Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2008 > June > 19
Thursday, June 19, 2008
6/19: XM-Sirius update, new “Better Mornings” forecaster, Willard leaving radio
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
That XM-Sirius merger is coming ever closer to reality. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said it’s okay with the merger. Now it’s up to the entire commission.
Unfortunately, the foot dragging isn’t helping either company in a challenging economic environment. Both XM and Sirius are losing money separately. The quesion: will they be able to make money combined? The window of opportunity for XM and Sirius to grow beyond its current 18 million subscribers is closing as other options grow (including Internet radio).
More info here about the sagging stock prices of both companies.
-New weather reader at WGCL’s low-rated “Better Mornings”: Jennifer Valdez (right) from Greenville, S.C.’s CBS affiliate. Valdez is a Gator. She effectively replaces Dagmar Midcap, who has since been doing the more prestigious 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Midcap started at “Better Mornings” (seen 5 to 7 a.m. weekdays) in June 2007 but the station quickly realized the public liked her and gave her the more prominent evening gig earlier this year after Gene Norman left. The station also has a new news director named Steve Schwaid after Rick Erbach was booted a couple weeks ago.
-Remember Willard? He was a fixture on Z93 and 96rock as a jock for several years, segued into sales when Z93 became Dave FM in 2004. He’s leaving Dave and radio after 36 years and moving to North Georgia.
-Radio One, which operates more than 70 stations nationwide including four here in Atlanta (Praise, Hot, Grown Folks, Smooth Jazz), has been rolling out comedienne *Mo’Nique *to several radio markets but none so far in Atlanta. She airs live from 3 to 7 p.m. The problem is Radio One has commitments to Michael Baisden on Grown Folks, the most obvious place for her to go here. And Baisden has done very very well for Radio One here. (The respected Atlanta Radio One General Manager Wayne Brown is leaving to start his own company after eight years.)
