This story reminds me of the first commercial radio station I ever worked at, which (cooincidentally) is in the middle of a hay field! 

Here’s the story:::…

Eagle Radio’s KFEQ, St. Joseph, MO (680) is operating at reduced power after a farmer mowing hay near its transmitter site last night caught one of the guide wires and brought down one of the station’s four towers. No one was injured. Click here to see what the results look like!!!

If you listen to mass media, which includes satellite broadcaster propaganda, TV, newspaper, and web, you might be led to believe (wrongfully so) that radio listenership is going down.  It’s important to note:  IT’S NOT. 

Read on my friend… this is all FACT.

 Radio reaches more than 235 million persons age 12 and older over the course of a typical week, according to the National Radio Listening Report that will officially be released MONDAY, JUNE 22nd.

Radio reaches 92% of persons ages 12+ each week, despite the adoption of mp3 players and the growth of Internet-only stations. Even 89% of the youngest radio audience, teens ages 12-17, most accustomed to using new technologies and forms of media, continue to tune in each week. Network radio also reaches nearly 85% of the ad-elusive and media multi-taskers Adults 18-34.

Radio Has Universal Appeal

The diversity of formats in radio attracts advertiser-coveted demographics in both Black Non-Hispanic and Hispanic persons.

* 92% of Black Non-Hispanic persons and 93 percent of Hispanic persons, ages 12 and older tune into radio over the course of a week.

* Radio reaches about 93% of both Black Non-Hispanics and Hispanics age 18-49 over the course of a week.

Radio Reaches The Educated and Affluent

Radio reaches more than 94% of college graduates ages 25-54. 95% of adults 25-54 with a college degree and an annual income of $50,000 or more tune into radio over the course of a week.

Network affiliated stations reach nearly 86% of college graduates ages 18-49 with a household income of $75,000 or more. All radio stations reach close to 94% of this age group.

Make note!  If you’re a business owner, RADIO IS the most economically friendly way to reach the masses still.  TV is expensive, and newspaper is dying (you may have read about it), along with readership. 

Take this with a grain of salt from someone who doesn’t go to the movies often, and doesn’t really know a DVD from a drink coaster.  However, recently my wife and I have discovered the $1 Dollar DVD machine at Kroger.  I haven’t really written much about my taste in movies here, but Clint Eastwood provoked a change in my behavior.

We rented “Gran Torino” this weekend, and Mr. Eastwood makes it to #2 on my all-time list.  Great movie, and even more relevant for someone who grew up in the Midwest and has spent a time or two in the local barber shop and VFW. 

Still, it wasn’t quite enough to overtake my #1 favorite movie of All-Time (which I don’t think will ever be possible).

1.  Hoosiers.  This movie is a combination of so many of my passions, and is also a Midwest rooted film that focuses on the small school of Hickory, Indiana, and their drive to win the Indiana State Basketball Championship.  Gene Hackman is brilliant.  Dennis Hopper is even more brilliant, as is Barbara Hershey. 

2.  Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino”.

3.  TIE:  Forrest Gump & “most” Tom Hanks films.  Outside of the recent Davini Code type movies, Hanks can do no wrong.  Forrest Gump was an all around can’t miss.  But films like Philadelphia, Castaway, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, & even panned performances like “The Terminal” or his animation work make him first class in my book.

4.  Major League.  Greatest announcer in baseball history, Bob Uecker (at least his style in the Movie, not necessary his real life style announcing for the Milwaukee Brewers) – “Heywood leads the league in most offensive categories, including nose hair. When this guy sneezes, he looks like a party favor.”

5.  TIE:  Rain Man.  Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise (before weirdness).  Great story.  Tied with Cruise, minus the weirdness.  The guy is a great actor.  My favorites include Days of Thunder and The Firm (based around good ole’ Memphis, TN.)

6.  Shawshank Redemption:  A second appearance in my top 10 from Tim Robbins.  He’s one of my favorites, as is Morgan Freeman.  Freeman may be the greatest story teller.  Another great story.

7.  Back to the Future.  A pretty awesome graphic sensation.  I’ll never forget seeing it in the theater in 1985.

8.  TIE:  Austin Powers & darn near about everything Jim Carrey does.  Nearly making the top 10 was actually one of Carey’s less comedic performances in “The Truman Show.”  I was always facinated by that movie.  It seems like the more time that passes, the more the world gets closer to “The Truman Show.”

9.  Home Alone.  Fun Xmas story.  It was even better before Macauley Caulkin got weird and grew up in real life.

10.  Meet the Fockers.  HILARIOUS!

 For those of you who live here in the Memphis area, you are all too aware of the storm system that moved through Friday night. Pretty scary deal as it was so unusually dark at 5:00ish and way windy. So, like about 130,000 of my closest friends, I was without power for part of the weekend. My thoughts?

Luckily it was not too hot.

I appreciate a cold drink, especially when I can’t open my refrigerator to get one.

It is hard for me to sit and home and NOT do laundry. (I was going crazy!)

I am on the computer much more than I realized. I was having email withdrawal.

My kids can survive without TV….However, bless my neighbor who had a generator to power his TV so we could watch game 7 of the Stanley Cup!! Yeah Pittsburgh!!

How can I check the MLGW website for outage updates when I have no power?

Then, if used all my cell battery to check online from my phone, how would I recharge the phone?

It’s good to still have a land line with a CORDED phone. (I could not get cell service immediately after the storm. Could you?)

It’s good to have flashlights, lanterns, batteries and candles actually know where to find them.

I am one of the lucky ones. My power came back on Saturday afternoon. Sure, we lost some frozen/refrigerated food…in fact we have been grilling out all weekend to cook up the thawing meat.

So, I continue to check the MLGW website for my family members who still do not have power, but want to stick it out at their own homes. (I offered!) That MLGW outage map can take a while to pull up, but eventually you can see that they are making progress. They are even twittering for those of you so inclined to play along.

And my final thought on the power outage is just this…..why, when you know that there is no power, no electricity at all and you even have a flashlight in your hand…..why do you still flip on that light switch when you walk into another room?

Life Expectancy Calculator
You may be younger, or much older, than you think!

http://www.sonnyradio.com/realage3.swf

The reality is this:

Representative Tanner can help by sponsoring a bill to keep the radio you love free from a performance tax. Call Rep. Tanner today at (901) 873-5690 and ask him to sponsor the Local Radio Freedom Act and oppose a performance tax on free radio.

Go here to learn more click here.

Live at the Garden 2009 is in full swing. Last night (6/5) I headed over to the Memphis Botanic Garden to see Train and opening act Sister Hazel.

The night was fantastic. The temperature was perfect. The grounds at the gardens were ripe and ready for the festive atmosphere of the evening. While I must admit I was there to see Train, Sister Hazel certainly did not disappoint. The band, who has done their share of shows here Memphis, still seems to genuinely love this town. They are fun to watch, fine musicians and entertained in between songs as well. As they wrapped up their set, the audience waited for Train. Then, it seemed suddenly without introduction (but I might simply have not been paying attention!) the melodic tones of Pat Monahan echoed through the park. What a fine stage show we were about to see….among the hits, Meet Virginia, Calling All Angels and When I Look to the Sky. We enjoyed a rockin’ cover of Led Zeppelin’s Ramble On……Pat was very Robert Plant-esque. It was a really good concert. Even those fringe Train fans I think left with a new appreciation of the band. Drops of Jupiter came near the end of the show.  I wish they had played Cab…I like that song. And while I do know it was a band outing of Train, I would have loved to have heard Her Eyes which was one of the songs Pat did on his solo venture.  My favorite song of the night was the second one…Get to You. What a song! Listen to the hook on Itunes and you may find you like it too.

So to sum up….Train was great! Live at the Garden is a social outing in Memphis not to be missed. Shows still to come as I write this as we embark on the summer of 2009…the Doobie Brothers, Joe Cocker, Heart and the Moody Blues. With a line up like this, you’ve got a good reason to get out of the house this summer and have some fun. : )