Tag: "TALKERS"
Saturday, January 23, 2021
INDUSTRY AND NATION MOURN: Talk Media Pioneer Larry King Dead at 87. According to a report on Facebook posted by the producers of his current syndicated television show, Ora Media, legendary star of talk radio and television, Larry King died this weekend at the age of 87. The statement says: “With profound sadness, Ora Media announces the death of our co-founder, host and friend Larry King, who passed away this morning at age 87 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.” The statement continues, “For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry’s many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster.” The cause of death was not indicated, however King had been reportedly hospitalized with COVID-19 earlier this month. King was a major player in the talk media world who ushered in the modern era of syndication in radio on the Mutual Broadcasting System and the cable news/talk show format on television at CNN. TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison issued the following statement: “Larry King was not the greatest talk show host on radio or television in terms of skills, outrageous personality or direct and profound influence on public policy. He was, however, the most important pioneer who paved the way for today’s robust talk media presence on both radio and television. If there ever was a case of the right person at the right time, Larry King fit the bill and that’s all it took for him to be a mighty force. He was the modern era of talk radio’s first national celebrity born solely as a result of his work in the medium. And his contribution to today’s institutional cable news/talk TV format is undeniably fundamental to the medium’s current presence as America’s political and sociological meeting place. We have lost one of the greatest broadcasting presences of the first century of radio and television history as well as one of the quirkiest and most colorful individuals to ever sit behind a microphone.” TALKERS will publish more information about the life, career and legacy of Larry King in the days ahead.
Remembering Larry King. Particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to previous health scares, which included a heart attack, stroke, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and diabetes, broadcasting icon Larry King died Saturday (1/23) at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Official word was released on King’s Twitter account. “For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television, and digital media, Larry’s many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster. Larry liked to ask short, direct, and uncomplicated questions. He believed concise questions usually provided the best answers, and he was not wrong in that belief.” The 87-year-old King had been sick for at least ten days prior to being hospitalized with coronavirus. It was anything but a ratings juggernaut, but the plotline for NBC-TV’s “Hello Larry” (1979 – 1980) involved radio talk show host Larry Alder (portrayed by McLean Stevenson) moving from Los Angeles to work at Portland’s fictional KLOW. A short time earlier (1978), “Hello Larry” became a typical utterance by actual radio listeners across America when the Mutual Broadcasting System began syndicating “The Larry King Show,” which would become one of the most popular late-night radio shows of all-time. Bostonians and New Englanders in that same timeframe could make a legitimate case that renowned late-night talk host Larry Glick – heard on Boston’s WBZ-AM – was the “Hello Larry” inspiration. Practically a poster boy for suspenders, Brooklyn-born Lawrence Zeiger is highly worthy of being dubbed a broadcasting ironman for his lengthy radio and CNN stints. Not only that, he was such a Nate ‘n Al’s partisan that well-traveled folklore has it that a critical reason he bought his home was because it was in close proximity to that particular Beverly Hills deli. Fiercely loyal, King routinely gathered with his chums from the old neighborhood at the Beverly Hills branch of Nate ‘n Al’s, which closed temporarily in March 2020 and reopened two months later. One could easily make the case that King was the top, pure, mainstream radio talk host. Regardless how one chooses to slice it though, ascribing Larry King as an iconic talk radio personality would not be in any way hyperbolic. Aired each weeknight between 12:00 midnight – 5:30 am, “The Larry King Show” featured the highly-inquisitive host asking every imaginable question of a guest for the program’s initial 90 minutes, with the guest usually then taking listener calls for a similar period. Any criticism of King being an inept, softball interviewer is nothing but laughable – especially if such assessment pertains to his radio days. Sure, what he did wasn’t as intricate as performing quintuple bypass surgery (King was 53 when he underwent that procedure in February 1987); however, there is an elegant skill and artistry in conducting a long-form broadcast conversation. In that arena, King had few, if any, equals. Notwithstanding his lack of a college degree, he stood his ground with U.S. presidents; the most impressive list of world leaders; newsmakers; and he frequently dabbled with pop culture personalities, many of whom were simply the “flavor-of-the-month.” Through it all, King emerged as broadcasting’s quintessential interviewer. Whenever asked what made him such a magnificent interviewer, King consistently said that he refrained from using the word “I” as often as he could. The trademark setup during “Open Phone America,” where he fielded calls on any topic, was King barking the name of the caller’s city followed by a generally raspy, “Hello.” That carried through to his CNN program, as did his impatient, “What’s your question?” whenever a caller got longwinded and/or star-struck. Countless bits have satirically skewered King, most notably Keith Olbermann or Rob Bartlett, who was priceless in character when he appeared on “Imus in the Morning.” They would typically follow the name of an offbeat-sounding hamlet with an out-of-the-blue, King-worthy, “Hello.” Without doubt, King was as adept and adroit at keeping caller interaction focused as any other host in the business. As evidence of King’s superior talent, no less than ten cable ACE awards; two Peabody awards; and one Emmy resided inside his trophy case. Radio always fascinated King who, in May 1957, realized his dream of being an on-air talent in the medium when a small Miami Beach station paid him $55 a week to do – among other station assignments – a daily 9:00 am – 12:00 noon air shift. Three years later, the intense sports fan was hosting WPST-TV, Miami’s Sunday night “Miami Undercover” and would eventually do color analysis of Miami Dolphins football games on Miami radio outlet WIOD. Similar duties followed for the World Football League’s Shreveport Steamer. In 1989, King met future wife, Julie Alexander, who would be number six in that heavily-populated category. Wasting no time and evidently undaunted by the fact they lived in different cities, King proposed to the blond, Philadelphia-based businesswoman on their very first date. One didn’t exactly have to be Kreskin to correctly guess that it was not long before they were divorced. To put it mildly, a pronounced fondness for the ladies was an ongoing part of King’s reputation, underscored by the fact that he was married eight times and even tied the knot twice to Playboy bunny Alene Akins (1961 – 1963 and 1968 – 1971). As David Letterman might quip, “Good gig.” Amid extensive coverage on prime access entertainment shows, King and his wife Shawn Southwick King filed for divorce in mid-April 2010, although they called it off one month later. The two had been married since 1997 and it was, by far, the longest of any of King’s other marriages. In fact, it actually totaled more than his previous three combined. While King said he wanted to divorce Southwick in 2019, it was revealed during King’s COVID-19 treatment that the two were still very much married, although estranged. Over and above his high-profile familiarity among radio and television audiences, King wrote a weekly USA Today column for almost 20 years (1982-2001). People routinely excoriated it, yet it had to be a popular guilty pleasure since it caught so many eyes. There was a vintage, approximately 90-second segment on “The Larry Sanders Show,” HBO’s definitive talk show sendup, where sidekick Hank Kingsley (Jeffrey Tambor) needed several “King’s Things”-like non-sequiturs for the “Hank’s Thought” portion of his fan club newsletter. With great deliberation, he produced six pearls that absolutely had to make King smile. They were: “It’s October and we all know what that means.” “If Princess Di were here, I’d tell her, ‘Hang in there.’” “I’d kill for a Dreamsicle right now.” “Maybe it’s me, but I think Sharon Gless should be on TV every night.” “If I had my druthers, there would be no more world hunger.” “I sure do miss the Cowsills – that mini-skirted mom sure was sexy.” The Beverly Hills location of one of King’s investments, The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Company, opened in March 2011. Exactly one year later (March 2012), the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim Helu, announced that King would be his first hire for the internet television station that Helu launched, Ora.TV. Using a fairly simple yet highly plausible formula, CNN claimed that King had conducted 50,000 interviews over his 50 years in the industry. There were occasions at the tail end of his run at the Cable News Network though that he would unfortunately look like a caricature of himself. Often stiff and ill-at-ease as the show was reaching its final broadcast (December 16, 2010), King was nonetheless a paradox when featured as a guest elsewhere. When given time to be himself in those settings, King underscored his priceless ability to perform the most critical function of an upper-echelon talk radio host, which is to tell a story. The goodie bag from which he selected was overflowing and the masterful broadcaster artfully used excellent timing and inflection to capture King-sized laughs. Therefore, it wasn’t shocking that when King left CNN, he took his storytelling act on the road. Obviously, he recounted the “Gil Moppo” narrative (“Go home Moppo – you’re dead”) innumerable times, yet King made each delivery fresh. Two other King Classics haven’t been as widely-told on the air, but are exceptionally noteworthy. In just his early-20s, King had moved to Miami and one Sunday morning, he decided to drive to Palm Beach. The gorgeous surroundings, however, so distracted him that he banged into the convertible in front of him. Fortunately, it was an ultra, slow-speed accident, so there was little to no damage. The driver of the car that was hit emerged befuddled from his vehicle to query the shaken King as to how he could have possibly gotten into an accident with literally no other traffic anywhere in sight. Thinking fast, King promised that he would vote for that person who happened to be then-Massachusetts Senator and presidential candidate … John F. Kennedy. Whether or not it is apocryphal, the other favorite King story indisputably serves as the platinum-standard for any high-hormone individual who has ever answered a radio station’s request line at night. The shared thread with the previous story is that it allegedly happened in King’s nascent radio days in Miami. In a non-broadcast setting, King marvelously sets the stage by using numerous embellishments but, in short, a husky-voiced female caller invited him to share what would be an immediate, amorous rendezvous. Once again displaying a sharp mind, King announced to his radio listeners that they were in for a special treat, as he would play a complete side of an album. Doing that, he surmised, would allow sufficient time to have his tryst and return to the station without anyone being the wiser. The manner in which King recounted the story indicated the woman’s physical attributes did not disappoint his expectations. Able to kill two birds with one proverbial stone, he monitored the station and took advantage of the mood music he had programmed. What he didn’t anticipate though was the needle getting stuck, prompting him to hastily curtail his escapade and race back to the station. On a July 2009 “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” appearance, King revealed that he wished to be cryogenically-preserved at death, a la Boston Red Sox hall of famer Ted Williams. Per King’s Twitter account posting, funeral arrangements and a memorial service will be announced later in coordination with the family. “Cucamonga, California – Hello.”
Monday Memo: Who Will Replace Rush?
By Holland Cooke
Consultant
BLOCK ISLAND, RI — It’s talk radio FAQ #1. GMs – excuse me, “market managers,” overseeing more-stations-than-they-have-time-to-hear – are anxious, now forced to pay attention to 15 hours a week they’ve had on autopilot for decades.
Short answer: Nobody can
Thousands of our talk radio brothers and sisters will always owe him for leading the format that extended AM radio’s useful life. On my TV show I reminded Michael Harrison of a prediction he made at the TALKERS New York conference 20 years ago, that talk will eventually save FM, where music formats are now largely robotic and under assault from streaming and satellite competitors that users love. Many pay to subscribe.
November 2020 PPM Analysis:
Sports Talk
By Mike Kinosian
Managing Editor
TALKERS
LOS ANGELES — A detailed analysis of sports talk concludes our three-part series of November 2020 PPM overviews.
The following scoreboards are comprised of sports talk facilities that rank in the top 20 (6+) in any of the 48 PPM-markets during the November 2020 ratings period, which covered October 8 through November 4.
Ratings information in this exclusive analysis is limited to sports talk properties that subscribe to Nielsen Audio’s audience estimates.
Four… Less… Years
By Mike Kinosian
Managing Editor
TALKERS
LOS ANGELES — Presidential elections happen every four years in the United States; however, owing to several extenuating circumstances – none more pronounced than a global pandemic – 2020’s just-concluded contest was indisputably unique.
Putting aside any apples to oranges assertions, we have nonetheless set back the calendar four years to gauge the state of news/talk in the most recent survey period (November 2020, which ended the day after Election Day) versus that of the comparable report in the last presidential year (November 2016).
In order for a news/talk station to be included in these contrasts, it needed to finish in the top twenty (6+) in the November 2020 sweep and be listed anywhere in that corresponding PPM-market in November 2016.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
LA Times: Post White House Talk Show Career for Trump? The Los Angeles Times published an article today (11/11) by entertainment/arts/media writer Stephen Battaglio speculating on industry chatter about the possibility of President Trump launching a talk media career after leaving the White House that would involve either starting his own television network or joining an existing operation such as FOX News Channel or Newsmax TV as the host of his own program. The article also touches upon Trump’s option of doing a daily talk show on radio – perhaps even replacing Rush Limbaugh if and when the superstar is forced to leave the airwaves due to his battle with lung cancer. TALKERS founder Michael Harrison states in the article he does not think that would be a likely prospect. “With all due respect for the president, he cannot hold a candle to Rush when it comes to the demands and expectations of doing a high-profile, daily three-hour talk show, which requires hours of prep per day, an original take on the issues and the ability to connect the complex dots of presenting a thesis and then setting about supporting it in a cogent manner,” Harrison said. “Trump is a showman, but what Rush listeners expect is a much more sophisticated and nuanced approach to creating a meaningful listening experience than what it takes to hold court and mug over a campaign rally before thousands of adoring followers.” To read the entire article, please click here.
Beasley Media Group Enters into Distribution Deal with RADIO.COM. A deal between Entercom’s RADIO.COM platform and Beasley Media Group puts live-stream channels for each of Beasley’s 64 stations across 15 markets on RADIO.COM, along with all of its premium on-demand audio and podcasts. Entercom VP of business development Corey Podolsky says, “We’re delighted to bring Beasley Media Group aboard the RADIO.COM platform and its incredible stations across news, entertainment, music and sports. This partnership will give Beasley’s 20 million weekly listeners a new destination to consume their favorite audio content, while providing our existing consumers more options to satisfy their listening habits.” Beasley chief content officer Justin Chase says, “Beasley is proud to partner with our friends at Entercom and RADIO.COM. Listeners are consuming our content in more places than ever and we are excited to expand the distribution for our amazing brands on this first-class audio platform.”
WABC, New York ‘Ties a Yellow Ribbon’ in Honor of Veterans Day. Pictured above are singer Tony Orlando (left) and Red Apple Media owner John Catsimatidis (right) along with U.S. Marines tying a yellow ribbon on a tree outside the WABC, New York studios as a symbol of support for veterans and the military. Orlando, who recorded the 1973 hit “Tie A Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree,” recently joined 77 WABC as part of its Saturday night music lineup, hosting a two-hour show that airs at 10:00 pm. All day today (11/11), TALKRADIO 77 WABC is saluting the brave men and women who served in the military with special Veterans Day programming that includes interviews with America’s heroes and their families. The station has been promoting its Veterans Day programming on the air and social media for several days, and distributed hundreds of TALKRADIO 77 WABC Yellow Ribbons to listeners who want to show their support.
TALKERS News Notes. After the cancellation of the “America’s Trucking Network” program hosted by Steve Sommers, iHeartMedia’s news/talk WLW, Cincinnati has filled the overnight slot with a talk program hosted by Dan Carroll. The ouster of Sommers is part of an ongoing reduction in force of employees at iHeartMedia that, according to a tally by radio trade AllAccess, has put almost 80 on-air and programming staffers in the unemployment line. It’s unclear how many behind-the-scenes employees have been affected…..Former ESPN Radio morning drive personality Mike Golic is the host of a newly created college sports trivia program produced by Learfield IMG
College and Sidearm Sports called “The Fan Exam.” As reported by NJ.com, the free online program will air Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET on some 150 college athletics websites. Golic is quoted saying, “This sounds like fun. I’ve enjoyed calling the college [football] games. This opportunity came up and it reminded me of the ‘HQ Trivia’ game that was out for a while that I played all the time. So, this will be a lot of fun… Who doesn’t love to try to answer trivia questions? The beauty about this is you’re never eliminated through all the shows that we’re going to have. You can win for that week, there’s a cumulative score for the entire year. So even if you miss questions, it doesn’t matter. You still get to answer all twelve [questions]. Your score is logged — and you can win a bunch of different ways. It’s cool. You’re never out of it.”
Trump Refuses to Accept Election Results, COVID-19 Stats & Projections, Vaccine Quest, Trump Purges Pentagon, Georgia Runoff Elections, SCOTUS Hears Obamacare Arguments, and Tropical Storm Eta to Hit Florida Again Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (11/10). The challenges to the election results being put up by Donald Trump; the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and abroad and projections for winter cases; the race to produce an effective COVID vaccine and Pfizer’s statement its vaccine is 90% effective; President Trump fires numerous civilian Pentagon officials and installs loyalists in the posts; the January runoff elections in Georgia that will determine control of the U.S. Senate; the Supreme Court’s hearing of arguments in the Obamacare case; and Tropical Storm Eta on course to hit Florida again were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
Music Radio News and Career Moves. In honor of Veterans Day, Cumulus Media’s classic rock KCFX-FM, Kansas “101 The Fox,” along with Price Chopper and Cars4Heroes, are giving 11 cars to 11 veterans. A special ceremony takes place at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City and legendary Chiefs player Deron Cherry will present the car keys to these 11 local heroes. Cherry will be accompanied by many other Chiefs legends to personally thank the veterans for their service and for protecting our freedom. For 26 years, Cars4Heroes has been helping people in the Kansas City area. Terry Franz, who is affectionately referred to as “Car Santa,” is the founder and president of Cars4Heroes. He says, “If somebody is down and out you can go hand them some cash and fix everything for today, but the money goes away. When we give someone a car, it is a tool that changes their life! We are proud to salute and honor these veterans here today.”…..iHeartMedia Boston’s country WBWL “101.7 The Bull,” in partnership with WBTS-TV “NBC10” presents “One Night Only,” a night of live music to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on Saturday, November 21 at 7:00 pm ET on NBC10 Boston and live on “101.7 The Bull.” Artists performing will include: Kane Brown, Old Dominion, Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Jon Pardi, Brett Eldredge, Jimmie Allen, Lauren Alaina, and special guest host Chrissy Metz of NBC’s “This Is Us.”…..Beasley Media Group’s classic rock WMGK-FM, in conjunction with City Team Philadelphia, is presenting the 19th Annual John DeBella Turkey Drop on Tuesday, November 24 at The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Morning personality John DeBella will broadcast live from 6:00 am to 9:00 am and will accept monetary as well as turkey donations onsite. The John DeBella Turkey Drop is the largest, single day food gathering event in the City of Philadelphia. Last year’s collection raised over 11,000 turkeys.
October 2020 PPM Analysis: Sports Talk
By Mike Kinosian
Managing Editor
TALKERS
LOS ANGELES — Our three-part series of detailed October 2020 PPM overviews places sports talk in the spotlight.
The following scoreboards are comprised of sports talk facilities that rank in the top 20 (6+) in any of the 48 PPM-markets during the October 2020 ratings period, which covered September 10 – October 7.
To recap professional sports’ post-season in terms of PPM-ratings perspective:
- Back on September 28, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars to win the Stanley Cup four games to two.
- The Los Angeles Lakers clinched the NBA title (10/11) by besting the Miami Heat in a series that went six games as well.
- Six games was also the duration for this year’s World Series, as the Los Angeles Dodgers captured its first WS title since 1988 by edging the Tampa Bay Rays 3 – 1 in last Tuesday’s (10/27) game six.
As far as the NFL is concerned, the first regular season game was (Thursday) September 10, the very day the October 2020 sweep commenced.
Fourteen (14) more contests were played (Sunday) September 13, followed by two Monday night affairs (9/14).
Ratings information in this exclusive analysis is limited to sports talk properties that subscribe to Nielsen Audio’s audience estimates.
KSCO Launches Weekly Show Critical of the Chinese Communist Party
By Mike Kinosian, Managing Editor
and Kevin Casey, VP/Executive Editor
SANTA CRUZ, Cal. — KSCO, Santa Cruz, a longtime news/talk powerhouse serving California’s Central Coast, has launched a unique and compelling weekly two-hour radio show designed to keep Americans apprised of the dangers being presented to US interests domestically and worldwide by China and the Chinese Communist Party.
Provocatively titled China Über Alles (China Above All) – a name sarcastically referencing the infamous slogan “Deutschland Über Alles” utilized by the Nazis to convey their dark message of German worldwide superiority in the 1930s and 1940s – the show discusses the ongoing war of subversion being waged against the US by the communist regime in Beijing and its shocking human rights abuses of Chinese citizens, including political dissidents, investigative journalists, ethnic minorities and seekers of religious freedom.