March 10 Radio History

➦In 1876...Alexander Graham Bell made the first succesful telephone transmission of clear speech using a liquid transmitter when Bell spoke into his device, "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." and Watson heard each word distinctly.

➦In 1920...Kenneth Charles "Jethro" Burns  born (Died - February 4, 1989), He was an American mandolinist and one-half of the comedy duo Homer and Jethro with Henry D. "Homer" Haynes.

Burns was born in Conasauga, Tennessee. His family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee when he was three. In 1936, he auditioned for a talent contest at Knoxville radio station WNOX where he met Henry Haynes, also 16. The two formed a duo and WNOX program director Lowell Blanchard gave them the stage names Homer and Jethro after forgetting their names on the air.

Burns was drafted into the US Army and served in Europe during World War II and reunited with Haynes, who had served in the Pacific, in Knoxville in 1945. By 1947, the duo moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and were working at WLW on the station's Midwestern Hayride. They signed with King Records, where they worked as a house band and recorded singles on their own, and two years later signed with RCA Records. The pair were fired along with other stars by new management at WLW in 1948, and after a brief tour, they moved to Springfield, Missouri and performed on KWTO with Chet Atkins, the Carter Family and Slim Wilson.

In 1949, they moved to Chicago, Illinois and played at the Chicago Theatre. Between shows, they would go to WLS to appear live on National Barn Dance.

In 1959, they won a Grammy for the best comedy performance in 1959 for "The Battle of Kookamonga", a parody of Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans".

➦In 1922...Flashback:  From Variety...1M radio receivers in use...

➦In 1922...KLZ-AM, Denver, Colorado began broadcasting.

Two years earlier, Dr. William "Doc" Reynolds, a dentist, founded Colorado's first experimental radio station, 9ZAF, at his 1124 S. University home in Denver.

The studio was on the front porch and the transmitter was in the back yard.

On March 10, 1922, the station's call sign changed to KLZ, then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover granted Reynolds one of the first commercial broadcasting licenses in the country, and KLZ became Colorado's first commercial radio station.

1920s-Era Radio Receiver

➦In 1949…In 1949, Nazi propaganda broadcaster, 48-year-old Mildred E. Gillars, also known as “Axis Sally,” was convicted of treason following a six-week trial in Washington, DC. Gillars was sentenced to 10-to-30 years in prison; she was paroled after serving 12.

Gillars made her most notorious broadcast on June 5, 1944, just prior to the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, in a radio play written by Koischwitz, Vision Of Invasion. She played Evelyn, an Ohio mother, who dreams that her son had died a horrific death on a ship in the English Channel during an attempted invasion of Occupied Europe.

Gillars' remained in Berlin until the end of the war. Her last broadcast was on May 6, 1945, just two days before the German surrender. Having converted to Roman Catholicism while in prison, Gillars went to live at the Our Lady of Bethlehem Convent in Columbus, Ohio, and taught German, French, and music at St. Joseph Academy, Columbus.

Gillars died of colon cancer in Columbus on June 25, 1988.

➦In 1955..."The Silver Eagle" program aired for the last time.  ABC Radio began broadcasting The Silver Eagle during the summer of 1951. The stories centered on Sergeant Jim West of the Canadian Northwest Mounted Police, played by Jim Ameche (Don's kid brother). The show followed the traditions of Fran Striker's The Lone Ranger and Challenge of the Yukon.

Jim Ameche

Rather than a loyal dog like Yukon King, Sergeant West has the big French Canadian trapper Joe Bideaux for a sidekick. Bideaux was played by western movie actor Jack Lester, renamed “Jaques LeStair” for his French Canadian role. In some of the episodes Bideaux's weapon of choice is “the strongest bow in Canada”, a weapon so fearsome that only Bideaux could bent it. The bow could shoot an arrow completely through a tree trunk.

The Silver Eagle often dealt with the native Indian tribes in Western Canada. Usually the Indians were victimized by the greedy whites they encountered. It fell to Sergeant West to protect “the noble savages”, who were imbued with all the stereotypes of the B-Western matinées.

Jim Ameche both looked and sounded a good deal like his older brother Don. Jim was radio's original Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy. When Don Ameche left the Chase and Sanborn Hour in the early forties, younger brother Jim stepped in. When the children's book The Story of Mankind was brought to the big screen in 1957, Jim was cast as Alexander Graham Bell, one of the roles that helped to catapult Don to stardom in 1939.

➦In 1962...First New York Mets radio broadcast on 77 WABC.

In the very early stages of their Top 40 history of 1962-1963, most of their pieces of their heyday were in place; Dan Ingram, Scott Muni, Cousin Brucie Morrow, and Bob Lewis, WABC served as the original radio flagship of the National League New York Mets.

A notable aspect of WABC's Mets coverage was Howard Cosell and former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca handling the pre- and post-game shows. Under PD Sam Holman, WABC achieved No. 1 ratings during much of 1962, after WMGM reverted to WHN. By the summer of 1963, WMCA led the pack, with WABC at No. 2 and WINS slipping to third place.

WABC aired the Mets for these two years only. The station lost those rights to WHN following the 1963 season.

➦In 1980…Radio-TV personality and the creator of the Ronald McDonald character for McDonald's Corporation, Willard Scott became the weather forecaster on NBC-TV's "Today" show. After more than a decade in that role, he is now the substitute for weatherman Al Roker on the program.



From 1955 to 1972, Scott teamed with Ed Walker as co-host of the nightly Joy Boys radio program on WRC 980 AM (now Sports-WTEM). (This was interrupted from 1956-1958 when Scott served on active duty with the U.S.Navy.)

Scott routinely sketched a list of characters and a few lead lines setting up a situation, which Walker would commit to memory or make notes on with his Braille typewriter (he was blind since birth).

In a 1999 article recalling the Joy Boys at the height of their popularity in the mid-1960s, The Washington Post said they "dominated Washington, providing entertainment, companionship, and community to a city on the verge of powerful change". The Joy Boys show played on WRC until 1972 when they moved to cross-town station WWDC 1260 AM (now Talk-WWRC) for another two years. Scott wrote in his book, The Joy of Living, of their close professional and personal bond, saying that they were "closer than most brothers".

n late 2015, Walker was diagnosed with cancer and retired from The Big Broadcast on non-com WAMU-FM in DC to focus on his health and spend more time with his family. His last show aired from 7:00 to 11:00 PM on October 25, 2015. It was recorded the week before from his room at Sibley Memorial Hospital where he had been receiving treatment. He died just three hours after that last broadcast concluded.

➦In 2003...The Dixie Chicks attempted career suicide. During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, the Dixie Chicks performed in concert in London on March 10, 2003, at the Shepherd's Bush Empire theatre in England. This concert kicked off their Top of the World Tour. During the introduction to their song "Travelin' Soldier", Natalie Maines, who along with Robison and Maguire is also a native of Texas, said:

"Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas."

The comment about United States President George W. Bush, who had served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before his election to the presidency, was reported in The Guardian's review of the Chicks concert. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. media picked up the story and controversy erupted.

Maines's remark sparked intense criticism.    The comment by Maines angered many country music fans and was financially damaging.  Following the uproar, a boycott of the Dixie Chicks' music caused the Dixie Chicks' cover of the Fleetwood Mac song "Landslide" to fall sharply from No. 10 down to 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week. It dropped out of the entire chart the following week.

➦In 2013…For WGN-AM Newsman Marty McNeeley died at the age of 86.

During 17 years with WGN television and radio, McNeeley took on a variety of roles. He was a weekend TV news anchor, co-hosted a radio sports talk show, delivered on-the-hour newscasts for Eddie Schwartz's overnight radio show and provided the voice-over introduction for Channel 9's weekly horror movie program, "Creature Features."

McNeeley grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. His first broadcasting job, while he was still in high school, was with a small Youngstown radio station, WFMJ-AM.

He studied at what is now Youngstown State University before being drafted into the Navy, where he wound up with Armed Forces Radio in San Francisco. After the war, he took a job as an announcer in Cleveland. He then worked in radio in Detroit and Philadelphia, moving into TV as an anchorman in the 1960s.

McNeeley joined WGN in 1969 as the primary news anchor of the overnight news show "Night Beat," which would last for 20 or 30 minutes before the station signed off at 1:30 a.m.

McNeeley resigned from WGN in 1986 and moved to New York. After brief stints at news stations WNEW 1130 AM and WINS 1010 AM, he found a home as an anchor for ABC Radio, where he worked until retiring in 1993.

➦In 2014…Former radio station owner Jospeh Zingale died of Parkinson's disease at the age of 80. He was one of the owners of WIXY AM, and WDOK AM & FM in Cleveland.

The Time Has Come...To Change

National Geographic graphic

Get ready to "spring forward" as people throughout the United States lose an hour of sleep in the early morning of Sunday.

Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 10. While "smart" devices may change time automatically, don't forget to turn manual clocks an hour ahead, from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.

Daylight saving time (DST) is designed to provide an extra hour of evening sunlight, and it will stay in effect for eight months until Nov. 3, when daylight saving time ends for the year.

According to livesceience.com, Benjamin Franklin, the brainchild of DST, proposed the idea in 1784 as a way to conserve energy, said David Prerau, author of "Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time". Ideally, people would spend time outside, enjoying the extra hour of daylight, rather than sit inside, wasting energy on lighting, Franklin reasoned.

However, it's hard to say whether daylight saving translates into energy savings, according to several studies, including a 2007 Department of Energy study and a 1997 study on a residential home in Kansas, Live Science previously reported.

Even so, Franklin's idea spread in the 20th century. In 1908, a city in Ontario, Canada, became the first modern region to officially implement DST, according to Time and Date. The Germans began following DST in May 1916, with the goal of conserving fuel during World War I. The rest of Europe followed suit soon after, and the United States officially adopted daylight saving time in 1918.

Tampa Radio: Personality Nick Van Cleve Set To Retire

Longtime Tampa Bay rock radio host Nick Van Cleve says he's signing off at the end of this month.

After 15 years hosting mornings on Cox Media Group's Classic Hits WXGL 107.3 FM The Eagle, Van Cleve, 66, said he is still figuring out exactly what his last day on the air will be.

According to The Tampa Bay Times, Van Cleve is a St. Petersburg resident who grew up in Ohio, and came to the area in 1978 to work nights at the original 98 Rock when the station was located on Starkey Road in Largo. He also worked for local stations 95ynf, 102.5 The Point and Thunder 103.5.

Van Cleve said there are a number of reasons he is stepping away now, among them the thought of "sleeping in a little bit."

"It's a logical stepping off point for me and my wife," he said. "We want to spend time in North Carolina and do some traveling. I did some backpacking in Europe and got the travel bug. And I've grown weary of getting up at 4:30 a.m."

He had been thinking about stepping away in December, but said he stayed on to help The Eagle compete with 98.7 The Shark after that station flipped formats from adult contemporary to classic rock late last year.

"I'm not sure that in a couple years I won't want to come back part time," he said. "I've got an idea for a podcast and some other things."

Van Cleve was born Nick Vanderhorst, but took the radio name Van Cleve after his high school chemistry teacher. Saying Vanderhorst on the air, he said, "sounds like a sneeze."

Political Stunt..Or Not: Warren Puts Target On Big Tech

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called for breaking up Silicon Valley's largest companies on Friday, saying that the tech giants have gained "too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy."

"To restore the balance of power in our democracy, to promote competition, and to ensure that the next generation of technology innovation is as vibrant as the last, it's time to break up our biggest tech companies," Warren said in a post on Medium.

The Hill reports Warren is the first major 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to call for breaking up companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon, though the idea has gained traction among progressives in recent years amid growing concerns about data privacy and the potential to use social media to spread disinformation.

Warren is hoping to shine a light on the firms' market power and how it has been used to influence the economy and society as a whole.

The high stakes: Such an effort would be a massive undertaking for any administration, likely resulting in years of court battles. But Warren argued that the U.S. has a "long tradition of breaking up companies when they have become too big and dominant " like AT&T, JPMorgan and Standard Oil.

Tech reacts:  "The Warren campaign's call to breakup big tech companies reflects a 'big is bad, small is beautiful' ideology run amok," the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a tech policy think tank, said in a statement.

"Breaking up large Internet companies just because they are large won't help consumers," the group added. "It will hurt them by reducing convenience, reducing quality of service and innovation, and in some cases leading to the introduction of priced services."

NetChoice, a trade association that represents Google and Facebook, blasted Warren's "hipster" views on antitrust and argued the internet economy is not lacking in competition.

Austin Radio: Emmis Launches Soft AC On 93.3 FM

Austin’s newest radio brand, KGSR Star 93.3 (50 Kw) , launched at noon Friday as a soft adult contemporary station, targeting working women 35-54 years of age, who are looking for familiar, relaxing music that’s been missing from the radio in Austin.

Listeners can expect to hear artists such as Phil Collins, Adele, Chicago, Whitney Houston, Billy Joel, Celine Dion and Air Supply. The new Star 93.3 will deliver relaxing favorites that are perfect for while you work, help you unwind after a long day, and keep your relaxed and feeling great all weekend.

“It’s been too long since Austin had a station playing soft and easy music all day long,” said Emmis Austin Radio Senior VP and Market Manager Scott Gillmore. “And we’re very happy that the new Star 93.3 will be home to all these great songs.”

Delilah

The station will commence with “9300 songs in a row” to celebrate its debut in Austin, and to allow its new listeners to get familiar with all the great music they can expect from Star 93.3.

Emmis Austin Radio also welcomes back to the airwaves the world famous Delilah. Her nighttime radio program will debut on April 1. “Delilah is the most listened-to woman on the radio, and for great reason! We are elated to welcome Delilah and her world famous radio show back to Austin on Star 93.3,” added Gillmore.

The 93.3 frequency was previously a co-channel to “Austin City Limits Radio” which launched in September and was broadcast on both 93.3 and 97.1. The station now resides permanently on 97.1 FM and online at ACL-Radio.com.

Emmis Senior VP/Operations, Programming & Content Chase Rupe stated, “We are extremely proud of our successful launch of ACL Radio this past fall, and now we’re excited to offer it on our fully upgraded 97.1FM signal, which allows us to offer the best experience to hear ACL Radio in the Austin City Limits!”

Study: Pop Lyrics Contain Many References To Violence

Many parents and critics often warn against allowing children to listen to rap and hip-hop songs over references to violence and other vulgar themes. But a new Study Finds that much of the pop music that moms and dads often pay far less mind to may actually not be much better lyrically.

Researchers from the University of Missouri say that not only do pop songs contain similar levels of violent lyrics as hip-hop songs, but nearly a third have lyrics that degrade women by sexually objectifying them or presenting them as submissive. The findings were reached after the authors looked at lyrics from more than 400 top Billboard songs released between 2006 and 2016. Songs were included from various genres — hip-hop, pop, rock, country, R&B, heavy metal — and marked for incidences of violence, profanity, misogyny and gender-role references.

“We know that music has a strong impact on young people and how they view their role in society,” says Cynthia Frisby, a professor with the Missouri School of Journalism, in a news release. “Unlike rap or hip-hop, pop music tends to have a bubbly, uplifting sound that is meant to draw listeners in. But that can be problematic if the lyrics beneath the sound are promoting violence and misogynistic behavior.”

Though rap and hip-hop songs were found to have the most frequent references when it came to violence and misogyny, the authors say pop music contained similar levels of violent lyrics.

Among the examples of pop hits that the authors found containing violence:

• “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna, includes themes of domestic abuse and violent behavior in retaliation.
• “Wake Up Call” by Maroon 5, describes a man shooting his girlfriend’s lover after finding them together.

Country music was found to be the least violent and misogynistic of the genres.

Researchers say it’s important for parents to recognize the themes described in the music their children are listening to, and have discussions with them about racier lyrics. Because adolescents and teens often put their favorite pop stars on pedestals, parents should emphasize that children shouldn’t attempt to follow in a celebrity’s footsteps or mirror their actions.

“Ask your daughters and sons what songs they like to listen to and have conversations about how the songs might impact their identity,” Frisby says. “For example, many songs might make young girls feel like they have to look and act provocative in order to get a boy to like them, when that isn’t necessarily the case. If children and teens understand that what they are hearing isn’t healthy behavior, then they might be more likely to challenge what they hear on the radio.”

R Kelly TV Meltdown Termed Classic DARVO

Many of us might have felt any number of emotions while watching R. Kelly melt down during his CBS interview with Gayle King this past week: surprise, outrage, sympathy, confusion. Definitely a few moments of anxiety about King’s safety, watching her maintain her perfect posture and composure while Kelly towered over her, flailing his arms.

According to The Chicago Tribune, Jennifer Freyd was a little more blase than the rest of us. “It’s kind of predictable, sadly,” she says.

Granted, Freyd, a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, has studied responses like Kelly’s for decades. In fact, she coined a term for the behavior pattern he exhibited in King’s interview: DARVO, an acronym for deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. In other words, as King said to Kelly during one of his outbursts, “You sound like you’re playing the victim here.”

That, Freyd says, is exactly the point. “I’m glad she labeled it, because that’s exactly what he’s doing.”


During the course of the CBS interview, he maintained his innocence by first denying that he had had sex with underage girls, then moved on to attacking his accusers as liars and suggesting they planned to ruin his career. Eventually, he got around to talking about how he was constantly being victimized because of his “big heart.”

Switching places with the victim, Freyd’s research has shown, not only loosens the bonds of responsibility for the perpetrator, it muddies the waters with a confusion that is so insidious it often extends to the victim’s own perception.

For outside observers, the shifting roles can make things so unclear that the result is often inaction — we no longer are sure where our sympathies should lie, or how to address a situation that seems increasingly unclear.

That confusion makes DARVO extremely effective.

Freyd views DARVO as a response to confrontation, not as a marker for guilt or innocence, though her research centers on abuse cases, and domestic abuse activists have noted that the pattern is common in abusive relationships.

Smollett Attorney: Jussie Being 'Gangbanged' By Media

A grand jury's decision to indict Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts was "outrageous," the defense lawyer for the "Empire" actor said Friday.

Such charges have never before been filed on a "victim of a hate crime," attorney Mark Geragos told anchor Anderson Cooper on CNN's "AC360."

“What is happening here is, frankly, a media gangbang of this guy of unprecedented proportions," Geragos said. "And that’s the reason I got into this. I’ve never seen a media pendulum swing more quickly and viciously and rob somebody of their presumption of innocence like this case. It’s startling the way people assume that he’s guilty."

"What is happening here is, frankly, a media gang bang of this guy of unprecedented proportions," says Mark Geragos, Jussie Smollett's attorney, about his client's indictment on 16 felony counts. "It's startling the way people assume he's guilty." https://t.co/28fkRJi4oC pic.twitter.com/BZIvYgNtA1

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) March 9, 2019

Fox News reports the indictment released Friday details Smollett’s disorderly conduct charges for allegedly fabricating a hate crime in late January in Chicago.

Geragos slammed Chicago investigators, who he insisted did not speak to anyone at 20th Century Fox or from the "Empire" television series over Smollett’s supposed salary frustrations. The network had no comment Friday.

The lawyer also slammed the Chicago Police Department over alleged leaks to the media, saying “all of the information that was being leaked was false.”

When Smollett's account of the attack first emerged, he had many defenders in Hollywood, the media, and among Democrats seeking the presidency in 2020, including U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey, both of whom called the alleged attack a “modern-day lynching,” before Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson went public with his investigators’ findings.

March 9 Radio History

KJR Transmitter 1927

➦In 1922...KJR-AM, Seattle, Washington, signed-on.

Vincent I. Kraft

According to John Schneider at The Radio Historian: KJR, begun by amateur radio operator Vincent I. Kraft, was the first radio station to be licensed in the Pacific Northwest.

After World War I, the civilian radio stations that had been ordered closed during the war were allowed to reopen.  One was Vincent I. Kraft’s amateur station 7AC in Seattle.  Kraft operated a small radio parts store in downtown Seattle, and in his spare time played with a small 5 Watt deForest Wireless telephone transmitter, transmitting from his home at E. 68th Street and 19th NE.  An antenna hung from a 90 foot tower in the back yard.

He soon applied for and received the experimental license 7XC for “wireless telephone” transmission.  He moved a phonograph and a piano into the garage adjoining his home, and tacked carpeting on the walls to improve the acoustics.  7XC went on the air on 1110 kc. starting in 1919, transmitting voice and music programs.  He played phonograph records, coaxed a local piano teacher into performing, and asked a neighbor boy to play the violin.  There was no regular schedule.  Every so often he would get a call from one of the few people that had a crystal radio set in Seattle, and he would turn on the transmitter and broadcast so they could demonstrate the new "wireless" to their friends.

In 1921, the U.S. Department of Commerce created a new class of license for radio broadcasting stations. At the same time, a new law was issued that prohibited amateur stations from broadcasting music.  So Kraft immediately applied for and received the license KJR, and transferred his 7XC operations to this new license.  Unlike its amateur station predecessor, KJR operated on a regular schedule of several hours per day, 3 days a week.

Beginning in the 1950s and lasting until 1982, KJR was a pioneer Top 40 radio station owned by entertainer Danny Kaye and Lester Smith, "Kaye/Smith Enterprises".

In the 1960s, under the programming guidance of Pat O'Day, the station was top rated in Seattle and well known for introducing the Pacific Northwest to many recording stars such as Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts and the Ventures.  Today, the call letters are used by KJR-FM, which broadcasts a format that includes many of the songs and shows (including original American Top 40 shows from the 1970s) from that era.



Gary Lockwood was THE big morning show on Seattle radio in the 1980's as AM radio was fading out in Seattle. KJR was playing Oldies then.

KJR would switch to soft adult contemporary in 1982. In 1988, the station shifted to oldies, playing the music that had made the station famous throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

KJR's shift to sports programming was a gradual evolution starting in 1989, when the station added some sports-themed shows in mid-days and afternoons. The rest of the music programming would be phased out in September 1991.

On November 4, 2011, at 7 AM, KJR began simulcasting on 102.9 FM, replacing country-formatted KNBQ. This ended on June 13, 2013, when KNBQ (now KYNW) reverted to an Adult top 40 format. During this time, Clear Channel did not transfer the KJR-FM calls from 95.7 to 102.9, instead co-branding the station as "Sports Radio 950 AM and 102.9 FM KJR".

A collection of some of the country's greatest air personalities entertained Seattle listeners like Larry Lujack, Scotty Brink, Norm Gregory, Burl Barer, Pat O'Day, Eric Chase, Bob Shannon, "World Famous" Tom Murphy, Bobby Simon, Jerry Kaye, "Emperor" Lee Smith, Lan Roberts, Robert O. Smith, Charlie Brown, Bwana Johnny, Matt Riedy, Marion Seymour, Sky Walker, Tracy Mitchell, and Bob Brooks. Gary "Lockjock" Lockwood, a.k.a. L.J., was the disk jockey who had the longest tenure on the "Mighty Channel 95," from 1976-1991.

➦In 1945...'Those Websters' debuted. It was a CBS Radio sit comedy series starring Willard Waterman and Constance Crowder as George and Jane Webster. The program was launched in New York and then moved to Chicago for a short spell before finishing its run from Hollywood.

The series replaced That Brewster Boy (1941–45), which starred a teenaged Dick York. Several Brewster cast members continued on with Those Websters, and the two situation comedies were quite similar.  Those riotous Websters were heard Friday evenings at 9:30pm on CBS from March 9, 1945 to February 22, 1946 with Quaker Oats as the sponsor. On March 3, 1946, the series moved to Mutual where it aired Sundays at 6pm until August 22, 1948.

➦In 1982...Rex Marshall died from an apparent heart attack at age 64 (Born Marshall Bingeman Shantz, Jr. January 10, 1919).  He was an American actor, television announcer, and a radio personality for 46 years. His career began in Boston, Massachusetts as a reporter for a radio station and ended in White River Junction as the owner of his own radio station.

Marshall started his career as an announcer for a Boston radio station in 1937.

Marshall's most memorable role was as the host and announcer of the anthology television drama series Suspense from 1949–1954. He was also remembered as an announcer on the radio, spokesman for the Reynolds Aluminum Company for 25 years and as the spokesman for the Maxwell House coffee brand.  In 1948, Marshall was the first staff announcer for WPIX-TV NYC.




➦In 1996...George Burns died at age 100 (Born Nathan Birnbaum January 20, 1896). He was an American comedian, actor, singer, and writer. He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebrow and cigar-smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three quarters of a century. He and his wife, Gracie Allen, appeared on radio, television, and film as the comedy duo Burns and Allen.

At age 79, Burns had a sudden career revival as an amiable, beloved and unusually active comedy elder statesman in the 1975 film The Sunshine Boys, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Burns, who became a centenarian in 1996, continued to work until just weeks before his death of cardiac arrest at his home in Beverly Hills.

Burns and Allen first made it to radio as the comedy relief for bandleader Guy Lombardo, which did not always sit well with Lombardo's home audience. In his later memoir, The Third Time Around, Burns revealed a college fraternity's protest letter, complaining that they resented their weekly dance parties with their girl friends listening to "Thirty Minutes of the Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven" had to be broken into by the droll vaudeville team.

In time, though, Burns and Allen found their own show and radio audience, first airing on February 15, 1932 and concentrating on their classic stage routines plus sketch comedy in which the Burns and Allen style was woven into different little scenes, not unlike the short films they made in Hollywood. They were also good for a clever publicity stunt, none more so than the hunt for Gracie's missing brother, a hunt that included Gracie turning up on other radio shows searching for him as well

➦In 2005...Final "Dan Rather Reporting" radio segment aired on the CBS News Radio Network.

Study: 'Broadcaster' Fifth Most Stressful Job In 2019

A new survey conducted by CareerCast found that 78 percent of people feel unduly stressed at work, rating their job stress at a seven or higher on a 10-point scale — that's up from the 69 percent who said the same only two years ago.

The biggest career stressor? Dealing with frequent, hard deadlines — 38 percent of people agreed on this point. Growth potential and interacting with the public tied for second place, with 14 percent of people naming each of these the top culprit.

Throw some danger into the job description and you've got the perfect storm, at least according to an analysis by CareerCast.

Most Stressful Jobs

After evaluating 200 occupations on 11 different factors, including travel demands, environmental conditions, physical demands, deadlines, interacting with the public, working in the public eye, growth potential, competition in the field, hazards encountered on a regular basis, responsibility for the safety of others, and potential for harm and/or death, CareerCast found that the following 10 jobs were the most stressful in the U.S

Least Stressful Jobs

Jax Radio: iHM Moves Planet Radio Back To 107.3 FM

iHeartMedia Jacksonville announced today that Planet Radio Jacksonville’s Rocks station, will broadcast on WWJK 107.3 FM (100 Kw), effective immediately. Planet Radio is the new home to Jacksonville’s legendary morning show, “Lex and Terry.”

The station had been airing Adult Hits.

107.3 Planet Radio is Jacksonville’s only rock station, playing songs from artists including AC/DC, Nirvana, Metallica, Linkin Park and Sublime. The station is not only bringing back Jacksonville’s biggest morning show ever in Lex & Terry but it’s also the return of Jacksonville favorites Chumley in afternoon drive.

“Planet Radio is Jacksonville’s best rock station ever,” said G-Wiz, SVPP “The legendary Planet Radio not only features Jacksonville’s highest rated morning show ‘Lex and Terry’ but has the hardest working, 24/7 radio staff. I’m excited to have Planet Radio back at its original frequency 107.3.”

Full Programming Lineup:

• Lex and Terry 6 a.m. – 11 a.m.
• Allison 11 a.m. – 3p.m.
• Chumley 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.
• Mel Taylor 7 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Bay Area Radio: KGO 810 Introduces New On-Air Lineup

Cumulus Media's News/Talk radio station KGO 810 announces its new on-air lineup, featuring the addition of three veteran talk show hosts, Mark Thompson, Pat Thurston and John Rothman. KGO 810 will debut its new programming schedule beginning next Monday, March 11th.

The Mark Thompson Show will air Monday-Friday from 10am-12pm, followed by The Pat Thurston Show, airing daily from 12pm-3pm and The John Rothman Show, which will air each weekday from 6pm-9pm.

“I’m excited to be able to add more live and local programming to KGO,” said KGO-810 Program Director/Operations Manager Lee Hammer. “KGO is talking about the major stories of the day and the impact they have on our daily life. To get those conversations started, we’ve added three outstanding and veteran talk show hosts, each with their own unique style of engaging, informing and entertaining our listeners.”

Mark Thompson has worked in radio for more than 30 years, on such legendary stations as KABC, KFI and previously at KGO. He is also a veteran TV weatherman, having spent time working in Denver, Los Angeles, and New York, with eight years at San Francisco’s KRON-TV.

Pat Thurston

“It’s nothing short of a thrill to be back on the air in the Bay Area and on a legendary station that was my daily companion for so long,” said Thompson. “It’s an exciting opportunity to be able to with the KGO 810 audience, which I believe is one of the smartest audiences in all of broadcasting.”

Pat Thurston will call upon her lengthy history in broadcasting when she takes over the Monday through Friday timeslot, after working weekends at KGO for the last 12 years. Thurston is an Army veteran who also worked for the U.S Secret Service. Prior to coming to KGO, Thurston anchored the daily radio coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial on the former KPIX-FM.

John Rothman

Thurston said: “I can’t wait to get started. The news is exploding all around us, and KGO is the only station in the Bay Area that welcomes callers. I want to hear from people who both agree and disagree with me. We need to get all the issues, both locally and nationally, out in the open and have intelligent discussions.”

John Rothman has a varied professional background as a former college professor, author, lecturer, foreign policy consultant and expert on the U.S. Presidency. Rothman has been a part of the KGO family for more than 20 years, hosting various shows on the station since 1996. Rothman is proud of his personal library of more than 15,000 books, viewed as one of the finest private library collections in the country, specializing in American political history and political biography.

“There is no place that I would rather be than back on KGO five days a week,” said Rothman. “Every night we’ll discuss the issues of the day and have a lot of fun doing so.”

KGO 810 ON-AIR LINEUP (effective March 11, 2019)

• 5:00am-10:00am The Armstrong and Getty Show
• 10:00am-12:00pm The Mark Thompson Show
• 12:00pm-3:00pm The Pat Thurston Show
• 3:00pm-6:00pm The Chip Franklin Show
• 6:00pm-9:00pm The John Rothman Show
• 9:00pm-5:00am The John Batchelor Show

Nashville Radio: Stew James Takes Afternoon On WSM-FM

Stew James

Cumulus edia and Westwood One  have announced that leading radio personality Stew James will join afternoons on Cumulus Nashville radio station WSM 95.5 NASH Icon and the Westwood One NASH Icon Network, which airs on country stations across the U.S.

95.5 NASH Icon/WSM-FM plays country hits from then and now, featuring artists like Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, and Garth Brooks, among others.

James was most recently the Technical Producer of what is now The Ty Bentli Show on Cumulus Nashville’s NASH FM 103.3/WKDF-FM, where he was also a frequent weekend on-air host. He worked with current 95.5 NASH Icon/WSM-FM morning host, Marty McFly, for years on multiple stations in Mornings and Nights.

McFly and James have been honored for their work with nominations from the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music. James then went on to work for stations including: WGFQ, WHUB, WRKK, WSIX, WKDF and KMXN. The duo came together again in 2011 on the syndicated show, The Live Ride, and also did mornings together on NASH FM 103.3/WKDF-FM. Though in different dayparts, James and McFly are now back together on 95.5 NASH Icon/WSM-FM.

95.5 NASH Icon/WSM-FM’s new weekday lineup:

• 5:30am–9:00am:    Marty McFly
• 9:00am–2:00pm:    Lisa Manning
• 2:00pm–7:00pm:    Stew James
• 7:00pm–Midnight:  Darlas Rai

 Allison Warren, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Nashville, said: “Nashville is at the center of country music and 95.5 NASH Icon/WSM-FM is consistently the number one country station in Nashville. Stew’s ability to entertain and engage is second to none, and there is no question he will be highly successful.”

James said: “I’m extremely excited to return to the air and connect with country fans. It’s awesome to be part of the 95.5 NASH Icon/WSM-FM family in Nashville and a part of the Westwood One NASH Icon Network. I look forward to working with my Nashville on-air colleagues Marty, Lisa and Darlas and both Nashville VP of Operations/Program Director Charlie Cook and George King, VP, Programming, Westwood One.”

Charlie Cook, Program Director, 95.5 NASH Icon/WSM-FM, and Vice President of Programming Operations, Cumulus Nashville, said: “Stew has been a Nashville personality for years and we’re fortunate to have him join afternoons at 95.5 NASH Icon/WSM-FM. He brings not only in-depth knowledge of the market but also a passion for the essential country music favorites that our loyal country fans crave.”

Report: Amazon Could Be Close To YES Net Deal

An Amazon-led group of investors that includes the New York Yankees is ready to sign a deal to buy YES Network — one of NY’s most prominent cable sports channels — for roughly $3.5 billion, two people close to the plans told The NYPost.

The offer, which one person described as “imminent,” puts the online retailer in a position to control video streaming of Yankees games and Brooklyn Nets basketball games.

The bid will be for the 80 percent of YES that the Yankees don’t already own. The deal will also be backed by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, sources said.

Entertainment giant Disney is selling YES along with 21 other regional sports channels throughout the country as part of its $71 billion deal to buy Twenty-First Century Fox. Disney, which owns ESPN, needs to sell the Fox-owned RSNs to gain regulatory approval for the merger.

The YES network was valued at $3.9 billion in 2014 when Fox paid for an 80 percent stake — leaving the Yankees with the rest.

But the value of RSNs generally have been declining as cable subscribers jump ship — thanks to streaming video companies like Netflix and Amazon.

The Amazon-led group is expected to seek to offset the decline by charging fees for streamed games, a source said.

TV Ratings: Huge Wednesday Night Win For MSNBC

Rachel Maddow had a monster ratings night Wednesday — dominating time-slot rival Sean Hannity and even finishing ahead of two of the major broadcast networks.

According to Mediaite citing Nielsen figures, The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC drew 3.601 million total viewers on Wednesday night, topping Hannity on Fox News by roughly 857,000 overall. Maddow also prevailed in the advertiser-coveted adults 25-54 demographic, posting 649,000 in that category compared to Hannity’s 403,000.

TV Newser graphic

More impressive even than The Rachel Maddow Show‘s performance relative to its cable news rival was the fact that the program beat out offerings from CBS and Fox at 9 p.m.

Lefties Have 'Fox Derangement Syndrome'

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace on Thursday slammed the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) decision to not allow his network to host a presidential primary debate, saying the committee has "Fox derangement syndrome," reports The Hill.

"I think that the left wing of the party — you know how we talk about Trump derangement syndrome, or Obama? I think that [in] the left wing of the Democratic Party there is Fox derangement syndrome," Wallace said on Brian Kilmeade's Fox radio show.

"And even though they know that Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier and I would give a fair debate, the idea of anything with 'Fox News presents the Democratic debate' and they were just looking for an excuse and The New Yorker article gave it to them."

DNC Chairman Tom Perez announced Wednesday afternoon that Fox News would not be permitted to host any of its 12 scheduled primary debates after The New Yorker reported on the network's close ties to President Trump.

“Recent reporting in The New Yorker on the inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration and FOX News has led me to conclude that the network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates. Therefore, FOX News will not serve as a media partner for the 2020 Democratic primary debates,” Perez said in the statement.

Wallace joined several other Fox personalities in condemning the decision.

Host Bret Baier called it "really a shame" in a tweet Wednesday, saying Fox News's fairness "speaks for itself."

Howard Kurtz defended the network, arguing that Fox's opinion writers and morning shows should not be lumped together with their news coverage.

Fox News senior vice president and managing editor Bill Sammon said he hoped the DNC would reconsider, citing Wallace, Baier and MacCallum, “all of whom embody the ultimate journalistic integrity and professionalism.”

'The Simpsons' Drop M-J Episode From All Platforms

A classic episode of “The Simpsons” featuring Michael Jackson’s voice will be removed from circulation, the show’s longtime executive producer, James L. Brooks, said.

“It feels clearly the only choice to make,” Brooks said of the 1991 episode in which Mr. Jackson voiced the character of a patient in a mental hospital who believes he is the pop star.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Brooks said he, along with Matt Groening and Al Jean, the other two masterminds of the long-running Fox cartoon, came to the conclusion after watching the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland.” In the documentary, which premiered earlier this week, two men allege in graphic and compelling detail that Mr. Jackson molested them over several years when they were children.

“The guys I work with—where we spend our lives arguing over jokes—were of one mind on this,” Mr. Brooks said in an interview, speaking on behalf of the production team behind “The Simpsons.”

A spokesman for Twentieth Century Fox Television, which handles distribution of the show, referred to Brooks for comment.

Jackson, who died in 2009, steadfastly denied he had molested or harmed any children. The Michael Jackson Estate last month attempted to block HBO from airing the documentary by suing the network in Los Angeles Superior Court charging among other things that it “falsely claims Michael Jackson was abusing children.”

Brooks said he found “Leaving Neverland” convincing and heartbreaking.

iHR Music Awards To Be Hosted By T-Pain

iHeartMedia and Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) announced Thursday that Grammy Award® winning singer and songwriter T-Pain will host the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

The live two-hour event airs Thursday, March 14 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The sixth annual iHeartRadio Music Awards will also air live on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and iHeartRadio, the all-in-one digital music, podcast, on demand and live-streaming radio service.

T-Pain

"The blessings keep rolling in. I am grateful and honored to host this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards," said T-Pain. "The past two weeks have been incredible and the run continues. Thank you to everyone for all of the love and support. A special thanks to the iHeart team and FOX for having me."

The 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards will honor Alicia Keys with the iHeartRadio Innovator Award; Garth Brooks with the first-ever Artist of the Decade Award; Halsey with the iHeartRadio Fangirls Award presented by L'Oréal Paris; and Taylor Swift with the Tour of the Year Award. The two-hour event will also feature performances by Keys, Ariana Grande, Brooks, Halsey, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves and more, with a special appearance by Swift.

Nominees for the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards were announced on January 9. Artists receiving multiple nominations include Cardi B, Drake, Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, Post Malone, Maroon 5 and Imagine Dragons. For a full list of categories visit iHeartRadio.com/awards.

Executive producers for the iHeartRadio Music Awards are Joel Gallen for Tenth Planet and John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Lee Rolontz for iHeartMedia.

Forecast: Auto Dealers To Spend $11.3B On Local Advertising

In its latest vertical industry report, “Insights into Local Advertising – Automotive Vertical,” BIA Advisory Services estimates that automotive dealers, local dealer associations, and manufacturers will spend approximately $11.3 billion on local advertising nationally in 2019. This ad spend represents 75 percent of the $15.1 billion auto vertical, which makes auto dealers the largest of the five sub-verticals that comprise the overall auto vertical. The remaining spend comes primarily from tire dealers, auto repair and parts shops, as well as other vehicle dealers.

As in past years, traditional media will receive the greatest share of the ad spend, followed by online ad spending. Auto dealers and manufacturers are projected to increase their use of digital channels significantly over the next four years, adding $324 million annually from 2019 to 2023.

“Businesses within the automotive vertical still rely heavily on traditional media, over-the-air television in particular, to get their message across to audiences,” said Dr. Mark Fratrik, SVP and chief economist BIA Advisory Services. “Our research shows that automotive is one of largest category spenders in TV advertising. Digital advertising is growing steadily and faster than before.”

In 2015, BIA projected that despite traditional media’s dominance in the current automotive marketing mix, digital advertising would represent around one-third of automotive local ad spending by 2019. The firm now forecasts that digital advertising will represent 40.8 percent of the ad spend this year and that digital media spending within the overall auto vertical will represent 49.3 percent of total local advertising in 2023. Pure online advertising, consisting primarily of vertical search, is the largest digital automotive channel.

“Don’t discount TV as a media channel for driving auto sales while digital continues to grow,” continued Fratrik. “Dealers and their local associations are aligning their marketing strategies to target today’s auto buyers that are using a mix of media like TV and radio along with digital-review sites, local dealer websites, search engines and social media to educate themselves during their buying journey. Ad sellers who understand and sell value and targeted cross-platform advertising will be very successful.”

NAB Show To Focus On 'In-Vehicle Experience'

NAB Show is introducing the “In-Vehicle Experience,” a new exhibit floor destination located in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The area will feature a combination of educational sessions and live demonstrations that showcase content development, delivery and monetization opportunities related to connected vehicles. The 2019 NAB Show will be held April 6-11, with exhibits April 8-11.

In-Vehicle Experience sessions will address media display options, voice-activation technology, audio design and HD radio. Also, Audi and Xperi will provide live, in-car demonstrations of the latest technologies driving content delivery and consumer engagement. All related sessions are available here.

“As automobile technology evolves towards autonomy and even more advanced forms of transportation, vehicles are becoming the next frontier for content distribution,” said NAB Executive Vice President of Conventions and Business Operations Chris Brown. “At NAB Show, we are creating a forum for media companies and automobile manufacturers to discuss and collaborate on the future of in-vehicle entertainment that maximizes the consumer experience and leverages the 'passenger economy.'”

On Monday, April 8 in a Main Stage session titled “Autonomous Cars and Amazing Experiences: Safety, Content & Connectivity,” panelists will discuss technology enabling the future of content consumption in autonomous vehicles and the related security considerations. Panelists include Carla Bailo of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR); James Buczkowski of Ford Motor Company; Shailen Bhatt of ITS America; Nakul Duggal of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.; and Sam Matheny of the National Association of Broadcasters.

Current In-Vehicle Experience sponsors include Access, Audi, Gaian Solutions and Xperi.