➦In 1877…Thomas Edison unveiled his new "talking machine," later called the phonograph. The first thing recorded on Edison's new invention was the song "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Recording made by Thomas A. Edison on August 12, 1927, at the Golden Jubilee of the Phonograph ceremony. In this recording Edison demonstrates how in 1877 he made the first record on his tinfoil phonograph. The original 1877 recording was not saved and no longer exists. Edison received a patent three months later.
➦In 1944…"The Roy Rogers Show" aired for the first time featuring the Whippoorwills and the Sons of the Pioneers, was broadcast by the Mutual Broadcasting System. It began as a western music and variety show and evolved into an action-drama series during its 10-year run.
Roy's radio show lasted 11 seasons and the Roy Rogers Show On TV stayed on the air for 6 seasons. Roy also made a ton of movies and appeared on numerous other radio and TV shows as a guest star! In addition, Roy had a successful recording career for several years with songs that made it to the top of the charts! Most people probably remember him and Dale Evans singing "Happy Trails to You" at the end of each show!
➦In 1963…U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, arrived in San Antonio, Texas. They were starting a two-day visit to Texas that would end in Dallas.
John B Gambling
➦In 1974...New York radio personality John B. Gambling died at age 77. He was the first of three Gamblings to host the WOR 710 AM ‘Rambling With Gambling’ morning show over a span of 88 years.
He was a member of the The Gambling family, 3 generations of whom - John B., John A. and John R. were hosts of WOR Radio's morning show Rambling with Gambling (now known as The John Gambling Show).
John B. was the host from 1925 to 1959, when he retired in favor of his son, John A. Gambling. With his Musical Clock, his all-in-fun setting-up exercises, cheerio music, wheezy gags, weather information and news scraps, John B. Gambling was a WOR fixture. At one time he had a in-studio tp provide music band and he aired the March of the Seven Dwarfs every morning at 7 am sharp.
➦In 1979…Personality Harry Harrison aired his last morning show on WABC 770 AM, New York.
➦In 1981...radio & TV announcer Harry Von Zell died of cancer at age 75. Best known as the announcer on the George Burns/Gracie Allen Show both radio & TV, he also made his mark as actor in several TV guest spots, and screenwriter on a number of series such as Wagon Train.
➦In 1983…Movie theaters premiered Michael Jackson's 14-minute "Thriller" video. The Guinness Book of World Records eventually named it the "most successful music video" of all time, selling more than 9 million copies.
➦In 1993…Radio newscaster Jim McLaughlin died in Buffalo, NY at age 59.
In the early 1960s, he worked as a deejay for KNBA in Vallejo, California taking the air name "Lucky Jim" because he didn't have to study and always knew instinctively what to say. He began delivering the news at KFOG-FM in San Francisco. In 1963, he became the news director at WRVM in Rochester in 1964. McLaughlin continued his career working in Buffalo as the news director of WYSL in the late 1960s, WKBW from 1970 to 1978 and then at WBEN until he was forced to retire due to health issues in 1987.
He was the first news director to hire a full-time street reporter, a female news staff member, to use co-anchors and to use short wave radio to cover international stories. In 1979, he won the New York State Associated Press Award for WBEN's "Newsday," being the best radio news program. Jim was also the only radio reporter allowed to cover the 1971 Attica Prison riot from inside the prison.
Goldie Hawn is 76
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Actor Laurence Luckinbill is 87.
Actor Marlo Thomas is 84.
Actor Juliet Mills (“Passions,” ″Nanny and the Professor”) is 80.
Actor Goldie Hawn is 76.
Carly Rae Jepsen is 36
Keyboardist Lonnie Jordan of War is 73.
Singer Livingston Taylor is 71.
Actor-singer Lorna Luft is 69.
Actor Cherry Jones (“The Horse Whisperer”) is 65.
Bassist Brian Ritchie of Violent Femmes is 61.
Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman is 59.
Actor Nicollette Sheridan is 58.
Singer Bjork is 56.
Singer Chauncey Hannibal of BLACKstreet is 53.
Bassist Alex James of Blur is 53.
TV personality Rib Hillis (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) is 51.
Rapper Pretty Lou of Lost Boyz is 50.
Football player-turned-TV host Michael Strahan (“Good Morning America,” ″Live With Kelly and Michael”) is 50.
Actor Marina de Tavira (“Roma”) is 48.
Country singer Kelsi Osborn of SHeDAISY is 47.
Actor Jimmi Simpson (“Westworld,” ″It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) is 46.
Actor Lindsey Haun (“Broken Bridges”) is 37.
Actor Jena Malone (“Saved,” ″Life As a House”) is 37.
A New York appeals court judge has rejected the New York Times' request to lift an order temporarily blocking it from publishing or seeking various documents related to the conservative activist group Project Veritas.
Reuters reports Friday's order from Justice Leonard Austin of the state Appellate Division in Brooklyn means the Times cannot use the documents, which Project Veritas said are protected by attorney-client privilege, until a Nov. 23 hearing on whether to extend the prohibition.
The Times had been appealing a Thursday order by a trial judge, Justice Charles Wood of the Westchester County Supreme Court, that the newspaper called an unconstitutional prior restraint, a view shared by some First Amendment advocates.
"Today's decision to allow the injunction is deeply disappointing," Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said in an email. "We look forward to explaining our position in court."
Project Veritas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Wood's order was part of Project Veritas' defamation lawsuit against the Times over a September 2020 article describing a video the group released alleging voter fraud in Minnesota.
It followed a Nov. 11 Times article discussing Project Veritas' journalism practices, and a U.S. Department of Justice probe into the group's possible role in the reported theft of a diary from President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley.
That article discussed memos by Benjamin Barr, a lawyer for Project Veritas. The group has said those memos were privileged, and the Times wrote about them to harm and embarrass a litigation adversary.
Wood's order blocks the Times from reporting on or trying to obtain privileged Project Veritas materials until the Nov. 23 hearing.
Gothamist, the news site of the New York public radio station WNYC, deleted four articles in the last week of October, replacing each one with an editor’s note, reports The NYTimes.
“After publishing this story, WNYC found it contained unattributed words or phrases,” each note said. “We have decided to retract this article and are investigating the editing process that led to this mistake.”
The articles, published between March and September, were written by Jami Floyd, a lawyer and former local host of the National Public Radio news program “All Things Considered” who was also a senior editor of WNYC’s race and justice unit.
The retracted articles, which are available on the Internet Archive and carry Ms. Floyd’s byline, used language from Wikipedia entries and articles in Salon and The New York Times without credit, according to a comparison of the pieces and the original sources.
In a statement this week, Ms. Floyd acknowledged “mistakes,” saying they were “never intentional or designed to deceive anyone.”
In a Zoom videoconference of WNYC employees last week, a recording of which was shared with The Times, Audrey Cooper, the station’s editor in chief, said that the retracted articles “did not meet our editorial standards.”
Ms. Cooper added that there had been “serious consequences” for the lapse, but did not elaborate or identify the author of the articles, according to three people who were present for the meeting.
During the same Zoom meeting, Ms. Cooper announced that she was reassigning Ms. Floyd. Instead of editing and writing, she would recruit employees, mentor staff members and lead events, among other duties.
Liberty Media chairman John Malone, who sits on the Discovery Communications Inc. board of directors, wants to see left-wing CNN revert back to nonpartisan journalism following the completion of a merger that would put the liberal network under the Discovery umbrella.
"I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing," Malone said in an interview that aired Thursday on CNBC.
CNN’s current programming slate features a variety of shows – including "New Day," "Anderson Cooper 360," "Cuomo Prime Time" and "Don Lemon Tonight" that don't always align with founder Ted Turner's bare bones, just-the-facts approach to journalism.
Earlier this year, AT&T Inc. agreed to merge its WarnerMedia division with Discovery Communications Inc., creating a streaming giant to compete with Walt Disney Co.'s Disney+ and Netflix. The deal is expected to close in 2022.
CNN, which has struggled to attract viewers during the Biden era, has been long rumored to be sold off as it isn’t a clear fit for the streaming world. However, Malone would prefer to keep it and rehabilitate its reputation.
"I think a coward's way out would be to sell it or spin it off and then tell it in some tax-efficient way," Malone said. "I do believe good journalism could have a role in this future portfolio that Discovery-TimeWarner’s going to represent."
CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Discovery CEO David Zaslav will lead the combined company called Warner Bros. Discovery and he has publicly committed to keeping CNN after the merger. While Malone is on board with keeping CNN, he is aware other might not agree.
CNN published a lengthy piece Friday admitting the anti-Trump Steele Dossier has been discredited after the liberal network spent years promoting it at every turn.
FOX News reports the dossier was used as the roadmap for CNN and other liberal outlets to paint former President Donald Trump as compromised by Russia. CNN’s piece, "The Steele dossier: A reckoning," by reporter Marshall Cohen, detailed why "the credibility of the dossier has significantly diminished."
"A series of investigations and lawsuits have discredited many of its central allegations and exposed the unreliability of Steele's sources. They also raise serious questions about the political underpinnings of some key explosive claims about Trump by shedding new light on the involvement of some well-connected Democrats in the dossier, and separate efforts to prod the FBI to investigate ties between Trump's campaign and Russia," Marshall wrote.
Christopher Steele
"These revelations have triggered a reckoning around the Steele dossier, particularly in the wake of two recent indictments secured by John Durham, the special counsel appointed during the Trump administration to investigate the FBI's Russia probe," Marshall continued. "Durham alleges that Steele's primary source, a US-based foreign policy analyst, repeatedly lied to the FBI about where he got his information."
The CNN reporter admitted "collusion suggested in Steele's memos" didn't add up.
"Legitimate questions are now being raised about the dossier -- how it was used by Democrats as a political weapon against Trump, how it was handled by the FBI and US intelligence agencies, and how it was portrayed in the mainstream media," Marshall wrote, even confessing Trump was correct all along.
CNN spent years pushing the Russian collusion narrative, which the infamous dossier provided the roadmap for.
Marshall went on to explain the details of why the dossier has shed its credibility, even noting that Steele’s primary source turned out to simply be a "DC-based think tank analyst with a Rolodex of Russians."
Kyle Rittenhouse, the man at the center of a recently concluded high-profile murder trial, will appear on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" for his first interview following his acquittal.
Rittenhouse, who a Wisconsin jury found not guilty on all five charges, will be joining Fox News' Tucker Carlson for an exclusive sitdown airing Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
Rittenhouse will also be appearing in a "Tucker Carlson Originals" documentary on Fox Nation set to premiere in December.
The documentary will include additional portions of the interview as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Rittenhouse and his defense team.
Kyle Rittenhouse puts his hand over his face after he is found not guilty on all counts at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. The jury came back with its verdict after more than three days of deliberation.
Kyle Rittenhouse puts his hand over his face after he is found not guilty on all counts at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. The jury came back with its verdict after more than three days of deliberation. (Associated Press)
In a preview clip of the documentary, Rittenhouse told the film crew he "made it through the hard part."
"I believe they came to the correct verdict and I’m glad that everything went well," Rittenhouse said. "It’s been a rough journey but we made it through it. We made it through the hard part."
Rittenhouse, an Illinois resident, was accused of murdering two people and injuring another amid riots that took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake.
The defense in the trial argued that Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense.
The 18-year-old shocked the nation when he took the witness stand and shared his recollection of the events leading up to the deadly shootings.
A former New York Times reporter claims the newspaper held her story about the ravaging effects of the Kenosha riots on impoverished neighborhoods until after the 2020 elections, reports The NYPost.
Nellie Bowles went to the Wisconsin city to report on the racial justice riots in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020, according to a Thursday post on partner Bari Weiss’ Substack channel Common Sense.
Protests, riots and civil unrest engulfed the city for days, and the events were the backdrop of then-17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse’s fatal shooting of two people.
Bowles said she was sent to report on the “mainstream liberal argument” that vandalizing buildings for racial justice was not detrimental because businesses had insurance.
“It turned out to be not true,” Bowles wrote. “The part of Kenosha that people burned in the riots was the poor, multi-racial commercial district, full of small, underinsured cell phone shops and car lots. It was very sad to see and to hear from people who had suffered.”
Bowles said she filed her story, and editors told her it would not run until after the election, citing “space, timing, tweaks,” according to her post.
The piece eventually ran after Joe Biden won the election, Bowles said.
“Whatever the reason for holding the piece, covering the suffering after the riots was not a priority,” she wrote.
“The reality that brought Kyle Rittenhouse into the streets was one we reporters were meant to ignore.”
Reps for the Times did not reply to a request for comment Friday night.
"Real Time" host Bill Maher ended his final show of the year by challenging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to appear on a future telecast, reports FOX News.
During his closing monologue, Maher attempted to point Democrats in the "right direction" following their devastating defeats in the November elections ahead of the 2022 midterms.
He cited commentary from veteran Democratic strategist James Carville, who blamed his party's losses on "stupid wokeness," a view that Ocasio-Cortez rejected, claiming the term is "almost exclusively used by older people these days … so that should tell you all you need to know."
"What?!" Maher reacted. "This is a term folks like you brought out very recently, had been proudly displaying it every march since. Just last year, The Guardian declared ‘woke’ the ‘word of our era.’ I guess they didn't get the memo from the Mean Girls Club.
"What a great strategy, never missing an opportunity to remind voters how lame and clueless and hopelessly cool they are, especially since those are the ones who actually vote," Maher scolded Ocasio-Cortez. "But OK, fine. What word would you like us to use for the plainly insane excesses of the left that are not liberalism but something completely different? Because you can't have that word ‘liberal' from us and think it should cover things like canceling Lincoln. And teaching third-graders they're oppressors. That's all your new-think."
"OK, fine. What word would you like us to use for the plainly insane excesses of the left?"
"If the word only made you think of rational, deserved causes like teaching a less whitewashed version of American history, AOC would still want to own it. But it's a joke because it makes you think of people who wake up offended and take orders from Twitter. And their oversensitivity has grown tiresome," Maher said.
Maher went on to say that he'd "love" to have the congresswoman on his show since there's "so much to admire" about her, expressing gratitude toward her for spearheading the Green New Deal.
"But that will probably never happen because Democrats don't go anywhere these days where they're not being adored," Maher said. "And that's my last bit of advice to them. Go where the ‘amen corner’ isn't. Do Fox News. Be brave. Come here. Go everywhere. Winning is about expanding the electorate."
Bonneville Phoenix on Friday announced Ryan Hatch was named Senior Vice President and Market Manager, replacing Scott Sutherland who was recently promoted to the corporate team as Executive Vice President, Regional Media Operations for Bonneville International.
Ryan Hatch
Hatch has been Vice President of Programming in Phoenix since 2011. He has been with Bonneville since November of 2006, where he launched Sports 620 KTAR. He became Operations Manager of Bonneville Seattle in 2010 before moving back to the Valley in 2011.
“I’m humbled, honored and thrilled for the opportunity to lead the most talented team in local media in a city that my family loves and calls home,” said Hatch. “I look forward to continuing to serve our dynamic and growing community, our advertisers, team broadcast partners and the audiences of KTAR News, Arizona Sports and ESPN Phoenix.”
Sutherland had been Market Manager in Phoenix since 2009. He now oversees the Denver, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Francisco and Seattle markets.
“I am incredibly proud and excited to see Ryan in his new role as SVP/Market Manager,” said Sutherland. “I have no doubt that under his leadership Bonneville Phoenix will soar to new heights.”
Walt Disney Co. is adding Disney+ and ESPN+ to its Hulu + Live TV product and raising the price by $5 a month, giving the flagship Disney+ streaming service millions more customers at a time when growth is slowing.
Bloomberg reports the change, which takes effect Dec. 21, raises the price of the ad-free version of Hulu + Live TV to $76 a month and to $70 a month for the one with ads. Disney+ and ESPN+ together cost $15 a month if purchased separately.
Hulu + Live TV is an online alternative to cable TV, offering more than 75 channels, such as CBS and CNN. It had 4 million subscribers in early October. Regular Hulu, which includes original programs like “The Handmaid’s Tale,” had 39.7 million subscribers. It starts at $7 a month.
Disney is taking a three-pronged approach to the streaming market in the U.S. Its Disney+ service has classic kids movies, as well as new programs such as those based on the Star Wars and Marvel characters. ESPN+ is the company’s sports-focused service, which includes college sports, hockey and boxing. Hulu is its general entertainment service.
Live TV streaming products, which cost about the same as the traditional cable TV bundle, haven’t caught on with consumers in the same way that standalone streaming services like Netflix have.
Disney+ enjoyed runaway success initially, rising to 118.1 million subscribers in October. But last week, the company reported the fewest Disney+ subscriber additions since the product’s launch two years ago.
Audacy's WCCO 830 AM raised over $365,000 to provide over 186,000 meals and care to those in need through 19th annual “Union Gospel Mission Hunger Radiothon” in Minneapolis. The amount raised during the 19th radiothon, which benefits Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities (UGMTC), brought the overall fundraising total to over $3.6 million since 2003.
“I couldn’t be prouder of everyone’s hard work on this event,” said Brad Lane, Brand Manager, 830 WCCO. “This is yet another great example of how live and local radio can truly help change lives. We’re so grateful that WCCO can partner with UGM and impact the community in such an amazing and rewarding day.”
As part of the radiothon, the station broadcast live from UGM’s St. Paul campus on November 16 from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CT. Station hosts spoke with current and past Union Gospel Mission clients, as well as staff members and the charity’s leaders. Interviews included Paul Hemann, Mission volunteer; Pam Stegora Axberg, Chief Executive Officer, Union Gospel Mission; Dave Sena, Director of Program, UGMTC; and more. Listeners were encouraged to donate via phone banks.
Founded in 1902, Union Gospel Mission (UGM) is a Christian ministry dedicated to serving people facing homelessness, poverty, or addiction in our community. The mission helps people rebuild their lives by providing safe shelter, nutritious food, medical and dental care, and a broad variety of life-changing programs for children and adults.
Audacy is committed to supporting the health and success of the communities that are the heart of its business. “Union Gospel Mission Hunger Radiothon” is a part of Audacy Serves, the Company’s social impact platform that raises awareness of social issues and brings communities together for good. Audacy unites with its listeners and brands to support sound communities through several pillars of impact: mental health and anti-bullying, veterans and service members, children’s health, the environment, civic education, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
After nearly three years of negotiations, employees at Boston Globe Media Partners on Friday approved a new three-year contract that provides for annual raises and protects overtime pay and arbitration rights, according to the company and the Boston Newspaper Guild.
Guild members will receive an immediate 3 percent raise and $1,000 bonus for signing the contract, followed by 2 percent raises in the second and third years, according to a statement from the union, which represents more than 300 members of the newsroom, advertising and production staff for The Boston Globe, Boston.com, and STAT News.
“This agreement is a big win for journalists, Guild members, and New England readers,” Scott Steeves, president of the union, said in the statement. “We rejected Globe management’s short-sighted proposals and stuck together to safeguard journalistic integrity and workplace protections.”
A Globe spokesperson said the contract “provides strong protections and economic benefits for Guild members and we will immediately start working together on its implementation.”
“The Globe remains committed to journalistic excellence and a relentless focus on providing the best possible service to our region,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We will continue to invest and innovate in order to ensure that the local, independent journalism that our community has relied on for nearly 150 years will thrive and be sustainable for many years to come.”
The contract, approved after a week-long vote, preserves workers’ rights not to be disciplined or fired without just cause, the union said, and provides protections for employees if the company is sold.
It also limits the company’s ability to subcontract work to outside entities, an agreement the union called “a crucial compromise that protects the integrity of our newsroom” in an e-mail to members following the vote.
Globe employees have worked without a contract since December 2018, the union said.
➦In 1907...actress Fran Allison was born in Iowa. She played the folksy tale-telling Aunt Fanny for decades on ABC radio’s Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club. On TV she was a co-star (with Burr Tillstrom & his puppets) on Kukla Fran & Ollie.
She died of bone marrow failure June 13 1989 at age 81.
➦In 1928…WGH-AM in Newport News, Virginia began signed-on. The WGH call letters were not used from 9/1/83 to 12/10/84.
The earliest ancestor of WGH Radio was WPAB, granted a license by the Radio Division, Bureau of Navigation, United States Department of Commerce on December 4, 1926. The licensee was the Radio Corporation of Virginia in Norfolk. On December 6, 1926, WPAB signed on the air at 1040 kilocycles with a power of 100 watts. WPAB later became WRCV and broadcast programming mostly of a religious nature.
In January 1927, the Radio Corporation of Virginia put another station on the air, WSEA, which transmitted on the frequency of 1370 kilocycles with a power of 500 watts. In April 1927 WSEA began broadcasting from the brand new Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach but was dark by the middle of 1928, the Radio Corporation of Virginia having gone bankrupt. WSEA, however, had one shining moment on June 10, 1927 when Norfolk Mayor S. Heth Tyler became the first American to extend coast to coast radio congratulations to aviator Charles Lindbergh after his successful solo flight from New York to Paris. Lindbergh heard the message on WSEA as he was passing over the Cape Henry Lighthouse.
Tom Little moved the WSEA allocation to Newport News and changed the call letters to WNEW (signifying its new city of license, Newport News) on August 8, 1928. Facilities were in the Tidewater Hotel at 2400 Washington Avenue in Newport News. The studio was on the ground floor, directly behind the front desk and switchboard for the hotel, and the transmitter and antenna were on the top floor. Shortly thereafter a new licensee, Hampton Roads Broadcasting Company, changed the frequency to 1430, and government authorization came through on October 8, 1928.
The WNEW calls lasted for only a few weeks, when they were changed to WGH ("World's Greatest Harbor"). It was also among the first 100 radio stations on the air in the United States. By 1928, however, the station was gone and the available WGH call letters were requested by Hampton Roads Broadcasting. An application to the Federal Radio Commission was approved on November 19 of that year and the station began identifying itself as "WGH" the next day.
In early 1959, a new era was ushered in with a switch to "Top-40" programming under the "Color Radio" banner. Late 1950's performers included Jim Stanley, Jack Fisher, Lou Nelson, Dick Lamb, Jack Krueger, Frank Drake, Bob Calvert, Dean Collins (who went on to WPGC in Washington as Dean Griffith and later to New York as Dean Anthony, one of the WMCA "Good Guys"), Don Owens, Roger Clark, Bob Calvert's alter ego (and the inspiration for Wolfman Jack) "Baron Bebop", Throckmorton Quiff, and Gene Creasy. Early newscasters included Ed Meyer, Dick Kidney, Pete Glazer, Bud Buhler and Art Merrill.
By 1960, the station was broadcasting at 5,000 watts from a non-directional daytime tower at the Newport News Small Boat Harbor, switching to the three-tower directional site in Hampton during the evening hours. Today, WGH operates with 20,000 watts by day and 5,000 watts at night.
➦In 1929… The radio program "The Rise of the Goldbergs," first aired with Gertrude Berg as Molly, was heard on the NBC Blue radio network. Later, the title would be shortened to The Goldbergs. Mrs. Berg, incidentally, wrote the first scripts for the 15-minute program and starred in the show — for $75 a week. The program continued until 1945 (it returned for one more radio season in 1949-1950). The show also aired on TV first on CBS, then NBC, the Dumont Network, and syndication – between 1949 and 1956.
➦In 1940..The iHeartMedia FM station now known as WRVE in Albany NY has a much longer history as one of the nation's pioneering FM radio stations. A by-product of the station being owned by General Electric with similarly pioneering sisters WGY (AM) and WRGB (TV), WRVE traces its history to W2XDA Schenectady and W2XOY New Scotland, New York - two experimental frequency modulation transmitters on 48.5 MHz, which signed on in 1939. The two were merged into one station with the W2XOY call-letters on November 20, 1940 with the station then taking the W57A designation, and finally the long-running WGFM call-letters in the mid-1940s.
The station eventually settled on 99.5 MHz when the FM band was relocated to the 88-108 MHz portion of the radio spectrum.
On June 1, 1961 at 12:01 AM (EDT), WGFM became the first FM station in the United States to broadcast in stereo.
➦In 1954...when his career as America’s most successful singing cowboy was almost over, Gene Autry appeared for the first time on radio’s “Grand Ole Opry.”
Autry was easily the most popular country singer of the 1930’s and ’40s, with such hits as “Silver Haired Daddy of Mine,” “South of the Border” and “Tweedle-O-Twill.” Autry’s trio of million-selling children’s records — “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Peter Cottontail” — were recorded in the late ’40s.
➦In 1955...Sun Records owner and producer Sam Phillips sells Elvis Presley's contract to RCA for $35,000. Elvis received $13,500 of the total.
➦In 1959… Early rock-n-roll personality Alan Freed was fired from New York's WABC 770 AM after refusing to sign a statement saying he had never accepted "payola" or gifts from record labels in exchange for airplay, a move that triggered his eventual downfall. This was about two years before it evolved into one of America's great Top 40 stations by launching its "Musicradio" format.
Cathy Lewis
➦In 1968..radio actress and Spokane native Cathy Lewis died of cancer at age 50. Half of “the first couple of radio” (with husband Elliot Lewis) she was featured as Jane Stacy on My Friend Irma on both radio & TV. She was one of the most oft-used stars on CBS radio’s Suspense series. When Fibber McGee & Molly came (briefly) to TV, she was cast as Molly.
➦In 1994…Former KFWB-AM morning host, Bruce Hayes, died.
In 1958, the original "Seven Swingin’ Gentlemen" turned KFWB into a rock & roll powerhouse in Los Angeles. Under new owners Crowell-Collier Broadcasting, program director Chuck Blore pioneered the Top 40 format on AM 980, calling it Channel 98 Color Radio. KFWB became one of the most listened-to stations in the Southland and a leader in the Top 40 format around the country.
The air staff during the glory days included Roger Christian (songwriter), Bill Ballance, B. Mitchel Reed, Bruce Hayes, Al Jarvis, Joe Yocam, Elliot Field, Ted Quillin and Gene Weed.
Hourly updates were delivered by a staff of respected newscasters, including Cleve Herrmann, Charles Arlington, John Babcock, Beach Rogers, Mike Henry, Hal Goodwin, Al Wiman, Bill Angel, J. Paul Huddleston and Jackson King.
In the mid-1960s, KFWB was overtaken by rival KRLA. Then KRLA was put in second place by the launch of "Boss Radio" at KHJ, and this relegated KFWB to the position of the third-place Top 40 music station in the L.A. market.
Hayes also worked at KDAY, 1962; KHJ, 1963-64; KFWB, 1965-67; KFI, 1969.
➦In 2000...organist Gaylord Carter died of Parkinson’s at age 95. Born in Wiesbaden Germany, his family moved to the US when he was a child. He became active in playing music for bigtime radio, notably “Hollywood Hotel”, “The Packard Show”, “The Second Mrs. Burton”, and “Breakfast In Hollywood”. Carter will always be associated in the public mind with “The Amos & Andy Show”. For seven years on radio he introduced the show by playing its theme, “The Perfect Song”. After the war he played for both radio & TV, including “Bride & Groom”, “The Big Payoff”, and “The Pinky Lee” TV show.
➦In 2004…Longtime Toronto radio personality Tom Rivers died of cancer at the age of 57. In the 90’s he had several gigs in Edmonton, and a talk show on Calgary’s CHQR.
Bo Derek is 65
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Actor Estelle Parsons (“The Connors,” “Roseanne”) is 94.
Comedian Dick Smothers is 83.
Singer Norman Greenbaum is 79.
Actor Veronica Hamel is 78.
Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff is 75.
Musician Joe Walsh is 74.
Actor Richard Masur (“One Day at a Time”) is 73.
Actor Bo Derek is 65.
Drummer Jimmy Brown of UB40 is 64.
Actor Sean Young is 62.
Pianist Jim Brickman is 60.
Actor Ming-Na Wen (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” ″Mulan”) is 58.
Rapper Mike D of the Beastie Boys is 56.
Rapper Sen Dog of Cypress Hill is 56.
Actor Callie Thorne (“Rescue Me,” “Homicide: Life on the Street”) is 52.
Marisa Ryan is 47
Actor Sabrina Lloyd (“Numb3rs”) is 51.
Actor Joel McHale (“Community”) is 50.
Actor Marisa Ryan (“New York Undercover”) is 47.
Country singer Dierks Bentley is 46.
Actor Joshua Gomez (“Chuck”) is 46.
Country singer Josh Turner is 44.
Actor Nadine Velazquez (“My Name Is Earl”) is 43.
Actor Jacob Pitts (“Sneaky Pete,” “Justified”) is 42.
Actor Jeremy Jordan (“Supergirl”) is 37.
Actor Ashley Fink (“Glee”) is 35.
Bassist Jared Followill of Kings of Leon is 35.
Actor Jaina Lee Ortiz (“Station 19”) is 35.
Actor Cody Linley (“Hannah Montana”) is 32.
Guitarist Michael Clifford of 5 Seconds of Summer is 26
A New York trial judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the New York Times from publishing some materials concerning the conservative activist group Project Veritas, a rare step that the newspaper said violated decades of First Amendment protections for the process.
Reuters reports the order by Justice Charles Wood of the Westchester County Supreme Court covers memos written by a Project Veritas lawyer and obtained by the Times.
Wood scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday to consider a longer prohibition against publication, and whether the Times should remove references to privileged attorney-client information in a Nov. 11 article about Project Veritas' journalism practices.
"This ruling is unconstitutional and sets a dangerous precedent," Dean Baquet, the Times' executive editor, said in an emailed statement.
"When a court silences journalism, it fails its citizens and undermines their right to know," he added.
"The Supreme Court made that clear in the Pentagon Papers case, a landmark ruling against prior restraint blocking the publication of newsworthy journalism. That principle clearly applies here. We are seeking an immediate review of this decision."
Baquet's statement referred to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1971 rejection of the Nixon administration's bid to stop the Times and the Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers, which detailed U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, called prior restraint "among the most serious threats to press freedom," and said an appeals court should vacate Wood's order if the judge does not.
Project Veritas has also been involved in a U.S. Department of Justice probe into its possible role in the reported theft of a diary from President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley.
It said in court filings that the FBI this month seized cellphones, pursuant to search warrants, from the homes of founder James O'Keefe and two of the group's former members.
O'Keefe suggested in a statement after Wood issued his order that the Times applied different journalistic standards in covering those searches.
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei signaled no imminent changes to the company’s three tracking stocks at the company’s annual investor day Thursday, reports Barron's.
Liberty is unusual because its assets are represented by three tracking stocks, Liberty SiriusXM Group (LSXMA), Liberty Formula One Group (FWONA) and Liberty Braves Group (BATRK).
“We’ve always viewed them as transitory,” Maffei said of the tracking stocks, adding that “they are working for us now.” Liberty SiriusXM Group stock was off 3.8%, to $53.73; Liberty Formula One Group was up 22 cents, at $56.02, and Liberty Braves Group was down 1.1%, at $30.39. Sirius XM Holdings was off 4.6%, to $6.33.
The company is gaining more flexibility to spin off its tracking stocks into asset-based businesses. It has been hamstrung because its only actively traded business, or ATB, has been the Atlanta Braves baseball team. A spinoff and surviving company both need to be ATBs.
In early 2022, Liberty’s Formula One auto racing business will become an ATB after five years of ownership and Liberty believes its 80% stake in Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI) is an ATB after a stock swap with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A and , BRK.B) that put it over the 80% mark.
Greg Maffei
There has been speculation that Liberty might spin off the Atlanta Braves or potentially turn the Liberty SiriusXM Group into an asset-based stock. Both those developments likely would be viewed favorably by investors who prefer asset-based stocks to trackers.
Maffei has talked about the “optionality” or flexibility of having more ATBs within Liberty. He added that the Formula One tracking stock was reflecting a “full value” for that business and that Liberty Sirius XM Group’s discount to net asset value has been narrowing. It’s now estimated at around 25%, compared with about 35% earlier this year.
In response to a question, Liberty’s chairman and controlling shareholder, John Malone, said that companies should take advantage of “artificially” low interest rates to borrow money and extend the term of their debt.
Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel expressed confidence discussions can resolve a dispute between aviation and wireless interests over use of 5G airwaves, reports Bloomberg.
“You asked if I have confidence in our ability to resolve these issues with mitigation,” Rosenworcel said during a news conference Thursday. “The answer to that is yes, but I have no further details to share with you at this time.”
Aviation industry officials have said 5G signals on certain airwaves could disturb safety equipment on aircraft, while the FCC and the mobile industry have said there is no evidence of a problem. Mobile providers said they’ll delay using the airwaves for a month, until early January.
On Wednesday the top air U.S. safety regulator characterized as “very productive” discussions that include the FCC.
Meredith Attwell Baker, president of the CTIA wireless trade group, in an online posting Thursday said a delay in using the airwaves would cause “real harm.”
“The FAA and the aviation industry appear to be looking to halt 5G deployment in the United States altogether,” Baker said in the article that appeared on the Morning Consult website.
Digital ad spending by the US media and entertainment industries will increase every year through at least 2023, with combined spending surpassing $26 billion by then. While the growth rates, format mix, and device mix will vary as each industry faces different market dynamics, they both share a positive trajectory that reflects robust health in the overall digital ad market, reports eMarketer.
The pandemic clearly took a toll on spending. However, its effect was not as severe as we feared in March 2020, and the rebound has been stronger than anticipated across many industries, including media and entertainment. Media has been lifted by the resumption of TV production, which has given networks new content to advertise, while entertainment businesses including theme parks, movie theaters, and concert venues have restarted advertising after their pandemic-induced pauses.
Although media and entertainment have common characteristics and areas of overlap, the latter sector will see a more pronounced rebound, largely because of its reliance on high-priced ad formats like video.
Digital ad spending in the media and entertainment industries is back on solid footing. Although the pandemic is far from over, and many businesses in those industries are still disrupted from it, digital ad buyers have moved on and are spending at greater levels than we expected before the world turned upside down.
In 2021, mobile will account for 76.5% of digital advertising in the entertainment industry—the highest penetration among industries we track. By comparison, mobile will make up 63.0% of the media industry’s digital advertising. For the rest of our forecast period, these percentages will remain essentially unchanged.
The predominance of mobile in the entertainment advertising mix is not surprising given that activities like video streaming, gaming, and social video happen mostly on mobile devices. The big drivers of entertainment ad spending are film and game studios with franchises that appeal mainly to millennial and Gen X audiences, and those groups will outpace other demos in smartphone adoption and penetration in the next several years.
UPDATE 9:45 AM: House Has Narrowly Passed Biden’s Social Safety Net and Climate Bill. The vote was months in the making for the roughly $2 trillion measure, one of the most consequential bills in decades. Now it faces a difficult path in the Senate.
Earlier Posting..
The House moved a planned vote last night on President Biden's Build Back Better legislation to today after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delayed the vote yesterday evening by giving a speech for more than four hours. The chamber's Republican leader blasted the bill during his marathon speech, calling it a "spending binge," and times talking about U.S. history and his own life. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office issued several news releases during McCarthy's speech, refuting several of his points and in one calling it a "temper tantrum." The vote had been set to take place after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released its full cost estimate of the bill earlier in the day.
CBO estimates that the funding for tax enforcement activities provided by H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act, would increase outlays by $80 billion and revenues by $207 billion, thus decreasing the deficit by $127 billion, through 2031. https://t.co/GrbShPusVK
➤STILL NO VERDICT IN RITTENHOUSE TRIAL: A third day of deliberations in Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial ended without a verdict yesterday, with the jurors to be back at the Wisconsin courthouse today for more. At the end of the day, one juror asked the judge if she could take home the lengthy jury instructions, which he allowed, but said she couldn't talk to anyone about them. In the most action for the day, Judge Bruce Schroeder banned MSNBC from the courthouse after a freelancer working for the network was accused of following the jurors in their bus and may have tried to photograph them. NBC News said the man was a freelancer who received a citation for a traffic violation that took place near the jury vehicle, and he "never photographed or intended to photograph them."
➤OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR GRANTS CLEMENCY TO JULIUS JONES HOURS BEFORE PLANNED EXECUTION: Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Sitt spared the life of Julius Jones yesterday, commuting the 41-year-old's death sentence to life imprisonment without parole hours before he was to be executed. Jones' death sentence had drawn widespread protests, including from celebrities, over doubts about his guilt in the shooting death of businessman Paul Howell during a 1999 carjacking. The state's Pardon and Parole Board had recommended in a 3-1 vote earlier this month that Sitt commute Jones' sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Jones alleges he was framed by the actual killer, a high school friend and co-defendant who was a key witness against him.
The moment word of clemency for Julius Jones reached the vigil here at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester pic.twitter.com/Ux0Zzxb72N
➤DEFENSE ATTORNEYS REST CASE IN ARBERY TRIAL: The defense rested its case yesterday in the Georgia murder trial of three white men accused in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was running through their neighborhood. They did so after the prosecution cross-examined one of the defendants, Travis McMichael, who fired the shots that killed Arbery. McMichael acknowledged that Arbery hadn't shown a weapon or spoken to him at all before he raised his shotgun, but he said he was "under the impression" Arbery could be a threat because he was running straight at him and he'd seen him trying to get into the truck of a neighbor who'd joined the chase of him. Also on trial are McMichael's father, Greg McMichael, and neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, who joined the two in chasing Arbery in their pickup trucks and recorded the killing on his cellphone. Closing arguments are set for Monday.
➤TWO EXONERATED IN MALCOLM X KILLING: Two men convicted in the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X were exonerated Thursday by a Manhattan judge. The convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam were dismissed, after prosecutors and the men’s lawyers said a renewed investigation found new evidence that undermined the case against them and that authorities withheld some of what they knew. Aziz and Islam had always maintained their innocence in the murder at the Audubon Ballroom in upper Manhattan. Both were paroled in the 1980s and Islalm died in 2009.
➤TEN STATES LAUNCH INVESTIGATION INTO INSTAGRAM'S EFFECT ON KIDS: Ten states have launched a joint, bipartisan investigation into whether Meta, formerly Facebook, broke consumer protection laws by trying to attract kids to its platforms, prosecutors announced on Thursday (November 18th). CBS News reports it will look into the techniques used to encourage kids to use and engage with its platforms. This comes after a series of reports and a whistleblower coming forward saying Instagram's internal research showed it had a negative effect on teens' mental health.
U.S. signs $5.9 billion deal with Pfizer for COVID-19 treatment pill https://t.co/H2NFgnT0MG
🚨POLICE STOP A BUNCH OF THE WRONG CARS WITH SPIKE STRIPS ON HIGHWAY: This is pretty bad. Police in Tucson, Arizona, deployed spike strips on Saturday to stop a high-speed chase on I-10. But they ended up disabling seven of the wrong cars in the process. A woman says she and several other drivers hit the strips at highway speed, then struggled to pull over without causing a crash. They didn’t learn until later that they were in the middle of a 31-mile police chase. And to add insult to injury, the suspect kept on going as they pulled over with their blown tires. Witnesses say when all was said and done there were seven cars disabled on the side of the highway. The woman said the police response was lacking, and they offered an apology and called a tow truck for her, but that she is out more than $700 for the tow and the two tires– it’s money she’s trying to get back from the police.
Former California professor accused of setting a series of wildfires near where the massive Dixie Fire was burning this year has been indicted on federal charges, prosecutors say. https://t.co/KHn02rr2dJ
💑STUDY..OLDER COUPLES SUBCONSCIOUSLY SYNCHRONIZE THEIR HEART RATES WHEN THEY ARE CLOSE TOGETHER: This is undeniably cute. University of Illinois researchers found older couples subconsciously sync up heart rates when close together. They found, when in close proximity, one member of each couple would influence the other’s heart rate, and vice versa, in a complicated dance. The scientists looked at couples who’d been in their relationship 14 to 65 years and were ages 64 to 88. Researchers say their findings are important for relationship research going forward.
🐶STUDY..EVERYDAY HOUSEHOLD NOISE STRESSES DOGS OUT: Your dog might be affected by the noises in your household more than you might think. University of California researchers surveyed dog owners, and found high-frequency, intermittent household noises such as the battery warning of a smoke detector are more likely to cause a dog anxiety, rather than low-frequency, continuous noise. They also found that many owners underestimate their dogs’ frightened reactions to household noises, and often respond with amusement rather than concern. Experts say common signs of anxiety in dogs include cringing, trembling or retreating. There are also more subtle clues such as panting, licking their lips, turning their head away, stiffening their body, turning their ears back and lowering their head below their shoulders. Lead study author Emma Grigg says, “We hope this study gets people to think about the sources of sound that might be causing their dog stress, so they can take steps to minimize their dog’s exposure to it.”
🦃HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE REALLY THINK OF CANNED CRANBERRY SAUCE: Sales of canned cranberry sauce have increased 32 percent over the past two years, and last year, Instacart reports that it delivered so much cranberry sauce that if you stacked the cans, it would equal almost 1,200 Statues of Liberty. Instacart’s trends expert Laurenita Romaniuk explains, “There are different reasons why consumers may prefer canned cranberry sauce, including tradition, flavor, nostalgia, texture, convenience or the fact that it can be served on a dish in the shape of a can, which adds an element of levity to the meal.” Registered dietician Whitney Linsenmeyer notes that canned cranberry sauce tends to be high in added sugar, but also notes that Thanksgiving isn’t the time to worry about eating too much sugar, saying, “I say eat whatever version you enjoy. At my table, we have both the homemade cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries and we definitely have that delicious can.”
🏈PATRIOTS BLANK FALCONS 25-0: The New England Patriots shut out the Falcons 25-0 last night in Atlanta for their fifth straight win. The Patriots defense continued their recent shutting down of opposing offenses, allowing just 13 points in New England's last three games. Patriots' rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw for 207 yards and a touchdown, while Atlanta's Matt Ryan was sacked four times and intercepted twice.
⚾ANGELS' OHTANI, PHILLIES' HARPER WIN MVP: The Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani and the Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper won the MVP award yesterday, Ohtani in the American League and Harper in the National League. Ohtani was the unanimous AL winner after a two-way performance of both pitching and hitting not seen since Babe Ruth, performing both as a starter and a designated hitter. It was the second MVP for Harper after winning with the Washington Nationals in 2015
🏈REPORT CLAIMS BUCCANEERS' ANTONIO BROWN HAS FAKE COVID VACCINATION CARD: A report in the Tampa Bay Times yesterday cites a former personal chef for Antonio Brown as saying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver has a fake Covid-19 vaccination card. Steven Ruiz claimed that Brown asked him to get a fake card for him, offering $500. Ruiz said he couldn't get one, but claimed Brown showed him one a few weeks later that he said he'd bought. The Buccaneers said in a statement, "All [players'] vaccination cards were reviewed by Buccaneers personnel and no irregularities were observed." Brown's attorney Sean Burstyn told ESPN that Brown is vaccinated, adding, "If Antonio's doctors and the guidelines require a booster shot, then at that time, he'll be happy to do it live on TV and everyone can come watch."
🎾WTA HEAD SAYS 'WILLING TO PULL OUR BUSINESS' FROM CHINA OVER MISSING PLAYER: The chairman and chief executive of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Steve Simon, told CNN on Thursday that he is "willing to pull our business" out of China and lose millions of dollars if recently retired Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai's allegations aren't fully investigated and she is not spoken with directly. Shuai has accused a former high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party of sexual assault on November 2nd. Since then, she's reportedly not been heard from directly.
🏈NFL MEMO TO TEAM REAFFIRMS TAUNTING CRACKDOWN: The NFL sent a memo to team this weeks reaffirming its crackdown on taunting that has drawn complaints from some players and teams, ESPN reported yesterday (November 18th). NFL senior VP of officiating training and development Walt Anderson said in it, "Appropriate celebration, enthusiasm and sharing great moments with our teammates and fans is encouraged. The emphasis by the NFL to discourage acts of taunting or disrespect, when you direct actions toward an opponent or his bench, will continue."
🦃STORM THREATENS TURKEY TRAVEL: A potentially disruptive storm is in the forecast for early next week for portions of the central and eastern U.S., meteorologists warned. Though forecast details are still being worked out, the storm could lead to travel troubles for millions as they head out for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. "We could be looking at a huge mess and a real wrench in holiday travel," AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter said. Travel for Thanksgiving is expected to reach nearly pre-pandemic levels this year, according to AAA.
The National Weather Service said "this storm remains a prominent weather focus due to its timing right before Thanksgiving, but it will likely still take a while to resolve the details."
Various scenarios are still in play with the storm; one forecast indicates heavy snow in portions of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Under this scenario, shifting bands of lake-effect snow and snow squalls are then likely to unfold and could bring locally heavy accumulations from northern Indiana and Michigan to parts of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York state from Monday to Wednesday, AccuWeather said.
Jennifer Witz, SiriusXM CEO, joins CNBC's 'Squawk on the Street' to explore the autos market impact on Sirius' bottom line, Sirius' plans with podcasts and more.
The judge presiding over the Kyle Rittenhouse trial banned MSNBC from the courtroom on Thursday after a man claiming to be a producer for the network was accused of following jurors, reports The NYPost..
The man, who identified himself as James Morrison, was pulled over Wednesday after he allegedly blew a red light while pursuing a bus that transports jurors from the Kenosha County Courthouse, Judge Bruce Schroeder said.
“He stated that he had been instructed by [a superior] in New York to follow the jury bus,” Schroeder said.
Police confirmed Thursday that there was an “incident with a person who is alleging to be affiliated with a national media outlet” and the suspect was issued several traffic citations.
“Police suspect this person was trying to photograph jurors. This incident is being investigated much further,” police said.
Schroeder called the incident an “extremely serious matter” and barred any journalists from MSNBC from attending the ongoing trial.
“This is a very serious matter,” Judge Bruce Schroeder said on Nov. 18, 2021.
“I have instructed that no one from MSNBC News will be permitted in this building for the duration of this trial. This is a very serious matter,” Schroeder said.
A rep for NBC News confirmed that a freelancer for the news organization received a traffic violation, but denied that the individual was trying to get in contact with the jurors.
