NobleMag

ABC Radio Networks announced yestereday that it has signed national radio personality Michael Baisden to a multi-year syndication deal. The Michael Baisden Show launched in syndication with ABC in 2005 and has grown to 68 affiliates. It is the top-ranked Urban afternoon program in the country and holds the number one position in its slot in key markets such as New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and Washington, D.C. It will encompass a development deal in addition to multi-media platforms including websites, podcasts, mobile channel and live events. 

"Michael's show has developed one of the most loyal audiences in radio today and his consistently strong ratings have made him a brand of choice for key advertisers," said Jim Robinson, President of ABC Radio Networks. "Renewing our original agreement was a priority and positions us for substantial success in the years ahead." Baisden is credited with bringing last year's Jena Six march to the national forefront. He was recently featured on the CNN special series Black in America and has become a significant political force on radio and television in the past year. He broadcast his show live from two of the presidential debates and President-elect Obama became a regular guest of the program through the primary season and months leading up to the general election. Baisden's election results broadcast in Miami drew a live audience of more than 5,000 Florida voters and the show's guests included Donna Brazile, Forrest Whittaker, Denzel Washington, Michelle Obama, Will Smith, Gayle King and Spike Lee. "Our show has come so far in such a brief period of time yet I know the best days are still ahead of us," said Baisden. "Connecting with my listeners and providing them a forum is what drives me each and every day. I'm thrilled to know I'll be taking the program to the next level and reaching even more listeners with the same phenomenal team." The Michael Baisden Show is hosted by New York Times best-selling author and TV talk show personality Michael Baisden. The entertaining four-hour afternoon radio program airs Monday - Friday from 3-7 p.m. ET and combines the best in music, comedy and social commentary to inspire real change across America. Heard in 22 of the top 25 Urban radio markets, The Michael Baisden Show reaches more than 4.6 million listeners each week.

micheal baisden, abc radio

(Stephen Hill, surrounded by songbird deliciousness: Ashanti and Mary J Blige) I have always admired Stephen for making the leap from radio to television.

BET Networks today announced two new leadership appointments to its Programming team, with Loretha Jones named President of Programming and Stephen Hill promoted to President of Programming. Both Jones and Hill will report directly to Debra L. Lee,Chairman and Chief Executive Officer , BET Networks. Hill will continue to be based in New York, while Jones will be based in Los Angeles , and both appointments will take effect immediately.

As President of Programming, Jones will oversee original programming, news, development, planning and acquisitions for BET. In his role as President of Programming, Hill will oversee all music programming and specials for the network.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Loretha to the BET Networks family, and I'm so excited about Stephen's promotion," said Lee. "We've made great strides over the last few years with our original programming strategy, and this development is the next step in our evolution and in building on what we've already achieved.

"Loretha has spent her entire career working in the entertainment industry and has a wealth of experience -- not to mention a strong passion for the BET brand, fantastic energy, ground-breaking ideas, and strong industry relationships," Lee continued. "Stephen has done an incredible job during his tenure at BET Networks, thanks to his unparalleled creativity, his remarkable ability to produce unforgettable, buzzworthy shows, and his knack for knowing the 'next big thing.' I'm so proud of the path we're on, and I believe that
the unbeatable combination of Loretha and Stephen gives us the right mix of skills, talent relationships, originality and imagination to bring us even more success."

About Stephen Hill

Named #1 on The Source magazine's 2006 list of most influential executives in the music industry, Stephen Hill previously served as Executive Vice President of Music Programming & Talent for BET. His responsibilities included managing and directing the creation, development and production of music programming at BET. He has overseen the production of the network's music programs,
including 106 & PARK , RAP CITY and THE DEAL, and network specials SPRINGBLING and RIP THE RUNWAY. Hill also serves as Executive Producer for the BET AWARDS (2002-present) and the BET HIP HOP AWARDS (2006-present).

Prior to joining BET in 1999, Hill worked for four years at MTV in New York City as director of music programming. As director, Hill was responsible for selecting and programming all genres of videos for airplay, working with talent and supervising the network's standards processes.

Hill got his start in the music industry during his time working with industry legend, Elroy Smith, who was program director at WILD-AM in Boston, MA. Upon Smith's departure, Hill was promoted to program director. In 1993, Hill and his team took WILD-AM to its highest rating ever, beating six full-time FM stations in the process. Hill has also done extensive work with ABC Radio Network's Urban Gold Format by launching their 24-hour format. Gaining many accolades for his work with ABC Radio Networks, he also served as executive producer for the Tom Joyner Morning Show.

Born in Southeast Washington, D.C., Hill credits much of his success to his childhood passion of announcing various songs that he kept on a tape player. He began shaping his formal career when he got his start at Brown's University's radio station, WBRU-FM, in Providence, RI.

About Loretha Jones

Prior to joining BET Networks, Loretha Jones had served as Executive Vice President of MTV Films / Paramount Pictures since July 2007. Before that, she was Senior Vice President of MTV Films / MTV Home Entertainment, overseeing development, production, music and marketing for multiple feature film, television and home video projects for the MTV and CMT brands from May 2005 to July 2007. From 2000 to 2005, Jones was a consultant and producer for MTV Films.

Jones has several television and film production credits to her name, including: Director / Executive Producer, multiple seasons of the television series The Parent 'Hood ; Executive Producer, My Super Sweet 16: The Movie ; Executive Producer, Broken Bridges ; Executive Producer, All You've Got; Producer, Grammy Award-nominated The Fighting Temptations ; Executive Producer , Carmen: A Hip Hopera ; Executive Producer, The Price of Glory; Producer, The Meteor Man ; and Producer, The Five Heartbeats. Before her career as a producer, Jones was an attorney with the law firm of Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz, representing various clients in film, theater, television and music.

Jones received her bachelor of arts degree from City College of New York and her juris doctorate from the New York University School of Law . She is a member of the Directors Guild of America , the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Producers Guild of America and New York State Bar Association .

stephen hill

Sirius XM Radio, the pay-radio marriage of the two former satellite services, formally combined their program lineups Wednesday.
Some channels from each service went away in the merger, with Sirius and XM Radio subscribers each getting new channels from the other service. Some channels will be moved and/or re-named. Sirius XM said there will be no increase in the subscription fee or need to change or upgrade existing radios for the basic service, but that doesn't include the "Best of" packages.  XM subscribers will have to pay extra if they want a "Best of Sirius" package with such premium draws as Howard Stern, Martha Stewart Living, Playboy, NASCAR and the NFL. Sirius subscribers will have to shell out more for a "Best of XM" lineup that includes Oprah Winfrey's Oprah & Friends, the NBA, the NHL the PGA and The Virus, which is home to Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia .  Among the Sirius channels going away are Movin' Easy, Punk, Sirius Disorder, The Strobe, Boombox, Backspin and Universo Latino. XM channels being retired include XM Sports Nation, the Weather Channel, XMX, X-Country, Fungus, Rhyme, Raw, Beyond Jazz, Fine Tuning, The System, Chrome, Viva, Aguila, Caricia.  E! Entertainment Radio is going away for each service's subscribers.  New channels for XM include Elvis Radio, Bruce Springsteen's E Street Radio,  “Little Steven” Van Zandt’s Underground Garage and Outlaw Country, Jimmy Buffett's Radio Margaritaville, Jamie Foxx's The Foxxhole, Eminem's Shade 45, NPR Now, Blue Collar Radio, Cosmo Radio, Catholic Channel, Doctor Radio, BBC Radio One, World Radio Network, The Coffeehouse, Faction,  Jam On, The Grateful Dead,  Underground Garage, Hair Nation and, as of Jan. 1, The Bridge.

New channels for Sirius include Sporting News Radio,'40s on 4, '90s on 9, The Loft, Willie Nelson's Willie's Place, enLighten, B.B. King's Bluesville, Escape, Cinemagic and Sirius XM Book Radio ,which XM subscribers have known as Sonic Theater.  Sports talker Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's Mad Dog Radio will launch soon for all subscribers, Sirius XM said.  The new lineup for Sirius can be found here. The new XM lineup can be found here.  Sirius XM Radio Inc., which was created in July, earlier this week said its third-quarter losses totaled $4.88 billion after recording a sizeable charge connected to a decline in its stock. The company earlier this month said it expects to end this year with 19.1 million subscribers and next year with 20.6 million subscribers. The economic slowdown, particularly its its effect on auto sales, has hurt its growth.

siruis, xm

I have to be careful, Jermaine Jackson and one many Motown stars and alumnus read Radio Facts, I don't want to offend them.... Motha fook that, they dont' buy ads... wanna take a quick stroll down memory lane?... I just thought about something.... remember when Eddie Murphy used to insinuate that Michael was gay and he made fun of him in his comedy routine? Isn't life ironic, the dog that brings the bone? The routine was hillarious before Eddie was busted for his own tastes for sluts with nuts (laugh). As far as Micheal, attorney's can be VERY expesive and when you go from buying exotic monkeys and shit to GIVING away the entire ranch, these times, they are a changin'. OK maybe I'm not being very sensative about the situation but shit, people out there are trying to eat, it's hard to feel sorry for somebody who has to give up their exotic zoo and shit to survive... (laugh). Mike may never admited it, (first that a BLIND man can see he's had plastic surgery and lots of it) but those alleged charges ate a hole in his bank account to pay those attorney fees but jail, was NOT an option. Now the superstar  has given up title to his Neverland ranch, transferring the deed to a company he partly controls. Wonder how that will work? Is he about to file bankruptcy on the business? He is smart as hell and that would not affect his personal credit. hmmm

The singer filed a grant deed on the ranch Monday that makes the new owner an entity called the Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. LLC, Tom Pearson of the Santa Barbara County clerk-recorder's office said Wednesday. Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. is a joint venture between Jackson and an affiliate of Colony Capital LLC, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction who was not authorized to speak on the record and requested anonymity. The person could not say what would become of the 2,500-acre property in the bucolic, oak-studded hills of Santa Barbara County's wine country, 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles but as a real estate agent I can tell you... that property will sit for a while, the only saving grace is that you have other filthy rich celebs in the area who have the money to splurge on that land which is probably worth half of what it was 2 years ago but I will STILL take that fooking commission. Jackson had gone into default on the $24.5 million he owes on the property and had faced foreclosure before Colony Capital bailed him out earlier this year by purchasing his loan. Pearson said the deed did not indicate who else owns Sycamore.

The latest Gallup Poll, one of the most reliable pollsters in the United States, provides further proof that Joe Biden and Barack Obama have already won the election. The latest poll has Obama up by 11 percent, a 52-41 percent lead. The main reason for Obama’s success is the economic crisis. 59% of voters believe he is more competent to deal with the crisis than the Republican nominee, John McCain. McCain’s main advantage left is foreign policy, but he’s losing ground on that subject as well. Increasingly more Americans believe that Obama too will be able to deal with the country’s enemies and friends in an effective manner, while protecting U.S. interests. It marks the largest lead for Obama ever. Obama’s lead is unlikely to decrease by much in the coming weeks, as reported by PoliGazette.com. It is likely that we will see a change in Obama in the coming days, if other polls show the same results. He will undoubtedly start behaving more like someone who has already won, someone who is America’s president. This will probably increase his appeal for a lot of people. Because, the more people believe it’s over, the more likely it is that McCain will lose in a landslide.