Fox News Fires Veteran Creative Executive

Fox News has fired veteran executive John Finley after determining that he violated the company’s conduct standards, according to The Washington Post.

Finley, who helped develop many of the network’s biggest shows and had once been Sean Hannity’s executive producer, was put on leave from his role as executive vice president of development in recent weeks while an investigation was conducted by an outside law firm. He was fired by the network Friday based on the firm’s findings.

“Fox News Media and John Finley have parted ways after an independent investigation concluded that he had violated certain standards of business conduct,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement.

The company did not say what Finley had done. A person who said they have knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter suggested that the executive used his position to benefit someone over whom he had influence.

Finley spent more than 20 years at the network, where he most recently oversaw show development and played a significant role in the operation of the streaming service Fox Nation. In addition to Hannity’s show, Finley helped develop “The Five,” which is now Fox’s most-watched program, as well as the talk show “Outnumbered” and “Life, Liberty & Levin,” hosted by conservative firebrand Mark Levin.

Boston Station To Pioneer 5G TV Broadcasts

When Boston’s newest digital TV station, WWOO, begins broadcasting on Wednesday from the roof of One Beacon Street, just a handful of engineers will be watching, because it’s only a test. But if everything works, our video viewing habits could start to change in a big way.

With approval from the Federal Communications Commission, WWOO is conducting the first US test of 5G television broadcasting. 

The Boston Globe reports it’s a system that sends shows to smartphones and mobile devices in much the same way an old-fashioned TV picks up broadcasts through a rabbit-ear antenna. With 5G broadcasting, every smartphone would become a pocket-sized TV set capable of receiving free broadcasts over the air.

“This will go direct to your phone, without Wi-Fi, without a SIM card,” said WWOO’s owner Bill Christian. “It’s just a proof of concept right now, but we think it’s got a potential for something very, very cool.”

During the test, WWOO will transmit only one show — NASA TV, the space agency’s round-the-clock video feed. Not that it really matters: Standard 5G phones can’t pick it up yet. The testers will use a handful of custom-made 5G phones created especially for this tryout.

Of course, we already stream TV and movies on our phones. But today’s networks must generate a separate data stream for each user’s device. So if 30,000 people at Gillette Stadium want to watch TV coverage of the game, the network would have to crank out 30,000 video streams — a substantial burden for the network. With 5G TV, the network would transmit the show only once, but all 30,000 fans can tune in.

The 5G broadcast signal will use different frequencies from those used for standard 5G voice and data services. This will ensure that the TV broadcasts won’t lead to dropped phone calls or spotty internet service.

9/11 WAKE-UP CALL: 22-Years Since 9/11

Americans are looking back on the horror and legacy of 9/11, gathering Monday at memorials, firehouses, city halls and elsewhere to observe the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil. Commemorations stretch from the attack sites — at New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The hijacked plane attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives and reshaped American foreign policy and domestic fears.

A timeline of events from Sept. 11, 2001 https://t.co/wlu60qQbSb

— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 11, 2023

➤HELP ARRIVES SLOWLY: Communities near the epicenter of Morocco’s powerful earthquake were a picture of devastation and anger Sunday, as residents described using their bare hands to pull loved ones from the rubble. In most places, there was no sign of government-promised rescue teams, and there was no word yet from many villages higher up in the mountains. A magnitude 3.9 aftershock rocked Morocco on Sunday, rattling rescue workers and residents whose homes withstood Friday's magnitude 6.8 temblor that killed more than 2,000 people and turned ancient towns to rubble. 

LIVE UPDATES: Morocco Earthquake

• More than 2,000 people are dead

• Some Marrakech survivors are forced to sleep outdoors https://t.co/cMl9YSMJ89

— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 10, 2023

The United Nations estimated that 300,000 people were affected by the quake. Digging out survivors from crumbled buildings remained the emphasis on Sunday. “There are a lot of blocked roads, a lot of people can't find their parents and a lot of people are still under the rubble," Adeeni Mustafa, who lives 30 miles south of Marrakech in the town of Asni, told the BBC. "People are still searching for their relatives. Everything came down on them, the mountains, their homes."

President Biden expressed his condolences to the people of Morocco as the death toll now stands at 2,100 and is expected to rise as rescuers desperately try to find survivors following Friday’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake. pic.twitter.com/Wr0WFCqlXe

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) September 11, 2023

➤RUSSIAN CONDEMNATION EFFORT FAILS: President Joe Biden failed at a weekend summit in India to unite world leaders around a condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine, drawing a rebuke from Kyiv and putting him on the defensive as he wrapped up a trip abroad. Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the New Delhi gathering for leaders of the world's most powerful economies, but even in their absence, Russia and China notched a win against the U.S. when it came to rallying the international community against the war that began more than a year and a half ago. Group of 20 nations declined to explicitly chide Russia for the invasion, saying instead that countries "must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition" and lamented "the human suffering and negative added impacts of the war."

PRESIDENT'S HANDLER SHUTSDOWN PRESSER: Joe Biden was mid-sentence and answering questions from journalists when the booming voice of his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, could be heard butting in to cut the press conference short. Biden continued to speak, not realizing his mic had long since been muted. In another bizarre moment, sleepy jazz music then began to play over the loudspeaker, with the 80-year-old still seemingly trying to answer questions as he continued to speak into the microphone. Biden tried to answer a few more questions, but the music grew louder prompting the president to put away his leather-backed folder and shuffle offstage, disappearing behind a black curtain. 

Nashville Radio: Eric Marcum New GM/Content Director At WSM-AM

WSM Radio has promoted 13-year WSM veteran Eric Marcum to General Manager and Content Director. In his elevated role, Marcum will oversee all WSM business operations, content and programming, advertising, sponsorship, production, streaming and syndication.

 

Eric Marcum

Marcum has been a member of the WSM staff since his first day in Nashville in 2010 when he joined the team as a part-time board operator. Over the years, his commitment to and passion for the industry allowed him to explore various facets of radio operations at WSM, including promotions, sales and programming. In 2020, he made the transition to the Opry Entertainment Group production team.

Most recently, Eric served as the Morning Show Producer, managing the broadcast simulcast of “Coffee, Country, and Cody,” a beloved weekday morning program on WSM. In addition, he has been the host of WSM’s ‘Route 650,’ an Americana-themed show.

Reflecting on his journey at WSM, Marcum shared, “Having worked in nearly every aspect of WSM Radio over my years with the company, it gives me great pride to fully utilize that experience alongside this incredible team. I’m excited to develop new and creative ways to share our story and the history of country music, as WSM reaches more people than ever before through an expanded digital footprint.”

Charlotte Radio: Ashley Wilson New PD At WKKT

iHeartMedia Charlotte has announced Ashley Wilson has been named Program Director and Midday Host for WKKT 96.9 The Kat, Charlotte’s #1 For New Country, effective Monday, October 16. Wilson will broadcast weekdays from 1pm-3pm.

As Program Director, Ashley will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the station’s music, on-air personalities, programming, promotions and digital operations. She will report to A.J., iHeartMedia Region Senior Vice President of Programming for the Carolina Metro.

NBC's Chuck Todd Exits Meet The Press

NBC's Chuck Todd

NBC’s Chuck Todd, a veteran political journalist and D.C. staple, hosted the network’s popular Sunday political news show “Meet the Press” for the final time Sunday, marking the end to a nine-year run in that position.

The Hill reports Todd announced in July that he would be stepping down as host of the news program, a role that he has held since 2014. He will be replaced by chief White House correspondent and co-anchor Kristen Welker, who has been with the network since 2010.

“To say that this has been the honor and privilege of my lifetime is an understatement,” Todd said at the start of Sunday’s broadcast.

“This is simply the pinnacle of political journalism, and something my younger self never imagined. No matter how much of a grind the current political climate is, wearing me down on any given day, I still always have had a ‘pinch me, I can’t believe it’ feeling every time I hear my name introduced as the moderator of the longest-running show in the history of television.”

Michael Irvin Returns to NFL Network

Michael Irvin

Former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin reached a settlement with Marriott in his $100 million defamation lawsuit against the hotel chain, a person familiar with the situation told The Dallas Morning News, and he appeared on NFL Network on Sunday morning for the first time since a woman accused him in February of making lewd comments in an Arizona hotel lobby.

NFL Media, the entity that manages NFL Network, lifted its indefinite suspension of Irvin. The Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee’s hiatus from the network lasted more than seven months, as Irvin last worked Opening Night for the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 in Phoenix.

“Michael Irvin has been reinstated and will be a part of NFL Network’s coverage of the 2023 season,” Alex Riethmiller, NFL Media vice president of communication, said in a statement.

Settlement terms between Irvin and Marriott were not disclosed.

His return coincides with a 14-game NFL slate Sunday in the first week of the 2023 regular season.

Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Greatest Hit’s Album Reaches Top 10 for First Time

The late Jimmy Buffett, who died on Sept. 1, returns to the top five of the Billboard 200 albums chart as his best-of collection Songs You Know by Heart: Jimmy Buffett’s Greatest Hit(s) re-enters the Sept. 16-dated list at No. 4. It marks the album’s highest rank ever — and first week in the top 10, or even top 40, dating to its release in 1985 — and Buffett’s 13th top 10-charting album.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate.  The new Sept. 16, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Sept. 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

In the tracking week ending Sept. 7, Songs You Know by Heart earned 52,000 equivalent album units (up 2,122%) following the singer-songwriter’s death on Sept. 1 at age 76. It marks the 13th top 10-charting album for Billboard’s most famous alumnus. Buffett was a Nashville-based reporter for Billboard in 1969-70, before the release of his first album.

Songs You Know by Heart contains Buffett’s only Billboard Hot 100 top 10-charting hit song, “Margaritaville,” which reached No. 8 in 1977. It also houses the top 40-charting tunes “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Come Monday” and “Fins.”

Paul Anka Lists His Estate For $10M

Pop legend Paul Anka has put his Thousand Oaks estate on the market for $10 million.

Decorated with Anka’s gold records in MLS photos, this 7,791-square-foot French-style residence features four bedrooms and six bathrooms. It sits at the end of a long driveway on nearly six acres, making it one of the “largest privately gated lots” in Sherwood Country Club, as the listing notes, and offers mountain views.

The L-A Daily News reports records show the “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” crooner bought the newer property in 2007 for $3.96 million.

R.I.P.: Ken Jackson, Baltimore Radio Voice for Nearly 60 years

Ken Jackson (1932-2023)

Ken Jackson, who employed a silky baritone voice on Baltimore radio stations for nearly 60 years while delivering the news or introducing a romantic ballad, died of a brain tumor Monday at his son’s Towson home. He was 91, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Tom Hall, host of WYPR’s “Midday,” said: “Ken was one of the all-time most gracious guys. To listen to him on the air was the same as listening to him in my office.

“He was a real scholar of music and a relatable and accessible storyteller. He put you right in the recording studio with Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra.”

Born Kenneth Joseph Desmarais in Lowell, Massachusetts, he was the son of Hector Desmarais, a plumbing firm owner, and Margaret Votour, a homemaker. He later adopted a broadcast name at the request of a radio station manager.

Pittsburgh Group Working To Establish National Broadcast Museum

Garage Was Location of First Commercial Broadcast

More than 100 years ago, Westinghouse engineer Frank Conrad founded the commercial broadcasting industry inside of a brick garage on his Wilkinsburg property, using bare wires, crackling spark coils and homemade vacuum tubes.

According to The Pittsburgh Magazine, his innovative experiments are what led to the nation’s first commercial broadcast on Nov. 2, 1920, transmitted from Westinghouse’s former K building via KDKA, with Leo Rosenberg announcing returns in the Harding-Cox presidential election that reached 1,000 listeners.

Pittsburgh’s role in the birth of commercial broadcasting paved the way for technologies that we take for granted today. 

A group of local officials, broadcasters and historians has been working for years to establish a National Museum of Broadcasting in Pittsburgh, and recently identified the museum’s location – a vacant Mellon Bank building in East Pittsburgh that sits a few hundred yards from the site of the first KDKA broadcast. 

Radio History: September 11

➦In 1909....Radio announcer Kenneth Banghart (right) born in Paramus, NJ (Died at age 70 - May 25, 1980 in Delray Beach, FL).

Banghart was working as a tour conductor and manager of Thomas Cook and Son Travel Agency in Washington, D.C., when he became a radio announcer at WRC, then went on to be a radio and television announcer, and a news commentator and sportscaster. Served briefly during WWII, as a war correspondent, then in 1944, he moved to New York where he became an NBC staff announcer.

He was the announcer Archie Andrews,  Katie's Daughter (1947-1948); syndicated program, Proudly We Hail (1947-1957); The Private Files Of Rex Saunders on NBC (1951); Encore on NBC (1952-1953); Best Of All on NBC (1954-1955).

Host of The Ken Banghart Show on NBC-Radio (1947); News Game on NBC-Radio (1954). Commentator on The Gillette Summer Sports Reel for NBC-TV (1953). In 1962, Banghart left NBC to work at CBS until he retired to Florida.

➦In 2000...John R. Gambling does the last “Rambling With Gambling” show on WOR 710 AM NYC.  Gambling joined his father as co-host of Rambling with Gambling in 1985, and took over as sole host in 1991 after his father's retirement. When WOR ended Rambling with Gambling in 2000 after 75 years on the air, John R. Gambling moved up the dial to 77WABC, taking over the post-morning-drive 10 a.m. - noon slot. Gambling was fired by WABC on February 29, 2008 in a cost-cutting move

➦In 2001...Terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City silenced four FM and nine TV stations.

Since three of the major television broadcast network owned-and-operated stations had their transmission towers atop the North Tower (One World Trade Center), coverage was limited after the collapse of the tower. The FM transmitter of National Public Radio station WNYC was also destroyed in the collapse of the North Tower and its offices evacuated. For an interim period, it continued broadcasting on its AM frequency and used NPR's New York offices to produce its programming.

The satellite feed of one television station, WPIX, froze on the last image received from the WTC mast; the image (a remote-camera shot of the burning towers), viewable across North America (as WPIX is available on cable TV in many areas), remained on the screen for much of the day until WPIX was able to set up alternate transmission facilities. It shows the WTC at the moment power cut off to the WPIX transmitter, prior to the towers' collapse.

During the September 11, 2001 attacks, WCBS-TV channel 2 and WXTV-TV channel 41 stayed on the air. Unlike most other major New York television stations, WCBS-TV maintained a full-powered backup transmitter at the Empire State Building after moving its main transmitter to the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The station was also simulcasted nationally on Viacom (which at the time owned CBS) cable network VH1 that day. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the station lent transmission time to the other stations who had lost their transmitters, until they found suitable backup equipment and locations.

Television coverage of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and their aftermath was the longest uninterrupted news event in the history of U.S. television.  The major U.S. broadcast and cable networks were on the air for days with uninterrupted coverage from the moment news first came that the first plane hit the World Trade Center.

Millions of shocked television viewers watching live pictures of the World Trade Center saw the second plane hit and both buildings come down. In order to keep up with the constant flood of information, at 10:49 a.m. EDT, Fox News Channel began running continuous updates in the form of a news ticker that crawled along the bottom of the screen. This was so well received by viewers that it became a permanent feature on the channel and was adopted by many other news channels.

Like television, almost all radio stations across the United States put a halt on all programs and commercials to simulcast affiliated news coverage of the attacks from ABC News Radio and CBS Radio News, or taking an audio simulcast of a television news operation, be it local or national, while national morning shows hosted by personalities such as Rick Dees or Howard Stern focused on providing both information about the attacks and call-in forums for listeners to express sympathies.

Local New York all-news radio operations WINS and WCBS, along with Washington's WTOP carried locally based coverage that was simulcast on those sister FM stations without operations destroyed at the World Trade Center as AM operations with transmitters on the outskirts of metropolitan areas were unaffected outside of security concerns for studio and transmitter facilities.

The Emergency Alert System was never activated in the terrorist attacks, as the extensive media coverage made it unnecessary.

XM Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio service headquartered in Washington, D.C., was scheduled to launch on September 12, 2001. As a direct result of the attacks, the launch was delayed until September 25 when the service debuted on a limited basis in San Diego and Dallas.