Originally posted Thursday, April 4, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
V-103 evening host Joyce Littel has officially become the program director at sister news/talk station 1380/WAOK-AM.
She has covered for Jean Ross since Ross retired last fall. This announcement just made it permanent.
"Joyce has been a radio veteran for well over twenty plus years and has been an outstanding V-103 talent hosting the Quiet Storm for a generation of fans," shared Rick Caffey in an email to Entercom staff announcing the promotion. "In Joyce's new position, she will oversee the programming of WAOK and will continue to do on-air work on WVEE, including the Quiet Storm and other times as needed."
"I'd like to get back to WAOK's roots," Littel said in a press release. "My goal is to further expound on the station's heritage by pushing boundaries to reach new heights in our communities with education, entertainment and financial literacy."
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Credit: Facebook profile photo
Credit: Facebook profile photo
Beau Bock, the former radio host on both 680/The Fan and 790/The Zone, had a stroke Wednesday but should be okay, according to Hans Heiserer, who does weekly Facebook Live videos with the veteran broadcaster.
Bock was at lunch at Bradley's Bar & Grill when he began feeling ill and was taken to the hospital.
He was released from Kennestone Hospital after treatment Wednesday afternoon.
“Def. a major stroke, but was anxious to be discharged” wrote Bock in a text Wednesday. He said he was told by doctors he should fully recover.
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Oldies station Fox 97 is 16 years gone but hardly forgotten.
Alums held a reunion last month with about at least 50 former radio station employees at Hudson FC International Sports Pub in Brookhaven.
General managers Eddie Esserman and Rick Mack made it. Former Fox jocks who showed up: J.J. Jackson, Mark Bell, "Big" John Wetherbee and Alan Sledge. Of course, Randy Cook and Spiff Carner, the morning show duo and glue for the station when it was an oldies station from 1989 to 2003, worked the room.
“It really was a family,” Carner said. “The station was very successful. We were able to do a lot of things people said we weren’t able to do.”
It has been many years since the station had its last full-blown reunion.
The station - which kept Baby Boomers very very happy- was able to sell out venue such as Fulton County Stadium and the Georgia Dome with the Ultimate Oldies concerts in the mid-1990s. Randy and Spiff partook in huge marketing campaigns such as “meet every listener” going all over town every day for weeks on end. This was followed by the “do anything to get you to listen” campaign taking jobs as Wal-Mart greeters and Waffle House cook. There was no shortage of billboards and TV commercials.
Dennis Winslow, the program director for the early part of Fox's run, organized the reunion. Former promotion director Kari Love brought many of the T-shirts and posters. "We had slide shows and videos and photo albums," Carner said. "I wish it had been longer. There were so many of us, you only got to talk to each person for a few minutes."
Credit: Rick (Spiff) Carner
Credit: Rick (Spiff) Carner
Credit: Rick (Spiff) Carner
Credit: Rick (Spiff) Carner
Credit: Rick (Spiff) Carner
Credit: Rick (Spiff) Carner
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In partnership with the Atlanta Film Festival, the Screencraft Writers Summit returns locally this weekend to help new and up-and-coming screenwriters cultivate their craft and network.
The three-day event is sold out but there are some walk-up badges available at the Georgian Terrace Friday and Saturday. (Check out the schedule here) About 450 people are expected to attend, up from 340 during last year's inaugural summit.
There are workshops, panels, mentor sessions and a pitch competition.
Speakers include Julie Plec (show runner for "Vampire Diaries" and "The Originals"), Meg LaFauve (screenwriter "Inside Out"), Steven de Souza (screenwriter "Die Hard," "Commando," "Running Man"), Stephany Folsom (screenwriter "Thor: Ragnarok," "Toy Story 4") and Doug Jung (screenwriter "Star Trek Beyond," "Big Love," "The Cloverfield Paradox"). Talents agents will be around as well.
Emily Dell, executive director, said her eight-year-old company provides screenwriting consultancy and talent development with a digital footprint. Atlanta is considered a burgeoning home for creative types now that so many films and TV shows are shot here. Only a handful of TV shows shot here have writers rooms in Atlanta, most notably Will Packer's upcoming soap drama on OWN "Ambitions."
“Our goal was specifically to make screenwriting education available to people not in the major hubs of New York and Los Angeles,” Dell said.
About half the attendees to the conference are local, half from out of state.
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The February Nielsen ratings for Atlanta radio saw Majic’s best performance to date, coming in second with a 6.3 share behind only WSB, which was No. 1 again at 7.0.
V-103, usually second lately overall, slipped to a tie for third with the River at 5.9. V, which brought in younger talent to its morning show earlier this year to supplement Frank Ski, remained No. 1 in key demos 18-34 and 25-54.
This is the first time since people meters were installed that Majic beat V-103 in overall ratings. Former V-103 morning host Ryan Cameron joined Majic in the afternoons less than six months ago.
Hot and Classix both moved up the ranks strongly. Classix 102.9, which debuted early last year to accommodate Tom Joyner, had its best month ever at a 2.0 share. Hot's 5.2 was its best month since December 2016.
94.9/The Bull slumped to a 3.3 share from a 4.3, the first full month without Jason Pullman on the morning show. The morning show fell from 3.3 to 2.8. It did remain ahead of Kicks 101.5 at 3.2 overall and 2.7 in mornings.
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