Archive for Monday, June, 16, 2008

Okay, So What Are The Conditions ???

Monday, June, 16, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

Now that the world knows that FCC chairman Kevin Martin is about to recommend the XM-Sirius merger with conditions, how come he didn’t announce what the conditions are?  That’s all that’s missing now, isn’t it?  What gets me in this instant gratification world we live in is how ridiculously fast, news spreads.  Now the speculation about the conditions attached to the pending merger will become a daily item until the deal is done…

You can bet that a freeze in subscription rates will be one of the key conditions, along with a la carte choices in programming.  Non-commercial and minority-owned channel availability will also be on the short list and last but not least will be an interoperable radio requirement…

I don’t know about you but I’d much rather have seen the merger approval announced than to spend what will seem like an eternity reading about what the conditions are likely to be until the inevitable approval.  The endless presidential race has company…  

10 Timeline Memories:

  1. 1883]  Ladies Day:  The New York Giants  admit all ladies to the game free, creating the first “Ladies Day” in baseball…
  2. 1893]  Buy me some peanuts and:  Fritz Rueckheim invents Cracker Jack…
  3. 1932]  Debuted on this date:  The Ford Motor Company is incorporated…1947]  The first network newscast, “News From Washington” is broadcast on the Dumont Television Network…1952]  “Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl” is published in the U.S…1952]  “My Little Margie” starring  Gale Storm  debuts on CBS-TV for a 3-year run…1960]  Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” premieres in New York City…
  4. 1967]  1st Pop Music Festival:  The First Annual Monterey International Pop Music Festival (June 16-18) draws a quarter of a million fans for a show featuring The Who, Mamas & Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin & Buffalo Springfield…
  5. 1978]  Talkin’ Baseball:  Tom Seaver, now a member of the Cincinnati Reds, no-hits the Cardinals 4-0.  Sure, now he does it…1981]  The Chicago Tribune  buys the Chicago Cubs from the P.K. Wrigley Chewing Gum Co. for $20.5 million.  Wrigley throws in a lifetime supply of gum for every employee of the Chicago Tribune but doesn’t guarantee to double the pleasure of Cub fans.  The sale of the Cubs by the Tribune is now pending…
  6. 1987]  Take that:  A jury in New York acquits Bernhard Goetz of attempted murder in the subway shooting of 4 youths who he said were about to rob him.  He is convicted of illegal possession of a weapon.  Goetz ran for public office in Manhattan a few years ago but lost his election…
  7. 1992]  Guilty as charged:  Former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger  was indicted on felony charges in the Iran-Contra affair.  He will later be pardoned by President George H.W. Bush (41)…
  8. 1996]  ‘Happy Trails’:  The legendary “Voice of the Yankees“, Mel Allen, dies at 83.  Mel had open heart surgery several years earlier and had been in poor health… 
  9. 2000]  Wedding Bells:  Federal regulators approve the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE Corp., creating the nation’s largest local phone company: Verizon on June 30…
  10. 2004]  Rebuffing the Prez:  The independent commission investigating the 911 attacks says no evidence existed that al-Qaida had strong ties to Saddam Hussein…

Music Memories:

Commentary:

When NBC’s Tim Russert  died of a heart attack on Friday, June 13th he was recording voice-overs for “Meet The Press“.  Tim, NBC’s Washington bureau chief was 58.  Correspondent Andrea Mitchell  was quoted as saying “our hearts are broken” when news of his death broke.  Tim Russert was as good a news analyst as there was and he will be sorely missed.  He spent his last minutes on earth doing what he loved - working…Trumpet player Danny Davis  passed away on June 12th in Nashville.  Born George Nowlan in Dorchester (MA), Danny died of cardiac arrest at 83.  Danny was the leader of the Nashville Brass and played with greats such as Gene Krupa, Bob Crosby and Les Brown.  He also produced for Connie Francis, Don Gibson and Waylon Jennings among others…Why do deaths of the famous always come in threes?  Charlie Jones who was a play-by-play staple going back to the old AFL days, passed away on Friday after suffering a heart attack.  Charlie was 77.  Enough already!

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

Phil Mickelson (38), Laurie Metcalf (53), Roberto (No Mas) Duran (57), Gino Vannelli (56), Derek Sanderson (62), Eddie Levert (66), Lamont Dozier (67) and Erich Segal (71)…

Timeline Countdown:  5 days until summer and 19 days until July 4th…

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