The GOP continues to bow to the rich! Uh, oh! China's bubble like OUR bubble? Radio's Armageddon! The 7 billionth person is about to be born!
Hi Gang! I'm getting this blog started earlier today because I have a very busy next few days on my plate. And that means this blog might be a little or a lot shorter than it usually is.
A reminder that if you'd like to get this little blog delivered to your email inbox for FREE, it's easy to do. Use the subscription form just below my "About Me" Profile, to the right of this column. Enter your email address in the box provided, and click on 'Subscribe'. Then click on the confirmation link that will arrive in your email and you're good to go. Every time there's a new blog, it will automatically be delivered to you via email. Again...This is a FREE service! And it always will be. And no, when you sign up, you won't be getting any kind of Spam from me or from anyone else. EVER! Subscribers will get delivery between 3 and 5 in the morning, Pacific Time. In addition to subscribing to my blog on this page, you can now follow me on Twitter. @scottstjamesla
Before getting into the subjects you see in the headline above, I'd like to send a "Thank you!" shout out to long time and big time radio veteran, Jack Roberts. He writes a terrific daily entertainment column in his Hollywood Hills section and he wrote a very nice column about me in his October 26 posting. You can find him and his column by Googling, www.hollywoodhillsgroup.com. Jack also provides a link to MY blog under the weekly blog written by legendary radio columnist, Claude Hall. Jack, when you put me within smelling distance of the great Claude Hall, I am happier than a pig in slop.
AND SPEAKING OF RADIO.....
I spent a lot of years as a radio rock 'n roll music guy, easy listening music guy, urban music guy and talk show guy. And along the way, I was kind of the "boss" at a couple of the places I worked at.
So yeah, I know a little bit about the radio business.
I seldom (VERY seldom) write anything about radio in this column unless it's in reference to a former or current successful radio person who has written a political rant of some kind. As you long time readers know, this is primarily a political based column along with entertainment stuff at the end. Buuuut.... because of what happened yesterday, this former radio veteran (me) feels the need to do a little "popping off".
It was President Bill Clinton who signed into legislation what has become to be known as "Consolidation". To most of you, that means nothing. But this was a big deal to the radio community because it marked the beginning of a lot of "changes", most of which were ill advised and pretty much all of which were based on greed.
The "housing bubble" wasn't limited to home owners. Home owners who had no business buying homes with no money down, etc., were home owners who had dollar signs dancing in their heads because they were imagining all the money they'd be making once they sold their homes.
Unfortunately, most of these home owners have either had their homes taken from them because they couldn't make the payments or they're on the verge of losing their homes.
What have these "pie in the sky" home buyers learned? The same thing most folks have been told but chose to ignore. "If it looks too good to be true, it IS!!!"
In the radio business when the consolidation thing got passed, some so-called "genius" and slick entrepreneurs decided to buy a lot of radio stations. I mean a LOT of stations. And these amateur jerk-offs began what appears to be the absolute destruction of a business that used to be fun (and profitable) to be a part of.
These geniuses decided that one person being the General Manager of a radio station and one person being the Program Director of a radio station was/is cost-inefficient. News flash: Operating and or programming ONE radio station, is HARD WORK!! At first, it was a General Manager and a Program Director being responsibe for two radio stations instead of one! Slowly but surely, General Managers and Program Directors were being responsible for three stations, then four stations, do I hear six stations (suddenly I'm feeling like an auctioneer), and yes, six was a number and in some cases the number was more but....
I am now being told by a very "connected" guy in the radio world that after what happened yesterday, which in my view was the beginning of Radio's Armageddon, these "geniuses" are about to have tons of radio stations that have NO Program Directors! And General Managers, unless they're related to one of these "geniuses" are now "on notice" as well. Unless no one has told them the "news" yet.
And by the way, WHAT happened yesterday was a whole lot of firing. And we're told that's just the beginning. Hundreds upon hundreds that will probably become thousands of radio people will be fired in the near future. And yes, television is being affected as well, but I don't want to get too far away from what we're usually talking about here which are things that lobbyist controled Congress people legislate. Stuff that in the final analysis, benefits the well-to-do while the rest of us are invited to "Eat Cake!"
That's exactly what's happening to the radio business. With rare exception, the entertainment we used to get from radio shows is virtually non-existent. I mean, 8, 10, 12 commercials in a row? Minor leaguers on the air instead of professional and entertaining communicators. Minor leaguers who have no security and who have no business being in a radio station unless they're there to clean it.
And con men radio bosses who know nothing about how a radio station should be run except for the brown-nosing they do while trying to impress the "geniuses" above them about how good they are at firing people.
Mark it down, folks. Yesterday was the beginning of Radio's Armageddon!
Unless.... Someone in a radio power position wakes up and has the authority to put the brakes to this nonsense!
Like the singer once sang, "If I can dream...!"
WHEW!!!
I promise. It figures to be quite a while before I do a radio rant again, but what has happened to that business is something I'm taking personally.
QUICK HITS...
My thanks to Time Magazine for pointing out something that is happening in China. Yeah, the same China that we owe all the money to. We are told that China's current hot economy grew on real estate mania and easy money. We are also told we should be very afraid of "The China Bubble". And if that sounds familiar, it should. That's how OUR economy got thrown into the ditch.
The 7 billionth person figures to be born by October 31st. Halloween. And yes, we should be concerned. And scared. Birth control, anyone? Religious zealots keep us from providing birth control stuff for poor people in other countries and for that matter, what about poor people HERE! Should they have or continue to have babies when they can't AFFORD them?!?
Just askin'.
Did you hear about the proposal from "Super committee" Democrats that would have reduced our deficit by 3 trillion dollars? Republicans are saying "NO!" because the proposal would include tax hikes for the rich. Give 'em credit for being consistent. And obedient to their lobbyist masters.
If you're like me, you think the Republican debates have been entertaining. And we're not alone. The TV ratings for the Republican debates have been terrific. The next debates will be Wednesday, November 9 and will be televised by CNBC.
And speaking of "entertaining", it's time for our
ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:
How about that World Series, huh?
Lindsay Lohan is going to try to entertain us by posing nude for Playboy magazine. What is she? 25? Isn't she the oldest looking 25-year old you've ever seen? Her father was arrested again today. Her mother brokered the Playboy deal. That's a heck of family environment she's been exposed to, huh?
Because of the World Series, some of the television shows weren't showing new episodes this past week, but among those that WERE shown, here are some opinions....
Lisa Edelstein is beginning to fit like a glove on "The Good Wife", Sunday nights on CBS. Love that show.
Speaking of Sunday nights....In addition to "The Good Wife", I'm enjoying "Dexter" on Showtime and "Hung", "How to make it in America" and "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO.
"Homeland" is also on Showtime on Sunday nights and I absolutely LOVE that show. Take a bow Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and an outstanding supporting cast.
Another Sunday night show I saw was the premiere episode of "Once Upon a Time" on ABC. I've had a television crush on Jennifer Morrison (yes, she used to be on "House") for a long time. The show got terrific ratings and congrats to Jennifer, Ginnifer Goodwin and the supporting players.
Wednesday nights on ABC is a show that if you haven't seen it, you're missing out on a treat of the first order. I'm talking about "Revenge" which stars Emily Van Camp and a group of characters that you'll have an opinion about. This is classic night time Soap Opera stuff and it gets better and better and BETTER each week. Last night's episode wore me out. Yes, it was that good and the episode ended with a cliff-hanger that will be resolved next Wednesday night.
The new Friday night Kelsey Grammer show, "Boss", on STARZ? I had a so-so reaction to their premiere episode.
A 2003 film, "Owning Mahony" is on the HBO circuit now. It stars the great Philip Seymour Hoffman who is supported terrifically by Minnie Driver and John Hurt. This film is about a degenerate gambler who can't quit when he's ahead or quit when he's losing. This film (to me) was breathtakingly riveting.
THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I wouldn't be able to respond to you. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.
THE NEXT BLOG? Barring something unforseen, next Thursday night (late), November 3 or very early Friday morning, November 4.
Meanwhile, I hope you all have a very pleasant weekend.
AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A reminder that if you'd like to get this little blog delivered to your email inbox for FREE, it's easy to do. Use the subscription form just below my "About Me" Profile, to the right of this column. Enter your email address in the box provided, and click on 'Subscribe'. Then click on the confirmation link that will arrive in your email and you're good to go. Every time there's a new blog, it will automatically be delivered to you via email. Again...This is a FREE service! And it always will be. And no, when you sign up, you won't be getting any kind of Spam from me or from anyone else. EVER! Subscribers will get delivery between 3 and 5 in the morning, Pacific Time. In addition to subscribing to my blog on this page, you can now follow me on Twitter. @scottstjamesla
Before getting into the subjects you see in the headline above, I'd like to send a "Thank you!" shout out to long time and big time radio veteran, Jack Roberts. He writes a terrific daily entertainment column in his Hollywood Hills section and he wrote a very nice column about me in his October 26 posting. You can find him and his column by Googling, www.hollywoodhillsgroup.com. Jack also provides a link to MY blog under the weekly blog written by legendary radio columnist, Claude Hall. Jack, when you put me within smelling distance of the great Claude Hall, I am happier than a pig in slop.
AND SPEAKING OF RADIO.....
I spent a lot of years as a radio rock 'n roll music guy, easy listening music guy, urban music guy and talk show guy. And along the way, I was kind of the "boss" at a couple of the places I worked at.
So yeah, I know a little bit about the radio business.
I seldom (VERY seldom) write anything about radio in this column unless it's in reference to a former or current successful radio person who has written a political rant of some kind. As you long time readers know, this is primarily a political based column along with entertainment stuff at the end. Buuuut.... because of what happened yesterday, this former radio veteran (me) feels the need to do a little "popping off".
It was President Bill Clinton who signed into legislation what has become to be known as "Consolidation". To most of you, that means nothing. But this was a big deal to the radio community because it marked the beginning of a lot of "changes", most of which were ill advised and pretty much all of which were based on greed.
The "housing bubble" wasn't limited to home owners. Home owners who had no business buying homes with no money down, etc., were home owners who had dollar signs dancing in their heads because they were imagining all the money they'd be making once they sold their homes.
Unfortunately, most of these home owners have either had their homes taken from them because they couldn't make the payments or they're on the verge of losing their homes.
What have these "pie in the sky" home buyers learned? The same thing most folks have been told but chose to ignore. "If it looks too good to be true, it IS!!!"
In the radio business when the consolidation thing got passed, some so-called "genius" and slick entrepreneurs decided to buy a lot of radio stations. I mean a LOT of stations. And these amateur jerk-offs began what appears to be the absolute destruction of a business that used to be fun (and profitable) to be a part of.
These geniuses decided that one person being the General Manager of a radio station and one person being the Program Director of a radio station was/is cost-inefficient. News flash: Operating and or programming ONE radio station, is HARD WORK!! At first, it was a General Manager and a Program Director being responsibe for two radio stations instead of one! Slowly but surely, General Managers and Program Directors were being responsible for three stations, then four stations, do I hear six stations (suddenly I'm feeling like an auctioneer), and yes, six was a number and in some cases the number was more but....
I am now being told by a very "connected" guy in the radio world that after what happened yesterday, which in my view was the beginning of Radio's Armageddon, these "geniuses" are about to have tons of radio stations that have NO Program Directors! And General Managers, unless they're related to one of these "geniuses" are now "on notice" as well. Unless no one has told them the "news" yet.
And by the way, WHAT happened yesterday was a whole lot of firing. And we're told that's just the beginning. Hundreds upon hundreds that will probably become thousands of radio people will be fired in the near future. And yes, television is being affected as well, but I don't want to get too far away from what we're usually talking about here which are things that lobbyist controled Congress people legislate. Stuff that in the final analysis, benefits the well-to-do while the rest of us are invited to "Eat Cake!"
That's exactly what's happening to the radio business. With rare exception, the entertainment we used to get from radio shows is virtually non-existent. I mean, 8, 10, 12 commercials in a row? Minor leaguers on the air instead of professional and entertaining communicators. Minor leaguers who have no security and who have no business being in a radio station unless they're there to clean it.
And con men radio bosses who know nothing about how a radio station should be run except for the brown-nosing they do while trying to impress the "geniuses" above them about how good they are at firing people.
Mark it down, folks. Yesterday was the beginning of Radio's Armageddon!
Unless.... Someone in a radio power position wakes up and has the authority to put the brakes to this nonsense!
Like the singer once sang, "If I can dream...!"
WHEW!!!
I promise. It figures to be quite a while before I do a radio rant again, but what has happened to that business is something I'm taking personally.
QUICK HITS...
My thanks to Time Magazine for pointing out something that is happening in China. Yeah, the same China that we owe all the money to. We are told that China's current hot economy grew on real estate mania and easy money. We are also told we should be very afraid of "The China Bubble". And if that sounds familiar, it should. That's how OUR economy got thrown into the ditch.
The 7 billionth person figures to be born by October 31st. Halloween. And yes, we should be concerned. And scared. Birth control, anyone? Religious zealots keep us from providing birth control stuff for poor people in other countries and for that matter, what about poor people HERE! Should they have or continue to have babies when they can't AFFORD them?!?
Just askin'.
Did you hear about the proposal from "Super committee" Democrats that would have reduced our deficit by 3 trillion dollars? Republicans are saying "NO!" because the proposal would include tax hikes for the rich. Give 'em credit for being consistent. And obedient to their lobbyist masters.
If you're like me, you think the Republican debates have been entertaining. And we're not alone. The TV ratings for the Republican debates have been terrific. The next debates will be Wednesday, November 9 and will be televised by CNBC.
And speaking of "entertaining", it's time for our
ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:
How about that World Series, huh?
Lindsay Lohan is going to try to entertain us by posing nude for Playboy magazine. What is she? 25? Isn't she the oldest looking 25-year old you've ever seen? Her father was arrested again today. Her mother brokered the Playboy deal. That's a heck of family environment she's been exposed to, huh?
Because of the World Series, some of the television shows weren't showing new episodes this past week, but among those that WERE shown, here are some opinions....
Lisa Edelstein is beginning to fit like a glove on "The Good Wife", Sunday nights on CBS. Love that show.
Speaking of Sunday nights....In addition to "The Good Wife", I'm enjoying "Dexter" on Showtime and "Hung", "How to make it in America" and "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO.
"Homeland" is also on Showtime on Sunday nights and I absolutely LOVE that show. Take a bow Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and an outstanding supporting cast.
Another Sunday night show I saw was the premiere episode of "Once Upon a Time" on ABC. I've had a television crush on Jennifer Morrison (yes, she used to be on "House") for a long time. The show got terrific ratings and congrats to Jennifer, Ginnifer Goodwin and the supporting players.
Wednesday nights on ABC is a show that if you haven't seen it, you're missing out on a treat of the first order. I'm talking about "Revenge" which stars Emily Van Camp and a group of characters that you'll have an opinion about. This is classic night time Soap Opera stuff and it gets better and better and BETTER each week. Last night's episode wore me out. Yes, it was that good and the episode ended with a cliff-hanger that will be resolved next Wednesday night.
The new Friday night Kelsey Grammer show, "Boss", on STARZ? I had a so-so reaction to their premiere episode.
A 2003 film, "Owning Mahony" is on the HBO circuit now. It stars the great Philip Seymour Hoffman who is supported terrifically by Minnie Driver and John Hurt. This film is about a degenerate gambler who can't quit when he's ahead or quit when he's losing. This film (to me) was breathtakingly riveting.
THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I wouldn't be able to respond to you. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.
THE NEXT BLOG? Barring something unforseen, next Thursday night (late), November 3 or very early Friday morning, November 4.
Meanwhile, I hope you all have a very pleasant weekend.
AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by Scott St. James at 4:25 PM
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