January 16 Radio History

➦In 1939....the shrill siren call of radio’s “I Love a Mystery” was heard for the first time as the show debuted on NBC’s West Coast outlets. Creator Carleton E. Morse already had an established hit in a completely different genre, ‘One Man’s Family.’

FLASHBACK:

Click Here to Flashback to Radio January 16, 1926. How's this for an astounding headline?

➦In 1944...the family sitcom ‘The Life of Riley‘ began a 7 year run on radio, the first 18 months on the Blue Network, thereafter on NBC. A blue-collar William Bendix starred as Chester A. Riley.

➦In 1947...SiriusXM Radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger was born in Brooklyn, New York.

Schlessinger's first appearance on radio was in 1975 when she called in to a KABC Los Angeles show hosted by Bill Ballance. Impressed by her quick wit and sense of humor, Ballance began featuring her in a weekly segment. Schlessinger's stint on Ballance's show led to her own shows on a series of small radio stations. By 1979 she was on the air Sunday evenings from 9:00 to midnight on KWIZ in Santa Ana, California. That year, the Los Angeles Times described her show as dealing with all types of emotional problems, "though sex therapy is the show's major focus".

In the late 1980s, Schlessinger was filling in for Barbara De Angelis' noon-time relationship-oriented talk show in Los Angeles on KFI, while working weekends at KGIL in San Fernando. Her big break came when Sally Jessy Raphael began working at ABC Radio, and Maurice Tunick, former Vice-President of Talk Programming for the ABC Radio Networks, needed a regular sub for Raphael's evening personal advice show. Tunick chose Schlessinger to fill in for Raphael.

Ultimately, Schlessinger began broadcasting a daily show on KFI which was nationally syndicated in 1994 by Synergy, a company owned by Schlessinger and her husband. In 1997, Synergy sold its rights to the show to Jacor Communications, Inc., for $71.5 million. Later, Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications and a company co-owned by Schlessinger, Take On The Day, LLC, acquired the production rights. The show became a joint effort between Take On The Day, which produced it, Talk Radio Network, which syndicated and marketed it to radio stations, and Premiere Radio Networks, (a subsidiary of Clear Channel), which provided satellite facilities and handled advertising sales. As of September 2009, Schlessinger broadcast from her home in Santa Barbara, California with KFWB as her flagship station. Podcasts and live streams of the show have been available on her website for a monthly fee, and the show was also on XM Satellite Radio.

At its peak, The Dr. Laura Program was the second-highest-rated radio show after The Rush Limbaugh Show, and was heard on more than 450 radio stations.

In May 2002, the show still had an audience of more than 10 million, but had lost several million listeners in the previous two years as it was dropped by WABC and other affiliates, and was moved from day to night in cities such as Seattle and Boston. These losses were attributed in part to Schlessinger's shift from giving relationship advice to lecturing on morality and conservative politics. Pressure from gay rights groups caused dozens of sponsors to drop the radio show as well.  In 2006, Schlessinger's show was being aired on approximately 200 stations. As of 2009, it was tied for third place along with The Glenn Beck Program and The Savage Nation.

On August 17, 2010, during an appearance on Larry King Live, Schlessinger announced the end of her radio show saying that her motivation was to "regain her First Amendment rights", and that she wanted to be able to say what is on her mind without "some special interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent."  Several of her affiliates and major sponsors had dropped her show after her on air use of a racial epithet on August 10.

On January 3, 2011, Schlessinger's show moved exclusively to SiriusXM Radio.

David Seville

➦In 1972....David Seville died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, just days short of his 53rd birthday.  

Born Ross Bagdasarian, the musician was the force, and artist, behind the Alvin and the Chipmunks novelty songs of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.  Seville first claimed fame, not through the novelty impact of the hit, “The Chipmunk Song” (it sold 3.5 million copies in five weeks); but by writing Rosemary Clooney’s biggest hit, “Come on-a My House”, in the early 1950s and the number one hit, “Witch Doctor”, in 1958.

➦In 1986...evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong, founder and longtime leader of the Worldwide Church of God, and original voice of the longtime radio/TV religious broadcast, “The World Tomorrow,” died at the age of 93.  His son and fellow preacher,Garner Ted Armstrong, succeeded him on the air in 1957.

➦In 2016…Ted Marchibroda  died at age 84 (Born March 15, 1931). He was a football quarterback and head coach in the National Football League. He spent his four years as an active player with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1953, 1955–1956) and Chicago Cardinals (1957). He was later head coach of the Colts in two different cities and decades, first in Baltimore during the 1970s and then Indianapolis during the early-1990s. Upon joining the Baltimore Ravens in a similar capacity in 1996, he became the only individual to serve as head coach with both of Baltimore's NFL teams. His career coaching record was 87–98–1 (.470) and 2–4 in the playoffs

Marchibroda was a radio color commentator for the Indianapolis Colts from 1999 to 2006 alongside Bob Lamey.

➦In 2017...Russ Thompson, a prominent afternoon drive time radio host for over 40 years in Toronto, succumbed to cancer at age 82.  Russ worked for CKEY, CBC Radio, CKFM and finished his career at Easy 97 in 1992. He was also a TV spokesman for some of the Canada’s most prestigious brands including GM, Timex, CN/CP, Belvedere and Proctor and Gamble.

Barbara Lynn is 80

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Opera singer Marilyn Horne is 88. 
• Singer Barbara Lynn is 80. 
• Country singer Ronnie Milsap is 79. 
• Singer Katherine Anderson Schaffner of The Marvelettes is 78. 

• 

  Renee Felice Smith is 37

  Country singer Jim Stafford is 78. 
• Radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger is 75. 
• Director John Carpenter (“Halloween” films) is 74. 
• Actor-dancer Debbie Allen is 72. 
• Singer Maxine Jones of En Vogue is 63. 
• Singer Sade is 63. 
• Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule is 63. 
• Bassist Paul Webb of Talk Talk is 60. 
• Actor David Chokachi (“Baywatch”) is 54. 
• Comedian Jonathan Mangum (“Whose Line Is It Anyway,” ″The Drew Carey Show”) is 51. 
• Actor Richard T. Jones (“The Rookie,” “Judging Amy”) is 50. 
• Actor Josie Davis (“Beverly Hills 90210”) is 49. 
• Supermodel Kate Moss is 49. 
• Actor-playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Mary Poppins Returns,” ″Hamilton”) is 43. 
• Guitarist James Young of The Eli Young Band is 42. 
• Guitarist Nick Valensi of The Strokes is 41. 
• Actor Renee Felice Smith (“NCIS: Los Angeles”) is 37.

Forecast: Media Consumption to Grow Faster in 2022

Diverging from the sharp gain in momentum in advertising and marketing spending in 2021, consumer time spent with media registered a more modest uptick, similar to pre-pandemic trends through 2019 when signs of device penetration saturation began to emerge, according to new research released by PQ Media.

Global consumer media usage, including all digital and traditional media channels, grew at a decelerated rate of 1.6% to an average of 54.4 hours per week (HPW) in 2021, slowing down from the pandemic-fueled boost of 3.1% in 2020, which was the fastest increase in annual media consumption in 15 years, according to PQ Media’s Global Consumer Media Usage Forecast 2021-2025.

COVID-19 and the lockdown measures employed to stem its spread, shook up the media economy in 2020 in such a way that secular trends driving down media usage growth in some segments were reversed, including several digital media channels, while cyclical trends expected to boost usage in other segments were postponed, such as the Summer Olympics, and emerging growth trends in newer media accelerated, like the rise of streaming video and audio.

Even though media usage growth decelerated in 2021 due to many countries relaxing COVID mandates as cases declined, allowing businesses to reopen and hire new employees, as well as executives returning to offices and students going back into classrooms, the gain was higher than anticipated and more in line with pre-pandemic levels. This was due to three factors that included: a) the unusual cyclical charge from the Summer Olympics, which were postponed from the prior year; b) some major markets needing to tighten pandemic restrictions when COVID-19 variants emerged in late third quarter and fourth quarter that required some consumers to stay home again; and c) resistance by some employees to return to offices and the so-called “Great Resignation of 2021,” in which workers quit jobs in record numbers.

One of the byproducts of the pandemic is that the shift to digital media consumption has accelerated, rising from 22% in 2015 to an estimated 33.4% globally in 2021. In most developed countries, the share is over 40%, and South Korea will become the first market in which the entire population averages more than 50% digital media usage in 2022. Select generation groups are already posting over 60% digital media usage, such as Millennials in the Netherlands.

This shift is a result of the strong growth of global digital media usage, which increased 8.3% in 2021 to 18.15 HPW, after a double-digit increase in 2020, whereas traditional media consumption is expected to fall 1.4% in 2021 to 36.23 HPW, the fifth consecutive year of decline, according to PQ Media’s annual Global Consumer Media Usage Forecast 2021-2025.

Key digital media growth drivers were mobile video, OTT streaming video services, audio streaming services & podcasting, digital books, digital out-of-home (OOH) media, and videogames (console and digital), according to PQ Media. Meanwhile, traditional media usage fell across most media platforms, with the exception of print books, over-the-air (OTA) radio, and traditional OOH, the latter two fueled by more cars on the road that exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2019. However, while movie theater admissions more than doubled in 2021, the overall traditional film industry suffered a decline in usage because DVD sales plummeted.

The pandemic altered media consumption patterns in the short term such that the growth acceleration in 2020 was more pronounced while the deceleration in 2021 was much softer. While most media are hit driven, in which consumer usage increases when there is a slate of blockbuster titles, media platforms in 2020 were reporting record consumption, despite fewer blockbusters because, historically, media tends to have a cathartic effect on consumers during difficult economic periods.

In 2022, media consumption is projected to grow at an accelerated rate of 2.5%, driven by new, more compelling original content releases, various international sporting events and federal elections in several of the top 20 global media markets. Foremost among the sporting events are the FIFA World Cup coverage from Qatar (almost 3.5 billion viewers in 2018); the Winter Olympics from China; and rugby’s World Cup in the U.K. In addition, the United States will feature a number of hotly contested federal elections late in the year.

Gannett To Stop Printing Saturday Editions In 136 Markets

The nation’s largest newspaper chain is discontinuing Saturday print editions starting March 5 at more than half of its newspapers nationwide, saying it will instead offer “new, additional benefits” including expanded access to online editions.

The Boston Business Journal reports Gannett Co. Inc. told staff in an email on Wednesday that it is “introducing a new Saturday experience in 136 of our markets which transitions from delivering the Saturday print edition to providing exclusive access to the full Saturday e-Edition.”

According to the company’s most recent annual filing, it operates 253 daily newspaper across the country.

Sources told the Business Journal that while the chain’s two largest dailies, The Providence Journal and the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, will not be affected, most others will, including the Cape Cod Times, the Fall River Herald News and the New Bedford Standard Times. Some of Gannett’s dailies, such as the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, have previously combined Saturday and Sunday print editions into one print product delivered on Saturday.

In a statement to the Business Journal, Gannett spokesperson Lark-Marie Anton said the company is “committed to the sustainable future of local news.”

"Our business — just like any other — is adapting to a competitive digital world. With more of our readers engaging with our content online, we are embracing our digital future with this evolved Saturday experience while ensuring our subscribers have unlimited access to the news, sports, events and information they value most,” Anton said.

Anton added that the company will offer subscribers new benefits such as “universal access to hundreds of e-Editions throughout the USA TODAY Network in cities across the country, as well as ad-free, 24/7 access to our USA TODAY Crossword puzzle.”

NFL Playoff Game To Be Among The Most Frigid

Saturday's first-round NFL Playoff matchup between the Bills and Patriots will be unique in that it stands to likely be among the coldest-ever NFL post-season games. It will fall short of some other memorably frigid playoff games, but only a small handful of post-season games in NFL history have had lower temperatures during the game, reports Accuweather.

Like the Bills, the Patriots are no strangers to playing in winter weather. New England’s dynastic run under head coach Bill Belichick began in a snowstorm began almost exactly 21 years ago in a game that was nicknamed the Snow Bowl (or for some, the Tuck Rule Game). Battling the Oakland Raiders, Belichick’s Patriots won on an overtime field goal in howling winds and fiercely falling snow -- a result that lives in infamy.

According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff, Reardon and the rest of Bills Mafia will need to prepare for the worst of the cold.

"Although the lake-effect machine has been cranking recently around Buffalo, New York, no snow is in the forecast for Saturday night’s game, but bitter cold is a guarantee," Duff said. "Temperatures are expected to remain around 3-4 F throughout the game, and while there won’t be much wind, a slight breeze will push AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures below zero at times."

AccuWeather forecasters say the temperature in Orchard Park won't make it out of the single digits for a high on Saturday. A game-time temperature of 4 degrees or lower at Highmark Stadium would put the game among the top 10 coldest ever NFL playoff games, according to Stathead, a sports research database.

Accuweather graphics

A mark of 4 degrees would make it the second coldest NFL wild-card round playoff game of all time -- second only to the matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings in 2016, which was 6 degrees below zero at kickoff. Moreover, a game-time temperature below 8 degrees would make this game the second-coldest Bills home game in franchise history, behind only the 0-degree kickoff temp on Jan 15., 1994, for a playoff game against the then Los Angeles Raiders. At that point, the Bills' home venue was known as Rich Stadium.

DirecTV to Drop OAN Conservative News Channel

U.S. satellite broadcaster DirecTV said on Friday it will drop far-right channel One America News (OAN) from its service when its contract expires in April, in a blow to the popular news network.

Reuters reports OAN, which rose to prominence amid the triumph and tumult of the administration of then-President Donald Trump, has been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.

"We informed Herring Networks that, following a routine internal review, we do not plan to enter into a new contract when our current agreement expires," a DirecTV spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

AT&T has a 70% stake in DirecTV, after last year spinning off the satellite service, now an independently managed company. The U.S. telecommunications company entered into a deal with Herring Networks Inc in 2017, which included OAN and a little-watched lifestyle channel, AWE. DirecTV began carrying the networks in April that year.

AT&T has been a crucial source of funds for OAN, providing tens of millions of dollars in revenue, a Reuters investigation found last year. Ninety percent of OAN's revenue came from a contract with AT&T-owned television platforms, including DirecTV, according to 2020 sworn testimony by an OAN accountant.

OAN became one of Trump’s favorite channels while he was president. In 2020, he gave OAN a boost by tweeting one of its stories that maligned an elderly protester who was knocked down and injured by police on TV during a protest in Buffalo.

Bloomberg reports critics have called on TV distributors to stop carrying the network. In a November blog post, John Bergmayer, legal director at the advocacy group Public Knowledge, said that “OAN’s support for the ‘Big Lie’ that the 2020 election was stolen and the fact that it’s consistently giving airtime to conspiracy theories and misinformation on COVID-19, moves it from a participant in the marketplace of ideas to a peddler of toxic lies.”

Pay-TV providers like DirecTV have been dropping channels to lower their programming costs at a time when consumers are increasingly replacing traditional TV with lower cost streaming services.

Netflix Is Hiking Prices

Streaming giant Netflix is raising the cost for all of its monthly plans in the U.S. and Canada.

The Wrap reports Netflix’s standard plan, which is its most popular, will now cost $15.50 per month, up from $14, while the premium plan that includes 4K streaming will increase $2 from $18 to $20 per month. The basic plan, which doesn’t include HD, is also rising to $10 per month from $9.

The hike means that for most of Netflix’s customers, it will now cost more than HBO Max (which has a base price of $14.99 a month, though the streaming service has been offering discounted rates along with a cheaper ad-supported plan), which was previously among the most expensive streaming services.

The new prices will take effect immediately for new subscribers and be rolled out “gradually” to existing members.

Netflix last raised its prices for U.S. customers in October of 2020.

Netflix has added customers despite prior price increases, which shows its members have been willing to accept higher costs, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney told Reuters.

"This is evidence that Netflix has pricing power," Mahaney said.

Netflix had said it would spend $17 billion on programming in 2021. The company has not disclosed spending for 2022.

Netflix has 213.53 million global paid subscribers as of the end of the third quarter of 2021. The streaming giant reports its full year results for 2021 next Thursday.

Peacock To Stream Telemundo's New T-Plus

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises has announced the launch of Tplus, a new content brand designed to serve US Hispanic audiences.

Rpid TV News reports programming will include Spanish and English-language entertainment, news and sports content

By launching on Peacock, Tplus will be immediately available at scale to a wide range of audiences interested in Latino content, regardless of language. Tplus will reflect the diversity of US Hispanic experiences through a range of scripted and unscripted programming tailored to Latino sensibilities across a number of genres and formats including true crime, coming of age stories, realities, investigations, documentaries, must-see live events, kids and family programmes, world-class sports and news.

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises also revealed initial streaming plans for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Telemundo will present live coverage of matches on Peacock, including the group stage, all knock-out stage World Cup matches, and the final.

Said Beau Ferrari, chairman, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises: “As the No 1 producer of scripted Spanish-language content in the US, we are tapping into our deep production expertise and understanding of our audience to launch Tplus, the first and only content brand at scale focused on serving US Hispanics who feel 100% Latino and 100% American.

“We are proud to partner with our colleagues at Peacock to unveil this innovative streaming offering and provide culturally-relevant entertainment, news and sports to reach the widest Hispanic audience possible across language, across genres and across platforms.”

R.I.P.: Fred Parris, Singer-Songwriter For the Five Satins

Fred Parris

Fred Parris, the man who penned the iconic doo-wop hit “In the Still of the Night,” died Thursday. He was 85, reports the NY Daily News.

Parris died after a brief illness, according to a Facebook post from his group Fred Parris and the Five Satins.

“The Five Satins family is devastated by this loss but appreciative of having shared Fred’s music with thousands of fans and friends,” the post read.

Recorded in a church basement in New Haven, Conn., “In the Still of the Night” rose to No. 3 on the Billboard R&B charts and No. 24 on the pop charts in 1956.

The smash hit was later covered by the Beach Boys, Boys II Men, Ronnie Milsap and many others. It appeared on the soundtracks of “Dirty Dancing” in 1987 and “The Irishman” in 2019, among several more films.

“I never expected it to have so much of an impact that people would embrace the song 50 years later,” Parris told the New Haven Register in 2014. “I had no idea it was going to be that successful ... I didn’t know if they were going to listen to it 15 minutes later, let alone 50 years.”

Born March 26, 1936, in New Haven, Parris started singing with other local kids in hallways and on street corners.

Parris and three of his friends, Al Denby, Jim Freeman and Ed Martin, met in the basement of St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church on Feb. 19, 1956, and recorded two songs: “The Jones Girl” and “In the Still of the Night.”

The group’s leader may not have known it would endure for decades, but he liked what he heard that night.

“When we heard it back, we knew we liked it,” Parris said in 2014. “As soon as we got the test record and took it home and listened to it, then we really knew.”

But it was bad timing for Parris and his singing pals. Days later, Denby shipped off the the Army and weeks later, Parris followed him.

After his tour with the Army, Parris went on tour with the Five Satins. “In the Still of the Night” charted in 1960 and 1961, years after its release.

The Five Satins went through several incarnations, and Parris’ own musical career diverged in the 1960s and 70s to include groups such as Fred Parris and the Restless Hearts and The Black Satins.

In 2003, The Five Satins were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the same year as Earth, Wind & Fire and Martha & The Vandellas. “In the Still of the Night” was named one of the 500 greatest songs of all-time by Rolling Stone, checking in at No. 90.

January 15 Radio History

➦In 1899...Goodman Ace born Goodman Aiskowitz (Died  – March 25, 1982).  He was a humorist, radio writer and comedian, television writer, and magazine columnist.

Goodman Ace and wife Jane

"Goody" (as he was known to friends) is not always the most recognizable writer/performer of his era by today's reader or listener, but his low-key, literate drollery and softly tart way of tweaking trends and pretenses made him one of the most sought after writers in radio and television during the 1930s through the 1960s.

In 1930, Ace took on a job reading the Sunday comics on radio station KMBC in Kansas City and hosting a Friday night film review and gossip program called Ace Goes to the Movies. Ace was not initially a volunteer for the job. An editor at the Kansas City Journal-Post had the idea that having an employee read the newspaper's comics on the air for children would increase circulation for the paper. Taking the job meant an extra $10 per week in one's paycheck, but none of the newsroom staff was interested.

One night the recorded fifteen-minute show scheduled to air after Ace's timeslot failed to feed. With an immediate need to fill fifteen minutes' more airtime and his wife having accompanied him to the station that night, Ace slipped into an impromptu chat about a bridge game the couple played the previous weekend and invited Jane to join the chat which soon enough included discussion of a local murder case in which a wife murdered her husband over an argument about bridge. Loaded with Goodman's wry wit and Jane's knack for malaprops, the couple's surprise improvisation provoked a response enthusiastic enough to convince KMBC to hand them a regular fifteen-minute slot, creating and performing a "domestic comedy" of their own.

At first, the show that became known as Easy Aces centered around the couple's bridge playing, according to John Dunning in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998): "Ace was not wild about Jane's bridge game, on the air or off, and he kept picking at her until she lost her temper and threatened to quit. The show settled into a new niche, a more universally based domestic comedy revolving around Jane's improbable situations and her impossible turns of phrase."

Written by Goodman Ace, who cast himself as a harried real estate salesman and the exasperated but loving husband of deceptively scatterbrained, malaprop-prone Jane ("You've got to take the bitter with the better"; "Time wounds all heels"), Easy Aces became a long-running serial comedy (1930–1945) and a low-keyed legend of old-time radio for its literate, unobtrusive, conversational style and the malaprops of the female half of the team.

While writing Easy Aces, Ace also wrote for other radio shows, earning $3,000 per week.

➦In 1945...Canadian-born Art Linkletter starred on the CBS radio debut of “House Party”. The show continued on the air for 22 years, including a long stint on CBS television. Linkletter wrote books about experiences with kids on the show. Remember, “Kids Say the Darndest Things?” This segment of the show — and Art’s resulting books — were among the most popular of early daytime television, and were also syndicated on Canadian radio.

➦In 1953...Harry S. Truman became the first U.S. President to use Radio and TV to deliver his farewell upon leaving office.

➦In 1955...At the "Louisiana Hayride" in Shreveport, "Colonel" Tom Parker got his first look at a young singer named Elvis Presley singing "Hearts Of Stone," "That's All Right," and "Tweedle Dee."

➦In 1955...Billboard magazine reports that "music with an R&B beat is not longer regarded as a passing phase by major recording firms," citing the recent success of white pop covers of R&B hits.

➦In 1961...Motown Records signed The Supremes. Originally called the Primettes and a quartet, Barbara Martin departed within a year.

➦In 1967...The Rolling Stones performed on The Ed Sullivan Show under one condition -- they change the lyric of their 1967 hit "Let's Spend The Night Together" to the more family-friendly "let's spend some time together." It was reported that Sullivan's exact words were, "Either the song goes, or you go."

Lead singer Mick Jagger complied, but deliberately called attention to the censorship by rolling his eyes and mugging when he uttered the new words.

After the performance, the Stones went backstage, then came back out dressed in Nazi uniforms with swastikas, which caused an angry Sullivan to tell them to return to their dressing rooms and change back into their performing outfits. Instead the Stones left the studio and Sullivan banned the group from ever appearing on his show again.

➦In 1974...the sitcom “Happy Days” began an 11 year run on ABC.

➦In 1994...Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson died in his sleep at age 52. Nilsson never fully recovered from a heart attack the previous February. He had his first hit with the No. 6 song “Everybody’s Talkin’ ” from the 1969 movie “Midnight Cowboy.” His biggest hit was the million-selling 1971 song “Without You,” which topped Billboard’s singles chart for four weeks.

➦In 1996...orchestra leader/arranger Les Baxter died of heart and kidney failure at age 73.  On radio he was musical director for “The Halls of Ivy, ” and the Bob Hope & Abbott and Costello Shows.

As leader & arranger for Capitol records in the ’50’s he arranged many of Nat Cole’s hits, and produced his own instrumental successes “Ruby”, “Unchained Melody” and “The Poor People Of Paris”.  Early in his career he sang with Mel Torme’s Meltones.

➦In 2015...retired sportscaster Bob Wilson, the longtime radio voice of the NHL’s Boston Bruins (1971-94), died from lung cancer at age 85.

➦In 2017....North Carolina radio veteran Pat Patterson died following a long period of declining health at age 81.   The witty morning deejay and program director had worked in radio for six decades, most of them at various stations in the Triangle, including WQDR and WDNC. But he remains best-known for his time at top-40 station WKIX-AM, which brought him to Raleigh in 1969. His other stops included WHDH Boston, KULF-Houston, WCOP-Boston, WPRO and WICE in Providence, WGR-Buffalo, WPTR-Albany.

Margaret O'Brien

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Actor Margaret O’Brien (“Meet Me In St. Louis”) is 84. 
• Actor Andrea Martin is 75. 
• Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 65. 
• Guitarist Adam Jones of Tool is 57. 
• Actor James Nesbitt (“Waking Ned Devine”) is 57. 
• Actor Chad Lowe is 54. 
• Actor-director Regina King is 51. 
• Actor Dorian Missick (“For Life”) is 46. 
• Actor Eddie Cahill (“Conviction,” ″CSI: New York”) is 44. 
• Rapper Pitbull is 41. 
• Actor Victor Rasuk (“Fifty Shades of Grey”) is 37. 
• Actor Jessy Schram (“Nashville,” ″Once Upon a Time”) is 36. 
• Electronic dance musician Skrillex is 34. 
• Actor Dove Cameron (“Liv and Maddie,” ″The Descendants”) is 26.

NBCUniversal, iSpotTV Partner For Alternate Ratings Measurement

NBCUniversal is partnering with TV measurement firm iSpot.tv in a multi-year deal to measure its audience in new ways, the company said on Thursday, the latest move among media companies dissatisfied with how video content is measured.

Reuters reports the deal comes as Nielsen, the leader in TV measurement, faces fierce criticism from its TV industry clients, many of which say it has insufficiently captured consumers' shift to streaming. Nielsen measures TV audiences through a sample set of panelists who use special devices in their homes.

Through the partnership, Comcast Corp-owned NBCU will measure traditional linear, streaming and time-shifted viewing on a second-by-second basis, a method the media giant believes will more accurately capture changing viewing habits.

NBCU is launching the partnership in time to measure audiences of the Beijing Olympic Games and Super Bowl LVI, both of which will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on its Peacock streaming service.

TV ratings are the backbone of the industry's business model, enabling advertisers to track viewers and helping networks set the price for ad slots. TV advertising is expected to total $171 billion this year, according to a forecast from ad agency GroupM.

In April the trade group representing the major television networks said Nielsen undercounted TV viewers during the pandemic when the company's technicians were unable to get into panelists' homes to fix devices. That charge was later confirmed by the Media Ratings Council (MRC), which enforces measurement standards in media, and which in September stripped Nielsen of its accreditation for both local and national TV measurement.

On Aug. 23, weeks after its broadcast of the Tokyo Olympics, which drew a record-low audience, NBCU issued a call for "measurement independence." It issued a request for proposals to 54 companies, including Nielsen, inviting them to participate in a new set of measurement tools to help "modernize the industry's approach."

Glenn Beck Contracts COVID For Second Time

Conservative radio host Glenn Beck on Wednesday said he’d contracted COVID-19 for the second time and that the virus was “getting into” his lungs, reports The Hill.

Speaking to Mark Levin on Levin’s radio show, Beck said he’s had the virus for about a week. He told Levin he was “great, except having COVID and seeing the destruction of our country.”

Beck said this was a “lighter case, but it’s now starting to go into my lungs today, which is a little disturbing,” adding, “I’m on all the medications and treatments and everything else, so we’ll see.” 

Beck told Tucker Carlson in April that he previously had COVID-19 and because of that he would not be getting vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone, even those who have previously contracted the virus, get vaccinated against COVID-19. 

“Those who do not get vaccinated after their recovery are more than 2 times as likely to get COVID-19 again than those who get fully vaccinated after their recovery,” the CDC says.

Beck told Levin he was not being treated with monoclonal antibodies, some of which are less effective against the omicron strain of the virus, but was instead taking ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and fluvoxamine — none of which are approved coronavirus treatments — and that his doctors were “hitting it really hard.” 

The two went on to discuss unproven medical claims about the drugs, with Beck claiming that it was “basic science.” 

Beck posted about his second positive test on Instagram as well, calling it “just the worst ‘cold’ I have ever had” and lamenting the lack of accessibility to unapproved treatments, some of which were heavily touted by former President Trump and his allies

Medical Professionals Warn About Joe Rogan Misinformation

A collection of 270 medical professionals reportedly signed an open letter to Spotify asking the media platform to rein in Joe Rogan, its most listened to podcaster, whom they accuse of promoting junk science with regards to the COVID pandemic.

The NY Daily News reports their chief complaint is aimed at a Dec. 31 episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” featuring right-wing media darling Dr. Robert Malone, who is a COVID-vaccine skeptic.

The group behind the letter — first published by Rolling Stone — describes itself as a “coalition of scientists, medical professionals, professors, and science communicators spanning a wide range of fields such as microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, and neuroscience.”

Their concerns include that year-ending program with Malone, which has “been criticized for promoting baseless conspiracy theories” on a podcast those experts accuse of having a “concerning history of broadcasting misinformation.”

Among the things Malone asserted during his visit with Rogan was that “mass formation psychosis” is leading people to get vaccinated against the deadly and highly contagious coronavirus, which has killed more than 800,000 Americans since early 2020. Malone, who did not have a hand in developing COVID vaccines, was involved in early research of mRNA technology more that 20 years ago. mRNA technology is at the core of Pfizer and Moderna’s tested and effective vaccination shots.

Wake-Up Call: Supreme Court Blocks Biden Mandate

Daily Mail graphic 1/14/22

The Supreme Court yesterday blocked the Biden administration's mandate for large businesses to require that their employees either get vaccinated against Covid-19 or test regularly and wear a mask at work. It did, however, allow the administration to move forward with a vaccine mandate for most U.S. health care workers. The conservatives all sided against the big business mandate in the 6-3 vote, finding that the administration overstepped its authority by trying to have the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) impose the mandate. The health care workers mandate was upheld on a 5-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh siding with the high court's liberals. After the decisions, President Biden called on businesses to institute their own vaccination requirements, and noted that one-third of Fortune 100 companies already have.

BREAKING: Supreme Court blocks the Biden administration's vaccine-or-test rule for U.S. businesses, but allows a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for most health care workers. https://t.co/pvrYiiUU41

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 13, 2022

 
➤11 OATH KEEPERS CHARGED WITH SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY IN JAN. 6TH CAPITOL ATTACK: Eleven members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group, including founder and leader Stewart Rhodes, have been charged with seditious conspiracy, authorities said yesterday, the most serious charges brought by the Justice Department so far in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. It's charged that the Oath Keepers discussed trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results for weeks and prepared for an assault by buying weapons and setting up battle plans. The indictment alleges that on January 6th, they entered the Capitol with the large crowds who stormed the building, with one team splitting up to separately go after the House and Senate, and the second team confronting officers in the Rotunda. Additionally, the Oath Keepers are alleged to have stationed two armed "quick reaction forces" just outside Washington, D.C., quote, "in support of their plot to stop the lawful transfer of power." Rhodes, of Texas, and Edward Vallejo of Arizona were arrested yesterday. The other nine were already facing criminal charges related to the attack.

Biden on voting rights bills in Congress: "The honest-to-God answer is: I don't know whether we can get this done."

“As long as I have a breath in me, as long as I’m in the White House, as long as I’m engaged at all, I’m going to be fighting” https://t.co/DNTJygv7KO pic.twitter.com/yK75Yrkpxt

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) January 13, 2022

➤BIDEN SAYS UNSURE VOTING RIGHTS LEGISLATION CAN PASS: Two days after delivering a forceful speech calling on Congress to pass voting rights legislation and change the filibuster rules to get it done, President Biden on Thursday said he's unsure that it can pass Congress. Biden made the remarks after a lunch meeting with Senate Democrats intended to push them on the legislation. Shortly before he arrived, Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema unexpectedly took to the floor of the Senate to declare that she wouldn't go along with changing the filibuster rules. All 50 Democrats would have to vote in favor to have them changed. Biden told reporters, "The honest to God answer is I don’t know whether we can get this done." But he added, "As long as I’m in the White House, as long as I’m engaged at all, I’m going to be fighting."

BREAKING: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema praises proposed voting rights bills but reiterates support for filibuster rule, saying "I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country." https://t.co/ihVuth6xKF pic.twitter.com/GVNP9wBLYe

— ABC News (@ABC) January 13, 2022

➤NORTH KOREA FIRES TWO MISSILES AFTER NEW U.S. SANCTIONS: North Korea test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Friday, in apparent response to the U.S. imposing new sanctions after the North's test launch of a hypersonic missile on Tuesday. North Korea had issued a statement hours earlier blasting the U.S. for the new sanctions, and warning there would be stronger and more explicit action if the U.S. maintains what the North called its "confrontational stance." North Korea has been increasing test of new missiles that are potentially nuclear-capable.

 

President Biden says he will announce next week a plan to make "high-quality masks available to the American people for free"

"I know we all wish that we could finally be done with wearing masks. I get it. But they're a really important tool to stop the spread" pic.twitter.com/gNXT43wyQt

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 13, 2022

➤BIDEN SAYS DOUBLING FREE COVID TESTS, DEPLOYING MILITARY MEDICAL PERSONNEL TO HOSPITALS: President Biden announced Thursday that the federal government will double the number of rapid home Covid-19 tests to be sent for free to Americans through an upcoming website to one billion. The first batch of tests will be available starting next week. He also announced for the first time that the government is planning to make high-quality masks, including N95s, available for free, with details to be announced next week. Additionally, Biden said 1,000 military medical personnel will be deploying across the country to help overwhelmed hospitals that are dealing with staff shortages amid the omicron-drive Covid surge. These deployments are in addition to other federal medical personnel who've already been sent to help states.

➤STUDY..FACE MASKS ‘MAKE WEARERS LOOK MORE ATTRACTIVE’:  Wearing a face mask might actually make you appear more attractive. Cardiff University researchers measured how different types of face masks changed the attractiveness of 40 male faces. They found the type of mask makes a difference, as blue medical masks were found to increase attractiveness most. Researcher and expert in the psychology of faces, Dr. Michael Lewis, explains, “Our study suggests faces are considered most attractive when covered by medical face masks. This may be because we’re used to healthcare workers wearing blue masks and now we associate these with people in caring or medical professions. At a time when we feel vulnerable, we may find the wearing of medical masks reassuring and so feel more positive towards the wearer.” They also found faces were considered more attractive when covered by cloth masks than when not covered at all—and say that could be because masks can cover undesirable features in the lower part of the face—though the effect was the same for both attractive and unattractive participants. Lewis adds that the pandemic has changed our psychology—we no longer perceive someone wearing a mask as having a disease or needing to be avoided.

➤CALIFORNIA GOV. DENIES PAROLE FOR RFK ASSASSIN SIRHAN SIRHAN: California Governor Gavin Newsom denied parole yesterday to Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Newsom, who rejected the recommendation of a parole commissioners panel that the 77-year-old Sirhan be freed, said that he is still a threat to the public and hasn't taken responsibility for the murder. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles minutes after speaking to cheering supporters when he won California's Democratic presidential primary. Sirhan's attorney said they will ask a judge to overturn Newsom's parole denial.

👑PRINCE ANDREW STRIPPED OF MILITARY TITLES, CHARITIES AMID SEX ABUSE LAWSUIT: Prince Andrew has been stripped of his honorary military roles and his honorary leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday. The move comes amid the lawsuit against him by American Virginia Giuffre, who alleges she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, trafficked to him by the late Jeffrey Epstein. A New York judge had rejected Andrew's effort to have the lawsuit dismissed a day earlier. Buckingham Palace also said that Andrew, quote, "is defending this case as a private citizen."

➤LOW PAY ISN’T CAUSING PEOPLE TO QUIT THEIR JOBS—TOXIC WORKPLACE CULTURE IS:  People are quitting their jobs in record numbers, and pay isn’t the number one reason. A new analysis of more than 1.4 million Glassdoor reviews found toxic culture is 10.4 times more likely to contribute to an employee leaving than compensation. Toxic culture includes: a culture failing to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion; unethical behavior; and workers feeling disrespected. The analysis, performed by CultureX, found apparel retailers are losing the highest numbers of workers, but the “Great Resignation” is also hitting white-collar industries like management consulting and software as well. SpaceX, Goldman Sachs, and Netflix also saw employees leaving at higher volumes than their industry peers, which CultureX attributes to their focus on innovation over workplace culture.

AUSTRALIA REVOKES DJOKOVIC'S VISA AGAIN: Australia has revoked Novak Djokovic's visa again, with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke saying Friday that he'd used his ministerial discretion to cancel the top-ranked men's tennis player's visa on, quote, "health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so." His action came just three days before the start of the Australian Open, where the Serbian player had hoped to set a new Grand Slam wins record. Instead, Djokovic, who is unvaccinated against Covid-19, is again facing deportation due to Australia's strict vaccination rules. His attorneys are expected to appeal in court, after they successfully did so last week on procedural grounds when Djokovic's visa was first canceled when he arrived in the country. Djokovic has claimed a medical exemption because he tested positive for Covid in mid-December and has recovered.

🏈TEXANS FIRE HEAD COACH CULLEY: The Houston Texans fired head coach David Culley on Thursday after one season, during which the team had a 4-13 record. General manager Nick Caserio said in a statement, "While a change after one season is unusual, we had philosophical differences over the long-term direction and vision for our program moving forward." Culley was in his first head coaching job after working as an NFL assistant since 1994.

⚾MLB-PLAYER TALKS RESUME, LITTLE PROGRESS: Talks between MLB and the players' union resumed yesterday for the first time in a month and a half, with little apparent progress made in the hour-long session. MLB imposed a lockout on December 2nd, right after the five-year collective bargaining contract expired hours after talks broke off. Spring training is due to begin in five weeks, and its start is in jeopardy.

🏀GRIZZLIES TOP TIMBERWOLVES FOR 11TH STRAIGHT WIN: The Memphis Grizzlies topped the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108 last night for their 11th straight win. Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 21 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 20.

🏀TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR ANTETOKOUNMPO IN BUCKS' WIN OVER WARRIORS: Giannis Antetokounmpo notched a triple-double last night in the Milwaukee Bucks' 118-99 win over the Golden State Warriors. Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Bucks, his third triple-double of the season and 28th of his career.

➤LAST YEAR WAS SIXTH HOTTEST ON RECORD: The Earth had its sixth hottest year on record in 2021, according to newly-released data out yesterday from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and a private measuring group. The scientists said La Nina, which cools parts of the central Pacific Ocean and changes global weather patterns, tamped down temperatures some, just as its reverse, El Nino, boosted them in 2016. However, 2021 was still the hottest La Nina year on record, and the last eight years have been the eight hottest on record. NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt said, "[T]he long-term trend is very, very clear. . . . And it’s not going to go away until we stop increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere."

⛄WINTER STORM IZZY FORECAST TO WALLOP MILLIONS:   A potent winter storm is forecast to wallop tens of millions of people across the central, southern and eastern USA with snow, ice, wind and rain over the next few days. "Get ready, a major snowstorm is coming," AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno warned. 

The Weather Channel, which named the sprawling storm Izzy, said it is likely to produce "major travel headaches" from North Dakota down to northern Georgia and up to Maine.

The first area to see snow Friday will be the upper Midwest, where winter storm warnings, watches and weather advisories were issued by the National Weather Service. A wide swath of 6 to 12 inches of snowfall is expected to encompass the eastern Dakotas to western Minnesota and Iowa, AccuWeather said. The storm’s last stops will be the mid-Atlantic and Northeast after it takes a sharp turn to the north-northeast along the Eastern Seaboard on Sunday and into Monday.

Heavy snow is forecast to paste portions of the region – especially the Appalachians and interior Northeast – with as much as 18 inches of snow by the time the storm winds down late Monday. The best chance for heavy snow is expected to be north and west of the Boston-Washington Interstate 95 corridor, from parts of Northern Virginia to Maine, Weather.com said.

 

Westwood One To Launch 'Eliott & Nina' Evening Show

CUMULUS MEDIA’s Westwood One will introduce “Eliott & Nina” a new Contemporary Hit Radio show to broadcast live from Westwood One’s Atlanta studios beginning Monday, January 17. 

Each weeknight from 7 p.m. to 12 midnight, Eliott and Nina will engage listeners with content targeting young adults including today’s hottest hits, celebrity and artist updates, pop culture news, listener calls, and extensive social media integrations.

“Eliott and Nina are poised to reimagine and recharge nighttime CHR,” said Brian Philips, Executive Vice President of Content and Audience. “Bringing chemistry, comedy and cultural relevance, they will light up every platform with this fast-paced new entry.”

“Eliott and Nina are the perfect duo to anchor our new nationally syndicated evening show. Combined, they have covered both coasts and every corner of this country and know better than anyone how to reach the young adult demo and build a loyal following nationwide,” said Suzanne Grimes, EVP Marketing, CUMULUS MEDIA and President, Westwood One.

“Eliott & Nina” is available via satellite receiver. For more information on “Eliott & Nina,” contact Todd Alan at (212) 735-1107 or talan@westwoodone.com.

Social Media Platforms Subpoenaed By Capitol Committee

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc., Twitter Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube and Reddit Inc. are being subpoenaed to turn over posts, videos and other material to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, reports Bloomberg.

In letters released Thursday, committee Chair Bennie Thompson, said companies provided “inadequate responses” to requests in August to voluntarily turn material from users and internal documents related to efforts to overturn the 2020 elections. Also sought were internal reviews, data and communications about posts signaling acts by domestic violent extremists or foreign actors.

The requested material is part of a wide net for information being sought by the committee on how a rally organized to support former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 presidential election resulted in a mob storming the Capitol.

“Two key questions for the Select Committee are how the spread of misinformation and violent extremism contributed to the violent attack on our democracy, and what steps—if any—social media companies took to prevent their platforms from being breeding grounds for radicalizing people to violence,” Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said in a statement.

Letters explaining the subpoenas were sent to Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet, Mark Zuckerberg chief executive officer of Meta, Steven Huffman, CEO of Reddit; and Parag Agrawal chief executive of Twitter.

Thompson set Jan. 27 as a deadline for production of the material sought.

BetQL To Launch Four Sunday Shows

Audacy has announced the upcoming debut of three new Sunday shows on BetQL Network, effective January 16.

“BetQL 5 Star Weekend,” 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET  Hosted by 93.7 The Fan (KDKA-FM) on-air host Chris Mack and CBS Sports Radio’s Damon Amendolara, “BetQL 5 Star Weekend” will use BetQL’s star rating system to preview all of the best bets for the day and the week ahead. 105.7 The Fan (WJZ-FM) evening host Jeremy Conn will serve as a guest host until February 20.  Starting February 20, “BetQL 5 Star Weekend” will air from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET.

“Sunday’s Bets,” 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET The action doesn’t stop on Sundays. The Team 980 (WTEM-AM) morning show host Travis Thomas and BetQL Network hosts Quinton Mayo and Michael Jenkins keep listeners up to date with all of the best action from a busy day in sports.

“BetNation,” 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET From bad beats to best bets, CBS Sports Radio’s Shaun Morash and Audacy’s alternative national evening host Kevan Kenney take the pulse of the nation from a sports betting perspective.

“As football season turns the corner for the home stretch, we’re pleased to introduce three dynamic Sunday shows to help bettors get ready for all the action across the sports world,” said Matt Volk, Vice President of Sports, Audacy. “These three programs will continue to put fans in position to win on Sundays, no matter the season.”

Audacy subsequently announces BetQL writer Lucy Burdge will join “Back to the Futures” and co-host alongside Brandon Sprague, Sunday nights from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET.

For show assets, please click here.

Mike Tirico To Host Olympics and Super Bowl On NBC

With two of the biggest sporting events of the year happening at the same time -- and on the same network -- NBC's Mike Tirico had what seemed like a difficult choice between working the Winter Olympics or the Super Bowl. 

So he's doing both, according to USAToday.

In what the network is calling "an unprecedented hosting double," Tirico will travel to Beijing to host NBC's Olympic prime time show, beginning on Thursday, Feb. 3 and running through Thursday, Feb. 10.

The next day, he'll fly 6,200 miles to Los Angeles and resume his Olympic hosting duties on Friday night from a special set outside SoFi Stadium, site of Super Bowl 56. 

Tirico will continue his Olympic work on Saturday night, before hosting NBC's five-hour pregame show on Super Bowl Sunday and then returning to anchor that night's Olympic coverage. 

“It is a career highlight to host the biggest sports broadcast day any media company has ever undertaken,” Tirico said in a statement released by NBC. “The foundation of our Olympic and NFL productions are the incredible people behind the camera. It is their planning and excellence that make this possible. I have never been more excited for a work project and to quote the great Ernie Banks, ‘Let’s play 2!’”

Entravision NFL’s Exclusive Spanish Radio Network Broadcaster

Entravision Communications announced Thurday that the Company will broadcast the entire 2021-2022 NFL Post Season, a total of 14 games including the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl LVI, when the event returns to Los Angeles, California after nearly three decades. This marks Entravision’s sixth season as the NFL’s exclusive Spanish radio network broadcast partner.

End zone to end zone coverage begins Saturday, January 15, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio with three days of games for Wild Card Weekend and concludes on Sunday, February 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California with Super Bowl LVI. Each broadcast day will start with a 30-minute pre-game show, Pase Completo, followed by a live play-by-play broadcast and post-game analysis. Pase Completo features veteran multi-sports game analysts Ricardo Celis and Tony Nuñez. The entire pre-game show will also stream on Facebook Live.

"Entravision is again proud to bring premiere coverage of the National Football League to the Latino community through both our O&O and our affiliate stations. This exciting competition will culminate with one of the biggest sporting events of the year taking place right here in our home market of Los Angeles," said Jeffery Liberman, Entravision’s President and Chief Operating Officer. "U.S. Latinos are a growing part of the NFL fan base, and we are pleased to offer the most extensive Spanish language radio broadcast to these devoted fans through our exclusive radio partnership with the NFL."

As part of this year’s playoff excitement, NFL fans can also participate in the Super Bowl Challenge by making their picks online at superbowlchallenge.es.

January 14 Radio History

William Bendix

➦In 1906...actor William Bendix was born in New York City.  Identified as one of the “most cherished” actors in the history of radio, Bendix starred in “The Life of Riley” on NBC Radio from 1944-51, and the TV version from 1953-58. He also had an impressive big screen resume. He died from lobar pneumonia Dec 14, 1964 at age 58.

➦In 1907...Dr. Lee DeForest patented the Audion tube. De Forest is generally thought of as the "Father of Radio". The Audion tube allowed amplification which made Radio transmission more practical for voice and music.

The Audion was the fastest electronic switching element of the time, and was later used in early digital electronics (such as computers). The triode was vital in the development of transcontinental telephone communications, radio, and radar until the 1948 invention of the transistor.

➦In 1927…Jack Benny married Sadye Marks. Five years later, Marks started playing Mary Livingstone, a character on Benny's radio show, and became so identified with the part that she legally changed her name to Mary Livingstone.

➦In 1939..."Honolulu Bound", was heard for the first time on CBS radio. Phil Baker and the Andrews Sisters were featured on the show.

➦In 1955...disc jockey Alan Freed held his first Rock `n’ Roll Party stage show in New York. Acts included the Clovers, Fats Domino and the Drifters.

➦In 1957...Hollywood Star Humphrey Bogart, who co-starred with his wife Lauren Bacall in the wildly successful syndicated radio show “Bold Venture,” died from esophagus cancer at age 57.

➦In 1973...Elvis Presley drew the largest audience for a single TV show to that time — an estimated one billion viewers in 40 countries. “Elvis – Aloha From Hawaii”, a live, worldwide concert from Honolulu International Center Arena (later known as the Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena). Performed at 12:30 a.m. Hawaiian Time, it was beamed live via Globecam Satellite to Australia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, South Vietnam and other countries, and was seen on a delayed basis in approximately 30 European countries. The first North American airing was April 4th on NBC-TV. The show was also released as a two-record album, and became one of Elvis’s top-selling LPs.

➦In 1981... the FCC freed radio stations to air as many commercials an hour as they wish.

➦In 1985...Dan Ingram started at WKTU 92.3 FM in NYC. Station is now Alternative WNYL and is owned by Audacy Inc.

➦In 2013...WFME 94.7 FM In the NYC market changed call letters to WRXP. WRXP, a call sign was previously used on the 101.9 FM facility in New York City under two different owners and two different stints as an alternative rock station. Today, the station is airing a Classic Hip-Hop format as WXBK and is owned by Audacy Inc.

➦In 2016…Longtime KCBS Radio anchor Al Hart, a legendary voice in Bay Area broadcasting, died at the age of 88.

Hart joined KCBS in 1966, two years before the all-news format arrived.  During his 34 year career at KCBS, Hart delivered the news of the day, including major Bay Area stories such as the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and the 1991 Oakland Hills fire.

Hart retired more than 15 earlier to tend to his wife Sally, who was fighting a battle with ALS. After her death, he remarried, but it wasn’t long after he and Pat exchanged vows that Al was diagnosed with a slow killer called Corticobasal Degeneration.

Clarence Carter is 86

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Blues singer Clarence Carter is 86. 
• Singer Jack Jones is 84. 
• Actor Faye Dunaway is 81. 
• Actor Holland Taylor (“Two and a Half Men,” ″The Practice”) is 79. 
• Singer-producer T-Bone Burnett is 74. 
• Actor Carl Weathers is 74. 
• Singer Geoff Tate (Queensryche) is 63. 
• Director Steven Soderbergh (“Erin Brockovich,” “Ocean’s Eleven”) is 59. 
• TV anchor Shepard Smith is 58. 
• Actor-producer Dan Schneider (“Head of the Class”) is 58. 
• Rapper Slick Rick is 57. 
• Actor Emily Watson (“Breaking the Waves”) is 55. 
• Actor-comedian Tom Rhodes (“Mr. Rhodes”) is 55. 

• 

  Dave Grohl is 53

  Guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society) is 55. 
• Rapper-actor LL Cool J is 54. 
• Actor Jason Bateman is 53. 
• Musician Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and of Nirvana is 53. 
• Actor Kevin Durand (“Lost,” ″Fruitvale Station”) is 48. 
• Actor Jordan Ladd (“Death Proof”) is 47. 
• Actor Emayatzy Corinealdi (“Middle of Nowhere”) is 42. 
• Singer-guitarist Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon is 40. 
• Actor Zach Gilford (“The Family,” ″Friday Night Lights”) is 40. 
• Guitarist Joe Guese of The Click Five is 40. 
• Actor Jake Choi (“Single Parents”) is 37. 
• Singer-actor Grant Gustin (“The Flash”) is 32. 
• Bluegrass musician Molly Tuttle is 29.