Saturday, September 29, 2018

September 30 Radio History



➦In 1912...singer Kenny Baker was born in Monrovia Calif.  He broke into bigtime radio with Jack Benny in 1935, and appeared in movies & radio for the next 20 years, including his own daytime radio variety show “Glamor Manor” in the mid-1940’s.  Baker died Aug. 10 1985 at age 72 after a heart attack.

➦In 1922...actor/director Lamont Johnson was born in Stockton Calif. He became an active member of the Los Angeles radio acting pool.  As well as playing scores of supporting roles he starred as Tarzan in the 1951 syndicated half-hour series, and was one of several actors to play Archie Goodwin in The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe, opposite Sydney Greenstreet on NBC Radio. He had a key continuing role on the daytime drama Wendy Warren and the News on CBS Radio. A director in TV he was nominated for eleven Emmys, winning twice, and for eight Directors Guild Awards, winning four times, for Profiles in Courage (1965), My Sweet Charlie (1971), That Certain Summer (1972), and Lincoln (1988), which also won him an Emmy. He died of heart failure Oct. 24 2010 at age 88.

➦In 1929… “The National Farm and Home Hour,” a rustic variety series which first aired locally for a year on KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh, made its national debut on the NBC Blue network (later known as ABC), sponsored by the Montgomery Ward department stores. Don Ameche and Raymond Edward Johnson were featured, along with music and entertainment by The Cadets male quartet, Jack Baus and The Cornbusters and Mirandy of Persimmons Holler.  In 1945 the “Hour” moved to NBC Radio where it continued until early 1958.


➦In 1930…The radio anthology series "Death Valley Days," stories based on actual events, began its 15-year run on the NBC Blue network. The television version of the program, hosted by Stanley Andrews as "The Old Ranger," then Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor, and Dale Robertson, aired from 1952 to 1975.



➦In 1933...WLS (then 870 AM)  radio in Chicago's popular program The National Barn Dance, one of the first country music radio programs, goes national with a move to NBC radio.




➦In 1935…The police drama series "The Adventures of Dick Tracy" made its debut on the Mutual Radio Network after being heard on CBS four times a week earlier that year. The serial had a long run on radio, starting in 1934 on NBC's New England stations and ending on the ABC Network in 1948.




➦In 1940...the kids’ radio serial “Captain Midnight”, already a hit locally on WGN Chicago, went coast to coast on Mutual. The Captain flew his single-engine plane all over the place fighting crime. Ovaltine dropped its sponsorship of Little Orphan Annie to climb on board with Captain Midnight.

➦In 1950...WSM Radio's "Grand Ole Opry" was first broadcast on television.

Original Home Ryman Theater
The Grand Ole Opry started as the WSM Barn Dance in the new fifth-floor radio studio of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company in downtown Nashville on November 28, 1925. On October 18, 1925, management began a program featuring "Dr. Humphrey Bate and his string quartet of old-time musicians." On November 2, WSM hired long-time announcer and program director George D. "Judge" Hay, an enterprising pioneer from the National Barn Dance program at WLS in Chicago, who was also named the most popular radio announcer in America as a result of his radio work with both WLS and WMC in Memphis, Tennessee. Hay launched the WSM Barn Dance with 77-year-old fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson on November 28, 1925, which is celebrated as the birth date of the Grand Ole Opry.

On December 10, 1927 the phrase 'Grand Ole Opry' was first uttered on-air. That night Barn Dance followed the NBC Red Network's Music Appreciation Hour, a program of classical music and selections from Grand Opera presented by classical conductor Walter Damrosch. That night, Damrosch remarked that “there is no place in the classics for realism,” In response, Opry presenter George Hay said:
"Friends, the program which just came to a close was devoted to the classics. Doctor Damrosch told us that there is no place in the classics for realism. However, from here on out for the next three hours, we will present nothing but realism. It will be down to earth for the 'earthy'."
Hay then introduced DeFord Bailey, the man he had dubbed the "Harmonica Wizard", saying
"For the past hour, we have been listening to music taken largely from Grand Opera. From now on, we will present the 'Grand Ole Opry'."
Bailey then stepped up to the mic to play "The Pan American Blues", his song inspired by the Pan American, an L&N Railroad express/passenger train.

➦In 1951...the Red Skelton Show debuted on NBC-TV (almost 10 years to the day after Red first got his own radio show). America’s “Clown Prince of Comedy” was a hit for years on radio and an even bigger one on TV.  Later, he would move to CBS-TV where he remained a television fixture for a total of 20 years.

➦In 1967...the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began its own Pop music radio station. The first song on Radio One was “Flowers in the Rain” by The Move. Former Radio Caroline DJ Tony Blackburn was the first presenter on air. Second song was “Massachusetts” by the Bee Gees.



➦In 1978...The Hot 100...The classic "Kiss You All Over" by Exile moved to #1, tapping "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste of Honey on the shoulder to move.  Olivia Newton-John remained in the third position with "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and it had been six weeks since the Commodores were at #1 with "Three Times a Lady" but they were still at #4.

The rest of the Top 10:  "Summer Nights" by Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta, Boston's "Don't Look Back", Nick Gilder edged up with "Hot Child in the City", the Little River Band was up to 8 with "Reminiscing", John Paul Young reached the Top 10 with "Love Is in the Air" and Andy Gibb closed out the list with "An Everlasting Love".




➦In 1996...Charlie Greer, 77 WABC died.

Charlie Greer (1923-1996) was a radio personality at WAKR in Akron, Ohio before moving to  New York City's WABC on December 7, 1960, where he did middays and overnight.

Given WABC's 50 thousand watt clear channel signal, Greer became a popular all-night disc jockey heard on more than 38 states punching his way through famous tongue twister commercials for an all night clothing store called Dennison's in Union, New Jersey.



Greer also spent time with New York City's WCBS-FM in 1973, then and became part of WCBS-FM's Rock and Roll Radio Greats Weekend in the eighties and nineties.

He moved to Philadelphia's WIP in 1969 and then back to the New York area to WRKL in New City for a short while, and later worked at WHAM (AM) in Rochester, before returning to Akron. (Ted David, Moderator, New York Broadcasting History Board)



➦In 1997...Al “Jazzbeaux” Collins, WNEW, WINS passed away

The name "Jazzbo" derived from a product Collins had seen, a clip-on bowtie named Jazzbows. Just as Martin Block created the illusion that he was speaking from the Make Believe Ballroom, Collins claimed to be broadcasting from his inner sanctum, a place known as the Purple Grotto, an imaginary setting suggested by radio station WNEW's interior design, as Collins explained:

Collins grew up on Long Island, New York. In 1941, while attending the University of Miami in Florida, he substituted as the announcer on his English teacher's campus radio program, and decided he wanted to be in radio. He began his professional career as the disc jockey at a bluegrass station in Logan, West Virginia. By 1943, Collins was broadcasting at WKPA in Pittsburgh, moving in 1945 to WIND in Chicago and in 1946 to Salt Lake City's KNAK. In 1950, he relocated to New York where he joined the staff of WNEW and became one of the "communicators" on NBC's Monitor when it began in 1955. Two years later, NBC-TV installed him for five weeks as the host of the Tonight show when it was known as Tonight! America After Dark in the period between hosts Steve Allen and Jack Paar.

He officially changed the spelling of his name to Jazzbeaux when he went to Pittsburgh's WTAE in 1969. He moved to WIXZ in Pittsburgh (1973) before heading back to the West Coast three years later.

In 1976 Al Collins returned to San Francisco working at KMPX, followed by a three-year all-night run at KGO which drew callers throughout the West Coast. He always opened with Count Basie's "Blues in Hoss flat". He also worked a late night shift at KKIS AM in Pittsburg, CA in 1980. After returning to New York and WNEW (1981), he was back in San Francisco at KSFO (1983) and KFRC (1986). Then came one more run at WNEW (1986–90), and then he joined KAPX (Marin County, California) in 1990, and from 1993 until his death, Jazzbeaux did a weekly jazz show at KCSM (College of San Mateo, California).

He died on September 30, 1997, at the age of 78, from pancreatic cancer.




➦In 2012...Bob Vernon 'with a V' WNBC 660 AM died at the age of 70

Vernon grew up in Ohio and dreamed of being an artist, until a trusted high school teacher told him to make it a hobby. He launched a career in radio and went on to work for WNBC in New York on the show “Vernon with a V.”

After radio, his news career carried him back to Ohio where he switched to TV, and moved around to several different newsrooms.

Vernon worked as the noon news anchor at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC from 1989-1995.

Robert Vernon Cosart Jr., passed away in Parker, Colorado, after suffering blood complications.

Ted Turner Says He's Suffering Form Of Dementia

Ted Turner
Ted Turner, the media mogul and cable news trailblazer, revealed in an interview set to air this weekend that he’s coping with a brain disease known as Lewy body dementia.

Turner, 79, opened up to “CBS Sunday Morning” at his 113,000-acre ranch near Bozeman, Mont., saying while his disease isn’t fatal like Alzheimer’s, it leaves him tired, exhausted and, most of all, forgetful.

“It’s a mild case of what people have as Alzheimer’s. It’s similar to that. But not nearly as bad. Alzheimer’s is fatal,” Turner told CBS. “Thank goodness I don’t have that. But, I also have got, let’s – the one that’s – I can’t remember the name of it.”

Turner continues after a pause: “Dementia. I can’t remember what my disease is.”

Lewy body dementia is a type of progressive dementia that leads to a decline in thinking, reasoning and independent function, due to abnormal microscopic deposits that cause brain cell damage over time, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

The late comic Robin Williams suffered from the disease.


Turner told CBS he was misdiagnosed with manic depression before learning the brain disorder was causing his “euphoric highs and dark lows.”

Turner, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $2.2 billion, was married to actress Jane Fonda for 10 years, until their divorce in 2001, according to People.

The media mogul changed the landscape of television news with the creation of the 24-hour Cable News Network (CNN) in 1980. He told CBS that while he doesn’t watch much news anymore, he occasionally tunes in to the network he founded, according to Fox News.

CBS Gets Subpoenas About Les Moonves


CBS Corp. said Friday it received subpoenas from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Commission on Human Rights regarding allegations of sexual harassment by Leslie Moonves and others, in the first sign of outside investigations into the workplace culture at the network.

In addition, CBS said the New York State Attorney General’s Office has requested information from the company on the matter.

According to The Wall Street Journal, CBS, which disclosed the inquiries in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, has retained two law firms to investigate allegations against Mr. Moonves and other claims. The company’s board has been under fire for its handling of the Moonves matter amid questions about whether it responded promptly enough when rumors first surfaced about his alleged behavior.

Moonves was forced to resign as chairman and chief executive of CBS earlier this month after accusations that he had harassed and assaulted several women many years ago surfaced in stories in the New Yorker and Vanity Fair.

While Mr. Moonves acknowledged in a statement that he “may have made some women uncomfortable” by making advances, he denied ever forcing himself on anyone or harming the careers of any women who rebuffed his advances.

CBS is conducting a search for a new chief executive. In the interim, Chief Operating Officer Joe Ianniello was named president and acting chief executive officer.

The firms CBS has asked to investigate are also tasked with probing the culture at CBS overall, including CBS News, where “CBS This Morning” anchor Charlie Rose was fired last fall after he was accused of harassment by multiple women.

Rose acknowledged behaving “insensitively” at times but said he didn’t believe all the accusations against him were accurate.

Jeff Fager, the longtime executive producer of “60 Minutes” also was let go after he sent a note seen as threatening to a CBS News reporter who was writing about allegations that had behaved inappropriately with women and condoned a hostile work environment at the news magazine.

Mr. Fager has denied those allegations.

Philly Radio: Blaise Howard Returns To WBEB As GSM

Blaise Howard
Entercom Friday announced the appointment of Blaise Howard to the role of General Sales Manager for AC WBEB 101.1 MoreFM in Philadelphia.

“We are thrilled to bring Blaise back to WBEB as the station formally joins the Entercom family,” said David Yadgaroff, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Philadelphia. “For decades, Blaise led WBEB’s sales strategy and success. He’s the perfect candidate to lead the station’s multi-platform sales effort.”

“I can’t wait to start this new chapter with Entercom, and be a part of the team led by Dave Scopinich and David Yadgaroff. I am excited to take a step forward with a company so positive about our industry, and so committed to the growth of Radio,” said Howard.

Howard spent 18 years as the VP/GM of WBEB-FM where he created a culture of high performing professionals and consistently maintained the status as one of the top rated and top revenue producing stations in the Philadelphia market. Prior to WBEB, Blaise was chosen by Group W Radio to launch KPIX, their first FM News Talk station in San Francisco. Blaise’s background also includes seven years at KYW Newsradio.

Canton-Akron Radio: WHBC Loses Another Personality

Mike Izic
Alpha Media's WHBC Mix 94.1 in Canton, Ohio has lost another prominent air personality.

Mike Izic, known as “Ike” on WHBC-FM’s morning show, quit his job after his Friday air shift.

Izic had co-hosted the station’s morning show with Kathy Vogel until her firing on Aug. 23. John Stewart, Mix 94.1′s program director and afternoon-drive host, also left the station on Aug. 23.

“A big reason I took the step back into full-time radio was the chance to work with Kathy and John,” Izic said Friday. “Since the two of them left the station, it’s been a personal struggle for me.”

Izic joined the morning show three years ago, following the departure of co-host Pat DeLuca.

Kathy Vogel
After Vogel’s recent firing, morning-show producer Sarah Quinn moved into Vogel’s co-hosting spot opposite Izic.

Vogel has returned to WONE-FM 97.5 in Akron, where she once hosted a morning show with the late Jim Chenot. She will be on the air Saturday from 2 to 7 p.m.

According to cantonrep.com, Jenny Lyte, a Mix 94.1 weekend personality and Izic’s wife, quit the station two weeks ago. On Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m., she will be on the air at Q92 in Alliance.

Currently, Kayleigh Kriss is on the air in Stewart’s former slot weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m., while Bo Matthews is doing Kriss’ midday show.

Winnipeg Radio: CITI-FM Adds T J Connors To Morning Show

T J Connors
Radio CITI 92.1 FM has announced it has hired a replacement for morning show DJ Dave Wheeler, who filed a $1.4 million lawsuit against Rogers Media after he was fired.

TJ Connors, a native Winnipegger whose dad is former radio broadcaster Scruff Connors, will join the station on Dec. 3 as part of the new Rena, TJ and Turnbull show from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The station calls the show, which will feature personality Kelly Butler, "a dream team of diverse personalities and edgy humour."

"Rena, TJ, Dave and Kelly each bring their own authentic personalities and humour to the table and that's what makes great radio," Kevin Britton, the station's program director, said in a statement Friday.

"We know with this team, we have a winning combination that will keep Winnipeggers coming back every weekday morning to get their day started off right."

Last week, Wheeler launched his suit for wrongful dismissal.

Wheeler was fired in July after likening transgender people to actors pretending to be "different things."

Many Winnipeggers were surprised about the details about Wheeler's salary. In his lawsuit, he said he was being paid $335,000 in each year of a five-year contract, and could earn two $10,000 bonuses each year if he was the No. 1 disc jockey for adult audiences aged 25 to 54 among all Winnipeg radio stations.

Connors is leaving St. Catharines station 97.7 HTZ-FM to return to Winnipeg. Other stations he has worked at during his decade-long career have been Country 103 and Vista Radio in Kamloops, B.C., 91.9 BOB FM in Lindsay, Ont., and The Wolf in Peterborough, Ont.

Connors also worked at Power 97 from 2013 to 2015 in Winnipeg, where his dad also worked in 1994 and 1995.

Facebook Hacked, Extent Unknown


Facebook revealed on Friday that it discovered a hack affecting the accounts of 50 million users.

According to The Hill, the company said that hackers had exploited a vulnerability affecting those users, but it hasn't determined what information might have been accessed.

"This is a real serious security issue and we're taking it really seriously," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on a call with reporters. "It definitely is an issue that this happened in the first place."

Facebook said that hackers had attacked a vulnerability in their software related to the "View As" feature, which lets users look at their own profiles from a third-party's perspective. The company said it's fixed the vulnerability and turned the feature off as a precaution.

The vulnerability was introduced into Facebook's system in July of 2017 when the company overhauled the "View As" feature. On September 16, Facebook says that it found unusual activity on its platform and launched an investigation, ultimately identifying the vulnerability and the intrusion on Tuesday.

The announcement comes at an awkward time for Facebook, which is still struggling to rebuild its reputation after the Cambridge Analytica data scandal earlier this year, which Zuckerberg had to answer for on Capitol Hill.

And it comes as Congress is preparing a national privacy bill that the tech industry is hoping will prevent states from passing their own data collection laws like California did this summer.

R.I.P.: Marty Balin, Co-Founder Of Jefferson Airplane

Marty Balin
Marty Balin, a founder, lead singer and songwriter of the groundbreaking San Francisco psychedelic band Jefferson Airplane and a key member of that band’s 1970s successor, Jefferson Starship, died Thursday in Tampa, Fla., where he lived.

He was 76, according to The NYTimes.

His death was announced by his wife, Susan Joy Balin. A representative, Ryan Romanesco, said Mr. Balin had died en route to a hospital. No cause of death was immediately available.

Mr. Balin was a prime mover in the flowering of psychedelic rock in mid-1960s San Francisco, not only as a founding member of Jefferson Airplane in 1965, but also as an original owner of the Matrix, a club that opened that year and nurtured bands and artists like the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Santana and Steppenwolf.

Jefferson Airplane would earn its place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with music that was the epitome of 1960s psychedelia: a molten, improvisatory mixture of folk, rock, blues, jazz, R&B, ragas and more, sometimes adopting pop-song structures and sometimes exploding them. The songs were about love, freedom, altered perception, rebellion and possibilities that could be transcendent or apocalyptic.

The Airplane was a staple at the Fillmore in San Francisco and the Fillmore East in New York City, and it performed at 1960s milestones including Monterey Pop in 1967 and both the Woodstock and Altamont festivals in 1969.

When Jefferson Airplane reformed as Jefferson Starship in 1974, Balin became a member of that group, and sang such hits as “Miracles,” “With Your Love” and “Count On Me.”  He left the band in 1978 and in 1981, he released his first solo album, Balin, which featured the smash hit “Hearts.”

Balin continued to release solo albums throughout his life.  Meanwhile, in 1985, he, Kantner and Jefferson Airplane bassist Jack Casady formed the KBC Band.  In 1989, he participated in a reunion album and tour with the Airplane.  After that, he joined Kantner’s reunited Jefferson Starship in the early ’90s, playing with them through 2003.  He continued to join them in concert off and on through 2008.

In 1996, Balin was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the classic 1966-1970 lineup of Jefferson Airplane.

D-C Radio: WFED Returns as Wizards Radio Flagship


The Washington Wizards have announced regional television and radio broadcast information for 2018-19 NBA preseason and regular-season games.

NBC Sports Washington (NBCSW) will present live coverage of 83 Wizards games this season, including 79 regular-season and four preseason contests. NBCSW’s live coverage, including pregame and postgame shows, will continue to be available on NBCSportsWashington.com and the NBC Sports app. NBCSW’s live games will be led by play-by-play announcer Steve Buckhantz, analyst Kara Lawson and reporter Chris Miller.

The Washington Wizards Radio Network will provide live audio of every game this season, with the 50,000-watt WFED 1500 AM in Washington, D.C., serving as the flagship for the network that includes 12 stations from West Virginia to North Carolina. Live Wizards coverage will also be available within a 75-mile radius on the Washington Wizards app, NBA Audio League Pass, Sirius/XM and TuneIn Premium.

Play-by-play announcer Dave Johnson is back for his 22nd season calling the action and will be joined by Glenn Consor, who is set for his 12th season. WGL Washington Wizards Radio Network coverage will include 15 minutes of pregame and 45 minutes of postgame coverage. Listeners can call Consor in the postgame show, which also features host Bryan Albin.

Fans can also listen to comprehensive Wizards coverage – highlighted by around-the-clock news, extended pregame coverage, player interviews, features and classic games – with Wizards Radio 24/7. Wizards Radio 24/7 is available at wizardsradio247.com, on the Washington Wizards app and on TuneIn.

September 29 Radio History






➦In 1907...Cowboy actor & singer Gene Autry was born in Tioga Texas.

Gene Autry
As well as producing scores of movie oaters & several hit records, he had his own long-running programs on network radio & later TV, owned his own baseball team (California Angels) & Golden West Broadcasting (radio & TV stations.)  Autry is the only person to have 5 Hollywood Walk of Fame stars [film, radio, TV, stage, records];

He died Oct 2, 1998 at age 91.

➦In 1915...the first transcontinental radio-telephone message was sent.

➦In 1920...the Joseph Horne Company in Pittsburgh began selling radios for $10 apiece.

➦In 1926...NBC incorporated.

In 1923, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) acquired control of WJZ in Newark, New Jersey, from Westinghouse, and moved the station to New York City. The same year, RCA obtained a license for station WRC in Washington, D.C., and attempted to transmit audio between WJZ and WRC via low-quality telegraph lines, in an attempt to make a network comparable to that operated by American Telephone & Telegraph.

AT&T had created its own network in 1922, with WEAF in New York serving the research and development function for Western Electric's research and development of radio transmitters and antennas, as well as AT&T's long-distance and local Bell technologies for transmitting voice- and music-grade audio over short and long distances, via both wireless and wired methods. WEAF's regular schedule of a variety of programs, and its selling of commercial sponsorships, had been a success, and what was known at first as "chain broadcasting" became a network that linked WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island and AT&T's WCAP in Washington.


Since AT&T refused access of its high-quality phone lines to competitors, RCA's New York-Washington operated with uninsulated telegraph lines which were incapable of good audio transmission quality and very susceptible to both atmospheric and man-made electrical interference. In 1926, however, the management of AT&T concluded that operating a radio network was incompatible with its operation of America's telephone and telegraph service, and sold WEAF and WCAP to RCA for approximately one million dollars. As part of the purchase, RCA also gained the rights to rent AT&T's phone lines for network transmission, and the technology for operating a quality radio network.

On September 13, 1926, RCA chairman of the board Owen D. Young and president James G. Harbord announced the formation of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., to begin broadcasting upon RCA's acquisition of WEAF on November 15. "The purpose of the National Broadcasting Company will be to provide the best programs available for broadcasting in the United States. ... It is hoped that arrangements may be made so that every event of national importance may be broadcast widely throughout the United States," announced M.H. Aylesworth, the first president of NBC, in the press release.

➦In 1930...Lowell Thomas made his debut on the CBS Radio Network replacing Floyd Gibbons.

Lowell Thomas
In 1930, he became a broadcaster with the CBS Radio network, delivering a nightly news and commentary program. After two years, he switched to the NBC Radio network but returned to CBS in 1947. In contrast to today's practices, Thomas was not an employee of either NBC News or CBS News. Prior to 1947 he was employed by the broadcast's sponsor, Sunoco. When he returned to CBS to take advantage of lower capital-gains tax rates, he established an independent company to produce the broadcast which he sold to CBS.

He hosted the first-ever television-news broadcast in 1939 and the first regularly scheduled television news broadcast (even though it was just a simulcast of his radio broadcast), beginning on February 21, 1940, on NBC Television. While W2XBS New York carried every TV/radio simulcast, it is not known if the two other stations capable of being fed programs by W2XBS, W2XB Schenectady and/or W3XE Philadelphia carried all or some of the simulcasts

➦In 1930...New York City College offered its first course in radio advertising.

➦In 1940...the radio quiz show "Double or Nothing," was first heard on the Mutual Radio Network.




➦In 1946...The radio detective series "The Adventures of Sam Spade" starring Howard Duff, made its debut. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS from 1946 to 1949, and finally for 51 episodes on NBC from 1949 to 1951. Steve Dunne took over the title role in 1950.

➦In 1953...comedian Danny Thomas, who many now remember as Marlo’s dad and Phil Donahue’s father-in-law, debuted in the family comedy Make Room for Daddy on ABC-TV. Danny had negotiated a deal that would allow him to retain an ownership interest in his programs, an arrangement so successful that it allowed him to give something back to the world, in the form of his philanthropic efforts to build St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis. “All I prayed for was a break,” he once told an interviewer, “and I said I would do anything, anything, to pay back the prayer if it could be answered. All I needed was a sign of what to do and I would do it.”

➦In 1957...MLB Giants play last game in New York airing on WMCA 570 AM NYC

➦In 1961...Radio/TV Personality Bill Cullen does last show at WNBC 660 AM NYC

Bill Cullen 1954
Cullen's broadcasting career began in Pittsburgh at WWSW radio, where he worked as a disc jockey and play-by-play announcer or color commentator for Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Hornets games. In 1943, Cullen left WWSW to briefly work at rival station KDKA before leaving Pittsburgh a year later to try his luck in New York. A week after arriving in New York he was hired as a staff announcer at CBS. To supplement his then-meager income, he became a freelance joke writer for some of the top radio stars of the day including Arthur Godfrey, Danny Kaye, and Jack Benny;  he also worked as a staff writer for the Easy Aces radio show.

His first venture into game shows was in 1945 when he was hired as announcer for a radio quiz called Give And Take. Between 1946 and 1953 he also worked as announcer for various other local and network shows, including the radio version of Mark Goodson and Bill Todman's first game show, Winner Take All, hosted by Ward Wilson; Cullen took over as host four months later when Wilson left.

After a brief stint at WNEW-AM in 1951 he later hosted a popular morning show at WRCA radio from 1955 to 1961. His last regular radio job was as one of the hosts of NBC Radio's Monitor from 1971 to 1973.

➦In 1970...character actor Edward Everett Horton died at age 84 due to cancer.  He had an active 50 year career from the silent era of movies to running roles in TV’s F Troop and Dennis the Menace series, as well as narrating The Bullwinkle Show.  He’d also hosted NBC Radio’s Kraft Music Hall in the mid 1940′s.

➦In 1973..Shooting at KGO San Francisco.

Jim Dunbar
A deranged young gunman fired three shots at Jim Dunbar's head while the talk show host was conducting a radio interview, shortly after 10 a.m., at KGO's studio at 277 Golden Gate avenue.

Although the gunman was just a few feet away when he fired, the bullets were deflected by a bulletproof glass window between the studio and the sidewalk outside.

Dunbar shouted to an aide to telephone police as the gunman ran inside the station's offices. "Hey, will you guys call the cops on that? . . ." his listeners heard Dunbar say. "Whew! I just had a man take a shot at me."

Once inside the station, the gunman shot Ben Munson, 47, an advertising account executive for KGO radio (He died from the wounds). Then, with several executives in pursuit, the youth passed Dunbar's view twice before heading for Hyde street.  The young man shot himself in the head outside Hastings College of the Law and died two hours later at San Francisco General Hospital.

The station said Kwong believed "KGO radio was controlling his mind."

➦In 1992...First FM HD Radio broadcast: WILL-FM, Urbana, IL.

➦In 2012...KZOK Seattle radio personality Donny Bonaduce received a painful bite on the cheek from a female fan who had asked for a kiss.  It happened at a Tacoma casino where Bonaduce was to emcee a concert.  The onetime star of TV’s Partridge Family was treated with antibiotics and did not press charges.

Friday, September 28, 2018

TV Ratings: Senate Hearing Pulls Huge Numbers

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday drew a massive audience for the cable news networks, according to Variety.

The hearing–which saw testimony from both Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault–aired throughout most of the day Thursday.

Fox News led the pack in total viewers throughout the day, averaging 5.66 million viewers from 10 a.m.-6:45 p.m. ET. MSNBC was second in total viewers with 2.88 million for the same time period, with CNN finishing third with 2.51 million.

In the key news demo of adults 25-54, Fox News was also first in the same time period with an average of 1.06 million viewers. CNN was second with 730,000 and MSNBC was third with 461,000.

Coverage for all three networks peaked during Kavanaugh’s testimony, which took place from approximately 3:15 p.m.-6:45 p.m. Fox News led with an average 7.17 million viewers during that time with 1.4 million in the key demo. MSNBC was second in total viewers with 3.18 million but third in the demo with 553,000. CNN was third in total viewers with 2.78 million but second in the demo with 856,000.

Meanwhile,  “Murphy Brown” returned to television on Thursday, with the CBS sitcom revival drawing mediocre numbers in the overnight ratings.

Airing at 9:30 p.m., “Murphy Brown” averaged a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 7.4 million viewers. By comparison, the revival of “Roseanne” on ABC stunned Hollywood with a 5.2 rating and 18.4 million viewers earlier this year.

In fairness, “Murphy Brown” was airing against “Thursday Night Football” on Fox, but it also had the advantage of a lead-in from established shows like “Big Bang Theory,” “Young Sheldon,” and “Mom.”

And The 2018 Marconi Award Winners Are...


Winners of the 2018 National Association of Broadcasters' (NAB) Marconi Radio Awards were announced Thursday night at the 29th annual NAB Marconi Radio Awards Dinner & Show, sponsored by Xperi and held at the Radio Show in Orlando.

Established in 1989 and named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi, the NAB Marconi Radio Awards are given to radio stations and outstanding on-air personalities to recognize excellence in radio.

This year's NAB Marconi Radio Award recipients are:

Legendary Station of the Year
KKBQ-FM, Houston, TX

AC Station of the Year
KSTP-FM, St. Paul, MN

Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year
Dan Patrick, Premiere Networks

CHR Station of the Year
KNDE-FM, College Station, TX

Major Market Personality of the Year
Angie Martinez, WWPR-FM, New York, NY

Classic Hits Station of the Year
KRTH-FM, Los Angeles, CA

Large Market Personality of the Year
Joe Kelley, WDBO-FM, Orlando, FL

Country Station of the Year
KCLR-FM, Columbia, MO

Medium Market Personality of the Year 
Pat Kerrigan, KSRO-AM, Santa Rosa, CA

News/Talk Station of the Year 
WTOP-FM, Washington, D.C.

Small Market Personality of the Year
Brian Byers, WSOY-AM, Decatur, IL

Non-commercial Station of the Year
WPSC-FM, Wayne, NJ

Major Market Station of the Year
WSB-AM, Atlanta, GA

Religious Station of the Year
KLTY-FM, Dallas, TX

Large Market Station of the Year
WDBO-FM, Orlando, FL

Rock Station of the Year
WMMR-FM, Philadelphia, PA

Medium Market Station of the Year
KSRO-AM, Santa Rosa, CA

Spanish Station of the Year
WKAQ-AM, San Juan, P.R.

Small Market Station of the Year
WWUS-FM, Sugarloaf Key, FL

Sports Station of the Year
WEEI-FM, Boston, MA

Urban Station of the Year
WWPR-FM, New York, NY

Marconi finalists were selected by a task force of broadcasters, and the winners were voted on by the NAB Marconi Radio Awards Selection Academy. The votes were tabulated by an independent firm.

The NAB Marconi Radio Awards Dinner & Show also featured a performance by recording artist Matt Nathanson. Nathanson also served as the event’s emcee.

Total registered attendance reached 2,130 for the 2018 Radio Show, held this week in Orlando. This represents an eight percent increase over the 2017 Radio Show in Austin where registered attendance totaled 1,974.

The 2019 Radio Show will be held September 24-27 in Dallas, TX.

Radio Show: Radio Sharing TSL With More Available Options

AM/FM Radio remains the top audio source in the car by far, However, it is sharing more time with other sources, according to Edison Research President Larry Rosin.

Rosin presented the latest findings during “Miles Different: In-Car Audio 2018” at the Radio Show in Orlando on Thursday.



His Top 10 Takeaways from Miles Different: In-Car Audio 2018:
  • The car is as important as ever.
  • The car is the top location for audio listening.
  • Broadcast radio remains the king of in-car audio.
  • Consumers have many more options for audio in cars.
  • When people have more options they use more options.
  • Drivers of the newest cars are…miles different.
  • The agent of change is SiriusXM.
  • Traffic reports as we know them are doomed.
  • Streaming not yet a big factor, but…
  • We are just at the dawn of change.
More than half of all Americans (54%) and more than three fourths (77%) of in-car audio consumers use AM/FM radio in their car in a typical day. “People want and expect a radio in their cars because they use a radio in their cars,” Edison president Larry Rosin stressed.



In addition to its broad in-car reach, radio captures two thirds (67%) of total time spent listening in the automobile. No one else comes close. Sirius/XM is second at 17% and owned music comes in third. Audio streaming has yet to penetrate the car to any significant degree: Only 7% of in-car audio consumers use streaming audio in the car on a typical day.

Consumers obviously have more audio options today than ever before. Although that has not changed AM/FM’s reach in the car, it is impacting time spent listening, especially among consumers with newer cars where those newer options are present.

“When people have more options, they use more options,” Rosin told attendees. The biggest gainer has been the cellphone/MP3 player.



The findings also indicated the model year of the car also has an impact on how much time people spend with AM/FM radio. For instance, 57% of people with pre-2006 model year vehicles say they use AM/FM almost all or most of the time in the car and 23% some of the time. But on car model years 2015-2018, almost all/most slips to 43% and sometimes rises to 28%.

Radio still has the dominant share of ear regardless of the model year of the car, but its share goes down as people purchase newer vehicles.


Apart from radio’s in-car dominance, one of the headlines from the new Edison Research study is the growth of satellite radio, with 15% of drivers saying they currently use it in their primary car. “The agent of change in the car is SiriusXM,” Rosin said. The newer the car, the more likely they are to subscribe to it. Two factors are driving this trend: Newer cars are more likely to have satellite radio and people that buy new cars are more likely to be aged 35-54, which Rosin called Sirius XM’s sweet spot.

Radio Show: Bob & Tom Show Aired Live

"The BOB & TOM Show", spent three days broadcasting live from the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek and the 2018 Radio Show.

The award-winning nationally syndicated morning radio show, heard on over 100 affiliates across the U.S., was situated in the North Foyer of the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek.

The broadcast highlights included special guests including: Frank Caliendo, Drew Hastings, Pat Godwin, Greg Hahn and Jim Bohannon, among others - and attracting large, appreciative crowds of laughing Radio Show attendees each morning.


Host and National Radio Hall of Fame inductee Tom Griswold joined the full ensemble cast of The BOB & TOM Show in the live broadcasts, including: Chick McGee, Josh Arnold, Kristi Lee, Donnie Baker, Allee Breen, Al Jackson, Grace Yinger and Jessica Alsman.

Nielsen Launches MediaTech Trender Survey

Nielsen has announced the launch of the Nielsen MediaTech Trender, a quarterly consumer tracking survey that focuses on perceptions of emerging devices and services that are shaping media use today.

This survey, conducted among 2,000 U.S consumers (aged 13+), aims to uncover opinion and sentiment around nascent and ascending technologies, such as smart speakers, Virtual Reality (VR) and other new platforms for consuming content and advertising.

In taking the pulse of consumer sentiment toward existing or emerging technology, Nielsen will be able to help uncover the often nuanced consumer decision making that can either drive success through adoption or leave some forms of new electronic devices or platforms struggling to gain market appeal. By gauging this sentiment in a trended fashion, Nielsen’s MediaTech Trender will ultimately be able to offer to marketers and device manufacturers, as well as both media buyers and sellers, an advanced look at what technologies may be poised for success and which of these may be waning—helping them plan for the future and potentially drive efficiencies in their media mix.



“Technology and media devices over the last couple of decades have seen an incredible amount of innovation, adoption and growth. Consumers are not only incredibly tech savvy—they’re voraciously plugged in,” says Peter Katsingris, SVP, Audience Insights, Nielsen. “With so many choices of media to consume and innovative products being introduced into the marketplace, gauging consumer sentiment towards them is crucial in understanding not only what’s ‘now’ but also what’s ‘next.’ The MediaTech Trender is unique in that it gives our clients an inside peek into this world of emerging tech and how it relates to consumer perception.”



KEY MEDIATECH TRENDER INSIGHTS:
  • In the first-quarter of this year, 64% of adult smartphone users viewed video within a social networking site/app at least once a day while 46% of tablet users did so. For younger adults (18-34 year olds), these percentages are even higher—at 72% and 57%, respectively.
  • Demographics play a key role in device usage and how content is consumed. The survey uncovered that 64% of streaming service users aged 18-34 say that they are motivated to stream content when they found existing shows they previously watched or listened to on traditional media. This is still a factor even as demographics age— 62% among persons aged 35-49 and 59% among persons aged 50-64. Users of all ages are open to changing their behavior and how they are viewing to find the content they want to watch.
  • 45% of adults said that they subscribe to video streaming services to gain access to video content they like and 42% said they sign up due to a specific program.
  • In the second quarter of 2018, household ownership of smart speakers reached 24%, up from 22% in the previous quarter.
  • Of those who have a smart speaker, four out of 10 have more than one. The living room is the most popular location (63%) followed by the bedroom (35%) and kitchen (28%).
  • While smart speakers offer a plethora of capabilities, listening to audio is paramount: music is the most popular activity on a smart speaker, with 90% of users saying they use it in a typical week. Search functions for real-time information (like current temperature) as well as factual information (like historical facts) were the next most popular.
  • Syncing capabilities to smart speakers enables the device to be a hub of connectivity. Mobile phones are the most likely device to be synced with a smart speaker (32%), while audio streaming (53%) and shopping apps (52%) are the most likely synced apps.
  • Users display a number of positive sentiments toward smart speaker devices, with most showing the potential to further their use and reach. Smart speaker users would like to discover and use more capabilities of smart speakers (75%) and would recommend them or purchase them as a gift to friends/family (72%).
  • Multicultural consumers are taking charge when it comes to audio streaming services and smart speakers. In the first quarter, compared to the national average (43%), Black (52%), Hispanic (45%) and Asian American (55%) consumers have over indexed with their interest in using or subscribing to a streaming service.

D/FW Radio: Jeff Miles Lands Mornings At KLUV-FM

Jeff Miles
Classic Hits KLUV 98.7 FM announced Thursday that Jeff Miles will replace Jody Dean as morning-show host.

Dean announced Monday that Friday will be his last day as host of the show, but he stressed that he’s not retiring — and that he’s not even leaving KLUV. But his new role is still a bit of a mystery, according to the Star-Telegram.

Miles, who will host “Miles in the Morning” with — in some good news for fan’s of Dean’s show — Dean’s co-hosts Rebekah Black and David Rancken remaining with the show.

Miles has an extensive background in radio, including stints at KRBV 100.3 FM “Hot 100,” a Top 40 station in the late ‘90s and early 2000s; middays at Top 40 KHKS 106.1 FM “KISS-FM” a few years later; and as a producer for Mark “Hawkeye” Louis and the late Terry Dorsey at country station KSCS 96.3 FM.

Miles other gigs include a relatively recent gig at KCYY-FM in San Antonio, where he was reportedly a popular morning-show host at the country station but left in 2017 to take a gig at Country WKLB-FM in Boston.



Dean had been morning-show host at KLUV since 2005, replacing his mentor, Ron Chapman. It is likely that Miles was not born yet when Dean began his DFW broadcasting career at age 13, volunteering as a monster and makeup/special-effects crewman on “The Museum of Horrors,” a Saturday-night creature-feature show on what was then WBAP Channel 5.

KLUV 98.7 FM (100 Kw) Red=Local 60dBu Coverage Area
Aside from a gig at Abilene Christian University and another one at Granbury’s KPAR, nearly all of Dean’s broadcasting career has been in DFW, including a 1987-1994 stretch working with Chapman, at the time a radio powerhouse at KVIL and still considered the dean of DFW jocks long after his retirement.

Seattle Radio: KUBE-FM Launching The Wake-Up Show


HipHop KUBE 93.3 FM has announced the debut of The Wake Up Show, effective October 1. The Wake Up Show will broadcast weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The Wake Up Show on-air personalities are: Strawberry, Lizette Love, Jenna and DJ Supa Sam.

“I’m thrilled to join KUBE 93.3. As a redhead from Northern California, it’s going to be nice not to have to worry about getting sunburnt for once,” said Strawberry. “As a hip-hop fan, I can’t believe someone is actually handing me the keys to this legendary station. This is truly an opportunity of a lifetime, now watch us work.”

“It’s a dream come true to get the opportunity to be a part of an amazing team on a legendary station like KUBE,” said Lizette Love. “I’m super excited to join Strawberry, my new cool girl Jenna, and the wickedly talented Supa Sam to help wake this town up.”

“In the few months since the re-launch, Seattle listeners have responded passionately to the return of KUBE and we’re creating noise on-air, online, and on the streets,” said Mark Adams, Program Director for KUBE 93.3. “With the addition of these personalities to anchor our mornings, I’m confident The Wake Up Show is going to shake things up.”

KUBE 93.3 FM (100 Kw) Red=Local 60dBu Coverage Area
Strawberry makes the move to the Pacific Northwest from KMVQ in San Francisco, California and has previously anchored mornings both at iHeartMedia’s San Francisco’s Wild 94.9 and KALV in Phoenix, Arizona. Lizette Love joins the KUBE team from iHeartMedia Nashville, where she was midday host and music director for 101.1 The Beat. Her previous stops include iHeartMedia Monterey’s 102.5 KDON and iHeartMedia Ft. Myer’s 105.5 The Beat. Jenna takes on the dual role as on-air personality and morning show producer, after having most recently produced the Marcus & Sandy Morning Show for Star 101.3 as well as on-air personality for 106.1 KMEL. DJ Supa Sam is a Seattle mix show legend and doubles his morning show duties as the official in-stadium DJ for the Seattle Seahawks.

TuneIn Adding New Hip-Hop Discovery Channels


The audio streaming service TuneIn, Inc. has announced the launch of ‘The Element,” a new hip-hop station hosted by West Coast trendsetter and co-creator of the Young California movement DJ Carisma.

This will be followed in the coming weeks with the launch of West Coast-specific version called ‘The Element West,” also hosted and curated by DJ Carisma.

DJ Carisma
“‘The Element’ combines my personal passion of breaking and supporting new artists with TuneIn’s commitment to deliver the world’s best listening experiences.” said DJ Carisma, Hip-Hop / R&B curation and artist relations lead at TuneIn. “I’ve dedicated my life to promoting the music and artists I believe in and ‘The Element’ takes this dedication to a whole new level. We are changing the industry!”

‘The Element,’ which will replace ‘Hip Hop Beat,’ is a first-of-its-kind station that is both uncensored and expertly curated, featuring music and artists that TuneIn’s 75 million listeners won’t hear anywhere else. Each week, a new artist will help DJ Carisma pick the music and provide live-to-tape commentary. Confirmed artists include Sheck Wes, Black Youngsta, G Herbo, and King Combs.

“Carisma, I see what you’re doin’, and I love what you’re doin’,” said DJ Khaled. “‘The Element.’ That’s right, hip hop. Everybody tune in to ‘The Element!’”

As a part of DJ Carisma’s commitment to west coast artists, ‘The Element West’ will launch on TuneIn on October 11. ‘The Element West’ will be the first ever 24 hour station dedicated to nothing but West Coast artists and culture, giving independent artists with huge street followings and internet buzz the attention they wouldn’t traditionally receive from local terrestrial radio stations.

DJ Carisma female DJ of the Year, joined TuneIn earlier this year with the mission to continue breaking new artists while living between radio and on-demand. One of the only female DJs in the country, DJ Carisma previously served as the Music Director at REAL 92.3 and as on-air talent at POWER 106, both in Los Angeles.

To start listening to ‘The Element’ now, visit https://listen.tunein.com/TheElement and stay tuned for the launch of ‘The Element West’ in the coming weeks.