The Country Radio Broadcasters have completed their elections for Board of Directors.
Returning as CRB Board President is Kurt Johnson (Townsquare Media) along with R.J. Curtis (All Access Music Group) as Vice President and Beverlee Brannigan (Scripps Media, Inc.) as Secretary. Charlie Monk continues as a Lifetime Director Emeritus.
CRB/CRS President Johnson, says, “I am very excited to work with this great group of leaders in creating the best yet: Our 50th anniversary, CRS 2019!”
When the Justice Department unsuccessfully sued to block AT&T’s $85 billion merger with Time Warner, it argued combining the two companies would lead to higher prices for consumers.
The timing may be coincidental, but prices are going up for some AT&T customers. reports USAToday.
Since the merger was formally completed on June 14, AT&T has raised prices for its offerings, including a $5 price hike for each of its DirecTV Now streaming plans.
Starting July 26 for new customers, DirecTV's new starting price is $40 a month for some 60 channels. The reason? To bring "the cost of this service in line with the market,” AT&T said.
The increase follows AT&T's introduction, a week after its Time Warner merger closed, of an Unlimited & More “unlimited” wireless plan. At $70 a month, the plan costs $5 more than the basic unlimited plan that already was in place.
AT&T is offering more features on this new plan – it included a free bundle of the new WatchTV streaming service that AT&T announced on the same day. Wireless consumers could also stick with the older plan.
As spotted by BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk, AT&T increased its monthly “administrative fee” twice during its most recent quarter, with a June hike to $1.99 that is up from 76 cents in just three months. The cost was just 61 cents when it was introduced in 2013, Piecyk says.
The fee, which is tacked onto “post-paid” cellphone bills as well as tablets and smart watches, could lift AT&T’s wireless revenues by $970 million, which Piecyk writes in a note to investors, “comes in handy” for AT&T, “given that it just closed the Time Warner acquisition, which increased net debt by over $60 billion.”
AT&T says that “This is a standard administrative fee across the wireless industry, which helps cover costs we incur for items like cell site maintenance and interconnection between carriers."
Although new digital media continues to grow among young audiences, traditional ad-supported TV content dominates all new platforms -- even in the summer, reports MediaPost.
On average, in any given minute, the ad-supported multi-screen TV 18-34 audience is six times larger than Facebook and over two times larger than YouTube in the summer months, according to the Video Advertising Bureau, the video advertising trade group.
For example in July 2017, all traditional ad-supported TV and their online digital platforms pulled in an average minute audience for those 18-34 viewers of 5.9 million. At the same time, YouTube was at 2.7 million; Facebook, 1.1 million; Instagram, 641,000; SnapChat, 506,000; and Twitter 79,000.
When looking at the broader TV viewership -- all viewers 18 years and older -- the differences are greater. Traditional ad-supported TV and their online digital platforms pulled in 40.3 million viewers when looking at average minute audience; YouTube was at 5.4 million; Facebook, 3.5 million; Instagram, 781,000; SnapChat, 565,000; and Twitter, 141,000.
The analysis comes from Nielsen Npower Time Period Report of 18-34 viewers for live program plus seven days of time-shifting.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is expected to sign a bill that dedicates $5 million to strengthen local media outlets in the state.
The state legislature passed the "Civic Info Bill" late last month, according to The Hill.
The bill created the Civic Information Consortium — a unique nonprofit developed with five universities — to promote the spread of news and information throughout the state. The bill was conceived by the Free Press Action Fund, an advocacy group on media issues
The effort is led by The College of New Jersey, Montclair State University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rowan University and Rutgers University.
The consortium will share the $5 million with local news organizations, emphasizing "underserved communities, low-income communities and communities of color," the Free Press Action Fund said.
The money was included in the fiscal 2019 budget, which Murphy signed into law on Sunday. He is expected to formally sign the legislation creating the consortium soon.
Tom's Take: Anyone see a problem here? 'Print what I say, if you want my money'
Christian music formatted WGTS 91.9 FM will be transitioning from Washington Adventist University (WAU) to a separate nonprofit entity. Pending approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), it will soon be owned and operated by a new corporation called Atlantic Gateway Communications, Inc. (AGC), which has been incorporated specifically for this purpose.
On May 9, 2018, the WAU Board of Trustees voted to divest itself of the station’s operating license for $12 million. Pending FCC approval, the purchase will be completed sometime this fall with all assets transferring to the newly formed nonprofit, AGC.
“While ownership will change, our mission, programming, team and focus remains on bringing our listeners in the Washington, D.C., region a message of hope and encouragement,” says Kevin Krueger, vice president and general manager. “We are so thankful for the foundation which has been built over the last 60 years at WAU. Now, much like a college student coming of age and moving out of Mom and Dad’s house, WGTS 91.9 is moving forward and expanding.”
WGTS 91.9 FM (23.5 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
Rob Vandeman, who has served as board chair for the last seven years, and will continue in that role, says, “This governance shift will facilitate a nimbler operation, which will enable the ministry to stay relevant in the ever-changing, fast-paced arena of media and digital communication. Overall, the change will provide the room and tools necessary for the team to grow stronger and serve the community in even greater ways.”
In what could be a case of 'be careful what you wish for', technology companies are facing a new crisis as their employees press executives to rethink their work with the Trump administration and in many cases drop lucrative federal contracts.
According to The Hill, the controversy comes amid heated national debates on immigration, law enforcement and surveillance -- issues on which Silicon Valley's workforce wants the industry to take a stand.
In the past month, workers at Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Salesforce have organized and written letters calling on CEOs to cancel or review contracts with government agencies whose work the employees say raises ethical questions.
The groundswell of opposition to many industry practices and projects is forcing executives to revisit their work, a marked shift in how they operate.
There were rumblings before: IBM workers organized against their CEO Ginni Rometty being a member of Trump's advisory board. Recent actions are among the most serious though. Workers are demanding that corporations drop lucrative government contracts that could lead to even more lucrative contracts, and in the case of Google's Project Maven contract with the Pentagon, they're winning.
Tom's Take: "No contract, no work" who doesn't understand?
The alleged killer of five Capital Gazette employees mailed three threatening letters to Maryland courthouses and a law firm before Thursday’s shooting at the Annapolis newspaper, Anne Arundel County police said Monday.
According to The Washington Post, One of the letters opened Monday included a passage with a self-styled certification saying, “I further certify I then did proceed to the office of respondent Capital-Gazette Communications . . . with the objective of killing every person present,” according to the Baltimore Sun.
The existence of the letters was first reported on the websites for the Capital Gazette and the Sun, which owns the Annapolis outlet.
The letters came from suspected shooter Jarrod Ramos, Sgt. Jacklyn Davis, a county police spokeswoman, told The Washington Post on Monday night. They “were threatening in nature, but that’s all we can release right now” about their content, Davis said.
The FBI says it has broken up a plot by a homegrown terrorist. The suspect, Demetrius Pitts, is accused of planning an attack in Cleveland for the Fourth of July.
CBS News reports Pitts appeared in court on Monday. He was allegedly inspired by al Qaeda, but was not trained by the terror group. According to court papers, the plan included driving a remote controlled car packed with explosives into a Fourth of July parade.
Pitts asked an undercover FBI agent, "What would hit them in the core?"
The 48-year-old American citizen, who expressed a hatred for the U.S. military, allegedly scouted several locations in downtown Cleveland, including a United States Coast Guard station and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
In recent weeks, the FBI was growing increasingly uneasy that his words would eventually turn into action.
"His extensive criminal history including felonious assault, domestic violence, aggravated robbery, and carrying a concealed weapon furthered our reason for concern," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony.
Pitts had been on the FBI's radar since 2015, when he left threatening messages on Facebook.
Investigators say the threats and planning continued until his arrest on Sunday. He is facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Radio Hall of Famer Wolfman Jack is howling back onto the airwaves through Envision Networks® with digitally remastered programs.
The classic radio show is available now as a 5 hour weekly show and contains Wolfman’s hilarious comedy bits, funny phone calls, crazy characters, celebrity interviews and great music from the 60’s & 70’s. Your listeners can experience the Wolfman Jack Radio Show in all of its original glory.
"We are delighted to be working with Danno and his team at Envision Networks,” said Jay Harvey, Executive Producer of Wolfman Jack Licensing.” The world famous Wolfman Jack Radio Show is back and sounding better than ever.”
“We’re honored to begin offering Wolfman Jack as part of Envision Networks programming lineup,” said CEO Danno Wolkoff. “We’re excited to keep his legacy alive with listeners who revered him, and to introduce a whole new audience to this important iconic radio legend.”
Affiliates may choose to incorporate Wolfman Jack’s zany antics with their own music playlist and use the show actualities to run as a shorter weekly program or as a daily show.
As part of the package, affiliates also receive the two-hour specials: the Wolfman Jack Halloween Party and the Wolfman Jack Christmas Party.
For more information on The Wolfman Jack Radio Show or any of our show and service offerings, contact us at 216.831.3761 or wolfmanjack@envisionnetworks.com. For further info about the Wolfman check out www.WolfmanJackRadio.com.
➦In 1913...columnist & TV panelist Dorothy Kilgallen was born in Chicago. For 27 years she wrote a gossip column for Hearst’s New York Herald American, halfway through which time she achieved national fame as a panelist on Goodson Todman’s Sunday night TV institutuion, What’s My Line? Beginning in 1945, she co-hosted a long-running breakfast radio talk show on WOR, with her husband Richard Kollmar. She died after an alcohol-and-seconal-fuelled heart attack Nov. 8 1965, just 12 hours after her weekly TV game show, dead at age 52.
➦In 1935...“Hawaii Calls” aired its first radio program from the Moana Hotel on the beach at Waikiki. At its peak it aired on 600 radio stations around the world. The series lasted more than 60 years.
➦In 1939…Chic Young's comic strip character "Blondie" became a radio sitcom, initially as a summer replacement for "The Eddie Cantor Show" on CBS. When Cantor did not return in the fall, "Blondie" continued on the air and bounced between several networks until 1950.
➜In 1940…In 1940, the legendary comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello debuted their own network radio show on NBC. After two years of wowing the audience of the Kate Snith Show the duo replaced Fred Allen for the summer months. In the fall of ’42 they began a seven year run with their own Thursday night show. In 1952 Abbott and Costello produced 52 episodes of one of the most successful and repeated programs in TV history. A cartoon version of The Abbott & Costello Show followed in 1966.
➦In 1949...Actress Jan Smithers, Bailey Quarters on WKRP in Cincinnati, was born
➦In 1955...Tom Clay, a Buffalo DJ on WWOL-AM, staged a famous billboard publicity stunt in Shelton Squareconducts his famous Billboard stunt in Buffalo's Shelton Square.
Tom Clay
Clay in the 1950s was a popular radio personality in the
Detroit area on WJBK-AM both as a DJ, and for his on-air comic characterizations.
In the early 1950s Clay, using the pseudonym "Guy King," worked for
WWOL-AM/FM in Buffalo, New York; on July 3, 1955, he conducted the stunt in which
he played "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets
repeatedly from atop a billboard in Buffalo's Shelton Square, an incident that
led to his firing and arrest. In the
mid-1950s he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and was equally popular.
He was caught up in the payola scandal of the late 1950s,
and admitted to having accepted thousands of dollars for playing certain
records. After being fired from WJBK, Clay worked at the short-lived Detroit
Top 40 station WQTE (now WRDT 560 AM) only to be fired again when the station
changed format to easy listening music in 1961. After moving to Los Angeles and
becoming a popular personality on KDAY and KRLA, Clay returned to the Detroit
area and found work at CKLW in neighboring Windsor, Ontario, at the time one of
the foremost Top 40 AM stations in North America.
Clay is best remembered for his single on Motown's MoWest
label "What the World Needs Now Is Love"/"Abraham, Martin and
John", a compilation of clips from the two popular records, interviews,
and speeches of Jack and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King emphasizing
tolerance and civil rights. It went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold
over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.
Clay died of stomach and lung cancer at the age of 66, in Valley
Village, Los Angeles, California in 1995.
➦In 1961...Dan Ingram did his first show on WABC 770 AM, New York. He filled in for Chuck Dunaway.
➦In 1971...Rock Hall of Fame rock singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died of heart failure. He was 27.
➦In 1972...Bob Crane went back to radio - but only for one week.
He was filling in for Dick Wittinghill - his former archrival on KMPC 710 AM in Los Angeles beginning July 5. Wittinghill and Crane battled it out for the morning ratings in Los Angeles from 1956 to 1965, when Crane left to star in “Hogan’s Heroes.”
➦In 1973...KMEN 1290 AM San Bernardino, CA broadcasts an “all-girl” day on Wednesday of this week. Guest DJ’s heard – Jackie DeShannon, Donna Fargo, Sylvia, April Stevens, Jean Knight, Carla Thomas and Maureen McCormick of the Brady Bunch.
➦In 1976...The Los Angeles comedy radio team of Hudson and Landry split.
Bob Hudson wanted to keep it together with their KFI 640 AM radio show, nightclub appearances and possibly more comedy records, but Ron Landry wanted to go into television as a writer and producer. Ron Landry says – “Doing this show was a lot of fun. We had five great years and, I think we did some interesting things in broadcasting.”
➦In 1978...Supreme Court ruled 5-4, FCC had a right to reprimand NY radio station WBAI for broadcasting George Carlin's "Filthy Words".
➦In 1983...KNX-FM – Soft rock in Los Angeles changes calls and format to KKHR (Hit Radio). Looks like it’ll be direct competition for KIIS-FM.
➦In 1986...depression era singer and bandleader Rudy Vallee died following a heart attack at age 84. He had a succession of popular radio variety shows beginning in the late 20’s, introducing a succession of future stars. His biggest hit was the “Stein Song (University of Maine)” in 1930. ➦In 1986...It was announced that Howard Stern, the often controversial New York City DJ/talker, will be syndicated by DIR to other stations.
Stern, who joined rocker WXRK (New York) late last year, has seen his ratings rise from a 1.2 to a 3.4 and up to a 5.2 share in the recent ratings. “The Howard Stern Show” will mix music and talk equally. At WXRK, Stern plays about 6 songs per hour. The national show will be weekly only.
Stern is following a pattern with high-profile DJ’s and national weekly shows: Rick Dees at KIIS-FM, John Lander at KKBQ Houston and Scott Shannon from Z-100 all have national weekly shows, but Stern’s will present or lean heavy personality and will not emphasize the music.
➦In 1987...Tom Snyder will move from TV to radio this fall to host a national call-in talk show announced this week by the ABC Radio Networks. Look for it early September.
➦In 1993…Sports broadcaster (ABC, Superstars, Wild World of Sports, NBC, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Rams)/syndicated radio show host (Radio Baseball Cards)/Baseball Hall of Famer Don Drysdale died following a heart attack at age 56.
➦In 2014...the Sirius-XM radio team of Opie & Anthony was forever broken up, as the network fired Anthony Cumia for making a series of tweets following an alleged off-air incident with a black woman on the street. Cumia tweeted that he was punched by the woman while attempting to take a picture in Times Square. The tweets were described by Sirius XM as “racially-charged and hate-filled.”
