Bobby Skafish in Blue Island

This Sunday is your last chance to get Bobby's great book "We Have Company" before Christmas (unless you order through Eckhartz Press). He will be in Blue Island from 3-5pm. Here's Bobby's caption for the picture on the left..."With Alan Cromwell, owner & mgr. of Blue Island Beer Co., 13357 Olde Western Ave. On Sunday, December 10, 3-5 PM I’ll be selling and signing what he’s holding while he’s selling what I’m holding. Please come out. Photo taken by brewmaster Bryan Shimkos, who along with Alan held me down and forced their beer down my throat, not unlike a fraternity hazing ritual."

He had me at beer. I will be there too.

Most Insulting Quote Ever

This Republican tax bill repeals the Estate Tax, making sure that billionaires can pass down every penny to their kids who haven't earned a dime. Or, as Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley puts it...

"I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing, as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies."
- Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

As opposed to food, shelter, clothing, and medical insurance. Seriously, I think we're just a drink or two away from one of these guys coming right out and saying "Fuck the poor." And yet, poor people still vote for them. Amazing.

How To Parent Like a German

An American mom living in Berlin wrote this article for Time Magazine.

As someone who was raised by Germans, I found this interesting.

Let's just say that the 2017 German mom is definitely not the same as the 1968 German mom. There are similarities, but my fellow old(ish) Krauts will certainly notice the changes.

Cool Video

A camera falls from an airplane and ends at a trough for pigs. pic.twitter.com/sKuZkeFUR6

— Roberto Alonso González Lezcano (@robertoglezcano) December 3, 2017

Set your DVRs

Never thought I'd write this sentence, but here goes: I'm excited that Billy Bush will be on TV tonight.

He'll be a guest on Stephen Colbert's show. I'm sure a certain videotape will be topic number one.

"The Lite" is Back

I wonder if they made this move because everyone still calls them the Lite, but 93.9 FM in Chicago hasn't officially been known as the Lite for many years now. This weekend they announced that they are bringing back the old name. Robert Feder has the details.

When I worked at WJMK in the 90s we went through the same thing. Before I got there it was known as Magic 104.3. It was changed to Oldies 104.3 just before I started working there. After calling it Oldies for about five years, we decided that everyone was still calling it Magic, so screw it, we once again became Magic 104.3.

It's a branding thing.

More Creeps Revealed

NYC NPR host John Hockenberry

&

Geraldo Rivera

That second one is about the least surprising name to turn up yet. The only surprising thing was the name of hte person he groped: Bette Midler.

Chuck Buell

This was in my e-mail box this weekend. Congrats to Chuck Buell on his news...

Hello, Rick!

As a former on-air Radio Personality during the late 1960s and early 1970s heydays of WLS Radio, I just wanted to pass along my latest news with you!

I’ve certainly enjoyed my life-long broadcast career as a pretty focused On-Air Radio Personality. Overall, it’s been a great run for me!

I’ve had many fabulous successes in many unique cities with singular radio stations of unsurpassed reputations, notably WLS in Chicago, all of which, unbeknownst to me, has been leading up to this point in time.

The result is ~~~ this January, I will be inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado's Radio Hall of Fame!

I’m thrilled, as you might imagine, and extremely honored, and I just wanted to share this with you!

Chuck Buell

I previously interviewed Chuck for Chicago Radio Spotlight.

Minutia Men, Episode 75

EP75 – Rick and Dave discuss things to scream at Santa, Call of Doo-Dee, the Woof Tang Clan, a Cubs Hall of Famer, and Rick’s brush with local Chicago TV anchor, Mary Ann Childers.

You can listen to it here.

Book of the Year!

The Chicago Writer's Association just announced the winners of this year Book of the Year, and for the second year in a row, the winner is an Eckhartz Press book. (For Indie Fiction)

Congrats to M.L. Collins and her book "Out the Door!"

The other winners were Christine Sneed (traditional fiction), Mary Wisniewski (traditional non-fiction), and Nadine Kenney Johnstone (indie non-fiction)

Michael Flynn Guilty

He's pleading guilty to making false statements to the FBI. It's a plea deal, in exchange for dropping the many other things he could have charged with. This means Flynn is cooperating with Mueller to get someone higher up on the foodchain. That could only mean two or three people, Sessions, Pence, and Trump, with a sidedish of Jared.

Wonder if Hillary will bring a crowd over to his sentencing hearing to cheer "Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up!"

Fake News Trophy

Remember the other day when the president tweeted that the news organizations were all doing fake news, and they should do a poll to see which organization does the most fake news and give them a trophy? (Yes, the moron really tweeted that)

Rasmussen (a conservative polling organization) followed their leaders wishes. Guess who won the fake news trophy?

Fox News. By a landslide.

That made my day.

RIP Gomer

Jim Nabors passed away yesterday at the age of 87. Always loved Gomer. A lover, not a fighter...

More Creeps Revealed

Russell Simmons

Playwright Israel Horovitz

Al Franken (again) (He is toast now)

3 employees at Vice

Bruce Bohrer Tonight in Des Plaines!

To my fellow northwest suburban friends, your chance to meet Eckhartz Press author Bruce Bohrer ("Best Seat in the House: Diary of a Wrigley Field Usher") is tonight at 6:00pm! He's hosting a free talk at the Frisbie Senior Center in Des Plaines (Northwest Highway & Mt. Prospect Road). They are taking reservations here (http://www.frisbieseniorcenter.org/brucebohrer_bestseatinthehouse/), but the event is free (and you can show up without registering--they are just trying to get a handle on the potential crowd size). Hope to see you there! Bruce is a great story teller, and saw some truly memorable things during his time as an usher. Naturally his book will be available for purchase (and signing) at the event.

Lossano's Plea

Got this message from the executive producer of our podcast, Tony Lossano. For years Tony hosted the Nude Hippo show, and this note involves one of his crew members from that show...

In 1999, Florida Hicks (Orozco) started her career in production, by being one of the best crew members I could ask for. Please watch this video of a few times we captured Florida on tape, before and after our live broadcasts.



There are links on the YouTube page of recent video, and Florida's story.

This Friday night, I hope that you can join me. I, along with other current and past members, plan to attend the media event, to support Florida. If you can not attend, I hope that you can please join her group "Flo Fighters" and help a lifetime Hippo member. Please share.

Mark Your Calendar!

I'll be there on December 10th in Blue Island with Bobby Skafish. Here's a little more info...

With Alan Cromwell, owner/mgr of Blue Island Beer Co., 13357 Olde Western Ave. On Sunday, 12/10 from 3-5 PM I’ll be there selling &signing my book. Come out! Photo by brewmaster Bryan Shimkos. pic.twitter.com/w9Usl18NBe

— Robert Skafish (@BobbySkafish) November 29, 2017

I'll be coming there from Elmhurst, because another Eckhartz Press author has an event there that day, at the Disco Demolition exhibit...

The Croatian War Criminal

If you didn't see this story yesterday, it's understandable. There were a lot of very crazy stories happening in the news. On a normal day when a Croatian war criminal drank poison on the witness stand and died, it would have been a huge story.

Unfortunately for him, he did it on the day Matt Lauer was fired and President Trump re-tweeted bogus videos.

Eckhartz Press author Brent Petersen did a nice write up about the story, if you want more info. It does eerily parallel a part of his great novel "Truffle Hunt".

While you're on Brent's site, check out the short story he wrote.

Shohei Ohtani

You might have heard the name Ohtani, but in case you haven't, he's the next big thing in big league baseball. In Japan he is being compared to Babe Ruth. Every team is after him, including the Cubs.

Here's a little primer for you from mlb.com...

By all accounts, Ohtani is the total package -- a true sports rarity. He's 6-foot-4, 215 pounds and as fast as they come while running from home plate to first, but there's so much more.

"He looks like a movie star," Whiting said. "And he's the modern-day version of Frank Merriwell, a fictional character from comics of the 1920s and '30s -- the guy who's the All-Star athlete, he's really clean-cut, helping neighbors, helping the old lady with her groceries, just being an all-around great guy to everybody."

And it's not an act. By all accounts, Ohtani has long been respectful with media, even though he's been swamped by coverage for the last five years, and his No. 11 jerseys and billboards featuring his face are seen all over Japan.

Ohtani lives in the Nippon-Ham dormitories so he can be closer to the training facilities -- he is diligent about exercise and a student of nutrition -- and more immersed in being all about baseball all the time. He doesn't go out on the town with teammates, hasn't shown a desire to put the dating scene above his athletic preparation, studies English and smiles a lot.

"He knows how it all works," Lefton said. "When you're trying to do something, but you haven't done it yet, instead of talking yourself up, you let the success come first."

He throws the ball 100 miles an hour as a pitcher, and he's a slugger/outfielder too. Where do we sign?

Chicago Radio Ratings

From Tom Taylor's NOW newsletter...

Chicago makes it two-in-a-row – and only its fourth #1 ever – for Hubbard’s hot AC “Mix” WTMX (5.2-5.8-6.3). Mix holds sway from 6am to 7pm, and is third on weekends. Chris Huff reports that this is Mix’s largest share since May 2013. Second overall again is iHeart’s urban AC “V103” WVAZ (6.5-5.6-5.9, and #1 at night with Keith Sweat and on weekends). Third for the week is still Entercom’s news WBBM/WCFS (4.7-5.0-5.0, and second mornings and weekends). Tied in fourth place are Univision’s regional Mexican WOJO (3.3-3.9-3.9) and Entercom’s country “US 99” WUSN (3.8-3.9-3.9). WOJO is third in mornings while US 99 is third in afternoons (but tenth in mornings). Sixth overall is Entercom’s sports/Cubs baseball “Score” WSCR (3.9-4.9-3.6, and off from first to second at night). Tied in seventh place are rhythmic “B96” WBBM-FM (Entercom, 3.4-3.3-3.4) and CHR “Kiss” WKSC (iHeart, 3.8-3.6-3.4). In the classic hits arena, there’s Cumulus WLS-FM (3.2-2.8-2.7). Easy oldies WRME-LP, a low power Channel 6 TV leased by Weigel (2.6-2.4-2.5, and tied for eighth-place middays). And Entercom’s WJMK (2.7-2.4-2.4) – which was converted, post-merger, to classic hip-hop/R&B “104.3 Jams.” It will appear with new calls of WBMX, which return to Chicago from Boston. Something’s up at Disney’s sports “ESPN 1000” WMVP (1.5-1.9-2.4, and up to seventh at night). iHeart’s AC WLIT (2.5-2.2-2.8) was counting the seconds until all-Christmas. While WUSN’s country rival “Big” WEBG slips (iHeart, 2.3-2.0-1.8). Rhythmic “B96” overtakes Kiss for the cume lead at nearly 1.87 million.

Cumulus Files for Bankruptcy

The details are nicely explained and synthesized by Robert Feder in his column this morning...

Cumulus Media, which operates four radio stations in Chicago, filed to reorganize in Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday in an effort to reduce its $2.4 billion debt by more than $1 billion. The Atlanta-based company earlier this month defaulted on a $24 million debt payment, and its stock was delisted at NASDAQ. “We will use this restructuring process to relieve the financial constraints on our continued progress, allowing us to focus our resources on investing in our business and people to strengthen our competitiveness and ultimately drive growth,” Mary Berner, president and CEO of Cumulus, said in a statement. Among the company’s 446 stations nationwide are news/talk WLS AM 890, classic hits WLS FM 94.7, classic rock WLUP FM 97.9 and alternative rock WKQX FM 101.1.

Two More Creeps Revealed

Would you believe Garrison Keillor? Me neither. And to be honest, reading his story, it does sound like this could be a misunderstanding or mistake...

“I put my hand on a woman’s bare back,” he told the Star Tribune by e-mail minutes after MPR’s statement. “I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized. I sent her an email of apology later and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it. We were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called. “It’s astonishing that 50 years of hard work can be trashed in a morning by an accusation,” he said in a Facebook post Wednesday evening. “I always believed in hard work and now it feels sort of meaningless. Only a friend can hurt you this badly. I think I have to leave the country in order to walk around in public and not feel accusing glances.”

The other case seems a bit more traditional. CNN producer Teddy Davis...

State of the Union senior producer Teddy Davis was fired by the network today for his behavior in the workplace. No accusations of physical assault have been made against Davis, but an internal investigation concluded that his behavior was making multiple colleagues feel uncomfortable, enough for the network to sever ties with the producer. Said a CNN spokesperson: “A comprehensive investigation was conducted as soon as this matter was brought to our attention. The behavior attributed to Mr. Davis does not align with the standards and values of CNN and Mr. Davis is no longer with the company.”

My Favorite Horse

It turns out, Bryzzo is a winner. #Cubs https://t.co/nKOMjfXPSa

— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) November 28, 2017

Roy Moore

The alleged child molester is back on top in the polls, but in his first live appearance in ten days (yesterday), he may have gone too far. He flat out called the woman who accused him a liar.

She responded forcefully with this letter, and you can bet she will now be appearing in ads against him.

Alabama, wake up. Roy Moore, shut up.

Matt Lauer Fired

How do you know when it's a huge media story? When your mother calls you first thing in the morning with the news.

Matt Lauer was fired today for inappropriate sexual behavior. They announced it on the show. It was the first official complaint against him, but it must have been a doozy.

The Washington Post has the details that are known at this time.

UPDATE: Variety has the story. It's pretty bad. By the way, I had a boss once that also had the door closing button under his desk. Never considered this possible use for it.

Meet Bill Paige

Meet Bill Paige! Eckhartz Press author Bill Paige (Everything I Know I Learned from Rock Stars) will be in town on December 10th and will be signing and selling his books at one of his favorite places--The Old Town School of Folk Music. Register for the free session here: http://www.oldtownschool.org/classes/detail/?courseid=5794 (scroll down to the bottom).

Here's the description of the event on their webpage:
Music fans spanning generations are invited to discover favorite artists anew in former Old Town School student, Bill Paige’s Everything I Know I Learned From Rock Stars, on Eckhartz Press. Join Paige for this special book signing and discussion!

Mark Suppelsa

Robert Feder did a mini exit-interview with Mark Suppelsa in his column today.

Mark is signing off soon as the anchor of the Channel 9 News. He is one of the good guys. I got to know him a bit through mutual friends (and interviewed him a few times too, including here). He'll be missed in the Chicago media community.

Grammy Nominations

From this morning's RAMP newsletter, this year's Grammy Nominations have just been announced.

Record Of The Year: "Redbone" -- Childish Gambino • "Despacito" -- Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber • "The Story Of O.J." -- JAY-Z • "HUMBLE." -- Kendrick Lamar • "24K Magic" -- Bruno Mars

Song Of The Year: "Despacito" -- Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters, "4:44" -- Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters, "Issues" -- Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters, "1-800-273-8255" -- Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury, Khalid Robinson, songwriters, "That's What I Like" -- Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters

Album Of The Year: Awaken, My Love! -- Childish Gambino • 4:44 -- JAY-Z • DAMN. -- Kendrick Lamar • Melodrama -- Lorde • 24K Magic -- Bruno Mars

The complete list of nominees in all 84 categories is now posted online at Grammy.com,

Project Veritas

Project Veritas, he activist group led by James O'Keefe, has been doing dirty tricks for years. They fake news and try to get it reported as real. Or they clandestinely record people at organizations they hate, and deceptively edit what people there say.

How unethical is this group of conservative dirty tricksters? They just got caught faking a sexual assault victim of Roy Moore and trying to pass her off on the Washington Post. It didn't work. The Washington Post didn't fall for it.

(SIGH)

I know that the mainstream press isn't trusted these days. The president spends his time calling real news outlets "Fake News" while promoting news outlets like Fox News and InfoWars.

But even if you're conservative, and you think the mainstream press has a liberal lean, you must admit that there's no comparison between the two types of news.

One side's "journalists" (yes the Veritas scumbags call themselves that) are openly, actively faking news. They are hailed as heroes by the conservative press. That same conservative press reports conspiracy theories as news (Obama born in Kenya, Seth Rich is the real hacker, Hillary is running a child sex ring out of a pizza joint), while downplaying actual news that doesn't reflect well on their side--like I don't know, over 50 contacts with the Russians during the campaign.

Bret Baier, one of the only respected journalists at Fox News, reported that Hillary was about to be indicted by the FBI in the days before the election (Complete fantasy). If a reporter for a legitimate news organization did that (like Dan Rather who got fired by CBS for an incorrect report about Bush, or the CNN team who got a report wrong this year and were immediately fired), his career would be over. At Fox News, he gets awards for reporting.

Tell me again which one is fake news?

By the way, I like this framing of the story...

2017: today we learned a woman pretended to be a rape victim in an effort to discredit real rape victims to help a child molester become a senator, and it wasn't even the biggest political scandal of the day

— Retired Zoologist (@SortaBad) November 28, 2017

Jeremy Piven's Show Canceled

Jeremy Piven has been accused of inappropriate behavior by five women, so CBS has made the decision to cancel his show "Wisdom of the Crowd" despite having already ordered another nine shows.

Hollywood appears to be taking this sexual harassment thing seriously. Let's see if Washington follows their lead.

Harvey Weinstein

I think it's still possible that Harvey Weinstein ends up in jail. There are now over 80 (!) women who have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, assault or abuse. Two lawsuits were filed yesterday, and one of them took place just a few years ago. From Deadline Hollywood...

Europe looks to be the new legal battlefront for the much accused Harvey Weinstein today. First a civil suit was filed Monday in the UK alleging sexual assault by the disgraced producer. Now a complaint filed in federal court on this side of the Atlantic today by actress Kadian Noble claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and TWC covered it up for another ‘Friend of Harvey.’ Actions that could constitute violations of federal sex trafficking statutes, according to the jury seeking filing.

“Harvey Weinstein was able to force or coerce Kadian into sexual activity in his hotel room because of his promise to her of a film role and use of his influence on her behalf,” the unspecified damages seeking 11-page complaint that names Weinstein, along with his brother Bob Weinstein and the struggling Weinstein Company states (read it here). “Harvey Weinstein traveled in foreign commerce, knowingly recruiting or enticing Kadian offering her something of value, knowing that he would use this offer as a means to defraud, force or coerce her into a sexual encounter, the complaint adds. “Harvey Weinstein ultimately forced Kadian into sexual acts.”

Meet Bruce Bohrer

To my fellow northwest suburban friends, your chance to meet Eckhartz Press author Bruce Bohrer ("Best Seat in the House: Diary of a Wrigley Field Usher") is coming this Thursday night at 6:00pm. He's hosting a free talk at the Frisbie Senior Center in Des Plaines (Northwest Highway & Mt. Prospect Road). They are taking reservations here (http://www.frisbieseniorcenter.org/brucebohrer_bestseatinthehouse/), but the event is free. Hope to see you there! Bruce is a great story teller, and saw some truly memorable things during his time as an usher. Naturally his book will be available for purchase (and signing) at the event.

Big Ten Power Rankings

This is how uninterested I've become in college football and basketball since the Illini began tanking several seasons ago. I just glanced at this article to see where the football team ranked in the Big 10, expecting them to be in 10th.

Nope. 14th.

I didn't even realize there were now 14 teams in the Big 10.

The NBA has been dead to me for years (since 1998, when Jordan retired). The NFL and college athletics are also dead to me. All I have left is baseball, hockey, and soccer.

Con Man

I mean, really?

Trump is apparently telling people the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape is a fake. https://t.co/n9uitLFQgS pic.twitter.com/blE7VN9ZA4

— Slate (@Slate) November 26, 2017

Call of DooDee

Let's hear it for one of Illinois' very own for taking on the big boys. From Yahoo! News...

Call of Duty is far and away one of, if not the biggest and most well known video game franchises to ever exist. It has a global reach with millions of players, a marketing budget akin to that of a major summer blockbuster, and it usually packs some star power with recognizable celebrities starring in the game's campaign and zombies mode.

With that said, it should come as no surprise that Call of Duty publisher Activision is less than happy that a dog poop cleaning service is somewhat mocking their flagship series. Over the summer, an Illinois citizen filed a trademark for their new dog waste removal service known as "Call of DooDee".

The Call of Duty people are still fighting it, so for now, we don't know if the Call of DooDee people will get to keep that name. I know who I'm rooting for.

Koch Brothers Buy Time Inc.

Look for Time Magazine to become a very conservative publication. Over the weekend it was purchased (along with the other magazines in the Time Inc. portfolio like Sports Illustrated) by the Koch Brothers.

Details are here.

Net Neutrality

While the all-news channels continue to focus on Trumps tweets and sexual harassment, the internet has been exploding about the possibility that Net Neutrality's demise is a very real possibility.

It was the top trending hashtag on Twitter all weekend.

Call @AjitPaiFCC at 202 418 1000 and tell him NO on destroying #NetNeutrality. Thank you!!!

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) November 21, 2017

Pai and Trump have made themselves the enemy of the young https://t.co/ErTZzGFw5J

— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) November 22, 2017

News came out that the FCC's public comment section about this subject, which is supposedly taken into consideration by the FCC when making a decision like this, was heavily compromised by bots.

My office analyzed the public comments submitted to the @FCC about #netneutrality—and found that 100,000s of Americans were likely impersonated to drown out the views of real people and businesses. This was akin to identity theft on a massive scale: https://t.co/xxFjSgoqVP

— Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) November 21, 2017

Democrats in Congress are finally taking note of these developments and are making some noise. Maybe it's not too late to stop it after all...

FCC wants to repeal net neutrality rules that protect our free & open internet. We want 250,000 names to oppose it. https://t.co/iWA483dQlS

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 24, 2017

It's still a long-shot, but its definitely worth doing, if for no other reason than to shame them and expose them for this nakedly corrupt move.

It should matter that nobody wants this.

Kaempfers

Good to see the Michigan Kaempfers for Thanksgiving this year. It was a fun weekend.

Dead to Me

Looks like I will have three extra hours of productive time available every Sunday for the rest of the year.

Happy Thanksgiving

OK, shutting down the office for a few days. Son #3 is off from school, and we're going to spend some time together.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! (Look for a new Minutia Men episode to drop on Thanksgiving morning--it features some Thanksgiving minutia)

I'll be back at the blogging desk on Monday.

John's Glasses

From Ultimateclassicrock.com... (Thanks BP for the tipoff)

An assortment of items that once belonged to John Lennon have been returned to his widow Yoko Ono after being stolen — and ending up halfway around the world.

The Associated Press reports that roughly 100 of Lennon's belongings were stolen from Ono, including three of the former Beatle's diaries, two pairs of eyeglasses, a cigarette case and a handwritten sheet of music — and in what German police described as "a spectacular, unusual criminal case," the items ended up at a Berlin auction house.

In fact, as the AP's report details, the stolen goods were only discovered after the auction house declared bankruptcy and an administrator was brought in to assess their holdings. After the items turned up in storage, police were alerted, and they set about finding the culprits. One suspect has since been arrested, although the other, who reportedly resides in Turkey, was described as "not available" and the target of an ongoing extradition effort.

Ono was eager to get the stolen property back to the estate. Investigators flew to New York, where they had her verify the items' authenticity; during the meeting, said prosecutor Susan Wettley, "She was very emotional and we noticed clearly how much these things mean to her and how happy she would be to have them back."

Cumulus Dropped by NASDAQ

From Radio Online...

Cumulus Media has received a notification from NASDAQ indicating that, as a result of the company's non-compliance with NASDAQ listing rules, shares of its Class A common stock will be delisted on November 22. This after the bid price closed below $1.00 per share for the last 180 business days without regaining compliance. However, Cumulus has been approved to trade on the OTC market under the same ticker -- CMLS -- beginning November 22.

In an 8K filing with the SEC, "The transition to the quotation of the company's Class A common stock on the OTCQX will have no effect on the company's business or operations. The company will continue to file periodic and other required reports with the SEC."

In Chicago, Cumulus owns the Loop, WLS-AM & FM, and 101.1FM.

Trump's Accusers

The Washington Post has all of the women who accused Trump of sexual harassment in one handy article for you today.

Clip and bring along to Thanksgiving dinner for when the defenders of Trump start spouting. You're welcome. Happy Thanksgiving.

Dann Gire Leaves the Daily Herald

I worked with Dann for several years when he and Landecker did movie reviews together. Always got along well with him. Don't forget the second "N" in Dann, though.

From Robert Feder's column...

The great Dann Gire, award-winning film critic of the Daily Herald, is stepping down today after 42 years as a full-time employee of the newspaper. Gire, 64, was among a reported 17 staffers to accept voluntary buyouts from parent company Paddock Publications. But wait, there’s a sequel: Gire is expected to continue reviewing movies and contributing other features on a freelance basis. Until his new deal is official, Gire declined to comment. He joined the Daily Herald in 1975 as a reporter covering government, crime and courts, and was named film critic in 1978. A graduate of Eastern Illinois University and eight-time winner of the Peter Lisagor Award for arts criticism, Gire also serves as president and founding director of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

More Creeps Revealed

This one is a crusher. Pixar genius John Lasseter.

From the Huffington Post...

Both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter said they obtained a memo Lasseter sent to Pixar staff on Tuesday, announcing his decision to step away.

“I’ve recently had a number of difficult conversations that have been very painful for me,” he reportedly wrote in a message that acknowledged a series of “missteps” and apologized for any discomfort he caused his employees.

“That was never my intent,” he wrote, per Variety. “Collectively, you mean the world to me, and I deeply apologize if I have let you down. I especially want to apologize to anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of an unwanted hug or any other gesture they felt crossed the line in any way, shape or form.”

As someone who has been mocked for years because of my reluctance to hug, I'm feeling a little vindicated these days. Turns out, I wasn't being aloof and German. I was being professional.

If you feel like this list is never-ending, you aren't alone. And just wait...the shoes have not yet started dropping in Washington. So far, it's just Al Franken. And now Rep. John Conyers from Michigan.

But trust me, there will be many many more.

An MVP in Lederhosen

Combining two of my favorite things...the Cubs and Austria.

RIP David Cassidy

RIP David Cassidy. Met him once and confided that I knew all the words to “I woke up in love this morning.” He was not impressed. Seriously bummed by the news of his passing. He was a part of my childhood. Cassidy was 67.



Here's another one I liked as a kid...



Of course this one was their big hit...



It was such a part of the popular culture, the title was used in this scene...

Goner

Wow, that was fast. Charlie Rose is outta here...

Charlie Rose fired by CBS over sexual harassment allegations https://t.co/E6XhM102CQ @latimes

— Stephen Battaglio (@SteveBattaglio) November 21, 2017

Net Neutrality in Danger

This is not surprising, but it's also a disgrace. From the RAMP Newsletter...

Federal regulators unveiled a plan today that would give Internet providers broad powers to determine what websites and online services their customers can see and use. The Washington Post reports this now sets the stage for a crucial vote next month at the FCC that could reshape the entire digital ecosystem. The agency's Republican chairman, Ajit Pai, has made undoing the government's net neutrality rules one of his top priorities, and Tuesday's move hands a win to big broadband companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast.

In a release, Pai said his proposal would prevent the government from "micromanaging the Internet." In place of the existing rules, he added, the FCC would "simply require Internet service providers to be transparent about their practices." The proposal would also shift some enforcement responsibility to the Federal Trade Commission, which can sue companies whose actions do not reflect the commitments or statements they have made to the public.

Not surprisingly, those aforementioned giant Internet providers welcomed the FCC announcement -- in a statement, Verizon said, "We’re very encouraged by Chairman Pai's announcement today that the FCC will move forward next month to restore the successful light-touch regulatory framework for internet services."

Right. "Light-touch regulation" will replace something everyone hates--fairness. Get ready to pay through the nose. Internet innovation, which is a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE portion of our economy, will grind to a halt. The richest companies will have yet another advantage over the little companies, and the barrier for starting a new company will be far greater. This time the consumer loses bigtime. The country loses bigtime. The entire economy loses bigtime.

Only six people are in favor of this--the CEOs of three internet giants and the three Republican members of the FCC who are planning on working for those big three companies (and getting millions for their efforts) as soon as their terms expire. And they are going to pull it off because this will slip under the radar thanks to the 70-headlines-a-day news world we live in today.

This is the sort of issue that should make us all rise up. The FCC just spit in your face. Are you just going to wipe it off and go on your merry way?

(How do you really feel, Rick?)

Patrick Mooney Let Go

This is a bummer. Loved his work covering the Cubs...

pic.twitter.com/Na9bai6irk

— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) November 21, 2017

Hall of Fame Candidates

There seems to be two automatics in this year's Baseball Hall of Fame class--Chipper Jones and Jim Thome.

If those guys don't get in, I'll be shocked. Kerry Wood is on the list for the first time this year too. I doubt he will get the 5% necessary to stay on it for another year.

Here's an article about some of the other candidates.

What Actual Bias Looks Like

How do you know you're working for a biased news organization? If they won't let you investigate one of the biggest stories of all-time, even if you pay your own way.

Here's the headline in TV Newser: Former Fox Newser Says Network Forbid Her From Traveling to Moscow to Report on Trump-Kremlin Connections.

“You can’t do in-depth reporting if you’re not there,” the former Fox correspondent reportedly told Parliament earlier today. “Fox didn’t let me go to Moscow to dig into Trump’s Russian connections, even when I offered to pay my own way.”

“Fox is just buying what the White House is selling,” she continued.

Why is a former Fox Newser testifying to British Parliament? Because her former Boss Rupert Murdoch is trying to buy the biggest television news organization in Europe. The Parliament doesn't want a repeat of what is happening here in this country. They've already banned Fox News for being too biased. Tney don't want Murdoch to turn Sky News into another 24-hour right-wing grievance festival.

Merger Blocked

The Justice Department has sued to block the ATT/Time Warner merger. If you believe the reason they are giving officially, it sure sounds logical...

“This merger would greatly harm American consumers,” the Justice Department’s antitrust chief Makan Delrahim said in a statement. “It would mean higher monthly television bills and fewer of the new, emerging innovative options that consumers are beginning to enjoy.”

A good reason to be suspicious, however, is that the Trump administration seems to be favoring big business and big corporations in every other case. If their reasons are sincere, why aren't they blocking the Sinclair/Tribune merger which gives the merged company a virtual monopoly on local television stations?

This move feels more like the Trump administration is trying to bigfoot CNN, a frequent Trump critic. CNN is part of Time Warner, and Trump has tweeted about them more than anyone else (other than his vanquished opponent). If you think there's something unseemly about a President going after one of his critics using the levers of government, you aren't alone. It was one of the impeachment charges against Nixon.

But by arguing on anti-trust grounds, the Justice Department is on solid legal ground. This proposed merger is three times the size of the Comcast/NBC merger, which I was against at the time on anti-trust grounds.

Keep an eye on this case.

If they later demand that they'll accept the merger only if CNN is spun off and sold to someone else (like Rupert Murdoch for instance who is hovering like a vulture), then we'll know they're full of shit.

A Rose By Any Other Name

They're dropping like flies now. Another creep revealed.

This time it's the genteel gentleman Charlie Rose. "Mr. Rose, why are you taking ALL of your clothes off?"

Bummed, but not totally surprised by this one. I always thought he was a little "touchy" during his interviews.

Ernie Banks

Four years ago today. #MrCub pic.twitter.com/13znwBX1UT

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 20, 2017

Another Creep Revealed

This time it's a newspaper reporter--Glenn Thrush.

Vox has the story about him. Nobody in the story is underage, but it does sound like he took advantage of young female reporters.

Another bummer. I think he's a great reporter.

Below is his response...

Full statement from Glenn Thrush on the allegations that got him suspended pic.twitter.com/NvduNQP5fa

— Tom Kludt (@TomKludt) November 20, 2017

Most Popular Surname in Your State

A chart from Ancestry.com...



Of course one of the top 3 in Illinois is Johnson...

Jeffrey T. Mason

Jeffrey T. Mason was a jock on K-Hits (WJMK), which unceremoniously dropped their classic hits format on Friday. That surprise move resulted in Mason losing his gig.

Today he posted a blog post about his thoughts and feelings about his new reality. I can definitely relate. He's pretty much exactly at the crossroad I faced in 2004, and it looks to me like he's making the same decision. He is staying in Chicago even if there are no radio gigs here. He will do something else if necessary.

I made that leap myself. There was nothing in Chicago radio that interested me, and the only offers I received came from national shows based out of New York. I turned them down, stayed in my home town, and started my second career as a writer.

It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I wish him the same fate.

A whole industry of creeps?

This piece in the Washington Post is about the restaurant business. The headline is pretty descriptive: Rape in the storage room. Groping at the bar. Why is the restaurant industry so terrible for women?

Ladies, just so you know, this whole subject matter is topic #1 among men throughout this country these days. Everywhere I go, I hear it being discussed. Most of us are busy re-assessing our entire sexual lives. Others are just worried or think the pendulum is swinging too far too fast. But all of us are talking about it.

This is a real moment.

Manson is Dead

Charles Manson finally died over the weekend. The brutal killer and cult leader with the swastika tattoo on his forehead lived 48 years longer than the innocent people he and his followers murdered.

I'm not a huge believer in the death penalty, but I always felt Manson was the type of person who deserved it.

Maybe I can once again enjoy this rocker by the Beatles. Manson's adoption of Helter Skelter made me think of those murders when I listened to it. Paul performed it on Letterman's show a few years ago...

Another Creep Revealed

This time it's music producer Russell Simmons.

The LA Times has really been on this sexual abuse/harassment story. The allegations against Simmons include forcing himself on a 17-year-old model. Simmons says it was consenual.

The Bright Side of Entercom/CBS Merger

Inside Radio has some information about the change in business practices now that Entercom has taken over CBS Radio. I applaud these moves. Listeners will notice a change right away. CBS radio stations in Chicago were NOTORIOUS for playing waaaaay too many commercials...

Entercom did more than flip formats at a trio of top 10 market stations on opening day of its new chapter as radio’s second largest company. It also said it would implement three new business policies, including an across the board 5% reduction in spotloads throughout its 244-station platform. New policies adopted by COO Weezie Kramer also prohibit cash infusion ad deals and eliminate future ad sales by spot resellers.

Cash infusion ad deals involve an agency allocating a large chunk of dollars up front for a significant number of spots, often in a two-to-one credit for the future. The upside is that a broadcaster gets the billing in advance, sometimes at the expense of its competitors. The downside is that they are often sold at lower rates than the station would normally charge, and can contribute to a so-called “race to the bottom” in ad rates. Cash infusion ad deals are sometimes booked at half cash, half trade. And stations may do more such deals before the agency has used up all of its two-to-one inventory. The station ends up owing the agency, which can go out and do third party deals to sell the time, which the agency bought at a 50% discount. That further floods the market with low rates and abundant inventory.

Tambor Quits Transparent

This is a bummer. The Huffington Post has the news...

Jeffrey Tambor, who won acclaim for his portrayal of a transgender woman on “Transparent,” has exited the Amazon series after a co-star and a former personal assistant separately accused him of sexual misconduct.

The Emmy-winning actor, 73, released a statement Sunday denying the accusations, but said he would not return to “Transparent” for the show’s fifth season.

“Playing Maura Pfefferman on ‘Transparent’ has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life,” Tambor said in the statement, Deadline reports. “What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago.”

He continued, “I’ve already made clear my deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive, but the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue. Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to ‘Transparent.’”

I hope they can find a way to continue producing the show without Tambor, but since he really is the star of the show, I'm not optimistic. Bummed for John Landecker's daughter Amy who is a co-star on the show (and plays Tambor's daughter)

When the show first got popular a few years ago, Amy's two dads posed for this picture...

RIP Malcom Young

The AC/DC guitarist passed away over the weekend at the age of 64. He left the band seven years ago because he was beginning to feel the effects of dementia, but it's no exaggeration to say he was a key member of AC/DC along with his brother Angus.

Simple Request

I know we are in a post-sexism era right now, but please don't take away penis jokes from us. I personally guffawed when I saw this...

Navy admits that pilot drew penis in sky over Washington https://t.co/5lfUk4bcbt pic.twitter.com/pkAtZ8p6nC

— The Hill (@thehill) November 18, 2017

Mitch & Jim & Rick at the Record Collectors Show

On Sunday morning I was out in Hillside with Mitch Michaels at the Chicagoland Record Collectors Show. We sold a ton of books and had a great time. One of the pleasant surprises was being seated next to Jim Peterik, the great rocker from the Ides of March and Survivor. I knew Jim from my radio days (and so did Mitch) and we reacquainted ourselves. Great seeing and talking to him again. He's obviously the one rocking the purple hair.

Movie Premiere

On Saturday night we went into the city for the premiere of our friend's documentary Hitchhiking to the Edge of Sanity at the Greenhouse Loft. It's the story of two young men in 1971 who decide that it would be a great adventure to hitchhike across the Sahara Desert.



That's Dave and I with our respective spouses in Row 1 (the gals ware short and didn't want to have to see over a tall person). Eagle eyes may also see Charlie Meyerson in Row 2. It was a pleasant surprise to see him there.

In row 3, my college buddies Mike Medina with his wife Lynee Alves, and Eckhartz Press author Brent Petersen and his girlfriend Karen. Brent's brother Scott was the filmmaker who made this gem.

LATE UPDATE: Brent has written a blog post about his weekend in Chicago, which included a visit to Eataly for a Truffle tasting. Brent is the author of the Eckhartz Press book "Truffle Hunt"