June 21 Radio History

➦In 1900...Edward Samuel "Ted" Rogers born  (Died – May 6, 1939).  He was a Canadian pioneer in the radio industry and the founder of the Rogers Vacuum Tube Company and CFRB radio station.

He is regarded as the founder of Rogers Communications, although it was established in 1967, almost three decades after his death.

Rogers first became interested in radio when he saw a receiver at age 11. By 1913, he was noted in local newspapers for his skill at operating a radio station, which at the time was an impressive technical accomplishment. Rogers worked as a radio officer on Great Lakes passenger ships during the summers of 1916-1919 inclusive. In 1921, Rogers operated the only Canadian (and only spark-gap) station to successfully compete in the first amateur trans-Atlantic radio competition. Rogers held the amateur radio call sign 3BP, and joined the Canadian chapter of the American Radio Relay League in 1921.

In the early 1920s, radio transmitters and receivers ran on large and expensive batteries to provide the high voltages needed for the vacuum tubes used. Early attempts at producing a radio receiver to operate on household alternating current were unsuccessful, since tubes designed for the low current supply from batteries were unsatisfactory when operated on 25- or 60-hertz alternating current. The batteries were also extremely large and bulky.

In April 1924, Rogers traveled to the United States and saw experimental AC receiving tubes at the laboratories of Westinghouse in Pittsburgh. He purchased the patent rights to the experimental alternating current tubes of Frederick S. McCullough. After further development, Rogers produced a design of vacuum tube that would operate on alternating current.

By 1925, Rogers had introduced not only a complete radio receiver using the new tubes, but had also produced a "battery eliminator" (power supply) that could be used with other manufacturers' receivers to eliminate the expensive batteries. By August 1925, the Rogers batteryless radio was in commercial sales, the first radio receiver in the world to operate from household current. At a time when a schoolteacher might earn $1,000 per year, the top-of-the-line Rogers radio sold for $370. Rogers formed the company "Standard Radio Manufacturing" (later Rogers Vacuum Tube Company) to produce radio receivers using the new design of vacuum tubes.

In 1927, Rogers founded CFRB (Canada’s First Rogers Batteryless) radio station. The station is owned today by Bell Media.

He later started Canada’s first FM station, simulcasting CFRB-AM on the original 42 MHz FM band with 50 watts.

➦In 1948...CBS-TV debuts its new variety show, entitled Toast Of The Town, hosted by an New York Daily News entertainment columnist and critic named Ed Sullivan.

From 1948 until its cancellation in 1971, the show ran on CBS every Sunday night from 8–9 p.m. E.T., and is one of the few entertainment shows to have run in the same weekly time slot on the same network for more than two decades (during its first season, it ran from 9 to 10 p.m. E.T.). Virtually every type of entertainment appeared on the show; classical musicians, opera singers, popular recording artists, songwriters, comedians, ballet dancers, dramatic actors performing monologues from plays, and circus acts were regularly featured. The format was essentially the same as vaudeville and, although vaudeville had undergone a slow demise for a generation, Sullivan presented many ex-vaudevillians on his show.

The show was first titled Toast of the Town, but was widely referred to as The Ed Sullivan Show for years before September 25, 1955, when that became its official name. In the show's June 20, 1948 debut, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performed along with singer Monica Lewis and Broadway composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II previewing the score to their then-new show South Pacific, which opened on Broadway in 1949.

The Ed Sullivan Show was originally broadcast via live television from CBS-TV studio 51, the Maxine Elliott Theatre, at Broadway and 39th St. before moving to its permanent home at CBS-TV Studio 50 in New York City (1697 Broadway, at 53rd Street), which was renamed the Ed Sullivan Theater on the occasion of the program's 20th anniversary in June 1968. The last original Sullivan show telecast (#1068) was on March 28, 1971, with guests Melanie, Joanna Simon, Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass and Sandler & Young.

➦In 1948...Edward Wallerstein, the president of Columbia Records, demonstrated a long-playing record developed by Peter Goldmark of CBS Laboratories. The microgroove record played at 33-and-a-third revolutions per minute, in contrast to the standard 78 RPM, and could contain a maximum of 23 minutes of music a side, versus the approximately three minutes that could be squeezed onto a 78.

Columbia offered to share its technology with its main competitor, RCA Victor, but RCA opted to market its own version of the microgroove record — one that played at 45 R-P-M. But the battle of the speeds ended in 1950, when RCA announced it also would produce 33-and-a-third rpm long-playing records. Soon all major record companies were producing both 45’s and 33’s, spelling the end of the 78 RPM record.

➦In 1981…Lee Arnold departed Country WHN 1050 AM to capitalize on TV and radio syndication opportunities.

Lee Arnold

Arnold, born in Scranton, PA, was the best known air personality at WHN, New York, the most listened to Country radio station of all time.

After working at WSCR in his hometown of Scranton, he continued his broadcasting career at WAVY radio and TV and WNTA AM/FM/TV, both in Norfolk. Lee became Music Director and Air Personality at Country formatted WJRZ, Hackensack New Jersey, (1965-1971) which served the New York City metropolitan area. He joined WHN radio (1971-1981), and was there when it changed from an Adult Contemporary to a Country format in 1973.

While at WHN, Lee hosted the weekly nationally syndicated shows "Country Cookin'" and "Country Line" (1972-1976). Later, he hosted the Mutual Broadcasting System's "On A Country Road" (1981-1991) and was the voice of "Country In The Air", an in-flight airline Country Music channel.

He was honored by both Billboard Magazine, The Country Music Association (1976) and The Academy of Country Music (1983) as Major Market Country Disc Jockey of the Year. Lee Arnold appears as announcer on two landmark live Country albums "Buck Owens and The Buckeroos' Carnegie Hall Concert " and "Country Comes To Carnegie Hall". He then joined Country formatted WYNY New York (1991-1993).

Lee Arnold was inducted into The Country Music D J Hall of Fame in 2002. He joined the Sirius Satellite Network in 2001. He is also co-anchor analyst for ESPN's dog show series in addition to Animal Planet's dog show series. July of 2002, he debuted a new syndicated weekly show as host of "Country CloseUP" on Triumph Radio Network.

➦In 1981… WXLO-FM changed its call letters to WRKS Kiss 98.7 in 1994, Emmis bought WRKS, and changed the format to a Gold-Based Urban format. By 1999, WRKS had evolved into a Hot Urban AC. On April 26, 2012 it was announced that "Kiss FM" was ending its 30 year run on 98.7 and moving to 107.5 WBLS. Today 98.7 FM is home to WEPN-FM, ESPN Sports.

Dan Daniel

➦In 2016…Retired radio personality "Dandy" Dan Daniel died one day after a fall in his home at age 82.

Daniel was one of the 'Good Guys' while working for the New York radio station WMCA 570 AM during its heyday as a Top 40 station.

He started as a disc jockey at age seventeen on Armed Forces Radio with the US Navy. His first commercial job was at KXYZ in Houston in 1955 and he then worked at WDGY in Minneapolis before moving to WMCA in 1961.

His first broadcast at WMCA was on August 18, 1961. He started on the graveyard shift overnight but from 1962 to 1968 he played the top 40 hits from 4 pm to 7 pm — the evening drive home slot.

The station produced a survey of the current sales in New York record stores and Dandy Dan gave the countdown of the week's best sellers every Wednesday in this late afternoon slot. In 1966, he participated in a tour of Africa to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Peace Corps. Then, from 1968 to 1970, he did the early morning drive-to-work slot before leaving WMCA after nearly nine years; his final broadcast was on 11 July 1970.

Dan was also heard coast-to-coast on NBC Radio's "Monitor" in the summer of 1973.



He subsequently worked on WYNY-FM where he hosted the mid-day slot and later morning and afternoon drives. He then did a stint at WHN playing country music before returning to WYNY-FM. Finally, he moved to WCBS-FM in 1996. He retired from WCBS on December 31, 2002.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:

Kathy Mattea is 61

• Actor Bernie Kopell (“The Love Boat”) is 87. 
• Actor Monte Markham is 85. 
• Actress Mariette Hartley is 80. 
• Comedian Joe Flaherty (“SCTV”) is 79. 
• Musician Ray Davies of The Kinks is 76. 
• Actress Meredith Baxter (“Family Ties”) is 73. 
• Actor Michael Gross (“Family Ties”) is 73. 
• Guitarist Joey Molland of Badfinger is 73. 
• Drummer Joey Kramer of Aerosmith is 70. 
• Guitarist Nils Lofgren is 69. 
• Cartoonist Berke Breathed (“Opus,” ″Bloom County”) is 63. 
• Actor Josh Pais (“Ray Donovan”) is 62. 
• Country singer Kathy Mattea is 61. 
• Actor Marc Copage (“Julia”) is 58. 
• Actor Doug Savant (“Desperate Housewives,” ″Melrose Place”) is 56. 
• Guitarist Porter Howell of Little Texas is 56. 
• Actor Michael Dolan (“Hamburger Hill,” “Biloxi Blues”) is 55. 
• Filmmaker Lana Wachowski (“The Matrix,” “Speed Racer”) is 55. 
• Actress Carrie Preston (“The Good Wife”) is 53. 
• Country singer Allison Moorer is 48. 
• Actress Juliette Lewis is 47. 
• Actress Maggie Siff (“Mad Men”) is 46. 
• Bassist Justin Cary (Sixpence None the Richer) is 45. 
• Guitarist Mike Einziger of Incubus is 44. 
• Actor Chris Pratt (“Jurassic World,” ″Guardians of the Galaxy”) is 41. 
• Singer Brandon Flowers of The Killers is 39. 
• Actor Jussie Smollett (“Empire”) is 38. 
• Actor Michael Malarkey (“The Vampire Diaries”) is 37. 
• Singer Kris Allen (“American Idol”) is 35. 
• Singer Lana Del Rey is 35. 
• Actor Jascha Washington (“Big Momma’s House” films) is 31. 
• Bassist Chandler Baldwin of LANCO is 28. 
• Singer Rebecca Black is 23.

Apple Inc. Again Closing Some Stores

Apple Inc. said it would re-close nearly a dozen stores across four states where cases of the coronavirus have climbed, showing wariness in the business community about the safety of reopening in some places. The Wall Street Journal reports.

Retailers from Best Buy Co. to Macy’s Inc. have set plans to reopen hundreds of U.S. locations by the end of June. Those that were forced to close in March have taken various approaches to reopening, with some wanting to move faster or more deliberately than local policy makers would allow.

Apple has taken a more conservative to store operations than other retailers. In mid-March, it was among the first to close its roughly 270 stores in the U.S., and upon reopening some stores in May, it required that staff and customers and staff wear masks and undergo temperature checks.

The closure of 11 of its stores—two near Charlotte, N.C., one near Greenville, S.C., two near Naples, Fla., and six across Arizona—showed that it is evaluating local information about positive Covid-19 test results and taking measures to protect staff and customers from infection, as well as its brand from negative publicity of an outbreak at stores, analysts said.

“We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation, and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement. The company declined to comment further on the decision.

Other retailers are likely to follow Apple in toggling operations on and off based on local data, said Jean-Emmanuel Biondi, principal in Deloitte Consulting’s retail practice.

West Palm Radio: The KVJ Show Gets Extension At WRMF

Hubbard Radio has announced the resigning of HotAC WRMF 97.9 FM morning hosts, The KVJ Show, to a new multi-year deal.

The program features Kevin Rolston, Virginia Sinicki and Jason Pennington and they've been waking up South Florida and West Palm Beach since 1999. The trio has also raised thousands of dollars over the years to support the community with their charity "Little Smiles."

Senior VP/Market Manager Elizabeth Hamma said, "The KVJ Show is incredibly talented and hardworking and they demonstrate every day that when you truly care about the audience and community you serve, success will follow. We're fortunate to have them on our Hubbard West Palm Beach team for years to come."

WRMF PD Randi West added, "The KVJ Show is the dream team of morning shows. I'm a huge fan of their show and I'm thrilled I'll get to help continue to build their passionate fan base for years to come."

Disney+ Ending Free Week's Trial

Walt Disney Co. has stopped offering one-week free trials for its Disney+ streaming service in the U.S., the latest sign the product is off to a strong start, Bloomberg reports.

The $7-a-month video service, which launched in the U.S. in November, has already signed up more than 54 million customers, surprisingly quick adoption for a new consumer product. Other streaming services, including industry pioneer Netflix Inc., continue to offer free trials.

The end of the promotion comes just before the July 3 release of a filmed performance of the Broadway show “Hamilton,” which will likely draw a broad audience to the service. Disney hasn’t been promoting the free trial for several weeks.

“We continue to test and evaluate different marketing, offers and promotions to grow Disney+,” the company said in a statement. “The service was set at an attractive price-to-value proposition that we believe delivers a compelling entertainment offering on its own.”

Disney+ features virtually all of the company’s films on demand, from “Snow White” to “Avengers: Endgame,” as well as original content such as Star Wars series “The Mandalorian.” As with many other streaming services, Disney doesn’t require a contract and customers can cancel at any time.

Disney hadn’t been offering the free trial with its $13-a-month promotion that packaged Disney+ with the company’s Hulu and ESPN+ services. The entertainment giant is still offering a one-month free trials in Japan, where Disney+ just launched.

While all TV and film producers face a challenge creating new content with the world having been on virus-related lockdown for the past three months, Disney has been able to take some of the films it originally planned to show in theaters, such as the teenage spy thriller “Artemis Fowl,” and put them directly on the service.

Churn, or the cancellation of service, is a huge issue for streaming services. Customers often sign up for new seasons of shows, as many did for HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” and then cancel afterward. Getting rid of free trials locks in more revenue from such samplers.

Tucker Carlson: 'Censorship Is Now Everywhere'

Tucker Carlson

Fox News host Tucker Carlson blasted Big Tech Friday night after Twitter flagged a fake tourism ad for Seattle's Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) that aired on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" last week.

"I want to apologize if you found what you just saw, hateful, disgusting, [or] if you were traumatized by watching it," Carlson said sarcastically after playing a portion of the satirical video. "Twitter's very concerned you might be. We posted that fake ad on Twitter. Twitter flagged it as potentially sensitive content' and then they hid it from view.

"What were they saying? They were saying, 'Beware, keep your kids from watching this.' What's the justification for warning people of that? We have no idea," Carlson said. "Probably that it's edited video. Of course, they never flag a clip from The Onion or 'The Daily Show.' Obviously, you know why."

Fox News says Tucker also noted that the opening of his June 1 show, a response to riots across America that sprang from protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, "has a warning now on YouTube."

It says this, 'The following content has been identified by the YouTube community, whatever that is, as inappropriate or offensive to some audiences,"' Carlson said. "By offensive, they mean that the left doesn't like it. And that is the new standard. And there's only one response under that standard: Silence the person who disagrees with you. That's why censorship is now everywhere. It's why the tech companies started censoring the president. It's why they're getting more and more aggressive in silencing you."

New tourism ad in from America’s newest neighbor: The Nation of CHAZ pic.twitter.com/2FowsblzPY

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 13, 2020

Carlson warned that tech companies are on a slippery slope with regard to censorship.

Puerto Rico Radio: Univision's WKAQ Fires Talker Over Slur

Luis Davila Colon

Univision Communications Inc. fired one of Puerto Rico’s most prominent radio commentators after he used a racist term in an attempt to describe how Black people talk to one another.

Bloomberg reports the Spanish-language broadcaster said it conducted an investigation and decided to sever ties with Luis Davila Colon on Thursday.

“Earlier this week on Radio WKAQ 580 AM in Puerto Rico, Luis Davila Colon used an offensive, despicable slur,” the company said in a statement. “We do not tolerate or accept any such vile language or attitudes in our workplace or on our air.”

Davila Colon said he was trying to explain to listeners of his afternoon show, “El Azote,” or “The Whip,” that Black people on the mainland sometimes refer to one another as the N-word and it’s not explicitly racist.

In a video posted on his social-media accounts, Davila Colon said his political enemies were using the scandal to force him off the air ahead of the Nov. 3 governor’s race. The radio personality is pro-statehood and has often clashed with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who is running in the race and is an advocate for a more autonomous Puerto Rico. Earlier this year, Colon was temporarily suspended for insulting Cruz on the air.

Univision owns and operates 65 television channels and 58 radio stations across the U.S. in predominantly Hispanic markets, including Puerto Rico.

In February, investment firms Searchlight Capital Partners and ForgeLight, agreed to buy a 64% ownership stake in Univision. Grupo Televisa SAB, which supplies Univision with Spanish-language programming, held onto a 36% stake.

AP Changes Writing Style To Capitalize ″b″ In Black

The Associated Press changed its writing style guide Friday to capitalize the “b” in the term Black when referring to people in a racial, ethnic or cultural context, weighing in on a hotly debated issue.

The change conveys “an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa,” John Daniszewski, AP’s vice president of standards, said in a blog post Friday. “The lowercase black is a color, not a person.”

The news organization will also now capitalize Indigenous in reference to original inhabitants of a place.

Daniszewski said the revisions aligned with long-standing identifiers such as Latino, Asian American and Native American. He said the decision followed more than two years of research and debate among AP journalists and outside groups and thinkers.

“Our discussions on style and language consider many points, including the need to be inclusive and respectful in our storytelling and the evolution of language,” he wrote. “We believe this change serves those ends.”

The AP said it expects to make a decision within a month on whether to capitalize the term white. Among the considerations are what that change might mean outside the United States.

An ongoing debate over capitalization of Black accelerated in many U.S. newsrooms in recent weeks as journalists grappled with massive protests and sweeping changes in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police.

The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and NBC News last week embraced capitalization, and the National Association of Black Journalists urged other news organizations to follow.

The AP Stylebook of usage policies is highly influential in the industry, with many news organizations, government and public relations agencies using it as a guide.

Consumers Warming Up To A Sense of Safety

by Felix Richter, Statista

People remain limited in their choices on what to do in their spare time. While businesses are gradually reopening across the United States, many Americans are still hesitant to return to normalcy as the coronavirus threat still lingers.

According to a poll regularly conducted by Morning Consult over the past few weeks, Americans are gradually restoring a sense of safety, but the majority still feels uncomfortable engaging in popular pastime activities.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Between June 9-11, 41 percent of respondents felt comfortable going out to eat. Six weeks earlier, only 18 percent would have been comfortable doing so. As the following chart shows, the level of comfort is still much lower for other activities. Only 23 percent would go to the movies comfortably at the moment and just 12 percent would feel safe traveling abroad. These numbers show that opening back up is one thing, but rebuilding consumer trust is an entirely different proposition.

Nielsen Appoints Chief Diversity Officer

Nielsen’s David Kenny in an appearance on CNBC on Friday explained why he embedded the position of chief diversity officer into his responsibilities as chief executive officer of the marketing firm.

When asked his motive for leading the company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, Kenny, who is White, said the top reason was “power.”

“There is no more powerful position than the CEO and, quite honestly, this isn’t going to change if the people with power don’t use that power to change it,” he said in a “Closing Bell” interview.


Kenny, who became chief executive in December 2018, first announced publicly that he added the title of chief diversity officer to his duties in an April 2019 proxy statement. The executive position was last held by Angela Talton, a Black woman who now owns a diversity and inclusion consultancy.

Culture and accountability are two other pillars of the chief diversity officer’s role, “to make sure we’re talking about inclusion” and “equality at every level, and that it is front and center in the board room and in the management room,” Kenny continued. “We can set hard targets for ourselves and make those transparent to our board and measure them like we measure other outcomes like financial results.” Kenny said Nielsen is “lucky” that about 38% of the company’s workforce in the U.S. is made up of people of color and that the company “has improved, but we also have targets at every level.” Additionally, 40% of Nielsen’s senior positions are filled by women and the New York-based company should increase that number to 50%, he added.

America: Land Of The Stressed

More than 8 in 10 Americans (83%) say the future of our nation is a significant source of stress, according to the American Psychological Association’s most recent survey report, Stress in AmericaTM 2020: Stress in The Time of COVID-19, Volume Two.

The previous high was 69%, reported in 2018 as part of APA’s annual Stress in America survey.

Following protests over racial injustice sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police—all set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic—more than 7 in 10 (72%) Americans say that this is the lowest point in the country’s history that they can remember. The report includes findings from two recent surveys conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of APA: Wave 2 of the COVID Tracker conducted from May 21 to June 3, 2020, among 3,013 adults age 18+ who reside in the U.S.; and an additional poll about the current civil unrest conducted from June 9 to 11, 2020, among 2,058 adults age 18+ who reside in the U.S.

“We are experiencing the collision of three national crises—the COVID-19 pandemic, economic turmoil and recent, traumatic events related to systemic racism. As a result, the collective mental health of the American public has endured one devastating blow after another, the long-term effects of which many people will struggle for years to come,” said Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, APA’s chief executive officer. “We don't have to be passive players in mitigating the rapidly increasing stress Americans are facing and its consequences on our health.”

The proportion of black Americans who say discrimination is a significant source of stress has increased significantly in the past month, with 55% of black adults saying discrimination is a significant source of stress in Wave 2 of the COVID Tracker. At the beginning of May, only 42% said the same in Wave 1. In the most recent civil unrest poll, more than 7 in 10 Americans (71%) say police violence toward minorities is a significant source of stress. But most Americans (67%) say the current movement against systemic racism and police brutality is going to lead to meaningful change in America.

MLB To Players: 60 Games, Take It Or Leave It

Rather than countering the Players Association’s latest proposal of 70 games -- and moving toward a potential compromise at the midpoint of 65 games at a total cost to the 30 owners of roughly $135 million in player pay -- MLB drew a line in the proverbial sand at 60 games, the union said in a statement Friday night.

Faced with that ultimatum, the players seem to have two choices according to The Philadelphia Inquirer:

(a) Agree to the 60-game framework that commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA executive director Tony Clark discussed in Phoenix this week and mobilize for "spring training 2.0" in preparation for a season that would begin on approximately July 20.

(b) Decline the 60-game outline and force Manfred to either impose a schedule, likely from 48 to 60 games, or cancel the season altogether.

But MLB's message to the union on Friday signaled the owners' unwillingness to budge off a 60-game offer that they and Manfred interpreted as an outline for an agreement, not a continuance of the negotiations.

It marks the second time in four months that MLB and the players were unable to agree on what they'd agreed on. There was a dispute over the language in the March 26 accord, with MLB insisting that the per-game pay agreement could be renegotiated if fans weren't going to be permitted at games.

June 20 Radio History

Frank Gallop

➦In 1900...announcer Frank Gallop was born in New York City.

After starting his radio career in Boston, the sombre-voiced Gallop moved back to New York with friend and fellow announcer Ed Herlihy and soon established a busy career on CBS and NBC. He was heard on such soap operas as Amanda of Honeymoon Hill, Hilltop House, When A Girl Marries, and Stella Dallas, as well as Gangbusters, the Columbia Workshop and New York Philharmonic broadcasts. He was the announcer and comic foil for the host on Milton Berle’s program on radio and The Perry Como Show on TV. He narrated a 1966 hit comedy record, The Ballad of Irving.  Gallop died May 5 1988 at age 87.

➦In 1910...Fanny Brice, born Fannie Borach, debuted in the New York production of the Ziegfeld Follies.                                         

Fanny Brice

It wasn’t long before Brice became known as America’s funny girl. A regular on Rudy Vallee’s radio show, The Fleischmann Hour, in the 1920s, Fanny Brice joined The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air at age 45. The show on CBS radio was the introduction of her funny-voiced character, Baby Snooks.

In 1937 she joined NBC radio and continued as the Snooks kid, a seven-year old spoiled brat. Brice’s most famous line was, “Whyyyyyy, daddy?”  From 1936 through 1951, Brice was one of radio’s biggest draws, right until her sudden death of a cerebral hemorrhage on May 29, 1951 at age 59.

➦In 1982…WCBM 680 AM Baltimore announced it was switching from adult contemporary to news/talk. KEZL 102.9 FM in San Diego dropped Shulke II (The automated vocal/lite AC service) in favor of adult contemporary.

➦In 1982….ABC Radio officially killed its much-promoted “SuperRadio” satellite fed A/C format. The network was due to premiere July 1. The DJ lineup was completed only a few weeks ago when Jack Spector, Bob Dayton and Steve York were signed for weekends.  A lack of affiliates has been cited – with only three-full time stations ready to go.

➦In 1996…Westinghouse Electric Corp., then the largest operator of radio stations in the U.S., agreed to acquire radio giant Infinity Broadcasting Corp. in a stock transaction the two companies valued at about $3.9 billion.

The combination of the largest and second-largest radio-station groups in the U.S. would create a powerhouse in the top 10 radio markets and a company with gross advertising billings of close to $1 billion, roughly three times the size of its next largest competitor. It is unclear whether the combination would raise antitrust concerns.

Mel Karmazin, the founder of Infinity, was chosen to lead the management of Westinghouse's radio business. The move by Karmazin -- whose company grew through acquisitions over a 24-year period -- stunned the radio industry, which all along has assumed Mr. Karmazin was a buyer, not a seller.

A combination of Westinghouse/CBS and Infinity Broadcasting's stations would create a giant radio combination totaling 83 stations. The newly combined company would also be a colossus in the top 10 markets, where it would own six stations in New York City and command 35% to 40% of the market's radio billings. In Los Angeles, Westinghouse/CBS/Infinity would also own six stations, grabbing 30% to 35% of the market's radio advertising revenue.

Infinity Broadcasting was founded by Mr. Karmazin and other partners in 1972 with the purchase of KONE-FM in San Jose, Calif.  Infinity has embarked on an aggressive acquisition strategy since last fall, when it bought seven radio stations from Alliance Broadcasting for $275 million; an outdoor advertising company, TDI Worldwide Inc., for $300 million; and signed an agreement to buy 12 radio stations owned by Granum Holdings Inc. for $410 million.

Ken Rank

➦In 2004…Radio, TV Personality Ken Rank died at age 66 in a Tulsa hospital, after suffering complications from a lung transplant. After serving five years in the Navy as a medic, he began his career as a radio disc jockey in Fort Smith at KTCS Radio. Rank worked at various radio stations including KRMG in Tulsa, where he was voted one of the top disc jockeys in the United States by Broadcast Magazine.

Rank became a weather forecaster in 1983. Ken was also known for being the spokesperson for several northwest Arkansas businesses.  After working 10 years as a weather man, Ken left to start his own company, VideoBase, a video production company.

➦In 2006...News Anchor Dan Rather reached agreement with CBS News to leave the network after 44 years. He later accepted an offer from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to do a weekly news program for Cuban’s HDNet cable channel.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:

Nicole Kidman is 53

• Actress Bonnie Bartlett (“St. Elsewhere,” ″Once and Again”) is 91. 
• Actress Olympia Dukakis is 89. 
• Actor James Tolkan (“Back to the Future” films) is 89. 
• Musician Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys is 78. 
• Actor John McCook (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) 76. 
• Singer Anne Murray is 75. 
• Home repair show host Bob Vila is 74. 
• Classical pianist Andre Watts is 74. 
• Actress Candy Clark (“American Graffiti”) is 73. 
• Singer Lionel Richie is 71. 
• Actor John Goodman is 68. 
• Bassist Michael Anthony (Van Halen, Chickenfoot) 66. 
• Bassist John Taylor of Duran Duran is 60. 
• Keyboardist Mark degli Antoni (Soul Coughing) is 58. 
• Guitarist Jerome Fontamillas of Switchfoot is 53. 
• Bassist Murphy Karges of Sugar Ray is 53. 
• Actress Nicole Kidman is 53. 
• Singer Dan Tyminski of Alison Krauss and Union Station is 53. 
• Actor Peter Paige (“Queer as Folk”) is 51. 
• Actor Josh Lucas (“Sweet Home Alabama,” ″A Beautiful Mind”) is 49. 
• Bassist Twiggy Ramirez (Marilyn Manson) is 49. 
• Singer Chino Moreno is 47. 
• Singer Amos Lee is 43. 
• Drummer Chris Thompson of The Eli Young Band is 40. 
• Singer-actress Alisan Porter (“The Voice,” ″Curly Sue”) is 39. 
• Singer Grace Potter of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is 37. 
• Keyboardist Chris Dudley of Underoath is 37. 
• Actor Mark Saul (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 35. 
• Actress Dreama Walker (film’s “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood,” TV’s “Gossip Girl”) is 34. 
• Actor Chris Mintz-Plasse (“Superbad”) is 31. 
• Actress Maria Lark (TV’s “Medium”) is 23.

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Podcasting Moves Spotify To Record Territory

Spotify Technology SA shares surged Friday, with the stock moving further into record territory after a pair of analysts said the company’s move into podcasts makes them even more bullish, according to Yahoo! Finance citing a Bloomberg report.

The company recently announced a number of high-profile podcasts deals, including with Joe Rogan and DC Comics. There’s reportedly also a pact with Kim Kardashian West.

“We not only see attractive monetization potential” from these deals, but they could lead to “future leverage to premium subscription pricing and label negotiations,” wrote Rosenblatt Securities analyst Mark Zgutowicz. The podcasts “present attractive leverage characteristics to users and revenue,” he added, raising his price target to a Street-high view of $275.

Monness, Crespi, Hardt also raised its Spotify target to $275 on Friday, saying the podcasts deals offer “the opportunity for increased engagement on the platform” as well as the potential for growth in monthly active users.

Spotify shares gained as much as 7.3% on Friday and are on track for a weekly surge of more than 30%, the biggest weekly percentage gain in the company’s history. Shares have more than doubled off a March low, and the rally is a sign that “investors are beginning to buy into Spotify’s bold podcast vision,” Monness wrote.

The Rundown: Supreme Court Rules On DACA

➤SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST TRUMP BID TO END DACA: The Supreme Court ruled yesterday against President Trump's attempt to end Obama-era protections for some 650,000 young immigrants who were brought to U.S. illegally as children. The split 5-4 decision, in which Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the high court's liberals, means the eight-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program remains, providing protection from deportation and authorization to work in the U.S. The decision wasn't based on the merits of DACA or its repeal, but said Trump's administration didn't take the proper steps to end the program.

Roberts wrote, "We address only whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action. Here the agency failed to consider the conspicuous issues of whether to retain forbearance and what if anything to do about the hardship to DACA recipients." Trump blasted the ruling, which came three days after the court said gay, lesbian and transgender people are protected from employment discrimination, tweeting, "These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives."

➤CALIFORNIA ORDERS MASK-WEARING AS CORONAVIRUS CASES RISE: California has been seeing a rising number of coronavirus cases as it's been reopening its economy, and on Thursday the state ordered that people will have to wear masks in most places indoors and outdoors when distancing isn't possible. Governor Gavin Newsom said he issued the order because too many Californians aren't wearing masks, saying, "They are critical to keeping those who are around you safe, keeping businesses open and restarting our economy." California joins some other states, including Michigan, New York, Maine, Delaware and Maryland, that already have statewide mask orders.

Weekly Unemployment Claims: There were 1.5 million Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment last week, according to Labor Department figures out yesterday, the 11th straight week of decline since the height of the impact of the coronavirus shutdowns. However, the weekly figure is still more than twice what the record high was before the pandemic, and the total number of people getting unemployment benefits is at 20.5 million.

Study: Asymptomatic May Have Weaker Immune Response: A small new study from China suggests that people with the coronavirus who are asymptomatic have a weaker immune response, finding patients who'd been asymptomatic had significantly lower levels of antibodies than patients who'd had mild symptoms.

Blood Type May Affect Severity: A genetic analysis of thousands of people with the coronavirus in Europe suggests that blood type might affect whether someone develops severe disease. Scientists found that those who had Type A blood were more likely to have severe disease, and those with Type O were less likely to. The study doesn't prove a blood type connection, but it confirms an earlier report of China of a blood type link.

Daily Toll: There have been more than 118,300 deaths in the U.S. as of last night, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 2,188,000 confirmed cases.

Atlanta Journal-Coonstution 6/19/20

➤ATLANTA POLICE CALLING IN SICK IN PROTEST OF MURDER CHARGES AGAINST OFFICER: Atlanta police officers were calling in sick Thursday (June 18th) as a protest over murder charges being filed against an officer who fatally shot a man in the back in a Wendy's parking lot. It's not clear how many have called in sick, but Interim Police Chief Rodney Bryant told AP they have enough officers coming in to work to protect the city. Vince Champion of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers told AP the Atlanta officers are calling in sick or not responding to calls because they feel, quote, "abandoned, betrayed, used in a political game."

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced felony murder charges on Wednesday against Garrett Rolfe, the officer who shot Rayshard Brooks after the 27-year-old grabbed a Taser during a struggle and ran, firing it at the officer. Howard said Brooks was not a deadly threat at the time and that Rolfe kicked the wounded Brooks and offered no medical treatment for over two minutes as he lay dying. The officer with Rolfe, Devin Brosnan, who Howard said stood on Brooks’ shoulder as he lay wounded ,was charged with aggravated assault and violation of his oath. Rolfe and Brosnan turned themselves in Thursday. Rolfe was being held without bond and Brosnan released on a $30,000 bond.

➤FACEBOOK REMOVES TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADS WITH SYMBOL USED BY NAZIS: Facebook has removed campaign ads for President Trump that featured an upside-down red triangle, a symbol used by the Nazis in concentration camps to designate political prisoners, communists and others, saying Thursday that it violated their policy against, quote, "organized hate." The ads had begun appearing on Facebook a day earlier. Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said the inverted red triangle was a symbol commonly used by antifa so it was included in an ad about the leftist militants. However, AP said some experts disputed that the symbol was commonly used as an antifa symbol.

➤PELOSI ORDERS REMOVAL OF PORTRAITS OF HOUSE SPEAKERS WHO SERVED IN CONFEDERACY: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday ordered the immediate removal from outside the House chamber of the portraits of four 19th century speakers who served in the Confederacy. Pelosi said that the men -- Robert Hunter of Virginia, James Orr of South Carolina, and Howell Cobb and Charles Crisp of Georgia -- quote, "embody the violent bigotry and grotesque racism of the Confederacy." She stated, "There is no room in the hallowed halls of Congress or in any place of honor" to commemorate the Confederacy. The portraits were removed soon after and put in storage.

➤KLOBUCHAR WITHDRAWS AS POSSIBLE BIDEN VP: Senator Amy Klobuchar announced last night that she'd asked Joe Biden to remove her name from consideration as his potential vice presidential running mate. Klobuchar said on MSNBC that, quote, "this is a moment to put a woman of color" on the Democratic ticket. Biden has promised that he will choose a woman as his running mate. Since the death of George Floyd, Klobuchar has faced scrutiny over her record when she was chief prosecutor for Hennepin County, when she declined to bring charges in more than 24 cases in which people were killed by police.

➤UNIV. OF FLORIDA ENDING 'GATOR BAIT' CHEER BECAUSE OF RACIST HISTORY: University of Florida president Kent Fuchs announced yesterday that the school will no longer allow the "Gator Bait" cheer at sports events, saying, "While I know of no evidence of racism associated with our 'Gator Bait' cheer . . . there is horrific historic racist imagery associated with the phrase." When the school band plays the tune for the cheer, fans make a chomping motion with their arms and shout "Gator Bait!"

ESPN cited the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia as saying African American babies were used as alligator bait, citing newspaper articles and imagery from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and the term was also used as a racial slur against African Americans. Lawrence Wright, who was a black player at Florida, popularized the phrase, "If you ain't a Gator, ya Gator bait, baby," after saying it after a 1995 win. He told The Gainesville Sun he's upset with the school's decision.

➤PLAYERS PROPOSE 70-GAME SEASON TO MLB: One day after it was reported that MLB believed it had reached agreement with the players union on a "framework" for a coronavirus-delayed 60-game regular season with players getting full prorated salaries, the union disputed that and on Thursday proposed a 70-game regular season with prorated salaries. The union's proposal would also have players wear advertisement patches on their uniforms for the first time in MLB history. But Commissioner Rob Manfred rejected it and said, "This needs to be over," adding, "Until I speak with owners, I can’t give you a firm deadline."

Albuquerque Radio: John Summers Named News Director At KKOB

John Summers

CUMULUS MEDIA announces that News Radio KKOB 96.3FM/770AM in Albuquerque, NM, has appointed John Summers as News Director. 

Summers is an award-winning journalist who was most recently Brand Manager and News Director for WHCU-AM/FM in Ithaca, NY. Prior to that, he was Regional Program Director and News Director for the Northwest News Radio Network and the Washington Ag Network. Summers’ news career has also included stops at WIBW-AM in Topeka, KS, KHTS-AM in Los Angeles, CA, and KOH-AM in Reno, NV. 

“We are thrilled to welcome John to the News Radio KKOB family,” said Jared Hart, Operations Manager, Cumulus Albuquerque. “He’s a great fit to lead this iconic Albuquerque station into an exciting new chapter and to help capitalize on our recent expansion of the KKOB brand.” 

Summers commented: "I'm thrilled to become part of the awesome Southwest legend, KKOB. I really appreciate Jeff Berry and Jared Hart's confidence in my journalistic vision for the giant AM-FM signals involved - and I love New Mexico. This is going to be fun." 

News Radio KKOB is New Mexico’s #1 radio station, and reaches all of Albuquerque, as well as Santa Fe and the adjacent suburbs. For more information, visit: www.newsradiokkob.com.

Charlotte Radio: Terry Foxx Named PD At Sports WFNZ

Entercom has named Terry Foxx as Brand Manager for WFNZ 610 AM / 102.5 FM, Charlotte’s sports leader, the flagship station of the Charlotte Hornets, and the Virginia Tech Hokies affiliate in the Piedmont.

Terry Foxx

“Terry brings a wealth of experience architecting leading sports radio brands and will help usher in a new era of growth for WFNZ,” said Matt Hanlon, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Charlotte. 

“The station serves as an extremely important sports and lifestyle brand for the people of Charlotte, who rely on us to be informative, timely, relevant and entertaining. Terry’s leadership will be instrumental and we’re looking forward to adding him to the team.”

“I'm very excited to join Entercom Charlotte and the great team at WFNZ,” said Foxx. “Charlotte is a great city full of passionate sports fans and I look forward to enhancing their sports radio home with unparalleled content and in-depth discussion. I want to thank Matt for this incredible opportunity, along with Doug Abernethy [Regional President, Entercom].”

Foxx joins WFNZ after serving as Brand Manager for 92.9 The Game (WZGC-FM) in Atlanta, a station he helped launch after joining in 2012. During his stint, Foxx led the station into multiple partnerships with all of the area’s professional and college sports organizations. 

Prior to his time in Atlanta, Foxx launched sister station 93.7 The Fan (KDKA-FM), Pittsburgh’s first ever 24/7 sports brand. In this capacity, Foxx developed relationships with the Pittsburgh sports community and honed his craft of content management while creating a unique sports brand in a marketplace. Foxx also previously served as a Program Director for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT.

CEO OUT As Gannett Streamlines Structure

Gannett Co. on Thursday said that the CEO of its operating company, Paul Bascobert, will leave the company after the board eliminated his position to streamline its operating structure.

USAToday reports the departure is not the result of any inappropriate action or violation of policy by Bascobert, or by any deterioration in the business, the company said.

Michael Reed, chairman and chief executive officer of the overall public entity, Gannett Co., has assumed Bascobert’s responsibilities.

“The Board and I would like to thank Paul for his contributions during such an important period for our Company," Reed said. "Paul made a significant impact, helping to integrate the two companies, navigate through this current pandemic and lay the groundwork for our revenue transformation."

Paul Bascobert

Gannett Co., on Thursday said the CEO of its operating company, Paul Bascobert, will leave the company.

The $1.1 billion merger of USA TODAY publisher Gannett Co. and GateHouse Media, agreed to last August and closed in November, made it the nation's largest U.S. media company by print circulation and one of the largest by digital audience.

The scale of the combined company, which owns more than 260 daily publications, was intended to help Gannett weather precipitous declines in print advertising and circulation while positioning it to better compete for digital advertising against Alphabet’s Google and Facebook. Gannett was proceeding with plans to cut $300 million in annual costs, connected to the merger, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Bascobert, 56, joined Gannett prior to the merger as president and CEO in August 2019. A former executive with Dow Jones, Bloomberg and XO Group Inc., he was named CEO of the operating company, Gannett Media Corp. in November. Reed became chairman and CEO of Gannett Co., the publicly traded holding company that owns Gannett Media.

Ken Doctor, a news industry analyst with Newsonomics, says the departure did not come as a surprise.

Bascobert, hired by Gannett just months before the merger, faced the difficult task of knitting together two large media companies with distinct businesses and cultures.

Poll: Americans Outraged by George Floyd’s Death. But It Stops There.

Americans across the country say they are “shocked” and “disgusted” over the alleged murder of George Floyd, according to new analysis of open-ended polling, but for many, their thoughts on the death that has prompted demonstrations around the world stops there — and often comes with a caveat condemning violent protesters.

Morning Consult asked roughly 2,000 U.S. adults to describe their reaction to news they had seen, read or heard about Floyd’s death, former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin and the resulting Black Lives matter protests. Respondents were able to write whatever they wanted in a blank space.

The open-ended responses reveal a country that is aware, conflicted and confused on how to feel about the killing, which occurred on May 25 and drove millions worldwide to take to the streets to protest police brutality and racial inequality. While roughly 2 in 5 U.S. adults expressed outrage, relatively few called for action, and most stopped short of acknowledging systemic racism in their answers.

Morning Consult analyzed and visualized the open-ended responses, collected May 31-June 1, which varied from one word to one paragraph. Responses fell into five major categories, with many belonging to more than one:

• General outrage over the incident, which at 41 percent is the largest share.
• Calls for order as some protest became violent, at 23 percent.
• Labeling both sides as wrong, including placing blame on Chauvin but admonishing protesters, at 17 percent.
• Calls for justice for Floyd and the black community, at 12 percent. 
• Calls for societal or government change, at 3 percent. 

While Americans of all political stripes expressed anger, Democrats were more inclined to do so than Republicans and independents. Members of the GOP were 50 percent more likely than Democrats to call for order amid the protests and twice as likely to blame “both sides” for wrongdoing during the protests.

Fauci Not Hopeful For NFL 2020 Season

Americans shouldn’t hold their breath for football this year, coronavirus soothsayer Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN in an interview, according to Mediaiate.

“Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,” the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief told CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta in a Wednesday interview. “If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”

The National Basketball League said it plans to move forward with a “bubble,” which requires the league’s 22 teams to move to Orlando in early July. The bubble will be governed by a 113-page document, which will prohibit players from leaving without permission and bar guests from visiting before the end of August.


The National Football League’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, indicated this month that the NFL is planning to move forward. “We are developing a comprehensive and rapid-result testing program and rigorous protocols that call for a shared responsibility from everyone inside our football ecosystem,” he said. “This is based on the collective guidance of public health officials, including the White House task force, the CDC, infectious disease experts, and other sports leagues.”

Jimmy Kimmel Taking The Summer Off

Jimmy Kimmel is taking a lengthy summer break from the late-night hosting gig he has had for nearly 18 years.

Kimmel announced Thursday that he will be stepping away from “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” starting July 6 and his departure will last all the way through September when he hosts The Emmys, according to The NY Post citing a report from Variety.

The show will be taken over by a variety of guest hosts while Kimmel steps back to spend time with his family.

“There’s nothing wrong, I’m healthy, my family’s healthy, I just need a couple of months off,” Kimmel said, reassuring fans.

While there have not been any specific details about who will be stepping in, ABC has promised “a cavalcade of very kind and capable people will be filling in.”

Back in 2017, Kimmel briefly left the show when his son was born with congenital disease and had to go through multiple open-heart surgeries.

During that time, the show was hosted by Shaquille O’Neal, Dave Grohl, Channing Tatum and Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Tracee Ellis Ross, Neil Patrick Harris and Melissa McCarthy.

ESPN Radio Debuts 2-Hour Show On Social Justice & Sports

On Friday, June 19, ESPN Radio and The Undefeated – ESPN’s multiplatform content initiative exploring the intersections of sports, race and culture – will present the debut of The Intersection at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN Radio. 

The two-hour, weekly show will feature in-depth discussions that will continue the conversation around the impact of social justice on sports and society. Following its premiere episode on Friday in recognition of Juneteenth, ESPN Radio & The Undefeated Present The Intersection will move to its regular time slot, Thursday on ESPN Radio at 8 p.m., June 25.

The show will be hosted by two marquee, multiplatform ESPN voices - SportsCenter anchor Elle Duncan and The Undefeated columnist, commentator and host Clinton Yates. The duo will regularly be joined by other commentators from across the network.

“We are proud to have Elle and Clinton as part of this key piece of the ESPN Radio lineup,” said David Roberts, ESPN senior vice president, production. “They are experts in driving and furthering meaningful conversations on social justice and the impacts on sports and society, while engaging with listeners throughout the process.”

Duncan and Yates will recap the events, conversations and actions that took place throughout the previous week related to social justice. They will look ahead at the continued impact on sports and the way various leagues are responding as they return to competition.

Highlights from the show will be featured on The Undefeated as well as across ESPN’s multiplatform studio programming. A podcast version of the show will be available next month.

ESPN Radio & The Undefeated Present The Intersection can be heard nationally on SiriusXM, the ESPN App and ESPNRadio.com as well as via digital distributers Apple Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn

Saga Suspends Cash Dividends

Saga Communications, Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors is temporarily suspending the quarterly cash dividend in response to the continued economic uncertainty of the impact of COVID-19. Additional actions being taken to conserve the Company's cash position include reducing planned capital spending and seeking discounts from vendors.

By preserving the Company's cash position, the Company believes market conditions may present attractive acquisition opportunities.

The Company will consider the resumption of quarterly cash dividends in the near future as economic conditions permit.

Saga is a broadcasting company whose business is devoted to acquiring, developing and operating broadcast properties. Saga owns or operates broadcast properties in 27 markets, including 79 FM, 34 AM radio stations and 77 metro signals.

June 19 Radio History

➦In 1912...Narrator and actor Martin Gabel was born in Philadelphia.

His signature work was on May 8, 1945 as narrator on the CBS radio broadcast of Norman Corwin’s epic poem On a Note of Triumph, a commemoration of the fall of the Nazi regime in Germany and the end of WW II in Europe. The broadcast was so popular that the CBS, NBC, Blue and Mutual networks aired a second live production five days later.  He was the most frequent guest on TV’s Sunday night fixture What’s My Line, because he was married to regular panelist Arlene Francis.

He died after a heart attack May 22 1986 at age 73.

➦In 1934...Communications Act of 1934 created Federal Communications Commission

➦In 1960...WMCA 570 began using “The Good Guys”.   Led by program director Ruth Meyer, the first woman to hold the position in New York City radio, this was the beginning of the high-profile Top 40 disc jockey with an exuberant personality aimed at a certain audience segment. With the advent of the Good Guys format, WMCA became more "on top" of new music and started to become known for "playing the hits."

The classic Good Guys era lineup included:

• Joe O'Brien, an industry veteran whose humor appealed to multiple generations. (6am-10am)
• Harry Harrison, whose show was aimed at housewives of that era. (10am-1pm)
• Jack Spector, whose closing line was "Look out street, here I come!" (1pm-4pm)
• Dandy Dan Daniel a lanky, smooth-talking Texan, and his daily countdown. (4pm-7pm)
• Gary Stevens and his "Wooleyburger" bear, aimed at teenagers listening on small transistor radios in their rooms. (7pm-11pm - First show was in April, 1965)
• B. Mitchel Reed, "BMR, Your Leader" Reed was the evening personality on WMCA from 1963–1965. He was part of the team that took WMCA to the top in 1963. He left the station in the spring of 1965, to return to L.A.'s troubled KFWB, where he had worked before WMCA. His on-air hours were the same as Gary Stevens.
• Barry Gray, a talk show host who had been on WMCA before the Top 40 era and continued after it. (11pm-1am)
• Dean Anthony, "Dino on your radio" with his "Actors and Actresses" game (1am-6am).
• Weekends and fill-in, Ed Baer, Frank Stickle and Bill Beamish.
• Owner R. Peter Straus was one of the first station owners to frequently read editorials, commenting on current events.

➦In 1965...Since WINS went all-news in April, New York’s remaining rockers have been going at it - head to head. It’s the WMCA Good Guys vs. the WABC All-Americans.

The post-WINS Pulse ratings showed the stations neck-in-neck - WABC at a 16 and WMCA at a 16.3 rating. But WMCA has about one-third the signal of WABC, so it performs better with no WMCA competition - in the outlying suburbs.

WMCA was running a “Good Guy Derby” contest where you have the guess the WMCA Good Guy who will win his race “in the sport of kings.” Go-Go radio, WABC is doing a “prize of the day” A prize a day goes into the “Go Go Grab Bag” for end-week awarding.

Both stations were battling airplay of the new Beatles album -“Beatles VI” - and both stations were saying they had the exclusive on the album.  Actually, WABC had the album three hours before WMCA did - a rarity. WMCA usually scoops WABC on most records, including the Beatles.

➦In 1966...WOR 98.7 FM said it would drop duplicating talk WOR 710 AM on June 30 and go rock ‘n’ roll - the first FM station to go full-time rock . Robert S. Smith, vice president of both WOR AM/FM stated - “We will not have shouting disk jockeys on FM, but if there can be a quality rock station, that is, what we will be. We’re going after the WABC and WMCA audience.” The change in policy was a result of a recent FCC rule that FM stations in major cities may no longer duplicate more than 50% of their AM affiliates.

➦In 1966...Isaiah Edwin Leopold died from throat cancer at age 79 (Born - November 9, 1886). He was best known as Ed Wynn, noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor.

Ed Wynn

In the early 1930s Wynn hosted the popular radio show The Fire Chief,  heard in North America on Tuesday nights, sponsored by Texaco gasoline. Like many former vaudeville performers who turned to radio in the same decade, the stage-trained Wynn insisted on playing for a live studio audience, doing each program as an actual stage show, using visual bits to augment his written material, and in his case, wearing a colorful costume with a red fireman's helmet.

He usually bounced his gags off announcer/straight man Graham McNamee; Wynn's customary opening, "Tonight, Graham, the show's gonna be different," became one of the most familiar tag-lines of its time; a sample joke: "Graham, my uncle just bought a new second-handed car... he calls it Baby! I don't know, it won't go anyplace without a rattle!"

Near the height of his radio fame (1933) he founded his own short-lived radio network the Amalgamated Broadcasting System, which lasted only five weeks, nearly destroying the comedian. According to radio historian Elizabeth McLeod, the failed venture left Wynn deep in debt, divorced and finally, suffering a nervous breakdown.

Ed Wynn first appeared on television on July 7, 1936 in a brief, ad-libbed spot with Graham McNamee during an NBC experimental television broadcast. In the 1949–50 season, Ed Wynn hosted one of the first network, comedy-variety television shows, on CBS, and won both a Peabody Award and an Emmy Award in 1949. Buster Keaton, Lucille Ball, and The Three Stooges all made guest appearances with Wynn. This was the first CBS variety television show to originate from Los Angeles, which was seen live on the west coast, but filmed via kinescope for distribution in the Midwest and East, as the national coaxial cable had yet to be completed. Wynn was also a rotating host of NBC's Four Star Revue from 1950 through 1952.

➦In 1973...Wolfman Jack, heard on KDAY Los Angles announced he's moving to WNBC 660 AM, New York.

➦In 1973...93KHJ-AM program director Paul Drew confirmed that the Real Don Steele and Mark Eliot had departed the station.

Billboard 1973

➦In 1973...WLS  890 AM program director Tommy Edwards said the station was expanding its playlist and cutting back on the use of jingles to five key jingles. Plus, - elimination of meaningless chatter by jocks, day-parting of music (more rock at night for example). At the time, WCFL was giving WLS a run in the ratings.

Dixon's Wrecked Auto 

➦In 2005...legendary southern DJ, Mason Dixon, was injured in an auto accident which practically split his car apart.

Dixon suffered a collapsed lung, 2 broken ribs and a ruptured spleen. Dixon has been affiliated with legendary stations including Tampa's WRBQ-FM, where he was still employed at the time of his accident.

When his wife finally showed him pictures of his prized 1971 Dodge Challenger convertible, split in half in a crash over the weekend, there were more tears.

"There were angels watching out for me," he told reporters huddled around his bed at St. Joseph's Hospital. "They wanted me to learn something, and I have. Now, I've got to go back out there and do their work. And I'll be happy to."

Dixon, 55, whose real name is Jimmie Crawford, was critically injured after leaving a Father's Day promotional event.

➦In 2009…Radio/TV announcer Ken Roberts died of pneumonia at age 99 (Born - February 22, 1910). He was best known for his work during the Golden Age of Radio and for his work announcing the daytime television soap operas The Secret Storm, Texas and Love of Life, each for a two-decade span.

Ken Roberts

His first announcing job was at WMCA in New York lasting three weeks. Next at WLTH in Brooklyn. In an interview for the book The Great American Broadcast, Roberts told Leonard Maltin that he had started at the Brooklyn station in 1930, where his responsibilities included answering phones and sweeping the floors, in addition to on-air roles playing piano and reading poetry.

During the 1930s and 1940s, at the height of the radio era, Roberts' voice appeared widely in live programming to introduce programs, moderate game shows and do live reads for commercials. Despite his Errol Flynn-like good looks and the frequent broadcasts featuring his voice, as often as several times each day, few listeners knew who he was or would have recognized him in public.

Radio credits include The Shadow (including the 1937-38 season on the Mutual Broadcasting System with a 22-year-old Orson Welles starring in the role of Lamont Cranston), the comedy Easy Aces, along with soap operas Joyce Jordan, M.D. and This is Nora Drake. He also announced or hosted a number of game shows, such as What's My Name? and the parody It Pays to Be Ignorant, in which he would pose questions to actors portraying contestants such as "Who came first: Henry I or Henry VIII?" that would be answered incorrectly.

In 1941, he achieved his goal of hosting his own quiz show, with Quick As a Flash on the Mutual network. Among the elements of the program, Roberts would dramatize an historic event which contestants would have to correctly identify. Other prizes were awarded for identifying the common element in three songs played by the orchestra and for solving descriptions of staged crimes.

On television, he was the original announcer for Candid Camera and introduced popular soap operas Love of Life from 1951 to 1980, The Secret Storm from 1954 to 1974 and Texas from 1980 to 1982. On Jan Murray's comedy game show Dollar a Second, Robert's on-air duties included advertisements for sponsor Mogen David wines.

He was also one of the founders of the broadcast performers' union now known as AFTRA.

Paula Abdul is 58

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

• Singer Tommy DeVito of The Four Seasons 92.
• Actress Gena Rowlands is 90. 
• Singer Spanky McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang is 78. 
• Actress Phylicia Rashad is 72. 
• Singer Ann Wilson of Heart is 70. 
• Keyboardist Larry Dunn (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 67. 
• Actress Kathleen Turner is 66. 
• Country singer Doug Stone is 64. 
• Singer Mark DeBarge of DeBarge is 61. 
• Singer-dancer Paula Abdul is 58. 
• Actor Andy Lauer (“Caroline in the City”) is 57. 
• Singer-guitarist Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe is 56. 
• Actress Mia Sara (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) is 53. 
• “Good Morning America” host Lara Spencer is 51. 
• Guitarist Brian “Head” Welch of Korn is 50. 
• Actor Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”) is 48. 
• Actress Robin Tunney is 48. 
• Actor Bumper Robinson (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”) is 46. 
• Singer-banjoist Scott Avett of The Avett Brothers is 44. 
• Actor Ryan Hurst (“The Walking Dead,” “Sons of Anarchy”) is 44. 
• Actress Zoe Saldana is 42. 
• Actor Neil Brown Junior (“SEAL Team”) is 40. 
• Actress Lauren Lee Smith (“CSI”) is 40. 
• Singer Macklemore of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is 38. 
• Actor Paul Dano is 36. 
• Actor Giacomo Gianniotti (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 31. 
• Actor Chuku Modu (“The Good Doctor”) is 30. 
• Actor Atticus Shaffer (“The Middle”) is 22.