What's News? 

June 2012

30 Year Veteran Leaves Cox       6-4-12
After 30 years at Cox Radio, Steve Holbrook has left the building.  Steve has been Operations Manager/ Program Director at "Young Country" WCFB-FM 94.5, "K92FM", WWKA-FM 92.3, and WDBO-AM 580 and oversaw the changeover from WHTQ-FM 96.5 to WDBO-FM 96.5.

Happy Birthday!      6-4-12
 Many happy returns to Tom Nefeldt better known as WLOF-AM 950's T. Michael Jordan celebrating a birthday today.

Happy Birthday!      6-6-12
Happy 37th to WTKS-FM 104.1's Jason "Buckethead" Bailey  on Thursday!

Jerry Hughes Passes    6-8-12
Jerry Hughes of station WWAB-AM 1330 died on June 1. We have his obituary here. 

Monica May To Be Honored       6-8-12
Monica May of WCFB-FM 94.5 is one of four women to be honored by Ryse Magazine which is recognizing the women for excelling in their careers Saturday night in Orlando.

WRSO Announces Local Lineup     6-11-12
The local lineup on WRSO-AM 810 will be as follows:
10a-1p-"After Further Review with Mark Fererra and John Pelkey"
1p-4p-"The Doc Show" with Doc Holliday
4p-5p-"It's Game Time with Ace & the Doc"
"We're proud to announce that Mark Fererra and John Pelkey, Doc Holliday, and "Ace and the Doc" are going to be part of our Monday thru Friday lineup on WRSO 810AM here in Orlando. We feel our local lineup will take Orlando sports radio by storm with insight, humor, and personality currently lacking in the Orlando area," stated Mr. Jan Richard, Programming Director and COO for WRSO. Mr. Richard continues, "The station recently secured the call signs WRSO and through Carl Como Tutera, has submitted and already been approved by the FCC as the official call letters for the station. We're currently in negotiations to secure additional programming that will bring local and national sports news, information, and insight to our listeners and build on the aforementioned personalities."

Tom Graddy Passes     6-13-12 
Thanks to Dan Hogan for letting us know of Tom's passing. 
Broadcaster Tom Graddy, 66, died of a massive heart attack June 7 in Port Orange, FL. His career included WELE-AM 1590  in South Daytona, in the late 1960s, WSEB-AM 1340 in Sebring, FL, in the early and late 1970s, WSVI-TV in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, in the mid 1970s, and WIPC-AM 1280 in Lake Wales, FL, in the early 1980s in addition to stints at WJCM-AM 1050 in Sebring, FL, and WBBH-TV in Fort Myers, FL.   In Memory

Country 98.7 To Take To The Air       6-14-12
General Manager of Flagler County Broadcasting, David Ayres, has announced the first broadcast date of WAKX-FM 98.7 is Aug. 1, 2012.  According to Ayres, the format will be "today's country, with a blend of past hits". There will be a live, local morning show, Fox news, local news, weather and traffic at the top of each hour.

Art Grindle Passes      6-15-12
Editors Note: Art Grindle was not associated with radio, but he was a legend in Central Florida. Thanks to Elliot Mitchell we do have a tie-in with Central Florida Radio. He did a commercial with the crew of WLOF-AM 950. Watch it here.
The business-savvy Grindle moved his family to Central Florida in 1968 and opened a dealership at 4101 W. Colonial Drive, where his bombastic car commercials turned him into a regional TV personality in the early 1970s. Customers recognized him as the auto dealer who jumped on car hoods and tore up oversized price tags. He owned used-car dealerships in Apopka, Orlando and Sanford that he called "Wheel Ranches." He invested successfully in commercial real estate and developed a diverse business portfolio that included interests in insurance, mortgage lending and stocks. He taught small business administration at Rollins College. A Republican, Grindle gave up selling cars and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1982. He served 10 years and helped draft a "Lemon Law" to aid consumers who buy a car that develops recurring mechanical problems. He earned recognition for his contributions to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs, the March of Dimes and Rotary. He hosted a Cerebral Palsy Telethon for eight years. Grindle also held Seminole State College (Seminole Community College) close to his heart and raised millions to help Central Florida college students. 

Samantha Jordan To Join WDBO     6-16-12
WDBO-AM 580/FM 96.5 will be welcoming a new reporter/anchor. Samantha Jordan will be joining the Cox Media Group stations on June 26. Samantha is coming "home" from Houston. Samantha grew up in Orlando.  


WELE Personalities To Run For Holly Hill  Mayor    6-17-12
WELE-AM 1380 personalities Roland Via and Big John have announced they will be seeking the office of Mayor of Holly Hill. Via has already qualified and John is in a legal battle with the City Clerk of Holly Hill to qualify.


Andrew On The Move      6-17-12
WKZY-FM 106.9 goes local in the evenings and has moved Andrew into the 7PM-11PM time slot replacing the syndicated Billy Bush.


Birthdays This Week    6-17-12
We wish a happy birthday to Downtown Billy Brown, now the Program Director, morning host,  and Operations Manager at  WZZS-FM 106.9 in  Zolfo Springs, celebrating on Monday. Brian Thomas,  a veteran Central Florida alumni now Vice President of programming for CBS Radio in Tampa, celebrates on Wednesday as well as WTMG-FM 101.3 Program Director, Russ Allen. Happy Birthday to all of you.


Bob Hazen Is Movin' On Up...North   6-19-12
Veteran reporter Bob Hazen is about to leave WDBO-AM 580/FM 96.5. Bob joined WDBO-AM 580 in 2004. The Hazen clan will be headed to Pittsburgh, PA and WTAE-TV.


Glen Beck Joins Daytona Beach Line-up      6-19-12
WNDB-AM 1150 has dropped, the soon to retire, Neal Boortz, for the conservative Glenn Beck. Beck is heard weekday mornings from 10AM-Noon.


Erica Lee To Launch AIRCHECK       6-19-12
Former WOMX-FM 105.1 morning co-host Erica Lee has told All Access that she will be launching a web site for former air talent. "Do you still get up and do show prep, even though you don’t have a station to go to?" she asks. "If you have a large, loyal fan base that will follow you to a new platform, then we have an opportunity for you! We're creating an internet network to showcase the great talent that’s been cast aside by corporate radio. At AIRCHECK, the inmates will be running the asylum! Imagine being able to use your creativity without interference from management. Whatever your fans loved about you is what we want. No specific format or demo, just content, content and more content! Even if you weren't on a morning show, there still could be a place for you at AIRCHECK. All you need is a computer and access to a studio. A home studio is fine, if your sound quality is top notch." AIRCHECK is set to launch in July.


WHOO-AM Drops ESPN Radio     6-21-12
Genesis Communications announced today that WHOO-AM 1080 is ending their licensing agreement with ESPN Radio after a ten-year affiliation. The station will continue to broadcast sports programming as well as new original content. The new content will also be available on Genesis' SportsTalkFlorida.com and NewsTalkFlorida.com. The move is being driven by listener demand for more exclusive content. “The time has come to develop more new local stars and original programming not available on other competing audio media platforms,” said Bruce Maduri, president of Genesis Communications. “Genesis will focus on bringing new and compelling local and national content to listener and advertisers, which will include sports/talk and play-by-play, all under a branding strategy both will love.” Genesis Communications will be making announcements in the coming months regarding its new programming in Orlando. The formal transition from ESPN to new local and national content will occur by October 1, 2012. 


Big John To Run For Mayor      6-21-12
WELE-AM 1380 talk show host/applicant owner, Big John will be on the ballot for Mayor of Holly Hill. He joins Roland Via, also a host on WELE, and incumbent Mayor Roy Johnson in the race. John had gotten into a legal dispute with the city of Holly Hill over his qualifying to run. John claimed Holly Hill City Clerk Valerie Manning refused to accept his qualifying check in the amount of  $130. John has offered Mayor Johnson air time on the station.


Movin' On Up     6-25-12
WPYO-FM 95.3 has named Ricky Padilla as permanent afternoon host.  Ricky had been covering afternoons since Priya B left in April.


Positive Thoughts And Prayers   6-25-12
Shawn Burke, longtime Central Florida personality, is entering the hospital for surgery. We wish him a swift recovery.


Program Changes At WEUS     6-25-12
WRSO-AM 810, formerly WEUS, has begun the transition from talk to sports. Don Miller has signed off as of this past Friday.  This coming Friday, Doc Holliday will be gong on hiatus until the new owners take over on  July 30. On Friday, Ellis B. Feaster will be joining Doc and Skid for the last show on WEUS. Doc will be joining WRSO as host from 1PM-4PM. (Doc has stated he may eventually move to afternoon drive, 4PM-7PM) We have the entire schedule on our WRSO-AM 810 page.


Marc Daniels Comes Home    6-26-12
Marc Daniels has returned to WYGM-AM 740. "The Beat Of Sports" with "The Coach" Marc Daniels is returning with Jerry Greene as co-host,  weekdays, beginning July 1, from 9AM-11AM.


Happy Birthdays      6-26-12
Happy Birthday today to, 30 year Cox Radio veteran Steve Holbrook, who recently left Cox. Former WOCL-FM 105.9 morning show host Scott "Scooter" Sherwood turns 65 tomorrow. Pete De Graaff celebrates on Wednesday as well. Happy birthday gentlemen!


WRUF Announces ESPN Affiliation     6-29-12
WRUF-AM 850 and ESPN Radio will join forces to broadcast local sports talk, ESPN programming, and Gator and high school sports to north central Florida. In addition, WRUF Sportsradio 850 announces a new partnership with SportsTalk LLC in Ocala that creates a single ESPN affiliate for the Gainesville-Ocala market. The affiliation and partnership will begin on Friday, June 29. The new station, which will be known as ESPN 850/900, will originate from broadcast facilities at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and air on WRUF-AM 850, WMOP-AM 900 and WMOP-100.1 FM.

Happy Birthday!      6-30-12
We wish a happy 51st birthday to Tony Downes, today. 

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