White House Press Secretary Gets A Radio

ABC News’ Ann Compton reports:

The new White House press secretary was surprised that his casual banter Wednesday at his briefing brought such an immediate windfall.

Robert Gibbs confessed he gets riled up at talking heads on cable TV, lamenting, “Look, are there days in which I just turn my television off? Yes. I wish I had a radio.”

He’s got one now. ABC News Radio Vice President Steve Jones in New York dispatched a sleek desktop model, emblazoned with the ABC logo and tuned to ABC News on its pre-set station.

Robert eagerly donned an ABCNEWS RADIO baseball cap and accepted one for his young son Ethan.

What impressed Gibbs the most was Jones’ note reminding the White House that 235 million people listen to radio every week.

(Take that, Twitter !)

Stimulus Deal-Makers Thanked in Radio Ads

ABC News’ Teddy Davis Reports:

Americans United for Change, a liberal advocacy group, is launching 60-second radio ads in Maine, Pennsylvania and Nebraska to thank the three Republicans — Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe and Arlen Specter — and one Democrat — Ben Nelson — who brokered a $827 billion stimulus deal in the U.S. Senate.

“Last month, nearly 600,000 Americans lost their jobs — 20,000 a day — more than 800 an hour,” says the ad’s narrator. “The clock’s ticking — and our economy continues to get worse and worse.

“That’s why it’s critical that the Senate pass President Obama’s jobs and economic recovery bill right away.”

The Maine version of the ad continues with the narrator saying: “Fortunately, Maine’s two Senators — Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are providing the leadership we need to get the job done.”

The ads encourage listeners to call the senators to urge them to “keep fighting for a plan to get our economy moving again.”

To give the package a bipartisan sheen, the Americans United for Change group notes that the stimulus has the support of both organized labor, which typically aligns with Democrats, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which typically aligns with Republicans.

The ads begin airing on Monday and will run for a few days while the Senate votes on cloture, which cuts off debate, as well as final passage.

Americans United for Change estimates that the cost of the ads will end up being between $10,000 and $15,000.

Listen to the Specter ad here.

Listen to the Nelson ad here.

Listen to the Collins and Snowe ad here.