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February 2008
2/29: Kicks & Eagle staffs blown out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: Cadillac will remain. Kristen, who was with him as the Kicks morning team for two years, is out.
ABOVE: Rhubarb Jones is out after 22-plus years. Dallas McCade survives, though she might end up at Kicks.
I spoke too soon about it being a quiet day. (See my previous blog entry.)
Instead, we’ve got what is already being dubbed the Leap Day Massaacre.
Management at Eagles and Kicks Friday dumped nearly the entire on-air staff in what appears to be a severe cost-cutting measure.
The only major survivors: Cadillac Jack, Dallas McCade and Bill Celler. I hear traffic guy Greg Talmadge will remain, too.
Gone? Veteran Kicks news man Jim Vann, Eagle morning man Rhubarb Jones, Kicks morning co-host Kristen Gates, Kicks afternoon DJ Wylie Rose, Eagle afternoon jock Steve Mitchell and Eagle mid-day gal Sandy Weaver, Kicks night-time jock Scotty O’Brien, and promotions guru Buck in the Truck, to name a few. I also heard former “Kimmer” sidekick Wayne “No Offense” Kitchens is out as Eagle morning producer after just a month.
It was ugly and quick. It also looks like Eagle 106.7 will be toast very very soon, replaced by something else. My sources say Citadel, the new owners, are interested in bringing Imus on air at 106.7 and perhaps turn it into a talk station. Another format change could be oldies. I presume they have to keep NASCAR around regardless.
No word yet from Rick Mack, the general sales manager who had to dole out the bad news. I’ve also tried to reach Weaver, Buck and Rhubarb. I’ll post comments from them if I get them. KIcks is now using some weekend jock while Eagle is now being automated with no jocks at all.
“It’s horrible but it’s the radio business,” Mitchell said, matter of factly. He was not under contract and is ready to work anywhere else Monday. In preparation for this, he already has built his own production company.
Citadel, the Kicks/Eagle owner, yesterday reported a nasty loss nationwide and promised swift changes. Well, here is one of them, an obvious major cost-cutting measure.
“I’m glad I’m on the outside looking in,” said Moby, who worked as morning host at Kicks from 1991 to 2002 and now runs his own syndication deal. He is heard on the Bear in Griffin, South 107.1 in Rome and WNGC-FM in Athens.
Rhubarb Jones was on the air for more than 22 years, the longest running morning jock in town. Mr. Charity is also one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet. He’s got a good heart but even he knew things were winding down for him at Eagle. They cut his hours a few months back to boot.
“Rhubarb Jones is the second person I ever called about getting into radio and he gave me great advice,” said Cledus T. Judd, the country parody singer and new morning host at rival 94.9/The Bull. “He’s an absolute class act and radio legend. For all the good he’s done in radio, he’s twice as good a person. Kristen is a good friend of mine, a class act as well. I absolutely hate with a passion to see those people lose their jobs.”
“It breaks my heart for Rhubarb,” said Mike Stiles, who worked at WYAY back in the late 1980s. “This looks like another let’s-get-rid-of-talent affair. I have no idea how you win that way.”
What do you think? I’ll add more to this blog entry as I get more details and more reactions. This is just more insanity in Atlanta radio, which has also featured a major station move signals, four new morning shows and the return of the Regular Guys and Steve & Vikki (in July) on new signals.
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2/29: Interview with WSB’s Jamie Dupree
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is the first genuinely quiet week of the year so far in terms of radio/TV news. No format changes. No signal swaps. No anchors leaving. No new morning messes.
So I decided to do a quick phone interview with Jamie Dupree, WSB-AM’s Washington correspondent, who has been a fixture at the station for 20 years, covering everything from the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings, the 1992 Clinton campaign, the Clinton impeachment hearings, the Florida post-2000 election brouhaha, 9/11 and yes, this year’s fascinating presidential race.
Since 9/11, he has been doing his ten-minute daily gab with Neal Boortz at 12:05 p.m. EST every day, raising his profile nationwide on Boortz’s 250 affiliates. “It’s done more for my visibility than all the news work I’ve done,” he said. “It’s taught me a lot. It took me awhile to get used to, but it’s a lot of fun. People like the fact Neal is going to say something outrageous in an effort to get me to stand up to him.” He said they never prepare and he has no clue what Boortz will say.
Dupree figures they do it at that time to go up against Rush Limbaugh and in some markets (including Atlanta), Boortz beats Rush in that quarter hour. “It’s made me a much better reporter and on the air,” he said. “It’s one thing to be asked questions by a morning show host. It’s another to be asked by Neal.”
He is the consummate journalist in his sense of objectivity. He won’t tip his hand what his political views are. “I simply want to give listeners insight into what’s going on in Washington. They can draw their own conclusions. I get emails accusing me of being a sop for the left. I get emails accusing me of being a Republican hack. I get emails saying I’m the most impartial journalist ever. So I get it from all sides.”
He’s a workhorse (“I’ve been well known to drive three hours for a news conference.”) and loves the primary race, traveling to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and on Tuesday, Texas. “I’ll be at Hillary’s rally Monday in Austin,” he said.
Dupree, who is also heard on Cox stations in Dayton, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tulsa and Stamford, Conn., is 44 and married with two young children. He began his career as a page in 1980 on the Hill. His dad was a Ford lobbyist and both parents worked as staffers for Congressmen. He could have followed that path but preferred journalism. He worked as a DJ at the University of Florida in the early 1980s and for a time, considered sports, but opted for news instead.
He said he prefers radio over TV, because “there’s no one between you and the final product. You are responsible for it. I’ve done some TV news. You have a camera man. You have editors. The anchors. The graphics person. There are too many things between you and the final product. I like radio for its immediacy. It’s all you. Nobody’s worried whether you’re wearing your tie correctly.”
He works out of tiny broadcast booths in the House and Senate capital buildings, hanging out with the other Washington journalists. His neighbor for 15 years was CBS News’ Bob Schieffer.
“Covering Congress is a lot of fun,” he said. “A lot of people enjoy hearing the inside baseball going on. I also do live shots with [WSB-AM morning man] Scott Slade and all the other stations. Sometimes, with the campaign, I’ll do stuff at night for Herman Cain. Since January 2, I do every station every morning at least once.”
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Project Runway: Rami’s dark victory
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let’s get to it right away: We feel like Chris should have gone to Fashion Week. Based on the three designs he and Rami showed the judges, his collection expressed more of the ever-important point of view, was more innovative and still cohesive, and demonstrated growth as a designer. Chris’ Goth-fabulous designs elicited an actual visceral reaction. All that jet and panne velvet and yes, even the fringe of the human hair triggered the inner dialogue: How can I get that look?
On the other hand, Rami, who racked up more wins over the season, created designs, like the black-and-white strapless dress, that were pretty but hardly clever, or that even made us say, “Gotta have that.” They didn’t seem to leave the judges wanting more, as Tim Gunn suggested earlier. Rami’s black floor-length gown – and apparently he’s known for red-carpet designs – was lovely but didn’t show any ingenuity. At the very least it could have been accessorized better.
Also, did it seem like the judging was kind of wimpy? In the last couple of episodes they complained that Rami couldn’t get past his horse-blinder vision of draping; on Wednesday they celebrated it. Nina Garcia mentioned that Rami’s dress was a fantasy dress, but somehow she couldn’t extend the courtesy to the lovely creepiness of Chris’ designs.
And funny enough, it seems like the museum trip from the last competition episode turned on a light bulb for everyone. Our three finalists have all taken, to some degree, a cue from the Middle Ages, meaning exaggerated sleeves, tight breeches and a retro (reaalllly retro) military aesthetic. Should be an interesting finale.
Remember, the last five designers, including Chris March and Kathleen “Sweet P” Vaughn, went to New York Fashion Week. If you want to see all five collections, you can go to Bravo’s “Project Runway” site and get a jump on next week. If you’d rather be surprised, view only Sweet P’s and Chris’ collections here. They won’t be broadcast.
At the final judging, Chris made a valid point: that his is a perspective from outside the fashion world. So maybe it’s not him who’s been living in the “monkey house” after all; maybe it’s everyone else who’s stuck there.
Do you agree or disagree? Is Rami the right choice, and why or why not?
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2/27: Live at “America’s Got Talent” auditions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta crowd booed Santa.
Blasphemy? Not in the world of “America’s Got Talent.” On Wednesday, several hundred people watched live auditions of the hit NBC reality show at the Cobb Energy Centre.
Act I
And a guy dressed as Santa and calling himself Kris Kringle and the “Singing Santa” gave everyone the creeps as he talked about his work during the summer:
“I have a wonderful bathing suit. I visit children.”
Bad juxtaposition there, Kris! The boos started and Judge David Hasselhoff uttered, “Background check!”
His singing didn’t help matters and he was buzzed off within seconds. “I think Mrs. Claus warned me about this and she was right,” he said forlornly.
“Seeing you in the middle of the summer doesn’t seem right,” judge Piers Morgan said. ” So it’s a no.”
“If you landed on my roof, I’d move,” Hasselhoff said.
Act II
The acts who came on Wednesday afternoon were a mix of the surreal and the sublime. Besides Santa, the audience was “Live at the Apollo” tough on a dorky-looking magician who threw out lots of umbrellas, a Prince impersonator who couldn’t sing Prince songs (because they weren’t cleared by the show) and a dance/acrobatic crew from Orlando that lacked pizazz.
During the portion I watched, two people won tickets to the semifinals in Vegas: a 19-year-old blonde gal named Sarah did a rather good imitation of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.” And the sword swallower made it through although Hasselhoff was more scared than entertained and questioned whether he could sustain an hour-long Vegas act. He did seem kind of one note but certainly good TV at least one time.
Like a lot of TV shows, not every sound you hear is spontaneous. The producer felt the crowd reaction to the sword swallower was inadequate and asked them to do gasping and cringing sounds again.
Is this TV?
Three other observations: the “X” buzz sound the judges press is even more aggravating live. Jerry Springer was missing in action on stage, doing most of his camera work backstage. And the acoustics here are quite good.
Last year’s winner, singing ventriloquist Terry Fator even stopped by during a break. He said he was doing a private corporate gig in town and heard about the taping so he came by to say hey and tell everyone he will be back in Atlanta for a public show October 11, coincidentally at the Cobb Energy Centre.
If you have time, definitely stop by tomorrow to check it out. There are two tapings: one at 11 a.m. and another at 4 p.m. It’s free and they have plenty of seats available. Today, they had to do some recruiting for the early shift, bringing folks in from senior citizens homes and kids from local schools.
Q&A with the judges
I wasn’t allowed to talk to the contestants but I did have a few minutes with Hasselhoff, Springer and Morgan. Here’s the story we’re running in tomorrow’s print edition:
When David Hasselhoff arrived at DeKalb Peachtree Airport Tuesday, he had his driver go directly to his childhood home in the Chamblee Dunwoody area.
It was gone, torn down for a new home. But that didn’t stop the “America’s Got Talent” judge from walking up his old driveway and waxing nostalgic.
“I used to ride my skateboard up and down that street,” Hasselhoff said Wednesday morning before the start of two days of auditions for the hit NBC summer reality series at the Cobb Energy Centre. “I had a go kart, which became the Knight Rider. I was a terror!”
The “Hoff” — known for “Knight Rider,” “Baywatch” and strange YouTube videos — recalled mowing lawns for $5 an hour and performing a play as a child for the family of Martin Luther King.
But alas, he had work to do and he joined host Jerry Springer and fellow judges Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan on the stage at noon, greeted by cheers from the Atlanta audience.
“What’s not to love about the Hoff?” Morgan said. “We call him ‘Breaking News Hasselhoff.’ Every ten minutes, there’s some sort of breaking news about the guy.” He then noted how Hasselhoff recently made headlines after wrangling an elephant tusk from his ex-wife’s home. “I used to work for a tabloid. We wouldn’t have had a newspaper without him.”
Morgan then did a fine imitation of Hasselhoff reacting to a lousy act: “That was awesome! Awesome!” he said, eyes bugged out, hand slapping the table.
Springer, Hasselhoff and Morgan were all thrilled that last year’s winner Terry Fator, the singing ventriloquist, is doing so well. Fator nabbed a regular gig at the Las Vegas Hilton and is pocketing $100,000 a pop for corporate events.
“Terry is a true rags-to-riches story,” Springer said.
“We’re getting a lot more varied cats coming to casting calls,” Morgan noted. “He proves the unusual can win this show. It’s not ‘American Idol.’ You don’t have to just sing for your money.”
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2/26: Raisin in the Sun ratings, Organic Sundays survives, WSB award noms, radio station ages
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry. Not much to go on today. I tried to reach Chris Krok to see what he’s up to but caught him once changing diapers, then caught him again eating dinner with the kids. In both cases he wasn’t set up to talk. I also wanted to do something with Jamie Dupree, WSB’s Washington correspondent and what life is like during a hot election year. Hopefully I’ll catch him tomorrow.
Atlanta’s Kenny Leon should be happy that his film version of “Raisin in the Sun” Sunday night did well in the ratings for ABC, finishing with 12.7 million viewers, based on preliminary Nielsen numbers. The only show that did better Monday night was “Deal or No Deal” with 15.3 million at 8 p.m. And if you’re into CBS’s “Welcome to the Captain,” it won’t last. It was down to 5.3 million viewers last night.
Matt “Organic” Jones has not only survived the transition from 99X to Rock 100.5 but it appears his Organic X (now dubbed Organic Sunday) has survived the move as well. He’s been doing this “softer side” of rock on Sunday mornings for more than a decade, creating a devoted following for folks nursing a hangover.
And WSB-AM has been nominated as Radio & Records news/talk station of the year while both Neal Boortz and Clark Howard were nominated for syndicated personality of the year.
I’m really scraping, eh? This is as good a day as any to provide the latest median ages of listeners for each radio station.
The youthful ones from last fall, according to Arbitron:
95.5/The Beat and Hot 107.9 (22.2)
Project 96.1 (28.1)
99X (29.1)
105.3 El Patron (29.2)
Viva 105.7 (30.5)
Q100 (31.5)
La Raza 102.3 (31.5)
V-103 (32.7)
In the middle:
Star 94 (36.7)
Fish 104.7 (38.2)
The Zone (40)
Dave FM (40.6)
Grown Folks (40.9)
The Fan (41.3)
Kicks (41.5)
The older set:
B98.5 (45.3)
97.1/The River (45.6)
Praise 97.5 (46.9)
Kiss 104.1 (47.7)
94.9/The Bull (48.9)
Jazz 107.5 (49.3)
Eagle 106.7 (51)
WGST-AM (52.1)
WSB-AM (55.4)
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2/25: 2008 Academy Awards ratings drop 20%
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Academy Awards last night hit its lowest ratings numbers in at least 33 years, drawing a preliminary Nielsen estimate of 32 million viewers. (Nielsen has been tracking this show’s ratings since 1974.)
That’s down from 40 million last year and the worst since 2003, when an average of 33 million viewers watched “Chicago” take home the best movie Oscar. Most Academy Awards this decade have drawn around 40 million people, typically the second biggest telecast of the year behind the Super Bowl. But this year, the premiere of “American Idol” drew more viewers.
In Atlanta, the numbers were even more dismal, falling 30 percent year over year, to about 600,000 viewers from nearly 900,000 last year. Of the 55 biggest markets, Atlanta ranked 38th in ratings for the telecast. In fact, “American Idol” in a typical telecast, draws more viewers locally.
People may have been turned off because the best picture nominees (including the winner “No Country For Old Men”) were not huge blockbusters and most of the actors in the big categories were not A list types. In fact, the four major acting categories went to foreigners for the first time in more than four decades. All the montages, interviews and pre-recorded “best” moments from past Oscars (yes, a montage to periscopes and binoculars in film!), clearly set up before the strike helped elongate the show well past three hours.
In other ratings news, people appeared to be hungry for fresh “Saturday Night Live” episodes. This past Saturday, SNL had its best ratings in the major markets in two years, which extrapolated will equal about 10 million viewers nationwide. This was the first post-strike live telecast and featured Tina Fey as host, Steve Martin and Mike Huckabee making surprise guest appearances and Carrie Underwood singing. This Saturday, “Juno” star Ellen Page will host.
USA’s “Monk” also had its best ratings ever this past Friday, the season finale in which he played fugitive and solved how he was framed for murder. “Monk” pulled in 6.9 million viewers. That’s impressive for a show that’s in its seventh season. It helped that none of the regular networks had any fresh scripted shows available Friday night. “Monk” actually beat a repeat of CBS’s “Ghost Whisperer” and an ABC “20/20” and wasn’t far behind a “House” repeat or the new NBC game show “Amnesia.”
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2/24: Rock 100.5 lineup complete w/ Erin Watson, English Nick
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rock 100.5 has found its mid-day jock: a gal from Columbus, GA’s Rock 103 named Erin Watson or as she was called there, the Mid-Day Mistress. You can check out her myspace page here.. She’s clearly a big fan of Metallica and also sings and models. She starts Monday.
Erin joins the illustrious list of very attractive female jocks in town, including the new Hot 107.9 jock Maria More, who starts the same day as she does. Of the 17 major market English language music stations in Atlanta, 11 now have mid-day female jocks. The exceptions are Star 94, the Bull, the River, 95.5/The Beat, Kicks and Smooth Jazz.
And good news for English Nick, still recovering from a car accident that mess up his hip: Rock 100.5 gave him the full-time evening jock slot, replacing the very short-lived Matt C and Lewis show (Gary Lewis said Matt C is off to PR and Lewis will segue to 99x.com with Jillian.). English Nick has worked part time at 96rock and 99X for years. Glad to hear a great British voice full time!
Where did I hear this info? Well, we radio dorks gathered for a special Radio-info party Friday at Manuel’s Tavern, courtesy of radio buyer Roddy Freeman and regular contributor to that board. Radio-info is a place to gab about radio, populated by both radio folks and radio wannabes. Surprisingly, a few real radio people showed up, including Southside Steve Rickman and Seabass from Rock 100.5, who taped some material for videos they post on www.regularguys.com. Christopher Calandro, former producer of the Regular Guys and the Morning X (& Don Miller), popped by in a kilt, too. And Southside Steve’s bosses Rob Roberts and Gary Lewis even mixed it up. It was a fine night had by all.
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2/22: Where is WSB-TV’s Pam Martin?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On January 4, Pam Martin was bumped out of the early morning anchor chair. She was to keep her noontime anchoring and add some reporting duties for the 5/6 p.m. time slots. Carol Sbarge took her over Martin’s early morning duties.
But Martin hasn’t appeared on air since. No word yet from Marion Pittman, her boss, or Martin herself. Martin has had some health problems, including a wrist injury. Some folks at the station are speculating that she might simply be riding out her contract.
Martin has been at the station since 1989.
The press release at the time went like this:
“I’m pleased to be returning to the job I created for myself. It allows the best of all possible journalist worlds,” said Martin.
“When needed, Pam responded to the morning shift like the veteran she is,” said Pittman. “She rearranged her life for the grueling morning news schedule and took ownership of her role. She anchored the show as Atlanta commuters shifted their news viewing to earlier and earlier in the morning.”
“Pam leaves the show in a dominant competitive position. We appreciate her leadership, dedication and great stewardship of this important newscast,” Pittman added.
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2/21: Hot 107.9’s new mid-day host Maria More, update on Moby
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wow. That Pezo dude didn’t last long in the mid-day role. He wasn’t even there eight montjs after replacing Ramona Debreaux (now working part time at V-103) Hot has found a new female voice for mid days in Maria More from Gainesville, Fla.
She starts Monday. A Florida A&M grad with an MBA at Florida State University, she last worked at Blazin 102.3 in Gainesville. Check out her Web site. She describes herself as the “perfect blend of sight and sound.” She’s a model and a singer. Her myspace page says “Maria More, Poetess and Lyricist, embraces musical artistry through a passionate release of thought invoked words over smooth instrumentals.”
Pezo in Da Crib (right) has been bumped to the 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift. In the hip-hop world, that’s a popular time slot.
Also, I wrote a Sunday Living piece about Moby, the former Kicks personality now doing his own syndicated show heard on South 107.1, WNGC and the Bear locally. Check it out here.
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2/21: Las Vegas nixed, ER survives
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After five respectable seasons, “Las Vegas” appears to be a goner on NBC. This past Friday’s two-hour season finale is apparently its last, according to TV Guide.. The show wasn’t a blackjack by any means but I watched it loyally the past three seasons. It was always best when criminals tried to rip off the casino. And the show lost a bit of its elan this season without James Caan though Tom Selleck and the gal who played Piper were good additions. Ratings had fallen off, though being on Friday didn’t help matters.
Surprisingly, veteran show “ER” survives despite slipping ratings (it’s barely drawing 9 million viewers nowadays vs. 25 million in its heyday).
Anybody still watching “ER”? Does it deserve a 16th season?
NBC is seeking options to keep “Friday NIght Lights” alive by working with other networks sort of like “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” with USA Network.. In other words, spread the costs over multiple airings on different networks.
In other NBC show news, “Law & Order” actor Jesse L. Martin is leaving to be replaced by Anthony Anderson, whose “K-Ville” is a goner over at Fox.
And “Lost” fans: another great “reveal” at the end when we find out Kate is pretending to be the mom of Aaron, Claire’s mom. Where is Claire? And is Aaron the fifth of the “Oceanic 6”? I presume so. And favorite line, courtesy of Hurley to Kate: “You just Scooby Doo’ed me!”
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‘Project Runway’ post-mortem
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The high: Wednesday night’s lunar eclipse. Seriously - it was the last one till 2010.
The low: Oh, wait - the “Project Runway” reunion show! Highly unsatisfying.
Wrapping up Season 4 was sort of like the waning days of summer camp, when you feel a little sad that it’s over but ultimately you’re sick of your cabin, your bunkmates, the mess hall and everything camp-related.
The post-mortem on Season 4 broke down like this: a bunch of tangentially acquainted people issue minor complaints and try to eke out a few laughs. No one exhibits any chemistry; everyone looks mildly uncomfortable.
No revelations took place in this hour-long special - not even a truly thought-provoking comment surfaced, though a few behind-the-scenes clips gave the show a little life. Meantime, we rediscovered that Victorya is uptight and Christian is arrogant: Who knew?
Though Tim Gunn is generally a class act, even he and Heidi Klum gave semi-Stepford performances, not really engaging in conversation with the designers but still asking some dumb viewer questions (“Ricky, why do you cry so much?”).
The last word: Season 3 winner Jeffrey Sebelia drives a Saturn in a “Project Runway” promo. The tatted-up, bad-attitude rock ‘n’ roller drives a vanilla vehicle? Wonders never cease.
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2/20: Do you like Cledus T. Judd’s accent? Also: Jenners’ new job, V-103/AOK town hall meeting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Wednesday morning, Cledus T. Judd on the Bull read an email he received from a listener complaining about his accent, that it was too strong, too redneck for today’s Atlanta. It’s a familiar complaint. It’s part of the reason Moby was let go from Kicks back in 2002. (I’ve written a story updating the world about Moby for the print edition of Sunday Living this weekend.)
Cledus defended himself, said he’s not going to subsume is Cartersville accent for anybody. I was out and about and not jotting notes down so I don’t have his exact defense but he said he’s proud of being Southern and having said accent.
“I can’t change my accent. This is where I am and if they don’t like it, punch the button,” he said after the show in an interview. “I’d never judge anybody by the way they talk. That’s not fair.”
“I think he is who he is,” said Clay Hunnicutt, his boss. “He’s not putting on a persona. You can’t change him. You either like him or not. He’s real. He’s genuine.” To him, feedback to the six-week-old show has been great and 99.9 percent called in to defend him and be who he is.
What do you think? Do you like him and/or his accent so far?
And Rob Jenners, who was part of the new Morning X for just over a year until last month, has found a new job at another Dickey-affiliated station: 680/The Fan. Let him explain himself:
I’m the new Production Director for 680, which means I’m responsible for commercial production, imaging of the station, and I’m trying to produce some stuff for Chris Rude and Buck & Kincade to help them out however possible. I started last Wednesday. It’s a great team and a really positive environment here. I’m excited about the future at this station, it’s a station I listen to all the time (I’m a talk radio guy) and the crew is a blast. Good stuff, and in hindsight I’m glad things worked out the way they did, I’m really happy.
And V-103/WAOK-AM are holding a combo town hall meeting later today from 6 to 8 p.m. about school violence. Frank Ski and Lorraine Jacques-White will preside. “We had been wanting to do it for awhile,” Ski said. “With the recent incident at McNair High School, we figured it was a good time.”
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2/20: Steve & Vikki to B98.5
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Steve & Vikki, formerly of Star 94, are off to B98.5. They start July 1, after their noncompete agreement with Star is over.
The popular pair left Star in November after 17 years. Management at Star felt their audience had gotten too old and replaced them with the more youthful Morning Mess morning team from Indianapolis.
This is the most obvious place for Steve & Vikki since B98.5’s listeners are basically a slightly older version of Star 94’s listeners. In fact, it was the only realistic place for them to go unless another station changed format to accommodate them.
Strategically, B98.5’s move was both offensive and defensive. Offensive because the station, already doing very well without a direct format competitor, simply solidifies its power in the mornings with a known brand in Steve & Vikki. Defensive because this keeps away other stations tempted to compete directly against B98.5. Sure, B98.5 was the only existing station that fit with Steve & Vikki, but everyone in town knew that a rival could have easily picked up S&V and gone head to head with B98.5 in the soft rock world just as Cumulus as done with Rock 100.5 and the Regular Guys.
Kelly & Alpha will stay on until June. They were here nearly a decade, doing a very quiet, low-key, minimalistic show with lots of music. It worked well and they did their jobs, pulling in adequate ratings. And without Lite 94.9, they have done even better in the past year.
Cox Radio is not known for local personality FM radio in this town. It’ll be interesting to see how much latitude B98.5 will give Steve & Vikki compared to what they did on Star.
For those who only heard that Vikki had health issues last June, when news leaked of her impending departure from Star, she is fine now and ready to go. When they left Star in early November, it was 100% clear Steve would be seeking a new job on air and about 98% sure that Vikki would join him. Steve by himself would be like Jimmy Baron without the Morning X or Larry Wachs minus Eric Von Haessler. The value of these teams are far greater in the eyes of radio execs than individually.
My colleague Richard Eldredge broke the story over in Buzz land. And given their cautious natures, they are not going to talk until the noncompete is over.
“I think them coming back is going to make life very hard for Star 94 in conjunction with Bert doing his thing,” said Jake Ray, S&V’s former producer 2002 to 2005. “It’s a great move for Steve & Vikki.”
I’m not sure if Will Gara will stay on as producer or if Tommy Sullivan will be able to re-join them. I left messages with both.
“I’m so excited,” Sullivan said. “I am happy where I am and am working on a future in television.” (Sullivan is still doing off-air remotes for Star 94 in conjunction with his job at WXIA’s “Atlanta & Company.”)
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2/19: Flip Spiceland leaving WXIA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Veteran meteorologist Flip Spiceland at WXIA-TV is leaving the station after seven years. He was at CNN for 21 years prior to that.
It’s not clear whether it was budgetary or strategic or whatnot. WXIA general manager Bob Walker said they negotiated but couldn’t come to an agreement. “I chose not to accept the offer,” he wrote in an email, without specifying whether it was lower than his last contract or simply inadequate in his mind. He wrote he doesn’t have another job lined up.
Flip has always been a smooth operator on screen and his name is arguably the most memorable in town among broadcasters. Chris Holcomb is going to cover for Flip when he leaves Feb. 27 or 28, Walker said. Then they are going to search for a replacement. Holcomb is in the running.
The station recently lost Blair Meeks to Jackson Spalding PR. It’s unclear how they are going to fill Meeks’ spot.
And Walker said his four “backpack journalists” are doing a great job and have helped WXIA place more people in more places on the streets of metro Atlanta.
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2/19: Dancing With the Stars latest lineup
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABC has put together what looks like a fun crew for the latest “Dancing With the Stars,” including the first deaf performer, Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin. Take that, Heather “missing a leg” Mills! ABC introduced the dozen during the finale of “Dance Wars” tonight.
“Deaf people can do anything except hear. My deafness will limit my ability only if I let it,” says Matlin, to USA Today.. Matlin is currently on Showtime’s “The L Word.”
“Seeing as I haven’t let my it affect my acting, I don’t think I’ll have more difficulty than other cast members,” she says. “You try to imagine what it’s like when you can’t hear the music. I’ll let my partner be my music.”
Some other big names include Priscilla Presley, the elder stateswoman at age 62; R&B hottie Mario, magician Penn Jillette, Olympic gold medal winner skater Kristi Yamaguchi (an immediate favorite, right), tennis star Monica Seles and “Police Academy’ star Steve Guttenberg.
The others include Tony winning actress Marissa Jaret Winokur. Radio personality Adam Carolla should provide comic relief. “American Pie” actress Shannon Elizabeth should provide eye candy. Latino actor Christian de la Fuente is also eye candy and Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor.
The show premieres March 17.
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2/18: An offbeat CBS casting call, “Kid Nation” dead?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Most casting calls in town from TV shows are of the more frivolous category: dancers, singers, the next Trump “Apprentice” and the like. “America’s Got Talent” is at AmericasMart this Sunday and Monday.
But CBS has posed a new one for this Wednessday. No name yet for the show itself. The pitch verbatim:
Have you been a victim of a crime in the Atlanta & Clayton County area? Do you want help?
Are you still fighting to get justice against the offender?
A new CBS television series is coming to town, and looking for families, individuals, or organizations with real problems in need of real solutions.
Our team of the nation’s leading law enforcement officials can solve crimes, clean up neighborhoods, and bring bad guys to justice.
If that’s what you need, tell us your story! Bring photographs, legal documents, police reports and any other information you may have.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20th, 2008, 9AM-9PM
Renaissance Concourse Hotel 1 Hartsfield Center Pwky Atlanta, GA 30354
If you are not able to attend, please call anytime: 323-595-0712
In other CBS news, the show that got all sorts of gratuitous ink last fall “Kid Nation” appears to be a goner. Newsday reports that the show, which featured several delightfully fun Georgia kids, isn’t on the 2008-09 lineup. The show didn’t do particularly well in the ratings, averaging 7 to 8 million a week. That’s relative to CBS’s other shows. I got a kick out of it, especially spoiled but always quotable Taylor and amusing Jared. It was Divad’s parents that complained about the show’s treatment of th ekids and helped generate all that pre-show ink. There were questions of labor laws broken and injuries sustained. In the end, it was much ado about not much and viewers shrugged their shoulders, too.
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2/17: Limbaugh tops radio talker ranking
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Talkers magazine ranks the top 100 most influential radio talk-show hosts each year and Rush Limbaugh lands on top for the second year in a row.
The purely subjective criteria: courage, effort, impact, longevity, potential, ratings, recognition, revenue, service, talent and uniqueness.
Limbaugh has been the king of talk radio for nearly two decades and still draws more than 14 million listeners a week though he is not king here in Atlanta on WGST-AM. In the fall book, WSB-AM (Neal Boortz and Clark Howard) easily beat him and so did Colin Cowherd on WCNN-AM among men 25-54.
No. 2 is Sean Hannity again, no surprise there. He’s heard from 4 to 7 here in Atlanta on WSB-AM
And No. 3 remains conservative talker Michael Savage, who was just bumped on WSB-AM from 7 to 10 p.m. to 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. in favor of Herman Cain.
No. 4. is again Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who has not been heard in Atlanta for five years since GST dumped her. I have yet to get a reason why she hasn’t gotten a new station here.
Glenn Beck moves from 10 to 5. He returned to Atlanta last year on WGST from 9 to noon and has seen some success (and a bigger profile) with his CNN Headline News show.
Laura Ingraham holds at 6, now on WGKA from 9 to noon. Don Imus, who had a bit of controversy but managed to get a new job last year, moves from 14 to 7. He has yet to find an outlet in Atlanta this time around. Ed Schultz is a liberal syndicated talk show host not heard from here and moves from 11 to 8. Mike Gallagher, on WGKA from noon to 3, drops from 8 to 9.
And syndicated Atlanta WSB-AM talker Neal Boortz, whose latest “Fair Tax” book came out this past Tuesday, slipped from 9 to 10.
WSB’s Clark Howard, the other Atlantan on the list, fell from 27 to 30.
Among others: WGST’s Dave Ramsey jumps from 21 to 12, helped no doubt by his new Fox Business News Channel show. Sirius talker Howard Stern, who fell from No. 1 in 2006 to No. 12 last year, falls to No. 13 this year. WSB-AM weekend law analyst Bill Handel moves from 17 to 19. GKA’s Michael Medved jumps from 29 to 20. WGKA morning host Bill Bennett holds at 25. WGST’s George Noory moves from 28 to 26. WGKA’s Dennis Prager is at 35 while WSB’s Kim Komando is at 36, down from 24. GKA’s Hugh Hewitt is at 65.
There is an unranked 101 to 250 which includes the 2 Live Stews on the Zone. So is Colin Cowherd and Dan Patrick, heard on the Fan. Ditto with Martha Zoller, heard on WDUN-AM in Gainesville.
2/15: On Lost, Survivor, B98.5
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t read this if you haven’t yet seen the ep:
Another great “Lost” episode! Plenty of action and double crosses plus that great reveal at the end. I’m loving these flash forwards.
Sayid gets his first flash forward. We learn quickly he’s part of the Oceanic Six, along with Hurley, Jack and Kate. Nobody should be surprised he’s playing hired assassin. That’s his primary skill set! But we never find out who Sayid’s target is and he has to kill off a similar agent set to find out who Sayid’s boss is. Neither achieves their objectives once he kills her. It was sweet to see Sayid fall for her, yet it’s the second woman he cares for (after Shannon) who dies. Tough Karma…
The gal Sayid killed shot him too, but it’s not fatal. The big reveal at the end: he is being treated by the almighty Ben! And Ben is playing like Jack with the medical equipment! We also learn Ben is quite the travelin’ man when Sayid checks out his secret closet back on the island and sees a stash of passports Jason Bourne would envy. Sayid was also shockingly betrayed by Hurley, of all people, who was used by Locke as a shill to lure him, Kate & suspicious ghost whisperer Miles into captivity. Sayid trades Miles for Charlotte. Sawyer, under Locke’s command, watches over Kate but convinces her to stay because she has nothing to go back to — like him. Yes, that Jack-Kate-Sawyer triangle goes on and on and on. We also find out on the island that Sayid, by giving Frank Charlotte, can fly off the island in the repaired helicopter with physicist Daniel (and the dead body of Naomi.) Bizarrely, this is one episode where Jack was kind of left out of the action.
Any interesting clues or observations? Next week is going to be Kate-centric and we find out how she was free for that big reunion with Jack in the first flash forward last May.
Now onto Survivor:
Sadly, one of the more interesting and divisive characters on the show, Jonny Fairplay, decided to bow out so he can be with his pregnant wife. Huh? Anyway, it’s embarrassing how long it took the fans to make fire with flint. And the way they split up by age was irritating. Lots of romance in the air, too. In fav land, Atlantan Parvati and study James bond. Amanda and Ozzy get busy, too! But the favs win immunity so the focus goes on the fans. Chet did poorly so he’s a target. But Joel is chafed by Mikey’s effort to be the lead man and tries to convince folks to target Mary (right) instead of Chet. Joel’s gambit works and Mary is out. As Jeff notes, she was totally blindsided and Mikey looks confused and shocked. So much for that so-called “younger” alliance! Good job, Joel! Now let’s see how the consequences of that move play out next week.
Over in radio land, if you’re a regular listener of B98.5, you’ll notice things began getting awfully soft on Thursday — in celebration of Valentine’s Day. It’s rare for B98.5 to do a thematic shift on a workday. So you hear songs that Peach used to play like Dan Fogelberg’s “Longer,” Dan Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch,” Peter Cetera and Amy Grant’s “Next Time I Fall” and David Soul’s “Don’t Give Up On Us.” (right) It’s not all sap, though. There’s Huey Lewis’ “Power of Love,” Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” EMF’s “Unbelievable” and Diana Ross’ “Upside Down.” There are no current songs. But hey, we can all use a break from Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5, right?
2/15: Biggest Loser, America’s Got Atlanta auditions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The writers strike is over, but reality shows are still scouring the country for unscripted talent.
Los Angeles and New York are the easiest sites for casting calls, but shows do stop by Atlanta on occasion. In the past year, “So You Think You Can Dance,” “American Idol,” “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” and “Top Chef” have come by.
In the next couple of weeks, two NBC shows will be here: “The Biggest Loser” Saturday and “America’s Got Talent” on Feb. 24 and 25. See if either show is calling your name:
“America’s Got Talent”
Premise: Anything goes. Sing? Dance? Juggle? Mime? If you can entertain an audience for a couple of minutes, have at it! Last year, a singing ventriloquist won the $1 million.
Ratings: Top show last summer, averaging more than 11 million viewers.
Casting for: This summer
Audition site: AmericasMart, 240 Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta
When: Feb. 24 and 25, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Casting director says: “There’s no age limit. We welcome novices who have never performed outside their living rooms. Tell jokes. Play the spoons. We’re open to anything!” — Roz Taylor Jordan, senior casting director.
Preregistration? Preferred. Go to www.nbc.com/AmericasGotTalent/ to print and fill out forms.
Bonus fact: The judges (Piers Morgan, David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne) and host Jerry Springer remain the same. If you want free tickets to see a taping of the early rounds at Cobb Energy Centre Feb. 27 and 28, call 1-888-258-0661 or go to www.ocatv.com.
“The Biggest Loser”
Premise: Are you dangerously overweight? Are you willing to strip to your skivvies in front of millions? Do you have a TV-friendly personality and the desire to win $250,000? This show is for you. But you’ll also need to partner up with a friend or family member since “Loser” is now doing the competition via couples.
Ratings: The current fifth cycle is averaging about 8.5 million viewers, up a million from the fall.
Casting for: This fall
Audition site: Wild Bill’s, 2075 Market St., Duluth. First 500 people guaranteed to be seen. Bring photos.
When: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Casting director says: “We’re looking for all sorts of combinations: mother-daughter, married couples, siblings. We’d love to have firefighters or police officers or former athletes. Just two people with a close connection. Unlike other reality shows, most come to audition who don’t want to be on television.” — Allison Kaz, who has cast all six seasons.
Preregistration? No. But you can go to www.nbc.com/casting if you want to send in a videotape submission instead.
Bonus fact: Last fall’s competition featured Bryan Washington, a cheerful high school music teacher from Riverdale. He lost a whopping 122 pounds.
Project Runway: Life imitates art
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The high: An unexpected trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The low: We’re normally not fans of bloodletting, but we felt like victims of false advertising. If you say you’re going to auf two designers, then auf two designers. Tonight’s “tie” felt like a gimmick.
In the three months since we were first introduced to the Season 4 designers, Rami Kashou has draped his way through 12 episodes. Come on, Rami. No. More. Draping. Or we will attack our televisions with pinking shears.
This week, the draping was reason enough for him to go home, but moreover, the lilac dress was hardly the grand statement that you would expect to come from a museum.
Chris March went for same-old same-old and got away with it too. But Christian and Jillian’s outfits were gorgeous, though, especially Christian’s puffy but not overdone sleeves.
Meantime, Sweet P finally did herself in with a kind of kooky homage to a peacock. It looked less like the elegant fowl in the painting and more like the cartoon bird that used to be NBC’s mascot. (You know, the one with the exploding tail.) She could have had a lot of fun with that dress, maybe something with a giant train, something royal looking, something that splayed out when the model walked.
She was a nice lady, though, and we’re sorry to see her go.
In case you hadn’t heard, all five of the remaining Project Runway designers presented collections at New York Fashion Week, though only three collections will be broadcast on the show. Since Sweet P is out of the running, here are two pieces from her collection.
She did include versions of her standard daytime dress, as well as the more sophisticated designs you see here.
The last word: “Project Runway” will air a special next week (their opportunity to gripe), and Season 4 will end with a two-part conclusion Feb. 27 and March 5.
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2/14: Neal Boortz’s Fair Tax book signing, NBC return dates
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I spent a few minutes gabbing with WSB-AM’s Neal Boortz, at a local Borders off Ashford Dunwoody Wednesday night to promote his latest “Fair Tax” book, which is a guidebook for fans of the Fair Tax to face off against critics (including Jay Bookman here at the AJC). Harper Collins, he said, wanted him to finish in three months. It took him five. So it’s coming out this week a little later than he would have liked in the presidential campaign cycle. But at least Fair Tax supporter Mike Huckabee has not dropped out of the race. Boortz doubts Huckabee will win the nomination but perhaps he could get the vice presidential slot and bring the Fair Tax to the White House.
Boortz had a skin cancer removed recently from his scalp and the stitches had not disappeared so he wore a cap. But otherwise, he was in good spirits.
His first 2005 “Fair Tax Book” with Rep. John Linder hit the top of the New York Times bestseller list. He hopes to do the same this time, though he said he has to face off against “Eat, Pray, Puke.” (Actually, Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love.”) “I don’t think Oprah is going to get her sewing circle to recommend a tax book,” he said. He doesn’t know how many of that first book he sold but he knows Harper Collins is making more copies upfront this time. He says he just takes the royalty checks and gives them to charity.
So far, the House of Representatives has about 70 supporters of a Fair Tax. Boortz hopes if the book hits it big on the best-seller, it would keep the subject top of mind inside the Beltway.
Plenty of folks have doubted the viability of a revenue neutral consumption tax. He said the book responds to critiques such as the depth of the tax’s effect on prices, the end of the mortgage deduction and its impact on the poor and middle class. Boortz feels many lobbyists whose jobs are to “game the tax system” and tax experts on the staffs of congressmen are actively against it. And politicians use the tax, he said, to “manipulate votes” by offering up special interest deductions and breaks through the current tax system. The Fair Tax, he says, “would be a massive transfer of power from the government to the people.”
While the Fair Tax would end the IRS, he admits there would have be government compliance of retailers who collect the tax and a way to dispense and track “prebates” given to each household to help the poor.
He isn’t doing a full-fledged book tour for this version. “I just don’t want to do it,” he said. “I’m lazy.” He did fly to New York Tuesday to promote the book on Neil Cavuto and Sean Hannity and locally is doing a couple of Atlanta book signings, including a second one tonight at 7 at a Barnes & Noble at the Ave @ West Cobb in Marietta.
Boortz is now on 230 stations nationwide.
He then jumped on stage to greet more than 100 people for a book signing that wasn’t even finalized until last Friday. He first wore a big black cowboy hat and said, “Am I hot or what? I’m from Texas so I can get away with this.” Then he swapped it out for a red “Fair Tax” cap.
You can buy it on Amazon.com here.
Here are some other photos I took:
ABOVE: Boortz’s right hand woman Belinda Skelton and his relative new producer Cristina Gonzalez
NBC also announced return dates for new episoes of its scripted shows. ER comes back to life April 10, same day as “30 Rock,” “The Office” and “Scrubs.” “Law & Order: SVU”? April 15. “My Name is Earl”? April 3. “Heroes,” “Chuck” and “Life” come back this fall.
And interestingly, ratings for late-night shows which went without writers the past six weeks weren’t affected. Leno continued to beat Letterman and “The Daily Show” held its own, while “Colbert” edged up slightly.
2/13: Strike is over! How this will play out…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now that the writers have officially approved the contract with the producers, Hollywood is back in gear and scripted shows will start coming back.
Already, the talk shows are in gear and starting today, you’ll start seeing Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Leno and Letterman back in full gear. (I thought Conan did a great job without his writers though there are only so many times we could watch him spin his wedding band on a desk.).
Next up: “Saturday Night Live” will be back Feb. 23 with Tina Fey as host. And the Academy Awards with Jon Stewart as host is set to go as normal (which is good or bad depending how your tolerance level for that show.)
Some of the sitcoms will probably hit the air with new episodes in mid-March, according to the New York Times. That includes top sitcom “Two & a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory,” set to start again March 17. Chuck Lorre told the Times he hopes to pump out nine episodes for each show, working seven days a week. (Ditto with “How I Met Your Mother”) Most shows, though, will at most do five or six. “The Office,” the first show to run out of episodes in mid November, won’t be back until April 10 at the earliest.
Dramas take longer and it won’t be until April before we see “Grey’s,” “Desperate Housewives,” “House” or “Ugly Betty.” Two series won’t be back this spring: “24” and “Heroes.” Ditto for “Pushing Daisies” and “Chuck.” “CSI:Miami” will be back, though, on March 24 and will air a whopping eight new episodes while “NCIS” and “Criminal Minds” will get seven starting April 2. “CSI” and “Without a Trace” are set April 3 for six more episodes each. The CBS Friday night lineup power back April 4 with six each for “Ghost” and “Numbers” and four for “Moonlight.” On Sunday, “Cold Case” re-starts March 30 for five more episodes. “Shark” has four more but a re-launch date hasn’t been announced.
Several shows appear to be dead and won’t come back at all: “Journeyman,” “Big Shots,” “Bionic Woman,” “Cane” and “Friday Night Lights.” (Fans are trying to keep FNL alive.) The futures of “ER” and “Scrubs,” two shows expected to be over, are not firm. Ditto with “Boston Legal.”
TNT”s “The Closer” and “Saving Grace” are three weeks behind schedule and will launch in later June. HBO’s “Big Love” and “Entourage” have been pushed back.
“Lost” will air 13 instead of 16. The show has eight in the can. There will be a gap of about a month before its final five episodes. The other three not episodes will air at some later date. More info here, courtesy of Mike Ausiello of TV Guide.
TV Guide has the most comprehensive update guide here.
2/13: Whatever happened to… CNN’s Lynne Russell?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CNN’s Lynne Russell was a ubiquitous presence on CNN Headline News for 18 years from its launch until 2001.
She moved to Toronto three years ago and sells homes. (She briefly worked for the CBC, a Canadian news network.) She’s always been a woman of diverse interests: she’s a licensed detective with two black belts and makes hand-sewn lampshades.
The National Post interviewed her recently. Here are excerpts:
Q: And now you’re a realtor. How’s that treating you?
Russell: I really love it. Over the years I’ve bought and sold houses and I have managed some of them as rental properties. It’s funny, because I grew up in the army and we never, ever owned a house.
Q: Do you get clients who will scratch their heads and say, “Wait a minute, I know you from somewhere”?
Russell: It does happen. What are you going to do?
Q: You also have two blackbelts. What are they in?
Russell: It’s a martial art called Choi Kwang Do. It’s kind of Korean street fighting. It moves a lot like Tai Chi.
If you had to throw down with Wolf Blitzer, you could take him, right?
Russell: I don’t know. He’s little, but the whole part of martial arts is that you don’t have to be big. There are a lot of big stupid people out there. Wolf is a friend. I don’t think I’d ever have to do that.
2/12: Rocker breaks steroid news to Regular Guys & Kincade, Axel & strike updates, saving FNL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
John Rocker, the former Braves pitcher, has been a friend of the Regular Guys for years. On Monday morning, he spoke with them and fessed up about steroids.
Former major league pitcher John Rocker said Monday that baseball commissioner Bud Selig knew he failed a drug test in 2000 and that doctors for the “league” and the “players association” advised him and several Texas Rangers teammates on how to effectively use steroids.
Rocker, no stranger to controversy, made those comments on Atlanta radio station Rock 100.5.
John Kincade and Buck Belue got more from Rocker later that day.
“Bud Selig knew in the year 2000 John Rocker was taking the juice,” the former pitcher said Monday of the baseball commissioner on Atlanta radio station 680, according to the Associated Press. “Didn’t do anything about it.”
This differs from the story he told ESPN a year ago when he downplayed steroid use by baseball players.
At the Van Halen concert last night, I also ran into Axel Lowe, the most prominent survivor from the transition to Rock 100.5 from 99X. He’s always been a metal head so he’s happy to play Motley Crue and Guns ‘n Roses. He figures Steve Craig will land at an adult alternative station (Dave perhaps?) once his eight months on his existing contract are up. Leslie Fram had no real effective control over programming the last two years anyway. Now, she can write her own ticket. He said given Matt Jones’ schedule and his wife’s job, he prefers the overnight schedule over middays. (He doesn’t know who that mid-day job will go to yet but thinks it will probably be a woman.)
Axel himself once wanted to do mornings (and subbed in briefly after Toucher left and before Demery showed up) but realizes that afternoons is a more stable gig with better hours. He was also very upbeat about 99x.com and the future of the Internet on the car radio. I namedropped the new gal Jillian but he didn’t make any comments about her specifically, positive or negative. Then VH was about to start so we had to abruptly end the conversation.
The writers strike is nearly over. E! has compiled a nice update on what will happen to your favorite shows..
Beloved but ratings challenged “Friday Night Lights” aired what could have been its last episode last Friday. Now several campaigns are trying to save it after comments by NBC exec Ben Silverman that its future was in doubt. The show has been pulling in only 5 to 6 million viewers a week on Friday nights its second season. Folks are hoping to emulate “Jericho,” which came back after a concerted effort by fans for seven episodes.
The key site is www.savefridaynightlights.tv. Or sign a petition here.. As of my writing this, there are 2,238 signatures. I would think they’d need at least 50,000 for network execs to even take notice. “Best Week Ever” at VH1 is even trying to help out here..
2/11: Kicks raises $752K for St. Jude’s, Boortz book out tomorrow
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kicks 101.5 raised $752,483 in pledges for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital late last week. That’s up from $735K a year ago but way down from 2005 and 2006 when the station raised $1.2 million each. On the bright side, Kicks got its numbers up from 2007 despite the economy. On the downside, the huge dropoff from earlier fundraisers may indicate the Bull’s presence siphoning off listeners from Kicks who might otherwise have pledged money. (Similar fundraising efforts by WSB-AM and Star 94 last year did not see such a fall.)
Meanwhile, over at WSB-AM, Neal Boortz has his second “Fair Tax” book to promote and the one presidential candidate Mike Huckabee who is promoting it is still in the running. The book is out tomorrow and I’m trying to procure a copy and interview the host. I’ll post it later this week when I get it. You can buy the book here at amazon.com..
Oh, and reporter Blair Meeks left WXIA-TV last Friday. I hear it’s for a PR job.
2/9: The magic of Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne” (and TV writers strike is nearly over)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One thing I learned Saturday about Tyler Perry at a special panel for TBS’s “House of Payne:” his employees call him Mr. Perry, not Tyler.
That’s respect, which Mr. Perry has earned.
On top of his plays and films, he has taped a whopping 100 episodes of “House of Payne” in less than a year. The show began airing last summer and the 100th episode is scheduled for August.
Most traditional sitcoms take more than four years to reach 100 episodes.
When they told folks in Hollywood their plans, “you can imagine folks just laughed. ‘No way! You guys are crazy!’ ” said Roger Bobb, supervising producer. “Now some of those same people are asking me for jobs.”
He and a few players for “Payne” dispensed advise to more than 120 members of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at Grand Hyatt in Buckhead.
“The thing is, we don’t have to answer to a network,” said head writer Kellie Griffin. “We answer to one person: Mr. Perry. He has total creative control of the show.”
It’s a tough grind of an environment where scripts have to be written quickly and shows produced in a day (as opposed to a week.). “Payne” started with 11 writers last year and only seven made it to the end.
ABOVE: Panel moderator and WXIA-TV morning host Karyn Greer poses after the session with “Payne” actor Larramie ‘Doc’ Shaw, who plays Malik Payne. CREDIT: Rodney Ho
One person asked Roger Bo