Katz Media Group has announced the appointment of 25-year media veteran Mark Gray as CEO, overseeing both Katz's radio and television companies.
He replaces Mark Rosenthal. Gray most recently served as President of Katz Radio Group.
He started his career with KRG in 1988 as an Account Executive. Gray has since been promoted within the company to positions including General Sales Manager and Vice President. He became president of Katz Radio in 2001 before being promoted to President of KRG in 2006.
"Mark has been a trusted partner for Katz's clients as well as an industry leader for many years, and we know he will continue to both successfully advocate for radio and TV and build their presence with major advertisers and agencies across the country," said iHeartMedia President/COO and CFO Rich Bressler.
"Katz is a longtime leader in the media industry, known for its exceptional sales team and their unparalleled ability to provide innovative expertise in audio and television solutions," added Gray. "I'm both honored and excited to take on this role, and I look forward to continuing to help drive revenue and advocacy for our broadcast partners."
Gray is a member of the Board of Directors for the Broadcasters Foundation of America, a member of the Radio Advertising Bureau's Executive Committee and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Alliance for Women in Media.
Gray replaces Mark Rosenthal as CEO. After nearly four years with the company, Rosenthal announced his decision to step down as CEO of Katz Media Group at the end of March. Rosenthal will continue as an advisor to Bressler and iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman.
Democrats grilled the new Republican chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday, at his first hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee since taking over the agency.
In his first month on the job, Chairman Ajit Pai has quickly begun rolling back a number of Obama-era initiatives and regulations, and faced tough questions from Dems at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing.
Ajit Pai
Topping the agenda, was Pai's decision not to conduct an FCC review of the $85 billion proposed AT&T-Time Warner merger.
According to The Hill, Pai decided a review was not necessary because the companies were not transferring any broadcast licenses in the deal. The Justice Department will still conduct its own antitrust review.
But when pressed by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on that decision, Pai said he would be willing to have the agency's lawyers review his conclusion and share their findings with the committee.
Pai dodged questions about whether he agrees with President Trump’s views of the media. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) asked Pai if he shares Trump’s belief that the press is an “enemy of the American people.”
Pai responded by saying that he didn’t want to “wade into the larger political debates,” but that he believes “every American enjoys the First Amendment protections guaranteed by the Constitution.”
Ajit Pai told the committee that the FCC will need to look into the decades-old cross-ownership rules, where the same entity is barred in many cases from owning TV, radio and newspaper outlets in the same market.
“One of my concerns, especially in smaller markets, is that as newspapers and broadcast TV and radio stations are struggling and a lot of them are going out of business, are there ways we can help them stay in business and do what they do best which is to cover local news,” said Pai. “If it is more efficient to collect news together and distribute it on different platforms, that could help them stay in business and provide a vital source of information.”
(Reuters) -- WikiLeaks documents showing the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency considered a "mission" against connected car technology underscores auto industry concern that the science behind the next generation of vehicles could be turned against them.
Cyber security is considered key to the rollout of tomorrow's self-driving and today's connected cars, which resemble computers on wheels with a host of communications routes that hackers could target.
If consumers are to trust smart vehicles, they must deem them safe from attack. Security experts cite the terrifying hypothetical example of a remote attack on a fully autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or brakes, in which the passenger would have no recourse to regain manual control of the car.
"You have a lot of car companies trying to design cars to be better suited to automation, which means they're more attractive to hackers," said auto consultant Roger Lanctot of Strategy Analytics.
A major strategy for automakers is to reduce the number of communications gateways to crucial systems and to require services offered by third parties to go through a single secure path.
WikiLeaks documents show the CIA citing "vehicle systems" and a car operating system from QNX, owned by Blackberry Ltd, as "potential mission areas" for the CIA's "Embedded Devices Branch" to consider.
The QNX operating system, which is used by most global automakers, provides a "a comprehensive, multi-level, policy-driven security model ... to mitigate attacks," the company said in a statement to Reuters. But given the collection of software, hardware and network components that make up a connected car, "security is only as strong as its weakest link," it said.
While the CIA's interest in cars brought widespread attention, the industry has already received wakeup calls about cars' potential to be hacked.
Researchers in 2015 used a wireless connection to turn off a Jeep Cherokee's engine, prompting a recall of 1.4 million vehicles by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
In September last year, Chinese cyber security researchers hacked a Tesla Inc Model S sedan, remotely tapping the brakes and popping the trunk. The electric carmaker subsequently patched the bugs using an over-the-air fix. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on its cyber security protocol.
The hacking of the Jeep and the Tesla "brought it home to the industry that even if its improbable it's technically possible," said Mark Wakefield, global co-head of the automotive practice at AlixPartners.
If a car was seen as vulnerable, it "could be a big brand problem," Wakefield said. Hacks could also expose private information shared between car and third parties - credit card numbers, account numbers or passwords - to theft.
A January survey by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute found that 33 percent of respondents said they were "extremely concerned" over hacking of full self-driving cars to cause crashes.
CLOSING DOWN THE WAYS IN
The number of ways into cars has proliferated, from cell phone signals to dongles. One such gateway is the standard OBD-II port found under the steering wheel historically used for onboard diagnostics. Today, hundreds of after-market devices use the port, whether to monitor driving for insurance needs or provide conveniences like safety alerts.
"The security of these devices is important, as it can provide an attacker with a means of accessing vehicle systems and driver data remotely," warned the FBI in a March 2016 bulletin on cyber security risks to motor vehicles.
Roger Lanctot
Carmakers are also building walls between non-crucial infotainment systems and driving controls so that any breach is blocked before it could compromise key functions like brakes.
The first step the industry is tackling is intrusion detection, said Lanctot. But what to do when a breach is detected is complicated, because shutting off parts of a car could be unsafe, he said.
Tesla was first to champion "over-the-air" technology in which wireless software updates are sent remotely to cars. Although some have argued such updates are a way in for hackers, Tesla and others see them a key protection to upgrade security and repair vulnerabilities quickly.
In January, U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill calling for cyber security standards for new cars but so far U.S. regulators have issued recommendations, not rules, on how carmakers should shield their computer systems from hackers.
The industry is "years away" from solving the cyber security problem, Lanctot said, noting that the first generation of cars built after the Jeep hack that include some kind of detection capabilities will not be seen until early in 2018.
It’s been nearly a year and a half since Jim Gearhart left WKXW New Jersey 101.5’s airwaves, after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a terrifying fall down his cellar stairs.
The nearly 26-year veteran of the station had to learn to walk all over again in the aftermath.
Now, according to NJ101.5, he's fully recovered and has returned for a weekly podcast, “The Jim Gearhart Show.” You can get it on iTunes and on Google Play.
Coming out of his self-described “cocoon,” Jim hit the airwaves for the first time since late 2015 Wednesday — joining Judi Franco for an hour and recounting the fall that could have ended his life.
“I remember these EMTs sitting in there, and they kind of squeezed me around, and they said, ‘This old guy, he must be made of iron. He has to have broken bones. Nobody could live through that.’ … Actually, they thought I was dead for a short while,” he said.
Jim said his loss of balance and fall were eventually chalked up to medicine, too much time in a hot tub, and “three fingers of Glenn Moran G Scotch” — though loosening up with the latter may have actually saved him.
iHeartMedia Denver has announced the return of popular afternoon host Keefer to Rock KBCO 97.3 FM effective March 20, 2017. Keefer will broadcast weekdays from 3 – 8 p.m.
Keefer will feature KBCO’s variety of World Class Rock and will host artists live in KBCO Studio C (the stations live performance studio).
“Being on-air at 97.3 KBCO – one of the most respected radio stations in the country – setting up Studio C recordings for some of the most prolific musicians in the industry, and working alongside some of the most creative, professional, and hard-working people I have ever encountered, I was truly living my dream,” said Keefer. “I’m excited about coming home to 97.3 KBCO.”
Keefer previously served as afternoon host on 97.3 KBCO from 1999 until 2012 before taking a five-year hiatus.
KBCO 97.3 FM (100 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
“The legacy of KBCO has Keefer’s DNA all over it. I am thrilled beyond words to welcome him back,” said Scott Arbough, Program Director of 97.3 KBCO. “Keefer’s gift is his honest and smooth baritone combined with great interaction and a clever command of language that is a rare gift. We are so excited to share this gift with the Denver / Boulder radio listeners. He’s back!"
Results to be released today from the Alan Burns and Associates/Strategic Solutions Research deep dive into AC and HotAC will show that all three contemporary pop music formats fight over thirty-something women.
“While top 40 dominates women in their 20s, and women in their 40s gravitate to mainstream AC,” noted Strategic EVP Hal Rood, “30-39 is a dogfight. It’s the top end of Top 40, the young end of mainstream AC, and the core of Hot AC.”
“In our data,” said Burns VP Jeff Johnson, “42% of Hot AC P1s, 35% of Mainstream ACs P1s, and 22% of Top 40’s were between 30 and 39. That’s partly due to the gradual contemporization of Mainstream AC. Mainstream AC P1s now agree more with statements like ‘I listen to radio to hear today’s current hits’ and ‘new music is very important to me’ than with the statement ‘today’s music is not as good as in years past.’ Our webinar today will take a close look at the favorite artists and most-liked music styles and eras of both the Hot and Mainstream strains of AC.”
The Burns/Strategic “Deep Dive into Mainstream and Hot AC” webinar, the fourth and final in the “What Women Want – 2017” series, happens at 2 PM Eastern/11 AM Pacific. You can register for the free 30 minute presentation by clicking here: What Women Want 2017 Webinar or the What Women Want icons at www.burnsradio.com or www.strategicsolutionsresearch.com.
Republicans in the U.S. Congress are moving to repeal regulations adopted by the Obama administration in October that would have subjected internet service providers to stricter scrutiny than websites to protect customers' private data.
Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona introduced a resolution on Tuesday backed by 34 other senators to undo the regulations under a provision that allows Congress to repeal recently approved federal regulations.
Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who chairs a House panel on telecommunications, introduced a companion measure on Wednesday. Republicans control both chambers of Congress.
Last week, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission temporarily blocked some of the rules from taking effect, a victory for internet providers such as AT&T Inc (T.N), Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N). Consumer advocates opposed the FCC move.
Under the rules, which were scheduled to take effect last Thursday, internet providers would need to obtain consumer consent before using precise geo-location, financial information, health information, children's information and web- browsing history for advertising and internal marketing.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, nominated by Republican President Donald Trump on Tuesday to serve a new five-year term, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that consumers would have privacy protections even without the Obama administration rules.
Republican commissioners including Pai said in October the rules unfairly give websites like Facebook Inc (FB.O), Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) or Alphabet Inc's Google unit (GOOGL.O) the ability to harvest more data than service providers and dominate digital advertising.
The American Civil Liberties Union criticized Flake's proposal to undo the rules.
"With this move, Congress is essentially allowing companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon to sell consumers’ private information to the highest bidder," ACLU general counsel Neema Singh Guliani said.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger on Wednesday defended his seat on President Trump's business advisory council as an opportunity to voice opinions that will benefit the company and its shareholders.
Facing questions regarding his inclusion on the council at the Disney's annual shareholders meeting, the chief executive said he had no plans to step down from the group, as some critics have urged him to do.
In response to one question, Iger said he did not believe his membership "supports or endorses" Trump's policies.
Another speaker, who identified himself as a member of the Colorado People's Alliance, said Iger's decision to remain on the council suggests Disney "is tacitly endorsing Trump's agenda."
Iger, however, referenced a song from the Broadway musical "Hamilton" called "The Room Where It Happens," saying it was important to have input in a forum where policies are being shaped.
"I think there is an opportunity, when you are in the room where it happens, to express opinions I believe would be in the best interest of the company and its shareholders," he said at meeting held in Denver.
Iger said he would at times express views "likely to be adversarial" to the president.
Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick quit Trump's advisory group in February amid pressure from activists and employees who opposed the administration's immigration policies.
Iger said immigration had helped Disney in many ways, citing the issue as an example of something he could address on the Trump advisory council.
The United States and Disney have "benefited from an open and fair immigration policy," Iger said. "I don’t happen to believe policies that single people out by religion are fair and just."
Iger skipped the first meeting of Trump's advisory council in February to attend a previously scheduled board meeting.
He fielded several questions on political topics at the meeting with another speaker suggesting that Disney-owned ABC News holds a liberal political bias, a charge Iger vigorously rejected.
"They work very, very hard to present news in a fair way," Iger said, adding that he did not agree the media was "an enemy of the people," as Trump has written on Twitter.
Iger said there were times the Obama administration disliked coverage by ABC News.
"I am proud of the fact news can be an adversary," Iger said.
Fox News has reportedly reached a more than $2.5 million settlement with a former contributor who said she was sexually assaulted by an executive.
The New York Times reported that former contributor Tamara Holder alleged that an executive "tried to force her to perform oral sex in February 2015."
Holder didn't report the alleged incident immediately after it occurred, according to the Times, because the attorney and author feared that it could destroy her career.
Holder eventually reported the charge to Fox News last fall.
The executive Holder claimed sexually assaulted her, Fox News Latino vice president Francisco Cortes, was fired after an investigation.
Holder left the network after her contract expired in January, according to The Hill.
“Yes, I was sexually assaulted. Immediately after I told the company where I worked about the incident, it promptly investigated the matter and took action, which I appreciate," Holder wrote in an email to the New York Times.
(Reuters) -- The founder of former telecommunications company Global Crossing Inc, Gary Winnick, has acquired a majority stake in live streaming concert service Qello - the first step in creating a new company and technology platform to capitalize on the surge in online TV consumption, Winnick told Reuters.
Winnick said the company, which will keep the name Qello, is aiming to provide the technology for video streaming services and has approached Viacom and MGM Studios Inc as content partners. Eventually, he will broaden the offering beyond television to enable companies in the music, healthcare and education industries to launch the streaming platform.
Gary Winnick
Winnick is entering the "over the top" online video streaming space as companies like Walt Disney Co, 21st Century Fox and Time Warner Inc acquire firms or build platforms to serve viewers abandoning traditional cable to watch their favorite shows online.
Qello, which was acquired for an undisclosed sum, will be the backbone technology for the new company, Winnick said. Qello runs Qello Concerts, and provides the tech platform for Acorn TV, an online streaming service for British shows owned by RLJ Entertainment.
In 2017, 700,000 U.S. households will cut the pay TV cord, pushing the total number of cord-cutting households to 7.4 million, according to data firm Emarketer. But Winnick’s path will not be easy as new players in streaming technology are popping up every month. In January, Comcast Corp's NBC and Turner announced plans to help sports leagues and networks live stream sports.
"It's like back in the day when everyone headed to California thinking they were going to find gold," said Mio Babic, chief executive of iStreamPlanet, an online video streaming platform that is majority owned by Turner.
The decision to take a stake in Qello also comes months after Disney took a $1 billion minority stake in BAMtech, a technology company spun off from Major League Baseball's digital media company MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM). BAMtech provides the streaming platform for such entities as Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment and HBO. Disney holds the right to purchase the remaining stake and many industry executives expect it to follow through.
Winnick, who built Global Crossing into a $48 billion company and sold shares worth $734 million before it went bankrupt in 2002, ultimately expects to grow the new company with other services incubated through venture capital investments by his company, Winnick and Company.
Despite the competition, there is an opportunity for a new entrant to come into the space, said Dave Morgan, founder and CEO of ad tech firm Simulmedia.
"Not much of the telecommunications infrastructure or services were built to support what we are seeing as an emerging one-to-one personalized video streaming service on demand," he said.
Winnick is not looking to compete with BAMTech and has no plan to go after its customers, he told Reuters. While BAMTech is becoming more of a rights owner, Winnick said he wants to focus on being a pure technology provider for programmers.
For Winnick, the over the top video space is what the telecommunications area was before the internet fully took hold in that the web opened up new businesses and competition in the sector.
"I see a major disruption in the works and we want to be one of the leaders of that disruption," he said.
(Reuters) -- U.S. electronics chain RadioShack Corp filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday for the second time in a little over two years, faced with a challenging retail environment and an unsatisfying partnership with wireless provider Sprint Corp.
The Chapter 11 filing comes after RadioShack, owned by General Wireless Operations Inc, tried to revitalize its business by co-branding stores with the wireless carrier in an effort to compete against their largest rivals.
General Wireless, which acquired the RadioShack brand in 2015, listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million in the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Delaware district.
RadioShack will close approximately 200 stores and will evaluate options on the remaining 1,300, the company said in a statement.
Sprint will convert several hundred locations into Sprint corporate-owned stores, the wireless provider said in a separate statement.
RadioShack's bankruptcy filing and subsequent store closings are not material to Sprint’s overall sales results, Sprint added.
RadioShack, a nearly 100-year-old chain that captured the heart of electronics enthusiasts for its specialty products such as "walkie talkies", first filed for bankruptcy in 2015 after the rise of mobile phones caught it off-guard and customers abandoned its stores for big box competitors including Best Buy Co Inc and Amazon.com Inc.
In an attempt to keep the doors open on 1,740 stores, RadioShack struck a partnership with Sprint during its bankruptcy, inviting the mobile carrier to co-brand with the company and set up smaller stores within its own.
At the time, Sprint viewed RadioShack's retail footprint as a way to quickly scale up its own business and RadioShack hoped to benefit from increased liquidity in the form of rent and commission payments from Sprint.
But, in the years since RadioShack has emerged from bankruptcy, both Sprint and RadioShack have been challenged.
Sprint, whose network is viewed by analysts as inferior to the country's largest carriers, Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc, has been forced to offer heavy discounts to grow its business.
Sprint's challenges, which led to sales dropping "precipitously" toward the end of last year, meant RadioShack received less than expected in commission, RadioShack said in papers filed on Wednesday.
"The Sprint relationship did not yield the benefits" RadioShack was anticipating, it said.
RadioShack, meanwhile, has struggled to compete against internet behemoth Amazon.com and for the attention of shoppers who increasingly wait for deep discounts before making a purchase.
The influx of cheaper copycat consumer products manufactured abroad has also hurt the business.
Still, in the years since its first bankruptcy, RadioShack has focused on expanding its private label offerings, which include drones, radios and adapters, and now makes up the majority of its business.
The shift away from selling other retailers' products to its own has helped it reduce operating expenses and increase gross profit.
(Reuters) -- Viacom Inc is in talks with former Twentieth Century Fox Chairman Jim Gianopulos to lead its Paramount Pictures film studio, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The New York-based media company is also in talks with Oscar-nominated producer Michael De Luca to be Gianopulos's No. 2, in charge of film production, the Journal said late Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Viacom, which has struggled with declining domestic advertising revenue and poor ratings, said last month that it would focus on its Paramount movie studio and five of its cable television brands as part of a turnaround plan.
If appointed, Gianopulos will replace Brad Grey who stepped down last month after leading Paramount for 12 years.
Viacom has been at the center of a power struggle in the past year with controlling shareholder, Sumner Redstone, and his daughter, Shari, and the company's former chief executive, Philippe Dauman.
Gianopulos and De Luca could be officially named as soon as the end of this week, the Journal added.
Envision Networks has announced WATS Broadcasting, Inc.’s WAVR 102.1 FM in Binghamton as the latest affiliate of EnvisionVirtualServices Weather Reports.
Laura Huckabee
The remote weather service provides accurate, local, and up-to-the-minute forecasts for radio stations throughout the United States from an expert team of meteorologists. With Choice 102 now using Meteorologist Laura Huckabee and EnvisionVirtualServices Weather Reports, it joins more than 700 affiliates on the Envision Services Network.
“Our policy book labels ‘LOCAL NEWS’ the most important thing we air, and the most important part of local news is weather,”WAVR owner Chuck Carver said. “Not only has this affiliation made us sound better, but the technical and on-air people at Envision were super-easy to work with…we simply love the new service. It’s exactly the sound we wanted and the relationship is exactly what we had hoped for.”
EnvisionVirtualServices offers complete locally-derived news and weather solutions for radio stations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, on a barter basis. With the weather component of EnvisionVirtualServices, radio stations receive up to five daily forecasts each weekday and 24-hour on-call severe weather coverage. Our team of meteorologists is ready to spring into action whenever inclement weather hits. The meteorologists easily lend themselves to customized event-related forecasts for local community, sporting or station events.
In 1922...KJR-AM, Seattle, Washington, began broadcasting.
Vincent I. Kraft
According to John Schneider at The Radio Historian: KJR, begun by amateur radio operator Vincent I. Kraft, was the first radio station to be licensed in the Pacific Northwest.
After World War I, the civilian radio stations that had been ordered closed during the war were allowed to reopen. One was Vincent I. Kraft’s amateur station 7AC in Seattle. Kraft operated a small radio parts store in downtown Seattle, and in his spare time played with a small 5 Watt deForest Wireless telephone transmitter, transmitting from his home at E. 68th Street and 19th NE. An antenna hung from a 90 foot tower in the back yard.
He soon applied for and received the experimental license 7XC for “wireless telephone” transmission. He moved a phonograph and a piano into the garage adjoining his home, and tacked carpeting on the walls to improve the acoustics. 7XC went on the air on 1110 kc. starting in 1919, transmitting voice and music programs. He played phonograph records, coaxed a local piano teacher into performing, and asked a neighbor boy to play the violin. There was no regular schedule. Every so often he would get a call from one of the few people that had a crystal radio set in Seattle, and he would turn on the transmitter and broadcast so they could demonstrate the new "wireless" to their friends.
In 1921, the U.S. Department of Commerce created a new class of license for radio broadcasting stations. At the same time, a new law was issued that prohibited amateur stations from broadcasting music. So Kraft immediately applied for and received the license KJR, and transferred his 7XC operations to this new license. Unlike its amateur station predecessor, KJR operated on a regular schedule of several hours per day, 3 days a week.
Beginning in the 1950s and lasting until 1982, KJR was a pioneer Top 40 radio station owned by entertainer Danny Kaye and Lester Smith, "Kaye/Smith Enterprises".
In the 1960s, under the programming guidance of Pat O'Day, the station was top rated in Seattle and well known for introducing the Pacific Northwest to many recording stars such as Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts and the Ventures. Today, the call letters are used by KJR-FM, which broadcasts a format that includes many of the songs and shows (including original American Top 40 shows from the 1970s) from that era.
Gary Lockwood was THE big morning show on Seattle radio in the 1980's as AM radio was fading out in Seattle. KJR was playing Oldies then.
KJR would switch to soft adult contemporary in 1982. In 1988, the station shifted to oldies, playing the music that had made the station famous throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
KJR's shift to sports programming was a gradual evolution starting in 1989, when the station added some sports-themed shows in mid-days and afternoons. The rest of the music programming would be phased out in September 1991.
On November 4, 2011, at 7 AM, KJR began simulcasting on 102.9 FM, replacing country-formatted KNBQ. This ended on June 13, 2013, when KNBQ (now KYNW) reverted to an Adult top 40 format. During this time, Clear Channel did not transfer the KJR-FM calls from 95.7 to 102.9, instead co-branding the station as "Sports Radio 950 AM and 102.9 FM KJR".
A collection of some of the country's greatest air personalities entertained Seattle listeners like Larry Lujack, Scotty Brink, Norm Gregory, Burl Barer, Pat O'Day, Eric Chase, Bob Shannon, "World Famous" Tom Murphy, Bobby Simon, Jerry Kaye, "Emperor" Lee Smith, Lan Roberts, Robert O. Smith, Charlie Brown, Bwana Johnny, Matt Riedy, Marion Seymour, Sky Walker, Tracy Mitchell, and Bob Brooks. Gary "Lockjock" Lockwood, a.k.a. L.J., was the disk jockey who had the longest tenure on the "Mighty Channel 95," from 1976-1991.
In 1945...the program "Those Websters" was first broadcast on the CBS Radio Network.
In 1982...Announcer (The Adventures of Ellery Queen, Suspense)/commercial spokesperson (Reynolds Aluminum, Esso, Auto-Lite, Maxwell House)/TV news anchor (WPIX-New York) Rex Marshall died following a heart attack at the radio station he owned in White River Junction, Vermont. He was 64.
In 1996...comedian George Burns died at the age of 100. His long career was one of a handful to span all the prime years of both radio & TV.
Burns and Allen first made it to radio as the comedy relief for bandleader Guy Lombardo, which did not always sit well with Lombardo's home audience. In his later memoir, The Third Time Around, Burns revealed a college fraternity's protest letter, complaining that they resented their weekly dance parties with their girl friends listening to "Thirty Minutes of the Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven" had to be broken into by the droll vaudeville team.
In time, though, Burns and Allen found their own show and radio audience, first airing on February 15, 1932 and concentrating on their classic stage routines plus sketch comedy in which the Burns and Allen style was woven into different little scenes, not unlike the short films they made in Hollywood. They were also good for a clever publicity stunt, none more so than the hunt for Gracie's missing brother, a hunt that included Gracie turning up on other radio shows searching for him as well
In 2005...Dan Rather did his last "Dan Rather Reporting" radio segment for the CBS News Radio Network afer 20 years. (After 24-years to the date he started, Rather also left as anchor of CBS Evening News on this date.)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks on Tuesday published what it said were thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used over several years, renewing concerns about the security of consumer electronics and embarrassing yet another U.S. intelligence agency.
The discussion transcripts showed that CIA hackers could get into Apple Inc iPhones, Google Inc Android devices and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software.
Cyber security experts disagreed about the extent of the fallout from the data dump, but said a lot would depend on whether WikiLeaks followed through on a threat to publish the actual hacking tools that could do damage.
Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials, dated between 2013 and 2016, appeared to be legitimate.
A longtime intelligence contractor with expertise in U.S. hacking tools told Reuters the documents included correct "cover" terms describing active cyber programs.
Among the most noteworthy WikiLeaks claims is that the Central Intelligence Agency, in partnership with other U.S. and foreign agencies, has been able to bypass the encryption on popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.
The files did not indicate the actual encryption of Signal or other secure messaging apps had been compromised.
The information in what WikiLeaks said were 7,818 web pages with 943 attachments appears to represent the latest breach in recent years of classified material from U.S. intelligence agencies.
Security experts differed over how much the disclosures could damage U.S. cyber espionage. Many said that, while harmful, they do not compare to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013 of mass NSA data collection.
"This is a big dump about extremely sophisticated tools that can be used to target individual user devices ... I haven’t yet come across the mass exploiting of mobile devices," said Tarah Wheeler, senior director of engineering and principal security advocate for Symantec.
Stuart McClure, CEO of Cylance, an Irvine, California, cyber security firm, said that one of the most significant disclosures shows how CIA hackers cover their tracks by leaving electronic trails suggesting they are from Russia, China and Iran rather than the United States.
Other revelations show how the CIA took advantage of vulnerabilities that are known, if not widely publicized.
In one case, the documents say, U.S. and British personnel, under a program known as Weeping Angel, developed ways to take over a Samsung smart television, making it appear it was off when in fact it was recording conversations in the room.
The CIA and White House declined comment. "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said in a statement.
Google declined to comment on the purported hacking of its Android platform, but said it was investigating the matter.
Snowden on Twitter said the files amount to the first public evidence that the U.S. government secretly buys software to exploit technology, referring to a table published by WikiLeaks that appeared to list various Apple iOS flaws purchased by the CIA and other intelligence agencies.
Apple Inc did not respond to a request for comment.
The documents refer to means for accessing phones directly in order to catch messages before they are protected by end-to-end encryption tools like Signal.
Signal inventor Moxie Marlinspike said he took that as "confirmation that what we’re doing is working." Signal and the like are "pushing intelligence agencies from a world of undetectable mass surveillance to a world where they have to use expensive, high-risk, extremely targeted attacks."
