radio stations

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Taliban Take Radio Station Run by Women Off the Air

Officials accuse the nation's only station operated by women of playing music

(Newser) - A women-run radio station in Afghanistan's northeast has been shut down for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan, a Taliban official said Saturday. Sadai Banowan, which means "women's voice" in Dari, is Afghanistan's only station operated by women. It launched 10 years ago and...

The Blows Are Coming Fast for Morgan Wallen After Racial Slur

Morgan Wallen recorded using racial slur over the weekend

(Newser) - Hundreds of radio stations have dropped one of country music's biggest stars after he was recorded using a racial slur over the weekend, and now his label has suspended him. TMZ has the video, filmed by one of Morgan Wallen's Nashville neighbors, in which the singer arrives home...

Radio Station Sorry for Killing Off Queen, 99 Others

Obituaries mistakenly published during RFI website work

(Newser) - Dozens of political leaders, cultural figures, and celebrities did not die en masse on Monday, though anyone perusing the website of Radio France Internationale might have thought otherwise. Obituaries for roughly 100 people were mistakenly published—and some automatically picked up by partner sites such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN—...

NPR Says Radio Ratings Have Dived During Pandemic

Networks says COVID has accelerated changes

(Newser) - With people stuck at home for months on end and hungry for news, this could have been a golden time for radio—but NPR ratings took a dive this spring as the pandemic stopped people from commuting. Ratings for most of its shows are down by around a quarter year-on-year,...

Trump Gets an Unusual Thank You From 3 Radio Stations

Florida FM stations will air clips of his speeches every hour until the 2020 election

(Newser) - Gulf Coast Media's radio stations in Bay County and Panama City Beach, Fla., got ravaged during Hurricane Michael last fall. The company's senior management really appreciates how President Trump has stepped up to the plate since; he appeared last Wednesday in Panama City Beach and promised hundreds of...

Popular Holiday Song Cut in #MeToo Era

Cleveland's WDOK says 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' is 'inappropriate'

(Newser) - A Cleveland radio station says it has stopped playing "Baby, It's Cold Outside" after listeners said the song heard on countless holiday playlists is inappropriate. They're certainly not the first to question the song's undertones and criticize the duet, in which one singer tries to persuade...

Annie Lennox Has 'Potential' as Artist, per LA Radio Station

Singer posts weird letter she received telling her she has chance to be a star

(Newser) - What sweet dreams are really made of: receiving a letter from a radio station informing you that you might just have what it takes to become a big star. Of course, when the recipient of such a letter is ex-Eurythmics singer and four-time Grammy winner Annie Lennox, that kind of...

For 2 Years, PSA Told How to Hide Child Porn

Arizona's KAVV ends announcement after threats

(Newser) - An oldies country music radio station serving a rural Arizona area that aired a public service announcement for two years telling people how to hide potential evidence in child pornography cases has stopped doing so after advertisers received threats, the station's owner says. Paul Lotsof, owner of KAVV-FM in...

Foreigners Allowed to Buy US Radio Stations for First Time

Australian couple now owns 29 stations in 3 states

(Newser) - An Australian couple now based in Alaska has bought more than two dozen radio stations in three states, marking the first time federal regulators have allowed full foreign ownership of US radio stations. The FCC recently approved a request by Richard and Sharon Burns through their company Frontier Media to...

Alaska Station Has Played Album Nonstop Since June

Bill Withers' 1971 album 'Just As I Am' has been looped 24/7

(Newser) - When Anchorage-based FM radio station KONR was born in 2012, those who tuned in were treated to forest sounds while programming got sorted out. And now, with money dry and volunteers short, the station has run out of programming and resorted to playing the 1971 Bill Withers album Just As ...

Radio Station Fined $16M For Fatal Contest

Mom died of water intoxication in effort to win Wii for her kids

(Newser) - A Sacramento radio station has been ordered to pay $16 million to the family of a woman who died during its "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest. The woman, who was trying to win the game console for her three children, died of water intoxication after taking part...

Pledge Boom Helps Public Stations Ride Out Recession

Loyal public help keep stations going as sponsorships, government funding vanish

(Newser) - Loyal viewers and listeners have stepped up to help their local public broadcasters make it through the recession, the Washington Post reports. Public stations say their appeals to the public are meeting a warm response despite the recession, with donations staying steady and, at some stations, even rising to record...

Imus in Talks With Fox Business

(Newser) - Don Imus is negotiating with Fox Business to broadcast a video simulcast of his morning talk show, the Los Angeles Times reports. Imus had a simulcast deal with MSNBC when his radio show was on CBS, before he referred to the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos....

Fading Radio, Recording Outfits Clash Over Royalties

(Newser) - The recording industry and radio-station owners are clashing in Washington over the issue of royalties, Bloomberg reports. Both sides have spent tens of millions on lobbying, and contributed to the campaigns of legislators of both parties. At present, radio stations pay royalties to songwriters and publishers, not artists. “This...

Blago's New Gig: Talk Radio

Disgraced governor to host local Chicago broadcast

(Newser) - Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has a new temp job—as a radio talk show host. WLS-AM program director Bob Shomper says Blagojevich will be on the air on the Chicago station tomorrow morning, taking calls from listeners, telling stories, and talking with guests. Shomper says it's a one-time deal...

Brit Spells Trouble on 'If U Seek Amy'

Racy double meaning in If U Seek Amy could get it B-A-N-N-E-D

(Newser) - Bleeping out cuss words is all but mundane for radio stations, but Britney Spears' third Circus single, If U Seek Amy, (say it fast, boys and girls) has them a bit perplexed on how to censor. Nice try, Brit, but most DJs won't be allowed to play it, MTV reports....

NPR Prez Abruptly Resigns
NPR Prez Abruptly Resigns 
Mar 7, 2008 3:15 AM CST

NPR Prez Abruptly Resigns

Board turned off by his new-media expansion plans

(Newser) - National Public Radio chief executive Ken Stern stepped down yesterday amid increasing static from the board about his ambitious plans for the network, reports the Washington Post. Stern oversaw rapid expansion that boosted revenue from $65 million to $200 million since joining NPR in 1999, and made the organization into...

Christmas Carol Arms Race Hits Chicago Radio

Stations compete to kick off holiday programming earlier and earlier

(Newser) - Apparently not content to subject listeners to "The Little Drummer Boy" in the traditional Thanksgiving-to-Christmas window, two Chicago radio stations switched to the all-fa-la-la-la-la, all-the-time holiday format today. The move is both the latest volley in a hot rivalry and a repeat of a strategy that paid off in...

XM, Sirius Say Post-Merger Prices Will Fall

Satellite-radio giants bid to overcome resistance with new subscription plans

(Newser) - In an attempt to lower resistance to their proposed merger, satellite radio providers Sirius and XM unveiled new pricing plans today that they say will cut subscription prices by 46%. The plans, which start at $6.99 as opposed to the current $12.95 per month standard price, also allow...

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