BlatherWatch

2010 'heavy hundred' ain't so heavy

As always, it’s mystifying as well as snoringly predictable.

What could be so paradoxical? It’s the “Heavy Hundred,” the rankings of national talk hosts that editors of Talkers magazine make each year by reading chicken guts, scoping ad sales possibilities, and making sure no toes are stepped on.

Old Seattle Radio Saturday: norm gregory

In late 1968, Norm arrived at KJR AM, Seattle, first doing early evenings and then afternoons. In 1975, Norm went to KZOK AM/FM; at the time the station was less then a year old. Norm served as KZOK Program Director from 1976-79. After a brief two year return stint at KJR, Norm landed the afternoon full service program at KOMO, Seattle (1984 to 1994, being Program Director 1989-92). In July, 1994, Norm joined the new KJR-FM, as Program Director and afternoon air personality. In September, 1997, as the station was sliding out of The Greatest Hits of The ’70s, Norm slide out of the PD job and filled in on the morning shift following the departure of Charlie (Brown) & Ty (Flint). Between early March, 1998 and late April 2000, Norm did the weekday afternoon shift at KJR-FM. His last shift (3 –7 p) at 95.7, KJR-FM, was on April 24, 2000.

Source: NormGregory.com

Lee rodgers: vile, fired, san francisco douchenozzle has inglorious seattle radio past

The insufferable and mean Lee Rodgers was fired last week from KSFO, San Francisco.

He didn’t go down easy, nor without a great deal of the noisome hypocrisy that rigid conservatives are known for when faced with reality.

Rod Arquette, 2007-2010 R.I.P.

More changes at KIRO/KTTH. Princely Program Director Rod Arquette has resigned  and will leave at the end of March. We’ve been wondering when a head might roll after the dive after KIRO’s ill-fated flip to FM, but we’re not really sure if this be one of them.              Photo: Seattle Times.

KTTH rips fox news radio from KVI

The circle is complete- press release from Bonneville:

SEATTLE, WA – Bonneville Seattle announced today an agreement has been reached with FOX News Radio to bring its rapidly growing news product to 770 KTTH, The Truth.  FOX News Radio, airing at the top of each hour, will be added to the 770 KTTH weekday programming line-up beginning in May.  Along with FOX News, 770 KTTH will add to its weekday line-up “Gibson on Fox” with host John Gibson and “FOX Business Reports” anchored by Neil Cavuto and the rest of the Fox News Business Team.

Can a little canadian socialism help save american radio?

This from Paragon CEO Mike Henry via Radio-info’s Tom Taylor:
 
As Arbitron has botched the PPM’s, he writes, “... the failure of the industry to manage its own ratings and its ratings provider may (hopefully) bring major changes that are needed.

Radio, Henry says, needs to gain control of their relationship with Arbitron.

On the other hand, glenn beck may be a communist...

www.thedailyshow.com

Mark levin: glenn beck is 'incoherent'

Mark “Squeaky” Levin” is not done trashing Glenn Beck. (it's something he’s done ever since Beck told Katy Couric that McCain is "worse than Obama").

The Radio Equalizer asks: "Is Mark Levin the only major figure on the right with the guts to question Glenn Beck's attempted hijacking of the conservative movement?" (Brian Maloney has a long term schmutz for Beck, that began, we believe, in Seattle).

Levin wrote on his Facebook page: 

I have no idea what philosophy Glenn Beck is promoting. And neither does he. It's incoherent. One day it's populist, the next it's libertarian bordering on anarchy, next it's conservative but not really, etc. And to what end? I believe he has announced that he is no longer going to endorse candidates because our problems are bigger than politics. Well, of course, our problems are not easily dissected into categories, but to reject politics is to reject the manner in which we try to organize ourselves. This is as old as Plato and Aristotle.

“Decide what you are,” Levin said , “A circus clown, self-identified, or a thoughtful and wise person. It’s hard to be both.”

Beck's speech to CPAC over the weekend was a mishmash of peculiar, paranoid, conspiratorial, revisionist "history;" shock-value sound-bites, and frantic flapdoodle. He praised cool Calvin Coolidge, and claimed Teddy Roosevelt started progressives down a path in America that will end with an Obama authoritarian junta. (a renovation of the dashing Cal Coolidge may be a winning tactic for conservatives).

It was a polyglot of what we've become accustomed to hearing Beck say every day on radio and teevee. Outside the echoing confines of the far-right confab, the speech sounded disjointed, and, yes, incoherent. It was all about Glenn Beck. That's how showmen roll: His rallies in August coincide with the release of his next book.

He begged for a third way... a third party- an anathema to any Republican who can remember back to at least 1992. Beck bases his politics on obscure right-wing, crazy-pants, apocalyptic Mormonism, and the Nielsen ratings.

It'd be hard to imagine exactly what he and his followers would do if they actually got the reins of government. But that's not what Beck wants- he'll ride the horse of national anger until it bucks him off.

At the moment Republicans have no one identified as a viable leader, much less candidate. They’ve let themselves be defined by the loudest shouting of a clutch of self-promoting hucksters and entertainers like Rush and Beck.

Hell, even Mark Levin has a radio show and best-selling books.

Mike siegel, R.I.P. all over again

Tree falling in the woods, dep’t:

Mike Siegel, who recently migrated from morning drive to afternoon drive without even a press release from KKOL, has now disappeared from the line-up altogether.

It's blatherwatch’s 5th blogiversary!

Five years. That’s how long we’ve been blathering about talk radio from a listener’s point of view, larding it bravely with the brilliant political commentary that’s made us a Web sensation and a beam of bright light for all media.

We don't usually mention such milestones, but we’re proud of five years in a row - hell, we’ve had marriages that didn’t last that long!