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May 2008
5/30: Usher visits GMA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m in New York City today visiting friends and family and I decided to check out Usher at Bryant Park for “Good Morning America.” Here are some shots I took from the event this morning. He sang four songs, including his next single “Moving Mountains,” his latest hit “Love in This Club” and his seminal song “Yeah!” An enthusiastic early crowd of at least 1,500 fans showed up, a few with Braves caps on. With Sam Champion, Usher endorsed Obama with an enthusiastic “yeah!”
His latest CD “Here I Stand” is tracking to sell 435,000 to 450,000 copies, based on first-day sales, according to hitsdailydouble.. That would fall just shy of Mariah Carey’s opening week earlier this year.
Radio (including Star 94, Q100, Hot 107.9, the Beat and V-103) gave “Love in This Club” solid airplay and the mid-tempo song (featuring Young Jeezy) peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 a few weeks back.
ABOVE: Usher talking with former Atlantan and GMA host Robin Roberts (she had cancer treatment a few months back and is now letting her hair grow up publicly, thus the short ‘do) and Diane Sawyer.
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5/30: Lost finale— gotta go back!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Arum and Belinda Skelton from WSB-AM invited me to an elaborate “Lost” themed party, but I’m not in town.
The season four finale was worth a party. While not quite as emotionally wrenching as season three finale’s “Through the Looking Glass,” this season’s taut two-hour season ender thrilled from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., answering an impressive number of questions. I was bracing to be disappointed but honestly, the producers gave us fans a satisfying joy ride as we hurl toward the real finale in 2010. We will certainly be savoring the final 35 or so episodes.
Again, kudos to ABC for giving the show a specific end date, an almost unheard of concept in broadcast television. This freed the writers and producers to plan the path of this convoluted, yet fascinating, story to the end. This means every moment, every conversation, every plot twist, has real meaning. In fact, season four had virtually no fat in it at all. I can’t say there was a truly bad episode in 2007-08, something that couldn’t be said for “the Hatch” year of season two and the first half of three when the Jack/Kate/Sawyer love triangle in the Others camp played out and out and out. Before the writers knew there was an end, the show frequently meandered, with episodes that ultimately spun in the wind because the writers didn’t know if they had to keep this stretched out for three years or 10.
This finale is the perfect show to watch twice, but I’m at my parent’s home minus a DVR so I can’t go back now. So my summary below is off the top of my head.
And warning, for those of you who have yet to see the finale, what are you doing reading this? It’s going to be spoilers galore below.
Let’s summarize some of the big questions answered, peppered with new questions or questions yet to be answered.
-The gulf between Jack & Kate has widened deeply in the three years since they got off the island. Kate has no desire to go back to the island, despite Jack’s begging (first during the season three finale, then repeated again tonight). And in a dream, Claire warns Kate not to bring Aaron back. Jack’s ability to corral the others to follow him looks severely compromised.
-We now know that more than just the “Oceanic 6” (and Ben) got off the island. Desmond met up with the love of his life Penny, who saves them all, the most heartwarming moment of the episode. Frank, the helicopter dude, just disappears and we may or may not ever need to see him again.
-Walt is one tall kid now but since the flashforwards are three years after they were saved, that makes sense. Hurley explains to him that they lied to save those who stayed behind. Will they need to bring Walt back, too?
-That lie was perpetuated by Jack, who got the idea from Locke, who stayed behind.
-Well, Ben can move the island via a very cold cave-like dwelling, perhaps where the polar bear we haven’t seen since 2004 hangs out. But in a very arbitrary island rule, Ben can’t go back to the island. Why can’t we see this rule book he has?
-Ben is quite a prepared man. Not only did he have a winter jacket all set to go at the Orchid, but he had matches to light the lantern when he got to that frigid spot to “move” the island.
-Locke is now the savior of the Others. But what does this have to do with the yet unseen Jacob?
-We learn about the Orchid, yet another Dharma experimental station, this one involving time travel and the use of those poor rabbits.
-Michael tries to be a hero in saving the freighter from blowing up. He appears to fail.
-Jin seems to have died on the freighter, along with all those poor extras and Daniel. Is Jin really dead? Are any of them really dead?
-Juliet & Sawyer are still on the “moved” island with Miles, Charlotte, Richard, Locke and the Others. And Rose and Bernard are somewhere on the island, too, right? Big question: where is the island now?
-We know why Sawyer didn’t end up as part of the Oceanic rescued crew. The dang helicopter was leaking fuel thanks to an errant bullet and needed to lose some weight to stay up. I momentarily thought this was the best time for Hurley to bail but nope, Sawyer kissed “Freckles” and leaped instead.
-Sun has the guts to confront Widmore — but to what end? What is her scheme and how will this help everyone? Did he already know that the Oceanic Six were lying before Sun alluded to that?
-And that mindblowing final shot at the funeral parlor: Locke is the dead man in the coffin! I’m sure savvier Losties figured that out but I didn’t see it coming, of course, since he was most adamant out of everybody that he should stay on the island. Why is he there? Did he come back to try to convince Jack and the rest to come back? Maybe we’ll find out next season.
-“All of you have to go back!” Ben proclaims. Why? We don’t exactly know but he makes it clear that Jack leaving the island was a big mistake and that this may be why “bad things” happened afterwards (which we have yet to see.)
-Best one word line, courtesy of Ben in response to Locke telling him he just killed all the folks from the freighter after his vengeful knifing of the evil Keamy. (Keamy had a device attached to him that would set up off the C4 if he died.)
“So?”
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5/30: Cledus T. Judd recovering from nasty softball injuries
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
94.9/The Bull morning host Cledus T. Judd last week learned that wearing golf shoes on a softball field was not a smart move.
The Bull morning host said the golf shoes’ spikes caught in the first-base bag and he tripped, ripping his knee out and landing on a shoulder so hard he dislocated it. He spent two days in the Cartersville Medical Center.
“I don’t wish that on my ex wife,” said Judd, 43. “I’ve never had pain like that.”
He said he’s going to have to do weeks of rehab (“which Lord knows I’m familiar with,” he cracked.) For now, he said, he needs Jamie Massey to put on his headphones for him. “That’s teamwork!” he said.
-I have finished my story on WGCL weather forecaster Dagmar Midcap It should be up online sometime Friday. (Oddly, I heard from multiple sources that her boss, news director Rick Erbach, who I just saw May 23, resigned today. Not sure why.)
-And congratulations to Mark Kanov, general manager at Star 94, who has decided to retire in July after a whopping 40 years at the station (along with the 790 property). Nobody in the radio business I’ve ever spoken to knows anybody else who has stayed in the same place that long. He started in sales at what was then WQXI-FM in 1968, became local sales manager in 1980, then general sales maanger in 1986, station manager in 1990 and general manager since 1993. He helped build Star 94 into a top 40 powerhouse in the 80s until today. He survived three owners. He brought in Steve & Vikki in 1990 and Cindy & Ray five years ago. His final big move was the Morning Mess, a big bet which has not played out yet. {More history is noted here on the radio-info board.](http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=100712.0)
-Being on vacation, I missed the Peach Buzz item yesterday my colleague Rich Eldredge wrote but in case you missed it, long-time Bert Show co-host Jenn Hobby told the Q100 audience Wednesday that she was getting divorced from her husband and Sister Hazel guitarist Ryan Newell after five years.
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5/29: Dukes of Hazzard anniversary celebration in Atlanta next month
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“The Dukes of Hazzard,” which was partly shot in Atlanta, is celebrating its 30th anniversary at the Atlanta Motor Speedway June 28 and 29. Sure, it’s technically six months early since the show debuted in January 1979, but that’s close enough.
John Schneider (Bo Duke) is scheduled to be there, along with Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke) and Tom Wopat (Luke Duke). The publicist said “Batman” Adam West (Sure, that makes sense) and NASCAR drivers are stopping by, too, along with one of the General Lees. No TV network has committed to a planned two-hour anniversary special but the production company is confident someone will pick it up.
More details forthcoming for tickets and such.
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5/29: Atlanta’s T.I.’s community service becomes MTV series
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BET a couple of years ago filmed a popular series focused on rapper Lil Kim before she went to prison for perjury and conspiracy with the classy title “Countdown to Lockdown.”
Now MTV is doing a similar “Countdown to Lockdown” with Atlanta’s T.I., according to Variety magazine. Currently, the rap star is doing 1,000 hours of community service before he enters prison next year for possessing firearms as a convicted felon and possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers.
MTV, which has already gotten footage of T.I. leaving house arrest earlier this year, plans to film some of his community service this summer and the release of his next album this fall. The network expects to air the show next year.
“Hopefully the mistakes I’ve made will be a lesson to today’s youth and they won’t go down that same path,” T.I. told Variety.
5/28: All-black news channel in the works
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Congressman J.C. Watts is helping launch a news channel targeting African Americans, set to debut in 2009.
“I’m not so sure that you see anything on CNN or Fox News that specifically targets the African American community,” Watts told The Post. “Our community features millions of people with all kinds of backgrounds. There’s a much broader segment of the population than what we see in mainstream news.”
Watts is a CNN political contributor and former Republican congressman from Oklahoma.
Is this is a good idea? Is it a viable idea?
As you can see from the comments below, there is a lively discussion about the news channel. We ask that as you participate in the discussion, please stay on point. We’d love to hear your thoughts on whether a 24-hour news channel targeting a specific audience is a viable idea. This discussion is not intended to be a forum for making personal generalizations about race.
5/27: Atlanta’s Bow Wow joining HBO’s “Entourage”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta rap star Bow Wow is joining HBO’s “Entourage” as a new client for E, played by Kevin Connolly.
But he won’t play a musician. He’ll play a standup comic. His focus now is going to be acting more than rapping, he said. “I’m going to try to be the next Will Smith,” Bow Wow told E! Online.
He is also going to act opposite Forest Whitaker and Isaiah Washington in the sports drama “Patriots.”
“Entourage” is set to come back in September, 2008, instead of the summer because of the writers’ strike earlier this year.
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5/26: Cracks in the Oprah empire
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The New York Times wrote a piece Monday about Oprah Winfrey’s empire showing some signs of weakness..
Her TV show lost 7 percent of its ratings year over year. Circulation of her magazine is down 10 percent over the past three years. And “Oprah’s Big Give” didn’t do nearly as well as ABC had expected and she chose not to do another installment.
The story speculated that her endorsement of Barack Obama turned off her more conservative viewers and Hillary Clinton fans. (She has virtually stopped actively campaigning for him, though.)
Daily ratings for her talks how was 7.3 million, down from 7.8 million a year ago. Her show peaked at about 9 million in 2004-05. It’s still by far the No. 1 talk show and has been for more than 9 years.
Locally, her ratings in May 2008 were down an alarming 30 percent to 125,000 or so households from nearly 180,000. (Then again, “Dr. Phil” is down 30 percent in Atlanta, too, as is “Ellen.”)
What’s your take on Oprah? Tired of her? Still worship her?
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5/26: Spiff still seeking a job
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Spiff Carner, formerly of Randy & Spiff, resurrected his “Hey, it’s Friday” bit on the Regular Guys this past Friday to the song “Bang on the Drum All Day.”
“I’ve lost a little bit since I’ve been off,” Carner said. “This is the earliest I’ve been up since October 8.” That was the day WGST-AM let him go, but kept his radio partner Randy Cook. The pair had been together for 22 years, including their longest stretch with Fox 97 from 1989 to 2003.
“I knew there was trouble,” Carner said. “We started doing this talk radio thing. The PD said it’d be better if you talked less… I think that’s a hint!”
He didn’t fight it. “I walked out of the building. You can’t argue with their success. Then I got home. Wait a minute. You can. You can argue all day long!”
He noted that if you want to employ him on the radio, his email is spiffhappens@gmail.com.
Larry offered for him to show up on Fridays anytime he wants.
“We can give you movie passes and t-shirts,” Larry said.
“Don’t compete with us. We don’t want to crush you,” Eric said, if Spiff got another job.
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5/22: More on Shelley Wynter
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rob Redding, a former WAOK-AM talk show host who operates Redding News Review, intimated on his Web site that Shelley Wynter’s critical remarks against Rep. David Scott (D- GA) may have contributed to WAOK letting him go. Wynter had also accepted consulting payments from a Republican opponent of Scott’s.
A Scott spokeswoman declined to comment except to deny the politician has ever placed any pressure on the station to fire Wynter.
Rick Caffey, the station general manager, didn’t return a call by deadline.
Wynter said his marketing firm did provide services to Deborah Honeycutt, who is running against Scott. But he said he openly disclosed that info to the station and while he has been tough on Scott and other black leaders such as Rep. John Lewis, he’s never even had Honeycutt on his show.
For now, Wynter said he’s exploring different options and is confident he’ll find something bigger and better.
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5/21: On Dagmar Midcap, plus radio parties forthcoming
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m working on a story about WGCL’s fetching weather forecaster Dagmar Midcap and would love folks’ input. Has anyone seen the billboards? If you are willing to go on the record with your name, email me at rho@ajc.com. Else, feel free to just comment here. Keep it clean, people!
Anyway, here are some upcoming radio events:
-First, next Friday May 30 from noon to 4 p.m., 95.5/The Beat is hosting a free “Meet the Beat” party at the Mall at Stonecrest. DJ Khaled will perform and all the Beat jocks will be there, including CJ and Murph Dawg from the mornings. They’ll be a custom car show, health screenings and kids activities. This is somewhat unusual because the Beat doesn’t normally spend much time promoting its jocks. Rather, it’s typically all about the music.
-Grown Folks 102.5 is holding a “One Night Stand” R&B concert this Saturday at Center Stage featuring Dwele, Lina, Nel Gourdin and Liv Warfield. “Grown Folks Radio brings the sexy!” is the tagline. Tix are $35 through Ticketmaster and $30 at the door.
-790/The Zone is hosting its 11th anniversary party at Candler Park. Drivin’ n Cryin’ perform at 7:30 and Blues Traveler at 9 p.m. Tix are $10 through May 25, $15 afterwards and $20 at the door. Tix can be purchased at www.ticketalternative.com
-Unrelated to parties, Holly Firfer, formerly of CNN and Dave FM and now co host of “Atlanta & Company,” is playing a TV reporter in an upcoming episode of Lifetime drama “Army Wives.”
-Finally, have people noticed that the Giant Brian morning show at Project 9-6-1 is now being given more time on the air to develop itself and get people to know them. The show also normally ends at 9 a.m. but the past couple of days, I’ve noticed them finishing up closer to 9:15 a.m. The show will need time as it faces off against the Regular Guys but for folks who are looking for an alternative, check Giant Brian and Shaffee out.
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5/20: Updates on Flip Spiceland, Clarence Reynolds
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two WXIA-TV alums have landed new jobs.
-Clarence Reynolds, who left WXIA earlier this month as an anchor after two and a half years, has joined AID Atlanta as director of communications. This is a non-profit group providing educational and support services for people with HIV and AIDS. He is thrilled to build his PR skills in hopes of eventually starting his own non-profit group with some connection to antiques.
-Flip Spiceland, a meteorologist for eight years at WXIA after a long stint at CNN, left in February to also go into PR. He joined the Facility Group, a real estate company that has been the target of a federal investigation for fraud. That happened literally days after he joined the company.
“First thing I thought was, this can’t be that big a deal,” he said. But when it became obvious it was, he met with attorneys and realized he was in over his head. Faclity Group needed a crisis management PR firm. “I didn’t even know those existed!” he said.
So he has found a second PR job at North Metro Technical College. He’s a big supporter of tech schools. He notes that North Metro is the fastest-growing tech college in the state and has 2,000 students at any one time.
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5/19: 2008-09 season tease
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the 2007-08 TV season mercifully ending this Thursday, the broadcast networks are already looking for the fall for some salvation. I have already posted NBC, CBS, the CW and ABC previews. I had to battle off a bout of food poisoning last week so I didn’t post the Fox stuff. To give everyone one spot to check info out, here’s what I wrote for the Saturday print edition of the paper (which I fortunately wrote before I got sick.)
I’ll do a summer preview later this week, focused a bit on cable, since that’s where the cool stuff will be anyway.
The TV broadcast networks can use all the excuses in the book for what has turned out to be a disastrous season: a 100-day writers strike, the rising use of DVRs, YouTube.
But the bottom line is nobody was able to generate a genuine big hit . No “Grey’s Anatomy.” No “House.” No “Survivor.” Instead, we got dyspeptic cavemen, a distasteful use of lie detectors and the return of “American Gladiators.”
The strike hastened what has been a steady decline in broadcast viewership over the past three decades and cut short the development season, meaning fewer new shows across the board. And hundreds of cable networks keep stealing away eyeballs.
But ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox are still the biggest players in town. Here’s what they and the stumbling CW will offer this fall, as announced this week.
ABC
ABOVE: “Scrubs” moves to ABC after seven years at NBC
The female-friendly network is keeping its lineup stable, launching a single new drama, one reality show and zero new comedies this fall.
What survived: “Boston Legal,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Dancing With the Stars,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Eli Stone,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost” (midseason), “Private Practice,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Samantha Who?” “Supernanny,” “Ugly Betty,” “Wife Swap,” “According to Jim” (midseason), “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “The Bachelor” (midseason), “Saturday Night College Football”
What didn’t: “Big Shots,” “Carpoolers,” “Cashmere Mafia,” “Cavemen,” “Men in Trees,” “October Road,” “Oprah’s Big Give,” “Women’s Murder Club,” “”Just For Laughs,” MIss Guided.”
What’s new: ABC nabbed NBC’s quirky sitcom “Scrubs.” “Life on Mars” is a remake of a successful BBC series about a modern-day detective stuck in 1973. “Opportunity Knocks” has camera crews hitting random households to create a game show on their front lawns.
FOX
ABOVE: Two vet sitcom stars Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer get the boot after just one season on “Back To You.”
The network held up better than its rivals, but only two freshmen shows got renewed, and its animated lineup is aging. Even “American Idol” is losing steam.
What survived: “24,” “American Idol,” “Family Guy,” “House,” “The Simpsons,” “Bones,” “Prison Break,” “The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “Til Death,” “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” “Moment of Truth,” “America’s Most Wanted, ” Cops,” “Hell’s Kitchen” (midseason), “Kitchen Nightmares,” “King of the Hill,” American Dad”
What didn’t: “Canterbury’s Law,” “K-Ville,” “New Amsterdam,” “Back To You,” “Unhitched,” “The Return of Jezebel James,” “Nashville,”
What’s new: “Lost” and “Alias” creator J.J. Abrams is creating a new ambitious “X-Files”-type sci-fi show called “Fringe.” “Do Not Disturb” is a comedy directed by Jason Bateman.
CBS
ABOVE: “The Big Bang Theory” was the only freshman show to make it to year two on CBS.
Its most popular shows are getting gray, from “Survivor” to the three “CSI” shows. But the network has enough strong performers to sprinkle in a few new shows (none in the reality genre) and move a couple of old reliables.
What survived: The three CSIs, “Without a Trace,” “Criminal Minds,” “Cold Case,” “NCIS,” “The Unit,” “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race,” “New Adventures of Old Christine,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Numb3rs,” “60 Minutes,” “48 Hours Mystery”
What didn’t: “Moonlight,” “Shark,” “Cane,” “Power to 10,” “Jericho,” “Welcome to the Captain,” “Kid Nation,” “Viva Laughlin.”
What’s new: “Without a Trace” moves to Tuesdays at 10 p.m. “Christine” opens a Wednesday comedy hour with new sitcom “Project Gary” starring Jay Mohr. “Worst Week” is yet another American adaptation of a British sitcom. “The Mentalist” will run on Tuesdays and “The Ex-List” is a dramedy on Friday nights.
NBC
ABOVE: NBC is planning a midseason spinoff of its sitcom “The Office”.
For years TV’s biggest network, NBC remains mired in fourth place and needs something to break out soon. NBC announced its schedule through summer 2009, spreading out its new series rather than throwing them all on at once in September.
What survived: “30 Rock,” “Celebrity Apprentice” (midseason), “The Biggest Loser,” “Chuck,” “Deal or No Deal,” “ER,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Heroes,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Life,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “Medium,” “My Name is Earl,” “The Office,” “Dateline NBC,” “Sunday Night Football”
What didn’t: “1 vs. 100,” “Bionic Woman,” “Journeyman,” “Las Vegas,” “The Singing Bee,” “Scrubs” (to ABC), “Quarterlife,” “My Dad is Better Than Your Dad,” “Phenomenon,” “Clash of the Choirs.” “Amne$ia.”
What’s new: Watch for a remake of “Knight Rider,” an Australian import remake “Kath & Kim” (starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair), and a Christian Slater vehicle, “My Own Worst Enemy.” There’s also a new version of Robinson Crusoe set for Friday nights. A spinoff of “The Office” is planned for midseason.
THE CW
ABOVE: A spinoff of the ’90s hit “Beverly Hills 90210” is in the works.
When the WB and UPN combined in 2006, they hoped to build a bigger network. It didn’t work. The network is foundering and lost wrestling to My Network, creating a new hole on Friday nights. Even with all the hype over “Gossip Girl,” the show is at best a minor success compared to “The O.C.” or “Dawson’s Creek” of years past.
What survived: “America’s Next Top Model,” “Reaper” (midseason), “Smallville,” “Supernatural,” “One Tree Hill,” “Gossip Girl,” “The Game,” “Everybody Hates Chris.”
What didn’t: “Aliens in America,“ “Beauty & the Geek,” “Pussycat Dolls Presents,” “Girlfriends.” “WWE Smackdown” (now on My Network), “CW Now,” Life is Wild,” “Online Nation,” “Crowned”
What’s new: The network sold off its Sunday night programming to a third party Media Rights Capital. What used to be an African-American comedy block is now reduced to one hour on Fridays. It’s touting a remake of “Beverly Hills 90210,” plus a new drama “Surviving the Filthy Rich,” plus a companion to “Next Top Model” called “Stylista.”
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5/16: Shelley Wynter off WAOK
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WAOK-AM, the news/talk station targeting African Americans on 1380, has dismisssed its moderate/conservative-leaning afternoon talk show host Shelley Wynter after two and a half years.
“I loved WAOK and have nothing bad to say about the experience there,” Wynter said, whose show was dubbed “The Right Side.”
WAOK hasn’t seen much in the way of ratings of late, trumped by the much stronger signal and appeal of Grown Folks 102.5 on the FM dial, where Steve Harvey and Michael Baisden have had a strong impact.
“I believe if we had the same signal as 102.5, we could just as well,” he said. “If someone is looking for a high-quality radio program that reaches out to not only the African American professional but also whites and wants to grow revenue, please give me a call!”
You can contact him at swynter@rainmakersatl.com or at his Web site, www.shelleywynter.com
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5/15: More “House of Payne” on the way, B98.5’s Kelly Stevens in rehab
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TBS has given Tyler Perry the green light for 26 more episodes of “House of Payne” on top of the 100 they already committed to and have been airing since last summer. The show regularly draws 2 million-plus viewers a week.
Perry turned the syndication model upside down. He paid for 10 pilot episodes out of his own pocket, gave them for free to networks in 2006 to prove the show’s worth, then sold the 100 to TBS upfront. So instead of airing 22 episodes a year for four or five years, he taped an incredible 100 episodes in less than a year. And TBS is airing them in a year’s time, two a week. Critics haven’t been too kind but the show is successful for what TBS is looking for.
Atlanta-based TBS and TNT are both adding more and more original programming. TNT has three upcoming dramas, all with big names: law drama “Raising the Bar” created by Steven Bochco of “NYPD Blue” fame with Mark Paul Gosselaar and Jane Kaczmarek; modern-day “Robin Hood” called “Leverage” starring Timothy Hutton; and “Truth in Advertising,” starring Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”) and Tom Cavanagh (“Ed”).
TBS plans to flip its current 80% acquired content vs. 20% original content to 80% original and 20% acquired. The network, which focuses on comedy, has no choice. The pipeline of broadcast sitcoms of any note has dried up.
-Kelly Stevens, off the air for more than five weeks from B98.5’s lame duck morning show, had his on-air co-host Alpha Trivette tell listeners last week that he was at a rehab facility to grapple with alcoholism.
This was an unusual admission for such a light-hearted morning show and his cohosts apparently had no clue about his problems. It’s unknown when or if Kelly will be back on the air before July 1, when Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke take over.
Kelly & Alpha, who have had a successful run with B98.5 for nearly a decade, are under contract through the end of the year. Producer Will Gara, who will stay on with former Star 94 morning hosts Steve & Vikki, is covering for Kelly for now.
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5/14: 11 p.m. newscast lead story comparison
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For kicks, I checked how each 11 p.m. newscast opened their first five minutes:
Three of the stations — WAGA, WSB and WGCL — started with the evacuation of the Marriott Marquis last night due to some chemical release. It ended up being minor but nobody knew that at the time. WXIA waited until the fourth minute and its third story to get to the Marquis story. WGCL definitely was the quickest paced. WSB worked hard to focus on “breaking news.” WXIA felt the most laid back.
- WGCL, which prides itself on stuffing the top 5 minutes with lots of news, had video and teased to an upcoming later report, then jumped to an exclusive story about two teens were charged with gang-related offenses at Lovejoy High School after WGCL found the video on YouTube. Joanna Massee interviewed the police, a random school parent and a student unrelated to the fight. Stephany Fisher did a quick review of a gun bill and Sunday alcohol sales. Bill Gaines then talked about an allegedly racist Obama T-Shirt being sold in Marietta. Tony McNary reported on a couple that kept its water bill to $7 over two months through various water conservation methods. At minute four, Dagmar Midcap gave a quick weather forecast. McNary came back live with the Marriott Marquis evacuation and noted the chemical fire location and thinks it’s chlorine, which was the case.
—Â WSB-TV had Richard Elliot live on the scene of the Marriott. He didn’t have the information McNary had about the fire and chlorine at that time (just a “chemical event”) but talked about how the hotel guests were moved to down the street to another hotel temporarily. Another live report: Tara Jones did a piece on an HGH drug raid in Roswell, with WSB missing the homeowners’ getaway. WSB then announced “breaking news” out of White County, where a dam failed and a “flash flood” warning issued. Pruitt mentioned an election to replace Ron Sailor Jr. Monica Pearson referenced the West Virginia Hillary Clinton primary victory.
—Â Fox 5’s “News Edge” with Tom Haynes opened with the Marriott story. Denise Dillon was shown live and she had the electrical closet fire information. She is the only one who interviewed hotel guests, who didn’t seem to disturbed. Haynes asked about any injuries. (There were none.) Haynes then goes to a Devon Fehely story about women blatantly stealing from a liquor story. Fehely uses some footage of himself from the security camera moments after showing tape of the alleged roobers. They then updated the guy whose dead wife’s rings were stolen at Grady — a suspect has been found but no details. Chris Shaw (they identify him wrong on the graphic on the screen as “Shephard Smith”) then did a live story about the HGH drug rain Roswell. WXIA caught the couple on camera (which WSB missed.).
— I DVRed the re-broadcast of the WXIA newscast in the middle of the night and I’m not sure if it opened at the very top of the broadcast. The DVR opened with a very soft story about why Lake Lanier’s lake levels are not rising very fast. Ted Hall then does an update on the tornadoes from Sunday. He and Brenda Wood talked about the flash flood warning in White County, giving meteorologist Paul Ossmann the spotlight, then a weather forecast. In the third minute, Wood referenced the “chemical spill” at the Marriott Marquis with Steve Adamson live. He said he had heard about the chlorine that WGCL also mentioned but the other two stations did not. (I’m not sure if the word “spill” is correct in this context but the story was developing). The fourth story: Wood reported that a former Georgia Tech worker has pled guilty to using work credit cards to buy personal items. The fifth story: a quick update on the Kathryn Johnston drug raid trial.
Then Keith Whitney did a story on foreclosed, abandoned new homes off Hamilton Homes with some nice turns of phrase: “For years, the mantra of many developers in Atlanta was if you build it, they will come. But some divisions like this are anything but a field of dreams. The only thing missing in this ghost town of broken glass and promises are tumbleweeds.” I only wish he had been more specific where this story was coming from up front because I’m sure most folks don’t necessarily know where Hamilton Homes are.
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5/14: CBS’s new fall lineup includes more comedy, the CW cobbles its lineup, too
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Comedy has been in retreat for years. Each network has reserved just one night for sitcoms this past season.
But CBS, which has the top-ranked sitcom “Two & a Half Men,” added a Wednesday block of sitcoms on top of Monday night.
“We’ve been looking to expand our comedy lineup, and we now have the depth and development to make the move,” said Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment in a press release. “Monday is already television’s signature night for comedy and we think we can make the case that CBS is the signature network for comedy overall.”
Eighteen existing shows survive for the fall: the three CSI shows, “60 Minutes,” “Survivor,” “Amazing Race,” “NCIS,” “The Unit,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Numb3rs,” “Criminal Minds,” “Without a Trace,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Two & a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “48 Hours Mystery,.” “Rules of Engagement” comes back midseason.
“The Unit” gets moved to 10 p.m. Sundays while “Without a Trace” gets the dreaded 10 p.m. Tuesday slot, a place that has been the death of many recent CBS dramas. This is the third time “Trace” has moved in three seasons but it still pulls in solid numbers.
CBS is adding three new dramas, two new comedies, no new reality shows. It’s mostly steady as it goes for a network that, like the others, is seeking some fresh blood as most of its hits are starting to feel a bit arthritic.
CBS has been using the 9:30 p.m. Monday slot to launch new sitcoms and the network will place “Worst Week” there. Its description of the show’s premise:”a comedy about Sam Briggs, an entertainment magazine editor who will do anything to please his girlfriend’s parents … but instead becomes a one-man wrecking crew whenever he’s around them.”
On Wednesday, Jay Mohr (now on “Ghost Whisperer”) gets his own sitcom called “Project Gary.” It will open at 8:30 p.m. after “New Adventures of Old Christine.” Here’s the CBS spin: “a comedy about Gary Barnes, a recently single painting contractor, and his controlling ex-wife, Allison, who face post-divorce mayhem after 15 years of marriage as they each embark on new relationships. He’s the fun parent and she’s the strict one.” They have two kids so this isn’t exactly like “Old Christine,” just complementary.
CBS’s new ••”The Mentalist”** takes the Tuesday 9 p.m. slot reserved last fall for “The Unit.” Golden Globe Award nominee Simon Baker (“The Devil Wears Prada”) plays Patrick Jane, a detective and independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his razor sharp skills of observation. (Monk would be proud!)
Jerry Bruckheimer’s “The Eleventh Hour” gets the 10 p.m. Thursday slot against the aging “E.R” and the new ABC show “Life on Mars.” Dr. Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell, “The Illusionist”) plays a brilliant biophysicist and special science advisor to the government, as he investigates scientific crises and oddities. (This would seem to be work well after “CSI.”)
Finally, the show that takes over for “Moonlight” on Fridays at 9 p.m. is “The Ex List.” This has the silliest premise and implies “dramedy:” Bella Bloom (Elizabeth Reaser, “Grey’s Anatomy”) is a single, 30-something, successful business owner who is surprised to learn from a psychic that she’s already dated her future husband AND there’s a catch: if she doesn’t find him in the next year, she’ll remain alone forever.
And given that the CW has become increasingly irrelevant, here’s a very brief summary of its 2008-09 schedule, featuring two new dramas, one new reality show and zero new comedies.
The Monday night combo of its buzzworthy (if not ratings-worthy) “Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill” remains.
Tuesdays features the remake of “Beverly Hills 90210” followed by another show about rich people, “Surviving the Filthy Rich,” starring JoAnna Garcia (“Reba”) as the live-in tutor to wild and wealthy teenage twin sisters in Palm Beach.
Wednesday is reality night with aging “America’s Next Top Model” and a new series “Stylista” in which 11 fashion enthusiasts view for a job at a fashion mag. (Bye, bye for now, “Beauty & the Geek” and anything to do with the Pussycat Dolls.)
Thursday is still “Smallville” and “Supernatural,” though midseason, “Reaper” will take over for the presumably retiring “Smallville.”
Friday night, now that “Smackdown!” has moved to MyNetwork, the remnants of the comedy block from Sunday will air at 8: “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Game,” followed by a repeat of “Next Top Model.”
The CW has sold off its Sunday night time slots to an advertising company. We don’t know what they will conjure up. “Aliens in America” and “Life is Wild” didn’t make the cut either while “Girlfriends” retires after eight seasons.
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5/14: Atlanta couple vying for free wedding on Today Show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An Atlanta couple is battling four others for a free wedding, courtesy of “The Today Show.”
Darnell Suggs and LaDonna Bradford, both engineers, were chosen to be in the final five. They started competing Wednesday morning and each week, someone gets eliminated by public vote. The video they submitted was a spoof on the Today Show. LaDonna played Meredith Viera and Darnell played Matt Lauer.
Bradford, 24, who lives in Midtown, said the couple got engaged in Egypt on New Year’s Day. The proposal video is here:
And here’s the Today Show profile.
“We have a no-bounds relationship. There are no limits on what we could do. He’s everything I ever dreamed of,” LaDonna said.
Darnell, who lives in Lithonia, noted: “We inspire each other. She makes me want to go above and beyond for her.”
Darnell said they have a wedding set (budget $5,000 to $10,000) for April, 2009. But they’re willing to let NBC and the Today Show do it for them in Rockefeller Center June 25 if America votes for them.
If you want to vote for the local couple, you can go here at the “Today” Web site..
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5/14: WXIA’s Clarence Reynolds leaves, CBS cancels “Moonlight,” “Shark,” saves “Old Christine,” “Rules of Engagement”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clarence Reynolds, an anchor at WXIA-TV for three years, has left the building.
His last day was last Thursday. Reynolds was the morning news anchor with Jill Becker from October, 2005 until January 2008 but switched to weekends earlier this year while Karyn Greer took his morning spot. He said Karyn wanted more time with her kids on weekends and he had no problem not having to wake up at 2 a.m. anymore. But alas, after two and a half years as an anchor, Reynolds wasn’t really enjoying the job and decided to leave on his own. Though his contract isn’t up until October, he was able to get out of it.
At age 44, Reynolds said he has a new game plan for himself and has a choice of two unidentified jobs outside broadcast television to choose from. He eventually wants to start his own business again. (He ran a bakery earlier in his life.) He’ll update me on his future once he decides. In the past, Reynolds has hosted a Fox morning show in Indianapolis, done executive production work at BET and hosted public affairs programming at PBS affiliates in Indianapolis and Orlando before coming to Atlanta in 2005.
Since WXIA-TV added several more hours of news programming, mostly on weekends and on WATL-TV, without adding much staff, existing employees have expressed various levels of burnout. And some on-air and off-air staff have been leaving, with some positions being left unfilled. Among recent departures besides Reynolds: meteorologist Flip Spiceland (who briefly worked in PR at Facility Group) and reporters Blair Meeks (now in PR) and Elaine Reyes (still job hunting).
-Despite a rabid following, Friday night freshman vampire drama “Moonlight” has bitten the dust. And CBS also slayed James Woods’ “Shark.” Both were getting passable, if not spectacular, ratings in their respective time slots. (Those “Moonlight” fans might end up sending vials of blood to CBS in protest or perhaps big wooden stakes.)
But all the sitcoms that have aired on Monday nights will be back (“Big Bang Theory,” “Rules of Engagement, “Two & a Half Men,” “New Adventures of Old Christine” and “How I Met Your Mother.”)
-In other renewal news, ABC has given “Boston Legal” a final 13 episodes. David E. Kelley will write all of them.
-And surprisingly, Oprah decided not to do another “Oprah’s Big Give.” Ratings were borderline disappointing but ABC had been willing to give it another shot, according to Hollywood Reporter.
-Plus, MTV”s “The Real World” has passed on Atlanta again for its 21st incarnation, opting for Brooklyn. And instead of 26 half-hour episodes, they will instead do 13 one-hour episodes.
-And yes, that second appearance by Britney Spears Monday night on “How I Met Your Mother” felt a bit forced and while mildly amusing at points, felt glommed onto the rest of the plotlines. The ratings bump the second time was more modest, too, as the show hit 9 million viewers compared to 10.6 million the first time she showed up. Let’s just say that’s the end of that. Or we can only hope so.
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5/13: ABC’s fall schedule features only two new shows
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the 100-day-old writers strike crimping development of new shows earlier this year, ABC has opted to keep it safe this fall with just two new shows. Typically, the network would introduce at least six but several shows that might not have made it otherwise got a break thanks to the strike i.e. “Boston Legal,” “Eli Stone” and “Dirty Sexy Money.”
The first and only scripted new series, “Life on Mars,” is a actually a remake of a BCC series. The second, “Opportunity Knocks,” is a reality show produced by Ashton Kutcher.
Otherwise, familiar names this fall are “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Boston Legal,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Dancing With the Stars,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Eli Stone,” “Extreme Makeover,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Samantha Who?” “Supernanny,” “Ugly Betty,” “Wife Swap,” and “20/20.”
ABC is also picking up NBC’s “Scrubs” for midseason along with a show called “Goode Family” and another reality show that Kutcher and Tyra Banks are working on.
Midseason will also feature the return of “The Bachelor,” “Lost,” “Primetime: What Would You Do?” and inexplicably, “According to Jim,” the show that won’t die.
This fall, shows are sticking to their old time slots. “Eli Stone” is set to air at 10 p.m Tuesdays while “Opportunity Knocks” nabs Tuesday at 8 p.m. and “Life on Mars” at 10 p.m. Thursday after “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Life on Mars” revolves around Sam Tyler, a modern-day detective, who lands in 1973 after a car crash.
“Opportunity Knocks” invades people’s homes and they will be quizzed on their lives for prizes.
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5/13: More TV production coming to Atlanta, Cumulus Media deal falls apart
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s a story I wrote for the print edition today about a new tax incentive package to encourage more TV, film and videogame production in the state of Georgia. This doesn’t directly impact the average TV viewer but Georgians might end up seeing more film crews floating around in the coming months:
By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Lights, camera, tax breaks!
Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a tax incentive bill that will give Georgia’s film, TV and videogame production companies as much as a 30 percent tax credit, matching or exceeding many other states trying to lure movies and TV shows.
To qualify, businesses need to spend at least $500,000 in Georgia. So a fictional company who expends $10 million in a given year and owes $3 million in taxes won’t pay a penny in Georgia taxes as long as they embed an animated, logo-bearing Georgia commercial within the project. If not, they would get a 20 percent break and owe $1 million. Here’s a copy of the bill if you want to read it in full.
The previous incentive plan, passed in 2005, provided a 9 percent break so this theoretical company will save $2.1 million under the new law. On the flip side, it means $2.1 million less in the tax coffers.
But Perdue said more production work equals more jobs and more potential tax money from other sources.
“It means hotel rooms are booked,” Perdue said at a press conference at Turner Studios Monday. “It means catering companies have work. It means money flowing to Georgia businesses big and small alike.”
Bill Thompson, deputy commissioner of Georgia’s Film, Music & Digital Entertainment office, said 30 to 40 projects were waiting in the wings for this bill to pass. Most of them, he said, would have gone elsewhere without the added incentives.
Anthony Morris and his partner John Gibson are working on a film version of their hugely successful local play “Peachtree Battle.” These incentives, Morris said, “will make the sale of Atlanta as a site for the film much easier.”
Dan Darling, Turner’s chief information officer, said Turner Studios has already doubled its studio space in Atlanta over five years, adding 40,000 to 50,000 square feet. “This will help continue our growth here in Georgia,” he said.
Georgia was a popular spot for films in the 1970s and 1980s, but projects began drying up in the 1990s when Canada and states such as Louisiana began offering financial incentives.
The 2005 tax incentive package helped revive some production in Georgia, including the Matthew McConaughey film “We Are Marshall” and the ABC TV drama “October Road.” But actor Ric Reitz, who helped design the latest bill, said states such as New Mexico, Louisiana and South Carolina upped the ante once again in 2006, causing business to slow again last year.
Reitz said if states continue to throw even more money to film and TV production companies, he doubts Georgia will go any further than this bill. “We do have to draw the line in the sand,” he said.
Some active production companies that already do plenty of business in Georgia, such as those run by Tyler Perry and Alton Brown, will benefit greatly from this bill.
-In another business-related move, efforts by Atlanta-based Cumulus Media, which owns Q100 and Rock 100.5, to go private fell through yesterday.
Its CEO Lew Dickey and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity could not complete the $1.3 billion deal, which was first announced last July. More details here.
Blame the credit crunch, which has helped hurt several leveraged buyouts. Cumulus has the second most radio stations in the country with about 344 stations in 67 markets.
“Our business remains fundamentally sound and we intend to continue to operate it aggressively and explore opportunities to create and deliver value for our shareholders,” Dickey said in a statement on Monday, without providing details.
-The winner of the Q100 “Who Do You Know?” contest in which the person who got a big name to call in to the Bert Show won $10,000 and the celebrity got $5,000 for the charity. The winning celebrity, after an extensive debate, was Justin Timberlake. He beat out Muhammad Ali, who was favored by Bert and Jeff Dauler, while the women favored Timberlake. The argument was that Justin is more of a current pop culture icon while Ali is more a legend. Others seriously considered were Sean Connery, Morgan Freeman and Jimmy Carter.
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5/13: “Survivor” winner Parvati Shallow interview, Boortz, nixed & renewed TV shows
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Parvati Shallow, her voice hoarse from talking all day with media, checked in with me at about 5 p.m. EST today, about 19 hours after she was crowned the winner of “Survivor: Micronesia.”
Shallow, a graduate of Sprayberry High School (2000) and the University of Georgia (2004), now lives in Los Angeles. She gave kudos to her fellow players, who she dubbed “fierce competitors.” She herself was a fierce competitor, a tough cookie with a cute smile who left her real emotions at home and played to win.
Why do you think Amanda lost to you?
I think they thought she was faking [when she cried before getting rid of Cirie.]. She had just pulled off an Academy Award winning performance [the week earlier to save her own hide.]
Honestly, do you think Amanda was faking the crying?
No, I think she was genuine.
How come she didn’t just point out to the jury that she had gone 78 days back to back in two consecutive “Survivors” and make that a selling point?
I don’t think she was thinking straight. She wasn’t clearheaded. She was ready for it to be over.
How about you? Were you clearheaded at that point?
My head was in the game all the way until that final question Ozzie asked. Then as soon as it was done, I went all to pieces… I was walking down that bridge and at the camp, they give you water and candy. I just started bawling. Every emotion that had been pent up in me came pouring out. I don’t even remember what candy I ate. I was just shoveling it in my mouth.
And what was it with Natalie’s question about your sex life?
I was so confused. It was a weird game. I don’t know what she was trying to do. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to shake me up or ask me on a date!
Why did they cut out the fact you found the immunity idol on Exile Island but didn’t bother to bring it back?”
They had so much to put in that one episode. It was such a huge episode with Erik and the [immunity] necklace. It didn’t work with the story.
How did it all play out that you came up with that ridiculous story to bamboozle Erik?
We were all sitting around. Natalie was saying you guys will tell me if it will be me. We knew if Erik hadn’t won immunity, he’d be gone. Cirie said, what if Erik gave Natalie the necklace. We all put in our two cents and came up with this elaborate plan. Natalie at first thought we were making fun of her. We said, if anybody could pull it off, it’s you. Natalie could sell ice to an Eskimo! Once she was given a chance to play, she really pulled through. I give her a lot of credit.
You said you felt you had no choice but to play a more aggressive game than you did on Cook Islands. Why?
If I hadn’t, I would have been the first one voted out! Jonathan was trying hard to get me out the second we landed in Micronesia. We had played together in Cook Islands adn he had an alliance. I convinced his alliance to vote him out before me. He wanted to outlast me and get me out. He knew I was good at convincing people to do things.
You were lucky Jonathan had to leave because of that knee injury!
I told him yesterday in New York when I saw him that I voted for him to win the $100,000. [James got that prize again!] He would have made my life so much more miserable if he had stuck around. He was out to get me. He was a fighter. It was hard to see him out that way.
Same with James, right?
I was super upset when James got taken out. It was so out of nowhere with his infected finger.
I spoke with your friend Kelly Basinger [she dated him at UGA and they’re still friends.]. He said you had a much harder time in Micronesia compared to Cook Islands.
It was so much worse [in Micronesia.] Cook Islands was beautiful. Micronesia was nasty. There were bugs, bats, rats. It was raining all the time. You could never be dry. It was much harsher.
We saw your legs got pretty beat up!
It was disgusting. They showed a shot of me on Exile Island panning up my leg. That was so gross. It was not sexy seeing that puss coming out.
How do your legs look now?
There are still scars from all those bug bites. Battle scars! I’m proud to show them off.
Any clue what you’re going to do with the $1 million, or $550,000 after taxes?
I don’t now yet.
Did you think you were going to win?
I thought I had a chance. I had calculated the odds. I thought it might have ended up as a tie. [She beat Amanda 5 to 3.]
It was close with Amanda. Did you have any idea what would happen if it had been a tie?
I don’t know. They keep that a secret. I have no idea!
Let’s get back to Erik. You said at the time that this was the biggest blunder in Idol history. Still believe it?
Absolutely! The guy made some blunder! He took the cake. It was way worse than Ozzy.
So who voted for Amanda?
Ozzy, James and Eric. She was a lot closer to Ozzy and Eric than I was. And James, too, because they both were on China. [That’s “Survivor: China” last fall.]
But you were close to James until you ousted Ozzy, right?
James honestly felt a kindred spirit in Amanda. He felt he owed it to vote for her.
You got all the girls!
I think those girls appreciated that I played a very aggressive game. I didn’t make any apologies for the moves I made: outwit, outlast, outplay. That’s how I worked.
Any boxing for you since the taping ended?
I’ve been doing PR for the boxing charity I helped start. We provide scholarships and boxing training for underprivileged girls. I haven’t been training very hard myself. I’ve been kind of taking it easy.
Can you blame her?
In other radio/TV news:
-Neal Boortz is being harassed.
-Fox cancelled Kelsey Grammer’s sitcom “Back To You.”. Grammer believes the show was on the wrong network. Indeed, it should have been on CBS. And “New Amsterdam” gets no new life either.
-On the CW, “Aliens in America” is cancelled but “Reaper” was renewed..
-CBS has renewed “How I Met Your Mother” and “The Unit.”.
-On ABC, “Miss Guided” joins “Cashmere Mafia” and “Women’s Murder Club” on the nixed list. Too bad about “Miss Guided” though I was no fan of “Cashmere.”. Good news for “Eli Stone:” the sweetly strange drama featuring a prophet-lawyer got a renewal, along with David E. Kelley’s “Boston Legal.”.
-“The Electric Company” is coming back!.
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5/12: Former Atlantan Parvati Shallow wins “Survivor: Micronesia”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sprayberry High School and UGA grad Parvati Shallow Sunday night won “Survivor: Micronesia,” the first person with local ties to win the long-standing CBS reality show. She pockets a neat $1 million.
This was arguably the best “Survivor” season in years, thanks to a series of strategic blindsides during tribal council, more than any other series to date. This culminated in what is now known as the dumbest move in the show’s history, as Parvati noted: doe-eyed Leif Garrett lookalike Erik Reichenbach believed that giving up his immunity idol would help him gain respect with the ladies when in fact it simply exposed him to being voted off last week.
Parvati, 25 and now living in Los Angeles, came in sixth during “Survivor: Cook Islands” in the fall of 2006. She was known as the flirt and was popular among viewers.
So when producers were compiling a list of “fan favorites” to compete against “Survivor” fans, she made the final list and came back, planning to play a more aggressive, strategic game.
In the end, she did. She quickly set up an alliance with two other favorites: “Panama” fourth-place finisher Cirie Fields and “China” third-place finisher Amanda Kimmel. And she stuck with it, although she also hooked up with two popular, physically imposing players James Clement and Ozzy Lusth.
Partway through the game, though, Parvati realized Ozzy and James were real threats to her making it to the final three. So when the opportunity came to get rid of Ozzy, she ran with it and Ozzy was blindsided — with an immunity idol tucked in his bag, unused. She had done the flirt-thang with James but was also ready to throw him over the boat when necessary. Fortunately for her, James had an infection in a finger and had to be medically taken off the show.
Near the end, Parvati helped orchestrate the infamous Erik blindside. And though she made some enemies, her moves ultimately helped her win five of the eight votes from the tribal jury over Amanda, despite the fact Amanda won the last two immunity challenges. I personally thought Amanda had the votes but was wrong. Clearly, her weaker ability to socialize and connect with the other players compared to that of Parvati hurt her in the end. It’s the same problem Amanda had in China when she only got one vote from the jury.
UGA fans had to love the fact she wore a Georgia cap for much of the final episode. There, she was a broadcast journalism major, class of 2004, with a specialty in public relations. She was part of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. She became a boxer and waitress in Los Angeles afterwards and has since become a charity organizer, according to her label on the show. She moved to the Atlanta area at age 11 after growing up on a commune in Vero Beach, Fla. and graduated Sprayberry High in 2000.
Here’s Parvati’s MySpace page..
Amazingly, “Survivor” has been on eight years and gone through 16 incarnations, spawning dozens of imitators, from “The Apprentice” to “Big Brother” to “The Amazing Race.” Ratings have been drooping in recent years with this season averaging about 13 million viewers, down from 21 million three years ago. But CBS has given the show a green light for another two cycles in 2008-09 and it’s still a top 15 show.
I plan to interview some of her friends and hopefully, Parvati herself, in the next couple of days and will post their reactions.
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5/9: Real Housewives coming to Atlanta?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There have been rumors galore that camera crews are floating around Atlanta for a possible spinoff of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” reality show. So far, the show has focused on rich women from Orange County and New York, with New Jersey forthcoming. Bravo’s publicists haven’t been terribly forthcoming though they say they do test out shows by shooting material that may or may not become an actual show.
R&B singer Monica is possibly one of the housewives, according to Mediatakeout.com..
If anybody has seen or heard anything, email me at rho@ajc.com.
-WSB-AM’s Neal Boortz is recovering from knee surgery and says he’s now “hopped up” on pain meds. Boortz joked that callers are wondering if they can help him get him more pills.
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5/9: Alton Brown’s Variety Playhouse appearance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Good Eats” host and “Iron Chef America” commentator Alton Brown was worried he’d not get much of a crowd for his book signing because past signings in Atlanta have been underwhelming.
But not to worry: more than 600 people showed up at the Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points Thursday evening to ask him questions, meet the Marietta resident, buy his book “Feasting On Asphalt” and prove him wrong.
Here are photos I took during the signing:
ABOVE: Puppeteer and entertainer Lucky Yates, who helps out Brown on “Good Eats” on occasion, goofs around with Savannah and Fred Woodruff of Southern Pines, N.C. The family drove down six hours to see Brown for Savannah’s 13th birthday.
During the Q&A, Brown was his typical droll self, using his quick wit and faux exasperation to mine laughs. Many of his answers were self deprecating.
“What’s your take on Food Network?” “I don’t really watch,” he answered. “I don’t know anything about the television business. [That’s not true!] I make the gosh darn thing, I see a check. End of story. I make ‘Iron Chef.’ There’s lots of smoke, I got home. They make shows people want to see. I’m not going to second guess them, especially with a microphone in my hand!”
Someone asked him if her father adding salt to coffee was something worth doing. “Your father was doing drugs, clearly!” he said, noting he had never done it. Then several others in the crowd backed her up, vouching a pinch of salt improved coffee, saying it was a Southern thing.
“I’ve heard that if people from the North add salt,” Yates joked, “they’ll explode!”
On audience member noted, “Didn’t you say salt makes everything better?”
“So does butter!” Brown noted.
*ABOVE: “Good Eats” contributor Bart Hansard gabs with Brown fan Danny Woodruff
One person in the audience noted her eight year old was obsessed with the Food Network and was wondering how to get her on the network.
“She should open her own restaurant,” he said, in his usual tart way. “She sounds like she already has the skills. She can do better than the Food Network.” Pause. “At least Oxygen.”
His tongue-in-cheek advice? “If she can complete your family’s Thanksgiving dinner al by herself by the time she’s 10, she’ll get her own food show. A child’s place is in the kitchen. Children give us heartache until we die. I say they should be cooking our food!”
ABOVE: Brown hands a book back to Daniel Irvin, a roofer from Valley, Alabama.
At one point, he spied a guy yawning. “You’re yawning!” he said sternly but without anger. “Get him an expresso!”
When someone asked what he would do if he competed on “Iron Chef America” instead of providing color commentary, he rationalized why he shouldn’t: “Riddle me this. Who would get my job? I got to tell you. I don’t want anybody to have a shot at that job. It’s a sweet gig! So long as I don’t compete, no one will have that shot.”
ABOVE: Brown hands Danny Woodruff a souvenir.
One person asked why couldn’t the show be added to an education curriculum. “Good Eats is better for you than homework,” he deadpanned. “Pull your kids out of school, get them the full DVD set!”
Another wondered what his background was: “I’m a Nobel-winning chemist,” he joked.
“How much chemistry background do you have?” she followed up.
“I failed chemistry twice in high school. I dropped it twice in college,” Brown said. “I used to blame myself. But now I blame the teachers. It was their fault for not making the information more compelling.”
A young gal asked him if he liked the Scottish dish haggis, something he made on an episode of “Good Eats.”
“If there’s no other food anywhere,” he said dryly, “and it hasn’t been for some number of days, it’s very good indeed… I’d eat the haggis before chitlins.”
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5/8: Hannah Montana’s ratings, The Hills coming back, casting call for MTV show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is Miley Cyrus already passe among the tween set? Her first new “Hannah Montana” in two months last Sunday drew 3.1 million viewers, 14 percent fewer viewers than the last new episode in March. Cyrus has been doing a virtual nonstop publicity tour since then, showing up on “Idol,” on talk shows, in Vanity Fair, et. al. She got a top 10 hit “See You Again” that Star 94 and Q100 play frequently. As we all know, tweens are extremely hard to keep around. They’re always on to the next best thing. Maybe Miley is already trying to find an exit strategy to adulthood, even at the tender age of 15. Or it may just be because it’s spring and fewer people tend to watch TV in the evenings than in the winter.
-Shocking no one, MTV has renewed the misadventures of Lauren, Spencer and Heidi on “The Hills” even before the third-season finale. And AMC has given a second season to “Breaking Bad,” the dour dark comedy/drama starring Bryan Cranston as a chemistry teacher dying of cancer who works the crystal meth route to raise some cash for his family before he dies.
-And when is a gift too much to take? When it’s an “Extreme Makeover” home given to a dude who lives on a small pension. Victor Merrero, in Pennsauken, N.J., can’t afford the taxes and briefly put the donated home up for sale.
-Former Star 94 traffic gal Wendy Threatt is now working with WSB-AM.
-Former WAGA reporter Doug Richards, in his “Live Apartment Fire” blog, has been harping on the fact WXIA lacks enterprise reporting compared to WAGA-TV and WSB-TV. They pretty much cover crimes and meetings, he says.
The weird thing is this: WXIA presents fewer minutes of news each evening than any other station. Its staff, all smart folk, can barely wedge its way into its two half-hour shows (compared with two hours each for WAGA and WSB). WXIA has the resources to come up with cool, one-of-a-kind stories every night. So, why doesn’t it?
Any fans of WXIA-TV’s news coverage? Is this a fair observation?
-Q100’s final day for its “Who Do You Know?” celebrity contest in which the person who gets a big-name celeb to call in wins $10K and the celeb gets $5K for their charity. Today, they got Jennifer Garner, Bette Midler, Chase Crawford, John Schneider and right under the wire, Ben Affleck (they interrupted Paula Abdul for Ben). They are going to have to compete with the likes of Jimmy Carter, Muhammad Ali, Justin Timberlake, Morgan Freeman and Sean Connery. Not a bad list! Bert is supporting Muhammad Ali.
-Check out “Oprah” today to see Cher and Bette Midler at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas. Mara Davis of Dave FM nabbed front-row seats and told Richard Eldredge her story in today’s Peach Buzz..
-We received this email from Shannon Powers, casting director of MTV’s new show “Model Maker.”:
I am working on a new show for MTV called Model Maker. Basically we are seeking girls who are 30 - 70 lbs overweight who would like to shed the pounds “boot camp” style and walk away with $100,000 cash prize as well as a possible modeling contract. I feel very close to this particular show as I have just shed 67 lbs and I feel great. These girls will be provided with the best of the best. Nutritionists, dieticians, stylists, trainers and so on to help these girls be the best that they can be and potentially walk away with a new life.
BTW, the show is produced by Cris Abrego who is the Exec.Producer of Surreal Life,Flavor of Love, Rock of Love and I Love New York.
We are having an open call:
Monday, May 12, 2008, 2pm - 5pm, Torrid , Towne Center Cobb, Kennesaw
If people want to pre-interview with us and cant make the casting call… please have them email MTVModelMaker@gmail.com.
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5/7: What’s on Jovita Moore’s purse? And WABE-FM’s spring fundraising results
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Although sweeps are more or less irrelevant in Atlanta now that advertisers can get accurate local ratings 12 months a year, the TV stations still reflexively bring out the wackier stories in February, May and November.
Right now, WSB-TV is heavily promoting a story called “How Clean Is Your Purse?”
They swabbed women’s purses to see what was on them? Here’s the online story.
“We had several of them that came back with fecal contamination,” said Beau Rollins, a microbiologist with Nelson Labs.
You read that correctly. Fecal matter was found on a lot of the purses we tested, including Jovita Moore’s. Needless to say, the women who let us test their purses were shocked to hear that.
Gotta love it, eh?
-Despite the shaky economy and rising gas prices crowding out spending, WABE-FM’s listeners came through this spring and pledged the stated goal of $920,000, even exceeding it by a few thousand dollars, according to general manager John Weatherford.
“We’re deeply gratified by the generosity of our listeners,” he said. He was also happy to see a record spring number of new members — 2,200.
A year ago, WABE-FM cut its pledge days from 10 to 9 and fell short of its pledge goal for the first time in several years. Since last fall (WABE does pledges twice a year), the station went back to 10.
The most popular pledge gift item? The recyclable grocery totes.
-While the Steve & Vikki and Cletus T. Judd TV ads keep airing full force, Q100 recently rolled out a bunch of ads for its Bert Show. It features a fans (or actors pretending to be fans) saying how much they love the show, then the quartet turning pieces of paper saying the Bert Show 99.7. Then they laugh uproariously. Do you like the ad if you’ve seen it?
Speaking of the Bert Show, they are holding a contest that Steve & Vikki did many years ago — get celebrities to call in for a chance for money for their charity. So far, the Bert Show has gotten Gwyneth Paltrow, Justin Timberlake, Morgan Freeman, Sean Connery, Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Carter as the biggest names I’ve heard so far. Others who have called so far include Trisha Yearwood, Dallas Austin, Big Boi, Melissa Etheridge, Dan Akroyd, George Takei, Fran Drescher, JIm Davis (founder of Garfield) and Jessica Biel. Thursday is the final day.
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5/7: Alton Brown coming to Variety Playhouse
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the biggest Atlanta-based TV stars is Alton Brown from the Food Network. But despite his long-time ties to the area, he doesn’t do as well here with book signings compared to other major cities.
“I can do shows to standing-room-only crowds in St. Louis, but not here,” he said, calling in from a gourmet food show in Las Vegas earlier this week. “I’m not sure why.”
So he decided to jazz things up for Atlanta to promote his new “Feasting on Asphalt” travelogue/recipe book, based on the Food Network series last summer. On the show, he rode a motorcycle along the Mississippi River checking out mom-and-pop shops along the way.
Instead of holding his signing at A Capella Books, he’s hosting it at Little Five Points’ Variety Playhouse, a far bigger venue than a bookstore. Check him out at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 8. The $29.50 ticket includes a copy of the book.
How is this going to be different from your typical book signing?
They’ll be a talk, a lot more questions and answers, a lot more interaction with the crowd. People will be able to take pictures with some of the motorcycles from the trip. They’ll be food available, video from the show. And since it’s a school night, families with school children will get to the front of the line. Typically, 25 percent of the people at my events are kids.
Why do you think you draw so many kids?
I’ve been doing “Good Eats” for 10 years now and our kid audience has grown and grown. This show wasn’t designed for kids but it really appeals to them. I’m proud that we cover such a wide demographic.
Last November, you weren’t sure if you were going to sign a renewal with the Food Network. What happened?
They asked me back. I was kind of up in the air last year because I never assume anything will ever continue. It wasn’t done until it was done. I’m glad they still want me. I’m old guard now.
Any new shows on the horizon?
We’ve got a very open-ended deal. I’m still doing “Good Eats” and “Iron Chef.” We’ll start new shows when I have the capabilities to do so. We will continue the “Feasting” brand. This year, I shifted from “Feasting on Asphalt” to “Feasting on Waves.” We traded in our motorcycles for sailboats. We went to the Caribbean. It’s a very different type of show. It’s still about real people. My goal was to discover what Columbus discovered. The Caribbean was the first culinary melting pot on the planet. [The series is set to air again in September.]
What’s your favorite recipe from the “Feasting on Asphalt” book?
I really love the Kool-sicle, which I found in the Delta. That’s a dill pickle cured and concentrated in a Cherry Kool-Aid solution. It sounds hideous. It makes these pink things that look like they came from somebody’s body. But when cold and placed on a stick and eaten like a popsicle, you won’t believe how good they are!
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5/5: Men in Trees cancelled, Deadliest Catch story
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TV Guide reports that ABC’s “Men in Trees,” which has been moved around the schedule numerous times, has been canned.
Creator Jenny Bicks believes that two years of schizophrenic scheduling ultimately did the cherished dramedy in. “I wish the show had not been moved six times and put onto two long hiatuses,” she sighs. “No show could survive that.”
-I wrote a story about Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch,” after interviewing fisherman Phil Harris last week at Hooters downtown. He was a funny guy, very quotable.
-Oh, and following on the heels of Britney Spears guesting on CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother,” Lindsay Lohan is doing a guest stint on ABC’s “Ugly Betty.” Ratings ploy? But of course! And Britney is back on May 12 on “How I Met.”
-And have folks caught the northbound billboards on I-75 (near I-20 in Marietta) and I-85 (just before Beaver Ruin) featuring Dagmar Midcap, the very fetching weather forecaster on WGCL? From far away, you can see the huge words “DAGMAR” and her photo, with just a hint of cleavage. I’m going to have to call WGCL and get a bit more about this ad campaign. I don’t recall a billboard campaign centered around a weather gal before, at least in this town, eh?
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5/2: Arbitron ratings— Regular Guys up, new morning shows have slow starts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Radio went through some headspinning changes earlier this year and the first ratings results are in.
Not surprisingly, in the period covering January 20 to April 2, the brand new morning shows took a hit while the Regular Guys came back with a vengeance on the new Rock 100.5. In other trends, Hot 107.9 (and the “A” team above) had its best book in years, the primary season fueled WGST-AM’s numbers, and Q100 on its new signal beat Star 94 in the overall 12-plus ratings for the first time ever.
Take note that typically, new shows lose listeners faster than they gain new ones in the short term so the shaky opening numbers for Dave FM’s Zakk Tyler, Star 94’s the Morning Mess and the Bull’s Cletus T. Judd can be discounted. The spring ratings book, occurring now, should be more indicative of how things are going and we’ll see those numbers in July.
Here are some notable trends. (Email me at rho@ajc.com if you want any other breakdowns or comparisons.)
-In the sports radio world, 680/the Fan continues to beat up 790/The Zone in mornings and the Zone’s new Afternoon Saloon was dwarfed by the Fan’s veteran Buck & Kincade, though the move of 2 Live Stews helped their mid-day numbers. (More specific breakdowns are available Monday.)
-Grown Folks 102.5 had another great book. Believe it or not, despite the weak signal, Steve Harvey tied Tom Joyner for third in mornings.
-And watch out for Hot 107.9: The A Team ranked 2nd among 18 to 34 year olds on Hot 107.9, driving the entire station to 4th overall, its best performance in years.
-The RIver continues to flow strongly despite the arrival of Rock 100.5, which didn’t do particularly well outside of the Regular Guys when playing rock music. For instance, mid-days, the River ranked 3rd while Rock 100.5 ranked 25th.
-Speaking of The Regular Guys, despite arriving partway through the quarter, the return of this male-oriented talk show made a strong impact, landing top 5 among 18 to 34 year olds and top 10 among 25 and 54 year olds.
-As a result, Project took a hit, with the new Giant Brian show ranked 19th among 25-54 (compared to 14th in the fall) and 13th among 18-34 (compared to 7th in the fall).
-And Dave FM didn’t take advantage of 99X’s departure. Its numbers were slightly down in mornings where Zakk Tyler debuted. But on the bright side, his numbers among 25 to 54 year olds were flat compared to the summer when the show was led by Holly Firfer and Orf.
-The presidential campaign is helping both WSB-AM and to a great effect,WGST-AM. Both stations saw numbers improve in the winter. It appears Rush Limbaugh especially helped the mid-day numbers for GST, which nearly doubled among 25 to 54 year olds from the fall and the station ranked 7th in that key demo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Again, more specific breakdowns won’t be available until Monday.)
-Eagle 106.7’s departure is only reflected partly through the book but the new True Oldies and Imus appear to have done poorly across the board in the single month that was polled in March.
-Kicks 101.5 didn’t appear to be hurt or helped immediately by Eagle’s departure. And 94.9/The Bull doesn’t seem to have been helped either with numbers down in mornings where the new Cletus T. Judd show was first introduced. (The Bull ranked 14th in mornings in the fall, 18th in the winter.) Its mid-days were slightly down while afternoons were up.
-The Morning Mess had a tough opening quarter, as expected. It ranked 14th among all listeners, down from 7th last summer, the final full book with Steve & Vikki. Among 25 to 54 year olds, Star dropped to 13th from 6th in the summer. With 18 to 34 year olds, Star fell from 10th in the summer to 15th this past summer. The only bright spot: among teens, the show was 4th, same as Steve & Vikki last summer and the only demo the team was ahead of the Bert Show at Q100.
-Indeed, the Bert Show at Q100 survived the move to the stronger signal unscathed. Its ratings were up across all demographics, landing 5th overall and among 25 to 54 year olds and third among 18 to 34 year olds.
-But Star 94 should be thrilled by the strong performance of its afternoon show Cindy & Ray, which beat the new Johnny O over at Q100. The show ranked 5th among all listeners (up from 11th in the fall), 5th among 25 to 54 year olds (up form 9th in the fall) and a whopping third among 18 to 34 year olds (up from 9th). So if the Morning Mess fails to gain traction, Star has a great option for mornings.
-Smooth jazz stations nationwide have been taking a dive in the past year or two. Atlanta is no exception. Smooth Jazz 107.5 had its worst ratings in nearly three years., ranking 14th overall.
-In its debut, Classic Country 96.7 just barely showed up in the ratings, ranking 28th.
The top 5 stations in terms of “cume,” or number of different listeners per week:
1- WSB-AM 847,000 (in fall of 2005: (813,300)
2- V-103 837,500 (in fall of 2005: 739,400)
3- 97.1/The River 565,400 (didn’t exist in 2005)
4- 95.5/The Beat 564,900 (in fall of 2005: 496,600)
5- Kiss 104.1 506,800 (in fall of 2005: 400,900)
For those who keep track of ownership, four of those stations are Cox Radio, with B98.5 ranked 7th. Q100’s cume of 432,100 is a huge increase from 251,400 in fall of 2005. And Grown Folks with the talk format has more than doubled its cume from fall of 2005, from 187,100 to 397,800. The Fan has seen its cume grow from 159,400 to 194,500 while the Zone’s cume was flat at about 130K. WGKA-AM saw its cume jump from 64,700 to 90,200 over just over two years. And as the black population grew, virtually all stations targeting blacks saw major increases in cume. Hot 107.9 had a cume of 381,000 in fall of 2005 and 491,300 in winter of 2008.)
The top 5 stations in terms of “time spent listening”
1- El Patron 12 hours, 15 minutes per week (didn’t exist in 2005)
2- La Raza 102.3 10 hours, 30 minutes (same as fall of 2005)
3- WAOK-AM 9 hours (11 hours, 45 minutes in fall of 2005)
4- V-103 8 hours, 45 minutes (9 hours in fall 2005)
5- Kiss 104.1 8 hours, 15 minutes (8 hours in fall 2005)
(Worst? 95.5/The Beat at 4 hours compared to four hours 15 minutes in fall 2005)
Here’s the top 10 morning shows 25-54, 1/10-4/2/08
Rank, show, station (fall rank)
1- Frank & Wanda, V-103 (1) Down slightly
2- Scott Slade, WSB-AM (2) Trending upward
3- Tom Joyner, Kiss 104.1 (3-tie) Down
4- Steve Harvey, Grown Folks 102.5 (3-tie) Up
5- Bert Show, Q100 (5) Up
6- Kelly & Alpha, B98.5 (6-tie) flat
7- Lexie Kaye, 97.1/The River (8) up
8- Yolanda Adams, Praise 97.5 (6t)
9- Cadillac Jack & Kristen//Cadillac & Dallas, Kicks 101.5 (9-tie)
10- The Regular Guys, Rock 100.5 (new)
Here are the top 10 morning shows ages 18 to 34
Rank, show, station (fall rank)
1- Frank & Wanda, V-103 (1) a bit of a falloff
2- The “A” Team, Hot 107.9 (3) a huge increase
3- Bert Show, Q100 (2) up, just not as strongly as Hot
4- Regular Guys, Rock 100.5 (new) Note—they were not on air the entire quarter
5- Scott Slade, WSB-AM (6)
6- Murph Dawg & CJ, 95.5/The Beat (11) Best book since they started a year ago
7- Steve Harvey, Grown Folks 102.5 (8) Flat
8- Yolanda Adams, Praise 97.5 (17t) A bit fluky in terms of strength
9- Los Patrones De La Manana, 105.3/El Patron (9)
10- Kelly & Alpha, B98.5 (12) Numbers held flat from the fall so they didn’t benefit from Steve & Vikki’s absence but will certainly be hurt when S&V take over their jobs July 1.
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5/2: Wachs quotes on Southside
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Regular Guys called me this morning so co-host Larry Wachs could complain that my story on “Southside” Steve didn’t include a quote from him but had one from Eric Von Haessler.
So here’s what Larry had to say about why Southside does so many appearances, some of it serious, some of it facetious:
I think he’s deeply in debt and he needs the money. [Seriously,] I think he’s a very hard working man. His breezy attitude and devil-may-care lifestyle is a false front of a very deeply committed individual who entertains Atlanta. Steve is the ambassador of goodwill.
*Actually, it takes money off our plates. He hogs the spotlight. We’re a little jealous. If I’m nice, he’ll give me some crumbs.”
There’s little difference between Southside Steve and Hugh Hefner. All differences are cosmetic.
I don’t see him ever slowing down. If he slows down, he’ll be fired.
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5/1: Profile on Southside Steve Rickman
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s the story running in the print edition tomorrow I wrote about “Southside” Steve Rickman:
ABOVE: Hanging out with bartender Ashley Dellinger at Eastside Station in Snellville, which he hosts every Saturday. PHOTO CREDITS: Rodney Ho.
If you’ve been to the Pink Pony, Hooters or a local Harley-Davidson dealership, odds are pretty good you’ll eventually run into “Southside” Steve Rickman.
The 43-year-old Atlanta native and Rock 100.5 morning co-host with the Regular Guys has an oddly insatiable appetite for hosting promotions — like a local bar version of Ryan Seacrest. Since 1994 at three different radio stations, he has averaged five events a week or 250 a year. Sometimes, he’ll do three in a day.
On April 24, for instance, he hit Tin Roof Cantina at noon, drove up to the Wal-Mart in Buford to give away drag racing tickets from 4 to 6 p.m., then raced down to Macon for a Hooters swimsuit competition at 8.
“He’s like a perpetual presidential campaigner without the campaign,” mused Eric Von Haessler, his co-host on the Regular Guys.
Wearing his signature ponytail (above, at the Douglasville Hooters swimsuit competition April 25) , $500 Mark Nason boots and tight BKE jeans, Rickman remains a proud self-proclaimed “redneck” with his own catch-phrase: “Yeah… come on!” He plays up that schtick on air, where his co-hosts Von Haessler and Larry Wachs will tease him about his ignorance of political events, his man crush on John Travolta and his Casanova mentality.
But off air, he’s a disciplined businessman who embraces the station’s advertisers and provides tireless rapport at promotions with customers, no matter how inebriated they may be.
After a recent Hooters swimsuit competition, fans clustered around him.
“You’re my idol!” said Will Worthan, a mechanic from Hiram. “I’m 23 and I want to be like you.”
Worthan was tickled just being in Rickman’s orbit: “I don’t look good in a ponytail, so I have this faux hawk instead.”
Gary Lewis, general manager at Rock 100.5, has been in the radio business for more than 20 years and has never seen anyone quite as tenacious as Rickman. “He’s the marathon man,” Lewis said. “ He never shortchanges anybody. He’s as fresh and focused on the fifth event as the first one.”
Many radio folks are more comfortable behind the studio mike than in front of actual people. At promotions, some will sit behind a table, eat dinner and keep their lips pretty zipped, giving stuff away by taking names from a box or using a “prize” wheel.
ABOVE: Rickman teases Gill Lasiowski of Snellville (left) before a twisted take on musical chairs at Eastside Station in Snellville April 19.
But Rickman hobnobs nonstop, conjuring up interactive games for Rock 100.5 T-shirts. At a recent Saturday night at Eastside Station bar and restaurant in Snellville, several patrons chewed gum and sucked ice, then tried to blow bubbles. (“Who can blow real well?” he asked slyly.)
He later came up with a slightly off-color take on muscial chairs (above). Ten single guys sat on chairs, while comely ladies strutted around them until the DJ stopped the music. The gals then scrambled to straddle the guys. Last gal to find a lap eliminated both.
“A lot of radio folks don’t like sales guys, but I think like one,” Rickman said. “I totally get it. I strengthen the bond with the client.”
Glen Hale, Eastside’s owner and DJ, watched Rickman with admiration. “He’s edgy but doesn’t go over the line,” he said.
Indeed, at the Hooters swimsuit competition in Douglasville, Rickman kept it surprisingly PG-13, uttering no words the FCC might censor. With low-key charm and command of the stage, he admonished drunks placing drinks on the 50-foot runway but also kept the crowd excited as he described each Hooters gal’s likes and dislikes with the mildest of innuendo.
“Her favorite film is ‘Striptease.’ ” Whooo!
“She loves anything dipped in chocolate!” Whooo!
“She likes fast cars and big, big trucks!” Whooo!
Rickman even got the crowd to heartily cheer Douglasville’s “finest,” the cops.
Blue-collar types relate to him. Police officers sometimes pull over his Mustang late at night, not to check him for alcohol but to bust his chops and get pictures taken or ask for a shirt. “I haven’t gotten a speeding ticket in Georgia,” he said.
Rickman said his hard work has helped pad his wallet. “It has doubled, tripled my pay,” if not more, he said.
During 12 years at 96rock when he was paid no more than $65,000 a year, he’d pocket up to $190,000 extra from promotions and endorsements. Now at Rock 100.5, he has just as many opportunities for appearance dough, a higher base salary and an upgraded position on the show itself, where he gets more respect and more to do.
Dan Jason, a professional event DJ who has worked with Rickman for seven years on the Hooters gigs, wonders how long the long-time bachelor will keep going. (Rickman has boasted of sleeping with 389 women.)
“At some point, he’s going to have to settle down,” Jason said. “He has talked about wanting a family.”
Rickman copped to that, saying he might cut back his breakneck pace only if he got hitched and had a kid.
But regardless, he said, the ponytail stays.
“SOUTHSIDE” STEVE RICKMAN AT A GLANCE
Born: Atlanta
Graduated: M.D. Collins High School, College Park. Attended Georgia State University.
Age: 43 “But I look 33.”
Origin of his catchphrase “Yeah… come on!”: “I started saying it when I was a ramp lead [directing planes at the gates] at Atlantic Southeast Airlines in 1986. Then everyone else started saying it. It stuck with me.”
Radio jobs: Album 88.5 (1990-1993), 96rock (1994-2006), Eagle 106.7 (2007), Rock 100.5 (2008-present).
-I also heard that former WXIA-TV meteorologist Flip Spiceland’s gig doing PR at the Facility Group, which began in early March, has ended, following some trouble at the local real estate company unrelated to him.. I emailed Flip and am awaiting a response.
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5/1: Ian Ziering’s in Georgia for auto racing, “24” prequel this fall
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ian Ziering (right, with Cheryl Burke on “Dancing With the Stars”), best known as smooth-talking Steve Sanders on “Beverly Hills 90210” during the ’90s, has joined the ranks of fellow actors Frankie Muniz and Patrick Dempsey and taken on auto racing as a hobby.
You’ll be able to hang out with him at Road Atlanta in Braselton Saturday, where he’ll be competing 1:30 p.m. at the SCAA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup. (That rolls of the tongue!) More info on the race here.
“I’ve loved motor sports since I was a kid but I just went pro last year,” Ziering said earlier this week.
He took a racing school class at Road Atlanta five years ago and deemed it an “awesome track.”
This is not a cheap hobby. Besides the vehicle itself, staffing a pit crew and maintaining the vehicle can go into the six figures per year. As a “complete newbie,” Ziering said he’s seeking more sponsors. Interested? He gave Buzz a contact number at Hale Motorsports: 860-399-4603. Ask for Randy.
Ziering’s profile went up a year ago when he finished a solid fourth on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” (see him work his best Elvis moves below)
This led to hosting duties of Lifetime’s recent reality show “Your Mama Don’t Dance.” He fended off assertions that the show is creepy because it features parents dancing with their sons and daughters, often in sexy outfits.
“The dancers were not sensual,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful than a parent having fun with their kids.”
Here’s a sampling from that show. Just for yourself:
Ziering isn’t currently involved with efforts to create a “90210” spinoff, but he’s not against the idea. “It’s great if they capture the spirit” of the original, he said. “I’m like anybody else. I want to be entertained!”
-“24” fans should be thrilled to know the “24” two-hour prequel movie this fall will feature Jack Bauer in Africa, leading to events that start season seven, the season that got held this year due to the writers’ strike. More info here.
-The title of the final season episode for “The Office” gives us an instant clue that one of the cast members is leaving the show. Check it out here partway down if you’re into spoilers..
