It's Gordon Keith Week on MTC!

Well, I was going to put this off for awhile, but I see that I cannot.  The Observer is forcing my hand.

We'll kick off the celebration with a link to The Observer's piece on him in their "People" issue, together with its rather  .  .  .  intimidating image.  Gordon has to be one of the the somberest-photographed funnymen I can recall.  Think Mark Twain's stern portraits.

The Secret Sage

There will be at least two more pieces on Gordon to follow this one, so you may want to hold your Gordon STDs for a bit.

But if I know you, you won't.

In the meantime, I found the Observer's short piece to be quite, well -- observant.

We know of Gordon's LHO obsession -- but I'm moved to wonder if the foundational link isn't driving through Dallas in convertibles.

BREAKING: Unless Gordon Has Made Off with Bob's Laptop . . .

BaD radio is staying with The Ticket, per Bob's tweet.

Why Cumulus Needs to Damn Sign Up Bob and Dan Within the Next Few Hours

(Will Norm get credit in tomorrow's grammar books for being the first public figure to use "damn" to modify verbs?)

 

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The prairie is ablaze, and Your Plainsman's on fire.

 

 

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Dear Lew,

 

May I call you Lew?  No?

 

So Lew, I know you need to save money, but, based on no evidence, I'm going to assume for purposes of this open letter that you do care about The Ticket and you want to see it thrive for as long as possible.  I know that you know it is a jewel in a very tarnished crown and that you are very fortunate to have acquired it in the Susquehanna deal.  It not only dominates DFW radio in the prize demo, it is one of the most famous radio stations in the United States.  In fact, based on podcast downloads and online listening, it is it one of the most famous and popular radio stations in the world.  You've done your best to starve it of resources -- those allowing it to be heard in its home city, for example -- but it continues to thrash all comers.

 

I'm not going to beat you down about the short run, except to say:

 

(1)   They are amazing talents -- yes, both of them -- and you should keep them in your stable.  An obvious point, but perhaps lost in the money talk.

 

(2)   Bob and Dan's departure would have effects at the station well beyond having to fill in the noon-to-three slot.  Letting Bob and Dan go would expose the essential fragility of The Ticket's success.  Bob and Dan going says -- hey, if they can go, anyone can go.  I'm not talking about the other hosts, who are very unlikely to go anywhere, I'm talking about the long-suffering group that we here at My Ticket Confession call the Junior Varsity.  The JV contains quite a number of extremely talented people who are frequently discussed in these pages as Ticket-worthy successors to the current hosts.   Dime a dozen?  Not the good ones, and the Ticket's are not only good, they are a critical element of the success of the shows bearing the names of others.  The good ones are there because it is The Ticket and that's where the good talent wants to be around here.  If they perceive that The Ticket has been dealt a blow, and that they can make even a little more money elsewhere -- why not CBS? -- because to them, a little more money is probably a large percentage of what you're paying them -- they'll start to trickle out, too, and while you can replace them, you'll replace them only to lose the next batch as The Ticket declines (see below).   Whoever would have thought Kevin Turner would blaze that trail?

 

(3)   Morale will suffer among on-air talent.  Hosts will not feel the same about The Ticket.  They will say that they do, but they will not.  You think the CTO -- that's "Cumulo-Ticket Overlords" in these parts -- are disrespected on the air now?  I can see Mike Rhyner starting to call the place "The Littler Ticket."   The Ticket against the World?  Don't look now, but the World just turned a quarter of your army against you.  Failure to make a creative deal with Bob and Dan will say to them, "Cumulus just put Brett Blankenship in charge of corporate strategic planning."  They will understand what until recently has only been guessed at, which is that nothing will ever get better at The Ticket -- things will only get worse because Cumulus will not do what it must do on any front to keep the thing solid and growing.

 

So, as I say, I assume you can see all the obvious things about the short run.

 

No, I'm going to beat you down about the medium run. 

 

Lew, you look like a pretty smart guy to me.

 

 

 

Don't think about two years from now.

 

Think about four, five years from now.

 

(1) Musers:  According to this site's readers, based on some fairly well-sourced information, Junior Miller is already loose in the socket.  I don't know how long you have him tied up, but surely not much past 2017-18.   (I'll call you Shirley if I want; it's my blog.)   He's gone, and George will have no one to Muse with, assuming he even wants to.  (That's George Dunham, another of your most valuable employees.)   That show is mortally wounded even if George and Gordon -- yes, Gordon Keith, the one who got into it with Nasty Nestor, but that's not important now -- would presume to carry on without the Fred Astaire of Dallas radio.   Fred Ast -- never mind.

 

(2) Norm:  Surely not past five years.

 

(3) The Hardline:  Nope, Mike will almost certainly be done by age 67 and maybe sooner, maybe by New Years 2015.  He'll have created and given public face to The Ticket and done The Hardline for over two decades, with plenty of dough, side projects, and the thanks of a grateful DFW, or that portion of it reached by the incredibly crappy signal you've continued to stick them with.  (That's another open letter.)

 

If you make a deal today, you'll still have Bob and Dan, perhaps already killing it in PM drive, you'll have indicated possession of the foresight that will encourage talent to stay or to come to The Ticket as the legacy shows serially reach the end of their runs, and with BaD Radio as the foundation to sustain the miracle that is The Ticket.

 

Lew, I know you can do this.  I've read the CBA (local inside joke; ask Bob) and you do not have to let this talent nip off to the Goliath rival who, so far, has spent its days picking your rocks out of its forehead.  Creative business leaders would find a way to make this happen.  You not  only need to give Bob and Dan a deal, you need to give them a real, real long deal.  Seven years, at least.   

 

Cumulus didn't get where it is by divesting stuff.

 

So, in the medium run:

 

 

If you don't make a deal with Bob and Dan in the next few hours, you won't have dick.

 

You'll only have Dickey.

 

Yr mst hmb'l & ob't sv't,

 

The Plainsman

 

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

So, What's Going On?

You're asking ME?

We've had some fun the past couple of days.  The whole thing is wearing Your Plainsman out.

But I'm always ready to speculate.

Those of you who have followed this site for awhile have surmised that in my job I encounter internal business decisional processes.  I've never encountered one quite like the one facing Cumulus right now, but it seems to me that if Richie Whitt's suggestions are accurate, we might have some notion of what is happening this weekend.

First, we may surmise that what is going on is governed in large degree by their current contracts.  I don't recall seeing anywhere that their contracts are in fact expiring, and what's happening now does not necessarily suggest that they are.  It is not impossible that their current agreements allow them to receive offers from other stations during the term of that agreement which Cumulus would have the opportunity to match, although that would be unusual.  More than likely, Cumulus has that right if Bob and Dan wish to go elsewhere at the end of the contract term.

[PS:  I have a specific reason for wondering about whether Bob and Dan's contracts are at an end, and that is the six-month noncompete we're hearing about.  It is not impossible that there is a noncompete that would take effect at the end of a mere contract expiration/nonrenwal, but those are of questionable validity unless very carefully drafted and supported by specific types of consideration -- Texas law is notoriously unclear on this subject.   A noncompete would have more teeth in the event Bob and Dan quit in the middle of a contract term.  And frankly, since parties frequently don't like to think real hard about the end of a relationship when a contract is being negotiated, a lot of times separation provisions tend to be somewhat general and vague.]

What does this mean?  What's happening?

Well, first thing is, Bob and Dan must take some kind of written offer back to Cumulus so they will know what they need to match.  Which means that CBS has to have made them a written offer.

So they take it back to Cumulus and say, here ya go.

What are Cumulus's rights at this point?

Of course, I don't know what their contract provides, but I think it is unlikely that even if Cumulus matches, Bob and Dan would be required to stay at The Ticket.   No employer wants high-profile employees to stay if they're itching to go, even on the identical terms offered by the competitor.  The employees have indicated their desire to go, and the employer feels held up.  Bad scene.   Personal services are not like other types of contract, where requiring a party to continue with a contract if terms were matched would not create the same kind of internal discomfort (renewing an exclusive product supply contract, for example.)   So if they're gonna stay, it's gonna have to be on terms where they're real damned happy and The Ticket is achieving some other strategic objective -- smiles all around.

The flip side of this is that Bob and Dan are not required to take the CBS offer, even if Cumulus does not mirror the terms of the CBS offer.  The CBS "offer" is only that -- an offer.  CBS cannot unilaterally create a contract (unless Bob and Dan have independently promised to go to CBS if Cumulus doesn't mirror the offer, which would not be prudent for reasons I'll get to in a minute.)   My suspicion is that rather than an "option" to get Bob and Dan to say by matching, this is more like what parties sometimes call a "right of negotiation," an opportunity to get a gander at a competing offer and then the ability to negotiate terms that would persuade Bob and Dan to stay voluntarily.

Another reason for thinking that this is not a lock-step procedure is that personal services agreements are frequently not just dollars and cents.  There may be incentives and promises that the current employer couldn't possibly meet because it doesn't have the same setup as the competitor.  So I'm thinking this is more like "if you've got an offer to go somewhere else, you've got to bring to us and give  us a chance to persuade you to stay with a new deal you'd like."  This is not an unfavorable thing for Bob and Dan, because it means that the competitor is going to have to come up with one helluvan offer to discourage the employer from trying to keep the employees.

If I'm right that it's not a strict "option" type of renewal clause, it is a good thing for people wanting Bob and Dan to stay (including me), because it gives Cumulus the flexibility to put together a package for Bob and Dan that include incentives other than, or in addition to, the ones offered by CBS.  Maybe even less money, but other goodies that Bob and Dan would find attractive.  This is why Bob and Dan should not have made any side deal with CBS to accept the offer if Cumulus doesn't mirror.

So that's what's happening this weekend, if Cumulus hasn't already punted.  Lots and lots of lawyers, plus agents for Bob and Dan.  There might even be a bidding war going on.

What might an appealing BaD package include?

Confessors have speculated that Bob and Dan might be promised PM drive, which would almost require some kind of promise that Mike would be retiring at the end of his current term (late 2014 -- speculation) -- or perhaps well before; after the 20th anniversary?  (Did someone say they heard Danny or someone say "RIP Corby" or the like?)   This would be possible in the scenario I suggest.  It also would require Mike's participation in this whole scene.  And his willingness to consider something like this may have been the inspiration for Dan's sudden sentimentality in addressing his "leader," the not-all-that-Old Grey Wolf.

So:  I'm thinking this is not strictly a "Cumulus has the opportunity to match" scenario.  It's probably more like "Cumulus has the right to see CBS's written offer and try to make a deal."

But  .  .  .  incredible as it may seem, I could be wrong.  But unless Cumulus has already said adios, this is probably one sizzling weekend in the inner sanctum of the CTO and various lawyers, agents, HR types, and, of course, the very talented gentlemen under discussion.

I'm not seeing anything online suggesting that this game is over.  So at present, I'm not getting too excited about wondering who will do middays.

Let's hope the CTO deal CBS yet another disappointment.

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

Let's All Take a Deep Breath

So, is something afoot involving The Ticket, or isn't there?

Well, nothing happened yesterday, to my knowledge.

I would be tempted to say "sorry, irresponsible blogmeister reliance on anonymous sources here, my bad," and move on.

Except that Richie Whitt also thinks something big involving The Ticket is in the works, something he thinks he can keep the lid on until after the weekend.  Something that will "change the landscape" of DFW radio as we've  known it for "three decades."  Yeah, yeah, I know, it's Richie, but Richie is dialed in.  I don't think he'd stick his neck out unless he had something, or thought he did.

And except that yesterday's Summa Bash was really, really weird.  Odd hostly behaviors, unexplained references, awkward silences, Dan sentimentality, all wrapped around a catastrophic Scott Ferrall monopolization of at least two segments. 

And a peculiar reaction to a Jer drop -- I heard the Musers beating feet away from the drop, but didn't hear the drop.  I gather it was Mike R-flavored.

So we continue to speculate.  To sum up, not in order of likelihood:

(1)  Signal change, or signal swap.

(2)  CBS/Cumulus merger or acquisition.

(3)  Mark Cuban involvement somehow, perhaps a purchase of Cumulus.  (Lack of movement of Cumulus share price yesterday suggests no rumblings in the financial community that would indicate either (2) or (3), so they're kinda off the list.)

(4)  Retirement of Mike Rhyner or Norm Hitzges.

(5)  (4), accompanied by BaD taking over PM drive.  (No PM commuters reported to have jumped off the High 5, so it's kinda off the list.  [Just kidding, BaD.])

(6)  BaD's demise resulting from Bob's going off to do something else or Dan leaving, or something. 

(7)  The return of The Hammer, or reconciliation with Mike.  

(8)  Richie Whitt's affiliation with The Ticket.

(9)  Syndication of some of all of The Ticket.

(10)  The whole damned station is gay.  OK, I made that one up.

(11)  60% of the station is gay.

 

In evaluating these possibilities, I tend to throw out (2) and (3) for the reasons stated, and (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), and (11) as not sufficiently seismic.  Mike's retirement (or departure) would certainly be a landmark of DFW radio, whether or not accompanied by BaD's ascension to drive, as would moving The Ticket to a legacy signal (displacing its no-doubt longtime occupant).  Mikeish news would also tend to explain the cockeyed vibe surrounding Summa Bash.

 



 

But I keep coming back to Gypo Nolan's advice to "face Morton's Fork" and trying to puzzle out what it means.  (Confessors have started to turn on the estimable Gypo for his failure to be more forthcoming and for his obscurantism in this case.   I'm still intrigued, although I'm not sure what is says about me that I'm willing to give a guy named "Gypo" the benefit of the doubt.)   Earlier on, Gypo advised that something was either going to happen yesterday, or not happen at all, which, of course, is tautological -- he can't be wrong.  But maybe what he meant by "facing Morton's Fork" was to hark back to that tautology -- something big was going to happen yesterday, but the fact that it didn't means that it isn't -- at least not in the form or at the time Gypo expected it to. 

 

In which case, we've all had a real good time, and this site has gained some new readers on a pretty flimsy pretext.

 

The least I can do for my readers is to provide an image of
former Ticket Traffic Twist Alexis Smith -- HEY, MAYBE
SHE'S COMING BACK!  Now that would change a
landscape or two around here.

The speculation may continue, and if anything comes my way that I'm able to share, I'll let you know.

 

Y'all do the same.

 

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Email:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

Twitter:  @Plainsman1310



The Ticket. Mark Cuban. Big Deal. No, I Really Mean, Big Deal.

Mark Cuban buying Cumulus is not such an odd idea.  It might be a bargain for him.

Richie Whitt is teasing a scoop for next week stating that something's in the work that will re-shape the radio landscape we've known for three decades.

My only clue the Cuban is involved comes from the mysterious Confessor known as Gypo Nolan, who made reference to October 28, 1962 -- the day the Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved.

I have no other scoops or clues and certainly no inside information.

But think about this for a minute:

As of today, the market capitalization of Cumulus is $585 million.  (That's the value of all its stock at the current market price.) 

It is nowhere near beyond imagining that Cuban could put an investor group together to purchase (or tender for) those shares, albeit at some premium to that price.  Or maybe just the Dickeys' shares.

Yeah, that's a lot of money. 

But folks, that is approximately how much Nolan/Greenburg paid for the Rangers ($385M cash plus assumed debt of $205M = $590M), outbidding a group of which Mark Cuban became a significant part.  There's a lot of money sloshing around among Cuban and his friends, money that could be put to work rehabilitating a mismanaged property bought on the cheap.

Although Cumulus stock is down slightly today, suggesting no rumblings of a buyout amongst those in the know.

I will point out to you, however, that Cumulus has been shedding talent like crazy around the country, and the general feeling is that the Dickeys overpaid for Citadel and other acquisitions and are now in some distress.

So it's not crazy to speculate that Mark Cuban may purchase Cumulus.

Wrong, maybe, in keeping with this site's track record, but not crazy.

 

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Email:  ThePlainsman@gmail.com

Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Is Mark Cuban Doing Something Amazing with The Ticket Today?

Our mysterious insider Gypo Nolan has made an oblique reference to something akin -- or of equal significance -- to the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis occurring today.

At first I focused on "crisis."  But perhaps it's "Cuban."

That's all I know.

But I like to get out front on stuff, even if I'm wrong.

An Anonymous Perspective on the Greggo, Richie And Sybil Smackdown (GRASS)

This is too good not to highlight for Confessors.  From an Anonymous commenter to the last post, I offer the following.  Yes, it could be made up, I could be a sap.  But it's not sensationalistic, it has the ring of truth.  Best, it gives us a very helpful framework for considering both Greg's and Richie's account.  Bosses change, and what was OK one day might not be OK the next.

Accounting for everyone's claimed shock at their sacking.

It basically tells a story of the inmates running the asylum, sponsors stopping by for a look-see, but those who stick around sometimes thinking they're more inside than they really are.  Result:  breakdown of professionalism and discipline.  Sometimes no choice but to get out the brooms, which CBS eventually determined to do.

Here's the comment from Anonymous, who has my thanks:

Talked to a buddy of mine today who is in the industry. No he doesn't work for any of the sports stations. Nor does he work for Cumulus or CBS. But the insight and bits of scuttlebutt he gave me were interesting so I thought I'd pass them along.

Ratings and RaGE. Whitt has always maintained that it's advertising dollars that matter, not ratings. Well ratings don't matter as much as we think and so they're not the end all be all measure of success. Buddy says that's partly true but it's a bit misleading. The 2 go hand in hand. Without ratings sponsors will eventually look elsewhere. CBS is big enough to keep finding clients willing to give them a shot, but the bigger clients usually leave as soon as their contract is up. Most of RaGE's sponsors were on the nickel and dime plan and the few that remained for a long period of time ended up being friends of the show, which can and from what buddy says in a few cases did become problematic. Wanting special favors, access, deals, and stuff like that. 

Also told that from what he's heard for months now, way before the firing went down, that this move had been in the works for a long time. Long before Whitt's Nov. 15th Greggo Armageddon that he writes about. Kinda like the ads, RaGE and the management before Spittle and the receptionists and everyone else had all gotten way too close. It was an unprofessional and unproductive work environment. Everyone was having way too good of a time, but in their own ways. Everything was OK'd and permitted by the 2 regimes prior to Spittle. The proverbial other way was looked on just about everything for every member involved. So when Whitt says his relationship and all the rest was approved by management he speaks the truth. But that was the problem. You can't have such a permissive work place and still think it's going to end well. When you have people like Williams and Whitt, guys who will take advantage of a situation, though one obviously in a much different and disturbing way than the other, and such an anything goes work environment the outcome won't be good and it wasn't. After re reading Whitt's last two blog posts and looking at the Twitter material it's very obvious that my buddy while maybe not in the direct know, does know enough to have the gist of the heart of the matter. Some of that Twitter material and some of the things said are the sorts of things that any properly or sanely run work place steers well clear of. Unless you want HR involved in a nanosecond.

Basically Spittle was brought in to clean up and clean house. That meant RaGE. Buddy says he's heard that there will be more changes but nothing mind blowing like The Ticket and The FAN merging or the whole thing going national. Spittle is most likely watching each show closely until around mid July and at that time see who if anyone needs to be replaced by new talent.

Thanks again, Anonymous.  Although you neglected to pass along what your pal said about this site's and its readers' immense influence on the DFW sports/guy radio scene.

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CONFIDENTIAL TO RICHIE WHITT:  Richie, I'm sure you're too busy to visit some of your favorite websites, but in case you swing by here:  You have got, got, got to get rid of the charcoal background to your comment section with its black typeface.  Or get rid of the black typeface and go to white.   Why make your readers any more sour towards you than some of them, at least, are already inclined to be?

Let me know if you need a consult on cultivating a highbrow online community of readers.  

Two Pretty Quick Hits [CORRECTED]

I've heard like close to zero Ticket over the past week.  Family and work obligations, and that may linger for a bit.  Here are a couple of quick ones to fluff up the string a bit.  You can tell it's lame, because the second one is sportsy, always dangerous.

(1) One of the few segments I did hear was The Shake Joint's interview of CNN's Ed Lavandera on Sunday.  Wow.  I did not hear the beginning so I wasn't sure about how this interview came about, but it was outstanding.  Very interesting, and very professional.  I only heard Jake doing the interviewing, so I'm not sure if Sean was a part of this segment.  I especially liked the line of questioning about the moral dilemma of whether a newsman should participate in an event when there is a human need.

I asked myself -- what other show would, or could, do this?   I wouldn't mind hearing more off-sports interviews on The Ticket, but who the heck is going to do them?  Assuming they played it straight (an always shaky assumption), I can imagine two other guys being able to pull this off as well -- Gordon and Dan.   (Why Dan?  I don't know -- he's got a very penetrating intelligence and could be counted on to get to the the nub of the gist, without regard to his current-events knowledge.)  

But someone, presumably Jake, reached out to this guy or CNN, and landed it with great distinction.  What does this tell us?  Continue to keep an eye on Mr. Kemp. 

Nice work. 

[CORRECTION:  I have been reliably informed that the interview was conducted by both Jake and Sean, and booked by Sean.  In my defense, the only part I heard at proper volume and without interruption was the part I mentioned, and only heard the balance with the radio turned down and Mrs. Plainsman and a smallish child simultaneously giving me instructions as I tried to keep the Conestoga in the ruts.  Thanks to my reliable informant for the better information and apologies to Sean for failing to note his contribution.  Better keep an eye on him as well.]

(2)  MY WRONG THEORY ABOUT THE RANGERS' SWOON

It's not injuries.

It's not the departure of Michael Young, Mike Napoli, Josh Hamilton.

It's not questionable bullpen personnel.

Here's what it is:

It's Nelson Cruz.

I have no proof for this.

I only have a logical fallacy on which to rely, the old "happened contemporaneously with or after, therefore happened because."  Post hoc, ergo propter hoc.

But it seems to me that the Rangers' collapse here really started right around the time that the dope story got big again.  I think it's an elephant in the clubhouse.  I'll bet every player on that team and every member of the coaching staff and every member of management believes that Cruz was dirty and that if he is denying it now he's lying.  Hell, he's even got the braces to keep his teeth organized in his jaw.

So there's this tension between public support and private concern, and uncertainty over whether they'll have him when playoff time rolls around.

It's casting a pall over the all-for-one, one-for-all Texas Rangers. 

And pretending like it's not there means Coach Ron can't "manage" it.  I don't know what I would do if I were him.  I know what I'd be doing if I were Jon Daniels -- I'd be getting the team's lawyers involved to get this thing resolved toot sweet, get the authorities to fish or cut bait, release a list or drop it.

So there you have a tragically sportsy MTC commentary.

*     *     *

I'll try to be back soon, but in the meantime, my thanks for informative and interesting commentary.

It's a Muser Thursday

We haven't had a Muser column for a while, so here goes:

(1)   Craig believes that he could no-hit an average peewee league team of nine-year-olds. He has accepted a challenge to that effect, which he intends to perform as soon as he gets around to it sometime in the indefinite future. The notion is that he would be throwing adult-speed hardball pitches past, or at, these little intimidated weenie kids.

Maybe; maybe.  I happened to see a group of nine-year-olds playing league baseball a few weeks ago, and I could not believe how completely incompetent they were. I guarantee you, when I was nine years old, I could catch a hardball thrown to me.  We used to play something called "500" where one kid would throw the ball on the ground, on the line, or up in the air, and the one kid would either get or lose points for catching or muffing the ball. We would do this for hours, so we had some facility – not a lot, but some -- in fielding when we got to the diamond. These days, the only practice these kids get is in the leagues, and it's not enough.  They're terrible. It's not even cute, it's agonizing to watch.   

So the question I have for Junior is:   What happens in the case where a kid gets some wood on the ball, resulting in some kind of a fielding play?  Will incompetent fielding, even if it is not a booted ball, count as an error, keeping the no-hitter intact? This will happen most of the time, especially since a batted pitch thrown at high-speed will come off the bat faster than most peewee league hits.  It is entirely possible that a roller that a competent human would field will escape the infield completely innocent of any glove leather, which in the bigs would be a hit.

So I see two possible outcomes: either a sure loss for Junior in his challenge, or a run-hit-error line that looks something like 0-0-47.

Oh, by the way: make sure The Ticket's liability insurance is fully up to date in anticipation of the possibility that even from 40 feet away, Junior will plunk some kid in the melon.

(2)  I was very interested in George's discussion of how someone – in particular, a sports-talkshow host – can be a fan of a team, but still critical of certain aspects of it. He was responding to lamebrained correspondents who get all accusatory when they hear any negative talk about their favorite team.

Which, of course, made me think about My Ticket Confession. I have certainly done critical pieces in this space, and when I do I will frequently get exactly the same reaction: "You claim to be a big Ticket fan, but you seem to have a hard time with [whatever the topic happens to be]."  It's a dumb criticism for the same reason George points out. You can have a strong rooting interest in a team or radio show, but it's your very expertise on that subject that qualifies you to speak up when something isn't quite right to your way of thinking. As long as you have reasons and convey them in a civilized tone, you shouldn't have to defend yourself against charges of disloyalty.

This does sometimes affect what I publish. I am a big admirer of Gordon Keith, but I heard something of his back a few months ago that I really, really disliked, and I wrote an article about it.  Strongly negative.  But I never ran it because I felt that it would leave the impression that I had a big problem with Gordon generally, and that would have been a false impression.  I suppose the unsatisfactory solution is to load up a piece like that with disclaimers, but that looks insincere if the real purpose of your piece is to smack someone around.  So it's in the MTC boneyard.

(The fact that this site is anonymous also sometimes inhibits some of my more incendiary STDs.  Especially as this site has come more popular, I'm sensitive to the unfairness of taking potshots at Ticket guys from the bunker of anonymity.)

This is the actual photograph promoting a Musers appearance at
the Grenada.  But it actually works, because
when I think Musers, I think "comical breast enhancement."
http://granadatheater.com/category/americana/

(3)  CONFIDENTIAL TO GORDON KEITH [this is not the article I was talking about]:  Consider abandoning your irrational terror of creating drops. You select numerous sex-related news stories for your broadcast, but stop so frequently to shift into a disguised-and-sometimes-incomprehensible voice to say the naughty words that Muse in the News is starting to sound like one long hiccup. Even Craig had had enough this morning. You had paused over the story about the dispatcher who threw up some ill-considered phrases on her Facebook page to say "I'm not quite sure how to say this," and The Joonz snapped at you with what sounded like sincere impatience:  "You're a newsman – just read the story." 

Kind of have to agree with that.  Sorry!  Sorry!

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

More Quick Hits Because I Don't Have Time to Do a Longer Piece Right Now

Thanks to a poster from the last thread for calling the opening of Danny's place, The Twilite Lounge, to our attention:

http://centraltrack.com/Food/3835/Loungin/A-Look-At-The-JustOpened-Twilite-Lounge-in-Deep-Ellum

Looks like a very gemütlich space, nifty.  I think it's very cool that Danny hasn't flogged the joint on the channel, that I've heard or heard about.   Guessing that he's not necessarily looking for the P1 demo or curiosity-seekers.  Letting those who are so inclined discover it for themselves.  

And I guess we have our answer as to whether one can open a bar and run a PM drive showgram at the same time.

To date, the website is rather uninformative:  http://www.thetwilitelounge.com/

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Am I hearing Conrad say that we should "listen more longer"?

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Rich Phillips is doing an ad for an auto-parts store where he states that he seems like one's car runs better when the exterior is clean.  That is crazy, and absolutely correct.

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Am I hearing Conrad reading a Hardline promo that promises "The Pool Party"?  

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I thought I heard Mitchell Karasik toss in a substantive non-Ticker contribution to a weekend show.  Could be wrong -- I couldn't listen long enough to tell if he were doing Tickers, but it sounded like him.  It was a good contribution.  As I have reported in the past, Mitchell's background is not in reading copy.  When he talks rather than reads, he's kind of got a Tickety voice.  Hmm.  Wouldn't break my heart to hear more of him doing other things.

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