Why is this so hard?

On a day to day basis, I ALWAYS have plenty to say...trust me...just ask anybody. So then, why do I struggle to get into a groove with this blog? There are certainly things I want to share:

First, I think Steven Slater should get a medal. The JetBlue flight attendant went out in a blaze of glory, and I don't blame him. I've been on a plane with 120 idiots all trying to get off in ten seconds, it's not fun.

Next, I really don't think all that oil in the Gulf mysteriously dissappeared. How do you go from "the end of dozens of species as we know them" to "you know...it doesn't look too bad." BS.

Finally, lately I've been hooked on "American Pickers" on the History Channel. These 2 guys cruise around the country looking for valuable antiques and collectibles in old barns, sheds, houses. They enter some of the scariest places I've seen. Love the show, but really would like to see the outtakes of them running for their lives when some old coot holed up in his little shack pulls a shotgun when they knock on the door. Now THAT'S entertainment!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

It's been awhile since I devoted time to the blog...I promise I'll be posting more frequently:

Tonight in C'Ville they light the tree on the downtown Mall, Santa arrives during a parade
in the morning...and much of retail has been ready for the Holiday Season since...well about 2 weeks after Labor Day!
I commented to someone the other day, that for the radio biz...Christmas truly is "the biggest promotion there is..." If you can't attract attention to your stations, create some warm & fuzzies, AND make some revenue as we countdown to Christmas...maybe you should re-think things.

Get out and support Toy drives, food drives...adopt Santa like a long-lost relative. Candycane stripe your website...your vehicles...your logo. Be present at traditional community events, and find ways to take your clients along! It really is the "most wonderful time of the year!" Make the most of it.
I also invite you to follow Santa Claus @northpoletweet...yep even Santa is on Twitter, and take a few minutes to check out the holiday web pages I created within 4 of our station websites.
Country997.com HOT 101.9 Generation 102.3 1075tom.com
Some of our listeners fondest memories are those of the holiday season...tap into those memories!

Don't You Forget About Me

20-some years ago, I was in love with Molly Ringwald. OK, I still like her a little, don't tell my wife. The much too-early passing of 80's pop culture movie director John Hughes inspired me to
jot down some thoughts. Hughes taught a generation that high school stereotypes didn't matter...that the jock doesn't always get the girl and that the cheerleader doesn't always get the guy. Movies like "16 Candles", "Pretty in Pink", "The Breakfast Club" and of course "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" are staples of a generation. Ferris just wanting to have a little fun and break the rules was what everyone wanted to do. Director Hughes created characters and dialogue that we all remember, and quote. When we say those lines from those movies, nearly everyone knows the reference point. When you hear, "Bueller?....Bueller?" in that low monotone you instantly go back and remember. It was what Hughes said and how he said it that still strikes a chord.
Presenting something in an interesting compelling way that people remember certainly applies to our business of radio. Did you give your listeners a "Bueller" moment today?

I'm B-a-a-a-c-c-c-k-k!!!

I don't just mean writing this blog (sorry, it's been a couple of days) I mean back in the biz! Tomorrow is my first day with Monticello Media in Charlottesville, VA as Director of Interactive Media! 71 days on the beach is more than enough to recharge my batteries, get energized again and get excited about all the possibilities!

I'm grateful for this opportunity to develop on-line opportunities for our clients and listeners, and especially thankful for the support of MM management and their belief in interactive media and how it can work hand-in-hand with radio.

Thanks for all my friends in and out of radio for their support...I'll keep you posted!

The Man in the Mirror

I've been to my share of funerals; family, friends, business associates...
They all left me with the same feelings. Sorrow, emptiness, loss...from the first funeral for a young classmate who tragically died when I was about 8 to the last I attended a few months ago for a high school friend..the feelings were the same.
So today, I found myself surprised when I felt those same feelings during the MJ memorial.
Along with a billion or 2 others, I parked in front of CNN to watch the spectacle...the circus...the funeral for an entertainer who most recently has been known for his bizzare behavior than his abilities to entertain.
Proud to be a smart-ass in the first-degree, I was ready to ridicule the proceedings...but the afternoon took a turn when speaker after speaker, performer after performer paid tribute to a man who truly was an unbelievable entertainer, with a career that spanned my entire life.
The memories of Brooke Shields...and love and anguish of his young daughter put a very human face on someone who's life had taken on very un-human qualities...and with them I felt sorrow, emptiness and loss.

Checking out the neighbors

We arrived safely in VA on Wednesday and have been busy unpacking and unpacking and...oh yea, unpacking.
Today we did take some time to check out the neighbors, so we headed a few miles down the road to to meet Mr. Madison at his place, "Montpelier", the in-progress renovation of the beautiful home of our 4th President, James Madison. Of course the President was not home...but our guide made it easy to feel the presence of the aptly named "Father of the Constitution."
Our afternoon road trip was an effort to explore our new chosen home, and we didn't orignally plan to visit Montpelier, but as we waited for our tour to begin I realized it was exactly 173 years to the day, the Madison died there. For you radio folks, Madison it turns out, also could be called the "Father of Reseach." In preparation for the 2nd Continental Congress, Madison developed the Virginia Plan, by researching great governments of the ages to come up with a plan that would work for our own young country.
Kind of a great way to do things-taking the best of what works and using it. Not imitating, not taking a cookie-cutter approach...taking the best of everything and adapting it for your needs...or the needs of your residents (listeners). What a great way to run a radio staion (country)!
Thanks Mr. Madison, stop over some time and I'll show you how to use Selector.

"Knock a Lil Louder, Sugarland!"

I enjoyed every second of the Sugarland/B52's performance of "Love Shack" during the 09 CMT Video awards. Taylor Swift rapping "Thug Story" with T-Pain made me smile, too. I know some people get all bent out of shape with the increasing pop influence in country music and CMT always does it's best to include performances like these...but c'mon...it was FUN.
Plus you still have Brad Paisley taking home 3 awards and performing "Then"...and Trace with, "You're Gonna Miss This" (shout out to Wayne Addleman on pedal steel!)...two real country songs with real country themes.
Before the purists start bitchin'...remember...there have always been lots of people coloring outside of the lines. Thinking of you Mr. Cash.