Report: DOJ Disagreement Arises Over Possible Google Antitrust Suit

Some Justice Department staffers have expressed internal concerns over plans to bring an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.’s Google—and what they view as an aggressive timeline favored by Attorney General William Barr, according to The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter.

The department has been moving toward bringing a lawsuit as soon as this summer, but some lawyers involved in the yearlong investigation have expressed a belief that the department doesn’t have a camera-ready case right now and needs more time to consider whether the millions of pages of documents in the government’s possession yield the kind of evidence needed to win in court, the people said.

Dozens of government antitrust lawyers are on teams investigating whether the search giant has used its dominance to stifle competition. One group is focused on Google’s search practices, and some of its members have voiced the belief that there are vulnerabilities in a case built around those issues, people familiar with the matter said. Details about the Justice Department’s legal theories couldn’t be learned.

Another team is examining Google’s online advertising business, where the company owns industry-leading tools at every link in the complex chain between online publishers and advertisers. Some attorneys working on that aspect of the probe aren’t ready to move forward because they are still untangling the new and complex issues raised by that part of Google’s business and how it affects the many companies in the digital ecosystem, the people said.

A senior Justice Department official said harm to innovation and nascent competition in fast-moving technology markets can happen quickly. The department has a duty to act expeditiously to determine if antitrust violations have been committed and, if so, to address them, the official said.

As the department’s leader, Mr. Barr, aided by his top lieutenants, will make the final decision on whether and when to sue Google.

Benztown+McVay Podcast Networks Launch “Consenting Adults”

Benztown + McVay Media Podcast Networks announces the launch of CONSENTING ADULTS, a new podcast series for mature audiences that explores the intimate relationships of people 40 and older – and how they are enjoying sex and life more than ever.

From open marriages to exploration and more, CONSENTING ADULTS examines the active private lives and sexual lifestyles of everyday people. The podcast is hosted by four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, Leyna Nguyen, who talks frankly with her guests – some who self-identify and others who use pseudonyms to protect their privacy - about their alternative lifestyles. The conversations in CONSENTING ADULTS are candid, funny, thought provoking - and always revealing. 

To listen to the first three episodes of the podcast, visit: https://omny.fm/shows/consenting-adults.

Leyna Nguyen

As an award-winning journalist, Leyna Nguyen covered hard news for 26 years. She made broadcast history by becoming the first newscaster ever to anchor the news on two television stations in the same market, with the Viacom-owned duopoly of KCBS and KCAL-TV. She’s known in the Vietnamese community worldwide as a host for Asia Entertainment productions and for her philanthropic work as president of a non-profit foundation called LOVE ACROSS THE OCEAN, which benefits underprivileged school children in Vietnam and assists underserved families in Southern California. Leyna Nguyen has received numerous awards and accolades including YWCA Woman of the Year, AREAA Humanitarian of the Year, 25 Most Influential Vietnamese-Americans in 25 Years, and the California State Legislature’s Woman of the Year for her philanthropic work.

Nguyen said: “Think what you may about people who live these alternative lifestyles, but they’ve cornered the market on two things painfully lacking in today’s society: honesty and communication. Their stories reveal a side of aging most don’t talk about – the freedom to do more, the wisdom to be more, and the courage to want more.”

Dave “Chachi” Denes, Producer, Benztown + McVay Podcast Networks, noted: "Leyna is an impeccable journalist and has an uncanny ability to respectfully ask questions we’ve all wanted to know but are afraid to ask.”

Mike McVay, Producer, Benztown + McVay Podcast Networks, observed: “Leyna addresses a sensitive topic with a journalistic view. The topic is adult, but her approach is professional, appropriate and entertaining.” 

CONSENTING ADULTS is available now on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Audioboom and other podcast services.

ESPN Deportes Launches SC Reportajes Podcast Series

ESPN Deportes is debuting a new podcast, SC Reportajes Podcast, under SC Reportajes, the network’s Emmy nominated storytelling brand. The podcast is available across podcast platforms, including the ESPN App, Spotify, Apple podcast, TuneIn.

Voiced by ESPN Deportes’ Tlatoani Carrera, the first season of SC Reportajes Podcast begins with a multi-episode exploration of the effects of a 2015 late night brawl on the lives of Alejandro Molina, Luis Gorocito, then players of Mexico’s storied club Necaxa, and Luis Rodolfo Mariscal López, a young man who crossed path with the players as they were exiting a bar in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The fistfight that ensued left Mariscal López dead after suffering severe brain damage and the two professional soccer players looking at a 40-year sentence. The podcast follows the complicated case, with an investigative look at the various witnesses, the widely different testimonies, and the surveillance video that would put an end to the case, but came too late to influence the court of public opinion.

Season 1 will conclude with another multi-episode look at the August 3, 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where a man targeting Hispanics murdered 23 people.  The SC Reportajes podcast will profile the EP Fusion Youth Soccer Club, a team comprised of 10 and 11-year-old girls who were fundraising outside the store when the shooting began.

Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion Top the Charts

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion have broken the record for the most streams by a song in its debut week, in a historic sign that women artists are making their mark on hip-hop like never before.

The Wall Street Journal reports “WAP,” the raunchy song by the irreverent 27-year-old rapper Cardi B, tops the latest Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, thanks largely to its 93 million U.S. streams in the week ended Aug. 13. That is the most streams for a song in its first week in history. Its digital sales of 125,000 copies also marks the biggest sales week for a single so far this year. “WAP” is the fourth No. 1 hit for Cardi B, who already held the record for the most chart-toppers by a female rapper. The song also features Megan Thee Stallion, a 25-year-old Houston rapper known for her old-school flows and internet savvy.

The song’s huge numbers owe much to the shock value of its lyrics—the title stands for “wet-ass p—”—and its offbeat music video, which shows Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion wandering through an arty, Alice in Wonderland-like environment. Such factors have turned it into a cultural sensation and social-media juggernaut. The music video so far has more than 100 million views on YouTube; on YouTube’s Top Songs charts, “WAP” hit No. 1 in 15 markets, including the U.K., Finland and Kenya. About 200,000 TikTok videos have been created using the controversial tune.

In recent days, the song’s bawdiness and obscenities have elicited disapproval online from some listeners—sparking a moral outrage rare nowadays in pop music. Mini-controversies related to the video’s images of tigers and its inclusion of celebrity Kylie Jenner added fuel to the fire and helped increase the song’s streams and views.

Yet, “WAP” has also been hailed by some critics as a major artistic statement and part of a long history of boundary-pushing female rappers. Some have defended the song, saying it’s no more explicit than what male rappers often rap about. The feel of the song and video were influenced by late 1990s rappers Lil’ Kim—who, like Cardi B, worked with Atlantic Records during her heyday—and Missy Elliott.

The song’s outsize success is the latest sign that female artists are increasingly making strides in hip-hop, which has long been a male-dominated genre.

August 18 Radio History

➦In 1900...Walter O'Keefe born  (Died – June 26, 1983).  He was a songwriter, actor, syndicated columnist, Broadway composer, radio legend, screenwriter, musical arranger and TV host.

Walter O'Keefe

O'Keefe was born in Hartford, CT, he began as a vaudeville performer in the Midwest for several years. In 1925, he went to New York City and became a Broadway performer. By 1937, he wrote a syndicated humor column and filled-in for such radio personalities as Walter Winchell, Edgar Bergen, Don McNeill and Garry Moore. He became the long-time master of ceremonies of the NBC show Double or Nothing and was a regular on that network's Monitor series.

O'Keefe also worked in television, presiding over talk shows and quiz shows for the CBS network. Producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman hired him for their game show Two for the Money. When the show's usual host Herb Shriner had other commitments during the summer of 1954, O'Keefe took over for three months. He was the host for the first Emmy Awards ceremony, held on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of radio. He died in Torrance, California of congestive heart failure at the age of 82.

➦In 1927...Theodore H. Epp (January 27, 1907 - October 13, 1985) started his 'Back to Bible Broadcasts on radio. The broadcasts were heard worldwide on 800 stations in eight languages, until 1985.

➦In 1937...FCC issued first FM construction permit. W1XOJ/W43B/WGTR, Paxton, Mass. (Yankee Network) W1XOJ went on the air May 27, 1939, with 2000 watts on 43.0 MHz. On July 24, 1939, W1XOJ began operating on a schedule of 16 hours a day on the air (8 a.m. to midnight). Broadcasting magazine on Aug. 1, 1939, listed this as one of the four FM stations "in actual operation."

John Shepard

W1XOJ was the result of a partnership between Yankee Network owner John Shepard and FM inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong to explore the potential of inter-city FM networking. Programs were fed from the Yankee studios in Boston to Asnebumskit, and were picked up from there at stations on Mount Washington, N.H. and in Meriden, Connecticut. Other programs were picked up at Meriden from Armstrong's W2XMN in Alpine, N.J. and carried through Asnebumskit to Mount Washington.

In 1941, W1XOJ became commercial outlet W43B, with 300 kW ERP (50 kW TPO) on 44.3, as a sister to Boston's WNAC and WAAB. Two years later, Yankee moved WAAB to Worcester to escape the FCC's new anti-duopoly rule. While WAAB and W43B were nominally sister stations, they were never operated jointly (W43B was treated as a "Boston" station and operated from Yankee's Boston studios), and Yankee soon sold WAAB to new owners.

Edwin H. Armstrong

W43B eventually took new calls WGTR, moving to the new FM band on 103.1 and then on 99.1. In October 1948, the Yankee Network moved its FM operations to Boston, on the new WNAC-FM 98.5. WGTR's license was transferred to Eastern Radio, which apparently operated the station with “Transit Radio”, providing programming heard in city buses. The 1951 Broadcasting Yearbook shows WGTR once again under the ownership of the Yankee Network, but operating from the same 34 Mechanic Street address as WAAB, by then under Olin Company ownership.

WGTR faded from the scene completely within a year or two, as WAAB flirted with television. By 1961, WAAB was in the hands of Waterman Broadcasting, and when its new FM signal signed on that fall, it was as a simulcast of the full-service AM station. The simulcast lasted until 1967, when WAAB-FM split off from the AM with a stereo beautiful music format. In 1969, WAAB-FM became WAAF, adopting a freeform rock format at 107.3 FM that later evolved into album rock.

A power increase in 1970, to 16.5 kW at 780 feet above average terrain, gave WAAF a commanding signal that could be heard across most of Massachusetts, as well as large portions of eastern Connecticut, Rhode Island, southern New Hampshire and southern Vermont.

➦In 1961...Dan Daniel started at Top40 WMCA 570 AM.

Dan Daniel

He started as a disc jockey at age seventeen on Armed Forces Radio with the US Navy. His first commercial job was at KXYZ in Houston in 1955 and he then worked at WDGY in Minneapolis before moving to WMCA in 1961.

He started on the graveyard shift overnight but from 1962 to 1968 he played the top 40 hits from 4 pm to 7 pm — the evening drive home slot.  The station produced a survey of the current sales in New York record stores and Dandy Dan gave the countdown of the week's best sellers every Wednesday in this late afternoon slot.  From 1968 to 1970, he did the early morning drive-to-work slot before leaving WMCA after nearly nine years; his final broadcast was on 11 July 1970.

Dan was heard coast-to-coast on NBC Radio's "Monitor" in the summer of 1973.

He subsequently worked on WYNY-FM where he hosted the mid-day slot and later morning and afternoon drives. He then did a stint at WHN playing country music before returning to WYNY-FM. Finally, he moved to WCBS-FM in 1996. He retired from WCBS on December 31, 2002.

WMCA transitioned to talk in 1970, bringing an end of the “Good Guys” era.  It did well until rivals WOR and WABC flipped to talk through the early 1980s.   Salem Communications bought WMCA in 1988, which started the current Christian radio format.


➦In 1984...Flashback From R&R...

➦In 2014...announcer Don Pardo died in his sleep at age 96 (Born - February 22, 1918). His radio and television career  spanned more than seven decades.

A member of the Television Hall of Fame, Pardo was noted for his 70-year tenure with NBC, working as the announcer for early incarnations of such notable shows as The Price Is Right, Jackpot, Jeopardy!, Three on a Match, Winning Streak and NBC Nightly News. His longest, and best-known, announcing job was for NBC's Saturday Night Live, a job he held for 39 seasons, from the show's debut in 1975 until his death in 2014.

Pardo's first radio position at NBC affiliate WJAR in Providence starting in 1938. He joined NBC full-time as an in-house announcer in 1944, remaining on the network staff for 60 years. During World War II, Pardo worked as a war reporter for NBC Radio.

For more than 30 years, Pardo was one of the rotating announcers on the KFOG San Francisco radio show "Ten at Ten", appearing at 10 a.m. and in syndication with Dave Morey on KFOG HD Radio.

➦In 2018...Radio personality Scott Shannon reached a milestone - his 1000th broadcast at Classic Hits WCBS 101.1 FM NYC. Shannon joined WCBS-FM in March 2014 after he 'retired' from the morning show at WPLJ 95.5 FM.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:

Kaitlin Olson is 45

• Movie director Roman Polanski is 87.
• Actor Robert Redford is 84. 
• Actor Henry G. Sanders (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”) is 78. 
• Actor-comedian Martin Mull is 77. 
• Singer Sarah Dash (LaBelle) is 75. 
• Comedian Elayne Boosler is 68. 
• Country singer Steve Wilkinson of The Wilkinsons is 65. 
• Comedian-actor Denis Leary is 63. 
• Actor Madeleine Stowe is 62. 
• TV news anchor Bob Woodruff is 59. 
• Actor Adam Storke (“Mystic Pizza”) is 58. 
• Actor Craig Bierko (“Sex and the City,” ″The Long Kiss Goodnight”) is 56. 
• Singer Zac Maloy of The Nixons is 52. 
• Musician Everlast (House of Pain) is 51. 
• Actor Christian Slater is 51. 
• Actor Edward Norton is 51. 
• Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is 50. 
• Actor Kaitlin Olson (“The Mick,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) is 45. 
• Comedian Andy Samberg (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” ″Saturday Night Live”) is 42. 
• Guitarist Brad Tursi of Old Dominion is 41. 
• Actor Madelaine Petsch (“Riverdale”) is 26. 
• Actor Parker McKenna Posey (“My Wife and Kids”) is 25.

Radio Hall Unveils 2020 Inductees

The results are in for the 2020 class of Radio Hall of Fame inductees, who will be honored Thursday, Oct. 29 during a live radio broadcast from multiple locations and across multiple audio platforms. The Radio Hall of Fame is part of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, located in Chicago, IL since 1991. Additional details about the exciting event to honor radio’s best and brightest will be coming soon.

The 2020 Class of Radio Hall of Fame Inductees are:

• Mark & Brian - KLOS-FM Longstanding Local/Regional (20 years or more)
• Cokie Roberts - Political Reporter, NPR Longstanding Network/Syndication (20 years or more)
• Angie Martinez - WWPR-FM New York City Active Local/Regional (10 years or more)
• The Breakfast Club - Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, DJ Envy, Premiere Networks WWPR -FM, Active Network/Syndication (10 years or more)
• Sway Calloway - Sirius XM Shade 45 Channel Public Vote Music Format On-Air Personality
• Glenn Beck - The Glenn Beck Show, Premiere Networks Public Vote Spoken Word On-Air Personality
• Donnie Simpson - WMMJ-FM Washington D.C. Radio Hall of Fame Nominating Committee inductee

“Each year, I continue to be impressed by the caliber of our inductees, who deserve recognition for the high-quality radio they bring to listeners,” said Kraig Kitchin, chair of the Radio Hall of Fame. “I’d like to thank the Nominating Committee members for their valuable time to being part of the voting process.”

“The 2020 Class of inductees represents the diversity of voices that is heard on radio stations all across America,” said Dennis Green, chief revenue officer for Sun & Fun Media and Key Networks as well as chair of the Radio Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. “It’s an honor to contribute my time to leading this committee.”

“The Museum of Broadcast Communications has been proud to be the home of the Radio Hall of Fame since 1991,” said David Plier, the museum’s board chair. “And this class of inductees is especially important as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of this still vital medium.”

Three inductees were determined by a vote from a panel of 600 industry professionals, four were voted on by the Nominating Committee and two were a result of a public vote from the listening public. The votes were monitored by certified public accounting firm Miller Kaplan Arase, LLP.

Sponsors of the 2020 Radio Hall of Fame induction include Premiere Networks and the Weiss Agency. Fans and industry professionals can find more information, including photos of the inductees, at www.radiohalloffame.com.

The Radio Hall of Fame is housed at and a project of the Museum of Broadcast Communication, a 501(c)(3) organization.

Insights: Adding Spanish Radio To Media Plan Generates Impact

This week’s Westwood One blog looks to answer the question, “Can a general market buy with only English language stations do an effective job of reaching Hispanics and Spanish speakers?” using an analysis by Oliver Marquis, VP Media Analytics at Nielsen. 

As Hispanics will represent two-thirds of American population growth over the next forty years, it is increasingly important for brands to be able to reach this audience. The data shows AM/FM radio is a powerful tool that can be used to do so. 

• Hispanics are the engine of American population and economic growth. Brands must step up and realize that reaching Latinx consumers represents a strong strategy for future growth.
• An English-only buy underdelivers Spanish speakers by 23%. Across the five markets analyzed, a 100-GRP AM/FM radio buy of the top ten English language AM/FM radio stations reaches 43% of the total market but only 33% of Spanish-dominant Hispanics.
• Allocating 10% of an English-only buy to Spanish AM/FM radio generates a +41% reach increase among Spanish speakers.
• AM/FM radio outreaches TV among Hispanics 18+ by +14%.
• AM/FM radio makes your TV better: On average, allocating 20% of TV buy to AM/FM radio causes a massive +29% increase in Hispanic reach.
• In a local market, 18-49 Hispanic audience deliveries soar when a TV-only buy is remixed with 60% of the budget moved to Spanish AM/FM radio.

The Rundown: The House To Deal With Postal Service Crisis

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that she's calling the House back into session early from its summer recess over the U.S. Postal Service crisis, amid concerns that the White House is trying to undermine the agency ahead of the November election. Louis DeJoy, President Trump's newly-installed postmaster general, has made changes that have led to an outcry over delivery delays, cutbacks and higher prices at a time when millions will be voting by mail instead of in person because of the coronavirus pandemic. With Pelosi calling back House members, a vote is expected next Saturday on legislation that would ban changes at the Postal Service.

Also yesterday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee said it wants DeJoy and the chair of the Postal Service board of governors to testify at an emergency oversight hearing on mail delays on August 24th. As part of what DeJoy, a major Republican donor, has said is intended to make the Postal Service more efficient, he has ended most overtime for postal workers and removed mail processing equipment. In response to complaints about mail boxes being removed from streets, the Postal Service said Sunday it would stop removing mailboxes for 90 days.

➤SALIVA TEST FOR CORONAVIRUS APPROVED BY FDA: A test for the coronavirus the uses saliva samples was approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday. The test was developed by researchers at Yale in partnership with and with funding from the NBA and National Basketball Players Association. In comparison to the standard test that involves taking a swab from far up in the nose, the saliva test is non-invasive and reduces the risk for healthcare workers taking samples. It's also less expensive and has comparable accuracy. The saliva-based test could potentially be a game-changer, allowing more widespread testing.

There have been more than 170,000 deaths in the U.S. as of late last night, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 5,403,000 confirmed cases.

➤THREE TEXAS POLICE OFFICERS SHOT BY MAN HOLDING THREE FAMILY MEMBERS: Three police officers were shot Sunday afternoon in Cedar Park, Texas, by a man who was holding three of his family members barricaded inside a home. Interim Police Chief Mike Harmon said officers had responded to a call from the mother of the man, who's believed to be in his mid-20s, who said her son had kicked in the door of the home. The suspect, who Harmon said has "some mental health issues," shot at the officers when they arrived, wounding them with non life-threatening injuries. As of late last night, the suspect remained holed up in the home with his mother, a juvenile, and another person of unknown age.

Democrats happy with Harris pick and Biden holds lead ahead of convention — Battleground Tracker poll https://t.co/TYYJPQErjN

— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 17, 2020

➤DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION BEGINS TODAY: The four-day Democratic National Convention that will nominate Joe Biden for president and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris for vice president begins today, but it will be unlike any before because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was set to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but will now instead mostly be held virtually. That includes Biden's acceptance speech, which he'll deliver on the last night, Thursday, from Wilmington, Delaware, where he lives. Broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC will air an hour of coverage each night at 10 p.m. ET, PBS will air coverage from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET daily, and the cable news networks will also provide nightly coverage.

Trump planning event to counter Biden acceptance speech https://t.co/hS8aLbuGN5 pic.twitter.com/YpFzfqCzn6

— The Hill (@thehill) August 17, 2020

➤TEMPERATURE HITS 130 DEGREES IN DEATH VALLEY, POSSIBLY WORLD'S HIGHEST EVER RECORDED: As the Western U.S. continues to suffer through an historic heat wave, the temperature in Death Valley, California, reached a scorching 130 degrees on Sunday afternoon, among the top three highest ever measured around the world and possibly the highest ever recorded in the month of August. Death Valley holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, 134 degrees, on July 10th, 1913. However, that measurement is in doubt, as is the only other higher reading since 1873, 131 degrees in Kebili, Tunisia, on July 7th, 1931, according to the Washington Post. Because of that, some experts consider the record to be 129 degrees, recorded in Death Valley on June 30th, 2013, and in Kuwait and Pakistan in 2016 and 2017, respectively. If that's correct, yesterday's temperature would have set a new record.

➤NYC TO HOLD ANNUAL 9/11 'TRIBUTE IN LIGHT' AFTER FIRST CANCELING DUE TO PANDEMIC: New York City will go forward with its annual "Tribute in Light" 9/11 remembrance next month after having first canceled it because of the coronavirus pandemic. There had been coronavirus safety concerns because of the large crew needed to carry out the tribute, which involves sending up twin beams of light into the night sky near where the Twin Towers stood in lower Manhattan. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that health care workers and supervision will be added to the crew to ensure safety. He tweeted, "The virus has taken so much and so many. But now the tribute will continue."

America's most popular pizza topping appears to have joined the list of products affected by the pandemic. https://t.co/YEAF0KaIXT

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 17, 2020

➤PEPPERONI LATEST VICTIM OF CORONAVIRUS SHORTAGES: The coronavirus is now coming for your pepperoni pizza. The latest shortage caused by the pandemic is of pepperoni, America's favorite pizza topping. Bloomberg reported that small pizza shops across the country say they are paying significantly higher prices for pepperoni and that the supply has become tighter. There are two factors involved: pork processors have had fewer workers during the pandemic and some suppliers have reduced the amount of pepperoni being produced because it's a complicated product to make; and demand for pizza is up with more people staying home during the pandemic, including during the lockdowns. Large pizza chains, however, haven't been affected by the pepperoni shortage, since they buy their ingredients through long-term contracts.

➤OHIO STATE QB FIELDS STARTS PETITION FOR BIG TEN TO PLAY FOOTBALL: Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, one of college football's biggest stars who was a Heisman Trophy finalist last season, started an online petition Sunday (August 16th) calling on the Big Ten to reverse its decision and play football this fall. Other players joined him in urging the Big Ten to go forward with playing the schedule the conference released six days before it postponed the season to the spring. The campaign is asking the Big Ten to let players and teams to make their own choices about playing or opting out of the fall season. Four football conferences, including the Big Ten and Pac-12, have postponed to the spring, while six others, including the Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference and Big 12, are planning to play in the fall.

➤NBA PLAYOFFS BEGIN TODAY: The NBA playoffs will begin today, with 16 teams competing in the first round at the league's Walt Disney World "bubble," where all games have been played since the NBA returned from its coronavirus suspension at the end of July. In the Eastern Conference, the matchups are: Milwaukee vs. Orlando; Toronto vs. Brooklyn; Boston vs. Philadelphia; and Indiana vs. Miami, and in the Western Conference they are: L.A. Lakers vs. Portland; L.A. Clippers vs. Dallas; Denver vs. Utah; and Houston vs. Oklahoma City. Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook will miss at least the first game of the playoffs series with a quad injury.

➤NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round playoff games yesterday:

• New York Islanders 2, Washington Capitals 1 (OT) - New York leads series 3 games to 0
• Dallas Stars 5, Calgary Flames 4 (OT) - Series tied 2-2
• Chicago Blackhawks 3, Vegas Golden Knights 1 - Vegas leads series 3 games to 1
• Philadelphia Flyers 1, Montreal Canadiens 0 - Philadelphia leads series 2 games to 1
• St. Louis Blues 3, Vancouver Canucks 2 (OT) - Vancouver leads series 2 games to 1
• 
  

4 IN A ROW! The White Sox tied the major-league record (10th time) by hitting four consecutive homers in the fifth inning. pic.twitter.com/4vtAjwiXQ7

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 16, 2020

➤WHITE SOX TIE MLB RECORD WITH FOUR CONSECUTIVE HOME RUNS: The Chicago White Sox tied an MLB record Sunday with four consecutive home runs against the St. Louis Cardinals in their 7-2 win, the 10th time in major league history it's been done. All four homers were hit in the fifth inning off Cardinals reliever Roel Ramirez, who was making his major league debut. Chicago's Yoan Moncada was first with a three-run home run, followed by homers by Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez.

➤BRADY WINS TOP SEED OPEN IN FIRST U.S. PRO TENNIS EVENT SINCE PANDEMIC BEGAN: Jennifer Brady won the Top Seed Open on Sunday (August 16th) in Lexington, Kentucky, in the first pro tennis event in the U.S. since the coronavirus pandemic began. No fans were allowed for the event. It was the first career WTA win for Brady, who beat Jil Teichmann of Switzerland 6-3, 6-4 in the final. The 25-year-old American began the week ranked 49th.

➤WASHINGTON QB SMITH CLEARED TO PLAY NEARLY TWO YEARS AFTER BREAKING LEG: Quarterback Alex Smith on Sunday (August 16th) was cleared to play by Washington's NFL team, nearly two years after he broke his leg in two places when he was hit during a November 2018 game. The 36-year-old Smith has made a remarkable return, having had to undergo 17 surgeries because he developed an infection, with doctors worried at the time that not only could he lose his leg, but that his life could also be in danger.

A rare summer thunderstorm brought lightning that sparked several small blazes in Northern California and stoked a huge wildfire that has forced hundreds of people from their homes north of Los Angeles. https://t.co/j3Q9kpjr8B

— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 17, 2020

➤HURRICANE WATCHERS ARE BUSY:  tracking two tropical waves as they move across the Atlantic

Congress Urged To Help Local Media Preserve Emergency Coverage

Path of Hurricane Isais Earlier In August

As Hurricane Isaias approached the Eastern Seaboard last week, the nation’s news organizations and communications networks turned some of their attention from keeping Americans safe during the COVID-19 pandemic to keeping residents safe during the storm, writes former FEMA Director Craig Fugate in a Medium posting.  Fugate was FEMA Director during the Obama administration.

Fugate notes cable news networks tracked Isaias’s path during their newscasts and aired briefings from local public safety officials. National newspapers provided forecasts and deployed correspondents to cover the storm’s impact. Wireless carriers sent out emergency alert messages to their subscribers passing along evacuation orders warning them about the approaching storm.

Craig Fugate

Yet, he continues, while these efforts are important in informing the public, they cannot match the immediacy and importance of local media outlets during times of emergency. When the power goes out and cellular networks are rendered unusable, local media are often the only source of reliable information to learn what is happening and how to stay safe. As emergency safety officials know through first-hand experience, broadcast radio and television stations and community newspapers are the best means to communicate with a wide audience before, during and after the storm passes.

He adds local news operations are best positioned to cover local emergencies because of their deep roots to their communities. Journalists live and work in the area and know the effect disasters can have on their day-to-day lives. These outlets have been through storms before and have institutional knowledge about what areas are impacted the worst. Public safety officials have built relationships with local radio and TV stations and newspapers over the years and trust them to provide reliable, critical information.

Fugate is encouraging U-S lawmakers who are considering relief measures in the next stimulus bill to include help for struggling local radio and TV stations and newspapers. The Local News and Emergency Information Act would go a long way in helping many small broadcasters and newspapers stay on the air and continue serving their communities.

Media Monitors Notes Surge In Politicals

In a sure sign that election season is underway, political advertising from both sides of the aisle began hitting the radio airwaves this summer. Altogether, the top 50 political advertisers aired 49,614 spots between June 1 and July 31, 2020, compared to just 3,625 instances between April 1 and May 31, 2020, according to Media Monitors’ latest ranking. This marks an increase in radio occurrences of 290% between April 1 and May 31 to June 1 and July 31.

“Just as we’ve been expecting, there’s a clear uptick in political advertising over the last two months,” said Philippe Generali, president and CEO of Media Monitors. “In the first wave of election season spots, we can see that all types – Presidential campaigns, Congressional candidates and advocacy and political action groups – are gearing up, beginning with radio. This will be a high-attention campaign season, and we expect political advertising to continue to grow to be a large share of the late summer and fall advertising inventory.”

Democratic presidential candidate Joseph Biden leads the list. His team aired 7,599 radio spots between June 1 and July 31 – significantly more than any other campaign. It’s also far higher than the nine occurrences the candidate aired during April and May.

By contrast, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign aired just nine spots on radio between June 1 and July 31.

The American Postal Workers Union ranked second, airing 3,893 instances on radio. Its campaign, Save the Post Office, is urging the public to reach out to their representatives and ask them to support to finance the U.S. Post Office operations.

Meanwhile, conservative political action committee, One Nation, aired a total of 3,867 spots across four campaigns, enough to rank each individual campaign among the top 50. In June, the organization launched a multi-state summer advocacy blitz across television and radio in six swing states, including Arizona, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Colorado and Montana.

For more in depth detail contact Media Monitors.

Tabloid Journalism In Traditional News 'Not Taking Us Anywhere Good'

Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe said in a new interview that tabloid journalism's expansion into traditional news operations, along with social media, has played a role in adopting a "hunt-to-kill attitude" around reporting and commentary.

"We're just pointing out that this ultra-violence in our society," Crowe told The Hill during a Zoom question-and-answer session ahead of the release of his new movie, "Unhinged."

"My theory, when you're talking about social media, right about the 70s, the language of tabloid newspapers started to drift into the larger national broadsheets. Started to drift into television news. Started to be part of everybody's mornings when they woke up. These extreme reactions and us talking about whatever a particular event that happened in such extreme ways. And that tabloid hunt-to-kill attitude when they believe they have found somebody who has committed a quote-unquote sin. And then that inability of the same tabloid language to apologize to that person when they say, 'Oh dear, we've got the wrong target.' "

Russell Crowe

"That type of language has come into social media, where people feel a need to have this hugely angry response straightaway," the 56-year-old actor said. "Or they think the way to solve this problem is by having the neatest, zappiest, zingy-est putdown that deconstructs somebody else's image of themselves. And all of this is not taking us anywhere good."

"The problem is actually the argument in itself," Crowe added. "The fact that we feel the need to have such a strong opinion on things, when if in reality we broke it down, we are having an opinion of something that has already been told to us as a biased opinion."

"Unhinged" will hit U.S. theaters on Aug. 21, marking Hollywood's first theatrical release since the coronavirus pandemic shut down theaters in March.

The film about an unstable man driven to the brink by road rage comes in a year when Americans are more angry than ever before, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this summer. Overall, 71 percent of U.S. adults said they were angry about the state of the country, while 66 percent expressed fear.

A 2018 study by Pew, meanwhile, found that people were having difficulty telling the difference between fact and opinion. Those who participated in the Pew study were provided five statements, including “spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid make up the largest portion of the U.S. Federal budget,” and five opinion statements, including “Democracy is the greatest form of government.” Just 26 percent of the adults surveyed correctly identified all five factual statements as factual, according to the study.

FCC Call Sign Activity Reported For July 2020

During Jule 2020, the FCC accepted applications to assign call signs to, or change the call signs of the following broadcast stations.

R.I.P.: Sonny Fox, Longtime Miami Morning Personality

Sonny Fox (Miami Herald photo)

Former Miami morning radio host Sonny Fox has died.

He was 73, according to The Miami Herald.

“Sonny in the Morning” was familiar to thousands of radio listeners since the 1970s who heard it on the former rock station WSHE 103.5 FM, contemporary pop WHYI Y-100.7 FM, oldies format Majic 102.7 FM and WKIS KISS Country 99.9 FM.

Fox came to prominence at a time when radio DJs became household names through the force of their personalities. Their personas, piped into our cars, homes and office transistors in the 1960s and 1970s, and later 1980s boom boxes and Sony FM Walkmans, became as familiar as the sound of Mom and Dad calling in from the other room to announce dinner’s on the table.

People like popular South Florida DJs such as Rick Shaw. “Crazy” Cramer Haas. Bill Tanner. Don “Cox on the Radio” Cox. Jo “The Rock and Roll Madame” Maeder. 97 GTR’s Patty Murray. These, among others, were Fox’s peers.

“Today I lost my husband and best friend. Sonny,” Janet Stronger Speziale Fox posted Friday evening. She, too, worked alongside Fox, most recently for SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and on terrestrial radio, too.

Fox was a stickler for preparation. He spent hours at his home pulling topics from the internet for his morning shows. He maintained a topic file. And he tapped his listeners for content. He had DJing down to a science.

Fox, with his shaggy hair and beard looked the quintessential rock jock, as if he stepped off the “FM” film set, a movie set at a fictional album-oriented rock station in 1978. This was about the time he was on South Florida radio making personal appearances and gaining fans.

Fox was “one of my earliest influences when I used to listen to Y-100 and then WSHE. A radio superstar,” said former WSHE rock jock Glenn Richards, who is now operations manager at WUFT Media in Gainesville.

August 17 Radio History

➦In 1900...Quincy Howe born (Died from cancer at age 76 – February 17, 1977). He was best known for his CBS radio broadcasts during World War II.  Howe served as director of the American Civil Liberties Union before the Second World War, and as chief editor at Simon & Schuster from 1935 to 1942.

Quincy Howe

He once said that life began for him in 1939, when he began to broadcast news and commentary on WQXR radio in New York City.

Howe joined CBS in June 1942, doing the opening news summary on the radio network's The World Today newscast. He left CBS in 1947 to join ABC. In the fall of 1955, he hosted four episodes of the 26-week prime time series Medical Horizons on ABC before he was replaced in that capacity by Don Goddard.

Howe moderated the fourth and final Kennedy/Nixon debate on October 21, 1960. Howe retired from broadcasting in 1974.

➦In 1943...writer Norman Corwin’s first success debuted on CBS radio. It was Passport for Adams, starring Robert Young who played a small town newspaper editor. Norman Corwin earliest and biggest successes were in the writing and directing of radio drama during the 1930s and 1940s.

Corwin was among the first producers to regularly use entertainment—even light entertainment—to tackle serious social issues. He also wrote and produced such radio classics as This is War, An American in England and We Hold These Truths.

➦In 1963...Ed Gardner died at age 62 (Born - June 29, 1901). He is best remembered as the creator and star of the radio's popular Duffy's Tavern comedy series.

In the early 1940s, Gardner worked as a director, writer, and producer for radio programs. In 1941, he created a character for This Is New York, a program that he was producing. The character, which Gardner played, became Archie of Duffy's Tavern.

The successful radio program aired on CBS from 1941 to 1942, on the NBC Blue Network from 1942 to 1944, and on NBC from 1944 to 1951. Speaking in a nasal Brooklyn accent, and sounding like just about every working class New Yorker his creator had ever known, Gardner as Archie invariably began each week's show by answering the telephone and saying, "Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet to eat, Archie the manager speaking, Duffy ain't here—oh, hello, Duffy."

Duffy the owner never appeared, but Archie did, with Gardner assuming the role himself after he could not find the right actor to play the role.

➦In 1969…It was the third and final day the Woodstock Music Festival in Bethel, NY.  Performing were Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, the Band, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. 

➦In 1982...The first commercial compact disc was produced. It was a recording from 1979 of Claudio Arrau performing Chopin waltzes (Philips 400 025-2). Arrau was invited to the Langenhagen plant to press the start button. The first popular music CD produced at the new factory was The Visitors (1981) by ABBA.

Larry Johnson

➦In 2011...Radio personality Larry 'The Legend' Johnson died at age 78. The early years of his career included a stint at WKDA-AM, a Top 40 station in Nashville. He returned to WKDA after military service during WWII and then worked on-air and in management at WDXB-AM in Chattanooga.

Business connections led to work at WGN-AM and then WIND-AM in Chicago. He got tired of working nights and quit his job in Chicago. He ended up on television at WLUK-TV in Green Bay.

During the 1970s, he found a new gig at WZUU in Milwaukee, where his southern accent and on-air style proved popular. Later, he worked for WISN.

Radio listeners loved his unorthodox spin on the news. When garbage workers made headlines, he went to work with them, returning to the air with a newfound respect for those who did that job every day. He liked being involved with charitable causes, raising money for his "Love Fund" to benefit those in need.

Marge Thrasher

➦In 2012…Longtime Memphis TV and radio personality Marge Thrasher died at the age of 78.

Thrasher became a public figure when she joined the worlds first all-girl radio station, WHER, in Memphis in 1960. Seven years later she expanded her role on the station with a listener call in show, said to be the first such format in Memphis radio. It worked so well, Memphis television station WHBQ-TV hired her to do a morning interview and call in program on Channel 13. The show was called "Straight Talk," She continued in the role of morning show host for nearly 20 years.

"'She could have been the white Oprah Winfrey,' her friend, radio personality George Klein told The Commercial Appeal. She especially enjoyed her interviews with such notables as Elvis Presley, Julia Child, Dolly Parton, Nancy Reagan, and Billy Graham

After television, Marge Thrasher had a career in Memphis real estate.

➦In 2012…Denver radio personality Charley Martin, who was part of the dominant morning team from the 1970s to 1990s KHOW radio, died at age 67.

Charley Martin

He was half of "Hal and Charley," the dominant morning team on Denver's KHOW, launched in 1976 and lasting for decades. The two started in radio in Des Moines, Iowa, when Martin was in high school, working weekends with Moore at KSO, a top-40 station.

Martin holds a key place in Denver radio history.  "When humorous deejays were the big thing on AM radio, he and Hal Moore were among the best," said Dusty Saunders, the longtime media critic for the Rocky Mountain News and a current contributor to The Denver Post. "Morning drive time belonged to them," and they regularly scored "enormous ratings," he said.

The duo holds a claim to broader pop-culture history as well: in the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film "The Shining," Hal and Charley's KHOW show can be heard on the car radio on the approach to the hotel.

"Hal and Charley, they were the brand, like Huntley and Brinkley. They shaped Denver media in the '70s and '80s," said Chuck Lontine, a longtime radio executive who worked with the pair early in their career.

KHOW dropped the show in 1995 when it switched to a more issue-oriented talk format.

Taissa Farmiga is 26

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:

• Actor Robert DeNiro is 77. 
• Guitarist Gary Talley of The Box Tops is 73. 
• “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes is 71. 
• Actor Robert Joy (“CSI: NY”) is 69. 
• Singer Kevin Rowland of Dexy’s Midnight Runners is 67. 
• Country singer-songwriter Kevin Welch is 65. 
• Bassist Colin Moulding of XTC is 65. 
• Singer Belinda Carlisle of The Go-Go’s is 62. 
• Actor Sean Penn is 60. 
• Jazz saxophonist Everette Harp is 59. 
• Guitarist Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses) is 58. 
• Singer Maria McKee is 56. 
• Drummer Steve Gorman of The Black Crowes is 55. 
• Singer-bassist Jill Cunniff (Luscious Jackson) is 54. 
• Actor David Conrad (“Ghost Whisperer,” “Relativity”) is 53. 
• Actor Helen McCrory (“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”) is 52. 
• Actor-singer Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block is 51. 
• TV personality Giuliana Rancic (“Fashion Police,” ″E! News”) is 46. 
• Actor Bryton James (“Family Matters”) is 34. 
• Actor Brady Corbet (“24,” “Thirteen”) is 32. 
• Actor Taissa Farmiga (“American Horror Story”) is 26.