Saturday, March 19, 2022

March 20 Radio History


➦In 1902... Nathan Stubblefield demonstrated ship-to-shore broadcast to multiple receivers in Washington, D.C., where voice and music transmissions were made over a third of a mile (535 meters) from the steamer Bartholdi, anchored in the Potomac River, to shore.

Stubblefield w/wireless phone
He later demonstrated wireless telephony in Philadelphia on May 30, 1902 to a distance of a half mile.

He joined wireless inventor Archie Frederick Collins and stock promoters in the Collins Wireless Telephone Company. In December, 1909 the company became came a part of the Continental Wireless Tel. & Tel. Company, with A. Frederick Collins as Technical Director. Stubblefield resigned as a director in December 1911, because of what he described in a letter as their sometimes-fraudulent stock promotion practices. The other principals of the company were later convicted of fraud.

However, he continued to experiment with wireless telephony, using large circular conduction coils to transmit voice frequencies to receiving stations. In 1903, he could transmit 375 feet without earth connections, using induction. In 1904, he could transmit 423 yards.

The total wire required for the transmitting and receiving coils was of a greater length than what would be required to simply interconnect the transmitter and receiver, but the invention would allow mobility.

On May 12, 1908, he received U.S. patent 887,357 for his Wireless Telephone, using the voice frequency induction system. He said in the patent that it would be useful for "securing telephonic communications between moving vehicles and way stations". The diagram shows wireless telephony from trains, boats, and wagons. In foreign patents he showed wireless telephony with cars. However, there is no indication that he was using voice-modulated continuous high frequency waves, as used for radio today.

➦In 1906...Oswald George Nelson was born (Died of cancer at age 69 – June 3, 1975).  He was a band leader, actor, director, and producer. He originated and starred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, a radio and television series with his wife Harriet and two sons David and Ricky Nelson.

Earlier, he & wife Harriet Nelson were regulars on the Red Skelton radio show, before he developed The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet for ABC radio from 1944 to ’54. It developed quite a following & moved to TV from 1952 to ’66.  As son Rick Nelson became a recording star in real life, the program focused more on him, ending each show with a performance.

➦In 1908...Frank Nicholas Stanton born in Muskegon, Mich. (Died at age 98 – December 24, 2006).  He was a broadcasting executive who served as the president of CBS between 1946 and 1971 and then as vice chairman until 1973. He also served as the chairman of the Rand Corporation from 1961 until 1967.

Frank Stanton
Stanton helped lead the fight for color television. By 1950 CBS had been working on its field-sequential system of color TV for a decade. On October 11, 1950 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved CBS's system as the first official color standard for commercial broadcasting in the U.S., although subsequent court challenges delayed actual commercial broadcasting until June 25, 1951.

On that day, Stanton appeared on an hour-long special, Premiere, with Robert Alda, Faye Emerson, Ed Sullivan, Arthur Godfrey, William S. Paley and others to introduce the CBS color system.

CBS color broadcasting only lasted for four months. CBS suspended it when the manufacture of color television receivers was halted by the US government as part of the Korean War effort.  When the ban on color sets was rescinded in 1953, CBS announced that it had no plans to resume broadcasting using its field-sequential color system.  A major problem with the CBS system was that the video was not "compatible" with existing black-and-white TV sets. A competing dot-sequential color system being developed by RCA was compatible, and in late 1953, the FCC switched its approval to an RCA-based system of broadcasting color TV.

➦In 1922...WIP-AM, Philadelphia, signed-on.

Founded by Gimbels department store, the station first went on the air on as Philadelphia's first commercial radio station with the call sign WIP, which people mistakenly think stands for "Wireless In Philadelphia," "We're In Philadelphia" or "Watch Its Progress." In fact, WIP was a call sign randomly issued by the federal government.

In 1938, the station began a full 24 hour a day broadcast schedule and used the slogan "Philadelphia's Pioneer Station." In 1940, the station was granted a power increase to 5,000 watts and the transmitter site was moved to Bellmawr, NJ. The previous tower at 21st and Hamilton was dismantled and the property sold.

Wayne Cody
From the beginning, one of the most popular personalities on the station was children's show host "Uncle Wip." While Uncle Wip was portrayed by several people, one of the longest running was Wayne Cody. By 1933, Uncle Wip's "Kiddie Club" had over 500,000 names on its list, and over 750,000 by 1941. In addition to making numerous appearances, some of Uncle Wip's other activities included an Aviation Club, a "Toyland Parade" and a "Drum and Bugle Corps."

In 1958, WIP AM and FM were sold for $2,500,000 to WIP Broadcasting, Inc., a new syndicate headed by Benedict Gimbel, Jr., the station's former General Manager.

In 1960, the Metropolitan Broadcasting Division of Metromedia, Inc., owned by John W. Kluge, purchased WIP AM and FM for $2,700,000. This essentially ended any connection the station had with the Gimbel family or retail concern. On May 11, 1961, WIP's licensee name was changed to the parent company name, Metromedia, Inc.

Today the station call letters are WTEL, owned by Beasley Media Group and airs sports talk.

Bob and Ray

➦In 1922...."Ray" Goulding was born in Lowell MA (Died – March 24, 1990). He was a comedian, who, together with Bob Elliott formed the comedy duo of Bob and Ray.

Upon graduation from high school at age 17, Ray Goulding was hired as a $15-a-week announcer on local station WLLH, using the name 'Dennis Howard' to avoid confusion with his older brother Phil, an announcer in Boston radio at the time. A year later Ray was hired by Boston radio station WEEI under his own name

Bob & Ray's career spanned 5 decades, all the time satirizing radio & TV.  He said the billing “Bob and Ray” came from their first radio show “Matinee with Bob and Ray” which they thought sounded better than “Matinob with Ray and Bob”.  They had an NBC television show from 1971-1973.  Goulding died of kidney failure March 24, 1990, mere days after his 68th birthday.

➦In 1935...the Lucky Strike Hit Parade premiered on NBC, featuring the top 15 tunes of the week.  The show would be a Saturday night radio staple for the next 24 years…second in longevity only to Grand Ole Opry.

B Mitchel Reed
➦In 1965...B. Mitchel Reed aired his last show at at Top40 WMCA 570 AM in NYC.

He was known as "The Fastest Tongue in the West," for the voice speed. He had left KFWB Los Angeles for WMCA in his home state of New York on February 7, 1963. He soon became part of a team of disc jockeys known as "The Good Guys," among them Jack Spector, a fellow alum from Boys High School in Brooklyn who had graduated two years ahead of him.

By 1965, Reed decided to return to Los Angeles. His last show at WMCA was on March 20. Thousands of his fans cheered him at the airport upon his departure. Many fans who were thrilled of his return greeted him when he arrived in LA. This ushered in his second stint at KFWB and The Wide Wide Weird World of BMR.

Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell
➦In 1972...Marilyn Maxwell died from a heart attacked at age 50.  She started her professional entertaining career as a radio singer while still a teenager, before signing with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942 as a contract player. Among the programs in which she appeared were Beat the Band and The Abbott and Costello Show.

Some of her film roles included Lost in a Harem (1944), Champion (1949), The Lemon Drop Kid (1951), and Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958). The song "Silver Bells" made its debut in The Lemon Drop Kid, sung by Maxwell and Hope.

She was also 'whistle bait' on Bob Hope’s many USO tours around the world.

➦In 1974...Chester Robert "Chet" Huntley died of lung cancer at age 62 (Born December 10, 1911). He was a TV newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, for 14 years beginning in 1956.

Chet Huntley, David Brinkley

Huntley began his radio newscast career in 1934 at Seattle's KIRO AM, later working on radio stations in Spokane (KHQ) and Portland. His time (1936–37) in Portland was with KGW-AM, owned by The Oregonian, a Portland daily newspaper. At KGW he was writer, newscaster and announcer. In 1937 he went to work for KFI in Los Angeles, moving to CBS Radio from 1939 to 1951, then ABC Radio from 1951 to 1955.  In 1955, he joined the NBC Radio network, viewed by network executives as "another Ed Murrow".

In 1956, coverage of the national political party conventions was a major point of pride for the fledgling broadcast news organizations. NBC News executives were seeking to counter the growing popularity of CBS' Walter Cronkite, who had been a ratings success at the 1952 conventions. They decided to replace their current news anchor, John Cameron Swayze, but there was a disagreement on who the new anchorman should be. The two leading contenders were Huntley and David Brinkley. The eventual decision was to have both men share the assignment. Their on-air chemistry was apparent from the start, with Huntley's straightforward presentation countered by Brinkley's acerbic wit.

➦In 1989…After 37 years, Dick Clark announced the end of his hosting of  "American Bandstand" on ABC-TV.

Dick Clark

American Bandstand premiered locally in late March 1950 as Bandstand on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Channel 6 (now WPVI-TV). Originally it was hosted by Bob Horn as a television adjunct to his radio show of the same name on WFIL radio, Bandstand mainly featured short musical films produced by Snader Telescriptions and Official Films, with occasional studio guests. This incarnation was an early predecessor of sorts of the music video shows that became popular in the 1980s, featuring films that are themselves the ancestors of music videos.

Horn, however, was disenchanted with the program, so he wanted to have the show changed to a dance program, with teenagers dancing along on camera as the records played, based on an idea that came from a radio show on WPEN, The 950 Club, hosted by Joe Grady and Ed Hurst. This more-familiar version of Bandstand debuted on October 7, 1952 in "Studio 'B'," which was located in their just-completed addition to the original 1947 building in West Philadelphia (4548 Market Street), and was hosted by Horn, with Lee Stewart as co-host until 1955.

Stewart was the owner of a TV/Radio business in Philadelphia and even though he was older, his advertising account was a large one for WFIL-TV at the time and was put on the program to appease the account. As WFIL grew financially and the account became less important, Stewart wasn't needed and was eventually dropped from the program.

On July 9, 1956, Horn was fired after a drunk-driving arrest, as WFIL and dual owner Walter Annenberg's The Philadelphia Inquirer at the time were doing a series on drunken driving. He was also reportedly involved in a prostitution ring and brought up on morals charges.  Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently.

In late spring of 1956, the ABC television network asked their O&O's and affiliates for programming suggestions to fill their 3:30 p.m. (ET) time slot (WFIL had been pre-empting the ABC programming with Bandstand). Clark decided to pitch the show to ABC president Thomas W. Moore, and after some badgering the show was picked up nationally, becoming American Bandstand on August 5, 1957.

"Studio 'B'" measured 80' x 42' x 24', but appeared smaller due to the number of props, television cameras, and risers that were used for the show.

➦In 2005...NYC Radio, TV Personality  Theodore David Brown died (Born - May 5, 1924)  In 1953, Brown began working at WNEW 1130 AM as an air-personality.

He worked there off and on and at one point he worked at WMGM playing rock and roll. He returned to WNEW-AM and then worked at WNBC from the late 60s to the early 70s. At that point he went back to WNEW as afternoon drive air personality. He moved to mornings in 1978 and remained after WNEW began evolving in 1979 to Adult Standards/Big Bands by 1981. He continued working at WNEW until 1989 when he semi-retired.

From 1993-95, Brown worked mid-days at WRIV, a standards station in Riverhead, New York, and on WVNJ 1160 in Oakland, New Jersey, playing standards and big bands from early in 1996 to about 1998 when he suffered a stroke. He signed-off his show with the phrase "Put on the coffee Mama. I'm coming home."

➦In 2020..Singer Kenny Rogers died at age 81 from natural causes while under hospice care at his home in Sandy Springs, GA.

Kathy Ireland is 58

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

  • Actor Hal Linden is 91. 
  • Country singer Don Edwards is 83. 
  • Country singer-guitarist Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky is 76. 
  • Blues musician Marcia Ball is 73. 
  • Drummer Carl Palmer (Asia; Emerson, Lake and Palmer) is 72. 
  • Guitarist Jimmie Vaughan (Fabulous Thunderbirds) is 71. 
  • Guitarist Jim Seales (Shenandoah) is 68. 
  • Christy Carlson Romano is 38
    Actor Amy Aquino (“Bosch,” “Brooklyn Bridge”) is 65. 
  • Actor Vanessa Bell Calloway is 65. 
  • Director Spike Lee is 65. 
  • Actor Theresa Russell is 65. 
  • Actor Holly Hunter is 64. 
  • Drummer Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats) is 61. 
  • Model Kathy Ireland is 59. 
  • Actor David Thewlis (“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”) is 59. 
  • Guitarist Adrian Oxaal of James is 57. 
  • Actor Jessica Lundy (“Party of Five,” “Hope and Gloria”) is 56. 
  • Actor Liza Snyder (“Yes, Dear”) is 54. 
  • Actor Michael Rapaport (“Boston Public”) is 52. 
  • Actor Alexander Chaplin (“Spin City”) is 51. 
  • Actor Cedric Yarbrough (“Speechless,” “Reno 911!”) is 49. 
  • Actor Paula Garces (“Harold and Kumar” films) is 48. 
  • Michael Genadry (“Ed”) is 44. 
  • Actor Bianca Lawson (“Pretty Little Liars”) is 43. 
  • Comedian Mikey Day (“Saturday Night Live”) is 42. 
  • Actor Nick Blood (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) is 40. 
  • Guitarist Nick Wheeler of All-American Rejects is 40. 
  • Actor Michael Cassidy (“People of Earth,” “The O.C.”) is 39. 
  • Actor Christy Carlson Romano (“Even Stevens,” “Kim Possible”) is 38. 
  • Actor Ruby Rose (“Orange is the New Black”) is 36. 
  • Actor Barrett Doss (“Station 19″) is 33.

R.I.P.: John Clayton, Seattle Sports Personality, NFL Analyst


John Clayton, a Hall of Fame football journalist, and a Seattle radio institution, passed away Friday afternoon. He was 67-years-olf age, according to Seattle Sports 710 AM.

Known to millions as “The Professor,” John had a 50-year career in sports media that included covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks, a long tenure as a beloved ESPN NFL analyst, and serving as host of sports radio shows in Seattle, including Seattle Sports 710 AM for the past 14 years. He was a daily presence on the Seattle Sports Station, hosted The John Clayton Show on Saturday mornings, and was a longtime contributor to SeattleSports.com as a Seahawks and NFL columnist.

“John was a treasured member of our team,” said Bonneville Seattle Senior Vice President and Market Manager Cathy Cangiano. “John was a legend in our industry and a true Hall of Famer. He was a consistent advocate for the game of football.

“His connections, friendships and relationships throughout the sports world were simply unmatched. His love of football was only surpassed by his love, loyalty and dedication to his wife Pat. John will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Pat and his family and friends.”

John Clayton
John started his career in 1972 covering his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, then served as a Seattle Seahawks reporter for The Tacoma News Tribune. He was hired in 1995 by ESPN to cover the NFL and was a regular on the channel’s programming for 20 years. He was perhaps best known for his weekly “Four Downs” segment with former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury, which was a can’t-miss television for football fans. He also starred in one of the most memorable “This is SportsCenter” commercials in the long history of the ESPN campaign.

In 1995, Clayton joined ESPN as a reporter and later added to his duties a weekly radio show during the NFL offseason. He hosted the show with former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury; the show included "Four Downs," a debate with Salisbury over current NFL issues. Their debates often became quite heated, with Salisbury referring to Clayton as the "Cryptkeeper" and "Mr. Peabody", mocking his geeky and "eggheaded" appearance and voice, and Clayton responding by calling Salisbury "Mr. Backup" based on his limited playing time during his NFL career. There is debate as to seriousness of the animosity between Clayton and Salisbury.

Clayton remained a frequent contributor to KJR (AM), and hosted its "Sports Saturday" show on Saturday mornings. He was a regular caller to sports-talk radio stations around the country. Because of the transition to all-sports of KIRO (AM) Seattle, Clayton moved his show to the new ESPN station.

Clayton also contributed to 104.3 The Fan's website and radio station in Denver. Also, he was a weekly guest on The Mightier 1090AM's Kaplan & Crew show in San Diego.


In 2007, John was honored with The Bill Nunn Memorial Award, presented annually by the Professional Football Writers of America for long and distinguished reporting on football.


Hackers Make Cybersattack On Satellite Communications


Britain and the United States have warned organizations of the risks associated with using satellite communications following a cyberattack on satellite internet modems as Russia invaded Ukraine.

Reuters reports Western intelligence agencies have been investigating the attack which disrupted broadband satellite internet access provided by U.S. telecommunications firm Viasat.

"It's certainly something we're investigating quite actively - more than quite actually," a British official told reporters on Friday. "We've been talking extensively to UK organizations to give them a sense of how we can advise them on that point."

The unidentified hackers disabled tens of thousands of modems that communicate with Viasat Inc's KA-SAT satellite, which supplies internet to some customers in Europe, including in Ukraine.

Late on Thursday, the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a joint statement which warned of the "possible threats to U.S. and international satellite communication (SATCOM) networks" in the wake of the attack.

SATCOM network providers and customers should increase their security and report any malicious activity given the "current geopolitical situation", the statement said.

We’re sharing the results from NuVoodoo’s First Quarter Digital Media Study, conducted with 3,298 nationwide respondents between the ages of 14 and 54. This includes just shy of 1,500 regular podcast listeners, who've indicated they listen at least once a week. Watch the first in our two-part...

French government cybersecurity organisation ANSSI and Ukrainian intelligence are assessing whether the remote sabotage was the work of Russian-state backed hackers preparing the battlefield by attempting to sever communications, Reuters reported.

Russian troops have taken heavy losses while blasting residential areas in Ukraine to rubble, sending more than 3 million refugees fleeing. Moscow denies it is targeting civilians in what it calls a "special operation" to disarm its neighbour. read more

The digital blitz on the satellite service began on Feb. 24 between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., the day Russian forces launched their invasion.

"Were it to be ultimately attributed to Russia, it would very much fit within what we expect them to do, which is use their cyber capabilities to support, ultimately, their military campaign," the British official said.

CNN Host Gets Emotional Interviewing Ukrainian Man about Family


CNN host Erin Burnett broke down in tears while interviewing a Ukrainian man who learned about the deaths of his wife and children after seeing a photo of their lifeless bodies online, reports The NY Post.

Serhiy Perebyinis, who learned his loved ones were killed by a Russian mortar after seeing a dramatic photo that appeared in the New York Times, appeared on Burnett’s nightly show “Out Front” on Wednesday.

Burnett asked Perebyinis — who was fighting Russian soldiers who invaded his country at the time his wife, son, and daughter were killed — if he buried his loved ones.

After he told Burnett that he did bury his family, she told him: “Serhiy, as a parent, any person around the world can’t imagine your unbearable loss, above all losing your children.”

Burnett, the mother of three young kids, grew emotional.


“Could you tell me about them?” she said, fighting back tears.

“We used to see each other with my wife on Google Maps, and that morning I noticed that there was an unusual geolocation between Kyiv and their ping and then, 20 minutes later, her phone moved to another location, to a hospital in Kyiv and I suspected something was wrong,” said Perebyinis.

“And I asked friends to come to the hospital and find out whether there were any bad news, and then Twitter, there was news on Twitter … there was mortar shelling and that a family died: two children, their mother and their father.”

He added: “And then I saw a photo on Twitter and I recognized my children. I recognized their things and their clothes.”

Indy Radio: Boomer Layfield Promoted To Cumulus OM

Boomer Layfield
Cumulus Media announces that it has promoted Christopher “Boomer” Layfield to Operations Manager for Cumulus Indianapolis’ six-station group. 

Layfield will lead all programming operations for WFMS-FM (Country), WJJK-FM (Classic Hits), WNDX-FM (Rock), WNTR-FM (Adult Contemporary), WZPL-FM (Top 40), and WXNT-AM (Sports). Layfield joined Cumulus Indianapolis in April 2018, and served as one of two Operations Managers for the cluster until January, and as Program Director for Country station WFMS-FM. He will continue to program WFMS-FM and Adult Contemporary station WNTR-FM. 

Layfield has previously held programming positions in markets including Charlotte, NC, St. Louis, MO, Richmond, VA, San Diego, CA, and Nashville, TN.

Chuck Fredrick, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Indianapolis, said: “Boomer has earned this opportunity to lead the talented people who produce the most dynamic and entertaining shows every day. Our future is bright, as our audience growth will only accelerate with his leadership.”

Doug Hamand, Vice President, Programming Operations, remarked: “When we were lucky enough to get Boomer to join our team as OM over WFMS, WJJK and WNDX, I thought ‘Wow, we just got so much stronger in Indianapolis!’ Now to elevate him to lead the entire station group, including WZPL, WNTR and WXNT - the whole cluster’s bar was just raised! He is an incredible leader, a creative programmer, and the conduit to continue super-serving this successful cluster of stations for Cumulus Indianapolis.”

Layfield commented: “It truly is a thrill for me to be able to work with such a gifted group of radio pros at these iconic broadcasting brands here in Indianapolis. Being given the chance to continue to lead these teams at this level is something that I look forward to making the most of, working together for the benefit of our listeners and advertisers… and having fun doing it! I’d like to thank Chuck Fredrick, Doug Hamand and Dave Milner for this amazing opportunity.”

51 Intel Experts Refuse To Apologize For Discrediting Biden Story


They are the supposed nonpartisan group of top spies looking out for the best interest of the nation.

But, a NY Post Editorial published today states 51 former “intelligence” officials who cast doubt on The Post’s Hunter Biden laptop stories in a public letter really were just desperate to get Joe Biden elected president. And more than a year later, even after their Deep State sabotage has been shown again and again to be a lie, they refuse to own up to how they undermined an election.

According to the editorial, the officials, including CNN pundit and professional fabricator James Clapper — a man who was nearly charged for perjury for lying to Congress — signed a letter saying that the laptop “has the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

What proof did they have? By their own admission, none. “We do not know if the emails . . . are genuine or not,” the letter said. They’re just “suspicious.” Why? Because they hurt Biden’s campaign, that’s evidence enough, the editorial claims.

The editorial also states this was written Oct. 19, 2020, five days after The Post published its first story. Neither Joe Biden nor Hunter Biden had denied the story, they simply deflected questions. Didn’t these security experts think that if this was disinformation, the Biden campaign would have yelled to the heavens that the story was false?

According to The Post:

Thus pure speculation by a group of biased officials became gospel among the media. This was “fake news,” and could be safely ignored.

Keep in mind that Twitter already had banned The New York Post a few days before. The rationale was that this was “hacked materials,” even though it wasn’t — and Twitter had no evidence to think it was. A Facebook official, meanwhile, said it wasn’t going to allow the sharing of The Post’s story until it was “fact checked” by a third party — a check that never happened.

Thus, Big Tech, former government officials, and the media conspired together to bury a story.

NY Times Takes Heat For Free Speech Editorial


The New York Times editorial board in an op-ed Friday announced a project in the upcoming months where they will identify threats to free speech and offer solutions, reports The Hill.

In an article titled “America Has a Free Speech Problem,” the Times editorial board takes aim at conservatives and liberals who they say have contributed to a decline in Americans feeling as though they can freely express their views “without fear of being shamed or shunned.”

“In large part, it’s because the political left and the right are caught in a destructive loop of condemnation and recrimination around ‘cancel culture,’” the board wrote. 

“Many on the left refuse to acknowledge that cancel culture exists at all, believing that those who complain about it are offering cover for bigots to peddle hate speech. Many on the right, for all their braying about cancel culture, have embraced an even more extreme version of censoriousness as a bulwark against a rapidly changing society, with laws that would ban books, stifle teachers and discourage open discussion in classrooms.”

The board looked at a poll that showed many Americans did not feel comfortable sharing their opinion and said it will continue a series that will focus on the threats to freedom of speech and how to mitigate them. 

“This editorial board plans to identify a wide range of threats to freedom of speech in the coming months, and to offer possible solutions,” they wrote. 

The editorial by the Times drew swift criticism from some on the left and right sides of the political spectrum. 

Some of the backlash from the right focuses on what they see as hypocrisy by the outlet, as they believe the Times has engaged in the same behavior they denounce in the article. 

“​​This is rather rich coming from an outlet which has effectively promoted censorship of very legitimate views regarding the reaction to the pandemic,” John Ziegler, former senior columnist for Mediaite, tweeted.


Some of the criticism from the left denounced the article for saying the perceived attacks on free speech are on the same moral level between the two sides. 

Others on the left have justified the actions the Times denounced, saying freedom of speech doesn't mean people are not allowed to seek consequences for what a person says.

March 19 Radio History


➦In 1890...radio & film actor/announcer/host/narrator Gayne Whitman was born in Chicago.  He appeared in 213 films, while in OTR radio, he played the title role in Chandu the Magician, was a key anouncer for Dupont on NBC’s prestige series Cavalcade of America, and hosted or narrated several lesser known series. He died Aug. 31 1958 at age 68.

➦In 1912...Russ Case born in Hamburg, Iowa (Died – October 10, 1964).  He was a trumpeter and bandleader who led jazz and light music orchestras.

His professional career began when he was hired at WOC-AM in Davenport, Iowa to arrange and play trumpet with local bands on broadcasts. He worked with Frankie Trumbauer in Chicago and Paul Whiteman in New York City, then was hired by NBC to arrange for radio and television. He led orchestras which accompanied broadcasts of singers such as Eddy Arnold and Julius LaRosa, but became best known for directing ensembles behind Perry Como, including on his hit single "Till the End of Time".

Case lent his name to dozens of light orchestral albums which were released in the 1950s, and arranged for The Jackie Gleason Show in the 1960s. He also served as conductor for cast recordings of musicals such as Finian's Rainbow, The King and I, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, and Oklahoma!

➦In 1928...Radio performer Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll departed WGN radio in Chicago to head across town to WMAQ radio.

Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. Both men had some scattered experience in radio, but it was not until 1925 that the two appeared on Chicago's WQJ.  Their appearances soon led to a regular schedule on another Chicago radio station, WEBH, where their only compensation was a free meal. The pair hoped that the radio exposure would lead to stage work; they were able to sell some of their scripts to local bandleader Paul Ash, which led to jobs at the Chicago Tribune's station WGN in 1925. This lucrative offer enabled them to become full-time broadcasters. The Victor Talking Machine Company also offered them a recording contract.

Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought a serialized version would work on radio. He suggested that Gosden and Correll adapt The Gumps for radio. The idea seemed to involve more risk than either Gosden or Correll was willing to take; neither was adept at imitating female voices, which would have been necessary for The Gumps. They were also conscious of having made names for themselves with their previous act. By playing the roles of characters using dialect, they would be able to conceal their identities enough to be able to return to their old pattern of entertaining if the radio show was a failure.

Instead, they proposed a series about "a couple of colored characters", which, nevertheless, borrowed certain elements from The Gumps. Their new show, Sam 'n' Henry, began on January 12, 1926, and fascinated radio listeners throughout the Midwest.  It became so popular that in 1927 Gosden and Correll requested that it be distributed to other stations on phonograph records in a "chainless chain" concept that would have been the first radio syndication. When WGN rejected the proposal, Gosden and Correll quit the show and the station; their last musical program for WGN was announced in the Chicago Daily Tribune on January 29, 1928. Correll's and Gosden's characters contractually belonged to WGN, so the pair was unable to use the character names when performing in personal appearances after leaving the station.

WMAQ, the Chicago Daily News station, hired Gosden and Correll and their former WGN announcer, Bill Hay, to create a series similar to Sam 'n' Henry. It offered higher salaries than WGN as well as the right to pursue the syndication idea. The creators later said that they named the characters Amos and Andy after hearing two elderly African-Americans greet each other by those names in a Chicago elevator. Amos 'n' Andy began on March 19, 1928 on WMAQ, and prior to airing each program, Gosden and Correll recorded their show on 78-rpm discs at Marsh Laboratories, operated by electrical recording pioneer Orlando R. Marsh.   Early 1930s broadcasts of the show originated from the El Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs, CA.

For the program's entire run as a nightly series in its first decade, Gosden and Correll provided over 170 male voice characterizations. With the episodic drama and suspense heightened by cliffhanger endings, Amos 'n' Andy reached an ever-expanding radio audience. It was the first radio program to be distributed by syndication in the United States, and by the end of the syndicated run in August 1929, at least 70 other stations carried recorded episodes.

➦In 1965...Sportscaster John Charles "Jack" Quinlan died at age 38 in a car accident in Scottsdale, AZ (Born - January 23, 1927, Peoria, Illinois).  

He was best known for covering the Chicago Cubs first on WIND 560 AM 1955-56, then on WGN 720 AM from 1957 to 1964, his broadcast partner was Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau 1957 to April 1960, 1961 to 1964 and Cubs legend Charlie Grimm April 1960 to October 1960.

Quinlan was killed in an auto accident after leaving a golf outing during spring training of 1965. He was an avid golfer, and a charity golf tournament in his name has been held in the Chicago area ever since.

➦In 1984....KSD-AM (now KTRS) in St Louis MO changed call letters to KUSA. The change came under Gannett ownership. After a short-lived all-news format, on which Gannett pulled the plug just as KSD was beginning to build an audience, KSD went to country and adopted the call letters KUSA. The call letters were restored by EZ Communications when it bought KSD-AM/FM in 1993. The call letters were switched back to KSD on October 4, 1993.

Unfortunately, the station lost the call letters again when it was sold to the Dorsey Media Group of St. Louis. EZ’s successor, American Radio Systems, retained the KSD call letters for use on KSD-FM.

➦In 1987...Radio writer Arch Oboler died at age 77.  He was best known for the series "Lights Out".

Oboler entered radio because he believed it had great unrealized potential for telling stories with ideas. He thought that the medium was being wasted on soap operas.

In 1933, he wrote a spec script called Futuristics, which satirized the world of the present in light of the future. NBC bought Oboler's script and broadcast it as part of a dedicatory program to NBC's new futuristic headquarters in New York City, Radio City. The broadcast was a success, but it set the stage for Oboler's future run-ins with broadcasters. In the play, one of Oboler's characters lampoons the slogan of American Tobacco. At that time in broadcasting history, making fun of commercials was still taboo.

➦In 2003...Harry Harrison aired his last show at WCBS 101.1 FM in NYC.

In 1953, Harrison worked at WCFL as a summer replacement, yet remained there eight months, substituting for the permanent DJs.  Harrison became program director at WPEO, Peoria in 1954 and hosted the morning show as the "Morning Mayor of Peoria." In just six months, Harrison made WPEO the top station.

In 1959, Harrison joined WMCA, New York, as the mid-day "Good Guy." Joe O'Brien (mornings) and Harrison gave WMCA a "one-two punch" for over eight years.  Other WMCA "Good Guys" included Jack Spector, B. Mitchel Reed, Dan Daniel and Johnny Dark, and talk show host Barry Gray. Harrison became popular with his "Housewife Hall of Fame” feature.

Often, he scored the highest ratings on WMCA. WABC program director Rick Sklar took note.   In 1968, when WABC morning man Herb Oscar Anderson left the station, Rick Sklar hired Harrison to replace him.

Every year, Harrison played seasonal songs, such as his holiday greeting "May You Always” in the winter (the Amy records single of this song made the Billboard Christmas charts in 1965), and Allan Sherman's summer camp novelty, "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh", throughout the summer months.

WABC personalities included, along with Harrison, Charlie Greer, Scott Muni, Bob Lewis, Lundy, Johnny Donovan, Dan Ingram, "Cousin Brucie" Bruce Morrow, Chuck Leonard, Bob Cruz, Frank Kingston Smith, and Roby Yonge, and others.

Harrison had a number of "trademark" phrases, such as "Morning, Mom", "Every brand new day should be opened like a precious gift", "Stay well, stay happy, stay right here" and "Harry Harrison wishing you the best... because that's exactly what you deserve!”

Harrison was let go from WABC as the station changed direction in November 1979.

In March 1980, Harrison became the morning personality at WCBS 101.1 FM, playing oldies. In 1984, with Ron Lundy joining the station, they were once again heard back-to-back. Harrison would interact with Morning Crew engineer Al Vertucci, Phil Pepe, who reported sports, and joke about "wacky weather" and toupee warnings with Irv “Mr. “G” Gikofsky (weather), Mary Jane Royce, and Sue Evans.

On April 25, 1997 New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani issued a proclamation, naming April 25 "Harry Harrison Day" in honor of the second "Mayor."

On March 19, 2003, after a 44-year career in New York radio, Harrison left WCBS-FM, saying "I am not retiring." His farewell to his loyal radio friends (from 5:30 to 10:00am) was held before a live audience at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City. It offered old airchecks plus guest appearances by WCBS-FM colleagues Don K. Reed, Bobby Jay, Steve O'Brien, Randy Davis and Dan Taylor, his replacement, as well as his son and daughter, Patti. Harrison took phone calls from Bob Shannon, Mike Fitzgerald, Ed Baer, and Ron Lundy.

Shortly after he left WCBS-FM, Harrison's long-time wife, Patti, who he had always referred to as "Pretty Patti" on the air, died.

Harrison returned to WCBS-FM with a Saturday morning show in 2004. It offered two hours of variety and two hours of Beatles music and memories.

On Memorial Day, May 30, 2005, Harry and "Cousin" Bruce Morrow were guests on WABC Radio’s annual Rewound show. Four days later, on June 3, WCBS-FM ended its "oldies" format, in favor of the new "Jack" format.  However, as a result of listener disapproval, the WCBS-FM Oldies format was brought back on July 12, 2007, in a 'Classic Hits' modernized form.

Harry Harrison was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in November 2019 and died January 28, 2020.

1996
➦In 2004...Radio personality Tom Rivers died of bronchial asthma at age 38. Rivers worked at WQYK-FM, Tampa and WUSN-FM, Chicago. (Note: not to be confused with the CHUM personality Tom Rivers.) Listeners of WQYK-FM 99.5 loved his amiable, conversational patter during morning drive time.

Rivers was a veteran of 17 years in country radio, most of it spent at WQYK-FM Tampa, Fla., where he served, at various times, as PD, morning host and VP/GM. His career also included a stint as PD/morning host at WMZQ Washington, D.C.

The industry heaped awards on him, including the rare double honor as top personality of the year in both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.

2004
Country stars such as Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire and Mary Chapin Carpenter - whose rise to prominence in the early 1990s paralleled Mr. Rivers' own meteoric ascent in country radio - counted him as a genuine friend.

Rivers died after going to sleep March 19 in Chicago, where he worked the last year of his life as operations manager at WUSN-FM. According to his mother, The cause of death was bronchial asthma, a chronic condition he battled much of his life.

He started working the 7 p.m. to midnight shift at Tampa's WQYK-FM . By 1990, at just 24, he had moved up to program director, launching WQYK's era of ratings dominance and eventual recognition by the CMA as the nation's top country station.

➦In 2005...Morris Blum died from cancer at age 95. Blum started WANN-AM in 1947 in Annapolis, Maryland and pioneered the idea of black programming, playing gospel and rhythm and blues.

Morris Blum
Blum served in the merchant marine as a radio operator aboard a tanker and later in radio intelligence for the FCC during WWII, according to his son.

"When my father returned home, he witnessed a lot of racism and recognized the barriers many in the Annapolis community faced. He loved nothing more than having guests in the air studio who had never spoken their mind freely before. This was an amazing thing for African-Americans, too."

Carl Snowden, a civil rights activist and former Annapolis City councilman, told the Baltimore Sun that Blum "spent the better part of his life fighting against bigotry. He averted a catastrophe in Annapolis at the time of Dr. Martin Luther King's death in 1968. He opened the station and allowed the African-American community to come of the radio and voice its concern. There were uplifting comments that allayed fear here."

➦In 2006...William Charles Beutel died at age 75  (Born - December 12, 1930). He was a radio, television reporter, journalist and anchor. He was best known for working over four decades with the American Broadcasting Company, spending much of that time anchoring newscasts for WABC-TV in New York City. He also was an ABC radio network newscaster before ABC Radio's split into 4 networks on January 1, 1968. After the split he reported on the American Contemporary Network as did his Eyewitness partner Roger Grimsby. 

After a stint in the Army, Beutel graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and then studied law at the University of Michigan Law School, though he left Michigan without obtaining his law degree. While Beutel was in law school, he wrote Edward R. Murrow a letter saying, "I very much wanted to be a radio journalist." Beutel received a letter back advising him to go to the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His first radio job was in Cleveland before moving to CBS Radio in New York City in 1957.

➦In 2012…Entertainment journalist and one-time radio personality Norman Mark died of multiple myeloma at the age of 72.

To many Chicagoans, Mark may have been best known for his work for more than a decade as WMAQ-Ch. 5's entertainment reporter and film critic. But Mr. Mark also had worked for 13 years as a writer and TV critic at the Chicago Daily News, hosted radio shows on WIND-AM and WAIT-AM during the late '70s and '80s, wrote both fiction and nonfiction books, and contributed freelance articles to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Ursala Andress is 86
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

  • Abby Brammell is 43
    Actor Renee Taylor (“The Nanny”) is 89. 
  • Actor Ursula Andress (“Dr. No,” ″Casino Royale”) is 86. 
  • Singer Clarence “Frogman” Henry is 85. 
  • Singer Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters is 76. 
  • Actor Glenn Close is 75. 
  • Actor Bruce Willis is 67. 
  • Actor Mary Scheer (“iCarly,” ″MadTV”) is 59. 
  • Actor Connor Trinneer (“Star Trek: Enterprise”) is 53. 
  • Guitarist-keyboardist Gert Bettens of K’s Choice is 52. 
  • Rapper Bun B of UGK is 49. 
  • Drummer Zach Lind of Jimmy Eat World is 46. 
  • Actor Virginia Williams (“Fuller House”) is 44. 
  • Actor Abby Brammell (“The Unit”) is 43. 
  • Actor Craig Lamar Traylor (“Malcolm in the Middle”) is 33.
  •  Actor Philip Bolden (“Are We There Yet?”) is 27.

Friday, March 18, 2022

NY Times Buries Story Admitting Biden Laptop Story Is Real

NY Post 3/18/22

Never let the facts get in the way of a good non-story. That’s the approach the New York Times took the last 18 months, until Thursday, when the Times finally admitted that Hunter Biden’s laptop of depravity, secrets and lies is in fact real, reports Outkick.

Despite previously dismissing stories surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop as “unsubstantiated” for the last year and a half, the New York Times reluctantly admitted that prosecutors are now diving into Biden’s laptop and the claims that he used his father’s political positions as a way to secure funds in return for access to his father and some favorable business dealings.

The Times’ story, which is conveniently buried 20+ pages buried 24-paragrphs deep into Thursday’s paper, details the relationship between Hunter Biden and business partner Devon Archer and Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. The New York Post first uncovered and documented this story back in the fall of 2020.

“People familiar with the investigation said prosecutors had examined emails between Mr. Biden, Mr. Archer and others about Burisma and other foreign business activity,” states the Times. “Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation.”

Archer has already been convicted and sentenced on a charge of felony securities fraud.

Until Thursday, the Times, President Biden, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and seemingly all of the Democrat Party dismissed claims that the Hunter Biden laptop ever existed, or if it did, that it was merely an example of Russian misinformation.

October 15, 2020 issue

According to columnist Michael Goodwin at The NY Post, the reason for that coverup was simple: Many of the e-mails to and from Hunter Biden implicated Joe Biden in the international influence-peddling business run by Hunter and Joe’s brother, Jim Biden.

If the whole country knew then that Joe Biden was corruptly using his office to help his family cash in, we would now be in the second year of Donald Trump’s second term. That’s a fact because 8% of Biden voters told pollsters they would have supported Trump had they known about the bombshell contents of the laptop

But the Times, Facebook, Twitter, CNN and the deep state couldn’t let that happen. They had spent four years trying to drive Trump out of office, mostly by falsely alleging he had colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election. They were determined he would not get four more years.

So as a corollary to their reporting fake news about Trump, when they had real news about Biden family corruption, instead of reporting it and letting users share it on social media, they conspired to bury it. 

Blame them for Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency, concludes Goodwin.

San Diego Radio: KHTS Adds Erica Sullivan To Morning Show


iHeartMedia KHTS Channel 93.3 FM, San Diego has  announced that it has hired Erica Sullivan as associate producer for the “Geena The Latina and Frankie V Morning Show”.

Erica Sullivan
Sullivan will work closely with executive producer Chris Martinez and co-hosts Geena The Latina and Frankie Vinci on the top-rated “Geena The Latina and Frankie V Morning Show,” airing weekdays from 6 – 10 a.m.

Sullivan got her start in radio as a board operator at her hometown country station, 95.3 KRTY in San Jose, CA, while still in high school. A decade later, she brings a wealth of experience to Channel 93.3, having spent the last five years as a producer for “On Air With Ryan Seacrest,” and more recently as producer of syndicated weekend show, “The Vibe with Tanya Rad and EJ.”

“We are excited for Erica to join our team! She brings a different element to our show and we are confident that San Diego will embrace her,” said Geena The Latina and Frankie V. “Her experience working with the Ryan Seacrest team will undoubtedly elevate our show. We are eager to watch her career blossom and help her grow into the superstar that she already is.”

“I could not be more excited about this opportunity to join the ‘Geena the Latina and Frankie V Morning Show’ and the Channel 93.3 team,” said Sullivan. “Since the first meeting with Geena, Frankie and Chris, I felt right at home, and I cannot wait to see what this new chapter has in store for me!”

Wake-Up Call: Leaders Want Probe Of Repeated Civilian Targets

Daily Mail graphic 3/18/22

World leaders are calling for an investigation of Russia's repeated attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, including schools, hospitals and residential areas. The U.N. political chief, Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, is among them, saying many of the daily attacks against Ukrainian cities are, quote, "reportedly indiscriminate." She also reminded the U.N. Security Council yesterday that international humanitarian law bans direct attacks on civilians. One day after President Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" in a remark to a reporter, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said U.S. officials were evaluating potential war crimes by Russia, and if the intentional targeting of civilians is confirmed, there will be, quote, "massive consequences."

 
In one of the many places that civilians had sought shelter that was targeted with an attack, rescue workers were looking for survivors yesterday in the rubble of what had been a theater in the besieged city of Mariupol where hundreds of people had been sheltering. There were conflicting reports of of whether anyone had been rescued after the Wednesday airstrike, with some reports that the bomb shelter under the theater had held. In the city of Merefa, at least 21 people were killed when a school and community center were destroyed by Russian artillery. Both locations were hit in what AP described as a "furious bombardment of civilian sites in multiple cities over the past few days." World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said WHO had verfied 43 attacks on hospitals and health facilities in Ukraine.

 
U.S. Man Killed:
An American man, Jim Hill of Diggs, Idaho, was killed Wednesday in a Russian attack in the city of Chernihiv, his sister reported yesterday. Cheryl Hill Gordon wrote on Facebook, "My brother Jimmy Hill was killed yesterday in Chernihiv, Ukraine. He was waiting in a bread line with several other people when they were gunned down by Russian military snippers. His body was found in the street by the local police." Hill had posted on Facebook in the weeks since the attack began about the bombings in Chernihiv, which he called "indiscriminate." He identified himself as a lecturer at universities in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv and Warsaw in Poland, and said he was in Chernihiv with his partner for her to receive medical treatment.


➤BIDEN SPEAKING TO CHINESE LEADER XI TODAY, FOCUS ON WAR IN UKRAINE: President Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping are scheduled to speak to each today, with the focus of the call to be Russia's war in Ukraine. The U.S. has warned China that giving military or economic aid to Russia to help in its invasion would lead to severe consequences. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would ask Xi about China's, quote, "rhetorical support" of Russian President Vladimir Putin and its, quote, "absence of denunciation" of the invasion," stating, "This is an opportunity to assess where President Xi stands." The U.S. told allies earlier this week that intelligence had determined China had signaled to Russia that it would be willing to provide both military support for the campaign in Ukraine and financial assistance to help deal with the crippling sanctions imposed by the West.
➤NTSB SAYS 13-YEAR-OLD WAS DRIVING PICKUP THAT CAUSED CRASH THAT KILLED NINE: The National Transportation Safety Board revealed Thursday that a 13-year-old boy was driving the pickup truck that crossed into the opposite lane and hit a van in a head-on collision in west Texas earlier this week, killing nine people, including six members of a college golf team and their coach. The still-unidentified teenager and a man in the truck with him also died. The minimum age in Texas for a learner's permit to drive with an instructor or licensed adult in the car is 15. The golf teams were from the University of the Southwest in New Mexico, and were returning from a tournament. Two students were hospitalized in critical condition.
This is the second tragedy to befall the family recently. Before Christmas 2021, the boy burned the family house to the ground after he left the stove unattended while cooking some eggs, according to a family friend.

➤MODERNA ASKS FDA TO AUTHORIZE FOURTH COVID VACCINE SHOT FOR ALL ADULTS: Moderna yesterday asked the Food and Drug Adminstration to authorize a fourth shot of its Covid-19 vaccine for all adults. Their request came after Pfizer earlier this week also asked regulators for approval for a fourth shot of its vaccine, but only for seniors over age 65. Moderna said it asked for approval for all adults to, quote, "provide flexibility" to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical providers to determine the appropriate use of a second booster.

➤FBI SAYS HAS SIX SUSPECTS IN BOMB THREATS TO HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES: The FBI says it has identified six suspects who they believe are responsible for dozens of bomb threats that have been made against historically Black colleges and universities in recent weeks, most of them during Black History Month in February. All six suspects in the threats, which are being investigated as racially-motivated hate crimes, are juveniles. No bombs or explosives have been found in connection with any of the threats.
 
➤CBS POLL..MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS SAY COVIS DIVIDED THE COUNTRY:  A lot of times adversity will bring people together, but more than two-thirds of Americans say that wasn't the case over the past two years of the pandemic. 

In a new CBS News/YouGov poll, 68 percent of Americans said Covid divided the country, with just 14 percent saying it made us more united and 18 percent saying it didn't change. When those who said it divided the country were asked how it did, 78 percent said between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, 75 percent said over mandates and health policies, 71 percent said along political lines, and 70 percent said over different levels of trust in information.
 

➤TOBACCO USE DECLINED AMONG U.S. ADULTS IN 2020, CDC REPORTS:  Americans have really cut down on their tobacco use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data yesterday that shows the percentage of adults who used tobacco products nationally, including traditional cigarettes and vaping devices, fell from 21 percent to 19 percent, the lowest level since the mid-1960s. Still, an estimated 47.1 million adults nationally used tobacco products in 2020. Thomas Carr, with the American Lung Association, says, “This is definitely positive news as these numbers are continuing a downward trend in tobacco use we’ve seen in the past few years. That said, tobacco use is a big cause of lung disease, so the problem isn’t solved.”

➤PETE DAVIDSON NOT GOING TO SPACE ON BEZOS' ROCKET AFTER ALL: Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson won't be traveling to space on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' rocket after all. Davidson is no longer able to make the flight, which has been delayed for nearly a week, Bezos' space company, Blue Origin, announced last night. The company had just announced earlier this week that Davidson would be one of six passengers on the next 10-minute flight, which had been scheduled for next Wednesday, but has now been moved back to March 29th.

➤AMAZON CLOSES ACQUISITION OF MGM AFTER REGULATORS SIGN-OFF: Amazon said Thursday that it had closed its acquisition of Hollywood studio MGM, the word coming two days after European regulators signed off on the deal, saying it wouldn't significantly reduce competition in European markets. The $8.5 billion acquisition announced in May is aimed at boosting Amazon’s streaming services to compete against Netflix and Disney+. Amazon plans to draw on MGM's vast library to create new movies and shows.

🚘THESE ARE THE CARS MOST COMMONLY OWNED BY PEOPLE WITH DUIs:  Insurance comparison website Insurify has rounded up a list of the top ten cars people with DUIs drive. Insurify pulled its numbers from their database of about 1.6 million car insurance applications. They write on their website, “For each model, the share of drivers with a prior DUI violation was compared against the total population of motorists that owned that model.” They say about 1.78 percent of all car owners have a prior DUI violation, and seven of the top ten vehicles on their list were pickup trucks. The list: 10) Ford Contour (2.92%), 9) Dodge Dakota (2.94%), 8) GMC Sierra (3.01%), 7) Chevrolet Silverado (3.02%), 6) Toyota Tacoma (3.08%), 5) GMC Sonoma (3.09%), 4) Audi A4 (3.28%), 3) Chevrolet S-Series Trucks (3.47%), 2) Subaru WRX (4.1%), and 1) Dodge Ram 2500 (4.95%).

🏀SAINT PETER'S OUSTS KENTUCKY IN STUNNER IN BIGGEST MARCH MADNESS DAY 1 UPSET: Fifteenth-seeded Saint Peter's took down second seed Kentucky Thursday with a 85-79 overtime victory, in the biggest upset as the men's NCAA basketball tournament got underway with 16 first round games. Saint Peter's became just the 10th Number 15 team to win a first-round game since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. In other upsets yesterday, Number 12 Richmond beat Number 5 Iowa 67-63, Number 12 New Mexico State topped Number 5 UConn 70-63, and Number 11 Michigan downed Number 6 Colorado State 75-63. The other 16 first round games are today.

🏀LONGWOOD, MISSOURI STATE WIN LAST TWO WOMEN'S 'FIRST FOUR' MARCH MADNESS GAMES: Longwood and Missouri State won the second two of the "First Four" play-in games Thursday in the women's NCAA basketball touranment. Longwood beat Mount St. Mary's 74-70, and Missouri State defeated Florida State 61-50. The first round begins today.

🏀GRINER'S DETENTION BY RUSSIA EXTENDED TO MAY: WNBA star Brittney Griner's detention by Russia has been extended until at least May 19th, Russian media reported yesterday. The 31-year-old Griner, who'd been playing in the off-season in Russia, was detained at a Moscow airport in mid-February after authorities said vape cartridges contained cannabis oil were found in her luggage. Meanwhile, ESPN reported that U.S. consular officials have not been given access to Griner, and that the State Department insisted that the, quote, "Russian government provide consular access to all U.S. citizen detainees in Russia, including this in pre-trial detention" like Griner.


🏀WARRIORS' CURRY HAS SPRAINED LIGAMENT IN FOOT: Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has a sprained ligament in his left foot and is out indefinitely, The Athletic reported yesterday. Curry was injured in Wednesday's game against the Boston Celtics. ESPN reported that Golden State is hoping he will be able to play by the start of the playoffs.

🏈PACKERS TRADING DAVANTE ADAMS TO RAIDERS: The Green Bay Packers are trading All-Pro receiver Davante Adams to the Los Vegas Raiders, according to media reports yesterday (March 17th). AP cited a source as saying the Raiders are sending the Number 22 overall pick in the April draft and additional compensation to the Packers in return. NFL Network reported that Adams has agreed to a five-year, $141.25 million deal with the Raiders, the richest ever for a wide receiver.

🏊LIA THOMAS FIRST TRANSGENDER WOMAN TO WIN NCAA SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP: University of Pennsylania swimmer Lia Thomas won the 500-meter freestyle yesterday at the NCAA women's swimming and diving championships to become the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming title. Thomas entered the event as the top seed, and won with a season-best time of four minutes and 33.24 seconds. Virginia's Emma Weyant was second at four minutes at 34.99 seconds. Thomas is also the top seed in the 200-meter freestyle and the 10th seed in the 100-meter freestyle. Thomas, who formerly competed as a male swimmer for Penn State, has followed NCAA and Ivy League rules since she began her transition in 2019 by starting hormone replacement therapy.