When Dan Bongino went on his podcast Thursday and told listeners he was leaving Fox News, he said it was simply a matter of failing to reach agreement on a new contract—and nothing more than that. “It's no big conspiracy, I promise you,” he said. “You're going to read a thousand left-wing articles about some nonsense, and I'm guaranteeing you on my reputation, it is all made up. It's a simple contract thing, and that's it. It is no more complicated than that.”
He was right, reports Mark Joyella at Forbes. The rumors began swirling immediately after Bongino made his announcement. Mainstream media sites like Los Angeles magazine reported that Bongino had been “fired,” despite Bongino’s statement saying it was untrue. Many commenters immediately linked Bongino’s exit to Dominion and a rumored housecleaning at Fox that could involve the firing of several high profile hosts. The Palmer Report tweeted that “to be clear, Fox News has fired Dan Bongino. That one’s real. And perhaps just the start.”
A top lawyer for Smartmatic, the voting technology company whose defamation lawsuit against Fox News is still pending, said Thursday that he won’t accept any settlement smaller than the $787 million Fox agreed to pay Dominion, and that his client needs a “full retraction” from the right-wing network disavowing the lies it spread about the 2020 presidential election, reports CNN.
“They need to get an apology. They need to get a full retraction,” Smartmatic lawyer Erik Connolly told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead.”
That is something Dominion Voting Systems wasn’t able to extract from Fox as part of its historic $787 million settlement, which was clinched last Tuesday, as the trial was on the brink of opening statements.
Connolly said Smartmatic is “looking to take this case through trial” and wants “the vindication of a jury verdict in their favor.” But if there were to be an out-of-court settlement, the deal would need to include the retraction plus a payout larger than the massive sum that Dominion got.
The $787.5 million settlement Fox agreed to pay is a lot. But its net cost will likely be much less.
Chaos, lawlessness and fear grip much of Sudan. It’s been a week since tensions between the country’s two most prominent generals exploded into full-blown battles that have sprawled across the country of some 46 million people, turning the teeming capital, Khartoum, into a ghost town and triggering a wave of refugees fleeing for safety. The armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom have evacuated embassy staff from Sudan, while other nations rushed to get their citizens to safety as rival military factions battled in the capital Khartoum on Sunday.
The eruption of fighting eight days ago between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has triggered a humanitarian crisis, killed 420 people and trapped millions of Sudanese without access to basic services. As people attempted to flee the chaos, countries began landing planes and organizing convoys in Khartoum to pull out their nationals. Some foreign citizens were injured. Gunfire rang out across the city and dark smoke hung overhead, a Reuters reporter said. The warring sides accused each other of attacking a French convoy, both saying one French person was wounded. France's Foreign Ministry, which had earlier said it was evacuating diplomatic staff and citizens, did not comment. The efforts to extract foreign residents frustrated some Sudanese who felt the rival factions showed less concern for the safety of locals.
➤BAHKMUT BATTLING CONTINUES: Russia on Sunday said its forces had advanced in Bakhmut while a top Ukrainian commander said his troops were holding the frontline through the city, all but destroyed in some of the bloodiest combat of the 14-month war.
The Russian defense ministry said its forces had secured two blocks in western districts and airborne units were providing reinforcements to the north and south. Russia sees Bakhmut as a stepping stone to more advances in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi shared images on the Telegram messaging app of him poring over a map with three other uniformed men, with the caption "Bakhmut frontline. Our defense continues." "We hit the enemy, often unexpectedly for him, and continue to hold strategic lines," he wrote.
Remember the Warriors defending Bakhmut. Pray for each of them. They give everything in hard, bloody battles, holding on as Lions. They die, get wounded, become disabled, win, destroy the enemy and prove the strength of the Ukrainian Cossack spirit.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private Wagner military force which is leading the Bakhmut assault, has claimed 80% control of the city. Kyiv has repeatedly denied claims its troops are poised to withdraw.
➤AFGHAN TERROR MAKES FOR STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: Afghanistan has devolved into a haven for ISIS terrorists since the precipitous US withdrawal in 2021 — but the US has found the new Taliban government an unlikely ally in the fight against the jihadists, a report said. The Taliban — an Islamic fundamentalist group that seized power after the withdrawal — has been battling back against the progress of Islamic State-Khorasan, also known as ISIS-K, a senior US defense official told the Washington Post. The dueling groups of religious fanatics are openly warring, the official said. ISIS-K has assaulted ethnic minorities and government institutions, while the Taliban has retaliated by hitting Islamic State hideouts. “I would never want to say that we had mortgaged our counterterrorism to a group like the Taliban, but it’s a fact that, operationally, they put pressure on ISIS-K,” the official told the Washington Post. “In a strange world, we have mutually beneficial objectives there.”
➤TEXAS TEENS WOUNDED DURING AFTER-PROM SHOOTING: Nine teenagers were shot early Sunday at an after-prom party in Jasper, Texas, prompting what will be an increased police presence at the town's high school this week, officials said. None of the gunshot wounds were life-threatening, the Jasper County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that offered few other details about the shooting at a residence in Jasper, a town of about 7,200 people some 134 miles northeast of Houston. The victims were taken to two hospitals, the sheriff's office said, without reporting on the number of shooters. "This investigation is ongoing and people of interest are being questioned," the statement said. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 19, KBMT-KJAC television news reported.
Fox News MediaBuzz host Howard Kurtz delivered a final summary on the implications of the network’s $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, according to Mediaite.
On Sunday, Kurtz — who was in Delaware last week to cover the proceedings — recapped the events of the past week, as a settlement was reached just before the trial could get underway. Kurtz once again mocked those in the media that wanted to see Fox get publicly scrutinized in a major legal spectacle.
Kurtz began by turning his sights on Dominion attorney Davida Brook, who, in a post-settlement news conference, thanked reporters for their coverage on the case.
“We appreciate what you’ve done to help us,” she said to the assembled media.
Kurtz ran with that remark — arguing, “It’s true! The overwhelming majority of media outlets were strongly against Fox, and therefore, were aiding Dominion.”
CNN will be the home to a new weekly prime-time show featuring Gayle King and Charles Barkley, the news network announced on Saturday.
King and Barkley sat down together on TNT’s NBA Tip-Off Saturday to discuss the details of the live show, titled King Charles, which is set to air on Wednesdays.
“I want the show to be nonpolitical,” said Barkley, though he added that the show would touch on politics. “You know (Gayle King) is going to be a straight shooter. I’m going to be a straight shooter,” he added. “I know she’s going to be fair and honest and you know I’m going to do the same thing.”
The show will be a no holds barred look at current topics, said King. “I think that decorum and courtesy and kindness always work,” she said. “But everybody I know has an opinion on something. We just need to figure out a way to have a good conversation without tearing each other down. And I think we can do that.”
“I want people to tune in to see ‘what are Gayle and Charles going to do?”’ said King. “I think it will be fun to watch the dynamic between the two of us.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has denied Standard General’s petition asking the court to force the FCC to vote on its proposed acquisition of Tegna before its financing expires on May 22.
Standard General reached its agreement to buy Tegna in February of 2022 and the review by the Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission has stretched out for more than a year. On February 24, the bureau designated the transaction be reviewed by an administrative law judge, a process likely to take several more months.
Tegna owns 64 TV stations in 51 U.S. markets and agreed to be acquired by Standard General for $8.6 billion including debt. Tegna also owns multicast networks True Crime Network, Twist and Quest and advanced advertising company Premion.
If the review goes past May 22, when financing for the deal expires, the deal expires with it, Standard General founder and managing partner Soo Kim said, reports NextTV.com.
WSCR 670 AM The Score distanced itself from WMVP ESPN 1000 in the Nielsen winter ratings book (Jan. 5 to March 29), but without Bears games to dissect, the sports-talk stations’ listenership dipped in the key demographic of men ages 25-54, reports The Sun-Times.
During prime listening hours, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, The Score tied for fourth in the market with a 4.4 share, and ESPN 1000 tied for 16th at 2.5. In the fall book, The Score ranked third at 5.0 and ESPN 1000 fifth at 4.2.
The Score’s “Bernstein & Holmes” show – with recurring co-host Leila Rahimi – remained the most-listened-to sports show in the market with a 4.6 share, ranking sixth in the 10 a.m.-2 p.m. time slot. But that was down from a second-place 5.6 in the fall. ESPN 1000’s combination of Mike Greenberg’s national show, “Bleck and Abdalla” and “Carmen and Jurko” drew a 2.1 share, ranking 17th.
The hotly contested afternoon time slot saw The Score’s “Parkins & Spiegel” take the lead over ESPN 1000’s “Waddle & Silvy” 4.2-2.7, which ranked sixth and 16th. ESPN 1000 held a 4.8-4.7 lead in the fall after the shows tied in the summer at 4.1.
From 5:30 to 10 a.m., The Score’s “Mully & Haugh” ranked fifth with a 4.4 share. ESPN 1000’s combination of national programming and “Kap & J.Hood” ranked 13th at 2.9.
Saturday night, at the Inner Circle dinner in New York City — a one-hundred-year annual tradition that roasts the current mayor and pokes good-hearted fun at local politics and politicians — 77 WABC re-united former congressman Anthony Weiner, who currently hosts a show on the leading New York talk station, and Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s Chief of Staff and Weiner’s ex-wife.
“77 WABC is about bringing the left and the right together to hear all sides and come to common sense solutions,” said John Catsimatidis, owner of Red Apple Media and 77 WABC. “Tonight, I was happy that we brought two people together. The evening was a great tribute to New York City and it was wonderful to see Anthony and Huma together.”
Photo Caption: Huma Abedin, Margo and John Catsimatidis, and Anthony Weiner Photo Credit: Jillian Nelson
➦In 1947...One of Jack Webb's short-lived pre-Dragnet detective-adventure radio show Johnny Madero: Pier 23 debuted on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
➦In 1949…Dick Powell began a four-year run as "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" on NBC Radio. The radio series centered on a wisecracking, former police officer turned private detective. Episodes typically opened with a client visiting or calling cash-strapped Diamond's office and agreeing to his fee of $100 a day plus expenses, or Diamond taking on a case at the behest of his friend and former partner, Lt. Walter Levinson
In the late 1950s, Powell's company, Four Star Television, produced a TV version of the series starring David Janssen. His secretary, Sam, was shown only from the waist down to display her beautiful legs. Initially, those were the legs of budding actress Mary Tyler Moore, but later, the legs of other actresses were shown.
➦In 1953...Eric Bogosian was born in Woburn, Massachusetts. Bogosian is best known for his starring role in the movie, "Talk Radio", a 1988 American drama film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Bogosian, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Greene, and Leslie Hope.
Portions of the film and play were based on the assassination of radio host Alan Berg in 1984 and the book Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg. Berg was murdered while working for Denver's KOA 850 AM.
In the movie Barry Champlain, a Jewish radio personality in Dallas, Texas, is a host with a caustic sense of humor and a knack for condescending to his audience with his controversial political views.bio.
➦In 1954...Billboard magazine, the music industry trade publication, headlined a tsunami to come in the music biz. The headline read, “Teenagers Demand Music with a Beat — Spur Rhythm and Blues” … a sign of the entertainment revolution that was underway.
In the latest sex scandal to shake Hollywood’s executive ranks, NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell is stepping down after three years in the top job due to “an inappropriate relationship,” parent company Comcast Corp. announced Sunday.
Shell oversaw NBCUniversal’s entertainment operations and had been with Comcast for roughly two decades. “I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret,” Mr. Shell said in a statement. “I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down.”
Jeff Schell
The Wall Street Journal reports no replacement has been named for Shell.
Comcast President Mike Cavanagh will oversee Mr. Shell’s operations until a successor is named. Key NBCUniversal executives including Mark Lazarus, who oversees NBCUniversal’s television and streaming businesses, and Donna Langley, who manages theatrical operations, will now report to Mr. Cavanagh.
Shell’s departure comes at a critical time for NBCUniversal and Comcast. The company’s Peacock streaming service has made strides, but is still much smaller than services backed by industry rivals. In the fourth quarter, Peacock surpassed 20 million paid customers but lost nearly $1 billion on an adjusted basis, the company said.
Meanwhile, the cable TV business—long a profit engine—continues to erode from cord-cutting, as is the case across the media landscape. NBCUniversal owns networks such as Bravo, E! and USA, along with news channel MSNBC.
➦In 1936...singer Roy Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas. His biggest hit was “Oh, Pretty Woman,” which stayed at No. 1 for three weeks in 1964. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and died of a heart attack on Dec. 6, 1988, in Madison, Tenn., at age 52.
➦In 1976...Flashback...
➦In 1995...Radio, TV sportscaster and personality Howard Cosell died of a heart embolism at age 77 (Born Howard William Cohen March 25, 1918). He was most prominent and influential on radio, television and print media from the early 1960s into the mid 1980s.
Cosell was an union attorney in NYC and some of his clients were actors, and some were athletes, including Willie Mays. Cosell's own hero in athletics was Jackie Robinson, who served as a personal and professional inspiration to him in his career. Cosell also represented the Little League of New York, when in 1953 an ABC Radio manager asked him to host a show on New York flagship WABC featuring Little League participants. The show marked the beginning of a relationship with WABC and ABC Radio that would last his entire broadcasting career.
Cosell hosted the Little League show for three years without pay, and then decided to leave the law field to become a full-time broadcaster. He approached Robert Pauley, President of ABC Radio, with a proposal for a weekly show. Pauley told him the network could not afford to develop untried talent, but he would be put on the air if he would get a sponsor. To Pauley's surprise, Cosell came back with a relative's shirt company as a sponsor, and "Speaking of Sports" was born.
Cosell took his "tell it like it is" approach when he teamed with the ex-Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher "Big Numba Thirteen" Ralph Branca on WABC's pre- and post-game radio shows of the New York Mets in their nascent years beginning in 1962. He pulled no punches in taking members of the hapless expansion team to task.
Otherwise on radio, Cosell did his show, Speaking of Sports, as well as sports reports and updates for affiliated radio stations around the country; he continued his radio duties even after he became prominent on television. Cosell then became a sports anchor at WABC-TV in New York, where he served in that role from 1961 to 1974. He expanded his commentary beyond sports to a radio show entitled "Speaking of Everything".
Cosell's style of reporting very much transformed sports broadcasting. Whereas previous sportscasters had mostly been known for color commentary and lively play-by-play, Cosell had an intellectual approach. His use of analysis and context arguably brought television sports reporting very close to the kind of in-depth reporting one expected from "hard" news reporters. At the same time, however, his distinctive staccato voice, accent, syntax, and cadence were a form of color commentary all their own.
➦In 2004…Bill Brundige, a member of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame and a fixture on Southland radio and television stations for three decades, died at age 89.
Bill Brundige
Brundige served as play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels baseball team, of the Pacific Coast League. He also worked with Bob Kelly on Los Angeles Ram broadcasts and Chick Hearn on Laker broadcasts. Twice he was awarded the Golden Mike as the top sports broadcaster in Southern California.
Born in Chattanooga, Tenn., Brundige served as West Coast sports director for the Armed Forces Radio Network during World War II and received the Helms Athletic Foundation award for his entertainment contributions to the men and women serving in the Pacific.
Later, Brundige was an announcer for baseball's Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Senators, and football's Detroit Lions. It was Phil Wrigley, owner of the Cubs, who brought Brundige to Southern California to broadcast games for the Angels, a minor league team that had the name long before Gene Autry purchased an American League expansion team that began play in 1961.
He retired after ending a broadcasting career of more than 40 years with a talk show on Anaheim's KEZY.
Lee Majors is 84
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Lee Majors (“Six Million Dollar Man”) is 84.
Actor Blair Brown is 76.
Actor Joyce DeWitt (“Three’s Company”) is 74.
Actor James Russo is 70.
Director Michael Moore is 69.
Actor Judy Davis is 68.
Actor Valerie Bertinelli is 63.
Actor Craig Sheffer (“One Tree Hill,” ″Into the West”) is 63.
Comedian George Lopez is 62.
Actor Melina Kanakaredes (“The Resident,” “Providence”) is 56.
Drummer Stan Frazier of Sugar Ray is 55.
Guitarist Tim Womack of Sons of the Desert is 55.
Actor Scott Bairstow (“Party of Five”) is 53.
Actor John Lutz (“30 Rock”) is 50.
Musicians Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National are 47.
Wrestler-turned-actor John Cena (“The Marine”) is 46.
Actor-comedian John Oliver is 46.
Actor Kal Penn (“House M.D.,” “Harold and Kumar”) is 46.
Singer Taio Cruz is 40.
Actor Jesse Lee Soffer (“Chicago P.D.,” “Chicago Fire”) is 39.
Guitarist Anthony LaMarca of The War on Drugs is 36.
Actor Dev Patel (“Slumdog Millionaire”) is 33.
Actor Matthew Underwood (“Zoey 101”) is 33.
Model Gigi Hadid is 28.
Musicians Jake and Josh Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet are 27.
Actor Charlie Rowe (“Salvation”) is 27.
✞DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
In 1983..Clarence "Buster" Crabbe, American swimmer (Olympic gold 1932) and actor (Tarzan the Fearless, Flash Gordon), dies of a heart attack at 75
In 2007..David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (Pulitzer 1964), dies at 73
