Long-time Viacom Executive Steve Raizes has been named executive vice president, podcasting and audio at Paramount. Raizes has most recently served as senior vice president of podcasts, helping define the company’s podcasting strategy across several areas.
In this expanded role, Raizes will formally head all audio initiatives for CBS News, in addition to continuing his oversight across Paramount’s centralized podcasting unit.
Effective immediately, Raizes will report to both Domenic DiMeglio, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Paramount Streaming, and Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations.
Steve Raizes
Raizes has risen through the executive ranks since joining the company. In leading podcasting for Paramount, he has worked with a number of stakeholders across each brand in the Paramount Global portfolio, to define the strategy, marketing, operations and creative needed to develop successful podcasting slates. Raizes has also been integral to numerous podcast partnerships, overseeing production and ad sales deals with companies that include iHeart, PRX, Spotify, Sirius and Wondery, among others.
“Steve brings the experience and relationships with streaming platforms to take our podcasting strategy to the next level,” said Khemlani. “Engaging journalism and storytelling are core to CBS News’ mission and translate exceptionally well to podcasting.”
Under the new organizational structure, Craig Swagler, vice president and general manager of CBS News Radio, will report to Raizes. Swagler will continue day-to-day oversight of CBS News Radio, a position he has held since 2017. During his tenure, the organization has been honored with several journalism awards, including the Best in Newscast for the last eight years, the Best in Breaking News for the last four years, and the Overall Excellence Award for 14 of the last 19 years from the Edward R. Murrow Awards, given by the Radio Television Digital News Association.
Earlier, Raizes served as senior vice president, podcasts and live, at Viacom, where he supported the evolution of the business from radio and records to podcasts.
Beasley Media Group announces Kevin Rich has been named Vice President of Operations of the company. He will officially begin his new position on Monday, April 18, 2022.
Rich most recently spent the past four years serving as Market President & Chief Revenue and Content Officer at Townsquare’s Albany, New York based radio cluster, where he was responsible for overseeing and managing the market with a focus on generating revenue across the company’s media and entertainment platforms. Previously, he served as the General Sales Manager in 2011 before being promoted to Director of Sales in 2016. In addition, Rich worked as a Senior Account Executive at CBS Radio in Seattle, Washington and Citadel in Syracuse, New York. He began his career as a sales executive at WRMF-FM in West Palm Beach.
Kevin Rich
In his new role, Rich will work closely with company President Bruce Beasley, Chief Operating Officer Brian Beasley and Vice President of Operations Brad Beasley in overseeing the day-to-day business of the company’s 62 radio stations and multiple platforms.
“It’s an absolute privilege to welcome Kevin into our Beasley Media Group family,” said Chief Executive Officer Caroline Beasley. “His credentials and leadership skills are the perfect fit with our organization. We look forward to Kevin sharing his outstanding strategic skill set, especially on the digital side of the business, with our teams across the organization.”
“Kevin’s background and experience is the perfect complement to our strategy and vision as we continue to evolve and grow as a company,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Brian Beasley. “I look forward to Kevin working closely with our market managers and their teams in taking our business to the next level and beyond across all our platforms.”
“I am thrilled to join the Beasley Media family at a pivotal moment in the Company’s growth,” said Rich. “This is an exciting time for our industry, and I am honored to be joining such a talented team as we continue to deliver the very best content, provide comprehensive solutions to advertisers, and strengthen our market presence in the communities we serve.”
Rich will be based out of Beasley Media Group’s corporate headquarters located in Naples, Florida.
CBS News and The Weather Channel television network, the #1 source for weather news and information, today announced a new content collaboration that will bring enhanced weather and climate reporting to CBS News viewers across the world. This new partnership combines the expertise and technology of two award-winning news organizations to provide viewers with leading in-depth weather reporting and immersive storytelling.
The Weather Channel’s multiple Emmy Award-winning Immersive Mixed Reality (IMR) technology will provide the audience a “Virtual View” into American communities’ weather conditions. By deploying HDR, 360° cameras, camera tracking and the “Unreal Engine, Zero Density Reality Hub,” the IMR technology allows viewers to visualize future weather forecasts – to see how snow, rain, floods or tornadoes can affect a community before the conditions arrive. The reports originate from the Weather Channel’s headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. The partnership also draws upon live reporting from meteorologists Stephanie Abrams, Jim Cantore and Mike Bettes, as well as the entire Weather Channel meteorological and newsgathering team.
The Weather Channel’s reports will be featured during CBS News’ award-winning morning and evening newscasts, CBS MORNINGS, CBS SATURDAY MORNING and CBS EVENING NEWS with NORAH O’DONNELL. The CBS News Streaming Network, CBS News’ 24/7 digital streaming news service, will also showcase regular reports from the Weather Channel. The CBS News investigative team and the Weather Channel’s meteorological and newsgathering teams will also partner on special investigative climate reports. This collaboration brings together two powerhouse brands to deliver audiences innovative weather reporting, trusted severe weather coverage, and investigative reporting on the environment.
“By bringing together CBS News and the Weather Channel’s weather teams and virtual view technology, we will not only be able to forecast the weather but show viewers what it’s really going to look like,” said Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations. “This is a holistic partnership that brings together the scale of both companies’ reporting teams, technologies and audiences. In addition to the virtual forecasts and live reporting, we will also collaborate on field reporting and pair our investigative teams to expand our environmental investigative efforts. Together we will deliver deeper coverage of one of the most important stories of our time – the impact of the climate on the communities we live in.”
“This year, the Weather Channel celebrates its 40th anniversary, and there’s never been a more important time to provide viewers cutting-edge visual presentations and compelling storytelling about our weather,” said Byron Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of the Weather Channel’s parent company, Allen Media Group.“This new collaboration is designed to offer the CBS News audience the most innovative weather reporting, as well as greater reach for the Weather Channel’s brand. CBS News and the Weather Channel will work closely together to explore and investigate issues related to climate and our environment.”
Last night's Oscars ceremony was overshadowed by a shocking moment when Best Actor nominee Will Smith walked onstage from his front row seat and smacked Chris Rock across the face.
Rock, who had come out to present the best documentary award, made a few jokes about people in the audience. Among them was Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, with Rock making a G.I. Jane joke because of her very closely cropped hair. Pinkett-Smith has spoken publicly about having alopecia, which causes hair loss.
Smith walked onstage and smacked Rock, and then returned to his seat, twice shouting, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!" Smith then was back onstage moments later when he won Best Actor for King Richard, and tearfully apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees -- but not Rock -- while also seeming to justify what he'd done.
Just minutes after shocking the Oscars audience by smacking comedian Chris Rock onstage, Will Smith gave a tearful acceptance speech, winning best actor for his role in 'King Richard,' playing the father to Venus and Serena Williams. https://t.co/2yFJSG1Wujpic.twitter.com/JeunuT7nHa
Referring to Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams who he played in King Richard, Smith said, "Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family," and stated, "Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But, love will make you do crazy things." He also said, "I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people."
Chris Rock Won't Press Charges: Meanwhile, according to The LAPD, Chris Rock has “declined to file a police report” for the incident. According to Variety, the LAPD said in a statement, “LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”
đ„CODA AND DUNE WIN BIG AT THE OSCARS, WILL SMITH AND CHRIS ROCK GET CENSORED: The 94th Academy Awards, Hollywood’s big night returned on Sunday night (3-27).
CODA, won all three of its nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor, which went to Troy Kotsur.
Out of ten nods, Dune took home six Oscars, including Best Cinematography, Visual Effects and Best Production Design. Jane Campion won Best Director for Power of The Dog.
There were plenty of funny moments and jabs to the audience by hosts Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes who seamlessly steered the evening.
Chris Rock will be remembered for taking a joke too far about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett. While Chris Rock was still talking, Will walked up to the stage and pretended to hit him. At first it seemed scripted, until he sat back down and the show was muted while he seemed to cuss at Chris Rock from his seat.
Later, during Will Smith’s acceptance speech for Best Actor, he acknowledged what happened. He talked about how his character in King Richard protected women. And in tears, he said, “I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and concern.” He then apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees.
Jessica Chastain won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
There were several highlights including a salute to the 50th anniversary of The God Father. Francis Ford Coppola made a speech with Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro at his side. There were also mentions of, and some wore blue ribbons in support of Ukraine throughout the evening.
Keeping in-step with shows in the past… the even ran 3 and a half hours long.
WINNERS
Best Picture CODA
Actor in a Leading Role Will Smith, King Richard
Actress in a Leading Role Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Animated Feature Film Encanto
Cinematography Dune, Greig Fraser
Directing Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Original Song "No Time To Die" from No Time to Die, music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell
➤ZELENSKYY ACCUSES WEST OF COWARDICE AS CONTINUES TO PLEAD FOR FIGHTER JETS, TANKS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again pleaded Sunday for the West to send fighter jets and tanks to help in the fight against the invading Russians, and accused Western nations of cowardice for not having sent them after more than a month of war. Zelenskyy said, "I've talked to the defenders of Mariupol today," speaking about the Ukrainian city that's suffered among the worst, if not the worst, bombardment from Russian forces, adding, "If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had one percent of their courage." He also accused the West of being, quote, "afraid to prevent this tragedy. Afraid to simply make a decision." While the U.S. and Western nations have provided missiles and other military equipment to Ukraine, there's been opposition to sending the fighter jets and tanks Zelenskyy keeps asking for over, as well as refusal to enforce a no-fly zone, over NATO's concerns about being drawn into direct fighting with Russia.
“It’s not a war between the Ukrainian army and the Russian army but between the Russian army and Ukrainian civilian people," a Mariupol escapee says. https://t.co/YHLafiIowO
Meanwhile, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, accused Russia of wanting to split Ukraine in two, comparing it to North and South Korea. His statment came as Russia, which has been stymied by Ukrainian forces from its earlier goal of more widely conquering Ukraine and quickly taking the capital Kyiv, has shifted its main focus to take control of the Donbas region in the eastern part of the country, which has been partially controlled by Russia-backed separatists since 2014. A high-ranking Russian military official said Friday that troops were being redirected to the east from other parts of Ukraine. Russia has been demanding in talks with Ukraine that it acknowledge the independence of Donetsk and the other eastern separatist region of Luhansk.
➤ISIS CLAIMS ATTACK THAT KILLED TWO ISRAELI POLICE OFFICERS: The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed an attack in which two Israeli police officers were shot and killed in the Israeli city of Hadera late Sunday. The two gunmen, who were Israeli Arabs that Israeli intelligence said were local ISIS operatives, were killed by nearby counterterrorism officers. The attack took place as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Egypt's top diplomat, and Arab diplomats from three Arab states that recently normalized ties with Israel were meeting with Israeli officials in the Jewish state for an unprecedented regional meeting.
➤SECOND BLACK BOX FOUND FROM CHINESE PLANE CRASH: The second black box from the China Eastern flight that crashed last week was found on Sunday on a mountain slope about 130 feet from the point of impact. Searchers had been looking for the flight data recorder after finding the cockpit voice recorder four days earlier. The Boeing 737-800 jet suddenly nosedived more than an hour into its flight last Monday and crashed into a remote mountainous area in southern China, killing all 132 people on board.
Canada's Trudeau rebuked by some members of European Parliament for treatment of convoy protesters https://t.co/6u05QlaTsP
⛽AVERAGE GAS PRICE FALLS AFTER NINE WEEKS OF INCREASES: It's not a lot, but the average U.S. price of a gallon of gas did fall over the last two weeks, dropping by six cents to $4.37 per gallon. That decline comes after nine straight weeks of price increases totaling 98 cents, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday. The highest average price nationwide is $5.99 per gallon in Los Angeles, and the lowest average price in $3.70 per gallon in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The average price is $1.42 higher than it was one year ago.
➤REP. FORTENBERRY TO RESIGN AFTER CONVICTION: Rep. Jeff Fortenberry announced in a letter to supporters Saturday (March 26th) that he will resign from office after being convicted last week of lying to federal officials about an illegal $30,000 campaign contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 fundraiser. The Nebraska Republican said his resignation will be effective on March 31st. Fortenberry had been under pressure to resign, including from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who said Friday, "I think he had his day in court. I think if he wants to appeal, he can go do that as a private citizen. But I think when someone's convicted, it's time to resign." A special election will be called to fill his seat.
đąDOLLYWOOD CLOSES TOWER RIDE AFTER TRAGEDY IN ORLANDO: Tennessee theme park Dollywood is temporarily closing its 20-story drop tower ride after a 14-year-old boy fell to his death last Thursday from a similar ride called OrlandoFreeFall at Florida's ICON Park. Dollywood's ride, Drop Line, was developed by the same manufacturer as the Orlando ride. The park's public relations director said, "Although Dollywood does not have the specific ride involved in this tragic incident, the safety of our guests is our top priority. Out of an abundance of caution, and until further details about the accident at ICON Park are known, we have temporarily closed Drop Line."
➤JANUARY 6TH HOUSE COMMITTEE MOVING FORWARD WITH CONTEMPT CHARGES AGAINST NAVARRO, SCAVINO: The House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol is moving forward with contempt charges against former Donald Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino for their refusal to comply with subpoenas. A committee report released last night said Navarro, who was then-President Trump’s trade adviser, and Scavino, a White House communications aide under Trump, have been uncooperative for months. The panel will meet tonight to discuss whether to hold the two in contempt of Congress, a move that's likely to be approved. A recommendation of criminal charges would then go to the full House, and if approved there would go to the Justice Department, which has final say on prosecution.
đST. PETER'S FALLS TO NORTH CAROLINA, KANSAS TOPS MIAMI IN ELITE EIGHT: Saint Peter's Cinderella run finally came to an end Sunday when the Number 15 team fell to Number 8 North Carolina 69-49 in their Elite Eight game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. North Carolina, which made its record 21st Final Four, will play archrival Duke, led by and its retiring coach and legend Mike Krzyzewski. In yesterday's other Elite Eight game, Number 1 Kansas downed Number 10 Miami 76-50. Kansas will play Villanova in the Final Four, but Villanova will be playing without star Justin Moore. Villanova announced yesterday that Moore tore his right Achilles tendon in their Elite Eight win Saturday over Houston.
đSTANFORD, SOUTH CAROLINA WIN IN WOMEN'S ELITE EIGHT: Number 1 teams Stanford and South Carolina both won their Elite Eight games in the NCAA women's basketball tournament Sunday (March 27th). South Carolina defeated Number 10 Creighton 80-50, and defending champion Stanford topped Texas 59-50. The two other Elite Eight games are today, with Number 1 NC State playing Number 2 UConn, and Number 1 Louisville facing off against Number 3 Michigan.
⚾PUJOLS REPORTEDLY SIGNING ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH CARDINALS: Albert Pujols is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals, agreeing last night to a one-year, $2.5 million deal, according to reports. The 42-year-old future Hall of Famer will have a part-time role, according to ESPN, in which he'll start at designated hitter against lefty pitchers, and otherwise be a late-game pinch-hitter. Pujols was with the Cardinals for his first 11 major league seasons, winning three National League MVP awards and two World Series, while appearing in nine All-Star Games.
đSCHEFFLER WINS MATCH PLAY AND BECOMES NEW NUMBER 1 MEN'S GOLFER: American Scottie Scheffler won the Dell Technologies Match Play on Sunday and also became the new men's Number 1-ranked golfer in the world. The 25-year-old beat out Kevin Kisner with a 4-and-3 victory for the Match Play win at Austin Country Club. He took the top world ranking from Jon Rahm, who'd held it since the British Open, becomign the sixth-youngest player to reach Number 1 since the world ranking began in 1986.
đPENGUINS TOP RED WINGS 11-2 IN FIRST 11-GOAL GAME IN NEARLY 30 YEARS: The Pittsburgh Penguins routed the Detroit Red Wings 11-2 last night in the franchise's first 11-goal game in nearly 30 years, since November 1993. Pittsburgh's scoring included a hat trick by Evgeni Malkin. For the reeling Red Wings, it was their ninth loss in 11 games.
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died Friday in Colombia, had a heart that weighed double the average for men his age, according to The NY Post citing a news report.Forensic experts during an examination found Hawkins heart weighed “at least 600 grams,” double the average of 300 to 350 grams, the Daily Mail reported Sunday.
Hawkins, 50, was found dead Friday in a hotel room at the Four Seasons Casa Medina in Bogota. In his room, there were multiple drugs found, according to a report that cited Colombia authorities.
“Colombian authorities found: marijuana, antidepressants, opioids, heroine [sic]. At least 10 different substances found,” journalist Luis Carlos Velez tweeted Saturday afternoon, citing Fiscalia Colombia, the national attorney general’s office.
Velez initially reported that Hawkins, a California native, had overdosed, but later backtracked in a follow up tweet.
“Colombian authorities press release confirming 10 substances found #TaylorHawkins – Official release does not say overdose. Investigation continues,” he wrote.
Hawkins died of a cardiovascular collapse, the Daily Mail reported Sunday morning, citing Colombian news magazine Semana.
Dave Grohl introduces Taylor Hawkins during his final concert with Foo Fighters đ€ pic.twitter.com/bpGWO9iIj5
Meanwhile, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and his bandmates made an emotional return to Los Angeles following the shocking Hawkins on tour in Colombia.
The NY Post reports Grohl appeared visibly stricken Saturday as he embraced a man believed to be their manager, John Silva, after touching down in the US from Bogota.
He was joined by bandmates, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee, as well as jazz singer Samantha Sidley.
Phil Collins bade an emotional farewell to Genesis fans alongside bandmates Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks in London on Saturday - as the iconic band played their final ever concert, reports The Daily Mail..
London's 02 provided the backdrop for the band's last show on their The Last Domino? Tour - with frail frontman Phil, 71, telling the crowd he will now have to get a real job.
Phil, who performed the show sitting down due to suffering from a number of different health conditions in recent years, later joined Mike, 71, and Tony, 72 for a standing ovation.
The band first found fame in the 1970s and have sold more than 100million records.
The three London concerts were set to take place at the end of last year but had to be rescheduled due to positive Covid 19 tests within the band, which has been touring for the first time in 14 years,
Collins, who has a history with back problems, has been sitting down for all the concerts on the tour and his son, Nic Collins, 20, has stepped in for him on drums.
The 2007 Genesis reunion tour left Phil with a dislocated vertebra in his neck that caused nerve damage in his hands. He has been using a walking stick since he had major surgery on his back in October 2015.
In 2017 Phil was forced to postpone two solo concerts at the Royal Albert Hall after a fall in his hotel room.
“I just no longer felt comfortable with the programming at Fox.”
The NY Times reports Chris Wallace uttered those words matter-of-factly, in between bites of a Sweetgreen salad at his new desk inside the Washington bureau of CNN, the network he joined in January after nearly two decades at Fox News.
For those on the left who admired him, and those on the right who doubted him, it’s a statement that was a long time coming.
A down-the-middle outlier at Fox News who often confounded conservatives by contradicting the network’s right-wing stars, Wallace was also one of the channel’s fiercest defenders, disappointing liberals who hoped he might denounce colleagues like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson.
But in December, the 74-year-old Wallace issued a final verdict: He was done. In a surprise move, he declined to renew his contract as host of “Fox News Sunday” and jumped to archrival CNN. His daily interview show — “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” — starts Tuesday on the new CNN+ streaming service.
“I’m fine with opinion: conservative opinion, liberal opinion,” Mr. Wallace said in his first extensive interview about his decision to leave. “But when people start to question the truth — Who won the 2020 election? Was Jan. 6 an insurrection? — I found that unsustainable.”
“I spent a lot of 2021 looking to see if there was a different place for me to do my job,” he added.
The anchor was eager to describe what attracted him to his new gig: excitement about CNN+, the more freewheeling format of streaming TV — “I don’t have to say, you know, ‘Wolf Blitzer starts right now at 6:59:59’” — and the opportunity to expand beyond politics. In early episodes, he discusses space travel with the “Star Trek” actor William Shatner, asks the former Disney boss Bob Iger about meeting the pope, and at one point sings a warbling duet with the songstress Judy Collins.
But Wallace also acknowledged that he felt a shift at Fox News in the months after Donald J. Trump’s defeat in 2020 — a period when the channel ended its 7 p.m. newscast, fired the political editor who helped project a Trump loss in Arizona on election night and promoted hosts like Carlson who downplayed the Jan. 6 riot.
He confirmed reports that he was so alarmed by Carlson’s documentary “Patriot Purge” — which falsely suggested the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was a “false flag” operation intended to demonize conservatives — that he complained directly to Fox News management.
Wallace said his new CNN+ series, which airs at 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, was inspired by the work of famed interviewers like Larry King and Charlie Rose. (His father, the “60 Minutes” legend Mike Wallace, hosted a versatile interview program of his own in the late 1950s, with guests ranging from Henry Kissinger to the actress Jean Seberg.
Fox News’ John Roberts stopped Sen. Rick Scott in his tracks Sunday when the Florida Republican tried to sidestep confronting questions about his controversial 11-step “Rescue America” plan by insisting the anchor was using “Democrat talking points,” reports The Wrap.
Roberts brought up Scott’s plan on “Fox News Sunday,” making specific mention that one provision would directly strike senior citizens and those in need.
Reading directly from the proposal, Roberts quoted, “All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.” Roberts pointed out that the plan could, feasibly, lead to the end of Social Security and Medicare in five years.
“That’s, of course, the Democrat talking points,” Scott answered, but was immediately interrupted by Roberts with, “No, it’s in the plan! It’s in the plan!”
Scott attempted to continue on that train of thought, but Roberts cut him off again: “Hang on, Senator. It’s not a Democratic talking point. It’s in the plan.”
Watch the segment starting at the 4:40 Time Mark:
But Scott pressed on. “No one that I know of wants to sunset Medicare or Social Security. But what we’re doing is we don’t even talk about it,” Scott continued, adding “we ought to figure out how we preserve those programs.”
According to Forbes, Republican senators have proposed a commission to balance the budget within a decade. It writes, “Given that four of the five sponsors of this idea have signed on to the tax pledge to never, ever under any circumstances raise taxes, they are looking for programs to cut. They consequently take aim mainly at cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.”
Earlier this month, however, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voiced his opposition to Scott’s “Rescue America” plan.
Critics slammed former CBS News Radio White House correspondent Mark Knoller on Saturday after he said President Biden's speech in Poland topped former President Ronald Reagan's "tear down that wall" speech.
Fox News reports Biden's speech ended with him saying Russian Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power." The White House appeared to walk back his comments shortly afterward, saying that Biden was calling for regime change.
"The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change," a White House official told Fox News Digital.
"Tops Reagan’s 1987 "tear down this wall" speech," Knoller said on Twitter, prompting criticism from journalists and political commentators.
Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway said, "Oh Mark." Radio host Erick Erickson noted that no one walked back Reagan's comments.
"Did the staff have to come out after Reagan’s speech and say JUST KIDDING GUYS HE DIDN’T MEAN THAT," Nick Searcy, an actor, said in response to Knoller's tweet.
The Heritage Foundation's Nile Gardiner, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher, said, "Biden is no Reagan that's for sure."
Biden visited Poland over the weekend and met with several Ukrainian refugees that have fled their country. Poland has accepted the majority of Ukrainian people fleeing Putin's war.
Country music singer and songwriter Jeff Carson, who scored hits with "Not On Your Love," and "The Car" before becoming a police officer, has died in Tennessee, according to The Tennessean citing a statemnt from his publicist said.
Carson was 58.
Carson died of a heart attack at a hospital in Franklin, said Jeremy Westby of 2911 Media.
Carson was born Jeffrey Lee Herndon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1963, Westby said in a news release. Carson sang in church and formed a band in Rogers, Arkansas, before moving to Branson, Missouri, where he wrote songs and played locally, the news release said.
Carson moved to Nashville and recorded demos for Tracy Lawrence, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and other country stars.
Carson received a recording contract at Curb Records in 1995 and released a single, "Yeah Buddy." He then recorded the singles "Not On Your Love" and "The Car," which won Carson his first Academy of Country Music award for video of the year.
Carson's career had 14 singles on the Billboard chart in his career, Westby said.
Carson retired from music to become a police officer in Franklin, where he remained on the police force.
It’s hard to believe he’s gone. One thing is for certain — Franklin Police Officer #JeffCarson changed everyone he met, all of us, for the better! Thank you, Jeff, for your life of service & song. May his message live on: God Save The World.https://t.co/MU3937POBy
Carson returned to music in 2019 and released a previously recorded song, "God Save The World."
Carson had been in the studio with Buddy Hyatt recording an album to be released later this year with duets with Michael Ray, Darryl Worley and others, Westby said.
The predecessor to the current WGN was WDAP, which signed on the air on May 19, 1922, and was founded by Thorne Donnelley and Elliott Jenkins. Originally based in the Wrigley Building, the station moved its operations to the Drake Hotel in July.
WGN's main studio in Tribune Tower, circa '30s-'40s
On May 12, 1923, the Zenith Radio Company signed on radio station WJAZ from the Edgewater Beach Hotel. However, after this brief period, the Tribune switched its operations to WDAP, and the Zenith station became WEBH, the license eventually being deleted on November 30, 1928.
Scope's Trial 1925
Early programming was noted for its creativity and innovation. It included live music, political debates, comedy routines, and some of radio's first sporting event broadcasts, including the Indianapolis 500 automobile race, and a live broadcast of the 1925 Scopes Trial from Dayton, Tennessee.
In 1926, WGN broadcast Sam & Henry, a daily serial with comic elements created and performed by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll. After a dispute with the station in 1927, Gosden and Correll took the program's concept and announcer Bill Hay across town to WMAQ 670 AM and created the first syndicated radio show, Amos 'n' Andy. WGN 720 AM served as a founding member of the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Over many decades, WGN was a "full service" radio station. The station played small amounts of music during the mornings and afternoon hours, moderate amounts of music on weekends during the day, aired midday and evening talk shows, and sports among other features. The station's music was easy listening/MOR-based until the 1970s, when its switched to more of an adult contemporary-type sound.
Music programming was phased out during the 1980s, and by 1990, the station's lineup mainly consisted of talk shows. In 1961, the WGN radio and television stations moved to a studio facility on West Bradley Place in the North Center neighborhood, a move undertaken for civil defense concerns in order to provide the station a safe base to broadcast in case of a hostile attack targeting downtown Chicago.
WGN radio moved back to North Michigan Avenue in 1986, relocating its operations to a studio in the Pioneer Court extension (WGN-TV remained at the Bradley Place facility, where that station operates to this day).
Some former well-known personalities on WGN include longtime morning hosts Wally Phillips, Bob Collins, Spike O'Dell, Paul Harvey and Roy Leonard. Orion Samuelson has been the station's farm reporter since 1960. Late-night hosts over the years have included Franklyn MacCormack, Chicago Ed Schwartz, Don Vogel and the husband-and-wife team of Steve King and Johnnie Putman.
➦In 1941...Newspaper columnist Louella Parsons hosted the CBS Radio Network show 'Hollywood Premiere' for the first time. Parsons introduced famous guests who appeared in dramatized stories.
In 1914, Parsons began writing the first gossip column in the United States for the Chicago Record Herald. William Randolph Hearst bought that newspaper in 1918 and Parsons was out of a job, as Hearst had not yet discovered that movies and movie personalities were news. Parsons then moved to New York City and started working for the New York Morning Telegraph writing a similar movie column, which attracted the attention of Hearst.
In 1923, after shrewd bargaining on both sides, she signed a contract and joined the Hearst newspaper the New York American.
There was persistent speculation that Parsons was elevated to the Hearst chain's lead gossip columnist because of a scandal she didn't write about. Director Thomas Ince died aboard Hearst's yacht in 1924 under murky circumstances.
Initially, Hearst newspapers falsely claimed that Ince had not been aboard the boat at all and had fallen ill at Hearst's home. Charlie Chaplin's secretary reported seeing a bullet hole in Ince's head when his body was carried off the yacht. It has been widely written that Chaplin was conducting an affair with Hearst's mistress, and that an attempt to shoot Chaplin may have caused Ince's death. Also aboard the yacht that night was Parsons, who ignored the story in her columns.
As she and the publishing mogul developed an ironclad relationship, her Los Angeles Examiner column came to appear in over six hundred newspapers the world over, with a readership of more than twenty-million, and Parsons gradually became one of the most powerful voices in the movie business with her daily allotment of gossip.
Parsons column - 1944
Beginning in 1928, she hosted a weekly radio program featuring movie star interviews that was sponsored by SunKist. A similar program in 1931 was sponsored by Charis Foundation Garment. In 1934, she signed a contract with the Campbell's Soup Company and began hosting a program titled Hollywood Hotel, which showcased stars in scenes from their upcoming movies.
Parsons saw herself as the social and moral arbiter of Hollywood. Her judgments were considered the final word in many cases, and many feared her disfavor even more than that of movie critics.
➦In 1944...The radio station owned by The New York Times, WQXR radio in New York City banned singing commercials from its airwaves as of this day.
The following statement was published in the WQXR Program Guide:
"Only a few advertisers are affected by the new ruling and their spots will be permitted to continue until the expiration of their contracts. All of these are short-term contracts which will expire within the next few weeks.
"Because WQXR specializes in the presentation of good music, the station has found that "singing commercials" are too much of a transition from good music and that they are apt to create ill will among WQXR listeners for the advertiser as well as the station. On the other hand, WQXR listeners have always supported enthusiastically those advertisers who presented their sales messages in keeping with the programs of the station.
"This is not a ban of all transcribed announcements. Spots containing other types of music conforming to the station's musical policy will continue to be accepted. For example, an excerpt from a musical production--such as an opera, operetta or motion picture--may be included in an announcement advertising such a production, if the musical selection fits in with the musical standards of the station.
"As to non-musical transcriptions, WQXR will continue to accept those which are in keeping with station programming."
➦In 1986...6,000+ radio stations in the U-S played "We Are The World" at exactly 10:15 a.m. Eastern.
"We Are the World" was a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup United Support of Artists (USA) for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones for the album We Are the World. With sales in excess of 20 million copies, it is one of fewer than 30 retail singles to have sold at least 10 million copies worldwide.
The song was released on March 7, 1985, as the first single from the album. A worldwide commercial success, it topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling American pop single in history. The first ever single to be certified multi-platinum, "We Are the World" received a Quadruple Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.
➦In 1994...one of the prominent announcers of radio’s “Golden Era,” Wendell Niles succumbed to cancer at age 89. He was heard on such popular fare as The Bob Hope Show, The Burns & Allen Show, The Milton Berle Show and The Chase and Sanborn Hour.
➦In 2016...Wally Crouter, a radio personality who served as morning host of Toronto’s CFRB 1010 AM for an incredible 50 years, died peacefully in his sleep at age 92.
đHAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Harmonica player Charlie McCoy (“Hee Haw”) is 81.
Actor Dianne Wiest is 76.
Country singer Reba McEntire is 67.
Actor Alexandra Billings (“Transparent”) is 60.
Lady Gaga is 36
Rapper Salt of Salt-N-Pepa is 56.
Actor Tracey Needham (“The Division,” “JAG”) is 55.
