 |
| Born-on date: June 29, 2000. Somehow we've made it to
!
|
|
| Born-on date: June 29, 2000. Somehow we've made it to
!
|
|
Stuff: About Mike EBS Test '71 STLMedia Dogs Pix 9/11 KTRmesS NewsNow RVN '69 Journal KIX 10th Reunion Jobs Wanted: Click here to meet media folks looking for work and to learn about this free service for unemployed talent. Video: KXOK 8mm Bob Heil BioPic Gaslight Square Statlers TV spots Conners/Taser Hits Between... Oldie TV spots... Jeep TV spot Womens' work Christmas 2005 Audio: Tomorrow Radio WKRP tracks JC/12 Days promo Client changes CC Xmas Border Blasters R&R Timesweep Demos: Tom Calhoun Everett Marshall Dave Morris Jay Philpott Add your site Blogs: Lee Abrams Frank Absher Jamie Allman America Matters BullMooseAmerica B'cast Law Tom Calhoun Cox & Kerr Cyberbrains Jerry DelColliano Paul Harris Fox2 Blogs John Gorman Dan Kelley Dave Lange Dave Martin Jay Marvin Steve Mays Dave Morris Emmett McAuliffe Michael Packer John Parikhal Joe Pollack Joel Raab Mark Ramsey Randy Raley John Rook Scott St. James Rob Walker Add your site Locals: Gary Bennett Bill Clevlen Dana Daniels Mike Evans Richard Fatherley Frank O. Pinion Dave Glover Joe Hipperson Jonnie King Drew Kirby Kevin McCarthy McGraw Show Lloyd Sloan Scott St. James Peter Smyth Bill Viands George Woods Add your site Links: AllStarBirthday Anchor Comm. Arbitron Arch City Chronicles AllAccess AV Revolution CEO Express CoastToCoastAM Countenance Blog C'field Observer Cop MB/STL City Cop MB/STL County CCU HD CCU Formats Mitch Craig (STL) CraigsList Dogs of War DVD43 DVD Shrink DOD-For The Record DX Info Global Warming Global Incidents GoPlaceZ.com Hit Parade HOF HitTracker How Stuff Works DC Radio & TV Hot Clock Humane Society Infinite Dial Indiana Airwaves InsideRadio LiveNewsCameras John Long LyricWorld MediaDrop Media Bistro Media Matters News Blues NE Radio Watch Newseum Offsite PD Ohio Media Watch On Hold Pandora PaperOfRecord PrimeTimeRewind Radio & Records RadioDailyNews Radio Equalizer RadioInk RadioOnlineNews RadioTime RealDeal Radio ReelRadio SantaTrack STLMedia Parody STL Sports Mag Set The Record Straight Soul Seasoning STL Bingo Halls STLRadio.com STL JR Talking Radio Top Secret Radio TV Newser TM Century Troposphere TechDirt TV News Themes UPI Wayback Machine WebWare WestPlex News Wi-Fi Hotspots Who Owns What Wizard Of Ads STL TV: KTVI/2 KMOV/4 KSDK/5 KPLR/11 KDNL/30 Tributes: Don Corey 630 KXOK KWK 1380 KWK 106 KHTR 103 KYUU WABC WBBM WFIL WMCA WTPC-FM WHB WIBG WKLO WROV Minn-StPaul-1 Minn-StPaul-2 13Q WTAE KQV WLS WKBO WAKY WWDJ ABC Radio News NightTime America Art Roberts PAMS CKLW KRLA KHJ WLS WCFL WPGC WIXY KWK106 KWK1380 KHTR103.3 WHB SF Radio ReelRadio STL Media HOF Mr. Aircheck 440 Int'l WQAM WFUN Add your site |
 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! The Jonnie King Medical Help Fund ... ...is set up and ready for your kind assistance, thanks to Midwest BankCentre.  I know this is a particularly tough time to ask for help of any kind, but as you're aware, Jonnie had a pretty serious set of injuries, he's been through several surgeries and has a long period of physical rehab and healing ahead. Medicare will cover a lot, but not all, of the cost. Jonnie's on a fixed income and every penny counts. Any help you can offer to this guy who has provided so many years of entertainment to so many listeners is very welcome. Special thanks to Mrs. A, who did all of the work setting this up with the bank's wonderful Karen Giljum. Checks or money orders only, please, payable to Jonnie King, should be sent to this address: Midwest BankCentre ATTN: Karen Giljum 2191 Lemay Ferry Road St. Louis MO 63125 Next STLMedia Monthly Meeting: Friday, January 30th, 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). This'll be an important get-together, as we'll be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Frank Absher's remarkable website tribute to STLRadio history.
Tim Dorsey working without contract as of January 1. Does a contract matter for Tiny Tim? I always thought he had photos of his investors in compromising situations... Comment here. Friday 12-05-08: Back around 1997 ... Clear Channel began incorporating the Prophet VT system into its radio stations, allowing air talent in distant markets to do local shows remotely, via high-speed computer connections. It was cheaper to do multiple music radio shows this way than to make entire program segments available by satellite. Successful AT's could spend a few hours each day reading local newspapers and recording voice tracks into a computer work station. The few grand they received for their work eliminated the need for local AT's, and substantially reduced the cost of CC's operation. Now, Radio-Info's Tom Taylor is intimating that come 2009, CC intends to define each of their stations into one of 15 or so formats and provide programming to them from a central source. The CHR you hear in STL will be the same CHR you hear in every other CC market, AT's included. Same for Country, Urban, AC, Oldies, HipHop, Talk, SmoothJazz and all the rest. Too bad if you don't like Ryan Seacrest. Too bad if you like local talent. Comment here. Friday 12-05-08: I guess this week ... I pulled maybe 450 pounds of catalogs and ad fliers out of the streetside mailbox. I flipped thru a lot of them prior to placing them carefully and lovingly in the circular file. Oddly, there was not a single mention of HD Radios in any of the retail or electronic big box store mailings, at least none that I noticed. So...is it over? Is it time for you to forget this misguided and very expensive venture and return your attention to the real business of saving radio from the future? Comment here. Friday 12-05-08: KTRS PD update ... Word is that Todd Manley, who's going back to Chicago, will not be replaced at The Big 550. Instead, his duties, at least the clerical ones, will be farmed out to other staffers, who will take them on as additional responsibilities. One important duty, however, has apparently not been reassigned: the coaching and critique of air talent. With the exception of Frank O. Pinion, whose contract specifies absolute personal control of his own show, there's a whole boat load of talk types who will now be without any guidance. Presumably none of them will go rogue, but bad habits are easy to acquire. Who will be available to work them out? Is there anyone left at the station who has the skill, experience and gravitas with the staff to keep up forward motion and provide direction? Comment here. Thursday 12-04-08: Swimming in money, I am ... from loot pouring in here from overseas sources, mostly Nigeria, I'm really rich and you're not. Wait...let me check the accounts....uh-oh. Anyway, here's your chance to get wealthy: Dear Email Owner, We are happy to announce to you that your email address has won you the sum of £590,983.00 GBP (Five Hundred and Ninety Thousand Nine Hundred and Eighty Three Great British Pounds) in the recent online draw of the UK National Lottery. To file for your claims, please contact: Mr. Williams Hughes You are to provide him with the following information: Full Name, Contact Address, Country of residence, Age, Sex, Tel, Occupation. Congratulations from all members and staff of this program. Yours truly, Mr. EDUARDO ADOLFO ZUNIGA Online coordinator of UK National Lottery. For confirmation call: +448706261861, follow the instruction. Your pin number is : 3406 Or forget about it. Thursday 12-04-08: Sixteen years ago this week ... I was driving my brother-in-law's car back and forth from Alexandria to Richmond VA's Chippenham Hospital, where I met my first grandchild, Laene, just a day after she was born. I remember walking into the hospital room and seeing this fat, grey-haired woman tending to her, realizing that it was my ex-wife and glorying in the fact that I was divorced from her and remarried to a serious fox! Mrs. A (the foxy final one) and I oohed and ahhed appropriately. Mrs. A (the fat first one) grumped and since then we've only seen Jennie and Laene occasionally. Not that we love them any less, of course, just that they live a thousand miles away. We've visited there and they've visited here, but not often. But Jen told us that Laene wanted a Sweet Sixteen party like she'd seen on MTV. Yeah, right. Daughter Jennifer is so like me: she went to a variety store and bought the cheapest tiara and wand she could find and gave them to Laene, telling her that that was as close to a Princess as she'd ever get to be. Laene doesn't know it yet, but Laene'll be a better person for not being a Princess. But I'm sure Laene thinks I'm a schmuck for not funding her Sweet Sixteen trip, for her and her friends, on a G5 to a Carribean resort. Maybe she'll come around to reality later. Yeah, right. Can you spell d-i-s-i-n-h-e-r-i-t-a-n-c-e?  Liza's shown above with her late buddy Fergie, with whom she shared ownership of the Calhouns. Tom has lovingly chronicled their lives together at his blog. Wednesday 12-03-08: Todd Manley steps away from KTRS ... The reasons I've heard have all been personal; suffice to say that Todd has a lot going on in his life right now. Manley joined KTRS from WGN/Chicago on 14 January 2008. Comment here. Wednesday 12-03-08: George Noory set for STL award ... Noory, the host of Coast-To-Coast AM, will be given a proclamation by the City Friday morning at 10AM in the City Hall Aldermanic Chambers. George's rise to become the "Syndicated Superman" began while he was at KTRS and started substitute hosting for Art Bell. Since then, George has grown the show's audience, written best-selling books and produced and hosted television shows on the paranormal. Wednesday 12-03-08: KFNS resets the game roster ... From Dan Caesar: KFNS has fired sports-talk show hosts Brian McKenna and Kyle Elfrink and plans to retool its lineup soon. Howard Balzer is filling in temporarily for McKenna in morning drive and Jay Randolph Jr. is taking Elfrink’s afternoon slot on an interim basis. Comment here. Wednesday 12-03-08: Maybe there's a lesson here for radio ... From The LA Times: Showtime seemed destined to stay hidden in the shadow of HBO, which has long dominated the pay-TV landscape. But a slate of programming that plays on aberrant social behavior is helping the cable channel stand out from the crowd: A widow in "Weeds" becomes a pot dealer to maintain her upscale lifestyle, a serial killer in "Dexter" is a police blood-splatter expert, a novelist in "Californication" is a cynical womanizer, and Henry VIII in "The Tudors" is a lust-driven young king with marital problems. The pathology programming, introduced by entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt, has led Showtime to add 1.1 million subscribers this year, an increase of 7% over 2007, for a total of 16.5 million homes. It marks the fifth consecutive year of growth in an industry struggling to keep subscribers. Comment here. Tuesday 12-02-08: Play the spot again and die ... Ad Nauseam: Repetition of TV Spots Risks Driving Consumers Away Read it all in AdAge: Think how many times in the past few weeks you've been subjected to Christie Brinkley in a scene from "National Lampoon's Vacation," speaking in dubbed lines about DirecTV; or seen Sprint CEO Dan Hesse sitting in a diner talking about his company; or heard a reworked version of The Fixx's 1983 hit "Saved by Zero" used to alert you to Toyota's no-interest payment options. Comment here. Tuesday 12-02-08: A-B buyout fallout ... Bud Sports is apparently a thing of the past. Here's the memo: Dear Blues Radio Network Affiliates: As you may be aware, AB is no longer going to be in the production business. Therefore, we will be terminating our Blues Radio Network contracts on 12/13/08. You will be receiving an official agreement termination letter on a separate e-mail with a contact person at the Blues also. It has truly been a pleasure to work with everyone of you on the Blues Radio Network. I have made many friends and will cherish all our relationships. Thanks for being great affiliates and great communicators for the Blues Radio Network. My best regards, Anne Anne Carroll Manager Bud Productions & Sports Marketing From a client: I work at one of the 13 stations on the Blues Radio Network. Received an email today from Anne Carroll of Bud Sports. Bud Sports is being dissolved effective December 13. Guess that means no more Blues Radio Network and have heard nothing about the Cardinals Radio Network. Looks like another cut because of the In-Bev buyout of AB. The first of what will be many. We've been told that we could go for weeks without any Blues games. It will cost us money because of this move to dissolve Bud Sports. Anne Carroll is also out. Comment here. Monday 12-01-08: Bill Drake died over the weekend ... and, unless you're a serious student of radio or you're over 40, you probably have no idea why so many of us OldDogs are thunderstruck at the news. Drake had been in failing health for a while and, as was his custom, kept those cards close to his vest, as he did most aspects of his legendary life and career. He died from lung cancer at 71. I never had the opportunity to work directly with him, but I worked with a lot of guys who did and so much of my work was at least indirectly influenced by what he brought to the radio table in the 1960's and '70's. There's not much I can add to the incredible fountain of memories and tribute that has erupted in the past couple days; here are some links so that you can sense the impact that Bill Drake made on so many of us and the incredible contributions he made to the business we once loved. John Rook Ron Jacobs Jerry DelColliano Mel Phillips Art Vuolo Larry Shannon Ken Levine Wikipedia Radio-Info thread Boss Radio Forever Bill's first wife remembers Sean Ross Mercury News obit Drake's last project Drake station airchecks And, finally, from KZQZ's FoxMan: Mike: Having programmed for Drake/Chenault (the 70's) in San Francisco and Fresno, about 6 months ago I contacted Bill via email. We hadn't talked in years but he so graciously responded with kind words and was very excited about the new "Top40 Timeclock" format he was working on. He obviously saved my email address with his other countless contacts because I received two emails this past Sunday night from his lady friend Carole. Here's the first one at 10:20pm: I just wanted to say Thank You, once again, for your kind words and all your Emails in rememberance of Bill. I am also forwarding them to his daughter Kristie, so that she has a wonderful tribute book of how loved her father was. I've talked to some of you and there are those of you who won't be able to attend, but we are planning to have a Memorial for Bill on Wednesday, December 3rd, 3pm at: THE LITTLE BROWN CHURCH4418 COLDWATER CANYON BLVD.STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA Now here's the second one received at 10:40pm: Well, you won't believe this, but the last Email I was composing about Bill's Memorial was Sent Without my hitting the Send button. I think Bill thought I had said enough and it was time to stop. I believe it was his way of "Editing"! Hope to see you all there. Thanks so much. carole Comment here. Weekend 11-29/30-08: AudioTechnica mic and setup for $450 ... cash only and I deliver locally. Only sold together: Rolls MicPowerII pre-amp, AudioTechnica at4033a mic, mic floor stand, mic suspension, mic pop filter, cables. Contact me. Weekend 11-29/30-08: 300 disc Sony CD jukebox for $150 ... cash only and I deliver locally. Used once. Contact me. Weekend 11-29/30-08: November TV sweeps ... It's a PDF. Comment here. Weekend 11-29/30-08: Snow, Saturday night ... 
Weekend 11-29/30-08: The pup studies it all ...
Friday 11-28-08: Seems like a thousand years ago ... when I was PD and morning guy at WRNL/Richmond and we were turned on to a local standup comic/impressionist named Garet Chester.We hired him "out of the box" to join me on the morning show and the results were nothing short of phenomenal. His tryout on the station, the premise of which I threw at him just minutes before we went on the air together for the first time, was this: "Jack Nicholson and Herve Villachaize are traveling the country in an RV and are appearing together here, this morning." Ridiculous? Of course. But he pulled this silly hoax off amazingly. Gary eventually left for another Richmond station and I left for STL; since then, Chester's appeared in many cinematic and made-for-TV movies and theatrical presentations, voiced thousands of commercials, immersed himself in missionary work for a while and, a few years ago, added real estate sales to his resumé. As for me, I did some radio shows and now I've got this silly little website... Now Garet Chester's making his dead-on voice impressions available online. When you order yours, say hi for me. Thursday 11-27-08: And the tractor played on ... Wednesday 11-26-08: Got a lot to do over the next few days ... ...and I'll try to keep up here as I can, best I can. Have a great Thanksgiving! Reverend Mike is cookin', even just for three! See ya at the Beatles show Friday at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza and the Machinist's Hall Gun Show Saturday! I think I may sleep in on Sunday... Wednesday 11-26-08: AP & Newspaper Guild die slowly but steadily ... The AP is cutting 10% of its workforce as Tribune Company drops their membership and Scripps and other chains consider that same move; other regional newspapers are creating their own news-sharing services, minus AP product. Newspaper Guild membership rolls have shrunk by about 2000 members and $200k in dues, according to President Bernie Lunzer, who said, "Right now, the biggest thing you're fighting is the overall sense of impending doom." Comment here. Wednesday 11-26-08: Over the past weekend, Cumulus' Lew Dickey ... ...said some pretty unsettling things about the future of the radio biz: Lew Dickey Jr., CEO of Atlanta-based Cumulus Media Inc., said sputtering advertising plus the upheaval in the stock market will cause a major shakeup in the landscape of broadcast radio over the next several years. “I think there’s going to be a pretty big shakeout and I think that half the companies in business today will be gone within 36 months,” Dickey said. Cumulus is the nation’s second-largest broadcaster with 344 stations owned and operated. FYI, stock in Cumulus Media (Nasdaq: CMLS) broke a buck Nov. 11 and rested at 54 cents a share Nov. 18. Its 52-week high had been $9.42. Comment here. Wednesday 11-26-08: The PR just keeps on comin' ... ...and all I'm hearing about SportsTalk 101.1 is all style and no substance. News about anchors, co-anchors, reporters, hosts and producers, but no big guns. Not one artillery piece in the armory. There's gotta be a headliner out there, somewhere, a franchise player on which the station can hang its helmet. Have I missed something? Or has Mr. Kijowski? Five weeks and change to launch, and so far there ain't enough nuts in the pantry to keep the squirrels happy past Valentines' Day. SportsTalk 101.1 has to hit the ground 01/01/09 with shock and awe or Bonneville's chin hits the pavement and renders useless the best FM signal hereabouts. I sure hope they've got some cool news coming. Comment here. Tuesday 11-25-08: Tom Taylor says bad times are ahead at CC ... ...and I've been chewing this over since it landed in my emailbox. Here's edited commentary from his last couple newsletters: Monday: Some folks suspect there will be major layoffs in late December. Some say January, with the budgeting being done now. Some say it's a question of winnowing out the bottom performers in the sales department and going lean and mean. Some say it's a question of San Antonio settling on 15 key formats that it will do nationally, and that there will be little if any role for local PDs except in the biggest markets. The problem is, new owners Bain Capital/Thomas H Lee Partners have to make the payments on the over $10 billion in debt they took out to do this deal (and to pay out the Mays family, which is still managing the company). I hope the rumors are wrong, all of them. This is one elephant nobody wants to experience, up close. Tuesday: I want to emphasize that I’m hearing dribs and drabs of what sounds like a dramatic plan to cut costs, and fairly soon. Obviously San Antonio would rather that I not be writing about this (it’s speculation), though they haven’t picked up the phone to chat. I do continue to hear about potential cuts in sales and the back office – that “centralization” thing again. And I do hear that perhaps the “15 programming options” might have to do with morning shows available on a regional basis. The company and their financiers are so upside down in their debt structure that it's impossible to believe that they won't do something this draconian. It wasn't too much of a stretch top see something like this coming; how long before they reach out for a bailout? Comment here. Tuesday 11-25-08: SAG might go on strike ... I have absolutely no sympathy for a "union," the top hundred or so earners of which make untold millions. I do, though have a great deal of sympathy for the thousands of other SAG members who scrape by day-by-day in service gigs scheduled around their never-ending auditions, tryouts and interviews. From MediaDailyNews: The Screen Actors Guild is close to a strike authorization vote--but that doesn't necessarily mean a strike. The slow-moving, now five-month-long deadlock over a new TV and theatrical contract seems to be moving toward a strike. No date has been set, and even SAG President Alan Rosenberg has said that a strike-authorization vote does not necessarily mean the union will immediately go on strike. SAG requires 75% of its voting members to approve the measure in order to go forward. Comment here. Tuesday 11-25-08: I believe that I mentioned this was coming about a week ago ... Lawmakers ask state development agency to help newspapers Seven legislators from the area served by The Bristol Press and The Herald in New Britain today wrote to the state Department of Economic and Community Development to ask for its help in preventing the closure of the newspapers. More here, here and here. Comment here. Weekend 11-21/22-08: Do I still support the Fairness Doctrine? Abso-freakin'-lutely! Why? Because the Congress is so determined to get it back into place that they'll simply get Obama to repeal the The original version of the FD would need substantial rewriting to make it an Unfairness Doctrine, and that would take some time; restoring the original, which was actually a 50-50 deal, could happen overnight. And that's not a bad thing. Huh? Well, it would mean that all commentary, from the right- or left-side, would have to be balanced. All programming would have to have equal time from the "other side" aired for balance. Lefty talk radio, as little as there is of it, would have to have, by law, as much righty talk, and righty talkers the obverse. How is this good? Look at the ratings and the revenue. Lefty talk gets mediocre ratings anywhere it's presented, the revenue overall is in the dumper, and most shows are offered for outright sale. Righty talk gets significant ratings and great revenue, locally, regionally and nationally and most programs are offered for free, for barter. What radio station pays for syndicated programming, with the exception of the biggest hit, Limbaugh, who offers local avails saleable at big money? Who would complain? How about the NAB and all of the group owners, who have a ton of lobbyists at their command and control? Their stock may be under a buck, but I guarantee that the combined press of thousands of radio stations on their congressional puppets will prevent the FD from being resurrected in any shape or form. Even by Executive Order. They would complain, and rightly so, that a new FD would destroy the radio industry (as if they haven't done enough to do that themselves). And the Supreme Court, in the shape that it will be for the next few years, would just toss it out. Next project: personal weapon confiscation. Good luck with that! Comment here. Weekend 11-21/22-08: Sorry for the language, but this blows:  I know, life and business goes on. But to futz with the visual representation of one of the strongest brands in the world is just plain stupidity. Damned foreigners. Comment here. Weekend 11-21/22-08: Kramer gets a gig ... From AllAccess: After a "brief" two-year hiatus, KEITH KRAMER, formerly of KRAMER & TWITCH is bringing the KRAMER show to MID-WEST FAMILY News/Talk WMAY-A/SPRINGFIELD, IL from noon-3p. KRAMER, whose on-air journey includes stops at stations in TAMPA, DALLAS, SAN FRANCISCO, DETROIT, ORLANDO and LITTLE ROCK, most recently was at Talk KTRS-A/ST. LOUIS. Check out his site at GodOfRadio.com. Kramer was the last of the Al Brady Law staff to be let go; had he been given consistent talent management and critique, and accepted the guidance, he might still on the air at The Big 550. I wish him luck in his new venture. As an old friend once wisely said to me, "In radio, we're all temps. They just don't tell us that going in." And Tom Taylor is saying that Mid-West Family is deeply cutting staff in their home market, Madison WI. When I worked for these guys, they'd turn on a dime. A word to the wise, huh? Comment here. Weekend 11-21/22-08: Bonneville puts iChannel to rest ... This was actually one of the best ideas that a commercial broadcaster has come up with; sadly, it's appearance corresponded with a general decline in broadcast revenue. The indy/unsigned music "station" was airing on the web and on HD channels here and in DC, Chicago, Salt Lake City and Phoenix. I bet anything they had infinitely more web listeners than HD...and one thing that might have benefitted their effort would have been downloadable segments of their programming and a partnership with the artists they played to share revenue of sales. Here's the official memo: From: John Kijowski Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 9:50 AM To: STL_Folks Cc: Joel Oxley Subject: i Channel I want you to hear if from me......Yesterday late afternoon I met with three of our colleagues and friends to give them very unfortunate news. Due to extreme economic conditions in our country our tolerance to manage risk is not as it once was. Bonneville is a great company that is indeed debt free but we aren't in a position to continue projects that are not showing positive revenue growth. So for solely financial reasons i Channel will cease operation sometime before the end of this year. I highly respect the great work, focus and creativity of Ken Williams, Kane and Phil. They built unique content and a fabulous global radio station. I applaud their efforts. Ken, Kane and Phil and their on- air team will continue to operate i Channel until it goes away. John Comment here. Thursday 11-20-08: You could be the new PD for Bonneville's 106.5 The Arch ... Unless you're disabled. Or older and not physically capable. I know a lot of people who qualify in every regard for this position who would, in fact, be great additions to the Bonneville teams and smack-happy to get back to work in the business they know so well. But, according to Bonneville's own website, they're not eligible because they might not be physically qualified...  And it's probably illegal. Yes, I know that job aps sent through an HR person are just EOE shams, and that the decisions are made elsewhere. But why should a company like Bonneville be so stupid as to restrict the position to able bodies when more professionally qualified, albeit older and less physically qualified, applicants are available? Oh, wait: maybe the guys with experience actually expect a living wage... Nonetheless, maybe a few of us "old cripdogs" oughta contact the ADA and see what's what, huh? By the way, going back into day-to-day radio is not on my list of things to do...I'm speaking here for others of my generation who also have physical issues. But I can hump 500 rounds (15 or so pounds each) of UPS-delivered 9mm and .45 ammo from the front porch to the gun safe pretty easily, with just a little huffin' and puffin'. I've always been a good soldier. UPDATE: I should mention that the rules posted above would keep Stephen Hawking from a management position with Bonneville. Comment here. Thursday 11-20-08: More news of The Legacy Media ... Yellow Pages Directories Facing Extinction: The yellow pages industry is in deep trouble, and growing online revenues may not be enough to save it, according to The Wall Street Journal. Consumers are increasingly use sites like Google to find the information they need, and "now, the economic downturn is sending the already ailing business into a tailspin." Indeed, with small online audiences and slowing growth, online revenues will not be enough to offset rapidly declining print sales for most yellow pages publishers. The Journal points out that too many directory services are vying for the same local business ad dollars. Because of this, none of them has a comprehensive roster. Meanwhile, in the face of a weak economic outlook, small businesses are drastically cutting back on their ad spending. According to Wachovia analyst John Janedis, yellow pages spending, both print and online, will fall 6.3% next year, more than double the expected rate of decline for broadcast television. Borrell Associates projects that in the next four years print ad spending will fall 39% for yellow pages publishers. Faced with such prospects, the Journal says some of the biggest publishers, which have considerable debt, are slashing jobs, scrapping dividends and exiting unprofitable markets. Shares in R.H. Donnelly and Idearc, for example, have fallen 99% this year. "Cerebral" NYT sports mag put to sleep: The New York Times is halting publication of Play, its quarterly sports magazine, according to FishbowlNY.com, which first reported the news. Editor Mark Bryant said the decision to cancel the magazine was made only recently--in the last month--as a result of the sudden, steep decline in the general economic situation. Play was launched by the New York Times on February 5, 2006 to coincide with Super Bowl Sunday. In keeping with the New York Times' brand, the glossy sports mag was somewhat more cerebral than its consumer magazine competitors. For example, a recent article on the magazine's Web site covered the resurgence of Russia in international athletics, drawing parallels between the renewed U.S.-Russia tensions and a rivalry between the NHL and Russia's new CHL. PCMag goes online only: PC Magazine, which has documented the explosive growth of the personal computer since 1982, announced on Wednesday that it was dropping its print edition next year and going online only. PC Magazine publisher Ziff Davis Media, which recently exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy, said in a statement that the final edition of the iconic magazine would be the January 2009 issue. Time Magazine trims 600: TIME Inc. becomes not a publisher of magazines but of pink slips instead. The magazine giant is expected to cut more than 250 from the payroll as part of an overall plan by Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore and Editor-in-Chief John Huey to slash 600 jobs from its overall work force of 10,200 employees worldwide. One insider estimated that when the Day of the Ax is done, it promises to be among the bloodiest one-day periods in the company's history.  This year, among the cable news networks, CNN won election night by a wide margin, pulling in an average of more than 12 million viewers during prime time; its Web site also saw a huge spike on election day, attracting some 30 million unique users. Among the broadcast networks, only ABC managed to beat CNN in prime time, from 8 to 11 p.m.—and if you expand the viewing horizon to 12:30 a.m., CNN topped them all. Jonathan Klein, who spent much of his career working in broadcast TV news before joining CNN in 2004, said that cable news is playing a completely different game than the broadcast networks. “What they’re playing is golf,” said Mr. Klein. “That is, they’re trying to get there in as few strokes as possible. Spend as little as possible, but still look like you’re still covering the news. “Here, the challenge is the opposite,” he added. “Show the audience that you are swarming over every story with as many resources as possible. Run up the score.” With a financial crisis undermining the American economy, advertising in free fall and the election over, will CNN continue to try and run up the score at the same feverish pace? “We’re not going to trim our sails,” said Mr. Klein. “We’re going to be cautious just as everyone else in America is. But we intend to continue innovating. The best path through turbulent economic times is growth.” Comment here. Tuesday 11-18-08: Dang, this WWW thing is amazing ... I did a search for something (I forget what) about military service and wound up with the email addy and service journal of one of my classmates at Signal School at Ft. Monmouth/NJ back in Spring '68. And now we're in touch, after 40 years. Ain't that the damndest thing? Tuesday 11-18-08: Talk radio PD betrays his agenda ... This story, by Dan Shelley, hit the net late last week and has since been linked at about a gazillion websites, righty and lefty. I've had the URL sent to me by dozens of readers, many of whom added "See, what did I tell you?" comments. The upshot, true or not, is that Conservative talk show hosts play on the fears and innate prejudices of their listeners to garner listeners. Read the piece, from Milwaukee Magazine, and make your own judgement. What struck me, though, was the very first line: I first got into journalism because I thought I could make a difference. 'Scuse me for bein' a non-JSchool dummie, but I always thought that a journalist's job was not to make a difference, but to report on the differences observed, so that we, as readers, could make up our own minds. Armed then with the various chunks of info presented, maybe we could make a difference. Like when we voted or took part in a bloody revolution or sumfin. I'm glad that this Shelley guy had the gumption to show us his stuff and management style, but I don't think I'm too far off-base to suggest that he went into his business for all the wrong reasons. I've never liked having my decisions made for me. Comment here. Monday 11-17-08: You can never get enough Blue Christmas ... Former KTRS'er and KC radio legend George Woods has set up a channel on his RadioGeorge website that plays nothing but versions of the seasonal classic Blue Christmas. Radio George reports listeners in over 1,600 cities in more than 60 different countries. This, of course; begs two questions: First, why aren't radio stations using their websites (and their highly-touted HD channels) for more projects like this? Second, where are all the STL radio personality websites? They're significant only in their absence. I mean, it's not like it's an expensive thing to set up...or are they all too intoxicated with the Facebook and MySpace black holes? Comment here. Monday 11-17-08:Backstoppers benefit project ... from Shari Eischen at A-B via Broadcast Center's Ralph Stanley: My next door neighbor is a Fireman for Maplewood and used to work w/the young guy, Ryan Hummert, who was shot during the standoff situation in Maplewood during the summer. They are having a fund raiser in honor of Ryan this Saturday and Sunday at the Papa John´s Restaurants in St. Louis, St. Charles and Metro East locations. If people mention that they are supporters of the Ryan Hummert Memorial Foundation, then 20% of the bill is donated to the foundation. Is there a way you can have your broadcasting buddies mention this event on the radio this week? I´m sure the Maplewood Firefighters would appreciate it as well as the Backstopper´s. If YOUR radio or TV station mentioned this, it would be a mitzvah. Monday 11-17-08: Secret Squirrel sick call ... Charles Jaco on injured reserve at Fox 2 following eye surgery to repair a torn retina (ouch!). Will be out several weeks. Elliott Davis to helm Jaco Report. No word on filling the hole in the 10pm news. Comment here. Monday 11-17-08: Sam Zell shows us how to rescue print media ... Dumb down the stories, make the pictures bigger and the charts more colorful...and add burned out radio dude Lee Abrams as a consultant. And, no, Abrams ain't workin' out: So far, Abrams' ballyhooed efforts to rethink the American newspaper—employing more radical versions of the big headlines, small articles, and colorful charts rolled out at other newspapers over the last three decades—have had no impact on declining circulation. And analysts are skeptical about whether Tribune's focus on redesigning print makes good business sense as advertising, the main income generator for newspapers, continues to soften. On Monday, the company reported a 19 percent drop in advertising revenues and a 2 percent drop in circulation revenues for the third quarter compared with last year. Comment here. Monday 11-17-08: Please, sir, may I have some more? How long before the Legacy Media insists on their share of the financial free-for-all called The Bailout? Not long, I bet. Newspapers and TV nets, broadcast and cable, and ailing broadcasters, including Sirius/XM (currently trading at about a quarter a share) will be standing in line, waiting with their duffel bags to be filled with cash dollars straight out of your pockets and mine. It's not like we didn't try to save their sorry unthinking asses once already, with the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970. Yes, that was the deal that gave the Globe-Democrat's owners (Newhouse Publishing) half of Pulitzer's profits, with none of the silly expenses like personnel and printing. And Pulitzer pumped cash year after year into that worthless enterprise until they got the idiots at Lee to buy them out for billions. This article is only slightly tongue in cheek: Should our proposals fail, we can still shake loose much low-hanging fruit. For starters, a special—and substantial—tax credit for daily newspapers, given our "educational" rebranding. Consumers' subscriptions will win tax-deductible status as well. I'm less certain than some of you that lifting laws preventing newspapers from owning radio or TV stations in the same market will fatten bottom lines. But here, too, a persuasion campaign can reap benefits. Comment here. Monday 11-17-08: So Mel Karmazin lays off a ton or two of employees at Sirius/XM... ... and then expects them to fall in line with their one-year non-compete agreement. Who, exactly, is XM/Sirius' competition? Karmazin, according to Inside Radio's Tom Taylor, says it's all other forms of audio entertainment. I guess this means that guys who worked for SatRad, making, say $150k, couldn't take a $15/hour gig at a CD duplicator. There's something wrong with this picture. And, oh yeah, no holiday party at Sirius/XM this year. But if you work there you get the day after Christmas off. Comment here. Monday 11-17-08: Product integration a problem? Maybe not so much ... From Variety: The lingering impediment is that nobody knows precisely where the audience's "ick" factor kicks in, but most evidence suggests that they're pretty understanding. According to research from Knowledge Networks, a small percentage of viewers object to product integration, a few actually enjoy it, and the lion's share don't care. So while purists might wince, there's little reason to believe a few derisive postings on Jim Romenesko's media-news website will trigger a significant ratings backlash. Comment here. Weekend 11-15/16-08: KMOV sacks another veteran reporter ... Secret Squirrel tells the story: In its quest to become the worst station in local news, KMOV has not renewed the contract of (read fired) long-time reporter Mike O'Connell. O'Connell has been with KMOV for 15 years and is easily one of the top two or three reporters in town. His vast experience does not matter. His numerous news contacts do not matter. What matters to KMOV management is that he is old (over 30) and most importantly he makes a good salary. KMOV's owners are doing anything to save a few bucks. Pay freezes, layoffs, double work loads for staffers and selling their credibility by getting rid of good journalists in favor of young, cheap cub reporters are all part of KMOV's plan for short-term financial success but long-term ruin. This is already being discussed on the MB: Comment here. Thursday 11-13-08: Jonnie King update ... Jonnie had shoulder reconstruction surgery performed earlier this week, pinning and screwing the original pieces of his right shoulder back together and avoiding the use of metal parts, as he preferred. Jonnie still faces months of physical therapy, between the shoulder surgery and his fractured jaw. More info later. He's been home recuperating since late Tuesday, and hasn't been able to key a word online since his accident. But he'd love to hear from you. Comment here. Wednesday 11-12-08:Just noticed this ... ...in Randy Raley's blog From The Rearview Mirror: And that's how the fight got started...funny stuff. Wednesday 11-12-08: How the decline of newspapers ... ...is killing TV news. From the New York Post: But what we're not hearing from TV in reporting this story is that it's also an enormous television story. Without newspapers, from where will local TV newscasts procure the news they daily report? Most local newscasts have for years taken much or most of their hard news from newspapers. The freshest genuine news that local TV newscasts now provide are weather forecasts, unless you count updates and previews of "American Idol," "Survivor" and "Dancing With The Stars." Read it all. Comment here. Wednesday 11-12-08: Live Cable's Fleeting Profanities ... ... Do They Matter To Viewers Or Advertisers? From TVWatch: A media critique by Wayne Friedman Once again, don't be surprised if your favorite actor or TV newsperson on any cable network says some profanity. They can do it as often, as long as they like. It happened yesterday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program when Joe Scarborough talked about the "steady nature" of Barack Obama, David Axelrod, and Robert Gibbs, and how new chief of staff Rahm Emanuel will fit in. Scarborough said: "These are good, decent, steady men that don't go around flipping people off or screaming 'fuck you' at the top of their lungs." Then, realizing what he'd said, he apologized. But he didn't really have to, not according to the Federal Communications Commission. Scarborough apologized more for decorum -- for his viewers and, no doubt, for big national advertisers who run TV commercials. TV advertisers run ads mostly with the understanding that cable networks adhere to broadcast-TV-like standards. Remember, there's plenty of foul language on Comedy Central's "South Park" -- and occasionally even on big network-like TV shows such as TNT's "Saving Grace." Cable's scripted show are where viewers should expect, and accept, such language -- occasionally. But what if it was more of the rule for live cable TV, especially on cable news networks? Would viewers rebel? Would advertisers walk out? The dirty little secret about cable networks is that they have always been network or broadcast network wannabes. But some critics think they need to be more unlike broadcast networks to distinguish themselves. Extend this to others areas. What if Stuart Scott of ESPN was getting a tad funky with his highlight description of say, a Philadelphia 76er-New York Knick game? No big deal -- at least according to the FCC. Under the FCC broadcast TV rules, Scarborough's flub could be considered "fleeting" -- which, according to one federal court, means no foul. To be sure, using language to shock would yield viewer complaints and perhaps a dip in some advertiser revenues. But how about in the heat of an argument? Or, in any show in adult-time periods? How about when U.S. troops are under live fire in a live TV broadcast? The question is, not just when foul language is appropriate, but when it is necessary. Comment here. Wednesday 11-12-08: Who better to run a non-profit than an NYT exec ... ...NPR chooses a New York Times online exec as its new President/CEO: Read NPR's story They took a little more than eight months to identify a successor to Ken Stern, and that’s less time than they expected – no doubt lots of people wanted the job, but it demands just the right person. That turns out to be Vivian Schiller, who’ll take the rest of the year to wind up her current job as Senior VP and General Manager of NYTimes.com. That’s just the kind of experience National Public Radio’s digital side wanted. Comment here. Tuesday 11-11-08: Just a reminder ...  (Mike's ribbons, representing awarded medals, from his Army service '68-'71) Today, the 11th day of the 11th month, is Veterans' Day, when we pause to remember and thank all those brave men and women who have served to make this the greatest nation on Earth, sometimes in the face of daunting odds and enemies, foreign and domestic.Join me in hoping and praying that their work will never have been in vain. Tuesday 11-11-08:Don't even have to leave my driveway... I know this is incredibly lazy of me, but it works well and now I make it available to my "worldwide audience." I've been cutting ad tracks on my under-$200 Zoom H2 digital recorder, editing and cleaning them up in Audacity and emailing them to clients. I've actually been using the Town Car as my studio. Why not? It's upholstered in leather and it's soundproof. You won't believe the quality I can deliver this way. Want a new voice for your clients? Well, it turns out I have a little experience at reading commercial copy. I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed. And I could always use a new income stream... You can have one free sample, and then you get to pay. Contact me for info. Monday 11-10-08: What Roy Williams, the Wizard of Ads says... How to Avoid “AdSpeak” in Your Ads: 1. Limit self-reference. Reduce the number of times you refer to your company or your product in your ads. (New York Times bestselling authors Jeffrey and Bryan Eisenberg offer a free, online analysis of ad copy at FutureNowInc.com. Their “We-We Calculator” scores ad copy instantly. Just copy and paste your ad into the text-block and the software does the rest.) 2. Don’t say it. Lead the customer to say it. Instead of saying, “We’re honest,” say something that only an honest person would say. Let the customer respond, “Wow. That’s honest.” 3. Admit the downside. It makes the upside easier to believe. Imagine the impact of a jeweler saying, “A diamond is just a symbol. The important thing is not to forget what it symbolizes.” Read more Monday 11-10-08: Here's a quickie from David Garland's show Rise To The Top ... See below for more show and website info. Monday 11-10-08: No Wi-Fi for you, it makes you itch, or sneeze, or something ... From The Register: The city of Santa Fe is being taken to task over a plan to deploy a Wi-Fi network on the ground they're unfairly discriminating against people who are allergic to electromagnetic waves. The complaint is spearheaded by Arthur Firstenberg, and the Cellular Phone Task Force*, as reported by KOB-TV, and is based on the premise that putting up Wi-Fi equipment unfairly discriminates in breach of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Firstenberg would like to see Wi-Fi banned - in all public buildings, at least. In fact Firstenberg would like to see a lot more than that, as outlined in his article on the subject entitled Killing Fields. He'd like government funding to pay for more attorneys and cover the cost of buying land for EMF-free sanctuaries. City Councillor Ron Trujillo reckons the areas under contention are already awash with Wi-Fi signals, so any claim that the city's deployment will alter things is spurious. Comment here. Monday 11-10-08: I take Crestor every day ... It's been nothing less than magical in lowering my cholesterol and now I apparently have this added benefit: AstraZeneca Plc's Crestor slashed the risk of heart attack, stroke and death by nearly half in people with normal or low cholesterol in a study, potentially opening a way to save the lives of thousands of seemingly healthy people. After two heart attacks and cardiac bypass and femoral artery surgery in both legs, this is wonderful news. I originally took Lipitor, but changed to Crestor some years ago. I intend to live to 100+, just to annoy my haters. Monday 11-10-08: KLOU's celebrating their 20th anniversary and a format "adjustment" today... ... so I've moved this piece back up to the top. On November 5 (or the 8th, depending on whose record you believe), 1988, Top 40 KHTR segued from Cheap Trick's version of "Don't Be Cruel" to the Elvis Presley version. The first picture below shows the original staff in 1988 (the late Ron Morgan, Joe Sonderman - still on the air and still writing STL histories, Kevin McCarthy - currently owns an audio and video production company and is doing a syndicated radio travel show, Paul Arca - still on the air and back in KLOU's PM drive, Mike McCann - who made it to WCBS-FM and who is probably the most knowledgeable oldies jock ever, and Scott Arkin - current whereabouts unknown). The second picture shows the original studios at One Memorial Drive (better quality photos added). ADDITION: And as a bonus, here's streaming MP3 audio of the changeover, with a "very special message" from the late Bob Hyland. Photos and audio courtesy Joe Sonderman. UPDATE: Joe Crain adds this: Mike... Good Lord! How the time flies by... had the audio continued on for the "opening moments" of KLOU, you would have heard me coming out of Danny and the Juniors into Johnny Rivers (IIRC). Funny side note, the script Mr. Hyland read at the changeover was nearly identical to the script he read for the switch form KMOX-FM to KHTR seven years earlier! A couple of the KHTR folks were let go earlier in the day (AM Driver Chuck Buell; nightjock Tammi Rush) and Roger Brand was moved from AM show producer to producer duties down on the 3rd floor at the Mighty Mox---of course, Roger went on to higher heights of success as the heir apparent to Capt. Don Miller in the KMOX Jet Copter. The weekend jocks, myself and Mike Jefferies, were retained and I stayed on-board until the Spring of 1989 when the opportunity to work full-time and Program took me to a CHR in Duluth, MN as the PD/PM Driver. I attended the KLOU 15th aniversary party at the Casino Queen. Of course, Ron had passed away by then... but, Joe, Kevin, Paul, Scott were there (Mike McCann couldn't attend). At the time 5 years ago, Scott Arkin was working as a financial planner/stock broker out in west county. Not sure what he's up to these days. Later today, I'll try to dig up some old photos from KHTR and KLOU, scan them and e-mail them to you. Later, Joe (KHTR March '88-Nov '88/KLOU Nov '88-April '89) Joe Crain WICS-TV Meteorologist "Sunrise This Morning" and "ABC NewsChannel 20 Midday" Springfield, IL   ... why do so many radio stations declare the 25-54 demo as their primary target? How can that be? What kind of sense does that make? When Mrs. A and I were 54, all of our children were older than 25 (and there were four grandchildren, by then, too). How can two generations, with different life experiences, different social and economic structures, radically different educations, different musical tastes, be clumped together in one bunch for ratings? They can't, of course, and they shouldn't be. To think it's so is absurd. 25-49, once a subset at Arbitron, needs to be its own stand-alone demo and format target, examined as the children of Boomers. 50-64 should also be a stand-alone demo (the new version of 25-54), incorporating Boomers from start to finish. And another demo needs to be added to Arbitron studies: 65+. Why? We're living longer, lots longer, and we have lots more money to spend than Seniors in any other generation. Seniors 65+ still listen to radio and still spend their loot. But they're not represented in either written diary surveys or PPM and that's wrong. Give any of these "new" demos a compelling reason to listen, present relevant ads to them, and watch your garden grow. You pay a ton of money to Arbitron for ratings results. Make sure they represent your audience appropriately. Comment here. Weekend 11-08/09-08: Career and social advice and info for 25-34's ... Told you this was coming, and now it's here. David Siteman Garland's Rise To The Top airs this week on My46 and ABC30 (check the website here for more info) and will eventually be available weekly online. It's a well-produced show, with great ideas and content, and produced especially for 25-34's. Radio stations shooting for that demo would be wise to get involved, if David accepts your pitch. Garland's nailed it with content and I believe that this show will grow way beyond STL, even if it's "only" an audio and video podcast. As far as I'm concerned, his start in Legacy Media broadcast TV is only the beginning. This show's future is online. Weekend 11-08/09-08: Rifles, handguns and ammo ... ... are being snapped up at retail and online outlets as fast as they're placed on sale and ammo cost is at an all-time high. Does this presage a resurrection of the ridiculous 1994 Clinton assault gun ban (affecting the purchase, but not the ownership, of weapons that were clearly and demonstrably NOT assault weapons) that also included air rifles? Or is there something else going on? I'm not an NRA guy, but I am a gun owner and a target shooter; my spidey-sense is tingling and tells me that something evil is afoot regarding the sanctity of the 2nd Amendment. Comment here. Weekend 11-08/09-08: It always comes down to t-shirts ... CNN headline T-shirts The election of Barack Obama has sent Americans scrambling for keepsakes of the historic moment, creating lines outside printing plants for yesterday's newspaper editions. It has also led to a small flurry of a new kind of keepsake: CNN has registered thousands of orders for T-shirts carrying the headline from the site reporting Obama's election victory. Comment here. Weekend 11-08/09-08: What is youth? ... From MarketingCharts.com: Consumers Stay ‘Younger’ Longer The traditional demographic definition of “youth” is no longer applicable in today’s society, and marketers should target consumers based upon their engagement and participation in youth culture rather than on their chronological age, according to the “Golden Age of Youth” study from Viacom Brand Solutions International (VBSI). As people worldwide delay the onset of adult responsibilities and stay emotionally and physically younger for longer, it is becoming more acceptable for older people to participate in youthful pursuits. To support this trend, marketers should routinely consider the often-overlooked 25-34 age group a part of the youth market, VBSI said. “Contemporary youth should now be defined as ‘the absence of functional and/or emotional maturity,’ reflecting the fact that accepting traditional responsibilities such as mortgages, children and developing a strong sense of self-identity/perspective is occurring later and later in life,” the study said. Indeed, 52% of all 25-34 year-olds agree they still have “a lot of growing up to do,” and this sentiment is highest in Asian (78%) and Latin American (66%) markets. And then, of course, Johnny Cash asked this question years ago: Comment here. Friday 11-07-08: Forgot to present the results of our Presidential survey ... with 310 "votes" cast, 156 were for McCain/Palin and 154 were for Obama and the other guy. A 50/50 tie here, but it didn't work out that way in the real votes, where it mattered. But I guess by now you know that. Previous polls results here; another one's coming soon. Friday 11-07-08: STLMedia Watch Dog, Tasha ... happily cedes her regular weekend presence here in honor of a true Canine-American hero, President Bush's pup, Barney, who this week took a chunk out of a Reuters' reporter. Good dog, Barney! I hope that the reporter had his shots and that Barney will be OK. Thursday 11-06-08: So what's a share in KTRS going for these days ... Not a lot, I've heard. As we saw on Robocop..."I'd buy that for a dollar!" Might be close. Thursday 11-06-08: Big web users are big TV viewers ... ... From MediaDailyNews: Internet usage does not seem to erode TV viewing. A new study by Nielsen Media Research found that the heaviest Internet users also happen to be the heaviest users of television. At the same time, the study showed that the lowest users of TV are also the lowest users of the Internet. Could this have anything to do with my personal experience? That everywhere in my home where I access the Net (office, living room, bedroom) I also have big-screen cable-hooked TV's that are always on? And that I use the 'puters as fact-checkers for what I see on TV as much as work stations? Comment here. Thursday 11-06-08: US News & World Report ... ... always the third-ranked newsweekly, after Time and Newsweek, has dropped completely out of print and will concentrate on their web service: "We're accelerating this transformation in response to our rapid growth online where our audience is now about 7 million uniques a month and growing," US News president Bill Holiber and editor Brian Kelly said in the memo. "For all of you who have worked so hard to make this transition possible, say good-bye to Web 2.0 and welcome to Journalism 5.0," they added. Like other US magazines and newspapers, US News has been losing readership and advertising revenue to online media for years. 2008: the year that Legacy Media died. Comment here. Thursday 11-06-08: So were you at this meeting? Secret Squirrel wasn't and wants to know more: dave greene has called an all staff mtg for wednesday at 5:30 where he is expected to give the rundown for the new kfns. the new kfns will look a lot like the old kfns as green is going to announce that he will be the lead host for the new morning show in a format where no one that is currently on the air will remain with the exception of cusamono. ramsey is expected to go to 101 and everyone else will be let go. gordon and vernetti have a shot at staying but will move to late nights as green likes the idea of live late night call in radio for when games end. all the nitch shows on the weekend will be replaced with shows bringing their own money. that means no more golf or nascar shows. kfns will be a memory this time next year. Comment here. Thursday 11-06-08: If the Dems kick the Fairness Doctrine back into play ... ... I keep hearing that it will be the death knell for Talk Radio. Some of the Really Smart Guys say that the companies who program the most talk are owned and/or run by Dem supporters and so it will not happen. Maybe, maybe not. But if the FD is reinstituted, and political talk goes away, what will talkers do? The answer is so blindingly obvious and the implementation so simple that I'm astounded no one has yet suggested it, or even begun to move on it pre-emptively. I won't tell you what it is, at least for free, but I will say that it has the potential to power and make profitable at least one talk station in every one of the Top 100 markets (and several syndicators) for the next 20 years. And even if the FD is not resurrected, this is something talk stations need to look into. Radio must be truly and completely devoid of capable, imaginative management to have missed this. Thursday 11-06-08: Secret Squirrel loves him some oldies ... ... but that resource may be coming to an end. Word is that the "My 103" moniker for KLOU is a thing of the past, and that the music played there may become a thing of the more recent past, as the station seems to be gearing up to play oldies for a demo younger than 45+. Will KLOU make the '80's the new '60's? Tomorrow (Friday the 7th) might be the target date for startup. Comment here. Tuesday 11-04-08: Jonnie King update ... I had the chance on Tuesday to spend a few hours with our friend Jonnie, driving him to his first meeting with the orthopedic surgeon who'll be doing the repair work on his shoulder. I'm told she's the best in her field. She did a thorough exam and I'll be taking him in for the work next Monday; with any luck he'll be home the day after, with a long period of recovery and rehab ahead of him. Jonnie's jaw is still wired to help heal the three fractures he suffered during his accident; he's got at least another month and a half ahead of him for his jaw to heal sufficiently to enable him to eat real food. Thanks to Dr. Larry Hoffman who has been keeping a careful eye on Jonnie's upkeep and surgical needs. Mrs A has established a medical fund (managed and accessible ONLY by Jonnie) for Jonnie, and we'll be presenting a mailing address in the next day or so where you can send your financial assistance to help defray his costs. I'm just happy to be able to drive Mr. King where he needs to go, when he needs to get there. Think of it as "Drivin Mr. Jonnie!" It's my privilege to do it. Comment here. Tuesday 11-04-08: How I spent Election Day 2008 ...  Dressed and let Tasha out again, rinsed dirty dishes off and started the dishwasher (I won't do that again at 5:30AM...Mrs A wound up with a lukewarm shower). Brought the dog in and headed out to vote. The line was three across and wrapped around the church and out to the street; went home. Let Tasha out once more, drank coffee from Mrs A's fresh-brew. Surfed the net and read relevant blogs until Mrs A left to vote; she called relaying that the line was still long and she went on to work. Bacon, eggs and rye toast for breakfast. More web surfing and email. Tasha out once more, then into her crate and I was off to take Jonnie King to a surgeon's appointment, to his polling place so he could vote and then dropped him off at his home. That accomplished, got to my second-favorite gunshop at just before 2PM, where I ordered a Hi-Point 9mm carbine for delivery Friday. Hotfooted it to my polling place to vote; no line at 2:45PM, just a few ahead of me. Hotfooted it home to meet the housecleaners exactly at 3PM. Worked behind them, cleaning out the fridge and restocking water and soft drinks, getting trash out and doing another load of dishes and then on to the grocery store for dinner. Mrs A headed home just after 6PM, showed up at our polling place, voted correctly and managed to be the final voter in our precinct at exactly 7PM. Don't know the finals yet, but I survived a year in Vietnam, four years of Jimmy Carter, eight years of Bill Clinton and almost four decades in radio. At this point in my life I figure I can handle four years of anything. Comment here. Weekend 11-01/02-08: Your weekend Tasha ...   ("That's the last time I do that for three bucks." -- Frank O. Pinion) Driving around here at night is always an adventure. Weekend 11-01/02-08: Over the top on the cute meter ... Comment here. Friday 10-31-08: Told ya about this on October 12 ... ... and now Dan Caesar finally has his grab at it: KFNS shakes it up at the top; on-air likely is next The changing of the guard is taking place at KFNS, the troubled former leader in the local sports-talk radio business, as Evan Crocker has resigned as general manager and is being replaced by two executives with St. Louis Sports Magazine. Dave Greene will oversee the on-air operations and James Oelklaus will run the sales side. Comment here. Friday 10-31-08: This week's roundup of SportsTalk101 info ... ... the addition of award-winning veteran sports journalist Bryan Burwell to their broadcast team in a daypart to be named, the addition of Chris Gardner as PM Drive Producer and a three-year agreement with SLU to serve as the flagship radio station for men's Billiken Basketball. It's looking worse and worse, recycling old players and teams. Who listens to college BB on the radio? Not even grads care; they're at the game. This game is for Bonneville to lose (to peanut whistle AM's, even). And so far they're doing a mighty good job of shaving points and making their multi-million dollar remodeled station a loser from the get go. Over the weekend I'll show you a plan they can use, a way they can step up to the plate, hit the first ball on 01/01/09 and knock that sucker out of the park, even using new talent, brought fresh into the market. But they'll have to implement it immediately and quit using worn out STL sports guys (no disrespect intended). Comment here. Friday 10-31-08: We presented the trial part of this a while back ... ... here's the sentencing phase: Sylvia York, convicted of using more than $70,000 of Emmis Communications' money to pay her own American Express account, has been sentenced to a year in prison, the St. Louis Business Journal reports. Prosecutors said that York, who served as controller of Emmis/St. Louis, diverted the money to pay for travel, clothing, and entertainment, and used her knowledge of company procedures to cover up the crimes. York must pay $70,633.56 in restitution to Emmis. When she leaves prison, she'll spend six months in home detention, followed by two years of supervised release. Comment here. Friday 10-31-08: Jules Riley off and running ... ... The respected Arch PD moves on to Greater Media's 95.7 WBEN –FM (BEN-FM). Jules will begin her new position in mid-November. Good luck to her, on a nice jump from Market 20 to Market 8. Note to Jules: Phid-uh-delfya is just a provincial as STL. Please say hi to my peeps in South Jersey. Comment here. Thursday 10-30-08: Thanks to MySpace ... ... for scrubbing the scurrilous Mick Flanderson parody pages from their web server at my request. I don't mind criticism of what I do here. I do mind offensive, personal attacks by people who are afraid to sign their real name. Even the wild, wild web is coming into self-control in that regard. Personal responsibilty for accurate content matters. This includes websites who refer to us this way: I hope [Anderson] dies soon, so I can s**t on his grave. (Yes, I said that.) I'm raffing. I have too much to do before I die. Comment here. Wednesday 10-29-08: How's that BluRay DVD workin' for ya ... Toshiba has abandoned it's HD-DVD format but Sony's BluRay has been slow to catch on. By the end of Summer, only 4million units have been sold and, to make the format work Sony will need an additional 10million players in the marketplace by the end of 2008. Nope, none here at STLMedia HQ, just old-fashioned DVD players in the 'puters and at every TV. BluRay is on |