Curtis Kay Reflects Back on 30 Years at WDHa-fM Greater Good

4 V O L . 5 f a ll 2 0 1 0
Curtis Kay Reflects Back on
30 Years at WDHA-FM
The Greater Good
Campaign Gives Back to
Local Communities
MAGIC 106.7
& WMMR-FM
Take Top Honors
at 2010 Marconi
Awards
Greater Media
Newspapers Article Spurs
$25,000 Donation to
New Jersey Schools
WBT-AM/FM’s John
Hancock Celebrates 20
Years in Charlotte
MAGIC 105.1 Unveils
PROJECT LittlePinkDress c o n t e n t s
f a ll 2 0 1 0
in
this
iss u e
Letter From The Chair
Table of Contents:
Look Who’s Making Greater Media Greater 3
People & News 4-5
MAGIC 106.7 FM’s Candy O’Terry Adds Movie Roles to Long List of Accomplishments 6-7
Greater Media Newspapers’ Meredith Reccoppa Always After Her Personal Best 8
Community/Giving Back 10-12
Halloween 14-15
Snapshots 16-17
WDHA-FM’s Curtis Kay Still Enjoying the Ride After 30 Years
18-19
WMMR-FM Morning Show Duo Heats Up
the Airwaves…on TV
20-21
Interactive Corner 22-23
WJRZ-FM’s Heliport Stands Ready to Serve VIPs, as Well as U.S. Military and State Police
24-25
Covering All the Bases 26-27
Greater Media Corporate Profile 27
Music at Greater Media 28-30
Awards 32-33
Weddings/Families/Babies 35
The Greater Media
GRAPEVINE
PUBLISHER: Greater Media, Inc.
EDITOR: Heidi Raphael
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Monique Walton
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Clare Celano, Adele Young, Debbie Catalano, Amy Hull,
Brian Donahue, Amy Rosen, Ed Nolan, Rebecca Morton, and Tom Bender
PRINTER: Maureen Morrow/Printex
Special thanks to the people of Greater Media for making this publication possible.
ADDRESS:
Greater Media, Inc.
35 Braintree Hill Office Park
Suite 300
Braintree, MA 02184
781.348.8600
For more information, please contact Heidi Raphael at [email protected].
Grapevine is published 4 times a year by greater media, inc.
o n
t h e
c o v e r
PHOTO BY JEFF GRANIT/GMN STAFF
Two soccer players head for the ball during a girls’ soccer game on
September 30 at Allentown High School in New Jersey. Allentown
defeated Nottingham High School from Hamilton, NJ, 3-2.
2
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
Hello Everyone,
As we reflect over the past year, I
would like to extend my sincerest
thanks to all the hardworking women
and men of Greater Media for your
continued commitment and dedication. Despite the challenging economic times, you have all risen to the
challenge with tremendous energy,
talent, innovation, and commitment. As we look ahead to 2011, we
continue to see forward movement
in the industry and the individual
markets we serve, and Greater Media
is well-positioned to capitalize on this
momentum because of your efforts.
In keeping with the communitydriven mission of our company,
Greater Media recently unveiled the
“Greater Media Greater Good”
Campaign. This exciting new,
company-wide initiative is aimed
at helping those in our industry
and the communities that we serve.
Throughout the year, we will be
supporting various organizations
through fundraising initiatives and
“Greater Media Day of Greater
Good” events within our local
markets. Special thanks to Jennifer Williams, Chris Brunt, and
Inna Gringauz from Greater Media
Detroit for their assistance with this
worthy project.
Over the holiday season, the campaign was dedicated to the Greater
Good of the Broadcasters Foundation of America. This outstanding organization provides support
for our colleagues in the broadcast
media industry, from young families
to senior citizens, who have fallen
upon difficult times due to loss of
employment, health-related issues,
and other unexpected hardships.
I encourage you to consider the
Broadcasters Foundation when
making your charitable contribution
decisions.
Congratulations to MAGIC 106.7FM in Boston for being named “AC
Station of the Year” and WMMRFM in Philadelphia for winning
“Rock Station of the Year” at the
2010 Marconi Awards in Washington,
DC. It is a wonderful tribute to all
the amazing women and men who
make the stations greater on a daily
basis. I would also like to recognize
Pete Forester on being named
“National Sales Manager” of the
Year at the Radio Wayne Awards.
Kudos are in order for Milford
Smith, Vice President of Engineering, on being named the recipient
of the 2010 Excellence in Engineering
Award from Radio World Magazine. His
expertise and experience continue
to blaze new trails on behalf of our
company and the radio industry. I
am very proud of him for all he has
accomplished.
I would like to welcome Steve Kosbau as the new Market Manager and
Matt Spatafora as the new Director
of Sales for Greater Media Detroit.
Their leadership will drive us forward in the Motor City.
Our award-winning newspaper
division continues to make a difference in the local community. A
recently published article resulted in
a $25,000 donation by a reader to
a local school system. We are so very
proud of the entire staff for their
commitment to the communities
they serve.
As we approach the new year, I
would like to encourage you to keep
creating fresh ideas and looking for
new ways to expand our presence in
on-air, online, interactive, and print
media. Please feel free to e-mail me
at [email protected] to
share your thoughts on how we can
continue to make Greater Media
greater.
I hope you and your families are
enjoying a very safe, happy, and
healthy holiday season!
Sincerely,
Peter H. Smyth
G
great!
recognizing
people who go
the extra mile
Look Who’s Making
Greater Media Greater
BOSTON
Rebecca “Crystal”
Margolis
Director of Marketing
& Promotions, Radio 92.9 FM
Crystal’s involvement with marketing and sales and “make it happen”
attitude make her the “go-to” person
when it comes to creative ideas
and execution. With a seemingly
impossible “to do” list each day, she
accomplishes each and every task with
efficiency and poise. Account Executives credit Crystal for turning a fiveminute conversation into creating an
idea that has resulted in closing many
deals. She makes herself available
for client calls, brainstorming, and
final execution. Crystal is particularly
accomplished in helping solve client
needs and objectives. She truly makes
Greater Media greater every day!
Ken West
Program Director
WROR-FM & Radio 92.9 FM
Ken is a humble, but
extremely efficient manager
who keeps it fun, always reminding us
it’s radio! He cares as much about his
people as his product. As co-worker
Lauren Boyle puts it, “he allows his
staff to take an active role in decisionmaking, encourages us to stay
creative, and always plays to everyone’s
individual strengths.”
Charlotte
Alex Krasnoff
Integrated Sales & Marketing
Coordinator
WBT-AM/FM & WLNK-FM
In her three years working
in the combined WBT and WLNK
sales departments, Alex Krasnoff has
emerged from sales assistant to Integrated Sales & Marketing Coordinator. As the main “go-to” resource for
all of Greater Media Charlotte’s sales
team, Alex spends each day fielding different requests and duties to
help make them a more efficient and
effective sales force. She creates many
graphics and implements those ads
into our online platforms. Alex relishes the opportunity to get creative
and loves designing event logos. Her
designs help us set a very impressive
stage for our highly visible off-site
promotions.
Todd Haller
Executive Producer“Bob &Sheri”/Music Director
WLNK-FM
Has it been ten years
already? Todd Haller has helped
wake up an entire nation thanks to his
producing duties with Greater Media
Charlotte’s nationally syndicated
morning show “Bob & Sheri Morning Show.” Todd preps the hosts
with material that becomes hilarious
on-air fodder and books guests that
appear on the show. After the mics
are turned off, he switches into production mode and ensures that custom production is handled for both
WLNK and the affiliate network.
Can you guess the greatest perk for
Todd? It’s getting to travel with “Bob
& Sheri” as they visit affiliate markets
throughout the country! Nice way to
rack up the frequent flier miles!
Detroit
Michael Gagliano
Production Director
WRIF-FM
For the past 11 years,
Michael “Gags” Gagliano,
has been an important
part of the team that makes 101
WRIF Detroit’s Home of Rock &
Roll. Being the station’s Production
Director keeps Gags pretty busy, but
he still finds time for family and fun!
He loves spending time with his two
children, Amber age 11 and Ryan age
10. Gags enjoys his job and feels it’s
perfectly suited for his personality. It
also allows him to channel his sense
of humor and obsessive attention to
detail. Michael “Gags” Gagliano is
one of the people that makes Greater
Media great in Detroit.
Char Litvin
Assistant Business Manager
Greater Media Detroit
When anyone at Greater
Media Detroit needs someone to “Show Them The Money”…
the go-to person for the past ten years
has been Assistant Business Manager
Char Litvin.
Always there to lend a hand, Char
goes the extra mile to help out. A
great example of this is her annual
role of WRIF-FM Harley Fest banker.
She joins the WRIF team at this allday event and helps make sure it’s a
huge success.
When not at work, Char loves to
spend time with her family. She and
her sister can often be found shoe
shopping.
Her wonderful personality, professionalism, and dedication to doing
the right thing are some of the many
reasons Char Litvin makes Greater
Media great!
New JerseY
Chris Alesi
Promotions Coordinator
WMTR-AM & WDHA-FM
From Intern to Production
Assistant to Promotions
Coordinator, Chris has proved to
be versatile and extremely creative.
He is always looking for ways to
make WMTR and WDHA’s on-site
promotions entertaining for the
listeners and profitable for the client.
In addition to a great smile and winning attitude, he makes a great Easter
Bunny cake.
Kaitlyn Zullo
GMNJ Interactive Department Team Member
Kaitlyn is a great addition
to the GMNJ Interactive
department. Kaitlyn was an intern
with the NTR department before
coming on-board full time. She is an
extremely hard worker who is incredibly organized. Kaitlyn comes up with
great ideas and always makes things
work. She is dedicated to getting the
job done no matter what.
Greater Media
Newspapers
Jennifer Peyton
Retail Manager
Greater Media Newspapers
In 2010, Retail Manager
Jennifer Peyton has increased hospital advertising revenue
by 20.7 percent over 2009. This
equates to over $100,000 in new
revenue. She builds strong ties to
the communities that the hospitals
serve and has even stronger relationships with their marketing partners.
Jennifer, who has been with Greater
Media Newspapers since June 2004,
is fun and energetic, and these two
attributes drive her to be successful.
It’s great to have her as a team leader.
Kathy Chang
Staff Writer
Greater Media Newspapers
Kathy Chang has every
quality a newspaper could want
in a reporter. She is a dedicated
journalist, a talented writer, and a
top producer. A self-starter who
joined the newspaper division in
September 2005, Kathy takes the
initiative day after day to seek out
and secure the best stories from her
beats and to make sure no stone is left
unturned in her work. She can always
be relied upon. Kathy is also a very
productive videographer, regularly
creating informative news films for
the company’s website. Aside from
her work, Kathy is also a friendly and
bright presence in the newsroom. She
is one of Greater Media Newspapers’
real treasures.
philadelphia
Rodney Byrd
Engineer
Greater Media Philadelphia
The past few months have been
especially busy at the 97.5 FM The
Fanatic. The station has done over
75 remote broadcasts in the last two
and a half months and behind it all is
Rodney Byrd. Everyone thinks you
just flip a switch and the mics go on
from a restaurant, well there is a little
more to it than that. During the Phillies playoff run, we had no idea what
time they were going to play and when
the games would be. Rodney coordinated every remote around this, even
on weekends. We are very lucky to
have a person that is as dedicated as he
is to his job and to the station.
Lani Ilano
Traffic Manager
The Fanatic 97.5 FM
Lani was among the
recipients of our recent
Above and Beyond awards in Philadelphia. She started with Greater Media
in February of 2010 and came into
the office on her first day (after the
city got hit with 20 inches of snow)!
Lani has been a joy to work with
from that very first snowy day. She
has a “can-do” attitude and is always
looking to help. Lani’s hard work and
dedication to her job is one of the
reasons the station had record billing
months in September and then again
in October of 2010.
G
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
3
people
people & News
Brian Baldinger
Exclusively Featured on
97.5 FM The Fanatic
During Football Season
Brian
Baldinger
Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman and current NFL
Network Analyst Brian Baldinger
was heard exclusively featured
throughout the football season on
97.5 The Fanatic.
“Baldy” was a weekly guest on
the “Mike Missanelli Show” on
Thursday afternoons at 4:30 p.m.
and the “Tony Bruno and Harry
Mayes Show” on Tuesday afternoons at 12:45 p.m. Brian also
co-hosted “Inside the Birds” with
Dan Schwartzman every Wednesday night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Brian Baldinger played for three
NFL teams in his 13-year career
including the Philadelphia Eagles.
After his playing career, Baldinger
went on to become a highly
respected NFL analyst for Fox
Sports and the NFL Network. He
is considered as one of the hardest
working and well-prepared commentators in the business.
“Brian’s energy, passion, and
NFL knowledge is truly second
to none,” said 97.5 The Fanatic
Program Director Matt Nahigian.
“We were thrilled to have him join
The Fanatic on a regular basis and
bring some great football talk to
the Delaware Valley.”
Kris Abrams Named
Program Director
at Greater Media’s
WLNK-FM in
Charlotte
Kris Abrams has
been named as the
new Program Director at WLNK-FM
107.9/The LINK
Kris
Abrams
in Charlotte, North
Carolina. He began
his new position on
October 22nd.
Abrams is no stranger to
Charlotte radio. He worked as
the Assistant PD/Music Director for 104.7 WMXC-FM and
KISS 102 in the mid-‘90s. After
leaving Charlotte, the radio
veteran went on to become the
Program Director of WRIT-FM
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In
addition, Abrams also served as
Operations Manager for Citadel
Communications in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving
to Phoenix, where he served as a
Program Director/Operations
Manager for CBS Radio.
“Kris is a strategist, very creative
and is an excellent addition as
we continue to build one of the
most unique HOT ACs in the
country with our entertaining
personality line-up of Bob &
Sheri, Kelly McKay, and Matt
& Ramona,” said Bill White,
Operations Manager at Greater
Media Charlotte.
“It is great to be back in Charlotte,” said Abrams. “The
opportunity to work with Bob &
Sheri and Matt & Ramona, along
with the great staff at WLNK, is
a one-of-a-kind opportunity
in today’s radio environment.
Greater Media offers the kind of
culture that programmers want to
be a part of.”
96.9 WTKK-FM’s Jay Severin Features Dr. Keith
Ablow for A Psychological Talk on Life and the News
Dr. Keith Ablow
96.9 FM - Boston Talks’ Jay
Severin is now featuring Fox
News Psychiatry Contributor Dr.
Keith Ablow on Thursdays at 3
p.m. for the new segment “Dr.
Keith on Call,” a psychological
approach to the headlines. Keith
Ablow, M.D., has earned the title
“America’s Psychiatrist” by helping millions of people take control
of their lives by understanding the
patterns they’ve developed that are
firmly rooted in the past.
“Psychological insight shouldn’t
be confined to the couch,” says
Dr. Ablow. “The psychological
truth behind each of our lives also
plays in the background of major
news events and issues that shape
our people and our times.” He
continued, “Jay and I intend to
dig relentlessly to the core of the
local and national psyche into the
heart of what is really happening in the minds of listeners and
newsmakers alike.”
“After 25 years in politics and media I can safely say Doctor Keith
Ablow displays more extraordinary intelligence, insight, and
cleverness into ‘Why People Do
What They Do’ than anyone I have
ever known,” says Severin. “I am
tremendously excited about the
unique and entertaining dimension Keith Ablow will add to this
radio show....not to mention
how handy it will be for me, in
particular, to have a psychoanalyst
nearby.”
Keith Ablow, M.D., is one of
America’s leading psychiatrists.
He is the author of numerous
books on overcoming depression,
anxiety disorders, and other psychological challenges and serves as
the Fox News expert on psychiatry
and as a contributing editor at both
Good Housekeeping and Men’s Fitness.
Dr. Ablow’s transformative bold
strategies are the founding principles for LivingtheTruth.com
and incisively presented in Living
the Truth: Transform Your Life Through the
Power of Insight and Honesty. An Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at
Tufts Medical School and graduate of Brown University and John
Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr.
Ablow practices in Newburyport,
MA and New York.
Matt Spatafora
Matt Spatafora has been named Director of Sales at
Greater Media Detroit. He most recently served in a
similar capacity (in addition to other previous sales
and management positions) over the past ten years at
WDRQ-FM and WDVD-FM in the Motor City.
People & News continued on next page
4
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
People & News continued from previous page
Steve Kosbau Named
Market Manager of
Greater Media Detroit
Steve Kosbau has been named
as the new Market Manager of its
Detroit-based radio properties,
including WRIF-FM, WCSXFM, and WMGC-FM.
The radio veteran most recently served as the President and
General Manager of WDRQ-FM
and WDVD-FM in the Motor
City. Prior to that, he worked
as the Director of Operations at
WJZW-FM and WRQX-FM in
Washington, DC.
“Steve is a man of great character
and intellect, who will help us
take Greater Media Detroit to
the next level,” said John Fullam,
Vice President & Regional Market Manager of Greater Media
Philadelphia. “We are pleased
to welcome him to the Greater
Media family.”
Sue Edelman Named
Content Manager at
Greater Media Boston
Sue
Edelman
Sue Edelman has
joined the company’s
Boston-based radio
cluster as the new
Content Manager at
the Greater Media
Marketing Group.
Sue has worked in the web space
for more than a dozen years as an
editor, producer, and product
manager. Her experience runs
the gamut from education and
entertainment sites to businessto-business sites. She graduated
from Tufts University with a
Bachelor of Arts in English and
has studied graphic design at the
New England School of Art and
Design.
Since 1988, she has hosted and
produced a community radio
program on WMFO-FM in
Medford, MA. A self-confessed
web geek and radio junkie, Sue
loves beagles, the harmonica, and
the Peanuts gang.
SOME Lucky BEN-FM listeners had the opportunity to strut their
stuff on the catwalk at the Oxford Valley Mall
Fashion Show on September 11th, 2010.
BEN-FM’s Marilyn Russell hosted the
extravaganza, which included a onehour mall-wide shopping spree for the
BEN-FM models.
BEN-FM listeners model
at The Oxford Valley
Mall Fashion Show with
Marilyn Russell.
Freihofer’s Bread Awards Playground to Woodrow
Wilson School in Framingham, MA
WOODROW Wilson School
in Framingham won the 1st Annual Freihofer’s Pride of the Neighborhood
Sweepstakes. The official ribbon-cutting
ceremony and park dedication took
place on September 17, 2010. The
community was invited to come out and
enjoy refreshments.
of this community to come together
in the same way that Freihofer’s has
brought families and friends together
for generations.”
The contest, which was promoted on
105.7 WROR-FM, took place from
January to April 2010. Schools were
encouraged to register to win by logging
on to Prideoftheneighborhood.com
and sharing why their community was
the most deserving of a brand-new
playground. More than 153 people
entered for a chance to win a brand-new
playground for their community.
“Opportunities like this are
rare,” said Kosbau. “It’s an
honor to join such a fantastic
company and these legendary
radio stations.”
93.3 WMMR-FM Unveils 5th edition of “Preston
& Steve’s Totally Office Calendar 2011”
MORE than 2,500 loyal WMMRFM and “Preston & Steve” fans recently
packed Chickie’s & Pete’s Sports Bar in
South Philly to pick up their complimentary 5th edition of “Preston &
Steve’s Totally Office Calendar 2011.”
Fans waited up to an hour and a half
to have their calendar signed by all 13
women featured inside the calendar,
along with the entire “Preston & Steve
Show.”
The Making of Preston & Steve’s Totally Office
Calendar video will also soon be available
for free via Comcast On-Demand on
the “Preston & Steve” channel in the
Get Local Section in Philadelphia viewing areas. The calendar is available for
purchase at WMMR.com.
BEN-FM Listeners Strut Their Stuff at
Fall Fashion Show
Preston & Steve and friends at the
calendar release party.
“When I entered the sweepstakes, I
didn’t even think there was the slightest
chance we would win, so I am absolutely
thrilled that Woodrow Wilson won and
that we can finally upgrade parts of our
playground to meet code and to make
the grounds look nice and friendly,”
said Anita Chaves, a teacher at Woodrow
Wilson School in Framingham. “Thank
you so much for your generosity!”
“Since 1913, Freihofer’s Baking Company has worked to bring our community delicious healthy baked goods,
making Freihofer’s the Pride of the
Neighborhood,” said John Schaefer,
Director of Sales, at Freihofer’s Bread.
“This year, we are excited to recognize
Woodrow Wilson Elementary School as
the winners of the Pride of the Neighborhood
contest and present the school with a
new playground. We hope the playground will allow families and friends
FA L L
WROR Street Team at the
playground dedication.
Children enjoying the new
Freihofer’s playground.
The Freihofer truck parked
at the event.
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
5
movies
special feature
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
MAGIC 106.7-FM’s Candy O’Terry Adds Movie
Roles to Long List of Accomplishments
This “Radio Girl,” Singer, and Talent-Show Judge
Is Featured in Two Films
MOST people have a “buck-
from left to
right
Candy O’Terry.
et list” of things they’d like
to do or accomplish during
their lifetime, and now Greater
Media Boston’s Candy O’Terry
can cross off another item on
her list.
The award-winning radio
personality entertains listeners on MAGIC 106.7, Country
102.5, and 96.9 Boston Talks.
She has also sung duets with
Grammy-nominee Jim Brickman and has recorded a love
song with singer-songwriter
Charlie Farren. The song
“You Are the Only One” is a
collaborative effort between
O’Terry and Farren and went
to Number 34 on
the AC chart. She also cohosts the award-winning
radio show “Exceptional
Women” with Gay Vernon,
heads the Alliance for Women
in Media/Boston, and serves
as a judge for Community
Auditions: Star for a Day, the
Boston/New England Emmywinning talent show.
As of April 2010, O’Terry,
who is the assistant program
director at MAGIC 106.7, can
now add movie roles to her
résumé.
“Being in a movie has always
been on my bucket list. Now, I
can check it off,” O’Terry said,
explaining the back story to
this achievement.
O’Terry, who joined Greater
Media Boston in 1990, said
a radio listener asked her to
emcee a premiere of a local
film last year. ”I thought to
myself, ‘Gee, I’ve never had
the opportunity to emcee a
local film, and I bet I could
27 Down Movie
Poster.
CO2 Movie
Poster
figure it out,’ ” O’Terry said.
The film was 27 Down by
Wild Beagle Productions. “I
must have done a good job
because I got a call asking me
if I would be interested in the
role of newscaster for another
Wild Beagle production by
director John Depew called
CO2,” she said.
This “radio girl,” as she refers
to herself, wondered what it
would be like to actually be in
a movie. Although she auditioned for several other parts
in the movie, the newscaster
role was an easy fit.
Her scene was shot in the
small town of Derry, NH.
“There is no pay for this,” she
noted. “Just the experience
to try something outside my
comfort zone. It was scary,
but it was fun.”
Her role consisted of 30-45
seconds on screen. “The rest
of the scene with me in it is
on the cutting-room floor,”
she said with good-natured
humor.
“The movie is about carbon
sequestration. I was called
on in the movie to incorporate the weather report into
a newscast to comment on
how warm the weather was
in the valley. Although it was
fall, the weather had a lot to
do with the phenomenon
that descended on this small
town,” she explained.
The movie is about a disaster
that hits a small coal-mining
town in Pennsylvania, where
carbon dioxide covers the
town, suffocating almost every living creature in its path.
According to Wild Beagle
Productions’ website, the story was borrowed from a reallife 1986 disaster in Lake Nyos,
a crater lake in Cameroon,
which is about 50 km or 31
miles from the border of Nigeria, when a magma-spurred
geologic eruption occurred
50 miles under the floor of
the Cameroon Lake. Carbon
dioxide escaped through the
water’s surface, causing the
suffocation of 1,700 villagers
and 3,500 livestock.
“My scene took an hour to
shoot, then you sit around
and wait,” she said. O’Terry’s
scene involved people walking around in a general store.
“There’s a TV hanging on
the wall, and I’m on it,” she
explained. “I talk about how
unseasonably warm the
weather is. It’s about four seconds,” said O’Terry, who was
allowed to choose the name
of her character. She chose
the name Candace Malone.
“It’s about a four-second
shot. If you blink, you’ll miss
me.”
She has another shot that she
said is about the same length
of time. “These are my two
shots of fame. The rest of my
hour is on the cutting-room
floor,” she laughed.
O’Terry said her husband,
Tom Gaffny, was even recruited to play an extra in the
movie. “There are eight survivors in this town, and unfortunately he isn’t one of them,”
she laughed, adding that she
and her husband checked to
see who had the longer time
on camera. “I think he won.
Even as a dead body, he had
more time than me,” she said.
The location where the rest
of the movie was filmed was
Ayer, MA, a small town outside of Boston. With her usual
light-hearted humor, O’Terry
said that the mayor of Ayer
shut down the whole town
on a Sunday morning “so that
Continued on next page
6
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
people could die all over his
streets.”
O’Terry was asked to host
and emcee the red carpet
extravaganza that took place
on October 23 at the Regent Theatre in Arlington,
MA. “It was a sold-out event
with hundreds of guests,”
O’Terry said. She added that
she called Georgannette
Chatterley, an art student at
Massachusetts College of Art,
to craft a dress for the occasion. “I wore a dress made of
melted records put on a body
form and then crafted into
four panels,” the actress said.
“The dress was amazing, but
it was impossible to sit down
in it and hard to walk up the
stairs in,” she said, adding,
“The fear of a wardrobe malfunction when you are wearing a dress made of melted
records, glue, spray paint, and
Velcro is very high.”
Her role as Candace Malone
got the director’s attention,
and she was the cast in a
second movie, Luke Eleven,
written and directed by Bryan
W. Stewart. O’Terry is in 13
scenes in this film.
“I play the lead character’s
mother. My character’s name
is Nina Wallace, a Biblethumping, born-again Christian. This is a major role in the
movie,” O’Terry said, adding
that she was very excited to
do it. Luke Eleven, which is
a biblical reference, is scheduled to be released in 2011.
This film was shot in private
homes in Whitman, a small
Massachusetts town, and at
University of Massachusetts,
Dartmouth. “There is very
little glamour with hair and
makeup for me in this film. In
fact, they make me up to look
older for the role.”
Tangible proof so far of her
very first movie experience is
already on her office wall—a
framed poster for CO2. “My
name was way down at the
bottom, but at least it’s there!”
she said.
G
G
Human Resources Update
By Karen Suddreth,
SPHR
Corporate HR
Manager
Greater
Media, Inc
What Keeps Me Up at Night – Texting While Driving
Does this sound familiar?
You’ve just completed a long,
hectic day and you’re driving
home, enjoying a few minutes to yourself before your
post-work life kicks in. Your
mobile communication device
(DROID, iPhone, BlackBerry)
starts yelling at you that you
have a new e-mail, phone call,
or text message. You remember that you left one unresolved issue at work, and you
feel you just have to look at
your phone and respond. The
next thing you know, you‘re
driving and texting a short
message…something you
swore you would never do!
Let’s face it – we are all pulled
by our electronic devices to
respond instantly, whether
it’s an e-mail, text, or phone
call. Sometimes our better
judgment takes a back seat
to common sense and we kid
ourselves into believing we
are “being more efficient” or
“multi-tasking” and that we
can do both safely – respond
and drive simultaneously. If
we are lucky, we send that email or text and continue on
our merry way. Unfortunately,
luck is fickle. It only takes one
glance away from the road to
find yourself and others in a
life-threatening situation.
At this point, you may be saying, “OK, Karen, I get it – stop
beating the NO TEXTING
WHILE DRIVING drum.” But G
I ask you to hang with me a
little longer to review some
statistics. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman
Deborah Hersman states, “The
number of people killed by drivers distracted by the use of an
electronic communications device is the equivalent of a major
aviation accident every week.
“In a December 2009 speech,
Chairman Hersman shared the
following statistics:
• Approximately 40,000 people
die each year on our nation’s
highways. Distracted driving
is a cause of many of these
accidents.
• Drivers who use a hand-held
device are at a 1.3 times greater risk of a crash or near crash
than drivers who are simply
driving – and if the driver is
dialing, that number increases
to a 2.8 times greater risk.
Almost triple the risk of just
driving.
• Of drivers in the United States,
81% admit to cell phone use
while at the wheel, and 45%
acknowledge that they have
been hit or nearly hit by a
driver using a cell phone.
Pretty sobering statistics. The
good news is we can change
these numbers through simple
behavior modification. Not
only will it keep you and others out of harm’s way, you will
be following company policy.
As a reminder, Greater Media
prohibits the use of any handheld device while driving a
company vehicle. Hands-free
devices, while slightly less
risky, should only be used at
times and in a manner that will
not distract you from operating the vehicle safely.
In closing, I want to share my
wish for all of us – that we
make a private pledge to ourselves to remain safe, healthy,
and alive by not texting while
driving. No need to announce
it on Oprah, or make a big
splash in The Grapevine. Just
take a few quiet moments and
decide that you value your
life and the life of others over
remaining “connected” every
minute of the day. The call or
message can wait. Greater
Media is a great place to
work, and the reason is THE
PEOPLE, all the people. Let’s
not lose a single one from an
avoidable tragedy.
In keeping
with the
community-driven
mission of
the company, Greater
Media is
pleased to
unveil the Greater Media
Greater Good Campaign.
This exciting new company-wide initiative is aimed
at helping those in our
industry and the communities that we serve.
Throughout the year, the
organization will be supporting various organizations through fundraising
initiatives and Greater
Media Day of Greater Good
events within local markets
the company serves.
The first recipient of the
effort was the Broadcasters
Foundation of America. To
support the campaign, the
company recently created
a special microsite exclusively for employees to
use to make a contribution
(if they so chose) to the
Broadcasters Foundation.
In addition, the company
will be hosting a series
of Greater Media Day
of Greater Good events
throughout 2011, in which
employees will be volunteering within the communities that the company’s
radio and newspaper
properties are geographically located.
“We are very excited about
this wonderful initiative,”
said Greater Media Chairman and CEO Peter Smyth.
“The women and men of
Greater Media are incredible people who make the
company and the communities we serve greater on a
daily basis.”
G
G
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
7
best
special feature
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Greater Media Newspapers’ Meredith Reccoppa
Always After Her Personal Best
Advertising Consultant Is Passionate About Running –
Whether It’s a Marathon or Just for Fun
SHE’S young, she’s pretty,
she’s fit — and she can run a
7:49-minute mile.
Meredith Reccoppa, who
joined Greater Media Newspapers, Freehold, NJ, as
an advertising consultant in
March 2008, found an outlet
years ago that allows her to
connect with her thoughts,
focus, and have fun — running.
In between working at a job
she “really loves,” Reccoppa,
whose enthusiastic personality lends itself to the work
she does at Greater Media
Newspapers, has taken what
began as a way to stay fit
and expanded that goal into
a new venture — marathon
running. And, according to
her stats, she’s coming up
with some impressive race
times.
“To me, running gives me
that ‘me’ time I look for,”
Reccoppa said. “I always ran
here and there, but as I got
older, it became something
I really enjoyed; so naturally,
you do more of something
you like. The running actually progressed into a hobby
I love. When I run for leisure,
it’s a way to focus my
thoughts and try to see
things more clearly.”
Reccoppa, a native of
Manalapan, NJ, who now
lives in Old Bridge, NJ, has
always been physically active, playing soccer in high
school. Running was something she started about five
years ago to keep in shape.
clockwise from left
New York Liberty Half
Marathon.
Divas Half MarathonTM, an
all-women 13.1-mile race.
New Jersey Marathon.
Meredith Reccoppa
preparing for race..
“I started just walking two
or three miles at a time.
Then, I began jogging in between the runs,” she said.
by More and Fitness magazines. “We trained and ran
together for this first race,”
she said.
Reccoppa began enjoying
the sport more than she had
ever anticipated and introduced some sprinting every
five minutes or so into her
workout to build up speed.
After the race, her friend
dropped the idea of competitive running, but Reccoppa kept on going. That
was April 2009. Since then,
she’s run eight more races.
And she sees no reason to
stop the journey.
In 2006, she began running
more seriously, working her
way up to five miles a day
and increasing her time to
build endurance. During a
workout, she’d run, jog, and
sprint. “I only do the sprinting twice a week because,
otherwise, it’s just too
much,” she said.
Her marathon running
started when she and a
girlfriend noticed an ad
in Fitness magazine for a
half-marathon and thought
it might be fun to try. The
race, an all-women, 13.1-mile
half-marathon, was sponsored jointly
She said the More/Fitness
race was her most memorable and made her realize
just how much she enjoyed
running.
In fact, the November 13
race in Richmond, VA, was
a full marathon with 26.2
miles of road mapped out
to challenge runners like
Reccoppa.
The avid runner said when
she is in a half-marathon,
“I’m competing against
myself and my time from
the previous race, so I stay
confident and run my hardest to reach my goal.”
Reccoppa incorporates
other modes of exercise
into her daily workouts.
“The first five minutes
of my training run is a
warm-up. I also make sure
to always stretch after a
training run or a race to
avoid pulled muscles, etc.,”
she explained. “Along with
running four to five times
a week, mixing between
speed interval training and
long runs, I weight-lift two
to three times per week”
because strong arms and a
strong core are essential in
running.
She also incorporates
lunges and squats into her
weight-lifting routine
and does kickboxing at least
once a week, along with
other types of cardio such
as the elliptical trainer. “I
also do a lot of walking as
well,” she said.
As far as what type of nourishment she puts into her
body while training, Reccoppa said she eats “lots of
protein,” including chicken,
fish, yogurt, and cottage
cheese. She also consumes
protein shakes after a workout, while training, which
she said usually requires an
average of 16 weeks for a
marathon. Since this running enthusiast manages to
keep up a six- to seven-mile
run a day and 10-15 miles on
Saturday, her long run day,
she is already working out
most of the time, whether
Continued on next page
8
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
she is training for a marathon or not. After all, she
runs between 40 and 65
miles per week. After working her way up to 20 miles
in one day, she is now working back down to 12 miles
in one day, according to a
training schedule, which
alternates miles per day.
She “loads up on carbs” the
night before a race, eating foods such as lots of
pasta (usually whole wheat
pasta), fruit, and oatmeal,
among other foods.
City Half Marathon, where
she clocked 7:49 per mile
and came in 13th in her age
group; the Divas Half Marathon, where her pace was
7:55 per mile. Coming in
close was the Philadelphia
Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon
on September 19, where she
marked 8:05 minutes per
mile. She said this was her
favorite race.
Before she races, all she
typically consumes is a
bagel with almond butter.
Fuel along the way consists
of gel packets. She said
there are many stops on the
route with replenishing liquids such as Gatorade and
water. “And at the finish line,
there’s lots of food waiting
for you,” she said.
Her husband, Damian, and
her parents were there,
as they are at all races, to
cheer her on. In fact, Reccoppa and her husband
make good use of her running experiences by finding
interesting places to visit in
the area where she’s running. For example, when
she ran the Philadelphia ING
Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon,
they spent the day in the
city sightseeing, checking
out the Liberty Bell and
Independence Hall.
She’s run for the sport of
competition, and she’s run
just for fun, for instance the
Divas Half Marathon at Long
Island, NY, on October 3.
The couple enjoys taking day trips to interesting
places, as well as going to
shows, concerts, and hockey
games.
Reccoppa has earned some
impressive race times for
her short marathon career. In the Divas race, an
all-women, 13.1-mile halfmarathon, she came in 80th
out of 2,815 runners. In her
age category that number
streams down to placing
16th out of 503 competitors.
Competing in races is not
without challenges for Reccoppa. Her most challenging course was the Captain
Bill Gallagher 10 Mile Island
Run in Sea Isle City, NJ, in
August. She managed to attain a pace of 8:56 minutes
per mile while running, not
on pavement, but on sand.
“At the 12th mile we were
each given a tiara and a
pink boa to wear,” she said
laughing. “After I crossed
the finish line, I was handed
a rose by a man dressed like
ABC’s The Bachelor. I also
received my medal and a
cup of champagne. It really
was a fun race.”
She admitted she was a bit
nervous about running the
SunTrust Richmond Marathon, her first full marathon,
on November 13 in Virginia,
but she was also “extremely
excited.”
This inaugural race was held
to celebrate the power of
being a woman, according
to Reccoppa. The bling was
a fun bonus.
Underplaying her accomplishments with quiet modesty, this runner is definitely
enjoying the ride.
Her best numbers so far?
The October 17 Atlantic
Her goal was to finish her
first full marathon in approximately four hours,
and she did even better,
finishing in 3:39:25, a time
that qualifies her for April’s
Boston Marathon. She came
in 32nd out of 275 runners
in her age group.
“I was crying at the end,”
she said. “It was such an
amazing and unforgettable
experience, the most difficult so far and one of my
proudest accomplishments.”
At Ratfest ... Rockyn
Robyn Lane and Creed’s
Scott Stapp.
Pictured are the winners
of “Most Honest Golfers”
award: (l-r) Morning
Sidekick Gotts, Promotion
Director Doug Sjonvall,
Local Sales Manager Mike
Normand, listener, Al
Porter, and LADACIN Network’s Patty Carlisimo.
Gotts (aka the WRAT-FM
Cash Cow) qualified listeners
to win $1,000.
At the Uproar Festival, the Rat
crew got backstage to hang with
Halestorm: (l-r) Eric G. of WRAT;
promotions staff, Arejay Hale; Lizzy
Hale; Gotts (in court-appointed
diaper...a morning show thing...);
Promotion Coordinator Maria
Ceizak; Joe Hottinger and Josh
Smith of Halestorm.
The winners of the Ratfest
Opening Act Band Search,
Almost There with the
Rat’s Rockyn Robyn Lane.
The tireless Rat Promo
crew at Ratfest: (l-r) Eric
Graziano, Nicole “Snookie”
Viscito, Vince Matthews,
Mike Johnson, Jackie
“Snackie” Mitchell, Promotion Coordinator Maria
Ceizak, and Promotion
Director Doug Sjonvall.
WRAT-FM air staff presenting Live
Nation’s Jim Steen with his honorary Ratfest 2010 plaque: (l-r) Morning
Co-host Marty Martinez, Rockyn Robyn
Lane, Live Nation’s Jim Steen, Morning
Co-host Carl Craft, night-timer Steve
Hook, and PM Driver Jim Steal.
G
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
9
community
giving back
94.7 WCSX-FM
Announces the First
Annual Feed The Need
Food Drive
Greater Media Newspapers Article Spurs $25,000 Donation to Schools Aid from
Philanthropic Foundation to Offset Cutbacks in NJ School District - By Amy Rosen
Greater Media Newspapers, winner
of the “2009 New Jersey Society
of Professional Journalists’ Stuart
and Beverley Awbrey Award” for
distinguished public service by a
community newspaper, has proved
once again that the power of the
press is alive and well and making a
positive impact on the communities that its papers serve.
When Barry Tobias, Vice President of the philanthropic Peter Jay
Sharp Foundation, New York, and
a resident of Manalapan, NJ, read
an article about the formation of
the Foundation for ManalapanEnglishtown Regional Schools
(MERS) in the June 16, 2010,
edition of his local paper, the News
Transcript , he contacted Pat Berger,
MERS Foundation president, to
find out more about the organization.
94.7 WCSX-FM presented the
first annual Feed The Need Food Drive
to benefit Forgotten Harvest. The
event took place November 13-14
at all Metro Detroit American
Home Fitness Locations.
The station asked listeners to open
their cupboards and donate nonperishable food items during this
two-day drive, which featured live
broadcasts and “satellite” remotes
from five different American
Home Fitness locations throughout the weekend. Listeners who
donated 20 cans or more at each
location received a $25 Buffalo
Wild Wings gift certificate.
Tobias determined that the
Foundation for MERS could
benefit from the Peter Jay Sharp
Foundation’s charitable endeavors
and advised the brand-new school
foundation to apply for a grant.
Happily, a $25,000 grant was
awarded and designated to support children in need who want
to take part in school performing
arts programs, but can’t afford the
participation fee initiated this year
to offset school-funding cutbacks.
All food donations benefited Forgotten Harvest, whose goal since
1990 has been to to relieve hunger
in the Detroit metropolitan
community by rescuing surplus,
prepared, and perishable food,
and donating it to emergency food
providers. For more information,
go to www.forgottenharvest.org.
A $100 fee is charged to Manalapan-Englishtown pupils who
WMGK-FM was a
proud sponsor of the
Purplestride Philadelphia
2010 Walk for Pancreatic
Cancer.
1 0
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
greater media
gives back to the
community
2 010
want to receive instrumental
music instruction in the fourth
through eighth grades, and a $50
fee is charged for sixth- through
eighth-grade students who want to
participate in choir. Seventh- and
eighth-graders who want to participate in the middle school’s musical
play must also pay a $50 fee.
Berger said, “Part of our mission
is to have community involvement,
and this is a perfect example of
that. The community newspaper
[News Transcript] printed an article
about the foundation, a member
from the community saw the article, and now we have a $25,000
grant to help the schools. It’s
terrific, and we are so grateful to
the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation for
supporting our students.”
Said Tobias: “The Peter Jay Sharp
Foundation is a significant donor
to educational institutions in the
tri-state area. It supports a wellrounded education — not just
reading, writing, and arithmetic.
That’s why it supports the arts.”
Tobias added that he was delighted
to learn about the Foundation for
Manalapan-Englishtown Regional
Schools because it is “the perfect
conduit to get the money to the
schools to implement the programs
in the appropriate way.”
Representing the school foundation, Berger announced at a recent
meeting of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District
Board of Education that the
$25,000 grant money was used to
set up the Peter Jay Sharp Opportunity Fund for Performing Arts. It
is divided into three categories for
students who qualify and will encourage beginners, allow students
of all levels to receive instrumental
lessons and instrument rentals,
and allow students to participate in
choir and theater programs.
“The grant from the Peter Jay
Sharp Foundation will benefit
the students of the district as it
will provide students in grades
four through eight with greater
opportunities to explore the
fundamentals of playing an instrument and to participate within
other areas related to performance
arts,” said Jodi Klask, the district’s
supervisor of music and assistant
principal at Lafayette Mills School.
“Instrumental music, chorus,
and participation in the musical
provide students opportunities to
broaden their academic and social
development.”
In an e-mail to Mark Rosman,
editor of the News Transcript , Berger
wrote, “A major success of our
foundation came because of your
article on our foundation in the
News Transcript this past June. Thank
you for that initial article!!!”
Young WMGK-FM
listeners at the ADA Walk
in Philadelphia.
A group of WMGK listeners get
set to walk at the Free to Breathe
Lung Cancer Walk in Philadelphia.
MAGIC 106.7 FM
Participates in
Boston’s Memory Walk
102.9 WMGK-FM
Teams Up With The
Philadelphia Flyers To
Present the 9th Annual
DeBella Turkey Drop
Team “Radio Mess”
Walks in Memory of Jeff
Messerman in Boston’s
1st Annual Brain Tumor Walk
WBT-AM/FM Names
2010 Hometown Hero
MAGIC 106.7’s Midday Host
Nancy Quill with WCVB-TV
Meteorologist Harvey Leonard
The “2010 Hometown Hero Award”
named after Ray Gooding.
The Greater Boston Memory Walk
to benefit Alzheimer’s Research and
Support Programs.
The annual Greater Boston Memory
Walk raises money each year for the
Alzheimer’s Association. Proceeds
raised help fund research and provide support to patients and their
families through education, care
consultation, advocacy, support,
etc. MAGIC 106.7’s Nancy Quill
walks every year in memory of her
Dad, who suffered from Alzheimer’s and passed away in 2000.
Nancy was joined on stage by
WCVB-TV Channel 5 Meteorologist Harvey Leonard, who cheered
on the walkers!
WMMR-FM’s Pierre
Robert Hosts
PAWS Benefit:
Cosmic Caring for Pets 2010
For the third year in a row, 102.9
WMGK-FM and the Philadelphia Flyers teamed up to raise
turkey donations for this year’s
9th Annual John DeBella Turkey Drop.
The event took place at Love Park
in Philadelphia and benefited
CityTeam Ministries, Philadelphia,
an organization that provides food
and services to less fortunate individuals, families, shelters, and food
groups in the tri-state area.
WMGK-FM Morning Personality John DeBella thanked the
crowd for their donations during
intermission at the Turkey Drop.
“The Flyers and their fans have
been extremely generous to us the
last few years,” DeBella said. “We’re
thrilled to have their passionate
support again this year.”
Less than six months ago, on
April 3rd, 2010 the world lost Jeff
Messerman, who was Greater Media Boston’s National Sales Manager for WKLB-FM/WROR-FM/
WTKK-FM. A true gentleman
and businessman, Jeff was a role
model to all at GMB. His smile
and hearty laugh lit up every room
he entered. Anyone who had the
opportunity to meet him was truly
touched by his positive attitude
and passionate spirit. On October
2nd, 2010 “Team Radio Mess”
walked in honor and in memory
of this amazing man, raising over
$3,600 for the Brain Tumor Association. Through various events
to date, the GMB staff has raised
over $21,000 in Jeff’s memory.
WROR-FM Presents Loren & Wally’s Annual Yard Sale
The effort was capped off on November 20th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
when Pierre Robert, his dog Lucy,
and PAWS were on-site with animals
that were available for adoption.
WBT-AM/FM recently awarded
Corey Gaitan of Rock Hill, South
Carolina the “2010 Hometown
Hero Award” for his efforts in
making a miraculous difference in
the life of one local little girl.
In late July, Corey, a Rock Hill
Utilities worker, stopped for a
break at a local convenience store.
While his co-worker went into the
store, Corey witnessed a young girl
choking. Her mother was attempting the Heimlich maneuver and
trying to give her daughter water.
Corey picked up the little girl, correctly positioned her and slapped
her between the shoulder blades
several times. When he heard
something hit the ground, he saw
that he had dislodged the sucker in
the little girl’s throat.
93.3 WMMR-FM midday host Pierre
Robert and the Oxford Valley Mall
recently reminded listeners that pets
need love during the holiday season!
The station collected critical pet
supplies for the Philadelphia Animal
Welfare Society (PAWS), an organization that helps abandoned and abused
pets find new homes.
The items included paper towels,
heavy-duty/contractor trash bags,
bleach, laundry detergent, as well as
clay cat litter and canned cat/dog food.
In addition, cash donations were also
accepted.
Corey Gaitan’s life-saving heroics
garnered him WBT’s 2010
“Hometown Hero” award.
WROR-FM
Presents Loren
& Wally’s
Annual Yard
Sale.
According to American Red Cross,
out of all who are CPR-certified,
only 10% will actually act in an
emergency situation. For saving a
six-year-old’s life without thinking
twice, Corey Gaitan was selected as
this year’s WBT Hometown Hero.
Loren & Wally with Yard Sale shopper and fan.
The 3rd Annual Loren & Wally
Yard Sale at Kimball Farm in
Westford was a huge success!
Through table rental fees,
WROR-FM raised over $2,000
for the Brain Tumor Society.
“The Loren & Wally Morning
Show” was joined by Red Sox
pitcher Bill “The Spaceman”
Lee, comedian Bob Marley, comedian Tony V, and thousands
of bargain-hunting early birds!
At the awards luncheon, Gaitan was
awarded the “Hometown Hero”
trophy as well as a cash donation
to his charity of choice supplied
by sponsor Bank of Commerce.
Gaitan donated his $2,500 to the
Rock Hill Children’s Attention
Home.
Community: Giving Back continued on next page
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
11
community
giving back
WMTR-AM Lends a Helping Hand to
Breast Cancer Walk
Magic 98.3 FM Presents 1st Annual Central Jersey Women
In Business Awards
WDHA-FM & WMTR-AM General Manager Nancy McKinley
was presented with the Mary Mulholland Spirit Award.
Women In Business Awardees
MAGIC 98.3 FM recently
presented the 1st Annual Central Jersey
Women In Business Awards.
The event served as a celebration
for influence, ingenuity, and
action uniquely positioned to
provide incisive commentary on
the importance of women within
business. Hosted at the Pines
Manor in Edison, New Jersey, the
station honored several successful
businesswomen and businesses for
their growing success within the
community. In addition to drinks
and hors d’oeuvres, attendees
enjoyed a delicious dinner and a
comical act, which kept everyone
laughing in their seats between
speeches.
Classic Oldies 1250 WMTR’s
Chris Edwards gave a
helping hand in hosting the
Ninth Annual Saint Clare’s
Walk for Breast Cancer
Awareness on September
19, 2010. The Saint Clare’s
Foundation hosts this 5k
walk every year to raise
awareness of breast cancer
and promote early diagnosis, while raising vital
funds to support treatment
of breast cancer through
Cancer Care at Saint Clare’s.
Over 2,000 people came to
the event and helped raise
over $140,000 for this great
cause. Station Manager
Nancy McKinley was also on
board for the event. She was
presented with the Mary
Mulholland Spirit Award,
recognizing outstanding
volunteer leadership and
support of The Women’s
Health Center.
WDHA-FM & WMTR-FM Host Puptoberfest
In September, WDHA-FM and
WMTR-FM partnered with local
animal shelter, 11th Hour Rescue
for Puptoberfest, a day-long play date
for listeners’ favorite four-legged
friends. More than 3,000 listeners and dog lovers came out to
Craigmeur Picnic Grounds in
Rockaway, New Jersey for the event.
WDHA and WMTR jocks were onsite all day with games like doggie
dancing, puppy limbo, and even
a DJ look-alike contest. WMTR’s
Chris Edwards got into the fun by
performing as the Great Raja, a pet
psychic who can communicate with
dogs’ true thoughts.
The event was a huge success for
local animal shelter 11th Hour Rescue. For years 11th Hour has found
homes for some of New Jersey’s
homeless animals. They featured a
memory lane with pictures of dogs
they had fostered that had since
been adopted and held a parade of
adopters. With the help of WDHA
and WMTR, 11th Hour Rescue was
able to adopt over a dozen more
dogs the day of Puptoberfest.
WDHA-FM Midday Host,
Terrie Carr poses with her
“look-alike” dog.
WMTR-FM’s Morning Team
Host, Chris Edwards as The
Great Raja, Dog Psychic.
Community: Giving Back continued on next page
1 2
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
MAGIC 106.7 FM Makes
Strides Against Breast Cancer
in Boston
MAGIC 105.1 FM and Project Runway’s
Joe Faris Enlist Celebrities for PROJECT
LittlePinkDress to Benefit Breast
Cancer Research
MAGIC 105.1 FM recently
teamed up with Project
Runway’s season five contestant and local Detroiter,
Joe Faris for PROJECT
LittlePinkDress to help
raise funds for breast
cancer during the month
of October. The nationally
renowned designer created
a shell of a denim dress
and enlisted five celebrities
to have them co-design
their own version of the
dress. The dresses went
on tour throughout Metro
Detroit, where people were
able to go to view and bid
on them, along with the
opportunity to have lunch
with the designer that
made the particular dress.
The celebrities who have
volunteered their time to
participate in the project
included: Erin Cummings of
the new ABC show, Detroit
187; Christy McDonald, reporter for Channel 7 News;
local celebrity, Karen Newman; Lauren Podell, traffic
and reporter for Channel 4,
and Georgea Kovanis, fashion reporter for The Detroit
News. Currently, Faris and
the celebrities are designing these unique masterpieces, which was unveiled
at MAGIC 105.1’s Pink Party
on October 7, 2010 at the
Grosse Pointe War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms,
Michigan.
Once the dresses were
revealed, a gorgeous display
was slated to make its
way to Art Van locations
throughout the Metro Detroit area for people to view.
One hundred percent of the
proceeds will benefit a local
breast cancer charity.
“This is an incredible opportunity,” said Faris. “I have
a very dear friend who is
going through treatment
for breast cancer right now.
This disease is affecting
more and more people all
the time. I really hope PROJECT LittlePinkDress not
only raises funds but also
continues to raise awareness
about this disease.”
At press time, the designer
was preparing to launch
Motor City Denim Company,
a full denim line.
For more information about
PROJECT LittlePinkDress,
please e-mail Aimee Spencer direct at aspencer@
greatermediadetroit.com
or go to www.detroitmagic.
com.
This event is made possible
by DMC Huron Valley Sinai
Hospital’s Sinai Center for
Women and Charach Cancer Treatment Center.
top to bottom
Kim Khazei, Matt Lorch,
and MAGIC 106.7’s
Candy O’Terry at
Making Strides Against
Breast Cancer Walk.
MAGIC 106.7’s Don Kelley on stage at Making
Strides Against Breast
Cancer Walk.
Making Strides Walk.
MAGIC 106.7 FM’s Candy
O’Terry emceed the 18th
annual Making Strides
Against Breast Cancer Walk
with 7 News Anchors Matt
Lorch and Kim Khazei,
along the Esplanade at
Hatch Memorial on
October 3, 2010.
Making Strides is held in a
number of markets, but the
Boston walk is the largest
and the most successful in
the country. Forty thousand people gathered to
raise awareness and dollars
to fight breast cancer at the
18th annual American Cancer Society Making Strides
Against Breast Cancer Walk.
Walkers followed the fivemile route along the Charles
River Esplanade to proudly
honor breast cancer survivors and fondly remember
those who have lost their
lives to the disease.
Making Strides is the nation’s oldest and largest
one-day breast cancer fundraiser, and is the American
Cancer Society’s signature
event during National Breast
Cancer Awareness Month in
October.
FA L L
G
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
13
H A L L O W E E N
MAGIC 98.3 FM Presents
2010 Halloween Bash
MAGIC 98.3 FM’s 2010 Halloween Bash was eerily festive and
fun. Held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Monroe, New Jersey,
the location served as the perfect location for frightening excitement and delicious hors d’œuvres for the more than 200
special listeners who attended the annual event.
In addition, attendees had the opportunity to win passes to
attend the private party through multiple on-air and online
giveaways that filled the guest list within 32 seconds.
The haunting music of The Greatest Nameless Band (GNB)
rocked the house all night long. Games, prizes, and a costume contest rounded out the evening.
WMGK-FM Hosts Haunting Good
Time at 4th Annual John DeBella
Masquerade Bash
U.S. Marines Present WMGK with Award at Event
More than 400 listeners turned out to compete for the coveted $1,000 grand prize at WMGK-FM’s 4th Annual John
DeBella Masquerade Bash at Finnigan’s Wake in Center
City, Philadelphia. The haunting good time took place on
October 29th and was hosted by legendary morning man
John DeBella. In addition, WMGK-FM’s Ray Koob broadcasted live from the event. Second and third place prizes of
$250 and $500 were also awarded.
In addition to the costume contest, listeners were encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy for the U.S. Marines Toys
for Tots campaign. As a result, the Marines collected a total
of four large bins of toys and raised more than $3,600 during the evening. In appreciation for WMGK-FM’s support in
2009 (which helped over 93,000 children in the Delaware
Valley wake up with toys on Christmas Day), the U.S. Marines presented the station with a special award, designed
by Walt Disney, at the end of the evening.
WMGK’s Charley Lake, Ray Koob, Debbi Calton, and Mike Samsel at the
4th Annual DeBella Masquerade Bash.
Costume Winners from MAGIC’s Halloween Bash.
1 4
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
John and Lisa DeBella with WMGK’s Jackie Sherman and Steve McLean.
H A L L O W E E N
MAGIC 105.1 FM Celebrates Halloween
in the Motor City
MAGIC 100.1 FM Turns the Tables on
Reality Show Stereotypes at the
73rd Annual Toms River, NJ Halloween
Parade
Greater Media New Jersey’s MAGIC 100.1 FM decided to have
some fun with some of the state’s misguided stereotypes
portrayed on some of the recent television reality shows at
this year’s 73rd Annual Toms River, NJ Halloween Parade.
Morning Show personality Cyndy Canty with her husband, Sean.
Morning Crew: (l-r) Mike Bradley,
Fay Samona, & Jim Harper.
MAGIC 105.1 Promotion
Staff Miners.
WMMR-FM’s
Rock N’ Roll
Halloween
Celebrating Halloween
the entire month of
October, Preston & Steve
invited listeners to the
scariest local haunts for
the Scare The Piss Out of
You Tour. They brought
it all to a head on Halloween Weekend with
a sold-out MMR Creep
Show concert featuring
the Black Crowes and
Jacky Bam Bam’s Rock
N’ Roll Halloween Party!
clockwise from top left, “Snookie” and the Police.
MAGIC 100.1 FM Float in the 73rd Annual Toms River, NJ Halloween Parade.
MAGIC 100.1 FM Crew.
clockwise from top, Preston &
Steve Calendar Girl Angela (far
left), a few WMMR listeners and
Pierre Robert (right, in tie-dye)
take part in the costume festivities
at the Jacky Bam Bam Halloween
Party.
The Black Crowes perform to a
sold-out crowd at WMMR’s Creep
Show.
MMaRmy member Jason Gooch
donned makeup at the historic
Eastern State Penitentiary.
MMaRmy member Sean Burke
gets excited for a “Preston & Steve
Show” Halloween stunt in Center
City Philadelphia.
Reported to be the second largest Halloween Parade in the
world, the event was the perfect opportunity for MAGIC 100.1
FM to set the record straight on one particular television
show offender, Jersey Shore.
The MTV reality show has received vast amounts of controversy and attention regarding the portrayals of Italian-American stereotypes, involving everything from hair gel to spray
tans and laundry. It’s also drawn scrutiny from locals because
the cast members were not residents of the area nor a good
representation of what the Jersey Shore is truly all about.
The staff and listeners of MAGIC 100.1 took things into their
own hands, complete with exaggerated costumes, hard attitudes, and flying fist pumps, as they declared “CHARGED:
MISREPRESENTATION OF THE REAL JERSEY SHORE.”
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
15
snapshots
greater media
in pictures
faces & places
1
15
8
2
16
10
9
17
3
11
4
12
5
18
19
6
13
7
14
1 6
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
20
21
23
30
28
22
1. Radio 92.9 brings a virtual snowboarding experience to the Boston Ski & Snowboard Expo; 2. Congratulations to the
“Greater Media Gangstas,” the Champions of the American Advertising Federation Charlotte Halloween Dodgeball Tournament! (l-r: John, Jonathan, Jesse, Mark,
KC, Brad); 3. Mike Randall, Doug Podell
from WCSX, and the Motor City Mad Man
Ted Nugent backstage at DTE Energy
Music Theatre; 4. Sue Cope (WROR) and
audience assistant filled the stomachs of
some very hungry listeners at the Cooking with Cope event at KamAppliances;
5. GMNJ Assistant Nat’l Sales Mgr- Robbin Friedell (l) and Reg’l Exec Asst – Jenn
Mundy (r) in NYC seeing the B’way show
Elf at their annual sales outing; 6. WMTR’s
Chris Ales with New York Jets defensive
tackle, Kris Jenkins; 7. Promo Director
Doug Sjonvall is ready for the big jump
with promotions staff Nicole and Lisa
at the MAGIC 100.1 Hi-Def Halloween
Party; 8. WDHA’s Kristen Mendoza and
Casey Klein at A Walk For Big Brothers
Big Sisters; 9. Boston Prod Director, David O’Leary receives a flu shot from Myra
during GMB’s flu shot clinic; 10. WRAT DJ
Gotts (r) chats with Adv. Dir., Bob Waitt
(l) and Gen’l Mgr/Publisher Ben Cannizzaro during a visit to GMN, during a
promotional appearance for The Rat’s
“Cash Cow” promotion; 11. WBEN Promo
Coord Jenny Wildman enjoying delicious
samples from the McCafe truck with
GMP’s Missy Carr and Donna Gallagher;
12. MAGIC Street Teamer Leah Hatten at
the Belkin Farms appearance; 13. Mascot
Merlin & the MAGIC 100.1 warp speed tshirt sling shot – warp factor 5 Merlin!;
14. Preston & Steve scooped their custom
Bassett’s Ice Cream flavor with proceeds
benefiting the Philadelphia Police Foundation; 15. On his honeymoon in Mexico,
WLNK’s IT Coordinator, Frank Wilson was
snapped sporting his LINK backpack;
16. A Fanatic fan at the Race for Hope
Walk; 17. Eng Jeff Hansen holding the
Grand Prize and 251 pieces of candy –
winning the “Guess How Much Candy is in
the Jar” contest at GMB’s end of summer
BBQ. 18. WMTR Station Manager,
Nancy McKinley poses with Rep
Rodney Frelinghuysen; 19. MAGIC
100.1 midday host, Debbie Mazella with lucky Nissan Cube winners;
20. WTKK’s Eagan & Braude with
Macy Gray; 21. A large crowd gathers
in front of the WBT set at the Charlotte
Blues & BBQ & enjoy some great BBQ!;
22. Boating & Outdoor Recreation Festival at Metro Beach – Neal Hillstrand and
Mike Fourtner from Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch with Juline Jordan;
23. WDHA Prom and Event Coord Marie
Senkeleski and Nite Space Jock Lindsay
Klein pose at WDHA’s Monster Bash;
24. MGK’s John DeBella with the winners of the “no hands” pumpkin carrying
contest at Linvilla Orchards; 25. Radio
92.9 hosted a pre-Bruins home opener
bash with Bud Light giving away a pair
of Bruins tickets for the game; 26. Nationally syndicated host Bob Lacey during a “Smart Chicken” live remote at a
Charlotte area grocery store; 27. WMTR
Morning Team’s Chris Edwards poses
with his dog “look-alike” at Puptoberfest; 28. Pierre Robert with two “Twins”
at the Robbins Diamonds Dash – a hightech scavenger hunt to find a $10,000
diamond; 29. 105.7 WROR’s very own
Hank Morse & WCVB-TV5’s Randy Price
hosting the Walk Now For Autism Research at Suffolk Downs, raising more
than $850,000 for Autism Research;
30. Rat’s 14th annual Haunted House
Halloween Party 2010: Jimmy Steal,
Marty Martinez & Carl Craft as the Chilean
Miners, Steve Hook as Where’s Waldo
and Rockyn Robyn Lane as the Miner’s
Mistress; 31. Sales Exec Joanne Kurilla
w/her Angus Young AC/DC husband
Stephen at the MAGIC 100.1 Hi-Def Halloween Party; 32. MGK’s Rachel Gordon,
WBEN’s Amanda Fefer, Colin Smyth,
WBEN’s Christine Razzano-Quigley, and
Mkt Mgr John Fullam at Colin Smyth’s
and Niki Shaffer’s going-away party; 33.
Pierre Robert and contestants in the 2010
Robbins Diamonds Dash; 34. The winner
of “Win BEN’s Ride” being congratulated
by Marilyn Russell; 35. WBT enlisted the
services of a nearby Roman soldier at
the Annual Greek Festival to guard the
registration materials; 36. WTKK hosted
the 1st Annual Braveheart Awards, alongside MA Senator Scott Brown.
G
31
29
24
33
32
34
25
26
27
35
36
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
17
30 years
special feature
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
WDHA-FM’s Curtis Kay Still Enjoying
the Ride after 30 Years
The Versatile Air Personality/Program Director Stays in Tune with
the Music, His Listeners, and the Community
SOMETIMES, it’s good to
know that some things in life
stay the same.
top to bottom
A picture of Curtis from early in his
WDHA career.
WDHA General Manager Nancy
McKinley presents Curtis with a
plaque commemorating his 30th
anniversary.
It’s a sure bet that listeners of
Greater Media New Jersey’s
WDHA-FM’s “Rock of New
Jersey” feel that way about
longtime radio personality
Curtis Kay, who has been talking to his listeners and playing
their favorite hit tunes for 30
years.
WDHA staff together celebrating
Curtis Kay’s 30th Anniversary.
Kay is celebrating his 30th
anniversary with WDHA-FM,
and as he has said in previous
interviews for Grapevine, “When
it stops being fun, I’ll go work at
Wal-Mart.”
This is a man who loves his
job, loves his listeners, loves his
music, and loves the community he serves. And, those are
the reasons he has opted to
stay on year after year at the
Morristown-area station in an
industry where it is not uncommon for radio hosts to move
from one station to another. Kay
is unique in this respect.
When asked why he has decided to stay with WDHA all these
years, Kay said, “This station has
always been what I was looking
for. I love the New Jersey area.
The radio station was exactly
what I wanted — good rock,
ahead of the curve, and more
importantly more in tune with
its local audience. It doesn’t
seem like 30 years,” he said.
WDHA began broadcasting out
of Morristown in 1961 and was
launched as a Top 40 station. It
has been a rock station for over
30 years and has
been branded as a mainstream
rock station for the past ten
years that showcases all types
of music: heavy metal, blues,
jazz, as well as bands ranging from The Grateful Dead to
Phish.
Kay, who is also the station’s
Program Director, has pretty
much done it all in the industry.
He’s even had a day proclaimed
in his honor by the mayor of
Hanover Township, Ronald
Francioli, where the station is
located. April 27, 2006, was
officially designated Curtis Kay
Day. He’s also interviewed top
rock icons such as Geddy Lee
of Rush, Bruce Springsteen,
Ozzy Osbourne, John Paul
Jones and Robert Plant of Led
Zeppelin, and Angus Young
from AC/DC, among others.
The list is long and varied and
he recalls a funny incident when
he interviewed Osbourne on
the phone.
“We couldn’t even use the
interview because we couldn’t
hear him and we also couldn’t
understand a word he said. It
sounded like mumbling. It
really was funny. Even Ozzy
started to laugh,” Kay remembered.
But through the glitz and glitter
of all the famous personalities
Kay has connected with, his
most important memory is
modest and down to earth.
“I was asked to prepare the
music for the New Jersey
Special Olympics in Trenton,”
Kay recalled. Kay said that he
Continued on next page
1 8
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
did this for three consecutive
years in the mid-1990s and
remembered it as an “incredible
experience.”
“It was an unbelievable parade
of athletes led by the New
Jersey State Police. I met with
officials from the Olympics,
whose headquarters were
in New Brunswick at the time.
We went over ideas and how
we wanted it to be. We used
rock and pop music,” he said.
This experience, he said, was
“over the top” and “still sticks
out in my mind.”
Although the station basically
plays classic rock, according to
Kay, WDHA has always made
time in its classic rock play list
for new artists.
“We can play AC/DC, Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, and
Def Leppard and also play
bands like Halestorm and
American Bang. We are always
introducing new artists to New
Jersey. We are the only station
in New Jersey to do that.”
When asked what it is has been
like to interview some of the top
names in rock, Kay said, “They
put their pant legs on one leg at
a time just like I do.” His biggest
concern is that the interview
goes well. That’s what can make
him a bit anxious. “You want to
make sure it goes well and you
don’t have people storming out
of the studio.”
He does some research but
not a “ton of preparation.” “I
like to find out things about an
artist that may not have been
focused on in other interviews,
like what their kids are like or
hobbies they may have. I like to
have them talk about the more
human side of themselves, in
addition to their music,” Kay
said.
He remarked on his interview
with Geddy Lee. “Geddy is
very passionate about baseball.
Pretty soon we were just talking
about baseball and not music,”
Kay said.
Kay added that the unique
thing about WDHA is that its
format has remained the same
for as long as he has been a DJ
there. Times may have changed
but the station’s format is a
source of stability to Kay, who
loves it and his listeners who
want it. His listeners are not the
only ones who count on Kay;
his station manager, Nancy
McKinley, also counts on him to
do what he does best. McKinley
said that Kay is probably one
of the busiest people at the
station.
“He is constantly juggling
programming, personnel
schedules, and issues; training
on-air talent; overseeing the
website; interacting with sales,
promotions, and production;
and directing the imaging and
the station’s branding. He has
to be attuned to listeners’ music
tastes and lifestyle and deal
with special requests from me
or corporate, all while doing an
afternoon on-air shift that is
one of the best rock shows in
radio. He just gets the job done,”
McKinley said.
The station manager said Kay
arrives early in the morning
and doesn’t leave until late in
the evening. “His attitude is
positive, his outlook realistic and
his mind very creative. And, he
has a great sense of humor,”
McKinley said. “Although you
will rarely see him in a suit and,
heaven forbid, a tie, Curtis
Kay is one of the most professional men I have ever had the
pleasure of working with in our
industry.”
So what does Kay turn on when
he is not in the studio with his
earphones on? “My music taste
is very diverse. I listen to all kinds
of music from Big Bands to
rock,” he revealed.
Kay’s advice to any up-andcoming would-be radio personalities? “Find something you
love to do and you will never
work a day in your life.” He adds
that he has been very fortunate
to have been able to live by
this philosophy over the years.
Greater Media Boston
Human Resource Coordinator Amy Hull
recently led one of nine roundtable
discussions on communication and
multiculturalism at the 4th Annual
Multicultural Conference at UMass Boston’s
campus this past fall.
BEN-FM Presents an Evening
of Wine, Women, & Wisdom
BEN Morning Show host Marilyn
Russell (weekdays 6 a.m. – 9 a.m.)
recently hosted BEN’s Woman of the Week
Wine and Cheese event at Pinot Boutique
(2nd and Market in Olde City). Some
of the most influential women in the
area had the opportunity to socialize,
sample wine and cheese from Pinot
Boutique, and listen to two speakers share their knowledge and unique
networking techniques.
Shenielle Jones of Fox 29’s Good Day
Philadelphia and Yashima White Azilove,
owner/manager of Magnate Marketing
& Consulting, LLC were the featured
speakers at the event.
The Woman of the Week miniseries grew out
of Russell’s weekly Woman of the Week radio
program (Sunday mornings at 6:30
a.m. to 7 a.m.). Many of the women
who attended the event have been
guests on Russell’s Woman of the Week radio
show. In addition, BEN listeners that
registered to win passes were among the
attendees for the laid-back, but informative and friendly gathering.
Each week during her Woman of the Week
radio program, Marilyn Russell interviews dynamic women in the Delaware
Valley that are making a significant
impact in the community via their business, their charity work, or a combination of both.
He adds that this type of
interview gives the listener a
different perspective of their
favorite artists.
BEN-FM listeners
enjoyed wine and
cheese tastings during
the BEN-FM Woman
of the Week Miniseries
at Pinot Boutique.
G
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
19
airwaves
special feature
BY BRIAN DONAHUE
WMMR-FM Morning Show Duo Heats
Up the Airwaves ... on TV
Preston & Steve Enjoy Unique Relationship with
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
clockwise from left
WMMR’s “Preston & Steve Show.”
Preston & Steve in friendship.
WMMR-FM’s “Preston
& Steve Show” has long
enjoyed a close kinship with
the folks from the popular
television series It’s Always
Sunny in Philadelphia. The
series’ actors have been occasional guests on the 93.3
FM airwaves, and creator
and star Rob McElhenney
can always be counted on
to support the morning
show’s annual Camp Out for
Hunger.
Preston & Steve on mic.
WMMR’s listeners donated over
1,100 pints of blood at WMMR’s “I
Bleed for Preston & Steve” blood
drive. Preston & Steve the first to
donate…
Preston & Steve Crew at their
Annual Camp-out for Hunger.
That relationship was taken
to new heights this fall as
Preston Elliot and Steve
Morrison were cast in a
radio-themed episode of
the TV show, now in its
sixth season and broadcast
nationally on FX.
“Rob called me around
late spring and said they
were thinking about doing
a ‘Preston & Steve’-type
of an episode, certainly a
radio episode, and wanted
to know if our show would
want to be involved,” said
morning show Producer
Nick McIlwain, who developed a friendship with
McElhenney over the years
and has even appeared as
a background character
on the series. “I said, ‘Definitely, however you want to
involve us.’ He said, ‘It might
make you guys look kind of
goofy.’ I was like, ‘We don’t
care; we’re more than happy
to be self-deprecating, and
to cross-promote our
show on your show.’”
WMMR soon had a script of
the show, “Mac’s Big Break,”
and McIlwain and Program
Director Bill Weston then
Continued on next page
2 0
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
coordinated the scheduling
with McElhenney and the
show’s associate producers.
Preston and Steve wound
up shooting scenes both
in Philadelphia at the Wells
Fargo Center, and in L.A.,
where most of It’s Always
Sunny is filmed.
The episode, which aired in
October, opens with Preston
& Steve taking a call from
McElhenney’s character,
Mac, as he and his buddy
Charlie try to answer a trivia
question for a shot at winning a week at the “WMMR
Beach House.” As the characters attempt to search for
the answer on a computer is
comically botched, Preston
& Steve have to warn Mac
repeatedly to stop cursing on the air. A relatively
random guess wins Mac the
opportunity to take a shot
from center ice at a Flyers game. Making the shot
would score him VIP passes
to the beach house, which
Mac felt would launch him
into the inner circle of the
Philadelphia sports elite.
The hockey scene comes
later in the show and features Preston & Steve
prominently. Filmed just
before the start of a Flyers
game, the scene finds Mac
dreaming up a triumphant
performance, but in reality
winds up unconscious, face
down on the ice.
“I’m biased, but I think it’s
one of the funniest episodes
I’ve ever seen,” McIlwain
said.
Weston loved the outcome
as well. Most exciting, perhaps, were the many plugs
the station received, particularly in the hockey scene.
The It’s Always Sunny crew
created a special WMMR
shirt for Steve to wear on
the rink, and the goal that
Mac shot for was covered in
the station logo.
“The other thing I really
liked was, when the episode
opened, they had a closeup shot of an old boom box
and in the frequency display
they had 93.3 dialed in,”
Weston said. “A lot of guys
wouldn’t do a close-up;
they’d do a far-off shot. So,
just little things like that...I
thought it was great.”
The episode also featured a
subplot in which the other
characters diss mainstream
radio and start their own illfated podcast, with Danny
DeVito as their de facto producer. At one point as Dennis and Dee’s in-progress
talk show goes from bad to
worse to complete silence,
DeVito chimes in through a
mouthful of crackers, “Dead
air!”
“I loved the fact that it was
about radio even though
some of the cast was dismissive about it,” Weston
said. “You can’t take yourselves too seriously, you
know.”
Greater Media Boston’s
National Sales Team Hosts the
1st Annual Bostoberfest
The Greater Media Boston National Family hosted 24 clients and reps
from around the country
for the first annual Bostoberfest weekend, which
kicked off on October
22nd. The weekend was
packed with activities
catered to showcase Boston. Cocktail party at The
Stateroom, trolley tours,
F1 Racing, Sam Adams
Brewery Tour, dinner in
the North End, and a
show at the Improv Asylum provided non-stop
entertainment for their
guests! The turnout was
terrific and there’s much
demand for Bostoberfest II.
GMB National Sales
Manager Brian Samborski
surrounded by clients and
Katz sales reps.
(standing l-r) NSM Brian
Samborski, Director of Sales,
Chris Paquin, and National Sales
Assistant Linda Welch O’Grady with
Bostoberfest guests.
DeVito’s lines in particular
have made for some hilarious drops on the WMMR
airwaves since the episode
aired.
And so continues the
reciprocal relationship of
two shows from separate
broadcast mediums but
with equally sharp senses of
humor and, of course,
a common tie to the City
of Brotherly Love. Expect
more give and take in
the future.
“Anytime they need anything...,” McIlwain said.
“[McElhenney] is just a
really good guy.”
105.7 FM Hosts Thanks
for Serving Dinner
Aboard the USS Salem
105.7 WROR-FM gathered more
Last year, the It’s Always
Sunny gang made a sizable donation to “Preston &
Steve’s” charity food drive,
and even offered up a role
as an “extra” on the show
to anyone who gave 500
pounds of food. “They’re
very kind in that regard,”
McIlwain said. “Anytime we
want to work with them,
they’re usually great about
doing it.
“To use kind of a geeky
word,” he said, “it’s a neat
relationship we have with
those guys. We like working
with them.”
than 150 veterans and their families to
participate in a Thanks For Serving Dinner
aboard the USS Salem, a preserved Naval
cruiser in Quincy, Massachusetts.
The dinner, donated by Marty’s
Catering, was served military style (down
the line) in the galley and on the mess
deck of the ship. Upon completion of
dinner, attendees were treated to the
comedy of Mike MacDonald.
In addition, station personnel toured
the cruiser with some of the men who
served on it, as well heard from volunteer tour guides, who spoke with pride
about their experiences and service. It
was amazing to see and hear how 1,500
men lived away from their families
to serve our country. In addition,
WROR staff spoke to listeners who have
served and continue to serve in various
branches of the military.
WROR-FM welcomes veterans and
their families.
(l-r) Marty’s Catering, WROR-FM
Account Executive Jesse Carbone,
young Marine getting ready to
serve in the galley.
Wally thanked everyone for their
service.
G
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
21
G
Interactive Corner
BY TOM BENDER
Spotlight on Greater Media New Jersey’s
Interactive Journey
For this issue, we turn our
focus to the Greater Media
New Jersey cluster, and
asked Tony Odachowski
to tell the story of their
interactive efforts. Thanks
to Dan Finn, Tony, and
everyone in New Jersey for
embracing these new tools
and capabilities.
Things just took off from
there.
Kaitlyn Zullo, Interactive Designer and Content Manager,
established design standards
for each of our market sites.
She created a Style Guide,
and Tutorials for video, email, and social media. She
then trained each key staff
member.
Like all Greater Media
markets, after migrating our
websites over to the Emmis
Interactive system, we faced
the challenge of how to
best use these new capabilities. Staff members had to
be trained and accept a
change in their job function;
our websites were in need
of a major overhaul not only
with design, but with better
content. Sales teams had to
introduce our new capabilities to key accounts; and
we had to accomplish all
this while dealing with our
unique challenge – geography.
Kaitlyn explains her approach.
“I think consistency is the
most important element
we can bring to the Greater
Media web experience. A
consistent look and feel in the
design helps build recognition and familiarity with the
users, which leads to customer loyalty and trust. Once
we’ve earned their loyalty, it is
our responsibility to provide
them with the most engaging
and visually exciting experience we can…day in and day
out.”
To create more face time
for staff with the interactive team, we changed our
interactive department’s
base location. Now, one team
member spends at least two
days a week in one market –
Morristown, New Brunswick,
or Belmar. This way they can
attend sales and promotion
meetings, work with PDs,
train staff, and be available on
a consistent basis each week
for anyone who needs help.
Our six stations and staff
are spread out over five
buildings and well over one
hundred miles. Meeting with
a program director, training
a promotion staffer, or attending a sales meeting was
a 50-mile drive, not a walk
up a flight of stairs.
Dan Finn, New Jersey Senior Vice president/Regional General Manager, was
fully supportive of changing
our model and providing us
with any assets we needed.
Tom Bender spent time with
us analyzing our situation.
One of his key suggestions was working with a
web consultant, who met
with the interactive team
and each station’s program
and promotion directors.
We came up with a clearly
defined mission statement
for each station. Our mission statements became
a “funnel” from which all
web elements had to pass
through.
Another key change in our
model is the monthly Lunch
and Learns. They allow the
interactive team to help the
sales staff feel comfortable
with the ever-changing digital
world, understanding new
technology, and brainstorming solutions for clients.
Since we started them our
sellers have closed four key
accounts with integrated
programs, big dollars, and
results. The goal is making
sellers comfortable with our
new capabilities and enhancing relationships with our key
Interactive Corner continued on next page
2 2
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
accounts, as well as making
our sellers more comfortable with digital and
new technologies as the
salesperson job description
changes.
Training is a key. Billy Clanton Jr., Interactive Technical
Director and the MacGyver
of Webmasters, empowers program, promotion,
and news directors to use
the tools we have to better
serve their brands. Tools
like Andomedia, Delve, and
the toolbox of features in
Emmis Basestation have
made building and developing content easier for
users of any skill level.
One tactic that has greatly
helped everyone maintain
contact with our distant
markets is Interactivelink,
our monthly newsletter.
It is designed to: spread
our vision, inform staff of
policies and procedures,
recognize contributions,
introduce and explain new
technologies and products,
upgrade staff skills, generate and provide ideas, and
improve morale. The next
progression is an interactive newsletter for key
accounts. We hope this
initiative will help our sales
team further share Greater
Media’s unique capabilities
with clients and separate
us from the competition.
Everyone’s role is changing
– program directors, on-air
staff, account executives,
sales managers, and promotion
directors. The on-air personalities’ job is to build listener
engagement. Besides sounding
smooth on the air, they now
must connect with listeners
and advertisers through blogs
and on Facebook fan pages. All
of our program directors have
done a great job teaching their
personalities to build engagement.
With the help of our PDs we are
employing various techniques
for social media. Besides featuring a Facebook “like” button
on our sites, we are looking
into ShoutOmatic, a free web
service that allows users to post
audible messages on Facebook
and Twitter. ShoutOmatic has
radio written all over it.
We are always trying new
technology. “Falling forward” is
a good thing. At WDHA-FM we
are trying location-based applications like Foursquare. We
are not yet sure if Foursquare
will cross over into mainstream,
but so far we have over one
hundred followers.
We are also introducing QR or
“Quick Response” codes. These
2-D barcodes are becoming
popular in the digital world and
can be used many ways, especially for on-site promotions.
Using a QR scanner in a smart
phone, a user can easily access
information with the click of a
button.
A QR code promotion was
just presented to our Jersey
Shore Coors distributor for 2011.
The promotion will be a “Find
the Blue Mountains” games,
which lay perfectly onto Coors’
strategy of “If the mountains
are blue, it’s cold.” Listeners will
scan the QR codes that will be
found in bar locations, on our
websites, and on the client’s
website. After scanning, if they
receive a blue mountain, they
get a chance to register to win
top line prizes.
It’s all about metrics and driving
listeners back to our sites. 95.9
The Rat rolled out the Hi-Def
Den on wrat.com. This was your
typical artist of the day contest,
but with a blogging/social twist.
Listeners were told the artist of
the day and had to listen for it.
When they heard the artist of
the day they had to comment
what the title of the song of the
day was for that hour on a special Hi-Def Den Bulletin Board,
the Emmis blog tool.
We have made big strides in
video. Our video efforts go far
beyond repurposed TV commercials on our stream pre-roll.
We have all the video tools
necessary to produce professional quality video high-end
cameras, audio gear, lighting,
and state-of-the-art editing
software like Final Cut Studio.
Billy Clanton, Jr. and Kaitlyn
Zullo are trained videographers.
They have trained key staff in
each market through our Video
Guide tutorial. Evidence of our
video products are: Debbie’s
Road Trip on WMGQ-FM and
MAGIC 100.1, Box of Rock, Rock
N Ruff, Homegrown Spotlight
and D-Tube on WDHA-FM,
Rat-TV on 95.9 The Rat, and
in-studio performance on
WCTC-AM.
We have become a mobile
nation. Listeners are moving
quickly beyond just accessing
the Internet on their desktop
and laptop computers. Smart
phones are the next frontier.
They are having an impact
on our listeners’ everyday behaviors and their use of radio.
We are in a unique position to
capitalize on the new mobile
movement.
Clanton, Jr. says, “Our goal is
to take a mobile for dummies
approach, by making our sites
mobile-friendly, with no app
necessary to listen live and
stay up-to-date with the latest elements being featured
on our homepages. No longer
are we looking to radio as just
one medium. It’s our radio
stations, as a brand, which we
are building. It doesn’t matter
to us, just as long as they DO
listen and listen often.”
Our success has brought on
new workload challenges. To
address that, we are trying
out an advanced content
management system with a
company called WizeHive
and have developed an
interactive intern program
with local colleges to provide
more hands to help with the
increased work.
We are very proud of the
strides we have made as a
team here in New Jersey and
look forward to growing our
digital business in 2011.
G
101 WRIF-FM Presents the 1st Annual Rocktoberfest
throughout Downriver. The 16 semifinalist teams from these tournaments
went on to the finals, which took place
at Rocktoberfest. One team won the grand
prize – a trip for two to Las Vegas for the
World Series of Beer Pong® Finals!
101 WRIF-FM presented the 1st Annual Rocktoberfest Event on September
25th at Heritage Park in Taylor, MI.
The event was a celebration of the
arrival of fall and featured great food,
the “Marines Man Card Village” with
vendors and games, an Oktoberfest
Beer Sampler, the WRIF Beer Pong
Finals, a “Sports Den” to watch favorite
sports, and live music in the Biergarden
throughout the day from The Polish
Muslims, Cruizin’ Jupiter, Mustache
Baby, and Rockstar.
Leading up to Rocktoberfest, local Beer
Pong (only water was used to play
the game) teams had the chance to
hone their skills at several pre-party
tournaments that took place at venues
Admission to the event was free. A
portion of the proceeds from the event
WRIF Rocktoberfest Live Music.
WRIF Rocktoberfest Tug-o-War.
benefited The Junior League World
Series, The Friends of the Seniors,
and also the family of Officer Matthew
Edwards, the Taylor Police officer who
was recently killed in the line of duty.
In keeping with the spirit and tradition
of the actual Oktoberfest held in Munich,
Germany each September, a representative of the City of Taylor “tapped
the first keg” to commence the official
kick-off of the event.
“We are very excited that WRIF selected
the City of Taylor to host their first
annual Rocktoberfest event. It was a fun
and safe event for all who attend. We’re
hoping to make it an annual event,” said
Dennis McDermott, Deputy Director
of Taylor Parks & Recreation.
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
23
vip
special feature
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
WJRZ-FM’s Heliport Stands Ready to Serve VIPs,
as Well as U.S. Military and State Police
Engineer Bill Clanton Ensures That the New Jersey Heliport
Is in Peak Operational Form
MOST Greater Media
employees know that the
company publishes ten
weekly newspapers and owns
23 radio stations, but how
many are aware that our
Braintree, MA-based company also owns a heliport?
Bill Clanton, who serves
Greater Media New Jersey as
Chief Engineer for WJRZ-FM
and WRAT-FM, explained the
history of the WJRZ Radio
Heliport located in Manahawkin, NJ.
According to Clanton, who
has been with WJRZ-FM for
20 years, Greater Media has
owned the heliport since
2000 when the company
acquired WJRZ.
Clanton, who has always
wanted to work in radio, said
he was pleased when the
WJRZ acquisition took place,
offering him the opportunity
to work for Greater Media.
The chief engineer, who
resides in Stafford Township,
NJ, says that the heliport had
been closed for ten years
before Greater Media decided
to reopen the central New
Jersey facility at his suggestion.
“The heliport license is valuable and only lasts for a
certain number of years,”
Clanton said. “If we didn’t use
it, we’d lose it, as the saying
goes. We got [the heliport] all
revamped and built up for full
inspection, and this was our
second summer having it
open.”
The heliport operation is
working out very well, he said,
24
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
adding that the license is for
daytime use only.
The heliport has seen the likes
of many well-known people
landing on its property,
including former New Jersey
Governor Jim Florio and other
noted politicians. Even Santa
Claus has hitched a helicopter
ride to the heliport. A host of
celebrities who spend their
summers on New Jersey’s
popular Long Beach Island
have also had helicopter
transport to this landing strip.
“We’re very secluded and
private. People don’t even
know we’re here,” he said. He
added that often the people
who land there don’t want to
be recognized. “They usually
arrive in limousines and are
swept up quickly. Sometimes I
don’t even get to see who
they are. We are out in the
woods here. It is exciting
when something big happens,” he said. Clanton said
that he was not at liberty
to reveal the names of any
celebrities because of a
confidentiality clause in the
contracts with the clients.
In addition to noted celebrities, the New Jersey State
Police, as well as the United
States Coast Guard and other
branches of the United States
armed forces, use the heliport.
“The Coast Guard will use us if
they need to get more divers
or more manpower out to an
accident or if there is a ship
in trouble,” Clanton explained,
adding that the Coast Guard
has also used the heliport for
training missions.
“We are also an emergency
landing zone area for any he-
2 010
Helicopter on the ground in
Manahawkin, NJ.
licopter with engine trouble.
We are also used by paramedics and first aid squads
when emergency medevac
procedures are needed,” he
said.
He added that local television
stations, such as Philadelphia’s WPVI, have used the
heliport. “The heliport was a
way to create some nontraditional revenue for the station,”
Clanton said. “If you own it,
and you don’t use it, you’re
wasting it and losing money.
We were just months away
from having the license
expire. I think it is a shame to
waste an asset.”
Clanton said he initially did
some research on the heliport
and contacted Milford Smith,
vice president of radio engineering for Greater Media,
Inc., to start the ball rolling. He said that Smith was
instrumental in reopening the
heliport.
Clanton’s responsibility for
the heliport is to oversee its
maintenance and operations,
which includes changing
windsocks and working on
any repairs. He also works
with regular contractors, such
as businesses that keep the
area clear of tall trees.
“We must follow specific
regulations for tree heights in
order to allow for clear sight
and landing,” Clanton said.
Runway maintenance is also
included in his job description,
as is working with clients to
set up and schedule landings.
When asked why Clanton
took on this project, he said
he has always been “fascinated” by aircraft. “They are nice
to look at, and it’s great to
watch them when they come
in,” he added.
Many helicopter landings at
the WJRZ heliport are flown
in by Hovan Aviation, which
Clanton said owns six helicopters. “They are out of Maryland,” he said. “We have about
50 flights a year, mainly in the
summer.”
When Clanton took some
time off this past summer
for health reasons, he credits Pete Smeal, Director of
Engineering for Greater Media
New Jersey, and Dave Brown,
Chief Engineer for WDHA
and WMTR, for keeping the
heliport in tip-top shape for
him while he was away.
When Clanton is not manning the heliport or at work
at the radio station (a job he
said he loves), the engineer
enjoys working on municipal
committees and civic organizations. He is on the Tourism
Council in Lake Como, NJ,
and is a volunteer for the
Office of Emergency Management in his hometown of
Stafford Township.
G
1450 WCTC-AM Personalities & Listeners Make a Difference to Help Paralyzed
Rutgers Football Athlete SIX thousand dollars will be added
to the Eric LeGrand “Believe Fund,”
thanks to 1450 WCTC-AM morning
personality Jack Ellery and the midday
host and Program Director, Bert Baron.
The Fund was established in an effort to
help defray expenses for paralyzed
Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand,
a defensive lineman from Colonia.
LeGrand suffered a serious spinal injury
while making a tackle in the RutgersArmy football game this season. As a
result, the star player was completely
paralyzed from the shoulders down.
Recently, LeGrand received some
encouraging news when his condition
was upgraded. Though still paralyzed,
the new diagnosis now allows the hope
that his condition may improve in the
future.
“As soon as we heard about the Fund,
the radio station decided to see how
we could aid,” said Ellery, a long-time
staple at the New Brunswick based
facility. “We have done things like this
throughout the years I have been with
1450 WCTC-AM. When we reached
out to our audience once again, they
once again came through.”
“There have been so many worthy causes
we have supported through the years
it’s difficult to remember them all,”
said morning Program Director Bruce
Johnson. “WCTC was instrumental in
buying a school bus for the St. Francis
Mission in South Dakota. We sent
WBT-AM/FM’s John Hancock
Celebrates
20 Years in Charlotte
Six thousand dollar check that
will be added to the Eric LeGrand
“Believe Fund”
truckloads of food and clothing, all
donated by our listeners, to Florida after
several devastating hurricanes. In addition, we raised a great deal of money to
buy phone cards for the troops in Iraq,
and our efforts for the Tsunami victims
in Sri Lanka saw our listeners contributing twenty-five thousand dollars. And,
that’s just the tip of the iceberg.” “Jack Ellery is a fund-raising dynamo,”
stated WCTC General Manager Dan
Henrickson. “I doubt that there is another radio personality in America who
has done more than Jack Ellery for folks
in need. He has been associated with the
station, on and off, since 1962. There
is no one I know who can encourage
an audience to raise money for worthy
causes quite like Jack. But he’s not
entirely alone in the effort. In addition,
our midday personality, Bert Baron,
with the help of the Qdoba restaurant in
New Brunswick, also brought in a considerable amount for Eric LeGrand.”
97.5 FM The Fanatic to Air NFL Sunday Night &
Monday Night Football
WBT AM/FM Personality John Hancock
recently celebrated his twentieth year on
the air in the Charlotte market.
On the evening of October 20th, WBT-AM/FM
personality John Hancock was ready to begin
another broadcast of his
popular show on News
Talk 1110. But much to his
surprise, his broadcast was
then “taken over” by fellow
WBT personality Keith
Larson and “Charlotte’s
Most Beloved” was forced
to celebrate his twentieth
year as an on-air personality in the Charlotte, NC
market.
97.5 The Fanatic Philadelphia once
again carried play-by-play coverage for
all of the 2010 NFL Sunday Night and
Monday Night Football games.
Week one featured a Sunday Night
NFC East match-up of the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. It
was Donovan McNabb’s first regular
season game in a Redskins uniform
after spending his whole career with the
Philadelphia Eagles.
Week one for Monday Night Football
featured a double-header with the
Baltimore Ravens vs. the New York Jets
(7 p.m.) and the San Diego Chargers vs.
the Kansas City Chiefs (10:15 p.m.).
97.5 The Fanatic carried the national
Westwood One Radio play-by-play
broadcast. The play-by-play announcers for Sunday Night Football were Dave Sims
and James Lofton. The play-by-play
announcers for Monday Night Football were
Kevin Harlan and Boomer Esiason.
Larson, WBT-AM/FM’s
midday host, had coordinated the broadcast
takeover from behind the
scenes with Hancock’s
staff, Greater Media
management, and the
promotions team. Hancock
received several on-air
congratulations from old
broadcast friends as well
as listeners with their most
“beloved” memories. “It
was wonderfully chaotic
fun,” commented Larson,
“but there was such a great
response; people had to
wait to get on and those
who did rolled patiently
with the delays.”
“I was totally surprised,
humbled, and honored,”
said Hancock. “I would have
never dreamed this long a
run (although I had to do
it in two segments) at a
50,000 watt, three-letter
call, heritage radio station.”
During the broadcast
Hancock even received a
congratulatory e-mail from
his proud mother, who was
listening from Dallas, Texas!
Hancock continued, “I’m
a lucky guy, and God has
blessed me in so many
ways, but my time in
Charlotte and at WBT-AM/
FM will always be my life’s
signature, and for that I am
grateful to you all.”
FA L L
G
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
25
special feature
BY BRIAN DONAHUE
multitasking
Covering All the Bases
The Multitasking Kevin McAlpin Enjoys Many Roles at 97.5 FM The Fanatic
FOR a smaller, growing
radio station, having employees who are versatile is a big
plus. And versatility is one of
the chief qualities that 97.5
FM The Fanatic and 950 AM
ESPN Philadelphia found in a
young up-and-comer by the
name of Kevin McAlpin.
His title…make that, titles, say
it all: Promotions Coordinator,
Phillies Beat Reporter, and
Sports-Update Anchor. On
an average day, McAlpin can
be found scheduling and
coordinating staff for the
WPEN-FM stations’ events
and broadcasts, contacting
prize winners and making
sure they receive what they
were promised, updating the
station’s Facebook and Twitter accounts so that people
know where they can turn for
the latest sports news and
interviews, and any number of
other tasks.
When baseball is in session,
things can get particularly
a little crazy for McAlpin as
a beat reporter. During long
home stands for the Phillies
last season, his first on the
beat, he would find himself
working 16- or 17-hour days to
handle his various responsibilities. Not that he minded.
“It was amazing; I loved every
minute of it,” he said. “I had an
amazing opportunity where
I was able to watch baseball,
do in-game updates, and
interview players post-game
in the clubhouse. Another
part of the job I enjoyed was
interacting with my followers
on Twitter during games [as
they] would constantly
ask questions, share their
thoughts and just talk
baseball.”
Over six months, McAlpin
went from zero followers on
Twitter to more than 3,400.
Much to his delight, the Phillies gig landed him some segments for ESPN Radio and
various affiliates, and even
scored him a few cameos on
ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
His job can be fun, but it can
also be quite complex, and
hectic. Consider October: As
the Phillies made a run for
the National League pennant,
the Eagles were making their
share of headlines on the
gridiron with a revolving door
at quarterback and the return
of Donovan McNabb to
Philadelphia as an opponent.
Just planning a day’s schedule of events and broadcasts,
and dealing with the uncertainty of whether the Phillies
would have another playoff
game the next day, can be the
greatest challenge.
“Obviously, my primary job
responsibility is making sure
all our events are coordinated,
scheduled, and staffed. We
had to plan events and broadcasts for Phillies events without having game times as late
as the night before,” McAlpin
said. “It was definitely a crazy
few weeks trying to keep
things balanced between
my main responsibility in
promotions and my secondary assignment covering the
Phillies.”
But, said Mike McMonagle,
Promotions Director for 97.5
The Fanatic/950 ESPN Philadelphia, this is where McAlpin
excels. “He is great at coordinating where all the people,
clockwise from top left
Kevin getting ready to do a Sports
Update at The Fanatic.
From his days as a Phillies intern,
Kevin is seen here sitting in the
visiting radio booth at Fenway Park
in Boston.
Kevin running the board at
WMGK-FM.
vehicles, equipment, talent,
etc., need to be at all times.
And when he’s done doing
this, he spends nights at the
ballpark making his in-game
Phillies reports back to the
station and getting audio for
the next-day’s shows to use.”
It’s a job that McAlpin has
been working toward most
of his life. Though he’s only a
few years into his radio career,
he’s had plenty of experience, going back to his school
days in Havertown, west of
Philadelphia. As early as sixth
grade, he knew he wanted to
be in radio. As a freshman at
Haverford High School, he applied to be a DJ, knowing
it was extremely rare for a
freshman to get his own
show. But after auditioning,
he was given a weekly show
on Friday afternoons, and by
the end of the year he was
assistant promotions director. By the time he graduated,
he also served as production
director, music director, and
assistant program director.
There was never a doubt
about the career path he
would pursue.
McAlpin attended Temple
University, graduating in 2004
with a Bachelor of Arts in
broadcasting, telecommunications, and mass media.
Here he showed a passion for
sports. He had always loved
the Phillies, but at Temple
he and his friends were the
die-hards who painted their
bodies and rallied for the
basketball team in the front
row. Their support won them
school-funded road trips to
tournaments — the men’s
Sweet 16 in Atlanta; a women’s tournament in Ames,
Iowa; a volleyball tournament
at the University of Florida.
“I’m the kind of person who
can pretty much watch whatever sport is on TV, much to
my girlfriend’s delight,” he
joked.
In 2007, McAlpin landed his
Continued on next page
2 6
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
G
The Fanatic Unveils
the Xfinity Studios,
only from Comcast in
Philadelphia
Greater Media Corporate Profile
Jean Fries Philly’s First FM Sports
Station Unveils New,
Innovative Marketing
Program
Corporate Paralegal
Greater Media, Inc.
How long have you been at
Greater Media?
I just celebrated my fifth
year anniversary this past
October.
How did you end up
working at GMI?
One day while listening to a
Greater Media radio station,
I heard an announcement
for employment opportunities. I went home and immediately went to the website
and applied for my current
position.
Education/Background
After graduating from high
school, I enlisted in the
United States Air Force.
After the first Gulf War was
over, I was able to crosstrain into the Air Force’s
newly created career field
for paralegals and was in
the first class to graduate
from the Air Force Judge
first real job in radio as a parttime Ground Crew (street
team) member when the station was still just 950
ESPN. As part of the promotional team, he represented
the station at events and
broadcasts. “I loved it,” he
said. “Anyone who knows me
knows I’m quite the talker. I
started working with SportsRadio 950 and also worked
for our other sister stations’
crews as well. The experience
of working on the street was
a lot of fun, and something I
really enjoyed.”
It was clear to his supervisors that they could call on
McAlpin at the last minute
and count on him to help out
with anything in a pinch.
McMonagle notes that
McAlpin showed ambition
and dedication, even in a
Advocate General School for
Paralegals at Maxwell AFB, AL.
What do you like most about
working at Greater Media?
I enjoy everything about being
employed at Greater Media,
especially working with such
great people every day at the
company’s corporate office.
What has been the most memorable experience you’ve had
since you joined the company?
The most memorable experience I’ve had since I’ve joined
the company would be attending the Exceptional Women
Awards each year. It is an honor
and privilege to be able to listen
to the stories of the recipients
who have overcome obstacles,
but manage to find the strength
to inspire others.
What’s your favorite type of
music that you enjoy listening
to?
Prior to working at Greater Media, I only listened to rock-n-roll,
but since I started working here
part-time role. He was promoted to Promotions Coordinator in early 2008, and he
has been working as a sports
update anchor throughout
his time with the station. He
started as the Phillies beat
reporter at the beginning of
the 2010 season.
His career may be young,
but it’s already packed with
memorable moments. There
was his first-ever update,
when he played a cut of Jayson Stark but referred to him
as Jayson “Stork.” It was just
nerves, of course, and it made
for a good laugh off the air.
The highlight so far, he said,
was Halloween Friday 2008,
the day of the Phillies’ World
Series championship parade.
Overall, McAlpin said he has
enjoyed being part of the
and discovering our country
station, I’m now a huge country music fan — Yeehaw!
What is your favorite food?
I pretty much eat anything but
seafood.
Do you have any hobbies/
special interests?
I love to spend time with my
family traveling and camping.
I also have a boxer dog,
named Jaeger, who I enjoy
very much.
What is something that people don’t know about you?
Prior to working at GMI, I
owed my own child care and
enrichment center.
GREATER MEDIA
Philadelphia has entered into a yearlong agreement with Xfinity Studios,
only from Comcast, as the official
broadcast studio sponsor of 97.5
FM/950 WPEN. “The Fanatic Broadcasting Live” was recently launched by
Afternoon Drive Host Mike Missanelli.
If you came back in another
life, what would you be and
why?
Definitely a rock star or country music singer, since I love to
sing but can’t carry a tune!
G
growth at WPEN over the
past few years. “When I started on the crew, we were the
new kids on the block. Now,
we’ve established ourselves
and become a place people
turn to when they want to
hear not only local sports, but
national perspective. Watching and helping the station
grow has been very exciting
and rewarding,” he said.
Likewise, his efforts are appreciated. “Kevin comes to
work every day ready for
new challenges,” McMonagle
said. “The sports landscape is
constantly changing, so every
day is different, with different
responsibilities and new obstacles. Kevin takes all of this
in stride, with the attitude that
we can be better and we can
always improve our
promotions.”
G
The naming rights will be in effect for
a one-year period. The deal includes
full studio naming rights program,
including Interactive, streaming, on-air
giveaways, and listener sit-in program
elements. In addition, the station has
an official “Xfinity” chair located in
the studio, which professional players,
coaches, and other timely guests will be
able to sign when they stop by the Fanatic.
At the end of the one-year program, the
station will auction off the chair and give
100% of the proceeds to charity.
“Comcast was looking for an innovative
communications technology platform
to highlight the additional choice and
control Xfinity delivers to consumers,”
said Matt Cowper, Director of National
Sales of Greater Media Philadelphia.
“Partnering with Philly’s First FM Sports
Station, WPEN/97.5 The Fanatic,
gives Xfinity the opportunity to reach
consumers in a new, unique, engaging,
and innovative way. The partnership
highlights the benefits of both brands
giving Philadelphia consumers a new
choice for sports and entertainment.”
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
27
music
the music that makes
greater media
MUSIC at greater media
WMMR-FM’s “Big
Pink” at Roger Waters’
The Wall
93.3 WMMR-FM’s custom-made inflatable pig (a la Pink Floyd’s Animals album)
flew proudly outside the venue, as the station welcomed legendary performer Roger
Waters to Philadelphia for a three-night
stint to perform The Wall.
Alexa Ray Joel Visits MAGIC 106.7 FM in Boston
MAGIC 105.1 FM and Aldi Present the Finals of
MAGIC Glee 2010
clockwise from top left
MAGIC Glee 2010 (logo)
Winning Glee Group: Stoney Creek
High School.
Celebrity judges: (l-r) Karen Newman (local singer/actress), Christy
McDonald (from WXYZ Channel 7);
and Brian Pastoria from Harmonie
Park Studios in Detroit.
MAGIC’s Candy O and Alexa Ray Joel.
MAGIC 106.7 FM’s Candy O’
Terry recently interviewed Alexa
Ray Joel (daughter of Billy Joel
and Christie Brinkley) for MAGIC
Backstage. The singer was recently in
Boston to promote her new single,
“Notice Me.” The upbeat tune has
become the theme for an endorsement campaign for Prell shampoo.
Her mother, famous international
super model Christie Brinkley, is
no stranger to Prell. She was the face
of the hair care product during the
‘70s.
MAGIC 105.1 FM and Aldi solicited local high schools to submit a video
of their glee or choral group for the opportunity to win $10,000 for their
school. The response was overwhelming and the ten high schools that made
the cut include: Fraser High School, Birmingham Groves High School,
University of Detroit – Jesuit High School, Avondale High School, Chelsea
High School, North Farmington High School, Stoney Creek High School,
Shrine High School, Fenton High School, and Anchor Bay High School.
Over a three-week period, Metro Detroiters had the opportunity to go to
www.detroitmagic.com for their chance to cast their ballot, which made up
49% of the total vote.
On November 13th, 2010, MAGIC 105.1 enlisted three celebrity judges,
including Christy McDonald of Channel 7, local singer and actress, Karen
Newman, and owner of Harmonie Park Studios, Brian Pastoria, to decide
the final winner.
Alexa Ray Joel performing “Notice
Me” at MAGIC.
The winning group received $10,000 for their school group, as well as a recording session at Harmonie Park Studios and the opportunity to perform
live at the Campus Martius Tree Lighting Ceremony on November 19th,
2010.
Music continued on next page
2 8
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
WCSX-FM’s
Mark Pasman to Receive
Blues Alive Award
in Memphis
102.5 WKLB-FM Gives Listener the
Ultimate Experience with Taylor Swift!
Country 102.5 FM gave one lucky
Boston listener the chance of a
lifetime with the “the Country 102.5
Total Taylor Experience.” Grand Prize
winner Michelle from Malden, MA,
was flown to New York City to attend
the singer’s private performance at the
United Nations. In addition, she was
given a guided tour of the Big Apple
and attended several of Taylor’s New
York media events, including her
appearance on the Late Night with David
Letterman show and a concert in the JFK
airport.
Michelle interviews Taylor on her
private jet!
The winner was then was whisked away
in a private jet with Taylor and midday
host Carolyn Kruse to Los Angeles,
where she interviewed Taylor while
30,000 feet in the air. Upon landing
in Los Angeles, Michelle had the opportunity to attend all of Taylor’s media
events, including her appearance on
the Ellen DeGeneres show.
102.5 WKLB-FM Is Boston’s Country
Music Connection
Mark Pasman
WCSX-FM’s Mark Pasman, host of
“The Motor City Blues Project” on
Sunday nights, will receive a “2011
Keeping the Blues Alive Award”
from the National Blues Foundation. The awards will be presented
at a brunch on February 5, 2011 in
Memphis, Tennessee.
Toby Keith, one of
David Nail and the
the biggest country
JaneDear Girls permusic stars, chose
formed live as a part
to end his American
of the Country 102.5
Ride Tour in Boston at
Rockin’ Country Music
the Comcast CenSeries at the Hard Rock
ter on September
Boston. Pictured
25th. Toby played
is Country 102.5’s
to a packed house,
Country 102.5 hostCarolyn Kruse,
but before he took
ed The Band Perry’s
the stage in front of CD signing party here Ginny Rogers, and
Dawn Santolucito
19,000 screaming
in Boston. In the
fans, Country 102.5’s photo is Music Direc- with Universal Music
Group Nashville ReCarolyn Kruse
tor, Ginny Rogers;
cording Artist David
boarded his palatial
Program Director,
tour bus for a little
Mike Brophey; and Nail and Warner Bros.
one-on-one chat.
Morning Show Co- Recording Artists the
JaneDear Girls.
Host, Lori Grande.
The legendary Motor City on-air
personality is among 21 recipients who will be recognized for
playing “an important part of not
only promoting blues music but
of preserving it as well,” said Art
Tipaldi, spokesperson on behalf of
the Foundation.
“It’s fantastic,” said Pasman. “It’s
always nice to know that somebody
else has noticed what you’ve done.
I’ve been quite blessed to have this
little island on Sunday night radio
where I basically come in with my
satchel of CDs and go nuts for three
hours.
“The Motor City Blues Project” has
been airing on WCSX for 22 years,
garnering an audience of more than
35,000 listeners. When he’s not
on the air, he is busy performing as
the host of Pasman’s Supersession
shows, which bring together all-star
musicians from around the Motor
City.
FA L L
Music continued on next page
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
29
music
MUSIC at greater media
RADIO 92.9 MUSIC NOTES
WMGK-FM Asks Listeners to Put Another
Brick in Its Wall
Radio 92.9 Street Teamers John Sholl and Amy
Walsh with Alice in Chains before their concert
that was presented by Radio 92.9 in Boston.
WMGK-FM Classic Rock Squad-er Missy Carr at the Roger Waters broadcast
at The Wells Fargo Center.
Radio 92.9 Street Teamer Chuck Small with Aaron
Lewis of Staind during a Radio 92.9 soundcheck party.
WMGK-FM listeners pose with their “brick” before the Roger Waters show
during Ray Koob’s broadcast.
Radio 92.9’s Bridget Gioia with “Justin Bieber”
In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s release of The
Wall, WMGK-FM asked listeners to share their favorite memories of how the
album impacted their lives during the sold-out Roger Waters shows at
The Wells Fargo Center in November. Fans wrote down their thoughts on a
paper “brick” that was then attached to a large board. Brick by brick, a wall
of WMGK listener memories was built!
WMGK’s Ray Koob broadcasted live for all three nights of the concert and
was eager to see how technology could impact the show 30 years later.
“The last time I saw this show, Germans nearly killed me in a riot
after the concert,” said legendary station morning personality
John DeBella, who shared his own memories of his experience of the
Berlin Wall being torn down.
He added, “But I do have a big chunk of the Berlin Wall
(and a piece of Roger Waters’ ‘Wall’) to show for it.”
30
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
Radio 92.9 and Coors Light send a lucky winner
to see the Dave Matthews Band.
Music continued on next page
WDHA-FM Wraps Up the Summer with Two Big
Concerts at the PNC Bank Arts Center
WDHA-FM celebrated the bittersweet end to the summer concert season
by throwing not one, but two great concerts at the PNC Bank Arts Center in
Holmdel, New Jersey.
The first show was WDHA’s annual Rock the Park, which this year featured
Grammy Award winners Creed, rockers Saving Abel, and up-and-coming
artists, American Bang. Also featured that day were the finals to WDHA’s
Fully Loaded Tailgate where one lucky listener walked away with everything needed
to have the ultimate tailgating experience.
Country 102.5 FM’s
Lori Grande
Interviews Today’s
Hottest Stars at Country
Music Awards in Nashville
One week later, WDHA was back out at the Arts Center, this time to host the
aptly named End of Summer Meltdown. Listeners got a chance to come out and see
the WDHA jocks interview some of their favorite artists such as Halestorm
and Airbourne.
Lori Grande and Keith Urban
Lori Grande and Tim McGraw
Country 102.5’s morning show co-host Lori Grande recently headed to
Nashville to bring Boston listeners exclusive coverage of the Country Music
Awards held in Nashville. She sat down and chatted with the biggest names
in the music business, including Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Rascal
Flatts, Miranda Lambert, and many more.
WDHA’s Scott Evil interviews
Stone Sour at WDHA’s
End of Summer Meltdown.
WDHA jocks pose with American
Bang at WDHA’s Rock the Park.
94.7 WCSX-FM Revs Up for the
2010 Birmingham Cruise
Jim Braude & Margery Eagan Host
Massachusetts Gubernatorial Candidates at
96.9 WTKK-FM Studios
96.9 FM-WTKK’s Jim Braude and
Margery Eagan hosted a radio debate
between the three candidates in the race
for Massachusetts Governor on September 16, 2010. Republican Charlie
Baker and Independent candidate Treasurer Tim Cahill all vied for Democratic
incumbent Deval Patrick’s seat in the
statewide election on November 2,
2010.
The video and audio of this one-hour,
commercial-free, LIVE debate
were streamed live and made available online as a download/podcast at
www.969bostontalks.com shortly after
the show.
The free event featured live broadcasts
from 94.7 WCSX-FM throughout the
day, including a “Family Fun Zone”
with a bounce house, caricatures, face
painting, and clowns, as well as a food
court featuring delicious food in a
courtyard setting, lots of beautiful classic
cars, and a live entertainment stage
with performances from: Longneck
Strangler, Danny D, Detroit’s premier
Rod Stewart impersonator, and Roy
Caldwell.
In addition to questions from Jim and
Margery, the debate featured listener
questions for each candidate.
“96.9 Boston Talks is honored to host
the debate between our candidates
for Governor of Massachusetts,” said
Program Director Grace Blazer. “Jim
Braude and Margery Eagan’s live and
local morning show created a smart and
tactical venue for Governor Patrick, Mr.
Baker, and Treasurer Cahill to be heard
loud and clear in the Commonwealth.”
Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, can
be heard daily on 96.9 FM, WTKK
from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Jim Braude is
also the host of NECN’s Broadside and
Margery Eagan is a columnist with the
Boston Herald.
94.7 WCSX-FM hosted the 2010
Birmingham Cruise on August 21st
in Downtown Birmingham between
Lincoln and Brown.
top to bottom
WTKK Morning Show Host Margery
Eagan fires a question to the candidates: (l-r) Governor Deval Patrick
(D); Charlie Baker (R); and Treasurer
Tim Cahill (I).
For the diehard cruisers, WCSX-FM
offered tickets to the “Cruiser Spectator Zone,” which included reserved
bleacher seating right on Woodward,
free parking, and complimentary lunch
and dinner inside the VIP tent from
Zazio’s!
top to bottom
Birmingham Cruise Event Signage.
Cars “cruise” Downtown
Birmingham during the
2010 Birmingham Cruise.
(l-r) Charlie Baker; Governor
Deval Patrick; WTKK’s Margery
Eagan; Treasurer Tim Cahill; WTKK’s
Jim Braude.
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
3 1
awards
greater media
Greater Media Managers
Named among the Best by
Radio Ink Magazine
John
Fullam
Rick
Feinblatt
Daniel
Henrickson
Nancy
McKinley
Daniel A.
Finn
Radio Ink Magazine recently unveiled
its list of the Best Managers in Radio
as nominated by industry professionals. Greater Media is the ONLY
group that has at least one manager
in nearly each market category.
WMMR-FM & WMJX-FM Take Top Honors at 2010
NAB Marconi Awards in Washington, DC
WMMR-FM Named “Rock Station of the
Year” & WMJX-FM Named “AC Station
of the Year”
93.3/WMMR-FM was named
“Rock Station of the Year” and
MAGIC 106.7/WMJX-FM took
“AC Station of the Year” at the
2010 National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) Marconi
Awards. The event took place on
September 30th, in conjunction
with the 2010 Fall Radio Show at
the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC.
“We are very proud of the entire
WMMR-FM and WMJX-FM
teams for receiving both outstanding honors,” said Peter
Smyth, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Greater
Media, Inc.
The NAB Marconi Radio
Awards were established in 1989
and named after inventor and
Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo
Marconi. These prestigious
awards recognize stations and individuals for their excellence and
performance. Finalists were selected by a task force of broadcast
professionals and voted on by
the NAB Marconi Radio Awards
Selection Academy.
Greater Media
Program Directors
Named among the Best
by Radio Ink Magazine
Buzz
Knight
Grace
Blazer
Mike
Brophey
Bill
White
Greater Media is pleased to announce the following managers
have been named among the top
Program Directors in the Radio
Industry by Radio Ink Magazine:
Buzz Knight: Vice President of
Program Development, Greater
Media, Inc.
Major Market Category:
John Fullam, VP & Market Manager/Greater Media Philadelphia
Grace Blazer: Program Director,
96.9 WTKK-FM/ Boston
Large Market Category:
Rick Feinblatt, VP of Radio &
Market Manager/Greater Media
Charlotte
Mike Brophey: Program Director,
102.5 WKLB-FM/Boston
Bill White: Director Of
Operations, WBT-AM/FM and
WLNK-FM/Charlotte
Small Markets, 101-199 Category:
Nancy McKinley, Station Manager, WDHA-FM & WMTR-AM/
Morristown, New Jersey
:
Daniel Henrickson, Station Manager, WMGQ-FM and WCTCAM/New Brunswick, New Jersey
The individuals were chosen
based on nominations from their
peers throughout the industry and
confirmed by market research.
The managers were featured in
the October 18th issue of the
publication.
Corporate/Regional Category:
Daniel A. Finn, SVP & Regional
Market Manager/ Greater Media
New Jersey
They were all featured in the
November 15th “Best Managers in
Radio” issue of the publication.
coming in
first at
greater media
Pictured (l-r):
Paul Blake (V.P./Director of Sales & Marketing for GMP);
Buzz Knight (V.P./Program Development); Bill Weston (WMMR
Program Director); Don Kelley (V.P. WMJX/Director of Programming);
Pierre Robert (WMMR Personality); and Peter Smyth
(Chairman and CEO, Greater Media, Inc.)
Awards continued on next page
3 2
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
Greater Media’s Milford K. Smith Jr. Receives 2010 Radio World “Excellence in Engineering Award”
Greater Media Vice
President of Engineering Milford K. Smith
Jr. was the proud
recipient of the 2010
Milford K.
Radio World “ExcelSmith Jr.
lence in Engineering
Award” from the editors of Radio World, the news source
for radio managers and engineers.
The announcement was made
by U.S. Editor-in-Chief Paul J.
McLane.
He is a past recipient of the “Radio
Engineering Achievement Award”
from the National Association
of Broadcasters, and is a member of the Institute of Electrical
Recipients of the award represent
the highest ideals of the U.S. radio
broadcast engineering profession
and reflect those ideals through
contributions to the industry.
and Electronics Engineers, the
Society of Broadcast Engineers, the
National Association of Radio and
Telecommunications Engineers,
the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers,
and the National Association of
Broadcasters.
Clay Freinwald of Entercom, John
Lyons of The Durst Organization,
Michael Starling of National Public
Radio, and Richard “Andy” Andresen of Cumulus Media. Smith
will be featured in an upcoming
issue of Radio World newspaper and
will receive a plaque commemorating the award.
Greater Media
New Jersey’s Pete Forester
Named Recipient
of the Radio Wayne
“National Sales Manager
of the Year” Award
at the 2010 Radio Show in
Washington, DC
WBT-AM/FM’s Sonier
Lands Reporting Honors
Smith is vice president of radio
engineering for Greater Media, the
parent company of 23 AM and FM
radio stations in Boston, Charlotte,
Detroit, Philadelphia, and New
Jersey as well as a group of weekly
newspapers and several telecommunications towers.
“Smitty sometimes seems to be on a
first-name basis with everybody, and
everybody with him,” says McLane.
“We shouldn’t let that familiarity
cause us to overlook his remarkable
contributions to radio engineering,
to industry standards-setting, and
to new technology development. A
small group of people are among
the top technical opinion-makers
in our field. Smitty is among their
leaders.”
“We are so proud of Milford Smith
on receiving this distinguished
honor from Radio World,” said
Greater Media Chairman & CEO
Peter Smyth. “He is a shining example of someone who continues to
make Greater Media and the radio
industry greater on a daily basis. It is a
privilege to have him on our senior
management team.”
In addition to his work at Greater
Media, Smith is chairman of the
standards-setting National Radio
Systems Committee. He has served
on its IBOC standards development
working group, its RBDS subcommittee, and its AM Broadcasting
subcommittee; and he is the former
long-time chairman of its DAB
subcommittee.
Last year’s recipient of the “Radio
World Excellence in Engineering
Award” was Gary Kline of Cumulus
Media. Previous recipients include
Jeff Littlejohn of Clear Channel,
“We are so proud of Milford Smith
on receiving this distinguished honor from
Radio World,”
- Greater Media Chairman & CEO Peter Smyth.
Greater Media New
Jersey’s Pete Forester
has been named as the
recipient of the 2010
Radio Wayne “National
Sales Manager of Year”
Peter
Forester
Award by Radio Ink
Magazine. The official
presentation took place
on September 30th, 2010 during
an official luncheon at the 2010
Radio Show at the Grand Hyatt
Hotel in Washington, DC.
The finalists were chosen by a
panel of respected industry judges,
honoring the top managers and
salespeople in radio. The Radio
Wayne Awards were inspired and
named after Radio Wayne Cornils, a
radio broadcaster who served many
years as an executive vice president
of the RAB.
About Radio World/NewBay
Media
Radio World is the news source for
broadcast radio managers and
engineers. NewBay Media’s marketleading brands are centered on
five vertical markets: Pro Audio,
Broadcast & Video, Musical Instruments, AV/Consumer Electronics, and K-12 Education. NewBay
publishes and produces more than
40 publications and show dailies,
50 websites, 30 daily and weekly ENewsletters, three Expos, and more
than 50 custom publishing efforts,
annually. NewBay reaches more
than 3 million readers in print and
1 million online and in person,
around the world in more than 100
countries. Additional information can be found by visiting www.
nbmedia.com and radioworld.com.
WTKK-FM’s Michael
Graham Receives The
Good Scout Award
Congratulations to contributing WBT-AM/
FM News anchor and
reporter Jeff Sonier
for being honored with
Jeff
four 2010 radio and
Sonier
individual achievement
awards from the Radio
Television Digital News Association
of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).
Sonier received awards in the
following categories:
1st Place – WBT/General News –
Series of reports on Mecklenburg
ABC Board spending.
1st Place – WBT/Investigative –
Series of reports on North Carolina
spending on the state airplane fleet.
1st Place – WBT/Political-Election
– S.C. Primary / North Carolina
Runoff.
N.C. 2010 Radio Reporter of the
Year
Sonier is a respected broadcast
news veteran in the Charlotte
market. Greater Media Charlotte is
privileged to have him devoting his
available energies to working with
WBT News.
Michael Graham receives The Good
Scout Award from a young member
of the Knox Trail Council.
On September 23rd, the Scouts,
leaders and members of the Knox
Trail Council proudly awarded
the 2010 Good Scout Award of
Framingham to 96.9 Boston Talks’
Michael Graham, a recognized
leader who has been unselfish in his
service to others on an individual
and community basis. Michael was
honored for his work with the Fisher
House Boston, helping raise money
to support the families of wounded
soldiers.
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
3 3
photo gallery
greater media NEWSPAPERS
Solemn Moment
A member of the West Point
Band plays at the Casing of the
CECOM Color Ceremony at Fort
Monmouth, NJ, on September
10. The ceremony marked the
official transfer of the U.S. Army
Communications Electronics
Command CECOM from Fort
Monmouth, NJ, to Aberdeen
Proving Ground, MD.
Collision
Soccer players from Freehold Township and Howell high schools
in Central Jersey collide as they battle for the ball during a soccer
match on October 7. The teams played to a 2-2 tie.
Photo by Jeff Granit/Greater Media Newspapers staff
LPGA Legend
Golf great Annika Sorenstam
played in the Forsgate
Foundation’s Charity Golf Classic
on September 28 at Forsgate
Country Club in Monroe, NJ.
Greater Media Newspapers
covers this skills exhibition and
skins game annually.
Photo by Jeff Granit/Greater
Media Newspapers staff
Photo by Eric Sucar/staff
97.5 FM The Fanatic’s McNabb Tug of War Event - October 1st
at Tony Luke’s in South Philly.
Photo of the winners
from the Donovan
McNabb Chunky Soup
Tug of War Competition.
The pro-McNabb team
beat their anti-McNabb
counterparts.
One of the losing team
members belly-flopping
into the pool.
Pro-McNabbs right before they went
into the pool of Chunky Soup. Mike Missanelli
was told that the losing team had to jump
into the pool of soup.
3 4
g r ap e v i n e
FA L L
2 010
congratulations
Here Comes the Bride!
Greater Media Philadelphia gave a
wedding shower for National Sales Promotions Coordinator, Maura Dunleavy
Raynor-Smith, who was married on
October 9th to Spencer Raynor-Smith.
WEDDINGS
We Tied The
Knot!
Greater Media Boston
National Sales Manager, Brian Samborski
married Megan Perry
on September 17 at
St. Mary’s Church in
Charlestown, MA.
We Tied The Knot!
The newest addition to the
MAGIC 106.7 FM sales staff,
Errol Silverman, married
Tina Silverman in Rockport,
MA on August 12th.
We Tied The Knot!
The National Sales Team! (Matt
Cowper, Maura, and Jaime Frankel).
Maura with WMMR-FM Sales
Assistant Meghan Collier.
Greater Media Boston Accounts
Payable Coordinator, Janet
Upton married John Doughty
on September 18th at St. Charles
Church in Woburn. The reception
was held at the Hawthorne Hotel
in Salem, MA.
family
We Tied The Knot!
Kristina Dickey, daughter
of Pam Rossi (host of
the “Over Easy” show on
WCSX), got married on 101-10. Pictured (l-r): parents,
Mark and Pam Rossi, David
and Kristina, and Maid of
Honor, Alyssa Rae.
Sheila Smith
Greater Media Detroit recently celebrated
Executive Assistant/HR Coordinator,
Sheila Smith’s “39 and Holding” birthday.
Andrew Henrickson
Dan Henrickson’s son, Andrew, is
going to Rabat, Morocco for three
months. The program (like a miniPeace Corps) is arranged through
Cross-Cultural Solutions. Andrew will
work with orphans and at-risk youth.
Andrew raised the required funds
from family and friends. Giving back
to others is part of his DNA. Drew
feels that he has been blessed and
wants to share his energy and skills
to help others.
milestones
Joel Gajewski
WMGC-FM Local Sales Manager Joel
Gajewski and his wife Stacy celebrated
their ten-year wedding anniversary on
September 29th.
BABIES
We Tied The Knot!
96.9 FM WBOS Senior
Account Executive, Matt
Bourke married Ivy Koch
on September 10th at the
Boston Harbor Hotel in
front of 200 of their closest
friends and family.
We Tied The Knot!
On September 5, WLNKFM’s Interactive Technology
Coordinator, Frank Wilson
married former WLNK-FM
Promotions Coordinator,
Casey Bruner.
Hello, Baby Connor
Hello, Baby Evan
Hello, Baby Makayla
Senior Account Executive from
WRAT-FM and MAGIC 100.1 FM, Cheryl
Carlisle-Bednar and her husband David
gave birth to Connor Joseph Bednar on
August 22nd.
Evan Christian Combs was born to
WRIF-FM Account Manager, Kim
Combs and her husband Chris on
August 12th.
WDHA-FM’s Weekend DJ, Pat Blowers,
and wife Eileen welcomed Makayla Lee
on August 11th.
FA L L
2 01 0
g r ap e v i n e
35
LOOK WHO’S READING THE GRAPVINE!
Actress, philanthropist, and
author Marlo Thomas recently
stopped by the WMJX-FM
studios to talk about her new
book, Growing Up Laughing.
Dateline NBC’s
Chris Hansen at Greater
Media Detroit.
International recording
artist Macy Gray took time to
check out the Grapevine after
chatting with Jim & Margery
on 96.9 WTKK-FM.
Legendary recording
artist Patti Austin visited the
WMJX-FM Studios.
Greater Media, Inc., with headquarters in Braintree, Massachusetts, is the parent company of 23 AM and FM stations
located in the Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, New Jersey, and Philadelphia markets. It also owns a group of weekly newspapers in
central New Jersey, as well as several telecommunications towers located throughout the United States.
• WMJX-WKLB-WROR-WBOS-WTKK Boston •
• WLNK-WBT Charlotte •
• WCSX-WRIF-WMGC Detroit •
• WMGQ-WCTC-WDHA-WMTR-WWTR-WRAT-WJRZ New Jersey •
• WMGK-WPEN-WMMR-WBEN-WNUW Philadelphia •
• Atlanticville, Examiner, Hub, Independent, News Transcript, Sentinel, Suburban, Tri-Town News Newspapers • Motower Multilink •