Once upon a time, ours was a three sports-page town. There were enough readers – enough advertisers – for the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Times Herald and Fort Worth Star-Telegram to not only survive, but thrive. Shoot, one of my first jobs at the FWS-T in the late ’80s was to…
Way back in Two Thousand and Eight I alerted you that radical radio ratings changes were on the horizon. Well, they’re heeere. As of Dec. 31, the data from Arbitron’s new Portable People Meters is certified as legit radio currency in Dallas-Fort Worth. Diaries have officially gone the way of the…
Twice today I’ve been asked about several posts on The Latest Word, one of our sister blogs out of Denver, referring to layoffs and pay cuts taking place throughout the Village Voice Media chain. The Dallas Observer, of course, is among the 15 papers in the chain, formerly known as…
In retrospect, Ole Miss and Texas Tech are merely above-average college football teams. Their little clash in Dallas last week, however, was called by two of this area’s icons of announcing. Though he’s looked better, it was good to see Pat Summerall working the game on TV. And on radio…
On Page 13A of Your Morning Paper is Dora the Explorer, crying all over a full-page ad that screams: “Time Warner Cable is Taking Dora Off the Air Tonight! Along with 19 of your favorite channels!” Which is a bit of a stretch. Spike? Please. MTV? Since when? 1985? TV…
For those looking for some year-end reading during the slow news cycle, consider my personal favorites of the year from Observer columnist Jim Schutze. I refuse to play favorites, so the list is chronological. And since any commentary from me can’t compare to the work itself, a memorable excerpt from…
KERA-FM (90.1) didn’t take long finding shows to replace Day to Day and News & Notes, both victims of National Public Radio’s budget cuts earlier this month. Both will make their debut on Thursday. Oh, you want their names? Tell Me More and The Story. And there’s a third show…
On this decidedly slow news day during which everyone’s running out the clock before bidding 2008 good riddance, perhaps this offering from the Wayback Machine’s just the ticket: a look at the front page of the Fort Worth Daily Gazette from December 30, 1883. I stumbled across it early this…
Flickr photo: sbisson Broadcasting & Cable brings the news that Belo Corp. and Charter Communications have reached a tentative deal that will keep the Dallas-owned stations on the cable carrier in three markets: St. Louis; Norfolk, Virgina; and Charlotte, North Carolina. So far, though, there’s been no word from WFAA-Channel…
A Friend of Unfair Park points us to this announcement from WFAA-Channel 8 concerning its being dropped from Charter Cable come New Year’s Eve, and wonders, “WTF?” So happens, reports Television Broadcast today, that the local brouhaha is part of a larger battle between Belo and Charter, which is likewise…
After the jump, courtesy the folks at Firehouse Dallas, The Carol of the Christmas Pickle — a nod to this most mysterious of holiday traditions. Says it’s been viewed ’round 30 thousand times since debuting two weeks ago, though first I heard of it was during the annual “Dallas Christmas”…
Seems the DFW is lagging way behind most of the country when it comes to making the transition from analog TV to digital reception. So say the Nielsen people, who’ve released a study in advance of the February 17 drop-dead date as mandated by the government. Says the report, some…
Several Friends of Unfair Park have asked in recent days whether the NFL Network would be covering all of the post-game ceremonies at Texas Stadium following tomorrow night’s tussle with the Baltimore ColtsRavens. Should be big doings, as some 100 ex-Dallas Cowboys players (10 of ’em, so they say, Ring…
Good news for nostalgists with kiddos: The Electric Company makes its return to PBS January 19th, when the network sneak peeks the easy-reader with a two-hour marathon in advance of its official January 23 debut. Alas, no Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno or Bill Cosby this go-round, but says the media…
From now on, this is how we’re ending our broadcast day, seeing as how KXAS-Channel 5 hasn’t used this particular piece of footage since, oh, forever? Fine, maybe not. Still, thanks to the pack rat who posted this to the YouTubes last week. And here I was all these years,…
Liquid Logixx, a 3D computer animation studio on South Lamar, counts among its clients American Airlines, PepsiCo, IBM, Texas Instruments and the American Heart Association. It’s the studio’s work for the latter than has resulted in the latest addition to its roster, Spike TV — specifically, the show 1000 Ways…
Few weeks back we mentioned that The Dallas Morning News and Star-Telegram would be doing some story-sharing in an effort to pinch a few pennies. Earlier this week, ex-News-er Jerome Weeks cited a few examples of how the papers had already started sharing copy — though all the pieces mentioned…
From Gawker, this news for regular listeners of National Public Radio via its local outlet, KERA-FM (90.1): NPR today has axed two shows, Day to Day and News & Notes, both of which air in Dallas. As a result, some 64 people are being laid off — though the shows…
Back to my real job (sports) after some quick tinkering with my hobby (radio). As I heard on Monday, management at Live 105.3 105.3 The Fan has not only fired controversial/comment-creating (350? You shittin’ me?) Russ Martin but also agreed to pay him through 2011 just to keep his ass off another…
In the latest issue of The Weekly Standard, former Dallas Morning News columnist William Murchison reviews Judith Garrett Segura’s Belo: From Newspapers to New Media, published in September by the University of Texas Press. (Segura worked at the paper from 1981 till 2004, and she was, among other things, Belo’s…
All day, whatever’s left of Live 105.3 has been broadcasting college fight songs — which, right, has to be better than what’s usually on the FM station. (Just kidding, because, to be honest, I haven’t heard more than 14 seconds of the station in the last, oh, ever.) Which means…
If you’re a fan of Ben & Skin and you, like me, are wondering WTF?, I’ve got some clues about Live 105.3 FM going all college fight song this afternoon. Apparently it’s called “stunting”, a traditional radio ploy used by stations in advance of a major programming change. In other words,…
