Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

48° - cloudy/overcast at 11:30am

Happy Sunday

Pain. MSU's 28-24 loss to Michigan yesterday here at home. Despite the loss, it was a great game to watch on TV.

Could even see the Outback Steakhouse Blimp ("The Bloomin' Onion I Airship") over the stadium from our home in nearby Okemos.

Post-Game TV. Was able to catch the new Tom Petty & Heartbreakers documentary "Runnin' Down A Dream" last night on The Sundance Channel.

A very cool look at the band - with some insights into the interpersonal relationships and conflicts within the band, including the tragic loss of Heartbreaker Howie Epstein.

Also on TV: NBC News Anchor Brian Williams guest hosting Saturday Night Live. AP Story. I didn't get this move at all - be it for Williams' career or the credibility of NBC News. Your opinion may vary.

Makes one forget quickly about all the negative reviews of anchor Katie Couric (who - IMHO - has established herself as a solid anchor with a great newscast on CBS).

Listening this morning to Bob Stroud on Chicago's WDRV - playing tracks from his latest Rock & Roll Roots CD (Volume 9); on sale at Border stores around Chicago; proceeds go to charity. Nice!

Trying to get one of my younger brothers in the Chicago area to grab me a copy.

Speaking of Chicago. Still no confirmation from CBS - but the buzz says "Fresh" for Chicago's talk WCKG.

A few days back, I was tempted to "wonder" on this blog about the "whereabouts of consultant Harv Blain" (but I'm not one to start rumors).

Was talk of "all-Christmas" on WCKG simply a bluff to force crosstown Clear Channel AC WLIT into its annual "all christmas" presentation early - while 105.9 debuts its new "Fresh" AC format? All speculation on my part. More here.

Its good to see some competitive wars again. Let's all watch the moves - no matter what format we're in.

And speaking of Harv Blain. This past Friday, All Access posted a contribution from Harv to Paragon's PPM Rulebook. This would be rule #18: "Keep an accurate event audit":

"PPM allows you to see cause-and-effect better than the diary ever could. In countless examples from Arbitron's John Snyder, we have seen how specific events either drive up cume and AQH or where the audience has exited."

"With the granularity of PPM data, programmers should keep a detailed, accurate "diary" (sorry, couldn’t resist) of events on their station and the competitive landscape (special guests, giveaways, marketing campaigns, news events, etc.) and then cross-reference once the data for that time period is released. You’ll get the opportunity to truly see the dynamics between content and consumption, if you know when these events occurred."

Harv writes more on his blog here.

We've seen examples of the impact of events and campaigns with Mark Ramsey's PPM presentation at the NAB Radio Show. Keeping a log (or "diary") is important; I'd keep one not only for my own station - but on the actions of my competitors too. I'm certain the big groups can benefit by sharing this information with one another; and most of this is data that can be used in diary markets also.

Rick Kaempfer's Chicago Radio Spotlight today interviews WGN Creative Director Todd Manley. Todd shares some great moments - and I read that we share a hero: The legendary Ken Nordine. Rick's interview with Todd here.

Back in the 70s I'd already been a fan of Ken Nordine - primarily through his Word Jazz albums. I had the privilege of taking a phone call from Mr. Nordine once back in the 70s when I was Continuity Director of WBBM Newsradio 78. I didn't have to ask who was calling once I heard "the voice".

Final flag football game this afternoon with my 3rd grade son's team.

Have a great day!