IMUS on RFD? Those Network Honchos May be Crazy Like a Fox

He’s baaaaaacccckkkkkkk!.  Yes, the I-Man will be back in the saddle come Monday morning.  For those of you needing a fix of cantankerous, shoot-from-the-hip opinion, then Don Imus’ eight month hiatus coming to an end is good news.  But where can you find the cowboy hat wearing, denim clad Mr. Imus?  On the RFD network, [...]

I’m Now Convinced the Term “Breaking News” is Broken and Is Austen “On It” or “Off It”?

I hated the so-called “breaking news” alerts back when they rolled them out whenever somebody broke wind.  It hasn’t gotten any better.  Sadly, it’s not local news that raised my ire this time but rather one of the cable news outlets.  This time  they rolled the breaking news open and  revealed they had breaking news [...]

Yep, We Must STILL be in Sweeps, Some Insight Into the Mind of Dan Rather and Apparently Saying “MotherSucker” on the Air Will Get You Fired

So I’m returning home from an early morning meeting Monday and I hear that one of the TV stations in Memphis is giving away tickets to a very popular concert featuring a young woman from Kentucky whose last name is Montana.  I guess sweeps aren’t over afterall.  I usually associate sweeps ending around Thanksgiving but [...]

Odds and Ends to Start a Holiday Week

I finally managed to take a day off to fly up to Knoxville to see my wife’s alma mater take on the Vols.  That’s all I will say about that.  But my point is, it seems a lot happens when I’m away for a couple of days.
I see that the final bids were accepted for [...]

So, What Will Santa Say Here in the Memphis Area When He Greets Children?

When I first saw the news item below, my first thought was that this had to be an urban myth or someone’s idea of a joke.  Then I started thinking about it and figured it’s just political correctness run amok.  According to an article out of Australia, Santas in Sydney will not be using the [...]

The Company That Bought WREG Eyes Another Property In Memphis Along with Eight Other Stations.

I will admit I’ve been a little lax these days about keeping up with this blog. That darned work thing is dragging me away. But some folks have my back and I thank them. I got this tidbit from Reuters about Oak Hill which bought the former NYTimes broadcast group apparently bidding [...]

Okay, Enough With the Sound Effects Already!

Is it just me or does anyone else find the sound effects used with increasing frequency on TV news and weather to be increasingly annoying?  The first time I remember hearing sound effects used in a newscast was back when I was doing mornings Down On the River.   When it came time for the traffic [...]

There May Be 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, It Appears Someone Found Another Way to Leave a News Operation

My wife has told me time and time again that when it comes to political skills, I’m somewhat deficient in that department. She tells me I’m a bit too honest. Perhaps. When I was working in news, I had a few assignments handed to me that appeared to be from the “bonehead” [...]

It Ain’t Bragging If You Can Do It, and A Blast From My Past.

Sometimes you have to do something different to stand out from the pack.  TV stations sometimes remember this.  Not everyone can “Be on Your Side”.  Not everyone can be “EyeWitness to the News.”  You get the picture.  When one finds something that gets the attention of the viewers, you can expect others to follow somehow, [...]

Did the World As We Know It Come to an End after Saturday Night Live?

I knew there was something besides setting my clocks back that I meant to do Saturday night.  No, it wasn’t changing the batteries in the smoke detectors either.  I meant to record Brian Williams who was hosting Saturday Night Live.  I’ve seen BW before on shows where he was a guest and he seems to [...]