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Radio

Veteran WCBS-AM Sports Anchor Gary Stanley Exits the Station, Total Traffic

His voice has been a mainstay on WCBS 880 since the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994. Gary Stanley has left his full-time sportscasting role with WCBS, produced by Total Traffic in New Jersey.

FishbowlNY has obtained the email that was sent to staffers yesterday.

The terse statement gave only two lines about Stanley.

“I regret to share with you that Gary Stanley is no longer with the company.  We appreciate Gary’s years of service very much and wish him only the best.”

The email adds the promotion of Tom Stephens to full-time on the WCBS sports schedule.

FishbowlNY attempted to reach Total Traffic for confirmation.

Stanley’s time on WCBS predates Shadow (now Clear Channel’s Total Traffic) with four years working directly for the All-Newser.

Since 1985, Stanley has been the voice of Iona Basketball radio play-by-play.

He graduated from Fordham University in the mid 1970s with a B.A. in Communications.

Talking Oscars with Longtime Movie Critic Jeffrey Lyons

Jeffrey Lyons is back on WCBS 880 with his popular movie review segment, the nationally heard Lyons Den Radio.

Lyons, known for more than 40 years of his insightful cinematic critiques and entertaining interviews, worked at 880 from 1975 to 1994. He was also a regular reviewer on WPIX from 1970 to 1991.

Lyons took his local voice national with PBS’ Sneak Previews, which had a 14-year run. Most recently, Lyons brought the “Den” to WNBC. His 13-year run included a syndicated Reel Talk that he created.

With the Oscars being polished up for Sunday’s 85th annual event, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to speak to Lyons and pick his brain about the contenders and possible surprises.

“My upset pick is Hugh Jackman for Best Actor for Les Mis,” Lyons tells FishbowlNY. “Jackman gave one of the great performances I’ve ever seen.”

He expects Daniel Day-Lewis, though, will nab his record-setting third Best Actor for his portrayal of America’s 16th president.

The buzz is building for Steven Spielberg, director of Lincoln.

“I think he’s going to win. He has an Oscar pedigree,” Lyons says. “He hasn’t won enough to suit me. He’s the greatest filmmaker of our time … I’m glad to be alive in the Steven Spielberg era.”

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WCBS 880 and WNET Among Writers Guild Award Winners

The final award ceremony before Sunday night’s Academy Awards handed out trophies for the best writers in the country. At the top of the Writers Guild winners’ list was Oscar favorite Argo and  for the screenplay categories.

But there was a local feel Saturday night. WCBS 880 tech segment Dishin Digital was recognized for writer Robert Hawley. The feature is hosted by Paul Murnane.

On the TV side, PBS’ Channel 13/WNET was honored, or specifically Bill Moyers, for the analysis, feature, or commentary section. His piece The Ghost of Joe McCarthy won the award for Moyers and Michael Winship.

Radio Ratings Status Quo: WLTW Remains Number One Overall

The holidays are over for all except WLTW! The Clear Channel big shot is still the top station overall in New York. Lite-FM blasted the competition in the annual Christmas book with an 11.3.

In January, it was a “subdued” appearance by WLTW with a 7.2 in the Arbitron ratings.

WCBS-FM maintained its number two slot with a 6.2.

WBLS was third at 5.7.

WHTZ/Z100 leaped .8 to 5.4.

WINS saw a .3 improvement to 4.5, tying with Spanish station WSKQ.

Related: FishbowlNY, WBLS’ Dillard Excited by Ratings Surge

WFAN-FM had a healthy .6 increase to 3.7. By contrast, ESPN’s WEPN slipped to 1.6.

Among talk stations, Cumulus’ WABC gained .5 to 2.7. Clear Channel’s newest property WOR settled for 1.3, up .2.

More from the January ratings after the jump

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(VIDEO) Hot 97′s Rosenberg Sorry if Nicki Minaj ‘Felt Bad’ About His Summer Jam Comments

Many people got acquainted with Peter Rosenberg, one part of the Cipha Sounds and Rosenberg Hot 97/WQHT morning show, after a controversial turn last summer with Nicki Minaj.

But there’s much more to the man.

Rosenberg, originally from the Washington, D.C. suburbs, isn’t just a hip hop guru, he’s a fan of broadcasting. Right from his Twitter bio, he pays homage to one of his idols, calling himself the ”Jewish Johnny Carson.” He says the title was self-imposed after the PBS documentary on Carson aired last year.

“I’ve always pursued things that I dreamed of doing,” Rosenberg tells FishbowlNY. “I dreamed of being like Funkmaster Flex and all the great jocks who were on Hot 97, and the other thing I’ve dreamed about doing is being a late night host.”

Rosenberg has branched into television with numerous projects for MTV. But as he told FishbowlNY in the video clip, Rosenberg has always been fascinated by hip hop.

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Veteran Radio Executive Maire Mason Joins Cumulus New York

Cumulus has yet to hire an air staff at the brand new NASH FM. But management is making strides toward the future.

Maire Mason has been named general sales manager of Cumulus New York. The former general manager of Oldies giant WCBS-FM, Mason has more than 20 years in industry with sales management experience. Most recently, she headed the sales department at Merlin Media’s now defunct FM News.

But there were definitely good times for Mason.

She was part of a CBS Radio team that won six Marconi Awards, and was named twice to the Radio Ink list of Most Influential Women in Radio.

The Cumulus New York stations are 77 WABC, WPLJ, and upstart NASH FM 94.7 Country format.

“I am enormously excited about building the NASH sales team and developing long-lasting relationships with our advertising partners,” Mason said in a statement. “The country format exudes fun, listener involvement, and total backing by their artist, how can you not get involved?”

WOR Longtime Chief Engineer Leaves, Hopes Station Retains ‘Hometown Feel’

The latest change at WOR involves a key off-air talent. As chief engineer, Tom Ray had his hand in every technical aspect of WOR and the WOR Radio Network since joining the station more than 15 years ago.

Ray tells FishbowlNY that it was solely his decision to walk away. “I’ve been thinking of leaving for a while now, not anything against Buckley or the radio station,”

Ray does have thoughts about his now-former home with Clear Channel. “The station had a hometown feel,” Ray cautions. “I hope it’s going to retain its hometown feel because it’s something that’s different in the market with all the big stations.”

NASH FM Ready to Give Back to Listeners with Three-Night Concert at Roseland

Time for the rewards! The overwhelmingly positive response to last month’s Country debut at Cumulus’ NASH FM 94.7 is leading to a three-night concert next week at the famed Roseland Ballroom.

Country Music Awards Entertainer of the Year Blake Shelton is among the headliners at NASH Bash that includes Sara Evans and Lady Antebellum.

“The response to the launching of New York City’s only Country radio station last month has been amazing and we’re excited about this opportunity to let our listeners celebrate with top Country acts as we roll out NASH nationwide,” Lew Dickey, Cumulus CEO, said in a statement.

Tickets for the three concerts are not for sale. The only way to win is by tuning to NASH FM 94.7 for details.

The full schedule of artists is listed after the jump.

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Yankees Broadcasters’ Sterling and Waldman Return for Another Season on WCBS

It is high, it is far, it is gone. Well not just yet. The ink is drying on the contracts that keep John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman as the Yankees radio voices for 2013 on WCBS.

This could be a “lame duck” season for the Yankees broadcasters. It’s the second season that the team signed a one-year deal with WCBS. He has called every inning since joining the Yankees’ booth in 1989. Waldman teamed with Sterling in 2005.

There has been speculation that ESPN is going to be a major player for the radio package in ’14, now that the network moved to the highly coveted 98.7 FM. Although the signal, especially at night, is not as strong as what 880 offers on the AM dial.

Sister station WFAN could lose its rights to the Mets if CBS Sports Radio takes over the famous frequency– 660.

But for now, it’s status quo, even though it was a fait accompli when the Yankees in August signed up for this year on WCBS.

“They were expected to return and they are,” WCBS news director, Tim Scheld, tells FishbowlNY about the official announcement. “They will be headed to Tampa in days.”
Photo credit: bronxbanterblog.com

(VIDEO) Sportscaster Howie Rose Wants to Call ‘Every Last Hockey Game of My Career’ for Islanders

Whether it’s the Mets on WFAN, or the Islanders on MSG, Howie Rose is one of New York’s busiest play-by-play voices on radio and television, if not the best. FishbowlNY caught up with Rose Tuesday, first on the phone, then at the Nassau Coliseum (see video clip below discussing the future of WFAN 660 and the Mets).

His 2013 started out a bit rocky with the latest NHL lockout. The abbreviated season started January 19. But Rose says the blueprint was in place.

“Probably everybody’s design from the beginning including the NHL’s [was] once the lockout ended everybody was going to hit the ground running,” Rose tells FishbowlNY.  “I think it was instructive that there had been two previous lockouts.”

The first lockout in 1994-95 mirrored this season with 48 games played.

“The league kind of pounded its chest and they had this ‘Game On’ slogan. They made all these references to being back, and really drawing attention to the fact that they were away,” Rose says.

However, Rose, the lead Islanders voice since 1995, says the league made an error in judgment at the start of the 2005-06 season.

“When they came back from the full-season lockout they made a huge mistake, which they thankfully did not duplicate this time by putting that Thank you, fans on the ice,” Rose admits. “Because it just came off as disingenuous. Fans didn’t feel that they were thought of one iota by either the owners or the players.”

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