Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2009 > February > 02
Monday, February 2, 2009
2/3: Ike Newkirk update, TNT renews “Leverage”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I finally reached Ike Newkirk today by cel phone number. I had been trying to reach him by his home number and his cel. But he said he seldom checks his home number and my email inquiry might have been spammed out. In other words, he said he had no clue I was trying to reach him.
Newkirk, who has worked at the station for a whopping 39 years, confirmed that he was let go soon after his final January 4 show Sunday mornings on 790/The Zone. But he said he was given a very generous early retirement package, “an offer I couldn’t refuse.” He chuckled.
His show “Open Line” has been on continuously for more than 30 years and had been the longest-running show in Atlanta. (Although he was on 790/The Zone, he actually was employed by Lincoln Financial, which owns Star 94 and leases out the signal at 790/The Zone to Big League Broadcasting. Big League ceded the public affairs programming on Sunday mornings to Lincoln Financial and Star.)
“The station has been going through a lot of changes,” Newkirk said. “This is part and parcel of change. I was director of public affairs. That’s an anachronism in this day and age. You don’t find those kinds of animals anymore at radio stations. That’s pretty much what the radio station was indicating. It was phasing out that position. I pretty much had no problem with it.”
He said he was proud to be a moderate in an environment where most talk show hosts are conservative (though he hates labels.) He recalls being accused of being too conservative during the Reagan era and too liberal during the two Bush eras. He loved battling with callers who disagreed with him. “I like it when people use the brain God gave them instead of blindly going along with the status quo,” he said.
Although Newkirk has lost his job, he said at age 58, he feels fortunate he got the opportunities he did at 790/Star 94. He recalls Mark Kanov, who retired at GM at Star 94 after 40 years last July, told him, “You’re the last man standing.” “I didn’t realize I’d only be standing another six months!” he said.
And fan of Ike Newkirk emailed Matt Edgar at 790/The Zone and Matt responded thusly:
Thanks so much for your inquiry into Ike Newkirk and Open Line.
Open Line will no longer be heard on 790 The Zone. The last show was Sunday, January 4th.
Ike is in good health, no worries there.
Star 94, who employed Ike for 38 years and produced his show, fired Ike back the first week of January. We carried the show as part of our public service agreement with Star 94 but had nothing to do with that decision.
Rick Mack, the Star 94 GM, made the decision and is taking all calls and complaints. You can reach him at 404-261-2970 or rmack@star94.com.
Good luck and thanks again.
Matt Edgar Program Director Sports Radio 790 the Zone WQXI - Atlanta
Edgar confirmed this email was his. “I’ve taken hundreds of phone calls about Ike,” Edgar said to me. “People wanted to know what happened.” (I’ve received dozens of email inquiries myself and so has Richard Eldredge, the man who does Peach Buzz here.)
I did finally reach Newkirk’s former boss Rick Mack yesterday, but he wasn’t terribly forthcoming. All Mack would say (twice) is, “I can’t help you out,” when I inquired about Newkirk. Then he said, “I gotta go” and hung up. He wasn’t mean about it, just confirming what he had said in a voicemail a week earlier, that he had no intention of talking to me about Star 94 business at all.
- Atlanta-based TNT has renewed a second season of 15 more episodes for its drama “Leverage” starring Timothy Hutton. It has averaged 3.2 million viewers per episode, a decent figure for TNT. This will be the fourth show TNT now has under its belt that is currently in production after “The Closer,” “Saving Grace” and “Raising the Bar.” I’m not bursting with confidence the new “Trust Me” will be a big enough hit to be the fifth.
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2/2: WXIA’s new meteorologist Chesley McNeil
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WXIA-TV has finally hired a replacement for Flip Spiceland: Buffalo’s Chesley McNeil. He is now on during the weekday morning and noon shows.
The new WXIA news director Ellen Crooke once worked in Buffalo with McNeil. According to his bio online, he has worked in Richmond, Va. and Maryland. He is from Philadelphia and has three sons with his wife. He’s also pursuing a PhD. and is an accredited meteorologist. He also enjoys teaching science to children.
Here’s his first blog entry over the weekend:
I’m really looking forward to my first day on the Morning show on 11 Alive. It was a long drive from Buffalo, NY (13.5 hours). I’m already a fan of the warmer weather. This is nice compared to the snowy shores of Western New York. The people are warm as well. I’ve met some really nice folks including my co-workers. The only sour note….. I got into a car accident just 3 days in! But the young lady that hit me did ask about my well being.
Well Atlanta, I think this is going to work out! See you in the morning!
Chris Holcomb returns to weekend duties, which he was doing before Flip left last year.
Here’s part of the bio on the WXIA-TV Web site as of Tuesday morning. It appears the first paragraph was updated but someone forgot to do so in the third graf. Whoops!
About Me: Chris Holcomb is the weekend meteorologist on 11Alive/WATL. You can see him mornings and evenings on weekends and filling in for Paul and Chesley during the week. In 2007, Chris received the upgraded “Certified Broadcast Meteorologist” designation from the American Meteorological Society. Before that, Chris held the AMS Seal of Approval since 1997.
Chris is a native Atlantan! He grew up in “a touch of country in the city”…Doraville! After graduating from Dekalb’s Sequoyah High School, he went to UGA to the Journalism School majoring in Broadcast News. After graduating from UGA, he started working in Macon, Georgia at WMAZ TV reporting during the week and doing weather on the weekends. Chris furthered is meteorological education from Mississippi State University.
Chris left Macon in 1991 and returned home to Atlanta with his dream job at WXIA! 17 years later, he’s off the weekend shift and is enjoying at Monday-Friday schedule!
Chris now resides in Gwinnett County with his wife, son and daughter.
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2/2: Super Bowl ads - super or not?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Super Bowl itself was actually fun to watch this year, enough to overshadow the ads. Groin shots via snowglobe, getting hit by a bus, cute animals (sometimes being punched in the face), M.C. Hammer, William Shatner and tons of movie (and NBC) promos.
What did you like the most? Check them all out here at hulu.com. And here are a few of the better ones:
Alec Baldwin, mocking the “cottage cheese” effect TV has on the brain:
Cash4gold.com mocks both Ed McMahon and M.C. Hammer. I’m sure Hammer needs the cash from the ad so he doesn’t have to sell his gold medallion of him wearing a gold medallion.
Having loved the old Mean Joe Greene ad, the new one is ironic and amusing 30 years later:
Careerbuilder.com went absurdist with an ad featuring a koala bear getting hit in the face. I couldn’t take my eyes off this one:
I know a lot of folks weren’t amused by this one but I chuckled:
The one I hated the most: Those E*Trade babies. I love babies in general but not these and singing Mr. Mister? Double blech!
And here’s an odd one about the Jack in the Box guy getting hit by a bus! That’s not uplifting - or chuckle-worthy, the two typical emotions Super Bowl ads try to evoke.
