News & Publications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 30, 2007
CMA ANNOUNCES 2007 BROADCAST AWARDS FINALISTS
Montgomery Gentry and Taylor Swift Make Announcement During Press Conference in Nashville; CMA’s Radio Partner Premiere Radio Networks Delivers News Live to Country Radio
NASHVILLE – Final nominees for the nation’s top Country radio stations and broadcast personalities were announced today when Sony BMG duo Montgomery Gentry and Big Machine Records artist Taylor Swift revealed the 2007 CMA Broadcast Personality and Radio Station of the Year finalists during the CMA Awards Nominees Press Conference at The Sommet Center in Nashville. The announcements were carried live to Country radio stations by CMA’s official radio partner Premiere Radio Networks.
The winners will be notified in mid-October and will be acknowledged at “The 41st Annual CMA Awards,” to be held Wednesday, Nov. 7 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) and broadcast live by the ABC Television Network from The Sommet Center in Nashville.
The Broadcast finalists were announced during a press conference following the live announcement of the final nominees for the 2007 CMA Awards on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and on a special edition of “CMT Insider” on CMT.
Many of the radio stations and personalities were first-time finalists for a CMA Broadcast Award. Nineteen percent of the stations and 45 percent of the radio personalities have never been on the final ballot.
“It is very exciting to see so many new faces and stations on the list of finalists,” said CMA Chief Operating Officer Tammy Genovese. “The talent, time and creativity the stations and broadcast teams put into their entries is really amazing. It is obvious they take this competition very seriously and they set the bar higher each year for everyone.”
Five finalists are selected for Broadcast Personality of the Year and Station of the Year in four categories (Small Market, Medium Market, Large Market and Major Market). The categories are established by market size based on population as ranked by Arbitron. Entries for Broadcast Personality of the Year are judged on aircheck, ratings, community involvement and biographical information. Candidates for Station of the Year are judged on airchecks, ratings history, community involvement and format leadership.
Three finalists are selected for National Broadcast Personality of the Year. To be eligible for National Broadcast Personality of the Year candidates must be syndicated, short-form and hub voice-tracking personalities heard in at least three markets with a minimum of 40 shows per year.
CMA members who are full-time, on-air personalities and CMA member radio stations in the U.S. and Canada were eligible to enter. The entries are judged by a panel of distinguished broadcast professionals, representing all market sizes and regions.
An aggregate score of the first round of judging and the second round, which is done by a different panel of judges, determines the winners. The international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP tabulates scoring by the judges.
CMA Broadcast Award winners are not eligible to enter in consecutive years; therefore, those who received trophies in 2006 were not eligible in 2007.
BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR:
National
“Big D and Bubba Show” (Derrick Haskins and Sean Powell) – Premiere Radio Networks
“Foxworthy Countdown” (Jeff Foxworthy) – Premiere Radio Networks
“The Lia Show” (Lia Knight) – Jones Radio Networks
Major Market
Chris Carr – KEEY, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
Michael J – WPOC, Baltimore, Md.
Randy and Dave (Randy Price and Dave McKay) – WQYK, Tampa/St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
“The Doctor Don Show with Rachael and Grunwald” (Don Carpenter, Rachael Hunter and Steve Grunwald) – WYCD, Detroit, Mich.
“Tim & Willy in the Morning” (Tim Hattrick and Willy D. Loon) – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz.
Large Market
Bill Whyte and Amanda Orlando – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
“Gerry House & The House Foundation” (Gerry House, Mike Bohan, Duncan Stewart, Al Voecks and Richard Falklen) – WSIX, Nashville, Tenn.
“Jim Denny and Friends” (Jim Denny, Kevin Freeman and Deborah Honeycutt) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
“The Moo Crew Morning Show” (Karen Dalessandro, Scott Dolphin and Tony “Radar” Hess) – WMIL, Milwaukee/Racine, Wis.
Vicki Murphy – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
Medium Market
Dan Tooker in the Morning with Jon Watkins and Colby Ericson – KFDI, Wichita, Kan.
Buzz Jackson – KIIM, Tucson, Ariz.
“Ellis and Bradley in the Morning” (Bill Ellis and Beth Bradley) – WSSL, Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C.
“Scott Innes – Car Tunes” – WYNK, Baton Rouge, La.
“WIVK at Night with Jack Ryan” – WIVK, Knoxville, Tenn.
Small Market
“Gator & The Styckman” (Gator Harrison and Greg “Styckman” Owens) – WGSQ, Cookeville, Tenn.
Jimmy Lehn and Shelly Martinez – WCTY, New London, Conn.
“JJ Thomas” (Jerry Butler) – KOFM, Enid, Okla.
“Mark and Danielle and the Morning Waking Crew” (Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier) – WOKQ, Portsmouth/Dover/Rochester, N.H.
“The Q106.5 Morning Show with the Breakfast Flakes, Paul Dupuis and JR Mitchell” – WQCB, Bangor, Maine
STATION OF THE YEAR
Major Market
KEEY – Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
KNIX - Phoenix, Ariz.
KSON – San Diego, Calif.
KYGO – Denver/Boulder, Colo.
WKHX – Atlanta, Ga.
WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.
Large Market
KNCI – Sacramento, Calif.
WGH – Norkfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News, Va.
WMIL – Milwaukee/Racine, Wis.
WSM FM– Nashville, Tenn.
WTQR – Greensboro/Winston-Salem-High Point, N.C.
Medium Market
KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif.
KXKT – Omaha/Council Bluffs, Iowa
WBBS – Syracuse, N.Y.
WGNA – Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y.
WYRK – Buffalo/Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Small Market
KTTS – Springfield, Mo.
WKXC – Augusta, Ga.
WQCB – Bangor, Maine
WUSY – Chattanooga, Tenn
WXBM – Pensacola, Fla.
Premiere Radio Networks is the official radio packager of the CMA Awards, including a stereo-radio simulcast of the gala event. American Airlines is the official airline of the 2007 CMA Awards. Chevy: The Official Ride of Country Music. Mary Kay® is the Official Beauty Sponsor. Additional promotional partners include Crisco®, Gibson Guitar®, and Greased Lightning® Cleaning Products.
“The 41st Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Walter C. Miller is the Executive Producer, Robert Deaton is the Producer. Paul Miller is the Director. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.