CNN plans to pull its original series off HBO Max and put the programming on its own streaming service as the cable news channel prepares to launch CNN+ next year, reports Bloomberg.
The programs that will likely move include popular food shows starring Anthony Bourdain and Stanley Tucci and other CNN original series and documentaries, according to a person familiar with the matter. CNN no longer plans to produce shows for HBO Max, which is owned by the same parent company, AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia.
CNN’s strategy began to take shape this week when it announced that two high-profile stars from news and entertainment, Chris Wallace and Eva Longoria, will make shows for CNN+.
Wallace, a veteran journalist who spent 18 years at Fox News, will have a weekday show on CNN+ in which he will interview figures across politics, business, sports and culture. Reports of his hiring likely put CNN+ on many people’s radar for the first time, said Jon Klein, a former president of CNN’s U.S. network.
“It’s a great way to let a new audience know that CNN+ exists and they’re serious about putting out a quality product,” Klein said.
CNN+ is considering charging $5.99 a month and is aiming to launch in March, according to a person familiar with the matter. That would be the same price as Fox Nation, the streaming service from Fox News.
The service would debut just a few months before CNN’s parent is expected to combine with Discovery Inc. How the deal might impact the future of CNN+ remains murky. Among other assets, Discovery owns the Food Network, which could conflict with the culinary-based programming slated for CNN+.
Crowded Market
CNN+ will arrive in a market already crowded with free streaming news services, including ones from broadcasters like CBS.
“I have my doubts about audiences paying for streaming news,” Tom Jones, a senior media writer for Poynter, wrote about CNN+ this week.
WarnerMedia executives have been weighing whether to sell CNN+ and HBO Max combined at a discounted price, the person said. Walt Disney Co. has found success with a similar strategy, bundling subscriptions to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
Meanwhile, CNN+ has been hiring prominent TV journalists, such as Wallace and former NBC News correspondent Kasie Hunt. Several CNN stars, including Anderson Cooper, Van Jones and Don Lemon, will likely have shows on CNN+, according to people familiar with the matter.
CNN+ is also developing panel shows similar in format to Fox News’s “The Five,” people familiar said. It will have 8 to 12 hours of live programming each day.
As CNN prepares to launch its new streaming service, its cable channel remains in third place in the cable news ratings battle, showing steeper declines this year than Fox News and MSNBC.
The network’s streaming service will focus on live programming and original series. It will also feature an interactive component that could involve hosts responding to questions from viewers through the app.
Fox News Channel on Thursday lost its attempt to dismiss a $1.6 billion lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, a voting machine company that says Fox defamed it by amplifying conspiracy theories about its technology, reports CNBC.
In a written ruling, Delaware court judge Eric Davis said Dominion had sufficiently alleged it was defamed by Fox News’ 2020 election coverage and the case should proceed toward trial.
“At this stage, it is reasonably conceivable that Dominion has a claim for defamation per se,” Davis said in his ruling. “Accordingly, Fox’s Motion should be denied.”
Dominion’s lawsuit filed in March accused Fox of trying to boost its TV ratings by falsely claiming the company rigged the presidential election against Republican Donald Trump, who lost to Joe Biden, a Democrat.
In a statement, a Fox News spokesperson called Dominion’s lawsuit “baseless” and said the network remains committed to defending itself.
“As we have maintained, FOX News, along with every single news organization across the country, vigorously covered the breaking news surrounding the unprecedented 2020 election, providing full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear-cut analysis,” the Fox spokesperson said.
Alpha Media has announced the appointment of Keith Abrams as Content Director effective January 3rd, 2022.
Keith Abrams joins Alpha Media Portland’s leadership team to oversee Programming for FM News 101 KXL, Freedom 970/KUFO, and 750 The Game/KXTG. Abrams will report to Portland Operations Manager, Gene Sandblom.
Keith Abrams
“Celebrating its 95th year, KXL is one of the best performing local news radio stations in the country, with one of the smartest and highly motivated news teams anywhere. After an exhaustive search, we are very happy to welcome Keith Abrams to lead our Alpha Media News/Talk stations in Portland.” Said Alpha Media Portland Operations Manager, Gene Sandbloom “His knowledge and lifelong commitment to great news is most welcome, as is his extensive format experience and love for sports which will be a great addition to our team at 750 The Game.”
Abrams commented, “Excited does not begin to describe how we feel about working for Alpha Media in Portland! I want to thank Bob Proffitt, Phil Becker, Lisa Decker, and Gene Sandbloom for the opportunity!”
Abrams brings to Alpha Media nearly 30 years of leadership experience and a proven track record of success in the radio industry. In his previous SVPP/Programming and Brand Coordinator roles at iHeartMedia, Abrams oversaw the Programming, Promotion/Marketing, Digital, and Production operations for the Cleveland cluster, including regional news/Total Traffic systems and flagship operations for the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavaliers. Prior to that, Abrams helmed Programming Operations for CBS Radio in Denver Colorado, and was the Corporate VP of Classic Hits programming in 10 additional CBS stations in Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Phoenix, Portland, Tampa, Cincinnati, and Fresno. Abrams’ career track also included local programming in Salt Lake City, Seattle, Charlotte, and Memphis.
Spotify Technology has announced the acquisition of Whooshkaa, an Australia-based podcast technology platform that gives independent creators, publishers, broadcasters and brands a cost-effective, end-to-end platform to host, distribute, monetize and track on-demand audio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
At the heart of the acquisition is Whooshkaa’s innovative technology that enables radio broadcasters to more easily and quickly turn their existing audio content into on-demand podcast content. This technology will soon be integrated into Spotify’s enterprise podcast and advertising platform Megaphone, empowering radio publishers to realize the full potential of podcasts with Megaphone’s best-in-class suite of hosting, distribution, reporting and monetization tools. At the same time, this porting capability should ultimately bring more global third-party content into the Spotify Audience Network, improving the scale, reach, and impact, for our advertising partners.
“We believe the worldwide growth potential for digital audio is still largely untapped. Through the addition of these new tools as well as the innovative team behind them, we are reinforcing our commitment to helping creators, publishers and advertisers realize the value of this opportunity,” said Dawn Ostroff, Chief Content & Advertising Business Officer, Spotify. “With Whooshkaa, we will strengthen our efforts to help audio publishers of all kinds grow their podcast business and scale our ability to help advertisers reach their audiences.”
“We are proud to support both podcast-first and broadcast businesses, offering publishers a best-in-breed audio platform across their podcast and radio content,” Whooshkaa Founder & CEO Robert Loewenthal. “We are looking forward to being part of Spotify’s bullish vision of the future of audio.”
The announcement follows a year of growth for Spotify’s advertising business:
Q3’21 was Spotify’s highest ad revenue in a quarter ever, growing 75% Y/Y
Spotify recently passed €1 billion in advertising revenue in 2021
Nearly 1 in 5 Spotify advertisers are now using the Spotify Audience Network
Since the launch of the Spotify Audience Network, opted-in Megaphone podcast publishers have seen a double digit increase in fill rates, a meaningful increase in unique advertisers, and a double digit lift in CPMs
➦In 1902...actor House Jameson was born in Austin, Texas.
Success on Broadway led to a starring role in CBS Radio Network's 'Renfrew of the Mounted', and the part for which he is beloved, playing father over the 14 year run of NBC Radio’s 'The Aldrich Family'. When the family comedy went to TV in 1949 he was the only radio cast member to move with it. His many guest appearances on TV through the 1960’s were highlighted by recurring roles on the soaps The Edge of Night and Another World.
He died April 23 1971 at age 68.
➦In 1926...WCBS NYC signed-on (as WABC).
The station's history traces back to 1924, when Alfred H. Grebe started WAHG at 920 AM. WAHG was a pioneering station in New York, and was one of the first commercial radio stations to broadcast from remote locations including horse races and yachting events. Two years later, in 1926, Alfred Grebe changed the station's call sign to WABC (for his Atlantic Broadcasting Company) after concluding a business arrangement with the Ashland Battery Company (which had owned the call sign for a station in Asheville, NC) and moved his studios to West 57th Street, which would not be the last time the station would operate from 57th Street.
In 1928, General Order 40 moved the station's frequency to 970 AM, and the station became a part-time affiliate of the Columbia Broadcasting System, which was looking for a full-time radio presence in New York City (CBS's first flagship was WOR). After a short time broadcasting CBS programming three days a week, CBS president William S. Paley purchased WABC and it became a subsidiary of CBS.
Soon after this purchase the station moved to a new frequency, this time to 860 AM, and would eventually increase its transmitting power from 5,000 to its present 50,000 watts. The station also moved its studios into the CBS headquarters at 485 Madison Avenue (on the corner of 52nd Street).
The station, still operating as WABC, featured a mix of local interest programming, ethnic content and music programs from CBS's national feed.
As time went by, WABC turned more and more to the national programming provided by CBS and its affiliates, and its broadcast day was influenced by CBS's growing interest in news programming.
In 1939, the broadcasting operations were moved across 52nd Street from the headquarters to the new CBS Studio Building. In 1941, WABC moved to the frequency it currently occupies, 880 AM, and changed its call letters to WCBS on November 2, 1946, to identify more closely with its parent network, the Columbia Broadcasting System or CBS, and avoid possible confusion with the rival network of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which had begun operation in 1943.
As a result, this station had no relation to the longtime ABC radio flagship station on 770 AM that began in 1921 as WJZ, and has operated as WABC since 1953.
➦In 1926...KYA San Francisco, California was licensed. It signed-on 12/18/1926.
KYA went on the air on December 18, 1926, with 500 watts on 970 kHz from the Clift Hotel in San Francisco. The owners were Vincent I. Kraft of Seattle, who had started KJR-AM and Frederick C. Clift of San Francisco. It got a license for 1000 watts on 850 kHz in November 1927. Its studios moved to the Warfield Theatre Building at 988 Market Street, but the transmitter stayed at the Clift Hotel.
In November 1928 moved to 1230 kHz as part of a nationwide frequency reshuffling, and joined the Columbia Broadcasting System. The station licensee went bankrupt in August, and KYA was transferred to a new corporation by the end of 1929. Having moved to various locations around the radio dial during the chaotic early days of broadcasting, KYA was assigned permanently to 1260 kHz as a result of NARBA in 1941.
"The Boss of the Bay" - KYA as a Top 40 Rock Station
In the mid-1950s, KYA made its mark as a Top40 station. KYA was for many years the leading Top 40 music radio station in the Bay Area, until the stronger-signalled KFRC switched to the format in 1966.
From time to time, up through 1970, KYA would again beat KFRC in the Arbitron ratings, but KYA's dominance was truly over after the mid-60's. Former KYA morning man and legendary radio programmer Bill Drake went on to consult KFRC to its ratings success; it was at KYA that Drake first made his mark as program director. KYA was also instrumental in the careers of future sportscaster Johnny Holliday, audio and electronics store pitchman Tom Campbell, Hall of Fame disc jockey and underground radio pioneer Tom Donahue (a/k/a "Big Daddy"), and Tommy Saunders, who retired from KYA's successor, KOIT, in 2006.
Other notable disc jockeys who plied their trade on KYA's airwaves in the 1960s included Les Crane, (air name Johnny Raven), Casey Kasem, Jim Stagg, Bobby Mitchell, Norman Davis, "Emperor" Gene Nelson, Peter Tripp, Tony Bigg, Russ "The Moose" Syracuse, Chris Edwards, Ed Hider, Johnny Holliday, Bill Holley (a cousin of Buddy Holly), Bwana Johnny, and Gary Shaffer. The 1970's saw a staff that included Christopher Cain, Roger W. Morgan, Jay Stone, Scott Thomas, Steve Jordan, Jimmy "Jet" Powers, Gary Mora, and Michael Rivers.
In December 1979, KYA AM & FM flipped to a light album rock format under the title "Easy Rock 93." Within months the AM station would flip again, this time to an oldies format while the FM station would continue the light album rock format as KLHT (K-LITE). Morgan, Mora, and Syracuse would be brought back to revive the station from its heyday. This format would hold until the station was sold in 1983.
KYA's dominance was basically over by the late 1960s when FM stations began playing rock 'n' roll and gained larger audiences.
In mid-2007, Bonneville reached an agreement to sell the 1260 AM frequency to IHR Educational Broadcasting. IHR took over station operations in December of that year under a time-brokerage agreement, and officially closed on the station on February 1, 2008.
In 2007, KOIT-AM, the former 1260/KYA, became KSFB, a Catholic-oriented station owned by Immaculate Heart Radio. Ironically, KYA's chief Top 40 rival in the 1960s and 1970s, KFRC (610 AM), is now the Christian-oriented KEAR (the KFRC call letters would return in January 2009, this time at 1550 AM replacing KYCY and the station is owned by CBS Radio).
On December 10, 2007, a religious format came to 1260 AM; the call sign was changed to KSFB. KSFB is part of one of the largest Catholic radio network in America, and its daily broadcasts include daily mass and rosary.
➦In 1936...ventriloquist Edgar Bergen kidded around with his little wooden pal, Charlie McCarthy, for the first time on network radio. The ventriloquist act debuted on “The Rudy Vallee Royal Gelatin Hour” on NBC. Soon, Bergen became one of radio’s hottest properties, and was regarded as Vallee’s greatest talent discovery.
➦In 1955...singer/songwriter Carl Perkins wrote “Blue Suede Shoes”. Within 48 hours he had recorded it at Sun Records in Memphis. The track quickly became one of the first to be popular simultaneously on rock, country and rhythm & blues charts.
➦In 1963...Carroll James Jr. became the first American Disc-Jockey to air a Beatles record on radio station WWDC in Washington, DC. That was two months before the Beatles were on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” Carroll played ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, which he’d obtained from his stewardess girlfriend, who brought the single back from the UK.
Carroll James and friends
James won a place in Beatles mythology as the first disk jockey to play the group's records on American radio. But D. L. MacLaughlan, a Beatles researcher at UCLA, has found playlists and top-40 charts from radio stations around the country that predate Mr. James's broadcast by as much as 10 months. The earliest was WLS in Chicago, which began playing ''Please Please Me'' in February 1963. Nevertheless, the Beatles and Capitol considered Mr. James's advocacy helpful, and invited him to be the master of ceremonies at the group's first American concert, at the Washington Coliseum.
James died from cancer in 1997.
➦In 1976...Atlanta television station WTCG-TV, owned by Ted Turner, changed its call letters to WTBS, and was uplinked via satellite, to become the first commercial TV station to cover the entire U.S. “Superstation” WTBS debuted on four cable systems, available initially in just 24,000 homes.
➦In 1986...Wayne “Danke Schoen” Newton won a $19.2 million defamation judgment against NBC News, which had aired erroneous reports linking Newton to mob figures, reports later proven to be false.
➦In 1987...WPLJ 95.5 FM NYC calls were changed to WWPR ("World Wide Power Radio") and became "Power 95." Rival WHTZ Z100 joked that the "PR" in the calls stood for "Puerto Rican" and that the station planned to flip to a Spanish-language format. The WPLJ call-sign returned the following year, on December 21, 1988, when research indicated that listeners still identified the station as WPLJ and the branding as "Power 95" was dropped.
Richard C Hottelet 1944
➦In 2014…Richard C. Hottelett, who covered the D-Day invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge for CBS radio, and was the last survivor of “Murrow Boys,” the network’s pioneering World War II radio newsmen who worked under Edward R. Murrow, died at age 97.
➦In 2016…Bob Coburn, Los Angeles radio personality and host of the nationally syndicated show Rockline, lost his battle with lung cancer at age 68.
Tommy Steele is 85
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Singer-actor Tommy Steele is 85.
Actor Bernard Hill is 77.
Actor Ernie Hudson (“Ghostbusters”) is 76.
Former “Hardball” host Chris Matthews is 76.
Actor-comedian Eugene Levy is 75.
Actor Marilyn Hassett (“The Other Side of the Mountain”) is 74
Actor Wes Studi (TV’s “Comanche Moon,” “Into the West”) is 74.
Drummer Jim Bonfanti of The Raspberries is 73.
Actor Joel Brooks (“Six Feet Under”) is 72.
Singer Paul Rodgers is 72.
Singer Wanda Hutchinson Vaughn of The Emotions is 70.
Country singer Sharon White of The Whites is 68.
Actor Barry Livingston (“My Three Sons”) is 68.
Actor Bill Pullman is 68.
Director-producer Peter Farrelly (“There’s Something About Mary,” ″Dumb and Dumber”) is 65.
Marissa Ribisi is 47
Bassist Mike Mills of R.E.M. is 63.
Singer Sarah Dallin of Bananarama is 60.
Country singer Tracy Byrd is 55.
Bassist Duane Propes of Little Texas is 55.
Actor Laurie Holden (“The Walking Dead”) is 52.
DJ Homicide of Sugar Ray is 51.
Actor Sean Patrick Thomas (“The District”) is 51.
Actor Claire Forlani (“Meet Joe Black,” ″CSI: NY”) is 50.
Drummer Eddie Fisher of OneRepublic is 48.
Actor Sarah Paulson (“American Horror Story”) is 47.
Actor Giovanni Ribisi is 47.
Actor Marissa Ribisi (“Pleasantville”) is 47.
Actor Milla Jovovich (“Zoolander,” ″The Fifth Element”) is 46.
Singer Ben Goldwasser of MGMT is 39.
Singer Mikky Ekko is 38.
Actor Shannon Woodward (“Westworld,” ″Raising Hope”) is 37.
Actor Emma Bell (“The Walking Dead”) is 35.
Actor Vanessa Zima (Film’s “Ulee’s Gold,” TV’s “Murder One”) is 35.
Guitarist Taylor York of Paramore is 32.
Actor Graham Rogers (“Quantico”) is 31.
Actor-singer Nat Wolff (“The Naked Brothers Band”) is 27.
Educational Media Foundation, the parent company of contemporary Christian radio networks K-LOVE and Air1, is officially relocating its global headquarters to the Berry Farms community in southern Franklin.
The Tennessean reports the company announced its move to the Nashville area from California in March of this year and eventually announced its pick of Williamson County as its future home in May at Williamson Inc.'s annual Outlook Williamson conference. EMF announced it closed on an 11-acre property Wednesday.
“Middle Tennessee is the hub for Christian musicians, publishers, filmmakers and industry professionals, making it a great place for us to call ‘home,’” EMF CEO Bill Reeves said. “It is incredibly important to us to be somewhere that shares our values.
“We’re excited to bring our headquarters here. The content we’ll be broadcasting from this community will impact people across the U.S. and around the world.”
EMF's new space will be 170,000 square-feet and include six floors where broadcast facilities, podcast and video production studios, and a worship center will be housed, according to a news release. Construction on the facility is scheduled to begin in mid-2022.
EMF brings in annual revenue of roughly $200 million, according to Reeves.
The purchase of land in Berry Farms is the latest step in a three-year, phased process of relocating from the company's original headquarters in Rocklin, California.
"The reason we did that, in part, was because of some of the challenges here in the area with housing inventory," Reeves said in May. "For us, we felt like staging that over a two- to three-year period would be easier on the county and easier on us."
At the moment, more than 100 EMF employees are working in Franklin in temporary office space. However, 500 employees are expected to be based in the Berry Farms location down the line.
iHeartMedia is committing to create 180 jobs in downtown Nashville, in exchange for a state grant approved last month.
The Nashville Business Journal reports the state Funding Board unanimously approved a $1.25 million grant to iHeartMedia + Entertainment Inc. for jobs to be based at its 40,000-square-foot office at the 1200 Broadway tower.
1200 Broadway Tower
The company was finalizing a lease as the Covid-19 pandemic erupted across the nation in early 2020. At the time, iHeartMedia was billing it as a "second headquarters" for its digital division.
The jobs will pay an average wage of $51.82 an hour, according to state records.
The state grant equals 44% of the $2.85 million iHeartMedia is spending on its expansion in Nashville. The grant will be used for "building retrofit, fixture improvements, lease payments and tenant improvements," according to state records.
iHeartMedia is a tenant at 1200 Broadway, which also includes apartments and a Whole Foods Market. The project was developed by Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group.
iHeartMedia agreed to create the 180 jobs within five years, and agreed to clawback provisions if it fell short of that target by that time (typically, that threshold is set at 80% or 90%).
CUMULUS MEDIA has announced R&B WNBM-FM will flip to WFAS-FM, TALK FM 103.9, on January 3, 2022, creating the only all-talk FM station in the New York metropolitan area. Additionally, the station will begin simulcasting the programming to Cumulus Media’s AM1230Digital, the first all-digital AM station to broadcast in the New York metropolitan area.
Programming for Talk FM 103.9 / AM1230Digital – New Talk For New York will be provided by Cumulus Media’s Westwood One, the largest audio network in the country, and will feature talk 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The preeminent lineup will feature The Dan Bongino Show, The Ben Shapiro Show, The Chris Plante Show, The Michael Knowles Show, The Rich Eisen Show, and The Jim Bohannon Show. Additionally, the station will be home to America in the Morning, First Light, Red Eye Radio, America this Week/Week in Review, and Real Estate Today.
103.9 FM (980 watts)
WFAS-AM 1230 Digital launched in May 2021 as the first digital AM station to broadcast in the New York metropolitan area, the U.S.’s largest DMA. With the addition of WFAS-FM’s footprint, the signal will reach well beyond Westchester County, NY, and into large portions of New York City (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan), the north shore of Long Island, and northern New Jersey.
“Extending our marquis talk programming into New York City is a win-win for Cumulus,” said Dave Milner, President, Operations, Cumulus Media. “The addition of the WFAS-FM signal will allow us to reach even more listeners with the well-known talk shows they expect from us and also provide our advertising partners with premium opportunities in the number-one metro area.”
Nielsen has announced that The Gauge, its monthly total TV and streaming snapshot, revealed that in November 2021, time away from daily routines and the Thanksgiving holiday inspired consumers to spend 5% more time with TV each week in the month
Broadcast television usage lost a share point, dropping to 27% of total usage. While sports viewing was up 7%, a decline in general drama (-12%) and sitcom (-7%) viewing contributed to the decrease. Consumers' share of TV time for both cable and streaming remained flat at 38% and 28%, respectively.
Notable in this month's iteration of The Gauge, the "Other" category gained a percentage point to hold 7% of TV time. This 1% growth was driven primarily by students using their time away from school and their studies to spend more time playing video games.
Looking at the streaming platforms themselves, according to data from Nielsen's Streaming Platform Ratings, the foundation of The Gauge's streaming insights, Disney+ gained a percentage point to capture 2% of total TV usage, as the platform's viewership grew nearly 20%. This increase was bolstered by the availability of the platform's kids audience, and the anticipated releases of Shang-Chi and The Beatles: Get Back documentary. Netflix usage remained steady with a 7% share, while Hulu and Amazon Prime Video collected 3% and 2%, respectively.
Measuring and monitoring consumers' streaming behavior in a comparable way against linear TV usage is a critical source of information for the industry as content creators, media companies, streaming platforms, advertisers, industry groups, talent agencies and the talent themselves all seek clarity around the various video content that consumers engage with.
Ken Kragen, a prolific manager and producer in entertainment and a central organizer behind the 1985 charity single “We Are the World,” died from natural causes in his Brentwood, Calif. home on Tuesday. He was 85 years old, reports Variety.
“While I am of course immensely proud of everything he has accomplished professionally, he has also been the best dad to me that I could have ever asked for,” Ken Kragen’s daughter, Emma Kragen, said in a statement.
Kragen was born in Alameda, Calif. on Nov. 24, 1936. Kragen graduated from Harvard Business School before embarking on a career across film, television and music.
One of Kragen’s first key ventures was the Kragen-Fritz management company that he created with his business partner Ken Fritz in the ’60s. For over five years they worked together as co-executives of the “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” as well as the “Glen Campbell Good Time Hour,” both on CBS. In addition to the Smothers, their clients included Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, Pat Paulson and Mason Williams. Together, they also produced (along with Tom Smothers and Michael Butler) “Hair” at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood. They also co-wrote the book “How to Produce a Successful College Concert,” which was published by Billboard Magazine.
Over his decades working in the entertainment industry, Kragen also managed entertainers including Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, The Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John, Burt Reynolds, The Smothers Brothers and Trisha Yearwood.
Kragen was instrumental in organizing the talent behind the 1985 song “We Are the World,” the landmark charity single intended to raise funds for African famine relief. Kragen was a devoted humanitarian, also contributing to initiatives like “Hands Across America” and NetAid. Kragen received the United Nations’ peace medal for his contributions on “We Are the World” and “Hands Across America.” Kragen also served on charity boards such as The Mr. Hollands Opus Foundation, Community in School and USA for Africa.
Kragen was also a frequent producer on film and television projects, including Kenny Rogers’ series of “Gambler” movies and the 2004 feature “The 12 Dogs of Christmas,” adapted from his daughter Emma’s children’s book of the same name. Kragen also produced a portion of the 1992 presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton.
Over his career, Kragen received several Emmy nominations, two MTV awards, an American Music Award and a manager of the year award from the Conference of Professional Managers. He was elected president of both The Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music, the only individual to ever be elected as leader of both organizations.
Joe Simon, a Grammy-winning R&B singer whose hits included 1969’s “The Chokin’ Kind” and 1972’s “Power of Love” and was sampled in OutKast’s “So Fresh, So Clean” and other hip-hop classics, died Monday (Dec. 13) in his longtime hometown near Chicago.
Born in Simmesport, La., Simon hated picking cotton and moved to Los Angeles to make it as a singer, spending his early years there homeless and living in a chicken coop. With nothing to do at night, he wrote 20 to 30 songs daily and developed his voice to the point that a label owner paid him $1,100 to record four songs written by others. He brought in local musicians including future funk greats Sly Stone and Larry Graham to play on 1964’s “My Adorable One,” which became Simon’s breakthrough hit.
“I don’t want to rush my career,” Simon told Billboard in 1968. “I’ll take my time, because the artist who rushes overlooks a lot of things.”
Nonetheless, Simon’s career moved quickly, as he landed three No. 1s and 14 top 10s on what is now called the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and a best R&B vocal performance, male Grammy for “The Chokin’ Kind.” He collaborated with Philly Sound hitmakers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff for 1971’s “Drowning In the Sea of Love,” then created the theme to 1973’s Cleopatra Jones. During his peak hitmaking period, Simon started his own indie labels, Spring and Posse, signing funk stars such as Millie Jackson and Fatback Band.
He was known as “The Mouth of the South,” compared to Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and, perhaps most aptly, Jackie Wilson. “He had a very different and distinct voice,” says his grandson, David Simon, a professional basketball player who toured with Simon toward the end of his R&B career in the ’80s. “You can definitely pick his voice out of any crowd.”
Early in his touring career, Simon played New York’s Apollo Theatre, where he once agreed to let a young soul band, the Jackson 5, appear on the same bill. “I remember going up to Michael and looking at him real close, thinking, ‘OK now, is this kid a midget or not?'” Simon told J. Randy Taraborrelli in his Jackson biography The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958-2009. “‘Hey man, stop starin’ at me, OK?’ [Jackson] told me.”
In 1983, he gave up what he called “worldly music,” according to his grandson, to become an ordained minister, working as a traveling pastor.
Still, Simon’s secular hits, and his influence, continue to pop up all over the world — David Simon spotted one of his grandfather’s old posters in the 1999 Denzel Washington film The Hurricane. “I travel internationally, and when I’m in Asia, we go to karaoke bars, and they have his music in karaoke books,” the 39-year-old athlete says. “It really spanned everywhere.”
SiriusXM is facing a lawsuit from the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) and the Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) for failing to provide captioning and transcripts for “the vast majority” of its podcasts. According to The Verge, the complaint states SiriusXM and its subsidiaries Pandora and Stitcher are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and New York state law for failing to make their podcast streams accessible for Deaf and hard-of-hearing users.
“Defendants’ failures to provide transcripts of their podcasts excludes deaf and hard-of-hearing persons from the critical sources of news, entertainment, educational programs, and popular culture that Defendants make available to their hearing customers, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit notes that the ADA requires companies providing services to the general public are expected to provide the services in a manner accessible to people with disabilities. The lawsuit does not name Spotify, producer of some of the most well-known podcasts, including The Joe Rogan Experience. Spotify doesn’t yet provide a transcript for Rogan’s shows (although some third-party apps provide transcripts).
“We can’t sue every bad podcast provider in a single lawsuit and had to start somewhere, but it is important to deaf and hard of hearing users that transcripts be provided across all podcast platforms,” Christina Brandt-Young of DRA said in an email to The Verge. “It’s deeply concerning to us that even when the authors of podcasts make their transcripts available elsewhere (like some podcasts from the New York Times), SiriusXM, Stitcher, and Pandora don’t provide them through their services, making our clients work twice as hard to get the same information everyone else gets.”
She noted that transcripts are easy to provide, “and these are multimillion-dollar companies. It’s time for them to do the right thing and provide podcast transcripts on their websites and apps.”
With the U.S. already dealing with a winter surge of the delta Covid-19 variant, straining hospitals in some places, the country is now facing a coming surge of the new omicron variant, which spreads even faster, at the same time. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that early data suggests omicron has a doubling time of only about two days. While the CDC said omicron made up three percent of cases based on specimens collected last week, experts says it's likely higher than that because it transmits so fast surveillance can't keep up with it. There are indications from South Africa, however, where omicron was first reported, that it may cause less severe disease than delta, but it is better able to evade vaccine protection. Boosters significantly increase protection, and health officials have been urging that people who were vaccinated more than six months ago get boosted.
The White House said yesterday that lockdowns won't be needed because vaccines are widely available, and even though they offer less protection than against delta, they appear to be holding up in preventing severe illness.
COVID SURGE: A surge in coronavirus cases across the country is leading colleges and businesses to close or re-instate COVID measures. The Delta variant remains the dominant strain, but experts are warning of a wave from the contagious Omicron variant. pic.twitter.com/ignH8chLYz
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said yesterday that there is no need, at least for now, for a booster specifically designed for omicron, saying the Pfizer and Moderna shots, particularly boosted, still appear to offer considerable protection against hospitalization from omicron.
🌪BIDEN VISITS TORNADO-STRUCK KENTUCKY: President Biden went to Kentucky Wednesday after the state was particularly hard-hit by tornadoes that roared through the Midwest and parts of the South last Friday night, killing at least 88 people, 74 of them in Kentucky. Biden met with local officials and surveyed the damage, talking with and comforting residents in devastated areas. The president pledged to do, quote, "whatever it takes, as long as it takes" to help Kentucky and other states, saying, "You will recover and rebuild." Biden visited the towns of Dawson Springs and Mayfield, where he prayed with Graves County Executive Jesse Perry and a pastor.
President Joe Biden walked through the battered remains of Mayfield, Kentucky, to get a first-hand view of the destruction wrought by one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in recent U.S. history https://t.co/17cP1jMVabpic.twitter.com/YuLzgzHpNW
💰CONGRESS SENDS $768.2 BILLION DEFENSE BILL TO BIDEN: The Senate passed a $768.2 billion defense bill on Wednesday, sending it to President Biden after it had earlier been passed by the House. The annual bill, which was approved by the Senate in a bipartisan 88-11 vote, includes a pay raise for servicemembers, makes changes to the way the military handles sexual assaults, and lays the groundwork for a new memorial on the National Mall for those who served in the Global War on Terrorism launched after the 9/11 attacks. But it doesn't change current law in order to require women to register for the draft, which was scrapped due to opposition by many conservative Republican lawmakers.
➤CHAUVIN PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHARGES OF VIOLATING FLOYD'S CIVIL RIGHTS: Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pled guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, admitting he deprived Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure, including unreasonable force by a police officer, by kneeling on his neck even though Floyd was handcuffed and not resisting. Chauvin was convicted earlier this year on state murder and manslaughter charges in Floyd's death and sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. Under the plea argument on the federal charge, Chauvin, who could have faced life in prison, should face 20 to 25 years in prison, which would run at the same time as the state prison time.
➤ELEVEN EXECUTIONS IN U.S. IN 2021, LOWEST SINCE 1988: There were 11 executions carried out in 2021 by states and the federal government, the lowest since 1988, according to an annual report out today from the Death Penalty Information Center. Three of them took place in January, at the end of an unprecedented series of federal executions in the final months of former President Donald Trump's administration. Pandemic-related disruptions partly accounted for the three-decade low, but the number of annual executions have been steadily falling since peaking at 98 in 1999. A 2021 Gallup poll cited in the report shows support for the death penalty now at 54 percent, down from a high of 80 percent in 1994.
🌲WHITE HOUSE SCALING BACK HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS DUE TO COVID: With delta variant Covid infections surging and the omicron variant threatening, the White House is scaling back its planned Chrisman season parties and celebrations, according to NBC News, citing a statement from First Lady Jill Biden's office. Instead of hosting dozens of holiday receptions, there will be what's described as a "limited number of open-house style events" for guests to see the White House decorations in "timed increments via self-guided tours." The first lady's spokesperson, Michael LaRosa, said, "It is disappointing that we cannot host as many people as the Bidens would like to, but . . . we will continue to implement strong Covid protocols, developed in consultation with our public health advisors."
🚘THE BUSIEST HOLIDAY TRAVEL DAYS ARE COMING UP SOON: It’s that time of the year when getting to your holiday destination can cause some major stress – and experts are saying the worst travel days are coming up. And what till the busiest day of the year be? According to flight demand, the worst day of the year will be (no surprise here) Thursday, December 23rd; with the second busiest shaping up to be Friday, December 17th. If you’re looking to avoid crowds, it looks like the least busy days to travel this season are Tuesday, December 21st, Christmas Day, 12/25, and New Year’s Day, 1/1/22. Another travel tip: avoid the airport morning rush between 5am-7am, and the evening rush between 4pm-6pm… and a note for drivers: try to hit the road early (before 11am) or late (after 7pm)!
➤A NASA SPACECRAFT JUST FLEW INTO THE SUN’S ATMOSPHERE FOR THE FIRST TIME: NASA just made history! Three years after its launch, the Parker Solar Probe has “touched” the sun, soaring into the sun’s atmosphere, producing discoveries that weren’t possible before. The probe was made to withstand temperatures of more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, making it possible to travel so far (6.5 million miles!) and so close to the sun. This momentous occasion could help scientists predict extreme space weather events, which can lead to satellite damage and telecommunication issues on earth.
➤DRAWING BOUGHT FOR $30 ACTUALLY WORTH $50 MILLION: A Massachusetts man’s unplanned stop off the highway led to some incredible news! On his way to a retirement party, Clifford Schorer pulled off to get a present from a rare book dealer who sold titles out of his home. On his way out, the shop owner asked Schorer if he knew anything about art, mentioning that his friend had an Albrecht Dürer drawing. Schorer then put the shop owner in touch with his friend, who confirmed in an astonished state that the drawing to be an original Dürer. The man purchased the drawing for $30 at an estate sale, and the piece of art is expected to be worth at least $50 million. So if you have any old art lying around, get it appraised – it could change your life!
Urban Meyer
🏈JAGUARS FIRE HEAD COACH MEYER AFTER 13 GAMES: The Jacksonville Jaguars fired head coach Urban Meyer yesterday evening after 13 games, during which the Jags managed just two wins, as well as multiple off-field controversies. Owner Shad Khan said in a statement released early this morning, "After deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban’s tenure with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to arrive at the conclusion that an immediate change is imperative for everyone." Meyer won three national college championships, but failed in his attempt to successfully make the transition to the NFL. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will take over as interim head coach for the final four games.
🏀GRAHAM HEAVES 61-FOOT SHOT AT BUZZER TO GIVE PELICANS WIN OVER THUNDER: The Pelicans' Devonte Graham heaved a 61-foot shot at the buzzer that went in last night to give New Orleans a 113-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Graham's score came after Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just made an off-balance 30-foot shot to tie the score with 2.3 seconds remaining.
🏀LAKERS ROOKIE REAVES MAKES THREE-POINT SHOT AT BUZZER IN OT FOR VICTORY: Los Angeles Lakers rookie Austin Reaves made a three-point shot at the buzzer in overtime last nightnto give L.A. a 107-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. LeBron James led with 24 points for the Lakers against Dallas, who were playing their third straight game without injured star guard Luka Doncic.
🏒BLACKHAWKS SETTLE LAWSUIT WITH BEACH OVER SEX ASSAULT BY ASST. COACH: The Chicago Blackhawks have settled a lawsuit brought by former player Kyle Beach who alleged he was sexually assaulted by an assistant coach more than a decade ago, it was announced yesterday. The Blackhawks said in a statement about the confidential settlement, "[We] hope that this resolution will bring some measure of peace and closure for Mr. Beach." Chicago's stance had previously been that Beach's accusation against former assistant coach Brad Aldrich lacked merit, but an an independent review released in October found the organization badly mishandled Beach’s allegations that he was assaulted by Aldrich, who was then a video coach, during the team’s 2010 Stanley Cup run. Aldrich claimed the encounter was consensual.
🏈GOODELL SAYS WFT OWNER SNYDER DIDN'T HINDER INVESTIGATION: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder didn't hinder last year's investigation into alleged sexual misconduct allegations in his franchise. The Washington Post reported a day earlier that Snyder tried to prevent attorney Beth Wilkinson, who was carrying out the probe, from interviewing a woman who had accused him of sexual misconduct in 2009. Goodell said, "We went through a very lengthy period of investigation and discussions. The one thing I can say with 100 percent assurance is that it didn't interfere with the work that our investigator did." The results of the investigation were not made public.
Daily Mail Screenshot 12/16/21
➤DUST STORM LATEST MIDWEAT WOE: A blinding dust storm moving at hurricane force winds of 90mph tore through half of Kansas, as trailers were knocked over in Colorado and fires spread throughout Oklahoma on Wednesday. The wild weather affected 100 million people in states throughout the Midwest and Great Plains with the National Weather Service calling it a 'historical weather day.' 'The Central US has never seen a December storm like this,' tweeted Bill Karins, a meteorologist for MSNBC, saying it was 'multi-hazard, life threatening weather today.' Winds of 70 to more than 100 miles per hour have already torn through the area, ripping off roofs, overturning 18-wheelers and leaving at least 380,000 people without power as of 8.30pm Wednesday throughout Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. It came amid some record-high temperatures, just days after dozens of powerful tornadoes swept through the area, flattening buildings in nearby Kentucky.
In what may be the biggest deal in music for an individual body of work, Bruce Springsteen has sold his masters to Sony Music and his music publishing to Sony Music Publishing in a combined deal that sources tell Billboard is in the area of $500 million.
As Billboard reported in November, Sony has been in negotiations to purchase Springsteen’s album catalog, while the superstar was also shopping his publishing catalog, which Universal Music Publishing Group has been administering, at the same time. Sources tell Billboard the floor to bid for the combined assets was $350 million, though that number was quickly surpassed.
Springsteen has recorded for Sony’s Columbia Records imprint for his entire 50-year career and, like other top-selling 1970s and ’80s stars, was granted ownership of his earlier albums as incentive to re-sign with the label in the late ’80s and ’90s as sales boomed during the CD explosion.
The Springsteen album catalog, which has racked up 65.5 million sales in the United States according to the RIAA website, and which includes the 15-times platinum Born In The U.S.A. and the five-times times platinum The River, still has plenty of firepower, as his music has generated 2.25 million album consumption units in the U.S. since the beginning of 2018, according to MRC Data.
Billboard estimates that the Springsteen catalog generated about $15 million in revenue in 2020 in a year that saw his catalog activity buoyed by a new release — last October’s Letter To You — and the carryover from 3 albums that were released in 2019: Western Stars, the Western Stars soundtrack and the Blinded By the Light soundtrack.
Billboard estimates that Springsteen’s publishing catalog brings in about $7.5 million a year. Consequently, the estimated value of the Springsteen publishing catalog is between $185 million (at a 25-times multiple) to $225 million (at a 30-times multiple).
The 30-time multiple of $225 million and 20-times multiple for the masters would bring the total to $415 million, but sources say the final price was considerably higher.
According to Reuters, it is the latest in a string of catalog deals over the past year or so that includes the music of David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young and Carole Bayer Sager.
Warner Music bought worldwide rights to Bowie's catalog in September, and Dylan sold his back catalog of more than 600 songs in December last year to Universal Music Group (VIV.PA)at a purchase price widely reported as $300 million.
