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Saturday, August 15, 2020

August 16 Radio History


➦In 1922... WEAF NYC (now WFAN) signed-on. The station went on the air from an antenna atop the eleven-story Western Electric Building at 463 West Street.

WEAF Broadcast August 1922
The origins of WEAF go way back to 1919 when original owners, AT&T, inaugurated an experimental radio-phone station, 2XB, at 463 West St. in Manhattan.  Then, on May 18, 1922, the Commerce Department granted a license to AT&T's Western Electric subsidiary to upgrade 2XB.

Original calls, taken from an alphabetical list, were WDAM, however they were deemed too profane. On May 29, 1922, the next available calls were assigned: WEAF.

WEAF stood for "Water, Earth, Air, Fire", the four elements of matter.

On August 16, 1922, WEAF hit the air on 360 meters (or 833 AM on our present AM band.)

WEAF was the first station to offer commercials, with the Queensboro Corp, a real estate company, being its first sponsor on August 28, 1922.

During hours when they had time to fill, AT&T recruited their office personnel who could sing or play music.

In July 1926, RCA took over WEAF as the flagship for the Broadcasting Company Of America, a name soon changed to the National Broadcasting Company. The purchase price was $1 million.

On November 11, 1928, WEAF moved to 660 AM.

The move that solidified WEAF's position as the most pretigious of all broadcasters took place in the autumn of 1933, when NBC moved to 30 Rockefeller Plaza and became the "radio" that gave Radio City its name.

WEAF Transmitter 1932
In October 1943, sister station, WJZ, dropped out of the NBC Blue Network and establshed the American Broadcasting Company and eventually became WABC.




In August 1946, "Buffalo" Bob Smith began hosting WEAF's morning show, then left in 1951 to concentrate on "Howdy Doody."

Later in 1946, NBC came to an agreement with a small station in New Britain CT to relinquish that city's initials from its call letters and on November 2, 1946 at 5:30p, WEAF presented its last broadcast, entitled "Hail And Farewell," and at 6p turned into WNBC

Then on October 18, 1954, WNBC switched calls to WRCA, as a tie-in to their parent company, RCA.

On June 1, 1960, WRCA became WNBC once again.

Today, 660 AM is home to America's first all-sports station WFAN.

➦In 1937....The American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) was organized.

Emboldened by the National Labor Relations Act passed by Congress in 1935, radio artists from Los Angeles banded together to form the Radio Actors Guild. About the same time, Broadway actor George Heller began lobbying Actors’ Equity Association in New York for a contract protecting radio artists. This led to the creation of Radio Equity, existing under the umbrella of Actors’ Equity.

The American Federation of Radio Artists was formed, succeeding Radio Equity and the Radio Actors Guild. The Four As – the Associated Actors and Artistes of America – granted a charter to the new union, with 400 members in two locations. Chicago, the center for “soap opera” production, quickly followed New York and Los Angeles, with performers forming their own local chapter. By December 1937, AFRA had more than 2,000 members.

On July 12, 1938, with the support of radio stars Eddie Cantor, Edgar Bergen, Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, and others, AFRA members negotiated the first collectively bargained agreement on a national scale—with NBC and CBS—resulting in a wage increase of 125%. In 1939, after only two years in existence, AFRA covered 70% of live radio broadcasting through collective bargaining agreements.

In 1941, AFRA members negotiated the Transcription Code, providing for programs recorded for later broadcast, and building cost-of-living increases into contracts.

On September 17, 1952, the Television Authority and AFRA merged to create a new union, the present-day American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

➦In 1939...“Lights Out,” radio’s “ultimate horror show,” was heard for the last time on NBC Radio.

It returned to the air on CBS in 1942-43. The show’s most familiar trademark, guaranteed to put you under the covers on a dark night was “Lights out everybody!” followed by 12 eerie chimes of a clock.
The success of Lights Out revival was part of a trend in 1940s American radio toward more horror. Genre series like Inner Sanctum, Suspense and others drew increasingly large ratings.


➦In 1977…Elvis Aaron Presley died at age 42.  (Born January 8, 1935).  Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".


Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience.

Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, he became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, made him enormously popular—and controversial.

In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42.

Presley is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music. He was commercially successful in many genres, including pop, country, blues, and gospel. He won three competitive Grammys,received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.



According to allthatsinteresting.com, around 2:30 on the afternoon of August 16, Elvis' girlfriend Ginger Alden was wandering around Graceland looking for Elvis. The King of Rock and Roll was supposed to be preparing to leave for his latest tour, but Alden was growing concerned, as she hadn’t seen him in a while.

Alden saw no sign of Presley until she realized his bathroom door was cracked open. She looked inside the room and, as she later recalled in her memoir, “I stood paralyzed as I took in the scene.”

According to Alden, “Elvis looked as if his entire body had completely frozen in a seated position while using the commode and then had fallen forward, in that fixed position, directly in front of it.” Alden rushed forward and detected a hint of breathing, although the singer’s “face was blotchy, with purple discoloration” and his eyes were “staring straight ahead and bloodred.”


➦In 1995...Radio personality Joseph Priestley "J-P" McCarthy died at age 62.

McCarthy was best known for his over 30 years of work as the morning man on  WJR in Detroit.

He got his first radio job at Flint radio station WTAC. While at WTAC he frequently auditioned for WJR, a leading radio station in Detroit, with a 50,000-watt clear-channel signal that could be heard in much of the Eastern United States and Canada. After frequent auditions, McCarthy was hired by WJR as a staff announcer in 1956.

The position of staff announcer was merely straight forward announcing, and McCarthy aspired to do more in radio. When Marty McNealy, the host of WJR's Morning Music Hall, left for WKMH in 1958, McCarthy was chosen to replace him. The station promoted him heavily, and he was soon the #1 rated radio show in Detroit.

WJR did not pay particularly well, and J.P. was offered the opportunity to do commercials for Stroh's, the top brewery in Detroit. Station management would not allow it, and after some discussion McCarthy left Detroit for KGO in San Francisco, where he took the morning show from #6 to #3.

In 1964, Goodwill Stations sold WJR to Capital Cities Broadcasting and the president, Dan Burke, asked station manager Jim Quello why they lost McCarthy. After explaining the situation, Quello re-recruited McCarthy to return to WJR, with a raise and the right to do commercials for anybody he wanted. J.P. returned to WJR in December 1964.

Upon his return to Detroit, McCarthy not only hosted the Morning Music Hall from 6:15 to 9, but also the Afternoon Music Hall from 3:15 to 6. Eventually, McCarthy's duties were relegated to morning drive, and a noontime interview program, "Focus". It wasn't long before McCarthy's morning show was #1 in Detroit, a perch that he held for about 30 years until his death, a feat unmatched in Detroit radio.



J. P. McCarthy was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1992, the first Detroit broadcaster to be inducted.

While at the peak of his career he contracted Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a very rare blood disease.  J.P. McCarthy died of pneumonia in his sleep on the afternoon of August 16, 1995.

➦In 2003...Radio General Manager and personality, Dick Pike, died at age 78 (Born - November 7, 1924). Pike is best known for his work at WNOP 740 AM, a 1,000-watt, jazz-formatted Radio station licensed to Newport, Kentucky, that became legendary.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Madonna is 62
  • Actor Gary Clarke (“Hondo,” ″The Virginian”) is 87. 
  • Actor Julie Newmar is 87. 
  • Actor-singer Ketty Lester (“Little House on the Prairie”) is 86. 
  • Actor Anita Gillette is 84. 
  • Actor Bob Balaban (“A Mighty Wind,” ″Best In Show”) is 75. 
  • Ballerina Suzanne Farrell is 75. 
  • Actor Lesley Ann Warren is 74. 
  • Bassist Joey Spampinato (NRBQ) is 72. 
  • Actor Marshall Manesh (“How I Met Your Mother,” ″Will and Grace”) is 70. 
  • Actor Reginald VelJohnson (“Family Matters”) is 68. 
  • TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford is 67. 
  • R-and-B singer J.T. Taylor is 67. 
  • Director James Cameron (“Titanic,” ″The Terminator”) is 66. 
  • Actor Jeff Perry (“Scandal,” ″Grey’s Anatomy”) is 65. 
  • Guitarist Tim Farriss of INXS is 63. 
  • Actor Laura Innes (“ER”) is 63. 
  • Actor Angela Bassett is 62. 
  • Singer Madonna is 62. 
  • Actor Timothy Hutton is 60. 
  • Actor Steve Carell is 58. 
  • Actor Andy Milder (“Weeds”) is 51. 
  • Actor Seth Peterson (“Burn Notice,” “Providence”) is 50. 
  • Country singer Emily Strayer of The Chicks is 48. 
  • Actor George Stults (“Seventh Heaven”) is 45. 
  • Singer Vanessa Carlton is 40. 
  • Actor Cam Gigandet (“Twilight”) is 38. 
  • Singer-guitarist Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes is 35. 
  • Actor Cristin Milioti (“How I Met Your Mother”) is 35. 
  • Actor Shawn Pyfrom (“Desperate Housewives”) is 34. 
  • Country singer Ashton Shepherd is 34. 
  • Singer Dan Smyers of Dan+Shay is 33. 
  • Actor Cameron Monaghan (“Gotham”) is 27.

San Diego Radio: 'The Mightier 1090' Returns Monday


Riding the same robust signal that beams from Baja California, a repurposed sports radio station that was a San Diego fixture for 16 years before shutting down in April 2019 will make its official debut at 9 a.m. on August 17.

This time around, 1090 AM, which bills itself as “The Mightier 1090,” is far more national in its content, reports the San Diego Tribune.

Led by Rich Eisen, an anchor with NFL Network, the lineup includes four nationally syndicated shows.

Providing a local exception is station holdover and longtime San Diego host Scott Kaplan, whose “Kaplan and Crew Show” will air from 3-7 p.m.

Eisen’s program will run between 9 a.m. and noon.

“Coast to Coast,” a sports gambling-themed show hosted by Scott Ferrall will be on from 1-3 p.m. Ferrall will return from 7-9 p.m. with his “On The Bench Show,” which will be followed by Tony Bruno and Harry Mayes hosting their “Into the Night Show” until midnight.


Marketing executive Bill Hagen secured the 50,000-watt signal in April via a lease with the Rosarito-based signal operator, Andres Bichara Assad of Interamerica de Radio.

“Launching a radio station from scratch during a pandemic with virtually no live sports taking place has been a daunting task to say the least, but we made it, and I am very proud of the product that we will be putting on the air,” Hagen said in a statement.

Columbus OH Radio: New Line-Up Starts Monday At WBNS

WBNS 97.1 The Fan will unveil a new weekday lineup beginning Monday, Aug. 17, featuring a brand new live and local morning show

The Fan announced today that former Buckeye linebackers Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel join The Fan’s Brandon Beam to host, “Morning Juice” from 6-9 AM.

“There has never been a more important time for 97.1 The Fan to take the next step in our evolution as a sports radio station,” said vice president and general manager Todd Markiewicz. “We are excited to go live and local, giving our listeners the opportunity to hear the latest on all Ohio-based sports first thing each and every morning, Monday thru Friday. I’m thrilled to add Mr. Attack and Dominate himself, Anthony Schlegel, to our powerful lineup of sports talk personalities and be able to reward two of our young superstars in Matty “Ice” Hayes and Brandon “Beamer” Beam with their own daily primetime shows. ‘Morning Juice’ will be full of energy, insight and entertaining guests both local and national. Get ready Cbus! Columbus morning radio will never be the same!”

➤“Rothman and Ice” will air from 12-3 PM on weekdays.

Matt Erhard, director of operations at 97.1 The Fan, added, “In addition to the energy and excitement of launching ‘Morning Juice,’ I’m excited to team up Anthony Rothman, who’s been covering sports in Central Ohio for 27 years, with Matty “Ice” Hayes, a born and raised Ohioan who brings fresh perspective and insight as he makes the move from producer to host. I’m extremely proud to see these next career steps for guys who have helped shape The Fan into the sports powerhouse that it is today.”

1460AM/ESPN Columbus and 97.1 HD2 will air the entire new ESPN Radio national daily lineup.

The new 97.1 The Fan Weekday Lineup as of Monday, August 17:
  • 6 a.m. Morning Juice Brandon Beam, Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Schlegel
  • 9 a.m. Bishop & Laurinaitis Beau Bishop and James Laurinaitis 
  • Noon Rothman & Ice Anthony Rothman and Matty “Ice” Hayes
  • 3 p.m. Common Man & T-Bone Mike Ricordati and Jonathan “T-Bone” Smith
  • 6 p.m. The Buckeye Show Tim Hall w/special Buckeye guests
In addition to the exciting new lineup, The Fan studios will be making a big move.

“I am also excited to announce that we are moving our radio studios from Front Street to the 10TV building on Twin Rivers with brand new, state of the art broadcasting facilities,” said Markiewicz. “Creating synergy between 97.1 The Fan’s sports lineup along with 10TV’s sports anchors allows us to create ‘The Best Damn Sports Team In The Land.’ With TV and radio’s sports personalities under the same roof, we will be able to provide the most thorough and entertaining sports information to fans in Columbus for years to come!”

D/FW Radio: Report..Cumulus To End KESN LMA

Cumulus has decided to give up control of KESN ESPN 103.3 FM  Barrett Sports Media is reporting that the media giant will drop its local arrangement with ESPN, placing the station back under Disney’s control on October 7th.

Licensed To Allan TX, Disney LMA'd operation of the station to Cumulus in August of 2013. It serves as the flagship station of the Dallas Mavericks and features two local weekday shows, JaM Session with Jean-Jacques Taylor and Matt McClearin, and Dennis and Company with Steve Dennis. Tim Cowlishaw was previously part of the afternoon program but exited the station in late July.

According to sources, ESPN is expected to discontinue local weekday shows, making the network’s national programming a heavier part of the station’s schedule. How Mavericks games will be executed with little infrastructure remains to be seen. The possibility of a future sale of the station can’t be ruled out.

KESN 103.3 FM (98 Kw)
Despite the change with 103.3, that doesn’t mean Cumulus is out of the sports business in Dallas. The company controls the legendary KTCK 1310 AM / 96.7 FM The Ticket, which will continue to operate with local programming and the Dallas Stars radio affiliation.

KESN is the only FM station owned by the Walt Disney Company. While ESPN controls all of the programming on the WEPN 98.7 FM in New York, the station is owned by Emmis Communications. Disney does have full control over KSPN 710 AM in Los Angeles.

Miami Radio: New Line-Up Debuts Monday On Sports WQAM


Entercom has announced an updated weekday programming lineup for WQAM 560 AM The Joe, South Florida’s iconic sports station and the radio home of the Miami Dolphins, University of Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers, effective Monday August 17.

“With the return of live sports, we aim to give sports fans of South Florida a home for both national headlines and premier coverage of their favorite teams,” said Keriann Worley, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom South Florida. “As he returns to radio, Mike Greenberg is a nationally recognized and trusted voice and we’re delighted to add his show to our already impressive lineup of weekday programming.”

As part of the revamped lineup, the station will air “Greeny,” starring ESPN Radio on-air personality Mike Greenberg, weekdays from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET. “Greeny” will replace previously scheduled programming with on-air personality Stephen A. Smith. Afternoon show “Hochman and Crowder” will expand to a four hour timeslot and will now air from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. The remaining weekday programming stays as previously scheduled.
New 560 The Joe WQAM weekday lineup is as follows.
  • 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET:  “The Joe Rose Rose with Zach Krantz”
  • 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET:  “The Dan Le Betard Show with Stugotz”
  • 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET:  “Greeny” with Mike Greenberg
  • 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET:   “Hochman and Crowder”
  • 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET:  “Best of 560 The Joe”

ESPN Podcasts Unveil New Content from Dan LeBatard and Stugotz

Stugotz and Dan LeBatard
Starting Monday, Aug. 17, fans of Dan LeBatard and Stugotz on ESPN Radio can listen to new daily podcast-exclusive content.

Each day, two new offerings will be posted. A new digital-only episode will be recorded and posted before their 10 a.m. – noon ET national radio show. Following the radio program, Dan and Stugotz will record more thoughts and ramblings as a digital-only “post-game show.” In addition, each hour of the radio show – as well as their local hour heard in Miami – will continue to be available as podcasts.

“Dan and Stugotz already have a large digital-only audience, and we wanted to better serve that audience with exclusive podcast content,” said Tom Ricks, ESPN Audio’s vice president, digital marketing and strategy. “They are a unique show on sports radio and now their podcast listeners will get more unique podcast content each day.”

According to The Podtrac Podcast Category Audience Rankings in July 2020 with a U.S. Unique Monthly Audience of nearly a million, The Dan LeBatard Show with Stugotz is the second-ranked podcast in the Sports Category.

S-F Radio: Layoffs Made At Non-Com KQED


Non-com KQED FM / TV announced this week they will lay off 20 (5.5 percent) staff members due to limited budget. KQED’s senior leadership claim that the coronavirus pandemic has impacted their corporate sponsorship leading to the decision. KQED is using layoffs and other cost-saving solutions to deal with a $7.1 million budget gap.

The SFNews.com reports five senior journalists, including one producer, one part-time managing editor, and three limited-term temporary staff, will be laid off and their assignments will end one month earlier than anticipated. The other 15 layoffs are not from among senior leadership.

According to KQED’s website, Michael Isip, KQED president and CEO, mentioned in an email to staff:

“The recent implementation of a number of cost-saving measures were not enough to offset the need to lay off some staff in time for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. Those measures included compensation cuts of roughly 12% taken by the senior leadership team this fiscal year.” According to KQED’s website, senior leaders estimate “a roughly 20% decline in corporate underwriting revenue will continue well into 2021.”

“Membership revenue, which ‘held steady’ this year, is expected to drop by roughly 6% next year, as KQED’s listenership also struggles due to the pandemic,” reads the article KQED published.

KQED is considering decreasing compensation for senior leadership to minimize these layoffs. Their website states that they will continue to negotiate with union partners about “elimination of a 2020 salary increase for all staff,” “a decrease of 403 (b) employer match from 3% to 0% effective on Oct. 1,” and “furloughs for all non-essential staff from Dec. 28-31 and July 6-9.”

Cleveland Radio: NFL Browns Score With Entercom, Good Karma

The NFL Cleveland Browns, Entercom and Good Karma Brands Friday announced a long-term extension of their flagship radio partnership, which has provided fans more than 1,000 hours of team-specific content through gameday broadcasts and weekly programming each year since the partnership launched in 2013.

“With football season right around the corner, we are excited to continue delivering premier coverage of the Browns to Cleveland’s biggest sports fans on two of our market-leading stations – both on the field and off of it,” said Senior Vice President and Market Manager of Entercom Cleveland Tom Herschel. “We value our long-standing partnership with the Cleveland Browns and look forward to many more seasons as the flagship radio stations of the team.”

“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with the Cleveland Browns and Entercom,” said WKNR 850 ESPN Cleveland Market Manager and Vice President of Good Karma Brands Sam Pines. “The power of live sports, particularly Cleveland Browns football, is baked into the fabric of the city and 850 ESPN Cleveland, and we look forward to supporting and being a partner of the Browns in the years ahead.”

“Through our partnership with Entercom and Good Karma Brands, we have incredible opportunities and resources to consistently provide our fans with compelling radio programming on gamedays and throughout the year,” said Browns Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer Dave Jenkins. “We greatly appreciate Entercom’s and Good Karma Brands’ efforts to bring our fans even closer to our players, coaches and entire team and are excited to continue to produce these shows with them in the years to come.”

The Cleveland Browns, Entercom’s WKRK 92.3 The Fan and sister station WNCX 98.5 FM) and Good Karma Brands’ 850 ESPN Cleveland will provide fans more than 20 scheduled hours of Browns coverage each week during the 2020 season, including more than nine hours on gameday, through the flagship stations and the University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio Network.

Preparing for the 2020 campaign, the in-season radio programming begins this week with “The Cleveland Browns Preview Show” and “The Kevin Stefanski Show,” which air from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, each week through the end of the season.

“The Cleveland Browns Preview Show” is hosted by Ken Carman and Je’Rod Cherry and includes a weekly breakdown of the team’s roster, upcoming opponents and the latest NFL news, as well as a special interview with a Browns player. “The Kevin Stefanski Show,” highlighted by an exclusive interview with the Browns’ head coach, is hosted by Browns senior media broadcaster Nathan Zegura and Beau Bishop and also features a conversation with a Browns player each week.

Report: NFL Sunday Ticket Set To Stream In Certain Markets


DIRECTV has quietly begun selling a streaming version of the NFL Sunday Ticket to any non-DIRECTV subscriber in 29 select markets, the TVAnswerman.com reports. The 29 markets include the home cities for 26 of the 32 NFL teams.

Jim Greer, an AT&T spokesperson, today confirmed that DIRECTV is permitting any consumer in the select markets to order the package of out-of-market games without a subscription to DIRECTV, or any other AT&T-owned TV service. You can check your eligibility here.

Greer said the list of 29 markets will soon be added to the Sunday Ticket’s streaming page. He added that the Sunday Ticket is available in those markets with “select zip codes that qualify.”

In the past, DIRECTV has said only university students, or consumers who could prove they could not get DIRECTV service at their residence, could order the streaming version of the Sunday Ticket. Otherwise, the satcaster said, you needed a DIRECTV subscription, and a satellite dish and receiver.

In addition, two years ago, DIRECTV Now (now called AT&T TV Now) subscribers were permitted to purchase a streaming plan in seven markets. But that limited offer was scrapped last year.

But now in the 29 markets, you can order the streaming version of the Sunday Ticket without any other AT&T or DIRECTV subscription, or requirement to prove you are a college student, or can’t get DIRECTV at your home.

The larger availability should significantly add to DIRECTV’s Sunday Ticket subscription numbers, and help offset AT&T’s fees for the exclusive rights to the plan. DIRECTV in 2014 agreed to pay $12 billion to carry the plan for eight years.

The NFL Sunday Ticket’s streaming edition can be ordered for $293.96 for the ‘To Go’ plan, which includes every out-of-market Sunday afternoon game, real-time stats and scores, ShortCuts (see games commercial-free the next day) and GameMix, which offers up to four games on one screen.

The ‘Max’ version of the streaming plan costs $399.95 and offers the above features as well as the Red Zone Channel, and a DIRECTV fantasy football channel.

August 15 Radio History



➦In 1877…Thomas Edison wrote to the president of the Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh suggesting that the word "hello" would be a more appropriate greeting than "ahoy" when answering the telephone.

➦In 1935...radio humorist/philosopher Will Rogers and his pilot, Wiley Post, died in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska. Rogers was aged 55.

➦In 1945...Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces the news of his country's unconditional surrender in World War II over a radio broadcast to the Japanese people.

After meeting with the Soviet Union in Potsdam, near Berlin, to determine post-war terms for defeated Germany, the governments of the United States and Great Britain (together with China) issued an ultimatum to the Japanese government in late July 1945. It offered a simple choice: surrender unconditionally to the Allies in World War II, or risk total annihilation. In their carefully worded reply, the Japanese failed to capitulate completely, and on 6 August, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, another such bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The threat of further nuclear attacks drove Japanese officials on 10 August to accept the terms put forth by the Potsdam Declaration and submit their unconditional surrender.

On the afternoon of 14 August, a Japanese radio broadcaster told the public that Emperor Hirohito would soon make an Imperial Proclamation announcing the defeat. The following day at noon, Hirohito went on the radio himself, blaming Japan’s surrender on the enemies' use of "a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which is incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives." The emperor was not only a political leader in Japan, he was also revered as a near-god, and many Japanese did not fully accept the news of defeat until they heard him speak those unthinkable words.

As sadness and shame engulfed Japan, joy spread around the Western world. In the United States, news of Hirohito's announcement reached airwaves on 14 August (due to the time difference), and that day was declared Victory in Japan – or V-J – Day.



That afternoon, President Harry S. Truman addressed a crowd that had gathered outside the White House, saying "This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbour. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would."

That day, photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped one of the most famous photos ever published, a shot of a sailor in full uniform kissing a nurse in the middle of New York City's Times Square. The photo, published by Life magazine, became a symbol of the general atmosphere of jubilation in the United States following the end of World War II.

In Indianapolis, WIBC 1070 AM listeners - at least those who were up between 1:30 and 2:00am Eastern War Time on August 14, 1945 - likely heard; a Mutual network live broadcast of Cab Calloway's band from New York City, interrupted just before 2:00am with the first correct report that Japan had surrendered.

➦In 1948…CBS launched network television's first nightly newscast, a 15-minute show called "CBS Television News," anchored by Douglas Edwards. It was broadcast at 7:30 p.m. and in only five eastern cities at first. In 1950 the program's name changed to "Douglas Edwards With The News."


➦In 1965...Beatles concert at Shea Stadium.  It was the first time a rock band headlined a stadium concert and, with 55,600 people, it set a new record for largest attendance at a pop concert. Tickets for the show had sold out in three weeks, merely by word of mouth created by young fans who asked the concert promoter about the next Beatles show while he strolled in Central Park. Supporting acts for the concert were Brenda Holloway, the Young Rascals, the King Curtis Band, and Sounds Incorporated. The show grossed $304,000. The Beatles' share was $160,000.




In 

➦In 1969…The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, promising "three days of peace, love, and music," began on Max Yasgur's 60-acre farm in Bethel, New York.


Of the more than 450,000 music fans drawn to the town, three died, two gave birth, four had miscarriages, and two got married during the festival. Performers included Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, the Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, the Band, Canned Heat, Joan Baez, Santana, Melanie, Ten Years After, Sly & the Family Stone, Johnny Winter, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, Country Joe and the Fish, Blood Sweat & Tears, Arlo Guthrie, and Jimi Hendrix. Joni Mitchell was scheduled to appear but had to cancel due to being booked for a TV show.

Hendrix earned the most money from the festival, pulling in about $18,000. (For reference, that’s roughly $112,000 in 2015). Blood, Sweat and Tears ($15,000), Joan Baez ($10,000), Creedence Clearwater Revival ($10,000), and The Band ($7,500) rounded out the Top 5 earners. Other A-listers such as The Who and Joe Cocker took home $6,250 and $1,375, respectively. There was a lot of cash to go around, to be sure, but the event wasn’t as steep as some of today’s big-budget productions. Here’s one way to look at it: The in-demand deadmau5 is currently 2x more expensive to book than Hendrix was at his prime. Check out the full listing below.

1. Jimi Hendrix – $18,000
2. Blood, Sweat and Tears – $15,000
3. Joan Baez – $10,000
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival – $10,000
5. The Band – $7,500
6. Janis Joplin – $7,500
7. Jefferson Airplane – $7,500
8. Sly and the Family Stone – $7,000
9. Canned Heat – $6,500
10. The Who – $6,250
11. Richie Havens – $6,000
12. Arlo Guthrie – $5,000
13. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – $5,000
14. Ravi Shankar – $4,500
15. Johnny Winter – $3,750
16. Ten Years After – $3,250
17. Country Joe and the Fish – $2,500
18. Grateful Dead – $2,500
19. The Incredible String Band – $2,250
20. Mountain – $2,000
21. Tim Hardin – $2,000
22. Joe Cocker – $1,375
23. Sweetwater – $1,250
24. John B. Sebastian – $1,000
25. Melanie – $750
26. Santana – $750
27. Sha Na Na – $700
28. Keef Hartley – $500
29. Quill – $375


➦In 1986...WAPP 103.5 FM dropped Top40 for dance music as WQHT.

On August 15, 1986 at 6 pm, The Rolling Stones' "It's All Over Now" and a bomb noise rang out WAPP and the classic rock titles. The station debuted as "Hot 103.5" with new call letters WQHT and a new CHR/Dance format.

The first song was believed to be "R.S.V.P." by Five Star. Nobody in the radio industry expected it, but the new rhythmic/CHR format was taking shape. WQHT was the second such station with the format, months after Emmis launched it on KPWR "Power 106" in Los Angeles earlier that year.

WQHT moved to 97.1 FM on September 22, 1988 at 5:30pm with WYNY moving to 103.5 FM

➦In 1988...WPIX 101.9 FM changed call letters to  WQCD, "CD 101.9", intially was a AC/Jazz hybrid, later just Contemporary Jazz.  In 1989, they added some New Age and Soft AC cuts.

➦In 1995…NBC anchorman (Camel News Caravan, 1949-1956)/radio-TV game show panelist (Who Said That?)/Timex watch pitchman ('It takes a licking a keeps on ticking!') John Cameron Swayze died at age 89.

➦In 2002...Opie & Anthony broadcast the “Sex For Sam” St. Pat’s incident on WNEW 102.7 FM.

One of Opie and Anthony's stunts was "Sex for Sam", an annual contest where the goal was to have sex in notable public places in New York City. Couples from various states would be selected to be trailed by a comedian or member of the show, who would call the program to report the location. The contest was sponsored by Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams beer, and prizes included trips to Boston concerts sponsored by the beer company. The contest was approved by the station and had no major problems for the first two years.

However, in "Sex for Sam 3", comedian Paul Mecurio encouraged Brian Florence and Loretta Harper, a Virginia couple visiting Manhattan, to have simulated sex in a vestibule at St. Patrick's Cathedral on August 15, 2002, which was also a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation, and a Mass was going on at the time. When a security guard ordered Mecurio and the couple to leave the church immediately, Mecurio began to argue with the guard, who then contacted police. The couple was arrested and charged with public lewdness. Intense media scrutiny led to the Catholic League demanding that Opie and Anthony be fired. The Catholic League also threatened to get WNEW's license revoked.

Brian Florence, Loretta Harper
Opie and Anthony broadcast the next day, but were ordered not to directly address the incident for legal reasons. The show went into reruns the following week. On August 22, Infinity suspended Opie and Anthony for the duration of their contract, and canceled the show. However, the company continued to pay the duo to stay off the air for the balance of their contract. The Catholic League immediately dropped its bid to have WNEW's license revoked.

The repercussions of the incident were widespread:
  • Infinity was fined a total of $357,500 by the FCC, the maximum amount allowed by law, and the second-largest indecency fine in American radio history. Infinity appealed the fine but again lost the case.
  • WNEW's ratings had been dreadful overall aside from Opie and Anthony. With the forced cancellation of its only strong performer, its ratings dropped even lower than those of noncommercial stations and never recovered. The station began playing music again in January 2003, starting with a Top 40 format, then going to an adult contemporary format, and later switching to a classic dance music format before returning to the AC format, at which point the station's call letters were changed to WWFS. The station has since been moderately successful. In a bit of irony, Opie and Anthony would make fun of an incident at WNEW in late 2004, in which the program director got drunk, went on air, and confused the call letters with those of WNEW's arch-rival WKTU.
  • Harper pleaded guilty a month later to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to seven days of community service.  Her partner, Brian Florence, died of a heart attack on September 25, 2003
➦In 2003…NBC News reporter (from 1952 until his retirement in 1986)/aerospace specialist Roy Neal died following heart surgery at age 82.

➦In 2014...Al Meredith, longtime newsman at Oldies WCBS 101.1 FM died.

Al Meredith
In an age when radio news was disappearing faster than rotary-dial telephones, Al Meredith remained a radio newsman for 38 years, according to David Hinckley at The NY Daily News on the occasion of Meredith's retirement in 2008.

Meredith retired in 2008 retiring amid a shower of accolades from everyone he ever worked with.

Meredith  was heard on WCBS-FM for 28 years. "It was the only place I wanted to work," he once stated.

 Meredith didn't start out as a newsman. His first radio gig, in 1964, was playing music on WGBB. But after four years in the Air Force, "getting C-130s in and out of Vietnam from Okinawa," he came back and found no deejay jobs open.

There was a full-time news job, though, at WGLI. He took it, liked it and over the years got deeper and deeper into it. He won numerous awards for public service specials, which he particularly enjoyed because "they always teach me something, too."

Debra Messing is 52
HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
  • Actor Abby Dalton (“Falcon Crest”) is 88. 
  • Actor Lori Nelson is 87. 
  • Actor Pat Priest (“The Munsters”) is 84. 
  • Drummer Pete York of The Spencer Davis Group is 78. 
  • Author-journalist Linda Ellerbee is 76. 
  • Songwriter Jimmy Webb is 74. 
  • Singer-guitarist Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers is 72. 
  • Actor Phyllis Smith (“The Office”) is 71. 
  • Actor Tess Harper is 70. 
  • Actor Larry Mathews (“The Dick Van Dyke Show”) is 65. 
  • Actor Zeljko Ivanek (“Madam Secretary,” ″Heroes”) is 63. 
  • Actor Rondell Sheridan (“That’s So Raven,” ″Cory in the House”) is 62. 
  • Singer-keyboardist Matt Johnson (The The) is 59. 
  • Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (“Birdman,” “Babel”) is 57. 
  • Actor Peter Hermann (“Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”) is 53. 
  • Actor Debra Messing (“Will and Grace”) is 52. 
  • Actor Anthony Anderson (“black-ish”) is 50. 
  • Actor Ben Affleck is 48. 
  • Actor Natasha Henstridge (“The Whole Nine Yards,” ″Species”) is 46. 
  • Bassist Tim Foreman of Switchfoot is 42. 
  • Actor Emily Kinney (“Conviction,” “The Walking Dead”) is 36. 
  • Actor Courtney Hope (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) is 31. 
  • Singer Joe Jonas of The Jonas Brothers is 31. 
  • Actor-singer Carlos PenaVega (“Big Time Rush”) is 31. 
  • Actor Jennifer Lawrence is 30. 
  • DJ Smoove da General of Cali Swag District is 30.

Friday, August 14, 2020

Baltimore Radio: Newsradio WBAL Promotes Torrey Snow To PM Drive


Hearst Television’s WBAL NewsRadio 1090 AM / FM 101.5 has announced the latest addition to its weekday lineup – Torrey Snow will now host weekday afternoons (2 – 6pm). Snow is already familiar to listeners through his appearances on WBAL as a fill-in host and on weekends.

Born in The Azores, Portugal, Snow was raised in Boise, Idaho and relocated to Maryland in 2006. Harboring a powerful passion for statesmanship, he ran for Anne Arundel County Council in 2018 and later that year was named the Republican Man of the Year by Anne Arundel County. More recently Torrey was appointed to the Maryland Commission of African American History and Culture and is the President of the Frederick Douglass Foundation of Maryland, focusing on community issues and improving minority engagement.

“Torrey’s deep knowledge of Baltimore and Maryland and thoughtful viewpoint on the current issues of importance is a valuable addition to WBAL NewsRadio. said Cary Pahigian, the station’s president and general manager. Listeners can expect a spirited examination of topics from all angles, along with late-breaking news, weather and traffic.”

The Rundown: Top Doctor Warns Of Worst Autumn Ever

We could be looking at the worst autumn ever in the United States, according to Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control. He means that coronavirus could still be raging when the flu season arrives. “We’re going to have COVID in the fall, and we’re going to have flu in the fall. And either one of those by themselves can stress certain hospital systems,” Dr. Redfield said in an interview at WebMD. Flu season usually begins in October and peaks in January and February.

There’s little likelihood of a COVID vaccine in that time frame. But there is a flu vaccine, and Redfield hopes 65 percent of Americans get it. The CDC has ordered extra doses so that uninsured adults can get it.

His advice on coronavirus is familiar by now: wear a mask in public, wash your hands often, keep a social distance, and avoid large gatherings.

USAToday 8/14/20
No Deal for Coronavirus Relief: The Senate left town until September 8th today with no sign of a deal on the coronavirus relief package. It is possible but unlikely that the Senate could be called back earlier for a vote on the bill, according to The Hill. The matters left up in the air include higher unemployment payments for people thrown out of work by the coronavirus; another round of checks to taxpayers; money to help schools virus-proof their classrooms, and assistance for cash-strapped states and local governments.

Trump Wants Post Office Aid Cuts: One objectionable part of the coronavirus relief bill, to President Donald Trump, is a $3.5 billion grant to the U.S. Postal Service to help it handle the millions of mail-in ballots expected this November. He insisted, in a Fox News interview, that mail-in votes “will turn out to be fraudulent,” so he wants the funding to be cut from the bill. He said later that he would not veto the bill on that account.

NYTimes 8/14/20
Tracking the Pandemic: An additional 55,910 people tested positive for coronavirus yesterday, and 1,499 deaths were recorded, according to statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins. The number of positive infections since the pandemic began total 5,197,000.

➤ISRAEL AND UAE REACH HISTORIC AGREEMENT: Israel has agreed to temporarily suspend its plans to annex the West Bank as part of an agreement to establish normal diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is the third Arab nation, after Egypt and Jordan, to agree to a peaceful relationship with Israel. The agreement was announced by President Trump, who released a joint statement from leaders of all three nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized the agreement regarding the West Bank as “a temporary postponement” in response to a request from President Trump. “It is not removed from the table, I am telling you that.”




➤VOTERS APPROVE HARRIS CHOICE: Presidential candidate Joe Biden’s choice of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate is proving to be a hit with the key demographic groups he’ll need to get elected. A flash poll conducted yesterday by Politico/Morning Consult finds that Democrats approved of Harris’ selection by a hefty 84 percent, and Black voters by 79 percent. Among independents, 44 percent approved compared to 27 percent who disapproved.





➤LAWYER COHEN’S BOOK PREVIEWED: In the long list of tell-all books about Donald Trump, the one by his former lawyer Michael Cohen might stand out for the sheer number of epithets deployed in it. Trump, says Cohen, is “a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man.” And that’s just in the preview, posted in advance of next week’s release of “Disloyal: A Memoir.” The preview says Cohen will describe in detail how Trump colluded with the Russians to get elected. In other words, he says, the Mueller investigation “was not a witch-hunt.” Cohen was Trump’s personal lawyer for many years before being sent to prison for financial crimes and lying to Congress. He was released recently.

➤THEY DON’T CALL IT ‘DEATH VALLEY’ FOR NOTHING:  Dozens of American cities including Las Vegas, Tucson and Salt Lake City are expected to experience record high temperatures over the next few days starting today. But it’s really cooking in the aptly-named Death Valley, California. Temperatures there are expected to reach 126 degrees on Sunday and 127 on Monday. That’s a record for this late in the year. But wait, there’s more. Austin, Texas, has recorded 11 straight days of temperatures above 100 degrees, and at least five more are forecast before it breaks.

THE COST OF CANCELING COLLEGE FOOTBALL: The college football conferences that make up the Power 5 stand to lose $4 billion in combined revenue by canceling the 2020 season, according to a report from Washington University. And that estimate does not include broadcast revenue, conference payouts from bowl games and the playoff, corporate sponsorships or lost donations from fans. Daniel Roberts, editor-at-large of Yahoo Finance, says that hopes for a late start to the season are probably in vain, since that would force players to play two seasons in one year. They are students, after all.


➤COLLEGE TOWNS WILL SUFFER, TOO: College towns are feeling the pain, too, from Pullman, Washington, where Washington State University is located, to State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State. College football towns are normally bursting at the seams with football fans on Saturdays through the fall. “What the hell are we going to do every Saturday this fall?” asks Marie Dymkoski, who runs Pullman’s visitor center. “I feel a little bit lost.”

➤RECORD DEAL FOR 49ERS KITTLE: All-Pro tight end George Kittle has scored a five-year, $75 million contract to stay with the San Francisco 49ers. The contract extension is the best deal ever for a tight end. Kittle missed two games last year and still led the team in catches, at 85, and receiving yards, at 1,053. The deal was first reported by the NFL Network.

➤SERENA DEFEATS VENUS, QUIETLY: Serena Williams prevailed over her sister Venus 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Top Seed Open in Kentucky yesterday. It was the first official tournament in more than five months for both sisters due to coronavirus cancellations. They must have found it eerily quiet, too, since only a few friends and family members were allowed to watch the game.

➤ROBERT RYLAND DIES AT AGE 100: Robert Ryland, the player who broke the color barrier in professional tennis, has died at the age of 100. Ryland was a top player in the all-Black American Tennis Association before being invited to join the previously all-white World Pro Championships in 1959. He played competitively into his 80s and taught tennis at the Midtown Tennis Club in New York until 1990. His students included Arthur Ashe.

Cleveland Radio: NFL Browns, Entercom Extend Broadcast Deal

Entercom and the Cleveland Browns have announced a multi-year broadcast partnership extension.

As part of the extension, WKRK 92.3 The Fan and sister station Classic Rock WNCX 98.5 FM will continue serving as flagship radio stations of the team, airing all Browns games plus pre and postgame shows as part of the 26-station University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio Network.

“With football season right around the corner, we’re excited to continue delivering premier coverage of the Browns to Cleveland’s biggest sports fans on two of our market-leading stations – both on the field and off of it,” said Tom Herschel, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Cleveland. “We value our long-standing partnership with the Cleveland Browns and look forward to many more seasons as the flagship radio stations of the team.”

“Through our flagship radio partnership, we have incredible opportunities and resources to consistently provide our fans with compelling radio programming on gamedays and throughout the year,” said Dave Jenkins, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Cleveland Browns. “We greatly appreciate our partners’ efforts to bring our fans even closer to our players, coaches and entire team and are excited to continue to produce these shows with them in the years to come.”

92.3 The Fan and 98.5 WNCX have served as homes of the Browns since 2013, helping to air over 1,000 hours of team content through gameday and ancillary programming. The stations’ gameday broadcasts will continue to include pregame coverage prior to kickoff and postgame analysis after the game concludes.

In addition to gameday coverage, 92.3 The Fan and 98.5 WNCX will air weekly ancillary coverage. Effective immediately, the stations will air “The Cleveland Browns Preview Show” Wednesdays from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. Hosted by 92.3 The Fan morning show host Ken Carman and former NFL player and on-air personality Je’Rod Cherry, the program will feature a weekly breakdown of the team’s roster, upcoming opponents, the latest NFL news and interviews with Browns players, as well as insights and analysis from other members of the Browns broadcast team. On Thursdays from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, hosts Nathan Zegura and Beau Bishop will speak with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski as part of “The Kevin Stefanski Show.”

Greensboro Radio: Zac Davis New VP/Programming For iHM Cluster

iHeartMedia announced Thursday that Zac Davis has been named Vice President of Programming for Greensboro.

As Vice President of Programming, Davis will be responsible for overseeing the market’s programming content, branding and talent development. He will report to Kellie Holeman, President of iHeartMedia Greensboro.

Zac Davis
“I am thrilled to welcome Zac to my team in Greensboro, and I look forward to collaborating with him to continue developing these great brands,” said Holeman. “Zac brings a wealth of knowledge and creativity across all formats, and I look forward to a long, prosperous partnership.”

Davis joins iHeartMedia Greensboro from Entercom in Richmond, Virginia, where he most recently served as the Senior Vice President of Programming. He previously served as the Program Director at iHeartMedia Hartford-New Haven for Connecticut’s two highest-rated Top 40 stations. Davis has also previously held positions at iHeartMedia Myrtle Beach; Raleigh; Denver; and Stockton, California. He began his broadcasting career in Salt Lake City and then went on to Melbourne, Florida and Greensboro. Davis is a graduate of Florida State University.

“I’ve really enjoyed my four years in Richmond, but I’ve always considered North Carolina my home, so I’m thrilled to head back to Greensboro – I never did change my 336 number,” said Davis. “After getting to know Kellie Holeman, Maynard and Brian Hall, I knew this was a special team, and I’m excited to join the region. Looking forward to leading the iHeartMedia Greensboro programming team and overseeing these amazing radio stations.”

Canton Radio: After 28-Years, Kaleigh Kriss OUT At WHBC

Kayleigh Kriss
Kayleigh Kriss learned this month that she wouldn’t be returning to WHBC Mix 94.1 FM , where she’d been an air personality since 1997.

About Kriss being let go from the station, Larry Gawthrop, market manager for Alpha Media Canton, said in a statement, “While the effects of COVID-19 created some tough decisions for us, one thing is for certain: Kayleigh Kriss will forever be part of the legacy of WHBC FM. For 28 years she endured multiple owners, managers and musical directions, and played just about every song ever recorded. Kayleigh is a true professional and I have no doubt her career will continue to be a success no matter which side of the mic she’s on.”

“I am so grateful and lucky to have the career I’ve had so far,” Kriss said last Friday. “To be at the same radio station for 28 years, not many people can say that.”

Media Monitors Releases Podcast Listener Survey Results

The Media Monitors Podcast Listener survey was fielded between June 15th and 26th, 2020.

Participants aged 18+ were screened on whether they had listened to a podcast in the last 7 days, then asked to list the podcast titles. Participants were encouraged to consult their podcast app of choice during the survey. These unassisted responses were then individually matched back to unique RSS feeds which were polled to collect information about genre and publisher.

Q2 saw further consolidation in the podcast space as Spotify purchased exclusive rights to The Joe Rogan Experience (#1) and SiriusXM closed a deal to buy Midroll/Stitcher/Earwolf, the company behind Office Ladies (#14). This move gives SiriusXM some level of access to Midroll’s represented shows, including titles like My Favorite Murder (signed with Midroll in December 2019), but it is unclear how that relationship will evolve moving forward.


In another more recent acquisition, The New York Times has purchased Serial Productions, the company behind Serial (#8) and This American Life (#5). Although the exact terms of the deal are unclear (including a reported “’creative and strategic’ partnership with ‘This American Life’”), The New York Times has clearly moved to increase their footprint in upper echelon of podcasting.

Two of NPR’s daily news programs have broken into the Top 25. Up First sits at #12 alongside the new Consider This from NPR at #22 (the Consider This… RSS feed was recently rebranded away from Coronavirus Daily). Both represent challenges to The Daily’s dominance in the Daily News category.

August 14 Radio History



➦In 1909...Edward Joseph "Ed" Herlihy born (Died at age 89 – January 30, 1999). He was an newsreel narrator for Universal-International. He was also a long-time radio and television announcer for NBC, hosting The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour in the 1940s and 1950, and was briefly interim announcer on The Tonight Show in 1962. He was also the voice of Kraft Foods radio and TV commercials from the 1940s through the early 1980s. When he died in 1999, his obituary in The New York Times said he was "A Voice of Cheer and Cheese".[

Educated at Boston College, graduating in 1932, he gained his first radio job in his home town, at Boston's WLOE. When he was hired by NBC in 1935, he decamped for New York, along with his friend, fellow Boston announcer Frank Gallop, who was hired by CBS. He was the announcer for many radio shows from the 1930s, to the 1950s, among them: America's Town Meeting, The Big Show, The Falcon, Mr. District Attorney, and Just Plain Bill. He became the host of The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour on radio in 1948, remaining its announcer when the show went to television. He continued his success in the new medium: his early television credits included Sid Caesar's hit Your Show of Shows and soap operas As the World Turns and All My Children. He was also the host of Recollections At 30, which was a special NBC Radio series created for the network's 30th birthday.

For Universal Newsreels in the 1940s, Herlihy narrated editions describing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Allies' early setbacks against the Axis powers, the turning of the tide of WWII, the death of President Roosevelt, the execution of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and the detonation of the first atomic bombs. In the next decade, during the Cold War, he narrated the very first American newsreel on the launch of Sputnik.

➦In 1932...Philips makes 1 millionth radio

'Ma Perkins' Cast
➦In 1933..., Crossley Broadcasting’s WLW in Cincinnati premiered the daytime drama “Ma Perkins.”

Starting December 4, 1933, Ma Perkins was heard on NBC from 1933 to 1949 and on CBS from 1942 to 1960. Between 1942 and 1949, the show was heard simultaneously on both networks.

The series was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert with scripts by Robert Hardy Andrews, Orvin Tovrov and others. Ma Perkins began August 14, 1933, on WLW in Cincinnati. On December 4 of that year, it graduated to the NBC Red network. On NBC and CBS the series ran for a total of 7,065 episodes.

"America’s mother of the air" was portrayed by actress Virginia Payne, who began the role at the age of 23 and never missed a performance during the program's 27-year run. Kindly, trusting widow Ma Perkins had a big heart and a great love of humanity. She always offered her homespun philosophy to troubled souls in need of advice.

➦In 1942...“The Show Without a Name” hosted by Garry Moore started airing on NBC.  It was an effort to crack the morning show dominance of Arthur Godfrey (CBS) and “Don McNeil’s Breakfast Club” (ABC). A prize of $500 was offered to name the show and someone came up with the title, “Everything Goes”.







NY Times article 8/15/1945

➦In 1945...radio brought the news of Japan’s surrender ending World War II.

➦In 1957...1010 WINS-AM New York went Top40. 1010 WINS used a strict playlist, except for Alan Freed and Jack Lacy.

➦In 1957...ABC Radio announced an experiment with a “live” music show hosted by Herb Oscar Anderson. This was 3 years before WABC flipped to Top40.

John, George, Paul, Peter Best
➦In 1962…Pete Best was let go from the Beatles. Producer George Martin was unhappy with his drumming and it was said that some group members felt overshadowed by Best's teen idol good looks.

John Lennon later admitted to the group's "cowardly" handling of the event. Ringo Starr, drummer for the Liverpool group Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, was asked to join the group as Best's replacement. Ringo made his first appearance with the Beatles on August 18.

Tom Harmon
➦In 1962...It was announced that starting in September, sportscaster Tom Harmon will be heard on ABC radio where he will have a 10-minute weekday sports broadcast and he’ll also be heard on weekends in eight five-minute broadcasts. He joins ABC after 13 years with CBS’ Pacific radio network.

Once a member of the Los Angeles Rams, Tom Harmon was one of the first athletes to go into broadcasting. He was an All-American football player in 1940 at the University of Michigan.

One of Tom’s daughters would marry Ricky Nelson and, later, son Mark would become a well-known actor. He currently stars in NCIS on CBS-TV.

➦In 1973...In the past six years, FM radio listening had increased by 152%, according to Arbriton and a statistic that should give AM music stations some pause. The study covered 8 of the top-10 markets.

➦In 1973...WYSP 94.1 FM became the third FM rock station in Philadelphia.  It went up against (Now Country WXTU) WIFI 92.5 FM and WMMR 93.3 FM. WYSP (Your Station in Philadelphia) jocks included Tom Straw, Dean Clark, and Doug Cristian with Frank X. Feller as program director. The music included popular cuts from albums by artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Chicago, and Crosby Stills and Nash.


➦In 1983...WFIL 560 AM Philadelphia switched to all oldies.

It was on September 18, 1966, that WFIL began playing a Top40 format. It quickly became the most successful non-RKO "Boss Radio" formatted station, known locally as "The Pop Music Explosion". The original line up of air personalities, or "Boss Jocks" were scheduled as follows:

6-10am: Chuck Browning
10am-2pm: Jay Cook ("Captain Jay Cook")
2-6pm: Jim Nettleton ("Diamond Jim" Nettleton)
6-10pm: George Michael ("King George" Michael)
10pm-2am: Long John Wade
2-6am: Dave Parks ("Dave the Rave" Parks)
Weekends: Frank Kingston Smith

WFIL announcers heard in later years of the Top 40 era included Dr. Don Rose, Jim O'Brien (who later also became a WPVI-TV weather broadcaster and station personality), Dan Donovan, J. J. Jeffrey, Dick Heatherton, Tom Dooley, "Tiny" Tom Tyler, Mitch "K.C." Hill, "Big" Ron O'Brien, Kris Chandler, Geoff Richards, Joel Denver, Brother Lee Love (Alan Smith), and Banana Joe Montione.

➦In 1988...Shadoe Stevens became host of “American Top 40”


Casey Kasem left the show over contract concerns with ABC. Billboard magazine reported that the main disputes between Kasem and Watermark/ABC were over his salary, because of declining ratings and a smaller number of affiliates. Casey's final AT40 show aired on August 6, 1988. At no point during that final show did Kasem ever let on that any changes were afoot, and simply omitted the phrase "join me next week" while closing the show.

Kasem was replaced by Shadoe Stevens, whose first American Top 40 show aired on August 13, 1988, on 1,014 stations.  Kasem joined the Westwood One less than a year later to start a rival show, Casey's Top 40. Many AT40 listeners were upset by Kasem's departure and, as a result, many stations dropped American Top 40 in favor of Casey's Top 40 once it hit the airwaves on January 21, 1989.

➦In 1993...It was announced teens are listening to country music more and more. Country has climbed from a 2.3% share of teens in the summer of 1989 to an 8.7% share this year.

Charly Butcher
➦In 2007...Ryan Seacrest was tapped to host the 59th annual Emmy Awards.

➦In 2012…Actress Rosemary Rice died after a heart attack at 87. She provided the voice of Betty Cooper on the Archie Andrews radio series, played the oldest daughter and narrated the early 1950s TV series, "Mama," appeared on Broadway, recorded 15 children's albums, and earned three Clio Awards for her work in television commercials – on camera and as a voiceover artist. For Clairol, she became the familiar voice of the ad slogan, "If I've only one life to live, let me live it as a blonde."

➦In 2018...Fort Wayne radio icon Charly Butcher, died from a heart attack at age 61.  Butcher spent more than 30 years on the air in Fort Wayne, both on WMEE, and at the time of his death, as host of WOWO’s morning show. Over the years, he became a crucial part of many people’s morning routines as he helped get their day started.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Mila Kunis is 37
  • Singer Dash Crofts of Seals and Crofts is 82. 
  • Singer David Crosby is 79. 
  • Country singer Connie Smith is 79. 
  • Actor-musician Steve Martin is 75. 
  • Actor Antonio Fargas (“Starsky and Hutch”) is 74. 
  • Bassist Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone is 74. 
  • Actor Susan St. James is 74. 
  • Romance novelist Danielle Steel is 73. 
  • Keyboardist Terry Adams of NRBQ is 72. 
  • Cartoonist Gary Larson (“The Far Side”) is 70. 
  • Actor Carl Lumbly (“Alias”) is 69. 
  • Actor Jackee Harry (“Sister, Sister,” ″227″) is 64. 
  • Actor Marcia Gay Harden is 61. 
  • Singer Sarah Brightman is 60. 
  • Actor Susan Olsen (“The Brady Bunch”) is 59. 
  • Actor Halle Berry is 54. 
  • Actor Ben Bass (“Rookie Blue”) is 52. 
  • Actor Catherine Bell (“JAG”) is 52. 
  • Keyboardist Cody McCarver of Confederate Railroad is 52. 
  • Guitarist Kevin Cadogan (Third Eye Blind) is 50. 
  • Actor Lalanya Masters (“Barbershop”) is 48. 
  • Actor Christopher Gorham (“Ugly Betty”) is 46. 
  • Actor Mila Kunis is 37. 
  • Actor Lamorne Morris (“New Girl”) is 37. 
  • TV personality Spencer Pratt (“The Hills”) is 37. 
  • Actor Marsai Martin (“black-ish”) is 16.