Michael Harrison Podcast Explores "The Real History of Fake News." The award-winning, weekly
PodcastOne hit series "Up Close and Far Out with
Michael Harrison" kicks off 2017 with an engaging discussion about fake news with
Columbia Journalism Review (
CJR) staff writer and senior Delacorte fellow,
David Uberti. Uberti recently penned an article in
CJR titled,
The Real History of Fake News. It traces the long-standing practice of newspapers in America publishing hoaxes, falsehoods and blatantly slanted stories to manipulate public opinion all the way back to the founding of the republic. The fake news phenomenon, now greatly amplified and accelerated by social media and digital technology, was one of the most-discussed issues on news/talk radio this past year and promises to continue to be an area of concern moving forward. To listen to the podcast in its entirety, please click
here or click on the "Up Close and Far Out" player box located in the right-hand column on every page of Talkers.com.
WPRO-AM, Providence and Talk Host John DePetro Go Separate Ways. During the month of December, the late morning talk show hosted by longtime WPRO-AM personality
John DePetro was handled by a rotating cast of fill-in hosts. DePetro had referenced a "health situation" on his website. Then, just before Christmas,
DePetro notified listeners via his website of his departure from the station. He wrote, in part, "At this time, I have decided to conclude my entertaining weekday 9:00 am -12:00 noon radio show on WPRO. Thank you to all my listeners for making 2016 my best year ever in radio, with my coverage of the Trump campaign, my many exclusives, plus my national work on 'The Savage Nation' and
CNN. I am very grateful for the many loyal listeners who have been entertained by my program on WPRO over the past 10 years." So far, WPRO has not named a replacement host, nor has the
Cumulus Media news/talk station officially addressed DePetro's departure.
2017 CES Preview. Media consultant
Holland Cooke is in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show reporting for
TALKERS magazine and he files the following:
165 THOUSAND of us – from 150 countries – are heading to the massive, mind-boggling Consumer Electronics Show.
This year is the 50th annual CES. Back in 1967, there were ooohs and ahhhs for console color TVs. Are you old-enough to remember the handsome woodwork? Some had built-in stereo systems…but only for the vinyl you played on the turntable. Stereo TV sound? Someday.
50 years ago, only 14 companies were showing-off their stuff, in 100,000 square feet of exhibit space. Back-to-the-future: Today, when they cut the virtual ribbon, four THOUSAND companies will display in 2.4 MILLION square feet of Las Vegas Convention Center. Picture FIFTY football fields.
And that's just inside. Outdoors, there'll be drones up above, and down-below we'll be test-driving cars with no gas tank, and cars with no driver.
Technology accounts for 15 million American jobs. Not everyone becomes a billionaire, by inventing, for instance, the smartphone. But someone became a millionaire by accessorizing it with the Selfie Stick.
Much of what we'll see here this week is here-today-gone-tomorrow. Many of these companies didn't exist a couple years ago, and many won't be around a couple years from now. Innovation is the-name-of-the-game, and that makes CES a welcome pump-up for radio broadcasters attending.
Look for my reports here in
TALKERS all this week, and listen for updates on "America in the Morning" and "The Jim Bohannon Show," or at
www.HollandCooke.com.
Terry Foster Returns to WXYT-FM, Detroit's Afternoon Drive Show. After missing lot of time on the air during the latter part of 2016 due to a stroke caused by high blood pressure,
Terry Foster is returning to the
"Valenti and Foster" program with co-host
Mike Valenti on sports talk "97.1 The Ticket." Program director
Jimmy Powers states, "We are excited that Terry is returning to the 'Valenti and Foster' show. His humor and insight have been missed not only by his co-workers, but by the listeners. I sincerely appreciate and would like to thank
Jeff Riger for sitting in for Terry while he was out; the show didn't miss a beat." Foster comments, "I have been on the sidelines for too long. I missed a lot of good stories and a lot of good times. I'm glad to be back on the train again. I want to thank all of the listeners and my co-workers for their encouraging words, they got me through a tough time."
Dan Lovallo Joins AM Show on Connoisseur's 'Talk of CT.' The news/talk multi-cast heard on
Connoisseur Media's "The Talk of CT" (WDRC-AM, Hartford; WMMW, Meriden; WWCO, Waterbury; and WSNG, Torrington) is adding well-known Connecticut radio personality
Dan Lovallo to the
Brad Davis morning show. Lovallo has been with the stations in various capacities over the years. In addition to news duties on the
company's sister classic rock WFOX, Southport (Bridgeport-Stamford market), Lovallo will also host his own Connecticut politics-focused show, "CT On The Hill," on "The Talk of CT" every day at 9:00 am. This is one of a number of changes at the Connecticut operations of Connoisseur and OM
Keith Dakin comments, "These changes, across our portfolio, indicate a strong commitment to localism. Radio will continue to be vibrant if it remains a true fabric of the community with more local morning shows, local news and people from Connecticut behind the microphones."
