DEVELOPING: Phil Donahue, the legendary TV talk show host, has died. He was 88. Donahue passed away Sunday night following a long illness, his family confirmed to “Today” Monday morning.
The late star died at home surrounded by his loved ones, including his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie.
Three months before his death, Donahue was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden.
The former host of “The Phil Donahue Show” got emotional as he was given the prestigious honor at the White House on May 3.
Donahue died at his home surrounded by his family, including his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie, his family said in a statement to TODAY.
Donahue's family requested that donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund in lieu of flowers, according to the statement.
The Washington Post reports “The Phil Donahue Show” debuted on a television station in Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 6, 1967, with a single guest: atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, sometimes called the most hated woman in America for her successful effort to end mandatory Bible reading in schools. Other installments that first week included a video of a woman giving birth and a discussion on the appropriateness of dolls with penises.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications announced today the selection of eight new Legends inductees into the RADIO HALL OF FAME for 2024, recognizing the talents and efforts of on-air personalities, programmers and operators who contributed with greatness to the radio industry and have since passed away.
The following eight radio legends take their place in the Radio Hall of Fame immediately:
Chuck Blore - On-Air Personality
Alan Colmes - On-Air Personality
Charlie Douglas – On-Air Personality
Jim Ladd – On-Air Personality
Maria Martin – Journalist
Byron McGregor – On-Air Personality
Percy Sutton – Executive
Rusty Walker – Programming Executive and On-Air Personality
Dennis Green, Co-Chair of the Radio Hall of Fame, said: “These Legends of Broadcasting may have passed on, but their legacy and what they meant to the radio industry will never die. The Radio Hall of Fame Nominating Committee is honored to award Hall of Fame Inductions to each of these individuals. May their contributions be a lasting tribute and inspiration for generations of broadcasters to emulate for years to come.”
Kraig Kitchin, Co-Chair of the Radio Hall of Fame, said: “Our Nominating Committee recognizes the history of our medium and the countless individuals who contributed to the dominant influence of radio for so many decades. Each of these individuals left an indelible mark on the audiences they connected with and the businesses that they were associated with. We’re grateful for their talents, and only regret that they were not able to receive this special recognition while alive.”
The Radio Hall of Fame will recognize its 2024 class of inductees at the 2024 Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday, September 19, 2024, at the Omni Nashville in Nashville, TN. 2022 Radio Hall of Fame Inductee, Lon Helton, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the event. Tickets are on sale now at a special reduced rate at: www.radiohalloffame.com. A portion of ticket purchases is a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Museum of Broadcast Communications.
Fans and industry professionals can find more information, including photos and bios of the 2024 Legends, at www.radiohalloffame.com.
Tribute Book ads for the 2024 Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony are also available for purchase now. Contact Linde Thurman at: Linde@radiohalloffame.com for more information and to buy a Tribute Book ad for the September 19th event.
The Radio Hall of Fame was founded by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. The Museum of Broadcast Communications took over operations of the Hall in 1991.
PJ Maloney, a fixture during two stints at former all-news radio station KQV-AM and a local TV reporter and weather forecaster, died Saturday.
Maloney, 77, of Shadyside, died of complications from leukemia, according to Pittsburgh Patch.
When listeners tuned in to KQV during its all-news existence from 1975 to 2018, they likely would hear Maloney delivering the latest stories.
Maloney also was familiar to Pittsburgh TV viewers, serving as a reporter and weatherman at WPXI-TV during the 1980s.
According to his Facebook profile, Maloney studied journalism at Marquette University and went to high school at St. Meinrad.
According to local broadcasting website PBRTV, Maloney also was an announcer at WQEX-TV and worked as an editor for a local regional newspaper chain. He also was an avid biycylist and Pittsburgh Pirates fan.
Cumulus Media announces the launch today of the latest installment of its exclusive multi-part audio series, Your Music Plus, featuring stories behind the making of Country superstar and eight-time Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney’s new single, “Just To Say We Did.” The audio feature shares with listeners Chesney’s own observations on his musical journey thus far and personal insights on how the song came to life. The new Your Music Plus feature will run for eight weeks on Cumulus Media’s Country stations across the U.S.
“Just To Say We Did” is the latest release from Chesney’s 20th studio album, ‘Born,’ out now on Warner Music Nashville, with tracks that reflect on Chesney’s roots and matters of spirituality, all while facing the future.
Greg Frey, VP of Music Partnerships, Cumulus Media, said: “Kenny Chesney is one of the biggest stars in Country music history. His new song, “Just To Say We Did,” encapsulates everything people love about his music. It’s an anthem about grabbing life with both hands, and it’s a song designed to blast out of radios and stadiums across America. Combined with exclusive audio from the man himself talking about his life and music, this will be an amazing Your Music Plus campaign. Cumulus Media is beyond proud to partner with Warner Music Nashville to bring this to our listeners.”
Your Music Plus highlights new music in a unique way by sharing with radio listeners the thoughts of the biggest stars in different formats in a series of revealing and exclusive vignettes across AC, Alternative, CHR, Country, Hot AC, Rock and Urban formats. The shows feature artist commentary on the song, with artists presenting different aspects of their song’s personal meaning, the inspiration behind the music, and insights on their life and career.
Beginning today, Chicago will become the nexus of prime-time broadcasting, with every major cable news and TV network setting up shop at the United Center during a potentially historic Democratic National Convention.
The Chicago Tribune reports tome 15,000 journalists are expected to descend on the city to cover the whirlwind nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris — an eleventh-hour replacement for President Joe Biden — as she challenges former President Donald Trump in November for the highest office in the land.
From Fox News to TikTok, the whole world will be watching what happens in Chicago — inside and outside the United Center — which could well set the political course of the country for years to come.
“It’s an opportunity to witness history,” said Chris Cuomo, the veteran cable news anchor and NewsNation host, who will be broadcasting live from the convention floor each night.
While the process is largely ceremonial — Harris was officially nominated by a majority of delegates during a virtual roll call earlier this month — the convention, which runs Monday through Thursday, will likely bring a spectacle of speeches, protests and, the networks hope, plenty of must-see TV.
The house that Michael Jordan and the championship Bulls team built on the Near West Side has been abuzz with activity for more than a month in preparation for turning the United Center into a giant TV sound stage, with a star-studded political lineup and 5,000 delegates as extras.
The DNC, which took possession of the United Center on June 24, began repurposing 25 hospitality suites last month to serve as anchor booths for TV and cable networks. The suites have been “white-boxed” with an added layer of drywall and flooring to create the temporary studios, convention officials said.Outside, the parking lot south of the arena has been transformed into an expansive media village, where trailers, satellite trucks and remote workspaces are clustered by network. Members of the network pool — ABC, NBC/MSNBC, CBS, CNN and Fox — are allotted 80,000 square feet each, while other media outlets have grabbed smaller chunks of asphalt.
FOX News Channel’s chief political anchor of Special Report, Bret Baier, will present an interview with Harris-Walz Campaign Co-Chair Cedric Richmond on Special Report Monday evening (weekdays, 6 PM/ET). The interview will cover night one of the Democratic National Convention and preview President Biden’s speech passing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris. A transcript will be made available following the interview.
A Katz analysis of the latest YouGov data looks at the status of the American workforce to see where the country stands in terms of commuting and working from home (WFH) in 2024. As many of us are likely experiencing in our own lives, working arrangements are not mutually exclusive. Consumers may have more than one working arrangement in their job, or may work multiple jobs - either of which would necessitate selecting multiple options in YouGov's survey. Even with cross-over arrangements, the data is directional in showing the ongoing shift from WFH towards commuting to workplaces outside the home.
As of June 2024, more than 7 in 10 employed adults are commuting to a job outside the home, including those who work in a fixed workplace (office, factory, shop, etc.) and those who work remotely on the move or from a variety of locations. Commuting has increased +29% since 2020, with growth seen across age brackets. Employed adults 30-44 are the most likely to work at locations outside the home at 76%, followed closely by 18-29 year-olds (74%). This youngest cohort of employed adults experienced the largest increase in commuting since 2020, up +41%.
Working Arrangement of Employed Adults 18+
A natural byproduct of growing work commutes is an increase in car usage. And as covered in Katz's previous analysis of traffic congestion data, no medium is positioned to reach this captive in-car audience better than AM/FM radio. With its dominant reach and usage in the car, radio provides unmatched opportunity for advertisers to connect with millions of engaged and attentive employed adults where and when they're in a position to act.
When WCBS 880 AM signs off at the end of August after a nearly 60-year run, to be replaced at the 880 frequency by ESPN, its traffic reporting will end too, and a venerable if unsung news beat in a city with what is empirically some of the worst traffic in the world will take a hit.
Yes, there are smartphone navigation apps that drivers have been using for years, and reporting will continue on WCBS' sister station, 1010 WINS. It will continue, too, on other local news broadcasts. But, axxording to Newsday's Nicholas Spangler, most of them do not match the ceaselessly updating 10-minute tempo by which WCBS and WINS mark their days.
Some would argue that metro region drivers need help now more than ever. In 2023, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, there were more than 335 million crossings on the seven bridges and two tunnels operated by the agency, the most in history. In April this year, the last month for which statistics were available, there were 927,912 crossings every weekday, on average, and 904,357 on weekend days. According to Inrix, a data collector, drivers in New York City lost 101 hours of their lives last year to delays, the worst rate of congestion of any city surveyed in the world.
“Traffic has always been bad, but it’s worse now than it’s ever been,” said Samuel Schwartz, a transportation engineer also known as Gridlock Sam. “It’s moving in Midtown at less than 5 miles per hour," he said. That is slower than a bicyclist, or a determined walker, or somebody riding a horse. The streets are clogged in part because of a pandemic-era increase in truck traffic that has yet to recede, said Schwartz, a former city traffic commissioner.
Schwartz is also a former cabbie, and said WCBS had been a mainstay for professional drivers since he drove in the late 60s and early 70s. Drivers listened, he said, because “you want to get the fastest information on a paralyzing incident, not your average daily traffic.” Drivers, both professional and commuter, who grew up with radio traffic reporting “still like to hear the traffic reports and get the warnings, but I suspect less so for many of the younger drivers” using apps, he said.
Traffic reporters have responded to the app threat by playing to their strengths, said Fred Bennett, senior vice president for analytics and networks at Audacy, the broadcasting giant that owns WCBS and WINS. Unlike outlets that buy their traffic content, Audacy does all of its own traffic reporting in New York City, the biggest market in the country, with 16.6 million listeners. In July in the city, WCBS reached 1.7% of listeners, WINS 4.3%; on Long Island, WCBS reached 2.3%, WINS 5%, according to Nielsen ratings published at Radio Online, an industry website.
CBS News boss Wendy McMahon is putting her mark on “CBS Mornings” — just weeks after Norah O’Donnell’s surprise exit from the network’s “Evening News” program, The Post has learned.
The third-place morning show, co-hosted by Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson, will launch a third hour in select markets and on the CBS News 24/7 streaming channel late next month in a fresh bid to compete with its No. 1 and No. 2 rivals, ABC’s “Good Morning America” and NBC’s “Today.”
According to sources, Dokoupil and “CBS Weekends” host Adriana Diaz are expected to become the new co-hosts of the third hour, which will broadcast live from 9 to 10 a.m. ET weekdays from the “CBS Mornings” studio in Times Square. Dokoupil is expected to continue his anchoring duties on “CBS Mornings,” said a source with knowledge.
The new show will likely be televised in a handful of CBS markets, including Los Angeles and Chicago — but not in New York, sources said.
In a memo obtained by The NY Post, Shawna Thomas, executive producer of “CBS Mornings,” told staffers Friday that she would be producing the third hour with her team amid much speculation.
Leigh Jacobs from NuVooDoo starts the week sharing more results from NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study 24, with responses from over three thousand 14 to 64s nationwide, show that many listeners say they would listen more to content from radio stations on a smartphone app – suggesting those same listeners are not universally aware of station apps.
As shown in the chart below, it’s better than 2 in 5 across the entire sample – and over half among Gen Z, Millennials, and heavy users of radio (those listening at least an hour a day). That has the potential to represent a lot of quarter hours lost.
It’s not surprising that the number saying they’d listen more using an app narrows sharply among Gen X (now ages 44-59) and the five trailing years of Baby Boomers included in our sample, but the bigger numbers among the younger generations should get our attention. If you need more data to convince you that this is a serious shortfall, in the chart below we have the full sample data in blue and the 15% subset of the sample who profile as those most likely to participate in the ratings in olive green (labeled “RPS Ratings Likelies”). Among Gen Z and Millennials, better than two thirds say they’d listen more using an app – and it’s close to half among the older breakout in the sample.
Not all format constituencies are the same – nor are the ratings-likely subgroups of those constituencies consistent. Among core listeners for Alternative and Rock format stations (labeled “Alt + Rock” in the chart below), it’s 51% and a slightly smaller percentage among the ratings-likely subgroup. Conversely, it’s 32% among Classic Rock core listeners, but almost double that among the subgroup likely to show up as ratings participants. And we see a similar story among core listeners to Classic Hits and Adult Hits (labeled “Classic + Adult Hits” below).
The numbers are notably smaller among Country core listeners – but they’re not zero. If you’re managing a Country format, can you afford to leave any potential quarter hours on the table?
In an era when it’s difficult to buy a radio (unless it’s pre-installed in a new vehicle) it’s important that the experience of listening to your station(s) is as frictionless as possible. That means your app, and especially the great benefits of having it, should get frequent mention on air, prime placement in all online assets, and great exposure in your social media feeds. Too often we hear stations throw away mentions of their app on the air without any mention of the benefits enjoyed by listeners who have installed the app. And, as shown here, being able to listen to the station is no small benefit.
The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) has unveiled the national winners of the 2024 Edward R. Murrow Awards. More than 100 outlets were honored for their exceptional contributions in digital, radio, and television journalism.
"This year, our judges reviewed nearly 5,000 outstanding pieces of journalism, covering important issues from all over the world,” said RTDNA President and CEO Dan Shelley. “And I can tell you, as evidenced by the work we recognize today, the state of journalism is strong.
“The Murrow Awards are an opportunity to recognize the absolute best of show in journalism. Let me be the first to congratulate our newest group of national Edward R. Murrow Award winners.”
This year’s Murrow awards celebrated outstanding journalism produced in 2023, a history-making year that included: the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel and the war in Gaza, the ongoing war in Ukraine, immigration challenges at the border, natural disasters, climate change and more.
“Thank you to all of the judges who volunteered their time to review thousands of entries,” said RTDNA Chair Sheryl Worsley. “The Murrow awards would not be possible without you. And thank you to every single person who plays a part in producing journalism each and every day. It takes many talented people to seek and report the truth, to hold the powerful accountable, and to serve their communities where they need it most.
“Whether or not you are an award winner today, the hard work continues tomorrow.”
Eight organizations earned national awards for their Overall Excellence. They are:
Small Digital News Organization: ProPublica – New York, NY
Large Digital News Organization: The Boston Globe – Boston, MA
Small Market Radio: North Country Public Radio – Canton, NY
Large Market Radio: KNKX – Seattle, WA
Radio Network: CBS News Radio
Small Market Television: WRDW-TV – Augusta, GA
Large Market Television: KARE11 – Minneapolis, MN
Television Network: ABC News
In addition to the National Winners, RTDNA recognized students from eight universities as recipients of the National Student Murrow awards.
➤A full list of all the winners of the 2024 National Murrow Awards can be accessed here.
Skiboky Stora, right, is alleged to have punched 1010WINS' Kelly Dillon
Kelly Dillon (real name: Halley Kate McGookin), a 1010 WINS reporter, is the latest woman to take to TikTok to reveal she was the victim of a random attack on New York City streets.
“They grabbed my hair so tightly and literally body-slammed me onto the pavement,” Dillon, a 20-year news veteran and traffic reporter, says in the video.
She decries the assault she endured in Manhattan last week as just the latest in a growing trend of violence targeting women in the city, according to The NY Daily News.
“I want to warn females about the dangers in the streets of New York City right now,” Dillon said in a 22-minute video she posted to TikTok on Saturday. “There are many crimes being committed, random acts, random attacks on females on the streets. It’s not going away and it’s not getting any better and it’s getting much, much worse.”
The 40-year-old Dillon was on King St. near the radio broadcaster’s Hudson St. headquarters in Hudson Square a few minutes into Wednesday when she felt a man grab her hair and throw her to the pavement, she said on TikTok.
Her head and elbow — where she said her bone was visible through the wound — were struck in the fall. Paramedics took the reporter to the Lenox Hill Healthplex for treatment.
Dillon’s attacker fled west toward Hudson St. in what she called a shameless display of cowardice. “He ran off, of course, like a coward,” Dillon said on TikTok.
Police confirmed a woman was thrown by her hair into a concrete planter at that time and location.
TikTok users have sounded the alarm on the frightening trend this year as multiple women took to the social media platform to share stories of being attacked without provocation on the city’s streets.
Casey Kasem’s daughter Kerri Kasem still wants to bring his body back to Los Angeles.
The internationally famous radio host known as "King of the Top 40 Countdown," died in 2014 at age 82. The star suffered a lengthy battle with Lewy body dementia.
His widow, actress Jean Kasem, had his body moved to Oslo, Norway, for burial. Other relatives and friends claimed at the time that Casey had wished to be buried in the Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles.
Kerri is the founder of Kasem Cares, a nonprofit organization that advocates against elder abuse and isolation. Its "Visitation Bill," which aims to provide "an open path for family members to ask the court to rule on visitation" of a loved one, has been passed in 12 states. Its site noted that nine other states have adopted a version of the bill.
When asked if there were plans to get Casey back to the U.S., Kerri told Fox News Digital, "Eventually."
"I can’t say there are plans right now, [but] it will happen," she said. "I just can’t tell you."
Kerri, also a radio host, is adamant that the beloved patriarch belongs in the city he called home. And the feeling she has about his current resting place is "twofold."
"[Norway] is probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen," Kerri explained. "It’s a country that is stunning, but it’s not where my dad wanted to be… His final wish was to be buried in California, where he had been living for 58 years."
In 2019, family members of Casey settled dueling lawsuits alleging that he was badly mistreated before his death.
The two sides filed a joint request in the Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit by three of Casey's children and his brother against Casey's widow, which claimed her neglect and physical abuse led to his death, as well as a countersuit making similar claims against the plaintiffs that were filed by his widow and another daughter.
Maurice Williams, the singer and songwriter whose 1960 single “Stay,” recorded with his doo-wop group the Zodiacs, shot to No. 1 and became a cover-song staple for a long line of musical acts, including the Four Seasons, the Hollies and Jackson Browne, died on Aug. 6 in Charlotte, N.C. He was 86, according to The NYTimes.
Williams owed a considerable career debt to a girl he dated when he was 15. She provided the inspiration for his two biggest hits: “Little Darlin’,” recorded when his group was called the Gladiolas, which hit No. 41 on the Billboard pop chart in 1957; and “Stay,” which briefly topped the chart in 1960.
Williams recalled the origins of “Stay,” his only chart-topping single, in a 2018 video interview. “This young lady I was going with, she was over to my house, and this particular night, her brother was supposed to pick her up at 10,” he said. “So he came, and I said, ‘Well, you can stay a little longer.’ And she said, ‘No, I gotta go.’”
The next morning he woke up and wove that and other snippets from their conversation — “Now, your daddy don’t mind/And your mommy don’t mind” — into song form, building to its indelible signature line, which, seven years later, the Zodiacs’ Henry Gaston would render in a celestial falsetto: “Oh, won’t you stay, just a little bit longer.”
Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs’ recording of the song stood out not only for its infectious hooks but also for its eye-blink length — slightly over 90 seconds.
“We wanted to make it short so it would get more airplay,” Mr. Williams said. And, he added, “It worked.”
➦In 1903...Francis Hamilton "Fran" Striker born (Died from injuries suffered in a car accident – September 4, 1962). He was a writer for radio and comics, best known for creating The Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon characters.
Fran Striker
Born in Buffalo, NY, Striker attended Lafayette High School and the University of Buffalo. He dropped out of college and soon joined the staff of radio station WEBR (now WDCZ 970 AM Buffalo), working as an announcer. In 1929, he moved to WTAM in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as announcer and continuity writer and wrote his first radio drama script, a biography of Stephen Foster. Lured back to WEBR as station manager, Striker wrote material ranging from skits to half-hour mysteries and Western scripts.
Striker soon began a long association with station owner George W. Trendle and radio station WXYZ in Detroit, which was trying to make a name for itself as a producer of radio drama, creating and writing the early series.
Late in 1932, Striker began working on The Lone Ranger; his earliest scripts were largely reworked from his earlier series Covered Wagon Days. A letter from Trendle dated Monday, January 30, 1933, clearly gives Striker credit for creating the character. However, by 1934 Striker was pressured by Trendle to sign over his rights to the Lone Ranger, and Trendle claimed credit as the creator. This sparked a long-term controversy over the creation of The Lone Ranger, extending as far as a 1960 television appearance by Striker on To Tell the Truth, which mentioned his role in the character's creation.
The actual first trial episodes of The Lone Ranger were broadcast on WEBR in Buffalo prior to the official premiere on WXYZ. When the Lone Ranger series began to gain popularity, Trendle convinced Striker to move to WXYZ, where he eventually became head of WXYZ's script department.
Striker was extremely prolific. In addition to writing 156 Lone Ranger scripts a year, he wrote The Green Hornet (built around the Lone Ranger's descendant, Britt Reid) and a short-lived series, Ned Jordan Secret Agent.
Striker was 59 when he died in a 1962 car accident. He was posthumously inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1998.
➦In 1929…"Amos 'n' Andy," the WMAQ Chicago radio comedy program starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, heard in Chicago and then in syndication since March 1928, made its network debut on NBC Radio Blue Network.
Under a special arrangement, Amos 'n' Andy debuted coast-to-coast November 28, 1929, on NBC's Pacific Orange Network and continued on the Blue. WMAQ was then an affiliate of CBS and its general manager tried, to no avail, to interest that network in picking up the show. At the same time, the serial's central characters — Amos, Andy and the Kingfish — relocated from Chicago to Harlem. The program was so popular by 1930 that NBC's orders were to only interrupt the broadcast for matters of national importance and SOS calls. Correll and Gosden were making a combined salary of $100,000, which they split three ways to include announcer Bill Hay, who was with them when they started doing radio.
The program stayed on the air until November 1960.
➦In 1955...1010WINS in NYC, one of the first stations in the United States to play rock and roll/Top40 music full time, announced it will not air white cover versions of R&B (DJs must play Fats Domino's "Ain't It A Shame," not Pat Boone's)
➦In 1974...NYC personality Cousin Brucie Morrow started at WNBC 660 AM. He aired on 77WABC for 13 years and 4,014 broadcasts until August 1974, when he jumped to rival station WNBC. He left three years later and teamed with entrepreneur Robert F.X. Sillerman to become the owner of the Sillerman Morrow group of stations.
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