September 9 Radio History

➦In 1908...actor/announcer Ed Prentiss was born in Chicago.

He is best remembered as the radio voice of the children’s hour aviation hero, Captain Midnight (1940-49).  He was announcer on another kid’s radio favorite, Jack Armstrong the All-American Boy.  He was also the narrator for a daily hour of NBC radio soap operas, including The Guiding Light, Today’s Children and Woman in White, and was a cast regular on The Romance of Helen Trent. He was a doctor on TV’s Days of Our Lives, and was much in call for many of TV’s early westerns. Prentiss starred in his own syndicated radio show, This is the Story, which advertised him as radio’s greatest storyteller.

He died March 18 1992 at age 83.




➦In 1926... the National Broadcasting Company was created by RCA, the Radio Corporation of America.

NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. In 1986, control of NBC passed to General Electric (GE), with GE's $6.4 billion purchase of RCA. GE had previously owned RCA and NBC until 1930, when it had been forced to sell the company as a result of antitrust charges.

After the 1986 acquisition, the chief executive of NBC was Bob Wright, who remained in that position until his retirement. He was succeeded by Jeff Zucker. The network is currently part of the media company NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, which formerly operated NBCUniversal in a joint venture with General Electric from 2011 to 2013 (and before that, jointly owned by GE and Vivendi). As a result of the merger, Zucker left NBC and was replaced by Comcast executive Steve Burke.

The radio network officially launched Nov. 15, 1926.

Elvis outside the Lamar-Airways Shopping Mall in Memphis 1954

➦In 1954...Rising young star Elvis Presley performs at the opening of Memphis' Lamar-Airways shopping mall, and, afterward, meets audience member Johnny Cash for the first time.

➦In 1956...Elvis Presley makes the first of three contracted appearances on Ed Sullivan's CBS show. (Sullivan had previously announced he would never have such an act on, but ratings prevailed and Sullivan offered Elvis a record $50,000 for the three shows.) Charles Laughton hosts, filling in for an ailing Sullivan. Elvis performs "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," "Ready Teddy," and "Hound Dog."  A record 54 million viewers -- nearly 83 percent of the nation's sets! -- are tuned in to the event.

➦In 1958...Stereo records and phonographs were introduced.

➦In 1965...The Hollywood Reporter ran the following advertisement; ‘Madness rock & roll musicians, singers wanted for acting roles in new TV show. Parts for 4 insane boys.’  Thus The Monkees were born.

➦In 1967...It was a magical time in music as "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry was the #1 song, having taken over from the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love".  That song replaced "Light My Fire" by the Doors, which was the successor to "Windy" from the Association.  On its way up from 15-5 was "The Letter" from the Box Tops.  In between--"Reflections" from Diana Ross & the Supremes (as they were billed at the time), Bobby Vee's "Come Back When You Grow Up" at #3 and "Baby I Love You" by Aretha Franklin.  The rest of the Top 10:  "All You Need is Love", "You're My Everything" by the Temptations, "Light My Fire" from the Doors, Jay & the Techniques with "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie" and the great sound of the Animals with "San Franciscan Nights", which moved from #25 to 10 on this date.

➦In 1972...Chicago V landed at #1 again for the fourth week on the album charts.  Rod Stewart's Never a Dull Moment came in second followed by Big Bambu from Cheech & Chong.  Elton John's Honky Chateau was #4, itself a former #1 album.

The rest of the Top 10:  Moods from Neil Diamond, Carney by Leon Russell, Trilogy at #7 for Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles!  Live!, Seven Separate Fools by Three Dog Night at #9 and Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits coming in tenth.

➦In 1972...Gilbert O'Sullivan logged a sixth week at #1 with "Alone Again (Naturally)".  The Hollies couldn't get higher than #2 with "Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress".  Al Green had song #3--"I'm Still in Love with You" and Mac Davis was looking good with "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me".

The rest of the Top 10:  Looking Glass and their former #1 "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)", "Back Stabbers" from the O'Jays, Gary Glitter with "Rock and Roll Part 2", Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim", Three Dog Night with their ninth Top 10 "Black & White" and Chicago jumped in with "Saturday in the Park".

➦In 1974...George Michael does first show at 77WABC. From December of that year...



➦In 1997…Baseball Hall of Famer and Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster Richie Ashburn died following a heart attack at the age of 70.

Podcasts And The "Personal Relationship" Of Audio

Podcasting may not surpass TV or digital video in advertising anytime soon, but the business is on the verge of breaking out in a big way. That was a key message at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s fourth podcast upfront this week, according to MediaPost.

“Very few entertainment and information and news media have ever established themselves this quickly in the consciousness of the culture, this is what podcasting has done,” IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg said in his opening remarks at the upfront. “It is absolutely clear that more and more marketers understand the value of podcasting.”

Jarl Mohn

The IAB estimates that annual podcast ad revenues topped $314 million in 2017 — and will more than double to $650 million by 2020.

Part of that growth will come from improved metrics and data, presenters at the upfront argued. In addition, programmatically-inserted ads will become more prevalent, allowing for more marketers to enter the marketplace.

Still, one theme that kept arising was the power of audio and the spoken word, and how it makes for more engaging content.

Bob Pittman

“One of the things about spoken word is that it is an incredibly powerful medium. Storytelling orally has been the critical way that culture has been transmitted, going back to Greek mythology,” said NPR CEO Jarl Mohn at the upfront. “The reason is, the listener had to add something, the listener had to engage.”

“From an advertising standpoint, it goes to Jarl’s point about the spoken word, it does something that a picture can’t do,” iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman added. “It is the theater of the mind, it allows us to hear and translates to us this deep relationship, this companionship, a friend relationship. It's not an ‘I’m selling something’ sort of relationship.”

While data around listenership is not yet as granular as TV, radio and streaming video (owing partly to the fact that most podcast listeners download podcasts and listen to them on their own time), the data does show that listeners stay through entire episodes, including ads.

Indy Radio: Despite Ratings, Cumulus Fired Tom Stemlar

Despite overseeing two of the top-rated radio stations in the city, Tom Stemlar is out as Cumulus Media’s Indianapolis market manager.

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, Stemlar lost his job Aug. 27 and was replaced by former iHeartMedia Cincinnati Region President Chuck Fredrick.

Cumulus operates three stations in Indianapolis: Classic Rock WJJK 104.5 FM 104.5, Country WFMS 955 FM, and CHR WYRG 93.9 FM.

“When I departed Cumulus Indianapolis on Aug 27th, it had the No. 1 and No. 2 rated stations in Indianapolis, was a powerhouse on the Indy Media landscape, was stocked with talent both on and off-air, and was positioned and poised for even further growth,” Stemlar told IBJ via email. “Those were some of the objectives we had when I started at Cumulus three years ago, and I’m very proud of what we accomplished and where Cumulus Indianapolis stands today.”

Chuck Fredrick

Local radio advertisers told IBJ they were surprised by Stemlar’s departure.

In July, according to Nielsen Media, WJJK-FM  was tops among all listeners in the market with a 7.9 share. WFMS was ranked No. 2 among all listeners in July with a 7.7 share, ahead of WFBQ 94.7 FM (Q-95), iHeart Media’s classic rock station, which was No. 3 in July with a 6.9 share.

WJJK and WFMS also did well in key demographics that attract advertisers.

Tom Stemlar

Under Stemlar’s leadership, WFMS earlier this spring reached the top spot among listeners in this market for the first time since November 2013.

WYRG-FM hasn’t done as well. Despite changing its format from old school hip-hop to top 40, the station has failed to gain much traction with local listeners.

Stemlar told IBJ he was at a loss to explain his firing. Cumulus officials declined to comment on the firing.

Sources in the local industry said lagging advertising sales likely contributed to Stemlar’s firing. June and July were brutal months for ad sales for the vast majority of stations in the Indianapolis market, they said.

According to Miller Kaplan, a research service that most stations subscribe to, year-over-year radio advertising in the market was down 15 percent in June and 23 percent in July. One radio source told IBJ that June and July made up the worst two-month period this market has seen in several years.

MN Radio: Jim Lowe To Manage Alpha Cluster In Mankato

Alpha Media/Mankato, MN has named 30-year industry vet Jim Lowe as Market Manager.

The cluster includes: Country 103.5 KYSM, AC KRBI 105.5, CHR KEEZ 99.1 and Rock KMKO 95.7.

Jim Lowe

Lowe's career started in sales in Fargo, ND. He then moved up into management and regional management positions with with community broadcast organizations including the Owatonna and Minneapolis markets. Lowe's roots are in the midwest and this is a full circle journey.

Alpha Media Executive VP/Midwest Region George Pelletier commented, "Jim Lowe brings a wealth of experience in community broadcasting to our cluster in Mankato. In addition, this is his home area, so having that home-field advantage will serve us and him well. We are pleased to have him on our Alpha team."

"I have been fortunate to work with and learn from some great broadcasters over my career. I'm deeply indebted to all of those professionals who helped turn a mediocre seller to a very passionate mediocre seller. The Alpha Media team in Mankato is a savvy veteran staff, a team I'm excited to join and continue the learning path this industry demands. Thank you to George Pelletier and Bob Proffitt for this outstanding opportunity," added Lowe.

ESPN To Kick-Off MNF With A Doubleheader

The 49th season of Monday Night Football (13th on ESPN) kicks off with a doubleheader on Monday, September 10:

• 7:10 p.m. New York Jets vs. Detroit Lions with Beth Mowins, Brian Griese and reporter Laura Rutledge
• 10:15 p.m, Los Angeles Rams vs. Oakland Raiders with Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland and reporter Lisa Salters

In the opener, Sam Darnold – the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft – will be the first rookie quarterback to start a season-opener on MNF as the New York Jets go on the road to face Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. The game also marks the head coaching debut for Matt Patricia, who joined the Lions after serving as the Patriots longtime defensive coordinator. MNF last opened the season in Detroit in 2014 (Giants vs. Lions).

The late game will mark the much-anticipated coaching return of Jon Gruden, who served as MNF’s lead analyst the past nine years. Now the Raiders head coach, Gruden’s regular-season debut will feature quarterback Derek Carr facing Todd Gurley and the defending NFC West champion LA Rams under coach Sean McVay, who was mentored by Gruden early in his career.

Rams-Raiders will be the first MNF game in Oakland since the opening week of the 2012 NFL season. ESPN will bookend the 2018 regular season with a return visit Dec. 24 for Broncos-Raiders.

ESPN Deportes will again present MNF games in Spanish this season beginning with the opening night doubleheader on Sept. 10. The Jets-Lions and Rams-Raiders games will also be simulcast in Spanish on ESPN2.

Leading into Jets-Lions, Suzy Kolber will host a special two-hour Monday Night Countdown (5 p.m., ESPN) live from Jack London Square in downtown Oakland with Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Charles Woodson and Steve Young. Louis Riddick, who will join Kolber and Young during halftime and postgame of both games from Oakland, will also be part of Countdown, as will Adam Schefter, Chris Mortensen and Matthew Berry from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios. This marks the first time Countdown is opening the season from the late game in the doubleheader.

Show Highlights:   Time (ET) Show

• 2:30 p.m. NFL Primetime
• 3:30 p.m. NFL Live
• 5 p.m. Monday Night Countdown Served by Applebee’s
• 6:55 p.m. GMC Monday Night Kickoff
• 7:10 p.m. MNF: New York Jets vs. Detroit Lions
• 10:15 p.m. MNF: Los Angeles Rams vs. Oakland Raiders
• 1:30 am. SportsCenter
• 3 a.m. NFL PrimeTime (re-air)

TV Ratings: NFL Opener Down 13 Percent YoY

The final numbers of the first official game of the NFL’s new season are in and the league and NBC looked to have been drenched by more than the rain that delayed the Eagles and Atlanta Falcons match-up in Philadelphia last night, reports deadline.com.

Snagging 19 million viewers on the Comcast-owned network, the late starting Eagles winning kickoff game fell 13% in broadcast audience from last year’s NFL opener with the New England Patriots and the victorious Kansas City Chiefs.

That’s another year of straight double digit decline for the NFL and NBC. With last years opener holding the previous record, the 2018 battle in Philly is also the worst any kickoff game has done since 2009.

In fast affiliates, the season opener drew a 6.6/27 among adults 18-49. A drop of 14% from the final demo numbers of the September 7, 2017 game.

 When you factor in rising streaming and digital viewership, last night’s audience for current Super Bowl champs the Eagles v. the Falcons drew 19.5 million.

Little Rock Radio: Justin Acri Named GM At KABZ

Signal Media has announced thatups 15-year station vet Justin Acri has risen to become General Manager of KABZ 103.7 FM The Buzz in Little Rock.

He currently serves as the Sports outlet's Program Director and co-host of "The Zone."

"Justin has worked for The Buzz in various capacities for 15 years. His passions for sports, broadcasting and The Buzz make him a perfect fit for his new position", said Signal Media of Arkansas President/CEO Steve Jonsson. "Justin has been a major influence on the Buzz since its inception as a Sports and Entertainment station in 2004, and this is the next logical step in the evolution of this great Arkansas radio station."

"I am honored to be entrusted with this new responsibility at The Buzz," added Acri. "I have been fortunate to be surrounded in my time here by dedicated co-workers who help our station have a positive impact on our listeners, clients and community. I have worked closely with Steve for several years and learned a lot from his leadership over that time. I am very excited for this new challenge and thankful for the opportunity."

Jonsson also announced that Derrell Young is promoted to Operations Director from Executive Producer. RJ Hawk, producer of KABZ's Morning Show "The Show with No Name," will be taking on more responsibility as Social Media Director. And returning to KABZ, Lindy Lanford will be the Marketing and Events Consultant. Lanford left the station in January, 2012.

CA Radio: Lani Q Lands Middays At KWIN-FM

Cumulus Media has announced that Lani Q as the new full-time Midday on-air talent at Top 40/Rhythmic station KWIN-FM in Modesto-Stockton, CA.

Lani Q can be heard on KWIN-FM Monday-Friday from 10am-3pm PST.

Danial “Jiggy” Diaz, Program Director, KWIN/KWNN, said: “Lani Q is the definition of what KWIN is about. She’s a local, homegrown talent that lives the rhythmic lifestyle and wants to be better every day. I’ve watched Lani grow leaps and bounds since she started at our sister station KHOP-FM 5 years ago. I couldn’t be more happy with our new lineup at KWIN!”

Lani Q said: “I'm so excited to be taking the next step in my radio journey. I feel so blessed to have the chance to grow not only as an individual, but with a station that is destined for greatness. The biggest thanks to my PD Jiggy for continuously guiding and believing in me.“

Nike Sales Surge

Nike’s selection of Colin Kaepernick as one of the new faces of the company has certainly brought media attention and controversy, but it’s also having a noticeable effect on the bottom line.

A new report from Edison Trends says Nike’s online sales grew 31% from Sunday through Tuesday of Labor Day weekend this year. That’s notably better than last year’s 17% seasonal increase.

“There was speculation that the Nike/Kaepernick campaign would lead to a drop in sales but the data does not support that theory,” the company said in a statement.

The report does not factor in brick-and-mortar sales, according to Fortune.

To amass the data, Edison Trends analyzed purchases from 3 million Americans’ email receipts, looking at the purchase of any Nike product from more than 200 U.S. retail outlets, as well as Nike.com.

Jewel, Elaina Smith Added To 2018 Radio Show

Jewel

Singer-songwriter Jewel and syndicated country radio host Elaina D. Smith will participate in the previously announced "The Podcast Boom" session on September 26 at the 2018 Radio Show in Orlando.

Jewel's versatile music career has spanned seven studio albums and includes 23 hit singles. She recently founded her own label, "Words Matter Media," and signed a distribution and marketing deal with Sony/RED MUSIC. Her next studio album is expected to release in 2019.

Elaina Smith

Elaina D. Smith is a co-host of Cumulus Media's nationally-syndicated radio show NASH Nights Live. She also hosts the "Women Want to Hear Women" podcast and has recently been added to the ACM Awards announcing team.

Norm Pattiz, chairman and CEO, PodcastOne will moderate a discussion on how radio broadcasters can best develop podcast content that generates revenue while driving listenership and overall engagement. Additional panelists include: Darren Davis, president, iHeartMedia Networks; Mario Lopez, television personality and host, “The 3 Knockdown Rule;” Suzanne Grimes, EVP, Marketing, Cumulus Media and president, Westwood One; and Kaitlyn Bristowe, television personality and host, “Off the Vine.”

The Radio Show is produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and is held September 25-28 in Orlando.

R.I.P.: Former Chicago Radio Personality Art Hellyer

Arthur Lawrence "Art" Hellyer Jr. died September 5, 2018 at age 95.

Hellyer's career spanned the years 1947–2012 and included local and national network radio programs as a disc jockey, radio and television news reporter and anchor, sports reporter, game show television host, and live and recorded television and radio commercials.

Chuck Schaden, Chicago radio history buff and host of  'Golden Age of Radio' programs on WBBM-AM and WNIB 97.1 FM wrote that "Art Hellyer was the king of Chicago radio", and Hellyer "became the originator and perhaps the foremost exponent of zany, off-the-wall comedy on the air." During his career Hellyer's shows achieved #1 in ratings (numbers of listeners) on three different Chicago radio stations during his program time slots.

Hellyer succeeded with innovative on-air antics and creativity that were not typical yet on radio in the 1950s including wisecracks, offbeat and topical humor, ad-libbed interplay with recorded sound bites including comedy album soundtracks thrown at him by his studio engineer, playing up to four recorded commercials simultaneously to reduce commercial time, playing Christmas music in July, humorously faking live interviews and commercial products, reporting time one hour off or the wrong music performers on April Fools' Days, betting a competitor deejay on another radio station he could play the same songs simultaneously which he won by actually streaming on air the competitor's broadcast live on his station, and taking creative liberties with commercial announcements that sometimes led to friction with management.




Hellyer's professional broadcasting career began early in 1947 at WKNA-AM, Charleston, West Virginia and included hosting radio programs at WOWO-AM Fort Wayne, Indiana; WMRO-AM Aurora, Illinois; and WISN-AM, WMAW-AM and WMIL-AM, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Hellyer's break into a major market was in May 1950, when his daily postcards mailed to WCFL-AM Chicago's program director asking to "rescue" him from Milwaukee resulted in an unorthodox on-air live audition for 50,000 watt WCFL while broadcasting his show on air on WMIL-AM in Milwaukee. WCFL hired Hellyer, and by 1952 Hellyer was given the drive-time 6am – 10am radio slot where he was promoted as the "Morning Madcap."

R.I.P.: 'Newhart', 'Jeannie' Comic Actor Bill Daily

Bill Daily, the affable TV actor who starred as Major Roger Healey in “I Dream of Jeannie” as well as on “The Bob Newhart Show,” died Sept. 4 in Santa Fe, N.M., his son J. Patrick Daily confirmed.

He was 91, according to Variety.

“He loved every sunset, he loved every meal — he just decided to be happy about everything,” said his son.

The longtime Albuquerque resident was a staple on series of the 1960s through 1980s, notably as Bob Newhart’s daffy neighbor, airline pilot Howard Borden, on CBS’ “The Bob Newhart Show” sitcom from 1972 to 1978. In the 1980s, he appeared as psychiatrist Dr. Larry Dykstra on NBC’s “ALF.”

On “I Dream of Jeannie,” he co-starred with Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden on all five seasons of the NBC sitcom as Captain and then Major Healey, the best friend and fellow astronaut to Hagman, who at one point steals Jeannie but later returns her to her master.

His other TV appearances included “Bewitched,” “Love Boat,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” and “Love, American Style,” as well as recurring roles in the 1980s on “Aloha Paradise” and “Starting from Scratch.”

He returned for several “I Dream of Jeannie” and “The Bob Newhart Show” reunion specials in the 1980s and ’90s. Daily also served as director of the New Mexico Film Commission in the late 1980s.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Daily was raised in Chicago and started out doing stand-up and announcing at a Chicago TV station.

September 8 Radio History

➦In 1897...the original Jimmie Rodgers was born. He was nicknamed “the Singing Brakeman” and “the Blue Yodeler” and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.   He died before his 36th birthday, from tuberculosis.

➦In 1930...WBEN signed on in Buffalo, NY.  However, its history dates to the 1920s. WBEN initially used the facility built by the Norton Laboratories organization from Boston, as part of an experiment to send voice transmissions between Niagara Falls, New York, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, as WMAK.

When WMAK was launched in 1922 it operated initially from Lockport, New York at 833 kHz. The station later moved its transmitter to North Tonawanda, New York (broadcasting at 1130 kHz there) and then landing on 900 kHz, with 1000 watts of power, as a result of General Order 40, which realigned American AM radio allocations in 1927–28. In the late 1920s WMAK was acquired by the Buffalo Broadcasting Company, based at Buffalo's Rand Building, which also controlled WGR and WKBW in Buffalo. WMAK was a charter member of the CBS Radio Network, being one of the 16 stations that aired the first CBS network program on September 18, 1927.

WMAK was closed in the spring of 1930 as federal regulators began probing concentration of media ownership in the nation's largest radio markets. Buffalo Broadcasting Company chose to retain WGR and WKBW while shutting down WMAK and another daytime-only station, WKEN in suburban Kenmore, New York.

At the same time, the Buffalo Evening News was granted a broadcast license of its own, purchased the decommissioned transmitting facility of WMAK on Shawnee Road in Martinsville (North Tonawanda, New York) and re-licensed it as WBEN.

A new studio complex was built at the Statler-Hilton Hotel in downtown Buffalo (chosen primarily for access to the live orchestra there), and served WBEN, its sister FM station and sister television station (which opened in the spring of 1948) for more than 25 years.

In 1941, the station moved to its current position on the dial, at 930 kHz, as a result of the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA).

The station also relocated its transmitter to Grand Island at during this time, increasing full-time power to its current 5,000 watts. The Grand Island transmitter and two towers are still in use today.

Click Here for more WBEN History.

The Hoboken Four with Major Bowes

➦In 1935...A singing group called the Hoboken Four, one of whose members is named Frankie Sinatra, makes their first national appearance, performing on WOR's radio show Major Bowes Amateur Hour.

The Hoboken Four won the contest that night. Bowes said: “They walked right into the hearts of their audience.” The prize was a 6-month contract to perform on stage and on radio and they were earning a lot more than before.

The Bickersons

➦In 1946...Don Ameche and Frances Langford introduced the domestic strife comedy sketch ‘The Bickersons‘ as a key element of the ‘Drene Time’ series which debuted this day on NBC Radio.


➦In 1954...Alan Freed left Cleveland, Ohio to go to New York City and 1010 WINS radio.



The station eventually became an around-the-clock Top 40 rock and roll radio station, and would remain so until April 19, 1965—long after Freed left and three months after he had died— when it became an all-news outlet. While in New York, Life magazine credited Freed as the originator of the rock 'n roll craze

➦In 1957...Pope Pius XII sent a letter to all Roman Catholic bishops throughout the world on motion pictures, radio and TV.

➦In 1969...the voice of Superman on radio.. and TV game show host Clayton “Bud” Collyer (Beat the Clock, To Tell the Truth), died of a circulatory ailment at age 61.

A young Bud is pictured center behind the Mutual microphone, Superman announcer Jackson Beck is on the left, with Joan Alexander (Lois Lane) on the right.

➦In 1979..."My Sharona" by the Knack took on all challengers with a third straight week at #1.  Chic could not get there with "Good Times".  Earth, Wind & Fire was up to 3 with "After the Love Has Gone" while ELO was up to position #4 with "Don't Bring Me Down".  The rest of an excellent Top 10:  The Charlie Daniels Band with their memorable "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", Maxine Nightingale edged up with "Lead Me On", Robert John had his biggest hit since his Top 10 remake of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1972 with "Sad Eyes", Barbra Streisand was on her way down with "The Main Event/Fight", Dionne Warwick had the #9 song--'I'll Never Love This Way Again" and the Little River Band had their third straight Top 10 song with "Lonesome Loser".

➦In 1984...Comeback queen Tina Turner made it two weeks at #1--"What's Love Got to Do with It". John Waite, former lead singer of the Babys, remained at #2 with "Missing You" while newcomer Cyndi Lauper had #3 with "She Bop".  Ray Parker Jr.'s former #1 "Ghostbusters" was at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Lionel Richie with "Stuck on You", Prince came in at #6 with "Let's Go Crazy", Huey Lewis & the News had another winner from the album Sports--"If This is It", Scandal came charging in with "The Warrior", Corey Hart was at #9 with "Sunglasses at Night" and the Cars rolled in with their 11th hit--"Drive".

➦In 1992...the Howard Stern radio show began broadcasting on KEGL-FM in Dallas

Twitter Permanently Bans Alex Jones

Twitter has permanently banned the accounts of right-wing conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones and InfoWars for violating the company's abusive behavior policies, the company said Thursday.

Alex Jones

According to CNBC, The ban appears to be related to a heated exchange between Jones and a CNN reporter Wednesday, which Jones live-streamed on the Twitter-owned video service Periscope. Jones ranted at the reporter, as well as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, following back-to-back congressional hearings where Dorsey addressed online election interference, as well as accusations of political bias and conservative censorship on the platform.

"We took this action based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts' past violations," the company said in a series of tweets. "We wanted to be open about this action given the broad interest in this case."

The ban comes weeks after Jones' accounts were removed or suspended by other major tech companies including Apple, Facebook and YouTube. Twitter had initially declined to take disciplinary action against Jones, saying the accounts had not violated community guidelines, but later suspended him from posting on his accounts for a period of seven days.

Today, we permanently suspended @realalexjones and @infowars from Twitter and Periscope. We took this action based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts’ past violations. https://t.co/gckzUAV8GL

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 6, 2018

Accounts for Jones and Infowars were also banned from Periscope. Jones will not be able to recreate his presence on the sites under another account.

Day 3: August 2018 PPM Markets

Nielsen on Thursday 9/6/18 released the third batch of  August 2018 PPMs results.  The markets  included are:

 22  Portland OR

 24  Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill NC
 

 26  San Antonio

 27  Sacramento

 28  Pittsburgh

 29  Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo UT

 30  Las Vegas

 31  Orlando

 32  Cincinnati

 34  Cleveland

 35  Kansas City MO

 36  Columbus OH

Click Here for topline numbers for subscribing Nielsen stations.

MLB Tigers' Broadcasters Rumble

Mario Impemba and Rod Allen

The contentious personal relationship between Fox Sports Detroit’s top two Detroit Tigers broadcasters, Mario Impemba and Rod Allen, has boiled over, reports USAToday.

The pair was involved in a physical altercation immediately following Tuesday night’s game against the White Sox, according to multiple persons with direct knowledge of the situation.

The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the incident, which was described as "severe" by one person who was present.

When asked about the incident, Fox Sports Detroit general manager Greg Hammeran referred questions to Courtney Welch, the station’s director of social media and communications.

“We’re addressing an internal matter and will not have any further comment at this time,” Welch said.

The altercation was because of a disagreement over a chair in the booth, sources told Local 4. Kirk Gibson called the series finale against the White Sox in their place

Allen, a color analyst, did not file a police report, according to one person with knowledge of the situation. It wasn't immediately clear whether Impemba, the play-by-play voice, filed a report.

Impemba, 55, and Allen, 58, traveled back to Detroit separately, one source said, and both are scheduled to meet with Fox Sports Detroit executives on Thursday to determine the next course of action.

The pair is in its 17th season broadcasting Tigers games together for the station. Though their on-air relationship has remained cordial,  they are not considered friends off the air.

Hammeran did not specify whether Impemba or Allen were suspended. Allen is not scheduled to work the next six games in the booth. However, he is scheduled to work the Tigers' pre- and post-game shows.

Reports: Bobby Bones To Join 'Dancing With the Stars'

Syndicated Country music radio personality Bobby Bones is set to show off his dancing moves later this month, as he's been tapped to compete in the new season of hit reality show Dancing With the Stars.

According to reports, Bones will be joining actor/country musician John Schneider, best known for his iconic starring role in TV's The Dukes of Hazzard.

The two also will be part of a cast of also-announced contestants Nancy McKeon, Mary Lou Retton, Alexis Ren, DeMarcus Ware and Danelle Umstead in the upcoming season, which kicks off Sept. 24 on ABC.

There are still a few more contenders to be added to the slate: The full cast will be revealed on Good Morning America on Wednesday, Sept. 12.

This isn't Bones' first foray into reality TV, as he served as a mentor on this year's first season of ABC's re-tooled American Idol.

According to Variety, Bones' successful turn on the show had him hankering for more television work: "If I didn't want that, I'd be lying," he told the outlet.

Bones has already carved out a significant place in Nashville, with Forbes naming him “the most powerful man in country music” in 2017.

Bones's show originates at iHeartMedia's WSIX 97.9 FM Nashville.

Austin Radio: Emmis Rebrands KGSR-FM As Austin City Limits

From television show to outdoor festival to music venue, and now to the radio dial: The iconic Austin City Limits brand is extending its reach once again, with Thursday’s announcement that longtime local station KGSR 93.3 FM is becoming Austin City Limits Radio.

The change, which took effect at 5 p.m. Thursday with a satellite broadcast from Austin’s Arlyn Studios, will create a new format based primarily around the broad range of artists associated with the other Austin City Limits brand. Key KGSR staffers involved with the move said they expect roughly 50 percent of the station’s playlist content to be different with the ACL Radio designation.

According to austin360.com, Indiana-based Emmis Communications still owns KGSR and will keep those call letters. Emmis will license the Austin City Limits name from the television show, which launched in the mid-1970s.

Adding radio to the mix was primarily the brainchild of KGSR on-air personality Andy Langer, who’s been with the station for 11 years. It started, he says, almost as a joke, when program director Emily Parker presented a list of potential adds to the station’s playlist that seemed beyond its usual AAA-format scope.

“I said, ‘Great, what are we going to call the new station?’,” Langer recalled. “My knee-jerk reaction led me to something I should have thought of five or 10 years ago.”

Adding a radio element to the ACL brand indeed seems like a natural extension. Tom Gimbel, the general manager of the “Austin City Limits” TV show and the executive who approved the multi-year licensing deal after Langer approached him with the idea, noted that the station “will be the first ACL brand touchpoint that is on 24-7, 365 days a year.”



The change “allows us to broaden our scope,” said Scott Gillmore, senior vice president and Austin market manager for Emmis, whose local radio properties also include KLBJ-FM, KLBJ-AM, 101X, Latino 102.7, Bob-FM and La Zeta. “Even though we had changed our music over time, people still had an image about what KGSR was that maybe went back a ways.”

Top Trump Aides Disavow Resistance Op-Ed

Top aides to Donald Trump scrambled on Thursday to deny authorship of an anonymous New York Times opinion column that slammed the U.S. president’s leadership style and described “a quiet resistance” to him within his own administration.

NYTimes Website Screen Shot

By early afternoon, eight senior officials had disavowed the piece, including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis, while hammering the author for writing it and the Times for publishing it.

Trump seethed about the piece and presented it as one more jab from the ranks of disgruntled critics in denial about his presidential successes, even as Washington was consumed with speculation about who wrote it.

First Lady Melania Trump said in a statement on Twitter, “To the writer of the oped - you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions.”

On Wednesday, visibly angry at a White House event, Trump called the Times article a “gutless editorial,” and in a later tweet he suggested it was treasonous.

The Times opinion section said the piece was written by a senior official in the administration and that it was taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous article because disclosing the author’s identity would jeopardize the person’s job.

As of  4pm ET Thursday, 24 hours after the op-ed was posted, the page was just over the 10 million page view mark, according to a Times spokeswoman. That makes the op-ed "one of the most read pieces of 2018" on the New York Times website.

CBS Directors, Les Moonves Negotiating His Exit

Les Moonves and wife Julie Chen

Independent board members of CBS Corp. are negotiating a possible exit for Chief Executive Leslie Moonves and asking for assurances of autonomy from controlling shareholder National Amusements Inc., according to The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter.

The fast-moving talks come as CBS and National Amusements, led by Shari Redstone, are trying to settle a legal dispute over control of the media company that is scheduled for trial in Delaware next month.

If terms can be reached on an exit for Moonves, CBS Chief Operating Officer Joe Ianniello would become interim chief executive while a search for a permanent replacement is launched, the people said.

Joseph Ianniello

Moonves is being investigated by law firms appointed by CBS’s board over sexual-harassment allegations reported by the New Yorker. His relationship with Ms. Redstone has become antagonistic over the past year as the two have battled over her desire to merge CBS and Viacom Inc.

The exit of Mr. Moonves, who has been at the broadcaster’s helm since 2006, would be a stunning downfall for an executive who has earned praise from Wall Street and rivals in the industry for guiding CBS to become the most popular network while navigating turmoil in the TV industry. On his watch, CBS’s premium cable channel Showtime has also grown and the company has launched new digital properties such as subscription streaming service CBS All Access.

The New Yorker article published last month included allegations from multiple women that Mr. Moonves sexually harassed them during his career. He has said he regretted any behavior that made women uncomfortable but denied any physical assaults or retaliating or harming anyone’s career when his advances were rebuffed.

The size of a potential payout to Mr. Moonves wasn’t clear. Any exit agreement is likely to contain a way for CBS to recoup some of the compensation if the law firms’ investigation—which will continue even if Mr. Moonves leaves—finds evidence of sufficient wrongdoing, according to a person familiar with the matter.

His contract calls for a severance package of more than $180 million if he were terminated “without cause,” including $117.5 million in salary and bonus awards, plus vesting of stock worth another $65 million, according to a securities filing. This includes $10 million that would be payable unless Mr. Moonves elects to provide services as a producer.

TV Ratings: Reality Shows, College Football Big Draws

TV viewers are idling away the final weeks of summer the way they started it: with reality programs.

Half of last week’s 20 most-watched programs were unscripted contests, according to the Associated Press citing Nielsen Co. figures released Wednesday.

The field was topped by NBC’s two episodes of “America’s Got Talent” and the Notre Dame-Michigan football game, helping make the network the most-watched for the ninth consecutive week.

Notre Dame’s prime-time 24-17 victory drew the team’s biggest audience on NBC in 13 years, since a game against University of Southern California in 2005.

Amid a somber week of tributes to the late Sen. John McCain, a rerun of “Saturday Night Live” provided a reminder of the politician’s trademark humor. The episode featuring him as host gave the show its biggest audience in six weeks, NBC said.

NBC won the week in prime-time with an average of 5.1 million viewers. CBS had 3.5 million viewers, ABC had 3.7 million, Fox had 1.7 million, ION Television had 1.4 million, Univision had 1.18 million, Telemundo had 1.17 million and the CW had 780,000.

Fox News Channel led the cable networks with an average of 2.2 million viewers Total Day. MSNBC had 1.8 million, USA had 1.36 million, HGTV had 1.3 million, ESPN had 1.2 million, History had 1.06 million and CNN had 1.05 million.

Basic Cable Top 10 – Prime Time (Total Viewers):

1. Fox News (2,278,000)
2. MSNBC (1,855,000)
3. HGTV (1,323,000)
4. USA (1,319,000)
5. ESPN (1,229,000)
6. CNN (1,072,000)
7. History (1,050,000)
8. Investigation Discovery (983,000)
9. Hallmark Channel (950,000)
10. Discovery (943,000)

ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.2 million viewers. The “NBC Nightly News” had 8.1 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.8 million.

TV Newser graphic

Report: Wall Street To Be Watching NFL TV Ratings

The NFL’s TV ratings are being monitored on Wall Street, with some financial analysts saying that another big ratings drop could affect the standing of some broadcast companies.

“We continue to believe the NFL is the single biggest swing factor for media earnings and valuation,” read a research note released Thursday from MoffettNathanson.

“Any sign of continued NFL ratings weakness could pose a long-term risk for broadcasters who may be forced to bid up for rights.”

According to sportsbsinessdaily.com, the most interesting part of the report looks into the next round of rights negotiations, with the report suggesting that ESPN should drop its “MNF” package in order to pursue “SNF” instead.

The report calls Disney’s current “MNF” package a "rotten deal with … a cost/rating point ratio that is 260% to 400% more expensive than any other package."

The report goes on to say, “One of the more interesting theories that we still think has a higher probability of playing out is if Disney instead targets the more valuable, but lower-priced Sunday Night Football package, currently at NBC. We believe Disney should reclaim the Sunday primetime package by paying a significant premium to the existing costs. Even if they pay $900 million more per year, it is a better economic outcome than keeping MNF”