Industry News

Recent TV appearances included a starring role on the HBO hospital comedy "Getting On" and a guest shot on "Grey's Anatomy." She was a regular as feisty Grandma Yetta on the 1990s sitcom "The Nanny," and in the early 1960s, played Millie Helper, Laura Petrie's gabby pal, on the acclaimed "Van Dyke" series.

Nielsen reports Sports/Talk radio continued to add-on to its April gains, with the format safely sliding into another uptrend in May. Nielsen Audio’s May PPM results show the ‘All Sports’ format has seen some strong springtime audience gains in key demographics.

IT WAS JUNE 15th .. when the first-ever radio broadcast of live music took place from Chelmsford, England, featuring Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba… When the rural TV comedy/musical show “Hee Haw” with Roy Clark and Buck Owens premiered on CBS as a summer replacement for the Smothers Bros… When Rev. David Mainse broadcast the first “100 Huntley Street” program out of its studios at the said address in downtown Toronto… ..and when 83-year-old Bob Barker’s final appearance as emcee of CBS TV’s”The Price Is Right” aired. He had hosted the game show for 35 years! ALL the milestones for June 15th INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 14th … when a U.S. President was heard on the radio for the first time. President Warren G. Harding dedicated the Francis Scott Key Memorial and was heard on Baltimore’s WEAR … When “The Happy Gang” troupe of musicians, led by Bert Pearl, made their first broadcast on station CRCT, the C-B-C flagship station in Toronto. It became a NATIONAL listening habit 4 months later… When after 13 years Harold Peary played the role of The Great Gildersleeve on the radio for the last time … ..and when NBC-TV’s action-adventure series “A Team,” aired for the last time. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

PD Tracey Friesen (Pictured) and the station have parted ways...

As word of the shooting first spread in the wee small hours of Sunday (6/12), the team at Cox Media Group/Orlando assembled quickly to cover the breaking story

IT WAS JUNE 13th … when the Rolling Stones made an appearance on ABC-TV’s “Hollywood Palace,” during their first tour of North America …. When John Lennon made his last TV appearance on an ABC-TV salute to UK entertainment mogul Sir Lew Grade that had been taped in April…. When NBC’ late night TV host Tom Snyder interviewed serial killer Charles Manson on what has since become the most famous edition of his “Tomorrow” Show… ..and when Garrison Keilor (pictured), host and storyteller on the award-winning US public radio series, A Prairie Home Companion, left the show and its delightful shores of Lake Wobegon for Denmark where he intended to spend his time writing (he returned to the U.S… and the program … two years later). ALL the milestones for June 13th INSIDE.

In following this story, I learned that CTV, which used to be the proverbial license to print Loonies, is now losing many millions of them every year. The network stays afloat thanks to the obscene profits that are generated by the wireless phone business at Bell.

IT WAS JUNE 12th … when pioneer Toronto radio station CFCA had its Grand Opening. Foster Hewitt broadcast his first hockey game on CFCA eight months later…. When Pittsburgh’s KDKA became the first 50,000 watt radio staation… When the Sunday night TV extravaganza that would be must-see family viewing for the next twenty years, “Toast of the Town,” (later the Ed Sullivan Show), made its debut on CBS… ..and when the TV comedy “Mr Peepers” starring Wally Cox with Tony Randall, aired for the last time on NBC. ALL the milestones for June 12th INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 11th … when Hank Williams made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. His performance, with the audience demanding several encores of “Lovesick Blues,” is still considered one of the Opry’s greatest moments… When the all-black TV sitcom “Amos ‘n Andy” was driven from the air in the heat of the civil rights movement, for its so-called stereotypical characterizations, though the radio version continued for 7 years more … When the first episode of “Fear Factor” with host Joe Rogan, aired on NBC-TV… ..and the final episode of ‘The Sopranos’ aired on HBO. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.