The Sinclair Broadcast Group says it will not air a segment on its “America This Week” program in which a conspiracy theorist speculates about Dr. Anthony Fauci and the coronavirus. USAToday reports.
Over the weekend, Sinclair said it was delaying the story for a week after it attracted media attention.
But in a tweet late Monday, Sinclair said that given the nature of Judy Mikovits’ claims to correspondent Eric Bolling, the segment was “not appropriate” to air.
Upon further review, we have decided not to air the interview with Dr. Mikovits. Although the segment did include an expert to dispute Dr. Mikovits, given the nature of the theories she presented we believe it is not appropriate to air the interview.
— Sinclair Broadcast Group (@WeAreSinclair) July 27, 2020
“We also reiterate our appreciation for all that Dr. Fauci and his team have accomplished for the health and well-being of Americans and people worldwide,” said Sinclair. The company owns local television stations in 81 markets across the country.
Mikovits, maker of the widely debunked “Plandemic” video, had told Bolling that she believed Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, had manufactured the virus that causes COVID-19 and shipped it to China.
She presented no evidence to back up her theory because there is none.
Sinclair offered an “open invite” to Fauci to appear on any of its stations.
Warner Bros., the producer of Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show told employees it was looking into reports of a toxic workplace, including complaints of intimidation and racism.
Telepictures, a unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, informed staff on the show last week that it was enlisting WarnerMedia’s employee relations team and a third-party consultant to interview current and former employees about their experiences on the production, according to a memo seen by The L-A Times.
The memo asked those approached to participate openly in the confidential process so it could improve the environment on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
The move to gather testimony by employees follows months during which DeGeneres has been quarantining at home during the pandemic, but the allegedly unflattering workings of her show have spilled into public view.
DeGeneres, whose tag line is “Be kind to one another,” faced a litany of criticisms for bad behavior in a Twitter thread started by comedian Kevin T. Porter, complaints from crew about being abandoned during the shutdown, and an investigation by BuzzFeed News into allegations of intimidation and racism on the chat show, which airs on NBC.
The employees, current and former, interviewed by BuzzFeed, spoke of being fired for taking medical or bereavement leave; one said she was a victim of racial discrimination.
In April, “Ellen” producers told the union crew to expect a 60% cut in pay while a nonunion, outside tech company, Key Code, was hired to assist with production as DeGeneres tapes shows on a set constructed at her home, Variety reported.
➦In 1901...Hubert Prior "Rudy" Vallée born (Died – July 3, 1986) He was a singer, actor, bandleader, radio host and was first modern pop stars of the teen idol type.
In 1929, Vallée began hosting The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, a popular radio show with guests such as Fay Wray and Richard Cromwell in dramatic skits. Vallée continued hosting radio shows such as the Royal Gelatin Hour, Vallee Varieties, and The Rudy Vallee Show through the 1930s and 1940s.
Rudy Vallee
In 1929, Vallée made his first feature film, The Vagabond Lover for RKO Radio. His first films were made to cash in on his singing popularity. While his initial performances were rather wooden, his acting greatly improved in the late 1930s and 1940s, and by the time he began working with Preston Sturges in the 1940s, he had become a successful comedic supporting player. He appeared opposite Claudette Colbert in Sturges's 1942 screwball comedy The Palm Beach Story. Other films in which he appeared include I Remember Mama, Unfaithfully Yours and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.
In 1955, Vallée was featured in Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, co-starring Jane Russell, Alan Young, and Jeanne Crain. The production was filmed on location in Paris. The film was based on the Anita Loos novel that was a sequel to her acclaimed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Gentlemen Marry Brunettes was popular throughout Europe at the time and was released in France as A Paris Pour les Quatre ("Paris for the Four"), and in Belgium as Tevieren Te Parijs.
Vallée performed on Broadway as J.B. Biggley in the 1961 musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and reprised the role in the 1967 film version. He appeared in the 1960s Batman television show as the villain Lord Marmaduke Ffogg and in 1971 as a vindictive surgeon in the Night Gallery episode "Marmalade Wine".
He died July 3, 1986 at age 84.
➦In 1910...announcer Bill Goodwin was born in San Francisco. He was for years the announcer on The Burns & Allen Show, and as well was incorporated into the script playing a ladies man. He was spokesman for Swan Soap and Maxwell House Coffee, among others, on radio; Carnation Evaporated Milk on television. His last job was on The Bob Hope Radio Show (1953-55.)
Bill Goodwin
Goodwin was known for frequently promoting the item sold by the sponsor of the show (Swan Soap or Maxwell House Coffee, among others, on radio; Carnation Evaporated Milk on television). He was effective on radio in doing "integrated commercials", the first announcer to do so in which the advertisement was deftly woven into the show's storyline. In 1945, Goodwin was the "featured comedian" as a regular on The Frank Sinatra Show and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. In 1947, he had his own program, The Bill Goodwin Show, a situation comedy, also known as Leave It to Bill, which ran from April 26-December 13, 1947. He was the announcer for the Blondie radio program.
He died following a heart attack May 9 1958 at age 47.
➦In 1914...bandleader Carmen Dragon was born in Antioch Calif. He conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, and they performed on The Standard School Broadcast, broadcast on NBC radio in the western U.S. for elementary schools from 1928 through the 1970s. The show was sponsored by the Standard Oil Company of California (now the Chevron Corporation), but other than the name there were no commercials. The program featured a high quality introduction to classical music for young people growing up in the 1940s and early 1950s.
In the summer of 1947, Dragon and Frances Langford had a program on NBC. Langford sang, accompanied by Dragon and his 25-piece orchestra. The show began June 5 and ran for 13 weeks as a summer replacement for George Burns and Gracie Allen's program.
Dragon also hosted a regular classical music radio show broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Network well into the 1980s. Dragon's concert band arrangement of America the Beautiful is played by bands across the country in concerts of patriotic music.
He died Mar 28, 1984 at age 69.
➦In 1962...Westinghouse purchased then-Top40 WINS 1010 AM for $10 Million.
Billboard 7/2/62
The station began broadcasting first during 1924 on 950 kHz as WGBS, named after and broadcasting from its owner, Gimbels department store. It moved to 860 kHz sometime around 1927, to 600 around 1930, settling on 1180 around 1931. The station was bought by William Randolph Hearst in 1932, and it adopted its present callsign (named after Hearst's International News Service) the same year, effective January 15.
It changed its frequency from 1180 to 1000 on March 29, 1941 as part of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement and then eventually to 1010 on October 30, 1943. The Cincinnati-based Crosley Broadcasting Corporation announced its purchase of the station from Hearst in 1945,though it would be over a year before Crosley would take control of WINS, in July 1946.
Crosley sold the station to J. Elroy McCaw's Gotham Broadcasting Corporation in 1953, and soon after WINS became one of the first stations in the United States to play rock and roll music. Alan Freed was WINS earliest famous personality as disc jockey. Freed was followed years later by Murray "the K" Kaufman. Sports broadcaster Les Keiter, a latter-day member of the first generation of legends in that field, served as sports director for a period in the 1950s. Keiter is perhaps best remembered for his recreations of San Francisco (formerly New York) Giants baseball games, which WINS carried in 1958 to keep disconnected Giants fans in touch with their team, who moved west along with the Brooklyn Dodgers the previous year.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, as the transistor radio became popular rock and roll solidified as a genre, thanks in large measure to what became known as top 40 radio. In New York, four stations battled in the category: WMCA, WMGM, and WABC and WINS. While WMCA was only 5000 watts, it was at the bottom end of the dial, which advantages coverage. The other three were all 50,000 watts, but only WABC was both non-directional and a clear channel station. Being lower on the dial than the others, it also had more coverage. Of those three, WINS was the most directional (aimed straight at New York's inner boroughs), with a weaker signal than the others toward the New Jersey suburbs and the Jersey Shore. In 1962, WMGM defected to a beautiful music format under its previous call letters, WHN, while WINS was purchased by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. WMCA became the top-rated top 40 station in the New York area by 1963, then WABC became the dominant Top 40 station in the whole market by 1965. WINS bowed out of Top 40 competition with the song "Out in the Streets", by The Shangri-Las, on April 18, 1965, at around 8 PM.
Truman Bradley
➦In 1974...Truman Bradley died at age 69 (Born - February 8, 1905). He was an actor and narrator in radio, television and film. Bradley began his career in the 1930s as a radio broadcaster. Working at WBBM in Chicago, some considered him "the Mid-West's leading news commentator."
He was selected by Henry Ford to be the announcer for the Ford Sunday Evening Hour, for which he flew to Detroit, Michigan, each weekend. With his distinctive, authoritative voice, he soon became a radio actor as well as a narrator in numerous movies. In the mid-1940s, Bradley was a newscaster with KERN in Bakersfield, California. He was also the announcer for Red Skelton's program, Burns and Allen Easy Aces, the Frank Sinatra Show and Screen Guild Players.
➦In 1979...actor/director/screenwriter George Seaton died from cancer at age 68. He invented the cry ‘Hi-yo Silver’ as the first actor to play The Lone Ranger on radio. Later he would also win Oscars for writing Miracle on 34th Street and The Country Girl.
➦In 2004...Jackson Beck, the man who introduced the Superman radio show with, “Faster than a speeding bullet!”, died at age 92. He also starred in the title roles of radio’s Cisco Kid and Philo Vance, and impersonated Joseph Stalin and other world leaders for the March of Time radio series.
Margot Adler
➦In 2014...radio reporter Margot Adler, one of the signature voices on NPR for more than three decades, lost her battle with cancer at age 68. During the mid-1960s, Adler worked as a volunteer reporter for KPFA-FM, the Pacifica Radio station in Berkeley, California. After returning to New York City, she worked at its sister station, WBAI-FM, where, in 1972, she created the talk show Hour of the Wolf , and later another talk show, called Unstuck in Time.
Adler joined NPR in 1979 as a general assignment reporter. After 9/11, she focused much of her work on stories exploring the human factors in New York City, from the loss of loved ones, homes and jobs, to work in the relief effort.
She was the host of Justice Talking up until the show ceased production on July 3, 2008. She was a regular voice on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She was also co-producer of an award-winning radio drama, War Day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Lori Loughlin is 56
Actor Darryl Hickman (“The Grapes of Wrath”) is 89.
Cartoonist Jim Davis (“Garfield”) is 75.
Actor Linda Kelsey (“Lou Grant”) is 74.
Singer Jonathan Edwards is 74.
Actor Sally Struthers is 73.
Drummer Simon Kirke of Bad Company is 71.
Guitarist Steve Morse of Deep Purple is 66.
CBS News anchor Scott Pelley is 63.
Bassist Marc Perlman of The Jayhawks is 59.
Actor Michael Hayden (“Murder One”) is 57.
Actor Lori Loughlin (“90210,” ″Full House”) is 56.
Jazz trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis is 55.
Actor Elizabeth Berkley (“Showgirls,” ″Saved By The Bell”) is 48.
Singer Afroman is 46.
Drummer Todd Anderson of Heartland is 45.
Singer Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach is 44.
Actor John David Washington (“BlacKkKlansman”) is 36.
KBKS 106.1 KISS FM announced today the debut of “The Jubal Show,” starring Jubal, one of Seattle’s most popular and renowned radio personalities and stand-up comedians. “The Jubal Show” will broadcast weekday mornings from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and will debut August 2020.
An iHM press release calls Jubal a marquee talent, with a proven track record of driving ratings and revenue both locally and nationally. After 10 years of captivating listeners around the Seattle region with his highly successful syndicated Contemporary Hit Radio morning show, Jubal returns home to where it all began at 106.1 KISS FM, where he spent the first several years of his career. He will be joined by his wife, Alex Fresh, and additional hosts to be named at a later date.
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Jubal on his next endeavor and welcome him to iHeartMedia Seattle,” said Robert Dove, Market President for iHeartMedia Seattle. “Jubal’s ability to cultivate a diverse fan base across America, but most importantly, right here in Seattle, was just something we could not miss. I’m excited to welcome him and Alex to the team!”
“We are just trying to give the people what they want,” said Maynard, Executive Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia. “And they want JUBAL!”
In addition, Jubal has received an array of awards and accolades celebrating his on-air career, including the National Radio Hall of Fame “One to Watch” Award and the prestigious Marconi Award for “Large Market Personality of the Year.”
“I’m going back to KISS because when I left 10-years ago, I didn’t get the chance to clean out my desk, and I just want my favorite pen back,” said Jubal. “Oh, and also the amazing opportunity to work for, and with, the best in the business at iHeartMedia. I’m constantly trying to evolve and grow and find new innovative ways to entertain my audiences and iHeart is always on the cutting edge. This new chapter is going to be bananas. Plus, I get my pen back!”
New data released by NuVoodoo Research reveals concern about the Pandemic is increasing.
On June 16, extreme concern about coronavirus had dropped to just 30% in the daily testing NuVoodoo began on March 9. They hadn’t seen a number that low since March 16.
The trend since June 16 is undeniable – concern is growing again. And now, concern isn’t limited to the northeast. In this 7-day snapshot shown below, covering July 16-22 with over 10,000 respondents, the Northeast still shows the highest concern by a single point, and now the South is right behind – and the West and Midwest only a few points lower.
Listeners and businesses are going into the most unusual back-to-school phase ever. As tough as it is for radio programmers, it’s even tougher on the sales side. Confronting the uncertainty of the months to come will be critical to radio’s survival. Advertisers and agencies are increasingly selective about who “gets on the buy.” The pressure to deliver revenue will be intense. At the same time, radio is faced with budget constraints and fewer resources to get the job done.
Welcome to selling in the new abnormal. Pulling from the extensive data NuVoodoo has amassed since March, they're presenting a webinar in conjunction with the RAB diving into consumer attitudes about coronavirus and the adaptations being made to deal with life during the pandemic. We’re tracking how people are feeling about shopping, dining, attending events, travel and more.
“Marketing in the New Abnormal” for radio sales professionals is Wednesday, August 12 at 1 PM Eastern. In about 30 minutes, Carolyn Gilbert and Leigh Jacobs of NuVoodoo will give you deeper insights to write business as we head into the fall and beyond. And they’ll stay on as long as necessary to answer questions. Register now, Click Here.
UPDATE 12N 8/2/20: We are saddened to reports taht Jamie Sameulson died on Saturday 8/1. Click here for details.....
Original Posting...
Longtime Detroit sports writer and radio host Jamie Samuelsen revealed on Monday that he’s been fighting colon cancer.
Samuelsen announced the news on his radio show, the “Jamie & Stoney Show,” on WXYT 97.1 The Ticket. He said he was first diagnosed in 2019, but had kept the news private.
“Each morning since my diagnosis, I got up, turned on the radio mic and got to talk sports,” Samuelsen said. “I needed the escape from cancer, just like so many of our listeners who face hardships, grief and illness, too -- they turned to us in the morning for some levity in this crazy world. So I wanted to continue to have fun and not let cancer get in the way of doing what I loved.
Connecting with listeners, laughing, teasing Stoney, all of it — it helped me be normal, while continuing to fight this disease.”
If you are person of any faith please put @JamieSamuelsen in your prayers. He is not only the smartest guy I know, he is a great person ,co-host and most importantly friend. And listen to him. Get a colonoscopy ASAP https://t.co/yhb3cZOjLv
Samuelsen said, despite his ongoing battle, he will continue working -- and continue fighting.
“It’s a battle. It goes on,” he said. “I don’t want to make it sound like this is any sort of goodbye, because it’s not.” Samuelsen also urged anyone over the age of 50 to get a colonoscopy.
Samuelsen has been a Detroit sports media staple since 1994, when he first joined WDFN.
This week’s Westwood One blog features a case study for a pharmaceutical brand that used 60-second AM/FM radio ads to launch a new medication in April of this year. The results of the study, which looked at both the TV and AM/FM radio aspects of the campaign, proved that brands can launch new products during a pandemic.
The blog also features the results of two pharmaceutical ad creative tests conducted by ABX and three examples from Nielsen Media Impact illustrating how shifting media weight from TV to AM/FM radio proves that AM/FM radio is the ideal media channel for the pharmaceutical category.
AM/FM radio was an ideal media channel for the new pharmaceutical brand: Heavy ailment sufferers, prescription treatment users, and those who suffer from the ailment were 30-55% more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners than the category average.
The more consumers listened to AM/FM radio, the more likely they were to be taking prescription medication for the ailment: 58% of heavy AM/FM radio listeners said they were already taking prescription medication for the ailment, nearly twice that of light AM/FM radio listeners.
Heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy podcast listeners responded much more favorably to the AM/FM radio ads than heavy TV viewers: When exposed to the AM/FM radio ad, a majority of heavy AM/FM radio listeners and podcast listeners said they found the ads to be likeable, relevant, memorable, and informative.
Heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy podcast listeners were more likely to take action after hearing the AM/FM radio ad: After hearing the AM/FM radio ad, the majority of heavy AM/FM radio listeners and heavy podcast listeners indicated they would take some sort of action such as searching online, speaking to a health care provider, or trying the brand.
AM/FM radio boosted ad recall among those who suffered from the ailment and heavy AM/FM radio listeners: There was a +36% increase in aided ad recall among heavy AM/FM radio listeners between April and May.
There was significant growth in consumers saying they would recommend the brand to friends and family after exposure: After hearing the AM/FM radio ad, the brand’s net promoter score among heavy AM/FM radio listeners grew from +9 in April 2020 to +39 in May 2020.
ABX: Pharmaceutical AM/FM radio ads test at 90% of the impact of TV ads for one-fifth the CPM
Nielsen Media Impact: The addition of AM/FM radio to any pharmaceutical TV campaign generates significant incremental reach
VIOLENCE, OVER WEEKEND: Protests that had been ongoing in Portland, Oregon, since the death of George Floyd ramped up over the past week in response to President Trump sending federal agents to the city to defend the federal courthouse, and that continued this past weekend, with protests flaring up in other cities, some of them explicitly in response to agents being sent to Portland. Authorities declared a riot in Portland early Sunday morning when protesters breached a fence surrounding the courthouse. Federal agents repeatedly used tear gas to break up the protests, but many people remained. Things turned deadly in Austin, Texas, where 28-year-old protester Garrett Foster was shot and killed by someone who'd driven his car into the marching protesters. Foster was legally carrying an assault rifle and witnesses said he approached the car. The driver told police Foster pointed the weapon at him -- there are conflicting reports about if that's true -- and that's why he opened fire. The driver was taken into custody and later released while the investigation is ongoing.
Police in Seattle retreated into a precinct station early Sunday, hours after large demonstrations in the city. During the protests, rocks, bottles, fireworks and mortars were fired at police, and at least 45 people were arrested.
Protesters in Oakland, California, set fire to a courthouse, damaged a police station, shot fireworks and pointed lasers at officers after a peaceful demonstration Saturday evening took a turn.
In Aurora, Colorado, a protester shot and wounded someone after a car drove through the demonstrators marching on a highway. Details weren't released about whether the person shot had been in the car. Police also said a courthouse was damaged.
➤TRUMP ADMIN. SUGGESTS SMALLER CORONAVIRUS AID PACKAGE MIGHT BE NECESSARY: After the White House and Senate Republicans failed to come to agreement on a new $1 trillion coronavirus aid package that was supposed to be announced last week, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested yesterday that a smaller package might need to be passed first so that unemployment benefits for millions of Americans don't expire. They named those benefits, money to help schools reopen, tax credits to keep people employed, and lawsuit protection for schools and businesses as their priorities for the legislation that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to unveil today.
Republicans and Democrats sparred Sunday over the details of a new relief package for the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/8AkuYmv1tQ
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the Republicans, saying, "They’re in disarray and that delay is causing suffering for America’s families." The Democratic-led House passed a $3 trillion aid package two months ago, which the GOP-led Senate has not taken up. Pelosi has also said she's against passing a relief package in a piecemeal way.
There have been more than 146,900 U.S. deaths from the coronavirus as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 4,234,000 confirmed cases.
➤FLOODING REMAINS THREAT FROM DOWNGRADED HANNA; DOUGLAS VERY CLOSE TO HAWAII: Flooding continues to be a threat from Tropical Storm Hanna, after the downgraded storm pounded the Texas Gulf Coast yesterday (July 26th) with high winds and heavy rain one day after it made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Port Mansfield, Texas. Hanna had dropped more than 12 inches of rain on parts of South Texas and Mexico as of yesterday, and caused power outages across the region, which was already being hit hard by the coronavirus. There were no immediate reports of any deaths from the storm. Meanwhile, Hurricane Douglas, a Category 1 storm with 85 mile-per-hour winds, was close to the coast of Hawaii, with the island of Maui feeling the effects Sunday with heavy rain and strong wind gusts. Forecasters said Douglas would pass close to the island of Oahu, home to the state's biggest city of Honolulu, and there was a possibility of a direct hit. Robert Ballard of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said, "We remain uncomfortably close to a dangerous hurricane here in the state of Hawaii."
We say goodbye to one of the last leading ladies of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Olivia de Havilland not only leaves behind a versatile body of work but was a champion for labor rights. We are grateful for her on-screen performances and for being a trailblazer off-screen. pic.twitter.com/9WoUUwO8nc
➤GONE WITH THE WIND’ STAR OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND DIES AT 104: Gone with the Wind and The Heiress star Olivia de Havilland has died at age 104. The two-time Oscar-winning actress died in her sleep at home in Paris. De Havilland’s other credits include To Each His Own, The Snake Pit, Hold Back the Dawn, Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dodge City, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Hold Back the Dawn, To Each His Own, Lady in a Cage, Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte and The Fifth Musketeer. For the last few decades she has stayed out of the spotlight, with her last major role in 1988’s The Woman He Loved.
➤REPORT: FOUR MARLINS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS, TEAM DELAYS TRIP HOME: Four Miami Marlins players have tested positive for the coronavirus, including pitcher Jose Urena, who was supposed to start their game yesterday, ESPN reported. The others are catcher Jorge Alfaro, infielder Garrett Cooper and outfielder Harold Ramirez. Because of concerns about players' family members, the Marlins delayed the MLB team's return home from Philadelphia, where they played their season-opening series, until today, before their home opener tonight. Several players may remain behind, with manager Don Mattingly saying, "The guys that tested positive are quarantined here in Philly." Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds were without second baseman Mike Moustakas and center fielder Nick Senzel yesterday after both felt sick one day after teammate Matt Davidson tested positive.
Cy Young winner Justin Verlander will miss the 2020 season.
➤ASTROS' VERLANDER OUT WITH ARM STRAIN: Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, will be out for at least two weeks with a forearm strain, manager Dusty Baker announced yesterday. But Verlander denied that the injury will end the shortened 60-game season for him, tweeting last night, "The report that I’m currently missing the rest of the season is not accurate. . . . I’m hopeful that with some rest it will heal and I’ll be able to return soon." The 37-year-old pitched in the Astros' season-opener Friday, and Baker said he'd felt tenderness in his arm during the game, in which he pitched six innings and got the win.
➤THOMPSON WINS 3M OPEN: Michael Thompson won the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota yesterday for his second PGA Tour victory, coming seven years after his first. Thompson had a two-stroke win over fellow American Adam Long, finishing at 19-under 265.
➤TRUMP SAYS WON'T THROW OPENING PITCH AT YANKEE GAME: President Trump announced on MLB's opening day last Thursday that he'd be throwing out the opening pitch at Yankee Stadium on August 15th, but on Sunday he said it wouldn't be happening after all. Trump tweeted that it had been called off because of his, quote, "strong focus" on the coronavirus, vaccines and the economy, but suggested it was just a delay, saying, "We will make it later in the season!" New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. had criticized the invitation to Trump by the Yankees.
“Folklore,” the eighth studio LP from Taylor Swiftm the 10-time Grammy Award winner, sold an astounding 1.3 million units in its first day of release, noted Republic Records.
According to The NY Daily News, even more stunning, “Folklore” was streamed on Spotify 80.6 million times in the initial 24-hour period — a record for a female artist, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The album dropped at midnight on Thursday as did the video for her new single “Cardigan.”
Swifties were floored to learn that the 30-year-old songbird had been working on the secretive project, which early on has received rave reviews.
Following the release of “Folklore,” Swift turned to Twitter to explain her motivation for its creation.
In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down. folklore is out now: https://t.co/xdcEDfithq
Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace was the object of much praise last week over his big, newsmaking interview with President Donald Trump, but said Sunday that Democratic candidate Joe Biden declined the chance for a similar sit-down this week, reports Mediaite.
“In our interview last week with President Trump, he questioned whether his Democratic opponent Joe Biden could handle a similar encounter,” said Wallace at the end of his show. “Well this week we asked the Biden campaign for an interview, and they said the former Vice President was not available.”
Fox’s Chris Wallace: "In our interview last week with President Trump, he questioned whether his opponent Joe Biden could handle a similar encounter. Well, we asked the Biden campaign for an interview and they said the former VP was not available. We'll keep asking every week.” pic.twitter.com/5BIbp6dQ02
When Wallace says Trump “questioned” whether Biden could handle such an interview, he is referring to a comment that got a lot of play in the days after the interview.
“Let Biden sit through an interview like this,” Trump said. “He’ll be on the ground crying for mommy. He’ll say, ‘Mommy, mommy, please, take me home.'”
After facing intense scrutiny for planning to air a baseless conspiracy theory that infectious-disease
expert Anthony S. Fauci helped to create the coronavirus, TV broadcaster Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Saturday that it will delay the segment to edit the context of the claimsm the Washington Post reports.
Anthony Fauci
Sinclair, which has 191 stations across the country, received backlash this week after “America This Week” host Eric Bolling interviewed Judy Mikovits, a former medical researcher featured in the debunked “Plandemic” conspiracy online film.
In the Sinclair interview, Mikovits claimed that Fauci “manufactured” the coronavirus and shipped it to Wuhan, China, where the outbreak originated. A chyron during the segment reads, “DID DR. FAUCI CREATE COVID-19?”
Judy Mikovits
Mikovits and her lawyer Larry Klayman dropped other unfounded allegations during the show, including President Trump soft-pedaling relations with China because he has evidence of the country’s involvement with the inception of the virus.
The show was released online earlier this week before it was to be aired on local news channels. As of Saturday afternoon, the show was pulled from Sinclair websites.
Bolling, a former Fox News personality, did not challenge Mikovits’s assertions, calling what she said a “hefty claim.” He later told The Washington Post via text that he brought Fox News medical contributor Nicole Saphier on the show after to provide an opposing viewpoint.
A med-school staffer dived into online groups to debunk coronavirus conspiracy theories. Would anyone listen?
Saphier said during her interview that it was “highly unlikely” Fauci was responsible for the coronavirus.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has come under heavy criticism by some conservatives as he has stated positions opposite of the president over the virus and measures needed to contain its spread. Trump, while at times praising the doctor, also has been critical at times.
WWPR Power 105.1 New York host Charlamagne Tha God has criticized Biden for saying that Donald Trump is the “first” racist president.
The host of the “The Breakfast Club,” which airs in 90 markets around the country, said Biden was engaging in “revisionist history” by overlooking past presidents’ beliefs and behaviors. “How the hell can Donald Trump be the first racist president in a country where 12 presidents before him owned slaves?” said the host, who is Black.
Charlamagne, whose real name is Lenard McKelvey, added that Biden should “hurry up and announce your Black woman VP so I can be enthused about voting for her, because I will never be enthused about voting for you.”
Biden called Trump the first “racist” president on Wednesday during a virtual town hall meeting. The comment was widely condemned on social media for minimizing the beliefs and behavior of many former presidents.
Biden drew criticism after a May interview with Charlamagne in which he said “if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” He later apologized.
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. has announced that the Company intends to voluntarily deregister from the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
For the Company, as it is and has been for all companies, the global pandemic has provided need, reason and basis for the Company to reduce expenses and operate with utmost efficiency. With that continuing goal and objective, the decision of the Company to deregister the Company's common stock, par value $0.0001 per share was driven by elimination of the significant costs and administrative burdens of preparing and filing current and periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the demands placed on management and the Company to comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act, and the low number of holders of the Common Stock of the Company. The Company believes the expected savings of more than $1.5 million per year outweigh the advantages of continuing to be an SEC reporting company.
The Company intends to promptly file a Form 15 Certification and Notice of Termination of Registration under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act with the SEC in connection with its intention to deregister its Common Stock and suspend its obligations to file reports with the SEC. The Company is eligible to file Form 15 because the Company's Common Stock is held by less than 300 holders of record.
Information about the Company may continue to be obtained by accessing the Company's website at www.spanishbroadcasting.com. Consistent with its past practice, undertakings and obligations, the Company will continue to provide reporting and financial information to holders of the Company's 12.5% Senior Secured Notes and to holders of the Company's Series B Preferred Stock.
Ed Ansin — the longtime owner of WHDH-TV (Channel 7) who shook up Boston television with flashy graphics and a breaking news style that has become the norm — died Sunday at his Miami home. He was 84, The Boston Globe reports.
Paul Magnes, executive vice president of Channel 7′s parent company, Sunbeam Television, confirmed Ansin’s death.
At an age when most people are retired, Ansin remained involved at Sunbeam, which owns Channel 7 and Boston sister station WLVI-TV (Channel 56) and WSVN-TV (Channel 7) in Miami.
“Most people think I’m crazy not to retire,” Ansin told the Globe in December. “Tom Brady plays football until he’s 42, and that’s crazy, too. I’m obsessed with television. I just like it.”
Even though Ansin had a succession plan in place with his two sons, the media mogul was not ready to relinquish control. “I want to die with my boots on,” Ansin said.
Magnes said Ansin had been healthy and was at work last week but didn’t feel well over the weekend.
In a memo to Sunbeam employees, Magnes wrote: “Besides his family, Ed loved nothing more than owning and operating his television stations. We are all so fortunate to have worked for a man who truly cared about his employees and the industry.”
Ansin’s two sons, Andy and James, will take over the leadership of the company, according to Magnes. The Ansin family has been in the television business for more than half a century, first in Miami and then in Boston, where Ed Ansin bought Channel 7 in 1993.
In recent years, Ansin was in the headlines after a bitter breakup with NBC. WHDH had been the longtime Boston affiliate for the network, which gave it programming lead-ins like “The Today Show” and “The Voice.”
But in 2017, the two parted ways after more than two decades. Ansin set up an independent station, and NBC set up NBC10 Boston. Ansin, known as a maverick in the industry, decided to double down on local news and added staff to WHDH to ensure it would remain competitive.
Regis Philbin, the talk- and game-show host who regaled America over morning coffee with Kathie Lee Gifford and Kelly Ripa for decades, and who made television history in 1999 by introducing the runaway hit “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” died on Friday night.
His death was announced by his family in a statement. The statement did not say where he died or specify the cause.
In a world of annoyances, Philbin was the indignant Everyman, under siege from all sides — by the damned computers, the horrible traffic, the inconsiderate people who were always late. There was no soap in the men’s room. Hailing a cab was hopeless. Losing a wallet in a rental car? Fuhgeddaboudit! Even his own family was down on him for buying a chain saw!
From faceless days as a studio stagehand when television was barely a decade old, to years of struggle as a news writer, TV actor and sidekick to Joey Bishop, Mr. Philbin, with patience, determination and folksy, spontaneous wit, climbed to pre-eminence relatively late in life on talk and game shows.
Regis, as he was universally known, was a television personality for nearly six decades and an ABC superstar since 1988, when his New York talk show went national. But he also wrote five books, appeared in movies, made records as a singer, gave concerts and was a one-man industry of spinoffs, from shirts and ties to medical advice and computer games.
His forte was unscripted talk. Shunning writers and rehearsals, relying on trivia and his own off-the-cuff comments in a 15-minute “host chat” and then on good chemistry with co-hosts and guests, he ad-libbed for 28 years on “The Morning Show” (1983-88), “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee” (1988-2000), “Live! With Regis” (2000-1) and “Live! With Regis and Kelly” (2001-11).
While still doing his morning show, Mr. Philbin in 1999 became host of the original American version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Modeled after a highly successful British quiz show, it soared to popularity overnight as the highest-rated prime-time game show in television history. At a time when game shows were often seen as disreputable ghosts of the past, an astonishing 30 million viewers tuned in three nights in a week.
➦In 1941...In Indianapolis, WTLC-AM began operation in 1941 as WISH. In 1947, principal owner C. Bruce McConnell sold WISH to Frank H. McKinney and associates for a "stripped price of approximately $500,000."
The owners of WISH radio also started a television station with the same call letters on Channel 8 in Indianapolis. In late 1963 the radio station, along with is sister FM operation, was sold to STAR Broadcasting (Don W. Burden) who changed the call letters to WIFE and WIFE-FM.
WIFE was the ratings leader during the mid and late sixties, sometime garnering as much of a forty share of the Indianapolis radio audience. The station built this audience for "Lucky 13" by playing Top40 along with heavy and frequent contesting such as, "The 100 Thousand Dollar Dream Home", "The 100 Thousand Dollar Cash and Car Give-A-Way", just to name a few.
The hands-on owner, Don W. Burden, hired some major on-air personalities and developed others, dubbed the "WIFE Good Guys" – Big Jack Armstrong, Roger W. Morgan, Reb Porter, Jay Reynolds (later WABC), Joe Light, Jay Hawkins, Buddy Scott, Jim Fox, T.J. Byers, Scott Wheeler, Mike O'Brien, Dan Summers, Steve Miller.
The 24 hour news department was home of news announcers Lyle Dean (later WLS) , Bob Schuman, Dean Sheppard and Paul Casey. During these years, the station was infamous for a billboard near Indianapolis' Weir Cook Airport (now Indianapolis International Airport) which told passing motorists, "While you're away, we'll be here with your WIFE".
After Burden later ran afoul of the FCC, Star Stations of Indiana was denied its license renewal application for WIFE in 1976. The station was ordered off the air, forcing a sale to new ownership and management. An era of frequent call letter changes (WMLF, WTUX, WTLC) and formats (Music of Your Life, Adult Standards, and Urban Oldies) began in 1984 and continued into the 1990s.
In late 1997, then-owner Panache sold the frequency to Emmis Communications and the new owners settled on Urban Gospel. For a two-year period the majority of programming was syndicated from Sheridan Broadcasting and branded as "The Light".
In January 2001, the station was purchased from Emmis by Radio One. ➦In 1974...NBC-TV removed the daily Dinah’s Place from its programming roster. The move brought Dinah Shore’s 23-year association with the Peacock Network to a close.
Dinah Shore
Born Frances Rose Shore (February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, radio/television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She reached the height of her popularity as a recording artist during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 1950s, but achieved even greater success a decade later, in television, mainly as hostess of a series of variety programs for Chevrolet.
She had a string of 80 charted popular hits, spanning the years 1940 to 1957, and after appearing in a handful of feature films went on to a four-decade career in American television, starring in her own music and variety shows from 1951 through 1963 and hosting two talk shows in the 1970s. TV Guide magazine ranked her at #16 on their list of the top fifty television stars of all time. Stylistically, Shore was compared to two singers who followed her in the mid-to-late 1940s and early 1950s, Doris Day and Patti Page.
1947
Shore made her radio debut on Nashville's WSM-AM radio station. Shore decided to return to pursuing her career in singing, moving to New York City to audition for orchestras and radio stations. In many of her auditions, she sang the popular song "Dinah." When disc jockey Martin Block could not remember her name, he called her the "Dinah girl," and soon after the name stuck, becoming her stage name. Shore eventually was hired as a vocalist at radio station WNEW, where she sang with Frank Sinatra. She recorded and performed with the Xavier Cugat orchestra, and signed a recording contract with RCA Victor Records in 1940.
In March 1939, Shore debuted on national radio on the Sunday afternoon CBS radio program, Ben Bernie's Orchestra. In February 1940, she became a featured vocalist on the NBC Radio program The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, a showcase for traditional Dixieland and Blues songs.
Shore soon became a successful singing star with her own radio show in 1943, Call to Music. She continued appearing in radio shows throughout the 1940s, including Birds Eye-Open House and Ford Radio Show. In early 1946, she moved to another label, Columbia Records. ➦In 1982...Dan Seymour died (Born - June 28, 1914). He was an announcer in the era of old-time radio and in the early years of television and later became an advertising executive
Dan Seymour
Seymour was once recognized as "Radio's best announcer."An obituary noted, "Seymour was best known as the deep-voiced announcer who startled Americans with a convincing but fictional account of Martians landing on Earth in the War of the Worlds broadcast in 1938."
His first job in radio—announcing came in 1935 at WNAC in Boston, Massachusetts, after his college graduation. While at the station, he was also an announcer for the Yankee Network. In 1936, he resigned and joined CBS in New York City. His first major assignment there was announcing for Major Bowes Amateur Hour.
A significant assignment early in his career was becoming the announcer on We the People, a job that led to a position with the program's advertising agency, Young and Rubicam.
Other programs on which Seymour worked as announcer were The Henry Morgan Show, The Aldrich Family, Songs by Jack Smith, Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories, Sing It Again, Bobby Benson, and Original Gillette Community Sing.
Seymour was one of the producers of You and the News.
Bob Hope
➦In 2003...singer-actor-comedian Bob Hope died of pneumonia at his home in Toluca Lake, California at the age of 100.
His career in broadcasting began on radio in 1934. His first regular series for NBC Radio was the Woodbury Soap Hour in 1937, a 26-week contract. A year later, 'The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope' began, and Hope signed a ten-year contract with the show's sponsor, Lever Brothers. Hope hired eight writers and paid them out of his salary of $2,500 a week. The original staff included Mel Shavelson, Norman Panama, Jack Rose, Sherwood Schwartz, and Schwartz's brother Al. The writing staff eventually grew to fifteen.
The show became the top radio program in the country. Regulars on the series included Jerry Colonna and Barbara Jo Allen as spinster Vera Vague. Hope continued his lucrative career in radio through to the 1950s, when radio's popularity was overshadowed by television.
In the early days, Hope's career included appearances on stage in vaudeville shows and Broadway productions. He began performing on the radio in 1934 mostly with NBC radio, and switched to television when that medium became popular in the 1950s. He began doing regular TV specials in 1954, and hosted the Academy Awards nineteen times from 1939 through 1977.[21] Overlapping with this was his movie career, spanning 1934 to 1972, and his USO tours, which he conducted from 1941 to 1991.
➦In 2013…Dallas-based radio personality David "Kidd" Kraddick died at age 53 of a brain aneurysm while hosting his Kidd's Kids charity golf event.
Kidd Kraddick
Kraddick received the nickname "Kidd" from a radio producer and used the name on-air from 1978 until his death. He won the Billboard Magazine “Air Personality of the Year” Award three times, received the 1992 and 1997 AWRO "Air Personality of the Year," the Marconi Award for "Radio Personality of the Year", won the first annual 1999 WB Radio Music Award as the "Best Radio Personality in the Country", and also the 2001 "Radio and Records CHR/Pop Personality/Show of the Year."
He moved from Tampa to Dallas in 1984 and took over the night shift on the newly formatted Top40 station KEGL (The Eagle) and established a following. In 1990, Kraddick was named to the Ten Outstanding Young Americans list by the United States Junior Chamber. KEGL changed formats from Top 40 pop/rock to Modern Rock in 1992 and Kraddick was released from his contract.
After eight months off the air, he was hired to a morning position at Top40 KHKS 106.1 Kiss-FM in Dallas-Fort Worth. He won a 1998 Marconi Award for Major Market Radio Personality of the Year while he was with KHKS and the next year he won Air Personality of the Year at the Radio Music Awards. He began to syndicate the show in 2001 and moved the production to an independent studio in Las Colinas. He became a member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
In the early 1990s, Kraddick launched two radio oriented businesses. A monthly publication for morning personalities called "The Morning Mouth" and a show prep "sharing service" for air personalities called "BitBoard". Kraddick subsequently sold both entities; BitBoard is now operated by iHeartMedia and The Morning Mouth is owned and operated by Don Anthony's Talentmasters in Atlanta, Georgia
➦In 2013...Herb Kaplow, for 45 years a Washington correspondent for ABC and NBC who brought an authoritative voice to his wide-ranging reporting, suffered a fatal stroke at age 86.
➦In 2016...Radio talk show host and TV actor Jerry Doyle, best remembered as security officer Michael Garibaldi in the futuristic 90’s series Babylon 5, died of complications from chronic alcoholism, less than 2 weeks after his 60th birthday. When TV assignments dried up Doyle became a syndicated radio talk host.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Taylor Schilling is 36
TV producer Norman Lear is 98.
Actor John Pleshette (“Knots Landing”) is 78.
Actor-director Betty Thomas (“Hill Street Blues”) is 73.
Singer Maureen McGovern is 71.
Actor Roxanne Hart (“The Good Girl,” ″Chicago Hope”) is 66.
Guitarist Duncan Cameron (Sawyer Brown) is 64.
Comedian Carol Leifer is 64.
Comedian Bill Engvall is 63.
Jazz singer Karrin Allyson is 58.
Country singer Stacy Dean Campbell is 53.
Singer Juliana Hatfield is 53.
Actor Julian McMahon (“Profiler”) is 52.
Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones”) is 50.
Comedian Maya Rudolph is 48.
Drummer Abe Cunningham of Deftones is 47.
Singer Pete Yorn is 46.
Actor Seamus Dever (“Castle”) is 44.
Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“The Tudors”) is 43.
Comedian Heidi Gardner (“Saturday Night Live”) is 37.
Actor Taylor Schilling (“Orange is the New Black”) is 36.
Singer Cheyenne Kimball of Gloriana is 30.
Actor Alyvia Alyn Lind (“Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors”) is 13.
