Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2007 > July
July 2007
7/31: GMA’s Robin Roberts has breast cancer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts, who worked as a morning co-host at V-103 and a WAGA-TV sports broadcaster in the 1980s, announced today that she has breast cancer but she said she caught it early.
“I will have surgery on Friday, begin treatment and move forward as millions of people do when they hear this,” Ms. Roberts said, noting that she, like 80 percent of the 250,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year, has no history of the disease in her family.
I interviewed Roberts (above) when she came into town April for a book signing at the Margaret Mitchell House. She was unmistakably gracous and conversational.
Diane Sawyer today used Roberts’ recently published book about seven rules to live by to wrap up the segment.
“The woman who gave us seven rules for our lives has demonstrated every one of them for us through this and more to come,” said Sawyer.
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7/31: Project 9-6-1’s Vick jersey
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Project 9-6-1 is selling a Vick jersey, since they are no longer available in most stores.. But Vick fans probably won’t be too pleased.
7/30: Fallon replacing Conan? Bye Bye “Simple Life”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry, Carson Daly. NBC late-night chief Rick Ludwin confirmed to Broadcasting and Cable magazine that former “SNL” cast member Jimmy Fallon is the lead candidate to replace Conan O’Brien in 2009 when O’Brien is slated to take over for Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show.”
Fallon certainly isn’t as bland as Daly. Any other viable ideas for an O’Brien replacement?
And I’m sure this will generate howls of pain and sorrow: E! has finally canceled “The Simple Life.” The show starring overexposed “stars” Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton, has seen pitiful ratings this season, with just about 800,000 viewers per fresh episode on average and a low of 493,000 July 10. The finale is August 5.
In the meantime, Comic-Con in San Diego is becoming increasingly important for TV, with the Heroes panel packed with fans.
TV shows have an almost bigger stake to be at Comic-Con than the film side, since fan support, or lack of it, is easily quantified and needed over a long-term period.
“If you don’t like the finale, you won’t watch the season premiere. If you don’t like episode five, you won’t watch episode six,” “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof said to those gathered at Thursday’s “Lost” panel, according to Hollywood Reporter. “We need to make ourselves accessible to you guys, and it might get brutal, but it’s worked out pretty well so far.”
7/29: On Hell’s Kitchen, the Coreys
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Waffle House cook Julia Williams was ousted last Monday as part of the final four on Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” but Gordon Ramsay took a liking to her. She clearly isn’t ready in terms of her experience in fine dining but she has great instincts and Ramsay not only gave her a free ticket to culinary school but a return invite to “Hell’s Kitchen 4.” Of the final three, it will likely come down to Jen and Rock.
Not much new coming up on TV this week. “The Two Coreys” on A&E tonight at 10, is purely a diversion only if you really gave a dang about Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, who co-starred with former 99Xer Steve Barnes in that classic film “No Witness.” Haim ends up coming across as pathetic and desperate.
If you are into reality, though, check out Bravo’s “Flipping Out” starring Jeff Lewis, an obsessive-compulsive real-estate flipper who has an interesting cast of characters surrounding him. But like a lot of these reality shows, his friends are his paid staff. That’s kind of sad. Still, it’s a fun show and he’s self aware he’s kind of nuts, that he needs psychics to help guide him through the day, plus an assistant who looks like a dead ringer of Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It’s far more fun than the show Bravo debuted last week “Welcome to the Parker,” which feels more like a grind.
Rumors are that Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd will the replacements for Star Jones and Rosie O’Donnell on “The View.”
And sure, Val Kilmer isn’t exactly in “Top Gun” shape anymore but he is appearing on the upcoming “Numb3rs” season premiere. The episode will be shot by Tony Scott, who directed “Top Gun.”
Plus, here are some teases for “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’a Anatomy”
7/27: Stews on XM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The 2 Live Stews will be joining XM satellite radio on the Power 169 starting August 13 as part of a Radio One syndication deal.
The Stews were on Sirius satellite radio from 2003 into 2004 or so.
And speaking of satellite, the two sides are trying to make a potential merger more palatable by proposing a more a la carte programming option.
One option will allow subscribers to choose 50 channels for just $6.99 — nearly half the price of the current standard subscription rate of $12.95. Under this option, customers will also be able to include additional channels for as little as 25 cents each. The second a la carte option at $14.99 will allow subscribers to choose 100 channels. There will also be an option for Sirius customers to get some XM programming and vice versa at $16.99 a month. There will also be family-friendly packages.
Does this seem reasonable? Would this make a merger more palatable?
Here are the details..
7/27: Kimmel’s victory lap in the ATL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After ignoring him for more than four years, WSB-TV embraced Jimmy Kimmel Thursday, flying him into Atlanta to meet and greet staff and clients at the TV station, feeding him at Blue Ridge Grill and plying him with drinks at Twist in Phipps Plaza. That’s where we caught him with his agent and various ABC reps for a victory toast. WSB-TV was the last major market station to add “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” his late-night talk show, to its lineup a couple weeks ago.
When WSB-TV invited him to come, he took two days off to do so. And the station kept him and his staff at the Four Seasons, where Jon Bon Jovi was staying, too. At the party, he opened by jokingly saying, “You may not know me but I’m Jimmy Kimmel. And I’m the new quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons.”
At Twist, a WSB-TV “Hot Topics” cameraman followed him around as he shook hands with various fans and non fans who had never really seen him before.
“I have no idea who he is,” acknowledged Whitney Pelletier (below), a hairstylist from Marietta, who nonetheless got her photo taken with him.
Another drunk woman, while I spoke with him, came up and said her daughter knew him and said he was Johnny Carson. “Oh, I’m not Johnny,” he said patiently. “He’s dead.” (A publicist eventually shooed the woman away after he signed an autograph on a napkin for said daughter.)
Others did know him and congratulated him for finally arriving in Atlanta.
Mark Borders (below, with his wife Kristi) had emailed WSB-TV a few years ago complaining about the absence of Kimmel. Amazingly, management saved the email and invited them to hang out at Twist Thursday night to meet him. He sat and spoke with them for a few minutes, then went out of his way to make sure they got pictures. While some of his staff drank heavy, he nursed an Amstel Light before cutting out at about 12:20 a.m.
Michael Canali (below) just moved from D.C. to Chamblee a month ago and brought his fiance Candice Dandurand to the table to give Kimmel props.
Among his entourage was the head of late night programming for ABC, his agent and Uncle Sal, a regular on his show who is actually Kimmel’s cousin. Oh, and Larry Wachs, formerly of the Regular Guys, who befriended Kimmel when Wachs worked in Los Angeles. Wachs is still seeking a job in a tough environment for edgy talk-show hosts like him.
7/26: Hot Ghetto Mess a mixed bag
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the end, “Hot Ghetto Mess,” inspired by the web site wasn’t quite the mess some African Americans anticipated. In fact, that wasn’t even the name of the BET show, which, at the last second, became “We Got To Do Better.”
At Fox Sports Grill in Atlantic Station Wednesday night, about 50 mostly African Americans invited by the national Rainbow/PUSH Coalition screened the debut hosted by comic Charlie Murphy. About half the folks liked the show, a few hated it and several were in the middle.
In recent weeks, several people online protested the show’s title and supposed intent, leading two advertisers — State Farm and Atlanta’s Home Depot — to request not to have their commercials on the show. While the executive producers and BET executives defended the show, the network didn’t provide a preview episode to TV reporters, a normal practice. The explanation: they weren’t finished with it until the last second.
“It’s really a social commentary show,” said co-executive producer James DuBose over lunch at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead Wednesday afternoon. (He’s in town shooting second season of “The Keyshia Cole Show.”) “We’re trying to take responsibility and become more accountable for our actions by putting up a mirror. The show is trying to start a dialogue.”
If anything, the network did change the title of the show at the last second to placate critics, though on the show, it’s clear they had not changed Murphy’s commentary because he references “hot ghetto mess” several times.
The show itself is a blend of Jay Leno’s “Man on the Street” segments and “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” It attempts to show people’s ignorance of black history facts.
This is “the show you never want to see your mama on,” Murphy said, opening the show. “I mean, whether, you are black, white or otherwise, we can’t continue to do this.” By showing idiotic behavior on screen, he added, or as he said, people, “acting like damn fools, you’ll be less likely to replicate the behavior.”
Among the videos including bad singers such as a bunch of blacks in a farm setting eating candied yams and watermelon with flies on them and a dude with missing teeth who botched the “Star Spangled Banner.”
The “man on the street” segments, some of which was shot in Atlanta, weren’t nearly as entertaining as those Leno does because the comic working with the people (who only went by Sidney) wasn’t as witty and the answers weren’t nearly as amusing. In fact, the first question, when he asked folks “Who is richer: Bill Gates or Jay Z?” mostly got the right answer: Bill Gates. He got a couple of folks to say, if Jay Z released another album, he’d be closer to Gates. That still wasn’t funny. Ditto with the question about which one came first: blacks fighting in the military or getting the vote. Almost everyone got it correct. Sadly, most folks couldn’t identify Clarence Thomas, the only black on the Supreme Court.
Later, the show asked people to identify the acronym to NAACP. Most folks did not know that, but does that really matter? The fact is, even the NAACP will admit the acronym itself survives because of the meaning behind it, not the actual words because people don’t use the phrase “colored people” anymore, as in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. As
The most interesting one was asking people what the unemployment rate was among blacks. It was 8.2 percent but folks would say 45 percent or 55 percent. Naturally, the unemployment rate itself is misleading because it only identifies people actively looking for jobs.
While a majority of the videos featured blacks, there were also white folks doing stupid things like a car salesman falling off some mattresses on top of a car onto the ground and a redneck blowing a condom off his head. In fact, there was video of white folks at the Redneck Games, held each year in East Dublin, Ga., plopping into mudpits.
Janice Mathis, vice president for legal affairs for Rainbow/PUSH, organized several viewing parties in cities such as Los Angeles, Detroit, New York and Washington D.C. She said before the show she would be happy to cheer the show if it was any good but also ready to contact advertisers if it was offensive. In the end, she wasn’t sure what to think.
“I thought the history lessons were intriguing,” she said. “It’s nice to get that in an entertainment format without being too preachy. On the other hand, some of the videos were disturbing — even the [white folks] mudflopping.”
Most of the attendees were outside the 18-34 demographic BET is going after.
Dexter Porter, a 38-year-old mortgage broker from Decatur, called it a “minstrel show.” And even with whites in the act, “white folks can be minstrel, too,” he said, citing MTV’s “Jackass” show. “The purpose of BET is to dumb down the population.” Some criticized the show for featuring buffoonery.
“This takes blacks who are at the bottom of the barrel and we laugh at them and make fun of them,” said Rodney Coleman, a 35-year-old real estate developer from Atlanta. “It’s revised Jerry Springer for the new millenium. It’s ludicrous to think intellgent black people will learn from this. Intelligent black people aren’t even going to watch this show.”
Shelley Wynter, an afternoon talk show host on WAOK-AM known to be more conservative than most on the station, said he thought the show had plenty of redeeming value. “The show is not designed for you. Don’t look at it from your eyes but BET’s viewers’ eyes. It’s brilliant for them. How many watched Tavis Smiley when he was on BET? It was the network’s lowest rated show.”
“What they’re doing is saying, ‘If you don’t know this, find out about it,’ ” he added. “If you won’t find out about it, we’ll tell you about it. That’s a positive message.”
“This is something that wakes up your consciousness to how far we’ve fallen,” said Samuel Mosteller, a 49-year-old minister in Atlanta at the Good Shephard Community Church.
“It’s not offensive content,” said Latron Price, a 32-year-old consulting marketing firm owner from Ellenwood. “I thought it was designed to be comedic. I think it had a realness to it.” (He was happy they did change the show’s name, though.)
“Let’s not overthink this,” said Rhea Posey, a 33-year-old who works for a nonprofit. “We must do better. I agree. This will provoke thought.”
Ironically, this morning, VH1 is expected to announce yet another season of “Flavor of Love,” a show featuring Flavor Flav in a “Bachelor” style show. It has been the network’s most popular show ever but has been criticized for showing women (mostly black) being gold-diggers. “This is the show that sets blacks back 10 years,” said Wynter.
7/25: On Lost, Saving Grace, Big Love
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABC’s Stephen McPherson told TV critics Wednesday morning that Michael (actor Harold Perrineau) is coming back to “Lost” next season. No word on Walt.
TNT’s Holly Hunter drama “Saving Grace” opened huge Monday at 6.4 million viewers, holding 90 percent of the audience from “The Closer” at 9 p.m. And bury Treat Williams and “Heartland.” It drew just 2.1 million in its new 8 p.m. slot. (Then again, that’s about how much Fox’s “On the Lot” drew. “On the Lot” is the lowest-rated reality show on broadcast TV this summer — half the numbers of shows such as “Shaq’s Big Challenge” and “Age of Love.”)
HBO’s “Big Love” is moving back to Sundays after the finale of “John From Cincinnati” on August 26 for its final two episodes. “Big Love” ratings slipped about 30 percent on Mondays (though repeats will continue to air on Mondays.) The polygamy drama already has been renewed for a third season.
And here’s scoop on the seventh season of “24”, which might be based in New York or D.C. instead of Los Angeles. (It’s about time!)
If you’re a Jorja Fox fan on “CSI,” the chances of her character Sara getting out of that car wreck are looking might slim, if this TV Guide story is to be believed..
Here’s that Homer Simpson intro for Leno’s Tonight Show where he jokes that NBC stands for “Never Been Crappier.”.
Speaking of Jay Leno, he was merciless after Lindsay Lohan cancelled at the last second:
“We had Lindsay Lohan booked on the show tonight, but apparently she was already booked,” he said Tuesday. “It’s too bad about Lindsay. I thought our competition was ‘Nightline’ and ‘Letterman.’ Turns out it’s ‘Cops’ and ‘America’s Most Wanted.’
“I guess you’ve all heard the story by now,” he continued. “Early this morning, Lindsay Lohan was arrested on suspicion of DUI and possession of cocaine. She told cops she was just researching a role for a movie, in which she will play herself.”
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7/25: Star’s Cindy & Ray contract extended
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Star 94’s afternoon hosts Cindy Simmons and Ray Mariner (known of course as Cindy & Ray) have been given a multi-year contract extension. The pair started in early 2003 as one of the few personality-based drive-time shows in Atlanta and they’ve done as well, if not better on occasion, as the morning show Steve & Vikki. Their show sets aside about as much time as a typical morning show for talk, mostly pop-culture related.
The current contract is up in February of 2008 so they’ll be here at least through 2011.
“They do very well among women 18-49,” said Norm Schrutt, Cindy & Ray’s agent since early 2005. “It was wise for them to lock up afternoon drive because there’s going to change in morning drive.” (Vikki Locke has previously announced she is departing at the end of the year due to health reasons.)
Could Cindy & Ray go morning if need be? “That’s a remote possibility. The contract is open to that, but Star is comfortable having them do afternoon drive.”
Other stations have gone for more personality in the afternoons, too; notably, Ryan Cameron on V-103.
7/24: TV updates
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Can you picture Drew Carey as the host of “The Price is Right”? It’s not a bad selection but he’s definitely going to bring a different vibe to the show, a smart alecky tone that isn’t terribly offensive but distinct from Bob Barker’s warm persona. Clearly, he’s a more acceptable choice than Rosie O’Donnell.
And [here’s an interesting story]http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i78ed7fdd05f8f5f53c3edbd23e2717ac) about that popular reality show on Discovery “Man v. Wild” in which host Bear Grylis is supposedly airlifted into a tough terrain (say, the Everglades or Iceland) with just a few survival items and a camera man. But there’s evidence he has occasionally bunked out overnight in motels and staged some of the survival tactics (like wrangling “wild” horses). Will this cause Discovery to abandon him? I doubt it. I always wondered how the camera guy managed to get around on some of that terrain, like crossing a freezing river, and such.
FX’s latest hard-edged drama “Damages” debuts tonight and it opens with Ellen Parsons, bloodied and battered, exiting an elevator and wandering the streets of New York City. What happened to her? Flashback six months and we start to find out. Unfortunately, the actress Rose Byrne, who plays the naive lawyer hired by powerhouse litigator Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), conveys no depth, no feeling that she’s all that brilliant or all that interesting. While she’s the weakest link, Close is the bulwark in this affair. She’s amoral, she’s tough, she’s well aware she’s a bad mom. It’ll be interesting to see if viewers will find her an acceptable weekly presence like FX fans have embraced Tommy Gavin on “Rescue Me” or Vic Macky in “The Shield.”
And that BET show “Hot Ghetto Mess” that nobody has seen yet but are raising a fuss about? The network just changed its name to “We Gotta Do Better.” The web site mocks “ghetto” stereotypes but some feel glorifies them. The show debuts tomorrow night at 10:30 p.m.
Shows that have been renewed: a fourth season of both Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Hell’s Kitchen.” Plus, “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” was given 13 more episodes.
HBO has renewed “Big Love” for a third season, too.
7/24: March of Dimes promo this morn
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every major Atlanta radio station this morning solicited money for the March of Dimes. I wanted to visit at least three locales where radio stations were raising cash.
Some stations put more effort into it than others. Star 94’s Steve & Vikki gave it a lot of airtime and had call ins from bacon-lovin’ Tom Sullivan at the White House restaurant in Buckhead. V-103 had its entire morning show at Gladys Knight’s Waffle & Chickens. Dave FM’s Orf and Holly Firfer hit a Starbucks in Marietta. “Southside” Steve Rickman at Eagle went to four different Chick Fil A restaurants. B98.5’s Kelly & Alpha stayed in the studio and directed people to the Web site and auctioned off some Airtran tickets for $4,000. 99X and Q100’s the Bert Show were on vacation and playing “best of” tapes this week so the March of Dimes wasn’t able to leverage the talent there.
I figured once I left my home at 7:40 a.m., I’d be lucky to hit three spots given the traffic — and I was right. I first hose Hot 107.9’s A Team at the Camp Creek Parkway Chick Fil-A in East Point first, but only Griff (below) was there. He said the station couldn’t get an ISDN line there, preventing a full live remote show.
Later, I dropped by Gladys Knight’s in Midtown, where Frank Ski and Wanda Smith were interviewing some dude who was ousted from “Making the Band 4” the night before. Ski said he’ll be leaving for the trip to the Galapagos Islands with 11 kids later this week, followed immediately by a trip to Mexico with a bunch of V-103 listeners.
At another corner of the restaurant, sister station morning host Lorraine Jacques-White (the longest-running personality on WAOK-AM) was at the helm promoting the “Breakfast for Babies”promotions.
And with only a few minutes before 10 a.m., I caught Lance Houston, afternoon jock at 94.9/The Bull, at the corner of 10th and Piedmont outside of Flying Biscuit where several March of Dimes volunteers were soliciting funds on the sidewalk.
As of early afternoon, the stations had raised more than $40,000 through a common Web site. This doesn’t include donations through the various participating restaurants.
7/24: Sidekick for Project 9-6-1? (UPDATED)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I got passed along an audio of an XM show called Ron and Fez where a contributor of theirs by the name of Perrynoid announced last week that he was joining “Giant” Brian Carothers on Project 9-6-1, presumably sometime next month. Here’s the audio.
(Oddly, boss Chris Williams sent me an email Tuesday morning denying this guy is coming to Atlanta or even joining the Giant Show. So if this was some elaborate trick or joke, it sure doesn’t seem to have any real payoff.)
Perrynoid endeared himself immediately by saying, “The Giant Show is doing mornings in Atlanta. We’re going to wake up the [expletive] hillbillies.”
He then botched the radio station name, calling it Project 1-9-6. Ron and Fez did note that syndicated shows in Atlanta haven’t done well and Stern has never been here (at least locally.)
“We’re going to sneak in undercover and under the radar, we’re going to take it by storm.” Perrynoid said.
He then sent a message to 99X: “When the Giant show rolls into Atlanta, all you [expletives] better pack your bags! The mad dog is loose! I have a chain and a collar and we’re all going to eat [expletive] and drink [something I can’t print.].”
A caller came in and told Perrynoid: “Tell that retard he got his numbers wrong. It’s 9-6-1.”
Ron and Fez gave Brian a good word, then Perrynoid added: “It’s really cool to hear a program director [Chris Williams] take a chance on something new in the morning.”
A starting date has not been set but it will likely start sometime next month.
7/24: Breakfast for Babies promo
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every major radio station in town is participating in the March of Dimes “Breakfast for Babies” promotion Tuesday morning, in an unprecedented case of cooperation among competitors. Several are doing special remotes from various locales around town.
Here’s the latest list of appearance locales:
WUBL - The Bull 94.9 - Flying Biscuit-Midtown (1001Piedmont Ave, Atlanta 30309), 7-10 am
WBZY - El Patron 105.3FM & WWVA 105.7 FM - Doce Sabor 1360 Powers Ferry Road, Marietta, GA 30067
WSTR - Star 94 — White House, 3172 Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, 30305, Tom Sullivan only on site
WJZZ - 107.5 Smooth Jazz — McDonald’s on Roswell Rd (4326 Roswell Rd, Atlanta, 30342) Greg Fitzgerald on site
WPZE - 97.5 FM - Praise 97.5 — Chick Fil A on Wesley Chapel - (2445 Wesley Chapel Rd, Decatur, 30035) Promotions Staff onsite
WAMJ- 102.5 FM- Grown Folks Radio 102.5 — Chick Fil A on Wesley Chapel - (2445 Wesley Chapel Rd, Decatur, 30035) Promotions staff onsite
WHTA - 107.9 FM - Hot 107.9 — Chick Fil A on Camp Creek, (3410 Camp Creek Pkwy, East Point 30344) Morning Show A-Team on site
WWWQ - 100.5 FM - All the Hits Q100 — The Flying Biscuit (3515 Northside Parkway NW, Atlanta, GA 30327) Promotions staff onsite
WKHX - 101.5 FM - Kicks 101.5 - Chic-Fil-A 2975 Cobb Parkway, Atlanta, 30339 / Chic-Fil-A 2485 Cumberland Pkwy, Atlanta, 30339 / 2460 Windy Hill Road, Marietta, 30067 / 170 Cobb Parkway, S, Marietta, 30060
WYAY - 106.7 FM - Eagle 106.7 — Chic-Fil-A 2975 Cobb Parkway, Atlanta, 30339 / Chic-Fil-A 2485 Cumberland Pkwy, Atlanta, 30339 / 2460 Windy Hill Road, Marietta, 30067 / 170 Cobb Parkway, S, Marietta, 30060
WVEE - 103.3 FM - V-103 — Gladys & Ron’s Chicken & Waffles (529 Peachtree St. Atlanta, 30308)
WZGC - 92.9 FM - Dave FM — Starbucks at Merchants Festival (1401 Johnson’s Ferry Rd, Marietta)
WAOK- 1380 AM- 1380 News & Talk — Gladys & Ron’s Chicken & Waffles (529 Peachtree St. Atlanta, 30308)
WQXI - 790 AM - 790 The Zone — Waffle House, 1825 Pleasant Hill Road
WEKS 92.5 The Bear - Chic-Fil-A in Peachtree City, Newnan, LaGrange, McDonough, Griffin, Carrolton and Fayetteville.
7/23: Arrgh… Pirate Master is over… board
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Did anyone watch CBS’s “Survivor” ripoff “Pirate Master”? Anybody? Nope, me neither. But in case you did, you’ll have to catch the final five episodes on cbs.com. “48 Hours Mystery” is taking over starting tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10 p.m.
Ratings were worse than last year’s “Rock Star,” and though some folks seemed to like it, the show to many seemed so derivative and pointless as to render even reality-show fans like me comatose. The show opened at 7 million viewers and had sunken to about 4.6 million last Thursday with very poor 18 to 49 ratings figures for a reality show.
Mark Burnett, who created “Survivor,” executive produced this dud, but still has “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader:” under his belt along with the resurrected “The Apprentice.”
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7/23: TV user factoids
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nielsen recently came out with some interesting facts about TV viewership you could wield to your buddies at work:
111,400,000 households in the U.S. have TVs, virtually the entire U.S. population of about 113 million. And yes, I do know a couple of folks without TVs. They do exist!
Of those households with TVs:
99 percent have color TVs
82 percent have two or more sets
52 percent have three or more sets
85 percent have a VCR
84 percent have a DVD player
64 percent have wired cable
32 percent have wired pay cable (such as HBO and Showtime)
Given my job, it’s not surprisingly, I can check off yes on all of the above.
Boob tube habits:
Peak viewing day for primetime: Tuesday at 112 million viewers. Lowest viewing day is Saturday at 88 million viewers.
The average person in the U.S. watches 4 hours and 18 minutes of TV per day.
The average woman 18+ watches 5 hours and 1 minute of TV per day.
The average man 18+ watches 4 hours and 15 minutes of TV per day.
The average teen 12-17 watches 3 hours and 3 minutes of TV per day.
The average child 2-11 watches 3 hours and 6 minutes of TV per day.
The stat sheet only broke down African Americans and Hispanics (not any other ethnicities.). The average African-American woman 18+ watches 7 hours and 14 minutes of TV per day; the average African-American male 18+, 6 hours and 15 minutes. The average Hispanic woman 18+ watches 4 hours and 14 minutes per day while the average Hispanic man 18+ only 3 hours and 35 minutes a day.
In the first quarter of this year…
3 percent of people 12 and older used a mobile phone to view videos.
8 percent of teens 12-17 used a mobile phone to view videos.
The top 10 local TV markets in order, in terms of number of TV households, are:
New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
Philadelphia
San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
Dallas-Fort Worth
Boston
Washington, D.C.
Atlanta
Houston
Atlanta has 2,205,510 households with TVs, only about 67,000 households behind Washington D.C.
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7/23: Atlanta’s Cumulus wants to go private
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta-based radio conglomerate Cumulus Media, which owns Q100 and 99X, is seeking to take the company private at a value of $1.3 billion. That’s equivalent to $11.75 per share, 40 percent higher than the Cumulus closing price Friday.
Businesses in general are on a private equity binge and with radio out of favor with investors, going private is a temptation. Clear Channel, the nation’s largest radio company, is also seeking to go private. Lew Dickey and the family, according to my colleage Scott Leith’s story is working with Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity. Cumulus owns or operates about 344 stations nationwide, mostly in smaller markets, generating $334 million last year on a net loss of $44.6 million (which included an impairment charge of $63.4 million to reduce the carrying value of certain broadcast licenses and goodwill.)
Generally, this means down the road, we’ll know less about the financials of Cumulus stations over time. It doesn’t necessarily bode ill or well for any particular station. Q100 and 99X used to be owned (until last year) by a privately-held company named Susquehanna. And Star 94 has been privately held for decades. Most of the major stations in town are owned by publicly traded companies: Cox (the Beat, B98.5, WSB-AM, the River, Kiss), Citadel (Kicks, Eagle), Radio One (Smooth Jazz, Grown Folks Radio, Hot, Praise), Clear Channel (El Patron, Viva, the Bull, Project, WGST-AM), Salem (e.g. the Fish, WGKA) and CBS (V-103, WAOK-AM, Dave FM). The Zone operates through a contract with Lincoln Financial, which owns Star. The Fan is privately held through Dickey Broadcasting, which is not owned by Cumulus despite the Dickey connection.
7/23: Fox 5’s new ‘Road Warrior,’ weekend weather gal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fox 5 has stayed internal to find a replacement for its “Good Day Atlanta” “Road Warrior.” Mark Hyman, a former WSB-TV reporter, who has been at WAGA-TV since 2004 has gotten the job, replacing Bret Martin, who left under murky circumstances in early June. The Road Warrior handles quirky, human-interest stories in the morning and under Martin, was the “American Idol” expert.
Here’s Hyman’s bio.
WAGA-TV also has hired a new weekend meteorologist: Joanne Feldman. Orelon Sydney, who had been doing weekends, was a free-lance fill in and will still pop in on Fox 5 on occasion.
Here are excerpts from her bio from her old TV station in Charlotte:
She grew up in Marietta and is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia with a bachelor of science degree in Geography with an emphasis on Meteorology, Climatology, and Cartography. While attending UGA, she was named Phi Beta Kappa and worked in the university’s Climate Research Lab studying the climatology of convective windstorms. She also worked behind the scenes at the Weather Channel.
She headed north for the highly-regarded graduate program in Meteorology at Penn State University - which she attended on a scholarship from the American Meteorological Society.
Her broadcasting career began when she was one of two graduate students selected to present weathercasts on the University’s daily weather magazine, “Weather World”. She was then offered a job as the weekend meteorologist at KMPH in Fresno, California.
She remained in Fresno to work at KFSN, the ABC-owned station, as the weekend meteorologist. But her duties soon expanded to include anchoring the news for the station’s top-rated morning show. She then moved to WTVD-TV in Charlotte.
In her spare time, she can be found sharing her fascination with weather in Triangle classrooms, at one of the many area ice rinks attempting to perfect a toe loop or a camel spin (no double Axels just yet), in a ballet class, on the driving range with her son, or out jogging with her baby girl in tow.
Joanne and her husband, Chris, are the very proud parents of Cameron, born in 1997, and daughter, Carys (pronounced Care-iss), born in 2005.
7/22: Vick and the Zone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Matt Edgar called me last week and I forgot to post it but after the Mike Vick indictment, the station personalities were inundated with requests for “expert” voices about the situation from dozens of other radio stations nationwide as well as all four local TV stations, CNN, Fox and ESPN. For the Zone (and the Fan), this is a monster story, one they’ll be covering heavily for weeks to come.
Too bad we don’t have the “people meter” measures yet which would enable much more accurate daily and weekly ratings measurements. That way, we could see a big jump in listenership for both stations. But we’ll never really know. Currently, under the old system of Arbitron diaries, you can’t really track ratings in a given day or week. With Arbitron, you are lucky to get semi-accurate “monthly” numbers and passable quarterly figures. (The spring book is out in about 10 days.) The new “people meters” aren’t coming to Atlanta until fall of 2008. So far, only Houston and Philadelphia have the people meters and they indicate much higher “cume” levels, meaning people listen to a lot more stations than they indicate in a paper diary. But time spent listening isn’t quite as robust either. Rock, adult contemporary and oldies stations seem to benefit under the new system. Hispanic and black stations, not as much.
7/20: Ramona out at Hot 107.9 (UPDATED)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Long-time mid-day jock Ramona DeBreaux is no longer at Hot 107.9. Hot just let her go Thursday, no explanation given beyond the standard “we want to go in a different direction” routine. Her name has been wiped off the Web site though her page hasn’t yet been completely eliminated.
Above is her photo off her myspace page.
I got a hold of her Friday afternoon (though her boss Wayne Brown hadn’t gotten back to me as of 5 p.m. Friday). She’s been at the station since the beginning in 1995, first doing overnights, helping out Ryan Cameron a bit as morning co-host in the late 1990s, then mid-day gal the past seven-plus years.
Amazingly, on a top 10 station in a top 10 market, DeBreaux did not have a contract until last year. Although she wouldn’t say how much she had been paid over the years, she admitted she was probably underpaid compared to other jocks in town. She only got a contract when another station she wouldn’t name wooed her. (My guess is it was V-103) To justify the fact Hot kept her around with no contract for so long, she said enjoyed the experience of learning radio, that Hot enabled her to do all sorts of amazing things like fly to London to interview people at Live 8 like Bono and attend both the Republican and Democratic conventions. “It wasn’t about the money,” she said, on why she turned down other opportunities at higher pay. “Just give me a fair salary.”
And she felt some level of loyalty to Hot for helping her get her start.
“There were definitely individuals who made a lot of positive things happen for me,” she said, including Mary Catherine Sneed, former Radio One COO who started Hot 107.9 12 years ago and hired her. (Sneed left more than a year ago.)
DeBreaux didn’t have a clue the firing was coming. She said her ratings have been solid, outperforming mornings and afternoons.
“I didn’t feel burnt out,” she said. “It seemed like second nature for me. It became philanthropy for me. Wow! I can help people get past a lot of problems. That really became a big thing for me.”
She’s done voice work, self-published a relationships book and has some TV deals cooking. DeBreaux overall sounded very upbeat, not upset at all. “For me,” she said brightly, “the skies the limit!”
7/19: Mad Men worth catching
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AMC’s very first original drama “Mad Men,” about suave, casually sexist ad executives in the early 1960s, is worth checking out tonight at 10 p.m. I wish I had had time to write a more detailed review of it, but it captures a time when women were still in the steno pool and not much more and Jews and blacks were marginalized by the bigwigs on Madison Avenue. It’s a beautifully shot series, capturing the smoky haze and fashion of the time, and based on the first episode, seems to revel in more style than substance.
The lead adman Don Draper (Jon Hamm) has to figure out how to market Lucky Strikes just as people are realizing that cigarettes are bad for you. But it is amusing to watch people smoking everywhere and anywhere - heck, even the gynecologist puffs away as he examines a patient, a new secretary (Elizabeth Moss) who figures out quickly that sex is power.
Oh, and on a completely different note, MTV is cancelling MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” hosted by Xhibit after the final eight episodes in favor of “Trick It Out,” another car makeover show starring former “American Idol” semifinalist Becky O’Donohue.
7/19: Turner Emmy nominations
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I had some time this afternoon to scan the entire list of Emmy nominations and Turner Broadcasting didn’t do too badly.
TNT took home 11 nominations, Cartoon Network (including Adult Swim) grabbed three and Turner Classic Movies, one. (TBS was shut out.)
In the most major category, Kyra Sedgwick, who has already won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of transplanted Atlanta detective Brenda Johnson on TNT’s “The Closer,” nabbed her first Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama series.
“Robot Chicken,” the manic sketch comedy show featuring action figures on Adult Swim, is vying for best animated program airing an hour or less, while “Camp Lazlo” and “Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends,” both on Cartoon Network, are nominated for best animated program airing an hour or more.
TNT’s “The Ron Clark Story” received nominations for both best made-for-TV movie and outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie, courtesy of Matthew Perry, who portrayed Clark, an educator building the private, non-profit Ron Clark Academy in south Atlanta.
On a sidenote, in the best musical number category, the SNL short/Internet sensation “[Gift] in a box” with Justin Timberlake and Andy Samburg was nominated. And you know what the gift is, right?
The very funny musical cuts from the “Scrubs” musical episode, “Guy Love” and”Everything Comes Down to Poo” also generating noms.
And sniffing around the Web, some other Emmy omissions critics are opining about include Lauren Graham (again) for “The Gilmore Girls,” Michael Hall in “Dexter,” Kyle Chandler for “Friday Night Lights,” Michael Chiklis from “The Shield,” Terry Crews for “Everybody Hates Chris,” HBO’s “Deadwood” and “Rome.”
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7/19: Emmys embrace The Sopranos
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Emmys in September will likely be a farewell fest for HBO’s seminal series “The Sopranos.” The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences gave the departed drama 15 nominations this morning. Nobody is shocked by that.
Edie Falco, James Gandolfini, Aida Turturro and Loraine Bracco all were nominated in their respective categories.
In the best drama category, “The Sopranos” joins expected nominees “House,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and newcomer “Heroes.” A mild surprise: ABC’s “Boston Legal,” which beat out previous nominees such as “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost,” which bounced back from a shaky second season. James Spader is a favorite of the academy, though, having won best dramatic actor in 2005. Past winner “24” had a subpar season so its absence isn’t going to cause any tears. “The Sopranos” will win.
NBC’s “Friday Night Lights,” a critics favorite but ratings disappointment, could have used any boost, even a modest one like an Emmy nomination, but it came up short. Other possibilities that could have made the grade over “Boston Legal” included HBO’s “The Wire,” Showtime’s “Dexter,” SciFi’s “Battlestar Galactica” and FX’s “The Shield.”
Over in the comedy category, freshman NBC series “30 Rock” did sneak into the fold despite relatively poor ratings while bigger freshman success “Ugly Betty” on ABC also made the cut. The others that got in included last year’s winner “The Office,” followed by HBO’s “Entourage” and CBS’s “Two and a Half Men.” Given the general paucity of great comedies in general, it’s hard to say if the Academy really left anything out here. “Scrubs” has seen better days and “My Name is Earl” wasn’t quite as endearing the second time around. “Ugly Betty” could win this category but “The Office” in its third season deserves the victory.
Spader, as noted, was given another nomination for best actor. That man can chew scenery! Despite the problems with “24,” Kiefer Sutherland was nominated again as well, as was Hugh Laurie for “House” and Denis Leary for “Rescue Me.” But naturally, Gandolfini is the instant favorite to win it all. All are repeat nominees. Someone had leaked a “short list” on the Web a couple weeks ago that had also included Eddie Izzard of “The Riches,” who I would have voted for.
Ricky Gervais (“Extras”) did nab his first Emmy nom as best actor in a comedy series, joining another newbie (in a sense) Alec Baldwin, for his hilarious, Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock.” The other three were usual suspects: former winner Tony Shalhoub for “Monk,” Charlie Sheen for “Two and a Half Men” and Steve Carrell for “The Office.” Baldwin is the conventional favorite.
Six nominees managed to land in the best female in a drama series, including Golden Globe winner Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”), 2006 winner Mariska Hargitay on “Law & Order: SVU,” 2005 winner Patricia Arquette for “Medium” and 2003 winner Edie Falco (“The Sopranos.”) Favorite actress Sally Field (“Brothers and Sisters”) joined the fray and she deserves it. Another actress who made a big name for herself in motion pictures Minnie Driver is the other nominee for “The Riches.” I hated her performance at first but she did improve as the season went along. Sedgwick or Field will probably vie for the victory in this category.
On the comedy actress side, favorite America Ferrara from “Ugly Betty” naturally got a nom and will likely win, as she did at the Golden Globes. Tina Fey in “30 Rock” got a nom, too, though she didn’t capture her comic timing until later in the season. 2005 winner Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”) and 2006 winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) also made the cut. Mary-Louise Parker grabbed her first nomination in this category for “Weeds,” a Showtime comedy that’s starting season three next month. There weren’t a lot of repeats from 2006 because the four actresses from last year besides Louis-Dreyfus were on shows that are no longer airing fresh episodes.
Over in the female supporting roles, “The Sopranos” (Bracco, Turturro) and “Grey’s Anatomy” (Katharine Heigl, Chandra Wilson, Sandra Oh) hogged the drama series category, with Rachel Griffiths of “Brothers and Sisters” the only other nominee. Two “Two and a Half Men” ladies (Conchata Ferrell, Holland Taylor) joined repeat nominees Jaime Pressly (“My Name is Earl”) and Elizabeth Perkins (“Weeds”), first-time and deserving nominee Jenna Fischer (“The Office”) and equally deserving Vanessa Williams (“Ugly Betty.”) on the comedy side. I’m rooting for Fischer though Pressly and Williams could take it home. It’s hard to say who could win the supporting female role though it could go to Turturro or Bracco.
For the men, 2006 winner Jeremy Piven (“Entourage”) and repeat nominee Jon Cryer (“Two and a Half Men”) welcome three newcomers: Piven’s mate Kevin Dillon (“Entourage”) and Rainn Wilson (“The Office.’) and Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”). And on the drama side, 2005 winner William Shatner (“Boston Legal”) and repeat nominee Terry Quinn (“Lost”) also bring up three quality newbies to the game: Masi Oka (‘Heroes”), T.R. Knight (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and Michael Emerson (“Lost”). I’d say Oka and Emerson both have a solid chance of overcoming the Academy’s love for Shatner.
For the full list of nominees, go to www.emmys.org
7/18: ABC News Atlanta, Boortz items
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
According to several broadcast news web sites, including subscription-only www.newsblues.com, the ABC News bureau has been downsized.
The bureau chief, two photogs, an editor, a soundman/sat truck operator, two people in the business office, and the entire NewsOne (affiliate feed) operation were cut. A correspondent, a producer, a desk person, and a tech manager survived.
Meanwhile, WSB-AM’s Neal Boortz has been nominated for syndicated personality of the year for the third time vying for a Marconi Award, a prestigious honor from the National Associaton of Broadcasters. He has yet to win. He’s up against Delilah (heard locally on B98.5); Kidd Kraddock (he’s based out of Dallas and does a top 40 show which Bert Weiss used to be a part of many moons ago.); former WGSTer and current WSB-AM talker Sean Hannity and TV star and standup comic Steve Harvey (heard locally on Grown Folks radio 102.5). Winners will be announced in September.
And folks who are wondering where Ms. Mary the Sports Diva has gone on 790/The Zone’s 2 Live Stews show, she’s also the Stews behind-the-scenes manager and she decided to focus on that rather than the glory of mike time.
7/18: Engvall opens big
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“The Bill Engvall Show” on Atlanta’s TBS opened big last night, at least big by basic cable standards, bringing in 3.9 million viewers. That’s not quite as big as “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” a few weeks ago, which started at 5.5 million but has since fallen sharply, averaging 2.3 million last Wednesday.
TBS, after failing with insufferably bad reality fare (“The Real Gilligan’s Island,” “Outback Jack”), has begun doing its own scripted sitcom fare. Last year’s so-so “My Boys” did just okay, opening at about 1.8 million. The other semi-scripted show “10 Items or Less” didn’t do particularly well but got a second season of 8 episodes. That’s expected to come back early next year.
Engvall actually did better than I had expected. I think if he settles around 3 million viewers a week, TBS will guarantee him more episodes beyond the eight that have been taped. If he drops to 2 million viewers next week, TBS would have reason to be worried but if he loses 20 percent or less, the network will likely give him a quick green light.
In other ratings news, NBC’s “The Singing Bee” dropped about 20 percent its second week, finishing last night at about 11 million viewers. That’s not atypical for a new show but among 18 to 49 year olds, it fell nearly 30 percent. NBC can’t be too thrilled with that.
And only 5 million people bothered to check out the one-hour special Monday following Victoria (yawn) Beckham around.
And “Heroes” fans, Masi Oka, who plays Hiro, told critics at the Television Critics Association press tour I’m not at that he will remain in feudal Japan for at least eight episodes and meet his childhood samurai hero as well as a princess. More here. Mark your calendar: “Heroes” returns Sept. 24.
7/18: Chuck Smith is out at the Zone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former NFL player Chuck Smith is out as mid-day host at 790/The Zone, according to Neal Maziar, the station director. He left Friday after two years at the station.
To many Zone listeners, the mid-day show never quite gelled with Smith and Matt Chernoff. In fact, the Zone recently added back Chuck Oliver to the mix.
The timing of Smith’s departure coming so soon after Oliver’s return fueled speculation that the two didn’t get along. Maziar said that wasn’t the case. “I don’t think there was bad blood between the two guys,” he said. In the end, Maziar said the split with the station was amicable and “he had a nice run.”
Smith, Maziar said, will continue to run his defensive lineman university camp and a separate camp for high school students.
I haven’t been able to get a hold of Smith yet but if I do, I will update this entry.
His bio is no longer on 790/The Zone but it’s cached on google. Here’s that bio, verbatim:
While attending Clarke Central High School in Athens, GA, Chuck’s abilities on the playing field pushed him to the forefront of the high school level and awarded him a full athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. His willingness to play hard and make big plays allowed him to be honored as an All American and All Southeastern Conference. Chuck played in the Sugar and Fiesta Bowls during his college career and in his senior year he was selected to play in the College Senior Bowl, his awesome performance earned him the title of Most Valuable Player.
After entering the NFL draft in 1991, Chuck was selected in the second round by the Atlanta Falcons where he played for eight years. As team captain of the 1998-1999 Atlanta Falcons, Chuck helped lead them to Super Bowl XXXIII, their first in team history. In 2000, Chuck became a free agent and moved to the Carolina Panthers where he retired. Chuck’s athleticism earned him numerous awards and honors during his professional football career including being voted “Best Defensive Lineman in Team History” by the Atlanta Falcon Fans, NFL Quarterback Award, NFL Unsung Hero Award (1998), Howie Long Tough Guy Award, 4 Time Pro Bowl Defensive End (Alternate), Sporting News Football Digest All Pro Team (1997) and 1998 Super Bowl XXXIII Captain. Chuck retired from the NFL in 2001 to pursue a career in broadcast journalism but will always remains a part of Falcons history as the #1 player in fumbles recovered and the #2 player in sacks with 581/2.
7/17: Engvall’s show debuts tonight
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Here’s Bill Engvall visiting the Dave FM studios July 13. CREDIT: RODNEY HO
I wrote a story for the print edition today about Bill Engvall’s new TBS show.. It debuts tonight at 9.
Engvall, best known until now as Jeff Foxworthy’s bud on Blue Collar Comedy Tour and “Blue Collar TV,” is known as a “clean” comic and this show reflects his on-stage act. It’s family friendly and incredibly innocuous with Engvall playing a Denver family counselor with a sweet wife (Nancy Travis) and three kids ripped straight out of casting central. There’s the semi-slacker middle son, the neurotic, smarter-than-thou younger son and the mildly rebellious oldest daughter. It’s not going to win any critical acclaim and it’s nothing special per se but Engvall has a sweet, laidback quality about him that’s easy to take. And Travis is inherently likable. My biggest objection is the youngest son, who is given lines that no actual person would ever say unless they were on a sitcom.
Engvall himself is a truly nice, down to earth guy. While he might be perceived as a man who has lived in Foxworthy’s shadow, this show should give him a chance to break that image.
7/17: Is this “talent”?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two words: Boy Shakira.
Yes, this chubby guy made it through for simply dressing up kind of like Shakira and wiggling his money maker in a way that inexplicably mesmerized judges Piers Morgan and Sharon Osborne but rightfully repulsed David Hasselhoff (and me.) He didn’t even sing badly (like Shakira herself.)
Yet he is one of the 20 acts competing tonight to win $1 million on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”
Seriously, there are some talented folks in this bunch, mostly singers and dancers who wouldn’t qualify on those other reality shows for various reasons. But there is an impressive [singing ventriloquist Terry Fator]http://www.lizgregorytalent.com/Terry%20Fator.htm), some cool martial arts dancers called Sideswipe, a rope slinger named Johnny Lonestar, plus-sized burlesque group the Glamazones, an incredible magician named Kevin James (and wasn’t on “King of Queens”) and a beatboxing gal named Butterscotch who isn’t quite as good as Blake Lewis of “American Idol” but got more airtime than virtually anybody. Here’s Butterscotch’s round two audition.
Some of my favorite musicians include Cas Haley, the Texas acoustic guitarist and singer; Manuel Romero, a sexy 18-year-old singer guitarist who could actually do well on “Idol”; a unique teen Rockabilly group Jonny Come Lately; and sweet and talented 14-year-old Julienne Irwin, the youngest in the top 20.
Then there’s another headscratcher: Mohammad Kashif, the Indian dancer who is oddly interesting but certainliy not worth being in the top 20. I would have preferred the Redneck Tenors, who made the final 35 but not the top 20.
Clearly, the judges wanted a couple of ridiculous entries just to get people talking.
Good news: not a Bianca Ryan in sight. Phew! That was last