CNN has addressed the drunken jab by the network's New Year's Eve countdown show co-host Andy Cohen at ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve and its host, Ryan Seacrest, which Cohen is also saying he regrets.
While the rock group Journey was performing during ABC's show, a drunk Cohen, who was co-hosting with Anderson Cooper, blasted what he called "Ryan Seacrest's group of losers that are performing behind us," telling CNN viewers, "I mean, with all due [respect], if you've been watching ABC tonight, you've seen nothing. I'm sorry."
Cohen then continued on a rant about Journey being "fake" because singer Steve Perry from the band's classic era is no longer with the group.
During the show, Cohen also drunkenly ranted about outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Cohen said on his SiriusXM show Monday that he regrets his comments about the ABC show -- but only that.
He said, "The only thing that I regret saying, the only thing is that I slammed the ABC broadcast and I really like Ryan Seacrest and he's a great guy. And I really regret saying that, and I was just stupid and drunk and feeling it." CNN said in a statement to E! News, "Andy said something he shouldn't have on live TV. We've addressed it with him and look forward to having him back again next year."
Ken Rosenthal, the multi-platform newsbreaker who has contributed to the network for 13 years, will not be retained in 2022, reports USAToday following confirmation via Twitter Monday night.
Rosenthal, who remains a dugout and on-field reporter for Fox Sports' national baseball broadcasts and a national reporter for The Athletic, has covered the industry with a rigor beyond typical TV network contributors. He was part of an Athletic team that in 2019 exposed the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal of 2017-18 and remains a significant part of their coverage of the ongoing lockout and the commissioner's office.
The New York Post, which first reported Rosenthal's departure, said Rosenthal was removed from MLB Network for roughly two months in the summer of 2020, a de facto suspension that came on the heels of Rosenthal's pointed analysis of commissioner Rob Manfred's handling of negotiations with players to stage a season during the early waves of the pandemic.
Can confirm MLB Network has decided not to bring me back. I’m grateful for the more than 12 years I spent there, and my enduring friendships with on-air personalities, producers and staff. I always strove to maintain my journalistic integrity, and my work reflects that. 1/2
Rosenthal's real-time reporting has been a boon for MLB Network at high-volume times of the year, such as the July trade deadline and the winter meetings. While he will continue to break news on social media and The Athletic, he'll for now lack a broadcast platform for such work.
His departure continues a mild exodus of talent at MLB Network, which did not renew "Intentional Talk" co-host Chris Rose's contract at the end of 2020. Rose, who was replaced by Stephen Nelson, is now a podcast host for Jomboy Media.
➦In 1919...radio personality Al ‘Jazzbo’ Collins was born in Rochester, N.Y.
Al 'Jazzbo' Collins
In 1941, while attending the University of Miami in Florida, he substituted as the announcer on his English teacher's campus radio program and decided he wanted to be in radio. Collins began his professional career as the disc jockey at a bluegrass station in Logan, West Virginia; by 1943, he was at WKPA in Pittsburgh, moving in 1945 to WIND in Chicago and in 1946 to Salt Lake City's KNAK. In 1950, he relocated to New York, where he joined the staff of WNEW and became one of the "communicators" on NBC's Monitor when it began in 1955.
He is best known for creating the Purple Grotto program on WNEW-AM New York, and on this coast for his talk shows at KGO San Francisco. He died of pancreatic cancer September 30, 1997 at age 78.
➦In 1923...using a 100-foot antenna connected by a clothesline to the building's roof, WNAC Boston (then on 1260 AM, and eventually evolving to present day WRKO 680 AM) arranged the first network broadcast in radio history with station WEAF in NYC (now WFAN 660 AM) conducted the first non-wired radio simulcast. Today, 1260 is home for WBIX Boston.
➦In 1923...Ft Worth radio station WBAP debuted a new country music show called the “barn dance.”
It featured a variety of performers, including an old-time fiddler named Captain M.J. Bonner who played square dance music. WBAP’s barn dance was so popular that a number of other radio stations began copying it. Soon, the barn dance variety show format could be heard across the country.
One of the most successful imitators of WBAP’s barn dance was the Nashville radio station WSM, which launched its Grand Ole Opry in 1925. Grand Ole Opry went on to become the best-known country music radio show in history.
➦In 1928...The Dodge Victory Hour, one of radio's first variety shows, debuted on NBC. The premiere was produced at a cost of $67,600 (about $923,000 today).
The show starred Will Rogers, Paul Whiteman and his orchestra, Fred Stone and Al Jolson in a 47-station coast-to-coast program with Jolson in New Orleans, Stone in Chicago and Whiteman in New York. From his home in Beverly Hills, Will Rogers did a Coolidge imitation, the first time a President was imitated on radio.
Sponsored by Dodge's new Victory Six automobile, the program reached an audience estimated at 35 million, the largest since Charles Lindbergh's return in 1927. The following day, The New York Times headlined: "All America Used As a Radio Studio".
Bob Hope
Two months later came a follow-up. The second Dodge Victory Hour was broadcast in March 1928, once again with Hollywood stars and Whiteman's band. To reach an even larger audience, United Artists installed extra speakers in theaters.
➦In 1932..."The Carnation Contented Hour," a showcase for top singers and musicians, debuted on the NBC Red network. Sponsored by the Carnation Milk Company, the series continued until December 30, 1951.
➦In 1935...Bob Hope made his first appearance on network radio as part of the cast of "The Intimate Revue." The variety show, sponsored by Bromo Seltzer, lasted only fourteen weeks, but Hope’s association with NBC continued for more than half-a-century.
➦In 1936...the first sales-based pop music chart was published in Billboard. Big band violinist Joe Venuti's "Stop! Look! Listen!" was the first #1 record.
➦In 1950... RCA Victor announced that it would manufacture long-playing (LP) records, a format pioneered by Columbia records while RCA was pushing the 45 RPM discs.
➦In 1954..Elvis Presley strolled into the Memphis Recording Service and put $4 on the counter. He recorded “Casual Love Affair” and “I’ll Never Stand in Your Way”, two songs that so impressed studio owner Sam Phillips that he had Elvis record his first professional sides for Sun Records the following August.
➦In 1970...'Music 'Til Dawn' ended airing on WCBS 880 AM in NYC. "Music 'Til Dawn" was an all night classical music radio program sponsored by American Airlines from 1953 to 1970.
Mary Shane
➦In 1977...innovative Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck hired a woman, Mary Shane, to be the first woman to do baseball play-by-play on TV. By mid-season, however, it was apparent Ms. Shane’s lack of experience and baseball knowledge had turned it into a bad idea and she was pulled from the broadcasts.
Shane later worked in Massachusetts, where she became a sportswriter for the Worcester Telegram in 1981. She died of a 1987 heart attack at age 42.
➦In 1982...Two additional networks, ABC Rock Network and ABC Direction Network were added to ABC's roster of demographically-targeted radio networks.
ABC Rock's anchor affiliate was WPLJ in New York City and had many Album-oriented rock formatted station move from American FM Network with a total of 40 affiliates. The Direction Network was under ABC Entertainment Network's executive's charge and was for adult (25-45) formats stations and started with 57 affiliates.
➦In 2010…California sportscaster Rory Markas died following a heart attack at age 54, just weeks after he’d been named TV voice of the Los Angeles Angels. He had been the team’s primary radio play-by-play guy since 2002.
➦In 2015... Stuart Scott, for more than two decades one of the top sportscasters at ESPN, lost his battle with cancer at age 49. Scott was famous for including culture references, slang and exuberant phrases along with his reports. His signature expression was “Booyah!”
Dyan Cannon is 83
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Actor Barbara Rush (“Peyton Place”) is 95.
Actor Dyan Cannon is 83.
Country singer Kathy Forester of the Forester Sisters is 67.
Guitarist Bernard Sumner of New Order (and Joy Division) is 66.
Actor Ann Magnuson (“Anything But Love”) is 66.
Country singer Patty Loveless is 65.
Actor Julian Sands (“24”) is 64.
Singer Michael Stipe of R.E.M. is 62.
Deanna Carter is 56
Actor Dave Foley (“NewsRadio,” ″Kids in the Hall”) is 59.
Actor Dot Jones (“Glee”) is 58.
Actor Rick Hearst (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) is 57.
Former Pogues singer Cait O’Riordan is 57.
Actor Julia Ormond is 57.
Country singer Deana Carter is 56.
Harmonica player Benjamin Darvill of Crash Test Dummies is 55.
Actor Josh Stamerg (“The Affair,” “Drop Dead Diva”) is 52.
Actor Jeremy Licht (“Valerie”) is 51.
Actor Damon Gupton (“Empire”) is 49.
Actor Jill Marie Jones (“Girlfriends”) is 47.
Actor D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”) is 42.
Singer Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath is 39.
Comedian-actor Charlyne Yi (“House,” “Steven Universe”) is 36.
The first big music industry acquisition of 2022 is with us: Warner Music Group, via its Warner Chappell Music subsidiary, has acquired the global music publishing rights to David Bowie’s song catalog, reports Music Business Worldwide.
The price of the deal, long mooted to be bouncing around the $200 million mark, was eventually agreed at upwards of $250 million, according to Variety.
This means Warner has announced two deals spanning over $650 million in acquisition fees in the past three weeks, following the $400 million acquisition of the Kevin Liles-led 300 Entertainment in December.
As per its latest deal, Warner has acquired hundreds of Bowie's songs, included evergreen hits such as“Space Oddity,” “Changes,” “Life on Mars?,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “Starman,” “Rebel Rebel,” “Fame,” “Young Americans,” “Golden Years,” “Heroes,” “Ashes to Ashes,” “Modern Love,” “Let’s Dance,” “Where Are We Now?,” “Lazarus,” and many more.
The agreement comprises songs from the 26 David Bowie studio albums released during his lifetime, as well as the posthumous studio album release, Toy.
Warner Chappell Music Co-Chair and CEO Guy Moot said: “All of us at Warner Chappell are immensely proud that the David Bowie estate has chosen us to be the caretakers of one of the most groundbreaking, influential, and enduring catalogs in music history. These are not only extraordinary songs, but milestones that have changed the course of modern music forever.
Meanwhile, SiriusXM will celebrate the influential music of David Bowie this January with the all new, limited-run David Bowie Channel. Honoring what would have been the singer's 75th birthday on January 8, listeners can expect to hear music spanning Bowie's entire catalogue–from timeless and beloved classics to recently unearthed rarities.
The David Bowie Channel will feature live tracks from concert performances, along with rare tracks and remixes of Bowie's greatest songs. Celebrity guest DJs including Beck, Billy Corgan, Linda Perry, Carlos Alomar, Rosanna Arquette, David Arquette, Patrick Stump and more, will host and spotlight their favorite Bowie tunes and share memories of the iconic artist.
Listeners of the David Bowie Channel can also expect to hear favorite covers featuring popular artists doing their renditions of Bowie's songs, as well as the Top 75 David Bowie tracks.
Listeners can catch this special pop up channel for two weeks beginning January 4 through January 18 on SiriusXM's channel 104, and throughout the month of January, streaming online on the SXM App.
Audacy has announced the addition of Elliot Segal to the weekday programming lineup for KRBZ ALT 96.5 in Kansas City. Segal, whose morning show “Elliot in the Morning” is also heard on Richmond sister station ALT 102.1 (WRXL-FM), will now also be heard on the station weekdays from 5:00 to 9:00 a.m.
“We are so excited to welcome Elliot to Kansas City and bring the highly entertaining and popular ‘Eliot in the Morning’ show to alternative listeners,” said Roxanne Marati, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Kansas City. “We look forward to waking up to Elliot, Diane and the rest of the crew each and every morning.”
“To say I’m excited about launching EITM in Kansas City is an understatement,” said Segal. “Thanks to Jeff Sottolano and Mike Kaplan who have spent plenty of time with me discussing my vision for the show. I also want to thank Roxanne, Lazlo and Slim for their time and insight while the show was visiting Kansas City.”
In a career spanning more than three decades, Segal’s love of radio took him from his hometown of Houston out west to Los Angeles and across the country to New York. In 1999, he lit the on-air lamp in Washington, D.C., where he first broadcast the “Elliot in the Morning” show alongside co-host Diane Stupar. The show’s focus has always remained the same: connecting with listeners. Whether it's to newsmakers via interviews or just to everyday people who are making life interesting, “Elliot in the Morning” wants to talk about it all with its listeners.
Media company Grabien News has been suspended by Twitter for posting a video of a U.S. congressman criticizing pharmaceutical corporations, its founder said.
Grabien founder Tom Elliott wrote on Twitter on Dec. 31 that Grabien was suspended for citing comments by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) about COVID-19 treatments, reports The Epoch Times.
“Big Pharma Won’t Consider Therapeutics Like HCQ or Ivermectin Because of Economic Interests,” the post reads. It had an attached link to a video containing the congressman’s comments.
Elliott included a screenshot statement from Twitter, which sent him a boilerplate message that Grabien was suspended for “violating the policy on spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19,” which Elliott described as “next-level Twitter absurdity.”
“Obviously, in this case, quoting an elected leader on an issue that matters to everyone is important and newsworthy, regardless of whether you agree,” Elliott said. “And I can’t help but add that his basic point was once mainstream among progressives.
“I’ve appealed, making this point. However, I have no confidence in Twitter doing the right thing and acknowledging this tweet did not violate its terms & conditions.”
The suspension appears to suggest Twitter is aiming to crack down on COVID-19- or vaccine-related posts and content that run contrary to mainstream views on the matter.
Dr. Robert Malone, who helped develop the mRNA vaccine technology, was suspended last week for allegedly violating Twitter’s terms and conditions. And on Jan. 2, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) personal Twitter page was suspended for similar reasons, she wrote on social media site Gettr.
“We permanently suspended Marjorie Taylor Greene for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement on Jan. 2. “We’ve been clear that, per our strike system for this policy, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of the policy.”
Malone, meanwhile, told The Epoch Times that his account—which had more than 500,000 followers—was permanently suspended with no forewarning. That was days before Malone conducted an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan.
Meanwhile, former New York Times journalist Alex Berenson has filed a lawsuit against Twitter after his account, which also had amassed hundreds of thousands of followers, was banned.
Last month, former CEO Jack Dorsey resigned from his position at Twitter, sparking concern that the San Francisco-based company would take a more hard-line stance on what content can be posted. Longtime Twitter employee Parag Agrawal, who previously made comments critical of free speech, took over as CEO upon Dorsey’s departure.
Bobby Bones said on Friday that he will not be returning as a mentor on “American Idol” for the hit competition show’s 20th season, reports Variety.
WSIX Big 98 radio personality and “Dancing With the Stars” winner, who became a full-time mentor on “American Idol” during Season 17, revealed via a now-expired Instagram story that he won’t be returning due to a scheduling conflict with another network.
Bobby Bones
When asked during a fan Q&A why he has recently been in Costa Rica, Bones addressed his absence from “American Idol’s” Season 20 promos. “And some of you noticed, I’m not in the ‘Idol’ promos this season. My contract [with] my new network won’t let me do another show right now,” Bones wrote. “Love ‘Idol,’ BTW. Was a great 4 years.”
In the Instagram story, the syndicated radio host Bones kept tight-lipped about his new project, writing that “the network hasn’t even announced the show yet. So I’m going to chill for a bit. But it’s a really good show.”
Bones has served as a mentor on “American Idol” for the past four years, giving contestants much-needed advice as they navigate through their musical journeys. Host Ryan Seacrest and judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry are all returning for the show’s 20th season, which premieres on ABC Feb. 27.
Bones is also the host of “Breaking Bobby Bones” on the National Geographic Channel and recently helmed “CBS New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” on Dec. 31 along with Rachel Smith of Entertainment Tonight.
New Year’s Eve marked the end of an era for radio personalities Tucker “Frito” Young and Katy Dempsey at Bryan Broadcasting’s KNDE Candy 95 in College Station TX.
KBTX TV reports Friday’s show was bittersweet for the hosts and listeners. Loyal fans called and sent messages into the show to bid the duo farewell as they set out on their next broadcasting journey.
The pair announced their departure back in early December. They told listeners they’re staying together but did not announce where they are going.
Frito and Katy’s Morning Candy has won several accolades in broadcasting including awards from the National Association of Broadcasters, the Marconi Award for small market personalities of the year, and several Best of the Brazos Awards for best radio personality.
The longtime broadcasters say they’re grateful for the support of the listeners over the years.
”I would hope that we entertained some people. Really the show was just me and my best friend talking on the radio and having fun and I hope people enjoyed it,” said Young. “It’s just been a blast. It’s been an amazing eight-year run.”
“Brazos Valley is just such a special community and the fact that we were able to be here to serve it and they responded the way they did has been nothing short of incredible. We’ve been able to help out a lot of groups and a lot of different organizations,” said Dempsey.
Veteran broadcasting executive Steve Borneman has been hired as general manager of Times-Shamrock Communications’ classic rock station, WZBA 100.7 FM, in Baltimore.
Borneman replaces Jefferson Ward, who announced his retirement in September after 10 years as general manager. Ward has stayed on to ensure a smooth transition.
Borneman’s first day will be Jan. 10, 2022.
“Steve wanted the opportunity to come back and work with a company that embraces a family culture, empowers managers to create compelling content and drive revenue through creative marketing concepts and strong client relationships,” said Times-Shamrock Chief Executive Officer Jim Lewandowski, who announced the hiring. “We are excited to have Steve back on the team.”
Borneman served as general manager of Times-Shamrock’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre radio stations from 2014 to 2016 before becoming chief operating officer for Pamal Broadcasting. He left Pamal in 2020 to become COO for Jam Media Solutions.
Borneman began his radio career in Boston as an account executive before joining WPLJ and WABC, New York, working at the two stations for more than 20 years, the last six years as president and general manager.
“I’ve known and admired Jefferson Ward for many years, and I’m honored that he and Jim Lewandowski have invited me to return to the company as the next manager of The Bay,” said Borneman. “Jefferson, Joe Heffron, Steve Huber and the entire 100.7 team have created one of America’s truly great radio stations and I will do my absolute best to live up to the amazing legacy of 100.7, The Bay!”
Times-Shamrock Communications is a 125-year old family owned media company with radio properties in Baltimore, Milwaukee and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. rejected a U.S. request to delay this week’s launch of a new variation of 5G mobile service that airlines said might interfere with aircraft electronics, posing a safety hazard.
But the CEOs of the two telecommunications giants also said in a joint letter Sunday that they would be willing to commit to a six-month pause in deployment near certain airports that will be selected in negotiations with U.S. officials and the aviation industry, reports Bloomberg.
The U.S. request seeks steps that would be “to the detriment to our millions of consumer, business and government customers,” Verizon Chief Executive Officer Hans Vestberg and AT&T’s John Stankey wrote to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Steve Dickson, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
In a letter Friday, the U.S. officials asked the wireless providers to delay the planned Jan. 5 start of the new service. The officials forecast possible “widespread and unacceptable disruption” to air traffic as planes avoid airports bathed in 5G signals that could affect electronics used during landings.
“Your proposed framework asks that we agree to transfer oversight of our companies’ multi-billion dollar investment in 50 unnamed metropolitan areas representing the lion’s share of the U.S. population to the FAA for an undetermined number of months or years,” Vestberg and Stankey wrote. “Even worse, the proposal is directed to only two companies.”
The wireless executives said agreeing to the proposal would be “an irresponsible abdication of the operating control required to deploy world-class and globally competitive communications networks.”
The new 5G signals would use a set of airwaves made freshly available to mobile communications providers. The frequencies are near those used by altitude-sensing radar altimeters. Aviation interests have said that creates a chance of interference that could leave some landings unsafe.
The wireless industry said power levels are low enough to preclude interference, and the gap between frequencies is sufficiently large to ensure safety.
Earlier AT&T and Verizon agreed to reduce power of their 5G signals and to put in place a 30-day delay, moving the service’s start from December to Jan. 5.
The AT&T and Verizon executives in Sunday’s letter said that if aviation interests don’t escalate their campaign against the new signals, they would commit to not deploying towers near certain airports for six months. The offer is modeled after exclusion zones at airports in France, where 5G service is working on the frequencies in question and U.S. airliners have landed.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said yesterday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering adding a negative test to its new reduced isolation guidelines for people who have Covid, but are asymptomatic. The White House's top medical adviser, who appeared on ABC's This Week and CNN's State of the the Union, said the negative test addition is being considered after the CDC got significant pushback when it reduced its isolation recommendation from 10 days to five days for people with Covid who are asymptomatic or no longer having symptoms. They were advised to wear a mask for five days after that when around others, but a negative Covid test wasn't deemed necessary for leaving isolation, an omission that drew criticism from many health experts.
The U.S. is considering adding a negative test to its 5-day isolation guidance for people with asymptomatic COVID-19, the White House’s top medical adviser says. Dr. Anthony Fauci says the CDC got significant pushback on its recommendations last week. https://t.co/xYXMJw0qWb
Fauci also addressed the new surge driven by the highly-contagious omicron variant, saying, "The acceleration of cases that we’ve seen is really unprecedented, gone well beyond anything we’ve seen before." He said that while there's growing evidence that omicron could cause less severe illness, the data is still early, and he's concerned in particular about the tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans. Fauci also said he's concerned about omicron overwhelming the health care system and causing "major disruptions" in essential services, quote, "particularly with critical jobs to keep society functioning normally."
🛬THOUSANDS OF FLIGHT DELAYS CONTINUE: Thousands of flight delays continued on Sunday, caused by a combination of winter weather and Covid-driven staffing shortages among flight crews and at airports, as flyers tried to return home after the holidays. Tracking service FlightAware reported that more than 2,600 flights in the U.S. and 4,400 worldwide were grounded Sunday, after more than 2,700 were canceled Saturday in the U.S. and 4,700 worldwide. Part of the weather problems was a winter storm that hit the Midwest on Saturday, with about one-quarter of all flights out of Chicago's O'Hare Airport canceled yesterday. Some airlines are doubling or tripling pay for pilots and cabin crews to ensure they have enough crewmembers to reduce cancellations.
➤BIDEN SAYS U.S. WILL 'RESPOND DECISIVELY IF RUSSIA FURTHER INVADES' UKRAINE: President Biden said in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday that the U.S. and its allies, quote, "will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine," the White House told reporters. The two leaders' conversation came just days after Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him to ease the crisis at the border with Ukraine, where Russia has massed as many as 100,000 Russian troops.
The U.S. and its European allies have warned of serious consequences if Russia were to invade, and Biden said Friday he'd made clear in the call with Putin that there would be a, quote, "heavy price to pay," threatening strong economic sanctions. Putin, for his part, told Biden new sanctions could lead to a complete breakdown of relations between the two countries. Putin wants security guarantees from the U.S. and NATO, including that an expansion of NATO would never include Ukraine. Biden has signaled the U.S. won't make concessions on NATO or Ukraine's future.
🔥TWO STILL MISSING AFTER COLORADO WILDFIRE; CAUSE OF BLAZE SOUGHT: Two people remained missing yesterday after the huge Colorado wildfire that broke out unusually late in the year last Thursday, destroying nearly 1,000 houses and other buildings over at least 9.4 square miles in suburban areas between Denver and Boulder. One other person who'd been missing was found alive, officials said on Sunday, while searchers continued to look for the other two. Investigators were still trying to determine what caused the wildfire, with Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle saying authorities are following a number of tips and had executed a search warrant at one location, but wouldn't give details. Pelle also wouldn't say whether he thought the fire was caused by arson. The investigation is complicated by the snow that fell on Saturday, covering the burned structures that were still smoldering in some places.
➤BIDEN, HARRIS TO DELIVER REMARKS ON ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF CAPITOL ATTACK: The White House said yesterday that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver remarks on Thursday (January 6th) to mark the one-year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. That will take place alongside a list of events previously announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the anniversary, including a moment of silence on the House floor and a prayer vigil on the steps of the Capitol.
POLL..AMERICANS MORE WORRIED ABOUT WHATS IN STORE FOR 2022: Americans are less optimistic and more worried about what's in store for the world in 2022 than they were at the start of 2021, according to a new Axios/Momentive poll.
More than half, 54 percent, said they're more fearful than hopeful about what will happen in 2022, while 44 percent said they're more hopeful. By contrast, 63 percent said last year that they were more hopeful about 2021 and just 36 percent were more fearful. Momentive's Laura Wronski said, "The end of last year was a particularly hopeful time," partly because of a change in presidential administrations and partly because everyone thought things could only get better in 2021 after the first year of Covid. Still, a majority of 61 percent are still more hopeful than fearful about what's ahead for the pandemic in 2022, while 37 percent are more fearful, and 68 percent are more hopeful than fearful about what the year ahead has in store for them personally, in contrast to what it holds for the U.S. and the world, while 30 percent are more fearful. In other questions, respondents named Covid and former President Donald Trump when asked what they'd like to hear less about in 2022 -- Republicans had President Biden as a top choice too -- and said "travel" when asked what they want to do more of in 2022.
➤DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN POSITIVE FOR COVID, HAS 'MILD' SYMPTOMS: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement yesterday that he'd tested positive for Covid-19 and was having "mild" symptoms. The 68-year-old, who is fully vaccinated and had a booster shot, said he would isolate at home for the next five days "in accordance with CDC guidelines." He stated, "To the degree possible, I plan to attend virtually this coming week those key meetings and discussions required to inform my situational awareness and decision making. I will retain all authorities."
➤TWITTER BANS REP. GREEN'S PERSONAL ACCOUNT FOR COVID MISINFORMATION: Twitter said yesterday that it had permanently banned the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for multiple violations of its Covid-19 misinformation policy. The far-right Georgia Republican lost her account under Twitter's strike system, with five or more strikes leading to permanent suspension. Greene blasted the decision, calling Twitter "an enemy to America" that "can't handle the truth." She claimed her account was suspended after tweeting statistics from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a government database that includes unverified raw data. The first-term congresswoman still has her official Twitter account.
🍺DRY JANUARY...EXPERTS EXPLAIN WHAT A MONTH WITHOUT ALCOHOL CAN DO FOR YOUR BODY, MIND: Dry January is an initiative that was started in 2012 by Alcohol Change UK to get people to see the mental, physical, and even financial benefits of living without alcohol. Now it’s pretty trendy to take part in the trend of ditching alcohol for the whole month of January, and there are some real benefits to gain from it as well. Dr. George F. Koob, the director of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says participating in Dry January can be a great way to learn more about your drinking habits, which can help you make healthier choices moving forward. He says the break can also shed light on how drinking alcohol affects your physical and mental health. In terms of purely physical results, Dr. Tyler Oesterle says heavy drinkers may find they see the biggest change if they participate, but for light drinkers, 31 days isn’t really enough to make any significant difference physically. Elective sobriety coach Amanda Kuda says that while 31 days might not be long enough to make any meaningful changes, it can be a great start for someone who is sober-curious. Kuda adds, “Dry January is a socially acceptable way to take a step back from alcohol, in a world that’s obsessed with booze.”
Philadelphia Eagles 20, Washington Football Team 16
Los Angeles Rams 20, Baltimore Ravens 19
Los Angeles Chargers 34, Denver Broncos 13
San Francisco 49ers 23, Houston Texans 7
Arizona Cardinals 25, Dallas Cowboys 22
New Orleans Saints 18, Carolina Panthers 10
Seattle Seahawks 51, Detroit Lions 29
Green Bay Packers 37, Minnesota Vikings 10
Monday Night Football on ESPN: Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers (8:15 p.m. ET)
🏈BROWN WALKS OFF FIELD, NO LONGER WITH BUCCANEERS: Wide receiver Antonio Brown walked off the field late in the third quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 28-24 win over the New York Jets yesterday in a bizarre incident, and is now no longer with the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay was behind 24-10 when an apparently frustrated Brown was talking to teammate Mike Evans, who tried to calm him down. But Brown took off his pads, jersey, gloves and T-shirt, and then walked off into the tunnel at MetLife Stadium, waving to fans as he went.
Head coach Bruce Arians said after the game, "He is no longer a Buc. All right? That’s the end of the story." Arians told Fox Sports that he was trying to get Brown to go into the game and Brown refused twice -- he didn't know why -- and then Arians told him to "get out." Bucs quarterback Tom Brady said of Brown, who has a history of personal conduct issues and bizarre behavior, "Everybody should do what they can to help him in ways that he really needs it. . . . I think everyone should be very compassionate and empathetic toward some very difficult things that are happening."
🏈EAGLES QB HURTS NARROWLY AVOID COLLAPSING RAILING AFTER WIN: Philadephia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts narrowly avoiding a collapsing railing as he walked to the tunnel after the Eagles' 20-16 win over the Washington Football Team yesterday (January 2nd). Hurts, who led Philly to a fourth straight win, was walking to go into the tunnel at Washington's FedEx Field when a railing with fans leaning over it to slap hands with him collapsed. Hurts was able to just avoid it, and then helped some of the fans who'd fallen to their feet. The team said it appeared no one has been seriously injured.
#Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was sacked only once during today’s game. Almost had a second on his way to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/WwBE5pXaxO
🏈BENGALS' CHASE BREAKS SINGLE-GAME ROOKIE RECEIVING RECORD: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase broke the NFL's single-game rookie receiving record yesterday in the Bengals' 34-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Chase had 11 catches for 266 yards and three touchdowns, breaking the previous rookie receiving record of 255 yards by former Buffallo Bills wide receiver Jerry Butler in a 1979 game. Chase also broke Cincinnati's single-game receiving record.
🏈WASHINGTON'S SEALS-JONES SUFFERS NECK INJURY IN SCARY CAMERAMAN COLLISION: Washington Football Team tight end Ricky Seals-Jones suffered a neck injury in a scary sideline collision in yesterday's 20-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The collision happened on the sidelines at the end of a play in the second quarter, causing Seals-Jones to fall and hit his head on the artificial turf. He was carted off the field and didn't play for the rest of the game. Washington head coach Ron Rivera said after the game that Seals-Jones was fine and was walking around the locker room at halftime. The cameraman was able to walk off the field with some help, but returned to continue working the game.
🏒PENGUINS GET 8-5 WIN, TWO HAT TRICKS AFTER TWO-WEEK COVID LAYOFF: The Pittsburgh Penguins had an 8-5 win over the San Jose Sharks yesterday with two hat tricks as they returned from a two-week layoff due to Covid cases on the team. Pittsburgh had missed five games, last playing on December 19th. But they picked where they left off, getting their eighth straight win yesterday. Scoring hat tricks were Evan Rodrigues and Bryan Rust.
Organizers of the CES tech conference in Las Vegas, under fire for not canceling the event during a Covid-19 surge, said they will close the expo one day early as “an additional safety measure.”
Bloomberg reports the in-person gadget conference will now end on Friday, Jan. 7, rather than running through the next day, according to the Consumer Technology Association, which puts on the show.
The group, led by Chief Executive Officer Gary Shapiro, has cited the event’s importance to small companies and entrepreneurs in pushing ahead with the gathering. Most large tech companies have scrapped plans to attend in-person, opting instead for online presentations. T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert canceled his speech altogether, with the company saying it would look ahead to the 2023 show.
“As the world’s most influential technology event, CES is steadfast in its pledge to be the gathering place to showcase products and discuss ideas that will ultimately make our lives better,” Shapiro said Friday. “We are shortening the show to three days and have put in place comprehensive health measures for the safety of all attendees and participants.”
CES was held virtually last January, and the latest show was meant to mark a comeback for live tech events. But as the Covid-19 omicron variant spread around the world this month, companies quickly abandoned plans to go.
Hong Kong online media portal Citizen News announced it will shutter Tuesday, the third pro-democracy outlet to fold in six months as national security police probe journalists in the former British colony, reports Bloomberg.
“At the center of a brewing storm, we found ourself in a critical situation,” the outlet wrote in a statement late Sunday. “In the face of a crisis, we must ensure the safety and well-being of everyone who is on board.”
“We announced with a heavy heart that Citizen News will cease operation starting from Jan. 4, 2022,” it added. “Our website will stop updates and will shut down later.”
The announcement comes days after pro-democracy media outlet Stand News collapsed under a national security investigation that saw 200 officers raid its newsroom, seven people arrested and its assets frozen. Six months earlier, the city’s largest independent news source, Apple Daily, also shut under an intense police probe that left it unable to pay staff.
Hong Kong has gone from being one of Asia’s freest media markets to one of its most regulated since Beijing implemented a national security law in June 2020. Dozens of activists and media professionals have been arrested under that law, and authorities have also begun charging journalists under a colonial-era sedition law that can jail a writer for up to two years.
Citizen News had come under official pressure in recent months. The Hong Kong government issued a statement in October accusing the portal of “misleading” readers that Security Secretary Chris Tang had “refused to guarantee” freedom of speech under possible future legislation.
The Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper wrote Monday that Citizen News had published articles “harshly criticizing the central government and also the Communist Party of China.” It cited as evidence the outlet’s description of the CCP as a “dictatorship” that abused power.
Citizen News said in its statement that it had been founded “against the backdrop of growing worries about Hong Kong’s press freedom” on Jan. 1, 2017, and since gone on to employ dozens of reporters.
Bob Iger, former Disney CEO, sits down with CNBC’s David Faber in a CNBC exclusive interview where the two discuss the erosion of traditional media players and any missteps Iger may have made during his tenure.
➦In 1929...William Paley incorporated the Columbia Broadcast System.
William S Paley
The origins of CBS date back to January 27, 1927, with the creation of the "United Independent Broadcasters" network in Chicago by New York talent-agent Arthur Judson. The fledgling network soon needed additional investors though, and the Columbia Phonograph Company, manufacturers of Columbia Records, rescued it in April 1927; as a result, the network was renamed "Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System." Columbia Phonographic went on the air on September 18, 1927, with a presentation by the Howard Barlow Orchestra from flagship station WOR in Newark, New Jersey, and fifteen affiliates.
Operational costs were steep, particularly the payments to AT&T for use of its land lines, and by the end of 1927, Columbia Phonograph wanted out. In early 1928, Judson sold the network to brothers Isaac and Leon Levy, owners of the network's Philadelphia affiliate WCAU, and their partner Jerome Louchenheim. None of the three were interested in assuming day-to-day management of the network, so they installed wealthy 26-year-old William S. Paley, son of a Philadelphia cigar family and in-law of the Levys, as president. With the record company out of the picture, Paley quickly streamlined the corporate name to "Columbia Broadcasting System". He believed in the power of radio advertising since his family's "La Palina" cigars had doubled their sales after young William convinced his elders to advertise on radio. By September 1928, Paley bought out the Louchenheim share of CBS and became its majority owner with 51% of the business.
During Louchenheim's brief regime, Columbia paid $410,000 to A.H. Grebe's Atlantic Broadcasting Company for a small Brooklyn station, WABC (no relation to the current WABC), which would become the network's flagship station. WABC was quickly upgraded, and the signal relocated to a stronger frequency, 860 kHz. The physical plant was relocated also – to Steinway Hall on West 57th Street in Manhattan. It was where much of CBS's programming originated. Other owned-and-operated stations were KNX in Los Angeles, KCBS in San Francisco (originally KQW), WBBM in Chicago, WCAU in Philadelphia, WJSV in Washington, D.C. (later WTOP, which moved to the FM dial in 2005; the AM facility today is WFED, also a secondary CBS affiliate), KMOX in St. Louis, and WCCO in Minneapolis. These remain the core affiliates of the CBS Radio Network today, with WCBS (the original WABC) still the flagship, and all except WTOP and WFED (both Hubbard Broadcasting properties) owned by CBS Radio. By the turn of 1929, the network could boast to sponsors of having 47 affiliates.
Paley moved right away to put his network on a firmer financial footing. In the fall of 1928, he entered into talks with Adolph Zukor of Paramount Pictures who planned to move into radio in response to RCA's forays into motion pictures with the advent of talkies. The deal came to fruition in September 1929: Paramount got 49 percent of CBS in return for a block of its stock worth $3,800,000 at the time. The agreement specified that Paramount would buy that same stock back by March 1, 1932 for a flat $5,000,000, provided CBS had earned $2,000,000 during 1931 and 1932. For a brief time there was talk that the network might be renamed "Paramount Radio", but it only lasted a month – the 1929 stock market crash sent all stock value tumbling. It galvanized Paley and his troops, who "had no alternative but to turn the network around and earn the $2,000,000 in two years.... This is the atmosphere in which the CBS of today was born." The near-bankrupt movie studio sold its CBS shares back to CBS in 1932. In the first year of Paley's watch, CBS's gross earnings more than tripled, going from $1,400,000 to $4,700,000.
The extraordinary potential of radio news showed itself in 1930, when CBS suddenly found itself with a live telephone connection to a prisoner called "The Deacon" who described, from the inside and in real time, a riot and conflagration at the Ohio Penitentiary; for CBS, it was "a shocking journalistic coup". Yet as late as 1934, there was still no regularly scheduled newscast on network radio: "Most sponsors did not want network news programming; those that did were inclined to expect veto rights over it." There had been a longstanding wariness between radio and the newspapers as well; the papers had rightly concluded that the upstart radio business would compete with them on two counts – advertising dollars and news coverage. By 1933, they fought back, many no longer publishing radio schedules for readers' convenience, or allowing "their" news to be read on the air for radio's profit. Radio, in turn, pushed back when urban department stores, newspapers' largest advertisers and themselves owners of many radio stations, threatened to withhold their ads from print. A short-lived attempted truce in 1933 even saw the papers proposing that radio be forbidden from running news before 9:30 a.m., and then only after 9:00 p.m. – and that no news story could air until it was twelve hours old.
In the fall of 1934, CBS launched its independent news division, shaped in its first years by Paley's vice-president, former New York Times man Ed Klauber, and news director Paul White. Since there was no blueprint or precedent for real-time news coverage, early efforts of the new division used the shortwave link-up CBS had been using for five years to bring live feeds of European events to its American air.
A key early hire was Edward R. Murrow in 1935; his first corporate title was Director of Talks. He was mentored in microphone technique by Robert Trout, the lone full-timer of the News Division, and quickly found himself in a growing rivalry with boss White. Murrow was glad to "leave the hothouse atmosphere of the New York office behind" when he was dispatched to London as CBS's European Director in 1937, a time when the growing Hitler menace underscored the need for a robust European Bureau. Halberstam described Murrow in London as "the right man in the right place in the right era".
Edward R. Murrow pictured with CBS' London-based D-Day team. Front row (left to right): Bill Downs,
Charles Collingwood, Gene Ryder, Charles Shaw. Back row (from left): Larry LeSueur,
Edward R. Murrow, Richard C. Hottelet, Bill Shadel.
Murrow began assembling the staff of broadcast journalists – including William L. Shirer, Charles Collingwood and Eric Sevareid – who would become known as "Murrow's Boys". They were "in [Murrow's] own image, sartorially impeccable, literate, often liberal, and prima donnas all". They covered history in the making, and sometimes made it themselves: on March 12, 1938, Hitler boldly annexed nearby Austria and Murrow and Boys quickly assembled coverage with Shirer in London, Edgar Ansel Mowrer in Paris, Pierre Huss in Berlin, Frank Gervasi in Rome and Trout in New York. The News Round-Up format was born and is still ubiquitous today in broadcast news.
➦In 1938... the first broadcast of Irna Phillips‘ soap opera “Woman in White” was presented on the NBC Red network. The program ran 10 years and was one of the first radio shows to feature doctors and nurses as leading characters.
➦In 1940...WPG-AM in Atlantic City NJ consolidated with WBIL & WOV as "new" WOV.
WPG had been in operation since 1923 operating on one of the cleared national channels of the first zone on a frequency of 1100 kilocycles.
WPG in Atlantic City shared time on 1100, with WBIL in NYC. The cumbersome arrangement ended in 1940 in a complicated series of events when Arde Bulova's Greater New York Broadcasting Corporation bought WPG and absorbed it into WOV, shut down both WOV and WPG on January 3, 1940 because they interferred with WBIL, asked the FCC to cancel WOV's license and move WBIL to 1130 (today is WBBR) , and immediately changed WBIL's calls to WOV, which today is WADO 1280 AM.
WPG was unique in radio. Approximately, fifteen million visitors come to the resort in a year. They are all interested in Atlantic City and it's happenings when in their homes wherever that may be.
Today, the WPG calls are used for branding by Townsquare Media's WPGG 1450 AM in Atlantic City, NJ. Since October 22, 2012, the station broadcasts a talk radio format under the branding "WPG Talk Radio 1450".
Cast from the Gunsmoke radio show. Howard McNear as Doc, William Conrad as Matt Dillon,
Georgia Ellis as Kitty and Parley Baer as Chester.
➥In 1969...actor Howard McNear, “Doc” on radio’s Gunsmoke, and “Floyd the Barber” on TV’s Andy Griffith Show, died after a long illness at age 63.
➦In 1970... “I Me Mine” was recorded by the Beatles without John, who was on vacation. It was the last song the band would record together. George Harrison later used that title for his autobiography.
➦In 1973... the Columbia Broadcasting System got out of the baseball business by selling the New York Yankees to a 17-person syndicate headed by George Steinbrenner. The price tag: just $10 million, about a 20th of the team’s current player payroll each year.
➦In 1975...legendary radio announcer Milton Cross, for 43 years the voice of the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday afternoon, died after a heart attack at age 87.
Born in New York City, Milton Cross started his career just as network radio itself was in its earliest stages. He joined the New Jersey station WJZ in 1921, not just as an announcer but also as a singer, often engaging in recitals with the station's staff pianist, Keith McLeod. By 1927, WJZ had moved to Manhattan and had become the flagship station of the Blue Network of NBC's new national radio network. Cross' voice became familiar as he not only delivered announcements for the Blue Network but also hosted a number of popular programs. Cross was the announcer for the quiz program Information Please and the musical humor show The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, among others. In the 1940s Cross hosted a Sunday morning show featuring child performers, called Coast To Coast on a Bus.
From 1931 to 1975 Cross served as host for the weekly live broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, the job for which he is most remembered. His distinctive voice conveyed the excitement of live performances "from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City" for generations of radio listeners.
➦In 1977...Apple Computers incorporated.
➦In 1986...A major shakeup in the media world as Capital Cities closed on it acquisition ABC-TV for $3.5 billion. Five years later Disney purchased Capital Cities/ABC Inc. for almost six times that price.
➦In 1993...Sportscaster John M. Most died (Born - June 15, 1923). He was known primarily as the raspy radio voice of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1990.
After distinguished Air Force service in World War II, he began his basketball broadcasting career in the late 1940s as a protégé of New York Knickerbockers announcer (and 1936 Olympics track star) Marty Glickman. He was hired in 1953 by Boston Celtics owner Walter Brown and coach Red Auerbach to replace Curt Gowdy as the team's radio play-by-play man on the Celtics radio network. He also served as sports director for WCOP radio in Boston at that time.
In addition to his work with the Celtics, he served as host of a rudimentary Boston Red Sox baseball post-game show on WHDH-TV, sister station to WHDH radio which carried Celtics games.
In the early 1970s, Most hosted an evening sports talk show on WORL radio which lasted from 5 to 7 PM. WBZ, owner of the Celtics' radio rights, allowed Most to appear only on the first hour of the program, which was broadcast live from a Boston nightspot, so as not to compete with WBZ's Calling All Sports broadcast.
➦In 1995... popular CKLW Detroit newscaster Byron MacGregor, son of Calgary radio legend Clarence Mack, died at age 46 of complications from pneumonia.
Byron MacGregor
Born Gary Lachlan Mack in Calgary, Alberta, by the age of nineteen he became the youngest news director at the AM radio station, CKLW in Windsor, Ontario, which also served Detroit, Michigan as well as Toledo and Cleveland in Ohio and covered twenty eight states and six provinces. This was during its "Big 8/20·20 News" period, and also around the time RKO General was forced to sell the station, due to a change in Canadian ownership rules that prohibited foreign firms from controlling Canadian licensed stations.
In 1973, he read a Toronto newspaper editorial written by Gordon Sinclair of CFRB in Toronto, a commentary about America. MacGregor then read the patriotic commentary on CKLW Radio as part of a public affairs program; and, due to the huge response he was asked to record "The Americans" with "America the Beautiful" performed by The Detroit Symphony Orchestra as the background music. Both MacGregor and Sinclair released recorded versions of the commentary. MacGregor's version of the record (released on Westbound Records) became a bigger hit than Sinclair's in the United States, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of February 9, 1974.
MacGregor was known for his deep voice and high-energy announcing style at CKLW; and for writing copy in a manner that was compared to that of sensational tabloid newspapers.
He later made the transition to a more traditional anchoring and interviewing style when he moved to WWJ Newsradio 950, the CBS Radio all-news station in Detroit, where he served as both morning and afternoon drive anchor during his thirteen-year occupancy. MacGregor also became the first newsman in Detroit to simultaneously anchor prime-time newscasts on both radio (WWJ) and television (WKBD-TV 50).
By the mid 1980s MacGregor held dual citizenships in Canada and the United States. His wife of nineteen years, Jo-Jo Shutty-MacGregor. She was the first female helicopter news and traffic reporter in North America, and today works for WWJ and WOMC and the Metro News Networks.
➦In 2005...Adam Carolla returned to morning drive-time radio with the premiere of “The Adam Carolla Show” on several CBS Radio stations including 97.1 FREE FM in Los Angeles (KLSX-FM), KIFR-FM San Francisco, KSCF-FM San Diego, KZON-FM Phoenix, KUFO-FM Portland and KXTE-FM Las Vegas. With originating station KLSX-FM about to change format, Carolla’s program ended Feb. 20 2009 but continued as a podcast.
➦In 2016...longtime Chicago radio newsman Barry Keefe, who spent 30 years as an anchor at WTMX-FM and its predecessor, WCLR-FM, bringing an authoritative, deep-bass voice and a friendly, chatty manner to a raft of morning radio shows, died of complications from pancreatic cancer at age 62.
Dabney Coleman is 90
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Actor Dabney Coleman is 90.
Singer-songwriter Van Dyke Parks is 79.
Singer Stephen Stills is 77.
Bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin is 76.
Actor Victoria Principal is 72.
Florence Pugh is 26
Actor Mel Gibson is 66.
Actor Shannon Sturges (“Port Charles”) is 54.
Jazz saxophonist James Carter is 53.
Contemporary Christian singer Nichole Nordeman is 50.
Musician Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk is 47.
Actor Jason Marsden (“Ally McBeal”) is 47.
Actor Danica McKellar (“The Wonder Years”) is 47.
Actor Nicholas Gonzalez (“The O.C.”) is 46.
Singer and former “American Idol” contestant Kimberley Locke is 44.
Actor Kate Levering (“Drop Dead Diva”) is 43.
Actor Nicole Beharie (“Sleepy Hollow”) is 37.
Drummer Mark Pontius (Foster the People) is 37.
R-and-B singer Lloyd is 36.
Guitarist Nash Overstreet of Hot Chelle Rae is 36.
