Tim Armstrong profile… Business Insider’s Nicholas Carlson wrote a fascinating profile of AOL CEO Tim Armstrong. The profile illustrates his rise at Google, AOL recruiting him as CEO and the renewed optimism that followed, his founding and subsequent attachment to Patch and the lead up to his public firing of Abel Lenz during a conference call in August.
I can’t recommend this piece enough, if not so much from a media standpoint, than from a business and technology end. The most interesting element was the narration of Armstrong’s “war” against Jeffrey Smith, an “activist shareholder” poised to turn AOL’s shareholders against Armstrong and his chosen board of directors. The piece left me second guessing on whether Armstrong is the asshole I previously said he was.
The piece is very, very long, but well worth the time.
’60 Minutes’/Benghazi goof… Politico’s Dylan Byers examines last night’s “60 Minutes” on-air apology about a previous report concerning Dylan Davies’ allegedly false account for what happened in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012.
Second link of interest…
Politico Opinion: ’60 Minutes’ must do more than apologies
Art Bell in limbo… A week ago, Art Bell quit his SiriusXM “Dark Matter” program after only six weeks. The story has gotten further complicated since then. Bell has been shedding light on the situation on the BellGab.com message board. Bell is willing to return to the show, having proposed to SiriuxXM that his salary be waived in favor of allowing the show to stream for free via his website, ArtBell.com. He is yet to hear back and is now beginning to think there is something else at play. As always, on or off the air, Art Bell never fails to stir up mystique.
Pastor back at ESPN 1000… Robert Feder had the late Friday exclusive concerning management restructure involving various Disney-owned ESPN Radio stations, including Chicago’s WMVP-AM/ESPN 1000. In a nutshell, former ESPN 1000 General Manager Jim Paster will once again be overseeing the station along with ESPNChicago.com (as well as local ESPN Radio stations and websites in New York and Los Angeles).
It’s too bad Dan McNeil is currently off air on rival WSCR-AM/670 The Score. McNeil has long resented Pastor dating back to his ESPN 1000 days, going as far as holding an on air celebration on The Score after Pastor left ESPN 1000 in Oct. 2009. Would have been interesting to hear McNeil react to Pastor coming back.
Cubs exercise out for WGN-TV… In 2010, WGN-TV Ch. 9 had an awesome commercial for their Chicago Cubs broadcasts. It was a montage of various Cubs play-by-play voices through the years on WGN, with the final sound bite coming from the then broadcast team of Len Kasper and Bob Brenly. The commercial ended with the words “Together Forever,” signifying how deep the relationship between the team and television channel was.
Ed Sherman explains why Chicago Cubs have exercised their right to WGN-TV after the 2014 season — unless WGN ponies up a lot of cash. “Together forever” may still apply, but only if the price is right for the Cubs.
The same Sherman link above also details Keith Moreland’s decision to leave the Cubs radio analyst job at WGN-AM 720.
Welcome back Grote… Mark Grote was back on 670 The Score this morning delivering updates during the “Mulli & Hanley” morning show. Grote has been off the air for several weeks while dealing with a personal issue.