Radio Stations

CBS Thursday announced the launch of a national sports radio network that will include two stations in Baltimore and looks to seriously challenge ESPN dominance of the sports-talk airwaves. The CBS action, which includes Cumulus Media, another broadcasting giant, will make for an audience of about 10 million listeners when the network debuts Jan. 2. CBS Sports Radio will be able to draw on such resources as CBS Sports, CBS News and cbssports.com, making it one of the most impressive sources of sports information in broadcasting right off the bat. In Baltimore, CBS Sports will air 24/7 on WJZ-AM, while only certain elements of it will be carried on WJZ-FM (105.7 The Fan)

San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Anthony Davis called Terrell Suggs a “[expletive] loser” on his Twitter feed today after he took offense to comments made by the Ravens linebacker on a San Francisco-based radio show. Making an appearance on KNBR 680-AM largely to promote “The Coalition,” a movie he co-wrote, Suggs was asked about comments made by teammate Cary Williams following the Ravens' 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3. Williams, a starting cornerback who was involved in a post-whistle scrum during the Super Bowl that led to him pushing a game official, called the 49ers “fake tough guys” and “pretenders” in the locker room after the game.

It's coming from outer space, and it's going to take over your car radio. At least, that's the plan of two companies who are vying for one of the hottest new broadcasting developments since a guy named Guglielmo Marconi figured out a way to wirelessly send telegraph signals. It's called satellite radio, and if you think it's complicated, it isn't -- the bottom line is it's a great new option for listening to radio on the road. The two companies offering satellite radio service, XM and Sirius, each offer more than 100 channels of music, talk, sports and news radio stations that are beamed via upper-atmosphere orbiters into your car (or even your home, for that matter)

Ronald A. Stratton, who boosted ratings and transformed radio stations he managed, died of complications from a stroke June 29 at Madonna Heritage Assisted Living in Jarrettsville. He was 72 and lived in Red Lion, Pa. Born in Detroit, he broke into broadcasting in 1955 when his high school guidance counselor offered him credit if he would assist a local weekly children's TV show in Manton, Mich. "He wrote and typed scripts and was the cameraman," said his daughter, Barbara Stratton of Baltimore.

Three managers of five radio stations up for sale by the Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co., including Baltimore's WVRT-FM (104.3), plan to make an offer to buy the stations.James P. Fox, vice president and general manager of the Baltimore station, announced the collaboration with Edward T. Hardy of Portland, Ore., (KUPL-AM/FM) and Donald W. Meyers of Memphis, Tenn., (WMC-AM/FM).The management group has engaged Pacific Coast Securities, a Portland investment banking firm, to assist in making the offer.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. said yesterday that it has agreed to sell seven radio stations in Portland, Ore., and Rochester, N.Y., to Entertainment Communications Inc. for $126.5 million in cash.The seven are part of a package of six television and 24 radio stations Sinclair has agreed to buy from Heritage Media Corp. for million.Sinclair has agreed to sell some of the Heritage stations, such as a television station in Oklahoma City, because of federal concentration-of-media regulations.

Dorothy E. Brunson, a prominent local businesswoman, has sold all three of her radio stations, including WEBB-AM in Baltimore, for just under $4 million.When Brunson bought WEBB in 1979, she became the first black woman in the country to own a radio station.Now the president of Brunson Communications Inc., she says she will use the capital from the sales to get the company's Philadelphia television station, WGTW-TV, back on the air.Brunson sold WEBB and WIGO-AM radio in Atlanta for $3.6 million to Allied Media Inc. of Woodstock, Vt. WBMS-AM radio in Wilmington, N.C., was sold for $168,000 to a businessman in that market.

All three public radio stations in Baltimore showed substantial audience increases in the Arbitron figures for the winter of 1991.Classical music WBJC-FM (91.5) had 8,200 listeners in an average quarter hour, up from 5,000 in the fall of 1990; National Public Radio affiliate WJHU-FM (88.1) had 5,600, up from 3,800; and jazz and public affairs WEAA-FM (88.9) had 4,600, compared to 3,200.The three stations also showed increases in their weekly cumulative audiences -- the total number of area listeners who tuned into the stations at some point during the week.

Benjamin Wolfe, a longtime broadcast engineer who helped establish two local radio stations and design the three-antenna tower at Television Hill, died of heart failure Wednesday at Sinai Hospital. He was 83 and lived in Mount Washington.Erected in 1959, the tower, which resembles a candelabra and sits near Druid Hill Park, was the first of its kind, according to Arthur Honsell of Baltimore, a retired broadcast engineer and colleague of Mr. Wolfe's."Taking something like that from concept to reality is truly amazing.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission voted yesterday to more than double the number of radio stations that a single company may own.The commission also allowed a single owner to have as many as three AM and three FM stations in a single city.The action, approved 4-0 with one abstention, comes as the industry is enduring its worst recession in decades. FCC Chairman Alfred C. Sikes has argued that allowing greater consolidation will allow broadcasters to cut costs.Andrew C. Barrett, the only black on the commission, abstained.

CBS Thursday announced the launch of a national sports radio network that will include two stations in Baltimore and looks to seriously challenge ESPN dominance of the sports-talk airwaves. The CBS action, which includes Cumulus Media, another broadcasting giant, will make for an audience of about 10 million listeners when the network debuts Jan. 2. CBS Sports Radio will be able to draw on such resources as CBS Sports, CBS News and cbssports.com, making it one of the most impressive sources of sports information in broadcasting right off the bat. In Baltimore, CBS Sports will air 24/7 on WJZ-AM, while only certain elements of it will be carried on WJZ-FM (105.7 The Fan)

On May 17, The Sun reported Del. Patrick McDonough distributed a press release with the title "Black Youth Mobs Terrorize Baltimore on Holidays" and urged the governor to make the Inner Harbor area a "no-travel zone. " On WBAL and WCBM radio, McDonough said the same, but this time he also mentioned the public urination and defecation and property damage caused by white youth in the Canton and Fells Point area. On both radio stations, he also drew a delineation saying a majority of black youth are not involved and that these crimes are the actions of gangs and that when these gangs leave the Inner Harbor, they go into majority black areas and terrorize honest and law abiding citizens in those areas.

It's been a tough month for music fans, and the bad news hasn't slowed down. On Wednesday, we lost the Godfather of Go-Go and D.C. legend Chuck Brown to complications from sepsis. He was 75. Naturally, his loss was felt particularly hard in the Baltimore and D.C. areas. Local writer Al Shipley tweeted , "[O]n the drive home I heard Chuck Brown music on 5 different radio stations, including a Baltimore station and a rock station. " Read the Washington Post obituary by Chris Richards here . And today, Donna Summer lost her battle with cancer.

WTMD-FM, Towson University's radio station, is moving to downtown Towson. The change, talked about last fall, was formalized Tuesday when university officials signed a lease for an 8,000-square-foot space at Towson City Center, general manager Stephen Yasko said. The station's new home is a result of WTMD's growth since it changed formats a decade ago, and the university's own drive to carve out a niche in the downtown corridor. Along with the station, four centers belonging to the College of Health Professions signed leases at the mixed-use complex in January.

The state is kicking off a $150,000 campaign to advertise financing help for small businesses in Maryland. The state Department of Business and Economic Development said Tuesday that it will be running ads — online and on radio stations for 10 weeks — to spread the word that four of the state's financing programs still have money to extend after receiving $23 million in federal funding through the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The state, which has spent or earmarked about $1.3 million since getting the OK to start using the money last June, has until 2018 to allocate it all. The "Financing that Fits" campaign advertises the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority, which gives credit guarantees; the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority, which gives loan guarantees; the Maryland Venture Fund, which invests in startup companies; and Neighborhood Business Works, which provides gap financing.

Last Monday, one of the most famous sets of call letters in the history of Baltimore radio was resurrected on local airwaves. And so far, listeners are split about the new HFS. Broadcasting on 97.5-FM, the newest incarnation is patterned closely after the influential alternative rock station once found at 99.1 on the dial — until its abrupt switch to Latin pop station El Zol in 2005. "The music made popular by HFS has lived on long after the station went off the air," CBS Radio senior vice president Bob Philips said last week when announcing the new station, noting that the brand had been kept alive as a streaming Internet station over the past six years.

If you're looking for good music on the Internet, you don't have to look far. And you don't have to break any copyright laws.While the recording industry has been engaged in a noisy battle with pirates who use a technology called MP3 to compress popular album tracks and post them online, the World Wide Web is host to two additional sources of music that are perfectly legal and easy to find.The first is Internet radio, which allows traditional broadcasters and Web-only stations to transmit directly to your computer - regardless of your location and theirs.

Alfred E. Burk, retired general manager of WBAL radio and creator of the station's Kids Campaign, died yesterday of heart failure at his Timonium home. He was 83. For nearly 30 years, he was general manager of WBAL's AM and FM stations. He retired in 1984. Born in the Govans section of Baltimore and raised in living quarters next to his father's general merchandise store and post office at Long Green and Manor roads in Baltimore County, he was a 1936 graduate of Towson High School. He worked at the former Glenn L. Martin Co. in Middle River, making aircraft parts, before enlisting in the Navy in 1941.

Dorothy E. Brunson, who became the first African-American woman in the nation to own a radio station when she bought WEBB-AM in Baltimore, died Sunday of complications from ovarian cancer at Mercy Medical Center. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 72. "Thanks to the pioneering work of Ms. Brunson, the world of broadcast media was opened up to African-American entrepreneurs and business leaders," Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "Her vision and commitment to excellence at every level of the business led to her success and paved the way for others to find success in cities across America.

CBS radio is billing it as "the alternative rock music Baltimore grew up and the personalities who made it popular" returning to the airwaves starting at noon today with the debut of HFS at 97.5 FM on the local radio dial. Featured artists on the playlist will include:  Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, Incubus, and Green Day, according to the station's release. Station personalities will include: Tim Virgin, Gina Crash, Jenn Marino,Chris Emery, and Neci.  One  question is whether HFS will be going for the some of the same audience as WTMD-FM, the Towson Unibversity station?