2UE’s fill-in breakfast hosts Stuart Bocking and Tracy Spicer put together an excellent piece yesterday morning on how the New South Wales Government seems to be more concerned with feeding neat lines to the media than actually answering questions and addressing concerns.
It all came about following a Daily Telegraph report which claimed that the New South Wales Police’s traffic and speed monitoring plane had not been used once over the Christmas/New Year period despite assurances that it would be used. (As an aside, the information about the plane was pretty sketchy back before Christmas/New Year, with initial statements from the government and police indicating that it could be used anywhere and everywhere and later police statements amending that to just a couple highways near Sydney).
Stuart and Tracey had New South Wales Police’s Traffic Services Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley on the show and asked him about the Daily Telegraph’s report.
John Hartley: It’s been up three times out of nine we could have used it and, look this bad weather is one with only a light plane we don’t want to send it up where it is dangerous or could endanger the pilot or the observer’s life. So we’ve only used it on three days out of the nine we could have.
A very direct answer which shows that the plane has actually been used, contrary to the Daily Telegraph report, and also shows that the police would have liked to use it more often.
You can imagine then, just how surprised Robert Spicer in 2UE’s Newsroom was when he asked the Police Minister, Michael Daley, the same question and didn’t get an answer, but instead was treated to an episode of Daley’s Daily Phrase.
Robert Spicer: How many times has it been in the air?
Michael Daley: Well we don’t give details about that. You understand that it has a deterrent factor even when it’s not in the air because you never know when and you never know where the plane might appear.
Robert Spicer: Yeah that sounds really good minister. Forgive me, but, I mean, the question really stands. How many times has the plane been in the air? You say the Telegraph is wrong, it has flown…how many times has it flown?
Michael Daley: I’ve just answered that question.
Robert Spicer: I don’t understand why you won’t say it’s been up once, twice or three times. I mean your Traffic Services Commander has just told Tracey and Stuart that he thinks it’s been up three times. Why is it a secret from your point of view?
Michael Daley: It’s not a secret. What we’d like to do is to say to drivers that you never know where and you never know where…that you never know when and you never know where that plane might be operating, so we’d prefer not to give details about when and where it’s operating. It’s as simple as that.
Robert Spicer: I appreciate that, I’m not asking you when it’s going to operate, I’m asking you in response to what you were saying about the Telegraph article…how many times has it operated? Not is it operating, but how many times has it operated?
Michael Daley: I’ve just answered that question for you twice.
Robert Spicer: I can understand you not wanting to say when it’s in the air in the future, I have no problem with that, but I fail to understand why you don’t want to say how many times it’s been up.
Michael Daley: Because that’s an operational decision that was made.
So effectively Michael Daley just wants to say that the Daily Telegraph is wrong and “you never know when and you never know where” etc etc etc, without providing any sort of information which might make his claims seem credible.
As Tracey commented a few moments later:
I can just imagine the media meeting they had in Michael Daley’s office this morning with all his media advisors coming up with this key message “you never know where and you never know when” and patting each other on the back and saying “yeah that’ll get it through, we won’t have to say how many times”
I don’t know whether the New South Wales Government are doing this so that they can employ a whole lot of media advisors making up nonsense, whether they’re trying to make the media give up on asking them about anything they don’t feel like talking about, or a combination of both. Regardless, it’s ridiculous. It’s also typical of a government which is so bad at delivering anything useful, that they have become quite expert in producing a vapid smoke screen of hot air which they delusionally think people can’t see through.
I think Stuart summed up the futility of it quite nicely by applying Michael Daley’s interview logic to Michael Daley’s personal life.
You could meet him somewhere and say “look, I forgot your name, what was it again?” “I’ve already answered that”
Brilliant work Stuart, Tracey and Robert in exposing what I think we all already know, but need to be reminded of so that we don’t become desensitised to it.
Alright, I have a confession to make. I am totally addicted to 112 Emergency. It is possibly the most awful soap-opera-dressed-up-as-an-emergency-show ever to grace the small screen, but it is so bad that it is good…and the soap opera side of it has improved significantly of late.
The show is basically a drama series about a fictional “joint co-operative unit” of police, ambulance and fire brigade personnel in Düsseldorf, Germany. The show only lasted on series in Germany, but appears to have been a nightly show as it has about a hundred episodes. I get the distinct impression that the writers knew ahead of time that the show was being axed as they appear to have written a show which should compellingly tie up all of the loose ends in tonight’s final episode.
The main plot at the moment revolves around the corrupt station manager Nils Sellman who replaced, on a temporary basis, Martin Carstens when he fell in to a coma. Martin’s main enemy was head administrative woman Dr. Kristin Driesen who wanted to run a tight ship with a tight budget, constantly getting in the way of Martin’s plans.
When Sellman came on the scene, he managed to blackmail Dr. Driesen so that she wouldn’t get in the way of his enormous spending. Sellman is being bribed by medical equipment supplier Rhine Rescue to drastically overspend the station’s budget so that the government (aka “the ministry”) will deem the joint co-operative unit a failure and shut it down in favour of separate stations…a move which would apparently result in more sales for Rhine Rescue. In return, Sellman would get a place on the Rhine Rescue board.
Dr. Driesen, seeing through the plan, arranged to get Martin treated in some foreign hospital so that he would come back to work, however Sellman took credit for Martin’s transfer and won the support of the staff by also promoting them and offering them a lot of overtime pay.
Ingo Bender, chief firefighter, also saw through the plan and, after Dr. Driesen disappeared around the time of her miscarriage, became suspicious of all the stuff arriving from the “expensive” Rhine Rescue. He attempted to get station secretary Jenny Sauer (at least I think it’s Jenny) to assist him in uncovering the truth…but as her boyfriend is a police officer and was promoted by Sellman, this was difficult. She eventually came around.
In recent times it has become apparent that Sellman’s accomplice, his secretary Franka Tiefenthal, is being used by Sellman. He has pretended that she is his lover and that he will divorce his wife for her. In truth, he intends on dumping her as soon as the station is shut down. Jenny and Franka hate each other, which has made it hard for Jenny to get any information our of Franka.
In the last few days, Bender, Driesen and Jenny managed to plant a recorder in Sellman’s office, which recorded a conversation he had with the Rhine Rescue salesman, outlining how much he dislikes Franka and his plans for her. This conversation was played to Franka, and she then, after a lot of sobbing, agreed to bring Sellman down by giving Bender, Driesen and Jenny access to the incriminating documents.
Tonight is D-Day. The ministry will shut the co-operative unit down if nothing is done, so tonight our fabulous foursome must somehow get Sellman arrested before the ministry make their decision. There might also be a wedding between a paramedic and one of the other staff…who knows.
Tonight should be enthralling. I know that I won’t miss it for the world. 112 Emergency, SBS Two tonight at 8:30.
Update: I had to bolt earlier as I had already gone over my lunch break by a couple minutes when I published this. I do have a little bit to add.
The show’s emergency scenes are, to say the least, laughable and unrealistic. Nobody (with the exception of a would-be murderer the other night) has ever died on this show and the emergencies always seem to involve some bizarre hocus-pocus field medicine and end up with everyone standing around smiling at each other while the orchestra plays. In fact the show was scolded by medical professionals when it aired in Germany for its incredibly dangerous and wrong depiction of medical procedures…it looks like the writers thought it was science fiction and just made it all up.
I mentioned earlier that the show is based in a fictional joint co-operative unit…and when I said fictional, I meant fictional. It’s not the non-existent police station type of fictional…it’s the “there is no such thing as a joint co-operative unit” type of fictional. This certainly gives the writers more room to make stuff up (such as the blind woman answering every emergency telephone call in Düsseldorf and sending half the town’s emergency personnel to every incident.
Early in the series the acting was so bad that it was funny…now the emergency scenes are so much worse that they are funny.
The other night when the would-be murderer was shot by his victim and died, he was found in a park. The police and ambulance attended (one ambulance with two paramedics plus two police cars with one officer in each). When the paramedics declared the man dead and the police recognised the MO of the crime and wanted the paramedics to come with them to the victim in a nearby house, some other paramedic who looked more like a bush than a person and has never been seen before, suddenly appeared from nowhere, couched over the dead man and agreed to stay with him.
Last night a man dialled 112 simply be taking his phone out of his pocket. The mind reading phones must work well in Düsseldorf.
Station-manager-in-a-coma-induced-exile Martin Carstens has, despite appearing in nothing except the opening titles for about the last month, been at the top of the credits for every single episode.
But my favourite bit of all is something which hasn’t happened much lately as, with Martin out of the picture, Ingo Bender has spent more time at the station and less time out fighting fires (why a fireman fills the duties of a policeman is beyond me, but we won’t go there). It seems that the word for “out” (as an indication that you have finished your radio message) in 112 Emergency German is “ender”. Back when Bender was out fighting fires he would often yell something hysterically in to his radio and then exclaim “Bender ender!”, usually this would happen a few times in the space of a minute.
Alas, tonight, Bender’s show does come to an ender, and I am going to miss it. I think I will have to contact SBS about buying it on DVD. The show is clearly an attempt to steal the format of Third Watch (a show of which I am a huge fan), and is so hysterically funny in its awful attempt to do so…and so mindlessly addictive, that my DVD collection will not be complete without this show.
Given that I spent so much time this morning tracking the news coverage of the Las Vegas court house shooting, I thought it would be a good idea to bring you the actual story courtesy of Channel 13 Action News.
My sincere condolences to the family of Stanley Cooper, the court security officer who was killed in the gunfire.
I appreciate that, for the vast majority of readers of this blog, this story is not particularly relevant as most readers of this blog are Australian, however it does tie in with my previous story about the delay in getting this story out nationally and to the world. Regardless of whether this story is relevant to you, watch the video…what is extraordinary about this is just how good the local news coverage is in the United States, especially when compared to local news coverage over here.
Las Vegas as a city, has a slightly higher population that Canberra (an extra couple of hundred thousand people) and, when you include the surrounding areas, is probably in line with Perth. Despite this, the local news coverage over there is far more thorough and regular than what you will find anywhere over here. Many TV stations have multiple full-length local news bulletins each day, for example. Additionally, this level of coverage is mirrored in many places right across the US…and yet it seems that we can only get this level of detail over here when a dust storm invades Sydney.
I suppose that a lot of this can be put down to the fact that the US has a much greater concentration of inland settlement than Australia, and as such has much more room and incentive for a competitive news business. In many ways I consider this to be one of Australia’s great problems…we are so coast-bound that we inhibit our own growth and prosperity as a nation. If more people lived inland, our coastal cities wouldn’t be choked and over-stretched, the potential for inland industry would grow significantly and, best of all, would probably lead to a self-fulfilling increase in inland rainfall based on more water being used and evaporating, which in turn helps our farming industry to sustain population growth.
Anyway, back on topic. I tip my hat to the staff at Channel 13 Action News. Your coverage of this story was excellent.
When I was gasping in disbelief about how slow the Associated Press and other national news agencies were this morning in covering the Las Vegas courthouse shooting, I completely lost it and burst out laughing when I saw a particular story from AP on the CBS website which was about three and a half months late.
Yes, you read that right…three and a half months late!
On September 24 last year, the Sun newspaper in the UK ran a story about the people who live underground in Las Vegas which was subsequently picked up by The Drudge Report and led to an hysterical conversation between KXNT’s Casey Hendrickson and Heather Kydd:
Lost Vegas
From PETE SAMSON
US Editor
in Nevada
Published: 24 Sep 2009
LOVEBIRDS Steven and Kathryn share a well-organised home in bustling Las Vegas.
They have a neat, if compact kitchen, a furnished living area, and a bedroom complete with double bed, wardrobe and bookshelf featuring a wide selection including a Frank Sinatra biography and Spanish phrase book.
And they make their money in some of the biggest casinos in the world.
But their life is far from the ordinary.
Because, along with hundreds of others, the couple are part of a secret community living in the dark and dirty underground flood tunnels below the famous strip.
Rather than working in the bars or kitchens they “credit hustle”, prowling the casinos searching the fruit machines for money or credits left by drunken gamblers.
Despite the risks from disease, highly venomous spiders and flooding washing them away, many of the tunnel people have put together elaborate camps with furniture, ornaments and shelves filled with belongings.
Casey and Heather’s conversation about the “zombies” of Las Vegas was so amusing that the story stuck in my head quite prominently. So you can imagine how surprised I was when I spotted this story from AP on the CBS website this morning:
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2010 Las Vegas Tunnels a Refuge for Homeless
Hundreds, Many Struggling with Addictions, Live in a Pitch-Black World, Surviving Off the Excesses of the Strip Above
(AP) Underneath its glitzy casinos, far from the bright marquees, there is another Las Vegas, a pitch-black, dank underworld virtually unknown and unseen by those who live, work and play above.
About 300 people – mostly men battling demons of various addictions – live in the underground storm system built to protect the desert playground from the infrequent cloudburst.
There’s no sign or word of welcome down here. Drug use is nearly universal. Most people carry makeshift weapons and the police don’t often come unless they’re called.
But the denizens have found a haven in the labyrinth of concrete tunnels that snake beneath the city and its suburbs.
I suppose it’s possible that the Associated Press don’t believe in electricity and had to have the story sent from the UK by boat before they could consider running a similar story…but seriously, three and a half months to run a story? I don’t care why it took that long…that’s just late, so late that the late note from Mummy Associated Press just can’t be accepted.
I know, I know, I’m about as late as I can be with this, but I need to provide a quick update.
Following Rush Limbaugh’s admission to hospital last week, Rush was released from hospital on the weekend and held a brief press conference to thank people for their support, praise the existing American health system and announce that he is taking it easy for a few days. Doctors have confirmed that Rush is fine and they’re unsure as to what caused his severe chest pains.
I am quite relieved to see Rush up and about. I last saw video of him a couple months ago and it looks to me as if he has lost a bit more weight since then…but I do have to wonder if he, much like 2GB’s Alan Jones, is a bundle of energy and pushes himself a bit too hard.
There is one really good thing to come out of all of this…an extra two days of Mark Steyn filling in for Rush. Mark is compelling and entertaining, but even better than that, was so good at filling in on December 23 that the far-left “anybody who opposes Obama must be banned” Media Matters nutters who scrutinise every moment of Rush’s show were so overwhelmed by Mark that they packed up an hour early and haven’t been heard from since. Mark, the world owes you about seventeen debts of gratitude for that one!
Two federal agents have been shot and are being reported as dead in some places in Las Vegas, but you wouldn’t know it if you were listening to the last set of US national radio news bulletins. It’s bizarre, but it almost seems as if the national news outlets didn’t bother to call their local affiliates for information.
Here’s the basic rundown of events as I noticed it (note that all times are in Las Vegas local time/Canberra local time format)
Approximately 8:10am/3:10am: Shooting occurs
A few moments later: Newsradio 840 KXNT takes a call live-to-air from a witness. Sirens are audible in the background.
8:18am/3:18am: KXNT traffic runs a brief report on the area being locked down by police
Approximately 8:20am/3:20am: Around this time I went and checked other news outlets. The Las Vegas Review Journal had a brief “breaking story” blurb on their website, KDWN 720 had nothing on their website, TV Channel 13 (local ABC affiliate) had a brief story with flashy graphics (OK, a screengrab of their “breaking news” graphic…but still). National news outlets FOX, CBS and ABC had nothing on their websites.
Approximately 8:23/3:23: KXNT news runs a story including an update from the local police spokesperson advising that two federal agents have been shot, one offender has been shot and another may be on the loose.
Approximately 8:40/3:40: The Associated Press releases a very short story advising of a shooting which looks like a cut and paste from a government press release. National outlets FOX and ABC put it on their websites with no further details. KDWN have the story on their website.
8:49/3:49: KXNT runs an out-of-cycle “breaking news” report from Metro Police that the two federal officers are dead. Also note that the area has been completely locked down while police search for a second shooter.
9:00/4:00: Top of hour national radio bulletins run with the “condition unknown” AP report. FOX update their story with a line about the lockdown. CNN don’t have a story as such, but rather a headline which links off to the Vegas FOX TV station’s news story which seems fairly comprehensive.
At some stage a little bit after 9:10/4:10: CBS add the story to their website, merging AP information with KXNT information.
9:20/4:20: KXNT run another out-of-cycle “breaking news” update with some further information and a failed cross to their reporter at the scene (the phone line dropped out).
By 9:30/4:30: NBC get the story on their site, with minor additions to the AP story. ABC bump the story to top billing (which it should have had everywhere for a lot longer than this) including an aerial photo, presumably from the local ABC affiliate Channel 13.
9:30/4:30: KXNT run another out-of-cycle update (I shudder to think how many ads they’ve dropped) with a cross to the reporter on the scene relaying information from police at the scene that Metro Police’s previous release about the federal agents being dead is possibly wrong, plus a description of the scene.
9:45/4:45: National networks seem to be close to catching up with the local outlets, with the notable exception of NBC which continues to run the ancient AP story. CNN actually have an article now.
9:50/4:50: I haven’t had a chance to check the other locals again, but KXNT are running yet another out-of-cycle update pushing the locals way ahead of the nationals again with further updates about the situation.
9:55/4:55: Las Vegas Review Journal run independent confirmation that at least one federal agent has died.
Update: 11:10/6:10: Well this is absurd. I can not find a single Australian media outlet that is aware of this shooting. AAP have not mentioned it yet, and nobody in Australia seems to have noticed. This is the top story in all US media right now, and not a peep down under, nor in Britain’s BBC…perhaps the news is coming by boat. End Update
Don’t get me wrong here. I am not surprised by the fact that local stations which have people on the ground are ahead of the New York based networks. What I’m surprised by is just how far ahead the local stations are, and how long it took the nationals to even notice what is probably going to be the top story for the rest of the day. Each and every one of the national networks has a local affiliate with a newsroom to borrow material from, and with the exception of CBS they seem to be failing to capitalise on these resources. If any of these networks used their local resources properly, they would blitz the competition completely.
All of this just goes to show that news travels just as slowly in the US as it does in Australia. If it doesn’t happen near a major news centre, then you will be waiting a long time for details. Is it any wonder that people are relying on the Internet for news over and above the big news organisations?
I debated whether to publish this before or after the New Year’s Eve post…and settled on “after” as this is far more important than the beginning of a new calendar year and deserves to be at the top of the page for longer.
I would like to extend my best wishes to Rush Limbaugh, who was taken to hospital earlier today with chest pains. Early reports said that he was in a serious condition, however a very brief statement on his website says that he is now “resting comfortably”:
I find myself in a position of being stuck for words here. On the one hand I like Chris Smith as a broadcaster, but on the other hand I am deeply disappointed by his actions.
RADIO host Chris Smith has revealed he is a bipolar alcoholic after being taken off air for a lecherous drunken bender at 2GB’s Christmas party.
A remorseful and emotional Smith yesterday also told The Sunday Telegraph that his latest alcohol-fuelled shocker had destroyed his family and could ruin his career.
The 45-year-old father-of-two said he was so drunk on champagne and red wine at the party and loaded on “the wrong antidepressants” that he became a “runaway train” and could not remember harassing four female colleagues or annoying two other workmates.
[..]
The talkback host said his embarrassed and humiliated wife Ali and children had walked out of the family home after learning of his crazed night.
Although he can’t remember any of it, he was told he had been “inappropriate” with four female workers – and even tried to kiss one.
Smith said each of the women had accepted his apology. It is understood that one of the women was weathergirl Magdalena Roze.
[..]
Smith said he was determined to get help for his alcoholism and save his marriage and family.
“They’re probably going though it even worse (than me) because they’re just humiliated and embarrassed by their husband and their dad,” Smith said, struggling to hold back tears.
“My family’s estranged from me at the moment. I totally understand that. It’s the right course – my wife has taken the right course and I intend working on that.
I also can’t help but feel sorry for the guy. He does seem to be genuinely remorseful, and willing to take responsibility for his actions. There is also a part of me that sympathises with Chris’ plight given my own mental health problems…although in my case I just hate the medication enough that I would prefer to deal with the problem myself. That hasn’t stopped me from “self medicating” on a few occasions, and doing some stupid things as a result…I suppose what I’m trying to say here is that I can identify with the shame that Chris must be feeling right now.
I am hopeful that he follows through on getting the help he needs. His apologies have been accepted, so I hope that Chris is able to work towards rebuilding the trust between himself, his colleagues and, most importantly, his family.
2CC/2CA’s production guru Michael Watson is leaving the stations after having worked there for 14 years, according to Jock’s Journal.
Michael has done a lot of great work for 2CC and 2CA over the years, although if I have to pick one particular thing which I have the fondest memory of…it would probably be the old Sgt. Pepper competitions on 2CA. I was also particularly fond of the piece he put together (OK, I’m 99% sure it was him…somebody please correct me if I’m wrong) after I announced my (later aborted) run for federal parliament on 2007. Just looking around for that now, I realise that I didn’t ever post it online…so here it is:
[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/2CCSamuelIndependent.mp3] Download MP3
And of course, there was that brilliant remix of my original Samuel’s Persiflage intro
[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/SamuelsPersiflage/originalintroremix.mp3] Download MP3
That anybody could make something good out of that ghastly (albeit fun) original intro is quite an achievement.
Further to the last post about Steve Liebmann taking over from Steve Price, I should point out that as of next week, the morning talkback battle in Sydney will be between two Channel Nine personalities. Ben Fordham on 2GB, filling in for Ray Hadley, and Steve Liebmann on 2UE. Admittedly, Steve is technically a Foxtel personality, but it’s fair to say that those of us out here in Free To Air Television land still regard him as a Nine personality as his Crime Investigation Australia show airs on Nine.
One could even argue that it’s A Current Affair (Fordham) versus Today (Liebmann)…but that’s stretching the laws of time and history just a tad too far.
Well, at least the callers won’t have to learn a new name. 2UE yesterday announced that Steve Liebmann will be taking over the morning show once Steve Price vacates the chair today.
Steve Liebmann and Steve Price. Image courtesy of 2UE
That picture there was a bit of a surprise to me…I didn’t realise that Steve Liebmann is around the same height as Steve Price. Pricey is shorter than me, and I’m often the shortest adult in a room…I never knew that Liebmann was around the same height.
I enjoy it when Steve fills in for Steve as I think Steve handles the show better than Steve (Oh, alright, I’ll stop deliberately confusing you)…seriously, I like Steve Liebmann and have enjoyed having him fill-in for Steve Price, but is this the right decision for 2UE? That depends entirely on their aims. Liebmann, unlike Price, seems to take a less solid stance on issues, but Liebmann comes across as being more informed about issues. This is mainly due to the rather noticeable fact that Price seems to read whatever is plonked in front of him, to the point that his “interviews” often sound like a series of teleprompted questions filling the void between answers.
Price was clearly forced to tone down his “angry ant” act when he moved from Drive to Mornings, and 2UE have slowly added more and more lifestyle guff to the show at the expense of news related discussion. I don’t think Price sounded comfortable doing the lifestyle stuff, and I can’t recall hearing him being as passionate about anything on the Morning show as he was on his old Drive show. It’s a real shame as, based on his Drive show performance, I thought he would do a great job on the Morning show. With any luck the rumours are true and John Singleton will recruit Price to a 2GB clone in Melbourne, and give Price the free reign that he needs to produce a good show.
Steve Liebmann, as I mentioned earlier, I enjoy listening to, although I have to wonder if he will express his opinions more clearly as the regular host of the show, or whether 2UE are recruiting him in to the role so as to further expand their non news-based talk programming. The Fairfax Radio Syndication website indicates a shift back to news-based talk:
The program deals with issues of importance to NSW and the ACT
Program content consistent with content in the news bulletins
That said, I’m sure that the Steve Price show description said the same thing, and contained the same line as the Liebmann description about the show being a “proven ratings winner”…an interesting line for a show which doesn’t exist yet. A few grains of salt don’t go astray when dealing with Fairfax Syndication show descriptions.
I strongly suspect that the Liebmann show will have at least the same amount of lifestyle guff, if not more, as the Price show had, simply because of what 2UE’s General Manager Tim McDermott had to say about Liebmann:
We’ve conducted extensive research over recent months and Steve Liebmann continually returned strong figures. He’s seen as a broadcaster who can deliver the very latest news and information, mixed with opinion and entertainment
Hmmm, that extensive research would be the “lets pay our listeners to come in to the station and tell us what they think of the station” surveys. I don’t understand the mentality of “lets ask our small audience what they want to hear more of so that we can have even less listeners”, but it seems clear that 2UE have given up the fight with 2GB for the hard-line newstalk format, and are going with a more lifestyle oriented format which, so far, is not rating.
Tim McDermott went on to mention “a fresh Monday-Friday line up on 2UE in 2010” without ever actually saying what that lineup contains. That’s OK though, because we already know what that line up is, because we’ve already been told that it’s the existing line up. John Stanley and Sandy Aloisi at Breakfast, Steve Liebmann in Mornings, Tim Webster in the Afternoon, and “The Two Murrays” at Drive.
A brief aside…Tim Webster nearly made me collapse from shock a few weeks ago when he suddenly changed his tune on the Emissions Trading Scheme in a manner which, if you hadn’t been listening to him previously, could convince you that he had always held his current view. He has been spending virtually all of the year (outside the lifestyle segments) advocating Global Warming Doom, and now, suddenly, opposes the ETS…I’m also regularly amused by the people who call Chris Smith on 2GB and call him “Tim”, and the same people who call Tim Webster on 2UE and call him “Chris”.
Anyway, back to Steve Liebmann, I notice that 2UE are making a big deal out of the fact that he will be working right through Christmas/New Year (he was always going to fill in for Price anyway), but conveniently omit the fact that Steve will be on leave for three weeks in February as he will be in Vancouver covering the Winter Olympics for Foxtel.
I’m more inclined to listen to Steve Liebmann than I was to listen to Steve Price of late, but I do hope for a few things which I doubt will happen…more firm opinions from Liebmann, and less lifestyle guff stealing time from serious conversations…just turn Webster’s show in to a permanent lifestyle show if you must and be done with it. Please, 2UE, leave serious stuff in the morning show. It makes no sense having your overnight programming being more serious than your daytime programming.
Best wishes to both Steves. I’m looking forward to hearing what direction the Liebmann show takes. I am also hoping that Singo’s mooted 2GB clone does eventuate in Melbourne with Steve Price on-board in an unleashed manner, and that it can become a launching platform for a nationally syndicated Andrew Bolt show…I may be dreaming a bit too much on that count though.
From FOX News Radio‘s 5am Pacific Time newscast from Sunday the 6th, comes this gem of a news story which is probably the most amusing presentation of a story so far this year. It had me highly amused for some time.
For those of you who can’t be bothered listening, here’s the transcript…although it really doesn’t convey the story as amusingly as the audio does.
Anchor: The reclusive communist nation of North Korea hoping to grab the world’s attention with a foray of high end fashion.
[musical fanfare]
[hysterical and incomprehensible ranting in a foreign language]
Reporter: This may be North Korea’s greatest export…propaganda messages often aimed at insulting America, but now the reclusive nation hopes to earn some foreign dough from fancy denim. NoKo jeans, a label launched in Sweden but made in North Korea.
The pants won’t be for every comrade, they’ll sell for a very capitalist $220, but North Korea seems to be opening up to American ways, recently licensing its first fast food joints…it still can’t stomach too much American, the burgers aren’t called “burgers”, and the blue jeans will only come in black.
While I think of it (I was going to post it on Sunday, but forgot, as usual), congratulations to Jason Morrison and Heidi Tiltins (both of 2GB) who got married on the weekend.
Ray Martin, as regular readers would know, is a media personality for whom I have a lot of respect. Those of you with really good memories would know that I don’t believe Carols By Candlelight will ever be as good as it used to be now that Ray no longer hosts it.
For these reasons and more, I am looking forward to Ray Martin’s appearance on Open House with Sheridan Voysey tonight. As Sheridan puts it:
This week on Open House hear Ray’s story–the impoverished childhood, the turbulent school years, and the dash across Australia that saved his life. He’ll reflect on his successes and regrets, and share insights into the world of popular media.
I don’t know what time Ray’s interview will air as it could be at any point in the three-hour show. I would recommend tuning in to the entire show between 8pm and 11pm AEDST, except that I can’t, as every time I do that on Facebook, the show seems to start by interviewing some far-left cuckoo-land person who declares people who share my opinions to be a “redneck”. That said, I quite enjoy sitting in a semi-soundproof studio yelling at said far-left cuckoo-land person. They might not be able to hear me, but at least their bizarre ramblings reinforce my knowledge of just how wrong they are.
Sydney’s 2NSB, 99.3FM across the north shore, has shut down due to financial problems, apparently. The station is currently relaying the BBC World Service instead of broadcasting local programming, fulfilling its licence condition that it must continue to broadcast until such time as the licence is cancelled or an agreement is reached with ACMA.
The Mosman Daily reports that the station’s board of directors decided to call in the administrators on Monday night, programs were quickly taken off the air in favour of the (cheaper) BBC World Service and the locks were changed. The station had been on the air for 26 years.
Unfortunately the news report is very light-on for details, and is in fact so vague on some points that one can’t help but believe the rumours floating around that there is a fair bit more to the story than what has been reported. If that’s the case, then I expect that we will hear more about this as time goes by.
I am quite disappointed by the closure of 2NSB as I liked the format, and I also enjoyed doing a media news segment with Oly Peterson on Tuesday afternoons.
I must thank reader Max who emailed me about this early this morning, albeit cryptically. Even though it’s bad news, I’m thankful that it was brought to my attention.
Farewell 2NSB.
Update 3pm: Radioinfo have now picked up the story, incorrectly describing the station as “silent” in the process, but have no more details than we have here except to say that some unnamed board members recently resigned. Instead they’ve done the usual “we have nothing but won’t be outdone” reporter’s trick of filling their article with a blow-by-blow account of the station’s history. End Update
Update 6pm: Now Radioinfo are getting somewhere. ACMA have informed them that they will wait “several weeks” for the voluntary administration process to take its course, before deciding whether the broadcasting licence needs to be cancelled. This means that there is a glimmer, albeit a tiny one, that something will eventually fill the role of “2NSB”, although considering that the current format proved to be thoroughly unprofitable, it is unlikely that this will be similar to the 2NSB that we knew. End Update
Update 16 August 2010: John Southgate, one of the people responsible for the revival of 2NSB has written in with the following comment. Thanks John!
Sydney North Shore’s FM99.3 has been operating successfully since February 2010 with a new board of directors and in August 2010 is ready to recruit a permanent station manager. Details of the position can be found on the station web site at FM993.com.au or through SEEK at seek.com.au. End Update
