FL Supreme Court refuses to hear Rush's appeal
So Limbaugh may be led away in handcuffs, according to some legal experts who say it could happen after the court refused last week an appeal to keep the his medical records away from prosecutors. Limbaugh's medical records, which had been under seal during the appeals process, can now be opened and turned over to prosecutors.
"Assuming they've got enough in the records, they'll file charges," said Michael "Lionel" Lebron, WOR-AM NY talker and former Florida DA. "And this being a felony, they would have to arrest Rush."
If prosecutors go beyond alleged doctor-shopping and pursue drug-trafficking charges (based on a former maid's claim that she sold Limbaugh thousands of dollars of black-market drugs including OxyContin and Hydrocodone), El Rushbo could face serious legal trouble, just like the general public would in such a charge.
RBR observation:
We think another reason for analyst downgrades of CC Stock (Mood's may downgrade CCU to junk bond status-see related story) is the Rush factor. If Rush goes to jail, CCU stands to lose maybe a hundred million from lost station comp, lost local and lost national ad dollars annually.
Sally Jessy Raphael coming back to radio?
RBR sources say Sally Jessy Raphael's agent is closing a deal to return her to nationwide radio. "Lifestyle Radio Net" is the syndicator. The same people run Business Talk and Lifestyle Talk. They launched Lifestyle as a new brand a few months ago when they bought some programs from WMET's parent company, IDT. Michael Metter, Business Talk CEO tells RBR: "You want me to confirm it, I won't, not until everything is etched in stone. It's a good rumor."
Asian-American leaders want DJs fired for insults
Asian-American community leaders and politicians blasted New Jersey 101.5 last week for "hate programming" and demanded that it fire "Jersey Guys" Craig Carton and Ray Rossi. The protests were sparked by a Monday drive-time broadcast during which the hosts ridiculed Edison mayoral candidate Jun Choi, who is a Korean-American. Carton also mimicked Asian accents, complained about too many Asians at Atlantic City's gaming tables and said Americans should vote for Americans, according to a report in the NJ Star-Ledger.
"These individuals made racist remarks against Jun Choi because he is Korean-American," said Jay Kim, president of the Korean-American Association of New Jersey. "101.5 FM attempts to profit upon the use of such shock-jock tactics against Asian-Americans...Race-baiting, bigotry and inciting racial hatred will not be tolerated."
Kim's organization, joining with several other Asian-American groups at a news conference, demanded the station issue a public apology and also wanted one from "The Jersey Guys" hosts and show producer, Charod Williams. Even if they apologize, the groups want the three fired.
Kim also called for a boycott of the show's advertisers until they pull their support for the show.
The Asian-American groups additionally want the FCC to launch an investigation into the show to determine if it violated federal regulations, and they want the state Attorney General's Office and the Election Law Enforcement Commission to determine if it violated any state election laws.
The groups demanded racial-sensitivity training for the radio station's employees.
Eric Johnson, the station manager, told the paper there were no plans to fire the radio jocks or to air an apology.
"If I fired them, then that doesn't make the Constitution look good, because they were giving their opinion," Johnson said.
VMS taps Media Monitors for spots
Media Monitors has signed an agreement with VMS to provide breaking radio commercials and airplay data in the top 30 US markets. Based in NYC, VMS is a leader in Integrated Media Intelligence solutions, tracking advertising and editorial content across all media. Media Monitors delivers its same-day radio broadcast data to major radio station groups as well as major newspapers, ad agencies, media investors and media research firms via its AirCheck.net online service.
Eastlan goes micro
Radio ratings service Eastlan now has a program which will enable small markets to get dayparted ratings. It defines micro-markets as those areas with less than 50K in population. It's new service is called Analysis One, and will be tested this summer. The Eastlan website has furthre information.
Michael Savage bucks trend; leaps on WOR
While talk radio in general lost a large percentage of its core audience from the preceding three months, Michael Savage bucked that trend on WOR-AM NY (12+). In his 6 PM hour, he achieved a 3.3 share; his 7 PM hour pulled an astonishing 3.9 share, and in his 8 PM hour he pulled a 3.3 share. By not pushing the Republican Party line, Savage who identifies himself as an "independent conservative" continues to draw new listeners, while other conservative talkers lose audience.
Are you reading this from a forwarded email?
