO BOOK, which is due out next Spring. It's actually very hard to visualize this gregarious people person in that position, so if you want to say HI and keep her from getting lonely: phone 1212 580-3385 or email vgeller@aol.com. She just sent out this missive to her many fans, including US...

Did you happen to notice the slogan "Never Lose A Listener" in a recent RCS marketing campaign? What a great ad. Really, there's been so much emphasis on developing and getting NEW listeners, that we also need to think about paying extra attention to keeping the audience we've already got onboard. With the amount of choices people have for their time and attention, listeners are easily distracted.

So how do you get a listener to listen LONGER? What happens when what is going on inside the mind of a listener gets better or more interesting or engaging than what is coming out of the speaker? What do you do? Exactly how do you, "Never Lose A Listener?" This is a KEY issue all over our planet. And the answers for keeping your audience, and getting them to listen longer, are pretty similar all over this earth, including client stations I've worked with in the past few months here in the United States, in Canada, England, Australia, Europe and Africa. And it's been a hot topic at several industry conferences I've presented at recently, including Canadian Music Week, Public Radio Programmers, The European NAB in Lisbon and the Radio and Records Talk Radio Seminar in Los Angeles.

ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
Here are a few suggestions to never ever lose a listener: Create Powerful Radio. Tell the Truth. Never Be Boring. Make it relevant. If a listener gets bored, he or she "zones out. " Here's what happens when they go away: At the moment, what's going on in the mind of the listener is better or more interesting than what was coming through the speaker. When that happens, your listeners either leave the station mentally, or tune out physically, their attention goes elsewhere.

WHY LISTENERS LEAVE
Think about it. Have you ever sat in your car, stuck in traffic waiting for the traffic report to come on? You WORK IN RADIO. You KNOW when that report is coming, so you wait. Or maybe you're waiting to hear a song title. You want to find out the CD or the artist, but somehow you zone out...the report came and went or the song title came and went, and YOU MISSED IT? WHY? Because it was boring. The presenter, host or announcer did NOT make it matter.

Pace and tempo do not equate ENERGY. Energy does not equate to MAKING IT MATTER. Storytelling makes it matter. A storyteller who CARES about what he or she is presenting makes it matter. This is NOT an acting job. If it MATTERS to the presenter, it'll matter more to the audience. Part of telling the truth is being authentic, and genuinely caring about what you are talking about on air.

WHAT THEY ARE NOT GETTING FROM YOU
When a listener leaves either mentally or physically and actually switches off the station, here is what is NOT happening. That listener is NOT engaged. He or she is BORED. ZONED OUT. Looking for another station or immersed in his or her own thoughts.

TOO MANY COMMERCIALS or TOO MANY BAD COMMERCIALS?
What makes a listener go away?. In paraphrasing Carol Archer's excellent Radio and Records column (March 11th issue) she asks: "Are your commercials causing a listener to tune out because the break is too long? Or is the offending spot simply bad - boring, noisy, off message, a bad format fit? Or God forbid, all of the above?"

WHAT DO LISTENERS WANT?
The Powerful Radio Principles can offer your listeners what they want and what they need.

Here it is: They don't really care about YOU. In personality radio, many personalities get confused and think if they talk about themselves it will be interesting. But powerful radio is not about YOU, it's about the listener. The personal is universal, but the private tends to be boring. Your listeners want to be informed and entertained. They want new knowledge. They also want NOT to feel alone. They want to feel connected into an isolated world they find themselves in. A listener wants to feel at home with or comfortable with the person on air. They like to feel they "know" the presenter or host. Sometimes listeners like a little help in making up their minds, say, they are not completely certain of what they may think about a subject or topic, here they can get enough information or opinion or viewpoints to make up their minds. And in commercial radio, when the spots are effective, listeners say they like to learn about bargains, new products or services. And if a listener is having a down or despairing black moment, he or she wants to be inspired. We are lucky. Most people out there listening do not have exciting lives or careers. Because of this, listeners also desire "talkable topics." They want to be able to turn the radio off and have ideas and interesting new things to say to people.

Listeners also want vicarious experiences. They like to be taken on journeys they cannot get to on their own. Everybody loves to laugh. If you can make a listener laugh, it's like handing them a solid chunk of gold. Listeners also want to learn new things. (They also appreciate help with their "show prep" for dinner, just in case they don't have anything interesting to say to the people in their lives.) Give them stuff they can talk about. Listeners also want you to get ahead and lead them and give them ideas, things to think about. Finally, they want to feel good. If you can do that, you have that audience completely with you. And if you don't care, they don't care.

Make it matter!

Geller promises: "The new Creating Powerful Radio book will deepen the work begun in the first two Powerful Radio books, including new and specific methods and techniques to help broadcasters get to the next level of performance. Here you'll learn techniques to develop, grow and keep audiences for radio stations through personality, content and presentation. Product, Permanence and Promotion. How to engage. Never be boring.

"How to deeply target the core audience. (Did you know if you speak more visually, that's a powerful method to attract the MALE auduience as men tend to powerfully process informaton visually? If you are trying to attract a predominently female audience, how something affects feelings is very key in reaching reach women.)

"And don't be fooled by traditional demographics of age, race, and sex when targteting your audience. The new Creating Powerful Radio book will feature proven ideas that have lead stations worldwide to success, including sections on LifeStage Demographics (for more on LifeStage Demographics, go to www.gellermedia.com) . The new book will also expand on Powerful Radio Aircheck Techniques you may have read about in The Powerful Radio Workbook: The Prep, Performance & Post Production Planning. (Do you know if you are a Generator or a Reactor on air?) Just some of what's in the new book.

"While the new Creating Powerful Radio book will have a strong focus on programming and CONTENT, you'll learn new ideas and increase your expertise in other areas like promotion, marketing, sales and copywriting from contributors Maureen Bulley with Canada's Rogers Media (author of Write Good Copy Fast) and Creative Animal Doug Harris. And newly updated Producers and Creating Powerful Radio news sections.

"I'm excited about completing this new work and having it available to you. NOTE: If you would like to be on the waiting list for your copy, we will give your name to FOCAL press, and when it's published you will be notified. Again the scheduled pub. date is spring 2006"

Something To Do In Your Spare Time: Write a Book

"Sexiest Fat Men Alive" Sign with W Publishing Group
Birmingham's Rick & Bubba have signed with W Publishing Group to bring their family-friendly humor to readers. Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey will pen Rick and Bubba's Expert Guide to God, Country, Family and Anything Else We Can Think Of to release March 2006.

Things to do today..

1. Get up at 3:30 am
2. Pre show prep with cohosts
3. Do show
4. Review the show with cohosts, prep for tomorrow, listen to air check together
5. Meet with PD
6. Produce two updated promos for tomorrow's show, one :30 and one :12.
7. Post today's "best of" bits on website (mp3) for downloading and podcasting.
8. Update morning show webpages and/or blogs.
9. Personal appearance
10. Write book chapter

JetsGo Lemons = EZ Rock Lemonaid

Thanks to http://www.BroadcastDialogue.com Howard Christensen for this one:

97.3 EZ ROCK EASES TORONTO'S JETSGO WOES
97.3 EZ Rock spends the day trading Jetsgo confirmations for family trips!

TORONTO – On Friday, March 11th, 2005, it was announced that Jetsgo was immediately grounding it’s flights. In response, 97.3 EZ Rock encouraged listeners who had been affected by the cancellations to fax their flight confirmations and tickets to the station.

Beginning at 9:00 am EST that same day, 97.3 EZ Rock began rewarding Jetsgo passengers with packages at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto. One lucky passenger will also win a flight for 4 courtesy of Westjet, to the destination that their flight with Jetsgo was booked for.

Response was swift and overwhelming. EZ Rock Midday Host Darryl Henry fielded calls from listeners throughout the day.

"I can’t remember a response like this to anything I've ever done in 20 years of being an announcer” says Henry, “and not only from the people who are stuck, but from people who just loved the fact that we were trying to do something for those unlucky passengers!"

The Delta Chelsea offers a “Resort in the City” feeling with waterslides and indoor entertainment. Lucky EZ Rock listeners who were left stranded can save themselves the 5-hour flight and grab a deck chair right here in Toronto!

The winner of the flight for four aboard Westjet, will be drawn live with KJ, 97.3 EZ Rock’s Afternoon Drive Show host.

For more information:Melissa Morris Promotions Director 97.3 EZ Rock (416) 486-5652 E-mail: mmorris@ezrock.com

If You Escourt A Listener Vacation Trip, A TIP..

Take your credit card, just in case:

Our KEY 103 sponsored week in Austria in March of 1986 started with a beautiful moonlit ride on a ski lift up to a mountaintop restaurant, me singing “The hills are alive with the sound of music!” Elise telling me to hush. A blazing fire in the center of the room was the focal point of the ambience. A terrific meal awaited us. And then…the bill. But it was supposed to be all pre-paid! No, there was some snafu with the land operator of the tour and our travel guide and consultant, Nick Brizendine, had to put the whole thing on his credit card temporarily! (read more from Dave Jarrott)

Reading this nightmare is a good excuse to put in a plug for www.holidayvacations.net of Eau Claire, WI. CONTACT: Denise Pedersen, Sales Manager - denisep@holidayvacations.net,
800-826-2266.

A&O client WAXX could give them a reference: George Roberts, 715 832-1530. They have used them for years, as have many radio and TV stations for both client incentive and listener/personality-hosted tours.

Go For A Donut & Coffee Next Time An Artist Visits

Johnny Reid was at KIX 104, Barrie-Midland-Orillia promoting his new one "You Still Own Me," playing live on air and taking calls from listeners when cohost Ted Roop asked his cohost Carrie Moran to take the controls so he and Reid could go for coffee at Tim Horton's. Grabbing a cell phone, Roop and Johnny grabbed the station van with the cell phone live on air and did the drive through at Tim's where they ordered coffee and then went inside so the artist could meet listeners.

Talk about doing the unexpected when a star comes in for an in-studio appearance! Roop reports that Johnny Reid performed impressively.

iPods as prizes

Doug Erickson, who does everything from consulting major morning personality shows to an oldies network in France from his Englewood, Colorado, office (303.290.8839) hit the nail on the head and calls an important new study to our attention..

If you're considering doing an iPod promotion -- your timing is perfect as this research brief from the Center for Media Research shows.

Are iPods a threat to your station? Well, that's a long discussion for another time, perhaps. But your listeners are buying them, and using them, and ignoring them doesn't seem wise to me.

Why not ask each winner for a list of their 50 favorite songs, and pre-load them, along with a personal greeting from your Morning Show?The technology isn't our enemy; it's our own lack of creativity we need to fight.

Music Players Hit the Adult Market
A survey between January 13 and February 9 by the Pew Internet &American Life Project reports that more than 22 million American adults (age 18 and older) have iPods or MP3 players. And, though the study did not include teens, the review suggests that there are likely several million more MP3 players owned in the teen world.

iPods/MP3 player ownership demographics look like this:

*14% of men have the players, compared to 9% of women.
*19% of those under age 30 have iPods/MP3 players
*14% of those ages 30-39 have them
*14% of younger Baby Boomers (ages 40-48) own them
*iPods/MP3 players are found to be gadgets for the upscale. 24% of those who live in households earning more than $75,000 have them

Yahoo Ranks Country's BUZZ

Marty Thompson, PD at B-105.1, Cincinnati sent this: "Don't know if you saw this--- Yahoo ranks searches and comes up with a "Buzz Factor". Yesterday it was Country's turn here's the link and what it says..."

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz_log/?fr=fp-buzz-morebuzz

Gone Country Tuesday March 15, 2005 6:00PM PT
Tim McGraw If you're hearing a certain twang in the buzz lately, you're not alone. Searches on country music have taken off over the last couple of weeks and we're here to sort through those Nashville nuggets.

Country stalwart Tim McGraw is up 258% in search over the last week as he rides high on the success of "Live Like You Were Dying." The behatted one ranks in our top 400 queries, and barely aces out rising star Kenny Chesney (+86%) as the top country performer in searches. On the female side, searches on pop-country sensation Shania Twain have waned a bit over the past year, but she's bouncing back this week, up 173%. McGraw's wife, country chanteuse Faith Hill (+206%), is still a strong search performer as well -- but Shania nabs about twice the searches.

The past week also saw a surge in queries on country and rodeo legend Chris LeDoux. LeDoux's death at 56 spurred searches on the rough and tumble cowboy singer from nothing into the quadruple digits. Related searches on "Chris LeDoux Lyrics" and "Chris LeDoux News" also spiked as fans sought out information on the authentic Western songsmith.

We've also noticed a bump in searches on the TV show Nashville Star. The Idol-like show for the country set is up 8% this week, and firmly in our top 20 TV searches. Demographic data on the talent show tells us two-thirds of searches come from women, and that its audience skews a little older, with a quarter of searches coming from the 35-44 age bracket. This third edition of the countrified competition is also spurring spikes on judge Bret Michaels (+156%) of Poison fame (!) and adorable hostess -- country star LeAnn Rimes (+101%). As for the aspiring country stars featured on the show, we took a look at searches on the remaining nine competitors and here's how they stack up...

Christy McDonald
Jenny Farrell
Casey Simpson
Erika Jo Heriges
Jody Evans
Jason Meadows
Jayron Weaver
Tamika Tyler
Justin David

Zounds!: A Browser's Dictionary of Interjections..

Found this on barnesandnoble.com and it sounds like a good, light interactive topic. A new book just out this month "Zounds! A Browser's Dictionary of Interjections" by Mark Dunn and Sergio Aragones.

That last name look familiar? He is the legendary Mad Magazine contributor and would be a good interview.

FROM THE PUBLISHER
From Geronimo! to gesundheit to haminahamina to holy mackerel, and from abracadabra to zoinks, Mark Dunn and Sergio Aragonés show you interjections like you've never seen them before.Often thought of as unnecessary verbal fringe or simply linguistic decoration, interjections (ahem, howdy, mamma mia, pshaw, tally-ho, whoop-de-do) may well be the most overlooked part of speech in the English language. ZOUNDS! A Browser's Dictionary of Interjections focuses the spotlight on this most deserving (and sometimes most demented) grammatical group. A light-hearted look at more than 500 interjections, ZOUNDS! explores the origins of these essential words and highlights the contributions of these previously unheralded parts of speech.Perfect for both word lovers and the casual reader, ZOUNDS! brings together the linguistic talents of Mark Dunn, author of the award-winning novel Ella Minnow Pea, and the graphic hilarity of Sergio Aragonés, the legendary cartoonist and contributor to Mad Magazine, for a delightful romp through grammar, culture, and the English language.

Putt With A Purpose

Support your local MS Society (and financial institution) and get involved with The Longest Day of Golf.

Example campaigns:
http://www.nmssmi.org/MSLongestDayofGolf.htm
http://www.msandyou.org/chapter_events/ms_ldg/longestday_golf.php3
http://www.houghtonlakeresorter.com/site/community.cfm?BRD=2053&Pag=608&dept_id=382964&Events__EventID=85223

In Canada, it's the Cancer Society which uses the concept:
http://www.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/standard/0,3182,3490_327879__langId-en,00.html

Corey and Jay Podcast "Bits They Can't Do On Air"

“The Corey and Jay Show”, on Magic 105 in Little Rock and 103.7 The Fox in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has begun podcasting one of its most popular features, “Head Up Your Ass Headlines”.

The daily feature is a compilation of weird news, stories of stupid criminals, and odd happenings from around the world. Over the past 7 years, it has consistently been the program’s most popular feature.

The podcast version is about 10 minutes in length and available weekdays (read more)

The Stepford Listeners

Critics call them "iPod People."
They ride trains, walk to class and wander malls among the crowd but apart from it thanks to the signature plastic "buds" jammed in their ears and the thin white wires disappearing into their jackets. Apple's digital music player is massively popular with people on the go. And as the iPod morphs from hipster accessory to everyday item, critics worry that the growing number of people tuning out from the world is diminishing public life.

"Get on a subway, and you're surrounded by a bunch of Stepford commuters, all sealed off from each other, staring into mid-space as if anesthetized by technology. Don't ask, don't tell, don't overhear, don't observe. Just tune in and tune out," columnist Andrew Sullivan wrote in the Sunday Times of London (read more - Newsday)

Might be worth an on air rant.. "tune into the community, don't tune out to it.. thanks for listening to real life, authentic RADIO."

USA Cares

USA Cares has reached several milestones. Since March of 2003, we are three states from helping Military families in all 50 states from all branches of service. We have helped in five countries overseas. We have worked with 1,000 families and coordinated or provided over $400,000 in grants. We have done all this without federal or major corporate support for the operational requirements of the organization. We did this with all volunteers.

Since September 11, 2001, over 470,000 Reserve and National Guard have answered the call. We need to continue and, in fact, increase our ability to help Military families.
We need your help. Join us in our "Star Program" and help us find and assist the Military families that need the help. Help us give a "Hand Up".

Note: the Pentagon does not encourage or support the program, feeling that the military has many programs for families itself. They worry that it's unfair to have some troops receiving 'grants' while the person in the bed next to them may not be. However, http://www.usacares.us/ received a nice plug from ARMY TIMES' "Sergeant Shopper" consumer columnist, referring readers to USA Cares MilitaryFamily Assistance Center, (800) 773-0387, or online at www.usacares.us. Seems like a very worthy effort to me.

This HAS to be grist for a stunt or phone topic..

Hilary Swank is coming out swinging against New Zealand authorities, who slapped the Oscar-winning actress with a $150 fine for bringing fruit into the country, the Associated Press reports.

According to a report in The Sunday Star-Times newspaper, Swank was fined in January when customs officials at Auckland International Airport discovered an apple and an orange in her purse that the actress had not declared.

In order to keep out pests, New Zealand has strict guidelines about what can be brought into the country. Swank has reportedly told her lawyers to appear in court to contest the fine, AP reports, but a publicist for the two-time Academy Award winner shrugged the whole thing off, calling it "the apple in the purse incident," and refusing to discuss it further. Visitors who violate the ban usually receive an automatic fine, though hundreds contest them, a Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry spokesman said. "It's a pretty standard practice to issue an instant fine for a biosecurity risk," the spokesman said. New Zealand's ban on items such as fruit has kept the country free from the pests and insects that plague other parts of the world.

KYGO, Denver Gives Away a HOUSE and a CYCLE

Heard in Denver..house keys, cycle keys..to celebrate KYGO's anniversary..

KYGO Home Giveaway:
You've made a home for KYGO in Denver for 25 years, now we're building a home for you. It's easy to win the KYGO U.S. Home Giveaway worth over $246,000. That's right, you win a new house. Simply print the form on our web site, fill it out, and take it to one of the U.S. Home Communities. Listen to Kelly, Jonathan and Mudflap each weekday morning at 6:20, 7:20, and 8:20 to tell you the times throughout the day that we'll announce winning names. When you hear your name, call back within 30 minutes and you'll automatically win a fast hundred bucks and a key that could open the door on your new home. If you open it at our grand prize event, your win it from the only Denver station big enough to giveaway a new home.

Win a Custom Motorcycle
KYGO and Biker-Dude.com want you to win a nearly $70,000 Kendall Johnson custom motorcycle. Only 100 keys will be given out. See the bike on display at Alpine Car Star. You can register at Alpine Car star. Each month you will be able to check out the bike at a new location. Be sure to sign up for Team KYGO cause you could win one of the 100 keys.

Sell Your Requests and Never Mention The Sponsor on Air

Look how KIX, Midland-Barrie-Orillia does it: http://www.kicxfm.com/pages/nooner.htm

GM Mora Austin and PD/Morning cohost Ted Roop could provide more details: (705)526-2268.

Are Listeners Parodying YOUR Style of Speaking?

Tod Maffin sent me to this funny 3 min Flash cartoon about the way radio personalities talk and sound to their audience: Watch it now

Whenever You Are On TV, Send Your Fans a Message

Like CBS's Bob Schieffer did..

It was probably something that the average viewer outside of the Fort Worth-Dallas area didn't really notice. But, if you were watching Schieffer during his debut as the anchor for the CBS Evening News, you were likely right to guess that the purple and white tie he was wearing carried a non-verbal message to the folks back in his home town of Fort Worth.

It's a sure bet that the students at Texas Christian University's newly dedicated "Schieffer School of Journalism" didn't miss the color purple "message" that Bob was wearing the school's colors. When Bob was in Fort Worth at the dedication and symposium this week on Tuesday, after lunch, when a huge crowd of us was walking back to the auditorium for the 2 pm symposium across University Drive, www.radiodailynew.com's Larry Shannon reports he casually mentioned to the former TCU Horned Frog student-turned-radio news reporter-turned newspaper report-turned-news anchor that it was probably a strange feeling he might be having at that moment to walk across the same street he had four decades ago as a student at TCU, but this time in a new role, as professor.

Bob sort of chuckled, grinned and said in that upbeat style and unique voice of his, "Yeah ..." Bob's, worn a lots of hats and walked a lot of streets on a lot of beats.

He got started on the right foot on Thursday evening (visit CBS Evening News)

Podcast Your Best Bits NOW

Podcast Morning Show highlights to create buzz and build awareness. That's what Virgin Radio in London is now doing. The first radio station in the UK to do a daily podcast.

WHAT IS PODCASTING?

Does Your Audience Have YOUR CEO's Direct Line?

The direct phone line to Jeff Smulyan, the founder and chairman of Emmis is (317) 684-6530. Emmis is Hebrew for "truth." The phone number appears in the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics posted on the Web site of Emmis Communications.

That "Hot line to the CEO" is getting lots of action lately, thanks to Hot 97, NYC: (read more - Errol Louis-NY Daily News) (read more - HipHopDX)

BX93 celebrates 25 years

Chris Harding reports from Standard Radio in London, Ontario:

On March 3, 1980 at 12:01 a.m., London welcomed a new radio station. The birth of BX93 Country Radio was heralded with much fanfare and publicity. Now, 25 years later BX93 has a loyal following from Parkhill to Port Rowan, Brussels to Bothwell and everywhere in-between!

London and surrounding area loves its country, according to the latest BBM survey (December 2004). Country Favourites BX93 ranked number one in the coveted 12+ and adults 18+ categories and holds a strong 14.7 percent share of London CMA in the adults 35-64 demographic.

“Broadcasting in London and right across Canada has changed dramatically over the past quarter of a century. BX93 grew with London but never faltered in its commitment to country music and country music fans,” says Operations Manager, Barry Smith. “With amazing new talent like Gretchen Wilson, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, the future of country music is bright and we at BX93 look forward to entertaining our listeners for another 25 years.”

The original BX93 on-air line up consisted of Pete Leyland, Robert Q, Ron Michaels, Robin Geoffrey and Karen Cooper. Twenty-five years later, the names have changed but not the enthusiasm!

Listeners now wake up with Dave and Jacquie who, incidentally, just celebrated 10 years as BX93’ morning show hosts. Karl Josephs takes over from 9 a.m. ‘til 2 p.m. then hands the reins over to Chris Harding for the drive home and Wendy Stevens keeps you company at night.

BX93 was a finalist in the ‘Country Station of the Year’ category of the Radio Industry Awards.

Would You Cancel Your Spring Book Contest?

They did in Edmonton and it seems like a smart move to me:

96 X Calls Off Fugitive Contest and Donates Money to RCMP Families

Karen Paulgaard reports:

Yesterday, when four RCMP officers were killed in the line of duty near Edmonton, all of our lives changed.

At a time like this, it is simply impossible to continue with radio games, especially a game of "chase" such as "The 96X $20,000 Fugitive". The tragic events of yesterday remind us that tracking down a Fugitive is not a game for those in law enforcement. Four young men paid the ultimate price in their pledge to protect all of us.

Tens of thousands of 96X listeners have put time and effort into playing The Fugitive. We are so grateful for your dedication to this contest and this radio station and have plans for rewards in the near future. Hold on to your Agent Journals and stay tuned to 96X as we do intend to reveal the former Fugitive's identity to those of you who were playing along.

At this point, we just cannot, in good conscience, continue this contest. We are pulling the Fugitive off the air and, more importantly, 96X has decided to donate the $20,000 intended as a prize to the families of the fallen officers. We are also currently accepting donations for these families at our studios under Little Miracles. We will keep the funds in a sub-category to have all monies be put into a specific trust fund for the families.

Our studios are located at 4752-99 street. Donations can be dropped off during our business hours; 8:30am to 4:30pm from Monday to Friday.Please stay tuned to 96X for updates on our contesting. In the meantime, please consider the police in our community in your thoughts and prayers.

Listen to the CMA Award Winners

Here are the entries that won in 2004: http://www.cmaawards.com/2004/broadcast/award_winners.asp

Major Market
KMPS– Seattle: Audio Entry Sample

Major Market
Kelly & Jonathan with Mudflap
KYGO/Denver (Kelly Ford, Jonathan Wilde, Steve McGrew): Audio Entry Sample

Large Market
WFMS - Indianapolis: Audio Entry Sample

Medium Market
The Ron & Becky Morning Show
WBBS/Syracuse (Ron Bee, Becky Palmer): Audio Entry Sample

Medium Market
WIVK – Knoxville: Audio Entry Sample

Small Market
Holstein & Company Mornings
WIXY/Champaign (Steve Holstein, Andy Roberts, Melissa Anfield): Audio Entry Sample

Small Market
WQXK – Youngstown, Ohio: Audio Entry Sample

Get Listeners To Make Your TV Spots

Have your listeners create your TV spots (and put them on your website for viewing and forwarding to friends).

For example, OBTTV produces and enables documentary advertising/market research/co-created ads/video ethnography/citizen marketing/branded content/brand hijacking/consumer generated media/viral activity/screwing around with brands the way you read about...
local, national, and international programs available.

Check them out at http://www.obtainiumtv.com/.

After looking at their samples of spots produced for favorite products (and parodying not-so-favorite products), by real people with home video equipment, I think you'll agree that you can try this at home...

How To Win A Humanitarian Award

Here's what this year's CRB Humanitarian Award winners did:

Some of the activities the winning radio stations were involved in included local blood drives, silent auctions, toy and food drives and specific local public service announcement (PSA) campaigns.

The CRB 2005 Radio Humanitarian Honorees in each market are:

(Small Market) 104.9 KDXY The Fox; Jonesboro, Arkansas
This year's honoree in the Small Market category gives thousands of dollars and countless hours of free PSAs to support the missions of community organizations. Among over a dozen worthy initiatives within the past year, KDXY has held their 6th Annual "Have-A-Heart Radiothon" to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation, collected truckloads of dog and cat food and supplies to benefit the Northeast Arkansas Humane Society and collected blood for the Red Cross in a "Mosquito Bash Blood Drive."

(Medium Market) 99.1 KXKC; Lafayette, Louisiana
This year's honoree in the Medium Market category conducted two dozen community events and campaigns in their market during the qualification period. KXKC assured that every child in their market would have a toy for Christmas through their "Toys For Tots" campaign. They teamed with United Blood Services for a "Tour De Life Blood Drive." They also partnered with the Junior League of Lafayette for "Tinsel and Treasure," a pre-holiday shopping market that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for community programs.

(Large Market) 99.5 WQYK; Tampa, Florida
WQYK is the number one ranked station and revenue generator in its market. On top of that, it is the biggest donator in the area. The station has supported more than sixty (60) organizations and events within the qualifying period. These efforts include raising $30,000 for The Angelus, a home for severely handicapped persons with their annual "Redneck Open Golf Tournament," raising $330,000 for St. Jude at the Florida State Fair and supporting Morning air personality and Cowboy poet Les McDowell as he visited over 70 schools to inspire children to write poetry.

Get more ideas and find out how to enter next year at 615.327.4487 or by visiting www.crb.org.

Giving Back To The Community - a new ideas blog

Read the lured.com Radio Ideas Blog - click here Sammy Simpson used to be the Marketing Director of Z-100, NYC and now he's a programmer in DC. Smart guy. Great site.

Ever Seen WHEAT Wave In The Wind On The Web?

Then, you need to look at this clever portal for the Morris/Salina cluster:
http://www.ksallink.com/

Naming Rights for a Day

No, of course no local radio station can buy the naming rights to your local stadium or arena (except for rare instances). But, could you do it for an important day?

WAAF gets naming rights to Boston's big Tweeter Center - for one day.
It's a charity thing that benefits various Boston-area groups and the station will use eBay to generate bids for a prize package built around a Motley Crue concert. The bidding for the prize is for one day only - Saturday, March 5 - and the Tweeter Center will briefly be known as the "WAAF Center."

And, of course, there's always this approach too:

Mile High Honor:
Colorado Governor Bill Owens has declared Saturday to be KYGO George Strait Day in honor of the Denver Country station's 25th Birthday Party concert that evening. Strait headlines.

Localizing in Lethbridge

CHLB PD Reid Morgan really knows his community:

Country 95 is going to smoke in May. Boy, I called it, and am I ever pleased I did. you remember in January I said the border wasn't going to open to cattle on March 7. I decided to go with the Kash Kitty rather than cash cow because of that prediction. We now have some EXTREMELY angry people around here, I am glad we aren't making light of cows in any way right now. It would be disastrous!

Reid Morgan, CRM
Director of Programming
CHLB-FM, CJBZ-FM
401 Mayor Magrath Drive
Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 3L8W
403.329.0955
F.403.329.0195

Cookies from home for the troops

WKRQ (Q102)/Cincinnati morning hosts Jeff & Jenn have started a Cookies For The Troops campaign.

Working with Girl Scouts and Brownies in the tri-state area, they are collecting cookies to send to our troops serving in Iraq. Cookies will be sent out on March 11 to Q102 correspondent Capt. Karen of the U.S. Air Force who is stationed in Iraq. She has been calling in to the Q-102 morning show to say hello to her local family and relate her experiences.

For more info, contact Q-102 PD Patti Marshall.

Texas Hold 'Em Poker at KGNC, Amarillo

PD/Morning guy Tim Butler reported that Amarillo's #1 radio station played "Texas Holdem Tuesday" During The Fall Book. The results were impressive. So:

"We Began Playing Again Today For The Spring Book.
The Basic Idea Is To Do A Progressive Contest. We Deal The First Two Cards On The Morning Show At 7:07am, Then The Next Three Cards (The Flop) At 10:07am, The Next Card (The Turn Card) At 3:07pm And The Next Card (The River) At 6:07pm. We Then (at 6:07pm) Take The 7th Caller To Tell Us The Entire Hand To Win $100.

"We Also Just Got Two Trips To Wendover, Nevada To Giveaway. Everyone That Wins "Texas Holdem Tuesday" In The Month Of March And April Will Be In A Reverse (more fun than a simple one) Drawing To Win.

Roof sit ends = 2 men, 1 failed mission

www.milkmanunlimited.com has the story of sadness, wind chill, frost bite and disappointment:

Peace River/Hi Level AB's Kevin Becker says that "on Friday February 25 at 3:15pm, morning hosts Scott Belford and Dono Jennings (YL Country High Level and KIX 106 Peace River) planned to break a record by staying 20 days on the roof of the Big Blue Building in High Level, Alberta. After 2 weeks of promotion and 2 minutes on the roof, the pair announced live on air “They just don’t want to do it anymore” and came down. Check our websites for more pics and info http://www.ylcountry.com/ http://www.kix106.net/."

It gets a bit chilly in Alberta in February! You don't suppose that the fact that just talking about the crazy stunt for two weeks got the whole town talking right at the start of the BBM survey was the real mission, do you?

McCoy Takes Over KICX 104 FM

Vikki Shaw (vshaw@kicxfm.com) writes to tell us that Canadian country star Jason McCoy is guest-hosting the Roop and Carey morning show on KICX 104 FM from Feb 28th till Mar 3rd.

McCoy hails from Minesing and will be taking over the airwaves while co-host Carey Moran is away. Jason recently won the prestigious Canadian Country Music Association ’s Male Vocalist Of The Year in 2004 and is also an award-winning songwriter.

Catch Roop and McCoy at 5:30 this Monday through Thursday (streamed at www.kicxfm.com). Jason will be bringing along his guitar and you never know what they’ll do!

KYEZ Helps Child Abuse Prevention

PD Bill Ray (browson@cox.net) reports Y-93.7, Salina, KS auctioned a Tim McGraw autographed guitar for $850 with proceeds going to Child Abuse Prevention Services. A total of $55,000 was raised during this annual auction.

You Don't Need A Promo Budget

Starting 3/1, KGB/San Diego's 16-year heritage morning team, Dave, Shelly And Chainsaw, started giving away $1,000 every day they're on the air live.

The promotion, The Dave, Shelly And Chainsaw Grand-A-Day, Every Day Giveaway, will run throughout 2005 and www.fmqb.com says it is being financed through listener purchases of the morning show's CDs and DVDs, which includes a 17,000 copy run of the 2004 feature-length comedy film The J-K Conspiracy.

Listeners can enter themselves, friends or relatives by answering "How $1,000 Will Change Your Life," on the station's Web site, www.101kgb.com. The Web site is the only place to enter the contest.

Reset Your Preset

Last year's Arbitron-Edison Media Research "In Car Study" found that there's a strong corelation between a person's favorite station and their car radio presets. The recommendation was: "almost no one has a favorite radio station that ISN'T set on their car radio pre-sets, so be sure you have a car radio strategy."

WKDF, Nashville does: since the station is "#1 for new country and the legends," their "reset your preset" campaign is paying listeners $100 when they are found with WKDF set on their #1 preset and $20 if they stop a listener who allows them to reset their #1 preset to 103.3.

Click on http://www.103wkdf.com/ to see how they promote it:

Re-Set Your Pre-Set to 103.3!!!
103 WKDF Air Personalities are cruising around Middle Tennessee five times a day checking to see if your #1 Pre-Set is on 103.3, brought to you by The All New Champion Ford on Charlotte Avenue.

Click here for more details and times.

Congratulations to Listener Rewards Club member, Teresa Eastridge of Springfield. She won $103 for having her #1 pre-set on 103.3.

Popstrology

Author Ian Van Tuyl has invented a system for unraveling the mysteries of the universe: Popstrology. It's based on the idea that your fate and personality are ruled by the songs that topped the charts on the day you were born. (Oh, like astrology is soooo logical.)

Your profile is composed of your Birth Year (ruled by the band with the most number-one hits that year) and your Birthstar and Birthsong (the tune that was number one on your birthday). They don't always match up. Take March 11, 1970. Excellent Birthsong: "Bridge over Troubled Water." Questionable Birth Year: Jackson 5. (Sorry, Pisces. You may be Zen, but you're pretty cheesy.)

Hopeless overachiever? Maybe your song is "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

Just imagine the plight of a Tiffany born in the year of U2 (you think you're alone now, on a Sunday, bloody Sunday) or a Bon Jovi in the year of Paula Abdul (you may be living on a prayer, caught in a hit and run). For his part, Van Tuyl is a Double Monkee, as his book explains, "born under the influence of the song 'I'm a Believer.'"

Popstrology may be so much modern Abracadabra, or simply What a Fool Believes.

Reach Van Tuyl through his publisher:

Bloomsbury USA
175 Fifth Avenue
Suite 300
New York, NY 10010.
Email: marketing@bloomsburyusa.com.

Sell Your New Music (really SELL it)

Kent Burkhart (http://www.kentburkhart.com/) recommends it:

Here is an image idea that works for a music station in any size market: “Once again, The ABC department store presents another new music special on WXXX. Here is Smith singing the YES SONG”. Here is the sales pitch to the ABC store client: This five second image spot runs four times a day 365 days a year (with one of your newly selected adds so that you do not violate your music list). This image spot ties in the ABC department store with something “new” for the listener “once again” continuity. This is an exclusive for the ABC store. Create an image rate package that is very expensive (a normal 30 second rate) because of its exclusive value. Prepare a special one page sales pitch with various art work to make the concept look valuable. I assure you that some retail client in your market will be ready to buy it!!!........

$10,000 Fugitive - rules and clues

It started in Ottawa last fall and now the "$10,000 Fugitive" contest appears to be spreading across Canada faster than the flu. Here's why and how, from the latest entry in Newfoundland: http://www.k-rock975.com/Contest.asp?ID=1

"THE 97-5 K-ROCK TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR FUGITIVE! IT COULD BE A WOMAN…OR A MAN. IT COULD BE ANYONE ... ANYWHERE...ANYTIME. THE FUGITIVE COULD BE NEXT TO YOU IN LINE...SERVING YOU LUNCH...THE FUGITIVE COULD BE A CO-WORKER...A FRIEND...A PASSER BY. LISTEN FOR CLUES WEEKDAYS AT 8AM...12 NOON...4PM ON 97-5 K-ROCK. WRITE THEM ALL DOWN. TO WIN THE BOUNTY, ASK EVERYONE YOU SEE THIS PRECISE QUESTION: ARE YOU THE 97-5 K-ROCK 10 THOUSAND DOLLAR FUGITIVE? FOLLOW THE CLUES CLOSELY...THEY WILL ASSIST YOU IN TRACKING DOWN THE FUGITVE'S LOCATION AND IDENITY! THE 97-5 K-ROCK’S TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR FUGITIVE BROUGHT TO YOU BY FOOD ON THE RUN’, RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE DELTA. A MEDITERRANEAN, ‘CAFETERIA STYLE’ RESTAURANT. BREAKFAST, LUNCH DINNER, EAT IN OR TAKE OUT."

And, what successful radio contest/stunt wouldn't have it's own chatroom/discussion board? http://www.thehot899fugitive.com/

Here are some shots of the winners in Edmonton: http://www.96x.ca/cgi-bin/photogallery/photo_display?c=73

April Fool in Salina

"Bill and Dave" are a morning tradition in Salina, Kansas. They have been waking up Saline County together since 1987. This year on April Fools day they plan to award "Free Gas For A Year" every half hour during their show.

After awarding the prize, they'll ask each winner where they will be between 10:00 and noon "so we can deliver your cans of gas to you personally."

Of course, what the winner will be given is a case of baked beans (with the recorder running). The reactions of the folks winning the prizes will be aired on 4/2, so that everyone can share in the fun. Bill Ray is PD at KYEZ, Salina: (email) bray@ebclink.com.

There's also talk of doing the entire 4/1 morning show as if it's 1987 again, news.. music..etc.

Circus Celebrity - Ringling Brothers 2005 show info

Heard recently on Mix (WMVX), Cincinnati:

"Join the family tradition that's anything but routine. Enter the topsy-turvy, upside-down world of the all-new 134th Edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Prince of Laughter David Larible. Jason Peters and his majestic pride of male lions. Crazy Wilson on the Wheel of Wonder and engaging in Motorcycle Mania. The soulful sounds of dazzling Danette. Sylvia Zerbini, Kevin Venardos, Clown Alley, elephantine excellence, and much, much more.

"From March 2-6, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey(r) transforms the U.S. Bank Arena with the all-new 134th Edition of The Greatest Show On Earth. And, if you come an hour before the show starts, you can be part of the act during the fabulous three ring adventure. Listen to the Mix Morning Show for your chance to win tickets or register on our web site to win the "Circus Celebrity" tickets."

Guests

Can your phone data be hacked like Paris Hilton? Recently, Paris Hilton's cell phone (a T-Mobile Sidekick) was reportedly hacked into and its contents revealed on a web site. Is your cell phone data safe? How did they get the data from Hilton's phone? Rick Castellini, nationally syndicated radio commentator and "pop tech guru," can discuss the answer to these questions and other security concerns involving stolen information and identity theft. Contact Dr. R.J. Garis at 760-471-4807 or e-mail publicists@garis-agency.com.

If you ever need someone to talk gossip, try the folks at Star Magazine. Call Amy Galleazzi at 212-743-6526 and also ask her to be on Star's e-mail list.

Honoring the fallen

Thanks to Matt Drudge (EMAIL: DRUDGE@DRUDGEREPORT.COM) for this link:

http://www.militarycity.com/valor/honor.html

Number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring Freedom casualtiesas confirmed by U.S. Central Command as of this posting: 1627

Faces of Valor: sights and sounds of Operations "Enduring Freedom" and "Iraqui Freedom."

Search this database by hometown .. and do something to salute your local heroes!

MilitaryCity.com is the gateway to the Military Times Media Group. Their websites include ArmyTimes.com, NavyTimes.com, AirForceTimes.com and MarineCorpsTimes.com.

Cat Country 98.7 = Johnny Appleseed

WYCT, Cat Country, Pensacola turns Johnny Appleseed in the wake of Ivan. I was just there several weeks ago .. and it takes your breath away to see the devistation across Mobile Bay as you fly in there. So, they decided to do something about it.

Replanting Cat Country
Saturday, 2/19/05

Cat Country 98-7 Radio is working to get 10,000 new trees planted in our communities. Cat Country 98-7 will be giving away free Live Oak tree seedlings this Saturday, February 19th, starting at 9A.

People are invited to come by any of the five locations listed below and pick up free trees on Saturday. Volunteers from the Girl Scouts of Northwest Florida, the Tate FFA and the Pensacola Pelicans will be there to help Cat Country 98-7 personalities hand out trees and planting instructions. Quantities are limited so come early.

Cat Country 98-7 purchased 10,000 one-year old trees from the IP SuperTreeTM nursery in Shellman, Georgia. Saturday’s free Live Oak giveaway is being done as a community service by Cat Country 98-7.

Join Cat Country 98.7 as we work to bring back the beauty to our neighborhoods after the storm devastated so many trees.

Dave Hoxeng, dhoxeng@CatCountry987.com, President of WYCT writes:

"We planted one tree Friday in front of TV3 & daily newspaper. Then, gave away 9999 Live Oak trees Saturday in ~3.5 hours from 5 locations.

We got a nice story on the 5P TV3 news Friday night, and a color pic at top of column on Page One of local section in today's Pensacola News Journal.

For information call 850-469-9900 and ask for Judy, Mary or Dave.

The Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia

Have you checked out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page? If you ever need something to chat about, it will provide some ideas for you. One danger: double check wikipedia.org/ facts, since all the articles are written and edited by USERS..

Sharpening Your News Writing

Mervin Block wrote a monthly column on broadcast newswriting for Communicator, the magazine of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, for 13 years. And he still writes a column occasionally for RTNDA. The columns reprinted here offer tips on problems that broadcast newspeople face every day: tips about words, tips about language, tips about writing, tips about journalism.

There is lots of wonderful sharing on his website: http://www.mervinblock.com/.. well worth a few clicks....

When Bad Scripts Happen to Good Newscasts
Error Alert: Wrong Words Slip Into Network Newscasts
'More Violence to Report' — and More Weak Ways Not to Report

Writing Tips, Adapted from Writing Broadcast News--Shorter, Sharper, Stronger (Revised and Expanded), a professional handbook by Mervin Block:
Top Tips of the Trade
Dozen Deadly Sins
Book List

Are your TV spots on your website

.. for viewing and for listeners to email to friends?

Check out: http://www.waxx104online.com/ and click on the "Have You Seen The Cute Kids on TV?" tabs. That's how it's done, at WAXX, Eau Claire. Thanks to PD George House (715 832-1530) for sharing it with us.

Bless the broken walk in Memphis???

Steve Bush must have spent too much time in the JRfm, Vancouver production studio the other day.... "I was thinking that Bless the Broken Road reminded me a lot of Walking in Memphis. So much so I thought they were pretty much interchangeable. I put the two songs together. Didn't know whether to call it "Bless Memphis" or "Walking the Broken Road".

NHL RIP song parody

Marv and PJ at the Country 95.5 Coffee Crew in Lethbridge came up with a cute play over "My Give A Damn's Busted" featuring clips from Betteman, Goodenow, Gretzky and others. It's generating lots of phones. Thanks to PD Reid Morgan (pd@country95.fm) for reporting it.

Who Makes What (radio edition)

Thanks to Braden Doerr, Market Manager for Standard/London (bdoerr@sri.ca) for alerting us to... http://www.whomakeswhat.net/ (a service of those diabolically-clever minds at M Street Journal (ironically, a division of Clear Channel..)

Sales Promotions That Work

Hats off to Phyllis Stark (pstark@airplaymonitor.com) at Airplay Monitor/Billboard for a great feature this week:

Promotions directors from country stations WMZQ, WFMS, WMIL, WXTU, WKLB, WPOC, KNIX and others give BillboardRadioMonitor.com the lowdown on hugely successful sales promotions in this Web site exclusive. These are all ideas you can steal for your own station.

CLICK: Sales/Promotions Partnerships That Work

Tanks for Listening

http://www.b95.com/, Albany has a nice loyalty promotion for first quarter 2005.

FREE GAS FOR A YEAR!

It's BACCKKKKkkkkkk...Our B95.5 "Tanks For Listening" Contest. Your chance to win FREE gas for a YEAR from B95.5 & Stewarts Shops! Listen to Chuck & Kelly each weekday morning at 7:10 for details!

Can you top this?

From the "Major Political Leaders Having Fun on Your Show" dept as reported by www.milkman.com:

In his phone call to the BOB FM morning show today, Prime Minister Paul Martin jokingly asked why the station was called "Bob" FM and not "Paul" FM.

Hosts JR and Sandy told the PM that if he was able to influence Bono and U2 to play live in Ottawa, they'd change the name of the station for a day in his honor.

The call was carried live on The New RO & Canada AM as well!

Hear the interview here... oh, and sign Bob's petition to bring U2 back to Ottawa here.

Valentine Stunts in Buffalo and New York City..

Kevin Carter (kcarter@radioandrecords.com) at R&R Street Talk Daily seems to have magnetic powers to pick up the craziest promotions..

Citadel Classic Rocker WGRF (97 Rock)/Buffalo put a unique spin onthose usual tired Valentine’s Day promotions with the help of notedpromotional envelope-pusher Paige Nienaber of C.P.R. PD JohnHager explains: “We contacted the Niagara Falls Air Force Base andfound out that Sgt. Greg Eich of Buffalo was passing through CampDrum, NY after a year in Germany on his way to Iraq. We contacted hisgirlfriend, Suzie Dyer, and told her that we would hook up a videoconference with him as a Valentine’s Day gift,” he tells ST Daily. [Cuegolf announcer voice: Unbeknownst to Suzie, the station flew Eich intoBuffalo, snuck him in the back door and stashed him in a production studio. And now, back to our riveting story....]

“The morning guys explained to Suzie that they were having‘technical difficulties’ getting the video feed to work, but were ableto hook up them up by phone for a few minutes,” Hagar says.

Finally, someone went to fetch an engineer. Hagar says, “He cameback in and said, ‘I couldn’t find the engineer — but I found thisguy.’ Greg walked in, and she freaked out!”

Bonus Love Epilogue: “Greg got down on one knee andproposed to Suzie — and she accepted!” says Hagar.

“All the localTV affiliates were here to cover it along with a crew from A&E, whowill be featuring this story soon.”

Like A Lost I Love Lucy Episode
Another outside-the-box Valentine’s Day promotion is unfolding aswe speak in New York, as WKTU morning maniacs Baltazar & Goumba Johnny present “Have Your Cake & Eat It Too.”

Here’s chief co-conspirator/Exec. Producer Mike Opelka: “We baked an eight-foot-tall wedding cake and filled it with five diamond pendants, 10 full-day spa certificates worth $1,250 each and a seven-day trip to the Brazilian Riviera!”

At 8am Valentine's day, in the front window of New York’s Planet Hollywood, a dozen crazed women, winners of an essay competition, will be turned loose on the cake to find the tiny numbered ring boxes inside “using only their hands and mouths,” Opelka tells ST Daily.

Enjoy the visual.

Seeking Desperate Housewives, Doubling Paychecks

John Marks, PD at Jefferson-Pilot's KSON, San Diego (jmarks@kson.com) reports they are:

Seeking Desperate Housewives
Cliff & Company play Desperate Housewives Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:40am. We'll put 2 women on the air to tell us what makes them "Desperate Housewives." Then, they go head to head in a battle of wits for fabulous prizes, including tickets to Regal Cinemas. In case you're wondering, yes, it's a shameless attempt to capitalize on the ABC TV hit.

Double Your Paycheck

KSON will announce one name, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:15am, 12:15pm and 4:15pm. We'll also announce one name per hour on Thursdays from 8:15am to 5:15pm. The person whose name is announced over the air has 30 minutes to call (from any San Diego County area code) to win their prize. KSON will double the weekly paycheck of all winners by matching one week's gross salary up to $1250. You must be 18 years of age or older, and a San Diego County Resident. If we call your name, and you don't call, your name could be called again. KSON will determine the winner's weekly salary by averaging the winner's previous 5 weekly pay stubs. Pay stubs must be dated from the 3-week period prior to winning the contest.

If you are currently unemployed, you would receive the minimum prize amount of $500.
If you are retired or a homemaker, you would receive the minimum prize amount of $500.
If you work but make less than $500 a week, you would still receive the minimum prize amount of $500.
We match one week's gross salary up to $1250.

Twenty-one Ideas...

From Bobby Rich, Journal/Tucson (Bobby@BobbyRich.com) "... For Valentine's and any other day..."

ONE.
Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE.
Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR.
When you say, "I love you," mean it.

FIVE.
When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

SIX.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN.
Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT.
Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE.
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.
In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN.
Don't judge people by their relatives

TWELVE.
Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN.
When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN.
Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN.
Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN.
When you lose, don't lose the lesson

SEVENTEEN.
Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN.
Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN.
When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE.
Spend some time alone.

Prep links (more!)

Jay Trachman: http://121online.net/

The Vent -- the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's daily column of humorous
quips. There's an adaptable line or two in there all the time.
www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/vent/index.html

AC Radio News -- superb sheet with insightful comments from well-known
radio programmers. www.acradio.com

Jones Radio's "Programming Power" -- useful comments on programming, music
and promotions from the JRN consultants. www.jonesradio.com

Shoptalk -- daily industry newsletter focusing mainly on TV, but they have
a great "topical humor" section. Ask to get on their free distribution list
by writing to: newsletter@tvspy.com

Country 95, Lethbridge Marv & PJ - best DJs

Reid Morgan, PD at CHLB (pd@country95.fm) reports: "Marv and PJ & the Country 95 Coffee Crew" were voted the best "Morning DJ's" (Newspapers terminology) by the Lethbridge Herald Sun TImes. It was an unaided random vote.

How's that for a good omen?

Quick update, Keith Urban (Now sold out) is really fueling our RateTheMusic.com database sign ups!

Call it anything BUT 'sexy'

Priceless history from Cluck Blore:

When I wrote that last one I was using the word “sexy” to mean easier to listen to. I was suggesting we find a way to make our traffic reports attractive to the 85% of our audience who did not happen to be in cars at that moment. Putting stuff on the air which you know 85% of your audience has no interest in, regardless of the fact that “Those reports are sold!” to me was a form of programming suicide. I went to Mr. Purcell, “Robert, you said that anything I thought would interfere with programming would not be allowed on the air.” “So I did.” “Well this memo from you ...” I put the memo on his desk and put my best, ‘I trusted you’ look on my face “... says I can’t say ‘screw traffic’ because those reports are sold.” (read more from Chuck Blore)

Thanks to larryshannon@radiodailynews.com for making these great sites happen for the guys who wrote history.

Valentine gift: name a monkey after your mate!

Field biologist Robert Wallace and a team of researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society have discovered a new species of monkey in Bolivia's Madidi National Park. A charity auction is being held for the rights to name the monkey.

More on the 'Titi' Monkey at the Wildlife Conservation Society Web Site

Learn More About the Auction to Name the Monkey at CharityFolks.com

The Redneck Dictionary

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy has signed a book deal with Villard Books to publish The Redneck Dictionary. The deal is in the high six figures and the book will be published in the fall of 2005.

In April 1999, The Jeff Foxworthy Countdown, a three-hour weekly country hits countdown show nationally syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, debuted. Airing on more than 200 country stations, the show features intimate conversations with country’s biggest stars, the week’s top songs and new music.

Jeff received a Country Music Association nomination in 2001 for “Broadcast Personality of the Year.” (visit Jeff Foxworthy Countdown)

Those MONSTERS (truck that is) Bob & Tom

On January 29, a monster truck sponsored by Bob and Tom debuted at the U.S. Hot Rod Monster Jam in Indianapolis, Ind. at the RCA Dome. The truck won the racing event by defeating tough competition including Grave Digger, Predator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and more. (visit Bob and Tom Web site)

What are you doing for your community?

Take a hint from Starbucks: HeraldNet: County now eligible for Starbucks parks grants

Here's how it's done: www.starbuckslovesparks.com

OK, now.. what do you plan to do?

Valentine Show Prep

VALENTINE SHOW PREP FROM LOVETINGLE.COM

*You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, or use on the air. Credit lovetingle.com*

>85% of all valentines are purchased by women.
>Over 1 billion Valentine cards are sent in the U.S. each year.
>Parents receive 20% of all valentines sent.
>The biggest days for giving flowers are Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
>Valentines ranks second only to Christmas in number of greeting cards sent.
>Over 50 million roses are given for Valentine's Day each year worldwide.

CRAZY LOVE FACTS
>In Kentucky, 50% of the people who get married for the first time are teenagers.35% of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.
>Impotence is grounds for divorce in 24 states in the United States.
>In Frackville, Pennsylvania, a woman filed for divorce because her husband insisted on "shooting tin cans off of her head with a slingshot."
>Each year over 11,000 people are injured trying out new sexual positions.
>People who have never been married are seven and a half times more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric facility than married people.
>Percentage of runners who say they think about sex while running: 66%. Percentage who say they think about running while having sex: 8%.
>The phrase "honeymoon" came from the Greeks. It was customary for the bride's family to supply the groom with a full moons cycle (a month) of wedding wine, which tasted like honey.
>Couples who marry in the months January, February, and March have the highest divorce rates.
>Over 278 bacteria colonies are exchanged during a French kiss.
>The world's greatest lover was documented to be King Mongkut of Siam. He had 9,000 women in his harem.

VALENTINE HISTORY

Who is St. Valentine?
One story says Valentine was a priest who served during third century Rome. There was an Emperor at that time by the name of Claudius II. Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married. With this thought in mind he outlawed marriage for young men in hopes of building a stronger military. Valentine decided this decree just wasn't fair and chose to marry young couples secretly. When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine's actions he had him put to death.
Another legend claims Valentine was an imprisoned man who fell in love with his jailor's daughter. Before he was put to death he sent the first 'valentine' himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it 'Your Valentine', words still used on cards today.

What about Cupid?
In Latin, cupido means "desire". In Roman mythology Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology is Eros, god of love. Cupid is often said to be a mischievous boy who goes around shooting both gods and humans with his arrows, causing them to fall in love.

LOW BUDGET VALENTINE GIFT IDEAS
-Make a love jar. Buy a nice medium jar (or find one in the house if you are broke). Cut out 365 pieces of paper. On each piece of paper write a reason why you love that person, cute poem, love coupon, etc. This is a time consuming but VERY thoughtful gift. You can modify this by cutting out 52 hearts and having your Valentine pick out one per week.
-Make a coupon book: Buy a blank book (available in the journal section of any bookstore) and fill out each page. (One free massage, one free breakfast in bed, etc.) For ideas go to http://lovetingle.com/coupons.htm
-Make a paper rose. They are extremely simple to make, and all you need is colored paper. Make a full bouquet, your date will absolutely love the creative, modified version. (To do this take a piece of paper and roll it up like you would do to make a telescope. Pinch down about one inch from the end to make the bud, then twist the rest tightly to make the stem) http://www.lovetingle.com/couples/paperrose.htm

TOP 10 VALENTINES MOVIES
1. Casablanca (1942). Humphrey Bogart stars. The plot: Rediscovery of lost love, and the need to lose it again for a higher cause.
2. Notting Hill (1999). Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant. This movie will rekindle any relationship and remind you how sweet that special someone is.
3. The Princess Bride (1987). Lots of action. Very witty. This classic tale is told from Grandfather to son.
4. Romeo and Juliet (1968 or 1996). The orginal is a by director Franco Zeffirelli. The updated version was a hit as well by Baz Luhrmann. Stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
5. West Side Story (1961). Set in New York City, this is a very popular romantic musical was made into a movie.
6. French Kiss (1995). Meg Ryan. Very romantic and very French with a happy ending.
7. Like Water For Chocolate (1993). For the eclectic tastes, this is a great foreign film that will get you both in the valentine mood.
8. A Room With a View (1986). This British flick is a great example of how little it takes to fall in love.
9. It Happened One Night (1934). Two people fall in love while on the road in this classic love tale.
10. Gone with the Wind (1939). Based on the incredible book, this epic tale has the most memorable characters of all time. Scarlett O'Hara is the best!

TOP 5 ROMANTIC SONGS BY FORMAT

Country
Garth Brooks, The Dance
John Michael Montgomery, I Swear
Patsy Cline, Crazy
Lonestar, Amazed
Garth Brooks, Make You Feel My Love

Pop/Adult Contemporary
Whitney Houston, I Will Always Love You
Eric Clapton, Wonderful Tonight
Celine Dion, My Heart Will Go On
Aerosmith, Don't Want To Miss A Thing
Bryan Adams, Everything I Do (I Do For You)

Other Great Romantic Songs
Peter Gabriel, In Your Eyes
Beauty & The Beast Soundtrack, Beauty And The Beast
Berlin, Take My Breath Away
Vanessa Williams, Save The Best For Last
Boyz II Men, I'll Make Love To You
Bryan Adams, All For Love
Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody
Bryan Adams, Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman
K-Ci & Jojo, All My Life
Lionel Richie, Endless Love
Aladdin Soundtrack, A Whole New World
Seal, Kiss From A Rose
Backstreet Boys, As Long As You Love Me
Bangles, Eternal Flame

GREAT ROMANTIC IDEAS
>Cover the floor with poster board and finger paint a giant valentine card for your lover.
>Have DINNER in bed.
>Fire up the grill and roast marshmallows then lay under the stars.
>Rent your favorite romantic movies, make some popcorn and hot chocolate, and stay up all night watching movies and cuddling.
>Surprise your lover with a bubble bath for two. After the bath dry them off and brush their hair for them.
>Spread out a large blanket in the living room and have an indoor picnic.
>Read old cards and letters from each other to one another.
>Play hide and seek. (Clothing is optional)
>Grab a romantic novel and take turns reading aloud to each other.

MARRIED ON VALENTINES DAY
Sharon Stone, Prince, Roseanne, Jerry Garcia, Harold Robbins, Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid and Elton John

BORN ON VALENTINE'S DAY
Hugh Downs, Florence Henderson, Carl Bernstein, Gregory Hines, magician Teller of Penn and Teller, Ken Wahl and Meg Tilly

Superbowl commercial talkabouts

Super Bowl Ads Test Limits of Credulity
Fox Flattens Miller Lite's Super Bowl Ads
A Look at This Year's Super Bowl Ads

Longest broadcast = 120 hours, not 110

From: http://www.rwonline.com/dailynews/one.php?id=6669

No World Record for DJ
Dave Plotkin won't be in the Guinness Book of World Records, at least not yet.
According to the AP, the 25-year-old college disc jockey in Florida who thought he had set a world record for the longest continuous radio broadcast apparently fell 10 hours short. He got the word from Guinness.

The broadcast was 110 hours, three minutes, broadcast on Rollins College's WPRK(FM) in January.

Guinness says a Sri Lankan man, Arulanantham Suresh Joachim, stayed on the air 120 hours in 2003, but its records had not been updated. According to AP, Guinness said it took a year and a half to complete the documentation and update its database.

Plotkin said the station has raised $17,000 so far and he hopes to shoot for 144 hours by next year. "It was the most fun I ever had," he said.

A Requiem For the NHL in Edmonton

Gerry Siemens, GM at JRfm/AM600, Vancouver (gsiemens@jrfm.com) forwarded a promo idea that came with his K-97 (Edmonton) data base letter Friday (2/4):

We all need closure to the NHL 2004-2005 season. We all need "friends"tolean on in this time of grief.

Join 97-3 K-ROCK this Saturday, February 5 as we lay the 2004-2005 NHL Season to rest at West Edmonton Mall.

We will start the Procession from outside The Bay at 12:30PM. A piper will lead the casket and our group of mourners to the Ice Palace where viewing of the once mighty "cup" will begin at 1PM.

As mourners pass by, we encourage them to say a final word to the 2004-2005 season, and fill out an entry form to win a pair of season TNT Tickets to the NEXT Oilers' season... whenever that may be.

At 3PM, we will move the casket and the "cup" to Hooters on Bourbon Street for a Wake were we will celebrate the once vibrant NHL league and its players.

To put a close to the death of the 2004-2005 season, we will leave the casket in internment at Hooters at 5PM... at which time we will draw a name to see who will see the Oilers in action... whenever the season comes to life again.

We remind you to wear the jersey of your favorite NHL team to show the league and the players that someone cares about the death of the season.

Regards,

Terry, Bill, & Steve
Edmonton's Classic Rock 97.3

Google Video Search Engine!

Brian DePoe, VP/Programming for Standard Radio Group, Toronto (bdepoe@ezrock.com) is the first to pass the word about Google's newest beta, http://video.google.com, which looks like an invaluable too for anyone talking about hot TV shows and commercials, but who may have forgotten to "TIVO" something important.. A powerful tool: http://video.google.com

WOGI Pittsburgh Prepares For On Air Wedding

Love is on the air at WOGI Froggy 98.3.
In the past week, more than 30 local couples responded to an opportunity for an all-expenses paid Valentine's Day on-air wedding courtesy of the Pittsburgh Country station. The field will be narrowed to five qualifiers this afternoon from 3-7 p.m. on the "Danger Frog Show." Qualifying couples will be interviewed by a panel of "expert judges" comprised of Froggy employees and the Grand Prize winner will be announced on-air at 5 p.m. February 3rd, giving them plenty of time to acquire their Allegheny County wedding license and invite family and friends to "My Big Fat Froggy Wedding," which will happen live on the air at 5 p.m. Valentine's Day on the "Danger Frog Show."

The Grand Prize couple will receive a package of prizes worth more than $5000 including, Wedding rings from Henne Jewelers, Tuxedos from Jack's Tuxedo, Wedding gown from Bridals by Skye's the Limit, Flowers from McCandless Floral, Hairstyle and makeup by Studio G, Wedding crystal and garter from Carlisle's of Pittsburgh, Three-tier wedding cake from Kribel's Bakery, Limousine service from A. Carter Limousine, Honeymoon weekend at the Country Inn & Suites on Campbell's Run Road and Mattress and box springs from Izzy Miller, Carnegie.

Chili Cookoff Attracts Record Crowd

www.allaboutcountry.com reports that twenty years ago, KISS Country started a tradition of bringing together the best country music with the spiciest chili during the First KISS Country Chili Cookoff.

Now two decades later, this nationally renowned event, which was held on January 30, 2005 at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, broke all attendance records and is still going strong. The Twentieth Anniversary KISS Country Chili Cookoff combined a full day of family fun, chili contests sanctioned by the International Chili Society and a great line-up of country music headlined by Hank Williams, Jr. In addition to Hank, Jr., Keith Urban, Montgomery Gentry, Big & Rich, and newcomer Katrina Elam performed. For the first time in its 20-year history, the show had a co-host, Terri Clark, who joined the air personalities on stage and shared emceeing duties.

Record crowds packed the park beginning the night before the event, parking their vehicles outside the gates to insure seating up close to the stage. Fans came from as far away as California and Canada to see their favorite country artists on a typically beautiful South Florida day. Over 75 teams of chili cooks competed for the chance to win the title of Best Chili with the first place honors going to “Sky’s the Limit,” captained by Fred Boehm of Fort Lauderdale, winning $500 and advancing to the International Chili Society’s next level of competition.

“As we plan for the 21st Birthday of the KISS Country Chili Cookoff in 2006, we are thrilled at how much of a tradition this event has become for country music fans and chili aficionados throughout the Southeast,” said Joe Bell, WKIS’ General Manager. “Every luminary of Country Music has played the Chili Cookoff at least once during our star-studded history. We are looking forward to continuing that tradition for many years to come.”

Check out tons of pictures at WKIS.com.