Saturday, August 4, 2018

August 5 Radio History



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

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

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

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

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


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

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



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



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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

CA Radio: Bonneville To Buy 8 Entercom Stations For $141M


Entercom Communications Corp.has  announced a definitive agreement to sell radio stations in San Francisco and Sacramento to Bonneville International Corporation for $141 million in cash.

The stations being disposed have been held in an FCC disposition Trust and have been operated by Bonneville under Local Marketing Agreements since the closing of the Company’s merger with CBS Radio, Inc.

These stations are:
  • San Francisco KMVQ-FM Top 40
  • San Francisco KBLX-FM Urban Adult Contemporary
  • San Francisco KOIT-FM Adult Contemporary
  • San Francisco KUFX-FM Classic Rock
  • Sacramento KHTK-AM Sports
  • Sacramento KNCI-FM Country
  • Sacramento KYMX-FM Adult Contemporary
  • Sacramento KZZO-FM Hot Adult Contemporary
 This transaction, which is expected to close this year either late in the 3rd quarter or early in the 4th quarter, will complete the dispositions required by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the Company’s merger with CBS Radio, Inc.

Scripps Reports 31% Increase In Revenue

The E.W. Scripps Company Friday reported operating results for the second quarter of 2018. Total revenue was $283 million compared to $216 million in second-quarter 2017.

Income from continuing operations was $8.7 million or 10 cents per share. Pre-tax costs for the current-year quarter included $2.3 million of restructuring charges. In the prior-year quarter, income from continuing operations was $6.9 million or 8 cents per share. Pre-tax activity in the 2017 quarter included a $2.4 million non-cash charge to interest expense to write off deferred costs associated with debt refinancing and $5.1 million of other income, primarily from the sale of our newspaper syndication business.

Business highlights:
  • Political advertising revenue for the second quarter was $14.9 million, more than double the $7 million of pro forma political revenue in second-quarter 2014, the last midterm election year.
  • Subscribers to over-the-top services in Scripps’ local broadcast markets grew from zero to nearly 500,000 from last July to March, the latest data available. Including these new subscribers, the company’s total pay TV subscriber count held steady during that period.
  • The National Media segment marked its third consecutive quarter of profitability, with $2 million in segment profit in the second quarter.
  • Revenue from the Katz networks was up 21 percent from the second quarter of 2017 on a pro forma basis, driven by audience delivery growth, rising advertising rates and continued expansion of distribution.
  • Newsy has continued to grow its cable distribution and now has signed contracts covering 38 million cable and satellite households, significant progress toward its goal of 40 million by the end of 2018.
  • On June 25, shareholders received a dividend of 5 cents per share. In February, Scripps initiated its first regular dividend in 10 years, indicating its continued commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
  • As part of its comprehensive plan to improve short-term performance and position itself for long-term growth, the company is ahead of schedule to achieve $30 million in annual cost savings and now expects to realize $20 million of those savings this year and the full annual savings in 2019.
  • In June, Scripps signed a deal to sell its first radio cluster: five stations in Tulsa, to Oklahoma-based Griffin Communications for $12.5 million. They comprise country KVOO 98.5 FM, CHR K-Hits 106.9 KHTT, classic hits 92.9 The Drive KBEZ, classic country Big Country 99.5 KXBL, and Talk Radio 1170 KFAQ.
  • On July 30, Craig Karmazin’s Wisconsin-based Good Karma Broadcasting emerged as the victor for Scripps’ crown radio jewels in Milwaukee, when it paid $16 million for news/talk powerhouse WTMJ 620, country WKTI 94.5, and Milwaukee-licensed translator W277CV at 103.3 FM, which simulcasts WTMJ.
Commenting on the business highlights, Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson said:

“Today we are reporting strong second-quarter financial results that exceeded expectations across the board, including in both our Local Media and our National Media divisions and for both revenue and segment profit.

"We continue to drive forward with our performance improvement plan, designed to improve our short-term operating performance and foster long-term growth. We are moving faster than expected on our corporate cost-cutting intiatives, have announced two radio station deals and are aggressively pursuing television station acquisition opportunities, all on our path to produce meaningful margin and cash-flow improvement.”

Second-quarter operating results

Revenue was $283 million, an increase of 31 percent from the second quarter of 2017. Revenue from the Katz networks, which were acquired in the fourth quarter of 2017, was $47 million.

Costs and expenses for segments, shared services and corporate were $243 million, up from $184 million in the year-ago period, primarily driven by higher network programming fees and the acquisition of Katz.

Second-quarter segment profit was $53.4 million, compared to $48.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

On June 30, cash and cash equivalents totaled $126 million while total debt was $692 million.

During the quarter, the company made dividend payments totaling $4.1 million.

During Friday's conference with analysts,  Local Media President Brian Lawlor said, “We are well on our way to divesting our radio group.” The remaining Scripps markets are Boise, Knoxville, Omaha, Springfield, MO, Tucson, and Wichita. The company plans to use the money to purchase more TV stations.

Tulsa Radio: KJRH-TV2, iHM Partner For Weather, News


E.W. Scripps TV KJRH 2 Works for You and iHeartMedia are joining forces. The two media leaders in Green Country will now be partners, delivering weather and news across all radio stations and 2 Works For You.

“This was exactly what we have been searching for at 2 Works For You – a strong radio leader in this market that has the same values and vision that we have at 2 Works For You, says Vice President and General Manager Amy Calvert. “iHeartMedia is the best in the business and it only made sense that we team up to keep Green Country safe in all-weather situations and up to date on all breaking news."

iHeartMedia Area President Jon Phillips stated, “Our staff is very excited to work with the team at Channel 2. Mike Collier is a favorite in our building; he and his team will sound great delivering weather to the iHeart audiences. Keeping our listeners safe is our first priority and the team at Channel 2 will ensure just that.”

Starting Monday, August 6, listeners of iHeartRadio stations KMOD 97.5, KTGX (106-1 The Twister), KTBT (92-1 The Beat), KIZS (101.5 El Patron), KTGX-HD2 (93-5 The Jet), KTBZ-AM (1430 The Buzz) and KAKC-AM (1300 The Buzz) can hear up-to-the-minute weather forecasts from 2 Works For You Chief Meteorologist Mike Collier and the 2 Works For You Weather Team. When severe weather strikes, you can get the most accurate weather forecast on TV, radio or on your smart phone via the Channel 2 app or the iHeartRadio app. You can expect to see community partnerships and strong involvement from both 2 Works for You and iHeartMedia in Green Country.

Report: Sinclair Beefs Up With Lobbysists


Sinclair Broadcast Group hired a group of Republican lobbyists last month as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) put its proposed merger with Tribune Media in jeopardy, according to The Hill citing disclosure forms released this week.

The filings show that Sinclair tapped the lobbyists to advocate for the embattled merger on June 19, three days after FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (R) said he had "serious concerns" about the deal and would be referring it to an administrative law proceeding.

The group of five lobbyists from the S-3 Group included three aides to former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), including his one-time chief of staff, Rob Collins.

The hire is notable for the conservative-leaning media company, which had not hired an outside lobbyist since 2000. Sinclair typically relies on industry trade groups like the National Association of Broadcasters to advocate for its interests.

The hires may be too late to save the $3.9 billion Tribune deal.

On the day that Sinclair hired the group, the FCC released an order accusing the company of trying to mislead regulators about several proposed sidecar deals aimed at bringing the combined broadcasting giant into compliance with media ownership restrictions.

Fox Editor Suggests: Outlets Pull Reporters From Trump Rallies

Chris Stirewalt
Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt suggested on Friday that news outlets cease sending reporters to President Trump's rallies, saying that their presence allows Trump to use them as a "prop." reports The Hill.

“We should stop having reporters at those Trump rallies," Stirewalt said on Fox News's "Outnumbered." "Everybody should stop having reporters penned up like veal in the back of those things for the president to use as a prop, and then some of the reporters exploit that for their own personal benefit."

Stirewalt added that "this is not helping anybody. Get out of the hall. Leave the cameras, get the reporters out of the hall. Quit letting him use you as a foil."

Stirewalt also suggested an end to televised White House press briefings, calling them "counterproductive" and "showboat theater."

Stirewalt's comments came in response to a week of heightened hostility faced by the press from Trump and his supporters.

Lawmaker Wants To Probe Twitter Filtering Practices

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) sent a letter to the chairman of the House Commerce Committee calling for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to testify on the company's filtering practices as top conservatives accuse the platform of silencing right-wing voices.

According to The Hill, Twitter denies that it's engaged in "shadow-banning" of conservatives, a process that makes certain accounts harder for users to come across. When certain GOP accounts became inaccessible through the platform's search engine last week, Twitter faced accusations that it's censoring Republicans.

The company maintains that the incident was a glitch. But the explanation is unlikely to satisfy GOP lawmakers like McCarthy who are hoping to capitalize on conservatives' anxieties about socially liberal Silicon Valley.

"Any solution to this problem must start with accountability from companies like Twitter, whose platforms have enormous potential to impact the national conversation -- and unfortunately, enormous potential for abuse," McCarthy wrote in the letter to Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), which was first reported by Axios.

"In particular, I would like to request a hearing with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey so that the American people can learn more about the filtering and censorship practices on his platform," he continued.

Twitter declined to comment on the letter. In a blog post last week, though, the company said that the scope of the issue was confined to auto-populating search terms and that Democratic politicians were also affected.

"Hundreds of thousands of accounts were impacted by this issue," the post reads. "This impact was not limited to a certain political affiliation or geography. And, to be clear, these accounts were only impacted within search auto-suggestions-- they still appeared in search results.

FOX Execs Address The Question Of Apu

FOX execs have responded to questions around controversy of The Simpsons‘ Apu who became a subject of criticism after a documentary explored cultural stereotypes.

The show was also criticised for an initial response last season that many perceived as dismissive, rpeorts TVTonight.

CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman responded at the Television Critics Association press tour.

“We have had conversations with [executive producer] Jim Brooks and his team. We left it up to them,” Walden said.

“We definitely trust them to handle it in a way that is best for their show.”

She also indicated The Simpsons will be staying with the network and not moving to Disney following corporate deals.

Walden asserted that The Simpsons is “so much a part of the FOX brand” that “there are no plans for them to go anywhere other than FOX.” Newman added, “I feel confident that Disney and FOX are going to find a way to both have an interest in that show and I anticipate it continuing to stay on the FOX network.”

Walden said “a couple years of episodes” for the show are already in production, given the long lead time for the animation process, so it’s very likely the show will continue beyond the upcoming 30th season.

Media Makes 'Wrong Call' On U-S Soldiers' Remains

Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz called out the mainstream media this week for mostly failing to cover a Hawaii ceremony where the remains of 55 U.S. soldiers killed in the Korean War returned home.

Fox News broadcast the entire event live Wednesday night, including a speech by Vice President Mike Pence, with Pete Hegseth conducting a sit-down interview with Pence that aired Thursday on "Fox & Friends."

Sandra Smith noted that CNN covered the event for only 58 seconds, while MSNBC did not cover it live.


Kurtz said he viewed the decision as the "wrong call," emphasizing that the return of the remains has larger implications when it comes to the nuclear negotiations with North Korea.

"You can’t overstate the emotional significance of these presumed remains of American fighting soldiers coming home 65 years after the Korean War ended," he said.

The return of the remains was agreed upon between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting in June.


On the evening newscasts Wednesday night, the ceremony was mentioned on ABC News for 24 seconds, while NBC and CBS did not report on it.

August 4 Radio History


➦In 1735…The principle Freedom of the press was established with the acquittal of New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger, who had been charged with seditious libel by the royal governor of New York. The jury said "the truth is not libelous."


➦In 1921...the first tennis match on radio was broadcast on Pittsburgh’s KDKA, the first commercial station in the United States.  Within eight months Westinghouse management figured out that sports on radio would bring in big sales revenues; so the Davis Cup match between Great Britain and Australia was aired on the radio, much to the wonderment of KDKA’s listeners.

➦In 1927...WGY, the General Electric station in Schenectady, NY, began experimental operations from a 100,000-watt transmitter.  Later, the FCC regulated the power of AM radio stations to not exceed 50,000 watts on “clear channels” (where few, if any, stations would cause interference with each other).

➦In 1927…At the Taylor Christian Hat Factory in Bristol, Tennessee, Jimmie Rodgers, later revered as "The Father of Country Music," made his first recordings, "The Soldier's Sweetheart" and "Sleep, Baby, Sleep." Three days earlier, the Carter Family – Sara, Alvin Pleasant 'A.P.,' and Maybelle – made their first recordings, "Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow," "Little Log Cabin By The Sea," "The Poor Orphan Child," and "The Storms Are On The Ocean," at the same location.

➦In 1957…The Everly Brothers made their second appearance on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show" singing "Bye Bye Love" and introducing their upcoming single, "Wake Up Little Susie," a song that was initially banned by radio stations in Boston and elsewhere because it was about two teenagers who accidentally fell asleep together at a drive-in movie. The song, however, does not say that Susie and her boyfriend had sexual relations. In fact, it strongly implies that they did not. They simply fell asleep because they were bored by the movie.

➦In 1966...a ban of The Beatles records went into effect on some radio stations in response to John Lennon’s controversial claim that the band was “more popular than Jesus.”

➦In 1983...WHTZ 100.3 FM moves transmitter to Empire State Building

New York City is the largest media market in the United States. Since the September 11 attacks, nearly all of the city's commercial broadcast stations (both television and FM radio) have transmitted from the top of the Empire State Building, although a few FM stations are located at the nearby Condé Nast Building. Most New York City AM stations broadcast from sites across the Hudson River in New Jersey or from other surrounding areas.


Broadcasting began at the Empire State Building on December 22, 1931, when RCA began transmitting experimental television broadcasts from a small antenna erected atop the spire. They leased the 85th floor and built a laboratory there, and—in 1934—RCA was joined by Edwin Howard Armstrong in a cooperative venture to test his FM system from the building's antenna. When Armstrong and RCA fell out in 1935 and his FM equipment was removed, the 85th floor became the home of RCA's New York television operations, first as experimental station W2XBS channel 1, which eventually became (on July 1, 1941) commercial station WNBT, channel 1 (now WNBC-TV channel 4). NBC's FM station (WEAF-FM, now WQHT) began transmitting from the antenna in 1940.

NBC retained exclusive use of the top of the building until 1950, when the FCC ordered the exclusive deal broken, based on consumer complaints that a common location was necessary for the (now) seven New York-area television stations (five licensed to New York City, NY, one licensed to Newark, NJ, and one licensed to Secaucus, NJ) to transmit from so that receiving antennas would not have to be constantly adjusted. Construction on a giant tower began. Other television broadcasters then joined RCA at the building, on the 83rd, 82nd, and 81st floors, frequently bringing sister FM stations along for the ride. Multiple transmissions of TV and FM began from the new tower in 1951.

In 1965, a separate set of FM antennas was constructed ringing the 103rd floor observation area.

When the World Trade Center was being constructed, it caused serious reception problems for the television stations, most of which then moved to the World Trade Center as soon as it was completed. This made it possible to renovate the antenna structure and the transmitter facilities for the benefit of the FM stations remaining there, which were soon joined by other FMs and UHF TVs moving in from elsewhere in the metropolitan area. The destruction of the World Trade Center necessitated a great deal of shuffling of antennas and transmitter rooms to accommodate the stations moving back uptown.


As of 2012, the Empire State Building is home to the following stations:

Television broadcasting: WCBS-2, WNBC-4, WNYW-5, WABC-7, WWOR-9 Secaucus, WPIX-11, WNET-13 Newark, WNYE-25, WPXN-31, WXTV-41 Paterson, WNJU-47 Linden and WFUT-68 Newark

FM broadcasting: WBMP-92.3, WPAT-93.1 Paterson, WNYC-93.9, WPLJ-95.5, WXNY-96.3, WQHT-97.1, WSKQ-97.9, WEPN-98.7, WBAI-99.5, WHTZ-100.3 Newark, WCBS-101.1, WFAN-101.9, WWFS-102.7, WKTU-103.5 Lake Success, WAXQ-104.3, WWPR-105.1, WQXR-105.9 Newark, WLTW-106.7 and WBLS-107.5

➦In 1987...the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to rescind The Fairness Doctrine for broadcasters.

The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses to both present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was, in the Commission's view, honest, equitable and balanced. The FCC eliminated the Doctrine in 1987, and in August 2011 the FCC formally removed the language that implemented the Doctrine.


The Fairness Doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Stations were given wide latitude as to how to provide contrasting views: It could be done through news segments, public affairs shows, or editorials. The doctrine did not require equal time for opposing views but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented.

The main agenda for the doctrine was to ensure that viewers were exposed to a diversity of viewpoints. In 1969 the United States Supreme Court upheld the FCC's general right to enforce the Fairness Doctrine where channels were limited. But the courts did not rule that the FCC was obliged to do so.  The courts reasoned that the scarcity of the broadcast spectrum, which limited the opportunity for access to the airwaves, created a need for the Doctrine. However, the proliferation of cable television, multiple channels within cable, public-access channels, and the Internet have eroded this argument, since there are plenty of places for ordinary individuals to make public comments on controversial issues at low or no cost at all.

The Fairness Doctrine should not be confused with the Equal Time rule. The Fairness Doctrine deals with discussion of controversial issues, while the Equal Time rule deals only with political candidates.

➦In 2005...Howard Stern announced he had cut a deal with "On Demand" subscription to offer at least 20 hours per month of his radio show on video via cable TV.

Friday, August 3, 2018

San Diego Radio: The DSC Show Returns To KGB-FM

iHeartMedia's Classic Rock KGB 101.FM, has announced the return of The DSC Show to the morning drive, starting Monday, August 6, 2018.

The new DSC Show will include show members Dave Rickards, Cookie “Chainsaw” Randolph, Chris Boyer, Nina “Ruth 66” Reeba, Emily Maguire and Sarah Beebe, and will broadcast weekdays from 6 - 10 a.m.

DSC combines news with a healthy dose of humor to create San Diego’s most dependably hilarious morning show. It has a long history with KGB-FM that began in 1990 when Dave Rickards moved to San Diego from Denver to team up with original co-hosts Shelly Dunn and Chainsaw for a show that was initially called The Dawn Patrol.  In 1994, the show moved to its sister station KIOZ-FM and became The Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw Show. After three years at KIOZ-FM, they made the move back to KGB-FM where they hosted morning drive for another 13 years.  It was during this time with KGB-FM, that the team started referring to the show as DSC for Dave, Shelly and Chainsaw. Most recently, the show was heard on KFMB-FM where Shelly Dunn announced her retirement. 

“After 28 years as the top-rated morning show in San Diego, DSC has come full circle with its return to the legendary 101.5 KGB-FM,” said Rickards. “I’ve always felt that KGB was our home, and nothing beats a happy homecoming.”

“It feels amazing to bring DSC back to where it all began – the legendary 101 KGB,” said Chainsaw. “We are thrilled to continue making you smile and laugh coffee out of your nose every morning.”

KGB 101.5 Fm (50 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
The return of The DSC Show to 101KGB’s morning drive timeslot on August 6 will mark a new programming lineup for the station.

The Bob and Coe Show will move from mornings to afternoon drive, Clint August will move from afternoon drive to host middays, and Marc Coppola will host nights.

“Bringing DSC home to KGB and reinforcing the station with heritage talent like Clint, Bob and Coe is a reflection of the power behind KGB’s legendary call letters,” said Melissa Forrest, President of iHeartMedia San Diego. “We are immensely proud to bring this lineup to San Diego’s loyal rock listeners.”

Atlanta Radio: Talk Host Herman Cain EXITS N/T WSB-AM

Long-time radio host Herman Cain is leaving his show on News WSN 95.5 FN / AM 750 WSB today.

According to The Atlanta Constitution, the entrepreneur and former 2012 presidential candidate took over for Neal Boortz in early 2013 with a three-hour show but has been gradually scaling back his hours. In early 2017, he cut back to two hours. And since last October, he has been only doing a one-hour show at 11 a.m.

In his place will be Eric Von Haessler’s show, which will now air a full three hours from 9 a.m. to noon. beginning Monday, August 6.

Von Haessler
Pete Spriggs, program director, said Cain was a valuable asset for the station, pulling in solid ratings his entire run there. But given Cain’s age (he is now 72), Spriggs knew Cain was not a long-term solution.

Von Haessler, formerly of the Regular Guys, joined WSB in 2015 with a weekly Sunday show. He was told by Spriggs at the time that when a spot opened up, he would get it. And Spriggs followed through.

The Von Haessler Doctrine will continue to run a post-show podcast but it will be a shorter and air from noon to 12:30 p.m.

Cain will focus on his digital properties, which he owns, Spriggs said. He will do a 45-minute daily show on his website.

Beasley Reports 'Significant' Growth in Net Income


Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. today announced operating results for the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2018.

As previously reported, on May 1, 2017, the Company completed the sale of six stations in Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville, and on December 19, 2017, Beasley completed an asset exchange transaction whereby the Company exchanged its Boston adult contemporary station WMJX-FM and $12.0 million for Boston’s sports station WBZ-FM. The results presented herein reflect the operations and results from WBZ-FM in the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and WMJX-FM in the three and six months ended June 30, 2017. The results also reflect one month of contribution from the Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville stations in the three-month period, and four months of contribution in the six-month period ended June 30, 2017.

The $0.6 million, or 1.0%, year-over-year increase in net revenue during the three months ended June 30, 2018, reflects the inclusion of WBZ-FM Boston, partially offset by the disposition of WMJX-FM Boston and the Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville stations. Net revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2018 was comparable to net revenue for the same period in 2017 at the Company’s other market clusters.



Station Operating Income (SOI, a non-GAAP financial measure), increased 3.5% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2018. The increase in second quarter 2018 SOI reflects the higher net revenue during the period which more than offset a 0.1% year-over-year increase in station operating expenses.

The year-over-year decrease in second quarter 2018 operating income to $10.7 million solely reflects the benefit in the year ago period of $2.9 million for items which did not recur in the second quarter of 2018 but raised second quarter 2017 operating income to $12.8 million.

Caroline Beasley
Second quarter interest expense decreased approximately $0.9 million to $3.8 million with the reduction related to lower levels of borrowings and a lower cost of borrowings while income tax expense declined $2.3 million to $2.0 million.  As a result of these factors, net income per diluted share increased to $0.18 per diluted share in the three months ended June 30, 2018 compared to $0.14 per diluted share in the three months ended June 30, 2017.

Commenting on the financial results, Caroline Beasley, Chief Executive Officer, said,  “During the second quarter, Beasley remained committed to enhancing shareholder value through capital returns and capital structure improvements. In this regard, we declared our nineteenth consecutive quarterly cash dividend. In addition, interest expense decreased approximately 20% year-over-year to $3.8 million, reflecting the recent refinancing of our senior debt, which reduced our interest rate by 200 basis points. We used cash from operations to make voluntary debt repayments of $2.0 million in the second quarter and ended June 30, 2018 with total outstanding debt of $220.0 million.

“In July, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire WXTU-FM in Philadelphia, PA from Entercom Communications Corp. for $38.0 million in cash in a transaction that is expected to be immediately accretive to Beasley’s free cash flow, excluding one-time transaction costs. The Company intends to finance the acquisition with a combination of debt and cash from operations.  We believe the acquisition of WXTU-FM represents a strategically and financially compelling growth opportunity for our shareholders and further enhances our revenue and competitive position with a strong cluster of five FM and two AM stations in a key, top-ten market. Beasley began operating the station under a local marketing agreement on July 23, and the transaction is expected to close during the late third quarter or fourth quarter of 2018.

Bay Area Radio: VSiN Sports Betting Updates To Air On KNBR

VSiN, the first network dedicated to sports gambling information, today announced a partnership with KNBR 680/1050 that taps VSiN to deliver daily Bay Area-focused updates for the sports station.

Beginning August 6th, KNBR 680/1050 will run VSiN Action Updates covering how the sports betting markets are reacting to Bay Area sports teams. VSiN will supply one report in the 9 a.m. PT hour and another in the 5 p.m. PT hour each weekday from its Las Vegas studio at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. Content will include the top sports betting stories of the day specifically customized for Bay Area listeners.
 
“We are excited to partner with VSiN in bringing top-notch gaming updates to the KNBR airwaves,” KNBR program director Jeremiah Crowe said. “VSiN continues to be an industry leader in this space and VSiN founder Brent Musburger has had his finger on the pulse of sports gambling for decades. KNBR is “The Sports Leader” and this partnership serves Bay Area sports fans in a space with surging demand.”

“You don’t become one of America’s top rated sports radio stations without understanding what your fans want, and we’re thrilled to partner with KNBR to deliver credible sports gambling content to its loyal Bay Area’s listeners,” VSiN CEO Brian Musburger said. “KNBR joins a growing list terrestrial radio stations across the country bringing VSiN Action updates to their listeners, including 680 The Score in Chicago, The Mighty 1090 in San Diego and 101 ESPN in St. Louis.”

In addition to recent radio partnerships, VSiN has joined with New York Post, the Sun Herald in Mississippi, the Arena Football League (AFL), TVG, and Cheddar to deliver dynamic content to the growing number of Americans who wager on sports.

CBS Mum On Moonves


CBS Corp. reported quarterly results Thursday and at the start of a conference call to discuss the earnings, a company official issued an edict that such terrain would be off limits for questioning.. reports The Wall Street Journal.

There were two questions about legalized sports betting; one on Amazon.com Inc.’s potential as an ad-sales juggernaut; many about CBS’s growing streaming ambitions.

Les Moonves
Although CBS stock has tumbled on news of the allegations Moonves faces, and the ensuing intrigue about how the company and its board are handling the situation, no analyst asked the reason for leaving Mr. Moonves in place pending the investigation, when the board first was made aware of allegations against him, and by whom, and has the company received or uncovered any additional complaints.

Instead, the analysts stuck to the script.

Mr. Moonves opened with lengthy remarks about the company’s results, speaking of his optimism about the company’s new streaming-video services. In the question-and-answer portion, he jumped at the chance to weigh in on sports gambling services as a source of ad revenue.

“We’re extremely excited,” Mr. Moonves said, adding the category has “an unbelievable upside.

CBS had a good story to tell about its business. The company reported better-than-expected revenue of $3.47 billion for the June quarter, up 6% from a year earlier.

Affiliate and subscription fee revenue grew by 17%, pushed higher by a rise in carriage fees for its TV stations and growth in digital initiatives like its direct-to-consumer streaming services.

CBS said those services, CBS All Access and Showtime OTT, are ahead of schedule in adding subscribers and are expected to have 16 million subscribers by 2022, as they rapidly become a meaningful part of the broadcaster’s business.

Content licensing and distribution revenue grew by 4% while advertising sales were up 2%.

Profit increased to $400 million, or $1.05 a share, from $58 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier.

Shares of CBS fell 1.5% in after-hours trading. For the year, the stock has fallen more than 10%, most of those losses coming since last week’s report of the harassment allegations.

FCC's Pai: No Contact From Trump On Sinclair

Ajit Pai
Reuters is reporting U.S. President Donald Trump has not contacted the FCC about its lack of approval for Sinclair Broadcast Group’s deal to buy Tribune Media Co, which Trump has called “disgraceful” on Twitter, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said on Thursday.

“No one in the White House has contacted us to express a view about the merger,” Pai said.

In July, the FCC unanimously voted to refer the merger for an administrative review to determine if the conservative-leaning Sinclair engaged in misrepresentation or displayed a lack of candor about the merger to the commission.

Trump’s tweet raised the question of whether he had involved himself in the decision-making progress of an independent regulator.

In its order for administrative review, the FCC said Sinclair “did not fully disclose facts” about the $3.9 billion acquisition. Pai had expressed “serious concerns” prior to the vote.

Within days of the FCC action, Trump tweeted: “So sad and unfair that the FCC wouldn’t approve the Sinclair Broadcast merger with Tribune. This would have been a great and much needed Conservative voice for and of the People.”

The Republican president said it was “disgraceful” that the FCC was standing in the way of the merger, which he compared to a 2011 FCC approved deal in which Comcast Corp acquired NBC.

On Thursday, Pai reiterated previous statements to Congress defending the decision to review.

Sinclair owns 192 stations, the largest number of local TV stations in the United States. The company said in May 2017 it planned to acquire 42 new stations from the Tribune. But it had said it would sell 23 of its existing stations to obtain regulatory approval.

iPhone Powers Apple To $1T In Market Value

Apple on Thursday became the first U.S. company to surpass $1 trillion in market value, underscoring the iPhone maker’s explosive growth and its role in the technology industry’s ascent to the forefront of the global economy and markets.

According to The Wall Street Journal, shares of the world’s most valuable public company rose $5.89, or 2.9%, to $207.39, making it worth slightly more than $1 trillion. Apple reached the milestone when it climbed above $207.04 in midday trading. The stock has risen 23% so far this year, its latest rally coming after it reported strong revenue and profit gains Tuesday as demand for high-price iPhones remained resilient and sales from the app store and other services hit all-time highs.

Apple’s rise has been propelled by the sustained success of the iPhone developed under late co-founder Steve Jobs, a product visionary who helped revive the company from a death spiral in the late 1990s. His successor, Tim Cook, has turned Apple into a cash-generating giant by pushing its existing products to prominence in China and cultivating its rapidly growing services business—moves that have helped stave off concerns about the absence of a new, blockbuster device.

“We’ve heard a number of times since Mr. Jobs died that the company was going to slip and fall, but they’ve continued to execute,” said Greg Hersch, founder of New York City-based Florence Capital Advisors, which has more than $400 million under management and counts Apple among its largest holdings.



The iPhone, and the smartphone era it birthed, helped lift other tech giants—and disrupted many other businesses. Smartphones drive mobile advertising businesses at Google and Facebook, and account for an increasing share of the e-commerce transactions lifting Amazon.

Technology’s ubiquity, and the industry’s swelling wealth and clout, also have triggered growing criticism and regulatory scrutiny—one of several factors that could undermine the boom.

Trump Blasts Media Again

Al Drago photo for The New York Times
President Trump devoted the majority of his time at a rowdy rally in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Thursday targeting the news media, deriding the reporters present as “fake, fake disgusting news.”

The NYTimes reports the rally, intended to galvanize support for Representative Lou Barletta, a Republican who is running for Senate in this fall’s midterm elections, did eventually turn to what Trump called “boring subjects,” but for much of the event, the president focused on his multiple grievances with the Washington press corps.

It underscored yet another day of tensions between the White House and the news media. During an afternoon news briefing, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the president’s press secretary, pointedly blamed the news media for that tension.

And while en route to Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump sought to play down comments from Ivanka Trump, his elder daughter and senior adviser, that explicitly disagreed with his description of journalists as “the enemy of the people.”

According to The Hill, Trump at the rally cited multiple examples of what he called "fake news," including saying the “fake news refused to call” Pennsylvania for him during the 2016 presidential election.

The crowd responded with boos and jeers, with some chanting, “CNN sucks.”

Trump later returned to the issue of the media during the rally, asking, "Whatever happened to fair press? Whatever happened to honest reporting?"

He also referred to the media as "horrible, horrendous people" and "disgusting."

The rally took place just hours after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to say the media is not the enemy of the people during a press briefing, after being pressed to make the statement by CNN's Jim Acosta.

Sarah Sanders Lashes Out At Media Abuse


Press Secretary Sarah Sanders took her long-running feud with CNN’s Jim Acosta to a new level during Thursday’s White House briefing, blasting the media for personal attacks against her and accusing the press of debasing the discourse in America.

The press secretary was responding to similar allegations leveled against President Trump. Specifically, Acosta asked Sanders to say whether the press is indeed the “enemy of the people,” as her boss has controversially claimed, after Ivanka Trump broke with her father on the statement at an Axios event earlier Thursday.

“I think it would be a good thing if you were to say right here, at this briefing, that the press … are not the enemy of the people. I think we deserve that,” Acosta told Sanders.

Sanders pointed out that President Trump has “made his position known,” before the CNN senior White House correspondent interrupted – resulting in Sanders and Acosta talking over each other. From there, Sanders launched into a point-by-point rebuttal.


Acosta didn’t approve of Sanders’ response and took to Twitter to express his feelings.

“I walked out of the end of that briefing because I am totally saddened by what just happened. Sarah Sanders was repeatedly given a chance to say the press is not the enemy and she wouldn't do it. Shameful,” he wrote.

Tom's Take:  Time for CNN to reassign Jim Acosta.

Reporter Apologizes For Calling Trumpers 'Garbage People'


After watching a video of President Trump's supporters yelling, cursing and flipping their middle fingers at the media during a rally in Tampa this week, a Politico reporter weighed in, unleashing no-holds-barred tweets that described the screaming crowd as toothless “garbage people.”

According to The Washington Post, the tweets from Marc Caputo, who covers Florida politics for Politico, fueled criticism from conservatives, who said his mockery of the president's supporters validates their hatred of the media. The following day, Caputo deleted his tweets and apologized, saying he should not have stirred further anger and division in an already deeply polarized political landscape.

“Hate begets hate,” Caputo tweeted Wednesday, clarifying that he was not mocking a broad swath of Trump supporters but only those screaming at the media at the Tampa rally. “But the fault is mine for causing confusion and feeding anger. In the age of social media, where divisiveness serves no decent purpose, these flippant comments on my part only made things worse and contributed to a cycle of rage that I should not have inflamed further. So I'm sorry.”

NYTimes Defends New Hire Despite ‘Racist’ Tweets

The New York Times is defending its hiring of Sarah Jeong, whose controversial Twitter posts have come to light in the wake of an announcement that she will be joining The Times’s editorial board.

According to The NY Daily News, Jeong, in September, will join The Times as the lead technology writer for its editorial board, from the Verge, where she’s a senior writer.

But she’s come under fire for a trove of old tweets that reveal a deep-seated animosity toward white people — men in particular.

“It must be so boring to be white,” reads another newly-unearthed comment.

She also suggested she wanted white people to disappear.

“White people have stopped breeding. You’ll all go extinct soon. This was my plan all along,” one of her old tweets read.

Jeong, who was born in South Korea and now lives in Portland, Ore., released a statement regarding the old tweets, saying they were posted in response to unrelenting online harassment.

“As a woman of color on the internet, I have faced torrents of online hate.”

According to The Daily Caller, Jeong is also responsible for extensive anti-cop and anti-men tweets.


 The NYT claimed that Jeong was “imitating” the behavior of people who harassed her online, but this does not explain why she was tweeting “fuck the police” and encouraging people to “kill all men.”

A search for “cops” and “police” on Jeong’s Twitter reveals an extensive history of anti-cop sentiment and a lack of sympathy for police who are injured on the job.

“I engaged in what I thought of at the time as counter-trolling. While it was intended as satire, I deeply regret that I mimicked the language of my harassers. These comments were not aimed at a general audience, because general audiences do not engage in harassment campaigns. I can understand how hurtful these posts are out of context, and would not do it again,” she said.

The Times stood by its decision to bring her on board, saying, “We hired Sarah Jeong because of the exceptional work she has done covering the internet and technology at a range of respected publications.”

Sarah Jeong
Although it doesn’t condone the tweets, The Times defended Jeong, arguing that she was targeted because of her work and her race.

Conservative columnist Daniella Greenbaum told Fox News that “the issue at hand here is not about whether Jeong’s tweets were racist or not.” Greenbaum says that hypocrisy is the real issue.

“Jeong claimed she was kidding. Good enough, I guess, although swap the word ‘white’ and insert black, Mexican, or Jewish in any of her tweets and I have a feeling we’d be having a very different conversation,” Greenbaum said.

Much like Jeong, Greenbaum is a young columnist who has garnered a lot of attention. But Greenbaum is a staunch conservative, who last month resigned from her job as a columnist at Business Insider after the website removed an already-published piece defending Scarlett Johansson for signing on to play a transgender man. The piece apparently offended some of her liberal colleagues and Greenbaum walked away from her job after being censored. Johansson later backed away from the role.

Greenbaum, who didn’t exactly receive overwhelming support during her own ordeal, noticed that many in the media industry have rushed to defend Jeong.

“The New York Times, and much of the media chose to believe that she was kidding, or to posit that even if she wasn’t kidding, her misguided beliefs are not reason enough to fire her. In other words, they extended her a brand of courtesy never offered to people who are right of center,” Greenbaum said. “That’s the issue here.”

High-powered liberal media members such as HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Lydia Polgreen and leadership at The Verge, where Jeong currently works, have defended her rhetoric.

iHeartRadio Launches Enhancements


iHeartMedia and Super Hi-Fi, a sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) platform that delivers innovative audio solutions, have announced the launch of an industry-first technology that provides an optimized digital music listening experience unlike any other.

The new AI capabilities will allow iHeartRadio to revolutionize its digital music service by creating a listening experience that mimics the polished production of live radio.

The new integration brings the best of live broadcast radio to digital streaming music by delivering flawless song transitions, including precise crossfades, volume leveling and truly gapless playback to iHeartRadio’s listeners. iHeartRadio is the first and only digital music service to leverage AI for intelligent audio transitions that completely eliminate the space between songs to deliver a fluid and fully produced listening experience that preserves music’s energy and momentum from song to song.

Chris Williams
“Radio DJs and programmers have mastered the art of segueing music to create beautiful transitions from song to song, maintaining the desired energy and mood of the listening experience that more than a quarter of a billion live radio listeners have grown accustomed to hearing,” said Chris Williams, Chief Product Officer for iHeartRadio. “Creating transitions that are unique to each individual song combination is not an easy task, and with the billions of potential song combinations available on our platform and new ones coming every day, it was impossible to scale this by hand. Working together with Super Hi-Fi we have made the impossible, possible, and we are excited to share this new listening experience with our listeners.”

Beginning today, iHeartRadio listeners will experience three powerful enhancements architected from the ground up, and powered by AI technology that understands the nuances of music with a depth similar to a human DJ:
  • Perfect Transitions: Dynamically creates the perfect transition between songs every single time. Whether picking the ideal crossfade or recognizing when to simply place the right ending next to the beginning of the subsequent track, this next-generation solution uses real-time AI-processing to create the ideal transition every time a song plays. The result is a smooth tapestry of music listening, crafted to deliver an optimum experience for all listeners.
  • Sonic Leveling: Automatically adjusts song volume to create smooth and consistent listening sessions. Not all tracks are created equal – some are louder or softer than others.  Sonic leveling capabilities eliminate the need to adjust the volume every time a new song comes on. The tech automatically recognizes the volume differential and adjusts it allowing listeners to just sit back and enjoy their favorite tracks.
  • Gapless Playback: Eliminates the gaps between music tracks. On average, there are currently eight seconds of silence between songs on all streaming services that interrupts the music listening experience. The new AI technology now deployed on iHeartRadio automatically and completely eliminates the silence, bringing the listening experience in line with live radio.
These industry-first enhancements are now available across iHeartRadio’s custom Artist Radio stations, on demand Playlists, Playlist Radio and more for iOS users. Android users will experience the enhanced listening experience across custom Artist Radio stations with all features available for Android users in the coming months.

Richmond Radio: Gene Brady OUT At WKLR After FB Post


Summit Media fired the host of Classic Rock WKLR 96.5's "Brady in the Morning," after the post surfaced on his personal Facebook page, reports NBC-TV12.

Gene Brady
In a since-deleted post, Gene Brady made an offensive comment about a woman who sat next to him in a bar, tagging the #MeToo movement at the end of his post.

Though Brady claimed it was a joke, others on social media didn't find it very funny. The post eventually caught the attention of WKLR Classic Rock 96.5. The radio station came out with a statement apologizing to its listeners, saying in part:

One of our employees violated our trust and made some statements online that do not reflect our values as a company. Because of this we are conducting an internal investigation and will come up with a response that addresses the situation appropriately.

Despite apologizing for the post, Brady announced on his Facebook page that Thursday was his last day with Classic Rock 96.5. He said he made a joke that others thought was offensive and that it became more of an issue than it should have become.



Brady had been with Summit Media for nearly five years.

Houston Radio: PM Drive CoHost Ted Johnson leaving KILT-AM

Ted Johnson
Former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, a co-host of KILT 610 AM's afternoon drive time sports talk program since 2014, will depart the station after Friday's show, station program director Ryan McCredden said Thursday.

According to The Houston Chronicle, Johnson, who is hosting the "Triple Threat" show this week from Texans training camp with Sean Pendergast and Rich Lord, will leave Houston as well and return to Boston to be near his children, McCredden said in an email.

"While we will miss Ted tremendously, as he has been a great part of SportsRadio 610 over the last six years, we definitely support family first and understand how he came to this decision," McCredden said.

McCredden said the afternoon show will continue with Pendergast and Lord joined by a rotation of former players and analysts as contributors.

Johnson, 45, played linebacker for the Patriots from 1995 through 2004 after graduating from the University of Colorado. He was a member of New England teams that won Super Bowl championships after the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons and was selected to the Patriots' all-decade team for the 1990s.

He also was one of the first former players to speak forthrightly about the impact of concussions suffered during his playing career.

Johnson suffered two concussions in a four-day period during August 2002 and said he sustained several more concussions during his 10-year NFL career. He later was diagnosed as having mild cognitive impairment that his neurologist said was characteristic of early Alzheimer's disease.