Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2008 > June
June 2008
6/30: Laura Ingraham back on the air
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After 20 days “in the wilderness,” as she dubbed it, talk-show host Laura Ingraham was back on the radio this morning, heard from 9 to noon locally on 920/WGKA-AM. Her syndicator forced her off the air during contract negotiations. I’m not clear what is going on and neither does GKA program director Jeff Carter. Laura was not specific on the air about why she’s back.
-Steve & Vikki are under contract with Star 94 until midnight tonight. Starting at 12:01 a.m., they are part of B98.5’s payroll and you’ll be hearing them at 5 a.m., I fathom. My colleague Rich Eldredge will have some juicy info about them tomorrow. I’ll link to the story then as well as post a review of their first morning at B98.5 while most of their rivals are on vacation. (Eldredge has had a tight link with Vikki for years and broke the story of their departure about a year ago.).
-And a reminder to Tivo “America’s Got Talent” Tuesday night from 8 to 10 p.m. Atlanta is one of the audition cities so if you attended any of the auditions, you might see yourself on TV.
Plus, if you miss “7th Heaven,” executive producer Brenda Hampton has moved to ABC Family with her new show “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” It’s a wee bit edgier, featuring a smart French horn teen who gets pregnant and tries to hide it, an arrogant sexaholic guy who impregnated her (but doesn’t know it yet), a beautiful Christian gal (no sex til marriage!) and a dweebish (dweebish in the TV sense is still cute and adorable in Real World sense) guy chases after the French horn gal. It debuts at 8 p.m. Tuesday and based on the first episode, isn’t half bad.
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6/27: Farewell to Kelly & Alpha, Matt Chernoff subs at 680/The Fan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s hard not to feel a little bad for Kelly Stevens and Alpha Trevette, two dutiful foot soldiers for B98.5 who left the airwaves Friday morning after nine-plus years at the soft-rock station and 20 years together as a team.
“We had some wonderful life changing experiences,” Alpha said during the final farewell at 8:50 a.m. this morning.
“We’re leaving you in good company. You have a new show coming,” Kelly said. And as he passed the baton to Jordan Graye, the mid-morning host, his voice broke.
It was a touching, low-key farewell for two classy guys who were given a shot to actually say goodbye. [If you want to leave them some kind words, go to their Web site.]
The pair’s mandate from day one was to provide brief, amusing buffer banter between songs. They were seldom given a chance to breathe, to develop a real show a la the Bert Show or Frank & Wanda or the Regular Guys.
For B98.5, it worked. The station brought in a consistent audience of folks who preferred music while going to work or ferrying the kids to school.
But when Steve McCoy & Vikki Locke became available, Cox Radio — owners for B98.5 — had to make a strategic choice. Steve & Vikki’s audience had gotten too old for Star but seems a perfect fit for the B98.5 crowd. If B98.5 chose to do nothing, another radio company might have been tempted to start a second soft-rock station. (Atlanta as a metro area has been with just one soft-rock station since Lite became the country station the Bull in December 2006.)
So Cox hired Steve & Vikki themselves to create a bulwark and disincentive for any rival to take on B98.5 directly.
Kelly & Alpha were simply in the way. They had to go. It’s ironic that B98.5 so assiduously constrained the pair from doing a full-personality show; yet, the station gets rid of them for a personality morning show.
The pair chose to make Friday a “celebration” as opposed to a wake, taking well-wishing calls from their regulars such as Mark from the Yamaha bike factory at 5:10 a.m.. “You giving us a free bike?” joked Kelly, a regular motorycle user. “What?” Mike said. “Suddenly, he’s hard of hearing!” Alpha joked.
Even the gallows humor was relatively lighthearted and things didn’t get histrionic, at least early on. After playing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ ,” Kelly at 5:15 a.m. couldn’t help but reference it as the final song on “The Sopranos.”
Kelly at 6 a.m. noted they were being videotaped by a staffer for posterity. “Maybe we can sell it on eBay and get some money that way,” he cracked.
The final daily “impossible” question: five percent of men would rather do this than lose their hair. You can find the answer here.. And yes, the team even did their final endorsement to Purina One at 6:25 a.m. And at 6:58 a.m., they brought back the Friday song one more time after a long absence and sang it together (quite well, in fact).
Interestingly, the “noncompete” clause in the Steve & Vikki contract at Star 94 precludes B98.5 from even mentioning their names on air until July 1, which is probably just as well for Kelly & Alpha. (But the station found a loophole and have been airing Steve & Vikki TV ads for weeks.)
I spoke with both Kelly & Alpha Thursday. Alpha seemed like he was holding a bit back and you can’t blame him since they’re both getting paychecks from the station through the end of the year. He chose not to comment about Steve & Vikki while Kelly said he only wished them the best: “They’re a great team…I have no animosity. I made sure my desk was nice and clean so Steve could set himself up.” (Marjorie Coley won’t be doing the news for B98.5; under Steve & Vikki, it will be Jeff Hullinger, who will continue to anchor news over at WSB-AM in the afternoons.)
Kelly (right), fresh from alcohol rehab at Ridgeview, harbored zero bitterness about his impending departure from B98.5:
“It’s a transition. I wasn’t surprised. I was shocked they were giving us as much notice. Four months! That was a blessing.”
It gave Kelly time to go to rehab and get his life straightened out, he said. “I owe [Ridgeview] my life,” he said. He’d been spiraling down the past two years.
“I wanted to go find the old Kelly and bring him back,” he said. “If this is the last time I’m on the radio, I didn’t want to go out that way. I wanted to end strong.”
He even chose to talk about it on air. “I wanted to be honest,” he said. “I was amazed by the support.” He even kept his drinking problem from Alpha and producer Will Gara, who stays on to work with Steve & Vikki next week. (Ironic song on the final day: “Red Red Wine” by UB40 at 6:08 a.m. “A little euphoric recall,” Kelly joked.)
“He hid things from me and everybody else,” said Alpha. “We didn’t communicate as well as we could.” He said since Kelly came back from rehab earlier this month, they have been doing great shows. “It’s more relaxed and easier to do the show,” he noted, despite the impending end.
Alpha (right) said he’s just grateful he got to say goodbye on the air, an opportunity many radio personalities do not get. (See Rhubarb Jones, Leslie Fram and Kristen Gates as recent examples.)
“The focus has been on the music while trying to have fun in what little space given us,” he said. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job. We’ve learned to condense quite a bit. We cut out a lot of fat and needless talk. It would have been nice to flesh some things out but we worked within the framework.”
Kelly said he did what he was told: “You’re talking to someone who spent five years in the service. [The Coast Guard.] I salute smartly and do my job. I’m not the boss!”
He also said Thursday before the farewell show that he just hoped to keep his composure when he hands off the morning to Jordan Graye at around 8:45 a.m. “It’s going to hurt a little bit,” he admitted. “I might cry like a baby!” (From the sounds of it on air, he did.)
The morning team ended its run airing from 5 a.m. to 8:15 a.m., a relatively early finish compared to its competitors, but the radio station wanted to start the workday with lots of music.
Naturally, the pair would like to stay in Atlanta if possible but if a good job comes along in a different market, they’re all ears. But he said the job market is a bit quiet right now. (Their agent is Glenn Goldstein if anybody is interested and their Web site is here if you want to look at their resume and offer them a new job..
This is by far the longest the pair has stayed in the same city (they’ve been in Kansas City, Seattle, Tampa and Denver.) “We fooled these guys longer than anybody else apparently!” Alpha joked.
Next week, neither will be anywhere near Atlanta while Steve & Vikki start on July 1. Kelly, who is single, will be on his Harley going up the coast to Maine, which he has never seen. Alpha plans to visit his son in Denver (a former radio market for the pair) and see some old buds “away from the hype machine,” he said.
—If you’re hearing Matt Chernoff’s voice on 680/The Fan, you aren’t imagining it. The long-time Zone sports talk host until late last year has been working the TV circuit alone the past few months. But when 680/The Fan asked him to sub in for Christopher Rude Thursday and Friday, he said yes.
He said he hasn’t counted out a future radio gig again. “I’m open to anything,” he said. “This was just to sit in and have some fun… I’ve been enjoying TV and having one job like everyone else. But I do miss doing radio.”
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6/26: “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” finally confirmed by Bravo
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(l-r) Lisa Wu Hartwell, DeShawn Snow, Kim Zolciak, NeNe Leakes, Sheree Whitfield.
Bravo finally confirmed today that, yes, there is a “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” coming to the cable network later this summer.
Here’s how Bravo is spinning it in its press release:
Bravo is heading south for its newest installment, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” The seven episode series will follow five women from Atlanta’s social elite - from NBA and NFL wives to sassy single moms - as they juggle their burgeoning careers and busy home lives with the whirl of the south’s hottest city.
Rumors have been floating around for months and the gossip Web site Young Black and Fabulous provided juicy details of four of the five women on June 9.
This follows the original, trashy “The Real Housewives of the O.C.,” the offshoot “The Real Housewives of New York City” and soon “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” Apparently, Bravo thinks it has its very own “CSI” franchise.
The first 30-minute preview special airs Wednesday, July 30 at midnight after a rebroadcast of “Project Runway.” A specific launch date for the series has not bee set yet.
Here’s how Bravo describes each women:
Holiday cheer flowed in 2006 during the Christmas season at the Alpharetta home of Eric (left) and DeShawn Snow. Singer Lyfe Jennings (right) sang for the Cleveland Cavaliers center, his Realtor wife and their guests. CREDIT: JimiFlix Photography
-DeShawn Snow (above): Snow and her husband Eric, captain of the Cleveland Cavaliers, recently moved to their dream home in Alpharetta, GA. Mother to three boys - nine-year-old EJ, six-year-old Darius and five-year-old Jarren, Snow is an active member of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. She exercises her faith by running The DeShawn Snow Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on improving self-esteem in teenage girls. She is a regular on the Atlanta social circuit and extremely active in local philanthropy, sitting on the board of three different charities, all while expertly juggling her busy social calendar with being an NBA wife and keeping up with her boys.
-Kim Zolciak: Zolciak lives in an exclusive gated townhouse community in Duluth, GA with her two children, 11-year-old Brielle and six-year-old Ariana. Zolciak is single, but happily dating with hopes to marry again in the near future. She also has her sights set on fame in the music business as a country singer, and is currently working with Grammy award-winning mega-producer Dallas Austin and will begin recording an album later this year. A staple on the Atlanta scene, Zolciak balances life as a single mom with a vivacious social life. (Under that name, I have found zero info about her.)
-Lisa Wu Hartwell: Hartwell, a resident of a luxurious country club community in Duluth, GA, is a busy career woman who wears many hats - she owns her own real estate firm, Hartwell & Associates, a jewelry line called Wu Girls, a baby clothing line, Hart 2 Hart Baby, and juggles a budding acting, modeling and writing career. She’s a devoted wife to her husband, NFL player Ed Hartwell, and their three children 13-year-old Jordan, ten-year-old Justin and one-year-old EJ. When she’s not running one of her many businesses or running after the kids, Hartwell is very active in Atlanta’s social scene. She has a holding pattern Web site with no real content but you can see her photo.
-NeNe Leakes: Leakes is an active member of Atlanta society. She resides in the upscale Sugarloaf area of Atlanta with her husband Gregg, a successful real estate investor and business consultant, and their two sons, 18-year-old Brice and nine-year-old Brentt. Leakes donates her time to various foundations and is the founder of The Twisted Hearts Foundation, which brings awareness to domestic violence against women. Never one to sit still, the outspoken social butterfly also hopes to open a luxury boutique hotel in the very near future.
-Sheree Whitfield: Single socialite Whitfield, a resident of the exclusive Sandy Springs area of Atlanta, juggles her busy home life with a packed social calendar. She is a busy working mother to three children -Tierra, Kairo and Kaleigh. Whitfield prides herself on her fashion sense, and owned her own upscale clothing boutique - Bella Azul - for years before closing up shop to focus on her next business venture, a clothing line called “She by Sheree.” Whitfield is opening a new chapter in her life as a single mom while balancing her entrepreneurial spirit and active social life.
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6/26: Wanda Smith uses airwaves to help couple who lost sons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
V-103’s Wanda Smith (right with Frank Ski’s wife Tonya last December) last week helped raise more than $17,000 for Keisha Brown, who lost their sons on Father’s Day when both drowned in a Stone Mountain pond in their backyard.
The family had zero dollars to pay for a burial so Wanda reached out to V-103’s listeners and they came through. “I thought about my children,” Smith said. “I just wanted to help her.”
One kid Jasquez, 11, was drowning and the other Jacobie, 14, tried to save him and that boy ended up drowning, too. Tragic.
The boys were laid to rest on Saturday, June 21, 2008. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church held the home going service while Rucker Funeral Home handled the burial.
Smith said she answers calls every day on V-103 and gets sob stories galore. How does she differentiate who to help and who not to? (She obviously can’t turn the station into a beg-a-thon for the down and out.)
“I don’t know how to differentiate those just calling. Some might be fake. I don’t want that on my heart.” So she prays and “it’s like a chill that God has given me. This is the person who needs help.”
She said she often helps folks off camera and never promotes it. ‘For me, it’s from the heart. It’s not about exposure,” she said. “I love my job because I can reach out to people.”
Believe or not, Frank and Wanda are set to celebrate their 10th anniversary on V-103 this October.
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6/25: Today Show weds Atlanta couple (VIDEO included)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Most folks don’t hold weddings at 8:40 a.m. on a Wednesday.
But if NBC’s “The Today Show” is giving you a wedding for free at Rockefeller Center, televised before millions of viewers, it’s not your call.
And Atlanta couple LaDonna Bradford and Darnell Suggs, winners of NBC’s “Race to the Altar,” have zero complaints.
Viewers picked the theme (“East Meet West”), the dress (strapless fitted white bodice gown with a modest train but long veil) and bridesmaid dresses (pink, in a “Legally Blonde” sort of way).
The honeymoon pick? The Pacific island of Bora Bora, which was their first choice. And NBC held the reception at the Rainbow Room for 175 guests.
“I’m floating,” LaDonna said.
Her father died when she was eight so she was escorted down the aisle by her grandfather. “Today, my father is smiling from above,” she said during her vows.
“I stand here a better man because of you,” Darnell said during his vows.
LaDonna, a nuclear reactor inspector, and Darnell, a computer engineer, aggressively lobbied friends and acquaintances to vote for them, and actively sought media coverage. It worked.
Here’s video from the ceremony, courtesy of msnbc:
And here’s the first dance with “American Idol” third place finisher Melinda Doolittle, LaDonna’s cousin, singing “Never Felt This Way”:
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6/24: Former WSB-TV anchor Warren Savage out of rehab, Imus non-controversy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My colleague Nancy Badertscher reported that former WSB-TV anchor Warren Savage has avoided trial for cocaine possession after completing an 18-month drug treatment program..
Savage, who was an anchor at WSB-TV in Atlanta for more than 10 years, was arrested in Forsyth County in 2006 on cocaine possession charges.
I recall after he quit WSB-TV’s morning anchor job, he met me at the Sun Dial restaurant on top of the Westin Peachtree. He expressed his love for playing in a jazz band but was oddly vague to me about his post-TV intentions. He admitted he was having a hard time getting up that early in the morning. WSB-TV employees would have to give him wake-up calls sometimes because he was getting to work late. At the time, we had no clue of his drug problems.
Soon after he was arrested, I received a call from a guy who had some of his possessions, which had been confiscated from a storage bin. He wanted to get rid of them. I still have some of Warren’s items. Unfortunately, at the time, I had no clue how to get a hold of Warren to give them to him. It’s mostly awards and photographs of him and friends/family but also included some receipts for items he pawned off such as computers and a guitar. So Warren—if you want your personal effects, contact me at rho@ajc.com and I can get them to you.
-There’s been this strange “controversy” over comments Don Imus made when he asked about Pacman Jones’ “color.” In context, Imus (heard now on True Oldies 106.7) sounds like he’s just being sarcastic. Yet somehow, people (including Pacman himself) have complained. Here’s an AP video story about it:
According to AP, he addressed the “outrage” thusly:
“What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason,” Imus said Tuesday. “I mean, there’s no reason to arrest this kid six times. Maybe he did something once, but everyone does something once.”
He called the flurry of criticism surrounding the comments “ridiculous” and said that his program’s cast is now more diverse than ever — and includes a black producer and two black co-hosts, a man and a woman.
“How insane would I have to be? What would I be thinking?” Imus wondered aloud.
So is this much ado about nothing or is it more proof that Imus is a racist?
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6/23: Fred Powers, former gutsy reporter for WGCL-TV, has died
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WGCL-TV’s former intrepid reporter Fred Powers has died of cancer.
Powers, known has the “human pinata,” was willing to get tasered, attacked by dogs and set on fire. “He relished those opportunities,” said WGCL General Manager Andy Alford. In late 2005, he got news he was inflicted with a rare form of cancer in the tear duct of his right eye. And sadly, he has struggled with illness ever since and has not been on air for some time.
His memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday at Saint Mark’s United Methodist Church at 781 Peachtree Street.
His last time before the TV cameras was March 14. Despite the fact he was on disability leave, he volunteered to go on the air after a tornado struck the Cotton Mill Lofts in Cabbagetown. WGCL showed video of his final time on air at about 4:45 p.m. today.
The family has a site about Powers here where you can leave a donation or leave a note.
Here’s the note:
Fred left us today…to start a new adventure. He is free of pain and doesn’t have to suffer or worry about fighting anymore. He passed away peacefully around 2pm today. He was surrounded by his parents, four sisters, nephew Evan, and his best friend Colby.
I will update as plans for a service are made.
Full of love and gratitude,
Fred’s Family
Alford sent this email to employees at WGCL earlier today:
It is with much sadness that I tell you of the passing of Fred Powers. He was a dedicated journalist and was committed to his profession. We were privileged to have him as a member of the CBS 46 family. Fred was always willing to do almost anything to support our efforts at the station including stories where he was attacked by dogs and being shot with a Taser. Most recently he voluntarily provided outstanding on-site reporting of the downtown tornados. We are all better for having worked with Fred. Please keep Fred’s family and friends in your prayers.
Here’s a copy of a story I wrote about him in late 2004 before he got sick.
WGCL-TV reporter Fred Powers has been set on fire, bitten by dogs and hit by a Taser —- all in the name of news. No wonder he’s being dubbed the “human pinata” by TV wags.
“He is, without a doubt, the king of stunt reporters, ” said Mike James, editor of www.newsblues.com, a broadcast news Web site. “What he does is cool, but it’s not news.”
Or is it?
“They’re not just stunt stories, ” Powers countered. “We’re telling stories that have impact.”
Not coincidentally, his biggest stories tend to pop up during the sweeps months of February, May and November. (The current sweeps period ends today.) Because advertisers base what they pay partly on viewership during those three months, a shift of a ratings point here and there can mean millions of dollars for each station.
With such high stakes, it’s not surprising that WGCL promotes Powers as the man who will do anything for a story, showing snippets of his escapades accompanied by a rotating 360-degree shot of the reporter, bionic man style.
“I have to admit I don’t feel comfortable with that, ” said Powers, who often has an urgent, swashbuckling attitude on air. “I don’t want to be promoted as the story. The story should be the focus.”
Although Powers has won local awards for spot news coverage and enjoys jumping into disaster coverage, his “Fear Factor” stunts get the buzz and the ratings that the CBS affiliate covets.
Last month, Powers aired a live SWAT demonstration at a police training facility in Douglas County. He played a suspect holding a cop hostage. The police stormed the house on live TV and shot Powers, wearing a bulletproof vest, three times in the chest.
Electric moment
Powers’ most infamous live demonstration aired in February, when police jolted him with a Taser.
The Georgia State Patrol was about to equip its officers with stun guns, so he approached the Forest Park Police Department, which already used them.
“I want to be Tasered, ” he told Chris Matson, the administrative captain.
“It was, ” Matson said, “an unusual request.”
Powers convinced him that the goal of the segment was to show stun guns were not as dangerous as they appeared.
“We granted his wishes: We gave him 50,000 volts, ” Matson said.
When the dramatic moment arrived, Powers screamed and fell to the floor, immobilized for several moments. “You just freeze up, but five seconds later, I was fine, ” he said.
“I’m just glad he had a lot of law enforcement people around him making sure it was safe, ” said Helen Neill, who was the news anchor that night.
Before the report, Powers said he had an EKG to make sure he was healthy. “I work out, ” he said. “We don’t do anything we feel is going to jeopardize me in any way.”
“Fred offered a good mixture of information, entertainment and a little bit of excitement, ” Matson said. “He was very fair.”
In the 11 p.m. time slot, WGCL usually ranks far behind powerhouse ABC affiliate WSB-TV and NBC affiliate WXIA-TV. The night of the Taser story, WGCL beat WXIA and came in a respectable second to WSB.
Powers was one of the first reporters to be “Tasered.” Not surprisingly, dozens of TV stations nationwide copied WGCL in subsequent weeks.
‘Involvement reporting’
The CBS news affiliate is a perennial cellar dweller in the ratings.
“People have been watching other stations for a long time, ” Powers said. “They don’t have a reason to turn to us. We have to do something that is so much more to attract them.”
Micah Johnson, WGCL news director, said Powers has always been a “demonstrative” reporter: “We’ve turned him loose here.”
Johnson said he likes stories on topics people think about but have never witnessed. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong taking a very interesting story and pulling people into the TV.”
This style of local news has waxed and waned over the years, said Dick Williams, a news director at WXIA-TV in the 1970s and regular on political talk show “The Georgia Gang” on Fox 5.
It can be effective, he noted, with the right personality.
“Consultants used to call it ‘involvement reporting, ’ ” Williams said. “Fred is the X-Games version.”
‘Entertainment’
Powers is a natural adrenaline seeker. Growing up in Utah, he loved to ski and worked at stations in Salt Lake City, Orange County, Calif., and Phoenix before coming to WGCL in 1997. In Phoenix, he did a few daredevil acts, battling house fires, sky diving and flying a stunt plane.
He said he’s never been seriously injured, but during a demonstration on avoiding dog bites, he did get bitten in the right calf. “It was just a tiny nick, ” he said, but added, “It’s a proud scar.”
Bill Nigut, a former WSB-TV political reporter, said he admires Powers’ “willingness to sacrifice himself for the cause with a cheerful exuberance. And because Channel 46 doesn’t have franchise personalities, I understand why they’re investing in him as one.”
Indeed, WGCL-TV has seen general ratings improvement in the past year with edgier production values and more aggressive marketing, but the station still averages just 12 percent of the viewers that WSB-TV, the ratings leader, typically gets.
Michael Castengera, a University of Georgia broadcast news lecturer, said plenty of news directors sneer at this first-person style of reporting. And of the 20 stations Castengera consults with nationwide (none in Atlanta), only a couple have Powers-type reporters.
“Let’s not pretend this is journalism, ” Castengera said. “This is entertainment. Maybe if we’re very lucky, we give viewers a little insight and thought, too. But more importantly, we give a little enjoyment.”
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6/23: George Carlin remembrance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last fall, I saw George Carlin was coming to the Fox Theatre and decided to pursue an interview. He also had an HBO special coming up and via his publicist, I had no problem procuring time to talk to him by phone.
I have to say he was nothing but a pleasure to talk to. He was considerate, quotable and just plain fun to interact with. And he sounded content even when he was being Carlinesque cynical.
When he couldn’t think up the name of a particular author, he called me back later to ensure I got it. Not many C-level comics would bother doing that, much less a legend like Carlin.
Here’s the story I wrote last fall:
George Carlin is a cynic. That’s obvious from his comedy routines dating back to the Vietnam era. But he’s an oddly happy cynic.
“I discovered I didn’t care about the outcome on this planet or this country. A lot of comedians and social critics are rooting for a certain outcome or result. I don’t. I just enjoy watching the destruction, ” Carlin said during a recent phone interview to promote his Fox Theatre appearance tonight.
Carlin’s biting commentaries on culture and language have entertained multiple generations. His rant from the early ’70s about the seven words you can never say on television has become folklore and still resonates as people wrangle over the issue of obscenity decades later.
He has taped 13 HBO specials and is set to do his 14th early next year. He’s working on his fourth book. Despite some heart problems earlier this decade, he said he feels good and, at 70, he keeps on touring with an indefatigable spirit.
“I still like people to know what I’m thinking, ” he said. “I do this for me, not for them. I enjoy getting these thoughts off my chest in my own unique way.”
Then again, Carlin is gratified he still has an audience, including plenty of younger people who weren’t around when he began his career.
“People say I’ve changed their whole outlook on things in more profound ways than comedy normally affects them. Things like, ‘My father and I weren’t getting along, but we watched your show and now we’re buddies again.’ I don’t aim for that sort of thing, but it’s gratifying and makes me feel worthy.”
Carlin said he has no real hobbies, no need to ride motorcycles or cook gourmet meals. (“My hobby is being alive, ” he notes.) He doesn’t blog about his thoughts on his Web site, which hasn’t been updated in years. He doesn’t hobnob with other celebrities, much less other stand-up comics.
“I love watching people destroy themselves in public, ” Carlin said. “That’s kind of fun. But I don’t participate in show business. I just do my stuff. I’m a combination artist and entertainer. The artist does the writing. The entertainer performs. They live happily together and have a good time.”
And though Carlin keeps up with the news and mines it for material, his routines don’t play off the headlines a la Jay Leno.
“It’s too easy, ” he said. “I don’t like targets that are easy. I do mention people along the way to make a point.
“I mention George Bush a couple of times in my current show. It’s not about him specifically, but he comes in for a little abuse on the side.”
Take Michael Vick. Carlin sighed and called the star quarterback’s dogfighting travails a “side attraction in the big circus of America. That’s not the kind of thing I generally talk about. But I did write about how I feel about humans vs. animals.
“I agree with the writer Patricia Highsmith. She said a friend told her if she saw a baby human and a baby kitten crying in the street, she’d feed the baby kitten. I agree with that. That’s what I would do: Put animals ahead of human beings.”
In fact, Americans, in his mind, prefer to focus on the sideshows and ignore the big picture.
“People have lost interest in governing themselves, ” he observed, “for the sake of gizmos and toys. They sold out for Jet Skis and cellphones and Salad Shooters and leaf blowers.
“It’s just a shame. It will be the ruin of this country. But it’s fun to watch.”
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6/22: WSB-TV wins top Southeast Emmy prize
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WSB-TV, the highest-rated station in town, won the “Station Excellence” award at the Southeast Emmy awards, held Saturday night at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead. The last time the station took home the prize was 2006.
The well-respected Russ Spencer of WAGA-TV took home the Emmy for best news anchor, beating out Ted Hall at WXIA-TV. This is the third time he has won the prize. Spencer, who has been in the news business for 25 years, has a blog on the TV Web site but it hasn’t been updated in two months.
And in a mild surprise, the 11 p.m. newscast of WGCL-TV won for best daily newscast. This is the station’s strongest performer in ratings (much better than its 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.), often finishing second only behind WSB-TV in the ratings. Ironically, the station just dumped its news director Rich Erbach, bringing in a new man Steve Schwaid.
Blair Meeks won best on-camera reporter for the third year in a row. Too bad he recently left WXIA-TV to enter public relations.
(I normally try to attend the event but it landed on my birthday so I opted not to work so I’m merely culling from the winners’ list.)
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6/22: Jonas Brothers hot, but not HSM2 hot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jonas Brothers’ big debut film “Camp Rock” debuted Friday on Disney Channel with a very big 8.9 million viewers (most under the age of 18 with 3.9 million between the ages of 9 to 14). That beat the original “High School Musical” of 7.8 million a couple years back but far smaller than last year’s 17.2 million for “High School Musical 2.”
But don’t think that will stop the onslaught of Jonas Brothers mania. Oh, no! And it was the highest-rated show during that time slot, beating all the major networks by a wide margin.
I’ll update with ratings from a telecast on ABC Saturday night and ABC Family Sunday night.
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6/21: Glenn Beck falls down flight of stairs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No, he wasn’t pushed. Talk-show host Glenn Beck Wednesday fell down some stairs, took Thursday off but came back Friday in (more or less) one piece. No broken bones.
Here’s the note he posted on his Web site:
A message from Glenn:
I’m not sure who pushed me down the stairs, but I’m pretty sure it was one of the two Presidential candidates.
The bad news is I had to unexpectedly take some time off work, but I will be back on radio tomorrow; the good news is that we still don’t have universal health care so my medical care was great; the best news is that there’s no new YouTube video out about my butt.
Thanks for the well wishes.
He’s seen 7 and 9 p.m. weeknights on CNN Headline News and heard from 9 to noon on WGST-AM. He came to Atlanta just a couple weeks ago.
glenn
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6/20: TBS pondering a new version of “Match Game”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This game show was once so popular, networks have tried again and again to blank it.
Atlanta-based TBS has taped a pilot this week in Los Angeles of a remake of my favorite game show of all time, “Match Game.” The version I liked (and GSN still airs) is the ’70s version, which featured the delightful interplay between host Gene Rayburn and the regulars such as Richard Dawson, Bret Sommers and Charles Nelson Reilly which reflected the ’70s bad fashion choice, casual sexism and smoking on set. Oh, the silly gameplay, sexual innuendo and Rayburn’s skinny long mike helped, too.
The show has been revived numerous times over the past 20 years but never quite successfully. According to Hollywood Reporter,, TBS is pondering an even raunchier, late-night version because it has commissioned the likes of Sarah Silverman and Norm MacDonald to be regulars. Andrew Daly (“Semi-Pro”) is hosting the pilot and the show is executive produced by Robert Smigel, who is best known as doing the cartoon bits on “Saturday Night Live” and creating Triumph the Insult Dog for Conan.
Do you think it could work in 2008?
Here’s a little nostalgia from the ’70s version:
And one of the readers here noted a very funny parody on “Saturday Night Live” a few weeks back featuring Shia LaBeouf:
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6/19: XM-Sirius update, new “Better Mornings” forecaster, Willard leaving radio
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
That XM-Sirius merger is coming ever closer to reality. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said it’s okay with the merger. Now it’s up to the entire commission.
Unfortunately, the foot dragging isn’t helping either company in a challenging economic environment. Both XM and Sirius are losing money separately. The quesion: will they be able to make money combined? The window of opportunity for XM and Sirius to grow beyond its current 18 million subscribers is closing as other options grow (including Internet radio).
More info here about the sagging stock prices of both companies.
-New weather reader at WGCL’s low-rated “Better Mornings”: Jennifer Valdez (right) from Greenville, S.C.’s CBS affiliate. Valdez is a Gator. She effectively replaces Dagmar Midcap, who has since been doing the more prestigious 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Midcap started at “Better Mornings” (seen 5 to 7 a.m. weekdays) in June 2007 but the station quickly realized the public liked her and gave her the more prominent evening gig earlier this year after Gene Norman left. The station also has a new news director named Steve Schwaid after Rick Erbach was booted a couple weeks ago.
-Remember Willard? He was a fixture on Z93 and 96rock as a jock for several years, segued into sales when Z93 became Dave FM in 2004. He’s leaving Dave and radio after 36 years and moving to North Georgia.
-Radio One, which operates more than 70 stations nationwide including four here in Atlanta (Praise, Hot, Grown Folks, Smooth Jazz), has been rolling out comedienne *Mo’Nique *to several radio markets but none so far in Atlanta. She airs live from 3 to 7 p.m. The problem is Radio One has commitments to Michael Baisden on Grown Folks, the most obvious place for her to go here. And Baisden has done very very well for Radio One here. (The respected Atlanta Radio One General Manager Wayne Brown is leaving to start his own company after eight years.)
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6/17: Talking with Leslie Fram, Atlanta’s Gospel Music Channel expands
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Leslie Fram’s foray to the Big Apple starts Thursday.
In an interview today, Fram expressed excitement and anticipation taking over a new rock radio station, WRXP-FM in New York, formerly a smooth jazz station.
“I’m very excited,” she said. “This is another opportunity to build a brand from scratch, like 99X.” Fram, one of the most respected female rock radio programmers in the country, helped form 99X in 1992 and shape it into a new rock powerhouse throughout the 1990s. The station’s influence waned this decade and she was pushed off the FM airwaves in January, along with the station itself, which lives on at 99x.com.
WRXP launched in February and sounds like a mix of Dave FM and Rock 100.5, with plenty of deep cuts and new music mixed in with Led Zeppelin and AC/DC classics. (Ratings have been anemic so far, but Fram said the station hasn’t really started marketing.) Fram won’t be on air in New York but will work her magic behind the scenes. She hopes to tap into the passion some New Yorkers have in rock music with a deeper, broader playlist than heard on most stations. You can check it out here.
Fram’s husband Lanny will continue to run her two Atlanta area boutiques and she’ll travel back to Atlanta for charity commitments. “I’m going to get myself a cubby hole of an apartment in Manhattan and live at the radio station,” she said. She plans to hit New York Thursday to “get the ball rolling and meet with the sales department.”
She already knew the general manager Dan Halyburton, who had worked at Susquehanna while she was there. And consultant Mike Henry used to do work for 99X. And naturally, she is well connected in the industry and the management at RXP obviously saw her track record and hopes she can resurrect some of that 99X magic in New York.
Will any of her expats at 99X end up at RXP? She’s not sure yet but a few might be available, if not already, but soon. Her former 99X colleague Steve Craig, for instance, is doing 99X.com but his contract is up in a few weeks. And former night-time jock Dekker is already there doing weekends though she’s not sure where he’ll ultimately end up. (RXP still has some openings in afternoons and nights.)
So rumors of Fram going to Dave FM have not come to pass. She said she had braced herself to leave Atlanta after all these years if the right opportunity came up. And this one, in her mind, obviously is.
-Gospel Music Channel, the Atlanta-based cable network, is just a couple of years old, but it’s already planning a scripted show. Most cable networks start with reality programming because it’s cheaper before moving to scripted options. (See BET and TBS.)
According to Mediaweek,, in the works for the first quarter of 2009 is “Gospel Playhouse,” a weekly musical dramedy series from playwright J.D. Lawrence. Gospel Music Channel is now seen in 40 million households.
-And check out “America’s Got Talent” at 9 p.m. tonight on NBC. I watched the first two hours and there is indeed some fun talent out there. There’s a cool pair of hip-hop violinists, an incredibly cute four year old who sang “Somewhere Out There” skillfully and a male baton twirler who was teased as a child and is now getting his comeuppance. Sadly, the 80 year old tap dancer? Not so good. But sweet.
I wrote this story about the show.. The Atlanta auditions will air next week.
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6/16: Leslie Fram going to NY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former 99X program director and morning host Leslie Fram is going to New York to be the program director of a new rock station WRXP-FM/101.9.
The news actually came out hours ago but I was in flight from Newark coming back from a funeral so I’m sorry I’m a bit late on this one. Ironically, I listened a bit to RXP this morning on my way to the airport.
The station is somewhat more eclectic than Dave FM or Rock 100.5. I heard “Suicide Blonde” by INXS, a new cut by the Raconteurs followed by Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean.” A quick check of yes.com shows the station playing AC/DC, the Lemonheads, the Clash, Fall Out Boy, Vampire Weekend and the Cars. It almost looks like a blend of both Dave and Rock 100.5.
Fram ran 99X from its inception in 1992 to its on-air death earlier this year. (A version of 99X remains on line without her.) She was also part of the morning show the entire 15-plus years in its various incarnations. I haven’t heard if she’ll be doing on-air stuff with RXP.
More info to come.
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6/13: “Top Chef” ratings, Shelley Wynter goes to the Web, AM/1340 changing formats
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bravo’s “Top Chef,” in which Atlantan Richard Blais just fell short of winning, had its most successful season ever, finishing with 3.5 million viewers Wednesday night and averaging 2.5 million overall. That’s up from 2.2 million a year ago. That 3.5 million is the second best individual episode ever for “Top Chef.” The second season finale in January 2007 ended at 3.9 million. Season three’s finale finished at about 3 million.
Shelley Wynter, recently fired from 1080/WAOK-AM, has joined an Internet-only radio network called www.ustalknetwork.com. It’s a startup by a man named Lee Michaels, who used to work at Radio One (which operates Grown Folks Radio 102.5 in Atlanta). Wynter, known to be more of a moderate than many black talk show hosts, is set to start sometime next week.
“Terrestrial radio is choking,” Michaels said.
Michaels said Internet radio is the future and he is piggybacking with www.1club.fm, a radio portal to draw listeners. “I’ll be able to say what I want to say,” Wynter said. He said since his base is in Atlanta, he will talk some local issues as well as national ones.
“We believe in him,” Michaels said of Wynter. “We think he’s talented. He’s provocative and well read. You either like him or you don’t.”
-Scotty O’Brien, part of the Leap Day purge Feb. 29 when Eagle went away and Kicks was reconfigured, is back on the station, heared nightly from 10 to midnight.
-Dickey Broadcasting president David Dickey said 1340/WALR-AM is picking up Fox Sports Network, for a third sports talk station dubbed “The Fan 2.” That syndicated network includes Jim Rome from noon to 3 p.m. Launch is later this month. The station has a relatively weak signal and rarely appears in the ratings. Radio-info estimates about 580,000 people can hear the station vs. 2.8 million for 680/The fan. 1230/WFOM-AM (heard mostly in Cobb County) will continue with CNN Headline News, Bill O’Reilly, Phil Valentine and Dennis Miller during the day and simulcast 680/The Fan at night.
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6/12: Laura Ingraham fights back, Tim Meadows interview
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Talk show host Laura Ingraham, off the air for more than a week (including 920/WGKA-AM), had stayed mum at first on why she was not on the radio. But she has now let this out on her Web site about the state of her negotiations with her syndication arm Talk Radio Network.
“Reports are circulating in the press that I ‘took a leave of absence’ or walked out on my radio show. As I wrote in this space earlier this week, that is false. The decision to remove the Laura Ingraham Show from the airwaves was made unilaterally by Talk Radio Network as a tactic in contract negotiations, against my will and over my protest.”
She does have a 5 p.m. Fox News Channel show being tested starting next Monday but she said she isn’t leaving radio.
-“Saturday Night Live” vet Tim Meadows came to Atlanta last week to promote “The Bill Engvall Show” on TBS, which debuts its second season tonight at 9 p.m. Here’s a longer version of the story I wrote for the print edition, plus photos I took at Dave & Busters last week:
When Tim Meadows left “Saturday Night Live” in 2000 after a decade of service, he had the honor of being the longest-running cast member.
His post-“SNL” roles have been comparable to his time at “SNL.” He’s always a funny, steady performer but never quite a standout.
ABOVE: Meadows poses with Britney Beck, an insurance processor
Meadows’ latest gig, as Bill Engvall’s best friend on TBS’ “The Bill Engvall Show,” fits that mold. He’s amusing as a newly single, mildly neurotic sidekick to family man Engvall. But he isn’t the star. His role has been expanded this second season, and he’ll appear in eight of the first 10 episodes. (He won’t be in tonight’s episode.)
“My character is a little envious of Bill,” Meadows said last week before a screening of the Engvall show at the Dave & Buster’s in Marietta. “He’s a little frustrated and lonely.”
Besides the sitcom, Meadows keeps busy doing improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles, doing occasional gigs for “The Colbert Report” and “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” and taking small roles in shows such as “The Office.” He just finished a film shot in New Zealand co-starring Kevin Nealon, Doris Roberts and Ashley Tisdale.
But for a younger generation, his most memorable role was principal in the Lindsay Lohan breakthrough hit “Mean Girls” in 2004, written by fellow SNLer Tina Fey. “I wanted him to be really frustrated with his job so he never smiled,” he said. “They convinced me to make him smile for one scene. It worked. It was really funny.”
And while many fellow alums such as Will Ferrell and Fey have become bigger stars, he’s not angry he hasn’t reached those heights.
“I have no power over the success or failure of whatever projects I do,” Meadows said, picking over the remains of his barbecue chicken. “I’m not jealous of people more successful than me. I’m happy for people who are successful. This is my rule for myself: If I had a career that made me $20 million a movie, I’d make five movies and you’d never hear from me again!”
On Lindsay Lohan (he played the school principal in her “Mean Girls” movie): “She’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She’s completely different now than she was then. She was 17 and I don’t think she was drinking. She was really talented and nice. When I see stories about her now, it’s not the same person.”
On the stress of “SNL”: “I had an ulcer for 10 years. It was high pressure competing with your friends trying to do comedy on a national live TV show. I ended up doing meditation instead of taking medication. And it worked. In three months, the ulcer went away.”
Worst guest host: “Steven Seagal. He wasn’t nice. He wasn’t funny. He didn’t take constructive criticism. He beat everyone down. He’d get upset and you’d be afraid he’d punch you out.”
Best guest hosts: “It’s the guys who come back a lot like Alec Baldwin and John Goodman. I loved working with Christopher Walken. He’s so strange. We did a scene together… he never looked at me one time. He always looks at the cue cards. It’s like talking to a blind person with no glasses on. Can he see me, cause I’m right here! If I punch him, will he duck?”
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6/12: Richard Blais loses “Top Chef,” some Dagmar Midcap backlash
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chicago’s Stephanie Izard edged out Atlanta’s Richard Blais (right) for the fourth season of Bravo’s “Top Chef.” She’s the first female to win it all.
Atlanta’s Blais, with a faux hawk and a genial demeanor, came into that final episode as the favorite to win, having won four times and landing at the bottom just once. Stephanie also won four but had been at the bottom three times. Lisa Fernandes won just a single elimination challenge and had been in the bottom a whopping six times including four weeks in a row. Nobody (except perhaps Lisa herself) thought she would win — and she didn’t.
Blais seemed unfocused during prep and several of his dishes didn’t quite achieve what he wanted. “This is a disappointment, almost being there,” he said after he was nixed. “Losing at the last second sucks. You put your whole heart into it, then it doesn’t work out. One thing that is good about this is to refocus and keep doing what I love to do. The future is bright, that’s for sure.”
“Lots on the line for me and my career,” Blais said at the top of the hour. “There’s more at stake than my personal failure. This is for my wife. I have a baby on the way, a new house. I have everything to lose in this competition.”
He is as boggled as the rest of us that Lisa Fernandes is still around. “Lisa’s got a bad attitude,” he notes. “I don’t think Lisa deserves to win ‘Top Chef.’ “
Lisa: “I’m in the finale. I managed to get through with the skin of my teeth. I don’t care that Stephanie and Richard have won a bunch of eliminations and I won one. You know - I’m going to beat you!”
Blais’ toughest competition is Stephanie, who has provided a steady hand and sharp culinary chops. She often surprised the judges with interesting and tasty combinations. Lisa has shown occasional flashes of brilliance but has mostly exhibited a major chip on her shoulder and an odd paranoia, one week thinking someone deliberately messed with her pasta.
The final challenge is to do a four-course meal: fish, poultry, red meat and dessert. Neither Steph nor Lisa are thrilled by the prospect of being forced to do meat.
Since both Steph and Richard won the same number of challenges, they did a basic coin toss to pick a sous chef. Steph got first pick and takes Chef Eric Ripert of the Le Bernardin Restaurant, Richard hooks up with Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill and by default, Lisa gets Chef April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig.
Dinner is a black-tie affair for nine diners with seven hours to prep. Lisa opts for Asian, although April admits she isn’t well known for that genre. RIchard goes thematically with “my journey.” “Showing some classic training as well as molecular gastronomy. It’s not that we don’t know what the hell we’re doing. We just got this challenge a few seconds ago. Waiting for that lightning bolt.”
Stephanie is just trying to show off her style of cooking, “different flavor combinations, just be real well balanced.”
Each chef got to bring one special request. Richard brought liquid nitrogen, not a common item to use in cooking. He is trying tabasco sauce ice cream as a garnish with oysters via the nitrogen. (Huh?) “Never seen the technique,” Ripert said. “That’s [freakin’] cool!” Blais said. Lisa pooh poohs this as “overthinking things.”
Lisa is feeling she’s connecting well with her sous chef April. Richard still doesn’t have his menu fully conceived by the end of day one.
Day two twist: sous chefs are gone. They’re on their own. Lisa said she’s going for big bold, bright and in your face flavors. The menu: grilled prawns, tom kha gai soup & dumplings, wagyu beef and thai rice pudding.
Richard wants to tell a story. “It’s not just about electric nitrogen and electric smokers,” he said. He opens with scallops, then guinea hen, foie gras and eggs, a third course of pork belly, then banana “scallop” and bacon ice cream.
Stephanie opts to open with seared red snapper, then quail with lobster ravioli and quail egg, followed by medallions of lamb and a dessert of ricotta poundcake. (She would have preferred another fish dish instead of dessert.)
Richard tells judge and guru Tom Collicchio that things aren’t fully sorted out, “a little abstract.” He seems a bit scattered. Stephanie is much calmer, hoping her dessert works out. Lisa is in good spirits. “Richard is usually calm but seems very excited,” Tom said. “His Achilles Heel is he may be doing too much.”
Richard is using the nitrogen for his bacon ice cream but dumps the day one idea. Steph is still unsure about the cake and Lisa is skeptical that it’s so bad. “Stop doubting yourself!” Lisa said. She’s confident. Richard and Steph? Not so much.
“I’m the only one who is a craftsman and an artist. I want to prove it’s not just in my head,” Richard said before the meal.
“I’ve come this far and will definitely be the first female ‘Top Chef,’ ” Lisa said. “This is it—meal of a lifetime,” said the less introspective Stephanie.
Meal course #1: Most liked Richard’s scallop with mango and pineapple vinegar. Judges seemed to like it though one said it was too complex. Judges generally liked Lisa’s prongs though one thought the chili heat was too strong. Stephanie’s red snapper is considered the best of the trio. Round one: Stephanie
Lisa does a coconut soup, which was well loved, well balanced. Steph’s quail was good, too, but found the leeks undercooked and irrelevant. Richard has what came first: hen, chicken egg and foie gras, which may have been too complex. “This is him falling in love with the technique,” Collicchio said. Round two: Lisa
Lisa’s goes for some waygu beef, but it lacks tenderness and the sauce is too sweet. Judges absolutely loved Steph’s medallions of lamb. Richard’s pork belly, real simple (for him) got so-so ratings and considered underseasoned. Round three: Stephanie
Richard is toast, isn’t he?
Anyway, the judges really enjoyed Lisa’s thai rice pudding. Richard finally got it right with his bacon ice cream. Stephanie’s cake was nice and moist but unrefined. Round four: Lisa or Richard. Close.
Stephanie won the viewer’s poll, too.
-It’s been almost a week with me not mentioned WGCL weather forecaster Dagmar Midcap. Shame on me! Anyway, fellow blogger and former WAGA-TV newscaster Doug Richards, initially wary of mentioning her name on his Live Apartment Fire blog, threw caution to the wind Tuesday and did a big essay on her here, largely defending her.
We’re kinda rooting for Midcap. True, she’s no meteorologist. But she’s a personality, and WSB has topped the ratings for decades on the strength of one woman’s personality. Midcap has a certain amount of natural talent. She appears to be bright enough to conjure up and deliver a forecast. She appears to have a pulse. If the choice is between her and Glenn Burns- and there’s no severe weather threatening- why not Midcap?
But alas, the daggers came out in the comments section, where a distinct anti-Dagmar tone emerged (his readers or commenters, at least, appear to be mostly in-the-business types):
Dagmar is a “weathergirl”, just like the stereotypes of the 50’s and 60’s. With her knowledge and credibility (extreme lack of both), she is a turnoff, especially with her breathless delivery. - Steve
Sadly, another example of how hard work ultimately does not matter. Ms.Midcap may have worked her tail off to get this far, but that is not why she is where she is. We all know that. But hey, enjoy the glory Dagmar. Take it when you can. You may be the first to get canned - TravisBickle
Folks, she’s NOT translating into ratings. T and A does not work in Atlanta. The 11pm show went from 3rd place to 4th in May. THAT should tell you something. - Ima Believer
You’d think being in a top 10 market they could find someone who is both a meteorologist and good looking person. - Craptastic
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6/11: Local couple wins “Today” show “Race to the Altar”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Metro Atlanta engineers LaDonna Bradford and Darnell Suggs won a free wedding this morning, courtesy of NBC’s “Today Show.”
They outlasted four other couples, putting together an aggressive campaign to curry votes, sending email blasts to a thousand of their closest friends and working this publication and her hometowns of Tuskegee and Auburn, Ala. to get media coverage. The wedding is set for June 25 at Rockefeller Center.
The pair had originally planned an April 2009 wedding but heck, if it’s free and in front of national cameras, why not get it done now? It’s certainly a story to tell the kids.
NBC said about a quarter million votes were tallied though I don’t think they mentioned how wide a margin Bradford and Suggs won by. The public next week will vote for the wedding dress, the bridal gowns, the groomswear, the ring and the honeymoon.
“We’re definitely excited!” LaDonna said this afternoon after getting the marriage license. “Whatever America chooses we’ll be happy with.”
But the couple does have some modest control. For instance, they get to pick the 175 guest list for the reception, who will be in the bridal and grooms’ parties and what songs and dances can be used at the reception. NBC provides the band and wedding reception locale, along with the videographer and photographer. They won the final challenge last week and took home a raft of prizes, including a washer and dryer.
LaDonna said her mom Jackie rented her first apartment many years ago from syndicated radio host Tom Joyner’s parents. So she used that connection to get Joyner to lobby them votes on his show, which is heard by more than 8 million listeners a week. That certainly didn’t hurt their cause.
-In other reality news, Atlanta rapper Ms. Cherry lost Monday night in VH1’s “Miss Rap Supreme,” coming in third place behind winner Rece Steel and runner up Byata.
And tonight, we’ll find out how local Atlanta chef Richard Blais does on Bravo’s “Top Chef.” I’ll be live blogging.
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6/10: Where in the world is Laura Ingraham? Radio station firebomb
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Laura Ingraham, the rising talk show host heard locally on 920/WGKA-AM from 9 to noon, has been off the air the past week. What’s going on?
Lots of mystery there. She’s clearly in negotiations with her syndicator Talk Radio Network for a new contract. According to Tom Taylor of Radio-info.com, her contract is up July 1.
She sent this email blast to her fans:
Due to contractual obligations, for the present time I am unable to reveal why I am not currently hosting The Laura Ingraham Show. Rest assured, this absence is not of my choosing, nor is it health or family related. I am ready, willing and eager to continue the conversation we started seven years ago about politics and the culture. (Heck, if cancer couldn’t keep me off the airwaves for long, nothing will.) Keep checking the site for a schedule of my appearances on the Fox News Channel. All queries regarding my on-air status should be directed to Talk Radio Network’s management at 541 474 2297 or send an email. Thanks for sticking with me, and…Power to the People!
She also may end up getting her own show on Fox News Channel at 5 p.m. The network is going to test her out next week, according to the New York Times.
Locally, I think her show gets the highest ratings at WGKA-AM.
-And here’s something that has never happened at any other local radio station (not even Clear Channel): a disgruntled employee tried to firebomb 1080/WFTD-AM, now Atlanta Radio Korea. A former salesman tossed a Molotov cocktail into the lobby Monday afternoon, injuring himself and a vistor. More info here..
-And some folks complained when WABE-FM did not air the Hillary Clinton concession speech on Saturday. NPR chose not to offer it up. The station’s explanation:
NPR News did not feel the event itself warranted special standalone coverage. It was covered extensively within Newscasts and the News magazines on Saturday. Senator Clinton’s loss in the primary campaign and this speech were well previewed and analyzed prior to it happening. We are also not offering campaign speeches on an ad hoc basis. As part of our overall balanced coverage, we will continue to bring listeners the context and analysis rather than raw audio. Speeches maybe carried live, in part or whole, within News magazines or Specials, as deemed editorially appropriate.
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6/9: Bobby Brown in yet another reality show, more “Real Housewives of Atlanta” rumors
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: A scene from the first episode of “Gone Country” with Maureen McCormick roped up. Bobby Brown is in the back.
Former Atlantan Bobby Brown, former Wilson Phillips singer Carnie Wilson and former Marcia, Marcia, Marcia Maureen McCormick are all veteran reality show participants. And they all got along famously during CMT’s “Gone Country,” taped last fall and aired earlier this year.
The new premise: McCormick has decided to run a bed and breakfast in rural east Tennessee. And surprise! Brown and Wilson help out. It’s just like “Tori & Dean: Inn Love,” with more interesting characters yet the same exact pun!
This seems totally contrived by agents and TV producers seeking to mine the chemistry of the trio. But maybe it’ll be amusing.
Brown, who appeared on Bravo’s surprise hit a few years back “Being Bobby Brown” with his now ex Whitney Houston, will be the “entertainment director,” because all bed and breakfasts need entertainment directors. Wilson (remember her on “Celebrity Fit Club”?) will be master chef.
What do you think? A perfect reality show or something to skip over while scanning over to Encore?
-And in other reality news, the drumbeat of rumors keep getting heavier for “Real Housewives of Atlanta” to complement “The Real Housewives of the O.C” (coming back soon), “The Real Housewives of New York City” (just concluded but coming back, too) and the upcoming “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” Bravo is going to mine this sucker til we see “The Real Housewives of Northeast Iowa.”
A Bravo spokeswoman still won’t confirm whether the show has been greenlit for sure, though she said a new fourth city will be announced soon. YB&F said this would be the first “Housewives” focused on successful black women and could start airing in August.
Five women are cited:
Ed and Lisa Hartwell are one of the couples on the show. Lisa is a Housewife, a screenwriter, and film producer. She and her husband Ed also develop Real Estate. He is former Falcon but now plays for the Oakland Raiders. He is also a major part of the cast.
And: Sheree Whitfield. She is officially one of the housewives. She is the former wife of retired Atlanta Falcons player Bob Whitfield. She is pursuing a career as a clothing designer and used to own a store call Bella Azul.
Nene Leakes, a real estate broker and Deshawn Snow, wife of NBA player Eric Snow who plays for The Cleveland Cavaliers. Plus, a gal named Kim.
I’ll have to fish around this week and get some confirmations from the individual ladies. Email me at rho@ajc.com if you can help me out in terms of contacts. (I’ve got some family business to deal with thi