Countdown to "Records Truly Is My Middle Name"

John Landecker and Larry Lujack were long-time colleagues at WLS-AM back in the 1970s and 80s, and their paths crossed far more often than you would expect from a morning man and an evening man. Larry often stayed late working on the next day's show, and Landecker often came in early working on that night's show.

In "Records Truly Is My Middle Name" there are a few memorable stories about Larry and John...

*Sitting in on a Larry Lujack aircheck on Landecker's first day at WLS

*Discovering the depths of Larry's admiration of Elvis.

*The seating arrangements at the post-WLS-basketball game parties

*A Landecker-bashing Animal Stories segment

*Larry's farewell from WLS

Those stories alone are worth price of "Records Truly Is My Middle Name". The book is available for pre-order now, and it ships on March 28.

Today's Best Tweets

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




ProPublica ‏@ProPublica
Roughly 12x/day, drs forget surgery supplies inside patients. Their mistake can have fatal consequences: http://propub.ca/ZluL2ob #muckreads

Tom Hanks ‏@tomhanks
NYC parents nightmare. Lost binky on sidewalk !! Hanx. http://say.ly/qjT5kaZ

emily axford ‏@eaxford
using condoms feels like the word prophylactics sounds

Alex Watt ‏@AlexanderWatt
Shamrock Shakes: letting Irish people know they can always feel worse.

Groovyhoovy ‏@Groovyhoovy
I was a dancing gorilla wearing a Blackhawks sweater and a sombrero. And how is your day going?

Chet Coppock ‏@ChetCoppock
Red rising! Banged up Blackhawks in mile high tonight to face colorado. step number 25 in the real life novel... http://fb.me/21gmc3yYG

Josh Marshall ‏@joshtpm
O'Keefe Agrees To Pay $100K To Ex-ACORN Employee http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/okeefe-agrees-to-pay-100k-to-ex-acorn … via @ericlach

Dave Wischnowsky ‏@wischlist
Something shady afoot at Illinois with the university refusing to release the results of the #ChieforNothing vote: http://www.dailyillini.com/news/campus/article_ce2f9376-87af-11e2-b670-0019bb30f31a.html …

Chicago Cubs ‏@Cubs
These #Cubs fans lined up at #WrigleyField for tickets this morning. You can get yours here: http://atmlb.com/XZUJXL pic.twitter.com/c1BOTlXg4J

NBC News ‏@NBCNews
BREAKING: Conclave to elect a new Pope will begin next Tuesday. #NBCPope

Daylight Savings Time

Don't forget: Clocks and watches get moved up an hour this weekend. Say goodbye to that one extra hour of sleep you got in October.

Bloomberg Rips the Media

Michael Bloomberg is disgusted with the current state of the media. Here's the money quote from the New York Times: “The public gets its information from the media, and the media is a shell of what it was before...They used to pay for reporters and editors with experience, and for lawyers, but all that’s gone, because the economy of the news business is so bad; they’re dumbing it down...I don’t see any difference between a newspaper on the Internet and a blog. It confuses everything and takes away the difference. People are getting their news from sitcoms and from movies with a political agenda. They’re even getting information from games!”

And don't forget, Michael Bloomberg owns a media conglomerate himself, so I guess he knows what he's talking about.

The Latest CNN Rumor

Jeff Zucker has been in command at CNN for a few months now and he's been quietly recruited new talent. The latest rumor involves Joy Behar, who stepped down from her position at The View after 16 years.

Not exactly new blood. Joy is 70.

The Weather Channel's New Power

Now that they are naming storms, the Weather Channel has new power. So much power, in fact, that weathermen across the country are worried that it's only a matter of time before their local weather jobs are obsolete.



Full story today in the Daily Beast.

Countdown to "Records Truly Is My Middle Name"

John Landecker, 1965. This is the year he got his first radio job. More info at the Eckhartz Press blog.

Today's Best Tweets

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




James Janega ‏@JamesJanega
LeBron James is a #Blackhawks fan http://trib.in/13HCQBN  @KingJames #streaking (Does this mean I have to forgive him for Miami?)

Jimmy Greenfield ‏@jcgreenx
Fact of the day: The #Blackhawks have 18 regulation wins. The #RedWings and #STLBlues have 18 regulation wins combined. Enjoy.

DKnobler ‏@DKnobler
Rafael Furcal to have Tommy John surgery, Cardinals announce

Josh Marshall ‏@joshtpm
TMI!!!! Rand Paul: I Decided Against Using Catheter During Filibuster http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/rand-paul-i-decided-against-using-catheter-during … via @davidtaint

Jimmy Baron ‏@jimmybaron
Let me get this straight, I can now bring a knife on an airplane but my kid's container of yogurt will still get confiscated? #TSA @AC360

Lynn Sweet ‏@lynnsweet
BREAKING NEWS: The Senate Judiciary Committee just passed the Durbin/Kirk gun trafficking bill on a 11-7 bipartisan vote.

Joel Sucherman ‏@JSucherman
The car is the only place the entire family gets together now. Radio still incredibly powerful there. - @shingy #ima2013

MLB ‏@MLB
Tommy Lasorda to light @EmpireStateBldg at 11 am ET to celebrate start of @WBCBaseball play in the U.S.

phil_rosenthal ‏@phil_rosenthal
I'm beginning to think maybe Dennis Rodman isn't Henry Kissinger.

Ezra Klein ‏@ezraklein
This is why Obama’s having dinner with Republicans http://wapo.st/ZiGiMs

The Art of Asking

Amanda Palmer demonstrates the art and power of asking. Totally different and interesting.

30 Years of Bob & Tom

The syndicated morning duo out of Indianapolis is celebrating their 30th anniversary today. The Indianapolis Star has the details.

If you drive around the country, you'll often hear them in smaller markets, but their attempts at breaking into the big time haven't gone quite as well. (Remember when they were on 103.5 FM in Chicago? Yeah, that's what I thought. Most people don't).

You still have to hand it to them. 30 years together on the radio is a heck of an accomplishment.

The Legal ID

This was drummed into me when I was getting into radio: "You must do a top of the hour ID. You must do it legally, exactly correctly, in the right order. It must be between 5 minutes before the hour and five minutes after the hour." There's not a broadcaster alive that doesn't know this. That's why you never hear any stories about radio stations getting in trouble for not following this rule, until now. From Tom Taylor's NOW newsletter...



L.A.’s KBIG missed a station ID – and the FCC caught it. You seldom see a Notice of Violation for a missing top of the hour ID – and you very rarely see that problem in the #2 market. But the Commission says that “On January 23, in response to a complaint, an agent from the Los Angeles office monitored KBIG (104.3)” and found the broadcast “failed to identify the station properly.” So this is a good time to review the Legal ID rule. To wit – “Official station identification shall consist of the station’s call letters followed by the community of license or communities specified in its license as the station’s location.” In the case of highly-rated hot AC KBIG, it has 20 days to explain what happened, when the FCC agent merely heard “104.3” at the top of the hour. This is a Notice of Violation – not a fine (at least not yet). One possibility - KBIG ran its legal ID before or after the top of the hour, while the agent was listening close to :00.

Don't tell me there are no rules. The rules may be a little arcane, but there are rules.

Korea Threatens to Nuke U.S.

Here's the headline: Furious Over Sanctions, North Korea Vows To Nuke U.S.



Rodman! What did you say to these guys?

A Real Filibuster

Rand Paul actually did it yesterday. He filibustered the nomination of CIA chief John Brennan for almost 13 hours. I flipped around the cable news networks last night to see how this was playing, and it was getting universal praise from the left and right, although not necessarily on the substance of the debate.

It was just nice to see someone doing a filibuster the way it was intended to be done.

I still don't understand why they don't change the rules back to make it necessary to do it this way.

Sears & SNL

SNL did a bit a few weeks ago starring Christopher Waltz, the Academy Award winning actor from Quintin Tarantino movies. They called it "DJesus Uncrossed", and it's being protested by Christian groups across the country because they consider it blasphemous. (It feaures Jesus seeking revenge).

Now Sears is in the crosshairs of the AFA (American Family Association), which is demanding they pull their advertising from SNL. You can be sure this controversy will be on the air continuously at Fox News--it fits into their "Christians are persecuted in the United States" narrative.

That's not true of course. If you're a Christian (as I am), ask yourself this question: Have you ever been discrimated against for being a Christian? We all know the answer to that. No. You haven't. This is probably the most religious Christian country in the entire world.

DJesus Uncrossed was just a comedy bit. I have done a comedy bit myself on the Second City stage called "Dean Martin's Jesus Christ Roast" (I was Red Buttons). You may say those bits are a little tasteless, and I agree, but in comedy the only thing that really matters is: Is it funny? That's all comedy writers think about. They are not trying to persecute Christians. You know it, and I know it, and the AFA knows it.

Now, if you're offended, and I can see how you might be, there's nothing wrong with getting upset, or even protesting the sponsors. Just don't tell me this is an example of Christian persecution (I can hear it perculating), because it's not.

RIP Alvin Lee

Alvin Lee, the leader of the band Ten Years After, has passed away at the age of 68. Lee was a great guitarist, as you'll see from this incredible performance at Woodstock. He looks so unassuming and nervous at first, and then launches into something truly amazing...



This is probably his most famous song. It was always one of my favorites...

Countdown To “Records Truly Is My Middle Name”

John Landecker’s upcoming memoir “Records Truly Is My Middle Name” is more than just a chronicle of one radio personality’s career. It’s a trip through the Baby Boomers collective history.

WERX was one of John’s first radio stations. It was a little daytimer in Wyoming Michigan, and he worked there in college. Landecker tells a few great stories about his time there; the birth of his oldest daughter, his friendship with someone who would go on to become one of the biggest voice over artists in the world, and his 1A status for the draft during the Vietnam War. All of that went on during the tumultuous Summer of Love.

Pre-order your copy of “Records Truly Is My Middle Name” today.

Howard Stern Late-Nights?

I noted yesterday that NBC is floating rumors they're about to get rid of Jay Leno and replace him with Jimmy Fallon.

Now there are rumors that Howard Stern is being groomed to replace Fallon. Of course, those rumors come from Howard himself. And the New York Post.

Decide for yourself if it's true or not.

A Radio Show I Will Never Tune In

Joe Walsh has a radio show.

No, not the Eagles guitarist. He's actually very entertaining on the radio. I've done quite a few shows with him.

I mean the former Tea-Party Congressman. He was hired by WIND-AM 560, and will be on from 7-9pm weekdays. Say a prayer for Steve Cochran who will now have to see him every single day.

Today's Best Tweets

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




USA TODAY Video ‏@usatodayvideo
Whoops! Waitress handed her own ID by suspected thief http://usat.ly/ZfILar #dumbcriminals

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi
Ryan Braun is playing for your national team. You should embrace him -- at least for 2 weeks. My column: http://on-msn.com/XNyzYT @MLBONFOX

HowardKurtz ‏@HowardKurtz
Trifecta: In new book, Roger Ailes calls Obama 'lazy,' Biden 'dumb as an ashtray,' Gingrich a 'prick' http://thebea.st/YN3Vfl

Crain's Chicago ‏@CrainsChicago
Tables turn on 'Grave Dancer' Sam Zell http://ow.ly/irrDU

@WSJ: Breaking: ADP: U.S. private sector added 198,000 jobs in February. http://wsj.com

WeatherBug ‏@WeatherBug
Miami gets 6 inches of snow!!! That got your attention... it is actually the Miami in Ohio, not FL. Still not too shabby!! #snow #ohwx

Mary Hartley RD, MPH ‏@MaryHartleyRD
Note to self: Spray the snow shovel with cooking spray to keep #snow from sticking. @RealSimple

Cheryl Donnelly ‏@Scotzwife
This morning's entertainment is watching the kid across the street haphazardly shovel his driveway. #snow

Sean D. McCarthy ‏@McSean3
One of those days when you can tell who has a garage. #snow

DaddyBriefs ‏@daddybriefs
While everyone is waiting for it to #snow, I turned on my Air Conditioner last night cause #AZ is warming up already.

Valerie Harper

This is sad news. Valerie Harper announced she has terminal brain cancer. Doctors are telling her she only has three months to live.

I've met Valerie several times over the years. In person she's about as friendly and down to earth as any celebrity I've met. There's even a story about her in the upcoming "Records Truly Is My Middle Name". She helped us carry out a practical joke against her good buddy Mary Tyler Moore.

My prayers are with her. Brain cancer is a nasty, nasty disease. I've seen it too many times.