Twelve public radio stations have signed a memorandum of understanding to form the New York Public News Network, the stations announced last week.
The network aims to “maximize our reporting efficiency and strength and to give residents a better understanding of the biggest stories across New York state,” according to Current citing a memo, which was shared with Current.
To start, the network will focus on sharing stories, coordinating coverage and sharing resources among stations, but it has plans to grow.
The memo encourages participating stations to share stories with regional or statewide significance with the network. It also suggests that stations use the New York Public News Network brand on digital articles and in audio stories.
Over the last three to four years, public radio news leaders in the state have met weekly. That has been a “big change” and has helped with issues such as duplication of coverage, said David Sommerstein, news director at North Country Public Radio in Canton.
“I don’t think there was much communication between the stations before,” Sommerstein said. A lot of the change has been “due to the technologies we’ve adopted since COVID,” he said. “Zoom and Slack makes it just a whole lot easier.”
Forming the news network is “the natural next step,” Sommerstein said. Giving the collaboration a name helps to “publicize it a little bit to let New Yorkers know that we’re all working together, that we’re making the most of their listener and reader donations to provide better journalism across the whole state,” he said.
New York stations have been sharing the work of Capitol Bureau Chief Karen DeWitt for decades, for instance. Some of the stations have also worked together on initiatives such as Innovation Trail in 2010 and Upstate Insight in 2014.
The participating stations are WXXI; North Country Public Radio; WAER in Syracuse; WAMC in Albany; WBFO in Buffalo; WJFF in Liberty; WMHT in Albany; WNYC in New York City; WRVO in Oswego; WSKG in Vestal; WLIW in Long Island; and WSHU in Westport, Conn.
➦In 1903..the first Transatlantic Radio broadcast took place. King Edward VII and President Theodore Roosevelt spoke with one another in a coded radio transmission between Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Cornwall, England.
➦In 1905...Anne Hummert Schumacher born (Died at age 91 – July 5, 1996) was the leading creator of daytime radio serials or soap opera dramas during the 1930s and 1940s, responsible for more than three dozen series.
With her husband Frank she produced some of radio’s most memorable melodramas, including Our Gal Sunday, The Romance of Helen Trent, Mr Keen Tracer of Lost Persons, Betty & Bob, and Backstage Wife. The Hummerts also produced several simple down-home musical series, like Waltztime and The American Album of Familiar Music. Their “radio factory” produced as many as 125 series, 61 of them soap operas.
➦In 1908...comic singer Ish Kabibble was born Merwyn Bogue in rural Pennsylvania. He sang and played trumpet with Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge on radio & record in the 30’s and 40’s. His dim witted characterization was said to be a later inspiration for Jerry Lewis. He died June 5, 1994 at age 86.
➦In 1922..Radio, TV Actor Guy Madison born Robert Ozell Moseley( Died at age 74 – February 6, 1996) was an American film, television, and radio actor. He is best known for playing Wild Bill Hickok in the Western television series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951 to 1958. During his career, Madison was given a special Golden Globe Award in 1954 and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.
George Klein
➦In 1923...WMC 790 AM in Memphis, Tennessee signed-on. WMC was first owned by The Memphis Commercial Appeal and its call letters reflect the M and C from its owner's initials. In the 1930s, WMC carried the NBC Radio Red Network, while rival WMPS, owned by the Memphis Press-Scimitar, aired the NBC Blue Network. Starting in the 1930s, the station used a riverboat whistle as its sounder, a nod to Memphis' location on the Mississippi River—a practice that continued well into the 1990s. The station currently airs ESPN and Fox Sports Radio.
In addition to sports talk shows, WMC-AM features longtime Memphis disc jockey George Klein's weekly tribute program to Elvis Presley. Klein and Presley were close friends and confidantes during the latter's lifetime and the former's long stint on WHBQ-AM.
Now, airing sports the license is currently held by Audacy Inc, which it purchased from CBS in September 2006.
➦In 1927...KGRC-AM (now KONO) San Antonio signed-on. KONO is the fourth-oldest radio station in San Antonio, officially signing on in January 1927. KONO began as a hobby for Eugene Roth in a room over his garage in downtown San Antonio. As the broadcasting industry grew, Eugene Roth's son, Jack Roth, began working with his dad, later inheriting the station. At first, KONO was powered at only 100 watts, broadcasting on 1370 kilocycles and having to share time on the air with other stations. It later moved to AM 1400 before relocating to its current home on AM 860.
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) today released a report detailing the public safety importance of AM radio, which serves as the backbone of the Emergency Alert System. NAB is releasing the report as momentum grows in Congress for legislation to ensure AM radio is accessible to the public in all vehicles.
“When disaster strikes, AM radio has proven time and again its invaluable role as a source of factual, authoritative, up-to-the-minute information that saves lives,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “It is also a home to a diversity of programming that is often unavailable on other mediums and particularly important to otherwise underserved communities. It is critical that Congress address the need for AM radio capability in vehicles to ensure Americans can turn to local AM stations when they need them the most.”
AM radio serves local communities in two vital ways during emergencies: through the dissemination of emergency alert signals and by providing a reliable source of trusted news. The report highlights AM radio’s unique role in the Emergency Alert System (EAS), the national public warning system commonly used by state and local authorities to deliver critical emergency information over television and radio. The EAS relies on broadcast stations to relay emergency messages, with more than 70 radio stations – the vast majority of which are AM stations – serving as Primary Entry Points that initiate the message and spread it to other communications medium across the country.
AM radio also connects diverse communities with programming in multiple languages and serves as a lifeline in rural America where cellular and broadband access can be unreliable.
The report documents AM radio’s critical role in natural disasters when other communications networks fail, including examples of stations’ response during the Maui wildfires, the Tubbs Fire in northern California and an outbreak of tornadoes in Arkansas. Listeners recount how they heard about the emergencies through their local AM radio stations, which allowed them to evacuate to safer areas, stay informed after the danger had passed and learn authoritative information in the face of misinformation on online platforms.
The report urges the full House and Senate to support the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. This legislation would require the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule requiring vehicles manufactured in or imported into the U.S. to have devices installed that provide access to AM radio. In addition to 240 members of Congress, the bill has support from emergency management officials, communications professionals and groups representing rural, elderly and other diverse communities.
A radio station in southeastern Oklahoma is off the air after the owners say thieves stole copper off the radio broadcast tower.
Newson6.com reports thieves cut cables off the 488-foot tower to make it fall down and then cut it up to get the copper.
Will Payne with Payne Media Group says the thieves probably caused half a million dollars' worth of damage and only got away with about 100 dollars' worth of copper.
The radio tower for KITX 95.5 FM near Hugo is now on the ground and in pieces.
"They either used wire cutters or something really similar to that, and they just cut the guide wires on the top section, and after that, that's when it folded and came to the ground," he said.
Payne says when the station unexpectedly went off the air late Monday night, he thought it was because of the weather, but when he went the next morning to check it out, he knew something was wrong.
"I drove up just a little bit closer, I saw the door had been breached, saw a few other things, and at that point just backed out and called the sheriff's department," he said.
He says the thieves cut up about 80 to 100 feet of copper and hauled it off.
Payne says he's working on fixing the tower and getting back on the air, but he's frustrated thieves did this to the community.
He says he's working with the Choctaw County Sheriff's Office as well as going to local scrap yards to see if he can get any information on the thieves.
CNN’s new boss has tapped a hard-charging, controversial executive to run the struggling network’s newsroom — with some of the rank and file claiming that she is a “tyrant” with “no people skills whatsoever”.
Mark Thompson — a British-born media mogul who took the helm as CNN’s CEO in October — on Wednesday named Virginia Moseley to the new role of executive editor at the left-leaning outlet.
The NY Post reportsCNN staffers were immediately on edge over the promotion of 61-year-old Moseley, according to sources. While one insider called her an “astute, excellent journalist,” others complained about Moseley’s fierce approach to management.
“Tyrant is the word that you hear used the most to describe her,” said a source. “She has reduced reporters and producers to tears. She fires before she aims.”
The source added that Moseley “swirls things up,” “magnifying” small mistakes, “blowing them up” to make you feel like “the whole world is coming unglued and she alone can fix it.”
When he took over as the network’s chief executive in October, Mark Thompson warned staff that CNN was nowhere near ready for the future and needed to step up its digital game. One hundred days later, he is laying the groundwork to do that.
The Wall Street Journal reports the first step, outlined in a memo Wednesday, is to combine all of CNN’s newsgathering operations into one unit that will serve its TV, streaming and digital platforms, while creating a division tasked with exploring growth opportunities.
Mark Thompson
In an interview, Thompson said he was also looking to monetize CNN’s offerings, potentially through subscriptions, and wanted to find a better way to show video news on phones.
“I don’t think anyone’s yet cracked the code on how that translates, truly translates to a great news experience,” Thompson said, adding that he wants to take better advantage of a vertical format that is popular with younger consumers. He said that if CNN “can figure out a way of doing that and make sure it’s a high quality, differentiated product,” people should be willing to pay for it.
“For many people today, the smartphone is a more important device for consuming news than the TV,” Thompson wrote in Wednesday’s memo. “Their news prime time is in the morning, not the evening.”
There has been speculation Thompson would reprise the playbook he used when he led the New York Times, by launching subscription products focused on areas like travel and health. He says that is not his plan, though those are interesting ideas. “I think we need to look at it honestly—I think you might want to start with news,” Thompson said, describing it as the “central proposition that the CNN brand brings to mind.”
Thompson didn’t announce any concrete plans for new products or specific business models. “This stuff takes time,” he said.
He said the CNN.com website needs “drastic modernization.” The network also needs multiple digital projects to complement the CNN Max streaming service, he said.
With cord-cutting, the audience for cable television in the U.S. has fallen by one-fifth in the past two years, he said. CNN’s full-day ratings averaged 479,000 in 2023, down 15% from a year earlier. Fox News Channel’s 1.22 million was down 18% and MSNBC’s 780,000 was up 6%, according to the Nielsen company.
Fox News, MSNBC and CNN saw substantial week-to-week ratings growth, driven by special event programming. For example, the Fox News-Donald Trump town hall moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum on Jan. 10 was the most-watched cable news telecast of the week (4.4 million viewers), while CNN’s primetime GOP debate featuring Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley delivered the network a larger-than-usual audience (2.62 million viewers; 541,000 A25-54 viewers).
TV Newser reports Nielsen live plus same day data for the week of Jan. 8 is officially in, and Fox News Channel retained its regular position as the top-rated cable news network in total viewers and among Adults 25-54.
In primetime, FNC averaged two million total viewers and 217,000 A25-54 viewers, up +22% and +33%, respectively, relative to the week prior (week beginning Jan. 1). In addition to being an improvement from the week prior, Fox’s two million viewer average is more than CNN and MSNBC’s combined total viewer average in the daypart.
In total day viewing, Fox News averaged 1.26 million total viewers and 150,000 A25-54 viewers, +11% and +16%, respectively, from what Fox averaged in those measurements the week prior.
Among all basic cable networks, Fox News ranks No. 2 in total primetime viewers (only behind ESPN and its highly-rated live CFP National Championship broadcast), moved up five spots to No. 5 in the primetime demo (tied with Bravo), improved to No. 1 in total day viewers, and No. 2 in the total day demo for the week of Jan. 8, 2024.
MSNBC saw its audience return after a couple low-rated weeks. In primetime, the network averaged more than 1.18 million total viewers and 113,000 viewers from the A25-54 demo during the week of Jan. 8. That’s +34% and +45%, respectively, from what the network averaged in those measurements the week prior. In total day, MSNBC averaged 831,000 total viewers and 81,000 A25-54 viewers for the week of Jan. 8. That’s +24% and +31%, respectively, from what the network averaged the week before.
CNN averaged 730,000 total primetime viewers and 143,000 A25-54 viewers in primetime for the week of Jan. 1, 2024. That’s -9% and -30%, respectively, from what the network averaged in those measurements the week prior. In total day, CNN did post week-to-week gains in total viewers (+2%), but shed A25-54 viewers (-11%).
Taylor Swift is the leading nominee for the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which are set to air live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 1 on Fox. Swift received nine nods. Jelly Roll, 21 Savage and SZA are close behind with eight nods. Olivia Rodrigo received seven.
Billboard reports the nominations show the degree to which women dominated pop radio in 2023. All five nominees for pop artist of the year are women: Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Rodrigo, SZA and Swift.
By contrast, all five nominees for hip-hop artist of the year are men: 21 Savage, Drake, Future, Gunna and Lil Durk.
Three artists showed their versatility by being nominated as artist of the year in two genres. Jelly Roll is nominated for both country artist of the year and rock artist of the year; SZA for both pop and R&B artist of the year; and Foo Fighters for both rock and alternative artist of the year.
Jack Antonoff is the only creative who is nominated for both producer of the year and songwriter of the year.
This year’s show will include five new categories focused on pop and K-pop: pop artist of the year, pop song of the year, K-pop artist of the year, K-pop song of the year and best new artist (K-pop).
Fan voting will determine this year’s best lyrics, best music video, best fan army, social star award, favorite tour photographer, TikTok bop of the year, favorite on screen, favorite tour style and favorite debut album.
Social voting begins Thursday (Jan. 18) and will close March 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Fans can vote by visiting iHeartRadio.com/awards.
The 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards will air live on Monday, April 1, from 8-10 p.m. ET live/PT tape-delayed on Fox. The event will also be heard on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app.
Israel pulled thousands of troops from Gaza following U.S. pressure to be more surgical against Hamas. Some Israeli officials worry that the withdrawal could leave the country vulnerable to another surge in militant activity. It could now deploy forces to other flashpoints, such as West Bank unrest. Israel risks undermining its strategic goal of eradicating Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel is trying to take control of a vast maze of tunnels under the Gazan city of Khan Younis as refugees crowd into the south and international outcry grows over the death toll. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Iraq’s prime minister said the U.S.-led military coalition helping his country fight Islamic State militants is no longer needed, though he still wants strong ties with Washington.
BREAKING: IDF's Command Brigade raided the offices of several senior Hamas commanders as well as the headquarters of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, the military says.
The IDF says the troops seized weapons in the offices, and destroyed cameras used… pic.twitter.com/DsE9Ppn7Mg
➤HEZBOLLAH REBUFF U-S OVERTURES: Iran-backed Hezbollah has rebuffed Washington's initial ideas for cooling tit-for-tat fighting with neighboring Israel, such as pulling its fighters further from the border, but remains open to U.S. diplomacy to avoid a ruinous war, Lebanese officials said. U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein has been leading a diplomatic outreach to restore security at the Israel-Lebanon frontier as the wider region teeters dangerously towards a major escalation of the conflict ignited by the Gaza war. Attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea, U.S. strikes in response and fighting elsewhere in the Middle East have added urgency to the efforts.
"Hezbollah is ready to listen," a senior Lebanese official familiar with the group's thinking said, while emphasising that the group saw the ideas presented by veteran negotiator Hochstein on a visit to Beirut last week as unrealistic. Hezbollah's position is that it will fire rockets at Israel until there is a full ceasefire in Gaza. Hezbollah's rejection of the proposals presented by Hochstein has not been previously reported. Despite the rejection and Hezbollah's volleys of rockets in support of Gaza, the group's openness to diplomatic contacts signals an aversion to a wider war, one of the Lebanese officials and a security source said, even after an Israeli strike reached Beirut on Jan. 2, killing a Hamas leader.
➤WHAT DID CHINA KNOW AND WHEN DID THEY KNOW IT: Chinese researchers isolated and mapped the virus that causes Covid-19 at least two weeks before Beijing revealed details of the virus to the world, congressional investigators said. Chinese officials in December 2019 were still publicly calling the outbreak in Wuhan a viral pneumonia “of unknown cause” and had yet to close a market that was the site of an initial outbreak. The extra weeks could have proved crucial in helping the international medical community pinpoint how Covid spread, develop medical defenses and start on a vaccine, specialists have said. “China has kept refining our COVID response based on science to make it more targeted,” a Chinese Embassy spokesperson said. “China’s COVID response policies are science-based, effective, and consistent with China’s national realities. They can stand the test of history.” The new information doesn’t shed light on whether Covid came from an infected animal or a lab leak.
➤CANCER TREATMENT 'BETTER', BUT PREVENTION LACKING: The U.S. is getting better at treating cancer but falling behind on preventing it. Rates are rising for many of the most common cancers, including breast cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma, a new report found. Colorectal cancer is increasing for patients under age 55.
A new report released by the American Cancer Society shows that some cancer cases are rising in people under 50, with colorectal cancer becoming the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and second in women. @DrLaPook has more on the findings. https://t.co/8xKj63PvsSpic.twitter.com/4Aepq2m5KQ
These increases and persistent disparities threaten the progress made over the past three decades in reducing cancer deaths. According to other research, Americans are living longer, but spending less time in good health. That’s due to medical advances catching and treating once-fatal diseases and the rising prevalence, often among younger people, of conditions such as obesity, diabetes and substance-use disorders.
➤BORDER PACKAGE ON LIFE SUPPORT: A rare window for bipartisan agreement on border security and foreign aid appears to be closing, as House Republicans insisted on a hardline GOP border package and balked at additional help for Ukraine. "I don't think now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform because we know how complicated that is. You can't do that quickly," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday. The comments came shortly before a meeting at the White House with President Biden and other congressional leaders on a border security package Senate Republicans, Democrats and the Biden administration have been crafting for weeks. They hope to attach the package to continued aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Pres. Biden met with Congressional leaders Wednesday, warning them of the urgent need for aid to Ukraine. Speaker Johnson said he understands the necessity for Ukraine funding, but said they have to tackle U.S. border policy first. @marykbruce reports. https://t.co/aXHxVkVR2Ppic.twitter.com/8UVGBLktV4
➤DENVER HOSPITAL 'IN THE RED': The migrant crisis in Denver has plunged the city's main public hospital deep into the red after patients received $136 million in treatment they couldn't pay for. Denver Health lost $2 million in 2022 - but that was substantially-reduced by a $20 million cash injection from the state. In 2022, the hospital system lost $35 million, with bosses warning of 'dire consequences' for the hospital if 2024 is as bad as the previous two. Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne said that 8,000 migrants who came to the city from Central America made around 20,000 visits to the health system.
WATCH: Fox’s @JacquiHeinrich tells @BretBaier on congressional leaders meeting Biden at the White House: “Both Dems and Republicans who came out of that meeting with the President described it as productive, Chuck Schumer going so far as to put the chances of a deal at over 50%.… pic.twitter.com/Z9DrgGOarW
➤TRUMP GETTING ENORSEMENTS: Donald Trump is racking up endorsements after his historic Iowa victory, as the Republicans close ranks behind the party’s front-runner. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) is the latest to back the former president, joining fellow 2016 rival Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and former 2024 aspirants Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech founder, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Few leading Republicans have lately endorsed Trump’s remaining main rivals, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. If he continues winning by Iowa-esque margins, Trump could secure the delegates needed to clinch the nomination in weeks. More immediately: The judge overseeing columnist E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial against the former president threatened to remove him from the New York courtroom for making comments while she testified.
With less than one week until New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are campaigning to swing undecided voters after finishing far behind Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses. @rachelvscott reports. https://t.co/UdB7h4YUC7pic.twitter.com/qtkvvDCHEp
➤TRUMP EXCLUSION FROM MAINE BALLOT PUT ON HOLD: A Superior Court judge in Maine has put on hold a decision by the secretary of state to exclude Donald Trump from the state’s election ballot. The judge said a final decision must await a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on a similar move in Colorado. The case is expected to be heard next month.
➤JUDGE TELLS TRUMP TO PIPE DOWN: A judge overseeing a civil defamation case against Donald Trump ordered the former president to keep his voice down or face expulsion from the court. Trump is accused of continuing to defame the writer E. Jean Carroll even after a jury found that he had sexually assaulted her and then defamed her for revealing the assault.
Donald Trump's verbal outbursts during E. Jean Carroll's emotional testimony about threats of death and rape she received prompted a judge to warn the former president that he could be expelled from the courtroom. https://t.co/M2DjwtrVLppic.twitter.com/I3ob00Njg3
During yesterday’s hearing, he reportedly kept up a running commentary on the testimony, saying “it is a witch hunt” and “it really is a con job.” Carroll testified that she has been inundated with threatening messages since coming forward.
➤HOUSE REBELS SEEN AS DISRUPTORS: A push to punish a handful of the most conservative lawmakers in the House reignited in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, with some Republicans lashing out over their colleagues' continued disruption of the lower chamber and GOP leaders’ agenda. In a weekly Republican meeting, Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, specifically called out the House Freedom Caucus during the meeting’s open mic session. The Freedom Caucus is a group made up of ultraconservative lawmakers who have often been a roadblock to spending agreements, foreign aid and other urgent legislation. House Republicans as a group need “discipline and structure,” Miller said after the meeting, calling for Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., chair of the group, and other right-wing conservatives to be punished for rebelling. The Ohio lawmaker suggested removing them from their committee assignments or cutting off access to campaign fundraising.
FOX News Digital closed out calendar year 2023 as the top-performing news brand with multiplatform views and minutes, while seeing 9% growth with views and 6% growth with minutes year-over-year, according to Comscore.*
For the year, FOX News Digital secured 20.2 billion multiplatform views, over 36.9 billion multiplatform minutes and averaged 93.7 million monthly multiplatform unique visitors. CNN and The New York Times both saw year-over-year decreases across these key performance indicators. The FOX News mobile app finished 2023 averaging 6.1 million monthly unique visitors.**FOX News was also the most engaged news brand on social media throughout 2023, according to Emplifi, reaching over 315 million social media interactions. FOX News drove 81.6 million Facebook interactions, 34.2 million X interactions and 198.9 million Instagram interactions. On YouTube, FOX News drove over 2.3 billion views, finishing first in the news competitive set, according to Shareablee.****
FOXBusiness.com also accomplished a record year with multiplatform views. The business network earned 1.9 billion multiplatform views in 2023, its highest ranking since its launch in 2007. It also saw increases over the prior year, while the majority of business news brands experienced decreases.***
Additionally, FOXBusiness.com secured 3.2 billion multiplatform minutes and averaged 23.2 million monthly multiplatform unique visitors for the year, while surpassing various other brands with views including CNN Business, MarketWatch.com and Forbes.com. FOX Business was number one on YouTube in the business news competitive set in 2023, driving 748 million views, according to Shareablee. *****
2023 (January-December) FOX NEWS DIGITAL VS. CNN.COM AND NYTIMES.COM
Audacy has announced Chris Mack as the new afternoon drive host for Y108 (WDSY-FM) in Pittsburgh. Mack will be heard weekdays from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.
“Pittsburgh is at the core of everything we do,” said Michael Spacciapolli, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Pittsburgh. “Chris Mack is a Pittsburgher who knows this market inside and out, and we are excited to see him connect and entertain every day on every platform with the city.”
“Audacy Pittsburgh is home, and the chance to work with the same wonderful group of people while returning to my music radio roots and embracing a new audience is an opportunity I couldn't be more excited for,” said Mack.
Chris Mack
Y108’s new weekday lineup is as follows.
6:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET: “Broadway & Friends”
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET: Maria D’Antonio
3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET: Chris Mack
Mack grew up in Pittsburgh’s South Hills and graduated from Baldwin High School and Pennsylvania State University. Nearly all of his 24 years in radio have been in the Pittsburgh market, boasting over 20 years of on-air experience, including at the former B94. Most recently, he was the morning show host on sister station 93.7 The Fan (KDKA-FM).
📻Listeners can tune in to Y108 (WDSY-FM) in Pittsburgh on air and nationwide on the Audacyapp and website. Fans can also connect with the station via X, Facebook and Instagram.
FOX Nation will debut a new special examining the recent controversies surrounding Ivy League schools hosted by Pete Hegseth, announced by Lauren Petterson, president of the platform.
Debuting on Friday, January 19, Poison Ivy will examine the discussions surrounding the shift in America’s most prestigious universities, which were once deemed the epitome of American academia, to their alleged decline with growing antisemitism, the rejection of Judeo-Christian values and the promotion of leftist political agendas. The special will feature interviews with students, alumni, professors, and donors who have been disappointed by recent events on the campuses. Former University of Pennsylvania trustee Vahan Gureghian, former University of Pennsylvania Donor David Magerman, Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson, legal scholar Robby George, and others will provide their insight.
In commenting on the special, FOX Nation president Lauren Petterson said, “Pete brings an unmatched passion and personal connection to this special as someone who attended an Ivy League school and has written a best-selling book on education in America. His conversations will delve into the ongoing issues currently sweeping our nation.”
➦In 1913...comedian/actor Danny Kaye was born David Daniel Kaminski in Brooklyn.
While most of his impact was on the big screen, he had his own radio show in the 1940’s, and his own TV show in the 60’s. Surprisingly, he has only two appearances listed for the Ed Sullivan Show. As a partner in Kaye/Smith Broadcasting he was a co-owner of KJR AM/FM in Seattle & KJRB, Spokane.
He died Mar 3, 1987 at age 74 after a heart attack.
➦In 1914...announcer/actor Rod O’Connor was born in Houston.
He died June 5, 1964 at age 50 after losing a battle with cancer.
➦In 1929...“New York Daily Mirror” columnist Walter Winchell made his debut on radio, broadcasting a blend of political commentary and celebrity gossip to “Mr. and Mrs. America…” His quick-jabbing, penetrating manner became his trademark. And so did his fedora hat.
Walt Winchell
He began his career in journalism by posting notes about his acting troupe on backstage bulletin boards. Joining the Vaudeville News in 1920, Winchell left the paper for the Evening Graphic in 1924, and in turn was hired on June 10, 1929 by the New York Daily Mirror where he finally became the author of what would be the first syndicated gossip column, entitled On-Broadway.
Using connections in the entertainment, social, and governmental realms, he would expose exciting or embarrassing information about celebrities in those industries. This caused him to become very feared, as a journalist, because he would routinely impact the lives of famous or powerful people, exposing alleged information and rumors about them, using this as ammunition to attack his enemies, and to blackmail influential people. He used this power, trading positive mention in his column (and later, his radio show) for more rumors and secrets.
He made his radio debut over WABC in New York, then a CBS affiliate, on May 12, 1930.
His newspaper column was syndicated in over 2,000 newspapers worldwide, and he was read by 50 million people a day from the 1920s until the early 1960s. His Sunday-night radio broadcast was heard by another 20 million people from 1930 to the late 1950s.
Aunt Jenny
➦In 1937...CBS radio introduced listeners to “Aunt Jenny’s Real Life Stories” for the first time. A complete story was told in five, 15-minute episodes which aired Monday thru Friday each week. Aunt Jenny was played by Edith Spencer (pictured) and later, by Agnes Young. The show continued on radio until 1956 and was sponsored over the years by Spry shortening and Lux soap. Aunt Jenny’s whistling canary, for those of you ready to inquire, was played by animal imitator, Henry Boyd.
➦In 1948... Ted Mack came to television as “The Original Amateur Hour” debuted on the DuMont network. The program continued on different networks for a total 22-year run. The original, “Original Amateur Hour”, on radio, was hosted by Major Bowes. In the TV version, Mack introduced many up-and-coming stars who later claimed great fame in show biz. Teresa Brewer and Pat Boone are just two of those discoveries.
➦In 1964..Fifty-one years ago today, the Beatles appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time.
The band's breakthrough, and ultimately, pop culture-redefining, first U.S smash, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 45.
The issue was dated Jan. 18, 1964.
The following week, the song rocketed to No. 3. It became the Beatles' first of 20 No. 1s the following week (Feb. 1, 1964).
The ongoing drama over Sinclair's Diamond Sports Group, the largest regional sports network group, is nearing a new chapter financially -- as a new independent company -- with Amazon making a $115 million minority investment.
MediaPost reports Amazon's deal will put Bally Sports+ -- the relatively new streaming app unit, which houses all its regional sports networks -- in the Amazon Channel store, as the primary place for access to those regional sports networks.
Amazon has an option to invest another $50 million in the new company that will result after Diamond Sports Group emerges from bankruptcy.
Sinclair, one of the largest U.S. TV station groups, will give Diamond Sports Group $495 million to help settle its growing array of lawsuits.
Currently under the Bally Sports banner there are nine Major League Baseball teams under contract for the 2024 season, including the Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays.
Some other baseball teams as well as those of other sports from the National Basketball Association and the Nationl Hoskey League have moved to games to broadcast TV station groups. In addition, the NBA and the NHL have struck short, one-year deals to get through their current respective seasons.
Diamond Sports Group -- as well as other regional sports groups -- has been hit with massive cord-cutting issues over the last few years, resulting in fewer pay TV subscribers and lower distribution and advertising revenue.
“Diamond has been a dark cloud over Sinclair for years now, “ writer Steven Cahall, media analyst for Wells Fargo. “While this marks the end to the legal liability, we think Sinclair's broadcast retransmission rates suffered from deals that included RSNs historically.”
Diamond Sports Group looks to have a hybrid distribution model -- using some networks on cable TV systems, as well as streaming apps for other RSN activity, and broadcast TV stations.
Diamond has $8 billion in debt incurred by owner Sinclair Broadcast Group when it bought the former Fox Sports regional sports group in 2019 -- then briefly owned by Walt Disney -- for $10.6 billion.
Spike Eskin, the former program director at 94 WIP, left in 2021 to run sister-station WFAN in New York City, is returning and will replace Jon Marks as the cohost of .WIP’s afternoon show. Eskin will join former Eagles linebacker Ike Reese and Jack Fritz.
No start date has been announced, the Philly Inquirer reports.
“I am thrilled to be able to work with Ike and Jack in afternoons at 94WIP,” Eskin said in a statement “Leaving WFAN and CBS Sports Radio is an incredibly difficult decision. I’m surrounded by talented, great people, and it’s been an amazing experience.”
Eskin will leave his job as WFAN’s program director. Parent-company Audacy said a nationwide search is currently underway.
It’s not Eskin’s first go at hosting WIP’s drive-time show. In 2015, he was part of a short-lived show that featured Josh Innes and former Eagles defensive tackle Hollis Thomas.
Eskin is taking over for Jon Marks, who left last month after he and the station couldn’t come to terms on a new contract. Marks told Crossing Broad that during contract negotiations, WIP made it clear it wasn’t going to offer him a contract that paid as much as retired morning show host Angelo Cataldi or longtime sports talker Howard Eskin.
Spike Eskin
Marks cohosted the show with Reese since 2017, when he replaced Chris Carlin, who left to return to New York City. Together, Reese and Marks grew the show’s ratings and easily outpaced 97.5 The Fanatic’s Best Show Ever following Mike Missanelli’s departure from the station.
Marks has yet to announce a new gig, but he did reemerge on Tuesday on his own YouTube channel to talk about Birds’ collapse with a regular caller to WIP’s afternoon show — Herb from the Northeast.
In a statement announcing the move on Wednesday, Audacy Senior Vice President and Philadelphia Market Manager David Yadgaroff called the hire of Eskin “a unique opportunity to add a great talent with a long history in our marketplace to one of our most popular dayparts, and we’re looking forward to having Spike reunite with his longtime friend and colleague Ike Reese and Jack Fritz to shape the future of afternoon drive at WIP.”
Eskin called the new afternoon drive role “the third job of a lifetime I've had the opportunity to do. Leaving WFAN and CBS Sports Radio is an incredibly difficult decision. I'm surrounded by talented, great people, and it's been an amazing experience.”
Eskin has worked in a variety of roles in the radio industry over his 25-year career. A 1998 Syracuse University graduate who decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, he returned home to Philadelphia in 2008 after spending two years as midday host and assistant program director at Q101 in Chicago to take on a similar role at local rock station WYSP.
