I Love This New Pope

I don't like to brag, but the Pope is my facebook friend. (It's true) Here's his latest advice to his flock, courtesy of TPM...

In the frank and often funny style that has come to define Francis' preaching, the Argentine Jesuit chastised priests for their complacency, giving them a lesson on preparing homilies that don't put the faithful to sleep. He reminded them that confession shouldn't be "torture," and told them to get out of their sacristies, get their shoes muddy, get involved in the lives of their faithful and not be defeatist "sourpusses." He said their greatest concern must be the poor and marginalized, since they are victims of an unjust, global economic system that prizes profit over people. He said the poor need the tender, merciful love that the church can provide.

I'm 50 years old and have never felt better about being a Catholic.

The Best College Towns

Champaign-Urbana is #7 on the list. (Really? I went there, and I enjoyed it and all, but really?)

#1 on the list is Ithica New York.

How they painted Bond's Golden Girl

This was always fascinating to me because there were so many rumors about what happened to Julie Eaton after she starred in this movie. Did she really die because of the gold paint?

No, she's still alive.

This piece is a pretty cool look back at how they painted her--a job that someone was actually paid to do. ("How was work today honey?" "Grueling! I had to paint that beautiful naked woman again.")

Spanish Radio May Be a Bit Different After All

From TMZ.com...

Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo -- the biggest star on Spanish radio -- forced his employees to watch him defecate, pee in bottles, and subjected them to endless sexual abuses ... so claim former workers. We obtained a letter 6 ex-employees sent to Piolin's lawyer, claiming the radio host

-- Forced several employees to watch him defecate
-- Regularly peed into bottles in the studio
-- Grabbed his erect penis through his pants and rubbed it on employees
-- Routinely exposed himself and called male employees "f**gots."
-- Grabbed employees' genitals and insisted they "liked" it
-- Bit people

You know, I used to think I was treated badly in my early days as a radio employee, but I was never subjected to any of these things. I could create my own list, of course, but it wouldn't be quite as gross or illegal.

The Money Honey

Michael Wolff examines the departure of CNBC's Money Honey, and points out something that is really hard to dispute...Nobody seems to care.

It's a tough piece, but I also think it's fair.

HohoKam is No More

The Cubs former spring training facility in Mesa was called "Hohokam Park" for years. It was an unusual name that didn't really roll off the tongue, but it named by the town of Mesa.

Well, as part of the new deal which produced the brand new facility (opening this coming spring), the Cubs now have naming rights to their ballpark. They are shopping it around hoping for a big money offer (which I'm sure they'll get).

In the meantime, it's called...Cubs Park.

By the way, in an unrelated Cubs story, yesterday was the anniversary of Joe DiMaggio's birth, and I neglected to point you to my all-time favorite Cubs failure story in Cubs 365. It's the story of the day the Cubs passed on Joe DiMaggio.

As the Rupert Turns

The trial of Rupert Murdoch's former right-hand-woman Rebekkah Brooks is going on in England, and the juicy details are beginning to emerge.

Yesterday golfer Colin Montgomerie's ex-wife testified, and claimed that Brooks boasted about how easy it was to hack into a celebrity's voicemail. There were charges and counter-charges, snipping and sniping, and just about everything you could ask for in a high-profile trial.

Details are in the Mail Online.

Inside a Twitter Robot Factory

I have a few friends who are Twitter experts. They keep telling me about this whole underground world of fake Twitter accounts, and how they work, and why they exist, and it just sounds all so nefarious. But when the Wall Street Journal writes about it, maybe it's time I stop dismissing my friends as conspiracy kooks...

One day earlier this month, Jim Vidmar bought 1,000 fake Twitter accounts for $58 from an online vendor in Pakistan.

He then programmed the accounts to "follow" the Twitter account of rapper Dave Murrell, who calls himself Fyrare and pays Mr. Vidmar to boost his standing on the social network. Mr. Vidmar's fake accounts also rebroadcast Mr. Murrell's tweets, amplifying his Twitter voice.

Mr. Murrell says he sometimes buys Twitter ads to raise his profile, "but you'll get more with Jim." He says many Twitter users try to make their followings look bigger than they are. "If you're not padding your numbers, you're not doing it right," he says. "It's part of the game."

I guess I'm not doing it right.

Couric Leaves ABC For....Yahoo?

Not sure exactly how this is going to work, but Katie Couric is leaving ABC News, and has signed a deal with Yahoo! The New York Times has the details.

And I have an excuse to post my favorite picture again.*


*I'm not sexist. I'm just very pro-cheerleader.

Chicago Radio Ratings

From Tom Taylor's NOW column this morning...

It’s 18 wins in the last 19 books for Clear Channel’s urban AC “V103” WVAZ, 6.2-6.5-6.6. CBS all-news WBBM (AM plus FM simulcast) remains a strong second, 5.4-6.2-6.0. Third place is Hubbard’s simulcast-with-streaming hot AC “Mix” WTMX, 5.2-5.2-4.7. Sister classic hits “Drive” WDRV ranks #6, improving 3.8-4.1-4.2 for its best share since June 2012. Tribune’s under-construction talk WGN drops to ninth place, 4.0-4.0-3.9, though it’s basically flat, and just a particle behind CBS rhythmic “B96” WBBM-FM (3.7-3.8-4.0). Windy City cume leader is Clear Channel CHR “Kiss” WKSC at 2.3 million. In share, it’s tied for fourth place at a 4.3.

Tornado Relief Day At WGN

The Chicago area has been rallying around the people of nearby Washington, Illinois, and today WGN is taking it one step further. From Radio-Online...

WGN Radio and the McCormick Foundation have announced that Tuesday, November 26th will be Illinois Tornado Relief Day. Starting with the Steve Cochran Show at 5am, the station will host a 24-hour campaign for listeners to donate to the newly-established Illinois Tornado Relief Fund. WGN-TV and the Chicago Tribune will also join in the effort to promote additional fundraising for the day.

"We've all been touched by the stories of communities coming together following last Sunday's storms," said Todd Manley, Vice President of Content for WGN Radio. "Our WGN and Tribune families kept searching for ways to help. Now, like so many times before, we'll trust in the generosity of our wonderful listeners, viewers, and readers."

The Illinois Tornado Relief Effort, a campaign of the McCormick Foundation, will support nonprofit agencies providing disaster relief and recovery efforts to those communities hit hardest by the storms. The Foundation will match the first $500,000 raised at 50 cents on the dollar. All administrative costs are paid by the foundation and its partners, allowing 100% of all money raised, including the match, to be granted directly to the nonprofit agencies. The first round of grants will distributed by the end of 2013.

Today's Best Tweets

Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...




Los Angeles Times ‏@latimes 5m
A man who tried to catch a woman as she plummeted 50 feet at the Oakland Coliseum saved her from certain death http://lati.ms/r9wEO

jon greenberg ‏@jon_greenberg 20m
DRose will have surgery on his right knee today. New NBA rules require him to talk to media within week of injury "if medically possible."

Chet Coppock ‏@ChetCoppock 7m
The #Bulls are showing remarkable support for Derrick Rose. behind closed doors, pax and company gotta be going nuts

Robert Feder ‏@RobertFeder 10m
Chicago Newspaper Guild "ready to move forward with management to make sure the company remains successful." http://bit.ly/1bOHvkN

Al Yellon ‏@bleedcubbieblue 15m
The story of how the #Cubs Darwin Barney made a fan's day: http://sbn.to/Igzs9t

Slate ‏@Slate 1m
Thanksgivukkah: Bad for America, bad for Jews. http://slate.me/1ciYmOF

The Onion ‏@TheOnion 5m
[American Voices] “Looks like I owe that weird nut guy at work an apology.” http://onion.com/1ckKd3k

Ari Melber ‏@AriMelber 11m
Blackberry drops its CEO and CMO. As long as they don't drop the keyboard, we're still good...

Disrupt with Karen ‏@msnbcDisrupt 17m
Pres. Kennedy's funeral: Watch it as it happened, 50 years ago today http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/jfk-funeral-watch-it-happened … #JFK50Years

Deadspin ‏@Deadspin 18m
Chris Long did not have much fun playing against his brother yesterday: http://deadsp.in/emJJlAI

Boardwalk Empire

My favorite show on television is "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO. It has all the elements that made "The Sopranos" great, plus it takes place during perhaps the most interesting time in American history. It's an era I've researched thoroughly for a novel I haven't yet written (and might never write). From everything I've read about that era, the show's creators have re-created those early prohibition years perfectly. Every detail feels just right.

They are also completely loyal to the actual fates of the historical characters. I was worried for a second last night when Johnny Torrio was shot that they might take the easy way out, and just have him die there. I knew in real life, he didn't die in Chicago. He retired to Italy. Sure enough, they got that right too.

In fact, I thought last night's season finale was the best episode of the entire series run. The way it ended was simply perfect.

Rolling Stone has a great interview with Terence Winter, the genius behind the show. He shares his thoughts about last night's episode, and teases what might happen in the future.

Great-Grandfather Mick?

Mick Jagger will be a great-grandfather in a few months. USA Today has the details.

"Family Guy" Kills Off One of its Characters

I do enjoy an occasional episode of "Family Guy" but I wasn't watching last night when they killed off one of my favorite characters. The producer of the show does a Q&A on eonline, to explain the thinking behind this drastic move.

Chickenman Online

This is exciting news for those of us who remember the famed winged warrior of WCFL (and Dick Orkin) fame. According to Radio-Online, episodes of Chickenman can now be heard on wcflchicago.com. Although, word of warning, I just checked the site and they aren't there yet. (As of Monday at 7:30am)

As the Rupert Turns

Last week I was lamenting that the details of Rupert Murdoch's divorce were not revealed. It wasn't because I wanted to enjoy some Schadenfreude at Rupert's expense. It was because I've been following him for many years (ever since I researched for "$everance"), and I knew there would be some eye-opening revelations. The man's life is more interesting and dramatic than an actual soap opera (which is why I call this segment 'As the Rupert Turns').

Today the details are beginning to leak out, and wouldn't you know it? I was right. According to this report, Tony Blair is somehow a part of this story. Now keep in mind this report comes from the British tabloids, and they've been known to smear people's reputations for sport, but let's remember who made his fortune by publishing those very same British tabloids.

I may not be experiencing Schadenfreude, but how much do you want to bet that some of Rupert's (metaphorical) victims over the years are eagerly lapping up some Schadenfreude soup this morning?

Jay Leggett

This is a shocking development in the improv community. Jay Leggett, a former staple at the ImprovOlympic, has passed away at the ridiculously young age of 50. (The Tribune has the story) I only met Jay once or twice, and that was more than 20 years ago, but I heard lots of stories about him from my "The Living Wills" writing partner Brendan Sullivan--another former member of the Blue Velveeta troupe at ImprovOlympic. Jay had been living in LA ever since he made the cast of "In Living Color" back in 1993.

Great Commercial

Good to see a few guys can laugh at themselves...

Cumulus Pulls the Plug on Geraldo

His show was nationally syndicated by Cumulus, but they announced yesterday that they are pulling the plug on his syndication deal. At the end of the year, Geraldo's show will strictly be a local show in New York for WABC.

Details at Radio Insight.