➦In 1930...the radio deejay who would become the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson)with the smash hit Chantilly Lace, was born in Sabine Pass, Texas. He died in the same 1959 plane crash that claimed the lives of Buddy Holly and Richie Valens.
➦In 1983...The Hot 100..Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton scored a #1 song together with "Islands In The Stream". Bonnie Tyler finally took a back seat with "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" after four weeks. Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" was #3 followed by the timeless "True" from Spandau Ballet.
The rest of a solid Top 10: The Fixx with "One Thing Leads To Another", Air Supply's "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All", the Police remained at #7 with "King Of Pain", Prince and "Delirious", Sheena Easton was at #9 with "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)" and Billy Joel registered his sixth Top 10 with "Uptown Girl".
➦In 1983...The Album Chart..Synchronicity by the Police continued to hold off Michael Jackson's attempt to return to #1 on the Album chart with Thriller. Metal Health by Quiet Riot was a very distant third with An Innocent Man from Billy Joel #4.
The rest of the Top 10: Faster Than the Speed of Night by Bonnie Tyler, Pyromania by Def Leppard, the Soundtrack to "Flashdance" at #7, Air Supply with their Greatest Hits album, Kenny Rogers with a new entry--Eyes That See in the Dark and, although she had changed musical direction, it didn't affect her success as Linda Ronstadt reached the Top 10 yet again with What's New.
➦In 1995...in book stores..Howard Stern’s “Miss America.” Lawyers for the actual Miss America pageant believed the title infringed on their good name.
➦In 2003…According to the results of a study by the Neilsen ratings company, a third of the sales of "Beatles 1" were to fans aged 19 to 24, skewing the band's fan base even younger than it had been previously.
➦In 2005...Julian Breen, former Assistant PD at WABC NYC and PD at KFRC San Francisco, died.
Following success at WABC New York and KYA San Francisco, Julian was largely responsible for developing two radio formats.
First, “Back Seat Music,” established at WPEN in 1975. It was Julian's belief that people cherished most the music that was popular at the time that they lost their virginity. He could never quite back it up with research, but didn’t let that stop him.
He also developed the Magic format that was launched at WMGK and cloned nationally. “It was beautiful music for people who didn’t feel old,” Julian said.
Marketers will shell out $100 million more on local radio advertising this year, taking the industry to $14.2 billion in local revenue, up from $14.1 billion in 2016. But the real growth will come in digital dollars, which are set to rocket up 17%, or $200 million, to $1.4 billion in 2017 from $1.2 billion in 2016.
Mark Fratrik
The new numbers are from BIA/Kelsey’s Outlook For Local Advertising report, set to be released next week, according to InsideRadio.
“Even with increased audio competition from many different sources, radio is still a formidable advertising platform, gathering over 10% of local adverting dollars,” BIA/Kelsey senior VP and chief economist, Mark Fratrik, said this week during a webinar presented by the Media Financial Management Association.
Looking ahead to 2018, radio’s combined over-the-air and digital assets are expected to cordon off 10.2% of the $155.6 billion that marketers will spend on local advertising, or $15.87 billion. The lion’s share will go to over-the-air radio, which is forecast to capture 9.2% of local ad dollars with another 1% coming from radio’s digital assets. “There will be some benefit from political advertising for radio in 2018 but not huge,” BIA CEO Tom Buono said.
Facebook Inc announced a plan to increase transparency about its role in political advertising on Friday, ahead of congressional hearings next week on social media companies and Russia’s meddling in last year’s U.S. presidential election.
Rob Goldman, Facebook’s vice president for ads, said in a blog post that the company would launch a publicly searchable archive next year containing details about the advertisements it runs related to U.S. federal elections. Reuters reports details will include the size of spending and the demographics of the audience the ads reached, Goldman said. The archive, beginning with ads carried in 2018, will cover a rolling four-year period, he said.
Internet political ads have boomed in recent years as U.S. politicians looked for different ways to reach potential supporters, and as companies including Facebook have created tools to allow targeted marketing.
Online ads, though, are generally viewable only to the intended audience, raising concerns among transparency advocates, researchers and lawmakers about how to hold politicians accountable for what they say.
The planned archive reflects a change in corporate policy for the world’s largest social network, which had previously resisted the idea.
In June, Facebook told Reuters that it would go on treating political ads like all others and that creating an online repository would violate the confidentiality of those advertisers.
Since then, Facebook, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google have all said that Russia-based operatives bought ads and used fake names on their services to spread politically divisive messages in the months before and after the 2016 U.S. election.
Moscow has denied interfering in the election.
Next week, general counsels for Facebook, Google and Twitter will testify before public hearings of three U.S. congressional committees about the alleged interference and proposed legislation to require them to disclose election-related ads.
Radio talk show host John DePetro said Friday that he has left WADK-AM in Newport and will be making a “major announcement” on Monday morning at 8:30 about where he is going next.
“I’ll be on the radio Monday,” DePetro said, “just not there.”
DePetro was a talk show host on N/T WPRO 630 AM for 10 years and had been on the air at the Newport station since January. When he signed on at WADK, he said he saw the job as a launching pad for greater things.
According to The Providence Journal, he departs just short of two weeks after his show was the center of political attention in Rhode Island after state Democratic Party second vice chairman Joseph DeLorenzo made controversial comments about a state representative’s allegations of sexual harassment at the State House.
DePetro said he would make the announcement on his website, depetro.com, and on social media.
While at WPRO, he was twice cited as talk show of the year by the Associated Press. But in 2013, while at WPRO, an organization called For Our Daughters, backed by organized labor, organized a boycott against him after he referred to protesters as “union hags.” He went off the air during that controversy for five weeks.
MSNBC political analyst Mark Halperin released a statement on Friday evening apologizing for causing his former female employees at ABC News "pain and anguish" after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment when he was the political director there over a decade ago.
CNN reported on Wednesday night that five women accused Halperin of engaging in inappropriate behavior while he worked at ABC. They alleged Halperin's actions ranged from propositioning young female staffers to groping and pressing his erection against them while clothed.
Halperin, who was suspended from MSNBC and NBC News on Thursday, said in a lengthy statement on Twitter that he "deeply regret[s]" his past actions and understands what he did was wrong.
CNN reported Friday that four more women have leveled allegations of sexual harassment against Halperin.
The news channel said that one woman claimed Halperin masturbated in her presence after she went to his ABC News office to seek advice from him about her career at the news division, where she was a desk assistant.
CNN said a second woman alleged that the “Game Change” co-author threw her against a restaurant window and threatened to derail her career after she rebuffed his attempt to kiss her.
CNN said that Halperin denied that he masturbated in front of anyone or physically assaulted or threatened anyone.
Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has sued a New Jersey ex-politician for writing on his Facebook page that O’Reilly sexually harassed his ex-girlfriend and wanted her to dig up dirt on another accuser.
Michael Panter
According to the AP, a summons filed on Friday in New York state court seeks redress for Michael J. Panter’s “intentional, malicious, and bad faith actions in making defamatory and false statements in a publicly available social media post.”
Panter, a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2008, posted a lengthy message on his Facebook page Tuesday describing how his girlfriend received several late-night calls from O’Reilly, with whom she worked, that "would create tension and make her clearly uncomfortable."
O’Reilly is asking for at least $5 million in damages “for the public hatred, ridicule, disgrace, and permanent harm to his professional and personal reputations” as a result of the post, according to the court document.
In a Facebook post earlier this week, Panter wrote that his ex-girlfriend, a Fox employee he didn’t name, had settled a claim against O’Reilly and was bound by a non-disclosure agreement. But he said he felt compelled to speak out after hearing “O’Reilly spinning his falsehoods almost daily.”
As the NFL lurches toward another season of disappointing TV ratings, media executives once again are questioning whether there’s simply too much football, reports Sports Business Daily.
There seem to be dozens of reasons for the ratings downturn, from protests during the national anthem and the continued ratings strength of cable news networks to the concussion issue and weather-related problems.
But one reason increasingly being discussed in media circles deals with NFL oversaturation, a topic that has irked network executives since the league launched NFL Network in 2003.
So far this season, fans have been able to watch games on Thursday nights, Sunday mornings, Sunday afternoons, Sunday nights and Monday nights. Later in the season, games will be available on Saturdays.
In-game highlights are a touch of a button away on a large variety of websites and mobile apps. The league heavily markets the ability to watch condensed versions of games almost as soon as they conclude.
Overall, NFL game viewership this season is down about 7 percent from the same point last season and 18 percent compared with the same point in the 2015 season. More concerning for network executives is the 11 percent across-the-board ratings drop in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic, the biggest drop of any demo.
Network executives were reluctant to discuss NFL oversaturation on the record.
According to a media report, KFMB TV, KFMB 760 AM and KFMB 1007 FM have been put up-for-sale. The stations are owned by Midwest Television, Inc.
KFMB-AM is one of the few stations in the U.S. that significantly increases power at night. The daytime power of 5,000 watts is limited due to proximity to KBRT 740 AM, a religious radio station with its transmitter in Orange County. The nighttime power is 50,000 watts, with a signal pattern that follows the California coast. KFMB's antennas are unique in that they are located on both sides of a highway (Route 52 in Santee, CA).
One of the best things about the CMA Awards are the surprises, and “The 51st Annual CMA Awards” has more unexpected collaborations to share as another round of superstar performances are announced for the Wednesday, Nov. 8 (8-11 PM ET), live broadcast from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on the ABC Television Network.
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, P!NK, and Keith Urban will perform on this year’s Awards, and an unprecedented opening collaboration will feature Eric Church, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban and more. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will co-host The Awards for the 10th consecutive year.
Hill and McGraw are among Country Music’s most nominated couples and “Speak to a Girl” marks the sixth time they’ve been nominated together for a CMA in the Vocal Event of the Year and Musical Event of the Year categories since 1997’s “It’s Your Love,” which they won. The couple has 61 nominations combined, with McGraw winning 11 times, including the 2001 Entertainer of the Year. Hill has three victories.
Grammy Award-winning pop star P!NK is nominated for a CMA Award for the first time this year. She’s up for Musical Event of the Year for her “Setting the World on Fire” duet with Kenny Chesney, and just released her new album Beautiful Trauma, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboardchart this week.
Urban is a 10-time CMA Awards winner, including the 2005 Entertainer of the Year Award, and has been nominated 45 times since 2001 – one of the most consistent streaks of nominations over that time. He’s up for four awards this year, including Entertainer of the Year again.
Church is a rare two-time winner of the prestigious Album of the Year Award for CHIEF and Mr. Misunderstood. He’s been nominated 25 times since 2011, and is up for three awards this year, including Entertainer of the Year for the second time.
The trio of Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott have won seven CMA Awards, starting with New Artist of the Year in 2008. The trio also has taken Single of the Year twice and Vocal Group of the Year three times. Lady A is up for two Awards this year, including Album of the Year for Heart Break.
One of pop music’s most popular figures for more than two decades, Rucker won New Artist of the Year in 2009 and has performed at The CMA Awards multiple times since.
Performers previously announced for the Nov. 8 Awards include duet partners Kelsea Ballerini & Reba McEntire,Dierks Bentley & Rascal Flatts, Maren Morris & Niall Horan, Brad Paisley & Kane Brown as well as Garth Brooks, Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Jon Pardi,Chris Stapleton, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood.
Winners of “The 51st Annual CMA Awards” are determined by eligible voting CMA members. Ballots are tabulated by the professional services organization Deloitte & Touche LLP.
“The 51st Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton serves as the Executive Producer for the 11th year, and Gary Halvorsonas the Director for the first time.
More information about “The 51st Annual CMA Awards" is on CMAawards.com.
➦In 1922...WEAF in New York broadcast the first collegiate football game heard over a widespread radio network. Princeton played the University of Chicago at Stagg Field in the Windy City. The broadcast was carried on phone lines to New York City, where the network transmission began. (Princeton 21, Chicago 18.) ➦In 1940...comedian Henry Morgan‘s radio career took a turn for the better as he debuted ‘Here’s Morgan,’ a nightly 15-minute strip on New York’s WOR. ➦In 1945...CHUM launched as a dawn-to-dusk radio station.
On May 27, 1957, at 6 AM, owner Allan Waters switched the station to a "Top 50" format that had proven itself popular in some U.S. cities; Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" was the first song played. "1050 CHUM" pioneered rock and roll radio in Toronto, and was noteworthy for hosting many noteworthy rock concerts including, among others, visits to Maple Leaf Gardens by Elvis Presley (1957) and The Beatles (1964, '65, and '66). While the station was rising to the top of the popularity ratings in Toronto in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it also built a new transmitter in Mississauga, Ontario (a few miles west of the current Toronto city line) along the Lake Ontario shoreline, and raised its power to its current 50,000 watts (DA-2) around the clock.
In the late 1950s, CHUM was calling itself "Radio One", as its ratings continued to increase. An important part of CHUM's success was the station's unpredictable morning man Al Boliska, who joined CHUM in October 1957, after working at station CKLC in Kingston, Ontario. By 1959, Boliska had made a name for himself as a disc jockey who got listeners talking. He also made them laugh, and became known for telling what he called the "World's Worst Jokes". Boliska also did a number of stunts, such as taking part in a professional wrestling match with Whipper Billy Watson. When he lost, that led to another stunt, where Boliska stayed away from his show for several days, saying he was now too discouraged by the loss to do his show. A hypnotist was called in, and Boliska's self-esteem was restored. Boliska left CHUM in late 1963 to go 'across the street' to CKEY.
He was replaced by WKBW Buffalo radio & TV personality Jay Nelson, popularly known as "Jungle Jay" from his role as host of a children's show on Buffalo's Channel 7 which was also popular among Toronto youngsters. Nelson was Morning Host for more than 20-years on CHUM.
CHUM became well known for its zany contests. In the 1950s and '60's, it was contests such as 'The Walking Man', where listeners had to spot CHUM's mystery walking man using only clues given out on the air. The 1970s' "I Listen to CHUM" promotion had DJs dialing phone numbers at random and awarding $1,000 to anyone who answered the phone with that phrase. In 1976, there was the CHUM Starsign promotion. Listeners wore a button featuring their astrological sign. If CHUM's 'Starsign spotter' saw you wearing your Starsign, you won prizes such as money or concert tickets to major events.
➦In 1946...our favorite flying cowboy was heard on ABC radio for the first time. “Sky King” starred Jack Lester, then Earl Nightingale, and finally, Roy Engel, as Sky. ➦In 1950...Jack Benny's popular program on CBS Radio transitioned to CBS Television where it stayed until 1964 before moving to NBC-TV for its final year. His weekly radio show ran from 1932 to 1955.
➦In 1953...Red Barber resigned after 14 seasons as the radio voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers to join Mel Allen and the New York Yankees broadcast team.
➦In 1956...Elvis made his second appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” He sang several songs, including “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog,” and Ed presented him with a gold record for “Love Me Tender.”
Brian Epstein
➦In 1961...While working as a clerk at a record store in Liverpool, England, Brian Epstein was asked by a customer (Raymond Jones) for a copy of "My Bonnie", the new single by a group called the Beatles. After a second customer requested the record, Epstein ordered it and went to the Cavern Club to hear this group. He later became their manager.
➦In 1963...New York DJ "Murray the K" played "She Loves You" by the Beatles. This is believed to be the first time a Beatle song was played in the U.S.
This claim is disputed by several. Pacific Northwest deejay Pat O'Day maintains that it was not Murray the K that played the first ever Beatles record in the US but in fact it was played in Seattle at Pat's station KJR 950 AM. (Date undisclosed)
WLS in Chicago charted it for the weeks of March 8 and March 15, 1963 (peaking at #35), before dropping it off. Some fairly exhaustive research at Kent Kotal’s Forgotten Hits establishes pretty clearly that WLS was the first station in America to play the Beatles, in late February 1963, nearly a year before the outbreak of Beatlemania across the country.
➦In 1986... KOB 770 AM in Albuquerque New Mexico changed its call letters to KKOB.
KOB was founded at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in Las Cruces (now New Mexico State University) by Ralph Willis Goddard, and began broadcasting tests in 1919 under the call letters 5XD. On April 5, 1922 the station began regular operation as KOB, a callsign which had belonged to marine radio aboard the Princess Anne before its February 2, 1920 shipwreck on Rockaway Shoals, Long Island. New Mexico A&M sold the station after Goddard was electrocuted while adjusting the transmitter on December 31, 1928. In 1933 the station moved to Albuquerque, and was later bought by the Albuquerque Journal.
KKOB 770 AM (50Kw) Night Coverage
In 1948, Tom Pepperday, owner and publisher of the Journal, signed on KOB-TV, the first television station between the Mississippi River and the West Coast. The stations passed to Time-Life in 1952 and to Hubbard Broadcasting in 1957. Hubbard Broadcasting sold the radio stations in 1986. In order to trade on the well-known KOB calls, the new owners simply added an extra "K" to the radio station's call letters.
KOB was involved in a 38-year-long dispute with New York City station WABC (originally WJZ) over the use of the 770 kHz frequency. KOB was moved there from 1030 to make room for WBZ in Boston.
While the FCC requested that WJZ install a directional antenna to allow the stations to interoperate over large areas, the station refused to comply, encroaching on the range KOB was intended to cover.
Only after reaching the U.S. Supreme Court was the issue settled, when the FCC assigned KOB to a new license class. KKOB and WABC became sister stations when Citadel Broadcasting purchased ABC Radio in 2007; Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
➦In 1995...The Hot 100.."Fantasy" by Mariah Carey was #1 for a fourth week in an excellent Top 10. Coolio logged a fifth week at #2 with "Gangsta's Paradise" after being #1 for three weeks--impressive. "Runaway" from Janet Jackson was #3 followed by the classic Seal song "Kiss From A Rose".
The rest of the Top 10: Michael Jackson with the 25th and last Top 10 of his career "You Are Not Alone", Sophie B. Hawkins had #6--"As I Lay Me Down", Groove Theory's "Tell Me", Hootie & the Blowfish at #8 with "Only Wanna' Be With You", Take That entered the Top 10 for the first time with "Back For Good" and Natalie Merchant's solo hit "Carnival" was #10.
In 1995...The Album Charts.."Daydream" by Mariah Carey was the top album. Insomniac by Green Day debuted at #2 with Jagged Little Pill from Alanis Morissette sliding to #3--for now. There really wasn't much competition at the time and Design of a Decade 1986/1996 by Janet Jackson debuted at #4.
The rest of the Top 10: The "Dangerous Minds" Soundtrack, Cracked Rear View by Hootie & the Blowfish after 66 weeks of release, Starting Over from Reba McEntire, All I Want by Tim McGraw was #8, The Woman in Me from Shania Twain was up to #9 and the solid album CrazySexyCool by TLC was still in the group after 48 weeks.
➦In 2005…Top 40 disc jockey "Bwana Johnny" (Rick Johnson) died of heart failure at the age of 56.
Bwana had been a popular disc jockey at the old 1260/KYA back in the late 1960s.
Before coming to the Bay Area in 1969, "Beautiful Bwana" worked at KLOG/Kelso, Wash., WUBE/Cincinnati and KJR/Seattle. He moved on to WWDJ/New York as music director and afternoon-drive jock (1971-1973) and spun records for a year at WFUN/Miami before returning to his hometown, Portland, Ore., as "Crazy Dick Simms" on the Rose City's legendary KISN in 1975.
Jeff Bezos became the richest man in the world Friday morning, after adding nearly $7 billion to his wealth overnight, according to CNBC.
With Amazon's share price surging this morning after its earnings report, Bezos's wealth shot up to more than $90 billion, according to calculations by CNBC and data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That put Bezos past Bill Gates to become the richest man in the world.
Gates also added to his fortune this morning with the rise in Microsoft stock after its earnings. But his gain of around $550 million put his fortune at $88.5 billion — not enough to stay ahead of Bezos.
It will be a horse race throughout the day, however. If Microsoft goes up more, or if Amazon slips after the stock starts trading, Bezos could fall back to number two.
This isn't Bezos' first time as numero uno. He became the richest man for the first time in July – but his reign only lasted a day. On July 27, Amazon's share price topped $1,050 and Bezos' paper fortune soared past $90 billion. But after Amazon's share price slipped, Bezos fell back to second place behind Gates.
At some point, given Amazon's dominance in so many markets, Bezos is likely to pull further ahead in the race for the richest man. For now, however, the battle is between Microsoft and Amazon.
Just after the market's open, Amazon shares were trading up nearly 10 percent at around $1,067, while Microsoft's stock gained 9 percent to trade just under $86.
iHeartMedia Inc. on Thursday said it has offered lenders and bondholders more control of the almost-bankrupt company.
But an agreement has not been reached, iHeartMedia said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, reports mysantonion.com.
“There can be no assurance that any agreement will be reached. Any such agreement will require the consent of additional debt holders who are not party to the negotiations,” the company said in the filing.
The new offer from iHeartMedia is close to a 50-50 split of control of debt-ridden iHeartMedia and the billboard unit, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc., which is 90 percent owned by iHeartMedia, said Seth Crystall, Debtwire senior credit analyst.
“Who would be in control? That is not spelled out,” Crystall said. “But iHeartMedia definitely made some concessions and made steps toward resolution. They had to or they weren’t going to get anything resolved,” Crystall said.
iHeartMedia last March launched $14.6 billion debt-restructuring deal to bondholders and lenders that ended up being the starting point for prolonged negotiations between the company and its creditors.
Total company debt, as of June 30, stood at almost $20.4 billion, stemming mainly from 2008 leverage-buyout from two Boston-based private-equity firms. Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners acquired 70 percent of the company then known as Clear Channel Communications.
In 2018, $324.2 million of debt comes due and $8.4 billion in 2019, but some debt is owned by Bain and Thomas H. Lee. As of June 30, its cash on hand dropped to $260.5 million. The company warned last spring that it might not be able to meet scheduled debt repayments.
“The main problem is a balance sheet that is overleveraged. The bondholders want majority control of the company and has always worked toward that. Management (Bain and Thomas H. Lee) have been willing to concede up to 49 percent,” Crystall said.
Crystall stressed that if an agreement is not reached and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy is filed, operations at iHeartMedia’s 850 radio stations and its billboard units would continue as usual. The main changes would occur at the ownership level and perhaps at a few management positions, he said.
CBS News Radio today unveiled a new slate of original news, finance and entertainment programming at its first ever upfront presentation to advertising executives, at the famed CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
The new programming announced today will be available to CBS News Radio affiliates starting Jan. 1, 2018.
“We’re excited to share these new and exclusive program offerings, as well as our continuing lineup of original reporting with our colleagues in the advertising community and our affiliate stations,” said Charles Pavlounis, Chief Financial Officer for CBS News. “These programs allow our affiliated stations to deliver original, engaging content to their dedicated listeners, while our clients are able to gain maximum exposure for their messages on News, Talk and Music formats around the country.”
The new and exclusive additions to the CBS News Radio lineup will include:
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, INSIDE EDITION, THE DOCTORS, DR. PHIL and RACHAEL RAY CBS News Radio will deliver original, daily, one-minute, self-contained news, lifestyle & entertainment and information updates from the CBS Television Distribution family of programs. Specially designed versions of each will be produced for audiences across all formats, and provide a variety of opportunities for sponsors.
JILL ON MONEY – CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger brings her popular financial programming to CBS News Radio with smart and informative daily, one-minute updates on breaking financial news, money tips and more, along with a two-hour weekend program.
EYE ON VETERANS – Produced by veterans, for veterans and their families, this programming is brought to you in partnership with CBS RADIO’s ConnectingVets.com multi-platform initiative. In a daily one-minute feature and a two-hour weekend program, EYE ON VETERANS provides veterans and their families with information about finance, healthcare, transitioning into civilian life and other impactful issues.
DAVE ROSS – Dave Ross, the winner of five Edward R. Murrow awards for Best Writing, offers his wit and candor at a time when listeners are looking for some humor. Ross delivers his perspective on current events and digs into stories that matter in a 90-second commentary. This program will be available beginning Feb. 4, 2018.
Amazon's third quarter results far exceeded Wall Street expectations Thursday, pushing up its stock by over 7 percent in after hours trading.
According to CNBC, investors were expecting smaller profits as the third quarter is typically a heavy investment period for Amazon ahead of the holiday season. But strong growth in North American sales and Amazon Web Services offset increased spending in new areas.
The company also offered a positive outlook for the fourth quarter, its largest quarter of the year.
Here are the most important numbers:
Revenue: $43.7 billion vs. $42.14 billion, according to Thomson Reuters
EPS: 52 cents vs. 3 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters
AWS revenue: $4.58 billion vs. $4.51 billion, according to Thomson Reuters
Revenue increased 34 percent from last year, in part due to the $1.3 billion in sales from Whole Foods, which Amazon acquired in late-August. North American sales were $25.4 billion, up 35 percent from last year, while international sales grew 29% to $13.7 billion.
AWS remains the the company's growth driver, jumping another 42 percent in sales. Amazon's cloud business is the company's most profitable unit that allows it to keep investing in the core business.
Investors continue to give a pass on Amazon's laser-thin profits. Operating profit dropped in all three major segments, by 40 percent in total to $347 million, as operating expenses grew 45 percent from a year ago. That resulted in an operating margin of just 0.8%, the lowest since September 2014.
Key to its success has been signing more people up for Amazon Prime, its fast-shipping and video-streaming club, whose members tend to buy more from the company. Revenue from subscription fees such as Prime grew 59 percent to $2.4 billion.
Alphabet Inc on Thursday reported stronger-than-expected advertising sales and higher operating margins, boosting its shares as investors brushed off concerns about higher costs for acquiring mobile users.
The stock was up nearly 3 percent at $1,001.50 after the bell. They have gained 25 percent this year.
According to Reuters, third-quarter revenue for Alphabet, the parent company of Google, jumped 24 percent to $27.8 billion, above the average analysts’ estimate of $27.2 billion. Profit of $6.7 billion, or $9.57 per share, was well ahead of Wall Street estimates.
Alphabet, along with much of the tech sector, has enjoyed torrid growth in recent years as advertising moves from traditional media to the internet and consumers flock to an ever-expanding array of digital devices.
While Google faces political pressure, especially in Europe, over its growing dominance and its role in spreading propaganda online, those problems have yet to hit the bottom line.
The third quarter was the 15th in a row in which Alphabet has shown double-digit, year-over-year consolidated sales increases. The pace is not slowing down, with the growth rate reaching its highest level in nearly five years.
Ad sales at Google, Alphabet’s main operating unit, account for the vast majority of the company’s revenue. The ad business faces competition from Facebook Inc but has continued to grow as more users turn to Google’s YouTube and mobile search services.
Google’s other revenue, which includes hardware such as the Pixel smartphones and Home speakers as well as the cloud computing business, also enjoyed solid growth. Sales from non-ad businesses rose 40 percent from a year ago to $3.4 billion in the quarter.
Among Google’s top priorities is expanding its salesforce to catch up with Amazon Web Services in providing corporate computing via large data centers, Pichai said. Alphabet does not break out cloud revenue, but Jefferies analysts estimate it at about 15 percent of Google’s other revenue.
Twitter will no longer run ads from Russian-funded news outlets RT and Sputnik, the company announced Thursday.
According to The Hill, the move came hours after RT's editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, said that Twitter had pitched her outlet on buying election ads, a claim later followed up by an article on RT.com.
"This decision was based on the retrospective work we've been doing around the 2016 U.S. election and the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that both RT and Sputnik attempted to interfere with the election on behalf of the Russian government," Twitter said in a blog post Thursday morning.
"We did not come to this decision lightly, and are taking this step now as part of our ongoing commitment to help protect the integrity of the user experience on Twitter."
RT and Sputnik will still be allowed to use their Twitter accounts but will no longer be able to promote tweets or run ads on the platform.
Twitter revealed that it had earned $1.9 million in ad revenue from RT since 2011, including $274,000 in 2016. The company said it would be donating that money to "support external research into the use of Twitter in civic engagement and elections, including use of malicious automation and misinformation, with an initial focus on elections and automation."
Twitter's general counsel will be testifying before the House and Senate Intelligence committees next week as part of Congress's investigation into the Kremlin's efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.
The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on net neutrality and the role of antitrust for Nov. 1.
The Hill reports the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, which will hold the hearing, has not released details, but the event is likely to address concerns that internet service providers stifle competition.
Democratic senators like Edward Markey (Mass.) say consumers often have limited or no options when picking their broadband providers, a claim corroborated by research.
The hearing also comes as Republicans in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) put their finishing touches on a plan to scrap net neutrality. The agency has not released a timeline for when it will release and vote on the final version of Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal to roll back the rules, but telecommunication insiders speculate that a vote could come as soon as December.
In his plan, “Restoring Internet Freedom,” Pai proposes scrapping net neutrality rules like a ban on paid prioritization of certain types of content, and rules keeping internet service providers from slowing down content at their discretion.
Many Republicans in Congress are calling for legislative action to enshrine regulations of internet service providers in law so that rules don’t flip every time the FCC changes party hands. The agency is currently run by a Republican majority, but the original net neutrality rules were approved in 2015 by Obama-appointed Chairman Tom Wheeler and his Democratic majority.
In the wake of the recent Harvey Weinstein scandal, of which DeGeneres was an outspoken critic, dedicating part of her show to sharing her thoughts on the “#MeToo” movement, many fans were quick to mention the idea that this tweet wouldn’t fly had a man posted it. Many began responding to the tweet with the hashtag “#doublestandard.” Others went as far as to compare her to Weinstein and call her a “pig.”
ESPN is planning another round of layoffs just six months after the network fired more than 100 employees, Sporting News reports.
Multiple sources told the sports news site that 40 to 60 people including on-air talent and radio personalities may be sent packing.
The layoffs could come as soon as late November or early December, reports Fox News.
According to Sporting News, the production staff and talent of ESPN's "SportsCenter" are facing possible layoffs despite the network's commitment to promoting new editions of the show like "SportsCenter AM" with Sage Steele, Jay Harris and Randy Scott as well as "SC6" with Jemele Hill among others.
ESPN has faced its fair share of controversies this past year. They let go several veterans of the network in April including Ed Werder, Trent Dilfter and Danny Kanell.
ESPN came under fire in August after they pulled an announcer from a college football game named Robert Lee because his name is similar to that of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
The network also faced heat after suspending Jemele Hill earlier in October after she violated their social media guidelines twice for calling on Twitter for people to boycott advertisers over the NFL protests and for calling President Trump a "white supremacist."
Gallup's initial measure of consumers' 2017 Christmas shopping plans suggests retailers could see the best holiday sales in years. The chief indicator is a sharp increase in the amount Americans say they plan to spend on Christmas gifts -- now $906, up from $785 in October 2016. That represents one of the biggest year-over-year increases in Gallup's trend, pushing the spending projection to its highest level in a decade.
More specifically, 34% of Americans plan to spend at least $1,000 on Christmas gifts this year, 23% say they will spend between $500 and $999, 28% expect to spend between $100 and $499, and 3% will spend less than $100. Six percent of U.S. adults report that they won't spend anything on Christmas gifts, which includes those who say they don't celebrate the holiday.
In addition to Americans' strong projection for their outlay on gifts, consumers are exhibiting an unusual willingness to admit that their overall spending will be on par with or higher than a year ago.
When asked to say how their expected spending compares with last year, a record-low 16% say they will spend less and 17% say they will spend more. As is typical, the largest share, now 65%, say their spending will be about the same. However, this is the first year since 2000 that roughly equal percentages plan to spend more vs. less. More often, a much higher proportion of consumers have said they plan to spend less rather than more.
WGN 720 AM Radio announced that Stephanie Menendez has been promoted to Director of News & Operations.
“Stephanie has the zest our team needs to tell remarkable Chicago stories,” said Todd Manley, Vice President of Content & Programming. “Every day I’m grateful for the way she leads and collaborates.”
Menendez has been an integral part of WGN Radio since 2008. A native of Louisiana, she rose through the ranks, from producer and Assistant Program Director to Operations Manager. As executive producer, Menendez was instrumental in leading the successful reunion of Wendy Snyder and Bill Leff on WGN Radio in 2013. She began her career as an intern at WLS-TV and a producer at WYCC-TV prior to joining Tribune Media.
“I am excited for this opportunity to lead our news team as we continue to curate strong content 24/7,” said Stephanie Menendez. “We have the best team of journalists, hosts and producers in the city and I look forward to seeking innovative ways to further expand WGN Radio’s presence in the digital space.”
WXRV 92.5 FM The River, Boston’s Independent Radio appoints Annalisa as the full-time Afternoon Drive on-air host. Annalisa brings in a wealth of experience and personality to the station. She has been in radio since her college days at Bridgewater State University’s WBIM.
“Annalisa’s such a wonderful talent and a passionate professional. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the thousands of artists and bands that the River features on a daily basis,” said WXRV/92.5 the River’s General Manager Donald St. Sauveur.
“She shares stories about the songs that are the soundtrack of our audience’s lives in an irreverent and witty way that’s authentic and approachable. The response from our listeners to Annalisa has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re blessed to have her join our very talented team of on-air hosts.”
“I was raised on Boston radio, was lucky enough to start in Boston radio and am excited to be welcomed back to it at the River,” said Annalisa. “It was important to me that I work at a radio station that respects their listeners, loves the community and loves to share their passion for music. The River stands out as an independent station in a cookie cutter corporate radio world.”
WXRV 92.5 FM (25 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
After college, she became the Rock Midday Host at WAAF in Worcester, and moved on to become the first woman to host a rock radio morning show in Boston at Classic Rocker – WZLX. Before coming to the River, she spent 20 years at San Francisco’s heritage Adult Alternative radio station, KFOG, where she hosted the Mid-day show, as well as their toprated 10@10 show.
Johnstown , CO Mayor and radio personality Scott James went shopping for a camping pillow before he embarked upon spending 50 hours on the Ferris wheel at Scheels to raise money and awareness for the Larimer and Weld County food banks.
He didn't buy one, but remarked that he may before the two days is up.
James, a radio personality with Country KXBG Big 97.9 FM, is broadcasting his morning show live from the Ferris wheel, as he attempts to break the existing 48-hour record for a continuous wheel ride.
But, according to The Reporter-Herald, the effort is about so much more than breaking a record or making a splash.
During his 50 hours, from 3:06 p.m. Thursday to 5:06 p.m. Saturday, all of the proceeds from the $1 tokens to ride the Ferris wheel will be split between the two food banks. Donations of money and food also are being accepted at the base of the Ferris wheel, and for $25, the cost of a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for one family, a person can ride in the same car with James.
The goal is to raise $25,000, enough for holiday meals for 1,000 families.
Donations will be accepted in store during the 50 hours, by texting "feednoco" to 50155 or online at feednoco.org. Online donations may be made through Dec. 8.
The New York Yankees have parted ways with manager Joe Girardi after 10 years, which made Thursday afternoon's radio show with Mike Francesa as a must-listen show for New Yorkers. Francesa opened his show saying that he was not surprised that Girardi was let go but also would not have been surprised if he came back.
Girardi finished his time in New York manager with a 910-710 record, including a World Series title in 2009. The Yankees were one victory away from reaching the World Series but lost to the Houston Astros in seven games in the American League Championship Series.
"First of all, I've heard rumblings of things this year that there was a little bit of tension," Francesa said in his monologue.
Mike checked all the boxes in the monologue. He told you Girardi would not be back, and Joe will get a job in 15 minutes. pic.twitter.com/o4AeaDQGZm
The clips are coming fast and furious today! Mike Francesa can now reveal that some #Yankees, including Gary Sanchez, hated Joe Girardi. pic.twitter.com/uw68JaRGBY
"I heard that from some people who were close to the situation. And I just thought there was a chance that this was going to happen this year. I'm not surprised. I wouldn't have been surprised if Joe came back but I am not in the least surprised that he's leaving. I don't think anybody should be. We've all talked about it. He leaves with very impressive credentials. He could get a job in 15 minutes if he wants one. We'll see where he winds up."
