Ready Or Not
In the last two weeks, I have been at a stage musical and a movie screening which were both introduced by DJs from local radio stations. I've had some experience with this in my long career, and both of these occasions made me cringe. Let's start with the musical by...
More On Talk Radio’s Troubles
Another excellent column on how talk radio got into the trouble it's in, by Perry Simon: See, at some point in the consolidation process -- early, I'd say -- the goal ceased to be winning. Back in the days when you had an AM and an FM, you went to war with the...
Why Talk Radio Is In Trouble
You're not aware of it, but there's quite a lot of hand-wringing inside the talk radio industry these days. The audience is aging without attracting younger listeners, many major national advertisers have avoided the format completely since the Sandra Fluke...
My America Weekend Finale
Three years ago, my friend Kipper McGee, who I worked with at KTRS/St. Louis and WLS/Chicago, conceived of a new radio show that would be an antidote to the brokered programming that now dominates talk radio on the weekends – personal finance shows, fix-it shows,...
Casey’s Countdown Comes To An End
Legendary radio personality Casey Kasem died early yesterday at 82 of complications related to Parkinson's. His last year was marked by ugly fights between his second wife, Jean, and his children from his first marriage. The tabloid details have been well documented,...
A Single Jingle
I have always loved great radio jingles. One of the highlights of my career was in 1986 when (after several years at rock stations that didn't use them), I moved to WYNY/New York to do mornings, complete with custom jingles made by Jonathan Wolfert's company, JAM....
Cindy The Weather Dog
photo by Harry Naltchayan, The Washington Post -- August 8, 1988 I got a call a few days ago from Washington Post columnist John Kelly with some questions about Cindy The Weather Dog, who became famous on my morning radio shows in DC in the 1980s and 1990s. I filled...
Casey Kasem’s Family Fight
The Hollywood Reporter has a big story about the battle between Casey Kasem's children and his wife, Jean, over visitation rights and who gets to make medical decisions for the radio legend, who is suffering from Parkinson's Disease. The piece also recaps Casey's...