OT - Greg Williams and The Ticket
After all of the months since Greg Williams left The Ticket and The Hardline us P1s have been left in the dark as to much of what went down. We have been told famously by Mike Rhyner that we didn't deserve to know. Well, Richie Whitt of The Dallas Observer has finally shed some light on what went down. Here is his magnum opus about how it all unfolded.
Great article. As a fan of The Ticket and of The Hardline it is a heartbreaking story. It sucks when people do something that is well-received but they can't handle success. After reading this I can't help but wonder if this is what is happening to Mike and the Mad Dog in NY (but without the drugs). I blame Greggo the most, though Rhyner and Corby are to blame in part as well. I can definitely see their side of the story. I just though that The Ticket was a family and you don't screw over a family member like they did. I still listen because it's the best thing on by far in this market. But I have lost massive respect for them and it's just not the same. I find myself listening to XM radio more and more when I am in the car. The P1 has gotten screwed big time and it looks like things will definitely never be the same ever again.
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Respect
I never respected them before, they’re just entertainment and shtick with a little sports talk thrown in. I don’t get real attached or think too much about sports talk radio personalities. I’d care much more if something happened to Eric Nadel.
Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.
by t ball on Jul 9, 2008 10:16 PM CDT 0 recs
By the way
none of that is to denigrate your post, I appreciate the update. Sad story.
Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.
by t ball on
Jul 9, 2008 10:25 PM CDT
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Now that I've read the entire article
I agree with these guys below. It’s real hard to feel sorry for someone who wrecked all of his relationships with lies and addiction. I don’t blame those guys at the Ticket one bit for turning on him. I wish him all the luck in the world getting his life going again and staying sober, but he should not wonder why anyone didn’t call him.
Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.
by t ball on
Jul 9, 2008 10:52 PM CDT
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I never knew about the
wild, silly claims he’d made earlier on. I don’t know how you would trust someone who would lie so easily and so trivially.
by zywica on
Jul 9, 2008 11:22 PM CDT
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I've worked with guys
that would lie like that about weird stuff that could be easily researched. I worked with a guy that claimed he played pro ball in a pro league that didn’t exist. It was in the media guide. He claimed that he worked at the place 14 years when it was easily researched that he only worked there nine. Another guy would tell a detailed story where all this crazy stuff would happen and then tell the exact same story two weeks later with all the people and places different.
Honestly, I don’t understand these people either. I don’t think they mean harm, they just want validation or want to enhance stories to get a laugh.
"So you think the Celtics will beat Detroit? Hell will freeze over before that happens, mark my words." miles 5/20/08
by badradiorules on
Jul 10, 2008 12:43 AM CDT
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Yeah I knew this guy
Who lied about his age and where he worked and went to school and…
oh wait.
by brettgardner on
Jul 10, 2008 12:52 AM CDT
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That's funny
"So you think the Celtics will beat Detroit? Hell will freeze over before that happens, mark my words." miles 5/20/08
by badradiorules on
Jul 10, 2008 1:11 AM CDT
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Over my head
But now I’m curious…
Plaschke: Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher, is the model manager who has created an atmosphere of winning.
Junior:It's that simple. Mike Scioscia brings a Glade Plug-In labeled "Winning™" into the clubhouse and everyone who breathes it in gains 15 points in average.
by TheBZA on
Jul 10, 2008 8:29 AM CDT
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There's a book out?
Awesome I’ll check out Amazon.
Plaschke: Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher, is the model manager who has created an atmosphere of winning.
Junior:It's that simple. Mike Scioscia brings a Glade Plug-In labeled "Winning™" into the clubhouse and everyone who breathes it in gains 15 points in average.
by TheBZA on
Jul 11, 2008 11:07 AM CDT
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The thread was deleted
so if you want to know the details, ask Brett…
by Agreen07 on
Jul 11, 2008 11:13 AM CDT
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Kind of what I was doing.
Unless you want to start Brett’s wikipedia page. That would work too.
Plaschke: Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher, is the model manager who has created an atmosphere of winning.
Junior:It's that simple. Mike Scioscia brings a Glade Plug-In labeled "Winning™" into the clubhouse and everyone who breathes it in gains 15 points in average.
by TheBZA on
Jul 11, 2008 11:21 AM CDT
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I blame Greggo totally
It’s ALL on him. If I was Rhyner or Corby I would be pissed too. He was messing with their livelihood with all of that crap. Of course, I always thought Williams was a no talent ass clown so maybe I am biased. There was nothing worse than listening to that show when he had to be the lead dog in Rhyner’s absence. If he thinks he can do that full time he is clearly still on something.
Let me have a diablo sandwich, a Dr. Pepper, and make it fast I'm in a God damned hurry!
by DaheelzCM on Jul 9, 2008 10:39 PM CDT 1 recs
Greggo's fault
but sucks that he ruined all of his friendships too.
by Agreen07 on Jul 9, 2008 10:44 PM CDT 1 recs
Man
Awful lot of Ticket hate in that article. Greggo did this to himself.
by jthig32 on Jul 9, 2008 10:51 PM CDT 0 recs
Whitt
is pretty close to Williams, at least from the impression I’ve always had.
by zywica on
Jul 9, 2008 10:53 PM CDT
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Yeah Whitt
has always stuck up for greggo….
That being said…I don’t see how anybody but Greggo is the bad guy here.
We all know that addicts can change (Hamilton)....but I can’t blame Rhyner and Corby for being angry because the show was affected.
I'm undefeated in fights. Have I been in any? No. Thats because people know my f'ing status. Don't mess with the elite. - Miles
by Dirk Diggler on
Jul 9, 2008 10:55 PM CDT
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Ehhh
I’m split on this issue. Obviously after reading 8 pages, you’re going to have more sympathy for the subject of the article. I agree, the dude pissed everything away and he seems to have come to terms with that. Rhynes seems forward and candid.
Honestly, I don’t see a lot of difference between Greggo’s comments in the article and things Josh Hamilton has said… Josh got his second chance (or 6th, however you want to look at it) we’ll see if Greggo gets his.
Plaschke: Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher, is the model manager who has created an atmosphere of winning.
Junior:It's that simple. Mike Scioscia brings a Glade Plug-In labeled "Winning™" into the clubhouse and everyone who breathes it in gains 15 points in average.
by TheBZA on Jul 9, 2008 10:53 PM CDT 0 recs
Greggo had a 2nd chance.
He had gone to rehab like 2 years before they canned him. He may have even had a 3rd chance, I don’t know.
"And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago." -John McCain
by DJCahill on
Jul 10, 2008 12:25 PM CDT
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the 2nd/6th
Applied to Greggo as well.
Plaschke: Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher, is the model manager who has created an atmosphere of winning.
Junior:It's that simple. Mike Scioscia brings a Glade Plug-In labeled "Winning™" into the clubhouse and everyone who breathes it in gains 15 points in average.
by TheBZA on
Jul 10, 2008 1:25 PM CDT
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Wow.
Great article. Like everyone has said, it’s hard to feel sorry for him when he pissed it all away. Never knew it got as far as suicide though, that’s scary. Even though I didn’t think he offered much to the Hardline other than the great drops I hope he gets his shit straight for good.
"Mr. Hicks, you watch, I'm going to be a leader on this team." Kinsler
by sprite on Jul 9, 2008 11:02 PM CDT 0 recs
Suicide?
It wouldn’t surprise me if the whole suicide attempt is wildly exaggerated as well. I won’t question that he thought of suicide, and perhaps a loaded gun was even involved, but I’m sure much of the scenario written at the beginning was put forth by Williams as an attention-grab.
by talkingmike on
Jul 11, 2008 2:07 PM CDT
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+1
After reading that, why would you believe anything Williams said?
"And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago." -John McCain
by DJCahill on
Jul 11, 2008 2:13 PM CDT
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Thanks for posting
I left DFW for home (San Antonio) in 07’ and listened regularly. Heard a little bit about what went down but not much. Thanks for the update.
"The rich think they are privileged so rules don't apply to them, and the poor think they're entitled and so rules don't apply to them." The rest of us are screwed.
by A.Medina on Jul 9, 2008 11:19 PM CDT 0 recs
I'd gotten the impression
That Mike and Greg weren’t all that friendly for years, but that Corby and he split like that was surprising.
The article makes mention of the “grand illusion” that we’re all in on the bit and we know these people. Of course that’s true—we don’t really know them at all. Still, when you invest a significant amount of time in them (I was in the car with my dad on Day 1 and have been listening ever since), you do feel a certain connection, and the decisions impact you.
That was a very well-written article about a very sad thing. Greg Williams never added all that much to the show; ‘Greggo’, on the other hand, was an integral part of what made them far more enjoyable than Russ Martin or anything else locally.
The show is less ballsy now, and I think Corby and Danny are stretched too thin. Guess it’s just another reason to look back fondly on the past and lament the present.
by brettgardner on Jul 10, 2008 12:11 AM CDT 0 recs
Awful ordeal for everyone involved
Sad to see that someone wrecked their own life so abruptly.
If that is the whole story, it does bother me a little that Corby didn’t try to reach out to him at all ever. He comes across as a bit of a prick on the air, but you would think that, seeing that Greg essential got him that job, he would have been a little bit more supportive. Essentially, he had the most to gain from Greggo going away, so it would seem that right thing to do is to at least call him up say, “hey, hope you get everything straightened out and everything works out for you, I’ll always owe you for the opportunity that you gave me.”
I hope I’m wrong and there’s more to that story and Corby is taking the high road by not commenting.
Personally, I hope that they bring someone in that can talk sports a little. Corby and Danny are just awful at serious sports talk. They are still very entertaining, but every now and then it would be nice for them to be able to throw out a decent sports point.
"So you think the Celtics will beat Detroit? Hell will freeze over before that happens, mark my words." miles 5/20/08
by badradiorules on
Jul 10, 2008 12:36 AM CDT
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Corby
You can hear his ego inflating by the day. I know he embraces the “cockiest broadcaster alive” nonsense but its getting to be a little much. He is so out of his element when it comes to baseball it’s not even funny. Yet he sticks to those superlatives that he knows so much. It’s sad that I flip to CD when a sports talk show talks sports….
Plaschke: Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher, is the model manager who has created an atmosphere of winning.
Junior:It's that simple. Mike Scioscia brings a Glade Plug-In labeled "Winning™" into the clubhouse and everyone who breathes it in gains 15 points in average.
by TheBZA on
Jul 10, 2008 8:25 AM CDT
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knows? I mean loves
I need my morning coffee….
Plaschke: Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher, is the model manager who has created an atmosphere of winning.
Junior:It's that simple. Mike Scioscia brings a Glade Plug-In labeled "Winning™" into the clubhouse and everyone who breathes it in gains 15 points in average.
by TheBZA on
Jul 10, 2008 8:30 AM CDT
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That story about Corby walking in on Greggo
doing a line of coke at Ticket Fight Night is wild. And then Greggo just goes right back on air. I remember listening that day and its weird to look back at it now knowing what had transpired off the air that day.
by albyman32 on Jul 10, 2008 12:30 AM CDT 0 recs
Can i get some cliff notes? I care, but not 8 pages worth.
the preceding post is not nearly as negative or insulting as you think it is
by DSheppard on Jul 10, 2008 12:34 AM CDT 0 recs
sure
Mike and Greg became friends at Arlington Stadium while doing low-level media / radio jobs covering the Rangers. Craig Miller was around too. Mike thought other people would enjoy listening to their banter, so he rounded up some money men to back the launch of the Ticket. A few years into it, they felt they needed to add a voice to the Hardline to spice it up. Greg wanted Corby. Mike didn’t know him, really, but tried him out and it clicked. Greg was always prone to telling big whoppers about himself (like playing for the Expos and homering off of Steve Carlton). Mike knew he was a fibber, but let it slide.
Greg started making big bucks and turned into a metrosexual, complete with a Turtle Creek condo, Porsche, and the requisite metrosexual wardrobe. Had a tummy-tuck surgery. Started hanging out with the cocaine-and-boob job crowd that he once denigrated on the air and eventually became addicted to coke.
Greg’s performance suffered. He and Mike quit talking to one-another off the air. Greg felt that Mike was drawing too much attention to Corby and Greg’s feelings were hurt. Corby caught Greg doing coke in the middle of a show.
Greg went into rehab and never came back. Greg says he was fired. The Ticket says he quit. Greg blames himself for losing the best job in the world. He suffers from depression and claims that he tried to kill himself, but was such a loser he couldn’t even pull the trigger.
He sold his condos in Breckenridge and Turtle Creek and bought a lake house in Granbury. Got him a BBW girlfriend, bought a Ford Focus and thinks he has a job with ESPN radio.
by bronco28 on
Jul 10, 2008 6:29 AM CDT
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The Ticket
kinda sux know. They just read the sports page and thats all for the sports. cobra is an eltist golf douche who was cooler as the weed smoking kid and they’ve embraced success poorly esp. the Hardline. Oh well i still listen all day but the quality has decreased. the only ppl their who acutally earn their money are I can believe im saying this Norm, Sturm and Grubes.
by Andrew L on Jul 10, 2008 1:32 AM CDT 0 recs
golf douche?
are referencing that he doesn’t like it when people only like Tiger, and not the game of golf?
I'm undefeated in fights. Have I been in any? No. Thats because people know my f'ing status. Don't mess with the elite. - Miles
by Dirk Diggler on
Jul 10, 2008 7:32 AM CDT
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Two Things for me
I never would have thought Corby would have been that SORRY,
Two why in the HELL were Bob, Dan, Donovan involved in the meeting when Greggo came back, those Spares need to KNOW THERE ROLE!
by blueballlefty on Jul 10, 2008 2:49 AM CDT 0 recs
Why not?
I’m not fond of their show personally, but you’ve got to admit that BAD Radio has become an integral part of the Ticket’s lineup.
by BudLight on
Jul 10, 2008 8:00 AM CDT
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I listen to there show but
Greggo was one of the original 4 that started this station with George, Craig, and Mike, so I think at most the meeting should have involved The Hardline and the Musers. I still dont know if B.A.D.D radio gets it, listening to Corby talk earlier this year about how they demanded to get paid for the Compound, I mean seriously the Compound a deal that any man in America would take a week off there regular job to do, and these guys get paid to do it and they wanted extra. Stuff like that to me shows that they still dont totally get and I believe are still expendable. Also rereading my first post I can see where it looks like I am not blaming Greggo, I AM Greg did all this to himself!
by blueballlefty on
Jul 10, 2008 10:15 AM CDT
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does anybody know if the Hardline has responded to this report yet?
on air?
by oc on Jul 10, 2008 3:27 AM CDT 0 recs
I doubt they will.
Mike’s participation was probably the extent of the station’s involvement. I doubt they really want to bring attention on it.
Plaschke: Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher, is the model manager who has created an atmosphere of winning.
Junior:It's that simple. Mike Scioscia brings a Glade Plug-In labeled "Winning™" into the clubhouse and everyone who breathes it in gains 15 points in average.
by TheBZA on
Jul 10, 2008 8:28 AM CDT
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Richie Whitt
wrote on his blog the other day before the story came out that he had contacted The Ticket and told them that he would come on The Hardline and talk about it but that he didn’t expect to get a call. I think Rhyner wants to move on and I doubt you ever hear about it on air.
"We live, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and round." - Tony Romo
by kentbenfer on
Jul 10, 2008 9:02 AM CDT
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do you like your gig?
THAT WASNT A QUESTION!
Only thing i miss about greggo is the drop’s
"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." - Mitch Hedberg
by rentz on Jul 10, 2008 5:55 AM CDT 0 recs
+1
How this guy can know what J. D. and Adam are thinking at those exact moments is beyond me. Last time I checked, "Swing or Take: A Collective Journal Of What We Were Thinking At The Beginning of ABs with RISP by J. D. Drew, Adam Dunn and Guys Like That" isn't supposed to come out until August 21. ~dak, fjm, about steve phillips
by ivysafety39 on
Jul 10, 2008 7:32 AM CDT
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Well the article said
the Ticket retained the right to use the drops during the severence….kinda surprised they aren’t
I'm undefeated in fights. Have I been in any? No. Thats because people know my f'ing status. Don't mess with the elite. - Miles
by Dirk Diggler on
Jul 10, 2008 7:33 AM CDT
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They do occasionally,
but not like they used to.
by Anonymous New Guy on
Jul 10, 2008 10:51 AM CDT
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Just wait if he gets
another gig at another station. Those drops will come back with a vengeance and it will be more fun than listening to him live on the air.
Just keep your mask on and umpire the game! - Tom Grieve, 5/25/08
by EssBee on
Jul 11, 2008 4:10 PM CDT
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Terrific article
Whitt’s done this more thoroughly than I could imagine it being.
It’s truly a shame that it had to happen this way. I feel for Greggo, who obviously has some inner demons he’ll struggle with for a long, long time. And I’m going to have a hard time feeling anything but disgust for Corby in the immediate future.
by BudLight on Jul 10, 2008 8:04 AM CDT 0 recs
However he got the job
He’s still a professional. The way Greggo was dragging down the show and making everybody’s job harder, I don’t blame Corby at all for being pissed at him.
by brettgardner on
Jul 10, 2008 8:06 AM CDT
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It's one thing to get pissed at him
But to totally throw the man who got you this DYNAMITE job to the dirt and not afford him a second glance-that’s despicable.
by BudLight on
Jul 10, 2008 8:59 AM CDT
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Hard to know the details
I’d be willing to bet that Corby isn’t a horrible person. If he’s moved on from Greg, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and assume that there’s a lot more that we don’t know than we do.
by brettgardner on
Jul 10, 2008 9:03 AM CDT
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While it may be a little sorry
of corby, it’s understandable. Sometimes there are people in your life that continuing to know is only going to bring you down and cause more pain. Occasionally you have to just realize you are better off not knowing that person anymore.
I think this is the stance mike has taken, and I understand it. But it is crappy of them to make fun of greggo like they have.
"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." - Mitch Hedberg
by rentz on
Jul 10, 2008 9:08 AM CDT
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thats pretty shitty
I am glad I am not your friend or whatever and ever ran into problems. I just think there are ways to treat friends and to just STOP knowing them when they fall into addiction is not a good way to be a friend. I am not blaming Corby for any of Greg’s problems, but Greg wasn’t bringing Corby down, and apparently they were really close friends not just co-workers, and as soon as Corby got the opportunity to stab him in the back, he did it, and never even had the decentsy to say F U.
by blueballlefty on
Jul 10, 2008 10:28 AM CDT
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How did Corby stab him in the back?
It’s not like he stole the job from Greggo. Even if he had called Greggo, he wouldn’t have gotten his job back.
by Anonymous New Guy on
Jul 10, 2008 10:56 AM CDT
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well
judge me if you want to, but sometimes you put up with someones shit for so long that it starts bringing you down and you just cant deal with them any more. and there’s a difference between running into problems, or addiction and being lied to + addiction, plus unprofessional.
"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." - Mitch Hedberg
by rentz on
Jul 10, 2008 11:03 AM CDT
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Not bringing Corby down
He absolutely was. Dealing with that crap every single day has got to be a beating. Not knowing if the guy is ever telling the truth, is high, or is dead is a huge downer. Added to the fact that his behavior was effecting the show and possibly Corby and Rhyner’s livelihood I fully understand why they distance from the guy. It’s admirable to be a friend to someone with problems but eventually you have to take care of yourself and your family first.
Let me have a diablo sandwich, a Dr. Pepper, and make it fast I'm in a God damned hurry!
by DaheelzCM on
Jul 11, 2008 6:01 AM CDT
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Honestly
sometimes the best thing you can do to an addict that is down, is to kick him in the nuts.
"And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago." -John McCain
by DJCahill on
Jul 10, 2008 12:51 PM CDT
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The whole hardline crew has always come across pretty snakey to me
As much as they run people down on the air, not surprising that they are worse off it.
Don't knock masturbation, it's sex with someone I love .
by Brian Thomas on Jul 10, 2008 11:13 AM CDT 0 recs
Good article, thanks for posting. So much of that station is bullshit, I remember them hyping bodysolutions for a long time until the FTC sued the manufacturer and it turned out it was just water with aloe vera.
by thedudeabides on Jul 10, 2008 11:16 AM CDT 0 recs
Yeah, I'm sure those were paid advertisements
they don’t just schill for products just for the fun of it.
I'm undefeated in fights. Have I been in any? No. Thats because people know my f'ing status. Don't mess with the elite. - Miles
by Dirk Diggler on
Jul 10, 2008 11:28 AM CDT
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I know it may seem like an odd criticism, and I don’t mind the ads that allow me to get free radio, but I mind the way they deliver them in that fake “I’m your friend” way. You know the hardline used to swear up and down that Kirby’s was their favorite (and the best) steakhouse in town until Kirby’s stopped paying them and someone else started, then they had a new favorite. I’d rather they didn’t do so much of the personal endorsing and overhyping. That bodysolutions stuff amazed me, the fraud was a nationwide story.
by thedudeabides on
Jul 10, 2008 2:17 PM CDT
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That's
The entire point…
Why do you think companies buy time on the radio?
Actual effectiveness of a product is only marginally useful as far as selling it. It’s all about association.
by brettgardner on
Jul 10, 2008 2:44 PM CDT
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I’m well aware why companies buy time, but I don’t pretend to know anything about the significance of a product’s efficacy in advertising relative to any “association” in the ad. You know there is a difference if you look at (for example) Norm’s ads. Norm LOVES Bob’s, I see him in there all the time. I really believe he wouldn’t endorse another steakhouse by saying it’s the best if Bob’s stopped paying him and someone else did. He used to preface his leasing ads by saying “everyone knows the most financially responsible thing to do is to buy a car and drive it for 10 years, but if you are not going to do that . . . ”
I always respected him for that, it bothers me to hear the other guys selling leasing to their blue collar audience as a financially wise decision, though those D&M ads can be funny
by thedudeabides on
Jul 10, 2008 3:31 PM CDT
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I guess my point is that there is a distinction between buying time for a pre-recorded advertiser-produced ad and buying the personal endorsement ads which have become more common on 1310 (for which I assume the personality in question also gets paid a fee in addition to the purchase of time). It is why you see the disclaimer when someone buys time on TV for an infomercial that the views reflected don’t necessarily reflect those of the station etc. I’ll grant them the right to endorse anything but the fact that they are clearly willing to say anything in the script, devalues their endorsement. In light of that, I’d expect those personalities to be more discriminating about what they say (though I’m not surprised they aren’t ).
Go rangers
by thedudeabides on
Jul 10, 2008 3:42 PM CDT
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You're right.
There’s a gigantic fee difference when a company wants a live spot. See the recent NYT article about Rush Limbaugh. His fee schedule expands enormously when companies want a live personal endorsement. Even more expensive is his new bit—to weave in product placements in the actual substance of the show.
It’s all a game. Nobody cares about how much listen to the radio except in as far as companies believe you’ll be receptive to their purchased time while listening. All radio guys are just salesmen, and thinking one a saint and another a shill for the same practice is just naive.
I’m sure Norm gets free meals at Bob’s, is probably friends with him, and probably started going there after he got serious money from them.
by brettgardner on
Jul 10, 2008 5:15 PM CDT
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I’m not going to defend the strawman argument you attribute to me as I have never said Norm is a saint and the rest are shills. It doesn’t add value to revise someone’s argument into an absurdity in order to dismiss it. Norm IS a friend of Bob Sambol, no doubt. I’ve seen them eat together on many occasions. Does norm eat free there? I rather doubt it but I’m sure he gets perks and freebees as a regular customer just like I do (and better ones befitting his local celebrity and the greater amount of $ he spends there). I have only said


