Rules are meant to be... changed!

Once again flaunting the no sandals rule at The Academy, ARB Co-Owner/Founder/Chief cook and bottle washer Lindy Thurrell regaled radio students this week with engaging stories of "FCC Rules and Regulations."

Here, Lindy displays an early draft of rules & regs. Now they take up their own federal building in Washington, D.C.

Thanks for the up-to-the-minute info, and for sharing your experiences with us, Lindy!

Frightening Moments on Live TV

The smile fools you...

Serene was examined by paramedics at the scene and was taken home by a friend. She says she's feeling fine a day later.

Update: Tests concluded that she suffered a migraine, the symptoms were very much like a stroke.

Asleep at the Switch?

From Mediaite:

Eminem and Rihanna performed their song “Love the Way you Lie” at the Grammys and, well. Let’s just say someone at CBS is going to have #%&@ing difficult conversation with his boss tomorrow for not censoring all of the @#$%ing song. The censors let slip an instance of an “F-bomb” during the performance.

And no, I'm not posting the actual moment in this blog... I'd like to keep my job!


FYI: CBS could be fined up to $325,000 for Marshall Mather's ummm, creative use of freedom of speech.

Hand Cramp Alert!

ARB Instructor Manny Pacheco was recently the guest lecturer for radio students on the topic of music directing.  


Manny will be busy this next month with a slew of book signings promoting his work, "Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History." Here is the rundown:

Barnes & Noble - Corona, Montclair

Rotary Club - Los Alamitos/Seal Beach, Van Nuys

Flintridge Books and Coffee Shop - La Canada

Gatsby Books - Long Beach

For a complete rundown, check out his blog atwww.forgottenhollywood.com. 

Forgotten Hollywood is also available on Amazon and Southern California Borders Stores.

The Non-Interview

The late comedian shows us how NOT to conduct an interview on a classic SNL clip:

Who's That Girl?

Academy of Radio and Television Broadcasting PI and Vocal Coach Michelle Merker was the guest lecturer for radio students on the topic of "News Journalism" this week, and she stressed the importance of being professional at all times.

So we asked her about this....

No judgement, it was the 80's.

"The Search for Animal Chin" starring Tony Hawk (whatever happened to him?) and Michelle Merker, available on amazon.com and through your favorite skate shop. Because when you think of extreme sports, you think of Michelle!

Michelle's actual bio can be seen below in a previous blog.

Advice for the hunt!

Excerpted from an article by John Cox, editor of Classified advantage for Cynopsis Media:

Anyone who says practice makes perfect is a bad job seeker.  Write all the bad resumes you want, it isn't going to help.  

Perfect practice makes perfect.  If you can't write the perfect resume, show it to your friends. You have friends that are better writers than you, you have friends who are better business people than you and you have friends that are just plain old smarter than you.  Show each and everyone of them your resume and cover letter.  Show them each new copy you write, incorporate their suggestions, write it again, and show it to them again.  This process can take a while, be patient but understand, your finished product will be much better than what you started out with, and you'll learn to be a better writer.

Find the meanest friend you know as ask them to mock interview you for a job.  Why the meanest, ask a sports coach.  Most good coaches want game day to be the easiest day of the week.  Every practice should be harder than any game.  Its what brings the joy and the enthusiasm to the game, or the interview.  Plus you'll be ready for anything.  Isn't that what a good coach does?  Prepare you for everything?  If you have a nice person do the mock interview, what have they really prepared you for, and won't your nerves be just as bad?  Have a son of a b**** mock interview you, not only will you be better prepared, but your poise and confidence will be evident.

And what if the interview starts out badly?  What would the coach tell you?  Keep doing what you're doing. Companies interview for a reason, the same reason why athletes play games.  Because paper can never tell the whole story.  So stick to your game plan, keep plugging away, never give up, you may have to throw a Hail Mary, you might not get the job, but if went down swinging, and even if that means nothing to the interviewer, it should mean something to you.

All coaches run drills to improve your skills, but great coaches keep this at a minimum, great coaches fill their practices with game situations, at game speed.  Great coaches never need to run sprints at the end of practice, because their athletes have sprinted in every drill, during every practice.  Why would you walk through a drill, when you have to run during the game?  Same with looking for a job, you cannot lack the intensity needed, just because you're not in an interview.  You want an interview? Write, call, talk, email, network and work with all the intensity you can muster.  

Nobody wins every game, nobody gets every job they interview for, but the secret to both, is to never quit, not for one second.  Every second you're in the running, you have a chance, so you give it your all, especially when it seems pointless.  And make an impression on those who can make important decisions about your life.

The greatest thing a coach ever told me, and the best piece of advice I have for job seekers is this, "What did you do today to become better at what you do, that your opponents did not?  When you can answer that question in a positive manner, day after day, good things will come your way."

Dan the Cameraman!

ARB TV students received some hands-on experience during the Hands on Camera module this week.  Guest lecturer Dan Donley is an award-winning DP/Director who has been working in Southern California for over 20-years, shooting a wide range of productions including commercials, broadcast TV, features and corporate videos. Just this last week Dan worked on projects for a major car company, an international upscale hotel chain, and something with Betty White.

Here's a few of the things Dan covered during lecture: how to join the cameraman's union, filters, pedestal tripods, grips vs. gaffers, prime lenses, depth of field, the Golden Globe awards, film vs. tape, directors who don't look at monitors, camera assistants and operators, "24" and shooting Jack Bauer, aspect ratio, why he loves Tom Cruise, different types of focus, matte boxes, zooming, and the definition of "upstaging."

And then he covered what he was supposed to from the book.

Here, Dan demonstrates one of his cameras, a Sony F-900.

The Further Adventures of Ken Anthony!

Ken returned to The Academy this week to talk Ratings and Research with Radio students.  Here's a continuation of his bio from a few weeks ago...

Ken came back to Southern California in 1991 to take on the number one rock programming job in America at KLOS, directing the station to number one in adult demos in several books during his two year tenure. For his work at KLOS, he was named Radio's MVP of the year by Album Network magazine and Billboard Magazine's Major Market Program Director of the year in the Rock category.

Ken the moved to St. Louis, where he created and launched alternative station KPNT (The Point,) which has since become a franchise radio station in the midwest.

Returning to L.A., Ken programmed Classic Rock KLSX until they switched to talk in 1995.

Ken has since worked as Rock Editor for the trade publication Radio & Records, and now concentrates on his own consultancy firm, Radio Think Tank.

Thanks for sharing your varied experience with us, Ken!

Lisa Brings the 411!

ARB Radio students enjoyed hearing from this week's guest lecturer Lisa Osborne on the topic of "Owning Your Own Business." 


She's familiar voice to many in the Southern California area, having been on the air in Los Angeles for more than a decade. She can currently be heard as a news anchor on KFWB, and previously anchored weekend newscasts on KFI.

She has also been a traffic reporter, talk show host, program director and deejay in Southern California. Lisa is also a host on a ‘60s & ‘70s music network, airing on more than 300 radio stations across the USA.

Lisa also has a voice over business that creates marketing on-hold messages, podcasts and audio prompts for talking websites and transit agencies. She is the founder of Traffic411, one of the first web sites to deliver real-time traffic information.

Thanks Lisa, we really enjoyed your insight!

More Mandiie!

2009 ARB Radio graduate Mandiie (Amanda) Martinez has checked in with her latest venture, she's working at the startup No U Aint Radio! The site overs celebrity gossip and entertainment news, as well as the latest in pop culture and music.  Mandiie's bio can be seen here http://nouaintradio.com/meet-the-crew-2/mandiie-martinez/



Congrats Mandiie!

How Time Flies!

Want to make an interesting video? Have you got a year? Then how about two minutes to watch this?

Norwegian media professional Eirik Solheim created this video time-lapse from more than 3,500 high resolution images that were shot from one location in 2010.

His camera clicked away every 30 minutes for a year... leaving him with more than 16,000 images to work with.

Add a little music... and a viral video is born!

Where in the World is ARB Graduate Jason Nast?

Well, last week he was at CES in Vegas.  This week, he dropped us a line to let us know what he's been doing since leaving The Academy:


I graduated back in '97 I'm pretty sure. Loved the program, cherish the friendships I made many of which I still maintain today.

Since graduation I went on to work at 3 of the greatest radio stations in Phoenix. 
Kool -94.5
100.7 KSLX
93.3 KDKB

And now I travel the world as a professional speaker, trainer and develop new product ideas for infomercial TV.

I LOVE my life... thanks ARB











Thank YOU Jason, and congratulations on your successes!

Programmed for Success!

ARB Radio students enjoyed hearing from guest lecturer Ken Anthony this week on the topic of Alternative Programming.

Ken's career as one of radio's premiere rock radio programmers started at KSJO/San Jose, took him to KISS/San Antonio, then to KLOL/Houston, arguably one of the most famous rock stations in the nation.  For his hard work, Ken was named one of the "Ten Best" PD's in the nation by Inside Radio, as well as Billboard Magazine's Major Market Program Director of the Year in the Rock category.

Ken then returned to California... read more about his successes in two weeks!

What Did You Watch in 2010?

Excerpted from TV Newser:

So which stories received the most coverage from the network evening newscasts in 2010?

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was by far the most covered story of the year, drawing 1,410 minutes of coverage from the three newscasts, though “NBC Nightly News” led the way with 549 minutes, nearly 100 more than CBS.

The oil spill was followed by the earthquake in Haiti, which drew 426 minutes of coverage, and the war in Afghanistan, which drew 416 minutes. “ABC World News” and “Nightly” dedicated more time to Haiti, while CBS spent slightly more time on Afghanistan.

Rounding out the top five stories was coverage of health care reform legislation, which drew 307 minutes of coverage, and winter weather, which drew 249 minutes.

The 2010 midterm elections, which so utterly dominated the cable news cycle, placed seventh with 193 minutes of coverage across the three newscasts.

One other story of note was the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, which received only 17 minutes on ABC and 18 minutes on CBS, as compared to 84 minutes on NBC. That probably has something to do with the fact that NBC owned the rights to the games, and as such broadcast “Nightly” from Vancouver.

Crystal Ball: 2011 TV Gazing

Here's a look at what will be making news in the TV world this year:

Ratings king "American Idol" and the new judges

Ratings queen Oprah ends her daily syndicated show, and launches her "OWN" Network

The NBC Universal-Comcast merger

3-D Television

Increased use of mobile TV



Can you think of any more?

Sunny Skies for Local TV

Excerpted from rbr.com:

They may have cable channels out there devoted to nothing but weather reports, but a poll from Rasmussen recently found that the majority of Americans still rely on their local television station when they want to know how the weather may affect their plans.

As it turns out, cable didn’t even come in second.

Here is how the results shook out from Rasmussen’s survey, which asked respondents to identity their primary source of weather information:

* 54%: local television

* 20%: internet


* 19%: cable television

* 5%: radio

* 2%: newspaper


According to Rasmussen, 51% of respondents believe the media makes the weather sound worse than it really is, compared to 37% who think the media plays it straight and 12% who don’t know or have no opinion.

Stick and Stones... Will Get You Pulled Off the Air!

From SPORTSbyBrooks:


Longtime ESPN announcer Ron Franklin was pulled off ESPN's Saturday Fiesta Bowl radio broadcast by ESPN executives after an incident involving the veteran broadcaster and ESPN-TV sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards. 


Scheduled to work on the ESPN-TV broadcast of the Chick-fil-A Bowl Friday, Franklin and Edwards were part of a production meeting before the game that was also attended by ESPN announcers Ed Cunningham and Rod Gilmore. During the meeting, the subject of Gilmore's wife, Marie, being elected Alameda, Calif., mayor came up. 


As Gilmore, Cunningham, and Franklin discussed the subject, Edwards tried to join the conversation. When she did, Franklin said to her, "Why don't you leave this to the boys, sweetcakes." Edwards responded to Franklin by saying, "Don't call me sweetcakes. I don't like being talked to like that." Franklin then said, "OK then, a-hole."

Eight Days a Week!

We do work a lot in this business, and this week's radio lecturer on Business Sales, Pat Matthews, has put in a few hard day's night in his career!

Pat has been involved in radio, TV and voiceovers for most of his adult life... having worked at stations in New Orleans as well as Los Angeles. News anchor, air joc for everything from Christian to Country, play-by-play sports announcer, and host for late-night infomercials... you've seen or heard Pat's work before!

A love for the music of The Beatles has now turned into a business venture, as the founder of the internet radio station "Beatles-A-Rama!!!"  Check it out, and support this great station.

Stranded in Breaking News!

So you're a TV station with only one fill-time reporter and that reporter gets stuck in the great blizzard of 2010. What do you dow now?  As excerpted from the New York Times:

KRTV News in Great Falls, Mont., has exactly one full-time reporter, Kay Rossi, on the Monday-to-Friday local news beat. So when Ms. Rossi called in stranded — snowbound with family in Connecticut, uncertain when she would be able to get back West — the tiny station’s managers were thrown into a staffing crisis. Then they improvised: They made her plight a news story.


A telephone interview from the newsroom direct to Ms. Rossi’s aunt’s house in East Lyme was featured on Monday’s 5:30 p.m. broadcast. Breathless updates were posted on the station’s Web site — “Kay Rossi still trying to return to Great Falls” was the headline posted Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Ms. Rossi, 25, was put to work posting messages on Twitter and her Facebook page about the storm, the travails of dealing with Delta Air Lines, and her aunt’s car, which was stuck in the snow.

Ms. Rossi’s boss, Heath Heggem, KRTV’s content manager, said in a telephone interview that a missing staff member in a news department of 10 people, including weather and sports, left a big hole. Ms. Rossi, who is originally from upstate New York, typically files up to four stories a day on the doings of Great Falls, from crime to education to economics.

She is hoping to be back in Montana by Friday afternoon.

“It puts a little bit of a strain on things,” Mr. Heggem said, “but it’s what you have to do in small markets sometimes.”

And Now, With the News!

Our recent Southern California storms gave this week's radio lecturer Michelle Merker something current to discuss with students on the topic of News Development. 


You've seen her around the school as a PI and Vocal Coach, but did you know that this four-time Emmy nominee  has spent 20-plus years working in the Los Angeles market in both television and radio as a News Director, Director of Public Affairs, Writer, Producer and Talent?  She has also worked on both network and syndicated TV programs, and has acted as freelance talent on national TV, radio and corporate projects. A member of ClearChannel/Airwatch/Total Traffic Network team, she can currently be heard doing the news and traffic on a number of radio stations in Southern California, including KOST and KRLA. And the TV show she currently produces, "Discover Orange County," can be seen on KOCE-TV (PBS SoCal,) and The OC Channel. As producer, Michelle is also busy promoting her first feature film, “Shellter.” 


In her free time she... oh wait, she has no free time.

Here she is in a "vintage" picture with next week's guest lecturer.  Stay tuned...

And Sometimes Reporters Break the News...

... to newsmakers!


Excerpted from "TV Newser":


ABC’s Diane Sawyer sat down with three of the President’s top national security officials Monday afternoon, the same day 12 people in three British cities were arrested in a bomb plot.

One problem, the Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper,  who briefs the president everyday on the nation’s security, didn’t know about the arrests, which had been reported 8 hours earlier on the network morning shows. In her interview, which aired last on “World News”, Sawyer asks:

“First of all, London. How serious is it? Any implication that it was coming here?”

Clapper hesitated, before his colleague, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said, “You meant the arrests of the 12 individuals by the British early this morning. This is something that the British told us about early this morning when it was taking place.”

Later in the interview, Sawyer said to Clapper, “I was a little surprised you didn’t know about London.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t,” he said.

The "Buzz" on Kevin Fleming

Thanks to this week's ARB radio lecturer Kevin Fleming, who spoke to the students on Broadcast Syndication. Kevin has both hosted a nationally syndicated show, and developed affiliate marketing for another.  He's worked as VP and GM for a record label.  He's been Program Director at Los Angeles radio stations KACE and KRBV.  Most recently, he's the Owner/Publisher/Editor of The Urban Buzz, an online weekly entertainment publication which has become a trade industry standard.

With his vast understanding of the industry, it's no wonder Kevin is a student favorite!

 

Lights, Camera, Radio!

Congratulations ARB PI and lecturer Manny Pacheco!  He's going to start the year off right with a new weekly radio program on KSPA.  "Forgotten Hollywood" is a companion to his best selling book, Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History, and will focus on music from Hollywood's golden age.

"Forgotten Hollywood" will debut Sunday, January 9 at 3pm.  KSPA or The Spa can be heard throughout the Inland Empire and Orange County on 1510am and 1450am, or you can enjoy the hour-long show on its companion podcast.

In addition, current ARB student Remzi Gokmen was tapped to produce a commercial for the book, which will air during the program.

http://www.thesparadio.com/

Tune in and support Manny's new show!

Talk About Downsizing!

The days of big news crews following reporters through news-making parts of the world appears to be over.

Although she has the power to insist on more, here's a photo of the entire crew Fox News' Greta Van Susteren took with her to Haiti this week.


Here is her explanation:
…when you turn in tonight to watch ON THE RECORD at 10pm, note that the video you see was shot by two people (Justin and me) and neither of us is a professional but we wanted to take YOU to Haiti with us. We both did the audio and the shooting (that will be evident.) We really wanted you to see what is going on there and we figured you would understand since this was a labor of love.

What's News, Danny Frias?

Also known as Daniel Edward Stark, Danny was a very motivated student. He graduated in October 2009 and was employed by February 2010 as News Production Coordinator for KNX 1070am. 

Here are some examples of his daily responsibilities: 

Takes live feeds from reporters and edits them and make sure they are ready for air.

Sets up the live hits from TV about 5 or 6 times a day.

Takes soundbytes from CBS network feed and edits those for editor/producers.
Records weather reports from Jackie Johnson to run from 7pm to 5am.

Sets up live shots via ISDN for the "Business Hour" and for reporters.   

As a Web editor, he edits the "Business Hour" and posts it to the website cbsla.com. 
He's also in charge of posting things on twitter and facebook, and sending out text alerts.  He also posts stories from reporters to the website. 

Danny is also now an Associate member of the Writer's Guild of America West!

Congratulations Jay Olin!

At the AirWatch/Total Traffic Network Holiday party this year, 2005 ARB graduate Jay Olin was honored with the 7th Ed Berger Award, as voted on by his peers.

Here's a bit about the award, and why it's so special:

"Ed was an AirWatch employee for eight years, usually handling the Saturday morning KFI News Shift, while also acting as the lead radio instructor at Fullerton College, and, of course, filling-in at AirWatch whenever he could for vacations, sick days, etc.  Ed passed away eight years ago of pancreatic cancer. 

The criteria for The Ed Berger Award are as follows: 

The Ed Berger Award will go to the Total Traffic employee who displays Professionalism, which includes being reliable, prepared, focused and thorough in his/her work.  In addition, this person goes beyond this to exhibit a positive and pleasant disposition at all times with a helpful attitude.  To further honor the memory of Ed, this employee also has a good sense of humor and exhibits grace under fire."


Jay keeps busy reporting traffic on stations Star 98.7, KTLK, KSBR, and a few Santa Barbara and high desert stations.

Standing behind Jay is last year's winner, ARB graduate Brian Otto. In fact, ARB graduates Rebecca (Knowles) Campbell, Claire Sigman and ARB lecturer Alan Ross are all past winners.

Nice job Jay!

Marshall Thomas, Man of Many (Ten Gallon) Hats!

Marshall gave a great talk to radio students on Production, and he has the experience to back it up! Currently heard as an on-air personality weekends on "Hot Country" KFRG 95.1, Marshall also spent time gaining a following on other stations throughout Southern California including KTDD, KOLA and KOSS.

Besides leading Vocal Coaching classes at the Academy on Saturdays, Marshall also can be seen in various movies, TV shows and on stage as an actor.

And never one to slow down, he's currently writing a children's book!

"Survivor" Suspect's Dad Engineers Payola Challenge

From Media Bistro:

Just when you thought the media circus surrounding Hollywood criminal trial proceedings couldn’t get any more tasteless, along comes David Beresford-Redman (pictured). Moments after the denial yesterday of producer-son Bruce’s motion for the dismissal of a Mexican murder warrant for the April Cancun death of daughter-in-law Monica, there was dear old dad, hawking the couple’s three used cars on the steps of a U.S. District Court building.

Pops proudly explained that the first media outlet to come up with an aggregate buyer for a 1998 Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster, 2003 Porsche Targa and 2004 Chevy Suburban will enjoy the privilege of an exclusive interview with the vehicle owner that is still alive. Per a report by CNN’s Alan Duke, he then added this egregious kicker:

The $56,000 raised from the sale would go to the [couple's] young children, he said.

It’s bad enough that the ratio of embattled interview subjects demanding compensation for media sitdowns continues to creep upwards. But when that compensation, unbelievably, involves the murder victim’s personal possessions, it’s beyond offensive. Shame on you, Grandpa.

NPR and PBS Under Fire

Excerpted from "The Wrap"

Massive budget shortfalls, vicious in-fighting and a power shift in Washington. Make no mistake, public media is facing the biggest ever threat to its existence. 

This time, the haters are deadly serious. And they have timing on their side.

At stake are hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding and the future of such popular programs as "Nova," "This American Life" and "Sesame Street."

And while public media has long been a favorite target for Republican lawmakers, the mounting federal deficit -- coupled with a series of PR blunders -- mean that threats to slash government aid to non-profit stations are no longer just idle boasting.

Should the government turn off the spigot, National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service will likely have enough corporate and donor support to limp along, but jobs will be lost and popular shows will have to be canceled. On a local level, some of the thousands of public television and radio stations will almost certainly have to close up shop.

Broadcast veterans and analysts say that the Republican party’s newfound control of congress may spell the end of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- the organization that distributes parts of the federal largesse to non-profit media.

CPB has requested $608 million for its next funding cycle, which begins in 2013. So far, the current constellation of Republicans in the House and Senate do not seem inclined to grant that request. Armed with the backing of President Obama’s deficit reduction committee, congressional leaders are gunning for the CPB and its $420 million budget. Funding from the CPB accounts on average for 15 percent of funding for the more than 1,100 public radio and television stations around the country

Claire Sigman, TV Star!

I always focused on News at The Academy, and it has really paid off for me. (I graduated from the Academy in 2000.) While my first actual job out of ARB was as a weekend jock for KOSS and KTPI, I consider Airwatch/Clear Channel Traffic Los Angeles to be the first step in my career. I was hired in 2001 as a fill-in only Traffic Producer, then as full-time Producer and part-time Reporter, and then as Programming Supervisor and full-time Traffic Reporter and by 2004 I was the Operations Manager, Traffic Reporter and News Anchor. Moral of the story: Patience pays and learn everything you can every step of the way. 

But, I had lived on the West Coast for nearly 20 years and missed my family. So in August 2007 I left Clear Channel (yes, I left voluntary!) to move to Savannah Georgia. I downsized my career, but I spent the last year of my mother's life with her - having fun, hanging out, and just being there. 

Job wise, I was hired to be a part-time Traffic Reporter and Fill-in News Anchor for a six-station cluster for a company called Adventure Radio. After six months, I became full time News Director. That was three years ago. Now I do Morning Traffic and News, plus a 30-minute weekly Public Affairs show over which I have complete control. 

Over the summer, I started doing morning traffic reports for one of the local television stations. Not being a TV person, I was surprised that I have found it incredibly fun and actually look forward to it now. I never would or could have done that in LA. 

I have also gotten to cover many a sporting event and done a number of other things I never could have done in Los Angeles. 

So to sum up, make the most of your time at the Academy, make the most of every job you get, keep your eyes on your personal priorities, and never let anyone tell you that there is no life outside a major market.