Bon Voyage, you MF'er!

If Hillary Clinton made similar remarks about the tragic condition of Ted Kennedy and she still gets to keep her job and siphon off the limelight of her celebrity status, then Mark Madden, including his army of loyal listeners known affectionately as "M F'ers", would still be continuing the highest rated sports radio broadcast in Pittsburgh right now.

"I'm very disappointed to hear that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated." - Mark Madden

That quote does indeed seem cruel and it eventually did him in as those words got him fired from ESPN 1250AM in his native Pittsburgh.

I never really liked Mark Madden professionally, but having met him personally he was nice to me and felt approachable. A part of Mark's shtick was that he was a very rude shock jock, but he had a respectability about him that he had pro athlete connections out the wazoo. The side to his personality that always deserved a big thumbs down from me is that he flat out stole his catch phrases from his pro wrestling buddies from his days in World Championship Wrestling. There really wasn't an original thought in that man's head. In that way, I am glad that Madden is now gone, summarily dishonorably discharged.

Montreal Station Preforms "Dangerous" Stunt

A Montreal Rock station CHOI (96.9 FM) engaged in some psychological warfare today as the character "Super Pig" and a fellow conspirator taped a Montreal Canadiens jersey to the iconic Rocky statue in Philadelphia, PA. You can watch the photos here.I would never try something this dangerous as knowing Philadelphia's reputation. I have been there plenty of times to know that Philly will not take this lying down.

When I was at Penn State, we continued the tradition called "guard the lion" - an all night party the night before the Penn State Football Homecoming game. The logic being that any rival school would not deface the Nittany Lion statue as it currently sits in the grotto just outside the Rec Hall gymnasium.

Not that I would condone such an act, but would we see a Philadelphia banner flying from Stade Olympique in the near future for retribution?

FCC Looking For Feedback

The FCC is considering retrofitting its rule book with a slew of vintage regulations that broadcasters say will mire them down with endless paperwork and tax their resources into a state of paralysis.

Among the rules the FCC proposes to reinstitute are ascertainment panels for neighborhood watch groups to give their input on such topics as the songs on a station’s playlist, hosts, advertisers and overall content of stations. The FCC also is considering re-crafting procedural guidelines for processing license renewal applications, similar to the process in place in the 1970s, and re-enacting the main studio rule to eliminate remote studios and stop voicetracking.

I love the idea that voicetracking is getting a look at during this examination process. With the advent of station formats that feature jock-less and wide ranges of play lists, this rule could affect the way station managers hire and demand the on-air talent be live while broadcasting.

Terrestrial radio must pull out all the stops now that it will be competing with a Sirius/XM company. I expect a renaissance of local talent to rise up against national broadcast formats.

Myron Cope Dies and Pittsburgh Mourns a Legend

The really old guard of radio broadcasting has tragically died. Myron Cope, the long time radio, TV, and print journalist in Pittsburgh succumbed to illnesses, but his legendary style will live on forever.

Fond memories were already begun to be recorded by everyone who knew or came in contact with Myron. His sports legacy will never be surpassed by anyone today. Myron's style changed broadcasting as he discovered how to entertain his audience as well as inform them.\Myron Cope affected sports fandom by first perfecting the balance between "broadcasting homer" and "broadcasting legend". He openly led the cheers with his pattented yellow "Terrible Towel". His personality was blended on a palette of quirky humor and ethnic pop culture. When Myron got out of control, he invented words and sounds to fill in his thoughts so he didn't create dead air.

Perhaps today, up in Heaven, Myron Cope is commentating on a big game with Howard Cosell.

"Free Radio" a Hit with Me

One of the things that I look for in watching a television program is weather or not I could relate to the situation or subject matter. "The Office" had such a cult following that some people either knew about the pop culture or maybe even lived in a small town like Scranton, PA. I gave it a chance, but I just didn't appreciate the nuances of the show.

Flipping around the digital cable, I found a show called "Free Radio". It is a show that was created from the comedy minds of Lance Krall and Rory Rosegarten. Lance plays a bumbling inept intern who is thrust into the spotlight of KBOM morning drive radio after the regular host Rip Rebel defects to satellite. He then goes on to sandbag guests because he is inexperienced and the true gem of the show is watching the real celebrities squirm. And through the miracle of modern technology, you can watch the opening segment of the show.
This is going to be a really great show that I will certainly will want to watch as the storyline evolves as Lance becomes a hit personality and how he interacts with his foil Anna Vocino. I think it is a real slice of life that some broadcasters have to put up with.

Check it out on the web or check with your local listings for VH-1.

Texas DJ Catching Some Heat in Studio

24-year-old Paul Webster Feinstein has come under fire in the last few days as he has been charged with Arson which destroyed KOOP's broadcast studio, leaving the Hippie FM station off the air for 19 days plus $300,000 damage.

The reason was that Paul was upset that his ideas for the station's playlist was rejected.

Now, I have worked in the industry for a while to read and hear about the backstage stories, but this is taking the "give it to the man" thing to the criminally insane! I once knew a guy who got drunk and urinated up and down the entire office and studio.

However, I can see where this would be the ultimate ironic story where a Hippie station, people who are used to protesting in destruction is now on the other end of the rebellion.

"La Commissionaire" Becomes a Broadcaster

It looks like the ranks of my esteemed colleagues has grown larger recently. According to the news reports, NHL Commish Gary Bettman will host a radio show on XM to announce league news and answer questions from fans.

"This program sets the bar high. It marks the first time fans of a professional sports league will have direct access to the sport's top decision makers," said John Bitove, chairman and CEO of XM Canada.

An XM spokesman said the show was created when Bettman's appearance on the channel's NHL Hour received great response.

So, with that being said, I will offer Mr. Bettman my suggestions and tips on how to do great radio.

1. Don't take yourself seriously. A warm and approachable persona can help dispel a lot of critics. Also, you can take jabs at yourself by including the FAN 590's character of you in your show somehow. Talking to your audio doppelganger would be great radio.
2. Pick a better sidekick than Bill Clement. Versus kicked him out of the desk for a reason.
3. The show needs a real catchy swinging signature theme music. All the great radio shows have one.
4. Don't fall back on using street-wise lingo. Some guys do it to look hip, but only .5% of personalities can pull that off.
5. One word - trivia.

So, there you go, Mr. Bettman. All you really need to know about the inner workings of doing a radio show. And Mr. Bettman, if you ever really need somebody to help boost your audience cume even further, you can always give me a call!

Big Ten Network Met By Obfuscating Cable Providers

Nothing infuriates me more than when somebody or something is held down and oppressed. The short sighted and vindictive cable providers in America have been blocking a new network. I have a degree from a Big Ten school and would love to see more Big Ten athletics since I now live in Western, PA. The Big Ten Network is not only about NCAA Div-1 football. The main argument made by the Network opponents is that Comcast already covers a great number of football games as expressed by their enormous smear and propaganda campaign seen and heard locally in the Pittsburgh broadcast area. They also get basketball, baseball, hockey, as well as other non-television exposed sports.

The rookie Big Ten Network is, at the moment, being snubbed by cable distributors including Comcast, Time Warner and others. None of the top eight have struck a pact with the network, which is 49 percent owned by Fox. The battles have become public and nasty, with cable providers demanding that the games and other fare be placed on an optional sports tier, while Chicago-based BTN insists it deserves to be on basic cable at about $1.10 per subscriber (at least in the eight states that comprise Big Ten territory).

Okay, so a young network needs time to grow and prove themselves, so is there any hope of perhaps making a basic cable deal in the future?

Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman concedes no agreement is likely before football season ends but believes something can be worked out within a year. And he’s not surprised by the initial cold shoulder.

MSNBC thinks they have the problem identified.

"Many new nets come on the air and have distribution issues," he said. "Unfortunately, this one has played out very publicly."

And publicity, whether* positive or negative, is just what a new idea thrives on. People talk about it which is cheaper and more valuable than any kind of advertising.

But with the mistake of cable providers, satellite cable has picked up on cable's error and broadcasted the Big 10 on their dime.

Despite the rebuff from cable giants since the net debuted Aug. 30, there are plenty of bright spots. Silverman said BTN entered more than 30 million homes in its first month, which he describes as "the largest launch in TV history" in such a short time. The main key: Satellite has jumped in as DirectTV and Dish Network both offer the new network.

The Big Ten Network also threatens to shift recruiting abilities with many other NCAA colleges. Here, Western Pennsylvania, the Big East gets the benefit of the doubt as Pitt and WVU claim the region. I have a theory that the Big East and other cable channels are trying to strong arm Comcast to stamp out a network that will be their recruitment competition. Also, who else stands to lose thier iron grip on college football? the 4-letter network, CBS sports, and FOX. Could they be pressuring cable providers not to pick up the Big Ten Network?


*=Thank you anonymous for pointing out my error.

Partisian Radio Puts Broward County at Risk

Politics and partisianism is usually mundane to argue about it, but sometimes trading insults and harsh rhetoric can put innocent citizens in harms way. Consider the case of a Florida radio station who would lose their ability to air the dangerous weather alerts because the democrat controlled Broward County commissioners disagree with the WIOD station lineup consisting of conservative talk.

"If your roof gets blown off, do you really care if the radio station that is giving you the information that you need also carries Rush Limbaugh?" Jacobs remarked to the Sun-Sentinel. "I don't think so. I don't agree with that man's philosophy and I don't listen to him, but I'm not going to not choose WIOD because of it."

That sounds like a rational thought from the Sun-Sentinel. If only there were more people who held this view.

Under its deal with Broward County, WIOD broadcasts news conferences from the county Emergency Operations Center in Plantation, Fla., in their entirety.

And what would be so wrong as to reach the largest possible audience knowing that WIOD is #1 in their market. Petty jealousy is really ugly when you look at this through the mirror. The democrats have no leg to stand on this argument. Luckily, the voice of the people continues to shine and not accept blindly what a few bureaucrats think what people should have.

The Sun-Sentinel is running a poll on the matter on its Web site, asking, "Broward County commissioners may cancel a contract with radio station WIOD, which is the official source of emergency information, because it features the Rush Limbaugh show. Would you support this?" At press time, 44.9% of 11,204 respondents had answered yes, 52.8% said no, and 2.3% were not sure.

Lucky for us, the democrats don't get away with this kind of garbage. This story has been all over the cable news channels and debated many times. You can count on people like me to continue to shine the light of truth on these kinds of issues.
-- Additional reporting by Brida Connolly

Thorne Accuses Schilling of Fraud

Sometimes, media stories can really infuriate me. And this story is no different. Here was once-respected Gary Thorne, a veteran TV broadcaster, who should have known better than to go with a story that had a very dubious and shaky source.

Thorne, who broadcasts on the four-letter with baseball games, had inferred that World Series winning pitcher Curt Schilling had committed fraud by doctoring up the sock that he wore during a courageous game. Schilling, who injured his ankle, had emergency surgery and still pitched days later. However, the strain on his ankle began to pull at the stitches making for a really gruesome sight on live TV.

Fast-forward to today, Thorne said almost flippantly that another Red Sox player had confessed that the blood on Schilling's sock was a scam and that they got plenty of publicity.

Well, publicity was certainly the motive for this story, but it wasn't on Schilling. It was an attempt to release a story in the hopes that Thorne would get some "street cred". I hope that this doesn't work for Thorne, that this cheap publicity stunt makes him more of a household name.

Connoisseur Media Collecting

As the continual generation of drama flows through the crazy world of terrestrial radio, so goes the shake-up in the Erie, PA market as a fresh new entity housed in Westport, CT.

Connoisseur Media has thrown in a fresh new lineup for the radio dial as well as taken charge of former NextMedia properties that broadcast Erie sports teams. There, they created a clever 93.9 FM "The Wolf" as a pop country station.

These guys could be a major player in the radio industry as they buy up stations all accross the US as it reads on their bio page straight from their official website:

In addition to Wichita, the company owns or operates radio stations in Billings, MT, Bloomington, IL, Huntington, WV and Omaha, NE. It is also in the process of building stations in Omaha, NE, Rapid City, SD and Des Moines, IA.

In Memoriam: RKZ (1933-2007)

This week, I lost a hero, a teacher, a mentor, and a friend.

Mr. Zimmerman was a good man. I can't think of any basic way to say it. He was a radio mentor who taught me everything I know about the radio business. He loved his students at Penn State and respected his employees. He encouraged a true work ethic in his students and was able to reach young minds with energetic anecdotes. I will always remember his personality that commanded respect and to his rivals it was formidable intimidation.

He had a long list of broadcasting success stories ranging from radio station ownership, College of Communications Alumni Society Board, founder and co-chairman of the college's Dollars for Scholars Golf Classic, and secured a home for the Pennsylvania Broadcasting Hall of Fame at State College, PA.

My only regret is that he was not able to live long enough to be proud of me and see me ascend to broadcasting success.

On a visit to PSU last December, I had a chance meeting with him outside the new State Theatre on College Ave and told him how much he meant to me. Little did I know, that will be the last time I will ever see him.

The radio broadcasting world is all the poorer for his passing. My sincerest condolences to the family.

[Via: Vineyard Gazette]

Morning Show Promotion Tragedy

Rarely do local radio stations make national news, but Entercom's KDND in Sacramento, CA has caused a really big stir in the broadcasting world. Their alleged crime now puts the spotlight on shock-jocks like never before.

The Morning Rave, the stations radio morning show program, decided on a weird promotional contest where contestants who held back their urine the longest would be awarded a Nintendo Wii video game console. But the ill-advised stunt allegedly caused the death of a young mother bringing the unintended focus the wrong kind of attention/rating seeking stunt that radio jocks don't want.

After some reflection of my own, I wondered why a Top 40 station would green light a promotion so stupid and risky in the first place. Most Top 40 stations are bland and never deviate from the family-oriented entertaining content. "Holding Wee for a Wii" is clever but gross. Wouldn't a simple high score on a Wii game be more of a safer alternative?

I doubt it was worth the risk. It cost everyone involved with the Morning Rave program to be summarily dismissed. But the infection of a stunt gone wrong doesnt end there. The black cloud of this tragedy will seep upward to station management where they too will have to answer to justice.

EDIT:

The family of Jennifer Strange urged the FCC to shut down the station and punish the parent company Entercom. On January 24, 2007 The FCC announced that they will investigate the station to see if it violated the terms of its license. If KDND is found guilty the station will have their license stripped and be ordered off the air.

[Via: Wikipedia]

Cleveland Sucks the Big One!

Of course I realize the redundancy of my blog's title, but tonight, I would have a prime example of just how much it sucks.

As I am driving back last night from Erie, PA on I-79, I am able to pick up a strong signal of "The Big One" WTAM-AM and curious as to what histrionics would come out of Cleveland after an Indians inept loss to the streaky Minnesota Twins. I wasn't able to catch the broadcaster's name as I was first passively listening to it while paying attention to the 100 million 16-wheelers on the road. He had said something so completely irresponsible as a broadcaster, I truly wondered why he still had a job when there are plenty of excellent and well-learned people struggling to get a job in the industry.

This broadcaster took a call from a grizzled fan who was disappointed by the alleged defeatist attitude and words emoted during the late innings by the Indians broadcasters. The fan had wanted the game-broadcasters to keep up hope that the Indians would make a comeback. Then, the post-game show host had debated the caller with something so ridiculous it almost made me slam on the breaks and scream.

The post-game broadcaster had come to the defense of the game announcers and defended them quite vigorously. He took his stance with the thought that broadcasters should be given more credit because they were more honest instead of giving a false hope.

In broadcasting 101, you learn that the first priority is to maintain your audience level- secondary to satisfying the company's commercial sponsors. If the allegations of the Indians broadcasters were accurate, then the Indians team would have lost fans listening to the broadcast in the middle because they alluded to the fact that the game was already out of reach. How many fans gave up that night and never heard the rest of the commercials which were sold on the promise that the station would provide people to hear them? They should just be up front and say "Hey, we're not going to win so you'd be better off changing the channel or turning off your radios."

Then afterwards I wasn't shocked at the way that the broadcasters all defended each other. Broadcasting partners will almost always get wrapped up in an "incestuous" nature where they all protect and insulate each other from criticism. I wouldn't be surprised that the post-game host probably had a friendship to the game hosts.

It's that kind of irresponsibility that makes me believe all of the reputations of Cleveland to be "the mistake by the lake". Or one could say that Cleveland bites "the big one"!

My Time in the Clubhouse Part Two

As I am typing this, I am on my laptop computer watching the Pirates play the Chicago White Sox (the defending world series champions). But I also have some press credentials in the press box here, courtesy of some good friends connected to central PA radio. My friend Dan came with me from State College and he's been in good health through most of this game.

It's been a really fun to watch the game from the Press Box. I've stayed dry as the game was delayed by rain for 25 minutes or so. I've even got to see a lot of local celebrities around the press box. Trenni Kusnerek sat in front of me. All she did was sit there and play with her cell phone and chat to the co-workers.

Okay, so, I did a little chatting too on IM to tell all my buddies where I was. It was a little unprofessional, but it's not like I had to make a deadline or something.

The Pirates played well and even almost won the game on the technicality of a rain delay. But the weather wasn't around that long.

After the 9th inning home run heroics by my new friend Sanchez, I was able to get in a question during the Mgr. Tracy "presser" and ask him about weather or not he thought the White Sox used Jim Thome at the right time and peaked too soon. He looked right at me the whole time he answered the question. But while he was looking at me, the GM was looking at him the whole time off-camera.

So, I got to go back into the clubhouse and talk to the Pirates. I stayed around Sanchez's locker to ask him some more follow up questions. I tried to get him to talk about the next team to play in the Detroit Tigers. I caught it all on my minidisk hopefully leading to a really good aircheck.

I tried to talk to some of the White Sox and Rob Makowiak (former Altoona Curve) in particular, but they had all hit the showers and went home by the time I could find my way out of the basement boiler room.

My Time in the Clubhouse.

(okay.. So.. It’s better late than never, I guess. Here‘s the mystery revealed on how I spent my 29th birthday.)

So, it was kept a big secret by my friend Dan who still keeps in touch with some of his other radio broadcast partners and wanted to do something nice for me for my birthday. I wasn’t told any details other than to bring with me to State College, PA my broadcasting equipment and a shirt and tie. It was an interesting set-up because Dan has admitted to me that he was brand new at planning events for his friends’ birthdays.

I was still left in suspense one more day as I racked my brain trying to decipher the riddle of my birthday gift. Were we to go to a secret job interview? Was I going to make a day trip to Toronto to see the last Penguins game of the year? Did he somehow score a double-date for me? With each scenario, I tried to follow the clues as to what might be up my friend’s sleeve.

Wednesday morning came and I was a year older. 29 isn’t exactly a milestone year, but hey - I made it this far. I am unusually chipper and upbeat on my birthday no matter what. It’s my philosophy that I want all my close friends and family to be happy along with me on this particular day. So, making it big was all I could ever want.

I got dressed and even got into my car with still no knowledge of just where I would be going. Dan handed me the little envelope that he had been keeping and inside was 2 tickets to the Pittsburgh Pirates with press laminates waiting for us at PNC Park. It was certainly shaping up to be a birthday to remember.

The adventure driving to the ballpark was interesting. I rarely drive on the north side of Pittsburgh and I will only do so if I’m forced. I relied on my friend Dan’s recollection of the city and supplemented it with my own sense of remembering familiar landmarks and street signs.

On the way there, we joked and laughed by making up so many ridiculous questions that I could pose to the Pittsburgh Pirates. I guess I was just combating my nerves as it was certainly going to take all of my natural broadcaster instincts and inquiring mind. The Pirates weren’t doing well in the season. Silly questions like “Why do you guys suck so bad?” and “So, Jason Bay, I hear you‘re Canadian. What‘s that like?” were certainly going to angle my way out the door faster than I can say “home run.“ Dan and I agreed on one thing, this might be our first time reporting in the big leagues from PNC Park, but we had to be really guarded not to look like a real couple of “noobs”.

We walked up to the grand carousel entrance and my “media case” was inspected before I went through the turnstile. Dan and I had the tickets, but we needed to find how to get in to the media section of the ballpark. Our beginner’s luck ended there when an usher told us to go back outside the stadium and walk down past the ticket windows and find the press door . Okay, that was embarrassing.

Then at the media door, we were greeted by a press liaison who again felt it necessary to inspect my black bag that I carry all of my broadcasting equipment in. I think it was safe. He then checked our names off the list and gave us the press laminates (or “lams” as we call ‘em in the business). Written in black marker was my name, the call letters of the station, the date that it was good for. But there were also rules of conduct on the card itself.

No Autographs. Damnit!

So, we first made our way up to the broadcast booth by way of the courtesy elevator. Then the whole world had unfolded before me. As a young man, I had always daydreamed and fanaticized about what it was going to be like. This was like going to Universal Studios to see how the magic was made. What made it worse was that there were all kinds of local celebrities just walking around. This Pittsburgh-born and bread was star struck at Greg Brown who briskly walked in front of me. Dan and I were invited to all the hand-outs and refreshments made available. Like a kid in a candy store, I pretty much grabbed everything I could get my hands on. Media guide inserts, charts, and a manual on how to get internet wireless access while I was in the PNC Park.
Then there was the issue of being star-struck. I knew I had to get over it quickly. I tried to talk to Dan, but with every glance, I recognized a local personality. I pointed out in the middle of my sentences, “Hey, there’s Steve Blass.” (He’s the TV/Radio commentator for the Pirates and has been for years.)

Dan and I took it all in. Looking down at the field and the open city skyline was a tremendous feeling. I had realized my dream, for that moment, to be a broadcaster in the city that I call home. Then, I made an oath to never give up trying to actualize my destiny.

We got in the elevator and took it back down so we could go to our seats in time for the actual game. I still had my media case with me stuffed with just about every recording device available, but I had overlooked one crucial thing. A writing utensil. Okay, so this was a learning experience too. I’ll not forget again.

The seats were right directly behind home plate. They were far back from the front, but it was still a good view of the action. Only bad thing was that the backstop screen was going to catch any foul ball that came our way. The Pirates were playing the St. Louis Cardinals. In the afternoon game, the Cardinals came ready to play. I have no answer as to why the Pirates struggle so badly, but missing key players to injury didn’t help much. The Pirates were no-hit through the 6th inning. The Pirates wound up losing the game 5-1. Dan and I continued to goof on the Pirates poor performance. Then we planned our way around to best ready ourselves for the post-game interviews.

We took the elevator back down to the Press Club level and waited in the press cafeteria for the game to wrap it’s final innings. Dan and I found the press conference room where the manager addresses the issues after the game. We were alone. Again, we took the opportunity to goof off and relieve some of the nervousness. Quick thinking, I jumped onto the manager’s platform and sat down in front of the microphone for a quick picture.

Jim Tracy was the disheveled and thoroughly defeated manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s his first year with the team, coming from the LA Dodgers. The only reason he got this job was that he grew up in western PA. I didn’t know much anything else about him. I was about to get a crash course in “MLB Press Conference 101”.

With my Sony Minidisk in hand, I found the side of the room that had the mult-box (an electronic device that allows many connections where the other reporters Minidisks were plugged in to so as to capture the audio from the same microphone that the manager was using.) I didn’t have the right kind of plug that would be able to work with the mult-box. Again, I was caught unprepared and the other local reporters all stared at me. They stared at me hard. I was told that I could just plant my Minidisk recorder and microphone up on the table with the writers.

So much for looking like I knew what the hell I was doing.

While Jim Tracy took questions from the assembled local reporters, he deliberately looked at each and every one in the room. Jim Tracy looked right at me. I was so impressed with that. By doing that, he made me feel that I was indeed a legitimate part of the press. I didn’t get to ask him any questions, but I still got some audio to be worth it.

Another local celebrity is Trenni Kusnerek. She works for the FOX Sports local affiliate here in Pittsburgh. Total hottie! I hoped that I would get a chance to meet and talk with her. Sure enough, she makes a grand appearance in the room. All the other sports guys, cameramen, and workers shouted for her attention. She must really be popular among her peers.

Next came the players in the clubhouse. I made my way over there with the pack of reporters. I wasn’t going to challenge them for the story today, but someday I knew I was going to be back to keep pace. Be warned, there’s going to be some really graphic behind the scenes encounters coming up.

The Pirates locker room is set up like an oval inside another oval. The office rooms looped around a hallway were the inside room was a bunch of wooden cubicles set up for each individual player. The press would set up in the middle. I took a quick trip around to familiarize myself with the surroundings - especially how to get out if needed.

The sobering moment that shocked me out of my star-struck mood was that the Pirates were all still getting out of the shower. Yes. They got dressed right in front of me. I didn’t actually watch anyone, but I never would have expected that this would happen. Dan shadowed me and relied on my recognition of which players to talk to. I didn’t have a game plan, I just followed the lemming reporters around. Surely, they knew what they were doing.

As if the uncomfortable situation of the Pirates changing all around me was enough, I had to see with my own two eyes Trenni standing in the locker room. There was a player just 10 yards away from her naked as a jaybird, but nobody seemed to care that there was a woman in the locker room. Probably nothing she hasn’t seen already before. Shocking! Is this what goes on in professional leagues all across America?

Jack Wilson walked by me pulling his luggage behind him. He didn’t play in the game.

I got to talk to one of the new Pirates Jeremy Burnitz. He looks so much bigger on TV. They all did. But now that I got up close, I was able to look him in the eye. I got to ask him about him playing in his 1,600 game on the idea that all athletes just love talking about themselves. He was nice to me. I got to talk to Pirates utility infielder Sanchez. I asked him about what he can do to stay in the lineup. All he did was give me a PC answer. Then, I moved on to pitcher Zach Duke. I had also heard the fact that it was his birthday too. He said that his teammates didn’t have any special plans for him, but they were probably all going to go out later that night.

After that was said, I told Dan that maybe this was going to be enough for one day’s experience and that we should quit while we were still ahead. We hit the road to go back to State College. It was a long 3 hour drive that was fueled by all the excitement I encountered.

Dan was impressed with me. He told me that I had composed myself professionally and showed him that was most certainly capable of adapting to the situation when I was thrown into it blindly unprepared. The next time I get press passes, I’ll be ready for one of the biggest and important events of the summer. The 2006 All-Star Game!

There is an opening at KTRS in St. Louis

On one hand it looks like it was a slip of the tounge that cost a radio broadcaster his job, but it was quite the offensive remark that shouldn't have happened on a prominent St. Louis Radio Station KTRS-AM.

Dave Lenihan, who's prior credit was a stint at WGNU, had just joined KTRS when the topic of U.S. Secretary of State Condi Rice caused him to make the unfortunate association with the word "coon". Mr. Lenihan, according to the article, insists that he meant to say something else, but management saw it differently and fired him within 20 minutes of the offending broadcast.

[Via: St. Louis Post Dispatch]

NBC Baits NASCAR Fans

NBC has decided to do a really appalling thing. They decided to collect some "Arab-looking" men and take them to a NASCAR sponsored race and follow them with a camera crew through the crowds to see if they would experience racism and/or bigotry.

But word had gotten out that NBC-Universal broadcast company was planning to do it and pundits and political talk radio was all over condemning this latest stunt.

It doesn't surprise me that they would try this. But I'm glad that they didn't get away with it.

[Via: newsbusters]

Brazilian Prostitutes Open New FM Station

Well, this is an interesting venture into the world of broadcasting. It seems that a group of sex workers in Brazil have gotten permission from their government to start their own FM radio station by the end of this year.

The spokesman Sandro Correia explains just what their efforts may yield:

"We are not going to apologize for prostitution but we are going to struggle for the dignity of the profession," Correia told Reuters.

The aim was not to attract women to the business. The station will feature programs about the trade but will also discuss issues such as human rights, social questions, and sexual abuse, Correia said.

"The idea is that we have diverse programs that look at health issues,
AIDS prevention, and racism, for example," he said.

Hmmm... I wonder if I could translate my resume into Brazilian! Clearly they could use a strong opinionated radio broadcasting veteran to point the way for them!

[Via: Yahoo! News]

Radio Talk Show Host's Wife Dies Suddenly

Art Bell, mostly known for his unique programming on the late night supernatural and conspiracy theory, suddenly lost his wife to an asthma attack.

No word as to who is responsible, the NSA, FCC, FBI, Extra-terrestrials or some other shadow gov't.

In all seriousness... my deepest condolences go out to the Bell family for their tragic and sudden loss.


[Via: Radio and Records]