We'll see

We'll see if anything comes of this. You have to love the Bush administration using propaganda to push its agenda. Whatever happened to public discourse??

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=3&u=/ap/20050113/ap_on_go_ot/fcc_williams_1

WHFS

So, WHFS, the alternative station in Washington DC that has been around for 35 years is no more. Infinity broadcasting decided that it would replace it with a Spanish format, I'm sure because they were concerned about money, money, and more money. Now I don't live in DC, but when I went there, WHFS was the one station I would listen to. It was great! Even a year ago it sounded like radio used to... DJs that knew music, a good playlist, quality tunes. It wasn't crap like most other stations are.

Infinity broadcasting, in all its wisdom decided to pull it. What amazes me is that radio (who recently launched an ad campaign to defend themselves against the attacks from Sat. radio) still doesn't get it. They would rather every station in a format sound the same across the country than allow for quality programming from individuals. We need this industry to be regulated again. Media consolidation will water down our entertainment and news sources into total crap.

Traditional radio is no longer innovative. It is all corporate greed driven. They can claim that they break new artists and set trends all they like. All they really do is herd the sheep to mediocre entertainment. If radio wasn't corporate, Avril, Usher, Ashanti, etc. wouldn't be popular. Why? Because no one would care about them. No DJ would think they were good enough to air. But because the radio companies are owned by companies that own the record companies, they play it. Over and over and over and over again to the point where the average person gets this luke warm junk stuck in their head.

Announcements like this make me very glad that I have switched to satellite radio. Sirius is the way to go. Let's hope it crushes traditional radio like FM did to AM.

Brad & Jennifer

While I'm sad anyone's marriage fails, I really wish the media would shut up about it. Who cares why they broke up, who cares if he became friends with Angelina Jolie, who cares? Let these people live in peace. The news media should be spending more time on the Bush administration hiring that Williams guy to talk up the No Child Left Behind legislation. THAT'S ILLEGAL! The media should spend more time discussing the war in Iraq and how these elections will be a clusterfuck. Talk about the poor saps in California who had to outrun a giant mudslide that looks like something Hollywood produced.

I know, I should stop ranting like a nutcase but Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston should not be big news. Good Morning America, the Today Show, whatever the hell that crap on CBS is called all gushed over this story like the President, Queen of England, and Soviet Premier had been shot in a whore house together.

What is more distrubing is that a town in Mass. is taking DNA samples from EVERY male resident in an attempt to solve a three year old murder. Why? Because they can't do good, old fashioned police work. What if someone gives their DNA, is cleared of this crime but is then checked against every other rape in the town, or state, or country?!?!? Charlie Gibson (who has sold his journalism school diploma so he can turn into an old woman next to Diane Sawyer) did the worst interview I had ever seen this morning. He actually asked why the guy didn't want to give his DNA and said something like "well if you have nothing to hide..." The man used to be a good reporter.

All of this says a few things to me:

1) Media companies should be regulated again. The news should be about truth, not shareholder return.

2) The news media is becoming increasingly unreliable in being an objective 3rd party.

3) People in this country are insane. They are SO sheltered and rigid in their opinions that they feel that to disagree with something they see on TV is an affront. The news media should grow some balls and go against the dominant paradigm of dumbing everything down and looking at issues from a 3rd grade perspective.

And to think, S. wants me to quit smoking. I'll explode!