March 14 Radio History

➦In 1912...Lester Raymond Brown born (Died at age 88 – January 4, 2001).  He was a jazz musician who led the big band Les Brown and His Band of Renown for nearly seven decades from 1938 to 2000.  Brown is probably best known for his 50 year association with Bob Hope, on radio, TV & personal appearances.  Also was musical director for Dean Martin for 10 years on TV.

➦In 1922...KSD-AM (now KTRS-AM) signed-on in St. Louis.

KSD Transmitter 1922

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch launched KSD in 1922, the first St. Louis station to obtain a broadcast license from the Department of Commerce, though WIL claims earlier operation as an amateur station.

Transmitter Building 1922

According to  route56.com, first as KSD, and now as KTRS, the station has been on 550 kHz since 1923, which probably gives it the longest record of occupancy on any one frequency of any United States radio station. With its 5000-watt signal and low frequency, KTRS actually has better daytime and nighttime coverage than 50,000-watt clear-channel station KMOX in much of Missouri.

Despite that great coverage, the Post-Dispatch let KSD slip in the 1970s and, on March 19, 1984, it even lost its historic call letters under Gannett ownership. After a short-lived all-news format, on which Gannett pulled the plug just as KSD was beginning to build an audience, KSD went to country and adopted the call letters KUSA. The call letters were restored by EZ Communications when it bought KSD-AM/FM in 1993.

The call letters were switched back to KSD on October 4, 1993.

Newspaper Ad 1936

Unfortunately, the station lost the call letters again when it was sold to the Dorsey Media Group of St. Louis. EZ's successor, American Radio Systems, retained the KSD call letters for use on KSD-FM.

KTRS is  owned by CH Radio Holdings. Actor John Goodman is a part owner of the station.

➦In 1937...The radio "Battle of the Century" started when comedians Fred Allen & Jack Benny locked horns in the ballroom of the Hotel Pierre, exchanging torrid insults that were heard by the second largest audience in the history of radio. The “feud”, incidentally, lasted for the next 12 years.

➦In 1950...Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is a radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the 1976 novelty song "Disco Duck".

Report: FNC Fired Kimberly Guilfoyle For ‘Inappropriate Behavior’

Guilfoyle worked at Fox 2006-2018

Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch appeared to confirm that Kimberly Guilfoyle was fired from Fox News because of "inappropriate behavior," adding weight to previous reports that she was ousted over sexual harassment allegations, according to Insider.

The email from Murdoch was revealed in a trove of private communications between Fox employees that have surfaced as part of Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against the network, East Bay Times reported.

In an email, sent in the wake of the 2020 election, the 91-year-old media mogul mistakenly refers to her as "Kimberly Strassel," an opinion writer for the Wall Street Journal, but is clearly referring to Guilfoyle calling her "Don jr's girlfriend." Guilfoyle, 54, has been in a relationship with former President Donald Trump's eldest son since 2018.

'Everything Everywhere All At Once' Wins Big At The Oscars

'Everything Everywhere' Cast Winners

The 95th annual Academy Awards were held on Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the three-and-a-half-hour broadcast aired live on ABC.

In the wake of last year’s infamous slap, Kimmel joked during his opening monologue: “If anyone commits an act of violence anytime during this show, you will be presented the Oscar for Best Actor and be permitted to give an 18-minute long speech.” He added, “Seriously, the Academy has a crisis team in place. If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year — nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug.”

Everything Everywhere All at Once was the big winner of the evening, taking home seven awards in total including Best Picture. According to The New York Times, Michelle Yeoh made history as the first Asian actress to take home the award for Best Actress. "For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities," she said during her acceptance speech. "This is proof that dreams dream big, and dreams do come true."

Best video from #Oscars awards. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/Iog42zcd2p

— Prayag (@theprayagtiwari) March 13, 2023

Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis both won their first Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Actress for their roles in the film. After receiving his award, Quan gave a shout-out to his mother. “My mom is 84 years old, and she’s at home watching,” he said. “Mom, I just won an Oscar.” In an emotional speech, Quan added, “My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage. They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This is the American dream.”

Jamie Lee Curtis accepts the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once.' #Oscars95 pic.twitter.com/1H3tJEmgGF

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 13, 2023

Curtis teared up as she remembered her parents. “My mother and my father were both nominated for Oscars in different categories,” she said. According to Deadline, Tony Curtis was nominated for Best Actor in 1959, while Janet Leigh was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 1961. “I just won an Oscar!” Jamie Lee exclaimed.

The Netflix film All Quiet on the Western Front also had a successful evening, taking home four awards in total including Best International Feature.

Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in The Whale, commenting on his comeback story during his acceptance speech. "I started in this business 30 years ago. Things didn't come easily to me but there was a facility that I didn't appreciate at the time until it stopped," he said.

What do you do after winning an Oscar? Get it engraved.

Brendan Fraser and Jamie Lee Curtis, pictured here, gets their statuettes engraved at the Governors Ball after the show. #AcademyAwards https://t.co/Vbu6N3ZdP7 pic.twitter.com/u1jwVK58jc

— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) March 13, 2023

The evening’s performances included the nominees in the best original song category. Honorary Oscar winner Diane Warren and Sofia Carson performed “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman; David Byrne, Stephanie Hsu, and Son Lux performed “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once; and Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj performed “Naatu Naatu” from RRR. While it was reported that Lady Gaga would not perform at the event due to scheduling conflicts, the House of Gucci star sang “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick. Lastly, a month after her Super Bowl Halftime Show, Rihanna performed “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The winner was “Naatu Naatu” from RRR, making history as the first song from an Indian film to be nominated and win in the category, according to The Los Angeles Times.

John Travolta choked up as he remembered Olivia Newton-John before introducing the "In Memoriam" segment, accompanied by Lenny Kravitz on the piano, performing “Calling All Angels.”

John Travolta bringing us to tears after he quoted 'Hopelessly Devoted To You' by Olivia Newton-John before the ‘In Memoriam’ segment. #Oscars95 pic.twitter.com/jWWyUGyINd

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) March 13, 2023

Another highlight of the evening included Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy taking the stage to reveal the first full trailer for the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

Report: No AM Radio In New '24 Ford Mustang

Good old amplitude modulation joins those shiny CDs and twisted tapes on the scrapheap of history, at least as far as the next Ford Mustang is concerned, according to ARStehcnica.com.  When the 2024 Mustang goes on sale this summer, it will do so without an AM radio function.

That will make it the second Ford to lose access to this antique broadcast option. After including it in the first model year 2022 F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks, Ford dropped AM. Other electric vehicles have notably dropped AM radio—Tesla moved away from including it in new cars in 2018, as did BMW with its i3 city car, citing the potential for electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the EV powertrain. (AM radio is a feature on plenty of other EVs, so this explanation is unconvincing.)

Vox Media Adds Former Spotify Podcast to Its Lineup

Vox Media Inc., the owner of New York Magazine, the Verge and Eater, is expanding its podcast network with another show distributed by Spotify. 

Bloomberg reports psychotherapist Esther Perel’s Where Should We Begin? will join the Vox Media lineup and go from seasonal releases to always-on programming in the next few months, according to a company statement Saturday. She also plans to launch a subscription product with bonus material through Apple Podcasts.

Fox-Dominion Lawsuit Called ‘Major Test’ For 1A

Fox News Channel's ‘MediaBuzz’ host Howard Kurtz breaks down the Dominion Voting Systems’ ongoing lawsuit against Fox News, detailing the various effects the ruling of the case could have.

Dominion’s suit is scheduled for trial in April, but each side has asked the judge to grant it a final victory without putting the case to a jury, based only on the strength of its evidence.

Fox argues the allegedly defamatory broadcasts are protected by the First Amendment because Dominion can’t prove the reports were broadcast with “actual malice” — with knowledge they were false or with reckless disregard for the truth.

Wake-Up Call: U-S Acts To Shore Up Banking Confidence

The U.S. government took extraordinary steps Sunday to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring all depositors at the failed institution that they could access all their money quickly, even as another major bank was shut down. The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, California-based bank to fail could spread. Regulators had worked all weekend to try to find a buyer for the bank, which was the second-largest bank failure in history. Those efforts appeared to have failed Sunday. In a sign of how fast the financial bleeding was occurring, regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had also failed and was being seized on Sunday. At more than $110 billion in assets, Signature Bank is the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history. The near-financial crisis that U.S. regulators had to intervene to prevent left Asian markets jittery as trading began Monday. 

Silicon Valley Bank’s historic meltdown last week was largely attributed to deteriorating business conditions in the firm’s concentrated customer base and an ill-timed decision to invest billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities. https://t.co/gOyfvxpOYu

— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 13, 2023

➤AND IN NEW YORK: The sudden closure of New York’s Signature Bank by state regulators Sunday underscored the urgency of extraordinary of US efforts to backstop the nation’s banking system and quell mounting concerns among customers about the safety of their deposits. Federal regulators swept the lender into receivership just days after the demise of fellow crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital Corp. and SVB Financial Group’s Silicon Valley Bank. The announcement coincided with a slate of measures out of Washington, including the Federal Reserve’s creation of a new lending program for banks, aimed at ensuring they can meet any customer requests to withdraw money. Both Signature’s insured and uninsured customers will be able to access all their deposits under the same “systemic risk exception” that will give Silicon Valley Bank customers access to their cash starting Monday, regulators said.

The Biden Administration expressed confidence that the U.S. financial system remains safe and sound as the debate over the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank intensified on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/CSoY8nTguq

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 13, 2023

➤POTENTIAL FLASHPOINT: Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations in a deal China mediated.  The accord, which ends seven years of estrangement and upends Middle East geopolitics, is a diplomatic win for Beijing in a region where the U.S. long dominated. In recent years, China has strengthened its economic ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia, both important oil suppliers to the world’s second-largest economy. The renewed ties come as Washington tries to broker a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel; the fate of those efforts is uncertain. Meanwhile, Washington and the EU are trying to defuse their dispute over clean-energy technology subsidies to focus on Russia and China, which are seen as threats to the West. A summit in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak kindled what’s been dubbed “Le Bromance,” and Australia and India are deepening their security and economic ties as tensions with China rise.

➤UKRAINE'S ZELENSKY: MORE THAN 1,100 RUSSIAN DEAD IN LESS THAN A WEEK IN BAKHMUT: Russian forces suffered more than 1,100 dead in less than a week of battles near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the focal point of fighting in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. "In less than a week, starting from 6th March, we managed to kill more than 1,100 enemy soldiers in the Bakhmut sector alone, Russia's irreversible loss, right there, near Bakhmut," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

➤8 DEAD AFTER SMUGGLING BOATS CAPSIZE OFF SAN DIEGO COAST: At least eight people were killed when two migrant smuggling boats capsized in shallow but treacherous surf amid heavy fog, authorities said Sunday, marking one of the deadliest maritime human smuggling operations ever off of U.S. shores.Coast Guard and San Diego Fire-Rescue crews pulled bodies of eight adults from the wat er, but fog hampered the search for additional victims. Recovery efforts resumed Sunday but no additional bodies were found.

➤MIGRANTS STORM BORDER CHECKPOINT: Heavily-armed Mexican military and US Customs and Border Protection officers were manning the El Paso border on Sunday evening after around 1,000 migrants unsuccessfully tried to rush a checkpoint.  Video shared by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin showed the 'bilateral show of force' on the border, which included armed security forces in riot gear, barbed wire, concrete blocks and mesh fence on the Paso Del Norte Bridge. It was shared hours after different footage showed hordes of migrants charging past a line of Mexican officials at the border between Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.

Recorded Music Growth Slowed in 2022

The U.S. recorded music business posted its seventh consecutive year of growth in 2022 as the industry continues to benefit from streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. After spending most of the last two decades in a painful freefall — piracy devastated CD sales and the download-driven unbundling of the album didn’t make up for it — the recorded music business has enjoyed a great run. 

Last year, paid subscription revenues surpassed $10 billion for the first time, according to the RIAA, and overall revenues reached $15.9 billion.

Billboard reports here’s the bad news: Last year’s growth, in terms of both dollar and percentage increases, was the lowest since 2016, when the recorded music business started to recover from a 15-year downturn. Happy days may be here again, but they’re not getting happier like they were.

Total recorded music revenues grew 6.1%, but that’s about a quarter of 2021’s 23.2% gain. Paid streaming revenues improved 7.2% in 2022, a third of the 22.2% growth in 2021. It was the first time that this segment’s growth rate fell into the single digits since 2010. That year paid streaming revenues rose just 2.9% to $212 million. Over the next decade, as annual paid streaming grew to 57.8% of total recorded music revenue in 2022, the segment’s annual growth often exceeded 50% and fell below 20% only twice.

In Billions

Ad-supported streaming’s revenue growth rate also fell into the single digits, also for the first time in more than a decade. Slowed by an advertising malaise that has also affected companies ranging from Alphabet to iHeartMedia, streaming services’ advertising royalties to record labels grew 5.6% compared to 44.4% in 2021 and 16.8% in 2020. In dollar terms, last year’s revenue growth was the lowest since 2015.

Linear TV Viewing Continues To Erode

Samba TV’s The State of Viewership report for the second half of 2022 shows the continued erosion of traditional TV-watching.

According to nexttv.com, the report shows linear viewing hours fell 2% in the second half of 2022 compared to the second half of 2021. In the third quarter, linear viewing hit its lowest level in seven quarters before a season rebound that saw viewing in the fourth quarter equal Q4 of 2022.

Less than half of U.S. households — 45 million — watched linear TV each day during the second half, and only 48% of U.S. adults have a pay TV subscription, per Samba.

“We have reached a critical turning point in television and viewing consumption. For the first time in history, a majority of Americans report they no longer have a monthly cable subscription and are totally unreachable by traditional linear advertising,“ Samba TV CEO and co-founder Ashwin Navin said. “Meanwhile, streaming has become ubiquitous among every age group and ad-supported streaming has gone fully mainstream with significant expansion across new platforms, including industry leaders like Netflix and Disney Plus entering the world of ads.

The erosion of linear viewing is a concern to advertisers. With less than half of all households watching linear TV each day, the same consumers see the same ads over and over, which hurts brands. Younger people are less likely to subscribe to pay TV: 65% of Gen Z consumers had no cable subscription, according to Samba.

Samba found that 93% of linear ads reached only half of U.S. households, with the top 20% of linear viewing consuming the vast majority of linear TV.

Philly Radio: Starting Tonight, WIP Producer Gets His Own Show

94.1 WIP producer Jack Fritz is getting more time to talk as the Phillies prepare to start their season.

Fritz, the producer of Marks and Reese, hosted by Jon Marks and former Eagles linebacker Ike Reese, will tack on an extra hour to his schedule as the new weekday host of the station’s 6 p.m. hour.

The new show, Jack Fritz at Six, will debut today, reports The Philly Inquirer.

Considering most nights the hour will be Phillies-heavy leading into WIP’s game broadcasts, Fritz seems like an ideal choice. In addition to his producing duties at the station, Fritz is a lifelong Phillies fan and has co-hosted the High Hopes podcast with fellow WIP producer James Seltzer since 2018.

Fritz, a Bloomsburg University graduate, was hired by WIP in 2017, and has been producing for Marks and Reese since July 2019.

Tucson Radio: iHM Moves Tino To KRQQ-FM

It’s upgrade season for the YEA Networks nationally syndicated Tino Cochino Radio show. Last week the TCR team found a new home in Dallas on iHeartMedia KHKS-FM KISS 106.1 FM.

This week Tino and the crew are upgrading again, this time in Tucson. iHeart Media Senior Vice President Of Programming Nick Bruns said:

“Tino Cochino Radio has already proven that they can own nights since they’ve been on sister-station Hot 98.3 KOHT FM, so it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch what they do on the legendary 93.7 KRQ KRQQ-FM”.

TCR takes over nights 7-11p on the Top 40 starting Monday. As he was posting the “Morgan Wallen assisted announcement video“, Tino Cochino Radio host Tino added: “When we first launched our syndication in Phoenix it was a goal to also air in Tucson. The fact that we’ve now graduated to the biggest station in the 5-2-0 is fulfilling to say the least. Thank you to Tony Manero, the man responsible for giving me my radio name for his continued support, Nick Bruns, and everyone at iHeart for their belief in TCR.”

Get TCR on your station via barter by reaching out to Mikey@tinocochinoradio.com or scott@yeanetworks.com

Meta's FB Says It Will End News Access If Canadian Bill Becomes Law

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc said on Saturday that it would end availability of news content for Canadians on its platforms if the country's Online News Act passes in its current form, reports Reuters.

The "Online News Act," or House of Commons bill C-18, introduced in April last year laid out rules to force platforms like Meta and Alphabet Inc.'s Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content.

"A legislative framework that compels us to pay for links or content that we do not post, and which are not the reason the vast majority of people use our platforms, is neither sustainable nor workable," a Meta spokesperson said as reason to suspend news access in the country.

Meta's move comes after Google last month started testing limited news censorship as a potential response to the bill.

Canada's news media industry has asked the government for more regulation of tech companies to allow the industry to recoup financial losses it has suffered in the years as tech giants like Google and Meta steadily gain greater market share of advertising.

Facebook last year raised concerns about the legislation and warned it might be forced to block news-sharing on its platform.

R.I.P.: WSKQ's Polito Vega, El Rey de la Radio

Polito Vega (1938-2023)

Polito Vega, the larger-than-life radio personality and longtime programming director of New York City’s WSKQ Mega 97.9 FM — the top-rated Spanish-language station in the country — who for decades reigned as the most powerful man in that corner of radio, has died, the station confirmed on Thursday. He was 84, reports Billboard.

Vega spent more than 50 years on the air in NYC, earning the moniker “El Rey de la radio” (The King of Radio). He was known as much for his deep booming bass, which anchored numerous popular shows through the years, as for his trademark starched white outfits and baseball cap.

March 13 Radio History

➦In 1903...Charles D. Livingstone was born (died at age 83 - July 28, 1986) He was a favorite director of the two men who put Detroit in the forefront of live radio drama in the '30s and '40s with such programs as "The Lone Ranger," "The Green Hornet" and "Sgt. Preston of the Yukon."

A University of Michigan graduate, Livingstone began his professional career as an actor in stock companies and on Broadway. He joined Detroit radio station WXYZ in 1933, playing minor roles in "Warner Lester" and "The Lone Ranger" and a major part in "Thrills of the Secret Service." George W. Trendle, an attorney, and John H. King, a theater owner, had decided to turn to the infant medium of radio after the stock market crash of 1929.

They found an assortment of writers, actors and directors, and bought WXYZ. Their successes with the "Ranger" and "Hornet" enabled them to expand the shows to WGN in Chicago and WOR in New York. The three stations became the mainstay of the Mutual Network in the mid-1930s.

Livingstone was named the station's dramatic director in 1938 and remained there until 1954, when he went to Hollywood to help film "The Lone Ranger" for television.

 ➦In 1922...WRR-AM, Dallas, TX signed-on.

WRR-AM was Texas’ first broadcast station. Owned by the City of Dallas, the original studio and transmitter was located in the Dallas Fire Department central headquarters.

WRR-AM actually dates back to 1921 as the wireless operation of the Dallas Police and Fire Departments.

The station received a formal license as a "land station" from the Bureau of Navigation on August 4, 1921, and was assigned the call letters "WRR".  In later years, the call letters would be said to stand for “Where Radio Radiates”.   According to WRR’s original license, the station operated with a “composite” transmitting system (i.e. “homemade”), and was authorized to operate at a power of up to 100 watts, giving the station an approximate range of 200 nautical miles.

According to DFW Radio Archives, there were often long stretches of time when there were no fire or police calls to broadcast, so to ensure the equipment was indeed working (and perhaps satisfy their own curiosity with the strange new device), the dispatchers started to resort to other means of occupying the airwaves.  They would read articles from the Dallas News or Herald, read letters, and tell jokes.  Soon they had even brought in a phonograph player to place next to the microphone and send music over the airwaves.

A small but growing audience became fascinated by the magically transferred voices and music – these were the very beginnings of radio in north Texas.

WRR soon began to evolve into a “real” radio station.  WRR’s initial license was issued through the Bureau of Navigation and fell into a categorical no-man’s land - while operating as a “broadcast” station, it was licensed as if it were a point-to-point operation.  WRR did not receive a true broadcast license from the Commerce Department's Radio Division until March 13, 1922.

WRR-FM signed on in 1948, playing classical music.  WRR-AM focused on popular music until it switched to all-news in 1975.

Bonneville Broadcasting bought the station in 1978.  It became KAAM.  It became all-sports KTCK in 1994.  Today, Cumulus Media owns “Sports Radio 1310: The Ticket.”

The city kept WRR-FM, which remains on the air as a classical station.  Taxpayers do not sustain WRR.  It operates commercially, depending upon advertising revenue.

➦In 1923...Production of the first radio set incorporating a loudspeaker. All previously produced sets had required the use of headphones, which were considered a nuisance because they were so heavy to wear and messed up hairdos. The new radios were also said to have a “foolproof” design.

➦In 1938...“World News Roundup” aired CBS Radio Network for the first time.