Stingtones

Another good bit by Jimmy Fallon...



Jimmy does enough of these quality bits every week to keep him on the air for a very long time.

Fan Gate

This is really beginning to feel like the moment Rick Scott lost his governorship of Florida...

The Colbert Report
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Madison Bumgarner Chugs Six Beers

That's celebrating...

The Story Behind Eric Karros' Cubs World Series Cap

He unveiled it on the air the other night--a Cubs cap from 2003 that has a World Series logo embroidered in the side. It was in his locker during Game 6 of that series, but obviously never worn.

The full story is in the Sun Times.

Ebola e-book

It's 6 pages long, and it's called "DEADLIER THAN EBOLA: 57 THINGS MORE LIKELY TO KILL YOU THAN THE PLAGUE OF OUR LIFETIME". The description on amazon says: "The current Ebola outbreak is terrifying, but we all have some fear left over. Be afraid - and prepared."

Pretty clever.

I bet it took him about an hour to write it. He's selling it for 99 cents.

And the Walls Come Crumbling Down

What's Wrong With Talk Radio?

Today's Tom Taylor NOW column has this as the lead story today...

New Bridge Ratings study about talk radio says “One thing that stands out is listener fatigue.” Dave Van Dyke gets specific about the syndrome – it’s related to “talk radio topics and the frequency with which they air.” He says in the 15 years he’s been tracking news/talk, “news information has become oversaturated, particularly in the political news coverage arena.”

Totally true. It takes hard work to come up with new and compelling topics instead of repeating/recycling the same topics every day. But when there are multiple outlets offering the same thing, you have no choice. Even within the political bubbles (on both sides), it gets tedious hearing the same thing every single day. Be as conservative or liberal as you want. But don't give up being innovative and/or creative.

HBO to Offer Stand-Alone Streaming Service Beginning in 2015

I'm one of the dinosaurs who still has cable. HBO has been one of the reasons. That reason will be gone next year.

I can't watch the news anymore (thanks so much, "advocate" journalism). The comedy shows I watch are also available on line (in various forms). The only (non-HBO) show I like is Top Chef, and I think I can live without it.

Live sports broadcasts (football, baseball, hockey, soccer) are officially the only thing keeping me from pulling the plug now. It's just not the same on the internet (or the radio).

CNN ranked the world's most known news brand

The numbers in America might not back this up, but worldwide there's no doubt about it. From The Drum (A marketing/branding blog)...

According to the Affluent Global survey, CNN was found to reach 40 per cent of upscale consumers and decision-makers – more than any of its competitors across TV and digital platforms...CNN's global digital audience was estimated to be as big as 99 million unique visitors according to comScore data – over 25 million ahead of the BBC.

That's pretty impressive.

Weirdest Debate Beginning Ever

Et tu, Sean?

Caught my son Sean cheering for the Cardinals yesterday. (He says he has money on them--he's 12, by the way).

I'm torn. Should I set up a bed for him in the detached garage or the garden shed?

I don't know if you can see it in this photo, but a tear just fell onto Sean from the statue of Ernie.

Ranking Oktoberfest Beers

Chicago's Half Acre Oktoberfest beer is ranked #1 by Drink Magazine! Ahead of even Munich's Hacker Pschorr (which is #2).

Wow.

That's high praise indeed.

(Note: I realize the photo is not an Oktoberfest beer. I'm not an animal. I just don't have a photo in my files)

New York's 11th District

Depressed about the election? Could be worse. You could live in Staten Island and have to choose among these two guys...

The Daily Show
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Tribune Stock Buyback

I hadn't been following the stock price of Tribune Media closely, but apparently they've fallen on hard times. This was reported by the Tribune publishing wing yesterday...

Tribune Media Co., which has seen its valuation fall by more than a third since spinning off its publishing assets, has authorized a $400 million stock repurchase program, the Chicago-based company said Tuesday. "Our board of directors and senior management strongly believe that Tribune Media's free cash flows, growth prospects and long-term strategy are not reflected by the company's current stock price," Peter Liguori, Tribune Media's president and CEO, said in a statement. "The stock repurchase program that was announced today demonstrates our confidence in the strength of our businesses and commitment to delivering shareholder value."

Very interesting. When they spun it off, Tribune Media Co. was considered the shining star stock. Tribune Publishing was the one everyone assumed would sink.

Not on the Market

I got a call yesterday from a nationally syndicated radio show asking me if I would be willing to come back to radio to produce their show. They said they had read my book ("The Radio Producer's Handbook") and that I would be perfect for the job.

Is it a bad thing that I laughed when they said that?

I meant no offense. It's not the first offer I've had in the past few years, but it's the first offer (And it was a nice offer) that made me realize my radio producing days were officially over. I knew it the second I heard my name and "radio producer" in the present tense.

"You're asking the 51-year-old me?" I thought to myself.

That's hilarious. You don't want me. You want the young me; the one who wrote the book more than ten years ago. I haven't seen that guy since my kids were babies. Unless you want wacky bits about paying your kids' college tuition or getting your AARP card in the mail (and you don't--this is a show for 20-somethings), I'm probably not the right guy.

But I do appreciate the offer.

11 years ago today...

...a big Cubs fan was excited to get a first row seat along the leftfield line for Game 6 of NLCS between the Cubs and the Marlins. He had no way of knowing that his life was about to change forever. Here's the video of what Steve Bartman went through as he was being escorted out of Wrigley. Not exactly the proudest moment for Cub fans. I still feel bad for the guy...

As the Rupert Turns

Today's Sydney Morning Herald has a piece about James Murdoch, one of Rupert's sons. (Photo: Rupert Murdoch)

The article includes one of the more awkward family photos you'll ever see. Rupert with three of his children (James on the far left, looking forced to be included), standing in front of a portrait of Rupert.

You know, like all of us do with our family photos.

RIP Jan Hooks

A tribute from her old show SNL...

IDs

Thanks to "SA" for sending me this one...

Columbus Day

In honor of Columbus Day I intend on getting lost on the way to the grocery store (need some spices), and hope to discover a brand new grocery store.

And I have this song playing in my head all day long...