Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s answer to Nike scrapping plans for a Betsy Ross American flag-themed sneaker has resulted in a $1.5 million donation to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Limbaugh designed a “Stand Up for Betsy Ross” t-shirt “as a pushback to [Colin] Kaepernick and Nike,” he said during an appearance on “Fox and Friends.” Read more

Studio naming rights are fairly common in the radio industry, but Saga Communications talk WHMP Springfield, MA (1400) has placed the name of a 50-year station employee, Barbara J. Kuschk—described as the one “holding chaos at check” in the traffic department for half a century—upon its on-air studio. Read more

Richmond radio host Melissa Chase is recounting her summer vacation for listeners with the harrowing tale of being bitten by a shark. “It was a baby one and I’m fine now, but holy bananas it hurt so badly,” she shared on social media. With all limbs intact, the on-air personality co-hosts “Play Mornings with Melissa and Jack” on SummitMedia hot AC “103.7 Play” WURV. Read more

iHeartMedia is wasting no time in reclaiming one of two FMs it was required to put into a divestiture trust earlier this year as part of its chapter 11 reorganization. A city of license change for urban AC “V-101.5” WSOL-FM from Brunswick, GA to Yulee, FL will allow the company to reclaim “107.7 The Fox” WHFX Brunswick from the Sun and Snow Station Trust. Read more

Religious broadcast group Refuge Media Group is donating three full-power radio stations and 14 translators to fellow religious broadcaster University of Northwestern-St. Paul. The university gains WJRF Duluth, MN; KRGM Marshall, MN; and KRFG Nashwauk, MN. The 14 translators are spread across Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota. It will assume Refuge’s liabilities and will fund operations of the stations until closing. Read more

Matty Staudt, iHeartRadio’s Vice President of Podcast Programming, has announced he’s stepping away from full-time work at the company to form his own podcast firm, the Los Angeles-based Jam Street Media. He’ll remain host of the Access Podcast on iHeartRadio. “I’m not leaving the company 100% but I am going to be devoting my time to this new endeavor,” Staudt announced. Read more

Battle Tactics For Your Sexist Workplace, the podcast from Puget Sound Public Radio news/talk KUOW-AM/FM Seattle, has launched its second season with a dozen episodes offering up strategies for how people can deal with sexism in the modern workplace. Hosted by Jeannie Yandel and Eula Scott Bynone, many of the episodes from season two will focus on personal dilemmas brought up by listeners. Read more

WBBM begins broadcasting from new transmitter site… The next “CRS360” webinar will take a mid-year look at country radio ratings and offer a state of the format… The Massachusetts Broadcasters Association has awarded 21 scholarships totaling $34,000 to students across the state. Read more

Meet Ed Sheeran, unlikely rocker. Sure enough, the pop balladeer has achieved what might have seemed a near impossibility only a week ago. His all-out riff-fest “Blow,” featuring Bruno Mars and Chris Stapleton, from Sheeran’s just-released “No.6 Collaborations Project,” has broken bad at active rock radio, launching at No. 40 on Mediabase with 102 spins. Read more

For a lot of local radio stations looking to capitalize on the expanding podcast marketplace, the first thought is what interesting content can they create to attract an audience. But that may be a legacy way of thinking that has broadcasters missing out on what could be a bigger opportunity. Jacobs Media digital consultant Seth Resler thinks local stations should take a fresh look at branded podcasts. Read more

Will increased attention on reducing debt help the radio business? That’s the question posed by Michael Kupinski, media equity research analyst at Noble Capital Markets, in the investment banking firm’s latest Media Sector Review. Radio stocks did well in the second quarter, rising 3.5% compared to a 3.8% gain by the general market as measured by the S&P 500. Radio narrowly out-performed television stocks (+3.5%). Read more