Posted on 12/26/2008 4:52:49 PM PST by PurpleMan
He added: "John Riggins asked me, 'How can they fire us when we're number one?' I said, 'John, it's not about ratings. It's about money.' They simply wanted to cut overhead. When it comes to how you treat people, I have one way. And I don't waver on it."
"His abrupt departure yesterday ends not only his long association with the station, but also those of Redskins greats John Riggins and Sonny Jurgensen and sportswriters David DuPree, Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser, all of whom were regular panelists on Michael's weekly shows."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Did I miss something or did William Clay Ford sell the Lions and buy WRC-TV?
Newspapers are on life support. Local TV is next
This has been a trend for over 20 years in local television.
KDKA-TV cancelled two locally produced shows; Pittsburgh 2day, afternoon Oprah/Martha Stewart talk show that was number one in its slot. Then in 1990-91 it cancelled Evening Magazine which was number one in its time slot as well.
I’m sure many people around the nation had an Evening/PM Magazine show on their local affiliate. The show at KDKA had a staff of 30-35 people. It was replaced by “The New Hollywood Squares” which is no longer on the air, then by Roseanne and successive string of failures in the time slot that couldn’t hold Evening Magazine’s jock strap from a ratings standpoint.
Local TV in Pittsburgh went out the door 15-20 years ago and that was when the market was far more favorable than it is today.
Maybe. But then again, as long as there are people watching drive by media, there will be local television of some kind.
Because of Michael's resume, he probably commanded big bucks. Rather than asked to get by on 50% of the budget, he declares free agency and will reappear somewhere else.
well I guess it would be nice, if I could touch your body, I know not everybody, has got a body like you. Well I gotta think twice, before I give my heart away, cuz I know all the game you play, cuz I play them too.
Oh, but I need some time off, from that emotion. Some time to pick my heart up off the floor. Oh now love comes..yadayada blah blah BLAH blah blabla
but ya gotta have FAITH!
Faith-ah-faith-ah-faith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viPWb3ieH6o
I made the same connection! It helps if folks would put a (PA) or another hint in the title.
oops. do I have the wrong george?
“Did I miss something or did William Clay Ford sell the Lions and buy WRC-TV?”
No, Ford would’ve traded George, then hired Geraldo Rivera for a boatload of money, then stuck with Geraldo in hopes that the ratings would’ve come back. At that time, Geraldo would’ve gone back to Fox, and set the world afire with a new hit show. Trust me — I’m from Michigan.
This downsizing of talent is the death spiral. We’ve seen this for a decade in print media. An outlet needs to balance a budget, so it cuts talent, which cuts local content. Eventually this translates into lower circulation — why should you buy something that has the same exact content you can get for free elsewhere? In turn the ad revenues sag, which causes budget shortfalls, which causes staff reductions.....
Local TV is unique because you can’t get high-power stations from the next big city (as you can with radio). If the FCC ever rules that cable and satellite can offer competition to the local affiliates (ie, WABC instead of my local ABC affiliate, etc) then the local guys are totally hosed.
I’m all for the fall of the MSM, but I love to watch George and Sonny make their picks during NFL season - it won’t be the same without them. If they get rid of Liz Crenshaw, I will have no reason at all to catch nbc4, which is the only local newscast remotely watchable.
For any of you Boomers who used to listen to Top 40 radio in the 60’s and 70’s, this is King George Michael from top rated WFIL in Philly and then on to the giant WABC to take Cousin Brucie’s spot in 1974.
Liz Crenshaw — that is one woman who needs to get selected to be the receipient of one of thost “make over” women’s shows. or at least go to a beautician who can make her hair look better that the apparently self-cutting style she has had for the last decade.
Local TV is probably really good for the on air hosts.
In columbus, Terry Blair used to host a weekly show and ended up getting married to Marvin Hamlisch.
Of course Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon were on this show before going to espn on pardon the interuption.
Maybe they should start having “local tv idol” competitions.
Winner gets to host a weekly show for 10 weeks.
I take it this is the American sports reporter, not the Cypriot Greek-British pop singer/stoner/public-restroom-weenie-wagger?
Why do they not get rid of Jim Vance?..He’s been their since the Sixties!...And who I feel is Racist against Whites.
I don’t know the details, but I have known people in the industries and these long running high rated shows tend to have massive increases in each contract and they eventually price themselves out of a job.
Huh? George micheal was a disc jockey in the seventies? Which george micheal?
I remember when George had a full head of hair, when John Riggins looked down the dress of the Egyptian Ambassador’s wife and made a crack about ‘always wanting to see the pyramids’, and I remember when Sonny Jurgenson was challenged by Billy Kilmer in an artificially created ‘quarterback controversy’ and WMAL radio had bumper stickers all over the area that read ‘I listen to WMAL, and I root for BILLY!’ (or if you were a Jurgenson fan, ‘I root for SONNY!’), and I remember when it was unthinkable that the Redskins could have any other owner than Jack Kent Cooke, or the Cooke family.
And the successor to Kilmer? (who in fact led the Redskins to an 11-3 record and on to face Miami in the Super Bowl)
Noneother than Joe Theisman, who would end up leading Washington in the quarterback position when they returned to the Super Bowl and WON against the Dolphins, who had prevailed in their first encounter in Super Bowl 7.
Those were great years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.