11/22 WAKE-UP CALL: War Pauses, 50 Hostages To Be Freed

Israel and Hamas backed a deal that will free dozens of hostages from Gaza in return for a four-day pause in fighting and the release of Palestinian prisoners. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to say the war will continue until Hamas is destroyed as an organization, it will be the first major lull in fighting since the conflict erupted just over six weeks ago after Hamas attacked Israel.

Seven weeks of intense diplomacy led to the expected U.S. and Qatar brokered hostage swap between Israel and Hamas. @margbrennan explains how it came together. pic.twitter.com/YCZRXefq6R

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) November 22, 2023

Hamas said there would be a “cessation of all military operations” in Gaza during the four days. It signaled Israel would also stop all airstrikes in the south of the Mediterranean enclave and halt them in the north, where most of Israel’s ground forces are, for six hours a day. More aid is also expected to move into Gaza from Egypt, which Palestinian officials and the United Nations say is needed to ease a humanitarian disaster.  The pause, which was pushed for by the US and its allies, is expected to begin by early Thursday morning, after Israel has released a list of the Palestinians to be freed from jail and the public has had an opportunity to appeal in the courts against their release.

Law enforcement agencies are warning the Israel-Hamas war "has created a heightened threat environment." The NYPD is increasing security for Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, while protests are planned at shopping venues on Black Friday. @AaronKatersky reports. https://t.co/CeAEdNYNXc pic.twitter.com/nfn56U6Wmz

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) November 22, 2023

➤ALTMAN RETURNS TO OPEN AI: OpenAI said Sam Altman will return as CEO and the company will have a new initial board including Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo. The startup said Taylor will be chairman of the board in a post on X late Tuesday. The board and Altman’s camp have also agreed to conduct an independent investigation into the ouster of Altman last week and its aftermath, a person familiar with the matter said. OpenAI declined to comment on the investigation.

Airports and roads are preparing for record-breaking travel this Thanksgiving as 55 million Americans are predicted to fly and drive over the coming days.@tomcostellonbc is with United at O’Hare for behind the scenes access on how they monitor it all: https://t.co/TtkgXhRhcA

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) November 22, 2023

🏠NEW HOME SALES DROP:  U.S. home sales fell to a new 13-year low last month, as high interest rates and home prices continued to pummel the housing market. Existing-home sales, which make up most of the housing market, decreased 4.1% in October from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million, the lowest rate since August 2010, the National Association of Realtors said. October sales fell 14.6% from a year earlier. The national median existing-home price rose 3.4% in October from a year earlier to $391,800—the highest price for any October in data going back to 1999. Prices aren’t adjusted for inflation.

Binance, world's largest crypto exchange, to pay $4.3 billion fine as CEO pleads guilty to federal charges https://t.co/s5tIFmBNoi

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) November 22, 2023

➤4 LAS VEGAS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CHARGED WITH MURDER AS ADULTS IN CLASSMATE'S FATAL BEATING: Prosecutors in Las Vegas have formally charged four high school students as adults with murder in the deadly beating of their schoolmate, a fight that was captured on cellphone video and has been widely shared across social media. The two 16-year-olds and two 17-year-olds are charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit battery. After court, District Attorney Steve Wolfson said his office chose not to bring a first-degree murder charge against the teens because, he said, the evidence shows that the beating was not a premeditated act.

FCC Proposes Cutting Down 'Junk' Cable Fees

Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday proposed to bar cable and satellite TV providers from charging consumers early-termination fees to exit contracts.

Reuters reports Rosenworcel said the commission will take an initial vote on Dec. 13 on the plan, which would also require TV video-service providers to refund subscribers if they cancel prior to the end of that billing cycle. She cited President Joe Biden's executive order that encourages the FCC and other agencies to take steps to crack down on what the administration calls "junk fees."

Since Democrats took control of the FCC in early October, Rosenworcel has moved quickly to set new rules.

The FCC last month voted to advance a proposal to reinstate landmark net-neutrality rules and assume new regulatory oversight of broadband internet rescinded under former President Donald Trump.

Last week, the FCC adopted final rules to prevent digital discrimination in access to broadband services under a directive from Congress. Under the new rules, the FCC can investigate broadband access discrimination complaints and can issue penalties to companies violating the rules. "We have created a process that is aimed at finding solutions that work for all parties," Rosenworcel said.

Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the plan gives "the federal government a roving mandate to micromanage nearly every aspect of how the Internet functions."

In November 2022, the FCC said U.S. broadband providers must display information similar to nutrition labels on food products to help consumers shop for broadband internet services.

The rules require broadband providers to display, at the point of sale, labels that show prices, speeds, fees and data allowances.

Morgan Wallen Is the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 Artist of 2023

Morgan Wallen claims the year-end No. 1 on 2023 Billboard 200 Albums recap with his monster hit One Thing at a Time, which spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the weekly Billboard 200. It racked up the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since Adele’s 21 tallied 24 weeks atop the list in 2011-12.

One Thing at a Time was a constant presence after its release on the Billboard 200 during the 2023 chart year (Nov. 19, 2022-Oct. 21, 2023). It debuted at No. 1 on the March 18, 2023, chart and then spent the next 31 weeks of the chart year lodged in the top five of the chart, never dipping below No. 4 in that span of time.

Wallen has led the year-end Billboard 200 Albums tally twice. He first triumphed in 2021 with Dangerous: The Double Album, which finishes 2023 as the year’s No. 5 title. It ranked at No. 3 for the year in 2022. It’s the first title to spend three years, consecutive or otherwise, in the year-end Billboard 200 Albums top 10 since the soundtrack to The Sound of Music (1965-67).

Fox News Names Madison Scarpino As Atlanta Correspondent

Madison Scarpino has joined FOX News Channel as an Atlanta-based correspondent. She will begin her role on December 4th.

Madison Scarpino

Since January 2022, Scarpino has served as a FOX News multimedia reporter based out of St. Louis. In this capacity, she shot, wrote, and edited numerous enterprise and breaking news stories for FNC including the United Auto Worker strike, the Titanic submersible implosion and the border surge in Arizona and Texas. Additionally, she spent six weeks assisting FNC’s 2022 midterm election coverage, reporting on the senate race between Dr. Mehmet Oz and John Fetterman in Pennsylvania.

Previously, Scarpino served as a bureau reporter at NBC affiliate WAFF-TV in Huntsville, AL. During her tenure there she covered breaking news impacting the greater Huntsville area, including the theft and ethics trial of the state’s longest-serving sheriff, deadly tornadoes, 3M’s $100 million settlement with local agencies, and various prominent murder cases.

A 2020 University of Mississippi graduate, Scarpino holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism.

Radio History: November 22

➦In 1899…Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America registered in New Jersey

➦In 1904...Actor Roland Winters was born in Boston.  He was the longtime radio announcer for John J Anthony’s Goodwill Hour.  In TV he had recurring roles on the series Mama, Door With No Name & Green Acres, as well as dozens of guest spots. He died Oct. 22 1989 after a stroke, at age 84.

➦In 1906...Actor & announcer Howard Petrie was born in Beverly Mass. He had many bigtime radio announcing assignments with Garry Moore, Jimmy Durante & Judy Canova, frequently taking part in the skits himself. In TV he had recurring acting assignments on Bat Masterson & The Edge of Night, plus scores of guest roles.  Howard died March 24 1968 at just 61.

➦In 1934...“Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” was aired on radio for the first time, on NBC’s Eddie Cantor Show.

➦In 1955...RCA paid the unheard of sum of $25,000 to Sam Phillips of Memphis for the rights to the music of a truck driver from Tupelo, Mississippi: Elvis Presley. Thanks to negotiations with Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, RCA tossed in a $5,000 bonus as well — for a pink Cadillac for Elvis’ mother.

➦In 1963…Most U-S radio stations suspended regular programming following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas.  The Number One song that week was 'Sugar Shack' by Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs.

More than three hours of KLIF 1190 AM audio from November 22, 1963, the day of President Kennedy's assassination.

Coverage begins at 11:30 AM (Dallas time) on 11/22/63, with Joe Long of Dallas radio station KLIF reporting live from Love Field Airport as President Kennedy arrives in "Big D".

Today 1190 AM is the home of Talk KFXR.

Kennedy coverage as heard on WBAP 820 AM Fort Worth:

And From The Big One, WLW 700 AM Cincinnati (then an NBC Affiliate):

Here is the initial bulletin heard on the NBC Radio Network about the shooting of President Kennedy in Dallas. Robert MacNeil reports live from a telephone located inside the Texas School Book Depository Building, which is where the gunshots came from.

This is the line feed from the ABC Radio Network News in the initial moments of the coverage of the JFK Assassination. Included is the ABC Log Book notes on what they were airing. Someone in ABC Master Control had to log literally everything that was broadcast each day. Also included UPI and AP wire copy which you can see the network anchors are relying on for information.

➦1963…The Parlophone label released the Beatles' second album in the U-K, "With the Beatles," and the single, "Roll Over Beethoven." Capitol Records in Canada issued the album as "Beatlemania! With the Beatles," which has the distinction of being the first Beatles album ever released in North America. Most of the songs from the album were not released in the United States until January 20, 1964 when Capitol Records issued "Meet the Beatles!"

➦In 1980...actress Mae West  died at her Hollywood home at age 87 following a stroke.

Trump Sues MSNBC, Reuters and 18 Other News Orgs

Donald Trump is still very angry over the erroneous reporting about the financial losses at his Twitter clone, Truth Social, and in a new lawsuit filed Monday, the ex-president claimed that the reports were actually a vast media conspiracy involving “no less than 20 major media outlets.”

The Wrap reports the lawsuit comes following reports this month that Truth had lost $73 million in 2023. That figure turned out to be incorrect; the company has actually lost $31 million.

It’s not clear how the error occurred. The initial $73 million figure was attributed to a securities filing by Digital World Acquisition Corp, which is attempting to merge with Truth Social. The next day all report

The lawsuit, filed in Sarasota County, Florida on behalf of Trump Media & Technology Group, names several major news outlets, alongside more niche finance, politics or left-leaning websites as plaintiffs. Among them are MSNBC, Newsweek, CNBC, Reuters, The Daily Beast, the Miami Herald and its executive editor Alex Mena, Mediatie, The Hill, The New York Daily News, the Daily Mail, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, Salon, Deadline, Miami Herald an.

The lawsuit alleges that the $73 million figure “was an utter fabrication. Each defendant, in apparent coordination, reported the exact same false number within approximately 24 hours of one another, each citing to a public Securities and Exchange Commission filing, in which the mystery $73 million loss appears nowhere.”

R.I.P.: Jock Sutherland, Former WHAS Broadcaster, Iconic Coach

Charles “Jock” Sutherland, the legendary high school basketball coach who led six teams at three schools to the Boys’ Sweet 16 and took his alma mater, Lafayette, to the state championship in 1979, has died at the age of 95. 

Jock Sutherland (1928-2023)

Sutherland retired from coaching after the 1979 championship, but he capitalized on his notoriety as one of the commonwealth’s most outspoken basketball personalities by later becoming the radio color analyst for the University of Louisville’s men’s basketball team, a post he held for 19 years with Louisville’s WHAS-AM station. 

“He was truly genuine and a guy who absolutely adored high school basketball and the Sweet 16 specifically. It was only natural that when he retired, Ralph Hacker hired him at WVLK to work games with us,” said UK Sports Network’s Dick Gabriel, who hosted WVLK’s “Sports Line 59” where Sutherland got his second career going. 

“I learned as much about life from Jock as I did basketball because it seemed like he experienced everything.” 

Study: Air Personalities Drive Advertising Effectiveness

It is commonly accepted wisdom that talent-reads by podcast hosts or AM/FM radio personalities drive powerful brand impact and sales effect. Now, a new study from System1, the creative effectiveness measurement leader, uncovers how talent-reads impact a brand’s market share and short-term sales effect.

The key findings are highlighted in this week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® blog.  

 

• Host-voiced ads tested among the podcast audience generate an additional star rating versus the general population  
• Among the podcast audience, the host-read ad generates a happiness score 2X greater than that of the general population 

• System1 short-term sales effect spike rating grows 16% to 18% among podcast listeners exposed to the host-read ad versus the general population 
• Dentsu: Audio ads outperform video for attention and brand recall, according to Lumen study  

• MAGNA/Vox Media: Podcasters are more influential than social media influencers  
• Jacobs Media Techsurvey 2023: Personalities outpace music as the main reason for listening to AM/FM radio 
• MARU/Matchbox: Listeners feel connected to their favorite AM/FM radio DJs, personalities, and shows  
• Extraordinary levels of audio attentiveness combined with host engagement means the lowest degree of audio ad avoidance  

Atlanta Radio: 99X Welcomes Return Of Jill Melancon

Cumulus Media announces that it has appointed Jill Melancon (known on-air as Jill Nelson) as On-Air Host, Evenings, on Atlanta’s Alternative, 99X (WNNX-FM). She will also anchor weekends on 99X. 

This marks Melancon’s return to the iconic 99X, who was on-air at the original 99X from 1992 to 2008. Melancon will reclaim the 99X mic on Monday, November 27th, when her weekday show will air Monday through Friday from 7:00pm-Midnight. Beginning in December, she will reprise her popular feature, “Planet Jill,” as a new music and independent act showcase that will air weekdays in the middle of her show.

Jill Nelson

Cumulus Media re-launched 99X to an appreciative audience in December 2022. Earlier this year, the station welcomed the return of original 99X morning hosts, Leslie Fram and Steve Barnes to mornings on 99X, and Will Pendarvis to afternoon drive on the station, with Matt Jones on weekends. Most recently, Steve Craig returned in July as 99X Program Director and midday host.

Steve Craig, Program Director, 99X, said: “The final member of the 99X Original Cast has returned! Jill has deep roots in Atlanta and was with us from the very beginning in 1992. Her incredible knowledge of music and ties to our local band community will be, as it was then, a valuable asset to the team.”

Jill Melancon commented: “I’m thrilled to be back with my 99X Family… How many times in life do we get to go back to an amazing time in our lives and be with the same people? Spoiler Alert: Never! But I’m getting that opportunity and could not be more grateful.”

11/21 WAKE-UP CALL: 700 Open AI Workers Say They'll Walk

More than 700 OpenAI workers threatened to quit if the board that fired CEO Sam Altman didn’t resign and restore him to power. It might be too late, though. Microsoft announced late yesterday that it was hiring Altman and Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president who resigned in protest after Altman was ousted. Microsoft said it would open its doors to more joining from the company behind viral chatbot ChatGPT, which has about 770 employees. Also, the OpenAI board found someone to replace Altman: former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear. The board pushed Altman out in part because of a lack of clarity around his outside business endeavors and a potential risk that OpenAI’s intellectual property could be used in ways that made the board uncomfortable, people familiar with the board’s thinking said.

Sam Altman was ousted as CEO of OpenAI — the company behind artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT — and scooped up by Microsoft. Now employees at the company he co-founded are threatening to quit over his exit. @ChristineRomans has details.https://t.co/gg7WvVKDZH

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) November 21, 2023

➤TRUCE THISCLOSE: The chief of Hamas told Reuters on Tuesday that the Palestinian militant group was near a truce agreement with Israel, even as the deadly assault on Gaza continued and rockets were being fired into Israel. Hamas officials are "close to reaching a truce agreement" with Israel and the group has delivered its response to Qatari mediators, Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement sent to Reuters by his aide. The statement gave no more details, but a Hamas official told Al Jazeera TV that negotiations were centred on how long the truce would last, arrangements for delivery of aid into Gaza and the exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Both sides would free women and children and details will be announced by Qatar, which is mediating in the negotiations, said the official, Issat el Reshiq.

➤ISRAEL SHIFTS FOCUS:  Israel is shifting the focus of its military campaign to southern Gaza. The country will likely face the hardest stage of the six-week-old war as it seeks to crush Hamas and recover hostages amid a deepening humanitarian crisis. Israeli forces have largely succeeded in taking control of northern Gaza, but they have only partially destroyed Hamas’s military capabilities and haven’t captured or killed many of its top leaders, senior Israeli officers and analysts say. Hamas will almost certainly prove to be a more determined adversary in the south, where the militants will have few remaining options other than to fight.

➤BABIES EVACUATED: Some Gaza hospitals have become such an integral part of the battle between Israeli forces and Hamas, the safest place for patients and staff is elsewhere. Twenty-eight of the 31 premature babies evacuated from Shifa Hospital on Sunday were transported to Egyptian medical facilities Monday, the same day 12 people were killed and others injured in what the Hamas-run Health Ministry said was Israeli shelling at another hospital in north Gaza. Israel said it returned fire from militants but did not shell Indonesian Hospital. Of the original 39 premature babies authorities warned were endangered as fighting around Shifa intensified, eight have died. The surviving ones face an uphill battle after getting sick amid a lack of medicines, clean water and power for incubators along with other substandard conditions at the besieged Shifa, raided by Israeli forces last week.

At least 28 premature babies have arrived in Egypt after being evacuated from Gaza, according to Egyptian state media. Over 250 patients with urgent conditions remained stranded at Shifa Hospital days after Israeli forces entered the compound to look for Hamas operations. pic.twitter.com/IxOLpCYoOs

— The Associated Press (@AP) November 20, 2023

➤ARGENTINA WANTS TO ADOPT U-S DOLLAR: Argentina’s president-elect wants to adopt the U.S. dollar as the national currency. Javier Milei hopes to eradicate rampant inflation that has for decades ravaged Latin America’s third-biggest economy by replacing the Argentine peso and stripping the central bank of its power to print money. Winning support from the national congress and courts and implementing the possibly harmful plan will be challenging. The country lacks the funds to carry out the proposal, economists say; in recent years, it has lost access to global debt markets.

➤FED COURT EXPECTED TO NARROW SCOPE OF TRUMP GAG ORDER: A federal appeals court panel signaled that it would affirm—but potentially narrow—a gag order on Donald Trump. A lower court had barred the former president from making public statements targeting special counsel Jack Smith, his staff, court employees and potential witnesses in Trump's federal election-interference case. The restrictions aren’t in place while the appeals court decides. Trump has called the gag order unprecedented censorship of a political candidate and unconstitutional. Smith’s office said it was warranted because of Trump’s record of attacks and threats on people involved in court cases against him, which could taint the jury pool. In New York, Trump’s lawyers are mounting a multifront defense against the civil fraud case threatening his personal fortune.

Elon Musk Sues Media Matters

Elon Musk has followed through on his threat to sue watchdog organization Media Matters.  In a suit filed on Monday, Musk claims that the group “knowingly and maliciously” misrepresented the amount of antisemitic content on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

According to The Wrap, lefty-watchdog organization Media Matters released a report on Thursday that accused X of placing ads for brands next to pro-Hitler and white nationalist accounts. Musk announced on Saturday that he would be filing a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters the “split second court opens on Monday.”

“Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article,” Linda Yaccarino asserted in a post on X. “Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters.”