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Friday night video searching on YouTube

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So I was searching YouTube specifically for an American Coach Limousine television commercial (don’t ask), and while I found what I was looking for, I had to do a double take after observing the two female actresses at the beginning.

They look very familiar. Looks alone, I may not have recognized them, but when combined with those mannerisms, I immediately flashed back to the old Eagleman commercial from the 1990s.

Those are the same women, right? Now, I’d really like to know for sure.

I suppose there are worse things I could be doing on this Friday night…

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Hiring back Keith Olbermann, ESPN attempts to one-up Fox Sports 1 network launch

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While I won’t say ESPN is necessarily losing sleep over next month’s launch of Fox Sports 1, I think it’s safe to say the network isn’t taking any chance.

ESPN’s hiring of Keith Olbermann should be a strong indicator of that. Two other aspects further clarify that ESPN may, in fact, actually be sweating (if only just a little).

1. ESPN is allowing Olbermann time of in October so that he can anchor MLB post-season coverage for TBS. This, I find the most surprising. After one month on the air (and hopefully after viewers have developed a new habit of watching), the new show and host go on hiatus so he can bring attention to another network outside the Disney/ESPN corporate family.

Why doesn’t ESPN just wait until after the MLB post-season to debut him and avoid the awkward hiatus?

2. ESPN doesn’t normally hire back former on air talents. ESPN President John Skipper in March even backed that up when saying “… this is not an easy place to get back into. There are not that many successful examples of people who have come back, in part because it’s like water filling a vacuum. When somebody leaves, somebody else fills their place.”

I do hope this works. I find Olbermann to be a fascinating on air talent, and I’m looking forward to hopefully having another television option for 10 p.m. (even though I don’t normally watch television at 10 p.m. — but just in case I ever decide to).

And when news hits of the first Olbermann blowup a few weeks or months after returning to ESPN, you can look forward to an interesting story. And a few months later, an interesting story on why he’s no longer there.

Just being realistic.

Related Reading: Jeff Bercovici wrote a piece at Forbes.com on how Olbermann needs to take advantage of this opportunity by not being… Olbermann. I could have read this same column last year just before he made his debut at Current TV.

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Observation on the ‘Fox Box’ score bug

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While watching the MLB All-Star game last night on Fox, I was reminded of something that I had not thought of since the NFC Championship Game on Fox. As minute as it is, I wonder why Fox Sports removed team logos from the “Fox Box” score bug (graphic) and replaced them with the team’s city or state abbreviation. The change was made at the start of last year’s NFL season and they also did the same for this year’s MLB broadcasts (click on each individual image to view larger size).

The change is only one tiny detail and it makes no impact on how viewers watch the game. I simply think the design of the graphic was better polished and cooler looking when it showed the team’s logos.

With the NFL season not far around the corner and the Aug. 17 launch of the Fox Sports 1 Network, it wouldn’t surprise me if Fox unveils a new set of graphics for their sports broadcasts. In the past, Fox has updated their sports graphic package, usually at the start of football, after three or four years. The current package has been in use on various Fox Sports broadcasts (i.e. the Fox Network, FX, and each individual Fox Sports regional channel) for at least three years, if not four.

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ABC’s shortsighted ‘View’ demonstrates reckless disregard to science and public health

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In normal circumstances, I wouldn’t think twice about who ABC hires to co-host “The View.” Unfortunately, when they hire the outspoken anti-vaxxer  Jenny McCarthy, that becomes a problem.

Despite scientific evidence proving otherwise, McCarthy continues to spew her erroneous claims that autism is caused by vaccinations. In a culture where people are prone to believing their favorite celebrities at face value when pushing a specific message or cause, McCarthy’s medical misinformation is not only a huge public disservice, but also dangerous.

Even if ABC hired her under the condition that she not speak of vaccines, it’s a horrible move because when she is spewing her nonsense elsewhere, she will still be known as a daytime television star. For some people, that will be all the validation they need to accept her as credible.

Phil Plait writes about this subject far better then I can. An astronomer, skeptic and Slate.com blogger, Plait has written extensively about McCarthy’s anti-vaccine movement, while also providing the necessary proof on how the benefits of vaccinations largely outweigh any potential risk.

Plait has already written a new blog about today’s news. It’s a great read, and once again, includes a handful of links for anyone interested in learning more about the subject.

James Poniewozik wrote an exceptional column for TIME, further detailing how children who are not vaccinated are not only endangering themselves, but also their classmates and to a greater extent, the general public.

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Sirott and Murciano joining WGN Radio full-time; plenty of options for how to fit them in

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News broke yesterday that Chicago news veteran Bob Sirott is joining WGN-AM 720 full-time, with his wife (and former Fox 32/WFLD-TV “Fox Thing in the Morning” co-anchor) Marianne Murciano. The two are expected to host either a midday or an afternoon show, beginning in the next few weeks.

While the addition of Sirott and Murciano personally doesn’t have me that excited, I am happy that the new station management is making a bold effort to greatly improve the station (which is a far contrast from six, seven months ago following the departure of John Williams). Considering Sirott is still a full-time news anchor (at WFLD/Fox Chicago, at least for now), and based on previous talk shows they have done together, I see the possibility for a rather vanilla type of show by avoiding the more interesting and relevant political or social discussions. I hope they aren’t going to play it too safe.

With the recent departures of Carol Roth (12 – 1 p.m., Mon-Fri) and Turi Ryder (10 p.m. – 1 a.m., Mon-Thurs), the station’s schedule currently has Jonathon Brandmeier on from 6 to 10 a.m., Mike McConnell from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Garry Meier from 3 to 7 p.m. and David Kaplan and friends from 7 p.m. to midnight. To fit Sirott and Murciano into the lineup, WGN has a few options. They can shorten McConnell’s show, and schedule them to begin at either 12 or 1 p.m, and go until 3. I don’t see anything later in the day as a realistic option. I just can’t see the station removing Meier from afternoon drive at this point.

Other rumors, as hinted by Larz at ChicagolandRadioandMedia.com, suggest McConnell could be out in the coming weeks, which would leave a large void in the schedule. If McConnell indeed does leave, it would make sense for Sirott and Murciano to occupy a portion of his current on air time, though not all five hours. The station may be planning to fill the remaining void with either Steve Cochran (who filled in last week and this week for Brandmeier) or Brian Noonan (currently hosts Sunday evenings and was recently removed from the evening sports show he co-hosted with Kaplan).

Cochran was a long time fan favorite at the station, so him returning full-time in some capacity would make a lot of sense. On the other hand, Noonan is also well liked and can be considered a rising star who rightfully deserves a daytime slot.

Ideally, what I would like to see is for WGN to fit both guys in by removing both McConnell and Brandmeier. Cochran while filling in for Brandmeier these last few days has sounded so good and natural, while Brandmeier seems out of place and out of touch with the times. A day-time lineup with Cochran in the morning, followed by Noonan in late mornings, Sirott and Murciano in the early afternoons, followed by Meier would make for a swell lineup.

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Forgetting that radio is a visual medium

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A Chicago radio station I frequently listen to is airing a spot (radio slang for a type of commercial) that bothers the heck out of me.

The spot was recorded by a producer who works for one of the station’s most prominent show, though the spot can air at anytime during the day or night.

In this particular spot, the producer endorses a hair care product. She mentions that as a result of her using the product, she regularly receives compliments from listeners on how great her hair looks.

I have two problems with this.

1. She doesn’t often speak on the air so it is unlikely that anyone other than a devoted listener to the show even knows of her.

2. Even if she was on the air more, radio is not a visual medium. It is highly unlikely that people walking along Michigan Ave. or around a random mall in the suburbs are going to recognize this person and tell her how great her hair looks.

In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t too big of an issue because most listeners won’t pick up on this. Excusing my radio nerdom, my full-time job involves marketing, so I also see this spot as somewhat odd from the vantage point as someone who works in marketing.

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Back on WGN Radio, Steve Cochran providing an easy, relaxed listen in the morning

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Steve Cochran

When long-time WGN-AM 720 host Spike O’Dell retired in December 2008, the coveted morning show was supposed to go to then afternoon host Steve Cochran. After that didn’t happen due to a few circumstances, he would be shown the door some 18 months later.  The rest of the radio hell WGN experienced through 2010, and then again at the start of 2013 is well documented. The arrival of Jimmy de Castro as the station’s new president and general manager in May came with high expectations that things will slowly be made right.

Perhaps the most monumental amends took place last Tuesday when the sound of Steve Cochran was heard once again on the AM 720 airwaves. After quitting his previous gig at WIND-AM/560 The Answer, Cochran was free to turn up on WGN where he is now filling in for the vacationing Jonathon Brandmeier.

Bummer… Cochran is only filling in?

Cochran should be the new morning host at WGN. And I say this as someone who ironically didn’t care for him much when he previously hosted afternoons. While Cochran’s high level of wittiness and the urge to be funny is sometimes distracting, he is also highly intelligent and can do a decent job at discussing the day’s most relevant news happenings. I also like his reasonable, realistic perspective on the news, especially on politics.

His interactions with news anchor Andrea Darlas (recently promoted from late afternoons/ early evenings to mornings), Orion Samuelson and Dave Eanet (or last week, Jordan Bernfield) have a tendency to result in impromptu and oft-entertaining discussions. The show has a fine blend of news talk and slight silliness. The news talk isn’t too in-depth or too serious while the silliness is not quite off the rails.  The entire listening experience is easy and relaxed — exactly what I want while driving to work.

Cochran’s level of discussion and performance is quite the contrast to Brandmeier. I usually can’t listen to Brandmeier for more than two minutes. I don’t think he is either funny or relevant. Even if I could get remotely interested in one of his topics, he kills the momentum by badgering it to death, often seeking re-clarification over some tiny tidbit that was obvious to the audience ten minutes ago.

The day after the Boston Marathon bombing, he had interviewed one of the runners who was lucky enough to have finished the race prior to the blast. The first question he asked her was how long she had been married. He later congratulated her for simply finishing the race because… you know… the marathon route sure does have a lot of hills. The day after the tornado rampage in Moore, OK, Brandmeier is playing the wicked witch theme from the “Wizard of Oz” while discussing the devastation of the town.

Thankfully, Brandmeier wasn’t on WGN the day after Sept. 11, 2001. Is it too far fetched to imagine him asking one of the rescue firefighters “so… did you still slide down the pole after learning the Trade Center was under attack?”

I doubt Cochran quit his job at WIND — a full-time radio gig in Chicago — just to be a fill-in guy at WGN. While Cochran for now continues to host a midday show at KTRS-AM 550 in St. Louis (weekdays 10am-12pm), I would bet money that he is back at WGN full-time in some capacity by the end of the year.

If I had it my way, Cochran would have replaced Brandmeier as the station’s new morning host by yesterday.

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Examining the sad state of Barnes & Noble following the resignation of CEO William Lynch

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The resignation of William Lynch as CEO is a big blow to Barnes & Noble. If not for the sake of his day-to-day and/or long-term presence, then at least for the sake of morale.

His appointment as CEO in 2009 and his plan to build-up the company’s digital infrastructure was rightfully acclaimed as forward thinking — the only logical phase for the company to pursue. Manufacturing a line of e-readers and tablets would provide the means for the selling of digital content for years to come. This could have allowed the company to better absorb losses coming from its brick and mortar stores and/or phase them out completely. The goal was to become a viable alternative to the likes of Amazon.

Even though the strategy looked good on paper, any long-term viable success would require that implementation goes 100% smoothly. Unfortunately, there were a few misses along the way. The limitations of the early Nook Color in 2010/2011 likely hindered potential momentum out the gate.  I also think the (fair or unfair) perception of a struggling book company making their own tablets didn’t help. At the time, any non-Apple manufactured tablet didn’t have a good rep. Budget friendly tablets didn’t really take until Google came along with their $199 seven-inch Nexus; soon followed by the Kindle Fire at the same price (the Kindle Fire came out first, but it appears that the Nexus has taken off more then the Fire).

I’m not sure if Barnes & Noble’s strategy was doomed from the start. Perhaps, some altercation to the strategy would warranted different results. At this time last year, the formation of Nook Media as a separate subsidiary with Microsoft was deemed positive. Since then, it’s hard to identify just how Microsoft has benefited from the arrangement. It’s quite puzzling that B&N never seemed to maximize the potential benefits of such an arraignment (i.e. never any real discussion of future Nook products being Windows 8 based).

Regardless why the Nook strategy bombed, I’m saddened by what appears to be a repeat of the struggle that Borders previously experienced prior to its demise in 2011. Even if the Nook strategy would have taken off, I realize B&N’s book stores would have slowly disappeared. My  hope (as naive as it may have been) was that for the sake of novelty, there would always be a few remaining stores here and there. Maybe that still happens in some capacity, though the remaining uncertainty is unsettling.

I suppose I should also mention that I am quite the hypocrite. While rooting for the success of Barnes & Noble, I am doing so while using the Kindle. Why I’m not supporting the Nook product line is a long story in itself… one that I’m sure I’ll eventually blog about.

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Chicago Tribune goes in-depth on city’s thousand-plus shootings in first half of 2013

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Over 1,000 shot in Chicago so far this year. Today’s Chicago Tribune profiles a sample of the stories surrounding such victims.

The trends have been positive this year, with the number of shootings and homicides running below last year’s tragic spike, but similar to other recent years. The regular weekly statistics released by Chicago police include the number of shooting incidents, not the number of victims. Even if an incident involves multiple victims, it is counted as a single shooting. But the Tribune analysis focused on the number of victims.

The circumstances behind this violence is far more complicated than a bunch of hoodlums having nothing better to do than joining a gang. As always, society will ignore the underlying problem(s).

Either that, or we just don’t know how to fix it. I’m not sure which, though I lean towards the former.

The Tribune also has a database pinpointing the victims and locations of all shootings from the first-half of this year. Or just remember the URL, chicagotribune.com/shootings.

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A non-soccer fan’s observations while semi-watching the World Cup

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Can’t say I’ve made much attempts in my life to watch soccer, but I did pay half attention to the “extra time” World Cup quarterfinal game on ESPNU between sets at the gym this morning.

A few observations…

  • I wonder if the playing field was narrower and/or shorter, more goals might be scored and that perhaps might draw more viewers from the U.S. An indoor soccer game I watched a few years back very intense and goals were more frequent. The action was intense and dare I say exciting. The field was much narrower and shorter.
  • At one point when one of the Korean players was nearing the net, ESPN at that moment displayed a large graphic which ended up covering him and anyone else hovering around the ball.
  • Further evidence of just how important this game was to ESPN… it was on ESPNU.
  • Why do goalies wear completely different colors than the rest of their teammates? If hockey goalies can wear the same colors (just sayin’)…
  • I may have watched more World Cup then I have White Sox games this year.