Free Republic

While certainly a perplexing holiday to many outside America, Thanksgiving's meaning isn't always clear to those stateside, either. I'll leave the history lessons to California Conservative, except to say it certainly is a major day around this neck of the woods. Can it partly be seen, however, as a day to reflect on that uniquely American way of overcoming life's obstacles? This week, I was interviewed for an entertainment industry trade publication, where I happened to mention two former coaches as influences. In the online article that appeared, there were links added to their own stories, that make this point...

I get cloudbursts on a sunny day When it's warm outside, I'm all cold and gray. I guess you'd say What can make me feel this way? "My Girl." Not talkin' 'bout my girl Johanna. Talkin' `bout "My Girl" the song--the mid-1960s Temptations' hit that, like so many classic oldies, now causes me to cover my ears or lunge for the buttons on the car radio. It was a pleasant and catchy enough ditty the first 20 or 30 times. But thanks largely to the unrelenting 21-year effort of those who programmed WJMK-FM (104.3), "My Girl" and several hundred other...

It was hit the road, Jack, for oldies fans who listen to WCBS-FM radio after the station yesterday ended 33 years of playing rock classics and abruptly axed legendary DJs Cousin Brucie, Harry Harrison and Bill Brown. WCBS, 101.1-FM on the dial, changed its name to "Jack" and stunned listeners by ditching its tried and true playlist to embrace a new format that features random songs of various styles. "We're going from 400 to 500 songs to well over 1,200 songs, with less repetition," said CBS-FM vice president Chad Brown, who flipped the switch to the new format at 5...

Rock shock: Nation's No. 1 oldies station changes formats By LARRY McSHANE Associated Press Writer June 4, 2005, 2:07 PM EDT NEW YORK -- It's the day the music died again. WCBS-FM, the top oldies station in the nation for more than three decades, stunned its legion of listeners by abruptly switching formats this weekend. Goodbye, Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys. Hello, Duran Duran and Jet. "I'm sure this move angered and bewildered its listeners," said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio. "A lot of people punched in WCBS-FM, heard Pink's `Get The Party Started,' and...

A fixture on the city's radio dial has quietly changed its format without warning. WCBS-FM dropped the oldies format which had been its staple since 1972 at 5 p.m. Friday. The station has adopted a format known as "Jack FM," playing songs from the 50s right up through today. Neither the station nor owner infinity broadcasting gave listeners any warning the change was coming. Published reports say station personalities such as former Monkee Mickey Dolenz, Cousin Brucie Morrow and Harry Harrison have all been fired. Fans can still listen to the station's old format on its web site at www.wcbsfm.com...

Rock shock: Nation's No. 1 oldies station changes formats NEW YORK It's the day the music died. W-C-B-S F-M in New York, the top oldies station in the nation for more than three decades, stunned its legion of listeners by abruptly switching formats this weekend. Goodbye, Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys. Hello, Duran Duran and Jet. The station had switched to an oldies format in 1972, initially as a bastion for the doo-wop sounds of the '50s. Although the playlist changed over the years, W-C-B-S F-M always remained the outpost for classic Top 40 radio in the nation's largest...

Newsweek On Air, a weekly radio newshour (also available via podcast), has been cancelled by Boston affiliate WRKO on the heels of the revelation of their untrue story that claimed Guantanamo Bay interrogators flushed the Koran down a toilet in an attempt to secure cooperation from prisoners there.Newsweek On Air senior editor and host David Alpern says that the program (broadcast Sundays in most markets) avoided the print publication's error, and in next week's show will examine what went wrong in the editorial process.Other stations that carry Newsweek On Air include WNYC/New York, WTOP/Washington, KCBS/San Francisco, WSB/Atlanta and the Armed...

Nachman just died in NYC...Breaking...he was a GREAT newsman.