Newsradio WBAL 1090 AM /FM 101.5) in Baltimore and the Naval Academy Athletic Association ink a multi-year extension to its long-running partnership that will keep the station as the flagship of the Navy Football Radio Network. As part of the agreement WBAL NewsRadio will air every Navy Football game, including a 60-minute pre-game show and a 30-minute post-game program. WBAL and Navy will also collaborate for player and coach interviews as well as on-air features and podcasts focused on Navy Football.
"We are thrilled to continue to bring Navy Football to our listeners every Saturday during the fall, including the time- honored tradition of the Army-Navy game," said WBAL NewsRadio, 98 ROCK and WBAL-TV President & General Manger Dan Joerres. "It's truly an honor to partner with such a prestigious institution."
"We are excited to call WBAL our flagship radio station and the home of Navy Football since 2005," added Naval Academy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk. "Our long-standing relationship with true broadcast professionals is much appreciated by our alumni, fans, coaches and Midshipmen. These are exciting times for Navy Football and Navy Athletics. It will be great to continue to hear about it and follow the action on WBAL for years to come."
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (aka WWDC) typically kicks off with a laundry list of the new free features coming to iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs in the fall. In other words, software.
This year’s keynote was a bit different: It also had hardware.
➦In 1917...singer/comedian/actor Dean Martin was born in Steubenville Ohio.
He was one of the most famous music artists in the 1950s and 1960s. Playboy magazine later called Martin “the coolest man who ever lived.” He & Jerry Lewis began as a team in movies & on NBC radio in the late ’40’s, and did TV together in the early 50’s, but split in 1956. He became a big TV star with NBC’s Dean Martin Show (1965-74) and his Celebrity Roasts (’73-’84.)
He succumbed to lung cancer Christmas Day 1995 at age 78.
➦In 1932..WLW 700 AM Cincinnati was authorized to experiment with a power of 500,000 watts at 700 khz. In January 1934, WLW began broadcasting with 500,000 watts after midnight under the experimental call sign W8XO. In April 1934 the station was authorized to operate at 500,000 watts during regular hours using the WLW call letters. On May 2, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ceremonially pressed the same golden telegraph key that Wilson had used to open the Panama Canal, officially launching WLW's 500-kilowatt signal.
As the first station in the world to broadcast at this strength, WLW received numerous complaints from around the United States and Canada that it was interfering with other stations, most notably from CFRB, then on 690 kHz, in Toronto, Ontario. In December 1934, WLW was instructed to cut back to 50 kilowatts at night until it had eliminated the interference. The station began construction of two shorter towers 1850 feet southwest from the main tower in order to create a directional antenna, which successfully reduced the signal broadcast towards Canada. With these antenna towers in place, full-time broadcasting at 500 kilowatts resumed in early 1935. However, WLW was continuing to operate under special temporary authority that had to be renewed every six months; each renewal brought complaints about interference, and undue domination of the market, by such a high-power station.
After complaints of signal interference and years of controversy the extra power was rescinded in 1939.
➦In 1945...an NBC radio summer replacement show The Adventures of Topper aired for the first time. Roland Young reprised his title role from the 1937 movie of the same name. Eight years later the program would move to TV with a different cast and become a big hit.
➦In 1955...NBC radio presented The Lux Radio Theatre for the final time. The program had aired for 21 years, most of them on CBS.
➦In 1959…KLX-AM, Oakland, California changed its call letters to KEWB-AM (now KNEW 960 AM).
➦In 1965... KNX 1070 AM personality Bob Crane told his L-A audience he was leaving the show to star in a new TV series “Hogan’s Heroes.” Crane said he had been considering offers for years.
Most recently, he co-starred on “The Donna Reed Show” while still doing mornings on KNX. He was to begin shooting for the new series in two weeks. He was replaced by Pittsburgh’s Rege Cordic.
Bob Crane came to KNX in 1956 from WICC in Bridgeport, CT. He got his job in Los Angeles, when someone at another station sent KNX a tape of Crane, to get him out of town (Crane had huge ratings at WICC).
➦In 1986...In Los Angeles, KFI-in-the-sky traffic reporter Bruce Wayne was killed after his small plane, which was taking off in Orange County. crashed. Wayne was about to file his first traffic report of the day when the crash occurred.
Several of the reports of the crash came from Wayne’s wife of 21 years, Lois, who was a reporter for KFI. She spent more than two hours calmly doing news reports about the accident and interviews on KFI. “I am at the crash site of a (Cessna) Cardinal,” Lois Wayne said, as her first interview was broadcast live. “There is no paint or a number on the aircraft. The aircraft did have an explosion on impact.”
Although officials were not immediately certain that the wreckage was of her husband’s plane, Lois Wayne said she knew right away that it was.
In two weeks, Wayne would have celebrated his 25th anniversary on the job.
➦In 1986...Wally Clark announced he would resign his post as president/general manager of Gannett powerhouse KIIS-AM/FM in L-A on September to form his own consultancy. All outlets in the growing Gannett chain were his first clients. Clark joined KIIS in 1982 when the station had a 2.2 share and charged $37.50 per spot. When Clark departed KIIS commanded $2.500 per spot and was a top billing radio station.
➦In 2002…Longtime Seattle KIRO radio, TV sportscaster Wayne Cody died after a heart attack at age 65.
He was Nicknamed the "Mound of Sound" by Brent Musburger of CBS Sports, because of both his rich voice and his large size. The bearded and rotund Cody, who estimated his own weight at 325 pounds, dominated the sports scene in Western Washington for more than 20 years.
He was well known for his on-camera antics and his entertaining style of broadcasting. In the 1980s, KIRO TV ran a promotion called "Watch Wayne Disappear." The sportscaster was to lose 100 pounds over nine months and collect a $25,000 bonus. He was 25 pounds too heavy by deadline day.
Cody is best known for being the sports anchor on KIRO-Channel 7 TV and hosting KIRO 710 AM "Sportsline", a weeknight sports radio talk show that was the only one of its kind at the time in Seattle. He was also the original sideline reporter for the Seattle Seahawks radio network. Cody's other play-by-play experience in the Pacific Northwest included the Seattle SuperSonics (NBA) during the late 1970s thru the mid-1980s, Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League and University of Washington Huskies college football games. Earlier in his career, he also was the sideline reporter for the Seattle SuperSonics (NBA).
Tom Jones is 82
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Actor Virginia McKenna (“Born Free”) is 91.
Singer Tom Jones is 82.
Talk show host Jenny Jones is 76.
Actor Liam Neeson is 70.
Actor Colleen Camp (“Die Hard: With A Vengeance”) is 69.
Actor William Forsythe is 67.
Emily Ratakowski is 31
Record producer L.A. Reid is 66.
Latin pop singer Juan Luis Guerra is 65.
Singer-guitarist Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes is 59.
Drummer Eric Kretz of Stone Temple Pilots is 56.
Guitarist Dave Navarro is 55.
Actor Helen Baxendale (“Friends”) is 52.
Actor Karl Urban (2009′s “Star Trek”) is 50.
TV personality Bear Grylls (“Man Vs. Wild”) is 48.
Guitarist-keyboardist Eric Johnson of The Shins is 46.
Actor Adrienne Frantz (“The Bold and the Beautiful,” “The Young and the Restless”) is 44.
Comedian Bill Hader (“The Mindy Project,” ″Saturday Night Live”) is 44.
Actor Anna Torv (“Fringe”) is 43.
Actor Larisa Oleynik (“3rd Rock From The Sun,” ″Boy Meets World) is 41.
Actor Michael Cera (“Juno,” ″Arrested Development”) is 34.
Actor Shelley Buckner (“Summerland”) is 33.
Rapper Iggy Azalea is 32.
Model-actor Emily Ratajkowski (“Gone Girl”) is 31.
Rapper Fetty Wap is 31
🕇DEATHS REMEMBERED
Longtime ABC Sports anchor Jim McKay, best known for his Olympic Games coverage, including of the terrorist murders of members of the Israeli team at the Munich Games in 1972, died on this day in 2008. He was 86.
Tony V announced he has departed KQKS KS107.5 FM after a quarter century, reports 9News.com.
"Over the course of 25 years, I have had the privilege and honor of wearing gold and purple and representing the No. 1 Hip-Hop station in the Mile High City," announced Tony V on social media. "It is with a heavy heart that I announce, after long deliberation with my family and peers, I have decided I will not be renewing my contract with KS1075."
"Over this last quarter century, I have had the pleasure of working with so many talented people and have created so many memories as I became one of the voices of our great city," said Tony V. "From the early days of rocking the mic at the clubs to the recent years as your morning show host on your ride to work; this journey has been unforgettable and one that is laced with milestones and achievements."
"With that being said, I am a #FreeAgent and look forward to finding my next home and entertaining the city once again. To be continued…"
Known as KS104.3 since the late 1980s, KQKS moved to 107.5 in 1997 and has had various owners through the years including Western Cities, Jefferson-Pilot, Lincoln Financial Group and current owner Audacy.
"I appreciate every single person who has given me the longevity and drive to stay in this business and look forward to my next endeavor as a personality for the city, wherever that may be. Special thanks to my wife and kids for encouraging me, loving me, supporting me, and helping me realize my worth."
Bonneville Denver has announced Richie Carni has been promoted to the role of Assistant Program Director of 104.3 The Fan KKFN-FM and ESPN Denver 1600 KEPN-AM.
In his new position, Carni will help oversee day-to-day responsibilities for both radio stations.
“I have never been part of a work environment more talented, dynamic and forward-thinking than here at The Fan,” said Carni. “I couldn’t be more proud to work with such an eclectic team and help continue setting the bar for sports talk here in Denver and across the country.”
“Watching Richie’s growth over the past five years has been nothing short of extraordinary,” said 104.3 The Fan and ESPN Denver 1600 Program Director Raj Sharan. “He brings a tremendous level of maturity and unmatched work ethic, and we have full confidence in his abilities to help manage our terrestrial day-to-day operations.”
Carni joined the company in May of 2017 and in May of 2019 was named the station’s afternoon drive producer. Under his direction, “The Drive” finished #1 in the targeted demographic of men 25-54 years old multiple times, including achieving a station-record high rating for the daypart in October of 2020. He was named the station’s Executive Producer in January, and now takes over as Assistant Program Director for Parker Hillis, who was recently named Brand Manager of Audacy’s KILT-AM in Houston.
The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) and BIA Advisory Services have partnered to release the 2022 Black Owned Radio Stations Ownership & Revenue Report. This is the first time such a report has been available to provide marketers, agencies, policy makers, broadcasters and other industry leaders with a detailed analysis of Black Owned radio stations, including specific station revenue and audience metrics.
In 2020, many CEOs of America’s largest corporations responded to the civil unrest taking place throughout the nation with statements about working to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within their companies and in their outreach to the Black community and Black businesses. Jim Winston, NABOB President said, “One question that was asked when these new advertising and marketing commitments were made is: How many advertising dollars are currently being expended with Black Owned radio stations? This report answers that question, and the answer is very simple – too few.”
The report shows that, of the 168 stations researched for this report, 121 (72.0%) gross less than one million dollars per year in advertising revenues, and average just 2.8% of Local Commercial Share.
Winston added, “Black Owned stations have a unique connection with the communities they serve, and that connection can directly benefit advertisers. The financial information provided in this BIA report sharply illustrates the lack of financial support that Black Owned stations are receiving in comparison to their general market competitors. We at NABOB hope that the presentation of this information for the first time will inspire a concerted effort within the advertising industry to advertise on our NABOB member stations.”
Rick Ducey, Managing Director, BIA Advisory Services, stated “BIA is proud to team with NABOB to present the results of this inaugural study of radio stations owned by African Americans. As marketers and agencies continue to expand their commitments to reach and serve minority audiences, their interest in investing in minority owned stations has increased. However, prior to this report the industry did not have available an authoritative record of these stations, nor their economic standing. With this report, NABOB and BIA provide a benchmark study and data set that will facilitate targeted investment by radio advertisers seeking to reach the audiences served by these stations.”
To learn more about the significance of the 2022 Black Owned Radio Stations Ownership & Revenue Report, tune into BIA’s “Leading Local Insights” Podcast available on all major streaming platforms.
Download the 2022 Black Owned Radio Stations Ownership & Revenue Report HERE!
PUTIN WARNS WEST AGAINST SENDING ROCKET SYSTEMS: Russian airstrikes hit the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv Sunday for the first time in more than a month, as Russia's President Vladimir Putin warned Western nations in a TV interview against sending longer-range rocket systems to Ukraine. Putin said that if Ukraine gets the weapons, Russia will, quote, "draw appropriate conclusions and use our means of destruction, which we have plenty of, in order to strike at those objects that we haven’t yet struck." His remarks came days after the U.S. announced plans to send medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine, part of a $700 million package of security assistance.
Russia said that the airstrikes that hit Kyiv yesterday destroyed tanks that had been sent to Ukraine and other armored vehicles. But Ukraine said they hit a train repair shop and that no military equipment had been stored there. However, according to AP, a government adviser said on Ukrainian TV that military infrastructure also was targeted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to the Zaporizhzhia region in the southeastern part of Ukraine, which is partly under Russian control, in only his second public visit outside the Kyiv area since the war began in February when Russia invaded. He was given a battle report, thanked troops and awarded medals to some of them, and met with refugees, according to reports.
➤BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TO FACE NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE TODAY: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a no-confidence vote this evening that could remove him as the country's leader. Official Graham Brady of the governing Conservative Party said that he'd received enough letters from lawmakers in the party calling for a no-confidence vote to trigger one, which is 15 percent. If Johnson loses the vote among the Conservative Party lawmakers, he'll be replaced as the the party leader and as prime minister. If he wins, he can't face another no-confidence vote for a year. Johnson has been facing ethics scandals, most prominently over parties held by staffers in 2020 and 2021 when strict pandemic restrictions prevented U.K. residents from socializing.
➤U.S., SOUTH KOREA FIRE MISSILES INTO SEA AFTER NORTH KOREA'S LAUNCH: The U.S. and South Korean militaries launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea off South Korea Monday in a live-fire exercise that was a show of force after North Korea fired eight short-range missiles on Sunday. South Korea said that the launches were meant to demonstrate the ability to respond quickly and accurately to North Korean attacks. The North's missile tests Sunday were its 18th round of them in 2022, and South Korean and U.S. officials say North Korea is also preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017.
The teen allegedly threatened to kill a sheriff and his wife over the arrest of rappers Young Thug and Gunna, officials say. https://t.co/DdbmvnDHFO
➤ATTACK ON NIGERIAN CHURCH LEAVES OVER 50 FEARED DEAD: Over 50 people are feared dead after an attack on a Catholic church in Nigeria yesterday in which gunmen opened fire and set off explosives. The presiding priest was also reportedly kidnapped. Saint Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state was attacked as worshippers gathered for services on Pentecost Sunday. It wasn't immediately clear who carried out the attack. AP notes that Ondo is one of Nigeria's most peaceful states even as other parts of the country has struggled with security issues, but that there's been rising violent conflict between farmers and herders.
On the final day of celebrations, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II made a surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to close out her Platinum Jubilee. pic.twitter.com/IHLXzKHKM1
➤SHUT-DOWN BABY FORMULA PLANT OPERATING AGAIN: The Abbott Nutrition plant in Michigan that was shut down in February over contamination, playing a big role in the baby formula shortage, began operating again on Saturday after meeting requirements from the Food and Drug Administration. Abbott said it will concentrate first on making EleCare, a special formula for children with allergies that it expects to make available around June 20th. ➤STUDY: DIABETES DRUG EFFECTIVE FOR OBESITY WEIGHT LOSS: A new study has found that a drug approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, called tirzepatid, is extremely effective at reducing obesity. Researchers had noticed that people who took it for their diabetes lost weight. The study focused on people with obesity who don't have diabetes and found there was even more weight loss. People taking the highest of three doses that were studied lost as much as 21 percent of their body weight. Tirzepatid works on two naturally occurring hormones that help control blood sugar and are involved in sending fullness signals from the stomach to the brain. For most of the trial participants, side effects from tirzepatide weren't serious.
➤MICHAEL J. FOX SAYS HE WON’T TAKE ROLES WITH A LOT OF DIALOGUE DUE TO PARKINSON’S: Entertainment Tonight reports that on a recent episode of the Working it Out podcast, Michael J. Fox shared how his battle with Parkinson’s has affected his acting career. Fox commented on Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood: "[DiCaprio] was doing a scene of [a] western show and he couldn't remember his lines. He went back in the dressing room, he was screaming at himself, he was like tearing into himself in the mirror, and drinking. Just a mess. And I thought about that, and I thought, 'I don't want to feel that. Am I wrong to feel that? Am I right to feel that?'" Fox added, "But here's what it tells me -- I don't take on something with a lot of lines because I can't do it. And for whatever reason, it just is what it is. I can't remember five pages of dialogue. I can't do it. It can't be done. So I go to the beach."
The findings suggested that those who drank 1.5 to 3.5 cups a day had a lower risk of death during those seven years than non-coffee drinkers, even if they added a teaspoon of real sugar — not artificial sweetener — to every cup. https://t.co/eYDdD4L9be
➤STUDY: BEING SEDENTARY IN YOUR 60S GREATLY RAISES STROKE RISK: Looking forward to watching your TV in your retirement? A new study shows every hour doing sedentary activities in your 60s and 70s increases risk of stroke by 14%. People who barely moved for 13 hours during their waking day were 44% more likely to suffer a stroke. Meanwhile, just 25 minutes of moderate exercise a day reduced stroke risk by 40%.
The study conducted by San Diego State University tracked the movements of 7,607 men and women and analyzed their medical records seven years later for strokes.
Daily Mail Graphic 6/6/22
⚾MLB PLAYER BALK AT SPORTING RAINBOW COLORS: A number of Tampa Bay Rays players decided not to wear rainbow-colored logos on their uniforms as part of the team's annual 'Pride Night' on Saturday.
In the buildup to Saturday's MLB game against the Chicago White Sox, which also marked the franchise's annual 16th Pride Night celebration, the Rays added rainbow-colored logos to their uniforms, caps and on the right sleeve of their shirts.
Rays president Matt Silverman said: 'by doing this, we extend an invitation not just for this game but for all of our games that the LGBTQ+ community is invited, welcomed and celebrated.'
But some players opted out of wearing the new uniforms, including pitchers Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
🏀WARRIORS ROUT CELTICS 107-88 TO TIE NBA FINALS AT 1-1: The Golden State Warriors routed the Boston Celtics 107-88 at home in San Francisco last night to tie the NBA Finals at one game each. It had been close until the third quarter, when the Warriors outscored the Celtics 35-14. Stephen Curry led Golden State with 29 points, 14 of them in the third quarter, and Jordan Poole had 17 points. Game 3 is on Wednesday in Boston.
🏒LIGHTNING BEAT RANGERS 3-2, CUT N.Y.'s CONF. FINALS LEAD TO 2-1: The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 on Sunday, cutting New York's Eastern Conference Finals lead to 2 games to 1. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning came back for the win after the Rangers had been up 2-0 in the second period. Nikita Kucherov scored in the second period for Tampa Bay and Steven Stamkos got a goal early in the third period to tie the game. The Lightning kept the Rangers from scoring again, and then Ondrej Palat got the winning goal with only 42 seconds left in the game. Game 4 is Tuesday night.
🎾NADAL, SWIATEK WIN FRENCH OPEN: Rafael Nadal defeated Casper Ruud of Norway in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0, yesterday, to win the French Open for the 14th time and capture his 22nd Grand Slam. Both accomplishments extended records the Spanish player already had. The 36-year-old Nadal, who was seeded fifth to Ruud's eighth, also became the oldest champion in French Open history. A day earlier, top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland won the women's title, beating American Coco Gauff, who was seeded 18th, also in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. Swiatek has now won two Grand Slams, both of them French Open championships. Eighteen-year-old Gauff was appearing in her first Grand Slam final.
🏌LEE WINS U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN: Australia's Minjee Lee won the U.S. Women’s Open by four strokes over American Mina Harigae at Pine Needles in North Carolina on Sunday. Lee ended at 13-under 271, winning the $1.8 million prize, the largest in the history of women’s golf. It was Lee's second win of a major after her victory in the Evian Championship last July.
🏀UTAH JAZZ HEAD COACH SNYDER RESIGNS: Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has resigned after eight seasons, the NBA team announced yesterday. Snyder had two years left on his contract, and ESPN cited sources as saying Jazz ownership and management spent several weeks trying to convince him to return. Snyder said in a statement that his decision was about what was best for the players, stating, "I strongly feel they need a new voice to continue to evolve. That's it. No philosophical differences, no other reason. After eight years, I just feel it is time to move onward." Snyder had a 372-264 record with the Jazz, the second-most by a head coach in Jazz history behind Hall of Famer Jerry Sloan.
A George Soros-backed group of predominantly Hispanic investors has purchased 18 Spanish-language radio stations in 10 cities for $60 million, reports The Washington Examiner.
The Latino Media Network is led by Obama administration official Stephanie Valencia and received financing from Lakestar Finance LLC, an investment firm associated with liberal billionaire George Soros. The acquisition of 18 radio stations owned by TelevisaUnivision was announced last week.
Soros is a supporter of progressive sand liberal political causes.
"We believe in the power and reach of radio and it remains a main source of media for a significant number of our community,” Jess Morales Rocketto, a veteran of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns, said in a statement. “We hope to create relevant content for radio and other audio platforms with content that our community can trust and rely on.”
The 18 stations in the deal are a combined set of AM and FM stations in the largest US markets, and 8 of the top 10 Latino markets, reaching 33% of U.S. Latinos. The stations included are:
Transition of the stations will happen following FCC approval and a one year transition agreement between TelevisaUnivision and Latino Media Network, which is expected to conclude in Q4 of 2023.
One of the stations included in the deal is Radio Mambi, a conservative talk radio station in Miami, Florida, that Democrats have long accused of spreading “ misinformation ” in the Hispanic community.
George Soros
“In the 2020 election, we saw this — really a compelling rightward shift among the Latino electorate and in South Florida,” Huffington Post reporter Lautaro Grinspan recently told NPR. “And it lends credence to the notion that Spanish-language misinformation is playing a role in shaping folks' political perceptions.”
But is “misinformation” really to blame for the recent rightward drift of Hispanics? Or are more and more Hispanics realizing that the Democratic Party simply doesn’t share their values.
“Everybody was a liberal Democrat — in my neighborhood, in the Bronx, in the local government,” Florida Republican Erik Ortiz recently told the New York Times . “The welfare state was bad for our people — the state became the father in the black and brown household and that was a bad, bad mistake.”
The Washington Examiner states Ortiz is right: The social safety net designed by the Democratic Party punishes marriage and replaces fathers with checks and social workers. And President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda would only make those marriage penalties worse .
No wonder recent polling shows the Republican Party now even with the Democrats among Hispanic voters.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board slammed the media on Friday for lending credibility to former state health department employee Rebekah Jones, who claimed that she was fired for refusing to alter COVID-19 data in Florida.
Jones claimed in 2020 that she was fired from her position in the health department for not caving to pressure to manipulate COVID-19 figures. An investigation by Inspector General Michael J. Bennett found her claims untrue based on the evidence.
"Based upon an analysis of the available evidence, the alleged conduct, as described by the complainant, did not occur," Bennett's report said. The governor's office said she was let go for "insubordination."
FLA Gov. DeSantis
"A frequent phenomenon of our times is the flurry over an alleged scandal that on examination turns out to be false," the editorial board authors wrote. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R., was consistently criticized by the left during the COVID-19 pandemic for refusing to impose restrictions in his state.
The editorial board noted multiple headlines from media outlets that ran with the whistleblower's allegations, including NPR, who wrote, "Florida Dismisses A Scientist For Her Refusal To Manipulate State’s Coronavirus Data," at the time.
Cosmopolitan published a glowing profile about Jones in 2021, headlined, "Rebekah Jones Tried to Warn Us About COVID-19. Now Her Freedom Is on the Line."
"Now the Florida Department of Health Office of Inspector General has exonerated Mr. DeSantis. The IG interviewed more than a dozen people who worked with state Covid data, including Ms. Jones’s supervisors. None corroborated her claims," the editorial board wrote.
The Miami Herald editorial board also published a piece headlined "Rebekah Jones whistleblower win against Florida’s DeSantis administration could be a win for all of us," which was heavily criticized.
The report also said that "if the complainant or other DOH staff were to have falsified COVID-19 data on the dashboard, the dashboard would then not have matched the data in the corresponding final daily report."
It noted that the "discrepancy" in the data would have been detectable not only by staff in the Department of Health, but also "local governments, researchers, the press/media, and the general public."
"One reason so many Americans don’t trust the media is because they have figured out that partisan narratives drive too much reporting. We wish they were wrong," the editorial board concluded.
Jones appeared on CNN several times throughout the pandemic in 2020. She made at least nine appearances on different CNN programs. She appeared the most on ex-anchor Chris Cuomo's primetime program.
The MTV Movie and TV Awards were held on Sunday night at The Barker Hangar in Los Angeles, hosted by High School Musical actress Vanessa Hudgens and with music by DJ Snoopadelic.
Euphoria took home the most golden popcorn, winning four categories overall including Best Show, Best Performance in a Show, Best Fight, and Here for the Hookup. Sydney Sweeney had a busy night heading to the stage to accept awards on behalf of the cast.
Loki was another big winner in terms of television. Sophia Di Martino took home two buckets of golden popcorn for Breakthrough Performance and Best Team.
Spider-Man: No Way Home stole the show for movies, as Tom Holland and Zendaya accepted the award for Best Movie via satellite. Holland also won Best Performance in a Movie.
Sean "Poopies" McInerney’s “kiss” with a snake in Jackass Forever won him the golden popcorn for Best Kiss. The Jackass newcomer then kissed a 17-foot python onstage.
Riley Keough introduced an exclusive look at the Elvis biopic before welcoming Tupelo artists Diplo and Swae Lee to the stage to perform “Tupelo Shuffle,” which samples her grandfather’s song “That’s All Right.”
Awkwafina presented Jack Black with this year’s Comedic Genius award, calling him a “facial hair aficionado” and “one of the nicest guys on the planet.” Black said he needed a “blast of oxygen” when he accepted the award. "Comedic Genius, are you kidding? For what?" he said. Answering his own question, he listed his work in Jumanji, School of Rock, Nacho Libre and his “sweet dance moves on TikTok” as reasons for the win.
Jennifer Lopez received the Generation Award after Hudgens introduced a montage of footage from her films over the years. Lopez got emotional in her acceptance speech, paying tribute to the good and the bad in her life. She thanked “all the people who told me to my face and behind my back I couldn't do this. I really don't think I could have done this without you,” she said. Lopez finished her speech with a cute shoutout to Ben Affleck. "Ben and everyone at home, wait for me to have dinner - I will be home by 7!"
.@JLo got emotional while accepting the Generation Award at tonight's #MTVAwards: "I want to thank all of the people who told me to my face or when I wasn't in the room that I couldn't do this. I really don't think I could have done it without you" pic.twitter.com/Yzx251VG49
The evening’s presenters included Jenna Ortega, Pablo Schreiber, Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Jay Ellis, Chris Evans, Megan Stalter, Hannah Einbinder, Billy Eichner, and more.
➤See the full list of winners below:
BEST MOVIE Spider-Man: No Way Home
BEST SHOW Euphoria
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A MOVIE Tom Holland: Spider-Man: No Way Home
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SHOW Zendaya: Euphoria
BEST HERO Scarlett Johansson: Black Widow
BEST VILLAIN Daniel Radcliffe: The Lost City
BEST KISS Poopies & the snake: Jackass Forever
BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE Ryan Reynolds: Free Guy
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE Sophia Di Martino: Loki
BEST FIGHT Cassie vs. Maddy: Euphoria
MOST FRIGHTENED PERFORMANCE Jenna Ortega: Scream
BEST TEAM Loki: Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Owen Wilson
HERE FOR THE HOOKUP Euphoria
BEST SONG “On My Way (Marry Me),” Jennifer Lopez / Marry Me
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film)
Spotify is the No. 1 digital audio service among US teens and adults, with 35% digital audio listeners ages 12 and older using that platform the most. YouTube Music comes in at No. 2, with 18%, while Pandora rounds out the top three at 15%, reports eMarketer.
Beyond the chart: Spotify is by far the top dog and has increased its lead in the market. Over at Google, growth is coming after consolidation.
In January 2020, Google Play Music sat at No. 6, used most often by just 7% of US digital audio listeners 12 and older. The following year, after the service was shut down and replaced with YouTube Music, the two platforms together ascended to the No. 3 spot with 14%. Since then, YouTube Music has become Alphabet’s primary digital audio platform and surpassed Pandora in popularity as it inches closer to market leader Spotify.
More than three in four millennials have blocked family members on Facebook because of disagreement over political content, according to The NY Post citing a study.
A new survey conducted by the website time2play found that 78.3% of millennials have blocked a family member on Facebook for political postings.
“The younger generation doesn’t seem interested in hearing any opinions that differ from their own,” researcher Ben Treanor told The Post.
“So if you don’t 100% agree with their agenda, they’ll cut you out of their lives completely — and that goes for family too.”
Nearly half of those surveyed from all age groups — 46.4% — said they blocked a family member who “posted hateful, toxic, or problematic things.”
Slightly less — 43.5% — from all age groups said they blocked a family member for sharing “fake news” while 41.4% of everyone surveyed said their relatives were blocked because “they post too much political content.”
Nearly two in five people from all age groups — 37.6% — said they blocked family members who were estranged while 28.6% said that they blocked loved ones because of “annoying comments on my posts.”
About one in five of everyone polled — 22.7% — said they blocked loved ones in order to “hide my personal life” while 14.1% complained that their relatives “post too much religious content.”
Just over one in 10 from all age groups — 11.3% — said family members were “tagging me in posts too often,” resulting in a block.
The survey was conducted of 2,040 US residents who use both Facebook and its sister social media network, Instagram — both of which are owned by Meta Platforms Inc.
The study found that just 25.8% of Instagram users from all age groups admitted to blocking a family member.
Most who did block a loved one on Instagram said the reason for doing so was to hide their own content rather than avoid seeing what the other family member was posting.
Nearly two-thirds of all Instagram users who were surveyed — 62.1% — said they blocked a family member in order to conceal aspects of their personal lives.
Alec John Such, Bon Jovi’s founding bassist, has died at the age of 70, the band announced on social media Sunday. A cause of death has not been released, reports TheWrap.
Born in Yonkers, New York, on Nov. 14, 1951, Such first played with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora in a band called The Message. As a manager of the Hunka Bunka Ballroom in the 1980s, he booked John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones, eventually bringing experienced drummer Torres and Sambora into the group. Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan joined as well, having known Torres through an earlier band, Atlantic City Expressway.
Such remained as a key member in the band before his departure in 1994 — the first lineup change in the group — when he was replaced by unofficial bassist Hugh McDonald. He told the same outlet that he felt “burned out” at 43 and no longer wanted to perform since it “felt like work.” At the time, frontman Jon Bon Jovi said the departure “hurt,” but was unsurprising and a long time coming.
However, Such reunited with the band in 2018, at Bon Jovi’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Paul Vance, the songwriter behind "Itsy Bisty Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and hundreds of other songs, died May 30 at the age of 92. His cause of death was not disclosed, reports Entertainment.
The following day, his daughter Paula confirmed Vance's death in a post on her Facebook page, writing that her father died while they listened to "Playground in My Mind," a Vance song that features his son Philip on vocals.
Born Joseph Paul Florio on Nov. 4, 1929, Vance also wrote "Catch a Falling Star" and "Tracy," among scores of other songs. His music was performed by artists including Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, and Robert Goulet.
Brian Hyland's version of "Itsy Bisty Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" became a global hit in 1960, spending 13 weeks on the Billboard top 40, including one week in the No. 1 spot.
Vance was inspired to write his best-known song after Paula nervously donned her first two-piece swimsuit. In her Facebook post, Paula wrote that she was actually 2 years old when she emerged from the dressing room wrapped in a towel — not 9, as was often reported.
Vance and his co-writer Lee Pockriss churned out tunes from the famed Brill Building in New York City. By 1966, their songs had sold more than 50 million copies, according to Billboard magazine. Pockriss died in 2011.
The pair also wrote the novelty tune "Leader of the Laundromat," which parodied the Shangri-Las track "Leader of the Pack." Vance's last major hit, "Run Joey Run," was a 1975 success for singer David Geddes.
Shelby Scott was so famous for being battered by the weather while covering snowstorms for WBZ-TV that she found a way to tell viewers how to plan their day by the color of her headgear.
A red hat meant people should stay home. A blue hat advised exercising caution. And a white hat? Well, things weren’t so bad.
“I seldom wore a white hat,” she said in 2001, when she was officially retired, but occasionally was still called back into service, such as for 1997′s April Fools’ Day storm.
Scott, who spent three decades at WBZ Channel 4, where she formed the nation’s first all-woman anchor team with Gail Harris in 1977, died Wednesday in her home in Tucson, Ariz. She was 86 and her health had been declining, said her brother, Rick, according to The Boston Globe.
“Shelby, as much as she would not want me to say it, was a pioneer. She was a trailblazer in journalism,” said Peter Brown, who was Ms. Scott’s news director at WBZ. “She was a mentor. She inspired so many women and men who wanted to work in TV news. I saw her smile at the line from the young reporters: ‘Shelby, I grew up watching you on TV.’ "
A groundbreaking woman in broadcast news in Seattle and Boston, she arrived at WBZ from the West Coast and soon became one of Boston’s most recognizable faces behind an anchor desk and holding a microphone in the field, vanquishing gender barriers from the start. She was the only woman on Boston TV news in 1965, the Globe reported.
And though in later years her winter storm reporting became iconic, “Shelby was much more than a snow reporter,” Brown said. “She loved politics, and animal stories were her favorite. One day she came back to the newsroom after doing a story about tagging bears — she couldn’t stop talking about how she got to hug a bear cub.”
By the end of her career, however, those snowstorms had become the events by which she was most readily identified — by fans who brought her coffee and doughnuts when they spotted her on location, and by many who simply recognized her walking down a street.
For all viewers, seeing Shelby Scott brace herself as snow blew past her face horizontally was a sign that Boston was in for a memorable day.
Ann Turner Cook (November 20, 1926 – June 3, 2022)
Ann Turner Cook, whose face became the iconic Gerber logo nearly a century ago, has died at the age of 95.
The Michigan-founded company announced Cook's passing in an Instagram post on Friday, reports FOX Business.
"Many years before becoming an extraordinary mother, teacher and writer, her smile and expressive curiosity captured hearts everywhere and will continue to live on as a symbol for all babies," the company said.
In 1928, Cook was 5 months old, and a neighbor, artist Dorothy Hope Smith, drew a charcoal sketch of her that was later submitted for a contest Gerber was holding for a national marketing campaign for baby food.
Judges "fell in love" with the face that went on to launch the Gerber brand across the globe, the company website says.
The sketch was a hit and became the company's trademark and has been used in all packaging and advertising since 1931.
The identity of the original Gerber baby, however, remained a secret for 40 years.
The identity was top secret, and spurred rumors about who it was with guesses including Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor.
➦In 1938...NBC radio introduced two melodramatic soaps to the daytime airwaves, Stella Dallas and Young Widder Brown, both produced by Frank & Anne Hummert. Stella Dallas, “the true to life story of mother love and sacrifice,” continued in 15 minute radio bursts until 1955. ‘Brown’ outlasted it by a year.
Radio soap opera titan Frank Hummert became a partner in a Chicago advertising agency, where in 1930 Anne Ashenshurst was hired as a copywriter and assistant to Hummert. Together, both before and after their 1935 wedding, Anne & Frank developed and supervised the production of early daytime radio dramas Just Plain Bill, Ma Perkins, Skippy, Backstage Wife and Young Widder Brown. They later produced Amanda of Honeymoon Hill, Front Page Farrell, John’s Other Wife, Little Orphan Annie, Judy and Jane, Mr. Chameleon, and Our Gal Sunday. The Hummerts also had longrunning prime time success with Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, Waltz Time and The American Album of Familiar Music.
Larry Lujack
➦In 1940...Superjock Larry Lee Blankenburg a.k.a Larry Lujack was born in 1940 in Quasqueton, Iowa, and reared in Caldwell, Idaho. At 18 he joined KCID-AM in Caldwell, adopting the surname of his idol, the Chicago Bears quarterback Johnny Lujack.
After working at stations in Idaho and Washington State, Mr. Lujack joined WCFL in 1967 and moved to WLS four months later. Except for a four-year stint back at WCFL, he remained with WLS for the next two decades.
In 1984 WLS gave Lujack a 12-year, $6 million contract, making him one of the country’s highest-paid radio personalities. (“I am not the least bit excited,” he was reported to have said.) But in 1987, amid declining ratings, the station’s corporate parent, Capital Cities-ABC, bought out his contract.
His honors include membership in the Illinois Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame (“It’s not Mount Rushmore,” he said on learning of his induction) and the National Radio Hall of Fame.
He passed away December 18, 2013.
➦In 1944….Radio covered first news of the Allies’ D-Day Invasion…
William Wright Bryan, a former editor of the Atlanta Journal was the first World War II correspondent to broadcast an eyewitness account of D-Day. He was the newspaper's managing editor, war correspondent and an NBC radio stringer when he became the first newsman to give a report on the D-Day invasion of France on June 6, 1944.
He covered the invasion from a transport plane dropping airborne troops. When the plane flew back to London, Bryan went on the air and made his broadcast immediately after a one-sentence announcement by the Allied command and tape-recorded statements by King George VI and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
While covering the Allies' further advance across Europe, Bryan was wounded and captured by the Germans and spent six months in hospitals and in a prisoner of war camp in Szubin, Poland. He was freed by Soviet troops in January, 1945. Bryan died February 15, 1991 of pneumonia at the age of 85.
The Allies had gone to extreme measures to protect the location of the invasion including planting fake documents, fake troop placements, and fake announcements. Germany did all it could to try to find out just where the Allies would land. One tactic was to falsely claim the invasion had begun hoping to fool the Allies into revealing the real location.
So it was no surprise that the news organizations were shy to jump on any announcement of a pending invasion. News reports included flash announcements which were deemed immediate and important information received; the other were bulletins which were also important but not deemed as immediate.
On June 3rd there had been a flash announcement that the invasion was under way but within minutes the announcement was withdrawn as the source, the Associated Press, killed the story as false.
When the first announcements started coming in the early morning of June 6, there were cautions attached to the bulletins. NBC reportedly came on the air with announcements around 12:41 AM EST after waiting at least 3 minutes from the time the AP bulletin was received.
➤The music of Harry James and his Orchestra was broadcasting over WOR (Mutual) from the Hotel Astor in New York. Kitty Kallen had just begun singing ironically "In Times Like These" when her song was interrupted right after 12:45 AM for bulletin. Listen Here. Ned Calmer with CBS broadcast the bulletin around 12:48 AM. CBS waited until a second source, the Independent News Service, also released a bulletin.
➤Later repeats of the bulletins appeared over both networks. Irwin Darlington with CBS broadcast the breaking news. Listen Here. Over at NBC this bulletin was aired. Listen Here.
CBS reporter Darlington was very cautionary in his bulletin announcement reminding listeners of Winston Churchill's warnings of Allied feints and the expected invasion story from the Germans. He also carefully identifies where the information is coming from as well as the actual quotes. They also provide reports from the German DNB and German radio broadcasts.
NBC's bulletin was very formal and straight-forward with little warning that the information could be false. Later cautions came from the summary of news reports they broadcast later. (H/T: Radio Days)
➦In 1955…Bill Haley & Comets', "Rock Around the Clock" hit #1 on radio.
➦In 1962...The Beatles meet their producer George Martin for the first time and record "Besame Mucho" with Pete Best on drums
➦In 1986...1050 CHUM Toronto, the station with North America’s longest-running hit record chart, abandoned its Top-40 format for a mixture of soft rock and oldies. CHUM adopted the Top40 format in 1957 and published its chart for 1,512 consecutive weeks.
Gary U-S Bonds is 83
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Singer-songwriter Gary “U.S.” Bonds is 83.
Country singer Joe Stampley is 79.
Jazz pianist Monty Alexander is 78.
Actor Robert Englund (Freddie Krueger) is 75.
Singer Dwight Twilley is 71.
Playwright-actor Harvey Fierstein is 70.
Actor-comedian Sandra Bernhard is 67.
Actor Amanda Pays is 63.
Lisa Brokop is 49
Record producer and musician Jimmy Jam (The Time) is 63.
Comedian Colin Quinn is 63.
Guitarist Steve Vai is 62.
Singer-bassist Tom Araya of Slayer is 61.
Actor Jason Isaacs (“Harry Potter” films) is 59.
Bassist Sean Ysealt (White Zombie) is 56.
Actor Max Casella (“Analyze This,” ″Doogie Howser, M.D.”) is 55.
Actor Paul Giamatti is 55.
Singer Damion Hall of Guy is 54.
Guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer of Korn is 53.
Country singer Lisa Brokop is 49.
Singer Uncle Kracker is 48.
Actor Sonya Walger (“Lost”) is 48.
Actor Staci Keanan (“Step By Step,” ″My Two Dads”) is 47.
Jazz singer Somi is 46.
Actor Aubrey Anderson-Emmons (“Modern Family”) is 15.
🕇DEATH ANNIVERSARIES:
Actor Jack Haley, the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, died on this day in 1979. He was 80.
Senator Robert F. Kennedy died on this day in 1968, one day after he was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan. He was 42.
Water musicals actress Esther Williams died on this day in 2013. She was 91.
