R.I.P.: Actress Debbie Reynolds Dies At Age 84

By Will Dunham

(Reuters) - - Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, who sang and danced her way into the hearts of millions of moviegoers around the world in musicals like "Singin' in the Rain," died on Wednesday at age 84, her son said.

Reynolds, one of the most enduring and endearing Hollywood actresses, died hours after being rushed to the hospital in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke, her son, Todd Fisher said. Her death came just one day after her daughter, the actress Carrie Fisher, died of a heart attack.

Reynolds, who rose to stardom in the film "Singin' In the Rain," appeared in dozens of films. She starred opposite  Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Donald O'Connor, Fred Astaire and Dick Van Dyke. She received a best actress Academy Award nomination for the 1964 musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."

Scene From "Singin' In The Rain"

At the peak of her stardom, Reynolds was drawn into a scandal when her husband, singer Eddie Fisher, began an affair with actress Elizabeth Taylor. Reynolds and Fisher divorced in 1959 and he married Taylor.

Reynolds and Taylor, who eventually divorced Fisher, made peace years later and appeared together in the 2001 television movie "These Old Broads," written by Carrie Fisher.

In a 2010 interview with Rage Monthly, Reynolds reflected on her philosophy of life.

"I always go by a five-year plan," she said. "I get through today and I’m not going to get upset for five years.

"I always picture a long tunnel and at the end of the tunnel, there’s a light. I know I can make it to that light and I’ll take five years to get there. Now…I’ve gone through many tunnels. So, I just keep trying. I never give up."

Mary Frances Reynolds was born on April 1, 1932. She was 16 and in the Miss Burbank beauty contest when she was discovered by a talent scout. Warner Brothers changed her name to "Debbie," and she had a bit part that year in "June Bride."

She was signed by MGM in 1950 and that year, in "Two Weeks with Love," Reynolds performed the hit duet "Aba Daba Honeymoon" with Carleton Carpenter. She also made her feature acting debut in 1950 in "The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady."

Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly

It was 1952's "Singin' in the Rain," however, that catapulted Reynolds to stardom, playing opposite Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor and recording the original soundtrack album for the film.

Her fame grew with leading roles in "Susan Slept Here" with Dick Powell, "The Tender Trap" with Frank Sinatra, "The Catered Affair" with Bette Davis, "Bundle of Joy" with then-husband Fisher, "The Mating Game" with Tony Randall, "It Started with A Kiss" with Glenn Ford, and "The Pleasure of His Company" with Astaire.

Reynolds' song "Tammy" from her 1957 movie "Tammy and the Bachelor" hit No. 1 on the singles charts. That year, she became a regular on "The Eddie Fisher Show" broadcast by NBC.

She performed in nightclubs, hosted TV specials, and in  1968 had her first TV series, the NBC sitcom "The Debbie Reynolds Show."

Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher

REYNOLDS GOES LIVE

The 1970 film "What's the Matter with Helen?" turned out to be the last big screen acting role she would have for some 20 years.

"I didn't stop making movies. They stopped making me," Reynolds told The New York Times in 1996.

Reynolds performed on cruise ships and in nightclubs and took to the stage in New York and London. Her 1973 revival of the musical "Irene" earned her a Tony Award nomination. The same year she gave voice to Charlotte in the animated feature "Charlotte's Web."

Her second marriage, to shoe businessman Harry Karl, ended in the early 1970s after he gambled away most of her money. Financial reasons compelled her to keep working.

In 1984 she married her third husband, real estate developer Richard Hamlett, and they bought a Las Vegas hotel and casino, where she also performed. That marriage ended amid the financial collapse of that property and Reynolds filed for bankruptcy protection in 1997.

"There are good men, including my father and my son Todd, but I happened to marry idiots, which is why I gave up years ago. I have very bad taste in men," she told the Yorkshire Post in a 2010 interview.

Reynolds' theatrical performances took her to the West Coast, then in 1981, she returned to Broadway to take over the lead in "Woman of the Year."

That year brought another TV show, the short-lived series "Aloha Paradise." By 1983, Reynolds had a recurring role in the TV series "Jennifer Slept Here, starring Ann Jillian.

The next year she created and starred in an exercise video, "Do It Debbie's Way," and four years later produced the exercise video, "Couples (Do It Debbie's Way)."

Reynolds starred in her first TV movie, "Sadie and Son," in 1987. The following year brought her written memoir, "Debbie: My Life." She then toured nationally with "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."

In 1992 she made a cameo appearance in the movie "The Bodyguard" and the next year she had a supporting role in "Heaven and Earth."

The 1996 Albert Brooks comedy "Mother," brought Reynolds back to the big screen in a lead role.

The rest is history: "Halloweentown" movies for Disney, a recurring role in the sitcom "Will & Grace," more TV movies and,  in 2012, a role in the feature film "One for the Money."

Digital Ad Spending Approaches $18B

U.S. advertisers invested $17.6 billion in digital advertising in the third quarter of 2016, according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report released today by IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and prepared by PwC US. This marks the highest third quarter for digital advertising spending on record, and represents a 20 percent increase over the same time period in 2015. It also accounts for a 4.3 percent increase over Q2 2016.

“The momentum of advertising in mobile, digital video, and other innovative formats is undeniable,” said David Doty, Executive Vice President and CMO, IAB. “These record-setting third quarter revenue figures reflect marketers’ trust in the internet’s power to connect with today’s audiences.”

“Digital has become a critical part of advertisers’ marketing strategies,” said David Silverman, a partner at PwC US. “Increasing media consumption on interactive screens will surely lead to even more investment in the digital landscape.”

IAB sponsors the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which is conducted independently by PwC US. The Q3 2016 revenue is estimated based upon a representative sample of the overall survey respondents. The data is compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the internet. The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from web sites, commercial online services, free e-mail providers, and all other companies selling online advertising.

The full report is issued twice yearly for full and half-year data, and top-line quarterly estimates are issued for the first and third quarters. PwC does not audit the information and provides no opinion or other form of assurance with respect to the information. Past reports are available at iab.com/adrevenuereport.

Advertising Agencies Upbeat For 2017

Almost half (43%) of agencies report that their business will increase in the first quarter of 2017, while only 11% expect a decrease, according to a fourth quarter survey of advertising agencies conducted by STRATA. With 42% of respondents anticipating the need for additional staff next year, and not a single agency reports plans to reduce staff sizes. This comes in contrast to Q2 this year, which found that the rate of hires was decreasing, and concerns over needing to reduce staff sizes were increasing rapidly.

According to Laurie Fulton writing in the STRATA blog, when asked what the biggest challenges ahead were, 51% stated that their biggest concern was expanding their client roster, followed by determining the right media mix (22%). Only 13% of agencies felt that client retention was their chief concern, reflecting confidence in existing relationships.

The fourth quarter survey found video advertising remains the dominant focus, with 34% of agencies noting their clients’ primary focus was local TV & cable. For the first time the survey’s history, digital video claimed the second spot, with 27% of agencies responding that it was their primary focus, a 79% increase over the previous year. Display advertising, previously in the second spot, fell to third with 15% reporting it as their clients’ main focus.

Judd Rubin

“At the end of a year that could be defined as turbulent, if nothing else, one of the upsides we’re seeing is the swift reversal in agency outlook and confidence. Earlier this year, we found that agencies had major concerns about budgets and revenue, but we’re now seeing much more optimism heading into 2017,” said Judd Rubin, vice president at Strata.

“We’re excited to see how this new confidence impacts advertising strategies next year. Local and cable video continue to be the top focus, but digital video is increasingly coming to the forefront. With mobile advertising and rapidly growing social players like Snapchat also making strides, 2017 could prove to be a very exciting year.”

Though only six percent of agencies report plans to allocate between 26-50% of their budgets to paid social, that’s an increase of 321% compared to the first quarter this year. A majority of agencies report that paid social media accounts for the smallest portion of their budget (0-5%), and 18% percent of agencies noted that it accounted for 11-25% of their budget, an 80% increase over last year.

In terms of which platforms agencies are using in social campaigns, Facebook remains dominant, with 94% planning to use the social network. YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter reclaim their second, third, and fourth spots, respectively. Though Snapchat remains sixth, more than 20% of agencies now plan to use the messaging app, a 58% increase from the second quarter in 2016.

Survey: Just 11% Of Adults Rate Ad Pros As 'Honest'

When it comes to rating the honest and ethical standards of people in various professions, American adults rate medical professionals highly. But advertising practitioners? That’s a different story. In fact, just 11% of adults rate advertising professionals highly for their honesty and ethics, according to Gallup’s latest research on this topic.

By contrast, almost 4 times more respondents to this year’s survey said they would rate advertising practitioners’ honesty and ethical standards as low or very low (40%).

These figures simply aren’t changing, either. In both 2015 and 2014, 10% rated advertising professionals highly, while in 2013 the figure was a little higher – at 14%. That was the joint highest rating recorded going back as far as 2001.

To put these numbers in context, the only professions that American adults have a dimmer view of – with regards to ethics and honesty – are insurance salespeople, car salespeople, and members of Congress.

The public’s lack of trust isn’t only limited to advertising professionals – it’s for the entire sector, too. Earlier this year, Gallup found that adults are as likely to hold a negative (35%) as positive (35%) view of the advertising & PR industry. The resulting net rating of 0 was the 6th-worst of 25 industries measured.

Lack of trust could logically dampen the effectiveness of marketing and advertising messaging, but recent and ongoing probes into agency practices seem unlikely to result in a positive direction for the public’s view of the industry.

More Americans Rate Journalists' Standards as "Low" or "Very Low"

The 23% who rated journalists' honesty and ethical standards as "high" or "very high" this month is within a few points of the 20% who rated it "high" or "very high" in 1994. The percentage saying their honesty and ethical standards were "low" or "very low" climbed to 41%, 10 percentage points above the previous high of 31% measured in 2008 and 2009. In previous polls, more Americans rated journalists' standards as "average."

Twenty-one percent of Democrats rated journalists' honesty and ethical standards as "low" or "very low," compared with 63% of Republicans.

Report: Resurgent 'Today' Show Has December Ratings Milestone

In what could signal a changing of the guard in morning television, David Bauder at the AP reports, NBC's "Today" show has eclipsed ABC's "Good Morning America" in popularity for the first month that did not include the Olympics in four and a half years.

"Today" averaged 4.79 million viewers in December to 4.69 million for "Good Morning America," the Nielsen company said. CBS' resurgent "CBS This Morning" had 3.77 million.

The last Olympics-free month NBC won was June 2012. But it was on June 28, 2012 that Ann Curry made her tearful exit as co-host, and two decades of dominance for "Today" evaporated instantly.

One reason for the show's December success can actually be found in the prime-time ratings. A network morning show traditionally gets a boost when its prime-time lineup is strong, and NBC has carried NFL games on Sunday and Thursday nights the past month. "GMA" won on Friday mornings for nine of 10 weeks before NBC began airing Thursday night games; "Today" has since won every Friday in December, Nielsen said.

"GMA" is also strong on mornings after ABC airs "Dancing With the Stars," particularly among the female viewers that dominate both shows' audiences. But the most recent "Dancing With the Stars" season ended in November.

WI Radio: Coroner Determines Cause of Death For WYTE's Stevi

Country WYTE 106.5 FM Radio personality Stephanie Ollinger-Harry,  known professionally as “Stevi”, died of sudden cardiac arrest while celebrating her wedding anniversary Oct. 1.

WYTE's Stevi

Vilas County Coroner Paul Trippe said the investigation into her death is now closed.

Investigators said Ollinger died suddenly and there was no obvious cause of death initially.

Trippe said there were no other factors in her death.

According to the Mayo clinic website, sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the electrical system to the heart malfunctions and suddenly becomes very irregular, versus a heart attack that is typically caused by blockage.

Ollinger, a resident of Stevens Point had been involved in a car accident just two days before her death. However, police said the crash was an unlikely factor.

Charlotte Radio: Local News Pays-Off For Non-Com WFAE

With media market shares are dropping, advertising is draining off toward the internet and studies show the nation has increasing distrust of the news industry, there’s one outlet that runs against the outgoing tide – WFAE 90.7 FM, the city’s National Public Radio affiliate, according to The Charlotte Observer.

Things have never been better at the station that launched 35 years ago broadcasting bird calls from a basement at UNC Charlotte. Consider:

• Its news and public affairs staff has grown over time from three people to 17 and the station is talking of expanding it more.
• It has passed news station WBT-AM (1110) during some monthly ratings periods in the last two years and lags behind the heritage 50,000-watt giant by only a 0.3 percent share of the region’s radio audience. In early November, around the elections, WFAE saw a spike of 70 percent in total listening hours on its web stream.
• In fundraising last year, it took in $4 million – four times that of WTVI (Channel 42), the city’s television PBS affiliate.
• Median age for its listeners is 46 – 12 percent lower than the median age of NPR listeners nationally.
• Membership, which equates to listeners who donate money annually, had never been above 16,000 in the station’s history. It’s now at 18,000 and on track for 20,000.

Joe O’Connor, who took over as WFAE’s president in February 2015, has some ideas about why.

“We have to maintain relevance in a time of great change,” he said. “We need to be making sure we’re giving people the answers to the questions they have.”

WFAE 90.7 FM (100 Kw) 

O’Connor, 59, is a Philadelphia native who grew up in Bethesda, Md., attended Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and got a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University.

He succeeded Roger Sarow, who was president of WFAE from 1988 to 2015, taking it from a small station attached to UNC Charlotte to its rank as a major player in the city’s broadcasting universe.

“Our investment in local news is paying off,” he said. “We’re delivering local news as good as what NPR does nationally and internationally.”

WFAE has always looked to provide depth in its reporting, but now it is tackling breaking news – not the garden-variety crime and routine urban mayhem that drives the city’s five TV news stations, but finding substance in the big stories of the moment.

Despite its annoying beg-a-thons universally regarded by listeners as ear torture, WFAE continues to post gains. October became the best fundraising month in WFAE’s history when $966,000 came in. At midpoint in the fiscal year, corporate underwriting is at 75 percent of annual target.

“Our audience is telling us,” O’Connor said, “by increased revenues and ratings, to keep going.”

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Columbia SC Radio: The Point Moving FM Simulcast To 100.7 FM

Columbia’s only news-talk radio station WQXL 1470 AM is changing its FM simulcast from 95.9 FM to translator W240AX 100.7 FM  The change happens Sunday.

W240AX 100.7 FM (250 watts)

“This is a game-changer for The POINT,” General Manager, Keven Cohen told thestate.com.

“Moving to 100.7 FM will allow our radio station to hit the Midlands with a much-greater coverage area. As a station that takes pride on being local during mornings, afternoons and evenings seven days a week, this allows The Point to reach so many more people with our local message.”

The station’s current Monday through Friday lineup includes “Mornings with Kev and Brian” (Keven Cohen and Brian Leonard) from 7-9 a.m., “The Afternoon Drive with Kev” from 4-6 p.m. and “SportsTalk” with Phil Kornblut and Kevin McCrarey from 6-8 p.m.

“When there’s bad weather, breaking news from The State House or a crisis in our community, we are local and live,” said Cohen. “Now, we can reach new listeners and businesses that we just couldn’t reach in the past. We’ll also open our local shows to more callers who have never or called in before. Local call-in talk radio is very important during these volatile times.”

Columbia SC Radio: Alpha Launches Rock Translator 99.7 FM

Alpha Media/Columbia, SC has announced the addition of Rock W259CL 99.7 FM. The Contemporary Rock station hit the air waves. For the first time in several years, listeners in Columbia will hear artists such as Green Day, Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blink 182, and the Foo Fighters on their radio.

Alpha Media Executive VP of Programming, Scott Mahalick commented on the announcement, “Alpha continues to grow and invest in Columbia with our latest addition of a Contemporary Rock station. Rock 99.7 will be a great companion to our Classic Rock station Fox 102.3 WMFX.”

W259CL 99.7 FM (250 watts)

Alpha Media, Columbia SVP/Market Manager Mike Hartel added, “This is really about providing the local community with options, and up until today there was not an option to hear some incredible rock music from the last 20 years on the radio. Our town has been very vocal about wanting a Contemporary Rock option back, and we are thrilled to be able to accommodate that request. We really couldn’t wait to get started!”

“We live in a very vibrant and educated town, and it was kind of silly that Contemporary Rock didn’t have a place on the dial. Rock 99.7 will now fill a very sizeable 20-year void. We are going to have a ton of fun with this thing,” remarked Hunter Meyer, Rock 99.7 Program Director.

And 2016's Top Smartphone APP Is...

In 2016, Facebook again took the lead as the top smartphone app. According to Nielsen, the social networking app had more than 146 million average unique users each month, a growth of 14% from last year. Facebook Messenger came in second with over 129 million average unique users each month, followed by YouTube with more than 113 million average unique users each month.

Among the top 10 smartphone apps, the apps with highest year-over-year change were Amazon App and Instagram, with 43% and 36% growth in users from 2015, respectively.

Brother Of JonBenet Ramsey Sues CBS For $750M

Patsy and John Ramsey

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - The brother of slain Colorado child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey has filed a $750 million defamation lawsuit against CBS Corp over a documentary aired by the network theorizing that he killed his little sister, court documents showed on Wednesday.

Burke Ramsey has been “exposed to public hatred, contempt and ridicule” over the four-hour show that was broadcast in September in two parts, according to the complaint filed in a state court in Michigan, where he lives. The program aired amid a flurry of media accounts ahead of the 20th anniversary of the girl’s death.

The bludgeoned and strangled body of 6-year-old JonBenet was found in the basement of her parents’ Boulder, Colorado, home on Dec. 26, 1996.

Burke Ramsey (2006)

No one has ever been charged for the murder, but in 1999 a grand jury seated to examine the case voted to indict the parents for child abuse resulting in death.

The district attorney at the time, Alex Hunter, declined to move forward with a prosecution, citing a lack of evidence.

A spokesman for CBS declined to comment on the lawsuit. At the time of the broadcast, the network said it stood by the program and "will do so in court" if sued by Ramsey.

At the conclusion of the CBS show, a panel of experts said it was its opinion that Burke Ramsey, who was 9 at the time of the killing, struck JonBenet in the head with a heavy object.

The parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, then staged the crime scene to make it appear an intruder was the culprit, the group opined.

The lawsuit asks for $250 million in compensatory damages $500 million in punitive damages against CBS, the production company that produced the show, and the experts who re-examined the case.

In an interview on the “Dr. Phil” talk show that aired before the CBS documentary, Burke Ramsey denied harming his sister and said he suspected a pedophile who stalked beauty pageants killed her.

"Defendants’ accusation that Burke Ramsey killed his sister was based on a compilation of lies, half-truths, manufactured information, and the intentional omission and avoidance of truthful information about the murder of JonBenet Ramsey," the lawsuit said.

Investigators announced this month that they will submit evidence to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s forensics laboratory for advanced DNA testing that was unavailable when earlier samples were screened.

NYTimes Surpasses 100M Views On Facebook Live

(Reuters) -- Presidential politics and celebrity interviews helped The New York Times Co surpass 100 million views for its Facebook Live videos, the company said on Wednesday.

Facebook launched its live-streaming platform in August of 2015 and it is in its infancy. The New York Times has used Facebook Live to showcase its journalism, hoping to reach potential subscribers as the newspaper publisher relies more heavily on digital to grow its revenue.

It was not clear how much revenue The New York Times has derived from producing these videos.

Multiple media outlets reported that Facebook was paying certain media companies to produce Live videos through a one-year period from March 2016 to March 2017. The Wall Street Journal also reported that The New York Times was being paid around $3 million for the one-year period.

A New York Times spokeswoman declined to comment on any financials or the Wall Street Journal report. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the company has been offering "temporary financial support" to a "relatively small number of companies" to produce videos.

The Times said it reached the 100 million views benchmark earlier this month. Comparative figures were not available for how the New York Times ranks against similar publishers, including The Washington Post.

The Times got more 5 million views on its live-stream of the first presidential debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. There were 3.9 million views for a concert by Erykah Badu and another popular Times live-stream featured singer-actress Kristin Chenoweth.

Digital is becoming more important for many major U.S. media companies, particularly the New York Times, where print advertising revenue has been in freefall. During its most recent quarter, ad revenue from print slid 18.5 percent from the previous year, accounting for just 22 percent of its total revenue, said chief executive Mark Thompson during the Nov. 2 earnings call.