Heard on XTRA at 7:55pm (October 6, 2007)

XTRA, or should I say, XTRA 690, W Radio.

For a minute, I thought Steve West managed to lease XTRA 690 from the Spanish language broadcaster so he could put Radio Nigel on the station. It might be a better idea than what they have now They should play classic 91X music from the 70s and 80s instead of what they have now.

Don't Call The Cellphone Ubiquitous Yet! (October 6, 2007)

I don't think so. Not as long as companies keep making cellphones that are locked so that they work with only one service provider, force you to accept a contract for their less than stellar service, and are still priced double for what you get with a plain old but reliable land line.

Why does everybody keep assuming that I have a cell phone when I clearly don't want anything like it? Ever thought to ask me "Do you have a cellphone?" instead of telling me to "Call him on your cellphone" without asking me if I have one? What year are we living in when we assume that all of us have experimental technology devices that I can't afford, $20 a month is the most I can afford for phone service, service that's so bad that it's not worth my money, and the cell phone companies' bad attitude towards throw-away technology with cell phones that are obsolete a year from now. They need to cut the waste and just give us the basics.

Just give us a basic cell phone with only the ability to call people at a flat rate of $20 a month. No texting. No mp3s. No tiny TV. No mini-computer. No camera. No internet. Nothing. Just the phone, and improve the signal coverage as well. Spend some money improving the sad state of service before you add in all this junk that I have no need for in a phone. I can buy my own camera, mp3 player, and other stuff as separate devices that work better than what I expect a cell phone to perform.

Until I buy a cell phone under the terms I outlined, DON'T CALL THE CELLPHONE UBIQUITOUS YET!

High School Friday Night Lights in the 70s (October 6, 2007)

1975-6: watched Sanford and Son, Chico and the Man, Donny and Marie, Rockford Files, ABC Friday Night Movie, some syndicated game shows.

1976-7: The Muppet Show, Sanford and Son, Donny and Marie, Rockford Files, ABC Friday Night Movie.

1977-8: The Muppet Show, Donny and Marie, Rockford Files, Quincy M.E., ABC Friday Night Movie, Wonder Woman, Incredible Hulk.

I never bothered to go to those high school football games. Prime time TV provided me with the real Friday Night lights courtesy of the free cathode ray tube. High school football couldn't compete with that, especially since it wasn't free and it took place 12 hours after my first class at 7:30am and I was dead tired well by then.

Some of the kids in school preferred another kind of Friday Night lights. I didn't care to join them at their parties where smokes get lighted up.

The Wires (October 6, 2007)

Congress doesn't yet have the "full picture" about radio royalties. So NAB president/CEO David Rehr is asking for additional hearings on the issue. He says Congress shouldn't move forward on radio royalty legislation without calling the RIAA and the four major record labels up to the Hill. Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) is expected to introduce a bill within the next two weeks that would do away with radio's 70 year old royalty exemption

Newsday: Don Imus could return to radio on WABC-AM this week.

All Access on Don Imus: The latest rumors in the DON IMUS-CITADEL talks have surfaced in the NEW YORK TIMES, which is reporting in a story for SATURDAY's editions that the two sides have "reached an understanding" to put IMUS in the 6-10a ET slot at Talk WABC-A/NEW YORK, although the story notes "no contracts have been signed, which means that whatever agreement exists between the two sides could unravel." The paper's sources put IMUS' return "on or around DECEMBER 1st" and added that IMUS is separately seeking a TV channel to simulcast his show, similar to what MSNBC did when he was with WESTWOOD ONE and CBS Sports WFAN-A. FOX NEWS CHANNEL, the YANKEES' YES and METS' SPORTSNET NEW YORK regional cable channels are cited as the likely suitors for IMUS' TV rights.

Gary Lycan: KFI 640's Bill Handel thought it would be a great idea to do a "vodcast" (video on demand) of his 6-7 a.m. weekday "Handel on the News" program. And, no, if you're thinking Howard Stern or Don Imus have already done this, think again. Handel's brainstorm is revolutionary (read more - Orange County Register)

Inside Music Media: From Jerry Del Colliano -- Yesterday, a jury convicted a Minneapolis woman, Jammie Thomas, of downloading music illegally and awarded the record labels $220,000 -- $9,250 for each of 24 songs of which the companies sought damages. Still, the RIAA and the labels lost. Hope they enjoy the money – if they collect it

No `Loop’ For Bonaduce. Radio and Records reports that "There’s been much speculation over the past few days that Emmis classic rock WLUP (the Loop)/Chicago was talking to current Adam Carolla sidekick Danny Bonaduce about him taking over the afternoon shift, vacated by Zakk Tyler in June. Turns out that the talk was true and Emmis regional VP/market manager Marv Nyren confirms for R&R that in the end Bonaduce was not comfortable making a long-term commitment with the station."

John Maffei: NC Times. Meanwhile, with the Padres season over, XX Sports 1090 will juggle its lineup sometime in the next two weeks. Mornings will stay the same with Billy Ray Smith and Scott Kaplan from 5-9 a.m. and syndicated Jim Rome from 9-noon. John Kentera and Joe Tutino will work noon-2 p.m. Dan Patrick's syndicated show will run on a tape-delayed basis from 2-4 p.m. Darren Smith and Bill Werndl pick up the 4-8 p.m. slot. Nights will probably be syndicated programming.

The Wires (October 5, 2007)

San Diego Newspaper Launches Own Internet Radio Station. A new idea for online broadcasting is coming from a slightly unorthodox place: a newspaper company. Reporting on what he says could be the "Next Big Thing" for broadcasters and newspapers, two industries that have struggled to keep up with the boom in Internet media, radio analyst Mark Ramsey talks to the pair of San Diego Union-Tribune employees behind the upcoming SignOnRadio.com project. Read more about the project, which is set to include a number of veteran San Diego radio jocks in its programming, in today's issue of RAIN: Radio And Internet Newsletter, available online here: http://www.kurthanson.com.

The Wires (October 4, 2007)

Inside Music Media: From Jerry Del Colliano -- My friend Joe Benson reminded me yesterday that the music business is alive and well – if you look beyond the record labels. 60 Minutes reported Sunday that last year alone country star Kenny Chesney grossed $76 million from his recent concert tour. Alone. Hannah Montana tickets are selling at a face value of $65 but resellers are easily getting $225. And parents are shelling it out

The Wires (October 3, 2007)

Citadel silences HD nighttime AM signals. Three weeks after the FCC began allowing AM stations to broadcast in HD after dark, Citadel engineers say interference concerns and listener complaints have led to the decision to pull the plug. Of special concern is the impact on Citadel's big 50,000 watt stations like New York's WABC and Detroit's WJR. Insiders call the move "temporary" while they look for ways to improve signal coverage - and point out they'll remain in HD during daylight hours.

Inside Music Media: From Jerry Del Colliano -- Radio used to be the home of the hits. No longer. Radio stations tried legal payola (getting labels to pay for information about adds) and ultra short playlists to get better ratings. As a former PD I know short playlists work, but in the Internet world radio no longer controls the inventory. Kids do. Online. So it’s ironic that the group trying the free music giveaway has “radio” in its name. Radio. Head (read more - Inside Music Media)

Happy Hare: I had begun working mornings on KCBQ in San Diego. The numbers, since my beginning a few months prior, had jumped from literally nothing to around 10%, and rising fast. My Program Director was Al Heacock, later to become a radio legend in Boston and Pittsburgh but right now, newly arrived from being my Baltimore route man at Paul Weston’s record rack jobbing company, Music Merchants. Finally, I had mother henned Al into a position of authority at KCBQ where he belonged. A phone call came in from Paul one morning, after I got off the air. “Harry, I need help” (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)