Vicki Ochoa has joined Texas Country 99.5 The Wolf in Dallas for an evening show branded as “Nights Live with Vicki Ochoa.”
According to the station website, Ochoa boasts over a decade in media. Including “celebrity interviews from Kendrick Lamar to John Travolta, red carpets, and Billboard Music Awards radio row.”
Previous radio stops include Hot 93.3, New Country 96.3, K104 Dallas and Now 100.5 Sacramento.
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Erick Erickson is adding to his already heavy plate of content with a new afternoon podcast focused on trending news stories.
Erickson — who hosts a nationally syndicated radio show based at 95.5 WSB in Atlanta — has debuted 4 Things to Know This Afternoon.
A description for the program says it, “delivers smart analysis of the four biggest headlines shaping the nation and the world in less than ten minutes. From national security to culture, economics to politics, Erick distills the noise into clarity — cutting through the spin with conviction, context, and a clear-eyed view of where things stand.”
The program will be available in podcast form on all major platforms. It will also be distributed in video versions on YouTube and Spotify.
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Clint Dempsey, former forward for the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team, is joining the Men in Blazers Media Network under a multiyear deal as the lead analyst and voice for USMNT coverage. Dempsey officially announced his move to the network on an appearance with The Pat McAfee Show, divulging his excitement to begin the The Deuce podcast. The new program, which is launching on Saturday, June 7, takes place just over a year before the FIFA World Cup takes place across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“I’m happy to be joining Men in Blazers and the platform they’ve created and Rog,” Dempsey said during his appearance with McAfee. “The energy he brings to the game, and yeah, covering the U.S. as they have these friendlies go into the Gold Cup. It’s kind of a stressful time as we build towards the World Cup with the performance we’ve had in the past. But yeah, it’s a platform where you can just kind of keep it real and shoot people straight, and hopefully people tune in and watch it.”
Dempsey will be granting viewers his perspectives and analysis surrounding and during the game broadcasts, including previewing the World Cup. This Saturday, he is going to be working alongside company founder Roger Bennett during the friendly matchup between the USMNT and Türkiye. Some of the guests slated for this alternate broadcast airing on TNT Sports consist of San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul and New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan.
Dempsey has previous experience working as a television analyst, including contributions to World Cup studio coverage from FOX Sports three years ago. In addition, he has also appeared on soccer ventures from CBS Sports such as coverage of the CONCACAF Nations League. Throughout his professional career as a forward and midfielder, Dempsey won the MLS championship in 2016 and is also a three-time winner of the USSF Male Athlete of the Year.
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Hey music fans, welcome to this week’s suggested ear candy!
As I usually do, let’s start with Top 40/Hot AC. My first choice goes to Miley Cyrus / “Easy Lover.” This is not a cover of the massive hit from Phil Collins and Phillip Bailey from the 1980s. It’s, however, a soulful, hooky song from Miley’s Something Beautiful album.
Next choice for this week. If your ears have not yet digested Maren Morris / “Lemonade,” you need to remedy that soon. Love the hook on this one. Next, another one from the ladies this week. Get your ears on Julia Michaels / “Try Your Luck”.
Moving into the Rock universe, Yellowcard / “Better Days” with early, solid support from Alt 98.7 in LA, and X-96 in Salt Lake City is worth putting into your ears.
I’m kind of obsessed with Wednesday / “Elderberry Wine,” which sounds like a strong record for the Triple A format. Great to hear Gavin Rossdale’s Bush / “The Land Of Milk And Honey”, worthy of a listen for sure!
On to the Country world. It was supposed to drop today, but I’m now hearing it will be released on Monday, following CMA Fest in Nashville this weekend. However, I’ve heard it, and you’ll want to hear it for sure. Zach Top’s “Good Times & Tan Lines” sounds like a summer smash!
Another one that deserves your time is Brett Young / “Drink With You.” It has a decent start at Country radio but needs more believers. Parmalee /”Cowgirl” is very catchy, and K102 in Minneapolis is a big believer with over 500 spins, same for KSON in San Diego.
In the Rhythmic world this week, here are a few choices for your ears to digest. Joe Leone / “Over Under” has a very old-school vibe, it’s good! Tommy Richman / “Actin Up” sounds like a strong one for Hip-Hop radio.
One last one for you this week: Umi X 6Lack’s “Hard Truths” certainly should have your ears on it, if they haven’t already.
There you go. Some ear candy for your weekend! Have a great one. More next week, and please feel free to email me songs you believe in that many others may not yet!
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Earlier in the week, SiriusXM officially announced that Stephen A. Smith was joining the lineup at Mad Dog Sports Radio to host a weekday sports talk program. In addition, Smith will be starting a weekly show centered around current events, pop culture and social commentary, and he is the executive producer on both ventures. Although 98.5 The Sports Hub morning show host Fred Toucher contends that Smith’s proverbial “green-screen prison” has grown to become wider, he is grateful to see SiriusXM presumably changing course and investing in personalities who are live on the airwaves.
“I’m glad at least someone that’s on the radio is getting paid a lot of money,” Toucher siad. “It’s the first right thing that company’s done in a very long time. If I’m a stockholder, I’m like, ‘Finally, not a podcast.’ You brought a big name in to do a radio show instead of hiring some dumb podcaster. How long did it take them to learn? Two months?”
Toucher pointed to SiriusXM gaining the exclusive rights to the SmartLess podcast featuring Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes under a multiyear agreement reportedly valued at $100 million. With the ability to listen to the podcast on other platforms, he wondered exactly what the company was receiving in this deal. On top of that, he mentioned how in the early days of the enterprise, Howard Stern and Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, along with other big radio stars and DJs, helped build the brand. When it began to struggle with the proliferation of the internet and streaming, he explained that the company decided to throw money at podcasts.
“Put people on the air live,” Toucher said. “Live, live, live! It’s your advantage over podcasts. Put it on live. Shrink the amount of channels if you have to. Make it live. And finally, I like Mad Dog a lot, but they have added Stephen A. Smith live. Now it’s a replay happening in the evening, but live to their lineup, which excites me, because at least companies seem to be going, ‘You know what? In order to compete, we need live talent – talent on as news breaks, talent on to communicate with the audience.’”
Toucher asked if satellite radio would still be around if it was not for Stern, who was a live and local radio star. From there, Rob “Hardy” Poole wondered what SiriusXM was getting out of doing business with SmartLess, and he conjectured that the satellite radio company must be selling the rights to the show towards other podcasting platforms. No matter the mode of doing business in this sense though, Toucher does not see the point engaging in such a transaction.
“Any way you slice it, it’s stupid,” Toucher said. “It’s not live, and that’s what the advantage [is that] Sirius has over podcasts.”
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WTIC 1080 midday host Tom Shattuck is departing his show at the Audacy Hartford news/talk station.
Shattuck revealed on his Burn Barrel podcast that he was informed on Thursday that his contract — which was set to expire later this month — would not be renewed.
His final show with the station is Friday.
“It was against all odds that they pulled off a live, local midday show, and I’ll always be grateful to management for that,” Shattuck told Barrett Media. “WTIC is 100 years old, and it was an honor to be the custodian of a few hours on the great station.”
Shattuck had hosted on the station for the past four years. His show most recently rested in the 11 AM-2 PM timeslot. Other previous stops include working at WRKO and 96.9 WTKK in Boston, as well as working with Massachusetts newspapers the Lowell Sun and the Boston Herald.
Tom Shattuck told Barrett Media that he’ll continue to host his podcast after his exit from the Audacy Hartford news/talk station.
“Personally, I feel like I’ve been decommissioned in the middle of a battle against Connecticut’s corrupt, toxic, groomery political power structure that is hell bent on destroying the state,” Shattuck said. “I will continue my battle one way or another and will join that fight and others from the helm of my podcast, Tom Shattuck’s Burn Barrel.”
It is unclear what WTIC 1080 plans to put in the place of Shattuck’s program in its daily lineup.
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After nearly 20 years working at CNN, Nick Valencia has announced he is departing the cable news channel.
Valencia, who started his career as a teleprompter operator, eventually rose to the role of correspondent. For 19 years, he’s been based at the company’s Atlanta corporate offices.
In a post on Instagram, Valencia revealed he had officially left his longtime home.
“It’s official. I have left CNN. Never bury the lede,” Valencia shared. “We had a saying in the Atlanta Bureau: do right by the story, do right by each other, and we did.”
He thanked his colleagues as he exited.
“I’m especially grateful for the field teams who I worked with for more than 12 years as a correspondent,” he shared. “We traveled countless miles across the U.S. and Latin America, covering both manmade and natural disasters. Even during some of life’s most painful and personal moments, to have such a platform to tell stories was a gift. Thank you.
“My legacy of going from teleprompter to correspondent was a dream I could have never imagined,” he continued. “I’m grateful to have been a role model for what was possible at CNN. Now, it’s time to continue to help others and take my career further than I ever thought possible.”
Nick Valencia did not share details on what his future plans entail or where he would land following his departure from CNN.
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Jacinda Ortiz is joining the National Basketball Players Association as its vice president of communications, granting her oversight surrounding efforts in this department. Under the new role, Ortiz will have responsibilities surrounding representing and supporting NBA players as a collective voice and also directing strategy pertaining to communications related to the NBPA and divisions of the labor union. Ortiz will officially be starting this position with the NBPA in early July.
“We are excited to welcome Jacinda to the NBPA,” David Kelly, general counsel and managing director of the NBPA, said in a statement. “She has a deep understanding of the evolving media landscape, and her robust experience in the sports industry makes her the perfect fit to lead our communications strategy and storytelling efforts, and to elevate our players as leaders on-and-off the court.”
Ortiz formerly worked directly with the National Basketball Association as the senior director of media, direct-to-consumer and entertainment communications. Under her previous position, she oversaw the external communications related to the new 11-year media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company, Comcast Corporation and Amazon reportedly worth a collective $77 billion. In addition, she took part in promotional strategy for league and team direct-to-consumer products, along with news surrounding television viewership, celebrity integrations and marketing campaigns.
Ortiz is also the creator of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award that recognizes players who raise awareness towards inequalities. Before working at the NBA, she had communications roles at CBS Sports and FOX Sports where she contributed to the publicity efforts surrounding coverage of the NFL, college football and college basketball. Ortiz is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and earned a Master of Arts in strategic communications from High Point University.
“I’m thrilled to join the NBPA leadership team and leverage my experience to elevate the voices and influence of the players,” Ortiz said in a statement. “I look forward to collaborating with the entire NBPA organization and its members to showcase the profound impact NBA players have around the world, not just as athletes, but as cultural leaders.”
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OutKick Founder Clay Travis has been one of the leading voices seeking clarification on the league’s stance regarding an incident involving Atlanta Dream forward Brittney Griner. During a recent Dream WNBA game against the Indiana Fever, Griner was caught on camera following her ejection for a foul on Caitlin Clark, saying what many believe is “trash f***ing white girl” in reference to Clark.
The incident stemmed from recent allegations involving Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, following a hard foul by Clark on Reese. In response, Reese and other Sky players claimed there was hateful and racist fan behavior during the season opener in Indianapolis. The WNBA investigated the matter and stated there were no findings to support the claims. However, according to Travis, no reporter has followed up with Griner or the league to clarify what she said on camera.
Additionally, according to OutKick, they requested a day-of-game credential for the Atlanta Dream’s matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 27, but the Sparks denied the request. In reaction to the denial, Travis took to social media to blast the decision and criticize the rejection of OutKick’s credential application.
“The WNBA has refused to credential OutKick for Brittney Griner games because they don’t want her asked about the ‘f***ing white girl’ viral video comment,” tweeted Travis. “No other ‘media’ outlet in America covering the WNBA is willing to ask her about it.”
Travis claims that no other sports league has ever refused a credential to OutKick in the past, and he believes the WNBA denied the request to prevent Griner from being questioned about the incident.
“It’s also extraordinary that not one other credentialed media member will ask for this question,” stated Travis. “This isn’t sports journalism, it’s straight up propaganda.”
To date, Griner has not commented on the video that aired on national television.
Furthermore, OutKick also requested a media credential for the Atlanta Dream’s game against the Connecticut Sun tonight, but that request was also denied by the team. The Sun stated in an email to OutKick that “very limited space” was the reason a day-of credential was not issued.
According to the online publication, the Sun approved several credentials for the outlet last season, including for a playoff game between the Sun and the Fever.
No other sports league has ever refused to credential @outkick. Not the NFL, MLB, NHL, PGA, NASCAR, NBA, MLS, no college conference, it has never happened. And this has happened entirely because the league doesn’t want a player asked a question. Pretty extraordinary.
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Jesse James is set to take over mornings at Country 103.3 WKDF Nashville.
It appears to be the final piece of the lineup shuffle between 95.5 WSM-FM and 103.3 WKDF in Nashville.
James comes from 93.3 The Bull in Salt Lake City, where he worked with Cumulus VP/Country and WKDF PD Travis Dailey. He will succeed “Big D & Bubba,” who shifted to WSM-FM.
Previous stops for James include FM 106.1 in Milwaukee, 92.5 The Wolf in Denver, Y100 in San Antonio, and Big 98.7 in Fargo.
The staff moves started with 95.5 WSM-FM dropping the NASH Icon branding.
Previous reporting from 6/5
The lineup is continuing to take shape at Country 95.5 WSM-FM in Nashville. New Country 101-Five Atlanta APD/PM Driver Lucas Phelan has signed on for middays. “The Big D & Bubba Show” launched yesterday (6/4), moving over from cluster mate Country 103.3 WKDF. Additionally,
As announced earlier, Tyler Reese has made the move from WKDF to WSM-FM. Despite dropping it from the on-air imaging, the station’s website still reflects the NASH Icon branding. However, the station’s Facebook page has a different logo in its profile.
WSM-FM personalities Lisa Manning, Marty McFly and Stew James exited earlier as part of the changes.
103.3 WKDF’s website lists Amy Paige in the mornings, Program Director, and Cumulus Country VP Travis Dailey in the afternoons, as well as Country Nights with Bev Rainey and The Overnight Ride with Justin Franiak.
WSM-FM personalities Lisa Manning, Marty McFly and Stew James exited as part of the changes.
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