Wednesday, February 16, 2011

We're all screwed up--join the party; Wednesday wash



What a miserable town. Everyone, to some degree, is all pretty much phucked up including me--nobody around these parts is immune to all the hell, the scare, the feelings that permeate the entire industry.

Anybody and everybody that makes any real coin is under the gun. You can see it on the faces. Take a look.

Bottom line trumps talent--hasn't it always been that way, sir? We'll, no really, it hasn't, but in THIS world, THIS business, THIS industry, the six-figure crowd are looking over their shoulder on a daily basis, as they should.

Mediocrity rules the day. Anyone with real gusto has pretty much split town and headed for LA or NY, but it really isn't any better there. A few hearty souls that have managed to cheat time and escape the wrath of the upper mtg. assholes are still breathing. Barely.

I'm reminded of a NY sports anchor who was recently let go from the NBC o and o after 24 years; wonder how tough the business has become? It's all now about how the books look, how much ad money is coming in and how the all-important A25-54 crowd is responding, which given the state of the biz today, amounts to how many, when they're not on their IPhones and IPads and at the gym, are really watching and listening.

Take a look at your friend's faces. See the fear. The inmates are running the asylum. Haven't they done such a splendid job? "Hey Pete, you're wanted in the bosses office, oh shit"...Damn right. Looks as if they found a cute blond from Des Moines named Courtney who's been flown in to take your gig--she's got a boyfriend named Stan who's a consultant...Blah, blah, blah....(deep sigh)

Yeah, rough world out there, ain't it?

*OK, now its time to begin looking for items...

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6 comments:

  1. Rich, what started out as a bunch of tidbits and ended up being all about Christine Craft was classic!
    You know how craigslist has the "best of" link? If you do so you've gotta use the main entry and the comments from yesterday. I must have checked back to your site 10 times over the course of the afternoon to see new comments, particularly those of "Bubba" who probably should have ignored things instead of reinforcing the CC criticism.
    Thanks for getting it all started yesterday, very amusing stuff.

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  2. I second the comments by the first poster. I must have checked back on your blog 100 times yesterday. I woke up in the middle of the night to check out any new comments. Great stuff.
    Re: your new entry, the worst looking guy right now is Radnich. Talk about a battered performer. He looks haggard, tired, stressed, beaten and battered. All that looking over his shoulder is taking its toll. He’s aged 20 years since 2008.

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  3. Are things really that bad? Yikes! I do think that The Radio King just canceled his order for his 4th Jaguar. J/k.

    These musings make me wonder thusly.

    If it is "sexist" to let an aging anchor go in a visual medium (i.e., TV news); is it sexist to hire a 25-year-old blonde with minimal experience? Should men with deep resumes, references galore, and receding hairlines file a class action suit?

    I recall about 15 years ago former KGO host Dr. Carla Perez and an author / guest - going on and on about how men in their 40s and 50s should date women "their age". Boy, weren't men sexist pigs, wanting to date younger women!?!

    So I called up and asked these two ladies a question. "When you were a Freshman or Sophomore in college, if the senior quarterback on the football team asked you out, would you go out with him?" "Yes, yes!"

    "When you were fresh out of college, when a 35-year-old attorney or doctor asked you out, would you accept?" "Oh yes, YES!"

    "Interesting," I replied. "So when you were the *beneficiary* of this pattern or custom, it was great. But how about the 25-year-old guy with the beat-up car, who couldn't compete with the lawyer? Or today, that same 25-year-old guy is now successful, has experience, so now maybe he wants to ask out the recent college grad. But now you want to change the rules?"

    The two women chuckled, and admitted their contradictory stances.

    "Hypocrisy?", I asked. Dr.Perez, to her credit, admitted that I made an extremely valid point.

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  4. Things are in flux ,for sure. MTV doesnt play music-what's the "M" mean anymore? Newspapers are on the internet-and they still charge for the wood paper,while they give it away for free on the internet. And they wonder why they are going broke.
    TV news directors realize-it doesnt take paying millions to an anchor to do that job. Many can read a prompter for dollars per hour wages. Same for covering a car wreck "Yep,they look wrecked,Bob"...again no investigative high paid reporter needed for that.
    Sports? Colleges dont give degree's in sports history or in any sport period. How anybody can feel secure having a job where any drunk's opinion is as valuable as a ex champions? Its sports-playtime.
    Its all bottom line now for business..go Blond if stuck for an answer.

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  5. sayheystretch..couldn't help himself and had to keep looking ..again with the looking and check this site ..to see what Bubba had said. Bubba(MOI) also received several super compliments which really pissed stretch off. I think you ought to thank me for making this site lively..you poor bored darling!.Have you thought about a career that would be more interesting for you perhaps?as the broadcasting world crumbles further..you know..something like a profession..that you can practice until well past retirement age? And in general for young uns coming into the current broadcasting world..Do you honestly think you'll have this work most of your life? ...or are you realists?It's an interesting sociological question..isn't it?

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  6. re geezer male anchors..usually keep their jobs well past the first crow's foot and only have to have one facelift for every anchorette's two..That said...isn't t.v. news a dying endeavor? I mean, hasn't the audience been getting smaller and smaller for a 'product" which aims for the lowest common denominator and relies on a formula that is long since passe? am I wrong..are people coming back in droves to t.v. news? I don't know anyone who watches it at all and some of those are current broadcasters. It looks and sounds and smells the same all across the country ..all the same formula..signifying very little..am I wrong?

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