Musings, observations, and written works from the publisher of Eckhartz Press, the media critic for the Illinois Entertainer, co-host of Minutia Men, Minutia Men Celebrity Interview and Free Kicks, and the author of "The Loop Files", "Back in the D.D.R", "EveryCubEver", "The Living Wills", "$everance," "Father Knows Nothing," "The Radio Producer's Handbook," "Records Truly Is My Middle Name", and "Gruen Weiss Vor".
Friday, December 07, 2018
RIP Pete Shelley
Art Institute Anniversary
Details are here.
Alex on TV
Set your DVR. Eckhartz Press author Alex Burkholder will be on MeTv with Jon Hansen Sunday morning at 7:30am. They'll be discussing Alex's new book "Death of the Angels" which is about the tragic fire at Our Lady of the Angels school in 1958. I'll post the links to the video after it airs. (It also features fire survivor Richard DeVitto)
Steve Rosenbloom Signs Off
Here it is.
He took the buyout from the Tribune and is retiring to pursue other things. Bummer. He was one of the only reasons I still occasionally read the Tribune.
RIP Luis Valbuena
Former Cubs infielder Luis Valbuena is dead today, victim of car accident in Venezuela. Jose Castillo, former MLB infielder, also killed in the accident. Continues disturbing trend of Latin American ballplayers being killed in car crashes. pic.twitter.com/T95jbiVech
— Celebrity Flatliner (@CelebFlatline) December 7, 2018
The Grammys
Album of the Year:
Invasion Of Privacy, Cardi B; By The Way, I Forgive You, Brandi Carlile; Scorpion, Drake; H.E.R., H.E.R.; Beerbongs & Bentleys, Post Malone; Dirty Computer, Janelle MonĂ¡e; Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves; Black Panther, The Album, Various Artists
Record of the Year:
"I Like It," Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin; "The Joke," Brandi Carlile; "This Is America," Childish Gambino; "God's Plan," Drake; "Shallow," Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper; "All The Stars," Kendrick Lamar & SZA; "Rockstar," Post Malone feat. 21 Savage; "The Middle," Zedd feat. Maren Morris & Grey.
Yeah, I know. Me neither.
Looking for a New Oscar Host
I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscar's....this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018
Somehow I don't think they'll be taking this guy up on his offer...
Dear cunts in charge of The Oscars, let me host your show, and I promise I won't offend anyone. Not even Mel Gibson, who you nominated last year. pic.twitter.com/JTp1CefQoy
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) December 7, 2018
Highest Earning Radio Hosts
Howard Stern made $90 million in 2018, according to Forbes. Stern was followed by the most-listened-to talk show host Rush Limbaugh who the magazine says took in $84.5 million.
America’s most-listened-to radio host reaches a monthly audience of 25 million on more than 650 stations. In the fourth decade of his career, Limbaugh released his first mobile app in January, giving a subscription boost to his digital platform Rush 24/7.
Ryan Seacrest came in third on the list with an estimated salary of $74 million. He was followed by Sean Hannity at $36 million and Glenn Beck at $8.5 million
Thursday, December 06, 2018
Back from NYC
Here are my pictures from the trip...
Goldy
Gotta admit...not thrilled about that news.
He kills the Cubs, and will now get the chance to do it 18 or 19 times a year.
The Russians Messed with Net Neutrality
FCC Chairman Pai admits Russian hackers filed a half-million Net Neutrality comments. It’s a “fact,” he says in a filing, that about 500,000 comments in last year’s Net Neutrality proceeding came from Russian email addresses. But there’s more. Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel says “As many as nine and a half million people had their identities stolen and used to file fake comments, which is a crime under both federal and state laws.” Believe it or not, there’s something called “FakeMailGenerator.com,” and Rosenworcel says “nearly eight million comments were filed from email domains associated with” that site. Republican Commissioner Pai was elevated to Chairman in early 2017 and wanted to erase away the Net Neutrality policy of his Democratic predecessor Tom Wheeler – which aimed to prevent broadband suppliers from favoring certain kinds of traffic.
To those of you who say, "Nothing happened after we got rid of Net Neutrality", I say "Just wait." That's what the telecom giants are doing. They are waiting. Getting all their plans in order. Using their unexpected inactivity to fight it again if necessary (it will be necessary).
Monday, December 03, 2018
Rick in NYC
Back in the office on Thursday. Back in the saddle on Saturday for this appearance with Chet in Orland Park.
Minutia Men, Episode 116
Listen to it here.
By the way, I attended a theater production of "An Off White Christmas" last night in Oak Park, and it was tremendous. Don Evans was beeming as these talented actors performed his words.
Our Lady of the Angels School Fire
You can read the article here.
LIsa Dent is Back
Lisa Dent, one of Chicago radio’s best-known country music personalities, has moved up to middays on WEBG 95.5-FM, the iHeartMedia country station announced today.
Since June, Dent has been hosting weekends at Big 95.5. Effective immediately, she’ll be on from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.
“I am so excited to welcome Lisa Dent as midday host for Big 95.5,” Matt Scarano, president of iHeartMedia Chicago, said in a statement. “She brings an iconic presence to our team and will be a tremendous asset to our listeners, community and advertisers.”
Office Mates
I had brunch with these oddballs today. Love you #officemates #theoffice pic.twitter.com/UWnkOaU1p3
— Jenna Fischer (@jennafischer) December 3, 2018
Banning "Baby it's Cold Outside"?
WDOK-FM (Star 102) Cleveland has removed a popular Christmas tune from its holiday playlist that was written in 1944, reports WOIO-TV. "Star 102" listeners raised concerns about the lyrics of "Baby It's Cold Outside," with some saying the lyrics send the wrong message in the #MeToo era. Afternoon host Glenn Anderson wrote in a blog post, "We used to play the song 'Baby It's Cold Outside,' but you're the Christmas Executive Officer at Star 102 and you told us it's no longer appropriate... I gotta be honest, I didn't understand why the lyrics were so bad... Until I read them."
Here are two versions of the song. One with Ricardo Moltaban, and one with Red Skelton. There is a role reversal on the second one. I get what people are saying about the #Metoo implications, but this really was intended to be a harmless little song.