BIN: Black Information Network, the first and only 24/7 national and local all-news audio service with a Black voice and perspective, and CareerBuilder, the global talent acquisition leader and job marketplace platform, announced today that they are joining forces to launch “100,000 Careers,” a first-of-its-kind career initiative platform that aims to connect employers who are seeking a highly qualified and diverse workforce with Black American job seekers who are looking to advance to higher levels or start a career.
A critical step toward building wealth within the Black community is by providing resources needed to secure a career that offers stability, important benefits, and a higher income that can grow over time. The mission of the 100,000 Careers initiative is to help people in the Black community find a job and build the career of their dreams. The platform includes tools to help candidates get started, such as job listings, easy resume building, and custom content designed to help Black listeners identify their transferrable skills and discover new careers. The 100,000 Careers platform will be a one-stop-shop for connecting employers with Black American career-seekers looking to advance.
“This strategic partnership directly aligns with our mission of building personal success for all and will guide Black Information Network listeners to a host of tools that connect them to roles that best suit their skills leading to more meaningful careers," said Kristin Kelley, Chief Marketing Officer at CareerBuilder. "This partnership and the 100,000 Careers platform are both vital in bringing a valuable resource and job search experience to the Black community, and employers can now access a larger group of diverse candidates and talented workers.”
The platform will leverage the scale of BIN: Black Information Network to promote opportunities across broadcast, podcast, digital and social platforms. Additionally, over 100 iHeartMedia Hip Hop, R&B and Gospel stations are supporting this effort by broadcasting daily career spotlights, real life testimonials, high-frequency broadcast messaging, as well as podcasting and streaming mentions. For more information on The 100,000 Careers initiative, please visit the BIN: Black Information Network website or www.careerbuilder.com/BIN.
“One of our highest priorities has been to call attention to the disproportionate income and unemployment gaps the Black community faces,” said Tony Coles, Division President for iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group and President for BIN: Black Information Network. “That’s why we are thrilled that our partners at CareerBuilder have joined us in this effort to help 100,000 listeners not only find work, but to help them leverage their transferrable skills to build careers.”
The Independent Broadcasters Association (IBA) has wrapped up its fourth bi-annual IBA National Cash Contest. One hundred IBA-member radio companies and 233-member radio stations participated, with 50 $1,000 prizes and one $10,000 grand prize given away to listeners.
“Congratulations to all the participating stations and winners!” exclaimed Ron Stone, President of IBA. “The IBA National Cash Contest continues to be one of the strongest benefits of being an IBA member. Any IBA member can participate in this fully managed turnkey program, providing independent stations with a contest equal to or stronger than any national contest from the larger groups,” Stone added.
“The cost for an IBA member to participate is only $300 per contest,” Stone continued. “If you are an independent operator and not taking advantage of an IBA membership, you are missing enormous opportunities.”
“Participation of IBA members in the Spring2022 contest was up from the fall, and we anticipate continued growth in participation,” stated Tony Renda, CEO of Renda Broadcasting and Board member of the IBA. “The contest works for the smallest independent operator to the largest and in any market size,” said Renda.
“The IBA is delivering on its promise to give independents benefits that only scale can deliver,” Renda concluded.
IBA member station volunteers fully produced the contest. Vipology served as an independent source for all random drawings.
“A special thanks to Renda Broadcasting’s Steve Granato; Adams Radio Group’s JJ Fabini, Taylor Morgan, and Randy Alomar; and IBA Board Member and radio consultant Gary Berkowitz for their leadership in managing the continued development of this national promotion and the audio production from the winners,” said Stone.
Only independently owned, IBA member stations can participate in IBA contests. To become an IBA member, stations can click here: https://www.iba.media/join-now/ .
➦In 1903...comic actor Artie Auerbach was born in New York City. He became famous as “Mr. Kitzel”, first on the Al Pearce radio show in 1937, then as a regular on Jack Benny‘s radio & television shows for 12 years. He suffered a fatal heart attack Oct. 3, 1957 and died at age 54.
➦In 1938...the Radio quiz show "Information Please!" premiered on the NBC Blue Network
Information Please was one of the most popular radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s. Oscar Levant, Franklin P. Adams and John Kieran were regulars with Clifton Fadiman acting as host. RKO produced a series a films of the radio show and most of them have been lost.
➦In 1939...nearly 1800 fans crowded into the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York to attend an unusual dual-network dance remote radio broadcast of the suddenly very popular Glenn Miller and His Orchestra that was aired on both NBC and Mutual.
➦In 1943...The Jack Kirkwood Show made its NBC debut, after 5 years locally on San Francisco radio. Kirkwood would eventually become second-banana on the Bob Hope radio show, and continue with his own various network radio features through early 1953.
➦In 1971...In the NYC Market, Country WJRZ 970 AM became Top40 WWDJ..The station was hampered by a directional signal that covered Manhattan and parts of New Jersey well but suffered in the rest of the five boroughs and was virtually non-existent on Long Island and western New Jersey. Eventually, FM competition from WCBS-FM and adult top 40 station WXLO (now WEPN-FM), and an evolution to adult Top 40 by WNBC (now WFAN), began to eat into WWDJ's ratings.
According to traxandgrooves.blogspot.com, the station first began as WAAT in Jersey City around the late 1920's (it was once at 940 kHz, shifted to 970 around 1941; relocated to Newark around the mid-'40's). In 1958, WAAT and its FM sister (94.7 MHz) were sold to National Telefilm Associates, which changed the call letters to WNTA. In 1961-62 NTA sold the stations to Bergen Broadcasting; '62 was when the WJRZ calls were first used. (The 94.7 frequency would end up going by the calls of WFME, now Entercom's WNSH.) WNTA also had a TV outlet (previously WATV) which NTA unloaded around the same time as it sold the AM and FM stations; the TV station is today PBS outlet WNET/13. It was around 1969 that Pacific & Southern Broadcasting took over WJRZ.Beatles, Beatles, and more Beatles.
WJRZ played all Beatle songs for a few days before becoming WWDJ top 40.When WWDJ started, it looked like it would fill the AM gap left by the demise of WMCA and in many ways it was (especially to those who only had AM in their cars). Although 97DJ was no 'MCA, they still played more of a variety music than 77 WABC. Unfortunately, as in the case of WMCA, it was another AM station with signal problems.
They were directional 5 kw both day and night.WWDJ was owned by Pacific & Southern, who also operated KKDJ about the same time in Los Angeles, which was an FM station. KKDJ used the same jingle package as its sister station WWDJ. Another problem that DJ had an idenity crisis in that it did not know whether to be a New York station or a New Jersey station.
In November 1973 it was ranked 15th in the Arbitron ratings.WWDJ changed format to Religious on April 1, 1974.
➦In 2004...actor Tony Randall, who began in radio as “Reggie” on I Love a Mystery, then starred in TV’s Mr. Peepers & The Odd Couple, and was an entertaining guest on hundreds of TV talk shows, died of pneumonia following heart surgery at age 84.
➦In 2006...NYC and Philadelphia radio personality Long John Wade died at the age of 66.
From the early '70s, listen for a Wade audio clip on 56 WFIL in Philly at the :30-second time mark:
"Long John" was, in reality, Carl Wehde. He worked at WDRC 1360 AM in Hartford, just before coming to WFIL. It was there that Long John worked with another WFIL Boss Jock, Jim Nettleton. Jim did 10 am to 1 pm and Long John did afternoon drive.
Long John wasn't an original 56WFIL Boss Jock when the station flipped format in September of 1966.
However, by Thanksgiving of that same year, Wade had replaced Frank Kingston Smith on the 2 to 6 am overnight shift. He then moved to the 10 pm to 2 am time slot where he became a Philly fixture. He stayed with the station for five years.
Wade said that he got the nickname "Long John" because of his height (6 foot, 4 inches tall). He could always reach the top shelf in the record library.
In August of 1964, the WDRC's PD sent him on tour with the Beatles. Only two U.S. radio people were on the entire Beatles tour, Larry Kane and Long John Wade.
It cost WDRC five grand, in expenses, to have Long John join the whole tour. The station turned that money into a profit when they sold Wade's reports to 11 other radio stations. Long John reported that the young weren't the only ones that loved the Beatles. He said, "I saw newsmen picking up the cigarette butts discarded by Ringo, or an old coffee cup that Paul used."
Wade said that during his stay at WDRC, he was consistently drawing a 50 percent share in a market of 16 stations. One out of every two radio listeners were tuning in his program.
\Long John became radio’s Beatles information expert. He developed a personal friendship with each of the group. The tempermental John Lennon, it has been reported, once punched Long John for asking an impertinent question. The two remained close for years, with John Lennon inviting Wade to join himself and Yoko Ono for their infamous bed-in in May of 1969 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
Of the Beatles, Long John Wade once said: “Personally, I would say John Lennon is the ‘thinker.’ Ringo is the funniest, Paul the friendliest, and George is the quiet one.”
Before his WFIL days, Long John worked at these stations in Massachusetts (some while attending Boston University): WHIL, Medford; WAAB, Worcester; WHAV, Haverhill; WORL, Boston; WTAO, Boston; WSPR, Springfield (where he used the name "Johnny Midnight.") During his prep school days, he ran the campus radio station in New Hampton, NH.
Long John Wade
Long John had later stops at WIFI and WCAU in Philadelphia (he did morning drive on FM and then had a talk show on AM). Then, we went to WCBS-FM in New York City.
In 1979, Wade was diagnosed with a bi-polar disorder and left the business he loved so much.
Long John Wade suffered a stroke in 1996 which left him with speech problems. He also lost the total use of his right hand. He battled bad health for a decade.
Long John had two brothers, Tom Wehde and Don (known as Don Wade on the air). The late Don and his wife, Roma, former co-host the morning show on WLS-AM Chicago.
➦In 2012...singer and five-time Grammy winner Donna Summer, the undisputed “Queen of the Disco era”, succumbed to lung cancer at age 63. In the 1970’s she had charted five consecutive #1 singles.
Nikki Reed is 33
🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:
Singer Taj Mahal is 80.
Drummer Bill Bruford of Yes and King Crimson is 73.
Singer-guitarist George Johnson of The Brothers Johnson is 69.
TV personality Kathleen Sullivan is 69.
Singer Enya is 61.
Actor Craig Ferguson (“The Late Late Show,” ″The Drew Carey Show”) is 59.
Keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish is 59.
Actor David Eigenberg (“Sex and the City”) is 58.
Guitarist O’Dell of Mint Condition is 57.
Musician Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is 57.
Actor Paige Turco (“The 100”) is 57.
Actor Hill Harper (“CSI: NY,” ″He Got Game”) is 56.
TV personality-interior designer Thom Filicia (“Queer Eye For The Straight Guy”) is 53.
Derek Hough is 37
Singer Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block is 52.
Singer Darnell Van Rensalier of Shai is 52.
Singer Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age is 49.
Singer Andrea Corr of The Corrs is 48.
Actor Sendhil Ramamurthy (“Heroes”) is 48.
Singer Kandi Burruss (Xscape) (“The Real Housewives of Atlanta”) is 46.
Actor Kat Foster (”’Til Death”) is 44.
Singer-songwriter Passenger is 38.
Dancer Derek Hough (“Dancing With the Stars”) is 37.
Actor Tahj Mowry (“Smart Guy,” ″Kim Possible”) is 36.
Actor Nikki Reed (“Twilight”) is 33.
Actor Leven Rambin (“The Hunger Games,” ″Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) is 32.
The dawn of the streaming era once promised a brighter future for sports fans, a blissful world of à la carte consumption in which everyone could break free of their overstuffed, overpriced cable subscriptions and pay only for what they really wanted to see.
The reality, as baseball diehards are discovering this season, is much less idyllic, reports Bloomberg.
To watch all the games they want, many fans will have to pay not only for cable but also for multiple streaming services. And once they’ve figured out which app or channel is showing their favorite team, they will be left hoping that the live stream doesn’t crash at a crucial moment. Last month, in the third and fourth innings of Apple Inc.’s first baseball broadcast, some viewers found themselves gazing unhappily at a dreaded error message.
The current fragmented landscape can be traced back, in part, to last year when ESPN decided to scale back the number of games it would broadcast as part of a new contract. Afterward, Major League Baseball sold a large portion of those games to Apple and to Comcast Corp.’s Peacock. This season, New York Yankees fans will also need a third streaming service because Amazon.com Inc., which owns a stake in the team’s cable channel, started streaming a package of 21 games that will air exclusively on Prime Video.
Subscriptions to Prime Video start at $9 a month. Peacock’s Sunday slate will be behind a $5-a-month paywall. The games on Apple are free.
Noah Garden, chief revenue officer for Major League Baseball, said in an interview that the league decided to push deeper into streaming this season, in part, to be less vulnerable in the years ahead to cable-TV blackouts. In some cases, disputes between cable-TV companies and local sports channels have left fans unable to see their teams for long stretches.
With Nielsen planning to convert 50-75% of the PPM panel to the new PPM Wearables by the end of 2022 (and with the balance changing in 2023), it’s time for radio to prepare for the changes ahead. In a new blog post, Leigh Jacobs goes back to what NuVoodoo marketing guru PJ Kling said of the coming changes, “Let’s get in front of it.”
Nielsen’s new wearable meters are smaller than the pager-style meters they’re replacing and can be configured as a wristband, a pendant, or a clip-on. They’ve said carry time goes up with the new devices, but overall media exposure detected by the new wearables mirrors that of today’s meters. Even though overall listening is level, Nielsen shows small lift in some demos, along with some small declines in others.
Jacobs advises if your station is one that experiences a bit of lift as they transition the panel to wearables, you’ll be delighted. On the other hand, if overall listening is level and some stations go up … some are bound to suffer some declines.
NuVoodoo noted last week that an important part of the new wearables program from Nielsen is a companion smartphone app. The app will collect listening data from the new, smaller PPM wearables in the household and transmit the data to the mothership (allowing the new meters to be smaller than the old meters). But the new app also allows Nielsen to communicate with panelists about incentives.
It stands to reason that as the panel shifts to the new devices, respondents will become even more focused on rewards and contests. Contests have been around as incentives for panelists for some time, but now communication about those contests will now be moved to the app. So, reviewing station apps should be a priority if you’re in a PPM market:
Do your station contests integrate with your app?
Does the app help with contest play?
Can the app notify users of contest occasions?
Are motivated players able to learn about winners of your contests there?
That last item is important, because NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Studies have been showing skepticism concerning station contests – especially among likely PPM panelists. In the first study for 2022 NuVoodoo saw that MOST likely panelists (labeled “RPS Yes” in the chart below) agreed with the statement that “most radio station contests are rigged.” The numbers are slightly worse among the small subset of likely panelists who listen to broadcast radio at least an hour per day (labeled “RPS 60” in the chart).
While contest skeptics are a little less common among Gen Xers, the 42-54’s in the sample of 14-54’s, half or more of the Gen Z’s and Millennials in the sample are suspicious about station contests. If they think your contest is not on the up and up, they’re far less likely to participate – and thus far less likely to give you the additional listening occasions you’re hoping to drive by giving away precious cash.
NuVoodoo gave those who said station contests are rigged the opportunity to tell stations how they could be convinced that contests are legitimate – and the answers are all about transparency.
PJ Kling and Meghan Volk from the NuVoodoo marketing team show you the details in a video about the troubles with contests – as well as recommendations about how to combat the problem. They’ve also collaborated on video showing the new digital tools NuVoodoo is leveraging to get maximum effectiveness from every promotional dollar.
Just 16 months after Olivia Rodrigo shot to stardom with the smash single “drivers license,” the teen phenom was the top winner at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, which were held Sunday (May 15) at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Billboard reports Rodrigo won seven awards, one of the strongest showings by a new artist in BBMA history. The R&B group Next won eight awards in 1998, as did R&B star Ashanti in 2002. Rodrigo’s haul included top Billboard 200 album for her debut, Sour. This marks the third consecutive year that a debut album has received this top award. Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? won two years ago. Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon won last year.
Ye (formerly Kanye West) won six awards, more than any other male artist this year. He swept the gospel and Christian categories, taking top artist, top album and top song in both genres. This brings Ye’s career BBMA total to 17, which puts him in a tie with Eminem for seventh place on the all-time BBMA leaderboard. Ye won top gospel artist for a record third year. He also took top gospel song for a record third time and top gospel album for a record second time. (The gospel awards originated in 2016.)
The three artists with the most career BBMA honors each won multiple awards on the night, which allows them to retain their win, place and show rankings. Drake won five awards, upping his total to 34. Taylor Swift won four, advancing her total to 29. Justin Bieber won five, hiking his total to 26.
➤CLICK HERE: Full List of The 2022 Billboard Music Awards Winners
The Wrap reports the BBMAs showcased stellar performances from this year’s Icon Award honoree Mary J. Blige, the Grammy-winning R&B duo Silk Sonic (who took home the awards for Top R&B Song for “Leave the Door Open”) and Ed Sheeran, who took to the stage halfway across the world from Belfast, where he is currently on tour.
The show was also noteworthy for having the first televised performance by rapper Travis Scott since the deadly crowd crush at his Astroworld festival in Houston last November. And not only a performance by Morgan Wallen — who had been dropped from his recording contract and forced to cancel a tour early last year after using the N-word while partying in Nashville – but he also won for Top Country Male Artist.
Authorities said Sunday that the mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket a day earlier that left 10 people dead and three injured and that officials say was racially motivated is being investigated as a potential federal hate crime or act of domestic terrorism. The suspect, white 18-year-old Payton Gendron, who surrendered to police, is accused of traveling some 200 miles from his home in Conklin, New York, to carry out the attack in an area where he'd researched that a lot of Black people lived. Of the 13 people he's alleged to have shot inside and just outside the Tops Friendly Market, in an attack the shooter livestreamed on Twitch, 11 of them were Black and two were white. Screenshots appeared to show the n-word scrawled on his rife. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said Sunday, "This individual came here with the express purpose of taking as many Black lives as he possibly could." Authorities are still working to confirm the authenticity of a 180-page manifesto purportedly written by Gendron in which he described a racist ideology and said he wanted to terrorize non-white and non-Christian people and get them to leave the country.
Gendron Past Incident: Law enforcement officials said yesterday that New York State Police troopers had been called to Gendron's high school last June after a report that he'd made threatening comments, with AP citing a source as saying he threatened to carry out a shooting at Susquehanna Valley High School in Conklin. He was hospitalized for a day and a half for a mental health evaluation, but he was never charged with a crime and had nor further contact with police.
Aaron Salter, a retired BPD officer, was working security at Tops yesterday and tried to protect the innocent. He was murdered by the gunman. This is what a hero looks like. pic.twitter.com/8Bk0WieUYW
The Victims: Among those killed, all of whom were over age 50 except for one victim, was the store's security guard, 55-year-old retired Buffalo police officer Aaron Salter. Salter fired multiple times at the shooter, but the attacker was wearing body armor and the shots were ineffective, and the shooter then killed the former officer. Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia called Salter "a true hero." (More information on the victims: https://nyti.ms/39WdtGF)
Buffalo residents come together at vigils honoring those killed in a racist mass shooting at a supermarket. https://t.co/30fmliQS0h
Biden on Attack: President Biden addressed the mass shooting while speaking at an annual law enforcement ceremony in Washington Sunday, saying, "We must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America. Our hearts are heavy once again, but the resolve must never, ever waver." The White House said Biden will visit Buffalo on Tuesday.
➤MAN OPENS FIRE AT CALIFORNIA CHURCH, KILLING ONE, BEFORE STOPPED BY PARISHONERS: A man opened fire during a lunch reception at a church in Laguna Woods, California, yesterday, killing one person and wounding five, four of them critically, before he was stopped and hog-tied by parishioners. The suspect, who is an Asian man in his 60s, was taken into custody by police. A motive wasn't immediately known, but investigators said they don't believe the gunman lives in the community. Most of the people in the Geneva Presbyterian Church were believed to be of Taiwanese descent. Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said of the people who stopped and hog-tied the suspect, "That group of churchgoers displayed what we believe is exceptional heroism and bravery in intervening to stop the suspect."
For almost 80 days Ukrainians have repelled Russian attempts to take Kharkiv while the city's residents shelter underground https://t.co/7ya5OuMTDO
➤RUSSIA BOGGED DOWN IN UKRAINE; SWEDEN TAKES STEPS TO JOIN NATO: Russia's progress in eastern Ukraine has slowed down to very slow advances as its forces have gotten bogged down, according to both Ukraine and Western military officials. As top NATO diplomats met in Berlin yesterday, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the war, quote, "is not going as Moscow had planned," stating, "Ukraine can win this war."
The Ukrainian military said it held off a renewed Russian offensive in the Donetsk area and near the city of Izyum, and that it up blew up two railway bridges that had been seized by Russian forces in the Luhansk region. Britain’s Defense Ministry said the Russian army had lost up to one-third of the combat strength it committed to Ukraine when it invaded and was failing to gain any substantial territory. However, Russia continued its assault, hitting a chemical plant and 11 high-rise buildings in Siverodonetsk over the weekend, and destroying "military infrastructure facilities” in western Ukraine, near the border with Poland.
Top diplomats from NATO met in Berlin with the alliance's chief and declared that the war "is not going as Moscow had planned." https://t.co/mIRmzRvs4r
Meanwhile, Finland, which borders Russia, announced Sunday that it was seeking to join NATO, and Sweden's governing party hours later endorsed its own request to to join NATO too. However, questions arose about the two nations' bids when NATO member Turkey raised concerns.
➤FETTERMAN, LEADING DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE IN PENNSYLVANIA, SUFFER STROKE: Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, who is the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in the state, revealed Sunday that he'd suffered a stroke, the news coming just two days before Tuesday's primary election. The 52-year-old said, however, that it's not slowing his campaign effort, and his campaign said he was on his way to a, quote, "fully recovery." A spokesperson said that Fetterman's wife had noticed he didn't look right on Friday morning and he began slurring his speech so he was taken to the hospital. Fetterman said, "I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long." He said the doctors were able to remove the clot, which he said reversed the stroke, and got his heart under control. He said in a statement, "The good news is I’m feeling much better, and the doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage." He didn't say how much longer he'd be in the hospital, but stated, "Our campaign isn’t slowing down one bit, and we are still on track to win this primary on Tuesday, and flip this Senate seat in November."
🛫U.S. AIRLINES DEALING WITH PILOT SHORTAGE: U.S. airlines are dealing with their worst pilot shortage in recent memory, and it's coming at a time when people are back to flying in full force, but they're having to cut flights because there aren't enough pilots. Some potential solutions being eyed are raising the federally-mandated retirement age for pilots from 65 to 67 or higher, reducing flight-hour requirements to join a U.S. airline, and rethinking training programs to lower the barrier to entry. As an example, Delta and other big carriers dropped a four-year college degree from requirements for pilots. American Airlines is even selling bus tickets for some short routes. As with so many things, the problem has its roots in the pandemic, which stopped pilot hiring as training and licensing slowed. Additionally, airlines gave early retirement packages to thousands of pilots and other employees to cut labor costs when few passengers were flying at the worst of the pandemic.
➤STUDY..HUMANS MAY HAVE EVOLVED TO SHOW SIGNS OF STRESS TO EVOKE SUPPORT FROM OTHERS: Showing signs of stress seems to have an upside. University of Portsmouth researchers found showing signs of stress made a person appear more likable and prompted others to act more positively towards them. Dr. Jamie Whitehouse explains, “If producing these behaviors leads to positive social interactions from others who want to help, rather than negative social interactions from those who want to compete with you, then these behaviors are likely to be selected in the evolutionary process. We are a highly cooperative species compared to many other animals, and this could be why behaviors which communicate weakness were able to evolve.”
➤KENDALL JENNER RESPONDS TO VIRAL VIDEO OF HER CUTTING A CUCUMBER: In the most recent episode of The Kardashians, Kendall Jenner seems to have a hard time slicing a cucumber—even crossing her arms at one point to chop the vegetable. Fans couldn’t help but notice. "Kendall Jenner trying to cut a f----- cucumber is the most tragic thing I've ever witnessed," one fan wrote. Jenner retweeted the post on Thursday along with the caption, “Tragic!”
➤TOO MANY NSAIDS, STEROIDS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO CHRONIC BACK PAIN: Using certain medications to treat back pain could actually backfire. A new study finds that persistent use of NSAIDs, like ibuprofen, and steroids to treat acute lower back pain may actually turn it into a chronic condition. McGill University researchers based their findings on observations of patients, an analysis of a large patient database, and an animal study. Lead researcher Dr. Luda Diatchenko says the study results suggest we “need to think further about how to treat our patients.” Some researchers not involved in the study express concern that it was not a clinical trial, which is the gold standard of medical research.
🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from second-round games yesterday:
Boston Celtics 109, Milwaukee Bucks 81 - Boston wins series 4-3
🏀CELTICS, DALLAS ADVANCE TO CONFERENCE FINALS: The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks both won the deciding Game 7 of their second-round playoffs series yesterday to advance to the NBA conference finals. The Celtics defeated the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks 109-81, led by Grant Williams' career-high 27 points and seven three-pointers, as Boston set a Game 7 record with 22 three-pointers. Boston will play the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Dallas routed the Phoenix Suns 123-90, led by Luka Doncic's 35 points and Spencer Dinwiddie's 30 points. They will face the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
🏒RANGERS, FLAMES GET GAME 7 OT WINS TO MAKE SECOND ROUND: The New York Rangers and Calgary Flames both got Game 7 wins in overtime yesterday to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs. The Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3, with Artemi Panarin scoring the winning goal at 4:46 into overtime. New York will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Calgary downed the Dallas Stars 3-2, with Johnny Gaudreau making the winning goal at 15:09 into overtime. The Flames will play the Edmonton Oilers in the second round.
⚾PIRATES BEAT REDS 1-0 WITHOUT GETTING ANY HITS: The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 at home on Sunday, but they did it without getting a single hit. The Pirates got their lone run in the bottom of the eighth inning on three walks and a groundout, and while starter Hunter Greene and reliever Art Warren combined to not allow a hit, it didn’t count as a no-hitter because they didn't go at least nine innings. Pittsburgh's win was just the sixth time in MLB history since 1901 that a team won without getting a hit, with it last happening in 2008.
🌞RECORD-HIGH TEMPS PLAGUE SOUTH: Dozens of record-high temperatures are expected to be broken across the South this week as temperatures remain in the 90s and 100s. Many areas across the South have had daytime high temperatures in the 90s for more than a week, and it looks as though that trend will continue at least for another week. Records could be broken from California and Nevada across the Southwest, Southern Plains, along the Gulf Coast and into the Southeast. Areas that saw temperatures between 100-105 degrees on Sunday will still be feeling the heat on Monday. Las Vegas, Yuma, and Del Rio will again see temperatures at or above 100 degrees.
Gen Z consumers may be at the vanguard of a lasting shift in news consumption, with teens leading the way. Mobile devices, news alerts and notifications, and social media feeds are central to keeping young people engaged with social issues and current events.
Teens in the Gen Z cohort (those aged 14–19) consume more news than their Gen Z adult counterparts (those aged 20–25), according to Deloitte's Digital media trends survey. Roughly eight in 10 (78%) Gen Z teens get news or current events daily from at least one source, compared with 69% of Gen Z adults and 84% of consumers across all generations.
Gen Z teens favor social and digital news formats, with about half of this group saying they get news daily from social media feeds or messaging services and 40% getting news daily from search engines (see figure). These sources can offer more immediate, interactive, and engaging news experiences than traditional sources, like TV news or newspapers.
Gen Zs’ engagement with news aligns with research showing young people are concerned about a range of pressing societal issues, including climate change, unemployment, and health care. Additionally, the terms “news” and “current events” may be more broadly defined for these digital natives who have no memory of a world without smartphones or the internet. News content for this cohort could encompass entertainment, sports, or social justice news (in addition to strictly political news) and reach beyond “traditional” news sources to include formats like smartphone notifications.
Indeed, Deloitte's survey indicates mobile devices enable this engagement and serve as a gateway to news and information for young people: 66%of Gen Z teens who follow news or current events say most of the news they consume is from alerts and notifications on their mobile devices, compared with a slightly smaller share of Gen Z adults. More than half of the Gen Z news consumers (teens and adults) say they consume news on their smartphones exclusively.
Still, about 40% of Gen Z teens watch TV news every day and the average teen consults two different news sources daily. While Gen Z consumers overall are less likely to prefer watching TV in general, some teens may be living at home with Millennial or Gen X parents, who are more likely to have a pay TV subscription and whose news habits influence them. Conversely, Gen Z adults—who are more likely to be in college, working, and living alone, and also less likely to have a pay TV subscription—average one news source daily.
Legendary NFL quarterback Drew Brees will not return to NBC after just one season as a studio and game analyst, according to The NY Post citing sources.
The decision seemed mutual as Brees preferred doing games over the “Football Night in America” studio show, and NBC didn’t have many NFL games to offer him. NBC soured on Brees’ potential after originally believing he could develop into the heir apparent to Cris Collinsworth on “Sunday Night Football” games.
After the story was published, Brees tweeted out a response:
Despite speculation from media about my future this fall, I’m currently undecided. I may work for NBC, I may play football again, I may focus on business and philanthropy, I may train for the pickleball tour, senior golf tour, coach my kids or all of the above. I’ll let you know
On the air, Brees, 43, had an up and down rookie season that was highlighted by a poor performance in his biggest broadcast of the year, the Bengals-Raiders playoff game.
While Brees is done with NBC, there is still a possibility he could end up in an NFL booth next year as Fox still has to fill its top game analyst positions for this year as Tom Brady won’t start until after he finishes playing.
