Ugly Betty - Fired?

You can't fire someone just for being ugly ... Can you?

Turns out ... You Can.

Unlike religion, national origin or disability, discrimination based on looks is legal in most states say employment law experts. Washington, D.C. and Santa Cruz, California are two of the only municipalities with laws explicitly protecting workers against discrimination based on physical characteristics or personal appearance.

(From CareerBuilder.com)

Thank goodness for radio - huh?

You only have to watch a one episode to know that Betty is beautiful. Her website:

http://www.bettysuarez.com/

Daily Show Chuckle ...

Does She Really Think That's Going To Help Her With Men?

- Daily Show host Jon Stewart on Hillary's 2008 campaign slogan.

"Let The Conversation Begin"

What's next? asked Stewart: Let's pull over and ask for directions?

I'm Average - At Best ...

American office workers send an average of 36 e-mails daily.

Source: First, 1/12/07


Really? I looked in my sent folder and the daily number of sent e-mail was right about that. Man - that's almost 200 a week. Do I have that much to say?

Ten years ago I would have laughed if anyone told me I would be sending 200 e-mails a week. So I can only imagine what we'll all be zapping each other 10 years from now.

Up Yours - Tigger!

Which is the angriest city in the United States?

New York?

Nope: not even in the top 50.

Researchers studying urban anger factored in:

• Percentage of men with high blood pressure
• FBI rates of aggravated assaults
• Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers on workplace deaths from assaults and other violence
• Traffic-congestion data as well as speeding citations (assuming road-rage)
• Attacks by mascots (okay - I made that one up)

So where are the angriest people in America? Survey says ... Orlando, Florida ???

#2 is St. Petersburg, Florida


#3 is Detroit


#4 is Baltimore


#5 is Nashville


Men’s Health, 1/24/07

Equal Time? Not really.

Remember when the State of the Union was not a partisan event?

Really? Well pull up a chair youngin’s … and let me tell you about a time before Starbucks, Harry Potter, and You Tube. We the people, watched the speech – and were returned to our regularly scheduled programming already in progress (we had 3 channels and didn’t know any better).

Then it all went wrong. Those out of the White House decided it was too darn hurtful to listen and disagree with the president who won the job legally through the Electoral College (granted – the EC was not on our radar until 2000). They started what we now call the Republican or Democratic response. And it became a partisan event.

Don’t get me wrong: the State of the Union was oozing with partisan content. But he was the president – and we were hearing his vision of the nation’s state. And the other guys took it. My favorite State of the Union Moments involved watching Tip O’Neil behind Regan and Newt Gingrich behind Clinton. Their absence of applause and scowl was the only reality TV we knew.

But as you know … today … Nobody loses.

And worse, the losers think you and I cannot disagree on our own. They march a senator or governor (who we could not pick out of police line-up) in front of America with a counter plan.

It almost reeks of treason …

Okay – that’s an exaggeration. But the Virginia Senator who gave the Democratic response last night doesn’t represent me. Why do I want to hear from him? Was he ever on a ballot for me to vote for or against? He was a convincing speaker with well spoken opinions on Iraq. But he’s only been a Senator for two weeks – he’s still trying to find the chamber men’s room for God’s sake.

It’s never a response: it is sour grapes. Each party chooses a pit-bull so the hierarchy can keep their hands clean. But we the people get it. We know that by the next election, their story will change more times than Paula Abdul’s.

Last night was W’s vision for America: Not that of the Republican party (did you see Cheney wince when he mentioned global warming?). Bill Clinton’s last address was his vision – not that of the Democrats. Can’t we leave it that that - no matter who is president?

How long before the losers get to throw out the second pitch of the World Series?

Jack Baur is Captian Kirk

I overheard a conversation this morning in which two people here at the station were debating whether or not a cell phone would get a signal deep below ground in the president's bunker. State of the Union talk? No - Jack Baur and 24 talk.

Funny - last night's plot twist bringing in Jack's brother (who looks nothing like Jack - I think on purpose) was cool, but people who watch 24 love the little details. I'm guessing my cell phone would not get a signal. But you've got to believe that the leaders of the free world have a minutes and coverage plan that we can only imagine.

24 fans look and sound to me like Star Trekkers. They study the intimate details of the show and their fan web-sites far outnumber anything the shows producers could build. Here is one someone sent me this morning - a take off on Letterman's top 10 list using Jack Baur facts (warning adult language is used ...)

http://www.jackbauerfacts.com/

At least with Star Trek, you knew who was going to get it ... and Captain Kirk never shot any of his own 'red shirt' guys!

It's Like Thunder ...

I got a call from a KTI listener who wondered if the snow was affecting our signal. She was referring to yesterday's storm and told me about country music coming over our position on the dial.

And No - I'm not speaking about Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Bon Jovi or any of the other artists that pop radio is sharing with country. She heard a full fledged radio signal and described it as trying to over-ride ours.

While I am no engineer and honestly I don't really understand how the sound gets from here to there. I do know how the FCC licenses radio stations to broadcast in the FM band on available frequencies. They are sure to put adequate separation so you would not have a station in say Milwaukee and Madison both broadcasting at 94.5 FM. There would be a long corridor in between the two cities where all you would hear are the two stations competing for signal strength (a new reality show?).

But Michigan is another story. Grand Rapids and Milwaukee are far enough apart so each city has a station at 94.5 FM. The station in Grand Rapids is Thunder Country 94.5 FM and there are certain atmospheric anomalies that carry each of our signals across the lake. I have heard it referred to as 'skipping,' like a rock would skip across the surface of water.

I know this was happening yesterday because I got three messages from people in the Grand Rapids area asking why we were interrupting their country music with Green Day, Kelly Clarkson and Rob Thomas.

I should have told them it was for their own good - huh?

For the record, the Wisconsin person asking me about interference was writing from the northern part of Ozaukee County. From about Mequon south to Racine - and all the way west, our signal is too strong to be knocked out by them. Again - I don't profess to know anything about engineering, but both our tower and theirs are right on Lake Michigan. I think that accentuates the skipping factor.

For radio nerds like me - it's kind of fun. I was picking up 4 or 5 stations from Michigan for a brief amount of time. It's amazing: some sound so clear you would think they are local. I know the same is true for KTI in Grand Rapids because one of the inquiries was about our "8 to 5 Bribe."

"They just don't do that here" - lady in Michigan.

I'm hoping she meant that in a good way - like "Boy ... I wish they would do that here". Not like, "Man, we would never stoop to that."

Supersized

I admit - I am a Bill Clinton fan. I am not necessarily referring to his politics (who even remembers those?). In the history of dramedy (the art of making the TV drama somewhat funny) ... Has there ever been a character so bigger than life? I don't think the best script writers could create a character so big. Nobody would have believed it.

I vividly recall Phil Hartman (my favorite Clinton impersonator on SNL) doing his Bill Clinton speech in a McDonalds - dressed in full running gear ... helping himself to everyone's french fries as he went from table to table talking foreign policy ... with his mouth full. I still remember the best punch line from that skit. One of the secret service agents told Clinton he wouldn't tell Hillary about the burgers. Hartman grabs the agent and mutters ... "Hey ... there are a lot of things we won't be telling Mrs Clinton - right?" Of course - life eventually imitated art.

Bill's VP, Al Gore is a movie star. But everyday people aren't watching Al's moving and saying "that's me." President Bush speaks like one of the people (who can pronounce all of those countries - especially the ones in a foreign land?) - but isn't one of them. Nobody would ever accuse Newt Gingrich, John Kerry, Dick Cheney or Ted Kennedy of being "the people" - even though we know Newt swears like a sailor ... Kerry walks around with both feet in his mouth ... Cheney is packing heat ... and Teddy's in the bag. But Bill - he is the' "the people."

That's why I was taken back by something I read in the year end issue of Newsweek (the one with Hillary and Obama on the cover). The story on campaign strategies and predicted tactics that both Hillary and Obama would use - had this to say about Hillary's strategy:

"And what about Bill?" The 42nd president is clearly a major plus for Hillary as long as he does nothing to embarrass his wife. One close friend of the family, who requested anonymity for obvious reasons, says the two now have a 'loving marriage' and that his intense desire to see Hillary as president is helping him fight his longstanding 'addiction:' He so wants her to get recognized for her fabulousness that he could live without a lot of things you wouldn't think he could live without."

What kind of crap is this? Longstanding Addiction? What egg-head is spitting out this kind of stuff? John Kerry?

First of all, it leaves the door wide open to a relapse ... and frankly .... I'm not sure if they're talking about young interns ... cigars ... or Big Mac's?

So I'm offering up some free advice for the now 'loving' couple. Don't feed the American public any egg-head lines about Bill's addiction. Come clean ala Bob Barker and admit that Bill screwed-up. He didn't realize what a good thing he had with Hillary. After hitting rock bottom, they are now closer than ever and have a new-found energy. Then maybe hint that Hillary could have laid off the nagging and trying to "change" him - all the stuff middle America's men go to work thinking every day. Throw in some line about them now having a special "Friday Date Night" and bingo - Bill is back!

Are you kidding me?

I was talking about IDOL with someone yesterday and despite all of the bad auditions, crying, cranky Simon, etc ... all people could talk about was Paula.

Which makes the comment I heard on the radio even move absurd. I was sampling a competitor and the disc jockey (trying to sound in-touch) wondered "how long is American Idol going to put up with Paula."

Are you kidding me? She's gold. She is the story this year. When it's her turn to talk - everyone watches. I even found myself rewinding the DVR to hear what she said again.


Publicity is expensive and I'll bet more people would recognize the name Paula Abdul today than during her entire life. I almost wonder if the whole thing is a stunt. Seriously? The fact that Idol had HUGE ratings the past two nights and nothing really happened is due to all of the Paula publicity.


The sad part is that something is wrong. It could be self-inflicted (drugs) or some other medical condition that is being kept quiet. But through the course of history - humans have loved a tragedy. We love to watch Britney and K-Fed (and root against both). This could be a modern day tragedy happening right before our very eyes - and yes: we will continue to watch - and probably root for Paula. But none the less: it is a tragedy.

Idol is too kind ...

Most people are oblivious to the harshness of the music and entertainment business. What you see on American Idol is almost a kind let-down. In the real world, there would be not Paula to be the queen of nice (all be it a stoned nice) and Simon wouldn't even humor you with feedback.

One of the harsh realities our ROCKSTAR PROJECT winners face is that our portion of their career - is just the beginning. Believe me, they enter the music world with a heads-start on everyone else since they have a professionally recorded single ($10K value), guaranteed bookings and radio airplay. But even those who get to the front of the line still have to face the music - or in this case: the music industry.

That juggling kid on Idol who ran out of the ballroom crying doesn't have what it takes. I'm not referring to his singing talent (that speaks for itself). I'm talking about guts. That's what it takes to be in the entertainment business. At least Simon and Paula laughed at him. In an actual audition for a major music label, the executive would have dropped a few "f-bombs" wondering who let this idiot in (out loud). But this was on TV - so it was nicer than the real world.

I remember a family in high school that was going to sue the school district because their daughter didn't get the part of Sandy in the HS production of Grease. She was too heavy. Her parents argued that she could dance, sing, and was an excellent actress. But this wasn't a radio play. I really felt bad for her - but that was show business too. Audiences wouldn't buy a heavy Sandy - and our production relied on ticket sales to exist. Real world lesson #1.

Today I get to hear stories from music artists who tell me about "record label" edicts to die their hair, lost weight, buff-up, etc. The pain is still in their voice when telling the story. I listen with empathy - but have to wonder "why?" That is the price of admission to be famous. There is nothing wrong with singing in church and coffee houses. Fame comes at a price. I guess that makes the question - is it worth it?

How Far Would You Go?

Some of the happiest times in life - come after we suspend belief. One of those is an evening with Jack Baur and 24. It would take too long to list all of the dis-belief needed to enjoy the series - and suck all of the fun out of the show.

What I like best about the life of a CTU agent isn't cheating death - but the "what would you do" life or death choices all the characters have to make. And we know this is one show that is not afraid to kill off a very innocent character (RIP - Edgar).

I went to bed with a chill last night after seeing Jack make the choice to take out his long-time colleague (and arguably best friend) ... in order to save a known terrorist butcher who could stop the terrorist bombings.

• Would you sacrifice a close friend (who saved your life many a time) to save tens of thousands of innocent people (who you will never meet?)
• Would Jack have shot Audrey (his love interest)?
• How about his daughter?

Jack's back!

And The Oscar Almost Went To ..

Imagine a movie parallel universe where:

• David Letterman is Ted Striker in Airplane?
• Sylvester Stallone is Han Solo?
• John Denver is the romanic lead in Officer and A Gentleman?
• OJ Simpson is the Terminator? (okay - that acutally did happen...)

All of these could have happened. In show biz, many times the final product is not the producer/director's first choice. In the case above - it was decided that nobody would believe America's beloved OJ Simpson - as a killer!

• Will Smith turned down the role of Neo in the Matrix ... but says it turned out fine because "Keanu was great"

Here is a list of the top 25 big roles that almost went another way ...

https://email.journalbroadcastgroup.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.notstarring.com/favorites.html

The Heavyweight Champion Of The World Is ...

Today's 16-25 year old would rather play a video game than see a movie. Video games are no longer 'kids stuff.' They are an art form. Don't laugh - you'll sound old!

GSN knows this and created the hottest new game on the net: The Donald VS Rosie.

http://www.gsn.com/minigames/minigame.php?id=13

And to think, when I was a kid, Rock 'em - Sock 'em robots were cool ...

I Want A New Gig ...

I’ve been thinking a lot about the ambitious person who contacted me out of the blue – asking for career advice despite the fact we are competitors. You’ve got to understand, this is a business as competitive as the cola companies. We don’t fraternaize with ‘the enemy.’

I’ve been in the business world for 20 years and I don’t remember a time when more people were asking for some mentoring. I am thrilled that they are bold enough to do so, and yet I feel a lot of pressure giving career advice. I have made my share of mistakes – and will surely in the future. Who am I to be pontificating anything? But I guess so few are willing to offer any insight so I should step up to the plate.

Yesterday I talked about getting promoted. Today I’ll talk about getting a better gig.

Just like yesterday, you have to begin with some self awareness. If you’ve never done radio, you are most likely not going to start at KTI. I’m sorry if that sounds arrogant. But we operate at a speed and level where we don’t have time to teach the basics. This station has a lot of moving parts, and we rarely can afford to staff those parts with beginners. But I love to take people who have ‘cut their teeth’ in a smaller market and give them the opportunity to take their game to the next level.

The 2nd part of the awareness factor is to know your skill level. Everyone in the world may tell you that you are funny and you aught to host a talk show. That means nothing unless you have done it. And today – there is no excuse not to do it. There are internet sites that will allow you to record your own talk-show and you can practice and get better. Believe me – going through the learning curve in a smaller market or on the internet is much easier than in a situation where you are expected to perform at a high-level out of the box.

Once you have been doing it for a while (year?), ask for feedback. While we are busy, I try my hardest to offer honest feedback to those who ask. Be ready to hear the truth – believe me: it’s good practice for the future. If you are getting positive feedback from someone in the biz that you trust – now you are ready to begin applying for jobs.

Be sure to give the perspective employer everything then ask for – exactly as they ask for it. If they say no mp3’s – don’t send mp3’s. This should be obvious, but many times is ignored. Even if you send them a demo on CD or mp3 or whatever they want, you should have a web site designed to showcase you as a talent. Make sure it has lots of audio, press clippings, a bio, anything else that might make you shine. If a perspective programmer wants more information, they will go to the web-site. If you are not web savvy this may sound like a luxury – but it is not anymore.

We get hundreds of applicants for any on-air opening. How do we narrow them down?

1. What we hear on the CD/mp3. If the sound is not what we are looking for – it’s over. You can’t fake this – so don’t try.

2. What have you done to promote yourself? Are you a voice on the radio – or a budding star?

3. How ‘battle-tested’ are you? In other words: have you worked under pressure?

4. Results. If you have been working somewhere else – have you been successful? What are you current ratings?

If you pass all of those criteria, we will surely spend some time with you in an interview situation. After that, it is more of a question of whether or not you are a match for our employee-owned company culture. Believe it or not, some people cannot handle being accountable. I think that is paramount to success.

If all of this sounds like too much work – save yourself some time and $$ and do something else. This is a competitive business and we cannot afford to hire anyone who would move into our station and sit on their laurels. We aim to hire the ‘cream of the crop.’ Is that you?

Catch A Rising Star ...

Woo-Hoo! A comment after one of my blog entries ... except I had to erase it. Not because it said anything I don’t want to hear (believe me – I want to hear it all!). It was an honest post from someone working in the biz looking for career advice. The author asked for advice on “improving their situation” through either a promotion or finding a better job.

I’ll talk about getting promoted today … and getting a better job in the biz tomorrow.

BTW: The reason I had to erase the comment was that the author singed it with a real name. I figure if I recognize the name, others in the biz might too. Believe it or not, there are those who would frown on someone asking for outside feedback. Years ago I worked for a General Manager who would give another station’s general manager a “courtesy call” when someone from their station applied with us (geez – I wonder why we could never recruit anyone decent!!). So I did the humane thing and zapped it. Believe me: it was hard – I finally get a comment and I have to erase it!

First of all, I would not want anyone in my organization who is not trying to improve themselves or their situation on a regular basis. Any culture that doesn’t encourage that is a den on mediocrity. So good for you! I think in both cases there are two big issues:

1. Do you have what it takes to get the promotion or job?
2. Does everyone know of your accomplishments?

The first question in our biz is probably the most difficult. The real answer lies within yourself and your ability to be self-aware. Everyone wants the high-profile “big” position – yet many are not honest with themselves as to their own skill level. Just because you are a fantastic copy-writer or producer does not mean you have the skills to host a morning show. You may be the best street team member in the history of radio, but that doesn’t mean you are ready to run the marketing department. It might: but it is much more complicated than that.

Don’t get me wrong: I am a big believer in people working their way up the chain. I feel that the more skills you learn on the way up – the better qualified you will be for just about any job. I love the story of the intern who eventually ends up running the company (with a good 25-30 years in between). I’ll bet most CEO’s were interns at one time (probably somewhere else). Let me put it this way – It is interesting to watch someone oozing with talent who manages to cheat the system and skips levels: it’s exciting. But from what I have seen, they move quickly at the beginning then hit a brick wall. They just don’t have the breadth of experience needed to make the best business/career decisions. So part one is this: learn all you can by doing everything. Take initiative: You will then have the best grasp of your skill level.

Part two requires more tact. Getting on everyone’s radar is great: but the quickest way to get on the wrong side of the radar is through bragging, exaggerating, or putting down others. I guarantee that if you improve the situation to which you are assigned: the right people will notice. If you continually do it, you will be on everyone’s radar and be looked at as a rising star.

A rising star will be protected by their current employer – and poached by a competitor.

How Close?

This from the current Popular Mechanics ...

One Milwaukee evening in 2029 ... a 25-million-ton, 820-ft.-wide asteroid called 99942 Apophis will slice across the orbit of the moon and barrel toward Earth at more than 28,000 mph. The huge pockmarked rock, two-thirds the size of Devils Tower in Wyoming, will pack the energy of 65,000 Hiroshima bombs -- enough to wipe out a small country or kick up an 800-ft. tsunami.

The good news? Scientists are 99.7 percent certain it will just miss the planet.

The concerning news: the day in 2029 is Friday April 13th. That's just too spooky.

Careful What You Ask For - Brit ...

The road to stardom begins with the media. When you’re looking to get ‘on the map,’ there is no such thing as too much media attention. We (the media) cover your every move and you eat it up. Great right? Except when you start the media fire – it will burn long after you want it in your business.

Enter Britney Spears:

"The media has criticized my every move and printed a skewed perception of who I really am as a human being. Behind every decision I have made in my public life there always seems to be an apparent contradiction. I have come to terms with that which is why I usually don't pay much attention to it."

Ten years ago your people were press releasing us every time you stopped for lunch. Now you want it to stop? Pardon the pun: but you’ve made your bed, now you have to lie in it. Here is the rest of Britney’s statement on her fan web-site closing - with my common sense interpretation in red:

Now that I've had the time to be 'me,' I've been able to sit down and think about where I want to go with myself as an entertainer with absolutely no strings attached (wait a minute – do I still have kids?). I am now more mature and feel like I am finally 'free,' (of wearing panties)

I've been working so hard on this new album and I can't wait for you all to hear it and to go on tour again! (I’m broke). I would like to exclusively tell you that I am working hard to release the new album sometime later this year, but the date is of course not certain yet," (the record company is trying to weasel out of this train wreck). I noticed today that one of my biggest fan sites is shutting down soon and I want you all to know that I do understand all the reasons that went behind making that decision, and I am sad to see it closing. (It’s all Paris and I talked about in the limo – wait … that’s why I forgot my underpants – that’s it!).

If I were you I'd be unhappy too if I had to read what I've been reading every day (okay, what I’ve been seeing on Access Hollywood – c’mon who has time to read while hung-over and stuff).

But trust me, I get it. I know I've been far from perfect and the media has had a lot of fun exaggerating my every move, but I want you all to know that I love my fans so much, and I appreciate everything you have done for me, so Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" (oh, excuse me: I’m hung over and have to barf)

Her web-site peeps add: I've not been happy with the way she's portraying herself," (nobody in our camp is making any $$ off her goodie picture)

As Britney keeps losing her identity and credibility within fans and industry people, so are we. We're moving on to greater, bigger things. (Is Christiana Aguilera available?)

The Big Music Secret - REVEALED ...

I wish Natalie could have just kept her mouth shut. I don't care what she said - it's just that ever since the whole Dixie Chicks scandal (if you can call it that...) I have had to deal with more questions about "corporate play-lists" than almost anything else.

Just for a quick re-cap: A few years ago, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks said she was ashamed to be from Texas because it was the home state of President Bush. Next thing you know, she's on TV with Barbara Walters - crying - wondering how she became so hated. I don't care about what she said (personally, I don't care what any celeb's have to say ... their opinion means squat to me). But soon radio stations began to drop their music, people burned their concert tickets, CD sales plummeted and yet another unimportant issue began to divide the nation.

When one of the larger companies asked their programmers not to play Chicks music until this whole thing blew over - it got even bigger. That is when the pundits who cover media began their "corporate play-list" charge. I think the most ridiculous piece I read was from a pundit who compared radio to his younger days (the 70's) when free-form ruled. Meanwhile, back in reality: the 70's WAS THE ERA OF THE CORPORATE PLAY-LIST. There was a guy name Bill Drake who in the mid 70's had nearly 600 radio stations all using the exact play-list. Today, that would never happen intentionally. We have tools and resources that our 70's fore-fathers could not have imagined. Look at how different WKTI in Milwaukee sounds from WTMX (101.9) in Chicago or WZPL (99.5) in Indianapolis. We're all playing the same adult top 40 format - but today we have the tools to customize our stations to our market's unique tastes. Believe me, if they had these tools in the 70's Bill Drake wouldn't have had 3 stations using his play-list.

So that brings me to the obvious question - How do we choose our music? Good question!

If anything - today we have a glut of information and trying to process it all can be mind-boggling. When a new song come out, radio stations usually get a copy early - sometimes before the CD is released. I have a panel of people here at KTI that I rely-on to give me their honest feedback on these songs. What's great about my panel is that they have diverse music tastes - so I get a lot of opinions. Once I have gathered all of the opinions, then I have to make a judgment call: is this song going to be a hit? If so, we will put it on our "possible adds" list.

Now is where modern technology comes-in ... If you are a KTI INSIDER, you may have taken one of our music surveys. This is where we give you the power to vote on which songs you think we should be playing. You rate the songs and we use that data to decide which songs make it on the air. The songs you hate, we stop playing. So if you want your voice to be heard, we have the first survey of 2007 on-line now:

http://www.wkti.com/els/elsSurveys.asp

If you enjoy taking the surveys and want to continue, you will notice that we blend newer songs with older songs. We may also come back to a song - to see if you like it more now than you did a few weeks ago, or maybe less.

So that's it: no corporate play-lists ... no magic 8-ball ... just good old fashion listening combined with your input. I remember taking a complaint call when the Dixie Chicks flap was in full force. Someone screaming that they never heard Wide Open Spaces anymore and they we should be ashamed of ourselves. The truth was that the only Chicks song we ever played was Landslide - and have never stopped playing it. We did notice that in surveys immediately following the whole thing, that scores for Landslide went down: not enough to drop the song, but definitely a sign that some of our listeners were put-off by the now political Chicks.

But in Milwaukee Wisconsin, the majority of listeners still wanted to hear the song. Believe me, back in Bill Drake's 1970's era, the song would have been dropped everywhere. Ahhh - the good old days - huh?

Letters ... We Get Letters ...

From the mailbag at feedback@wkti.com



All I hear on the radio today are corporate play-lists. In your need to have ratings have you forgotten about the people?


Ever since the Dixie Chick scandal, the word “corporate play-list” has become a buzz word for those who cover the media. Let me answer the ratings question today and I’ll discuss how we choose our music on Monday.

Those who cover the media have painted the word ‘ratings’ in a bad light – and I understand that. A critic who loves a movie, song, tv show, etc. that doesn’t resonate with the public as a whole will typically end their analysis with something like

“As long as it gets ratings, it will be on (tv/radio).”

Translate that to real people talk and it becomes

“As long as people like it, it will be on (tv/radio).”

I loved the show Arrested Development and watched it religiously. Nobody else did. As I am not a critic, I don’t have to fess up with the fact that my tastes are not those of mainstream America. I accept that fact. I loved The Office – apparently American does too. Go figure?

Radio stations in Milwaukee (and all across America) choose a format they think can attract a sizeable audience. Wouldn’t you? Imagine a restaurant in the Bayshore Town Center that served food that very few people liked. They wouldn’t last long. Sure, they would have regulars, but if those regulars didn’t generate enough money to pay the high-rent of being in a high-traffic location – they go under.

In Milwaukee radio, there are rock, country, oldies, talk, jazz, and pop stations. Compare that to a food court in the mall where you might find pizza, burgers, burritos, Chinese, etc. There are usually more than one of the most popular offerings (pizza & burgers). Why? The demand for pizza is big enough to attract a big customer base to both places. If one of the pizza places closed and switched to fondue – they would probably lose every thing.

If your response is “But I Love Fondue,” great: but mainstream American does not.

The only way to drive ratings is to respond to the people. So they are not forgotten – they are being counted.

I firmly believe that without a ratings system, what you see on TV or hear on the radio would be of much less quality. The good stuff would all be on HBO at probably double the rate.

In other businesses, you can substitute ratings for other words like patrons (restaurant), customers (retail), subscriptions (newspaper). That is why everyone wants to have a Packers promotion – from the neighborhood bar to the Packers Insider in the newspaper. To drive their version of the ratings – by giving the people what they want.

By the way, one of the hardest things to do when you become a programmer in the media is to realize that your tastes are your own – and not necessarily those of the majority. In our biz, making that realization is the first step you have to take in this career.

Monday – I’ll discuss corporate play-lists and answer the allegations that we do indeed play music to drive ratings (you can probably jump ahead here ...)

And The Winner Is ...

A man in Brazil tried to dismantle a rocket-propelled grenade by driving back and forth over it with his car. When the weapon failed to break up, he attacked it with a sledgehammer. The explosion killed him and destroyed six cars and his workplace.




And that wasn't even stupid enough to win the Darwin Award for 2006 - He was number three!!

The runner-up:

A man who flew his copper wire-bound kite during a thunderstorm. The 26-year-old, from Belize, died after the kite sent a fatal bolt of lightning through his body. He was an
electrician. (otherwise - he wouldn't have known better?)

This year's winners were two students who climbed into a huge helium-filled balloon for
the "buzz" of inhaling the gas. Both students, 21 years old , were discovered with their feet sticking out of a deflated balloon used to advertise property in South Florida. The two
apparently pulled the balloon out of the sky and squeezed themselves inside,
where they died of oxygen starvation.

The Darwin Awards - saluting the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it ... ensuring that the next generation is one idiot smarter.

www.darwinawards.com

Pundits = Hot Air

Remember back in July and August - when the pundits were predicting that iPod and iTunes were at the beginning of a down trend as Microsoft and others would begin to eat away at their market share? (today's pundits are decedents of those who told us we had better learn the metric system ... or else ...)

Apple continued to sell like crazy. I see that iTunes had a record amount of traffic last week and was reporting short sporadic outages. Good for them. I don't know why, but I root for Apple, iPod and Steve Jobs.

Even thought iTunes has almost all of the market share, there are a few other places to download songs. When you combine all of the data from iTunes, Walmart, Microsoft, etc ... the most downloaded songs of 2006 were:


5. Sean Paul, "Temperature"

4. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy"

3. James Blunt, "You're Beautiful"

2. Nelly Furtado, "Promiscuous"

1. Daniel Powter, "Bad Day"


... Looks like a major blow to the 'too hip for the room' crowd ...

Nothing is 100%

On New Year's Eve, KTI sponsored the Globetrotters and their 2pm show at the B.C. (much better if you have little trotters). When I was a kid, I saw the Harlem Globetrotters a few times and it was always against the Washington Generals. I had forgotten that they now play the New York Nationals.

This being the information age, when I got home I did some digging on the Generals and found out that they disbanded in the mid 90's. But what I didn't know was that the Generals actually beat the Globetrotters one night over 30 years ago. That had to be one of those games like the 'ice bowl' or the Brewers AL pennant clincher where everyone was there ...

What could have happened?

• Had they just reached their limit? It's one thing to know you're going to be 'pantsed' before half-time ... but to own the longest losing streak of any sports franchise on the planet? I can imagine snapping - just once.

• Were the Globetrotters having some credibility issues (Look, if we don't lose at least one, nobody's going to take us seriously...)

• Were there any "funny bets" placed by wise-guys just minutes before the game?

• Was it simply a matter of statistics (nothing is 100%)?

• Were the Globetrotters sending a message to those who balked at their "new stadium" demands?

My guess? It was a matter of who owned the Generals name and how much it was worth. After-all, their name was an internationally recognized metaphor for futility.

That's gotta be worth something ...

Info on the Washington Generals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Generals