Ken Charles has been named the new program director of WSB radio, the dominant news/talk station in Atlanta.
It’s a return to Atlanta for Charles, who was formerly a program director at news/talk rival 640/WGST-AM from 1998 to 2001. The station was once an erstwhile rival to WSB, but faded away as AM radio lost its mojo and WSB picked up an FM signal.
He takes over for Drew Anderssen, who left WSB for a news/talk station in Dallas.
After leaving Atlanta 21 years ago, Charles worked at stations in Miami, Houston, Sacramento, Calif. and most recently, Los Angeles. His last job: brand manager for the news stations for Audacy, which in Atlanta owns Atlanta V-103, 92.9/The Game and Star 94.1.
Charles was recently named one of Radio Ink’s “Best PDs in America.”
“Ken has an impressive track record for growing top talent and exceptional content,” said Jaleigh Long, market manager for CMG Atlanta Radio, which owns WSB, in a press release. “It’s exciting to add Ken’s experience and passion to the WSB legacy and top performance in Atlanta.” (Cox Enterprises, which also owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in 2019 sold a majority stake of WSB and other radio and TV stations to Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm.)
“I can’t wait to get back to Atlanta and build on WSB’s 100-year commitment to local news and community service,” Charles said in the same press release.
WSB radio was the top station in the market for a number of years but has seen ratings slip this year, falling behind sister stations 97.1/The River, which plays rock, and Kiss 104.1, which plays R&B and hip hop.
***
Credit: CBS
Credit: CBS
Atlanta resident Jasmine Davis is likely to go home Thursday night on this season’s “Big Brother” after 50 days in the house.
She is not part of the primary alliance of seven called the Leftovers, who have helped oust five “Big Brother” players in a row. And as of now, she has no proof of what’s really going on in the house. Oddsmakers Gold Derby currently has her at the bottom of their rankings.
This past week, the show producers split the remaining 10 players into two groups of five, each of which will eliminate a person Thursday. This splintered the Leftovers alliance with four members inside the house and three members outside. The Head of Household outside in the “Dyre Festival” is Terrance Higgins, a bus driver outside the primary alliance. He has placed two Leftovers alliance members on the block so one will certainly go home Thursday.
Among the “Brochella” inside five, Jasmine is the only person not part of the Leftovers group. She is currently on the block with Monte Taylor, a strong player who is in the current primary Leftovers alliance.
In this split “Big Brother” house, a twist the show has never done before, only two people are eligible to vote in each case. For the group of five that Jasmine is in, only Atlanta native Brittany Hoopes and Michigan resident Taylor Hale are eligible to vote. Both appear inclined to take Jasmine out. Both are closely aligned with the “Brochella” Head of Household Michael Bruner, who is the likeliest person to win the $750,000 next month, according to Gold Derby odds.
Jasmine has a super strong Southern accent, spouts off aphorisms and irritates some of the other housemates, especially Matthew Turner. It has taken her more than a month to finally get off crutches after twisting her ankle the second week. She is still limping. She also spent an inordinate amount of time a couple of weeks ago hunting for the person who ate a muffin she had set aside. Turner ate it on purpose just to irritate her and then denied he did so. The houseguests dubbed it “Muffingate.”
She also got to celebrate her 30th birthday in the house last week and continues to use her birthday to try to convince folks not to vote for her, which is pretty weak sauce in terms of rationale.
Although Jasmine probably won’t win the $750,000, she will be part of the jury that decides the winner next month.
***
CNN, which is now owned by Warner Brothers Discovery, made one of its first major lineup moves since the ownership change this spring: axing media reporter Brian Stelter and his Sunday show “Reliable Sources,” which ended Sunday.
It also recently announced giving former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace a Sunday night show. And the network still needs to fill Chris Cuomo’s slot at 9 p.m. after he was fired for not disclosing how much he helped his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with sexual harassment claims. (Cuomo is moving to NewsNation.)
New CNN head honcho Chris Licht warned employees that more change is coming and rumors are floating around on various news sites about where he might be making changes next. The morning show is a possible target.
According to Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter, citing unnamed sources, Licht told CNN employees last week at a well-attended editorial meeting, “There will be moves you may not agree with or understand.”
There has been talk of CNN now approaching news in a more “centrist” way, which has caused anxiety within the ranks.
When Discovery management took over in the spring, they immediately axed paid streaming service CNN+, losing hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and laying off more than 200 people.
About the Author
