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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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Secret Squirrel 'bout lost his nuts when he heard this: Did you happen to witness Ms. April Simpson (who I might add, NEVER smiles on camera) SHOUT out loud Tuesday morning during the local news at about 7:55 am "Jesus Christ" at the top of her lungs, with the mike hot? She was at the "host anchor desk" in-studio and they were bill-boarding the up coming story of U. City rapper Nelly now doing underwear ads. When they showed the picture of him to the home viewing audience in his underwear shorts, and no shirt I might add, that's when she yelled out '"Jesus Christ" so loud, I think I would have heard her if I was outside of their building and a block away. Comment here. Wednesday 07-30-08: George Noory becomes his own topic ... Coast To Coast AM's Noory drops us an email: How many people can claim to be in two earthquakes..in two cities..that's what happened to me....a few months ago...a 5.2 in St. Louis (I was on CNN) then I came to LA..and bang...a 5.4! Obviously he's become an Earthquake Magnet, probably caused during one of his (hitherto untold) abductions by aliens. And don't even mention that anal probe thingie! Wednesday 07-30-08: For newspapers, this year is seen as the industry’s worst since the Depression ... From MediaWeek: A recent Pew Research Center survey illuminated the sorry situation. More than half of 259 papers polled reported cutting full-time newsroom staff and the news hole over the past three years. Large dailies have been hit hardest... Comment here. Wednesday 07-30-08: On the upside, newspapers' web sites continue to grow ... From MediaDailyNews: The number of unique visitors increasing 12.2% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, according to the Newspaper Association of America, which pegged it at 66.4 million people. That's over 40% of all Internet users in the United States. The problem? Newspapers can't monetize their online traffic near the level necessary to offset ongoing print losses. Comment here. Wednesday 07-30-08: One more search engine to add to your collection ... From BusinessWeek: Just weeks after the last highly touted Google challenger, Powerset, was snapped up by Microsoft, a new one launched Sunday night. Cuil (pronounced “cool”), boasts a Web index three times the assumed size of Google’s, a management team with an impressive pedigree (several people from Google), a different set of algorithms that in part analyze the content of pages, and a radically different presentation of search results. Comment here. Tuesday 07-29-08: A conundrum ... In the past thirty years I've recommended a few exceptional students and former employees for gigs. Now I've been asked to speak to the capability of former KTRS PD Al Brady Law for a job, to recommend him, to help him make a living. We have a PD opening and Al Brady Law is coming in today and tomorrow for talks. I don’t mean to judge the guy, and I’ve been in the business for almost 30 years myself, but wow...I’m not sure what to make of everything I’m finding on him, which is probably more than our GM is. This isn’t an official inquiry, I’m just another radio guy trying to keep his job. I’m just wondering if you have anything else to add on the guy? Not gossip or hearsay, but whether all the stuff I’m reading is pretty accurate. If even part of it is, I really don’t understand how he’d fit in with our operation here. He said he spent the last 6 months in Ireland getting a station up and running...a far cry from Toledo or STL. I believe in redemption. Hopefully, ABL has achieved his. I hope his interview goes well and he works out at this gig. Tuesday 07-29-08: I don't know Craig Cornett, never met the man ... I've listened to him, of course, over the years, and have always been impressed with his brand of radio. Yesterday, The Bull's morning man sent me an email touting his show's and the station's Spring ratings, but with a twist: I think they shed some light on the decision to bring Jill Devine on the show. I'll tell you honestly that I wasn't consulted about the hire, or even Beau's departure. I was a little skeptical just like most people on the MB, but it didn't take long for her to win me over. Today's numbers prove that she does bring a lot to the table and I was hoping to generate a little recognition for her. A great 1st book for Jill! Well, knock me out with an ASP! Here's a major-league morning talent, actually deferring credit to his sidekick for ratings success. I've been in radio, with a few breaks, since 1966, and I can honestly say that the number of times I've heard this happen in all those years I can count on the fingers of one hand. Craig Cornett is an honorable guy and I'm thoroughly impressed. Comment here. Tuesday 07-29-08: Thin skin alert, Part 2 ... Somebody who lives in his Mom's basement didn't like the sendup I wrote (below) around the unflattering photo of Madonna... you of all people are taking shots at peoples appearance? are you kidding? youre as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside and you have the gall to take shots at someone elses looks? thats pretty nervey. kb I'm ugly and he's a moron. Life's just a series of tradeoffs... Tuesday 07-29-08: Prediction ... If the US economy officially enters into a recession (which requires two successive quarters of negative growth and we haven't yet had even one) look for Old Media ad spending to get thrown right off the bus and monies directed at web development and advertising to continue unabated, and even increase because that's where the ears and eyes are. Some major metro newspapers and magazines will cease publication, and radio and tv will begin offering previously-unimaginable discounts and bonusing on the schedules they're able to sell. That, in turn, will affect the content and quality of all programming. It'd be difficult for the big radio owners to cut any further but they will nonetheless find a way to take it deeper to the bone; tv will (and, in many markets, already has) dump non-PxP sports coverage and highly-paid anchors and reporters. Outdoor will suffer, but only on long-haul routes; commuter road placements will remain unless the cost of gas approaches $5 a gallon and commuters go to three- or four-day weeks or telecommuting. I think we're approaching a tipping point in ad spending anyway, an evolutionary step in the way things are done; a negative economy will only move it along a little faster. Comment here. Tuesday 07-29-08: Spring Arbitron 12+ observations/ruminations ... Numbers here KMOX' braggin' rights to holding the 12+ top slot since dirt was rocks may be in jeopardy; some pundits say it'll lose the perch by the end of the year. Maybe not. The station most likely to knock the Mighty 'MOX out of the top spot is co-owned KEZK, and they have a traditionally soft Summer book. EZ's Santa Surge will be reflected in the Fall '08 book, that ends 10 December. If it happens, it'll be then and reported in early '09. As far as everybody else is concerned... WIL grew 4.6-5.5 recovering from its worst book in more than two years. KSD rose from 13t-9t, ending a three-survey skid. The Arch and Z107 are up, and KTRS jumps significantly and as expected in a "baseball book." KLOU's up a point, KSHE's back to the mid-4's. Majic's up a half-point and The Bull is up, slightly. Movin' continues to hover in the low 2's and KFNS AM/FM slip 1.4-.8. Comment here. Monday 07-28-08: Only KMAC got the interview ... with the legendary Jim White. After our STLMedia get-together, Jim was offered a bunch of radio appearance opportunities. To all of them he said a resounding NO except for an exclusive chat with Kevin McCarthy. We'll have audio soon.
Here's an aircheck from a Lindenwood College kid who wants more than anything to make a career in radio. Chad's kinda laid back but my experience with him is that he's directable and amenable to whatever it takes. At least listen to him; at best, you could email him and let him know how he can make himelf a product you'd want to bring on board. That presumes, of course, that there's a talent director somewhere out there who can critique this guy fairly. Otherwise, blame yourself for losing the next layer of talent. Friday 07-25-08: Was Ron Elz' recent tryout on KMOX ... an audition for him taking over the Route 66 show begun by Randy Raley, who's shifted into station management for Jerry Zimmer's stations in Illinois? Guess we'll know tomorrow night. Friday 07-25-08: If you're one of the select few ... who vote for each year's new inductees into the STLRadio Hall of FameSM, you need to know that ballots MUST be returned to Frank Absher no later than next Thursday, 31 July. Thanks in advance!  Radio trades and newspapers are seething with the news that Republican FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate decided to sign off on the XM/Sirius merger in exchange for a consent decree that resolves several enforcement issues involving the satellite radio companies, and a combined fine of about $20 million. Approval is supposedly expected any time now, but we've been hearing that for a long, long time. If it comes down this way, it'll be due to the persistence of Mel Karmazin, who's done everything but lay on the floor and hold his breath until he turns blue. Count on more and more commercials, fewer and fewer channels and, of course, fewer and fewer employees. Enjoy your SatRad while you've got it, kids...because SatRad2 is going to be a pale shadow of what you're getting today. And while you're thinking about it, grab an old coffee can and start saving change so you can plug a WiMax receiver into your car once the satellites cease producing a joyful noise. Because sooner or later, Karmazin will start acquiring WiMax bandwidth for his next adventure... Comment here. Thursday 07-24-08: Bonneville signs three-year deal for baseball ... In Seattle. While their ratings skewed upward during the Mariners' years, the reported $10 million a year that KOMO 1000 paid the Mariners in a package that stunned both the radio and baseball industries almost certainly resulted in financial losses. In the end, KOMO dropped out of the bidding early, and KJR got into it only perfunctorily. The Mariners pondered installing an in-house radio operation, as nearly half of the teams in MLB now employ — and as the Seahawks do and the Sonics did — before ultimately deciding that the benefits of working with a partner exceeded that of a self-produced operation. Nope, nothing like that could ever happen in STL... Comment here. Tuesday 07-22-08: Tasha in the office and on the hunt ...   That for the last week or so, I'm not getting P-D's, Suburban Journals or some other freebie newspaper crap tossed from a drive-by onto my front yard? Takin' the trash to the curb last night, I realized that I had just one plastic-wrapped paper to toss into the can over the past week. If so, this is a blessing from above. I may begin attending Mass again. Monday 07-21-08: Thin skin alert ... WIL/FM92's morning star Cornbread really, really didn't like that I suggested that the Marconi Awards, for one of which he is nominated, might be drawing from a much smaller talent pool as more and more stations drop out of the NAB. Here's his email to me (one of three), exactly as received: I WAS TOLD OF THE KIND WORDS YOU HAD FOR ME RECENTLY ON YOUR WEBSITE AND WANT TO THANK YOU. IT'S RARE IN THIS DAY IN AGE THAT SOMEONE THAT DOES'NT KNOW YOU OR HAS EVER MET YOU TAKES THE TIME TO EXPLORE AND GET TO KNOW THE REAL PERSON AND STORY AND FOR THAT I OWE YOU A DEBT OF GRATITUDE CONTINUE TO BE THE VOICE OF POSITIVITY AND INSPIRATION FOR OUR GREAT MIDWEST RADIO STATIONS AND PERSONALITIES AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND GUIDING FORCE FOR THOSE WHO SO DESPERATELY NEED IT ...THE ONES WHO LOVE RADIO I HEARD YOU USED TO BE THE MORNING MAN HERE AT WIL...IT'S AN HONOR TO FOLLOW IN THAT PROUD TRADITION...I HOPE MY STAY HERE AT THE HELM WILL BE 1/2 AS ENTERTAINING AND MEMORABLE AS YOURS WAS I WILL DO MY BEST TO PROTECT THE WELL EARNED HERITAGE CORNBREAD Bad grammar, all caps and spotty punctuation. And what, exactly, does the word positivity mean? Is it actually a word? He also sent two versions from a phony email address that kicked back as such when I replied. Snide, snarky, snotty and ignorant is no way to go thru life, Cornbread. Calm down, big boy, we all of us love ya, ya big galoot! Except for the 95.3% of the 12+ STL Radio audience that doesn't listen to ya! Comment here.  Funnies are supposed to be funny. No more rotagravure for me, no sir. But I'll bet newspapers haven't used that printing process in years. BTW: My speech teacher in college played bass guitar and sang backup on the semi-hit, Alley Oop. Another brush with fame... Comment here. Weekend 07-19/20-08: Newspapers beat broadcast media ... in firings and revenue loss. It's being called the MidSummer Massacre, with 3500 print gigs done away with and huge amounts of income lost in just two months. Mrs. A's brother is an IT guy for McClatchy and our prayers are with him. Trust me...I know how tough it is for a 50+ typical white guy to get a gig these days. Comment here. Weekend 07-19/20-08: Secret Squirrel had this note passed to him ... at his favorite sports bar: The beginning of the end for KFNS. Brian McKenna and Joe Dinero were informed by Evan Crocker that their contracts would not be renewed when they expire in August. They were told if they find something better before August, they would be free to leave. Everyones contracts at KFNS are up in December. Huh. Looks like BLB is making plans to get right on outa town when BIC's SportsRadio101TM hits the air. Comment here.
The Squirrel got this email, clearly from an IBEW guy: Big doings at KSDK, where the news comes first, and the employees are coming in dead last. The managers are making an assault on the IBEW, but using so-called backpack reporters to do it. Recent discussions at 1000 Market revolve around increasing the number of backpackers by having on staff reporters pick up cameras and record their own video. The efforts have created an "us v. them" mood in the shop, "us" being the staff and "them" being the managers who seem to be intent on reducing overhead, read that salaries! Anger is further stoked by sweeping schedule changes, as the Big5 tries to bolster it's morning show. But, in true 5 fashion, no extra staff. Instead, move people around to fill in the holes, and hope the audience doesn't notice. But the recent ratings numbers show the audience may notice. I might be so bold as to suggest that ratings drops for any given broadast TV station are driven more by the proliferation of visual media than cost-cutting, which would naturally follow a drop in numbers and so a drop in revenue. These TV guys oughta talk to their buds in radio if they have any further questions. Comment here. Friday 07-18-08: Today Dion turns 69 ... That's Dion Dimucci, of Da Bronx, who recorded greats like Runaround Sue, The Wanderer, Teenager In Love, Where Or When, Ruby Baby and Abraham, Martin & John (none of which KLOU plays). Here's a great piece from the Blogosphere celebrating his life and work...and tipping you to something about him you would never have thought. Comment here. Friday 07-18-08: New utility news guy at Emmis ... From: JAAllen@stl.emmis.com To: (List redacted) Sent: 7/17/2008 3:25:30 P.M. Central Daylight Time Subj: Jason Church Please welcome Jason to the building. Jason will be filling some holes in our news operation. His latest radio "gig" was working for Bonneville at 106.5 when they were Smooth Jazz. He is now going to help us "strengthen the bench" in the News Department when we have vacations, sickness, schedule conflicts and the like. Say Hey to Jason when you see him around. Jeff Allen Program Director KFTK (97.1 FM TALK- St. Louis) 97.1 RED-HD2 96.3 HANK-HD2 MyREDlounge.com 314-613-7808 Thursday 07-17-08: I got your Hopeyness and Changitude right here ... because you know that I am The One. 
  Got some of each and gotta get rid of 'em, for free. They've not been viewed or heard in years, so I have no idea what kind of shape they're in. All I ask is that if you can copy them, send me a DVD copy of the Beta movies. You're on your own with the 8-track music. UPDATE: Wrong email address given originally, now corrected. If you want 'em let me know. Closed circuit to KMAC: 10" audio reels are still yours; I'll deliver soon (it's only taken a couple years, sorry). Wednesday 07-16-08: Here's the deal ... to the emailer who wrote: Sheesh, how could you miss Cornbread being nominated for a Marconi? Too busy reading the SJR? Mel Karmazin dropped CBS out of the NAB a few years back and so no CBS radio stations can be nominated for Marconi's, in any category, right? Why should some lunchbucket like Cornbread, from a mid-ranked radio station in the 20th market, be honored for an award nomination in any ceremony that excludes one of the major groups? The Marconi's no longer mean anything. Don't you understand that? Ya think there might be a greater talent on a non-NAB station that would push Cornbread off the list? The answer is an emphatic Yes. Almost any air talent can be a market hero presuming enough of the station's promotional effort is behind him. And by the way, nice try making this a personal issue with me rather than addressing CBS' issues with the NAB. You have earned the sobriquet of Asshat! Wear it proudly! Wednesday 07-16-08: I never watched The Waltons on broadcast TV ... but yesterday morning I did, on the Hallmark cable channel (I've had enough of the "grins and giggles" and "your politics suck" morning news shows). Two things struck me: First, the episode concerned a travelling salesman who peddled a book collection called the Harvard Classics, known as the "Five-foot Shelf of Books." The salesman was a printer who was knocked out of work by the Depression; might as well have been my Father, a printer in the late 1930's. As soon as the peddler held up one of the books and began his sales pitch, I knew what he was selling. My family had most of a set of these when I was a child, stored in the only heritage piece of furniture we owned, passed down from Grandmother Steelman, a large desk and cabinet thing called a secretary. It was my brother's bedroom desk during his high school years and mine ten years later; the slanted piece folded down and exposed secret storage. My Brother Rick used some of the books as he taught me to read and, over the years, I read many more on my own. I can still recite much of Lewis Carroll's The Jabberwocky from that time 55 years ago. I was the only kid at Our Lady of Perpetual Help with a First Grade Liberal Arts degree. Second, the show presented a scene in which the Walton Family sat around an old-timey radio to listen to Fibber McGee & Molly, but could not because there was "too much static" that evening. That comment rocketed me from the show's 1940's to the present, when we can also no longer hear the old-time big-gun AM's because of RF and HD trash and the random scattering of tiny-power AM's on former big-power-only frequencies. What the hell was the FCC thinking when they allowed all that crap to distort AM? Of course, we can always listen online, but there's just something about hearing it on the radio that's special. Comment here. Tuesday 07-15-08: Secret Squirrel slums at Westport ... and wonders if it's a coincidence that both KTRS and Train Wreck Saloon are there: Katy Jamboretz out as of last Friday at KTRS. Trish Gazall in, along with Vic Porcelli, on the KTRS morning show beginning in four weeks. Also, format change on the KTRS morning show. The "First News" moniker bye, bye. Comment here. Tuesday 07-15-08: When I make a mistake I try to make sure ... it's a doozy, and this one sure was: Yesterday I published an email review of the new iPhone and mistakenly credited it to the wrong "E". The review was actually written by Everett Marshall, not Emmett McAuliffe. I consider both of them Really Smart Guys and obviously I'm nowhere near being equipped intellectually enough for inclusion on that list. My apologies to both of these gentlemen. The rest of you should consider this my "Oprah -- Uma" moment.
Guess who wins? Too often, advertisers want to take a one-day newspaper budget and spread it out over several days on the radio, or worse, spread it out over several radio stations. To be a fair test, we had to spend all the money in one day on one station. But radio needs repetition, so I refused to buy stations that would have delivered huge reach but with lower frequency. My 36-ad schedule was non-negotiable. Call me nuts if you want. I’ll tell you how it ended in a minute. Thanks to Kevin Robinson for the link. Comment here. Monday 07-14-08: Voiceover artist Follows here I had the original. And I stood in line for the new one. In case you missed the launch of iPhone 3G, the biggest addition to the Apple line up is actually iPhone 2.0 software with the AppStore. Most, if not all the apps for sale (or free) will run on the original iPhone. Those that require GPS location services are the only ones that need the new iPhone. Included in those apps is the next step in the slow, agonizing death of radio (the industry), AOL Radio. Using the free AOL Radio app, you can listen to AOL audio channels and all (if not ALMOST all) CBS radio stations, for FREE. You don't even need 3G or WiFi to do it, as it will work just fine on the old iPhone using Edge although I would expect some drop outs at the slower data rate. There are also inexpensive apps that will allow you to play THOUSANDS of other sources. (The best one is probably Nullriver's "Tuner" for $4.99. There is no cost to listen to pretty much the same streams you find in Apple iTunes.) The difference between ordinary streaming on a computer and the iPhone stream is that you can now take it with you and it sounds great. With a Griffin transmitter, you can listen to your iPhone audio in the car on an available open channel. It won't be long before other radio groups offer their streams up to iPhone...unless they go bankrupt first. The problem is that they don't seem to be willing to pay for talent to develop great programming and the days of just throwing music out to listeners are coming to an end. So, how does this affect local radio and paid online syndication? Here's an example: I happen to like Glenn Beck. I think he does a truly unique show and I like his personality. (And no, I don't agree with everything he says.) I even pay for an Insider Subscription at $6.95 per month since locally KFTK/St.Louis only carries ONE delayed hour of the 3 hour show, which I would listen to occasionally if I'm in the car at that time. As an Insider, I can listen live online or grab the podcasts later. Before, I could listen to Glenn on WPHT/Philly live at home, but if I have to leave the house I couldn't listen. Now I can. So, I dump the Insider subscription (I already cancelled it saving $83.40 per year) AND I don't need KFTK to hear just a portion of the show. Glenn loses a subscriber. Local radio loses. Local advertisers lose. But I win. Portable, on-demand, LIVE choice, for free. Guess how long it took me to make that decision. This will also affect SatRad in a big way too, I think. Although the choices are a little limited right now, I already have more choices that I can take with me and I bet we see more options for live radio on iPhone in the next 30-60 days...maybe less. Will XM/Sirius will release a player for iPhone? Radio (the industry) better learn how to play the new game by using radio (the delivery system) to provide new and better content, because if I can get better somewhere else for free, I will. And so will just about everyone else. But getting out there is just a small part of it. If you are a tech-driven programmer, the fact that it is really whiz-bang-super-cool to listen to a streamed radio station hundreds or thousands of miles away (or listen to your own station) on your iPhone better wear off really fast. Listeners don't choose based on that. Wipe the glaze off your eyes and get to work. Listeners choose content and if programmers don't provide content they will still lose. I'll listen to local (AM/FM/HD/ONLINE) when local gives me something better than Glenn Beck or provides his full show live. Until then I will listen to what I like somewhere else. BTW: I'm not stumping for Beck, this is just a real example of how current and future tech changed my consumer and radio habits. Comment here. Monday 07-14-08: Over the weekend, Secret Squirrel heard this ... Facts about Fox 2, as gleaned from five different insiders: * station's Chief Engineer and Senior Web Producer both retiring to get Fox retirement pkg.; * station's Webmaster leaving for new job w/WUSA in D.C.; * Local TV LLC (apparently) thinks Fox 2 could provide custom programming (political reports, biz reports, etc.) to other members of the station group. * Spencer Koch's job is safe,especially following meeting of ex-Fox o&o GM's in Denver w/Local TV execs. Koch's station reportedly impresses Local TV more than the others (incld. Cleveland & Denver); * main problem w/uncertainty over benefits, etc. is that Fox refused to let Local TV communicate aboiut anything in any way w/stations & employees until midnight Friday July 11, the effective date of the sale; * main job losses could be in traffic, sales, clerical UNLESS Local TV decides to use Fox 2 to provide "back office" services to other stations in group Comment here. Saturday 07-12-08: In case you missed the big announcement ... one more local daypart in STLRadio is going syndicated, as CC's KLOU/103.3FM adds the Tom Kent Show 7PM-12M, starting 20 July. Kent's an energetic, experienced and talented jock who knows his music and his audience...but he does the show in his basement, which is in Cleveland. **Sigh.** I wish him well. Comment here. Saturday 07-12-08: Wasn't that long ago ... that the big STLMedia news was all about Patty Wente, her alleged managerial and financial transgressions at KWMU and her dismissal from her position at the station. Now all we hear is a thundering silence, with a low-level background of chirping crickets. I'm hearing that Wente is threatening to sue everybody and anybody in reach, and that UMSL is cowering in fear of her's and other lawsuits. What a country, huh? Comment here. Saturday 07-12-08: KWRE/KFAV's Jay Murray ... is looking for an affordable PA system for his kids' swim team. Got one to sell or know where he can find one priced reasonably? Contact Jay here. Saturday 07-12-08: Rough times selling broadcast spots? Be glad you're not selling magazine ad pages. From MediaPost: Magazines have suffered a sharp reversal in fortune since 2007, when they enjoyed modest growth despite the economic slowdown. According to the Publisher's Information Bureau, total magazine ad pages fell 8.2% in the second quarter of 2008, one of the steepest industry-wide drops in years. Worse, it comes on top of an earlier decline of 6.4% in the first quarter. Altogether, in the first half of 2008, ad pages are down 7.4% compared to the same period last year. Comment here. Friday 07-11-08: Travel service thru STLMedia... Daughter Sabra in Kansas City has joined with Travelocity to offer airline, hotel and cruise deals 'specially tailored for media folk. Email; phone: (913) 209-8418 Friday 07-11-08: Radio stocks predicted to drop ... Entercom, Cox and Emmis stocks will fall as industry revenue falls about 5 percent in 2008 as advertisers spend less and companies face larger amounts of debt as interest rates rise and credit conditions remain difficult. Read more. Thanks to Jack Klobnak. Friday 07-11-08: I'm the UNhandyman ... can't handle tools with any skill, can't grow plants, so, as a homeowner, getting in touch with a skilled repairman is important. Unfortunately, finding such a guy is next to impossible. They either "expand" their skills by telling you they can handle a project for which they're not capable, screw you on the job by overcharging or they just don't show up. Rarely, you find a guy who does what he says he can, charges reasonably and meets his appointments. I've locked into one of them and yesterday he finished several projects for me in record time and at a good price. I'll be happy to recommend him; I've already made a deal with him for some other work here. Email me for contact info. Thursday 07-10-08: Ruh roh ... WIL/FM92 learns the hazards of using a billboard wrap the hard way.  Secret Squirrel was chattering at the back door early this morning, with a tiny little note clutched between his teeth: Fast times at Fox2. Sale goes through early next week and employees are very, very nervous. The word on changes in the benefits package coming soon and causing great consternation. Is there bad blood between the immensely popular station GM, Spencer Koch, and the new owners and is he on his way out, and is all of this the result of a bizarre misunderstanding? Might employees have to wait several weeks before they begin getting paychecks from the new guys? And what's up with chief meteorologist, Dave Murray, who contracted a mystery illness while at work last week? Is this for real or is there something bigger going on here? He's disappeared from both his duties on TV and radio. And who didn't see this coming from a mile away given the history of the new owners? New owners/execs: Sam Zell, Bobby Lawrence, Randy Michaels. And your questions are...? Comment here.  Woods writes: Quite different from the usual radio remote broadcast setup. While the bright day wiped out the colorful visualizations on the computer screen, great-sounding Smooth Jazz greeted visitors to the Festival. The laptop, specially built for heavy-duty audio applications and Internet broadcasting, played mp3s over mini-speakers with quality sound that surprised just about everyone. The larger display board on the right had screen shots of the Radio George home page and station pages, to show interested visitors how easy it is to listen to Radio George on their computers. And, yes, George Woods sells ads on his player pages. Wednesday 07-09-08: For a lot of years I've championed ... the return of the Fairness Doctrine. And that's from a gun-totin', God-believin', Red-state-livin' (but not bitter) typical white person. You can check the STLMedia archives or search our Message Board to read what I've written. And now, the Really Smart Guys are starting to agree, here and here, for example. And you can bet that more will fall in line. As DelColliano writes: Equal time can be good for business. It can also be good to see just what programming works well enough to develop and maintain an audience. Let the Lefties plug the Fairness Doctrine back in, if that's what they want...trust me, it'll work just as it should. 'Cause it's less about legalities than economic realities. Advertisers will make the decision, not lawyers. "This is gonna be great!" (Kent Dorfmann - Animal House) Comment here. Wednesday 07-09-08: Bastille Day at KTVI/Fox2 ... Secret Squirrel shares this email: Local TV LLC and Oak Hill Capitol partners take control of KTVI on July 14. Comment here. Monday 07-07-08: Broadcast consultant websites ... I've always wondered why they don't offer live streaming audio of their client's work, or even edited airchecks. I mean, if their guidance is so inspired, why don't they present the result in real time from a link of their site? To the best of my knowledge, none do. Comment here. Monday 07-07-08: Summer project ... Got a lot of VHS movies (Beta, too, but they're a lost cause -- my last Beta player died a sad death some years ago) and the plan is to transfer them to DVD with this one-touch device. Kind of a poor man's DVR, which is how it'll be installed after the Summer project is completed. Monday 07-07-08: Loading a 48Gig media player ... My new Creative Zen player is, as we speak, filling up with video and audio treats (including my entire South Park video library...what you call a guilty pleasure) and a favorite movie or ten, plus selections from my collection of Top 40 hits 1955-1969. Got some recommendations for video and/or audio podcasts I should subscribe to? Send 'em along...love dem RSS feeds. Monday 07-07-08: High-speed internet access stalls ... poor and minorities most affected. Well, of course they are. In a stifled economy those with the least income will always have less to spend on frivolity like the web. There's always connection available at the Public Library if they're really in need of an online fix. It's how they do it in Europe and Asia...but who wants to live there? Comment here. Monday 07-07-08: Is TV the new newspaper? Not as dumb a question as it might seem. Daily print media's readership has been growing older and older for a long time, with few new (and younger) readers coming into the mix; this report shows that television has joined print in the Golden Age Express: The broadcast networks have grown older than ever -- if they were a person, they wouldn't even be a part of TV's target demo anymore. According to a study released by Magna Global's Steve Sternberg, the five broadcast nets' average live median age (in other words, not including delayed DVR viewing) was 50 last season. That's the oldest ever since Sternberg started analyzing median age more than a decade ago -- and the first time the nets' median age was outside of the vaunted 18-49 demo. Thanks to Jack Klobnak for the link. Comment here. Sunday 07-06-08: Things get complicated when you get past 18... Tell you what, I'll illuminate you on that in about nine weeks. Sunday 07-06-08: 2008/Part Deux ... what's ahead? Locally -- Will BIC move Movin'101 to sports? The clues are there but their resolution for a non-music format here may or may not be. I think it all depends on whether or not they can sign Major League PxP (specifically football and baseball). If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and that huge new FM signal will play polkas or gay wedding music or sumfin. We'll know soon. SatRad -- the media world vibrates as the FCC considers the merger between XM & Sirius. My bet is on the merger not happening and the entire format tanks. We didn't need it anyway. Sorry if you spent a bunch to buy in, for receivers and a subscription, but if the provider can't make money, Mel Karmazin notwithstanding, it's over. And merger or not, it's over because WiMax rules. Blu-Ray DVD -- Player sales are disappointing and rentals and sales are less than impressive. Blu-Ray smashed HDVideo, but what does that really mean? Most of us will not dump our less-than-two-year-old DVD players for one that costs hundreds more, especially in a time of economic softening. Regular ol' DVD's will always be available at Blockbuster and Netflix. There must be thousands of standard DVD movies out there and we haven't watched most of them; most of the new ones aren't worth watching anyway. Won't be long before we'll just be able to download the ones we want for DVD and personal media players. HDRadio -- I laugh. You can't buy a receiver for this mess anywhere and even if you could, your reception is crappy. Not a crowd pleaser. The burn marks are showing. Remember AM stereo? Same deal. A non-starter. HDTV -- The gubmint intends to shut down analog broadcast TV in February 2009 in favor of digital TV transmission. I'll bet that that this date will be moved forward into 2009 and perhaps beyond because the Fed will finally realize that even with the coupon offering of HD converters at Fed websites, it will still leave huge swatches of the US without broadcast TV service. Compact discs -- cool audio format, for the 1980's. Been to a music store lately? What? Can't find one? Try Amazon or iTunes. Buy the music you want for a buck a track as an MP3, and then watch the purchase price get cheaper as the music companies finally figure out what the tune is worth. Comment here. Sunday 07-06-08: Front-loading a holiday weekend with a day off ... is just kinda weird. But any day off is a gift. Hope your Happy 232nd Birthday America's Independence Day weekend has been good. Our Friday was quiet, with burgers and salads next door at Bearman's; the evening was spent keeping Tashsa calm as the neighborhood 'splosions continued until well after midnight. Saturday was bbq chicken (yes, I cooked) with daughter Anna and the kids; got to teach grandkids Chris and Kelsey how to use the Weaver Stance to improve their paintball gaming accuracy. Once we got home, the STLMedia WatchDog required more calming, as the fireworks continued. GirlDog's had enough fun with big noises this month. Today it's bbq and salads and furniture moving and electronic installs in the bedroom and office with son Jason. Yeah, the big strong son gets to do the physical labor. And Tasha gets lotsa rubs. 2008/Part Deux begins Monday...and I think it'll be very interesting. Comment here.
The Sam Zell owned LATimes is dumping 250 jobs and 15% of their printed pages. Even with all the wisdom (cough, cough) of their Randy Michaels hired burned-out former radio wise guys, the point is still that nobody wants to get that greasy ink all over their hands. Just as, in the 1980's, we weren't growing any new AM radio listeners, we aren't growing any new newspaper readers in the oughts. It's over. Comment here. Friday 07-04-08: Randy Raley moves on from KMOX ... Raley announced a few days ago that he's taken the Market Manager gig with Jerry Zimmer's Great Plains Media cluster in Bloomington IL, and with CBS' Dave Ervin's blessing. Randy will be responsible for three stations, and it's a career step he deserves. Much love, little brother, and good luck. We'll always be here if you need us. Friday 07-04-08: STLRadio.com personality lists updated ... Frank Absher's compilation of STL radio workers is new and improved; if you've ever worked here, send Frank an email, let him know the details and we'll include you in the next edition. Wednesday 07-02-08: Well, KXOK/630 Manteca streams with a thumpin' signal ... Sounds pretty AM-ish good in my WinAmp or Real Player. Plug this address into your Real Player or WinAmp: http://sc7.spacialnet.com:23974/listen.pls May be the best oldies mix I've ever heard. The domain is owned privately at 1&1Internet. It's up to my squirrels to discover the real owners and where it originates. Comment here. Wednesday 07-02-08: Phase II Spring Arbitrends ... published yesterday, reported by Tom Taylor: – Without baseball, KMOX, St. Louis has a stormy Spring. - The CBS news/talker chose to let a decades-old relationship with the Cardinals slip away during the Joel Hollander era, and now all-sports KTRS (partly owned by the Cards) is up 4.3-4.5 in the latest March-April-May Phase II Arbitrends. (That’s total week 12+.) - While KMOX dips rather shockingly, 7.4-6.4, just 0.5 of a share ahead of #2 KEZK. KMOX has a very long string of consecutive quarterly wins (longer than KGO, San Francisco’s) – but it’s starting to look mortal. - Also notable in the St. Louis Trends: Bonneville’s classic hits “Arch” WARH, rising 4.0-5.0 into a tie for third place. Comment here. Wednesday 07-02-08: So the bedroom TV died ... Tried lately to buy a regular ol' TV? Not one of them fancy danged LCD or plasma deals? Took some searching, but I found a 27" stereo Sansui (includes a DTV tuner, which we may never use because we have cable) at WalMart, and for less than $200. Yeah, it's a CRT and it'll need a crane and several small boys to hoist it up to the bedroom, but why spend more than a grand for a TV that'll only be watched occasionally by Mrs. A when I (unwisely) refuse to relinquish control of the the remote in the living room? Hey, Matlock and Murder She Wrote will look just fine back there. I plug in a DVD player and suddenly I've got a third multi-media center. Gotta love the digital stuff. Tuesday 07-01-08: June slipped right past me ... and I missed getting the July and August Sonderman STLHistory archives up and running on time. Sorry 'bout that -- the entire year of Joe's STL History is now online. Enjoy reading and use as you wish. 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 c |
