Wednesday talkin'

A few tidbits to get you through your day...

Collins joins the campaign

A few weeks after hanging up his headphones, Peter B. Collins has a new job. Lt. Governor and gubernatorial hopeful John Garamendi has hired Collins to act as a new "messaging and communications consultant."

The Garamendi for Governor 2010 replaced his top campaign advisor, Jude Barry, with Collins, 55, who started in radio in Chicago in the 1970s, went on to host Bay Area talk programs on ABC-owned KGO-AM and CBS-owned KRQR. For the past several years, he hosted a syndicated talk radio effort based at KRXA in Monterey.

Collins has served as board president of the Freedom Foundation, a non-profit group that provides legal assistance to inmates and investigates suspected wrongful convictions. He has worked on political campaigns for Nancy Pelosi, Pete McCloskey and the American Nurses Association.

More "Crap" in Montana

After its inaugural show on April 4th, KMPT Missoula program director Pete Deneault sends word that a local weekly show, "Anti-Crap Radio - Talk That Doesn’t Suck" has extended from one to two hours. This Saturday’s episode (4/11) will features musician, Huey Lewis, and Native American activist, Elouise Cobell.

The show's official mission statement: Rise above bias games to trans-partisanship and wear red and/or blue and other seasonal favorites…being Anti-crap is color blind.

The show airs Saturdays from 4 – 6P on 930 AM, KMPT. They also stream via the station's website. A Podcast is also available.

In appreciation of "The Mess"

Thought I'd mention the passing of what many conisder to be a talk radio legend. He never had a syndicated show, and wasn't all that well-known outside of the upper midwest. But he was still a legend.

Steve Cannon, a longtime radio personality in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, passed away Monday night after a long battle with cancer at the age of 81.

Cannon was most remembered as the long-running afternoon voice at WCCO radio, where he worked from 1971 until his retirement in 1997. He had worked at other area radio and TV stations as well.

"The Cannon Mess" was as old-school as one could get. Like most WCCO fare, it was rather tame and lighthearted, focusing on friendly banter and tame humor. Like many radio personalities of days gone by, the cantankerous Cannon surrounded himself with a cast of 'characters' - though he did the voices of them himself. Backlash LaRue, Ma Linger and Morgan Mundane were participants in the festivities with Cannon. Sure, he was a bit corny by today's standards, and he wasn't the greatest character voice. But Cannon entertained people. He made them laugh. And he kept company with afternoon commuters stuck in I-94 and I-35W gridlock.

His approach no doubt left an impression on similar-minded people like Phil Hendrie, who worked at WCCO in the early 1990s, while Cannon was still there.

And unlike many of his contemporaries who have seemingly gone nuts after so many years talking to themselves in a padded room (a.k.a. radio studio), Cannon enjoyed a long career and a long, healthy, normal life. And he left the game on his own terms.

You can hear some of the work of Cannon at RadioTapes.com and WCCO.

Kumar goes to White House

I receive some peculiar news stories in my email box, and I'm still wrapping my brain around this one.

You might be familiar with actor Kal Penn. Fans of the TV show "House" are probably still reeling over the tragic loss of his character the other night. So why is he leaving a hit show and a good acting career (many probably remember him from the "Harold and Kumar" movies)? To work in the White House. Seriously.

Penn no doubt made a strong impression last year while campaigning for Barack Obama. So much that he was offered a job by the man himself. In an interview with EW.com, he explains what happened:

Penn: I was incredibly honored a couple of months ago to get the opportunity to go work in the White House. I got to know the president and some of the staff during the campaign and had expressed interest in working there, so I'm going to be the associate director in the White House office of public liaison. They do outreach with the American public and with different organizations. They're basically the front door of the White House. They take out all of the red tape that falls between the general public and the White House. It's similar to what I was doing on the campaign.

Money can buy me Beatles again

I've been bitching about this for months now. Why on earth hasn't the Beatles' official CD catalog been re-released?

For over two decades, all there's been is the same crappy quality CDs mastered with ancient technology. Then they sounded good. In comparison to similar stuff available today (and Apple reissues such as "Yellow Submarine Songtrack", "1" and "Love", they sound flat and lifeless.

Now, Beatles fans can rejoice (hopefully). Apple Corps., the holding company representing the band's interests, and EMI, their longtime label, have finally resolved their differences enoughbt to start rolling out the reissues on September 9. Whoo hoo!

The deluxe edition releases will coincide with another Beatles' product, a special edition of the Rock Band video game featuring their music.

Each album, remastered painstakingly from the original sources, will include a mini-documentary. And their first four albums, originally released only in mono, will be issued in stereo.

For fans of the band's mono mixes, a new box set will collect the mono editions of ten of their albums. And if you've never heard the mono version of "Sgt. Pepper", well, you're missing out.

A few box sets will also see the light, including the previously-available "Past Masters" catch-all collection of non-album releases.

Check your store shelves come September 9.

Psst... Wanna buy a radio station?

It's been a few months or so since the demise of Nova M Radio, its short-lived successor, On Second Thought LLC., and its Phoenix flagship, KNUV.

Well, if you yourself have harbored dreams of dropping a ton of cash in the hopes of restarting that little upstart network (and if you do, I suggest you seek professional help, immediately), then you could possibly begin with KNUV. Or its Denver sister station, KNRV.

Both stations are headed to to auction block, as the current licensee, New Radio Venture, Inc., is looking to dispose of the properties and liquidate.

The two stations were initially purchased by radio executive Maria Elena Llansa, who set out to build her own radio group. Llansa's group purchased KNUV for $3.75 million in 2005 and KNRV for $5.525 million in 2006. Both stations would air a Spanish Talk radio format.

Tragedy struck a few months later when Llansa passed away due to a brain aneurism at the young age 50.

Her business partner tried to carry on, but everything seemed to fall apart following Llansa's death. New Radio Venture eventually found itself in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. KNRV currently airs a Spanish brokered format. And there was a deal in place for Nova M Radio to purchase KNUV (they had an interim lease agreement), but that all went to pot when Nova M went belly-up and owners Sheldon and Anita Drobny pulled out altogether. On Second Thought was supposed to pick up the pieces, but couldn't even pay the rent. KNUV is currently silent.

So, both stations are headed to the auction block. The bidding deadline is set for April 30. And the two AMs are being auctioned separately or together. And the tower sites belong to an outside party.

Still interested? New Radio Venture, Inc., will enter into an asset purchase agreement with the highest financially qualified bidder. Bids will be considered for the stations separately or together. All bids must be accompanied with a letter of credit for $100,000 and a third party representation (bank) of capability to close the proposed transaction at the bid price.

Got all that? Shake out that piggy bank, folks!

Friday catch-all

Just a round-up of the latest happenings, including a few things I didn't get around to posting. Enjoy.

Montel producer named

Here's the whole press release, so I don't leave anything out:

Air America Media has named radio veteran Mike Opelka executive producer of "Montel Across America," debuting next Monday, April 6. In this role, Mike will oversee the overall structure and content of the show, and will assist in booking guests.

"Mike’s the perfect guy to join with Montel in creating this exciting new radio program", said Bill Hess, senior vice president of programming for Air America Media. "We’re thrilled he’s joined us."

"I’m looking forward to working with Montel and the entire Air America team to launch this one-of-a-kind radio show," said Opelka. "As preparations are well underway, I’m excited to be a part of bringing Montel’s passion and talent to Air America’s listeners."

Opelka is a media veteran with more than 20 years of experience in radio, network and cable television, internet production, management and publishing. Most recently he was executive producer of CBS Radio’s syndicated "Opie & Anthony" show. Prior, he was producer and director for the launch of Premiere Radio Network’s "Wake Up with Whoopi," starring Whoopi Goldberg. Additionally, he’s served as executive producer of WKTU’s "Baltazar & Goumba Johnny Morning Show," and assistant program director of the station. From 1988-1998, Opelka was a producer for Z-100’s "Morning Zoo" with Scott Shannon, Ross Brittain, Gary Bryan and Adam Curry.

In addition to his radio credits, Opelka produced shows and projects for Fox Television, including "Fox After Breakfast" and original programming for the launch of the FX Network.

"Montel Across America," hosted by Montel Williams, will air weekdays from 9A-12P ET on radio stations across the country, and streamed live online at airamerica.com.

WINZ flips tonight

Progressive talk fans in Miami should enjoy the last few hours if they can. The worst kept radio secret of the year, the long-rumored format switch at WINZ (940AM) to sports talk will finally happen tonight (Friday) at 6P.

The new station will feature all nationally syndicated hosts from FOX Sports Radio, which is owned by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel, owner of WINZ. The only local presence on the station will be Miami Heat basketball. Also Florida Gators football and basketball, if you consider that local.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel sez:

"We also intend to pick up as much play-by-play (of various sports) as we can," program director Ken Charles said.

WINZ will become the sixth all-sports radio station in South Florida, an area that has shown it can support only one, if that.

No word on whether another area station will pick up the deposed progressive talk format, which garnered pretty decent ratings in its almost five year run. Perhaps one of the other five sports talk stations will consider.

Ironically, progressive talk replaced... (drum roll)... FOX SPORTS(!!!) back in July 2004. And we all know what the definition of insanity is, right?

The last terrestrial domino falls

Remember a few weeks back when I mentioned the fading of CBS' old "Hot Talk" push? The company flipped their New York and L.A. stations to top 40 and completely torpedoed guy talk. Coinciding with that, the syndicated shows of testosterone-fueled talkers Adam Carolla and Tom Leykis effectively ended. And now, Opie and Anthony have officially gasped their last terrestrial breath, as their final affiliate has thrown in the towel.

A couple days ago, their sole remaining affiliate, WROX in Norfolk dropped the delayed weekday airing of their show (in addition to the just plain awful Mancow show). The duo, however, can still be heard (and uncut, at that) via Sirius XM.

'Guiding Light' gets turned off

Never thought I'd be writing about a soap opera, but this one is pretty historic. After all, how many shows are still around that go back 72 years?

After this unlikely long run, CBS is pulling the plug on "Guiding Light", which will broadcast its final episode on Friday, September 18, 2009 after a whopping total 15,700 (now try buying the complete set on DVD!).

The show is older than commercial TV itself, as NBC Radio launched the 15-minute serial "The Guiding Light" on January 25, 1937. The show moved to television, on CBS, on June 30, 1952 (though the radio version continued until 1956). In 1967, the show switched to color and expanded from 15 minutes to a half-hour. The expansion to an hour happened in 1977.

In recent years, to cut costs in an era where seemingly nobody but retirees watch soap operas, they started taping the show outdoors with camcorders, in order to cut costs and give it that hip "YouTube" look. That didn't fly, and the ratings still tanked.

The show will likely be replaced by yet another talk show or perhaps yet another courtroom offering moderated by a sassy judge (I made up that last part).

For the die-hards, there is talk of some other entity continuing the "Guiding Light" saga, so, stay tuned.

From anal cysts to anal poisoning

Okay, sorry for being so nasty. But considering this last item was broadcast live on Rush Limbaugh's show to millions of people across the country, well, it is indeed worth mentioning. Some people just don't know when to shut up before they say something really, really dumb. Take, for instance, the GOP's current great white hope, certainly no stranger to saying utterly stupid stuff.

HuffPo sez:

...Limbaugh went waaaaaay over the top in insulting Gordon Brown with a mental image that one must work at to un-think about, warning that if the British Prime Minister keeps "slobbering" over President Barack Obama, he'll "come down with anal poisoning and may die from it."

Naturally, how Limbaugh gained such innovative insight into the epidemiological vectors of saliva-borne ass toxins remains an open question.

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

After all, who better an expert on assholes than America's biggest asshole? Perhaps Rush should have issued this warning to his fave brown-noser, Brian Maloney...

HuffPo and blatherWatch have the audio of this rather sordid soundbyte.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go hurl.

Air America - five down, five to go?

Over the course of the past two days, I opted to observe the marking of Air America Media's fifth birthday, by looking at the past and the present. And now, perhaps its fitting that we look into the future. That is, if Air America has one.

Obviously, Air America is still teething. They're going through some serious growing pains. Much of the front office drama has subsided. And they haven't returned to bankruptcy court, so I guess that's a good thing. However, the on-air lineup is in a state of chaos, with most of their top personalities flying the coop, replaced by a lineup of talented, yet virtually obscure placeholders. The competition is pounding the crap out of them. The current dire state of the economy is making it tough for any media-based entity to expand or even hold on to what they've already got. And with diminished returns due to the sagging advertising market, many affiliates are flipping to safer, more uninspired formats. Doesn't matter if they become the sixth all-sports station in town - there's always a sports bar, strip joint or porn depot willing to advertise on an all-guys station.

So, Air America is in a bit of a pickle. Do they grow a set and get aggressive, or bide their time until the market improves and die the death of a thousand cuts? Do they merely build on what they've already got, or lay the foundation for a glorious future? I certainly don't have all the answers. Then again, they obviously don't either. Perhaps tapping into the braintrust that exists outside their protective Manhattan bubble would suit them well. It certainly couldn't hurt.

That being said, here are a few suggestions from yours truly:

1. Rethink morning drive. Currently, Air America faces the unenviable task of fighting for station affiliates in two 'deathslots'. The first is late mornings (9A-noon ET), which is dominated by Stephanie Miller, who works for the competition. All four shows that Air America has aired here have flopped. Even an established radio guy like Lionel got crushed. A fifth is coming soon in the way of former TV talker Montel Williams, and who knows how that will work out. The noon-3P (ET) slot following is even worse, as it is dominated by two Dial Global offerings - Ed Schultz and guy who used to hold down this shift at Air America, Thom Hartmann. Anything Air America offers up here is essentially cannon fodder (no disrespect to the capable Air America hosts holding down these shifts, of course).

What about morning drive? A previous regime made the foolish mistake of yanking the old "Morning Sedition" just as it was gaining traction. Replacement shows in the slot haven't fared any better, though "The Young Turks" had some success. After the departure of The Turks over a year ago, morning drive remains a blank spot, typically filled with day-old reruns and currently, a four-hour replay of Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show from the night before. Keep in mind, Maddow's show is only an hour long, so it replays on a continuous loop. With morning drive being perhaps the most important shift of the day, it's quite ridiculous that Air America has chosen to surrender it. The only syndicated liberal talk offering at that time is Dial Global's Bill Press, who has virtual run of the table due to being the only option around for stations that opt not to do local then. Why isn't Air America using morning drive to push high-profile, promising and innovative programming? Who cares if their New York affiliate, WWRL, won't carry it?

Granted, morning drive in the east is essentially overnight west of the Rockies, so this would be a morning drive show for half of the country. But it's still an open field as far as getting back in affiliates' good graces. And what should Air America do here, specifically? Well, it seems that ex-Morning Seditionist Marc Maron is still lingering around the building, doing an online-only show with another jilted lover, Sam Seder. Take the two of them, lock them in the studio from 6-9A, and see what happens. Gotta be more compelling than last night's leftovers. And they're already on the payroll.

As for Maddow, the 'radio' version of her show is essentially meant to be fed to affiliates in morning drive, with stations being encouraged to drop it into one of their open hours during the day (hey, it's cheaper than "Democracy Now", right?). Feed it once at 5A and tell stations to set the record timer.

2. Build around your strengths. Okay, middays are going to be a bit tough to compete in. But there is the rest of the day, and radio stations have to air something, right? So far, their best bet is one of their newest hires, Ron Reagan, an immensely experienced and likable personality who has hosted TV and radio talk shows and worked as a journalist for over two decades. He does have that famous name too. Some affiliates have easily worked him in as Maddow's replacement in the late afternoon/early evening hours. And none of the competing networks have come up with anything similar in that slot.

3. Kiss and make up. It was a messy divorce. Air America management played hardball with the new contract they offered her, taking away much of her professional freedom (i.e. inserting a non-compete clause). She picked up and left, and created a public relations nightmare. Since then, the network has been plodding along with Ron Kuby, an experienced and talented host that has failed thus far to catch on with affiliates and listeners, even with the current advantage of Rhodes being in limbo once again. When more stations have opted to replace her with the new and shaky Nancy Skinner offering, well, you know there's a problem.

Perhaps, even with all of Rhodes' drama and idiosyncrasies, the two parties are actually made for each other. Granted, Rhodes and her antics can often be a distracting sideshow, a lightning rod for very ugly publicity that neither her nor her handlers know how to deal with. But she still has legions of rabid fans and radio station affiliates willing to give her another chance. And, wouldn't you know it? She's still looking for a new syndicator, since Nova M Radio went belly-up. If Air America and Rhodes were to kiss-and-make-up (and stranger things have happened in radio), they would have to have some sort of agreement. Rhodes would have to lighten her baggage, and Air America would have to employ a go-between to mollify her and keep the internal drama out of the press. Perhaps they could lure her back by giving her the same contract she enjoyed from the beginning (which is what she allegedly wanted in the first place) and to create a positive, encouraging work environment. Let her stay in Florida, where she's happier anyway. If Air America (and Rhodes too) want to avoid falling into obscurity, perhaps some sort of partnership would be in the best interests of both.

With that, they could move Kuby into the vacant shift preceding hers, and work to develop it. Though affiliates haven't been biting on him so far, there is potential there.

And while we're talking about renewing old friendships, how about extending a warm hand toward the long-exiled Mike Malloy? Currently, he's self-syndicating his show, following the demise of Nova M. Perhaps enough time (and enough meddling management personnel) has passed since his abrupt dismissal a few years back. Bringing back Malloy could go far in returning a bit of lost luster to the network.

Question is, do any of the involved parties want anything to do with each other anymore?

4. Improve the web presence. They've gotten better. The Air America website, for many years, was just plain awful. Now, they've beefed it up a little bit, and have even added multimedia content. Not sure if they could become another Huffington Post, which seems to be a model for web communities these days (even FOX News has gotten into the act with their new FOX Nation). But they need to assemble all of the brightest web geeks they can find in a room, with lots of coffee, donuts, veggie trays, hallucinogenic drugs or whatever else, and figure out how to create a viable web destination.

5. Escape from New York. Now, I'm not saying they should pack up everything and move to Peoria (that's in Illinois, folks), but Air America (and many other media outlets for that matter) have long had a problem with being too Gotham-centric. Most media outlets have fallen into the trap of being too myopic, viewing this country as something akin to Australia, where the only pockets of civilization are the ones that exist along the coastlines. The famous cover of the New Yorker magazine, which shows a massive Manhattan surrounded by tiny little cities like Chicago off in the distance, comes to mind. Ed Schultz found quite a bit of initial success by being far removed from the closed-minded circles of New York and Washington. Fargo is about as far away as one can get. Air America did have a good thing going with their onetime biggest talent, Thom Hartmann, who was born in Michigan, lived and worked in Vermont and now does his show from Oregon, but he's gone. Hey, our current president's from the midwest, after all. If it's good enough for Barack Obama, well...

One wonders whether Air America chief Mark Green has ever stepped outside the Gotham vacuum, since many of the talents he's brought on board have come from the East Coast echo chamber. I say its high time to take a close look at the rest of this great nation, and program a network not for East Coast media wonks, cocktail party lounge lizards and a New York radio station flagship who could care less, but for the American Outback as well.

6. Bring in some bigger guns, and step outside the progressive talk bubble. First of all, there are quite a few capable talk talents currently warming the bench. Why has Air America virtually ignored the very experienced and very talented Peter B. Collins all these years, in favor of less-inspiring options? After all, he seems like a pretty nice guy who knows his stuff. And he has effectively done some fill-ins for them, particularly on Thom Hartmann's show. Offer this guy a gig, fer cryin' out loud! Put him in afternoon drive, which could help them obtain some West Coast clearances? Or, if they can't swing Malloy, how about giving Collins the 9-midnight shift following Reagan? There are affiliates out there who would like an lower-key alternative to the oft-abrasive Malloy (due to their own personal preferences). So far, many of them are opting for the talented but milquetoast Alan Colmes. Or they could return Lionel to the nighttime hours, where he succeeded for WOR for so many years and where Air America should have put him from the get-go. Prior to Air America, Lionel was on many conservative-leaning stations that were looking for funkier late-night offerings. Perhaps this would be a nice carrot to dangle in front of these stations, and a way to get their foot in that door.

Restarting the syndication division and bringing in Newsweek for a weekend show was a step in the right direction, This show is obviously being targeted to all talk stations, rather than the left-leaning ones. Perhaps this will extend some goodwill toward potential affiliates that would never have even dared to consider anything from Air America. Maybe this is their entry, a Trojan horse if you will, into stations that have, up to this point, avoided them like the plague.

There are other talkers out there too. Some snickered at the addition of Montel Williams, but he could work in that late-morning shift. Stephanie Miller shuts him out of many liberal talk outlets, but perhaps Air America could use him to reach outside the liberal talk bubble, and offer him to the many African-American-oriented talk stations dotting the landscape, who typically have limited syndicated options to choose from. They should be thinking outside the progressive talk box. There is only so much of that pie that they can slice up. Why not start on a new pie?

These are just some crazy suggestions. Realistically, due to their tightened budget and the grim economic state of the radio industry, their hands are probably tied, with fewer resources to play with. Now, I'm no radio genius (far from it), and I certainly don't have all the answers (I don't think any one person does), But these are merely a few nuggets of advice that they could perhaps utilize, play with or even refine, as steps toward keeping aloft for another five years or more.

MSNBC... with added Ed

Looks like we were all thrown for a loop. MSNBC is indeed creating a new show around Ed Schultz... only in an earlier time slot.

From the New York Times:

MSNBC will soon add another liberal radio host, the latest in a series of changes intended to position the network as a venue for left-leaning voices in the evening.

Ed Schultz, a radio veteran with a blue-state appeal, will anchor the 6 p.m. hour, to be called “The Ed Show,” starting Monday, MSNBC, a unit of NBC Universal, announced Wednesday night.

(snip)

Mr. Schultz said his show would take a “hard-hitting approach to issues,” with a “folksy style when it’s called for.”

(snip)

The network said David Shuster, the current anchor of the 6 p.m. hour, would co-host the 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. hours with Tamron Hall and substitute as host of “Countdown With Keith Olbermann,” its top-rated program.

And it appears that Schultz will have a little extra time on his hands for the MSNBC gig, as he will no longer do a local show, "News And Views", for his Fargo flagship, KFGO.