June 23 Radio History

➦In 1891...Nikola Tesla granted patent 454,622 for the coupled tuned circuit radio-frequency oscillator.

Nikola Tesla

Tesla gained experience in telephony and electrical engineering before emigrating to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison in New York City. He soon struck out on his own with financial backers, setting up laboratories and companies to develop a range of electrical devices. His patented AC induction motor and transformer were licensed by George Westinghouse, who also hired Tesla for a short time as a consultant. His work in the formative years of electric power development was also involved in the corporate struggle between making alternating current or direct current the power transmission standard, referred to as the war of currents.

Tesla went on to pursue his ideas of wireless lighting and electricity distribution in his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments in New York and Colorado Springs and made early (1893) pronouncements on the possibility of wireless communication with his devices. He tried to put these ideas to practical use in his ill-fated attempt at intercontinental wireless transmission; his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project.

In his lab he also conducted a range of experiments with mechanical oscillator/generators, electrical discharge tubes, and early X-ray imaging. He even built a wireless controlled boat which may have been the first such device ever exhibited.

Tesla was renowned for his achievements and showmanship, eventually earning him a reputation in popular culture as an archetypal "mad scientist." His patents earned him a considerable amount of money, much of which was used to finance his own projects with varying degrees of success.  He lived most of his life in a series of New York hotels, through his retirement. He died on 7 January 1943.

Tesla's work fell into relative obscurity after his death, but has experienced a resurgence in interest in popular culture since the 1990s.

Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone

➦In 1905...Mary Livingstone was born Sadye Marks in Seattle.  She was the wife and radio partner of comedian Jack Benny.  They married in 1927, and she joined him in some of his vaudeville routines, though she suffered attacks of stage fright.  The affliction continued when they moved into radio beginning in 1932.  In the mid 1950’s, at the height of his popularity she retired from show business, but lived another thirty years.  She died from cardiovascular disease June 30 1983 at age 74.

Edward P. Morgan 1954

➦In 1910...Edward P Morgan born (Died  – January 27, 1993) was a journalist and writer who reported for newspapers, radio, and television media services including ABC, CBS networks, and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

A native of Walla Walla, Washington, Morgan began his news career with The Seattle Star in 1932. He worked in print journalism for two decades, for United Press International, The Chicago Daily News, and Collier's Weekly before joining CBS as a radio and TV reporter.

From 1955 to 1967, Morgan broadcast an evening radio program of news and commentary, "Edward P. Morgan and the News," that won him the George Foster Peabody Award, broadcasting's most venerable honor, in 1956.

In 1956, Morgan was based in New York City and working for the ABC Radio Network. He broadcast a professional news report of the collision of the ocean liners S.S. Andrea Doria and S.S. Stockholm off the Massachusetts coast, not telling listeners that his 14-year-old daughter had been aboard the Andrea Doria and was believed to have been killed.

Linda Morgan

His daughter, Linda Morgan, was discovered alive the next day, having been catapulted to a deck of the Stockholm when its bow knifed into her cabin. Dubbed by media the "miracle girl", she had received only a broken arm. Morgan then made another memorable broadcast emotionally describing the difference between reporting the news about strangers and how different it was with his own loved ones involved, describing also the extreme emotions he had experienced.

In 1960 Morgan received the Alfred I. duPont Award.

Morgan would move to ABC News in the early 1960s where, with Howard K. Smith, he anchored portions of ABC's coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the 1964 political conventions. He retired as an ABC commentator and Newsday Syndicate columnist in 1975. Edward P. Morgan died January 27, 1993 at his home in McLean, Fairfax County, Virginia.

After two decades in print journalism, from 1955-67 Morgan broadcast an evening radio program of news and commentary, “Edward P. Morgan and the News,” on ABC, that in 1956 won him the George Foster Peabody Award, broadcasting’s most venerable honor. Later he would become one of the rotating anchors on TV’s ABC Evening News.

He died Jan 27, 1993 at age 82.

➦In 1933...Don McNeill debuted as host of The Breakfast Club.



The Breakfast Club is a long-run morning variety show on NBC Blue Network/ABC radio (and briefly on television) originating in Chicago, Illinois.

Hosted by Don McNeill, the radio program ran from June 23, 1933 through December 27, 1968. McNeil's 35½-year run as host remains the longest tenure for an M.C. of a network entertainment program, surpassing Johnny Carson (29½ years) on The Tonight Show and Bob Barker (34⅔ years) on The Price is Right.

From 1993...



McNeill Breakfast Club combined music with informal talk and jokes often based on topical events, initially scripted by McNeill but later ad-libbed. In addition to recurring comedy performers, various vocal groups and soloists, listeners heard sentimental verse, conversations with members of the studio audience and a silent moment of prayer. The series eventually gained a sponsor in the Chicago-based meat packer Swift and Company. McNeill is credited as the first performer to make morning talk and variety a viable radio format.

➦In 1936...the Canadian Radio Act was passed, laying the groundwork for the CBC and more stable program funding than the current Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, through an annual license fee of $2.50 per radio set.   The CBC was also made the governing body of the airwaves.

➦In 1941...Front Page Farrell was heard for the first time on Mutual radiofrom June 23, 1941 to March 13, 1942, and on NBC from September 14, 1942, to March 26, 1954. The episodes broadcast on Mutual originated at WOR  making the program the first live serial that Mutual broadcast from New York City.  Sally and David Farrell were the central characters. A young actor, who would become a major motion picture star, played the role of David Farrell. He was Richard Widmark.

Les Tremayne (as Gil Kendal) and Florence Freeman (as Wendy Warren)

➦In 1947...'Wendy Warren and the News' debuted on CBS radio. The broadcasts continued until 1958. Wendy Warren and the News was a radio soap opera in the United States. It was broadcast on CBS weekday afternoons, June 23, 1947 - November 12, 1958.  The program was notable for the title character's reporting actual "women's news" in addition to appearing in a more traditional soap opera role.

Douglas Edwards

One old-time radio reference book called Wendy Warren and the News a "show within a show." Another said the program was "a unique insertion in the schedule and there was nothing like it elsewhere."

Each episode began with real-life news presented by CBS newsman Douglas Edwards, followed by "a few items of particular interest to women" presented by Florence Freeman in the role of the title character, Wendy Warren.  Then the actual soap opera began, relating the "trials and tribulations" of Warren's daily life.

The plot featured Warren as a two-media journalist, reporting for a fictional newspaper (the Manhattan Gazette) as well as on radio.  As was typical of radio soap operas, the heroine's personal life was a primary focus, such as in one episode when "Wendy walked out of the studio at the conclusion of their broadcast into the arms of a forgotten fiance, a U.S. flyer that she thought had been killed five years before in China. At the time when he returned, Wendy was engaged to her publisher boss."

Dick Summer

➦In 1968...Dick Summer did his last show on WBZ 1030 AM, Boston. Summer was a pioneer in the evening "romance" style programming.

He manned the overnight shift at what was then a 50,000 watt powerhouse in Top 40 music, WBZ. His show was heard in 38 states and up in parts of Canada, too. You may find his voice familiar due to his commercial voice over work on radio and television for such clients as Resolve Carpet Cleaner and Binder & Binder.

Summer resume includes stops at  Indianapolis (WIBC and WISH), St. Louis (WIL) and New York (WNEW, WPLJ).


➦In 1986..This week's Street Talk From Radio&Records...

➦In 1995…Roger Grimsby died (Born - September 23, 1928). He was a journalist, television news anchor and actor. Grimsby, who for 18 years was seen on the ABC Television Network flagship station WABC in New York City, is known as one of the pioneers of local television broadcast news.

Grimsby was a U.S. Army veteran who was stationed in Germany before serving in the Korean War. It was during his stint in the Army that the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) sparked his interest in news broadcasting.

Roger Grimsby

Grimsby returned to his native Duluth, Minnesota, where he began his anchoring career in 1954, serving as an announcer for WEBC Radio. Shortly thereafter, he decided to switch to the growing medium of television, working as a correspondent and news director at various television stations around Minnesota and Wisconsin, including WEAU-TV Eau Claire, WISC-TV Madison, and WXIX-TV (now WVTV) Milwaukee. He then spent two years (1959–1961) at KMOX (now KMOV) in St. Louis, before becoming the anchor and news director at ABC-owned KGO-TV in San Francisco, in 1961.

In 1968 Grimsby was brought to WABC-TV in New York City. Grimsby started as anchor of WABC's 11:00 p.m. news broadcast, Roger Grimsby and the Noisemakers, on June 3, 1968. Just two days later, Grimsby was thrust into the national spotlight as anchor of ABC's coverage of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

A six-time Emmy Winner, Grimsby was fired from WABC in April 1986 and, in an incident recounted by several of his colleagues, including Tom Snyder (who reported the incident on The Late Late Show soon after Grimsby's death, ABC further punished Grimsby by buying a building on Columbus Avenue across from WABC's Lincoln Square studios where three bars Grimsby often frequented stood and evicting the bar owners from the building.

A year after his WABC departure, Grimsby was hired by WNBC-TV in May 1987. Beginning in June, his role was almost exclusively as a commentator, as Grimsby would be featured as part of the station's daily Live at Five newscast in a brief segment where he offered his take on a news story of the day with his usual deadpan style. He also worked as an assignment reporter. When WNBC's corporate sibling, WNBC 660 AM, signed off the air in 1988, Grimsby was dispatched to the radio station's studio to cover the closure live. As it turned out, a late transmitter switch to WFAN-AM meant that Grimsby's voice was the very last to be heard on WNBC-AM as he declared live to TV viewers: "You heard the countdown. It's over".

In 1990, he relocated to California where he and George Reading of KMST became the first anchor team on San Diego television station KUSI's newly-launched 10:00 p.m. newscast. After only a few months, Grimsby resigned from KUSI in February 1991.

He won six Emmy Awards during his 18-year tenure at WABC-TV, died of lung cancer at 66.

➦In 2006...Phil Hendrie aired his final syndicated radio program in order to concentrate on a full-time acting career.

➦In 2009…Ed McMahon died at age 86 from pneumonia (Born - March 6, 1923).  He was an announcer, game show host, comedian, actor and singer. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game show Who Do You Trust?, running from 1957 to 1962. McMahon then made his famous thirty-year mark as Carson's sidekick, announcer and second banana on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1962 to 1992.

He also hosted the original Star Search from 1983 to 1995, co-hosted TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes with Dick Clark from 1982 to 1998 and also presented sweepstakes for the direct marketing company American Family Publishers (not, as is commonly believed, its main rival Publishers Clearing House). McMahon annually co-hosted the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon from 1973 to 2008. In the 1970s and 80s, he anchored the team of NBC personalities conducting the network's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

He was raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, McMahon put himself through college as a pitchman for vegetable slicers on the Atlantic City boardwalk. His first broadcasting job was at WLLH-AM in Lowell, television career launched in Philadelphia at WCAU-TV.

➦In 2009…Journalist/radio-TV host John Callaway died from a heart attack at age 72. He had stints at WBBM-AM, WBBM-TV, WTTW-TV, he also hosted "Chicago Tonight"on WTTW for fifteen years, winning 16 Emmys and a Peabody Award.

Philly Radio: Entercom, SAG-AFTRA Reach Agreement For KYW

Entercom Communications has reacheded a contract with SAG-AFTRA on behalf of Newsradio KYW 1060 AM.

Stephen Leshinski, executive director of the local chapter of SAG-AFTRA, tells the Philadelphia Business Journal the two sides have reached an accord, ending a contentious series of bargaining talks that at one point had the local Philly chapter calling for federal mediation to resolve the issue.

Fifty union employees at KYW had been working without a contract for the past eight months.

Leshinski declined to provide more details on the new contract, because the union is still negotiating with other Entercom-owned stations in five other large markets.

In a statement, Philadelphia-based Entercom said it was “pleased that after a productive negotiation, we have reached an agreement that reflects how much we value our team at KYW Newsradio and our commitment to outstanding, community-focused, agenda-setting news coverage in Philadelphia.”

According to the Pilly Business Journal, a stumbling block was severance benefits for new hires.

Reporters, editors and anchors currently accrue two weeks’ severance for each year of service under a policy that dates back to when Westinghouse owned the station. But that deal expired last October and Entercom was pushing for newly hired KYW employees to accrue only one week of severance per year, consistent with its longstanding company policy, while keeping the two weeks policy in place for existing station staffers.

Another issue was reported to be jurisdiction over non-broadcast work such as KYW’s website or podcasts.

As bargaining talks became more contentious, SAG-AFTRA had taken to issuing statements to the press as a bargaining chip. In one it accused Entercom of “low-balling on wages and retirement.”

Philly Radio: KYW Anchor Steve Nikazy Sets Retirement

Steve Nikazy

KYW Newsradio anchor Steve Nikazy is retiring.

“I’m happy to report” that it’s voluntary, Nikazy said Friday afternoon. His final day on the air will be June 28, reports inquirer.com.

A midday news anchor, Nikazy, 62, hosts the station’s “Reporters’ Roundup,” and produces and cohosts the film podcast, Cinema Obscura.

Nikazy started his radio career at a station in Orlando, and had been news director at Philadelphia’s WFIL before joining KYW 29 years ago. He recalled the April 4, 1991, midair collision that killed U.S. Sen. John Heinz and six others as the first big story he worked on, as the station went wall-to-wall with coverage.

Working at the station, he said, has given him “a front-row seat to history. I couldn’t ask for a better place to be.”

His plans for a busy retirement include sailing on Philadelphia’s tall ship, the Gazela, where he’s a volunteer, as well as traveling and writing.

Philly Radio: 'Cruise' Gets to Keep The Morning Gig At WXTU

Beasley Media Group announces Dave “Cruise” Madden has been named as the new co-host of The Andie Summers Show on Country WXTU 92.5 FM in Philadelphia.

Cruise

Cruise, who initially joined the show as an interim host on January 2, 2019, most recently worked over the past year as the afternoon drive host/Assistant Program Director (APD) at Beasley sister station WBEN-FM in Philadelphia. Previously, he spent four years as the afternoon drive/APD at WWEG-FM in Hagerstown, Maryland.

“When we needed him to step up and handle interim hosting duties for 925XTU, Dave delivered every day,” said station Program Director, Mark Razz. “We’re glad to have him on as part of The Andie Summers Show. He worked hard and deserves this opportunity!”

“We are thrilled to officially welcome Dave to XTU on a permanent basis,” said Beasley Media Group Country Format Brand Manager, David Corey. “The Andie Summers Show is in great hands!”

“I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to be a part of such an iconic station and to work with such an amazing person like Andie Summers,” said Cruise. “I am so thankful to Market Manager Joe Bell, Mark Razz and David Corey for making my dream come true!” 

Reading Radio: Twilight Saves WEEU From Darkness With $88,500 Bid

WEEU's federal broadcasting licenses are being sold for $88,500.

Twilight Broadcasting Inc., which operates two radio stations in Oil City, Venango County, submitted the highest of four bids received for the licenses, according to The Reading Eagle citing court documents filed Thursday.

The sale of the licenses commenced after MediaNews Group, which submitted the lone qualified bid and is in the process of purchasing Reading Eagle Company out of bankruptcy, decided not to purchase WEEU's licenses, according to the documents, which were filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Subsequently, Reading Eagle Company solicited bids for the licenses on a stand-alone basis through Dirks, Van Essen, Murray & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, N.M.

Dirks, Van Essen, Murray & April solicited bids from 27 potential bidders and set a bid deadline for June 10. Four bids were received by the deadline, including a $75,000 cash bid from Twilight, with no contingencies.

The other bids were a $50,000 cash bid that included multiple contingencies, such as approval of its board of directors and an audit of WEEU; a $40,000 cash bid from a recently formed entity, including multiple contingencies; and a $19,000 cash offer from an individual career broadcaster.

The identities of the other three bidders were not revealed in the court documents.

WEEU, through Dirks, Van Essen, Murray & April, entered negotiations with Twilight and subsequently agreed to sell the licenses to Twilight for $88,500, subject to Federal Communications Commission and bankruptcy court approval.

Twilight made an initial payment of $22,125 that will be held in a segregated, non-interest bearing account, and credited towards the purchase price.

An additional sum of $66,375 is to be paid on the closing date.

As part of the deal, WEEU and Twilight have entered into a time-brokerage agreement that allows Twilight to provide programming for the station between MediaNews Group's closing date on Reading Eagle Company — scheduled for June 30 — and the closing date between Reading Eagle Company and Twilight.

WEEU operates with 20 Kw-D and 6 Kw-N.

Fort Wayne Radio: 99.5 FM Joins The CHR Battle

Sarkes Tarzian has announced launching  of W258BY The New 99.5 The Twenty FM via WAJI 95.1 HD2. It's the third CHR station in Fort Wayne.  W258BY transmits with 115 watts.

The station debuted at noon Friday with a playlist of the top 20 hottest songs, and no commercials.

“It’s a commercial-free summer,” Lee Tobin, Sarkes Tarzian VP/GM of the market, said. “We launched on the first day of summer, and we’ll be commercial-free right through Labor Day.”

Sarkes Tarzian also owns Adult Contemporary WAJI MAJIC 95.1, and WLDE Classic Hits 101.7 in Fort Wayne; WTTS, Indianapolis; WGCL, Bloomington; WRCB-TV, Chattanooga; KTVN, Reno; and ST Digital.

“It’s all the hits, all the time,” Capt. Chris Didier, ST Fort Wayne Operations Manager, said. “That’s been said before, but it really applies in this case. Our playlist is only 20 songs. Hence the name: The Twenty FM. Every time you turn on the station, you’ll hear one of today’s biggest hits.”

Prior to The TwentyFM, 99.5FM was home to ST’s Alternative station, ALT 99.5 & 102.3. The alternative format continues on 102.3 FM.

“ALT 102.3 will continue to be where Fort Wayne turns for alternative music,” said Laura Duncan, ALT 102.3 Program Director.

The Rolling Stones Start North America Tour

Mick Jagger swaggered back to the stage on Friday in his first concert after undergoing heart surgery in April as the Rolling Stones kicked off a delayed North American tour.

The veteran British band opened its No Filter Tour in Chicago at the city’s 61,500 seat Soldier Field stadium, after delaying the 17-date U.S. and Canada tour to allow for Jagger’s medical treatment.

Mick Jagger - Friday night

Opening to a sold-out crowd, the band kicked off with its classic hit “Street Fighting Man” as the Stones frontman, dressed in skinny black jeans and a black and white jacket, strutted across the stage, singing and pumping his fist.

Jagger, 75, underwent heart valve replacement surgery in New York in early April, and in May reassured fans that he was back in shape by posting video on Twitter of him dancing in a studio.

The 1960s band, whose current members Jagger, Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts are now all in their 70s, has played more than 40 tours, making the quartet some of the most enduring and successful rock musicians of all time.

The Rolling Stones kicked off the No Filter tour in Europe in September 2017, playing the last show there in July 2018.

The North American No Filter concerts will take the band across the United States, and to one date in Ontario, Canada, before ending in Miami on Aug. 31.

Rolling Stones set list Friday at Soldier Field:

1. Street Fighting Man
2. Let’s Spend the Night Together
3. Tumbling Dice
4. Sad Sad Sad
5. You Got Me Rocking
6. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
7. Angie
8. Dead Flowers
9. Sympathy for the Devil
10. Honky Tonk Women

11. You Got the Silver
12. Before They Make Me Run
13. Miss You
14. Paint it Black
15. Midnight Rambler
16. Start Me Up
17. Jumpin’ Jack Flash
18. Brown Sugar

Encore

19. Gimme Shelter
20. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

L-A Radio: Jamillah Muhammad Named KJLH OM

KJLH 102.3FM in Los Angeles has named Jamillah Muhammad as the Operations Manager.

“I am extremely excited to join the KJLH family as the new Operations Manager. With my passion for radio, serving the community and improving brands, I know we can lead this heritage station to success!”

Jamillah has previously held the position of Vice President for The Lewis-Kortez Group.

Jamillah has recently held positions with Beasley Media Group WPEG and WBAV in Charlotte, Radio One WMMJ in Washington DC, Premiere Networks, The Sweat Hotel Syndicated Show and iHeartMedia's WGCI & WVAZ in Chicago, WMXD in Detroit  and WKKV Milwaukee.

USAToday Withholds Favorable Trump Polling Numbers

President Donald Trump has scored his highest approval rating ever in a key national poll, but the media outlet that produces it, USA Today, never mentioned that fact in its write-up.

According to The Daily Caller, this week’s USA/Suffolk poll, taken from June 11 through June 15 and presented by RealClearPolitics along with other polling, had the president at a 49 percent approval rating versus 48 percent who disapprove.

The rating is a marked increase from the president’s lowest points in that particular poll. August 2018 saw Trump’s approval at 40 percent, and his score of 38 percent in February 2018 was the lowest rating of his presidency.

While Trump’s highest approval seemingly wasn’t news to USA Today, the 38 percent from last February certainly was.

Wednesday’s USAToday article on the latest poll, titled, “Poll: What do Democrats want to hear about at the debates? (Hint: It’s not Trump.)” did not specifically mention the president’s approval rating, but rather focused on issues Democratic presidential candidates should discuss in the debates.

Universal Music Group Hit With Class Action Lawsuit

Fire at Universal  - 2008

A group of artists, their heirs and representatives of their estates filed a putative class action lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) on Friday over a 2008 fire that destroyed up to 500,000 master recordings in the record company's archive vaults, according to an earlier New York Times article investigative report.

According to Billboard, the lawsuit was filed by Soundgarden, Tom Whalley on behalf of the Afeni Shakur Trust that oversees Tupac Shakur's estate, Tom Petty's ex-wife Jane Petty, Hole and Steve Earle. They are seeking to recover half of any settlement proceeds and insurance payments received by UMG and half of any remaining loss of value not compensated by such settlement proceeds and insurance payments. According to the lawsuit, UMG's litigation and insurance claims following the fire were reportedly valued at $150 million to recoup the value of the master recordings -- none of which was directly shared with artists.

"UMG concealed its massive recovery from Plaintiffs, apparently hoping it could keep it all to itself by burying the truth in sealed court filings and a confidential settlement agreement," reads the complaint. "Most importantly, UMG did not share any of its recovery with Plaintiffs, the artists whose life works were destroyed in the Fire—even though, by the terms of their recording contracts, Plaintiffs are entitled to 50% of those proceeds and payments."

The lawsuit also charges UMG breached a duty of care to artists "through its negligence in storing the Master Recordings in the firetrap that was the Universal Studios backlot warehouse" where in 1990 "a similar fire in 1990 destroyed a similar area on the back lot." Ironically, in UMG's lawsuit against the backlot's leaser NBCUniversal (which was settled in 2013), the company made similar claims of negligence that led to such severe damage from the fire. 

Universal Music Group declined to comment.

June 22 Radio History

➦In 1928...radio station KVL 1370 Seattle went on the air awith more than 6 hours of musical celebration featuring live orchestras playing jazz, classical and Hawaiian music. Governor Roland H. Hartley delivered the dedicatory address. The station later evolved into KEEN, KEVR. KING 1090 and now KFNQ1090 the Fan.

➦In 1941...CBS news correspondent Edward Rudolph "Ed" Bradley, Jr. born (Died – November 9, 2006).  He was a journalist, best known for 26 years of award-winning work on the CBS News television program 60 Minutes. During his earlier career he also covered the fall of Saigon, was the first black television correspondent to cover the White House, and anchored his own news broadcast, CBS Sunday Night News with Ed Bradley. He received several awards for his work including the Peabody, the National Association of Black Journalists Lifetime Achievement Award, Radio Television Digital News Association Paul White (journalist) Award and 19 Emmy Awards.

Bradley's introduction to news reporting came at WDAS-FM during the riots in Philadelphia in the 1960s. In 1967 he landed a full-time job at the CBS-owned New York radio station WCBS 880 AM. In 1971, he moved to Paris, France. Initially living off his savings, he eventually ran out of money and began working as a stringer for CBS News, covering the Paris Peace Talks. In 1972 he volunteered to be transferred to Saigon to cover the Vietnam War, as well as spending time in Phnom Penh covering the war in Cambodia. It was there that he was injured by a mortar round, receiving shrapnel wounds to his back and arm.

He received 19 Emmy Awards. He died from complications of leukemia Nov 9, 2006 at age 65.

➦In 1957...Liverpool skiffle group The Quarrymen, later to morph into the Beatles, played their first major gig at a local fete by performing on the back of a coal truck.

Four years later to the day, the Beatles (with Pete Best on drums) would have their first formal recording session, performing "My Bonnie," "When The Saints Go Marching In," "Why Can't You Love Me Again," "Nobody's Child," and "Take Out Some Insurance On Me Baby" while backing singer Tony Sheridan.

The sessions, produced by Bert Kaempfert in Hamburg, Germany, also feature "Ain't She Sweet" and the instrumental "Cry For A Shadow," which are both performed by the group alone.

➦In 1992...legendary WABC 770 AM Program Director and consultant, Rick Sklar, died from complications during routine foot surgery.

Rick Sklar

Sklar grew up in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He graduated from New York University and volunteered at WNYC radio as a writer. He then worked at WPAC in Patchogue, New York, and in 1954 moved to 1010 WINS where he was assistant program director.

In 1960, Sklar became program director at crosstown competitor WMGM 1050 AM.

He moved to WABC in 1962 and became program director there in 1963. Under his management, WABC became the model for tight-playlist, Top 40 programming, with a strong signal and famed disc jockeys such as "Cousin Brucie" Bruce Morrow, Dan Ingram, Chuck Leonard, and Ron Lundy.

His relationship with some of the DJs he oversaw was contentious at times. Scott Muni departed from WABC after a number of confrontations with Sklar over playlists including Sklar's refusal to remove Louis Armstrong's version of the #1 smash hit "Hello, Dolly" from the playlist at Muni's request.

In March 1977, Sklar was promoted to vice president of programming for ABC’s radio division. In 1984 he left ABC to start his own consulting firm, Sklar Communications. His autobiography, Rocking America: An Insider's Story: How the All-Hit Radio Stations Took Over America (ISBN 978-0312687977), was published by St. Martin's Press the same year.

In an interview recorded in 1982, when WABC switched from music to talk programming, Sklar said:

Everything has to end, that's life, WABC is … like anything else it's part of life, couldn't go on forever. But … it was a wonderful thing … it was a one-of-a-kind … I don't think there'll ever be another station quite like that. I mean, the scope of the thing was so huge, was so grand; everything that was done was on such a massive scale. We gave out buttons, we gave out 14 million with the WABC call letters and if we spot you we'll give you $25,000. You know, this stuff is … it's just not done today.… We'll miss it. 

Radio will go on and on forever. Radio's the most adaptable medium there is, and … the old WABC's place in radio will be remembered by everyone who ever heard it, who ever grew up with it, it'll be part of millions and millions—tens of millions of people's lives, and certainly the lives of everyone in the radio business. Now we just have to go on to new things, and I think we will.

Prior to his death, Sklar had been an avid runner for more than ten years, taking it up in the late 1970s. He ran his first New York City Marathon in 1982, finishing 4 hours, 21 minutes, and 36 seconds; coming in 642nd out of 857 who finished the race in his age group.

He began to have problems with his left foot, which necessitated him quitting the sport by 1990. In June 1992, he entered Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan for a minor operation that would allow him to run again.

Although in good health, he died on the operating table due to a lack of oxygen and other mistakes made by the hospital staff.

Rick Sklar was posthumously inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame the following year.

➦In 1998...WXLO Personality Rick Shaw died age the age of 53.  (Not to be confused with Rick Shaw in Miami)

Bruce Bradley

➦In 2013...Veteran radio personality (WBZ-Boston, KMOX-St. Louis) Bruce "Juicy Brucie" Bradley died at the age of 79.

WPB Radio: WLDI Adds Dave Hansen, Carmine Gialanella

iHeartMedia announced today that Dave Hanson has been named Creative Services Director WLDI – WiLD 95.5 West Palm Beach.

Dave Hansen

As Creative Services Direct, Hanson will shape and deliver station imaging, and promotional, digital, and social content. He will report to Rad Messick, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia West Palm Beach.

“Dave’s track record across multiple formats in South Florida is outstanding. We’re excited to tap Dave’s skills, passion, and creative energy to create highly entertaining content that deepens our WiLD 95.5 audience connection” said Messick.

Hanson joins the South Florida Region and West Palm Beach from WFLC Miami, where he most recently served as Assistant Director of Branding and Programming and Music Director. He also served as Music Director for WFEZ Miami and WPYM Miami, and Music Director/Morning Host for WHDR Miami. He began his career at WKTU New York and is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University.

Carmine Gialanella

“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to make the move just an hour north, from Miami to West Palm Beach, to grab the creative reins and join such a supportive and innovative team at iHeartMedia WPB! It is an honor to wave the flag of the legendary WiLD 95.5 – The Palm Beaches’ #1 HIT Music Station!” Hanson commented.

In an separate announcement, Carmine Gialanella has been named 2-7pm host for WiLD 95.5 West Palm Beach. Carmine continues in the South Florida Region and West Palm Beach, where he most recently served as WLDI West Palm Beach 7pm-midnight host. He began his career at WLDI as an intern and later promotion assistant in 2010.

"From the first moment I cracked the mic I knew this was it, my life would never be the same. To be in the position I've dreamed of in the place it all started is surreal. Excited for the opportunity and next chapter of my radio life" said Gialanella.

Reading Radio: Twilight Broadcasting To Acquire WEEU-AM

WEEU 830 AM Reading, PA has a buyer.

According to The Reading Eagle, Twilight Broadcasting, which operates two radio stations in Oil City, Venango County, has separate agreements in place to purchase WEEU's federal broadcasting license and to lease its broadcasting facility and towers, said Twilight's general manager Todd Adkins.

"We're very excited," Adkins said Thursday afternoon. "It was a strenuous process to get to this point today. A lot of back and forth, attorneys, brokers. To be honest with you, we were at a point this morning where we didn't think it was going to happen."

WEEU has 11 full-time employees, and Adkins said Twilight's intention is to keep them all on board.

WEEU's operation manager and radio host Mike Faust said the station is ecstatic and the news that the station has a buyer is like an answer to prayers.


"This is just a tremendous day," said Faust, who broke into “The Rush Limbaugh Show” Thursday to announce the agreements. "We're excited to work with these guys, and they seem like really good guys.

"We're radio people that see heritage here in this radio station and the great people that work for it, and we wanted to make sure it didn't go away," he said. "We're not heroes by any stretch of the imagination. We just want, as fellow broadcasters, to not see something go away that has value."

WEEU 830 AM (20 kw-D, 6 Kw-N) Daytime 2 mV/m contour

WEEU went on the air in December 1931. It is the oldest continually operating radio station with its original call letters in Reading and — until the sale is finalized — the only locally-owned and operated radio station in the city.

Reading Eagle Company purchased the station Dec. 1, 1946, for a reported $250,000.

Reading Eagle Company filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection March 20, citing an untenable financial situation. The company went up for sale, and a bidding process resulted in just one qualified bid from MediaNews Group for $5 million.

MediaNews Group bought the station's assets — its building, tower, equipment and other property — but didn't buy the station's FCC license. That license is needed to legally operate a radio station, and it was feared the station would go silent when the sale is finalized June 30.

Adkins said it probably would take 30 to 60 days for FCC approval of the license transfer.

"During that time, we essentially will be running the station as the brokerage programmer — we'll be the programmer of the station, but not necessarily the full owner of the license until it's cleared," he said.

"Once we get a clearer picture of what the financials are, then we'll be able to make a determination of how we operate going forward," adkins said. "But our full intention, as radio people ourselves, is to keep everything intact and keep the quality product that WEEU has always had."

San Francisco Radio: KKSF Adds The Randi Rhodes Show

Real Talk KKSF 910 AM, Think Forward, introduced Thursday the debut of “The Randi Rhodes Show.” “The Randi Rhodes Show” will broadcast weeknights from 5-7 p.m.

“The Randi Rhodes Show” features forward-thinking political talk and opinions that embrace the values of social, economic and environmental justice along with human rights, democracy and multiculturalism. Rhodes is described as a well-researched and funny progressive media personality.

Her show delivers smart, forward, free-thinking and entertaining news and opinions. Randi Rhodes will join Real Talk 910 AM’s line-up of top-notch on-air personalities including Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartman, Clark Howard and Rick Ungar.

“We are beyond excited for the opportunity to bring Randi back to the Bay Area,” said Cory Callewaert, Program Director for Real Talk 910 AM. “She is one of the most powerful progressive voices in the country and with her wit and sense of humor, she is exactly what we need and a one of a kind.”

“Being back on the radio in one of the greatest cities in America for a market-leading station like Real Talk 910 AM is amazing,” said Rhodes. “I feel such a strong connection to the listeners here in San Francisco and I’m thrilled to get on-air and shake things up!”

Toronto Radio: Bob McCown EXITS CJCL Sportsnet 590

Long-time Toronto sports talk radio host Bob McCown will leave his position as host of Prime Time Sports on Friday, Sportsnet said in a release.

McCown has hosted the show, which airs on CJCL Sportsnet 590 The Fan AM in Toronto and nationally on television on Sportsnet 360, since its inception in 1989.

According to The Globe and Mail, McCown was not quoted in the release and details on his future plans were not available. However, he tweeted that speculation concerning his retirement is “100% inaccurate.”

Okay...I am leaving Prime Time Sports and Rogers. But nobody can shut me up when I still have things to say. Stay tuned. “I’ll be back!”

— Bob McCown (@FadooBobcat) June 20, 2019

It wasn’t clear if McCown, who agreed to a multiyear contract extension in December, 2017, resigned or was let go. A Sportsnet communications director said there were “no specifics to share” beyond what was in the news release.

“Bob is an icon in this business and a legend of our format,” program director Dave Cadeau said in a statement. “He built sports talk radio in Canada, and we are lucky to have had him on the mic and in the hallways over the last three decades. Bob will be missed but his legacy will remain with us for years to come.”

A rotating roster of hosts would fill in over the summer and a new afternoon drive show lineup will be announced in the fall, Sportsnet said.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, McCown began his radio broadcasting career in 1975. He also served as a public-address announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays’ inaugural season in 1977 and was a television host on Sportsline, a formative late-night sports highlights show.

Report: Rupert Murdoch Recovering From Pneumonia

Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch was hit with a recent bout of pneumonia, reports CNN citing people familiar with the matter.

A person close to Murdoch's family, said the pneumonia occurred nearly three weeks ago. Two other people familiar with the matter added that he had gone to a Los Angeles hospital. It is unclear whether he was admitted.

People who spoke to CNN Business all stressed that Murdoch was now doing well and that he was even making business calls to Fox News personnel.

Murdoch suffered a serious back injury in 2018 while vacationing on a yacht. He recovered, and people who have interacted recently with Murdoch have told CNN that he appeared to be in good health prior to the pneumonia.

Murdoch is the chairman of Fox Corporation, and plays an active role overseeing Fox News. As executive chairman of News Corporation, Murdoch also oversees newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and The Sun.

In July 2018, Murdoch struck a deal to sell off a large part of his media empire to Disney. In a $71 billion deal, Disney purchased most of 21st Century Fox.

The deal, which took effect earlier this year, meant that Murdoch presides over a smaller version of 21st Century Fox, known now as simply Fox Corporation. That includes Fox News, Fox Sports, and the Fox broadcast network.

Murdoch's health is of keen interest to investors of both News Corporation and Fox Corporation.

Even at 88 years old, he is widely seen as the driving force behind them, and his health issue comes at a precarious time, with Fox Corporation entering a new phase after the sale to Disney.

President Trump To 'Meet the Press'

President Donald Trump will appear on NBC News' "Meet the Press" this Sunday, the first appearance of his presidency, two people familiar with the matter told CNN.

Trump has taken a number of swipes at Chuck Todd, who hosts the program, calling him names and accusing him of being "totally biased" against him.

Spokespeople for NBC News did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump recently said on Twitter he would be doing more interviews with news networks.

This is Trump's first interview with NBC News since his 2017 sit-down with Lester Holt. It also comes days before the network is scheduled to host the first debate of the presidential primary season.
Trump's sit down with Holt generated a flurry of headlines. It was in that interview that Trump said he was thinking of the "Russia thing" when he decided to fire James Comey as FBI director.

The "Meet the Press" appearance will air one week after ABC News aired a prime time special featuring an interview with Trump.

What Radio Can Learn From The NYTimes CEO

The New York Times’ — a publicly traded company — has grown its stock value by over 300% since Mark Thompson took control at CEO in 2012 and at a time when countless other city papers across the country have closed. The key, Thompson said, is centered around a business strategy that he says “very few people” in the industry are following.

“Our model is a very simple model which is we should invest in great content,” Thompson said at CNBC’s Evolve event Wednesday in New York City. “The future of journalism is make more journalism ... and then figure out smart ways to put that in front of people and asking them to support that journalism.”

Thompson said this new strategy makes The New York Times comparable to a company like Netflix while competing newspapers focus far too much on cutting costs.

The circumstances facing the company when Thompson took over in November 2012 were bleak. Quarterly advertising revenue had fallen 9% and net income was down over 80% as compared to the prior year. The stock price fell 22% on the announcement.

To combat these headwinds, Thompson immediately organized the newspaper’s print products and services, the company’s hallmark, as a separate division. This allowed Thompson to instill a new vision for The Times.

Accomplishing this forced the company to consider advertising revenue as a secondary source of income and instead go all-in on “products and revenue which are currently a small percentage of the total but are ... possibly all of our future,” Thompson said. This meant dedicating far more resources to creating a strong digital environment for the paper.


NYT CEO Mark Thompson at CNBC Evolve Summit with Sara Eisen from CNBC.

“Once you convince people that you really believe in the fundamentals of the product and the values, then you earn permission to start talking about those things where you do need to make changes,” Thompson said.

One of these changes included transforming The New York Times morning routine. Before 2012, the newsroom at 7:00 a.m. consisted of only “four or five guys with vacuum cleaners,” Thompson said. However, when he realized 7:00 a.m. was the peak time for smartphone consumption, Thompson made sure the newsroom was in full swing.

News readers and investors have endorsed the changes. The company added 223,000 new digital subscribers in the recent quarter, bringing the total to 4.5 million. In an era where newspapers are being sold for as little as $1, The New York Times Company is now worth over $5.6 billion despite being worth just over $1 billion when Thompson took over.