Saturday, June 30, 2018

July 1 Radio History


➦In 1897…Three years after the first issue of Billboard Advertising was published, the publication was renamed The Billboard.

➦In 1907...pioneer sportscaster Bill Stern was born in Rochester NY.  From his first football game over WHAM in his home town, his flair for the dramatic was present in all his work, including the Colgate Sports Newsreel & the Gillette Friday Night Fights on NBC Radio. Later he joined ABC, and was the announcer on the first televised boxing match. He died after a heart attack Nov 19 1971 at age 64.

➦In 1911…Radio Division of Department of Commerce created

➦In 1920…GE and AT&T signed cross-license agreement.

➦In 1923...the first permanent radio network, the AT&T web, was set up between WEAF New York and WMAF near Boston.

➦In 1934…The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) became the new regulator of U.S. broadcasting, replacing the Federal Radio Commission.

➦In 1941...marked the beginning of commercial television broadcasting. The Federal Communications Commission licenses went into effect, allowing broadcasters to transmit programs and advertising. The first channels to receive FCC licenses were WNBT in New York (the precursor to WNBC), operated by the National Broadcasting Company; and WCBW (now CBS), operated by the Columbia Broadcasting System. Any broadcasting before that date was considered "experimental".

➦In 1956...NBC's Steve Allen Show capitalizes on the outrage engendered by Elvis Presley's recent version of "Hound Dog" on The Milton Berle Show by winkingly presenting a new, "clean" Elvis, dressed in a tuxedo and singing "Hound Dog" to an actual basset hound perched on a stool.



Backstage, a humiliated Elvis explodes in fury at the Colonel for agreeing to the stunt. The next day, however, fans protest the show, demanding "The REAL Elvis."

➦In 1968…CHUM 104.5 FM changed formats from classical to progressive rock. The station now airs a HotAC format.

➦In 1970...Casey Kasem begins his weekly Billboard countdown on the nationally syndicated radio show American Top 40.



American Top 40 began on the Independence Day weekend in 1970, on seven radio stations, the very first being KDEO in El Cajon, California (now KECR), which broadcast the inaugural show the evening of July 3, 1970. The chart data broadcast actually included the top 40 songs from the week ending July 11, 1970. The very first show featured the very last time both Elvis Presley and The Beatles had songs simultaneously in the Top 10.

It was originally distributed by Watermark Inc., and was first presented in mono until it started recording in stereo in September 1972.  In early 1982, Watermark was purchased by ABC Radio and AT40 became a program of the "ABC Contemporary Radio Network". The program was hosted by Casey Kasem and co-created by Kasem; Don Bustany, Kasem's childhhood friend from Detroit, MI; radio veteran Tom Rounds; and 93/KHJ Program Director Ron Jacobs, who produced and directed the various production elements.

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

➦In 1987…WFAN-AM, New York became the first 24/7 All-Sports Radio station

At 3:00 p.m. on July 1, 1987, Emmis Communications-owned WFAN signed on at 1050 kHz, replacing country music station WHN, and billing itself as the world's first 24-hour-per-day sports talk station. (The WFAN call sign was suggested by the wife of "The Fan's" first program director, John Chanin.   The first voice heard on WFAN was that of Suzyn Waldman, with a sports update,  followed by the first show, which was hosted by Jim Lampley. Waldman reported for the station, covering the New York Yankees and New York Knicks for 14 years.

Other hosts besides Lampley during WFAN's fifteen months at 1050 kHz included Bill Mazer, Pete Franklin, Greg Gumbel, Art Shamsky, and Ed Coleman. Ann Liguori is also one of the original hosts and was the first woman to host a show on the station. WFAN also inherited broadcast rights to the defending World Series champion New York Mets from WHN, who had held the rights for several years.



In early 1988 General Electric, which now owned NBC through its purchase of RCA two years earlier, announced that it would close the NBC Radio division and sell its stations. In February of that year GE made a multi-station deal with Emmis and, in New York, the WNBC license for 660 was included in the sale. On October 7, 1988 at 5:30 p.m., WFAN moved down the radio dial to replace WNBC at 660 kHz. 

Wolfman Jack
➦In 1995…Wolfman Jack died at his home in North Carolina at age 57.

Wolfman Jack had finished broadcasting his last live radio program, a weekly program nationally syndicated from Planet Hollywood in downtown Washington, D.C. 

Wolfman Jack said that night, "I can't wait to get home and give Lou a hug, I haven't missed her this much in years." Wolfman had been on the road, promoting his new autobiography. 

"He walked up the driveway, went in to hug his wife and then just fell over," said Lonnie Napier, vice president of Wolfman Jack Entertainment.

Report: Comcast Still Looking to Offer New Fox Bid

The Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century Fox have announced that they would hold shareholder meetings in New York on July 27 to approve Disney’s latest $71 billion offer for Fox’s Hollywood studios, cable channels, content library, international channels, and parts of the European Sky satellite-television business.

This came only days after the Justice Department’s antitrust regulators disclosed a lightning-fast approval for a Disney-Fox deal as long as Disney sells off Fox’s 22 regional sports networks.

According to philly.com, Comcast would have to make a competing bid before July 27 so Fox shareholders can consider it.

“We’re still in the middle of the game,” Eric Schiffer, chairman of the private equity firm Patriarch Organization in Los Angeles, said on Friday morning, echoing the belief that Comcast will not hang its head and walk away.

Comcast is reportedly negotiating with private equity firms as partners for a new Fox bid that could top $80 billion, with the outside firms defraying some of the massive borrowing that Comcast would take on to close a Fox deal.

“Comcast will dig in because they see this as a historic moment to strike,” Schiffer said. But Disney “won’t back away. It will fight this to the end. And at some point this will be difficult for Comcast financially.”

The ultimate price could go to $90 billion, observers believe.

Disney, led by CEO Bob Iger, would like the Fox movie- and TV-production studios to fill its pipeline of entertainment for direct-to-consumer streaming services to compete with Netflix and Amazon. Comcast, run by CEO Brian Roberts, likes the Fox entertainment studios but has said that he would like to take its business global. Sky and Fox’s international channels that reach hundreds of millions of TV viewers would enable Comcast/NBCUniversal to do that.

Detroit Radio: Roaxanne Steele EXITS Country WYCD-FM


Entercom Country WYCD 99.5 FM and midday personality Roxanne Steele have parted ways.

Steele Friday posted the news this week on her blog:
"I'm back from vacation but on a permanent vacation from WYCD.  I'm still having a hard time processing that I no longer wake up and go to a job I absolutely loved.  This is like a bad dream that doesn't seem real even though I've been through this before.  It's like a death of a bad break up, but business is business and it is what it is."
Steele had been with WYCD since 2016 following time with WYCD's Top 40 sister station WDZH.

Previously, she had stints at HotAC WDVD/Detroit, CBS Radio AC WCFS/Chicago and CBS Top 40 Rhythmic WBBM/Chicago.  Steve was a finalist for this year's Academy of Country Music (ACM) Broadcast Awards for Major Market Personality of the Year.

Steele also said on her blog, "I do find it interesting that WYCD made no official announcement that I'm gone.   Even good friends I have in the building at Entercom are still discovering that I'm no longer working at the radio station.  I suppose the empty desk space I worked from is becoming a dead giveaway.  I'm staying in Detroit, and I will bounce back on your radio soon.  For now, I'm taking a break and I'm enjoying my summer vacation on the beach."

ESPN Radio Adds New Weekend Show Covino & Rich

ESPN Radio will debut Covino & Rich on Saturday, June 30, at Noon ET. The program, which first premiered on SiriusXM in 2005, is co-hosted by Steve Covino and Rich Davis. Covino & Rich will air Saturdays and Sundays from Noon – 4 p.m. this summer and cover the hottest topics and stories in sports, seasoned with opinions and humor. They will appear on multiple platforms in addition to ESPN Radio.

Covino and Davis come to ESPN with a plethora of radio experience, and the pair have worked in television as hosts for NBC Sports’ NY affiliate and for SNY, discussing daily pop culture and sports stories. They have hosted numerous red carpets at events including the VMAs, MTV Movie Awards, the Grammys and private parties for ESPN and Rolling Stone as well as numerous Super Bowl weeks and the MLB All-Star Week on behalf of SiriusXM.

Covino is a proud Yankees fan and has a passion for rock music, bringing that to life every night as the host of SiriusXM Turbo 41. Davis can also be heard on SiriusXM’sPop2k and Hits 1 channels. He has conducted on-air interviews with artists including Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Pitbull. Prior to his time with SiriusXM, Davis worked with Z100 WHTZ/New York, WWHT Hot 107.9/Syracuse and WIOQ Q102/Philadelphia.

Twin Cities Radio: WCCO's John Hines Retiring From Daily Show


Twin Cities radio and TV mainstay John Hines, who has been with WCCO 830 AM since 2009, announced Friday he will be leaving his 9 a.m. to noon daily show at the end of the summer.

Hines, who was the first non-journalist embedded with soldiers in Iraq, has previously hosted shows on WWTC, KSTP-AM, KSTP-TV, WLOL and K102.

He was a 2017 inductee into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

“I am thankful to the many listeners who have supported me over the years and to WCCO in allowing me the opportunity to extend my career these past years. I am also pleased that WCCO has invited me to stay on in a part-time/fill in capacity,” Hines said in a news release.

WCCO program director Lindsey Peterson confirmed Friday that Hines will be scaling back his workload and moving to a part-time on-air role

L-A Radio: Kelli Cluque Ending F/T Gig At KCAL-FM


After 20-plus years over several tours of duty on air at KCAL 96.7 Los Angeles, longtime midday personality Kelli Cluque has announced she's leaving her full-time position, which included duties as aisstant PD and MD.

Kelli Cluque
She has accepted position of Operations Manager for Cal State San Bernardino’s Coyote Radio station. But she'll will continue weekend duty on KCAL.

KCAL Program Director, Daryl Norsell, said, “On a personal note, I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am for Kelli. She has been an amazing air talent, friend, and confidant for more years than I can remember. I know she’ll be an awesome teacher and mentor to the next generation of radio talent.

“While I am certainly sad to leave KCAL, I am excited too to be in the position to lead college students and do it here at home in the Inland Empire,” said Cluque. “I wish nothing but the best of luck to my replacement, KCAL is a wonderful place to work!”

Ad Agencies To Gain Access To Eastlan Ratings

Eastland Ratings has announced that at least 700 more agencies nationwide will soon have access to its data.

The Mooresville, NC-based Advantage Software (gotoadvantage.com) will integrate Eastlan's data into their widely-used media buying software suite, effective with Eastlan's Spring 2018 release. All agencies using Advantage will automatically receive access to all Eastlan data.

"Integrating Eastlan Ratings provides yet another option for our clients. This partnership helps us achieve our goal of offering an all-in-one and easy-to-use solution for agencies, including media planning and buying of all types", says Advantage President Ellen Coulter.

"We are dedicated to doing everything we can to make it as easy as possible for buyers to choose radio," added Mike Gould, Eastlan Ratings President/CEO. "Over the past year, we have heard from many agencies around the country that having Eastlan available to them as they switch to Advantage is critical. We appreciate Ellen and her team working so quickly to make it happen."

Fiber Cuts Lead To Big Outages

Comcast’s reported outage at 1:35 p.m. according to downdetector.com
Two cuts in high-capacity telecom lines that carry data traffic led to chaos on Friday afternoon for many Americans as Comcast Corp., Verizon Communications, and Spectrum services crashed in the eastern United States.

People were left with partial or no television, internet, and voice services, according to philly.com.

Comcast said it was switching network providers to restore service and had some success after several hours on late Friday afternoon. But the outage was so bad that even Comcast office phones were down. One cut was of a transmission line between New York and Chicago and the other cut was in the southern United States, according to social media postings and the company.

In a statement, Comcast called the cuts separate and unrelated and apologized to its customers.

The breadth of the outages were reported by customers on the website downdetector.com. Social media postings complaining about the outage were most prevalent among Comcast customers.

Streaming giant Netflix also experienced difficulties.

Many Xfinity customers say that Comcast’s customer service phone lines crashed.

Comedian Prank-Calls President Trump


Former Howard Stern sideman John Melendez managed to get President Trump on the phone by posing as New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez.

Best known for his “Stuttering John” moniker and appearances on Stern’s radio show, Melendez claims he prank-called Trump on Air Force One Wednesday night. He released the remarkable recording of his four-minute phone call with Trump on his namesake podcast Thursday night.

The 52-year-old comic got the President to talk about his administration’s widely reviled “zero-tolerance” policy on immigration, which has caused the forced separation of thousands of children from their undocumented parents at the country’s southern border.

John Melendez
While on the phone with Melendez, Trump conceded the family separations weren’t a good look, according to the recording.  Trump urged the man he thought was Sen. Menendez to work with congressional Republicans and hammer out a comprehensive immigration bill ending family separations and beefing up border security.

Melendez told The NYDaily News he got through to Trump after calling the White House switchboard and putting on a “ridiculous” British accent while pretending to be Menendez’s secretary.

He was transferred to a White House aide who said Trump couldn’t talk because he was at a rally in North Dakota.

Melendez said he gave his California cell phone number to the aide and asked for a callback. The aide noted the number didn’t match records the White House had of the New Jersey senator’s contact information, but Melendez got around that by claiming he was on vacation.

The phone call raises a number of questions about the administration’s security screening procedures.

A White House official confirmed the prank call in an unusual admission of error.

“The President wants to be accessible to members and likes engaging them and wants them to have the opportunity to connect,” the official told CNN. “The downside of that is sometimes the channels are open too widely and mistakes like this happen.”

Charleston SC Radio: Missing Personality Found Dead


The Charleston County SC Coroner's Office has identified the body found in a vehicle early Friday morning as that of a missing Lowcountry radio host and podcaster Richard Bachsmidt.

Aurthorities says there doesn't seem to be an signs of foul play, according to live5news.com.

Deputies found the 43-year-old in a car parked in a wooded area, Charleston County Sheriff's Capt. Roger Antonio said.

Bachschmidt was a former radio host of "Box in the Morning"on WCOO 105.5 FM The Bridge.  He parted ways with the station in February 2018

He had last been seen on Tuesday and his roommate filed a missing person report with the Charleston County Sheriff's Office after he uncharacteristically missed several work meetings Wednesday and was not responding to phone calls or texts, according to an incident report.

His sister, Dawn Bachschmidt Hoskins, released a statement Friday morning on his passing:
"Our family is in shock and completely devastated. Richard was a such an incredible man with an infectious personality and a heart of gold. He will be missed terribly. The outpouring of love, prayers and support from the Charleston community is holding up our family and for that, we are forever grateful."
A celebration of life event is currently being planned for Sunday at Tradesman Brewing on King Street in Charleston. Details will be posted on the Box in the Morning Facebook page.

Bachschmidt's colleagues at 1055 The Bridge and LM Communications are in mourning as well. Station Operations Manager and Program Director Ken Carson released a statement that read in part:
"Richard was our brother and friend and our prayers are with his extended family throughout the Low Country. Box recently left his morning show at WCOO to pursue an Internet morning show based out of Charleston, SC. Richard joined the LM Communications family in August of 2012 and left in February of 2018."
LM Communications (1055 The Bridge and 98Rock) is working with musicians, promoters and friends throughout Charleston to organize a benefit to bring awareness to mental health and suicide prevention. Both on and off the air Richard openly discussed his own battles with depression. His candor empowered others to overcome the stigmas of this illness and ask for help.

Antonio said the investigation is still active.

Man Charged With Threatening Family Of FCC's Pai

Activists have protested at the home of Ajit Pai
A California man is charged with threatening to kill FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's children because he was "angry" about the repeal of net neutrality regulations, the Justice Department said Friday.

Markara Man, 33, of Norwalk was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with threatening to murder an immediate family member of a U.S. official.

Ajit Pai
Prosecutors say Man sent three emails to Pai in December 2017, the month the Republican-led FCC voted to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules, according to Politico.

One of the emails, sent Dec. 20, to Pai's government and personal accounts had the subject line "Cheers." The body of the email listed the names and addresses of three preschools in and around Arlington, Va., where Pai lives, followed by, "I will find your children and I will kill them," according to the affidavit against Man.

The FBI traced the email's to Man's home and confronted him in May 2018. Man acknowledged sending the email that threatened Pai's family.

Man told the FBI he was "angry" about the repeal, saying, "They pretty much ignored, like, 80 percent of comments ... they ignored 'us,' and just didn't care," according to the affidavit.

Man was charged in federal court in Virginia with threatening to murder a U.S. official's immediate family member with the intent to intimidate or interfere with the official's duties. He could face up to 10 years in prison, if convicted.

June 30 Radio History



➦In 1899...busy radio actor Santos Ortega was born in New York City.   In the early 30’s he served as foil for Frank Crumit and Julia Sanderson, ‘The Singing Sweethearts of the Air,’ and starred in Bulldog Drummond (1942-43), The Adventures of Nero Wolfe (1943–1944) and The Adventures of Charlie Chan (1947-48). Perhaps his most notable radio role was Commissioner Weston on The Shadow. Ortega was heard in the daytime radio serials Valiant Lady and Perry Mason, and lent his remarkable range of voice characterizations to other radio dramas such as Inner Sanctum, The Mysterious Traveler, Suspense, Casey Crime Photographer, The Eternal Light, The Columbia Workshop, The Big Story, You Are There, and X Minus One. For 20 years he played Grandpa on CBS-TV’s As the World Turns.

He died April 10 1976 at age 76.


Harry Wismer
➦In 1913...sportscaster/football owner Harry Wismer was born in Port Huron Mich.  After years as one of the premier football playbyplay broadcasters in US radio, Wismer embarked on a failed  ownership of the AFL’s New York Titans, who played their home games in the remains of the Polo Grounds. He died Dec 3 1967 of a cracked skull suffered in a drunken fall the day previous, at age 54.

➦In 1921…RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, was formed.
By 1926 the market for commercial radio had expanded, and RCA purchased the WEAF and WCAP radio stations and networks from AT&T, merged them with its WJZ (the predecessor of WABC) New York to WRC (presently WTEM) Washington chain, and formed the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).  GE used RCA as its retail arm for radio sales from 1919, when GE began production, until 1930. Westinghouse also marketed home radios through RCA until 1930.

➦In 1948...three scientists from Bell Telephone Laboratories demonstrated their new invention to replace the vacuum tube — the transistor. John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley were awarded a Nobel Prize for their work.

➦In 1952...CBS-TV debuted “The Guiding Light”. It was a daytime serial that had been on radio already for 15 years (as pictured), and continued on TV for 57 years more, concluding in 2009.

➦In 1961...Radio pioneer, Dr Lee De Forest, died at age 87.  He had 180 patents to his credit and named himself the "Father of Radio," with this famous quote, "I discovered an Invisible Empire of the Air, intangible, yet solid as granite."

Dr. Lee De Forest
In 1906 De Forest invented the Audion, the first triode vacuum tube and the first electrical device which could amplify a weak electrical signal and make it stronger. The Audion, and vacuum tubes developed from it, founded the field of electronics and dominated it for 40 years, making radio broadcasting, television, and long-distance telephone service possible, among many other applications. For this reason De Forest has been called one of the fathers of the "electronic age". He is also credited with one of the principal inventions that brought sound to motion pictures.

He was involved in several patent lawsuits, and spent a substantial part of his income from his inventions on legal bills. He was indicted for mail fraud, but later was acquitted.

De Forest was a charter member of the Institute of Radio Engineers. DeVry University was originally named DeForest Training School by its founder Dr. Herman A. DeVry, who was a friend and colleague of De Forest.

➦In 1983...comedienne Mary Livingstone, who was born Sadye Marks in Seattle, grew up in Vancouver, then became Mrs. Jack Benny & got some of the best lines ever on his long-running radio show, died of heart disease at age 78.

➦In 1983...WPLJ 95.5 FM switched from AOR To Top 40.  In the Spring of 1983, the station began a transition from AOR to CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio). With word that a Top 40 format was coming to 100.3 FM, WPLJ moved further into a CHR direction. Though the station began playing artists like Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, Larry Berger stated that he did not make the decision to move to a CHR format until the last week of June, and WPLJ adopted a Rock-leaning CHR format on June 30, 1983.

From 1985...Jim Kerr on WPLJ...




➦In 1987...WYNY 97.1 FM, New York moved from a AC format to gold-based Country format as "Country 97".

The first song played was Dolly Parton's, "Think About Love."

The initial lineup included Mike Wade, Randy Davis, Jack Scott, Lisa Taylor, Mike McCann, Floyd Wright, Jay Michaels, Bill Rock and Jessica. "Dandy" Dan Daniel later joined the station, as well as Scott Carpenter and Carole Mason.

The PD was Michael O' Malley, who is currently a Country radio consultant.

Gale Gordon
➦In 1995...supporting actor Gale Gordon, who could be hilarious or serious on dozens of radio shows including Fibber McGee & Our Miss Brooks, and on TV in Our Miss Brooks, Here’s Lucy & Dennis the Menace, succumbed to lung cancer at age 89.

➦In 2001...country music guitarist, producer and executive Chet Atkins lost his battle with cancer & died at his home in Nashville at age 77. Atkins’ recordings sold more than 75-million albums. He also played on such hit records as Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya” and the Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie.” As an R-C-A Records producer and executive starting in 1957, Atkins helped craft the lush Nashville Sound using string sections and lots of echo. He had a role in the careers of such stars as Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, Jim Reeves, Charley Pride, Waylon Jennings and Eddy Arnold.

Bob Hastings and Joe Flynn
➦In 2014...actor Bob Hastings, best remembered as Lt. Carpenter on ABC-TV’s McHale’s Navy, and for the title role on NBC radio’s Archie Andrews, succumbed to prostate cancer at age 89.

Friday, June 29, 2018

Reuters Editor Apologizes For Blaming Trump For Shooting

Rod Cox
A top editor at Reuters apologized on Thursday night after blaming President Trump for the deadly Capital Gazette shooting in a now-deleted tweet that was sent during a “state of emotional distress,” but he might still be disciplined by the international news service. 

According to Fox News, Reuters Breakingviews Editor Rob Cox admitted that he “responded emotionally and inappropriately” after being called out for jumping to conclusions prior to the facts emerging. Police said the suspected gunman, eventually identified as Jarrod W. Ramos, targeted the newspaper after a lengthy feud regarding a 2012 defamation lawsuit.

“This is what happens when @realDonaldTrump calls journalists the enemy of the people. Blood is on your hands, Mr. President. Save your thoughts and prayers for your empty soul,” Cox wrote in the deleted tweet, according to TheWrap.

Cox apologized in a series of four tweets once it became clear that Ramos’ motive predated Trump entering the world of politics.

“When I saw the news today that a mass shooter had targeted the employees of a newspaper in Maryland I responded emotionally and inappropriately,” Cox wrote. “Though my comments were entirely personal, they were not in keeping with the Reuters Trust Principles and my own standards for letting facts, not snap judgments, guide my understanding.”

CO Radio: KFCO Completes Evolution To Rhythmic CHR

Max Media Denver’s KFCO FLO 107.1 FM has announced it has completed its evolution to a Rhythmic CHR music position.

“Over the past several months, FLO 107.1 has been spinning the top 10 rhythmic charting songs each week,” states Jeff Norman, President/General Manager, “now while listeners will not notice a huge difference musically they will hear even more of what they have been asking for and the overall vibe of the station will certainly move at a faster pace.”

“We knew when launching the station as throwback hip-hop in 2015 the music had to evolve over time and once we added Larry Ulibarri and Kathie J as our new morning team the decision was easy to push ahead with more current music.”

KFCO 107.1 FM (97 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
The newest evolution of FLO 107.1 comes under the guidance of rhythm consultant Michael Newman from Radio Strategies based in Houston, Texas.

The Capital Publishes Its Story


A man who had a long-running feud with an Annapolis newspaper blasted his way through its newsroom with a shotgun on Thursday, killing at least five people in one of the deadliest attacks recorded on a U.S. media outlet, according to Reuters.

The suspect fired through a glass door, looked for victims and then sprayed the newsroom of The Capital Gazette newspaper group in Annapolis with gunfire, police and a witness said.

Acting police chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department William Krampf told a news conference that Capital Gazette assistant editor Rob Hiaasen, 59, was among the victims.

Wendi Winters, 65, Rebecca Smith, 34, Gerald Fischman, 61, and John McNamara were also killed, he said. Smith was a sales assistant and the others were journalists.

“This was a targeted attack on the Capital Gazette,” Krampf said. “This person was prepared to shoot people. His intent was to cause harm.”

Jarrod Ramos
The suspect is Jarrod Ramos, 38, of Laurel, the Capital Gazette and Baltimore Sun reported, citing law enforcement.

In 2012, Ramos brought a defamation lawsuit against Eric Hartley, formerly a staff writer and columnist with publication The Capital, and Thomas Marquardt, then editor and publisher of The Capital, according to a court filing.

In 2015, Maryland’s second-highest court upheld a ruling in favor of the Capital Gazette and a former reporter who were accused by Ramos of defamation.

According to a legal document, the article contended that Ramos had harassed a woman on Facebook and that he had pleaded guilty to criminal harassment. The court agreed that the contents of the article were accurate and based on public records, the document showed.

Ramos said on Twitter that he had set up an account to defend himself, and wrote in his bio that he was suing people in Anne Arundel County and “making corpses of corrupt careers and corporate entities.”

Police are treating the shooting as a local incident, with no links to terrorism, a law enforcement source told Reuters.


Politico reports the frist report of yesterday's shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, which killed five and injured two, was a tweet from an intern: "Active shooter 888 Bestgate please help us," Anthony Messenger said, listing the paper's address.

As tragedy unfolded, the Capital Gazette reporters relayed information in real time. Crime and courts reporter Phil Davis described the scene as a "war zone" in a story that posted on the paper's site shortly after the shooting.

He also tweeted, "There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you're under your desk and then hear the gunman reload."

The Capital is owned by the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which is owned by Tronc. CEO Justin Dearborn said in an internal memo that Tronc execs are on the way to MD. He also reminded employees that counseling and support services are available. The company's papers in Maryland will have counselors on site in the coming days.

"We are focused on providing support to our colleagues and their families," Dearborn wrote...

Columbus OH Radio: Bobby Mitchell Gets Wake-Up Duty At WSNY

Bobby Mitchell
Columbus Radio Group announced Thursday morning that Bobby Mitchell will join Stacy McKay as co-host of the Sunny 95 morning show.

Mitchell is set to replace Dino Tripodis, who spent the last 24 years at the station. Dino's last show aired on June 15.

“I feel like the guy who was offered a ride on a rocket ship! I don’t care where it’s going - I’m just getting on! To be a part of this heritage radio station, with its incredible staff; and to live and raise my family in Columbus, is very exciting,” Mitchell said of joining Sunny 95.

Mitchell has spent time in multiple cities including Detroit, Dallas and Miami - at stations like WHYI-FM, KPLX-FM and WOMC-FM. He and his wife have four children and says they look forward to making Columbus their home.


Mitchell makes his debut on the Sunny 95 morning show on Monday, July 2.

WSNY 94.7 FM (22 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

Miami Radio: Walo Davila Joins iHM to Program WZTU

Walo Davila
iHeartMedia Miami’s WZTU TÚ 94.9 FM, Donde Viven Tus Hits, announced Thursday that Walo Dávila has been named Program Director, effective July 9.

As Program Director, Dávila will work with on-air personalities and sales to oversee music programming as well as broadcast and digital operations of TÚ 94.9. He will report to Alex Tear, Regional Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Miami.

“We are thrilled to welcome Walo to our team,” said Tear. “His experience, creative energy, leadership and vast market knowledge will take iHeartMedia Miami’s TÚ 94.9 to even higher levels.”

Dávila is a 20 plus-year radio veteran who has worked in programming for radio station brands including SBS PR in Puerto Rico and Univision Radio Miami and New York. In addition, he has worked closely with talent and served as a director and coach for multiple radio and TV shows.

WZTU 94.9 F, (100 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
“I’m thrilled to become Program Director for TÚ 94.9,”said Dávila. “It’s an opportunity to collaborate with an innovative team that is doing an excellent job in engaging the Hispanic community in South Florida. I look forward to contributing to the station’s ongoing success.”

Report: Smartphones Lead Voice Shopping

Smart speakers—those clever devices made primarily by Amazon and Google that can listen and respond to you—are booming.

In 2017, sales of smart speakers totaled almost $4.5 billion and are forecasted to grow by 32% per year for the next five years. According to Forbes, the question is, are the devices more than this year's gadget fad or are they really useful? One thing that will make them valuable to consumers is if they help consumers shop more conveniently.



A new report by Voysis and Voicebot explores the question of how consumers are reacting to being able to shop by voice, both with smart speakers and using mobile phones’ voice capabilities.

Here are some of the findings from the report:

  • One in five U.S. adults have tried voice shopping and about 5% say they are using it on at least a monthly basis
  • More than 50% of U.S. adults that have tried voice shopping did it using their smartphone
  • Nearly two out of five smart speaker owners have tried voice shopping, rising from around 26% in January 2018
  • Smart speaker owners represent a much smaller base of total users than smartphones, but their frequency of voice shopping use is higher
  • 16% of smart speaker owners also reported using voice shopping monthly compared to just 11.5% in January showing increased habit formation around voice shopping
  • Everyday household items, apparel and entertainment/music/movies represent the top three categories for voice shopping today
  • Apple Siri remains the most widely used voice assistant on smartphones, but Google Assistant is rapidly closing the gap
  • 20% of smartphone owners use voice assistants monthly

NBC News Accused Of 'Slow Walking' Sexual Assault Story

Sil Lai Abrams
The Hill is reporting MSNBC has been accused by a domestic-violence activist of "slow walking" a "highly sourced" account she provided in a taped interview with network host Joy Reid.

The accuser, Sil Lai Abrams, told Reid that hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons raped her in 1994. Abrams also accused "Extra" host A.J. Calloway of sexual assault for an incident in 2006. "Extra" airs in major markets on NBC owned-and-operated stations.

"I want people to understand how incredibly challenging this is, with a story like mine that’s highly sourced, with me doing this [advocacy] work in the public arena. And I can’t get my story out there?” Abrams told The Hollywood Reporter.

Both men have denied her allegations.

Joy Reid
Abrams, who is a National Association of Black Journalists award-winning writer based in New York, said Reid told her that she believed MSNBC was "slow walking" the story.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Abrams taped an interview with Reid in January at MSNBC's New York studio. The process, which began in December, dragged on for months, the magazine reported. Reid reportedly texted or emailed Abrams, sensing that the network was "slow walking" the story with "stupid" requests

Abrams told the magazine that Reid informed her in April that the network had stopped responding to her questions about when the segment would air.

MSNBC pushed back on that accusation in a statement on Thursday.

“When MSNBC pursues any investigative story our mission is always to be as thorough as we can, to scrutinize sources and corroborate information before we report. Anything else falls short of our journalistic standards," an NBC spokesperson said.

The Comcast-owned network was accused in 2017 of not publishing an investigative piece by reporter Ronan Farrow about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's alleged rape and criminal sex acts.

Time Lists 25 Most Influential People on the Internet

Time magazine has named Parkland student leaders among the 25 most influential people on the Internet or “the loudest and fiercest voices for gun control.” They join other online influencers, including performers Rihanna and Kanye West and news aggregator Matt Drudge of “The Drudge Report.”  Also named are Kylie Jenner and Busy Philipps, plus President Donald Trump, who has 53 million Twitter followers.

The magazine highlighted five of the more visible members of the #NeverAgain movement from Parkland. They are Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Alex Wind, Jaclyn Corin and Cameron Kasky. They are a mix of recent graduates and current students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 students and faculty members were killed Feb. 14.

Time noted how the group of five and their activist classmates used social media to fire up people to attend the “March for our Lives” rally in Washington, D.C. in March.

The magazine sized up contenders for its annual list by looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.

Senate Panel Okays Music Modernization Act


The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has approved S. 2823, the Music Modernization Act (MMA), unanimously by voice vote. 

The bill was amended to include increased oversight and ensure greater transparency in the operation of the Mechanical Licensing Collective.  Amendments were accepted to promote communication between the Dept. of Justice and Congress regarding any future changes to the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees, as well as to educate copyright owners and songwriters as to the unclaimed royalties process that will be carried out by the new collective.

Senators voted unanimously in favor of the legislation, which now may be considered by the full Senate for passage. If passed by the full Senate, teh House of Representatives will need to accept the Senate version before sending to the President for signature.  The House previously passed its version of the MMA unanimously.

Gordon Smith
NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith said, "NAB strongly supports the Music Modernization Act, and applauds the efforts of Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Feinstein and Hatch, Whitehouse and their cosponsors on this bill.  this balanced legislation provides much-needed reforms to the music licensing market to the benefit of songwriters, legacy recording artists, producers, digital streaming services and music users.  In particular, NAB applauds the inclusion of language in today's managers' amendment that ensures enhanced congressional oversight of the DOJ's announced review of the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees. 

"The framework provided by these decrees is essential to a functioning music marketplace and they were comprehensively reviewed just two years ago with the DOJ concluding that their continued existence is squarely in the public interest. Any action to terminate these decrees must be preceded by Congressional action to ensure that songwriters, licensees, and consumers will not be harmed. NAB looks forward to working with all Senators as the Music Modernization Act moves forward and urges its swift passage.”

CA Stores Blasting Barry Manilow Tunes At Loiterers

Some Rite Aid stores in California have taken to blasting Barry Manilow tunes as part of a plan to make loiterers scramble.

Employees told the Wall Street Journal that the drugstore chain has been testing the tactic of playing songs by the 75-year-old crooner outside their stores — over and over, loudly — to deter panhandlers and vagrants.

But the plan has also left neighbors mystified, The NY Post reports.

“I thought some older man had died and left a Barry’s Most Depressing Hits CD on repeat,” said Lisa Masters, a professional drummer in Long Beach who couldn’t open her windows without hearing “Mandy” blaring.

“I felt trapped in an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone,’” she said.

When she called Rite Aid, she said an employee explained that the Manilow technique had worked at other locations and was now working in Long Beach.

“His attitude was, ‘Would we rather have panhandlers or Manilow?’” Masters said.

A Rite Aid spokeswoman told the paper that customers were finding it difficult to enter some of their stores because of loiterers, so the chain started employing a couple of deterrents — including Barry Manilow.

“We are in the early stages of exploring this approach and have not made any decision about the potential rollout of this to additional stores,” she said.

Charleston Radio: Personality 'Box' Reported Missing

Richard Bachscmidt
Richard "Box" Bachschmidt, former radio personality for WCOO 105.5 The Bridge and recent entrepreneur of podcast "Box in the Morning," has been reported missing.

The last time he was seen was Tuesday, June 26. Since then, he has missed recording his podcast as well as other professional engagements.

A missing persons report has been filed, and anyone who has any information on 42-year-old Bachschmidt's whereabouts is asked to call the Charleston County Sheriff's Office at 843-202-1700, reports The Post&Courier.

According to friend and local musician Tyler Boone, Bachschmidt hasn't been answering his phone, which has been on and off, with it going straight to voicemail as of the last 24 hours.

When Boone last saw Bachschmidt, he says he "wasn't in the best spirit." Boone adds that Bachschmidt has been open about his struggle with depression, but that this behavior is not like him.

R.I.P.: Longtime WLAV G-R Radio Legend Ed 'Uncle Buck' Buchanan

Ed 'Uncle Buck' Buchanan
Cumulus Media announces that West Michigan radio legend and longtime on-air host of Grand Rapids’ heritage Classic Rock station 97 LAV-FM, Ed Buchanan, died Thursday in Grand Rapids, MI.

Buchanan, 69, known on air as “Uncle Buck”, joined WLAV 96.9 FM in 1974 and was “founding father” of its current Classic Rock brand. Most recently, Buchanan hosted LAV’s “Uncle Buck’s Basement” Sundays from 7-9am, and was co-host of LAV’s “The Tony Gates Morning Show with Michelle McKormick and Uncle Buck” weekdays from 5-10am. Buchanan celebrated his 50th year in West Michigan broadcasting in 2017.

Buchanan was born and raised in Grand Rapids, and was bitten by the radio bug in the mid-1950’s during the Top 40 era of WLAV and WMAX radio. After graduating from Grand Rapids Catholic Central in 1966, he attended Ferris State University where he got start in radio on the campus station.
In the summer of 1967, Buchanan got his first job at Grand Rapids station WMAX 1480. Between 1967 and 1990, he worked as morning show host, on-air personality and program director in multiple formats at heritage West Michigan stations including: WERX, WGRD-FM, WAFT-AM, WFFX-FM, WMUS-FM and most significantly, at WLAV-FM, which he joined in 1974, later leaving in the early 80’s and returning in 1995.

Buchanan was the first to start a “Progressive Rock” show at WXTO-FM (which later became WGRD) and brought “Outlaw Country” to WCUZ-FM with resounding success. In 1974, he hired current WLAV morning host Tony Gates and the two were reunited in 1995 when Gates reciprocally hired Buchanan back to WLAV as on-air host of middays. He went on to co-host the WLAV morning show in 2006 with Kevin Matthews, took a hiatus to focus on his “free form” weekend program on WLAV and then returned to mornings in 2011 as co-host of “The Tony Gates Morning Show with Michelle McKormick and Uncle Buck”.

Outside of his successful radio career, Buchanan taught broadcasting at Grand Valley State University in the mid 70’s, was a local filmmaker and performer with Firesign Theatre and the Grand Rapids Radio Players, and owned Rooby Records; producing and pressing records for local musicians from 1982-1992. 

Jeff Cartwright, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Media-Grand Rapids, said: “Ed’s sudden passing is difficult news today for all who knew and loved him. He was a true giant of radio and will be profoundly missed. In West Michigan, this is the equivalent of one of the Beatles passing, as Ed celebrated his 50th anniversary of broadcasting last year and has been a monumental presence in our community, where he lived his entire life. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Ed’s family at this sad time as we honor his memory and remember his lasting contributions to our community and to radio.”

June 29 Radio History


➦In 1901...radio actor/writer/director Ed Gardner was born in Astoria, New York.  He began his career in advertising, but found fame on radio with the comedic weekly half-hour Duffy’s Tavern, portraying the wisecracking, malaprop-prone barkeep/manager Archie. The successful radio program, his creation, aired on CBS from 1941 to 1942, on the NBC Blue Network from 1942 to 1944 and NBC from 1944 to 1952. His liver gave out Aug. 17 1963 and he died at age 62.


➦In 1932...the second daytime serial on network radio made its debut on the NBC Blue network, Vic and Sade.  Radio’s first daytime drama was Clara Lu and Em, which premiered on NBC in 1931.

During its 14-year run on radio, Vic and Sade became one of the most popular series of its kind, earning critical and popular success: according to Time, Vic and Sade had 7,000,000 devoted listeners in 1943. For the majority of its span on the air, Vic and Sade was heard in 15-minute episodes without a continuing storyline. The central characters, known as "radio's home folks", were accountant Victor Rodney Gook (Art Van Harvey), his wife Sade (Bernardine Flynn) and their adopted son Rush (Bill Idelson). The three lived on Virginia Avenue in "the small house halfway up in the next block."

Unlike any other soap, Vic & Sade was a slight concoction with very humurous overtones written by Paul Rhymer.  A natural predecessor of Seinfeld, this was the original show about nothing much.  Pictured are Vic, Sade & adopted son Rush. (Art Van Harvey, Bernadette Flynn, and Billy Idelson.)


➦In 1947..."Strike It Rich" made its debut on CBS Radio with Todd Russell as the host. Warren Hull took over host duties a few years later.


➦In 1951...Bill Stern did his last 15-minute program of sports features for NBC radio. Stern had been with NBC for 14 years. He later moved to ABC and Mutual to finish out a colorful sportscasting career.

Bill Stern
Born in Rochester, New York, Stern began doing radio play-by-play commentary in 1925, when he was hired by a local station, WHAM, to cover football games. Shortly after that, he enrolled at Pennsylvania Military College, graduating in 1930.

NBC hired him in 1937 to host The Colgate Sports Newsreel as well as Friday night boxing on radio. Stern was also one of the first televised boxing commentators.

He broadcast the first televised sporting event, the second game of a baseball doubleheader between Princeton and Columbia at Columbia's Baker Field on May 17, 1939. On September 30, he called the first televised football game.

During his most successful years, Stern engaged in a fierce rivalry with Ted Husing of the CBS Radio Network. They competed not only for broadcast position during sports and news events, but also for the rights to cover the events themselves. They both served for many years as their networks' sports directors as well as being on-air stars.

Some observers consider Stern's style a blueprint in the 1940s for the style of Paul Harvey, ABC Entertainment Network social commentator, who adapted both Stern's newscasting (transforming his Reel One to Page One) and his stories about the famous and odd (to Rest Of The Story), although Stern made no effort to authenticate his stories and, in later years, introduced that segment of his show by saying that they "might be actual, may be mythical, but definitely interesting." Harvey, on the other hand, said he told only stories he had authenticated in some way.


➦➦In 1951…The radio sitcom, "The Life of Riley," starring William Bendix as Chester A. Riley, ended after a 10-year run. The TV version of the show ran for for a total of six years between 1949 and 1958, with Jackie Gleason as Riley in the first year and Bendix in the title role from 1953 to 1958.



➦In 1959...DJ turned "American Bandstand" host, Dick Clark, announced he was going to join with Irvin Feld for a number of "Dick Clark Caravans" to be staged in various cities highlighting pop stars.


➦In 1974...Wolfman Jack did last show at WNBC 660 AM



➦In 1978...Radio Personality and Hogan's Heroes TV star Bob Crane died in a still unsolved murder. He was 49.



In 1950, Crane started his broadcasting career at WLEA in Hornell, New York. He soon moved to WBIS in Bristol, Connecticut, followed by WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This was a 1,000-watt operation with a signal covering the northeastern portion of the New York metropolitan area where he remained until 1956.

At that time CBS radio network executives plucked Crane out partly to help stop his huge popularity from affecting the suburban ratings of their New York flagship WCBS 880 AM, and partly to re-energize their flagging West Coast flagship KNX in Los Angeles. Crane moved his family to California to host the morning show at KNX 1070 AM. He filled the broadcast with sly wit, drumming, and guests such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope. It quickly became the number-one rated morning show with adult listeners in the Los Angeles area, with Crane known as "The King of the Los Angeles Airwaves."

Crane, Valdis
Crane's acting ambitions led to his subbing for Johnny Carson on the daytime game show Who Do You Trust? and appearances on The Twilight Zone, Channing, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and General Electric Theater. When Carl Reiner appeared on his show, Crane persuaded him to book him for a guest shot on The Dick Van Dyke Show, where he was noticed by Donna Reed, who suggested him for the role of neighbor Dr. Dave Kelsey in her sitcom from 1963 through 1965.

In 1965, Crane was offered the starring role in a television comedy pilot about a German P.O.W. camp. Hogan's Heroes became a hit and finished in the Top Ten in its first year on the air. The series lasted six seasons, and Crane was nominated for an Emmy Award twice, in 1966 and 1967. During its run, he met Patricia Olson, who played Hilda under the stage name Sigrid Valdis. He divorced his wife of twenty years and married Olson on the set of the show in 1970.

Trivia: It's Bob Crane playing the drums on Hogan's Heroes theme song.


Ron Lundy, Joe McCoy
➦In 1981...Joe McCoy became the Program Director at WCBS 101.1 FM, New York.

When Joe McCoy took over as program director in 1981, WCBS-FM began to gradually shift its focus to the 1964–1969 era, but would also feature a more pre-1964 oldies than most other such stations. The station continued to also feature hits of the 1970s and some hits of the 1980s while cutting future gold selections to one per hour.

Also in the 1980s, after WABC and later WNBC abandoned music in favor of talk, WCBS-FM began employing many disc jockeys who were widely known on other New York City stations, most notably Musicradio WABC alumni Ron Lundy, Dan Ingram, Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow, Chuck Leonard and Harry Harrison, as well as Dan Daniels and Jack Spector.


➦In 1998...George Harrison announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer caused by smoking. The ex-Beatle said he’d been given a clean bill of health and wryly added “I’m not going to die on you folks just yet.” Cancer eventually did claim Harrison three years later.