A union representing 160,000 journalists, radio personalities, and other media types, has successfully negotiated a contract with Philadelphia-based NPR affiliate WHYY-FM, the station announced on its Twitter account. 

Representatives from The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) said the deal raises salaries and provides other benefits associated with the union.

“After a long negotiation process, SAG-AFTRA members finally have a solid first agreement with WHYY that implements vital benefits and pay increases,” said SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “I congratulate our negotiating team as well as our amazing WHYY members on their new contract.” 

Union members at WHYY negotiated for two years before reaching a deal. Members held a rally in July when negotiations began to drag on. The unit won its union election 70 to 1 on October 30, 2019. 

An accomplished sports radio programmer is making the move into News/Talk. Dennis Glasgow made the announcement on social media Wednesday, confirming that he had accepted an opportunity to program Washington D.C. news/talk station 104.7 WONK FM. 

Glasgow had spent the past few years programming 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh, North Carolina. His position was eliminated last year though during the pandemic. Prior to his tune in Raleigh, Glasgow programmed 1080 The Fan in Portland, and ESPN 980 in the nation’s capital.

“I know that it has been a very difficult year for many families, including ours,” Glasgow wrote. “But the good news is that I have a new gig (as of now) and will be working and living in Washington DC as Program Director for iHeartMedia at WONK FM.”

104.7 WONK FM first launched two years ago. At the time the iHeartmedia station billed itself as a “news and talk station serving thought leaders, influencers and stakeholders inside the Washington D.C. beltway.”

The challenge awaiting Glasgow is a big one. DC is a market that has been dominated by Hubbard’s all-news station WTOP which registered a 9.2 share in the last Nielsen ratings book. Cumulus news talker 105.9 WMAL has also been a healthy format competitor in the market.

Chris Brown, the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Global Connections and Events at the National Association of Broadcasters informed the broadcasting community on Wednesday that the 2021 NAB Show in Las Vegas has been cancelled. Brown’s statement indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic and surging Delta variant have been it too difficult to move forward with the industry’s largest conference.

“For more than a year we have worked tirelessly to bring our industry together safely in Las Vegas at NAB Show. Unfortunately, the pandemic and surge of the Delta variant has presented unexpected and insurmountable challenges for our global community.

As we have always kept the best interest and safety of the industry as our priority, it has become apparent in the face of these challenges that we can no longer effectively host NAB Show or our co-located events, the Radio Show and Sales and Management Television Exchange, in person.

NAB Show is the premiere destination for the media and entertainment industry and we will not move forward with a show that delivers anything less than the excellence our community has come to expect and deserves from us.

While we are disappointed that we will not be together again in person next month, we look forward to converging at the 2022 NAB Show, April 23-27, 2022, to reignite our passion for our business and focus on a bright future ahead.

The NAB announced that further details regarding virtual options for the 2021 event will be passed along shortly. Regardless, it’s a blow to the media industry, one which enjoys coming together annually to support the show.