Friday, December 16, 2016

Best News Bloopers 2016

Some great stuff here...

Posted by at

Ukrainian Chicago

You may noticed that the band Chicago is making a bit of a resurgence. They made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. CNN is doing an hour long special about them. And their reach goes all the way to Ukraine. Check out this incredible cover of "25 or 6 to 4" by a Ukrainian band. It just reminds us how great Chicago was before Terry Kath died. This guitarist seems to be channeling him from beyond the grave.

Posted by at

Got an Hour to Kill?

Wanna watch every homer the Cubs hit in 2016? Me too.

Posted by at

The Return of Legitimate News


Facebook has enlisted real news organizations (like ABC News) to help them get rid of fake news.

It's a little late, but it's a good first step at reclaiming truth.
Posted by at

Another Sign FCC Chairman Will Be Missed

Radio group owners hated him.

Among the reasons given in this linked interview of radio group owners...

"He failed to take any action on multiple ownership, especially the newspaper cross-ownership rule or the radio market sub-caps."

"I don’t think that Chairman Wheeler has been proactive on behalf of broadcasters."

"Regulatory radio rules remain stagnant and out of date while new media industries around us continue to grow and thrive."

If I can translate for you, these guys believe the only way to improve their business is to buy more radio stations. The Chairman realized that isn't true. I'm with the chairman on this one. I also love the cracks in the article about how he played politics with the internet...by not allowing the telecom giants to gouge and create different internet lanes for the big boys. I'm with the chairman on that too.

They have it back now. The Wild Wild West will be returning soon. Innovation will be coming...in the form of consolidation and internet gouging...you know, to *improve* the public airwaves.

Black is white. Up is down.

Posted by at

Thursday, December 15, 2016

More Sad News

We saw this coming for a while now, but it's still a bummer...



Sager was originally from this area, and he was a Cubs fan. So at least he got to see that glorious championship before he passed.

Posted by at

RIP Dr. Bombay

In the 60s, he still made housecalls. Bernard Fox, best known to my generation as Dr. Bombay in the show "Bewitched", has passed away at 89.

Posted by at

Minutia Men, Episode 32

EP32 – Rick and Dave discuss a butt-dialing criminal moron, headlines on Cosmo, Rent-A-Jews, a record that will never be broken, and Rick’s brush with William Shatner.

You can listen to it here.
Posted by at

It's not gonna stop when he becomes president

Posted by at

FCC Chairman to Step Down on Inauguration Day

This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. The FCC Chairman is stepping down. The media giants hated outgoing FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for two reasons. One--he wouldn't allow the rules to be changed to permit further consolidation. Two--he championed the cause of Net Neutrality. Both of those things are likely to change when a new Republican chairman is named.

Under the guise of being more pro-business, many businesses will be damaged (Black is white, up is down). The internet will cease to be an equal opportunity job creating force for businesses like mine, and will instead favor the huge corporations who will have to pony up big bucks to get an internet advantage.

And once the ownership limits are erased (this will happen almost immediately), there will be another debt-leveraged buying spree which will increase stock prices and short term gains for media investors (namely the bosses themselves) at the cost of constricting and constraining future budgets because of the inevitable debt. This will cost media jobs, decrease media quality, and drastically alter the media landscape.

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer. Just telling it like it is.
Posted by at

Wrigley Renovations

They are building a club under the grandstands. Kind of strange to view at this stage...

Posted by at

Trump's Plans for the Press

Trump has no plans to have press conferences anytime soon, and as soon as he is sworn in, he plans on drastically changing the daily White House press briefings.

From Politico...

Speaking to radio host Hugh Hewitt, Priebus said "many things have to change" in the White House's relationship and daily traditions with the media, including the daily briefing with the White House Press Secretary and the seating chart.

"I think that it’s important that we look at all of those traditions that are great, but quite frankly, as you know, don’t really make news and they're just sort of mundane, boring episodes," Priebus said.

Uh huh. Boring to keep the American people informed through professionals who can ask questions. Instead, just announce things on Twitter, and hope that nobody scratches beneath the surface.

This is gut-check time for the press in this country. This president thinks he can get by without scrutiny. It's your job to hold his feet to the fire and make him answer questions. Don't give up. Don't ever give up.
Posted by at

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

RIP Alan Thicke

He was 69 years old.

I'll always remember him from Growing Pains, his hit show in the 1980s...

Posted by at

Another Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Fox News

There does seem to be a modus operandi for Roger Ailes.

I've worked with and for some pigs before, but none of them are in the same league as Roger. It's hard to believe this actually happened in the workplace, and that it happened (allegedly) for such a long time.
Posted by at

I have a face too, you know

I'm getting a little sick of finding photos of my body in underwear ads. I guess it's my own fault for parading around like this at home with all the windows open, and signing the waivers of every passing photographer, but I have a face too. Must you always cut it off?

Posted by at

The World's Highest Paid Musicians

Care to guess who made the most money in 2016?
The top ten are...
10. Diddy
9. Calvin Harris (a DJ)
8. The Rolling Stones (and they only played 27 gigs)
7. AC/DC
6. Garth Brooks
5. Rihanna
4. Madonna
3. Adele
2. One Direction
1. Taylor Swift

Just out of the top ten...McCartney's in 12th. At 74 years old. Not bad. Springsteen is in 11th at 67. Gotta love the old dudes.
Posted by at

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Gel Strong

His evening began last night with a massive stash of books (photo), but Eckhartz Press author Mark Gelinas sold them all at his Atlanta book launch party. The valet parking was full by 7pm, and the books were flying out the door. Congrats to Mark on a huge night! (More photos to come). This inspiring book makes a perfect Christmas gift for anyone going through a struggle with that horrible C-word, cancer. A portion of the proceeds go to Pancreatic Cancer research.

Posted by at

Trevor Noah Interviews President Obama

Posted by at

Bill and Barack

Posted by at

Johnny B Signs Off

And he did it with guns blazing, God bless him. His sign off was also, apparently, a surprise to his bosses. From Robert Feder's column...
Brandmeier was critical of Westwood One for trying to influence the content of his program.

“They want to go political across the line,” he said of his bosses. “All political. And we certainly handle all of that, but all political. It’s very simple. So each show sounds exactly like the next show. That’s the way radio thinks today.

“That’s what you do: You make sure that every show sounds exactly the same. So you can’t tell. There’s an angry white guy. There’s an angry white guy. There’s an angry white guy. I heard ‘Obama.’ I heard the word ‘Obama.’ I heard ‘Trump.’ And then it just goes on and on and on.”

I love this. Amen, Johnny. Tell it like it is.

Posted by at

Monday, December 12, 2016

The Golden Globes


The full list of Golden Globe nominees is here.

Looks like a pretty respectable list this year.

Posted by at

Trial Date Set for Radio Engineer

The trial date for the radio engineer from College of Dupage who is accused of overbilling the school radio station more than $100,000 has been set. It begins on February 28th.

The Chicago Tribune has the details.

P.S. I'm not 100% sure it's the same guy, but I believe I worked with him back in the day.
Posted by at

Angela Merkel on SNL

I think she nails the whole German thing...laughed out loud a few times. In Germany we shout our problems into our stomachs.

Posted by at

Patti Smith Accepts Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize

She chokes up in the middle of this moving performance and admits how nervous she is.

Posted by at

The Russians

Great piece by David Frum in the Atlantic: Five Questions About Russia's Election Hacking.

If the House or Senate chooses not to investigate this, they will have a very hard time explaining that to the public.

Even the Trump voters.
Posted by at

Genuflections Book Launch

Had a great time at the Harp & Fiddle in Park Ridge on Sunday for the book launch party of Genuflections by Bob Herguth. Thanks to everyone who came out and joined in. Part of the experience was a Facebook live chat that was viewed by over 700 people.

Posted by at

Lossano and Friends

Thanks so much to Tony Lossano for inviting me to appear on Lossano and Friends on Saturday. The other guests on the show were Charlie Meyerson from Rivet Radio (my old WPGU pal), and Danielle Tufano from the River (a one-time subject of my IE column).

We had a lively discussion. You can listen to it here.

Posted by at

Team MVP

My son Sean was named player of the season by his soccer team and I almost missed it because I was at a work event. Still wearing my coat in the photo. Phew. Love all the kids in this picture. I've been coaching/managing them for many years.

Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)