August 7 Radio History

Billie Burke and Judy Garland

In 1885...actress/comedienne Billie Burke was born to a show business family in Washington DC. After a bigscreen career which is best remembered in her portrayal of Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, she starred in her own Saturday morning radio show on CBS as a scatterbrain with a heart of gold.  Later she played the same character on the Eddie Cantor Radio Show, and guested a few times on TV, including two dramatic roles on Playhouse 90.  She died May 14, 1970 at age 84.


In 1886...Louis Hazeltine, who  invented the neutrodyne circuit, was born.

Stan Freberg

In 1906...actress Ernestine Wade was born in Jackson Mississippi.  She is best remembered as Sapphire Stevens, the shrewish wife of The Kingfish on radio & TV’s Amos ‘n’ Andy.  She died April 15 1983 at age 76.


In 1926...satirical humourist/advertising guru Stan Freberg was born in Pasadena. He is remembered and revered for his creativity, as an author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include “St. George and the Dragonet“, John & Marsha, Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, his role on the television series Time for Beany, and a number of classic commercials. The 15 episodes of his 1957 CBS radio show are fondly recalled by OTR fans. He died from pneumonia April 7 2015 at age 88.


In 1942...NPR host, Garrison Keillor, was born. ("A Prarie Home Companion").

In 1969...Charlie Greer did his last show on WABC 770 AM New York.

Charlie Greer (1923-1996) did middays and overnight. Given WABC's 50,000 clear channel signal, Greer became a popular all-night disc jockey heard on more than 38 states punching his way through famous tongue twister commercials for an all night clothing store called Dennison's in Union, New Jersey.



Greer also spent time with New York City's WCBS-FM in 1973, then and became part of WCBS-FM's Rock and Roll Radio Greats Weekend in the eighties and nineties.

From WAKR in Akron Ohio, Charlie started at WABC on December 7, 1960. He moved back and forth between overnights and middays a couple of times. He was one of the original Swingin’ Seven from Seventy Seven.

He moved to Philadelphia's WIP in 1969 and then back to the New York area to WRKL in New City for a short while, and later worked at WHAM in Rochester, before returning to Akron.


In 1971... 93/KHJ - Los Angeles early evening Disk Jockey - “Humble’ Harve Miller pled guilty to second degree murder of his adulterous wife Mary. In a short statement, he said he accidentally shot his wife and still loved her. Miller was the subject of a 13-day nationwide search after the murder in May.

"Humble" Harve Miller began his career in 1958 at radio station WAAT in Trenton, New Jersey. Soon after, he moved to WIBG in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he worked from 1958 to 1962. Miller subsequently moved to Los Angeles, California, and became part of the enormous hit station KHJ as part of the "Boss Radio" DJ teams working under Bill Drake and other executives.

Humble Harve was the top-rated nighttime disc jockey throughout a five year period, and also did commercials, voice-over work, and narrated the 1967 counterculture documentary film Mondo Mod. He also narrated the late-1969 syndicated version of KHJ's The History of Rock and Roll 48-hour special, which aired throughout the early 1970s.

In 1971, Miller's career took a dramatic turn when he was found guilty of murdering his adulterous wife Mary and wound up serving a ten-year prison sentence for manslaughter. In 1980, Harve was released from prison and soon found work at LA station KKDJ.

Among the Los Angeles radio stations Humble Harve has worked for throughout the years are KIQQ, KIIS, KUTE, KRLA, KRTH, KCBS-FM, and KZLA. In addition, Miller also worked for WIBG in Philadelphia in 1985 and KVI in Seattle, Washington from 1986-1989, and also narrated a variety of syndicated radio specials during the 1980s and 1990s.

In 1995 Miller was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1974...Cousin Brucie (Bruce Morrow) did his last show on WABC 770 AM/New York and moved over to WNBC 660 AM.


In 1981...FCC established General Radiotelephone Operator License, ceased issuing First and Second Class Operator licenses.


In 2000...NYC's WADO 1280 AM increased power to 50 Kw Day / 7.2 Kw Night


In 2015…Veteran radio and television host/anchor (KGO, KCBS, KRON-TV in San Francisco and CKNW and CJOR in Vancouver, British Columbia) Art Finley died of a heart attack at 88.

Rio Olympics: NBC Takes Flak For Time Delay, Commercials

(Reuters) -- American TV viewers used social media on Friday to vent their anger at U.S. broadcaster NBC for delaying the screening of the opening ceremony of the Rio Games by an hour and then going to repeated commercial breaks during the show.

NBC, a unit of Comcast Corp, has the U.S. media rights for South America's first Olympic Games and said it decided not to show the ceremony live because its producers and commentators wanted time to put it into context for Americans.

"It's not a sports competition," a NBC Sports spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Reuters during the ceremony.

"It's a cultural ceremony that requires deep levels of understanding, with numerous camera angles and our commentary laid over it. We think it's important to give it the proper context. And prime time is still when the most people are available to watch."

5 commercial breaks in in first 30 minutes??!! Send some mosquitoes into the NBC booth! #OpeningCeremony

— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) August 6, 2016

But many viewers were upset at waiting to see a global event while audiences and news media in the rest of the world were already sharing pictures of it on the Web.

"The rest of the world has been watching it LIVE for a half hour now," said one tweet before the NBC telecast started.

Another chimed in: "Great idea NBC. Don't air what should be a global cultural event live. Why would everyone want to watch and enjoy together?"

The NBC Set

Some journalists also showed their frustration, including Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Gerard Baker.

"Just staggeringly irritating that - 20 years after the birth of the web - NBC still shows the Olympics with a time delay," Baker tweeted.

Others were annoyed at repeated ad breaks, including one who tweeted: "Can NBC slip in a bit of the Olympic opening ceremony between the commercials?!"

On commercial breaks, the NBC spokesperson said the delay enabled it to insert ads into the broadcast without depriving viewers of much of the ceremony.

The 2016 Opening Ceremony in warp speed.https://t.co/OLUXwsZYga https://t.co/HMswmXKXSb

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2016

Liberty CEO: SiriusXM Would House A Streaming Service

Greg Maffei

Liberty Media Chief Executive Greg Maffei said Friday that any potential deal for a streaming music service would be housed in SiriusXM, the satellite service it controls, as opposed to Liberty Media, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Speaking on a conference call with analysts, Mr. Maffei said it’s “highly unlikely that anything would happen at the Liberty level.” He said that Sirius XM is “our play for the online play for music, whether it’s distributed through satellite or…through the online system.”

Maffei’s comments clear up one question for Wall Street as investors watch how his efforts to court Pandora Media Inc. play out. WSJ reported last month that Mr. Maffei had floated an informal, roughly $15-a-share bid for Pandora in recent months, but was rebuffed by the streaming music company’s board. Some analysts had wondered whether Liberty Media would be the vehicle for such a deal, given that it also has stakes in music-related entities like Indian music streaming service Saavn and Live Nation Entertainment, the concert and ticketing company.

On the call, Mr. Maffei didn’t directly address Pandora. But he did comment generally on how the plethora of streaming music options becoming available was commoditizing music, from Spotify to Apple Music to Amazon’s Prime music offerings. He noted that Spotify, which offers on-demand listening options, had content costs upwards of 80% of its revenue.

Still, Liberty and Sirius XM executives of late have made positive statements about the model of Pandora, whose internet radio service doesn’t require licensing directly from music labels but pays rates that are determined by the federal Copyright Royalty Board.

Sac Radio: CBS Radio Promotes Chad Rufer To VP/Programming

Chad Rufer

CBS Radio/Sacramento has announced Chad Rufer has been named VP/Programming.

Rufer spent the last 6 years as the Program Director for Top40 KZZO 100.5 FM in Sacramento. This past year, he also held the same role for both KZZO and AC KYMX 96.1 FM. Rufer also served as a lead consultant for CBS Radio Houston station KHMX 96.5 FM.

Prior to coming to Sacramento, Rufer served as the Operations Manager for Saga Communications and the Director Of Programming at Fort Myers Broadcasting in Florida.

“I am looking forward to working with Chad on clusterwide programming initiatives,” said Cottingim. “He has consistently delivered outstanding results for both KZZO and KYMX. I am confident that he will have a significant impact growing ratings for the cluster.”

“I’m very humbled by the trust that Steve Cottingim and executive team at CBS Radio has in me,” said Rufer. “Taking on this new role and being surrounded by such an all-star programming team is truly a dream come true.”

Twin Cities Radio: Jeff Dubay Escapes More Jail Time

Jeff  Dubay

Former Twin Cities sports radio personality Jeff Dubay has been sentenced for methamphetamine possession.

Dubay, 48, was sentenced Friday in Washington County District Court to 10 years probation and 180 days in jail, along with requirements to complete treatment and meet other conditions. It was Dubay’s second felony drug conviction.

He was arrested for a driving violation and for an outstanding warrant out of Wright County. During the arrest, police searched Dubay’s pockets and reported finding two hypodermic needles and a piece of folded paper containing methamphetamine. A computer bag in his vehicle contained approximately 31 used syringes; one contained a liquid that police believed to be a drug, the criminal complaint states.

Dubay was convicted of drug possession in 2009, which triggered a mandatory 180-day jail term in the new case. He received credit for 53 days already served. He will be allowed to participate in an in-custody Sentence to Service program to reduce remaining jail time, according to the sentencing summary.

Dubay was a popular host on KFAN radio and later 1500 ESPN. His employment at 1500 ESPN was terminated in 2014.

August 6 Radio History

In 1881...gossip columnist Louella Parsons was born in Freeport Illinois.  Her rather lacklustre radio personality didn’t keep her from fronting a succession of big budget star vehicles on network radio, including Hollywood Hotel & Hollywood Premiere.  For six years she also had a 15 minute showbusiness gossip show on Sunday night.  She died of arteriosclerosis Dec 9, 1972 at age 91.


In 1911...actress/comedienne Lucille Ball was born in Jamestown New York.


She was successful in film, on stage & in radio, but is best remembered as the Emmy Award-winning star of CBS TV’s I Love Lucy, and her successive sitcoms The Lucy Show & Here’s Lucy. Her career in TV spanned some 30 years. She died of an aortic aneurism April 26, 1989 at age 77.

Jim Ameche

In 1915...announcer/actor Jim Ameche was born in Kenosha Wisconsin.  His is best remembered as the original title character in Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy. He succeeded his older brother Don Ameche as the host/announcer for The Chase and Sanborn Hour, and was heard as Mountie Jim West on ABC’s Silver Eagle (1951–55). He had featured roles in radio’s Grand Hotel, Hollywood Playhouse, and Big Sister.  For many years, he was the afternoon announcer on WQXR, the classical radio station of The New York Times and a host on WHN 1050 AM in the '60s, and did numerous radio ads in Phoenix, Arizona in his later years. He died Feb. 4 1983 at age 67.


In 1939...after becoming a success with Ben Bernie and Eddie Cantor on network radio, and being featured on NBC’s Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, Dinah Shore started her own Sunday evening show on the NBC Blue radio network. Later Dinah would also have a successful TV career spanning more than three decades.


In 1973...Wolfman Jack did his first broadcast on WNBC 660 AM, New York.

The Wolfman was paid handsomely to join WNBC in New York in August 1973, the same month that American Graffiti premiered, and the station did a huge advertising campaign in local newspapers that the Wolfman would propel their ratings over that of their main competitor, WABC, which had "Cousin Brucie" (Bruce Morrow).

The ads would proclaim, "Cousin Brucie's Days Are Numbered", and they issued thousands of small tombstone-shaped paperweights which said, "Cousin Brucie is going to be buried by Wolfman Jack".

After less than a year, WNBC hired Cousin Brucie, and Wolfman Jack went back to California to concentrate on his syndicated radio show.


In 1982...WQXI 790 AM in Atlanta is 1st to use Harris Corp AM stereo system


In 1991...Broadcast journalist Harry Reasoner died. He was 68.


In 1998…Baseball Hall of Famer Jack Brickhouse, a Chicago Cubs broadcaster for four decades, died of heart failure at 82.


In 2008...WHTT becomes WNYM 970 AM with conservative talk format.


In 2011...songwriter/deejay Fred Imus, the younger brother of Don Imus, and himself a country music host on Sirius-XM Radio, was found dead in his mobile home in Tucson at age 69.


In 2012.. R. Peter Strauss, former WMCA NYC owner passed away at age 89.

Straus, who took over WMCA in the late 1950s and turned it into one of the nation’s most innovative radio stations, broadcasting what are regarded as the first radio editorials and political endorsements and helping to popularize rock ’n’ roll, died on Monday at his home in Midtown Manhattan.

The son of a radio entrepreneur and the scion of a family steeped in public service, Straus counted diplomats, cabinet officials, legislators and philanthropists among his forebears. He became a United Nations official, director of the Voice of America and administrator of American aid to Africa.
WMCA pioneered public service radio in New York. It was the first station in the country to run editorials on political and civic issues, with Mr. Straus himself reading opinions on the air, and the first to endorse a presidential candidate, backing John F. Kennedy in 1960.

In December 1963, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” wailed out over WMCA, and Beatlemania, with a big boost from the station, soon engulfed the region. It was hardly a surprise. WMCA had been playing rock ’n’ roll since the 1950s, and WMCA’s Top 40 format, along with that of its fierce rival WABC, dominated the New York airwaves through the 1960s. WMCA’s disc jockeys, known as the Good Guys, became almost as well known as the stars whose records they played.

After Straus converted the station to an all-talk format in 1970, WMCA was known for years as a forum for liberal causes. It was the first station to call for the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon in the Watergate scandal, the first to ban cigarette advertising and the first to accept ads from abortion rights advocates and makers of contraceptives.

It broadcast “Call for Action” programs featuring an ombudsman to help listeners who had problems with government agencies, corporations and landlords, and “Crime Stoppers,” to help the police solve crimes.

NBCU Wins Olympic Gold With More Than $1.2B In Ads

NBCUniversal, the Comcast-owned media conglomerate,  said it has sold in excess of $1.2 billion in national advertising related to its broadcasts from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“We are exceptionally well sold,” said Seth Winter, executive vice president of advertising sales for NBCU Sports Group, during a conference call Thursday with reporters. “We are pretty much sold out of all of our premium inventory.” NBCU said the amount of advertising sold represents a new record.

Variety reports For many years, NBCU has had to fill its most expensive hours with broadcasts of Olympic competitions that are tape-delayed, owing to the fact that many Olympics in recent past took place in more remote locales like Sochi, Beijing or London. Having the Games in Rio means being able to show many of them in primetime hours for U.S.  audiences. “I think it’s very, very helpful. We feel more confident in committing to our ratings, and the type of numbers we think it will reach,” said Winter.  As a result, he added, “advertisers feel more comfortable. We are more comfortable.”

Winter said ad sales for Rio were pacing 20% ahead of the company’s efforts behind the 2012 Summer Olympics from London. According to Kantar, a tracker of ad spending, the London Olympics secured around $1.33 billion in all Olympics advertising, including local and digital, while NBCU’s coverage of the Summer Olympics from Beijing in 2008 won around $850 million. Winter said NBCU continued to sell, and was likely to meet with interest from advertisers who had yet to purchase Olympics inventory. The company is also involved with ad deals related to new media venues like Snapchat that it has not counted as part of its total haul, he said.

The economics of the Olympics are well scrutinized at NBCU and its parent company. The Philadelphia cable-and-content giant agreed in 2011 to pay $4.4 billion for U.S. broadcast rights to the Olympics through 2020, and another $7.75 billion for the rights to the Games through 2032. In July, NBCU CEO Steve Burke declared the Rio Olympics would be “the most profitable Olympics in history.”

NBCU will broadcast what it says is an unprecedented 6,755 hours of Olympics programming across its flagship NBC outlet, Spanish-language network Telemundo and cable networks including USA, CNBC, Telemundo, Bravo, Golf Channel, MSNBC, NBCSN and NBCUniverso. The last time the Summer Games were in a U.S. friendly time zone, NBC was the sole network involved, and broadcast 171 hours of coverage for the 1996 Atlanta Games. Rio will have nearly 40 times more programming hours than Atlanta.

Megyn Kelly Book Expected To Be Major Hit

Booksellers have high hopes for Fox News star Megyn Kelly’s coming memoir, “Settle for More,” which promises the behind-the-scenes scoop on her public feud with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, report The Wall Street Journal.

While the memoir was expected to be of interest because of the Trump material, booksellers say any revelations related to her former Fox News boss Roger Ailes would make it a more sought-after read.
Mr. Ailes resigned last month in the wake of sexual harassment allegations after 20 years with the network.

A person familiar with the matter said Ms. Kelly was paid an advance for the book in the ballpark of $6 million.

Kelly’s manuscript was due at the book’s publisher, HarperCollins Publishers, in late spring, the person said. That was roughly two months before former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson sued Mr. Ailes for sexual harassment, alleging he didn’t renew her contract because she complained about a hostile work environment and rebuffed his advances. He has denied the accusations.

The Kelly memoir is scheduled to be released Nov. 15, a week after the presidential election. A veteran publisher at a rival house said that, based on typical publishing timetables, there is still a
window for Ms. Kelly to add new material if she chooses.

A summary on the HarperCollins website promises “never-before-heard details” of the Republican debate Ms. Kelly moderated that set off a monthslong conflict with Mr. Trump, as well as a discussion of “how she approaches gender in the workplace.”

Over the past few years, ratings for her show “The Kelly File” have risen dramatically and she now averages 2.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen, trailing only Bill O’Reilly at the network.

Ms. Kelly’s “Settle for More” has announced a first printing of two million copies, a large number by today’s standards.

Read More Now (Paywall)

Detroit Radio: WDMK Hosts Jailed Over Money Owed

John Mason

WDMK 105.9 FM KissFM Detroit radio personalities John Mason and Angie Starr were ordered to be sent to jail Thursday.

It is unclear at this time if Mason and Angie spent any time in jail. Mason on-air Friday morning.

The two borrowed money to throw a New Year's Eve party Dec. 31, 2008 but allegedly did not honor the loan contract, leading the judge to rule in favor of the plaintiffs, according to court documents

Court papers say the two have not paid back any of the money since then, and Judge Daphne Means Curtis ordered them to jail until they can pay back the total of $4,126.

As a result, Mason, whose legal name is Ernest Wooten, and Starr, whose legal name is Angela High, were found in contempt of court and were ordered to be sent to Wayne County Jail Thursday, according to Fox2 Detroit.

In a statement by the court: "Defendants Angela High and Ernest Wooten are held in contempt of court for failure to comply with a subpoena issued regarding a creditor's examination. Defendants have further failed to satisfy a judgment of $10,085.21 against them. Defendants are hereby ordered to be sent to the Wayne County Jail. Both defendants shall be released from the jail upon a total payment of $4,126.74. It is so ordered."

Mason is also the public address announcer for the Detroit Pistons.

Liberty Media Hits 2Q Estimates

Liberty Media Corporation today reported second quarter 2016 results. Highlights include:

Attributed to Liberty SiriusXM Group

• SiriusXM reported strong second quarter 2016 results
• Net subscriber growth of 8% to more than 30.6 million
• Revenue climbed 10% to $1.2 billion, a record high for any single quarter
• Net income rose 68% to $173 million
• Adjusted EBITDA(2) grew 13% to $468 million
• Liberty Media’s ownership of SiriusXM stood at 64.8% as of July 22nd

Attributed to Liberty Braves Group

• Completed rights offering and raised $203 million in proceeds
• Braves signed six of top 25 international prospects, including top overall prospect Kevin Maitan; amateur draft secured five of top 80 draft picks
• Battery Atlanta announced eight new retail, restaurant and entertainment concepts to be completed by opening day 2017

Attributed to Liberty Media Group

• Live Nation posted double digit growth in revenue and adjusted operating income across each of its core divisions

“SiriusXM posted outstanding results for the quarter, reaching over 30.6 million subscribers. The company set a quarterly revenue record and once again increased its guidance on July 26th,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty Media President and CEO.

“Live Nation also delivered a very strong quarter, and leading indicators across concerts and ticketing sales, sponsorship and advertising are pointing to another record year in 2016. We’re very pleased with the progress of the Braves’ new ballpark and mixed-use facility, which continue to track on-time and on-budget.”

Scripps Earnings: Radio Off A Bit

The E.W. Scripps Company today reported operating results for the second quarter of 2016.

For the quarter, net income from continuing operations was $11.5 million or 14 cents per share. In the prior-year period, the net loss from continuing operations was $13 million or 15 cents per share, including costs associated with the Journal transaction in the prior-year period of $15.7 million after-tax.

Second-Quarter Highlights

• Revenues from continuing operations were $228 million, up 15 percent from last year.
• Retransmission revenue was up 46 percent in the quarter to $53.4 million. We completed a new agreement in January 2016 with Time Warner Cable covering approximately 3 million households.
• Election-year TV political advertising was $8.4 million in the second quarter. Candidate and political action committee spending was focused in the key Scripps states of Ohio, Florida, Colorado, Nevada and Wisconsin.
• In April, we acquired digital-media humor brand Cracked, which informs and entertains millennial audiences through its high-traffic website, mobile apps, podcast, social media and digital video. In June, we acquired popular podcast listening service Stitcher, which facilitates discovery and streaming for more than 65,000 podcasts to 8 million registered users.

Commenting on the results, Scripps Chairman, President and CEO Rich Boehne said:

“We are now halfway through a political election year that is different and historic in many ways. It’s in defining moments like these when our local television platforms demonstrate their greatest value, both through skilled storytelling and through the delivery of the candidates’ own messaging.

“More than 80 percent of our potential political revenue is still ahead of us over the next 13 weeks – with about half of our total political ad revenue projected in the fourth quarter. The second quarter started more slowly than we had anticipated, with the Democrats’ Clinton-Sanders race running out longer than most people expected and delaying the start to general-election spending. Republican Donald Trump held back spending while the Democrats duked it out. We expect a more normal pace of spending to set in now that we are through the party conventions, the traditional start of the heavy spending season.

“Of course, the presidential race is typically about 30 percent of our presidential election-year political revenue, and meanwhile, many of our U.S. Senate races continue to be highly competitive, particularly in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. We also have two competitive governor’s races, in Indiana and Missouri.

“The addition of Cracked in April gives us three strong national digital content brands. Cracked, a longtime humor and satire brand, has tremendous appeal with young audiences and is already well-positioned on desktop and social media outlets. Our plan is to leverage the strong over-the-top television relationships we have built with Newsy to create a second OTT channel for Cracked. Cracked and Newsy are joined by over-the-top audio leader Midroll, to round out a strategy to capture younger, organically growing audiences and others drawn by Internet-delivered content.”
businesses.

Second-quarter results by segment compared to prior-period amounts were:

Radio

• Revenue was $18.2 million, down from $19.4 million in the 2015 quarter. Expenses were $14.3 million compared to $14.5 million in 2015.
• Segment profit in the radio division was $3.9 million in the second quarter of 2016, down from $4.9 million in the 2015 quarter.

ASCAP, BMI Vow Swift Action

In a finding panned by songwriters and publishers, the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday unveiled its recommendations to leave unchanged the consent decrees governing licensing rules for performance rights organizations ASCAP and BMI.

Instead, the DOJ asserted a new interpretation that the decrees require 100 percent licensing.

According to The Tennessean, the performance rights organizations vowed swift action: BMI plans to sue while ASCAP announced it will work on new legislation in Congress.

Under 100 percent licensing, or "full-work licensing" as the DOJ calls it, ASCAP and BMI must convey to their licensees — radio and television stations, bars, digital music services and others — the ability to publicly perform all songs in their repertoires without the risk of copyright infringement. Full-work licensing applies even if ASCAP or BMI only represent a small fraction of a song's copyright. A single song often has multiple publishers and writers, who each own a portion of the copyright.

The performance rights organizations, which handle licensing for when songs are played on the radio, performed at a music venue or streamed by a digital service, preemptively criticized the DOJ last month.

They said full-work licensing would throw into chaos the common-place practice of co-writing a song. Critics say songwriters may not want to write with a fellow writer represented by a different performance rights organization as a result.

On the heels of the DOJ's announcement, ASCAP and BMI announced they would fight 100 percent licensing legislatively and through the courts. BMI plans to challenge the ruling in federal court, while ASCAP will take the lead on a legislative solution, the two groups announced.

Read More Now

Cumulus' Berner: ‘Now, We’re Seeing Tangible Results’

Cumulus Media Inc. late Thursday announced operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016.

For the three months ended June 30, 2016, the Company reported net revenue of $287.2 million, down 4.1% from the three months ended June 30, 2015, net income of  $1.1 million, down 91.3% from the three months ended June 30, 2015, and Adjusted EBITDA of $63.2 million, down 21.8% from the quarter ended June 30, 2015.  For the six months ended June 30, 2016, the Company reported net revenue of $555.7 million, down 2.6% from the six months ended June 30, 2015, a net loss of $13.4 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $105.1 million, down 16.2% from the six months ended June 30, 2015.

Mary Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cumulus Media Inc. said, “The second quarter results underscore the substantial challenges that we must overcome.  However, our operating strategy is gaining measurable traction with significant ratings growth, improved employee engagement, reduced turnover and enhanced operational effectiveness. These are all critical first steps in the execution of our multi-year turnaround plan.”

In addition to the radio station group being flat for the quarter, Berner reported that national was up due to increased ratings. She said ratings had been decreasing for four years when she arrived 9 months ago, adding that, since implementing her programming plans, ratings have increased for 8 consecutive months. “15 of 17 PPM markets showed growth in the all important money demo,” she said. “The other two markets were flat.”

The drastic drop in revenue at Westwood One was blamed on a demand drop-off for network inventory, as well as the shutdown of NASH Country Weekly magazine.

CEO Dauman: Legal Wins Will Help Paramount Sale Process

Philippe Dauman, Sumner Redstone (LA Times photo)

(Reuters) -- Viacom Inc Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said on Thursday his victories in a legal battle with Sumner Redstone for control of the media company would help him push through a plan to sell a minority stake in Paramount Pictures.

Ninety-three-year-old Redstone, supported by daughter Shari, opposes Dauman's plan to sell a 49 percent stake in Paramount, while Dauman sees it as a way to unlock value for shareholders, who have seen their shares plummet in value in recent years.

Analysts have valued the stake at about $4 billion.

Sumner Redstone is Viacom's biggest shareholder. However, his decision to oust Dauman from both Viacom's board and a trust that will control Redstone's shareholding after he dies or becomes incapacitated is being challenged in the courts on the grounds that he is not of sound mind to make such decisions.

Redstone controls 80 percent of the voting shares in Viacom.

"The (Paramount stake sale) process has slowed down in recent weeks but we have reason to believe the favorable court developments last week will create a better environment that will allow us to progress with several parties toward a highly beneficial transaction," Dauman said on a call with analysts to discuss Viacom's quarterly earnings.

Dauman has scored two important legal wins in the past week.

A Delaware judge ruled that Redstone's lawyers must defend in a trial his move to oust five Viacom directors including Dauman, and a Massachusetts judge rejected Redstone's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the Viacom CEO.

Shari Redstone

The lawsuit in Massachusetts, filed by Dauman and Viacom board member George Abrams, contested their removal in May from the seven-person trust that will control Redstone's majority ownership of Viacom and CBS Corp.

DOMESTIC AD REVENUE SINKS

National Amusements Inc, through which Redstone controls Viacom and CBS Corp (CBS.N), said Viacom's quarterly results underscored the need for new leadership at the media company.

"It is time for Viacom’s current directors to stop supporting failed management and start representing shareholders, by allowing the new board to take the reins, and return the company to its position as an industry leader,” National Amusements said in a statement.

Viacom shot back with its own response, saying the company was focused on executing a strategic plan supported by a majority of its independent board.

Viacom reported a surprise rise in quarterly revenue, following six straight quarters of decline, as the owner of MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon benefited from higher license fees and theatrical revenue at its movie unit.

But domestic advertising revenue continued to sink, falling for the eighth consecutive quarter.

The 4 percent slide in domestic ad revenue was steeper than the 3.8 percent drop expected by analysts on average, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.

The company also said that domestic ad revenue in the current quarter would be slightly weaker than in the quarter ended June 30.

Viacom issued a quarterly profit forecast in June that was well short of Wall Street expectations. The company cited disruptions stemming from the dispute roiling its board and management, as well as disappointing box-office performance of its latest "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie.

Despite the film's weak performance, revenue in New York-based Viacom's movie business jumped 30 percent to $621 million in the three months ended June 30.

Up to Wednesday's close, Viacom's shares had lost about 47 percent of their value in the past two years, partly reflecting the company's struggle to turn around ratings, especially as younger viewers - a key demographic for networks like MTV - turn away from traditional television to view content online.

Twin Cities Radio: Barb Abney Fired From KWTN

Barb Abney

KWTN Go 96.3 FM fired afternoon DJ Barb Abney on Thursday, 18 months after the station earned headlines for hiring the former 89.3 The Current host.

“I’m a free agent again,” Abney said Thursday afternoon. “It was a shock, but not as much as it was (when I was fired from The Current).” She said ratings were the reason for her dismissal: “You get the ratings or you get the boot.”

A veteran of Cincinnati’s WOXY.com, Abney moved to the Twin Cities in 2006 to take a job with The Current. According to twincities.com, she quickly established herself as a prominent personality on the station as well as in the local music community. But just days after the Minnesota Public Radio station celebrated its 10th anniversary with a series of sold-out concerts and special events, the station let her go, telling the media it was a “programming decision.”

The move spurred a backlash among Abney’s listeners, who took to social media to vent their anger and, in some cases, cancel their MPR membership. At the time, the Pohlad family-owned K-Twin was in the midst of rebranding itself as Go 96.3, a modern-rock station that also airs Minnesota Twins games. Two weeks after The Current let her go, Go 96.3 hired Abney and used her high profile to help launch the new station, according to the report.

St. Louis Radio: WXOS Searching For D'Marco Farr Replacement

D'Marco Farr

WXOS 101.1 FM 101ESPN – the Pride of St Louis Sports – is searching for a new member for the highly successful PM Drive show The Fast Lane, with today’s announcement that former St. Louis Rams Super Bowl Champion D’Marco Farr is leaving the show and St. Louis for other opportunities.

This new talent will join The Fast Lane team – Co-Hosts Randy Karraker and Brad Thompson, along with Producer Brad Barnes. The Fast Lane is one of the original shows on 101ESPN, since the station was first began airing in 2009.

According to 101ESPN’s Program Director Chris “Hoss” Neupert, this talent search will begin immediately.

Neupert comments, “101 ESPN is looking for hardworking and well-informed on-air teammates who can help the show continue to succeed and grow. The perfect candidate is a highly entertaining and stand out on-air talent who has a real passion for all sports.”

“This talent candidate should also be a great team player who will mesh well with our current Co-Hosts Randy Karraker and Brad Thompson. And of course, we want a dynamic individual who will be invested in our station, who will care and interact well with our listeners, and can immediately grab the attention of St. Louis’ sports fans.”

Hubbard Radio St. Louis Vice President and Market Manager John Kijowski agrees with Neupert, adding, “101ESPN is the sports leader in St. Louis radio, and we intend to stay number one.”

He concludes, “The chance to join the highly-rated team on The Fast Lane is one-of-a-kind opportunity for the right person – we want a sports talk leader with a passion and edge to take The Fast Lane even higher in the ratings.”

Salem Media: Slight Increase For Broadcast Revenue

Salem Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SALM) released its results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016.

Second Quarter 2016 Results

Consolidated

• Total revenue increased 1% to $67.8 million from $67.3 million;
• Total operating expenses increased to $58.1 million from $58.0 million;
• Operating expenses, excluding gains or losses on the sale or disposal of assets, stock-based compensation expense, changes in the estimated fair value of contingent earn-out consideration, impairment of long-lived assets, depreciation expense and amortization expense (1) increased 2% to $54.9 million from $53.8 million;
• Operating income increased 5% to $9.7 million from $9.3 million;
• Net income decreased 5% to $3.4 million, or $0.13 net income per diluted share from $3.5 million, or $0.14 net income per diluted share;
• EBITDA (1) increased 2% to $13.9 million from $13.6 million;
• Adjusted EBITDA (1) decreased 5% to $12.9 million from $13.5 million; and Free cash flow (1) decreased 13.0% to $6.5 million from $7.5 million.

Broadcast

• Net broadcast revenue increased 1% to $49.7 million from $49.1 million;
• Station Operating Income ("SOI") (1) increased 1% to $14.0 million from $13.9 million;
• Same station (1) net broadcast revenue increased to $49.0 million from $48.9 million; and Same station SOI (1) increased 1% to $14.0 million from $13.9 million.

Digital media

• Digital media revenue decreased 2% to $11.3 million from $11.5 million; and
• Digital media operating income (1) decreased 7% to $2.5 million from $2.7 million.

Year to Date 2016 Results

Broadcast

• Net broadcast revenue increased 3% to $98.2 million from $95.6 million

Facebook's News Feed To Show Fewer 'Clickbait' Headlines

(Reuters) -- Facebook Inc's News Feed will show fewer "clickbait" headlines over the next few weeks, the company announced Thursday, as it seeks to establish itself as the prime web destination for news and social updates.

The company receives thousands of complaints a day about clickbait, headlines that intentionally withhold information or mislead users to get people to click on them, Adam Mosseri, vice president of product management for News Feed, said in an interview.

In an effort to eliminate clickbait from the site, Facebook created a system that identifies and classifies such headlines. It can then determine which pages or web domains post large amounts of clickbait and rank them lower in News Feed.

Facebook routinely updates its algorithm for News Feed, the place most people see postings on the site, to show users what they are most interested in and encourage them to spend even more time on the site.

"What we hope is this will create incentives for publishers to post less clickbait," Mosseri said. "We tried to be very concrete about what we defined as clickbait."

The 1.7 billion-person site has worked to better communicate how it shows news and posts to users in recent months, after a May news report alleged liberal political bias in a Facebook feature called Trending Topics.

The system looks for commonly used phrases in clickbait headlines, similar to how filters for email spam work, Facebook said in a blog post. It categorized tens of thousands of headlines as clickbait by looking for headlines that intentionally withheld information and those that exaggerated the content of an article.

News Feed, a team of about 200 people, uses a similar classification system to determine what it should show each user, Mosseri said.

Obama Accuses Media Of 'Manufacturing Outrage'

President Obama

President Barack Obama went on an extended rant on Thursday about a story that detailed the transfer of $400 million in cash to Iran the same day four American hostages were freed from the country.

"What we have is the manufacturing of outrage in a story that we disclosed in January," Obama said at a Pentagon news conference. "And the only bit of news that is relevant on this is the fact that we paid cash."

The Wall Street Journal described the transfer in a story earlier this week. The cash — euros, Swiss francs, and other currencies — was airlifted to Tehran on a cargo plane amid a prisoner swap in January in which seven Iranians detained in the US were exchanged for Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-American prisoners.

The payment was part of a decades-old dispute over money that Iran sent to the US to buy weapons that it never received.

Business Insider reports Obama said that the US had previously disclosed the $400 million payment to Iran and argued that the reason the payment was made in cash was because of existing sanctions in place against Iran.

"It's now been well over a year since the agreement with Iran to stop its nuclear program was signed," Obama said. "And by all accounts, it has worked exactly the way we said it was going to work."

He then railed against those who criticized the deal and thought that it wasn't going to work.

CA Radio: iHM Names Jojo Turnbeaugh SVP/Programming

Jojo Turnbeaugh

iHeartMedia names JoJo Turnbeaugh as SVP/Programming for the company's Nevada/Central California Region.

Turnbeaugh previously served as the Senior VP/Programming for iHM/Las Vegas. He has also worked as the Program Director for Country KCCY-FM/Colorado Springs, air personality for Country KYGO-FM/Denver and Assistant Program Director for Sports KKFN-FM (104.3 The Fan)/Denver.

Region Executive VP/Programming Steve Geofferies said, "JoJo has a history in the Central California region and knows the brands in each of those markets well," said Geofferies. "He added new duties earlier this year and created exceptional results in Las Vegas. We expect more of the same for our Region."

"JoJo's broad scope of both format and multi-market experience combined with his winning attitude and track record will bring extensive benefits to our region," added Nevada/Central California Region President Glynn Alan.

"I'm honored by the faith and trust that Glynn Alan and Steve Geofferies are placing in me," said Turnbeaugh. "I am also very excited to work with the great team of leaders already in the region."

L-A Radio: KDAY 93.5 FM To Air NFL Raiders

The Raiders and KDAY announced today an agreement that makes KDAY 93.5 FM the exclusive Silver and Black FM flagship radio station in SOCAL.  KDAY will broadcast the Raiders' regular season and select postseason games, while enhancing game coverage with exciting Raiders-oriented additional programming.

"No other brand in SOCAL speaks to the loyal Raiders Nation better than KDAY," stated Otto Padron, President of KDAY and Meruelo Media; "… our sound, attitude and colors are a natural fit for this legendary pro-football franchise.  We are very excited with this new NFL partnership and KDAY is the right destination to the more than two-million Raiders fans in our LA market!!..."

Raiders game day broadcasts on KDAY will include a pregame show, 30-minutes prior to kick-off and a postgame wrap-up.  KDAY will embrace this new NFL partnership with a series of special promotions and artist participation.

Raiders on KDAY will kick off on September 11 with a Special Live Broadcast from New Orleans.

Nashville Radio: George Plaster EXITS The Game

George Plaster

Longtime Nashville sports talk radio show personality George Plaster is switching career channels, according to The Tennessean.

Plaster, host of afternoon drive "Sports Night" on WPRT 102.5-FM The Game, has been hired as associate athletics director for marketing at Belmont University in Nashville.  The new position means Plaster will step away from daily sports talk radio in Nashville where he's been a fixture for more than 30 years.

The opportunity to join forces with new Belmont athletics director Scott Corley was one Plaster said he could not pass up. Corley, a former Belmont basketball player, and Plaster have been close friends for many years.

"I've never had a 9-to-5 job in my life so this is a radical switch for me," Plaster said. "When Scott approached me with it, the wheels started turning and the more that I kept thinking about it, I was like, 'This is getting you stirred up. This is something that's right down your alley.' There's just a comfort level with everything about this. It's probably the one scenario that I would've considered leaving radio."

"This is obviously a huge decision for me and one that was not taken lightly," Plaster said. "You don't walk away from something so meaningful and gratifying — for me radio — unless it's the perfect situation."

Plaster, a Battle Ground Academy and Vanderbilt graduate, got his start in radio locally in the early 1990s on WTN 99.7-FM and then WGFX 104.5-FM.

SiriusXM Dedicates Channel 106 To RIO Olympics

• "Rio Olympics Radio," presented in association with Westwood One and NBCUniversal, airs on SiriusXM channel 106 August 5th through the 21st
• Around-the-clock programming will include play-by-play of Olympic events and interviews with Olympic athletes
• SiriusXM will air daily news and highlights from Rio, plus commentary from Coach K, Aly Wagner, Eric Wynalda, Mark Breland, Jason Terry, Tim Legler and others

SiriusXM announced Thursday that it will launch a special channel dedicated to providing around-the-clock coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics to listeners nationwide, including live play-by-play of Olympic events as well as daily news, commentary and highlights from Rio Report and other programs.

SiriusXM's Rio Olympics Radio channel will air 24 hours a day on SiriusXM channel 106 starting on August 5th through the Closing Ceremony on August 21st.  It will be presented in association with Westwood One which, in partnership with U.S. Olympic rightsholder NBCUniversal, is providing live radio coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics. Throughout Rio 2016, SiriusXM will highlight NBC Olympics' unprecedented 6,755 hours of Summer Games coverage across the networks and digital platforms of NBCUniversal.

SiriusXM subscribers will get access to broadcasts of Men's and Women's Basketball games, including every game played by the Team USA Men, as well as Women's and Men's Soccer, including every match featuring the Team USA Women. Listeners will also hear coverage of each day of the Men's Golf competition, which is returning as an Olympic sport after a 112-year absence from the Games. All play-by-play broadcasts will be produced by Westwood One.

At 10:00 pm ET each night, SiriusXM listeners will hear Westwood One's Tonight in Rio, a two-hour wrap up show that will provide a comprehensive recap of that day at the Games.  Listeners will also get update reports from Rio every hour, courtesy of Westwood One.  SiriusXM's Chris Spatola and Jim Noble will host a daily morning show, Rio Report, on channel 106 that will provide listeners with a brief recap of the previous night's results and a look ahead to upcoming events.  Show times may shift occasionally to accommodate live event broadcasts.

Throughout the Games, the Rio Olympics Radio channel will also feature contributions from SiriusXM's experts from various sports who will provide analysis and reaction to key events.

Rio Olympics Radio will feature a USA Basketball preview show hosted by U.S.A. Men's National Team head coach Mike Krzyzewski leading up to his team taking the floor in Rio.

SiriusXM FC host and former Rutgers coach Glenn Crooks, former U.S. Women's National Team member and Olympic gold medalist Aly Wagner and U.S. National Soccer Hall of Famer Eric Wynalda will host pre- and post-game shows airing before and after every U.S. Women's Soccer game.

SiriusXM NBA Radio hosts and former NBA players Jason Terry, Tim Legler, Brendan Haywood, Chris Spatola and Mark Morgan will host pre- and post-game shows before and after every U.S. Men's Basketball game.

On the SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio channel, golf historian Martin Davis will present a special that looks back at the history of golf in the Olympics, and World Golf Hall of Famer Ben Crenshaw and Masters champion Craig Stadler will host new editions of their shows that will preview the Olympic Golf competition. On SiriusXM Rush, 1984 Olympic gold medal-winner Mark Breland and former heavyweight contender Gerry Cooney will offer boxing analysis.

Tampa Radio: Fans, Friends Remember WQYK's Dave McKay

Listeners and friends took to country music station WQYK-FM 99.5 on Thursday morning to mourn the man who spent years entertaining them during that time slot.

Fans knew the big, irreverent personality as Dave McKay, the co-host of the "Dave & Veronica Morning Show."

According to the Tampa Bay Times, he was found dead in his Second Street S apartment around 6:30 a.m. Thursday after he didn't show up for work. He was 55.

His colleagues said on the radio Thursday morning that McKay died in his sleep. His death is still under investigation, police said, but they do not believe there were any suspicious circumstances.

"I don't know that there's any radio jock that ever cared as much about his listener as Dave did," said Cledus T. Judd, McKay's former on-air partner.

Marianna Ehmke said her son was always seeking attention. When he was in the second or third grade, the mother recalled his teacher calling home and telling her: "Come on down here. Because according to New York law, I can't spank him. You have to come here, and you have to spank him while I'm watching."

His mother explained that her son didn't so well in school "because he needed all the attention, and he was disruptive.

"But everybody loved him. We all loved him."

A native New Yorker, McKay was on the air since the early 1980s, spending two decades at WQYK and a few years before that at WRBQ 104.7 FM Q105.

He was a big, irreverent personality who worked rooms the way big, irreverent personalities tend to do, always finding a way to be close to the center of attention. When he hooked up with former partner Randy Price, he described himself as the "cocky little brother" to Price's "meat-and-potatoes kind of guy."

"I was the good cop, he was the bad cop — and it worked," Price said. "He would say things to get people's attention. He'd grab that headline, and if he made you mad in the process, he'd spend 10 times as much time making it up to you. But in the meantime, he got your attention."

"We were from different breeds, different sides of the tracks, with him a New Yorker and me a southern boy," Judd said. "We went 'round and 'round and butted heads, but when them ratings came in, we always had 'em. That's all that mattered. I think the listener loved that. As a personality, he's by far one of the most popular disc jockeys I've ever seen in my life."

"Dave understood that successful local radio is all about being just that — local, local, local," Price said. "Talking about people and their lives, and not just giving time and temperature and playing a song, but getting yourself embedded into their everyday lives. And Dave was excellent at that."



In 2008, McKay and Price were named On-Air Personalities of the Year by the Country Music Association; McKay was a four-time finalist for the same honor from the Academy of Country Music. During his stint at the station, both groups named WQYK the best major-market radio outlet in America.

Condolences poured in on social media.

R.I.P.: 970 WFLA Tampa News Anchor John Sipos

John Sipos

Longtime WFLA 970 AM news anchor John Sipos, who spent almost his entire adult life on radio in the Tampa Bay area, has passed away.

According to the station's website, Sipos was an Army brat, born at Fort Benning, Georgia. He grew up in the Hudson Valley region of New York. He arrived in the Tampa Bay area in his 20's and began a career that would put him behind the microphone at several of Tampa Bay's major radio stations, including WFLA, WSUN-AM and WPLP, during the 1970's and 1980's.

When he found himself without a radio news job in the early 90's, Sipos began a weekly show about real estate on what was WTKN radio. That eventually morphed into a weekly public affairs program, Hour (Our) Tampa Bay, which ran on Paxson and CBS stations in the Tampa market until 2009.

Sipos returned to WFLA's newsroom a few years later, where he anchored newscasts on a weekend and part-time basis until recently. He also did a great deal of outside reporting, most recently in the aftermath of the Orlando terror attack.

August 5 Radio HIstory

In 1914...prolific radio/TV actor Parley Baer was born in Salt Lake City.

Although best remembered for his role as Chester the deputy on the CBS radio version of Gunsmoke, Baer also was greatly in demand for other radio series including The Whistler Escape, Suspense, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Dragnet, The CBS Radio Workshop, Lux Radio Theater, The Six Shooter, and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.   On TV he had recurring roles on The Andy Griffith Show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Addams Family,  The Young and the Restless, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

He died Nov. 22 2002 eleven days after a stroke at age 88.


In 1921...the first Radio broadcast of a baseball game occurred. The Pirates beat the Phillies, 8-0 over KDKA-AM, Pittsburgh. Harold Arlin, a 25-year-old Westinghouse foreman and nighttime studio announcer, described the action from the Steel City's Forbes Field.


In 1935...the daily radio drama “Backstage Wife” was first aired — on the Mutual Broadcasting System. The show, produced by prolific soap opera creators Frank & Anne Hummert, continued in the usual quarter-hour format on NBC and finally CBS Radio, until January 2, 1959.

In 1957..."American Bandstand" debuted nationally on ABC-TV, hosted by former deejay, Dick Clark. First guests were the singing group the Chordettes and Billy Williams. The first record danced to by the teenagers on the show was the Crickets' "That'll Be the Day."


In 1966...Beatles manager Brian Epstein flies into NewYork to convey John Lennon’s concern over the furor caused by his statements that the Beatlesare more popular than Jesus Christ.



The Fab-Four will begin a 19-day/14 city American tour starting next Friday and Epstein says he’sespecially concerned about security during theirvisit. In a news conference, Epstein said that Lennon’s statements, which appeared in a U.S.teen-age magazine, were taken out of context.Says Epstein: “What Lennon said and meant was that he was astonished that, in the last 50years, the Church of England, and therefore Christ, has suffered a decline in interest. He did not mean to boast about the Beatles’ fame. He meant to point out that the Beatles’ effect appeared to be a more immediate one upon certainly the younger generation.” “It was not anticipated that the article would be displayed out of context and in such a manner as it did in the magazine."



Some of the nation’s biggest top-40 stations won’t be banning Beatles records. Top-rated WMCA-New York says it has no intention of pulling their current hit “Paperback Writer” or any Beatle cut in the station’s “Goodguy Goldie” library. Rival WABC says it already has, but will look at the “crisis” on a week by week basis. WCFL - Chicago says the Beatles will stay. In Los Angeles, KFWB, KHJ and KRLA have no intention of pulling any Beatles recordings. Other stations sticking with the Fab-Four: WIXY-Cleveland, KRUX/KRIZ - Phoenix,WMEX-Boston, WDRC/WPOP - Hartford, WQAM-Miami, KYA-San Francisco,WPGC-Washington D.C, WPTR/WTRY - Albany, NY.

In 1997..."The Real Don Steele" who made a name for himself on KHJ-AM/Los Angeles died of cancer. He was 61.

Born Don Steel Revert in Hollywood, California, he graduated from Hollywood High School, served in the United States Air Force and then studied at a local radio school, the Don Martin School of Broadcasting, where he also taught for a short time. Shortly thereafter, Steele began his radio career working outside of L.A. at a small station, KBUC in Corona, CA then moving on to KEPR Kennewick, KIMA Yakima and KXLY Spokane, all in Washington; KOIL Omaha, Nebraska; KISN Portland, Oregon, and KEWB San Francisco before returning to Los Angeles to help kick off what would become one of the most influential radio stations in the country, 93/KHJ, Boss Radio, in April 1965.

Steele became nationally-known as a DJ on radio station KHJ in Los Angeles, where he helped to promote the "ultrahip" top-40 Boss Radio format which began at 3pm on April 27, 1965. When the popularity of AM radio gave way to FM stereo in the 1970s, Steele continued to remain a popular personality at the station. Following the years at 93/KHJ, The Real Don Steele continued to be heard on Los Angeles radio stations, including KIQQ (K-100), KRLA, KCBS-FM and KRTH-FM (K-Earth 101).



Steele was never one to analyze the evolution of rock radio. In a 1995 interview, he insisted, "Look, you take the Motown sound and the British Invasion and you throw in Elvis and Roy Orbison, and you have a music mix that's hard to beat at any time or any place."


In 1994...Steve Perun is now program director of KIIS-FM, Los Angeles.


In 1994...KPWR, new morning stars “The Baka Boys” are making waves with what some call, distasteful billboards – where they are pictured sitting on a toilet, pants down. Since beginning in February, they’ve leaped to the #5 morning show in Los Angeles – at a 4.5 overall share. Previous morning man Jay Thomas left with a 3.8 share, so clearly, these guys are doing much better. A similar billboard-toilet campaign helped boast the ratings of Dr. Dre and Ed Lover ant New York’s Hot 97 (WQHT).


In 1997...WDBZ 105.1 FM NYC  switched call letters back to WNSR.


In 2002...Chick Hearn, the legendary Los Angeles Lakers play-by-play announcer, died following a fall at 85 years of age.  For 42 years he called Laker games on radio & TV until his death.


In 2008...Last Mike and Mad Dog Show aired on WFAN 660 AM NYC