News Briefs - Nov. 28, 2012

L.A. Radio Host Frank Pastore Improves, Still in Intensive Care Salem Christian "99.5 The Spirit of Los Angeles" KKLA-FM, Los Angeles, 4-7pm host Frank Pastore's condition has now improved. He had been in critical condition with injuries suffered when his motorcycle and a car collided on the 210 Freeway in Duarte, California. In an update on Pastore's condition, KKLA-FM says, "Frank remains in the intensive care unit and currently stable in his condition. As soon as we are able, we will post new updates here. Please continue to pray for him and his family; it’s truly a blessing to know how much Frank is loved, and his family is very grateful for all the support." As we previously reported, Pastore, 56, a former Cincinnati Reds pitcher, was thrown from the motorcycle and found unconscious on the freeway. Police say that a car suddenly drifted from the number 2 lane towards the center divider, hitting Pastore's motorcycle as he rode in the car pool lane. He was taken by helicopter to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. Last week, his wife of 34 years, Gina, said he remained hospitalized in critical condition in intensive care, and was in a coma.

San Francisco's '95.7 The Game' Names Guy Haberman for Evenings. Entercom's "95.7 The Game" KGMZ-FM, San Francisco, names Guy Haberman, currently the afternoon host at KFIG-AM, Fresno, to host KGMZ-FM's evening show, being vacated by Chris Townsend, who moves to afternoons at "95.7 The Game." Program Director Jason Barrett tells us, "Guy has strong passion for our Bay Area teams, understands what local fans want, and delivers an entertaining, interactive sports show. Having been in the broadcast booth calling games, he's a great fit to lead into our Athletics play-by-play programming and be an outlet for fans following the game.” Haberman will also host the weekday Oakland Athletics pre-game "Dugout Show" and post-game "A's Talk" programs during baseball season.

Tim Moore Joining Clear Channel New Hampshire as Portsmouth PD. Tim Moore will join Clear Channel Portsmouth, New Hampshire, December 3, as Program Director for CHR-Top40 "Z107" WERZ-FM, Adult Hits "95.3 The Coast" WSKX-FM, and "The Sports Animal" duo WPKX-AM and WMFY-AM. Moore, who most recently was the Operations Manager at Cumulus Portland, Maine, will be reporting to Clear Channel New Hampshire Operations Manager Jeff Pierce, and will have the promotional support of Jadd Naamani who will report to Moore. Clear Channel New Hampshire VP and General Manager Joseph Graham says Pierce will assume programming responsibilities for "Rock 101" WHEB-FM, and "our News Talk network, in addition to his role as Operations Manager."

Anne Doyle Promoted to Production Manager at Research Director. Research Director has promoted Anne Doyle to Production Manager of the Annapolis, Maryland, based media consulting firm. She will lead a research production team that analyzes audience estimates and provides sales and programming consulting services. Doyle joined Research Director in 2007 as a Research Assistant. Shortly after that, she began a multi-year overhaul of the company's PPM systems and procedures. Since completion, she has been serving as a Programming Research Consultant. Prior to working at Research Director, Anne held positions as Marketing Manager for an independent publishing company, and in the Promotions Department at WBIG-FM, Washington DC. Says Research Director Managing Partner Marc Greenspan, "Anne has worn many hats in her five-plus years with our company. Her unique understanding of our production environment, in addition to her superb analytical skills, makes her the ideal candidate to lead our production team to great success."

Katz 360 Expands International Sales Team. Katz Media Group's digital sales arm, Katz 360 Sales, has expanded its sales team to focus on its newly enhanced global interactive advertising network, adding seven new ad sales execs in Brazil, Germany, London, New York, San Francisco and Singapore to its leadership team. Brent Fraser joins Katz 360 as VP of Global Advertising Sales, based in San Francisco. Most recently, he was the Head of Advertising Sales, Americas, at Nokia Location and Commerce. Jon Sandak is named VP of Regional Sales. He previously led Eastern and Midwest ad sales for Nokia. Ian Ross is named VP of Regional Sales. He was formerly VP Eastern Region, Partner Marketing, for six years at Orbitz Worldwide. John Yang joins Katz 360 as Director, Business Operations. All three will be based in New York. Eduardo Ferreira joins Katz 360 as Director, LATAM Advertising Sales, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from Nokia where he worked to expand its mobile display inventory and revenue streams. Michael Kremer is appointed Director, Central and Eastern European Advertising Sales, based in Frankfurt, Germany. Miguel Tatay is named Director, Western European Advertising Sales, based in London. Most recently, he was the Head of Western European Advertising Sales at Nokia.

Arbitron Sports Introduces New Event Metric. Arbitron's Custom Sports Services introduces a new PPM metric -- the Event Retention Index. Arbitron says the ERI can provide more clarity on the extent to which audiences stayed tuned to sports broadcasts. The ERI estimates the proportion of a station's audience that stays tuned for the complete quarter hours during a game, relative to the average of the top 20 stations in its market, Monday-Friday, 6am-7pm. Says Arbitron Sports Manager Chris Meinhardt, "The Event Retention Index can provide tangible evidence that people who listen to sports broadcasts 'stick around' during games and are more likely to be exposed to advertising during the broadcast."

Vevo Shells Out $200M in Royalty Revenue. Online music video company Vevo says it has paid $200 million in revenue back to the music industry since it was founded in 2009. Vevo President/CEO Rio Caraeff made that announcement at this week's Business Insider IGNITION Conference in New York City. Caraeff says Vevo generates more money for the music industry than any other service focused on music video, adding that "the audience that loves music should be treated and valued the same way as the audience that loves the Super Bowl, and revenue should flow as such." Vevo, he said, paid out more in royalty revenues in 2012 than its first two years combined.

The Ins and Outs of Radio
Clear Channel Sacramento News Talk KFBK-AM-FM and Talk KSTE-AM Operations Manager Alan Eisenson exits. Eisenson had been Program Director for those stations since February 2004 ... Bryan Truta exits as Program Director at Kansas City's Adult Variety Hits "105.1 Jack FM" KCJK-FM, Classic Hits KCMO-FM, and "Talk Radio 710" KCMO-AM, and is now seeking "a new challenge" ... Dave “Boomer” Mazur joins "Frog Country 92.3" WJMQ-FM, Madison, Wisconsin, as night host, Music Director and imaging staffer.