Michael Jackson and Radio

This blog has had way too many opportunities to eulogize people lately. I will leave the job of summing up Michael Jackson's successes and scandals to everyone else. Let's look at the King of Pop's relationship with radio. From fronting the Jackson Five on Ed Sullivan to his "Thriller" videos on MTV, television showcased his dance moves. But it was his music on Top 40 radio - AM and then FM - that brought his music into our everyday lives for decades. Then the focus shifted from his talent and positive achievements to endless negative publicity. Whether the accusations and weird stories were true or not, the damage had been done. Radio abandoned Michael Jackson to the point where the only time you could hear his music was when "Thriller" came on for Halloween. He just wasn't the right image for many listeners, so programmers gradually took note the way they shut out Chris Brown after that rising star's assault allegations. However, Michael's story was more complicated. Here was a guy who has been called the greatest pop star of all time. Long after Michael Jackson was silenced on the radio, he would not go quietly into the night. He was planning a major tour making a million bucks per stop when he died at 50. Now broadcasters face a dilemma. How do we deal with a very public tragedy after years of absence from station playlists? People are talking about where they were when they got the tragic news, so how can you ignore this man and his music? Sure, his detractors will wonder why we pay any tribute to him now and his fans will criticize the fact that we waited until he died to play all his million selling hits again. He left an indelible mark on culture around the world, so give the man his due in his memory, even at a time when the bad publicity seemed to be outweighing his undeniable contributions.

Remembering Michael Bernz

Michael Bernz Cipriani was one of the most familiar names and voices in eastern Connecticut. He passed away unexpectedly Thursday morning, June 18, 2009. At Red Wolf Broadcasting, we extend our condolences to the Cipriani family. Michael started his long radio career at WSUB/Groton in the seventies. His broadcasting resume included WDRC in Hartford and most recently WWLI Lite Rock 105 in Providence, but "Bernzee" really made his mark gracing the morning airwaves for decades in New London County at WICH and WCTY in Norwich. In the late nineties, Michael was hired by John Fuller at Red Wolf Broadcasting to host the morning show here at Soft Rock 106.5 WBMW. His warm and friendly voice, loyal following, sense of humor, familiarity with everything local and a sincere caring for this community made him a hit with listeners for over six years. There is no doubt that Michael Bernz played a key role in the evolution and success of WBMW. I remember him most importantly as a kind and gentle man who always had an encouraging word. When I was hired for the Soft Rock 106.5 morning show in July 2006, I knew these were big shoes to fill. When you work in radio, it is hard not to be defined by your line of work. That was the case with Michael Bernz, but he also played a major role in defining radio in eastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island. He was one of the most sincere people you could ever meet. He meant it when he signed off his show saying, "I care about you."

Politcally Incorrect?

On these two issues, I find myself more conflicted than usual. First: the joke that David Letterman told about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's daughter getting "knocked up." Palin says the late night comedian owes all women an apology. I'm not sure about that, but he certainly could apologize to the Palin family. Was it really necessary to bring a politician's children into the fray, whether they are 18 or 14? Women's rights groups find themselves on a different side of the fence on this issue. Many liberal Democrats will say she should lighten up. I wonder if they would feel the same way if a liberal politician's family had been the butt of this joke. Conservatives are always criticizing "politcial correctness," but have made this issue a call to arms. The liberal Huffington Post says Jay Leno told a similar joke, but where's the outrage there? Bottom line: Letterman should attempt to smooth things over. If Palin will then have none of that, then that would be unfortunate. UPDATE 6/17: Letterman issued what could be considered a more sincere apology on his show, and Sarah Palin apparently accepted it.

Issue #2: Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was "fired" by Donald Trump after previously getting his support. Now the charges are flying back and forth. While I don't subscribe to Prejean's opinion against gay marriage, I don't see anything wrong with her right to say what she honestly thought. That's what we do in America. I also have a hard time believing that her opinion on this topic didn't have a lot to do with Trump's flip-flopping on Prejean retaining her title. How much politics do we need to inject into a beauty pageant?

DTV is here!

We can't say we weren't warned. The switches were flipped at stations across the country today as analog TV went away and digital broadcasts became the rule. My old 5-inch SONY Watchman is now useless as a TV, with no inputs for cable or a digital converter box. I suppose this is a quantum leap forward, but I can't help but feel some disappointment. Yes, there are potentially more channels with digital, but something is missing on the one other TV at my house not connected to cable: half the local channels! I thought I had the set on the closed-in back porch ready for DTV, but not so fast. After connecting a new $69 antenna, installing the DTV converter and scanning for over-the-air digital channels, the old 13-inch TV was not picking up a trace of the new DTV versions of Connecticut channels 3, 8, 20, 30 and 59. Forget about Providence channels. Channel 26 in New London was blasting through with three subchannels, as was 69 in Rhode Island with the same programming as 26, and Connecticut Public Television on 24 and 53. One bit of good news: Fox 61 WTIC-TV came in. At least I've still got my Simpsons and Family Guy. It's also my only option left for local news on the porch!

In Concert: The Dave Matthews Band

Soft Rock 106.5 WBMW has given away its share of Dave Matthews Band tickets lately, and our newly acquired Hartford FM Radio 104.1 WMRQ plays a lot of what now can be classified as a supergroup. The band has been around for years, but the onslaught of publicity connected with the release of their new album made me even more anxious to find out what the fuss was all about. My morning co-host Rebecca is a big Dave Matthews fan, and even got to interview him. So it was off to the Comcast Center in Hartford last night. What really struck me was the age of the crowd - a sea of fresh faces enthralled with a band whose members were probably twice their median age. I may have been the only guy there to remember Woodstock, but I didn't mind. The music was as good as any performance I've ever witnessed. Their unique genre and instrumentation defy labels and blur generational lines. Their rendition of the Bob Dylan composition and Jimi Hendrix hit "All Along the Watchtower" struck a chord and sealed the deal with this baby boomer. A beautiful night in an open air venue made it even better. Crowd control getting people in and out of the Comcast Center was an issue, not because this crowd was any worse than any other, but from the way they funnel lots of people through very small spaces. That aside, the experience left me assured that quality music hasn't gone away.

State of the State

As we make our way through these tough economic times, we all wonder when the end of the downturn is coming. For some, even later this year can't be soon enough. On the state level, Connecticut is in better shape than some. That was the message we got from Governor M. Jodi Rell this past week when she was a guest on the Soft Rock 106.5 Wakeup Club. Of course, being in better fiscal shape than California, where Governor Schwarzenegger says they're out of money, may not be saying much. People are hurting, and unemployment is more than a statistic. A few days ago when I was in a store in Griswold, a young local man just back from a tour of duty in Afghanistan was going door to door looking for work - any work - with no success. He was thinking of reenlisting. While there is nothing wrong with that, it is a shame that one of the nation's richest states can't give a veteran a few more options after their service. There are too many stories like this.