Archive for March, 2009

Poll: favorite E-Trade Baby commercial

March 30th, 2009 joel

You could say that Dennis Miller isn’t a cume audience driver in Erie. In fact, if our P&T poll is any indication, the dropping of Rush by WJET caused almost two-thirds of our respondents to listen to less Erie talk radio. About a quarter said that they are listening to the same amount, while just over 10% said they were listening more often.

This week our poll is just for fun. I have to admit that my favorite series of TV commercials on the air today are the E-Trade Baby commercials that debuted in 2008. They launched a few new ones for the Super Bowl and E-Trade has purchased a decent flight during March Madness. They are all available on E-Trade’s website: www.etrade.com/tv.

Here’s my favorite ad, like them all, created by Grey Group/New York:


What’s your’s?

What's your favorite E-Trade Baby commercial?

  • Golf Baby (38%, 3 Votes)
  • Big Game Singing Baby (38%, 3 Votes)
  • Trading Baby (13%, 1 Votes)
  • Banking Baby (13%, 1 Votes)
  • Mobile Pro Baby (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Funny Baby (-2%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 8

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , No Comments »

Deep Background for Mar. 29 – Apr. 4, 2009

March 29th, 2009 joel

Good discussion last week on the merits of government intervention into the media. For some of us old timers, just the idea that we are discussing such intermingling is pretty shocking, but indeed, we are in an age of change.

Let’s keep the conversation going, wherever you wish it to go. It’s my understanding that quite a few media-savvy college students are known to peruse this blog; please share your thoughts on Erie and the national media. We’d love to hear from you.

Please send any private comments to joel@nataliemedia.com or via Twitter @pressandtower.

Embrace the chaos!

Posted in Deep Background Tags: , 9 Comments »

Dymond to take over Connoisseur/Erie

March 26th, 2009 joel

Connoisseur has named a replacement for ousted GM Dave Calabrese. From their corporate website:

Westport, CT – Nancy Dymond has been named Market Manager of Connoisseur Media’s Erie operation. Dymond will be responsible for Connoisseur’s market-leading group – WRTS (Star 104), WRKT (Rocket 101), WXBB (Bob), WTWF (The Wolf), WJET-AM and WFNN-AM.

Dymond has over 25 years of experience in radio sales and management. She has had a tremendous track record over the years as Vice President/General Manager for Fritz Broadcasting in Saginaw and Lansing Michigan, Cumulus Media in Flint Michigan, and as Director of Sales for Radio One in Detroit.

“It will be exciting working with such great stations and a company that believes in ‘good radio’ and serving the community”. I look forward to the challenge”, said Dymond.

Dymond will be taking over Erie’s most successful radio stations, such as the 50,000 watt powerhouse STAR 104. In the Fall Arbitron, Connoisseur Media’s 4 FM properties finished #1, #2, #3, and #4 with Adults 25-54 M-Sun 6a-12a.

“We are fortunate to have someone like Nancy leading our operation in Erie. She is a real radio pro. I’m confident she will continue to build upon our success,” said David Bevins, Connoisseur Media’s VP of Operations.

Connoisseur Media is headquartered in Westport, CT. In addition to Erie, the Company owns or operates radio stations in Billings (MT), Bismarck (ND), Bloomington (IL), Des Moines (IA), Huntington (WV), Omaha (NE), Rapid City (SD), and Wichita (KS).

Let’s hope Ms. Dymond finds Erie’s advertising climate as or more hospitable than Flint’s. Welcome Nancy!

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments »

Erie media and the time crunch

March 25th, 2009 joel

Over the past week I’ve made a significant observation: when I get out of my Press and Tower journalism mode, and act as a typical Erie citizen in my routine, I consume little traditional Erie media.

The reason why this is occurring to me now is that for the past week, I’ve had a few really big deadlines at work that have me concentrating on the tasks morning, noon and night, so my blogging juices have gone on the back burner for a little while. My schedule put me in a mode of everyone else who doesn’t have a regular blog deadline, and here’s what I found out.

When I was in radio, we talked about “appointment radio;” making moments that people would stop and change their routine to listen to. This past week, when my life made me just average busy Joe Cume member, I found that there is very little in Erie media that I’ll make an appointment to watch, read or listen. Perhaps the most regular consumption is 15 minutes scanning the Times-News with my coffee and cereal. 15 minutes of NPR or Barry and Jim on the way to work. More sporadically I’ll catch Sean and Selena, or Amanda and Kevin about once a week each. Music on the radio is a weekend thing, 80’s on Classy 100, swing on WQLN, and worship on WCTL. Like many, I find that media viewing and listening is a secondary action while doing something else: eating, driving, getting ready for bed.
(more…)

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments »

Deep Background for Mar. 22 – 29, 2009

March 22nd, 2009 joel

Everyone has an opinion about the media, and here at The Press and Tower, we want to hear yours. Deep Background is our open comments forum for you to rise up and state your take. So partake.

If you wish you can always email me at joel@nataliemedia.com or via Twitter @pressandtower.

Embrace the chaos!

Posted in Deep Background Tags: , 15 Comments »

Transitions: Rowe passes, Calabrese exits

March 19th, 2009 joel

Sympathy goes out to the WSEE family and the entire Erie television production community as they’ve lost one of their standard bearers. Longtime Production Manager Don Rowe passed away on Wednesday at Springhill. He was 78.

Don worked at Channel 35 for 41 years until his retirement in 1997. He was past president of NABET Local 28. The entire obituary can be found at GoErie.com.

P&T commenter Heavy D,  reports that David Calabrese, market manager of Connoisseur Media’s Erie cluster has been let go. We’ll try to get a comment from corporate today.

Although I didn’t agree with many of his tactics, David was one of the most responsive media executives I’ve dealt with since starting this blog. Best wishes to him on his transition.

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , 4 Comments »

Poll: are you listening to less Erie talk radio since Rush left?

March 16th, 2009 joel

Last week we asked if the media was hyping the economic crisis. An overwhelming number of you said “yes.” Just another indication of the continued slide in respect and trust in the news media.

This week’s poll is a little self-serving, but this is my blog…

I don’t know about you, but I find it really silly that I have to endure significant static and manuvering of my radio just so I can listen to a half-hour of Rush over my lunch, because my local station couldn’t sell enough spots to pay the clearance fee.

I’m not some ultra-conservative robot who takes everything Rush says at face value, but I do agree with him a lot and find him very entertaining. By not having him on, and finding Dennis Miller a totally-inadequate replacement, I am listening to much less of any talk radio from Erie. I’ve been sending my few quarter-hours of time spent listening to WBEN/Buffalo, WMGW/Meadville, or WABC/New York via online.

Have your habits changed at all?

How much Erie talk radio are you listening to since the Rush Limbaugh show left the market?

  • Less: If I can't listen to Rush on a local station, I'm listening to him on out-of-town stations, or generally listening to less Erie talk radio (64%, 29 Votes)
  • About the same: Whether Rush is available generally has no bearing on how much I listen to talk radio in Erie (24%, 11 Votes)
  • More: I enjoy Dennis Miller and generally enjoy what Erie talk radio has to offer (12%, 5 Votes)

Total Voters: 45

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , , 9 Comments »
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