On Saturday, the peace-loving citizens of Hawaii were jarred awake with a terrifying emergency text message that stated, "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." Making matters worse, it took 38 agonizing minutes before the situation was corrected. In the interim, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Hawaii's Emergency management Agency (EMA) helpfully sent out tweets informing Hawaiians that there was no imminent missile threat. As it turns out, this monumental screw-up happened during a routine drill after a shift change, and the unnamed employee who mistakenly sent the the false alert has been temporarily reassigned to other duties.

On Sunday, in response to this inexcusable situation, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (seen here in more carefree times) issued the following sternly worded statement, which read, "The false emergency alert sent yesterday in Hawaii was absolutely unacceptable. It caused a wave of panic across the state -- worsened by the 38-minute delay before a correction alert was issued. Moreover, false alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies.

He continued, "The FCC's investigation into this incident is well underway. We have been in close contact with federal and state officials, gathering the facts about how this false alert was issued. Based on the information we have collected so far, it appears that the government of Hawaii did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place to prevent the transmission of a false alert. Moving forward, we will focus on what steps need to be taken to prevent a similar incident from happening again. Federal, state, and local officials throughout the country need to work together to identify any vulnerabilities to false alerts and do what's necessary to fix them. We also must ensure that corrections are issued immediately in the event that a false alert does go out."

Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of The Cranberries, died Monday in London, according to TMZ and numerous other sources. She was only 46 years old. A statement from her PR agency said, "Irish and international singer Dolores O'Riordan has died suddenly in London today. The lead singer with the Irish band The Cranberries was in London for a short recording session. No further details are available at this time. Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time."

According to TheJournal.ie, "O'Riordan became the lead singer in The Cranberries before the Limerick (Ireland) band would go on to gain huge success in the early to mid-'90s. The band went on to have four U.S. Top 20 albums, with single 'Linger' landing at No. 8 in the U.S. 'Zombie,' which rose to No. 3 on the Irish charts, remains the band's best-known song."

As TMZ reports, O'Riordan released two solo albums while the Cranberries were on hiatus. They reunited in 2009. O'Riordan and her husband of 20 years split up in 2014, and she leaves behind three children. According to Variety, O'Riordan announced in 2017 that she had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder.

Lieberberg spent the past 12 years with Universal Music Germany, where since 2014 he oversaw the company's domestic business in Berlin, including the Vertigo/Capitol & Polydor/Island labels. Lieberberg joined the company in 2002, was named head of Vertigo in 2008, and appointed to the Universal Music Germany Management Board in 2011. He began his career as a booker and talent buyer for Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur, Germany's leading concert promoter.

• Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba has been named CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GSA). The Munich-based Mushatsi-Kareba will oversee all of Sony Music's operations in the GSA region and report directly to the aforementioned Daniel Lieberberg, the newly named President, Continental Europe and Africa, for Sony Music Entertainment.

Lieberberg said, "I have worked with Patrick for a number of years and I'm delighted to have him taking on this key role. He is a charismatic and innovative leader with a strong background in both A&R and digital business. His unique combination of skills, which draws on all sides of the value chain, will help us further build on the great artist development coming out of the GSA region and maximize the many commercial opportunities for Sony Music's artists."

Mushatsi-Kareba joins Sony Music from Universal Music Germany, where he has served as GM of Marketing & Digital since 2016. Prior to that, he spent eight years at Apple in a variety of leadership roles within the company's European music operations. Earlier in his career, Mushatsi-Kareba worked for Napster and Deutsche Telekom and was also a music manager and journalist.

After a successful 42-year run at Cumulus News-Talk KGO-AM/San Francisco, Bay Area radio icon Ronn Owens ended his daily talk show last Friday and will embark on a new short-form chapter today -- hosting The Ronn Owens Report. This new, eight-minute feature, which premieres today, will air weekdays at 12:50pm and feature Owens' take on the news of the day. "My goal is to be a 2018 version of Paul Harvey and Andy Rooney," Owens told the San Francisco Chronicle last Friday in post-final show interview.

Owens described his transition into shorter-form programming as a "win-win" for him and KGO, as he told the Chronicle, "They get the credibility of still having me, and it helps me because 'Ronn Owens KGO Radio' gets me a better table than just 'Ronn Owens.'" On a more serious note, Owens said he's pleased with the decision because this isn't the "R-word" -- retirement. "I cannot stand the word," he said. "I don't want to hear the word. What this is for me, it's a perfect transition to retirement." 

• Effective this week, Ethan Bearman moves from noon-2pm into Owen's former 10am-12:50pm slot. From 1-3pm, KGO is now running Dr. Drew Midday LIVE with Mike Catherwood, originating from sister KABC/Los Angeles, followed by The Chip Franklin Show, which adds an hour and now runs 3-7pm.

• According to Rich Lieberman's 415 Media blog, KGO's 2-4pm host Brian Copeland has been downsized to weekends/fill in, and Owens' producer, Sandra Firpo has exited. 

Or perhaps it is better described as a "found" Whitney Houston hit. Bonneville Urban KBLX/San Francisco is generating some local dialog as it recently started playing "Just the Lonely Talking Again," an album cut off of Houston's 1987 Arista sophomore album, Whitney -- the same album that spawned the massive hits, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "So Emotional," and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go."

Despite the immense success of that album, "This song was never played on Bay Area radio and an exclusive on KBLX," said OM/PD Elroy Smith, who tells RAMP that the excavation -- and subsequent airplay -- of this 30-year-old album track (produced by the Bay Area's own Narada Michael Walden) sprang from a discussion with a co-worker. "He told me 'You Give Good Love' is Whitney's most soulful song, and he asked me what my favorite soulful Whitney song was. My response was, 'Just The Lonely Talking Again.' Then I played it for him and he fell in love with it. I asked another co-worker, who has been at KBLX for close to 20 years, if she had ever heard it, and she said 'no.' I got very excited about exposing this song to the Bay Area, since it fits our brand perfectly."

KBLX is now airing the song with an introduction voiced by Renel, legendary KBLX personality and public address announcer for the San Francisco Giants. "Our target audience is women, and this song resonated immediately when we debuted it," said Smith. "The first caller was a woman, asking if that was really Whitney Houston, and where did the song come from. This song is vintage soulful Whitney Houston. It can compete -- and would probably surpass in popularity -- any current Urban AC song that is charting today."

Westwood One recently promoted four talented broadcast professionals from Affiliate Sales Director to the far loftier position of Vice President, Affiliate Sales -- congratulations to (l-r): Neal Bird, Rich Burg, Stuart Greenblatt, and Jim Jones.

Please hold your applause until the end of the story...

All four of these talented gentlemen report to Dennis Green, SVP of Affiliate Sales, who commented, "Neal, Rich, Stuart and Jim lead the charge each and every day to make sure our affiliates and station partners have the best products available and customer service possible. We are proud to elevate them as a result of their tireless efforts in helping to make Westwood One America's largest radio network."

Neal Bird is based in Los Angeles and is responsible for all Music and Entertainment affiliations; Rich Burg and Stuart Greenblatt are both based in New York -- Burg is charge of all Sports affiliations, while Greenblatt handles all Talk affiliations, and DC-based Jim Jones oversees all Westwood One News affiliations.

• We first announced this impressive RAMP Leap Of The Week™ move back in November, and today, Hubbard Radio Country WIL (New Country 92.3)/St. Louis officially welcomes its new afternoon drive duo -- "Stacey K" Boyer and Jonah Griss-Bush, who boldly leap upward into Market 23 after six years in mornings at Amaturo Sonoma Media Group Top 40 KHTH (Hot 101.7)/Santa Rosa, CA. Stacey K is a Santa Rosa native who was also PD of Hot 101.7, while Jonah Griss-Bush began his radio career in New York City.

"Hubbard is the platinum standard for live and local talent," said WIL PD Scott Roddy. "While most radio companies are reducing local talent, Hubbard is adding to our stable of show hosts. Stacey and Jonah's charm, wit and humor make them the perfect companion while sitting in traffic on Hwy. 40 during the drive home!" Stacey and Jonah succeed Bo Matthews, who will move into an earlier timeslot and become the "Chief Brand Ambassador" of New Country 92.3.

• We are awaiting the official word from Alpha Media, but it appears that, after a whirlwind six-month run as OM of Cherry Creek's seven-station cluster in scenic Wenatchee, WA, Brandon "Shotgun Jackson" Young is on the move ...

We are standing by to receive the official quote-filled announcement.

• Alpha Media Active Rock WIIL (95 WIIL Rock), which casts a wide broadcast net over Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee, WI, along with the northern suburbs of Chicago, welcomes Stino Cirigliano aboard as the host of the station's new afternoon drive show, Stino's World, as well as Asst. Production Director.

Ms. Stino arrives in frosty Wisconsin from sunny Ft. Myers, FL, where she has been doing nights on Beasley Active Rock WRXK (96 K-Rock) since January 2016. Before that she did nights on Scripps Active Rock KQXR (100.3 The X Rocks)/Boise, ID, preceded by an earlier Ft. Myers stint at Sun Broadcasting Active Rock WXNX (93X).

P1 Media Group is so confident that their clients will be satisfied with results from the CSMT, it's offering their money back if they aren't. No, seriously. That's a radio first.

"Programmers need to know they're getting the most for their research dollar, and we are confident they'll love the results they'll get from the Crowd Source Music Test®," said Ken Benson (left), P1 Media Group partner. "That's why we're offering full refunds to any client who is dissatisfied with the test results."

Traditionally, broadcasters have paid heavily to conduct Auditorium Music Testing. As those costs rose, the Online Music Test was born. While it improved accuracy and cost less than auditorium testing, it is still priced out of reach for many programmers.

Enter the Crowd Source Music Test®. The CSMT® on average delivers samples five to 10 times larger than traditional music testing for around half the cost. And P1 Media Group's experience shows the results match or exceed those from more expensive research methods. If you would like to know more about how the CSMT® works or would like to roll out your own tests, visit CSMT Guarantee or call 360-910-4119.

The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) has extended the call for entries for the 43rd annual Gracie Awards an extra week -- from January 18 to Thursday, January 25 at 11:59pm ET, due a high volume of requests for extensions. "Now, more than ever, we need to celebrate women for their exceptional work and contributions, especially in the media industry," said Sarah Foss, Alliance for Women in Media Foundation Chair.

The Gracies recognize exemplary programming created by, for and about women in radio, television, cable and interactive media. Honorees are selected in national, local and student markets, including both commercial and non-commercial outlets. The AWMF will accept all entries submitted after the originally published deadline of January 18 through January 25 with an additional $50 late fee. Entry details including pricing, updated categories can be viewed online.

Online/virtual judging will take place over a two-week period beginning the week of February 6. In-person judging happens all day Saturday, March 3 and the morning of Sunday, March 4 in New York City. The application deadline for eligible judges of the Gracie Awards is January 26. Qualified judges are chosen by the AWMF leadership after meeting specific published criteria. For more information about the Gracie Awards, to submit entries, or to apply to participate as a judge, please visit http://allwomeninmedia.org/gracies.

The Americana Music Association℠ in conjunction with CDX Nashville, a leading digital music distribution and tracking company, today launches a monitored Americana Radio Airplay Albums Chart and debuting a Singles Chart. The data for both charts will be based on monitored Americana radio airplay.

This new partnership enables CDX Nashville to implement their unique monitored airplay system to the Americana format. Utilizing their own patent-pending song recognition technology, the service will monitor terrestrial broadcast station signals that are being streamed over the Internet as well as take into account internet-based radio streams. Song detections will be tracked in real-time and then reported to paid subscribers through the CDX TRACtion web-based interface.

The data presented in CDX TRACtion will provide the basis for the new Americana Radio Airplay Albums Chart and Singles Chart, which will be published on americanaradio.org and will continue to be emailed on a weekly basis to anyone who joins the mailing list, beginning today.

• Michele Rhoades, who oversees radio development at the Association, remains as Chart Editor. For more info, contact Michele at m.rhoades@americanamusic.org or CDX Nashville VP Joe Kelly at joe@cdxcd.com.