And now for something completely -- different! Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds

Yes, this was the Ford Futuracar, which became the famous Batmobile. The production still and trailer are from "It Started with a Kiss" (1959)

Of course, after refreshing my memory of our own much more subtle “war”
with A.M.P.A.S. trying to secure a long overdue Oscar for Glenn Ford a couple years back, I suggested to Virgil that what he really needs is some well-orchestrated HighViz attention focused on this festering land-grab problem that the Keepers have fallen victim to. Perhaps if you have a chance to vacation in Vermont again this summer or fall, we could finally meet and give you the Grand Tour of the Keepers site so that you might see the possibilities for yourself first-hand that exist at the Keepers’ site in Rotterdam Junction.

The photo below is Anne Francis talking with Virgil January at the Keepers during the film festival at the Glove Theatre in June 2003.

Thanks for all of the favors past and future.

Tom

###

Now you've gone and done it! WMAL, you better prepare to duck and cover!

Mention was made on this morning's TODAY show regarding racial profiling and profiling any and ALL Muslims. This is incendiary. But it is also bosso-profundo HighVizPR -- ride the wave, baby!--[Bloomquist] -- but prepare for backlash.

Once again, from DCRTV's Dave Hughes:
http://www.dcrtv.org/rant.html

MALer Calls Islam "Terrorist Organization" - 7/26 - Michael Graham (above, right) has again gotten himself into hot water with area Muslims for comments he made on his late morning WMAL show. The DC-based Council On American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has asked the ABC-owned news talker to take disciplinary action against Graham, who repeatedly described Islam on the air as "a terrorist organization" that is "at war with America." According to the DC Post, WMAL Program Director Randall Bloomquist said Graham's comments were "amped up" but justified within the context of the program. And he said the station has no plans to reprimand Graham. "The problem is not extremism," Graham said on his show, according to both CAIR and the station. "The problem is Islam." CAIR denounced the comments as "hate-filled" and "Islamophobic" and asked its members to contact the station's advertisers to express their dismay. The Post-Democrat (as Graham calls it) adds that Bloomquist said he received more than 100 e-mails protesting Graham's comments. CAIR has made other complaints in the past year about Graham's on-air rants. WMAL is clearly enjoying the controversy - repeatedly hyping the story during Tuesday's "Grandy And Andy" morning show. More at cair-net.org and at wmal.com.

DCRTV's take is in our 7/26 Rant.....

###

Shameless AbbeBuckPR blogging - I sing. Really. I sing like a thrush.

www.abbebuck.com/amazon.html*

Chanteuse is the French term for a “girl singer”, “canary”, “thrush”, “warbler”,

“female vocalist” and in some cases, “Diva”, which is overrated and misunderstood….for more, see www.abbebuck.com

###

DRCTV.com is on-target - and David Burd is the best light commentator in town!

Buck's PR POV: Yes, I second DRCTV -- WMAL, just FIX IT. Randall Bloomquist, no matter how many hard-hitting marketing promos you have, content is still content. People get tired of the flutter and sputter of Fred Grandy's tired congressman jokes and Andy Parks' buffoonery. Plus, all of the local paid-for programming? No, thanks. You did lose a grand guy in the Burdman. And here's what Mort Sahl has to say about Sean Hannity: "Isn't it possible for them to get a real fascist instead of this guy who plays one on radio and TV?" So my dial is set to 107.7 again for Dave --and to XM Radio, to listen to television news. Go figure.

I do believe there is hope for Chris Core. He is warm, and a real guy. Has been for years.

Just my two cents -- the Buck stops here, too, ya know.

Abbe B.

---from WWW.DRCTV.COM

Rant - 7/23 - Another installment in my occasional "How I'd Fix" series. Well, after seeing the latest ratings and how far righty news talker WMAL continues to fall, let me offer some suggestions for rebuilding this once noble station.

First, fire Grandy and Andy. The morning show needs a complete makeover. Think young. Think female. Think ethnic. Sure, politics is fine. But make it more of a fair fight - righty AND lefty voices. And don't make it so shrill, so hackish and partisan.

If I was running MAL, I'd put late morning talker Michael Graham back on the bus to Richmond. There are smart conservatives and stupid conservatives. He's the latter. But, maybe if you paired him with an equally dopey liberal you'd be able to salvage the show.

Evening talker Chris Core is the best thing WMAL has going for it. And the station desperately needs to localize its afternoon drive. So, take Sean Hannity's last hour and move it to 8 PM, and start Core's local show at 5 PM.

And, please don't over "infomercialize" the weekends. Canning the weekend "morning news" and letting the brilliantly funny David Burd go to WTOP was a huge mistake(!)

Also, add more sports to the station's mix. Bid for the Nationals next season. The Orioles work well for Baltimore news talker WBAL.

Never forget - WMAL sits in the middle of a "blue state" zone, Democratic territory. Almost all of the DC area's major localities voted for John Kerry in the last election. If you want ratings - and respect - you simply can't alienate this core group of potential listeners. And that's exactly what WMAL has been doing.


###