New Sirius-XM hearings today...
A new round of Senate hearings into the proposed Sirius-XM merger is coming up this afternoon with the following lineup: Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius (FOR), Mary Quass, Pres. and CEO of NRG Media (84 radio stations in the Midwest) (OPP), David Balto, Atty. at Law (?), Gigi B. Sohn, Pres. of Public Knowledge (CONDITIONALLY FOR). So we have one person FOR the merger unconditionally, one unconditionally OPPOSED, one lawyer who doesn't know where he stands and one Gigi FOR only with a la carte pricing, no price increase for 3 years and 5% of the new programming being non-commercial educational and informal with the company having no editorial control - what those of us in the old, traditional, free form of radio used to refer to as 'Public Affairs'...
Today's session will effect the stocks of both public held companies. XMSR was up 1.7% ($13.39) while SIRI was up 1.3% ($3.28) yesterday. The betting on Wall Street is that the hearings won't be over any time soon and that Gigi-minded people (what kind of a name is that for an advocacy group? I mean was she born with that name?) will win out with conditional approval being required for this merger to pass...
One thing is for certain. Neither company can survive without being one. Stay tuned...
There are 2 video links today and are contained in the "Recorded on this date" and "#1 on this date" timelines...
Happy springtime. It happens tonight at 8:07 when you can balance a raw egg on one of its ends but then why would you???
Timeline Memories...
"Fight Fire with Fire": 1760] Boston's 'Great Fire of 1760" destroys 349 shops and homes along King and Congress Streets. As a result of this fire and several others, Boston will become the 1st town in the nation to have professional fire fighters...
Debuted on this date: 1852] Harriet Beecher Stowe's book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (subtitled 'Life Among The Lowly') is published...1959] Bobby Rydell makes his TV debut on "American Bandstand"...1967] Twiggy makes her U.S. debut for a week and WRKO New Director Roger Allan is one of the 1st people to get an interview with the skinny model (Roger and Twiggy were featured on the front of the 'NOW 30")...
This attempt fails: 1865] A plan by John Wilkes Booth to abduct President Abraham Lincoln is foiled when Lincoln changes his plans, deciding not to appear at the Soldier's Home near Washington (D.C.) as scheduled...
Electrical Chairs: 1899] Martha M. Place of Brooklyn becomes the 1st woman to be executed in the electric chair. She's put to death at Sing Sing for murdering her stepdaughter...
Real Hoosiers: 1954] Milan beats Muncie Central for the Indiana state high school title in the game that the movie "Hoosiers" was based on. The final score in that game was 32-30. Obviously there was no clock in use yet...
Recorded on this date: 1961] "Hello Mary Lou" - Ricky Nelson. Ricky sings the song on the 'Ozzie & Harriet' show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeOvvQ_tPpQ ...
Released on this date: 1967] "The Happening" - The Supremes (who sing the song at a WRKO show at the Boston Arena shortly after release)...1972] "Back Off, Boogaloo" - Ringo Starr...
#1 on this date: 1972] "A Horse With No Name" - America. Here's America doing the song live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZBvUn2529E&mode=related&search= ...1982] "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" - Joan Jett...
Wedding Bells: 1969] John Lennon and Yoko Ono rock down the aisle in Gibraltar. To commemorate what would have been their 30th anniversary in 1999, a set of postage stamps is issued in Gibraltar...
Highway tragedy: 1990] Gloria Estefan fractures a vertebra when a tractor trailer crashes into her tour bus near Scranton (PA). Estefan is flown to New York City where surgeons implant 2 titanium rods to stabilize her spinal column. Gloria returns with the concept album, "Into The Light" and the hit single "Coming Out of the Dark" in 1991...
City tragedy: 1991] Eric Clapton's 4-year old son Conor dies when he falls out the window of a 53rd floor apartment in Manhattan. Clapton will win a Grammy for his song written for Conor, "Tears in Heaven"...1995] 12 people are killed, more than 5,500 sickened when the nerve gas Sarin is released in the Tokyo subway system. Terrorists belonging to a doomsday cult in Japan are responsible for the attack...
Going to Hall: 1973] 11 weeks after he's killed on a mercy mission, Roberto Clemente is voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in a special election. The Puerto Rican's last hit is #3,000, a double off of the Mets' Jon Matlack on Sept. 30, 1972. Clemente was 38 at the time of his death...
"Guilty as Charged": 1976] Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst is convicted of armed robbery for her part in a San Francisco bank holdup...1981] Jean Harris is sentenced to 15-to-life for the murder of lover, Dr. Herman Tarnower. Harris is released, her sentence commuted by NY Governor Mario Cuomo after 12 years served in 1992...1996] Erik and Lyle Menendez are found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of their parents. Both are serving a lifetime term in prison...
FDA says Y-E-S to AZT: 1987] The Food and Drug Administration approves the sale of AZT, a drug shown to prolong the lives of some AIDS patients...
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered": 1991] Michael Jackson announces a long-term agreement with SONY Music and Columbia Pictures to the tune of an estimated $1 billion...
"Gotcha": 2000] Former Black Panther Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin a.k.a. Rap Brown is captured following a shootout that leaves a sheriff's deputy dead...2004] The U.S. military charges 6 soldiers with abusing inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in each timeline]...
Commentary...
This has not been a good 5 day period for team mascots. Yesterday we announced Dallas Cowboys unofficial mascot, "Crazy Ray" Jones' passing on Saturday and now comes word that Denny Sym a.k.a. "Dolfan Denny", who cheered on the Miami Dolphins for 34 years as a one-man sideline show, died at 72 last Friday. Denny had been battling kidney disease and cancer for several years. "Happy Trails" to Denny "Dolfan Denny" Sym. We can only wish a long life for "Freddy Sez" and 'Cowbell Guy", who lead cheers for the Yankees and Mets respectively...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Kathy Ireland (44), Holly Hunter (49), Spike Lee (50), William Hurt (57), Bobby (#4) Orr (59), Jerry Reed (70), Hal Linden (76), Carl Reiner (85) and Marian McPartland (89)...
Timeline Countdown: 11 days until Opening Day and 12 days until the NCAA Championship game...
...
