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Letters: Portable TVs (Mar 31, 2009)From Craig:I enjoy your site even though I live in the San Fernando Valley of L-A. (I am retired, but used to work in the broadcast industry.) Anyway, you mentioned you can't find a portable Digital TV. A couple weeks ago CVS had one advertised on sale for $99. It has a 7" Screen and according to the box shown in the ad is made by Prism. It comes with a rechargeable battery, indoor/outdoor antenna, remote car charger and as wall adapter. I thought about checking it out, but thought the price was too high (I figure the cost will come down when the DTV Conversion is complete.) I also question how well it will pick up signals in the West San Fernado Valley. From JB: Here's all I have found. They are a bit pricey. http://www.ezdigitaltv.com/Portable_Digital_TVs.html I suspect there will be more for the holiday season but that is a bit away. Best of luck.
Catching Up With Tom Taylor (radio-info.com) (Mar 31, 2009)TV talker Montel Williams commits to a daily radio show with Air America. They’re going for star quality and name recognition, and counting on Montel’s famous work ethic to help him learn the skills needed for talk radio. He debuts Monday, April 6 and he’s about to get a cram course in concentrating his considerable personality into his voice and presentation. Montel takes the 9am-noon slot currently occupied by Lionel, and Senior VP Bill Hess tells T-R-I that “Lionel’s a great talent, and we’ll have more to say about what we’re working with him on, shortly.” But Montel is a score they couldn’t pass up. Air America Media CEO Bennett Zier calls him “a multi-media star and a familiar name to millions of people across the country.” I asked Hess what they saw in Montel, and he says “his passion and energy, not to mention the very personal way in which he communicates.” Bill says “for someone who has not previously done a regular radio show, he outlined clearly what he felt the show would be, when we first talked.” You probably know Montel from his 17 years in daily TV syndication, his eight books, and perhaps his public discussion of his multiple sclerosis. He’s also ramping up his “Living Well with Montel” brand and having fun forming the International Team Poker League. He’ll originate “Montel Across America” from Air America studios in New York City. Speaking of daytime TV personalities and radio…ESPN Radio’s hitting affiliates up for cash – as much as $100,000 a year. That would be a new strategy, though one source tells me “they have always wanted to do it”, and now Traug Keller is pushing his affiliates for cash-money. The Sports by Brooks website comes up with the $100K figure for the top 30 markets, and as I check around that seems plausible. I’m hearing about a $50,000 request in a market in the 200-250 range, and $30,000 for a market that’s even smaller than that. That would be on top of the barter spots that stations already give up to Bristol. One syndication veteran says “it’s good business for them if they can get it, but the timing makes it tough.” And there are alternative radio sports networks, in many markets. But in cable, there’s really no alternative to ESPN. The idea that ESPN would be squeezing more out of affiliates for its content won’t exactly come as an OMG-moment to anybody in cable TV. You’d be amazed at how much of your monthly basic cable bill goes to pay ESPN. Thousands of new Low Power FMs would be possible, under the H.R. 1147 you read about earlier. That can only be possible if Congress strips away radio's protection on third-channel-adjacent frequencies, and that's precisely what the just-tendered House bill would do. The Community Radio Board at Radio-Info.com has a link to the Fletcher Heald & Hildreth CommLawBlog site, and the board is here. “Big One” WLW, Cincinnati (700) is off XM satellite radio, and it says that’s “due to circumstances beyond our control.” XM channel 173 had carried not just pieces of WLW’s talk programming, but the entire broadcast day, thanks to the original deal Clear Channel had with XM to program several channels. (Clear Channel was an early investor in XM.) The WLW-based America’s Trucking Network continues to air overnights on XM 152.
Guiding Light To Go Dark? (Mar 31, 2009)Sources are telling TV Week that CBS may soon cancel "Guiding Light," the longest-running soap opera in TV history. The final decision will likely be made during the next month. The network's current deal with producer Procter & Gamble runs through September.The soap began on the NBC Red radio network on 25 January 1937. After runs in Chicago and Hollywood, production was moved to New York in 1949, where it has remained ever since. It debuted on CBS Television on 30 June 1952. (The soap was known as "The Guiding Light" until 1975.) Wikipedia informs that the title refers to "a lamp in the study of Reverend Dr. John Ruthledge, a major character when Guiding Light debuted in 1937, that family and residents could see as a sign for them to find help when needed." Possibilities under discussion include both game shows and talk shows. CBS could easily cut its programming costs for the hour in half by switching away from a scripted drama. "Guiding Light" plays in some parts of the country at 9 or 10am and others at 2 or 3pm. Not to mention the places that run it during the overnight. It’s possible P&G or CBS could attempt to keep the show alive in some form on the Internet, though doing so likely would require another radical reinvention of its production model. Much of the daytime drama business is struggling, with ratings for most soaps down significantly over the past decade. NBC is down to one soap, “Days of Our Lives,” following the decision to dump “Passions” in 2007 (the show survived one more season on DirecTV).
The Wires (Mar 31, 2009)Third-party stories are copyrighted by their respective owners. SDN has no affillition with these stories.Gary Lycan: Tom Leykis is back. "The only thing more dangerous than Tom Leykis on the radio is Tom Leykis with time on his hands" is how the former KLSX/97.1 FM talk show host describes his new blog (read more - Gary Lycan - OC Register) Peoria Journal-Star: Most commercial radio stations have evolved into 24-7 carpets that play predictable fare for less-than-discerning listeners who know what they’re going to get before they get it. But there are still some interesting programs out there where things aren’t quite so predictable Fresno Bee: The late Bob Arbogast became well-known in Southern California in the 1960s working in radio, according to the Los Angeles Times. In 1967, he created a highly rated show on KLAC-AM with on-air partner Jack Margolis. They later took their radio act to television in Southern California. When he left radio, Mr. Arbogast worked as a voice-over actor and might have been best known for his work on the "Roger Ramjet" cartoon series (read more - Doug Hoagland - Fresno Bee) LARADIO.COM is reporting that six staffers have exited CBS RADIO's LOS ANGELES cluster. Among the staffers exiting the stations FRIDAY were longtime 1-5a KFWB overnight anchor BOB HOWARD and KFWB midday/afternoon drive editor and commentator CHRISTOPHER AMES. Both have been removed from the station's website. ZDNet: Gadwin PrintScreen offers an attractive, easily-navigated interface that presents a customization wonderland for users to decide default settings for shortcut key associations, capture preferences, and output. License: Free. OS: Windows ZDNet: PrimoPDF. A free tool for high-quality conversion to PDF, comprising a user-friendly interface that enables printing to PDF from virtually any Windows application. License: Free. OS: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista. Radio World: Performance Rights Draws Heat on Hill. Broadcasters say bill would 'devastate' stations; head Pumpkin says it's only what's fair Radio World: Mega Media to Morph TV Channel 6 in Two More Markets. Shvarts wants to build a 'national radio brand' using the 'radio on TV channel' concept he explored in New York Don Imus: I have cancer. Surprising listeners with the news, Don Imus disclosed today he has prostate cancer. Imus says it's an early stage cancer, which means it hasn't spread outside the prostate. He says he may miss some shows during his treatment. Kurthanson.com: Sirius founder Martine Rothblatt told Fortune Magazine that she believes satellite radio won't be able to compete with in-car Internet radio. "There’s going to be ever more bandwidth available to distribute content totally via terrestrial cellular infrastructure. And that will leave fewer and fewer unique market attributes to satellite radio," she said. Not surprisingly, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin disagrees . Inside Radio: Utah to Congress: No radio royalty. The radio industry is getting some unexpected help in its fight against a radio royalty. The Utah Legislature voted overwhelmingly to oppose the fee, and is urging its congressional representatives to vote "no" on a royalty bill. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is one of the bill's key backers. ZDNet: Process Blocker runs as a system service and watches for certain processes. If it finds them running, it kills them off, instantly. License: Free. OS: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista/Server 2008. Lars Larson seeks new home. Portland-based Lars Larson received word Thursday (3/19) that Westwood One has, effective immediately, pulled the plug on his syndicated show. It had been cleared on 125 affiliates. Larson tells Inside Radio other networks are interested in the show Lars Larson steers to Compass. It didn’t take Larson long to find a new syndicator following his split last week with Westwood One. Larson signs with Peter Kosann's newly-formed Compass Media Networks. The deal starts next Monday (3/30). Cox buys Cox Radio. Cox Enterprises has announced a $3.80 per share offer for the portion of Cox Radio it doesn't already own. It's a deal that will take the radio company private. Cox CEO Jimmy Hayes says the move will offer "advantages" during radio's tough times. D.T. Is Back! (Updated 12:15am, March 30, 2009)Whew! What a trip. I am still downloading e-mail as I type this. Got some 2,000 unread e-mails over the past two and a half weeks. Got a lot of catching up to do.
Catching Up on Myspace (Updated 12:20am, March 30, 2009)The Insider: Melissa Joan Hart is selling her Los Angeles area home (according to the Insider). Reason? She misses having four seasons.Tom Leykis's Myspace Blog. Constant inquiries about why I am "not on Twitter." Twitter is a faggy name and any man who says "I just Tweeted" is a fag. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just not right for me. I am going to create the next social networking site: Fister. Let's see how many guys want to say they just got "Fisted." Chris Cantore was heard on KPRI/102.1, weds. 3/25 and thurs. 3/26, between 6 - 10 a.m. (pst). Sorry I missed the news. I was out of town. Cya Tuesday. Gotta get some sleep.
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