Sitting in With “Our Man Downtown”

Mark Graham Not much early blogging today: I’m scheduled to appear on Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price’s radio show at 8 a.m.: Liberation Nation, sitting at KNON-FM (89.3) on your transistor’s tuner. The subject: this week’s cover story, about architect William Sidney Pittman and his Knights of Pythias Temple…

Absinthe Makes the Grimes Grow Fonder

4:30 p.m. Just got back from an afternoon field trip to the Sigel’s liquor store at Cole and Fitzhugh avenues with Bobsky, ’cause when Bobsky says, “Grimes, let’s drink,” there’s nothing to do but grab one’s purse and traveling hat and follow the man in the motorcycle boots to the…

Barking Up the Year in Local TV

Uncle Barky, who watches local TV so you don’t have to, today provides his local TV year-in-review — a Top 10 rundown of “2007’s most notable happenings,” leading off with David Finfrock’s hacking cough, poor guy. Amazingly, Rececca Aguilar ain’t the top dog in Ed’s pack o’ picks. –Robert Wilonsky…

The Eagle Has Landed. Again.

J.D. Freeman, Clear Channel’s Dallas market manager, called this morning with the news that as of 10 a.m. today, 97.1-FM is once more … The Eagle. As in, “We’ll play artists like Metallica, Nirvana, Ozzy Osbourne, Linkin Park,” etc. As we reported last month, Clear Channel ditched the Spanish-language format…

Maybe It’s All Those Pop-Up Ads, Y’Think?

According to Editor & Publisher, folks ain’t spending a lot of time trolling The Dallas Morning News’ Web site. And the number’s dropping precipitously, at least when Nielsen compared November 2007 to November 2006 — down 18.5 percent, which ain’t as much as USA Today’s 27.8 percent free fall, but,…

Was Channel 5 Ever Good?

More from the KXAS-Channel 5 archives, courtesy our Friend “phloid,” who sends word that he’s got more vintage video forthcoming — a little Harold Taft, anyone? Till then, a hard-hitting piece on a psychic from Richardson who predicted a “Metroplex calamity” for 1990. Not this. –Robert Wilonsky…

Greg’s New Radio Gig

Yes, but that wasn’t the question. Do you like your new gig, Greg Hill? Sorry, I couldn’t resist. But it’s not The Ticket’s Greg, but rather this one, now appearing on the newly tweaked ESPN Radio. Don’t get me wrong, any move that yanks Stephen A. Smith and his faux…

Grimes Time Radio Show

Fred Holston Andrea Grimes, uncharacteristically shy this a.m., doesn’t feel terribly comfy touting her radio appearance today, so I will: The Girl on Top will join the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Cary Darling and D’s Zac Crain at noon today on KERA-FM (90.1)’s Think. Their subject: ” 2007 – The Pop…

Chip Moody, Ready for Action!

A video double feature this a.m., courtesy “eyeontv,” who yesterday posted to the YouTubes these ancient KXAS-Channel 5 promos featuring Chip Moody and shockingly topless sports guy Jim Brinson, who really puts the “action” in Action News. Moody, during this period, was particularly hunky — Dirty Harry, with only a…

Hammering Out a Deal

The Hardline’s Mike Rhyner and Greg Williams Lawyers. That’s the latest update on the continuing saga of host Greg Williams and KTCK-AM (1310, The Ticket). The wind has drastically changed directions since I wrote in my November 22 column that “The Hammer” would be back on the air at The…

Still Shooting It Out Over Rebecca Aguilar

KDFW-Channel 4’s Rebecca Aguilar — gone, but not forgotten Courtesy Uncle Barky, this morning we find over at the Poynter Institute an article wherein TV news directors and general managers from across the country debate — long after the fact — whether KDFW-Channel 4’s Rebecca Aguilar acted properly when she…

Cuban Takes Machete to Papers’ Sites

In the December issue of Presstime, the Newspaper Association of America asks six Interwebheads how they’d run newspaper Web sites if given the chance to start from scratch. Among the panelists are: reddit.com’s co-founder Steve Huffman, topix.net’s CEO Chris Tolles and Mark Cuban, who references Crocodile Dundee when answering the…

Nashville Byline

In a couple of weeks, neither one of these folks will be working here. Hey, lookie there — our very own Matt Pulle makes the Nashville Post today. And its People section, no less — howzabout that, fancy. And what does it have to say about Matt? Lessee … oh,…

Tracy Rowlett’s Not Retiring. Not Yet.

So, he told us in February he was done with the news business — was gonna take some time off, spend time with the missus and family, maybe do some teaching at SMU. Not so fast: KTVT-Channel 11 just sent word that Tracy Rowlett has signed a contract extension that…

Oh, Say, Can You CW33? Hope Not.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched CW33’s News at Nine in its entirety. Actually, I don’t think I ever had. But last night, I was rummaging around, cleaning up the house and fiddling on the laptop with the TV on. America’s Next Top Model had expired on…

Philip Wuntch, Now “Film Critic Emeritus”

Philip Wuntch, seen here signing copies of his book Martin Jurow Seein’ Stars in 2003 at UTA Well, well — look who’s back. After taking some time off, courtesy the Belo brain trust, former Dallas Morning News film critic Philip Wuntch makes his return to the dark side, reviewing the…

Doug Dunbar Is Now Channel 11’s Hardest-Working Anchorman

Channel 11’s new weatherman, Larry Mowry, likes turkey sandwiches, Poison, Oprah Winfrey and working out. KTVT-Channel 11 just shipped out a mediawide missive in which it announces a few changes to its nightly-news line-up. Chief among the alterations: Doug Dunbar, already anchoring the station’s 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts,…

Hammer Still Missing From Tool Box

As some of our Friends clearly need their daily Greg “Hammer” Williams update, here ’tis: Despite speculation here and elsewhere that Williams would be returning to KTCK-AM’s “The Hardline” this afternoon at 3, that will not be the case. “He’s not in the building today,” Ticket program director Jeff Catlin…

Success? Or Just Hoping for the Best?

The New York Times this morning notes that the locally published Success magazine may be the most ironically named magazine in history, as it’s never, ya know, really succeeded. Hard to believe: The small-bizzer mag’s been around since 1891 (it was founded by this fella), and though you’ve probably never…