July 5 Radio History

In 1929...WOWO-AM, Fort Wayne, Indiana went back on the air - one day after its transmitter burned down.


In 1935...the first broadcast of "Hawaii Calls" occurred.



Hawaii Calls was a radio program on the Mutual Broadcasting System that ran from 1935 through 1975 that featured live Hawaiian music conducted by Harry Owens, the composer of "Sweet Leilani". It was broadcast each week, usually from the courtyard of the Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach but occasionally from other locations, and hosted by Webley Edwards for almost the entire run.

The first show reached the West Coast of the continental United States through shortwave radio. At its height, it was heard on over 750 stations around the world. However, when it went off the air in 1975, only 10 stations were airing the show. Because of its positive portrayal of Hawaii, the show received a subsidy for many years—first from the government of the Territory of Hawaii, and then from the State of Hawaii.


In 1943...After a three-month run with J.B. Williams in the title role on the New England Network, the detective series "The Adventures of Nero Wolfe," now starring Santos Ortega, moved to ABC Radio. Luis Van Rooten succeeded Ortega the following year. Between 1943 and 1982, Wolfe was portrayed in four radio series on five different networks.


In 1951..."The Silver Eagle," a radio series starring Jim Ameche as Jim West of the Canadian Northwest Mounted Police, began its four-year run on ABC.


In 1951...Dr. William Shockley made the announcement that he had invented a junction transistor.

A junction transistor is a type of transistor that relies on the contact of two types of semiconductor for its operation. BJTs can be used as amplifiers, switches, or in oscillators. BJTs can be found either as individual discrete components, or in large numbers as parts of integrated circuits.

In 1963...it’sannounced that CONELRAD, a means ofwartime communication among the civilian population via AM radio frequencies 640 and 1240Khz, will be going away on August 5 to make way for a new system.

CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was a method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of enemy attack during the Cold War. It was intended to serve two purposes: to prevent Soviet bombers from homing in on American cities by using radio or TV stations as beacons, and to provide essential civil defense information. U.S. President Harry S. Truman established CONELRAD in 1951.

After the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles reduced the likelihood of a bomber attack, CONELRAD was replaced by the Emergency Broadcast System on August 5, 1963, which was later replaced with the Emergency Alert System in 1997; all have been administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Unlike its successors, the EBS and EAS, CONELRAD was never intended to be used for severe weather warnings or local civil emergencies.


In 2008...Rush Limbaugh signed a lucrative deal, believed to be $38 million a year with Premiere Radio Networks that keeps on the air until 2016.

Happy 239th Birthday America!

Courtesy of SiriusXM

July 4 Radio History

In 1929...WOWO-AM, Fort Wayne, Indiana lost its transmitter when it burned down.

WOWO resumed broadcasting the next day, as operations were moved across the street until damages could be repaired. In November 1929, the station held a grand opening of the rebuilt studios


In 1958...WKBW 1520 AM, Buffalo, changed its format to "Top 40".

In 1970...American Top 40 began on the Independence Day weekend in 1970, on seven radio stations, the very first being KDEO in El Cajon, California (now KECR), which broadcast the inaugural show the evening of July 3, 1970.

The chart data broadcast actually included the top 40 songs from the week ending July 11, 1970. The very first show featured the very last time both Elvis Presley and The Beatles had songs simultaneously in the Top 10.

It was originally distributed by Watermark Inc., and was first presented in mono until it started recording in stereo in September 1972.

 In early 1982, Watermark was purchased by ABC Radio and AT40 became a program of the "ABC Contemporary Radio Network". The program was hosted by Casey Kasem and co-created by Kasem; Don Bustany, Kasem's childhood friend from Detroit, MI; radio veteran Tom Rounds; and 93/KHJ Program Director Ron Jacobs, who produced and directed the various production elements. Rounds was also the marketing director; the initial funder was California strawberry grower Tom Driscoll.




The show began as a three-hour program written and directed by Bustany, counting down the top 40 songs on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. The show quickly gained popularity once it was commissioned, and expanded to a four hour-program on October 7, 1978, to reflect the increasing average length of singles on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

The producing staff expanded to eight people, some of them still in the business: Nikki Wine, Ben Marichal, Scott Paton, Matt Wilson, Merrill Shindler, Guy Aoki, Ronnie Allen and Sandy Stert Benjamin. (Bustany retired from AT40 in 1989; since 1994, he has hosted a political talk show on listener-sponsored KPFK.)

By the early 1980s, the show could be heard on 520 stations in the United States and at its zenith, the show was broadcast on 1,000-plus stations in some 50 countries.

Kasem told the New York Times in 1990 "I accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. That is the timeless thing."

AT40's first countdown:

40: END OF OUR ROAD - MARVIN GAYE
39: SILVER BIRD - MARK LINDSEY
38: SPILL THE WINE - ERIC BURDEN
37: GO BACK - CRABBY APPLETON
36: I JUST CAN'T HELP BELIEVING - B.J. THOMAS
35: SPIRIT IN THE DARK - ARETHA FRANKLIN
34: MISSISSIPPI - JOHN PHILLIPS
33: WESTBOUND #9 - FLAMING EMBER
32: IT'S ALL IN THE GAME - FOUR TOPS
31: SAVE THE COUNTRY - FIFTH DIMENSION
30: OHIO - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH AND YOUNG
29: EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL - RAY STEVENS
28: CHECK OUT YOUR MIND - IMPRESSIONS
27: QUESTION - MOODY BLUES
26: SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED - STEVIE WONDER
25: SUGAR, SUGAR - WILSON PICKETT
24: TEACH YOUR CHILDREN - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG
23: WHICH WAY YOU GOIN' BILLY - THE POPPY FAMILY
OLDIE: LITTLE OLE MAN - BILL COSBY
22: LOVE ON A TWO-WAY STREET - MOMENTS
21: MISSISSIPPI QUEEN - MOUNTAIN
20: MAKE IT WITH YOU - BREAD
19: ARE YOU READY - PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC
18: LOVE LAND - CHARLES WRIGHT & THE WATTS 103RD STREET RHYTHM BAND
17: TIGHTER & TIGHTER - ALIVE AND KICKING
16: MY BABY LOVES LOVIN' - WHITE PLAINS
15: A SONG OF JOY - MIGUEL RIOS
OLDIE: HELLO DOLLY - LOUIS ARMSTRONG
14: UNITED WE STAND - BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
13: GET READY - RARE EARTH
12: OOH CHILD - STAIRSTEPS
11: GIMME DAT DING - THE PIPKINS
10: HITCHIN' A RIDE - VANITY FAIR
OLDIE: SPINNING WHEEL - BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS
9: THE WONDER OF YOU - ELVIS PRESLEY
8: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD - BEATLES
7: CLOSE TO YOU - CARPENTERS
6: LAY DOWN (CANDLES IN THE WIND) - MELANIE
5: BAND OF GOLD - FREDA PAYNE
4: RIDE CAPTAIN RIDE - BLUES IMAGE
3: BALL OF CONFUSION - TEMPTATIONS
2: THE LOVE YOU SAVE - JACKSON FIVE
OLDIE: SATISFACTION - ROLLING STONES
1: MAMA TOLD ME NOT TO COME - THREE DOG NIGHT



In 1972...WCBS 101.1 FM, New York, changed its format to "Oldies".

At first, the station focused on rock-and-roll hits from 1955 to 1964 and mixed in some softer hits of the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as a few then-current songs. WCBS-FM also played a moderate amount of adult standards from the rock era. The station played two current hits per hour known as "future gold". By the late 1970s however, the station dropped most of the adult standards, with a few exceptions, and added rock hits from the late 1960s.

WCBS-FM's oldies format weathered many trends and corporate moves.

By 1979, three FM stations owned by CBS had begun playing disco music. In 1981, all of CBS's FM stations, except for WCBS-FM, adopted a CHR format known as "Hot Hits". The oldies format on WCBS-FM continued to be a success.

One ongoing favorite feature was a countdown of the top 500 songs of all time, as voted by the station's listeners. The countdown always took place on Thanksgiving weekend (with a new survey taken every other year. On even years, up to 1990, the survey from the previous year was played. In the first Top 500, The Five Satins' doo wop classic "In the Still of the Night" was #1 and "Earth Angel" by The Penguins was #2.

In 2003...financial expert and Radio personality, Larry Burkett, died at age 64. Best known for his show "Money Matters", which aired on 1,000 radio stations.


In Media Confidential One Year Ago...

SiriusXM Fires Anthony Cumia over Twitter tirade. Click Here

Emmis Wins 'Zombie Shares' Case

Emmis Communications won an appeals court decision in a dispute with some of its preferred shareholders over "zombie shares" and more than $10 million in unpaid dividends.

The Indy Star reports the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's ruling that Emmis, an Indianapolis radio station owner, didn't violate Indiana law by buying up and voting its own shares during the battle with the dissident investors.

"It has been a long road, but we are incredibly gratified that the 7th Circuit upheld Judge (Sarah) Barker's ruling, and denied the arguments made by dissident preferred shareholders," said Jeff Smulyan, chairman and CEO of Emmis.

The decision should end a long-running fight between Emmis and several of its preferred shareholders led by Corre Opportunities Fund LP. It began after Emmis stopped paying dividends on preferred stock during the recession in 2008.

Two years later, Emmis tried to go private and buy out preferred shareholders. The proposal failed to get enough support. By 2011, preferred shares in Emmis had fallen in value to less than $13 a share from their original price of $50.

Emmis, which is owned by Smulyan, eventually bought up a majority of preferred shares, transferred them to an employee trust and voted to strip preferred shareholders of their rights. More than $10 million in preferred dividends have gone unpaid since 2008. The dissident shareholders were trying to force Emmis to pay up.

'1989', 'Uptown Funk' Top Charts Midway 2015

Nielsen Music’s 2015 mid-year music charts confirm what many already knew: Taylor Swift’s “1989” is the top-selling album of 2015 so far, and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk!” is the top-selling digital single.

Variety reports “1989” moved 2.01 million units between Dec. 29, 2014, and June 28, 2015, making it the most popular album of the first half of 2015. Behind Swift is Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” which moved more than 1.43 million units in the same time frame. Close behind Drake is Swift’s buddy Ed Sheeran, whose “X” moved just under 1.43 million units.

Swift’s dominance should come as no surprise. Since “1989” dropped last winter, it has scarcely left the weekly top 5 album sales rankings. Singles “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Style” and “Bad Blood” have all been inescapable on the airwaves, thanks to a tempered rollout and blockbuster music videos to accompany each song.


Over in digital singles, though, none of Swift’s tracks cracked the top 10. Instead, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ ultra-catchy “Uptown Funk!” claimed the top spot, with 4.89 million downloads. Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” came in second place with 3.45 million downloads, and Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again” (from “Furious 7″) finished at No. 3 with 3.07 million downloads so far this year.

St. Louis Radio: Market Vet Tony Scott Departing For Dallas

Tony Scott

After nearly 30 years in the region, longtime St. Louis radio personality Tony Scott is leaving the airwaves in St. Louis and heading for Dallas.

The St. Louis American reports he will depart from Radio One St. Louis’ Old School WFUN 95.5 FM – where he worked as weekend personality for the past nine months.

In Dallas, Scott will be heard in the afternoon drive slot for KRNB Smooth R&B KRNB 105.1 FM , an Urban AC in the Dallas/FW market. (Owned by Service Broadcasting and licensed to Decatur, TX)

After 25 years as a part of Clear Channel/iHM’s KMJM 100.3 FM Majic brand, Scott was let go last year as the first in a sweep of changes. The overhaul would culminate in the re-launch of 100.3 The Beat FM as an old-school hip-hop station and the retirement of the Majic brand after nearly 40 years.

He joined Old School 95.5 FM in November of last year.

KRNB 105.7 FM (93 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

In Dallas, Scott will be heard from 2-7 p.m. on weekdays and 3-8 p.m. on Saturdays.

SiriusXM Losing Key Suit

SiriusXM  quietly announced (via an 8K) that Enrique Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of Operations, Products and Connected Vehicle will be leaving on July 17th to accept a senior leadership position with another company.

Rodriguez came to Sirius in late 2012 and was listed among the most highly compensated executives at Sirius in both 2013 and 1014.  He had previously been a Senior Vice President and General Manager at Cisco Systems and a Corporate Vice President for the TV Division of Microsoft.

Rodriguez will be replaced by James A. Cady who was promoted from Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Connected Services Platform. Cady came to Sirius from Slacker in February of 2014. He had been Chief Executive Officer and President of Slacker from August 2009 until joining Sirius.

The top Sirius executives have been with the company for a fairly long time, so it was surprising to see Rodriguez, one of the company's more recent hires, leave after a relatively short tenure, according  to seekingalpha.com.  Equally surprising to see him replaced by another executive with even shorter tenure. Should it be a cause for concern for Sirius investors? Probably not, but the title does include responsibility for Connected Vehicle Services [CVS], and many investors are counting on that business to help drive future growth at Sirius.

Bad News Week Seen As Helping Donald Trump Candidacy

Conventional widsom would indicate it's been a bad week for Presidential hopeful, business mogul Donald Trump. After all, NBC, Univision, Macy’s and Serta have all cut ties with him over his comments on Mexican immigrants.

Many people obviously found those comments offensive. But, says media pundit and host of Media Buzz on Fox News Howard Kurtz, in purely political terms, all the publicity is helping Trump.

Arrodingt o Kurtz, Trump has dominated the campaign news cycle for a week, drawing more attention than all the other candidates combined. "He has driven home his message with a spate of cable news interviews."

"Here’s what the media elite misses, and why he’s surged into second place in Fox and CNN polls. Trump portrays himself as a fighter, and that resonates with many voters. Trump casts himself as a straight talker, and voters like that. Trump markets himself as a non-politician in an era when the public is fed up with pols. He’s seen as tough on illegal immigration, which doesn’t hurt in a Republican primary."

And Kurtz adds President Obama, in Tennessee, is now calling  for a smart legal immigration system “that doesn’t separate families but does focus on making sure that people who are dangerous, people who are, you know, gang-bangers, who are criminals that we’re deporting as quickly as possible.”

Gang-bangers? Trump’s version was more inelegant, but if the president is worried about Mexican gang-bangers, doesn’t it suggest the businessman had a point?

Ted Cruz: No Such Thing As Nice Reporter

After a young staffer told Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz how “nice” a member of the mainstream media is, Cruz said he actually stopped the young man with a harsh reminder about the intentions of most reporters.

“I actually stopped him and I said, ‘You know what? No, she’s not [nice]. She wants to destroy you. Nothing would make her happier than to take your life and filet you on the front pages. And don’t think for a minute that because she smiles and is friendly to you, that it’s anything else,’” Cruz said, sharing the story on The Glenn Beck Program.

“Isn’t that pretty cynical?” Beck asked with a laugh. “I mean, I agree with you 100 percent, but it’s a little cynical!”

TheBlaze reports Cruz responded that the mainstream media is full partisans who have “picked a team,” and “when the sheep are walking among coyotes, it pays to be cynical.”

WDBJ-TV Fights FCC's Extraordinary $325K Fine

WDBJ-TV7 in Roanoke, VA has filed an appeal with the FCC that opposes the $325,000 proposed fine levied against the station for briefly showing a sexually explicit image during a 2012 newscast, report roanoke.com.

In a 55-page appeal, which includes an additional two pages of WDBJ’s recent news programming awards, Channel 7’s lawyers argued that the fine and the station’s liability in violating federal indecency rules “should be cancelled in their entirety.”

If the FCC concludes that a fine is still warranted, “the amount should be drastically lower than the $325,000 proposed,” the appeal said.

The station also claimed protection under the First Amendment and stated that the FCC did not follow its own standards regarding indecency rules. The biggest complaint was against the sheer size of the fine, which if upheld would be the largest financial forfeiture ever imposed by the FCC against a station for a single incident.

In its appeal, the station argued that “even if some penalty could properly be imposed, there was no justification for the FCC to impose a fine 46 times greater than its rules establish.”

The “fleeting inappropriate image” accompanied a July 12, 2012 story on Channel 7’s 6 p.m. newscast. The story reported that some officials were unhappy that a former pornographic movie actress had joined the Cave Spring Rescue Squad as a volunteer EMT.

During the broadcast, a video image from a pornographic website could be seen near the edge of TV screens. The image, which WDBJ said was visible for 2.7 seconds, showed male genitalia and a sexual act. In an earlier filing with the FCC, station management said that the video clip was not seen by news employees during the editing process because the station’s monitor screens were not wide enough to show the entire website. However, the offending clip was visible on any wide-screen TV or monitor. The station has taken steps to make sure such a mistake does not happen again, Marks said in the news release.

When it announced the proposed fine in March, the FCC released a statement that said: “Our action here sends a clear signal that there are severe consequences for TV stations that air sexually explicit images when children are likely to be watching.”

Live: Two SF TV News Crews Robbed At Gunpoint

Two Bay Area news crews were robbed at gunpoint and a camera operator was pistol-whipped on live TV Thursday while they were reporting on a homicide in San Francisco, according to The LA Times.

Alleged Perp

Part of the robbery was captured on air, showing a man hitting KNTV-TV camera operator Alan Waples with a gun.

Video shows the gunman approach Waples and put a gun to his head while reporter Kris Sanchez pleads for him not to shoot, the Chronicle reported.

Waples was flung to the ground and struck with the gun. San Francisco police say Waples suffered a head injury.

According to KNTV-TV, the cameraman’s ear was cut.

The gunman and two other men fled the scene in a black BMW with the crews’ cameras and tripods, police said.

The TV crews were reporting on the death of a 31-year-old woman who was found lying on the pier at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Bandits tartgeting TV News Crew have been a growing concern for several years. Bay Area news crews have recently stepped up their security because of a string of thefts targeting them.

TheBlaze Ending Hourly Newscasts

Glenn Beck's radio network TheBlaze will be ending its service of hourly newscasts at the end of August.  The newscasts were carried by radio station and by SiriusXM.  While newscasts will be ending, other radio offerings will conrtinue.

A statement from VP/Programming Dom Theodore read:

 "TheBlaze Radio Network will provide its news service to broadcast and satellite radio partners through the end of August. Starting in September, the network will no longer produce and distribute its news service but will continue to be more focused than ever on long form opinion and entertainment programming distributed through TheBlaze Radio Network, a Top-20 streaming service. In the past 12 months, the network has added new shows and podcasts from Andrew W.K., Sheriff David Clarke, Matt Walsh and others, with more to be announced in the near future."

SiriusXM To Air "The History of Howard Stern"

Howard Stern and SiriusXM has announced that "The History of Howard Stern," a two-week in-depth audio biography that offers an unprecedented celebration and rare behind-the-scenes look at the life, career and achievements of Howard Stern, will air on Howard Stern's exclusive SiriusXM channels, Howard 100 and Howard 101 beginning Monday, July 6.

"The History of Howard Stern" will take listeners – "superfans" who have listened for decades and the many new listeners who have joined recently as Howard has grown – through the struggle to become #1 in radio and beyond, up to the moment he left FM for satellite radio.

The special will feature extensive audio from Howard Stern's personal vault, as well as exclusive commentary from Howard Stern, The Howard Stern Show Staff, friends, family, former colleagues and celebrities who have witnessed Stern's rise to superstardom firsthand including David Letterman, Ben Stiller, Rosie O'Donnell, Dave Grohl, Alec Baldwin, Robert Duvall, Quentin Tarantino, Jeff Probst, Tom Arnold, William Shatner, Kathy Griffin, Howie Mandel, Gene Simmons, Sarah Silverman, Ivan Reitman, Paul Giamatti, Ozzy Osbourne, and more.

"The History of Howard Stern" program highlights include:

• Howard's recordings as a child with his family at his father's recording studio.
• Howard's early work at WRNW Westchester, WCCC Hartford,W4 Detroit,
• DC-101 Washington, DC and WNBC New York.
• Howard's Saturday night television show
• The story behind "Baba Booey" 
• Howard's appearance as Fartman at the MTV Video Music Awards
• Howard's first book Private Parts
• Howard's 1994 candidacy for Governor of New York
• Howard's 1997 movie Private Parts
• Howard signing with Sirius and leaving terrestrial radio

"The History of Howard Stern" will air on Howard 100 and 101 starting on Monday, July 6. The broadcast will also be available through the SiriusXM App on smartphones and other connected devices, as well as online at siriusxm.com. The entire special will be available on demand starting on July 4.

For more information on SiriusXM, please visit www.siriusxm.com.

CT Radio: WILI's Boom Box Parade Celebrates 30-Years

The Independence Day Boom Box parade in Willimantic is celebrating its 30th year.

More than 5,000 participants and spectators are expected to step-off  Main Street on Saturday, carrying radios tuned to N/T WILI 1400 AM or Top40 WILI 98.3 FM, which will provide the marching music.

The idea for the parade came in 1986, when organizers of a Memorial Day parade couldn't find a marching band and asked the local radio station to help. The station needed some planning time and agreed instead to provide music for the city's Independence Day parade.

AM personality Wayne Norman serves as the grand marshal each year.

The parade has been known for its independent spirit. Norman says anyone can show up and march. Participants are just asked to wear some red, white and blue and bring a radio.

July 3 Radio History

In 1939…Chic Young's comic strip character "Blondie" became a radio sitcom, initially as a summer replacement for "The Eddie Cantor Show" on CBS. When Cantor did not return in the fall, "Blondie" continued on the air and bounced between several networks until 1950.





In  1940…Two years of successful appearances on "The Kate Smith Hour" earned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello a summer replacement show (for Fred Allen) on NBC Radio. In October 1942, the comedy duo launched their own radio show on the network.




In 1949...Actress Jan Smithers, Bailey Quarters on WKRP in Cincinnati, was born


In 1955...Tom Clay, a Buffalo DJ on WWOL-AM, staged a famous billboard publicity stunt in Shelton Squareconducts his famous Billboard stunt in Buffalo's Shelton Square.

Tom Clay

Clay in the 1950s was a popular radio personality in the Detroit area on WJBK-AM both as a DJ, and for his on-air comic characterizations. In the early 1950s Clay, using the pseudonym "Guy King," worked for WWOL-AM/FM in Buffalo, New York; on July 3, 1955, he conducted the stunt in which he played "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets repeatedly from atop a billboard in Buffalo's Shelton Square, an incident that led to his firing and arrest.  In the mid-1950s he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and was equally popular.

He was caught up in the payola scandal of the late 1950s, and admitted to having accepted thousands of dollars for playing certain records. After being fired from WJBK, Clay worked at the short-lived Detroit Top 40 station WQTE (now WRDT 560 AM) only to be fired again when the station changed format to easy listening music in 1961. After moving to Los Angeles and becoming a popular personality on KDAY and KRLA, Clay returned to the Detroit area and found work at CKLW in neighboring Windsor, Ontario, at the time one of the foremost Top 40 AM stations in North America.

Clay is best remembered for his single on Motown's MoWest label "What the World Needs Now Is Love"/"Abraham, Martin and John", a compilation of clips from the two popular records, interviews, and speeches of Jack and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King emphasizing tolerance and civil rights. It went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Clay died of stomach and lung cancer at the age of 66, in Valley Village, Los Angeles, California in 1995.

In 1961...Dan Ingram did his first show on WABC 770 AM, New York. He filled in for Chuck Dunaway.


In 1971...Rock Hall of Fame rock singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died of heart failure. He was 27.


In 1972...Bob Crane went back to radio - but only for one week.



He was filling in for Dick Wittinghill - his former archrival on KMPC 710 AM in Los Angeles beginning July 5. Wittinghill and Crane battled it out for the morning ratings in Los Angeles from 1956 to 1965, when Crane left to star in “Hogan’s Heroes.”


In 1973...KMEN 1290 AM San Bernardino, CA broadcasts an “all-girl” day on Wednesday of this week. Guest DJ’s heard – Jackie DeShannon, Donna Fargo, Sylvia, April Stevens, Jean Knight, Carla Thomas and Maureen McCormick of the Brady Bunch.


In 1976...The Los Angeles comedy radio team of Hudson and Landry split.



Bob Hudson wanted to keep it together with their KFI 640 AM radio show, nightclub appearances and possibly more comedy records, but Ron Landry wanted to go into television as a writer and producer. Ron Landry says – “Doing this show was a lot of fun. We had five great years and, I think we did some interesting things in broadcasting.”


In 1978...Supreme Court ruled 5-4, FCC had a right to reprimand NY radio station WBAI for broadcasting George Carlin's "Filthy Words".

In 1983...KNX-FM – Soft rock in Los Angeles changes calls and format to KKHR (Hit Radio). Looks like it’ll be direct competition for KIIS-FM.

 Courtesy of airchexx.com.


In 1986...It was announced that Howard Stern, the often controversial New York City DJ/talker, will be syndicated by DIR to other stations.

Stern, who joined rocker WXRK (New York) late last year, has seen his ratings rise from a 1.2 to a 3.4 and up to a 5.2 share in the recent ratings. “The Howard Stern Show” will mix music and talk equally. At WXRK, Stern plays about 6 songs per hour. The national show will be weekly only.

Stern is following a pattern with high-profile DJ’s and national weekly shows: Rick Dees at KIIS-FM, John Lander at KKBQ Houston and Scott Shannon from Z-100 all have national weekly shows, but Stern’s will present or lean heavy personality and will not emphasize the music.


In 1987...Tom Snyder will move from TV to radio this fall to host a national call-in talk show announced this week by the ABC Radio Networks. Look for it early September.


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Ex-CNN Reporter Hailed As Hero After Motel Shootout

Chuck DeCaro, Lynne Russell

A former CNN investigative reporter shot and killed an armed robber in a motel on Albuquerque's Westside late Tuesday, according to his wife.

After repsonding to a 911 call police said they found a man dead in the parking lot of a Motel 6 with at least one gunshot wound.

Lynne Russell, also a former CNN anchor, told KOB-TV4 she and her husband, Chuck de Caro, decided to stop at the motel for the night because they were tired after a long day of traveling and had their dog with them. When she went out to the car to get something and returned to the room, she said an armed man was at the door with a handgun.



De Caro is a former CNN investigative reporter and a consultant for the Pentagon. Russell was an anchor for CNN Headline News and retired about 10 years ago. She was not hurt in the incident.

Miss USA Pageant Gets New TV Outlet

Reelz has picked up the rights to the telecast after NBC on Monday scrapped plans to air the pageant amid a growing controversy involving Donald Trump.

“The decision on the part of Reelz to acquire the rights to the MISS USA Pageant was based on our belief that this special event, and the women who compete in it, are an integral part of American tradition,” said Stan E. Hubbard, CEO of Reelz.

“As one of only a few independent networks, we decided to exercise our own voice and committed ourselves to bringing this pageant to American viewers everywhere."

The Hollywood Reporter says Reelz, owned by Republican donor Hubbard, previously picked up the high-profile The Kennedys miniseries after History Channel made the decision to yank it amid controversy.

Trump has come under fire for controversial statements he made about immigrants during his June 16 speech announcing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Apple's Music Payoff: Later Than Sooner

Analysts predict Apple's revenue at $232 billion this fiscal year, according to the Financial Times. If Apple had Spotify's 20 million subscribers, revenue per 12 months would be just $1.92 billion, or 0.8 percent of Apple's annual revenue. To put that in comparison, if Apple weighed 195 pounds -- the average weight of an American male -- Apple Music would weigh just 1.6 pounds, or about the same weight as the original iPad.

But, according to Billboard,  there could be a financial payoff down the road. Apple is investing in the iTunes brand and trying to stay relevant in digital media. The iTunes Music Store is losing steam and streaming is both the present and future of entertainment. Moreover, what Apple does now influences the company's performance down the road. iTunes is a "key ingredient" to Apple's continued success, as Daniel Ives, managing director and senior analyst at FBR Capital Markets, told CNBC.

Milwaukee Radio: Kidd O'Shea Leaving WMYX

Elizabeth Kaye, Kidd O'Shea

Kidd O'Shea, who's co-hosted the morning show on WMYX 99.1 FM for nearly a decade, is leaving the station to become the social media anchor at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.

O'Shea told listeners during his show Wednesday morning, according to jsaonline.com.

A Milwaukee native, O'Shea has been co-host of WMYX's morning show since 2006, first with Jane Matenaer and, since 2009, with Elizabeth Kay. Since 2006, he also has been a regular contributor on WISN-TV (Channel 12), mostly doing feature stories on weekend events around town.

Before joining WMYX, O'Shea was at WKTI 94.5 FM, where he started working as a teenager in 1996 and wound up hosting a popular evening show.

"I've been working in Milwaukee radio since I was 16 years old," O'Shea said in an interview. "...I am a product of this great town."

The new job is another early-morning gig, on ABC affiliate "Good Morning, Washington." The focus will be on viral videos and other stuff people are talking about, O'Shea said.

O'Shea said his departure date from WMYX hasn't been finalized, but it'll likely be in mid-August; he starts his new job in D.C. on Sept. 1.

Las Vegas Radio: KVGS Brings Back Mark DiCiero For Mornings

Aimee Montgomery, Mark DiCiero, Mike Makenzie

Beasley Media Group/Las Vegas has announced the launching of Mornings with Mark and Aimee on Variety Hits KVGS STAR 107.9 FM.

Starting Monday, July 6 veteran Vegas morning radio star Mark DiCiero , who is famous for his role as half of the long-running morning duo “Mark and Mercedes in the Morning” weekday show on Mix 94.1 KMXB, consistently rated number one in the highly competitive Adults 25 -54 year old demographic.  He brings a long list of accolades, including “Best Radio Personality” for 12 consecutive years (Las Vegas Review-Journal’s annual Best of Las Vegas Readers poll).

“Having worked with Mark for many years, I can say he brings entertainment and fun to Radio that is unmatched in the Las Vegas Market,” says Las Vegas Market Manager Tom Humm.

“Mark’s wit, charm and kind demeanor make him a trusted friend to his listeners."

 “It was time to take Star to the next level and the only person I could think of, who could make it happen overnight, was Mark DiCiero!” noted Program Director Mike O’Brian Program Director.

“Locally, there’s no one more recognizable right now, despite being off the air for the past six months. We’ve been able to put together a great line-up and with the addition of Mark, I have no doubt that Mornings with Mark & Aimee will be a huge success!”

New arrival, Co-Host Aimee Montgomery offers a brand-new, fresh, female voice and definitely plays the “Rising Star” on STAR 107.9’s new morning show.

KVGS 107.9 FM (100 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area Licensed to Meadville, AZ
FM Booster: KVGS 107.9 FM1 (2.5 Kw) Licensed to Henderson, NV

"The morning Stars are finally aligned in Vegas", according to Mark, who adds, “I could not be happier to be working with Aimee Montgomery and (producer) Mike Makenzie on the new Star 107.9 Morning Show. We’re fired up and ready to go on July 6th!

It’s also a true privilege to be reunited with Market Manager Tom Humm and to be working with Las Vegas radio legend Mike O’Brian, as our Program Director.”

SF Radio: KOIT Bounces Veteran Personality Jack Kulp

Jack Kulp

Hit the road: He’s one of local radio’s nice guys; he’s a talented on-air personality, and he helped his station score consistently high ratings for just under 20 years.

But, according to Ben Fong-Torres at the SF Chronicle, that’s not enough in today's world. On June 12, longtime morning personality Jack Kulp was let go at Entercom's AC KOIT 96.5 FM , which he joined in 1994. Kulp, who turned 61 days after his termination, had been doing mornings since April 2005, when he succeeded the retired Tom Saunders. In recent years, he was teamed with co-host Charly Kayle.

Next Monday, her new partner will be Andrew Hart, who had been on nights in Chicago at Hubbard's WTMX The Mix.

Reached by e-mail, Kulp did not provide any reasons he may have been given for his dismissal, choosing instead to praise his listeners. “It was a great run at KOIT, and I was very, very lucky!” he wrote.

“I was fortunate enough to really get to know the listeners, and I wasn’t shy about letting them in on what was happening in my life either. Our youngest son was born the year I began hosting the morning show full time after Tommy retired. That same son will begin his freshman year of college in the fall. That time sure went by quickly, as did my time at KOIT, and I can’t thank the audience enough.”

At KOIT, Steve DiNardo, market manager for owner Entercom, said Hart, who is 26, “has a unique perspective on the KOIT lifestyle and goes beyond the traditional DJ role. In Chicago, he created a video blog series about different restaurants, and he has a perspective on where this business is going.” In other words, it’s a social media world, radio can no longer be just radio, and when program director Brian Figula, whom DiNardo described as “constantly keeping his eyes open for talent,” heard about Hart, the gears began turning.

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BBC To Slash A Thousand Jobs

The BBC is to cut 1,000 jobs because of a budget gap in its licence fee income.

An unexpected increase in the number of households saying they do not watch live TV so do not pay for a licence has been blamed for the shortfall.

Many cuts are to come from professional and support areas, while management structures will be streamlined.

BBC director general Tony Hall says this will save around $78M a year so more cuts will come.

Hall said the BBC was facing "difficult choices" because of the tough financial climate.

He said more than one million fewer people had a television set than was predicted in 2011, when another round of efficiency savings were implemented, so extra savings had to be found.

In announcing more than 1,000 jobs cuts, Hall said he recognized "this is a tough message".

The BBC reports the four key areas for making the savings are:

• Merging divisions, bringing together teams in BBC and BBC Worldwide
• Cutting out management layers, reducing management levels from 10 to seven
• Reducing management roles, bringing down the number of senior positions
• Simplifying procedures in professional areas including legal, marketing and finance

The BBC licence fee has been frozen for seven years.

Twin Cities Radio: iHM Names Matt Tell PD for KQQL

Matt Tell

iHeartMedia/Minneapolis has announced the promotion of Matt Tell to Program Director of Classic Hits KQQL 107.9 FM Kool 108.

Tell has been Assistant Program Director for KQQL-FM and Director of Promotions for iHeartMedia's nine local brands, a posuition he'll continue.

While taking full responsibility for KQQL-FM, Tell previously spent the last 19 years working for the Twin Cities' iHeartMedia stations.

"I'm excited and honored to have this opportunity," said Tell. "I'm a Minnesota boy, so KOOL 108 is a great fit for me and my family. I love how Kool 108's music is fun and I'm lucky to be surrounded by great talent on and off the air here at iHeartMedia. We're going to continue to provide great marketing solutions for our clients and build even stronger partnerships in the community. Lots more good things to come."

KQQL 107.9 FM (96 Kw) Red=Local coverage Area

iHeartMedia/Minneapolis Senior VP/Programming Gregg Swedberg added, "I'm so glad we are making this move with Matt. He has done everything we've ever asked him to do here, and much of the ratings success for KQQL in the last year is Matt's doing. There's nobody I would rather have with me in the bunker, and no more loyal and dedicated worker. I'm glad he's on our side."

Albuquerque Radio: Picazzo Stevens Gets Double PD-Duty

Picazzo Stevens

American General Media has named veteran programmer and personality Picazzo Stevens as Program Director for Rhythmic/Top40 KAGM 106.7 FM and Mainstream/Top40 KDLW-FM Power 106.7. He'll also serve on air weekdays on KAGM.

"I can't begin to tell you all how excited I am to have Picazzo back with our company,” said Bill Kruger, Regional Director for AGM.

Stevens has a wide radio background including former PD/Afternoons at KAGM in 2014, KISV/Bakersfield, KVYB/Ventura and APD/Afternoons at KDHT/Austin, TX. In addition, his extensive radio background includes stops in Riverside, Monterey, Fresno and San Diego, CA.

KAGM 106.7 FM (43 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

"My gratitude to AGM President, Rogers Brandon and Regional Director, Bill Kruger for inviting me to rejoin the company and oversee these great brands. We have hit the “reset button” and have an exciting opportunity to achieve great things here in Albuquerque," said Picazzo.

FCC Call Sign Activity For June 2015

ESPN's Cowherd Ends Jim Harbaugh Clunker Interview

Colin Cowherd

It's never a good thing when the only story to develop from an interview is how much of a train wreck the interview was.

That puff of smoke over the horizon, though, is all that's left of a Wednesday morning conversation between Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and ESPN's Colin Cowherd. according to MLive.com.

In a painfully awkward interview on "The Herd," Cowherd's ESPN Radio sports talk show that's simulcast on ESPNU, Harbaugh answered bad questions with worse answers, ultimately leading to Cowherd cutting Harbaugh off the air and ending the interview.

"I've been in the business 10 years, folks," Cowherd concluded by saying."That was a clunker. There isn't much I can do about that. I tried. I asked every open-ended question I could, but he's got nothing to say."


Cowherd claimed no ill-will, laughing off most of the back-and-forth, and said the interview simply wasn't working.

In my experience of participating in interviews, I've found it takes 2 to produce a clunker! I'll take 50% responsibility 4 this clunker.

— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) July 1, 2015

Report: Glenn Beck Downsizes In NYC

Glenn Beck’s Internet and television channel TheBlaze has quietly downsized its New York production operation in an ongoing shift to make Dallas, Texas, its primary production hub, Capital New York has learned.

The only show still in production at the network’s Manhattan offices is “The Buck Sexton Show,” hosted by a former cohost of TheBlaze's defunct “Real News” show.

The changes at the New York office are coming amidst major disruptions at the company. In June TheBlaze's C.E.O., Betsy Morgan, departed after serving in the position for six months. Morgan had replaced Chris Balfe, Beck’s right-hand man for 12 years, who left in December and is now said to be working on a digital startup. Soon afterwards, former president and chief content officer Joel Cheatwood also exited to join Balfe in the venture.

Kraig Kitchin is currently serving as interim C.E.O. at the company, and a replacement has not yet been named.

The move out of New York has been a slow trip south rather than a one-time relocation. Over the past year, most of the New-York-based shows appearing on Beck’s conservative television network, like "Real News" and "Liberty Treehouse," were shuttered. Subsequent shows replacing them on the network’s lineup were launched in Dallas, not New York.

Now, almost every television show produced for TheBlaze is filmed out of a 72,000 square foot studio in Dallas owned by Mercury Radio Arts, Beck’s media company. The Dallas studio is where Beck, TheBlaze’s founder, records television and radio shows that make up much of its regular programming.

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Cumulus, AudioBoom Partner For Podcasting Deal

Cumulus Media Holdings, Inc. and Audioboom Group plc announce a strategic partnership whereby Audioboom’s fully featured SaaS platform will provide on-demand creative, hosting, broadcasting and advertising tools for the entire Cumulus and Westwood One radio network, encompassing over 450 stations, over 100 nationally syndicated shows and over 240 million unique listeners.

The Audioboom platform will be used by Cumulus to embed content across its networks’ websites and mobile apps, offering listen-again, on-demand and bespoke podcasts and to create clips that can be distributed via Audioboom’s embeddable players, social media integration (Twitter and Facebook), and RSS feeds into third party audio platforms.

In addition, Audioboom has appointed Westwood One as its exclusive sales representation agent for the monetization of this digital content through the sale of pre- and post-roll video, audio and display advertising, as well as ‘in-read’ native advertising for podcasts.