Facebook Inc said on Thursday it was banning Alex Jones and other controversial U.S. political personalities for violating the social media company’s policies on “dangerous individuals and organizations.”
Banned
Reuters reports most of the individuals whose accounts are being removed are popular figures on the far right, including commentators Milo Yiannopoulos, Laura Loomer and Paul Joseph Watson.
Facebook also said it is banning Paul Nehlen, an avowed white supremacist who ran for Congress in 2018, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has preached black separatism and referred to Jews as “termites.”
The company will remove any accounts, pages, groups and events associated with the banned individuals, both on its core social network and its photo-sharing app Instagram. It says it bans any users who promote violence or hate.
Laura Loomer
Facebook announced the ban before removing the affected accounts, giving the account owners time to redirect their thousands of followers to other channels before the accounts disappeared.
Infowars, the website run by Jones, posted a response saying that the ban “... amounts to editorial control over user content - and a donation in kind to the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.”
Social media companies have an uneasy history with voices on the far right, struggling for years to decide how to handle extremist content even as its purveyors used the services to amass followers and catapult themselves into the mainstream.
The result has often been haphazard enforcement of policies: Facebook removed pages associated with Jones and his Infowars website starting last year, but left up his personal profile, for example.
Apple Inc, Google parent Alphabet Inc and Twitter also banned Infowars last year.
Amid rising concerns about the freedom of the press across much of the world this World Press Freedom Day, the world in general is more likely to see the media as having a lot of freedom than it was a few years ago.
Across 133 countries surveyed last year -- one of the deadliest on record for journalists -- a median of 64% of adults agreed the media in their country have a lot of freedom, while 28% disagreed. These results are similar to the 2017 figures, but represent a slight improvement from 2016.
These perceptions vary around the world, however, and in 28 countries, less than half of adults say their media have a lot of freedom.
As in past years, European nations dominate the list of countries with the highest perceived media freedom. More than nine in 10 adults in Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland say their media have a lot of freedom. The only non-European country in that very top range is Canada.
Canada's neighbor to the south -- where the media have routinely been called "fake news" and the "enemy of the people" for the past two years -- narrowly misses making the top 10 list. Eighty-eight percent of Americans say the media in their country are free. This is in line with results in 2017, but up from levels in 2015 and 2016, when figures were in the lower 80s.
A new survey from Sonos shows that listening to music at work can make you more productive.
For The Brilliant Sound Survey, Sonos and its team of researchers had 12,000 listeners in 12 countries around the world answer some online questions about music. Among the participants, 74% said listening to music helps reduce stress, while 39% said that while they were listening to their favorite tune they felt no stress at all.
In the survey, 52% of respondents said they’re happier when listening to a favorite song (the other 48% were listening to Ed Sheeran), while 58% said that music helps boost their mood at work. That’s an important detail when you consider that, in a separate study, almost half of Americans admitted to crying in the workplace. Meanwhile, if your office has a coffeemaker, consider asking them to swap it for a jukebox, because 73% of respondents said listening to music helps them get more done than drinking coffee.
If that’s not enough reason to convince your accountant to let you expense your Spotify membership, a whopping 76% of survey respondents said that listening to music helps them produce their best work. “Generally, music can have a strong stimulating effect that makes us alert and focused,” says Daniel Müllensiefen, a professor of music psychology at Goldsmiths College, University of London.
Doug Adair, a longtime TV news anchor in the Cleveland area who got his start at WJW Channel 8 in the 1950s, has died at the age of 89, according to to cleveland.com.
He died Monday in Pleasanton, California, because of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Adair's broadcast career began in Dayton. Adair became a reporter for WJW Channel 8 in 1958, then became a co-anchor on the station’s “City Camera News” show in 1964. He teamed with Joel Daly to become to first two-man anchor team in Cleveland to report news from the same desk, and it became the most-watched television news program in the city.
He joined WKYC Channel 3 in 1970 and co-anchored the evening news program. Adair eventually married co-anchor Mona Scott and they became on on-air duo until they moved to Columbus to anchor WCMH in 1983. They divorced in the early 1990s.
Adair was Ohio’s longest-serving news anchor when he retired 1994, WCMH reports. He is a member of the Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
➦In 1904...Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby born (some sources list May 2 – Died from heart attack October 14, 1977).
He was he first multimedia star, Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1931 to 1954. His early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed him, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, and Dean Martin. Yank magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also in 1948, Music Digest estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music.
Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Father Chuck O'Malley in the 1944 motion picture Going My Way and was nominated for his reprise of the role in The Bells of St. Mary's opposite Ingrid Bergman the next year, becoming the first of six actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. In 1963, Crosby received the first Grammy Global Achievement Award. He is one of 33 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the categories of motion pictures, radio, and audio recording. He was also known for his collaborations with longtime friend Bob Hope, starring in the Road to... films from 1940 to 1962.
Crosby influenced the development of the postwar recording industry. After seeing a demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel tape recorder brought to America by John T. Mullin, he invested $50,000 in a California electronics company called Ampex to build copies. He then convinced ABC to allow him to tape his shows. He became the first performer to pre-record his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. Through the medium of recording, he constructed his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting) used in motion picture production, a practice that became an industry standard.[10] In addition to his work with early audio tape recording, he helped to finance the development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.
On September 2, 1931, Crosby made his nationwide solo radio debut. Before the end of the year, he signed with both Brunswick and CBS Radio. Doing a weekly 15-minute radio broadcast, Crosby became a hit.
His first commercial sponsor on radio was Cremo Cigars and his fame spread nationwide. After a long run in New York, he went back to Hollywood to film The Big Broadcast. His appearances, records, and radio work substantially increased his impact. The success of his first film brought him a contract with Paramount, and he began a pattern of making three films a year. He led his radio show for Woodbury Soap for two seasons while his live appearances dwindled. His records produced hits during the Depression when sales were down. Audio engineer Steve Hoffman stated, "By the way, Bing actually saved the record business in 1934 when he agreed to support Decca founder Jack Kapp's crazy idea of lowering the price of singles from a dollar to 35 cents and getting a royalty for records sold instead of a flat fee. Bing's name and his artistry saved the recording industry. All the other artists signed to Decca after Bing did. Without him, Jack Kapp wouldn't have had a chance in hell of making Decca work and the Great Depression would have wiped out phonograph records for good."
His social life was hectic. His first son Gary was born in 1933 with twin boys following in 1934. By 1936, he replaced his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as host of the weekly NBC radio program Kraft Music Hall, where he remained for the next ten years. Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day), with his trademark whistling, became his theme song and signature tune.
Crosby's vocal style helped take popular singing beyond the "belting" associated with Al Jolson and Billy Murray, who had been obligated to reach the back seats in New York theaters without the aid of the microphone. As music critic Henry Pleasants noted in The Great American Popular Singers, something new had entered American music, a style that might be called "singing in American" with conversational ease. This new sound led to the popular epithet "crooner".
During the Second World War, Crosby made live appearances before American troops who had been fighting in the European Theater. He learned how to pronounce German from written scripts and read propaganda broadcasts intended for German forces. The nickname "Der Bingle" was common among Crosby's German listeners and came to be used by his English-speaking fans. In a poll of U.S. troops at the close of World War II, Crosby topped the list as the person who had done the most for G.I. morale, ahead of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, General Dwight Eisenhower, and Bob Hope.
The biggest hit song of Crosby's career was his recording of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", which he introduced on a Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. The song then appeared in his movie Holiday Inn (1942). His record hit the charts on October 3, 1942, and rose to No. 1 on October 31, where it stayed for 11 weeks. A holiday perennial, the song was repeatedly re-released by Decca, charting another sixteen times. It topped the charts again in 1945 and a third time in January 1947.
The song remains the bestselling single of all time. According to Guinness World Records, his recording of "White Christmas" has sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles. His recording was so popular that he was obliged to re-record it in 1947 using the same musicians and backup singers; the original 1942 master had become damaged due to its frequent use in pressing additional singles. Although the two versions are similar, the 1947 recording is more familiar today. ➦In 1910...Norman Lewis Corwin born (Died at age 101 – October 18, 2011) . He was a writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing. His earliest and biggest successes were in the writing and directing of radio drama during the 1930s and 1940s.
Corwin was among the first producers to regularly use entertainment—even light entertainment—to tackle serious social issues. In this area, he was a peer of Orson Welles and William N. Robson, and an inspiration to other later radio/TV writers such as Rod Serling, Gene Roddenberry, Norman Lear, J. Michael Straczynski and Yuri Rasovsky.
Corwin was a major figure during the Golden Age of Radio. During the 1930s and 1940s he was a writer and producer of many radio programs in many genres: history, biography, fantasy, fiction, poetry and drama.
In the early 1930s, he became involved with radio broadcasting. He first worked as the radio editor of the Springfield MA Republican and subsequently began broadcasting his own radio program. The date of his first broadcast has been reported as early as 1931. As radio editor of the Republican, he became known for his column "Radiosyncracies," which he published under the pseudonym 'Vladimir Shrdlu.' He also worked as a news commentator over WBZ and WBZA. In June 1935, Corwin accepted an executive position in Cincinnati at station WLW. By 1937, Corwin was hired to host a poetry program called "Poetic License" on New York station WQXR, which led to his being hired by the CBS Radio Network to produce and direct cultural programs. He remained with CBS until 1949.
Rosemary Rice
➦In 1925...Rosemary Rice born (Died from a stroke at age 87 – August 14, 2012). Rice was best known for her role as Katrin Hansen, the oldest daughter in the television series, Mama, which aired on CBS from 1949 to 1957. She provided the opening voice narration for Mama through her character.
Rice's acting career began during junior high student in Montclair, when she was cast in her first Broadway production, later attending New York's Professional Children's School. She appeared in twelve plays and musicals on Broadway. Her Broadway credits included the 1943 production of The Naked Genius, a play written by Gypsy Rose Lee, as well as Dear Ruth and Junior Miss.
Rice's first radio appearance was on Grand Central Station. She enjoyed an active career in radio, appearing in mysteries, comedies and soap operas. Her best known role was as Betty Cooper in the Archie Andrews radio series.Other radio credits included Ma Perkins (as Laura), The Right to Happiness (as Susan Wakefield), CBS Radio Mystery Theater, NBC Playhouse, Calvacade of America, Playhouse 90, When a Girl Marries (as Kathy), My True Story, Westinghouse Studio One, Young Doctor Malone (as Jill), and Let's Pretend.
In 1949, CBS debuted Mama, an early, live television series adapted from "Mama's Bank Account", a book written by Kathryn Forbes. The series, which was set in San Francisco, California, in the early 20th Century, centered on the life of a Norwegian American family. ➦In 1958...NYC personality Alan Freed faced controversy in Boston when he told the audience, "It looks like the Boston police don't want you to have a good time." As a result, Freed was arrested and charged with inciting to riot, and was fired from his job at 1010WINS.
➦In 1965...Personality The Real Don Steele started at 93KHJ-AM, Los Angeles in what would be a career that lasted decades at the station. Here's some audio...
Steele became nationally-known as a DJ on radio station KHJ in Los Angeles, where he helped to promote the "ultrahip" Top40 Boss Radio format which began at 3pm on April 27, 1965.
He also appeared on TV as host Boss City and The Real Don Steele TV Show, a show which ran from 1965 to 1975 on KHJ-TV channel 9 in Los Angeles.
When the popularity of AM radio gave way to FM stereo in the 1970s, Steele continued to remain a popular personality at the station. Following the years at 93/KHJ, The Real Don Steele continued to be heard on Los Angeles radio stations, including KIQQ (K-100), KRLA, KCBS-FM and KRTH-FM (K-Earth 101), until his death in August 1997.
➦In 1982...President Ronald Reagan began the traditional of Saturday radio addresses by the Presidents. While the Mutual Broadcasting Service estimated that as many as 1.5 million people could have been reached by the addresses, few stations carried the broadcasts and citizens seldom provided responses to the radio stations. However, the network news often reported on the speeches and The New York Times often times ran full texts of the addresses.
The growth of the Saturday presidential address is one element in the evolution of presidential rhetoric and a chief executive's drive to reach citizens. When President Ronald Reagan sought to harness his legislative agenda amid congressional and media wrangling.
➦In 1982...Beautiful music WTFM changes to Album WAPP in NYC
➦In 1992...Elizabeth Lennox died at age 98. She was early recording artist during the 1910s. She was an early radio singer. SShe recorded cylinders for Thomas Edison. In addition to her recordings Elizabeth appeared on NBC Radio until she retired from performing.
➦In 2006...Bob Dylan hosted his first show on XM Satellite Radio, playing favorite tracks by Prince, Wilco, Blur, Billy Bragg, Blur, and LL Cool J, among others.
iHeartMedia has used bankruptcy laws to wipe out debt, to the tune of $10 billion, leaving $5.75 billion of debt still on the books. And now with an expected IPO announcement, the company turns its radio dial from sad ballads for creditors to sunny jingles for new investors, according to Attorney Bill Hochberg, writing for Forbes.
Bill Hochberg
According to Hochberg, the company would not comment on whether its heart longs for a public offering or more for private investment from the likes of Liberty Media Corporation, which has been buying up the company’s distressed debt at a fast clip.
Liberty Media is not only a front-runner to gain control of iHeartMedia, but also is eyeing a 50% interest in Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record distributor, promising new synergies between radio and records.
But the tables are turning and the turntables are overtaking the tuners in the streaming era.
“Radio is on the way out,” says Jerry Del Colliano, a professor at NYU Steinhardt and publisher of InsideMusicMedia.com. “People under 45 don’t want to know where the radio is in their new car. They want to have their phone connected to the car audio.” He adds that although iHeartMedia has moved into the online audio world, “their business is primarily terrestrial radio.”
Jerry Del Colliano
Yet rumors of radio’s death may be premature, according to Hochberg. AM/FM radio remains a buoyant business at least in terms of its main income source: local and regional advertising.
iHM estimates it has 275M listeners per month, compared to Spotify’s 207M monthly active users worldwide as of the end of last year, of which about 62 million are in North America.
In its bankruptcy filing, iHeartMedia says it can compete with Spotify and Apple Music, because it provides “companionship” to listeners, like a friend by their side in real time, commenting on songs, news and trivia, something streaming playlists and podcasts can’t do.
However, Del Colliano says cost cutting at iHM and its competitors has cut the heart out of radio’s strongest suit: local flavor and personality.
Meredith Corp, best known for its lifestyle magazines such as “Better Homes and Gardens”, is preparing to explore a sale of its portfolio of local U.S. broadcast stations as it looks to streamline its business, people familiar with the matter said.
Reuters reports Meredith is discussing its plans with financial advisers and has already received interest in its stations from private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC, the sources said.
A deal could potentially value Meredith’s 17 stations at more than $2 billion, the sources said. Meredith reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $223 million for its local media group for the 2018 fiscal year.
The sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is confidential, cautioned that no deal is certain.
The divestment would come after Meredith acquired media company Time Inc last year for $2.8 billion, in a deal that built out its suite of national print and digital media brands.
Since the acquisition, Meredith has moved to simplify its business and focus on its most profitable media properties. It has already sold off its Time and Fortune magazines, and has also been trying to sell Sports Illustrated.
A sale of its broadcasting business would leave Des Moines, Iowa-based Meredith with just its digital and print media business, which targets primarily women and focuses on topics including food, lifestyle and parenting.
Meredith’s stations, which are mostly affiliates of Fox Corp or CBS Corp, reach 11 percent of U.S. households in cities such as Portland, Oregon and Las Vegas.
If a deal is completed, it would be the latest in a flurry of consolidation that has hit local broadcasting in recent years.
Broadcast television operators are looking to either gain scale or exit the space as viewership, and advertising dollars, increasingly shift to providers of web-based, streaming content.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected to relax restrictions on how many stations broadcasters can operate, a move that could further boost deal making.
Drake surpassed Taylor Swift to become the top award recipient in BBMA history. He won 12 awards, bringing his career total to 27. Swift has won 23 BBMA awards. Among Drake's awards: top artist and top Billboard 200 album, each for the second time in three years. Drake won the latter award for Scorpion, two years after winning for Views.
Ariana Grande took top female artist for the first time. She also won the fan-voted Billboard chart achievement award.
BTS became the first K-Pop act to win top duo/group. BTS also took the fan-voted top social artist award for the third year in a row. The group is now halfway to matching Justin Bieber's six-year lock on that award.
Juice WRLD took top new artist. This provided a measure of vindication for the hip-hop star, who wasn't nominated in any categories at the 61st annual Grammy Awards in February. The other contenders for the top new artist BBMA included Dua Lipa, who won best new artist at the Grammys.
The Maroon 5/Cardi B collabo "Girls Like You" took top Hot 100 song. It's the second time in four years that a pop/hip-hop pairing has taken top honors in that category. Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again" (featuring Charlie Puth) won in 2016. This award was among six for the night for Cardi B; four for Maroon 5.
Luke Combs's This One's for You took top country album, breaking Chris Stapleton's three-year hold on that award. Combs also took top country artist.
Florida Georgia Line became the first three-time winner for top country song. The duo won for "Meant to Be," its record-breaking collaboration with Bebe Rexha. It won in 2014 for "Cruise" (featuring Nelly) and in 2017 for "H.O.L.Y."
Imagine Dragons took top rock artist for the second year in a row and the third time overall. They previously won in 2014. This makes them the top winners in the category since the BBMAs relaunched in 2011 following a brief hiatus. But Panic! at the Disco took both top rock album and top rock song.
Ella Mai took three awards, including top R&B artist. She's the third woman to win in that category since the BBMAs relaunched in 2011. The first two were Rihannaand Beyoncé.
The Chainsmokers became the first three-time winners for top dance/electronic artist. They also took top dance/electronic album for the second year in a row.
Lauren Daigle became the first female solo artist to win twice as top Christian artist. She previously won the award in 2017. Lauren also took top Christian album and top Christian song. She is the only artist to sweep all three of these awards in a given genre this year.
A list of winners in the top categories at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, held Wednesday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Top Hot 100 song: “Girls Like You,” Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B
Top Billboard 200 album: Drake, “Scorpion”
Top artist: Drake
Top new artist: Juice WRLD
Top female artist: Ariana Grande
Top male artist: Drake
Top streaming songs artist: Drake
Top song sales artist: Drake
Top radio songs artist: Drake
Top duo/group: BTS
Top R&B artist: Ella Mai
Top rap artist: Drake
Top country artist: Luke Combs
Top rock artist: Imagine Dragons
Top Latin artist: Ozuna
Top dance/electronic artist: The Chainsmokers
Top Christian artist: Lauren Daigle
Top gospel artist: Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Top social artist: BTS
Top touring artist: Ed Sheeran
Chart achievement award: Ariana Grande
Icon award: Mariah Carey
Click Here for The Complete List of Billboard Music Awards Winners
Dancer and singer Paula Abdul has brought out her tap shoes to close out the Billboard Music Awards with a performance of songs from her debut 1988 album “Forever Your Girl.”
Starting with her tap performance from “Straight Up,” she strolled through her hits “The Way that You Love Me,” ″Cold Hearted” and even brought out the dancing cartoon cat from her music video for “Opposites Attract.”
Abdul proved she still has the moves, leading host Kelly Clarkson to declare “that was insane.”
With its Feb 1 completion of its acquisition of Pandora Media, SiriusXM rationalized its workforce today, letting go nearly 60 staffers, according to a memo that was sent to staffers from CEO Jim Meyer.
With a combined workforce of 4,600 employees, according to the Sirius and Pandora 10-K filings to the SEC, that’s represents about 1% of its work force.
The memo, provided to Billboard by the company, acknowledged that due to the acquisition, “both organizations knew that there would be changes to the workforce as we realigned departments, formed new teams and found we had a greater visibility on the roadmap for the combined companies,” Meyer’s memo said. “We made these changes to better align our resources with business needs.”
Meyer acknowledged that workforce reductions can take an emotional toil on both the departing and remaining staffers. “Changes like these are difficult, and I want to take a moment to recognize the contributions each of those individuals gave to both Pandora and SiriusXM,” Meyer’s memo continued. “Their work and focus helped put us in the leadership position we have today."
“The opportunities for SiriusXM and Pandora together are exciting, and, now more than ever, I need your focus and dedication on the work at hand,” Meyer urged the company’s staff in concluding the memo.
Disney’s sale of the 21 Fox regional sports channels is heating up yet again — thanks to comedian-turned-media mogul Byron Allen jumping into the already crowded and contentious race, reports The NYPost.
Allen, 58, is reportedly joining forces with conservative TV broadcasting company Sinclair Broadcast Group to bid on the regional sports networks, or RSNs, which own the rights to broadcast professional baseball, hockey and basketball games from Atlanta to Los Angeles.
The channels are expected to fetch some $9 billion — and have already attracted offers from Ice Cube’s 3-on-3 pro basketball league Big3 in a bid being backed by stars such as L Cool J, “Magic” Johnson, Serena Williams, as well as from a group that includes Atlanta Braves owner Liberty Media.
Tech giant Amazon was even rumored to be lurking about in a deal that would have backed Sinclair — as were billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch.
Byron Allen
As it stands, Allen — owner of The Weather Channel and Entertainment Studios, the distributor of “Chappaquiddick” — is Sinclair’s only partner, sources told The Post.
In March 2018, Allen acquired The Weather Channel for an estimated $300 million and announced plans to build an even larger media company through acquisitions.
Allen’s entry into the bidding war could prove a thorn in the side of rival bidder Liberty Media — thanks to a $10 billion lawsuit filed against cable giant Charter Communications accusing it of racial discrimination for refusing to carry content from Entertainment Studios, one of few media companies wholly owned by an African-American.
The 2016 Los Angeles federal suit claims Charter CEO Tom Rutledge once called Allen “boy” at an industry event and said “he needed to change his behavior.”
Charter’s largest shareholder is John Malone’s Liberty Media, which is also bidding for the RSNs.
Charter called the lawsuit “a desperate tactic” and said “the allegations in it are entirely false. Race plays no role whatsoever in our programming decisions. We will defend ourselves while continuing our work to promote diversity and inclusion.”
But Big3 referenced the lawsuit — and the alleged Rutledge insult — in its own fight with Charter over the RSNs. Big3 has claimed that Charter has been trying “to pollute the bidding process” by threatening to drop the RSNs from its cable networks, including Spectrum in New York City, if they come under new ownership.
Fox Sports 1 has been maligned since its launch in 2013 for continuing to change identities and philosophies. The Associated Press reports the network has found its stride during the past year, however, with executives showing patience in trying to let things develop.
“We’ve grown past ‘embrace debate.’ I think we’re a more mature network now,” said Mark Silverman, the president of Fox Sports national networks. “I think we have some shows with a little more element of debate and others that are smart, entertaining and interesting to sports fans.”
Silverman was named to his current post in January 2018 and his team is guiding FS1 through its third iteration. When it launched in August 2013, FS1 was geared toward news and highlights, which didn’t last long. Jamie Horowitz was hired in 2015 and tried to install an “Embrace Debate” format that had some success while he was at ESPN. Horowitz lasted only two years before he was fired .
This version of FS1 is geared toward studio shows with a mix of debate, interviews and analysis and it’s finding traction among viewers. Last year’s studio programming generated a 28 percent increase in viewers over 2017.
According to Sports Business Daily, FS1 finished third among the most viewed sports networks last year, behind ESPN and NBCSN but ahead of ESPN2.
FS1 has built its fortunes around Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless, but it has also surrounded them with other shows that give the network at least 12 hours of studio programming a day. Those numbers have continued to increase over the first quarter of this year. According to Nielsen, Bayless’ “Undisputed” and Cowherd’s “The Herd” are both up 3 percent over the same period last year. “Undisputed” is averaging 148,000 viewers in its late morning time slot and “The Herd” is averaging 108,000 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern.
Cowherd, who recently signed an extension with Fox, said he figured it was going to take time before there was growth. For one, he was trying to put together a successful television show with a radio simulcast instead of the other way around.
Vegas Stats & Information Network, the first media network dedicated to sports betting information, today named media industry veteran Dan Mason as the company's Chairman. Formerly President and CEO of CBS Radio, one of the most powerful radio conglomerates in the U.S., Mason will work closely with VSiN's management team to capitalize on the emerging growth and partnership opportunities in the sports betting and media space.
"There are few media executives with both the experience and reputation that Dan brings to the table," said VSiN founder and CEO Brian Musburger. "He's already brought invaluable guidance to our team as a senior adviser and investor, and we look forward to having even greater access to his unmatched depth of knowledge and relationships in this industry. We're thrilled to work even more closely with this consummate leader and better leverage his C-level expertise to build on and accelerate the recent growth we are experiencing at VSiN."
Dan Mason
"Brian and his team have caught lightning in a bottle here. Besides establishing itself on the satellite platform, recently extending its agreement with SiriusXM, VSiN has made tremendous inroads into the OTT space with Sling TV and fuboTV, as well as growing its own subscription offerings. We will now look to further expand our reach across video and audio channels, including terrestrial radio where sports have thrived for decades," commented Mason.
In more than 15 years as President and CEO of CBS Radio, Mason presided over all functions relating to more than 125 stations across 27 markets, including all of the Top 10, as well as the day-to-day operations of the division. Mason's growth strategy included creating and launching CBS Sports Radio, a 24 hour, seven-day-a-week lineup of national programming. The industry veteran was inducted into The National Radio Hall of Fame in 2015 upon his retirement from CBS Radio. He is currently Chairman of The Broadcasters Foundation of America, a charity based in New York that serves the television and radio industries.
The network recently extended its agreement with SiriusXM, where its sports betting content broadcasts 24/7 on a dedicated channel on SiriusXM radios (channel 204) and on the SiriusXM app. 100 terrestrial radio stations across the country, including 670 The Score in Chicago, 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston and KNBR the Sports Leader in San Francisco.
VSiN broadcasts more than 80 hours of sports betting coverage each week from a showcase studio in the middle of the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the equivalent of CNBC being on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Rogers Media is adding to its podcasting business through the acquisition of Pacific Content, an independent production and marketing company formed five years ago by a number of former employees of the CBC.
Pacific Content, which currently employs 22 people based in Vancouver, works with companies and advertisers to attract audiences using audio storytelling techniques, reports the CBC.
One of its more recent clients is Facebook, which commissioned Pacific Content to create the "3.5 Degrees" podcast about business leaders and entrepreneurs.
Facebook's series was released Jan. 13 through the Apple, Google, Stitcher and Spotify podcast platforms.
Rogers didn't disclose how much it's paying for Pacific Content but did say it will complement the Frequency Podcast Network that it launched last year.
"They wanted to make a show for a business audience," Pacific Content co-founder Steve Pratt said in an interview.
As podcasting grows, screen adaptations attempt to transition from audio to video
This type of commissioned content aims to build a sponsor's brand by attracting an audience, Pratt said.
"Podcasting is a big part of the future of audio. We quickly identified its immense potential and are being aggressive in this space," Julie Adam, Rogers Radio senior vice-president, said in a statement.
Rogers Communications Inc. owns one of Canada's largest media businesses, which includes 56 radio stations, 29 local TV stations, the Sportsnet specialty TV channels and the Toronto Blue Jays major league baseball team.
An attorney representing Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann said Wednesday that he filed a $275 million defamation lawsuit against NBC Universal on Sandmann's behalf, reports The Hill.
“Today, @LLinWood and I filed a $275,000,000 lawsuit against NBCUniversal on behalf of Nicholas Sandmann. The facts of the suit show the anti-Trump narrative NBC pushed so hard,” attorney Todd V. McMurtry wrote in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.
Today, @LLinWood and I filed a $275,000,000 lawsuit against NBCUniversal on behalf of Nicholas Sandmann. The facts of the suit show the anti-Trump narrative NBC pushed so hard. Here is a link if you wish to read it: https://t.co/X6v4HBqxXkpic.twitter.com/jcRTnWh5hl
The tweet included a link to the 179-page complaint filed by McMurtry and L. Lin Wood, another attorney representing Sandmann, that accused the network of publishing “false and defamatory accusation” against Sandmann in its coverage of him earlier this year.
In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, the complaint accuses NBC Universal of attacking Sandmann in its coverage by “relying heavily on biased and unreliable sources without conducting any reasonable investigation of the circumstances surrounding the January 18 incident.”
“NBCUniversal’s attacks on Nicholas included at least fifteen defamatory television broadcasts, six defamatory online articles, and many tweets falsely accusing Nicholas and his Covington Catholic High School ('CovCath') classmates of racists acts,” the complaint states.
According to the lawsuit, Sandmann is seeking $75 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages.
Lawsuits were filed on behalf of Sandmann earlier this year against The Washington Post and a CNN, each seeking $250 million and $275 million, respectively.
Sandmann, who was in Washington, D.C., in January to participate with other students in the March for Life, came into contact with Nathan Phillips, who was in the area for the Indigenous Peoples March, according to multiple reports.
The station shared time with Dallas stations WFAA and WRR. It was the first station in the United States to have an audible logo signal similar to the NBC chimes, the WBAP cowbell. According to President Herbert Hoover, the station's call letters stood for "We Bring A Program".
On May 15, 1923, the Federal Radio Commission expanded the broadcast band, and WBAP and WFAA moved to 630 kHz. Another expansion moved WBAP to 600 kHz effective April 15, 1927, and this frequency was shared with WOAI in San Antonio. On November 11, 1928, WBAP moved to 800 kHz, and on June 1, 1929, WFAA also moved to 800 kHz, sharing time (and NBC Red network affiliation) with WBAP.
Station owner Amon G. Carter was unhappy with having to share time on 800 kHz with WFAA. In May 1938, Carter Publishing purchased KGKO Wichita Falls (570 kHz) and moved it to Fort Worth as an affiliate of the NBC Blue network (which became ABC), and more importantly as a second frequency to be used when 800 kHz was not available. On March 29, 1941, as a consequence of the Treaty of Havana, WBAP and WFAA moved one last time, to 820 kHz.
Carter eventually sold half of KGKO to A.H. Belo, owners of WFAA, and on April 27, 1947, KGKO was replaced by a second shared frequency between WBAP and WFAA.
The dual frequency sharing arrangement between WBAP and WFAA continued through the 1950s and 1960s, with the stations switching frequencies several times a day. When WBAP changed frequencies, it signaled the change with a cowbell, which became widely associated with the station.
Even though the stations swapped frequencies several times each day, the network affiliations remained constant: NBC network programming stayed on 820 kHz and ABC network programming stayed on 570 kHz. This frequently proved confusing for announcers and listeners alike.
On May 1, 1970, the unique dual split-frequency lives of WBAP and WFAA ended when WBAP paid $3.5 million to WFAA in exchange for sole occupancy of 820 kHz (and the NBC affiliation).
WFAA took on 570 kHz (and the ABC affiliation) full-time. Once the frequency-sharing with WFAA ended in 1970, both stations were free to program musical formats, and WBAP began programming country music.
It also gained the added benefit of 820's clear-channel signal; previously WFAA controlled it during these prime nighttime hours. After a series of network affiliation changes in the late 1970s among WBAP, KRLD and WFAA, WBAP switched affiliations to ABC.
➦In 1928...KPQ-AM, Wenatchee, WA signed-on.
The original license for what would become KPQ was granted in 1927 to radio station entrepreneur Louis Wasmer, who named Seattle as the city of license and chose the call letters KGCL. He sold the not-yet-broadcasting station to a local sporting goods store, who officially changed the calls to KPQ. The store then resold it to Westcoast Broadcasting, who in 1928 "moved out" the station to Wenatchee.
➦In 1932...the first scheduled radio show featuring Jack Benny debuted on the NBC Blue Network. Here's a video clip from 1942.
Jack Benny first appeared on radio as a guest of Ed Sullivan in March 1932. He was then given his own show later that year, with Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor —The Canada Dry Ginger Ale Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933.
Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934 with Frank Black leading the band. He continued with The General Tire Revue for the rest of that season, and in the fall of 1934, for General Foods as The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny (1934–42) and, when sales of Jell-O were affected by sugar rationing during World War II, The Grape Nuts Flakes Program Starring Jack Benny (later the Grape Nuts and Grape Nuts Flakes Program) (1942–44). On October 1, 1944, the show became The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny, when American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes took over as his radio sponsor, through the mid-1950s. By that time, the practice of using the sponsor's name as the title began to fade.
The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired repeats of previous 1953-55 radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny for State Farm Insurance, who later sponsored his television program from 1960 through 1965. ➦In 1941...the FCC okayed the regular scheduling of TV broadcasts by commercial TV stations to begin on July 1. But the onset in the US of WW2 delayed the effective start television until the end of the decade.
➦In 1960...WLS 890 AM, Chicago, Illinois, flipped its format from Country to Top 40.
WLS had been wholly owned and operated by the radio division of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) since the purchase of its parent company in 1959. Five years earlier WLS was merged with WENR, a station with which WLS had shared its frequency since the 1920s
Mort Crowley was the first on-air voice of the new WLS (6 AM); the first song played was "Alley-Oop" by the Hollywood Argyles, four full weeks before it debuted on the Hot 100. Other notable disc jockeys who worked at WLS over the years include Fred Winston, Art Roberts, Ron "Ringo" Riley, Gene Taylor, Larry Lujack, Dex Card, Clark Weber, Chuck Buell, Kris Erik Stevens, Joel Sebastian, Gary Gears, Jerry Kay, Bob Sirott, John Records Landecker, Yvonne Daniels, Steve Dahl, Garry Meier, Brant Miller, Tom Kent Steve King, and Tommy Edwards. Some of the production directors responsible for the sound of WLS were Ray Van Steen, Hal Widsten, Jim Hampton, Bill Price and Tommy Edwards.
In the 1960s WLS was a major force in introducing new music and recording artists. WLS was voted by broadcasters nationally as "The Station of the Year" in 1967, 1968 & 1969. John Rook was named "Program Director of the Year" in 1968 & 1969 as WLS was estimated attracting 4.2 million listeners weekly by Pulse research.
The WLS News Dept included Lyle Dean, Jeff Hendrix, Catherine Johns, Dick Harley, Harley Carnes, Linda Marshall, Karen Hand, Jim Johnson, Jerry Golden, Jim Wynne, Stan Dale, Bill Guthrie and Les Grobstein was the Stations Sports Director.
WLS-AM flipped to a talk format on August 23, 1989 at 7 pm. In 1963...DJ Dick Biondi did his last show on WLS-AM, Chicago. Here's some audio from a 1962 show. He returned to WLS 94.7 FM and its Classic Hits format in November 2006.
➦In 1972...Bruce Springsteen auditioned for Columbia Records’ legendary talent scout John Hammond in his New York office. Hammond was so impressed that he arranged for Springsteen to perform that evening for other Columbia executives at the Gaslight Club. “The Boss” passed the audition with flying colors, and was signed that night to the Columbia label. His first album was released 8 months later.
➦In 1984...Game Show host and executive Jack Barry was born Jack Barach (Born - March 20, 1918). He was best known as a game show host.
Barry served as host of several game shows in his career, many of which he developed along with Dan Enright as part of their joint operation Barry & Enright Productions. His reputation became tarnished due to his involvement in the 1950s quiz show scandals and the ensuing fallout affected his career for over a decade.
Jack Barry
In 1956, Barry and Enright launched Tic Tac Dough and Twenty-One. Both quiz shows were hosted by Barry. In 1958, a match between challenger Charles Van Doren and champion Herb Stempel was found to have been rigged, with Van Doren's victory having been pre-determined by the producers.
Though Enright and producer Albert Freedman actually carried out the rigging of Twenty-One, Barry admitted in the 1970s and 1980s his role in covering up for the partners. However, Barry himself was apparently not averse to "juicing" a show, even after the Twenty-One and Tic-Tac-Dough debacles left his career in eclipse.
Some years later,Barry borrowed $40,000 from his father-in-law and put a down payment on a Los Angeles-area radio station (KKOP 93.5 FM, Redondo Beach, later renamed KFOX, now KDAY). In later interviews, he stated that he bought the station specifically because it would require him to have a license from the FCC, and that if the FCC would be willing to grant him a license, it would decisively demonstrate that his reputation was no longer "tainted" by the game show scandals.
"Slowly," said a 1984 article in TV Guide that discussed game show hosts, "he began to receive calls: Would he fill in for five weeks on this game show? Yes. Of course." In December 1968, he resurrected his game hosting career.
