Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2007 > June
June 2007
6/29: Star 94 Wheel World promo
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In 1997, Star 94 held a “Live In It And Win It” contest. They repeated it again earlier this decade. Now they’re back for a third time at North Point Mall. Contestants have to sit in two Mercury Mariners for up to 33 days with 10-minute breaks every three hours and occasional reward challenges and public voting to thin the herd.
Of the eight original contestants, five remain. Two failed to return on time during a break and one voluntarily left.
I stopped by Saturday during day 19. Two more will be voted off by the public on Monday and one more the following Monday. If two are left by July 13, Star 94 will hold a drawing to decide who wins. Here are photos I took.
Jessi Kissinger, a 22-year-old Brusters ice cream shop employee and would-be herbologist from Alpharetta, said she’s so thin, she is using this contest to gain weight. At 5 foot 1, she came in 19 days ago at 88.5 pounds and is now up to 95. She hopes to get close to 100. She’s been feasting on donuts, crackers and candy.
Jesika Wehunt (right), a UGA rising sophomore, and Evony Butler, a 23-year-old single mom from McDonough who works at FNB bank as a teller, are also vying for the green car. (Although they share two Mariners, Lincoln/Mercury is only giving away one of them.)
Cyndi Rafus is a stay-at-home mom from Loganville. She would like a new Mariner to replace a worn-out Ford Ranger for her family of five.
Jason Bettis, a 19-year-old Chattahoochee Tech student, said he actually bought a 2006 Jeep Wranger last year but if he wins the car, he plans to sell it and use the proceeds for charity. And how about this for cold? His girlfriend of three years, he said, broke up with him in the middle of the promotion.
More details about the promotion is here. Star has blogs going and a 24-hour web cam. (No audio, just video.)
The Mariner’s sticker price is about $21,730. Uncle Sam will want at least 40% of that.
6/29: Watching already cancelled shows
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Like the idiot I am, I watched every single episode of NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Somehow, I got a kick watching quality actors on a beautiful set wallowing about with overly stylized dialogue acting as if working on a sketch show was like being at the White House. Credit “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin for this misfire, a show that felt wrong from the very beginning. The romances were schmaltzy without feeling real (That Harriet/Matt interaction made me perpetually gag.) The self-righteous, self-important plotlines were often over the top or simply too insider baseball. The skits - or what little we saw - seldom seemed even worthy of the real SNL.
But at least Sorkin knew the show was history when he filmed the final episode and created an upbeat ending where Tom Jeter’s brother is saved by the military after being captured in Afghanistan, Jordan survives an emergency C-section and Harriet and Matt live happily ever after — all in one long night spread over five episodes. And for the four million remaining viewers (including me) who watched those burned-off episodes the past month on NBC, we can all finally move on with our lives.
Ironically, “30 Rock” (also about what goes on behind the scenes at a sketch comedy show) got worse ratings than “Studio 60” and survived. But the reality was that critics loved this show and not “Studio 60” and NBC honchos agreed. They felt it had more potential for growth, that it might pick up viewers its second season a la “Cheers” or “Seinfeld” or more modestly (and realistically) “The Office.”
I also got hooked on ABC’s “Prison Break” copycast “Traveler.” Maybe I just miss “Prison Break” but the producers created a nifty story about two college friends framed by a third one who isn’t who he seems. Then they spend the next few episodes being chased by all sorts of baddies. Unfortunately, the show ended Wednesday night after six episodes. I don’t think it will ever come back. (Ratings certainly weren’t good enough for renewal.)
The show was supposed to air during the season but my sense is ABC got burned by serialized drama “The Nine” and decided to dump it into the summer with only eight episodes done. The pilot, where Will Traveler sets up his two supposed buddies in a bombing of the Drexler Museum in NYC, was intriguing enough for me to keep watching. Sure, the subsequent episodes sometimes got bogged down in plot contrivances, but there was enough there to keep me hanging on. With six down and two more to go (7/11 and 7/18), I hope they tie up the plotlines and at least give us enough to leave on a passably satisfied note.
I asked the Traveler publicist about the show’s finale and here’s what he provided from the creator:
The season finale of TRAVELER answers questions about Will Traveler’s involvement in the Drexler bombing. It also ties up the emotional arc, as we learn which side of friendship and betrayal Will Traveler has ultimately chosen in respect to Jay and Tyler. But it would not be an episode of TRAVELER without a serious cliffhanger. And even in answering the driving question — “Who is Will Traveler?” — we raise a new question about the people behind the Drexler bombing. But fans who worry about closure should not fear. The creator of TRAVELER has promised to answer any of the show’s lingering questions, even if he has to do it on his blog at TVGuide.com which can be found here
Have you ever been stupid enough to follow a serialized show you know is already dead or about to die?
6/28: Ratio of new/older songs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here is the ratio of older and newer songs on each of the major music stations in town, based on Mediabase 24/7 data. The top 40 and R&B/hip-hop stations naturally played the most newer songs. And the River is the only station that plays absolutely no songs from this decade.
Station, % more recent songs,% of songs played older than 2005,
95.5/The Beat: 92% - 8% (The avg. song was released in 2005)
Hot 107.9 91% - 9% (2006)
Star 94 85% - 15% (2005)
Q100 80% - 20% (2005)
V-103 80% - 20% (2004)
El Patron 73% - 27% (2004)
Praise 67% - 33% (2003)
Smooth Jazz 67% -33% (1994—this indicates a massive spread in age among its older cuts and its newer ones)
Viva 66%- 34% (2004)
Kicks 101.5 63% - 37% (2003)
Project 9-6-1: 59% - 41% (1998)
Bull 49% - 51% (1999) The Bull plays fewer current songs (34) than either Eagle or the Bull but more oldies than Kicks
99X 47%- 53% (2000) 99X plays more oldies than Project but 99X tends to play a higher number of more recent songs (73 songs considered current vs. 25 for Project)
Fish 40% - 60% (2002)
Eagle 36% - 64% (1997)
Grown Folks 28% - 72% (1993)
Dave FM 14% - 86% (1991)
B98.5: 11% - 89% (1992)
Kiss 104.1 6% - 94% (1984)
97.1/The River 0% - 100% (1975)
6/28: Krok protest part deux
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WSB-AM’s Chris Krok, trying to help scuttle the Senate immigration reform bill, held a second protest in three weeks near Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ office. He drew at least 250 people at a time Wednesday evening.
A few folks from El Patron (105.3) showed up in counterprotest across the street.
They spent the two hours sloganeering as protesters like to do. “We’re mad and we vote!” was one. “No amnesty!” was another. “Amnesty bill, please say no/ Send them back to Mexico!” some chanted.
“I’m from Puerto Rico!” said Chuy Robles, a counterprotester from a megaphone. Every so often, he would start shouting “USA! USA!”
I took a few pictures:
Here’s Krok in full protest mode.
Deanne Harris, a music agent from Roswell, said she wants the borders shut, existing laws enforced and businesses to stop employing them.
Greg Yardee, a 48-year-old engineer, said he likes Krok and though he’s still raw as a personality, “he’s real passionate about this issue. This is not a stunt.”
Here’s Chuy Robles, mid-day host for El Patron, counterprotesting. He’s a legal immigrant and says there’s a racial anti-Hispanic undertone to the Krok protest.
6/28: Paris on Larry King Live
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Powers That Be told me to cover the Paris interview, which went on for an entire hour on CNN’s “Larry King Live.” Here we go. (In contrast, King spends an entire hour with Colin Powell tomorrow. I won’t be blogging about that.)
Hilton said how “traumatic” her experience was but she felt she’s grown from it.
“I took the time to learn about myself,” she told King. “I have a new outlook on life.”
Hilton served a jail sentence for more than three weeks for violating probation after a DUI and driving with a suspended license. Although she said she “will never make that mistake again” and takes “full responsibility,” she later said, “I don’t feel the crime fit the punishment.”
She described how she suffered from claustrophobia, how horrible the food was (though she didn’t lose much weight) and how happy she was reading supportive fan letters. “It really got me through it,” she said.
“No kidding!” King replied, genuinely surprised.
Now that she’s free, she said she plans to scale back her partying ways. “I’m frankly sick of” the clubbing, she said. “It’s fun, but it’s not going to be the mainstay of my life anymore.”
She said the biggest misconception about her is that she lives off family money but rather, she says she has her own businesses, has written a New York Times bestselling book, acted in movies, released an album and is in the fifth season of “The Simple Life” (with a sixth set to go, despite droopy ratings.).
In a promo for his 10 p.m. show, CNN’s Anderson Cooper said they’ll discuss topics such as: “Why is she famous? Why does anybody care?”
Amen.
Ken Sunshine, a publicist, told Cooper that based on what he saw, “There ain’t a lot there.” She said she read the Bible but she couldn’t even cite a Bible passage when King asked her. Marc Lamont Hill of Temple University was more sympathetic and said he thinks she’s truly contrite.
For some technical reason, I can’t post comments on my own blog so I’ll respond to two folks below. Loreal D: the reason the entry says 9:11 p.m. is because that’s when I started writing the blog. It’s not when I finished it.
And for Scooter11, read the transcript from cnn.com from the Paris Hilton interview and you’ll see that King said “No kidding!” before she mentioned the troops from Iraq.
KING: Did you read a lot?
HILTON: A lot. I read a lot of books. I received fan mail from all around the world, so many letters. I would literally sit in bed like crying, reading these letters. And it just — it really got me through it.
KING: No kidding?
HILTON: Really. It was really special. I had no idea I had so much support from so many different age groups, so many people from around the world. It was — it was really heartwarming.
6/28: Government looking at TV violence
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After focusing on sex and profanity for years, Congress is now looking into regulating violence on broadcast TV..
There is a consensus that such scenes were violent and inappropriate for children, sharp disagreements broke out over what, if anything, the government should do about them. The Federal Communications Commission can fine broadcast stations for indecency but has no power to regulate violent programming.
Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), who chaired the session on the effect of TV violence on children, wants to change that. He announced plans to introduce legislation next month to allow federal regulation of “indecent, violent and profane content” on broadcast, cable and satellite TV, excoriating Hollywood for “a never-ending race to the bottom” fueled by corporate greed.
Is government regulation a good thing in this case?
Oh, and ABC’s cockroach of a sitcom “According to Jim” is coming back for at least 18 episodes. The show was thought to have been cancelled a month ago. This news came out about the same time Channel Serf (who hated the show with delectable passion) left the scene. Coincidence?
Also, it looks like TNT’s Treat Williams medical drama “Heartland” is already in critical condition. It dropped to 3 million viewers from more than 4.3 million its opening week and will move July 23 to 8 p.m. Mondays before “The Closer” instead of afterwards. Instead, Holly Hunter’s “Saving Grace” will take over that more valued 10 p.m. slot that day.
6/27: Wrestling still big draw on TV
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I am not a pro wrestling fan but I did learn a bit yesterday doing a piece on TV ratings, which remain impressive. Here’s the link to the story that ran in the paper today.
I also spoke with Jimmy Baron, formerly a co-host of the Morning X. He used to interview pro wrestlers all the time. He said he spoke with Chris Benoit “hundreds of times.” Baron did some emceeing when the Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling folks were in town back in the 1990s. (What was then WWF sexed up the storylines in the late 1990s and ultimately forced WCW to sell to Vince McMahon’s company in 2001.)
“It’s as shocking to me as it is to anybody because he was a very quiet guy,” Baron said. “He wasn’t one of those outlandish, loud boisterous guys in front of or before the cameras. He always came off as a polite, quiet normal guy.”
Baron, who is still seeking a job and recently had a son, said wrestling has been cyclical in its popularity over the years. “It went through a period in the late 90s when there was nothing in the world bigger,” he said. “I’ve only seen the Georgia Dome completely full twice. That was for a U2 concert and for a Monday Night Nitro event. They could put 50,000 in the Dome. Now I can’t imagine they can go past four digits at Philips.”
Nonetheless, as I wrote in the story, wrestling among five weekly shows drew a combined 14 million viewers last week. Although some of that is the same people watching different shows, it’s a hefty number. In fact, WWE Raw on USA is frequently the top show on basic cable many weeks, usually beating other athletic events. Ironically, WWE owner Vince McMahon was in the middle of a storyline in which his character was killed in a limo explosion and Monday night, they were supposed to have a fictional “memorial” on Raw. Instead, it became a real memorial for Benoit.
As the sordid details come out about the murder suicide, “I’m interested to see how wrestling treats Chris Benoit,” Baron said. “How much adulation are they going to show him. He was a great wrestler but he ended up murdering his wife and his son.”
Indeed, WWE has taken down tributes to Benoit on its Web site.
Additionally, McMahon opened last night’s “ECW: Extreme Champion Wrestling” show on Sci Fi Channel with this statement: “Last night … the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit tonight. On the contrary, tonight’s show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, the WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world—entertain you.”
6/27: Catchin’ up with Dave Ramsey
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dave Ramsey, the consumer radio adovcate, is celebrating his 15th anniversary on the air. He entered the Atlanta market three years ago on WGKA-AM but late last year moved to WGST-AM, replacing the Kimmer. It’s too early to say if this was a postiive move for GST. He basically performed about the same over the winter as the Kimmer did in the fall.
Despite GST’s ratings problems, he is placing a high priority on Atlanta. He currently tapes the show from 2 to 5 p.m. EST. WGST airs it lives from 3 to 5 and airs the 2 p.m. hour at 5 p.m. But he’s occasionally doing special hours just for the Atlanta market at 5 p.m. EST including one this Wednesday.
“WGST has been a huge feather in our cap,” said Ramsey, who is on more than 340 radio stations nationwide and tapes out of Nashville. “It’s very important to establish a strong foothold here and assist in turning things around.” He said he talks to GST’s program director Randall Bloomquist “fairly often.”
He has a good relationship with rival Clark Howard on WSB-AM. The two overlap from 3 to 4 p.m. each day on the air locally. “We’re friends. Atlanta is his world. He’s an icon. If I can take a sliver off his sandal, I’ll be in good shape.”
Ramsey will be doing a live show at the Gwinnett Arena November 8 and expects at least 7,000 people. He said he plans to come to Atlanta four or five times in the coming 12 months.
6/26: Kimmel finally coming to WSB-TV
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After four long years, WSB-TV has finally relented and will air the late-night “Jimmy Kimmel Live” show. We’ll be able to see him for the first time late Tuesday night July 10 (or technically early Wednesday morning July 11 at 12:05 a.m.). Atlanta has been the largest market that doesn’t air Kimmel.
Up to this point, WSB-TV management has said it makes more money airing repeats of “Entertainment Tonight” and the 11 p.m. news at 12:05 a.m. But when the new station manager Bill Hoffman took over last year, he told the AJC he was open to the idea of bringing in Kimmel. So it just became a question of when.
Kimmel’s star has been rising. Though he usually lags behind Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien and David Letterman/Craig Ferguson, his ratings have been trending upwards and have been strong among younger male viewers. ABC clearly supports him. The network gave him prime airtime doing a facetious weekly bit teaching dancing on its popular primetime show “Dancing With the Stars.” It also gave him a primetime special last season and he will be hosting a summer reality show called “Set for Life” July 20. And he’ll be hosting the ESPY Awards on sister station ESPN.
I’m scheduled to talk to Kimmel on Monday July 2. Email me at rho@ajc.com if you have any questions you’d like me to ask him.
6/26: Internet radio/new WSB-TV anchor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hundreds of Internet Radio stations are going to “go silent” Tuesday June 26 in protest of proposed royalty rates that many stations contend will put them out of business. Check out details at savenetradio.org. The Copyright Royalty Board rates are set for July 15, retroactive to January 2006.
Meanwhile, Fred Blankenship (most recently in San Diego) is going to join Pam Martin at the morning anchor desk at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. today. He replaces Collins Spencer, who was here just 18 months, and before that, Warren Savage.
6/25: Video joins the radio star
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With changes in the AJC landscape which sadly led to the end of Channel Serf, this long-time radio blog has morphed into the “Radio & TV Talk” blog. Could there be a duller name for a blog? Hopefully, we can come with something snazzier.
More seriously, I’m not 100 percent sure what this change will mean overall. I know for folks interested in local radio news, I will continue to provide that. It’s just now going to be mixed in with TV news. I’m still trying to decide how broad I need to go on that front. I will definitely continue to write about local TV broadcasters as I have on occasion over the past three years and will probably do so even more in the coming months.
Serf would cherrypick national TV news and analyze and review various shows that interested her. I will probably do the same. It’s not a perfect situation but hopefully regular readers won’t mind the mix.
6/25: TV anchors luncheon Thursday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As I segue into turning this into a radio/TV blog due to the demise (sadly) of Channel Serf, here’s somethng that might interest the public if they are fans of Stephany Fisher, Monica Pearson, Wes Sarginson and/or Russ Spencer: an Atlanta Press Club Newsmaker Lunch June 28 at the Commerce Club at noon.
The public can grill the anchors about their jobs and their lives.
WHERE
The Commerce Club
34 Broad Street, 16th Floor Dining Room
Atlanta, GA 30303
For directions, please visit www.thecommerceclub.org/location.html. Because of limited parking at TCC, please consider using MARTA, whose Five Points station is across the street, or parking in nearby decks on Marietta Street.
R.S.V.P.
This luncheon is open to the public. APC members may purchase individual tickets for $28 each or tables of 10 for $280, which includes signage. The nonmember prices are $35 for individual tickets and $350 for tables of 10 with signage. Parking is not included in the ticket price. Tickets and tables may be purchased at www.atlantapressclub.org or by calling 404-577-7377. No tickets will be sold after noon on Wednesday, June 27. Payment must accompany reservations, and there is a 48-hour cancellation policy.
6/23: Variety on local stations
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Which Atlanta radio stations offer the most variety? Things haven’t changed much the past six months, based on data compiled by Mediabase 24/7. To note, specialty shows will inflate the unique title numbers. For instance, B98.5 added Delilah in the evenings, but the basic playlist is still about 280 titles outside of the hours she airs. The Bull’s variety is comparable to Kicks. Eagle remains the station with the deepest playlist with Kiss not far behind. Grown Folks plays quite a deep playlist considering it now airs a lot of talk and only plays about 1,262 titles a week compared to 2,081 for 95.5/The Beat. The Beat has one of the smallest playlists in its format.
There is no real correlation between variety and ratings. And obviously, certain formats have tighter playlists by nature (top 40) while older-skewing stations tend to go for more oldies.
Eagle 106.7: 837 unique titles in the past seven days Kiss 104.1: 786 Dave FM: 590 Grown Folks 102.5: 584 B98.5: 500 94.9/The Bull: 490 V-103: 487 99X; 480 Kicks 101.5: 470 Jazz 107.5: 457 Hot 107.9: 395 Project 9-6-1: 374 Praise 97.5: 336 The River: 326 104.7/The Fish: 295 Viva 105.7: 255 105.3/El Patron: 239 Star 94: 204 Q100: 190 95.5/The Beat: 131
6/22: Dave FM program director out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Program directors in radio don’t last very long. I started covering radio in September 2001. I think only three PDs of major radio stations are still in their jobs from that time that I can think of: Dan Bowen at Star 94, Pete Spriggs at WSB-AM and Kevin Avery at Fish.
Z93 went through two before they switched to Dave FM in 2004. Michelle Engel was the first PD for the new station. While a lot of PDs are puppets to their masters above, I got the impression Michelle really did have a lot of say to design this station so I’m giving her more space here on my blog than I typically do for other fired PDs.
I actually interviewed her at my previous job when she was PD at a successful Portland, OR ’80s station (KVMX-FM, Mix 107.5, now a dance-pop station) — in fact, it was arguably the most successful 80s station in the country. For reasons I could never quite ascertain, over her three years at Dave, she pretty much ignored me. But alas, three years is actually a long stretch for a PD in this market. She gets major props for that.
Ratings for Dave have never been particularly impressive but financially, it hasn’t done badly because it reaches a viable demographic of rock fans ages 25 to 49 and advertisers like it. The station recently cut out most current songs but otherwise, formatically, it remains the same mildly eclectic mix of ’70s (Bowie, Pink Floyd), ’80s (Depeche Mode, INXS), ’90s (Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam) and 00s (Fray, Norah Jones.) One thing I knew about Engel is she is a huge jam band fan and at least she got to go to Bonnaroo before she was released from duty.
This is what she told a trade publication Radio and Records last year about the station after it moved to a positioning statement of “Music Matters Here.”
“The key to the success of triple A [adult alternative] stations across the country has been its dedication to and respect for the music,” Engel tells R&R. “Two years in we feel it is time to make sure Dave FM does everything it can to honor the music and artists it plays. We are tickled and excited about these changes and what it will mean for the station as we move forward.”
I have no clue why Engel was let go. Her replacement is Mike Wheeler, who briefly had the thankless job of Atlanta region programming VP for Clear Channel Radio before being let go last year.
For now, her bio page on Dave is here but could be taken down at any time. She would occasionally fill in on air.
Here is part of her statement on the site:
It is mandatory that 929 dave fm reflect the soundtrack of our area and generation, which we believe has been lost in the shuffle. Our iPods and CD collections are diverse and vast - not just one kind of music. They include vintage music from the 60s and 70s, local Icons such as the Black Crows[sic] and Widespread Panic, pillars like REM, U2 and Dave Matthews, as well as the amazing gems from the 80’s and all that the mid 90’s had to offer, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Coldplay and, frankly, any kind of music that makes us feel good and nostalgic. THAT is what 929 dave fm is all about.
We aren’t a standard radio station. We don’t live and play by the rules that large corporations define. We change our music to reflect the day. Our air talent represents the area and those with whom we are speaking. Our artists see the station as a haven, as a place where it isn’t about one song from their album, but about their true art. We strive to be Radio Without Rules.
6/22: Local station core artists
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every six months, I get temporary access to Mediabase 24/7, which tracks radio airplay.
I’ll pepper various stats from the local radio stations in the next couple of weeks.
Here are the top five most popular artists for each station the past seven days based on total spins:
Kiss: Luther Vandross (39); Isley Brothers (39); Anita Baker (36), Earth, Wind & Fire (33), O’Jays (33)
Grown Folks 102.5: Robin Thicke (38); Luther Vandross (33); Gerald Levert (30), Musiq (28), Mary J. Blige (27)
95.5/The Beat: T-Pain (169), DJ Unk (116), T.I. (92), Rihanna (75), Lil Jon (75)
Star 94: Daughtry (110), Nickelback (107), Gwen Stefani (107), Justin Timberlake (101), Maroon 5 (89)
Dave FM: U2 (65), R.E.M. (64), Police (54), Bob Marley (46), INXS (40)
94.9/The Bull: Tim McGraw (110); Toby Keith (98); George Strait (97), Kenny Chesney (97), Alan Jackson (95)
Project 9-6-1: Korn (91), Linkin Park (77), Disturbed (70); Smashing Pumpkins (61); Foo Fighters (60)
B98.5: Kelly Clarkson (71), Billy Joel (43), Sheryl Crow (40), Elton John (34), John Mayer (31)
99X: Red Hot Chili Peppers (75), Smashing Pumpkins (64), Pearl Jam (54), Nirvana (52), Green Day (47)
Q100: Justin Timberlake (123), Fergie (113), Gwen Stefani (91), Daughtry (88), Rob Thomas (85)
Kicks 101.5: Tim McGraw (88), Keith Urban (88), Kenny Chesney (88), Brad Paisley (85), Toby Keith (82)
V-103: R. Kelly (86), T-Pain (56), Beyonce (47), T.I. (43), Musiq (42)
Eagle: Alan Jackson (95), Toby Keith (95), George Strait (82), Tim McGraw (74), Montgomery Gentry (65)
(This option wasn’t available for the Fish or Smooth Jazz.)
6/21: The fairness doctrine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today’s my birthday so I’m going to open up a can of worms: U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio has recently suggested the United States bring back the “Fairness Doctrine.” The Federal Communications Commission until 1987 regulated broadcast licensees by requiring they present equal time to controversial issues. This kept the lid on talk-show hosts. Once it was lifted, the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity came to be.
Neal Boortz believes Hillary Clinton would try to bring it back is she were president, that liberals are trying to resurrect the concept because the radio airwaves are dominated by conservative talkers.
“The left cannot tolerate talk radio,” Boortz told Talkers magazine. “They tried this venue and they failed. They fail time after time after time. Look at Air America. These people had to pay radio stations to carry their programming. No wonder they ran out of money so quickly.”
Liberals “don’t get ratings,” Boortz said today on his radio show on WSB-AM. “I make money for the company [Cox Radio.] I’m here. They’re gone.” As as he noted, Cox is simply airing what is popular. “They aren’t a right-wing company by any stretch of the imagination.”
The liberal Center for American Progress and Free Press today released a study of five major commercial owners: Clear Channel, CBS, Citadel, Cumulus and Salem. Its conclusion, 91 percent of the airwaves on those stations had conservative talk, not a surprise.
“These results suggest that increasing ownership diversity, both in terms of race/ethnicity and gender of owners, as well as the number of independent local owners, will lead to more diverse programming, more choices for listeners, and more owners who are responsive to their local communities and serve the public interest,” the report concluded.
Here’s a story about that..
6/20: MJ Kelli, Neal & the Zone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MJ Kelli, the Tampa syndicated morning host heard locally on 105.3/The Max and Real Radio from 2002 to 2004, had billboards in Tampa with photos of Britney and MJ with slogans such as “Total Nut Jobs,” “Shock Therapy” and “Certifiable.” Apparently, Britney’s lawyers threatened legal action against Clear Channel and the company retreated fast. MJ I’m sure is thrilled by the extra publicity.
Makes me miss those Regular Guys billboards! Sigh…
I forgot to mention that Neal Boortz has entered the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
In Tim Tucker’s Q&A with Steak Shapiro this past Sunday [celebrating the station’s 10th anniversary.], Shapiro brags the station brings in $14 million, huge considering its ratings.
6/19: Lexie Kaye’s 1st year
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today is Lexie Kaye’s first anniversary on the River as morning host.
What do you think of her as a personality? Do you like how the River focuses more on the music than gabby jocks? She actually cuts out relatively early at 8:30 a.m.
I grabbed lunch with Kaye Monday at Figo. The 37-year-old Florida native seems really happy with her job, enjoys the pace and the hours. It’s far less stressful than her previous job in Savannah, where she had to do everything herself. She doesn’t strike me as the type who hungers the spotlight so she seems ideal for the Cox approach to jocks — keep it simple, keep it basic, get to the music.
6/18: Don’t Stop Believin’ radio aftermath
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is a song that goes on and on and on.
Since “The Sopranos” finished the drama’s run with the classic Journey song “Don’t Stop Believin’ ,” iTunes sales jumped enough to rank No. 17 on its downloaded sales chart. (I downloaded the live version to my iPod, just to be different.)
The song was spun 1,398 times nationwide among radio stations the seven days after the “Sopranos” finale, according to Mediabase 24/7. That’s up from 1,225 spins a week earlier, or a 14% jump.
Locally, things didn’t change. “Don’t Stop Believin’” is played on average once a day on B98.5 and three times a week on 97.1/The River. And that is typical week in and week out. Dave FM played it once this past week. I bet it was Mara during her lunch hour since Dave doesn’t normally play Journey. I hearad it a couple of times on the Sirius top 40 radio station this past weekend.
After “Family Guy” and “Laguna Beach” featured the song in 2005, it also jumped up the iTunes chart.
The Police play Atlanta Nov. 17
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Police will play Philips Arena on Nov. 17, radio stations announced this morning, including Dave FM, 99X and the River. (Mara Davis on Dave played an entire hour of Police at noon today in homage.) Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Tickets can be accessed via www.livenation.com, Ticketmaster.com, The Philips Arena Box Office, or charge by phone at (404) 249-6400. Tickets are $227.00, $92.00 & $52.00. There will be a 4 ticket limit per person.
The rock legends, who hadn’t toured together in more than two decades until this spring, skipped Atlanta during the first leg of the U.S. tour this summer. The trio apparently held off from announcing the Philips Arena date until after performing at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tenn., which happened this past weekend. There are often contractual agreements in which acts are not allowed to announce dates within a certain geographic distance from another date. The fear is that if promoters Live Nation had announced the Atlanta date earlier, it might have hurt sales to Bonnaroo.
The tour has sold out everywhere so expect the same here. And given anticipated demand, the Police could easily sell out two Philips Arena dates though it’s too early to tell if a second date is in the offing. There are fan club/Best Buy/Hot Seat types of presales, too. And if you miss out Saturday, expect to shell out a few extra bucks with the ticket brokers.
6/18: Whatever happened to… Scott Ferrall
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Scott Ferrall, the nutty radio man who sounds like he gargles sand, survived three stints on Atlanta radio, including 680 in the early 1990s, the Thrashers in the late 1990s and Real Radio in 2004, the brief, failed FM talk experiment on 105.3.
But he’s baaack - at least for Atlantans on Sirius satellite radio. For the past year, he has graced the Howard Stern 101 channel from 8 to midnight weekdays, focusing on sports with some pop culture thrown in for good measure.
He said after he got canned by Clear Channel in Atlanta in 2004, he worked at Fox Sports Radio for awhile. (I heard him on the Zone a few times.) Then Tim Sabean, program director for Howard Stern’s new Sirius channel in 2005 called him up to audition. Sabean knew Ferrall from their days in Philadelphia.
Naturally, when Stern asked him to join the crew, Ferrall said yes. “It was the best decision of my career,” he said. He said Stern has opened all sorts of doors for him. He has gotten endorsement work with Norelco and Philips, nabbed a role in a David Mamet role and signed on with Stern’s agent, Don Buchwald. “Imagine me going from that mess in Atlanta to this!” he said.
He said the only reason he joined Real Radio in 2004 in Atlanta was Tim Dukes, the former 96rock program director who oversaw that ill-fated FM talk station. But Dukes was so focused on trying to save 96rock, Ferrall felt Real Radio never got any support. “They put on a bunch of really bad syndicated shows. It was the worst station I’ve ever been on in my life. They got nervous after two books. I couldn’t blame them for going to Hispanic.” His wife Stephanie, he said, also hated Atlanta: “She thought she was in prison!” He personally loved Atlanta and he actually gave Clear Channel props for paying out his contract after Real Radio died in the fall of 2004. “They honored my deal. They treated me great.”
As for his time with the Thrashers, he said, “I was too extreme for them. When they were losing, I’d say ‘We have no talent, no coaching, no minor league. We’ve lost 23 in a row. Let’s drink shots!’ “
Naturally, he’s glad to be off FM radio and the roving eye of the FCC. “You can’t say anything” on FM, he said. “”How can you be entertaining? There are things I could say 10 years ago that I can now only say on Howard Stern. We have complete freedom. No censorship. There are directions. There are initiatives. They have goals.”
But in his mind, Siirus has been “fair and calm. They don’t drag me into 50 meetings like they did in Atlanta. I was in a meeting every day there. Here, they believe I’m a pro. They can count on me.”
He said he was offered a job at an FM talk station in New York eight months into his gig at Sirius but he turned it down. “It was a lot of money but I didn’t even consider it. I’m not stupid. I’m going to ride Howard’s coattails until I drop dead of a stroke.”
Ferrall said he got over the dirty language he can use. “I don’t get off swearing. I let callers do it,” he said. “My basis is to be successful and feed the dog. The more sponsors I bring in, the better my job security.”
He summarizes his evening show as “heavy sports, heavy entertainment, fun, furious and energetic. And it’s relatively clean. I can bring in those sponsors… I’m evolving into a smarter broadcaster. I’ve never been more entertaining in my career.”
Naturally, he has nothing but praise for Stern but he said he never tries to kiss up to the man. “I do not bother Howard for any reason. I never email him. I never call him. He asked me what I needed when I first got here and I said nothing. I just need a mike and a TV.”
6/16: Brett Martin out at Fox 5
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After seven years, Fox 5’s popular Road Warrior Brett Martin was let go from WAGA-TV under murky circumstances. (Due to the changing nature of my job, I’m going to start covering local TV personalities a bit more so this is kind of a catch-up item since he left a few weeks ago.)
He did post a farewell entry on this Road Warrior blog. He says goodbye but doesn’t explain why he’s left.
I’ll post a new entry myself if he decides to talk about his situation.
This is an old head shot of him I found on the Web:
Martin said he’ll meet with me later this week but won’t talk about his contract, which means he’s still under contract with Fox. He won’t say how long Fox will keep paying him or how stringent his noncompete is.
6/15: Radio bits
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former WGSTer Denny Schaffer, who was let go after a year in November 2006, has set up shop online. He’s decided to start his own online radio show from 10 to noon every day at www.dennyradio.com.
Tomorrow’s a busy day for radio stations. Hot 107.9 has its birthday bash with Ciara, the Game and T.I. and Philips Arena. Q100 has JoJo and Gym Class Heroes at the new Opera in Midtown, formerly Eleven50.
And 790/The Zone has its big Bye Bye Buckhead bash on Bolling Way to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Here’s the sked for tomorrow:
1:00 PM Doors Open
1:10 PM 1:45PM Escape Vehicle Performance
2:00PM 3:30PM Turn Style Performance
4:00PM 5:00PM Wrong Way Performance
5:30PM 7:00PM Ocean Street Performance
7:45PM 9:00PM Freddy Jones Band Performance
9:30PM 10:45PM Gin Blossoms Performance
The Zone is expecting 5,000-plus people. Here’s more info.
6/14: Brad Paisley flies in to Kicks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Music stars the week the CD comes out will often criss-cross the country, hitting as many radio stations as they can in pursuit of promotion and sales.
Country star Brad Paisley isn’t even bothering to fly in and get driven to the radio stations. Instead, he’s doing promotional concerts in airplane hangars around the country, including the airport in Peachtree City today for Kicks 101.5.
Over eight years, he’s had 15 top 10 country hits, including his latest whimsical tune “Ticks,” on the album he’s promoting “5th Gear,” which comes out Tuesday. His most notable contribution was probably “Celebrity” in 2003, which mocked today’s pop culture and featured a video with cameos from Jason Alexander and William Shatner. And he’s married to actress Kimberly Williams (“Father of the Bride”).
They escorted him to the hangar in the back of a vintage plane, an SBD-5 Douglass Dauntless Dive Bomber. “This isn’t Kenny Chesney’s plane, but it’ll do,” he cracked.
Here he is getting out of the plane and gabbing with Kicks mid-day host Bill Celler. CREDIT: RODNEY HO
He settled on the stage and looked out into the crowd.
“Pretend they serve alcohol here,” he said. “It’s the middle of the day but looking at you, it’s probably not a big deal.”
He opened with “The World” form his last album.
The second single, he said, will be “Online.” “With computers, it’s a fantasy world. The slogan of this song is ‘Be all that you can be’ You can be by signing into a chat room and lying.” The video, which he said he just completed, will feature a return of Jason Alexander as the “40-year-old virgin” and his dad, played by William Shatner.
He then performed a more personal song, “Letter To Me,” which is a lovely ballad about an adult version of himself writing a letter to his teen-age self.
Celler requested “He Didn’t Have To Be,” a ballad from a few years back. Paisley, a good natured guy, clearly hadn’t played it in awhile and stopped cold before the second verse. “What’s the second verse?” he asked. The crowd helped him fill in the blank and eveyrone laughed.
6/13: Steve without Vikki?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Star’s Steve & Vikki have been together for 17 years, outlasting almost every morning show in town except for Rhubarb Jones over at Eagle. My colleague Rich Eldredge wrote today that Vikki will be stepping down when her contract is up in December citing health concerns.
Ratings for the morning show were dominant in the 1990s, but the pair’s numbers have slipped off in recent years, losing audience to the likes of 95.5/The Beat and Q100’s Bert Show. Nonetheless, the morning show has still raked in big bucks for Star 94.
Indeed, Star 94 now has a little over six months to decide whether to 1) keep Steve McCoy and add another female voice 2) move the younger afternoon show Cindy & Ray to mornings or 3) start anew with a brand new show. Oh, and there’s the timing issue.
Should they make changes before January, 2008?
And what do you think is the station’s best option?
6/12: Will court ruling on obscenities affect radio?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A federal appeals court on Monday all but threw out a new Federal Communications Commission policy penalizing accidentally aired expletives, saying it was arbitrary and capricious and might not survive First Amendment scrutiny.
Most media stories focused on how this would affect TV. Tom Taylor, editor of a radio newsletter for www.radio-info.com, said though this is good news for radio operators, he doubts they will suddenly start allowing jocks to spout F-bombs willy nilly. (You have to go to Sirius or XM for that.)
“It’s more reasonable,” Taylor said. “The court is saying to the commission to go back to the way you used to call these. You tried to narrow the strike zone. Let’s go back to between the shoulders and the knees.”
There is talk that the FCC, though, may appeal to the Supreme Court.
Most radio stations with live jocks now use delays just in case, especially when they have callers. Some of the delays are as long as 20 or 25 seconds. I recall fleeting F-bombs and the like all the time on 99X back in the 1990s and the world did not come to an end. (And the FCC never acted.)
Blame the scrutiny on Janet Jackson and the Super Bowl, of course. And that led to the premature end of the Regular Guys in 2004. And a massive increases in the actual fines.
Good news for radio and TV stations: the FCC hasn’t issued fines in ages and with this court case pending, the organization is unlikely to do so anytime soon.
6/11: Star’s ‘Live in it and win it’ is back
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Star 94 is reviving a promotion they did about six years ago in which they had folks living in a couple of cars at a mall.
It starts at 7 a.m. Monday at Northpoint Mall in Alpharetta at the center court with eight contestants in two vehicles. This year, the winner who outlasts the other seven gets a Mercury Mariner SUV. They’re allowed a 15 minute break or so every three hours to hit the restroom and loosen up the joints.
Click the MyATL.com web cam link to see LIVE in-car action 24/7
I’ll likely swing by sometime this week or next to check it out.
6/9: Hendrie coming back
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Satirist Phil Hendrie, who left the syndicated radio route last year for acting, is back at it again, with a different syndicated network. Where he’ll land in Atlanta (if at all) is unclear.
640/WGST-AM, which carried him for years, is noncommital at this point. GST program director Randall Bloomquist said he’d like to hear samples first before he makes a decision. David Dickey, who runs news/talk stations AM 1230 and 1340, said Hendrie “has not been on our radar screen.” No word yet from WSB-AM, which could place him on an hour time delay after Chris Krok.
The new show will air 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. PST (or 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. EST) starting June 25.
Hendrie was known for creating fictional characters and talking to them as if they were real.
His site is here.
6/8: Krok draws more than 500
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A year ago, Chris Krok, as an unknown new talk show host, faced off 50,000 Latinos when they held a rally. He turned the tables on Thursday. The anti-illegal immigrant rally he held near Saxby Chambliss’ office of Akers Mill Road and Cobb Parkway drew more than 500 people. That’s pretty respectable. He’s hit upon a hot-button issue. The amnesty bill, in fact, stalled in Congress during the rally.
Former WSB-TV and Senate candidate Dale Cardwell showed up and so did Viva 105.7 and El Patron 105.3, according to Rick DiLorenzo, Krok’s producer.
6/7: Krok anti-amnesty bill rally tonight
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WSB-AM’s Chris Krok has set up a rally tonight at Acres Mill Road off Cobb Parkway near Saxby Chambliss’ office. It’s set from 7 to 9 p.m.
He believes the amnesty bill in the Senate for illegal immigrants won’t solve the inherent problems of border security and won’t deport crimnals.
6/6: Porsche talks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Porsche Foxx made her announcement returning to V-103 on air at 8 a.m. She’ll be handling mid-days, replacing Osei the Dark Secret, starting July 9.
“It’s been two and a half years,” she told Frank Ski and Wanda Smith in the morning at the Colony Square studios. “I often look back especially the last couple of days. If I could change anything, I’m not so sure I would. I’m a better woman today. I’m more resilient. I make better decisions.”
These are her first public comments since the days after her DUI in December, 2005. (She was fired by V-103 soon after.)
In a brief press conference after her announcement, she denied that V-103 approached her to replace Magic Man in the fall of 2005 but said she’s been in constant contact with her boss and V-103 general manager Rick Caffey. “We’ve maintained that relationship, which has been very special,” she said.
As for her time in alcohol rehab, she said, “It was successful, very enlightening, very educational. I’m not afraid to talk about it.” Will she do so on the air next month?” “It’s a possibility but I do want to move forward.”
She spent her interim time since rehab in the fall of 2005 rebuilding her house, which burned down in the March of 2005 and focusing on her recovery. “It was time to take care of me,” she said. “I had a lot going on. I had a lot on my shoulders. After the arrest, if it was up to me, I would have gone back to work the next day, but I wasn’t ready for that. Everything is in order. I feel good.”
Porsche said she’s been sober since rehab. “I’m a better person,” she said, with help from family, friends and prayer.
Osei will be working at a CBS station in D.C. full time, but maintain a weekend shift at V-103.
Here is Foxx in studio this morning while making her announcement.
6/6: Porsche Foxx returns to V-103
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More than two years after getting fired from V-103 for a DUI incident, Porsche Foxx is returning to the radio station that made her a big star in the first place. She’ll be replacing Osei the Dark Secret on July 9. More info in this entry
Foxx, whose real name is Stephanie Calhoun, was a popular afternoon jock at V-103 for several years until late 2005. That’s when she was pulled over and accused of drunken driving and possession of marijuana.
She first denied to the AJC she had done anything wrong, saying “none of this is true.” V-103 suspended her, then let her go, hiring Ryan Cameron in her place. She changed her tune later. In state criminal court, the former V-103 afternoon jock agreed to a plea agreement in August 2006 which included 36 months probation, 240 hours of community service and alcohol rehab.
After Magic Man was let go in the fall of 2005, V-103, seeking a female voice, had asked Foxx to come back to take his place but she was still angry with the station for firing her in the first place. So V-103 hired Osei instead. Eighteen months later, she appears to have buried the hatchet.
6/5: Magic Man talks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Why did Magic Man disappear for so long after seven years of solid mid-day work at V-103?
He had one of those annoying noncompete agreements with V-103. Typically, noncompetes are six months in length and can often be challenged in court. (See CJ and the Beat.) But there is a gentleman’s agreement among radio companies to enforce them. The agreements usually state that a person cannot work on air in radio in that market for that period of time. Sometimes, a sharp agent can narrow the noncompete so it only covers stations with similar formats. Occasionally, a station will free someone from a noncompete. (e.g. Clear Channel allowed Lite 94.9’s Steve Goss go to WABE-FM before his noncompete was up.)
Magic Man, when he signed his five year agreement with V-103 in 2000, said he negotiated his own deal without an agent. And V-103 inserted a ONE-YEAR noncompete agreement. I’ve personally never heard anyone saddled with a one-year before. Poor guy.
He was let go by V-103 because management in late 2005 reportedly wanted a female (perhaps bringing Porsche Foxx back, which never happened.). In the end, they got Osei the Dark Secret instead. Magic Man, a straight-up guy, left amicably and decided not to hire a lawyer and fight that one-year noncompete. Instead, he moved to his hometown of San Francisco for awhile, started a movie/TV production company, worked briefly at a station there, then returned last summer to Atlanta.
With his noncompete up, he was recently able to get a job at Radio One as production manager, which also allowed him to do fill-in work as a DJ on 102.5. This means he gets to coordinate what’s called “imaging” on the four stations, Praise, Grown Folks, Smooth Jazz and Hot 107.9. He helps put together radio ads, too. “This helps keep my creative juices flowing,” Magic Man said.
6/4: New NPR show on 91.9 starts today
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Michel Martin, the former ABC Nightline reporter, starts her one-hour NPR show today locally on Clark Atlanta’s 91.9 jazz station from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on weedkays.
It’s a news and information mix, in classic low-key NPR style. No yelling, no screaming, just analytical discussions on a variety of topics, some serious, some less so. As befitting NPR, there are international news items as well as politics and lifestyle segments.
“Listeners favor more news and information,” said general manager Wendy Williams. “And as a music station, we want to begin incorporating really thought provoking news magazine information programs into our schedule.” The station has added more local news, weather and traffic into the mornings, too.
Martin said she is trying to offer diversity to her mix. “You need to look no further than the census figures. 100 million people in the United States are of color. We’re always interested in international news and emerging leadership. And a lot of emerging leaders are minorities.”
She does a parenting segment every Tuesday dubbed Mocha Moms. On Fridays, it’s a guy’s talk session called Barbership. She does regular segments on faith and religion.
“We try to be good company,” she said. “We realize people are busy. By the time they get to us, they’ve head the headlines. We try to offer a different perspective you aren’t hearing anywhere else.”
Interesting fact: her husband Billy Martin defended former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell in his corruption trial in 2006. Campbell is now in prison in Miami for tax evasion charges for 30 months but was acquitted of many of the more serious charges.
6/4: Ga Radio HOF candidates
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The new Georgia Radio Hall of Fame has listed 56 possible candidates for entry.
Check the list out here.
It includes some obvious names such as Clark Howard, Neal Boortz, J.J. Jackson, Rhubarb Jones, Gary McKee, Moby, Ludlow Porch, Leslie Fram, Randy & Spiff, Larry Munson and Kelly McCoy.
If you’d like to vote, you can pay a one-time lifetime membership fee of $25 here. There appears to be no qualifications to join except an interest in radio.
There’s a big dinner at the Marietta Conference Center & Resort on Sept. 22 to celebrate who makes it in.
6/1: Baby boom! Steak joins in.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First, Q100 Bert Weiss’ second boy entered this world a week ago. Then former 99Xer Jimmy Baron’s son joined us a couple days ago. Now it’s 790/The Zone’s Steak Shapiro’s second daughter, who arrived yesterday. His wife Kimberly is fine. He wanted a son badly and was talking on air about trying again but obviously, he’d need to talk it out with the wifey.
Steak’s kid’s name is Nola and she weighed 7 pounds. She arrived at Northside Hospital, same place where Jimmy and Bert had their kids. Nola is in honor of his favorite town New Orleans.
