Archive for Friday, August, 8, 2008

A NY DJs Dream Comes True…

Friday, August, 8, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

(Weekend Edition) 

With the stroke of a pen, New York Governor David A. Paterson made New York the 8th (there’s that number again) state to pass a “Broadcast Employees Freedom To Work Act” a.k.a. “a disc jockey’s dream come true”.  This bill throws out “non-compete” agreements that don’t allow broadcasters to take another job in the region they were working in when they left the station…

In all my years in radio I never had a contract - not as a jock - not as a program director.  I did come up against the non-compete in New York with a disc jockey who gave me a two-week notice and told me he was going to our competition.  Even though he wasn’t fired I could have held him to the non-compete clause in his contract but chose not to.  This was a well-known person who went to a famous radio station, both will remain anonymous to prevent embarrassment - to him and to me for not stopping him but I’d probably do the same thing all over again…

After signing the bill the governor said “broadcasters, like other members of the media, play an important role in our democracy by providing the public with critical news and analysis that help us shape the ongoing discourse about the future of our society.”  He probably had someone like Tom Brokaw in mind with that statement but his next statement was more apt - “with the approval of this bill we hope to empower broadcasters with greater independence as they pursue employment options.“  Now why didn’t I ever have a governor like that in any of the states I worked in???

10 Timeline Memories:

  1. 1678] A bargain-basement Borough for sale: Native Americans sell the Bronx  to Jonas Bronck for 400 beads and box seats to Yankees games. The least Bronck could have done was thrown in a dozen bagels and a seedless rye (8/9)…
  2. 1945] Dropping another one: The U.S. drops another atomic bomb - this time on Nagasaki, 3 days after Hiroshima. About 74,000 are killed and Japan will surrender on August 14th (8/9)…
  3. 1948] Smile, you’re on ‘Candid Camera’: “Candid Microphone” which will become “Candid Camera” one year later, debuts on New York City’s channel 7 (WJZ which will become WABC) (8/10)…
  4. 1966] Achy DeBakey heart: Surgeon Michael DeBakey installs the first artificial heart. Unfortunately blood clotting leads to failure in the patient (8/8)…
  5. 1968] Nixon’s the One/Not: Richard M. Nixon and Spiro T. Agnew  are chosen as running mates at the Republican National Convention (8/8)…1974] Now President, Richard M. Nixon  announces that he will resign the following day (8/8)…
  6. 1969] L.A. blood bath: Actress Sharon Tate  and 4 others are found murdered at Tate’s residence in Los Angeles (8/9). Charles Manson  and several members of his cult are later convicted of the horrific murders…
  7. 1977] Son of Sam: Postal employee David Berkowitz a.k.a. “The Son of Sam” is captured and arrested in Yonkers (NY) (8/10). He will be sentenced to 6-consecutive terms of 25 years to life for killing 6 people on his killing spree…
  8. 1988] On the 8’s: A high of 88 degrees is recorded in New York City  on 8/8/88…
  9. 1992] Dream On: The 1992 Olympic basketball team a.k.a. “The Dream Team” stacked with NBA ringers, er, all-stars (Jordan, Bird, Johnson, etc.) wins a gold medal by beating the Croations (8/8)…
  10. 1995] ‘Happy Trails’: Jerry Garcia  of the Grateful Dead, dies of a heart attack at 53 (8/9)…2003] Gregory Hines  is a victim of liver cancer at 57 (8/9)…

Music Memories:

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:
(8/8) Drew Lachey (32), David Evans a.k.a. The Edge (47), Deborah Norville (50), Connie Stevens (70), Dustin Hoffman (71), Mel Tillis (76), Esther Williams (87) and Dino DeLaurentiis (89)…(8/9) Gillian Anderson (40), Whitney Houston (45), Melanie Griffith (51), Barbara Mason (61), Ken Norton (65), David Steinberg (66), Bob Cousy (80) and Ralph Houk (89)…(8/10) Angie Harmon (36), Antonio Banderas (48), Rosanna Arquette (49), Ian (Jethro Tull) Anderson (61), Veronica Spector Greenfield (65), Eddie Fisher (80), Jimmy Dean (80), Rhonda Fleming (85) and Al (Four Aces) Alberts (86)…

Timeline Countdown: Today is the first day of the Summer Olympics, 24 days until Labor Day and 27 days until the NFL opener (Washington @ NYG)…

Posted in Today's Post | No Comments »

|