What Did He Say?

Did Imus step in it again?

This morning while discussing suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones, Imus asked sports guy Warner Wolf, "What color is he?" After Warner told Imus he was African-American, Imus said, "Well there you go. Now we know."

One has to ask why he even ventured down this road today given his past "situation." Should Imus have refrained from asking his race? Can one even ask and get away with that question in 2008? Was his comeback answer toxic or benign? And does it matter...he asked the question.

Will this episode manifest itself into something or nothing at all? Time will tell.

Listen to the audio and decide for yourself.

Technology Is Forcing Change

May 10th, 1982 was the date that technology forced change...

26 years ago the technology was FM radio and it was an AM radio station forced to change. That station was WABC in New York. Music on AM was dieing and moving over to FM.

WABC's ratings had seen better days but it was still a big deal. Just like people all over the New York area I remember stopping whatever I was doing to tune in to hear the change. I had moved on (working in radio) and was listening to other stations; but this was the station that I grew up with--the station that I have credited more than a few times as being my inspiration that made me want to go into radio.

Here's a WCBS-TV news report from that day. The report says a lot.



Even back in the "dark ages," 1982, technology was a problem...

• There's a whole lot of media out there, wired and wireless--it's getting tougher and tougher to compete
• AM stereo launching to better compete with FM. AM what?
• More stations, more choices, no giants. How quant.
  

Maybe a little slow to make the right moves, but AM did get it right. Interesting that AM's savior was human voices--you know the long list of talk radio stars that made that happen.

The music died on AM when the public had free and easy access to FM. Will the music die on FM when the public has free and easy access to music on ~~insert new medium here~~? I think you know what my answer would be. I will leave it at that.

Please give some thought to history since it has a nasty habit of repeating itself.

***photo credit: from a wonderful website called Forgotten NY

Bob Grant Gets His Cake and Eats It Too

Much has be reported, written and commented on this week over R&R rescinding Bob Grant’s lifetime achievement award. In my view, an award the man deserves.

He is a talk radio pioneer with a storied career that dates back many, many decades. And yes, controversial words have come out of his mouth over the years. And yes, he was fired from WABC for comments made in 1996. Should that be his legacy? I think not. Bob, will get his award from WABC (his second stint) and Michael Harrison’s Talkers Magazine—at that publications conference later this year. In the meanwhile, he has gotten a boatload of free advertising and largely this has been a PR bonanza for Mr. Grant.

What’s most interesting and odd about this entire episode is that the award was announced and then taken away. These types of things are subjective pronouncements to begin with and if R&R had never made the announcement in the first place, life would have gone on and no one would have been any the wiser. Some other deserving person would have gotten the spotlight and that would have been it.

Who’s it gonna be? What broadcaster will receive the award this year? How uncomfortable! Maybe a posthumous award might be best.

One of my favorite radio boards, The NY Radio Message Board, where this story was buzzing big, posted Bob Grant’s interview on the Opie and Anthony Show. It’s edgy, fun, and a bit uncomfortable in a couple of spots. Check it out:

MP3 File