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WWJ's THAW radiothon helps raise $316,000

Listeners to WWJ's AM 950 seventh annual radiothon to benefit The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) pledged over $316,000 during the event on Friday and Saturday. Those donations will translate to more than $600,000 in emergency utility assistance to low-to-moderate income individuals and families in Michigan.

An online auction continues through Thursday at 6 p.m.; visit and bid by clicking here.

Jay Towers slides back behind the mic

Clear Channel puts Jay Towers back to work behind a microphone, hiring him to host from 9am - 4pm on My106.1 in Philadelphia. He'll still be working here in Detroit on weekends too as part of the Fox 2 News team.

Detroit News:

Get ready to feel a slap across the face, Detroit, when PBS airs "Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City ." The special, which airs at 10 tonight on WTVS-TV (Channel 56), opens with a light-rail director in Madrid talking about the importance of infrastructure before cutting to Detroit's infamous eyesore, Michigan Central Station. Producers also discuss how the Big Three hobbled public transportation in the area... PBS special rides Detroit's shortcomings (Mon, 2/8)

Detroit Free Press:

The Detroit Tigers announced their television schedule for this season: 156 games on Fox Sports Detroit, one on Fox Sports Plus and four on Fox. FSD also will air four spring-training games. The lone regular-season game without TV plans is April 7 at Kansas City, the second game of the year. The Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons all are scheduled to be in action at the same time, and the Wings are ticketed for FSD and the Pistons FS-Plus. The network is trying to determine whether it can also distribute the Tigers game... Tigers announce TV schedule, including four spring-training games (Mon, 2/8)

WDTW-FM adds Billy the Kidd

Adult rhythmic 106.7 The Beat, WDTW-FM, has added Billy the Kidd to its lineup for evenings starting on Monday. Kidd got his start in radio as an intern for Lisa Lisa - who herself signs on with The Beat for middays on Monday.

Detroit Free Press:

A half-hour documentary from the Detroit Free Press, "Rising from the Wreckage," is to broadcast on WWJ-TV (CBS Detroit) at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. It was produced in conjunction with an eight-part Free Press report published in December chronicling 18-months in which the auto industry nearly collapsed and two automakers were rescued by the federal government... Free Press documentary to air Sunday (Sat, 2/6)

7th WWJ Radiothon for THAW underway

CBS Radio/Detroit has kicked the first of their 2010 annual Radiothons with all-news WWJ AM 950 helping to raise money for The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) throughout today and up until noon tomorrow.

The 7th Annual WWJ Newsradio 950 Winter Survival Radiothon is on live from the MGM Grand Detroit to help raise much needed funds for THAW. THAW provides emergency utility assistance to help low-to-moderate income individuals and families in Michigan stay safe and warm during the winter season.

Live interviews with families that THAW has helped will air during the 31 hour Radiothon as will on-air check presentations from sponsors, on-site reporting, and much more. An on-site donation call center will be set up with volunteers taking phone pledges and online donations can be made at WWJ.com. Donors can also call (888) 579-4950.

Listeners are being encouraged to donate by on-air prompting, incentive programs, and other special Radiothon promotions. This year, you can join the 950 Club by donating $250 - you'll recieve a WWJ/THAW thermos to help warm you up this winter plus Mountain Country Coffee courtesy of Coffee Express. Another option is to join the Circle of Warmth Club by donating $1,000 to receive a free energy audit courtesy of Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical. Additionally, listeners will be encouraged to bid on numerous items available through an Online Auction website.

The goal for this year's THAW Radiothon is $700,000.

On February 26th, look for CBS Radio/Detroit WOMC-FM 104.3 morning host Dick Purtan's 23rd annual Radiothon to benefit the Salvation Army's Bed and Bread Club from Oakland Mall in Troy. The Bed and Bread program brings food, shelter and services to people within our community and provides assistance to get them back on their feet. In December, CBS' WYCD hosted its 10th annual campaign to help raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

AnnArbor.com:

Great news for fans of radio, jazz and/or nice people: Linda Yohn plans to be back on WEMU radio starting Monday after a roughly two-month absence. The longtime morning-show host and and program director at WEMU (89.1-FM), the public-radio station at Eastern Michigan University, took a leave of absence in early December to have a tumor removed from her lung... Linda Yohn returning to WEMU airwaves (Fri, 2/5)

Grand Rapids Press:

The B-93 Birthday Bash will be back this summer only in a new home. Sponsored by radio station WBCT-FM (93.7), the country music festival will move to the U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin for the two-day event June 19 and 20. The lineup for the 18th festival is in the process of being finalized. Popular demand spurred the station owned by Clear Channel to go ahead with the event, one year after heavy rains canceled the 2009 Birthday Bash when the adjacent Grand River flooded the Ionia Fairgrounds, stranding several hundred cars at the site of last year's event. Dave Taft, B-93 program director, said popular demand has led the station to bring back the Birthday Bash, which typically draws 50,000 to 60,000 to the free concert... B-93 Birthday Bash returns, but moves out of Grand River floodplain (Thu, 2/4)

Ben Chiswick's first job was working as a vendor at Wrigley Field. His latest job will be calling the play-by-play action in the radio booth for the West Michigan Whitecaps this season. Chiswick, 26, was selected from about 80 applicants. He rose to the top because of his overall experience, Whitecaps vice president Jim Jarecki said. "He called the games for the Quad Cities River Bandits (Davenport, Iowa) for five seasons, has writing experience and works and understand the needs of the media, is enthusiastic and knows how to paint a picture with the way he calls a game," Jarecki said. "Overall, he's just well-rounded and will be a great fit here." Chiswick, who will be joined in the booth by color analyst Dan Elve, replaces Steve Lloyd-Jones, who decided not to return after one season... Whitecaps hire Ben Chiswick as new radio announcer (Thu, 2/4)

• Smile FM has been granted a construction permit for a new FM station on 89.5 to be licensed to Huron Township in Wayne County. The station would broadcast with 900 watts @ 269 feet with a directional antenna that wuold provide coverage to many of Detroit's Downriver suburbs. The application lists a broadcast location near Fort St. and King Rd.

• WFUM-TV 28 Flint and WHTV-TV 18 Jackson/Lansing (DTV Ch. 34) were granted their licenses to cover for permanent digital facilities.

• No notable activity for February 3.

WYGR AM 1530 has changed its primary format from Spanish-based programming to urban with Robert S. (Womack) moving his brokered operations from WJNZ AM 1140. WYGR's "La Furia" moves to weekends from 3 p.m. until signoff.

Daytimer WYGR, which now identifies itself as "1530 Jamz, The Pulse of The City" features the Tom Joyner Morning Show from sign-on until 10am, and then programming from Citadel Media's syndicated 'The Touch' format until signoff.

Last fall Womack and his backers disputed the sale of WJNZ to Christian broadcaster Holy Family Radio after that group was the high bidder in a bankruptcy-forced sale by Huntington Bank, claiming the area would be losing its African American voice on the airwaves. A settlement was reached weeks later giving Womack up to six months to find a new home for his programming. A move to Catholic based programming is expected soon on AM 1140.

According to WYGR General Manager Roland Rusticus, the deal to change his station's format and clear the new programs came together pretty quickly. "Technically it's a 3-month renewable Time Brokerage agreement at this point, but our intention is for the format change to be permanent. We were only introduced to Robert a few weeks ago, so we're all still getting to know each other. As a result, we all agreed it would make sense to sort out the long-term business details a little later, once we've all had time to breathe."

Part of the agreement with the new owners of AM 1140 is that Robert S. is allowed to retain the WJNZ call sign if he so chooses. Rusticus commented, "We're not opposed to making the change at some point, but to this point '1530 Jamz' seems to be working and Robert hasn't expressed a strong opinion either way regarding the call letters."

Rusticus continues, "The local African-American community certainly deserves a radio voice, and given the impending format change at 1140, we're excited to meet that need. In a way, this is history repeating itself. In the late 1990s it was WYGR that pioneered Spanish-language radio in Grand Rapids. Given the changes in that market over the last 10 years, however, it's tough to make a case that the Hispanic community is underserved anymore. In fact, 4 Spanish-language stations in Grand Rapids was probably double what the market will really support, so a format change of some sort was inevitable. In a nutshell, we think this format change is going to be a win-win. It's the right thing to do -- we're meeting a definite need in the community -- and we believe it will prove to be a good business decision too."

WYGR offers life streaming and updated program schedule on its web site at wygr.net.