April 7 Radio History

➦In 1897...Walter Winchell born (Died at age 74 from cancer – February 20, 1972). He was a newspaper and radio gossip commentator.

Winchell found embarrassing stories about famous people by exploiting his exceptionally wide circle of contacts, and trading gossip, sometimes in return for his silence. His uniquely outspoken style made him both feared and admired, and his column was syndicated worldwide. In the 1930s, he attacked the appeasers of Nazism, and later aligned with Joseph McCarthy in his campaign against communists. He damaged the reputations of Charles Lindbergh and Josephine Baker as well as other individuals who had earned his enmity.

However, the McCarthy connection in time made him deeply unfashionable, his talents did not adapt well for television, and his career ended in humiliation.

He made his radio debut over WABC in New York, a CBS affiliate, on May 12, 1930. The show, entitled Saks on Broadway, was a 15-minute feature that provided business news about Broadway. He switched to WJZ (later renamed WABC) and the NBC Blue (later ABC Radio) in 1932 for the Jergens Journal.

He coined the intro: “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea.”  Later his star would brighten for a new generation when he narrated the TV series The Untouchables.

➦In 1908...Percy Faith was born (Died at age 67 – February 9, 1976),  He was a Canadian bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listening" or "mood music" format. Faith became a staple of American popular music in the 1950s and continued well into the 1960s. Though his professional orchestra-leading career began at the height of the swing era, Faith refined and rethought orchestration techniques, including use of large string sections, to soften and fill out the brass-dominated popular music of the 1940s.

Faith was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He was the oldest of eight children. His parents, Abraham Faith and Minnie, née Rottenberg, were Jewish. He played violin and piano as a child, and played in theatres and at Massey Hall. After his hands were badly burned in a fire, he turned to conducting, and his live orchestras used the new medium of radio broadcasting.

Beginning with defunct stations CKNC and CKCL, Faith was a staple of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's live-music broadcasting from 1933 to 1940, when he resettled in Chicago. In the early 1940s, Faith was orchestra leader for the Carnation Contented program on NBC. From 1948-1949 he also served as the orchestra leader on the CBS radio network program The Coca-Cola Hour (also called The Pause That Refreshes). The orchestral accordionist John Serry Sr. collaborated with Faith in these broadcasts.



In 1945, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He made many recordings for Voice of America. After working briefly for Decca Records, he worked for Mitch Miller at Columbia Records, where he turned out dozens of albums and provided arrangements for many of the pop singers of the 1950s, including Tony Bennett, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis for Mathis's 1958 Christmas album titled Merry Christmas, and Guy Mitchell for whom Faith wrote Mitchell's number-one single, "My Heart Cries for You".


His most famous and remembered recordings are "Delicado" (1952), "The Song from Moulin Rouge" (1953) and "Theme from A Summer Place" (1960), which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1961.

➦In 1927...Herbert E. Ives and Frank Gray of Bell Telephone Laboratories gave the first dramatic demonstration of mechanical television.The live picture and voice of then Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover were transmitted over telephone lines from Washington, D.C. to New York. The reflected-light television system included both small and large viewing screens. The small receiver had a two-inch-wide by 2.5-inch-high screen. The large receiver had a screen 24 inches wide by 30 inches high. Both sets were capable of reproducing reasonably accurate, monochromatic moving images. Along with the pictures, the sets also received synchronized sound.

The system transmitted images over two paths: first, a copper wire link from Washington to New York City, then a radio link from Whippany, New Jersey. Comparing the two transmission methods, viewers noted no difference in quality.

In 1928, WRGB (then W2XB) was started as the world's first television station. It broadcast from the General Electric facility in Schenectady, NY. It was popularly known as "WGY Television".


➦In 1956…63 years ago today, the first regularly-scheduled, nationally-broadcast rock ‘n’ roll radio show premiered on the CBS Radio Network.

The reputation of disc jockey Alan Freed may have been sullied somewhat by the payola scandal that ran rampant through the broadcasting industry in the early 1960s, but if there’s one thing that’s never been in question, it’s that the man appreciated the merits of rock ‘n’ roll and was one of the genre’s major proponents as it was taking off around America in the ‘50s.


To borrow a concept from Danny and the Juniors, the creation of Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party was a sure sign that rock ‘n’ roll was here to stay – as the magazine Downbeat wrote at the time, “the fan mail we get from all around the country is…a true barometer for the new and exciting beat that has swept the country”. Episodes of the show were recorded for airing on the American Forces Network so that US soldiers stationed overseas could enjoy the latest tunes, and those episodes are the only ones that have survived.


➦In 1967...San Francisco DJ Tom Donahue went on the air at KMPX 106.9 FM for the first time playing what was referred to as progressive rock.

On December 10, 1959, the station, owned by San Francisco businessman Franklin Mieuli, signed on at 106.9 MHz with the KPUP call letters. In July 1960, the call letters were changed to KHIP and the station aired jazz music programming. Mieuli sold KHIP on July 1, 1962 to Leon Crosby, who had previously owned KHYD in Hayward.

Under Leon Crosby's ownership, the station began operating in multiplex stereo and the call letters were changed to KMPX (for "MultiPleX") the following month. Soon after, Crosby gained authorization by the FCC to increase the station's power from the original 37,000 watts to 80,000 watts. The transmitter was in Marin County on Wolfback Ridge above Sausalito.

By mid-1964, KMPX was airing a middle of the road music format. As the money-strapped station struggled, by 1966 the schedule became dominated by various foreign language and other brokered programs.

KMPX Staff Photo May 1967

Though KMPX's daytime schedule was heavy with ethnic programming, the midnight-6 AM slot was mostly open. On February 12, 1967, on-air personality Larry Miller was given the shift, where he played his preferred folk rock music whenever a foreign language show was not scheduled. But even with this impediment and the station's high-end-of-the-dial position, word spread that "rock and roll is on FM".

Tom Donahue

A month later, Tom Donahue, a former well-known local Top 40 disc jockey on KYA, fledgling record label owner and concert promoter, was looking for an opportunity to do something unique on the radio. According to his then-girlfriend (and future wife) Raechel's recollection, mentioned in Jim Ladd's book Radio Waves, after spending a night listening to The Doors' first album at home, Donahue wondered why radio stations weren't playing it.   He soon started calling around town to local stations on the less-desirable FM dial. When he found that KMPX's phone was disconnected, he decided to approach Crosby with his plan, as he felt the station had nothing to lose.  Donahue proposed to take over some of KMPX's programming and replace the brokered foreign-language shows with freeform album-based rock music, declaring, "no jingles, no talkovers, no time and temp, no pop singles."  Advertisers would come in the form of local businesses serving the local hippie and Haight-Ashbury communities. As Donahue was a well-known and respected person in local radio, Crosby hired him.

On Friday, April 7, 1967, Donahue went on the air at KMPX for the first time, working from 8 PM to midnight, leading into Miller's show. The station's programming evolved over the weeks and months that followed, and Donahue sought out air personalities who fit what he envisioned for the format. Early staffers included Edward Bear (1967 aircheck: Click Here), Dusty Street, and even future actor Howard Hesseman. Donahue's rock music format expanded to full-time on August 6, 1967, as the last of the foreign-language program contracts expired. The station at the time employed an unheard-of all-female studio engineer staff. The presentation of music on the station stood in stark contrast to most other stations of the day. Instead of a hit music-dominated playlist, KMPX played more album cuts, local, emerging and cutting-edge artists, and a wide mix of genres such as rock, blues, jazz and folk music. Some of the music played in the Spring of 1967 included Jefferson Airplane's album Surrealistic Pillow, the first Grateful Dead album, Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced and The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which KMPX played uninterrupted in its entirety.

Today 106.9 FM simulcasts the All-News format of KCBS 740 AM.


➦In 1972..Toronto radio personality Al Boliska, whose morning show made him a radiostar on first 1050 CHUM and then CKEY 1010 AM, choked to death on his own vomit at the much too young age of 39. Boliska grew up in Montreal and began his broadcasting career in an off-air capacity at CBC Montreal, then developed his ‘wild and crazy’ morning show antics at CKLC in Kingston from 1953 until 1956 when he moved to CKSL London. His zany style and quirky humour quickly got him noticed and ratings for CHUM began to soar. Listeners adored ‘kind, loveable, old Al Boliska’. Even the station itself (or at least CHUM’s printing company), wasn’t immune from mangling his unique last name.

➦In 1976...Radio Personality Mary Margaret McBride died at age 76. (Born - November 16, 1899) Her popular radio shows spanned more than 40 years. In the 1940s the daily audience for her housewife-oriented program numbered from six to eight million listeners. She was called "The First Lady of Radio.

McBride

McBride first worked steadily in radio for WOR in New York City, starting in 1934. This daily women's-advice show, with her persona as "Martha Deane", a kind and witty grandmother figure with a Missouri-drawl, aired daily until 1940.

In 1937, she launched on the CBS radio network the first of a series of similar and successful shows, now as Mary Margaret McBride.

She interviewed figures well known in the world of arts and entertainment, and politics, with a style recognized as original to herself. She accepted advertising only for products she was prepared to endorse from her own experience, and turned down all tobacco or alcohol products.

She followed this format in regular broadcasts on

• CBS until 1941
• NBC (where her audience numbered in the millions) from then until 1950
• ABC from then until 1954
• NBC again until 1960, and
• The New York Herald Tribune's radio broadcasts with a wider audience via syndication.

➦In 2012... Mike Wallace died at age 93 (Born - May 9, 1918). He was ajournalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspondents for CBS' 60 Minutes, which debuted in 1968. Wallace retired as a regular full-time correspondent in 2006, but still appeared occasionally on the series until 2008.

Mike Wallace

Wallace appeared as a guest on the popular radio quiz show Information Please on February 7, 1939, when he was in his last year at the University of Michigan. His first radio job was as newscaster and continuity writer for WOOD Radio in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This lasted until 1940, when he moved to WXYZ Radio in Detroit, Michigan, as an announcer. He then became a freelance radio worker in Chicago, Illinois.

Wallace enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943 and during World War II served as a communications officer on the USS Anthedon, a submarine tender. After being discharged in 1946, Wallace returned to Chicago.

Wallace announced for the radio shows Curtain Time, Ned Jordan:Secret Agent, Sky King, The Green Hornet, Curtain Time, and The Spike Jones Show. From 1946 through 1948 he portrayed the title character on The Crime Files of Flamond, on WGN and in syndication.

Wallace even announced wrestling in Chicago in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

In the late 1940s, Wallace was a staff announcer for the CBS radio network. He had displayed his comic skills when he appeared opposite Spike Jones in dialogue routines. He was also the voice of Elgin-American in their commercials on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life. As "Myron Wallace", he portrayed New York City detective Lou Kagel on the short-lived radio drama series "Crime on the Waterfront".

In 1949, Wallace began to move to the new medium of television.

➦In 2015...Stan Freberg died at age 88 (Born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926). He was an author, actor, recording artist, voice artist, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director, whose career began in 1943. He remained active in the industry into his late 80s, more than 70 years after entering it.

Freberg's sprawling imagination fueled a multifaceted career that included pretty much inventing the idea of using satire in commercials.

He made hit comedy records, voiced hundreds of cartoon characters and succeeded Jack Benny in one of radio’s most prestigious time slots. He called himself a “guerrilla satirist,” using humor as a barbed weapon to take on issues ranging from the commercialization of Christmas to the hypocrisy of liberals.



“Let’s give in and do the brotherhood bit,/Just make sure we don’t make a habit of it,” he sang in “Take an Indian to Lunch,” a song on the 1961 album “Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America,” a history lesson in songs and sketches. Time magazine said it may have been the “finest comedy album ever recorded.”



His radio sketches for CBS in 1957 included some of the earliest put-downs of political correctness (before that idea had a name). One sketch entailed a confrontation with a fictional network censor, Mr. Tweedlie, who insisted that Mr. Freberg change the lyrics of “Ol’ Man River,” starting with the title. He wanted it renamed “Elderly Man River.”



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Study: Women Missing In Country Music

Women's voices and perspectives — and particularly those of more mature female artists and songwriters — are not being heard out of Nashville. That's the conclusion reached by researchers at the University of Southern California's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, who on Friday released a study on the gender gap in country music.

Despite the successes of musicians like Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Kacey Musgraves — who won the 2019 Grammy for album of the year for her project Golden Hour, as well as best country album and best country solo performance — the voices of women creators are severely underrepresented.

According to the Annenberg researchers, led by Stacy L. Smith, only 16 percent of country artists are female, and only 12 percent of country songwriters are women.

According to npr,org, the team also notes that when female country artists do find mainstream success, they are young. "Not one of the top-performing women was over the age of 40," they note, "while all but one of country's top-performing men had reached or exceeded that age." They found that the average age of top female artists is 29 years old — while for men, the average age is 42.

For its data, the Annenberg team looked at 500 songs on Billboard's Year-End Hot Country charts (which measures a combination of sales, streams and radio airplay) over a five-year span, from 2014 to 2018, and looked into the gender of both artists and songwriters of those songs. They also examined the nominees across four categories at the Academy of Country Music Awards (whose voters work full-time in the country music industry, from artists to managers to people who work in venues) across the same time frame, and found that only 15 percent of the nominees in those categories — entertainer of the year, song of the year, duo of the year and group of the year — were women.

Billboard magazine reported last December that for the first time, its Country Airplay chart listed no female artists in its Top 20. The Annenberg team says that its research was triggered by the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards nominees announcement in February, in which not a single woman was put forward for entertainer of the year.



The Annenberg report was released just ahead of the 2019 ACM ceremony, which will take place Sunday in Las Vegas.

John Rich On ‘Old Town Road’: ‘Let the fans decide’

Country artist John Rich is weighing in on the musical controversy surrounding “Old Town Road” and whether or not it deserves to live among country music’s biggest hits.

The country music star stopped by the Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox Nation on Friday and explained that while country music carries a certain feeling, ultimately it is up to the fans to decide if what they’re hearing warrants the genre's stamp of approval.

“Let the fans decide. I mean, country music – I go back to guys like Johnny Cash when he showed up in Nashville, they said that is not country music,” the Big & Rich crooner told Kilmeade. “The guy made his records in Memphis where rock and roll was happening – he’s got his hair slicked back, he’s singing about sex, drugs and rock and roll. Johnny Cash, most hardcore lyrics anybody had ever heard – he’s not country – now Johnny Cash, a pillar of country music.”



When probed on whether or not he felt the smash was country-worthy, Rich noted that his concern is centered on the seriousness of an artist's desire to be a country act, as opposed to the sound of a singular record.

“I don’t like people that try to piggyback on real country music,” said Rich. “So, I think if you really want to be a country artist, then be one – come to Nashville, write your music, really come up with something that’s fitting somewhere around country music.”

Apple Music Surpasses Spotify In U-S Subs

Apple Music has surpassed Spotify in paid U.S. subscriptions, according to people familiar with the matter, in a shift that escalates the music rivals’ contest for listeners world-wide.

The Wall Street Journal reports Apple Inc.’s streaming-music service has been adding subscribers in the world’s biggest music market more rapidly than its Swedish rival—a monthly growth rate of about 2.6% to 3%, compared with 1.5% to 2% for Spotify—the people said.

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Apple Music had more than 28 million subscribers in the U.S. as of February, compared with Spotify’s 26 million, the people said. Neither service publicly breaks out regional subscriber counts, and those figures include only paying users, excluding those in trial offerings that the companies can count in their public subscriber disclosures. Including nonpaying listeners of its ad-supported tier, who generate a fraction of the revenue subscribers do, Spotify has more users overall in the U.S.

Apple was expected to reach its milestone more than six months ago, but Spotify intensified efforts to maintain its lead, expanding various promotions including a discounted subscription bundle with video-streaming service Hulu. More recently, the Swedish company filed an antitrust complaint in Europe claiming Apple abuses its control over the App Store to advantage the iPhone maker’s service, something Apple denies.

Spotify remains far ahead of Apple globally. As of December, Spotify said it had 207 million active users around the world, 96 million of whom are paying subscribers or in a trial period leading to a subscription. The rest of Spotify’s active users have opted for a free, ad-supported version of the service. Apple, which doesn’t offer a free, ad-supported option, has more than 50 million paying subscribers.

How Streaming How Changed Music Industry Revenue

You will find more infographics at Statista

A little more than 10 years ago, in October 2008, Spotify launched its music streaming service in parts of Europe, marking the birth hour of what is now the most popular way of consuming music.

As the chart illustrates, the music landscape looked radically different in 2008 compared to today. Back then, physical formats, predominantly CDs, accounted for 70 percent of global music revenues, streaming was still in its infancy and even digital downloads had yet to reach their prime.

According to IFPI, streaming accounted for nearly half of global music revenues last year (and even more in the U.S.), making it the biggest source of income for the music industry by a significant margin.

As market leaders Spotify and Apple Music continue to grow, it is all but certain that streaming will dominate music consumption going forward, especially considering that many of today’s and most of tomorrow’s listeners have grown up without a CD player and probably consider an iPod a relic from a long-forgotten time.

Omaha Radio: New KOPW Morning Show Launches Monday

NRG Media has announced the launching of a new mornig show for it's CHR KOPW Power 1056.9 FM in Omaha.

"Chef West And The Morning Scramble" featuring Tay Westberry (left) and Alyssa Siebken will launch on Monday, April 8 at 6am. Westberry, previously known as Mr. West, was host of the Blackout on KOPW from 7pm-midnight. Siebken has a history in the music industry and appeared on season 13 (2014) of "American Idol." She currently performs all around the metro area and has opened for Ben Rector and Jake Miller.

Power 106.9 Program Director Caleb Farnell said, "Tay has his finger firmly on the pulse of the Power listener, and Alyssa will be able to bring a valuable perspective to the show."

NRG Media Market Manager Mark Shecterle added, "We have been looking for the right combination to bring a local and live morning show to Power 106.9, and match the performance level of the rest of the station. We have found that in Tay and Alyssa."

Cleveland Radio: iHM Promotes Jeff Zukauckas

Jeff Zukauckas

iHeartMedia announced Friday that Jeff Zukauckas has been named Vice President of Marketing, Brands and Promotion.

As Vice President of Marketing, Brands and Promotion, Zukauckas will be responsible for overseeing the marketing department, as well as overall station brands in all outward facing marketing opportunities through iHeartMedia’s unmatched assets including on-air, online, social media and live events.

He will work directly with Keith Hotchkiss, Region President and Regional Vice Presidents of Programming and Sales for iHeartMedia’s North Ohio region, to develop promotions that drive ratings and revenue growth. He will also remain Promotion Director for 99.5 WGAR and a National Event Brand Manager for iHeartMedia’s National Programming platforms. Zukauckas will report to Keith Abrams, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Cleveland and Akron.

“We are excited to have Jeff in this new role,” said Hotchkiss. “He has an extensive track record of success not only with local promotions and marketing, but also on the national stage having been a part of the biggest events that our company produces. Having him in this role will allow us to further develop our iHeartMedia market-leading brands across all platforms.”

Zukauckas, a native Clevelander, began his career as an intern at 99.5 WGAR in 1996 and over his 23-year career has been involved with all of the iHeartMedia brands in the Cleveland market, serving most recently as Marketing Director. In addition, he joined iHeartMedia’s National Programming team in 2011 and became a national event brand manager in 2014. He is a graduate of John Carroll University.

Big Tech To Testify At Censorship Hearing

Tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Google are sending company representatives to testify at a Senate hearing next week about big tech's alleged "censorship" of conservative voices.

Facebook said public policy director Neil Potts will provide testimony at a Wednesday hearing titled "Stifling Free Speech: Technological Censorship and the Public Discourse," held by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.

A source familiar with the matter told The Hill that Twitter and Google are also sending representatives to the hearing and said there will be a second panel.

The subcommittee is chaired by tech critic Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who has alleged that Silicon Valley's largest companies -- Google and Facebook -- are biased against conservatives and routinely censor right-wing voices.

Both companies have pushed back against those accusations, arguing there is little evidence to back up those charges.

But conservatives, including President Trump, in recent weeks have ramped up their criticisms of social media companies. Trump in a tweet last month accused Facebook, Google and Twitter of being "on the side of the Radical Left Democrats."

Potts and a representative from Google are also scheduled to testify at a House Judiciary Committee on white nationalism on Tuesday.

NYC Radio: Must-Stop For Dem Hopefuls Is The Breakfast Club

Eight years ago, The Breakfast Club, the “world’s most dangerous morning show” started in New York with a focus on hip-hop, pop culture and the black community.

Now, hosts Charlamagne Tha God, born Lenard McKelvey, Angela Yee and DJ Envy (born Raashaun Casey) reach more than 8 million monthly listeners and have more than 3.5 million subscribers on YouTube.  The show' home-base if iHeartMedia's WWPR Power 105.1 in NYC;

This year, they've hosted almost a third of the Democratic field, including Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Kamala Harris, according to MSNBC.


But it's not just the size of the audience that draws political candidates.

According to Nielsen data, 77 percent of the show’s audience is African American or Hispanic, a demographic that makes up nearly a third of the Democratic primary electorate, according to one Brookings Institution study.

There’s also the authenticity factor.

The crew, known for asking personal questions that aren’t typically broached on the Sunday morning political talk shows, inquired about Harris' past use of marijuana ("I did inhale. It was a long time ago," she told Charlamagne) and whether Booker is dating anyone ("I got a boo," he answered).

"I think here, we just want them to be real. Like just a real person, not just an answer that they say 365 thousand times,” DJ Envy said. "Even with Kamala Harris, we asked her what she listened to. What does she do if she has a day off? What do you do?"

April 6 Radio History

➦In 1892...Lowell Jackson Thomas born (Died at age 81 – August 29, 1981).  He  was a writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveler, best remembered for publicizing T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). He was also involved in promoting the Cinerama widescreen system.

In 1930, he became a broadcaster with the CBS Radio network, delivering a nightly news and commentary program. After two years, he switched to the NBC Radio network but returned to CBS in 1947. In contrast to today's practices, Thomas was not an employee of either NBC News or CBS News. Prior to 1947, he was employed by the broadcast's sponsor Sunoco. He returned to CBS to take advantage of lower capital-gains tax rates, establishing an independent company to produce the broadcast which he sold to CBS. He hosted the first-ever television news broadcast in 1939 and the first regularly scheduled television news broadcast (even though it was just a camera simulcast of his radio broadcast) beginning on February 21, 1940 over local station W2XBS (now WNBC) New York. It is not known whether all or some of the radio/TV simulcasts were carried by the two other television stations capable of being fed programs by W2XBS at the time, which were W2XB (now WRGB) Schenectady and W3XE (now KYW-TV) Philadelphia.

In the summer of 1940, Thomas anchored the first live telecast of a political convention, the 1940 Republican National Convention which was fed from Philadelphia to W2XBS and on to W2XB. Reportedly, Thomas wasn't even in Philadelphia, instead anchoring the broadcast from a New York studio and merely identifying speakers who addressed the convention.

The television news simulcast was a short-lived venture for him, and he favored radio. Indeed, it was over radio that he presented and commented upon the news for four decades until his retirement in 1976, the longest radio career of anyone in his day (a record later surpassed by Paul Harvey). His signature sign-on was "Good evening, everybody" and his sign-off "So long, until tomorrow," phrases that he would use in titling his two volumes of memoirs.


In 

➦In 1931...Little Orphan Annie debuted on the NBC Radio Network.  Annie was based on the daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924, in the New York Daily News.

The plot follows the wide-ranging adventures of Annie, her dog Sandy and her benefactor Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks. Secondary characters include Punjab, the Asp and Mr. Am. The strip attracted adult readers with political commentary that targeted (among other things) organized labor, the New Deal and communism.

 The strip's popularity declined over the years; it was running in only 20 newspapers when it was cancelled on June 13, 2010.




➦In 1984...One of the most influential Top 40 stations in the world in the 1960s and 1970s Windsor’s iconic rock radio station CKLW (The Big 8 ) switched format to Adult Standards, branding as ‘The Music of Your Life.’

Some listeners believe that CKLW started to decline in popularity after Canadian content regulations went into effect in 1971. Although having to play 30% "CanCon" songs that generated little in the way of sales put the station at a competitive disadvantage compared to its U.S.-based competition, CKLW still managed to help break a number of Canadian songs and artists in the United States. These included Anne Murray, The Poppy Family, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, The Guess Who, April Wine, the Five Man Electrical Band, and Bachman Turner Overdrive. Just as, if not more, responsible for the decline in CKLW's ratings as the 1970s wore on was the rise of FM radio as an outlet for contemporary music, as the station gained a direct FM Top 40 competitor, WDRQ, in 1972, and its listening audience was also fragmented between album oriented rock outlets such as WWWW, WRIF and WABX and adult contemporary stations like WNIC and WMJC.

The Canadian government's initial unwillingness to licence FM frequencies with pop or rock formats stranded Canadian stations on AM while an entire demographic of listeners began the exodus to US-based FM outlets anywhere the signals were in range. For many younger listeners by 1978, CKLW was the station they listened to only if they had an AM-only radio in their cars.

The station's music softened to the point where by 1982 it gave no airtime to harder-rocking songs like Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", and jingles were initially phased out, with new jingles and a new slogan ("The Great Entertainer") being introduced in 1979.



➦In 2011...Coyote William McCloud died from liver disease at age 68 (Born - August 31, 1942). He was a popular radio disc jockey in Nashville.

Coyote McCloud

For more than 30 years, he was a drive-time personality at several Nashville radio stations. He first became well known in the early 1970s on WMAK-AM, then a market-dominant rock and roll station, as host of its 7 p.m.–midnight program

McCloud was one of the most controversial deejays of the late 1980s when he was the lead man on "The Zoo Crew" on Nashville's Y107 (WYHY). While enormously popular among his target demographic, his outlandish on-air personality drew the ire of many within the community as being a "bad influence" on teenagers. He was one of the subjects of a CBS 48 Hours documentary in 1992 about "shock radio". McCloud enjoyed his highest level of popularity while working for Y107, and had his own fan club.  He worked at the station for over 10 years, from 1984 to 1995. McCloud was featured frequently in Billboard.



Early in his career, he was an afternoon drive personality at WGOW-AM (owned by Ted Turner) in Chattanooga, using the name Bill Scott. In 1976, his recording of "Nitty Gritty Rock and Roll" was released as 45 rpm record on the Midland South label, distributed by RCA. The song included the catch-phrases he used as a nighttime deejay on WQXI "Quixie" in Atlanta.

Early in 1983 while hosting the morning show at Kix 104, McCloud was selected by Country Music Television network founders Glenn D. Daniels and co-founder G. Dean Daniels to be the first on-air "voice" of the network. When CMT (originally called "CMTV") launched on March 5, 1983, McCloud provided the first vocal announcement heard on the network under an animated "CMTV" logo with the words, "You're Watching CMTV...Country Music Television...in stereo." He remained the on-air "voice" of the network from 1983 through 1984.

McCloud also worked at Kix 104 (WWKX) in the early 1980s, Power Country 103 (WZPC) in the mid-1990s, and Oldies 96.3 (WMAK) in the early 2000s. Along with Cathy Martindale, he hosted Coyote & Cathy In The Morning on 96.3 (WMAK FM) and 97.1 WRQQ until late November 2006.

NY Radio: Craig Carton Sentenced To 3-1/2 Years

Former WFAN sports radio host Craig Carton was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in a nearly $7 million ticket resale scam meant to pay off his gambling debts — as the judge admitted she was a fan before haranguing him.

The 50-year-old shock jock begged for no prison in Manhattan federal court but couldn’t sway Judge Colleen McMahon, reports The NY Post.

“Colleen from New York. First time, long time,” the jurist greeted Carton.

Then, she laced into him.

“Your marriage is over, your kids are terrified … reputation in tatters,” she said, as the dad of four sat expressionless. “Craig Carton, you have indeed descended into a hell of your own making.”

Carton, who rose to fame as the brash half of WFAN’s “Boomer and Carton” show, convinced deep-pocketed hedge funders to plunk down millions of dollars for blocks of tickets to Adele, Metallica and Barbra Streisand shows.

He promised big returns on resales — but never delivered.

Instead, Carton kept about $4.6 million for himself, using the cash in a Ponzi-like scheme to pay off debts he accrued as part of a gambling addiction gone awry.

In court, as he begged for a no-prison sentence, Carton admitted he was driven to a life of crime by “demons.”

Carton faced up to 45 years in prison after he was convicted last November of conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud.

He collected millions of dollars from investors, pretending he had access to VIP tickets to sporting events and concerts.

But in reality, he used that money to pay off gambling debts and landscaping bills.

St. Louis Radio: Host Quits After Producer's Complaint

Don Marsh

Longtime talk show Don Marsh, who quit his job last week as a host at St. Louis Public Radio, said he did so after managers asked him about a remark he had made to a guest a day earlier that a colleague had felt was sexist.

The station’s general manager, Tim Eby, said on Sunday that the remark was not the purpose of the meeting between managers and Marsh. He would not specify the meeting’s purpose. Although the colleague’s complaint came up in the meeting, Eby said it was “not something that management was concerned about.”

Marsh’s guest on Tuesday’s edition of “St. Louis on the Air” was Karen Foss, who retired in 2006 as anchor for KSDK-TV (Channel 5). Marsh said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch on Sunday that when he greeted Foss before the 21-minute interview, “I told her she looked great.”

Foss, 75, wrote on Facebook on Saturday that she accepted the greeting from Marsh, 80, as a “common way for those of us who are aged to greet each other.”

“As a woman who has long argued for the equitable treatment of women, I am highly alert to sexism and discrimination and I sensed absolutely none of that in his greeting.”

The post was shared more than 800 times, and several Facebook users commented that it seemed like the radio station was being too sensitive.

Marsh told the Post-Dispatch that a producer had complained about his greeting of Foss. He said he was called into a meeting with two managers before going on the air Wednesday, in which one of them said they wanted to “put this behind us.”

“And I said, ‘Are you basically saying what I did was wrong?’” Marsh said. He said the manager made a gesture with his hand “like it’s right on the edge. And I said, ‘That’s it, I’m done.’”

Marsh served as host of St. Louis Public Radio’s “St. Louis on the Air" from 2005 to 2019.

Amazon Plans to Offer Broadband Via Satellites

Amazon wants to launch thousands of satellites so it can offer broadband internet from space.

According to CNBC, Amazon is planning to build a network of more than 3,000 satellites federal filings reveal, in an ambitious attempt to provide global internet access.

Known as Project Kuiper, the move represents the latest space ambition from Jeff Bezos. Amazon has previously announced its cloud business will build a network of satellite facilities on Earth and Bezos' space venture Blue Origin continues to move closer to launching space tourists.

"Project Kuiper is a new initiative to launch a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world," an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in an emailed statement.

"This is a long-term project that envisions serving tens of millions of people who lack basic access to broadband internet. We look forward to partnering on this initiative with companies that share this common vision."

Amazon's proposal is for a network of 3,236 satellites. Building, launching and operating the satellites will require intensive capital, likely billions of dollars. But Bezos has already been funding Blue Origin with upwards of $1 billion a year and Amazon itself remains one of the world's most valuable companies. GeekWire first reported the filings on Thursday.

Kuiper is the name of a belt of objects that include asteroids and dwarf planets. It was named for the late Dutch American astronomer Gerard Kuiper.

Study: Radio, TV Delivers More DTC Traffic Than Google, Facebook Ads

Westwood One and LeadsRx, a leading multi-touch attribution firm, are releasing a major media attribution and awareness report covering the direct-to-consumer (DTC) retail category.

For the first time ever, this report using analyses by LeadsRx and data commissioned from MARU/Matchbox, reveals insights on the marketing effectiveness of DTC advertising campaigns including –what media mix matters, when it will move the mark, who is paying attention, and more.

A key takeaway from the report is that combined, TV and AM/FM radio ads generate twice the site traffic lift of Google/Facebook ads. While DTC brands often launch in digital and use first-party data to drive performance-based marketing, their spending in TV and AM/FM radio generates impact. LeadsRx found that TV and AM/FM radio drove a combined 40% site traffic lift, compared to 17% for Google/Facebook. Broadcast media is a critical channel to leverage for a DTC brand to drive ROI. In terms of audio, both podcasting and AM/FM radio deliver ROI, and have the ability to help DTC brands with awareness growth.

“Two-thirds of podcast advertisers today are DTC brands and they report stunning sales effect and spectacular ROI with podcasts,” said Suzanne Grimes, EVP, Marketing for CUMULUS MEDIA and President, Westwood One. “With this report, we now have hard evidence that AM/FM radio generates significant impact for DTC brands too.”

"DTC brands often think first of Google and Facebook when allocating ad spend," said AJ Brown, CEO of LeadsRx. "However, this study conclusively shows that broadcast media like television and AM/FM radio play an equal role in delivering shoppers or web lift. More importantly, in our experience attributing full-funnel conversions with DTC brands, broadcast is often a more cost-effective channel for delivering actual buyers."

“DTC brands often over-emphasize the ROI power of bottom-funnel tactics like social and display, remarketing, and brand SEM. Scaling efficient channels with the mass reach of television and AM/FM radio feeds the funnel from the top and amplifies awareness and brand impact,” said John Leeman, President & CMO of Brand Value Growth LLC, an owner of a diversified portfolio of direct-to-consumer brands.

Additional learnings from the LeadsRx attribution study include:

• Across the week, Google/Facebook campaigns generated consistent day-to-day site traffic. Television ads generated higher site traffic Saturday through Monday while AM/FM radio ads generated higher DTC site traffic Tuesday through Thursdays. 
• DTC site traffic “prime time” is 9AM to 9PM. DTC categories see different site traffic surges during the day. For example, home goods sites see the largest site activity 10AM to 7PM while entertainment sites have the greatest visitation 3PM to midnight.

The MARU/Matchbox awareness study found:

• DTC brands have a long way to go in building mass consumer awareness. The top 20 DTC brands have an average awareness of 70%. The next 30 brands only average a 24% awareness. The remaining 200 brands have an average awareness of less than 10%.
• Awareness of DTC brands is highest among 18-34 Millennials and drops off sharply in older demographics. Male awareness is higher than female awareness.
• Apparel and home products represent the most shopped DTC categories. Consumers say they expect to see their largest shopping growth for auto products, event ticketing websites, and marketplace and online auction sites.
• Women 35-64 is the demographic with the greatest DTC revenue opportunity. Among those that say they are very likely to shop online retailers, 31% are 35-64 women versus 24% 35-64 men.

You can learn more in the Westwood One blog.

Read more in this MediaPost story.

Miami Radio: WLYF-FM Extends Contract With Tamara G

Tamara G

Entercom and on-air personality Tamara G. have agreed to a new multi-year contract extension. The co-host of the morning drive on WLYF 101.5 LITE FM in Miami will remain on “Julie Guy & Tamara G,” weekdays from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET.

“Tamara G. is the yin to Julie’s yang and we are thrilled to have her remain on the 101.5 LITE FM team,” said Keriann Worley, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom South Florida. “Their morning show is so uniquely catered to South Florida listeners and features two of the market’s most loved personalities."

“Thanks to Keriann and Andy Holt [Program Director, 101.5 LITE FM] for continuing to see the vision of our show and for letting Julie and I do what we do best – be ourselves to educate and entertain our listeners in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area,” said Tamara G. “I can’t wait to continue waking up Miami with Julie each and every weekday.”

Tamara joined 101.5 LITE FM in January 2018. The move marked a reunion with morning show co-host Julie Guy, whom she worked with previously at WFLC in Miami. Prior to that, Tamara was on the nationally-syndicated “The Michael Baisden Show” and held various on-air roles at WEDR and WHQT in Miami and KDMX in Dallas.

Listeners can tune in to 101.5 LITE FM (WLYF-FM) in Miami on air, as well as nationwide on the RADIO.COM app and website. Fans can also connect with the station on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Americans Agree: Social Media Is Divisive

Americans have a paradoxical attachment to the social-media platforms that have transformed communication, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds, saying they regard services such as Facebook FB 1.43% to be divisive and a threat to privacy but continue to use them daily.

Across age groups and political ideologies, adults in the survey said they held a negative view of the effects of social media—even though 70% use such services at least once a day.

Americans feel that social media may do more to harm society than help.

The deep-dive survey into views of technology draws a picture of Americans struggling personally with their social-media habits and looking for more supervision of social-media companies by the federal government. Pollsters said they were surprised by the high and relatively uniform dissatisfaction with social media across demographic and political groups.

“If we saw this same, strongly negative force of opinion—spanning partisanship and age—stacked against any one of our corporate clients, I think they would certainly be concerned about their standing in the marketplace and in the halls of Congress,” said Micah Roberts, a Republican pollster at Public Opinion Strategies, who helped conduct the survey.

Despite hope for what technology brings, Americans have soured on social-media firms.

Milwaukee Radio: Murphy & Meg Are OUT At WRIT

Murphy & Meg

Meg McKenzie and Dave Murphy, who have been co-hosting the morning-drive show on WRIT 95.7 FM since 2008, vanished from the oldies station's 5 to 10 a.m. broadcast after Tuesday's show.

According to The Milwaukee Sentinel, what had been branded "Murphy and Meg in the Morning" was relabeled "The Brett Andrews Radio Show." Andrews has been director of programming at WRIT since 2014.

McKenzie joined WRIT 11 years ago to co-host the morning show, after working at iHeartMedia sister station WOKY 920 AM. For more than 12 years, she's also been a game host at Milwaukee Admirals games.

Murphy had been a midday host at WRIT before he made the move to morning drive in 2007; for much of that time, he also was assistant program director at the station. Murphy had been with iHeartMedia in Milwaukee for 15 years.

Murphy confirmed his departure this week on Facebook. In an email, Murphy forwarded a statement that he and McKenzie had sent earlier Thursday to OnMilwaukee.com:

We are sorry to announce that April 2nd was the final broadcast of “Murphy & Meg in the Morning” on 95.7 BIG FM. 

The change that our former employers, iHeartMedia-Milwaukee, decided to make was business-related and we understand that. No one will miss our show more than we will. We truly loved what we did and the relationships we developed with our listeners over the years. As we often said on the air, “you are the best listeners any radio station could ever have!” 

The past decade that we spent mornings with you will forever be one of the most cherished times of our lives. We also feel blessed by the many close friendships we made at iHeartMedia-Milwaukee and will truly miss seeing those co-workers on a daily basis. 

Most of all, we’re grateful for our own friendship. We spent 15 years working together and became family along the way. Thank you, southeastern Wisconsin … we will miss you! Ob-la-di, ob-la-da …  

~Murphy & Meg 

Andrews, via email, declined to comment on WRIT's morning show.

WRIT has been No. 1 in the overall monthly radio ratings for nearly four years. According to data compiled by Nielsen Audio, the only ratings periods when the oldies station was not in the top spot among overall listeners since May 2015 were last October and November, when the Milwaukee Brewers' wild ride to the postseason pushed WTMJ 620 AM to No. 1, and in December 2018, when classic-rock WKLH 96.5 FM came in a tenth of a share point higher.

Surgery Said To Be Successful For Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger has completed his heart valve procedure in New York and is recovering and in great health, sources tells Billboard.

Doctors were able to access Jagger's heart valve through his femoral artery and are now monitoring the Rolling Stones frontman for any complications that could arise from the procedure, including excess bleeding. On Sunday (March 31) the Stones announced they were rescheduling their North American No Filter Tour so that Jagger could have the procedure.

Orginally slated to begin in April, the tour will now begin in July with new dates to be announced in the coming weeks. Jagger will need to rest after completing the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), sources say. The minimally invasive procedure allows Jagger to avoid major surgery -- doctors are able to repair the heart valve using a a catheter that accesses a major artery without opening the chest.

While the recovery time for the procedure is much shorter than surgery, Jagger must rest for four to five days so that the artery can heal without any severe bleeding issues. He could be up an moving in a few days, but will need some additional recovery time before returning to the stage.

The Stones are expected to make up nearly all the dates on their No Filter Tour, but won't be performing at Jazz Fest in New Orleans this year as previously planned.

The Bezos Divorce, She's Worth $36B

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos agreed to a divorce settlement that reduces his stake in Amazon.com Inc. but leaves the chief executive with voting control over Ms. Bezos’ share.

pic.twitter.com/OJWn3OOLS6

— MacKenzie Bezos (@mackenziebezos) April 4, 2019

According to The Wall Street Journal, the settlement solved a lingering question about what would happen to Mr. Bezos’ stake, the largest in the company, following the couple’s announcement in January that their marriage was ending after 25 years.

Amazon is the third-largest company by market capitalization, behind Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Mr. Bezos will retain 75% of the shares he owns with Ms. Bezos, she said Thursday on Twitter . Ms. Bezos will get the rest after the couple’s divorce decree is approved by a court, according to an Amazon securities filing.

Mr. Bezos has a 16.1% stake in Amazon, according to FactSet. The tweets and the regulatory filing Thursday make clear Mr. Bezos will retain voting control of that stake, even as 4% of the company shares will be registered in Ms. Bezos’ name.

Mr. Bezos also will retain voting rights over any additional shares Ms. Bezos receives through a stock split or dividend.

You will find more infographics at Statista

If Ms. Bezos transfers her shares, other than selling them in the open market or donating them, she is required to have the recipient enter into a voting

Based on the company’s current stock price, Ms. Bezos’ stake would be valued at more than $35 billion, affirming her status as one of the richest women in the world.

Smollett Misses Payment To Chicago

"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett missed a deadline to repay Chicago $130,000 for an alleged hate crime hoax, so outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration is planning to sue him over it, according to The Chicago Tribune.

The city notified Smollett’s attorneys by letter last week of its demand that he pay $130,106 — the cost of the police overtime hours expended in the investigation into his allegations. The letter warned that if Smollett did not pay by April 4, the city “may prosecute you for making a false statement to the city.”

City attorneys are preparing a lawsuit and plan to pursue “the full measure of damages” allowed by city law, according to a statement.

“Mr. Smollett has refused to reimburse the City of Chicago for the cost of police overtime spent investigating his false police report on January 29, 2019. The Law Department is now drafting a civil complaint that will be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook Country,” Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey said in the statement. “Once it is filed, the Law Department will send a courtesy copy of the complaint to Mr. Smollett’s Los Angeles-based legal team.”

Smollett spokeswoman Anne Kavanagh had no comment.

Last week, after Emanuel said he was going to try to force Smollett to pay the police investigation costs, Smollett’s lawyers said city officials were the ones who owed an apology. “It is the Mayor and the Police Chief who owe Jussie … an apology — for dragging an innocent man’s character through the mud,” the statement said. “Jussie has paid enough.”

Katz Media Group Support For BFA Totals $350K

The Broadcasters Foundation of America announces Katz Media Group has raised over $45,500 for the Foundation during its 10th annual companywide membership drive, bringing the total amount raised to over $350,000 since the drive's inception.

Led by Mark Gray, Chief Executive Officer of Katz Media Group; Christine Travaglini, President of Katz Radio Group; and Leo MacCourtney, President of Katz Television Group — all money raised during the annual two-week campaign goes toward the Stu Olds Memorial Fund that commemorates Katz’s former CEO and supports the Foundation's mission to provide financial support to radio and television professionals in acute need. Last year, the Broadcasters Foundation gave out a record amount of grants to broadcasters for necessities ranging from medical care to everyday essentials. This includes one-time emergency grants given to victims of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires. 

As longtime champions of the Broadcasters Foundation, Olds, Gray and MacCourtney all served on the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

“It’s an honor to continue Stu’s legacy and give back to our incredible industry. As a board member, I have seen firsthand all the good the Foundation does. I’m incredibly proud and appreciative of the continued generosity of the Katz team to support the Foundation, and give to colleagues in need,” said Mark Gray, Chief Executive Officer for Katz Media Group.

“We are grateful to Mark, Leo, Christine and the entire team at Katz for their continued support of our charitable cause,” noted Jim Thompson, President of the Broadcasters Foundation of America. “Every day, our only purpose at the Foundation is to provide aid to those in our industry who need it most, whether it be monthly assistance from life-altering circumstances or a one-time emergency grants to help victims of natural disasters. With the help from our friends and colleagues at Katz, we can help more broadcasters in need across the country.”

The Broadcasters Foundation has distributed millions of dollars in aid to broadcasters who have lost their livelihood through a catastrophic event, debilitating disease or unforeseen tragedy. Personal donations can be made to the Foundation’s Guardian Fund, corporate contributions are accepted through the Angel Initiative, and bequests can be made through the Foundation’s Legacy Society. For more information, please visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org, call 212-373-8250, or email info@thebfoa.org.

R.I.P.: Bruce Resse, Former CEO For Hubbard, Bonneville

Bruce Reese, the former CEO of Hubbard Radio and Bonneville International, died on April 4. He was 70 years old, according to the WTOP website.

Bruce Reese was 70

Upon hearing the news, Joel Oxley, the senior vice president and general manager of Hubbard DC/WTOP, said, “I find myself overcome with sadness. … Bruce will be so missed.”

Oxley said Reese “was not only a pioneer in our business, but also a wonderful grandfather, father, husband and son.”

Oxley noted that Reese, in his 20 years working with WTOP through his roles with both Hubbard and Bonneville, “had the foresight to invest in our websites in a big way when others weren’t. And probably, most impactful, he supported WTOP going to FM back in 2006, which was a move that was way ahead of its time. His family is in all of our thoughts and prayers.”

He served as president of Bonneville International from 1996 to 2010, and maintained his role with Hubbard Broadcasting. He continued serving in that capacity until July 2014, when he became a special adviser to Hubbard Radio.

Reese began his career as a lawyer with the Department of Justice in D.C. before working with firms in the District and Denver, Colorado. Reese was the chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Board and the organization’s joint board of directors. He received NAB’s National Radio Award in 2008.

“NAB and the entire broadcast industry is saddened to hear of the passing of our friend and former Bonneville president Bruce Reese,” said Gordon Smith, the organization’s president and CEO. “Bruce’s accomplishments in broadcasting were surpassed only by his commitment to charity and community service. Broadcasting is a better business and the world was a better place because of my friend Bruce Reese.”

Reese is survived by his wife Lu Anne, seven children, four daughters-in-law, two sons-in-law and 12 grandchildren.

April 5 Radio History

➦In 1922…KOB-AM Albuquerque, New Mexico signed-on.

Ralph Willis Goddard

The station was founded at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in Las Cruces (now New Mexico State University) by Ralph Willis Goddard, and began broadcasting tests in 1919 under the call letters 5XD. On April 5, 1922 the station began regular operation as KOB, a callsign which had belonged to marine radio aboard the Princess Anne before its February 2, 1920 shipwreck on Rockaway Shoals, Long Island.  New Mexico A&M sold the station after Goddard was electrocuted while adjusting the transmitter on December 31, 1928. In 1933 the station moved to Albuquerque, and was later bought by the Albuquerque Journal.

In 1948, Tom Pepperday, owner and publisher of the Journal, signed on KOB-TV, the first television station between the Mississippi River and the West Coast. The stations passed to Time-Life in 1952 and to Hubbard Broadcasting in 1957. Hubbard Broadcasting sold the radio stations in 1986. In order to trade on the well-known KOB calls, the new owners simply added an extra "K" to the radio station's call letters.

KOB was involved in a 38-year-long dispute with New York City station WABC (originally WJZ) over the use of the 770 kHz frequency. KOB was moved there from 1030 to make room for WBZ in Boston. While the Federal Communications Commission requested that WJZ install a directional antenna to allow the stations to interoperate over large areas, the station refused to comply, encroaching on the range KOB was intended to cover. Only after reaching the U.S. Supreme Court was the issue settled, when the FCC assigned KOB to a new license class. KKOB and WABC became sister stations when Citadel Broadcasting purchased ABC Radio in 2007; Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.

➦In 1922…WDZ-AM, Decatur, Illinois signed-on.

WDZ started in the office of the James Bush grain elevator in Tuscola, Illinois. The original call sign was 9JR and the original intent of the station was to broadcast grain reports, making it the first radio station to do so. The station later started mixing some music in with the grain reports.

The radio station's power was increased to 1000 watts in 1939 with a new 252-foot (77 m) tower. During that time, WDZ used remote broadcasts that was unique for a rural station. The station started the use of remote broadcasting equipment which included a truck called, the "WDZ 'White Relay Truck"', equipped with a 100-watt transmitter to relay broadcasts from area locations, and some two-watt, battery operated transmitters that could be worn on the backs of assistants when a program originated from remote sites.   The station was on 1020 kHz in 1941, but changed to 1050 kHz, and has remained there since.

1050 kHz has been a Mexican Clear Channel since 1941 (was a U.S. Clear Channel before 1941), and U.S. operations on Mexican Clear Channels was restricted to 1,000 watts and to daytime operations, only, until the "Rio" treaty took effect in the late 1980s (before 1941, 1020 kHz was a U.S. Clear Channel and that, too, was restricted). After "Rio" took effect, it was a simple matter for WDZ to add night operations with as little as 250 watts, and today the station is indeed operating with its pre-"Rio" maximum daytime power and its post-"Rio" minimum nighttime power. Anything more than 1,000 watts days and 250 watts nights very likely would require installation of a directional antenna system at great capital expense. WDZ is diplexed (i.e., it uses the very same vertical radiator) with co-owned WSOY.

WDZ Performer's Studio

In 1949, the station moved from Tuscola to Decatur.   The relocation of WDZ from Tuscola to the west and to Decatur greatly facilitated the eventual allocation of a station on 1080 kHz in Oak Lawn, suburban Chicago, IL.

WDZ Transmitter Studio

On March 31, 2008, the station switched to a sports radio format as part of the Fox Sports Radio network. Within a year the station switched programming from Fox Sports Radio to ESPN Radio.

WDZ and its sister stations WCZQ 105.5 FM Monticello and WDZQ 95.1 FM, 1340 WSOY 1340 AM and WSOY 102.9 FM Decatur, were sold to Neuhoff Media in February 2009.

Today, WDZ 1050 AM, powers with 1000 Kw-Day, 250 watts Night. and airs ESPN Sports.

➦In 1927...The NBC Orange Network started distributing programs. Also known as the NBC Pacific Coast network it was a National Broadcasting Company radio network in the western United States from 1927 to 1936, before two-way broadcast-quality communications circuits reached the West to relay the larger NBC Red Network and NBC Blue Network.

The Orange Network had its own production and performance staffs on the West Coast. In addition to producing original West Coast works, the Orange Network also had duplicate productions of many eastern shows until the end of 1928. In December 1928, a single broadcast-quality line was completed to San Francisco, and the Orange Network could then carry eastern programming directly, but only one program at a time; from then until 1936, Orange Network fed some programs from Red and some from Blue.

In 1936, a second broadcast-quality circuit was completed, this time to Los Angeles. This circuit also allowed the direction of amplification to be reversed in under 15 seconds, allowing Los Angeles, with its easy access to talent during the Golden Age of Hollywood, to feed broadcast-quality sound to the eastern networks as well. With the opening of the second circuit, the need for the Orange Network disappeared, and the stations on the old Orange Network became the Pacific Coast Red Network, fed by KPO (AM), except KGO (AM), which itself fed a new Western Blue Network made up of stations on the short-lived former NBC Gold Network

➦In 1982…Record World magazine ended publication after 36-years. Record World magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with Billboard and Cash Box. It was founded in 1946 under the name Music Vendor, but in 1964 it was changed to Record World, under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin. It ceased publication on April 10, 1982.

Many music industry personalities, writers, and critics began their careers there in the early 1970s to 1980s.  Record World was considered the hipper, faster-moving music industry publication, in contrast to the stodgier Billboard and the perennially-struggling Cash Box. Record World's collapse was the result of discord between the two owners, and a sudden downturn in record sales.

➦In 2005…News anchor Peter Jennings told his ABC-TV audience that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He died four months later.

Peter Jennings

Jennings was born on July 29, 1938, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; he and his younger sister Sarah were the only two children of Elizabeth (née Osborne) and Charles Jennings, a prominent radio broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Peter Jennings started his broadcasting career at the age of nine, hosting Peter's People, a half-hour, Saturday morning, CBC Radio show for kids.

The 21-year-old Jennings started his rise in broadcasting. In 1959, radio CFJR, in Brockville, ON, hired him as a member of its news department; many of his stories, including his coverage of a local train wreck, were picked up by the CBC. By 1961, Jennings had joined the staff of CJOH-TV, then a new television station in Ottawa. When the station launched in March 1961, Jennings was initially an interviewer and co-producer for Vue, a late-night news program. His producers saw a youthful attractiveness in him that resembled that of Dick Clark, and Jennings soon found himself hosting Club Thirteen, a dance show similar to American Bandstand.

➦In 2014…TV and radio host Lynn Hinds died at age 79 from pancratic cancer. Hinds informed and entertained countless Pittsburghers for two decades.

Hinds was a radio and TV host here from the 1960s until 1983, starting with radio shows on KQV-AM and WTAE-AM.

Lynn Hinds

Retired news director and broadcaster Frank Gottlieb, who worked with Mr. Hinds at WTAE-TV, always made a point to listen to his radio talk shows. "It was appointment radio. It was on the high level of Lynn's intellect. It was back when talk wasn't the same as it is now. It wasn't bombastic all politics, all the time."

Former WTAE news director Joe Rovitto recalls Mr. Hinds as a well-informed host with "phenomenal" interviewing skills. "That made him the ideal host for television. He was exactly what you would want every journalist to be. He was a sponge for information. At the same time, he was one of the most down-to-earth guys."

In 1983, WTAE decided not to renew his contract. At that point he dedicated his life to teaching. He moved to State College and joined the faculty at Penn State University. While he was there, he wrote, produced and hosted "The Pennsylvania Game," a current affairs quiz show that aired on the Pennsylvania Public Television Network.

In 1991, he left Penn State to teach broadcast journalism at West Virginia University. In 1996, he accepted the job of chair of the communications department at Drury University in Springfield, Md., and retired as professor emeritus.

Hinds wrote several books, including "Broadcasting the Local News: The Early Years of KDKA," and "The Cold War as Rhetoric: the Beginnings, 1945-1950."

➦In  2015…Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Lonnie Alexander "Lon" Simmons died at age 91. (Born - July 19, 1923).

Lon Simmons - 1971

He was born in Vancouver, Washington, he began his radio career in Elko, Nevada, calling Elko High School football and basketball games on KELK. He first announced baseball for a semipro league in Marysville, California. After spending three years broadcasting Fresno State sports on KMJ, Simmons landed in San Francisco in 1957 as the sports director at KSFO. That year, he was the color commentator for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League, teaming with play-by-play announcer Bob Fouts, the father of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts.

In 1958, Simmons took over as play-by-play announcer on 49ers radio broadcasts, paired with former 49er Gordy Soltau. Years later, he worked with KSFO disc-jockey Gene Nelson and then with former NFL player and KPIX-TV sports director Wayne Walker. Also in 1958, he became the second announcer for the newly relocated San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball, teaming with lead announcer Russ Hodges, who moved with the team from New York. To complement Hodges' "Bye Bye Baby!" home run call, Simmons created his own, "Tell It Goodbye!" When Hodges retired, Simmons was promoted to lead announcer and teamed with Bill Thompson. This pairing lasted through the 1973 season. Al Michaels and Art Eckman became the Giants radio announcers on KSFO in 1974.

Simmons' most famous call during his first stint with the 49ers came on October 25, 1964, when Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall picked up a fumble by the 49ers' Billy Kilmer and ran it the wrong way, scoring a safety for the 49ers instead of a touchdown for the Vikings (who won the game anyway, by a score of 27-22).