389...Michael Jackson Died Thursday

Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson died Thursday.

Radio died right along with him. Most radio stations just kept John Tesh rolling, Ryan Seacrest babbling and voice tracking mindlessly ploughing through the playlist.

When John Lennon and Elvis Presley died, decades before consolidation, national program directors and big chains controlling everything from Toronto, Montreal, New York and Los Angeles most stations were immediately broadcasting on-air tributes, news accounts and playing wall-to-wall dead guy music.

In my town the only station that I heard going wall to wall Michael was the station that I am with, 93.1CKCU, which has, and this is a positive, a laissez faire attitude towards programming. Although the hit stations in town, TAG FM, KISS and HOT did talk about Michael Jackson they also played the songs that were programmed weeks, days, months ago. If anything, CFRA, the local right wing news talker and CBC ONE, the lefty news talker, were more on the story than the contemporary stations.

Not hating, just stating.

Score one for local TV, like Local4 in Detroit, stations that were out on the street in their towns and a big one for the Internet.

WFDS

304...Do You Know Who Heidi and Spencer Are?

Me neither.

They are sort of on the current NBC TV show "Get Me Out Of Here, I'm A Celebrity".

They used to be on a show on one of those music channels that don't play music anymore.

May be they still are.

Anyhow, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were on Today yesterday morning and were upset with the way Al Roker treated them. He is the weatherman by the way, and Today is not exactly Meet The Press.

The headline in EW.com says it best:

Heidi Pratt [sic] says Al Roker 'attacked' her: In other news, Heidi Pratt loves fame.

They were all over Larry King Live tonight on CNN and Ryan Seacrest's KIIS FM, Los Angeles, radio show crying the blues.

From Today and YouTube here is the interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT-m7hY7K4Y&feature=related

WFDS