Radio host fired for “racial epithet”

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I don’t know about this one. KTRS (St. Louis) talk show host Dave Lenihan was immediately fired after he used the word “coon,” a racial slur, instead of “coup” in describing (Condoleezza Rice’s) attributes for the post of NFL commissioner.

“She’s been chancellor of Stanford. She’s got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She’s African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that.”

I don’t know about this one. It sounds like a one-time, slip-of-the-tongue. Fruedian? Maybe. But there appears to be no history of bias or racial slurs. Anybody that’s been on the air knows that –eventually– something slips. You have to look at intent here. If Mr. Lenihan is a racist… it’s probably not hard to tell that. Read the transcipt and tell me if I’m wrong here. Why not ask the listeners? Not just the folks that grabbed the phone and called to complain, but a reasonable sample. If there’s a clean concesus that his remark was intentional, he’s gone. If there’s even a possibility it was a slip, with no malice… keep him on. I think I might have taken Mr. Lenihan off the air…had a long talk…maybe talk to members of the community…and then make a decision.

Nobody panics when Rush Limbaugh refers to “these people,” clearly referring to people of color. But Rush is bringing home the bacon. Sounds like Mr. Lenihan was new enough to be expendable.

Working on our news moves

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Scott Rosenberg recounts how he got the news that the next version of Windows will be delayed, and what that might mean for people in the news business:

As tech news goes today, so ultimately will go the rest of the news. It’s not the death of newspapers or pro journalism, but it’s further evidence that the pros face an extremely tough challenge: they’re rarely going to be first, so they’d damn well better be good. But it’s hard to hire enough good people to be good at everything; a newsroom has only so many seats, and the Web’s supply of amateur experts, anonymous insiders and random kibitzers with an occasional insight is limitless. The pros had better prepare to be outgunned.

This competition will force journalists to stop being lazy and to find and reconnect with what is unique about their work, now that so much of what they used to do is being done for free, and often well, by amateurs.

BatteredIf I had the time (and the nerve), it might be interesting to look at every story one of our networks did for the past 30 days. Put a check-mark beside every story that was “original”…that we didn’t get from an affiliate, a news releases, or from some other source.

The next question might be: Did we do this story any differently or better than the other news organizations that covered it? Like the man said, we’re rarely going to be first, so we damn well better be good. [via Scripting News]

Deep thoughts on dog shit

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We live on a three-acre, mostly wooded, lot. And I challenge you to walk 50 yards without stepping in a pile of Golden Retreiver poop. As he so often does, Dave offers fresh insight on this endless and thankless task. A couple of my favorites:

You shouldn’t use kitchen utensils to pick up canis crap. My neighbor uses a large soup spoon, and I just can’t endorse that. Nothing I would ever put into my mouth will be used to pick up fecal matter, because I’m fairly aloof, and often deep in thought. What if I got confused? The tool you use says a lot about your personality. A scoop indicates a straight-forward person who attacks a job quickly and efficiently. A dustpan-type tool is a sign of creativity, the user approaching the job with a flair for the dramatic. In my case, I use this thing that resembles a piece of earth-moving equipment. It indicates power, control, and a penchant toward genius.

Army will allow tattoos on formerly forbidden body spots

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The Army says it will allow soldiers to sport tattoos on formerly forbidden body spots — the hands and the back of the neck. About 28 percent of Americans under 25 say they have tattoos. Of those aged 25 to 34, the percentage is about 30 percent. Young adults are 10 times more likely to sport permanent skin illustrations than are members of their parents’ generation. [Thanks, Jeff] Previous posts on “tattoos.”

All I need is a fast connection, and a warm place to poop

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I’m sitting in my room at the Fairfield Inn in Indianapolis, cruising down that old Information Highway via their free (and speedy) wi-fi. I keep flashing back to the mid-90’s when even sending an email was agonizing at 16.2. And I was uploading audio files and images. It was tediouss beyond all description. And now I’m blazing along as though I were sitting at my desk at Learfield HQ. I know, I know… it’s like the Aboriginal tribesman standing at the kitchen sink, turning the water off and on. Amazed at this mirical. I will NEVER take a fast net connection for granted.

More popcorn, Mr. President?

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Let’s add V for Vendetta –the new film by The Wachowski Brothers– to the top of my list of Movies I’d Like to Watch with George Bush (GoodNight, and Good Luck; Dave; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; 1984; Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room). The wonderful vocal performance by Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from The Matrix) carries the movie. Everyone who is more “terrified” by the people running our country than all the crazies in Islam, take one step forward.

Update: Review by Joshua Tyler, Cinema Blend.

Sheryl Crow: Clear and optimistic

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Sheryl Crow has posted an open letter to her fans on her website. It’s an update on her health as she begins a series (33) of radiation treatments.

I am doing really well. Strangely, I feel clear and optimistic…perhaps more than ever. I am on day 4 of my 33 radiation treatments and am feeling really good. As you know, my breast cancer was detected very early and I am completely blessed that it was removed and all I have to undergo in the way of treatment is radiation, strictly for preventative measures. I am told I will suffer fatigue starting about week 3 and some redness and some skin irritation in the final weeks. My great radiologist did tell me that my left breast would be firm and perky when I’ve completed the treatments and I asked if she could go ahead and radiate the other while she was at it. She said no.

She’s looking forward to a tour this summer which she describes as “… a celebration every night of how lucky I feel with this life I have been given.”

Does this lady have a good attitude, or what? [Thanks, Ann]

Sports highlights podcast

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Chuck gave me this one at lunch and I couldn’t wait to try it on a couple folks when I got back to the office.

Our company produces the play-by-play broadcasts for some of the top colleges in the country. We pull audio highlights from each game and end up with dozens by the end of a game day. Arguably, the very best moments of the game.

I’d put a couple of sports goofs in a studio with 30 or 40 of these little nuggets and just have them play them, one after other. Just a little set-up on the front end and maye a few seconds of react. Lay some funky music under the entire thing. No mind-numbing analysis or second-guessing. Just play the highlights. And then put it up as a weekly podcast. I think fans would eat this up with a spoon.

Reaction was mixed. I used to pitch ideas like this as though my life depended on them. These days, I toss them out like cheap beads from a Mardi Gras float. If you catch one, good for you. If not, they were only cheap beads.

RSS for network websites

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For sometime now, I’ve been embarrassed that our news network websites were not RSS enabled. Very lame. Big Andy worked a little magic so we could add this essential feature. If you’re interested in news about Missouri, Iowa or Wisconsin…you can now subscribe to our news and/or sports feeds. A necessary step to get some podcasts going, too.

I spent a good chunk of the past week trying to convince some of the Grownups at our company that a well executed blog might be a better way to communicate with employees than an eight-page memo that comes out three times a year (as an email attachment). Take some rusy pliars…get a good grip on one of my molars…twist slowly back and forth until the tooth comes free. But god bless ’em, they paid me for every minute I worked. Whoo wah!

Nice lunch with Chuck who is doing nothing less than redefining the agriculture marketing space. His company is two years old and is doing everything right (IMHO). Chuck’s a Viet Cong sapper running quietly through the jungle in a pair of rubber shower thongs…while big media and marketing companies are sipping mai tai’s in a Saigon bar.