BlatherWatch

Gift tip for the radio geek...

from Fybush.com:

Like its predecessors, Tower Site Calendar 2011 features more than a dozen full-color, high-quality images of transmitter sites in all corners of North America.

This year's cover is Mount Beacon, overlooking New York's Hudson Valley. Other sites include Georgia Public Broadcasting's 312-foot tower on Stone Mountain, the five towers of WAEB in Allentown, Pennsylvania, before they were vandalized in 2009, and a stunning night shot of KFI Los Angeles.

Whither KTTH? is dave boze toast?

 Radiotown’s buzzing. Will Bonneville’s KTTH dump Dave Boze (KTTH m-f, 3-6p) to pick up Fox Newstool Sean Hannity formerly on the late KVI?

We hope not: Boze is the only live & local Seattle show on the right-wing talker which already has Rush and Beck (and we forget who else) beamed down from the birds in the sky.

What does it mean that longtime Dori Monson producer Phil Vandervort, reassigned last month to the Boze show has quit and has gone to produce for John Carlson (KOMO m-f, 3-6p)?

Speculative clichés abound: Might Producer Phil have seen (or was shown) the handwriting on the wall? Could it have been a rat/sinking ship/get out/gettin’s good kinda move?

Fisher’s KOMO must be happy to see Phil, who’s proven to be, not only a great producer, but a loyal employee. (It’s an employer’s market, and Fisher, of course, famously has had no such reciprocating loyalties: They fuck ‘em and forget ‘em as they see fit… Problem for Fisher: their view of what's fit ain't always brilliant).

Bonneville in Seattle has been doing pretty well, by our lights, by actually spending money on local talent for KIROFM (re: Radke, Burbank). You may not like Bill and Luke, but the company had to do something, and and they did it.

KIROFM has gotten some better numbers lately, but KTTH still sucks.

Were far-left extremists (Democrats!) of course, but picking up Hannity sounds stupid to us. He’s a self-satisfied, awe-shucks, doctrinaire winger whose show has not done well in Seattle.

Unlike Beck and Rush, his rabid anti-Obama blatherings are so predictable they rarely even break into or out of the parallel conservative press. Hannity, full of portent and smarmy right-wing RediWhip, occasionally makes news with wiffle interviews of such pols as Christine O’Donnell or Sharron Angle who tactically steer clear of real media with their pesky real questions.

He's big nationally with the Southern bubba crowd to whom he panders endlessly. In Seattle, even the Olde Rightie KVI types grok he doesn’t need or give a shit about the West Coast, so he’s long been whupped midday by Michael Medved (KTTH m-f, 12-3p), KIRO’s Dori Monson and even Ed Schultz (KPTK m-f, 12-3p). KOMO’s Ken Schram may even be making inroads in that loathsome slot.

Where could KTTH put Hannity? He’s live 12-3p, but so is Medved’s syndicated show from their own studios. Beck and Rush have mornings tied-up. Would they put Hannity refried in the afternoon drive? They’d almost have to.

(Medved, an intelligent, though thoroughly deluded human being, shares BlatherWatch’s loathing for Hannity. Michael is once-bitten: Fisher once dumped him from KVI for Hannity. We’ve been told his twice-shy contract with Bonneville is jelly tight).

For Bonneville to hand over KTTH to the obsequious paid-for robots and youthful $10ph knob-jockeys of 24/7 satellite programming must be attractive.

Though the man wears furs, and graduated from Hillsdale College, Dave Boze is a low-key, down-home kinda guy. He earnestly believes the shit he says and is a genuine native. Nonetheless, his show with its salaries and benefits is big-time overhead compared to the no-cash-out of syndicated programming.

Bye Dave.

(Note to Dave if you’re goned: it’s your beloved free market that kicked your ass. Time to move to Billings or Muskogee or Juneau where your product might be more competitive. Or… you could become a lobbyist for the Evergreen Foundation).

We’re rooting for The Dave Boze Show. We think KTTH should be live-er and local-er, even if it means more destructive reactionary talk, and Bonneville loses some more dough.

We're conflicted (as liberals are). While wishing Boze a long life, we, in general, wish all right-wing media would fall on its ass. We just wish it wasn’t taking local radio down with it.

Dr. laura going to the birds

Syndicated, radio agony aunt Dr. Laura Schlessinger (KTTH m-f, 9p-12a) has reportedly cut a deal with Sirius XM Radio. 

It's another upcoming opening on KTTH - and sooner than later. She’ll leave her show December 31.

Satellite radio is where popular radio hosts go to stay rich and never be heard or heard from again.

Old Seattle Radio Saturday: bobby simon

January, 1969.
Click for Bobby Simon air check, 1967
Simon died in a car accident near Centralia in 2002.
(HT to Bill Taylor)

Old Seattle Radio Saturday: more KING1090

According to OSRS loyalist, Albuquerque Dale, KING1090 was never strictly a Top 40 station in the 1950's and 60's.

He points to the popular Lucky Lager Dance Time which aired late evenings and was a precursor to the fabulously successful Top 40 AM radio format.

(KING morning guy, Al Cummings, donned polka dot trunks in 1959 to bat around a few fly balls with heavyweight Max Baer, who reportedly took a dive. Credit: Seattle Times).

Dale wrotes that Bill Muncey, the eight-time Gold Cup winning hydroplane driver had an early evening music show in the late '50's. "He was surprisingly laid back -- so unlike his image out on the race course."  (H/T to Dale)

 
 

What happened to KIRO's 24/7 weather reporting?

KIRO neglecting the weather in the middle of Snowmigod 2010??

KIRO? Say it ain't so, Joe.

We've always made fun of the 24/7 radio weatherpaloozas, but they're always some of the most listened-to broadcasts ever. They may be tedious if newsmeat's what you're looking for, but if you're nervous about shelter, and transpo, or just need to hear a commiserating voice in the cold night... guess you may be pretty fond of such.

It's what's about live & local radio: it's community when the community needs it the most.

An email we got:

KIRO 97.3 offered no late night coverage of the Seattle blizzard, KOMO 1000 did. They are no longer a reliable local news and info. station and most stranded by the blizzard would probably agree.

We're out of town, when we tuned in to KIROFM Tuesday night, we  were shocked to hear a fill-in for Frank Shiers who's best known in Seattle for his brave all-night stretches behind the mic as the wind blew and the streets frizzed-over.

Frank, apparently, was home in bed.

A comment in the trade Radio-Info forums:

I am sitting in snow impacted traffic in Seattle. I tuned in KIRO and they are talking about Dave Ross vacation and playing clips from Saturday Night Live. I tuned into KOMO and John was taking weather/traffic related calls.

KIROFM's abandonment of this signals another big change in  direction of this heritage local news station.

 Or as another Radio-Info reader opines, "Another sign that KIRO is no longer a news station."

(Cartoons H/T The Penquin Times)

Thanksgiving tradition, dep't: BlatherWatch’s Strawberry Turkey Marshmellow Jello Pretzel Salad Pie ... Now with Popcorn!

We're liberals and we love tradition! We like to call ourselves  neo-traditionalistas.

Late Seattle pundit Emmet Watson, (1918-2001) always published his Thompson Turkey recipe this time of year; NPR's Susan Stamberg offers her mother-in-law's cranberry relish. Hillary Clinton touts the Chocolate Chip Cookies she famously doesn't make; Slade Gorton has his Warm Crab Dip; the Bush Family their Zuni Stew.

These are beloved family traditions and the Bla'm Fam has one of it's own- which we're presenting by acclamation for the 5th year. We created it with a nod to the dubious genre of "family holiday favorites." As with all such recipes- it's the sentiment, not the flavor (or good taste!) that endears it.

 

 

(photo: proto neo-traditionalista, Emmett Watson)

 

There's no "right" way to make this favorite- it's made truly from the "left" -overs found in any lefty holiday pantry. This year we've kicked it up a notch with the people's favorite: popcorn!

BlatherWatch’s Strawberry Turkey Marshmellow Jello Pretzel Salad Pie... with popcorn!!

3 tbsp. sugar
2 c. crushed pretzels
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 c. powdered sugar
10 oz. cooked leftover turkey
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
8 oz. carton Cool Whip
2 c. miniature marshmallows
1 c. popcorn popped

6 oz. pkg. strawberry Jello
2 1/2 c. boiling water

Mix together sugar, melted butter and crushed pretzel sticks. Press into 9 x 13 pan and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Set aside to cool. Soften cream cheese; add powdered sugar and cream well. Fold in dessert topping and marshmallows. Spread over pretzel crust. Add the popcorn in a layer. Mix Jello in boiling water. Stir in turkey. When slightly thickened, pour over cream cheese layer. Place in the refrigerator until set. Serves 8 to 10.

View from our window/obnoxious americano division

With apologies to Andrew Sullivan, we couldn't help but post this shot from our balcon in Guanajuato. We're here on the BlatherWatch Forget The Alamo tour.

We know how arrogant and smug that is. Especially sitting here in our underwear with the doors and windows open in the land of mañana and Bimbo bread while at home in Seattle you're all freezing your asses off.

But... there you have it.

 

'Coast to Coast' to KIRO

Chupacabra talk is back in Seattle.

(photo: George Noory)

George Noory and his UFO-conspiratorial hoot-owl, Coast to Coast will join the KIROFM daily weekday lineup starting January 3, 10p–4a.

It replaces the last hour of NW Nights with Frank Shiers, plus the syndicated Allen Hunt, Phil Hendrie and Dirk Van First Light shows.

The show rules the latenight airwaves nationally, and once gave KVI its best ratings in the local book. KVI went 'talk TU' at the beginning of November loosing a plethora of syndicated programs for grabs by other stations. None are really prizes - Salem picked up a few windfalls and created a new right-wing Seattle talk station.

Coast to Coast was one of the higher fruits still hanging, and will spiritually rival Dori Monson's Boast to Boast (KIRO m-f, 12-3p).

“Coast to Coast has been number one in the Seattle-Tacoma market and we look forward to even bigger gains on KIRO FM. I couldn’t be happier.”" said the ineffable Noory in a press release. The host self-describes as a "media phenomenon."

The show, developed by Art Bell in the '90's made the chupacabra the hungry, made-up monsters a household word, brought 'remote viewing' and New World Order conspiracies into the homes of many innocent people.

A Seattle radio connection- Wikipedia:

Mike Siegel hosted the show from April 2000 until February 2001. He became a frequent substitute of the show's host, Art Bell in late 1999, and when Bell announced his retirement in early 2000, he recommended Siegel to succeed him.^[1] Siegel maintained the format of the show that Art Bell had created, but his personal style was very different, and the show became less popular. Siegel hosted the show from Seattle, Washington, where he lived. Early in 2001, Bell decided to return, and Siegel left the show.

Still left in the dubious grab-bag of syndicated delights that made KVI so successful in recent years: Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham. KTTH PD Tony Miner must be going bonkers trying figure out how to make more hours in the dayparts to fit in all the righties on the loose. It's a buyer's market. (BlatherWatch suggestion: Get rid of the fat guy).

Poetry corner: never bite a married woman on the thigh

Never bite a married woman on the thigh oh my.
Cause she just can't rub it off no matter how she'll try.
And when she gets home at night her man will ask her why
Then she'll say it's just a birthmark or some other silly lie.
But he'll get suspicious and then he will start to pry.
Then she'll get hysterical and she will start to cry.
And he'll say I don't blame you but tell me who's the guy.
So she'll admit to everything and he will say bye-bye.
And he'll buy an airline ticket and he'll fly across the sky.
And then he'll come and find you and he'll punch you in the eye.
Then he'll rent a cheap hotel room and he'll hang himself with his tie.
And when she gets the news she'll take an overdose of sleeping
Tablets and she's gonna lie on the couch and die.
So never never never never never never never bite a married woman on the thigh. ~~ Shel Silverstein