Chris Licht, a veteran television producer who helped create “Morning Joe” at MSNBC and later successfully retooled morning and late-night programming at CBS, is set to be the next leader of CNN, according to three people with direct knowledge of the decision, reports The NY Times.
Mr. Licht, 50, who is currently the executive producer of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” is poised to succeed Jeff Zucker, the CNN president whose nine-year tenure abruptly ended this month when he resigned over an undisclosed romantic relationship with a colleague.
He is expected to join the network once its parent company, WarnerMedia, completes a merger with Discovery Inc., a deal that could close by April. Mr. Licht and David Zaslav, the chief executive of Discovery, are professional and social friends who have known each other for more than a decade.
Discussions between Mr. Licht and Mr. Zaslav began shortly after Mr. Zucker’s departure, and accelerated over the past two weeks, one of the people said. A formal announcement is expected as soon as this coming week. Puck first reported the news of Mr. Licht’s selection.
Overseeing CNN — a sprawling news organization with a worldwide footprint, thousands of employees and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue — would be by far the biggest undertaking of Mr. Licht’s career in television. And he is joining the network at a time of turmoil.
Its newsroom was roiled by the stunning exit of Mr. Zucker, who commanded deep loyalty among anchors and correspondents. Its prime-time and morning ratings have been mired in third place behind rivals Fox News and MSNBC. And the looming takeover by Discovery has raised questions about the future direction of the network.
Mr. Licht is a co-creator of “Morning Joe,” the hugely successful MSNBC franchise that still dominates that network’s morning lineup. He jumped to CBS News in 2011, where he was widely credited with turning around the fortunes of “CBS This Morning,” adding the hosts Charlie Rose and Gayle King and introducing a chattier, more freewheeling format.
In 2016, CBS tapped Mr. Licht to take over “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which had struggled in its early months to secure viewers and the critical praise enjoyed by Mr. Colbert’s predecessor, David Letterman.
Howard Stern is easily one of the most successful radio broadcasters of all time... if not THE most successful, reports thethings.com. Throughout the 1980s, '90s, and early 2000s, Howard was the epitome of a 'shock jock'. Everything he said stirred the pot. He would start feuds with celebrities, anger concerned mothers of America, simultaneously tick off the politically correct crowd and those on the religious right, and get massive ratings for it.
The self-proclaimed King of All Media started off in a radio small market in Briarcliff Manor, New York, expanded to Connecticut, Michigan, Washington, and then into New York. Pretty soon, he had built an entire empire that reached all over America and Canada. And ever since his 2006 move from terrestrial radio to satellite Howard can be heard worldwide. The best-selling author, former America's Got Talent judge, and blockbuster film star is undoubtedly a mega-entertainer. But what exactly are his ratings?
What Are Howard Stern's Ratings On SiriusXM?
It's incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to know Howard's ratings after his 2006 move to Sirius (now SiriusXM Pandora). The satellite radio company doesn't publish ratings as terrestrial radio companies do. But we know that prior to Howard's arrival on Sirius, the company only had about 600,000 subscribers. To date, the company has 35 million. About 30 million of these subscribers signed up for the paid radio company within a few short years after his arrival.
Howard and his agent received 34.3 million shares of Sirius stock the day he started as he had already exceeded the agreed subscriber target.
Howard reached a second subscriber bonus a year later which earned him another 22 million shares of stock worth nearly $100 million.
Not all of these subscribers are Howard fans, of course. But it's estimated that he has about 10 million active listeners, a couple million of whom come in and out of the show sporadically.
Even though SiriusXM has hundreds of channels of entertainment, there's no doubt that Howard Stern is their main draw. It's one of the reasons they have him on a premium package instead of included in the initial sign-up fee. His die-hard fans pay to listen to him. But not all of his fan base from his terrestrial days were able to follow him to satellite.
At the height of Howard's career on terrestrial radio, he had over 20 million people tuning in each day. According to The Washington Post, he averaged 12 million per day. Almost anyone could have access to Howard in their car or on their home radio. Unlike other radio personalities, Howard demanded attention. One never knew what he would say next. That was his appeal. Now his audience has shifted. They are wealthier, paid subscribers who want a different type of content from him. This is one of the reasons Howard developed his skills as one of the best celebrity interviewers in the business.
According to a scathing article by The New York Post, Howard has also lost listeners due to being less controversial than he used to be. Some fans on Twitter and Reddit also criticize Howard for constantly sharing his political opinions and worries about the global pandemic instead of providing other entertainment. But clearly, these fans still listen to the show... how else would they know what he is or isn't saying?
Cumulus Media announces that it has promoted Adam Copeland to Co-Host of Afternoons on Bay Area Sports/Talk radio station KNBR 104.5FM / 680AM The Sports Leader. Copeland joins Co-Host Tom Tolbert in Tolbert and Copes, which debuts today on KNBR. The show will air weekdays from 2:00pm-6:00pm.
In addition, Copeland will take part in the KNBR morning show today, with KNBR producer Markus Bourcher, who moves into Adam’s previous timeslot as the station searches for a replacement.
Aaron Copeland
Copeland joined KNBR as an intern in 2009 and was hired in 2016 as a board operator, and eventually became the producer of KNBR Tonight with Ryan Covay. In 2018, after time as a fill-in host on KNBR, Copeland was named host of his own talk show, The Lead Off Spot with Adam Copeland, which airs weekday mornings from 5:00am-6:00am. He also contributes daily as a producer of the station’s popular Murph and Mac morning program from 6:00am-10:00am.
Larry Blumhagen, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus San Francisco, said: “Adam Copeland is a rising star! We are beyond excited about the combination of the legendary Tom Tolbert pairing with Adam.”
Kevin Graham, Program Director, KNBR 104.5 & 680AM / KNBR 1050AM, noted: “Adam Copeland is a Bay Area native who brings his passion, energy and knowledge of our local sports landscape to afternoons with Tom Tolbert, one of the most legendary and talented Sports Talk hosts in the country. We congratulate Adam on this well-deserved promotion and know KNBR fans will love the match-up of Tolbert and Copes in Afternoons.”
Adam Copeland commented: "Having the opportunity to host The Leadoff Spot and hang with Murph and Mac for the past four years has been a dream come true since I was 16 years old, and I'm forever indebted to all the loyal listeners, callers, and guests who made the show as fun and engaging as it was. It's been the honor of my life. I look forward to bringing that same energy and enthusiasm to afternoon drive with the legendary Tom Tolbert. I know I have big shoes to fill, and I hope to make my fellow Bay Area sports fans proud. Onward and upward."
The moves come after KNBR cut ties with longtime afternoon co-hosts Larry Krueger and Rod Brooks last week.
2021 revenues of $3.5 billion increased 4.1% on a reported basis, 3.4% on a constant currency basis & 4.9% organic constant currency, above guidance- Net income per share of $1.53 (diluted, from continuing operations) in 2021; Adjusted EPS of $1.81, above guidance
Other key metrics at the high end or above guidance ranges
Executed on key product milestones in 2021; on track to deliver Nielsen ONE cross-media measurement solution in 2022
Board of Directors approves $1 billion share repurchase authorization
Nielsen Holdings plc announced fourth quarter and full year 2021 results. For the full year, revenues increased 4.1% on a reported basis, 3.4% on a constant currency basis, and 4.9% on an organic constant currency basis, above guidance. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS exceeded the guidance range, and Free Cash Flow was at the high end of the guidance range. Nielsen also issued 2022 guidance and announced a $1 billion share repurchase authorization.
David Kenney
David Kenny, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We delivered strong results in 2021. We successfully sold Nielsen Global Connect, hit significant product milestones, and exceeded all of our original 2021 guidance metrics despite facing some unanticipated challenges. We are strongly positioned within the media ecosystem, with growing relevance as audiences shift to streaming, and we are delivering value to clients across our three essential solutions. We made measurable progress toward becoming a digital-first company, and our strategy aligns with where growth in the industry is coming from. We are piloting the first iteration of Nielsen ONE, which we launched in January, with a representative group of clients across media buyers and sellers and feedback has been positive."
"We also made progress on strengthening our balance sheet, reducing our net debt leverage by over half a turn in 2021. We now have the flexibility to return more capital to shareholders while continuing to invest in organic growth initiatives and pursue strategic, tuck-in M&A. Our $1 billion share repurchase authorization reflects our Board's confidence in both our short and long-term growth prospects and enables us to deliver value to our shareholders."
Fourth Quarter 2021 Results
Fourth quarter revenues of $894 million increased 2.5% on a reported basis, 2.9% on a constant currency basis, and 4.7% on an organic constant currency basis compared to the prior year period.
Measurement revenues of $647 million increased 3.7% on a reported basis, 4.0% on a constant currency basis, and 5.2% on an organic constant currency basis compared to the prior year period. Overall growth was solid, with national and digital measurement products showing strength, and a third consecutive quarter of modest growth in local products.
Impact / Content revenues of $247 million decreased 0.4% on a reported basis, were flat on a constant currency basis, and increased 3.4% on an organic constant currency basis compared to the prior year period. Revenue in Impact grew in the high single digits on an organic constant currency basis, driven by growth in short-cycle revenue and recovery in the Sports business, offset in part by a timing-related decline in Content.
Net income from continuing operations attributable to Nielsen shareholders for the fourth quarter was $242 million, compared to $8 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Net income from continuing operations per share on a diluted basis for the fourth quarter was $0.67, compared to $0.02 for the fourth quarter of 2020. The improvement in net income from continuing operations was driven by a tax benefit in the quarter due to discrete items (primarily the utilization of foreign tax credits, benefits associated with closing audits and open tax years, and a reduction in deferred tax liabilities) and lower interest expense, partially offset by the increased costs to operate as a standalone company without Global Connect. In addition, Nielsen recorded a non-cash charge of $97 million, or $0.27 per share, related to impairment of intangible assets in the fourth quarter 2020.
Reported EPS of $0.59 includes EPS of $0.67 from continuing operations and EPS of $(0.08) from discontinued operations.
Adjusted EPS was $0.46 for the fourth quarter, compared to $0.32 in the prior year period, reflecting a lower tax rate year over year, offset in part by lower Adjusted EBITDA and higher depreciation & amortization
Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $351 million, compared to $380 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, down 7.6% on a reported basis and 7.4% on a constant currency basis.
As expected, Adjusted EBITDA margin of 39.3% decreased 432 basis points on a reported basis, or a decrease of 435 basis points on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year, reflecting the return of the temporary costs savings realized in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and investments in growth initiatives, partially offset by the strong revenue performance in the quarter and benefits from the 2020 optimization plan.
Julio Cruz, an original Seattle Mariners player from their inaugural season who later became a Spanish-language broadcaster for the franchise, has died, the team announced Wednesday. He was 67, reports USAToday.
Cruz died Tuesday at his home, according to a statement from his family. Cruz played for Seattle and the Chicago White Sox during his career.
“Julio shared his kindness and humor graciously, and we know he is beloved in the baseball community and beyond,” the Cruz family said in their statement.
Cruz, a switch-hitting second baseman, played 10 seasons total in the majors. He played parts of seven seasons with the Mariners, beginning with their inaugural season in 1977. Cruz made his debut with Seattle on July 4, 1977, after being selected from the California Angels organization during the expansion draft.
Cruz had served as part of the Mariners’ Spanish-language broadcasts since 2003.
“Julio chose to make his home and raise his family here. He’s been closely associated with our club for over 25 years, one of the longest relationships of any player in our history,” said Randy Adamack, Seattle’s senior vice president and special adviser to the chairman and CEO.
Cruz was traded to the Chicago White Sox during the 1983 season and spent the final 3½ seasons of his career playing in Chicago. White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said Cruz was the catalyst for Chicago’s run to the AL West title in 1983.
UKRAINE AGREES TO TALKS: Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country's nuclear forces put on high alert yesterday, dramatically ramping up tensions, citing, quote, "aggressive statements" by NATO and the tough financial sanctions that have been imposed by Western nations in the past few days. AP said the practical meaning of the order wasn't immediately clear, but White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC Putin is doing the same thing he did in the weeks before the invasion, quote, "which is to manufacture threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression."
Putin took the step as Russian forces continued to face strong opposition in Ukraine, with U.S. officials saying they believe the invasion has been slower and more difficult that Moscow believed would be the case. But that could soon change, with AP citing a senior U.S. intelligence official as saying neighboring Belarus is expected to send troops into Ukraine on Russia's side as early as today. Even without that aid, Russian forces are continuing to close in around the capital of Kyiv. There was street fighting in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, Russian forces were advancing on and attacking cities in the south, and they took Berdyansk, a city of 100,000 people. Ukraine's Interior Ministry said yesterday that 352 Ukrainian civilians had been killed, including 14 children.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office announced there had been an agreement to meet with for talks with a Russian delegation on the Belarusian border "without preconditions." It wasn't immediately clear when the meeting would take place. Zelenskyy expressed doubt that the meeting would produce results, but said he agreed to it, quote, "so that no citizen of Ukraine would have any doubt that I, as president, did not try to stop the war when there was a small chance." Meanwhile, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly is holding an emergency session today on the invasion.
Belarus is expected to send troops into Ukraine as soon as Monday to fight alongside Russian forces that invaded Ukraine. A senior U.S. intelligence official added that Belarus' involvement is contingent on upcoming talks between Russia and Ukraine. https://t.co/qw6nfH2wUp
The U.S. and other Western nations continued to ratchet up their response to the invasion yesterday, saying they would increase sanctions and send weapons to Ukraine. The U.S. increased the number of weapons it's sending, announcing it will include Stinger missiles that can take down helicopters and other aircraft, and European nations are also sending Stingers. The European Union said that fighter jets will also be sent, that the E.U. will close its airspace to Russian airlines, and that it will ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets. The U.S., European Union, U.K. and Japan agreed to block certain Russian banks from the SWIFT system, which moves money around banks and other financial institutions worldwide. The assets of Russian oligarchs close to Putin and sanctioned companies are also being targeted, with NBC News citing a senior White House official as saying the U.S. is launching a trans-Atlantic task force to identify any, quote, "ill-gotten gains" those elites.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said yesterday that American citizens should consider leaving Russia "immediately."
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Sunday that the number of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the country has reached 368,000 and was continuing to rise. Many of them were fleeing into bordering nations like Romania, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, and Slovakia.
➤Anti-War Protests in Russia
In addition to anti-war protests in Western nations, including a massive one with 100,000 people in Berlin, Germany, yesterday, there were protests across Russia again Sunday, as there have been each day since the invasion Thursday. They've been taking place despite Russian police quickly cracking down on them and arresting hundreds of protesters daily. AP cited the OVD-info rights group that tracks political arrests as saying nearly 6,000 people have been arrested in Russia over the four days. Russia has also taken action to restrict access to Twitter and Facebook.
➤FIRST JANUARY 6TH TRIAL BEGINS TODAY: The first trial of a defendant in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol begins today with jury selection in the case against a Texas man charged with bringing a gun onto Capitol grounds, interfering with police officers, and threatening his teenage children if they reported him to authorities. The outcome of Guy Wesley Reffitt's trial could be a guide to how other cases will go, with a conviction potentially leading more defendants to reach a plea deal, and an acquittal potentially leading others to want to go to trial instead, according to AP. Reffitt is a member of a militia-style group called the "Texas Three Percenters," according to prosecutors. More than 750 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the attack. Over 200 have pled guilty, mostly to misdemeanors carrying a maximum sentence of six months in jail. More than 100 defendants have been sentenced, and at least 90 others have trial dates this year.
➤NYC SET TO LIFT INDOOR VACCINE MANDATE: Nearly seven months after it became the first U.S. city to require vaccinations for indoor locations like restaurants, event venues, and more, New York City is set to lift it soon. Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday (February 27th) that the mandate would end on March 7th as long as Covid-19 case numbers continue to trend downward. Adams also said the mask mandate for public schools will be lifted as well, as long as there is no spike in cases before then. New York City's mandate, which was announced last August, requires people to show proof of vaccination for places like restaurants, bars, movie theaters, museums, sports, arenas, and theaters, among other places. Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the statewide mask mandate for schools will end on Wednesday, citing a big drop in Covid infections and the new federal guidelines released Friday.
➤D.C. FENCES BACK UP, MASK MANDATE REMOVED FOR STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS: Fences that were put up around the U.S. Capitol after the January 6th attack and remained for months are being put back ahead of President Biden's State of the Union address tomorrow night. There's been growing concern about potential demonstrations or truck convoys against pandemic restrictions disrupting traffic in Washington, D.C., and Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said Sunday that the fencing is being put up for the speech, quote, "out of an abundance of caution."
Fencing around the U.S. Capitol building is being put back up ahead of President Biden's State of the Union address as part of security precautions https://t.co/zIW1ruFiFN
Meanwhile, masks are now optional for Biden's speech, as Congress is lifting its mask requirement on the House floor after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released relaxed masking guidelines on Friday. Congress' Office of the Attending Physician announced the policy change Sunday, lifting the mask requirement that has been in place for much of the past two years. All attendees at the State of the Union, however, will be required to take a Covid test before entering the chamber. All members of Congress are invited this year, unlike last year, when it was capped at about 20 percent of its usual capacity due to Covid.
➤TWO NEW STUDIES SHOW COVID-19 LIKELY ORIGINATED IN WUHAN MARKET: Two new studies came down on the side of Covid-19 having originated in a market in Wuhan, China, and not in a leak from a lab in the same city, the New York Times reported Sunday. Both studies show the virus likely came from live mammals sold in the market in 2019, and University of Arizona evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey, who was the lead author on one study and a co-author on the other, said that in light of the findings, the lab-leak theory, quote, "no longer . . . makes sense." Worobey signed a letter last May that got a lot of attention urging further study of the lab-leak theory, but he now believes the research doesn't show that's what happened. CNN reports one study "used spatial analysis to show that the earliest known Covid-19 cases . . . were centered on the market" and the other showed that "the two major viral lineages were the result of at least two events in which the virus crossed species into humans."
➤NEARLY HALF OF FREE HOME COVID TESTS PEOPLE COULD GET FROM U.S. GOV'T. STILL AVAILABLE: Nearly half of the 500 million free home Covid-19 tests that the administration made available for people to order and be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service are still available. The tests were first made available to order online in January at COVIDtests.gov at the height of the omicron-driven surge, with a limit of four per household, after people had scrambled ahead of the holidays to find home tests as stores were sold out. But now, cases have plunged and people don't have that same urgency to test. The White House says about 46 percent of the tests are still available. In other ways to get home tests, private insurers are now required to cover eight free tests per person, per month, Medicare coverage will start in the spring, and the administration has been making free tests available at libraries, clinics and other community locations.
➤BARR CRITICAL OF TRUMP, PROSPECT OF SECOND TERM IN NEW BOOK: Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who served under then-President Donald Trump from February 2019 to December 2020, is critical of Trump in his upcoming memoir. Barr calls Trump "manic and unreasonable" and having, quote, "neither the temperament nor persuasive powers" to lead the country, and says the prospect of him running for president again is "dismaying." In the book, called, One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General, Barr writes of the 2020 election and Trump's claims about it, "The election was not 'stolen,' Trump lost it." Barr also addresses what led to Trump's first impeachment, the former president's attempt to blackmail Ukraine to get dirt on Joe Biden's son, calling it a "harebrained gambit," "idiotic beyond belief," and "the result of abject stupidity." However, he maintained that it was not a criminal offense.
➤WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE SAYING ‘WORDLE’ IS HARDER NOW?: The New York Times now owns the wildly popular word game Wordle, and some players say it’s now harder than ever. But, the Times said the only change it's made since buying the game is removing a few words they thought to be too obscure, thereby actually making the game a bit easier. So the New York Times is officially not to blame for your losing streak lately, so why do many people think it is? Rachel Kowert works for Take This, a non-profit that provides mental health resources to the gaming community, and tells Mashable that it’s human nature to want to blame someone else other than ourselves when something goes wrong.
She explains the mentality, saying, “It’s not that I am unable to figure out this puzzle today, it’s that they made the puzzle too difficult to figure out.” She also says it could just be that you have the opinion that the New York Times is a sophisticated paper with notoriously difficult puzzles to solve, so since they now own Wordle, you might reason the same difficulty now applies to the game. In addition, Kowert says social contagion—the process of ideas spreading through a network—plays a huge role in this as well. Once enough people believe in something, it’s easy to believe it along with them. The take-home message here: the New York Times hasn’t made Wordle harder, it’s just that you've (maybe) been struggling with the game lately.
🐶NEW STUDY SHOWS THE EFFECT OWNING PETS HAS ON OWNERS' BRAINS: Having a pet is generally good for you. University of Florida researchers found that having pets may help owners stave off memory loss and cognitive decline. The effect was most notable among dog and cat owners, but was also seen among bird, and fish owners, as well as those owning smaller pets. It’s also believed that interacting with pets can reduce stress levels, and lower blood pressure, both of which can benefit one’s memory. Pets also give their owners companionship and a sense of purpose. The research also shows that while people feel attached to their pets, laws and regulations still view them as property, which can cause undue stress in certain situations.
⚾MLB DEADLINE TODAY, REPORT SAYS SIDES STILL FAR APART: MLB and the players union met for more than six hours on Sunday (February 28th), but with the MLB's deadline for reaching a new collective bargaining agreement before regular-season games start being canceled arriving at the end of negotiations today, ESPN cited a union source as saying the two sides are still far apart. If there's no agreement by the end of the day, Opening Day on March 31st will be canceled, along with potentially the first week of games. The players have been locked out by the owners since December 2nd.
Multiple MLB officials believe a deal will not get done by the league's Feb. 28 deadline in order to have a full 162-game season, per @JeffPassanpic.twitter.com/u67MQ24vvA
🏀WARRIORS HAVE 19-POINT COLLAPSE IN 107-101 LOSS TO MAVERICKS: The Golden State Warriors suffered a collapse last night after going into the fourth quarter up by 19 points, and lost to the Dallas Mavericks 107-101. From 9:44 in the fourth quarter to just about 1:30 left in the game, Dallas went on a 26-1 run. The 19-point advantage was the largest blown fourth-quarter lead in the NBA this season, and it was the second game of their previous three in which the Warriors gave up a big fourth-quarter advantage.
⚽FIFA DOESN'T EXPEL RUSSIA FROM WORLD CUP QUALIFYING, SAYS CAN'T USE FLAG, ANTHEM: The international soccer association FIFA wouldn't expel Russia Sunday from World Cup qualifying play over its invasion of Ukraine, but said it remained an option. Instead, Russia will play under "RFU," the acronym of its soccer federation, the Russian Football Union, and the Russian flag an anthem can't be associated with the team. FIFA also said the RFU team can only play on neutral territory and without spectators. However, the head of the Polish soccer association said it won't play Russia in their scheduled World Cup qualification playoff semifinal on March 24th. The winner of that playoff is supposed to host Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29th to decide who advances to the World Cup finals later this year. But both nations have said they won't play Russia either.
➤OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL-WINNING BOX LOMACHENKO JOINS UKRAINE BATTALION: Vasiliy Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, has joined a territorial defense battalion in his native Ukraine as it battles Russia's invasion. The 34-year-old, who won gold in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics in the featherweight and lightweight categories, respectively, was in Greece when the invasion began. His flight was delayed when air traffic was grounded, so he flew into Romania and traveled through that country Saturday to reach his home in Ukraine. Lomachenko's most recent fight was in December. Hall of Fame boxer Vitali Klitschko, who's the mayor of Ukraine's capital of Kyiv, has announced he was taking up arms to fight against the attack, and his brother, fellow Hall of Famer and former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, enlisted in Ukraine's reserve army earlier this month ahead of the expected invasion.
🏈BUCCANEERS' MARPET UNEXPECTEDLY RETIRES AT AGE 28: In a stunning and unexpected move, Tampa Bay Buccaneers left guard Ali Marpet announced on Instagram yesterday that he's retiring. The 28-year-old had just had his first Pro Bowl season and is considered one of the Bucs' best offensive linemen. ESPN cited a source as saying Marpet made the decision because of concerns about his overall health. Marpet has spent all seven of his NFL seasons with Tampa Bay, and was due to make $10 million next season. Marpet's father, Bill, told ESPN, "I think he accomplished his goals, values his health, is looking for more challenges."
The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported damning new details about the ouster of former CNN marketing chief Allison Gollust. According to The Wrap, WSJ reported an internal investigation found she advised Chris Cuomo on how to help his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, respond to sexual harassment accusations.
But in a statement provided to TheWrap, Gollust’s representative, Risa Heller, denied that report.
“Allison Gollust never offered advice or counsel to Andrew Cuomo. Period. If she wanted to advise the governor, she could have called or texted him directly (she didn’t). Now 10 days after she resigned, WarnerMedia has offered their fourth reason (or maybe fifth? it’s hard to keep track) for why Allison resigned — the far-fetched notion she was laundering covert advice to the Governor through casual conversations with a colleague is patently ridiculous,” Heller said.
“These are innocuous, mundane conversations that are being spun into a nefarious tale,” Heller continued. “The continued retaliatory smear campaign against a woman who spent nine years serving as the fiercely loyal steward of CNN’s brand, integrity and journalism is despicable, and being used as retrofitted justification for an unmerited dismissal. It is misleading and wrong.”
Gollust resigned from CNN on Feb. 15, just two weeks after her boyfriend, Jeff Zucker abruptly resigned as CNN president. Zucker and Gollust had initially claimed his resignation was because he hadn’t disclosed their romantic relationship to the company.
However, when Gollust resigned, Warnermedia CEO Jason Kilar said in a memo that “the investigation found violations of Company policies, including CNN’s News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo.”
The FCC is on the hunt for companies it oversees that may have ownership ties to Russia, in a prelude to possible clampdowns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
CNN reports the internal assessment, which has not been previously reported or publicly announced, was launched this week by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It follows mounting scrutiny of Russian-backed programming on US airwaves, social media and other channels as the war in Ukraine unfolds. It also comes as President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a range of new sanctions against Russia.
Conducted jointly with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, the FCC review covers more than just media entities regulated by the FCC's broadcast licensing program, the person said. It also covers a vast array of telecommunications and infrastructure companies, including wireless providers, submarine cable operators and foreign telecom services that connect US-international phone calls, the person said.
It is not yet clear how many companies with ties to Russia the review may uncover, the person said, describing the initiative as a "top-to-bottom" effort to "identify the universe of licensees that have Russian ownership that should be on our radar."
Any Russian-owned companies the FCC identifies as potential security risks to the United States could face tougher scrutiny from regulators, including the potential risk of being ejected from the US market.
The FCC has previously made similar moves with a series of Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE, whose networking equipment US national security officials have said could permit Chinese surveillance of sensitive US communications. The companies have repeatedly denied that they facilitate Chinese spying, and attempted to persuade the FCC to reverse its decisions, albeit unsuccessfully. Amid those same concerns, the FCC has also implemented a program to "rip and replace" equipment from US telecommunications networks that it has deemed a potential security risk.
Last year, the FCC adopted rules requiring state-funded media to disclose their foreign ties when broadcasting on US airwaves, a transparency measure implemented after US lawmakers raised concerns about a Washington, D.C.-area radio station airing "Russian propaganda in our nation's Capital ... without informing its listeners that that the broadcast is truly sponsored by the Russian government." However, the rules are in legal limbo amid a court challenge by US broadcaster groups.
The probe is expected to gather information from internet service providers and other industry players about the current security of internet traffic routing, with a possible eye toward future federal regulations.
Canada’s minister responsible for broadcasting said the government was investigating “all options” for getting a state-owned Russian TV network off the nation’s airwaves amid rising anger over the invasion of Ukraine, reports Bloomberg.
“I share the concerns of many Canadians about the presence of Russia Today in our broadcasting system,” Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Saturday on Twitter. “We’re looking at all options.”
The three largest telecommunications companies all offer RT to their television subscribers, according to their websites. Spokespeople for those companies -- Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and BCE Inc. -- did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of regular business hours.
RT and other state-funded media outlets such as Sputnik are active participants in advancing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s geopolitical agenda, according to a paper published by the U.S. State Department in January.
“RT and Sputnik’s role as disinformation and propaganda outlets is most obvious when they report on issues of political importance to the Kremlin,” said the report from the department’s Global Engagement Center. “A prevalent example is Russia’s use of RT and Sputnik to attempt to change public opinions about Ukraine in Europe, the United States, and as far away as Latin America.”
Paula Simons, a member of Canada’s Senate, said she would be meeting with the country’s broadcast regulator on Monday to ask questions about RT. A 2017 probe by the Globe and Mail newspaper found that Canada’s cable companies were in some cases being paid by an affiliate of RT to carry the channel. At the time, it was estimated that RT reached between 6 million and 7 million Canadian households.
Alphabet Inc's Google barred on Saturday Russia's state-owned media outlet RT and other channels from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps and YouTube videos, similar to a move by Facebook after the invasion of Ukraine, reports Reuters.
Citing "extraordinary circumstances," Google's YouTube unit said it was "pausing a number of channels’ ability to monetize on YouTube." These included several Russian channels affiliated with recent sanctions, such as those by the European Union.
Google added later that it was also barring Russian state-funded media outlets from using its ad technology to generate revenue on their own websites and apps.
In addition, the Russian media will not be able to buy ads through Google Tools or place ads on Google services such as search and Gmail, spokesman Michael Aciman said.
"We’re actively monitoring new developments and will take further steps if necessary," Aciman said.
On Wednesday, the European Union unveiled sanctions on individuals such as Margarita Simonyan, whom it called RT's editor-in-chief and "a central figure" of Russian propaganda.
On Saturday, Ukraine Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Twitter he contacted YouTube "to block the propagandist Russian channels — such as Russia 24, TASS, RIA Novosti."
For years, lawmakers and some users have urged Google for more action on channels linked to the Russian government, concerned that they spread misinformation and should not profit by it.
Russia received an estimated $7 million to $32 million over the two years to December 2018 from ads across 26 YouTube channels it backed, digital researcher Omelas told Reuters at the time.
YouTube has previously said it did not treat state-funded media channels that comply with its rules differently from others when it comes to sharing ad revenue.
On Friday, Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc barred Russian state media from running ads or generating revenue from ads on its services.
A senior foreign correspondent at CBS News apologized Saturday after he said on air that the war in Ukraine can’t be compared to those in Iraq and Afghanistan — because the Eastern European nation is more “civilized.”
According to The NY Post, Correspondent Charlie D’Agata was reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine when he said Friday that Ukraine “isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades.
“This is a relatively civilized, relatively European — I have to choose those words carefully, too — city, where you wouldn’t expect that or hope that it’s going to happen,” he continued.
D’Agata issued an apology on the broadcaster’s streaming network Saturday, after his comments went viral — racking up more than 1.5 million views on Twitter — and were swiftly condemned as racist and historically inaccurate.
“I spoke in a way I regret, and for that I’m sorry,” he said, adding that he was trying to convey that Ukraine hasn’t seen “this scale of war” in recent years, unlike other countries.
People on the internet were quick to point out that Iraq has long been called the “cradle of civilization” because ancient Mesopotamia — now Iraq — is where “civilization” as the West largely understands it emerged. And Ukraine, of course, is no stranger to war and conflict, with the Russian annexation of Crimea happening less than a decade ago.
Cornell professor Dr. Mostafa Minawi asked on Twitter why D’Agata thought it was permissible “to compare the value of peoples’ lives and who qualifies as ‘civilized.'”
“CBS News dropped the dog whistle for straight racism today,” Chicago Sun-Times reporter Nader Issa tweeted. “If that’s the version where he chooses his words carefully, was the alternative just going to be “these are civilized white people and not uncivilized brown people”
The most cost-efficient of any major advertising media are digital display and out-of-home transit shelter ads, according to a new analysis being released by the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA).
MediaPost reports the analysis, which was conducted by financial advisory firm Solomon Partners, is derived from publicly traded media company Securities and Exchange Commission filings, news reports, “research and other industry sources” as of January of this year. It reveals a remarkable range of advertising costs, within mediums, as well as across the overall major media landscape.
With a median CPM of $46.82, print newspaper ads are the most expensive medium overall, according to the analysis, followed by prime-time broadcast TV’s median CPM of $36.00.
Interestingly, the data dispels the notion that OTT (over-the-top television) currently has the most expensive CPMs, although with a median CPM of $30, it isn’t far off. The analysis did not explicitly cover breakouts for CTV (connected TV), streaming services, etc., which are purported to also be on the high-end of ad costs, but it also dispels that other forms of digital video (desktop video at $10.64 and mobile video at $10.47) currently are among the most expensive media buys.
The report did not cover social media advertising costs.
While the release clearly establishes that out-of-home media is undervalued by Madison Avenue, it does not explicitly explain why, although industry experts have historically indicated it’s because of legacy media pricing models.
The report shows out-of-home media ranging from transit shelters on the low-end to digital place-based media buys on the high end ($7.50 median CPM).
“This research affirms out-of-home’s critical role in the media mix,” OAAA President and CEO Anna Bager said in a statement, adding: “It verifies the value that out of home brings to marketers at a time when people are not only emerging from the pandemic’s restrictions to venture out, but also noticing OOH ads more than before the crisis. Couple that with the other benefits spotlighted by Solomon Partners, and I expect to see OOH taking a bigger bite out of brands’ ad budgets.”
The Solomon report also draws on a previous analysis indicating that out-of-home media delivers “the greatest ad recall” among the major ad media.
Sandy Nelson, one of the few musicians in pop history to score Top 10 hits as a drummer — something he did early in a career that included more than 30 albums — died on Feb. 14 at a hospice center in Las Vegas. He was 83, reports The NY Times.
His son, Joshua Nelson Straume, said the cause was complications of a stroke that Mr. Nelson had in 2017.
Mr. Nelson was a session drummer in Los Angeles in 1959 when he recorded “Teen Beat,” a propulsive instrumental whose dominating drum part was inspired by something he had heard at a strip club he visited with fellow musicians.
“While they were looking at these pretty girls in G-strings, guess what I was doing?” he said in an interview with The Las Vegas Weekly in 2015. “I was looking at the drummer in the orchestra pit.”
“He was doing kind of a ‘Caravan’ beat,” he added, referring to the jazz standard made famous by Duke Ellington. “‘Bum ta da da dum’ — small toms, big toms. That’s what gave me the idea for ‘Teen Beat.’”
Mr. Nelson had played in the backing band for Art Laboe, a popular Los Angeles disc jockey who also had a small record label, Original Sound Records, and Mr. Nelson took the song to him hoping that he’d press it. Instead, Mr. Laboe tested it on his radio show.
“The little rascal, he played the actual acetate from the lathe,” Mr. Nelson recalled, “and he wasn’t going to press it up unless he got a few calls.”
Mr. Laboe, he said, got three calls from impressed listeners, and that was enough: Mr. Laboe pressed the record. By October 1959 it had reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, a rare achievement for a drum-centered instrumental.
Mr. Nelson scored again in 1961 with “Let There Be Drums,” which reached No. 7.
Two years later, he was riding his motorcycle on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles when he collided with a school bus and was badly injured. Part of his right leg was amputated. But he returned to drumming, learning to play the bass drum with his left leg.
Sander Lloyd Nelson was born on Dec. 1, 1938, in Santa Monica, Calif., to Lloyd and Lydia Nelson. His father was a projectionist at Universal Studios.
“My parents had these roaring parties with Glenn Miller records,” he told L.A. Weekly, “and the sound of those got to be like dope to me — I had to hear those records.”
➦In 1922...KHQ-AM, Spokane, Washington, signed-on in Seattle. Louis Wasmer founded the pioneer radio station as part of a motorcyle shop he owned. He later re-established the station in Spokane in 1925.
Although the KHQ calls are no longer used on the AM band, they still exist on TV.
The long time frequency of 590 kHz which KHQ used until 1985 is now occupied by KQNT.
The picture to the right is a view of the KHQ's tower on top of the Davenport Building probably from the 1940's based on the age of the automobiles pictured. KHQ was not using the tower at this time.
The KHQ and KGA signs are attached to the Radio Central Building which was being used by those station at that time.
➦In 1966...This is the 56th anniversary of KFRC 610 AM San Francisco flipping from MOR to Top 40.
In 1949, RKO-General acquired KFRC. Like most radio stations during the 1950s, KFRC lost ratings and share to television. In February 1966, KFRC flipped to a Top 40 rock and roll music format, and quickly became the dominant station in the region with that format through the 1970s, featuring the tight, carefully programmed sound developed by RKO General's national program director, Bill Drake, formerly of cross-town rival KYA, and program directors Tom Rounds and, later, Les Turpin.
It entered its second "golden era," which coincided with San Francisco’s Summer of Love, and featured legendary disc jockeys Mike Phillips, Ed Mitchell (Who later changed his name to Ed Hepp) , Bobby Dale, Jay Stevens, Sebastian Stone, K.O. Bayley (real name Bob Elliott), Dave Diamond, Charlie Van Dyke, Howard Clark, Dale Dorman, Mark Elliott, Frank Terry, Joe Conrad, Jim Carson, J.J. Johnson, and Bob Foster.
During the Drake era, KFRC was responsible for two memorable concerts.
\The station presented several prominent acts at the “The Beach Boys Summer Spectacular” at the Cow Palace in San Francisco in June 1966. On June 10 and 11, 1967, KFRC organized and hosted the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival at the summit of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, California. Occurring one week before the more famous Monterey Pop Festival, the well-attended event is regarded as the first rock festival in history.
For several years, KFRC had extended local newscasts on its AM station, under the leadership of news director Bob Safford; however, management decided to curtail news coverage, so Safford and other news staff moved to other news broadcast departments in San Francisco, including KCBS Radio and KGO-TV.
➦In 1969...WABC 95.5 FM starts the “Love” format. The station originally went on the air on May 4, 1948 under the call sign WJZ-FM and in March 1953, the station's call letters were changed to WABC-FM following the merger of the American Broadcasting Company with United Paramount Theatres.
As most FM stations did during the medium's formative years, 95.5 FM simulcast the programming of its AM sister station.
In the early 1960s, however, WABC-FM began to program itself separately from 77 WABC-AM. During the 1962–63 New York City newspaper strike, the station carried an news format for 17 hours daily. Two-and-a-half years before WINS launched its own around-the-clock, all-news format in April 1965, it was the first attempt at an all-news format in the New York market.
WABC's AM personalities, notably Dan Ingram, Chuck Leonard, and Bob Lewis, hosted programs on the FM side which were the total opposites of the Top 40-powered sound for which they were better known on AM. WABC-FM did continue to simulcast its AM sister station during Herb Oscar Anderson's morning drive program.
At the start of 1968, ABC split its radio network into four distinct components targeting specific demographics, one of which was dedicated to FM radio. The following year, WABC-FM and its sister stations: KABC-FM in Los Angeles, WLS-FM in Chicago, KGO-FM in San Francisco, WXYZ-FM in Detroit, KQV-FM in Pittsburg and newly acquired KXYZ-FM in Houston–began carrying an automated, youth-oriented, progressive rock format known as Love. Click Here for aircheck. Click Here for Part Two.
➦In 1977....Edmund Lincoln Anderson died at age 71 (Born: September 18, 1905). He was best known to a generation of early radio and television comedy he was known as "Rochester."
Anderson got his start in show business as a teenager on the vaudeville circuit. In the early 1930s, he transitioned into films and radio. In 1937, he began his most famous role of Rochester van Jones, usually known simply as "Rochester", the valet of Jack Benny, on his NBC radio show The Jack Benny Program. Anderson became the first Black American to have a regular role on a nationwide radio program. When the series moved to CBS television in 1950, Anderson continued in the role until the series' end in 1965.
➦In 1983...the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H ended after 11 seasons. M*A*S*H (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American war comedy-drama television series that started aired on CBS in 1972.
It was developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film M*A*S*H, which, in turn, was based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The series, which was produced with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).
The television series was one of the highest-rated shows in U.S. television history.
"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was the final episode of M*A*S*H. The episode aired on February 28, 1983, and was 2½ hours long. The episode got a Nielsen rating of 60.2 and 77 share and according to a New York Times article from 1983, the final episode of M*A*S*H had 125 million viewers.
"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" broke the record for the highest percentage of homes with television sets to watch a television series.
➦In 2003...FCC approved the sale of WEVD 1050 AM to ABC. The 1050 frequency has a long history prior to this format. Starting in the 1920s as WHN, it played a diversified format. It was renamed WMGM in the late 1940s, continuing the same format until a switch to Top40 in the late 1950s and early 1960s. As WHN again, it played adult standards in the 1960s and country music in the 1970s and 1980s (the format it was best known for). In the late 1980s as WFAN it was the original frequency for the very successful first of its kind all-sports station. Then began a truly convoluted set of ownership, call letter, and format changes from the Spanish language WUKQ to WEVD, a low-rated brokered station in the 1990s, to today's incarnation as WEPN airing ESPN DePortes.
➦In 2004...longtime Dallas radio personality Ken "Hubcap" Carter died at age 60.
Hubcap Carter
Carter, who billed himself as the "semi-legendary almost king of rock 'n' roll," had been suffering from congestive heart disease and diabetes.
Carter, who was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2002, began his career in Lufkin. He had been working in radio 43 years.
He got his nickname early in his career for spinning records "real records, like spinning hubcaps."
Carter had worked at several Texas stations and had been news director at WWUN in Jackson, Miss., and the Texas State Network.
He also taught broadcast journalism classes at Texas Christian University and Texas Wesleyan, both in Fort Worth, and was a teacher and coach at North Dallas High School for seven years.
On December 31, 1985, singer Rick Nelson and his band were en-route to KLUV's New Year's Eve Sock Hop, hosted by Ken "Hubcap" Carter. The plane crashed near DeKalb, Texas, killing Nelson and his entourage.
➦In 2006...CBS Radio sued Howard Stern and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. with a $218-million lawsuit that alleged Stern misused the company's airtime in a scheme to boost the payment he received when he moved to Sirius in January. CBS contended that while it employed Stern, the host spent more than a year hyping his upcoming switch to Sirius and, as a result, improperly enriched himself, "pocketing over $200 million for his personal benefit" by driving up Sirius' subscriber numbers.
The subscription increase allowed Stern to trigger an early grant of more than 34 million shares of Sirius stock, valued at about $220 million, the suit alleged. That compensation was disclosed by Sirius this year after Stern had signed off CBS' airwaves.
Stern had a financial incentive "to do all that he could to help Sirius reach the subscriber targets by the end of 2005 so that he could receive his Sirius stock payment as soon as possible while Sirius' stock was extremely valuable," according to the lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court.
Also named in the breach-of-contract and fraud suit were Stern's production company and his agent, Don Buchwald. In addition to the $218 million in restitution, CBS was seeking unspecified punitive damages.
Stern began broadcasting with Sirius in January under a five-year contract worth more than $600 million. The satellite broadcaster hoped that millions of Stern's fans will subscribe to its service, enticed by ribald material that conventional broadcasters were reluctant to air because of federal decency standards.
"There were no secret negotiations; I spoke about it on the radio," Stern said at a hastily called news conference in New York after rumors of the suit appeared in the New York Post. CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves "has had it in for me for a long time."
Stern's move to Sirius attracted more than 1 million new subscribers, boosting their listeners to 3.3 million. But costs associated with Stern and other content deals have proved high, and the company's losses grew to $311.4 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31.
The contentious lawsuit was settle a few month later when Stern's new employer, Sirius Satellite Radio Inc, agreed to pay $2 million to CBS Radio in return for the rights to the classic recordings.
➦In 2008...NYC Personality John R. Gambling aired his last show on 77 WABC
➦In 2009...ABC Radio commentator Paul Harvey died at the age of 90 (Born - September 4, 1918).
He broadcast News and Comment on weekday mornings and mid-days and at noon on Saturdays, as well as his famous The Rest of the Story segments. From 1952 through 2008, his programs reached as many as 24 million people a week. Paul Harvey News was carried on 1,200 radio stations, 400 American Forces Network stations, and 300 newspapers
Harvey was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The son of a policeman killed in 1921, Harvey made radio receivers as a young boy. He attended Tulsa Central High School where a teacher, Isabelle Ronan, was "impressed by his voice." On her recommendation, he started working at KVOO in Tulsa in 1933, when he was 14. His first job was helping clean up. Eventually he was allowed to fill in on the air, reading commercials and the news.
In 2005, Harvey was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (right)
While attending the University of Tulsa, he continued working at KVOO, first as an announcer, and later as a program director. Harvey, at age nineteen spent three years as a station manager for KFBI AM, now known as KFDI, a radio station that once had studios in Salina, Kansas. From there, he moved to a newscasting job at KOMA in Oklahoma City, and then to KXOK, in St. Louis in 1938, where he was Director of Special Events and a roving reporter.
Harvey then moved to Hawaii to cover the United States Navy as it concentrated its fleet in the Pacific. He was returning to the mainland from assignment when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He eventually enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces but served only from December 1943 to March 1944.
Harvey then moved to Chicago, where in June 1944, he began broadcasting from the ABC affiliate WENR. In 1945, he began hosting the postwar employment program Jobs for G.I. Joe on WENR. Harvey added The Rest of the Story as a tagline to in-depth feature stories in 1946.
On April 1, 1951, the ABC Radio Network debuted Paul Harvey News and Comment "Commentary and analysis of Paul Harvey each weekday at 12 Noon". Paul Harvey was also heard originally on Sundays; the first Sunday program was Harvey's introduction. Later, the Sunday program would move to Saturdays. The program continued until his death.
➦In 2015…Former Toronto personality Pete Nordheimer (left) died at the age of 93. He did a split shift on CHUM's original lineup, not unusual for radio in those days, with shows in afternoon drive and late night. Nordheimer was the only original CHUM jock still on the station's lineup into the 1960s. He was doing 1-4 p.m. when he was replaced by Bob McAdorey in August 1961. Nordheimer was the last of the living original CHUM jocks.
Sam The Sham is 85
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Singer Sam the Sham is 85.
Actor-director-dancer Tommy Tune is 83.
Actor Kelly Bishop (“Gilmore Girls”) is 78.
Actor Stephanie Beacham (“Beverly Hills, 90210,” ″SeaQuest DSV”) is 75.
Writer-director Mike Figgis is 74.
Actor Mercedes Ruehl is 74.
Actor Bernadette Peters is 74.
Actor Ilene Graff (“Mr. Belvedere”) is 73.
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried is 67.
Actor John Turturro is 65.
Singer Cindy Wilson of The B-52′s is 65.
Actor Rae Dawn Chong (“The Color Purple”) is 61.
Actor Maxine Bahns (“The Brothers McMullen”) is 53.
Actor Robert Sean Leonard (“House, M.D.”) is 53.
Madisen Beaty is 27
Singer Pat Monahan of Train is 53.
Author Lemony Snicket (AKA Daniel Handler) is 52.
Actor Tasha Smith (“Empire”) is 51.
Actor Rory Cochrane (“24,” ″CSI: Miami”) is 50.
Actor Ali Larter is 46.
Country singer Jason Aldean is 45.
Actor Geoffrey Arend (“Madam Secretary”) is 44.
Actor Melanie Chandra (“Code Black”) is 38.
Actor Michelle Horn (“Family Law,” ″Strong Medicine”) is 35.
Actor True O’Brien (“Days of Our Lives”) is 28.
Actor Madisen Beaty (“The Fosters”) is 27.
Actor Quinn Shephard (“Hostages”) is 27.
Actor Bobb’e J. Thompson (“The Tracy Morgan Show”) is 26.
