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Former WKQX-FM (Q101)/Chicago PD Marc Young returns to Alternative KEDJ-FM (The Edge 103.9)/Phoenix as Program Director beginning in mid-July. He replaces Bruce St. James. Young previously served as The Edge's PD from 2004-2005. He joined Q101 as APD/MD from Rhythmic AC KMVA-FM (MOViN' 97.5)/Phoenix, where he was Assistant PD/afternoons.

Prior to joining MOViN', Young served as MD/morning co-host for KTEG-FM (104.7 The Edge)/Albuquerque and PD of then Active Rock KAHA-FM (Lava Rock)/Honolulu. (07-02-09)

In a filing with the FCC, Arbitron says the Commission has "absolutely no authority" to impose regulations on Arbitron's new Portable People Meter (PPM) technology that measures radio station listening habits. The ratings giant says Congress has considered "on multiple occasions" whether to put media audience measurement services under federal government regulation, and just as often has rejected doing so.

"The Commission itself has concluded that it lacks jurisdiction over services such as Arbitron," the company said in the filing. "There is no provision in the Communications Act of 1934 that grants such authority to the Commission, and the courts have repeatedly rebuffed attempts by the Commission to assert jurisdiction over specific kinds of communications-related activities that are not themselves addressed in the Act."

Arbitron said that the contents of its FCC filing would demonstrate not only the agency's lack of jurisdiction, but that the PPM service represents significant technological advancements over the decades-old diary system. Arbitron added that it is "actively and continuously seeking out suggestions for improvements in the PPM methodology."

Additionally, Arbitron pointed out that the radio industry is in danger of falling behind other media platforms, such as television, the Internet and personalized mobile audio delivery services (mp3/iPod). Even some forms of outdoor media are moving towards measuring their audiences using the same kind of near-passive, electronics-based methods that PPM uses.

The Arbitron filing also discussed the Media Rating Council's role after being formed some 40 years ago in response to Congressional hearings into media audience measurement services. Arbitron said its commercialization of the PPM service is both consistent with the MRC's Voluntary Code of Conduct and established industry practices by providers other than Arbitron.

When it comes to PPM, Arbitron claims that there is no consistent pattern of stations experiencing only losses in their diary-based market rankings or audience ratings. It points out that minority-targeted stations that have seen their market ranking, and/or their audience rating, fluctuate from the last diary-based report to more recent PPM-based reports, with some stations showing improvements, others staying about the same, and some showing drop-offs, but with variations from one PPM-report to the next.

Some stations that feature formats appealing to Hispanic and Black listeners have shown longer-term upward trends in their market rank and/or their audience ratings, says Arbitron, and some have not. "The facts do not support the proposition that PPM-based reports uniformly and categorically result in reductions in the reported listenership of stations that cater to minorities," the company concluded. (07-02-09)

In a filing with the FCC, the PPM Coalition says that because of PPM, Arbitron's new electronic measurement system, ratings for minority broadcasters in New York have fallen 40-60% since October. The PPMC claims that PPM has several fundamental problems leading to "flawed and unreliable sampling of minority and other audiences."

PPMC's filing also alleges that Arbitron's telephone-based sample includes only households with listed landline numbers. "Those with unlisted numbers, no telephones, and cell-phone-only users are excluded from the main sample," PPMC alleges. "Arbitron has deemed that address-based methodology too expensive" and has "rolled out the cheaper service that has repeatedly flunked accreditation."

The coalition also claims that Arbitron's separate cell-phone-only sample is too small and that the ratings company "drastically under-samples cell-phone-only households, which are disproportionately young and minority." 25% of Hispanics live in cell phone-only households, as do 21.4% of African Americans, and 41.5% of those aged 25-29. "Yet Arbitron's sample panel currently includes only 10% cell-phone-only users," PPMC maintains.

The filing also alleges that "Arbitron has proved unable to meet its own internal metrics for minority participation in its sample panels." For example, the filing says, "Arbitron recruited only 64% of the Black panelists it was seeking in Los Angeles in April and just 59% of the Black panelists it was seeking in Detroit."

In conclusion, PPMC says measurement as currently marketed by Arbitron is not "accurate or reliable." "Arbitron has violated the trust that the Commission, Congress and the broadcast industry have placed in it by deploying a new deeply flawed PPM methodology," said PPMC. (07-02-09)

It's been twenty years since lengendary 50kw WLS-AM/Chicago switched to its current Talk format. In celebration of "The Big 89 being Where Chicago Comes to Talk," the station is airing a 2-hour holiday special this weekend called "The Big Hosts of The Big 89." Hosted by Jeff Davis, the show will feature a series of one-on-one interviews with Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Don Wade & Roma and Roe Conn.

WLS Program Director Bob Shomper commented. "We are blessed to have one of the best talk lineups in the country on WLS! This special program will take a peek behind the curtains and provide our listeners with a unique and candid perspective form the best talk hosts heard in Chicago." (07-02-09)

Soft AC WRWM-FM (Warm 93.9)/Indianapolis flips to the stunt mode after 18 months in the format on Wednesday and will debut a new direction on July 3. According to an on-air teaser: "This is the sound of construction of a brand new radio station."

Cumulus Market Manager Chris Wheat told the Indianapolis Star that two staff members lost jobs in the transition, and one hire has been made in connection with the new format.

In current Arbitron ratings, the station ranked 21st among Indianapolis-area listeners ages 25 to 54. Soft-rock competitor WYXB-FM ranked ninth. (07-02-09)

Nearly one week after his death, radio airplay of Michael Jackson's music remains strong according to radio airplay monitoring firm Mediabase. While it has tapered off a bit, it is still dramatically stronger than it was prior to Jackson's heart attack on June 25. Airplay of Jackson's music is still more than four times what it was prior to his passing.

The most played Jackson song remains "Billie Jean," the #1 hit from his 1983 album "Thriller." The track has received more than 6,000 spins since last Thursday. While Friday, June 26, was clearly the largest day, on-air tributes continued over the weekend keeping Jackson well over 10,000 spins each day. (07-02-09)

Marty Gausvik is leaving Cumulus Media as Executive VP/CFO after 9 years with the company. He's exiting the Atlanta-based radio broadcaster to pursue other opportunities. Prior to joining Cumulus in 2000, he served in a similar role with Latin Communications. Before that, Gausvik was VP/Finance for Jacor until its merger with Clear Channel.

VP/Controller J.P. Hannan will assume Gausvik's previous duties on an interim basis while a replacement is sought. Previously, Hannan was CFO of Lincoln Financial Media's radio division. He's also served as a member of Regent Communications' board of directors.

Chairman/CEO Lew Dickey commented, "We appreciate Marty's contribution to company and wish him well in his future endeavors." (07-01-09)

Cleveland-based Tom Kent Radio Network adds longtime network radio veteran Phil Strider as VP/Affiliate Relations. Strider's experience as a broadcast executive spans over 30 years with stops at Jones Radio Networks as Regional Manager, and VP/Regional Operations Director for Metro Networks.

TKRN President Tom Kent commented, "To have someone of the caliber of Phil Strider join our ever growing team of excellent broadcast pros says one thing... the good ones always rise to the top and Phil is the cream of the crop! Phil is the Roy Hobbs of affiliate relations."

Strider added, "I have been in the business long enough to recognize a great show when I hear one, and Tom Kent delivers fun high energy, high quality personality radio on all three of his shows. It is a pleasure to be associated with the Tom Kent Radio Network." (07-01-09)

Arbitron announced Wednesday double digit gains in its Designated Delivery Index (DDI) sample quality metric for young adults age 18-34 in the first month of cell-phone-only sampling from 151 Spring 2009 diary markets. Arbitron's DDI metric gained 17 points versus the prior survey for Persons 18-34 in two-book markets and 11 points in four-book markets.

"Cell-phone-only sampling is a major step forward for diary markets and we are pleased it has helped produce double-digit growth in DDI for Persons 18-34 so far in the Spring 2009 survey," said Executive VP/Customer Solutions Bob Henrick. "The solid gains in black and Hispanic are also very encouraging. Arbitron remains highly committed to raising the bar on diary market sample quality with our program of continuous improvement."

Arbitron introduced CPO sampling in 151 diary markets with its Spring, 2009 survey to measure people who have "cut the cord" and can not be reached by landline. Looking at sample quality metrics and listening effects for April, the first month of its three-month radio listening survey, there were nearly 6,000 diaries from CPO households.

In four-book markets, the Persons 18-34 Designated Delivery Index (DDI) averaged 70.7 in April, a gain of eleven points versus the Winter 2009 survey. In two-book markets, the increase for Persons 18-34 was even larger moving up to an average DDI of 73.1 in April equaling a seventeen point gain versus the Fall 2008 survey.

Persons 18-54 also showed improvement. Among the four-book markets, the DDI for Persons 18-54 gained two points in April (average of 86.3) compared with the Winter 2009 survey and in the two-book markets the Persons 18-54 DDI for April (average of 93.2) was eleven points higher than the Fall 2008 survey.

The DDI for Black Persons 12+ remained stable at an average of roughly 93 among the 20 four-book markets with black sample controls. However, the DDI for Black Persons 12+ gained 7 points in April to an average of 92.9 compared with the Fall, 2008 survey among the twenty-six two-book markets with black sample controls.

For Hispanic Persons 12+, the DDI gained 16.5 points in April (average of 78.2) compared with the Winter 2009 survey among the eleven four-book markets with Hispanic sample controls. Among the 25 two-book markets with Hispanic sample controls, the Hispanic DDI improved 4.4 points (average of 74.1) versus the prior Fall, 2008 survey.

Among Persons 12+, seven of twelve formats had no change in AQH rating (Monday-Sunday 6am-midnight) when comparing the format rating for all (cell-phone-only with landline households) versus the rating for landline only households. The seven formats with no change in 12+ AQH rating were Country, AC, Religious, Oldies, Alternative, Spanish and Smooth Jazz.

Four formats had a one-tenth of an AQH rating gain including Rock, CHR, Urban and Adult Hits. The changes represent a 10% increase for Rock, 12.5% change for CHR, 14% for Urban and 50% gain for Adult Hits. News/Talk had a one-tenth rating point decline representing a 4.3% change among persons 12+.

The format rating for Alternative and Adult Contemporary gained among persons 18-24 and 25-34 while CHR and Oldies increased among 35-54 when cell-phone-only was added to Landline. The format rating for News/Talk and Spanish declined by one-tenth of a point among persons 18-34. (07-01-09)

Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin has received a $250,000 per-year raise in his paycheck, boosting his salary to $1.5 million annually. Additionally, he inked a contract extension through December 31, 2012, according to a filing with the SEC. Karmazin will also receive an option to purchase 120 million shares of its common stock at 43 cents per share (collectively $51.6 million).

The option will vest in equal installments on December 31, 2010, December 31, 2011, June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2012. SIRI is back up to 44 cents after a low of 13 cents four months ago. (07-01-09)

In a filing with the FCC, the Media Rating Council (MRC) said in a 73-page document that the FCC is not qualified to handle a review of Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) services. MRC CEO George Ivie says in the filing that it would be "difficult if not impossible" for any other agency to complete a probe or review.

According to Ivie, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was confident in its processes in 2005, while the Department of Justice (DOJ) approved MRC's code of conduct in April by reaffirming the Council's mission and role when it comes to overseeing measurement services. (07-01-09)

News/Talk WIXC-AM/Melbourne, aka "The Space Coast's Big Talker," is now available on any mobile phone, as is co-owned News/Talk WWBA-AM/Tampa. Both deals are through partnerships with AudioNow. Mobile phone listeners simply call a pre-determined number. No smart phones, downloads, or data plans are required as any cell phone will work.

"Listening to radio on mobile phones needs to be as simple and reliable as turning on a radio and that is what distinguishes our technology from the rest of the industry," said Elan Blutinger, a Managing Director of AudioNow. "Why download radio when you can dial it direct?"

"As the Space Coast's most innovative talk radio station, 1060 WIXC is focused on the future, looking for ways to give our listeners access to our programming on their mobile phones," said Genesis CEO Bruce Maduri, the owner of both WIXC and WWBA. "News Talk 820 is always looking for ways to reach our listeners in a mobile world by making it easier to tune into their favorite shows, at any time," he added. (07-01-09)

''The Scott Van Pelt Show'' will debut on ESPN Radio beginning July 6 from weekdays from 2-4pm ET. The program will originate from a television studio within ESPN's Digital Center for its 3-4pm simulcast on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Joined by Ryen Russillo, Scott Van Pelt replaces Tirico & Van Pelt in radio's afternoon time slot.

The show will adopt the atmosphere of two pals talking sports, sharing their opinions and personalities with listeners and viewers who will be encouraged to share calls, e-mails and photos, which will be displayed on the show's page on ESPNRadio.com.

Van Pelt joined ESPN from The Golf Channel (1994-2000) in Spring, 2001 as the network's lead professional golf reporter, and has become one of SportCenter's primary anchors. He will continue to anchor the 11pm SportsCenter four nights a week. (07-01-09)

Metro Traffic/New York inks three new Citadel stations to join its affiliate lineup in Dallas-Fort Worth: News/Talk WBAP-AM, Country KSCS-FM and Oldies KPMZ-FM. Metro Traffic will provide on-air and online traffic reports to improve daily commutes for the stations' listeners.

Metro Traffic delivers traffic and/or news content to forty other Dallas-area radio outlets spanning every format, including CBS Radio's KRLD-AM, KLUV-FM and KMVK-FM; Cumulus Media's KCTK-AM; Service Broadcasting's KKDA-FM; Radio One's KRNB-FM; and Salem Communications' KLTY-FM, among others.

"With these new Citadel stations in our lineup, Metro Traffic delivers the most accurate traffic services in the marketplace to the best stations in the market." said Executive VP National Affiliate Sales Mike Haake. "From the #1 Dallas Country station (KSCS-AM), to the city's top News/Talkers (WBAP-AM and KRLD-AM), Metro Traffic is the clear leader in media traffic services for the Dallas/Fort Worth area." (07-01-09)

The Miami/Dade County board of county commissioners has passed a resolution urging Congress, as well as Florida legislators and the State Attorney General to investigate Arbitron's PPM ratings service. The board is alleging that PPM under-represents minority radio listeners and that it has "methodological flaws."

The resolution also alleges that PPM includes "serious shortcomings in the accuracy and reliability of the system given its inadequate representation of Hispanic, African-American and other minority listeners." The resolution claims that PPM "significantly undercounts" listening habits of minority consumers, and "does not present a valid and fair representation of the diversity of radio markets in different states."

Additionally, the board is asking Florida's Attorney General to investigate the use of the PPM system in the state to determine whether it is being improved and corrected under the benchmarks established when Arbitron settled with the Attorneys General in New York, New Jersey and Maryland.

On the other side of the fence, Entercom CEO David Field has been a strong proponet of the PPM system. In a letter to the FCC, he describes the service the "best electronic radio audience measurement system currently on the market." He also noted that radio would be at a great disadvantage to other measured media without electronic measurement. (06-30-09)

The Library of American Broadcasting will present its annual Giants Of Broadcasting on October 1 in New York. Hosting the event is Charles Osgood. This year's inductees include Westwood One founder/Chairman Norman J. Pattiz (pictured), and former RTNDA chair Barbara Cochran joining CBS News' Katie Couric, Ken Burns, Dr. Woo Paik and Christopher J. Rohrs. Posthumous honorees include Bea Arthur and Ed McMahon. (06-30-09)

Lincoln Financial Media/Denver Director of Sales Steve Price is named Station Manager for Sports KKFN-FM (104.3 The Fan) and Sports KEPN-AM (ESPN Radio 1600) and Sales Manager of Oldies KRWZ-AM (Cruisin' Oldies 950). Meanwhile, Rhythmic CHR KQKS-FM (KS 107.5) LSM Mark Sexton is upped to GSM of KQKS, while Country KYGO-FM Local Sales Manager Barnes Goutermout is elevated to General Sales Manager. (06-30-09)

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