Radio

Sirius XM Radio announced yesterday that former talk show host and explosive "View" co-host Rosie O'Donnell will be hosting her own daily morning show on satellite radio come this fall.

The show, called "Rosie Radio," will be a two-hour weekday talk show featuring Rosie's unique take on the world -- "an eclectic mix of humor, pop culture and serious conversation," the satellite radio network said.

"Rosie Radio" will also have "an ensemble feel" thanks to a variety of guests who will be sitting in to talk with Rosie, including celebrities and average Joes. We doubt that Rosie's former "View" co-hosts Elisabeth Hasselbeck or Barbara Walters will be among the guests who join in the fun, although that would make for great ratings.

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This morning, NPR debuted a new segment, Open Mic, on its "Morning Edition" show.

The premiere of the special series featured designer Jonathan Adler and his husband, Simon Doonan, who serves as creative director for high end department store Barneys. The couple took over the microphone for the seven-minute segment and interviewed each other about their fathers, in a kind of celebration of Father's Day this weekend.

"Simon and I both have lost our fathers and we thought it was a great opportunity to reflect on what they meant to us and especially what they meant to us in terms of creativity and being gay and all that stuff," said Adler (pictured at left with Doonan).

Later this month, the Open Mic will be taken over by "In the Heights" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Tony-winning Broadway composer and performer will talk about how songs are written with composer John Kander, who won a Tony this year for the musical "Next to Normal."

And next month, Open Mic will feature author Neil Gaiman, who will discuss audiobooks.

Just last week, public radio station WNYC laid off four staffers and eliminated 11 other jobs in order to "meet [its] financial targets." But yesterday, the station posted ads for four new jobs. How can this be?

A closer look at the jobs reveals that two of them -- manager of development and major gifts research assistant -- will be heavily involved in fundraising, something the station desperately needs. The other two jobs are assistant producer positions at two WNYC shows. Although the station has been cutting back, these seems like essential positions that need to be filled, no matter the financial consequences.

An official statement from the station confirms our suspicions:

"The open positions at WNYC are not among those eliminated due to financial constraints, and the need will remain to fill positions that are vacated for other reasons."

Nielsen Co. has shuttered weekly radio and recording industry newspaper Radio & Records, a company spokesperson confirmed this morning.

A report about the pub's closure written by R&R Washington bureau chief Jeffrey Yorke was picked up by a few publications, including The Hollywood Reporter, which is also owned by Nielsen.

According to Yorke's account, publisher Howard Appelbaum called a "Town Hall Meeting" for R&R staff across the country, where he "told employees that it was a 'tough decision' but that the magazine's 'macro did not work' in this economic climate." Yorke reported that all jobs had been eliminated and that some of R&R's coverage would be moved over to Nielsen-owned Billboard. (Update: Billboard will run the radio airplay charts that R&R used to publish, but none of the editorial that the pub would have covered.)

Nielsen spokesperson Gary Holmes told FishbowlNY that less than 30 jobs had been eliminated. Those positions are "scattered around the country" with a majority in Los Angeles. R&R's current issue is the pub's last, Holmes said.

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Like almost every media outlet today, public radio station WNYC is facing tough times -- as we reported yesterday it is now cutting 4 employees and eliminating eleven other unfilled positions. So it is with high hopes that the WNYC board has elected Herb Scannell chair of the station's board of trustees.

Scannell seems like a wise choice to help lead WNYC into the future of media; he is currently chairman of Next New Networks, an independent producer of online television networks. (You may know it as the home of web celeb Julia Allison's "TMI Weekly" or the company that picked up Obama Girl creators BarelyPolitical.com.) He also previously served as vice chair of MTV Networks and president of Nickelodeon before co-founding Next New Networks in 2006, and he brings 25 years of media experience to his role at WNYC.

"As the models of traditional journalism are radically altered by the economy and the fast-paced demands of the online world, public radio has been able to retain its journalistic values while embracing new platforms and expanding its reach," NYC president Laura Walker said in a statement yesterday. "We're honored to have Herb, with his invaluable digital experience, at the helm during a time of rapid change and tremendous possibilities."

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We just learned that New York Public radio station WNYC has laid off four staffers and eliminated 11 unfilled positions. The station's newsroom reported the following:

"Like other non-profits and cultural institutions, WNYC has been impacted by the economic downturn and has seen revenues decline, primarily in underwriting. Unfortunately, despite significant cuts to our operating expenses, we still must eliminate some positions in order to meet our financial targets. As of today, we are laying off 4 people and eliminating 11 unfilled positions from across the organization."

Senior staff are also taking a 5 percent cut in total compensation.

If you know who was among those let go or if you have any other information please leave us a note in the comments or send us an email.

Earlier: Possible Layoffs At WNYC

Air America Media announced this week that it is launching its own in-house network sales division, which will represent all of the company's shows and products -- including radio, video and online content -- directly to media agencies and buyers.

The new business structure means Air America is taking over work once done by Westwood One radio network to create direct relationships with advertising agencies in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, Air America Media CEO Bennett Zier told FishbowlNY. Previously, Air America dealt with some advertisers directly but let Westwood One handle relationships with agencies.

"Agencies are sophisticated in their planning and their creative approach in making strategies for their clients, which will hopefully become our clients," Zier said. "Because Air America is a particular type of company, and a left of center company, there are certain companies that want to advertise with us, and we want to be able to facilitate that and work with them more directly."

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Multiple sources have told us that senior staffers at New York public radio station WNYC will be taking a 5% pay cut as the station faces decreased underwriting revenues and a budget deficit.

Publicists for WNYC refused to comment on the pay cut, but confirmed that the station is considering laying off up to seven employees (which we told you about last week).

"Like most non-profits and cultural institutions, WNYC has been impacted by the economic downturn and has seen revenues decline, primarily in underwriting," WNYC Director of Publicity Jennifer Houlihan said in a statement. "We have significantly cut back on our operating expenses, but unfortunately must still consider the possibility of laying off up to seven of the 219 current employees. We expect to make a final determination in the coming weeks."

We have gotten conflicting information about how much WNYC's deficit will be for next year, although the New York Times reported last month that underwriting revenues were 25% below projections for this year. If you have any info, put it in the anonymous tip box at right or email us.

Earlier: Possible Layoffs At WNYC

Daily Intel has reported that New York public radio station WNYC sent out emails to staff yesterday announcing their intention to eliminate eleven unfilled and seven and a half filled positions -- all a mix of union and non-union jobs.

Calls to WNYC's publicist have not been returned, but if you have any info, email us or leave us a tip in the anonymous tip box at right. We'll update if any information becomes available.

Related: WNYC Debuts Live Broadcasts in The Greene Space With Lou Reed Concert

Photo credit: Scott Ellison Smith

On Tuesday afternoon, we were lucky enough to catch a live performance of Soundcheck with John Schaefer at WNYC's new downtown performance space, The Greene Space. The show -- featuring a discussion between the host, Santi "Santigold" White, Lou Reed, and Mary Rowell from the string quartet Ethel -- and performances from the latter two artists -- was the first live broadcast in the room's history. It kicked off a 10-day festival celebrating the new venue, which got a nice write-up in The New York Times last week. Additional live radio shows in the near future include The Brian Lehrer Show (with guest Paul Krugman) and The Leonard Lopate Show.

The Greene Space, which is located at street level on the corner of Varick and Charlton Sts., is a multimedia space that includes video cameras, LCD screens, and room for a live audience. Programs can be streamed live on the Web, as well as shown via video feed.

During the discussion portion -- you can hear the audio on WNYC's Web site -- the host and guests debated whether the downtown art scene was dead. All agreed that there were a couple places in Manhattan where the art scene is still alive (notably The Stone on Avenue C), but most of it has moved to Brooklyn.

At one point, Schaefer posited that this wasn't a new occurrence. "Didn't the Village Voice declare it dead in like 1978?," he asked. Reed, who was appropriately sporting a Coney Island t-shirt, drew laughs with his answer: "They can't even sell the Village Voice. Who cares what they say? That's why they have to give it away."

To end the show, Reed played his song, "Juliet Had Romeo." He seemed to take a punk rocker's glee in using a couple of choice four-letter words. WNYC's producers used the delay to blip them. Everyone went home happy.

Photo credit: Matthew Arnold