Page Six at The NY Post is reporting that just six months after Glor took over as the anchor of “CBS Evening News,” execs at the network are already thinking about replacing him.
Sources say that after Glor lost nearly 1.5 million viewers since his debut in December 2017, top brass told Glor and his producers that they need to turn things around quickly.
Insiders say that CBS News president David Rhodes even called a meeting on Tuesday night to address the situation.
“He unleashed on the team,” an insider told Page Six. “He said how disappointed and frustrated he is with how things have gone.”
We’re told some of the ire has been directed at new executive producer Mosheh Oinounou — who replaced veteran Steve Capus at the helm in January.
Many in the industry were surprised when relative unknown Glor got the storied gig — which has been held by marquee names such as Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Katie Couric — after Scott Pelley exited under bizarre circumstances.
With Pelley out, numbers spiked during Glor’s first week anchoring “CBS Evening News,” jumping from an average of 6.4 million viewers to an impressive 7.1 million. But the ratings have dropped alarmingly since.
Newly notorious comedian Samantha Bee told a crowd in Los Angeles on Thursday that the media focus should shift from the “one bad word” she uttered to describe Ivanka Trump to the nation's treatment of immigrant children and families, according to Fox News.
Press access was revoked hours before the Television Academy event, which honored Bee’s show, "Full Frontal," and six other programs as platforms for advancing social change, but IndieWire was able to report Bee’s speech.
“We spent the day wrestling with the repercussions of one bad word, when we all should have spent the day incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating people legally seeking asylum as criminals,” Bee said at NeueHouse Hollywood. “If we are OK with that then really, who are we?”
Bee, 48, a former member of comedian Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" troupe on Comedy Central, was honored on the same day she apologized for calling Ivanka Trump a “feckless c---” during the opening monologue of her Wednesday show, Deadline reported.
Ivanka Trump was criticized for a photo she shared, showing her hugging her son, amid reports that the Office of Refugee Resettlement had lost track of 1,500 immigrant children in the last three months of 2017.
Bee admitted that while her show strives to view the world through an “unfiltered” lens, there are times when she “should probably have a filter.”
At least two advertisers say they're suspending ads from comedian Bee's TBS show.
Autotrader said in its statement that Bee's comments were "offensive and unacceptable."
"As a result, Autotrader has suspended its sponsorship of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee," the company said.
When asked if Autotrader planned to resume airing ads on "Full Frontal" in the future, a spokesperson said: "We will not run Autotrader advertising on Samantha Bee's show moving forward."
State Farm said in a statement that it has "asked TBS to suspend our advertising in the program and are reviewing any future placements. We constantly review programs to ensure alignment to our programming guidelines and brand values."
Controversy has been following Recording Academy President and Chief Executive Neil Portnow for months since since he said that women in the music industry needed to “step up” after this year’s male-dominated Grammy Awards telecast. On Thursday, the organization announced that Portnow would be stepping down when his current contract ends in July 2019, reports The LATimes.
The news follows months of criticism leveled at Portnow and the academy over those comments and came after the Grammys celebrated its 60th anniversary. Initially, the nominees for the 2018 Grammys were hailed as a progressive move forward, as they honored many R&B and hip-hop acts in the major categories.
Yet the narrative quickly changed after January’s ceremony. Of the nine awards handed out during the televised portion of the Grammys, only one went to a solo female; meanwhile, a USC study released around the same time highlighted that the awards have been far from diverse in the major categories.
Thursday’s announcement made no reference to the #GrammySoMale controversy that went viral after a preponderance of nominations and awards were bestowed on male recipients, continuing a trend that has long characterized the music industry and which ignited this year after the emergence of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.
Portnow had earlier apologized via a statement: “Regrettably, I used two words, ‘step up,’ that, when taken out of context, do not convey my beliefs and the point I was trying to make.”
After the intense backlash over Portnow's comments, many felt his departure was inevitable.
Still, before this year’s controversies, Portnow had long been credited as a stabilizing force for the Recording Academy after his predecessor, Michael Greene, resigned amid allegations of harassment and mismanagement of charitable funds.
ESPN managers are telling their most outspoken broadcasters and writers to be careful on social media in light of Disney axing Roseanne Barr’s TV show over her racist tweets, sources told The NYPost.
A source said that the Disney-owned ESPN was specifically reaching out to the most politically outspoken of its broadcasters. Jemele Hill, Keith Olbermann and Kenny Mayne are the ones most frequently associated with venturing outside of sports.
Jemele Hill
In the last few years, ESPN has had several social-media flare-ups involving non-sports topics. Most notably, Hill called President Trump a “white supremacist” in September.
Hill was not suspended for the Trump tweet, but later was when she broached the subject of boycotting the Dallas Cowboys sponsors after team owner Jerry Jones said he would bench any player who disrespected the flag. Jones is a very influential member of the NFL’s TV committee, which decides which networks broadcast the games.
Olbermann, who spent many years as a left-leaning political commentator, has been very critical of the president, but has quieted down since he started his latest stint with ESPN. Mayne tweets often about politics.
Jim Madigan, a fixture on public television in Western Massachusetts for decades, has died.
He was 65-years-of-age and suffered from a 'lung disease' according to New England Public Radio.
MassLive.com reports Madigan worked as a journalist for nearly 40 years. He began his career in New York before he moved to Massachusetts to accept a position with WLDM, which later became WNNZ, in Westfield. He went on to spend eight years working for ABC40 before joining PBS station WGBY in 1990.
He served as the longtime host of WGBY's "Connecting Point," a local public affairs series where he interviewed authors, politicians and local residents about issues impacting their lives.
"At that time, commercial news was changing. Soundbites were getting shorter and shorter, and the chance to let someone sit and talk, and express a full idea, was just greater in public TV," Madigan told The Republican in an interview last year.
In addition to serving as the host of "Connecting Point," Madigan produced the weekly segment "The State We're In," partnered with the Springfield Public Forum to host events and moderated seven gubernatorial debates and the 2012 U.S. Senate debate between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren held in Springfield.
"The secret to good moderating is that there is always a producer in your ear helping you keep on track, it's not something I do alone," he told The Republican in 2017. "I love covering politics because it affects us all. Whether we like it or not, it's important."
Former Cleveland radio sports personality Bill Needle has died at the age of 70.
Needle died peacefully on Wednesday at his home in Lexington, Kentucky, where he lived for the last 10 years.
The Cleveland Heights native and Ohio Northern University graduate traveled a very interesting road in his career, according to WKYC-TV3.
He was a social studies teacher and baseball coach at Shaw first, then went to Atlanta. From 1981-1991, Bill worked in public relations for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and as a sports commentator and anchor for WGST radio.
As Needle later explained in an interview with The Cleveland Jewish News, he missed the "neighborhood feel" of Cleveland and decided to move home with his family in 1991.
By chance, Needle happened to be listening to WKNR-AM radio when he came back to the area. It led him to his next career path. A caller asked the show host a question about then Indians owner Dick Jacobs. To Needle's shock and dismay, the host replied, "You don't have to worry about that. Jacobs will 'Jew' them down."
Needle got off the highway, called WKNR and offered to fill-in if needed. Within days, he would become a fixture at one of the top sports talk stations in the country.
He would also spread his wings as a play-by-play announcer, first on Fox Sports Ohio for Mid American Conference sports, then as the radio voice of the Kent State Golden Flashes.
➦In 1921...musician Nelson Riddle was born in Oradell New Jersey. He became one of the most admired and versatile arranger/composers of the post-war era, with major radio, television, film, and recording successes to his credit. Some of his best work was in backing Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee & Nat Cole on Capitol records. He died of liver ailments Oct 6, 1985 at age 64.
➦In 1936...the NBC Blue network’s Lux Radio Theater moved from New York City to Hollywood. On the first show from Tinseltown, program host and “producer” Cecil B. DeMille introduced Clark Gable and Marlene Dietrich in The Legionnaire and the Lady. It attracted a remarkable (for the era) listening audience of 40 million.
➦In 1961..WVNJ 100.3 FM signed-on (now WHTZ). 100.3's origins date back to 1942 when it was WMGM, licensed to New York. The station went off the air in February 1955. During 100.3's down time, the frequency was allocated to WFHA in Red Bank. On June 1, 1961, 100.3 was ressurrected as WVNJ, now licensed to Newark. WVNJ featured an easy listening/jazz format that continued until August 2, 1983, when WHTZ "Z100" was born.
➦In 1961...FM stereo begins. At 12:01 a.m., GE's WGFM 99.5 FM (now WRVE) Schenectady, NY became the first FM station in the United States to broadcast in stereo. The station, which had been simulcasting WGY 810 AM, aired classical music.
The first commercial FM broadcasting stations were in the United States, but initially they were primarily used to simulcast their AM sister stations, to broadcast lush orchestral music for stores and offices, to broadcast classical music to an upmarket listenership in urban areas, or for educational programming.
By the late 1960s FM had been adopted by fans of "Alternative Rock" music ("A.O.R.—'Album Oriented Rock' Format"), but it wasn't until 1978 that listenership to FM stations exceeded that of AM stations in North America.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Top 40 music stations and later even country music stations largely abandoned AM for FM. Today AM is mainly the preserve of talk radio, news, sports, religious programming, ethnic (minority language) broadcasting and some types of minority interest music. This shift has transformed AM into the "alternative band" that FM once was.
➦In 1967...the Beatles released the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
➦In 1968..."Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel hit Number One
Don Imus
➦In 1968...Don Imus started in radio at KUTY in Palmdale, CA. He stayed at the station until 1969 when he left for a job at KJOY, a small radio station in Stockton, California. He was later fired for saying "hell" on air. After being fired in Stockton, he went to KXOA in Sacramento, California.
His on-air pranks, such as calling up a restaurant and ordering 1200 hamburgers to go, made his show immensely popular and boosted ratings. He was inspired to pursue a career in radio by listening to California radio personality Don MacKinnon.
➦In 1969...Tobacco advertising was banned on Radio and TV stations in Canada.
In the U-S, the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act banned the advertising of cigarettes on television and radio effective January 2, 1971.
Bob Crane had been called a genius in radio by his radio colleagues at WICC in Bridgeport, CT, and KNX and KMPC in Los Angeles. All sound effects, gimmicks, and voices are performed by Bob Crane (who was also known in radio as the Man of 1,000 Voices), either as pre-recordings or live right at the mic. Bringing all the pieces together, Bob transforms an otherwise bland commercial reading into a dazzling comedic performance.
In this commercial for Winston Cigarettes, he sounds as if he is carrying on a full conversation with his engineer. But in all actuality, it's all Crane.
➦In 1980…Arthur C. Nielsen, Sr., creator of the Nielsen ratings system, died at the age of 82.
➦In 1980...CNN debuted on cable as TV's first all-news station.
➦In 2014…Radio production company executive (American Top 40) Tom Rounds, founder of the radio program syndication companies Watermark in the late 1960s and Radio Express in 1985, died of complications following surgery at 78.
Until recently, Facebook had dominated the social media landscape among America’s youth – but it is no longer the most popular online platform among teens, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Today, roughly half (51%) of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 say they use Facebook, notably lower than the shares who use YouTube, Instagram or Snapchat.
This shift in teens’ social media use is just one example of how the technology landscape for young people has evolved since the Center’s last survey of teens and technology use in 2014-2015. Most notably, smartphone ownership has become a nearly ubiquitous element of teen life: 95% of teens now report they have a smartphone or access to one. These mobile connections are in turn fueling more-persistent online activities: 45% of teens now say they are online on a near-constant basis.
The survey also finds there is no clear consensus among teens about the effect that social media has on the lives of young people today. Minorities of teens describe that effect as mostly positive (31%) or mostly negative (24%), but the largest share (45%) says that effect has been neither positive nor negative.
Mobile internet use will account for 26% of global media consumption in 2019, up from 19% in 2016, according to Zenith’s Media Consumption Forecasts. People around the world will spend an average of 122 minutes a day accessing the mobile internet via browsers and apps, an amount that has grown from just ten minutes a day since 2010.
This is the third annual edition of the Media Consumption Forecasts, which surveys changing patterns of media consumption since 2010, and forecasts how the amount of time people allocate to different media will change between 2017 and 2019, in 71 countries across the world.
The mobile boost to media consumption is slowing
Mobile internet consumption increased at an average rate of 44% a year between 2010 and 2016, driven by the spread of mobile devices, improvements in technology and greater availability of mobile-adapted content. Some of this extra consumption time was cannibalised from traditional media, but the spread of mobile technology has given a boost to overall media consumption by allowing users to access more media, in more places, and at more times than ever before. The average person spent 456 minutes consuming media in 2016, up from 411 minutes in 2010 – that’s an average increase of 2% a year.
Now that mobile devices have taken a central role in so many people’s lives, the growth in mobile internet use is slowing, and with it the growth in media consumption overall. Mobile internet use grew 25% in 2016, down from 43% growth in 2015, and we expect it to grow 17% in 2017. After 2.7% growth in 2016, we expect overall media consumption to be essentially static in 2017, then grow by less than 1% a year to 2019.
Mobile accounts for 71% of internet use
The amount of time people spent accessing the internet by desktop peaked in 2014, and in 2015 mobile overtook desktop to become the world’s primary point of access to the internet. We forecast that 71% of all internet consumption will be mobile in 2017. The regions that have embraced mobile internet use the fastest are North America (where 76% of internet use is mobile) and Asia Pacific (75%).
Traditional media still account for more than two thirds of consumption
Despite the rapid rise of the internet, traditional media will still account for 69% of global media consumption in 2017. People will spend an average of 316 minutes a day with traditional media this year, down from 364 in 2010. By traditional media here we refer to printed newspapers and magazines, broadcast television and radio, cinema and outdoor advertising. Most businesses that operate in these media sectors have launched online versions of their operations, and these are counted as internet operations in this report. So even though traditional media consumption has fallen 13% over the last seven years, traditional media owners will have recaptured some of this lost time on the internet.
As media consumption continues to shift toward digital platforms, radio and TV are forecast to have the lowest usage declines of all traditional media in the U.S. this year. While newspaper consumption is on track to decrease 11% this year compared to 2017 and magazines by 8%, radio and TV are in line for more modest 2% declines. And those numbers are likely being offset by increases in online consumption of radio and TV.
“Television channels and radio stations have gained audiences online at the same time as they have lost them offline, but they have faced stiff competition from native digital platforms such as YouTube and Spotify,” Zenith head of Forecasting and director of Global Intelligence Jonathan Barnard writes in Zenith’s latest Media Consumption Forecast.
Citing Nielsen Audio data, Zenith projects average daily minutes spent with broadcast radio in the U.S. will decrease slightly this year, to 100 minutes from 102 minutes in 2017. Television will dip from 282.1 minutes to 276.8 minutes during the same time frame, per Nielsen data. Print publishers, meanwhile, will continue to experience far steeper declines. Newspaper consumption in the U.S. is expected to fall to 12.4 minutes per day in 2018 from 14.0 minutes in 2017, while magazine usage drops to 15.2 minutes from 16.5 minutes. The source of Zenith’s print numbers is Media Dynamics.
Entercom announced Wednesday that Joe D’Ambrosio will join “Mornings with Ray Dunaway” on WTIC 1080 AM from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. EST, beginning today.
“Joe’s deep connection with and expertise of Connecticut’s sports landscape make him among the most respected voices in the field,” said Phil Zachary, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Hartford. “We are pleased to announce this next phase of our relationship with him. Southern New England has known and respected Joe’s work for nearly three decades, and we are looking forward to his full-time presence in WTIC’s masthead morning program.”
“I’m looking forward to starting the next phase of my career as part of our terrific morning team,” added Joe. “Hartford has been home my entire life and I’m thrilled to be able to continue bringing sports coverage to our listeners.”
WTIC 1080 AM (50 Kw, DA-N)
Joe is an award-winning sportscaster who has been with WTIC for 27 years. He has been recognized with the Sports Media Association’s “Connecticut Sportscaster of the Year Award” a record nine times and is the recipient of the 2018 “Dean of Sports Award,” which was awarded at the Franciscan Live Center Sports Banquet.
Entercom has announced the appointment of Adam Klug to the role of Program Director for KWFN 97.3 FM The Fan and the San Diego Padres Radio Network, effective June 11.
“97.3 The Fan is thrilled to welcome Adam,” said Bob Bolinger, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom San Diego. “His extensive career in sports radio will strengthen the team and help us continue to provide engaging content to the San Diego community.”
“I am eager to take the next step in my radio career and help build The Fan into the best sports radio station in San Diego,” noted Klug. “I’m also looking forward to get to know the city.”
KWFN 97.3 FM (50 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
Klug comes to San Diego from CBS Sports Radio in New York where he was a producer for national radio and TV hosts, Bill Reiter and Doug Gottlieb. Prior to that, he spent two years with ESPN Radio.
Veteran Boise radio personality Mike Kasper is out at HotAC KCIX Mix 106 FM as of Tuesday.
"It's official, my contract has been bought out ..." Kasper posted on Facebook. "I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed waking you up every morning for the past 15 years and 344 days."
According to to the Idaho Statesman, many Idahoans have fond memories of Kasper bantering with former co-host Kate McGwire. The duo entertained listeners for almost a decade and a half, starting at Magic 93.1 FM before settling in at Mix 106 as "Mike & Kate in the Morning."
McGwire changed careers in 2016, and Kasper was joined by a new on-air personality, Nicole Hanks. When Hanks exited in March, Kasper was left solo.
"It's been an amazing run," Kasper wrote, "and I'm so appreciative that you allowed me into your homes, cars and offices. For all the people, clients, co-workers and charities who've listened, called, shared, laughed, cried or been a part of the Mix morning show in any way .... thank you ... you helped to make this truly, the best job in the world."
Radio personality Jeff Connell is filling in for Kasper. Townsqure Media's Mix 106 is slated to launch a new local morning show sometime in June.
Investors in CBS and Viacom may be growing fretful and they have good reason, according to The Wall Street Journal.
On Tuesday, Shari Redstone and her family holding company, National Amusements, sued CBS, countering the angry lawsuit CBS filed against Ms. Redstone and National Amusements two weeks ago.
The back-and-forth legal attacks have plunged both companies into uncertainty and paralyzed any deal-making.
In a little-noted part of the complaint filed on Tuesday, National Amusements made it clear that a deal between CBS and Viacom isn’t actually the final goal. The merger, it suggests, would be the precursor to a sale, “better positioning the companies for a larger transaction in which the combined entity could fetch an attractive premium that neither CBS nor Viacom alone could command.”
The latest lawsuit says Ms. Redstone and National Amusements “are open to eventually relinquishing NAI’s voting control” if there was a deal.
As recently as 2012, Sumner Redstone, Ms. Redstone’s father, insisted he would never sell Viacom or CBS, and that his estate planning precludes the trust from selling the family’s controlling interest “unless they start doing terribly, which they will not.”
The Redstone family’s departure from the media and entertainment business would represent the second potential exit of a powerful media family, triggered by a pressured industry and an aging mogul. Last December, Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox, agreed to sell key parts of his empire to Disney in a $52.4 billion deal.
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. set a date for shareholders to vote on its $52 billion plan to sell assets to Walt Disney Co., essentially creating a deadline for rival suitor Comcast Corp. to make a formal offer.
Bloomberg is reporting Fox scheduled the special shareholder meeting for July 10, but said it may postpone the gathering should another “event” require additional time, according to a statement Wednesday. Fox is recommending that investors vote in favor of the Disney merger.
The scheduled meeting adds to pressure on Comcast executives who are already laying the groundwork for a bid to snatch away Fox’s trove of entertainment assets. Last week, Comcast confirmed its desire to outbid Disney for the Fox operations, sending a signal to Fox investors that they may not want to rush to accept a deal.
Executives at Comcast, which said its potential all-cash offer would top the value of Disney’s current all-stock bid, planned to begin approaching Fox shareholders to discuss their intentions soon, a person briefed on the matter said last week.
Fox Chief Executive Officer James Murdoch hasn’t been shy about expressing his support for Disney over Comcast. He said Tuesday that the deal has a higher certainty of closing and that he’s focused on getting it done.
Last week, Comcast said it was in the “advanced stages” of preparing an offer for Fox, which would roil a plan by Disney CEO Bob Iger to bolster the company’s dominance in entertainment.
Kim Kardashian met President Trump at the White House Wednesday—and they had more to talk about than their shared past as reality TV stars.
Kardashian spoke to Trump about a possible pardon for Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother from Tennessee serving life in prison without parole for a first-time, non-violent drug offense, according to Newser citing the BBC. Johnson—whose bid for clemency was rejected just days before the end of Barack Obama's presidency—was sentenced to life in 1996 for passing messages between drug dealers. Kardashian contacted Johnson in an Alabama federal prison and paid for a new legal team after hearing about her plight on social media last year, Page Six reports.
Jared Kushner has also taken an interest in the Johnson case.
It's not clear whether Trump will grant her clemency, though both sides hailed Wednesday's meeting as a success. Trump tweeted that he had discussed prison reform and sentencing with Kardashian in a "great meeting," while Kardashian thanked Trump for his time—and wished Johnson a happy birthday.
"We are optimistic about Ms. Johnson’s future and hopeful that she—and so many like her—will get a second chance at life," Kardashian tweeted.
