March 8 Radio History

➦In 1925...John Bradley Gambling started on-air at WOR NYC. Bernard McFadden was a physical culturist who had a radio show in New York City. When McFadden failed to show up for his daily morning program, Gambling, a studio engineer,  was forced to ad-lib on the air for a solid hour. Thus, WOR decided to gtive the time slot to Gambling.

John B. Gambling

John Bradley Gambling (April 9, 1897 – November 21, 1974) became the first of the Gambling family, 3 generations to host mornings on WOR. John B., John A. and John R. - were hosts of WOR Radio's 'Rambling with Gambling' over the course of over 80 years (1925–2000 and 2008–2013).

John B. was the host from 1925 to 1959, when he retired in favor of his son, John A. Gambling. With his Musical Clock, his all-in-fun setting-up exercises, cheerio music, wheezy gags, weather information and news scraps, John B. Gambling was a WOR fixture.

➦In 1945...George Michael 'Mickey' Dolenz Jr. born.  He is an actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a vocalist and drummer of the 1960s pop/rock band the Monkees.

On January 10, 2005, Dolenz replaced Dan Taylor as the morning disc jockey at oldies radio station WCBS-FM in New York. On June 3, 2005, Dolenz celebrated his 100th show with a special morning show at B.B. King's. In an ironic and controversial twist, that was also his last regular show at the station; at 5:00 pm, WCBS-FM announced that the station would replace its oldies format with a "Jack" format.

However, WCBS-FM had since returned to its oldies format on July 12, 2007.

➦In 1949...WBAP 96.7 FM, Fort Worth Texas, signed-on. Today the station is Sports KTCK-FM, owned by Cumulus Media.



➦In 1979...Compact Disc Digital Audio, also known as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs, was first demonstrated.



➦In 1994...Jack Spector died at age 65 (Born - September 15, 1928). He was a longtime New York City radio personality.

Jack Spector

Spector began his career in 1955 and in 1961 became one of the original WMCA Good Guys.  In late December 1963, WMCA, with Spector, earned the distinction of being the first New York City radio station to play the Beatles' Capitol Records' single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand." (Outside New York, the single's broadcast debut is widely accepted to have occurred earlier at WWDC in Washington, D.C.)

After WMCA moved to a talk format, Spector went to WHN, then a vocal-based easy listening station. He remained for a while after WHN became a Country music station in 1973. In 1974, Spector left WHN to go to WCBS-FM where he hosted a 1955-1964 based Oldies show called "The Saturday Night Sock Hop" and another regular weekend shift. He was also a full-time swing host there, filling in for various airstaffers over the years. In 1983, Cousin Brucie began doing every third Saturday night of the month. Spector remained at WCBS-FM until the Spring of 1985.

In 1985, Spector was at WNBC as the original host of "Sports Night". He went then to WPIX-FM, which was playing an adult contemporary format. Upon their change to NAC and soon after to smooth jazz, he became one of the first air personalities on CD 101.9. Spector also worked as an optician when he was not on the air.

Late in 1988, Spector left WQCD and joined the staff of WHLI on Long Island, NY playing an Adult Standards format. That station began mixing in more rock and roll oldies by the early '90s. After a few Radio Greats Weekends at WCBS-FM, Jack Spector returned as a part-time swing announcer there in 1993 while working full-time at WHLI.

On March 8, 1994, shortly after starting a recording of Louis Prima's "I'm In The Mood For Love", he suffered an apparent fatal heart attack and collapsed.

➦In  2016… Ronald Herbert Jacobs died in Hawaii (Born - September 3, 1937). He is best known as the program director of KHJ radio in Los Angeles during its ground-breaking "Boss Radio" period (1965–1969), and as co-creator of the countdown show American Top 40, and the seminal radio program The History of Rock and Roll (1969).

At 23, Jacobs moved to the U.S. mainland. In 1962, he was promoted to vice president of programming for the Colgreene Corporation. From there he programmed San Bernardino’s KMEN Radio, and then, Fresno’s KMAK.

In Fresno, Jacobs found himself competing head on with radio consultant Bill Drake. They soon combined their talents to program RKO General’s KHJ Radio in Los Angeles. Within six months, the Drake-Jacobs’ “Boss Radio” format was Number One in America’s second largest radio market, garnering national recognition for creating pop radio’s most influential sound of the 1960s.

Jacobs produced the 48-hour-long History of Rock and Roll. Radio’s first "rockumentary," which aired on KHJ and subsequently other stations in the RKO chain, and was accepted into the Library of Congress as the “first aural history of rock and roll music.”

While programming the RKO radio chain from KHJ, Jacobs teamed again with Moffatt and Tom Rounds to form Charlatan Productions to produce films featuring recording artists in strange but eye-catching settings.

After four years atop the L.A. radio ratings, Jacobs left KHJ to co-found and become vice president of Watermark Inc. In 1970, with Tom Rounds and veteran LA deejay Casey Kasem, Jacobs co-created the syndicated radio program, American Top 40.



At Watermark, Jacobs also produced the award-winning Elvis Presley Story, written by rock author Jerry Hopkins and narrated by broadcast personality, Wink Martindale. Next, Jacobs produced a 15-album record series of legendary top-40 DJs re-creating their station's sound with the original music, commercials and jingles. The albums covered 1955 through 1969 and were titled "CRUISIN': A History of Rock 'n' Roll Radio."

Jacobs then went to San Diego to program KGB AM/FM Radio. It was there that Jacobs conceived and produced the original Home Grown album. The KGB Chicken, later known to the nation as "The San Diego Chicken" was also hatched from Jacobs' imagination.

In 1972, Ron Jacobs was honored by Billboard as Program Director of the Year. Jacobs’ documentary about Max Yasgur, on whose farm the Woodstock festival was staged, won Program of the Year honors and two years later, Billboard named KGB, Station of the Year.

During this time, Ron Jacobs continued concert promotions with Tom Moffatt, Tom Rounds and Mel Lawrence. In 1964, the four men formed Arena Associates, staging the first rock show in the Honolulu International Center (now, the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena). In 1968, Arena Associates produced the Miami Pop Festival. Jacobs produced concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles Sports Arena, Orange County Fairgrounds (first US appearance of the Rolling Stones), San Diego Stadium, in conjunction with KMEN, KHJ and KGB radio stations, which he served as program director.

In July 1976, Jacobs returned to an on-air position doing morning drive on KKUA Radio, in Honolulu, as “Whodaguy Ron Jacobs.” It was at KKUA that Jacobs introduced Home Grown, a radio station promotion in which contest winners had the opportunity to record their winning songs for release on a compilation album with the proceeds being donated to Habilitat, a drug/alcohol rehabilitation facility in Honolulu. Jacobs did three albums, Home Grown (1976), Home Grown II and Home Grown III, that featured a track named " Kona Winds " that introduced singer Marvin Franklin, while he was at KKUA.

The Time Has Come...Time To Spring Forward

National Geographic graphic

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

Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 8. While "smart" devices may change time automatically, don't forget to turn manual clocks an hour ahead, from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.

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

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

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

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

Nashville Radio: WRVW Issues Apology Over Tornado Comments

As families and volunteers in Putnam County, Tennessee were sifting through rubble this week, Nashville radio personalities were on air making comments about tornado victims and the rural areas impacted by the devastating storm — comments listeners have since labeled "disgusting."

The Tennessean reports some listeners believe hosts were calling the people of Putnam County uneducated during the segment, which was based on a conversation with first responders.

iHeartMedia's WRVW 107.5 The River issued a written apology Thursday, stating hosts "did a poor job of providing proper context for where this messaging came from or why this conversation was happening in the first place."

At least 25 people died during the tornado, including 18 victims from Putnam County.

The comments were made during the "Woody and Jim" show, which has been on air for 21 years.

During the segment, radio personalities discussed the tornado and how more deaths happened in Putnam County, despite Nashville being more densely populated.

Hosts and co-hosts said the tornado increased its intensity after leaving Nashville, which was partially to blame.  However, comments were later made about the differences between Nashville and its surrounding communities.

Some of those comments led listeners to believe hosts were calling people in Putnam County uneducated.  However, as the apology mentions, "the word 'uneducated' was simply never uttered."

Here's what was said by radio personality Zac Woodward during the show:


"They (first responders) also said that they see more deaths in those areas because people don't have as much education or money or resources to protect themselves. And if you think about the structure of the homes in more of those rural communities, a lot of them are pre-manufactured homes, so they don't really have a safe place. If a tornado comes through, the whole house is going."

The hosts talked to first responders for research, and someone they talked to made a "broad generalization" about rural areas, according to the apology.

"We then relayed that information on the air, and in the moment did not think about how it may have been perceived by others," the apology reads.

The apology states that the comments made on air were referring to "storm education" rather than general education.

"Please know that this is in no way what we were attempting to say, and if that is how it is perceived (then) we are truly sorry," the apology reads. "This was a mistake, and a failure on our part to serve a community that we love."

Raleigh Radio: The Fan Moves Gold, Adds Giglio

Triangle sports radio station WCMC 99.9 The Fan announced changes Friday to the weekday roster of on-air talent and shows.

Adam Gold, co-host of "Adam & Joe" in the afternoon drive time slot (3 to 7 p.m.) for the last decade, will shift to be the solo host for a new midday show. "The Adam Gold Show" will air weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on 99.9 The Fan.

Adam Gold

Taking over for Gold in afternoon drive will be local sportswriter Joe Giglio, formerly of the News & Observer in Raleigh. Giglio will also be a key contributor to sports reporting for WRAL-TV and WRALSportsFan.com.

Gold takes over for "The David Glenn Show" that originated via Curtis Media Group in Raleigh and that aired for the last decade on 99.9 The Fan.

Giglio, who has covered and written about NC State and UNC among other local sports in The Triangle over the past 20 years, inherits Gold’s spot and will join current afternoon drive personality Joe Ovies weekday afternoons from 3 to 6 p.m.

Joe Giglio

Gold, who has been in The Triangle for over 20 years, will continue as Carolina Hurricanes reporter with duties that include on-air interviews and analysis, plus previews, recaps, video diaries and hosting Capitol Broadcasting Company's most popular podcast, "Canes Corner."

Dennis Glasgow, program and operations director of 99.9 The Fan says, “It’s not often that you have the unique opportunity to get better when moving an air personality of Adam Gold’s stature to another time slot and also add a sports reporting vet like Joe Giglio to an already established show, so we’re very fortunate. In the end our listeners are the big winners.”

“We’re really enthusiastic about the unique perspective that Joe Giglio will bring to our sports coverage. His vast knowledge and experience will bolster our reporting efforts. He will serve as a true cross-platform expert, rotating from radio to TV to digital in this specialized role,” said Rick Gall, WRAL news director.

Fox News, Trump Town Hall Draws 4.2M Viewers

Fox News's town hall with President Trump Thursday delivered 4.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched town hall of the 2020 campaign cycle, according to The Hill citing early data from Nielsen Media Research.

MSNBC was second in total viewers during the time slot with 1.44 million total viewers, followed by CNN's 1.03 million.

The Trump event moderated by "Special Report" anchor Bret Baier and "The Story" anchor Martha MacCallum from Scranton, Pa., also delivered 744,000 viewers in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic sought by advertisers, topping rivals CNN and MSNBC combined, which registered 251,000 and 239,000 viewers in the category, respectively.

The event with Trump surpassed the previous high for a town hall this cycle, when 2.6 million viewers tuned in to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in April 2019.

The ratings are still well below Democratic presidential debates: Nearly 20 million viewers tuned in to the debate in Las Vegas, just days before the Nevada caucuses.

Sanders will again be taking part in a Fox News town hall on Monday from Detroit ahead of a crucial primary in Michigan.

Trump Campaign Files Lawsuit Against CNN

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign sued CNN on Friday for libel, following similar lawsuits against The New York Times and The Washington Post.

CNBC reports the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia where CNN has its headquarters, cited a June opinion article written by Larry Noble, a former Federal Election Commission general counsel.

Noble argued in the article that former special counsel Robert Mueller should have charged the president for soliciting help from Russia in his 2016 campaign. Noble also wrote that the campaign “assessed the potential risks and benefits of again seeking Russia’s help in 2020 and has decided to leave that option on the table.”

In a statement announcing the suit, Trump campaign senior legal advisor Jenna Ellis called that claim “100 percent false and defamatory.”

The Trump campaign lawsuit says that there is “extensive evidence” of bias against the president from both Noble and CNN. The suit claims that the president’s legal team asked CNN to retract the article in February, and that CNN declined to do so.

“Noble has written numerous articles accusing the President of criminal activity, and of campaign finance and ethics violations, and has lodged a complaint against a Super-PAC which supports the President,” the complaint reads. “CNN clearly had a malicious motive in publishing the Defamatory Article, and acted with reckless disregard for the truth.”

A spokesperson for CNN declined to comment.

The Trump campaign in recent weeks has filed similar lawsuits against The New York Times and The Washington Post over alleged defamation contained in opinion articles. All three lawsuits claim damages worth millions of dollars.

SXSW Cancelled

The South by Southwest music, technology and film festival in Austin, Texas, was canceled on Friday, adding to a growing list of events being suspended around the world over concerns about the spreading coronavirus outbreak, reports Reuters.

Known as SXSW, the annual showcase of pop culture had been scheduled to run March 13 to 22. Organizers and local officials said at a news conference that they had concluded it was unwise to draw crowds of people together in close proximity with the number of coronavirus cases rising around the world.

The novel coronavirus has spread across more than 90 countries. No cases have been confirmed in Austin.

“It is not a panic decision,” Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said of the cancellation.

SXSW began 33 years ago as a music festival but evolved to also highlight technology, video games, TV shows and movies. It has become a major promotional event for media and tech companies and last year attracted more than 417,000 people, organizers said.

Apple Inc, Netflix Inc, Facebook Inc and others had pulled out of the festival in recent days, ramping up the pressure to scrap it entirely.

Reports: Start Saying Goodbye to DirecTV

It may not be today or tomorrow, but it could be soon, according to Jefferson Graham at USAToday. DirecTV-owner AT&T this week admitted that it is no longer actively marketing the service, which has seen subscribers fall to 16 million from 20 million when the company purchased it for $49 billion in 2015.

AT&T will continue selling DirecTV in "more rural or less dense suburban areas," John Shankey, the president of AT&T said at an investor conference. "But in terms of our marketing muscle and our momentum in the market, it will be about software-driven pay-TV packages."

DirecTV was initially launched in 1994 as a way for rural customers to get TV entertainment in areas not covered by cable but over the years also expanded to urban centers.

The pitch: By installing a small satellite dish on the roof or outside the home, customers could get more channels and a clearer signal, with a heavy emphasis on sports. Most notably, "NFL Sunday Ticket," offering "every live game" across the country in one place. The downside: two-year contracts and equipment rental.

The ease of streaming alternatives, of smart TVs that connect to the Internet to bring in apps like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, or cheap streaming players like the Roku and Amazon Fire TV Stick, which sell for around $25, make the need for equipment rental a thing of the past.

Many believe that when the NFL deal expires in two years, AT&T will either sell DirecTV or shut it down. One ready buyer has already expressed interest, the Dish Network. Owner Charlie Ergen said a merger was "inevitable" on a recent earnings call.

Dish lost 100,000 subscribers in the most recent quarter, compared to 1.1 million  from DirecTV. Dish currently has 9 million subscribers, plus 2.5 million to the streaming cable alternative service Sling TV. AT&T also has a streaming service, AT&T Now (formerly known as DirecTV Now), which has just under 1 million subscribers.

FTC Makes It A Bad Day For Cardi B

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this week took action against a skincare and tea company, and sent warning notices to almost a dozen Instagram influencers including singer Cardi B for not making clear when they posted paid ads for the group.

The Hill reports a formal complaint filed on Thursday, the FTC alleged that Teami and its owners Adi Halevy and Yogev Malul claimed without scientific proof that their products could help with weight loss, fight cancer, treat colds and lead to other positive health benefits.

Cardi B

The FTC also took action against the company due to its failure to disclose that it was paying certain influencers to post ads on social media.

The FTC sent warnings to 10 of these influencers – including Cardi B, actress Adrienne Bailon and singer Jordin Sparks – alleging that their paid posts for Teami were "deceptive."

"Social media is full of people peddling so-called detox teas, promising weight loss," Andrew Smith, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "Companies need to back up health claims with credible science and ensure influencers prominently disclose that they're getting paid to promote a product."

While the agency did not bring formal charges against Cardi B and other influencers, the FTC requested they provide the agency with a list by March 30 of actions they intend to take to ensure paid ads are obvious to social media followers. The agency threatened "legal enforcement action" in the future if their behavior did not change.

R.I.P.: Ed Ingles, Longtime WCBS-AM NYC Sports Director

Ed Ingles

Ed Ingles, the longtime sports director at WCBS-AM whose mellow voice and friendly, professional personality painted many great radio sports pictures, including all the time he worked as the station's New York Jets reporter and sometimes gameday radio voice, died today.

He was 87, according to The NY Jets.

Ingles was a Bronx native who left the East for the University of Georgia and Georgia radio work before returning to New York radio. He joined WCBS in 1973 and worked there for 24 years, serving for many years as the station's morning drive sports anchor and also being involved in Jets broadcasts when the station first broadcast Green & White games from 1979-83. Jets games also aired on WCBS from 1988-92.

Besides covering the Jets, he also called St. John's University men's basketball as well as golf, tennis, horse racing auto racing and several Olympics. He's been credited for pioneering radio sports updates during his 60-year broadcasting career.

Of his lengthy career, Ingles last year told WCBS 880 program director Tim Scheld: "I didn't have a job, I had an adventure and the reason for that was, when I got up at 2 o' clock in the morning, I was happy to go to work."

Ingles in recent years returned to Hofstra as the school's Professional in Residence, where engaged in another of his passions, mentoring students and young broadcasters at the school's radio station, WRHU-FM.

R.I.P.: Bill Feingold, Palm Springs CA Radio Host

KNWS K-News 94.3 FM radio personality Bill Feingold, known to his fans as "Bulldog," died early Friday.

He was 70-years-of-age, according to The Desert Sun.

Feingold was diagnosed in August with stage four liver cancer that spread to his colon, lungs and bones. In August, he announced on his Facebook page that he had begun chemotherapy.

"A light went out in the desert last night and it will never be as bright again," actress Suzanne Somers wrote in an email to The Desert Sun. "We will miss you dear Bill Feingold and I know you already have another gig on a radio station and your guest list has improved dramatically."

Feingold moved to Palm Springs from Los Angeles in 2000. In addition to his on-air gig, the radio host served on the Palm Springs Human Rights Committee from 2005 to 2009, including as chairman for two years. In 2004, Feingold started hosting his own radio show with Kevin Holmes.

During an interview with The Desert Sun in September, Feingold, a former stockbroker, explained that he moved to the desert to "do nothing," but became politically active and was later convinced to go on the airwaves after a guest appearance on K-News' "Marshall and Stone" show.

"(Marshall and Stone) would always make fun of me, but in a nice way," Feingold said. "I was a guest on their radio show and I liked being on the radio. I never thought in a million years I'd be doing it. I hate my voice, and I thought, 'Who would want to hear me?' It's been a blessing."

Feingold's radio show was popular with local listeners, and he befriended many local celebrities such as Somers and actor Gavin MacLeod.

Although he wouldn't discuss national politics on his show, Feingold didn't shy away from local politics. Any candidate that ran for office was welcome on the program, and Feingold said that people knew where he stood politically without having to tell them. He didn't pull any punches discussing his own town.

Growing up in Long Island, Feingold was a fan of talk radio. He said he regretted not getting into it sooner, thinking it would be a tough career path in New York.

"I always listened to talk radio," Feingold said. "Talk radio was one person hosting the show and interviewing them. Not screaming at them, not yelling at them, not calling them names, and I never realized until I got into talk radio that I should have done it a lot earlier."

R.I.P.: Lauren Rooney, Mid-State PA Broadcaster

Lauren Rooney, longtime news voice in Central PA and a freelance writer for Radio World and TV Technology from 1995 to 2005, passed away on Feb. 27, after a three-year battle with cancer.

The following appeared in Radio World and was provided by her husband, Don Rooney.

Lauren Rooney

Lauren’s background included work as an on-air personality at radio stations in New Hampshire, Kansas, Georgia and Pennsylvania. She spent seven years as news director of WNNK(FM) in Harrisburg, Pa., where she won over 35 Associated Press awards for newscasts and coverage; five years as South-Central Pennsylvania regional news director for then Clear Channel radio, based at WHP(AM) in Harrisburg; and three years as assignment editor and producer at Clear Channel’s WHP(TV) Channel 21 in Harrisburg. She appeared on-camera at Hearst’s Lancaster, Pa., WGAL(TV) Channel 8 in the late 1990s, delivering 60-second news updates.

In addition to her work for Radio World and TV Technology, Lauren wrote for the Radio and Television News Directors Association newsletter, including authoring an article about how to interview children at the scene of a disaster.

From 2000 to 2003, she served two terms as president of the Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Association, sponsoring broadcast writing workshops and organizing the annual awards competition and luncheon.

In 2009, Lauren went to work as a media specialist for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, producing news releases and newsletters for representatives. In 2011 she became executive director of the Pennsylvania House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee, a position she held at the time of her death. As executive director, she worked on legislation, as well as on solutions for problems brought in by constituents. In 2018, a bill she authored was signed into law by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. That legislation established a state-sponsored online data base providing a list of services to aid grandparents raising grandchildren by themselves.

March 7 Radio History

➦In 1876...Patent granted to  Alexander Graham Bell for the telephone. Three days later, he and associate Thomas Watson successfully tested their invention. Elisha Gray, Antonio Meucci and Thomas Edison all claimed to have invented the telephone first, and the issue is still a source of controversy.

There has long been a debate over whether Bell was truly the first man to invent the telephone. Bell was presented with more than 600 patent lawsuits, but the courts continually ruled that he was legally the inventor.

There are several controversies about the invention. First is that Bell received a patent before he had a working device, which was unusual. His critics, including Elisha Gray and Thomas Edison—who claimed to have had a working telephone but did not file for a patent—accused Bell’s father-in-law, former Congressman Gardiner G. Hubbard, of persuading the patent office to give Bell his patent over Gray.

➦In 1933... CBS radio debuted its first daytime radio serial, “Marie the Little French Princess”, which had a run of 2.5  years on the air.  Marie, The Little French Princess was the first soap opera on CBS radio. It was daily program at daytime. Hilman Brown as producer and director of the serial was one of respected person in radio broadcast. He was inducted into the  Radio Hall of Fame in 1990.

➦In 1962...The Beatles performed for 52 BBC Radio programs, beginning with an appearance on this date and ending with the special The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket to Ride, recorded on 26 May 1965. Forty-seven of their BBC appearances occurred in 1963 and 1964, including 10 on Saturday Club and 15 on their own weekly series Pop Go the Beatles, which began in June 1963. As The Beatles had not accumulated many original songs by this time, the majority of their BBC performances consisted of cover versions, drawing on the repertoire that they had developed for their early stage act.


In total, 275 performances of 88 different songs were broadcast, of which 36 songs never appeared on their studio albums.

Judy Garland, scene from 'Wizard of Oz'

➦In 2001…The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reveal their list of the top 365 "Songs Of The Century".

The project was part of a music education program, with a curriculum distributed to fifth grade teachers.  The list is far from authoritative (or even consistent - albums and two-sided singles are somehow included); voters include elected officials, teachers, students and members of the media.

Topping the list" Judy Garland's "Over The Rainbow" (Click Here for list). Rounding out their Top Ten were (#2) "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, followed by "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie, "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, "American Pie" by Don McLean, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the Andrews Sisters, "West Side Story" (album) by the original cast, "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" by Billy Murray, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers, and (#10) "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin.

➦In 2014…Veteran broadcast journalist Bill McLaughlin, who covered the Vietnam War, two Arab-Israeli wars and the 1972 Palestinian terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the Olympics, died from cardiac arrest. He was 76.  The newsman, who spent 25 years as a CBS News correspondent, headed bureaus in Germany and Lebanon. He also covered the United Nations for NBC from 1979 to 1981.

➦In 2014…Jack Roberts, a radio industry veteran who most recently served as executive producer for the CRN Digital Talk Radio Network, died in a Los Angeles hospital after a long illness. He was 62.  During his career, Roberts produced national radio shows for Dick Cavett, Oliver North, Doug Stephan, Jerry Williams and others. A native of Boston, Roberts worked in such major markets as Los Angeles, New York and Boston as an on-air personality, program director, executive producer, promotions director and GM.

Jack Roberts

Roberts,  who served as producer for Dick Cavett's and Oliver North's national radio shows and executive producer for L.A.-based Cable Radio Network (CRN),  also created and wrote the popular broadcast and music news blog "Hollywood Hills Group", which had an estimated 10,000 daily readers since its inception in 2011. His blog was very popular with radio/TV execs from L.A. to N.Y. and numerous record label presidents, personal managers, film and TV celebrities, recording artists and many, many others.

For more than 35 years, Roberts worked with some of the top celebrity broadcasters and air talent in major markets ranging from Los Angeles to New York and Boston.  Roberts’ experience ranged from working as a Top 40 format on-air personality in the northeast at a string of stations, including Boston’s WRKO, WMEX in Edgartown, MA; WXKS in Newton, MA; Providence, RI’s WPRO; WGUY in Veazie, ME; and WDRC in Bloomfield, CT, where he also became the station’s general manager and program director.

He eventually became general manager and program director at WWRC in Washington, DC, WMRE in Charles Town, WV; WBET in Sturgis, MI; and WHIL in Mobile, AL.

➦In 2015…Terry Dorsey, a longtime voice on North Texas airwaves, died unexpectedly at age 66. Dorsey made friends of everyone he met and won numerous awards over his 46-year career before retiring in December 2014.

Dorsey began spinning country records in 1977 after landing a gig in Dayton, Ohio. He moved to Dallas in 1980 and worked for KPLX 99.5 FM before moving to country KSCS in 1988.

Spotify To Charge Music Labels for App Exposure

Despite recording artists’ complaints of meager royalty payments, Spotify is approaching them and record labels for a new source of ad revenue. In order to support profitability, the streaming company has pinpointed music artists and labels to foot the bill in exchange for advertising their songs on the Spotify app, Forbes reports.

As deals are made with large players in the industry, the discovery of smaller labels and artists will suffer greatly, according to Daryl Friedman, chief industry, government and member relations officer at The Recording Academy.

“It’s a bad idea for artists, for fans – and in the long run – for Spotify,” says Friedman.

The new effort requires artists to pay Spotify additional dollars for exposure, which effectively reduces their royalties even further, Friedman explains. While major labels may choose to engage in the deal, indie labels and artists may not be able to afford it, thereby driving down the overall amount of music played on Spotify. In the long term, fans will suffer as Spotify playlists are reduced, he says.

In 2018 Spotify announced that it would not allow payola to dictate the formation of its playlists, a tactic that radio stations were known for entertaining in the past. Making its playlist curation process more transparent meant that while the platform allows artists and labels to submit songs for inclusion in a playlist, no payment will be accepted to ensure that the song is added.

As Spotify continues to lag behind its competitors in ad revenue, the company is exploring whether podcasts and its new paid promotions will become lucrative ways to strengthen artist-fan connections.

Journey Fires Two After 'Coup' Attempt

Journey boots two band members: Ross Valory and Steve Smith

Journey is singing "I'll Be Alright Without You" to fellow band members Steve Smith and Ross Valory.

Neil Schon and Jonathan Cain filed a lawsuit with the California Superior Court Tuesday claiming Smith and Valory attempted to launch a "coup" to gain control of the Journey trademark and oust the original band members, according to court documents.

Schon and Cain have fired Smith and Valory from the band and are seeking damages in excess of $10 million.

The lawsuit states that Smith and Valory had expressed wishes to retire from the band and were "maliciously" trying to "hold the Journey name hostage" so they could continue to get paid even after they were no longer members of the band.

Louis R. (Skip) Miller, Schon and Cain's attorney, told USAToday that by attempting to take over the name, Valory and Smith ruined the dynamic of the band and that's one of the reasons they were terminated, along with breaching their fiduciary duties.

The complaint alleges that Smith and Valory attempted to gain control over Nightmare Productions, one of the band's corporate entities, as they assumed the company held the rights to the Journey name. However, Nightmare Productions had given Cain and Schon rights to the name in 1985.

The documents state that the two former band members "commenced their scheme" in December 2019 and attempted to "replace Cain with Smith as President" of the Board of Directors of Nightmare Productions which would have given Valory and Smith the power to carry out their plan.

Live Radio Sports: Older Fans Less Likely To Convert To Streaming

The Oakland Athletics surprised longtime fans this offseason by ending local broadcasts of live games on traditional AM/FM radio, becoming the first MLB team to do so. Instead, the team’s games will be available via a streaming station called A’s Cast that lives within the free TuneIn internet radio app. Paid subscribers can also listen on SiriusXM satellite radio.

The A’s, who have framed their streaming-only approach as forward-thinking.

Critics of the A’s move say leaving AM/FM alienates the team’s oldest and most loyal fans, but a new Morning Consult survey shows that the oldest sports fans aren’t actually the ones listening to live sports on the radio most frequently. They are, however, the least likely to convert to streaming.

Fans ages 30-44 are the most consistent consumers of live games on terrestrial radio: 29 percent listen at least once a week and 39 percent at least once a month. Fans ages 18-29 are right behind, with 34 percent in that group listening at least once a month. By contrast, fans 65 and over are the least frequent live sports listeners on the AM and FM dials, with 10 percent listening at least once a week and 21 percent listening at least once a month.

In addition, 30 percent of fans 65 and up are listening to live sports on AM/FM radio less often than they used to, 10 times as many that are listening more often. Younger fans were much likelier than the older group to say they were listening to more terrestrial radio than in the past.

The survey of 1,517 self-identified sports fans, conducted from Feb. 27 to March 1, found 21 percent listen to live sports on traditional AM/FM radio at least once a week, and 32 percent listen at least once a month. Among those who consider themselves “avid” sports fans, 38 percent are once-a-week listeners and half listen at least once a month. The margin of error for the survey is 3 percentage points.

Overall, sports fans are split nearly down the middle on their consumption of live sports broadcasts on the radio, with 52 percent saying they sometimes catch a game.

By comparison, 34 percent of fans sometimes listen to live sports on satellite radio and 30 percent sometimes listen live via a streaming platform.

Even among fans 18-29, live sports listenership on AM/FM radio is higher than on satellite radio or online.

NFL Expected to Score On Next TV Rights Deal

In a rapidly-shifting TV industry, the NFL provides a much-needed source of ad revenue to TV networks. Analyst  Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson LLC notes that the demand for ad time on the NFL is a primary reason network and cable TV ad revenues grew by 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019, even as overall audience levels continued to decline, The L-A Times reports.

Nielsen data shows that viewing of cable and broadcast TV among the advertiser-favored age group of 18-to-49-year-olds dropped by 12% in 2019 as they spent more time watching Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services.

While all of the parent companies with NFL rights are making their own major investments in streaming, they still have networks and TV stations dependent on advertising revenues and fees from cable and satellite operators who carry their channels. Keeping television’s most popular live attraction is vital to sustaining those businesses.

The NFL is such a powerful draw that when media companies enter a dispute with a pay TV company over carriage fees, the coming of a new season usually brings a resolution.

According to a number of media executives who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity, the consensus is that CBS and Fox will keep their Sunday afternoon packages currently at $1 billion a year. NBC has the Sunday night game, which is prime time’s most watched program, at $950 million a year, while Fox has Thursday at $660 million a year. All are expected to pay as much as 50% more in the next deal.

The one possible change is Walt Disney Co., which pays $2 billion for “Monday Night Football” on ESPN and is looking to get some games and a Super Bowl for its broadcast network ABC, where the franchise originated and aired from 1970 to 2005. While NFL games are expensive, they provide a massive promotional platform for other network programming, something ABC has missed since the Monday games were moved to cable in 2006.

There is talk of “Monday Night Football” moving to ABC. Disney is also expected to make a play for a Sunday game package. Or the league could carve out a new package out of the current inventory of Sunday games. Disney also still wants games for ESPN as well in order to command the high fees it gets from pay-TV operators.

Report: MNF Would LIke Al Michaels Back In the Booth

Al Michaels

ESPN plans to attempt to acquire Al Michaels from NBC Sports for “Monday Night Football,” The NY Post is reporting.

ESPN would like to team Michaels with Peyton Manning in its dream booth, according to sources. Manning is now ESPN’s top choice as an analyst after Tony Romo agreed to his 10-year, $180 million deal to remain with CBS last week.

ESPN has also shown interest in free-agent quarterback Philip Rivers, according to sources. Rivers, 38, has said he intends to continue playing. NFL free agency officially begins March 18, but agents can start talking to teams on March 16.

Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland are ESPN’s current MNF team, but the network is strongly considering a change.

The network believes a Michaels-Manning pairing would sizzle. Michaels, 75, is arguably the best NFL TV play-by-player ever, while Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks in history.

Talks between NBC/Comcast and Disney/ESPN have yet to begin. Since Michaels has two years remaining on his contract, NBC could simply turn down ESPN’s request.

Denver Radio: KKFN Celebrates 25-Years Of Sports

Sports Radio KKFN 104.3 The Fan turns 25 years old today, March 6, 2020. To commemorate the occasion, the station will launch a campaign culminating in a 25th Anniversary Celebration to take place this June.

“Twenty-five years ago, we launched Denver’s first 24-hour, all-sports radio station. Over the years, The Fan has featured some of Denver’s most loved personalities, starting with Doug Moe and Tom Green — who signed the station on the air — to legendary personalities like Irv Brown, Joe Williams and Sandy Clough, who continues to entertain Denver sports fans today,” said Bonneville Denver Senior Vice President and Market Manager Bob Call. “Through the years, The Fan has been built on great live and local talent. We are grateful for our many listeners and business partners who have been a part of this remarkable legacy.”

“During the past 25 years, The Fan has become a part of the fabric that makes up the Denver sports community. I grew up listening to The Fan talk about my favorite teams every day, as I know so many Denver sports fans continue to do today,” said Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan Program Director Raj Sharan. “We will be returning to our original logo and colors as just one way to honor the hosts and listeners who’ve helped grow The Fan into what it is today.”

During the anniversary celebration, Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan will welcome back influential figures from the station’s history for a reunion broadcast that will allow Denver listeners to reconnect with talent from the past.

Taylor Swift Donates $1M To Tornado Relief

Taylor Swift

Longtime Nashville resident Taylor Swift is making a massive contribution to Tennessee tornado relief.

USAToday reports the pop superstar has donated $1 million to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund, spokesperson Tree Paine confirmed.

“Nashville is my home," Swift wrote on Instagram Thursday. "And the fact that so many people have lost their homes and so much more in Middle Tennessee is devastating to me."

Swift has made charitable efforts in Music City since she first rose to country stardom. In response to the 2010 Nashville flood, she donated $500,000 to relief efforts and created the Taylor Swift Charitable Fund.

She gave $4 million to fund educational efforts at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in 2012, and donated $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony the following year.

Last year, Swift gave $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project, in conjunction with her LGBTQ-positive single "You Need to Calm Down."

Swift wasn't the only star to jump to action.

Sheryl Crow announced on Twitter Thursday that half of the proceeds from her weekend clothing drive will be donated to Tennessee tornado relief efforts. The other half with go toward the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

BFA Awards Golden Mike, Honors George Beasley

                         Dan Mason, Caroline Beasley accepting Lifetime Leadership Award for her father George Beasley,
                                                                                Jim Thompson, Deborah Norville

More than 350 broadcasters and celebrities filled the Plaza Hotel’s ballroom to capacity Wednesday night, raising over $400,000 to support the mission of the Broadcasters Foundation of America.

This year’s event honored Dave Lougee, President and Chief Executive Officer of TEGNA Inc., with the Broadcasters Foundation 2020 Golden Mike Award and George Beasley, Founder and Chairman of Beasley Media Group, with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Beasley’s daughter and current Chief Executive Officer of Beasley, Caroline Beasley, accepted the award on his behalf.

Dave Lougee and Jim Thompson
(photos: Wendy Moger-Brass)

The annual Golden Mike Award gala is a major fundraiser for the Broadcasters Foundation of America, the only charity devoted exclusively to providing aid to broadcasters in acute need.

This year’s event was hosted by Inside Edition’s Deborah Norville and featured a rousing performance by GRAMMY Award-winning BMI songwriter Nile Rodgers and CHIC, who had attendees on their feet and dancing.

The evening’s presenters were Gordon Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Broadcasters, Jack Sander, Founder of Sander Media and former Belo executive, and Lynn Beall, TEGNA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Media Operations.

The Broadcasters Foundation of America has distributed millions of dollars in aid to broadcasters who have lost their livelihood through a catastrophic event, debilitating disease or unforeseen tragedy. Personal donations can be made to the Foundation’s Guardian Fund. Corporate contributions are accepted through the Angel Initiative, and bequests can be made through the Foundation’s Legacy Society. 

For more information, please visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org, call 212-373-8250, or email info@thebfoa.org.

“Fitish” From KKMS Hosts Debuts In The Top 50 On Apple Podcasts!

The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show co-host, J-Si Chavez, and contributor, Jenna Owens, yesterday launched their new podcast, Fitish, to great fanfare, reaching the top 50 on the Apple Podcasts chart. On this new podcast, Chavez and Owens will dive into their life issues and extremely personal realities that they have not been able to share on terrestrial radio.

Jenna Owens, who recently announced that she is taking a step back from day-to-day co-hosting at The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show, stated: “I’m thrilled to be able to talk more openly about things I haven’t been able to discuss on the morning show and do it all with my favorite radio partner and occasionally our real-life partners as well!

J-Si is a father of two married to his college sweetheart. Jenna is a single woman stepping away from her life-long career to build an empire while navigating her relationships at the same time. You’ll get to listen in on their struggles, triumphs, laughs, and tears... with some health and life advice along the way from them and their guests!

J-Si said: “I’m really happy that I get to keep chatting with Jenna on the mic and I cannot wait to see where this podcast takes us,” he added jokingly, “I also heard I became a 20% owner of Jenna’s company, Fitish, for doing this... oh wait. Never mind. I misread it, I got a 20% coupon. Still super excited, though!”

The Fitish podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Audioboom and other podcast services. New episodes roll out every Wednesday at 10 am.

March 6 Radio History

➦In 1905...James Robert Wills born (Died – May 13, 1975 at age 70).  He was a Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western swing, he was widely known as the King of Western Swing.

Wills formed several bands and played radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with Wills on fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, rhythm guitarist June Whalin, tenor banjoist Johnnie Lee Wills, and Kermit Whalin, who played steel guitar and bass.

The band played regularly on Tulsa, Oklahoma radio station KVOO and added Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the band's sound. Wills favored jazz-like arrangements and the band found national popularity into the 1940s with such hits as "Steel Guitar Rag", "New San Antonio Rose", "Smoke On The Water", "Stars And Stripes On Iwo Jima", and "New Spanish Two Step".

Wills and the Texas Playboys recorded with several publishers and companies, including Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, and MGM, frequently moving.  Throughout the 1950s, he struggled with poor health and tenuous finances, but continued to perform frequently despite the decline in popularity of his earlier music as rock and roll took over. Wills had a heart attack in 1962 and a second one the next year, which forced him to disband the Playboys although Wills continued to perform solo.

The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music.

Abbott & Costello

➦In 1906... Lou Costello born (Died from a heart attack at age 52 – March 3, 1959), was an actor, best known for his film comedy double act with straight man Bud Abbott.

Costello had started as an athlete, before working in burlesque on Broadway, where he stood-in for Abbott’s partner who had failed to show up. They formally teamed up in 1935. Their signature routine, "Who's on First?", was carried through to radio and then to their film debut One Night in the Tropics (1940) and Buck Privates (1941). The duo would go on to make 36 films.



During World War II, they were among the most popular entertainers in the world, and sold $85 million in war bonds. A winter tour of army bases caused a recurrence of the rheumatic fever which Costello had contracted in childhood, and his health was badly affected from then on, worsened by the death of his infant son. They launched their own long-running radio show in 1942, and then a live TV show.

But by 1955, they were felt to be overexposed, their film contract was terminated, and the partnership split soon afterwards.




➦In 1954...FM pioneer Edwin H Armstrong closed experimental KE2XCC.  The station began experimental broadcasts at 93.1 FM in June 1938 followed by full power broadcasting beginning on July 18, 1939.  Today the 93.1 FM frequency in NYC is occupied by WPAT-FM.

➦In 1967...Singer Nelson Eddy died at age 65 (Born - June 29, 1901).  He was a singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred with soprano Jeanette MacDonald. He was one of the first "crossover" stars, a superstar appealing both to shrieking bobby-soxers and opera purists, and in his heyday, he was the highest paid singer in the world.

During his 40-year career, he earned three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one each for film, recording, and radio).



➦In 1981.. Walter Cronkite (November 4, 1916 - July 17, 2009), the dean of American television newscasters, said “And that’s the way it is” for the final time, as he closed the “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite,” to be replaced by Dan Rather. An audience estimated at 17,000,000 viewers tuned in to see “the most trusted man in America” sign-off.

He served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–1981). During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll.

Conkite dropped out of college in his junior year, in the fall term of 1935, after starting a series of newspaper reporting jobs covering news and sports. He entered broadcasting as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1936, he met his future wife, Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Maxwell, while working as the sports announcer for KCMO-AM in Kansas City, MO.

His broadcast name was "Walter Wilcox".  He would explain later that radio stations at the time did not want people to use their real names for fear of taking their listeners with them if they left. In Kansas City, he joined the United Press in 1937.  He became one of the top American reporters in World War II, covering battles in North Africa and Europe.

With his name now established, he received a job offer from Edward R. Murrow at CBS News to join the Murrow Boys team of war correspondents, relieving Bill Downs as the head of the Moscow bureau. CBS offered Cronkite $125 ($2,189 in 2018 money) a week along with "commercial fees" amounting to $25 ($438 in 2018) for almost every time Cronkite reported on air.

Up to that point, he had been making $57.50 ($1,006 in 2018) per week at UP, but he had reservations about broadcasting. He initially accepted the offer. When he informed his boss Harrison Salisbury, UP countered with a raise of $17.50 ($306 in 2018) per week; Hugh Baillie also offered him an extra $20 ($350 in 2018) per week to stay. Cronkite ultimately accepted the UP offer, a move which angered Murrow and drove a wedge between them that would last for years

In 1950, Cronkite eventually joined CBS News in its young and growing television division, again recruited by Murrow.




➦In 2002…Longtime Chicago radio personality on Top40 WLS and WCFL, 70-year-old Art Roberts, also remembered for his on-air stints in Milwaukee and Buffalo, died following a series of strokes.

Roberts, according his 2002 obit in The Chicago Tribune,  was known as Chicago's "hip uncle" for his work on AM radio in the 1960s and '70s. And to teenagers of that time he was a godsend for bringing them the rock 'n' roll stars they craved.

According to Jeff Roteman's WLS Tribute website,  his radio career began in Atlanta, Texas in 1953. In 1956, Art Roberts joined the legendary KLIF in Dallas. In 1959, Art worked in Buffalo at WKBW before joining WLS in 1961.

He was one of seven young, star disc jockeys hired by WLS to bring rock to Chicago. Roberts started in the early afternoon slot, then took over the popular 9 p.m. to midnight gig from Dick Biondi. He was known for telling bedtime stories about "the head that ain't got no body" and creating fictitious characters like "Hooty Saperticker," who wanted to go through life doing nothing.

Roberts stayed at WLS for 10 years before heading to San Francisco's KNBR in 1971, Other career stops included WCFL, WOKY, and KLUV. Art's final radio stop was KGVM in Reno in 1998.

➦In 2005...Former L-A 93KHJ Boss Jock Tommy Vance died.  Born Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston on July 11, 1940.  He was one of the first music broadcasters in the United Kingdom to champion hard rock and heavy metal in the early 1980s, providing the only national radio forum for both bands and fans. The Friday Rock Show that he hosted gave new bands airtime for their music and fans an opportunity to hear it. His radio show was a factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal. He used a personal tag-line of "TV on the radio". His voice was heard by millions around the world announcing the Wembley Stadium acts at Live Aid in 1985.

In 1964, he originally joined KOL Seattle Using the pseudonym Rick West working the midnight-to-6am shift broadcasting to a field of sleeping cows as he once described it.  From there Vance moved to Los Angeles where he was offered a show by programming consultant Bill Drake on 93KHJ radio, holding the evening airshift at KHJ for several months in late 1965.

The show had originally been intended for another presenter who had pulled out of the deal at the last moment, the jingles and pre-launch publicity could not go to waste so Rick West became "Tommy Vance", "The station asked if I would take the name as they had already made the jingles for him. I said, for that kind of money you can call me what you like, mate."



KHJ was one of the most successful and influential Top 40 stations of the era and California in 1965 was a great place to be. However, America was then involved in a war in Vietnam and when Tommy got his draft papers for the US Army, he decided it was time to head back to the UK.