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Monday, July 27, 2020
Is “Normal” Any Closer? Not Yet, Concern Growing
New data released by NuVoodoo Research reveals concern about the Pandemic is increasing.
On June 16, extreme concern about coronavirus had dropped to just 30% in the daily testing NuVoodoo began on March 9. They hadn’t seen a number that low since March 16.
The trend since June 16 is undeniable – concern is growing again. And now, concern isn’t limited to the northeast. In this 7-day snapshot shown below, covering July 16-22 with over 10,000 respondents, the Northeast still shows the highest concern by a single point, and now the South is right behind – and the West and Midwest only a few points lower.
Listeners and businesses are going into the most unusual back-to-school phase ever. As tough as it is for radio programmers, it’s even tougher on the sales side. Confronting the uncertainty of the months to come will be critical to radio’s survival. Advertisers and agencies are increasingly selective about who “gets on the buy.” The pressure to deliver revenue will be intense. At the same time, radio is faced with budget constraints and fewer resources to get the job done.
Welcome to selling in the new abnormal. Pulling from the extensive data NuVoodoo has amassed since March, they're presenting a webinar in conjunction with the RAB diving into consumer attitudes about coronavirus and the adaptations being made to deal with life during the pandemic. We’re tracking how people are feeling about shopping, dining, attending events, travel and more.
“Marketing in the New Abnormal” for radio sales professionals is Wednesday, August 12 at 1 PM Eastern. In about 30 minutes, Carolyn Gilbert and Leigh Jacobs of NuVoodoo will give you deeper insights to write business as we head into the fall and beyond. And they’ll stay on as long as necessary to answer questions. Register now, Click Here.
Detroit Radio: WXYT-FM's Jamie Samuelson Reveals Cancer Fight
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| The Fan's Jamie Samuelson |
Original Posting...
Longtime Detroit sports writer and radio host Jamie Samuelsen revealed on Monday that he’s been fighting colon cancer.
Samuelsen announced the news on his radio show, the “Jamie & Stoney Show,” on WXYT 97.1 The Ticket. He said he was first diagnosed in 2019, but had kept the news private.
“Each morning since my diagnosis, I got up, turned on the radio mic and got to talk sports,” Samuelsen said. “I needed the escape from cancer, just like so many of our listeners who face hardships, grief and illness, too -- they turned to us in the morning for some levity in this crazy world. So I wanted to continue to have fun and not let cancer get in the way of doing what I loved.
Connecting with listeners, laughing, teasing Stoney, all of it — it helped me be normal, while continuing to fight this disease.”
If you are person of any faith please put @JamieSamuelsen in your prayers. He is not only the smartest guy I know, he is a great person ,co-host and most importantly friend. And listen to him. Get a colonoscopy ASAP https://t.co/yhb3cZOjLv— michael stone (@stoney16) July 27, 2020
Samuelsen said, despite his ongoing battle, he will continue working -- and continue fighting.
“It’s a battle. It goes on,” he said. “I don’t want to make it sound like this is any sort of goodbye, because it’s not.” Samuelsen also urged anyone over the age of 50 to get a colonoscopy.
Samuelsen has been a Detroit sports media staple since 1994, when he first joined WDFN.
Radio Helps Launch New Pandemic Drug Brand
This week’s Westwood One blog features a case study for a pharmaceutical brand that used 60-second AM/FM radio ads to launch a new medication in April of this year. The results of the study, which looked at both the TV and AM/FM radio aspects of the campaign, proved that brands can launch new products during a pandemic.
The blog also features the results of two pharmaceutical ad creative tests conducted by ABX and three examples from Nielsen Media Impact illustrating how shifting media weight from TV to AM/FM radio proves that AM/FM radio is the ideal media channel for the pharmaceutical category.
- AM/FM radio was an ideal media channel for the new pharmaceutical brand: Heavy ailment sufferers, prescription treatment users, and those who suffer from the ailment were 30-55% more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners than the category average.
- The more consumers listened to AM/FM radio, the more likely they were to be taking prescription medication for the ailment: 58% of heavy AM/FM radio listeners said they were already taking prescription medication for the ailment, nearly twice that of light AM/FM radio listeners.
- Heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy podcast listeners responded much more favorably to the AM/FM radio ads than heavy TV viewers: When exposed to the AM/FM radio ad, a majority of heavy AM/FM radio listeners and podcast listeners said they found the ads to be likeable, relevant, memorable, and informative.
- Heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy podcast listeners were more likely to take action after hearing the AM/FM radio ad: After hearing the AM/FM radio ad, the majority of heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy podcast listeners indicated they would take some sort of action such as searching online, speaking to a health care provider, or trying the brand.
- AM/FM radio boosted ad recall among those who suffered from the ailment and heavy AM/FM radio listeners: There was a +36% increase in aided ad recall among heavy AM/FM radio listeners between April and May.
- There was significant growth in consumers saying they would recommend the brand to friends and family after exposure: After hearing the AM/FM radio ad, the brand’s net promoter score among heavy AM/FM radio listeners grew from +9 in April 2020 to +39 in May 2020.
- ABX: Pharmaceutical AM/FM radio ads test at 90% of the impact of TV ads for one-fifth the CPM
- Nielsen Media Impact: The addition of AM/FM radio to any pharmaceutical TV campaign generates significant incremental reach
The Rundown: Protests Flare-Up In Cities
VIOLENCE, OVER WEEKEND: Protests that had been ongoing in Portland, Oregon, since the death of George Floyd ramped up over the past week in response to President Trump sending federal agents to the city to defend the federal courthouse, and that continued this past weekend, with protests flaring up in other cities, some of them explicitly in response to agents being sent to Portland. Authorities declared a riot in Portland early Sunday morning when protesters breached a fence surrounding the courthouse. Federal agents repeatedly used tear gas to break up the protests, but many people remained. Things turned deadly in Austin, Texas, where 28-year-old protester Garrett Foster was shot and killed by someone who'd driven his car into the marching protesters. Foster was legally carrying an assault rifle and witnesses said he approached the car. The driver told police Foster pointed the weapon at him -- there are conflicting reports about if that's true -- and that's why he opened fire. The driver was taken into custody and later released while the investigation is ongoing.
In other protests:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the Republicans, saying, "They’re in disarray and that delay is causing suffering for America’s families." The Democratic-led House passed a $3 trillion aid package two months ago, which the GOP-led Senate has not taken up. Pelosi has also said she's against passing a relief package in a piecemeal way.
There have been more than 146,900 U.S. deaths from the coronavirus as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 4,234,000 confirmed cases.
➤FLOODING REMAINS THREAT FROM DOWNGRADED HANNA; DOUGLAS VERY CLOSE TO HAWAII: Flooding continues to be a threat from Tropical Storm Hanna, after the downgraded storm pounded the Texas Gulf Coast yesterday (July 26th) with high winds and heavy rain one day after it made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Port Mansfield, Texas. Hanna had dropped more than 12 inches of rain on parts of South Texas and Mexico as of yesterday, and caused power outages across the region, which was already being hit hard by the coronavirus. There were no immediate reports of any deaths from the storm. Meanwhile, Hurricane Douglas, a Category 1 storm with 85 mile-per-hour winds, was close to the coast of Hawaii, with the island of Maui feeling the effects Sunday with heavy rain and strong wind gusts. Forecasters said Douglas would pass close to the island of Oahu, home to the state's biggest city of Honolulu, and there was a possibility of a direct hit. Robert Ballard of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said, "We remain uncomfortably close to a dangerous hurricane here in the state of Hawaii."
➤GONE WITH THE WIND’ STAR OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND DIES AT 104: Gone with the Wind and The Heiress star Olivia de Havilland has died at age 104. The two-time Oscar-winning actress died in her sleep at home in Paris. De Havilland’s other credits include To Each His Own, The Snake Pit, Hold Back the Dawn, Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dodge City, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Hold Back the Dawn, To Each His Own, Lady in a Cage, Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte and The Fifth Musketeer. For the last few decades she has stayed out of the spotlight, with her last major role in 1988’s The Woman He Loved.
➤REPORT: FOUR MARLINS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS, TEAM DELAYS TRIP HOME: Four Miami Marlins players have tested positive for the coronavirus, including pitcher Jose Urena, who was supposed to start their game yesterday, ESPN reported. The others are catcher Jorge Alfaro, infielder Garrett Cooper and outfielder Harold Ramirez. Because of concerns about players' family members, the Marlins delayed the MLB team's return home from Philadelphia, where they played their season-opening series, until today, before their home opener tonight. Several players may remain behind, with manager Don Mattingly saying, "The guys that tested positive are quarantined here in Philly." Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds were without second baseman Mike Moustakas and center fielder Nick Senzel yesterday after both felt sick one day after teammate Matt Davidson tested positive.
➤THOMPSON WINS 3M OPEN: Michael Thompson won the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota yesterday for his second PGA Tour victory, coming seven years after his first. Thompson had a two-stroke win over fellow American Adam Long, finishing at 19-under 265.
➤TRUMP SAYS WON'T THROW OPENING PITCH AT YANKEE GAME: President Trump announced on MLB's opening day last Thursday that he'd be throwing out the opening pitch at Yankee Stadium on August 15th, but on Sunday he said it wouldn't be happening after all. Trump tweeted that it had been called off because of his, quote, "strong focus" on the coronavirus, vaccines and the economy, but suggested it was just a delay, saying, "We will make it later in the season!" New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. had criticized the invitation to Trump by the Yankees.
Portland protests culminate in use of tear gas by federal agents https://t.co/kNxZEwukgg— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 27, 2020
In other protests:
- Police in Seattle retreated into a precinct station early Sunday, hours after large demonstrations in the city. During the protests, rocks, bottles, fireworks and mortars were fired at police, and at least 45 people were arrested.
- Protesters in Oakland, California, set fire to a courthouse, damaged a police station, shot fireworks and pointed lasers at officers after a peaceful demonstration Saturday evening took a turn.
- In Aurora, Colorado, a protester shot and wounded someone after a car drove through the demonstrators marching on a highway. Details weren't released about whether the person shot had been in the car. Police also said a courthouse was damaged.
Republicans and Democrats sparred Sunday over the details of a new relief package for the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/8AkuYmv1tQ— Florida Times-Union (@jaxdotcom) July 26, 2020
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the Republicans, saying, "They’re in disarray and that delay is causing suffering for America’s families." The Democratic-led House passed a $3 trillion aid package two months ago, which the GOP-led Senate has not taken up. Pelosi has also said she's against passing a relief package in a piecemeal way.
There have been more than 146,900 U.S. deaths from the coronavirus as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 4,234,000 confirmed cases.
➤FLOODING REMAINS THREAT FROM DOWNGRADED HANNA; DOUGLAS VERY CLOSE TO HAWAII: Flooding continues to be a threat from Tropical Storm Hanna, after the downgraded storm pounded the Texas Gulf Coast yesterday (July 26th) with high winds and heavy rain one day after it made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Port Mansfield, Texas. Hanna had dropped more than 12 inches of rain on parts of South Texas and Mexico as of yesterday, and caused power outages across the region, which was already being hit hard by the coronavirus. There were no immediate reports of any deaths from the storm. Meanwhile, Hurricane Douglas, a Category 1 storm with 85 mile-per-hour winds, was close to the coast of Hawaii, with the island of Maui feeling the effects Sunday with heavy rain and strong wind gusts. Forecasters said Douglas would pass close to the island of Oahu, home to the state's biggest city of Honolulu, and there was a possibility of a direct hit. Robert Ballard of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said, "We remain uncomfortably close to a dangerous hurricane here in the state of Hawaii."
We say goodbye to one of the last leading ladies of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Olivia de Havilland not only leaves behind a versatile body of work but was a champion for labor rights. We are grateful for her on-screen performances and for being a trailblazer off-screen. pic.twitter.com/9WoUUwO8nc— TCM (@tcm) July 26, 2020
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| Olivia de Havilland |
➤ASTROS' VERLANDER OUT WITH ARM STRAIN: Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, will be out for at least two weeks with a forearm strain, manager Dusty Baker announced yesterday. But Verlander denied that the injury will end the shortened 60-game season for him, tweeting last night, "The report that I’m currently missing the rest of the season is not accurate. . . . I’m hopeful that with some rest it will heal and I’ll be able to return soon." The 37-year-old pitched in the Astros' season-opener Friday, and Baker said he'd felt tenderness in his arm during the game, in which he pitched six innings and got the win.Cy Young winner Justin Verlander will miss the 2020 season.— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 26, 2020
(via @Chandler_Rome) pic.twitter.com/hNQrODKEbm
➤THOMPSON WINS 3M OPEN: Michael Thompson won the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota yesterday for his second PGA Tour victory, coming seven years after his first. Thompson had a two-stroke win over fellow American Adam Long, finishing at 19-under 265.
➤TRUMP SAYS WON'T THROW OPENING PITCH AT YANKEE GAME: President Trump announced on MLB's opening day last Thursday that he'd be throwing out the opening pitch at Yankee Stadium on August 15th, but on Sunday he said it wouldn't be happening after all. Trump tweeted that it had been called off because of his, quote, "strong focus" on the coronavirus, vaccines and the economy, but suggested it was just a delay, saying, "We will make it later in the season!" New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. had criticized the invitation to Trump by the Yankees.
Swift's 'Folklore' Sells 1.3M Units In First 24-Hours
“Folklore,” the eighth studio LP from Taylor Swiftm the 10-time Grammy Award winner, sold an astounding 1.3 million units in its first day of release, noted Republic Records.
According to The NY Daily News, even more stunning, “Folklore” was streamed on Spotify 80.6 million times in the initial 24-hour period — a record for a female artist, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The album dropped at midnight on Thursday as did the video for her new single “Cardigan.”
Swifties were floored to learn that the 30-year-old songbird had been working on the secretive project, which early on has received rave reviews.
Following the release of “Folklore,” Swift turned to Twitter to explain her motivation for its creation.
In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down. folklore is out now: https://t.co/xdcEDfithq— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 24, 2020
📷: Beth Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/vSDo9Se0fp
Fox News' Chris Wallace Calls Out Joe Biden
Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace was the object of much praise last week over his big, newsmaking interview with President Donald Trump, but said Sunday that Democratic candidate Joe Biden declined the chance for a similar sit-down this week, reports Mediaite.
“In our interview last week with President Trump, he questioned whether his Democratic opponent Joe Biden could handle a similar encounter,” said Wallace at the end of his show. “Well this week we asked the Biden campaign for an interview, and they said the former Vice President was not available.”
Fox’s Chris Wallace: "In our interview last week with President Trump, he questioned whether his opponent Joe Biden could handle a similar encounter. Well, we asked the Biden campaign for an interview and they said the former VP was not available. We'll keep asking every week.” pic.twitter.com/5BIbp6dQ02— TV News HQ (@TVNewsHQ) July 26, 2020
When Wallace says Trump “questioned” whether Biden could handle such an interview, he is referring to a comment that got a lot of play in the days after the interview.
“Let Biden sit through an interview like this,” Trump said. “He’ll be on the ground crying for mommy. He’ll say, ‘Mommy, mommy, please, take me home.'”
SBG Pulls Fauci Conspiracy Theory Segment
After facing intense scrutiny for planning to air a baseless conspiracy theory that infectious-disease
expert Anthony S. Fauci helped to create the coronavirus, TV broadcaster Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Saturday that it will delay the segment to edit the context of the claimsm the Washington Post reports.
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| Anthony Fauci |
In the Sinclair interview, Mikovits claimed that Fauci “manufactured” the coronavirus and shipped it to Wuhan, China, where the outbreak originated. A chyron during the segment reads, “DID DR. FAUCI CREATE COVID-19?”
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| Judy Mikovits |
The show was released online earlier this week before it was to be aired on local news channels. As of Saturday afternoon, the show was pulled from Sinclair websites.
Bolling, a former Fox News personality, did not challenge Mikovits’s assertions, calling what she said a “hefty claim.” He later told The Washington Post via text that he brought Fox News medical contributor Nicole Saphier on the show after to provide an opposing viewpoint.
A med-school staffer dived into online groups to debunk coronavirus conspiracy theories. Would anyone listen?
Saphier said during her interview that it was “highly unlikely” Fauci was responsible for the coronavirus.
— 🇺🇸 ERIC BOLLING 🇺🇸 (@ericbolling) July 25, 2020
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has come under heavy criticism by some conservatives as he has stated positions opposite of the president over the virus and measures needed to contain its spread. Trump, while at times praising the doctor, also has been critical at times.
NYC Radio: WWPR's Charlamagne Disses Joe Biden
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| Charlamagne Tha God |
The host of the “The Breakfast Club,” which airs in 90 markets around the country, said Biden was engaging in “revisionist history” by overlooking past presidents’ beliefs and behaviors. “How the hell can Donald Trump be the first racist president in a country where 12 presidents before him owned slaves?” said the host, who is Black.
Charlamagne, whose real name is Lenard McKelvey, added that Biden should “hurry up and announce your Black woman VP so I can be enthused about voting for her, because I will never be enthused about voting for you.”
Biden called Trump the first “racist” president on Wednesday during a virtual town hall meeting. The comment was widely condemned on social media for minimizing the beliefs and behavior of many former presidents.Biden drew criticism after a May interview with Charlamagne in which he said “if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” He later apologized.
SBS To Delist Common Stock
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. has announced that the Company intends to voluntarily deregister from the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
For the Company, as it is and has been for all companies, the global pandemic has provided need, reason and basis for the Company to reduce expenses and operate with utmost efficiency. With that continuing goal and objective, the decision of the Company to deregister the Company's common stock, par value $0.0001 per share was driven by elimination of the significant costs and administrative burdens of preparing and filing current and periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the demands placed on management and the Company to comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act, and the low number of holders of the Common Stock of the Company. The Company believes the expected savings of more than $1.5 million per year outweigh the advantages of continuing to be an SEC reporting company.
The Company intends to promptly file a Form 15 Certification and Notice of Termination of Registration under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act with the SEC in connection with its intention to deregister its Common Stock and suspend its obligations to file reports with the SEC. The Company is eligible to file Form 15 because the Company's Common Stock is held by less than 300 holders of record.
Information about the Company may continue to be obtained by accessing the Company's website at www.spanishbroadcasting.com. Consistent with its past practice, undertakings and obligations, the Company will continue to provide reporting and financial information to holders of the Company's 12.5% Senior Secured Notes and to holders of the Company's Series B Preferred Stock.
For the Company, as it is and has been for all companies, the global pandemic has provided need, reason and basis for the Company to reduce expenses and operate with utmost efficiency. With that continuing goal and objective, the decision of the Company to deregister the Company's common stock, par value $0.0001 per share was driven by elimination of the significant costs and administrative burdens of preparing and filing current and periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the demands placed on management and the Company to comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act, and the low number of holders of the Common Stock of the Company. The Company believes the expected savings of more than $1.5 million per year outweigh the advantages of continuing to be an SEC reporting company.
The Company intends to promptly file a Form 15 Certification and Notice of Termination of Registration under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act with the SEC in connection with its intention to deregister its Common Stock and suspend its obligations to file reports with the SEC. The Company is eligible to file Form 15 because the Company's Common Stock is held by less than 300 holders of record.
Information about the Company may continue to be obtained by accessing the Company's website at www.spanishbroadcasting.com. Consistent with its past practice, undertakings and obligations, the Company will continue to provide reporting and financial information to holders of the Company's 12.5% Senior Secured Notes and to holders of the Company's Series B Preferred Stock.
R.I.P.: Ed Ansin, Boston TV Owner-Operator
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| Ed Answin |
Paul Magnes, executive vice president of Channel 7′s parent company, Sunbeam Television, confirmed Ansin’s death.
At an age when most people are retired, Ansin remained involved at Sunbeam, which owns Channel 7 and Boston sister station WLVI-TV (Channel 56) and WSVN-TV (Channel 7) in Miami.
“Most people think I’m crazy not to retire,” Ansin told the Globe in December. “Tom Brady plays football until he’s 42, and that’s crazy, too. I’m obsessed with television. I just like it.”
Even though Ansin had a succession plan in place with his two sons, the media mogul was not ready to relinquish control. “I want to die with my boots on,” Ansin said.
Magnes said Ansin had been healthy and was at work last week but didn’t feel well over the weekend.
In a memo to Sunbeam employees, Magnes wrote: “Besides his family, Ed loved nothing more than owning and operating his television stations. We are all so fortunate to have worked for a man who truly cared about his employees and the industry.”
Ansin’s two sons, Andy and James, will take over the leadership of the company, according to Magnes. The Ansin family has been in the television business for more than half a century, first in Miami and then in Boston, where Ed Ansin bought Channel 7 in 1993.
In recent years, Ansin was in the headlines after a bitter breakup with NBC. WHDH had been the longtime Boston affiliate for the network, which gave it programming lead-ins like “The Today Show” and “The Voice.”
But in 2017, the two parted ways after more than two decades. Ansin set up an independent station, and NBC set up NBC10 Boston. Ansin, known as a maverick in the industry, decided to double down on local news and added staff to WHDH to ensure it would remain competitive.
Remembering Regis Philbin, TV Talk Host
Regis Philbin, the talk- and game-show host who regaled America over morning coffee with Kathie Lee Gifford and Kelly Ripa for decades, and who made television history in 1999 by introducing the runaway hit “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” died on Friday night.
He was 88, reports the NY Times.
His death was announced by his family in a statement. The statement did not say where he died or specify the cause.
In a world of annoyances, Philbin was the indignant Everyman, under siege from all sides — by the damned computers, the horrible traffic, the inconsiderate people who were always late. There was no soap in the men’s room. Hailing a cab was hopeless. Losing a wallet in a rental car? Fuhgeddaboudit! Even his own family was down on him for buying a chain saw!
From faceless days as a studio stagehand when television was barely a decade old, to years of struggle as a news writer, TV actor and sidekick to Joey Bishop, Mr. Philbin, with patience, determination and folksy, spontaneous wit, climbed to pre-eminence relatively late in life on talk and game shows.
Regis, as he was universally known, was a television personality for nearly six decades and an ABC superstar since 1988, when his New York talk show went national. But he also wrote five books, appeared in movies, made records as a singer, gave concerts and was a one-man industry of spinoffs, from shirts and ties to medical advice and computer games.
His forte was unscripted talk. Shunning writers and rehearsals, relying on trivia and his own off-the-cuff comments in a 15-minute “host chat” and then on good chemistry with co-hosts and guests, he ad-libbed for 28 years on “The Morning Show” (1983-88), “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee” (1988-2000), “Live! With Regis” (2000-1) and “Live! With Regis and Kelly” (2001-11).
While still doing his morning show, Mr. Philbin in 1999 became host of the original American version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Modeled after a highly successful British quiz show, it soared to popularity overnight as the highest-rated prime-time game show in television history. At a time when game shows were often seen as disreputable ghosts of the past, an astonishing 30 million viewers tuned in three nights in a week.
He was 88, reports the NY Times.
His death was announced by his family in a statement. The statement did not say where he died or specify the cause.
In a world of annoyances, Philbin was the indignant Everyman, under siege from all sides — by the damned computers, the horrible traffic, the inconsiderate people who were always late. There was no soap in the men’s room. Hailing a cab was hopeless. Losing a wallet in a rental car? Fuhgeddaboudit! Even his own family was down on him for buying a chain saw!
From faceless days as a studio stagehand when television was barely a decade old, to years of struggle as a news writer, TV actor and sidekick to Joey Bishop, Mr. Philbin, with patience, determination and folksy, spontaneous wit, climbed to pre-eminence relatively late in life on talk and game shows.
Regis, as he was universally known, was a television personality for nearly six decades and an ABC superstar since 1988, when his New York talk show went national. But he also wrote five books, appeared in movies, made records as a singer, gave concerts and was a one-man industry of spinoffs, from shirts and ties to medical advice and computer games.
His forte was unscripted talk. Shunning writers and rehearsals, relying on trivia and his own off-the-cuff comments in a 15-minute “host chat” and then on good chemistry with co-hosts and guests, he ad-libbed for 28 years on “The Morning Show” (1983-88), “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee” (1988-2000), “Live! With Regis” (2000-1) and “Live! With Regis and Kelly” (2001-11).
While still doing his morning show, Mr. Philbin in 1999 became host of the original American version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Modeled after a highly successful British quiz show, it soared to popularity overnight as the highest-rated prime-time game show in television history. At a time when game shows were often seen as disreputable ghosts of the past, an astonishing 30 million viewers tuned in three nights in a week.
July 27 Radio History
➦In 1941...In Indianapolis, WTLC-AM began operation in 1941 as WISH. In 1947, principal owner C. Bruce McConnell sold WISH to Frank H. McKinney and associates for a "stripped price of approximately $500,000."
The owners of WISH radio also started a television station with the same call letters on Channel 8 in Indianapolis. In late 1963 the radio station, along with is sister FM operation, was sold to STAR Broadcasting (Don W. Burden) who changed the call letters to WIFE and WIFE-FM.
WIFE was the ratings leader during the mid and late sixties, sometime garnering as much of a forty share of the Indianapolis radio audience. The station built this audience for "Lucky 13" by playing Top40 along with heavy and frequent contesting such as, "The 100 Thousand Dollar Dream Home", "The 100 Thousand Dollar Cash and Car Give-A-Way", just to name a few.
The hands-on owner, Don W. Burden, hired some major on-air personalities and developed others, dubbed the "WIFE Good Guys" – Big Jack Armstrong, Roger W. Morgan, Reb Porter, Jay Reynolds (later WABC), Joe Light, Jay Hawkins, Buddy Scott, Jim Fox, T.J. Byers, Scott Wheeler, Mike O'Brien, Dan Summers, Steve Miller.
The 24 hour news department was home of news announcers Lyle Dean (later WLS) , Bob Schuman, Dean Sheppard and Paul Casey. During these years, the station was infamous for a billboard near Indianapolis' Weir Cook Airport (now Indianapolis International Airport) which told passing motorists, "While you're away, we'll be here with your WIFE".
After Burden later ran afoul of the FCC, Star Stations of Indiana was denied its license renewal application for WIFE in 1976. The station was ordered off the air, forcing a sale to new ownership and management. An era of frequent call letter changes (WMLF, WTUX, WTLC) and formats (Music of Your Life, Adult Standards, and Urban Oldies) began in 1984 and continued into the 1990s.
In late 1997, then-owner Panache sold the frequency to Emmis Communications and the new owners settled on Urban Gospel. For a two-year period the majority of programming was syndicated from Sheridan Broadcasting and branded as "The Light".
In January 2001, the station was purchased from Emmis by Radio One.
➦In 1974...NBC-TV removed the daily Dinah’s Place from its programming roster. The move brought Dinah Shore’s 23-year association with the Peacock Network to a close.
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| Dinah Shore |
She had a string of 80 charted popular hits, spanning the years 1940 to 1957, and after appearing in a handful of feature films went on to a four-decade career in American television, starring in her own music and variety shows from 1951 through 1963 and hosting two talk shows in the 1970s. TV Guide magazine ranked her at #16 on their list of the top fifty television stars of all time. Stylistically, Shore was compared to two singers who followed her in the mid-to-late 1940s and early 1950s, Doris Day and Patti Page.
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| 1947 |
In March 1939, Shore debuted on national radio on the Sunday afternoon CBS radio program, Ben Bernie's Orchestra. In February 1940, she became a featured vocalist on the NBC Radio program The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, a showcase for traditional Dixieland and Blues songs.
Shore soon became a successful singing star with her own radio show in 1943, Call to Music. She continued appearing in radio shows throughout the 1940s, including Birds Eye-Open House and Ford Radio Show. In early 1946, she moved to another label, Columbia Records.
➦In 1982...Dan Seymour died (Born - June 28, 1914). He was an announcer in the era of old-time radio and in the early years of television and later became an advertising executive
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| Dan Seymour |
His first job in radio—announcing came in 1935 at WNAC in Boston, Massachusetts, after his college graduation. While at the station, he was also an announcer for the Yankee Network. In 1936, he resigned and joined CBS in New York City. His first major assignment there was announcing for Major Bowes Amateur Hour.
A significant assignment early in his career was becoming the announcer on We the People, a job that led to a position with the program's advertising agency, Young and Rubicam.
Other programs on which Seymour worked as announcer were The Henry Morgan Show, The Aldrich Family, Songs by Jack Smith, Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories, Sing It Again, Bobby Benson, and Original Gillette Community Sing.
Seymour was one of the producers of You and the News.
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| Bob Hope |
His career in broadcasting began on radio in 1934. His first regular series for NBC Radio was the Woodbury Soap Hour in 1937, a 26-week contract. A year later, 'The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope' began, and Hope signed a ten-year contract with the show's sponsor, Lever Brothers. Hope hired eight writers and paid them out of his salary of $2,500 a week. The original staff included Mel Shavelson, Norman Panama, Jack Rose, Sherwood Schwartz, and Schwartz's brother Al. The writing staff eventually grew to fifteen.
The show became the top radio program in the country. Regulars on the series included Jerry Colonna and Barbara Jo Allen as spinster Vera Vague. Hope continued his lucrative career in radio through to the 1950s, when radio's popularity was overshadowed by television.
In the early days, Hope's career included appearances on stage in vaudeville shows and Broadway productions. He began performing on the radio in 1934 mostly with NBC radio, and switched to television when that medium became popular in the 1950s. He began doing regular TV specials in 1954, and hosted the Academy Awards nineteen times from 1939 through 1977.[21] Overlapping with this was his movie career, spanning 1934 to 1972, and his USO tours, which he conducted from 1941 to 1991.
➦In 2013…Dallas-based radio personality David "Kidd" Kraddick died at age 53 of a brain aneurysm while hosting his Kidd's Kids charity golf event.
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| Kidd Kraddick |
He moved from Tampa to Dallas in 1984 and took over the night shift on the newly formatted Top40 station KEGL (The Eagle) and established a following. In 1990, Kraddick was named to the Ten Outstanding Young Americans list by the United States Junior Chamber. KEGL changed formats from Top 40 pop/rock to Modern Rock in 1992 and Kraddick was released from his contract.
After eight months off the air, he was hired to a morning position at Top40 KHKS 106.1 Kiss-FM in Dallas-Fort Worth. He won a 1998 Marconi Award for Major Market Radio Personality of the Year while he was with KHKS and the next year he won Air Personality of the Year at the Radio Music Awards. He began to syndicate the show in 2001 and moved the production to an independent studio in Las Colinas. He became a member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
In the early 1990s, Kraddick launched two radio oriented businesses. A monthly publication for morning personalities called "The Morning Mouth" and a show prep "sharing service" for air personalities called "BitBoard". Kraddick subsequently sold both entities; BitBoard is now operated by iHeartMedia and The Morning Mouth is owned and operated by Don Anthony's Talentmasters in Atlanta, Georgia
➦In 2013...Herb Kaplow, for 45 years a Washington correspondent for ABC and NBC who brought an authoritative voice to his wide-ranging reporting, suffered a fatal stroke at age 86.
➦In 2016...Radio talk show host and TV actor Jerry Doyle, best remembered as security officer Michael Garibaldi in the futuristic 90’s series Babylon 5, died of complications from chronic alcoholism, less than 2 weeks after his 60th birthday. When TV assignments dried up Doyle became a syndicated radio talk host.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
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| Taylor Schilling is 36 |
- TV producer Norman Lear is 98.
- Actor John Pleshette (“Knots Landing”) is 78.
- Actor-director Betty Thomas (“Hill Street Blues”) is 73.
- Singer Maureen McGovern is 71.
- Actor Roxanne Hart (“The Good Girl,” ″Chicago Hope”) is 66.
- Guitarist Duncan Cameron (Sawyer Brown) is 64.
- Comedian Carol Leifer is 64.
- Comedian Bill Engvall is 63.
- Jazz singer Karrin Allyson is 58.
- Country singer Stacy Dean Campbell is 53.
- Singer Juliana Hatfield is 53.
- Actor Julian McMahon (“Profiler”) is 52.
- Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones”) is 50.
- Comedian Maya Rudolph is 48.
- Drummer Abe Cunningham of Deftones is 47.
- Singer Pete Yorn is 46.
- Actor Seamus Dever (“Castle”) is 44.
- Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“The Tudors”) is 43.
- Comedian Heidi Gardner (“Saturday Night Live”) is 37.
- Actor Taylor Schilling (“Orange is the New Black”) is 36.
- Singer Cheyenne Kimball of Gloriana is 30.
- Actor Alyvia Alyn Lind (“Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors”) is 13.
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