Greater Media Inc. has announced that Steve Kosbau has been named Market Manager of its Detroit-based radio properties, including WRIF-FM, WCSX-FM and WMGC-FM. He will begin his new position in mid-September. The radio veteran most recently served as the President and General Manager of WDRQ-FM and WDVD-FM in the Motor City. Prior to that, he worked as the Director of Operations at WJZW-FM and WRQX-FM in Washington, DC.

"Steve is a man of great character and intellect, who will help us take Greater Media Detroit to the next level," said John Fullam, Vice President & Regional Market Manager of Greater Media Philadelphia. "We are pleased to welcome him to the Greater Media family."

"Opportunities like this are rare," said Kosbau. "It's an honor to join such a fantastic company and these legendary radio stations."\

Despite being fired as general manager and morning show host at Coyote Country WGDN 103 FM, Bobby Randall's Birthday Bash is still on. The event is scheduled for Sept. 19 at the Midland County Fairgrounds and features headliner Sammy Kershaw. The event is a fundraiser for 4-H of Midland and Gladwin counties. The Moose, 94.5 FM, stepped in as sponsor. "Thank God for The Moose," Randall said during a recent interview. "It will be fine and probably be bigger now that The Moose is on board." When Randall was fired, several others went with him including co-host Chris Schaeffer, other show hosts and behind-the-scenes folks. Randall said he felt responsible for others losing their jobs. "I feel responsible for those people because I hired those people and they all saw the vision," Randall said. "There was nothing I could do to stop this." Schaeffer has recently joined WMPX and will be joining the Gary Williams Morning Show on 97.7 on Sept. 7. "We are excited that the opportunity to add Chris to our team presented itself and hope her devoted listeners will enjoy her new home and our listeners enjoy the great addition," said Tom Steele, general manager. "She will bring an element of fun and excitement to the long running morning show. Listeners will have the opportunity to meet Chris at events such as live remotes, parades, dances, local businesses and other community events." Bill Gilderstern, new station general manager, told the Daily News previously that Randall's firing came as result of an ownership change at the station... Bobby Randall Birthday Bash still on (Sun, 8/29)

Flint Journal:

Dan Richards fell into the country music business by accident, but after 30 years he has never looked back. Richards of Flushing Township will be inducted Friday into the Michigan Country Music Hall of fame for his accomplishments as a country radio announcer. You can hear him these days on Sunday nights on Saginaw-based KCQ-FM. "It was pretty cool. Very exciting," he said. "Kind of a recognition of all the work you've done. A nice way to say, 'Thanks. Good job.'" Richards, 56, grew up a rock 'n' roll fan, but that all changed after getting his first radio job at WTAC-AM in Flint in 1980. "Once I started playing the (country) music and hearing it every day, it was great," he said. Over the years, Richards also has worked for Flint's country station WKMF-AM, W4 Country-FM out of Detroit and Flint's B95-FM... Flushing Township man, WKCQ DJ is inducted into the Michigan Country Music Hall of Fame on Friday (Sat, 8/28)

Kerri Cavanaugh, formerly news director for South Florida television station WSFL, has been named news director at Grand Rapids' Fox 17. Cavanaugh replaces Tim Dye, who left the station in July to join WXYZ in Detroit. She officially assumes her new duties in Grand Rapids on Sept. 8, according to general manager Patty Kolb. Cavanaugh also spent 11 years at WFTS in Tampa, Fla., and won the Edward R. Murrow Award for breaking news in 2008... FOX 17 names news director from Florida to replace Tim Dye (Thu, 8/26)

The lights of Friday night come a little early this week, but that doesn't mean tonight's games will fly under the radar. High school football remains as popular in the West Michigan area as it does in the rest of the country, and the local TV and radio coverage certainly reflects that... West Michigan's TV and radio stations have high school football fans covered (Thu, 8/26)

Hockey fans weren't the only ones interested in the Grand Rapids Griffins' 2010-11 schedule, which was released Wednesday afternoon. So was the local sports station widely known as ESPN 96.1. On Wednesday, the Griffins also announced a new three-year partnership with WMAX-FM to carry the team's radio broadcasts this season. The Griffins spent the past 14 years on sister station WOOD-AM (1300), but eight games last season were moved to WMAX. Both stations are owned by Clear Channel Communications. "It's somewhat of a bittersweet day for us, as Newsradio WOOD 1300 has been a tremendous flagship for the Griffins since our inaugural season," said Tim Gortsema, the Griffins' senior vice president of business operations. "But the opportunities to be on an all-sports FM station, increase our overall signal strength and access to ESPN's audience of local sports fans -- all while staying with Clear Channel -- made it an easy decision." Bob Kaser will return for his 11th season as the Griffins' play-by-play announcer. All 80 regular-season games will feature a 15-minute pregame show and at least a 10-minute postgame show. If a scheduling conflict arises, Griffins broadcasts will be able to move to WOOD or another Clear Channel station that can air the game live... Griffins games move to ESPN 96.1 (Wed, 8/25)

In celebration of the 2010 fall line-up and to honor four Southeastern Michigan community leaders, Detroit Public Television (DPTV) will host its 9th Annual Premiere Night gala on Thursday, Sept. 30. Held at the Detroit Athletic Club, the event will begin at 6 p.m.

Premiere Night is DPTV's signature fundraising event, which unveils the fully-loaded PBS fall season and a variety of new local DPTV productions. Widely regarded as one of the most anticipated fundraising events in Metro Detroit, guests of Premiere Night will enjoy an elegant evening of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, dinner, live and silent auctions and the presentation of DPTV's dedicated community leader awards.

The 2010 award winners are as follows:

• John W. Porter Leadership Award: Kimberly & Ken Whipple
• Dolores & George Riley Stewardship Award: Dr. Ronald Goldsberry
• Detroit Public Television Partnership Award: University of Michigan-Dearborn
• Detroit Public Television Visionary Award: Carol A. Goss

Patron tickets to Premiere Night are $250 each. Benefactor tickets, which include dinner at the historic Bloomfield Hills home of event co-chairs Bobbi and Stephen Polk on Sept. 22, are $400 each. Sponsorships also are available.

To buy tickets, make a sponsorship commitment, purchase advertising or donate a unique auction item, visit dptv.org or contact Sarah Kittle at (248) 305-3774 or skittle@dptv.org.

Proceeds from Premiere Night support Detroit Public Television, which provides programs and online content that educate, entertain and in partnership with the community.

Tim Patishnock is excited for the opportunities that could come with the new radio station he is working with. He is the program director for the Mountain 101, a new radio station focusing on adult album alternative music. The Mount Pleasant junior said the station currently broadcasts on 101.1 FM, has been on the air for a couple of months and will be officially launched in September. The new station will be run by WMHW. "You can really find something that you like on this station," Patishnock said. "Acoustic, jazz, world, rock, indie, folk -- I really tried to make it as diverse as possible." The Mountain 101 originally started as an HD station that would require a subscription to listen to. After HD failed to catch on as they had hoped, Patishnock said they went back to the drawing board to create a local radio station anyone in town can listen to. The station will feature artists from as far back as the 1970s to more modern musicians such as Coldplay and John Mayer. Patishnock said his goal was to keep a good balance between music that is both new and exciting and old and familiar... Mountain 101 radio station officially launches in September, focuses on older, local crowd (Mon, 8/23)

Singer Tommy Steele's new album, "The Long Haul," describes Dorothy Adkins' passion for country music to a tee. The 41-year-old fan made "the long haul" all the way from North Carolina to attend downtown Grand Rapids' inaugural 94.5 Thunder Country Jam on Sunday. And not only did Adkins arrive early to catch Steele's opening set in the radiant sunshine, she planned to dance and sing until one of her favorite bands, national headliner Little Big Town, closed things out as night settled in eight hours later... Fans arrive from near and far for Thunder Country Jam in downtown Grand Rapids (Sun, 8/22)

Western Michigan University football and men's basketball games will be carried on Lansing's WVIC-FM 94.1, the university announced Thursday. WVIC, which serves Lansing, Jackson and Battle Creek, is owned my Midwest Communications, which also owns WKZO-FM 96.5. WKZO is returning as the flagship station of the Bronco Radio Network after WZUU-FM 92.5 decided not to renew its contract with WMU. WMAX-FM 96.1 (Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon) and WBCH-FM 100.1 (Barry, Calhoun and Ionia counties) will also carry Bronco football this fall... Bronco football, men's basketball add radio affiliate in Lansing (Thu, 8/19)

The numbers are in and WKQI-FM's (95.5) "Mojo in the Morning" cohost Shannon Murphy delivered the second-highest local ratings of the year for "Live! With Regis and Kelly" when she stepped in as a guest host Tuesday. Nearly 125,000 metro Detroit viewers tuned in to WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) to watch Murphy, winner of the show's Women of Radio Cohost for a Day contest, joke with Regis Philbin and kiss Joey Lawrence ... Meteorologist Keenan Smith, who has been delivering the goods in West Palm Beach, Fla., will be joining Channel 7 in mid-September for its "Action News This Morning" and "Action News at Noon" broadcasts ... WFDF-AM (910, Radio Disney) has lined up a "Back 2 School Celebration" on Aug. 28 at Westland Shopping Center that will include a special question-and-answer session with Chloe Bridges, a star of upcoming Disney Channel movie "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam"... Names and Faces (Fri, 8/20)

Michigan Radio announces new "All Things Considered" host

After conducting an extensive national search, Michigan Radio has announced that Jennifer White has been named as the station's new "All Things Considered" host. Jenn replaces Charity Nebbe, who left Michigan Radio in June to return to her home state of Iowa.

For the past two years, Jenn has been an Executive Producer and the host of the television program, "Out of the Blue: The Michigan Difference," on the Big Ten Network. She was also the host of the nationally distributed public radio documentary "Finding Our Bootstraps: Americans Deal With Recession," and has served as host of the public television programs "Secret Spaces, Childhood Places," "Out of the Box" and "Edible Legacies." Recently, she has moderated several political forums, including gubernatorial and mayoral debates for both public radio and television.

She has a background in both theater, and television and video production. A native of Detroit and graduate of the University of Michigan, she has worked at Michigan Public Media since 1999, most recently as the station's Director of Media Outreach and Community Relations. From 2005-2009, she served as Station Manager for Michigan Television, WFUM-TV.

"We're excited to have Jenn as our new afternoon host," said Michigan Radio Program Director Tamar Charney. "She has an on-air sound that exudes warmth and authority; and a deep commitment to the role that public radio journalism plays in society."

Listeners have heard Jenn filling in periodically as "All Things Considered" host at Michigan Radio since June of this year. Her first day as permanent afternoon on-air host at the station will be Wednesday, Sept. 1.

"All Things Considered" can be heard each weekday on Michigan Radio from 4:00 - 6:30 pm. The program is heard by over 230,000 listeners per week across southern Michigan on the station.

CKWW offering soundtrack for this weekend's cruisers

Before you head out in your classic car this weekend to cruise Woodward, CKWW AM 580 is inviting listeners to tune in as the station revs up the 50's and 60's hits all weekend long. Touting itself as the place to hear real cruisin' Oldies on AM--where they were originally heard, cruisers can take a nostalgic trip down memory lane with the songs you listened to while cruising Woodward Avenue to back in the day. The weekend will feature the big hits and also dig into the record library for some forgotten classics too.

The Environment Report from Michigan Radio has been recognized by the Society of Environmental Journalists with an Award for Reporting on the Environment. The Environment Report received a second place award in the "Outstanding Beat/In-Depth Reporting, Radio" category, for the documentary "Coal: Dirty Past, Hazy Future."

In the documentary, The Environment Report's Mark Brush, Rebecca Williams, Lester Graham and Shawn Allee take an in-depth look at the future of coal in this country. The series explored the role that coal plays in our lives and in the lives of those who depend on coal mining for a living. According to the SEJ judges, the documentary was "Ambitious, balanced, and deeply relevant......an indispensable guide to North America's most prevalent and most hidden source of energy. It's a complex, nuanced and immediately accessible piece that should be required listening for the nation." "Coal: Dirty Past, Hazy Future" was originally broadcast in January, 2010.

The Environment Report was the only Michigan news organization to receive a 2010 SEJ award. Other award recipients in the "Outstanding Beat/In-Depth Reporting, Radio" category were public radio programs "The World" and "Living on Earth."

SEJ's journalism contest is the world's largest and most comprehensive award for journalism on environmental topics. In all, there were 216 entries, with twenty-nine winners chosen in 11 categories. The finalists represented the best environmental reporting in print and on television, radio, the Internet and in student publications.

The Environment Report is a news service committed to revealing the relationship between the natural world and the everyday lives of people. The Environment Report airs on Michigan Radio every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:55 am and 5:45 pm. Michigan Radio broadcasts at 91.7 FM in southeastern Michigan, 91.1 FM in Flint, and 104.1 FM in western Michigan.

AllAccess.com:

Weathercaster KAM CARMAN returns to CLEAR CHANNEL AC WNIC/DETROIT on MONDAY, AUGUST 23rd with JAY TOWERS in the Morning. "I am ecstatic to be working with JAY TOWERS and to be back on WNIC again," said CARMAN. "I feel like I'm coming home." "KAM has been a great friend of mine for over 10 years and to have her as a part of the morning show at WNIC is exciting for all of us," says TOWERS... Kam Carman Returns To WNIC With Jay Towers (Thu, 8/19)

Detroit News:

A lawsuit filed last week against WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) anchor Carolyn Clifford claims she owes a food-service company more than $100,000 after personally guaranteeing bills at the defunct Detroit Fish Market restaurant owned by her husband, Frank Taylor. Sysco Detroit's suit in Wayne County Circuit Court alleges it "agreed to extend credit to the Detroit Fish Market and to continue to provide goods and services" in October after Clifford personally guaranteed to pay the bills. The restaurant closed in April; Taylor filed for bankruptcy in June and Sysco claims Clifford now owes $104,749.36... Carolyn Clifford sued after vouching for husband's bills (Thu, 8/19)

It may seem like Sunday's inaugural Thunder Country Jam at Rosa Parks Circle is trying to draw parallels to a similar West Michigan event. Like WBCT-FM (93.7)'s annual two-day B-93 Birthday Bash, the WTNR-FM (94.5) event is free and features back-to-back country music acts straight from Nashville, including Chuck Wicks and headliner Little Big Town. But organizers contend they aren't all that similar, nor are they trying to be. "We don't want this to be really compared to that, because it's going to be very different," said Steve "Scrubs" Stewart, Thunder morning personality and program director, as well as Citadel Grand Rapids' director of operations. "The day itself is more than just a concert." "They do a great job," Stewart said of the June event that draws upwards of 60,000. "If ours grows to that (size), then great. But we're not looking for that"... Thunder Country Jam brings free, family friendly country music festival to downtown Grand Rapids (Thu, 8/19)

CUMULUS MEDIA Urban AC WDZZ (Z 92.7)FLINT, MI PD/middayer BOBBY HOLIDAY is up to his old tricks again. Reminiscent of a similar stunt he pulled in PHILADELPHIA several years ago, HOLIDAY will be living in a truck until it is completely filled with school supplies. When the truck is filled, all supplies are going to be donated to CARRIAGE TOWN MINISTRIES, who will then distribute them to those less fortunate. HOLIDAY says they need all school supplies to include calculators, rulers, pens, pencils, notebooks crayons, markers and protractors... Bobby Holiday Is Truckin' In Flint (Tue, 8/16)

WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit has announced that Dave Rexroth will become the station's Chief Meteorologist, replacing Jerry Hodak who will be retiring in September. Rexroth will move to Action News' evening broadcasts at 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, and 11pm starting late September.

Rexroth joined WXYZ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, in 2000 after working as a meteorologist at WFOR-TV in Miami, Florida where he covered Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Harvey. He also worked at WRBG in Albany, New York, and WOI in Des Moines, Iowa.

Rexroth says his interest in weather started at an early age. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, in the heart of tornado alley. "I remember as a child hiding under my dad's workbench in the basement during storms and I got hooked."

A physics graduate from Luther College in Iowa, Rexroth went on to earn a master's degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Chicago where he studied under Ted Fujita, who developed the F-scale for tornado strength.

In 2007 and 2008, Dave won the Michigan Association of Broadcasters award for "Best Weather." He also received an Emmy Award in programming from the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences.

"I could not think of a better choice for Chief Meteorologist than Dave Rexroth. His comprehensive weather knowledge and personable style make him the ideal choice to succeed our legendary 'Chief' Jerry Hodak," said Ed Fernandez, Vice President and General Manager of WXYZ-TV. "For nearly a decade, the viewers of Southeast Michigan have come to know Dave and his engaging weather presentations in the mornings and I'm certain they will continue to welcome him into their homes at night."

"It's been my lifelong goal to be a weatherman and a Chief Meteorologist," said Rexroth, "and with the changing weather in Michigan, there's no better place than here, and no better station than WXYZ."

WXYZ announces coverage for 2010 Woodward Dream Cruise

WXYZ-TV plans exclusive coverage of the 16th annual Woodward Dream Cruise, the world's largest one-day automotive event. Channel 7's "Woodward Dream Cruise" will be broadcast live on Saturday, August 21, from 7-9 p.m. An encore presentation will air Sunday, August 22, from 8-10 a.m.

Channel 7 anchors Stephen Clark and Diana Lewis will be at the heart of the action from a home base stage just south of Duggans Pub on Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak. The show will also feature reports from Mary Conway, Carolyn Clifford, Don Shane, JoAnne Purtan, Dave Rexroth and Christy McDonald, who will be talking to cruisers and checking out their classics at locations all along Woodward. The program captures the nostalgia of the cruising era of Woodward, and profiles the collectors and car enthusiasts whose passion for the automobile has created and defined Detroit's car culture.

"The Woodward Dream Cruise speaks to the very heart of Detroit and it's passion for the cars it builds," said WXYZ-TV Vice-President and General Manager Ed Fernandez. "WXYZ-TV is proud to be the exclusive television partner of the Cruise as we celebrate Detroit's rich automotive tradition."

WXYZ-TV will also broadcast Action News live from Woodward Avenue on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning.

Due to coverage of the Dream Cruise, WXYZ will move ABC-TV's coverage of that evening's NASCAR race to digital subchannel 7.2 where the station normally airs the RTV network.

Detroit Free Press:

The spotlight shined bright on Shannon Murphy from her nationally televised hot seat today, but the WKQI-FM (95.5) "Mojo in the Morning" radio show co-host appeared to be nothing but cool. "The nerves actually faded away after the first five minutes or so but everything was moving so fast; the hour just flew right by," Murphy, who co-hosted "LIVE! With Regis and Kelly" with the show's host Regis Philbin, told the Detroit Free Press after she delivered a charismatic, confident and entertaining hour that featured a little Motor City love and plenty of fun personal anecdotes. Murphy was the first of four female radio co-hosts chosen to fill in for a vacationing Kelly Ripa this week from a nationwide, fan-voted on contest that concluded its final round last week... 'Mojo' co-host Shannon Murphy shines on show with Regis Philbin (Tue, 8/17)