Courier-Journal legend David Hawpe has passed away at age 78. We had lots of laughs over the years talking media, politics, and all things Kentucky. We both served on advisory boards for the College of Communications and Information at the University of Kentucky. Hawpe, the editor of Kentucky's Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper, taught me a valuable lesson in January 2002 by ripping my ass on the editorial page of the Sunday morning Courier-Journal. I wrote a blog post mocking livid UK fans in eastern Kentucky who were heaping scorn on Rick Pitino for taking the Louisville head coach job. A few days after I posted the sketch, the Lexington Herald Leader wrote a scathing front page piece entitled "Web site parody
Tag: media
#WHAS100years π§ Spotlighting prominent voices from WHAS Radio’s century of broadcasting
Our celebration continues as we roll toward the 100th birthday of WHAS Radio, Louisville's 50,000 watt blowtorch. Each week, I profile a former personality or station leader to reflect of the incredible history of Kentucky's first licensed radio station. Visit this link for my interviews with Gary Burbank, Liz Curtis, Doug McElvein, Cindi Sullivan, and Mark Levin. Now on to more great conversations with WHAS Radio legends! We will continue these visits every Friday at 4:35 PM until the 100th birthday of WHAS on July 18, 2022. π§ #WHAS100 π The brainiest of all @840WHAS colleagues is likely Barry Bernson. We chatted about his media career as a master storyteller, anchor, reporter, actor, narrator, and happy dad + grandfather. LISTEN https://t.co/xqH3Fuv48H #WHAS100years #radio #TV
Media in a snit fit over LSU dropout’s market power
Meet Addison Rae Easterling. She's 20 years old and has millions of followers on social media. Journalists are jelly because Addison Rae joked about 3 months of college education landing her a prime sports reporting job. All the people complaining about this because they studied sports broadcasting for 30 years should simply try having 80+ million tiktok followers https://t.co/0Zj8UN3d3X β Brendan O'Keeffe (@BrendanKOKeeffe) July 10, 2021 She's funny, smart, strategic, and telegenic. Those are ingredients for success in many careers. Oh my, media peeps. Get over yourselves. This kid has a massive online following and that puts her in a much stronger negotiating position than Jenny Journalism School grad. But whine on if that makes you feel better. Edward R. Murrow ain't walking through that door
Bob Baffert “I would never risk my reputation (by cheating)…it’s BS.”
First it was sabotage. Then a possibility of ingested urine soaked hay. Or was it a bit of cough syrup left by a careless groom? Jimson weed accidentally mixed in the feed? No wait...it's CANCEL CULTURE! π€ "I think it was just a knee jerk, cancel culture kind of reaction. They violated my due process..." -@BobBaffert on the statement released by @ChurchillDowns @KentuckyDerby pic.twitter.com/AE5kom6YlQ β Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 10, 2021 Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been running through an endless stream of excuses as to how his Kentucky Derby winning horse Medina Spirit failed a post-victory drug test. Medina Spirit tested for an excessive amount of betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory. Baffert was baffled. He said that his team does not use that drug.
Louisville radio ratings through January 2021, WHAS remains on top
What's old is what's new. WHAS Radio continues to lead in the Louisville radio market. Here are the latest radio ratings, released March 1, 2021. Louisville Rank: 54 12+ Population: 1,053,000 Ethnic Composition: Black - 15.87% Hispanic - 5% Market Swept: 13x/year Station Format Owner/LMA Dec20 Hol20 Jan21 WHAS-AM Talk iHeartMedia, Inc. 7.5 7.5 7.8 WAKY-FM Classic Hits W & B Broadcasting, Inc. 6.1 6.0 5.6 WAMZ-FM Country iHeartMedia, Inc. 5.6 5.2 5.5 WVEZ-FM Adult Contemporary Summitmedia, LLC 2.4 3.8 4.8 WFPL-FM News/Talk Kentucky Public Radio, Inc. 4.8 4.6 4.6 WDJX-FM CHR Alpha Media 5.2 4.5 4.6 WSFR-FM Classic Hits Summitmedia, LLC 4.2 4.2 4.5 WGZB-FM Urban Contemporary Alpha Media 6.4 5.4 4.4 WQNU-FM Country Summitmedia, LLC 5.0 4.5 4.2 WMJM-FM Urban Adult Contemporary Alpha Media 4.4 4.7 4.0 WQMF-FM Rock iHeartMedia, Inc. 3.8 3.9 3.3 WNRW-FM CHR iHeartMedia, Inc. 2.8 3.1 3.2 WUOL-FM Classical Kentucky Public Radio, Inc. 1.7 2.7 2.5 WXMA-FM Adult Hits Alpha Media 2.6 2.7 2.4 WRKA-FM Urban Adult Contemporary Summitmedia, LLC 2.3 2.2 2.2 WTFX-FM Urban Contemporary iHeartMedia, Inc. 1.6 1.8 2.0 WFPK-FM Adult Alternative Kentucky Public Radio, Inc. 2.3 2.0 1.8 WGHL-FM Modern/Alternative Rock Alpha Media 0.7 1.2 1.4 WKJK-AM Talk iHeartMedia, Inc. 0.9 1.0 1.2 WSDF-FM Adult Hits iHeartMedia, Inc. 1.9 1.0 1.1 WLCL-FM Sports Union Broadcasting, Inc. 0.9 0.6 1.0 WKRD-AM Sports iHeartMedia, Inc. 0.8 1.0 0.9 WHBE-AM Sports Union Broadcasting,
Clay Travis vs Matt Jones π₯ latest battle over podcast download numbers
Our iHeart Radio #BBN god Matt Jones is a terrific radio talent. He is provocative, knowledgable, and humorous. I am a friend and fan. Matt brings a lot of attention to our business which boosts all of our stations. These same attributes can be said of Tennessee broadcast icon Clay Travis, founder of Outkick.com and a host of many sports and cultural amplifying media products. These two can't stand each other. Matt just brag tweeted about his Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) show being #1 in America. Clay wasn't going to let that incorrect claim stand for long. This is 1 billion % not true dude. Cowherd does over 10 million downloads a month. Thatβs the most in iheart sports, but many iheart sports shows
Jelly Journalist War: one man’s tweet is another man’s moralizing rebuke crusade. Meanwhile, more diseases are sprouting. Can we focus on real news?
π₯ Journalists cannibalizing each other is becoming common practice in the prestige motivated grandstanding realm. (See: Courier Journal woke writers vs WAVE3 headline authors). Today's top clickbait sport for newby activist journos is torching colleagues. WTTG/Washington news anchor Blake McCoy tweeted his thoughts on obese people getting COVID vaccinations ahead of some "essential workers." His bosses at WTTG have suspended the anchor for his tweet, even though McCoy deleted it and issued a subsequent apology. The twitter mob, always searching to scorch non-woke speech, mobilized quickly to take down McCoy. But then there's this guy...a fellow journalist whose twitter feed has been non-stop trashing McCoy as if his insensitive message is the only news item in the universe. I smell jelly, Chris Weidmer. Weidner,
Celebs do interviews to fatten their wallets; Twitter bullies only see the ancient past through today’s WOKE lens
Hindsight is the morality playground for today's social justice warriors. They dredge ancient culture for activity that is considered unacceptable by today's standards and bully the "bad person." The stasi is back. Men interviewing women. Between 1970 - 2020. Breathtaking misogyny, across five decades. From causally but deeply vicious to stunningly ignorant and disrespectful. Stomach churning stuff. And letβs be clear, this endures. It really must be rooted out. https://t.co/TMDJG8AVVx β Colm O'Gorman (@Colmogorman) February 14, 2021 Some people are still teflon in WOKE world culture. Howard Stern peppering guests with invasive sexual questions, rock stars like Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler who bragged about sleeping with teenagers, and countless male bosses who coerced sex from female employees. All still running free. Late night
Strong media interviewing allows subjects extra latitude
Welcome to interview school! I am fortunate enough to interview a great many community leaders, change agents, politicians, celebrities, and athletes. People frequently ask me about my casual interviewing techniques and why I don't crush my subjects. First, I can only be me. My personality dictates that I speak to guests on the air the exact same way that I would in a store, on the sidewalk, or in my home. More importantly, I feel that a quality interview involves listening to the guest and not making myself a part of the narrative. The guest is the star. Let's look at some variance in interview segments by Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo from CNN. This video is a compelling takedown of Black Lives Matter
The Facts of Life are flying out of the White House again
Feel the media love from "impartial" New York Times writer Annie Karni on President Joe Biden's press secretary Jen Psaki: "Her noncombative briefing was designed to project a return to normalcy, a sense that the briefing room, like the rest of the West Wing just hours into the Biden administration, is back in the hands of substantive government professionals who are not seeking to undermine the role of the press." Veteran Washington insider Jen Psaki (SOCK-ee) held her first press briefing for President Joe Biden just a few hours after his inauguration. She's a breath of fresh air, acknowledging that she will always be truthful and that everyone in the room may not agree with everything they hear from the new