Deal volume for the media and telecom industry has slowed significantly during the coronavirus, according to the latest report from PwC.
In the first half of 2020, there were 259 deals, a decline of 19% from the second half of 2019. While COVID-19 undeniably had an impact on the Media & Telecom sector, deal volumes had begun to contract in 2019, with the first half of 2020 broadly keeping pace with Q4-19. While sub-sectors reliant on advertising revenues felt the impact more sharply, telecommunications and digitally-focused sub-sectors were more resilient in the current environment.
Announced deal volumes have always been volatile in the sector (largely driven by megadeals) and 2020 is no exception. Announced deal values of $12B and $19B in Q1 and Q2, respectively, fell within the range of the last 8 quarters.
Advertising through a recession: Ad agencies are among the hardest hit by COVID-19 in the Media & Telecom sector, with most advertisers pulling back on their spend as a reflex to lockdowns.
As the economy starts to push on in the face of COVID-19, PwC expects advertising budgets to be slashed and certain sectors to pull back significantly on their spend (e.g. travel or live events). Some advertisers are likely to seek more effective demand generating spend on digital platforms as opposed to mass brand advertising on traditional media. PwC has already seen a sharp decline in advertising deals in Q2 2020, and expect this trend to continue in the near future. Going forward, they expect the bigger players will do a lower volume of deals, but will continue to compete for bigger data-driven assets
Representative Tom Emmer (MN) and Representative Brendan Boyle (PA) have sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging that a portion of the funding provided within the upcoming Coronavirus relief package be dedicated to support local broadcasters who have experienced financial hardship during the pandemic.
"The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted every American, but for those whose job it is to keep us informed - like our local radio and TV stations - this outbreak has been exceptionally difficult.” said Emmer. “They have been tasked with getting us up to date information during a time of high stress where the information they share could literally save lives."
Emmer concluded, “However, these outlets rely on advertising revenue to survive – a revenue source that has become less available due to the hardships businesses nationwide have experienced. The local radio and TV stations that give us the stories we need to know deserve our support and I am urging my colleagues show them that they are essential by ensuring they have what they need to weather this storm."
Brendan Boyle
"During this pandemic, local television and radio stations have proved an invaluable resource in the dissemination of lifesaving information for households across the nation,” said Boyle. "Broadcasting outlets continue to play a crucial role in helping people navigate this unprecedented crisis. This bill would provide temporary essential relief to many local broadcast operations that will allow them to continue serving the public good as we emerge from this pandemic."
"During these unprecedented times, broadcasters have been hit hard by an unparalleled blow to the advertising revenue that funds local journalism and emergency news coverage.” said National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Gordon Smith. “Ensuring that small broadcasters, including those that may be owned by station groups, have access to the Paycheck Protection Program will help them continue to serve their communities and provide lifeline information. NAB and America’s local radio and TV stations thank Reps. Emmer and Boyle for fighting to help broadcasters remain on the air and free to their local audiences."
CES, one of the world’s biggest technology conferences is going virtual. The highly anticipated conference will be a virtual event in January due to the coronavirus pandemic. The news is a reversal from May when organizers said it would go on as a smaller gathering in Las Vegas.
KLAS News8 reports the announcement Tuesday is another blow for Las Vegas and the local economy, which, like all other U.S. tourist destinations, is suffering as people stay home or vacation locally. More than 170,00 people attended the four-day show this year in January, before COVID-19 began to spread across the U.S.
The Consumer Electronic Show brings more than $280 million to the Las Vegas valley’s local economy, and more than 170,000 people visit the city during this convention.
The cancellation of this event will definitely impact many jobs in the convention and hospitality industry. Governor Steve Sisolak took to Twitter to say that he respects the difficult decision the organizers of CES had to make while thanking them for their partnership.
The governor added he looks forward to welcoming them back in January 2022.
From hotel reservations to catering, each trade show cancellation is a lot of money Las Vegas misses out on.
CNS News generated a huge 1,106% gain in year-over-year (YOY) unique visitors for June 2020, according to TheRighting’s exclusive analysis of June 2020 mobile and desktop traffic based on Comscore data. In June 2019, CNS News attracted 695,000 unique visitors. Last month, the right-wing website drew 8,382,000 unique visitors ranking as TheRighting’s fifth most-trafficked conservative website, its highest position ever in TheRighting’s monthly charts.
This is the third straight month that CNS News has posted YOY triple-digit gains. In April 2020, CNS News experienced a 609% YOY increase, and in May 2020 it saw a 592% rise. The conservative news and opinion site, which is part of the non-profit Media Research Center, is now the fastest-growing right-wing website in the country based on TheRighting’s traffic analysis over the last three months.
For the third month in a row, the Washington Times ranked as the second-most-trafficked conservative website as it was helped by a 177% YOY rise in June 2020 unique visitors. Foxnews.com remains the top-rated conservative website with 107,334,000 unique visitors in June 2020. The Washington Examiner sagged to fourth place as its YOY audience grew by only 20%. Overall, half of all conservatives websites in TheRighting’s top 20 experienced triple-digit YOY increases in June 2020.
“Broad civil unrest, statue toppling, the conflict at Lafayette Square, John Bolton’s inside-the-administration tell-all and the ongoing pandemic coverage contributed significantly to a heated news environment,” said Howard Polskin, President and Chief Curator, TheRighting. “The huge gains in traffic to conservative websites are a barometer of the public’s intense interest in the unfolding events of the day which play like a dark drama that is impossible to ignore.”
Mainstream media websites also produced healthy gains in YOY June 2020 traffic. The New York Times Brand had a 32% increase, followed by CNN.com (+21%) and the Washingtonpost.com (+18%).
Leaders Among Top 20 Conservative Websites for June 2020 (by unique visitor percentage increase from year ago):
CNS News (+1,106%)
WND (+622%)
PJ Media (437%)
Each month, TheRighting examines Comscore data on dozens of prominent conservative websites that post original content. TheRighting ranks the top 20 conservative websites on the basis of unique visitors and also provides data on whether unique visitors have increased or decreased year over year. That information is posted on the Metrics section of TheRighting’s website.
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TheRighting also publishes a listing of Who’s Who in Conservative Media as well as an A-Z Guide to Right-Wing Media and updates both of them regularly. The guides feature descriptions about prominent right-wing media personalities and websites.
Longtime radio journalist Mike Calhoun has died. He was 68.
He had a long career in radio and journalism beginning as a disc jockey at WSNO, Barre and WSKI, Montpelier while in high school and college. He began news reporting at WVMT, Burlington and also worked at WHWB, Rutland and WJOY in Burlington. In 1978 he was named Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and worked as spokesman for his 1980 successful reelection campaign. In 1981 he joined WRC radio in Washington, D.C. as a street reporter and in 1983 was named News Director of the NBC owned news/talk radio station.
In 1986 he became Station Manager of WIZN radio, a rock station in Burlington, VT. He also wrote features for the Vanguard Press, an alternative weekly also based in Burlington. In 1988 he became Communications Director for the Bill Gray for U.S. Senate campaign. In 1990 he was hired by WCAX-TV as a News Editor during their year-long Vermont Bicentennial project.
A lifelong sailor, he spent the ’90s single-handing his way around the U.S. East coast and Caribbean. In 1994, he became News Director of WRMF, Palm Beach, FL and in 1996 was hired to cover the Olympic Summer games and serve as News Director of WSB-FM, Atlanta. In 2000 he bought a 62 foot Nautical ketch and opened Southern Comfort Yacht Charters in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
➦In 1911...Florence Freeman born (Died at age 88 – April 25, 2000). She was an actress in old-time radio. She was known as a "soap opera queen" for her work in daytime serial dramas.
Freeman's initial job in radio came in 1933 as the result of a challenge. After a friend dared her "to make good as a radio actress", Freeman applied — and was hired — at WOKO in Albany, NY. She went on to become a member of the casts of a number of serials in old-time radio, including being "the heroine of not one but two serials that ran more than a decade."
In 1949, Freeman won the "Your Favorite Daytime Serial Actress" award from Radio Mirror magazine.
➦In 1914...Theodore Vail, the president of AT&T, succeeded in transmitting his voice across the continental U.S. in July 1914. It the first test phone conversation between New York and San Francisco.
Peter Jennings
➦In 1938...Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings born (Died from cancer at age 67 – August 7, 2005). He was a Canadian-American journalist who served as the sole anchor of ABC World News Tonight from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. Despite dropping out of high school, he transformed himself into one of American television's most prominent journalists.
Jennings started his career early, hosting a Canadian radio show at the age of nine. He began his professional career with CJOH-TV in Ottawa during its early years, anchoring the local newscasts and hosting a teen dance show, Saturday Date, on Saturdays. In 1965, ABC News tapped him to anchor its flagship evening news program. His inexperience was attacked by critics and others in television news, making for a difficult first stint in the anchor chair. Jennings became a foreign correspondent in 1968, reporting from the Middle East.
He returned as one of World News Tonight's three anchors in 1978, and was promoted to sole anchor in 1983. Jennings was also known for his marathon coverage of breaking news stories, staying on the air for 15 or more hours straight to anchor the live broadcast of events such as the Gulf War in 1991, the O.J. Simpson phony phone call and subsequent trial in 1994, the Millennium celebrations in 2000, and the September 11 attacks in 2001. In addition to anchoring, he was the host of many ABC News special reports and moderated several American presidential debates. Jennings was always fascinated with the United States and became a naturalized United States citizen in 2003.
Along with Tom Brokaw of NBC and Dan Rather of CBS, Jennings formed part of the "Big Three" news anchors who dominated American evening network news from the early 1980s until his death in 2005, which closely followed the retirements of Brokaw in 2004 and Rather in 2005.
➦In 1940...the pilot for the radio comedy Duffy’s Tavern aired on CBS. Duffy’s won its own weekly slot the following March, and would continue as a radio staple into 1952.
The program often featured celebrity guest stars but always hooked them around the misadventures, get-rich-quick schemes and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, portrayed by Ed Gardner, the writer/actor who co-created the series. Gardner had performed the character of Archie, talking about Duffy's Tavern, as early as November 9, 1939, when he appeared on NBC's Good News of 1940
Clint Buehlmann
➦In 1977...Buffalo radio personality Clint Buehlmann aired his final show on WBEN 930 AM. He had been a highly-rated morning personality for about 40 years.
➦In 1995...bandleader Les Elgart died of heart failure at age 76. Elgart’s recording of Bandstand Boogie was adopted by Dick Clark as the theme for American Bandstand. Elgart also had two top-selling albums in the 50’s: The Elgart Touch and For Dancers Also. He often jointly led a band with his brother Larry in the 1950s and 60s.
Tom Snyder
➦In 2007...Talk Show Host and newscaster Tom Snyder died.
Snyder had loved radio since he was a child and at some point changed his field of study from pre-med to journalism. He once told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tim Cuprisin that broadcasting became more important to him than attending classes, and he skipped a lot of them.
Snyder began his career as a radio reporter at WRIT (unrelated to the present-day FM station) in Milwaukee and at WKZO in Kalamazoo (where he was fired by John Fetzer) in the 1950s. For a time he worked at Savannah, Georgia, AM station WSAV (now WBMQ).
Snyder at WRIT
After moving to TV in the 1960s, he was a news anchor for KYW-TV in Cleveland (now WKYC-TV) and, after a 1965 station switch, Philadelphia, and WNBC-TV and WABC-TV in New York City.
He talked about driving cross country in an early Corvair from Atlanta to Los Angeles around 1963, where he landed a news job at KTLA, then on to KNBC-TV, also in Los Angeles, where from 1970 to 1974 he was an anchor for the 6 p.m. newscast working with KNBC broadcaster Kelly Lange, who was then a weather reporter before serving as a long-time KNBC news anchor.
Lange later became Snyder's regular substitute guest host on the Tomorrow program, prior to the hiring of co-host Rona Barrett in the program's last year. Even after attaining fame as host of Tomorrow, Snyder kept his hand in news anchoring with the Sunday broadcasts of NBC Nightly News during 1975 and 1976.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Martina McBride is 54
Actor Robert Fuller (“Laramie,” ″Emergency!”) is 87.
Actor David Warner (“Titanic”) is 79.
Actor Roz Kelly (“Happy Days”) is 78.
Keyboardist Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon is 74.
Actor Mike Starr (“Ed,” ″Goodfellas”) is 70.
Singer-bassist Geddy Lee of Rush is 67.
Documentary maker Ken Burns is 67.
TV personality Tim Gunn (“Project Runway”) is 67.
Singer Patti Scialfa of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is 67.
Actor Alexandra Paul (“Baywatch”) is 57.
Actor Dean Haglund (“The X Files”) is 55.
Country singer Martina McBride is 54.
Drummer Chris Gorman of Belly is 53.
Actor Tim Omundson (“Psych”) is 51.
Actor Ato Essandoh (film’s “Django Unchained,” TV’s “Elementary”) is 48.
Actor Wil Wheaton (“Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Stand By Me”) is 48.
Singer Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men is 47.
Actor Stephen Dorff is 47.
Country singer James Otto is 47.
Actor Josh Radnor (“How I Met Your Mother”) is 46.
Musician Danger Mouse is 43.
Actor Allison Mack (“Smallville”) is 38.
Actor Kaitlyn Black (“Hart of Dixie”) is 37.
Actor Cait Fairbanks (“The Young and The Restless”) is 27.
Talk host Glenn Beck claims his children tested positive for COVID-19 and that it doesn’t appear to be a big deal, reports The NY Daily News.
“They all were sick for two days and had a wussy little fever and a headache, you know, like a bad cold as they described it to me,” the 56-year-old host said on Monday's radio show.
According to Beck, his kids tested positive over the weekend so he’s airing his show from suburban Dallas, Texas, home to be on the safe side.
“So now everybody in the house has COVID or had COVID except for my two grandchildren and me,” he said.
Beck appeared annoyed by his doctor’s warnings that he falls into the high-risk category of the virus that has killed more than 140,000 Americans.
“I’m just assuming I’m going to get it I guess... uh… the doctor was like, ‘You have a, you know, bad immune system, blah blah blah, you have, you know, immune problems,” Beck said. “And I was like eh, ehhh.”
He claimed that getting sick in this fashion would be worth it so he could develop antibodies to the infection.
His co-host Steve Burguiere noted the infection impacts people differently and the seemingly harmless sickness Beck’s children are experiencing could be very dangerous to their out-of-shape, middle-aged father.
“If this is the strain you’re going to get though, I mean, I know that’s it’s bad ... but if this is the strain you’re going to get, this is the one to get,” Beck said.
Beck then claimed his doctor put him on a prescription plan that included hydroxychloroquine — an anti-malaria popular with right-wing conspiracy theorists, despite its having no proven effect on COVID-19. The FDA has warned that hydroxychloroquine even poses risks to some patients.
Beck claimed his physician also prescribed the lung-steroid budesonide.
While he didn’t seem concerned about getting sick, the conservative commentator joked he might be able to exploit his COVID-19 battle for ratings.
SIGNS OF SLOWING IN ARIZONA, TEXAS, FLORIDA: Final-stage testing began Monday of an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health, with the first of what will be some 30,000 U.S. volunteers injected at different sites across the country with either the vaccine or a placebo. They will be tracked as they go about their daily lives to see which group has more coronavirus infections. We won't have results for months, with Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIH's infectious-disease head, saying it would likely be November or December. Meanwhile, Pfizer announced it's going to start testing its own experimental vaccine and is also looking to recruit 30,000 volunteers, and China and Britain's Oxford University began smaller final-stage tests on their vaccines earlier this month.
Meanwhile, after coronavirus cases have been increasing in the U.S. for weeks, the rate of growth in average daily new cases fell across the country Sunday for the first time since June 12th. In Arizona, Florida and Texas, which have been among the biggest recent hot spots, there seems to be a slowing down of new cases as more people social distance and wear masks, and some reopening plans have been stopped. Arizona is also starting to see a slowing down in hospitalizations, but while Florida and Texas are seeing new cases slow, their hospitalizations and deaths are continuing to rise.
There have been more than 148,000 deaths in the U.S. as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 4,290,000 confirmed cases.
Republicans Introduce $1 Trillion Aid Package: Senate Republicans introduced a new $1 trillion coronavirus aid package yesterday, which includes another round of $1,200 stimulus payments to Americans, another round of Paycheck Protection Program loans to help keep small businesses open and paying their workers, and a reduction in the extra federal unemployment benefit of $600 weekly to $200. It also includes funds for virus testing and to help schools reopen in the fall, as well as liability protection from coronavirus lawsuits for businesses and schools. Now the Republicans have to negotiate final legislation with House Democrats, who passed their own $3 trillion relief package two months ago that hasn't been taken up by the Senate. Among their differences, Democrats object to cutting the $600 weekly extra unemployment benefit, and want the package to include funds for states and cities that have been left in big financial holes because of the coronavirus, which isn't in the Republicans' bill.
National Security Adviser O'Brien Positive for Coronavirus: National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien has tested positive for the coronavirus, the highest-ranking U.S. official so far. The White House said yesterday that he has mild symptoms and has been self-isolating and working from what it said was a "secure location off site." The White House also said, "There is no risk of exposure to the President or the Vice President."
➤U.S. ATTORNEY: FED AGENTS TO STAY IN PORTLAND UNTIL ATTACKS STOP; MAYORS ASK FOR BAN: Portland, Oregon, Mayor Ted Wheeler and the mayors of five other major U.S. cities -- Seattle, Chicago, Kansas City, Albuquerque and Washington, D.C. -- yesterday urged Congress to make it illegal for the federal government to deploy militarized federal agents in cities that don't want them there. That came as protests and sometimes violent clashes have ramped up in Portland over the past couple of weeks after federal agents were controversially sent earlier this month to protect the federal courthouse.
Barr to tell House Judiciary Committee that Portland protests are "an assault on the government of the United States" https://t.co/t8NZDbWj5Y
But U.S. Attorney Bill Williams said earlier yesterday that the agents would remain in Portland until the attacks on the courthouse stop. City officials have said that the protests that had been going on nightly since George Floyd's death had started to wind down, but they swelled again in opposition to the agents, after they were deployed. Although most of the protesters have been peaceful, there have been a few, largely at night, who have been throwing objects, including firecrackers, at the agents and trying to tear down the fence that was put up around the federal courthouse.
➤NATIONAL GUARD OFFICIAL TO TESTIFY PARK OUTSIDE WHITE HOUSE FORCEFULLY CLEARED LAST MONTH DESPITE PROTESTERS BEING PEACEFUL: A National Guard official will testify at a congressional hearing today that Lafayette Park outside the White House was forcefully cleared last month before President Trump walked across it to take a photo in front of a church even though the protesters had been peaceful, contrary to what top Trump administration officials have said about the incident that drew widespread criticism. Washington, D.C., National Guard Major Adam D. DeMarco, who says he was one of the senior National Guard officials on the scene, is expected to say, "The demonstrators were behaving peacefully, exercising their First Amendment rights." He's also set to say that he was surprised the park began to be forcefully cleared well ahead of the 7 p.m. curfew put in place by the mayor. Attorney General William Barr has said his decision to have the protesters cleared came after signs they were becoming, quote, "increasingly unruly." Barr has also denied the protesters' removal had anything to do with Trump walking to the church minutes later for a photo holding up a Bible. Park Police acting Chief Gregory Monahan will testify the decision was made to remove the protesters once fencing arrived, saying there was a, quote, "on-the-ground assessment of the violence and danger presented by the crowd."
➤REP. JOHN LEWIS LIES IN STATE AT CAPITOL: The body of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis is lying in state at the U.S. Capitol after a memorial service yesterday in the Capitol Rotunda, making him the first African-American to lie in state in the Rotunda. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke at the memorial, calling the Georgia Democrat who died on July 17th at age 80 the "conscience of the Congress," and saying he was "revered and beloved on both sides of the aisle." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also spoke, saying, "History only bent towards what's right because people like John paid the price." As Lewis' flag-draped coffin sat in the center of the Rotunda, a recording of him giving a commencement address was played in which he said, "You must find a way to get in the way. You must find a way to get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble."
After the service, Lewis' body was moved to the steps of the east side of the Capitol for visitors to file by and pay their respects, done this way because the Capitol is closed to visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic. The public viewing was held until 10 p.m., and will take place again today from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Among those paying their respects yesterday were presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence, but when President Trump was asked by reporters if he'd be going, Trump said, "I won’t be going, no." Lewis once called Trump an illegitimate president and charged that he stoked racial discord, and Trump responded by calling Lewis' Atlanta district "crime-infested."
➤SWIMMER KILLED BY SHARK IN MAINE: A woman was killed in an apparent shark attack while swimming off the coast of Maine on Monday. Witnesses saw the woman swimming off Bailey Island in Casco Bay when she was injured in what appeared to be a shark attack. Two kayakers helped get her to shore and an ambulance was called, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Shark attacks are rare in Maine, with only one other having been recorded before by an unprovoked shark.
➤KATHIE LEE GIFFORD RECALLS LAST MOMENTS WITH REGIS PHILBIN: Kathie Lee Gifford, 66, appeared on The Today Show Monday to recall her last visit with her former co-host, just weeks before Regis Philbin died at age 88.
She said: "They came over about two weeks ago. I saw Reg get out of the car with Joy and I sensed much more fragility than I had seen in him since the last time in January out in Los Angeles." The group spent the day sitting on Gifford's screen porch where they "laughed ourselves sick" and "picked up right where" they left off. But she sensed that his time was coming: "We became dear friends through the years since then. Always, always getting together every chance we could and just picking up right where we left off. We just had the best time. After they left I thought to myself, 'Lord is that the last time I am going to see my friend?' Because he was failing. I could tell." It was also revealed Monday that Philbin will be buried at his alma mater, Notre Dame.
➤TARGET FOLLOWS WALMART'S LEAD TO BE CLOSED THANKSGIVING DAY: After Walmart announced last week that it would be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Target announced Monday that it also will be keeping its stores closed on the holiday, after having gotten an early start on Black Friday sales for a decade by opening on the holiday. Retailers are reconsidering how Black Friday shopping will be done amid the coronavirus pandemic, when stores packed with shoppers are not what you want. Target said in a blog post, "Historically, deal hunting and holiday shopping can mean crowded events, and this isn’t a year for crowds." But it said that it will be starting its holiday deals earlier than ever, beginning in October. Even before the pandemic, some retailers who'd started opening on Thanksgiving in recent years had gotten criticism for taking their workers away from their families. Still to be worked out and made public is how retailers will handle Black Friday, and AP cited analysts as saying retailers will likely do more online and limit the number of shoppers in stores. They could also, like Target, start holiday sales earlier.
NY Post 7/28/20
➤AT LEAST THREE MLB GAMES POSTPONED DUE TO MARLINS' CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: At least three MLB games have been postponed just a few days into the coronavirus-shortened season because of an outbreak of the virus among the Miami Marlins, who have more than a dozen players and staff members who've tested positive. Miami's home opener against the Baltimore Orioles yesterday was postponed as was their game tonight. The New York Yankees' game against the Phillies in Philadelphia was also postponed, where the Yankees would have been in the same clubhouse the Marlins had used days before. Despite the outbreak just as the season had finally started, Commissioner Rob Manfred said yesterday, "I don’t see it as a nightmare. We built the protocols to allow us to continue to play. . . . we think we can keep people safe and continue to play." All the Marlins players and staff are being tested and the MLB teams all have extra players if players have to miss games with the virus, and Manfred said yesterday, "If the testing results are acceptable, the Marlins will resume play in Baltimore on Wednesday against the Orioles."
➤NFL'S BAKER, DUNBAR, LATIMER PUT ON COMMISSIONER EXEMPT LIST: New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar and Washington wide receiver Cody Latimer were put on the NFL’s Commissioner Exempt List yesterday (July 27th) while they're facing felony charges from incidents during the offseason. Players on the list can't practice or play in games, but do get paid. Baker and Dunbar were charged after a robbery at a Florida cookout, and Latimer was charged with a felony count of illegal discharge of a firearm in a separate incident in Colorado.
Joe Fortenbaugh is saying goodbye to KGMZ 95.7 the Game. The morning show host took to Twitter Monday to announce that he’s leaving the radio station for a new opportunity with ESPN which will see him relocate to Las Vegas, Barrett Sports Media reports.
In his post, Fortenbaugh expressed gratitude for so many in San Francisco including his bosses at the Entercom sports station, and his co-hosts and producers. “This has been a wonderful place to work with so many kind souls,” Fortenbaugh wrote.
Fortenbaugh was hired by BSM president Jason Barrett to join The Game in 2014 in morning drive.
In addition to establishing himself as a Bay Area radio voice, Fortenbaugh also made a name for himself in the sports betting world. He previously contributed to the National Football Post and wrote freelance columns for USA Today, ESPN.com, SportsIllustrated.com and VegasChatter.com. He’s also hosted The Sharp 600 podcast and appeared on radio stations across the country as a frequent contributor.
ESPN began using Fortenbaugh in March of last year when the network launched The Daily Wager. The show, hosted by Doug Kezirian, frequently featured Fortenbaugh as a participating guest. His new duties with ESPN are still unknown, though he’s expected to have a role in the network’s sports betting content, and contribute across all platforms. That could indicate a more formal announcement is forthcoming.
Entercom jas announced the promotion of Danny Freisinger to Brand Manager of KIFM ESPN 1320 AM in Sacramento.
“For the last four years, Danny has consistently given 95.7 The Game listeners a reliable home for premier coverage of their favorite teams and we’re excited to expand his role with ESPN 1320,” said Stacey Kauffman, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Sacramento. “With a fair amount of Bay Area fans rooted in Sacramento, Danny will lead the way in reshaping how we cover sports in Northern California and better serve fans.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to help lead the charge for 1320,” said Freisinger. “Sacramento is a hidden gem of a sports market with as passionate a fan base as you’ll find in the country. We’re fortunate to be able to leverage RADIO.COM and ESPN, two of the strongest media brands, and achieve great things starting with the return of sports.”
Freisinger, who has spent his entire 13-year sports media career in Northern California, will continue in his current position as Assistant Brand Manager for sister station 95.7 The Game (KGMZ-FM) in San Francisco. He joined Entercom in 2015 as a producer for 95.7 The Game before rising to Assistant Brand Manager in 2016. Prior to joining Entercom, he served in producer roles for both Cumulus and NBC Sports.
Salem Media Group, Inc. WIND 560 AM The Answer announced Monday that afternoon drive host Steve Cortes will be temporarily stepping away from his daily radio talk show to join President Trump’s re-election campaign in the role of Senior Advisor of Communications.
“While we wish Steve could stay on the air with us during these next few critical months before the election, we also understand the pull that Steve feels to help President Trump,” said Jeff Reisman, regional vice president and general manager of AM 560.
“Steve will have a front row seat to history between now and the election, and we look forward to welcoming him back in November and having him share his firsthand account of how this campaign unfolded with our audience.”
Cortes is expected to rejoin the station in early November, following the presidential election. In the interim, AM 560’s afternoon drive will feature a fill-in host to be announced.
Cortes joined AM 560 The Answer in January of this year as the host of “The Steve Cortes Show,” heard weekday afternoons from 5 to 7pm. Cortes has been a frequent political and financial contributor to CNBC, FOX Business, FOX News, and CNN. In addition, his columns have regularly appeared in RealClearPolitics and Human Events. Cortes is also the author of Against the Herd: 6 Contrarian Investment Strategies You Should Follow. Cortes worked on President Trump’s 2016 campaign as member of Trump’s Hispanic Advisory Council. Cortes regularly appeared on television and at rallies in support of the Trump campaign. Cortes is a native of Chicago. He is a graduate of Georgetown University where he was nominated for the Rhodes Scholarship.
A U.S. Commerce Department agency on Monday petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to reinterpret a 1996 law to require transparency in how social media companies moderate content, after President Donald Trump asked it to intervene in the matter.
Trump directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to file the petition after Twitter in May warned readers to fact-check his posts about unsubstantiated claims of fraud in mail-in voting.
Reuters reports Trump’s executive order asked the NTIA to petition the FCC to write regulations stemming from Section 230, a provision of the Communications Decency Act that shields social media companies from liability for content posted by their users and allows them to remove lawful but objectionable posts.
Jessica Rosenworcel
The NTIA said in Monday’s petition it wants the FCC to require social media firms to “publicly disclose accurate information regarding its content-management mechanisms” to “enable users to make more informed choices about competitive alternatives.”
Trump, a Republican who is running for re-election on Nov. 3, has repeatedly expressed anger at social media companies. On Monday, he said Twitter’s trending topics feature was unfair.
Both Democratic commissioners on the five-member FCC said the commission should quickly reject the petition.
“The FCC shouldn’t take this bait. While social media can be frustrating, turning this agency into the President’s speech police is not the answer,” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said in a written statement.
Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr said the “petition provides an opportunity to bring much-needed clarity to the statutory text.”
A spokesman for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who has said in the past he does not see a role for the FCC to regulate websites like Twitter, Facebook or Alphabet’s Google, said on Monday the agency “will carefully review the petition.”
The FCC could take a year or longer to finalize any rules.
Ahead of the recently rescheduled blockbuster congressional hearing Wednesday with the chief executives of Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc., senior House Judiciary aides told reporters last week that the hearing — which will feature all four executives calling in virtually — will be laser-focused on the 1.3 million documents of evidence and roughly 385 hours of phone calls, briefings and meetings that have been poured into the antitrust subcommittee’s 13-month investigation into competition issues in the tech sector.
According to Morning Consult, some Republican lawmakers appear to have a different agenda, with a spokesperson for one GOP member of the antitrust subcommittee, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), saying the congressman still plans to focus on allegations of anti-conservative bias on online platforms and censorship of such speech. And a Republican aide told Morning Consult that GOP lawmakers don’t have a “tight road map” for questioning and will ask about a mix of antitrust and censorship issues.
“In the era of big tech and social media, our freedom of speech is more important now than ever,” said Carson Steelman, a spokeswoman for Steube’s office. “It is crucial that our voices are not silenced and tech providers do not unfairly censor or editorialize content just because they disagree with the underlying politics.”
With the four CEOs — Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai and Mark Zuckerberg — appearing on the panel at the same time, concerns have been raised about how effectively the lawmakers can dig into each of the alleged anti-competitive practices raised against their companies. And although senior aides expressed confidence in the panel’s ability to stay focused on competition matters, the hearing risks being muddled by a competing aim favored by some Republican lawmakers.
How lawmakers regulate technology companies hasn’t been a particularly high priority for the public this year. In Morning Consult/Politico surveys conducted throughout 2020 among roughly 2,000 registered voters, the share who said regulating tech should be either “a top priority” or “an important, but lower priority” remained steady at about 50 percent — roughly 20 to 35 percentage points lower than support for issues such as controlling the spread of COVID-19, stimulating the economy to recover from the pandemic, passing a health care bill and reducing the federal budget.
In a survey conducted July 10-12, Democratic voters were slightly more supportive of Congress making tech regulation a priority (58 percent) than Republican voters (52 percent). While the same share of Democrats showed interest in tech reform in a January survey on the topic, GOP voters are now 9 percentage points more likely since the beginning of the year to voice support for congressional regulation of tech companies.
Salem Media Group, Inc. announced Monday that its Salem Radio Network (SRN), in addition to the over two dozen stations adding Townhall News, added two more stations to the News Talk format utilizing the entire SRN Talk Lineup.
KSEI 930 AM in Pocatello, Idaho was joined by KXKS 1190 AM in Albuquerque, New Mexico, switching formats to talk, and taking not only the entire talk lineup of SRN but also Townhall News at the top of the hour.
“We have seen tremendous interest in the NewsTalk format, with this major breaking news cycle we are living through,” said Salem Senior Vice President of Spoken Word Phil Boyce. “These stations see this tremendous interest in breaking news and what to make of it, and they understand only one network is capable of giving them an entire lineup.”
KSEI General Manager Paul Anderson was extremely pleased with the transition. “As the region’s only locally owned and owner-managed station group, we knew the Salem programming lineup on News Talk KSEI, AM 930 was the perfect way to target the listeners in our area of Southeast Idaho…And we couldn’t be happier with the sound, which is fabulous!” said Anderson.
In Albuquerque, owner Bob Wilkins worked with Salem to create a strong vibrant radio lineup, and stated “Wilkins Radio Network is very proud to announce our partnership with Salem Radio Network in bringing superior Talk Radio programs to Albuquerque. These are historic times and we want our listeners to be fully engaged. Say hello to ‘The Answer Albuquerque, AM 1190.’ We’re very excited.”
The SRN lineup of hosts fits together like a jigsaw puzzle, keeping listeners riveted to the radio from morning until night: (Times Eastern)
Hugh Hewitt, 6-9am
Mike Gallagher 9am to Noon
Dennis Prager, Noon to 3pm
Dr. Sebastian Gorka, 3pm to 6pm
Larry Elder, 6pm to 9pm
Dan Proft, 9pm to Midnight
With the addition of Townhall News, 24/7 top and bottom of the hour live anchored news.
Lotus Broadcasting and the Las Vegas Raiders have announced Monday a partnership that will have Rock KOMP 92.3 FM serve as the Raiders flagship radio station in Las Vegas. In addition, Lotus Broadcasting has announced the launch of “Raider Nation Radio 920AM,” a 24/7 sports-talk station that will serve as the home for daily Raiders content year-round. Both KOMP 92.3 and Raider Nation Radio 920AM will broadcast Las Vegas Raiders football games.
Raider Nation Radio KRLV 920AM launches Monday, August 3rd, featuring focused content on the hometown’s newest team, The Las Vegas Raiders.
“The opportunity to be part of a Raiders specific station in their inaugural season in Las Vegas is incredibly exciting,” said JT The Brick. “The Raiders have an unparalleled history in the National Football League, and I cannot wait to continue to share that history with an incredible Las Vegas fan base.”
JT The Brick, Mike Pritchard and Clay Baker have been familiar voices on Lotus Broadcasting’s “Las Vegas Sports Network,” but the new additions are not unfamiliar voices in the valley. Scott Gulbransen’s “Silver and Black Today” has been a fixture in Las Vegas since the Raiders first announced their move to Southern Nevada in 2017. Vincent Bonsignore, who was announced as the Review Journal’s lead Raiders Beat Writer in 2019, brings with him a wealth of NFL and radio experience having served as the Los Angeles Rams beat writer, as well as a co-host of the “Eric Dickerson Show” during his time in LA.
“We are incredibly excited to partner with the Las Vegas Raiders and broadcast their games to a sports craved Las Vegas fanbase,” said Lotus Broadcasting General Manager Natalie Marsh. “Launching Raider Nation Radio 920AM will give Raiders and NFL fans unparalleled access to the Raiders and the league as a whole.”
“The Raiders are thrilled to team up with Lotus Broadcasting to launch Raider Nation Radio 920AM,” said Raiders President Marc Badain. “An exceptional lineup will bring game action and Raiders news, personalities, and features to fans throughout Las Vegas every day. We are proud that the Raiders will have a true home on terrestrial radio and look forward to beginning this journey with Lotus.”
Program Director Kyle Englehart adds, “Adding Raider Nation Radio 920AM to the Las Vegas Sports Network speaks volumes to the company’s commitment to deliver first-rate sports talk in Las Vegas. ESPN Las Vegas and Fox Sports Las Vegas already deliver the best Golden Knights and NFL coverage in the valley, and our new partnership with the Raiders will help us give our listeners a look inside Las Vegas’ newest team.”
Describing it as a difficult decision, Morning Show Boot Camp host Don Anthony says, 'Despite our best efforts, in the interest of our amazing attendees and sponsors we're now preparing a special 'Virtual Gathering' for this coming September in place of the formerly resheduled MSBC 32 in Chicago."
"Needless to say, this wasn't an easy decision," says Anthony, "but based on the continued circumstances and concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic, it's the right decision during this uncertain time." More information and registration details coming in the days and weeks ahead.
Morning Show Boot Camp 33 is now set for Chicago at The Swissotel, Aug. 12 & 13, 2021. For more info, contact us HERE or call 770-737-2700.
