Poll of the Week:
Ty Wansley has enjoyed a long and successful career in the electronic media. Ty began in broadcasting as a newscaster in the 1970's at two of St. Louis' powerhouse radio stations, KWK and KATZ.
Following several prominent years in his native St. Louis, Wansley was wooed by Sheridan Broadcasting to become the National News Director of the Sheridan Network. Following his successful stint at the helm of the Sheridan Network, Wansley returned to St. Louis to become National News Director of Amaturo Broadcasting; overseeing the news departments of radio stations in St. Louis, Miami, Houston and Detroit.
In 1979, Wansley moved up the broadcasting ladder as he traveled to Chicago, where he headed the news departments of WBMX and WJPC radio. In 1982, Wansley transcended the world of reporting and became a popular talk show host at WVON radio with his program, "Tell Ty." The popularity of "Tell Ty" prompted WLS Radio to recruit Ty to join the ABC talk show line-up, which evolved into the very unique talk-show tag-team of Ty and colorful politician and prominent attorney Edward R. Vrdolyak. Wansley and Vrdolyak have enjoyed immense success on Chicago's airwaves, which included a popular collaboration on WJJD-A.M.
In addition to his radio career, Wansley has hosted the T.V. news magazine, "Urban Street." Wansley has been a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as being showcased on the Jim Leher News Hour, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, ABC, NBC, and CNN network news. Ty has also been touted in feature stories published by Emerge and Jet Magazines.
President Barack Obama said Sunday in an interview with Matt Lauer at the White House, "I don't think that Israel has made a decision on what they need to do." On the topic of the economy, President Obama said "I deserve a second term, but we're not done."
Source: NBC.Com
"Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius was found dead at his Sherman Oaks on home Wednesday morning.
Law enforcement sources said police arrived at Cornelius' home around 4 a.m. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing.
The sources said there was no sign of foul play, but the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating.
In a 2010 interview with The Times, he said he was excited about a movie project he was developing about "Soul Train."
"We've been in discussions with several people about getting a movie off the ground. It wouldn't be the 'Soul Train' dance show, it would be more of a biographical look at the project," he said. "It's going to be about some of the things that really happened on the show."
According to a Times article, Cornelius? ?Soul Train? became the longest-running first-run nationally syndicated show in television history, bringing African American music and style to the world for 35 years.
Cornelius stopped hosting the show in 1993, and ?Soul Train? ceased production in 2006.
Source: Associated Press
Publisher John H. Johnson, who created Ebony and Jet magazines, will be honored on this year's Black Heritage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
A Tuesday ceremony is planned in Johnson's hometown of Arkansas City, where he lived until moving to Chicago with his family at age 15.
Johnson founded Johnson Publishing Co. on a $500 loan using his mother's furniture as collateral. At the time, he was working as a clerk at a black-owned life insurance company.
He created Ebony in 1945 with a press run of 25,000 copies. Its circulation topped 1.6 million at the time of Johnson's death in 2005 at the age of 87. Johnson also founded the newsweekly Jet in 1951.
"His magazines portrayed black people positively at a time when such representation was rare, and he played an important role in the civil rights movement," Stephen Kearney, manager of USPS' Stamp Services, said when announcing the stamp last year.
The magazines became two of the longest-running black-oriented magazines in the country.
The Black Heritage stamp, featuring a color photo of Johnson taken by photographer David McCann, goes on sale Tuesday and is being issued as a Forever stamp.
Past honorees include Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, singer Ella Fitzgerald, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, poet Langston Hughes and baseball player Jackie Robinson.
Source: NBC.com
© 2012
