BlatherWatch

Blathering 2007: a year that was...

What a year!

Talk radio didn't lose as it has in recent years--but audiences didn't bounce back, or didn't grow, either--radio held its own this year.

BlatherWatch, on the other hand, has thriven like choke weed, running up the skirts of local radio and choking off the competition like a morning glory of righteousness.

That's because Seattle radio town has been right (and left) lively.

THANK YOU, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU to the tippers, the sources, the insiders, the blabber-mouthing threep doats whose secreted, sensational and occasionally accurate information not only always checks out, but have made us more than just another screedblog or Air America fansite.

With a new logo and a new time slot that gets them out of the stiff midmorning competition, The Commentators may do better for KVI in the afternoon drive (m-f,3-6p). But we ain't buying The tough guy logo, with Ken Schram looking like he just bit off your ear, and John Carlson with a lip-curl like someone just farted in the elevator.

BEST HEADLINE: Feckless beck flicks flecks of dreck

Glenn Beck, the pop-eyed, schmegegge-spreader with a penchant for mean, whom we've described as a "hypermanic, chubby-cheeked, arm-waving, spittle-spraying, grenade-launching, sex-obsessed, fag-baiting, right-wing cheer-king for violence against diversity" was moved to KTTH's morning drive. He will add luster and distinction to the Seattle mediascape, according to Bonneville. He's a native of Mt Vernon, and a CNN commentator. Look out Sean Hannity: Beck is the only person on the right who might knock you off your gravitas pedestal.

(photo: Goldy & Mayor Nickels join in on a rousing chorus of Where Have All the Republicans Gone? at Drinking Liberally in February).

SORELY MISSED: Tina Nole, Dave Ross's longtime producer, left KIRO on her own for CBS in New York where she hangs out with Walter Cronkite.

MOST VITALLY SIGNIFICANT RADIO TOWN EVENT OF 2007: Bonneville International's acquisition in January of Seattle's KIRO, KTTH, oldies KBSG, (and a station in Cincinnati) in a trade with Entercom for three San Francisco FM radio stations.

WHEREDAYGO?
Major firings this year: Bonneville cleaned out some deadwood this year: New York Vinnie from evening Sportstalk; Ron Reagan from his tentative one hour noon toe-dipper on KIRO; Dan Sytman and Teresa Joy (La Joie) from the medium evil, early morning Sytman & Boze Show.

Bryan Suits lost his longtime perch on the KVI afternoon drive, but may be making a rather rapid reappearance in Los Angeles.

Blathering 2007: the oddems

In lieu of the deep, well-researched, analytical posts we're capable of, we often skeeze-it- posting compendia of minor bits and cheap shots we call "oddems," a term we stole from Herb Caen. Here are a few from 2007 we're particularly fond of:

~ Is anyone else sick of people bitching about what terrible drivers we all are when it snows? It's such a tedious clichè- Seattleites drive timidly when it snows. Fine. We admit it. We drive that way because we're not used to it and our cars don't have snow tires because we don't get much snow- which is why you moved here, remember? We know, we know, you Midwesterners grew up chipping the ice off your teeth and driving a manure spreader in 10 foot snow drifts. We grew up knowing how to eat an artichoke, and take a cork out of a wine bottle while you were still taking polka lessons. We're happy with our cultural past, and wouldn't trade with you, even if we do yank the wheel the opposite direction of the way we're skidding.

~ Dep't of Corrections: we are so, so, sorry. We've had Ron & Don confused from the beginning. Everything we ever said about Don, we meant Ron. And everything we ever said about Ron, we meant Don. We are so, so, sorry.

~ On the very day of President Lulu's big speech on Iraq, KIRO had boots on the ground in Washington DC, right? Dave Ross and Ronald Reagan were locked and loaded to do the live anal on the speech after the fact, they even had celebrity guests, and bigtime interviews lined up. Wonder why you didn't hear any oif 'em? BECAUSE AFTER THE SPEECH, THEY WENT LIVE TO GODDAM SNOWSTORM COVERAGE!!!

Blathering 2007, the quotes: "did he frickin' say that?!!"

Why Mexican are Democrats.
   "... build a double fence along the Mexican border, and stop the damn invasion. I don't care if Mexicans pile up against that fence like tumbleweeds in the Santa Ana winds in Southern California. Let 'em. You know, then just run a couple of taco trucks up and down the line, and somebody's gonna be a millionaire out of that." ~ syndicated talk host Neal Boortz
Man on Dog
~ Sean Hannity got in depth with Dog the Bounty Hunter. HANNITY: "Dog, did you eat that guy's ear?" DOG: "yes, but not all of it.

"Now I'm in the majority it would be wise to keep my mouth shut and actually plan how I'm going to do what's right and how to defend myself when we put something out there," ~Rep. Jim McDermott   in an interview by the Seattle P-I's Charles Pope

"Religion offers either annihilation in the name of god, or else the false promise that if we take a knife to our foreskin, or pray in the right direction, or ingest pieces of wafer, we shall be ‘saved.’” ~ Christopher Hitchens on the Michael Medved Show

(photo: Hitchens on a bed of lettuce)

"Rape me once, shame on you; rape me twice, shame on me." ~ Don Imus

"I took a city that was known for pornography and licked it to a large extent, so I have my own set of qualifications." ~ Rudy Giuliani

Xmas weeek! oddems: woofing the pfeferneuse, photos of killed squirrels; fa-la-la-la-la-afil; elvis decoded, genital grooming, and the war on lawn decorations

    BlatherWatch holi-diddled in Canada, a foreign country that fails to celebrate Xmas with the religiou$ fervor that we all do. It's un-American, and we told them so. The laid-back Canucks are so calm about the holiday, the War on Xmas that threatens its very extinction around here, rages on unbeknownst to them. We got caught up in the torporific chaos and spent the Day of Days absorbing the spiritual seasonal vibes in the prone position in a medium hotel with maximum take-out from Vij's. Our favorite in the lavish gift exchange: an Uncle Booger's Bumper Dumper® to be used on one of our many hunting and camping trips.

~ Auld fave from the Blather Xmas song bucket: Ding Fries Are Done!

~ How much is a Duckworth? the price may be going down. Paul Duckworth, former KVI/KOMO Program Director, who takes some to the credit for making KVI what it was, is retiring- effective January 1- from DC's WMAL where's he's PD. He says he's "... always suspect of any radio guy who says that he's going to retire... I could never promise that, at some point, I won't re-surface somewhere in the biz ... right now the plan is to sleep a little later, spend more time with family and pursue a few things that I haven't been able to get to over the last 35 years." Sounds fishy...

Merry Whatever from Blatherwatch!

We're getting out of the country and the line of fire for a few days.

We'll be back soon with our annual wrap-up of the Blathers and The Blatherers of 2007.

God bless from the staff of BlatherWatch.

Rachel Marsden: "Babe [from hell] for Bush" is back in the news...

Rachel Marsden has had a bad year.

In November, the former British Columbian's column was abruptly discontinued from a 2-year run on the Toronto Star syndication for some enthusiastically pro-torture remarks she wrote. 

In June, the Morticia Addams look-a-like had to be frogwalked by security out the door of Fox News' NY studios for "bizarre and erratic" behavior. She'd been a regular on the puerile, late night Red Eye, Fox's futile attempt at Kute Konservative Komedy.

She was supposed to be Fox News in-house Ann Coulter; but she turned out to be a Coulter who acts out... scary! (And besides, she isn't as subtle as dear Ann).

Canadian press is now reporting she's being investigated for criminal harassment after accusing a Mountie ex-boyfriend, of leaking Canadian anti-terrorism secrets.

New York Vinnie speaks: A message of peace and goodwill

(Evening sports guy Vinnie Richichi (NY Vinnie) along with Ron Reagan, was fired in April from KIRO. He never much liked us- would never respond to our email overtures... as so many haven't. We didn't like his work when he strayed from his area of expertise of sports; his show got poor ratings and we said so. We've never thought or said Vinnie was stupid; heard or written anything but good things about his heart, his loyalty to his friends, and general good-guyness. He wrote the following as a comment, but we thought we'd share it for those of you who've been wondering what's happening with him. Visit his website here).

You know one of the great things about the last 4 months of being off of the radio (with the exception of a couple of fill-ins) is that I have been able to stay away from this blog and it’s mostly perverse personal attacks on local radio personalities. But then again that is kind of what the internet has turned into…a place to order stuff so you never have to face humans and attack people so…well… so you never have to face humans.

Hollerday Oddems: the young turks are gone, ron & don are forever, god has died; men in bras; orgasms in the news; stephanie miller; bob brinker, and michael the savage

~ Cenk Uygur said The Young Turks (KPTK m-f, 3-6a) will take amicable exit from Air America Radio January 15. (No they didn't get fired for drinking a beer on air or bad mouthing Nancy Pelosi). Not sure what's up, but Cenk is upbeat on a podcast he made Monday- there are rumors of satellite, or full-time on YouTube, or some other kind of InterWeb doin's. Baroosk at Talking Radio writes: "The Young Turks never got much traction, despite the fact that there is not much competition in the early morning time period on liberal talk radio stations. Only 16 of the 50 plus stations that carry four or more AAR hosts picked up the Turks."

~ For liberal men to ponder: If you knew that Michelle Malkin's angry face was exactly the same as her orgasm face, would you think any differently about her?

KIRO signs luke burbank for new evening show

Former NPR host, Metro Traffic reporter, KVI producer, and erstwhile comedian Luke Burbank has inked a contract to host a new show in the 7-10p, weeknightly slot on KIRO.

The new show will premier Jan. 7.

Rumors have been flying for months that a new show will be produced by Jen Andrews. Is this it? Burbank won't say, but we're guessing it is. In case you don't know who Andrews is- she's the virtuosa KIRO producer who helped hoist schlock jocks Ron & Don (KIRO m-f, 3-6p) into the credibility belt last year before quitting in disgust.

Cheney obfuscation causes white house conflagration

A fire broke out in Vice President Dick Cheny's office this morning. A firefighter told reporters, "The fire started when Mr. Cheney's pants actually caught fire as he was talking. Sources said it wasn't the first time firemen have been called to extinguish pant fires in the White House.