12/28: A Message To Lexus
If Mrs. kkk would surprise me on December 25 with one of your yuppie cars parked on our driveway with a red bow on top of the roof, I'd still rank my Atari 2600 way higher on my list of favorite holiday gifts than your overpriced junk.
I can't remember when I got my first Big Wheel, but I'd put that above getting one of your cars.
11 p.m.
• So my local liberal rag ran an editorial earlier this month that I just stumbled across. There's a local RIGHT-WING RADIO station that is doing a re-shuffling of its lineup. Oh Noes, the left-wing editorial board doesn't approve.
Pittsburgh talk radio isn't exactly a model of ideological diversity. Even so, there was a time when voices from across the political spectrum could be heard.
There used to be a radio home for the unabashed liberalism of Lynn Cullen. If libertarianism is your bag, there was no smarter advocate for it than Jerry Bowyer. Who doesn't miss the moderate politics of Phil Musick or the wacky pop anarchy of "Uncle" Doug Hoerth's show?
Alas, most of these examples go back to when programmers were willing to entertain the possibility that listeners could weigh contrary views without their heads exploding. You would never know Pittsburgh talk could be that diverse by what's on the air these days.
This week KDKA-AM announced a reshuffling of its schedule, effective Jan. 5, but kept its overwhelmingly conservative slant. KDKA veteran Mike Pintek, who was dismissed in 2005, was called back to take the evening slot. He will follow a 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. block of news, and right-wing firebrand Fred Honsberger will take the mike at noon.
Instead of trying a different flavor of political talk, KDKA has opted for more of the same. Mr. Pintek and Mr. Honsberger do what they do well, but with a new administration coming, wouldn't it have been worth considering a talk host who reflects the national political mood?
No, a few hours of liberal Chris Moore on KDKA Sundays and Bev Smith on low-signal WAMO-AM don't fill the void.
Maybe station management believes nonconservative views have no appeal -- a dubious notion, given the results of the 2006 and 2008 elections. Let's hope the next radio shake-up will bring change we can believe in.
I find it hilarious that the Shittsburgh Post-Gazette would comment about one-sidedness when their editorials are nothing more than a stream of never-ending hippie crap, but whatever. Basically, KDKA dumped a few hosts, brought back a long-time host and kept the station's best talker. Take it from me: Mike Pintek, Fred Honsberger and Marty Griffin is NOT an "overwhelmingly conservative" slant. Marty's a tool; I heard he's liberal but that's not why I don't listen to him -- he's an "investigative reporter" for a local television station and annoying as hell with his EVERYTHING is an OUTRAGE blather. I would put money on Pintek voting more Republican than Democrat, but he did say that, much to his regret, he voted for Fast Eddie in the 2002 governor's election. Fred has been a mainstay at KDKA for years and is a great talk-show guy.
Here's the bottom line, and the Post-Gazette even admits this:
"Mr. Pintek and Mr. Honsberger do what they do well..."
That's why KDKA brought back Pintek, and that's why Honsberger still has a job at KDKA. It's business, you dipshits.
...but with a new administration coming, wouldn't it have been worth considering a talk host who reflects the national political mood?"
What in the hell has that got to do with talk-radio programming? If we're going to go by this logic, how come the Shittsburgh Post-Gazette, along with the legions of other liberal media outlets, suddenly didn't turn conservative from 1994 through 2006 to "reflect the national political mood"? Having read the Post-Gazette from 1994-2000 and then again from 2003-2008 I can say matter-of-factly that its left-wing drivel remained the same, if not cranked up a few notches here and there.
If there's one industry I want to turn to so I can learn how to make my business successful, it's the newspaper biz. Yessire. Nothing but black on those bottom lines.
9:30 a.m.
• For God's sake, ESPN, can we please stop making references to the TOUGH TIMES WE LIVE IN? During yesterday's bowel games each contest had several references, and within a 5-minute span "Outside the Lines" and "Sports Reporters" also made comments. Good God. Can we move up President Hussein's Inauguration so we can all say we are living in a gilded age?
9:45 a.m.
• Here's another one:
"What recessionlol... blahblahblah... does Baseball need a salary cap?"
Come on, Osama, make all this go away.
LOL -- one of the pinheads on the panel just said now with these free agent signings the Yankees will be the top story of this upcoming baseball year. The Yankees are ALWAYS the top story each year, no matter what they do. And the one panelist said salary cap opponents are disillusioned?
Oh, no, in the next segment they are going to talk about the year that was 2008. Let's see if we more President Hussein or RECESSION~! references.
LOLx2 -- some panelist said Michael Phelps was celebrating when that one guy won the relay race for Team USA, Phelps was celebrating because now that guy made him "immortal" and got him all the post-Olympic deals. I'm sure Phelps was thinking, "YAY, now I get to host Saturday Night Live."
Wow, no references. Color me impressed.
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