About 69% of Americans think the US economy is getting worse, the highest since 2008, according to Bloomberg citing a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.
Three months before mid-term Congressional elections, only 37% said they approve of how President Joe Biden is handling the economic recovery, unchanged from June.
The gloom comes despite significant job growth and a rock-bottom unemployment rate, which has been offset by inflation running at the highest level in decades. The US economy has contracted for two quarters.
Just over one in three of those polled, or 34%, said they approve of Biden’s handling of gasoline prices. That’s risen by 7 percentage points since June as pump prices fall.
Ahead of the Nov. 8 elections, 75% of Republicans said they were enthusiastic about voting versus 68% of Democrats and 49% of independents.
BREAKING: More than two-thirds (69%) of Americans think the nation’s economy is getting worse — the highest that measure has reached since 2008, according to a new @ABC News/Ipsos poll. https://t.co/8PYB3e2ufs
Almost half said they would be more likely to support a candidate who would keep access to abortion legal. The number in favor of the opposing stance was 27%.
The poll for ABC News/This Week with George Stephanopoulos was conducted Aug. 5-6 among 665 adults. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
Cable news programs can hold incredible sway over the American public. As of early 2020, Nielsen estimates the average American adult watches nine and half hours of cable news on a weekly basis. While it’s no secret that certain channels lean one way or the other on the political spectrum, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania find three of the biggest became increasingly more polarized between 2010 and 2020.
Study authors analyzed a decade’s worth of news programs on Fox, MSNBC, and CNN in an attempt to measure mounting political bias on a granular scale (by the day, the week, and the hour). All three networks steadily became more polarized during that period, especially directly after the 2016 presidential election. These trends moved more or less in sync with one another; when one event caused Fox to move further to the political right, that same event usually pushed MSNBC and CNN to move to the left.
“There has always been this assumption that media bias is fairly fixed,” says study co-author Yphtach Lelkes, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, in a media release. “Just ‘Fox News is the right. And MSNBC is the left.’ But what we see is that it moves, and pretty quickly.”
The research team focused specifically on one particular form of media bias: visibility bias. This type of bias is straightforward. For example, if most of the guests on a new channel are liberal, then researchers deemed that channel as liberal. Study authors viewed and analyzed thousands of hours of CNN, Fox, and MSNBC to track who appeared on screen during various news programs on the three channels for a minimum of 10 hours total between January 2010 and August 2020.
They assigned each guest a media bias score based on financial contributions to political candidates and organizations according to Stanford University’s Database on Ideology, Money in Politics, and Elections (DIME).
“If a person donates to Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, they’re assigned a media bias score based on their financial contributions to political candidates and organizations considered more conservative,” Prof. Lelkes explains. “And if they donate to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, they’re more liberal. So when we identify people on screen, we can also identify their ideology.”
The research team believes these bias scores are compelling evidence that between 2010 and 2020 Fox moved much further to the political right, while CNN and MSNBC moved further to the left.
“For many years, Fox News was to the right of MSNBC and CNN,” Prof. Lelkes adds, “but they used to track each other. When Fox moved to the right, so did MSNBC and CNN. They all flowed together. After Trump came into office, they responded to events in the news by leaning away from each other and more strongly toward their respective ideologies.”
All in all, the results certainly don’t convey a positive picture of American politics. Viewers seem more content than ever to only hear what they already agree with, and news channels are happy to provide just that.
Gannett recorded a dismal second quarter financially, the company reported Thursday – important revenues sources down, costs up and a loss of $54 million on revenues of $749 million.
Rick Edmonds at Poynter.org reports strong cost reduction moves are on the way. Media division head Maribel Perez Wadsworth, in a note to staff, warned of impending layoffs. “In the coming days,” she wrote, “we will … be making necessary but painful reductions to staffing, eliminating some open positions and roles that will impact valued colleagues.”
CEO Mike Reed said in a conference call with analysts that the company’s long-term strategy of developing paid digital subscriptions and digital advertising remains sound. But he made no effort to sugarcoat what happened last quarter and is expected for the remainder of 2022.
Among the negative factor he cited:
Digital advertising fell below expectations as companies reduced their schedules. Programmatic advertising, priced according to digital traffic rather than subscriptions, was a particular trouble spot.
Both print circulation and print advertising were off more than expected. Reed said that, in effect, losses anticipated in future years have already been pushed forward into 2022. With consumers pinched, the company is seeing some customers dropping print because of how high the subscription price has become.
On the cost side, labor shortages and expenses are rising, making it increasingly difficult to home deliver print papers. The cost of newsprint is up 31% compared to a year ago. Overall costs showed a small increase year-to-year.
Inflationary pressures, economic uncertainty and a possible recession are all in prospect for the rest of the year so the short-term operating climate is not expected to improve.
Among positives, Reed cited continued growth in the number of paid digital-only subscriptions and the revenue they generate, both up 35% year-to-year. And Gannett’s Digital Marketing Services subsidiary continues to grow.
The company publishes USA Today and more than 200 regional dailies.
Football remains a big draw on cable TV, even as cord cutting becomes more popular, and the National Football League ranks as the most profitable sports league in the world. Yet, despite these strengths, a remarkable number of the NFL’s long-standing sponsorships and advertising deals have either ended or otherwise changed so far in 2022, according to Marketing Dive.Over a hundred years old, the NFL is a stalwart of sports marketing. However, in recent years it has faced a number of challenges, including scandals on numerous fronts and pandemic-induced complications that lead to declines in viewership. Still, at the start of 2022, it looked like the NFL could be headed for a banner year, with Super Bowl LVI averaging 112.3 million viewers — the big game’s largest audience in five years.
But the good times were short-lived. Over the course of just a few weeks in Q2 2022, Pizza Hut ended its relationship with the league after only a few years, with Little Caesars sweeping in to take its place. Anheuser-Busch InBev said it will remain the official beer and hard seltzer sponsor of the NFL, but will no longer retain its Super Bowl alcohol advertising monopoly, allowing for competitors such as Molson Coors to advertise during the game for the first time in 33 years. The development comes one year after Diageo was made the official spirits sponsor of the NFL, the first time Anheuser-Busch had shared NFL alcohol sponsorship with another company. Additionally, Pepsi stepped away from sponsoring the Super Bowl Half Time show after ten years, but will remain a close partner with the league.
“The movement of NFL sponsorships this year was definitely noticeable,” said Gretchen Walsh, chief client officer, McKinney, in an email to Marketing Dive. “It is likely brands with supply chain issues and/or COVID impact took a hard look at the value and the effectiveness of executing their legacy sponsorships.”
Beyond issues like supply chain and the pandemic, other factors impacting the perceived value of NFL sponsorships likely include viewer fragmentation and a larger cultural shift.
Value of a dollar
While Super Bowl LVI was the most viewed game since the New England Patriots won against the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 (which pulled in 113.7 million viewers), viewership among 18 to 49-year olds has been falling steadily since 2011. That year, 52.5 million people between the ages of 18 and 49 watched the Super Bowl, but by 2021, the number had fallen to 34.3 million.
The Super Bowl’s shrinking viewership could be interpreted to mean that football is losing popularity among the young. However, between 2017 and 2020, Sunday night viewership among this key demographic has remained relatively stable at 7.9 million, dipping to 6.4 million in 2020. The drop could be due to how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted sports, with many sports having their seasons at the same time, meaning more live sport options were available.
But viewer fragmentation has endured as an issue even as league seasons have returned to normal. Consumers simply have more options than they did in the past and big live sporting events are not always the cultural unifier they once were. And, with highlights and real-time updates at the fingertips of consumers, they don’t even have to tune into the game to feel involved or caught up.
How football games are structured may also be lending itself to viewer fragmentation. While the average football game lasts 3 hours and 12 minutes, the ball is only in play for an average of 11 minutes and the average play is only 4 seconds. On average, 20 commercial breaks are taken and over 100 ads shown, which may lead to viewers frequently checking their phones if not engaged.
Cox Media Group has announced the promotion of Jimmy Farrell as Vice President & Market Manager of Jacksonville Radio. Farrell will oversee all CMG Jacksonville stations, including WAPE, WOKV, WJGL, WEZI, and WXXJ.
James Farrell
Farrell joined CMG 19 years ago as an Account Executive in Orlando, launching an impressive career built on strong team development and driving revenue. His career continued to progress from Local Sales Manager at WWKA ‘K92 FM’ to General Sales Manager, and most recently as Director of Sales.
“This is an exciting time for CMG Radio, and I continue to be energized by our people,” said Rob Babin, EVP, CMG Radio. “Jimmy is an exceptional leader with a passion for the radio business, CMG, and the teams he leads.
He has a strong track record of leading sales teams and driving revenue at CMG Orlando and Jacksonville. I look forward to his impact in this new role.”
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Farrell graduated from the University of Miami and received a Bachelor of Science in the School of Communication.
“CMG has given me the opportunity to work with the best and brightest in the business, and I’m truly honored to be appointed the next Vice President and General Manager of radio in Jacksonville,” said Farrell. “I look forward to these new challenges and the significant opportunities to come.”
WCAP 980 AM in Lowell, NH listening tuning in to hear the familiar sound of Teddy Panos’s voice during the drive-time morning show on 980 AM were in for a surprise on Friday. Panos had gone radio silent, quitting the station after more than 15 years as a personality on WCAP.
The Sun reports Gerry Nutter, who normally cohosts Saturday morning with Warren Shaw, is hosting the popular weekday show in Panos’s absence.
“There’s really no dramatic story, here,” Panos said by phone, as his kids could be heard playing in the background. “I think I’ve pretty much run out of things to say at this point. The story is ‘loudmouth shuts up after 15 years.’”
Panos started as a sports director before moving on to hosting the 6 to 10 a.m. “Merrimack Valley Radio in The Morning” show. Previously, he worked for WXPO-TV, Channel 50, an independent television station.
Station owner Sam Poulten insisted that Panos was just taking a much-needed break.
“Teddy has done a phenomenal job over the last 15 years, built up a terrific following and is literally the voice of WCAP,” Poulten said. “Even thinking about him off the air for any amount of time is quite a loss for me. And I’m hoping he’s going to be back sooner rather than later, but no pressure. I want him to do what he needs right now. He’s earned it. We’ve been friends for a long time. I’m giving him the space he needs.”
The station is locally owned and operated by Merrimack Valley Radio LLC, licensed by Poulten and a group of other local businesspeople. It broadcasts with 5,000 watts of power to the Merrimack Valley and southern New Hampshire.
Panos sounded both sure and wistful as he considered Poulten’s comments, saying that, “I’ve known Sam forever, and he’s been very good to me throughout the years,” and while he wouldn’t rule out returning to the station “at some point, under different circumstances” he said he didn’t plan on going back.
For now, Panos said he’s going to spend some time focusing on his fundraising and communications work for the Megan House Foundation, a long-term residential treatment home in Dracut for women between the ages of 18 to 25 who are recovering from addiction.
After almost 28-yeard, Jim Rondenelli has delivered his final newscast on Newsradio WIBX 950 AM. In a Facebook post last week, Rondenelli said his position was a "victim of 'restructuring'" at the Townsquare Media station,.
Jim Rondenelli
It's not yet apparent who or what else may be impacted by this "restructuring." CNYRadio.com reached out to Townsquare Utica/Rome GM Karen Carey for comment but has not heard back.
Rondenelli's been a staple of Utica-Rome radio news since 1982, when he started at the now-defunct WRUN 1150 AM. As deregulation paved the way for different AM/FM pairs to merge into bigger groups through the 1990s, Rondenelli eventually found himself at WIBX. At one point or another, he probably worked every shift on the station, from mornings to evenings, even filling-in to host the station's now-defunct "SportsWatch" program. He most recently served as News Director.
Rondenelli said after more than 40 years in radio, he will most likely focus his job search outside of the business.
AMC Networks, known for “The Walking Dead” and the critically acclaimed “Better Call Saul,” has named Christina Spade as its new chief executive, taking over for the New York entertainment company’s interim head, Matt Blank, reports The L-A Times.
Spade, whose appointment was announced Friday, joined the company in January 2021, serving as chief financial officer and chief operating officer. She previously held executive posts at Viacom and ViacomCBS, the precursors of what is now Paramount Global.
AMC Networks, which has an array of cable channels and streaming services including AMC, BBC America, Sundance TV and Acorn TV, has been run by Blank since September, after Ed Carroll stepped down after 25 years at the company. Blank, a cable industry veteran who oversaw the chief executive search, worked with Spade when both were at Paramount’s Showtime Networks.
Christina Spade
The change at the top comes as AMC Networks attempts to navigate the TV industry’s transition to streaming. The company has been adding subscribers to its streaming channels — reporting 10.8 million in its second quarter earnings, up from 7.4 million a year ago.
But its legacy cable business continues to face the pressure of cable cord-cutting and declining viewership.
The company’s second quarter revenues ($738 million) and earnings ($153.2 million) missed expectations. AMC’s shares were down 9% on Friday morning.
AMC Entertainment is expecting low single-digit revenue growth in 2022, and operating income is expected to be down 10% for the year due to increased investments in technology, content and marketing, the company said.
Spade was chief financial officer at CBS Corp. before its merger with Viacom. She retained her role there after the companies were combined. She spent 21 years in various roles at Showtime.
AMC Networks has frequently been mentioned as a potential acquisition candidate for a larger media company. But the company, controlled by Charles Dolan and his family, has continued to forge its own path with the development of niche streaming services to supplement its mature linear cable TV networks.
Many Americans have been broiling through an above-average summer, but if the Farmers' Almanac winter forecast is right, some parts of the nation are heading for a polar opposite experience this winter.
Fox News Digital reports their annual whimsical forecast is hinting at a particularly harsh winter across much of the North with "real shivers" that "might send people in the Great Lakes areas, Northeast and North Central regions hibernating."
In fact, their forecast map declares much of the upper Midwest a "Hibernation Zone" with a "glacial, snow-filled" winter head with temperatures forecast to drop as cold as -40 in the North Central states in mid-January which would be near record territory for some cities (such as Fargo, North Dakota) if such forecasts came to pass.
While temperatures wouldn't be that cold in the Northeast, the Almanac is predicting "significant shivers" there. Even in the Southeast, whose forecast isn't particularly snowy, is still looking at a "shivery, wet and slushy" winter, according to the Almanac.
As for the Southern Plains, expect the brunt of winter to come in January, with heavy snow predicted in the first week of 2023 in Texas and Oklahoma.
If shivering is not your thing, head west. The Almanac forecasts continued drier than normal conditions across the parched Southwest and Intermountain West while the Pacific Northwest is tabbed as "brisk" but with normal precipitation. That would make for a wet winter as "normal" winter is the wettest time of the year up there.
NOAA: Agree to disagree on winter forecast
The Farmers' Almanac's shiver-fest forecast is in conflict with NOAA's current winter forecast.
Which is predicting a greater-than-average chance of a warm winter across the Southwest, Southern Plains and the entire Eastern Seaboard.
On the other hand, it's the Pacific Northwest leaning toward another chilly winter.
A Windsor music radio pioneer remembered as the “girl with the golden ear” and credited with jumpstarting the careers of many superstars in the music industry could soon be commemorated locally with a bronze sculpture.
The Windsor Star reports City council on Monday will decide whether to approve $100,000 for a statue of Rosalie Trombley, legendary music director of famed Top 40 radio station CKLW, also known as The Big 8.
Designed and sculpted by Windsor artist Donna Mayne, the statue will depict a life-sized Trombley in bronze leaning against a monolith number ‘8’ carved in granite. It would be located within the Festival Plaza footprint and be ready for installation by April 2023.
“She broke barriers for women in the music industry that was dominated by men,” said Mayne, who also sculpted the downtown statue of abolitionist and Black newspaper publisher Mary Ann Shad that now sits at the corner of Ferry and Chatham Streets. “(Trombley) played a very historically significant role in our area.”
Trombley joined The Big 8 in 1968 as a switchboard operator and would eventually rise to the position of music director at the station. She was later among the organization’s top executives.
While it was a small Windsor-based station, The Big 8’s 50,000-watt signal reached other markets and metropolitan areas. By the early 1970s, CKLW was among the top 10 radio stations for North American listening audiences.
Through her programming choices, Trombley was responsible for boosting the careers of seminal musicians of the period, including The Guess Who, Bob Seger, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Gordon Lightfoot, and many more.
Trombley died shortly after, on Nov. 23, 2021, at the age of 82.
Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot described Trombley as an “integral builder of the music industry” who was “kind and encouraging” and “possessed the ears to determine which songs had that ‘hit’ factor.” He said he is personally grateful that Trombley played many of his records in high rotation.
“As a Canadian artist, Rosalie helped export my music to the world,” Lightfoot wrote. “For that reason, her accomplishments are culturally significant. The global success of Canadian recording artists to this day finds its roots in Rosalie’s endeavors.”
Dan Hill, another Canadian singer-songwriter who benefitted from Trombley’s work, wrote that his single “Growing Up” sold in excess of 10,000 copies in two weeks, mostly in Detroit, after Trombley added it to her “vaunted” playlist in 1976. Although she “could be tough” and only played Canadian singles that she “felt deserving” of her station’s airplay, Hill looked up to her as a mentor.
Former program director of CKLW and American entertainment executive Les Garland wrote that Trombley’s were the “best ears” of any music director he’s ever known.
Retired radio personality Charles "Chuck" Louis Benson, 89, of Elgin IL, died July 26, 2022.
Upon returning from Korea (1951-54), a buddy convinced Chuck to go check out a "quickie" radio school with him in downtown Chicago. Well, after one meeting with the microphone, the rest is history.
Chuck broke into the business during the 1950's rise of Rock and Roll music and Top 40 Radio. For 30+ years he entertained listeners around the country. He was heard on WHFB (Benton Harbor), KALL (Salt Lake City), KBOX (Dallas), KILT (Houston), WGR (Buffalo) and KSIR (Estes Park). Chuck spent most of his radio career in Chicago at WMAQ, WIND and WFYR. He worked alongside on-air greats like Clark Weber, Stu Collins, Dick Bartley, Kris Kridel, "Chicago" Eddie Schwartz and Kurt Russell, just to name a few. Chuck and Kurt Russell are one of the few non-newspaper celebrities whose picture hangs on The Wall of Fame at The Billy Goat Tavern on Lower Michigan Ave.
After leaving radio, Chuck had a successful 20 year voice-over career. He recorded hundreds of radio and TV commercials and industrial narrations for the likes of Lockheed Martin, Hewlett Packard and Jeppesen. He spent 18 years recording nearly 400 books for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a program of The Library of Congress.
In 1996, Chuck received the Alexander Scourby Narrator of the Year Award for Fiction, to honor excellence in the narration of Talking Books, an award touted as the "Oscar" for the blind and visually impaired Americans. In 2000, Chuck won a Heartland Regional Emmy Award for narrating the documentary "Colorado's Historic Carousels".
After 20 years in Colorado and 5 in Arizona, Chuck finally retired in 2009.
➦In 1933...singer Joe Tex was born Joseph Arrington, Jr. in Baytown Texas. This soul and Disco singer-songwriter was most popular during the 1960s and 1970s leading the Joe Tex Band. His style of speaking over music, which he called “rap”, made him a predecessor of the modern style of music. His hits include I Gotcha, Hold What You’ve Got, Skinny Legs and All, and Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman. He died following a heart attack Aug 13, 1982 just days after his 49th birthday.
Robin Quivers
➦In 1952...Robin Quivers, famous sidekick to Howard Stern, was born.
In 1979 after military service, Quivers returned to her hometown of Baltimore where she studied at the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland and worked in a hospital. She landed her first job in the radio industry with a newscasting position at WIOO 1000 AM in Carlisle, PA, followed by WCMB 1460 AM in nearby Harrisburg. She then moved back to Baltimore for a consumer reporter role at WFBR, where she also read newscasts with morning disc jockey Johnny Walker.
In March 1981, radio personality Howard Stern started his new morning program at WWDC in Washington, D.C.. He wanted an on-air newscaster to riff with him in the studio on the news and current affairs. That was when station program director Denise Oliver played Quivers a tape of Stern interviewing a prostitute on the air. She "had never heard anything like it...I just said, 'where do I sign? I’ll do anything just to meet this guy!'"
➦In 1952..WMCA 570 AM NYC banned singer Rosemary Clooney's latest hit 'Botch-A-Me.
➦In 1963..."Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen was released and some radio stations thought it contained obscene lyrics.
➦In 1966...WABC moved to 1330 Avenue of the Americas
➦In 1982...WNBC-AM, New York City began broadcasting in AM Stereo.
➦In 1986...legendary DJs, Bobby Ocean and Dr. Don Rose aired their last shows on KFRC 610 AM, San Francisco.
From 1973 until 1986, Dr. Don Rose (Born Donald Rosenberg July 5, 1934–March 30, 2005) was KFRC's morning air radio personality.
With earlier experience at WQXI 790 AM in Atlanta and WFIL 560 AM in Philadelphia, he was known for his one-liners and sound effects. One of Rose's characteristic "sound bite" mannerisms around this time period was to state the words "that's right" in a continuous fashion that was intended to sound "crazy", or funny, which also served to represent the overall morning zoo radio format, style and "feel" of his show. Rose revealed in a Risky Business 1980s television interview that he earned in excess of $300K a year, still incredible compensation by today's radio personality standards.
With Dr. Don as anchor, and a supporting cast that included Bobby Ocean, Rick Shaw, Dave Sholin, Harry Nelson, Bay Area Hall of Fame inductee Don Sainte-Johnn, "Marvelous" Mark McKay and John Mack Flanagan, KFRC was "Station of the Year" four times by Billboard Magazine. Rose was considered by many to be the king of radio in the Bay Area during the last decade of AM's musical dominance. KFRC program directors during this period included Michael Spears, Les Garland, Gerry Cagle and Mike Phillips.
KFRC was known for its award-winning news department. It covered Bay Area news stories with tight writing, use of natural sound, short sound bites, live reports. Some of the best news anchors and reporters worked at KFRC in the '70s and '80s including Jo Interrante, Dave Cooke, Paul Fredricks, John Winters, Vikki Liviakis, Robert McCormick, Dave MacQueen, Stephen Capen, Mike Sugerman, Ken Bastida, John Evans, Joanne Greene, Jane Dornacker, and reporter, anchor and later News Director William Abbott. Known for his unique, confident style, would end each report with the station's signature, "This is William Abbott, KFRC 20/20 News".
Among the disc jockeys at KFRC during the 1980s were, in addition to Ocean and Rose, Chuck Geiger, future AT&T Park public-address announcer Renel Brooks-Moon and future Los Angeles radio programmer Jack Silver, who would be the last voice heard when KFRC ended its Top 40 era. Technically, Don Sainte-Johnn was the last Air Personality on KFRC (with all respect to Programmer Jack Silver, who was a manager, not considered Air Talent for KFRC). Sainte-Johnn had been specifically hired for KFRC as an Air Personality.
With the decline of the Top 40 format by mid-decade, KFRC's programming was flipped at 6 AM on August 11, 1986, to an adult standards format, and was known as "Magic 61", while still broadcasting in stereo. The last song to be played before the change was "Lights" by Journey, which had also been used in KFRC's TV advertising. Today, 610 AM is home to KEAR, a non-commercial traditional Christian radio station. KEAR is the flagship station of Family Radio.
➦In 2002...New York's WNNY 1380 AM changed call letters to WLXE. Today 1380 AM is home to WKDM, an ethnic brokered radio station owned by Multicultural Broadcasting and airs programming in Mandarin Chinese.
➦In 2017...singer/songwriter/guitarist/actor Glen Campbell died at age 81, three years after moving into an Alzheimer’s long-term care home. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting his own music and comedy variety show on CBS television, from January 1969 through June 1972.
He released more than 70 albums in a career that spanned five decades, accumulating over 45 million record sales worldwide.
Dustin Hoffman is 86
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Actor Nita Talbot is 92.
Actor Dustin Hoffman is 85.
Actor Connie Stevens is 84.
Country singer Phil Balsley of The Statler Brothers is 83.
Actor Larry Wilcox (“CHiPS”) is 75.
Actor Keith Carradine (“Madam Secretary”) is 73.
Drummer Anton Fig (“Late Show With David Letterman”) is 69.
Actor Donny Most (“Happy Days”) is 69.
Keyboardist Dennis Drew of 10,000 Maniacs is 65.
Actor-turned-investment banker Harry Crosby (“Friday the 13th”) is 64.
Lindsey Sloane is 45
News anchor Deborah Norville is 64.
Guitarist The Edge of U2 is 61.
Drummer Rikki Rockett of Poison is 61.
Rapper Kool Moe Dee is 60.
Singer Scott Stapp of Creed is 49.
Country singer Mark Wills is 49.
Guitarist Tom Linton of Jimmy Eat World is 47.
Singer J.C. Chasez of ’N Sync is 46.
Singer Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees is 46.
Actor Tawny Cypress (“Heroes”) is 46.
Singer Marsha Ambrosius (Floetry) is 45.
Actor Lindsay Sloane (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”) is 45.
Actor Countess Vaughn (“The Parkers,” ″Moesha”) is 44.
Actor Michael Urie (“Ugly Betty”) is 42.
Actor Meagan Good (“Think Like A Man”) is 41.
Guitarist Eric Howk of Portugal. The Man is 41.
Actor Jackie Cruz (“Orange Is the New Black”) is 38.
Actor Ken Baumann (“The Secret Life of the American Teenager”) is 25.
Singer Shawn Mendes is 24.
Actor Bebe Wood (“The Real O’Neals”) is 21.
✞DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
Actress Fay Wray, who starred in the original King Kong as the woman taken up the Empire State Building by the big ape, died on this day in 2004. She was 96.
