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Van Halen: The Next 'Rock Star'? February 12, 2006 Sources tell TMZ Van Halen is in the market for a new lead singer, and the marketplace will be the upcoming reality show 'Rock Star: The Series.' Last October, Van Halen reps vehemently denied the band would use 'Rock Star' in a talent search for a new lead singer. The reps are now singing a different tune. Van Halen publicist Larry Solters told TMZ: "I'm not denying it. I'm not going to answer any questions about it." Last year, the band INXS used 'Rock Star' to find a new lead singer....

Rock shock: Nation's No. 1 oldies station changes formats NEW YORK It's the day the music died. W-C-B-S F-M in New York, the top oldies station in the nation for more than three decades, stunned its legion of listeners by abruptly switching formats this weekend. Goodbye, Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys. Hello, Duran Duran and Jet. The station had switched to an oldies format in 1972, initially as a bastion for the doo-wop sounds of the '50s. Although the playlist changed over the years, W-C-B-S F-M always remained the outpost for classic Top 40 radio in the nation's largest...

“This study is proof positive that there is an element of Hollywood deliberately attempting to poison the minds of children. The ultimate insult is that their method has parents pay them to do it.” This astounding statement is one that every parent, and anyone concerned about our culture and its affect on children, must investigate. Brent Bozell spoke these words over lunch as we discussed a recent study of programming content on MTV conducted by his organization, the Parents Television Council. In case you’re not familiar with Brent, in addition to his work with PTC, he’s also the president of...

...The latest casualty turned up last week. WHFS-FM, the "alternative" station that pioneered free-form rock radio in Washington in the 1960s and '70s, abruptly pulled the plug on rock and began carrying Spanish-language pop. The move by WHFS's owner, Infinity Broadcasting, left the Washington region -- a radio market of more than 4 million people -- with just one area-wide station, DC-101 (WWDC-FM), playing contemporary rock. In economic terms, the move made perfect sense. So-called urban -- black-oriented R&B hits and hip-hop -- and ethnic formats have been the radio industry's growth engine. Among these, Spanish-language programming has been the...

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX MON OCT 25 2004 22:45:05 ET XXXXX NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED... The NYTIMES urgently reported on Monday in an apprent October Surprise: The Iraqi interim government and the U.N. nuclear agency have warned the United States that nearly 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives are now missing from one of Iraq's most sensitive former military installations. [The source behind the NYT story first went to CBSNEWS' 60 MINUTES last Wednesday, but the beleaguered network wasn't able to get the piece on the air as fast as the newspaper...

A Home for a Gay Channel By BILL CARTER Published: May 30, 2004 EXECUTIVES of MTV Networks seemed to be caught a bit off guard by the hostile reaction to their announcement last week that they intend to create the first cable entertainment channel devoted to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender viewers, called Logo. Religious groups, including the Traditional Values Coalition, denounced the idea as amounting to "moral anarchy" and promised to organize a boycott of companies that advertise on the channel. But the executives behind the project remain convinced that MTV Networks will be able to overcome any impediments....