Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Coming... Going...

The theme for today seems to be arrivals and departures. There's a few of note to readers of this blog. And there were some rather noteworthy departures in the real world during the past week, by now known to all but the most detached cave dwellers.

Going: In the famous celebrity column, the passing most widely reported was that of pop icon Michael Jackson, who died last Thursday at the age of 50. I had started writing a highly elaborate entry about Jackson last week, with the working title of "Thirty-two short stories about Michael Jackson." It was one of those rambling epic articles that would never be finished. Quite frankly, it was destined to be ridiculously long, not overly entertaining, and in some instances, was somewhat mean-spirited (I've never had a soft spot for weird, self-destructive child abusers). Plus, it just didn't make sense for this blog. I felt it better shelved.

A side note: From time-to-time, I have conjured updifferent blog entry ideas that tend to be a bit off-topic. They tend to get rather elaborate, but many times get tossed aside if I just can't make it work. For example, I had an idea for one about philandering right-wingers (called "Young Republicans in love"), which dealt with the promiscuous exploits of Sen. Bob Ensign, South Carolina's disappearing Governor Mark Sanford, and a lesser-known figure, conservative writer, pundit and former radio talker Jessica McBride, who shagged Milwaukee's police chief a few months following a glowing puff piece for a magazine. Ahh, family values. Nonetheless, I had a ton of ideas but really nowhere to go with them. Hence, it, along with many others, suffered the fate of the Beach Boys' legendary Smile LP, an unfinished epic that will never see the light of day in it's originally-intended form (aside from Brian Wilson's update a few years ago and a few Beach Boys recycling projects from the 1960s). And in keeping with that, some of these epic entries do not go wasted. I have been known to return to them and recycle bits and pieces when appropriate.

And yes, many off-topic epic entries actually do see the light of day, such as the recent tribute to the history of television (in honor of DTV Day). Although it was a bit long, it turned out to be so damned funny that I had to share it. I haven't heard from many of you about it, but I do hope you liked it.

We also saw the passing of Farrah Fawcett earlier just a few short hours before Jackson's demise. For children of my generation, she is probably best remembered for The Poster. You know the one, red one-piece swimsuit, flowing blond hair and blinding smile. That poster seemed to be in every auto shop and suburban boy's bedroom. It was one of the most iconic images of the 1970s. It was certainly hard to miss.

Finally, there is perhaps the strangest celebrity death of the past few weeks. Television commercial pitchman Billy Mays suffered a fatal heart attack following a bizarre circumstance. And yet, Kevin Trudeau still walks the earth. Go figure.

Coming: Now, back to the main gist this blog. Air America dropped a line about a new show, “The Inside Story with Ana Marie Cox.” It will air Saturdays at 9A ET and Sundays at 12P ET on Air America affiliates nationwide.

You may be quite familiar with Cox. She is currently Air America’s Washington, D.C. based national correspondent. She is perhaps best known as the founding editor of the political blog, Wonkette. After leaving in 2006, she was named Washington editor of Time.com. Prior to that, she served on the editorial staffs of Suck.com, Mother Jones and Radar. She is currently writing for The Daily Beast. Cox also published her first novel in 2006, “Dog Days.”

Going: I received tons of emails about this one. David Bender, host of Air America's "Politically Direct", did his final show this past weekend, airing some of his favorite interviews from the previous four years. He had announced his departure several weeks prior. Apparently, he will spend his upcoming free time traveling.

Going: Controversial San Francisco talker Karel Bouley, a.k.a. Karel, has lost his San Francisco affiliate, as otherwise dance hits-formatted KNGY dropped him from their lineup. Karel fans needn't worry, as he is still featured on another station, KRXA in Monterey. He is said to be looking for a new Bay Area station.

Karel had previously worked at KGO in San Francisco, but was dismissed last year following an accidental dropping of the F-bomb live on air.

Coming: Liberadio(!) with Mary Mancini and Freddie O'Connell a weekly show on Vanderbilt University's WRVU, is going daily.

Beginning Wednesday, July 1, the show expands to include an additional live hour every Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 to 10:00 am (CT) on BlogTalkRadio.

3 comments:

Lu Cifer, @Lu666Cifer said...

Hey LTR, you heard anything about Nicole Sandler?! I saw she was on the new DC 1050 whatever it's called. I hope she gets a full time gig again, she was damn good. And ya know, when WINZ let her go (in favor of The Lizard Man) I just knew it was OVER with for that friggin station. How sad. I saved an email exchange with the guy who runs the CC Miami cluster (or something to that affect) and my gods, this guy had NO IDEA what half the stuff I was talking about was. Ok fine, he said he was only with WINZ since Sept. of '07, but it was just beyond belief. To say that station didn't get shit for ratings IN ONE OF THE MOST LIBERAL AREAS IN THE USA is nothing short of a LIE. Maybe if they had a sales staff worth a damn...

ltr said...

She's on the main AAR feed, and is listed on their site. Apparently, it's still a fill-in thing (according to her email updates). But seeing as AAR doesn't seem to have anyone else lined up for the shift, I can easily see her getting the gig permanently.

And she was let go during the Clear Channel bloodbath, where they dismissed many personalities nationwide. It was a budget thing. And apparently, Imus was cheaper (though probably less desirable).

And yes, WINZ got good ratings. But Clear Channel wanted to prop up a bunch of sports stations across the country (their syndication division owns FOX Sports Radio). I don't think it had much to do with the format. They did keep it around for five years. I am surprised, however, that no other station has picked up progressive talk. WINZ did have a following.

Lu Cifer, @Lu666Cifer said...

Crap Channel owns most of the big stations in Miami. And we see how liberal Beasley is since they (for all intent & purpose) forced Neil Rogers into early retirement due to their insane censorship of his show. I don't get it, 5 SPORTS STATIONS in that market! Same with San Diego! But that's that LIBERAL MEDIA for ya!


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