gmsisko1
04-26-2007, 08:44 AM
NO CORRECTION --- NO SURPRISE
On April 20th Jacques Steinberg, a reporter for The New York Times, wrote an article titled "Talk Radio Tries for Humor and a Political Advantage." Steinberg's article was merely another salvo in the broad based mainstream media assault on talk radio. Steinberg took out after Opie and Anthony (Oh yeah ... that's talk radio), Imus, Limbaugh, Savage and, at the very end, me.
He did spell my name right. Good for Jacques.
For the portion aimed at me Steinberg chose to write of my comments on the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Why not? Everybody else has! Steinberg addressed some of my specific comments and then wrote: "A few moments later, as a transition to a commercial break, Mr. Boortz paused to play a snippet of a pop song from the 1980's. His choice? "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar."
Wrong. Not true. Didn't happen. And the accusation angered me ... let me tell you why.
From the summer of 1979 until the spring of 1981 Atlanta suffered a series of murders of black children generally known as the Atlanta Child Murders. During this period 29 black children and a few adults were killed. It seemed as if every day we would learn of another body found behind an office building, in a vacant field or by a road.
During that time I was privileged to know a morning radio pair known as Ross and Wilson. Brian Wilson is now a program director at a talk radio station and Ross Brittain is probably managing his multi-million dollar portfolio from a yacht in the Caribbean. One day, so the legend goes, Ross and Wilson were interrupted by a news bulletin that the body of yet another child had been found. When the news report ended they came back on the air and played "Another One Bites the Dust." That rumor, which persists to this day, is untrue. And just how do I know? Because at the time I was a practicing attorney in Atlanta and Ross Wilson was a client. I had some involvement in his contract negotiations with the radio station. These two will be forever dogged by the false charge that they followed the report of the discovery of a murdered black child with that song, though it never happened.
You can see, then, why I take it someone personally when this New York Times reporter comes up with his "His choice? "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar" line.
Let me explain to you how our "bumper music," as we call it, is played. Royal Marshall, our broadcast engineer, is surrounded by computer screens in his studio next to mine. We peer at each other through soundproof glass. Four times an hour Royal will play some music to transition us into a break. To play this music Royal goes to one of those computer screens. On that touch-screen there are about seven squares. They contain labels such as "Rock Bumps," "Country Bumps," Pop Bumps," etc. In each one of these "files" there are about 80 or so short mpg files of music. They are played by a computer in rotation. When Royal presses one of those labels the next mpg file plays. Neither he nor I knows what the music will be until it starts playing.
So ... as you can see, the instrumental (Steinberg didn't mention that, did he?) version of Benatar's hit was not chosen by me, as he charged, nor was it chosen by Royal. The computer did it. Bad computer. I'll reboot it after the show today to show it who's boss.
After I read the story in the Times last Friday morning I had Belinda call Jacques Steinberg to set the record straight. His response? "I'm sticking with my story." Belinda handed the phone to me and I explained to Steinberg just what I explained to you here. He asked me a few questions and then said "I'll talk to my editor." That was the last we heard from Steinberg or from The New York Times. No correction. No surprise.
So ... what will the net result from The New York Times false reporting be? Media Myrmidons for America have already picked up on it. They reported yesterday on their website that that I " ... aired an instrumental version of the Pat Benatar song, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." They didn't say I "chose" it, only that I "aired" it. But the urban legend is born and will be with me for quite a while. I will admit that the people at Media Myrmidons are pretty good at correct errors -- unlike the Times. Let's see if they publish a clarification here.
Back to the Times. What we have here, as evidenced by their refusal to print a correction, is evidence that their goal is not to report on talk radio, but rather to attack talk radio. The accuracy of the reporting matters not, the affect it has on talk radio counts, not the truth.
We are approaching one of the most contentious presidential elections in my memory. There is no incumbent. There is no vice-president trying to move up. The field is wide open and the leftist media is determined that the White House shall be put into the hands of a liberal Democrat this time around -- preferably Hillary Rodham -- and they're not going to let such trite matters as truth and journalistic ethics get in their way. The New York Times and other mainstays of the leftist media know that talk radio is going to have an influence in this election. They want that influence lessened, and they'll remain on the attack -- truth be damned -- until they get more talk show host scalps on their belts or until the election results are in. The death of Air America was their call to arms. The downfall of Don Imus was their shot in the arm.
Me? I take it in stride. As I said, they spelled my name right. Now if they would only post my website. One thing for sure ... the attack on talk radio is actually having an unintended consequence. More listeners.
So, to those of you who have tuned in to hear the green-eyed monster "choose" bad bumps to besmirch the memories of those who die tragically, welcome! If you've come to hear the crap the left has been feeding you, you're going to be sorely disappointed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/us/20radio.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
By: Boortz
On April 20th Jacques Steinberg, a reporter for The New York Times, wrote an article titled "Talk Radio Tries for Humor and a Political Advantage." Steinberg's article was merely another salvo in the broad based mainstream media assault on talk radio. Steinberg took out after Opie and Anthony (Oh yeah ... that's talk radio), Imus, Limbaugh, Savage and, at the very end, me.
He did spell my name right. Good for Jacques.
For the portion aimed at me Steinberg chose to write of my comments on the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Why not? Everybody else has! Steinberg addressed some of my specific comments and then wrote: "A few moments later, as a transition to a commercial break, Mr. Boortz paused to play a snippet of a pop song from the 1980's. His choice? "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar."
Wrong. Not true. Didn't happen. And the accusation angered me ... let me tell you why.
From the summer of 1979 until the spring of 1981 Atlanta suffered a series of murders of black children generally known as the Atlanta Child Murders. During this period 29 black children and a few adults were killed. It seemed as if every day we would learn of another body found behind an office building, in a vacant field or by a road.
During that time I was privileged to know a morning radio pair known as Ross and Wilson. Brian Wilson is now a program director at a talk radio station and Ross Brittain is probably managing his multi-million dollar portfolio from a yacht in the Caribbean. One day, so the legend goes, Ross and Wilson were interrupted by a news bulletin that the body of yet another child had been found. When the news report ended they came back on the air and played "Another One Bites the Dust." That rumor, which persists to this day, is untrue. And just how do I know? Because at the time I was a practicing attorney in Atlanta and Ross Wilson was a client. I had some involvement in his contract negotiations with the radio station. These two will be forever dogged by the false charge that they followed the report of the discovery of a murdered black child with that song, though it never happened.
You can see, then, why I take it someone personally when this New York Times reporter comes up with his "His choice? "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar" line.
Let me explain to you how our "bumper music," as we call it, is played. Royal Marshall, our broadcast engineer, is surrounded by computer screens in his studio next to mine. We peer at each other through soundproof glass. Four times an hour Royal will play some music to transition us into a break. To play this music Royal goes to one of those computer screens. On that touch-screen there are about seven squares. They contain labels such as "Rock Bumps," "Country Bumps," Pop Bumps," etc. In each one of these "files" there are about 80 or so short mpg files of music. They are played by a computer in rotation. When Royal presses one of those labels the next mpg file plays. Neither he nor I knows what the music will be until it starts playing.
So ... as you can see, the instrumental (Steinberg didn't mention that, did he?) version of Benatar's hit was not chosen by me, as he charged, nor was it chosen by Royal. The computer did it. Bad computer. I'll reboot it after the show today to show it who's boss.
After I read the story in the Times last Friday morning I had Belinda call Jacques Steinberg to set the record straight. His response? "I'm sticking with my story." Belinda handed the phone to me and I explained to Steinberg just what I explained to you here. He asked me a few questions and then said "I'll talk to my editor." That was the last we heard from Steinberg or from The New York Times. No correction. No surprise.
So ... what will the net result from The New York Times false reporting be? Media Myrmidons for America have already picked up on it. They reported yesterday on their website that that I " ... aired an instrumental version of the Pat Benatar song, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." They didn't say I "chose" it, only that I "aired" it. But the urban legend is born and will be with me for quite a while. I will admit that the people at Media Myrmidons are pretty good at correct errors -- unlike the Times. Let's see if they publish a clarification here.
Back to the Times. What we have here, as evidenced by their refusal to print a correction, is evidence that their goal is not to report on talk radio, but rather to attack talk radio. The accuracy of the reporting matters not, the affect it has on talk radio counts, not the truth.
We are approaching one of the most contentious presidential elections in my memory. There is no incumbent. There is no vice-president trying to move up. The field is wide open and the leftist media is determined that the White House shall be put into the hands of a liberal Democrat this time around -- preferably Hillary Rodham -- and they're not going to let such trite matters as truth and journalistic ethics get in their way. The New York Times and other mainstays of the leftist media know that talk radio is going to have an influence in this election. They want that influence lessened, and they'll remain on the attack -- truth be damned -- until they get more talk show host scalps on their belts or until the election results are in. The death of Air America was their call to arms. The downfall of Don Imus was their shot in the arm.
Me? I take it in stride. As I said, they spelled my name right. Now if they would only post my website. One thing for sure ... the attack on talk radio is actually having an unintended consequence. More listeners.
So, to those of you who have tuned in to hear the green-eyed monster "choose" bad bumps to besmirch the memories of those who die tragically, welcome! If you've come to hear the crap the left has been feeding you, you're going to be sorely disappointed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/us/20radio.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
By: Boortz