News Bites for June 23...
...Audacy sports station WIP Philadelphia's Angelo Cataldi reflects on his more-than-three-decades as morning host on the latest edition of “The Press Box” podcast. Cataldi and “Press Box” host Bryan Curtis discuss the transition from print journalism to radio, the format and schedule behind each show, how to grow an audience while keeping your fan base, WIP's impact on Philadelphia, and Cataldi's upcoming retirement later this year.
...Another TV sitcom about radio? Former “Full House” and “Fuller House” star Dave Coulier is hoping for some “WKRP in Cincinnati”-style magic with “Live+Local,” where he plays a veteran talk host on a fictitious Christian station. The first two shows of the six-episode series produced by AFFIRM Originals will be made available exclusively on PureFlix July 7, with a new episode airing every Thursday. "'Live+Local' is a love letter to all the local morning radio shows I've started my day with,” the show's creator Dan Merchant says. “There is just something so encouraging about waking up to these eccentric voices so full of personality and life so early in the day."
...Audacy modern/alternative rock “104.3 The Shark” WSFS, and Marc Hochman, co-host of Audacy sports stations WQAM and “790 The Ticket” WAXY's “Hochman & Crowder” show, have been named “Best Radio Station” and “Best Talk Radio Personality” in Miami New Times' “Best of Miami Arts and Entertainment” awards for 2022. “Seven years in, The Shark has become a Miami rock mainstay, with weekly shindigs like Emo Nite and Alternalido (Latin jams) on Sundays and lovable weekday deejays like Ashley O and Dallas making miserable South Florida traffic (almost) bearable,” the New Times column says. About Hochman, the awards column calls him “the LeBron James of sports radio: he makes everyone around him better.”
...To reflect their unified mission, Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS have rebranded to Vermont Public. “Our new name pays homage to our past while signaling a new mission for the future,” President and CEO Scott Finn said in the announcement. “Across TV, radio, and digital platforms, we will engage a broader and more diverse audience, through stories that bring our community together.” During the past year, the pubcaster says it conducted research with the public, staff, and its board of directors to better understand the needs, perceptions, opportunities, and challenges for public media in Vermont. The input informed its mission and brand development. A newly-recruited Vermont Public Community Forum, a group of volunteers that advises the organization about content and programming, is said to be the most diverse to date based on gender, neurodiversity, age, physical abilities, race, ethnicity, geography, personal interests, and political beliefs. “Our core audience will continue to see and hear all the things they love,” said Marguerite Dibble, the incoming board chair. “And as the needs of our community evolve, and the media landscape shifts, we want to broaden access for all voices to participate, from every corner of our unique state.”