reBlog from popgeezer.com: popGeezer.com

I found this fascinating quote today:

From yesterday’s edition of the Jackson Free Press comes the following article about ZZQ102.com, the current home of our very own popGeezer’s Playlist Program [airs M-W-F at 7 PM ET/6 PM CT]:popgeezer.com, popGeezer.com, Sep 2009

You should read the whole article.

Playing For Change: Song Around the World | Stand By Me Video by Concord Music Group - MySpace Video

Playing For Change: Song Around the World Stand By Me Video by Concord Music Group - MySpace VideoPlaying For Change: Song Around the World | Stand By Me





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Broadcasters to make case against radio performance tax at hearing

Broadcasters against radio performance tax at hearing.

The House Judiciary Committee's hearing on the controversial Performance Rights Act (H.R. 848), set for March 10 at 10 a.m., will include testimony from Smasking Pumpkins vocalist and lead guitarist Billy Corgan, according to an agenda released by the committee on Friday evening (March 6).

NAB Radio Board Chairman Steve Newberry and Patrick Communications President Larry Patrick will be making broadcast's case against a proposed performance fee, at a hearing by a House panel scheduled for Tuesday. Meanwhile, NABOB is urging the Congressional Black Caucus to oppose the new royalty, saying it could dampen minority ownership. "By making stations even more unaffordable, this legislation would put the dream of ownership further out of the reach for African-American entrepreneurs trying to enter the radio industry," NABOB Executive Director and General Counsel Jim Winston wrote in a letter to the caucus. Radio & Records (3/9) , Radio Online (3/6)

Also expected to testify during the Capitol Hill event are Mitch Bainwol, chairman/CEO of the RIAA; Paul Almeida, president of the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO; Stan Liebowitz, Ph.D., Ashbel Smith distinguished professor of managerial economics, University of Texas at Dallas; Larry Patrick, president, Patrick Communications; and Steve Newberry, chairman of the NAB Radio Board.

Overnight AM & Lan Lamphere part ways with Patroit Brigade Talk Radio Network

Public Notice -

Overnight AM Radio Show and Lan Lamphere is no longer a part of the Patriot Brigade Talk Radio Network. Though I built the network from scratch into a successful talent oriented platform for conservative talk radio, Joe Baca ( aka Thunder ) has taken over the network and has begun his own venture. Lamp Here Productions, LLC no longer acts as a contractor for production on his network and has been stiffed by the Baca's for a untold amount of money at this time. The relationship between the Baca's and this company is nonexistent as Baca seeks to create a national radio network at CBS Radio. We have ended our relationship with Baca due to the fact that on repeated occasions Baca has as I have been, I am beginning a new venture in a new radio network in which Overnight AM the radio Show will be featured with other talent. The Hollow FX Talk Radio Network is coming soon. Stay tuned for future announcements.

From the official LAN&TAIRA LAMPHERE Website

Breaking Update: Overnight AM is returning to the airwaves. I know I said that I would not bring it back but that was before "Joe Thunder" ( Real name Felix Baca founder and CEO of Source IT ) used his money ( in my opinion ) to destroy the Patriot Brigade Talk Radio Network. Hey! It belongs to him. So he can do with it as he sees fit. But, I refuse to have anything to do with it or him. I was smart enough to remove the Overnight AM radio show from the line up on his radio network. Something inside me knew that he was up to no good, ( In my opinion ) and I followed my instincts which has saved the radio show from being gobbled up by Baca and his empty promises. BTW we have recorded some off those conversations and may use them in playback on the air.

Overnight AM will be returning, by invitation, to WLAC 1510 AM in Nashville TN. Further details are to come. Look or updates right here very soon. In the meantime you can join the Overnight AM Chat-room and listen to the New Hollow FX Talk Radio Network right here!

Oval Office Watch – Monday, February 23 - Rush Limbaugh letter to President Obama

Mr. President, Keep the Airwaves Free

Rush Limbaugh, Online WSJ.com

Dear President Obama:

I have a straightforward question, which I hope you will answer in a straightforward way: Is it your intention to censor talk radio through a variety of contrivances, such as "local content," "diversity of ownership," and "public interest" rules -- all of which are designed to appeal to populist sentiments but, as you know, are the death knell of talk radio and the AM band?

As a former law professor, surely you understand the Bill of Rights.

You have singled me out directly, admonishing members of Congress not to listen to my show. Bill Clinton has since chimed in, complaining about the lack of balance on radio. And a number of members of your party, in and out of Congress, are forming a chorus of advocates for government control over radio content. This is both chilling and ominous.

As a former president of the Harvard Law Review and a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, you are more familiar than most with the purpose of the Bill of Rights: to protect the citizen from the possible excesses of the federal government. The First Amendment says, in part, that "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." The government is explicitly prohibited from playing a role in refereeing among those who speak or seek to speak. We are, after all, dealing with political speech -- which, as the Framers understood, cannot be left to the government to police.

When I began my national talk show in 1988, no one, including radio industry professionals, thought my syndication would work. There were only about 125 radio stations programming talk. And there were numerous news articles and opinion pieces predicting the fast death of the AM band, which was hemorrhaging audience and revenue to the FM band. Some blamed the lower-fidelity AM signals. But the big issue was broadcast content. It is no accident that the AM band was dying under the so-called Fairness Doctrine, which choked robust debate about important issues because of its onerous attempts at rationing the content of speech.

After the Federal Communications Commission abandoned the Fairness Doctrine in the mid-1980s, Congress passed legislation to reinstitute it. When President Reagan vetoed it, he declared that "This doctrine . . . requires Federal officials to supervise the editorial practices of broadcasters in an effort to ensure that they provide coverage of controversial issues and a reasonable opportunity for the airing of contrasting viewpoints of those issues. This type of content-based regulation by the Federal Government is . . . antagonistic to the freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment. . . . History has shown that the dangers of an overly timid or biased press cannot be averted through bureaucratic regulation, but only through the freedom and competition that the First Amendment sought to guarantee."

Today the number of radio stations programming talk is well over 2,000. In fact, there are thousands of stations that air tens of thousands of programs covering virtually every conceivable topic and in various languages. The explosion of talk radio has created legions of jobs and billions in economic value. Not bad for an industry that only 20 years ago was moribund. Content, content, content, Mr. President, is the reason for the huge turnaround of the past 20 years, not "funding" or "big money," as Mr. Clinton stated. And not only has the AM band been revitalized, but there is competition from other venues, such as Internet and satellite broadcasting. It is not an exaggeration to say that today, more than ever, anyone with a microphone and a computer can broadcast their views. And thousands do.

Mr. President, we both know that this new effort at regulating speech is not about diversity but conformity. It should be rejected. You've said you're against reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, but you've not made it clear where you stand on possible regulatory efforts to impose so-called local content, diversity-of-ownership, and public-interest rules that your FCC could issue.

I do not favor content-based regulation of National Public Radio, newspapers, or broadcast or cable TV networks. I would encourage you not to allow your office to be misused to advance a political vendetta against certain broadcasters whose opinions are not shared by many in your party and ideologically liberal groups such as Acorn, the Center for American Progress, and MoveOn.org. There is no groundswell of support behind this movement. Indeed, there is a groundswell against it.

The fact that the federal government issues broadcast licenses, the original purpose of which was to regulate radio signals, ought not become an excuse to destroy one of the most accessible and popular marketplaces of expression. The AM broadcast spectrum cannot honestly be considered a "scarce" resource. So as the temporary custodian of your office, you should agree that the Constitution is more important than scoring transient political victories, even when couched in the language of public interest.

We in talk radio await your answer. What will it be? Government-imposed censorship disguised as "fairness" and "balance"? Or will the arena of ideas remain a free market?

Mr. Limbaugh is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host.