The Lisagor Awards

Heading to the Lisagor Awards tonight at the Chicago Headline Club. My "Father Knows Nothing" blog is nominated for best blog. Roger Ebert is one of the other two finalists in the same category, so the outcome is all but determined, but there is a bar there. That was enough to get me to show up.

I think I better take the train.

LATE UPDATE: I lost. But not to Ebert. To the other finalist, a writer from the Huffington Post.

Today's Best Tweets

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




The Daily Beast ‏@thedailybeast 1m
People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones-- Watch Imus call O'Reilly a "jerk" http://thebea.st/101LauV

The New York Times ‏@nytimes 6m
Some states are debating what to do about their Amtrak routes without federal aid http://nyti.ms/16yhmJ3

Slate ‏@Slate 11m
Drudge gets fooled in a big way by satirical article about Michael Bloomberg and pizza--PHOTO: http://slate.me/12wGx8a

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 45m
If Jon Stewart is so above it all & legit, why did he change his name from Jonathan Leibowitz? He should be proud of his heritage!

Patrick Chovanec ‏@prchovanec 24m
@realDonaldTrump why did your grandfather change his name from Friedrich Drumpf to Fred Trump? There you go.

The Daily Show ‏@TheDailyShow 12m
We seem to have hit a Fuckface Von Nervestick.

The Daily Show ‏@TheDailyShow 21m
Can't an overrated Jew have a complicated relationship with his dad without being accused of hiding his heritage? #FuckFaceVonClownstick

Dan Bernstein ‏@dan_bernstein 35s
I'm told Collins' firing from CSN was #Blackhawks' behest. Her gaffe brought the old videos to their attention, and they wanted ties cut.

The Heckler ‏@The_Heckler 16m
Chuck Garfien fired by CSN Chicago after bad karaoke performance surfaces http://ow.ly/2wBWxT

JRehling ‏@JRehling 26m
According to that follower service you signed up for, you have 6 new followers, 2 new unfollowers, and zero self esteem.

Family Watching Movie White-Knuckles It Through Unexpected Sex Scene

An Onion article obviously inspired by a real life event. This has happened to my family a few times. Painfully (and in retrospect hilariously) awkward.

You can read it here.

Another Arrest in Murdoch's Empire

I guess I'm the only one who cares about this. News Corp stock prices are at a record high. Earnings are through the roof.

And yet, this pesky little criminal investigation keeps trucking along in England. There was another arrest for bribery and concealing evidence yesterday.

No biggie. Happens every day, right? Dozens and dozens of criminal charges against a newspaper for how they conducted their business. I'm sure it's an isolated case. Nothing to see here.

What People Are Actually Doing On The Internet In 2013

Buzzfeed compiles the list, based on actual user statistics. A few surprises on this list as far as I'm concerned. To me, the biggest surprise is how far down the list Twitter is.

What Will the New NBC Late Night Lineup Look Like?

TV Guide looks at the changes being discussed by NBC.

For one thing, it appears the shows will all be based in New York. Because of that they are trying to figure out ways to design the shows to prevent booking-wars. According to the article, the new Late Night show (presumably to be hosted by Seth Meyers) will have more newsmakers as guests and less Hollywood-type stars for that reason.

You wouldn't think booking wars would take place between two shows on the same network, but I can tell you from my previous experience as a producer in the old Loop days, there's no way to avoid booking wars. We had five different big-time shows all vying for the same guests in those days, and competed against ourselves on a daily basis. It was actually kind of fun.

The Daily Beast Drops Howard Kurtz

This one is a shocker. Kurtz is a media critic, and left the Washington Post a few years ago to work at the Daily Beast.

Yesterday they cut him loose, a few days after making an erroneous report about NBA player Jason Collins. Although, according to this piece in Politico, his firing had nothing to do with that.

Sources at The Daily Beast also tell POLITICO that Kurtz was dropped in part because he had been dedicating much of his time to other ventures, including The Daily Download, a media criticism site. Kurtz also hosts a weekend media criticism show on CNN called "Reliable Sources."

Media critics are slowly but surely becoming an endangered species in the mainstream media.

LATE UPDATE: Acccording to The Wrap, CNN is also reviewing whether or not to keep "Reliable Sources"

Another Radio Lawsuit

This one comes from Birmingham Alabama. From Radio Online...

It seems Birmingham, Alabama, is never short on radio drama. From the city that brought you the radio-fueled first burning of Beatles records comes a new discrimination lawsuit -- this one from former Market Manager Bill Thomas who is suing over his termination...Thomas claims bosses violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when they fired him just six days after he disclosed having congestive heart failure. He also claims he had never once been criticized or counseled regarding the quality of his work. He's looking for back pay and other damages.

I highlighted the part of the article that caught my eye. It may not have been illegal (I don't know the intracacies of the law), but it was certainly heartless...no pun intended.

There really aren't many businesses in the world that don't have stories like this anymore, but even my friends who work on Wall Street or in Washington concede that radio still takes the cake when it comes to shockingly brutal firing stories.

Just ask Dick Biondi, who I ran into last night (he looks great, by the way--he's an ageless wonder). He's also been fired more than twenty times in his radio career.

Today's Best Tweets

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




pat colander ‏@shorefan 57s
Check out how Rick Kaempfer's youngest son Sean reacted to '42' and the heroism of Jackie Robinson: http://bit.ly/120Y9uc via @nwi

Bruce Levine ‏@ESPNBruceLevine 2m
Matt Garza: Ready for my next start. Will be for Iowa this time out .

USA TODAY ‏@USATODAY 9m
15-year mortgages at record low 2.56% avg. http://usat.ly/106aSd4

Jim Wiser ‏@JimWiser 12m
United Center ranked next-to-last among NBA stadiums http://www.stadiumjourney.com/news/04-27-2013/313/nba-arena-rankings-2013/ …

Mark Mooney ‏@mxmooney 18m
Boy, 5, who shot sister with his own rifle spotlights gun industry's growing focus on selling guns to kids. @kdolak
http://abcn.ws/151bIPL

Michelle Damico ‏@MichelleDamico 18m
This is scary Poll: 29% of Americans Believe Armed Revolt May Be Necessary... http://drudge.tw/18fdyM4

Paul Sullivan ‏@PWSullivan 28m
Ronnie and Billy statues not in the renderings of new Capt. Morgan Club. Cubs may move to Triangle plaza, depending on ice rink size.

Dan Bernstein ‏@dan_bernstein 9m
Seems @GreggDoyelCBS has been hearing from the same people calling @Boers_Bernstein this week. He feels as I do. http://cbsprt.co/11Y5pbv

PublicPolicyPolling ‏@ppppolls 52m
50% of NC voters less likely to vote for Richard Burr in future for opposing background checks, 26% more likely: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/05/hagan-landrieu-gun-voters-could-help-in-2014.html

PublicPolicyPolling ‏@ppppolls 51m
41% of LA voters less likely to vote for David Vitter in future for opposing background checks, 25% more likely: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/05/hagan-landrieu-gun-voters-could-help-in-2014.html …

Chicks Dig Facial Hair

My wife would vehemently disagree with the findings of this study. She hates facial hair...

A new study conducted by researchers in Australia shows that women prefer men with heavy stubble over clean-shaven guys and guys sporting light stubble or full beards...For their research, University of New South Wales professors Barnaby J. Dixson and Rob C. Brooks presented photos of 10 smiling men to 351 women, according to MedicalXpress. Each man in the photos was shown in four ways -- clean-shaven, with five days of beard growth (light stubble), 10 days of growth (heavy stubble), and with a full beard. The researchers then asked the women to rate the men in the photos according to their attractiveness, finding heavy stubble to be the clear winner among women.

Maybe it's an Australian thing.

Car Trivia

Thanks to "DM" for sending these to me...

Q: What was the first official White House car?
A: 1909 White Steamer, ordered by President Taft.



Q: Where was the first drive-in gas station?
A: Gulf opened up the first station in Pittsburgh in 1913.



Q: Where was the World's first three-color traffic lights installed?
A: Detroit, Michigan in 1919. Two years later they experimented with synchronized lights.



Q: What U.S. production car has the quickest 0-60 mph time?
A: The 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS 409. Did it in 4.0 seconds



Q: What car was reportedly designed on the back of a Northwest Airlines airsickness bag and released on April Fool's Day, 1970?
A: 1970 Gremlin, (AMC)

The New F.C.C. Chairman

The more I read about him, the more I realize that I'm not a fan of this new F.C.C. Chairman pick. See if you can spot why in this piece in The Hill...

"Wheeler served as the president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the lobbying organization for the cable industry, from 1979 to 1984. Later, he led CTIA, the lobbying arm for cellphone carriers and also worked as a venture capitalist. Wheeler raised at least $500,000 for Obama's 2012 re-election campaign and $200,000 for his 2008 campaign, according to transparency group OpenSecrets."

Three red flags there.
#1: He was a lobbyist for the cable industry, and he is supposed to oversee it.
#2: He was a lobbyist for the cellphone carriers, and he is supposed to oversee them.
#3: He was a venture capitalist, and those are the guys that helped finance the worst of the worst media owners (and plunged them into unsustainable debt)

I'm sorry. The more I think about it, the more I hate this pick. This new guy is almost certainly going to be on the side of Big Media and not on the side of the consumer. I sure hope I'm wrong, but when you read the tea-leaves, it doesn't look good.

Dave, John, and Rick

This is the official Shore Magazine photo of our book signing this past weekend...

Home Movies of Jackie Robinson at Wrigley Field in 1947

This is too cool...

Ricketts' Threat to Leave Wrigley

Thanks to the Associated Press for calling me today to get my two cents regarding Mr. Ricketts' threat to leave Wrigley. I'm quoted at the end of the piece. You can read it here, but it's all over the country in different papers, websites, and blogs. I've been getting e-mails from coast to coast.

My Illinois Entertainer Interview with Bobby Skafish

My first Illinois Entertainer interview has been posted, and this month I speak with the Drive's Bobby Skafish.

You can read it here.

Today's Best Tweets

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




Matt Spiegel ‏@MattSpiegel670 4m
It took almost 4 years, but Tom Ricketts just threatened to move the Cubs.

Bruce Miles ‏@BruceMiles2112 1m
While #Cubs were spoon-feeding favored media yesterday, some of us watched Edwin Jackson pitch and Cubs lose again. http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130430/sports/704309562/ …

Smokies on Radio ‏@SmokiesonRadio 14m
Matt Garza will pitch today for the Smokies in Mississippi. First pitch at noon. Stay tuned for a full recap. #Cubs

New York Daily News ‏@nydailynews 18m
Five-year-old boy shoots dead his 2-year-old sister with rifle he was given as a gift http://nydn.us/18cx8bZ

The Heckler ‏@The_Heckler 20m
MLB committee investigates why tape measures are not used to measure tape measure home runs http://ow.ly/2wypYi

Eric & Kathy ‏@EricandKathy 22m
Scientists have a found an antibiotic that makes men immune to seduction! #MIXMindBender sponsored by @LoyolaChicago.

Jim Wiser ‏@JimWiser 23m
Fox wants to cut reruns & offer more originals to counter growing cable & DVR competition. http://bit.ly/18oNRWC
(http://lnkd.in/353XiN )

DRUDGE REPORT ‏@DRUDGE_REPORT 30m
Christie yells 'Bull****' to opponents at NJ town hall meeting... http://drudge.tw/ZzBF59

kippermcgee ‏@kippermcgee 31m
Morning Blend: "Don't tell people your problems: 80% don't care; and the other 20% are glad you have them." ~Lou Holtz

New York Daily News ‏@nydailynews 55s
What has George Zimmerman been eating in prison that he's gained 100 lbs? http://nydn.us/ZUTnRJ

The Blackhawks

I watched most of that overtime playoff game last night, and it was tense. There were so many close calls when the Hawks could have lost it, and so many near misses when they could have won it. I finally tuned away just for a moment to see what was happening on the Daily Show. I was gone no more than thirty seconds.

When I returned, the game was over.

I invested three hours of my time and missed the most important moment of the game.

(Sigh)

At least they won.

The Columbian Exposition

120 years ago today, the Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago. Our baseball team moved their games to be closer to the crowds.

Read all about it at the JOBC Blog. It's today's Cubs 365 story.

Chris Matthews Re-Ups

I was going to write "Chris Matthew re-signs", but it's always bothered me that re-signs and resigns mean the opposite, so I'm going with the ridiculous sounding re-ups.

It's a long-term deal with MSNBC to continue hosting "Hardball". He will now be sticking around through the next presidential election. Matthews will be 71 years old when this contract runs out. (Can I admit that 71 doesn't sound that old to me anymore?)

The Hollywood Reporter has the details.