The Grammys Under Fire For Lack of Diversity

Maurice White, Natalie Cole

The Grammys Show is coming under huge pressure to diversify its all-white tribute lineup and honor the late Maurice White.

During Monday’s telecast, Lady Gaga will perform an eight-minute David Bowie tribute, Jackson Browne will honor Glenn Frey and Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp are expected to perform a tribute for Lemmy from Motörhead.

But industry insiders are griping that White, of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and Natalie Cole have been banished to a video tribute package with others who died in the past year.

“Over the last week or so, since Maurice White passed away, there has been back and forth with the producers and the academy about some kind of representation of him during the show. The tributes they’ve confirmed are all white. As of Friday, there was no tribute at all for Maurice because Grammy producers said they didn’t have time,” one insider told The NY Post.

Meanwhile, another source close to the Grammys said they’re still trying to figure out how to add more diversity to the lineup.

“Maurice White and the group he founded had unprecedented impact on pop culture. After a lot of pressure, producers are trying to figure out how to properly pay tribute to him. It’s still in limbo,” said the insider.

The Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 15.

Westwood One Hosts Radio Row At the Grammys

Westwood One reports it was a robust Backstage Radio Row Sunday -- with national radio talent, 25 domestic radio stations, and six international radio stations -- featuring one-on-one interviews, live performances, and more.

In addition, Westwood One | Cumulus hosted two exclusive evenings of entertainment surrounding Music’s Biggest Night®. The first VIP event took place Friday night: “Rooftop Live” was an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and music on the rooftop of the Perch building in downtown L.A. and featured electronic music artist Audien and chart-rising act DNCE led by Joe Jonas. The festivities continued Sunday night with “Intimate Session,” a cocktail reception in Studio A of the historic Capitol Studios building.  Rising star Troye Sivan  performed and GRAMMY-winning songwriter Diane Warren sat for a chat with Tommy Page, SVP Brand Partnerships for Westwood One | Cumulus. Warren is also a current GRAMMY nominee for “Best Song Written for Visual Media’” for “Til It Happens to You,” her collaboration with Lady Gaga.

GRAMMY-nominee Charlie Puth had some fun crashing Adam Bomb’s interview with Daya during Westwood One Backstage at the GRAMMYs. Bomb, host of Westwood One’s The Adam Bomb Show, let Daya play radio DJ and then spoke to both about their excitement over the GRAMMYs and the big decision about what to wear. Singer/songwriter/producer Puth is nominated for three GRAMMYs. His new album “Nine Track Mind” was released two weeks ago and debuted as a Billboard Top 5 Album. His single “One Call Away” is currently #17 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Daya’s hit single “Hide Away” has spent multiple weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 and is certified gold and platinum. Daya was named one of Rolling Stone’s “10 Artists to Watch” and she is releasing her debut album this summer.

GRAMMY-nominated electronic music producer and DJ Audien spun some great tunes and got everyone out on the floor dancing during the Westwood One | Cumulus Rooftop Live party atop the Perch building in downtown LA. This exclusive event featured a guest list of VIPs, advertisers, music industry executives, and loyal station listeners.

 Singer David Cook, winner of season 7’s American Idol, poses with DNCE, featuring Joe Jonas, JinJoo Lee, Cole Whittle, and Jack Lawless, at Westwood One Backstage at the GRAMMYs. DNCE’s debut single, “Cake by the Ocean,” is in the Top 15 of Billboard’s Hot 100 and Billboard’s Pop Songs Top 10.

Pop trio Forever in Your Mind -- Liam Attridge, Ricky Garcia, and Emery Kelly – stop by Westwood One Backstage at the GRAMMYs. Their current single is “Sweet Little Something.” They rose to wild popularity with the song “Whenever,” the theme to the hit Disney Channel show Best Friends Whenever, starring the band’s Ricky Garcia. They are releasing their debut album this Spring.

GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Mike Posner performed an acoustic set during Westwood One Backstage at the GRAMMYs. Posner rose to fame with his multi-platinum single “Cooler than Me” off his debut album. In addition to his own material, Posner writes and produces for other artists like Pharrell, Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Nick Jonas and more.

 Joe Jonas and DNCE performed an amazing set at Westwood One | Cumulus’ exclusive Rooftop Live party atop the Perch building in downtown LA. This private event featured a guest list of VIPs, advertisers, music industry executives, and loyal station listeners.

 Tommy Page, Westwood One | Cumulus SVP Brand Partnerships, has an insightful conversation with GRAMMY-winning songwriter Diane Warren during the exclusive “Intimate Session” event, a cocktail reception in Studio A of the historic Capitol Studios building. Warren is also a current GRAMMY nominee for “Best Song Written for Visual Media’” for “Til It Happens to You,” her collaboration with Lady Gaga.

Jeff Bhasker On "Uptown Funk's" Long Road to the Grammys

Just when we thought “Uptown Funk” had retired to the suburbs, Bruno Mars stormed the Super Bowl with a floating cloud of backup singers to remind us why the tune became the soundtrack to 2015 and a leading contender for Record of the Year at Monday’s Grammy Awards.

Producer Jeff Bhasker wasn’t shimmying or singing on stage during halftime, but he shares sweat equity (and windfall songwriting royalties) with the stars of the hit single.  It took nearly a year and about 100 different versions before “Uptown Funk” reached its full potential in the studio, says Bhasker, who produced the song with Ronson, Mars and the singer’s longtime songwriting partner Philip Lawrence.

With a separate Grammy nomination (his second) for Producer of the Year, and credits last year ranging from Ed Sheeran to A$AP Rocky, Bhasker is one of those behind-the-scenes players who reveal the fluidity of genres and how small the pop world is.

“Uptown Funk” didn’t transpire so swiftly. “It took five minutes to come up with the first 16 or 24 bars, then 9 months to get the rest of the song,” Bhasker told The Wall Street Journal. “The biggest problem was that the [intro] was so great. How do you deliver a song that keeps getting better one or two minutes in or at the chorus?”

He compared the trial-and-error process to solving a Rubik’s Cube. After trying many musical combinations (and occasionally walking away from the track to get a fresh perspective) the songwriters went back to basics.

“I think it was Bruno who suggested we just get on the instruments and play the song as if we were a band, and that way we’d really see what the essential parts were,” says Bhasker, noting that he was on keyboard and “yelling a lot.”

Detroit Radio: Hometown Names Glenn Frey Drive

A section of Willis Avenue that runs near the school where Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey played his first high school dances has been renamed in the late rock legend’s memory.

The Royal Oak school board voted unanimously Thursday to approve a request coordinated by a local radio station to honor Frey, who died Jan. 18 at the age of 67, by renaming the section of the street Glenn Frey Drive.

Glenn Frey Drive is a short section along the south side of Royal Oak Middle school — formerly Frey’s alma mater, Dondero High School — between N. West Street and N. Washington Avenue.
WCSX 94.7 FM started the drive to have the street renamed for Frey, who graduated from Dondero in 1966 and played high school dances there with a group called The Subterraneans before moving to California in the 1970s and co-founding the legendary rock band.

Morning personality Jim O’Brien said the radio campaign drew support from around the word on social media, including tweets from Joe Walsh and Bob Seger, according to Patch.com.

The new street will be unveiled at a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 18 in front of Royal Oak Middle School.

The Royal Oak-born, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will be honored at Monday’s Grammy Awards. Remaining members of the Eagles — Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit and Bernie Leadon — will be joined by Jackson Browne during a tribute Frey, producers announced this week.

The Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 15.

Apple Music Now Has 11M Subscribers

Apple executives Craig Federighi and Eddy Cue announced on John Gruber's podcast, The Talk Show, that Apple Music is growing at a fast-rate, sitting at 11 million subscribers since June 2015.

To compare, it took Spotify six years to reach where Apple Music is at.

Apple recently shut off access to Apple Music radio stations to users on its free tier, likely pushing more subscribers. Those who subscribe pay $9.99 per month for access to curated stations, songs, albums, artists, and more, according to zdnet.com.

The popularity of Apple Music, Spotify, and other competing services has put strain on Pandora, the once go-to Internet radio . While it still has the most users, Pandora's growth has been slowing, and the company is considering putting itself up for sale.

Pandora's fate is being hotly debated on Wall Street. The New York Times reported last week that the company may be up for sale, and Edison Investment Research noted Friday that Spotify is a likely buyer.

Cleveland Radio: Kevin Keily Quits The Fan WKRK

Kevin Kiley

WKRK 92.3 FM  radio host Kevin Kiley, who faced a wave of criticism for remarks he made about Buffalo Bills assistant coach Kathryn Smith accused the network of censorship on-air Thursday night while announcing his resignation.

Kevin Kiley, one of two hosts of “Kiley & Carman,” a morning show on CBS Radio’s 92.3 The Fan, made headlines last month after he said there’s “no place for a woman” to coach men in professional football and that Ms. Smith “couldn’t possibly be qualified” for the position.

The Washington Times reports Kiley appeared on CBS’s television affiliate in Cleveland to announce his resignation at month’s end, but not without accusing the network of censoring him. He said CBS served him with a letter threatening his job if he didn’t tone down his rhetoric.

“I was handed a written edict from CBS. … They threatened my job twice in the letter,” he said.

Kiley said that he actually resigned from WKRK in early November for unrelated reasons, effective at the end of this month.

“My principles, their principles of doing business, they don’t match,” he said. “And it was tough for me to work there. So I have resigned and I’ll be ending, I think at the end of the month. Maybe at the end of this show. We’ll find out.

CNN To Air Two GOP Town Hall Events

CNN announced over the weekend that it will host back-to-back Republican town hall events in South Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET.

Over the course of two nights, all six of the remaining GOP presidential candidates will have the opportunity to answer questions from Palmetto State voters, who go to the polls on Saturday, February 20, for the Republican Party primary.

CNN's Anderson Cooper will moderate both events.

Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio will gather in Greenville for Wednesday night's prime-time broadcast. On Thursday, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush and John Kasich will appear in Columbia.

GOP Debate On CBS Draws 13.5M Viewers

(Reuters) -- Saturday night's Republican debate on CBS was the most-watched of any in 2016, drawing 13.5 million viewers, the network said on Sunday.

The CBS News debate was the most watched of the year so far and the highest rated debate among adults aged 25-54 since January, the network said.

In August, the Republican candidates' prime-time debate on Fox News Channel drew 24 million viewers, more than double the prior record for a presidential primary debate and the highest non-sports telecast in cable TV history, according to Nielsen.

John Dickerson Hones His Skills at CBS News

By the standards of Sunday morning news shows, the handoff of the anchor’s position on “Face the Nation” on CBS was really quite peaceful.

A few days after the longtime anchor Bob Schieffer announced his retirement last spring, he was on his show introducing and laughing with his replacement, John Dickerson.

The show’s main competitors haven’t had it that easy. NBC suffered through the drawn-out, somewhat torturous firing of David Gregory, and Christiane Amanpour’s shaky status on ABC’s “This Week” spawned rumors in the media until she was replaced in 2011 after little more than a year in the job.

The NY Times reports the CBS succession plan made sense. Like Schieffer, Dickerson had spent most of his career as a reporter and was widely respected in the beltway. Though much younger, he shared Mr. Schieffer’s calm and cool demeanor (“There was this quality of . . . call it, avuncular,” said David Rhodes, the president of CBS News).

Still, Dickerson, with a print journalism career at publications like Time and Slate, had little television experience and a relatively low public profile. It was something of a risk for CBS to hand him the reins of a show that was No. 1 in viewership among the Sunday morning news programs and that was critical to the network’s credibility in Washington.

NY Times photos

Eight months later, Mr. Dickerson, 47, has not missed a beat. For the season, “Face the Nation” remains the No. 1 most viewed public affairs show on Sundays, with an average of 3.7 million viewers, besting “Meet the Press,” now hosted by Chuck Todd, and “This Week,” led by George Stephanopoulos and Martha Raddatz.

Read More Now

In its summary of debate winners and losers, The Washington Post deemed Dickerson a "winner" during Saturday's GOP Debate.  According to WaPo, When you have six candidates on stage and at least four of them (Cruz, Rubio, Trump and Bush) actively dislike each other, the moderator is going to be under a ton of pressure. ...Dickerson was outstanding — keeping his wits and humor about him, moving the debate briskly while also allowing disagreements to play out. That performance is how a moderator should aim to act.

TheNYTimes didn't quite see it the same.  "With a smaller group on the stage this time, the moderators handled the remaining candidates gently, and occasionally lingered on an individual contender to press for more specific answers. A moment of tension flared early when John Dickerson of CBS corrected an inaccurate statement by Mr. Cruz, who misstated the year Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Yet, as he has done in every debate so far, Mr. Trump steamrollered over the moderators, seemingly at will, and constantly interrupted and talked over his opponents. As in each previous debate, there was no concerted effort to make him behave."

CBS Radio's Chris Oliviero To Receive 'Ashwood Award'

Chris Oliviero, Executive Vice President/Programming for CBS Radio, has been selected as this year's recipient of Talk Show Boot Camp's coveted' Ashwood Award.' The award, which recognizes someone who has made a positive impact on the industry, will be presented on Friday morning March 4th at Hyatt's Pier 66 In Ft. Lauderdale.

Chris Oliviero was selected by last year's recipient, Kraig Kitchin, who, like each year's honoree, is charged with naming the following year's recipient. In making the selection, Kitchin said, I believe that Chris truly loves the medium and touches it from many ways, shapes and forms."

Chris Oliviero

Prior to Oliviero's elevation to EVP, he was previously SVP of Programming since 2009, and also took on a supervisory position for CBS Sports Radio in 2012, overseeing the daily operations for  the expansive network.

In his current role, Oliviero leads programming development and operations for CBS RADIO’s 117 news, sports, talk and music stations nationwide. Additionally, he manages talent relations, explores new business partnerships and acquisitions, and oversees the Division’s research activities.

Beginning his career with CBS RADIO in 1996 as an intern for The Howard Stern Show, Oliviero joined Sportsradio WFAN NY, full- time as a producer upon graduation from New York University in 1998. He was named Executive Producer for WNEW 102.7FM in 2000, and became part of CBS RADIO’s corporate staff in 2004, serving first as program coordinator, and later as Director, Original Programming (2004 - 05) and Vice President of Programming (2005 - 09). Additionally, he manages talent relations, explores new business partnerships and acquisitions, and oversees the Division’s national live events and research activities.

The Ashwood Award was named in honor of the late Andrew Ashwood, VP and GM of FOX Sports Radio, who passed away on November 13, 2008 at 51. Andrew was remembered for his unwavering positive outlook on work, on sports, and on life. Past honorees have included TSBC co-presenter, Gabe Hobbs, Rick Scott, Bruce Gilbert, Jim Farley, Glenn Beck (shown receiving his award in 2014) & Kraig Kitchin. The Award will be presented to Chris Oliviero by Kraig Kitchin

Memphis Radio: Flinn Broadcasting Counter Sues Nielsen

Flinn Broadcasting corporation is alleging that Nielsen “fraudently induced” it into entering ratings agreements for its Memphis stations and then breached those contracts by publishing ratings based on what it calls faulty PPM methodology.

InsideRadio reports he counterclaim, filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, shoots holes in the Memphis PPM ratings service methodology, claiming its sample size and demographic representation were insufficient and adversely impacted minority broadcasters such as Flinn. The PPM, which remains unaccredited by the Media Rating Council in Memphis, produced results that were “unreliable, false and misleading,” Flinn claims, arguing that Nielsen had an obligation to “disclose such facts” before signing Flinn to a ratings contract.

The claim comes in response to a suit filed by Nielsen which alleged Flinn breached its contract by failing to pay $136,872.88 for PPM ratings and other services for its five-station Memphis cluster during an eight-month period in 2015.   Flinn stations in Memphis are: Top40 WHBG 1075. FM, HipHop KXHT 107.1 FM, Sports WHBQ 560 AM / 87.7 T-FM. Throwback HipHop WIVG 96.1 FM, WMPS 1210 AM, Hispanic WGSF 1030 AM

Flinn’s suit also drags Nielsen into a legal quagmire over how it responded to the impact that Voltair had on its ratings. The suit describes how the ratings of one of Flinn’s competitors “began to increase dramatically for no apparent reason” early last year, which Flinn attributed to the competitor’s use of Voltair.

That resulted in ratings that were “misleading and fraudulent” and cost Flinn some reduced ad revenue. Flinn says when it contacted Nielsen about the matter, the measurement giant advised the broadcaster not to buy a Voltair, and said it was working on a solution. Nielsen failed to take action against broadcasters in Memphis that used Voltair, the countersuit says, claiming that Nielsen’s enhanced CBET encoders were “a tacit admission that the version of PPM that had been in use for years did not fully measure listening and that Voltair provided an unfair benefit to the radio stations that used it.”

Mobile Usage Was High During the Super Bowl

During the Super Bowl 50, viewers were glued to their TV sets—with their mobile devices nearby. A February 2016 survey found that mobile accounted for the largest share of searches related to Super Bowl ads.

Research from Think with Google looked at the primary device used to conduct searches related to Super Bowl ads among US internet users. Some 82% of searches related to Super Bowl ads were conducted on mobile devices.

According to eMarketer, Desktop devices accounted for 11% of Super Bowl ad–related searches, and tablets accounted for just 7%.

Internet users often conduct digital activities simultaneously while watching TV. In fact, September 2015 data from TiVo revealed that most digital viewers multitask while watching live television.

A separate February 2016 survey from Localytics found that mobile app usage was also high during the Super Bowl. Mobile app users worldwide launched an average of 3.21 social network apps during the big game.

In addition, respondents said they launched an average of 2.40 music apps as well as 2.22 entertainment apps while watching the big game.

Indy Radio: The Beat Stages Listener's Card Shower

Cumulus' WRWM 93.9 FM The Beat Indianapolis and morning show, JC in the Morning, collected homemade Valentine's Day cards from listeners to take to the kids at Riley Hospital for Children.

The station collected over 1,000 cards and hosted a Valentine's Day party for children in the hospital last Friday.

Jay Michaels, Program Director, 104.5 WJJK and 93.9 The Beat, Cumulus Indianapolis, shared the attached photos from this heartwarming and successful drive and event.

This comes just two weeks before Cumulus Indianapolis kicks off its annual Riley Radiothon in conjunction with Riley Telethon for Kids, a two-day telethon where all three Cumulus Indianapolis stations (WJJK, WFMS and WRWM) join forces to raise funds for Riley Hospital for Children.

Conspiracy Theories Start To Swirl Around Scalia Death

Conspiracy theories are beginning to swirl in the aftermath of the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was found dead at age 79 in his room on Saturday morning at the Cibolo Creek Ranch in Texas.

Guevara

It then took hours for authorities in remote West Texas to find a justice of the peace, officials said Sunday, according to The Washington Post.  When they did, she pronounced Scalia dead of natural causes without seeing the body and without ordering an autopsy. A second justice of the peace, who was called but couldn’t get to Scalia’s body in time, said she would have made a different decision.

Meanwhile, Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara acknowledged that she pronounced Scalia dead by phone, without seeing his body. Instead, she spoke to law enforcement officials at the scene — who assured her “there were no signs of foul play” — and Scalia’s physician in Washington, who said that the 79-year-old justice suffered from a host of chronic conditions.

“He was having health issues,’’ Guevara said, adding that she is awaiting a statement from Scalia’s doctor that will be added to his death certificate when it is issued later this week.

Poindexter (Austin American)

The Breitbart news website reports John Poindexter, the owner of the ranch, provided more bait for speculation with an awkward description of how Scalia was found: “We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled.”

 As late as Sunday afternoon, for example, there were conflicting reports about whether an autopsy should have been performed. A manager at the El Paso funeral home where Scalia’s body was taken said his family made it clear that they did not want one.

In a statement Sunday, the U.S. Marshals Service, which provides security for Supreme Court justices, said Scalia had declined a security detail while at the ranch, so marshals were not present when he died. “Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Western District of Texas responded immediately upon notification of Justice Scalia’s passing,” the statement said.

Conspiracy sites and social media have lit up with suggestions that Scalia may have been eliminated to ensure a 5-4 liberal majority before President Barack Obama leaves office. Of course, those theories cannot explain why, if the president had wanted Scalia (or another conservative jurist) dead, he would have waited past so many big decisions.

Questions and conspiracies surrounding Scalia death will broil on Monday...

— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) February 15, 2016

Among the conpiracy theorists is talk host Alex Jones.  On Sunday Jones, went on Facebook to give an emergency transmission to his believers.

Shocking Developments in Scalia Death
Posted by Alex Jones on Sunday, February 14, 2016

More serious questions will focus on the medical care Scalia received last week. He apparently visited his doctor on Wednesday and Thursday, but chose to travel anyway over the weekend.

February 15 Radio History

In 1926...radio actress Mary Lee Robb was born in Streator, Illinois.

She made her radio debut in 1947 on the “Lum and Abner” program, but it was a small part in a 1948 episode of NBC radio’s “The Great Gildersleeve” that led to her full-time role as Gildy’s niece Marjorie, which she played until 1954. She also appeared on “The Penny Singleton Radio Show,” “Burns and Allen” and others before retiring to raise her daughter and son.

She died of heart failure Aug. 26 2006 at age 80.





In 1932…George Burns and Gracie Allen made their first appearance as regular players on CBS Radio Network's, "The Guy Lombardo Show". When Lombardo accepted an offer to move to NBC, Burns and Allen took over his CBS spot with "The Adventures of Gracie," beginning in September of 1934.

In 1943…The ABC Radio Network aired "My True Story" for the first time. The daily program was presented in cooperation with “True Story” magazine, and continued on radio for nearly 19 years.

In 1965…Singer Nat King Cole died of cancer on this day in 1965. He was 45.

In 1993…The Howard Stern Radio Show begain airing on WNVE-FM in Rochester, New York.


In 2002...former CBS Radio correspondent and ABC TV anchorman Howard K. Smith died of pneumonia at age 87.

Upon graduating, Smith worked for the New Orleans Item, with United Press in London, and with The New York Times. In January 1940, Smith was sent to Berlin, where he joined the Columbia Broadcasting System under Edward R. Murrow. He visited Hitler's mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden and interviewed many leading Nazis, including Hitler himself, Schutzstaffel or "SS" leader Heinrich Himmler and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. When Smith refused to include Nazi propaganda in his reports, the Gestapo seized his notebooks and threw him out of the country. He left for Switzerland on December 6, 1941, the day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

He was one of the last American reporters to leave Berlin before Germany and the United States went to war. His 1942 book, Last Train from Berlin: An Eye-Witness Account of Germany at War describes the reporter's observations from Berlin in the year after the departure of Berlin Diary author William L. Shirer. Last Train from Berlin became an American best-seller and was reprinted in 2001, shortly before Smith's death.

In 2014…Journalist/associate minister/Detroit radio personality (WCHB 1200 AM) Angelo Henderson, who served two terms as a parliamentarian of the National Association of Black Journalists and was the only African-American reporter to win a Pulitzer Prize for The Wall Street Journal (1999), died at the age of 51.

He had been recovering from surgery conducted last month to repair a quadriceps tendon rupture.

Henderson hosted the morning weekday WCHB radio show "Your Voice with Angelo Henderson," focused on Detroit issues and a daily rundown of area crime.