Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.
Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including World War II, The Vietnam War, The Korean War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date General Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.
➦In 1898...Author, Columnist and radio minister Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was born in Bowersville Ohio. For 54 years (from 1935 to 1989), Peale hosted the weekly radio program The Art of Living. He was best known for the best selling book The Power of Positive Thinking. He served as mentor to televangelist Robert Schuller. He died Dec 24, 1993 at age 95.
➦In 1908...Entertainer Don Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici (Died at age 85 from cancer – December 6, 1993), He was an Actor, voice artist and comedian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which led to the offer of a movie contract from 20th Century Fox in 1935.
As a handsome, debonair leading man in 40 films over the next 14 years, he was a popular star in comedies, dramas, and musicals. In the 1950s he worked on Broadway and in television, and was the host of NBC's International Showtime from 1961 to 1965. Returning to film work in his later years, Ameche enjoyed a fruitful revival of his career beginning with his role as a villain in Trading Places (1983) and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cocoon (1985).
➦In 1943...The comic stripArchie Andrews came to radio on the Blue Network for the first time. Archie, Veronica and the gang remained on network radio for some nine years.
➦In 19??..Longtime Philadelphia and NYC Radio Personality Ross Brittain was born.
Most recently he was working weekends and fill-in at Classic Hits WCBS-FM in NYC. Previously, he was at morning host at then-CBS owned WOGL 98.1 FM in Philly and he's also worked in Atlanta, New Orleans, Cleveland and Hartford as well as NYC. In 1982, Brittain was cohost of the first morning show Ross & Brittain on 77WABC as a Talk station.
In 1984, he teamed with Scott Shannon on the Z100 Morning Zoo on WHTZ 100.3 FM.
Brittain is a former Billboaard and Radio&Records "Personality of The Year".
Mary Margaret McBride
➦In 1949...a crowd of 35,000 people paid tribute to radio personality Mary Margaret McBride at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. McBride was celebrating her 15th year in radio. Her popular radio shows spanned more than 40 years. In the 1940s the daily audience for her housewife-oriented program numbered from six to eight million listeners. She was called "The First Lady of Radio."
McBride first worked steadily in radio for WOR in New York City. In 1937, she launched on the CBS radio network the first of a series of similar and successful shows, now as Mary Margaret McBride.
She interviewed figures well known in the world of arts and entertainment, and politics, with a style recognized as original to herself. She accepted advertising only for products she was prepared to endorse from her own experience, and turned down all tobacco or alcohol products.
She followed this format in regular broadcasts on CBS until 1941, NBC (where her audience numbered in the millions) from then until 1950, ABC from then until 1954, NBC again until 1960, and The New York Herald Tribune's radio broadcasts with a wider audience via syndication.
➦In 1958...guitarist Dick Dale introduced “surf music” for the first time when he played “Let’s Go Trippin'” at a concert in Balboa Calif. Dale died in Loma Linda, CA on March 16, 2019, at age 81.
➦In 1966...filming began on The Monkees TV sitcom. Starting on NBC in September the weekly series chronicled the misadventures of a struggling rock band.
➦In 1999...77WABC-AM, New York, presented "WABC Rewound" where the news/talk station broadcast airchecks from its glory days when it was a Top 40 formatted music station. At first, WABC's early days in the 60s as a Top 40 station were humble ones.
Top 40 1010 WINS was the No. 1 hit music station and WMCA 570 AM, which did a similar rock leaning top 40 format, was also a formidable competitor, while WABC barely ranked in the Top Ten. Fortunately for WABC, the other Top 40 outlets could not be heard as well in more distant New York and New Jersey suburbs, since WINS, WMGM 1050 AM, and WMCA were all directional stations.
WABC, with its 50,000-watt non-directional signal, had the advantage of being heard in places west, south, and northwest of New York City – a huge chunk of the growing suburban population – and this is where the station began to draw ratings.
Early in 1962, WMGM, owned by Loew's, which then owned MGM, was sold to Storer Broadcasting. Upon its sale, WMGM reverted to its original WHN call letters and switched to a middle of the road music format playing mostly non-rock artists such as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Andy Williams.
Sam Holman was the first WABC program director of this era. Under Holman, WABC achieved No. 1 ratings during much of 1962, after WMGM reverted to WHN. By the summer of 1963, WMCA led the pack among contemporary stations, with WABC at No. 2 and WINS slipping to third place. It has been said, but is difficult to verify, that WMCA dominated in the city proper, while WABC owned the suburbs. This would be consistent with WMCA's 5,000-watt directional signal.
GM Hal Neal hired Rick Sklar as WABC's program director. He would go on to become a member of the Radio Hall of Fame and be credited as one of the pioneering architects of the Top 40 format.
Under Sklar, the station went to the shortest playlist of any contemporary music station in history. The number one song was heard about every hour during the day and every 75 minutes or so at night. The other top 5 songs were heard nearly as often. Other current songs averaged once to twice per airshift. The station played about 9 current hits per hour and several non-current songs. The non-currents were no more than 5 years old and the station played about 70 of them in total.
Through the years, WABC was known by various slogans, "Channel 77 WABC" and later "Musicradio 77 WABC". Due to the high number of commercials each hour, WABC played no more than two songs in a row and there was frequent DJ talk and personality between every song. The station averaged 6 commercial breaks per hour but they were no more than 3 ads in a row. Often the air personalities delivered live commercials in their own humorous style, so that listeners would consider the spot part of the entertainment.
➦In 2019...After EMF acquired the station on May 31, 2019. WPLJ 95.5 NYC joined the K-LOVE network at 7pm, and now airs Christian contemporary music. K-Love's first piece of audio was a request for listener financial support
Clint Eastwood is 91
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Actor-director Clint Eastwood is 91.
Singer Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary is 83.
Keyboardist Augie Meyers of the Texas Tornadoes and the Sir Douglas Quintet is 81.
Actor Sharon Gless (“Cagney and Lacey”) is 78.
Actor Tom Berenger is 71.
Actor Gregory Harrison is 71.
Actor Kyle Secor (“Homicide: Life on the Street”) is 64.
Actor Roma Maffia (“Nip/Tuck,” ″Profiler”) is 63.
Comedian Chris Elliott is 61.
Actor Lea Thompson (“Caroline in the City,” ″Back to the Future”) is 60.
Lea Thompson is 60
Singer Corey Hart is 59.
Rapper DMC of Run-DMC is 57.
Actor Brooke Shields is 56.
Country bassist Ed Adkins of The Derailers is 54.
“The Amazing Race” host Phil Keoghan is 54.
Jazz bassist Christian McBride is 49.
Actor Archie Panjabi (“The Good Wife”) is 49.
Actor Merle Dandridge (“Greenleaf”) is 46.
Actor Colin Farrell is 45.
Trumpet player Scott Klopfenstein of Reel Big Fish is 44.
Actor Eric Christian Olsen (“NCIS: Los Angeles” is 44.
➦In 1894...John Florence Sullivan was born (Died – March 17, 1956). Known professionally as Fred Allen, he was a comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program The Fred Allen Show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio.
His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it was only part of his appeal; radio historian John Dunning (in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio) wrote that Allen was radio's most admired comedian and most frequently censored. A master ad libber, Allen often tangled with his network's executives (and often barbed them on the air over the battles) while developing routines whose style and substance influenced fellow comic talents, including Groucho Marx, Stan Freberg, Henry Morgan and Johnny Carson; his avowed fans also included President Franklin D. Roosevelt, humorist James Thurber, and novelists William Faulkner, John Steinbeck and Herman Wouk (who began his career writing for Allen).
From 1942...
Allen has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: a radio star at 6713 Hollywood Blvd. and a TV star at 7001 Hollywood Blvd
He later voiced characters for Hanna-Barbera's television cartoons, including Barney Rubble on The Flintstones and Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons. Blanc was also the original voice of Woody Woodpecker for Universal Pictures and provided vocal effects for the Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Chuck Jones for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, replacing William Hanna. During the golden age of radio, Blanc also frequently performed on the programs of famous comedians from the era, including Jack Benny, Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen and Judy Canova.
Having earned the nickname The Man of a Thousand Voices, Blanc is regarded as one of the most influential people in the voice acting industry
Mel Blanc and Characters
Blanc began his radio career at the age of 19 when in 1927 he debuted as a voice actor on the KGW (Portland OR) program The Hoot Owls, where his ability to provide voices for multiple characters first attracted attention. He moved to Los Angeles in 1932, where he met Estelle Rosenbaum (1909 - 2003), whom he married a year later, before returning to Portland. He moved to KEX in 1933 to produce and co-host his Cobweb And Nuts show with his wife Estelle, which debuted on June 15. The program played Monday through Saturday from 11:00 pm to midnight, and by the time the show ended two years later, it appeared from 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm.
With his wife's encouragement, Blanc returned to Los Angeles and joined Warner Bros.-owned KFWB in Hollywood, California, in 1935. He joined The Johnny Murray Show, but the following year switched to CBS Radio and The Joe Penner Show.
Blanc was a regular on the NBC Red Network show The Jack Benny Program in various roles, including voicing Benny's Maxwell automobile (in desperate need of a tune-up), violin teacher Professor LeBlanc, Polly the Parrot, Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael, the tormented department store clerk, and the train announcer. The first role came from a mishap when the recording of the automobile's sounds failed to play on cue, prompting Blanc to take the microphone and improvise the sounds himself. The audience reacted so positively that Benny decided to dispense with the recording altogether and have Blanc continue in that role.
By 1946, Blanc appeared on over 15 radio programs in supporting roles. His success on The Jack Benny Program led to his own radio show on the CBS Radio Network, The Mel Blanc Show, which ran from September 3, 1946, to June 24, 1947. Blanc played himself as the hapless owner of a fix-it shop, as well as his young cousin Zookie.
Blanc also appeared on such other national radio programs as The Abbott and Costello Show, the Happy Postman on Burns and Allen, and as August Moon on Point Sublime. During World War II, he appeared as Private Sad Sack on various radio shows, most notably G.I. Journal. Blanc recorded a song titled "Big Bear Lake."
He passed away on July 10, 1989.
➦In 1917...actor & voiceover artist Peter Leeds was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. He appeared on television more than 8,000 times, on radio programs more than 3,000 times, and also had many film and Broadway credits. The majority of his work took place in the 1950s and 1960s,; he was best known as a straight man for funnyman Stan Freberg. Leeds died of cancer Nov. 12 1996 at age 79.
➦In 1922...Smilin' Ed McConnell made his first radio broadcast in Atlanta. He was best known as the host of the children's radio and television series, Smilin' Ed's Gang, closely identified with its sponsor, Buster Brown shoes, and also known as The Buster Brown Program. For his work in radio, McConnell was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Smilin' Ed McConnell
In 1937, he moved to NBC as their "Sunshine Melody Man", offering hymns and uplifting messages. McConnell’s blend of "songs, humor and philosophy" aired over network affiliates at 5:30pm. Guests included the Doring Trio, The Four Grenadiers, The Campus Choir and the Rhythmaires.
McConnell became known in New York City when he was heard over WJZ, though the show was broadcast from Chicago and he lived in Elk Rapids, Michigan.
McConnell grabbed children's attention when he created the character Froggy the Gremlin, performing with Irma Allen on the organ or Del Owen on the piano. Even though McConnell became famous as "Smilin' Ed," he continued to host programs for religious adults. While his Buster Brown show was running, McConnell presided over a five-minute show sponsored by the American Poultry Journal. It reached over 50 stations. Another Smilin' Ed show was a 15-minute program sponsored by the Purity Baking Company.
By 1948, 145 ABC stations were subscribing to his 15-minute programs. Smilin' Ed's humor, songs, and music were condensed into a five-minute program especially for electric lamp dealers. So it is very likely that this series originated after 1948.
➦In 1928...Legendary radio personality Herb Oscar Anderson was born. HOA was the morning drive-time personality on WABC Radio in New York City December 1960 to September 1968. He referred to himself as the Morning Mayor Of New York.
He also worked at KSTP and WDGY St. Paul-Minneapolis during the '50s. Also in the '50s HOA appeared on a number of shows for the ABC Radio network. He started in 1958 at WMCA NYC, worked WMGM in '59 and became the Morning Mayor on WABC in 1960.
HOA died January 29, 2017 at age 88.
➦In 1935…"America's Town Meeting of the Air" was first heard on NBC Blue (the predecessor to ABC radio) for the first time. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the debaters on the opener. The issues-oriented discussion program lasted a total of 21 years, with a name change to America’s Town Meeting of the Air. It was moderated throughout by George V. Denny Jr.
➦In 1943...the "Archie" comic strip was first aired on radio.
➦In 1989...the 20,000th "Rambling with Gambling" Radio show aired on WOR-AM, New York City. (Several generations of Gamblings kept the program going continuously)
John A, John R, John B Gambling
John B. Gambling started the show in March 1925, when WOR was a promotional arm of the Bamberger's department store in Newark. His son, John A. Gambling became host in 1959. He brought his son, John R. Gambling, to the show as co-host from 1985 until his retirement in 1991. John R. Gambling has been solo host since that time.
In September 2000, WOR cancelled the program. At the time, it was the longest continually-running radio broadcast in America, a position now held by the Grand Ole Opry.
After a brief hiatus, WABC hired John R. Gambling.
WOR owned the rights to the name Rambling with Gambling, so the revived show was renamed The John Gambling Show.
In January 2008, WABC laid off Gambling in a cost-cutting measure.
On Wednesday, April 30, 2008, WOR and John R. Gambling announced the return of the show to its original station.
They began broadcasting on Monday, May 5, 2008, from 6 AM to 10 AM. despite the return to WOR.
Gambling retired from WOR radio at the end of 2013, bringing an end to the almost 89-year combined run of The John Gambling Show and Rambling with Gambling.
He has since returned to the NYC airwaves hosting 11am to 1pm on WNYM 970 AM The Answer.
➦In 2014...Radio, TV actress Joan Lorring, who began her career in 1940’s Hollywood radio and was regularly of member of the cast on CBS Radio’s Mystery Theater in the 70’s died at age 88. She was also featured in the early TV series ‘Norby,” and guested in anthology & episodic TV until 1980. Her many small screen appearances included The Star Wagon, a 1966 movie with Dustin Hoffman and Orson Bean, and The Love Boat in 1980.
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Wynonna Judd is 57
Actor Ruta Lee (“High Rollers,” “What’s My Line?”) is 86.
Actor Keir Dullea (“2001: A Space Odyssey”) is 85.
Guitarist Lenny Davidson of The Dave Clark Five is 77.
Actor Stephen Tobolowsky (“Groundhog Day,” ″Sneakers”) is 70.
Actor Colm Meaney (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) is 68.
Actor Ted McGinley (“Hope and Faith,” ″Married... With Children”) is 63.
Actor Ralph Carter (“Good Times”) is 60.
Actor-filmmaker Tonya Pinkins (“All My Children”) is 59.
Country singer Wynonna Judd is 57.
Guitarist Tom Morello of Audioslave,Rage Against the Machine is 57
Actor Mark Sheppard (“Supernatural”) is 57.
Movie director Antoine Fuqua is 56.
Idina Menzel is 50
Actor John Ross Bowie (“Speechless,” ″The Big Bang Theory”) is 50.
Guitarist Patrick Dahlheimer of Live is 50.
Singer-actor Idina Menzel is 50.
Singer Cee Lo Green (Gnarls Barkley, Goodie Mob) is 46.
Rapper Remy Ma is 41.
Guitarist James Smith of Underoath is 39.
Actress Javicia Leslie (“God Friended Me”) is 34.
Actor Sean Giambrone (“The Goldbergs”) is 22.
Actor Jared Gilmore (“Once Upon a Time,” ″Mad Men”) is 21.
Five-time Grammy award winner and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, B.J. Thomas, died today (Sat, May 29th) at home in Arlington, Texas at the age of 78 from complications due to stage four lung cancer.
According to The Music Universe, few artists have left a more indelible mark on America’s musical landscape than B.J. Thomas. With his smooth, rich voice and unerring song sense, Thomas’s expansive career crossed multiple genres, including country, pop, and gospel, earning him CMA, Dove, and Grammy awards and nominations since his emergence in the 1960s.
Thomas’ career was anchored by numerous enduring hits, among them his million-selling cover of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” the Grammy-winning “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” and the iconic “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” which won the Academy Award for best original song. A five-time Grammy award winner and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, Thomas has sold over 70 million albums worldwide, scoring eight No. 1 hits and 26 Top 10 singles over his 50+ years in the music industry.
His lengthy chart history led to him being named one of Billboard’s Top 50 Most Played Artists Over The Past 50 Years. Such memorable hits as “I Just Can’t Help Believing, “Don’t Worry Baby,” “Whatever Happened To Old Fashioned Love,” “New Looks From An Old Lover” and “Hooked on a Feeling” have made him a staple on multiple radio formats over the years.
Born in rural Hugo, OK, Billy Joe Thomas moved to Houston, Texas with his family and where he grew up absorbing a variety of musical influences from the traditional country of Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams Dr. to the soulful sounds of Jackie Wilson and Little Richard. Thomas’s first taste of success came in 1966 when he recorded “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” with producer Huey P. Meaux. Released by Scepter Records, it peaked at No. 8 on the pop charts and became his first million-selling single. He released the follow-up single, “Mama,” and delivered his first solo album that same year. Thomas’ second million-selling hit came in 1968 with the release of “Hooked on a Feeling,” from On My Way, his sophomore album for Scepter. During his days with the New York label, he became friendly with Ronnie Milsap and Dionne Warwick, who were also on the roster at the time.
It was Warwick who introduced him to songwriter-producer Burt Bacharach. In January 1970, Thomas topped the charts with “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” Penned by Bacharach and Hal David, the song was featured in the classic Paul Newman/Robert Redford film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, earning the Oscar for best original song. Sales quickly exceeded two million copies and it has remained one of the most enduring pop hits of all time, reoccurring in such films as Forrest Gump, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Clerks II, and Spider-Man 2 as well as multiple TV shows over the years. He followed that career-defining single with a string of pop/rock hits, including “Everybody’s Out of Town,” “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” “No Love at All” and “Rock and Roll Lullaby.”
After six years with Scepter Records, Thomas signed with Paramount Records where he released two albums—1973’s Songs and 1974’s Longhorns & Londonbridges. In 1975, Thomas released the album Reunion on ABC Records, featuring “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” which holds the distinction of being the longest titled No. 1 hit ever on Billboard’s Hot 100. Like many successful pop/rock artists, Thomas fell into drugs and battled substance abuse. His wife Gloria became a born-again Christian and the turning point in Thomas’ life came when he became a believer in 1976. He immediately quit drugs and found an avenue for expressing his faith in gospel music.
Besides music, Thomas loved baseball as a kid and started calling himself B.J. because so many Little League teammates also were named Billy Joe. By his teens, he was singing in church and had joined a local rock band, the Triumphs, whom he would stay with into his 20s. He enjoyed Ernest Tubbs, Hank Williams and other country performers his parents liked, but on his own he was inspired by the soul and rhythm and blues singers he heard on the radio or saw on stage, notably Jackie Wilson, whose hit ballad “To Be Loved” Thomas later covered and adopted as a kind of guide to his life.
Cox Media Group has announced it will syndicate The Erick Erickson Show, reports ajc.com.
Erickson, a mainstay on News-Talk WSB 95.5 FM / 750 AM for the past decade, recently moved to the noon to 3 p.m. slot after Rush Limbaugh died and WSB opted not to keep the “best of” Limbaugh show on the air.
On Thursday, Premiere Networks also announced it was replacing Limbaugh with the duo of Clay Travis and Buck Sexton starting June 21 on hundreds of stations nationwide. No word yet which Atlanta affiliate will take that show.
Erickson’s show will be available from noon to 3 p.m. starting June 1 to any radio affiliate that wants it.
“I’ve been working towards this for a very long time, and I appreciate my long relationship with CMG,” Erickson said in a press statement. “We look forward to continued success at 95.5 WSB and many new affiliates across the country,.”
Rob Babin, senior vice president for the radio division at CMG, added: “We’re excited to announce this partnership. Erick has performed successfully for many years on 95.5 WSB Radio, and no doubt, he’ll make an impact as the Erick Erickson show expands.”
Erickson, who lives in Macon, joined the station after Herman Cain made a run for president in 2011. His show aired on WSB for many years in the late afternoons. He has been a consistent conservative voice but has criticized Donald Trump’s behavior in the past, causing many of his supporters to balk.
Over the years, Erickson has filled in for Neal Boortz, Cain and Limbaugh himself.
Andrew Kalb is handling affiliation for the program and he can be reached via Andrew@AndrewKalb.com or by calling 917-217-4050.
Fox’s 2021 “iHeartRadio Music Awards” averaged a 0.4 rating/3 share among adults 18-49 and 1.7 million total viewers on Thursday. Those primetime Nielsen numbers placed Fox third in key demo ratings and fourth in overall viewers.
The Wrap reports ABC and NBC tied atop the ratings leaderboard last night, with the Disney-owned broadcast network holding the total-viewer tiebreaker.
ABC and NBC tied for first in ratings, both with a 0.5 rating/4 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. ABC was first in total viewers with an average of 3.8 million, according to preliminary numbers. NBC was second in total viewers with 3.6 million.
For ABC, “Station 19” at 8 p.m. put up a 0.6/5 and 4.4 million total viewers. At 9, “Grey’s Anatomy” got a 0.6/4 and 4.1 million total viewers. “Rebel” at 10 received a 0.4/3 and 2.8 million total viewers.
For NBC, “The Wall” at 8 had a 0.4/3 and 2.8 million total viewers. At 9, “Law & Order: SVU” drew a 0.6/4 and 4.2 million total viewers. “Law & Order: Organized Crime” at 10 got a 0.6/4 and 3.9 million total viewers.
Fox was third in ratings with a 0.4/3 and fourth in viewers with 1.7 million. If those numbers look familiar, it’s because they’re straight from the iHeartRadio awards, which ran for the entirety of Fox’s two-hour primetime.
CBS and Univision tied for fourth in ratings, both with a 0.3/2. CBS was third in total viewers with 2.7 million, Univision was fifth with 1.1 million.
CBS News chief political analyst and senior national correspondent John Dickerson will be contributing to “Sunday Morning” and will no longer contribute to “60 Minutes,” the network confirmed reports The Hill.
“John Dickerson will be contributing to Sunday Morning, while continuing in a key political anchor and reporting role as chief political analyst and Senior national correspondent,” a CBS News spokesperson said via email.
Dickerson was named CBS News chief political analyst earlier in May.
Dickerson had been contributing to “60 Minutes” since 2019 and reports for all CBS News platforms and programs, including “CBS This Morning,” “CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell” and “Face The Nation,” according to the CBS News website.
He hosted “Face The Nation” from June 2015 to January 2018 and was promoted to chief Washington correspondent in March 2017.
Dickerson joined CBS as an analyst and contributor in 2009 and was the network’s political director for six years. His mother, Nancy Dickerson, was the first female correspondent for CBS News.
Donna Brazile, former interim head of the Democratic National Convention, has exited Fox News for a contributor role at ABC News, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.
Brazile served as interim DNC chairwoman in 2012 and from 2016 to 2017. She’s had a wide-ranging career in television throughout her time as a political operative.
Prior to joining Fox News in 2019, she served as a commentator for CNN — and resigned in October 2016 after the disclosure that she had leaked debate questions to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ahead of a primary debate.
A CNN statement at the time said the network was “completely uncomfortable” with what WikiLeaks revelations had shown. Her resignation, however, was not made public for two weeks.
A representative for Fox News did not respond to a request for comment. In her time at Fox News, she acted as a liberal voice, a foil to some of the more conservative hosts and commentators.
The news of Brazile’s departure comes two days after her Fox News colleague Juan Williams, another liberal on the right-leaning network, decided to step away from his role on panel show “The Five” to stay in Washington, D.C. and be closer to his family. He remains on the Fox News roster in other capacities.
News-Talk WTAX, a nearly 100-year-old Springfield, IL station, will soon have a stronger FM signal.
Capitol Radio Group announced this week that it is swapping FM outputs on two of its seven stations to give its flagship news network, WTAX, a stronger signal.
WTAX will broadcast on 93.9 FM, a few clicks away from its current setting of 93.5 FM, beginning June 7. It will remain on 1240 AM, as it has for more than 70 years. Capitol Radio Group vice president and general manger Chris Bullock said the move will allow WTAX to reach a larger audience.
Coinciding with the move, the current WQQL Cool 93.9 will change to 93.5 on the same day, though it will live on in spirit as the new Rewind 93.5, also launching on June 7, Bullock said.
"We're promoting it as getting a new coat of paint," Bullock said about the new station, which will broadcast the same 80s-centric pop hits as WQQL with a new brand that "reflects the music more."
WQQL hosts JJ Gerard, Joey McLaughlin and Dave Daniels, among others, will continue their shows on the new Rewind 93.5, Bullock said. WTAX's news coverage will also continue without any changes, he said.
WTAX has local news programs in addition to syndicated shows hosted by Sean Hannity and Hugh Hewitt. WQQL currently broadcasts pop hits from the likes of Billy Joel and Madonna.
CUMULUS MEDIA announces that Des Moines radio station KWQW-FM launched Friday as The New 98.3 The Vibe.
The Mainstream Contemporary Hit Radio station is a customized hit music station that matches the young Des Moines market’s lifestyle with today’s biggest hits. KWQW-FM was previously programmed as a Classic Hip Hop station.
Jack Taddeo, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Des Moines, said: “Following market research, we saw a need for a Contemporary Hit Radio station that delivers continuous music and is focused on, and customized for, Des Moines. This move more properly positions KWQW in that lane and becomes accretive to our local radio group which includes Country combo NASH FM 97.3/KHKI-FM and 92.5 KJJY, and Classic Rock 95 KGGO, as well as Sports Talk 1700 The Champ/KBGG.”
Chad Taylor, Operations Manager, Cumulus Des Moines and Program Director, KWQW-FM, added: “The New 98.3 The Vibe plays today’s hit music by artists including Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars and Maroon Five. We’re looking forward to hitting the streets, having fun and bringing our own Summer Vibe to Des Moines! We could not have done this without the support of Cumulus VP/Programming Operations, Greg Frey and VP/Contemporary Formats, Louie Diaz!”
Sports are never far from Shelby Cassesse’s mind, as evidenced by her tweets.
One minute, she’s on Twitter talking about her one-on-one interview with Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto that she earned through her hard work as a N/T KDKA 1020 AM reporter. The next, she’s sharing in Pittsburgh’s sorrow over the Penguins losing their first-round playoff series to the New York Islanders, or discussing the latest updates on Robert Morris University getting rid of its men’s and women’s hockey programs.
The Post-Gazette reports Cassesse grew up playing sports and loving local teams, and her reporting career has kept her close to the action since she graduated from Duquesne University six years ago. She’ll soon get to combine those two passions in the form of her new show on KDKA-FM 93.7 The Fan, premiering Sunday at 7 a.m.
“When the opportunity was presented to me, it was an instant, ‘Well, yeah, of course I’m going to do this!’” Cassesse told the Post-Gazette. “It’s one of the greatest professional opportunities I’ve been given. It’s something I never anticipated doing in my career because I always saw myself as a reporter. It’s truly incredible, and I’m beyond thrilled to be doing it.”
“It’s definitely not lost on me that few women have had this opportunity, especially here in Pittsburgh,” Cassesse said. “I don’t want that to be what people see me as. I’m happy to take on that title, and I’m glad to celebrate it, too, because it needs to be celebrated.
“Once the mic goes on Sunday morning, I’m a sports talk show host, not a female sports talk show host. I’m just another one of the many hosts this station has.
“I do hope that girls going through college now that may want to do this can look to me as a role model and as someone who doesn’t dwell on being a female sports talk show host.”
After graduating from Duquesne with a journalism degree in 2015, she spent two years as a sports anchor and reporter for WDTV in Bridgeport, W.Va. Upon returning to Pittsburgh, she began doing news and traffic on KDKA Radio and sports updates for The Fan. In 2019, she got the chance to be a freelance news reporter for KDKA-TV and in February was made a full-time reporter for KDKA Radio as the replacement for Joe DeStio.
“She’s the right person at the right time,” said Michael Spacciapolli, senior vice president and market manager for Audacy Pittsburgh, which owns 93.7 The Fan. “She’ll be incredibly prepared for this opportunity. The listeners and the entire city of Pittsburgh are going to love what Shelby will offer up.”
Beasley Media Group has unveiled the following format signal swaps and promotion within the company’s Southwest Florida-based radio properties:
The Playa Adult Hispanic format, originally launched 2016 and heard on WRXK-hd2, Playa 98.1 Salsa Y Mas, has officially moved to WWCN 99.3FM’s 50,000 watt signal and has been rebranded as The New Playa 99.3-Los Éxitos de Hoy y Favoritas de Ayer (Today’s hits and Yesterday’s favorites).
In addition, Nio Fernandez has been named Beasley Media Group Director of Latin Formats. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing all Latino brands for the company while continuing his current Program Director duties at Beasley Tampa’s sister station, WYUU-FM/ 92.5 Maxima.
In addition, ESPN Radio has returned to its original frequency, WBCN 770 AM (formerly known as WJBX-AM) as “ESPN Southwest Florida”. The format will be simulcast the on translators 101.5 FM, and 104.3-FM. The station’s official website is www.ESPNSWFL.com.The news-talk format previously heard on WBCN has been discontinued.
“We are absolutely thrilled to provide a larger voice for the Spanish speaking community in Southwest Florida and promote Nio to his new role of overseeing Beasley Media Group’s Hispanic programming,” said Chief Content Officer, Justin Chase. We look forward to providing the very best entertainment for the Latin community for many years to come.”
“This move is a testament of Beasley’s commitment and focus on diversity and on the organization’s enthusiasm for the rapidly changing demographics in the United States,” said Fernandez. “I’m honored to be a part of this important initiative.”
“Southwest Florida has witnessed and embraced the growth of the Hispanic population in the area,” said AJ Lurie, Vice President and Market Manager of the company’s Southwest Florida radio cluster. “This community deserves more variety, and we’re proud to be a part of the most powerful radio signal super-serving our audience.”
Baltimore’s top public radio outlet has acquired a beloved regional peer known for amplifying local music on the air and through live events.
The Baltimore Business Journal reports WYPR 88.1 FM on Friday announced its plans to acquire WTMD 89.7 FM from Towson University, owner of the station since 2014. WTMD general manager Scott Mullins confirmed a report from WYPR that the sale price is $3 million, to be financed in part by donor contributions and loans.
An announcement said WYPR “is uniquely positioned to continue the expansion of WTMD as both stations have succeeded in providing music exploration on new platforms,” which include live streaming, multiple HD radio channels, mobile applications and live events.
WTMD program director and general manager Scott Mullins said in an interview that the station and its team "couldn't be more excited about this."
"This is the best thing that could have happened for us," he said, noting it's "not uncommon" for public radio stations to join forces (New York Public Radio offers one example, with dual ownership news station WNYC and classical station WQXR).
With WYPR and WTMD being Baltimore-centric, "this is gonna broaden our resources and our ability to reach audiences," Mullins said.
LaFontaine Oliver, who has been president and general manager of WYPR since 2019, told the BBJ talks about an acquisition of WTMD "became serious" at the beginning of 2021. He said he's thrilled to have a chance to support the music station, and that it's personally gratifying to help preserve the legacy of a university-based radio outlet.
With WYPR acquiring WYMD, "it feels good and it's an opportunity to do the work that I love doing, which is serving communities through our unique brand of public media," Oliver noted.
The license transfer is subject to approval by the FCC, a process that typically takes several months.
➦In 1903...comedian Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in London Englan (Died – July 27, 2003). He was a British-born American stand-up comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, athlete, and author. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 54 feature films with Hope as star, including a series of seven "Road" musical comedy movies with Bing Crosby as Hope's top-billed partner.
In addition to hosting the Academy Awards show 19 times, more than any other host, he appeared in many stage productions and television roles, and was the author of 14 books. The song "Thanks for the Memory" was his signature tune. Hope was born in the Eltham district of southeast London, UK, arrived in the United States of America with his family at the age of four, and grew up in the Cleveland, Ohio, area.
After a brief career as a boxer in the late 1910s, he began his career in show business in the early 1920s, initially as a comedian and dancer on the vaudeville circuit, before acting on Broadway. Hope began appearing on radio and in films starting in 1934. He was praised for his comedic timing, specializing in one-liners and rapid-fire delivery of jokes which often were self-deprecating. He helped establish modern American stand-up comedy.
Celebrated for his long career performing in United Service Organizations (USO) shows to entertain active duty American military personnel, making 57 tours for the USO between 1941 and 1991, Hope was declared an honorary veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces in 1997 by an act of the United States Congress. He appeared in numerous specials for NBC television starting in 1950, and was one of the first users of cue cards.
He debuted on NBC radio in 1935, and was heard on a weekly basis for the next 23 years, though the last 4 years were repeats. His TV show debuted in 1952, and his final special aired in 1996 when he was 93.
Hope retired in 1997, and died at the age of 100 in 2003, at his home in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
➦In 1918...Herbert Arthur "Herb" Shriner born (Died – April 23, 1970). He was a humorist, radio personality and television host. Shriner was known for his homespun monologues, usually about his home state of Indiana. He was frequently compared to humorist Will Rogers.
Herb Shriner - 1949
In 1940, Shriner was hired by NBC for occasional radio appearances, which led to a regular spot in 1942 and 1943 on the comedy-variety program Camel Caravan. During World War II, he served in a United States Army special services unit and performed for two years in USO shows for GIs in Europe. After the war, he appeared on a number of radio shows, including The Philip Morris Follies of 1946 with Johnny Desmond and Margaret Whiting.
In 1947 he appeared in a Broadway musical review called Inside U.S.A. The performances were panned by critics, but Shriner's monologues made it a success and carried the show for over a year. Shriner hosted Herb Shriner Time, a CBS Radio weekday program, in 1948 and 1949 with the Raymond Scott Quintet, singer Dorothy Collins, and announcer Durward Kirby.
Herb Shriner Time evolved into a short-lived, fifteen-minute television show. A half-hour version on ABC ran during the 1951-52 season. Shriner found TV success with Two for the Money, a game show which appeared on NBC in the 1952-53 season, then moved to CBS for three seasons.
He died in an auto accident April 23 1970 at age 51. ➦In 1939…'When a Girl Marries' aired for the first time on CBS Radio. It was a daytime radio drama which was broadcast on three major radio networks from 1939 to 1957. It was the highest rated soap opera during the mid-1940s.
➦In 1941...Robert David "Bob" Simon born (Died in a car accident – February 11, 2015). He was a radio, TV correspondent for CBS News. During his career, he covered crises, war, and unrest in 67 countries. Simon reported the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, the Israeli-Lebanese Conflict in 1982, and the student protests in China's Tiananmen Square in 1989. During the Persian Gulf War in 1991, he and four of his TV crew were captured and imprisoned by Iraq for 40 days. He published a book about the experience titled "Forty Days."
He became a regular correspondent for CBS's 60 Minutes in 1996 and, in 1999, for 60 Minutes II. At the time of his death in an auto accident, he served as 60 Minutes senior foreign correspondent.
Bing Crosby
➦In 1942…Bing Crosby, backed by the Ken Darby Singers and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra, recorded Irving Berlin's "White Christmas." The first public performance of the song was by Bing Crosby, on his NBC radio show The Kraft Music Hall on Christmas Day, 1941; a copy of the recording from the radio program is owned by Crosby's estate and was loaned to CBS News Sunday Morning for their December 25, 2011 program. It was released on July 30 as part of an album of six 78-rpm discs from the musical film Holiday Inn. At first, Crosby did not see anything special about the song.
By the end of October 1942, "White Christmas" topped the Your Hit Parade chart. It remained in that position until well into the new year. It has often been noted that the mix of melancholy—"just like the ones I used to know"—with comforting images of home—"where the treetops glisten"—resonated especially strongly with listeners during World War II. A few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Crosby introduced "White Christmas" on a Christmas Day broadcast. The Armed Forces Network was flooded with requests for the song. The recording is noted for Crosby's whistling during the second chorus.
In 1942 alone, Crosby's recording spent eleven weeks on top of the Billboard charts. In Holiday Inn, the composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1942.
➦In 1961...Jack Spector began working as a disk jockey in New York in 1961 at WMCA 570 AM, where he was a member of a group of broadcasting personalities called the Good Guys. He labeled himself Your Main Man Jake and usually closed his shows saying, "Look out street, here I come!"
He switched to WHN 1050 AM in 1972, then for nine years was the host of the "Saturday Night Sock Hop" on WCBS 101.1 FM. He also worked for a brief period as the host of a sports talk show for WNBC 660 AM.
Spector broke into broadcasting in Martinsburg, W.Va., in 1955, then worked for stations in Albany, Providence, R.I., and Chicago before returning to New York. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he attended Brooklyn College and had a brief tryout as a minor-league baseball player with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. He served in the United States Army in Korea.
➦In 1977...the NBC News & Information Service, which was a 24-hour-a-day news service, ended.
NBC launched the NBC News and Information Service (NIS) in 1975. According to Faded Signals, it allowed local radio stations to launch all-news formats, providing affiliates with up to 55 minutes of news per hour.
NBC aired the service on its Washington station, WRC. It also added the all-news format on its network-owned FM stations in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco.
Many stations signed on with the service, but by 1976, NBC was not sure if its network would ever become profitable.
➦In 1978...former radio personality and actor Bob Crane (Donna Reed Show, Hogan in Hogan’s Heroes), died at age 49, the victim of a brutal murder.
Bob Crane
A drummer from age 11, Crane began his career as a radio personality, first in New York City and then Connecticut before moving to Los Angeles, where he hosted the number-one rated morning show. In the early 1960s, he moved into acting, eventually landing the lead role of Colonel Robert E. Hogan in Hogan's Heroes. The series aired from 1965 to 1971, and Crane received two Prime-Time Emmy Award nominations for his work on the series. After Hogan's Heroes ended, Crane's career declined. He became frustrated with the few roles he was being offered and began doing dinner theater. In 1975, he returned to television in the NBC series The Bob Crane Show. The series received poor ratings and was cancelled after 13 weeks. Afterwards, Crane returned to performing in dinner theaters and also appeared in occasional guest spots on television.
While on tour for his play Beginner's Luck in June 1978, Crane was found bludgeoned to death in his Scottsdale apartment, a murder that remains officially unsolved. This suspicious nature of his death and later revelations about his personal life gradually changed Crane's posthumous image from a cultural icon to a controversial figure.
➦In 1979..."The Source", considered Radio's first rock news network, debuted.
George Fenneman with Groucho Marx
➦In 1997...Radio, TV announcer George Fenneman died at age 77 (Born - November 10, 1919). He is most remembered as the announcer and good-natured sidekick for Groucho Marx's comedy/quiz show vehicle You Bet Your Life, which began in 1947 on radio and moved to television in 1950, where it remained on NBC for 11 years. Fenneman's mellifluous voice, clean-cut good looks, and gentlemanly manner provided the ideal foil for Marx's zany antics and bawdy ad libs.
Fenneman was one of a pair of announcers on Dragnet; he shared narration duties with Hal Gibney on radio and the original 1951 Dragnet television series, and then with John Stephenson when Dragnet returned to TV in 1967. It was Fenneman's voice which announced, "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent." while Stephenson would be heard at the end of the episode describing the court trials and verdicts.
➦In 2012…Radio actor Dick Beals, for many years the voice of "Speedy" in Alka-Seltzer TV commercials, died at the age of 85.
In January 1949, as a senior at MSU, Beals got a call to do a radio commercial for WXYZ, Detroit. After the show, the director asked him to be on call for all the children's voices as well as those of small, talking animals on all three network radio shows produced by WXYZ - The Lone Ranger, Green Hornet and Challenge of the Yukon.
In 1952, after performing in an episode of The Green Hornet, WXYZ station manager Jack McCarthy referred Beals to Forrest Owen of Wade Advertising. Owen showed Beals a rendering of a proposed product spokesman for their client, Alka-Seltzer and had him record a voice audition. Four months later, Beals was notified that he had been selected as the voice for Speedy Alka-Seltzer as well as the voice of Sticky, the Vaseline mascot.
Standing just 4'7" tall due to a glandular problem that also gave him his youthful voice, Beals provided the voices of 10-year-old boys well into his 70s.
➦In 2014…Former WNEW 102.7 FM NYC personality Dave Herman died of an aneurysm at 78 while in federal custody awaiting trial on charges of attempting to transport a 7-year-old girl from New Jersey to the Virgin Islands for a sexual liaison.
➦In 2014…Kenneth George Schram died at age 66 from kidney failure (Born - December 17, 1947). He was a news and radio broadcaster based in Seattle, Washington and was the former host of local-affairs show Town Meeting and KOMO 4’s evening news segments called "Schram on the Street." For several years he hosted a radio show, The Commentators, on KOMO Newsradio with conservative John Carlson.
That show was discontinued in September 2010. Starting September 20, 2010, Schram and Carlson each began hosting new, separate shows on the same station, with Carlson on from 9:00AM to Noon and Schram from Noon to 3:00PM. Schram is also known for his personal award, the "Schrammie", which he gave out on the air to "underscore what I think are among the worst of bone-headed decision, and/or the most appalling of asinine behavior", usually to local or regional newsmakers.
After a 35-year career, Ken Schram was fired from KOMO 4 and Radio on December 7, 2012, citing cutbacks to full-time employees.
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Singer Gary Brooker of Procol Harum is 76.
Actor Anthony Geary (“General Hospital”) is 74.
Singer Rebbie Jackson is 71.
Composer Danny Elfman (Oingo Boingo) is 68.
Melanie Brown is 46
Singer LaToya Jackson is 65.
Actor Ted Levine (“Monk,” ″The Silence of the Lambs”) is 64.
Actor Annette Bening is 63.
Actor Rupert Everett is 62.
Actor Adrian Paul (TV’s “The Highlander”) is 62.
Singer Melissa Etheridge is 60.
Actor Lisa Whelchel (“The Facts of Life”) is 58.
Guitarist Noel Gallagher (Oasis) is 54.
Singer Jayski McGowan of Quad City DJ’s is 54.
Actor Anthony Azizi (“Threat Matrix,” ″Lost”) is 52.
Guitarist Chan Kinchla of Blues Traveler is 52.
Actor Laverne Cox (“Doubt,” ″Orange Is the New Black”) is 49.
Guitarist Mark Lee of Third Day is 48.
Cartoonist Aaron McGruder (“Boondocks”) is 47.
Singer Melanie Brown (“Scary Spice”) of the Spice Girls is 46.
Rapper Playa Poncho is 46.
Singer Fonseca is 42.
Actor Justin Chon (“Deception,” ″Dr. Ken”) is 40.
Actor Billy Flynn (“Days of Our Lives”) is 36.
Actor Blake Foster (“Power Rangers Turbo”) is 36.
Actor Brandon Mychal Smith (“Sonny With a Chance”) is 32.
Actor Kristen Alderson (“General Hospital,” ″One Life To Live”) is 30.
The rate of cord cutting has finally begun to level off. But reports Forbes, the damage has been, and continues to be, done.
Since 2014, the number of people who have cut the cord on their cable, satellite or telco subscription (or never had a subscription at all) has more than tripled, going from 15.6 million to a projected 50.4 million this year.
That’s according to a new report from nScreenMedia, which finds that the number of nonsubscribers will rise almost 2 million vs. last year.
The report notes that the rate of cord cutting appears to be evening out. Cable, satellite and telco TV providers dropped 1.6 million subscribers in first quarter of this year, down very slightly from 1.7 million during the same period in 2020.
The number of homes that have traditional pay TV has fallen to 75.6 million, down from 96.9 million just four years earlier. In that time, subscriptions to pay TV have fallen by 22%, reflecting the growing change in the industry that is beginning to play out in corporate decision-making, too.
The report notes that cable lost more subscribers in Q1 of this year than last year, down 1.8%. That's almost double the 1% loss suffered in Q1 2020.
For a while, it seemed cable and satellite companies might find a way to combat pay TV losses by marketing lower-cost streaming packages that gave viewers the same familiar channels for less while still keeping the dollars within the family.
Consumers have lots of low-priced or no-priced content choices to select from, which has made cable, telco and satellite offerings seem increasingly dated.
There's less choice and more hassle with setting up the satellite or getting the cable installed. Instead, you can stream YouTube on your phone for free without scheduling an appointment.
Younger people, especially, are more likely to cut the cord.
They've grown up watching content this way, and they see no reason for channels where things air at ascribed times and show repeats when they can find something new on-demand. And streaming services continue to multiply and grow with much lower price points than traditional pay TV bundles.
