News Radio

Ad Campaign Pushes Back Against Fake News

“The News Literacy Project and The Open Mind Legacy Project, will air public service announcements on radio and television to combat malicious fabrication, bots and online trolls that seek to mislead voters.”

Published

2 years ago

September 14, 2020

Ryan Hedrick

Two organizations have launched an aggressive to ad campaign to combat voter suppression.

The News Literacy Project and The Open Mind Legacy Project, will air public service announcements on radio and television to combat malicious fabrication, bots and online trolls that seek to mislead voters.

“Our mission is to help people learn to sort fact from fiction so that they can be engaged and informed participants in our democracy,” said NLP founder and CEO Alan C. Miller. “This nonpartisan campaign is intended to inoculate Americans against misinformation about voting and build critical thinking skills that they will use to make informed decisions throughout their lives.”

The organizations cite the 2016 election as a prime example in which foreign and domestic information overwhelmed social media platforms with memes containing false information.

”Foreign and domestic disinformation campaigns on U.S. social platforms tripped folks up at the polls and depressed turnout in 2016, especially among historically marginalized young and Black voters,” said Alexander Heffner, Open Mind Legacy Project president and host of The Open Mind. “Our efforts are to counter forcefully and help minimize the damage of fabrication online.”

Public service announcements will air in Spanish and English. The campaign will aim to debunk myths and encourage consumers to verify facts with multiple sources before sharing social media posts.

Earlier this year, during the initial stage of the coronavirus, Americans were voting in primaries and caucuses around the nation with little guidance on how to safely and reliably participate in our elections during a pandemic. Now, in addition to the continued public health advisories about mask wearing and social distancing, we need to increase public awareness to safeguard the country’s public life as well as our public health.

Ryan Hedrick

Ryan Hedrick serves as the Co-Host of the Morning News Express at WFMD. He started in radio at 17 years old, doing sports and news for his high school radio station. He then spent several years at WFMD in Frederick, MD before joining WBEN in Buffalo, NY. In 2016, while working at WIBW-AM in Topeka KS, Hedrick earned the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) award for Major Market enterprise reporting. Hedrick grew up in Southern California where he attended Cal State University of Northridge. He can be found on Twitter @SureToCover.

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News Radio

Ben Shapiro: Donald Trump Endorsing People Doesn’t Carry a Lot of Power

During his show on Wednesday, Shapiro said Trump may hold power over the Republican party but when it comes to local political races, there are other factors at play.

Published

18 hours ago

June 24, 2022

Ryan Hedrick

AFP/Getty Images/Jason Kempin

Syndicated radio host and author Ben Shapiro suggested that an endorsement from former President Donald Trump is not the golden ticket it’s portrayed to be.

During his show on Wednesday, Shapiro said Trump may hold power over the Republican party but when it comes to local political races, there are other factors at play.

“So, there’s a difference between Donald Trump endorsing a person, which I don’t think has a lot of power. And Donald Trump is destroying people,” Shapiro said via Mediate.

“He (Trump) actually talked about how Brian Kemp was terrible and horrible and no good and very bad. And Brian Kemp won because he had earned the loyalty of the Republican voting base in Georgia, despite Trump’s anger at Brian Kemp.”

Shapiro concluded that “Trump does not have the sort of stranglehold the media thinks he has on the Republican Party.”

Recently, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is one Trump-endorsed candidate that has backed away from the former president.

An Axios analysis of Oz’s social media and campaign website uncovered that the Republican candidate is no longer lauding his Trump endorsement ahead of the midterm elections this fall.

Ryan Hedrick

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News Radio

Longtime WIBC News Anchor Retires After Nearly 30 Years

Stan Lehr is calling it quits with his final day coming July 1.

Published

18 hours ago

June 24, 2022

Ryan Hedrick

Longtime WIBC-FM news anchor Stan Lehr is calling it quits after nearly 30 years behind the microphone. The Indianapolis Star reports that Lehr’s last day will be July 1.

WIBC is owned by Emmis Communications who last week announced a move to sell its Indianapolis radio properties to Maryland-based Radio One. Lehr’s retirement reportedly had nothing to do with the news of the impending sale.

“This will bring to an end a long chapter in the station’s history,” WIBC News Director Chris Davis wrote in his email. “His reputation as a stickler has been widely-known in the industry for decades.”

Davis described Lehr as a “stickler” who never wanted recognition for his work.

“Instead, he made it clear to all who work or have worked with him that strong writing, accuracy, and excellence in delivery are the best ways to serve the listeners,” added Davis.

Ryan Hedrick

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News Radio

WWL, FEMA Unveiling New Emergency Broadcast Studio

The news conference will occur at 9 a.m. CT, leading to official remarks, Q&A, a tour of the facility, and a live demonstration at the WWL PEP station emergency studio.

Published

1 day ago

June 23, 2022

Eduardo Razo

FEMA and Audacy’s WWL-AM/FM will present the unveiling of an all-hazards upgrade to the “Primary Entry Point” facility on June 28th.

The news conference will occur at 9 a.m. CT, leading to official remarks, Q&A, a tour of the facility, and a live demonstration at the WWL PEP station emergency studio.

Some of the speakers at the event will include Erik Hooks, Deputy Administrator, FEMA, and Kevin Cassidy, Senior Vice-President, Market Manager, Audacy-WWL.

“The modernization to the emergency studio increases WWL’s resiliency to continue broadcasting under all conditions, including natural disasters and acts of terrorism,” the statement said which Barrett News Media obtained. “This facility is one of 77 across the country that serve as a National Public Warning System Primary Entry Point (PEP) station, participating with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public before, during and after incidents and disasters.”

“WWL is the 15th radio station in the country to work with FEMA to complete the all-hazards upgrade, which includes increased sheltering capabilities, expanded broadcast capacity, and sustainable power generation for all types of hazardous events.”

Anyone attending the event will arrive at check-in 15 minutes before the press conference starts.

Eduardo Razo

Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.

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