I rarely get excited about an internet radio station stream, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear WBLS' "Listen Live" stream over the net. It's a step up from what they used before and is comparable to the live stream from CBS Radio. Lots of interactive features that make for a enjoyable radio experience from the home of Steve Harvey and Wendy Williams, the legendary 107.5 WBLS. 
Program Alert: Steve Harvey, host of the nationally syndicated radio program, The Steve Harvey Morning Show, best-selling author and comedian will chat it up today on Oprah. Check your local listings. This should be an interesting show. Also on today's show will be Jennifer Hudson. Norm Van Lier, one of the most popular players in Chicago Bulls history and one of the NBA's top defensive players in the 1970s, was found dead in his home just blocks away from the team's arena Thursday. He was 61.
The cause of death was not immediately known, authorities said. Van Lier, who most recently worked for Comcast SportsNet Chicago, had been scheduled as a pregame and postgame analyst for Wednesday night's Bulls game with the New Jersey Nets.
Comcast officials became concerned when Van Lier did not show up for work and could not be reached Thursday. An employee was sent to his apartment near the United Center on the city's near West Side, said Jim Corno, president of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The employee tried unsuccessfully to get inside.
Van Lier retired after the 1979 season with 8,770 points and 5,217 assists. He finished among the league's top 10 in assists eight times, and among the league's top 10 in steals per game three times, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
"Norm was a complete player, a wonderful passer, a tenacious rebounder and an original character in the 1970s," NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement. "We are all fortunate that Norm continued to share his passion and insight as a broadcaster for the Bulls since the early 90s."
Van Lier the analyst remained a huge Bulls fan, albeit at times a critical one who would call out players he did not think were playing hard or smart.
"If he felt like a guy was not giving maximum effort and not playing the right way he'd let him have it in the post-game show," said Mark Schanowski, the host of the pre- and post-game shows who worked with Van Lier for four years.
"He wore the Bulls on his sleeve," Corno said. "When the Bulls played well, Norm was good and happy enough. When they didn't play well, he felt it."
Non-sports fans may recognize "Stormin' Norman" from his appearances in the movies "Barbershop" and "Barbershop 2" that were filmed in Chicago.
TV One CEO Alfred Liggins told the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) that the method Robert Johnson, former owner and creator of BET (Black Entertainment Television) is using to get his channel on the air could force cable systems to drop TV One. 
(AP) The mayor of Los Alamitos is coming under fire for an e-mail he sent out that depicts the White House lawn planted with watermelons, under the title "No Easter egg hunt this year."
Adam Carolla who was fired from CBS Radio Los Angeles last Friday when the station changed formats from FM talk radio to Top 40 AMP radio; had a chance to say goodbye to his listeners and informed them that he was starting a podcast on Monday. Well, Adam Carolla's podcast unexpectantly was downloaded over 250,000 times on iTunes. That is impressive. 
Did you know that myspace is owned by Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation? So that means FOX News owns myspace or you could say the New York Post owns myspace. This isn't new "news"-- Rupert Murdoch has owned them since 2005. But thinking about the monkey cartoon last week was more than enough to make me go in there and close my account. 
Harrison Ridley, Jr. passed away last Thursday after battling a stroke. I would make it a point the last several months, to tune into 90.1 FM WRTI, to catch his show "The Historical Approach of the Positive Music" on Sunday evenings. Because I guess of overall busy-ness, my commitment to listening in recent years had waned. I longed to hear what on-air musical lessons Harrison had planned on this week's show. However each week, I would tune in and I'd hear guest host, Bob Craig. He would just say he was sitting in for Harrison. I tried to hang in there, but it just wasn't the same. I was assured in my mind, that Harrison would be returning to the microphone soon, unaware of his serious medical condition. "I'll check back next week" I thought. However the return never happened.To say he will be missed, is an understatement.
Thank you Harrison Alexander Ridley, Jr.
Yes, indeedy...
Harrison Ridley's record collection was said to contain over 8,500 LPs; 3,000 78s; 200 45s; 300 CDs; 6,000 books on Afro-American history and music. I read that Duke Ellington would contact Harrison to check up on information about himself. Harrison taught Jazz History courses at both Temple University and Villanova University and touched the lives of countless people. He worked as a consultant for the Library of Congress and received an Honorary Doctorate degree from Villanova in May 2008.
NEW YORK (AP) By Jake Coyle- The Roots are making sandwiches. The band is holed-up in a Manhattan studio, preparing for their new gig as the house band on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," the NBC show that will take Conan O'Brien's place when O'Brien moves to "The Tonight Show."
?uestlove has heard the warnings about the Roots becoming a late-show band. He says his friend saxophonist Branford Marsalis — who abruptly quit his gig as Jay Leno's musical foil in the early 1990s — cautioned against the move: "You'll be neutered!" But ?uestlove says the band's new job has "enabled us to survive. "This would basically match or surpass what we would make touring 200-plus days out of the year. And, two, this allows us to be home," he said. It's a welcome respite from the road for a band that has always toured extensively. The band — most in their late 30s — are looking forward to living like "normal men," as ?uestlove says.El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, or as he is better known as Malcolm X, makes comments from 1964 after his break away from the Nation of Islam. Some of those comments may even ring true today as it applies to the social condition of the country today. Malcolm is asked about his association with Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), Guerilla warfare and Black Nationalism.
Malcolm X was assassinated 44 years ago, February 21, 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.
Photos of Malcolm X the night the FBI had word that he was going to be assassinated at Philadelphia radio station WDAS. (scroll down the page)
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now interviews protesters outside the offices of the New York Post following the publication of the cartoon that critics say depicts President Obama as a chimpanzee. The cartoon shows a white police officer shooting dead a chimpanzee in the street. His partner, another white officer, says, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." After a number of civil rights activists and organizations called for a boycott of the paper, the Post issued a half-hearted apology on Thursday night.
Goodman interviews Rev. Al Sharpton, Jeff Fox of 98.7 Kiss FM morning show, and many others including her first interviewee, a 9 year old African American boy. At the beginning of her report, Goodman shows an actual copy of the New York Post, which depicts the enormity of space devoted to the cartoon. The cartoon is preceded by an article about President Obama's stimulus bill. The placement of the cartoon clearly shows the intent of the the New York Post.
The Old School Show w/ MC Serch & DJ Envius grabs another affiliate in WMIB-FM 103.5 The Beat in Miami for Saturday Night's from 7-10p. Hosted by MC Serch, the former 3rd Bass front man and host of the smash VH1 shows "Miss Rap Supreme" & "Ego Trips; The White Rapper Show" and mixed by former Snoop Dogg Radio mixer and KDAY personality, DJ Envius, The Old Skool Show mixes the best old school hip hop and A list guests along with weekly features that take a look back at the trends and fashions of the hip hop culture from every region in the country. Nate Bell, WMIB program director commented, "I can't wait to take the journey back to the 80's and 90's with MC Serch and DJ Envius. The Old Skool Show is going to take WMIB to the next level and beyond"!
We might be in a depression, a recession, or whatever you want to call it, but the public is literally starving for the book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man" by morning radio host Steve Harvey and Denene Millner. It's number one on the New York Times best sellers list and at $23.99 a pop, folks are basically saying, "Economic downturn or not, I need to get this book." Steve gives his tips on relationships based on the "Strawberry Letter 23" segment on his show. I don't know where he came up with this, but the three P's sound good to me.
"Wow are you kidding me? Did he just play the race card? Golly gee... Clearly this is about those senators in Washington monkeying around the congress with the stimulus bill. HA HA, LOL, President Obama is a monkey? Don't be ridulous!!! LMAO. Where do you guys come up with this stuff? Sharpton must be upset he lost his radio show in Atlanta..." Post editor-in-chief Col Allan said: "The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist."
If I was the Reverend Al Sharpton or even Warren Ballentine I might be a bit salty this week with my employer Radio One, for taking me off the air in Atlanta. Syndication One, the supplier of these African American based talk shows, owned by Radio One, just celebrated their third year anniversary with Al Sharpton's show "Keeping It Real". They obviously don't have your back Al and Warren when it comes to supporting your efforts to bring issues effecting the African American community to the airwaves.
Despite the fact that Radio One is a Black owned company, I think (...not sure who sits on the board and makes the financial decision for the company, besides chairman Alfred Liggins); they have decided to dump Sharpton and Ballentine's talk shows in favor of more R&B music in Atlanta during the midday hours of 10 AM to 3 PM. Those shows are currently heard on Sirius XM satellite radio channel 169 The Power, and on a few AM stations around the country. Maybe it's a sign, that Radio One is about to pull the plug on syndicated Black talk radio everywhere else as well. 
Tosha Johnson, an Atlanta resident has protested Radio One Atlanta's format changes. She has started a group that is fighting to keep Warren Ballentine and Rev. Al Sharpton on the air. The group will protest outside Radio One’s offices in downtown Atlanta Monday from 8 to 4 p.m. An online petition has been started to ask Radio One to return Ballentine and Sharpton to the air despite the new PPM ratings system that suggest that Radio One needed to make changes within their Atlanta cluster of stations. 
The wording of the online petition is a bit interesting and dare I say comical at times. You might even be able to run this stuff next to The Boondocks comic strip. It suggests that "everything will be done to prevent the removal of these two moguls." Not sure if I would refer to Ballentine and Sharpton as moguls...
Supposedly this decision is strictly based on presumptuous advertising dollars that was forecast according to listenership during the primary and presidential-election season. Bottom line the expectation and demand for quality programming, is assumed, no longer required in this market now that President Obama is in office. It is totally incomprehensible as to why Radio One would take this stand being these two individuals have such a huge following. ...The amount of blacks that carried the PPM was not a concise enough consensus to base a decision to take Warren Ballentine and Al Sharpton off of the air. ...Now if that ain't some psuedo-intellectual, pretentious, bourgeois Atlanta BS writing there (I'm so impressed with the use of such big words, I wonder if they even know what they're saying, Caution: Perpetrating ALERT); Can someone tell me WTF this petition is saying? Please make it make some sense to me...
According to AJC reporter Rodney Ho, (a lot of people speculated and reported that this was going to happen two weeks ago; so he gets the credit for this one), Steve Harvey and Michael Baisden will move to 107.5 on Monday, with a simulcast on 97.5 as Majic. "SiMan" Silas Alexander will continue to do nights, but now on 107.5/97.5. The simulcast officially begins at 10 p.m. Sunday evening. On Majic, mid-days will be jockless for now with an emphasis on more music, according to market manager Tim Davies. It would seem if available, Carol Blackmon would fill that weekday slot nicely.
adio One will now have three formats urban Hot 107.9, Praise 102.5, and Majic 107.5/97.5 on four signals instead of four formats over four stations. Smooth Jazz was killed on 107.5 about a month ago and Radio One has decided not to add another format. Davies said the ratings at Grown Folks 102.5 took a dip middays when Warren Ballentine and Al Sharpton were on. So both are out. 
Nationally syndicated media personality Tom Joyner has responded to syndicated sports radio hosts The 2 Live Stews' Mentoring Brothers challenge to use his influence and star power to encourage Black men to mentor. Joyner, a media personality and philanthropist, is heard by more than 8 million listeners in 115 markets as host of the number one syndicated urban radio show in America. 
This month, The 2 Live Stews, Doug and Ryan Stewart, biological brothers who are also mentors with Big Brothers Big Sisters, are urging their sports and urban media buddies to use the airwaves and websites to help them spread the word about the need for African American men to become mentors. While more than a third of the Little Brothers served by the Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer network are African American, only 15 percent of the nonprofit organization's male mentors are black. The 260,000 Children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are among America's most vulnerable - those who live in poverty, single-parent homes or households where a parent is incarcerated.
"Urban AC WBLS-FM/New York ups 28-year radio veteran and Community Affairs Director, Dr. Bob Lee to overnights. He replaces Champaign, who departed the station last year. "
Envy McKee shares her thoughts on becoming the next Oprah. “To be honest, I don’t even know how folks started calling me the next Oprah. It was crazy, I was in London taking meetings about ‘The Envy McKee Show’-- very recently—it was so weird, in three different meetings complete strangers kept calling me Lil’ Oprah. I think my publicist started that hot mess, but it’s an honor that people think of me on the Oprah wave length. She is a lot to aspire to emulate in one’s career. I think for the time being I’ll aspire to be the first Envy McKee and if I happen to accomplish in my career even half of what Oprah has been able to accomplish in her career, then we’ll have something to talk about. I do have every intention of doing my part to put Philly on the map in a big way though…we’ll see how it goes.”
h restructuring expert Joseph A. Bondi of Alvarez & Marsal and bankruptcy lawyer Mark Thompson of Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett to help prepare a bankruptcy filing.The problem is that radio will see the failure of Sirius XM as some sort of validation of their business and programming model, which in turn will cause them to sit on their collective fat corporate behinds and continue to do business as usual. While listeners are asking for so much more from their radio.
Steve Harvey's book, "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man," hit shelves on Jan. 27 and will make its debut at No. 1 on the New York Best-Seller list on Sunday (Feb. 15). The best-seller has also reached No. 1 on the Wall Street Journal Best-Seller list. Harvey, host of the nationally syndicated "The Steve Harvey Morning Show," tackles the dynamics within relationships, addressing myriad issues that have been on the minds of some of his listeners, often heard within the popular "Strawberry Letter" segment of his show, where Steve Harvey offers listeners his opinions and advice in response to their inquiries. Harvey, along with co-hosts Shirley Strawberry, Carla, and Nephew Tommy broadcast from the studios of 107.5 WBLS in New York.
According to Black Newspaper Columnists, Black History Month is no longer relevant. 
Mark Austin Thomas, a 30 year radio veteran, joins Citadel's News/Talk KABC-AM/Los Angeles as News Director. He'll also serve as morning news anchor replacing Rob Marinko. Thomas comes to Citadel from crosstown CBS Radio News KNX-AM where he was a news anchor. Previously, he's held programming duties at KLAC-AM and APD/New Director stripes at KFI-AM, both in Los Angeles. Thomas was also senior supervising editor on National Public Radio's "The Tavis Smiley Show."
Chris Brown was arrested moments before the 2009 Grammy's were set to commence. The Los Angeles police department announced that Chris Brown, a double nominee and scheduled performer, was being investigated for allegedly assaulting an unidentified woman the night before. Brown turned himself in to authorities and was briefly held before posting $50,000 bail Sunday night, jail records showed.Chris Brown and longtime girlfriend Rihanna also nominated, were both slated to perform in different slots of the show, but separately dropped out at the last minute. The victim of Brown's alleged assault wasn't identified, and it wasn't immediately clear whether Rihanna's absence was related to Brown's.
The walk across the country is to publicize the cause of low power radio. Charles Clemens is operating "Touch 106", an FM station without FCC permission to operate above a certain wattage. The station violates that rule everyday it broadcast. However the station continues to make an impact in the Boston community. Check out Touch 106.1 at http://www.touchfm.org. 
United States to draw attention to the unfairness of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) when it comes to independent, community-owned and operated radio stations in this country. All TOUCH radio personalities, volunteers and interns are requested to push this effort and get the Word Out about this historic walk!Presently, 1.8% of radio stations in America are owned by African Americans, a paltry figure given our longstanding and significant involvement in U.S. communications and entertainment industries. The majority of those that are black-owned are low wattage affairs with limited broadcast hours. The problem I have is that media, be it local TV stations or even Black websites; never cover any positive stories about Black colleges. We only hear positive stories about Black colleges from Tom Joyner and maybe some other places during this month of Black History. Cheyney University and Lincoln University both Historically Black universities founded in the 1800's, are located within an hour drive of Philadelphia, but most of what you hear about them are negative.
Now I found a link to the following story on Rushmore Drive, a website that touts itself as a a one-of-a-kind search engine for the Black community that delivers a blend of mainstream search results with their opinion. ...Really? Their opinion on this story was "Can't we just get along?"
Here's the story: Cheyney University is calling a halt to on-campus parties while a weekend fight is investigated. University President Michelle Howard-Vital has appointed a task force to review what led to the fights that ended with four people being cited for disorderly conduct and one treated and released at a hospital.A Cheyney fraternity invited students from nearby Lincoln and West Chester universities to a party at the dining hall on the Cheyney campus 20 miles west of Philadelphia. But several hundred people apparently tried to crowd into the hall. University officials and police say fights broke out and police used Tasers and pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Cheyney spokeswoman Antoinette Colon says no Cheyney students have been charged. The task force will recommend how to prevent similar incidents.
So Rushmore Drive obviously would just rather regurgitate the mainstream media stories and negative stereotypes instead of focusing on the positive aspects of two Black universities in small Pennsylvania towns, that has only produced the likes of the late TV news journalist Ed Bradley, poet Langston Hughes and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, among other African American achievers. The Cheyney University story was one of only three stories Rushmore Drive put in the news section of their website yesterday.
Maybe Rushmore Drive should hear it straight from the students of Cheyney University:
"This country cannot be the country we want it to be if its story is told by only one group of citizens. Our goal is to give all Americans front-door access to the truth." -- Robert C. Maynard (Maynard was one of the founders of the 30-year-old Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, which works to increase diversity in staffing, content and business operations of American media.)
