Media Confidential

Thursday, June 30, 2022

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Media Confidential Returns Wednesday, July 6...

Monday, June 27, 2022

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Catch You Later...

Postings will be rare for now ...Will Return!

➦In 1910...David Rose born in London (Died at age 80 – August 23, 1990). He was a songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist, and orchestra leader. His best known compositions were "The Stripper", "Holiday for Strings", and "Calypso Melody".

David Rose

He also wrote music for many television series, including It's a Great Life, The Tony Martin Show, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven, Bonanza, and Highway Patrol under the pseudonym "Ray Llewellyn." Rose's work as a composer for television programs earned him four Emmys. In addition, he was musical director for The Red Skelton Show during its 21-year run on the CBS and NBC networks.

In Hollywood, Rose formed his orchestra, doing a twice-weekly radio show for Mutual Broadcasting System called California Melodies, writing all the broadcast arrangements. He worked his way up to becoming music director of the Mutual network. Rose's first try at composing was his hit song "Holiday for Strings". During World War II, Rose entered the Army first meeting Red Skelton while both were enlisted. Skelton asked Rose to become the conductor for his Raleigh Cigarette Program. Rose joined the cast in 1948 and worked with Skelton on his television show for over 20 years.

➦In 1917...Blind Country musician and songwriter Leon Payne was born in Alba Texas.

Leon Payne

He is perhaps best known for his hits “I Love You Because,” and “You’ve Still Got A Place In My Heart.” He began his music career in the mid-1930s, playing a variety of musical instruments in public, and later performing on KWET radio in Palestine, Texas, starting in 1935.

He also had a stint playing with Bob Wills' Texas Playboys in 1938. Payne was a regular working musician at Jerry Irby’s nightclub in Houston, Texas. He joined his stepbrother, famed songwriter Jack Rhodes, and formed Jack Rhodes and The Lone Star Buddies in 1949. They performed regularly on the Louisiana Hayride show in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was later on the Grand Ole Opry.

He died from a heart attack Sep 11, 1969 at age 52.

➦In 1923...Erroll Garner born (Died at age 53 – January 2, 1977) He was a jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard. Scott Yanow of Allmusic calls him "one of the most distinctive of all pianists" and a "brilliant virtuoso." He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6363 Hollywood Blvd.

Erroll Garner

Garner began playing piano at the age of three. His elder siblings were taught piano by Miss Bowman. From an early age, Erroll would sit down and play anything she had demonstrated, just like Miss Bowman, his eldest sister Martha said. Garner was self-taught and remained an "ear player" all his life, never learning to read music.

At age seven, he began appearing on the radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh with a group called the Candy Kids. By age 11, he was playing on the Allegheny riverboats. At 14 in 1937, he joined local saxophonist Leroy Brown.

He played locally in the shadow of his older pianist brother Linton Garner. Garner moved to New York City in 1944.

➦In 1945...NBC Blue Network becomes the American Broadcasting Company.

The company’s history traces to 1926, when the Radio Corporation of America (now RCA Corporation) and two other firms founded the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) to operate a nationwide radio broadcasting network.

NBC expanded so rapidly that by 1927 it found itself with an excess of affiliates in the same cities, so it split its programming into two separate networks, called the Red and the Blue networks.

After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) declared in 1941 that no company could own more than one radio network, NBC in 1943 sold the less-lucrative Blue Network to Edward J. Noble, the millionaire maker of Life Savers candy, who initially renamed it the American Broadcasting System before settling on the name the American Broadcasting Company, Inc. (ABC).

ABC was the smallest of the major radio networks and distinguished itself by hiring popular singer Bing Crosby to perform on a weekly variety series. As a precondition for his employment, Crosby required that he be allowed to prerecord the program for later broadcast; as a result, ABC became a pioneer in the field of magnetic recording.

➦In 1966...Capitol released the Beatles' newest US album, a compilation of sorts entitled Yesterday and Today, featuring a bizarre cover by arty photographer Robert Whitaker where the group, dressed in butcher smocks, is surrounded by decapitated baby dolls and raw meat.

For the shoot, Whitaker took a series of pictures of the group dressed in butcher smocks and draped with pieces of meat and body parts from plastic baby dolls. The group played along, as they were tired of the usual photo shoots; Lennon recalled the band's "boredom and resentment at having to do another photo session and another Beatles thing". Although not originally intended as an album cover, the Beatles submitted photographs from the session for their promotional materials. According to a 2002 interview published in Mojo, former Capitol president Alan W. Livingston stated that it was Paul McCartney who pushed strongly for the photo's inclusion as the album cover, and that McCartney reportedly described it as "our comment on the [Vietnam] war".

In the United States, Capitol Records printed approximately 750,000 copies of Yesterday and Today with this so-called 'butcher cover'. Reaction was immediate, as Capitol received complaints from some dealers. The record was immediately recalled under orders from Sir Joseph Lockwood, chairman of Capitol's parent company EMI, and all copies were ordered shipped back to the record label, leading to its rarity and popularity among collectors. The cover photo was replaced with a picture of the four band members posed around an open trunk.

At the time, some of the Beatles defended the use of the 'butcher' photograph. Lennon said that it was "as relevant as Vietnam" and McCartney said that their critics were "soft". However, this opinion was not shared by all band members. George Harrison said in The Beatles Anthology that he thought the whole idea "was gross, and I also thought it was stupid. Sometimes we all did stupid things thinking it was cool and hip when it was naïve and dumb; and that was one of them." In 2007 George Martin, the Beatles' producer, recalled that the cover had been the cause of his first strong disagreement with the band. He added: "I thought it was disgusting and in poor taste … It suggested that they were madmen. Which they were, but not in that way."

A youthful Sandy Beach

➦In 1968...Sandy Beach did his last show on WDRC, Hartford, Connecticut before moving to WKBW, Buffalo, NY. Today, Beach does the 9a-12n show on Entercom's N/T WBEN 930 AM.

Sandy Beach is a WKBW Radio legend and one of the most recognized names in Buffalo Radio history. Throughout his career he has worked in Buffalo, Hartford, Dallas, San Francisco, and Milwaukee as an on-air talent.

He was also program director for NBC and Capital Cities/ABC. His most recent success has been the #1 PM Drive personality on Newsradio 930 WBEN.

Beach is a three time nominee for Billboard Magazine Personality of the Year. In May of 2003, Sandy was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

➦In 2014...Iconic radio personality (American Top 40)/cartoon voicist Casey Kasem died of complications from Lewy body dementia at the age of 82. His remains were laid to rest six months later in Oslo, Norway. (See original posting: Click Here)

Russell Hitchcock is 73

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

Singer Ruby Nash Garnett of Ruby and the Romantics is 88.
Guitarist Leo Nocentelli of The Meters is 76.
Actor Simon Callow (“Amadeus,” ″Shakespeare in Love”) is 73.
Singer Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply is 73.
Singer Steve Walsh (Kansas) is 71.
Country singer Terri Gibbs is 68.
Actor Jim Belushi is 68.
Actor Julie Hagerty (“Airplane”) is 67.
Actor Polly Draper (“thirtysomething”) is 67.
Guitarist Brad Gillis of Night Ranger is 65.
Actor Eileen Davidson (“The Young and the Restless,” “Days of Our Lives”) is 63.
Courtney Cox is 58
Drummer Scott Rockenfield of Queensryche is 59.
Actor Helen Hunt is 59.
Actor Courteney Cox (“Friends”) is 58.
Guitarist Tony Ardoin of River Road is 58.
Guitarist Michael Britt of Lonestar is 56.
Drummer Rob Mitchell of Sixpence None The Richer is 56.
Rapper-actor Ice Cube is 53.
Actor Leah Remini (“King of Queens”) is 52.
Actor Jake Busey (“Starship Troopers”) is 51.
Trombone player T-Bone Willy of Save Ferris is 50.
Actor Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother,” ″Doogie Howser, M.D.”) is 49.
Actor Greg Vaughan (“Days of Our Lives,” “General Hospital”) is 49.
Actor Elizabeth Reaser (“Twilight”) is 47.
Singer Dryden Mitchell of Alien Ant Farm is 46.
Former child actor Christopher Castle (“Step By Step,” ″Beethoven” films) is 42.
Guitarist Billy Martin of Good Charlotte is 41.
Actor Jordi Vilasuso (“The Young and the Restless”) is 41.
Guitarist Wayne Sermon of Imagine Dragons is 38.
Actor Denzel Whitaker is 32.
Actor Sterling Jerins (“The Conjuring” films) is 18.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

R.I.P.: Joel Whitburn, Publisher of Books Based On Billboard Charts

Joel Whitburn

Joel Whitburn, whose books compiling Billboard Magazine chart data served as the definitive word on the rankings of recordings, has died. His death was confirmed by Paul Haney, an employee of Record Research, the publishing firm operated by Whitburn.

Whitburn was 82, reports BestClassicBands.com

The cause, place and exact date of death have not yet been reported.

Whitburn’s books compiled the chart placements of music in the pop, R&B and country fields, as well as others. He also published books with a narrower focus, such as the music of a specific year, or Christmas records. According to his website, Whitburn’s company published nearly 300 books in all over a span of more than 50 years. His company was based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

In addition to publishing his meticulously researched and compiled books, Whitburn is said to have owned one of the largest collections of recorded music in the world. According to his website, Whitburn owned a copy of every charted Billboard Hot 100 and pop single (back to 1936), every charted pop album (back to 1945), and collections of nearly every charted country, R&B, Bubbling Under The “Hot 100” and Adult Contemporary records.

Born November 29, 1939, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Joel Carver Whitburn, according to the bio on his site, “began collecting records as a teenager in the 1950s. As his collection grew, he began to sort, categorize and file each record according to the highest position it reached on Billboard magazine’s charts. He went on to publish this information—first on individual artists’ cards, then in book form in 1970, and a business was born.”

According to the bio, Whitburn “and his team research with unmatched degree of depth and detail not only the music charts of Billboard but also those of industry trade magazines Cash Box, Radio & Records, and Music Vendor / Record World. Widely recognized as the most authoritative historian on charted music, Joel has also collaborated with Warner/Rhino Records in creating a series of 150 CD albums, plus five CD albums with Curb Records.”

Study: Journalists Sense Turmoil in Their Industry

From the economic upheaval of the digital age to the rise of political polarization and the COVID-19 pandemic, journalism in America has been in a state of turmoil for decades. In a major new study, Pew Research Center shares journalists’ perspectives about the news industry they work in and their relationship with the public they serve. While journalists recognize the many challenges facing their industry, the Center’s survey of nearly 12,000 working U.S.-based journalists finds that they continue to express a high degree of satisfaction in their jobs: Seven-in-ten journalists say they are very or somewhat satisfied with their job, and 77% say they would pursue a career in journalism again.

At the same time, when asked to describe their industry in a single word, nearly three-quarters of respondents (72%) use a word with negative connotations; the most common are words that relate to “struggling” and “chaos.” The report also identifies several specific areas of concern for journalists, including the future of press freedom, widespread misinformation, and politically like-minded people getting news from the same sources.

The report has two key components. The central one is a Center survey of 11,889 U.S.-based journalists currently working in the news industry, conducted online between Feb. 16 and March 17, 2022. (For this study, journalists are defined as individuals who create, edit or report original news stories across a wide range of reporting areas and beats.) The report also includes findings from two separate surveys of U.S. adults on Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel that measure how views and attitudes of the American public compare with those of journalists. The first survey of 9,388 adults was conducted Feb. 7-13, 2022, and the second of 10,441 adults was conducted March 7-13, 2022.

Among key findings from the report:

Just 14% of journalists surveyed say they think the U.S. public has a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the information it gets from news organizations these days; most believe that Americans as a whole have some trust (44%) or little to no trust (42%). When a similar question was posed to the American public however, 29% of U.S. adults say they have at least a fair amount of trust in the information they get from news outlets, while 27% say they have some trust and 44% have little to no trust.
About seven-in-ten journalists (71%) say made-up news and information is a very big problem for the country, higher than the 50% of U.S. adults who say the same. And while 71% of journalists are extremely or very confident in their ability to recognize false information when working on a story, a smaller 43% say news organizations do a good job managing or correcting misinformation.
When asked about the best newsroom approach to coverage of a false statement made by a public figure, far more journalists say news organizations should “report on the statement because it is important for the public to know about” (64%) than say they should “not report on the statement because it gives attention to the falsehoods and the public figure” (32%).
In a separate question asked only of reporting journalists, about a quarter of reporting journalists (26%) say they have unknowingly reported on a story that was later found to contain false information.
Three-quarters of journalists say that they largely agree on the basic facts of the news, but about half (52%) say it is not possible to report news that nearly everyone finds accurate. An even greater share of the U.S. public overall (62%) says it is not possible to report news that is universally accepted as accurate.

Looking forward, journalists express great concern about the future of press freedoms in the U.S. More than half of journalists surveyed (57%) say they are extremely or very concerned about the prospect of press restrictions being imposed in the U.S. About a quarter (23%) are somewhat concerned, while just one-in-five express low levels of concern about this. Older journalists are more likely to be extremely or very concerned about it – 68% of those 65 and older say this, compared with 42% of those ages 18 to 29.

While there is no consensus among journalists about whether opposing views always warrant equal coverage, they express wide support for keeping their personal views out of their reporting.

A little over half of journalists surveyed (55%) say that in reporting the news, every side does not always deserve equal coverage, greater than the share who say journalists should always strive to give every side equal coverage (44%). In contrast, the U.S. public largely says that journalists should always strive to give equal coverage (76%).
Roughly eight-in-ten journalists (82%) say journalists should keep their views out of what they report on, although there is less agreement among journalists over whether journalists meet this standard. Just over half (55%) think journalists largely are able to keep their views out of their reporting, while 43% say they are often unable to.

Journalists express deep concerns over political sorting in the public’s news consumption habits. Three-quarters of those surveyed say it is a major problem when people with similar political views get their news from the same news organizations. The American public, however, appears much less worried: Roughly four-in-ten U.S. adults (39%) say this is a major problem.

Journalists see many ways that social media helps them do their jobs, but overall they see it as a negative force on the industry. Among journalists who use social media for their work, 87% say it has a very or somewhat positive impact on promoting news stories, and 79% say it helps them connect with their audience and find sources for their news stories. At the same time, however, two-thirds of all journalists surveyed (67%) say social media has a very or somewhat negative impact on the state of journalism as a whole. Just 18% say social media has a positive impact on the news industry.

Roughly four-in-ten journalists (42%) say they have been harassed or threatened by someone outside their own organization in the past year, and within this group, the vast majority (78%) say that harassment came through social media at least once.

Although two-thirds (67%) say their organization has achieved sufficient gender diversity, about half as many – 32% – say it has reached sufficient racial and ethnic diversity. And fewer than half of respondents (42%) say addressing issues of diversity and inclusion is a “major priority” for their newsroom. Relatedly, about half (48%) have participated in a formal training session or meeting on diversity in their workplace in the past year, and 40% have done so on how to cover issues of diversity and inclusion.

Elon Musk Expected To Answer Questions During Twitter Town Hall

Elon Musk will attend an all-hands virtual Twitter meeting on Thursday and field questions from the company’s employees, reports The NY Post citing reports.

The meeting marks the first time that the multi-billionaire will speak to Twitter workers since he launched his $44 billion bid to purchase the company in April.

Staffers at the social media giant can begin submitting questions for Musk on Wednesday, Business Insider reported, citing an internal email from Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal.

“We’ll cover topics and questions that have been raised over the past few weeks,” Agrawal said in the email to staffers, according to Insider.

Since Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, announced his intention to buy Twitter, some workers have expressed dismay and concern.

During an April meeting following Musk’s announcement, employees told executives they feared Musk’s erratic behavior could hurt the company’s bottom line, Reuters reported. They also wondered what their futures with the company could be under his leadership.

Musk, at times, has lashed out at Twitter’s moderation practices, including stating the company should not have censored The Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 election.

Musk threatened to pull out of the deal to buy Twitter last week, though the company stated it planned to force the agreed terms.

GroupM Forecast: Global Advertising To Grow 8.4 Percent This Year

The global advertising industry is expected to grow 8.4% this year, despite ongoing geopolitical situations around the world and fears of a recession, a report on the sector said on Monday.

Reuters reports that figure excludes the impact of U.S. political advertising, which is on track to reach $13 billion in revenue this year, up from $12 billion in 2020, the report from ad agency GroupM, a unit of WPP PLC showed.

The advertising market, which typically tracks the broader health of economies, is settling after experiencing highs in 2021, when it was boosted by strong economic recovery and personal consumption.

Sources of growth in 2022 include increasing numbers of new small businesses, which are likely to advertise at higher levels than the business they are replacing; venture-funded “new economy” advertisers seeking growth; and Chinese-based marketers advertising abroad, the report showed. The expected deceleration of e-commerce and interest rate hikes will be a drag on growth.

“Although the overall economy and environment is more negative now than it was in December, broadly speaking, people in our industry and I think many pundits are overly negative relative to the reality of how the overall economy is faring,” said Brian Wieser, the president of business intelligence at GroupM, in a call with journalists.

The report forecasts ad revenue for pure-play digital platforms to grow 11.5% in 2022, down from 32% growth in 2021. Digital advertising on those platforms will represent 67% of the industry’s total revenue this year, excluding U.S. political advertising.

Television advertising is expected to grow 4.4% in 2022, boosted by ad-supported streaming services such as Paramount Global-owned Pluto and Fox Corp-owned Tubi. TV advertising growth broadly is poised to flatten in the next five years. For many marketers, Alphabet-owned YouTube will look “increasingly like a substitute to television,” according to the report.

TWH Spox Freaks Over CNN Question

Daily Mail 6/14/22

The White House press secretary on Monday night laughed off the question of whether Joe Biden had the 'physical and mental stamina' to run for a second term, describing an article at the weekend questioning his fitness as 'malicious'.

The 79-year-old president has insisted he intends to run again in 2024, and would be 82 on inauguration day if he wins.

He has faced a barrage of questions about his advancing years - most recently on Sunday, when multiple Democrat sources told The New York Times they were concerned.

On Saturday, he was asked whether he would visit Saudi Arabia, and replied that he had not yet decided - only to say, 20 seconds later, why he was making the trip.

DON LEMON: "Does the president has the stamina, physically and mentally, do you think to continue on even after 2024?"

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: "That is not a question that we should be even asking" pic.twitter.com/dUfQil9qKp
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 14, 2022

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House spokesperson, gasped in horror when asked by CNN's Don Lemon about Biden's fitness for office after 2024.

'Don, you're asking me this question!' she said, aghast.

'Oh my gosh. He's the president of the United States!'

Indy Radio: Emmis Sells Last Cluster to Urban One

Indy star 6/14/22

Today's radio world is a far different market from 1981, when Jeff Smulyan founded Emmis and launched his first station, WENS now HANK FM, according to The Indianapolis Star.

"I never could have envisioned the journey we would go on," Smulyan, CEO of Emmis, said in a statement Monday. "Indianapolis is my hometown and I'm so proud of what we've been able to accomplish."

Maryland-based Urban One describes itself as "the largest diversified media company that primarily targets Black Americans and urban consumers in the United States."

Urban One "has deep media experience, including lengthy experience as an Indianapolis radio and television operator, significant resources and a commitment to local radio," Smulyan said.

As Emmis made its announcement Monday, Urban One revealed it is selling its Indianapolis-based WHHH station (Hot 96.3-FM), which airs an urban contemporary format.

Urban One also said it is selling the intellectual property related to Indianapolis-based WNOW (Radio NOW 100.9-FM), which airs Top 40 hits, to a third party.

In acquiring Emmis' stations, Alfred Liggins, president and CEO of Urban One, said, "These are terrific general market formats (best variety, country, news and sports) and will be a great addition to Urban One."

Jeff Smulyan

'What happens after a sale like this'

Emmis Indianapolis Radio has 77 full-time and 50 part-time employees in Indianapolis, all based in the company's Monument Circle headquarters. It is unclear what will happen to the headquarters, employees or the stations' formats after the sale is complete.

The Fan is home to the only sports talk radio format in Indy, including three weekday shows: "Kevin & Query" which airs 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., "The Dan Dakich Show" from noon to 3 p.m. and "The Ride with JMV," which airs 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The station also is home to the Indianapolis Colts, the Indiana Pacers and the Indy 500. Emmis confirmed to IndyStar Monday that those contracts remain with the sale.

Whether The Fan will continue with sports talk, WIBC will remain as news talk or WYXB, known as B105.7, will continue as an adult contemporary station is the big question, said Dom Caristi, a telecommunications professor at Ball State .

"It is all over the board what happens after a sale like this," he said. "Normally, if they're buying properties, they're usually buying stability. It's not like Emmis needs a big shakeup in Indianapolis."

With Urban One selling its current Indianapolis stations, Caristi said " it is highly likely they would make one Emmis station an urban format."

Any change that might happen could take place as early as this year. It will likely take about 90 days for the sale to become official, after receiving approval from the FCC, Emmis said. Until then, Emmis will continue to own and operate the Indy stations.

Emmis' downsizing

Emmis has struggled in recent years, shrinking the number of radio stations it owns across the country.

In its statement Monday, Emmis said it "redeployed the capital into new ventures, which emphasize its sales and marketing experience."

Smulyan attempted to take the company private three times in 2006, 2010 and, most recently, in 2016. He offered $46.5 million to merge the media company with a private entity he controlled but later abandoned the effort.

Emmis' board of directors unanimously voted to remove itself from Nasdaq and deregister with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020. The move was expected to save the company more than $1 million a year.

"We've become an invaluable contributor to the Indianapolis community," Smulyan said in his statement Monday, "a leader of radio industry initiative and innovation, and a trusted resource for Central Indiana listeners and businesses."

Wake-Up Call: Trump Was 'Detached From Reality'

Donald Trump’s attorney general says the former president was “detached from reality” in the days following his 2020 election loss and had no interest in hearing the facts about his allegations of election fraud. In videotaped testimony aired yesterday by the House January 6th investigative committee, former Attorney General William Barr said he had found no evidence to support the allegations, and told the president so in a meeting in the Oval Office.

Bill Barr: “He went off on a monologue saying that there was now definitive evidence involving fraud through the Dominion machines, and a report had been prepared by a very reputable cybersecurity firm, which he identified as Allied Security Operations Group. And he held up the report, and he asked that a copy of it be made for me, and while a copy was being made, he said ‘this is absolute proof that the Dominion machines were rigged. The report means that I’m going to have a second term.’

Barr was dismayed by the content of the report, which he said looked amateurish and lacked any supporting information.

Bill Barr: "I sat there flipping through the report and looking through it, and to be frank, it looked very amateurish to me. It didn’t have the credentials of the people involved but I didn’t see any real qualifications and the statements were made very conclusory, like ‘these machines were designed to engage in fraud,’ or something to that effect. But I didn’t see any supporting information for it.

Barr concluded that the president had "become detached from reality" if he believed the "crazy" allegations about election fraud.

Jill Wine-Banks: The Jan. 6 hearings promise a lot. How they can deliver — and why they could still fail. - @NBCNewsTHINK https://t.co/JUZGmEvmZc
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 14, 2022

The second day of the televised hearings sought to prove that Trump and some of his campaign staff used baseless claims of election fraud to raise millions of dollars for a so-called Election Defense Fund.

There was no such fund, the committee said. The money went straight into a Super PAC set up by Trump two days after the election. The campaign took in $100 million in the week after the election.
Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California, concluded: “So, not only was there that big lie, there was the big rip-off. Donors deserve to know where their funds are really going. They deserve better than what President Trump and his team did.”

The committee attempted to establish that Trump’s “big lie” culminated in a call to action to his supporters to come to Washington to force the U.S. Congress to block the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.

In other testimony, a number of witnesses testified in no uncertain terms that Trump lost the election.

BEARS ROAR ON WALL STREET: Stocks took a dive again yesterday, officially entering “bear” territory. Investors are worrying over the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates even more than expected this summer in order to cool inflation. The Dow Jones Average dropped 876 points to close at 30,517. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is down 20% since its January high point, indicating a bear market.

NY Post Graphic 6/14/22

UNDER THE AFFLUENCE: Details regarding the case are still being withheld. https://t.co/2ZAExU1lKe pic.twitter.com/cisUkg4tZs
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 14, 2022

➤THE 51st STATE? Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is ready for her city to become the 51st state. She ordered a 51st star to be added to the American flags that will be displayed along Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday for Flag Day. The House of Representatives has passed legislation to make Washington a state, but it has no chance of Senate passage at this time. Mayor Bowser calls D.C.’s lack of statehood “a 220-year-old wrong that demands to be righted.”

Daily Mail 6/14/22

AMERICANS ARE FLEEING TO MEXICO: You think it’s bad at the border? Now thousands of Americans are fleeing to Mexico. According to CNBC, they’re mostly Californians driven south by the high cost of living on the West Coast. “We were able to cut our budget in half, which allowed us to really focus on our careers and the things we wanted to do artistically without having to just hustle, and hustle, and hustle, every day, every week to just meet the bare minimum,” one former Hollywood resident told CNBC. The population of California has been declining for 30 years, but the pandemic accelerated the trend.

➤PILOTS GET A PAY RAISE: Regional airlines owned by American Airlines are giving their pilots big raises for at least the next two years. The pay for first-year captains at Piedmont will be $146 per hour, up from $78. A shortage of pilots and other crew has forced airlines to cut back their flight schedules.

➤STUDY..BRAIN IMAGING SHOWS ANOREXIA'S CHANGES TO THE BRAIN: A brain-imaging study from the Enigma Eating Disorders group analyzed MRI scans of over 1600 women, some with and some without anorexia. Researchers found drastic differences in brain structure which could impact intelligence in those with anorexia. However, gaining weight appears to reverse these effects. Underweight women had reduced cortical thickness and cortical surface area. Undernutrition can also lead to shrinkage of the brain.

➤STUDY..PFAS CHEMICALS LINKED TO HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IN WOMEN: Middle-aged women with PFAS chemicals in their blood have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure. PFAS chemicals are found in nonstick pans, waterproof apparel, and cosmetics. Scientists have also found a link between PFAS chemicals and high cholesterol, colitis, and thyroid disease. "Women seem to be particularly vulnerable when exposed to these chemicals," lead author Ning Ding said. The study included more than 1,000 women aged 45 to 56

➤‘HOW TO MURDER YOUR HUSBAND’ AUTHOR GETS LIFE: The author of an online essay called “How to Murder Your Husband” has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband. Nancy Crampton Murphy was convicted of shooting her husband dead in order to collect on his life insurance.

Andrew
Wiggins

There goes that man! pic.twitter.com/Ph1bHTPULG
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 14, 2022

🏀WARRIORS TRIUMPH: The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics 104-94 last night to win Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Andrew Wiggins got 26 points and 13 rebounds and, according to ESPN, "delivered the best game yet of his eight-year career." The Warriors now have a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.

Jordan Poole was lightning in a bottle for the @warriors in Game 5, scoring 14 points in 14 minutes of play and hitting a momentum-changing buzzer-beater from DEEP to end Q3! #DubNation pic.twitter.com/frlbDdYvNU
— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2022

🏀NOW THE NBA COMMISSIONER IS QUARANTINED: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wasn’t at Game 5 of the NBA Finals in San Francisco. His absence is blamed on the NBA’s health and safety protocols, meaning he either has COVID or has been in contact with someone who has it.

⚾ORIOLES AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE: The Orioles may be staying in Baltimore no matter what happens in the spat between the battling Angelos brothers. Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos released a statement yesterday declaring that the Orioles will be in Baltimore “as long as Fort McHenry is standing watch over the Inner Harbor.” His brother, Luis Angelos, has filed a suit claiming that John is plotting to move the team to Nashville, where he lives. The team is owned by a trust set up by their father, Peter Angelos.

🎾MEDVEDEV BACK ON TOP: Daniil Medvedev has returned to the top of the Association of Tennis Players rankings. We still won’t see him at Wimbledon later this month. Russian and Belarussian athletes are banned from the championship match due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The new rankings, released by the ATV yesterday, show Alexander Zverev in second place and Novak Djokovic in third.

But where are Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer? Nadal stayed at number 4 in the rankings. Federer is still recovering from knee surgery and has dropped to 68th.

🏀WORK FOR GRINER’S RELEASE CONTINUES: State Department officials assured Phoenix Mercury women’s basketball team members that they are “relentlessly” working to obtain the release of player Brittney Griner. She has been detained in Russia since February 7th, when airport security allegedly found vape cartridges containing a cannabis derivative in her luggage.

➤FLOODING CLOSES YELLOWSTONE: A torrential rainstorm has forced the closure of Yellowstone National Park at least through Wednesday. Visitors and staff in the worst-hit northern end of the vast park were evacuated while workers dealt with road and bridge failures and mudslides. The park span parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

Bay Area Radio: AJ Punjabi New Market President For iHM

AJ Punjabi

iHeartMedia announced today that AJ Punjabi has been named Market President for San Francisco, effective immediately. iHeartMedia San Francisco has a strong cross-platform presence and includes a number of iconic brands and franchises — both broadcast and digital — encompassing six stations comprised of music, talk and news formats.

iHeartMedia has the leading consumer reach and influence across multiple platforms and delivers more live programming than any other media company. As Market President, Punjabi will be responsible for leading the culture and strategic direction of the San Francisco operation to deepen the relationships with both their listening audiences and their advertising partners. He will report to Scott Hopeck, Division President for iHeartMedia.

“AJ is a talent-focused leader with exceptional digital experience, which will serve him well in the Bay Area, where he will lead a talented team of creators and sales professionals,” said Hopeck. “I’m excited for AJ to begin working with his team and our partners!”

Punjabi takes the helm in San Francisco from iHeartMedia’s Charleston market, where he most recently served as the Market President and enterprise leader of the Blockchain/Crypto/NFT category. He began his career with COX Media, where he spent over 13 years in roles including sales management and digital strategy. Punjabi is a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington.

“I’m beyond grateful to the executive management team at iHeartMedia for entrusting me with one of our most critical operations,” said Punjabi. “iHeartMedia San Francisco’s strong commitment to exceptional programming, as well as its scalable, diverse marketing solutions, will give us distinct competitive advantages and enable us to continue to provide outstanding service to our audiences, advertisers, and the communities that rely on us. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves with some of the industry’s sharpest minds and create outcomes that will help iHeartMedia San Francisco further solidify its position as a market leader.”

Miami Radio: AP Quotes Talk Host Dead For Two Years

The Associated Press issued a correction after it was caught in an embarrassing mistake involving comments attributed to a popular Hispanic radio commentator who died in 2020, reports The Blaze.

The AP cited comments from Martha Flores, a popular radio talk show host in Miami, Florida, in their report documenting Floridians' reactions to a large media company forming to push Democratic talking points among Hispanics.

The mistake was caught by commentator and former Blaze reporter Giancarlo Sopo, who mocked the AP on his Twitter account.

"I'm so confused by this article. The AP says it interviewed Miami Radio host Martha Flores on Wednesday, but she's been dead for two years. How the hell did they pull this off? Séance? An ouija board?" he joked.

The article said that Flores refused to speak to them directly but that she had spoken at a news conference about the radio station being bought by the left-wing group.

Others piled on after Sopo documented the bizarre claim.

"Mistaken identity? No, it’s a made up lie. @AP reporter talks to dead people," said one critic on Twitter.

"Typical example of the journalistic standards of the AP. Claiming that they interviewed someone who is not even alive… and they want you to believe their 'fact checks,'" responded Christina Pushaw, the spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The AP eventually issued a correction about the embarrassing mistake:

"This story was first published on June 9, 2022. It was updated on June 11, 2022 to remove comments erroneously attributed to Martha Flores, former host of a show on Radio Mambi in Miami, one of the stations in the proposed deal," the correction read.

"Flores died in 2020," the AP added. "The comments were made by another woman. This version of the story removes those comments."

NYC Radio: WFAN Steamrolls Over WEPN

WFAN’s Craig Carton and Evan Roberts are beginning to run up the score on WEPN ESPN Radio New York’s “The Michael Kay Show” in staggering fashion, according to Elite Sports New York.

The afternoon drive duo posted a 6.3 ratings share to Kay’s 3.2 for the second month of the spring ratings book, according to The Post’s Andrew Marchand. This comes after WFAN had a 6.9 to 3.7 edge in the first month. Both scores were in the all-important men ages 25-54 demographic.

The second month of the afternoon radio's matchup was a blowout with Carton & Roberts beating The Michael Kay Show with a 6.3 ratings share to 3.2.

C&R were second in the market, while Kay was 13th. (Source: Nielsen Audio)
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) June 13, 2022

Yes, Yankees broadcasts can goose the numbers for WFAN. But not enough to be completely responsible for the wide margin between Carton and Roberts and Kay, Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg. ESPN’s Fall 2021 win feels like a lifetime ago, and it is clear WFAN has gotten what it sought when it brought Carton back after his prison stint: Afternoon dominance in the market.

WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM will clearly win its second straight book in the spring.

Carton and Roberts have been dinged in some corners for not talking about sports as much as a show like Kay’s. As of now, it is not hurting WFAN. In fact, Kay has tried to claim Carton’s more risqué style puts buttoned-up ESPN at a disadvantage in the past. But come September (and then October), the city will have two baseball teams chasing the World Series and two intriguing NFL teams. Listeners may be looking for more Xs and Os then. And that could open up some daylight for Kay to try to get back in the game.

WFAN is also rolling WEPN ESPN 98.7 FM elsewhere on the schedule. The morning show duo of Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti and the midday show with Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney remain without real local competition.

IBA National Cash Contests Exceed All Expectations

The Independent Broadcasters Association (IBA) is proud to announce its National Cash Contests have exceeded expectations, generating a total of more than $2.6 Million for participating IBA member stations, with an average of 14.7 to 1 single station ROI and as much as 30 to 1 ROI for some stations. These phenomenal statistics are the findings from the four National Cash Contests conducted since the launch of the IBA in 2021. For full data and information follow this link.

“When we looked at the combined results of the four National Contests we’ve conducted so far, we were thrilled with the spectacular findings,” stated IBA President and Executive Director Ron Stone. “Our goal with the IBA has always been to bring buying power and revenue opportunities to independent broadcasters. By pooling our strength, we’ve now also increased listener engagement and potentially generated higher ratings for IBA member stations that participated in our National Cash Contests.”

Independent broadcasters representing nearly every state across the US have leveraged the IBA’s National Cash Contests to give away a total of over $180,000 in free money to listeners of participating IBA member radio stations across all market sizes.

IBA National Cash Contests are managed in partnership with Vipology (aka IBA Digital), building and growing the technology, creating contest collateral, and managing winners while providing contest data for member stations.

“Overall, the IBA National Cash Contests have generated over 100,000 listening appointments, over 2.2 million visits to station websites, and greatly expanded daily and weekly TSL. Vipology is proud to have created the technology and managed these successful national cash contests on behalf of the IBA and its members,” remarked Vipology CEO Chris Peaslee.

The IBA, which launched in July of 2020, is dedicated to independent radio stations in ways they are not currently being served by existing organizations, providing strategies that drive revenue with cost benefits at scale. With over 1,500 member stations, the IBA is now the fastest growing advocacy association in America.

To learn more about Vipology’s national cash contesting platform, contact Michael W. Kay, Vipology CRO, at michael@vipology.com or at (678) 616 1645. To join the IBA and take advantage of the National Cash Contests and other members-only benefits, stations may visit https://www.iba.media/ or reach out to IBA’s Ron Stone at ronstone@iba.media.

June 14 Radio History

➦In 1908...John Scott Trotter born (Died at age 67 from cancer – October 29, 1975). He was an arranger, composer and orchestra leader, best known for conducting the John Scott Trotter Orchestra which backed singer and entertainer Bing Crosby on record and on his NBC Kraft Music Hall show on NBC Radio from 1937 to 1946. He also worked with Vince Guaraldi scoring some of the early Peanuts cartoons for TV.

Burl Ives

➦In 1909...Burl Ives born (Died from oral cancer at age 85 – April 14, 1995) was an singer and actor of stage, screen, radio and television.

Ives began as an itinerant singer and banjoist, and launched his own radio show, The Wayfaring Stranger, which popularized traditional folk songs. He also performed on WBOW radio in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1942 he appeared in Irving Berlin's This Is the Army, and then became a major star of CBS radio.

In the 1960s he successfully crossed over into country music, recording hits such as "A Little Bitty Tear" and "Funny Way of Laughin'". A popular film actor through the late 1940s and '50s, Ives's best-known film roles included parts in So Dear to My Heart (1949) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), as well as Rufus Hannassey in The Big Country (1958), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Ives is often remembered for his voice-over work as Sam the Snowman, narrator of the classic 1964 Christmas television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which continues to air annually around Christmas.

Warren Harding -1922 (AP Photo)

➦In 1922...President Warren G. Harding, while addressing a crowd at the dedication of a memorial site for the composer of the “Star Spangled Banner,” Francis Scott Key, became the first president to have his voice transmitted by radio, via WEAR Baltimore. The broadcast heralded a revolutionary shift in how presidents addressed the American public. It was not until three years later, however, that a president would deliver a radio-specific address. That honor went to President Calvin Coolidge.

➦In 1924...WOKO signed on in 1924 IN New York City. The station moved to Mount Beacon, N.Y., in 1928. In 1930, moved to Albany, N.Y. WOKO was the first radio station licensed to that city.

The station picked up he CBS affiliation in the city. In the early 1940s, CBS moved to rival WTRY. WOKO adopted a locally-based independent format, focused largely on music. It carried a middle-of-the-road music format in the 1960s before flipping to country. In 1978, WOKO flipped to a disco format. As the disco fad passed, WOKO returned to country in 1980.

WOKO tried an all-news format in 1982, changing its call letters to WWCN. The station flipped back to the WOKO call letters in 1987 with an oldies format.

Barnstable Broadcasting bought the station in 1988 and used it to simulcast WGNA. ABC Radio purchased the station in 2002 and flipped it to the Radio Disney format as WDDY. The station went silent in 2013.

Harold Peary

➦In 1950...After 13 years on radio, Harold Peary played the title character in "The Great Gildersleeve" for the final time. It was a radio situation comedy broadcast from August 31, 1941 to 1958.

The series was built around Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, a regular character from the radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly. The character was introduced in the October 3, 1939 episode (number 216) of that series. The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest popularity in the 1940s. Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off and later in four feature films released at the height of the show's popularity.

After Peary. Willard Waterman took over the role for the next eight years on radio and for several years on TV.

➦In 1965...Pioneering newscaster/commentator H.V. Kaltenborn died (Born July 9, 1878). He was a pioneering radio commentator, heard regularly on the radio for over 30 years, beginning with CBS in 1928. He was known for his highly precise diction, his ability to ad-lib, and his depth of knowledge of world affairs.

A good example of that is in the last part of the YouTube in Marlin Taylor's Musings for D-Day ... where NBC was to go to London for a couple of reports but couldn't connect. After those, H. V. was to do a 5-minute summary. Instead, he stepped in and talked for something like 13 minutes without missing a beat, according to Taylor.

Kaltenborn began his career as a newspaper reporter, but moved to radio when it began to establish itself as a bona fide source of news. When he was 19, he ran away from home and joined the armed forces to fight in the Spanish–American War. After that he spent some time in Europe, returning to take a job with the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. At 24, he went to college, enrolling as a special student at Harvard University. When he finished, he returned to the Eagle, traveling during summers to distant locales.

Kaltenborn was one of the first news readers to provide analysis and insight into current news stories. His vast knowledge of foreign affairs and international politics amply equipped him for covering crises in Europe and the Far East in the 1930s. His vivid reporting of the Spanish Civil War and the Czech crisis of 1938 helped establish the credibility of radio news in the public mind and helped to overcome the nation's isolationist sensibilities. Kaltenborn reported on the Spanish Civil War "while hiding in a haystack between the two armies. Listeners in America could hear bullets hitting the hay above him while he spoke."

Radio historian James F. Widner described Kaltenborn's skill as a news analyst: Kaltenborn was known as a commentator who never read from a script. His "talks" were extemporaneous[ly] created from notes he had previously written.

Kaltenborn joined NBC in 1940. On election night in 1948, he and Bob Trout, a former CBS colleague, were at the NBC news desk to broadcast the returns of the White House race between President Harry S. Truman and challenger Thomas E. Dewey. Throughout the evening, the returns were too close to call. As the evening progressed, Kaltenborn could see a swing in Dewey's favor. It was enough for him to project Dewey the winner, although the returns were still close. What Kaltenborn did not foresee was another swing in the votes going to Truman. As evening turned to early morning, Kaltenborn retracted his original projection and announced Truman as the winner.

Though Kaltenborn left full-time broadcasting in 1953, he provided analyses during NBC's television coverage of the Republican and Democratic conventions in 1956. Those live newscasts were anchored by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley in their first on-air pairing. Kaltenborn was in his mid-seventies when the television age arrived.

➦In 1983...The FCC's Docket 80-90 created new FM Stations. In 1980, as the non-com band started to fill up in most major metropolitan areas there was a little pressure on the FCC and Congress to make room.

The rule grandfathered the existing short spaced stations and reduced minimum mileage separation between new changes. It also limited new licenses to a maximum ERP of 3 KW, HAAT being 328' or 100 meters. Weaker stations = more stations crammed in. But it did not increase the spacing requirements between Class A and second- and third-adjacent channel Class B stations. It also allowed full-power stations to move-in on Class D stations. forcing some off air.

➦In 1986...after 29 years of what was considered North America’s longest-running continuously-published radio station survey, CHUM Radio in Toronto published its last weekly music chart. It’s last #1 song was “Live to Tell” by Madonna.

Rod Argent is 77