Cuban’s “Moron” Surfaces…

On September 28, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said “anyone who buys [YouTube] is a moron.” Yo, Google and your $1.6 billion, looks like he was talking about you? Speaking of Cuban, he has some thoughts about The Dallas Morning News’ recent buyouts and the state of local sports media…

Lost in Translation

This week it was revealed that eight reporters and 29 freelancers for The Miami Herald’s Spanish-language spinoff, El Nuevo Herald, got money for appearing on the U.S. government-owned Radio and TV Marti networks, which broadcasts out of Miami and into Cuba. That the Herald let some of its reporters get…

Mong: “We’re Righting the Ship.” So, There.

Bob Mong was on The Ticket this morning. Maybe he had something to do with Buck Showalter’s buyout? The Dallas Morning News editor Bob Mong was on, of all places, KTCK-AM (1310, The Ticket) this morning talking about the future of his newspaper. He didn’t say terribly much; surprisingly, morning-show…

Channel 4: It’s Foxy!

On his recently launched blog, former Dallas Morning News TV critic Ed Bark takes “an up-close look at a largely unreported ratings phenomenon in D/FW,” which is how, on an almost daily basis, KDFW-Channel 4’s Good Day “whips” in the ratings the national networks’ morning shows. So, take that Today,…

The (Not-So-)Great Debate

Rick Perry’s folks brokered a deal that would give Belo exclusive access to Friday night’s gubernatorial debate. On Friday, the four major gubernatorial candidates will participate in the sole debate before the November 7 election. The date of the debate has already been a substantial point of contention: It’ll air…

Al Gore or Alice in Chains, Yer Call.

It’s late. Damned near 6, when the front desk shuts down. But if you can make it here by then, and yer the first to e-mail me, then you’ve got a decision to make: two tix to Al Gore doing his gloom-and-doom seminar at the Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie…

Mayor: “Steve Pickett Always Smells Good.”

Once, the mayor told us we had broad shoulders, beautiful eyes, a strong handshake and soft skin. We thought nothing of it. If you’ve read this or this, you’re well aware that local TV reporters claim KTVT-Channel 11’s Sarah Dodd’s too chummy with Mayor Laura Miller. It’s a charge that…

A Voice Silenced

One of our colleagues here just received an e-mail from the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association that contains the sad news that Dennis Vercher, the longtime editor of the Dallas Voice, died yesterday from an HIV/AIDS-related illness. Vercher had been editor of the Voice, the self-described “community newspaper for…

Re: Damn the Man

We now know why The Ticket pulled the confrontation between Norm Hitzges, pictured here, and Gordon Keith. Apparently, it wasn’t funny. Yeah? Who says. Apologize for the seven-second delay in getting back to this. But last week I was invaded by e-mail aliens, and then yesterday Terrell Owens almost up…

Reporter Envy

This week, the paper version of Unfair Park has a detailed story on the fledgling romance between Dallas police chief David Kunkle and television reporter Sarah Dodd. Turns out the chief cares enough about Dodd to call us and defend her journalistic integrity. Other reporters, however, including some of Dodd’s…

Owens’ Country Sausage

Guess whose fault yesterday’s T.O. extravaganza was. Wait for it, wait for it… No fair. You peeked. Yup, it was all because of the media. Says who? The media, duh. Or at least Jay Hart in The Morning Call, a Pennsylvania paper. He writes about “the suicide attempt that wasn’t”…

Look at the Big Brain on Brad

Brad Hawkins: Why isn’t he the biggest star in local TV news? Seriously. He’s a genius. Sad to say I was watching local TV news at 11:30 p.m. Saturday night; used to be I didn’t remember Saturday nights. (Actually, not so much.) Anyway, after USC beat Arizona 20-3, or whatever,…

No Newy. But There’s Always Dr. Mona.

The Lone Star Emmy Award nominations came out this morning, and at least three of the local network affiliates did pretty well–especially WFAA-Channel 8, which got some 53 nods in pretty much every category (including two for a piece called “Inspirational Songs For the Entire Family To Sing,” which sounds…

Re: Damn the Man

In case you missed it yesterday, Richie Whitt wrote about how KTCK-AM (1310, The Ticket) management yanked a replaying of an on-air exchange between the “Dunham and Miller” morning show and Norm Hitzges, who hosts the 10 a.m. to noon slot. It had to do with Hitzges’ dismal showing in…

Lost in Translation

DMN Sunday editor Thomas Huang says working at Dallas’ Only Daily feels like this picture looks. Very deep stuff here, people. I can’t make heads or tails of this thing myself; sounds like Thomas T. Huang, the former Texas Living editor over at The Dallas Morning News, needs a good…

Goodbye Girls

Bible Girl will not appear today; from now on it will be posted on Thursdays. The other girl–Girl on Top–will appear next week in the Dallas Observer. If you’re wondering what Andrea Grimes is up to this week, read her cover story: “The Reverend Freak.” At a newsstand near you…

Re: Shalom, Jerome

Jerome Weeks sends this comment concerning yesterday’s posting of his farewell address. It’s been posted in the item’s comments sections, but to make sure it’s seen by those who scroll past the day’s news and move onward and upward, I am including it here. “My apologies to Mr. Wilonsky for…

Shalom, Jerome

Since Dallas Morning News management refused to publish book critic Jerome Weeks’ farewell column last week–he was among the 111 who took the paper’s buyout, about which we can find little else to say at this late date–it has been posted today on Critical Mass, billed as “the blog of…

Re: Man Bites Dog

My idol and role model Ed Bark, the writer I will probably miss the most in The Dallas Morning News now that he’s been cut loose and allowed to roam the streets unattended, sends this ready-to-post missive concerning my (maybe very drunken?) Sunday-night scented-oil massage: “Now that I’ve toweled off…

Can’t…Stop…Writing

Former GuideLive editor Rick Holter has begun a blog. I still don’t understand why journalists do that when they don’t have bosses forcing them to. Anyone starting to notice the irony yet? Smells a little like…uh…bacon. By which I mean, for months Belo management has been insisting its buyouts at…

Man Bites Dog

Ed Bark says of Belo bossman Robert Decherd: “Many veteran employees at the newspaper have never even seen him. He’s not known as much of a ‘people person.'” Uh, Ed, we’re still not sure he’s a real person. Turns out, his bite is worse than his Bark. That’s Ed Bark,…