• ABC’s Reporter on the Road.....doesn’t go on forever • Mick and Keith to the rescue. They keep me from going on the dole, mate • All the news that’s fit to print – or say – about the Steel Wheels tour As the Eighties drew to a close, so did my days as ABC … Continue reading RSNN: The Rolling Stones News Network
Tag: ABC Radio News
R.E.M.embered
• This one goes out to the band I love • My date for an early R.E.M. concert has a Rapid Evaluation Mishap • I finally get to interview them . . after they lose their drummer The first time I saw R.E.M. perform live, my date pronounced them D.O.A. My arrival at network radio … Continue reading R.E.M.embered
Thanks, Caption Obvious
• Like caption contests? So did ABC PR in the Eighties • Marketing Mark with Mild Snark • Try this at home! In every newsroom I ran, I would post random news photos or headlines of an odd nature and invite my fellow radio colleagues to contribute funny captions. So I was pleased and surprised … Continue reading Thanks, Caption Obvious
Rock On Radio
• From Christian Rock to Porn Rock . . . whatever that is. • Radio News: Little podcasts sent wirelessly to your AM-FM device. • Ozzy Osbourne, Blackie Lawless, Stryper, Public Enemy, Kool Moe Dee and Yoko Ono One thing I liked a lot about my broadcast career was that I spent a lot of … Continue reading Rock On Radio
Back in the USSR
• Fresh new evidence shows the Billy Joel trip was no Russia hoax. • Good Morning America introduces a new – and “special” – correspondent • Some really awful music, through some really awful transmissions When I wrote about The Piano, Man, in Russia last year, the blog post was mostly words and photos; just … Continue reading Back in the USSR
Off to College with Dad – and Mic
• I went to my father's 50th college reunion . . . and stuck my mic in everybody's business. • College life in 1934 compared to 1984 • Lionel Richie and gin & tonics vs. prohibition bootleg booze My dad was born and raised on a farm outside of Ft. Dodge, Iowa. (That's me above, … Continue reading Off to College with Dad – and Mic
Deconstructing the News Conference
• 32 years ago, news conferences were different. Or not • You can tell it’s 1987 by the big hair • Alert: This is a thumb-sucker. A think-piece. Deep, very deep In 1987, an executive producer at CNN was frequently calling in ABC Radio News’ Reporter-on-the-Road (me) to hold forth on TV about such matters … Continue reading Deconstructing the News Conference
Marilyn Chambers and the Eye of the Tiger
X-rated movie stars weren’t always paid hush money. Sometimes they had to be interviewed by me to promote their careers. How that may or may not have advanced mine.
Ethiopia
A couple of months after Live Aid and We Are the World, an opportunity arose to see firsthand what some of the money raised by the benefit concert and charity song was actually doing for the people afflicted by the drought and famine in Africa.
1st Airborne Rock and Roll Division
• Ever seen US Marines slam-dancing? • Not exactly “3 Days of Peace and Music” • Cheap Trick, Kansas, Doobie Brothers, for the boys They used to send Bob Hope to entertain the troops. Or Playboy playmates (both in fiction – “Apocalypse Now” – and in reality -- Playmate of the Year Jo Collins visited … Continue reading 1st Airborne Rock and Roll Division
I Think it was the Fourth of July – The Beach Boys, Jimmy Page and Joan Jett
• Remembering when The Beach Boys were the most controversial thing on the National Mall on July 4th • That time Ronald Reagan stood up for Rock n’ Roll • The Malling of America was a best-selling book in 1985. Just a trivia fact It appears to some that, with a speech at the Lincoln … Continue reading I Think it was the Fourth of July – The Beach Boys, Jimmy Page and Joan Jett
Stone ROSRS
• The age-defying Rolling Stones wrap up a swing through North America this summer to some very enthusiastic reviews • Thirty years ago, I ramped up my own enthusiasm describing what they did backstage before the opening riff of “Start Me Up” • What’s a ROSR? Stay tuned In December of 1989, the Stones wound … Continue reading Stone ROSRS
The Who’s Tommy
• Fifty years of that deaf, dumb and blind kid • And I thought I felt old at the 20th anniversary celebration • Hope I don’t die before the 60th I can’t say that “It could have been 1989 in Madison Square Garden the other night.” Because, clearly, it wasn’t. This was September 1, 2019. … Continue reading The Who’s Tommy
RSNN: The Rolling Stones News Network
• ABC’s Reporter on the Road.....doesn’t go on forever • Mick and Keith to the rescue. They keep me from going on the dole, mate • All the news that’s fit to print – or say – about the Steel Wheels tour As the Eighties drew to a close, so did my days as ABC … Continue reading RSNN: The Rolling Stones News Network
The Lost Bowie Soundbite
• Do you remember the movie, “The Linguini Incident?” I didn’t think so. • On a dusty old cassette, a bittersweet revelation: David Bowie’s unfulfilled dream • Another recollection from my distant pasta I have shoeboxes full of audio cassette tapes I haven’t listened to in 30 or 40 years -- interviews done for radio … Continue reading The Lost Bowie Soundbite