A MEDICAL QUESTION

2010 has been a bad year for me. I tore a tendon in my leg during a fall on the ice in January. This went undetected thanks to my former doctor, who said the pain in my ankle was caused by "my excessive weight." (Notice I said he was my former doctor) I've also had bronchitis, kidney stones, a spider bite and was diagnosed as being a type 2 diabetic.

I have a question for doctors and patients alike. It is allegorical to the current state of radio industry and American politics. I thought of this while read several disheartening news stories on All Access today. This also has local ramifications.

If you were in charge of a hospital, who would you hire to take care of patients and perform surgery? Would you hire experienced specialist and surgeons? Would you hire young specialist and surgeons just out of medical school? Or would you place your patients in the care of people who are not educated in medicine, but other fields? These people would be plumbers, stock brokers, mortgage lenders, bankers, real estate agents and auctioneers. They would pay you to allow them to operate on patients (It would be an ego thing).

Would you also support one of these stock brokers, mortgage lenders, bankers, real estate agents or auctioneers if they want to be president of the American Medical Association, even though they don't know anything about medical science? They would be "outsiders" from the medical profession, but they are "business men."

After all, a plumber, stock broker, mortgage lender, banker, real estate agent or auctioneer may not have went to medical school, but they are "business men." They could probably do just as good operating on your prostrate or your brain tumor as someone who went to some big medical school in a big city somewhere. We all know that "business men" are so much smarter than teachers, firemen, policemen, judges, psychiatrist, social workers and media people, so they probably know more than some person who spent about ten years in college studying to be a doctor. Are you going to let them operate on you?

They'll probably cut your throat and let you bleed to death. That is what most "business men" do to us and our country anyway.

An opinion, like this one, is why I'm the Super-Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

WHY DID I GET INTO RADIO?

I complain about the radio industry, which I am appear of. People have said, "If you don't like it, why did you take a job in the radio industry?"

As many of you know, the radio industry crossed over to the DARK SIDE!

I found this video of a hit song from 1974 that celebrates the reason I got into radio. There is no talk about President Obama's birth certificate, immigration, "Fair Tax," socialism, Reagan fetishism or "the defending the Constitution." Just the important stuff.

An opinion, like this one, is why I'm considered the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

WASN'T MY GENERATION SUPPOSED TO CHANGE RADIO FOR THE BETTER?

Once again, I've decided to travel back into time to my SMSU days. I've been reflective lately on all the hope and promise of those days that has been largely stomped on the repressive Ozarks culture.

Let's look at one facet of my media career, which is radio. As a media major, I studied newspaper, radio and television. I had a particular interest in radio. Part of this came from the simple fact that i was always interested in improving the local radio scene. I used to do some DXing late at night as a kid and I felt that many of the local radio station needed to be more like the major market stations. It was my destiny to try to change things around here, especially KWLT FM 92 and KJEL in Lebanon.

Another thing that energized my interest in radio, was an article in Rolling Stone about college radio was becoming a big influence in the music world. Rolling Stone and Billboard both had college rock charts. According to Rolling Stone, the young people in college radio were going to revitalize radio with their creativity and free-form programming.

The only radio stations in Springfield offering internships were KTTS, KTXR and KSMU. Rumor has it one of the rock stations in town stopped offering internships because they didn't want any college kids telling people about rampant cocaine use by the staff. I took an internship at KSMU, because they allowed students to program their own music on the Midnight Snack show. I used to listen to the Midnight Snack in Lebanon. It was there that I first fell in love with the Sex Pistols, Ramones and the various paisley underground bands.

College radio eventually beat mainstream radio to probably the greatest band of the 90's, Nirvana. Springfield even had a radio station playing college rock, Z105 the Planet. Yes, it looked liked my generation (now dubbed Generation X by the press). SO WHAT HAPPENED???

Several factors played into our lack of power in 2010. The major explanation goes back to the Telecom Act of 1996, which opened the door for the large radio corporations like Clear Channel, Cumulus, Journal and Citadel. Here is hoping the FCC reverses all this consolidation soon. With consolidation, most creative program directors lost their power in favor on PD for the whole country. Sadly, most of these companies adapted the attitude that "only country and talk are profitable in the post 9-11 society" and many alternative station were changed to something else. So then, why has radio lost so much money and listeners in the past few years? Could it be you are driving away listeners with that talk and country garbage?

A major problem that isn't talked about is the animosity and resistance faced us Generation X-college-radio-trained-talent from an element of white-conservative-Baby Boomers, who were in management, not just in radio but other media. These balding, fat middle aged guys wanted to keep us out of the industry. They also did like the changes we wanted to make. A Rolling Stone article once gave a name to a name to a notorious alternative rock radio destroyer, Randy Michaels of Jacor. I should also point out that Jacor (later engulfed by Clear Channel) owned the Premier Radio, which produces such garbage as Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and Delilah. Do you see a pattern here?

However, there is a nostalgia for the college radio era and it's music. A friend of mine works at a book and music store. He has noticed people in their 40s buying the "college rock" of the 80s and 90s. Two blogs, Spinning Indie and Slicing Eyeballs, discuss both old and new college rock.

There is hope that there could be a turn around in the radio industry and us Generation X college radio slackers will save the industry from the suit wearing, Rush lovers in the big corporations. We are radio's only hope.

Of course, opinions like these are why I'm considered Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

MORE GATEKEEPING NEEDED BY THE LOCAL MEDIA

I have come to the conclusion that concern for integrity is lacking in the local media. Part of this comes from the incident this last week involving the News Leader’s editorial page, the other from my own job experience.

I believe part of the problem is the obsession with amateur talent or outside participation. First of all, let’s clear the air on why this has suddenly become popular. It is not to give the common man a voice as much as it is to save money. Amateur talent in the newspaper editorial section or on
talk radio is cheaper than hiring a j-school grad or person with a media degree. Think for a minute how many byline reporters and columnist are no longer with the News Leader. Now the News Leader gives us garbage like the “Patriot’s Pen.”

I have trouble with this guy in the News Leader being called “a patriot.” I feel “patriot” is a title you have to earn after death. A true patriot would never consider him/herself a patriot. A person who dubs himself a patriot is usually a major douche bag.

The overall racist tone of the column was bad enough but the fact the News Leader defended this guy and his use of the term “colored” shows a lack of integrity by management. This is not the News Leader pandering to their redneck critics in the community rather than adhere to journalistic standards.

This leads me to a similar problem I faced in my job this week. A caller on one of the radio programs I produce began advocating violence toward Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig. I cut the caller off. It turns out the caller was a friend of the host. It was a rigged call to make it look like people actually agreed with the opinion expressed by the host. I’ve told my
supervisor I didn’t want to be associated with this kind of stuff as a shows producer. I feel very strongly about what my name is attached to. I may find there are repercussions to this decision, but contrary to what one former talk radio show host and his sycophantic fans would have you believe, I have morals and standards.

I feel we need to work on our integrity when it comes to the amateur commentators. There needs to be more gatekeeping by the local media, if we are going to allow people without any formal media training to "take over" our air waves and editorial pages. They should have to adhere to the same rules as the real media people or we will end up looking like the hillbillies people in the major markets think we are.

Of course, opinions like these are why I’m considered the Super-Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

BTW: If you haven’t read Rhetorica's Andy Cline’s comments on the News Leader “colored” scandal, I’ve included links to those articles.

1. Failure to Edit
2. Ham-Handed Headline
3. Gannett Blog Reacts to "Colored"
4. On Flux
5. Moving On

WHY IS HE ON THE COVER OF TIME? I'M COOLER!

Some idiot at Time magazine thought that putting scummy doofus Glen Beck on the cover was a great idea. WRONG!!!

I'd rather be on the cover of Rolling Stone or Fangoria.

ANOTHER THING WRONG WITH RADIO

When I decided to get into radio in the mid-80's, there was a radio show that fired my need to program one of the local radio stations MY WAY. That show was the Dr. Demento Show. I had to listen to it over faint signals from Rolla, St. Louis and Kansas City. There was not an affiliate in the Springfield area.

I colleague of mine was wondering if the Dr. Demento show still aired anywhere in the country. I found both the Dr. Demento page and a Wikpedia page with the sad story. Only seven radio stations carry Dr. Demento's show. Compare that to the numbers of affiliates of right-wing talk radio low-life host like like Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, Mike Savage, Bill Cuningham and Rush "the Overpaid Scumbag" Limbaugh.

I feel the government needs to step in and force stations in every city to drop the talk low-life shows and carry Dr. Demento. Of course, opinions like this are why I'm considered the SUPER-VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!