Posts Tagged ‘Rush Limbaugh’

Top Erie media stories of 2009

January 1st, 2010 joel

Happy New Year and welcome to the “teens!”

As was the case with much of the last ten years, the decade ended last night with the media front and center of culture’s conversation. With top-talker Rush Limbaugh finally released from a Honolulu hospital, and Fox viewers in O&O markets thankful for a momentary reprieve from losing their football, media doings are never far from top-of-mind.

Here’s the top stories we were talking about in 2009, by month:

  • January: local TV stations and the Times-News cover the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20th
  • February: longtime Erie broadcaster and cancer machine inventor John Kanzius succumbs to cancer on February 18th
  • March: Nancy Dymond replaces David Calabrese as market manager of the Connoisseur Media radio cluster in Erie
  • April: a video capture of an apparently intoxicated off-duty Erie Police officer uploaded to YouTube created a local and national controversy about police relations with the minority community, and the new reality of social media
  • May: Lilly Broadcasting merged the newsrooms of WICU and WSEE, resulting in the elimination of about a dozen off-air and on-air jobs
  • June: WICU is the final TV station to switch off their analog transmitter and put Erie completely into the digital television age
  • Wards react to the reveal July: The seven day build of a home for Erie’s Clara Ward culminated in the July 2nd reveal of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house
  • August: Star 104/WRTS increased it’s dominance in Erie radio as the Spring 2009 Arbitron ratings were released
  • September: Former Erie Congressman Phil English began his high profile blog “Presque Isle to the Potomac” on GlobalErie.com
  • October: The Erie Times-News was named Newspaper of the Year by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
  • November: Erie’s most-visited media website, GoErie.com underwent a major redesign
  • December: The weekend of December 12th and 13th turned out to be one of national media attention on Erie, as Saturday Night Live mentioned the fictional “Erie Chamber of Commerce” as part of a PGA spoof over the Tiger Woods controversy, then a two-hour special episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition showcased the work of thousands of volunteers impacting an eastside Erie neighborhood.

Next week, we’ll talk with one of Erie’s top media watchers about the past year and what we might see in the new year. Stay tuned.

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

P&T: the first year

September 1st, 2009 joel

We got our HDTV, and our visit from Ty…along with pain and heartache.

PressandTower Screen Shot

First Press and Tower Post-Sept. 2008

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of this web community devoted to Erie media. Over these last twelve months, through 271 posts, 1,803 approved comments in 12 categories ranging from traditional to new media, we covered the few highs and many lows of a devastating year for local and national media.

First the high notes. This community is a bountifully generous one, and the story that generated the most reaction of a positive nature was our coverage of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build of a home for East Erie resident Clara Ward. Our daily posts, live blog, video, and audio podcasts gave P&T readers an inside view of what it takes to not only build a 3500 square foot home in less than seven days, but to also shoot a one or two hour network reality television show in the process.

(more…)

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments »

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 »

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 »

U.S. Senate votes to ban Fairness Doctrine revival

February 27th, 2009 joel

Legislative Update

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) successfully attached the Broadcaster Freedom Act as an amendment to a bill providing the District of Columbia a voting representative in the House. According to Fox News, the amendment passed 87-11 and effectively outlaws the “Fairness Doctrine,” a defunct FCC policy that required opposing viewpoints to be aired on controversial issues on broadcast stations.

Views on the Doctrine depended on who you talked to. There was significant fear on the account of broadcasters that the policy would be reenacted, threatening conservative talk radio and religious broadcasting because of the onerous bookkeeping that would be required. Others feel that that the whole Fairness Doctrine revival was just a canard drummed up to incite and engage the conservative base.

Recently, Democrats such as Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), along with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have made public their support in reinstating the policy. Last Friday, Rush Limbaugh wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal asking the President to “keep the airways free.”

In the end, Pres. Obama has come out and rejected the reinstatement of the Doctrine, making the vote Thursday an easy one for the majority. One hitch may be the also passed amendment by Sen. Dick Durbin that orders the FCC to encourage radio ownership “diversity.”

A similar bill is running through the House.

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

This (should be) News/Talk country

January 16th, 2009 joel

WBENI’m writing this post while listening to the very well-programmed WBEN 930/Buffalo, who not only are able to continue to pay for Rush Limbaugh’s clearance fee, but once again scored first in the Buffalo ratings ages 12 and over for the Fall 2008 Arbitron survey.

As opposed to Erie’s WJET, which languishes as a middler in the ratings with poor billing, news/talk stations in the major markets surrounding the Flagship City score at the top of the ratings and revenue rankers. The Fall book is out for Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh; take a look at these 12+ rankers:

  • Buffalo – WBEN (Entercom) – #1
  • Cleveland – WTAM (Clear Channel) – #1
  • Pittsburgh – KDKA (CBS) – #2
  • Pittsburgh – WPGB (Clear Channel) – #3

The two Pittsburgh talkers combine for a massive share of audience that tops rocker WDVE.

Considering the sheer power of the news/talk format in our region, why doesn’t WJET do better in the ratings here in Erie? My take would be the sheer lack of investment in programming and marketing by Connoisseur Media and their predecessors over countless years. The winning stations have real live anchors and reporters and actualities and board-ops that eliminate dead air and cue tones, like the old WJET did through the 1980’s. It doesn’t take much effort, really.

The conventional wisdom in radio for the past twenty years has been to put all of your eggs/energy into your FM basket, and leave the AM stations to die. Meanwhile, with the onset of internet radio, iPod’s and other streams available for music, news and talk are the remaining powerhouses for local connection and community.

We’re seeing the success of the news/talk format elsewhere in the region. Why not here?

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 10 Comments »

Rush ‘laid off’ from WJET

December 12th, 2008 joel

Rush Limbaugh appears to be the latest victim of cost-cutting at Connoisseur Media’s WJET 1400.

In a response for a request for comment, CM-Erie General Manager David Calabrese indicated that station decided to go in a different direction:

The economy is tough and layoffs are everywhere, Rush is the victim of a slow economy and we decided to lay him off rather than affect someone locally.

Rush’s people were uncompromising with us. We feel that the Dennis Miller decision is a good one for the region and the station.

One can speculate that Rush’s new multi-million dollar contract has come into play with clearance renewals at the local level. Given the margin mandates that the corporate operators live under, the relatively inexpensive Dennis Miller show must have looked enticing.

Miller’s show launched in March 2007 and airs in Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. He seems to take a lot of listener calls, and sprays tons of his intellectual conservative humor throughout the program.

By my calculations, Rush has been a mainstay of WJET middays since 1990 or 1991, when the call letters were WLKK and Tim DeCapua owned 1400 as a standalone AM.

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , 5 Comments »
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