In S.F., Vivian Ho reports longtime talk-show host Ralph Barbieri yesterday filed suit against KNBR-AM, saying that the station "fired him because of his age and disabilities." In a lawsuit filed in S.F. Superior Court, Barbieri claimed that KNBR-AM and its owner, Cumulus Media, "wrongfully terminated him in April after discovering he had Parkinson's disease and Type 2 diabetes." From '96 "until he was fired," he hosted the station's 3:00-7:00pm PT show (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/19).
SOCIAL HOUR: In K.C., Katy Bergen noted, "For the first time at any All-Star game, Kansas City will operate a social media command center in the H&R Block World Headquarters, overlooking the Power and Light District." K.C. Mayor's Office Communications Dir Danny Rotert said that teams of 10 volunteers "will research and respond to social media user's posts, and share information about events and announcements." He added that by tracking and mapping "what people in Kansas City are talking about during the July festivities, the center can keep tabs on potential city-wide emergencies or issues with transit and traffic" (K.C. STAR, 6/19).
STREAMLINED: Nielsen this summer will attempt to "track the eyeballs glued to Comcast's Xfinity TV app on an iPad." Comcast Senior VP/Digital & Emerging Platforms Matt Strauss said, "We think this is going to be a critical piece because to be platform agnostic, we need as an industry to have measurement across all these platforms." Such measurement now "appears to be a sure bet primarily because advertisers are demanding it" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 6/19).
SCORING THE KEY DEMO: MULTICHANNEL NEWS' Mike Reynolds noted GolTV "scored big with its coverage of the FIFA friendly between Argentina and Brazil." The service "saw its rating among the key persons 18-to-49 demo grow 30% higher on June 9 than its previous best FIFA game" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 6/15).
TEAM NOTES: The Hurricanes signed their three broadcasters to new, multiyear contracts. John Forslund will begin his 18th season as the team's TV play-by-play voice in '12-13, and Tripp Tracy will join him as color analyst for the duo's 14th season together. Chuck Kaiton will continue as the franchise's only radio play-by-play man (Hurricanes)....The Wizards and Capitals won a combined three Capital Emmy awards last week. The documentary series "Caps Red Line" and "Wizards Magazine -- The Journey" each won Emmys for Best Sports Program/Series, while "Wizards Magazine" won the Emmy in the category of Best Sports Editing (Monumental Sports).
