" There is nothing more dreadful than imagination without taste" Goethe

Emmis settles with Eliot Spitzer, agrees to pay $300,000 ending "Smackfest" investigation. I know and respect Jeff Smulyan and this entire matter is totally out of sync with everything he stands for. This goes down as one of the worst examples of local station folk going off the reservation. Lucky for the station people Emmis is one of the few that still goes long on people. On balance, plainly stupid, no excuse.

John Rook takes the long, and in my opinion, correct view...

Thinking back over radio’s history, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened to those responsible for programming if many of today’s antics had taken place. Radio was expected to provide entertainment that could survive the scrutiny of the public and the Federal Communication Commission, who in those days…had teeth. The owners of radio past were always on guard for any possibility of being fined by the FCC. Anyone responsible for allowing that to happen would almost assuredly be unemployed and certainly not someone held in high esteem by the industry. Read JR's writing - "Another Slap on the Wrist" - here

My favorite rich person, Bobby Rich, writes about those vogue jockless wonders...

Sorry you cheap-o operators, but talent — even the tracked or syndicated variety — is essential for turning most radio formats into living, breathing life forms. No matter how good your promo voice is -- or how often you freshen your imaging — without “live and local” talent your product will not have a heart or a soul. Read what Bobby and others have to say here

I Love the RAB! If you read the following, from the latest RAB Weekly Sales Meeting, you'll begin to understand why the internet, interactive media, is in my top five priorities for clients again this year. Gregg Murray writes...

I took over as a DOS on September 11, 2001. It was a heck of a morning to start my dream job. We started at $3.8 million and two years later, we ended up at $6 million. (We) had the same amount of representatives, had the same ratings. I am not a very good Sales Manager, so you know there had to be something special going on. Find out what happens here

Got your half time political totals and broadcast toplines, with the extra bump, continue to suck...you cannot continue to do the same things and expect a different result, another example of media's leadership problem.

Forbes reports that, according to TNSMedia Intelligence-CMAG, political campaign spending on broadcast and print in the first half of 2005 was $70 million, up from $28 million in the corresponding period of 2001-the last year following a presidential campaign. Most of this spending was generated debate over cabinet nominations, Social Security personal accounts and tort reform. More here

Peter Jennings was a class act, a fine reporter, born anchor and perhaps the very best anchor at ad-lib, this gentleman was built for breaking news, smooth as silk - none finer. Readers today show what they don't have when forced to perform without the prompter, consistently and painfully bad television happens.

Now it looks like the FCC will look into the payola issue. We can only hope congress does the same. Time to clean out the barn.

What idiot at Epic records greenlighted the off-site showcase run during (i.e., in conflict with)Conclave College this year? You owe Tom Kay, The Conclave and the industry an apology, another example of stupid with no excuse.