Saturday, March 24, 2018

March 25 Radio History


➦In 1918...sportscaster Howard Cosell was born. He died Apr. 23, 1995 at 77.

After the war, Cosell began practicing law in Manhattan, primarily union law. Some of his clients were actors, and some were athletes, including Willie Mays. Cosell's own hero in athletics was Jackie Robinson, who served as a personal and professional inspiration to him in his career. Cosell also represented the Little League of New York, when in 1953 an ABC Radio manager asked him to host a show on New York flagship WABC featuring Little League participants. The show marked the beginning of a relationship with WABC and ABC Radio that would last his entire broadcasting career.

Cosell hosted the Little League show for three years without pay, and then decided to leave the law field to become a full-time broadcaster. He approached Robert Pauley, President of ABC Radio, with a proposal for a weekly show. Pauley told him the network could not afford to develop untried talent, but he would be put on the air if he would get a sponsor. To Pauley's surprise, Cosell came back with a relative's shirt company as a sponsor, and "Speaking of Sports" was born.

Cosell took his "tell it like it is" approach when he teamed with the ex-Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher "Big Numba Thirteen" Ralph Branca on WABC's pre- and post-game radio shows of the New York Mets in their nascent years beginning in 1962. He pulled no punches in taking members of the hapless expansion team to task.


Otherwise on radio, Cosell did his show, Speaking of Sports, as well as sports reports and updates for affiliated radio stations around the country; he continued his radio duties even after he became prominent on television. Cosell then became a sports anchor at WABC-TV in New York, where he served in that role from 1961 to 1974. He expanded his commentary beyond sports to a radio show entitled "Speaking of Everything".

Cosell rose to prominence covering boxer Muhammad Ali, starting when he still fought under his birth name, Cassius Clay. The two seemed to have an affinity despite their different personalities, and complemented each other in broadcasts. Cosell was one of the first sportscasters to refer to the boxer as Muhammad Ali after he changed his name and supported him when he refused to be inducted into the military. Cosell was also an outspoken supporter of Olympic sprinters John Carlos and Tommie Smith after they raised their fists in a "black power" salute during their 1968 medal ceremony. In a time when many sports broadcasters avoided touching social, racial, or other controversial issues, and kept a certain level of collegiality towards the sports figures they commented on, Cosell did not, and indeed built a reputation around his catchphrase, "I'm just telling it like it is."

Cosell's style of reporting very much transformed sports broadcasting. Whereas previous sportscasters had mostly been known for color commentary and lively play-by-play, Cosell had an intellectual approach. His use of analysis and context arguably brought television sports reporting very close to the kind of in-depth reporting one expected from "hard" news reporters. At the same time, however, his distinctive staccato voice, accent, syntax, and cadence were a form of color commentary all their own.

➦In 1943...Jimmy Durante (actor/singer/comedian) & Garry Moore (actor/comedian/game show host) had their radio debut. They teamed for The Durante-Moore Show . Durante's comic chemistry with the young, brushcut Moore brought Durante an even larger audience.



"Dat's my boy dat said dat!" became an instant catchphrase. The duo became one of the nation's favorites for the rest of the decade, including a well-reviewed Armed Forces Radio Network command performance with Frank Sinatra that remains a favorite of radio collectors today.

Moore left in mid-1947, and the program returned October 1, 1947 as The Jimmy Durante Show. Durante worked in radio for three years after Moore's 1947 departure.



➦In 1958…Reporting to Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas by bus after his military induction, Elvis Presley had his famous hair cut short by Army barber James Peterson. The pop icon was assigned to the Second Medium Tank Battalion of the 2nd Armored Division, the "Hell On Wheels" division once led by General George Patton, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

➦In 1967…At the RKO 58th Street Theatre in New York City, the Who and Cream made their American debuts at Murray the K's Easter Show.
  
➦In 1968...actor Douglas Evans, who was an announcer at LA’s KFI Radio in the 30’s, and appeared in more than 100 movies, died in Hollywoood at age 65.



➦In 1971…New York's WNBC became the first U.S. radio station to ban Brewer and Shipley's hit "One Toke Over The Line" because of alleged marijuana references in the song's lyrics.



➦In 1979...personality Joe Montione started at 93 KHJ in L-A

➦In 1982…Humorist/radio and television writer (Milton Berle, Perry Como)/radio actor (Easy Aces and other programs with his wife Jane)/Radio Hall of Famer Goodman Ace died at age 83.

➦In 1998...Bernard Meltzer WOR 710 AM died.

Bernard Meltzer
His advice call-in show, "What's Your Problem?," aired from 1967 until the mid-1990s on stations WCAU-AM and WPEN-AM in Philadelphia, WOR-AM and WEVD-AM in New York and in national syndication on NBC Talknet.

A city planner by training, with a civil engineering degree from City College of New York and a master's degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Meltzer moved from a career as a Philadelphia expert in urban problems to a radio host on WCAU. In 1973 Meltzer's show moved to WOR in New York.

Meltzer's show provided counsel on a wide range of quandaries, ranging from financial to personal: callers were as likely to ask about family crises, parenting issues and romantic problems as they were to ask about plumbing, home improvement or investment problems.

Segments were often bracketed by Meltzer delivering aphorisms or reciting moralizing poetry ("What shall we do with grandma, now that she's old and gray?") in his distinctive smooth, soothing, quiet voice. His show at one time held the highest ratings among adults in his time slot. Thanks to a doctoral degree earned by correspondence from an unaccredited university, listeners usually referred to him as "Doctor Meltzer."

Meltzer learned he had Parkinson's Disease around 1985, continuing on WOR until a brief final stint on WEVD in the 1990s.

His favorite saying was: "Courts are made for judges and lawyers". Another favorite, used to provide some comfort to callers and listeners, was: "The good people in this world far outnumber the bad."

➦In 2006…Country music singer/songwriter/TV co-host (Hee Haw)/radio station owner (KNIX AM & FM-Phoenix, KUZZ-FM-Bakersfield, California)/Country Music Hall of Famer Buck Owens died of a heart attack at 76.

➦In 2015…Radio veteran (WSGN, WERC) John Ed Willoughby, a popular morning show personality in Birmingham, Alabama for 37 years, partnered with Tommy Charles and then Doug Layton, died at age 80.

Seattle Radio: Country KNUC Fills Midday Time Slot

Seth Hughes
Hubbard Radio Seattle announces their new Midday personality, Seth Hughes, at Country KNUC 98.9 FM.

Hughes said, “For as long as I can remember it was a dream of mine to play country music on the radio in Seattle. 12 years ago, I travelled across the country to make that dream and so many others come true. Thanks to Lisa Adams, Marc Kaye and Greg Strassell for helping me keep the dream alive. To start a new job with a company as respected as Hubbard and NOT have to even smell the inside of a Uhaul trailer is truly a blessing. I’m so excited to start the Country 98.9 chapter of my life.”

“How cool is it that I get to work with one of the premier country talents in the nation! Seth is going to own Middays in Seattle! I’m looking forward to his experience and creativity as our country family grows!” Says Lisa Adams, Program Director of KNUC.

Hughes most recently spent time in the Afternoon and Morning Drive slots at the former KMPS 94.1 FM. Prior to that, he helped launch KKWF in 2006 where he was the APD and afternoon drive host after moving to the Pacific Northwest from Vermont where he held positions in the programming and production fields for 16 years.

Triad NC Radio: Clay Walker New PD At WPAW

Clay Walker
Entercom and its Greensboro, NC station WPAW 93.1 The Wolf have announced the promotion of Clay Walker to Program Director.

Clay was previously the Digital Integration Director and Assistant Program Director for the station. Previous Program Director Dale O’Brian, who held the role 1 year, stepped down from his role to spend more time with his family and focus on hosting the morning show.

“Clay Walker is a dyed-in-the-wool radio fanatic, interested in every aspect of the business,” said Brent Millar, Senior Vice President, Market Manager, Entercom Greensboro.

“He has long dreamed of having the opportunity to program and has devoted himself to doing his best to be ready when that time comes. It has come and we are proud to have him on the team. I also want to thank Dale for breathing new life into The Wolf, as proven by our very impressive 2016 versus 2017 ratings growth. We’re all very glad to know that Dale will continue to lead the ‘Wake Up with the Wolf’ morning show.”

WPAW 93.1 FM (100 Kw) Red=Local Coverage
Walker has been a part of WPAW-FM for 11 years. During this time, he conceptualized and executed Entercom’s CMA Award coverage, and the company’s “Count on Country Giving Tuesday” broadcast, in addition to album launch specials and digital initiatives.

ESPN Assailed For Multimillion$ Salaries For Get-Up Hosts

Mike Greenberg, Michelle Beadle, Jalen Rose
ESPN is under fire for a new morning show that will reportedly pay its hosts multimillion-dollar salaries on the heels of recent layoffs at the network.

“Get Up!” will be hosted by Mike Greenberg, Michelle Beadle and former NBA star Jalen Rose. A glowing feature in The Hollywood Reporter, headlined, “ESPN Plans to Wake up Woke with New Morning Show,” recently revealed that the program would dabble in politics while offering a whopping $14.5 million in combined salaries for the three co-hosts, according to Fox News.

Syndicated talk-radio host and author Clay Travis brought the lofty salaries to the attention of his followers with an explosive monologue on his “Outkick the Show” program on Thursday. Travis said there was “no way” ESPN can justify paying $14.5 million to three hosts when the company has been plagued by layoffs.

“These are some of the craziest salaries I’ve ever seen,” Travis said.


According to THR’s Marisa Guthrie, Greenberg will be paid $6.5 million, Beadle will earn $5 million and Rose will take home $3 million per year. ESPN is also constructing a studio at Manhattan's South Street Seaport.

“This is an intriguing financial decision. … I am all in favor of guys, and girls, making as much money in our industry as they possible can,” Travis said. “I’m not sure there has ever been a more over-paid member of the sports media in the history of sports on television than Michelle Beadle.”

ESPN declined comment when asked to confirm the salaries.

Travis focused his outrage on Beadle, pointing to her failed stint as an NBC Sports host, while mentioning that Greenberg’s two decades on ESPN Radio could possibly justify his inflated salary.

ESPN laid off somey 250 employees in 2017, according to Sports Illustrated. The staffers let go included on-air talent, in addition to producers, executives and tech workers.

ESPN has come under fire in recent memory for a variety of situations that have left some viewers feeling that the network has a liberal bias. During a recent shareholder meeting for ESPN’s parent company, Disney, a frustrated investor told CEO Bob Iger that ESPN had become a “24/7 anti-Trump tirade channel.”


ESPN's “Get Up!” will air on Weekdays, 7-10 a.m. ET, starting on April 2.

NAB Show To Feature FCC Commissioners

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Michael O'Rielly, Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel will participate in four separate sessions at NAB Show, April 7 – 12 in Las Vegas.

Chairman Pai will deliver remarks at the “We Are Broadcasters Celebration” Tuesday, April 10, 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. The event celebrates local radio and television stations' vital role in communities and ongoing commitment to innovation that enables broadcasters to better serve listeners and viewers.

Designated FCC chairman by President Donald Trump in January 2017, Pai subscribes to a regulatory philosophy centered on innovation, investment, creating better products and services, lowering prices, job creation, and economic growth. He had previously served as commissioner at the FCC, appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in May 2012.

Commissioners O'Rielly, Carr and Rosenworcel will address three separate sessions within the NAB Show Business of Broadcast (BoB) Conference, April 8 - 11. The conference brings together radio and television station management executives and digital professionals to examine broadcast and digital business models and practices, and provides insight on regulatory and legislative issues impacting radio and television.

MLB Phillies Game To Stream, Radio Only

For the first time ever, NBC Sports Philadelphia will broadcast a Phillies game exclusively online and not on television.

According to philly.com, the Phillies’ April 3 road game against the New York Mets will only be available through the network’s website and mobile apps. This is because the game is at 7:10 p.m., and the 76ers and Flyers both play at the same hour. NBC Sports’ two local sports cable channels were already booked with those games.

“It’s becoming pretty standard to [fans] to consume games through streaming as opposed to only on linear [television],” NBC Sports Philadelphia president Brian Monihan said. He noted that Flyers games this season have averaged around 6,500 viewers per game online, and Sixers games around 11,000.

Monihan said there was discussion of putting the game on NBC10, which broadcasts some weekday afternoon and weekend night games over the air, But NBC’s national network is broadcasting a new edition of its popular music competition show The Voice that night, and that gets priority.

NBC10’s secondary digital channel Cozi TV — which is on many local cable systems, and is broadcast over the air as channel 10.2 — is available. Cozi TV carried an Eagles preseason game this past August that was also televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Monihan said once the better-known channels were off the board, his group decided on the online-only broadcast.

“We felt like it was a good chance to try out this platform,” he said. “We know that while streaming has gotten easier, we’re going to be very active leading up to this game letting everybody know how they can watch.”

The Phillies game will be kept behind NBC Sports Philadelphia’s TV provider authentication wall, which means it will only be available to cable TV subscribers who get NBC Sports Philadelphia in their subscriptions. You will have to sign in with your TV provider account to watch the game, as you would any other Phillies or Flyers or 76ers game on the channel’s website.

The game will be available on the radio via all of the Phillies’ radio outlets, including flagship station WIP 94.1 FM.

CBS, Viacom Merger Discussions Set To Accelerate


Board members from CBS Corp. and Viacom are expected to meet as soon as next week to begin discussions on the valuations of both companies for a possible merger.

Variety reports executives at both media companies have been hip-deep in crunching numbers and preparing financial data to guide the discussions between the members of the special committees assembled to consider options for a CBS-Viacom reunion. The deal is expected to be structured as an all-stock transaction with CBS as the acquiring entity and CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves leading the combined entity. The valuation of Viacom is seen as the biggest hurdle that the sides will have to navigate.

Reps for CBS and Viacom declined to comment. The two companies were brought together by media mogul Sumner Redstone in a merger in 2000 but were split up again six years later out of Redstone’s frustration at a sagging stock price. Redstone’s National Amusements has firm control of both companies through his preferred voting shares. National Amusements, now steered by CBS and Viacom vice chair Shari Redstone, the mogul’s daughter, has been pushing the sides to recombine in the face of the overall upheaval in the global media landscape.

The Wall Street Journal reports CBS is clearly eager to ramp up its international presence. It acquired Australia’s Network Ten last year, and plans to roll out its streaming services, CBS All Access and Showtime, in Canada, Australia and Europe. Viacom’s international infrastructure could help sell CBS content in key markets overseas—an obvious revenue synergy that goes overlooked if the international business isn’t appreciated.

In fact, the strategy Viacom has deployed abroad—using local broadcast networks to leverage its flagship brands, like Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central—could be a model for merging CBS content with Viacom’s distribution capabilities.

Lawmakers Want Zuckerberg To Testify

For the past week, Mark Zuckerberg has grappled with a backlash from lawmakers, regulators and users over Facebook’s mishandling of data privacy. And now, The NYTimes reports he has also had to face another restive group: his own employees.

The Facebook chief executive has taken multiple steps over the past few days to communicate with the social network’s 25,000 employees over revelations last week that a British political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, had improperly obtained data of 50 million Facebook users.

The Silicon Valley company held a staff meeting on Tuesday to answer questions about Cambridge Analytica, featuring one of Facebook’s lawyers, Paul Grewal. On Wednesday afternoon, Zuckerberg addressed employees directly, according to two Facebook employees who asked not be identified because the proceedings were confidential. Zuckerberg also spoke with staff on Friday at a regularly scheduled employee meeting, said two people who attended the event.

Speaking to Facebook’s employees was a crucial prong of what has become an apology tour of sorts for Mr. Zuckerberg over the Cambridge Analytica fallout. The revelations have raised calls for Mr. Zuckerberg to appear before Congress to explain himself, as well as a #DeleteFacebook movement and other criticism.

Zuckerberg had stayed silent on the matter for days, until he released a statement on Wednesday vowing that Facebook had to do better and gave several interviews to quell the crisis. That has not stopped pressure from Congress, with bipartisan leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee saying on Friday that they had sent a formal request for Zuckerberg to appear in a hearing over Facebook’s “harvesting and sale of personal information” related to Cambridge Analytica.

Former PBS Host Tavis Smiley Denies New Allegations

PBS says more witnesses have detailed sexual misconduct allegations against talk-show host Tavis Smiley, who was suspended in December and later fired, according to The Chicago Tribune.

In papers filed in Washington, D.C., Superior Court in response to a breach-of-contract lawsuit by Smiley, PBS said the witnesses spoke to an independent investigator and corroborated initial accounts that Smiley had established a pattern of sexual relationships with subordinates.

The filing Tuesday also said he subjected subordinates to unwanted sexual advances — including requests for specific sex acts — and made lewd jokes.

"Over a dozen individuals reported that they were either subjected to or witnessed unwelcome, inappropriate sexual comments or conduct or otherwise inappropriate behavior by Mr. Smiley or were informed of the misconduct contemporaneously," the court filing said.

Smiley and his representatives stuck by their denials.

"More lies, half- truths and smears from PBS from an 'investigation' that never should have happened, with a result that was decided well before the inquiry was even begun," they said Friday in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

Many of the witnesses were women of color, the documents say, pushing back against comments from Smiley, who is black, that racial bias was involved in his firing.

At the time of his suspension, Smiley acknowledged having had a sexual relationship with a colleague but said he had done nothing to deserve the "public humiliation and personal destruction" he was undergoing.

Smiley's lawsuit, which seeks "multiple millions" in damages, also alleged that the PBS investigation was shoddy and poorly executed, and his dismissal was hasty.

PBS, in the answer and counterclaim, says those assertions in televised interviews after his suspension constituted a breach of contract by Smiley, who had agreed not to cast aspersions on his employer.

The network is seeking $1.9 million in returned salary from Smiley.

FL Student Activist: Clear Backpacks Violate 1A


Parkland, Fla.'s David Hogg, whose become famous for his calls for restrictions on the Second Amendment, is attacking new rules governing students' backpacks as an unconstitutional abridgement of their First Amendment rights.

Hogg appeared Friday at a gun control forum with Axios's Mike Allen, where he complained about new rules at Stoneman Douglas High School requiring students use transparent backpacks.

"One of the other important things to realize is many students want their privacy," Hogg said. "There are many, for example, females in our school that when they go through their menstrual cycle, they don’t want people to see their tampons and stuff."

Hogg said going to school under such rules feels like a "prison."



"It’s unnecessary, it’s embarrassing for a lot of the students and it makes them feel isolated and separated from the rest of American school culture where they’re having essentially their First Amendment rights infringed upon because they can’t freely wear whatever backpack they want regardless of what it is," Hogg continued. "It has to be a clear backpack. What we should have is just more policies that make sure that these students are feeling safe and secure in their schools and not like they’re being fought against like it’s a prison.”

Meanwhile, The Outline interviewed David Hogg, a 17-year old survivor of the shooting in Parkland, Florida, who says he is the NRA's "worst nightmare." Hogg's interview was laced with profanity against his detractors, Gov. Rick Scott, the NRA, old people and others.

Hogg said he became an activist because adults don't know how to "use a f*cking democracy":

"When your old-ass parent is like, ‘I don’t know how to send an iMessage,’ and you’re just like, ‘Give me the fucking phone and let me handle it.’ Sadly, that’s what we have to do with our government; our parents don’t know how to use a fucking democracy, so we have to."


An edited down version of this clip was removed by YouTube as harrassment after it was linked by the Drudge Report.

Report: Taylor Swift Supports March


Taylor Swift took to Instagram on Friday to share her support for gun-control reform, according to BusinessInsider.

The pop singer, who has largely abstained from sharing her political views in the past, announced in the post that she had donated to the March for Our Lives campaign started by student activists in the wake of the Parkland school shooting last month.

"No one should have to go to school in fear of gun violence. Or to a nightclub. Or to a concert. Or to a movie theater. Or to their place of worship," Swift wrote in the post.

"I've made a donation to show my support for the students, for the March For Our Lives campaign, for everyone affected by these tragedies, and to support gun reform," she continued. "I'm so moved by the Parkland High School students, faculty, by all families and friends of victims who have spoken out, trying to prevent this from happening again."

Former PA News Anchor Files Retaliation Complaint

Flora Posteraro
Flora Posteraro, the former WHTM ABC27 News anchor in Harrisburg PA whose dismissal has roiled the midstate's social media world, has now filed sex discrimination and retaliation complaints against her former employer.

Posteraro, a complaint to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission confirms, lost her job March 12 after refusing an involuntary transfer to a weekend anchor / reporting beat.

That information jibes with reports PennLive had received in interviews with other people familiar with Posteraro's situation this week.

But Posteraro alleged this week her reassignment took place only after, and in retaliation for, her participation in an August complaint to the station's human resources offices about the station's general manager, Robert Bee.

Bee arrived at WHTM, the Harrisburg, Lancaster, York market's ABC affiliate, in January 2017, shortly after the station was acquired by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., of Irving, Texas.

In that internal complaint, which is also referenced in Posteraro's case, Bee is accused of making several disparaging comments about women in the news department. They included:
  • References to one female anchor as a "mean bitch."
  • Telling a former news director that one of the station's female reporters looked like a "fat pig" on the air.
  • Making unspecified racial and sexist comments about the station's morning anchors, and
  • Describing women who did not follow his restrictive dress code as "street walkers."
Another triggering event, according to Posteraro's complaint, was an ongoing campaign by Bee to get female on-air talent to stop wearing sleeveless dresses because, "no one wants to look at flabby arms."

Aside from the work environment claims referenced above, the complaint notes male on-air staff at WHTM were treated differently in respect to wardrobe issues, and scheduling.


Posteraro alleges in her PHRC complaint that when she was offered a new, two-year contract on Jan. 31, 2018, it contained the same rate of pay but a demotion from her longstanding position as anchor of abc27's noon and 5 p.m. weekday newscasts.

Posteraro filed a second internal complaint with Nexstar on Feb. 5, in which she claimed her demotion "was retaliation for her objections to Bee's treatment of female employees."

Russell Simmons Hit With New $10M Suit


Music Mogul Russell Simmons is facing another rape allegation and a $10 million lawsuit.

In court documents filed and obtained by The NYPost's Page Six on Friday, a woman accused the disgraced hip-hop mogul, 60, of sexually assaulting her in a hotel room and threatening to rape her son if she didn’t comply.

The woman, referred to only as Jane Doe in the suit, says she and her elementary school-aged son were attending a concert in Sacramento for an artist who worked with the Def Jam founder, when he invited them to go backstage. She then accompanied Simmons to his hotel bar and a nightclub after dropping off her son with a babysitter.

The woman claims she later returned with Simmons — who has been at the center of sexual assault accusations for months — to his hotel, but says he assured her he wasn’t interested in having sex with her, as he was in a relationship with a “well-known” model. But after “reluctantly” joining him in his room, she claims he shut the door and told her, “I am going to f–k you.”

“[The] Plaintiff said she had no intention of having sexual relations with Simmons — but he replied ‘I am going to f–k you or I’m going to f–k your son. You decide,'” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

She alleges that he threw her on the bed and raped her. She is now seeking at least $10 million in damages over allegations of forcible rape and emotional distress.

Spotify: 2M Listeners Blocking Ads For Free

Spotify says that about 2 million of its users have been accessing the ad-free version of its music-streaming service by using unauthorized apps, highlighting a potential revenue risk for the soon-to-be public company.

According to The NYPost, the freeloaders — who represented 1.3 percent of its previously reported total user base — are still using third-party apps to gain free access to Spotify’s premium service, the Swedish-based company said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

Spotify warned that the freeloaders may result in “key performance indicators” being “overstated” which “could cause our stock price to drop significantly.”

The news comes as Spotify earlier this week filed for a non-traditional direct listing of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The direct listing, slated for April 3, will allow investors and employees to sell shares without Spotify raising new capital or hiring a Wall Street bank or broker to underwrite the offering

March 24 Radio History



➦In 1925...radio station KSL of Salt Lake City, Utah, took over the airwaves at AM 1160.  As of 1932 its 50,000 watt signal would become one of the most widely heard across western North America.

➦In 1932...the first Radio transmission from a moving train occurred as Belle Baker hosted a radio variety program on WABC-AM.



➦In 1935...In 1935, Major Bowes’ Original “Amateur Hour” went national on the NBC Radio Network, after a year airing locally on WHN New York. In 1952, the show, now hosted by Ted Mack, made it to NBC-TV. It would run on various networks until 1970.

➦In 1945... Billboard begins publishing its first album chart. The first Number One: A Collection Of Favorites by Nat King Cole.



➦In 1958...At 6:35 a.m., Elvis Presley reported to Local Draft Board 86 in Memphis, accompanied by his parents, Gladys and Vernon, as well as longtime friend Lamar Fike. Elvis and 12 other recruits were soon bused to Kennedy Veterans Memorial Hospital and inducted into the U.S. Army, where starting pay was $78 a month.

➦In 1968…Announcer Howard Petrie died at age 61.

Howard Petrie
After he graduated from Somerville High School in 1924, Petrie worked briefly as a bank clerk and a securities salesman. While on a sales call to a radio station, his sonorous bass voice landed him a job. He joined WBZ Radio in Boston in 1929 as a junior announcer. After ten months at the WBZ studios, Petrie left for New York City in June, 1930 where he joined the staff of NBC. Petrie soon became the head announcer for many of the network's shows. His first major network assignment was on Everything Goes, starring Garry Moore. He was the announcer for scores of shows including Abbie's Irish Rose, Big Sister, Camel Caravan, Blondie, The Ray Bolger Show, The Judy Canova Show, The Jimmy Durante Show, and The Garry Moore Show.





➦In 1977...Jean Shepherd did last show at WOR.

Jean Shepherd
Shepherd began his broadcast radio career on WSAI in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1948. From 1951 to 1953 he had a late-night broadcast on KYW in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after which he returned to Cincinnati for a show on WLW. After a stint on television, he returned to radio. "Shep," as he was known, settled in at WOR 719 AM  New York City on an overnight slot in 1956, where he delighted his fans by telling stories, reading poetry (especially the works of Robert W. Service), and organizing comedic listener stunts.

The most famous of the last involved creating a hoax about a non-existent book, I, Libertine, by the equally non-existent author "Frederick R. Ewing", in 1956. During a discussion on how easy it was to manipulate the best seller lists, which at that time were based not only on sales but demand, Shepherd suggested that his listeners visit bookstores and ask for a copy of I, Libertine which led to booksellers attempting to purchase the book from their distributors. Fans of the show eventually took it further, planting references to the book and author so widely that demand for the book led to it being listed on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Shepherd, Theodore Sturgeon and Betty Ballantine later wrote the actual book, with a cover painted by illustrator Frank Kelly Freas, published by Ballantine Books.

Throughout his radio career, he performed entirely without scripts. His friend and WOR colleague Barry Farber marveled at how he could talk so long with very little written down. Yet during a radio interview, Shepherd once claimed that some shows took several weeks to prepare.

He died October 16, 1999 at the age of 78.

In 2005, Shepherd was posthumously inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, and in November 2013 he was posthumously inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame




➦In 1980...Harry Harrison started at WCBS-FM in NYC


Ray Goulding, Bob Elliott
➦In 1990...Ray Goulding, personality at WINS, WHN, WOR died.

Bob Elliott (born 1923) and Ray Goulding (1922–1990) were an American comedy team whose career spanned five decades. Their format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, such as conducting radio or television interviews, with off-the-wall dialogue presented in a generally deadpan style as though it were a serious broadcast.

Elliott and Goulding began as radio announcers (Elliott a disc jockey, and Goulding a news reader) in Boston with their own separate programs on station WHDH-AM, and each would visit with the other while on the air. Their informal banter was so appealing that WHDH would call on them, as a team, to fill in when Red Sox baseball broadcasts were rained out. Elliott and Goulding (not yet known as Bob and Ray) would improvise comedy routines all afternoon, and joke around with studio musicians.

Elliott and Goulding's brand of humor caught on, and WHDH gave them their own weekday show in 1946. Matinee with Bob and Ray was originally a 15-minute show, soon expanding to half an hour. (When explaining why Bob was billed first, Goulding claimed that it was because "Matinee with Bob and Ray" sounded better than "Matinob with Ray and Bob".) Their trademark sign-off was "This is Ray Goulding reminding you to write if you get work"; "Bob Elliott reminding you to hang by your thumbs".



They continued on the air for over four decades on the NBC, CBS, and Mutual networks, and on New York City stations WINS, WOR, and WHN. From 1973 to 1976 they were the afternoon drive hosts on WOR, doing a four-hour show. In their last incarnation, they were heard on National Public Radio, ending in 1987.

Ray Goulding died of kidney failure at his home in Manhasset on New York's Long Island in 1990 at the age of 68.

Bob and Ray were inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995. Bob and Ray were inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in the radio division.

➦In 2005...Former WCCO Radio show host Jim Rogers has died at age 64. Rogers hosted various programs between 1982 to 1994 including "Jim Rogers at Large."


➦In 2016...Former CBC radio personality Jian Ghomeshi was aquitted of all charges in the first of two trials resulting from sexual assault allegations made by various women against the Toronto-based broadcaster.

➦In 2017…Longtime Detroit TV news anchor (WWJ, WXYZ, WJBK) Rich Fisher died of esophageal cancer at 67.

Friday, March 23, 2018

Nielsen: Millennials Prefer Pop CHR, Country

Nielsen reports he pace of change in the media landscape continues to nudge habits and consumer behavior month after month.

In the world of radio, we’ve been noting the impact of shifting habits and cyclical trends that appear consistently in the data and Nielsen’s February portable people meter (PPM) ratings give a chance to weigh those cycles—and changes—over a significant period of time.

Specifically, Nielsen can now compare eight years of monthly data across the same formats and demographics, going back to the completion of the rollout of electronic (PPM) measurement for radio, which happened in late 2010.

And as detailed last month, Adult Contemporary (AC) is off to a strong start in 2018, one of it’s strongest of all time since the advent of PPM measurement.




According to Nielsen, it is also revealing to shorten the scope and compare trends in January and February of last year with trends in the same months from this year. What’s more, the year-over-year changes for the top radio formats among Millennials (ages 18-34) offer some key insight into how the tastes of younger listeners are changing.



The table below compares the audience share in January and February combined between 2017 and 2018 for the top 10 most popular formats among Millennials. Pop Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) remains the top format, but tune-in has declined nearly a full share point in the past year. Hot AC and Urban Contemporary are also down, year-over-year, while AC, Alternative and Classic Hits are all up more significantly.

Nielsen Releases Final February PPMs


Nielsen on Thursday 3/22/18 released the final batch of February 2018 PPM Data for the following markets:

33 Austin

38 Raleigh-Durham NC

39 Indianapolis

41 Milwaukee-Racine

43 Nashville

44 Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket RI

45 Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News

46 Jacksonville FL

47 Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point NC

48 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton FL

51 Memphis

52 Hartford-New Britain-Middletown CT


Click Here To See Topline Numbers For Subscribing Nielsen Stations

CBS Sunday Morning To Air Segment On Don Imus


Pioneering radio shock jock Don Imus, who announced in January he was retiring after five decades on the air after the March 29 edition of WABC 770 AM’s “Imus in the Morning” show, has expressed admiration for Howard Stern, with whom he has had a contentious professional relationship.

Don Imus
“I would put Stern in there” among the top five radio broadcasters, Imus, 77, says in a television interview scheduled to air this weekend on “CBS Sunday Morning.”

The two had separate shows at WNBC 660 AM from 1982 to 1985, and were jointly promoted by the station with the marketing campaign “If We Weren’t So Bad, We Wouldn’t Be So Good.” Despite their rivalry, which included highly public feuds, Imus avers, “He had a big problem with me. I didn’t with him.”

According to Newsday, Imus says he regrets the controversial incident in April 2007, when he used racist and sexist terms on air to describe Rutgers University’s mostly African-American women’s basketball team. MSNBC subsequently dropped his television program, and CBS his syndicated radio show.

“It did change my feeling about making fun of some people who didn’t deserve to be made fun of and didn’t have a mechanism to defend themselves,” he tells “CBS Sunday Morning.”

CNN's Zucker Calls Fox News 'Propaganda Machine'

CNN chief Jeff Zucker didn’t mince words Thursday in sizing up the state of Fox News, calling the rival all-news cabler “state-run TV” and “a pure propaganda machine.”

Variety reports Zucker spoke at the Financial Times-hosted Future of News conference in New York. In discussing the general state of the cable TV marketplace, Zucker said he feels Fox News has taken a bad turn during the past two years with unquestioning coverage of the Trump administration. Even in the sharp elbows world of cable TV news, Zucker’s comments were surprisingly harsh as a blanket statement about a competitor.

“What has happened there in the last two years is somewhat shocking frankly. It really is state-run TV,” Zucker said in a Q&A with the Financial Times’ Matthew Garrahan. “It is a pure propaganda machine and I think it does an incredible disservice to this country.”



Zucker’s comments echoed the sentiment of former Fox News contributor Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, who resigned from his role at the network citing concerns about the quality of the journalism at Fox News.

“He said out loud what many have been saying about what Fox News has become,” Zucker said. “What has happened to that network in the last 18 months, especially in the last year, it has just turned itself over to state-run TV. Tass has nothing on them.”

Zucker allowed that Fox News has “a handful of really good journalists there but they are lost in what is a complete propaganda machine.”

Zucker declined to elaborate on his remarks when asked by Variety after the Q&A. Before he left the stage, however, he apologized to CNN PR chief Allison Gollust, who was in the audience.

Later in the day, Fox News Host Tucker Carlson responded.


Fox News’ Tucker Carlson went to war with CNN on Thursday over its president Jeff Zucker’s recent criticisms of Fox. Zucker accused Fox News of being “state-run TV” and called the cable news channel a “pure propaganda machine.”

Steve Bannon Rips Facebook, CNN

Steve Bannon
Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon on Thursday took aim at CNN and Facebook, defended his dishing in the White House tell-all “Fire and Fury,” and deflected questions about his involvement with the Cambridge Analytica firm at the center of the data breach controversy that has enveloped Facebook.

According to Variety, Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, said he was looking around for a possible next act in media but didn’t get specific. “A lot of people have been talking to me about different media things,” Bannon said. “This is a very difficult time in news. It’s a tough time in media.”

Later in the 40-minute conversation, Bannon expressed interest in “mobilizing a digital grassroots army in the United States –a think tank or something to weaponize ideas.”

Bannon painted Facebook as a menacing force and slammed CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has apologized for not taking steps to enforce privacy standards that allowed Cambridge Analytica to siphon up so much information about prospective voters.


Zuckerberg’s “entire business model is built on taking that data for free and monetizing it, and then writing algorithms on a wall that treat you like a hamster on a wheel,” Bannon said.

Earlier in the day, CNN Worldwide chief Jeff Zucker spoke at the conference and slammed Fox News for being too cozy with the Trump administration, calling it “a pure propaganda machine.”

Bannon responded: “You can’t name a more propaganda outfit than CNN. Did anybody at CNN get fired for the awful mess they made of the 2016 campaign, which was a disgrace to journalism? No. That is a propaganda outfit. Every night it’s hate Trump.”

RIAA: Streaming Fuels Music Industry Revenue

The music business grew by more than 16% last year to $8.7 billion, its highest level in a decade according to new figures released Thursday by the Recording Industry Assn. of America, the music industry trade organization.

As has been the case in the last several years, growth was led by increases in consumer spending on music streaming, which alone increased 43% over 2016 and now constitutes 65% of total music industry revenue, according to The LATimes citing the RIAA.

Revenue from streaming subscriptions topped $4 billion for the first time, "making it by far the biggest format of recorded music in the United States," the report stated.

Also noteworthy: "This is the first time since 1999 that U.S. music revenues grew materially for two years in a row," according to the report authored by Joshua P. Friedlander, RIAA's senior vice president of strategic data analysis.

"At $8.7 billion," the report continued, "the industry has taken a decade to return to the same overall revenue level as 2008 — and is still 40% below peak levels as the growth from streaming has been offset by continued declines in revenues from both physical and digital unit based sales."

Indeed, revenue from physical formats decreased again but only slightly, down 4% compared to the previous year. Within that category, vinyl continued its recent resurgence with an increase of 10% to $395 million, still a relatively small slice of the overall pie — under 5% of overall industry revenue for the year.

Sales of CDs, meanwhile, dropped 6% to $1.1 billion, and revenue from digital downloads was off by a considerably greater percentage, dropping 25% to $1.3 billion.

The RIAA pointed out that for the first time since 2011, the revenue from physical products exceeded the money generated by sales of digital downloads.

DOJ vs. AT&T: Future Of Media On Trial


Jeff Bewkes, chief executive of Time Warner, on Thursday laid out the case for why AT&T’s $85 billion acquisition of his company would be good for consumers.

“We want to give them better programming at lower prices,” he said.

NBC News reports Bewkes was speaking at the first day of opening statements in the high-profile court case between the companies and the U.S. Justice Department, which is attempting to block AT&T and Time Warner from becoming a media behemoth.

The core question is what impact the deal will have on regular Americans. Time Warner and AT&T have argued that together they can offer content — such as “Game of Thrones,” which Time Warner owns through HBO — to people for less money.

Government lawyers have argued the exact opposite.

On Thursday, government attorney Craig Conrath called the merger a "weapon of competition," explaining that bills could rise by as much as $400 million annually, or 45 cents per month, per consumer. Justice Department attorneys also fear AT&T could withhold Time Warner TV channels, which include CNN, TNT and TBS, among others, from competitor's video packages.

Opening arguments, presented by both sides on Thursday, left Federal Judge Richard Leon with the difficult task of predicting potential harms of an acquisition that would put 141 million phone subscribers under the same corporate umbrella as one of the biggest content companies in the U.S.

The combined company would be worth around $290 billion, almost double the size of Disney, which is valued at $151 billion. Judge Leon joked he might try to buy a crystal ball to understand which side had the better handle on the future competitive landscape.

Comedian Byron Allen Buys The Weather Channel


The Weather Channel TV network was sold Thursday — to comedian-turned-media-mogul Byron Allen.

The NYPost reports Allen’s Entertainment Studios Inc. bought the 36-year-old TV staple from the Blackstone Group, Bain Capital and Comcast.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed, but sources pegged the price at about $300 million.

The network and its digital property — weather.com — were purchased by the trio 10 years ago for $3.5 billion.

Byron Allen
The Web properties were sold to IBM in 2015 for $2 billion.

“The Weather Channel is one of the most trusted and extremely important cable networks, with information vitally important to the safety and protection of our lives,” said Allen, who rose to fame as a “Real People” host in 1979. “The acquisition of the Weather Channel is strategic, as we begin our process of investing billions of dollars over the next five years to acquire some of the best media assets around the world.”

Weather Channel Chief Executive Dave Shull said, “Byron Allen’s purchase of our innovative and forward-thinking organization will increase the value we bring to our viewers, distributors and advertisers.”

Founded in 1993 by Allen, Entertainment Studios owns the HD cable networks JusticeCentral.tv, Cars.tv, Pets.tv and Recipe.tv.

Allen, the sole owner of Entertainment Studios, which has its headquarters in Los Angeles, plans to invest more money into the Weather Channel to expand its US and international distribution.

Report: Adult Radio TSL Beats Social Media

Digital media is getting most of the buzz these days, and perhaps rightly so, as digital has this decade overtaken TV as the medium with which adults spend the most time on a daily basis. At least that’s per eMarketer’s media consumption estimates, the latest of which also show that radio remains resilient in the face of the increasing time spent with digital media.

According to Marketing Charts, despite all the buzz about social networking’s growing adoption and increasing influence on time spent online, adults continue to spend far more time listening to the radio than using social networks. And, Nielsen data indicates that radio is the medium with the broadest reach among US adults, even among Millennials.

According to the latest consumption estimates from eMarketer, US adults will spend close to one-and-a-half hours (1:27) per day listening to radio, excluding digital radio. By comparison, they’ll spend only about three-quarters of an hour (0:43) using social networks on desktops, laptops and mobile devices. In fact, adults will spend almost as much time listening to the radio this year than using social networks and watching digital video combined.

It’s worth noting that the eMarketer estimates include time spent with each medium regardless of multitasking.

Highlights:
  • Adults spend about as much time reading print (0:30) as using social networks on their mobile devices (0:29), although presumably this isn’t true among younger adults;
  • Adults spend the lion’s share of their digital radio time on mobile devices (0:47) as opposed to desktop/laptops (0:06);
  • Time spent with all offline media is expected to decline over the next couple of years, though only very gradually; and
  • While time spent with digital media on desktops and laptops will very gradually decrease, adults will up their time spent with mobile devices and with other connected devices.

Twin Cities Radio: Former Sports Talker Avoids Jail Time

Jeff Dubay
Former KFAN 100.3 FM radio sports host Jeff Dubay was convicted Thursday on an assault charge and sentenced to 120 days in jail, but with the option to serve via a treatment program.

Dubay pleaded guilty in December to third-degree assault stemming from an incident last summer in which he was accused of physically assaulting a woman.

His sentencing record indicates Dubay could avoid jail with the successful completion of a treatment program through Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge. Should he opt out of the program, Dubay would have to report to jail.

Dubay was further sentenced to five years' supervised probation.

He was sentenced in August 2016 to about six months in jail and 10 years' probation for methamphetamine possession. In that case, he was ordered to complete a drug treatment program.

He was fired from KFAN after a 2008 arrest for cocaine possession. Dubay returned to the airwaves on KSTP 1500 ESPN but was let go after a year in 2014 in a cost-cutting move.

Among Music Streamers, Spotify Has Edge With Young Adults

As Spotify Technology SA, the world’s biggest on-demand music service, gears up for its listing on the New York Stock Exchange on April 3, the potential bright spot in the money-losing company’s outlook is its attractiveness to young people, according to Morning Consult polling.

In a survey of 2,201 adults conducted March 8-10, a plurality of 30 percent said they had a Pandora Media Inc. subscription, compared to 21 percent who said they subscribe to Spotify and 15 percent who have an Apple Music account. Pandora and Spotify have free and paid subscriptions, while Apple Music has only paying customers.

But among young adults ages 18-29, Spotify and Pandora were about equally favored: 43 percent said they subscribe to Spotify, and 44 percent said they subscribe to Pandora, while 28 percent used Apple Music. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

When the 1,230 people who don’t use a music streaming service were asked which one they would choose if they had to, 51 percent picked Pandora, 28 percent Apple Music and 21 percent Spotify.

But among young adults ages 18-29 who don’t use a music streaming service, a 44 percent plurality said they would choose Spotify, Pandora got 34 percent and Apple Music 22 percent. The margin of error for the subsample is 3 percentage points.

March 23 Radio History


Paula Winslowe, William Bendix
➦In 1910...versatile radio/TV supporting actress/voicist Paula Winslowe was born in North Dakota. She is remembered as the wife of the principal, Mrs. Martha Conklin in Our Miss Brooks on both radio and television. She played the long-suffering wife Peg Riley in NBC radio’s The Life of Riley, and had feature roles on radio in Big Town and Broadway Is My Beat.  On the big screen she voiced the part of Bambi’s mother (1942).

She died March 6 1996, two weeks short of her 87th birthday.


➦In 1922...KMJ-AM, Fresno, California began broadcasting.

KMJ was originally owned by the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation. It was later acquired by the McClatchy Newspaper Company in 1925. It is also the 38th oldest licensed, and continuously operated radio station in the United States.

KMJ operated on a number of other frequencies between 1925 and 1932; some of the frequencies used included 820 and 1350 kHz.

McClatchy was intent on improving the signal, and competed with KTAB in Oakland for a new frequency (580 kHz), which was being made available by the newly created FCC.

Eventually, they were awarded the new channel, and KMJ moved to 580 kHz in 1932, operating with 1 kW non-directional from a building rooftop in Downtown Fresno.

In 1936, a new 5,000-watt non-directional transmitter site was constructed, which utilized a 5/8 wave antenna, and was located 5 miles east of Fresno, at the northeast corner of the Kings Canyon Road and Fowler Avenue intersection.

In 1941, Hammer Field (which later became Fresno Air Terminal) was constructed, as a training base for the Army Air Corps. The KMJ tower was directly in line with the runway, and the Army wanted the site relocated.

The site was then moved some 16 miles west of Fresno, the existing tower was unstacked and moved as well; however, it was only 660 feet in height. The remaining 330 feet were stored on the site, with the intention of creating a directional array, altough World War II interrupted the project and it never resumed.

The extra portion was eventually moved to Sacramento, and used in the construction of the KFBK transmitter site in 1945.

Today, KMJ-AM operates on the regional channel 580, with 50Kw and a directional antenna array.

From 1925 until 1987, KMJ was owned by McClatchy Company, who also owned KFBK in Sacramento, KBEE in Modesto, KERN in Bakersfield, and KKOH in Reno. McClatchy Newspapers also owned three daily newspapers in Fresno, Sacramento, and Modesto. In 1953, McClatchy signed on KMJ-TV on channel 24. The television station would be sold off in 1981 to become KSEE.

In November 2006, KMJ and its sister stations KFPT (AM), KWYE (FM), KSKS (FM), KFJK (FM), KOQO (FM), and KMGV (FM) were sold by CBS Radio to Peak Broadcasting, for $90 million.

In March 2009, Peak Broadcasting replaced the KFJK Jack FM format on 105.9 FM, with KMJ-FM; it is a partial simulcast of KMJ-AM.

In the fall of 2012, Premiere Radio Networks exercised a termination clause and ended its relationship with both the AM and FM KMJ stations. As of January 1, 2013, all Premiere-controlled syndicated shows were moved to Clear Channel-controlled stations in the greater Fresno area. From 6:00 A.M. until 6:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, KMJ-AM broadcasts all live and local talk shows.

On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would purchase Peak Broadcasting, and then immediately swap Peak's Fresno stations, including KMJ, to Cumulus Media in exchange for Cumulus' stations in Dubuque, Iowa and Poughkeepsie, New York. The deal is part of Cumulus' acquisition of Dial Global. Peak, Townsquare, and Dial Global are all controlled by Oaktree Capital Management. The sale to Cumulus was completed on November 14, 2013.


➦In 1922...WEW-AM, Saint Louis, Missouri began broadcasting.

Chief Engineer Gordon Sherman 1933
Saint Louis University established the station 9YK around 1912, using Morse code to communicate seismological and weather information. George E. Rueppel, assistant director of the Meteorological Observatory at SLU, worked with 9YK before he founded WEW in 1921. Audio transmissions began at 10:05 a.m. on 26 April 1921; the first voice heard was SLU president Rev. William Robison. The station received radio license #560 to broadcast on 618.6 kHz (wavelength 485 meters) as WEW on 23 March 1922;  KSD had been licensed on March 8.

The station has claimed to have broadcast the first quiz show, Question Box Hour, in 1923.

The station later moved to 833 kHz (360 meters). In April 1927 it was changed to 1210 kHz then 850 kHz; and changed in 1928 to 760 kHz, which was moved to 770 kHz on 29 March 1941 when NARBA took effect.


➦In 1938...CBS Radio newsman Christopher Glenn was born in New York City.  He not only voiced many hourly newscasts, he was the longtime anchor of the CBS World News Roundup, the oldest newscast in the world.  He retired in February 2006 and succumbed to liver cancer later that year (Oct. 17) at age 68.

Ralph Edwards
➦In 1940...the unique game show “Truth or Consequences” was first heard on radio. The Ralph Edwards-produced program was also hosted by Mr. Edwards throughout a 16 year radio run and into TV, before Jack Bailey, then Steve Dunne, and eventually a young Bob Barker took over. The radio show was originally heard on only four CBS stations; but 4 months later NBC picked up the show, where it eventually grew into the most popular of all radio game shows.


Bud Collyer
➦In 1950...the game show “Beat the Clock,” hosted by radio’s Superman, Clayton ‘Bud’ Collyer, premiered on CBS-TV, a Mark Goodson/Bill Todman production.


➦In 1955...Elvis Presley auditioned for CBS TV’s “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts,” singing “Good Rockin’ Tonight.” Producers considered his performance weak and rejected him for the show.


➦In 1973...American Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN)  radio and TV signed off permanently after serving the American fighting men and women for many years in Vietnam. During that time over a thousand military personnel served at one of the many in-country sites


➦In 2009...former WABC-AM NYC and ABC Radio newsman, George Weber, was discovered stabbed to death in his apartment. NYPD found gay porn pictures scattered about and it was labeled a "crime of passion".