“We’re thrilled to launch a station that really represents Philly,” said Brian Check, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Philadelphia. “We hear from our listeners all the time that this music is fun, infectious and timeless, so we can’t wait to bring these songs back to the airwaves.
WISX 106.1 FM (22.5 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
“This will be amazing for our listeners and our partners,” said Richard Lewis, President of iHeartMedia’s Philadelphia Region. “Our Philadelphia stations already reach two out of three Adults 25-54 in the market; and now after our quest to connect with even more people in the area, we’ll be able to deliver even more entertainment, companionship and connections for Philly radio listeners and a larger audience for our partners.”
MSNBC has called out President Trump after his Thursday morning tweets in which he attacked "Morning Joe" hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, The LA Times is reporting.
I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..
"It’s a sad day for America when the president spends his time bullying, lying and spewing petty personal attacks instead of doing his job," an MSNBC spokesperson said in a statement to The Times on Thursday.
Never imagined a day when I would think to myself, "it is beneath my dignity to respond to the President of the United States."
The president's early-morning tweets called Scarborough "Psycho Joe" and Brzezinski "Low I.Q. Crazy Mika" and alleged that the pair had invited themselves to Mar-a-Lago, a private club in Florida owned by Trump and dubbed the "Winter White House," over New Year's.
Most shocking of all, Trump went on to accuse Brzezinski of "bleeding badly from a face-lift.".
Trump's tweets drew criticism on Twitter, including from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).
Mr. President, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with American politics, not the greatness of America.
Tensions between newsroom employees and The New York Times escalated today with the announcement of a brief work slowdown this afternoon at 3 PM local time.
According to deadlinecom, reporters and editors will leave their desks for 15 to 20 minutes. Sources at the paper say the plan it to circle through the newsroom with signs supporting copy-desk editors whose ranks are being diminished by half. They will then head down to the street outside the Times building on Eighth Avenue and West 41st Street, before returning to work. The timing of the action coincides with beginning of the busiest editing period of the day at the paper’s HQ.
“I’ve never seen morale so low at the Times,” a veteran senior writer from the Times told Deadline. “And there’s a lot of chaos in the newsroom.”
At issue is a Times plan to restructure the newsroom, eliminating what the editorial management of the paper has called redundant, unnecessary layers of editing, in order to speed up the process between story conception and publication. At the same time, the Times has been adding significantly to its reporting ranks during a time of revived competition with the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post and increased readership at both papers.
iHeartMedia and Turner announced today that the fan-driven iHeartRadio Music Awards will return to the historic, “Fabulous” Forum in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 11, 2018, at 8 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (PT).
The event will once again be simulcast live on Turner's TBS, TNT and truTV; on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide; and on iHeartRadio, the all-in-one digital music and live streaming radio service.
Now in its fifth year, the iHeartRadio Music Awards is a star-studded event celebrating the most played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations throughout 2017 and a preview of the upcoming hits of 2018.
In addition to celebrating music and artists, the iHeartRadio Music Awards celebrates the fans, millions of whom cast their votes for the winners through social media. The 2017 awards show scored tremendous audience growth for TBS, TNT and truTV, reaching a total of 9.6 million viewers across multiple platforms, +6% over the prior year.
“We created the iHeartRadio Music Awards to celebrate the artists and songs we play every day across America on our more than 850 radio stations and the iHeartRadio App,” said John Sykes, President of Entertainment Enterprises for iHeartMedia. “This is the first ever awards show that is truly driven by fans and we found the perfect partner in Turner, with their deep programming assets and diverse audience reach that reflects our 265 million monthly listeners.”
More information about the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, including the award categories and ticket info, will be announced at a later date.
Performers pose outside Houses of Parliament, wearing constumes depicting Rupert Murdoch and PM Theresa May
By Paul Sandle and Kate Holton
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain intends to subject Rupert Murdoch's takeover of European pay-TV group Sky <SKYB.L> to a lengthy in-depth investigation after finding the $14.8 billion deal risks giving the media mogul too much power over the news agenda.
Media Secretary Karen Bradley said she was persuaded that Twenty-First Century Fox's <FOXA.O> bid could give the Murdoch family too much influence over the media, after regulator Ofcom assessed the impact of the deal.
"The proposed entity would have the third largest total reach of any news provider - lower only than the BBC and ITN - and would, uniquely, span news coverage on television, radio, in newspapers and online," Bradley said.
Murdoch, 86, and his family have long coveted full control of Sky, despite the damaging failure of a previous attempt in 2011 when their British newspaper business became embroiled in a phone-hacking scandal which forced them to abandon that bid.
A public inquiry into the affair revealed deep ties between Murdoch and the political establishment, making the renewed bid potentially toxic for Prime Minister Theresa May's government which is fighting for survival after losing its majority.
Bradley had asked regulators to examine whether Fox would have too much control of the media, and whether it would be committed to upholding broadcasting standards if it was allowed to buy the satellite company which broadcasts in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy.
Fox said it was disappointed by the government's rejection of its plans to maintain editorial independence of Sky News, and said a full investigation could push the deal's completion date back to next June.
"We will continue to work constructively with the UK authorities," it said.
"FIT AND PROPER"
The government said on Thursday Ofcom had no concerns about Fox's genuine commitment to broadcasting standards but wanted to look further into the impact a deal would have on the range of media providers in the country.
Ofcom also carried out a separate investigation as to whether a Fox-controlled Sky would be a 'fit and proper' owner of broadcast licenses in Britain.
The regulator said allegations of sexual and racial harassment at Fox News in the U.S. were extremely serious and disturbing but had found no clear evidence to suggest senior executives at Fox were aware of the misconduct.
Fox tried to pre-empt government concerns over the impact on Sky's editorial independence by proposing the creation of an independent board to run Sky News, the company's hugely influential 24 hour news channel.
But Bradley said she was minded to reject the proposal after Ofcom suggested that the undertakings were not strong enough.
Bradley said the parties involved had until July 14 to respond to her concerns before she finally decided whether to go ahead with the full investigation.
"Sky will continue to engage with the process as the Secretary of State reaches her final decision," the company said in a statement.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION
The latest delay to the deal will come as a blow to the Murdoch family after they split their newspapers from television and film assets into two separate companies, even though they retained a grip on both due to their ultimate ownership.
Rupert's son James, who is chief executive of Fox and is currently chairman of Sky, said in March that worries about his family exerting too much power were unfounded in an era of online providers such as Facebook, Buzzfeed, Netflix and Google.
Shares in Sky have been trading at a discount to the 10.75 pounds offer, indicating that although investors were not expecting outright rejection, there was still some concern about any undertakings required from Fox to get the deal through.
Shares in Sky rose after the statement and were trading up 3.5 percent at 990 pence on the belief that Fox would find a resolution. Analysts at Citi said they believed Fox could even find a resolution before the July 14 deadline and avoid the lengthy referral.
"Ultimately this is a positive outcome for the Fox/Sky in the sense that it makes deal completion more likely," it said.
"Concerns about broadcasting standards would have been almost impossible to work around while we believe the groups will be able to offer concessions that adequately address concerns about plurality."
AT&T will look to “neutralize” CNN President Jeff Zucker after it buys Time Warner, The NYPost is reporting.
The buzz from the telecommunications giant comes as CNN is being slammed for highly publicized missteps — including botched reports tied to the federal probe of possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia, according to three sources familiar with the thinking of AT&T brass.
The $85 billion acquisition of CNN parent Time Warner by AT&T could win antitrust approval by the Justice Department in the next 60 days, sources said.
“There was early talk about the way Zucker managed that wasn’t a good fit for the new organization,” one source said. “They were eyeing ways to neutralize him.”
That desire leaves Zucker facing an uncertain future that includes the possibility of getting unceremoniously dumped, one source said.
Other potential scenarios include AT&T kicking the 52-year-old executive upstairs with a corporate title that strips him of any power over CNN — or a sale of the network that would let AT&T wash its hands of any future messes.
“The news business doesn’t seem to be central to AT&T’s content strategy,” said Craig Moffett, a co-founder of independent media research firm MoffettNathanson. “They seem much more interested in the entertainment brands. If selling CNN would make regulators happy, they’ll sell it. I can’t imagine AT&T would let CNN stand in the way of securing approval for the merger.”
Zucker could also cash out his significant holdings of Time Warner stock and walk away from the network filthy rich, media execs said.
Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson slammed what she called "transactional journalism," calling it "wholly inappropriate."
"Transactional journalism" refers to inappropriate dealings behind the scenes some journalists have with political actors, the television host and author of the new book The Smear said.
"Virtually every image you run across, whether it is in the news or on social media or elsewhere, even on comedy shows is being put there, [the players I interviewed in the 'smear universe'] say, for a purpose by somebody who wants you to think something that may not necessarily be a consensus at all, or may not even be true," Attkisson told Fox host Shannon Bream.
"Well-funded actors" with "fake accounts" on social media and "a ton of money" use them to manipulate how we think, Attkisson said.
CNN's Clarissa Ward, a foreign correspondent, served as guest co-host on Wednesday's broadcast of CNN's News Day. Ward fretted that "people" in war zones have been "emboldened" by President Trump's "declaration of war on the media." RealClearPolitics reports Ward, expressing concern for members of the media in dangerous areas of the world, said to guest Chris Cillizza (The Washington Post), 'I can only imagine what a person like you is dealing with. At what point does this become reckless or irresponsible?'
Playboy White House correspondent Brian Karem, who has received new-found fame after his exchange with White House deputy spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders at Tuesday's press briefing, said Ward is "absolutely right" and talked about the trial and tribulations of reporters who have been jailed and even killed.
"Our newspapers after Donald Trump's election, we've gotten threats from both the far left and the far right," Karem said. "They are emboldened, it is dangerous, and the fact of the matter is, it is insulting to the memory of the people who have given their lives for the cause for providing information to the public to then be told you are fake media, you do not matter, and what you're doing is false."
Karem went as far to predict "we are going to see a reporter face physical harm because" of Trump.
"And quite frankly, every one of us should stand up against that because it is undermining the First Amendment. It is dangerous, making it dangerous for reporters. You're absolutely right, there is going to come a time, and it's not going to be too far off I surmise when we're going to see a reporter is going to face physical harm because of this," he said.
(Reuters) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he planned to nominate a Federal Communications Commission attorney to fill one of two vacant seats at the nation's telecommunications regulatory agency.
The White House said Trump would name Brendan Carr, a Republican who previously served as an adviser to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, to an open seat. Carr currently is general counsel at the FCC and also has worked at the Wiley Rein LLP law firm.
Brendan Carr
Carr did not respond to a request for comment.
The five-seat FCC currently has only three members. Earlier this month, Trump nominated Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, to another open seat at the FCC. The U.S. Senate must confirm both Carr and Rosenworcel before they can be seated.
Rosenworcel served as a commissioner for the regulator until the end of 2016 when lawmakers failed to take up her renomination under former President Barack Obama, giving Republicans a 2-1 majority on the five-seat commission.
The FCC is working to reverse a number of Obama-era regulations, including the former Democratic president's landmark 2015 net-neutrality rules prohibiting broadband providers from giving or selling access to certain internet services over others.
Pai, chosen by Trump in January to head the agency, also has said he wants to dismantle other significant regulations as part of a sweeping review he said would remove barriers to business and modernize rules. Pai also has proposed significant changes to local TV ownership limits and plans other changes to media regulations.
Pai praised Carr's appointment. "Brendan’s expertise on wireless policy and public safety will be a tremendous asset to the commission," he said in a statement.
Republican Michael O'Rielly and Democrat Mignon Clyburn also serve on the commission.
Democrats insisted Republicans had agreed in 2015 to reconfirm Rosenworcel as part of a deal to confirm O'Rielly. Republicans denied there was a deal but the standoff had delayed consideration of telecommunications legislation in the Senate.
Pai would be forced to leave the commission if he is not reconfirmed by the Senate by the end of the year.
Under Pai, the FCC chose not to review AT&T Inc's planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc.
The FCC must review Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc's proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media Co, one of the largest U.S. TV station operators.
Just one day after being handed the title of interim CEO, chief financial officer Naveen Chopra's debut as the face of streaming music operator Pandora Media Inc. (P) was little short of a hit.
According to TheStreet, shares of the company, which had tumbled 35% this year before Wednesday, June 28, were up 5.7% to $8.97 in early afternoon trading.
Chopra, who was hired at Pandora in February, was named interim CEO on Tuesday, taking over for co-founder Tim Westergren, whose 15 months atop the company were clouded by concerns that it had lost focus on its core business of advertising-supported internet radio as it sought to build an on-demand streaming service.
"Our strategy is to nail the passive listening experience and make sure we have on-demand as an option but not lose sight of our strength," Chopra said at a media conference hosted by Bernstein Research. "The winners and losers in the music streaming space will be really be determined by who can build the most compelling consumer product."
For Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) , the satellite radio operator which agreed on June 9 to invest $480 million in exchange for a 19% stake in Pandora, that product is its free, ad-supported radio platform accessed by 80 million listeners per month.
Greg Maffei, who is both chairman of Sirius and CEO of its parent, Liberty Media Corp., often chided Pandora's management for its decision to spend millions of dollars to launch Pandora Premium, the company's on-demand streaming service that debuted in March, when that business is already dominated by Spotify Ltd., Apple Inc.'s Apple Music. Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime service and YouTube, a unit of Alphabet Inc.
“Jeff and the Showgram” – co-hosted by Jeff Detrow, Tommy Sablan, Laura Cain and Emily Griffiths – was “in the air” as usual Tuesday morning on CBS Radio's KYXY 96.5 FM. But on Wednesday, when listeners tuned in during the morning commute, the show was abruptly gone.
Tommy Sablan confirmed to NBC 7 that the “Showgram” was canceled.
Sablan said he’s proud of the work the show has done over the past three decades – not only on the air but in the community. He said that, by now, listeners are more like “family.”
“I love it when we get messages from someone saying, ‘Hey I take my kids to school listening to you guys, my mom took me to school listening to you guys too,’” Sablan said.
While the "Showgram” is gone, for now, Sablan is confident the radio program will land on its feet.
“I am optimistic we will be back,” he added.
The radio show, formerly called "The Jeff and Jer Showgram," had been on the air in San Diego since May 3, 1988.
For 27 years, it was helmed by broadcasters Jeff Detrow and Jerry Cesak, with Sablan serving as producer and on-air sidekick. Cain joined the team in 1992, while Hoag joined in 1993. Griffiths rounded out the ensemble in 2009.
When Cesak retired from radio in October 2015, the program was renamed "Jeff and the Showgram." At that time, Sablan said KyXy had signed the show on for a few more years.
]
In 2016, the "Showgram" saw another change when Hoag left the program. Since then, Detrow, Sablan, Cain, and Griffiths had been holding down the fort.
Over the decades, the show has bounced around several different local radio stations, including a run on Star 94.1 where a contract dispute took the show off the air in 2009. For a couple of years, Cesak and Detrow produced an online radio show from Cesak's garage.
The show eventually found a home on KyXy, debuting its first broadcast on that station on Jan. 24, 2011. "The Jeff and Jer Showgram" was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2016.
Jimmy Buff, the program director and morning show host at WDST-FM, is moving on after more than two decades at the station.
WDST Radio Woodstock 100.1 announced Tuesday that Friday will be Buff’s last day at the station, reports The Daily Freeman.
Neither the station nor Buff would say where he’ll be working next, but Buff said by phone Tuesday afternoon that he’s “excited about it.” He also said he’ll continue to live in the Kingston area.
Buff began his radio career at then WNEW 102.7 FM in New York City, where he produced a morning show. He met Gary Chetkof there, and after Chetkof bought WDST in 1993, Buff came on board as production director.
Buff became WDST’s program director in 1994 and took over as host of the morning show when Nic Harcourt left.
Chetkof, in a prepared statement, said Buff “will be greatly missed” at WDST and that his “contributions to the growth and success of Radio Woodstock are immeasurable.”
In filings seeking approval of Sinclair's $6.6 billion takeover of Tribune Media, the parties say they may have to divest stations in as many as 10 markets from Seattle to Des Moines to comply with the FCC's local ownership rules, TVNewsCheck is reporting.
"To the extent that divestitures may be necessary, applications will be filed upon locating appropriate buyers and signing appropriate purchase agreements," the parties say.
The parties contend in the filings that the deal is in the public interest.
"[It]will increase the merged company’s capability to serve the public by increasing its operational efficiencies, allowing Sinclair to upgrade the stations’ facilities, expand the stations’ local coverage (including local news), offer even greater value to multichannel video distributors, and increase syndicated and original programming offerings."
The local rules allow ownership of two stations in a market, but only if one is not among the market's top four rated and the market has eight other independently owned stations.
The parties identify 10 "overlap" markets where both Sinclair and Tribune now own stations in a way that would violate the local rules and may trigger the need for divestitures.
They are Seattle; St. Louis; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City; Oklahoma City; Greensboro, N.C.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Richmond, Va.; and Des Moines, Iowa.
(The filing notes that Sinclair also owns two AMs and two FMs in Seattle, but that their ownership does not run afoul of the TV-radio crossownership rule.)
The filing notes that there are two other overlap markets, Washington and Milwaukee, where Sinclair would end up with duopolies. But the parties say that both duopolies are within the bounds of the rules.
Advanced Media Partners has announced Jonathan Steele as Program Director of Top40 WPIA 98.5 KissFM in Peoria, IL.
Steele comes to AMP with five years of programming and on-air work. Most recently, Steele worked as Program Director for the Martz Communications Group in upstate New York leading three stations in both the U.S. and Canada. Previously, Steele worked on air at the former WNGY-FM in Peoria.
"I couldn't be more excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead this brand and build upon the success of 98-5 KISS FM," said Steele. "Kiss has always been the epicenter of hit music in Peoria and I look forward to this next chapter in my career being a part of a team that still believes in doing live and local radio. There's a lot of good things in store for the future."
WPIA 98.5 FM (6 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
Operations Manager Scott Hecathorn added, "Jonathan is a key hire in our quest to connect on an even deeper level with Peoria radio listeners. His enthusiasm and passion for the traditional medium, and ability to tell a story through not only his words on air, but also pictures and videos on social media, will help lead us to even greater success."
Major League Baseball is having a tough time attracting younger viewers to its broadcasts, according to a recent study from the Sports Business Journal and marketing consultant Magna Global. The average age of MLB viewers is 57, up from 53 a decade ago. Ominously, children under 18 make up a smaller portion of the overall audience than they did back then.
A recent article in Barron's reports, baseball isn’t the only sport with age issues. When it comes to most sports, the median age of viewers is climbing significantly faster than that of the overall U.S. population, the study noted. Golf and men’s tennis have the oldest TV audiences, at 64 and 61, respectively. Men’s pro basketball is still relatively youthful, with an average age of 42, while pro football is at 50.
Interestingly, though men’s tennis is aging quickly, women’s tennis was the only professional sport whose viewership got younger, perhaps due to increased social-media usage by players on the tour.
So why are internet giants like Amazon.com, Facebook , and Twitter willing to pay ballooning sums for pro sports content? The companies are betting that younger viewers are still interested in sports, but not in watching full games in front of the TV.
DeCarlo's friend Pat Horgan announced the news Wednesday (June 28) via Facebook. He told TMZ the musician passed away in hospice care in Connecticut with his wife by his side. DeCarlo had lung cancer.
Last year, a GoFundMe crowd-sourcing campaign was launched to help pay for DeCarlo's medical expenses.
"I try to stay positive," he told the Connecticut Post last year, "but there is always the thought that you won't get cured."
In 1969 "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks and went on to become one of the nation's most enduring sports anthems. Despite writing and singing on the track, DeCarlo lived his life in relative obscurity. After he and two fellow studio musicians wrote, produced and recorded the song, Fontana Records assembled a band called Steam to perform it live and who were credited as the song's performers.
DeCarlo wrote the song with fellow studio musician Dale Frashuer and producer Paul Leka. The song was attributed to the group Steam, though there was actually no band with that name at the time. The group featured on the cover of the single, and who lip-synched to DeCarlo’s vocals for promotional performances, were hired guns who had nothing to do with the creation of the song.
"That hurt me," DeCarlo told the Connecticut Post. "I remember driving to the railroad station hearing the song on the radio and just wanting to yell out the window 'That’s me!..I fell into a deep depression.'"
A 2011 documentary by Pittsburgh radio host TJ Lubinsky called My Music: '60s Pop, Rock & Soul on public television helped to acknowledge DeCarlo's due credit on the song.
➦In 1901...radio actor/writer/director Ed Gardner was born in Astoria, New York. He began his career in advertising, but found fame on radio with the comedic weekly half-hour Duffy’s Tavern, portraying the wisecracking, malaprop-prone barkeep/manager Archie. The successful radio program, his creation, aired on CBS from 1941 to 1942, on the NBC Blue Network from 1942 to 1944 and NBC from 1944 to 1952. His liver gave out Aug. 17 1963 and he died at age 62.
➦In 1932...the second daytime serial on network radio made its debut on the NBC Blue network, Vic and Sade. Radio’s first daytime drama was Clara Lu and Em, which premiered on NBC in 1931.
During its 14-year run on radio, Vic and Sade became one of the most popular series of its kind, earning critical and popular success: according to Time, Vic and Sade had 7,000,000 devoted listeners in 1943. For the majority of its span on the air, Vic and Sade was heard in 15-minute episodes without a continuing storyline. The central characters, known as "radio's home folks", were accountant Victor Rodney Gook (Art Van Harvey), his wife Sade (Bernardine Flynn) and their adopted son Rush (Bill Idelson). The three lived on Virginia Avenue in "the small house halfway up in the next block."
Unlike any other soap, Vic & Sade was a slight concoction with very humurous overtones written by Paul Rhymer. A natural predecessor of Seinfeld, this was the original show about nothing much. Pictured are Vic, Sade & adopted son Rush. (Art Van Harvey, Bernadette Flynn, and Billy Idelson.) ➦In 1947..."Strike It Rich" made its debut on CBS Radio with Todd Russell as the host. Warren Hull took over host duties a few years later.
➦In 1951...Bill Stern did his last 15-minute program of sports features for NBC radio. Stern had been with NBC for 14 years. He later moved to ABC and Mutual to finish out a colorful sportscasting career.
Bill Stern
Born in Rochester, New York, Stern began doing radio play-by-play commentary in 1925, when he was hired by a local station, WHAM, to cover football games. Shortly after that, he enrolled at Pennsylvania Military College, graduating in 1930.
NBC hired him in 1937 to host The Colgate Sports Newsreel as well as Friday night boxing on radio. Stern was also one of the first televised boxing commentators.
He broadcast the first televised sporting event, the second game of a baseball doubleheader between Princeton and Columbia at Columbia's Baker Field on May 17, 1939. On September 30, he called the first televised football game.
During his most successful years, Stern engaged in a fierce rivalry with Ted Husing of the CBS Radio Network. They competed not only for broadcast position during sports and news events, but also for the rights to cover the events themselves. They both served for many years as their networks' sports directors as well as being on-air stars.
Some observers consider Stern's style a blueprint in the 1940s for the style of Paul Harvey, ABC Entertainment Network social commentator, who adapted both Stern's newscasting (transforming his Reel One to Page One) and his stories about the famous and odd (to Rest Of The Story), although Stern made no effort to authenticate his stories and, in later years, introduced that segment of his show by saying that they "might be actual, may be mythical, but definitely interesting." Harvey, on the other hand, said he told only stories he had authenticated in some way.
➦➦In 1951…The radio sitcom, "The Life of Riley," starring William Bendix as Chester A. Riley, ended after a 10-year run. The TV version of the show ran for for a total of six years between 1949 and 1958, with Jackie Gleason as Riley in the first year and Bendix in the title role from 1953 to 1958.
➦In 1959...DJ turned "American Bandstand" host, Dick Clark, announced he was going to join with Irvin Feld for a number of "Dick Clark Caravans" to be staged in various cities highlighting pop stars.
➦In 1974...Wolfman Jack did last show at WNBC 660 AM
➦In 1978...Radio Personality and Hogan's Heroes TV star Bob Crane died in a still unsolved murder. He was 49.
In 1950, Crane started his broadcasting career at WLEA in Hornell, New York. He soon moved to WBIS in Bristol, Connecticut, followed by WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This was a 1,000-watt operation with a signal covering the northeastern portion of the New York metropolitan area where he remained until 1956.
At that time CBS radio network executives plucked Crane out partly to help stop his huge popularity from affecting the suburban ratings of their New York flagship WCBS 880 AM, and partly to re-energize their flagging West Coast flagship KNX in Los Angeles. Crane moved his family to California to host the morning show at KNX 1070 AM. He filled the broadcast with sly wit, drumming, and guests such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope. It quickly became the number-one rated morning show with adult listeners in the Los Angeles area, with Crane known as "The King of the Los Angeles Airwaves."
Crane, Valdis
Crane's acting ambitions led to his subbing for Johnny Carson on the daytime game show Who Do You Trust? and appearances on The Twilight Zone, Channing, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and General Electric Theater. When Carl Reiner appeared on his show, Crane persuaded him to book him for a guest shot on The Dick Van Dyke Show, where he was noticed by Donna Reed, who suggested him for the role of neighbor Dr. Dave Kelsey in her sitcom from 1963 through 1965.
In 1965, Crane was offered the starring role in a television comedy pilot about a German P.O.W. camp. Hogan's Heroes became a hit and finished in the Top Ten in its first year on the air. The series lasted six seasons, and Crane was nominated for an Emmy Award twice, in 1966 and 1967. During its run, he met Patricia Olson, who played Hilda under the stage name Sigrid Valdis. He divorced his wife of twenty years and married Olson on the set of the show in 1970.
Trivia: It's Bob Crane playing the drums on Hogan's Heroes theme song.
Ron Lundy, Joe McCoy
➦In 1981...Joe McCoy became the Program Director at WCBS 101.1 FM, New York.
When Joe McCoy took over as program director in 1981, WCBS-FM began to gradually shift its focus to the 1964–1969 era, but would also feature a more pre-1964 oldies than most other such stations. The station continued to also feature hits of the 1970s and some hits of the 1980s while cutting future gold selections to one per hour.
Also in the 1980s, after WABC and later WNBC abandoned music in favor of talk, WCBS-FM began employing many disc jockeys who were widely known on other New York City stations, most notably Musicradio WABC alumni Ron Lundy, Dan Ingram, Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow, Chuck Leonard and Harry Harrison, as well as Dan Daniels and Jack Spector.
➦In 1998...George Harrison announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer caused by smoking. The ex-Beatle said he’d been given a clean bill of health and wryly added “I’m not going to die on you folks just yet.” Cancer eventually did claim Harrison three years later.
SiriusXM announced today that legendary radio host and rock and roll influencer Rodney Bingenheimer will host a new weekly music show on SiriusXM's Little Steven's Underground Garage
Rodney Bingenheimer, who curated his longtime radio show "Rodney on the ROQ" for over 40 years, has been known for launching and championing now legendary acts like the Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Tom Petty, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Van Halen, The Clash, The Smiths, The Go Go's, The Bangles, The Runaways and Oasis. He has also been recognized for bringing back classic acts and album cuts from the likes of The Monkees, The Beach Boys, The Standells, The Ventures and many more. He continues to launch new music from the likes of The Regrettes, the Atomics, The Moon Kids, The Tearaways and Beck Black.
"I'm so honored to be on the same SiriusXM channel as Little Steven," said Rodney Bingenheimer.
"He has also championed some of the greatest music of our time, both past and future. With both of us now at the same channel we're gonna keep great music alive. Especially for me, being on at an earlier time, I can have more listeners who don't have to worry about missing work or school the next day. To be on in Primetime on the East Coast as well is also exciting."
"Rodney was one of my first calls when I started the channel," said Steven Van Zandt. "We are honored to have him. This is where he belongs!"
Rodney Bingenheimer's SiriusXM show will premiere on Sunday, July, 16 at 9:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm PT, on SiriusXM's Underground Garage, via satellite on channel 21 and through the SiriusXM app on smartphones and other connected devices, as well as online at siriusxm.com.
SiriusXM's Underground Garage channel is executive produced by Steven Van Zandt, and plays records ever made from all 60 years of rock and roll from artists like The Beatles, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, Little Richard, The Who, The Beach Boys, The Temptations, Joan Jett, The Clash, and everything in between, alongside the best new rock and roll bands in the world.
Westwood One announces its agreement with TagStation, LLC owner of the NextRadio app, to roll out the first, and largest, interactive audience measurement tool of over-the-air FM radio. This alliance enables Westwood One to deliver consumer insights and intelligence that optimize campaigns and prove ROI to national advertisers.
Through the NextRadio mobile app, consumers can listen to live local radio on their smartphone and experience synced interactive ads and content. Listener interactions with a call-to-action, like store directions or promotions, are tracked via the Dial Report® – the first attribution dashboard to measure the impact of FM advertising campaigns. This rich data is translated into actionable insights on campaign demographics, brand exposure, listening engagement, in-store traffic, proximity and more.
Westwood One has been testing this ground-breaking advertiser offering. In May 2017, the network ran a NextRadio campaign for a major retailer on 250 of its radio stations that proved radio drove listeners to retail. One-third of people who heard the ad also viewed the companion ad within the app. Of those listeners exposed to the campaign, an impressive 10% visited the retailer.
“Imagine interacting with broadcast radio and brand content on your smartphone. What an inspiration for getting consumers to take immediate action. This capability is now a reality for a quarter of a billion Westwood One listeners who get more control over their experience, while advertisers get massive and actionable insights and results,” said Suzanne Grimes, EVP, Corporate Marketing, Cumulus Media and President, Westwood One. “In addition, NextRadio’s collaboration with industry partners, including Nielsen, further validates this alliance as transformative for our business.”
“The ability to quantify and prove ad exposure and retail visitation provides hard evidence of radio’s impact, and is an undeniable competitive advantage for Westwood One,” said Paul Brenner, President of NextRadio. “We are thrilled to add their scale to our technology. Through this alliance, our rich consumer data is now available for a mass audience reach, allowing us to connect with larger brands and drive new business opportunities through Westwood One’s innovative advertiser solutions.”
Advertisers who desire to utilize broadcast radio, America’s number one mass reach media, with the addition of NextRadio interactive audience engagement and measurement should contact Westwood One Executive Vice President, Sales Jim Daunais at JDaunais@Westwoodone.com or (404) 260-6607.
