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MARIOTTI - TELANDER I
Loved Michael Miner's Hot Type column last week about how Sun-Times sportswriters Jay Mariotti & Rick Telander allegedly nearly came to blows in the press box at Wrigley Field in June. The article was mostly about Mariotti, in an unflattering way.
Miner mentioned how in a column, Phil Rosenthal actually called Jay on a flip-flop when he joined ESPN's "Around the Horn". Jay didn't like that and "forcefully brought his concerns to Rosenthal's attention." Yeah, you wouldn't expect Mariotti to be, you know, calmly intellectual about it I suppose. The June scrape was preceded by a Telander column about Bob "someone should slap Joumanna Kidd" Ryan in which he indicted TV, "the goal is to say something outrageous, with absolute certitude, as often as possible so as to rise above, or at least float to the surface of, the roiling, screeching cauldron of phlegm and insult that passes as entertainment and information" Apparently, Jay took that personally and sent Telander some nasty emails & voice-mails. Miner relayed a little history of both and how they got to the paper. I had no idea that by 1995, Mariotti was demoted to reporter when they brought Telander in. For five years from 1992 until early 1997 I was living in the Southwest, so that history was lost on me. Interesting though. I'm just sorry Michael Miner couldn't work a plug for The Chicago Red Face's Jay Merryman into the article. |
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MUSINGS
The Air Show is this weekend. Does that mean Mayor Daley lied to us when he said he had to carve up Meigs Field because we don't want small airplanes buzzing the downtown buildings? I wonder if anyone will hit that angle. How cool would it be if one of those air show planes rammed a high-rise (pilot ejecting & no one hurt, of course)? As a fan of entropy, I'm rooting for it.
Thanks to everyone who confirmed to me that Nancy Pender is, in fact, very pregnant. Several people reported seeing Nancy out & about & bulging out. In all the coverage of the wacky characters running for Governor in California, the porn star is always mentioned. Mary Carey, who chose her name due to a slight resemblance to Mariah Carey, is a frequent Howard Stern guest but not much of a porn star in my opinion. Sure, she's done 30 videos, but no videos with a guy--just other girls and toys--I don't think that counts. But that's just my opinion. Hey, what do you think of the redesign & the new logo? Lemme know. I'm going to eventually add a message board and some audio & video clips. |
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LETTERS TO THE CME
"I am not a big fan of Bob Sirott and the new Chicago Tonight. I consider him to a shallow and vain individual who is more interested in perception than content. He cannot interview his way out of a paper bag. I do not think he has any intention of being insightful; He just wants to skim the surface and, hopefully, find another sponsor for the station. Like the Alderman Burke interview, it made me want to puke. Watching the new version of CT would upset me to such an extent that it would ruin my evening. So I simply stopped watching the show. (I do sample, hoping things will change.) As a result, I find that I watch Channel Eleven less often. Their moving of many PBS programs to the 9-11 hours to accommodate CT puts the station in conflict with the 10:00 news and because they do not present repeats late at night anymore (instead they run CT THREE MORE TIMES), I simply don't watch. I tried to TIVO the other shows but it got so confusing, I just stopped. I am simply watching TV less. Oddly when I watch, I am watching things like American Idol. I find it more of a curiosity than Bob Sirott! My interests are not that of an older viewer." - B.B.
"A couple weeks ago I was watching the WGN Morning News and Larry Potash had to read something for a Pepsi Smash contest on The WB. He acted like he was being forced to do something demeaning against his will, and after he read it he said that he "felt dirty". It must not be integrity he's referring to because last week they had some Elvis impersonators in the studio and Larry didn't seem to feel dirty dressing up in an Elvis wig and glasses. So let me get this right, he feels dirty when he does a contest that will make his station money, but he feels okay about acting like an ass on the news set. How come you don't criticize WGN as much as you used to? Are you biased?" - G.T. The CME sez: Yes, I do work for the Tribune Company on the Broadcasting side, but NOT for WGN-TV. I don't criticize WGN or other Tribune properties for that matter as much as I used to because I want to continue my employment with the company. There are a lot of things I'd like to speak up about - criticism & praise, but I have prohibited myself from saying anything about Tribune either positive or negative in order to maintain some semblance of impartiality. Anyway, it's actually easier than you'd think. I've been a lifelong Sun-Times reader and I watch Channel 32's noon & Nine newscasts because they have my favorite male anchors on them. I also believe that ALL the local morning newscasts suck eggs. When I do mention something that was on Channel 9 or in the paper, it's usually about an individual or an event that I feel isn't directly about the organization itself. As far as what you saw, no comment. |
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OUT OF THE BOX
As I followed the efforts to recall California Governor Gray Davis, I envied the grass roots power that Californians have. From the recall to referendums on the ballot, grass-roots groups have a much larger voice in their Democracy that we do here in Illinois, and Chicago specifically. Ballot referendum power would be an interesting way to keep some of out corrupt career politicians in check. I moved back into the city a couple months ago. Found out my Alderman succeeded her father for the job. Sounds like typical Chicago credentials. Succeeding daddy or being appointed by the Mayor. I used to live in the 38th ward, where the dippy Alderman there was appointed by the Mayor while the REAL power of the ward, the Committeeman was the daughter of the previous Alderman. Whether appointed or succeeding daddy, I consider all of them corrupt in some way. Corrupt until proven clean. The job of government representative was never meant to be a job for life, or a birthright. It was supposed to be held by common people who understand their constituents and work in their best interests without taking advantage of their power. Unfortunately, when you are part of the Chicago machine, you hold some absolute power. And absolute power has corrupted, absolutely. Since the job of Alderman is a part-time job, I've often wondered how cool it would be to run for Alderman-and even BE Alderman. Of course, unless I "played ball" with the Mayor & the machine, I would probably be frozen out of everything and forced into inaction. Absolutely. We need another challenger in the "Harold Washington" mold to smash the machine to bits. I won't hold my breath though.
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IN THE AUGUST 8TH CHICAGO RED FACE:
- Ben & Jen Do Stuff- Pope Launches Global Crusade Vs. Gays - Kobe Bryant Loses, Gains Endorsements - Oceans in Crisis - Clash of the Titans: Schwarzenegger and Huffington - Blackhawks Trade All Future Draft Picks to Detroit for Bottle of Scotch - JAY MERRYMAN: Baseball in Mexico? No, Senor! - Cool Again: Corey Hart Check it out at: http://www.chicagoredface.com |
