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May 13, 2011
It’s Kind Of A Funny Story...The other day, I was listening to a podcast that a couple of friends of mine do, and it reminded me of the problem of determining what's funny for radio and... well, let me digress here for a minute.
It has been my privilege over the years to work with some very talented, creative people in radio. At least, I thought they were talented and creative, and their track record, at the time and since, would bear that out. But in more than one case, my superiors disagreed. I'd be called into the boss' office and told... well, more like asked whether the show on the air at that point was funny. Actually, the question was phrased, "Do you think this is funny? Do you think this is (expletive) funny? This is not (expletive) funny." ...
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May 6, 2011
Trust, But VerifyBefore we get started, here's one last plug for Saturday's Revlon Run/Walk for Women in Los Angeles, in which my wife and I walk to raise money for research and treatment of women's cancer. This is our fifth time doing the walk, and it also marks Fran's fifth year of ...
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April 29, 2011
Don't Do NothingI was sitting here Thursday night, as usual having no idea for a topic, when I noticed an e-mail from the NAB about broadcasters' community service initiatives, and I had a flashback to years of going to NAB conventions and countless Crystal Awards shows and charity ...
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April 22, 2011
Want It, Need It, Gotta Have ItAre you necessary? I thought about that question as it pertains to radio while considering all the stuff about FM tuners in cell phones for the last couple of weeks, and I won't belabor that point (I belabored it plenty last week) except to note that the industry is ...
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April 15, 2011
Emergency! 2011Okay, let's see, what were the hot topics at this week's NAB Show in Las Vegas? Spectrum issues. Wireless broadband. 3-D. Kinda like CES. Kinda like last year's NAB Show. Most of the radio action happened across the street at the RAIN Summit, and that was largely ...
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April 8, 2011
There’s No One Here To Take Your Call Right NowRadio is still a business. I feel like I have to remind everyone of that after hearing a tale of woe from someone who works at a non-profit, who has been calling radio stations in several markets merely to find out about their public service announcement policies. She ...
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April 1, 2011
We’re In the MoneyFirst, the bad: It's April Fool's Day. I hate April Fool's Day. April Fool's pranks are generally not funny, and radio April Fool's pranks... well, you know, I'd like to be more of a positive guy, so I'll shut up about them, other than to say that you'd better weigh the ...
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March 25, 2011
Career Growth Through Rampant EgomaniaIf I were able to offer my younger self career advice, I'd tell myself to invest in Apple and Google. No, wait, that's not particularly "career advice." If I'd taken it, I wouldn't have needed a career. But I needed a career, and I ended up in radio, and if I could ...
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March 18, 2011
Just What You Need, Another Social Media ColumnIt was strange. Shortly after a friend asked me about social media and who out there would make a good advisor for radio stations looking to "do it right," I encountered a flood of articles about that very topic. Everybody, it seems, is now an expert. Many of them ...
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March 11, 2011
Calling An AudibleAnd sometimes, you have to throw out everything on which you've worked and go with the big story. That's the case Friday morning as I write this. I had a column all written last night, and then awoke to the news of the massive quake in Japan. The column seemed a little ...