CCNM: Medialogue by Dave Congalton

Shutting Down and Moving On

2005-12-29T22:51:00.000-08:00

This will be the final posting for Medialogue and I am sorry to bring things to a close after only six months as your local media blogger.

However, things are hopping over at KVEC and I'm taking on some new responsibilities, effective January 2. Clear Channel is putting my afternoon talk show on the Internet -- check out http://www.920kvec.com -- and podcasting will start up shortly thereafter.

But the boss is also asking me to maintain a daily blog around my show and oversee a new opinion page where listeners will post their opinions on the issues of the day. It is all rather exciting and gratifying, but I don't see the need to maintain two blogs. So I'm just going to consolidate everything over to the new KVEC blog. I will continue to post items of interest to the local media community and well as my daily rants on the issues of the day.

I want to publicly thank Head Blogger Greg McClure for his vision and continued support of all of us bloggers. Central Coast News Mission fills a major void in covering the issues of the day and I hope people will continue to post and read and debate the issues of the day, Central Coast style.

Happy New Year! Good night -- and good luck!

Dave Congalton

Matt Sterling leaves The Tribune

2005-12-14T22:24:00.000-08:00

Word around town is that Matt Sterling, the editor of the Trib's weekly Ticket magazine is saying adios and heading East to take a different newspaper gig. Sterling brought much-needed stability to Ticket during his tenure and was able to add some substance to the previously uneven editorial content.

The Trib has a hiring freeze in place through the end of December, so no replacement has been named yet.

What Happened to Mychele Dee?

2005-12-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, I posted a short note about Mychele Dee and the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande. Reliable sources tipped me off that Mychele was stepping down abruptly to care for her ailing mother in Phoenix because the Clark Center had denied her request for a leave of absence.

I have had contact directly with Mychele and with Sandy Lubin, the incoming board president. Sandy has been adamant in his denials of the story, even claiming that the board offered Mychele a leave of absence. Mychele is choosing to remain silent for the moment.

So I pulled the original story from the blog, but not because of any problems with my allegations. In fact, I believe an even larger story about Clark Center politics looms under the surface and several in the local media are beginning to circle with interest.

I have no axe to grind with the Clark. It is a wonderful facility and the people of South County are lucky to have something like this in their backyard. But Mychele Dee was also highly respected among the local media and, to be honest, there's something about what happened to her that doesn't quite pass the smell test.

We'll know more after the holidays. Watch this space.

Remembering Jeff and Ann Fairbanks

2005-11-21T23:33:00.000-08:00

It will be ten years this Friday, Nov. 25th.

On Nov. 25, 1995, a tragic car accident on Highway 46 claimed the lives of Jeff and Ann Fairbanks, their daughter Sienna, and two other people. It was also, I submit, the beginning of the end of local media on the Central Coast.

Jeff Fairbanks was the editor of the Telegram-Tribune, having joined the paper as a reporter in the late '70s and working his way up the ranks to the top spot. His wife Ann, a graduate of both Stanford and Columbia Universities, was quite simply the best reporter to ever work on the Central Coast in either print or broadcast. The couple stayed on the Central Coast to raise their three daughters and rejected offers at larger papers. Ann covered health issues for the paper and wrote amazing feature articles about the California Valley and a Cal Poly provost battling depression.

They were coming home from Fresno that Saturday afternoon of Thanksgiving weekend, their oldest daughter having run in a high school cross country meet. About 22 miles east of Paso Robles, an RV drifted across the road and smashed head on into the Fairbanks' Volvo. The couple and one daughter were killed instantly. A second daughter was miraculously pulled from the car before it completely burst into flames.

To me, this tragedy marked a seismic shift in the local media community. Prior to 1995, we had folks like Jeff and Ann, along with Dorie Bentley, Carol Roberts, Dan Clarkson, Bill Benica, Fred Peterson --- broadcast and print professionals who decided to make a career on the Central Coast. Being a part of the community they covered. No more. Now both KSBY and the Tribune are a revolving door for reporters anxious to move on to bigger markets. Management no longer promotes from within so now we have editors and news directors who hail from Kentucky and Colorado. It's all Knight-Ridder and Clear Channel, with talk now of a national chain taking over New Times this spring.

The transformation of Central Coast media took ten years. It started on a crisp November afternoon out on Highway 46 with the deaths of two of the best and the brightest.

I hope you'll take a moment sometime this week and keep a good thought for Jeff and Ann. We will not see their likes again.

Trouble Ahead for Knight Ridder?

2005-11-02T22:17:00.000-08:00

From Editor & Publisher. Keep in mind that the Tribune is a KR paper.

Knight Ridder Reporter Warns of Hostile Takeover--with Political Twist
As reports swirl that KR could or should be sold, under new pressure from what he calls a "pro-GOP" big investor, a longtime Philly Daily News scribe charges that this would be "bad news" for the chain--and all of American media.

By Will Bunch

PHILADELPHIA (November 02, 2005) -- As you probably know if you're a newspaper junkie, and may not know if you're a normal human being, a Florida-based investment group -- with zero fanfare -- this summer bought up 19% of the stock of Knight Ridder, Inc., the owners of the Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer, not to mention the Miami Herald, the San Jose Mercury News, and a bunch of other big names in the dead-tree world.

And now, apparently unaware that newspaper readership has been dropping steadily for a half-decade and that advertisers are starting to follow readers to this new-fangled Internet thingee, the investors -- named Private Capital Management -- are shocked, shocked to learn that they aren't getting the greatest return on their investment.

And so their solution, having been around for all of four months: They want to sell the company.

This is probably very bad news, for a couple of reasons. And even if you're one of the many people who thinks that newspapers are dinosaurs and believe it doesn't matter whether they live or die, you should pay attention to this.

No. 1: Are you concerned about pro-GOP Big Business taking over America's media business? Then you should be concerned about this deal.

My initial research shows that top executives of Private Capital Management donated $112,000 in late 2003 and early 2004 to help President Bush and Dick Cheney get re-elected. On Nov. 6 and 7, 2003, in what would appear to be a coordinated effort, six PCM executives each gave the maximum of $2,000 to Bush-Cheney '04.

Then on the same day, April 8, 2004, the head of PCM, Bruce Sherman, and company executive Gregg Powers gave $50,000 each, or $100,000 total, to the Republican National Committee. Company executives gave no money to Democrats during the 2003-04 cycle, according to the Political Money Line database.

Say what you will about Knight Ridder's business practices, but when it comes to journalism, they do a remarkably good job of getting out of the way. Thus, the liberal editorial voice of the Daily News and the Inquirer, and the amazing work by Knight Ridder's Washington bureau, which was one of the few media voices casting doubt in 2002 and 2003 on whether Iraq had WMD and posed a threat to America.

Now, big-time Republican donors want a piece of the action? Interesting.

No. 2: According to one Wall Street expert, the potential outcomes of the Knight Ridder turmoil may be good financially for some of the players, but not so good for the practice of journalism.

According to a report sent this morning to clients by analyst Stuart M. Rossmiller and his colleagues, Knight Ridder faces a 40% probability "that a strategic buyer [most likely Gannett] steps forward with a cash offer" of "up to $80/share" to buy Knight Ridder. And a 15% probability Knight Ridder will be purchased by private investors, increasing debt that would probably force the buyers to sell some newspapers.

Gannett, as newspaper junkies know, is notorious for stressing the bottom line over investigative reporting. And a sale to either Gannett or the Tribune Co. would create a journalistic monolith that would seek "synergy" by slashing reporters (well, the jobs -- hopefully not the actual reporters) from Washington to Baghdad.

The other two outcomes both involving increasing debt -- simply put, that means that money that could go for aggressive reporting will be wasted on paying bankers instead.

We only see one good solution here, and it's a long-shot -- but I'm going to throw it out there. It's clearly possible that some Knight-Ridder papers could be sold off individually. Wouldn't it be great if the stock in a new Philadelphia Daily News Corp. were owned by the non-profit Pew Charitable Trusts?

Something like this had been done in Florida, where the St. Petersburg Times is owned by the non-profit Poynter Institute. And it sounds like a win-win situation to us:

If our owner demanded profits be twice as high as they are, it would inevitably cut into our ability to hire enough people and buy enough newsprint to really tell you what is going on in our communities. We run a nicely profitable business so we can be an excellent newspaper; all too many companies print newspapers so they can make a lot of money.

The price of our paper is low. We keep it that way so all citizens can be informed, not just the well-to-do. We believe our democracy depends on informed citizens.

We give away money to local charities. We support political debates. We support dozens of scholarships annually. We believe it is our duty and privilege as citizens to do so.

These new developments aren't just a business deal -- they're important for a free media, and important for democracy.

Wake up, everybody.

Hyatt Checks into The Tribune

2005-11-02T20:52:00.000-08:00

Abraham Hyatt, the highly regarded investigative reporter for New Times, has resigned and is moving down Higuera Street to work at The Tribune. Hyatt will cover Los Osos for the Trib.

Meanwhile, rumors continue to fly around the future of the alternative weekly. Scenario One has Moss family members holding on to the paper as a tribute to their late brother and continuing publication. Scenario Two has the family selling out to a syndicate like New Times (no relation), which owns LA Weekly and the Village Voice. Observers suggest the telltale sign for New Times will come early in 2006 when inheritance taxes will be due.

Scott Taylor has left the morning news anchor position at KVEC to shift to afternoons on Clear Channel's Cat County 96.1 (formerly KSLY). No word of a replacement yet, but perhaps Clear Channel can snag KSBY morning news anchor Shari Small, whose days on the hill are apparently numbered.

Finally, congratulations to writer Cathe Olsen of Arroyo Grande who was recently appointed the new director of the Cuesta College Writers' Conference. WCXXII is scheduled for Sept. 15-16, 2006. Earlene Fowler will keynote.

Good Night, and Good Luck

2005-11-01T12:05:00.000-08:00

I just want to add a quick post here in praise of the new George Clooney movie, "Good Night, and Good Luck." Charlotte and I caught it last weekend while down in Santa Barbara and any and all media junkies will want to see GNGL when it eventually opens in San Luis Obispo.

Directed by Clooney and shot completely in black-and-white, GNGL captures the on-going war of words between Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy in 1954. There is an eerie ring to Murrow's speeches and the audience repeatedly applauded him throughout the movie. Forget Michael Moore. GNGL is a scathing indictment of the sewer the national media has become and there are definite parallels between McCarthy and the Bush White House.

David Straithairn gives an amazing performance as Murrow, but equally impressive is the decision to just let McCarthy speak for himself on newsreel footage. George Clooney plays Fred Friendly, who was Murrow's producer and cohort. When I was a college professor, I always made my students read "Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control" by Friendly and I still consider it one of the finest books ever written about journalism.

Good night, and good luck!

The Death of Newspapers?

2005-11-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

Interesting perspective from Media Daily News

IT'S OFFICIAL: 2005 WILL BE the newspaper industry's worst year since the last ad industry recession. And things aren't looking much better for next year either, according to a top Wall Street firm's report on newspaper publishing. "Sadly, 2005 is shaping up as the industry's worst year from a revenue growth perspective since the recession impacted 2001-2002 period," says the report from Goldman Sachs, adding a warning that meaningful growth in 2006 is "very unlikely."
In particular, national advertising has under-performed, remaining essentially flat this year, as has the retail category, the report said--while classified, both print and online, has shown positive gains so far this year, up 4-5 percent.

The weak ad environment for newspapers has caused Goldman to scale back its 2006 growth forecast to 3.5 percent from 4.0 percent. The note said national ad growth would once again be weakest at 1.0 percent, followed by retail, 2.5 percent, and classifieds at 3.6 percent. The bright spot continues to be online newspaper revenues, which are projected to grow an impressive 25 percent in 2006. Despite this, online will still represent 5.0 percent of total newspaper revenues.

The only really good news for publishers is that the investment firm believes the cost of newsprint, which has risen recently, is likely to fall slightly in 2006, as demand falls more quickly than production capacity. The report said newsprint prices would peak and then slowly recede in the second half of the year.

Even so, this good news is scant relief for an industry besieged by flat ad revenues, falling stocks, and fleeing subscribers. Last week, Rishad Tobaccowala, chief innovation officer for Publicis Groupe, told a newspaper--the Chicago Tribune--"newspapers are at a tipping point," in which online media will start to take more readership and more ad dollars. He added that newspapers are in the worst situation of all news media for growth as "the least visually engaging and least youth oriented" medium.

Media Comings and Goings

2005-10-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

There have been some interesting staff changes recently at the Tribune.

Two reporters — David Baez and Lindsay Christians — were shitcanned last month for different reasons. Baez lasted about a month, easily a record at a newspaper that historically turns over reporters rapidly.

On the flip side, the Trib hired former KCBX stalwart Diane Urbani for a features writing position. There was a time in the late '80s and early '90s when Diane was literally the voice of KCBX. She eventually left town to pursue a graduate degree in journalism, but now is back and applying her degree. Looks like the Trib will also snatch at least one reporter away from another local paper. Details to follow.

Meanwhile, Scott Taylor will shortly be off the morning news on KVEC to focus on his new afternoon show on Cat Country 96.1. Clear Channel is looking to replace Taylor in the morning. Announcement forthcoming.

Tongues are also wagging over the hot rumor that the big "O," as in Oprah, is expected in San Luis Obispo later in October for a return visit. Nah, she's not hungry again. If Oprah comes, it will be to present an award at a local medical society function.

Also, check out Al Franken, in person, doing a booksigning at Borders on November 2nd at 7 p.m. Supposedly Big Al is also going to do a live broadcast of his Air America show from Cal Poly earlier that day.

Paul Krugman Blasts National Media

2005-10-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

October 14, 2005
Op-Ed Columnist
Questions of Character
By PAUL KRUGMAN

George W. Bush, I once wrote, "values loyalty above expertise" and may have "a preference for advisers whose personal fortunes are almost entirely bound up with his own." And he likes to surround himself with "obsequious courtiers."

Lots of people are saying things like that these days. But those quotes are from a column published on Nov. 19, 2000.

I don't believe that I'm any better than the average person at judging other people's character. I got it right because I said those things in the context of a discussion of Mr. Bush's choice of economic advisers, a subject in which I do have some expertise.

But many people in the news media do claim, at least implicitly, to be experts at discerning character--and their judgments play a large, sometimes decisive role in our political life. The 2000 election would have ended in a chad-proof victory for Al Gore if many reporters hadn't taken a dislike to Mr. Gore, while portraying Mr. Bush as an honest, likable guy. The 2004 election was largely decided by the image of Mr. Bush as a strong, effective leader.

So it's important to ask why those judgments are often so wrong.

Right now, with the Bush administration in meltdown on multiple issues, we're hearing a lot about President Bush's personal failings. But what happened to the commanding figure of yore, the heroic leader in the war on terror? The answer, of course, is that the commanding figure never existed: Mr. Bush is the same man he always was. All the character flaws that are now fodder for late-night humor were fully visible, for those willing to see them, during the 2000 campaign.

And President Bush the great leader is far from the only fictional character, bearing no resemblance to the real man, created by media images.

Read the speeches Howard Dean gave before the Iraq war, and compare them with Colin Powell's pro-war presentation to the U.N. Knowing what we know now, it's clear that one man was judicious and realistic, while the other was spinning crazy conspiracy theories. But somehow their labels got switched in the way they were presented to the public by the news media.

Why does this happen? A large part of the answer is that the news business places great weight on "up close and personal" interviews with important people, largely because they're hard to get but also because they play well with the public. But such interviews are rarely revealing. The fact is that most people--myself included--are pretty bad at using personal impressions to judge character. Psychologists find, for example, that most people do little better than chance in distinguishing liars from truth-tellers.

More broadly, the big problem with political reporting based on character portraits is that there are no rules, no way for a reporter to be proved wrong. If a reporter tells you about the steely resolve of a politician who turns out to be ineffectual and unwilling to make hard choices, you've been misled, but not in a way that requires a formal correction.

And that makes it all too easy for coverage to be shaped by what reporters feel they can safely say, rather than what they actually think or know. Now that Mr. Bush's approval ratings are in the 30's, we're hearing about his coldness and bad temper, about how aides are afraid to tell him bad news. Does anyone think that journalists have only just discovered these personal characteristics?

Let's be frank: the Bush administration has made brilliant use of journalistic careerism. Those who wrote puff pieces about Mr. Bush and those around him have been rewarded with career-boosting access. Those who raised questions about his character found themselves under personal attack from the administration's proxies. (Yes, I'm speaking in part from experience.)

Only now, with Mr. Bush in desperate trouble, has the structure of rewards shifted.

So what's the answer? Journalists who are better at judging character? Unfortunately, that's not a practical plan. After all, who judges their judgment?

What we really need is political journalism based less on perceptions of personalities and more on actual facts.

Schadenfreude aside, we should not be happy that stories about Mr. Bush's boldness have given way to stories analyzing his facial tics. Think, instead, about how different the world would be today if, during the 2000 campaign, reporting had focused on the candidates' fiscal policies instead of their wardrobes.

Clear Channel Goes for the Jug, Pt. II

2005-09-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post, I explained how Clear Channel flipped 96.1 KSLY FM from Young Adult to Country format last Friday night at 5 p.m. The move is partly to revive the declining ratings at KSLY (now "Cat County 96"), but also to directly challenge the long time dominance of KJUG which has been the county's solo country radio station for years.

Now comes word that underscores how serious Clear Channel may be. A few years ago, the KJUG morning duo of Chad Stevens and Andy Morris and their Goodtime Gang were the ratings leader. Clear Channel snatched Morris away two years ago to host mornings on their popular KSTT-FM, a gig he now co-hosts with Jennifer J, producing solid ratings. But last Friday, Chad Stevens gave notice at KJUG and walked out the front door (Note to local radio stations: Why don't you have your on-air people under contract?????) and came over to Clear Channel. Morris is being taken off KSTT and he and Chad Stevens will be reunited to do mornings on the new Clear Channel country station. A replacement for Morris on KSTT will be announced shortly.

And all this on only Day #2 on the new ratings book. A ballsy move. Let's see if it pays off for Clear Channel.

Clear Channel Radio Goes for the Jug

2005-09-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

KSLY radio (96.1 FM) has been a local broadcasting icon for decades, the second oldest radio station in the county (behind KVEC 920 AM). Currently owned by Clear Channel, the once dominant rock station has floundered in the ratings of late, experimenting with different deejays and music playlists, trying everything to attract a younger, hipper audience.

So imagine SLY listeners' surprise when they flipped on 96.1 last Friday at 5 p.m. (Sept, 23) and heard . . . .country! Yep, park that pickup truck and polish up your shotgun because KSLY's format has been flipped by Clear Channel to something called "the new flag-waving, hell-raising, Cat Country 96." The Clear Channel boys have decided to take a run at the dominant local country station KJUG. Can the market support two country music stations?

Why the hell not? Later this week, I'll post some more information about how this move affects other local radio stations, especially now that a new ratings period is underway.

Speaking of changes, check out the new byline at The Tribune. Sally Connell has joined the paper to cover Education. Sally formerly was a stringer for the Los Angeles Times, covering the Central Coast. Sally replaces veteran education writer Jeff Ballinger, who must truly be burned out after all these years on the beat. Jeff is moving over to do webmaster work for the Trib and rumor has it he's being groomed for some kind of editor position in the newsroom. It's about time that Jeff get a little recognition.

Is President Bush Drinking Again?

2005-09-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

This is from Capitol Hill Blue. Check it out and decide for yourselves.

Dangers of a Drunk Dubya
By DOUG THOMPSON
Sep 23, 2005,

According to the National Enquirer, President George W. Bush, an alcoholic, is drinking again.

In normal times, such a story in a tabloid like the Enquirer would be dismissed as just another fantasy for the newspaper that normally devotes its front page to gossip about celebrity divorces. But an America with Bush as President is anything but normal and too many warning signs point to the sad fact that Dubya the drunk is back on the bottle. Plus we reported the same thing in a story about Bush’s temper tirades on August 25.

Like the President, I’m a recovering alcoholic. Unlike him, I’ve been sober for 11 years, three months and 16 days. Bush says he quit drinking without help from any organized program. I had a lot of help – from family, friends and Alcoholics Anonymous. As an alcoholic, I can say without hesitation that available evidence tells me that Bush is drinking and drinking heavily.

The signs have been there for too long. Bush fell off a couch after, his aides say, “falling asleep.” He has appeared in public with bruises on his face, the kind of injuries a person would suffer from falling in alcohol-impaired conditions. He disappears from public view for extended periods, takes more vacations than other Presidents, has trouble forming words, appears disinterested in public and mangles his sentences. In other appearances he rambles and appears unable to focus. During the Katrina crisis he displayed little emotion or compassion when confronted with the horrors along the Gulf Coast.

This web site reported last year that the White House physician had placed the President on anti-depressants. If Bush is mixing alcohol and anti-depressant drugs his judgment – which is already suspect – is impaired even more.

“The President all too often is out of control,” a White House source tells me. “People are afraid to risk his anger by telling him things he does not want to hear. Newsweek magazine reported the same thing last week in their story: “How Bush Blew It.”

The Enquirer interviewed Dr. Justin Frank, a Washington D.C. psychiatrist and author of Bush On The Couch: Inside The Mind Of The President.

“I do think that Bush is drinking again,” Frank said. “Alcoholics who are not in any program, like the President, have a hard time when stress gets to be great. I think it's a concern that Bush disappears during times of stress. He spends so much time on his ranch. It's very frightening.”

Dr. Frank is a highly-respected psychiatrist at George Washington University and his book about the President’s problems has been praised by other psychiatric experts. We interviewed him last year for the stories about the President’s deteriorating mental state and his conclusions confirm Bush is losing it.

White House aides tell me rumors about the President’s drinking began circulating last year in the West Wing along with questions about possible abuse of prescription drugs. They report wide mood swings, cancelled meetings and an ever-decreasing number of aides with direct access to Bush.

“Two questions that the press seems particularly determined to ignore have hung silently in the air since before Bush took office,” Dr. Frank told us in August. “Is he still drinking? And if not, is he impaired by all the years he did spend drinking? Both questions need to be addressed in any serious assessment of his psychological state.”

It’s scary enough to have a nutcase in the White House. It’s even scarier to think that nutcase may be drunk.

New Times Shreds KSBY

2005-09-23T00:13:00.000-07:00

It's clear from the current issue of New Times that bad blood continues between our local weekly alternative newspaper and the TV station on the hill.

For the newbies in town, the feud dates back to early 2002 when New Times published a controversial story about KSBY's then beloved superstar Sharon Graves' husband Kevin. There were allegations of public indecency by Kevin at a Cal Poly basketball game and the story quickly turned sordid and dirty. Sharon quit her job on the spot, packed the car and hurried back to the Midwest before copies of New Times could hit the streets. There was a public uproar (Jim Dee of the Palm Theatre, for example, cancelled his advertising, which is why you don't see the Palm listed in NT today), but publisher Steve Moss (rightly, I believe) stood behind the story and took some considerable heat.

So today you have a better chance of seeing pigs fly than you do seeing KSBY and New Times being nice to one another. Was it mere coincidence that the entire KSBY on-air staff snubbed Steve Moss' memorial service last spring? Me thinks not.

So check out this tasty morsel from the Shredder in the current New Times:

"More at 11

New Times got wind that the cast and crew of VH1's "The Surreal Life" would produce KSBY's Action News at 6:30 on Sept. 22. The players this time around include a Playboy TV cover girl, the guy who played George Jefferson, the lead singer of Smashmouth, and Mrs. Brady herself, Florence Henderson. In other words, the broadcast will feature a bunch of semi-celebrities who don't know a thing about the area trying to present the news.

Regular KSBY viewers shouldn't notice much of a difference."

Ouch!

By the way, speaking of KSBY, what's the deal with sportscaster Dave Ailes being shifted over to co-anchor the 11 p.m. news? Does Kimberly Romo need support that badly? Should Tony be getting nervous? Curious minds would like to know.

Stay tuned!

SLO County ACLU to close down!

2005-09-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

Although there are about 800 members of the ACLU residing in SLO County, we have not been able to elicit the kind of enthusiasm, support and on-going commitment that a volunteer organization needs in order to survive. Consequently, the board has voted to discontinue operations as a chapter. We are sorry to see this happen, of course, but simply seem to have fallen below the critical mass required to sustain the organization.

Thanks and best regards,

ACLU/SLO Board of Directors
by Ty Griffin, President

Radio Show to Make Case for Bush Impeachment

2005-09-09T01:30:00.000-07:00

San Luis Obispo activist Bob Sachs is scheduled to appear on the "Dave Congalton Show" next Thursday, Sept. 15, to make the case for the impeachment of President Bush over his controversial handling of the response to Hurricane Katrina. The segment is scheduled to air from 4:05 to 5:30 on News/Talk 920 KVEC and your phone calls will be welcome. Tune in! Call in!

The Last Time an American City was Destroyed

2005-09-09T01:22:00.000-07:00

Let's begin by giving credit where credit is due. I found this on Daily Kos and want to share it with the intelligent readers of CCNM. Here's a timeline of government reaction the last time an American city was destroyed -- San Francisco, April 18, 1906.

The earthquake struck at 5:13 AM.
By 7 AM federal troops had reported to the mayor.

By 8 AM they were patrolling the entire downtown area and searching for survivors.

The second quake struck at 8:14 AM.

By 10:05 AM the USS Chicago was on its way from San Diego to San Francisco; by 10:30 the USS Preble had landed a medical team and set up an emergency hospital.

By 11 AM large parts of the city were on fire; troops continued to arrive throughout the day, evacuating people from the areas threatened by fire to emergency shelters and Golden Gate Park.

St. Mary's hospital was destroyed by the fire at 1 PM, with no loss of life, the staff and patients having already been evacuated across the bay to Oakland.

By 3 PM troops had shot several looters, and dynamited buildings to make a firebreak; by five they had buried dozens of corpses, the morgue and the police pistol range being unable to hold any more.

At 8:40 PM General Funston requested emergency housing - tents and shelters - from the War Department in Washington; all of the tents in the U.S. Army were on their way to San Francisco by 4:55 AM the next morning.

Prisoners were evacuated to Alcatraz, and by April 20 (two days after the earthquake) the USS Chicago had reached San Francisco, where it evacuated 20,000 refugees.

Of course, the technology of the day was fairly primitive, and the U.S. was a much poorer country. No doubt we could move more quickly today.

What time is the meeting, Tad?

2005-08-30T22:27:00.001-07:00

It's getting to be that the most interesting part of reading the Tribune lately is the Corrections they're forced to run.

My favorite came last month when the Trib wrote that local disability advocate Paul Wolff has MS. He doesn't, as the Correction faithfully noted.

Sunday's Trib had a double whammy when newbie reporter David Baez gave his own spin on the "Trout About Downtown" auction. Cuesta College v.p. and auctioneer Gil Stork became Gil Stark and former SLO police chief Jim Gardiner became "Jim Gardner, former city Public Works Director."

Pssst, David. Friendly word of advice -- don't fall for it if someone tells you their name is Heywood Jablome . . .

Not to be outdone, reporter Lindsay Christians, who should know better, decided to soften the blow of the death of Los Osos activist Rosemary Bowker by shaving ten years off Bowker's age in her A-1 story this morning. Bowker, who was hitting 60, was listed by Christians as being 49.

Looks like Managing Editor Tad Weber better start cracking that whip harder. Those pesky Pulitzer people sure don't like typos in their submissions. I can just picture the emergency staff meeting with Tad and Silas doing their good cop/bad cop routine.

By the way, it turns out that Friday mornings are the dreaded time of the week in the Tribune newsroom. That's when Tad Weber walks around the newsroom with copies of New Times. He attaches little sticky things to New Times stories missed by his reporters and hands copies of the alternative weekly to his glum-faced staff. It's called "Sticky Day" by people in the know.

Remembering the King of Central Coast Comedy

2005-08-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

"Mean Mike" Veron (a.k.a. "The Corsican Wizard") was the undisputed King of Central Coast California Comedy from 1980 through the mid-'90s when cancer claimed his life at the far-too-early age of 52.

Those of us who knew Mike were impressed by his endless energy, enthusiasm and joy of life. Seven years after his untimely death, a group of Mike's friends and fans have come together to create a web site as a tribute to a man who gave so much to so many over the years.

We don't want people to forget "Mean Mike" and all he did to make us laugh, and all he did to bring first-class comedy to the Central Coast of California.

Visit this new tribute site at Meanmike.com and learn more about this unique Central Coast character.

Medialogue Vol. 1 No. 2

2005-08-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

First off, thanks for all your kind words in response to what I'm trying to do with this blog. And it wouldn't feel right without David Ciaffardini lashing out at me (see comments) about something, just like he’s done off-and-on for twelve years.

I realize now that it was overly optimistic to suggest I could post something of length every week. Instead, I will post news and articles of interest as they happen to keep more in the spirit of blogging.

As always, your comments are welcome below, or feel free to email me directly at dcongalton at charter.net.

Let us begin:

Remembering Dan Clarkson

Former KVEC station owner Frank Sheahan had the best quote about the late Dan Clarkson, 66, who died in July from kidney failure. "He was always looking for the party," Sheahan said of his former business partner. How true. Dan was a powerhouse in local radio for nearly 40 years, mostly with KVEC. He did at least two different stints as general manager and performed every job possible in radio at some point during his career. His passion was broadcasting high school football.

But the unofficial rule of thumb for dealing with Dan was simple--don’t go near him after 6 p.m. Mother's Tavern and Mission Grille both served as his field offices. He partied hard for years and paid for it with poor health that eventually claimed his life.

There wasn’t anything Dan wouldn’t do for his staff. He knew the worst off-color jokes. He would think nothing of smoking in the john. He was the proverbial good-ole-boy, always with a drink in hand and an eye on a pretty skirt. But nobody could close a sales deal like Dan Clarkson and he always stood up for his on-air staff--even when they didn't deserve it.

It has been a terrible years for local media with the loss of Paul Kelly, Fred Peterson, Steve Moss, "Atascadero Joe" Eyeraud and now Dan Clarkson.

Another Publisher’s Son Heads East

A goodbye barbeque was held on Aug. 17 for J.J. Thomkins, general manager of the Atascadero News. Thomkins is the son of the owner of News Media Corp., a chain that currently includes 51 newspapers across the country. "Par" Thomkins is headed back to the home office in Illinois. The most noticeable accomplishment of the Thomkins era was the forcing out of Lon Allan, aka "Mr. Atascadero" as editor after thirty years of service to the paper. Allan now writes a weekly column for the North County Tribune. I doubt he was at the barbeque.

The Tribune Seeks a Pulitzer

Trib Managing Editor Tad Weber is apparently cracking the newsroom whip, mustering his twentysomething troops onward to journalism excellence. Weber has repeatedly told his reporters to increase the quality of local health care coverage because . . ."this year, management will be submitting their work for a Pulitzer." Seriously.

Weber seems to have his hands full. Reporter Cynthia Neff plans to leave the paper before the end of the year and move to Texas, leaving only one reporter in the critical South County beat. That wouldn't be a factor if that one reporter was a Jerry Bunin or Carol Roberts, but those days are gone.

So reporters like Sarah Linn are stuck covering two large beats (cops and courts) instead of one. Heck, who's got time to win a Pulitzer.

Joe Benson Returns to KPRL

It has been a tough summer for KPRL talk show host and news director Joe Benson. He has spent the better part of the summer either in Twin Cities Hospital, or recuperating at home from a serious diabetes-related infection in his foot. Joe came back on the radio in July, only to bow out again to return to the hospital and have a tendon removed.

Joe is back on KPRL and continues under doctor's care. "This has been a summer I’d never expected and I continue to be very humbled by the concern and support of so many people," Joe wrote in an email. He can reached at oaktree at fix.net.

Talking Points

The last edition of Medialogue listed the results of the latest ratings for local radio stations. Several people pointed out, correctly, that there was no mention of KCBX. Non-commercial stations like KCBX are not listed in Radio and Records.

Still, the San Luis Obispo public radio station had a dynamite showing, finishing number two, overall, with an impressive 6.9 rating. The station had taken somewhat of a hit when Air America first debuted, but KCBX is doing quite well today.

A cautionary note, however, about ratings. SLO is #172 in market size. Experts suggest the ratings are a pretty good measure for the Top 100 markets, but smaller markets like ours suffer because the sample size is so small and a station's ratings will swing back and forth over time.

Speaking of radio, Clear Channel has decided to renew "The Dave Congalton Show" for another year. The afternoon talker is now under contract through 2007.

Finally, since every reporter in the local media seems to be working on a book, check out the schedule for this year's Cuesta College Writers’ Conference XXI, Sept. 16-17. There are 36 workshops on all aspects of fiction and nonfiction being offered. Complete details are posted online.

Medialogue

2005-07-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Medialogue, an experiment in blogging about Central Coast Media, written by someone who has participated in local media in some form since 1989. During the last sixteen years, I think I've pretty much covered all the media bases, having done everything from hosting a radio show on KVEC to having my own short-lived TV show on cable and writing a newspaper column for the old Telegram-Tribune.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should note that I also donned the Kisby costume for KSBY-TV for two different events in the early '90s, including a TV commercial filmed at the Santa Maria Mall.

Why am I doing this? There is a need, I think, for some kind of reporting or commentary about what's taking place with our local media. Who is doing what to whom with what effect, etc., etc., etc. So I might as well give it a shot.

Hence, I will be posting on Medialogue any news, gossip, rumors, opinions and speculation that come my way about the people and institutions comprising Central Coast Media. I will strive to be honest and fair in providing coverage and I will update at least weekly in the beginning, hoping to do so more frequently as I figure this blogging thing out. If you have information to share, feel free to contact me directly at dcongalton at charter.net. Also, get in the spirit of blogging by posting comments on this site in response to what Medialogue covers.

Let us begin . . .

New Radio Ratings Announced

Do you have a favorite local radio station? If so, check out the newest Arbitron ratings for the San Luis Obispo market (currently #172 nationally), courtesy of Radio and Records.

KKJG-FM American General Media 7.6
KSTT-FM Clear Channel 5.9
KZOZ-FM American General Media 5.9
KXTZ-FM/KXDZ-FM Mapleton 4.6
KPYG-FM Mapleton 4.3
KURQ-FM Clear Channel 4.3
KVEC-AM Clear Channel 4.0
KIQO-FM American General Media 3.3
KKJL-AM Guy Hackman 3.3
KWWV-FM Salisbury 3.3
KKAL-FM American General Media 2.6
KLUN-FM/KLMM-FM Lazer 2.4
KPRL-AM Dellar Survivor Trust 2.3
KSLY-FM Clear Channel 2.3
KYNS-AM Air America/Mapleton 1.3

Six or seven other radio stations round out the bottom of the list. Not too much surprising here - KKJG, KSTT and KZOZ traditionally slug it out for the top spot. It is surprising, though, to see the dip for Air America, which had a strong book last fall. KPYG, which broadcasts from Santa Cruz as a lame attempt by Mapleton to replace the local radio icon K-OTTER, is still holding on strong, finishing in the top five for this ratings book.

Where is Joe Benson?

If you live south of the Cuesta Grade, you've probably never heard of Joe Benson of KPRL-AM in Paso Robles, which is too bad because Joe is a heck-of-a-nice-guy, despite working for a radio station that prides itself on being to the right of Fox News. Joe co-anchors the KPRL morning news and hosts the daily "Sound Off" talk show. He's worked in radio all over the country and wears his love for Paso Robles on his sleeve.

But KPRL listeners have been treated to guest hosts for nearly a month as Joe battles a nasty foot infection that is apparently diabetes-related. This is serious stuff, folks, and doctors still haven't ruled out amputating one of Joe's toes. Joe is the first to admit that he hasn't really taken care of his body over the years and recently went on a massive weight-loss campaign. As of this posting, there is no date for Joe's return to KPRL. Feel free to send best wishes to him directly at oaktree at fix.net.

Where is Tom Fulks?

July has been a pretty quiet month, hasn't it? Well, part of that has to be due to the fact that Tom Fulks, a fixture in the local media/political community for nearly 25 years, moved his family up to Sacramento at the beginning of the month. Tom reported for both the Telegram-Tribune and the Five Cities T-P-R, before writing a popular and often controversial weekly column for New Times back in the early '90s. He also worked for awhile as the county Rideshare Coordinator before launching his own political consulting firm - this most recent move is to be nearer his clients up in Sacramento.

Tom was never reluctant to share an opinion and liked to get in your face when he wanted to be heard. Personally, I always liked and respected the guy, but some aren't exactly shedding tears over his departure. Rumors abound concerning Tom's "behavior" in the days following New Times publisher Steve Moss' death last spring, our favorite being the story of how Tom supposedly approached local businessman Tom Copeland and tried to get Copeland to buy the alternative weekly and make him the publisher.

Anyway, good luck to Tom Fulks. I suspect he'll be back sooner, or later.

News From Clear Channel Radio

Rich Hawkins, the popular and well-respected local GM (and, yes, I'm definitely sucking up to my boss here) for Clear Channel Radio has been promoted to Regional Vice President for the Central Coast Region. He will be responsible for CC stations in SLO, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Victorville and Lancaster/Palmdale. Hawkins is the real deal, a radio wunderkind who was a DJ in major market Philadelphia at the age of 18.

Also, Ben Greenaway has been officially named Morning News Anchor at KVEC-AM, following the tragic death of Paul Kelly last spring in an automobile accident. Ben is a local boy, just graduated from Cal Poly. He is sharp and easy-going and we predict a great broadcasting career for him, hopefully much of it with KVEC.

Not a good year for KVEC employees and cars. Jim Richards, who also does weekends for KSTT-FM was rear-ended early in July by a service truck and ended up in the path of an on-coming semi. Fortunately, Jim's injuries were minor, but this could have been much more serious. Turns out the service truck belongs to a local business owned by one of Jim's neighbors. Oops.

The Influence of Central Coast Magazine

The new kid on the block, Central Coast Magazine, is about to celebrate its second anniversary, having recently relocated their offices from Avila down to Grover Beach (we'll pause here and let you think of your own joke about that). The brainchild of former KSBY anchor John Summer, his wife Liz, and former literary agents Michael and Anne Vidor, CCM has carved out a nice niche by going after the upscale readership who love to stare longingly at those splashy color ads for $3 million homes.

Their influence is already being felt - when those advertisements appear in CCM, that means they're not appearing somewhere else. Which explains why Sandra Duerr announced in The Tribune this month that the paper's Living section, currently only running on Sundays, will now be revised and appear daily. It's a safe bet that the Trib is doing this, in large part, to draw more of that upscale ad money away from CCM.

Not to be outdone, Steve Owens also just announced that he'll improve the quality of the paper he uses for SLO County Journal and Plus, two of the many free monthly publications available throughout the county. Starting in August, readers will be treated to better (translation: more expensive) paper stock to keep his advertisers happy.

Speaking of Sandra Duerr

A week hardly seems to pass without me hearing from a Tribune employee, all wondering the same question: Is it true, Dave? Is it true that Sandy Duerr, executive editor of the Tribune, makes $240,000 a year? That's what the local rumor mill is churning out these days. On one hand, I don't begrudge anyone the money if they can get it, but I also thought about those 240,000 smackers when I recently received my notice in the mail that the Tribune needed to raise their subscription rates. Oh.

Anything New at New Times?

The short answer is "No." Everyone in the Higuera Street office seems to be waiting for the other shoe to drop since the death of publisher and founder Steve Moss. The journalistic quagmire surrounds the uncertain future of the popular weekly alternative newspaper, poised to soon celebrate its 20th anniversary. Lawyers and family members are slugging it out, sifting through documents and trying to figure out who owned what. Sounds like a mess. Bottom line seems to be that nothing will happen before next spring. The paper could be sold. It could be shut down. Or, hopefully, it could continue to plug along under a new business plan. No one knows at this point, though two NT staffers recently rejected offers from The Tribune to cross over to the dark side, so things must be relatively stable.

In Other News

The new byline at The Tribune belongs to Bob Cuddy. A Google search shows extensive experience with Oakland newspapers. Welcome to the Central Coast, Bob. I bet you're not making $240,000.

Many of us in the local media were there back in the summer of '90 to celebrate the wedding of Tony Hazarian and Tara Giambalvo, at the time, both reporters for the T-T who soon relocated to the Pacific Northwest. Sadly, the well-liked couple split up earlier this year.

Also, say it isn't so, but former local radio legend Lady Tie-Dye is pondering a move to New Mexico with her family. LTD held court for years in the mornings on K-OTTER before the independent station went corporate.

And the old-timers among us remember reporter Gardiner Harris at the Telegram-Tribune in the early '90s. Gardiner's claim to local fame will always be as the reporter who wrote the infamous A-1 profile of the Copeland Brothers, over their vehement objections when the Downtown Centre was first being built. It was a non-story, but the Copelands didn't like it and cancelled all their T-T advertising, roughly 15% of total advertising for the paper. Anyway, you can now catch Gardiner's by-line in the N.Y. Times where he is now the health reporter.