Gene “Bean” Baxter Is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast. Former KROQ, Los Angeles radio superstar Gene Baxter is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series “The Michael Harrison Wrap.” Known to his legion of fans by the nickname, “Bean,” he co-hosted (with Kevin Ryder) a wildly popular morning show called “Kevin & Bean” that ran on the legendary alt rock station for three decades and landed both performers in the Radio Hall of Fame. Then he announced his retirement from the show and moved to England (where he was born and raised as a young child) to get away from the pressures of the LA radio industry and his openly expressed distaste for the tone and direction of American politics. At present, now back in Great Britain, he co-hosts a show on Podcast Radio in London with another former KROQ broadcaster from his Kevin & Bean days – Allie Mac Kay – titled, “A Cup of Tea and a Chat with Allie & Bean.” Harrison and Bean take a deep dive into the worlds of the radio industry’s quirky culture and the increasingly harsh politics of modern times. Radio enthusiasts should not miss this! 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.

Round One of March PPM’s Released. The first of four rounds of ratings information from Nielsen Audio’s March 2021 PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, San Jose, and Middlesex-Somerset-Union (New Jersey). Nielsen’s March 2021 sweep covered March 4 – 31. TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways from this group of markets. In his report he notes that in New York City, iHeartMedia’s news/talk WOR loses two-tenths to finish the month with a 2.3 share (weekly, 6+ AQH share) but remains ranked #14. iHeartMedia’s Los Angeles news/talk KFI gains seven-tenths for a 5.7 share finish good for the #2 rank. Across town, Audacy’s all-news KNX rises a half share to a 3.4 share good for the #9 rank in the L.A. market. In Chicago, Audacy’s all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM falls from #1 to #2 after dipping nine-tenths to a 6.2 share while Nexstar Media Group’s news/talk WGN-AM sheds six-tenths for a 3.5 share and the #9 slot. And although Cox Media Group’s news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM, Atlanta declines 1.3 shares, it remains in the #1 rank with a 9.2 share. See Mike Kinosian’s complete Ratings Takeaways report for this group of markets here.

Todd Starnes Show Adds Affiliates in Arizona and North Carolina. The nationally syndicated talk radio program “The Todd Starnes Show” announces the addition of new affiliate stations KXEG-AM, Phoenix in the 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and WHKP-AM/W299BZ, Hendersonville, North Carolina in the 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm slot, replacing the Rush Limbaugh show.

COVID-19, Chauvin Trial-Waters Comments, Mass Shootings, Florida ‘Anti-Riot’ Bill, U.S. to Exit Afghanistan, Navalny’s Health, and Mars Helicopter Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (4/19). The rate of positive COVID cases in the U.S., exploding caseloads in several foreign countries, and the status of vaccinations; the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters’ comment that protestors should “get more confrontational”; the spate of recent mass shootings in the U.S. and the issue of gun control; the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs the state’s controversial “anti-riot” bill into law; President Joe Biden’s move to bring all U.S. troops home from Afghanistan by September 11; the precarious health of imprisoned Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny; and the successful deployment of NASA’s Mars helicopter were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.

Michael Harrison Pens Lyrics to Animal Welfare Anthem – Appears on New Gunhill Road Album and Video. TALKERS founder Michael Harrison has been an outspoken supporter of the animal welfare movement for most of his adult life. Now he has the opportunity to express his views on the subject through his lyrics and performance of a song titled, “I Know You’re Real,” on the latest album by the historic group, Gunhill Road, that has roots going back to the golden age of album rock. The album is titled, What Year Is This! and it was produced by the band with remote technology during the pandemic year of 2020. In the process, Harrison has become an official member as a vocalist and songwriter of the long-lived band that has been in existence since 1969. Harrison tells TALKERS, “I go all the way back to 1971 with this great NYC-based ensemble when I played them every day on my morning show on WNEW-FM. They had two albums in that era that received critical praise and lots of airplay on FM album rock stations. They also had a hit single on top 40 radio – ‘Back When My Hair Was Short’ – in the early 70s. They had the reputation in those days as being the ‘best opening act’ in the NYC album rock club scene and appeared on the bill with some of the biggest names in music at such historic venues as the Bitter End.” Since then, the members of the group kept its spirit (and fan base) alive by continuing to record, release new material and play occasional concerts. Their longevity was the subject of a documentary feature film about the group that made a splash on the film festival circuit and was carried on Amazon Prime. Although the founding members eventually went in different directions (and successful careers) in their private lives, they kept the spirit of Gunhill Road alive through the decades by remaining very close friends and appearing sporadically at special events and charity concerts. The lyrics of the song “I Know You’re Real,” written by Harrison and performed by him in a spoken-word presentation on the new album and video, take an emotionally uplifting view of the connection between humans, animals, and the entire universe. There are two versions of the song on the album and video. The other features band member Brian Koonin singing the lyrics. Both versions have been posted to YouTube.  The version spoken by Harrison can be viewed below

Harrison says, “The song is a spiritually uplifting tribute to animal welfare… which has long been one of my main interests and guiding themes of my life. If you have love and respect for all of Earth’s sentient creatures, please take a look and listen to the song and share the link with friends who might enjoy and appreciate them as well.” Harrison is available to appear as a guest on talk media shows to discuss the subject of animal welfare (not to be confused with animal rights) as well as what it was like to record with a band via Zoom during the pandemic. To book Michael Harrison on a talk show please call Barbara Kurland at TALKERS, 413-565-5413. To read a feature story about Gunhill Road and this experience written by Harrison, please click here.

Tags: all news, Allie MacKay, Atlanta, Audacy, Chicago, Cox Media Group, Gene “Bean” Baxter, Hendersonville, iHeartMedia, Kevin Ryder, KFI, KNX, KROQ, KXEG-AM, Los Angeles, March, news/talk, news/talk radio, Nexstar Media Group, Nielsen Audio, North Carolina, Phoenix, Podcast Radio, PodcastOne, PPM, Ratings Takeaways, Talkers Magazine, The Michael Harrison Interview, Todd Starnes, WBBM-AM, WCFS-FM, WGN-AM, WHKP-AM, WOR, WSB-AM, WSBB-FM

Category: Front Page News, Industry News