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| Born-on date: June 29, 2000. Somehow we've made it to
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| Born-on date: June 29, 2000. Somehow we've made it to
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 Buy your favorite music thru STLMedia ... You can buy DRM-free MP3 songs that will play anywhere (I've dl'd to the hard drive, burned to a CD, and copied to portable drives...no problems!) from Amazon by clicking on the Top MP3 Songs link at right. Every song you buy coughs a few coins into the STLMedia till...thanks for your support! Next STLMedia Monthly Meeting: Friday, October 24th, 9:30AM ... ...at Reynold's Roadhouse, 11488 Dorsett Road, Maryland Heights MO. Maps here (halfway between Lindbergh & I-270 on Dorsett -- look for the US flag out front and the sign on the building; parking and entrance in back). NOTE: This will be our final meeting for 2008; we'll pick up again in January 2009.
Very disappointed that KMOV gave such short and incomplete coverage to the Palin Abuse of Power story. Had you not just used a rip'n'read story from a wire service, you'd have found this conclusion in the report: I find that, although Walt Monegan's refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was not the sole reason he was fired by Governor Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as Commissioner of Public Safety. In spite of that, Governor Palin's firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads. And if you'd actually read any part of the report you'd have also discovered that the alleged abuse had to do with the fact the Governor Palin did not do enough to restrain her husband from speaking to others about the problem with the Trooper in question. I have the complete pdf file of the full report if you'd care to amend your story. Which I think you might, considering the story revolves around a VP candidate three weeks prior to the election. I'm sure that you'd want to be as fair as possible. It might make a proper story with a local twist, considering there's this big ol' building downtown named after the last VP candidate railroaded out of the election on trumped up and, ahem, "expanded" charges. Regards, Mike Anderson Publisher/Editor STLMedia.net Comment here.  TV dance show host Lloyd Thaxton passed away last Sunday at the age of 81. Thaxton was also a writer, producer, television host and recording artist. I don't remember where in the country I was living when I watched his show, but, as the linked article suggests, Thaxton was the Ernie Kovacs of teen TV shows. He also had a small, strange creature on his show that may have been a contemporary (or perhaps a predecessor) of Johnny Rabbit's Bruno J. Grunion. Watch the video and you'll see. LLoyd Thaxton was a hoot. Comment here. Friday 10-10-08: Tell 'em and then tell 'em you told 'em ... That's two of the three primary rules of promotion (the first one is "Tell 'em you're gonna tell 'em", but in this case that was not possible). I didn't have a dog in this hunt, considering I live miles away from the area in which it happened. But it did draw me in, and, yes, Fox2 won the jackpot with their multi-media coverage. Thanks to KTVI Creative Services VP Kathryn Collett for sending me this image.  This morning, just after 12M, Movin' 101 became Christmas 101, just temporarily, I guess, until Bonneville rolls out Sports/Talk 101 after the first of 2009. Personally, I'm very excited. Not because I like Christmas music all that much, but because it preempts Mark Edwards' annual Santa-thon orgy that would normally begin Thanksgiving or thereabouts. Maybe, just maybe, KEZK won't get that unwarranted Arbi-bump and Edwards will have less smugness to carry around. Hey Mark: a little humility does a man good. Comment here. Thursday 10-09-08: On national(ized) healthcare ... In the Summer of 1996, when I was 48, I had my second heart attack. I didn't know it was my second until tests showed scars from the first (and I remembered the event from a couple Winters before, after I knew the symptoms). It felt like an elephant was standing on my chest. Shortness of breath. Pain radiating down my left arm. Sweats. Overall weakness. I'd been taking an aspirin a day for five or six years, because I'd heard that was the thing to do, and when a Tums or two didn't resolve the issue, I called 911. I made sure the dogs (we had two then) were secure and I managed to get down the stairs and out to the driveway... Read more and comment here. Wednesday 10-08-08: Bloodbath at KTVI-2/KPLR-11 begins ... Secret Squirrel delivers the bad news: The Local TV LLC axe swings in St. Louis. Around 20 people fired from KPLR / CW11 so far, with maybe 40 more to go. Notably gone--anchor Rick Edlund and weathercaster Keryn Shipman. Layoffs at KTVI/Fox 2 start Friday. Funny thing? Not one word in the local media about it. Except, of course, here at STLMedia, where we continue our offer for free space and bandwidth for resumes, demo tapes, etc. The discussion's altready underway...comment here. Wednesday 10-08-08: Newspapers in the news ... The International Herald Tribune, owned by the New York Times, is dumping its website: The Times told staff in an internal e-mail Tuesday that the paper's flagship Web site will soon become host to news from sister paper the International Herald Tribune and that the Tribune's site will be shuttered. The move will require "hard decisions about jobs at the IHT," and the company is now looking to "reassign or relocate people," according to the memo. Philadelphia and Minneapolis newspapers miss interest payments: The owners of Philadelphia's two major daily newspapers missed an interest payment once again as they seek a new agreement with lenders to account for the continuing decline they expect in advertising revenue. Philadelphia Media's missed payment of an unspecified amount, disclosed in a statement Friday, follows a decision by the Star Tribune of Minneapolis to skip a $9 million quarterly debt payment to save cash as it, too, tries to restructure its debt. STL Journal papers go to paid subscriptions. I just hope that eliminates the trash in my driveway... Sorry, but this is doomed to failure. Comment here. Wednesday 10-08-08: In case you've been out of pocket since Monday ... and as we predicted would occur a while back, Bonneville's soon-to-debut SportsTalk101.1 has hired Randy Karraker for PM drive. Here's the press release from Mary Hediger (who, by the way, is among the very best at what she does). There's already been discussion at the STLMedia MB; comment here. Wednesday 10-08-08: NBC dumps digital channel Weather Plus ... The network now says there isn't money to be made there. And so the four-year-old brand will go away, and 10 NBC-owned stations and 80 affiliates will be looking for other products to fill their local digital channels. Here's the text of the official memo: From: Enriquez, Maria (NBC Universal) Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 3:08 PM Subject: Message from NBC TV Affiliate Board President-Chairman Michael J. Fiorile Importance: High Last week, the NBC Television Affiliates Association Board unanimously decided to withdraw from and along with NBC, eventually dissolve the Weather Plus joint venture. When the venture was launched, no one could have predicted the sale of the Weather Channel, let alone its timing or that NBC Universal would acquire it. We believe that the ongoing financial and distribution challenges facing Weather Plus made the venture no longer feasible. Throughout this process, the interests of the affiliates have been effectively served by our Weather Plus board representatives -- Marci Burdick, Paul McTear and Dave Lougee. They will continue to work closely with NBC to resolve a variety of issues associated with unwinding the venture. We are all mindful that affiliates will need to plan for alternatives both in the short term and longer term. In addition, we will be investigating the possibility of some affiliate involvement in the Weather Channel moving forward. As the world's first all-digital broadcast network, Weather Plus may be viewed as paving the way for future digital broadcasting ventures. We appreciate the dedication and professionalism contributed to the venture by the Weather Plus staff. As developments unfold, we will keep you posted. In the meantime, we wanted you to be aware of this important development. Michael J. Fiorile President-Chairman NBC Television Affiliates Board Comment here. Wednesday 10-08-08: Apologies for my absence ... Some of you who read here may remember that occasionally, maybe twice a year, a botched surgical procedure on my sinuses performed by a stoned Army doctor in 1971 re-delivers its painful wrath. I believe that it occurs only when certain weather conditions exist; at least that's the only connection I've been able to make. Anyway, 36 hours later I'm well and whole and back to Feisty Level 1. Monday 10-06-08: Many of the Really Smart Guys/3 ... So why is there a difference between paper diaries and PPM results? That's difficult to explain. We've known for years that paper diaries are filled in at the end of the survey week, using only recall. We've also known that minorities were encouraged more financially to make these entries; paid as much as $5 to $1 for their entry. Why was there such a significant reward difference from Arbitron between white respondents and minority respondents? It's because minorities were judged less inclined to pay attention to their written diaries and so the thought was if the ratings company paid more, they were more likely to get a better response. Is that racist? Probably so. Now we move on to PPM. If they are to work, they have to be worn. Within the last year, we've studied the use of PPM devices, and we've learned that Arbitron has delivered ratings lower than expected via PPM for minority stations. If the ratings are to come, the respondents who listen to these stations have to wear the devices. Fact is, minorities cannot be counted on to wear the devices, or to plug them in to their base units to send the date back to Arbitron. PPM devices specifically for minorities have been, within the past year, made in a wide variety of colors, presuming their use as "bling." PPM is useful only for listeners who use them. Is it racist? Probably, yes. But only in the most general sense. Comment here. Monday 10-06-08: Many of the Really Smart Guys/2 ... ...NYAG Andrew Cuomo is threatening to sue Arbitron to block the Oct. 8 commercialization of PPM in the state, alleging the ratings firm has created "the misleading impression" that the PPM "is fair, reliable and fully represents the diversity of N.Y. radio markets." His three-page letter, filled with serious allegations of "unlawful and deceptive acts and practices," argues that PPM "disparately impacts racial and ethnic minorities," in violation of state civil rights laws, which could "distort the marketplace and severely harm and possibly destroy minority broadcasting in New York." Arbitron quickly responded: "After many years of market trials and almost two years of commercialization, the PPM is providing more timely and detailed insights into the behavior of radio audiences. These insights have already been used with demonstrated success by radio programmers, including those at Urban and Spanish-language stations. (The) PPM (is) supported by a majority of the radio industry. We intend to vigorously defend the company and its interests. We also fear that the radio industry will suffer continued harm and be placed at a competitive disadvantage if PPM is delayed further." Besides New York, the metros of Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and four others are scheduled to see their first PPM monthlies Oct. 8; they have no diary back-up. Arbitron stock fell 5% today. OMG, they used the "R" word. Racist. Here's why, from November 2007 in a NYC newspaper report: "These numbers could put us out of business," said Vinny Brown, program director of WBLS. "And it's not just us. Listeners need to know this could threaten the future of black and Hispanic radio across the board." Overall, the October Arbitron ratings put WLTW (106.7 FM) back at No. 1. WHTZ (100.3 FM) was a close second and WCBS-FM (101.1) a strong third, ahead of WAXQ (104.3 FM), WSKQ (97.9 FM) and a surprisingly strong WABC (770 AM). Urban WRKS (98.7 FM) and WBLS (107.5 FM) fell sharply, as did WQHT (97.1 FM), WCAA (105.9 FM), WADO (1280 AM) and WPAT-FM (93.1) - reviving fears the new system undercounts black and Hispanic listeners. Until this summer, Arbitron measured listening by having participants record it in diaries. As of October, it switched to the "personal people meter" (PPM), with participants carrying an electronic recording device. Under the diary system, WBLS was No. 1 among listeners 25 to 54, averaging 5.2% of the audience. In the first PPM ratings, WBLS was No. 12, averaging 3%. WBLS's afternoon Wendy Williams show, Brown noted, fell from No. 1 out of the top 10. "We have some concerns," said Frank Flores, general manager of Hispanic WSKQ and WPAT-FM. "I'm a big believer in a more accurate count, but I don't know that we're there yet." "It's a way for everyone to get used to it," said Thom Mocarsky, senior vice president at Arbitron. WBLS isn't reassured yet. "In 65 years in radio," said Hal Jackson, vice president of WBLS' parent, Inner City, "I've never seen anything like this." Racist results, I guess. Really? Or not? More later. Comment here. Monday 10-06-08: Back story on the Westwood news and traffic cutbacks ... Tom Taylor delivered the news on Friday: That “re-engineering” Tom Beusse talks about will have real consequences at the dozens of local operations centers that will be shut down – and for stations who may have to break in new talent which isn’t familiar with local place names or bottlenecks. Just for one example: Current ops centers like Charlotte are rumored to be closing, with the traffic reporting functions to be handed off to Atlanta. And – get this – news and sports would be done for Charlotte out of Metro’s bureau in Phoenix. This isn’t only radio, you know – it’s also television reports that will be re-sourced between now and June 2009. There’s no doubt that Westwood is radically re-thinking its nationwide collection of 60 operations centers, and shrinking that down to 13 “regional hubs.” One of the many questions is whether and how it may offer talent the chance to re-locate from local markets to a regional hub. (Like, whether there will be assistance with moving expenses.) This will be messy. Comment here. Monday 10-06-08: Many of the Really Smart Guys ... ...say that the Arbitron Portable People Meter (PPM) that is slowly and with great effort introducing into markets is the wave of the future, light years beyond paper diaries. Can't disagree with that at all. Anything is better than the diary system, and the PPM offers great advantages. First and foremost, it appears to be accurate way beyond remembered, written entries made as long as a week after the fact, recording listening by listening to what you listen to, presuming that the stations you use are properly encoded. It is a great idea, moving ratings technology from analog to digital and into the 21st Century in one fell swoop. But there is one huge problem with it, the same problem that existed with the hand-entered diaries, a problem that no one wants to discuss out loud, privately or publicly. Trust me, this is not just an 800-pound gorilla. It's an 800-TON gorilla and until it's accepted as a problem and the issue can be resolved, and I'm not sure that it can ever be resolved, the PPM will languish as just one more good idea gone bad. And depending on the way things go on November 4th, it could very well eventually put Arbitron out of business forever. Really. More later, as Al Fleishman used to say. Comment here. Monday 10-06-08: The man whose voice you can't ignore ... ...gets some ink on the occasion of his 50th anniversary in "da biz." Sincerest congrats and best wishes to our buddy, KXOK and WHB (and voiceover) legend Richard Ward Fatherley. Comment here. Monday 10-06-08: So this guy comes home after a 14-month deployment in the War ... ...canine ecstasy ensues. The pups never forget...Tasha's like this when I come back from getting the mail at the curb! Comment here.  ...from reader Jerry Bielicke: Last year on October 28, 2007 I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing two greats. Stan Kann and Bob Heil. They were both at the Lincoln Theater in Belleville IL. The occasion was Bob Heil's release of his new cd "Bob Heil At Home"... With Special Guest Appearance by Stan Kann. I videotaped the performance and took some photos. I have attached a few of the photos. Bob commented that it was way too long since the two had shared an organ bench. Feel free to attach them to the item of Bob remembering his friend Stan. I feel there has not been enough published on our St. Louis treasure ... Stan Kann. Comment here. Weekend 10-04/05-08: Happy birthday to our MB's biggest hitter... ... Sid Dithers is closing in on the Big Five-Oh. Not quite there yet, but close enough to worry about it. Love ya, Old Man! Comment here. Weekend 10-04/05-08: Free bandwidth for unemployed media types... Take a look at the sub-site (Jobs Wanted) linked up and to the left. STL radio, tv and print people have free audio and video bandwidth to display their wares available here. Click on the link to find out how. Weekend 10-04/05-08: Mrs. A elected Regional Chief Executive ... ... of her professional organization. I am now required to address her as Madame President but may occasionally be allowed to share leftover meals from her Executive conferences. Them metal industry chicks eat very well... Friday 10-03-08: What's going on at Clear Channel? Secret Squirrel hears that their sales reps are spreading the word that Emmis' 105.7 (The Point) is going All Talk. How much sense would that make? Comment here. Thursday 10-02-08: Luntz post-debate A-B HQ research video ... Comment here. Wednesday 10-01-08: Tasha, the STLMedia WatchDog, loves her some Sarah ...  It has been a very sad day for me. I received word this afternoon from Dave Schoenborn of the Lincoln Theatre in Belleville that Stan Kann, one of America's great theatre organists, my teacher, mentor and friend passed away this morning at the age of 83. I just can't believe this has happened. At the age of 14, Stan took me under his wing, taught me the theatre style and all of the ins and out of that magnificent St. Louis Fox Wurlitzer. A month before my 16th birthday, Stan brought me in as his substitute and that changed my life. For twelve years, I was a professional organist playing 6 nights a week - at the Fox and in several restaurants around St. Louis - one that I had built and installed a theatre pipe organ. Without the guidance and teachings from Stan I would not be where I am today. Comment here. Tuesday 09-30-08: Cusamano out at Sports 101.1 before he's in ... Now that Frank Cusamano just signed a "multi-year" deal with KFNS (wondering how that contract's written in terms of assignability -- if the station is sold, then what for Frank?), Coach K's latest person of interest is a well-known sports voice with ties to SLU's athletic program. Don't be surprised by a development there soon. And it appears a deal to bring JC to Bonneville's new sports station was thisclose. A variety of factors played into both sides shelving the deal, at least for now. In the meantime, Randy Karraker is telling those close to him he's a lock for one of the two drives. Comment here. Tuesday 09-30-08: Erection at KTRS ... Secret Squirrel's still giggling at that headline. Dorsey must have scratched up a few bucks someplace. KTRS has finally started constructing two new towers. As of 9-29, the bottom half is up and the gin poles are attached to prepare for the rest. No free standers, just regular ones. Presumably that would mean the two new towers would be guyed, as opposed to the older self-supporters that survived the storm. Comment here. Tuesday 09-30-08: Hipperson follows the News Department out the door at KTRS ... A confused listener wrote last night: Not a media person, but what's up at KTRS? Is Joe Hipperson all of a sudden out? He was telling everyone Thursday night that he was going full time starting tonight (Monday Sep 29th). Schedule shows the 9pm to midnight slot as Hipp Nights with Joe Hipperson but tonight's programming has the syndicated program The Adam Corella Show airing during the 9pm hour. FYI - The 10pm hour has just began and it's back to Adam's show. This morning came the clarification: Joe Hipperson is now longer on 9pm-midnight at KTRS. He has been replaced by the Adam Carolla Show. Joe will still be on with FOP. It was a budgetary move. At least now we know how the two new towers were (partially) funded. And a free recorded 18-hour old show is much easier to manage than a guy like Hipperson. Comment here. Tuesday 09-30-08: The boy's nose was out of joint, is what that was all about ... Some of the circumstances relating to the departure of Crane Durham from KFTK are coming to light and point in the direction of his becoming increasingly frustrated with his former partner. The whole thing may have hit an impasse on their broadcasts from the recent conventions when it was Allman's pre-recorded interviews that got played back on the air at a significantly greater number than Durham's. Crane, feeling slighted, remarked "I just couldn't work with Jamie anymore." Emmis appears to be in no hurry to add a player to their morning show anytime soon. Comment here. Tuesday 09-30-08: KMOX's Jackie Paulus is going to WGN ... Here's the memo from Tom Langmyer to his staff at WGN: I am pleased to announce that Jackie Paulus will join WGN Radio on October 6th in the new position of Director, Marketing & Digital Innovation, reporting to me. In this role Jackie will lead our marketing team, while building a strong new interactive department. She will be responsible for taking full advantage of the content from all Tribune brands, adding new technologies, and leading the whole staff to greater involvement in our digital effort, which is critical to our success. She will also lead in the creation of revenue-based digital programs and NTR initiatives for sales. Jackie’s first project will be to work with our team at WGN and with Tribune Interactive to build the new wgnradio.com website. Jackie joins us from CBS Radio, where she was Director of Marketing, Digital & NTR for KMOX Radio in St. Louis. She also served as the head of the marketing council for CBS Radio's News/Talk Stations Group. Before joining KMOX in 2001, Jackie was an Internet account manager for TMP Worldwide. She began her career in marketing & promotions for the Memphis Redbirds professional baseball team. A native of Burlington, Iowa, Jackie graduated Cum Laude from the University of Northern Iowa with a bachelors' degree in Marketing (Emphasis: Advertising & Sales). She is a Certified Digital Marketing Consultant and also a Facilitator for Brainstorming/Creative Thinking and Planning. She is also involved in the community, having served as a board member or provided support to the St. Louis Sports Commission, Winning Women, Giant Steps, March of Dimes, Ronald McDonald House, United Way of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis Senior Olympics, Mathews-Dickey Boys' & Girls' Club, the NCAA Final Four and Christmas in St. Louis. Comment here. Sunday 09-28-08: Good for Dave Sinclair ... Chad Garrison writes in the RFT: Sinclair Pulls Advertising From Post-Dispatch Auto dealer Dave Sinclair has pulled his advertising from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch following the paper’s controversial decision to outsource some of its advertising typesetting jobs to India. Sinclair tells Riverfront Times that he canceled all his ads for the next four to five weeks. "It’s going to cost them $25,000 to $30,000," says Sinclair, who in television commercials encourages the public to "buy American." "I'm not trying to be a rabble-rouser, but I wanted to make my point clear. Here we are talking about jobless rates in the United States and they’re shipping jobs overseas." News of Sinclair's boycott first made news last week when anonymous tipsters inside the Post-Dispatch alerted reporter Kevin Madden of the St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune. A week earlier (September 11) Madden had reported of the daily's plans to lay off five typesetters in September and another six in October. Typesetters with the Post-Dispatch are members of the Communication Workers of America (Local 6300) and until now had done all their work in-house at the paper. According to the Labor Tribune, some of the paper's typesetting jobs will now be outsourced to a shop in India owned and operated by KCS Express, a California company that specializes in "world class offshore advertising production for newspapers." "I'm old. I’m a 1928 model," says Sinclair in reference to the year he was born. "But I just don't get it. Now we got foreign investors buying up our banks. In ten years, you wonder what will be left. I'm just trying to do what I can." Kevin Mowbray, publisher of the Post-Dispatch, could not be reached for comment. The typesetting layoffs come the same month that the Post-Dispatch fired five longtime editors. As Riverfront Times reported earlier this month, the daily has cut more than 200 positions since Lee Enterprises acquired the paper in June 2005. Comment here. Saturday 09-27-08: 101.1 Sports Talk will not air potty talk ... !!111eleventy11!! You really need to read this interview of Teflon John Kijowski by Dan Caesar. John Kijowski, who runs the FM station owned by Bonneville International that he is converting from a dance-music format to sports talk on Jan. 1, said the current trend of "guy-talk'' in many slots at his two primary competitors won't be tolerated at WMVN (101.1). "We will be absolutely a 100 percent sports-talk station,'' he said. "Talk about bimbos, hookers on our air? No way. There's no need to dumb it down. Just because you're a guy doesn't mean you have to talk about that stuff. We will take a local, regional and national approach to mature sports talk.'' Mature sports talk may be an entirely new format in US radio. Read it all here or here and comment here. Friday 09-26-08: WHCO/AM1230, in Sparta IL ... (just a hair East of Red Bud and South of Marissa), is looking for two sales pros with some on-air ability and/or experience. Take a look at their media kit (in PDF) and then contact GM John Scheper by email or by phone at 636-295-0670 or 877-443-1230. Hint to jobseekers: you can make some fairly good bucks in a small market, if you're willing to work hard, wear a couple hats and marry the community. Thursday 09-25-08: 101.1 Sports Talk falling apart already? Secret Squirrel spews: Apparently Frankie C. is wavering on his decision to go to 101.1. A morning show shift after doing 10pm news? Plus, he's not really a morning drive kind of talent. Also, Burwell is rumored to be his co-host. That's...well...um...a really, really bad decision by management. Long story short is that Frank to 101.1 all of the sudden isn't a done deal. Barrett as the PD? Listen to the 1380 promo and see what the competition thinks of this hire. Karraker in PM Drive? Yawwwwwwwwwwwn! Even with an inferior signal, 1380 has a far superior lineup with McKernan & Co. in mornings, Kilcoyne from 10-12, Slaten from 12-3 and Bernie in PM Drive. And all those guys are supposedly locked into contracts. Slaten's deal is only 90 days, but he'll make more dough with his Frank O. Pinion-esque deal than he ever could at Barrett's batallion. KFNS, on the other hand, is close to being sold - a lot closer than anyone knows. If this continues to play out the way it appears to be headed, then Kijowski will be gone by mid-2009. Mike's comments: Bonneville has one chance to make this a success. The station absolutely has to hit the ground in full-battle mode on Day 1. If the troops are not trained and rehearsed (yes, rehearsed, and that means dry runs, off the air) and confident in their leadership, if armaments (shy of any PxP deals) are not completely in place, if their marketing strategies and budgets are not clearly defined and understood by everyone and if the company is not 2000% supportive of the effort, it will fail and it will fail quickly. Taking what amounts to the biggest FM signal in the market to Sports Talk is a huge gamble in any arena, but especially so in a provincial market like STL that thrives on localism. Out-of-town talent and management can succeed here (most all of us came from somewhere else) but only if they immerse themselves in a deep personal study of what makes the market and the listeners here tick. Call it STL101. I don't know if Barrett has the chops for this gig; his time in STL hasn't shown anymore than a perfunctory understanding of the market and the talent at hand. And by the way: Randy Karraker may not be a headliner, but he damned sure is the cheese on the pizza, the layer that makes the meats and the veggies work together. Tom Casey is the same kinda guy, just to a slightly lesser extent (only because of somewhat less experience). A smart PD would bring both of them into the prep and decision making process. A smart PD would use Jim Holder's experience as a daily "Paul Harvey on Sports" sort of commentary. Two 3 to 5 minute shots a day, broadcast and podcast, from Holder, sold to different sponsors, would pay his salary and make the station money. And a smart PD would never hire TV people out of their time element or newspaper people who have a rep for dissent or troublemaking. And as far as Teflon John Kijowski not lasting through 2009, well, if what I've heard from his previous employees and current associates is only half true, Coach K is way too slick to have placed himself in the position of blame for any failure. Kijowski is just Bill Viands for the 21st Century without the blue hair. Comment here. Wednesday 09-24-08: I expected the Earth to move yesterday ... ...when Bonneville finally announced what I've been telling you would happen for the last few months, that they're taking their newly-refurbished-for-millions 101.1FM signal to all-sports after the first of the year. I got a bunch of phone calls and emails but nothing that would equate to the market-shaking news this should have delivered. Read the press release, in PDF. What I already know: 101 will air at least two major dayparts with local talent and the rest will be ESPN syndication, at least initially. I know who the morning and afternoon drive talents will be and I've spoken or corresponded with many others who have interviewed for positions on the station. 101 will sign the Rams as their first PxP team (CC is so eager to get out of that contract on KLOU you can't believe it), and will go after the Cardinals, who have NO loyalty to Tim Dorsey's KTRS/AM550. You can't be a REAL sports station with fewer than two PxP deals. 101 will finally force the idiots at Big League Broadcasting out of the market and crawling back to their Tennessee homebase, pillaging as many of the decent sports talent from that mess as they can, for whatever part-time use they can put them to. As for Simmons, who knows? 101 will throw Christmas music into the mix as soon as they reasonably can, tossing the station into the Holiday Hoo-Hah and effectively cancelling out the KEZK Christmas advantage. Here's "Teflon John" Kijowski's memo on the new PD: TO: All Bonneville St. Louis Radio Group Employees FROM: John Kijowski, VP/Market Manager DATE: September 22, 2008 RE: New Program Director for the new 101.1 Sports Talk! Please join me in welcoming to the new 101.1 Sports Talk station, Jason Barrett as the Program Director. Jason comes to us with a great deal of talent and highly recommended. Jason worked for KFNS from June 2006 until March 2008 where he worked as the Program Director. Prior to KFNS he worked for a Sports Talk station in Philadelphia (WPEN). Jason also worked as the Lead Producer for ESPN’s ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ as well as the Lead Producer for ESPN’s ‘Game Night’. Jason’s first day will be tomorrow, Tuesday, September 23, 2008. He will sit in the programming office near the Web Department. Please stop by and give him a warm Bonneville welcome! Mike's response: Hoo, boy, did Coach K ever make a mistake on this decision. Barrett's tenure at WIP/Philadelphia was measured in months and his experience at KFNS was measured in bodies. Unless he's gone through some serious counselling and radio re-education, he's no more capable of being a real PD than Tasha, the STLMedia WatchDog. At least she can follow the ball and chase the laser dot. And wasn't Barrett going back East to be with his kids or something? Looks like he may be the luckiest boy in the world. Here's "Teflon John" Kijowski's memo on the new format: TO: All Bonneville St. Louis Radio Group Employees FROM: John Kijowski, VP/Market Manager DATE: September 22, 2008 RE: WMVN – 101.1 As you will see from the attached press release that will go out today, Movin is switching formats in January 2009 to Sports Talk. This is purely a business decision based on growth and profitability. I would like to thank Jules Riley for programming Movin as the best sounding Movin station in the country. The market’s appetite for this music simply is not as strong as we would have hoped for. Unfortunately, decisions like this sometimes mean having to say goodbye to some employees that have worked very hard for us in the past…Scott Burwell, Mike Jennewein, Steph Duran, Eric Schmidt, Annie Wilson, Judi Diamond and Scott Hasick will all be leaving Bonneville St. Louis Radio Group. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I appreciate the work these people have done and truly hope for all the best for each of them in the future. We will be eliminating the Director of Sales position and will be reducing the number of sales managers, thus eliminating a sales management position as well. These positions will not be replaced. I know there will be a lot of questions so please join me in the main conference room today at 3:00P for a question and answer meeting. If you cannot make the meeting, please feel free to see me, email me or call me. Mike's response: What can I say? Bonneville fired everybody they could to cover their costs and the expected losses for the next year. Comment here. Wednesday 09-24-08: Laurie Beakely info ... Laurie would like you to listen to her airchceck (press Open to stream) and take a look at her resumé...and then hire her! Wednesday 09-24-08: And now the Enquirer's facing bankruptcy ... What will you read in the supermarket checkout? Generoso Pope Jr., the MIT-educated founding father of America's guiltiest pleasure, was stuck behind a long line of rubberneckers gawking at the scene of an auto accident when inspiration struck. There might be a market for a newspaper trafficking in blood and guts. The stories would be short and graphic—newswire copy with pulp flourishes. And so the National Enquirer was born... Comment here. Wednesday 09-24-08: Another media writer heads out the door ... Longtime Chicago Sun-Times television/radio columnist Robert Feder announced today he is leaving the paper within the "next few weeks." He's covered the local broadcast scene since 1980. In his column today, Feder says he's taking a buyout as part of an agreement between the paper and his union. His departure leaves the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rosenthal as the last of the Windy City's big newspaper TV columnists. "The more I thought about it," Feder writes of his decision, "the more I came to see it as a great opportunity...I'll be able to take a break, step back and think about what else I want to do... "One reason I stayed as long as I have in this job is that it was such a perfect fit. I'd been fascinated by the inner workings of the media for as long as I can remember. While other kids grew up worshiping rock stars or athletes, my idol was Walter Cronkite, the great CBS News anchorman... "But times change, and covering the minutiae of the broadcast business isn't as much fun as it used to be...I'd rather leave too early than stay too late. Comment here. Tuesday 09-23-08: Just say no to AFTRA ... From Tom Taylor: Isn’t it time to look at streaming all of a station’s programming – instead of substituting commercials? This is another story from the NAB Radio Show in Austin, and it’s a subject that radio tends to avoid. KOIT, San Francisco programmer Bill Conway comes up to the mic at the Thursday morning group heads breakfast to say this: “We pay an enormous amount of money” to handle all the substitution and creation of additional content that goes between the songs, on his station’s Internet stream. The issue comes down to another kind of cost – talent cost for some agency-produced spots, which means most of them are automatically not simulcast online. That means #1, Arbitron won’t count the stream as a simulcast with high-performing soft AC KOIT. And #2, Sometimes the experience of listening online to a bunch of subbed-in PSAs and other content isn’t the most fun – it’s just not like listening to the station itself. Conway’s not against selling separate ads and the income that generates. But he says after investigating it, “only about 10% of commercials can’t be streamed”, because of union talent-fee concerns. CBS Radio’s Dan Mason responds that “the first thing is to get through the misinformation out there – as an industry, we can do a much better job” with the whole issue. But almost nobody’s thinking about it, and the on-air and online programming continues to diverge. Maybe that’s inevitable, but it didn’t have to turn out that way. Comment here. Tuesday 09-23-08: I started hearing the same story in my head, but with CC, CBS, Bonneville ... CEO murdered by mob of sacked Indian workers Corporate India is in shock after a mob of workers bludgeoned to death the chief executive who sacked them from a factory in a suburb of Delhi. Lalit Kishore Choudhary, 47, the head of the Indian operations of Graziano Transmissioni, a manufacturer of car parts that has its headquarters in Italy, died of severe head wounds on Monday after being attacked by scores of laid-off employees, police said. The incident, in Greater Noida, followed a long-running dispute between the factory’s management and workers demanding better pay and permanent contracts. Tuesday 09-23-08: It's the message, stupid, not the medium ... When will the record companies learn? Record Labels to Sell Music on Memory Cards Just as vinyl once gave way to compact discs as the main physical medium for music, could CDs be replaced now by a fingernail-sized memory card? Perhaps not entirely, but SanDisk Corp., four major record labels and retailers Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are hoping that albums sold on microSD memory cards will at least provide an additional stream of sales. The companies unveiled plans Monday to sell memory cards loaded with music in the MP3 format, free of copy protections. See, here's the thing: I got a box full of thumb drives, up to 16gigs, and players with huge storage. Now what I need is access to reasonably priced music that I'd like to buy. Amazon and iTunes and the rest are OK, but, at a buck a tune, expensive. Music people, think this through, will ya? Comment here. Monday 09-22-08: The news must go on ... Apparently, this guy on a Greek Internet station dumped his ashtray in the trashcan a little too early. But, bless his heart, he was bound and determined to get through the 'cast. Good thing he had a buddy nearby... Weekend 09-19/20-08: I'm terribly disappointed ... Weeks ago this radio webmonkey, too scared to own up to his work with his real name, promised to "put this d**k in his place once and for all." That d**k would, of course, be me. He's managed to round up three dozen or so of his MySpace friends to show their solidarity, but only three have felt compelled to present their case online, none, of course, over their real names. Dang, I say. And I wonder why the radio biz is going down the pooper. These new guys can't even hate properly. C'mon, MySpace guy -- Bring.It.On! I've faced off with big-deal lawyers and corporate execs and won every time. You're just a slice of sponge cake. Comment here. Weekend 09-19/20-08: Hopefully, there's a range day in my near future ... Plans are to spend a few hours in the great outdoors early next week, breaking in some pistols and that kind of thing. Blowin' stuff up and punching high-velocity holes in things is such a red-state guy thing, dontcha know? Comment here. Weekend 09-19/20-08: Nick Barrale wants to come home ... Nick writes: I have been broadcasting baseball at the minor league level for five years now. I am a St. Louis native trying to make my way back to STL. The team I was working for told me they have no plans for radio right now in 2009 so I am left looking for a job. Here's Nick's website. Weekend 09-19/20-08: Apologies to Brian Krueger, KMOX LSM ... ...for confusing him with KTRS ND Brian Kelly in a recent entry here. As Mr. Krueger wrote yesterday: Currently I am the Local Sales Manager at KMOX, however, the day is still young. Sometimes my giant brain gets ahead of my typing skills. And sometimes I just have an attack of the Comment here. Friday 09-18-08: Out the door at KMOX ... Secret Squirrel offers this: Things must be bad at CBS. A memo came out from Steve Moore today stating that KMOX marketing director Jackie Paulus "is leaving to pursue other endeavors." That sounds like a nice way to say "budget cuts at CBS." She is VERY good. That is a big surprise. OTOH, there's this: Jackie left on her own. She's going to be replaced and the position was not eliminated. What's with all the jumping to conclusions?? As I've often said, your call. Comment here. Friday 09-18-08: Woo-hoo!! Been trying to get this remodeling done for a few years, but it's always been something else getting in the way. The custom cabinets and marble counter top are done and will be delivered early next week, and we'll have a whole new master vanity at STLMedia HQ by the end of next week! Friday 09-18-08: Randy Raley wants you to sell for him ... Randy's the Market Manager for Great Plains Media stations in Bloomington/Normal IL. He writes: I am looking for some decent sellers. If you know anyone who knows anything about radio, have a great attitude and are looking to learn how to sell radio correctly, let me know. Attitude is 80% of the game, if they have that, I'll train them on the rest. We have a very comprehensive, intense training regimen (the best I have ever seen), but once done, they will be ready to hit the streets with confidence and attitude. Bloomington/Normal is a great small city with a recession proof economy and is a nice place to live. List provided. Randy's stations include 107.7 The Bull, Cities 92.9 and Eagle Classic Rock. Touch base with Randy here. Friday 09-18-08: Apologies to users of Charter Internet ... It seems that emails from my regular account to anything or anyone at a charter.net address are being blocked by some nefarious digital process. I'm being forced to contact and respond to Charter users using my super-secret ultra-stealth email addy and all that cut-and-paste stuff takes time. Interestingly, men named Dorsey also spent some years at and borrowed some money from a company named Charter and they may have something to do with this residual horsehockey that lessens your ability to read and recieve communications from this website. If this is an issue for you, please contact your Charter rep and insist that my pickeringonline@sbcglobal.net email addy be removed from their blacklist. Of course, I wouldn't use Charter for anything digital, even on a bet. Friday 09-18-08: Speaking of KTRS/2 ... Along with Steve Klotz and Craig Andrews, I now find out that newsbabe Melanie Streeper was also tossed out of the KTRS News camper. That leaves exactly two news people on staff at the Big 550: ND Brian Secret Squirrel says that KTRS now offers NO evening news and NO outside reporters A sad, but regular turn of events for the station, which has, for more than a decade used their supposedly vaunted news department as a way to balance the station budget. I remember meeting with the news staff about my proposed internet news initiative in the Joan Beuckmann days and there were people in chairs, sitting on desks and standing around, all eager to end the meeting and get on to covering...NEWS! Cell phones were beeping, recorders were rolling, actualities were making... No more, it seems. I bet it's pretty quiet in the newsroom at Westport these days. Comment here. Friday 09-18-08: Speaking of KTRS ... I can't find anything on the FCC website that says that the Commission renewed their authorization to operate with two towers/1250 watts at night since expiration in March 2008. I admit that I'm not the best with the FCC's search apparatus, but others have made a stab at it, too, and we've all come up blank. So, does this mean that the station is operating without authorization? And that their PD, Chick Manly, told me a big ol' fib when he promised that the four towers would be restored by the start of Winter? I gots ta know...did he shoot four rounds or only two? UPDATE: Hooray, they're legal: MB contributor Colonel Flair found it on the FCC website. They're good through March 18, 2009. Comment here. Thursday 09-18-08: Karen Vail out at KTRS ... Karen, who'd worked with Frank O. Pinion and his Large Morning Show In The Afternoon in various incarnations for the last fifteen years, parted with the show after Wednesday's airing. Comment here. Wednesday 09-17-08: I told ya so, months ago ... But you all told me how wrong I was. Now it's happened. Sam Zell is closing his tiny little fist, having accepted that his purchase of the Tribune properties was an incredibly stupid move and now tries to save a dollar here and there by crunching TV ops together. Meanwhile, Tribune exec Randy Michaels continues to try and make the newspapers profitable and more readable by hiring old radio people. Yup. that's gonna work. "And the pages just keep on comin'." For no reason at all. Comment here. Wednesday 09-17-08: Hey! I got a GREAT idea! ... Let's all get beered up and drive around shootin' stuff! Okay, let's not. But if you're a target-shooting or handgun enthusiast, maybe you'd feel inclined to join me on an STLMedia Range Day. Just putting it together now, and there aren't that many ranges available or very many decent-weather weekends before the cold stuff sets in. It'll be on a weekend, and it'll include rental for eye- and ear-protection and lunch; guns and gun rental and ammo, you're on your own. Cost per person would depend on total participants, but I'm lookin' at no more than $40 per person. I'm in, with Son Jason and Grandson Christopher. You? Email me here. Wednesday 09-17-08: Kevin McCarthy to NextTrip OM ... STLMedia OldDog Kevin McCarthy, who has carved out a niche online and on the air in travel-related news, has taken the OM reigns at 24/7 travel-program syndicator NextTripRadio.com. NextTripRadio.com features live talk programming about all types of travel information and entertainment and is now available for syndication. Contact OM Kevin McCarthy for scheduling info. Wednesday 09-17-08: Joe Potatoes not thinking about the future ... What the hell's the matter with the Heartland? And those old people? Read this story: U.S. regulators are unprepared for an expected surge in demand for government help from consumers needing to switch their television sets from analog to digital, a government report said on Tuesday. Congress ordered the switch, to go into effect next February, to free public airwaves for emergency uses, such as for police and fire departments. Don't know what the odds are on something like this, but I'd put a couple bucks on the digital debut being delayed just a bit, and blamed on the intransigence of Americans. Comment here. Wednesday 09-17-08: Emmett McAuliffe can finally get a nap ... Hi Mike: I want you to know that I resigned my KMOX show. My last Emmett McAuliffe Program will be overnight Friday/Saturday 2-5 a.m. 9/20. After 12 years of trying to sleep and wake at different times during the week, I had developed Circadian rhythm sleep disorder. KMOX says they will keep me on staff as a fill-in for shifts that end at least by 2a.m. I completely understand. It's not like I've never had any sleep issues...best of luck to our buddy EMcA. Wednesday 09-17-08: Metro layoffs roll the grief downhill ... It's not bad enough that the company threw hundreds of employees across the country under the bus; now the fallout is becoming evident as the remaining employees have to struggle to cover the contracted work product. Here's an edited journal from a Metro employee in an unnamed market 'splaining what the new days are like: ... ah, but you don't know how funny it all is. well, "funny" in a black comedy sort of way. so -- i get to keep (redacted), but i lost my two-hour shift on (redacted reference to first market) (they divided the two hours between the a.m. and p.m. rush guys). i also lost a suburban station on which i did news. in its place? i'm supposed to be writing (redacted reference to a second market) news in the a.m. through (redacted). problem is, my browser kicks me out every time i go to (redacted) website, so i don't have any stories to (re) write, as of yet. coming soon, though, they say. i start sending (redacted) traffic reports at (redacted), which means i have to get up about 40 minutes earlier. then, starting at (redacted), i do :90 sports reports for (redacted reference to a third market) until noon. i really should have listened to my mother when she told me to go into accounting...but, at least for now, i still have gainful employment. we'll see how long that lasts. This can't possibly entrance Metro subscribers who signed on in good faith expecting a quality product and then get half-ass service (not the responsibility of the reporters, but of the bad business judgement of the provider). Who's gonna be the first to sue? Comment here. Wednesday 09-17-08: One bad turn doesn't deserve another ... Regardless of what you may think of the recent spate of "accusations" and "scandals" launched recently at GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin, this radio putz in Anchorage needs to be taken to the woodshed: Anchorage AM radio host Eddie Burke was been suspended after broadcasting the phone numbers of women involved in organizing a protest rally against Sarah Palin over the weekend, his station manager said today. Last week Burke, host of a conservative daily talk show, called rally organizers Charla Sterne and Ilona Bessenyey "socialist, baby-killing maggots," read their phone numbers on the air and encouraged listeners to call them. The women said their voice-mail quickly filled with angry, profane messages, some of them threatening. Burke later apologized for calling them maggots and said he didn't realize he was giving out personal cell-phone numbers. Giving out private numbers, unless they've been published elsewhere, is never a good idea. On the other hand, I guess it's okay to send emails out to attack by phone a two-way talk radio show (for the second time) on, say, WGN/Chicago, when the host has the cajones to actually present an anti-Obama issue. You make the call. Comment here. Tuesday 09-16-08: The best reason I've heard for keeping the site going ... From John King, Senior VP/Operations, Regent Broadcasting: I didn’t delete the bookmark and kept checking back….glad to see you’ve changed your mind! More ass hats, insensitive rants, and telling it like it is! That's what makes this all worth doing! Tuesday 09-16-08: Tasha, the STLMedia WatchDog, is watching you ...  ... but Kevin Alfultis thinks his Facebook page offers a great idea (you must have a registered Facebook account to read it or play there) about his fondly remembered SEMO college radio experience. KJAQ/Q99 was a little 3,000 watt station licensed to Gordonville but to us it was a Gorilla...that all the other stations took for granted. The little 3,000 station had to work harder and longer...and we had MORE fun doing it! Whether you worked for Jim Smith, Ron Voss, Al Sikes, Tom Stine or Mark Rollings you knew that in order to compete and beat the larger competitors you had to be innovative, creative, persistent, and full of vigor. Please share your stories, pictures and audio from any Cape station. Mr. Alfultis and his compadres have a full-blown website coming soon. Monday 09-15-08: This would be seriously bad judgement ... ... on the part of Bonneville: Word is that Movin' 101 is thinking about hiring Jason Barrett as their new PD. Word also has it that many of the individuals they are thinking about for on air slots can't stand Barrett and aren't happy about that move. The potential on air personnel have heard the horror stories about Barrett's reign at KFNS and aren't happy that they may be working for a guy who has a reputation for not getting along with his staff. Not to mention the fact that he destroyed KFNS before getting the boot himself. Many are also wondering why he hasn't moved back to New York to be with his son, considering that is the reason he gave for leaving KFNS in the first place. Comment here. Monday 09-15-08: Secret Squirrel, who was almost rained out ... pops out of his tiny little FEMA trailer in my backyard with this, 'cause SS loves him some hate mail: Yeah, I'm sure you were overwhelmed by people begging you to keep going with the site. Riiight. I figured your pathetic ego wouldn't let you walk away from the attention you so desperately crave. Just keep telling yourself and everybody else how vital you are to St. Louis media. Eventually, you'll convince yourself this is the truth. Why do I think this is one of the unthinking morons making stuff up about Sarah Palin? Of course, the sender's too intimidated by me to add his name... Monday 09-15-08: Wipeout at Westport ... KTRS/AM 550, which uses their News department to balance their bank account, has made some changes: Cuts in the KTRS newsroom. Full timers Steve Klotz and Craig Andrews have been let go due to budget problems. No replacements will be hired. Brian Kelly stays on. Comment here. Sunday 09-14-08: Doop, doop, doop, lookin' out my backdoor ... It's wet and windy but Tasha has to take care of her business, know what I mean? Here's a bit of Hurricane Ike's aftermath in flyover country, recorded, edited and YouTubed just before the power popped out for seven hours. I went back to bed and missed Day Two of my Birthday weekend. No yellow cake with chocolate icing for me, one year! Comment here. Sunday 09-14-08: Hurricane Ike remnants suck ... Lotsa rain, lotsa wind, lumber down in the yard, thunder and lightning and cable's out. Happy birthday weekend to me, huh? Comment here. Saturday 09-13-08: A couple weeks ago I was ready to give it all up ... And then the emails and phone calls and in-person comments began. I had no idea how many of you, in this market and around the US, were reading the news and commentary here. I had no idea how many links there were to this website out there. I had no idea how much of the stuff I'd written here was quoted on other sites, even many sites from the Really Smart Guys. After all the years I spent paying attention to ratings, I really no longer cared about the metrics. But even more importantly, I completely missed the emotional attachment that so many had developed to a website that one wag characterized as "crack for media people." The tipping point was a phone conversation Thursday with a long-time friend (since 1972) who'd gone through much of the same weirdness and convinced me to keep fighting the good fight. Thanks, JDC. So, albeit a little reluctantly, I'm back on the horse and I'll do my best to ride it into the sunset. Don't want your money, don't want your adulation. I just want you to let me know what I'm doing right or wrong and what's going on where you work. Now I'm gonna get some sleep, have a Happy Birthday weekend, and then, on Monday, get back to work. Yes, by then I'll probably be pissed about something or other. Thanks for allowing me that opportunity, by the way. Comment here. Saturday 09-13-08: Hurricane Ike ... Mrs. A and I have kin in Houston; last time a Big One played through he (an oil company engineering exec) and his family took a week in Dallas while the storm played out. Rode the rides, saw the sights, then went home and the kids went back to school and wrote about what they did on their hurricane vacation. This time they decided to hunker down and ride it out... Read more and comment here.  An I-FOAM! Yay, beer! And please think Happy Anniversary thoughts for out dear little Red Heeler, Tasha, who came to be the STLMedia WatchDog exactly one year ago today. Saturday 09-13-08: The rumors about Metro cuts were in my inbox ... by the time I got home from Friday's Monthly Meeting. By Friday PM, they'd become reality, with talent like Mark Stevens, Tom Casey, Chris Gardener, Vicki Pimentel and Susan Smith-Harmon kicked off the bus. As always, STLMedia offers our bandwidth -- free -- to any and all of those folks displaced for resumés and streaming airchecks. Please email me for details. Comment here. Saturday 09-13-08: They hate me! ... They really, really hate me! Hoo-ah! Parody, meet flattery. Thanks to Mick Flanderson and his "minions" for their kind attention to my own self. You know that you've accomplished your goal when something like this pops up. Caution: Bad taste prevails in the bg image. Comment here. Previous entries back to 2003 are available here. STLMedia Message Board credo: "This board is primarily for STL media professionals who have something intelligent to say about their industry. STLMedia fans and wannabes are welcome to post here as long as they understand that personal attacks or spurious chatter are unwelcome. Honest criticism is good and welcome. Also please understand that I make the Rules Of The Road and that I may change the lines inside which you may color at any time. It's my sandbox. Have fun and play nice or I'll be in touch." |
    What readers say: This site is great with the inside info on radio, TV and print. I like your "take no prisoners" attitude. It's nice to have a source to turn to for media analysis by those in and formerly in "the biz." Congrats on your success and determination in what's often the face of adversity. Chris Files TheFilesFiles Thanks as always for the site, from a media outsider who has always loved the media business. Mike DeGeorge Having grown up in St. Louis in the 60s and 70s, it's always interesting to read your take on the St. Louis media. Keep up the good work! Gary Leonard missourimedia.net Your site is the watering-hole of St. Louis radio Jay Shadix Imaging Wizard Interesting site with TONS on it – great job Dave Lange VP McVayMedia I certainly enjoy keeping up with the St. Louis market through your great efforts. Bob Heil Love your website. I was in the biz for 12+ years, graduated from SIU-Carbondale. My wife and I are both out of it now, but still try to keep current on what’s happening around here. Anonymous This site keeps me in touch with an industry that I love, but have left. Thank you for all you do! MB: nowjustalistener I appreciate having a website like this to come to. You take your fair share of shots from some who don't agree with your opinions, but that comes with the territory. MB: jayedwards42 Thank you for providing a great website, with hours of entertainment as well as hundreds of media related breaking stories. You definitely have a finger on the pulse of St. Louis media! MB: Q107 It really has been a great year at STLMedia.net. You've provided a fantastic information and networking service for the St. Louis industry during a very eventful year. MB: Sassy Radio Girl I always enjoy the site...and I would love to know who keeps "smiting" me (on the MB)! Anonymous I have been a huge fan of your website for a long time. I have been out of radio for a few years, but your website keeps me in the loop. Thanks for you great work! James Hunt You are truly a disgrace to not only those of us who have worked to be successful in our chosen media, but an all-around disgrace of a human being. MB: KurtBali Since I left St Louis I've been in several markets that have radio message boards. Most VERY lame. None have sparked as much debate and passion as Mike's has. You folks in STL have it good. I wish we had a Mike in Seattle to stir the pot and write commentary without hiding behind a vague screen name. Rob Walker Mike knows I respect his knowledge and talent. Fact is, Anderson HAS succeeded in radio in St. Louis. He had staying power. Mike is a guy who helps his friends- this I know. Not a lot of radio people are that way. Friends or not, I'll always stand by Mike when someone disparages his abilities. MB: Burnout Insiders turn here for the straight scoop...it has passion written all over it, written by a guy who obviously loves radio and holds this troubled post-consolidation industry so many of us love up to a higher standard. Jerry DelColliano Probably the best site of its kind in the industry. Dave Dillon: PD, VP STL Media does a fantastic job covering radio developments in the area, as well as nationwide. Mike has a stubborn compulsion to follow through on issues. [He] provides an excellent example for every Internet maverick. Radio Equalizer Great contacts and he loves to spill my guts. Secret Squirrel He knows my secret identity. French Damewood |
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