Then They Came For Us

We find ourselves faced by a new and real threat from an old foe halfway across the globe.   North Korea is definitely the most paranoid country in the world, isolating and repressing its own people for decades. This rogue nation is evidently responsible for hacking into SONY Pictures' emails and has already caused big disruption in this Japanese company to the point where SONY has backed off from the Christmas release of "The Interview", a movie farce about a fictional CIA plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un.    So, why should our government, much less the rest of America, care that much about a foreign company's cyber security woes?   A lot of Americans reacted by saying they had no interest in this movie to begin with.   Others felt the whole movie's premise was just inviting trouble anyway.   Who cares?   

Every freedom-loving citizen on the planet should care.   This went beyond an embarrassing or costly data breach.   Movie houses who show "The Interview" were threatened with 9/11 scale attacks.   SONY and major theatre chains quickly scrapped plans to show it.   That seemed to accomplish what North Korea wanted, so they kicked it up another notch.   The perpetrators then increased their demands, telling everyone not to even think about releasing "The Interview" (including its trailers) online, on DVD or in any form.   Actor George Clooney called on his industry to stand up to this international blackmail, but supportive voices were conspicuously silent. 

North Korea has effectively exercised censorship in this case.   It is hard to imagine Kim Jung-Un stopping there.   Will our electrical grid or defense capabilities be in the crosshairs next?    This should be an issue on everyone's radar.    Cyber terror has just sounded a huge wakeup call.

"A Hallelujah Day"

Florida Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat, called today "a Hallelujah Day" as he hailed President Obama's dramatic announcement moving the U.S. toward normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba.    It has been a long time in coming since the total break in early 1961 and the subsequent Cuban Missile Crisis in the fall of 1962 that brought the world closer than ever to the brink of nuclear war.    Many politicians representing districts with significant Cuban exile populations in Florida and elsewhere, such as Nelson's fellow Florida Senator Marco Rubio, condemned the move as recognizing a dictatorial regime's "permanency."   What rock is he living under?   Most Cuban Americans can't even remember the Castro revolution.   The Soviet Union, despite Putin's recent moves, is gone gone.   Cuba's oil supplier, Venezuela's socialist President Chavez, is dead after creating his own economic nightmare in that country.   Dictators, communist or not, justify their whole existence based on paranoia; the U.S. has conveniently played the boogie man to Fidel Castro and his successor, brother Raul.    

Over fifty years of embargoes have not brought Cuba into the democratic world.   It is high time to try a new strategy.   Open up this country at our doorstep to new economic and political possibilities.   Fidel Castro may have been totally willing to plunge everyone into World War III in 1962, but we have maintained diplomatic relations and traded with many other countries whose human rights records would make Cuba look stellar.   Let's hope this new relationship produces positive results in the lives of Cuba's ordinary citizens.   They are the ones who have suffered the most from this outdated isolation policy.  

The Issue Is Real

Alfred Hitchcock, famous for making so many scary movies, was once asked who or what frightened him.   His answer: a policeman.   The police can take away your freedom in a moment, even in a relatively democratic society.   A recent CNN documentary made it clear that being a young black male in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn automatically makes you much more likely to have that freedom taken away, with "stop and search" operations advanced by past mayors and police chiefs and still being practiced in many police precincts.   The tale of the tape in the New York killing of Eric Garner and the lack of any repercussions for the policemen involved reinforces the idea that it is easier to "indict a ham sandwich" than a policeman in our legal system.  Whether or not the police acted appropriately, these cases continue to hit a nerve in the minority community and spark a backlash among many whites who are uncomfortable about the whole discussion and deny a racial divide even exists.

Even some conservative commentators say the Garner video shows a troubling scene where cops should have eased off when the victim repeatedly said, "I can't breathe."   Now comes the outrageous claim by people who clearly have no real desire to have a conversation over what is a national issue: "If he could keep saying he couldn't breathe, he could still breathe."  The New York police union actually made that claim, and it got repeated across talk radio.   All I hear are talking points from people trying to prevail in an argument.   In failing to blow the whistle on bad apples in the ranks and denying a problem even exists, what does that get us?   We should do all we can to support those who use that police power wisely.    What makes an open society great?   It's not because our people are perfect.   It's because we air grievances and controversies.   A free press is part of the solution, and not the root cause.  Those who deny at least some validity to a racial divide and wish "those people" would just behave are fooling themselves.   Civil rights made great strides since the sixties because injustices were exposed.   Those changes are not done.  

They Didn't Want Our Business

Our 1980s GE dishwasher still functions, but my wife felt it was high time to get one updated to this decade.  A few weeks back, we shopped a couple of well-known chain stores in that massive shopping theme park that is the north end of Manchester, CT.    I'll leave store names out of this, but the experience was not good.   Given the number of other choices within one square mile, I would have thought they'd be more on their toes about follow-through, but no.   Once we (my wife, really) decided on one, the salesperson assured us that we could have it delivered within a few days and wrote "ASAP" all over the order.   We received a rather intense sales pitch for an extended warrantee, but we stood firm in opting out.   

When we got home, we realized that there were significant unexpected added charges.   We called them back quickly and got it rectified.   "It must have been a computer error," they said.   OK, fine.   Several days passed and I called the store to get an ETA for our new purchase.   Nobody could tell us definitively, but they said they'd let us know.   OK, but they curiously wasted no time in putting the charges on my new store credit card.   Their follow-up call never came, and after yet another week passed my wife got ahold of someone who said a manager would get right back to us.   They didn't.   Now my wife wanted to cancel everything, but they didn't seem to believe her and said they could deliver it by the day before Thanksgiving.   With holiday preparations, that was not going to work.   Finally, a call to the main corporate office brought a sympathetic ear who agreed this was not the way to do business and they cancelled it.  I would hope a systemic failure to come through within 16 days on something not special-ordered would prompt some repercussions from the top down, but it's someone else's problem now.   Meanwhile, we make do with 1980s technology as the search for a new dishwasher continues.  

The Gap Widens

Ferguson, MO (NY Daily News)

The immediate aftermath of last night's grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson, Missouri police offer Darren Wilson was worse than what took place in August after Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown.   It played out as a worst case scenario live on cable TV networks, with police cars attacked and rioters fanning out into the streets as if on cue.   Then came the looting and burning of local businesses already barely hanging on, including the store where Brown was videotaped committing a strong arm robbery just ten minutes before his death.   There were the tearful images of a victim's family distraught over officer Wilson going unpunished as crowds ignored their pleas for calm.   Cable news viewers generally reinforced their own opinions based on what network they watched.   Pundits expounded, but everyone seemed to agree that things are not getting better.   Not a moment too soon, President Obama correctly said that Ferguson's problems are America's problems.

While I don't see how the grand jury could have avoided an indictment and resulting manslaughter charges, I respect the decision.   That being said, we are reminded how much work needs to be done to deal with America's racial divide.   White America just wishes blacks would "behave" while former New York Mayor Giuliani rationalizes there are so many white policemen in predominantly African American places like Ferguson because blacks commit most murders.   The fact remains: Ferguson's problems and the anger and hopelessness in many African American urban enclaves will continue long after the news cameras move on.   A violent few will always seize the opportunity to burn down neighborhoods that can least afford to recover.   Look at the extreme situation in Gaza.   Are there some similarities?   The legitimate attitude of powerlessness in the community at large is what opens the door for the few to exploit the many.   People still have to live in these troubled neighborhoods.

Best Ad Yet

We may never see this Christmas commercial stateside here on TV, but this ad for Sainsbury's, a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, has gone viral on the net.   It depicts a likely scene from an actual event that took place 100 years ago,   It was the first Christmas of World War I, when an unofficial truce was observed between Allied and German combatants.   Some exchanged greetings, small gifts and played soccer.   I found it to be very tastefully done, but the message has not been without its critics.   A century later, it seems as if the path toward big, bloody conflict continues unabated.   This should serve as a timely reminder of the more positive similarities we share, even though the warring leaders would encourage none of this fraternization and the images of enemies coming together grew more scarce as the war claimed more and more young lives.   Maybe citizens of another land or culture really do want many of the same things we want.   This event would at least point to that possibility.    Watch it above and decide for yourself.      

Charity Fun Stuff

The Hall Communicators - Trivia Champs!

There are many people who swing into action to benefit a host of charities without being connected with a media outlet.   I find that easier to accomplish when a radio company I'm associated with is involved in the community.    I've missed some of that as a radio part-timer, but I was happy to drop by a couple of times last week to visit the WCTY crew at the two-day Big Y Food Drive in Norwich as area listeners did their part to load up a truck to benefit the TVCCA and Gemma Moran United Way of Southeastern Connecticut Labor Food Bank.   I can't say I left hungry either.   

Also last Friday, many of my fellow Hall Communications people from WCTY/WNLC/WKNL/WICH/WILI took part in a Team Trivia Challenge to benefit Madonna Place.   That was my first go round at that packed annual event in the Bozrah Moose Lodge.   I like to think my history and geography knowledge are what got us to first place, but I was a lot less confident for sports, Disney and a few other categories.   Radio is often a solitary occupation, so it was nice to have a rare moment to socialize with co-workers away from work.   Speaking of work, I've concluded I should take the next ten days away from broadcasting except for some time with my direct mail advertising business.   My schedule has been pretty ambitious on five stations, and it can get a bit consuming... or it can be my nature to get too consumed in it.    Been there; done that; got the T-shirt(s).

Own It

Nobody expected these midterm elections to be good for Democrats.   While it is tempting to break out the possible gloom and doom scenarios for the next two years about Republican majority rule in both houses of Congress, this should also be a time for serious introspection among liberals nationwide.    I know many left of center people are reluctant to even use the "L" word, lest we alienate someone in the center or allow conservatives to use that politically dirty word against us.   That's part of the problem.   Liberals have allowed right wingers to define them as socialist bleeding hearts since the Reagan era.   The Tea Party Republican narrative about the Obama administration is totally false, yet Democrats look the other way or play defense.   In Kentucky, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had a serious challenge from Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes.   That fizzled when Grimes refused to admit that she even voted for Obama based on the President's poor 2012 election performance in Kentucky, even though Obamacare has worked pretty well there.   When you're that worried about an out of context quote being repeated in McConnell political ads, people see right through that. 

This is the frustrating thing to a self-admitted liberal Democrat like myself. Democrats and liberals too often fail to own what we truly stand for.   The other side can champion all the corporate welfare they want while blocking minimum wage increases for people forced to stay in low-wage service jobs longer than they used to.   They can lie about President Obama's alleged socialist (even communist) economics.   Let them deny the most basic tenets of science.   They can praise President Putin's "leadership".   Then there's our unsecured southern border that lets in record numbers of illegals.   The gun lobby lies about gun confiscation while the GOP sells it with no questions asked.  It's all nonsense, yet Democrats in red, purple and even blue states play down their Obama connection, which also happens to be their ideology.   I might add that Connecticut Democrats failed to own up to the accomplishments of the Malloy administration, allowing a nasty, personal replay of the 2010 governor's race.   If you think like some detached ivory tower type liberal who is disappointed in the "change" promised by Obama, please wake up and realize where we are now compared to 2008.   The GOP still won't, since they're under no pressure to.        

Politicizing Ebola

I think it took Texas Senator Ted Cruz ten seconds to turn an interviewer's question about a Dallas hospital's Ebola protocols into a condemnation of President Obama for not shutting off flights from West Africa.  Forget the downside of that approach expressed by the administration and many on the front lines trying to stamp out Ebola at its source as that area faces the prospect of 10,000 new cases each week. Senator Cruz and others also overlook the fact that there are already no direct commercial flights from West Africa to the U.S.   Then there is the chorus of Republican criticism of Obama appointing someone who is not a doctor to be "Ebola czar" after the GOP has kept the position of the nation's number one spokesperson, surgeon general, unfilled for the past year.  If the new Ebola czar is so eminently qualified at implementation of a strategy, that should bring some badly needed coordination in this fight where medicine has yet to find a vaccine.    This is potentially serious business on a worldwide scale.   Cheap political shots trivialize it.

Then there's the right wing media creating unnecessary panic and bringing every Obama hater who believes this disease is God's plan to punish humanity.   One example recently was WPRO's John DePetro, a man who exploited fear over Ebola to condemn President Obama and Rhode Island Democratic leaders over not taking more of a leadership role.   DePetro didn't stop there.   He said he had just spent $400 stocking up on things for what he saw as an inevitable pandemic and predicted whole school systems would shut down and we could expect to all be quarantined for weeks.   That really brought the nut jobs out of the woodwork.   DePetro was obviously stoked... over what it would do for ratings.   WPRO as a whole is better than this.       

  

Unsettling To An Alum

Revisiting Keene, NH Sept. 28, 2014

It was never supposed to be like this.   Keene, New Hampshire is a charming, idyllic place where you escape the hectic pace and complications of big city life, right?    That image is one reason why I transferred to Keene State College forty years ago.   My time spent there was not exactly stress free and many students weren't exactly model citizens, but I still have an affinity for the Monadnock Region that continues to this day.   I was just visiting there three weeks ago.   Imagine my surprise when full fledged riots broke out on and around the KSC campus while the city's nearby Pumpkin Festival was going on.   The scope of the rioting captured by cell phone video made me feel a level of embarrassment about my alma mater I have never felt before.    The chaos of a mix of unruly Keene students, town residents and out-of-towners combined with police officers responding from all across the region in full riot gear made Keene look more like a scene from troubled Ferguson, Missouri than the quiet college town I know so well.    

I suppose a simple solution would be to stop having these festivals as long as so many of these youngsters show an inability to play well with others.   Sure, we can hope the perpetrators get singled out and punished.    I hope to see a very loud and proactive response by political leaders, school administrators and the student body.    I don't want to hear vigorous denials about the severity of what happened.   This is a big black eye for this school, town and event.   As an alumnus, I find all this upsetting.   Scenes of students cleaning up after this mess are one positive portrayal of KSC students.   There needs to be much more before the news cycle moves on to something else.   

Great Casting

Vinnie James

Vincent James Melillo passed away last week at 74 after a long illness.  Vinnie certainly had a full life whether or not you factor in his radio resume.  He had one of those larger-than-life personalities and knew everyone around Danbury.   Somehow, though, a show that I created became his ultimate claim to local fame.  Vinnie had been on WLAD in various capacities for years.   When I was hired as program director in late 1983, the Vinnie James Morning Express had just begun.  By mid 1985, the early wake-ups were putting a damper on the rest of his busy life and he stepped down from the 6-9 am time slot.   

I wanted to keep Vinnie associated with WLAD and had been looking into what we could do about upgrading our late Sunday morning lineup.  The local church show at 10:05 was routinely a technical disaster, yet I knew that the biggest potential audience for radio on Sunday was between that time and noon.   WTIC-AM/Hartford had started a Sunday long form radio classified show with some success, but would a show like that be able to sustain itself for over an hour in a smaller market?   Vinnie himself had serious doubts about that when I approached him to host the new Bargain Express.  He thought many of those shows were boring, and rightly so, but I knew we had a secret weapon.  It was Vinnie's personality.   

Vinnie had the best laugh I ever heard on the air.  He brought in a mysterious assistant named Philomena to keep a record of the items.   She became an integral part of the show.  He treated the regular callers like old friends and made new callers from far and wide feel welcome.   The show eventually expanded to two hours and the phone lines still lit up like a Christmas tree.   Then there was the Bargain Express Mailbag and the familiar train whistle that ushered in and ended the show.   When When I heard Vinnie's unique way of saying, "it saaaves you money" on a commercial I knew that had to be the signature phrase for the show.   The Vinnie James Bargain Express chugged along for a dozen years.   I'm proud of several roles I had in casting at WLAD...Vinnie was one of them.   More importantly, he was a source of common sense advice that made him a mentor even though I was his boss.  

Not That Bad?

School rivalries can get pretty intense during high school football season, but the actions of a disorderly few at a recent game on Plainfield's home field against New London High were totally shameful.   Racial epithets were hurled by Plainfield residents against visiting New London players.    News of this very public incident spread quickly.   I noticed in an online social forum that many felt the need to come to the defense of Plainfield, maintaining that most townsfolk are not racist and that the media were blowing things out of proportion.   There was the attitude that the incident inaccurately painted the whole town with a broad brush.   If Plainfield consists of an inordinate amount of racists, we don't know that as a fact.   On the other hand, minimizing this loud display of racial hatred can be close to sanctioning it.   The town leaders in Plainfield came forward and did the right thing with an apology to those offended from New London.   This and other corrective action not only serve to enhance Plainfield's image; they serve notice that it's time for everyone to move forward.   Playing defense claiming the incident was "not that bad" is almost as unacceptable as the behavior at the game.  

Dangerous Pretense

In the world of the Secret Service, there is little or no room for error.   While the recent security failures at the White House are totally unacceptable, the agency's statements playing down the severity of the incidents are the most shameful part of this disturbing series of events.   When are people going to learn?   Was the Watergate break-in the crime of the century?   No.   Was the cover-up?   It was up there.   Is someone's own job security or self interest so worthy of protecting that we overlook what's most important for our own country?    Potential whistle-blowers should always be heard, whether or not their grievances turn out to be valid.   It is a monumental fail when top administrators do not address problems the rank and file has undoubtedly known about for some time.  Someone at or near the top isn't listening and just protecting their own turf.  Call it a serious issue with "the culture", but this type of Secret Service crisis played out with the Veterans Administration scandal.  

President Obama was roundly criticized by conservatives for mentioning the Ferguson, Missouri troubles in his UN speech or "apologizing for America."   Don't they know that acknowledging problems openly in our messy democracy is what's exceptional about America?   North Korea touts its leaders as divinities and Saddam Hussein once boasted of 99% voter participation in one-sided elections.   All's apparently well there!   Stop trying to act perfect.   Thoughtful and caring criticism should be encouraged.             

Health, Health, Health

It's all about having our health.   That should always be a priority.   Unfortunately, it often takes a backseat to a lot of trivial things in our everyday lives.   A cardiac diagnosis in May (A-fib) served as my wake-up call.   Some medication prevented any further procedures for now.   I'm thankful for that, but symptoms such as sudden blood pressure drops and loss of appetite have really cast a shadow over my way of life and slowed me down.   With cardiac causes ruled out for the moment, my next steps include visits to an endocrinologist tomorrow and a neurologist October 1st.   We need to listen to what our bodies tell us, and I'm not going to accept these symptoms as just getting older.   I'm thankful for still being able to do what I like to make a living while having an excellent support system on a personal level.   I'm hoping to start feeling like my old self again in the next month.   Coping with what's become the new norm at this point is simply unacceptable.    

The Devil We Know

Janay Palmer & Ray Rice

How could she stand by him?   The NFL indefinitely suspended and the Baltimore Ravens fired Ray Rice after more video was released of Rice knocking out his wife, Janay Palmer, in an elevator.    Many people are just as surprised that Palmer said she feels "embarrassed" at the media attention condemning her husband's violent actions.   As astonishing as that reaction may be, the real disgust should be directed at Mr. Rice.   She's standing by her man, and that doesn't make her unique.    We know this happens in lots of dysfunctional relationships.   Many of us cling to some form of the "devil we know" through most of our lives.    We see it on a worldwide scale, as uneasy alliances in the Middle East are driven by the idea that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."    We witness it in the job market as employees cling to poor working conditions and inadequate pay.    There is this idea that this is as good as it gets or even what we deserve.    We set the bar low in expectations, largely motivated by fear of the unknown.

There is the societal pressure not to "make trouble" when something works against our very rights, dignity and self worth.   While none of us can go around making everyone else miserable over what makes us unhappy, we do have a right to occasionally expect things from people.    Whether it's getting out of an abusive relationship or leaving a job that's not worth the stress anymore, it is OK to dream about something better and create a strategy to get us where we want and need to be.   At the very least, we owe it to ourselves and loved ones to aspire and act before the big decisions are made for us.       

If A Tree Falls In The Woods...

There I was, doing a Labor Day 6-10 morning air shift on WICH AM 1310 in Norwich, CT.   I'm almost totally sleep deprived, but I'm oddly psyched. It's up to me today.   The computer log is lacking any pre-programmed music, and the music format rules are pretty wide open.    All the news people have the day off.   If I want to fill time reading some headlines since I often do news anyway, I guess that's OK too.   It's all no big deal as long as I don't swear and do play all the commercials on air.   In this remote territory of radio lawlessness, what do I do?   I bring my own order into the vast frontier based on what I understand the general format to be.   

First, I get the local and world news, sports, weather, lottery, lighter show prep, birthdays and community calendar together to go at specific breaks in the hour as close to what they'd do most other mornings of the week.   Much of the prep is done the night before, since I hate racing around minutes  before airtime.   Then comes my favorite part: the music.   Sixties would be the core music era, but WICH is not strictly a Baby Boomer oldies station. WICH often mixes in standards that appeal to a listener over 65, so I sprinkle Sinatra, Bennett and Streisand in with the less raucous rock n' roll 50s/60s oldies and the tunes that were adult contemporary hits in the 70s/80s... basically three general eras.   Then I work on getting as much song-to-song contrast with songs I know to be strong during each half hour, realizing people's attention is in limited supply.

Why do I do all this?   Many air personalities wouldn't care.   For one, it shouldn't matter whether there are 10 or 100,000 people listening.   I try not to think of that, and least of all about ratings.   It's all about relating to a listener one on one anyway.   If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound if nobody's around?    Hey, I'm still here, so yes.

A Racial Divide

Back in 1967 after rioting in the predominantly black Hill Section of New Haven, a story on New York's all-news WINS wondered out loud how this could have happened "in a city that had done so much for its minority community."    With the latest racially-charged news out of Ferguson, Missouri and much of the white reaction to it, that New Haven question came to mind again.   Many deny the very existence of racism.   Why can't all people just behave?    Haven't we seen lots of progress since the sixties?    

Change has happened and generational attitudes evolve, but I can't say as an older white guy in a remote section of Connecticut suburbia that I know what it's like to be a young African American city dweller any more now than I did in 1967.   When the OJ Simpson "not guilty" verdict came out almost twenty years ago, I could not fathom why the majority of the black community agreed with that.   The New Haven ghetto was only ten miles from the booming suburb where I grew up, but I and most whites still have little understanding of what it is like to walk a mile in their shoes. While conservatives and liberals play fast and loose with the term "racism", I don't know how we can deny the very existence of a continuing "racial divide."   Even with political reforms and good intentions, flash points like Ferguson remind us of how far we have to go.   

Maybe the next generation or two can bridge this gap.   My stepdaughter Monica had some insight on this:   "If white people can't admit when black people are treated unfairly and recognize that biases still exist, how can we truly work to avoid the effect those biases, largely unconscious, have in society?   Even if it were the case that it wasn't about race, it's just as important to address why black people feel mistreated and marginalized.   That shouldn't be an issue that's only on the radar of black people.  It should be something we all care about and actively work to change."

Family Feud

Arthur T. Demoulas

The story of a New England supermarket chain normally wouldn't garner much attention outside of the region where they do business.   In this case, the dysfunctional family drama unfolding in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine with the seventy store Demoulas Market Basket chain provides some compelling reasons for all Americans to pay attention.   In a business dominated by grocery chains often owned by foreign companies (Stop & Shop, Shaw's, Hannaford), the Demoulas family has carved out a healthy share in a very competitive environment.   Now, what amounts to a family squabble threatens to pull this independent company apart.   Arthur T. Demoulas had been a highly popular CEO with workers because of his benevolent and arguably enlightened attitude toward company associates through good times and bad.   That did not please his cousin Arthur S. Demoulas and others on the board of directors who control the majority of shares, so they unseated him.   

This did not sit well with workers, store managers and, most importantly, customers.   Business has been down by over 90%, but the board and the management company they brought in has reacted with stubbornness and intimidation.   Meanwhile, customers and workers continue to stay away while store managers show up with nothing to do.   They want "Artie T" back and hope the board will accept his offer to buy them out.   Rumors persist of a possible sale to one of those international holding companies that may step in and dissolve Market Basket entirely.   This has been a successful company that now faces the scrap heap of retail history unless Artie T returns.   It serves as a reminder of how American business has shifted to totally focus on shareholders profits over any other community concerns.   The loyal customers, associates, store managers and even the community as a whole are stakeholders if not stockholders.   Somehow that concept has been forgotten by a few greedy and petty people. 

UPDATE 8/28/14:   We are getting word of an agreement to sell the company to Artie T.   Let's hope this works out as customers, associates and managers return to the stores.   I can't help but think this would have gone differently without the media, consumer and middle management attention. 

An Unexpected Legacy

Robin Williams 1951-2014

The tributes poured in and social media exploded after the news that Robin Williams had killed himself at age 63.   While everybody looks back on his impressive volume of work, I can't help but be struck by how many people are discussing the need to remove the stigma from mental illness.   We have made great progress in dealing more openly about issues that used to be taboo topics.   This should be no exception.   The sad ending to a man who gave so much to all of us serves as a reminder that depression or other forms of mental illness can be found at all levels of society.    For all the comedic roles Robin Williams shared, his performances could also be heartwarming and tragic.   All three elements were reflected in his own life.   His good friend Christopher Reeve bravely showed us life was worth living even through personal tragedy.   Perhaps we can also find inspiration in finding answers to what can prevent others from taking their own lives.

Farewell to Hartford's Big D

(l-r) Yours truly with recently released members of the
WDRC staff: Rockin' Ron Sedaille, Grahame Winters,
Mike Stevens, Floyd Wright & Jerry Kristafer

Connoisseur Media suddenly and unceremoniously ended a  57-year radio heritage the day they bought WDRC from Buckley Broadcasting and released practically the entire staff.  This was accompanied by a music format shift on their FM side from pop classic hits of the 70's and 80's to a more rock classic hits from the same general era.   The new company triggered a storm of protests on social media who missed the music and personality mix on the "Big D."   Meanwhile, Marlin's WCCC actually gave staffers past and present an afternoon to say goodbye to their rock audience last Friday before big religious broadcaster EMF came in and quickly added their "K-Love" contemporary Christian music network.   Some observations, if you please...

1. The new "102-9 drc" format will probably gain a foothold in Hartford, with some Big D listeners staying put and WCCC classic rock listeners fleeing Christian music.   WHCN "The River" will benefit, too.  WRCH and WWYZ just got a big gift.
2. Business is business and the new guys can do what they want, but the WDRC takeover was handled miserably from day one.  The Big D personalities deserved better.   Connoisseur didn't even handle the social backlash well.
3. I can't help but think yet another shoe will drop before long as Connoisseur looks to get another Hartford FM and broaden its portfolio against two big corporate group competitors.   John Fuller's WMRQ 104.1 is the only one left.    I know John pretty well and he had tried to buy WDRC himself, but I won't try to read his mind.  
4. The Big D appreciation party this past weekend was fantastic and I salute the fans who put this celebration together.   I hope they find suitable alternatives and don't depend on a return to the old format.
5. Since I've experienced a less than storybook ending in some past radio terminations, I know time heals all and you focus on people and things that matter now.   Radio can take a personal commitment and an end to that can sting, but you really will forgive if not forget.
6. Thanks for the memories, Big D!
    

Foley Fails This Time

Tom Foley

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy is now the incumbent in a possible rematch with Greenwich businessman and GOP challenger Tom Foley.   Polls have indicated a virtual dead heat between the two.   Governor Malloy now has a record that many state residents see as fair game for criticism.   Tom Foley should be able to use his outsider status and Malloy's less than stellar approval ratings to his advantage.     It didn't work that way for him this week in eastern Connecticut.    

Foley saw the impending closure and 140 job losses at Fusion Paperboard in Sprague as a perfect media photo opportunity, but his attempt to point the finger of blame at Malloy administration policies was met with loud opposition by State Senator and Sprague first selectman Cathy Osten and several Fusion Paperboard employees.   Foley, clearly taken aback by the reaction, went on to blame local politicians as well.   Osten had her facts ready, and it was clear that state and local government had been on top of the situation and market forces had been the main reason for the announced plant closure.   Workers there backed her up.   The paper board business is changing and company owners have a right to make this regrettable decision, but charges of corporate greed may also be fair since the plant was still profitable.    When I discussed his impromptu twenty minute debate as I filled in for Stu Bryer on WICH AM 1310, I couldn't find one caller who felt Tom Foley prevailed with his talking points.   He'll have to do better if he wants to be the next governor.   Any more days like this may even cost him his party's primary, not to mention the gubernatorial race.

Radio Prime Time

It's been this way for decades.   "Morning drive" remains radio's prime time slot for most radio stations and their respective formats.   I remember a time when local TV stations and even most FM stations considered early morning shows such a throwaway that they sometimes barely bothered to sign on.   Now, radio tries to hold its own against a slew of local TV stations that vie for attention as early as 4:00 AM.    Who are these viewers?    At least radio reporters and entertainers only have to sound the part, but what special breed of media people get all dressed up in front of cameras at 4:00 in what's still the middle of the night?    Wasn't radio prime time early enough kicking off at 5:30?   Go back to bed!   

Morning radio can be an absolute blast even when sleep deprivation hits and I'm running on pure adrenaline.   Experience a string of sleepless nights like I have this week and it gets really old.   I'm genuinely excited to fill in on various morning radio shows, including this time around on WILI.   By day three of my insomniac state, those weird sports names get harder to spit out.  Wayne Norman has been the morning guy there for over 43 years.   How on Earth does he do it?    How did I do it for as much as four years at a clip?   During the summer, my "day guy" (as Jerry Seinfeld put it) really ends up paying for what my "night guy" fails to do right.  Honestly, I'm not taking caffeine in the evening or going out partying late.   Someone please tell my brain to stop racing at 10:00 PM!

Our Internal Border Dispute

Fence between Nogales, AZ & Nogales, Mexico

When I visited the Arizona side of the divided town of Nogales fifteen years ago, the long ugly wall on the Mexican border stood in stark contrast to the images like the Statue of Liberty that has welcomed immigrants for decades or our peaceful border with Canada.   The situation has only gotten uglier since the Mexican government's disastrous war on drug lords has seen massive corruption in what has basically become a "narco state" as America's drug habit fuels demand and our guns find their way into the hands of powerful drug cartels.   Millions of undocumented Mexicans who mostly come to make a better living have repeatedly risked everything to sneak into the U.S. to do jobs many Americans refuse to do.  Ask Alabama how well the crops got picked when they shut out Mexican workers a short while ago.

Now the face of the border crisis has changed.   Over 50,000 children fleeing horrible gang violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are exploited by human traffickers as they make the trek across Mexico and give themselves up to the U.S. Border Patrol.   What do we get from do-nothing Congressional Republicans and GOP presidential hopefuls only concerned with their political base back home?    We get outrageous temper tantrums and lawsuits by Rep. John Boehner against the President as immigration reform arrives dead on arrival in the House of Representatives.    Two years ago, Texas Governor Rick Perry felt the sting of other right wingers when he went for a more moderate approach to education for undocumented children; Now he's towing their line.   A few weeks ago, former Connecticut 2nd District Congressman Rob Simmons ratcheted up his new-found harsh conservative rhetoric by saying on WICH that our border is not secure.   Does he think we should deal with desperate Central American kids through the barrel of a gun?   Does he deny that President Obama has greatly increased border patrol agents and become known as the "deporter in chief"?    Does he dispute the record of inaction on immigration by Congress?

I'll grant you that an appearance by Obama at the border would be good optics for his administration.   A photo op might appease critics, but I doubt it would take the place of action that includes more pressure on Central American regimes.

A Bittersweet Anniversary

Today marked forty years since I first did a radio show.    I nervously covered the 4-8:30pm shift on 1220 WKBK/Keene, NH... a 1000-watt local AM in a college town.   Today I marked the anniversary by filling in 6-10am on 1400 WILI/Willimantic, CT... another 1000-watt local AM in a college town.  The celebration - or absolute amazement I'm still on the air - was somewhat muted.  News arrived that the entire air staff was let go at the legendary WDRC-FM/Hartford.   This shocker came on the day 57-year owner Buckley turned control of WDRC AM & FM to Connoisseur Media based downstate.  I know these longtime WDRC people.   While I've been the target of termination plenty of times since 1974, this corporate housecleaning shook the broadcasting community in Connecticut.    I grew up on WDRC.   I worked at WDRC longer than anywhere else in my extensive radio past.   Baby Boomers have had a special connection to "Hartford's Big D" since 1960.   While the music may not change much, the air product will be a cloned corporate presentation similar to the new owner's B103/Long Island.   Will they get away with it?   Probably, but folks in the know around here realize that this was the day the Big D died.

Parents Behaving Badly

Many chain restaurants seem to get critically seared.    While I'm not a big fan of the Darden Corporation that has owned Red Lobster and the Olive Garden, but during our last visit to a local OG over the weekend, it wasn't anything the restaurant did that really irritated us.   The incessant screaming of a toddler is a nuisance, even in a noisy and crowded restaurant.   However, the reaction of the parents proved to be the true annoyance.   They were right next to us.   At one point, the child let out a bloodcurdling shriek.   Do you think either parent seemed the least bit embarrassed?    Was there any attempt to take the child out of the restaurant at least for a little time out?   No, they responded by giving their kid soothing attention which only encouraged her to repeat the bad behavior.   Do they really need a degree in psychology to know they're reinforcing the screaming pattern?   No sooner did they leave when another party came in with a younger child with an equally healthy set of lungs.   The adults carried on as if nothing was wrong.   

I've also witnessed scenes at fast food places where parents were completely oblivious and even gave in to their kids acting like completely spoiled brats.   One time when an older couple asked some unruly hell-raisers to stop running running all over the place, the kids' parents actually told the seniors to mind their own business.    Another time, a hyperactive screamer repeatedly demanding ice cream got his wish.   Forget the rest of us for a moment.   Will these clueless parents ever learn to stop rewarding actions that especially drive them crazy?     

A Sorry Bunch

Former Vice President Dick Cheney

Am I the only one repulsed when I see former Vice President Dick Cheney and other architects of the 2013 invasion going on national media blaming President Obama for the recent military reversals in Iraq?    These "neo-cons" took the wheel of Bush foreign policy after 9/11 and managed to transform international support into resentment and domestic consensus into bitter divisions.   A previously contained tyrant, Saddam Hussein, was replaced by religious factions looking to even the score with each other after the Iraqi Army was disbanded.   Iran gained influence as their Shiite allies eventually shut out the majority Sunnis in forming a government.   Now an al-Qaeda-inspired faction (only more radical) called ISIS has been allowed to gain ground as they exploit Sunni anger.   Add 4,500 American military deaths and tens of thousands wounded, not to mention two trillion dollars spent on a war instigated by Washington militarists promising we would be welcomed as liberators and could pay for the war selling Iraqi oil.   Saddam's weapons of mass destruction never turned up either.

That all matters little to the politicians and media who dutifully followed the doctrine of a Bush administration that got it wrong every step of the way. Some of these people are even calling for a new Iraq invasion and blast Obama for removing all US troops.   For one thing, the thoroughly incompetent and corrupt Iraqi government refused to agree to a continued US military presence.   Our troops exited Iraq after paying with blood, but now a new threat looms to this country's mostly troubled existence.   The Sunni-Shiite fight has been raging since shortly after the time of the prophet Mohammed himself.    At the very least, America's Iraq War hawks could admit major mistakes were made.   To listen to their arrogance and lack of any sense of Middle East history, "sorry" isn't a word we can expect to hear.     

His Own Brand

To everyone who goes back a few decades either being in radio or loyally listening to it, the news of Casey Kasem's passing at 82  was a big deal.   My first memories of this American Top 40 countdown king go back to 1971 and Sunday nights on my favorite station at the time: WDRC-FM/Hartford.  I was in awe when I made it onto the "Big D" in 1993 and Sunday night became my first regular show time on this heritage station.   This used to be Casey Kasem's slot!    Of course, we played Baby Boomer oldies by the time I got to WDRC, and Casey had moved to a more contemporary station in the market.   

Radio had changed by then to the point where no one station could be a "catch all" for widely divergent music tastes the way Top 40 had been from the late fifties through early seventies.   Casey's show eventually adjusted to changing times with a more adult contemporary "non-rap" version of his countdown with a narrower playlist based primarily on station airplay instead of overall record sales.   Even with this evolution, Casey was still Casey.    There was no mistaking him for anyone else, and he consistently delivered what listeners expected of him right up to his last show.   In an interview, Casey himself pointed to another way that radio had changed.   With a smaller farm system for a training ground, there was less room for newcomers to "make their mistakes" and work on their craft.   With the exception of his hilarious outtakes that are infamous in our business (partly because we identify with them too), this radio icon made few missteps.   When I was at WBMW/New London in 2009 and Casey Kasem ended his show, I also offered to cover that Saturday morning time slot.   I wasn't going to do a countdown.   That act had already been done by the best.

Stonington's Spirited Defense

James Tertius d Kay's Book
(on Amazon.com)

The advertising agency and printing company I've been connected with for the past twelve years has had an ongoing publishing relationship with one of New England's most active historical preservation groups.   The Stonington Historical Society covers the rich heritage of this small shoreline town perhaps best known for fending off a substantial attack in 1814 that led to an equally surprising withdrawal by four warships of the Royal Navy.  

On this 200th anniversary of this battle, a walk through the borough of Stonington reveals many vivid reminders of those dramatic three days during the War of 1812.  The local defenders and civilians refused British demands to surrender, which would have meant allowing their town to be burned to the ground.   Despite a heavy bombardment and an attempted landing, Stonington's defenders prevailed and all the casualties were on the British side.   How did the outgunned American side win?   For one thing, the borough residents saw no alternative, vowing to fight to the death.   To British Navy strategists, this was just one element of a military chess game designed to deflect American intentions away from attacking Canada.   When that strategy proved more costly than it was deemed worth, they pulled out.   To the Stonington locals, it meant everything.   This was their home and way of life... and everyone was involved.    

As we continue to scratch our heads these days over why the best military in the world finds victory so elusive when we exercise military options, perhaps we can take a cue from our own history.

No Soldier Left Behind

D-Day 1944 (Hartford Courant)

The 70th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy invasion follows a series of weeks dominated by military controversy.  Unlike today's commemorations, the latest outrages in the VA scandals take the spotlight away from our military heroes who deserve far better.    Before our short attention span news cycle takes us somewhere else, we need to get to the bottom of these matters.   Having a few heads roll and saying we acted should not be accepted as sufficient by the American public.   No major player in a position of power can claim the high ground or have sole responsibility for the low ground, since problems in the VA have been rampant for years.     Unlike World War II, we rely on a much smaller segment of our society to carry the burden of U.S. commitments overseas.   The postwar GI Bill made a world of difference to returning servicemen.   We owe today's heroes nothing less in the form of sweeping changes that will shake the VA system to its very foundation.

Next came word of the prisoner swap that ended Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's five year imprisonment with the Taliban in exchange for five dangerous Guantanamo detainees.   The right has relentlessly been attacking the Obama administration for letting this happen while the President defends it as part of our "no soldier left behind" pledge.   To me, a commitment is a commitment, whether the circumstances of Bergdahl's disappearance give him hero status or not.   Dealing with characters we consider shady is not unprecedented.   Just ask Israel when they exchanged 1,000 accused terrorists for one Israeli soldier.   I'm disgusted at the wild accusations that have spread to the point of vilifying Bergdahl's family.   Let the justice system get the answers.

Finally, some folks are so bent on laying all blame for everything on Barack Obama.   No, Obama was not the first President since D-Day to never attend a commemoration at Normandy.   He's been there before, and he's there today.   People blinded by hate will fall for the most inaccurate myths.

The Radio Learning Curve

Having been on six different Hall Communications radio stations in eastern Connecticut this past year, it may be a wonder that I've never yet confused one station with another on the air.   I think that's because I always try to have a mental image of what a particular station's target listener may be like and what they expect out of that station and me. Some air performers just bring their own act into a studio without much thought as to whether or not it fits.   I always try to fit in, even though that may not make me the next Howard Stern.   I'll never be the ultimate sports authority, but I do fill in at WILI-AM 1400 for Wayne Norman, one of Connecticut's most established and knowledgeable sports broadcasters.   You better believe I'm going to check that information several times over before it hits the air.  When I fill in at 100.9 Roxy FM, I make no pretense of being in the younger target demographic.   Instead I try my best to deliver show content relatable to that listener.   As long as people tell me I don't "sound" my age, I seem to pull it off.   

The challenge is also apparent on country giant 97.7 WCTY.   I admit it.   Country music is not exactly my area of expertise.   One male contemporary country artist pretty much seemed like another at first.   It was only recently that I learned that Blake Shelton was married to Miranda Lambert.   Show prep is a unique godsend here, because a country fan is as engaged in this music as a sports fanatic is with his or her team.   I know there are a few things in radio I wouldn't even attempt to pull off, like sports play-by-play or fired-up right wing political host, I think it comes down to a basic respect for the listener.   That's the main reason I keep doing this.    Otherwise if it's all about me it just gets stale.

A Remarkable Man

John Waselik

John Waselik of Oakdale was described by everyone who knew him as a warm, soft spoken man who made a positive difference in many people's lives and never had a bad word to say about anybody.   John passed away unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago at 63 doing something he loved: biking as he was gearing up for a charity ride across Connecticut.   His giving spirit continued after his death as an organ donor.   I first talked to John in 1997 when his wife Betty-Clare, a high school friend, called me one day while I was on the air at WDRC.  John was a loyal listener fascinated with broadcasting.   He even dabbled in local radio later, but his career choice as a teacher had already been set in stone for some time.   For all of his roles in life - family man, teacher, mentor, church elder, local sports enthusiast and so much more - he made sure it was never about him.   He was genuinely interested in you.   I can't think of a more giving and selfless person, but he'd be the last to invite comparisons. Perhaps we can all learn to better accept each other the way John did.

What Makes Connecticut Special?

Half of us evidently want to get the Hell out of Connecticut...49%.   A Gallup poll conducted June-December 2013 shows only Illinois as the state its residents (50%) would rather be leaving.   People in Montana, Hawaii and Maine are most content to stay put.   Imagine that.   Mississippi scored more favorably than our fair state!   How can a state with so much wealth and a location in the middle of the bustling Northeast "Megalopolis" be deemed undesirable?   I know there's a general feeling that we've passed our prosperous glory days of sitting at or near the top of the heap due to the crushing cost of living.  Our outdated major roads and recent stories about railroad safety reinforce the sense that we are gradually being choked off from major markets so close to our doorstep.   While I applaud Governor Malloy for keeping us at the forefront of inevitable social change, I am concerned that his accomplishments is falling on deaf ears with an NRA-fueled level of hostility that even exceeds Governor Weicker's implementation of the state income tax over twenty years ago.   The level of income inequality is also taking its toll as the strapped middle class is less able to fuel demand.   As in Illinois, the disparity between desperately poor cities and opulent suburban wealth is tearing us apart.  There are just so many yachts to be sold to Greenwich millionaires.

While narrowing income inequality and a better managing of the message can work wonders, we as Connecticut residents are often at a loss to define what makes our little state special.   Casinos are popping up everywhere.   Reliance on giant defense contracts can be a slippery slope.   

When you think Montana, you think Big Sky Country.   Despite having one of the wackiest governors in the country, Maine evokes a unique image as a "Vacationland."   Hawaii?   I rest my case.   Connecticut does have a character.   It takes creative leaders to bring it out.   We have incredible diversity.    Oh yes, take a few cents off the stupid gas tax; the PR value alone is worth it.    This too shall pass... hopefully soon.   Did you really want to move to North Dakota anyway?