November 13 Radio History

In 1906...Lee de Forest, who coined the term "radio", patented Audion tube.

Lee de Forest

De Forest was interested in wireless telegraphy and invented the Audion in 1906. He then developed an improved wireless telegraph receiver.

On 25 October 1906, de Forest filed a patent for diode vacuum tube detector, a two-electrode device for detecting electromagnetic waves, a variant of the Fleming valve invented two years earlier. One year later, he filed a patent for a three-electrode device that was a much more sensitive detector of electromagnetic waves. It was granted US Patent 879,532 in February 1908. The device was also called the de Forest valve, and since 1919 has been known as the triode. De Forest's innovation was the insertion of a third electrode, the grid, between the cathode (filament) and the anode (plate) of the previously invented diode. The resulting triode or three-electrode vacuum tube could be used as an amplifier of electrical signals, notably for radio reception. The Audion was the fastest electronic switching element of the time, and was later used in early digital electronics (such as computers). The triode was vital in the development of transcontinental telephone communications, radio, and radar until the 1948 invention of the transistor.

In 1904, a De Forest transmitter and receiver were set up aboard the steamboat Haimun operated on behalf of The Times, the first of its kind.  On July 18, 1907, De Forest broadcast the first ship-to-shore message from the steam yacht Thelma. The communication provided quick, accurate race results of the Annual Inter-Lakes Yachting Association (I-LYA) Regatta. The message was received by his assistant, Frank E. Butler of Monroeville, Ohio, in the Pavilion at Fox's Dock located on South Bass Island on Lake Erie. DeForest disliked the term "wireless" and chose a new moniker, "radio."

De Forest is credited with the birth of public radio broadcasting when on January 12, 1910, he conducted experimental broadcast of part of the live performance of Tosca and, the next day, a performance with the participation of Italian tenor Enrico Caruso from the stage of Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.


In 1913...actor/narrator Alexander Scourby was born in Brooklyn.  His deep resonant voice was developed in radio drama of the 1940’s.  He became one of TV’s most in-demand narrators, notably on Victory at Sea, the CBS series The Body Human, and the National Geographic specials.  He died Feb 22, 1985 at age 71.

Jack Gale

In 1925...Legendary radio broadcaster Jack Gale was born.  During his remarkable career he has been a radio performer, programmer, owner, voice-over talent, music publisher, manager and record producer spans more than 50 years.

Born in Baltimore, Gale started in radio prior to the emergence of rock 'n' roll and the Top 40 format.



He was heard on WSRS in Cleveland, WTMA in Charleston S.C., WITH in Baltimore, and WMEX in Boston before joining Stan Kaplan in 1965 at BIG WAYS in Charlotte, N.C., where the station and "Jack Gale the Morning Glory" achieved #1 ratings in 36 North and South Carolina counties.

Gale is still active and lives in the Fort Pierce, FL area.





In 1937...The National Broadcasting Company, (NBC) formed the first full-sized symphony orchestra for the sole purpose of broadcasting on the radio. Arturo Toscanini worked as its conductor for the first 17 years




In 1956...Dickie Goodman and Bill Buchanan (known as novelty records duo Buchanan and Goodman) appear in a New York City court to begin untangling the thicket of lawsuits brought on by their hit "Flying Saucer," which utilizes any number of "drop-ins" of other artists' hit records for comedic effect.  This novelty song reached #3 on Billboard in 1956.

In 1965...The Album Charts..After 35 weeks, the Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" reached #1 on the album chart.  That album toppled Help! by the Beatles while the Ramsey Lewis Trio dropped with The In Crowd.  Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass moved back up with Whipped Cream & Other Delights and Bob Dylan was down after peaking at #3 with Highway 61 Revisited.

The rest of the Top 10:  Look At Us from Sonny & Cher, Out of Our Heads by the Rolling Stones, the Soundtrack to "Mary Poppins", Barbra Streisand was emphatic with My Name Is Barbra and Herman's Hermits dropped to #10 with Herman's Hermits On Tour.

In 2001...Yankees Radio Broadcaster Frank Messer died.

An Asheville, North Carolina native, Messer was a member of the Marines during World War II in the South Pacific. After the war, he worked as a broadcaster in minor league baseball in the 1950s.

He got his major-league break when he joined the Baltimore Orioles and worked alongside their noted longtime voice, Chuck Thompson. In 1966, the year Bill O’Donnell also joined the broadcast crew, the O’s won their first world championship. Messer also called Baltimore Colts football during the 1960s.

Messer’s next major-league break came after the 1967 season, when Joe Garagiola left the Yankees broadcast crew to concentrate on the network jobs he also had at NBC Sports and NBC News. Messer took Garagiola’s place for 1968, working with ex-Yankees Jerry Coleman and Phil Rizzuto.

Jerry Coleman, Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto

The Yankees’ longtime public-relations director Bob Fishel had urged team management to approve a traditional play-by-play sportscaster, which the Yanks had not had since the firing of Red Barber after the 1966 season.

November 12 Radio History

In 1917...singer Jo Stafford was born in Coalinga Calif.  As a member of The Stafford Sisters she had a gig at LA radio station KHJ, then joined The Pied Pipers, who became part of the Tommy Dorsey performing family.  Her solo hits include Shrimp Boats Are A-Comin’, Jambalaya, Long Ago and Far Away, You Belong to Me, & Make Love to Me.

She died July 16 2008 at age 90.

In1931…In London, the Abbey Road recording studios were opened by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of the British music company EMI, its current owner.

Originally a nine-bedroom Georgian townhouse built in the 1830s, the structure was used as an apartment building before its conversion to a recording facility.

After decades of officially being titled as EMI Studios, in 1970 EMI changed the name to Abbey Road Studios, the name by which they had been informally called throughout the 1960s when they were the venue for memorable recordings by the Beatles, Badfinger, and Pink Floyd, among others.

In 1947...KPO-AM San Francisco changed its call sign to KNBC. (Today the station is KNBR)

KNBR began life on April 17, 1922, as KPO, a 100-watt station owned by the Hale Brothers department store. In 1925, the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper bought half-interest in the operation.  Originally located in the Hale store at Market and 5th (now the site of Nordstrom), its horizontal wire antenna on the roof was so efficient it immediately attracted the attention of audiences all over the Pacific Coast.

In 1927, KPO became an affiliate of the new NBC radio network.

In 1933, KPO was sold to NBC's parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA),  and its operation was consolidated into that of its co-owned KGO at the Hunter-Dulin Building, 111 Sutter Street. From there, NBC operated its West Coast network, feeding dozens of stations and operating a news bureau to serve NBC. As NBC's flagship station on the West Coast, it had a full-time orchestra, five studios, and produced many live shows. During the rise of Hollywood, NBC's radio operation was moved to Los Angeles.

In 1941, just before World War II, NBC constructed Radio City at 420 Taylor Street, considered one of the best radio facilities built during radio's golden age. However, with the network control having been moved to Los Angeles, the San Francisco NBC building was never fully utilized.

During World War II, KPO's news bureau was the major source for NBC of news about the war in the Pacific, and operated shortwave radio stations (transmitters located in Dixon) serving the world. It was at the KPO (RCA) shortwave facility that the message was received that Japanese emperor Hirohito had surrendered, ending World War II.

On November 12, 1947, the Federal Communications Commission approved NBC's application to change the call sign from KPO to KNBC, to shore up its reputation as an NBC station (and the only radio station NBC ever owned on the West Coast). This change lasted until 1962, when the network moved the call sign to its television station in Los Angeles and the radio station was renamed KNBR.

1955...Billboard begins its "Top 100" chart, with the first Number One listed as "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" by the Four Aces. The magazine wouldn't resolve all its pop charts into one until 1959.

In 1988...The Hot 100..The Escape Club had the new #1 song--"Wild, Wild West", taking over from the Beach Boys with "Kokomo".  Kylie Minogue's version of the song written by Stanley, Idaho's Carole King--"The Loco-Motion" took the opportunity to move up to #3 and Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine" was right behind her.

The rest of the Top 10:  Whitney Houston and "One Moment iI Time", U2 and the live "Desire" was at #6, Phil Collins was on the way down with "Groovy Kind Of Love", Will to Power cracked the list with "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley", the fifth consecutive Top 10 song from George Michael's Faith album--"Kissing A Fool" moved from 15 to 9 and Inxs wrapped up the list with "Never Tear Us Apart".

In 1988...The Album Chart..1988:  U2 reached #1 on the Album chart with the Soundtrack to "Rattle and Hum" while Guns N' Roses had the #2 album after 64 weeks of release with Appetite for Destruction.  The previous #1--New Jersey by Bon Jovi was down to #3 and the "Cocktail" Soundtrack and Def Leppard's Hysteria were also bumped down a notch.

The rest of the Top 10:  Don't Be Cruel from Bobby Brown, Anita Baker moved from 22 to 7 in just her second week with the album Giving You the Best That I Got, George Michael was still at #8 with Faith after 52 weeks, Bobby McFerrin had Simple Pleasures and Cinderella jumped into the Top 10 with Long Cold Winter.

Singleton as Blondie with Arthur Lake

In 2003...Actress Penny Singleton, forever immortalized as Blondie in the movies & on radio, who was the voice of Jane Jetson on TV`s The Jetsons, died at age 95 after a stroke.

In 2005...Paul McCartney became the first musician to broadcast live music into space when a segment of his Anaheim concert was beamed, via NASA, to the International Space Station 220 miles above the Earth.

In 2012…Veteran Los Angeles media personality (KLAC-AM for 40 years, KTTV-TV)/commercial pitchman Sam Benson died at the age of 90.

CBS Radio Names Bob Philips Chief Revenue Officer

CBS RADIO has named Bob Philips Chief Revenue Officer, effective immediately. In this newly created leadership position, Philips will be responsible for leading all aspects of revenue generation for the company at the corporate, regional, and local levels. Philips is based in the Company’s New York headquarters and reports to CBS RADIO’s President, Andre Fernandez.

Bob Philips

Philips will develop fully integrated sales solutions enabling clients to reach and engage consumers and market their brands with clear and measurable impact. He will also develop breakthrough strategies to attract new revenue streams by utilizing the Company’s multi-platform portfolio, including local radio stations, digital products, and market-leading live events and experiences.

“Bob’s extensive radio and sales experience make him ideal to accelerate our efforts as we enter a new phase of the business,” said Fernandez. “His deep understanding of corporate, customer, category, and channel strategies will be instrumental in generating new revenue opportunities and ensuring our ability to deliver top-tier financial results.”

“It’s an exciting time for the radio industry,” added Philips. “We’ve never had more assets at our disposal to meet our clients’ needs and extend their iconic brands – our radio stations, digital assets and events are only the tip of the iceberg.”

Philips served as CBS RADIO’s senior vice president of sales since late 2015 where he oversaw sales efforts for the Company’s 117 over-the-air radio stations across 26 major markets. He also served as the Company’s Baltimore market manager since 2000, where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the four-station cluster. Previously, he held leadership positions at Infinity Broadcasting and American Radio Systems.

Philips currently serves on the RAB Advisory Board and is an officer for the Maryland DC Delaware Broadcasters Association. He is also involved with many community and charitable associations.

Atlanta Radio: iHM Launches Market's 4th HipHop Outlet

iHeartMedia Atlanta announced today the debut of The Beat, the new home of Hip Hop N’ R&B for Atlanta on both W222AF 92.3 FM and WRDG 96.7 FM. The station launched today, with popular shows The Breakfast Club and Big Boy’s Neighborhood to begin on December 5.

92.3 & 96.7 The Beat kicked off with “10,000 joints in a row” commercial-free, playing hits from major Hip Hop and R&B artists like Drake, Future, 2 Chainz, Usher, Jay-Z, Beyoncé and more.

“We are the A’s new home for Hip Hop and R&B,” said Brian Michel, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia’s Atlanta Region. “To have the station bookended by Hip Hop’s crown jewels, The Breakfast Club in the morning and Big Boy’s Neighborhood in the evening, makes for an amazing lineup for our listeners. We are excited to finalize the rest of our lineup with the best and brightest local talent.”

92.3 & 96.7 The Beat listeners will wake up to The Breakfast Club, The World’s Most Dangerous Morning Show. The nationally syndicated, award-winning talk show is set to air on 92.3 & 96.7 The Beat beginning this month and features DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God. The Breakfast Club will broadcast weekday mornings from 5:30 – 10:00 a.m.

W22AF 92.3 FM (99 watts)

In addition, national HipHop icon Big Boy will host weekday evenings on 92.3 & 96.7 The Beat with Big Boy’s Neighborhood airing from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. ET. Joined on-air by Natalia Perez, Louie G, Ayyde and DJ VickOne, Big Boy welcomes the biggest names in music and entertainment, plays the hottest music and keeps listeners laughing with hilarious bits, including the infamous phonetaps with “Luther Luffeigh.”

WRDG 96.7 FM (2.1 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

“This is an exciting and powerful addition to the iHeartMedia Atlanta portfolio,” said Justin Schaflander, President for iHeartMedia’s Atlanta Region. “To be able to get into this format in arguably the nation’s capital of Hip Hop will be a game-changer for our listeners and our clients.”

Trump Win to Reshape FCC

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has relentlessly preached "competition, competition, competition," making him a likely candidate to push back on AT&T's proposed acquisition of Time Warner, according to an analysis by Mari Silbey at LightReading.com.

And on that one issue, there appears to be common ground with President-elect Donald Trump, who has blasted the deal and threatened to somehow break up earlier media mergers like Comcast's purchase of NBC Universal.

However, Wheeler is now supposed to be on his way out at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) , and both he and his Democratic voter block (three to two among Commissioners) have little else in common with the incoming US President. Most notably, Trump is opposed to the net neutrality ruling passed by the FCC in early 2015. The issue may not be high on the President-elect's agenda compared to building a wall on the border with Mexico and repealing Obamacare, but it will be for whoever is appointed next to the FCC Chairman position.

Meanwhile, the dissenting opinions from Republican Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly have often been rancorous, with little apparent room for compromise between the parties.

As Trump prepares to take office, the FCC must also prepare for a shift in power, and the strain is already showing.

Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is still awaiting a Senate vote on her re-nomination. Without one, she will have to step down at the end of the year.

Chairman Wheeler has also not yet announced his own departure date, despite the fact that traditionally the chairman voluntarily leaves office when a new president is elected. Wheeler did say recently that he will work toward a smooth transition at the FCC under a new administration. If he sets a date to leave office, Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) has hinted that it could lead to a confirmation vote for Rosenworcel.

Regardless of when and how Wheeler leaves, his successor will be selected by Trump, and the ratio of Commissioners will flip from three-to-two Democratic to three-to-two Republican. According to law, only three commissioners can be of the same political party at any given time, but those who have the majority wield significant power over telecom policy.

Nielsen Fixing PPM Disconnect

NielsenAudio notified PPM clients Thursday of a lost of connectivity with some of its Peronal People Meters. The loss affected 8% of the installed devices affecting week one of (11/3-11/9) of the upcoming December 2016 Survey.

The company blamed the outtage on moving to a new audio data collection site.  It assured clients that the lower in-tab doesn't equate to lower ratings.   However, temporarily higher weights may contribute to more variation during the period of time it takes for these panelist to be back in-tab and fully accounted for.

Media Confidential has obtained a copy of the client notice:

As the result of a move to a new audio data collection site last weekend, we discovered that 8% of the installed PPMs across the aggregate of 48 PPM markets lost connectivity and became inactive. This connectivity issue began in week one (11/3-11/9) of the December PPM monthly survey.  

Our Panel Relations Specialists have already been in contact with these homes and all affected panelists have now been sent new PPM devices. As of today, 49% of the replacement meters are back online. We expect the balance to come online in the next several days.  

We forecast the percentage of installed and fully operational meters eligible for in tab will be 97% for the month of December and 92% for week one of December across the aggregate of markets. Weighting will adjust for demographic and geographic imbalances. Therefore, buyers and sellers will be able to transact business with confidence. Please note that lower in-tab doesn't equate to lower ratings. However, temporarily higher weights may contribute to more variation during the period of time it takes for these panelist to be back in-tab and fully accounted for. 

 Nielsen is conducting an analysis to evaluate panel representation and impact to audience estimates. We will share the results of this analysis with you during the week of November 21, prior to the delivery of the Weeklies data for week one of December.  

Your Nielsen Client Solutions representative will contact you to review what this means for your market. We will be sure to keep you updated on our progress as we work to bring these panelists back online. 

Disney Promises Earnings Growth Next Two Years, Shares Rise

(Reuters) -- Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) executives promised earnings growth for the next two years, easing investor concerns over a quarterly drop in ad sales and subscribers at its ESPN sports network, sending the media company's shares up in after-hours trading.

Executives said they expected modest earnings per share growth in fiscal 2017 and "more robust growth" in fiscal 2018 and beyond, as ESPN attracts more online viewers, the new Shanghai theme park lures visitors and the movie studio releases more "Star Wars" installments and other films.

The company's stock rose 2.7 percent to $97.25 after hours.

Disney and media rivals face challenges from "cord cutters" who are dropping TV subscriptions for cheaper and more convenient online services, and the issue is especially important for ESPN, one of Disney's most important brands.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.10 per share in the latest quarter, missing the $1.16 consensus forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares dropped immediately after the report, but revived after executives' comments on growth in a call to analysts.

"We are extremely confident that we'll continue to deliver significant long-term growth," Chief Executive Bob Iger said.

Bob Iger

The future of ESPN has been in focus since August 2015 when Iger acknowledged "modest" subscriber losses at the sports network.

On Thursday, Iger said the company had taken "a more bullish position on the future of ESPN's (subscriber) base."

"To some extent, the causes of those losses have abated, notably the migration to smaller packages" that do not include ESPN, Iger said. New digital services "are going to offer ESPN opportunities they haven't had to reach more people," he said.

The strength of ESPN has been a concern on Wall Street, said BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield.

"There is nothing in the release that changes investor views that ESPN is the struggling division," Greenfield said. The company has been investing in share buybacks rather than addressing the problem at ESPN, he added.

Disney expects to repurchase between $7 billion and $8 billion worth of shares in fiscal 2017, Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said.

Asked about the impact of the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, Iger said it was possible it could speed up work in Washington to lower the corporate tax rate, which Disney has advocated.

For the September quarter, revenue in Disney's cable networks business, which includes ESPN and the youth-focused Disney Channel, fell 6.8 percent to $3.96 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts were expecting $4.13 billion, according to FactSet StreetAccount.

Nielsen data estimated that ESPN lost 621,000 subscribers in November - a figure Disney has contested.
Disney's movie business generated revenue of $1.81 billion in the quarter, up 1.57 percent, missing the average FactSet estimate of $1.84 billion. New releases including "Pete's Dragon" could not match last year's success with "Inside Out," "Ant-Man" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

Revenue from Disney's theme parks, resorts and cruise line business rose 0.6 percent to $4.39 billion. Four million people visited the new Shanghai Disneyland in the first four months, executives said. Operations should be "very close to breakeven" in fiscal 2017, McCarthy said.

Attendance declined at Disney's parks in Paris, Hong Kong and California during the September quarter, the company said.

Net income attributable to the company, which also owns the ABC TV network, rose to $1.77 billion, or $1.10 per share, in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Oct. 1, from $1.61 billion, or 95 cents per share, a year earlier.

Disney's revenue fell to $13.14 billion from $13.51 billion.

Analysts on average had expected revenue of $13.52 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Report: Disney Could Possibly Spin-off ESPN

John Malone

Disney is being held back from its full potential by ESPN and may consider spinning off the sports broadcast network, Liberty Media Chairman John Malone told CNBC on Thursday.

"If I had to guess, what you will see is a split of Disney with ESPN spun off and, probably, ESPN could be owned and protected by a distributor in the U.S.," Malone said.

ESPN has become something of a hindrance to Disney, Malone said, as the sports network has grown more costly over the years.

Malone speculated that Apple might become interested in taking over Disney if the latter were to separate itself from ESPN.

"Fundamentally, Tim Cook is a global player, and fundamentally, ESPN is a domestic service," Malone said, adding that Apple would have a lot more in common with a Disney without ESPN in terms of both brands' global reach.

Malone admitted that his views are more speculative than predictive. "When these tectonic plates start moving, it's just fun to speculate, because we're just the little guys now," he said.

Shari Redstone Did Not Support Viacom/CBS Split

(Reuters) -- Shari Redstone, a controlling shareholder of Viacom Inc (VIAB.O) and CBS Corp (CBS.N), never wanted to separate the two media companies 10 years ago, she told attendees of The New York Times DealBook conference on Thursday.

Shari Redstone and her father, Sumner Redstone control Viacom Inc (VIAB.O) and CBS corp (CBS.N) through their privately held movie theater company National Amusements Inc.

Sumner Redstone decided to split the two companies a decade ago. While CBS has grown, Viacom, which owns MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, has struggled with declining ad sales and ratings. So far this year, CBS's stock is up more than 20 percent while Viacom shares are down nearly 8 percent.

Shari Redstone

"I was never a great proponent of the split of the two companies," Shari Redstone, who is vice chair of the board of both companies, said.

She added that the path of the two companies could have been different under different leadership, a reference to Viacom's former Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman, who was forced to resign in August after losing a battle for control of Viacom with the Redstones.

In September, the Redstones urged CBS and Viacom to explore a merger. Each company has hired banks and set up independent committees to explore a combination.

While Redstone said she supports the merger, she added that both companies "can stand on their own and can be great."

When asked why the Redstones decided to keep Paramount Pictures, which Dauman had tried to sell, Shari Redstone described a vision of turning the studio into a creator of all kinds of content, not just films.

"With the studio of the future you are going to be creating content across multiple platforms for the consumer to engage with," said Redstone, who also runs Advancit Capital, a venture capital firm investing in media and technology companies.

WO Finds NFL Radio YOY Ratings Relatively Stable

There has been a lot of media coverage on this season’s NFL TV ratings. Despite the coverage, Americans continue to seek out the NFL on the radio. In the first four weeks of the NFL season, Nielsen radio ratings reveal stable audiences for NFL national radio broadcasts, according to WO's blog.

Westwood One, the exclusive network radio partner for the National Football League, examined audience ratings for the first 13 games in each of the Portable People Meter local markets where a national broadcast aired. The result: ratings overall are relatively unchanged from the year before.

Adult 25-54 average quarter-hour radio ratings for 13 national primetime NFL games aired during the September 8 through October 5 Nielsen Portable People Meter survey are down on average just 3.5% compared to corresponding broadcasts a year ago. The September 26 national NFL broadcast that ran opposite the first Presidential debate did suffer audience loss. Without that game opposite the debate, the 12-game average NFL radio rating change on Westwood One was -1.3%. Overall, the NFL on the radio shows stable ratings.

The chart below shows a breakout of the first 13 primetime games of the season and how they compared to the corresponding games in 2015:

NFL Considers Reducing Ads and Length of Games

Roger Goodell

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Thursday that the league was looking at a variety of ways to shorten game broadcasts, including trimming some advertising, to keep the action moving.

The league has seen its television ratings plunge this season, something that Goodell has said is related to a number of factors, including the intense interest in the presidential election, as well as shifts in the way fans have been watching games.

Though television ratings are down by double digits so far this season, Goodell said that N.F.L. ratings had risen 27 percent in the past decade even as ratings for prime-time television had fallen 36 percent. Speaking on Thursday at the annual DealBook conference hosted by The New York Times, he called this year’s decline “cyclical.”

Goodell noted, though, that the pace of games could also be a factor in the ratings decline. Fans have complained for years that games are too long, and they frequently express annoyance at the number of commercial breaks and video reviews. Last season, the average length of regular-season games, from kickoff to final whistle, was 3 hours 8 minutes, six minutes longer than in 2008.

Chris Broussard To Host Two Shows For Fox Sports Radio

Chris Broussard

FOX Sports Radio (FSR) has announced that veteran sports media personality Chris Broussard will join the network as a host, opinionist and NBA analyst. In addition to making frequent appearances across the 24-7 sports radio network as a guest and contributor, Broussard will launch the first of two weekend programs this Saturday, November 12. Co-hosted by FSR personality Brian Noe, the duo will broadcast from 5 to 8 p.m. PT on 200 stations nationwide, in addition to FOX Sports Radio’s channel on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s industry-leading digital radio platform.

Broussard, who will add a Sunday radio program in 2017, will continue his role as FS1’s new NBA analyst, providing insights for FS1’s studio shows, including Skip And Shannon: Undisputed, The Herd with Colin Cowherd and Speak For Yourself.

“I want to thank FOX Sports Radio and FS1 for providing me with the platform to share my sports views and opinions, which have been developed over my 20 years of covering professional sports, particularly the NBA,” stated Broussard. “I can’t wait to hit the airwaves in my new role with Brian Noe. Together, we’ll bring listeners a show that is smart, entertaining and insightful.”

“Having worked with Chris for many years, he is a total pro who brings unmatched perspective to the airwaves,” shared Scott Shapiro, FOX Sports Radio Vice President of Sports Programming. “Whether he’s sharing his expertise on the NBA or opining on the topics of the day, Chris is going to shine in his role with FOX Sports Radio, while making our growing network that much stronger.”

R.I.P.: Denver Radio's Mr. Fixit, Paul MacGregor

Paul MacGregor

Paul MacGregor, a longtime broadcaster known on Denver radio as Mr. Fix-It for three decades, died Nov. 4 in Denver in his sleep.

He was 75, accordin gto The Denver Post.

MacGregor’s long-running radio show — Mr. Fix-It — aired in the Denver market and was syndicated to more than 75 radio stations around the country. Premiering as “Fix Up/Paint Up/Call Up” on KOA radio in 1982, the show later took on the Mr. Fix-It name and also aired locally on KCKK and KEZW.

Through his radio show and column, MacGregor counseled thousands in home repair endeavors of plumbing, painting, flooring and heating.

Long before the upsurge of televised “fixer-upper” shows, MacGregor had tapped into the burgeoning home-repair market.

Born Sept. 28, 1941, on a farm in Haleyville,  Ala., MacGregor began his career in broadcasting as a disc jockey at WLAY in Muscle Shoals. He went on to work in television and radio news, as anchor and reporter, in several markets, including WOR radio in New York City.

MacGregor moved to Denver in 1982 to accept a position with KOA radio, where he also worked as a news reporter.

R.I.P.: Poet, Songwriter, Artist Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

(Reuters) -- Leonard Cohen, rock music's man of letters whose songs fused religious imagery with themes of redemption and sexual desire, earning him critical and popular acclaim, has died at age 82, a statement on his Facebook page said.

"It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away," a statement on the Facebook page said. "We have lost one of music's most revered and prolific visionaries."

The statement did not provide further details on Cohen's death, and representatives for the singer could not be reached immediately for comment. It said a memorial was planned in Los Angeles, where Cohen had lived for many years.

"R.I.P. Leonard Cohen," singer-songwriter Carole King said on Twitter.

Singer Roseanne Cash echoed the lyrics from Cohen's song "Anthem" when she said in a tweet: "Leonard Cohen is dead. There's a crack in everything. No light yet."

Cohen, a native of Quebec, was already a celebrated poet and novelist when he moved to New York in 1966 at age 31 to break into the music business.

Before long, critics were comparing him to Bob Dylan for the lyrical force of his songwriting.

Although he influenced many musicians and won many honors, including induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Order of Canada, Cohen rarely made the pop music charts with his sometimes moody folk-rock.

But Cohen's most famous song, "Hallelujah," in which he invoked the biblical King David and drew parallels between physical love and a desire for spiritual connection, has been covered hundreds of times since he released it in 1984.

"Hallelujah's" long road to mass appeal was matched by Cohen's own painstaking approach to writing it. He spent five years penning drafts, at one point banging his head on the floor of a hotel room in frustration.

Many of Cohen's songs became hits for other artists, including Judy Collins, who helped Cohen gain fame by recording some of his early compositions in the 1960s.

Cohen's most ardent admirers compared his works to spiritual prophecy. He sang about religion, with references to Jesus Christ and Jewish traditions, as well as love and sex, political upheaval, regret and what he once called the search for "a kind of balance in the chaos of existence".

His lyrics were deeply personal and at times took on an element of prayer, as in 1969's "Bird on the Wire" in which he sang: "I swear by this song/And by all that I have done wrong/I will make it all up to thee."

Cohen's other well-known songs include "Suzanne," "So Long, Marianne," "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "The Future," an apocalyptic 1992 recording in which he darkly intoned: "I've seen the future, brother/It is murder."

November 11 Radio History

In 1928...WGL-AM, Fort Wayne, Indiana began broadcasting.

The station, now 1250 on the AM dial,  was the first to broadcast in the city of Fort Wayne. Chester Keen and Lauer Auto founded what was originally called WCWK when it signed on in 1921. Keen bought the Lauer interests in WCWK in 1925. That same year, WOWO was established by the Main Auto Supply Co., with studios above Main Auto's downtown factory.

In 1928, Keen sold WCWK to WOWO owner Fred Zieg, and the call letters were changed to WGL (What God Loves), taking a callsign previously used by the current WADO in New York City.

WOWO and WGL were owned by the Zieg family until WOWO's sale to Westinghouse in 1936. Westinghouse sold WGL to the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation in 1945. On September 24, 1947, the station's power was increased from 250 W to 1,000 W.

Subsequently it was purchased by the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. The call letters of WGL were reinterpreted as Wayne's Great Lady, referring to Helene Foelliger, who had markedly improved circulation of the News-Sentinel since becoming publisher less than a decade earlier, when she became the youngest, as well as one of the first female, publishers of a major newspaper. William Kunkle, publisher of the morning Journal-Gazette, followed by establishing WKJG (William Kunkle Journal-Gazette) in 1947, but while WKJG established a television station in 1953, WGL had no television license.

In March 2014, Adams Radio Group, LLC entered an agreement to purchase Summit City's cluster (which includes WGL). Days later, Adams announced they would purchase Oasis Radio Group's stations. To meet ownership limits, Adams will retain WNHT, WGL and WXKE, as well as acquiring Oasis Radio Group's WJFX and WBTU, while selling off WHPP to Fort Wayne Catholic Radio, and selling WGL-FM to Calvary Radio Network. WLYV and two translators (on 96.9 FM and 103.3 FM) will also be acquired by Adams. The transaction, at a price of $6.4 million, was consummated on June 2, 2014. As a result, Adams plans on massive format restructuring. WGL flipped to Fox Sports Radio programming on June 3 after "American Pie" by Don McLean bought a close to WGL and WGL-FM's oldies format.


In 1928...WOL-AM, Washington, D.C., began broadcasting. The station now at 1450 AM is owned by Radio One.

In 1930...NBC first broadcasts from 30 Rockefeller Plaza in NYC.

In a major move in 1931, RCA signed crucial leases with the new Rockefeller Center management that resulted in it becoming the lead tenant of what was to become in 1933 its corporate headquarters, the RCA Building, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Under the terms of the lease arrangement, this included studios for NBC and theaters for the RCA-owned RKO Pictures. The deal was arranged through the Center's founder and financier, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., with the chairman of GE, Owen D. Young, and the president of RCA, David Sarnoff.


In 1973...A "live" Mott The Hoople show is simulcast over several US radio networks, but is later revealed to be the group's actual studio songs with applause overdubbed.


In 1974…Radio personality/actor (Easy Aces, Monitor) Jane Ace, who performed on the air with her husband Goodman Ace for more than 25 years beginning in 1930, died at the age of 74.

In 1987...Former radio programmer Sebastian Stone WOR FM died.

In 2011...George Ansbro, staff announcer at WABC Radio died

In 2003...Actor Art Carney died. Although best known for his character as "Ed Norton" on "The Honeymooners" TV show, Carney was a voice actor in the 1930's on the weekly Radio show "Gangbusters" and part of "The March of Time" repertory company. He also worked jobs in Radio from 1942 - 1949.

SiriusXM Adds Dave Ramsey Show

Today SiriusXM announced that Dave Ramsey, America's trusted voice on money and business, will bring his award-winning program "The Dave Ramsey Show" to SiriusXM. The nationally syndicated show can be heard on Sirius channel 145 and XM channel 207 starting on November 14.

One of the country's leading voices on personal finance, Ramsey has helped millions of people get out and stay out of debt, build wealth, retire with dignity, and give generously. His nationally syndicated program is heard by more than 12 million listeners each week, and now SiriusXM subscribers will have the opportunity to call into the live program and get practical financial advice for their money problems. Monday through Friday, listeners can tune in from 2:00-5:00 pm ET, as well as stream the show via the SiriusXM app on channel 790.

"We are honored and excited to join the SiriusXM family. We're looking forward to experiencing the future growth of this platform and its audience," said Brian Mayfield, Vice President of Ramsey Media.

"Dave Ramsey is a huge force in the world of personal money management and a significant addition to SiriusXM," said Jason Schramm, Senior Vice President of Digital, Talk and Content Strategy, SiriusXM. "Between his immensely popular program and bestselling books, Dave has proven himself a top expert in his field, and I'm thrilled that he's found a second home at SiriusXM, where our subscribers will now be able to listen to his advice and get direct feedback about their own finances."

In addition to his radio show, Dave Ramsey is the author of seven best-selling books—Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover, EntreLeadership, The Complete Guide to Money, Smart Money Smart Kids and The Legacy Journey—that have sold more than 10 million copies combined. Ramsey was honored as the National Broadcaster's Marconi Award winner in 2009. He was also inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2013 and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2015.

SF Radio: Dominic Zaccagnini Named PD At KSAN

Dominic Zaccaginini

Cumulus Media announces that it has promoted Dominic “Zakk” Zaccagnini to Program Director of Classic Rock KSAN 107.7 FM The Bone. He was previously Assistant Program Director/Music Director for 107.7 The Bone, a position he held since July, 2015. In addition to his new role as Program Director, Zaccagnini will continue to host PM Drive on The Bone.

Zaccagnini joined 107.7 The Bone from Cumulus Media-Chicago’s Classic Rock station WLUP The Loop, where he was on-air personality and Music Director.

Zaccagnini was formerly Assistant Program Director/Afternoon Drive Host for former rock station KSJO in San Jose. He has also held various on-air and programming positions in Atlanta and Greenville-Spartanburg, NC, in addition to hosting the nationally syndicated “Zakk & Jack Show” on FOX Sports Radio.

Mike Anthony, Operations Manager, Cumulus Media-San Francisco, said: “Zakk was the natural choice to fill this role. His knowledge of and passion for the Rock format will help keep The Bone the most important station for men in San Francisco.”

KSAN 107.7 FM (8.9 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

Zaccagnini said:  “KSAN is a legendary radio station so this is a true professional honor.  Thank you to Mike Anthony for his confidence and thanks to everyone in Cumulus Media for their support!”

Time For News/Talk To Expand Its Appeal

One day after Republican Donald Trump’s unexpected win in the presidential election, conservative talk radio found itself in an unexpected position—as victors. For the first time in eight years, the party conservative radio typically aligns with is also set to control both branches of elected government. InsideRadio reports given Trump’s campaign, it could prove to be a challenging landscape.

With no Democrat in the White House as an adversary and an untested President-elect in Trump, talk radio faces something quite unique. And no one is confronting that reality more than talk radio hosts in the so-called #NeverTrump movement. They include some well-known hosts, from Charlie Sykes at Scripps’ WTJM Milwaukee (620) to Erik Erickson at Cox Media Group’s WSB Atlanta (750), neither of whom ever endorsed Trump and often railed against him. In fact, in Wisconsin, a coalition of conservative hosts opposed to Trump’s candidacy was partly credited with his losing that state’s primary election. Other notable Wisconsin talk radio hosts that opposed Trump included Midwest Communications WTAQ-AM/FM Green Bay host Jerry Bader and iHeartMedia talk WISN-AM Milwaukee’s Vicki McKenna.

Gabe Hobbs

Trump did, however, enjoy robust support among many other radio talkers, most notably—and least surprisingly—Fox News’ Sean Hannity, who has been one of Trump’s most vocal advocates. (The New York Times recently referred to their cozy relationship as a “bromance.”) For both Trump fans and foes, pivoting from months of contested primary and general election coverage to broadcasting during the Trump presidency will mean some fluctuation. As in past election cycles, conservative talk listening has surged in the weeks and months before the election; ratings will likely now fall back to earth. Talk hosts will have to stretch to hold onto listeners.

“Most talk stations have a great run up during the election year and then are hammered by the double whammy of Christmas, where talk radio tends to be left out in the cold anyway, and of a post-election hangover,” notes talk radio consultant Gabe Hobbs.

In the future, industry analysts say conservative talk hosts would be wise to broaden their message and look to attract more listeners, particularly younger adults, and discuss issues that matter to them. “These are the listeners and topics talk radio needs to ensure the financial viability of the format in the years to come,” says former talk radio host and programmer Darryl Parks.

“But, with a format existing mostly on AM radio, the focus will continue to be on an aging, conservative audience that will provide little help for the format’s survival in the future.”

No matter which party occupies the Oval Office, Hobbs thinks the format can find continued success. “The job of talk radio or any entertainment outlet is NOT to pivot based on who is in the White House or which party controls Washington,” he says. “Talk radio’s job continues to be the same now as it always has—entertain and inform.”

Election Night TV Ratings: 71.4M Watched

Tuesday night, Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. And all told, 71.43 million Americans watched on broadcast or cable TV during primetime, according to Nielsen’s final count.

Variety reports that number doesn’t include PBS, but does include ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Univision, Telemundo, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Fox Business Network, CNBC and TV One. That PBS-less 71.43 million in 2016 is roughly on par with the record 71.47 million Americans who witnessed Barack Obama become the first African-American man elected president in 2008, according to Nielsen’s final 2008 tally of 14 networks’ viewership, which did include PBS. Nielsen’s final count for 2016 included viewership on Lifetime’s live “The View” special. The average audience for the 2012 election was 66.8 million when viewing across 13 networks was tallied by Nielsen.

Coverage on all of the networks except Fox broadcasting extended into the wee hours of the morning. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton didn’t concede to Republican nominee Donald Trump until after 2 a.m. on the East Coast, and Trump didn’t deliver his victory speech until around 3 a.m.

CNN had the biggest night of all the networks in primetime, drawing an average audience of 13.26 million from 8-11 p.m. Fox News followed with 12.11 million total viewers. MSNBC came in third in the cable race with 5.95 million. The same pecking order followed in the coveted-by-news-advertisers 25-54 demographic: CNN had 6.66 million viewers in that demo, Fox News had 4.64 million, and MSNBC had 2.37 million.

In coverage from 7 p.m. – 3 a.m., the numbers look slightly different. Fox News drew the biggest total audience in that time frame, with 12.2 million viewers. CNN came in with an average audience of 11.17 million during that time, and MSNBC had an audience of 5.2 million. CNN did still lead in the 25-54 demo, though, with 5.65 million to Fox News’ 4.76 million. (MSNBC brought in 2.13 million viewers in the 25-54 demo in that period.)

Tuesday was the most-watched night in both CNN and Fox News’ histories.

TV News Strives To Keep Viewers, Ad Revenue

The attention and pressure surrounding a presidential election only come once every four years. But, reports Variety,  the election of Donald Trump may be so surprising and unprecedented that many TV-news executives believe the public’s attention may stay at or near the same intensity level at which it has buzzed for the past several months.

“We are in the biggest bull market in cable-news history,” said Bill Hemmer, the veteran Fox News anchor who previously spent a decade at CNN. “Conventional wisdom would suggest that everyone goes back to their lives on Wednesday, and I can’t see that happening.” Little wonder, then, that Fox News in the last few days unveiled a new TV studio valued at around $30 million.

To be sure, Hemmer’s sentiment runs against the tide.

Viewership often declines in the year after a presidential election. In 2013, for example, the year after the networks chronicled the battle for the White House between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the combined median prime-time viewership of CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC dropped 11% to about 3 million, according to data from Pew Research Center.

And yet, among top executives in TV newsrooms and those who work in the trenches, there is a palpable sense viewers may tune in for more. Yes, ratings are likely to fall – but perhaps not as much as they normally do after an election cycle.

There’s reason to want the fascination with the headlines to continue. At both 21st Century Fox and Time Warner, Fox News Channel and CNN have been integral to increases in revenue and operating income this year. The election cycle is expected to boost CNN’s overall ad sales by 14.4% in 2016, according to market-research firm SNL Kagan, compared with 11.2% in 2015. Fox News Channel’s ad revenue is projected to rise 9.8% this year, compared with 7.3% in 2015. And MSNBC’s ad revenue is expected to grow 26.4%,  Kagan said, compared with just 5.6% the year before.

Ad dollars are also soaring at the broadcast-TV networks’ evening-news programs. In the first six months of 2016, advertisers earmarked nearly $290 million for NBC’s “NBC Nightly News,” ABC’s “World News Tonight” and CBS’ “CBS Evening News,” according to data from Kantar, a tracker of ad spending. Compare that with the $193.4 million spent on the shows in the first six months of last year – or even the $243.9 million spent during the 2012 White House race. The figures mean Lester Holt, David Muir and Scott Pelley won their shows almost 50% more in the first half of this year compared with the same 2015 period, and about 19% more than the first half of 2012.

How The Polls Got It Wrong

(Reuters) -- Pollsters and statisticians gave Hillary Clinton odds of between 75 and 99 percent of winning the U.S. presidential election. How did so many get it so wrong?

In hindsight, the polling consensus went astray in two major ways.

The media, including Reuters, pumped out two kinds of poll stories. Some were national surveys designed to estimate the entire country’s popular vote, but not the outcome in individual states, where the contest is actually decided. These polls actually got the big picture right: Clinton won more overall votes than President-elect Donald Trump - but not by as much as the polling averages predicted, and not where she needed to.

News organizations also produced a blizzard of stories meant to calculate the probability of victory for the two candidates. These calculations were predicated on polls of individual states. In hindsight, though, the stories seem to have overstated Clinton’s chances for a win by failing to see that a shift in voting patterns in some states could show up in other, similar states.

In part, this is because polling analysts got the central metaphor wrong.

U.S. presidents are chosen not by the national popular vote, but in the individual Electoral College contests in the 50 states and Washington D.C. In calculating probable outcomes, election predictors generally treated those 51 contests as completely separate events – as unrelated to one another as a series of 51 coin tosses.

But that’s not how elections work in the United States. Voting trends that appear in one state - such as a larger-than-expected Republican shift among rural voters - tend to show up in other states with similar demographic make-ups.

And that’s what happened Tuesday: The election models calculated the probabilities of a Clinton win that turned out to be high, because they viewed each state too much in isolation.

The Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project projected Clinton to win the popular vote 45 percent to 42 percent, and gave her a 90 percent probability of winning the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the election. In the end, Clinton won the popular vote by 47.7 percent to 47.5 percent, by the latest count, and Trump could win the Electoral College by as many as 303 votes to Clinton’s 233 when the tally is final.

The state races were not akin to a string of coin tosses but more like 51 rolls of a set of weighted dice. In many states, it turned out, the side of the dice representing white voters in suburban and rural counties carried a heavier weight, and the side representing urbanites a lighter one.

Breitbart News Plans Expansion

(Reuters) -- The conservative Breitbart News Network is expanding its U.S. operations and launching sites in Germany and France, its U.S. editor-in-chief told Reuters, as it seeks to monetize the anger and anti-immigrant sentiment unleashed by Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign.

The planned expansion is one sign of how the right-wing media landscape is shifting in the wake of Trump's campaign to provide a platform for the more radical views that helped fuel the Republican candidate's shock election victory on Tuesday.

Breitbart, whose profile surged when its former head Stephen Bannon was tapped in August to become Trump’s campaign chairman, has been a close ally of the New York real-estate mogul in conservative media. A leading voice of the so-called Alt-Right movement -- a loose-knit movement of white nationalists, anti-Semites and immigration foes -- it regularly attacks Republican Party elites, publishes anti-immigrant themed stories and promotes political conspiracy theories.

Alex Marlow

U.S. Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow said in an interview with Reuters last week that he plans to hire more journalists in the United States and increase Breitbart's multimedia production here, with more podcasts and videos.

"There’s going to be more hiring that goes on – I’m already picturing more tech reporting, more media reporting," Marlow said. "We do a ton of politics reporting now so I don’t know that we’ll need to do more but we certainly aren’t planning on scaling back with anything."

Breitbart's U.S. technology editor Milo Yiannopoulos is meeting with producers outside of Breitbart to explore launching a new television show, Marlow said.

Yiannopoulos has faced criticism for comments he has made about Muslims, Black Lives Matter activists and feminists. Social media platform Twitter banned him in July for inciting harassment of the actress Leslie Jones.

Breitbart, which already has a U.K. website, has begun interviewing European journalists to staff the planned new Breitbart France and Breitbart Germany sites, Marlow said. The aim is to help elect right-wing politicians in the two European countries, where anti-immigrant sentiment has been on the rise, sources close to Bannon said.

Speculation had simmered for months that the Republican candidate could launch his own "Trump TV" network if he lost Tuesday's election. But Trump had done nothing to secure investments, partnerships and permits needed for a new broadcast network, according to three people inside his campaign.

Bannon, who took over Breitbart after its founder Andrew Breitbart died in 2012, sees an opening to tap what he sees as a wave of American populism similar to forces driving Britain from the European Union, according to a source familiar with his thinking. It was unclear whether he would return to Breitbart now that Trump has won.

The former Goldman Sachs banker launched Breitbart London in 2013 after seeing a "business opportunity" in the campaign to leave the European Union, according to the source. He chose a young conservative activist, Raheem Kassam, to run the site but also hired a venerated British journalist, James Delingpole, to add cache.

Breitbart London's political and business aims were so closely integrated that Kassam took a brief leave of absence from the site to advise Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit movement. The more popular the "Brexit" movement became, the more people went to Breitbart London to read about it, and the more advertisements Bannon sold.

Bannon's bet paid off: the June 23 vote to leave the EU was Breitbart's most heavily trafficked day up to that point--(overall) both in London and the United States.

Alexandra Preate, a spokeswoman for Breitbart, declined to disclose how much revenue it generates and the identities of its main backers.