I'm retiring

Well, it's been a long, fun stretch, but now's the time to hang up my jock. I have decided to retire from this thing.

But wait! Brett Favre's back? Do tell! Well, that settles it - I'm back!

Hey, if an over-the-hill primadonna quarterback can suddenly come out of a three week retirement (how many has that been so far?) for buttloads of money and a guaranteed starting job with his biggest nemesis, then why not little 'ol me? Therefore, this entry is dedicated to the Master Indecider, the one and only Brett Favre, who is doing his damned finest to screw up whatever legacy he still has. Only things left are steroids, dog fighting, knifing his wife and gambling on his own games. The only ones screwing up more are the Minnesota Vikings, for pursuing this whole Brett Favre nonsense.

Now, with that out of the way...

Hartmann returning to Air America?

Well, not exactly.

But there is a rumor, and one he mentioned on his show last week. Word has it that he will soon be heard (if not already) on WZAA (1050AM), the station Air America operates in Washington, DC. Likely, it will be on delay status, as the station currently shows nothing on their schedule for their late-night hours. We shall see...

Obama hits the airwaves

Since taking office seven months ago, President Barack Obama has been perhaps the most visible commander-in-chief we've ever had. Seems like he's been everywhere, whether it be in television interviews, webcasts, televised prime time press conferences, on the road and wherever else. And he's got a few radio appearances coming up, as he continues to counter all the right-wing lies about his proposals for health care reform. And what better place to start than where all the bullshit is coming from - right-wing radio.

Dial Global's Michael Smerconish will interview the president Thursday August 20 (that's tomorrow, folks!) directly from the White House. The show will show live noon-3P ET, and the 20-minute Obama interview will air at 1:10P ET, the first radio interview on the grounds of the White House in the Obama Administration.

"I am honored to be the first radio broadcaster to interview the President live from the White House," said Smerconish, who, incidentally supported Obama in last November's election. "My listeners have suggested many pointed questions that I look forward to raising with dignity and respect."

But first, Obama will hit the webcast waves, with an online webcast special featuring a discussion by the religious community of the his administration's health care proposals.

The President will appear on "40 Minutes For Health Reform,' appearing on Blog Talk Radio this afternoon at 5P ET. And no, Obama will not take calls on the show, but a White House spokesperson will be on hand to answer questions submitted by the public.

Okay, I'm retiring again

I hate training camp. I'm too old to sleep in a college dorm. Unless she's cute.

No changes for WCPT

The FCC has rejected a petition from Newsweb, owner of WCPT (820AM) in Chicago. The petition was for reconsideration of the 2005 denial of a proposed dual community of license change for the station, currently licensed to Crystal Lake, IL and another station they own, located in the northwest Indiana suburbs of Chicago.

Newsweb had applied to move WCPT's city of license to Addison, IL, which would enable them to co-locate the stations' studios. The FCC, however, decided that the benefits to such a move did not outweigh the loss of local service to the former communities of license.

Keep in mind, none of this behind-the-scenes stuff has anything to do with what they're currently putting out on the air. It's just that news is slow, and I needed something to put here.

I'm back

Okay, I guess I'll stick around, so long as I don't have to go to training camp. Let me just hop right in and start.

Wendell filling in for Rhodes

KTLK/Los Angeles talker Johnny Wendell will be filling in for the vacationing Randi Rhodes on her syndicated show today (Wednesday) and tomorrow. Just so you won't wonder what happened to Randi.

Time to hang it up again

I do have a concern with that shoulder injury that makes it hard to type all this goodness that you read here. I'm goin' back to Mississippi to ride tractors. But first...

Real-life goodbyes

Two notable media figures have ventured off to the Great Beyond recently. First, we say goodbye to a television news legend, Don Hewitt, who passed away today at the age of 86:

Hewitt was best known as the creator of the venerable "60 Minutes" in 1968, and oversaw the show until 2004. His career in journalism spanned over 60 years, virtually all of it at CBS. As a young producer/director assisting at the birth of television news, it was usually Hewitt behind the scenes directing legendary CBS News reporters like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, using a playbook he had to write himself. He played an integral role in all of CBS News' coverage of major news events from the late 1940s through the 1960s, putting him in the middle of some of history's biggest events, including one of politics’ seminal moments: the first televised presidential debate in 1960.

And we also bid farewell to a less distinguished media personality, conservative commentator and nasty curmudgeon Robert Novak, who died yesterday at the age of 157. But do vampires ever really die?


Okay, I wanna come back


But only if you fork over $12 million. I can't have the money? Well, I'll stick around anyway. I'm back.