Radio History: Oct 27

➦In 1920...Westinghouse's radio station in East Pittsburgh, KDKA was issued the first-ever commercial radio license.  But it would be another week before it took to the air .. with the Harding-Cox election returns Nov. 2.   The audience was approximately 1,000 people.

KDKA's roots began with the efforts of Westinghouse employee Frank Conrad who operated KDKA's predecessor 75 watt 8XK from the Pittsburgh suburb of Wilkinsburg from 1916. Conrad, who had supervised the manufacturing of military receivers during WWI, broadcast phonograph music and communicated with other amateur radio operators via 8YK. On September 29, 1920, the Joseph Horne department store in Pittsburgh began advertising amateur wireless sets for $10, which could be used to listen to Conrad’s broadcasts.

Westinghouse vice president and Conrad’s supervisor, Harry P. Davis, saw the advertisement and recognized the economic potential of radio.  Instead of it being limited as a hobby to scientific experimenters, radio could be marketed to a mainstream audience. Consequently, Davis asked Conrad to build a 100-watt transmitter, which would air programming intended to create widespread demand for Westinghouse receivers.

The KDKA call sign was assigned sequentially from a list maintained for the use of US-registry maritime stations, and on November 2, 1920, KDKA broadcast the US presidential election returns from a shack on the roof of the K Building of the Westinghouse Electric Company "East Pittsburgh Works" in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania.

According to Britannica.com, the first voice and music signals heard over radio waves were transmitted in December 1906 from Brant Rock, Massachusetts (just south of Boston), when Canadian experimenter Reginald Fessenden produced about an hour of talk and music for technical observers and any radio amateurs who might be listening. Many other one-off experiments took place in the next few years, but none led to continuing scheduled services. On the West Coast of the United States, for example, Charles (“Doc”) Herrold began operating a wireless transmitter in conjunction with his radio school in San Jose, California, about 1908. Herrold was soon providing regularly scheduled voice and music programs to a small local audience of amateur radio operators in what may have been the first such continuing service in the world.

The radio hobby grew during the decade before World War I, and the ability to “listen in” with earphones (as there were no loudspeakers) and occasionally hear voices and music seemed almost magical. Nevertheless, very few people heard these early broadcasts—most people merely heard about them—in part because the only available receivers were those handmade by radio enthusiasts, the majority of them men and boys.

Among these early receivers were crystal sets, which used a tiny piece of galena (lead sulfide) called a “cat’s whisker” to detect radio signals. Although popular, inexpensive, and easy to make, crystal sets were a challenge to tune in to a station. Such experiments were scattered, and so there was little demand for manufactured receivers. (Plug-in radio receivers, which, through the use of loudspeakers, allowed for radio to become a “communal experience,” would not become widespread until after 1927.) Early broadcasters in the United States, such as Herrold, would continue until early 1917, when federal government restrictions forced most radio transmitters off the air for the rest of World War I, stalling the growth of the medium.

After the war, renewed interest in radio broadcasts grew out of experimenters’ efforts, though such broadcasts were neither officially authorized nor licensed by government agencies, as would become the practice in most countries by the late 1920s.

Westinghouse application for license

Another early station appeared in Canada when station XWA (now CFCF) in Montreal began transmitting experimentally in September 1919 and on a regular schedule the next year. (The first commercially sponsored stations in Canada appeared in 1922.)

Broadcasting got an important boost in the huge American market when about 30 radio stations took to the air in different cities in 1920–21. Most of these developed out of amateur operations, each dedicated to a different purpose. “Doc” Herrold returned to the air in 1921, but he soon had to sell his station for lack of operating funds. The University of Wisconsin’s WHA began as a physics department transmitter, but as early as 1917 it was sending wireless telegraph agricultural market reports by Morse Code to Wisconsin farmers. WHA, the first American educational outlet, probably began voice broadcasts in early 1921, though several other universities soon initiated stations with similar aims. 

KDKA in Pittsburgh, most often cited as the first radio outlet in the United States, had begun as the amateur station 8XK in 1916, but it was forced off the air in World War I. It reappeared on November 2, 1920, as a “commercial” voice-and-music service operated by the Westinghouse electrical manufacturer to help sell the company’s radio receivers. Westinghouse added other stations in different cities over the next two years, and General Electric and the newly formed Radio Corporation of America (RCA) soon entered the radio business as well. Detroit’s amateur operation 8MK (which debuted on August 20, 1920) soon became WWJ, the first station to be owned by a newspaper (The Detroit News).

➦In 1947...“This is Nora Drake” premiered on NBC radio. Nora solved domestic, social and child-raising problems in its daily soap slot until January 2, 1959.

➦In 1947..."You Bet Your Life" made its debut on ABC Radio Network with Groucho Marx as quizmaster and George Fenneman as his announcer. The program continued on radio until 1959 and ran on TV from 1950 to 1961.

Father Charles Coughlin

➦In 1979…Radio evangelist Father Charles Coughlin, one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience, died at age 88. In the 1930s, his weekly broadcasts had an audience of 30 million people.

Coughlin began his radio broadcasts in 1926 on station WJR, in response to cross burnings by the Ku Klux Klan on the grounds of his church, giving a weekly hour-long radio program. His program was picked up by CBS four years later for national broadcast.  Until the beginning of the Depression, Father Coughlin mainly covered religious topics in his weekly radio addresses, in contrast to the political topics which dominated his radio speeches throughout the 1930s. He reached a very large audience that extended well beyond his own Irish Catholic base.

➦On 1999...composer/arranger/conductor Frank DeVol, a veteran of both radio & TV, died of congestive heart failure at age 88. In the 40′s and early 50′s he directed the orchestra nightly for CBS radio’s “Jack Smith Show.”  He composed the theme songs for TV’s The Brady Bunch, Family Affair, Gidget, and My Three Sons. DeVol also played “Happy Kyne” on TV’s Fernwood Tonight.

➦In 2003...XM Satellite Radio announced it had reached the 1 million subscriber milestone.

➦In 2003…'Price is Right" Announcer and former radio personality (KOST-Los Angeles, KLIF-Dallas, WKBW-Buffalo, KQV-Pittsburgh, KOMA-Oklahoma City) Rod Roddy died of colon and breast cancer at 66.

After graduating from Texas Christian University, Roddy began his professional broadcasting career as a disc jockey and talk show host on KLIF and KNUS-FM (Dallas, Texas). He also worked overnights and mid-days at the Buffalo, New York radio station WKBW 1520 AM, a big-signal station covering the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and at other high-profile stations. Returning to KLIF and KNUS during the 1970s, Roddy hosted a call-in program, "Rod Roddy's Hotline," whose controversial host and topics made him a frequent target of death threats. He conducted a long-running on-air feud with an elderly woman (dubbed "Granny Hate"), who claimed to represent the local Ku Klux Klan.

➦In 2016...horror movie TV host and radio personality John Zacherle, nicknamed “The Cool Ghoul,” died  at age 98.  A TV movie host in Philadelphia and New York in the 1950’s and 60’s, he also hosted a TV dance show, which led to him becoming morning radio host on WNEW-FM NYC.

Zacherley made a Halloween appearance during a two-hour show at WCBS 101.1 FM with Ron Parker on October 31, 2007. The 89-year-old was one of the very few people left in radio that was older than the medium itself. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Zacherle into their Hall of Fame in 2010.

Sheeri Rappaport is 47

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Actor-comedian John Cleese is 85. 
• Country singer Lee Greenwood is 82. 
• Country singer-guitarist Jack Daniels (Highway 101) is 75. 
• Bassist Garry Tallent of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is 75. 
• Author Fran Lebowitz is 74. 
• Guitarist K.K. Downing (Judas Priest) is 73. 
• TV personality Jayne Kennedy is 73. 
• Actor-director Roberto Benigni (“Life Is Beautiful”) is 72. 
• Actor Peter Firth (“That’s Life”) is 71. 
• Actor Robert Picardo (“The Wonder Years,” ″China Beach”) is 71. 
• Singer Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran is 66. 
• Keyboardist J.D. McFadden (Sixpence None The Richer, The Mavericks) is 60. 
• Drummer Jason Finn of Presidents of the United States of America is 57. 
• Actor Sean Holland (Film and TV “Clueless”) is 56. 
• Actor Channon Roe (“Murder in the First”) is 55. 
• Actor Sheeri Rappaport (“CSI,” ″NYPD Blue”) is 47. 
• TV personality Kelly Osbourne is 40. 
• Actor Christine Evangelista (“The Walking Dead”) is 38. 
• Actor Bryan Craig (“General Hospital”) is 33. 
• Actor Troy Gentile (“The Goldbergs”) is 31.

✞REMEMBRANCES

• In 1990..Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American bandleader, dies at 90
• In 2002..Tom Dowd, American recording engineer and producer (innovator of multitrack recording), dies of emphysema at 77
• In 2003..Rod Roddy, American television announcer (b. 1937)
• In 2013..Lou Reed, American rock singer-songwriter (Velvet Underground - "Sweet Jane"; solo -"Take A Walk On The Wild Side"), dies from liver disease at 71
  

Joe Rogan Podcast With Donald Trump Released

Joe Rogan interviewed former President Donald Trump Friday, marking the first time the popular The Joe Rogan Experience podcast will feature a former president on the program. 

CBS News reports the interview, which took place in Austin, Texas, and was published to Rogan's social media channels on Friday night, was nearly three hours long. 

According to the Associated Press, Rogan asked Trump if he is "completely committed" to bringing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., into his administration. In August, Kennedy halted his independent presidential bid and endorsed Trump. 

"Oh, I completely am," Trump responded, according to the AP. "But the only thing I want to be a little careful about with him is the environmental. Because he doesn't like oil, I love oil and gas." Trump said he'll tell Kennedy to "focus on health, do whatever you want," the AP reported. 

Rogan, 57, suggested the assassination attempts wouldn’t have happened if the media — and Democrats such as his rival Vice President Kamala Harris and twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton — didn’t conflate Trump with Adolf Hitler.

“They love to take things out of context and distort them,” Rogan said.

“The rhetoric is that you’re Hitler, and in order to stop Hitler, you have to do whatever it takes.”

The interview comes as the former president has stepped back from some appearances on major television networks (including CBS News), while providing interviews to podcasters and YouTube channels like the Logan Paul Podcast.

The Joe Rogan Experience, the most popular podcast on Spotify, has built an audience of more than 14 million on the streaming service.

The Session: Trump Talks Xi, Tariffs and Aliens

Former President Donald Trump said he’d consider entirely replacing income taxes with tariffs, conceded he had botched senior staff appointments, and teased a possible revelation about extraterrestrial life during a freewheeling three-hour podcast with comedian Joe Rogan on Friday.

t was an unorthodox - and lengthy - conversation for a presidential candidate, underscoring the Republican nominee’s outreach to young male voters and quest for wave-making spectacle during the closing days of the presidential campaign. The podcast, recorded Friday during a visit to Austin, Texas, is the latest effort by Trump to broaden his electoral appeal beyond his fervent conservative base with polls showing him deadlocked with Democrat Kamala Harris.

Trump at Podcast recording

Bloomberg reports Trump opined on a number of topics, defending his populist economic agenda while offering strong praise for billionaire Elon Musk - who he labeled “out of this world” - as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping. Throughout his bid to return to the White House, Trump has teased a resumption of the tit-for-tat trade war that he waged with Xi in his first term.

The conversation stretched long enough that Trump ended up hours late for a rally in swing-state Michigan, where hundreds of supporters trickled out of the venue as temperatures dropped while waiting for him to arrive.

But Rogan, widely considered the most popular podcaster in the world — boasting 17.5 million subscribers on YouTube and 15.7 million on Spotify — offered a unique platform for the former president to reach not only a massive audience, but one full of the type of independent voters both campaigns have said could decide the election.

Harris has also sought to tap into the growing popularity of non-traditional media venues, appearing on podcasts including hit Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper. Her campaign said scheduling difficulties kept her from appearing on Rogan’s show.

Harris Taps Beyoncé’s Star Power

Kamala Harris tethered ex-President Donald Trump to the rollback of federal abortion rights in a Friday night rally headlined by celebrity singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as the vice president sought to elevate her standing with female voters in the final days before the election.

Bloomberg reports Harris told the crowd at the Shell Energy Stadium in Houston that Trump would pursue a national abortion ban and railed against efforts in Texas to obtain medical records of those who travel out of state for the procedure, calling it hypocritical from a party whose candidate has refused to release his own detailed health report.

The vice president’s campaign intended to amplify her message with the help of hometown superstar Beyoncé, who spoke before Harris. The singer urged the crowd to vote, and that she was there not as a celebrity, but as a mother.

“Your voice has power and magnitude,” Beyoncé said. “Your vote is one of your most powerful tools. And we need you.”

The appearance by Beyoncé, whose achievements include the most Grammys of any artist in history, is the buzziest yet for a final sprint that is expected to see Harris lean heavily on celebrity endorsements. About 30,000 people attended the event, according to a campaign official.

Jeff Bezos Killed WaPo Endorsement of Kamala Harris

The Washington Post’s chief executive told the newsroom on Friday that it would no longer endorse presidential candidates, breaking with decades of precedent at the newspaper.

“The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election,” wrote Will Lewis, The Post’s chief executive. “Nor in any future presidential election. We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.”

According to The NY Times, The Post has endorsed presidential candidates since 1976, Mr. Lewis wrote, when it gave its stamp of approval to Jimmy Carter, who went on to win the election. Before that, it generally did not make presidential endorsements, though it made an exception in 1952 to back Dwight Eisenhower.

Questions about whether The Post would endorse a candidate this year have spread for days. Some people have speculated, without any proof, that the paper’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, was being cowed by a prospective Trump administration because his other businesses have many federal government contracts.

Bezos made the decision not to endorse presidential candidates after a debate among senior Post leaders, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Lewis, in his note to the staff, said little about how The Post arrived at its decision, adding only that it was not “a tacit endorsement of one candidate,” or “a condemnation of another.” He referenced an editorial the paper published in 1960 that it was “wiser for an independent newspaper in the Nation’s Capital” to avoid an endorsement.

A statement from Post Guild leadership on the Washington Post's decision to not endorse a presidential candidate pic.twitter.com/fYU7hkr79K

— Washington Post Guild (@PostGuild) October 25, 2024

Meanwhile, the Wrap reports Nika Soon-Shiong, the outspoken pro-Palestinian activist daughter of Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, defended the paper’s non-endorsement of a presidential candidate on Friday, saying in an X thread that “genocide is the line in the sand” and suggesting that Kamala Harris is “a candidate that is overseeing a war on children.”

“There is a lot of controversy and confusion over the LAT’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate,” Nika posted, echoing her father. “I trust the editorial board’s judgment. For me, genocide is the line in the sand.

For the first time since the story broke, the Los Angeles Times has published coverage of the growing scandal over owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s decision to spike a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris — by interviewing Soon-Shiong, who insists nothing is wrong.

In the interview, published Friday evening shortly after LA Times staffers posted an open letter calling out management for ignoring the story, Soon-Shiong said he has “no regrets whatsoever” about the matter. “In fact, I think it was exactly the right decision.”

Audacy and Puck Launch New Media Podcast

New media company Puck is launching a podcast hosted by Dylan Byers, the founding partner and senior correspondent at the company.

Podcasting Today reports The Grill Room, named as an homage to the exclusive dining room in The Four Seasons New York where a generation of media executives did deals and traded gossip, is produced in partnership with Audacy Podcasts.

The series will cover what’s happening in the media industry, featuring the television personalities, media moguls, political pundits and industry executives making the day’s headlines. Guest lined so far include Brian Williams, David Zaslav, Jim VandeHei, Emma Tucker, Don Lemon, and many other top executives and talent.

Host Dylan Byers, a veteran media reporter covering the business of entertainment and news media, joined Puck as a founding partner in September of 2021.

Before Puck, Dylan worked at NBC News, CNN, and Politico as a media reporter. His private email newsletter, In the Room, reports on the inner workings of American media, reporting on the biggest stories and egos in the industry.

“In three years, In the Room has become an absolute must-read newsletter for power players in media, entertainment, and politics looking for the inside view on what’s really going on,” said Dylan Byers. “In The Grill Room, we want to bring you inside the conversations I’m having with those power players and offer listeners the real stories taking place behind the headlines.”

Jon Kelly, co-founder of Puck said: “Dylan isn’t simply required reading in the media business – he’s a combination of Must See-TV, the Voice of God, and the industry’s ultimate arbiter-referee-biographer.

“His audience has been waiting for this podcast for ages, and I’m thrilled that we are able to deliver it for them during an exciting inflection point in our business.”

Jenna Weiss-Berman, EVP, Audacy Podcasts added: “Dylan is the best at what he does by a long shot–he’s the smartest and best sourced journalist on the media beat, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to further expand our thriving Puck slate with The Grill Room.”

New episodes of The Grill Room will release every Tuesday and Friday starting on 29 October.

Top Streaming Services Eclipse Live TV

The content wars are truly being won by streaming services over traditional TV. Not only are viewers much more likely to default to an online source over an MVPD as the first thing they turn on when they want to watch TV, but they’re now more likely to default to a big-5 streaming service than to live TV, according to the latest report on the topic from Hub Entertainment Research.

The results show that TV viewers are more than twice as likely to turn to an online source as an MVPD set-top box when they want to watch something, with online sources continuing to widen the gap with MVPDs as the TV-viewing default, per the report.

Among the TV viewers ages 16-74 surveyed, 66% said that online sources are their default for watching TV, up from 60% last year and 53% the year prior. That’s about 2.5 times the proportion (26%) who said that the first thing they turn on when they want to watch is a source on an MVPD set-top box (live, DVR, or video-on-demand).

Furthermore, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services have for the first time overtaken live TV as viewers’ default sources. Some 52% of viewers turn on an SVOD service first when they want to watch TV, including 46% who default to a “big 5” service. By comparison, only 38% turn on live TV first (from MVPD, vMVPD, or OTA/antenna).

Last year, all SVOD services combined were neck and neck with live TV, whereas this year viewers are more likely to default to one of the top 5 services than to live TV.

For context, in 2018, the margin was more than 2:1 in favor of live TV over an SVOD (62% and 30%, respectively), demonstrating just how quickly the tides have turned.

Netflix continues to be the most popular streaming platform, and it has become itself as central to viewers’ experiences as traditional TV. For the first time, viewers are as likely to turn on Netflix (26% share) as they are to turn on an MVPD (live TV/DVR/VOD – 26%) when they want to watch something on TV. Just a few years ago, in 2021, the margin was again 2:1 in favor of MVPDs over Netflix (39% and 20%, respectively).

UMG Releases AI-Powered Spanish Version of Brenda Lee's Song

Universal Music Group has released a Spanish version of country music star Brenda Lee's 1958 hit song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" using SoundLabs' AI technology.

Called, "Noche Buena y Navidad" in Spanish, the song was created with Lee's approval under award-winning Latin music producer Auero Baqueiro.

Reuters reports Universal Music said that the song demonstrates how AI can be used while respecting artists and ensuring their full authorization.

The ethical use of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry has been a point of discussion after several incidents where AI-generated content raised concerns about copyright infringement and artist consent.

The track's vocal was made using SoundLabs' MicDrop, an artificial intelligence vocal plug-in which allows users to transform their voice into another voice or instrument.

The song used the original music and background vocals while replacing Lee's lead vocals with a newly translated Spanish language vocal, created using the AI vocal model derived from the Country Music Hall of Fame member's voice.

"The result is a new version of the familiar and cherished holiday classic that sounds as if 13-year-old Brenda Lee was in the booth, singing it for the first time," Universal Music said.

Universal Music signed a deal with SoundLabs in June to create official high-quality vocal models for artists using their own voice data for training, while retaining control over ownership and giving them full artistic approval.

R.I.P.: Jen Myers, Beloved St. Louis Radio Personality

Jen Myers (1974-2024)

Longtime radio host Jen Myers (real name Jennifer Marie Farmer) has died following an eight-year battle with breast cancer.

Myers, a New York native, had a 26-year career in radio. During that time, she was at stations in Buffalo, Des Monies and finally, St. Louis, where she hosted a morning show and was the music director at Y98 for 15 years.

“Jen loudly and proudly used her voice and her platform —and on many occasions an energy reserve she shouldn’t have been capable of—to help raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for causes she cared about, including Pedal the Cause, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Ollie Hinkle Heart Foundation and Pink Ribbon Good, just to name a few. When it came to helping others, Jen never said no,” read her obituary.

In lieu of flowers, her family is asking for donations to be made in her honor to Pedal the Cause, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and Pink Ribbon Girls. They have also set up a GoFundMe account to help offset ongoing expenses for her family.

Radio History: Oct 26

➦In 1935...Frances Gumm, a talented twelve-year-old sang on Wallace Beery’s NBC radio show. The young girl would soon be in pictures and at the top of stardom. It would be only four years before the renamed Judy Garland captured the hearts of moviegoers as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

➦In 1940...Hazelwood Broadcasting put WLOF 1230 AM on the air (We-Love-Orlando-Florida).

It would be Orlando's second radio station. WLOF began broadcasting at 6:30AM with 250 watts of power and radius of 50 miles.

The studios and offices were located on the mezzanine floor of the Angebilt Hotel. The station was an affiliate of the National Broadcasting Co. (NBC), switching to Mutual in 1947.

Also, The station was moved to 950 kHz in 1947 and power was increased to 5,000 Watts.

➦In 1965...The Beatles receive Members of the British Empire (MBE) medals from Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony staged at Buckingham Palace. It is the first such honor ever given to a rock band, causing many former recipients, many distinguished military personnel, to return their medals in disgust. According to John, the group is so nervous beforehand that it gets high on marijuana in a palace bathroom; during the ceremony, when Her Majesty asks the group how long it's been together, Ringo.

➦In 1968...Having been fired from WOR-FM, Legendary DJ Murray The K moves across town in New York, again becoming one of the WMCA 570 AM "Good Guys" working a weekend shift.

➦In 1990...CBS founder & CEO William S. Paley died at age 89 after a heart attack and kidney failure.

R.I.P.: Phil Lesh, Founding Member of Grateful Dead

Phil Lesh (1940-2024)

Phil Lesh, a founding member of the Grateful Dead whose bass lines powered the band’s songs over three decades and contributed to hits such as “Box of Rain,” died Oct. 25 at age 84.

The Washington Post reports the death was announced in a statement posted to his official Instagram page.

Lesh, alongside bandmates Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia, were the front three of the Grateful Dead from the band’s early years in San Francisco’s 1960s music scene until Garcia’s death in 1995.

While Garcia’s roots were in bluegrass and American folk music, Lesh influenced the band with his interests in experimental bass lines and avant-garde riffs. 

Lesh was seen as pushing the band toward some of its signature concert experiences such as the free-form “space” interludes.

One of America's most enduring musical groups, The Grateful Dead was formed as a quintet in California in 1965, according to their official website. Jerry Garcia, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Phil Lesh made up the original band members. They signed to Warner Brothers in late 1966, releasing their self-titled debut later that spring.

The band went on to tour for the next half-decade — an era, the band said was their most creatively fertile. Somea members left, some died, and others were added, but the original magic of Phil Lesh and Jerry Garcia stayed intact through some of their most tumultuous years. Garcia died in 1995.

After Garcia’s death, Lesh founded Phil Lesh and Friends, which carried on some of the Grateful Dead’s music.

Charlamagne, Anderson Cooper Tussle Over Media Coverage

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and radio host Charlamagne Tha God called out each other’s "bulls---" during a heated discussion Thursday night.

Fox News Digital reports the clash began after Charlamagne, while appearing on Cooper’s show, began attacking news outlets like CNN for supposedly not focusing enough on former President Trump being a fascist and instead discussing racial issues involving Vice President Kamala Harris.

"It’s crazy because you still don’t have news networks having that conversation, like when somebody says, when somebody questions Kamala Harris’s Blackness or is she a DEI hire, you all will have roundtable discussions about that, asking that question. How come we're not having a roundtable discussion asking is Donald Trump a fascist? Actually not even asking, he’s stating it," Charlamagne said.

He added, "How come that is not the topic of discussion on networks like CNN every day?"

"I talk about this every night," Cooper pushed back.

Trump to Experience Joe Rogan Today

Donald Trump is making a much anticipated stop at the Austin studio for the nation’s No. 1 podcaster, with a taping scheduled for Friday that could air as soon as Saturday. The visit to “The Joe Rogan Experience” is part of his final push to reach voters just over a week ahead of the election

Vice President Kamala Harris’s camp has also been in discussions to come on the show, but an appearance looks increasingly unlikely, with sticking points including the location and timing, according to The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the talks.

Podcasts are wielding unprecedented power in this election, as the biggest names in the medium prove they can deliver audiences that rival or even surpass the viewership of network or cable news.

A slot on Rogan’s show—which regularly draws 15 million listeners across platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, including a lot of young men—became increasingly attractive to both campaigns in recent weeks as they duke it out in battleground states for undecided votes in a close race. 

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both on media blitzes—but they are different from previous presidential campaigns. Here is how each candidate is using podcasts to reach niche audiences. Photo Illustration: Alexandra Larkin

Trump has opened a narrow lead in the race, according to a Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday. 

The former president’s challenge appears to be in motivating the young men who lean toward him to come out and vote. Harris has run stronger with women, and has been looking for nontraditional ways to reach younger men and peel some away from Trump.

“In an election where a lot of undecided voters are younger, it’s imperative to reach them where they are,” said Ben Leiner, a lecturer on media, technology and democracy at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. The sheer volume of interviews in these final weeks reflects the candidates’ need to break through, particularly with younger voters whose worldviews might be more influenced by their trusted fitness podcaster than by mainstream media.

More than half of Americans now consume at least one podcast a month, according to new data from industry advisory and data tracker Sounds Profitable.

Rogan’s show features candid conversations with celebrities, athletes, politicians, scientists, executives, comedians and others. They often last three hours or more.

Longtime Dodgers Radio Voice To Miss The World Series

Charley Steiner

As the Yankees and Dodgers are set to play in the World Series, an announcer with ties to both teams has received some great news. Longtime broadcaster Charley Steiner revealed to Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke that his multiple myeloma blood cancer — which he had not previously disclosed — is in remission.

“Remission is a beautiful word,” Steiner told the outlet. “Monday was one of those days where it was like, OK, we’re good.”

Steiner, 75, has called Dodgers games on the radio since 2005. He has also filled in on TV on dates when Scully and his successor, Joe Davis, were out.

Previously, Steiner called Yankees games with John Sterling for three years on the radio after Michael Kay became the team’s TV announcer. Before that, Steiner spent over a decade as a “SportsCenter” anchor and boxing analyst at ESPN, according to The NY Post.

Steiner has missed the last year of Dodgers broadcasts but had not previously revealed his cancer battle. With the recent good news, the expectation is he’ll be ready to return to the Dodgers’ booth next season.

Steiner said that he has been wheelchair-bound, lost 50 pounds and has had what the story described as “constant debilitating lower back pain.”

“It’s been really weird and tough watching the Dodgers and the Yankees,” Steiner said. “I broadcast both of them, yet I can’t do either of them.”

Steiner said his back pain started last November and that he was ultimately diagnosed with cancer in January..

R.I.P.: Grammy Singer Jack Jones, Best Known For The Love Boat Theme

Jack Jones, the crooner who beguiled concert fans and stage, screen and television audiences for decades with romantic ballads and gentle jazz tunes that even in large venues often achieved the intimacy of his celebrated nightclub performances, died on Wednesday in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

He was 86, according to The NY Times. His wife, Eleonora Jones, said the cause of his death, in a hospital, was leukemia.

While his popularity peaked in the 1960s, Mr. Jones found a new audience in later years singing the theme to the hit television show “The Love Boat.” 

But even then he seemed always to have stepped out of an earlier generation, one that dressed in tuxedos for the songs of Tin Pan Alley and reminded America of its love affairs with the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen.

He won two Grammy Awards and recorded numerous albums of American Songbook favorites that hit the upper reaches of Billboard’s charts on the strength of his smooth vocal interpretations. He performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the White House and the London Palladium, and for more than 60 years drew crowds to cabarets and nightclubs around the world.

He recorded dozens of albums n the Kapp label, including “Dear Heart,” “Shall We Dance,” “She Loves Me,” “Call Me Irresponsible,” “I’ve Got a Lot of Livin’ to Do” and “The Jack Jones Christmas Album.” He won Grammy Awards for best solo male vocal performance for “Lollipops and Roses” in 1962 and “Wives and Lovers” in 1964.

Mr. Jones reached No. 1 on the Billboard easy listening chart with “The Impossible Dream” (1966) and “Lady” (1967). He was a staple on television variety shows hosted by Dinah Shore, Ed Sullivan, Andy Williams, Carol Burnett, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Judy Garland and Steve Allen. And millions more heard him when they tuned into “The Love Boat” on ABC from 1977 through 1985. (He was replaced by Dionne Warwick for the show’s last season.)

TV Ratings: 3.3M Watched CNN's Harris Town Hall

 CNN‘s Town Hall with Kamala Harris drew 3.33 million viewers, beating its cable news rivals in the 9 p.m. ET slot and topping cable overall, according to Deadline citing Nielsen figures from CNN..

That figure is still well below the 7.8 million who watched Fox News’ Bret Baier’s sit-down with Harris last week on the network’s Special Report.

In the time period, the event edged out Fox News, which drew 3.23 million with Hannity, and MSNBC, which drew 1.33 million with Alex Wagner Tonight.

In the 25-54 demo, the town hall drew 744,000, compared to 423,000 for Fox News and 155,000 for MSNBC.

The CNN town hall also ranked ahead of other port-primary Harris and Trump town halls, and topped any single candidate town hall all year among the 25-54 demo.

Report Shows Local News Deserts Expanding

The number of local news deserts expanded in the U.S. this year with 127 newspapers shuttering, leaving nearly 55 million Americans with limited to no access to local news, according to the Medill State of Local News Report 2024 released this week.

Medill researchers also discovered some reasons for optimism in their annual study of local news outlets: There’s been a net increase of more than 80 stand-alone local digital news sites in the past year.

For the third consecutive year, the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, conducted a nationwide, county-by-county study of local news outlets to help quantify trends in the fast-changing local media landscape.

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This year’s report is the most comprehensive undertaken by Medill, with the research including the growing number of national network news sites providing local coverage. The Medill database includes newspapers, digital-only local sites, ethnic media and public radio stations providing original local reporting.

Key findings from the Medill study:

• The nation has lost more than one-third of its newspapers since 2005. With 127 newspapers closing in the past 12 months — nearly two and a half per week — the U.S. has now seen a decline of 3,300 since 2005 as of September. The pace of newspaper closures did not slow appreciably in the past year.
• As a result of those losses, the number of news desert counties rose to 208 this year from 204 in 2023. News deserts are counties without any locally based source of local news. In addition, the number of counties with only one news source rose to 1,563. Taken together, those counties include nearly 55 million people with limited or no access to local news. More than half of the nation’s 3,143 counties have little to no local news.
• More than 7,000 newspaper jobs vanished between 2022 and 2023, compared to a few hundred the year before.
• The number of newspaper mergers and acquisitions skyrocketed 43% this year, with 258 papers changing hands in 75 transactions. Smaller and newer chains, including Carpenter Media Group, are leading the acquisition surge.
• Using predictive modeling developed by the school’s Spiegel Research Center, the Medill team substantially increased the number of counties on its “Watch List” — those at high risk of losing local news — to 279 from 228 last year. That’s a 22% percent rise.
• For the first time, Medill tallied the growing number of national networks providing original local reporting. Researchers counted 740 network digital sites, but none of them are covering previous news desert counties.
• There’s been a net increase of 81 stand-alone local digital news sites, the biggest one-year gain in recent years. About one-third of them are less than five years old. That gain, however, includes 30 newspapers that converted from print to digital. Nearly 90% of them are in metro areas, not in hard-hit rural counties.
• For the second consecutive year, Medill mapped every local news startup in the U.S. And the Medill Local News Initiative identified 12 “Bright Spots” news outlets that are showing promise after receiving more than 60 nominations for that designation. The Bright Spots map was developed with support from Microsoft.

“This research shows that the crisis in local news is deepening, and fewer Americans have access to news they need about their communities to be informed citizens,” said Tim Franklin, director of the Medill Local News Initiative and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News. “At the same, this report includes glimmers of hope in the growing number of local digital news sites across the country.”

Cleveland Radio: State Athletics Expands Broadcasts With iHM

Cleveland State Athletics has  announced an expanded multi-year partnership with iHeartMedia Cleveland as the official broadcast partner for Cleveland State basketball. The agreement covers all men's basketball regular season and postseason games as well as an expanded selection of women's basketball regular season and postseason games. iHeartMedia will also carry coaches show broadcasts which provide fans an inside look at both programs.

📻Fox Sports 1350 AM will continue as the flagship home for Cleveland State game broadcasts. Select games will also be broadcast on WTAM 1100 AM. WTAM serves as the flagship station for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Guardians and boasts the largest signal strength of any station in the greater Cleveland market.

 
The coaches show broadcasts begin on Monday, October 28 with the first episode of the Women's Basketball Radio Show, live from the fifth floor Viking Loge inside the Wolstein Center. The Coach Robinson Show kicks off the next night on Tuesday, October 29 at Viking Public House.

Savannah Radio: Rock I-95 Raising Funds For Breast Cancer Charity

Cumulus Media announces that I-95, The Rock of Savannah (WIXV-FM) partnered with Savannah Harley-Davidson and the Savannah H.O.G. Chapter for the 4th Annual Savannah Harley-Davidson SAVE THE TA-TAS Poker Run. 

The event was held on Saturday, October 19th, and brought in $6,200 for Margie’s Army Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for and empowering women in their fight against breast cancer and raising awareness about the significance of knowing their breast density.

Billie Marshall, On-Air Host, “Bad Ass Rock Show,” heard weekdays from 3:00-7:00pm on I-95, was emcee for the annual community fundraiser. Over 120 motorcycle riders registered for the charitable event, representing a nearly 50% increase in participants from last year’s Poker Run. Participants enjoyed music, food, a silent auction, and door prizes – including a prize for the best-dressed participant in pink.

Billie Marshall said: "Not only is it an honor to help Savannah Harley-Davidson and Savannah H.O.G. Chapter raise money for a foundation educating women about their breast density for early detection, but it's also always fun! We can't wait for the 5th annual run, to be held on October 18th, 2025!"

📻For more information or to stream I-95, The Rock of Savannah, visit: https://www.i95savannah.com/.

R.I.P.: Rob Dempsey, 30-Year Greenville SC Radio Veteran

R.I.P. Rob Dempsey

Rob Dempsey, a 30-year veteran of the radio industry, died on Wednesday evening. The morning radio show host had been hosting Rob and Lizz in the Morning on WLFJ HIS Radio. His passing was announced on the air on Thursday morning. Dempsey reportedly passed away following a battle with bladder cancer.

"It’s a sad day in local radio… Rob Dempsey (from His Radio 89.3 FM) was called home to Heaven last night following a battle with cancer. He used his platform to serve the Lord & share the Gospel. Praying for his family, friends, colleagues, & all who knew him," the announcement read.

Dempsey died after 24 years with the station, serving as both a host and a program director. His death was announced on Thursday morning by his co-hosts on the Rob and Lizz in the Morning show.

Dempsey's cause of death was reportedly linked to his recent disclosure of cancer. On October 15, Rob took to his Facebook page to share the news of his diagnosis with fans: "A big thank you to all who have been praying for me. I saw the report today. I have bladder cancer, and it looks aggressive."

Sadly, just over a week after his public announcement, Rob was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment where he went into cardiac arrest, ultimately passing away.

R.I.P.: Tom Jarriel, Former ABC News Correspondent, Anchor

Tom Jarriel, a former correspondent and anchor for ABC News, has died, his family announced Thursday. He was 89.

Born in Georgia, Jarriel grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. In 1958, he launched his career in broadcast journalism at Houston's KPRC.

Former ABC News correspondent and anchor, Tom Jarriel has died at the age of 89. A fixture at the network for nearly four decades, Jarriel gained national attention for his coverage of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. @DavidMuir reports. https://t.co/ah6mqhNVV8 pic.twitter.com/1awVU8JFEG

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) October 25, 2024

Jarriel joined ABC News in 1965 and quickly gained national attention for his coverage of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By 1969, he was elevated to Chief White House Correspondent, covering both Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

The year 1979 proved a pivotal year in Jarriel's career, being named anchor of ABC’s Weekend Report, along with joining ABC’s fledgling, primetime news magazine, "20/20."

Over the more than two decades at "20/20," his impactful reporting earned him numerous accolades, including six Emmy awards, before his retirement in 2002.

Radio History: Oct 25

➦In 1937...The soap opera "Stella Dallas" made its debut on WEAF in New York City.

It aired until December 23, 1955. The New York Times described the title character as "the beautiful daughter of an impoverished farmhand who had married above her station in life."

She was played for the entire run of the series by Anne Elstner (1902–1982). Her husband Stephen Dallas was portrayed by various actors.  The series was created and produced by the husband and wife team of Frank and Anne Hummert, based on the 1923 novel Stella Dallas by Olive Higgins Prouty. The 15-minute drama began on October 25, 1937, as a local show on WEAF in New York City, in the wake of the successful movie version starring Barbara Stanwyck, and it was picked up by the NBC Radio network beginning June 6, 1938, running weekday afternoons.

➦In 1959...Chicago-based announcer & host Bob Murphy (not to be confused with sportscaster Bob Murphy) died at age 42.  He was best known nationally for his announcing & substitute hosting on Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club on ABC Radio.

➦In 1984...The summer ratings book…

Los Angeles – KIIS-FM (top-40) gets a 10.0 share. Rival KKHR is up to a 3.0. Talk KABC is up to a 7.9. Easy JOI – 4.4 and Easy KBIG – 4.1. Rock KLOS down to a 3.5 from a 3.9. Nostalgia KMPC at a 3.4 and AC KOST gets a 2.7. Rock KMET is at a #.1, All news KNX and  KFWB are tied at a 2.9.  A/C KFI is up to a 1.8 from a 1.4. KHTZ is at a 2.0.

New York – WHTZ – 6.6 and rival WPLJ – 5.3.  WRKS gets a 5.4. WOR – 4.7. WINS – 4.4 and Easy WRFM – 3.7. Urban WBLS at a 3.5. WBLS is the “Quiet Storm” at night. WKTU – 3.1. WNBC – 3.0 and Country WHN – 2.9. WNEW AM and WNEW-FM both at a 3.1. WLTW and WYNY are tied at a 2.8. WABC gets a 2.6. WAPP – 2.4 and WMCA – 1.5

Chicago – Top-4- WBBM FM – 5.0. WGN-AM – 11.4 share. Easy WLOO – 6.8.

Boston – Rock WBCN – 8.6. A/C WHDH – 8.4. Top-40 WXKS – 7.5. WBZ – 7.4. Top-40 WHTT – 6.6. Talk WRKO – 4.7

➦In 1984...CKLW Windsor/Detroit switched to a nostalgia music format.

Out was long-time music director Rosalie Trombley who served in that capacity since CKLW’s influential heyday in the ‘60’s. In the summer ratings book, CKLW dropped again, from a 1.2 to a .7.

Many believe that CKLW started to decline in popularity after Canadian content regulations went into effect. Although having to play some "CanCon" songs that generated little in the way of sales put the station at a competitive disadvantage compared to its U.S.-based competition, CKLW still managed to help break a number of Canadian songs and artists in the United States.

Just as, if not more, responsible for the decline in CKLW's ratings as the 1970s wore on was the rise of FM radio as an outlet for contemporary music, as the station gained a direct FM Top 40 competitor, WDRQ, in 1972, and its listening audience was also fragmented between album oriented rock outlets such as WWWW, WRIF and WABX and adult contemporary stations like WNIC and WMJC.

DOJ Warns Elon Musk About Million-Dollar Handouts

The Justice Department has warned tech billionaire Elon Musk and his pro-Trump political action committee that its $1 million daily handouts to registered voters in swing states may violate federal election law, media outlets reported Wednesday.

The department’s public integrity section, which investigates potential election-related law violations, sent the letter to Musk’s America PAC "in recent days," according to CNN.

The Justice Department declined to comment in response to requests from USA TODAY. Musk did not respond to a request for comment sent to him on X, his social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

In recent weeks Musk has very publicly thrown his support – and his money – behind Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, adding the $1 million daily lottery last weekend.

Musk has defended what he said are random giveaways in a post on X, saying those eligible for the $1 million prizes "do not need to register as Republicans or vote in the Nov. 5 election.

But his PAC’s online petition offering the money says that those eligible must pledge to support the Second Amendment, a political shorthand for anti-gun control measures that are favored by Trump and opposed by his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Our goal is to get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” it says. It also provides links to online voter registration forms in the eligible states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

So far, Musk has not publicly addressed the potential legal problem of only opening the lottery to registered voters.

TV Ratings: Harris Interview Drives Fox To Weekly Win

During the week of October 14 - 20th, FOX News Channel (FNC) led all of cable television with total day viewers for the 41st consecutive week powered by Special Report’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. In primetime (8-11 PM/ET), FNC earned 2.6 million viewers and 331,000 in the 25-54 demo, commanding all of cable news with viewers. In total day (6AM-6AM/ET), FNC posted 1.6 million viewers and 209,000 in the 25-54 demo. 

Powered by its exclusive with Vice President Kamala Harris, Special Report saw a 53% increase with viewers and 63% increase with A25-54 compared to same period last year. The interview was the second most-watched telecast in cable TV for the week behind Monday Night Football. Additionally, FNC secured 81 of the top 100 telecasts in cable news.

Looking solely at the news networks, the vice president’s interview did give Fox News a win as it was the only network to post week-to-week gains in both measured categories during primetime and total day. Meanwhile, CNN was the only network to see across the board declines during both dayparts.

Nielsen live plus same-day data for the week of October 14 saw FNC average 2.619 million total viewers and 331,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was up in total viewers by +5% and +10% in the A25-54 demo relative to the week prior. 

Fox News averaged 1.630 million total viewers and 209,000 A25-54 viewers in total day viewing for week-to-week gains of +4% in both measured categories. Among all basic cable networks, Fox News held on to the No. 2 spot behind ESPN in total primetime viewers, and remained in fourth place in the primetime demo.

MSNBC’s primetime lineup averaged 1.277 million total viewers and 134,000 A25-54 viewers, for gains of +3% in both categories relative to the week prior. Among all basic cable networks, MSNBC dropped from fourth to fifth in total primetime viewers and climbed from 10th to eighth in the demo. During total day, it was the No. 2 network in total viewers and No. 5 position in the demo. 

CNN averaged 622,000 total viewers and 117,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. That translates to week-to-week declines of -19% and -28%, respectively. On the basic cable standings, CNN slid from sixth to seventh place with total viewers in primetime and from No. 9 to No. 11 in the primetime demo.

Fox News occupied 12 of the 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the week in total viewers, with The Five (3.645 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET) remaining in the top spot. MSNBC occupied the remaining spots, with Deadline: White House with Nicole Wallace (1.715 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET).

FOX News Channel’s (FNC) Special Report with Bret Baier delivered 7.8 million viewers and 1,126,000 in the 25-54 demo during anchor Bret Baier’s exclusive interview with Vice President Kamala Harris from 6 – 6:30 PM/ET on October 16th. The interview was the highest rated of the Harris-Trump political season and delivered the highest rated non-prime interview in the history of cable news, outrating Harris’s appearances on 60 Minutes, The View, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CNN and MSNBC. Combined with the show’s midnight airing (6-6:30 PM/ET and 12-12:30 AM/ET), Special Report’s interview with Vice President Harris nabbed 9.2 million viewers and 1.4 million in the 25-54 demo, beating ABC’s interview with President Biden before he dropped out of the race (8.5 million viewers).

FNC’s The Faulkner Focus’ women’s issues town hall with former President Donald Trump in Georgia on Wednesday hosted by Harris Faulkner, nabbed 3.1 million viewers and 440,000 in the 25-54 demo, leading the cable news competition combined in its timeslot. This marked the show’s second highest-rated show since launch and surpassed the cable news competition combined across all categories. For the full week, The Faulkner Focus averaged over 2.1 million viewers marking a 24% increase in viewers compared to the prior year.

For the week, The Five averaged 3.6 million viewers and 353,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 6 PM/ET, Special Report with Bret Baier drew 3.5 million viewers and 420,000 in the 25-54 demo. The Ingraham Angle saw 3 million viewers and 363,000 in the 25-54 demo at 7 PM/ET. At 8 PM/ET, Jesse Watters Primetime delivered 3.6 million viewers and 477,000 in the 25-54 demo, making it the top show in cable news across in the 25-54 demo. At 9 PM/ET, Hannity posted 3.1 million viewers and 416,000 with A25-54. At 11 PM/ET, FOX News @ Night secured 1.7 million viewers and 266,000 in the 25-54 demo.

FOX News Channel’s Gutfeld! continued to lead all late-night television across the board. For the week, Gutfeld! averaged 3 million viewers and 415,000 in the 25-54 demo, topping CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2.1 million P2+; 351,000 A25-54) and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1.8 million P2+; 340,000 A25-54).

FNC also saw a number of its daytime programs outrank the broadcast competition. Most notably, Harris Faulkner’s The Faulkner Focus (weekdays, 11 AM/ET; 2,120,000 P2+), Outnumbered (weekdays, 12 PM/ET; 2,109,000 P2+), America’s Newsroom with Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer (weekdays, 9-11 AM/ET; 1,860,000 P2+), America Reports with Sandra Smith and John Roberts (weekdays, 1-3 PM/ET; 1,850,000) and The Story with Martha MacCallum (weekdays, 3 PM/ET; 1,750,000 P2+) all outpaced NBC’s Today with Hoda and Jenna (1,383,000 P2+) and ABC’s GMA3 (1,330,000 P2+).

Source: Nielsen. Live+SD. Week of 10-14-24 ratings data. Average audience for cable news networks Monday-Sunday based on Total Day and Prime (6a-6a, 8P-11P), P2+, P25-54, P18-49. Cable News/Broadcast Program averages exclude repeats and include the corresponding program name.