Digital radio giant Sirius XM Radio Inc scored another win in a series of disputes over music royalties with members of the rock group The Turtles on Monday, when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found California law doesn't require Sirius to pay to play pre-1972 music.
Reuters reports the ruling comes after "losses in every other court over the past eight years" that has considered claims by a class of copyright owners led by former band members, U.S. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel, and saves Sirius an additional $5 million it would have owed under a settlement if Flo & Eddie Inc had won.
Sirius' attorney Daniel Petrocelli of O'Melveny & Myers said in an email that he and SiriusXM were "gratified that this important issue has been finally and correctly resolved."
Kalpana Srinivasan of Susman Godfrey, who represented Flo & Eddie, a company owned by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of The Turtles – best known for its 1967 hit "Happy Together," said that while they were disappointed in the ruling, they were also "glad class members received the benefits of the $25 million cash settlement and several years' worth of royalty payments" while the appeal was pending.
Flo & Eddie first sued Sirius in 2013, in a case that was moved to Los Angeles federal court, under California law on behalf of copyright owners whose music Sirius allegedly played without permission. Digital radio providers like Sirius weren't required to pay royalties under federal law for pre-1972 recordings until Congress enacted the Music Modernization Act in 2018. Flo & Eddie also brought related claims against Sirius under New York and Florida law in courts in those states.
The parties settled in 2016, with Sirius agreeing to pay the class up to $99 million in royalties depending on the outcomes of appeals in the three cases.
Under the agreement, the class would receive $25 million in past royalties plus $5 million for each win on appeal. The 11th Circuit affirmed Sirius' Florida win, while the 2nd Circuit reversed Flo & Eddie's New York win.
Based on the terms of the settlement, a win at the 9th Circuit would also reduce Sirius' licensing rate for future royalties under the settlement to zero.
In California, Flo & Eddie argued the state's copyright statute required Sirius to pay royalties because it grants the makers of pre-1972 recordings "exclusive ownership" of their music. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez agreed in 2014, finding the phrase covers a public-performance right.
Sirius argued on appeal that the decision ignores the law's history and context. Lee, joined by Circuit Judges Richard Tallman and Consuelo Callahan, agreed, based on what "exclusive ownership" meant when the language was first used in the statute in 1872.
Bonneville/Denver has announced Rachel Vigil has joined Denver’s Sports KKFN 104.3 The Fan as the station’s new digital host/producer.
Vigil’s content will be distributed on the station’s social media platforms and website, DenverFan.com. She’ll also be making regular radio appearances with Denver’s Sports Station 104.3 The Fan’s on-air talent.
Rachel Vigil
Vigil comes to Denver’s Sports Station 104.3 The Fan from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), where she spent the past three years as their on-air talent and broadcasting coordinator. Also, during the past three years, she worked as host and reporter for Kroenke Sports and Entertainment’s Colorado Rapids, including with Altitude Sports. In addition to Vigil’s experience on-camera, she brings significant skills in creating sports content on all social media platforms.
“Rachel’s infectious personality and lifelong passion for Denver sports just explodes through the camera and onto your screen,” said Denver’s Sports Station 104.3 The Fan program director Raj Sharan. “We can’t wait to watch her creativity run wild creating all types of content as the face of The Fan’s digital brand.”
Vigil is a Colorado native, graduating from Thornton High School before attending Colorado State University, where she received her B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication. She also received a minor from the Denver Broncos Sports Management Institute, including internships with 9NEWS (KUSA-TV) and FOX31 (KDVR-TV).
With much of corporate America targeting greater diversity in its management ranks, news companies are taking steps to close the gap, offering a glimpse at what more representative leadership might bring in an industry that has lagged behind, according to Bloomberg.
The Associated Press appointed the first woman and person of color to helm the news agency this month. In Texas, both the Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle named their first Black top editors in July. And in TV, Black women now run the news divisions of ABC News and MSNBC for the first time.
These leaders are taking over to improve coverage and broaden their audiences at a time of crisis in the industry, with about 300 newspapers closing over the past three years and revenue expected to continue to decline. On top of those challenges, some of these editors say they face other obstacles their predecessors didn’t, like a perception they were promoted not because they were qualified, but because of the color of their skin.
Their staffs remain over-represented by White journalists. More than three-fourths (77%) of newsroom employees working at newspapers, broadcasters or digital publishers are White, compared with 65% of U.S. workers overall, according to a 2018 analysis by Pew Research Center.
The newspaper industry’s financial troubles have led to years of layoffs and hiring freezes. That’s long served as an excuse for the failure to hire more Black and Hispanic journalists, despite the benefits they bring in helping outlets better reflect their communities, according to Richard Prince, who runs a website that tracks diversity trends in the news business.
“But where there’s a will there’s a way,” he said.
Of the 20 largest U.S. daily newspapers, about half are now led by a woman or a person of color or both, according to Nieman Lab. In 2014, three of the 25 largest newspapers had women as the top editor and 15% of American newspapers had a person of color in one of the top three newsroom roles.
In TV news, Black women in the top jobs often take a special interest in mentoring other Black women journalists because “they don’t want to be the last ones in those positions,” said Ava Thompson Greenwell, a journalism professor at Northwestern University. Only 4% of TV news directors are Black, according to a survey of TV stations from RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University.
But Black women are also frequently the target of micro-aggressions, such as subordinates who question their competence, refuse to take their orders or offer them backhanded compliments, said Greenwell, who interviewed about 40 Black female journalists for her book “Ladies Leading: The Black Women Who Control Television News.”
“The good news is that they are there,” Greenwell said. “The bad news is they aren’t always afforded the deference they deserve.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday scolded a journalist who asked her about Americans “stranded” in Afghanistan — insisting it is “irresponsible” to use that term despite numerous reports of Americans being unable to board flights out, reports The NY Post.
Biden administration officials say they don’t know how many US citizens remain in the country following last week’s Taliban takeover, but some are alerting news outlets that they cannot reach Kabul’s airport to be evacuated.
“I think it’s irresponsible to say Americans are stranded. They are not. We are committed to bringing Americans who want to come home home,” Psaki said at her daily press briefing.
“We are in touch with them via phone, via text, via email, via any way that we can possibly reach Americans to get them home if they want to return home.”
When pressed by Peter Doocy of Fox News on whether Americans are stranded, Psaki added, “I’m just calling you out for saying that we are stranding Americans in Afghanistan when I said — when we have been very clear that we are not leaving Americans who want to return home. We are going to bring them home and I think that’s important for the American public to hear and understand.”
Doocy: "'There are no Americans stranded' is the White House's official position on what is happening in Afghanistan right now?"
Psaki: "I’m just calling you out for saying we are stranding Americans in Afghanistan when...we have been very clear" they're not left behind. (3/) pic.twitter.com/bjO2NnQxAV
The crisis in Kabul has put the White House on the defensive regarding President Biden’s preparations for the withdrawal of US troops by Aug. 31 following 20 years of war. The swift Taliban offensive left many Americans behind enemy lines.
A senior US official told The Post on Monday that the White House estimates about 4,000 Americans have been evacuated from Afghanistan, meaning that thousands may remain in Taliban-held areas.
The official said that the Pentagon initially estimated there were 8,000-10,000 Americans in Afghanistan and the State Department estimated 10,000-15,0000 US citizens.
Biden administration officials on Monday continued to plead ignorance on the precise number of Americans who may need to be rescued.
Jill Biden's press secretary is demanding that Fox News apologize for a Fox & Friends host's Sunday comments that seemed to partially blame the first lady for the Afghanistan crisis.
Rachel Campos-Duffy claimed Dr. Biden should have 'loved her husband' and told him not to run for president in 2020. She also called the president 'mentally frail' and agreed with prior comments that he diminished the US's global standing with his handling of the evacuation.
It comes as a recent poll suggests that voters also have some doubts about Biden's mental acuity.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis accused the Associated Press Monday of publishing a “partisan smear” and a “baseless conspiracy theory” — the latest salvo in a war of words that saw the governor’s press secretary suspended from Twitter last week.
“[Y]ou had the temerity to complain about the deserved blowback that your botched and discredited attempt to concoct a political narrative has received,” DeSantis wrote in the letter, addressed to AP vice president and COO Daisy Veerasingham. “This ploy will not work to divert attention from the fact that the Associated Press published a false narrative that will lead some to decline effective treatment for COVID infections.”
The drama began Aug. 17 when the wire service published a story headlined: “DeSantis top donor invests in COVID drug governor promotes.” The story suggested the governor was touting an antibody treatment for COVID-19 manufactured by Regeneron as a favor to hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin, who has donated nearly $11 million to a pro-DeSantis group and whose firm owns nearly $16 million in shares of Regeneron.
In his letter, DeSantis — seen as a top contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — noted that AP “produced zero evidence that Florida’s efforts are being undertaken for any reason other than to help Floridians recover from COVID” and pointed out that the Regeneron treatment had been boosted by both the Trump and Biden administrations.
“Indeed, as the federal government long ago bought the entire stock of Regeneron’s COVID monoclonal treatment, it is not even a plausible concept,” DeSantis said of the story’s insinuation that he had sought to promote the treatment to boost company profits.
DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw repeatedly called out the AP and reporter Brendan Farrington, at one point sharing the story on Twitter and asking her followers to “drag them” in a now-deleted post. She also retweeted a message from one Twitter user who encouraged her to “Light. Them. Up.”
The day after the story appeared, Farrington tweeted that he had received online threats about the story. At one point, he tweeted: “For your sake, I hope government doesn’t threaten your safety. I’ll be fine, I hope. Freedom. Just please don’t kill me.”
After Veerasingham wrote to DeSantis asking him to end Pushaw’s “harassing behavior,” the press secretary was suspended from Twitter for 12 hours Friday.
Media company Gannett Co. on Monday hired Take-Two Interactive alum Nate Rackiewicz as its first chief data officer, creating a new role that will focus on boosting its digital subscriptions and data analytics capabilities, reports The Wrap.
Rackiewicz will lead a global team that will drive the company’s data strategy and growth analytics across its business units. He begins his role today, reporting to the Mayur Gupta, Gannett’s chief marketing and strategy officer.
“His experience building and executing revenue-generating data science solutions will truly benefit our organization as we seek to holistically strengthen and leverage our data to drive business growth and enhance how we engage our valued subscribers,” Gupta said in a statement.
Rackiewicz
Rackiewicz comes from 20 years of experience in the data field, working previously at A+E Networks and HBO to lead their consumer and data analytics efforts. In his most recent role at gaming publisher Take-Two Interactive, Rackiewicz served as head of analytics and built a competitive intelligence platform aiming to increase revenue for the company.
“I am thrilled to be joining Gannett and spearheading data operations during such a pivotal time for the business. Gannett is transforming from a legacy publishing company to a customer-obsessed, subscription-led content platform and I am looking forward to leveraging data and analytics to inform our success and growth,” Rackiewicz said in a statement.
Gannett, like many legacy media companies, have been doubling down on content strategies to drive more subscriptions. The parent company owns USA Today and local media organizations throughout 46 states, as well as Newsquest, a subsidiary in the United Kingdom with more than 120 local news brands. Gannett also owns digital marketing services company including ReachLocal, Upcurve and WordStream.
In 2020, subscription growth rate for digital news and media grew 110% from March to May compared to the previous year, according to subscription software company Zuora. Many major news publishers saw subscriptions and traffic spike throughout the year’s coverage around the U.S. elections and global pandemic.
Kelly Abcarian, a top-ranking NBCUniversal data executive on the advertising and sales side, has had it with Nielsen. She joined the club Monday with a blog post calling for the industry to “declare measurement independence.”
“Here’s something we all know: advertising measurement is outdated,” her essay started.
The Wrap reports the blog post’s mission statement, as emphasized by Abcarian’s mostly bolded text, reads: “It’s time for us to declare measurement independence, and build solutions that will serve all consumers, advertisers, publishers, and platforms for the next century.“
The old news? Advertising measurement is outdated.The good news?we can fix it—& create lasting solutions that benefit audiences & advertisers, publishers & platforms.#MeasurementIndependence is the future of this industry—join @NBCUTogether in creating it! https://t.co/ctxpA22QSs
Last month, the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) — the industry group representing virtually all of the major TV networks — asked the Media Ratings Council (MRC) to suspend the TV ratings company’s accreditation. Nielsen beat them to the punch, sort of, by initiating its own suspension.
Nielsen came under fire recently after it was found to have undercounted viewers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nielsen’s total usage of television by adults 18-49 — the demographic a majority of ad prices are based on — was understated by 2% to 6% during February, according to a Media Ratings Council audit. Additionally, the MRC believes that “persons using television” among that same age group was understated by 1% to 5%.
Abcarian’s not waiting on the MRC’s current investigation — but NBCU is not dumping Nielsen outright. Instead, Abcarian believes the TV landscape needs “multiple yardsticks” to measure the various ways content is now consumed.
“Interoperability, in a consumer safe and privacy compliant way, is the future of our industry,” she wrote.
“For our part, NBCUniversal is bringing together a broad network of trusted partners to help modernize the industry’s approach,” Abcarian wrote. “We’re in the process of assembling a full suite of interoperable measurement solutions that are as advanced, diverse, easy-to-use, and multi-platform as the ways people watch content. And we’ll share more updates on the steps we’re taking in the next few weeks.”
ViacomCBS Inc. is looking to sell a historic Los Angeles movie and television lot as the entertainment company tries to capitalize on the demand for production space, reports Bloomberg.
The CBS Studio Center property, a 40-acre (16 hectare) lot in the Studio City district with 18 sound stages, is on the market for an undisclosed price, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
A representative for ViacomCBS declined to comment.
Demand for production space has soared as streaming services owned by Netflix Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. compete amid the bottomless demand for new content. A lack of sound stages in the Los Angeles area, which require massive sites and high-cost construction, is helping to drive up prices.
Blackstone has partnered with Los Angeles-based Hudson Pacific Properties buying and redeveloping studios while other independent operators, such as Hackman Capital Partners, have been competing for scarce filmmaking real estate.
Since 1928, the Studio City lot has hosted productions from the silent picture era through TV series such as “Gilligan’s Island,” “Seinfeld” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
The potential sale comes as ViacomCBS seeks to shed real estate. The company last week announced the sale of the former CBS headquarters building, known as Black Rock, in Manhattan for $760 million.
Proceeds from that deal will allow ViacomCBS “to invest in our strategic growth priorities, including streaming,” Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra said in a Aug. 16 statement.
➦In 1911...Durward Kirby born (Died at age 88 – March 15, 2000). He was a radio, TV announcer/host, best remembered for The Garry Moore Show in the 1950s and Candid Camera, which he co-hosted with Allen Funt from 1961 through 1966.
Durward Kirby
By 1936, Kirby was an announcer for WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1937, an Associated Press news story reported that Kirby "made a name for himself" with his reporting on the Ohio River flood of 1937. He also worked at radio stations in Chicago and Indianapolis before the war.
Following the war, Kirby hosted Club Matinee in Chicago with Garry Moore on the NBC Blue radio network before moving to television in 1949 as an announcer. He also worked on Meet Your Navy and Honeymoon in New York on network radio.
Kirby also appeared as a host, announcer, or guest on other television programs, including serving as one of NBC Radio's Monitor.
➦In 1917...Dennis James born (Died of lung cancer at age 79 – June 3, 1997). He was a TV personality, philanthropist, and commercial spokesman. Up until 1976, he had appeared on TV more times and for a longer period than any other television star. Often referred to as "The Dean of Game Show Hosts", he is credited as the host of television's first network game show, the DuMont Network's Cash and Carry (1946). James was also the first person to host a telethon (raising over $700,000,000 for United Cerebral
Dennis James
Palsy throughout his career), the first host to appear in a television commercial, first to emcee a variety show, and first to appear on video tape.
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, James began his career in radio with WNEW (now WBBR) and moved to television in 1938, working for the soon-to-become-DuMont Television Network station WABD (now WNYW), which helped to found the DuMont network in 1946. James became the host of many game shows, such as the ABC version of Chance of a Lifetime (1952–53) and served as commentator for DuMont's wrestling and boxing shows, such as Boxing From Jamaica Arena (1948–49) and other DuMont boxing and wresting shows such as Amateur Boxing Fight Club (1949–50). He hosted the DuMont daytime variety show Okay, Mother (1948–51) with Julia Meade.
➦In 1950...the summer replacement radio show for Suspense, titled "Somebody Knows", was heard for the final time on CBS Radio. The program offered a reward of $5,000 for information that led to the solving of crimes. Somebody Knows began with the introduction, “You out there. You, who think you have committed the perfect crime — that there are no clues, no witnesses — listen. Somebody knows.”
➦In 1999...actress Mary Jane Croft, who frequently appeared in Lucille Ball’s TV & film projects, died of natural causes at age 83. She was a much-in-demand Hollywood radio regular from the 1940′s through the 70′s, with supporting roles in dozens of series such as One Man’s Family, Suspense, Sam Spade, Our Miss Brooks and Sears Radio Theatre.
➦In 2012...Bruce Dale Sommers died (Born - November 26, 1943). He was best known by his nickname "The Truckin' Bozo" and for his long-running country music show geared toward truck drivers.
Dale Sommers
Sommers hosted the overnight show from Cincinnati, Ohio-based clear-channel station WLW from 1984 to 2004, and it was carried by a small network of similarly high-powered stations across the United States. Sommers discontinued playing music on his nightly show, focusing on general and truck news, and talk from his listeners. Sommers announced his retirement from radio in 2004, but XM Satellite Radio was successful in getting him to do an afternoon truck show.
Born Glen Council in Humboldt, Tennessee, Sommers moved to Cincinnati with his family at the age of 15. The next year (1959), be began working for WAEF. Sommers worked for other local radio stations in Cincinnati, as well as in Evansville, Indianapolis, Seattle, San Diego, Miami, and Kansas City, before settling back at WLW in 1984.
Jay Thomas
➦In 2017...Jay Thomas died from throat cancer (Born Jon Thomas Terrell - July 12, 1948). He was an actor, comedian, and radio personality. He was heard in New York from 1976-79 on Top 40 station 99X, and later on Rhythmic CHR station WKTU, and in Los Angeles beginning in 1986 on KPWR "Power 106", where he hosted the station's top-rated morning show until 1993.
His notable television work included his co-starring role as Remo DaVinci on Mork & Mindy (1979–81), the recurring role of Eddie LeBec, a Boston Bruins goalie on the downside of his career, on Cheers (1987–89), the lead character of newspaper columnist Jack Stein on Love & War (1992–95), and a repeat guest role as Jerry Gold, a talk show host who becomes both an antagonist and love interest of the title character on Murphy Brown. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 1990 and 1991 for portraying Gold.
In film, he co-starred in Mr. Holland's Opus as a high school coach with a flair for theatrics, and portrayed the Easter Bunny in The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3. He was also an annual guest on The Late Show with David Letterman during the Christmas season, where he told a story about how he met Clayton Moore, who portrayed the title character on The Lone Ranger. Beginning in 2005, he hosted The Jay Thomas Show on SiriusXM Satellite Radio, which aired every Friday afternoon on Howard 101.
➦In 2018... Chuck Brinkman, a KQV 1410 AM mainstay in the 1960s who became one of Pittsburgh’s most popular Top 40 DJs, died. He was 83.
Marlee Maitlin is 56
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Guitarist Mason Williams is 83.
Singer Marshall Thompson of The Chi-Lites is 79.
Actor Ann Archer is 74.
Actor Joe Regalbuto (“Murphy Brown”) is 72.
Actor Kevin Dunn (“Samantha Who?”) is 66.
Actor Steve Guttenberg is 63.
Actor Jared Harris (“The Crown,” ″Mad Men”) is 60.
Kristyn Osborn is 51
Talk show host Craig Kilborn is 59.
Singer John Bush (Anthrax) is 58.
Actor Marlee Matlin is 56.
Newsman David Gregory is 51.
Country singer Kristyn Osborn of SHeDAISY is 51.
Director Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) is 49.
Actor-comedian Dave Chappelle is 48.
Actor James D’Arcy (“Agent Carter,” “Dunkirk”) is 48.
Actor Carmine Giovinazzo (“CSI: New York”) is 48.
Actor Alex O’Loughlin (“Hawaii Five-0″) is 45.
Actor Chad Michael Murray (“One Tree Hill,” ″A Cinderella Story”) is 40.
Schools use free Pixellot cameras, which are powered by artificial intelligence that automatically centers on the action, to stream live sports
As high schools prepare to start a new year, the NFHS Network, a producer of live and on-demand high school sports and events, has announced that it more than tripled its sports producing venues during the 2020-21 scholastic year, allowing parents and other fans to see the games when COVID-19 pandemic rules limited their ability to watch games in person, reports tvtechnology.com.
By the end of the 2020-21 scholastic year, NFHS Network broadcasted the games of over 5,700 schools, up 174% from a year earlier. It also streamed over 320,000 games and saw total views surpass 18,000,000, a 225% jump from a year earlier.
Last July, NFHS Network also announced its High School Support Program, increasing its subscription revenue sharing for schools to offset lost revenue from limited event attendance. During the 2020-21 scholastic year, NFHS Network gave over $8,000,000 in revenue back to its high school partners.
The NFHS Network, which is a subsidiary of PlayOn! Sports, covers 27 different regular season and postseason sports, as well as other high school activities. It was created in 2013 by PlayOn! Sports and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS.org).
The NFHS Network provides easy-to-use streaming equipment that offers high schools around the country the ability to stream sports and other extracurricular activities. As part of the High School Support Program, NFHS Network allocated more than $200 million in capital so that any of the NFHS state association member schools could receive two free Pixellot cameras, equipment powered by artificial intelligence that automatically centers on the action, for use in their primary sports venues.
