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Radio-dispatchedWednesday May 07, 2008
Rush Limbaugh Insulted Our Mayor--We Think
I shook [Clinton's] hand, he left, comes back [with] the mayor of Los Angeles," he told listeners. "I thought it was a Secret Service agent, maybe a shoeshine guy. Turns out he gives me his card, I said, 'Oh, my gosh, it's the mayor of Los Angeles.'" Then Villaraigosa looked at Limbaugh's card and said,"Oh my gosh, it's the ambassador to the 17th century." Thursday May 01, 2008
Air America Is Still Looking For Mr. Good Barb
Air America announced: ...Marc Maron and Sam Seder next week; followed by Ron Reagan and Ron Kuby as guest-hosts on subsequent weeks of "American Afternoon," airing 3-6pm ET. We submit that Marc Maron can read the phone book and make it funny, informative and suddenly make a lot of sense. Not even the phone book. Any phone book. Like the one that comes with the iPhone. Serious. He's that good. We have an anonymous tip that we must add. It reads,"I love Marc Maron...I have a man crush on him". Indeed. Friday Apr 11, 2008
"It Was Stand Up Comedy, Larry"This clip from yesterday's Larry King Live, confirms what we have been reporting, that Air America was trying to get out of Randi Rhodes' contract and that's why the video of her calling Hillary Clinton 'a fucking whore' surfaced 10 days after the event. Thursday Apr 10, 2008
Anonymous on the Randi Rhodes Tip--DevelopingWe got an email: Not sure if you care about this at all but here some info on the Rhodes situation... Thanks Deep Throat! UPDATE: from another tip: We should mention that when she used the term 'fucking whore' to refer to Hillary Clinton she was at an Obama event. Classy. Rhodes Quits Air America
Air America had suspended Randi Rhodes after she called Hillary Clinton 'a fucking whore' in a stage appearance. And now she has resigned: Air America Media was informed last night by Ms. Rhodes that she has chosen to terminate her employment with the company. We wish her well and thank her for past services to Air America. So she's going to San Francisco: UPDATE: John Scott, Program Director of Green960, speaks out: Our money was on her going to XM/Sirius where lunatic potty mouths are embraced...but ok. See FBLA's exclusive with Rhodes' ex-writer comedian Barry Crimmins. Sunday Apr 06, 2008
FBLA Exclusive: Interview with Randi Rhodes' Ex-Writer Barry Crimmins
Randi Rhodes is in trouble for calling Hillary Clinton a 'fucking whore' as part of a stand up performance she did in San Francisco. Last word was that Air America suspended her for the YouTubed gaff. In fairness to all stand up comedians, Randi Rhodes is not one. Nor was Michael Richards. Just so that's stated for the record. Barry Crimmins, who is a stand up, satirist and author, was a writer for Rhodes from March 2004 until the summer of 2006. The time when, arguably Rhodes was the most poignant and funny she's ever been. Crimmins talked exclusively with FBLA about the suspension. FBLA: What you think of this ordeal? BC: I looked at the video. She was inarticulate. It was in a club, obviously people were drinking. It didn't seem like people were particularly aghast. As far as Hillary being a 'whore' - I criticize her a lot but that's not the word I would use. And something no one is talking about is that she said this in San Francisco where many sex workers are unionized and she used 'whore' as a pejorative. But as far as what she was doing up there, it looked like something that was not well put together. She was stringing together lines that she has used on the air and ad-libbing around them. That's where the inarticulate language came in. I've seen people do a lot worse - she was getting laughs. I think they'll use the whole 'it's just not funny' excuse but she was getting some laughs. But she's a rep for sacred Air America - an allegedly progressive talk show network that's now policing what its employees say on a Friday night in a bar. Next comes a memo forbidding on-air discussion of the ACLU. There are two forces at work here: One is selling Hillary Clinton as feminist martyr, even though she's running with assurances that she'll be the perfect tool of the patriarchal war machine - not to mention a prime beneficiary of said machine. This is where some might apply charges of prostitution. Anyway, this played right into the endless "Hillary as gallant, little victim" stuff. She was the favorite with big time connections and now she's The Little Engine That Could or Rocky, who also lost to a black guy with a weird name. So ten days later, Force One From Victimhood meets meets Force Two From WEB 2.O - YouTube. This all falls in the lap of suits at perpetually failing Air America - suits apparently looking to dump a big contract. FBLA: Did you write for her during the whole shooting Bush controversy? BC: I wrote that sketch. Jeb Bush had just pushed through legislation making it OK for Floridians to shoot people if they felt threatened. This didn't exactly make me feel comfortable as a performer whose been known to occasionally make audiences a tad nervous. Anyway, this bit was meant to satirize both Jeb's law and W's raid on Social Security. It was meant to sound like an old codger firing a warning shot because he felt threatened -- sort of a "get off my land!" deal. Instead, it got produced with a burst of automatic weapon fire. This was wrong, I should have caught it, someone should have caught it - we didn't. I did give them the perfect escape line, which they didn't use. The line was, "We're sorry - we forgot how seriously this administration takes fictitious threats." But seriously, I don't want Bush to be shot. I want him to live and face the judgment of history and know that he will forever be the measure of puniness. In any case, it seems to me that calls to fire Randi are excessive. Her livelihood's at stake and Americans have lost enough jobs lately. I once lost a great radio gig for no good reason and I wouldn't wish that on anyone - even if they were guilty of off-duty inarticulate speech. FBLA: Thanks Barry! We're such fans of what you do! For more about Crimmins - visit his site. Monday Mar 24, 2008
All Satellite Radio Will Be Won: DOJ approves of XM and Sirius Merger
The U.S. Justice Department approved the merger between satellite radio companies Sirius and XM Monday, more than a year after the two companies first announced their deal. That's one way of trying to get more people to actually listen to Howard Stern. Monday Feb 25, 2008
Gary Busey Defends (Kinda) HimselfWe promised to get to the bottom of Gary Busey's bizarre Red Carpet behavior and we have ... not. But here is the man's best effort to explain himself on KIIS FM this morning. Wednesday Feb 13, 2008
So Cal Broadcasters Association Prez Wins Radio Award
Tuesday Jan 22, 2008
Coachella Lineup Announced
Press release follows: PreviouslyGrammy Noms Announced. No One Surprised. More Bands Follow Radiohead's Free Music Lead Digital Music's Future Decided By Wal-Mart John and Ken on Daily News Op-ed/Boks Bungles Again Do Record Companies Have Steve Jobs Cornered? Arg! Shake Yar Booty: More Pirate Radio In L.A. KCRW's Art Critic Not A Pretty Picture, Writes Tyler Green Proving, Yet Again, That People Live In Those Fly-Over States John Griffiths Talks Recovery In Pop Culture with Ted Casablanca I'd Like To Thank The Academy, And NPR, For Giving Me This Honor KFI's Bill Handel and Star 98.7 Jamie White In-Studio Screaming Match A Great Miracle--KCRW Cancels Ruth Seymour's Hanukkah Show All Music Sucks This Time of Year Breakfast With the Beatles Returns to Radio Arianna Just The Way You Like Her Will Air America Declare Bankruptcy? Advice on the Radio--Load of Bull? Rick Dees--What All The Young Folks Want Target takes aim at Ziggy Marley Howard's end: Victory, for a pittance The Quote of the Week: David Lee Roth Stern / CBS settlement: Not signed, sealed or delivered - but reached XM: Radio to the power of "Uh-oh" Record companies sue XM over recorder; What exactly does it mean to buy music, anyway? "Universal" soldier: Spitzer nails UMG, takes aim at EMI Tom Hanks: Ask not what I know about "DaVinci"; ask what I know about strippers and Pez dispensers Warner Music: Downloads its savior, and possibly, its ruin? Blue note: Warners wants no second date with EMI A day after Napster launches free service, iTunes stays at 99 cents Sony BMG pulling a "Cheap Trick"? XM shares plunge on news of Feds billing probe |
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