Country artist Keith Anderson (“Pickin’ Wildflowers,” “Every Time I Hear Your Name”) has signed on to host Cool Broadcasting’s new weekly syndicated radio show, “Cool Country Live from Ocean Way Nashville.” The show features a live studio audience and artists reflecting on their music and performing in an acoustic setting  recorded at Ocean Way studio, a converted church on Nashville’s Music Row. The show will debut May 4.

Greg Saunders signs on as Affiliate Relations and Sales Manager for the “The Michael Koolidge Show.”  Most recently, he served as PD of Talk WRHL-AM and Adult Hits WRHL-FM (102.3 Sam FM) Rochelle, IL, and morning host on WRHL.

WLW Cincinnati talker Bill Cunningham’s recently launched Tribune daytime TV talk show gets a major boost. The Bill Cunningham Show will replace Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers in the daily 3pm time slot on the CW Network beginning next fall.

Salem Radio Network has inked a deal that will make SRN News the exclusive provider of top and bottom-of-the-hour newscasts for affiliates of the Radio America Network. Salem’s newscasts will now be available to 400 Radio America affiliates in addition to SRN News’ current roster of some 1,300 affiliates. 

Sun Broadcast Group brings veteran broadcasters Ted Edwards and Phil Strider on to handle national affiliate relations. Both will be responsible for adding new affiliates for SBG’s roster of programs focusing on the network’s recently launched talk show Payne Nation hosted by Charles Payne. Edwards most recently handled national affiliate sales for Talk Radio Network, while Strider’s resume includes recent affiliate relations duties for the Tom Kent Radio Networks and Sovereign City Communications.

WMYB Star 92.1 Myrtle Beach SC. adds Benztown Radio Networks syndicated “Ace and TJ Show.” The show will broadcast mornings Monday through Friday from 6a-10a.

Affiliate relations pro Rich Rapiti joins Courtside Entertainment Group as senior director of affiliate relations. In his new role Rapiti reunites with Westwood One founder and Courtside chief Norm Pattiz.  Rapiti will be based in New York City.

Courtside Entertainment Group (CEG) is the new home of Bill O’Reilly’s Radio Talking Points, the  daily syndicated feature  last distributed via Westwood One.  O’Reilly and CEG founder Norm Pattiz  teamed up for last year’s nationally syndicated Bill O’Reilly’s Radio Town Hall Election Special.

Congratulations to Joy Grdnic, who recently broadcast the 2,000th episode of Joy Grdnic in the Studio, syndicated nationally by All Star Radio Networks.

Good Parts Media names Debbie Greenbaum VP/Director Syndication in charge of both Mr. Prep and The Hookup morning prep services.  Greenbaum previously did affiliate work at both Westwood One and Dial Global. 

Envision Radio welcomes WWSE-FM Buffalo as the newest affiliate of “YouBeauty,” a free daily 60-second vignette that explores the science behind beauty.

Total Traffic Network names Marv Nyren Midwest regional director of affiliate relations. Nyren’s previous stops include Senior VP/Regional Manager duties in Phoenix, Indy and Chicago for Emmis communications and at Atlanta’s WFOX (97.1). He’ll report to VP/Affiliate Development Mike Haake and cover Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Minneapolis, Kentucky, Wisconsin and the Dakotas and Illinois.

America’s Radio News Network announces the addition of Rachel Crowson as co-anchor. Crowson has had stints at the Voice of America and ABC News Radio and spent a decade working as a reporter and anchor at Metro Networks in Washington, where she also served as News Director.

Compass Media syndicated Free Beer & Hot Wings lands  mornings at Cumulus Active Rocker WBSX (97.9X) Wilkes Barre. They’ve also added Townsquare’s KXRX (97 Rock) Tri-Cities, WA, replacing Bob & Tom. 

Northwestern Outdoors Radio  hosted by veteran outdoors  writer and broadcaster John Kruse has added three more stations in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. News Radio KINF 730 AM 99.1 FM will begin broadcasting the show on Saturdays at 8 AM beginning February 4^th.  KMAS News Radio 1030 AM/ 104.1 FM will simulcast the show in the South Puget Sound area of Washington State on Saturdays and  News Talk 1440 KMED,  brings Northwestern Outdoors Radio on board Sundays at 6 AM beginning this weekend. 

Cumulus Media names Marcella Turk as the new VP of affiliate sales in Dallas where she’ll manage affiliate sales for the entertainment products and the company’s 24/7 formats.  Nick DeGregorio is appointed affiliate sales director in New York where he’ll be in charge of affiliations for production libraries as well as special projects.  Both Turk and DeGregorio most recently worked at Westwood One/Dial Global.

Compass Media Networks announces the continued expansion of the Free Beer & Hot Wings Show adding 97.9x in Wilkes Barre PA and 97.1 Rock in the Tri-Cities to bring the number of affiliates to over 35. The show has also announced that it will broadcast from radio row Super Bowl week as well as expanding broadcasts to include Saturday mornings. 

United Stations Radio Networks has teamed up with Tom Kent and the Tom Kent Radio Networkto assume distribution and ad sales for the various TKRN shows. The agreement which begins Feb. 1, includes Tom himself weeknights from 7pm-midnight; The Ultimate Party (five hours on Saturday nights); My ’70s Show (five hours for weekends or as a Monday-Friday strip); Lovin’ Life, Livin’ the ’80s (five hours for weekends or as a Monday-Friday strip); Your Live Request Show (a live daily request block); the Customized Linked Automatic System Solution (C.L.A.S.S.); and the 24/7 FUN Classic Hits network.

Jerry King has been named Director of Operations for Cumulus Media Networks.  King will oversee operations at the network’s Dallas headquarters, as well as CMN’s fourteen 24/7 satellite delivered programming formats.  The move reunites King and Cumulus SVP/Programming Mike McVay with whom King has worked for the past 20 years as VP/Ops and Programming for McVay Media.

Envision Radio welcomes KTTU-FM Lubbock, TX, as the newest affiliate of “Where Are They Now with Ahmad Rashad.”

Broadcast Architecture’s “Smooth Jazz Top 20 with Allen Kepler” announces the 5th annual special New Year’s eve edition of the countdown. Hosted by Allen Kepler, the year-end countdown will feature the top 20 Smooth hits of 2011, along with conversations with top artists.

Superadio syndicated night show Kissing After Dark with Lenny Green picks up WTTH-FM (96.1 The Touch) as it’s latest affiliate

Money guru Clark Howard cuts back on his radio work and will only do two hours of live programming daily.  Affiliates that want to continue with three hours will get a third hour composed of best-of segments from the live show content. 

Falling victim to end of the year cuts are talkers Doug Urbanski and Robert Wuhl as Dial Global trims its roster inherited from Westwood One.

Envision Radio welcomes the KTSA-AM San Antonio as the latest affiliate of VirtualNewsCenter, a service that produces local radio news and sports reports.

Premiere Networks adds John B. Wells to the weekend lineup of Coast to Coast AM.  Wells, a long-standing favorite of Coast to Coast AM listeners who has guest-hosted the program since 2005, will begin hosting the live Saturday evening 1 – 5 a.m. ET slot currently hosted by Ian Punnett beginning January 7.

FOX Sports Radio announces the addition of Bobby Bones and Andy Roddick to its weekend lineup. Bones, host of the syndicated morning radio program The Bobby Bones Show, and Roddick, Grand-Slam tennis champion, will host a new Saturday afternoon program that will feature a mix of sports, pop culture and entertainment, in addition to interviews with top athletes and other celebrity guests. Originating from Austin, Texas, the program will begin on January 7, 2012 and will air from 1 – 4 p.m. ET/10 a.m. – 1 p.m. PT across the network in top markets including Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and Phoenix.

Ike Wingate announces his resignation as executive producer at Premiere Radio Networks’ Dawson McAllister Productions/Dawson McAllister Live to join the affiliate relations team at The Dave Ramsey Show. Wes “McCain” Crafton will take over as the Director of Radio Operations & Content for Dawson McAllister Productions and Jeremy Gover has been upped to Producer of Dawson McAllister Live.

Former Westwood One President Rod Sherwood is out at Dial Global. He’ll leave with a  severance package of $600,000 to be paid out over the next year. All of Sherwood’s outstanding unvested stock options and unvested restricted stock units in the company also vested immediately as of the termination date (11/18).  Dial Global’s takeover of Westwood closed last month.

Envision Radio signs with Kroeger Media to become the national syndicator of Bob FM, a variety-driven format that plays the best of the 80s, 90s and whatever. Bob FM was the first Variety/Adult Hits-based format to launch in North America and Canada beginning in 2002. Envision also syndicates Hank FM, the Country variety-based format.

America’s Radio News Network (ARNN) announces a new daily network news brief,  “Trek to 2012: The Presidential Agenda” which provides listeners with all the latest on the 2012 presidential campaign schedules, media events, policy issues, latest polling numbers and debate coverage along with other election details and information. ARNN’s new 90-second news brief airs on all four of ARNN’s news-only programs.

Envision Radio Networks adds ‘ “Where Are They Now with Ahmad Rashad” to the line up at  KLAA (AM 83) Orange/Los Angeles.  The daily one-minute vignette airs on over 150 affiliates.

Cumulus Media Networks VP Maureen Lesourd is out. The former CBS Radio and ABC GM had been the network’s VP/Programming and Distribution since 2009.  Lesourd’s  assistant Amy Stephenson,  affiliate relations specialists Brian Curry and Dave Allison and finance manager Brian Kaefer also exit.

Envision Radio Networks announces the addition of industry veteran Debbie Conner to The Country Oldies Show. Conner a 35-year radio and television broadcaster and Country DJ Hall of Fame nominee, will host a “Country Hall of Fame” segment bringing her extensive knowledge of country music to the  feature that honors a deserving country music great each week.

The Rob Redding Review adds WURD-AM Philadelphia to its daily roster of stations airing Monday through Thursday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The station already runs his show from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sunday nights. WAOK-AM Atlanta also moves the show to an earlier time, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Envision Radio welcomes KSYZ-FM Grand Island NE as the newest affiliate of AppCheck, the daily 15-second app review.

The Dave Ramsey show adds its 500th affiliate station picking up Bonneville talk “770 The Truth” KTTH  Seattle. Ramsey’s show is now the third-largest syndicated radio show in terms of station clearances.

The Tom Kent Radio Network picks up  Classic Hits KHVL-A (1490 AM) and KSAM (101.7 FM) Houston adding “The Ultimate Party” for Saturdays 6-11p and “My 70s Show” for Sundays 6-11p. AC WAVT Scranton adds “The Ultimate Party” for Saturdays 7-mid and Classic Hits WRDO and WKZZ Albany, GA adds “24/7 FUN.”

The Associated Press has introduced a one-stop widget for Country music radio station websites  offering the latest country music news, photos and videos of today’s country artists. The widget is refreshed and updated daily with country music news, photos and videos by AP.

Cumulus Media partners with American Media to launch “News From Country Weekly Magazine.” The minute long radio segments are to be broadcast daily on more than 80 country music stations and hosted by Lisa Manning of the Marino and Manning Morning Show on WSM-FM Nashville.

Dial Global’s syndicated host Lia returns to Rhythmic CHR WJQM-FM (Q106)Madison Monday through Saturday from 7-12 midnight.

Cumulus Senior VP for Media Networks Carl Anderson is out as a part of company restructuring.Anderson’s replacement is to be named shortly as part of the organizational restructuring according to Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey.

USRN syndicated radio morning show Lex & Terry show are out at Sports WJXL-AM (1010 XL) Jacksonville FL. The  local “Sports Final Radio,” hosted by Jeff Prosser and Dan Hicken replaces the duo.