Lyle Evans dead at 64
It's doubtful that anyone ever counted how many radio stations Lyle Evans put on the air over his five-decade career, but he made quite a mark on broadcasting, particularly in Wisconsin - - both with stations he owned and the engineering work he did for others. Most recently, Evans played a big role in building the nationwide group of Catholic radio stations operating under the Relevant Radio banner. He also built and was the first owner of what is now Journal Communications' WGBA-TV (Ch. 26, NBC) Green Bay. At the time of his death Monday, at age 64, Lyle Evans owned WMXG-FM and a CP for a new AM in Escanaba, MI, a number of FM CPs scattered around the country and 50% of WMBE-AM Chilton (Appleton-Oshkosh), WI. Services are being planned for Saturday in Green Bay.
''The Apprentice'' says "You're Hired" to Arby's
Arby's Restaurant Group announced it will appear on an upcoming episode of NBC's "The Apprentice." The hour-long show is scheduled to air 4/3, and will challenge teams in a task featuring the new Arby's Chicken Naturals product line. As part of the launch of its Chicken Naturals menu, Arby's is also introducing two new television ads featuring gossip maven Joan Rivers and wrestling legend Hulk Hogan. The spots, which run through 3/25, shed light on why natural is only better in Arby's chicken.
DJ faces kiddie pron charges
Yet another radio DJ has been arrested on federal charges of possessing child pronography (anti spam spelling) on his home computer. The Ocala, FL Star-Banner reports that Terrell Bellows, part of the morning crew on Dix's WOGK-FM Gainesville-Ocala, was released on 20K bond pending trial. The newspaper says he's now on paid suspension from the station.
VNU on deck today
VNU, based in The Netherlands, reports today on its 2005 earnings. But analysts will be more interested to hear whether the company has anything new to say about whether it has received a formal buyout bid from an equity consortium - - or on talks with its major shareholders, who may be favoring a sell-off of certain assets. VNU is the parent company of Nielsen Media Research and owns a number of trade publications in the US, including Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter and AdWeek.
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