Comedian Lewis Black Sues Pandora, SiriusXM Holdings

Comedian Lewis Black, who has turned angry rants into a career, is irate with streaming giant Pandora, which he claims is airing his material without permission, reports Bloomberg.

The recurring guest on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” sued Pandora Media LLC for copyright infringement, seeking more than $10 million in damages, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles federal court.

Black’s claim is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by comedians against Pandora that may reveal how the streaming industry deals with novel licensing issues around the growing popularity of spoken word content. Comedians say streaming platforms need to pay them -- as the authors of jokes -- in the same way songwriters are paid royalties for writing lyrics.

“Pandora did what most goliaths do: it decided it would infringe now to ensure it had this very valuable intellectual property on its platform to remain competitive, and deal with the consequences later,” Black said in the complaint. “Later is now.”

Pandora, which was acquired by Sirius XM Holdings Inc. in 2019, says on its website that it’s the largest digital broadcast and streaming music provider in the US, with 70 million listeners and users each month.

Pandora used 68 of Black’s works without permission, according to the complaint. He’d be entitled to $150,000 for copyright infringement for each work under current law, Black said in the complaint.

Audacy Promotes Jake Kaplan To Director of Imaging

Audacy/Los Angeles has promored Imaging and Creative Director Jake Kaplan to the newly-created role of Director of Imaging & Sound Design for the company. 

Jake Kaplan

He previously named Operations and Creative Director for CHR KAMP-FM (97.1 AMP Radio in Los Angeles and its digital outlets Channel Q and Firelane in December, 2019. Before that, Kaplan had been with the local L.A. cluster since 2005 as Imaging Director for co-owned Adult Hits KCBS-FM 93.1 JACK FM.

In his new role, Kaplan will oversee national vendor relationships, creating collaborative teams for brand imaging projects, oversee exclusive station imaging, build format imaging teams, oversee campaigns for national initiatives and events and more.

Kaplan joined KCBS and KROQ from WHFS-FM/Washington, DC, where he also served as Imaging Director. Before that, he held similar duties for Rock KISW-FM and Alternative KNDD-FM/Seattle.

July 8 Radio History

➦In 1954…Memphis' leading Top40 station of the day earned a historical first when personality Dewey Phillips, played a recording of "That's Alright Mama" by Elvis Presley, a young truck driver and budding musician, marking the first time an Elvis recording was broadcast on the radio.  Phillips played the song a total of 14-times based on strong listener reaction. 

Phillips started his radio career in 1949 on WHBQ, and was the city's leading radio personality for nine years and was the first to simulcast his "Red, Hot & Blue" show on radio and television.

Phillips' on-air persona was a speed-crazed hillbilly, with a frantic delivery and entertaining sense of humor. However, he also had a keen ear for music the listening public would enjoy, and he aired both black and white music, which was abundant in post-World War II Memphis, a booming river city which attracted large numbers of rural blacks and whites (along with their musical traditions). He played a great deal of rhythm and blues, country music, boogie-woogie, and jazz as well as Sun Records artists.

Phillips briefly hosted an afternoon program on WHBQ-TV/13 in the mid-1950s. It mostly consisted of Phillips playing records while he and others clowned around in front of the camera.

Though Phillips was not involved in the payola scandals of the time, he was fired in late 1958 when the station adopted a Top 40 format, phasing out his freeform style. He spent the last decade of his life working at smaller radio stations, seldom lasting long. A heavy drinker and longtime drug user (mainly painkillers and amphetamines, which contributed to his manic on-air behavior), Phillips died of heart failure at age 42.

➦In 1957...Radio Personality Herb Oscar Anderson debuted at 77 WABC (first time, before station flipped to Top40.)

➦In 1960...Storer Broadcasting Company purchased 1010 WINS radio in New York City for $10 million.

It was the highest price paid for a radio station at the time. Many great radio personalities including Murray the K, Bruce Morrow and Alan Freed were stars on WINS Radio. WINS, under Storer ownership, also aired some very clever promotions, including the clay tablet, ostensibly of Egyptian origins, found in the back seat of a taxicab.  Upon closer examination, it read, “Everybody’s mummy listens to 10-10 WINS!”

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, as the transistor radio became popular, especially with young people who could carry radios with them everywhere, rock and roll solidified as a genre, thanks in large measure to what became known as Top 40 radio. In New York, four stations battled in the category: 570 WMCA, 1050 WMGM, 770 WABC, and WINS. While WMCA was only 5,000 watts, it was at the bottom end of the dial, which gave it better coverage than might be expected for its power. The other three were all 50,000 watts, but only WABC was both non-directional and a clear channel station. Of those three, WINS was the most directional (aimed straight at New York's inner boroughs), with a weaker signal than the others toward the New Jersey suburbs and the Jersey Shore.

Newspaper Clipping

In 1962, WMGM adopted a beautiful music format under its previous call letters, WHN, while WINS was purchased by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. WMCA enjoyed some early success after WINS and WMGM left the Top 40 format. But WABC became the dominant Top 40 station in New York City by 1965. On April 18, 1965, around 8 p.m., WINS bowed out of Top 40 competition with the song "Out in the Streets", by The Shangri-Las,

On April 19, 1965, after weeks of speculation, WINS changed its format radically. It became the third radio station in the United States to attempt all-news programming, going with the new format around the clock. WINS immediately established a template for its format with an easily identifiable, distinctive Teletype sound effect playing in the background. Most other all-news stations later dropped this, but WINS continues to use it to this day despite Teletype machines themselves becoming obsolete by the mid-1980s. WINS used memorable slogans such as "All news, all the time"; "The newswatch never stops"; "Listen two, three, four times a day"; and "You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world". The latter tagline was a reference to WINS's format clock, which returns to the top stories every twenty minutes.

➦In 1979…Radio-TV quiz show host John Reed King died at age 64 following a heart attack.

King was one of the announcers for The American School of the Air on CBS, and he had one of the top-rated radio shows of the 1930s in New York City with Missus Goes A-Shopping. He was also an announcer for the radio version of Death Valley Days and for The Jack Berch Show.

He worked at KDKA radio and television in Pittsburgh during the 1960s. He was a morning news anchor and hosted a daily talk show on television. In 1970, he was a news anchor at KGO 810 AM and KGO-TV, the ABC owned-and-operated television station in San Francisco, California.

Kevin Bacon is 64

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Singer Steve Lawrence is 87. 
• Drummer Jaimoe Johanson of The Allman Brothers is 78. 
• Actor Jeffrey Tambor is 78. 
• Actor Kim Darby is 75. 
• Actor Jonelle Allen (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”) is 74. 
• Children’s singer Raffi is 74. 
• Actor Anjelica Huston is 71.
• Actor Kevin Bacon is 64. 
• Country singer Toby Keith is 61. 

• 

  Maya Hawke is 24

  Guitarist Graham Jones of Haircut 100 is 61. 
• Singer Joan Osborne is 60. 
• Actor Rocky Carroll (“NCIS”) is 59. 
• Actor Michael B. Silver (“Instinct,” ″NYPD Blue”) is 55. 
• Actor Billy Crudup (“Almost Famous”) is 54. 
• Actor Michael Weatherly (“NCIS,” ″Dark Angel”) is 54. 
• Singer Beck is 52. 
• Country singer Drew Womack of Sons of the Desert is 52. 
• Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco is 49.
• Guitarist Stephen Mason of Jars of Clay is 47. 
• Actor Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us,” ″Gilmore Girls”) is 45. 
• Actor Lance Gross (“House of Payne”) is 41. 
• Actor Sophia Bush (“Chicago P.D.,” ″One Tree Hill”) is 40. 
• Guitarist Jamie Cook of Arctic Monkeys is 37. 
• Actor Maya Hawke (“Little Women,” ″Stranger Things”) is 24. 
• Actor Jaden Smith (“The Pursuit of Happyness”) is 24.

🕇DEATH ANNIVERSARIES

• Former First Lady Betty Ford, who founded the Betty Ford Center for the treatment of drug and alcohol abuse, died on this day in 2011. She was 93.
• North Korean dictator Kim Il-Sung, who founded the Communist nation and was the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-Un, died on this day in 1994. He was 82.
• Glee actress Naya Rivera drowned in a California lake on this day in 2020 while swimming with her four-year-old son, who was found alone on their rented boat. She was 33.

NAB Urges FCC To Reconsider Regulatory Fees

Responding to FCC proposals to increase regulatory fees on broadcasters, the NAB has filed new comments criticizing the FCC’s proposed fees as “unfairly, unlawfully, and disproportionately burdening broadcasters.”

TVTech reports the NAB also complained that the FCC is proposing to “raise broadcasters’ fees by a staggering 13%, despite the Commission’s budget increasing by 2.1%,” a fee increase that is more than six times the magnitude of the Commission’s budget increase. 

The NAB noted that “for years, broadcasters have urged the Commission to reform its methodology to ensure that the fees broadcasters pay bear a meaningful relationship to the work performed by Commission…to benefit or regulate the broadcast industry” and that “the Commission last year made important strides in conforming its fee methodology to the law by acknowledging that broadcasters do not benefit from the Commission’s broadband activities and modifying its methodology to exempt broadcasters from certain broadband-related costs.”

“Though last year’s regulatory fee process represented a step forward,” the NAB noted, “this year’s fee proposal takes significant steps backward by abandoning the modifications and taking no action on the growing need to expand the base of payors to include the beneficiaries of the bulk of the Commission’s primary activities – broadband internet service providers.”

“The FCC must ensure that its regulatory framework, including its assessment of regulatory fees, does not hinder broadcasters’ abilities to operate as viable private enterprises in a competitive market and to effectively serve the public interest and their local communities,” the NAB said. 

“The Commission must also disabuse itself of any notion that broadcasters can easily absorb unjustified regulatory fee increases. Fee proposals that require broadcasters to pay more than their fair share of the Commission’s costs directly harm broadcasters’ ability to compete in the communications marketplace, and have detrimental impacts on the Commission’s effort to advance digital equity for all by threatening small broadcasters’ ability to continue to serve rural and underserved communities.”

“Broadcasters are already subject to far more regulatory costs and burdens than other regulatees, and radio industry margins are already very thin,” the NAB continued. 

“Most radio stations operate with staff in the single digits, many doing more than one job to keep the station going. With stations dealing with continued fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and other inflationary pressures, many stations are simply trying to stay in business. A dollar more in regulatory fees is a dollar that can no longer go to the provision of local programming, including local news, or the purchase of equipment.  Given these realities, and the Commission’s duty to preserve the public interest in free, over the air broadcast radio and television service, it is essential that the Commission approach regulatory fees with the same care it would if its own money or that of its employees were at stake.”

To remedy the unfair fee structure, the NAB urged the Commission to: 

• Ensure its methodology to properly account for the benefits received by the payor by the Commission's activities;
• Refrain from holding broadcasters responsible for costs associated with the Commission's broadband work;
• Reallocate broadband-related costs among fee payors that benefit from the FCC’s broadband activities; and
• Consider increasing the de minimis fee amount.

Pittsburgh Radio: Cadillac Jack Arrives At Country WDSY

Cadillac Jack

Audacy welcomes country radio veteran Cadillac Jack to WDSY Y108 in Pittsburgh. 

He will join “Y’d Awake” alongside co-hosts Kristen and Maria weekdays beginning July 11.

“Cadillac Jack brings an energy and engagement that country fans in Pittsburgh will love,” said Michael Spacciapolli, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Pittsburgh. “As Y108 continues to grow as a leading county outlet on a variety of platforms, welcoming a talent like Cadillac will add to our evolution and growth.”

“I am beyond excited to join Audacy and Y108 in Pittsburgh,” said Cadillac Jack. “It’s a great opportunity to be in an incredible city with amazing staff and work for this incredible company.”

Cadillac Jack is a multiple-time nominee for the Academy of Country Music’s “On-Air Personality of the Year” and CMA’s “Broadcast Personality of the Year” awards. He was most recently morning personality and assistant program director for WHEL-FM in Ft. Myers, FL. Prior to that, he served as morning personality and assistant brand manager for WITL-FM in Lansing, MI. Additional career stops include country stations in Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Tampa and Audacy's 99.5 WYCD (WYCD-FM) in Detroit.

➤Listeners can tune in to Y108 (WDSY-FM) in Pittsburgh on air and nationwide on the Audacy app and website. Fans can also connect with the station via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

CRB Upholds Increase In Streaming Royalties

Songwriters earned a stalled victory last week in their ongoing battle for higher streaming royalty pay, reports The Tennessean.

After a lengthy appeal from a handful of digital powerhouses, the Copyright Royalty Board upheld a nearly 44% bump in streaming royalties for songwriters. The ruling increases streaming rates from 10.5% to 15.1% for a four-year period stretching 2018 to 2022, according to trade groups the National Music Publishers' Association and Nashville Songwriters Association International. 

The board initially ruled in favor of an increase in 2018, but leading music streaming companies Spotify, Amazon Music, Google-YouTube and Pandora pushed back against the decision via the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2019. Apple Music did not appeal the ruling. 

"Today the court reaffirmed the headline rate increase we earned four long years ago, confirming that songwriters need and deserve a significant raise from the digital streaming services who profit from their work," National Music Publishers' Association president and CEO David Israelite said in a statement.

He added: “This process was protracted and expensive and though we are relieved with the outcome, years of litigation to uphold a rate increase we spent years fighting for is a broken system. Now, songwriters and music publishers finally can be made whole and receive the rightful royalty rates from streaming services that they should've been paid years ago." 

Still, it may be months before songwriters see retroactive royalty checks cut from streaming services.

Wake-Up Call: Parade Shooting Suspect Confesses

CONSIDERED SECOND ATTACK: Authorities said Wednesday that the 21-year-old man charged with killing seven people in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, confessed to police, and also said he'd considered carrying out another shooting at an event in the Madison, Wisconsin, area after he fled there following the parade attack. He returned to Illinois instead, where he was pulled over and arrested, with Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli saying Robert Crimo III decided he wasn't prepared to carry out another attack. Crimo appeared in court by video yesterday and was denied bond. Covelli said investigators who've questioned Crimo and reviewed his social media posts haven't determined a motive or found any indication that he targeted victims by race, religion or other protected status. He also said some of the wounded remained in critical condition, and that the death toll could still rise.

JUST IN: The man accused of killing 7 people at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, revealed that he considered a second attack in Madison, Wisconsin, authorities say. https://t.co/NMdbRpqj9G

— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 6, 2022

 
➤UVALDE OFFICER HAD CHANCE TO SHOOT GUNMAN, BUT WAITED FOR PERMISSION: A new report on the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May that left 19 children and two teachers dead says that a police officer watched gunman Salvador Ramos walk toward the campus with a rifle, but didn't fire with his own rifle as he waited for permission to shoot him from a supervisor. But the report said the supervisor, quote, "either did not hear or responded too late," and when the officer turned back toward the gunman, he'd already gone inside. The review by a training center as Texas State University for active shooter situations also said that some of the victims could have been saved if they'd received medical attention sooner while police waited more than an hour before breaching the fourth-grade classroom where the killer had shut himself in.

At least 220 people were killed and nearly 570 others were wounded in shootings in nearly every U.S. state over Fourth of July weekend. https://t.co/vIKK5xYZW6 pic.twitter.com/otuMyw2cRv

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 6, 2022

 
➤TIP THWARTED JULY 4TH MASS SHOOTING IN VIRGINIA: The police chief and mayor of Richmond, Virginia, said Wednesday that a tip from a citizen thwarted a potential mass shooting during a July 4th celebration in the city. Police Chief Gerald Smith said during a news conference that the tipster, who he called a "hero," overheard a conversation about a mass shooting being planned for the Fourth of July celebration at the Dogwood Dell amphitheater and called police on July 1st. That same day, police went to a home where they found weapons and ammunition, including two assault rifles, and they arrested one man. A second man was arrested Tuesday, and both have been charged with being non-citizens in possession of a firearm. The men, who are roommates, are both originally from Guatemala.

Boris Johnson

➤BRITISH PM JOHNSON RESIGNS (7:30 UPDATE) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation, marking the end of his ill-fated three-year reign as leader. Speaking in front of his No. 10 residence in Downing Street, London, the scandal-scarred leader said “it is clearly now the will of the parliamentary conservative party that there should be a new leader and a new prime minister.”

“The process of that should begin now. the timetable should be announced next week. I want to say to the millions of people that voted for us in 2019, thank you for that incredible mandate.”

The prime minister’s decision to step down follows a string of controversies that broke trust in his leadership, from “Partygate” lockdown scandal to the cost-of-living crisis to accusations of sexual misconduct among his top leadership. Johnson, who took office in 2019, will remain as the British leader until a successor is appointed, which could be until fall if his party lets him.

➤TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL CIPOLLONE TO TESTIFY BEFORE JAN. 6TH COMMITTEE: Former President Donald Trump's White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, will testify Friday before the House commitee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to media reports Wednesday. AP reported that Cipollone agreed to appear for a private, transcribed interview, after he was subpoenaed by the committee last week following weeks of public pressure to provide testimony. Cipollone is said to have strongly and repeatedly warned Trump and his allies against their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

MASSIVE OVERSIGHT?: New York Times 'forgot' to print Declaration of Independence for the first time in 100 years on July 4thhttps://t.co/zXmupZnaZs pic.twitter.com/RyvEsa9B0y

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 6, 2022

➤SEN. GRAHAM TO FIGHT GEORGIA SUBPOENA RELATED TO 2020 ELECTION ACTIONS: Senator Lindsey Graham will fight a subpoena to appear before a special grand jury in Georgia investigating former President Donald Trump and his allies' actions after the 2020 election, attorneys representing the South Carolina Republican said yesterday. The attorneys said in a statement, "This is all politics. Fulton County is engaged in a fishing expedition and working in concert with the January 6 Committee in Washington." The attorneys also said they'd been told by Fulton County, Georgia, investigators that Graham is, quote, "neither a subject nor target of the investigation." Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said in a petition for the subpoena that Graham made at least two phone calls to Georgia's secretary of state and members of his staff in the weeks after the 2020 election that Joe Biden won, during which he asked about reexamining certain absentee ballots, quote, "to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump."

DOUBLE STANDARD?: Gavin Newsom vacations in Montana despite California banning official travel to statehttps://t.co/nIEbELAmRG

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 6, 2022

➤JERRY HARRIS SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS: TMZ reports that Cheer star Jerry Harris has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in his child pornography case. The 22-year-old former cheerleader pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

➤STUDY..OVER-65 CROWD HAS MORE SEX THAN GEN-Z: A new survey revealed older couples are getting between the sheets more often than younger partners. 1/3 of those aged 65 and older are doing the deed at least once a day...while up to 40% of Gen Z are "active" just once a week. The survey asked 1,000 adults in relationships how often they got it on, with surprising results. 15% of boomers knock boots multiple times a day!

➤RUNNING OF THE BULLS RETURNING FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2019: The traditional running of the bulls that's part of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain, is returning for the first time since 2019, after being canceled for the past two years due to the pandemic. The first bull run of the nine-day festival is taking place today, with thousands of people set to try to avoid six bulls as they charge along the route in Pamplona's streets to the city's bullring. Eight people were gored during the last festival in 2019. Sixteen people have died in the bull runs since 1910, with the last death in 2009.

➤EXPLOSION DESTROYS MYSTERIOUS GEORGIA MONUMENT: A mysterious monument in rural Georgia that some had dubbed "America's Stonehenge" but had been labeled "satanic" by some conservative Christians was destroyed by an explosion early Wednesday. One of four granite panels at the Georgia Guidestones monument near Elberton was blown up by the explosion, and the other three were taken down later for safety reasons. The monument was built in 1980 from local granite after being commissioned by an unknown person or group under the pseudonym R.C. Christian. That's led to mystery and conspiracy theories about it. The 16-foot-high panels had a 10-part message in eight different languages with guidance for living in an "age of reason." One part called for keeping the world population at 500 million people or less, while another called to "guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity." It also acts as a sundial and astronomical calendar.

🏈BROWNS TRADE QB MAYFIELD TO PANTHERS: The Cleveland Browns traded quarterback Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers yesterday for a conditional draft pick in 2024 or 2025, after four years with the team. Mayfield, who was the Number 1 overall draft pick in 2018, was pushed out of his starting job when the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson in March, and he demanded a trade after that. Mayfield will compete with Sam Darnold to be Carolina’s starting quarterback.

🎾NADAL DEFEATS AMERICAN FRITZ TO REACH WIMBLEDON SEMIFINALS: Second-seeded Rafael Nadal defeated 11th-seeded American Taylor Fritz in five sets in their Wimbledon quarterfinal match yesterday to reach the semifinals. Nadal battled pain from an abdominal muscle injury for the victory, but said he couldn’t be sure whether he'll be able to play Friday against Nick Kyrgios, who reached his first Grand Slam semifinal by beating Cristian Garin yesterday. In the day's women's quarterfinals, 16th-seeded Simona Halep beat 20th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova in straight sets, and Number 17 Elena Rybakina defeated unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic.

🏀BIDEN, HARRIS SPEAK TO GRINER'S WIFE: President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both spoke to WNBA star Brittney Griner's wife yesterday, with Biden reassuring Cherelle Griner that he's trying to get Brittney free from her detention in Russia as soon as possible. Biden's conversation with Cherelle came after Brittney's personal appeal to him in a handwritten letter, and criticism from Cherelle of how her wife's case has been handled. The White House said in a statement that Biden offered Griner's family his support and committed to making sure they receive, quote, "all possible assistance," and he also read a draft of a letter to her that he was sending to Brittney. Cherelle said afterward, "I am grateful to the both of them for the time they spent with me and for the commitment they expressed to getting BG home." Griner has been detained in Russia since February and is currently on trial, accused of possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.

⚾JUDGE, HICKS BOTH HIT GRAND SLAMS IN YANKEES' 16-0 PIRATES ROUT: The New York Yankees had grand slams from both Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks in their 16-0 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates last night. Judge hit his third career grand slam in the eighth inning, which put him at an MLB-leading 30th homer for the season so far. Hicks hit his grand slam in the ninth inning.

 

Aaron's 30th Bash 👨‍⚖️ pic.twitter.com/EjZb48jmKl

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 7, 2022

⚾ANGELS' OHTANI EXTENDS STREAK OF STARTS WITHOUT EARNED RUNS: Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani extended his streak of start without earned runs to four games last night (July 6th) in the Angels' 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins. Ohtani allowed just one unearned run while striking out 10 batters, and has now not allowed an earned run over his last 28 2/3 innings, the third longest streak by an Angels starter in a season in the last 50 years.

Seventy-eight million Americans across 18 states will face dangerous heat and severe weather throughout the end of the week. https://t.co/wL8UIqYNg0

— ABC News (@ABC) July 6, 2022

Confidence in U.S. Institutions Down; Average at New Low

Americans are less confident in major U.S. institutions than they were a year ago, with significant declines for 11 of the 16 institutions tested and no improvements for any. The largest declines in confidence are 11 percentage points for the Supreme Court -- as reported in late June before the court issued controversial rulings on gun laws and abortion -- and 15 points for the presidency, matching the 15-point drop in President Joe Biden's job approval rating since the last confidence survey in June 2021.

Gallup first measured confidence in institutions in 1973 and has done so annually since 1993. This year's survey was conducted June 1-20.

Confidence currently ranges from a high of 68% for small business to a low of 7% for Congress. The military is the only institution besides small business for which a majority of Americans express confidence (64%). Confidence in the police, at 45%, has fallen below the majority level for only the second time, with the other instance occurring in 2020 in the weeks after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

This year's poll marks new lows in confidence for all three branches of the federal government -- the Supreme Court (25%), the presidency (23%) and Congress. Five other institutions are at their lowest points in at least three decades of measurement, including the church or organized religion (31%), newspapers (16%), the criminal justice system (14%), big business (14%) and the police.

Confidence in large technology companies is also at a low point (26%) but has only been measured the past three years.

Record-Low Confidence Across All Institutions

Gallup summarizes Americans' overall confidence in institutions by taking an average of the ratings of the 14 institutions it measures consistently each year -- all but small business and large technology companies. This year's 27% average of U.S. adults expressing "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in those 14 institutions is three points below the prior low from 2014.

All Party Groups Less Confident in Institutions

All partisan groups are generally less confident in the 16 U.S. institutions than they were a year ago, with average declines of four points among Republicans, five points among Democrats and six points among independents.

All three party groups are much less confident in the presidency than they were a year ago, showing declines of at least 10 points. Beyond that, the major changes among party groups tend to be isolated to one or two groups.

Democrats and independents show more than a double-digit loss of confidence in the Supreme Court, with no meaningful change among Republicans.

Republicans have lost more confidence in banks than the other party groups have. Republicans also show double-digit declines in confidence in the military and the police.

Independents are significantly less confident in organized religion than a year ago, while there has been a smaller drop among Republicans and no real change among Democrats.

Republicans and Democrats differ most in the confidence they have in the presidency (49 points), the police (39 points), newspapers (30 points) and public schools (30 points). The groups differ less, but still by significant margins, in their confidence in the Supreme Court, organized labor, organized religion, the medical system, television news and large technology companies.

Democrats are more confident than Republicans in most of these institutions; the exceptions are the police, the Supreme Court and organized religion.

Study: Many Reporters Don’t Believe In ‘Equal’ Coverage

The public expects far more than journalists are delivering when it comes to equal treatment of all sides in the news.

Less than half of journalists — 44% — say every side of an issue deserves “equal coverage,” according to a survey of the industry by the Pew Research Center.

Among the broader community, though, the vast majority — 76% — believe in equal coverage.

At a time when trust in the media is nearing all-time lows, the disconnect between what the public says it wants and what editors and reporters are delivering looms large, particularly in the minds of those in the business.

“We need to be aware of the disconnect and attempt to strengthen/maintain/improve the trust of our audience,” David Stringer, the publisher of the Lawton Constitution and a past president of the Oklahoma Press Association, told The Washington Times in an email. “But I think we need to do our best to avoid presenting false information, even if one group claims it as ‘their side.’ And if we do report information that’s later deemed to be false, to report that as well.”

Online journalists were the least likely to be interested in equal treatment. Television journalists were the most committed, with print and radio reporters in between. Those who have been in the business the longest were more committed than newcomers, who were skeptical of the equal treatment concept.

Analysts said they doubt the numbers would have looked the same a decade ago. They said there has been a shift in the industry.

“That idea of giving things equal coverage was probably a more popular concept in journalism circles back then. I think people have taken a more nuanced view of it since then,” said Richard T. Kaplar, president of the Media Institute.

Tim Graham, executive editor of NewsBusters, a right-leaning press watchdog, was more pointed: “It just seems to me that the dominant message of journalism, in J-schools, journalism conferences, is the arrival of Donald Trump should have offered a death knell to the idea that there are two sides of things.”

Polling from Pew and Gallup have found levels of trust in the media dipping, powered in particular by a drop in confidence among self-identified Republicans.

Pew’s research showed Republicans have the most interest in equal treatment, with 87% saying they want all sides covered in the news. Among Democrats, it’s 68%.

Pew found just 37% of those who worked for outlets with audiences that tilted to the left believed in equal treatment, compared with 57% of journalists who worked for right-leaning outlets.

Pew’s survey, released last month, covered 11,889 U.S.-based journalists. Of those surveyed, 42% worked in newspapers or magazines, 29% online, 17% in television, 11% in radio and 1% in podcasting.

TV Ratings: Committee Hearings Got Viewers

Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony before the Jan. 6 committee was a big hit with television viewers, easily reaching a larger live audience than any of the four other daytime hearings, reports The Associated Press citing Nielsen data.

Hutchinson’s riveting testimony about former President Donald Trump’s temper as plans to overturn the 2020 election fell apart was seen by 13.17 million people last week, the Nielsen company said.

That’s a 28% jump from the 10.25 million who watched the committee’s previous daytime hearing, and 23% over the average from the four daytime hearings. The committee’s first hearing, the only one televised in prime-time, was seen by 19.4 million people.

CBS was the most popular network in prime time last week, averaging 2.7 million viewers. NBC had 2.4 million, ABC had 2.1 million, Fox had 1.6 million, Univision had 1.2 million, Ion Television had 1 million, and Telemundo averaged 900,000.

📺Top 20 Prime Times TV Shows (Total Viewers)

1. “America’s Got Talent,” NBC, 5.98 million.

2. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 4.35 million.

3. “FBI,” CBS, 3.63 million.

4. “60 Minutes” (Sunday, 8 p.m.), CBS, 3.598 million.

5. “The Price is Right” (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), CBS, 3.586 million.

6. “The Price is Right” (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), CBS, 3.36 million.

7. “Celebrity Family Feud” (Monday, 9 p.m.), ABC, 3.33 million.

8. “NCIS,” CBS, 3.32 million.

9. “Celebrity Family Feud” (Monday, 8 p.m.), ABC, 3.31 million.

10. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 3.24 million.

11. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 3.22 million.

12. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.18 million.

13. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Monday), Fox News, 3.162 million.

14. “FBI: Most Wanted,” CBS, 3.161 million.

15. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Tuesday), Fox News, 3.13 million.

16. “FBI: International,” CBS, 3.1 million.

17. “NCIS: Hawai’i,” CBS, 3.06 million.

18. “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” ABC, 3.01 million.

19. “Chicago Fire,” NBC, 2.95 million.

20. “Hannity” (Wednesday), Fox News, 2.58 million.

📺BROADCAST NETWORK NEWS

ABC’s “World News Tonight” led the evening news ratings race with an average of 7.2 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 6.1 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 4.3 million.

TV Newser reports ABC’s evening newscast has now defeated its competition from NBC and CBS 187 of the past 188 weeks in average total viewers—and 116 of the last 118 weeks among adults 25-54.

How did the newscast fare last week against comparable weeks? The results are mixed. World News Tonight gained +1% in total viewers % but shed -5% from the adults 25-54 demo vs. the previous week. WNT also lost -4% in total viewers and -7% among adults 25-54 from the same week in 2021 (June 28).

NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt was the sole evening newscast to post viewer growth in multiple measurements from the previous week.

📺LATE NIGHT SHOWS

Graphic courtesy of RoadMN (w/permission)

Fox News Channel was the top-rated cable network in prime time, averaging 2.05 million viewers. MSNBC had 1.31 million, HGTV had 858,000, Hallmark had 730,000 and History had 685,000.

Graphics courtesy of RoadMN (w/permission)

On the programming front, Fox News’ The Five was the most-watched show of the week (3.15 million at 5 p.m.) and the second-most-watched among adults 25-54 (426,000) at 8 p.m. Tucker Carlson Tonight came in second in total viewers (3.06 million at 8 p.m.) and No. 1 among adults 25-54 (484,000). Jesse Watters Primetime took third place in average total viewers (2.75 million at 7 p.m.), Hannity ranks fourth in total viewers with 2.62 million at 9 p.m., and MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show (2.46 million at 9 p.m.) climbed to No. 5 in average total viewers.

Special Report with Bret Baier (2.32 million at 6 p.m.), The Ingraham Angle (2.27 million at 10 p.m.) , Gutfeld! (2.12 million at 11 p.m.), Outnumbered (1.69 million at 12 p.m.) and America’s Newsroom (1.63 million from 9-11 a.m.)  round out cable news’ 10-most-watched for the week, according to TV Newser.

Graphics courtesy of RoadMN (w/permission)

How Is CNN Doing?

CNN notched back-to-back weeks of viewer growth after what was an especially rough ratings week of June 13. TV Newser reports the network hauled in an average of 672,000 total viewers in primetime during the week of June 27, 10th-most on basic cable and up +2% from the week prior, but fewer than Fox News or MSNBC. CNN’s A25-54 viewership in primetime (143,000) ranks No. 18 on basic cable and is also up from the prior week (+8%), but still down from what MSNBC averaged. 

In total day, CNN averaged 565,000 total viewers, which is -1% from the prior week. The network ranked No. 3 on basic cable in total day viewers, which means that Fox News, MSNBC and CNN were the three-most-watched basic cable networks in total day for the second consecutive week. CNN did manage to beat MSNBC when it came to adults 25-54 in total day (120,000, +3% week-to-week), placing No. 8 for the week in the measurement.

Cable Stocks Fall In Q2

Do you want to know how bad it has been for cable stocks? NextTV reports so bad that even the apparent removal of one of the sector’s biggest albatrosses — the threat of net neutrality regulation — wasn’t enough to move the needle into positive territory as distributors, hampered by fears of slower broadband growth and stiffer competition, shed about 13% of their value in Q2.

Overall, cable distribution stocks — Comcast, Charter Communications, Altice USA and Cable One — saw their collective share prices fall 12.7% during Q2. The biggest loser was Altice USA, which fell 25.9% between March 31 and June 30, as fears of another quarter of broadband subscriber losses took hold. Other stocks didn’t fare much better — Comcast was down 15.7% in the quarter, closing at $39.24 per share on June 30, followed by Charter (down 14.1%) and Cable One (down 11.9%).

The stocks were down 48% for the first six months of the year, as a steep decline in Altice USA’s share value sunk the rest of the sector. Altice USA shares were down 42.8% for the first six months of 2022, followed by Charter (down 28.1%), Cable One (down 26.9%) and Comcast (down 21.2%).

A combination of fears that the slowdown in broadband subscriber growth will continue longer than originally expected, coupled with an overall market malaise (the S&P 500 entered into bear market territory in June), rising inflation and worries that the country may be headed into another economic recession all helped drive down stocks. For what it’s worth, every sector has had to weather some declines as the major indices have slipped over the past several months. The S&P is down 20% so far this year — its lowest point in more than 50 years -- while the Dow has slipped 15% and the NASDAQ Composite fell 30% in Q2.

Also: Has Cable Broadband Hit the Wall?

Content stocks fared no better. Warner Bros. Discovery, the new entity created through the merger of Discovery Inc. and AT&T’s WarnerMedia assets, fell the hardest, down 46.1% for the quarter and closing June 30 at $13.42 each. The Walt Disney Co., home of the Disney Plus streaming service, dipped nearly 31% during the period, followed by Paramount Global (down 34.7%), AMC Networks (down 28.3%) and Fox Corp. (down 18.5%). For the full year, Warner Bros. Discovery fell 43%, followed by Disney (down 39%), Paramount Global (down 18.2%), AMC Networks (down 15.4%) and Fox (down 12.3%).
Telcos Ride High

Denver Radio: Dave Tepper Names PD At N/T/S KOA

Dave Tepper

iHeartMedia has announced  Dave Tepper has been named Program Director for KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM, Colorado’s News, Talk & Sports Station. 

As Program Director, Tepper will be responsible for day-to-day oversight of KOA, the Rockies Radio Network and Broncos Radio Network and will lead and manage all aspects of the on-air experience, including talent, content, programming, and online presence. He will report to JoJo Turnbeaugh, Region Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Rockies Region.

“We are very excited Dave will be leading our incredible team at KOA,” said Turnbeaugh. “Dave’s track record, vision and leadership is exactly what we need as KOA continues to evolve as Colorado’s, News, Talk and Sports leader.”

Tepper joins Denver from Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 & 950, where he most recently served as the Program Director and Operations Manager for the KSE Radio cluster that also included KXKL and KIMN. He also served as the Operations Manager for NRG Media in Omaha, Nebraska overseeing KOZN 1620 the Zone and News Talk 1290 KOIL, while spending a season as Studio Coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs NFL Radio Network for Cumulus in Overland Park, Kansas; after his first Program Director opportunity at KFNC ESPN 97.5 FM and KGOW Yahoo! Sports Radio 1560AM in Houston, TX. His previous experience also includes hosting sports talk in Houston and Austin, TX after getting started in radio at KLSX and KABC in Los Angeles, CA.

“I’m thrilled and humbled by the opportunity to take the legendary KOA brands to new heights, including the game-changing chance to work with the Broncos, Rockies and Colorado Buffaloes radio networks,” said Tepper. “My proud journey that includes working with a variety of sports and talk formats, talents and sports radio networks has prepared me for this unique and once in a lifetime step.”

St. Louis Radio: WHHL To Debut 'The Home Team'

Audacy announced a new morning show on WHHL HOT 104.1 FM in St. Louis. The station will debut “The Home Team,” starring St. Louis natives Shorty Da Prince, Brittish Williams and Andrew Caldwell, weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. CT beginning July 11. A “best hits” version of the show will air Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. CT.

“We’re proud to bring together three immensely talented individuals to create a new morning show catered to the St. Louis community,” said Becky Domyan, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy St. Louis. “This cast brings a combination of experience, entertainment, content and celebrity status to St. Louis. This is going to re-energize the market and reinvigorate St. Louis radio.”

Shorty is a celebrated St. Louis radio personality and recording artist who started his radio career at KATZ-FM in St. Louis when he was only twelve years old. Other No. 1-rated stops include WGPR-FM in Detroit, WKYS-FM in Washington D.C. and WENZ-FM in Cleveland. Shorty is also well known for his years of hosting BET’s “106 and Park.” He is also a successful recording artist signed previously to Atlantic Records and is the creator of the “STL Fest” musical festival.

Williams is a radio and television personality, influencer, host and entrepreneur currently starring in the hit television show Basketball Wives on VH1. Williams has also collaborated with numerous brands to enhance their businesses and visibility and is the CEO of two brands – Shop Gossip Girl and The House of Hair.

Caldwell, also known as Mr. Delivert, is a social media influencer who gained national fame in 2018 when his church video went viral.

Listeners can tune in to HOT 104.1 (WHHL-FM) in St. Louis on air and nationwide on the Audacy app and website. Fans can also connect with the station via Twitter and Facebook.

Bay Radio, Portland Radio: Mark Hamilton To PD at KIRZ, KNRK

Audacy has named Mark Hamilton brand manager of KITS 105.3 Dave FM in San Francisco and 94.7 Alternative Portland KNRK-FM, effective immediately. 

In these roles, Hamilton will oversee content strategy, talent, operations and branding for the stations. He will continue to serve as Operations Manager of Audacy Portland.

“Since Dave FM launched in October, Mark has successfully led the station’s initial programming charge, and we’re thrilled to officially expand his role as brand manager,” said Stacey Kauffman, Regional Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy San Francisco and Sacramento.

Mark Hamilton

“We’re equally as excited to have him return to 94/7 as Brand Manager in Portland and have him implement his leadership and expertise to bolster KNRK,” added Kim Martinez, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Portland.

“I’m so excited for this opportunity in both markets,” said Hamilton. “Let’s go!”

Hamilton joined the company in November 1988 as midday personality and assistant program director of Live 105 in San Francisco. In 1995, Hamilton transitioned to Portland to program KNRK, a position he held until September 2020. He picked up additional programming duties in 2010, taking the reins of sister station 97.1 Charlie (KYCH-FM).

➤Listeners can tune in to 105.3 Dave FM (KITS-FM) in San Francisco on air and nationwide on the Audacy app and website. Fans can also connect with the station via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

➤Listeners can tune in to 94/7 Alternative Portland (KNRK-FM) in Portland on air and nationwide on the Audacy app and website. Fans can also connect with the station via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Portland OR Radio: Danny Marang New Co-Host At KFXX

Audacy announced the addition of Danny Marang as midday show co-host for KFXX 1080 The Fan AM in Portland. Marang will join longtime station host Dusty Harrah on “Danny and Dusty,” weekdays from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. PT effective immediately.

“Danny brings a rich breadth of experience covering this area’s sports scene, and we’re pleased to team him up with Dusty Harrah for the launch of a brand-new midday show,” said Kim Martinez, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Portland. “Together, Danny and Dusty will deliver fresh, entertaining and informative content to carry our listeners through their workdays.”

“To be able to work at 1080 The Fan is the culmination of over a decade of blood, sweat and tears,” said Marang. “That I get this opportunity isn’t lost on me – but that I get this opportunity with Dusty and a host of others that I’ve known and worked with or alongside for so long really is something I never thought possible. I can’t wait to see what we can build together.”

Marang is a 10-year Portland media veteran who also hosts Jacked Ramsays, a Portland Trail Blazers-focused podcast alongside 1080 The Fan morning show host Brandon Sprague. Marang previously served as host of Trail Blazers pregame and postgame shows on NBC Sports Northwest and a writer for SB Nation website “Blazers Edge.” He also served as an operations intelligence officer in the United States Air Force.

➤Listeners can tune in to 1080 The Fan (KFXX-AM) in Portland on air and nationwide on the Audacy app and website. Fans can also connect with the station via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Insights: Solutions To The Podcast Ad Frequency Problem

The number of times podcast listeners hear an ad campaign is soaring. 

According to Podsights, the leading podcast attribution measurement firm, average podcast ad frequency has doubled in the past year, reducing podcast conversions. 

This week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group© blog outlines three solutions to the podcast ad frequency problem and explains why brands need to remind the many, not lecture the few.

• Podsights reports podcast ad campaign frequency is soaring, causing the proportion of site visits (conversions) and purchase rate to fall
• The solution is to grow reach at the expense of frequency
• Podcasts have audience scale; Podcasts' reach has tripled since 2016 as one-fourth of American persons 18–49 is reached daily

• Three strategies to optimize reach: 1) Buy more shows and genres than the “obvious” fit; Consult Nielsen’s Scarborough Podcast Buying Power study to find additional shows and genres to purchase; 2) Purchase podcast genres and shows based on reach among category buyers, not index; 3) Spread impressions further down the ranker and buy more than just top shows
• Take the advice of Erwin Ephron, the father of modern media planning: “Remind the many, don’t lecture the few”

FOX Lawyers Up

Fox News has hired veteran trial attorney Dan Webb to lead its defense against a defamation suit by Dominion Voting Systems over false claims made during the channel’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

The LA Times reports the move comes shortly after an unfavorable Delaware Supreme Court ruling last month, which allows the outlet’s parent company, Fox Corporation, to be included in the suit filed in March 2021. The June 21 ruling said Dominion “adequately pleaded” that top Fox executives — Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan — had a “direct role in participating in, approving, and controlling” the airing of baseless claims of voter fraud perpetuated by former president Donald Trump.

Dan Webb

A Fox News representative said the ruling was not a factor in the hiring of Webb, which was in the works for several weeks. The court admitted Webb to the case on June 30.

Webb, co-chairman of the Chicago-based firm Winston & Strawn, replaces Chip Babcock, a Houston-based litigator who specializes in First Amendment cases. Webb‘s appointment is an indication that Fox News expects to go to trial in the Dominion case, in which the voting systems company is seeking $1.6 billion in damages.

“His vast experience in trial litigation will add depth to our legal team, ensuring the protection of the First Amendment and the fundamental right to a free press remain intact,” the company said in a statement on Webb’s hiring.

Webb, 76, has a long career of handling high-profile cases. He is comfortable interacting with juries and the media, presenting himself with a modest, Midwestern demeanor even as press accounts of his career described him as a “superlawyer.”

Webb most recently served as a special prosecutor for Cook County, Ill., handling the charges against Jussie Smollett, the “Empire” actor convicted of hiring two men to stage a hate crime against him in January 2019.

Portland OR Radio: KRSK Raises $25K+ For Vet Pets

KRSK 105.1 The Buzz in Portland helped raise over $25,000 as part of the station’s 2nd annual “Service Pet for a Vet” campaign.

Morning show co-hosts Liz and Mike teamed up with Northwest Battle Buddies to raise funds to adopt and train a service dog for a local veteran battling PTSD.

“Seeing the community come together for such a great cause made us ugly cry,” said Liz and Mike. “With times so tough it was moving to see so many people give what they could.”

From June 27 to July 1, the duo encouraged listeners to donate, sharing stories of hope and inspiration about how service dogs can save the lives of veterans.

Listeners can tune in to 105.1 The Buzz (KRSK-FM) in Portland on air, as well as nationwide on the Audacy app and website. Fans can also connect with the station on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.