September 15 Radio History

➦In 1907...John Wesley "Jack" Bailey Jr. born in Hampton, Iowa (Died from cancer at age 72 in Santa Monica, CA– February 1, 1980).  He was an actor and daytime game show host.

Jack Bailey - 1947

Bailey is best remembered as the host of Queen for a Day, a daytime game show which first aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1945 and later moved to television, where it ran locally in the Los Angeles area from 1948 through 1955, on the NBC Television network from January 3, 1956 to September 2, 1960, and on the ABC network from September 5, 1960 to October 2, 1964. Each episode started with a different introduction (some of which were parodies of other popular shows of the time period), but inevitably the opening would resolve when Bailey pointed to the camera (and the audience) and loudly asked, "Would you like to be Queen for a Day?" as the live audience, mostly women, cheered.

He was an announcer for several radio programs, including The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Duffy's Tavern, and Meet the Missus.

His other work in television included appearances in episodes of The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, Mister Ed, Green Acres, I Dream of Jeannie, Gunsmoke, and Ironside, plus narration for the Walt Disney organization. He had a small part in the Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life and he also toured the country in musical stage productions, such as Hello Dolly, The Sound of Music, and The Music Man.

Bailey was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—one for his radio career, at 1708 Vine Street, and one for his work in television, at 6411 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Jimmy Wallington

➦In 1907...Announcer Jimmy Wallington was born in Rochester NY (Died at age 65 – December 22, 1972). After playing small roles in a few Hollywood films, he was the announcer for several popular radio shows in the 1940s and 1950s.

For his work on radio, Wallington has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6660 Hollywood Blvd.

He was the announcer for several popular radio shows in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, including Texaco Star Theatre with Fred Allen (1941–44) and Texaco Town with Eddie Cantor. As with most announcers, Wallington would announce the program's star, then read the sponsor's commercials. In addition, he was often given comedy lines. When radio shows moved to television, he continued as a television announcer in the 1950s.

After years as a radio announcer, he became a TV star in California doing Life Insurance and other commercials. He ended his professional radio career as a Voice of America radio announcer in the Worldwide English service.

Blondie, Dagwood

➦In 1908...Penny Singleton born Mariana Dorothy McNulty (Died at age 95 – November 12, 2003). During her 60-year career, she appeared as the comic-strip heroine Blondie Bumstead in a series of 28 motion pictures from 1938 until 1950 and the popular Blondie radio program from 1939 until 1950. Singleton also provided the voice of Jane Jetson in the animated series The Jetsons from 1962–1963 and 1985–1987.

She was cast opposite Arthur Lake (as Dagwood) in the feature film Blondie in 1938. They repeated their roles on a radio comedy beginning in 1939 and in guest appearances on other radio shows. As Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead, they proved so popular that a succession of 27 sequels was made from 1938 until 1950, with the radio show ending the same year. Singleton's husband Robert Sparks produced 12 of these sequels. Also in 1950, she had her own program, The Penny Singleton Show, on NBC radio


➦In 1915...John Conte  born (Died at age 90 – September 4, 2006).  Conte entered broadcasting with a job at KFAC in Los Angeles. Two years later, he had become a network announcer. One of his first regular roles was on The Grape Nuts Program (1937-1938) with George Burns and Gracie Allen. Conte was host for Screen Test and Master of ceremonies for the Maxwell House program that featured Fanny Brice and Frank Morgan He was also the announcer for Silver Theater.[5] It Happened in Hollywood,[4]:165 and The Screen Guild Show.  Conte, who ended up a CA TV station owner.

➦In 1934...the Mutual Broadcast System was formed.

The three national radio networks already in operation—the Columbia Broadcasting System and the National Broadcasting Company's NBC Red and NBC Blue—were corporate controlled: programming was produced by the network (or by advertising agencies of program sponsors that purchased airtime on the network) and distributed to affiliates, most of which were independently owned. In contrast, the Mutual Broadcasting System was run as a true cooperative venture, with programming produced by and shared between the group's members.

The majority of the early programming, from WOR and WGN, consisted of musical features and inexpensive dramatic serials.

WOR had The Witch's Tale, a horror anthology series whose "hunner-an'-thirteen-year-old" narrator invited listeners to "douse all [the] lights. Now draw up to the fire an' gaze into the embers ...gaaaaze into 'em deep!... an' soon ye'll be across the seas, in th' jungle land of Africa ... hear that chantin' and them savage drums?"   WGN contributed the popular comedy series Lum and Abner. Detroit's WXYZ provided The Lone Ranger, which had debuted in 1933 and was already in demand. It is often claimed that Mutual was launched primarily as a vehicle for the Western serial, but Lum and Abner was no less popular at the time.

What WLW brought was sheer power; billing itself as "The Nation's Station," in May 1934 it had begun night broadcasting at a massive 500,000 watts, ten times the clear-channel standard.

➦In 1948...WHN 1050 AM NYC changed call letters to WMGM to reflect the Loew’s then-ownership of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio.

The station continued its diversified format until flipping to Top 40 and rock music in the mid 1950s. While it included some R&B, country and instrumentals in the Top 40 mix, WMGM carried a narrower, more up-tempo playlist.

By the early 1960s, WMGM 1050 AM had several competitors in the Top 40 radio market.  1010 WINS, 77WABC and WMCA 570 all were playing rock, and WMGM was falling behind in the ratings.

Storer Broadcasting bought the station in 1962, renaming it WHN and dropping the Top 40 in favor of slow-paced “beautiful music” and standards.  Here’s what the switchover sounded like:

➦In 1959...The transistor radio was making some in the record business a bit nervous, because teens could listen almost anywhere they go.  Copanies worried record sales would suffer

• Marty Salkin - a VP at Decca Records believes the pocket-sized radios are having an impact on record sales, “You see a lot of the kinds walking around listening to them all day long, which could mean they are notbuying records.” 

• Arnold Maxim of MGM Records says, “It’s no longer considered the smart thing among teenagers to be a collector of records. It’s much smarter now to be so familiar with the local top-40 jockey- because you listen all the time on your portable radio - that you can tell exactly what time he’s gong to play a certain record, because you know when he played it yesterday and the day before. Somehow, we have to recreate the disk-buying habit with teenagers or tomorrow’s market for LP’s is endangered.”

➦In 1959...Top 40 1010 WINS, New York offered $250 in  silver dollars to the listener who guessed the first time the temperature drops to freezing

➦In 1965... The Ford Motor Company introduced factory-installed and dealer-installed eight-track tape players as an option on three of its 1966 models and RCA Victor introduced 175 Stereo-8 Cartridges from its RCA Victor and RCA Camden labels of recording artists catalogs.

By the 1967 model year, all of Ford's vehicles offered this tape player upgrade option. Most of the initial factory installations were separate players from the radio (such as shown in the image), but dashboard mounted 8-track units were offered in combination with an AM radio, as well as with AM/FM receivers. Muntz, and a few other manufacturers, also offered 4/8 or "12-track" players that were capable of playing cartridges of either format, 4-track or 8-track. With the backing of the U.S. automakers, the eight-track format quickly won out over the four-track format, with Muntz abandoning it completely by late 1970.

L-A Times 9/16/65 

➦In 1965...Two people were seen leaving the KNX Los Angeles transmitter site shortly after the radio tower toppled to the ground at 10:45 p.m., during veteran talk-show host Michael Jackson’s show. Investigating officers discovered that the vandals had sawed through the top turnbuckle of one of the tower’s guy wires, which caused the entire tower to come loose and tumble to the ground

KNX-AM was off the air for a day. A temporary 10,000-watt transmitter was set up on the site so the station could resume broadcasting.

Later, an extra tower that was not in use was located at station KFAC-AM and brought to Torrance. The 365-foot tower was used while a new 494-foot tower was being built.

L-A Times  9/18/65

When the new tower went into operation in July 1966, the older one was kept as a backup. These two towers still stand on the site today.

➦In 1965...MOR  WJRZ 970 AM Newark, NJ became the first radio station in the New York metro area to play a country music format 24 hours a day. WJRZ was the flagship radio outlet for the New York Mets from 1967 until 1971.

➦In 1965...The 107.5 frequency in New York City signed on in July 1951 as WEVD-FM, simulcasting its sister station at 1330 AM. Within a few years, WEVD-FM moved to 97.9, and 107.5 went off the air.

Several years later the New Broadcasting Company, then-owners of WLIB, was awarded a construction permit for the dormant frequency and on September 15, 1965 reactivated 107.5 as WLIB-FM. As the FCC recently instituted a rule prohibiting full-time AM/FM simulcasting in large markets, WLIB-FM was programmed with a jazz music format.

The stations were split up in 1972, when Inner City Broadcasting purchased WLIB-AM; WLIB-FM was then renamed WBLS. Inner City reunited the pair with its purchase of WBLS in 1974.

In 1995, after WRKS was purchased by Emmis Communications and dropped an all hip-hop music in favor of a similar adult R&B format, WBLS countered with a controversial advertising campaign labeling WRKS as a "plantation station."  WBLS shortly reverted to urban contemporary, only to exit again in 2004 when WBLS switched to urban adult contemporary.

WBLS acquired WRKS's intellectual property in a merger of the two outlets announced on April 26, 2012 with a joint statement on both stations' respective websites.  In addition to acquiring WRKS's intellectual property, WBLS and WLIB also moved into Emmis's New York production facility in the West Village section of Manhattan, into studio space vacated by WRKS during the week of May 21, 2012.

On February 11, 2014, Emmis Communications announced it would purchase WBLS and WLIB from YMF Media LLC for $131 million, pending final approval from the FCC.  The purchase was consummated on June 10, 2014.

➦In 1969... Portland, OR got its second Top40 station as KGW 630 AM dropped MOR to challenge KISN 910 AM.

Gus Gossert

➦In 1969...New York City will get its sixth rock station as WCBS 101.1 FM announced it will go rock October 6. Program Director Gus Gossert says the sound will be half hit singles and half album cuts. The city already had WABC, WMCA, WOR-FM, WNEW-FM, WABC- FM.

WCBS-FM launched a freeform rock format, which was becoming increasingly popular, and all other CBS-owned FM stations followed suit.

For the first time, WCBS-FM would have an airstaff. Bill Brown began his long tenure with the station, and Don K. Reed began his late in 1971; both remained there until 2005. Radio personalities such as Bobby "Wizzard" Wayne, Tom Tyler, Ed Williams, Steve Clark, Roby Yonge, K.O. Bayley (Bob Elliott from WOR-FM), Les Turpin, Bob "Bob-A-Lew" Lewis also briefly joined the WCBS-FM "freeform" format. Besides Bill Brown and Don K. Reed, Wizzard Wayne and Ed Williams also stayed into the early part of the oldies format.
Original Oldies Years and Greatest Hits

WCBS-FM was never successful with their rock format, competing with stations such as WPLJ (the former WABC-FM) and WNEW-FM had most of the rock audience. As a result, WCBS-FM switched to oldies on July 7, 1972, becoming one of the first full-time stations in the country to use that format.  The change coincided with rival WOR-FM's decision to drop pre-1964 oldies from its playlist a few months prior (as they became WXLO). Johnny Michaels, formerly of WMCA, played the first record,   Dion's "Runaround Sue". The entire staff from the rock format remained at the station.

➦In 1989...Arbitron Ratings

• New York Radio – WHTZ is #1 rising 5.8-6.1… easy WPAT AM/FM – 5.9-5.6… WLTW – 5.5-5.6… WCBS-FM – 4.7-4.6… WNEW-FM – 4.3-4.2… WPLJ (Power 95 – 3.4-3.7. Mornings – WINS (all news) – 8.2… Z100 and WOR – 6.4 share. 

• Los Angeles Radio – KPWR (Power 106) – 7.2-6.7… KOST – 6.6… KIIS AM/FM – 5.3-5.9… Pirate Radio (KQLZ) – 5.4-5.6.. KABC 5.0-4.6…… KLOS – 3.8-3.9…

• L-A Mornings – Rick Dees – 6.5-6.9… Jay Thomas 6.5-6.1… Mark & Brian – 6.3-6.5 … Scott Shannon – 4.2-4.3

➦In 1989...Bright A/C KKBT 92.3 FM  debuted in Los Angeles. It had been classical KFAC-FM for many years. Comedian Paul Rodriquez and Ron O’Brien are part of its airstaff.




➦In 1991...Announcer and radio personality Andre Baruch died at age 83.  He was one of the great announcers of network radio and Pathe Newsreels.  He also worked regularly on Your Hit Parade, The Shadow, The Kate Smith Hour & American Album of Familiar Music.


➦In 2013…Radio-TV personality Jerry G. Bishop died from a heart attack at age 77 (Born August 3, 1936). He is known for being Chicago's original "Svengoolie", and for his award-winning twelve-year stint on "Sun-Up San Diego."

Jerry G Bishop

In 1961, he got his start in radio at WNMP (now WCGO) in Evanston, hosting the morning-drive program. He also worked part-time on stations in Rockford and Springfield. In 1962, he was hired at WPGC-AM-FM in Washington, D.C., where he stayed for a year, before being hired on at Cleveland giant KYW as a night-time DJ. He had used his real name of Jerry Ghan at his previous jobs, but began using the name, 'Jerry G' at WPGC. KYW program director Ken Draper requested he use that same name. "

During his three-year stint at KYW, Jerry G. toured with the Beatles as a reporter for Group W and NBC Radio stations on their 1964 and 1965 tours, hosted a weekly dance-party program, "Jerry G & Co.," on KYW's television outlet.

When Ken Draper was program director at Chicago's WCFL from 1965 to 1968, he hired Bishop in 1967. Draper then asked him to pick a last name to go with the "Jerry G." name he had been using. He and his wife flipped through the Cleveland phone book, and together settled on the name "Bishop."

In 1969, Jerry G. became a staff announcer and the host of an afternoon local version of the movie/call-in contest show Dialing For Dollars on WFLD-TV, which was also located in Marina City in what is now The House of Blues building. This affiliation with WFLD would, of course, lead to Jerry inventing his most famous role as Svengoolie on Channel 32's Screaming Yellow Theater in 1971.

Bishop as "Svengoolie"

After leaving WFLD, Bishop would be hired by WMAQ as their morning-drive personality. He also worked on the station's television outlet (channel 5), hosting "Chicago Camera," a Sunday-afternoon variety program. He also anchored the "Today in Chicago" segment of NBC's "Today" show. He would work for WMAQ until 1975, when WMAQ changed formats from MOR/talk to country and replaced their entire announcing staff. Bishop remained in the Windy City for a short time afterwards, acting as Director of Corporate Affairs for The National Easter Seal Society of Chicago.

In August 1978, he headed West, to San Diego and KFMB-TV, where he assumed the co-host chair of the long-running morning-talk program "Sun-Up San Diego." He collected three local Emmy Awards and a National Press Club Award for his work on the show, which he co-hosted for twelve years until its cancellation in 1990.

He also worked at adult-contemporary KPOP (mow sports KLSD) and wound up his broadcasting career with a three-year stint hosting a show (via voice-tracking from San Diego) on WRLL ("Real Oldies 1690"), an Oldies extended-AM station aimed at the Chicago area, beginning in 2003.

NH Radio: Tommy Cruise Joins WOKQ As OM, PD

Townsquare Media/Portsmouth, NH has announced Sammy Cruise as Operations Manager and Brand Manager with direct oversight of Country WOKQ 97.5 FM.

Tommy Cruise

Cruise has spent the last 11 years with Country WIRK 103.1 FM in West Palm Beach Assistant PD, Music Director and afternoon drive host. His previous stints include such markets as Sarasota, Las Vegas and Albuquerque.

"I've had an amazing run in Florida working with some of the best in the business," said Cruise. "I'm very much looking forward to joining the great team at Townsquare Media. An amazing opportunity like this doesn't come along very often, and I'm very excited to get started. WOKQ is a legendary station, and I'm honored to be able to be a part of its history."

Townsquare Media/Northern New England Regional Market President Brian Lang added, "We are confident that Sammy's leadership, energy, product knowledge and relationships make him the right person to lead our Portsmouth cluster."

Cruise succeeds industry veteran Robby Bridges.

L-A Radio: KLLI Debuts Morning Show

Meruelo Media's KLLI Cali 93.9 has announced its new Cali Mornings on-air talent roster.

The new Cali Mornings (5a-10a) line-up is led by Carolina “Caro” Marquez , Mando Fresko and, with sidekick Jessica Flores.

Carolina “Caro” Marquez will co-host the new Cali Morning show with Mando. Speaking about her new role, Caro was enthusiastic about her passion and future of Cali 93.9, “You inspire and awaken the hearts of others by doing what you love. I’m incredibly happy to be doing just that with Cali 93.9.” Caro previously served as midday host on Radio Centro’s 93.9 Exitos and Mega 96.3, both Los Angeles stations, as a producer at LATV, and a reporter for MTV3. She is a Los Angeles native from Lincoln Heights and has a 7 year old daughter.

Mando Fresko moves to Cali from a successful run as an on-air personality with Cali’s sister station Power 106, also a Meruelo Media station. Fresko said of the move the he is “beyond excited to join the Cali 93.9 family, and I’m honored to continue being a part of Meruelo Media’s elite team. I can’t wait to talk with our listeners every morning!” Mando was recently featured on Forbes’ “Get Paid to Be Yourself” where he discussed his professional journey and founding his company, Hubwav Media. Mando is also actively involved in the local community with the newly launched Fresko Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on mentorship, personal development, and creating opportunities for inner city youths.

Jessica Flores rounds out the Cali Mornings, as a sidekick, and will also serve as a Cali 93.9 digital personality. Speaking about her role, Jessica said. “I have been dreaming about an opportunity like this for years. Cali 93.9 will make a positive cultural impact for the Los Angeles community for years to come!” Jessica started her radio career with Cali sister station Power 106’s Liftoff show featuring Justin Credible, and also served as talent for Radio Disney. She was involved in the development of media and music campaigns with Musical.ly (now Tik Tok), focused on growing the Latin music market with artists like Shakira, Daddy Yankee, Becky G, Karol G, J Balvin and Luis Fonsi.

DJ E-Man, Director of Programming, is “extremely proud of the new Cali Mornings team. This is a station made by LA, for LA.”

Denver Radio: Dave Barnett Joins iHM Cluster As SVP/Sales

iHeartMedia/Danver has named Dave Barnett as Senior VP/Sales for its cluster.

Dave Barnett

He joins the local group from the iHM in Tampa, where he most recently was VP/Sales for NewsRadio WFLA and Sports WDAE.   Prior to that, Barnett was the Director of Sports for at iHM in Denver and the Broncos and Rockies Radio Network. He began his career at KMOX and the St. Louis Cardinals Radio Network.

"Dave's leadership, knowledge of the market and understanding of how to put campaigns together for partners, that utilizes our incredible suite of assets to deliver return on investment is second to none," said iHeartMedia Denver Region Senior VP/Sales Ryan Clune. "This is a huge win for us at iHeartMedia Denver."

"I am thrilled to be back in Denver and working with the variety of legendary brands including KOA, Freedom 93.7 and 630 KHOW," added Barnett. "Denver is a very special place and an incredible radio market - I look forward to working with our incredible partners as well as the legendary voices that you hear on each of our stations and sports properties.

Philly Radio: Becki West Named iHM VP/Sales, Partnerships

iHeartMedia/Philadelphia has appointed Becki West as Vice President of Sales and Director of Agency Partnerships.

Becki West

She'll continue to oversee sales for WISX 106.1 The Breeze. Prior to serving as General Sales Manager for the cluster, West served as GSM for Greater Media. She's also handled Local Sales Manager duties for Beasley Talk WWDB and was National/General Sales Manager for Radio One. She began her radio career at co-owned WUSL Power 99 FM as co-op director.

"Becki has been crucial to the growth of our sales team and sales management team," said iHeartMedia Philadelphia Senior VP/Sales Jeff Moore. "Her relationships with our clients in the market are second to none and are an essential element to helping us cultivate our major initiatives."

"I'd like to thank iHeartMedia for this vote of confidence and this extraordinary opportunity," added West. "I'm excited to use my established connections with the agency world and my experience working with and motivating staff across departments."

Streaming Wars: Bob Iger Quits Apple Board

Bob Iger and Tim Cook

Walt Disney Co.’s Chief Executive Robert Iger resigned from Apple Inc. board of directors, the tech giant said on Friday, severing a years-long connection between the two companies as they prepare to launch competing video-streaming services.

He resigned on Tuesday, Apple said in a one-sentence filing to securities regulators, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Iger, who has led Disney as CEO since 2005, joined Apple’s board in 2012 and had a close relationship with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, born out of the 2006 sale of Pixar Animation Studios to Disney. Mr. Jobs was Pixar’s chairman.

The resignation came on the day Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook announced a $4.99 monthly price for its streaming service, Apple TV+, and said it would become available on Nov. 1. The price undercut Disney’s plan to charge $6.99 for its Disney+ service, also coming in November.

Iger said in a statement that his time on the Apple board was an “extraordinary privilege.” He added: “I have the utmost respect for Tim Cook, his team at Apple, and for my fellow board members.” He didn’t specify why he resigned.

Apple’s price for TV+ was widely seen as an attempt to catch up with established media competitors, including Disney and Netflix Inc., in the intensifying streaming wars and compensate for its smaller programming library. Apple plans to launch TV+ with a handful of original shows, including “The Morning Show,” a drama about a morning TV news show that stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. The tech giant also will try to leverage its huge existing customer base, with more than 1.4 billion devices in use world-wide.

The two companies’ plans to launch competing subscription-video services made it difficult for Iger to remain on the Apple board, according to a person familiar with Iger’s thinking.

Lawmakers To Hike Big Tech's Paper Trail

House lawmakers are escalating their antitrust investigation of Silicon Valley, issuing expansive requests for internal documents to four of the nation’s largest technology companies, reports The Hill.

Bipartisan leaders of the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee sent letters to Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google on Friday seeking internal communications and documents regarding the use of their market dominance.

“Today’s document requests are an important milestone in this investigation as we work to obtain the information that our Members need to make this determination,” Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who chairs the subcommittee and is leading the antitrust investigation, said in a statement.

“We expect stakeholders to use this opportunity to provide information to the Committee to ensure that the Internet is an engine for opportunity for everyone, not just a select few gatekeepers.”

The panel is requesting communications among each company’s executives, records that were handed over in past antitrust investigation and internal documents detailing their organizational structures. The lawmakers gave each company a deadline of Oct. 14.

The requests come as regulators are ratcheting up their scrutiny of the tech giants’ market power.

William McGorry Elected to BFA Board

William McGorry, Chairman of Broadcasting & Cable’s Hall of Fame, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Broadcasters Foundation of America, during a meeting of the Board earlier this week. McGorry oversees Broadcasting &Cable’s Hall of Fame nominating process and manages the annual awards event. Proceeds from the black-tie gala benefit the Broadcasters Foundation of America and The Paley Center for Media.

William McGorry

“Bill has been a long-time supporter of the mission of the Broadcasters Foundation, and we are delighted that he is joining the Board,” said Dan Mason, Chairman of the Broadcasters Foundation. “Every year, Bill ensures that the Broadcasters Foundation is a recipient of some of the proceeds from Broadcasting & Cable’s Hall of Fame Awards dinner. Those much-needed funds go to helping broadcasters in need across our industry, either in monthly or one-time emergency grants. We are grateful for his contributions.”

With more than 30 years of experience in publishing, McGorry was instrumental in the growth of some of the media industries’ most well-read business publications, including Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News. Previously, McGorry served the board of the International Radio & Television Society Foundation Inc. He is also the recipient of such coveted industry awards as an Honorary Beacon Award from the Cable Television Public Affairs Association; the Joel A. Berger Award from Cable Positive; the Vanguard Award, which he received from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association; and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women in Cable Telecommunications. McGorry was also inducted as a member of the Cable Pioneers organization.

For more than 70 years, the Broadcasters Foundation has distributed millions of dollars to thousands of broadcasters and their families in need. Individual donations can be made to the Guardian Fund, corporate contributions are accepted through the Angel Initiative, and bequests can be arranged through the Legacy Society. To learn more or to donate, please contact the Broadcasters Foundation at 212-373-8250 or info@thebfoa.org or visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org.

AOC TV Commercial Burns ABC

Twitter users pushed the “BoycottABC” hashtag into the social platform’s top trending items on Friday after local affiliates of the network aired an ad from a GOP super PAC that showed a photo of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) being set on fire.

Twitter's trending sidebar showed more than 40,000 tweets had been shared using the hashtag to call for a boycott of ABC after the 30-second ad attacking Ocasio-Cortez aired during the Democratic presidential debate on a number of ABC affiliates.

The ad was created by New Faces GOP, a political action committee run by Elizabeth Heng, who made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in California last year.

It opens with a photo of Ocasio-Cortez, with Heng narrating in the background: “This is the face of socialism and ignorance. Does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez know the horror of socialism?”

The photo is then set on fire and burns to reveal images of skulls and skeletons.

“My father was minutes from death in Cambodia before a forced marriage saved his life. That’s socialism. Forced obedience. Starvation,” Heng says in the video. “Mine is a face of freedom. My skin is not white. I’m not outrageous, racist or socialist. I’m a Republican.”

The ad has since prompted a wave of backlash online, leading to thousands of calls for a boycott of ABC.

Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit Against Fox News

A federal appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit against Fox News Network over its reporting on Seth Rich, a former Democratic National Committee employee whose unsolved murder sparked uncorroborated right-wing conspiracy theories, reports Reuters.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Rich’s parents, Joel and Mary Rich, could sue Fox News for causing emotional distress by publishing a May 16, 2017, article claiming their son had leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks, implying that the leaks were related to his death.

Fox News, a unit of Fox Corp, retracted the article a week later, saying it fell short of its standards, but some leading conservatives and on-air guests discussed it for months.

The leaked emails suggested that DNC officials favored Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential nominating campaign.

Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi wrote that the Riches “sufficiently pleaded extreme and outrageous conduct” by the defendants, including reporter Malia Zimmerman, who wrote the retracted article, and Fox News guest Ed Butowsky.

Seth Rich, 27, was shot and killed in July 2016 near his Washington home, in what police there consider a botched robbery.

CA Lawmakers Okay Reprieve For Newspapers

Lawmakers have sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill giving California newspapers a one-year delay on complying with a pending new employment law.

The Associated Press is reporting newspapers dislike a bill on Newsom’s desk that makes it harder for companies to treat workers as independent contractors. Many California papers rely on independent contractors to deliver newspapers and say the new law would hurt them financially.

Lawmakers have agreed to give them a one-year exemption.

Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the sponsor of the original bill , says newspapers have used employment law to deny carriers fair wages and benefits.

The California News Publishers Association and the state’s largest newspapers pressed lawmakers for an exemption.

Gonzalez’s legislation would also affect freelance journalists. They can remain contractors if they submit fewer than 35 pieces to a publication within a year.

Desperate Huffman Gets 14-Day Prison Sentence

Actress Felicity Huffman was sentenced Friday to 14 days in prison for her role in the college-admissions cheating scheme, sending a strong signal that more of the wealthy parents in the sprawling scandal could expect to serve time.

The Wall Street Journal reports the actress was the first parent to be sentenced, and the result is a middle ground between prosecutors’ recommendation of one month in prison and her attorneys’ request for one year of probation, 250 hours of community service and a $20,000 fine.

Prosecutors had argued anything less than incarceration for her and the 10 other parents slated for sentencing in coming weeks would be a “penological joke.”

Huffman pleaded guilty in May to a fraud-related conspiracy charge, admitting to paying college counselor William “Rick” Singer $15,000 so he could arrange for a test proctor in his employ to fraudulently inflate her older daughter’s SAT score in 2017. Ms. Huffman almost repeated the scheme with her younger daughter, but ultimately didn’t pursue the plan, according to court documents.

She will report to prison on Oct. 25.

Though she paid the least of any parent, Huffman, the “Desperate Housewives” and “American Crime” star, has become a key public face of the $25 million scam, with authorities saying the mothers and fathers represented a “catalog of wealth and privilege.”

Mr. Singer pleaded guilty to four felonies: racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and obstruction of justice.

September 14 Radio History

➦

➦In 1814...Attorney Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics to the "Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry, Maryland during the War of 1812.

Key, accompanied by the British Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner, dined aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant as the guests of three British officers: Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane, Rear Admiral George Cockburn, and Major General Robert Ross. Skinner and Key were there to negotiate the release of prisoners, one of whom was Dr. William Beanes, a resident of Upper Marlboro, MD, who had been arrested after jailing marauding British troops who were looting local farms.

Skinner, Key, and Beanes were not allowed to return to their own sloop because they had become familiar with the strength and position of the British units and with the British intent to attack Baltimore. Thus, Key was unable to do anything but watch the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13–14, 1814.

At dawn, Key was able to see an American flag still waving.

Back in Baltimore and inspired, Key wrote a poem about his experience, "Defence of Fort M'Henry", which was soon published in William Pechin's American and Commercial Daily Advertiser on September 21, 1814. He took it to Thomas Carr, a music publisher, who adapted it to the rhythms of composer John Stafford Smith's "To Anacreon in Heaven".  It has become better known as "The Star-Spangled Banner". Though somewhat difficult to sing, it became increasingly popular, competing with "Hail, Columbia" (1796) as the de facto national anthem by the time of the Mexican–American War and American Civil War.

More than a century after its first publication, the song was adopted as the American national anthem, first by an Executive Order from President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and then by a Congressional resolution on March 31, 1931, signed by President Herbert Hoover.

Cecil Brown

➦In 1907...Cecil Brown, radio newsman & commentator, was born in New Brighton, PA.  Some of his most important broadcasts were from the Pacific war front during the early days of World War II. One of the correspondents known as ‘Murrow’s Boys,’ he resigned from CBS in 1943 after being rebuked by CBS news director Paul White for expressing an editorial opinion during an August 25 news broadcast. Brown had stated that "a good deal of the enthusiasm for this war is evaporating into thin air." Announcing his resignation Brown said that he could not subscribe to what he characterized as CBS' policy of "non-opinionated" news.

Brown continued his commentaries with Mutual, NBC and ABC. For his contributions to radio he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He died Oct. 25 1987 at age 80.

Jerry Coleman

➦In 1924...Gerald Francis Coleman born in NYC (Died at age 89 after a fall – January 5, 2014),  Jerry Coleman was a MLB second baseman for r the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year.

Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Associated Press, and was an All-Star in 1950 and later that year was named the World Series Most Valuable Player. Yankees teams on which he was a player appeared in six World Series during his career, winning four times. Coleman served as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and the Korean War, flying combat missions.

He later became a broadcaster, and he was honored in 2005 by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for his broadcasting contributions.




➦In 1928...singer Gene Austin  recorded one of the first million sellers, My Blue Heaven, for Victor Records, which eventually was #1 for 13 straight weeks.

 A jazz artist at heart, he was equally at home singing country ballads, blues and spirituals. His improvisational style apparent in his recordings, added a unique flavor to his interpretations.

Colonel Tom Parker, later to become Elvis Presley's manager, gradually worked his way into the music business when he began to promote Gene Austin in 1938.

➦In 1936...The radio soap opera 'John's Other Wife' aired for the first time on the NBC Red Network.  In March 1940, the show moved NBC-Blue Network, where it ran until March 20, 1942.
John's Other Wife centered around a store executive, his wife, and a woman who worked for him. The man in the title was John Perry, who owned Perry's Department Store. His insecure wife, Elizabeth, suspected John of being romantically involved with either Annette Rogers, his secretary, or Martha Curtis, his assistant.  The program was one of many soap operas created and produced by Frank Hummert and his wife, Anne.

Beginning on May 8, 1939, John's Other Wife was broadcast via electrical transcription on WMCA in New York City in addition to its regular network airings.

➦In 1966…Actress Gertrude Berg died (Born - October 3, 1899). She was a pioneer of classic radio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce and star in a long-running hit when she premiered her serial comedy-drama The Rise of the Goldbergs (1929), later known as The Goldbergs. Her career achievements included winning a Tony Award and an Emmy Award, both for Best Lead Actress.

The Goldbergs aired on radio for 27 years (1929-1956) and television for two years (1949-1951).

➦In 1986...Radio pioneer and station owner Gordon Barton McLendon died (Born - June 8, 1921. He was nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio." McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s and 1960s, the commercially successful Top 40 radio format created by Todd Storz. He nicknamed himself "The Old Scotchman", founded Liberty Radio Network (noted for its daily national broadcasts of Major League Baseball) in the 1940s. Liberty was the second largest radio network in the U.S. at the time with over 458 affiliated stations. Most of Liberty's MLB broadcasts were re-creations of games.

McLendon and his father founded radio station KLIF (The Mighty 1190) in Dallas, TX in 1947, and introduced the Top 40 format there in the early 1950s to great success.  KLIF enjoyed a long run at the top of the Dallas radio ratings in the 1950s and 1960s, but its standing in the market fell in the early 1970s thanks to growing competition from FM radio. One of the FM stations most instrumental in the downfall of KLIF was its former sister station KNUS (now KLUV), of which McLendon retained ownership after selling KLIF and revamped as a rock-oriented Top 40.

The McLendon family built a communications empire that included radio stations across the United States. In addition to KLIF, McLendon owned KNUS–FM in Dallas, KOST in Los Angeles, WYNR (later WNUS) & WNUS-FM in Chicago, WWWW–FM in Detroit, KEEL in Shreveport, WAKY in Louisville, KABL in Oakland, KABL–FM in San Francisco, KILT in Houston, KTSA in San Antonio, and KELP in El Paso. McLendon introduced the all-news format to Southern California through XETRA in Tijuana. McLendon was one of the originators of the "beautiful music" format on his KABL in Oakland, California in 1959; and as the founder of the first all-news radio station (WNUS in Chicago) in the 1960s.

He is credited by most broadcast historians with having established the first mobile news units in American radio, the first traffic reports, the first jingles, the first all-news radio station, and the first "easy-listening" programming. He also was among the first broadcasters in the United States to editorialize.

The McLendon family sold KLIF in 1971 to Fairchild Industries of Germantown, MD, for $10.5 million, then a record price for a radio station. By 1979 the family had sold all of its broadcasting properties, including fourteen radio and two television stations, worth approximately $100 million. By 1985 Forbes magazine estimated McLendon's net worth at $200 million.

R.I.P.: Singer Eddie Money Dead At 70

Singer Eddie Money, best known for his songs "Two Tickets to Paradise," "Take Me Home Tonight” and “Baby Hold On,” died at the age of 70 on Friday.

He had been battling stage 4 esophageal cancer, according to Fox News.

Money's family said in a statement: “The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever through his music.”

Money, whose real name is Edward Mahoney, made his stunning cancer announcement in a video released in August from his AXS TV reality series called "Real Money."

In the video, Money said he discovered he had cancer after what he thought was a routine checkup. The rock legend learned that the disease had spread to his liver and lymph nodes.

Money admitted the news hit him "really, really hard."

The rocker had numerous health problems recently including heart valve surgery earlier this year and pneumonia after the procedure, leading to his cancellation of a planned summer tour.


His career spanned more than three decades and 12 studio albums. He was born in Brooklyn, raised in Plainedge, Long Island, then moved to California to pursue his music career where he signed with Columbia Records.

In 1987, he received a best rock vocal Grammy nomination for "Take Me Home Tonight," which featured a cameo from Ronnie Spector.

Money married his wife Laurie in 1989.They had five children: Zachary, Jessica, Joseph, Julian, and Desmond.  He "made his home" in the Bay Area.

On August 24, 2019, Money, a long-time smoker, revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.

Buffalo Radio: Roger Christian Joins Oldies WECK

A week after his 43-year career at Entercom's WTSS Star 102.5 FM ended, Buffalo radio personality Roger Christian has landed at WECK, the oldies station at 100.5 and 102.9 FM and 1230 AM.

The Buffalo News reports Christian’s on-air duties starting Monday will be on weekends and fill-in shifts, WECK owner Buddy Shula announced.

“To say I am thrilled would be an understatement,” Shula said in a release. “Roger is one of the most talented and respected broadcasters in Buffalo. I admire what Roger has accomplished not only in his broadcast career, but also as a human being. He is just a terrific person. Simple as that.”

“It took so long to get back on the air again,” Christian joked in the same release.

Christian is the latest veteran radio personality to work at WECK, joining a lineup that includes Danny Neaverth, Tony Magoo, Jon Summers, Harv Moore, Gail Ann Huber and Tom Donahue.

Christian was released last week by Star 102.5, a year after entering the Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.

Christian, who started in local radio as a teenager 55 years ago and has one of the smoothest voices on the air, worked the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift at 102.5 before being told last week that the position was being eliminated.

The Entercom stations have recently fired several people locally in accounting and production. Entercom has been making cuts at stations across the country in recent months, most recently in Denver and San Francisco.

iHeartRadio Launches Website For Sports Stations

iHeartMedia is rolling out "iHeartRadio Sports," a new website that lets listeners find broadcast Sports radio stations, Sports podcasts and latest Sports news in one place.

Through "iHeartRadio Sports," sports fans can choose from more than 195 live broadcast and digital stations including FOX Sports Radio, AM 570 LA Sports (Home of Dodgers Radio & Los Angeles Sports), FOX Sports The Gambler/Philadelphia, KFAN-FM/Minneapolis and others.

In addition, they can listen to episodes from more than 25,000 sports podcasts including "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," "3 and Out with John MiddleKauff," "Outkick the Coverage with Clay Travis," "Sports Wars" and more.

"iHeartRadio has long been a destination for the biggest sports fans and now provides the premier destination where they can find all their favorite teams, podcasts, personalities and stations all in one place," said iHeartRadio and iHeartMedia Networks Group President Darren Davis.

"Sports listeners are incredibly passionate and this new destination utilizes the power and reach of iHeartMedia and its programming to create an encompassing all-things-sports experience like no other, for those enthusiastic fanatics everywhere whether it's getting outstanding play-by-play of the latest Dodgers game to sports betting podcasts for expert picks and analysis."

The iHeartRadio digital streaming service currently features 196 broadcast and digital Sports radio stations across the U.S. and more than 25,000 Sports podcasts.

Country Artist Martina McBride Calls Out Spotify

Women in country music are continuing to speak out about lack of representation and gender disparity in the genre, reports ABC News.

Country singer Martina McBride, 53, also criticized the lack of female representation in country music after using the streaming music service Spotify.

The "Concrete Angel" singer posted on her Instagram story on Wednesday that she was listening to a song by fellow country artist Sara Evans when she decided to create a "Country Music" playlist on the platform.

The recommendations Spotify suggested she add to the playlist were all by male artists in the genre.

"I just have no words. My heart is pounding. I can't remember when I've been this mad," she posted on her story about the lack of female artists recommended.

"Is it lazy? Is it discriminatory? Is it tone deaf? Is it out of touch? @spotify what.is.it??? Please help me understand," she wrote.

"I'm frustrated for my sisters," she wrote in her Instagram story. "For all the great female artists who are making fabulous music. For all the female writers. And MOST OF ALL for every little girl out there who doesn't hear this music And doesn't know that SHE CAN GROW UP AND DO IT!!!"

“”We have an entire generation of teenage girls that have a limited example of female perspective on their radio station.

@martinamcbride is speaking the truth about country radio and music platforms. Something needs to change because I want to hear about falling in love and how it is okay to love yourself.

I don't want to hear about degrading women's bodies and booze.

— Faithful_Hill94 (@Faithful_Hill94) September 11, 2019

On Thursday, the country singer shared an update that she had met with Spotify and the two were working to find a solution to the problem. She believes the issue is "industrywide" and not particular to just the streaming platform.

A study was released earlier this year by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which showed that only 16% of the 500 songs on the Year-End Billboard Hot Country charts from 2014 to 2018 were from women.

The findings backed up long-standing patterns of female country artists being historically underrepresented not only on the charts but also in award shows and on the radio.

Study: Smart Speakers Now in the Majority Of U-S Households

NuVoodoo Media Services presents the second installment of the NuVoodoo Fall webinar series, The NuVoodoo Fall 2019 Contesting and Marketing Guide, based on its new Ratings Prospects Study 14.

The second session of the webinar series takes a deep dive into all things related to contests, promotions, and marketing, and continues next week in the final two sessions on Tuesday, September 17th at 1:00pm ET/10:00am PT, and on Wednesday, September 18th, at 11:00am ET/8:00am PT. 

Interested radio professionals can reserve their spot for one of the two remaining sessions at: www.nuvoodoo.com/webinars. The new study was fielded in June and represents the opinions of over 3,000 respondents ages 14-54 from across all PPM markets. 

NuVoodoo’s Ratings Prospects Study 14 revealed the continued growth of Smart Speaker penetration in homes across the U.S. NuVoodoo has trended the adoption of Smart Speakers since the summer of 2017, when they were already too numerous to ignore. Now, 51% of NuVoodoo’s sample of over 3,000 persons 14-54 across all PPM markets reports at least one Smart Speaker in their lives. That reflects an 8% increase in Smart Speaker penetration since January, based on findings from NuVoodoo’s January 2019 survey. In addition, Smart Speaker penetration is now two in three among respondents who profile as susceptible to accepting a meter or diary from Nielsen.

Leigh Jacobs, Executive Vice President, Research Insights, NuVoodoo Media Services, said: “While there are lots of things you can use Smart Speakers to do, they’re called “Smart Speakers” – so lots of people use them to listen to things. Percentages are up for every category of things we’ve asked respondents about listening to via Smart Speakers. And now Smart Speaker technology is coming to the car.”

Carolyn Gilbert, President and Chief Executive Officer, NuVoodoo Media Services, observes: “With Alexa in the car, the barrier to selecting FM/AM vs. Spotify vs. podcasts and/or audiobooks is gone. If you think of it, it’s usually an easy matter to get Alexa to play what you want. That dynamic presents Radio with a real challenge or an incredible opportunity, depending upon what stations choose to do about it.“ 

PJ Kling, Vice President, Product & Business Development, NuVoodoo Media Services, noted: “Echo Auto is not perfect, but after playing with it for a couple of weeks, it’s scarier for Radio than I thought it would be… because it’s easier than I thought it would be.” 

The 30-minute NuVoodoo Fall 2019 Contesting and Marketing Guide webinar will be led by Leigh Jacobs and PJ Kling, who will show all the responses from Ratings Prospects Study 14 and take questions from attendees.

Areas covered in the webinar include:

• A review of contesting best practices from the NuVoodoo playbook.
• What the key advantages of FM are among different format constituencies.
• If Smart Speakers are really THAT important (including our initial experiences with Echo Auto).
• The Social Media platforms that your station needs for organic reach and paid reach.
• Who skips pre-roll video ads … and who doesn’t.
• What the best contest packaging opportunities are. 

The NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study is conducted twice a year to learn more about those who are most likely to say “yes” to the opportunity to wear a meter or fill out a diary in order to provide NuVoodoo clients with competitive insights and advantages that they can exploit to capture higher ratings. This is the 14th Ratings Prospects Study that NuVoodoo has completed since 2011. The company shares the top-level findings of its studies with its radio broadcasting clients to develop winning next-generation marketing and programming strategies for stations of all formats in PPM markets.

The opportunity is bigger than ever (and so is the competition). NuVoodoo will share the best practices from its playbook to help programming professionals maximize their stations. Secure a slot at the NuVoodoo Fall 2019 Contesting and Marketing Guide by registering today at nuvoodoo.com/webinars.