Longtime New York City radio personality Rick Sommers has died from COVID 19, complicated by Multiple Sclerosis, on Wednesday September 6th. He was 63.
Rick’s career began as a college student at WTKO, Ithaca NY. In 1982, he joined Long Island powerhouse WBLI-FM as its afternoon drive personality. But in 1990, New York City beckoned and after a brief stop at WYNY-FM to do country, he joined WLTW-/Lite FM, the city’s top rated adult music station, as a weekend and fill in personality.
His availability and flexibility got him lots of airtime for more than a decade. He later worked at WNEW-FM before leaving radio to get his Masters in Social Work. In 2009, he joined AFTRA as its Broadcast Liaison, retiring from what became SAG-AFTRA in 2019.
In 2014, Rick and his brother, CBS News Correspondent Peter King, published their book, “Ithaca Radio,” a pictoral history of the place where they began their careers. Most recently, Rick co-hosted the Podcast, “Middle Age Warriors” with Chris Cimino.
Rick is survived by his life partner, Valerie Smaldone, their cat, Bailey, and his brother, Peter King. Plans are pending for a memorial service to be held later this year.
➦In 1908...Early radio actor, announcer Ed Prentiss born (Died at age 83 – March 18, 1992). He was perhaps best known for portraying the title role on the radio version of Captain Midnight. He was announcer on another kid’s radio favorite, Jack Armstrong the All-American Boy.
He was also the narrator for a number of daily hour of NBC radio soap operas.
➦In 1926... the National Broadcasting Company was created by RCA, the Radio Corporation of America.
NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. In 1986, control of NBC passed to General Electric (GE), with GE's $6.4 billion purchase of RCA. GE had previously owned RCA and NBC until 1930, when it had been forced to sell the company as a result of antitrust charges.
After the 1986 acquisition, the chief executive of NBC was Bob Wright, who remained in that position until his retirement. He was succeeded by Jeff Zucker. The TV network is currently part of the media company NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, which formerly operated NBCUniversal in a joint venture with General Electric from 2011 to 2013 (and before that, jointly owned by GE and Vivendi). As a result of the merger, Zucker left NBC and was replaced by Comcast executive Steve Burke.
The radio network officially launched Nov. 15, 1926. On January 1, 1927, NBC formally divided its programming into two networks, called the Red and the Blue. Legend has it that the color designations originated from the push-pins early engineers used to mark affiliates of WEAF (red pins) and WJZ (blue pins), or from the use of double-ended red and blue colored pencils.
The two NBC networks did not have distinct identities or "formats", and, beginning in 1929, they shared use of the distinctive three-note "NBC chimes". The NBC Red Network, with WEAF as its flagship station and a stronger line-up of affiliated stations, often carried the more popular, "big budget" sponsored programs. The Blue Network and WJZ carried a somewhat smaller line-up of often lower-powered stations and sold air time to advertisers at a lower cost. NBC Blue often carried newer, untried programs (which, if successful, often moved "up" to the Red Network), lower cost programs and unsponsored or "sustaining" programs (which were often news, cultural and educational programs). In many cities in addition to New York, the two NBC affiliated stations (Red and Blue) were operated as duopolies, having the same owners and sharing the same staff and facilities.
On April 5, 1927 NBC reached the West Coast with the launching of the NBC Orange Network, which rebroadcast Red Network programming to the Pacific states and had as its flagship station KGO in San Francisco. NBC Red then extended its reach into the Midwest by acquiring two 50,000–watt clear-channel signals, Cleveland station WTAM on October 16, 1930 and Chicago station WMAQ (coincidentally, a CBS Radio Network charter affiliate) by 1931. On October 18, 1931, Blue Network programming was introduced along the NBC Gold Network, which broadcast from San Francisco's KPO. In 1936 the Orange Network name was dropped and affiliate stations became part of the Red Network. The Gold Network adopted the Blue Network name.
In a major move in 1931, RCA signed crucial leases with the new Rockefeller Center management that resulted in it becoming the lead tenant of what was to become in 1933 its corporate headquarters, the RCA Building, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Under the terms of the lease arrangement, this included studios for NBC and theaters for the RCA-owned RKO Pictures. The deal was arranged through the Center's founder and financier, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., with the chairman of GE, Owen D. Young, and the president of RCA, David Sarnoff.
In 1987 NBC sold its remaining radio network operations to Westwood One, which continued using NBC identification for some of its programming until 2014. Beginning in 2016, NBC Radio News has been distributed in conjunction with iHeartMedia.
Elvis outside the Lamar-Airways Shopping Mall in Memphis 1954
➦In 1954...Young Elvis Presley performed at the opening of Lamar-Airways shopping mall in Memphis, and met audience member Johnny Cash for the first time. In November 1954, Presley performed on Louisiana Hayride—the Opry's chief, and more adventurous, rival. The Shreveport-based show was broadcast to 198 radio stations in 28 states.
➦In 1956...Elvis made the first of three appearances on Ed Sullivan's CBS show. (Sullivan had previously announced he would never have such an act on, but ratings prevailed and Sullivan offered Elvis a record $50,000 for the three shows.) With actor Charles Laughton filling in for an ailing Sullivan. Elvis performed "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," "Ready Teddy," and "Hound Dog." A record 54 million viewers -- nearly 83 percent of the nation's sets! -- were tuned-in.
➦In 1958...Stereo records and phonographs were introduced.
iHeartMedia Philadelphia announced today that Mike Kaplan has rejoined iHeartMedia as Program Director of WRFF ALT 104.5, Philly’s Alternative Rock station,
As Program Director for ALT 104.5, Kaplan will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the station’s music, programming, imaging and branding. He will report to Derrick Corbett, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Philadelphia. Amber Miller stays on board as ALT 104.5’s Assistant Program/Music Director and will continue to hold down the 7:00 p.m. to Midnight air shift.
Mike Kaplan
“We’re excited to add a programmer like Mike with a proven track record of excellence to the Philadelphia cluster, said Derrick Corbett, SVP of Programming. “We’re happy to have him back in the company and can’t wait to watch him grow the ALT 104.5 brand.”
Kaplan is an accomplished multi-formatted Content Director with Programming stops in New Orleans, Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles, where he led iHeart’s KYSR, rebranding as “ALT” and teaming with the now nationally-syndicated THE WOODY SHOW, which rose to the #1 position in morning drive. In 2019 and 2022, Kaplan was named among Radio Ink’s Top 50 Programmers in America.
“I can’t thank Thea Mitchem, Tom Poleman, Brad Hardin, and Derrick Corbett enough for supporting my return to the iHeart family in my beloved hometown of Philadelphia,” said Kaplan. “It feels like coming home in more ways than one, especially collaborating again with The Woody Show. Here’s to leading the dynamic ALT 104.5 team and creating more unforgettable moments!”
Nielsen said it wouldn’t include viewership data for “Thursday Night Football” from Amazon.com’s Prime Video streaming platform in its ratings reports for now, because the move wasn’t approved by the independent body in charge of setting measurement standards.
The Wall Street Journal calls the decision is a blow to Amazon and the National Football League, which had lobbied Nielsen aggressively to include first-party data for “Thursday Night Football,” and a win for other networks that carry the NFL and fought against the change.
A spokesman for Amazon declined to comment. The NFL said it supports Nielsen’s efforts to add additional insights to strengthen and provide a more accurate measurement.
“Our work with Nielsen on the integration of first party data sources into its national measurements is ongoing,” said the Media Rating Council, which sets measurement standards and blesses Nielsen data. “MRC has not accredited these, and the official status remains ‘in process.’”
Amazon wanted its data included because its own research showed viewership was nearly 18% higher for “Thursday Night Football” last season than Nielsen’s own numbers. Nielsen currency is what advertisers use to determine commercial rates for programming.
Nielsen was eager to include Amazon data, saying last month that it would “more accurately reflect the growing impact of streaming” and that measurement needed to evolve. It was to be the first time Nielsen would use a company’s own data along with its independent research to publicly report ratings.
Networks including Disney’s ESPN, Paramount Global’s CBS, and Fox all publicly expressed concern about Nielsen’s plans to incorporate Amazon data after a Wall Street Journal article on the matter.
Nielsen isn’t closing the door on the concept, saying its goal is to continue moving forward in its plans to eventually incorporate first-party data and addressing the concerns raised by other networks.
The networks were concerned that not enough analysis was being done before greenlighting the use of Amazon’s own data and that the process was being rushed. The networks also took issue last season with Amazon publicizing its own internal ratings that weren’t given a green light by Nielsen.
Current Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping folk-country artist Zach Bryan was arrested Thursday evening after what the "I Remember Everything" artist described on social media as an "incident with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol."
The Tennessean reports Bryan was taken to the Craig County Sheriff's Office in Vinita, Oklahoma, upon being detained, he had a mugshot taken at 6:42 p.m. CT after being booked on what was described as an "obstruction of investigation charge, according to the sheriff's office's available online records.
Oklahoma state law defines "obstruction of investigation" as "willfully delaying or obstructing any public officer in the discharge or attempt to discharge any duty of his office."
A defendant need not use physical force to be charged with obstruction.
"Emotions got the best of me and I was out of line in the things I said," continued Bryan about a "moment" he stated was "unlike [him]," for which he later apologized.
On top of the charts:Zach Bryan catapults to Billboard pop, mega-tour headlining superstardom
He ended his statement by noting that he was "trying the best [he could] and that he loved his fans and was "truly sorry" to the officers.
Bryan is an Academy of Country Music award-winning and Country Music Association award-nominated breakout star of 2023, whose just-released self-titled album was released to significant mainstream acclaim.
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Anna Gomez, President Biden’s pick for the Federal Communications Commission, ending a lengthy partisan split at the regulatory agency and giving Democrats the power to carry out major agenda items.
The Washington Post reports senators voted 55-43 to confirm Gomez, an FCC veteran who is a communications policy adviser for the State Department. Gomez will take the third Democratic seat on the five-member commission, which oversees broadband and communications regulation.
The move returns the agency to full strength for the first time under Biden, whose initial pick for the FCC role, Gigi Sohn, withdrew after a contentious 16-month confirmation battle. The impasse had left the agency without a Democratic majority for the entirety of Biden’s term until now.
Consumer advocates said the 2½-year delay hampered the FCC’s ability to carry out critical tasks aimed at protecting Americans from potential abuse by the telecom giants, including reinstating the Obama-era net neutrality regulations, which bar internet service providers from blocking or throttling content.
Donald Trump’s next legal drama is a post-Civil War constitutional amendment barring insurrectionists from office. A left-leaning legal watchdog filed suit yesterday demanding that Colorado’s primary ballot exclude him under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment; other such attempts are expected. Trump, in a Truth Social post Monday, called the disqualification effort a trick to steal the election and said that “almost all legal scholars” doubt the legal basis. Some judicial thinkers question whether state election authorities can enforce Section 3 against a presidential candidate, whether it can be applied to a former president and whether Trump violated the clause.
Can the 14th Amendment be used to remove Trump from the ballot? Attorney @AlanDersh tells me why he believes any attempt to do so will fail: “It's ABSURD. The framers of the Constitution would have never tolerated something like that." pic.twitter.com/CZujhFoBzI
➤TRUMP AIDE FOUND GUILTY OF CONTEMPT: A jury on Thursday quickly convicted former President Donald Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, of contempt of Congress charges for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, deliberating for about four hours before returning the guilty verdict. Navarro stood at the edge of the courtroom with his arms crossed when the jury foreperson read the verdict on the two charges. Navarro’s defense lawyers acknowledged he refused to provide information to the panel seeking information about his efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss, and they called no witnesses to testify on his behalf during the trial that opened Wednesday. But they argued Trump had told Navarro not to cooperate and that his few interactions with committee staffers showed his refusal to comply wasn’t willful, as prosecutors were required to prove.
Former President Donald Trump is wielding his political clout to help his former personal attorney — and criminal co-defendant — Rudy Giuliani — by hosting a fundraiser for him Thursday. https://t.co/agQRARQ6Nc
➤BIDEN TOO OLD TO CUT THE MUSTARD: CNN political commentator Van Jones said on Thursday that voters are worried about Joe Biden's age, saying that people asked if the 80-year-old can handle another four years of a 'high stress job.' Jones said that Biden's low approval rating of just 39 percent was a reflection of concerns about his advancing years. A new CNN poll puts Biden neck-and-neck with all the Republican challengers except Nikki Haley, who is beating him, 49 to 43 percent. Biden is tied with Florida governor Ron DeSantis at 47; trails former Vice President Mike Pence 46 to 44; and trails Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina 46 to 44.
Charter Communications Chief Executive Chris Winfrey said he has a sense of urgency to resolve a distribution dispute with Walt Disney, in remarks on Thursday at a tech conference in San Francisco, reports Reuters.
Charter is locked in a distribution battle with Disney as the second-largest U.S. cable company negotiates with the media conglomerate over how much its channels are worth and how to package them.
“I apologize that our consumers have been put in the middle here, but we felt it was worth it,” Winfrey said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology conference. “It was the right time and that we had to say 'enough is enough' or else we're going to have to move on to a different model.”
ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels disappeared from Charter's Spectrum cable service on Aug. 31, depriving its nearly 15 million video subscribers of access to the U.S. Open tennis tournament, college football and other programming.
Such "carriage disputes" are commonplace in the media world, though this negotiation may shape the future of television in the streaming era.
Winfrey said Charter was responding to rising prices for content, limited flexibility in its programming packages, and fees that its cable subscribers pay that end up subsidizing the streaming services.
Disney issued a statement saying it “stands ready” to resolve the carriage dispute, and “do what’s in the best interests” of Charter’s customers.
As the US Open reaches the men’s and women’s finals, and fans gear up for a weekend of college football and the opening of the NFL season, it’s unfortunate that Charter decided to abandon their consumers by denying them access to our great programming,” Disney said in a statement.
Winfrey said Charter wanted to resolve the dispute quickly “because our customers are stuck in the middle.” But he also described an “alternative world” where Spectrum cable no longer carries Disney content, resulting in a smaller package of general entertainment programming that customers “wanted, watch and value,” at a lower price. Under such scenario, sports could be sold separately.
Cumulus Media announces that it has appointed Tricia Walker as Vice President/Market Manager for Cumulus Tri-Cities, TN (Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol). Walker joins Cumulus Tri-Cities, TN, from Cumulus Beaumont, TX/Lake Charles, LA, where she has been Director of Sales since March 2021. Her new appointment is effective on October 1, 2023.
Prior to joining Cumulus Media, Walker was National Sales Manager for three years at Alpha Media, then was promoted to Sales Manager in 2016. She was previously Senior Sales Executive for East Texas Radio Group and started her media career as an Account Executive for iHeartMedia/Clear Channel Radio in Tyler, TX, and El Paso, TX.
Mark Sullivan, Senior Vice President, Operations, Cumulus Media, said: “I’m extremely pleased with Tricia’s well-earned promotion. I look forward to many successes together with the team in the Tri-Cities.”
Tricia Walker commented: “I’m extremely excited to be joining our Tri-Cities team. Cumulus Media is a great company to be a part of, supporting its employees with many great resources for our success. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve our Tri-Cities team, advertisers, and community. I have family in the market and can’t wait to call Tri-Cities home.”
📻Cumulus Media owns and operates four radio stations in the Tri-Cities, TN, market, including: NASH Icon 104.9/WKOS-FM (Country), 640 WXSM-AM (Sports), 910 WJCW-AM (News/Talk), and 101.5 WQUT-FM (Classic Rock).
Audacy welcomes Michael Phillips, the reigning Virginia Sportswriter of the Year and longtime guest of SportsRadio 910 The Fan (WRNL-AM) in Richmond, as the station’s new midday host. “MP on the Mic” will air on weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET beginning September 11.
Michael Phillips
“Michael Phillips, for many years, has been highly regarded as the most respected voice of Richmond and Virginia Sports,” Bennett Zier, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Richmond. “We are delighted to have MP wear our 910 The Fan jersey for Audacy Richmond.”
“We'll chat about the Commanders, Virginia Tech, UVA, VCU and everything else making news in the world of sports,” said Phillips. “We’ll also bring in guests who are part of the action.”
Phillips moved to Richmond in 2007 and previously served as the Sports Editor and interim Executive Editor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where he covered the Washington Commanders.
📻Listeners can tune in to SportsRadio 910 The Fan (WRNL-AM) in Richmond on air and nationwide on the Audacyapp and website. Fans can also connect with the station via X, Facebook and Instagram.
The former Fox News anchor has inked a new multiyear deal to continue hosting The Megyn Kelly Show live on Sirius’ XM Triumph channel through the 2024 election and beyond.
As part of the new pact, she will be conducting a longform interview with former president (and onetime sparring partner) Donald Trump for a special edition of the show on Sept. 14. This marks Kelly’s first sit-down with him since May 2016.
“I’m thrilled to continue my relationship with the great people at SiriusXM who have been tremendously supportive of our show from the start,” Kelly said in a statement. “In an age where conversations are being stifled and news skewed to please the politics of only a small set of people, it is a privilege to work with a company that values free speech and open, respectful, elevated debate.”
Kelly has been without a mainstream TV platform since departing Fox News in 2017. In the years since, she has publicly insisted that she’d prefer to be her own boss and run her own show, as she does with The Megyn Kelly Show. It is and will continue to be produced in collaboration with Red Seat Ventures.
The interview will air live Sept. 14 at noon EDT on “The Megyn Kelly Show” on SiriusXM Triumph channel 111. It will later be available on podcasts.
The feud between Kelly, a former Fox News anchor, and Trump reached its peak in 2015 after the GOP presidential primary debate, when Kelly pressed Trump about his past comments toward women.
Kelly recently signaled she wants to turn the page on Trump, saying in July that she recently spoke with him at the conservative Turning Point USA conference for the first time in years and that the 2015 feud was no longer an issue between them.
MSNBC viewers will be getting a twice-weekly dose of Inside With Jen Psaki, starting this fall.
Beginning Monday, Sept. 25 on MSNBC, the former White House Press Secretary and MSNBC host will expand her role with the network by hosting Inside with Jen Psaki on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
This means Rachel Maddow is getting a new lead-in. As for Chris Hayes, the longtime MSNBC host loses Mondays but will continue to host All In With Chris Hayes Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m. ET., according to TV Newser.
In addition to her new Monday, 8 p.m. assignment, Psaki will continue to anchor her flagship program on Sundays at 12 p.m. ET and contribute a regular column for the network’s morning newsletter MSNBC Daily.
Inside with Jen Psaki was the most-watched cable news show in August in the aforementioned Sunday 12 p.m. ET time slot. In August, the show drew its largest monthly audience since launching in March of this year, averaging roughly 931,000 total viewers.
