Here’s the news for 3/9/10. To get today’s news emailed directly to your inbox every day, click here.


» Ted Man Walking: Industry vet Ted Wagner has established Ted Wagner Entertainment Services, providing event, road and radio promotion tour management. "With 20-plus years' experience in radio promotion, I understand the dynamics of life on the road," says Wagner. "I've always enjoyed working closely with the artists, [and] the added value of my strong radio relationships is immeasurable." Wagner's resume includes stops at RCA, Equity, Montage, Nine North and Columbia, where he was VP/Promotion for eight years. His new company is located at 1100 18th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212. Reach Wagner at 615-613-3292 or here.



» Thomas Departs KSON: Lincoln Financial's KSON/San Diego morning co-host Morgan Thomas has exited after six years with the station. The rest of the Cliff & Company morning show remains intact and no other changes are planned. Thomas, who previously worked at WQDR/Raleigh, can be reached at 919-710-3137 or here.



» Getting Her Bearings: CMT Radio Networks AM Entertainment Reporter Emilee Warner is joining Compass Records as Dir./Publicity & Promotion. Her last day at CMT is Friday (3/12). Consequently, CMT Radio Dir. Jean Williams is looking for a part-time replacement who loves country music, has on-air experience, excellent writing skills and is an early riser. Send airchecks and resumes here.



» KKNG Update: Following the exit of three on-air personalities yesterday (CAT 3/8), KKNG/Oklahoma City OD Kevin Christopher tells Country Aircheck the station has moved from 93.3 to 97.3, the home of sister Adult Hits KOJK (Jack). Based on its Internet stream, KKNG seems to be running jockless on both frequencies at the moment, and the website for KOJK is no longer functioning. "We'll be bringing back all of the music that made KKNG great," says Christopher. "Something new and exciting is coming soon to 93.3. Stay tuned." 



» Radiothon Roundup: Here's a look at recent St. Jude radiothon results turned in by Country radio:

  • KEAN/Abilene, TX, $38,055
  • WCTO/Allentown, $135,555
  • WGAR/Cleveland, $188,513
  • WLFW/Evansville, IN, $14,450
  • WQHK/Ft. Wayne, IN, $60,555
  • KEKB/Grand Junction, CO, $15,275
  • WMSI/Jackson, MS, $94,692
  • WPCV/Lakeland, $144,741
  • KUSO/Norfolk, NE, $207,408
  • WBKR/Owensboro, KY, $65,775
  • WCEN/Saginaw, MI, $57,436
  • KDRK/Spokane, $25,576    
  • KJUG/Visalia, CA, $102,898
     

 



» Download The Jukebox: Beginning today (3/9), one track from Alan Jackson's upcoming album Freight Train will be available on iTunes each Tuesday. Pre-release purchases of "Hard Hat And A Hammer," "Every Now And Then" (3/16), "Where I Belong" (3/23) and Jackson's single "It's Just That Way" will count toward iTunes' Complete My Album feature when the full collection is released March 30. Details here.



» His Story In The Making: The inaugural Darius And Friends St. Jude Children's Research Hospital benefit concert hosted by Darius Rucker will be June 7 at Nashville's Wildhorse Saloon. "This was a chance for my friends and I to do something during CMA Music Fest week that is for the fans while drawing attention to St. Jude and their incredible efforts," Rucker says. Tickets go on sale Saturday, March 13 here.



» In Case You Missed It: Capitol's Lady Antebellum performed "American Honey" on last night's (3/8) Late Show With David Letterman, and Columbia's Miranda Lambert played "White Liar" on the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson.



» Crib Note: Congrats to Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts) and wife Tiffany Fallon, who are expecting their second child. The new baby, due in September, will join their 21-month-old son Jagger Donavan.



» Add Date Addition: Black River's Sarah Darling is going for adds March 29 with "Whenever It Rains." The listing was inadvertently omitted from last night's Country Aircheck Weekly. We regret the error.


Here’s the news for 3/8/10. To get today’s news emailed directly to your inbox every day, click here.


» Changes At KKNG: Tyler Media's KKNG/Oklahoma City morning co-hosts KC Sheperd and Bill Thomas and PM driver James Ayers exited the station this morning (3/8). Sheperd, who spent three years at the station, can be reached at 405-443-5717 or here. Thomas, a 10-year station vet, can be reached at 405-802-7633. One month shy of his 12th anniversary with KKNG, Ayers is available at 405-445-4655 or here. There was no official word from the station at press time, but MD/morning co-host Lynn Waggoner and PD Kevin Christopher remain at KKNG.



» Communication Break Town:   FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will be speaking with the CMA board during a luncheon Wednesday (3/10) in Washington, DC. The board is in the city this week for its quarterly meetings.



» Gig Alerts: There are two new, full-time Sr. Specialist positions available at ALSAC/St. Jude. For the remote-based Radio Sponsorship post,  candidates should have a thorough knowledge of radio sales including ad buys, NTR, non-spot revenue and sponsorship packages. Based in Memphis, the Radio Programming gig is suited to someone with programming experience, audio production skills and includes responsibility for CD production. Apply here and here, respectively.



» So Much Cooler Online: Arista's Brad Paisley is recovering well after his fall at Saturday's (3/6) closing Charleston, SC stop on his American Saturday Night tour. "Out with a bang for the ASN tour," Paisley tweeted over the weekend. "Man am I sore today. You guys should see the bruise." Paisley was released from a local hospital Sunday (3/7) morning. Watch the "Alcohol" tumble here, and look for more coverage of the tour's closing weekend in tonight's Country Aircheck Weekly.



» Romano, Geez: Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy/New York Managing Dir. Carmen Romano, Jr. has been named VP and Owner/Shareholder of the company. Romano will continue to oversee business and financial planning for the firm's clients, which include Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Gary Allan, Joe Nichols and Blake Shelton.



» The Gauntlet: The Country Throwdown Tour 2010 featuring Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town, Jack Ingram, Eric Church, Eli Young Band, The Lost Trailers, Heidi Newfield, Ryan Bingham, Jonathan Singleton & The Grove and Emily West opens May 14 in Tampa. A Bluebird Café tent will feature emerging singer-songwriters. More than 20 dates are scheduled through June 20. Details here; download the iPhone app here.



» Star Ship Enterprise: The Verizon Wireless BamaJam Music & Artist Festival 2010 has added Gretchen Wilson, Stoney LaRue, Robert Earl Keen, Rio Grande, the Wayne Mills Band, Gregg Allman and Buddy Guy to its lineup. They join headliners Kenny Chesney and Hank Williams, Jr., among other performers scheduled for the June 3-5 Enterprise, AL event. Details here.



» Prayer Of A Common Man: Show Dog-Universal's Phil Vassar will help kick off WSIX/Nashville's St. Jude Dream Home 2010 Giveaway with a free concert at Franklin, TN's The Factory March 24. Listeners can enter to win the Franklin home valued at $550,000 by purchasing tickets here.



» Roots Are Showing: Capitol's Dierks Bentley will title his upcoming bluegrass and roots album Up On The Ridge. Due this summer, the project features guest appearances from Miranda Lambert, Alison Krauss, the Del McCoury Band, Chris Thile and the Punch, Tim O'Brien, Sam Bush and others. "I didn’t want this to be 'Dierks Bentley and friends' or a 'Dierks does bluegrass' kind of album," Bentley says. "I wanted each song to have something special about it, and I think each song does have its own thing going on." Bentley is working with producer Jon Randall Stewart and engineer Gary Paczosa for the upcoming compilation.



» Kind Of Cool: Co-writers Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett won the Oscar for Music (Original Song) for "The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)" at last night's (3/7) 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Bingham is signed to UMG/Nashville's Lost Highway. Watch the winning moment here.



» Crib Note: Congrats to Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook on Friday's (3/5) birth of their first child, Elijah Dylan Westbrook.


Here’s the news for 3/5/10. To get today’s news emailed directly to your inbox every day, click here.


» In Case You Missed It: As we told you in this morning's Breaking News, WSM-FM/Nashville APD/MD Russ Penuell was named PD, replacing exiting PD/AM driver Charley Connolly. Middayer Rick Marino has moved to mornings with incumbent co-host Deanna Lee, while his previous shift is being voicetracked by sister KPLX/Dallas' Smokey Rivers. Reach Penuell here.



» All That And A Cherry Coke: Last night's (3/4) CSI on CBS-TV featuring Rascal Flatts took the hour with 15.6 million viewers and a 9.4 rating/15 share, according to Zap2it.com. ABC-TV's Grey's Anatomy came in second (11.8 million, 7.7/12), followed by NBC-TV's two-part "baby episode" of The Office (9 million, 5.2/8). FOX's American Idol, which included an appearance from Danny Gokey, was the night's top show with 19.3 million viewers and 11.1/18. Watch the full Flatts episode here.



» Spring Is On The Air: Envision Radio Networks and The Country Oldies Show host Steve Warren are offering a free two-hour spring special, available for broadcast beginning March 31. For more info, contact Matt Wardlaw at 216-831-3761 or here.



» Board Stiffs: During yesterday's (3/4) quarterly Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum board meeting, Butler's Run founder Steve Turner was tapped for a third term as chairman and Vince Gill was re-elected to a ninth consecutive term as president. Live Nation's Brian O'Connell and The Tennessean's John Seigenthaler are new officers.



» A Boot That: The 2010 Juno Awards has Taylor Swift's Fearless in the International Album category and Emerson Drive's Believe, Terri Clark's The Long Way Home and the Road Hammers' The Road Hammers II in Country Album. The Junos are Sunday, April 18 on CTV.



» Traveling Circus Down Under: Show Dog-Universal's Phil Vassar will make his Australian debut tomorrow (3/6), performing at the third annual CMC-TV Rocks The Snowys 2010 in Thredbo, NSW. Vassar will continue his tour stateside next week in Lynchburg, VA and Glendale, PA. Complete list of dates here.