Round Three of August PPMs Released. The third of four rounds of ratings information from Nielsen Audio’s August 2020 PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including: Portland, Charlotte, San Antonio, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Orlando, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Columbus. Nielsen’s August 2020 survey period covered July 16 – August 12. You can see all the 6+ numbers from subscribing stations here. Meanwhile, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways from this batch of markets. iHeartMedia’s WLW-AM, Cincinnati puts up the biggest gain of any station (all formats) in the PPM markets, rising 2.3 shares from July to August to an 11.5 share and jumps from #2 to #1. Alpha Media’s news/talk KXL-FM Portland dips six-tenths to a 5.9 share and slides to the #4 rank. Entercom’s WBT-AM/FM, Charlotte is flat at a 5.9 share but falls from the #3 rank to #5. iHeartMedia’s WOAI-AM, San Antonio rises by a half share to remain ranked #2 with a 6.0 share. Check out Mike Kinosian’s complete report from these 12 markets (as well as the first two rounds) here.

Nielsen Informs Clients of New Headphone Listening Policies. During Tuesday’s webinar for subscribers, Nielsen Audio laid out its new policy for attributing listening to streams via headphones – a longstanding problem for the technology that requires the PPM unit to “hear” a station’s embedded signal. Nielsen has been providing an adapter for wired headphones to panelists, but usage is believed to be spotty at best and the technology doesn’t account for wireless headphones/earbuds. Nielsen surveyed 5,000 former PPM panelists to get data on listening habits. It concluded that while the majority of radio listening (78.3%) is over the air with no headphones, 12.3% is listening to a stream without headphones, 4% is stream listening with wireless headphones, and 3.5% is stream listening with wired headphones. The formula devised to account for this becomes effective for the October PPM survey in which Nielsen will adjust PPM streaming data that is likely to result in a 2% to 5% increase in total average quarter hour Persons Using Measured Media (PUMM).

Washington Talk Host OK After On-Air Medical Scare. Aberdeen, Washington talk show host Doug McDowell was rushed to the hospital after listeners noticed that he was having trouble making sense while hosting the “Coffee Talk” program on Jodesha Broadcasting’s KBKW, according to a report in The Daily World. Initial concerns about a heart attack or stroke proved unfounded as doctors determined that McDowell was suffering from a potassium deficiency. McDowell’s wife tells the paper that her husband actually did go into cardiac arrest in the ambulance as it left for the hospital but that as of Wednesday, he was doing well and he expects to go home sometime today.

Presidential Race/Trump in Kenosha, Protests/BLM Movement, Russia Election Interference/Navalny Poisoning, COVID-19 Stats & Projections, School Opening Debate/College Outbreaks, Pelosi Salon Flap, and Tom Seaver Dies at 75 Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (9/2). The November presidential election, President Trump’s trip to Kenosha and Joe Biden’s planned Friday visit; the protests in Portland, Kenosha, and Los Angeles and the Black Lives Matter movement; U.S. intelligence reports on Russian election interference and poisoning of Putin critic Alexei Navalny; the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and projections for future cases; the debate over school openings and the outbreaks at numerous college campuses; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s claim she was set up by the San Francisco salon owner where she violated the law to get her hair done; and baseball great Tom Seaver dies at 75 were some of the most-talked about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.

Teacher Advocate/Education Visionary Lisa Mozer Is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast. Retired United States Air Force master sergeant and former Weather Channel meteorologist/anchor-turned-radio talk show host Lisa Mozer is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” A native of Statesville, North Carolina – she’s an African American veteran who served a number of years in the Air Force, retiring with the rank of master sergeant. She’s also a highly trained meteorologist who served for seven years back in the late 90s/early 2000s as afternoon anchor on cable TV’s The Weather Channel. In 2016, she added to her various academic credentials by receiving a doctorate in education from Kennesaw State University specializing in Instructional Technology. Today, she is primarily a teacher who operates along the leading edge in education through the platform and facilities of a non-profit organization, Up Wind Project, designing curriculums, and organizing teacher support groups, forums and projects to enhance the ability of educators to meet the tremendous challenges of this new era, not to mention cope with their own personal problems that mount up day by day. She is a champion of teacher health, well-being and appreciation. Dr. Mozer is an advocate of a system of thought within modern education called STEM – S for Science, T for Technology, E for Engineering, and M for Mathematics that she employs to help girls and disadvantaged youth have the opportunity to get jobs and forge careers in this new unfolding era of the 21^st century. In addition, she hosts a weekly radio show and podcast called “Teacher Talk” on her hometown radio station, news/talk WSIC in Statesville, North Carolina which is part of the greater Charlotte market. Harrison and Mozer discuss America at the crossroads regarding the crisis in education, race relations, and politics, plus a number of other contemporary issues. Upon posting this podcast, Michael Harrison states, “As part of my job as publisher of TALKERS, I have both the opportunity and obligation to constantly scan the horizon and dig deep into the grass roots of media to identify and shine the spotlight on individuals making a difference in both the talk media and our society’s most challenging frontiers. I’ve been following the work of this unique woman for the past couple of years and it gives me great satisfaction to introduce the talk media industry to her at a time when her voice is monumentally pertinent.” To listen to the podcast in its entirety, please click here or click on the player box marked “The Michael Harrison Interview” located in the right-hand column on every page of Talkers.com.

Cool Talk Host Opportunity in Huntsville. News/talk WVNN, Huntsville program director Dale Jackson announces that the Cumulus Media station is seeking a dynamic air personality to host the 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm program. “WVNN is seeking someone who creates and produces a local talk radio show focusing on local, national, and political issues with a strong ability to interview newsmakers. Ability to become part of the community and the listener’s life is a must. Knowledge of entertainment, politics, news, weather, sports and other topics of interest are important to your success. Endorsement and sale opportunities will supplement your income and instant income growth is possible.” See more about the position and apply here.

Tags: Aberdeen, Alpha Media, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Entercom, iHeartMedia, Jodesha Broadcasting, KBKW, KXL-FM, Mike Kinosian, news/talk radio, Nielsen Audio, Portland, potassium deficiency, PPM, ratings, Ratings Takeaways, San Antonio, Talkers Magazine, Washington, WBT-AM/FM, WLW-AM, WOAI-AM

Category: Front Page News, Industry News