Monday, April 10, 2017

Fox Investigating O'Reilly

More than 70 sponsors have left the show, and now Fox News is confirming that they are formally investigating the sexual harrassment charges against Bill O'Reilly.

He could still survive this, but it's not looking good right now.
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Worst Job in the World Today

The worst job in the world today: P.R. person for United Airlines.

Passengers being physically removed (by force) so that airline employees could fly standby? And there's video?

Oy.
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Google Fact Checks Fake News

I'm not sure they'll remain ahead of the fake news writers (technologically), but it's a good first step. Google has rolled out a fact-checking feature worldwide.

You'll see a "Fact Check" tag in your Google search results telling you which claim is being checked, who made it, who did the fact check and a short summary of the fact check, like "mostly true" or "false."

And on Google News, articles that have been checked for facts will be labelled "Fact Check."

In practice, the tag will only show up on some stories — those that have been fact-checked by organizations such as PolitiFact and Snopes. Furthermore, Google says that on some search pages you might get conflicting results, as different fact-checking sites may have judged the same page differently.
If you're a publisher and want to be included in the program, there's a couple of rules you must adhere to; plus, Google will only include publishers that are "algorithmically determined to be an authoritative source of information".

Mashable has more details.
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Tomi Lahren Sues Glenn Beck

Milennial Conservative talker Tomi Lahren was fired a few weeks ago by Glenn Beck after she adopted a public pro-choice position.

Over the weekend she responded by suing him for wrongful termination. The Dallas News has the details.
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Ross & Rizz

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Golf on the Radio?

I listened to golf on the radio yesterday. In fact, I stayed in my car after I arrived at my destination and waited to hear the results of Sergio Garcia's putt because I didn't want to miss it.

Add that to the list of things I never thought I would do.

Enjoyed it too.
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Le$ Moonve$

Les Moonves is among the highest paid CEOs in the world. From Tom Taylor's NOW column...

CBS makes Les Moonves the $70 million Man. Well, almost – the Chairman/President/CEO’s just-revealed 2016 compensation amounted to about $69.55 million. That’s a long way up from his base salary of $3.5 million, which was unchanged from 2015. But his bonus jumps from $19 million to $32 million. And his stock awards soared from $25.5 million to $31.945 million.
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Friday, April 07, 2017

Timing is Everything

Stephen Colbert has become the king of late night by being a blistering Trump critic. Jimmy Fallon brought on Jay Leno last night to do the same to the president (last two minutes)...not knowing it was the night the president would be firing off cruise missiles in Syria.

Timing is everything...

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Remembering Rickles

All comics loved him...









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Lisagor Award Finalists


Congrats to all the finalists for this year's Lisagor awards, including Eckhartz Press author Bob Herguth (photo). Impressive list of Chicago journalism achievements.

Believe it or not, my Father Knows Nothing column/blog was actually a finalist twice back in the day. Lost to some no-name from the Sun Times (Roger Ebert). Still not sure how we ended up in the same category.
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O'Reilly Cuts Commercial Load

If you watched Bill O'Reilly's show last night, you might have noticed there were far fewer commercials. That wasn't your imagination. After the massive advertiser exodus, the show is down to 13:30 of commercials. They used to run 18.

TV Newser has the details.
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Trump Sued By Twitter

From Bloomberg this morning...

President Donald Trump wants to know who’s behind the rogue federal employee Twitter accounts slamming his administration’s policies. Twitter Inc.’s suing to keep him from finding out. Twitter alleges that the Trump administration’s subpoena for information to identify the users behind accounts critical of the president would violate their Constitutional rights to free-speech. The social media giant contends users are entitled to their anonymity unless they’ve violated a law that would warrant unmasking and the government has failed to make such a case.

If the government pushes it, this would be an interesting case to take to the Supreme Court. Honestly not sure which way they would go.
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Radio Jobs

Any of us who have worked in the business have obviously seen this is true, but the statistics bear out what we've come to believe. There simply are far fewer radio jobs than there used to be...

Number of radio jobs is down 25% since 2001...The really heavy damage began with the Great Recession, and the number of positions has kept falling since then. An industry that employed about 113,533 people in January 2001 is now down to about 86,800 (in September 2016). The number even sank to 84,717 last April before recovering somewhat. The BLS stats about the newspaper industry earn the headlines, as they should. But radio employment in this century shows the toll of the recession. Radio’s topline revenue fell 9% in 2008 and an even more painful 18% in 2009, per the RAB. Check the effect on payrolls – the Bureau of Labor Statistics says January 2008 employment was 108,566. Just a year later, it stood at 100,914, and in February 2009 it fell below 100,000. The January 2010 number was about 92,500. Four years later, it was south of 90,000, and last September, 86,800. What happened? Take your pick of a combination of factors like ownership consolidation, technology, public companies trying to make their quarters and service the debt, private companies trying to maintain their own profit margins.
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RIP Paul O'Neill

I'll admit I didn't know his name, but I did know and appreciate his work. From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

Many of our radio colleagues are mourning the passing of Paul O'Neill, the producer, songwriter, recording artist and the founder of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, who died this week at the age of 61. The news was initially posted on TSO's website in a message that stated, "The entire Trans-Siberian Orchestra family, past and present, is heartbroken to share the devastating news that Paul O'Neill has passed away from chronic illness. He was our friend and our leader -- a truly creative spirit and an altruistic soul. This is a profound and indescribable loss for us all. We ask that you respect Paul’s family’s privacy now. We will make additional announcements shortly." The Tampa Bay Times says O'Neill was found dead Wednesday afternoon in a Tampa hotel. There were no signs of foul play. As Entertainment Weekly reports, "O'Neill got his start co-producing Aerosmith's two Classics live albums in the late '80s and went on to form a relationship with metal band Savatage. He later recruited members from that group, Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli, to help form Trans-Siberian Orchestra in 1996. That year, they released Christmas Eve and Other Stories, a holiday-themed rock record and the first in their Christmas trilogy, which included the seminal classic "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24."

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A New Way to Win a Game

I don't think I've ever seen this happen before. When did they start using velcro?

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Thursday, April 06, 2017

Minutia Men, Episode 45


EP45 – Rick and Dave discuss bad Trip Advisor reviews, potholes, the worst movies ever, Tony Larussa on the Cubs, and Rick’s very brief brush with Kevin Costner.

Listen to it here.
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RIP Don Rickles

Really bummed by this news. Don Rickles has passed away at the age of 90.

The meanest comic ever...and oh so funny.

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Trump and Xi

President Trump is meeting Chinese President Xi this weekend in Florida. I predict Trump will giggle when he learns that Xi is pronounced "She". When he does, someone can slip him these jokes. Trust me, he'll love them.

"Melania, have you met the Chinese president? Xi loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah. Get it?"

"How will we describe our meeting to the press? How about...He said, Xi said? Get it?"

"Can you autograph this for me? Thanks. That's all Xi wrote. Get it?"

I don't need credit, Mr. President. Feel free to use them. People will marvel at your creativity and wit.

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Brothers from another Mother

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Interesting Idea

I've been on both sides of the fence on this perfomer-royalty issue. Yes it's unfair that performers don't get paid by radio (only songwriters and music publishers do), but it's also true that radio offers free advertising by playing the music. It's how most people have discovered new music for the past 90 years. This is a new approach. From this morning's Tom Taylor NOW Column...

“PROMOTE” bill would let musicians “opt out of airplay.” It’s a fresh take on the performance royalty stalemate, says House Intellectual Property Subcommittee Darrell Issa – The PROMOTE Act (for “Performance Royalty Owners of Music Opportunity to Earn Act of 2017”) “calls the bluff on both sides in the debate over performance rights.” Artists who “feel they’re not being appropriately compensated” could “opt out of allowing broadcasters to play their music.” As it is now, stations have basically everything available for airplay. They pay music publishers and song owners through not-for-profit ASCAP and BMI, and through for-profit SESAC and Global Music Rights. But not performers, as such. The new H.R. 1914, introduced by California Republican Issa and fellow subcommittee member Ted Deutsch (D-FL) would give performers more control. The Tennessean’s Nate Rau says “Hits by Taylor Swift, Drake, Adele or Miranda Lambert would be taken down, if their record labels choose to do so.” Here’s co-sponsor Ted Deutsch - “We have been told for years that AM/FM radio provides valuable promotion to recording artists, but those artists have never been given the opportunity to decide for themselves.” As you can imagine, this isn’t the NAB’s favorite new piece of legislation.
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Dahl Out of the Hospital

Robert Feder had the good news yesterday. Steve has been released from the hospital...

An upbeat and energetic Steve Dahl returned to his afternoon show on Cumulus Media news/talk WLS AM 890 Wednesday more than a week after he landed in the hospital for treatment of a perforated colon. Broadcasting from his home, the Chicago radio legend said he was diagnosed with diverticulitis. “I’m on some kind of weird diet right now,” Dahl, 62, told listeners. “I really honestly am just so glad to not be in the hospital and not in pain. They can take away whatever they want from me in terms of eating. I can live with it.”
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USWNT Agrees to a New Contract

The women's national soccer team was poised to go on strike if necessary to get a more equitable deal, and it looked a little scary for a few months there, but the two sides agreed to a deal yesterday.

The New York Times has the story.
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Wednesday, April 05, 2017

Uh oh, Bill-O

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Wainright Pulls A Kaempfer

This is what I would like as a MLB pitcher...

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Proud Irishman Joel Daly

Great feature about Eckhartz Press' very own Joel Daly in the Irish American News: Proud Irishman Joel Daly--"Thank You Chicago"

(Photo: Joel is the one on the right. The other isn't Irish. His name is Matt Forte. Maybe French?)
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Why Isn't Fox News Disciplining Bill O'Reilly?

When sexual harrassment lawsuits need to be paid off, most employers would discipline the employee causing those lawsuits. Most serial harrassers would probably be fired. But here's the rub for the bosses at Fox News. From today's TV Newser...

This was Fox News’s 13th straight week at No. 1 in total day. The four episodes that Bill O’Reilly hosted were the top 4 cable news shows last week. (He doesn’t host on Fridays.)

If advertisers keep fleeing, those ratings might not matter, but I doubt it. The numbers keep the shows around him up too, which also effects the advertising dollars. Let's see. The bottom line for Rupert Murdoch is always the bottom line. He literally cares about nothing else.
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Charity Donates $100 Million To Boost Journalism and Fight Hate Speech

The Charity is called Omidyar Network, and it was established by e-Bay founder Pierre Omidyar. Details are here.

At a time when real journalism is more needed than ever, and the monetary realities of running news organizations are forcing cutbacks, this money is greatly appreciated.

Note that it was awarded to journalists, not Fox News (which suggested last night that there should no more investigation of Russia...despite the news that the FBI said they were creating a special unit to further investigate) or Breitbart (which I won't honor by putting the word "news" after their name). If those are your news sources, you are not consuming actual news.
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The Dictionary is Trolling

I didn't follow Merriam Webster dictionary on Twitter until I read this awesome piece by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post: Trump says he has the best words. Merriam Webster disagrees."

It's all about the Merriam Webster Twitter account, which points out words being looked up on their site that coincide with whatever the lastest Trump scandal is spiking in the news. For instance, just in the last few days...







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Bryant and Arrieta on the Radio

Bryant and Arrieta join the Bernstein and Goff show. It's good to be the Cubs flagship. From this morning's Radio Online...

MVP Kris Bryant and former Cy Young award winner Jake Arrieta join The Score's current roster of Cubs players and team personnel who each add their take on the action on and off the field including Cubs Manager Joe Maddon who joins "Speigel & Parkins" each Tuesday at noon, Pitching Coach Chris Bosio heard on "Mully & Hanley" every Wednesday at 8am and an ongoing rotation of other Cubs players and baseball contributors.

"It's an extreme honor to welcome a league MVP and a recent Cy Young award winner to the Score team, and it's beyond a grand slam for the Score brand," said WSCR Program Director, Mitch Rosen. "The content Kris and Jake will add to the Bernstein and Goff show will bring the audience into the clubhouse, on the field, and other places the average fan can't experience."

Bryant and Arrieta will rotate weekly on "Bernstein and Goff" with days and times varying due to game schedule and Arrieta's pitching schedule. Beginning April 10, Kris Bryant will join the show bi-weekly with Jake Arrieta scheduled to join the show on the alternating weeks. During the MLB All-Star Break, both player appearances will be on hiatus. Arrieta will host back-to-back weeks on August 28 and September 4.

P.S. In case Kris or Jake are reading this, that's a photo of a transistor radio. Ask you parents.
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Tuesday, April 04, 2017

Love is Strange

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Brown Noser

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Embarrassing

If you have friends or relatives overseas you already know that the whole world is freaked out by the behavior of our current president. They think he is unstable, ill prepared, and positively clueless--and that's a very bad thing for everyone.

It's good for one group though...ISIS.

They are now recruiting based on his ineptitude. I wish I was kidding.
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Jordan Klepper Gets His Own Show

The funniest of the current Daily Show correspondents (in my opinion) has been given his own show. He'll be hosting the timeslot formerly occupied by the Nightly Show, right after the Daily show.

USA Today has the details, although admittedly, I've given you the highlight. The article notes there isn't yet a name for the show.
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The Future of Mike & Mike

The morning team of Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, heard locally on ESPN Radio in Chicago, is about to break up after two decades together. Inside Radio has the full story. Sounds like a new Golic & Golic radio show and a Greenberg TV show is in their future, but they still haven't fully resolved the situation. My guess is that they are working on clearing the stations nationwide that are willing to air the radio show, and are encountering more opposition than they presumed. That's just a guess, however. This story has been brewing now for many months, so I'm just trying to figure out why it is taking so long.
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Another O'Reilly Accuser



Julie Roginsky, another Fox News contributor, has followed up with a harrassment lawsuit against Fox News.

Sponsors are starting to pull out of the show, including Mercedes, BMW and Hyundai.

UPDATE: There are now nine companies that have pulled their ads.
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Jeff Kapugi

The Chicago native and former US-99 PD has landed in D.C. From Tom Taylor's NOW column...

Jeff Kapugi has generally been a lifer at iHeart and its predecessors, having joined Jacor in 1989 (the Randy Michaels days). He’s been a programming executive in Tampa, St. Louis and Washington-Baltimore (hold onto that thought for a moment). Jeff followed Randy Michaels to Chicago and Tribune, as Senior VP/COO of Tribune Interactive, and until last December he was VP/Programming for CBS Radio’s country “US 99.5” WUSN Chicago. Now after being a “free agent at large” (as he says on LinkedIn), he’s coming back to iHeart and the D.C. market. He’ll be the direct PD at country WMZQ and also the “Region Senior VP of Programming” for Washington and Baltimore. Michael Preacher carries the unusual title of iHeart’s President for the Washington Region and also “Government Initiatives.” Meg Stevens is iHeart’s EVP/Programming for the Northeast.
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David Ross on DWTS



I love Anthony Rizzo's reaction...

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Monday, April 03, 2017

Bill O'Reilly

How would you like to pick up a copy of the New York Times and read this about yourself: "Bill O'Reilly: An Awful, Awful Man"

That's what happened to Angry Bill over the weekend. It's a pretty thorough take down of his very checkered history with sexual harrassment.
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RIP Lonnie Brooks

Lonnie Brooks has passed away at the age of 83. From Legacy.com...

In a news statement Sunday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel praised Brooks as “a Chicago blues legend with a towering talent and soulful style that won him legions of fans across the country and around the world. His celebrated career inspired generations of music lovers, garnered numerous awards, and brought him from the clubs of Chicago’s West Side to the concert halls of Europe and beyond.”

He was most famous for his version of the classic "Sweet Home Chicago"...

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16-year-old on the National Team

The future is always bright for the U.S. Women's National Team. They just brought up a 16-year-old!

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Good Year for the Music Biz

From Billboard Magazine...

It looks like happy days are here again: U.S. recorded music sales were up 11.4 percent in 2016. The industry brought in $7.65 billion in revenue, according to the RIAA, up from $6.87 million in 2015. Although the music business showed signs of a recovery at the half-year mark, the 2016 year-end results show more significant growth, led by streaming revenue.

This is the first time since 1998 that the U.S. industry has experienced a double digit increase in overall revenue. Back then, the industry enjoyed revenue of $13.7 billion.

The increase is thanks to streaming increases. The more traditional means of revenues (CDs, Downloads, Vinyl) are all either down or flat. Still, it's good to see the music business has found a way to recoup some of that market share.
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They're Baaaack

Yes they lost in the bottom of the 10th, but they made it exciting with a game-tying three run homer in the top of the ninth. So happy the baseball season is back.

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Charlie Meyerson


This month's Illinois Entertainer has hit the street. It features my interview with Chicago Public Square's Charlie Meyerson.

You can read it here.
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Friday, March 31, 2017

Funny Parenting Tweets

Laughed out loud at all of these...







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April Fools

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The Way The Russians Hacked Election

I watched this testimony yesterday and I think this sums up perfectly how it was done successfully...



I honestly don't think Trump did this knowingly, but I could be wrong. He did definitely do it though. And he still does. The Russian scandal could be as simple as the president not knowing the difference between real and fake news.

To me the most telling testimony was when the international expert was asked how we can tell the difference. He sighed as if to say, duh, before saying "If it's in the New York Times or the Washington Post it's real news. If you allow yourself to believe the mainstream media is the same as fake news, you are doing the work of the Russians. Your media institutions are the envy of the world."

This is what I've been trying to tell people for the past ten years.
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Best Perk I Ever Got Was a Parking Space

Gotta love this...

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New Ferry Name

The public was asked to name the new Ferry on the Isle of Wight.

Gotta love what they came up with: Floaty McFloatface
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Sunday Morning TV Ratings

Sunday morning Show Ratings are out, and over the first quarter of 2017, Meet the Press has regained the top spot...


1. NBC, Meet the Press, 4.089M viewers
2. CBS, Face the Nation, 3.837M
3. ABC, This Week, 3.517M
4. FOX, Fox News Sunday, 1.684M
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Get Well Soon Stever

From Robert Feder's column this morning...

Sending get-well wishes to Chicago broadcast legend and Radio Hall of Famer Steve Dahl, who’s recovering from an undisclosed illness. Dahl, 62, has been off the air and in the hospital since Wednesday, but he’s expected to return Monday to his afternoon show on Cumulus Media news/talk WLS AM 890. “He’s a tough guy,” wife Janet Dahl told Facebook friends. “He will be good as new soon.”

(Photo: From a recent Bobby Skafish appearance on Steve's show. L-R. Brendan, Bobby, Steve Dahl, Dag)
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The Cost of Being a Cub Fan

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Gettin' Stuff Done

I've been hearing people say that the Russian scandal is preventing the Trump administration from getting stuff done. I'd like to point out that isn't exactly correct. They have done three things.

They passed a law allowing internet providers to sell your browsing data without your permission.

They passed a law allowing the mentally ill to buy guns.

They passed a law allowing states to defund Planned Parenthood.

So, let's be fair here. They are getting things done.
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Farneda Returning to WXRT

This is welcome news for the folks over at WXRT. From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

CBS Radio Triple A WXRT/Chicago announced that one prominent staffer is leaving for a new job -- and one very familiar face will be returning. First, MD Kelly Ransford broke the news of her resignation, telling the staff has accepted the position of Director of Event Marketing for iHeartMedia's Denver cluster. You are invited to stay tuned for further details on Ransford's big move very soon. To help fill the void of Ransford's impending departure, OM/PD Greg Solk has turned to a man who knows the inner workings of XRT pretty much better than anyone -- 30-plus-year station vet John Farneda who was XRT's MD/Operations Manager until his exit in late 2014, has agreed to come back as interim Music Director. Commenting on Farneda's return, Solk said, "To those of you who are unfamiliar with John, he is not an XRT rookie. It was just over two years ago that John stepped aside to focus on some personal goals when Kelly replaced him as MD. This is an exciting time for all of us at XRT for sure. John will be in the house and working on a smooth transition with Kelly by next Wednesday 4/5."
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Thursday, March 30, 2017

Amazon Wants To Take Over the World

I honestly don't think Amazon will be happy until they kill every retail outlet of any kind. How big are they? They are going after the outlets that previously killed American retail...Costco, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, etc.

Amazon wants to sell items in bulk.

Bloomberg has the details.
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Having Fun with Dad's Fear of Heights

Son #3 is on a trip with my sister to Mount Rushmore, and he wanted to make sure his Dad (who is deathly afraid of heights) wouldn't sleep last night. He sent these two photos...


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It Wasn't A Daily Show Hack

I was watching The Daily Show last night and got a little freaked out. I even took pics of the screen to make sure I wasn't seeing things. In the middle of a bit, it appeared the show was suffering a Russian hack. This appeared on the screen with no reference to it at all...

















Turns out it was just a publicity stunt.

A good one. But still just a stunt.
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Minutia Men, Episode 44


EP44 – Rick and Dave discuss reality show nightmares, the fattest cities in America, someone who REALLY doesn’t want his job, a Cubs tongue twister, and Rick’s brush with Jimmy Piersall.

Listen to it here.
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Hopes for Fox News Fading

There was a glimmer of journalistic responibility after Judge Napolitano created an international incident last week by saying that Obama asked the British to spy on Trump. After the British government angrily denounced this report, Fox News openly distanced themselves from his claims, said that they couldn't verify them, and took the Judge off the air.

Yesterday he was back on Fox and back to repeating the same unsubstantiated claim.

(Sigh)

Oh well. Looks like Rupert Murdoch has made his call. The money he makes from his conservative audience is more important than truth or responsibility.
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Now That's Coffee

Have you tried Black Insomnia coffee yet?

That coffee from South Africa has 300% more caffeine than Starbucks.

To me, Starbucks is already hopped up on caffeine. This stuff may make my heart explode.
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Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Schweiny

He's a shell of his former self, but he's still the first real reason I've had to go to a Fire game since they moved to Bridgeview...

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The Most Popular Slang the Year You Were Born

Good Housekeeping has the list if you want to look up your year.

Here's what it says for my year...

1963: Mickey Mouse
To goof off, especially on the job, was to "Mickey Mouse." It was a phrase that came over, somehow, from the military.
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Writing for Sean Spicer

It looks like Spicey has hired a joke writer...



Here's another one he can use whenever he needs some levity. (He still needs to try to say them less angrily, but baby steps).

*"Listen, just because the president is in a hurry to get this over with, doesn't mean he's Russian."

Let me know if you need more. I've got a whole Tolstoy bit that could really help.
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White House Staff Also Not Attending WH Correspondent's Dinner


They announced it yesterday, as a show of solidarity, to support their boss who feels he is unfairly picked on by the press.

Snowflakes. Every last one of 'em.
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Bill O’Reilly Apologizes for Calling Maxine Waters’ Hair a ‘James Brown Wig’

Even Bill O'Reilly is capable of apologizing. He appeared on Fox and Friends yesterday and they showed a clip of Maxine Waters saying something about President Trump. O'Reilly said, "I didn't hear a thing she said because I was looking at that James Brown wig." Yeah, I'd say an apology was in order there.

“As I have said many times, I respect Congresswoman Maxine Waters for being sincere in her beliefs,” O’Reilly said on his own show later the same night. “I said that again today on Fox & Friends calling her ‘old school.’ Unfortunately, I also made a jest about her hair which was dumb. I apologize.”

By the way, not that it matters, but James Brown didn't wear wigs. He did that to his hair by putting it in one of those old school enclosed hair dryers ever day. True story.
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Roger Ailes Could Be in Big Trouble

Apparently firing the US Attorney pursuing the case against Roger Ailes hasn't stopped it, at least for now before a new US Attorney to New York is named. In fact, the case took a major turn yesterday.

Ailes' right hand man, the CFO of Fox News, has been granted immunity to testify.

Immunity is rarely offered unless the person is ready to finger his boss.
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WGN Walk of Fame

Congrats to this year's inductees. Robert Feder listed them in his column today...

Lou Boudreau and Vince Lloyd, the late, legendary sportscasters on Tribune Broadcasting news/talk WGN AM 720, will be among 10 honorees added this year to the WGN Radio Walk of Fame. Others are overnight host Nick Digilio, news anchor Judy Pielach, sports producer Jack Rosenberg, crime reporter Larry Schreiner (posthumously), and traffic reporters Leonard Baldy (posthumously), Lincoln Hampton, Mike Mathis and Anne Maxfield. They’ll join other WGN stars enshrined with bronze plaques embedded in front of Tribune Tower at 435 North Michigan Avenue. The induction ceremony May 25 will air live at 10 a.m. on WGN.
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Tuesday, March 28, 2017

A Closer Look

Great stuff...

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A Side Of Jay Cutler We've Never Seen Before

"Good times, no tan lines. Let the sea set you free" - @tony2coats

A post shared by Kristin Cavallari (@kristincavallari) on

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Truth

Go Cocks!

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Gee, I dunno, Mr. President

Another tweet storm last night, this one even more non-sensical...



I'm not 100% sure about this, but let me go out on a limb and speculate. Could it be that the Russians hated Hillary (according to the FBI) and were doing everything they could to destroy her, and that Hillary was ripping Putin every chance she got?

Meanwhile, you have never said a bad word about him, and all of our intelligence agencies are convinced that he was trying to help you get elected?

Just spitballin', but that would be my guess.

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Highest Revenue Stations

Inside Radio has a chart that features the ten highest grossing radio stations in the country. All of them are in New York (5), Los Angeles (3), Chicago (1) and Washington (1).

You can see the chart here.

Chicago's only entry is WBBM-News Radio, which pulled in a whopping $45 million last year, the fifth best in the country.
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I Love You, America

That's the name of Sarah Silverman's upcoming late-night talk show for Hulu. It "will discuss the current political/emotional landscape of the country," and is produced by the Funny or Die team of Adam McKay and Will Ferrell.

Sounds like it has some potential.

Deadline Hollywood has the details.
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Monday, March 27, 2017

Ted Koppel on The Great Divide

I think Ted does a pretty good job of presenting the truth...

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Have You Set Your DVR Yet?

Tonight is the night the show "Reign Men" debuts on CSN at 9pm.

It's the film about Game 7 of the World Series won by the 2016 Chicago Cubs.

I have a meeting tonight so I can't watch it live, but I'm rolling digital tape, baby.
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Rivals Playing Hardball in Chicago Radio

From this morning's NOW newsletter, an analysis of Robert Feder's weekend scoop...

Hubbard’s Chicago rivals want to “level the playing field” a little. By doing something pretty rare in a Nielsen Audio PPM market – changing the boundaries of the metro by tossing out a whole county. When Bonneville bought then-classical WNIB Chicago/97.1 in 2001 from Bill and Sonia Florian for $165 million there was a little bonus – the Illinois-Wisconsin border signal of WNIZ Zion, Illinois at 96.9. Bonneville converted the pair to classic hits/classic rock as “The Drive” and kept the simulcast – but that northern signal helps the Drive (now owned by Hubbard) achieve in the Chicago metro. That’s because Nielsen considers Kenosha County, Wisconsin to be part of the Chicago metro. Some folks think the county that Waukesha’s in rightly belongs to the Milwaukee metro – and Chicago media blogger Robert Feder says “there’s an effort underway among local broadcasters to eliminate Kenosha County” as part of the Windy City metro. One source says “This really is about creating a level playing field.” Re-drawing a metro doesn’t happen overnight, and presumably Hubbard would vote “no.” Here are the rules - Feder says “If nine out of 12 Nielsen subscriber votes vote to approve the change, the new boundaries could take effect later this year.” One other possible change to the Chicago metro – adding Jasper County, Indiana. Feder adds another thought – voting Kenosha out of Chicago “would more closely align the radio market with Nielsen’s Chicago television DMA (Designated Market Area)” – and we know that Nielsen’s adding the radio panel-sample to its local TV ratings.
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How Right-Wing Media Saved Obamacare

Conor Friedersdorf is a conservative/libertarian writer for the Atlantic, and he presents a very compelling case for why the right wing media (Fox News, talk radio, et al) actually saved Obamacare.

They did it by intentionally misleading the public for many years about the true consequences of repealing the legislation. They told their audiences that repealing it would provide everyone with a better product for less money. That promise got the Republicans votes and the opportunity to live up to it.

But when it was time to actually repeal it, the truth of the Republican alternative came out (it would cost more and cover less), and nobody wanted it repealed any more.

Some people still think that the fantasy world alternative exists out there (about 17% of the country according to the latest polls), but many more now realize they have been duped.

I would argue they've duped about a lot more than this, but they will find that out soon enough. I'm not an expert on the various different policy proposals. I am an expert on the media, however. And whenever I hear someone compare the right wing media to the mainstream media as if they offset each other, I know I am dealing with someone who isn't living in reality.

The mainstream media isn't intentionally distorting the news to fit the narrative left wing readers desire (other than an outlet like MSNBC, which was built on the Fox News model). They are actual journalists who might personally lean left, but who have a series of rules they must follow to present the truth as well as they can. That's their mission. Sometimes they fall short of it, but that is what they are trying to accomplish.

Do you really think the right wing news has the same mission? Is truth their goal?

Ask the people who are disseminating the information in the right wing media. They know that isn't the goal. The goal is to present the conservative argument, for or against, with no one seriously challenging that message.

That's not news.

And it's not healthy for this country when people think it really is.
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Sunday, March 26, 2017

Review of "We Have Company"

This review of Bobby Skafish's Eckhartz Press book "We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters" was written by Rick O'Dell for his smoothjazzchicago website. Here's a small sample...

I also liked how the interviews are not in transcript form. Bobby adds an essential personal element--he tells us what’s going through his mind before, during and after each conversation. (If I was still teaching my Radio Programming course at Columbia College, I’d make this book required reading—as an instruction manual on how preparing for an interview involves both researching relevant facts and applying the right emotional tone appropriate to each guest.) And, to his credit, he hasn’t cherry picked his best interviews to be included in the book, either. There are remembrances of conversations that went very well (David Bowie, Robbie Robertson) but also some that just didn’t seem to click (Heart), one that required him to take a extra creative approach to make it work (John Lydon, AKA Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) and others where he felt he wasn’t quite on his game (Chrissie Hynde & the late James Honeyman-Scott of the Pretenders; Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music). Some interviews proved to be pleasant surprises (Alex Van Halen, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of Van Halen). Another produced an unexpected disappointment (Jackson Browne). All in all, though, Bobby--ever the pro--was able to find the right balance point between minding the musician's ego and putting on an entertaining radio show for his listeners.

And if you grew up in Chicago, you’ll appreciate Bobby’s references to places you likely frequented back in the day. Among them: Sounds Good Records up on Broadway and Ashland; Wax Trax Records on Lincoln; International Amphitheatre; Club C.O.D.; Poplar Creek; Quiet Knight; ChicagoFest. It’s all icing on the cake in a book that’s a fun and fast read.

Read the entire review here.
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Friday, March 24, 2017

Trump Calls Obama

Funny series on Conan continues...

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Patton Oswalt Performs Mike Huckabee's Jokes

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Kathy Voltmer

My old pal Kathy is returning to the airwaves...at least temporarily. From this morning's Robert Feder column...

Good news for fans of Kathy Voltmer, who signed off last December after more than 15 years as news and public affairs manager at The Drive. On Tuesday she’ll be filling for vacationing Mary Dixon as news anchor on Lin Brehmer’s morning show on CBS Radio adult album alternative WXRT FM 93.1. It’s a reunion for Voltmer and Brehmer, who worked together for three years in the ’90s. Said Voltmer: “I’m really looking forward to being back on the air for the day with my ‘best friend in the whole world.’ ”
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Rare Bob Dylan Interview


Dylan talks about his childhood, Frank Sinatra, Joan Baez, American Pie, and the power of rock and roll.

Highly recommended. Read it here.
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RIP Sib Hasian

From this morning's RAMP newsletter, the story of the passing of Boston's drummer Sib Hasian...

John "Sib" Hashian, the original drummer for the band Boston -- died Wednesday night after collapsing onstage. Hashian's son, Adam, tells TMZ that his father, 67, was performing on the Legends of Rock Cruise and was in the middle of his set when he suddenly collapsed. A witness says CPR was performed and a defibrillator was used but to no avail. The Legends Of Rock Cruise had departed from Miami on March 18 and made stops in St. Maarten on Tuesday and San Juan, Puerto Rico on Wednesday. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Nassau today. Other musicians on the cruise, according to the Legends Of Rock website include Hashian's fellow former Boston bandmate Barry Goudreau, as well as Lou Gramm, John Cafferty, Mark Lindsay, David Marks of The Beach Boys, Ron Dante, The Grass Roots and others, who paid tribute to Hashian last night. Hashian (center), who sported an epic Afro in the early days of his career, was famously involved with Boston's iconic 1976 self-titled debut album and their 1987 follow-up record, Don't Look Back. Pictured, back in the band's heyday, (l-r): guitarist Goudreau, Boston founder Tom Scholz, Hashian, Boston's late lead singer Brad Delp and bassist Fran Sheehan.

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MeTV FM


Some unsolicited praise for Rick O'Dell and MeTv radio 87.7fm. I was listening all day yesterday and absolutely loved the eclectic mix of Oldies. Like a breath of fresh air. Keep up the great work!

(Lexus in photo is not mine, obviously. I drive a Toyota)
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The Senate Just Sold Out Your Privacy

From this morning's Variety...

The Senate voted to sideline FCC rules that greatly restricted the type of consumer data that internet providers could share without their permission. The rules, passed by the FCC in October, when it was under Democratic control, had yet to take effect.

The FCC’s rules required that internet service providers get consent from their subscribers before they shared data on such things as browsing history, location data, and other types of usage. Such data collection is increasingly lucrative when it comes to advertising.

But Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), who sponsored the legislation to roll back the FCC’s action, said that the rules had “the potential to limit customers’ choice, stifle innovation and jeopardize data security by destabilizing the internet ecosystem.”

Read that nonsense quote from Jeff Flake again. They can now sell your browsing history, which will do exactly one thing--enrich them. There is no possible way it would have jeopardized your data security if they didn't sell it. What unbelievable nonsense.

I would respect these pro-business moves more if they were just honest about it. It's a money grab, pure and simple. It will never benefit you the consumer. Ever. Just stop it with the Orwellian speak. Flake and his buddies were paid...ahem, I mean lobbied...to make this move.
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