Friday, November 7, 2014

RETRO FRIDAY: BEFORE “THIS AMERICAN LIFE” THERE WAS “THE WILD ROOM”


In 1990 WBEZ, Chicago started an adventurous weekly program produced by Ira Glass and Gary Covino called The Wild Room.  It was the foundation for This American Life.

Glass and Covino were creating a new kind of program every week, in real time. The Wild Room was called “freeform documentary banter.”

Here is a sample of The Wild Room from the 90s featuring Gary Covino:


By 1995, The Wild Room was one of the most popular programs on WBEZ. But, success changed the stakes. Though accounts differ, Glass (without Covino) went on to host The American Life.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

SENSE OF PLACE: MY FIRST RADIO JOB (VIDEO)

Sense of Place is a powerful public radio listener connection, so I hope this video connects with you. 

Here is the true story of how I went from being home alone with the radio on to become a DJ at the hottest rock station in town.

The scene is Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Sioux Falls was a great place to grow up.  It was big enough to sorta feel like a city  -- small enough that it felt safe.  Unless I went looking for trouble...


Please let me know if this story connects with you.

 Ken Mills On-Air KISD Sioux Falls 1969



THREE GREAT RADIO DJ BOOKS






The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS & Cleveland Rock Radio
John Gorman

WMMS, Cleveland, was known as The Buzzard in the 70s and 80s. John Gorman, the programmer who created the station, tells behind-the-scenes stories and strategy that made The Buzzard one of the most influential stations in America. It never had a typical format – the sound organically evolved with the music.  This NSFW memoir is a fast fun read. 

Available at:

Up All Night: My Life and

 Times in Rock Radio

Carol Miller


Carol Miller was known as the legendary “Nightbird” – one of the best female rock DJs ever.  She graced the airwaves of WNEW & WPLJ in New York and WMMR & WXPN in Philly.  Nick Spitzer (American Routes) gave Carol her start in the biz. She tells how she rose to success in a male-dominated music industry, battled cancer and survived a relationship with Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.

Available at:








Radio Waves
Jim Ladd

Anyone who grew up in LA in the late 60s and 70s probably has a story about Jim Ladd on-the-air at KPPC, KMET or KLOS. Jim broke the format whenever possible to introduce artists like Jackson Browne and the Eagles. Great songs and events jump off the pages in clouds of purple haze. Highly recommended for radio geeks and stoners.

Available at:
http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Waves-Life-Revolution-Dial/dp/0312059523/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415133883&sr=1-1&keywords=radio+waves+jim+ladd

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

JODY EVENS PICKED TO LEAD THE PRPD


The Public Radio Program Directors Association (PRPD) has named Jody Evans its next President and Chief Executive Officer.  She will step into the President and CEO position on January 1, 2015, succeeding Arthur Cohen who is retiring after eight years at the PRPD helm and a decades- long career in public broadcasting.






Jody Evans
New President & CEO
PRPD

Arthur Cohen retiring CEO presenting Craig Oliver (first CEO of PRPD) at the 2015 Public Radio Programming Conference


Evans is currently GM of WCQS-FM in Asheville, North Carolina.  Prior to WCQS, she was in charge of programming at Vermont Public Radio and KUT.

Monday, November 3, 2014

TOP 30 NEWS/TALK STATIONS


NEWS/TALK STATIONS WEEKLY CUME PERSONS
NIELSEN AUDIO PPM SUMMER 2014

METRO PERSONS 6+, MONDAY – SUNDAY 6AM – MIDNIGHT
June 19 – September 10 Top-Line Estimates

DATA © NIELSON AUDIO
Provided by RRC, Inc. for use by subscribers only.
© Radio Research Consortium, Inc. // www.RRConline.org // RRC@RRConline.org

Format designations are the sole responsibility of Ken Mills Agency, LLC. Contact us publicradio@hotmail.com..

Definition of “WEEKLY CUME PERSONS” – “Cume” means cumulative listening – a measure of the total number of different persons in the designated metro area exposed to an encoded station for at least five minutes in a quarter-hour during an average week in a survey period.

STATION
NIELSEN AUDIO MARKET
WEEKLY METRO CUME
1
WNYC-FM
New York
782,100
2
KQED
San Francisco
709,800
3
KPCC
Los Angeles
670,600
4
WAMU
Washington DC
588,600
5
KCRW*
Los Angeles
459,900
6
WBEZ
Chicago
453,600
7
WBUR
Boston
408,400
8
WABE*
Atlanta
386,200
9
KERA
Dallas/Fort Worth
342,700
10
WHYY
Philadelphia
332,300
11
KNOW
Minneapolis/St. Paul
330,700
12
KPBS
San Diego
308,100
13
WNYC-AM
New York
295,800
14
WGBH
Boston
274,700
15
KPLU*
Seattle/Tacoma
271,200
16
KUHF
Houston
266,600
17
WLRN
Miami
258,900
18
KCFR
Denver/Boulder
257,400
19
KUOW
Seattle/Tacoma
255,900
20
KWMU
St. Louis
220,700
21
KJZZ
Phoenix
219,400
22
WUNC
Raleigh/Durham
204,600
23
KXJZ
Sacramento
169,800
24
KUT
Austin
169,500
25
WYPR
Baltimore
157,300
26
WUOM
Detroit
152,200
27
WFAE
Charlotte
150,100
28
KCUR
Kansas City
148,900
29
WVXU
Cincinnati
143,500
30
KSTX
San Antonio
142,200
* Station also airs blocks of music programming

NEWS/TALK STATIONS WEEKLY CUME RATINGS
NIELSEN AUDIO PPM SUMMER 2014

METRO PERSONS 6+, MONDAY – SUNDAY 6AM – MIDNIGHT
June 19 – September 10 Top-Line Estimates

DATA © NIELSON AUDIO
Provided by RRC, Inc. for use by subscribers only.
© Radio Research Consortium, Inc. // www.RRConline.org // RRC@RRConline.org

Format designations are the sole responsibility of Ken Mills Agency, LLC. Contact us publicradio@hotmail.com..

Definition of “WEEKLY CUME RATING” – “Cume” means cumulative listening – a measure of the total number of different persons exposed to an encoded station for at least five minutes in a quarter-hour during an average week in a survey period. “Cume Rating” is the Metro Cume Persons as a percentage of the Metro Population in the market.

STATION
NIELSEN AUDIO MARKET
METRO RANK
WEEKLY
CUME RATING
1
WUNC
Raleigh/Durham
42
13.0
2
KOPB
Portland OR
23
12.1
3
WAMU
Washington DC
7
11.4
4
KNOW
Minneapolis/St. Paul
16
10.7
5
KPBS
San Diego
17
10.4
6
KQED
San Francisco
4
10.3
7
KUT
Austin
35
9.7
8t
KCFR
Denver/Boulder
20
9.4
8t
WPLN
Nashville
45
9.4
10
WBUR
Boston
10
9.1
11
KWMU
St. Louis
22
8.7
12t
KCUR
Kansas City
34
8.1
12t
KXJZ
Sacramento
27
8.1
14
WJCT
Jacksonville
50
7.9
15
WABE*
Atlanta
9
7.8
16
WNPR
Hartford/New Britain
52
7.5
17
WVXU
Cincinnati
30
7.3
18t
WOSU
Columbus OH
37
7.0
18t
KPLU*
Seattle/Tacoma
13
7.0
20
WUWM
Milwaukee
38
6.9
21
KSTX
San Antonio
28
6.8
22
WHYY
Philadelphia
8
6.7
23
KUOW
Seattle/Tacoma
13
6.6
24
WFAE
Charlotte
24
6.5
25t
WCPN
Cleveland
31
6.2
25t
WLRN
Miami
11
6.2
27t
WYPR
Baltimore
21
6.1
27t
WGBH
Boston
10
6.1
27t
WFYI
Indianapolis
40
6.1
30
KUER
Salt Lake City
29
6.0
* Station also airs blocks of music programming