March 6 Radio History

➦In 1905...James Robert Wills born (Died – May 13, 1975 at age 70).  He was a Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western swing, he was widely known as the King of Western Swing.

Wills formed several bands and played radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with Wills on fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, rhythm guitarist June Whalin, tenor banjoist Johnnie Lee Wills, and Kermit Whalin, who played steel guitar and bass.

The band played regularly on Tulsa, Oklahoma radio station KVOO and added Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the band's sound. Wills favored jazz-like arrangements and the band found national popularity into the 1940s with such hits as "Steel Guitar Rag", "New San Antonio Rose", "Smoke On The Water", "Stars And Stripes On Iwo Jima", and "New Spanish Two Step".

Wills and the Texas Playboys recorded with several publishers and companies, including Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, and MGM, frequently moving.  Throughout the 1950s, he struggled with poor health and tenuous finances, but continued to perform frequently despite the decline in popularity of his earlier music as rock and roll took over. Wills had a heart attack in 1962 and a second one the next year, which forced him to disband the Playboys although Wills continued to perform solo.

The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music.

Abbott & Costello

➦In 1906... Lou Costello born (Died from a heart attack at age 52 – March 3, 1959), was an actor, best known for his film comedy double act with straight man Bud Abbott.

Costello had started as an athlete, before working in burlesque on Broadway, where he stood-in for Abbott’s partner who had failed to show up. They formally teamed up in 1935. Their signature routine, "Who's on First?", was carried through to radio and then to their film debut One Night in the Tropics (1940) and Buck Privates (1941). The duo would go on to make 36 films.

During World War II, they were among the most popular entertainers in the world, and sold $85 million in war bonds. A winter tour of army bases caused a recurrence of the rheumatic fever which Costello had contracted in childhood, and his health was badly affected from then on, worsened by the death of his infant son. They launched their own long-running radio show in 1942, and then a live TV show.

But by 1955, they were felt to be overexposed, their film contract was terminated, and the partnership split soon afterwards.

➦In 1954...FM pioneer Edwin H Armstrong closed experimental KE2XCC.  The station began experimental broadcasts at 93.1 FM in June 1938 followed by full power broadcasting beginning on July 18, 1939.  Today the 93.1 FM frequency in NYC is occupied by WPAT-FM.

➦In 1967...Singer Nelson Eddy died at age 65 (Born - June 29, 1901).  He was a singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred with soprano Jeanette MacDonald. He was one of the first "crossover" stars, a superstar appealing both to shrieking bobby-soxers and opera purists, and in his heyday, he was the highest paid singer in the world.

During his 40-year career, he earned three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one each for film, recording, and radio).

➦In 1981.. Walter Cronkite (November 4, 1916 - July 17, 2009), the dean of American television newscasters, said “And that’s the way it is” for the final time, as he closed the “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite,” to be replaced by Dan Rather. An audience estimated at 17,000,000 viewers tuned in to see “the most trusted man in America” sign-off.

He served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–1981). During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll.

Conkite dropped out of college in his junior year, in the fall term of 1935, after starting a series of newspaper reporting jobs covering news and sports. He entered broadcasting as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1936, he met his future wife, Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Maxwell, while working as the sports announcer for KCMO-AM in Kansas City, MO.

Walter Cronkite

His broadcast name was "Walter Wilcox".  He would explain later that radio stations at the time did not want people to use their real names for fear of taking their listeners with them if they left. In Kansas City, he joined the United Press in 1937.  He became one of the top American reporters in World War II, covering battles in North Africa and Europe.

With his name now established, he received a job offer from Edward R. Murrow at CBS News to join the Murrow Boys team of war correspondents, relieving Bill Downs as the head of the Moscow bureau. CBS offered Cronkite $125 ($2,189 in 2018 money) a week along with "commercial fees" amounting to $25 ($438 in 2018) for almost every time Cronkite reported on air.

Up to that point, he had been making $57.50 ($1,006 in 2018) per week at UP, but he had reservations about broadcasting. He initially accepted the offer. When he informed his boss Harrison Salisbury, UP countered with a raise of $17.50 ($306 in 2018) per week; Hugh Baillie also offered him an extra $20 ($350 in 2018) per week to stay. Cronkite ultimately accepted the UP offer, a move which angered Murrow and drove a wedge between them that would last for years

In 1950, Cronkite eventually joined CBS News in its young and growing television division, again recruited by Murrow.

➦In 2002…Longtime Chicago radio personality on Top40 WLS and WCFL, 70-year-old Art Roberts, also remembered for his on-air stints in Milwaukee and Buffalo, died following a series of strokes.

Roberts, according his 2002 obit in The Chicago Tribune,  was known as Chicago's "hip uncle" for his work on AM radio in the 1960s and '70s. And to teenagers of that time he was a godsend for bringing them the rock 'n' roll stars they craved.

According to Jeff Roteman's WLS Tribute website,  his radio career began in Atlanta, Texas in 1953. In 1956, Art Roberts joined the legendary KLIF in Dallas. In 1959, Art worked in Buffalo at WKBW before joining WLS in 1961.

He was one of seven young, star disc jockeys hired by WLS to bring rock to Chicago. Roberts started in the early afternoon slot, then took over the popular 9 p.m. to midnight gig from Dick Biondi. He was known for telling bedtime stories about "the head that ain't got no body" and creating fictitious characters like "Hooty Saperticker," who wanted to go through life doing nothing.

Roberts stayed at WLS for 10 years before heading to San Francisco's KNBR in 1971, Other career stops included WCFL, WOKY, and KLUV. Art's final radio stop was KGVM in Reno in 1998.

➦In 2005...Former L-A 93KHJ Boss Jock Tommy Vance died.  Born Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston on July 11, 1940.  He was one of the first music broadcasters in the United Kingdom to champion hard rock and heavy metal in the early 1980s, providing the only national radio forum for both bands and fans. The Friday Rock Show that he hosted gave new bands airtime for their music and fans an opportunity to hear it. His radio show was a factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal. He used a personal tag-line of "TV on the radio". His voice was heard by millions around the world announcing the Wembley Stadium acts at Live Aid in 1985.

In 1964, he originally joined KOL Seattle Using the pseudonym Rick West working the midnight-to-6am shift broadcasting to a field of sleeping cows as he once described it.  From there Vance moved to Los Angeles where he was offered a show by programming consultant Bill Drake on 93KHJ radio, holding the evening airshift at KHJ for several months in late 1965.

The show had originally been intended for another presenter who had pulled out of the deal at the last moment, the jingles and pre-launch publicity could not go to waste so Rick West became "Tommy Vance", "The station asked if I would take the name as they had already made the jingles for him. I said, for that kind of money you can call me what you like, mate."

KHJ was one of the most successful and influential Top 40 stations of the era and California in 1965 was a great place to be. However, America was then involved in a war in Vietnam and when Tommy got his draft papers for the US Army, he decided it was time to head back to the UK.

John Stossel is 75

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Dancer Carmen de Lavallade is 91. 
• Actor-writer Joanna Miles is 82. 
• Actor Ben Murphy is 80. 
• Drummer Hugh Grundy of The Zombies is 77. 
• Guitarist David Gilmour of Pink Floyd is 76. 
• Actor Anna Maria Horsford (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) is 75. 
• Actor-director Rob Reiner is 75. 

• 

  Connie Britton is 55

  Singer Kiki Dee is 75. 
• TV personality John Stossel is 75. 
• Sports correspondent Armen Keteyian is 69. 
• Actor Tom Arnold is 63. 
• Actor D.L. Hughley (“The Hughleys”) is 59. 
• Country songwriter Skip Ewing is 58. 
• Actor Shuler Hensley is 55. 
• Actor Connie Britton (“Nashville”) is 55. 
• Actor Moira Kelly (“One Tree Hill”) is 54. 
• Actor Amy Pietz (“Aliens in America,” ″Caroline in the City”) is 53. 
• Guitarist Chris Broderick of Megadeth is 52. 
• Country singer Trent Willmon is 49. 
• Guitarist Shan Farmer (Ricochet) is 48. 
• Rapper Beanie Sigel is 48. 
• Rapper Bubba Sparxxx is 45. 
• Actor Shaun Evans (“Endeavour”) is 42. 
• Drummer Chris Tomson of Vampire Weekend is 38. 
• Actor Eli Marienthal is 36. 
• Rapper-producer Tyler, the Creator is 31. 
• Actor Millicent Simmonds (“A Quiet Place,” “Wonderstruck”) is 19.

Sky News Team Comes Under Attack

Sky News journalist was wounded in a terrifying gunfire ambush while covering Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, he said in a report Friday.

Chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay and his team came under fire by Russian attackers near a Kyiv checkpoint as they tried to leave the city Monday.

“Our world turned upside down,” Ramsay wrote in a first-person account of the attack. “I do recall wondering if my death was going to be painful.”

He said he first heard a small explosion and felt a tire on the vehicle he was riding in pop, causing it to roll to a stop on a desolate street.

Suddenly, bullets began pelting the windshield of the vehicle, forcing the team of five to duck for cover.

Sky News team's harrowing account of their violent ambush in Ukraine this week https://t.co/QQ7MUVU3Id

— Tom Benson (@Tombenson1) March 5, 2022

“We were under full attack,” Ramsay wrote. “Bullets cascaded through the whole of the car, tracers, bullet flashes, windscreen glass, plastic seats, the steering wheel and dashboard had disintegrated.

“It was professional, the rounds kept smashing into the car — they didn’t miss,” he added.

Ramsay had been heading toward the town of Bucha, roughly 30 miles from Kyiv —where a Russian convoy had previously been destroyed by the Ukrainian army — when a saboteur Russian reconnaissance squad opened fire, he said.

Ramsay and the others shouted that they were journalists, but “the rounds kept coming,” he wrote.

As he prepared to run toward a 40-foot embankment, he was struck in the lower back by a bullet.

“I’ve been hit!” he shouted, then fell face-first into the embankment.

Camera operator Richie Mockler also took two non-fatal rounds to his body armor, he said.

Using a concrete wall as cover, the journalists sprinted into a nearby factory unit and then waited for rescue.

Russia Targets Western News Outlets

Several Western media organizations moved on Friday to suspend their journalistic operations in Russia in the wake of a harsh new crackdown on news and free speech by President Vladimir V. Putin’s government.

The Ny Times reports Bloomberg News and the BBC said their correspondents in Russia could no longer freely report because of the new censorship law signed by Mr. Putin on Friday, which effectively criminalized independent journalism on the invasion of Ukraine. Under the legislation, which could take effect as early as Saturday, journalists who simply describe the war as a “war” could be sentenced to prison.

“The change to the criminal code, which seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association, makes it impossible to continue any semblance of normal journalism inside the country,” Bloomberg’s editor in chief, John Micklethwait, wrote in a note to staff.

CNN International, the global arm of CNN, said it had stopped airing in Russia, and ABC News said that it would not broadcast from the country on Friday. “We will continue to assess the situation and determine what this means for the safety of our teams on the ground,” ABC News, which is based in New York, said in a statement.

News organizations are not necessarily asking their correspondents to leave Russia, at least not yet.

“We are not pulling out BBC News journalists from Moscow,” Jonathan Munro, the interim director of BBC News, wrote on Twitter. “We cannot use their reporting for the time being but they remain valued members of our teams and we hope to get them back on our output as soon as possible.

The censorship law builds on the Kremlin’s insistence that characterizations of its attacks on Ukraine as a “war” or “invasion” rather than a “special military operation” amount to disinformation. Its passage prompted several independent Russian media outlets to shut down their operations, as well.

Several foreign news outlets said their journalists in Ukraine would continue to report on the Russian invasion. This week, the BBC said it would use shortwave radio frequencies to broadcast news in Kyiv and in parts of Russia.

Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, accused the BBC of playing “a determined role in undermining the Russian stability and security.” Early on Friday, the BBC reported that access to its website in Russia appeared to be restricted.

The Times report Putin has been dismantling the last vestiges of a Russian free press. On Thursday, the pillars of Russia’s independent broadcast media collapsed under pressure from the state.

Echo of Moscow, the freewheeling radio station that was founded by Soviet dissidents in 1990 and symbolized Russia’s new freedoms, was “liquidated” by its board. TV Rain, the youthful independent television station that calls itself “the optimistic channel,” said it would suspend operations indefinitely.

CBS News stated that it is no longer broadcasting from the country: 'CBS News is not currently broadcasting from Russia as we monitor the circumstances for our team on the ground given the new media laws passed today.' 

The Daily Mail reports it was a similar view taken by ABC News, which has several correspondents working in the country currently. 

'Because of the new censorship law passed in Russia today, some Western networks including ABC News are not broadcasting from the country tonight. We will continue to assess the situation and determine what this means for the safety of our teams on the ground,' the network said.

Several other news organizations including the Canadian Broadcasting CBC and the BBC have also suspended their reporting from Russia following the passing of the law.

'The CBC is very concerned about new legislation passed in Russia, which appears to criminalize independent reporting on the current situation in Ukraine and Russia,' the CBC said in a statement posted online.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting Russian authorities on Friday blocked Facebook in response to restrictions it said the social-media platform had placed on Russian media outlets including state news agency RIA Novosti, Sputnik, RT, television channel Zvezda, Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru.

“Soon millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information,” Nick Clegg, president for global affairs at Meta, said in a statement. “We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services so they remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organize for action.”

L-A Radio: Chris Ebbott Named VP/Operations For Audacy Cluster

Chris Ebbott

Audacy has promoted Chris Ebbott to Vice President of Programming and Operations for its Los Angeles market, effective immediately. In this role, Ebbott will oversee programming and operations strategy for 93.1 Jack FM (KCBS-FM), KNX News 97.1 FM and 1070 AM, 94.7 The Wave (KTWV-FM) and CHANNEL Q. Ebbott will continue in his roles as Audacy’s Classic Hits Format Vice President and Brand Manager of K-EARTH and San Diego sister station Sunny 98.1 (KXSN-FM).

“Chris has proven to be one of the brightest and most innovative brand managers in the country," said Jeff Federman, Regional President and Market Manager, Audacy Southern California. "Promoting him to this role was a natural step for our cluster and we have full confidence in his ability to help us move our brands forward."

“Audacy Los Angeles is home to an all-star team of brand managers,” said Ebbott. “To work with them growing and evolving some of the world's most iconic and successful radio brands is a dream job. Thank you to Jeff Federman, Susan Larkin and Jeff Sottolono for this amazing opportunity.”

Ebbott joined the company in 2014 as Brand Manager for K-EARTH, helping to transform the legacy station into an innovation-focused brand that now consistently ranks No. 1 in its Los Angeles target demos. Under Ebbott’s leadership, K-EARTH won Marconi Awards in 2018 for Classic Hits Station of the Year and 2019 Legendary Station of the Year. In 2019, Ebbott became the company’s classic hits format vice president, positioning 12 of them in the top five within their respective 25-54 demos, and in 2020, he was elevated to Vice President of Programming. 

Prior to joining the company, Ebbott served as a program director for Bell Media, where he led the programming and product strategy for Toronto radio stations CKFM 99.9 FM (Top 40) and CHBM Boom 97.3 (Adult Hits) along with their digital platforms. In 2013, following the merger of Bell Media and Astral Media, Ebbott served as the Program Director for the newly rebranded CKFM 99.9 Virgin Radio. From 2004 to 2010, Ebbott had a stint with CBS Radio as Operations Manager, in which he helped the newly-launched 93.1 JACK FM reach a #1 ranking in the 25-54 demo among L.A. stations within the first month.

L-A Radio: Chris Malone To Head Programming At KJLH

After an extensive national search Radio Free KJLH 102.3 FM has selected Chris Malone as its new head of Programming for its legendary brand.

 

Chris Malone

Malone comes to Los Angeles with an extensive programming resume including the programming of stations in Raleigh, Greensboro, Boston and most recently Dallas.

Karen Slade, Vice President / General Manager of KJLH stated “We are excited to welcome Chris to the KJLH team. Chris’ expertise and strategic insights will ensure KJLH continues to thrive in the rankings and cross platforms, while maintaining our community connection and cultural authenticity.”

Malone stated “KJLH is such a unique gem that sits at the corner of community and culture, with over 50 years goodwill and heritage in the LA market and beyond. It’s a thrill to lead this talented team of creators to new levels digitally and over the air. Many thanks to the brilliant ownership of Stevland Morris aka Stevie Wonder and VP/GM Karen Slade for this wonderful opportunity.”

Denver Radio: Jay Williams Named Nuggets Analyst For KKFN

Bonneville Denver has announced Jay Williams will have an increased role with Denver’s Sports Station KKFN 104.3 The Fan  and DenverFan.com as the station’s ESPN Nuggets Analyst.

Williams will make regular appearances on multiple Fan shows to discuss the Nuggets, in addition to joining Rachel Vigil weekly on the newly launched video show “Coffee Break” available live on The Fan’s Facebook and Twitter channels or on-demand at DenverFan.com.

“We’re excited to get more of Jay’s regular insights into what’s going on with the Nuggets as they enter the home stretch,” said Denver’s Sports Station 104.3 The Fan Program Director Raj Sharan. “Jay brings a tremendous perspective between his experiences as a player and analyzing the NBA nationally for ESPN. He’s a great fit for The Fan as we continue to increase our Nuggets content.”

Williams received the Naismith College Player of the Year award in 2002 and won an NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in 2001 as a member of the Duke Blue Devils. He was the second overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and named to the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team.

Williams’ nationally syndicated ESPN Radio show “Keyshawn, Jay and Max” already airs on Denver’s Sports Station 104.3 The Fan weekday mornings from 4:00-6:00am. He can also be seen across various ESPN television programming as an NBA analyst.

NBCU To Move Hulu Content To Peacock

A programming agreement that gives The Walt Disney Co.’s streaming service Hulu access to popular programming from Comcast’s NBCUniversal has been terminated, reports nexttv.com.

Instead of appearing on Hulu the day after they air on NBC, shows like This Is Us, The Voice and Saturday Night Live will be available on Peacock, the Comcast streaming platform that competes with Hulu.

NBCU provided no additional details of its plans. But having those shows on Peacock will give the NBCU service a much-needed boost.

Hulu still has deals for some movies and series from the NBC catalog that run for several more years. It recently added two international series from NBCU, Blood and Creamerie.

With NBC less involved, Disney will have more control over Hulu's ad inventory.

Hulu was originally formed as a joint venture among NBCUniversal, Disney and Fox, with Time Warner originally owning a stake. The object was to create a platform for streaming television to compete with Netflix. Having network programming the day after they aired was a major feature for Hulu.

When Comcast bought NBCUniversal, the cable company wasn’t a big fan of streaming, which was driving cord cutting. When Disney acquired Fox, it gained a controlling interest in Hulu. Comcast has a contractual ability to sell its stake in Hulu to Disney, but the two companies are far apart on the price.

As more consumers adopt streaming video, media companies have been pivoting to streaming. They’ve also been reacquiring the rights to stream shows they produced that were previously sold off to other distributors.

NBCU has also viewed sports as a way to boost Peacock. Peacock recently streamed the Olympics and the Super Bowl. NBC Sports is also reportedly talking to Major League Baseball about putting games on Peacock when and if a baseball season starts. 

Dayton Radio:WYSO Collaborates On News Initiative

The Ohio Newsroom, a collaboration between seven public radio stations in Ohio, features non-com WYSO 91.3 FM in Yellow Springs-Dayton, reports The Dayton Business Journal.

Plans began for a statewide news collaboration in 2019 with $70,000 grant from the George Gund Foundation for consumer research. Then in October of 2020, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting awarded $56,500 to Cincinnati Public Radio, Ideastream Public Media, and WOSU Public Media to develop a business plan and sustainability model.

A $375,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting eventually made the launch of The Ohio Newsroom possible.

The Ohio Newsroom will be managed by Ideastream Public Media, an organization that will also support the implementation of the project. Wendy Turner is Ideastream Public Media’s first general manager of Ohio public media services. She’s responsible for staffing the Ohio Newsroom, beginning with finding a managing editor.

“Securing the Ohio Newsroom’s first managing editor, and later, more reporters, will mean more in-depth stories, expanded digital content, and even better statewide coordination on breaking news,” Turner said.

The following radio stations have agreed to join The Ohio Newsroom: Cincinnati Public Radio, Ideastream Public Media (Cleveland), WCSU (Wilburforce), WGTE (Toledo), WOSU (Columbus), WYSU (Youngstown), and WYSO (Yellow Springs). All Ohio public radio stations that broadcast NPR are invited to join.

“WYSO has tripled its reporting staff in the last couple of years, becoming a leading source of local and regional news as well as content that has statewide significance,” said WYSO General Manager Luke Dennis.

The partnering radio stations have already been working together for years to collaborative content and issues that affect listeners statewide. The Ohio newsroom is an expansion of this work.

R.I.P.: Chuck Dunaway, Houston, OKC, NYC Radio Personality

Chuck Dunaway

Retired radio personality and station owner Chuck Dunaway has died at age 87.

He was known for his work with a number of popular radio stations in Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma and New York City. Dunaway occupied the afternoon drive slot at every radio station he worked at during his 35-year career, including radio KILT-AM in Houston, KLIF-AM in Dallas, WKY in Oklahoma City, WABC (AM) in New York City and WIXY in Cleveland. He finished his career as the owner and operator of six FM and two AM radio stations in Joplin, Missouri.

In 1952, after graduating from high school in Houston, Dunaway obtained his first full-time on-air radio job at KBST in Big Spring, Texas, at the rate of 65 cents an hour, where he remained for one year before joining KPRC in Houston as a staff announcer in 1953.

After a brief time in Galveston and Freeport, Dunaway returned to Houston and his hometown favorite station KNUZ as a DJ. But as his strengths as on-air personality began to flourish, it was not long before he was offered the highly coveted afternoon drive slot on WKY in Oklahoma City. While working there, Dunaway became a featured character on the popular children's show, Foreman Scotty’s Circle 4 Ranch, on WKY-TV channel 4. 

But it was Dunaway's afternoon radio show with its 72.9% audience share—a rating never previously achieved in the market—that brought WABC AM's program director, Mike Joseph, to Oklahoma City to offer Dunaway the afternoon drive shift in New York City. Dunaway eventually became disillusioned with the station's broad play list and after a year and a half decided to return briefly to his old job at WKY in Oklahoma City.

In the early nineteen-sixties, Dunaway was asked to take over the programming duties at KBOX in Dallas, but soon after the station's number one competitor, KLIF-AM, enticed him to work for the legendary Gordon McLendon at KLIF-AM doing afternoon drive. In 1964, McLendon transferred Dunaway to Houston for the afternoon drive shift at KILT-AM Following KILT, Dunaway joined WKYC, an NBC-owned and operated station in Cleveland, Ohio, for afternoon drive. In early 1969, when NBC decided to change the top 40 rocker to a softer music format, Dunaway moved to WKYC's number one rival, WIXY Cleveland where he was both program director and afternoon drive personality. 

After a few brief stops in Austin at KHFI and KLBJ, Dunaway secured his first job as a radio station manager.

R.I.P.: Dan Geary, Longtime Erie Radio Personality

Dan Geary

Memorial services have been announced for Dan Geary, a longtime Erie radio personality. Dan Geary, known as “Captain Dan,” died of natural causes Thursday, March 3, at the age of 72.

Geary was a fixture on local radio for more than 50 years, having taken a part-time job in the industry at the former WWGO (WRTS-FM/Star 104).  At the time of his death, Geary worked as the morning disc jockey, playing oldies music, and the general manager of WMCE AM/FM stations, which are owned by LECOM Radio in Erie. Mercyhurst University owned the station when Geary began working for it.

Geary worked in the radio business for 55 years. He worked at many local stations, including WWGO, WJET, Classy 100, and WMCE LECOM Radio.

During his career, Geary was both a local newsman, working for a time as “Sean McGregor on JET radio news” and a disc jockey.

For 35 years, he woke up Erie on morning radio, most notably as Captain Dan of the original Breakfast Club on Classy 100.

"Dan — in the best possible way — was always 'on,' he was always entertaining," Allan Carpenter told goerie.com. "He was always joking. He was always reacting. It just never stopped, on- or off-air with him. When I was working with him at Froggy for all those years, I was still somewhat inexperienced at that point. And he was already well-established and really kind of already on the radio Mount Rushmore of Erie. He was such a strong presence and a strong personality.

R.I.P.: Tim Considine, TV, Movie Actor, Dead at 81

Tim Considine, who was a television star at the age of 14 in Disney’s “Spin and Marty” and went on to wider fame in the family series “My Three Sons,” died on Thursday at his home in the Mar Vista section of Los Angeles. He was 81, according to The NY Times.

“Spin and Marty” was an 11-minute serial shown on “The Mickey Mouse Club” from 1955 to 1958 — and in reruns through 2002. The young Considine was originally cast in what was supposed to be the lead, as Marty Markham, a snobbish rich kid spending the summer at the Triple R dude ranch. But he told his agent that he didn’t want the part, that he’d rather play Spin Evans, the more athletic and more popular character, the city boy with the cool flattop haircut, he said.

The agent passed along the request, Spin’s role was beefed up and the series ended up being a partnership of adolescent equals — rivals who eventually became friends, riding, roping, boxing, sleeping in a bunkhouse and sitting around the campfire together. Mr. Considine became the first screen heartthrob for many preteen girls. David Stollery played Marty.

1940 – 2022

Considine’s Disney career was busy. In “The Hardy Boys” serials (1956 and 1957), which were also shown on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” he and Tommy Kirk played the sons of a private detective, boys who investigated neighborhood mysteries. He was also in the “Annette” serial, starring Annette Funicello.

At 18 he appeared in the Disney feature film “The Shaggy Dog” (1959) — it also starred Mr. Kirk and Ms. Funicello — playing a duplicitous teenage boy whose best friend turns into a Bratislavian sheepdog and breaks up a spy ring. Considine’s part consisted mostly of expressing superiority over Mr. Kirk’s character and flirting with Funicello’s and Roberta Shore’s.

The film’s adult lead, Fred MacMurray, went on to star in “My Three Sons,” a half-hour sitcom about a widower and his all-male household, with Considine as his eldest son, Mike. The second son, Robbie, was played by Don Grady, and the youngest, Chip, by Stanley Livingston.

The show had its premiere on ABC in 1960 and ran, moving to CBS, until 1972. But Considine bowed out in 1965; his character married his girlfriend, played by Meredith MacRae, and moved away. (To fill his shoes, more or less, the family adopted a neighborhood boy, Ernie, played by Barry Livingston, Stanley’s real-life younger brother.)

Leaving “My Three Sons,” Mr. Considine did six television guest appearances in five years and had a memorable scene — playing a character credited as Soldier Who Gets Slapped — with George C. Scott in the film “Patton” (1970)

Timothy Daniel Considine was born on Dec. 31, 1940, in Los Angeles. His father, John W. Considine Jr., was a producer whose films included “Broadway Melody of 1936,” “Boys Town” (1938) and “Young Tom Edison” (1940). His mother, Carmen (Pantages) Considine, was the daughter of Alexander Pantages, founder of the vaudeville and movie theater chain.

March 5 Radio History

➦In 1927...The newly-authorized Federal Radio Commission held its first meeting.

The FRC existed until its replacement by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1934. The Commission was created to regulate radio use "as the public interest, convenience, or necessity" requires. The Radio Act of 1927 superseded the Radio Act of 1912, which had given regulatory powers over radio communication to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. The Radio Act of 1912 did not mention broadcasting and limited all private radio

Prior to 1927, radio was regulated by the United States Department of Commerce. Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover played a strong role in shaping radio. His powers were limited by federal court decisions, however; in particular, he was not allowed to deny broadcasting licenses to anyone who wanted one.

Herbert Hoover 1930

The result was that many people perceived the airwaves to suffer from "chaos," with too many stations trying to be heard on too few frequencies. Others believed the government simply wanted to control content. (Initially only two frequencies were available for broadcasting with one of these being reserved for "Crop reports and weather forecasts.") After several failed attempts to rectify this situation, Congress finally passed the Radio Act of 1927, which transferred most of the responsibility for radio to a newly created Federal Radio Commission. (Some technical duties remained the responsibility of the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce.)

The five-person FRC was given the power to grant and deny licenses, and to assign frequencies and power levels for each licensee. The Commission was not given any official power of censorship, although programming could not include "obscene, indecent, or profane language." In theory, anything else could be aired. In practice, the Commission could take into consideration programming when renewing licenses, and their ability to take away a broadcaster's license enabled them to control content to some degree.

➦In 1940...The NBC Radio Show 'Fibber McGee & Molly' introduced its on-going comedic gag of opening the overstuffed and clutter closet.

The episode was titled "Cleaning the Closet" with Molly opening the closet looking for the dictionary and is promptly buried in Fibber's "stuff" ("arranged in there just the way I want it"). Cleaning out the closet becomes the show's plot, inventorying much of the contents along the way: a photo album, a rusty horseshoe, a ten-foot pole. After repacking the closet, Fibber realizes the dictionary has been put away too — and he opens the closet again, causing an avalanche.

A staple of the NBC Red Network for the show's entire run and one of the most popular and enduring radio series of its time, the prime time situation comedy ran as a standalone series from 1935 to 1956, then continued as a short-form series as part of the weekend Monitor from 1957 to 1959. The title characters were created and portrayed by Jim and Marian Jordan, a real-life husband and wife team that had been working in radio since the 1920s.

Fibber McGee and Molly, which followed up the Jordans' previous radio sitcom Smackout, followed the adventures of a working-class couple, the habitual storyteller Fibber McGee and his sometimes terse but always loving wife Molly, living among their numerous neighbors and acquaintances in the community of Wistful Vista. As with most radio comedies of the era, Fibber McGee and Molly featured an announcer, house band and vocal quartet for interludes. At the peak of the show's success in the 1940s, it was adapted into a string of feature films; a 1959 attempt to adapt the series to television with a different cast and new writers was both a critical and commercial failure, which, coupled with Marian Jordan's death shortly thereafter, brought the series to an end.

➦In 1957...Rock'n'Roll radio personality Allan Freed appeared on the TV game show 'To Tell the Truth', where he is seen defending the new "rock and roll" sound to the panelists, who were all clearly more comfortable with swing music: Polly Bergen, Ralph Bellamy, and Kitty Carlisle.

➦In 1958...Andrew Roy Gibb born (Died March 10, 1988). He was an English singer, songwriter, performer, and teen idol. He was the younger brother of the Bee Gees: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb.

Gibb came to international prominence in the late 1970s with six singles that reached the Top 10 in the United States, starting with "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" (1977), followed by three other top 20 singles. Gibb's success was brief due to drug addiction and depression. He died just five days after his 30th birthday.

➦In 1960...Elvis is officially discharged from active duty. Although the official date of release was scheduled for March 23.

After receiving his mustering out check of $109.54 and his formal honorable discharge, he and Colonel Parker travel by limousine, 'mysteriously vanishing', the press reports, 'from a snow-packed and fan-laden highway'.

➦In 1963…Patsy Cline died in a plane crash along with several other country music artists (Born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932).  She was 30.  49-year-old Cowboy Copas (Alabam) and 41-year-old Hawkshaw Hawkins (Lonesome 7-7203) also died when their small plane crashed near Camden, Tennessee, about 90miles from Nashville.

Her hits began in 1957 with Donn Hecht's and Alan Block's "Walkin' After Midnight," Hank Cochran's and Harlan Howard's "I Fall to Pieces," Hank Cochran's "She's Got You," and Willie Nelson's "Crazy," and ended in 1963 with Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams." Millions of her records have sold since her death.

➦In 1977...President Jimmy Carter took questions from 42 telephone callers in 26 states on a radio call-in program moderated by Walter Cronkite. His official papers refer to the show as “Ask President Carter.”.

The program was the brainchild of Walter Cronkite, who anchored the “CBS Evening News” from 1962 to 1981. After a 20-minute practice session, the president and the anchorman went live on the air. With Cronkite serving as the program’s host, Carter, seated at his desk in the Oval Office, answered questions from callers throughout the country.

More than 9 million calls flooded CBS’s switchboard in New York during the two-hour broadcast. The questions addressed topics ranging from Carter’s decision to pardon Americans who had dodged the draft during the Vietnam War to his support for the pending Panama Canal Treaty. He was also asked why he decided to send his daughter, Amy, to a D.C. public school rather than to enroll her in a private school.

➦In 1983…The Country Music Television (CMT) network debuted on Cable TV. CMT, originally launched as CMTV, is an American pay television channel that is owned by Viacom. Its name is an initialism for "Country Music Television", which has since been de-emphasized. It was the first nationally available channel devoted to country music and country music videos.

The network launched on March 5, 1983, at 6:19 p.m. CT, beating its chief competitor, TNN, to air by two days. The first video clip to air on CMT was Faron Young's 1971 hit "It's Four in the Morning".  The following summer, MTV filed a trademark infringement lawsuit over the initials CMTV, and the network changed its name to simply CMT.

➦In 1984....Harry Salter, a music director and an orchestra conductor for radio and TV programs, died.

Harry Salter

One of Salter's radio orchestras in the late 1920s had as members Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa and Jack Teagarden. He was the orchestra leader for such radio shows as the Hit Parade, Your Unseen Friend, Philco Show, Hobby Lobby and Mr. District Attorney. He also conducted for performers such as Lanny Ross and Milton Berle.

Salter was also the creator, the executive producer, as well orchestra conductor, for the TV show Name That Tune from 1952 to 1959, and was the creator and the musical director of Stop the Music on both radio and television which was broadcast on radio from 1948 to 1949 and became a one-hour TV show on ABC from May 1949 to April 1952, and came back again as a half-hour show from September 7, 1954, to June 14, 1956.

➦In 2012…John Madigan, a longtime Chicago newsman who worked with CBS-TV and was for many years political director at WBBM-AM radio, died of complications from a stroke. Madigan, 94, was a reporter for the Chicago American newspaper and also worked for Newsweek magazine before joining CBS, according to WBBM Newsradio 780 and 105.9 FM.

➦In 2014…Radio, TV personality Geoff Edwards died from pneumonia at age 83  (Born - February 13, 1931).  He was a TV actor, game show host and radio personality

Edwards began his career while in college, working for a radio station in Albany, NY. By the late 1950s, though, he relocated to Southern California, landing his first job at KFMB-AM in San Diego, hosting an evening show and co-hosting the "Don Ross/Geoff Edwards Show".

Geoff Edwards - 1977

As a news reporter for KHJ-AM radio, Edwards was present in the basement of Dallas police headquarters when Jack Ruby shot suspected John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. Edwards was one of the witnesses interviewed by NBC television correspondent Tom Pettit on the scene.

In its 11th annual radio selections for the Best of 1967 column, The Los Angeles Times selected Edwards for its Personality of the Year for Edwards' on air work at KFI.

After a few short stints at other stations, Edwards was hired at KMPC in Los Angeles, occupying the 9 a.m.-noon slot for several years beginning in February 1968 until December 1979 when he resigned to focus on his TV career.

He later worked at KFI from 1987 to 1989.

Later, Edwards was a morning DJ with KSUR (now KKGO) in Los Angeles. One of the features of his radio show was "Radio's Answer Lady," in which listeners could call in with questions — some serious, some not so serious — and he would answer on the air, sometimes with serious answers, sometimes with quips.

Paul Sand is 90

🎂 HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Actor Paul Sand (“St. Elsewhere”) is 90. 
• Actor James B. Sikking (“Hill Street Blues,” ″Doogie Howser, M.D.”) is 88. 
• Football player-turned-actor Fred Williamson is 84. 
• Actor Samantha Eggar (“The Molly Maguires,” ″Dr. Doolittle”) is 83. 
• Actor Michael Warren (“Soul Food,” ″Hill Street Blues”) is 76. 
• Actor Eddie Hodges is 75. 
• Singer Eddy Grant is 74. 
• Keyboardist Alan Clark of Dire Straits is 70. 
• Actor-comedian Marsha Warfield (“Night Court”) is 68. 

• 

  Eva Mendes is 48

  Magician Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller is 67. 
• Actor Adriana Barraza is 66. 
• Actor Talia Balsam (“Divorce,” ″Mad Men”) is 63. 
• Musicians Charlie and Craig Reid of The Proclaimers are 60. 
• Actor Paul Blackthorne (“Arrow,” ″24″) is 53. 
• Guitarist John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 52. 
• Singer Rome is 52. 
• Actor Kevin Connolly (“Entourage”) is 48. 
• Actor Eva Mendes is 48. 
• Actor Jolene Blalock (“Enterprise”) is 47. 
• Model Niki Taylor is 47. 
• Actor Kimberly McCullough (“General Hospital”) is 44. 
• Actor Karolina Wydra (“Wicked City,” “House”) is 41. 
• Actor Sterling Knight (“Sonny With a Chance”) is 33. 
• Actor Jake Lloyd (“Star Wars” films) is 33. 
• Actor Micah Fowler (“Speechless”) is 24.

Disney+ Plans To Add Ad-Supported Tier

Disney announced on Friday a new ad-supported tier for its Disney+ streaming service that will launch in the U.S. later this year.

CNBC reports Disney did not provide a launch date or price for the new tier. The new ad-supported tier will expand internationally in 2023.

The company said in a press release that the new offering would be “a building block” in achieving its goal of reaching 230 million to 260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024.

Adding an advertising-support tier will allow Disney to boost average revenue per user — a metric that currently trails most rivals. Comcast Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts said last quarter NBCUniversal’s Peacock had ARPU of nearly $10 per month per user, driven largely by advertising. The average revenue per user per month for Disney+ in the U.S. and Canada was $6.68 last quarter.

WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, Paramount Global’s Paramount+ and Discovery’s Discovery+ are among the streaming services that already offer advertising-supported streaming options.

Hulu, majority owned by Disney, also already offers an ad-supported product for $6.99 per month, compared with its ad-free service, priced at $12.99 per month. Disney is streamlining backend technology to enable selling advertising on all of its streaming products, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Cable News Channels Cut Spotloads During Ukraine Coverage

Major TV news networks dramatically reduced paid-advertising airings and total paid-ad minutes over the last seven days, due to pressing news coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reports MediaPost.

Looking at the Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and CNN, total paid advertising minutes were down an estimated 17% to 5,501 minutes for the period from February 24 through March 2 versus the week before, according toTV measurement company iSpot.tv.

Similarly, airings of commercials of any length were down an estimated 23% to 11,015. 

Fox News Channel tallied the biggest decline -- down 31% in minutes (1,506) with 33% few airings (to 2,567). MSNBC dropped 24% in ad airings (3,453) and had 11% less total advertising minutes (1,765).

CNN had less ad pullback than Fox News or MSNBC -- with 17% fewer airings (4,995) than the previous week, and 9% less total advertising time (2,230 minutes).

Also of note, the number of weekly views of YouTube videos for U.S and U.K. news media creators doubled in the most recently available week (February 21-27), 1.6 billion versus the week before 828 million, according to Tubular Labs.

The first seven weeks of 2022 have averaged an estimated 741 million YouTube views per week of news creators’ content. From February 23 through March 3, the top 49 of 50 YouTube videos were related to Russia and Ukraine.

Senate To Vote On FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn

A divided U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted Thursday to send President Joe Biden's nominees to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the Senate floor for confirmation votes, reports Reuters.com.

U.S. Senator Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat who suffered a stroke earlier this winter, appeared at the hearing to provide key votes.

The committee vote on the nominees was 14-14, which means that the full U.S. Senate would need to hold a "discharge" vote on the nominations in addition to a final confirmation vote.

Gigi Sohn

Chris Lewis, the head of advocacy group Public Knowledge, said the votes "are extremely important for getting stalled parts of the technology policy agenda moving with a sense of urgency."

Since both the FCC and FTC are split between Republicans and Democrats, confirmation of Gigi Sohn to the FCC and privacy expert Alvaro Bedoya to the FTC would allow Democrats on the commissions to push initiatives that Republicans do not support.

The FCC's plan to reinstate landmark internet neutrality rules that were reversed under President Donald Trump have been stymied by the 2-2 deadlock. The agency also pursues robocallers, assesses telecom mergers to ensure they are legal, and is auctioning spectrum to boost 5G networks and working to expand internet access to unserved areas.

The FTC has filed a major antitrust lawsuit against Facebook and is investigating Amazon's proposed acquisition of MGM. It has also proposed a study of how pharmacy benefit managers affect smaller pharmacies and consumers, but Republicans refused to back the effort.

Biden waited more than nine months to designate FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel as the agency’s permanent chair and to nominate Sohn.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday it opposed Sohn's nomination over "her longtime advocacy of overly aggressive and combative regulation of the communications sector."

UMG Earnings Meet Expectations

Universal Music Group NV on Thursday reported a 19% rise in full-year core earnings for 2021, in line with expectations, due to growing revenue from streaming services and ad-supported social media platforms, reports Reuters.

UMG's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 1.79 billion euros ($1.98 billion), compared with 1.50 billion euros in 2020

Analysts had forecast 2021 EBITDA at 1.78 billion euros, according to Refinitiv data. Earnings per share for 2021 were 0.49 euros, the company said.

Universal indicated that EPS was impacted by the fall in value of its stakes in two listed companies, Spotify (SPOT.N) and Tencent Music (TME.N).

Universal, the largest of the "big three" record labels, represents stars such as Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and Korean pop stars BTS.

"If you look at subscription and streaming revenue, it continues to grow very well," CFO Boyd Muir said on a call after earnings were published, pointing to a 19% rise in the fourth quarter.

That business line accounts for roughly half of the company's sales. Since the mid 2010s, consumers have increasingly adopted paid music subscription music services such as those offered by Spotify and Apple (AAPL.O). They are also listening to more music in video clips on social media platforms such as TikTok or YouTube.

Universal receives royalties from both, and those trends have led to a recovery in the fortunes of the music industry, where Universal competes with Warner (WMG.O) and Sony Music (6758.T).

"We see a long runway ahead for subscriber penetration, and also for continued growth in advertising monetization" Muir said.

He forecast a "strong" 2022 and said the company would improve margins and grow revenues in the high single digits in the medium term.

Revenue in 2021 rose 14.4% to 8.5 billion euros, beating estimates of 8.4 billion euros.

UMG was spun out of France's Vivendi (VIV.PA) in September, in Europe's largest stock market listing of 2021, with shares initially surging from a reference price of 18.50 euros. read more

They are down about 19% in 2022 amid a broad tech sell-off. Before the earnings were announced, shares closed on Thursday at 19.36 euros.

($1 = 0.9050 euros)

Wake-Up Call: Fire Out At Ukraine Nuke Plant

Ukrainian authorities said Friday (March 4th) that a fire at a nuclear power plant that's the biggest in Europe had been extinguished after having been ignited by Russian shelling. The regional military administration said there had been damage to the compartment of one of the reactors at the nuclear plant in the city of Enerhodar, but it didn't affect the safety of the power unit. The military administration also said that Russian forces had taken control of the site, and that operational personnel were ensuring its safe operation. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the fire hadn't affected essential equipment and Ukraine’s nuclear regulator reported no change in radiation levels, which was confirmed by the American Nuclear Society.

VIDEO: Ukraine nuclear plant on fire after Russian shelling.

Europe's largest nuclear power plant was on fire Friday after the station came under fire from invading Russian forces, with Ukraine's foreign minister demanding an immediate ceasefire at the site to avoid disaster pic.twitter.com/AkVuT9dizu

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 4, 2022

In other parts of the country, Ukrainian officials confirmed Thursday that Russia had captured the city of Kherson, the first major city they've taken. Ukraine's state emergencies agency said that at least 33 civilians were killed in a Russian airstrike on a residential area in the city of Chernihiv. Video released by the government showed the aftermath of the strike, with smoke spewing out of a high-rise building and firefighters trying to put out the flames. A Russian airstrike destroyed the power plant in the city of Okhtyrka, leaving its residents without heat or electricity, according to the head of the region. Heavy fighting continued on the outskirts of the port city of Mariupol, which has also lost electricity, heat and water, and most phone service, according to officials.

Meanwhile, a second round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations was held, during which a tentative agreement was reached to set up safe corridors to evacuate citizens and deliver humanitarian aid. An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a third round of talks will be held early next week. But even as talks were held, Russian President Vladimir Putin was reported to hae said in a call with French President Emmanuel Macron he was determined to continue with his attack, quote, "until the end."

WATCH: Ukraine’s President Zelemskyy tells Fox News’ @TreyYingst it’s a ‘pity’ US support came AFTER the war began. https://t.co/KwdG7iz5wd pic.twitter.com/txAbaz6zUL

— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 3, 2022

In other developments:

Pentagon Direct Link with Russia's Defense Ministry: It was reported yesterday that the Pentagon set up a direct communication link to Russia’s Ministry of Defense earlier this week to avoid the possibility of a miscalculation sparking conflict between Russia and the U.S. The action came as Putin on Sunday ordered his country's nuclear forces on high alert.

New U.S. Sanctions on Putin Inner Circle: The U.S. ordered new sanctions on Russian oligarchs and others in Putin's inner circle , including his press secretary, yesterday, in response to Russia's pounding of Ukraine. The State Department also announced visa bans on 19 Russian oligarchs and dozens of their family members and close associates.

U.S. Gives Temporary Protected Status to Ukrainians: The administration yesterday created a Temporary Protected Status program to protect Ukrainians living in the US from deportation. The 18-month program will apply to Ukrainians who have lived in the U.S. since March 1st, including those on temporarary student, tourist, or business visas. Ukrainians in the U.S. without permission also will be eligible.

🙏🏻 ⁦@greggutfeld⁩ Reveals Mother-in-Law Has Finally Escaped Ukraine https://t.co/4ep15gtwuv

— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) March 4, 2022

➤FED CHAIR WARNS INVASION OF UKRAINE LIKELY TO MAKE INFLATION WORSE: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned yesterday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has already increased oil prices, will likely worsen the already high inflation in the U.S. However, Powell, who was speaking before the Senate Banking Committee, said he's committed to doing whatever it will take to slow inflation. The Fed chair had said a day earlier that he'd propose a quarter-point interest rate hike at the Fed’s next meeting in two weeks, which would be the first increase since 2018.

➤EX-OFFICER ACQUITTED IN SHOOTING DURING BREONNA TAYLOR APARTMENT RAID: Former Kentucky police officer Brett Hankison was acquitted yesterday of charges that he endangered neighbors when he fired into Breonna Taylor's Louisville apartment during a botched drug raid that led to the 26-year-old Taylor's death in March 2020. Hankison didn't fire any of the bullets that killed Taylor, and none of the officers involved in the raid were charged in the woman's death, which was one of several police killings of Black people that got national attention in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 death. Hankison was charged with wanton endangerment for firing through sliding-glass doors and a window of Taylor’s apartment, with several bullets going through the wall of a neighboring apartment. His attorneys said he fired because he thought his fellow officers were, quote, "being executed." Taylor's boyfriend had opened fire when the officers burst in with a no-knock warrant, believing intruders were breaking in. Taylor was killed by the officers' return fire. Hankison was fired by Louisville Police for shooting blindly during the raid.

➤PURDUE PHARMA REACHES NEW SETTLEMENT OVER OPIOIDS: Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma reached a nationwide settlement Thursday over its role in the opioid crisis, which comes after an earlier settlement that was appealed by eight states and Washington, D.C. They agreed to the new settlement after Purdue owners the Sackler family increased their cash contribution to as much as $6 billion and accepted other terms. The agreement is meant to protect the family from a flood of lawsuits. The Sackler family said in a statement, "While the families have acted lawfully in all respects, they sincerely regret that OxyContin, a prescription medicine that continues to help people suffering from chronic pain, unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis that has brought grief and loss to far too many families and communities." Most of the money will go state and local governments, Native American tribes, and some hospitals, with the requirement that it be used to fight the opioid crisis.

📺RUSSIA-BACKED TV NETWORK RT AMERICA SHUT DOWN: The Russia-backed TV network RT America shut down yesterday and laid off most of its staff. CNN said an employee memo from general manager T&R Productions cited "unforeseen business interruption events" for the immediate shutdown of the network, the pro-Vladimir Putin American version of Russia's RT network. DirecTV, one of only two providers carrying the network in the U.S., announced earlier this week that it was dropping the channel, and former Saturday Night Live star Dennis Miller quit the morning show he hosted on the network.

➤TRUMP JR.'S FIANCEE GUILFOYLE SUBPOENAED BY HOUSE JAN. 6TH COMMITTEE: Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle, was subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol yesterday after she abruptly ended a voluntary interview last week. The committee is seeking testimony and additional records from Guilfoyle, who spoke at the rally then-President Donald Trump held on the White House Ellipse earlier on January 6th. Lawmakers also say she raised funds for the rally and was in direct contact with key participants and organizers.

➤DOES BIRTH ORDER HOLD YOU BACK IN LIFE? EXPERTS SAY IT MIGHT: Psychology experts break down some of these roles, saying the “hero or perfect child” is likely to be the firstborn, especially the first born female, and is an over-achieving child given high amounts of praise and positive attention for their success. But, the hero child risks becoming dependent on success in the future, meaning they have a huge fear of failure and carry more responsibility than necessary. While the “peacekeeper or caretaker” is most likely to be a middle child, and is a child “who assumes an adult role by acting as a mediator between other members of the family.” 

In adulthood, peacekeepers can become people pleasers that avoid conflict. Another role could be “the scapegoat,” most often the youngest or second born, and is the opposite of the “hero” child. They have issues fitting in or relating to their family members and can often get blamed for problems that have nothing to do with them. As an adult, they are likely to develop positive traits such as being highly conscientious and resilient, but they are also more likely to attract toxic friendships or abusive relationships, and may be more likely to self-sabotage. 

Meanwhile, the “compliant/lost child” is most likely to be a middle child, and is overlooked or ignored by the family, retreats from conflict and will often spend a lot of time alone or make deep connections with pets. As an adult they are likely to be fiercely independent and good problem solvers, but lack decent social skills, and tend to have higher chances of mental health issues like anxiety or depression. 

Finally, “the mascot” is most likely to be the youngest child, and is viewed as funny and light-hearted. As an adult the mascot is focused on themselves, and uses humor to cover serious unresolved issues.

➤CAN YOU ADD ‘PARENTING’ TO YOUR RESUME NOW? LINKED IN SAYS YES:  LinkedIn users now have a new option to explain gaps in their resume. In the employment section, there’s a new option to add a “career break,” and one can choose from a dropdown menu of reasons to explain. There are many options, including full-time parenting; bereavement; caregiving; personal goal pursuit; and layoff/position eliminated. This is an important change as on a practical level, screener bots often scan and disqualify resumes, or LinkedIn profiles, that show a gap in employment without explanation. But the change could also reflect changing attitudes about extended breaks from work. A recent survey showed half of hiring managers said that career breaks are becoming more common, and 46 percent said they see job seekers who have taken career breaks as an untapped talent pool.

⚾MLB-PLAYERS' UNION MEET FOR 90 MINUTES: MLB and the players' union met for 90 minutes Thursday, two days after Commissioner Rob Manfred canceled Opening Day and each team's first two series of the regular season after the labor talks collapsed. The work stoppage, which began when MLB locked out the players on December 2nd, is the first labor battle to cause games to be canceled since the 1995-'95 strike that wiped out the World Series. It's not know when the next negotiating day will be.

 

Stephen A. Smith wants you to think MLB is dying a slow death while the NBA is surging.

He's wrong. Let's look at the numbers:https://t.co/OhrGUt51eO

— OutKick (@Outkick) March 3, 2022

⚽RUSSIA TO APPEAL INTERNATIONAL SOCCER BAN TO COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT: Russia's Football Union announced yesterday that it will appeal its ban from international soccer competitions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. FIFA and UEFA barred Russia from its soccer competitions, including the upcoming World Cup qualifying playoff, last week after it invaded Ukraine. The men's national team captain, Artem Dzyuba, responded to the ban Wednesday, posting on Instagram, in part, "War is terrifying. I am shocked by human aggression and hate, which is moving to a larger scale every day. I am against discrimination based on your nationality. I am not ashamed to be Russian. I am proud to be Russian. I don't understand why athletes have to suffer now."

🏀DURANT SCORES 31 POINTS IN NETS RETURN: Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant led the team with 31 points last night as he returned from being out since mid-January with a knee injury. But it wasn't enough to get the Nets over the top, as they fell to the Miami Heat 113-107. The game was the first for Durant since January 15th.

🏀KRZYZEWSKI'S LAST HOME GAME IS SATURDAY: The last home game of legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski's career will be Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, as Duke plays North Carolina to close the regular season. The Hall of Fame coach, who announced his retirement last summer, said Thursday that he told his staff that morning, "Who would’ve ever thought? It’s my Senior Day." Duke expects some 80 of Coach K's former players to be there Saturday for the game, which had the cheapest tickets on StubHub selling for $3,250 yesterday. The 75-year-old has a college-coaching record 1,196 victories and has five NCAA championships since his career began in 1975.

🏈NFL SUSPENDING COVID PROTOCOLS: The NFL and the players' union have agreed to suspend all league-wide Covid-19 protocols effective immediately, according to a memo sent to teams yesterday that said the decision was, quote, "based on current encouraging trends regarding the prevalence and severity" of the coronavirus, ESPN reported. Many of the strongest protocols had already been dropped by the end of the 2021 season, but now there will no longer be mask requirements or surveillance testing, regardless of vaccination status. Teams must still comply with any state or local public health regulations, and can impose their own mask policies if they want to. The memo also leaves open the possibility of returning some protocols if changing circumstances warrant then.