HD Radio Loses The Zune & "WRKO...The Launch"...

HD Radio just lost a device it counted on to gain respectability and acceptance in its fight to gain a foothold in the market. Microsoft has announced it's canning Zune HD. Zune HD was the last completely new hardware model and was released in 2009. A version that featured more storage went on sale one year later. Microsoft will continue to sell existing versions of the Zune, a company spokesman told Bloomberg News. Look for lots of sales on Zune HD at an electronic store near you. But not for you Canada. For some reason, Microsoft just started a new promotion campaign on the Zune HD up north...

Zune HD wasn't given much support from late night talk-show hosts, who panned the device shortly after its launch. Craig Ferguson and Conan O'Brien had fun with Zune. Bloomberg reports that Ferguson said the device was Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates's bid to "loosen iPod's stranglehold on the iPod market." He added that "Zune has all the features of the iPod except it's not as good. Plus it can only download recordings of Bill Gates singing." ...

Microsoft isn't killing the Zune entirely. The company will now put Zune software onto mobile phones with Windows. Zune software lets customers buy songs and movies, as well as pay a monthly fee to stream unlimited music. While that part of Zune will continue to be utilized, the loss of Zune HD is a blow to the HD Radio movement...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1802] The long gray line: Congress authorizes the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (NY)...
2.1881] The Circus is in town: The Barnum and Bailey Circus debuts…
3.1912] Cherry pie: Mrs. William Howard Taft plants the first cherry tree in Washington (DC). Skip and Flip sing the National Anthem followed by “Cherry Pie“…
4.1968] My-Lai, My-God: U.S. troops under the direction of Lt. William L. Calley Jr. destroy a Vietnam village consisting mostly of women and children, killing hundreds. The event is know as the “My-Lai Massacre.”…
5.1970] “Happy Trails“: Tammi Terrell dies from a malignant brain tumor just a month and a half away from her 25th birthday. She had collapsed on stage in October of 1967 while singing with Marvin Gaye…
6.1978] Kidnapped: Italian politician Aldo Moro is kidnapped by left-wing guerrillas. Moro is later found murdered by the group…
7.1988] Guilty as charged: Former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter, former White House aide Oliver L. North and two others are indicted on charges relating to the Iran-Contra affair. The convictions of Poindexter and North are thrown out…1994] Tonya Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for covering up the attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan and is fined $100,000…
8.1991] Country tragedy: Seven members of Reba McEntire’s band and her road manager are killed when their private plane goes down near the California border with Mexico. Luckily Reba was on another plane…
9.2002] Wedding Bells: Liza Minelli makes her fourth trip down the aisle when she marries her producer and boyfriend David Gest. It took more than five years to work out a divorce settlement…
10.2002] Fan tragedy: Thirteen-year old hockey fan Brittanie Cecil is hit by a puck during an NHL game between her hometown Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames. She dies 2 days later from her injuries…

Music Memories:

• 1964] Released on this date: "Can't Buy Me Love" - Beatles...

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 12) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

Like John Rode, Joel Cash (12N-3pm) had a great radio voice. Joel must have gone to the same Resonance Broadcasting Academy Rode attended. Joel was also smooth. He didn't make many mistakes on the air and like Al Gates, Joel could really sell a live spot. Joel had so much confidence, he came off arrogant to some people at WRKO but I always chalked that up to his being so sure of himself and his ability rather than arrogance. Joel was good and he knew it...

Although big of voice, Joel was short in stature. We were about the same height - 5' 6" to 5' 7" on tip toes. Joel was always neatly dressed with his jet black hair shining and neatly combed. He also had a quick smile as opposed to Rode, who never smiled. Joel was the biggest sports fan of all of our disc jockeys. He knew the Boston teams, players and daily game results. He was also a good ballplayer. Joel's profile and airchecks are available by clicking here...

(Tomorrow: "WRKO...The Launch" - Part 13: A profile of J.J. Jeffrey (3pm - 6 pm)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Lauren Graham (44), Nancy (Heart) Wilson (57), Kate Nelligan (60), Erik Estrada (62), Chuck Woolery (70) and Jerry Lewis (85)...

Timeline Countdown: 4 days until the first day of spring, 15 days until MLB opening day, 34 days until Passover & 40 days until Easter Sunday...

Now's The Time For Radio To Act & "WRKO...The Launch"...

Radio should act quickly when events warrant action. Case in point: offering help to the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The radio stations that jumped all over this quickly are the stations that are the leaders in their respective markets. Setting up a relief fund through the Red Cross or some other reputable charity is not only humanitarian, it will also earn you points from listeners. This is what radio can do better than any other medium but it has to act quickly. Be first to do it. Don't wait until TV, newspapers and the internet beats you to it. If you're starting now, you're already too late. Keep this in mind for a future event...

Radio stations thinking about a timely promotion, should find out what people need. What are they talking about? What are they worried about? What would they love to receive as a prize? The answer is money - it's always money. Money to help pay their rent or mortgage and to pay bills. How about money to help them buy gas for their cars? A new Pew Research study shows that 90% of the public say they are hearing mostly bad news about gas prices. According to Pew, "Reaching the 90% threshold is a rare occurrence in public opinion surveys. In part, this reflects the tendency of polling organizations to focus on current issues about which there are often considerable differences of opinion. Nonetheless, even on issues where one would expect to find near-total agreement, the public's views are far from unanimous." ...

That's how hot the subject of rising gas prices have become, but like setting up relief funds for earthquake and tsunami victims, this too has to be acted on quickly. Radio can't afford to wait and jump on the bandwagon. It needs to start the bandwagon...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.44BC] Beware the Ides of March: Roman dictator Julius Caesar is assassinated by a group of nobles that include Brutus and Cassius…
2.1919] An American in Paris: The American Legion is founded in Paris. Contrary to popular belief, the French Foreign Legion was not founded in America…
3.1954] Debuted on this date: CBS-TV debuts its “Morning Show” and any day now viewers will discover it. It's called "The Early Show" now...
4.1956] Another opening but not just another show: The Lerner and Loewe musical “My Fair Lady” opens on Broadway…
5.1964] Wedding Bells: Richard Burton becomes victim number five for Elizabeth Taylor. These two lovebirds are married for 10 years from 1964 to 1974 and then for an additional year in 1975 before finally calling it quits…
6.1965] The right to vote: Addressing a joint session of Congress, President Lyndon Johnson calls for new legislation guaranteeing every American’s right to vote. Johnson had just been sworn in just two months earlier...
7.1975] “Happy Trails“: Aristotle Onassis, husband of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, dies of bronchial pneumonia at 69…1998] Child care expert Dr. Benjamin Spock dies at 94 from natural causes…
8.2004] Not a good thing: Martha Stewart resigns from the board of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia 10 days after she is convicted in a stock scandal…
9.2005] Gotcha: Former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers is convicted in New York of engineering the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history. He is later sentenced to 25 years…
10.2008] Crane collapse: A construction crane falls on a residential building in Manhattan, killing 4 and injuring at least 17. The city has ruled that the cause of the collapse was faulty rigging. 2008 will go down as the year of the crashing construction crane in New York...

Music Memories:

• 1954] Recorded on this date: The record that many believe is the first Rock & Roll record: "Sh-boom" - The Chords...1955] "Ain't That A Shame" - Fats Domino...

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 11) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

Bob Henabery asked for and received my input on all the prospective disc jockeys we hired for the launch, which I thought was generous of him. It would also help me when I replaced Bob as PD in just a few months. I didn't know Al Gates when I heard his aircheck but I thought he would be an entertaining morning man for us. John Rode (Road-ie), who would follow Al from 9am to Noon was another story. John is someone I knew and worked with...

John and I were both disc jockeys at Big WALT in Tampa in 1966, so I knew how good he was. John's looks belied his voice. His height was average but he was reed-thin. He wore Coke-bottle glasses for his bad myopia. John was never seen without his glasses because if he took them off he would never find them. If John were in a "Mr. Magoo" cartoon, he would be following Magoo. His voice was powerful and resonant. Rode had the kind of voice that everyone in the 60s didn't have but wished they did. John's profile and aircheck can be heard by clicking here and then going to "Talent Pages/Airchecks" & "John Rode"...

(Tomorrow: "WRKO...The Launch" - Part 12: A profile of Joel Cash 12pm-3pm)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Kevin Youkilis (32), Eva Longoria (36), will.i.am (36), Mark McGrath (43), Bret Michaels (48), Terence Trent D'Arby (49), Fabio (50), Sly Stone (67), Mike Love (70), Jimmy Swaggart (76), Judd Hirsch (76) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (78)...

Timeline Countdown: 5 days until the first day of spring, 16 days until MLB Opening Day, 35 days until Passover & 41 days until Easter Sunday...

Internet Coverage Of Earthquake Was Second To None & "WRKO...The Launch"...

The best coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan was offered by the new media. The internet cleaned radio and TV's clock when it came to instantaneous updates from Japan on the devastation created by one of the most horrific acts of nature on record. The social networks offered information directly from those on the scene quicker than any other medium. Internet video shots, supplied by Japanese news sources and average citizens were fed to U.S. TV, proving that non-professionals are becoming the new newsmakers. Cell phone video made TV coverage look like print media. Which begs the question, is the net becoming our number one source of news??? There are those that believe it is - like Doc Searls who writes a blog for Harvard Law...

Searls "This post is not a slam on the good work that broadcasters do. Nor am I declaring the death of TV and radio as we know it. I am using logic here, when I say that the Net is becoming the base medium. Broadcasters need to normalize to the Net. Broadcasters need to be streaming online and well as over the air and over cable." While this might be old news to those of us who've been advocating what the good doctor from Harvard suggests in his post, it is reassuring to see an institute of higher learning spread the message to its readers...

You would be lying if you didn't admit that you wanted developing information on the earthquake once you heard about it. You probably went to the internet first for the most accurate account of the devastation in Japan. You would be part of a minority if you turned on your radio first for updates, less of a minority if you turned on your TV. Despite the enormity of this major news story, I actually heard someone in radio say that his station is downplaying the story because it's not a local event. I can't even begin to comment on that moronic statement...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1743] The meeting is in order: The first town meeting in America is held at Faneuil Hall in Boston...
2.1794] Eli's coming: Eli Whitney receives a patent for his cotton gin...
3.1923] H&R Block's first customer: President Warren Harding becomes the first president to file an income tax report...
4.1961] Meet the Mets: Former Yankees GM, George Weiss becomes president of the New York Mets (who begin play April, 1962...
5.1964] Guilty as charged: A Dallas jury finds Jack Ruby guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK's assassin. About 50 million people witnessed the shooting on live TV...
6.2000] Vote for me: George W. Bush & Al Gore sweep their southern primaries and head for a showdown in November...2004] Vladimir Putin is re-elected Russian president with 70% of the vote. The 30% that didn't vote for him are sent to Siberia...
7.2003] Free as a bird: Robert Blake is released from jail on $1.5 million bail after being jailed for the murder of his wife, Bonny Lee...
8.2008] Monks go Sheen: Protests led by Buddhist monks in Tibet turn violent, leading to an extensive crackdown by China's military...
9.2010] Bend it but don't break it: David Beckham tears his Achilles tendon in a match for A.C. Milan. He is ruled out for the 2010 FIFA World Cup...
10.2010] Death of a star: Veteran actor Peter Graves, dies of a heart attack, four days before his 84th birthday...

Music Memories:

• 1958] Gold Standard: Perry Como gets the 1st official Gold Record for "Catch A Falling Star" from the RIAA. Gold records were awarded for sale of one million copies (singles) and 500,000 for albums (the cast album of "Oklahoma" was the 1st Gold Album)...
• 1958] #1 on this date: "Tequila" - The Champs (Glen Campbell, Jim Seals and Dash Crofts will all join the group after this release)...1979] "I Will Survive" - Gloria Gaynor (this was the 'B' side, the 'A' side was "Substitute")...
• 1965] Sullivan's "Pet": Petula Clark makes her American TV debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show"...
• 1972] Grammy Gold: Carole King wins a Grammy for "Record of The Year", "It's Too Late" and "Album of The Year": "Tapestry". Carly Simon is "Best New Artist".

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 10) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

Al Gates was our original morning man. Al was working at WIXY in Cleveland when he was hired. "Feathers" migrated from Lake Erie, where he nested. He found Boston Harbor more to his liking. One listen to Al, told you all you needed to know. He was the ultimate professional and personality. He filled his show with one-liners, self-made sound effects and delivered it all in a rapid tempo. News, weather & sports, was well handled with veteran newscaster Palmer Payne & Curt Gowdy. We had helicopter traffic reports too. If you ever had to fight Boston traffic, you know how valuable that was...

Of all of our disc jockeys, Gates read the best live commercials. He would make a career of doing voice work when his disc jockey days ended. WRKO had a promotion featuring fake dollar bills that we gave away by the thousands - why not? it didn't cost us anything. The bill had a picture of Al, Feathers, Palmer Payne & Curt Gowdy on it and was inscribed "For A Million Dollar Morning", 6-9am and signed by Al. A picture of the bill, profile of Al Gates and aircheck can be seen & heard by clicking here and then going to "Talent Pages/Airchecks" & "Al Gates"...

(Tomorrow: "WRKO...The Launch" - Part 11 Features: A profile of John Rode 9-12Noon)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Monaco's Prince Albert (53), Jerry (Ben & Jerry) Greenfield (60), Rick "Disco Duck" Dees (61), Billy Crystal (63), Michael Caine (78), Quincy Jones (78), Phil ("Sea of Love") Phillips (80) and former astronaut Frank Borman (83)...

Timeline Countdown: 6 days until spring, 17 days until MLB Opening Day, 36 days until Passover & 42 days until Easter...

Will Cumulus Now Divide And Conquer Clear Channel? & "WRKO...The Launch"...

(Weekend Edition)

All that remains in the Cumulus Media Inc. purchase of Citadel Broadcasting Corp. is for Citadel shareholders and regulators to approve the $1.7 billion deal. It's expected to close by the end of the year, according to the AP & Boston Globe. To recap, Atlanta-based Cumulus would own 572 radio stations in about 120 U.S. markets once the deal closes. Cumulus would remain the number 2 radio station owner in the U.S. behind Clear Channel, owner of more than 800 stations. Although neither Cumulus nor Citadel is what you would call robust - both carry serious debt, the recent, although modest economic uptick has apparently convinced Cumulus to act now. Clear Channel has been nickle and diming it and continues to make personnel cutbacks. Now that Cumulus is gobbling up Citadel, will they decide to divide and conquer Clear Channel by acquiring some of their properties. Does a rolling stone carry no moss???

Not only will Cumulus kick Clear Channel's tires but so will Emmis. Both are likely to target CC properties especially in strategic large markets and medium to smaller size cities, according to Seeking Alpha. Clear Channel's shaky status could produce more downsizing, putting some of their valuable properties on the block. You can bet that Cumulus will be first to knock on their door with Emmis close behind. Both companies will be watching closely to see how that plays out...

Meanwhile, Citadel shareholders will decide whether to take a piece of the $1.7 billion pie being offered up by Cumulus or about 151 million Cumulus Class A shares. Citadel claims that a total value of $38.23 per share is forthcoming, based on Cumulus' closing stock price on Wednesday. If all Citadel shareholders choose to receive cash, then each Citadel share would be prorated to $30 in cash and 1.613 shares of Cumulus. There are worse decisions to make...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1912] Order your cookies: Juliette Gordon Low founds the “Girl Guides” which will become the ‘Girl Scouts of America’ (3/12)…
2.1942] Big Mac: With Japanese forces advancing in the Pacific during WWII, General Douglas MacArthur leaves the Philippines for Australia vowing “I Shall Return“. He does (3/11)…
3.1964] Screams? What screams?: Thirty-eight neighbors ignore the screams of 28-year old Kitty Genovese being stabbed to death in a Queens neighborhood (3/13)…
4.1967] WRKO is born: WNAC changes call letters to WRKO and switches format. Boston’s new top 40 giant replaces the Yankee Network Flagship personality/talk/news station (3/13)... "WRKO - The Launch" will continue to be available in daily segments throughout the month of March...
5.1980] Guilty as charged: A jury finds John Wayne Gacy Jr. guilty of murdering 33 men and boys. Gacy will be executed in May of 1994 (3/12)…1997] LAPD arrest Mikail Markhasev in the shooting death of 27-year old Ennis Cosby, Bill Cosby’s son. Markhasev is serving life with no parole (3/12)…
6.1991] Pretty slick: Exxon pays $1 billion in fines for the clean-up of the Alaskan oil spill they caused (3/13)…
7.2002] In living color: Homeland security chief Tom Ridge unveils a color-coded system for terror warnings. If you’re color-blind, you’re out of luck (3/12)…
8.2003] Getting Smart: Elizabeth Smart is reunited with her family 9 months after being abducted from her home. She was kidnapped in June of 2002 by a drifter who had previously done work at her family’s home (3/12)…
9.2008] Client #9: New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigns two days after reports surface that he was a client (#9) of a prostitution ring (3/12)…
10.2009] Scammer slammed: Former NASDAQ chairman Bernard Madoff pleads guilty to 11 felonies and admits operating what’s called the largest investor fraud ever committed by an individual. In June he’s sentenced to 150 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $170 billion (3/12)…

Music Memories:

• 1957] Recorded on this date: "Maybe Baby" - Crickets (with Buddy Holly)(3/12)...
• 1967] Number One on the day that WRKO debuted (3/13/67): "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone" - Supremes...
• 1968] Gold Standard: "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" - Otis Redding (3/11...
• 1969] Grammy Gold: "Mrs. Robinson" ('Best Record of 1968') - Simon & Garfunkel (3/12)...
• 1970] Released on this date: "Deja Vu" LP - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (3/11)...
• 1997] A good knight: Paul McCartney is knighted by the Queen of England (3/11)...

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 9) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

It was unseasonably warm in Boston on Monday, March 13, 1967. On Sunday it had reached 44 and was almost springlike. Monday was expected to be similar. But there was so much excitement in the air at 21 Brookline Avenue, that none of us knew or cared what the weather was. We were about to launch a new station out of a tired, upper-demo, middle-of-the road property that had an hourly news commitment of a quarter of an hour...

In the early morning hours of March 13, 1967, WNAC was replaced by WRKO, "Now Radio In Boston." The original on-air lineup featured Al Gates & his sidekick, "Feathers" (6am-9am). "Feathers" was the duck voiced by Al for funny two-voicers. Al was joined by the news/sports team of Palmer Payne & sports great, Curt Gowdy. Al was followed by John Rode from 9am-12noon. The noon day hour (12pm-3pm) featured Joel Cash and then it was time for afternoon drive heavy - J.J. Jeffrey. Six to 9pm was hosted by the iconic Boston disc jockey, Arnie "Woo-Woo" Ginsburg. Arnie had already become a legend for his pioneering work at cross-town rival WMEX. Chuck "Chuckles" Knapp handled 9pm to midnight. The all-night disc jockey was Dick Burch, who would have a short career lasting all of one day. The WRKO lineup featured on the marquee of the Kenmore Hotel didn't list Burch, but listed the other members of the "Now Crowd". All but J.J. Jeffrey and Arnie Ginsburg were newcomers to Boston...

The WRKO sales staff was now selling an entirely different format than they had before but they were ready to hit the streets with a new rate card...

(Monday: "WRKO...The Launch" (Part 10) will profile the on-air staff)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday": (3/11) Johnny Knoxville (40), Terrence Howard (42), Cheryl Lynn (54), Joey Buttafuocco (55), Nina Hagen (56), Bobby McFerrin (61), Sam Donaldson (77) and Rupert Murdoch (80)...(3/12) Steve Levy (46), Darryl Strawberry (49), Jon ("Timmy" from "Lassie") Provost (61), James Taylor (63), Liza Minnelli (65), Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano (66), Al Jarreau (71), Andrew Young (79), Barbara ("99") Feldon (79) & Edward Albee (83)...(3/13) Johan Santana (32), WRKO (44), Dana Delany (55), William H. Macy (61), Neil Sedaka (72) and songwriter Mike Stoller (78)...

Timeline Countdown: Daylight savings time starts at 2am Sunday (clocks advance one hour), 9 days until the first day of spring, 20 days until MLB Opening Day, 39 days until Passover & 44 days until Easter Sunday...

Will Radio Follow TV's Lead On Boomers? & "WRKO...The Launch"...

TV finally gets it. Will radio follow? Since the average prime-time viewer is now 51 and many highly rated shows have viewers 55+ , TV is stretching the highly coveted 18-to-49-year old sales target. Makes sense since there are nearly 80 million baby boomers out there watching 170 hours of TV a month (5 to 6 hours a day), according to Nielsen Co. Baby boomers, defined as the 55 - 65 demographic, watch more TV than average viewers, who are not in that age group. The Wall Street Journal is calling this sales movement - Television's Senior Moment. Now, will radio be smart enough to acknowledge its aging audience???

There's one thing that TV is doing that I don't agree with and I hope radio doesn't follow. Networks want to charge advertisers more to reach the boomers. The theory being that these viewers watch a disproportionate amount of TV, and they control half of all U.S. consumer spending. There's no reason to raise your rates because you're stretching your demographic target. It may be good business but it's just wrong...

Jim Speros, chief marketing officer at Fidelity Personal and Workplace Investing, a unit of Fidelity Investments says the stretching of demographics to include baby boomers "Isn't a wave, it's a tsunami. Pharmaceuticals, luxury-car makers and financial firms are on board." Memo to music radio stations: Lots of teenagers watch "American Idol" but did you know that the average age of AI viewers is 51 and growing older each year???

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1876] Can you hear me now?: The first successful voice transmission over Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone takes place in Boston when his assistant hears, “Mr. Watson, come here. I want you.” Mr. Watson replies, “how exactly do you mean that?”…
2.1949] Guilty as charged: Nazi wartime broadcaster Mildred E. Gillars aka “Axis Sally” is convicted of treason and will serve 12 years in prison…1969] James Earl Ray pleads ‘guilty’ to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. but will later repudiate his plea and maintain his innocence until his death in 1998…2004] Teenage Washington (D.C.) sniper Lee Boyd Malvo is sentenced to life in prison in Virginia…
3.1965] The Odd Couple: The play opens on Broadway with Walter Matthau and Art Carney as Oscar and Felix. Jack Klugman will replace Matthau and Tony Randall replaces Carney when the TV series starts…
4.1966] ‘Happy Trails’: Five-time ‘Horse of the Year’, the mighty Kelso retires. The gelding lives a long life, passing away in October, 1983…1980] Scarsdale Diet guru, Dr. Hyman Tarnower is murdered by his lover, Jean Harris who will be pardoned in 1992 by Governor Mario Cuomo after serving time in a penitentiary…1988] Andy Gibb dies suddenly of heart inflammation at the age of 30…
5.1971] Vote for me: The Senate lowers the voting age to 18…
6.1980] Debuted on this date: Willard Scott debuts as weather man on “The Today Show”...
7.1983] Going to Hall: Walter Alston who began his career as manager of the Dodgers in Brooklyn is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame…
8.1993] Gunned down: Dr. David Gunn is shot to death outside a Pensacola (FL) abortion clinic…
9.2002] Yasser pinned: Israeli helicopters destroy Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s office in Gaza City, hours after 11 Israelis are killed in a suicide bombing in a cafe across the street from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s residence in Jerusalem…
10.2005] Wacko Jacko: Wearing pajamas and twirling an umbrella, Michael Jackson shows up one hour late to his trial. A back injury is given as MJ’s excuse, however there’s no excuse offered for his bizarre behavior. Charlie Sheen takes notes...

Music Memories:

• 1961] Number One on this date: "Pony Time" - Chubby Checker...1971] "One Bad Apple" - Osmonds...1981] "I Love a Rainy Night" - Eddie Rabbitt...

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 8) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

The summer of 1967 was known as "The Summer Of Love." TSOL started with a Be-In, celebrated in San Francisco in the early part of the year and spread nationwide. Inflation was only 2.7% and the average cost of a new house would set you back $14,250. Average yearly income was $7,300. Gas was 33 cents a gallon for the average car that cost $2,750. The price of a movie ticket was a mere $1.75, even for the James Bond film, "Casino Royale", which WRKO would make famous. More on that later...

The first Super Bowl was played in 1967 but it wasn't even called the Super Bowl. Green Bay beat Kansas City, 35-10 in the NFL Championship Game. Music gave us the Doors, Aretha's "Respect" and The Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu got married, Clint Eastwood gave us "A Fistful Of Dollars", Off-Broadway gave us "Hair" and NASA introduced the Apollo 7 crew. Monterrey produced a Pop Festival and TV gave us "The Monkees"...

Locally, The Summer of Love would end in The Impossible Dream as the Red Sox stole our hearts with thrilling victories, making it all the way to the World Series. But that wasn't the only big story in Boston. On March 13, 1967, a new radio station surfaced that would change listening habits with its rapid rise to the top of the ratings...

(Tomorrow: "WRKO...The Launch" (Part 9) (WRKO Is Launched)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Olivia Wilde (27), Carrie Underwood (28), John Hamm (40), Edie Brickell (45), Jasmine Guy (47), Rick Rubin (48), Sharon Stone (53), Tom Scholz (64), Dean Torrance (71) and Chuck Norris (71)...

Timeline Countdown: 3 days until Daylight Savings Time, 10 days until the first day of spring, 21 days until MLB Opening Day, 40 days until Passover & 45 days until Easter...

FCC Chairman Genachowski May Leave & "WRKO...The Launch"...

The possibility of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski leaving his post is not what either the old or new media had in mind. The Hill reports that the FCC chair is being considered by the White House as a potential successor to Gary Locke as Secretary of Commerce. Should Genachowski leave, look for net neutrality and anything else on the table to return to square one. Apparently Genachowski and his close law school bud - who happens to be the president of the United States - see this move as a way to get the FCC chair to leave the agency on a positive note. While some would welcome Genachowski's departure, this can not be considered a positive move for the media...

"It's been no secret that Genachowski may want to move on after a tenure characterized by nearly-constant acrimony and a few trips to Capitol Hill to take fire from House Republicans. Genachowski has tangled with Senate Democrats as well" - according to Sara Jerome of Hillicon Valley. Jessica Rosenworcel, a top telecom aide to Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) is widely cited as a likely pick to replace outgoing FCC Commissioner Michael Copps and could be in the running for FCC chair should Genachowski leaves. I'm sure we'll all find out shortly what kind of Chair, Rosenworcel would be...

As one FCC Chairman might be leaving, another one resurfaces. Newton Minnow, FCC Chairman during the Kennedy Administration and author of the infamous "TV is a vast wasteland" quote is back to reminisce and give us his view of today's media. Given that the median age in the U.S. is 36.8, more than half of the population neither remembers the quote or Newton Minnow...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1862] What’s the tie-breaker?:During the Civil War, the ironclad Monitor and Virginia (formerly the Merrimac) fight to a draw in a 5-hour battle at Hampton Roads (VA)…
2.1954] TVs finest hour: On “See It Now” Edward R. Murrow takes a stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy and his communist witch hunt with a hard hitting interview of the Wisconsin Senator…
3.1954] Not TVs finest hour: WNBT (now WNBC) New York runs the first local color TV commercial for Castro Convertible as Bernadette Castro makes the couch into a bed for the first time. This is Dan Ingram doing the radio commercial...
4.1955] Debuted on this date: James Dean debuts in “East of Eden”. Dean will make two more movies: “Rebel Without A Cause” and “Giant” before his short life ends in an auto crash in September of ‘55…1959] Happy Birthday to the Barbie Doll, 52 years young today…1964] The first Ford Mustang rolls off the assembly line…
5.1975] Pipe down: Work begins on the Alaskan oil pipeline...
6.1976] Cadettes join the Cadets: The first female cadets are accepted at the West Point Military Academy…
7.1981] Rather: Dan Rather makes his debut as principal anchorman on The CBS Evening News replacing Walter Cronkite…2005] Not: Rather signs off for the last time as principal anchorman of The CBS Evening News…
8.1992] “Happy Trails”: Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin who had a history of heart trouble, dies at 78 from natural causes…1996] Legendary comedian George Burns joins Gracie at age 100…2007] Boston lead singer Brad Delp is found dead in his New Hampshire home. Delp, 55, died from the smoke of two charcoal grills he lit inside his sealed bathroom. Found by his girlfriend, he had a suicide note pinned to his shirt…
9.2006] Dubai-out: Bowing to opposition in Congress, a Dubai-owned company relinquishes its quest to take over operations at U.S. ports...
10.2009] Stem Cells In: Barack Obama lifts limits on using federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research...

Music Memories:

• 1977] Number One On this date: "Evergreen" - Barbra Streisand...1987] "Livin' On A Prayer" - Bon Jovi...1997] "Wannabe" - Spice Girls...

"WRKO...The Launch": (Part 7) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

Our visit to Harris, Inc. in the summer of 1966 would yield dividends. Thanks to Eng. Dir. George Capalbo's expertise, we came back with state-of-the-art automation. We named him-she-it: "ARKO" after the first part of our corporate name, RKO-General. By clicking here and then clicking, "Miscellaneous" under "Gallery" you'll see the automation in the top right corner. Left to right in the photo are 3-10" reel-to-reel machines, which we put the music on. The third machine was used as a spare, the programming rack, which we used to program "ARKO" and then the "sandwich" machine. The latter was stacked with regulation size cartridges that were recorded in the production studio. They were the promos and spots we would run - although we were light on commercials in the beginning. The "sandwich" machine ran from top to bottom sucking in the programmed cart and then spitting it out once played. On occasion it would spit out a cart too far and the cart would be crushed when the machine searched for the next scheduled cart. This wasn't anyone's favorite machine. George wired the equipment for dead-air with a loud alarm that had technicians running down the hallway when "ARKO" became soundless...

Most of the time the equipment ran well and regular maintenance (head cleaning, re-cueing, etc.) saw to that. In addition to a new automation system, we had a great signal which covered 5 states. Taking a look at our coverage map, you can see that we reached the southern tip of Maine, half of New Hampshire, half of Massachusetts, including Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, all of Rhode Island and about half of Connecticut. WRKO-FM's reach was better than our AM...

(Tomorrow: "WRKO...The Launch" (Part 8) (The events that colored 1967, followed by the actual launch on Friday)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Brittany Snow (25), Emanuel Lewis (40), Jeffrey Osborne (63), Charlie Gibson (68), Mark Lindsay (69), Marty Ingels (75), Mickey Gilley (75), Lloyd Price (78) and Keely Smith (79)...

Timeline Countdown: 4 days until Daylight time, 11 days until the first day of spring, 22 days until MLB Opening Day, 41 days until Passover & 46 days until Easter...

Radio's Piece Of The Pie Is Shrinking/"WRKO...The Launch"...

The recession masked radio's real problem - more technically advanced media sources are eating our original medium's lunch and revenue share. Estimates of radio's post-recession revenue share are somewhere in the single digits while new media and those that followed radio, share the rest. Magnaglobal's 2011 Advertising Forecast predicts that during 2011-2016, radio's compound annual growth rate will only be 4.1% vs. a core media average gain of 6.3% says sales guru Dave Gifford, writing in Radio Ink. Gifford says if that's correct, radio will lose more of its revenue share in 2011 - nationally, regionally and locally...

Gifford claims "With 46.5% of total media revenues unmeasured (direct mail included) and new media undermeasured, radio's true market share is probably 5%, if that. Obviously, there is something very wrong with radio's 'sales format.'" Gifford is self-serving, he sells his sales expertise but he's probably closer to reality than the ad experts who claim that radio sales are back. Back to what? The truth is - back to where it's never been before...

You can blame the recession all you want but the truth is there are better, bigger and faster sources of media than radio and while you're at it, blame radio for doing a lousy job of selling its product too. If the recession is finally over, radio has no more excuses...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1817] Stocking up: The New York Stock Exchange is founded…
2.1965] Semper Fi: The United States lands about 3,500 Marines in South Vietnam...
3.1971] A Sports trilogy begins: Muhammad Ali loses a decision to undefeated heavyweight champ Joe Frazier. This is the first of 3 fights between two of the best heavyweights ever. I saw this fight in a Boston movie theater with Sal Ingeme of Columbia Records, although it wouldn't help Sal get any airplay…
4.1979] A new kind of CD: Philips demonstrates the Compact Disc publicly for the first time…
5.1980] Soviet Woodstock: The first festival of rock music kicks off in the Soviet Union. Unless you’ve heard of Aquarium or Vladimir Rubashevsky, you wouldn’t recognize any of the acts on the bill…
6.1983] The Evil Empire: It’s neither the Yankees or Red Sox, it’s the Soviet Union. President Ronald Reagan calls the USSR an “Evil Empire”…
7.1999] “Happy Trails“: Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, the ‘Yankee Clipper’ dies at 84 after never fully recovering from lung cancer surgery in the fall of 1998…
8.1999] Supes uphold convictions: The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the murder convictions of Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombing…
9.2004] Justice for all: Abu Abbas, the Palestinian guerrilla leader who planned the hijacking of the Achille Lauro, dies while in custody…
10.2008] W vetoes bill: George W. Bush vetoes a bill that would have banned the CIA from using waterboarding and other coercive interrogation methods to gain information from suspected terrorists…

Music Memories:

• 1965] DC 5 debut: The Dave Clark Five make their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show". They returned for a November visit...
• 1968] Go East young man: Bill Graham opens the Fillmore East on Second avenue in the East Village. Here's a clip from December, 1968...
• 1970] O Solo Mio: Diana Ross appears solo for the first time in Framingham (MA). This is Miss Ross's 1st solo hit...

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 6) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

We called the WRKO-FM music list the "Certified 35." The C-35 was determined each week using as our disclaimer said, "An accurate compilation of actual local record sales, national record sales and telephone requests." It was about as accurate as you could get back in 1967. We printed up copies and stacked the retail outlets with them...

On the survey, we used a sell line of "WRKO-FM 98.5 Your Automated All Music Station 9AM - 12Midnight." Those were our original operating hours. On-air we had sonovox voicers which were used as the voice of "R-KO, Your Friendly Robot." "Ahko" became so popular, New Englanders would claim him, her or-it as their own. The voicers would proclaim "Only R-KO plays 4 in a row" and other sell lines. We had several voicers that we would pepper each hour with. My favorite was "Arkomatic", which meant nothing and was probably invented at one of the brainstorming sessions between Bob Henabery and I, which would often be enhanced with a brew or glass of wine at "Mother's", housed in the Kenmore Hotel, the original site of the station. At one point the hotel went through a management change to the St. George Hotel, before it changed back to its original name...

George Capalbo, our Engineering chief, provided state-of-the-art automation for "R-KO" and we had a signal that reached parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, including Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard and all of Rhode Island. Next, we'll take a look at the reach of WRKO-FM and the automation we used. Meanwhile, the countdown to the launch of WRKO-AM was 5 days away...

(Tomorrow: "WRKO...The Launch" (Part 7) (WRKO-FM Automation & Reach)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Freddie Prinze Jr. (35), Camryn Manheim (50), Jim Rice (58), Peggy March (63), Carole Bayer Sager (64), Randy Meisner (65), Mickey Dolenz (66), Jim Bouton (72) & Pete Dawkins (73)...

Timeline Countdown: 5 days until Daylight time, 12 days until the first day of spring, 23 days until MLB Opening Day, 42 days until Passover & 47 days until Easter...

Radio Is Losing Digital Ad Revenue Race/"WRKO...The Launch"

By 2015, 26% of all local advertising dollars will be spent online. That means for the first time ever, digital will earn more local ad revenue than traditional radio. The late Johnnie Cochran would've called this "a bombshell" and "a blockbuster." The bad news for radio, comes courtesy of Borrell Associates VP Kip Cassino. Cassino says "There is no question now about the question of online." While advertisers spent about $13.5 billion on local online ads in 2010, that number is expected to increase to $24 billion by 2015 - growth that will be accompanied by a shifting focus on digital versus traditional media advertising. And there's a shift in the direction of where those digital dollars are going too...

Diana Marszalek of Net News Check reports that digital dollars spent online will be targeted on mobile versus the "old" new media of the internet. Cassino predicts that the surge in mobile advertising expected over the next five years will push the percentage of local online ad dollars being spent specifically on mobile from 15% today to 64% by 2015. "The purchase of mobile devices will have replaced the desktop devices that we now have", says Cassino. And the devices are changing. According to Cassino, by 2015, the purchase of tablets will own a major share of devices sold. With the focus on digital advertising, what share of local advertising will radio own???

Cassino predicts nearly 23% of traditional media advertising will go to newspapers - which usually get the most ad dollars. About 16% will head to TV stations in 2015 and radio will fight it out with every other form of remaining media for the rest. Even if these predictions are half-right, radio will have to fight harder than ever for local ad dollars...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1774] Banned - Boston: The British close the port of Boston to all commerce. Revenge is just two years away. This is what Boston Harbor must have looked like...
2.1876] Can you hear me now?: Alexander Graham Bell receives U.S. Patent no. 174,465 for something called the telephone... 1926] 50 years later the first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversation takes place between New York City and London...
3.1965] March to Selma: State Troopers and a sheriff's posse breaks up a civil rights march in Selma (AL)...
4.1967] "D-I-V-O-R-C-E": Sandra Dee receives a divorce from Bobby Darin. America's favorite couple were married in 1960...
5.1986] Challenger crew found: Divers locate the crew cabin of Challenger on the ocean floor...
6.1987] So Young: 20-year old Mike Tyson becomes the youngest heavyweight champion after decisioning James "Bonecrusher" Smith in a 12-round bout in Las Vegas. Here's Tyson at 17...
7.1994] Supes Rule: The Supreme Court rules that parodies that poke fun at an original work can be considered "fair use" that doesn't require permission from the copyright holder. SNL was waiting for this ruling almost 20 years...
8.1996] Abuse of power: Three U.S. servicemen are convicted in the rape of a 12-year old Okinawa girl and sentenced by a Japanese court to up to seven years in prison...
9.2003] Cue the band-uh, where's the band?: A four-day walkout by Broadway musicians begins...
10.2004] Not a good thing: Martha Stewart is convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she unloaded Imclone stocks just as the price dropped. Bernie Madoff takes notes...

Music Memories:

• 1966] Recorded on this date: The Beach Boys begin recording "God Only Knows" ...
• 1985] Released on this date: "We Are The World" has its international release...

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 5) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

Bob Henabery's critique of KHJ and Perry Ury's follow up with RKO General Corporate clinched the Top 40 format change for WRKO-AM, now just 6 days away. But without the successful launch of WRKO-FM in October 1966, it's possible that KHJ notwithstanding, corporate wouldn't have approved the format change for AM. In terms of importance of the two, I would give a majority of the share to the success of WRKO-FM...

The AM was about to follow in the footsteps of our FM. The music would be similar and the only major difference between the two would be, WRKO-AM would not be automated...

WRKO-FM's music was pure Top 40, if it was a hit, we played it, in many cases before WBZ & WMEX. A look at the "Certified 35" for the week ending January 5, 1967 - (a) seen here, shows a top 5 of "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron", "Standing In The Shadows Of Love", "Bend It", "Nashville Cats" & "I'm A Believer." All hits of the day - but we weren't afraid to play local acts and questionable (at the time) songs like "Let's Spend The Night Together" either...(Tomorrow: "WRKO...The Launch" (Part 6) (More on WRKO-FM's Success)...

(a) (Under "WRKO-FM" - "WRKO-FM Music Survey")

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Rachel Weisz (40), Wanda Sykes (47), Taylor Dayne (49), Ernie (the youngest Isley Brother) Isley (59), Steeler teammates Lynn Swann (59) and Franco Harris (61), Peter Wolf (65), Michael Eisner (69), Daniel Travanti (71) & Williard Scott (77)...

Timeline Countdown: 6 days until Daylight time, 13 days until the first day of spring, 24 days until MLB Opener, 43 days until Passover & 48 days until Easter...

Does Anyone Realize That Radio Spectrum Is Neither Owned Or Licensed & "WRKO...The Launch"

(Weekend Edition)

What started out as "White Space" is now referred to as "Spectrum" but whether you sell, auction or even slice and dice it, it's neither owned or licensed - by anyone. Radio spectrum is government regulated in some countries, none of which are named the United States of America. Thanks to former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, there's a war over the use of spectrum for additional radio signals which would then be used for broadband and all kinds of electronic technologies. Back in October of 2008, it was Martin who announced his support for the use of white spaces within the radio frequency spectrum. White spaces are airwaves that go unused after the federally mandated transformation of analog TV signal to digital. Martin told us that he was "hoping to take advantage of utilizing these airwaves for broadband services to allow for unlicensed technologies and new innovations in that space." I hope you know he had no right to do that since the FCC neither owns or regulates that space. It didn't matter - it was done. Three years later the fight rages over ownership of that space...

Larry Downes of Forbes raises several good points in his assessment of the spectrum mess, in addition to the white space being unlicensed and unowned. "Usable spectrum is limited. Technological improvements have made it possible to increase the range, and to make more effective use of both the licensed and unlicensed components. As new demands for spectrum - especially for mobile broadband - force us to recognize very real limits to the finite spectrum it has, calls are getting louder to revisit current licensed uses to ensure the public's best interests are being served, now and in the near and midterm future." And where is this unused spectrum coming from? "At this point, the only way to allocate spectrum for new uses and users is to deallocate it from someone who already has it, whether a commercial or government user." ...

If the FCC turns "voluntary" auctions for spectrum, to "involuntary" auctions, should not enough sellers volunteer the space, I hope they have the ability to manage what would follow - chaos at a level they've never before experienced...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1930] TV to follow: Clarence Birdseye develops a method for quick-freezing food. It will be known as the TV dinner (3/6)…
2.1952] Wedding Bells: Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis tie the knot (3/4). They will be married until Reagan's death in June, 2004...
3.1963] ‘Happy Trails’: Legendary Country artist Patsy Cline dies in a small plane crash in Camden (TN) returning from a Kansas City benefit for the widow of a local disc jockey. Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Patsy’s pilot/manager were also killed (3/5)…
4.1973] Wife swap: Yankees pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich arrive at spring training and announce that they have swapped wives, children and dogs. Within two years both players are gone from baseball. Had Fox been around, this would have been the first reality series (3/5)…
5.1978] Gunned down: Hustler publisher Larry Flynt is shot and paralyzed permanently by a sniper in Georgia who objected to an interracial couple appearing in the magazine (3/6)...
6.1981] ‘And that’s the way it is’: The words of Walter Cronkite who does his final “CBS Evening News” report which started on April 16, 1962 (3/6)…
7.1982] SNL death: John Belushi dies of a drug overdose in a Hollywood hotel room. Belushi was just 33 (3/5)…
8.1990] Gathers is gone: One of the leading scorers in NCAA history, Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount suddenly collapses and dies during a game against Portland at 23. Gathers who was projected as a 1st round pick suffered from a heart muscle disorder (3/4)…
9.1993] Neighborhood crime: A woman is gang-raped on a pool table in a New Bedford (MA) tavern. Four men are later convicted in a case that rocks the nation (3/6). Jodie Foster starred in “The Accused” which was based on this case…
10.2004] Not a good thing: Martha Stewart is convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she unloaded Imclone stocks just before the price dropped. Bernie Madoff takes notes (3/5)…

Music Memories:

• 1955] Elvis (sigh)ting: Elvis Presley makes his first TV appearance on "Louisiana Hayride." This clip is from January 1955. On the same date Elvis is honorably discharged from the Army (3/5)...
• 1959] Recorded on this date: "There Goes My Baby" - Drifters (3/6)...1976] "Rich Girl" - Hall & Oates (3/4)...
• 1966] Number One on this date: "Ballad of the Green Berets" - S/Sgt. Barry Sadler (3/6)...
• 1976] Released on this date: "Rhiannon" - Fleetwood Mac (3/6)...

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 4) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay with a N/T format in New England)...

By March 6, 1967, The press let the world in on what was no longer a secret. Boston was getting a new Top 40 station. WRKO was about to launch the following week. Eleanor Roberts, music and radio/TV critic of the Boston Traveler (which will soon be absorbed into the Boston Herald) mentions that the Now Crowd will debut on March 13. The new WRKO jock lineup is now listed in all local newspapers. Billboard magazine's "Vox Jox" reports that (a) Arnie Ginsburg has joined WRKO to do 6pm to 9pm. They also mention that (b) Al Gates is already at the station. As the disc jockeys rehearse their shows, the management team is ready for the launch...

In addition to Henabery and Ury, the staff consisted of Promotion Director (c)Harvey Mednick, News Director (d) Roger Allan and Director of Engineering, (e)George Capalbo. Harvey, who would become a brilliant promotion guy would eventually leave us for flagship station KHJ and then RKO corporate. George and I started on the same day in August 1966 and met on a plane headed for Harris Electronics to order the automation for WRKO. George would work his way up to corporate, like Harvey. Roger was already an award winning News Director and a carry-over from WNAC. Sales was headed by Bud Simen who had a strong staff that had to learn how to sell a new format. Bill Wayland and Dick Woodies would become two of the sales stars who would make the grade and survive. And I programmed WRKO-FM and was defacto Music & Production Director for both the FM & AM until (f) Paul Power was hired. After 8 years of disc jockeying, I was now a programmer - or so I thought. I did not expect to be doing morning drive shortly after WRKO was launched but I was in for a big surprise...

(a) Under "Photo Collections-Arnie Ginsburg") (b) "Publicity Photos-Al Gates") (c) "Now Happenings") (d) "WRKO People-Roger Allan" (e) "Miscellaneous" (f) "WRKO People" -Paul Power")...

(Monday: "WRKO...The Launch") (Part 5) (The Count Down Begins)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday": (3/4) Chaz Bono (42), Steven Weber (50), Patricia Heaton (53), Catherine O'Hara (57), Bobby Womack (67), Paula Prentiss (73) & disc jockey jokebook writer Bob Orben (84)...(3/5) Niki Taylor (36), Eva Mendes (37), Penn Jillette (56), Marsha Warfield (57), Eddy Grant (63), Murray Head (65), Fred Williamson (73) and Dean Stockwell (75)...(3/6) Shaquille O'Neal (39), Cathie Brady (51), Tom Arnold (52), Kiki Dee (64), Rob Reiner (64), Mary Wilson (67), Ivan Boesky (74), Sylvia Robinson (75), Ivan Boesky (74 ) & Alan Greenspan (85)...

Timeline Countdown: 9 days until Daylight time, 16 days until spring, 27 days until MLB Opening Day, 46 days until Passover & 51 days until Easter...

Public Broadcaster WGBH Faces Double Doom & "WRKO...The Launch"

WGBH-TV is the most influential public broadcasting operation in America, producing one-third of all Public Broadcasting Service programming, including national documentary series such as "Frontline" and "Nova." They've been producing great specials as long as they've been in existence - 1955, radio came first in 1951. WGBH, also holds licenses for WGBH-FM & WGBX-TV, a separately-programmed service for Cape Cod and the Islands (Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard) and several other radio stations including WCRB, a classical music station. They also broadcast some of their properties on HD Radio sidechannels. All of these stations are in jeopardy should Congress go through with their threat of federal funding cuts. On top of the federal cuts, WGBH faces more bad news. According to the Boston Globe, WGBH has presented its last proposal for a new agreement with its largest union and has stopped contract talks that began in August...

The union is the Association of Employees of the Educational Foundation, Communications Workers of America, Local 1300 and they've been looking for a new three-year contract to replace an agreement that expired at the end of October. Management wants concessions that include cutting in half the company's match for employee retirement plans and is demanding control over redefining job descriptions. With that, WGBH would be able to assign employees to work at TV, radio, and on the Web. The union is not so crazy about that idea but says it would make some concessions to preserve jobs and WGBH's financial health. Union workers will vote on March 12 on the management offer. If they reject the proposed contract, both sides will reach an impasse and WGBH then can implement the terms of its final offer, beginning March 15...

At stake in the result of the contract negotiations are lots of jobs. WGBH employs 850 people. The local union represents 280 writers, editors, production workers, and marketing employees. Then there's the trickle-down effect on all the other WGBH properties...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1887] Signing In: Anne Sullivan arrives at the Alabama home of Capt. and Mrs. Arthur H. Keller to become the teacher of Helen, their blind and deaf 6-year-old daughter…
2.1931] Star spangled: President Herbert Hoover signs into law our first national anthem, Francis Scott Key’s “Defense of Fort McHenry” aka “The Star Spangled Banner”…
3.1959] ‘Happy Trails’: Lou Costello of the legendary Abbott and Costello comedy duo, suffers a fatal heart attack 3 days shy of his 53rd birthday…
4.1969] This is a test: Apollo 9 is launched on a mission to test the lunar module that will be used in the moon landings…
5.1984] The new commish: Peter Ueberroth, president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee is elected as the 6th commissioner of baseball effective October 1. Well, he looked good, anyway…
6.1985] Premiered on this date: “Moonlighting” starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis on ABC-TV. This terrific series ran until May of 1989…
7.1991] Hell breaks loose in L.A.: Motorist Rodney King is severely beaten by LAPD officers in a scene captured on amateur video tape…
8.1992] Hang him high: Islanders’ great Mike Bossy becomes the second Islander to have his uniform (#22) hoisted to the rafters at Nassau Coliseum. Dennis Potvin’s #5 was the first one…
9.1995] Stalking softly: A stalker is arrested while trying to break into Roberta Flack’s Manhattan apartment but the singer starts playing “Killing Me Softly” on the piano and the stalker falls into a coma…
10.2005] Up, up and away: Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, touching down in central Kansas after a 67-hour, 23,000 mile journey. In September, 2007 Fossett vanished while flying. He was legally declared dead in 2008. Eventually Fossett's remains were found...

Music Memories:

• 1965] Number One on this date: "My Girl" - Temptations...
• 1966] Formed on this date: Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay form Buffalo Springfield...

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 3): (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay in New England)...

On June 21, 1966, WNAC Program Director, Bob Henabery, sent an *internal memo to Jerry Bess of RKO Corporate following a critique of KHJ Los Angeles. Bob highly praised the station and copied GM Perry S. Ury on the memo. Perry sent Bob to Los Angeles to tape the station and critique it so he could convince Bess that we should follow in KHJ's footsteps. In September 1966, Billboard Magazine published **Radio Response Ratings for Boston, showing there was room for another Top 40 radio station in the market. I was **hired in late August to produce that station - WRKO-FM. The automated station was so successful that word had leaked that WNAC was about to change format as early as January 25, 1967, following a **Boston Globe story about WRKO-FM. Paul Kelley Jr. sent an internal memo to the Blair Radio sales team mentioning a conversation he had with a salesman from WNAC indicating a format change to contemporary music taking place no later than April 1. On January 31, the **Bennington Vermont Banner writes an article titled "End of the Yankee Network." On February 7, **Eleanor Roberts of the Boston Traveler chronicles the demise of WNAC and mentions the rumor of a new "rock 'n' roll" format for the newly assigned WRKO call letters. In a Billboard magazine interview on February 25 , GM Perry S. Ury states that a format change to "Hot 100" (Billboard terminology) will take place in mid-March and announces the new call letters as WRKO. Perry adds: "FM and AM will simulcast from 6am to 6pm with separate programming from 6pm to 6am." He also indicates that oldies will be played on FM...*Click Staff Memos: Bob Henabery's KHJ Critique, **All other items under "News Clippings." Tomorrow: "WRKO...The Launch" (Part 4) (The Programming Staff Is Ready)...

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Jessica Biel (29), Brian Leech (43), Tone Loc (45), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (49), Herschel Walker (49), Tim Kazurinsky (61), Jennifer Warnes (64) and Lee Radziwill (78)...

Timeline Countdown: 10 days until Daylight time, 17 days until the first day of spring, 28 days until MLB opening day, 47 days until Passover & 52 days until Easter...

House Speaker Fears Return Of Fairness Doctrine & "WRKO...The Launch" (Part 2)

Stop me if you've heard this before, but another key member of Congress has warned that the reinstatement of the dreaded "F" word could happen . This time it's House Speaker John Boehner, who believes the Fairness Doctrine is disguised as Net Neutrality. According to Tim Nichols of Examiner.com The Speaker told the NARB (National Association of Religious Broadcasters) over the weekend "Some members of Congress and the federal bureaucracy are still trying to reinstate - and even expand - the Fairness Doctrine. To them, it's fair to silence ideas and voices they don't agree with, and use the tools of government to do it." Since Ronald Reagan overturned the policy by executive order in 1987, naysayers fear its return...

The Fairness Doctrine, introduced in 1949, was a policy that required that broadcasters present "honest, equitable and balanced" views of "controversial issues of public importance." Like most members of the GOP, Boehner believes that the Fairness Doctrine is right around the corner, despite Barack Obama's insistance that it's not. Is the FD hidden in Net Neutrality? The answer is no! Net Neutrality simply guarantees that the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) all have an equal shot with their content access...

As someone who programmed radio stations when the Fairness Doctrine was the law of the land, I too, am opposed to its return. It was a cumbersome balancing act to present equal views from everyone, including some person who would get about 8 votes in an upcoming election. But I don't agree with Boehner and others that Net Neutrality is the second coming of the Fairness Doctrine...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1776] Musket rumble: Americans begin shelling British troops in Boston. Hand me my musket. From the movie "1776", Congress votes on Independence.…
2.1877] Heads it’s Hayes, tails it’s Tilden: Rutherford B. Hayes is declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election by Congress despite Samuel Tilden winning the popular vote…
3.1903] Martha Washington slept here: The Martha Washington Hotel opens for business in New York City becoming the first hotel exclusively for women…
4.1917] Viva Puerto Rico: Citizens of Puerto Rico are granted U.S. citizenship with the enactment of the Jones Act…
5.1923] Time after time: TIME hits the newsstands for the first time…
6.1933] Fay Wray sighting: The original “King Kong” world premieres at the Roxy and Radio City Music Hall theaters in Manhattan…
7.1939] Take your time Bay State: The Massachusetts legislature votes to ratify the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. These 10 amendments had gone into effect 148 years earlier but why rush???
8.1951] B-ball All-Stars: The first NBA All-Star game is played at Boston Garden as Easy Ed McCauley of the Celtics leads the East to a 111-94 victory over the West. A crowd of 10,094 were on hand to witness the game created by league publicity man Haskell Cohen and Celtic founder Walter Brown…1962] Wilt Chamberlain drops 100 points on (who else?) the Knicks…
9.1969] Espo ‘69: Boston Bruins center Phil Esposito becomes the first NHL player to score 100 or more points in a season…
10.2005] The toll rises: The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq reach 1,500. Sad to say that today that toll is in the hundreds of thousands, counting all casualties, according to various sources...

Music Memories:

• 1964] Released on this date: "Twist & Shout" - Beatles...And on the same day, they start filming "A Hard Day's Night"...

"WRKO...The Launch" (Part 2): (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay in New England)...
It was March 2nd and the launch of WRKO as a Top 40 station was just 11 days away. Bob Henabery & Perry Ury were in the process of putting an on-air staff together with some input from not only me, but even sales people. Bill Wayland even recommended J.J. Jeffrey who he knew from his previous work as Melvin X. Melvin at WMEX. J.J. was working in the Florida panhandle and would become our afternoon drive disc jockey - one of the best in the history of WRKO. Some of the rest of the on-air staff was either hired or about to be. There was *Al Gates in Cleveland, *Dick Burch, who would only make it for one overnight show before WRKO went on strike, *John Rode (who I worked with in Tampa), *Joel Cash was on the air in Connecticut, *Arnie Ginsburg, who would come over from WMEX and *Chuck "Chuckles" Knapp, who was working in Fargo, ND. That was the nucleus of our first on-air staff. The biggest job was still ahead - promoting what we were about to do on March 13. **Harvey Mednick (promotion director) had his work cut out for him. Tomorrow: Part 3 of "WRKO...The Launch" (Pre-Launch Press)...*Click "Talent Pages/Airchecks/**Click "Now Happenings"...

Robert Iler (26), Bryce Dallas Howard (30), Chris (Coldplay) Martin (34), Jon Bon Jovi (49), John Cowsill (55), Laraine Newman (59), Lou Reed (69), Mikhail ("Tear down this wall") Gorbachev (80), Tom Wolfe (80) & John Cullum (81)...

Timeline Countdown: 11 days until Daylight time, 18 days until the first day of spring, 29 days until MLB opening day, 48 days until Passover & 53 days until Easter...

Are Internet Ad Clicks On The Way Out???

Radio should keep an eye out for a new movement that could make internet ad clicks or impressions a thing of the past. Three advertising industry trade associations are doing a media study called "Make Measurement Make Sense." According to Broadcasting Cable, the initiative will try to create a new currency for online media platform marketing programs. The groups conducting the study are the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), American Association Of Advertising Agencies (4A's) and the Association Of National Advertisers (ANA). The trade groups have hired Bain & Company and MediaLink to support the initiative...

"The goals of the program are to define metrics and measurement systems to simplify planning, buying and evaluating digital media and come up with a common currency for measuring online exposures and developing a methodology for cross media measurement." Translation: let's get rid of the clicks and convince advertisers how smart it is to buy internet ads. Of course, now they have to find a reason for buying those internet ads. Nancy Hill, president of the 4A's describes the problem: "The confusion in this area has added costs to advertising agencies, which have been forced to use, subsidize and staff around increasing numbers of metrics and data in order to plan, purchase and post-analyze their media buys. This initiative will streamline and simplify those processes." ...

Apparently the number of clicks per ad is not working that well, otherwise these three advertising industry trade associations wouldn't be looking for an acceptable currency or consistent measurements which can be used as a selling point for online ads. That common standard is needed and we should all wish them well in their efforts...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1932] Kidnapped: The 22-month old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh is kidnapped from the family house near Hopewell (NJ). The baby’s lifeless body will be found in May…
2.1953] What should we call it?: WJZ-AM becomes WABC in New York City, which led to this legendary station…
3.1954] Shoot-out in the gallery: Puerto Rican nationalists open fire from the gallery of the U.S. House of Representives, wounding 5 congressmen…
4.1961] Spreading peace: President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps…
5.1962] Flight 1 is down: American Airlines Flight 1 scheduled for Los Angeles, goes down in Jamaica Bay after take-off from New York’s Idlewild Airport (pre-JFK). 87 passengers and a crew of 8 are all lost…
6.1968] Hotter than a pepper sprout: Johnny Cash and June Carter are married…
7.1969] Curtains: Mickey Mantle tells the Yankees: “I can’t hit anymore” and with that, retires. Number 7 will return in June for “Mickey Mantle Day” at Yankee Stadium. The Mick will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 with 88% of the votes…
8.1974] Watergate busts: Former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman and former Attorney General John Mitchell are indicted on obstruction of justice charges related to the Watergate break-in…
9.1981] Fatal hunger strike: Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins a hunger strike in a Northern Ireland prison. He dies 65 days later…
10.2003] Gotcha: Suspected September 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is captured by CIA and Pakistani agents…

Music Memories:

• 1957] Recorded on this date: The Everly Brothers sign with Archie Bleyer's Cadence Records and wasting little time, record "Bye Bye Love"...
• 1957] Released on this date: "School Days" - Chuck Berry...
• 1975] Number One on this date: "Best of My Love" - Eagles...

"Happy Trails": Jane Russell (1921 -2011)...

WRKO...The Launch (Part 1): (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a radio mainstay in New England)...

On March 13, 1967, WNAC , the flagship station of the Yankee Network gave way to one of the most exciting contemporary radio stations ever heard in New England and there are those that would argue, the entire United States. The genesis of WRKO began when General Manager Perry S. Ury dispatched Program Director Bob Henabery** to research the feasibility of following in the footsteps of RKO General's successful sister stations in Los Angeles (KHJ) and San Francisco (KFRC). The results of that study indicated that we could be successful if we positioned the station correctly . There was room in Boston for such a station if it was positioned somewhere between WBZ's variety of contemporary music, heavy news and public affairs commitment and WMEX's more frenetic approach to Top 40. We pledged to be the exciting, new top 40 station that would turn Boston radio on its ear with exclusive releases, great disc jockeys, promotions and presentation and we delivered on that pledge. I was fortunate enough to play a part in the success of WRKO-FM *( click "WRKO-FM" in left column) ("ARKO, your friendly robot"), the first Boston rocker in the fall of 1966. In March we moved the format over to AM and in the summer of 1967, I was named Program Director of WRKO-AM**. (Tomorrow: Part 2: The Road To Success)...(Many photos, memos & airchecks are available from WRKO.org by clicking here). * (Click "WRKO-FM" on left side of page). **(Click "WRKO People - Program Directors" on left side of page)...

Commentary:
Those born on February 29th are known as "leaplings". In non-leap years most people celebrate on either February 28th or March 1. Here's a special "Happy Birthday" to all you leaplings. These are some you might know:

Ja Rule (35), motivational speaker Tony Robbins (51), Dennis Farina (67), Henri Richard (75), Tempest Storm (83) and Al Rosen (87)...

(3/1) Justin Bieber (17), Dave Coveney (39?), Javier Bardem (42), CSI's George Eads (44), Tim Daly (55), Ron Howard (57), Catherine Bach (57), Alan Thicke (64), Roger Daltrey (67), Robert Conrad (76), Dick Asher (79), Harry Belafonte (84) and Robert Clary (85)...

Timeline Countdown: 12 days until Daylight time, 19 days until the first day of spring, 19 days until MLB opening day, 49 days until Passover & 54 days until Easter...