RADIO COUNTED OUT BY CBS

Listeners Lose Their Invisible Friends

Got an email from old pal Ron Parker (KFRC, 90s) who is now in New York City, working with the same Program Director that was his boss here on the West Coast just a decade or so ago.

Ron's on the air and sounding great. But his mind is not at ease. He sends along the following, as a Head's-UP Alert.  Just in case I didn't know:
       
It won't come as a shock to the thousands that have felt the sting of radio's downsizing -- but it still hurts to see it in print. CBS MONEY WATCH asks, "Will these 10 jobs disappear in 2012?" -- and 'Broadcast Announcer' is #6 on the list.

Reports CBS, "It may come as no surprise that the job of newspaper reporter is going the way of the buggy whip maker -- but have placed some unexpected occupations on the endangered species list as well. Using statistics from THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS' Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010-2011, we identified 10 of the most surprising job categories whose numbers are projected to shrink in the coming years, plus a few that will grow so slowly that you might as well be sending your resume to GREECE for a civil service job."
        1. Judge
        2. Fashion designer
        3. Insurance underwriter
        4. Travel agent
        5. Newspaper reporter
        6. Broadcast announcer (yikes!)
        7. Plant manager
        8. Chemist
        9. Economist
        10. CEO
Regarding the loss of broadcast jobs, CBS writes "The play-by-play for this occupation isn't pretty. Consolidation has eliminated many jobs already, and technology is hijacking off-air tasks, such as editing, once performed by announcers (and future announcers paying their dues). Add the increased use of syndication and the growth of satellite radio and the picture is even bleaker. By 2018, broadcasting is expected to lose 2,400 radio and TV announcer jobs."

 
No, not a bit surprised. I know. Been watching, Ronnie. Heck, these jobs weren't even invented until about a half dozen years before I decided I wanted to be a Disc Jockey. I remember thinking, "what an awkward phrase, 'disc jockey.' Couldn't they come up with something better than that?"   
No, not surprised at all. I know the flow, having been watching this ugly, mismotivated scenario for quite a patch of time now.

I feel like some Time Crusader who saw it coming, was well aware of it and am well prepared to deal with it in a number of ways whenever I choose. But, we ARE talking about a small niche in an immeasurable flow.

Still, it was a rich one. Memories alone ensure, without exception, that swinging those mighty swords was a thrill. Still is, just in a different arena. Using those timeless methods of mastery, honed to razor's edge perfection on professional broadcast radio, once again proves be quite a gleeful run of fun.

That's what radio has always been, for most of us, certainly me - fun. Fun was a byproduct of the way we worked. Whenever fear is felt in the work place, it is poison and must be removed. You can hear fun on the air. Fear, on the other hand, has a boring 'sameness.'

In time's passage, while that fun job of being a DJ may disappear, the skills involved are still relevant online (in almost every working environment, from Sales Presentations to Web Image and Presence) and still as enjoyable and rewarding as they ever were. Still fun. That's great news.

Funny how the word 'fun' seems to make Those In Charge, at broadcasting facilities, with no experience in Show Biz or Presence, squeamish. It's their minds; can't process the notion of 'fun' and it kills 'em. Maybe it's the part about the magic...

It's a natural thing, fun, to the types of people that sing on their airwaves, natural to those who were fans and listened, who used to know all about the hits, artists, eras and labels. They knew the industry and it showed. They became DJs. They were the perfect compliment to the product. It was fun for them. But I guess they neglected to give the new radio station owner the User's Manual. Programming: It's Not as Easy As It Sounded. Fun is a required ingredient. You practice until it all hits the right tone and flow, or it's no fun.

EXAMPLE OF PARALLEL EXPERIENCES: 

So, while the Rulers of Frequencies Without Entertainment Experience were watching, without looking, at a football game and half-time show, Show Biz Masters naturally looked deeper and experienced, at once, a multitude of different planes and relative merits, say, between a Micheal Jackson or Madonna presentation during the Half Time show during the Super Bowl. Experienced in showmanship, words are near irrelevant as they they don't miss much, immediately recognizing patterns, meshing Jacjson's recent DVD release, This Is It, with what they see unfolding between the end of the second and the start of the third quarter. Instantaneously, wordlessly, they intuit the similarities, the matching Marching Uniformed Bands, the Industry Overtaking Nature recurring Themes, the hyper choreography, extreme Fashionista leadership, uncanny synchronous lighting, freezes, fantasy mechanical devices, elevator trap doors, smoke, steam and motherboards.

Both, in front of the flat screen, are Humans, both claim broadcasting as their vocation, both are temporal creatures, obsessed with the shifting nature of the world and the flux of their own imagined self. One type knows show biz and saw a spectacular, the other does not and did not.

It would seem beneficial, even joyously remunerative, for Those Who Do Not Know Winning Ways to become friends with Those Who Do Know And Have Experience In The Practice Of Winning Ways. But this has not been the case.

Having been shown no loyalty, time for the winners to proceed. Those Who Do Know And Have Experience do not desert radio; they may become clients. If they ask nicely and their checks don't bounce.

Now, with the economy reflecting fearful changes on a global scale, Those Of Us Who Know Winning Ways Without Boundries, take an unintentioned small sense of security from those Gloom And Doom Forecasts by aiming our energies at what works, commands attention and heals. We do this, firm in the knowledge that our amazing planet still works, is still rotating, remaining in motion and growing. Aside from knowing this, we give it little thought. The movie is still rolling.

What, really, can one think about magic; hard to talk about, contradicts itself, cannot be explained. How is it that the rotation of a planet is there? On the other hand, if one can be comfortable in the knowledge that there's more here than can be explained; if one can be realize "all of these things are done through me by the Father; by myself, I can do nothing," and be OK with it, things can really get wonderful. As in 'beyond description' wonderful.

Every denizen is well aware that, into our world has come still another high tech, obsessively interesting, useful and fun spin-off. We have been given a voice that can be heard around the world, effortlessly. This is no small feat. It's not unlike a wonderful, fantasy movie script in which the few lucky heroes mysteriously receive a gift from future generations. The few lucky ones include those smart enough to read a blog, like yourself.

Special Effects, Too:
Everyone in this movie has the same, unbeleivable, global set of communication systems, just like the Star Trek Communicator, putting into play previously impossible scenes and circumstances, saturated with endless possibilities for fun and genuinely lucrative and helpful enterprizes. We can communicate with and receive data from anywhere in the dense interwoven nooks and plains of this vast earthen ball of organic sticks and stones and blood and bones.

This seemingly delusional make-believe "movie" we find ourselves in almost requires a willing suspension of belief and disbelief, in order that one's awareness may simply follow that last bit of unbelievability along, unhindered. To do that, take out your Smart Phone, keep the faith.

Faith means there is no script proceeding us. The movie is a "happening," and it's spontaneously occurring all at once, as if in direct defiance of everything logical. Go with that.

The part of "Radio" in this further act of the movie is not played by Cuba Gooding, but by many million. They go by the name, "Online Marketing" (awkward name, but fun) and all the deft tricks, styles and proceedures we learned for effective measurable success in competitive pro broadcast battles are also viable here online. ReTweet THAT.

We can use all the tools we became adept with on the air to make any story: first good, then better, and better. In this parallel, multi-task profession, no skills are lost, all values are still available and afresh. Find another like yourself, watch your collective power grow; Three, you have a team.

As a team, you can overcome many. Especially the less experienced. From this (your) vision, you now have the credibility and satisfaction only a winner can feel. You HAVE past rating victories, experience. You'll be taking the clients of those who don't, right? What is it you see in your competition?

One weak spot after another.

Example:

Is it sad, pitiful, or just spectacle, that, for the most part, Corporate Radio Broadcasting, has an almost official policy, no longer recognizes the power, sales dynamics and value of "Talent" kicked off the ship? Is not any policy of "no longer recognizing" something, good, bad or otherwise, a Policy of Deliberate Ignorance?

A clearer vision might reveal how obstructed the non-broadcaster's vision is, blinded by a combination of fear and the prospect of faking a win, Impressing The Shareholders with a few Saved-Dollar Figures, which, in fact, fare much worse for stock bearers than show hosts. So elated in finding a noteworthy statistic in the debris left behind after getting rid of a living person in favor of a recorded talking device, the owners lost their face.

Couldn't be worse for the radio station. Grade school business classes tell you to "put a face on your product." That's why frosted flakes and gasoline have a tiger mascot and why you see a chihuahua selling tacos on TV. Yet, across this fruited plain, radio station owners have lost their only human relatable asset, their common ground between product and buyer, their face.

It also works out that they lost it in the other sense of the phrase. No face equals no trust. Not a great spot to be in when your business, Show Business, is located in the heart of the Social Media Marketplace, and all your prior listeners know you fired life-long employees just to make your numbers look good. The listeners still remember the names of those you fired while you've already forgotten. Not really the reputation you want in today's on-line on air listenership. Good thing this is just an analogy, isn't your radio station. Gad that would be a disaster.

This very turn of events is hardly a world-ender for the discarded DJs. There ARE a multitude of ways to take the many things learned in broadcasting and leverage them online. For myself and a few other Online Marketers that have roots in radio, it will be fairly easy - and much fun - to woo unhappy broadcast clients away from any radio stations we choose to plunder and enlist them in our Online Ventures. My studies (two concentrated years now and still churning) indicate I can see a double - even quadruple - of my client's investment. Radio Sales people cannot make that call. Especially today's unprofessional lot.

Fun is just what we all need right about here. Tell ya a story...

In this story I feel more like a piece of a too-large-for-logic picture than a limited being, or person. There, the pieces and the players' game board, rather than a player. I have no other stake in this than to watch it all unfold. I've learned how to look deeper than the limits of logic. What I know and see make this story a little more understandable, give it a bit more dimension and enable me to sense the underlying fun.

Until a few months ago, I had been working at a top rated station in San Francisco; worked there for three years or so - part time, just keeping my headphones limber, did it for fun mostly. I had really accomplished all I was after in the profession to this point, but was asked to join the already number one rated station staff by its then PD, who steadfastly wanted to continue forward with an all-pro, seamless presentation. That also was fun. This was a gentleman, not a politiko, and made the air time seem more like playing, than working. He had kept the station ranked in Popularity's Top Three forever, something like 15 years or more, I lose track it's a record set so unbelievably high, no one else could touch the accomplishment. It was fun being Number One so much of the time.

This Programmer's ongoing Ways Of Winning made everyone's assignment, even Sales, a task without effort. It was fun.

In the past few months, the corporate owners, relatively new to the business (with an awful track record: don't look up Entercom in Sacramento if you want the owners to remain happy and appear unblemished. There was a listener death involved) have fired dozens of major market, professional, honestly contributing, hard working souls, then heaped their duties upon those remaining. Misinformation was spread to divide any sense of being a team. I have watched a great radio station cease to be itself, lose the spark that made it entertaining and become a studio of equipment babysitters, a playlist repeater, an Automatron Reciter of empty slogans and a third rate organization.

San Francisco is this corporation's first attempt in a metropolis this large. Here, they immediately and unceremoniously fired the P.D., and his most trusted, efficient cadre. Then went the top salaried jocks. Next the money-focused out-of-towner corporation brought in a stranger from Louisianna, who, it might be assumed, will work for a fourth the salary, and has no sense of this slice of geography. Will the things that worked in the Mardi Gras capitol work as well on the Barbary Coast? We shall see.

Me, I never heard from that station again. They didn't even possess the common courtesy to say "adios," nor I the curiosity to see what they even looked, smelled or sounded like beyond what I already knew.  No fun.

THAT kind of attitude and conduct has been going on all over town and all over the nation, at practically every radio station. It is a perfect reflection of the way broadcasting has devolved, during our watch, across our land. Expect to be treated as more of a liability than an asset yourself. If you have any business with the people in charge of what was your favorite station today, which ever one it was, just don't expect it to be anything like it was even six months ago.

And, or course, Slam-Jam Sally and Rock-a-Bobby Pipeflames are missing, too. They're either right behind you in the Unemployment Line, or somewhere in front.

Sad, again, kinda. That a once indomitable station of San Francisco caliber and status now seems headed in the same downward spiral as another, once thought unbeatable, station has gone just a decade hence. And another and another. If you have the patience to look, they're all where stations that can no longer serve their audiences end up, at the very bottom of the ratings heap. And, there's very little fun there.

These new corporate radio owners and their tassled leather mocassin and matching shirt-tie wearing lords and lackies have no experience in large cities, especially this city. Boy, is that (going to be) audible. If there is any entertainment to be had in this wierd experiment, it will certainly be in watching them pretend to know what they're even doing here, and then enjoying their decisions. Decisions always make their way onto the airwaves.

Non-broadcast owners and their chosen crew remind me of insects in a way. They have just one thing one their tiny no-frills agenda and it's not even their idea. These crawlies have a Head somewhere and they act on the shared impulse to make that head happy. They MUST make that head happy. It's that or join the ranks of unemployed.

Very soon, it will be theirs to ponder, "Why in the world, in our one chance, did we think our listeners would settle for two dimensional recital when they had already experienced dynamic three-D? Easy. We thought that, by keeping the Head happy. we were clever businessmen. We all were later fired by the Head..."

San Francisco and Northern California deserve better. All of America deserves better.

In the meantime, as a former disc jockey of near enough to 50 years to comfortably call it that, may I, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of on-air broadcasters who, because of "the forces of modernity" didn't or won't have the opportunity themselves, say, "goodbye," and "thanks!" The feeling of knowing someone like you was listening, filled a huge hole in my hitch-hiking soul.

"And, thanks for the tuna."

--0--
 

AN ONLINE AUDIO STREAMING SPECIAL

High school picture, or has time gone by?

In Celebration Of Our Whence
For the uninitiated, an "aircheck" is a recording of a radio broadcast. As a DJ, hearing how the ideas translated from my head to on the air was critical. Airchecking - recording one's show and listening for ways to improve is not unlike a Major Leauger taking batting practice.

Airchecking was also used to scout players, hear what ideas other cities were exposed to and, of course, comparing music charts. Recently, a recording from the first days of "Boss Radio" in Los Angeles caught my interest. It is a partial - there are pieces missing. but it's a rare gem. It is, I believe, the first time they presented "The KHJ Big 93 of 1965," a countdown of the pop hits.

The recording is being "refurbished," put back together in its entirety. Where a disc jockey or music is missing, the audio museum site is carefully, seamlessly re-inserting it.

And I get to play!

That means pulling out the old Bobby Ocean headphones and lips, dusting them off and playing great favorite songs along with fellow turntablists I haven't seen for ages. Some no longer call this planet their home. But we'll all be together again this weekend.

THIS SUNDAY, The Reelradio Aircheck Channel is playing the entire 93 songs, in order. Putting the music back in where missing and using all the original KHJ jingles from that era.

As Bobby Ocean, former Boss Jock at all four Boss Radio stations in California -- KNYO, Fresno; KGB, San Diego; KFRC, San Francisco, and KHJ. Los Angeles, I'll be on the Aircheck Channel's KHJ Countdown of the Top 93 hits of 1965, as if I had been there all along! Actually, I arrived at KHJ a full decade later.

This is an wonderful recording, blasting cobwebs from memories of early Boss Radio in L.A., the first year of the phenomenal Radio format on KHJ that soon engulfed San Francisco, America and the planet.

Listening as a young man with a microphone for his working tool, these airchecks were riviting in the collective originality originality and professional streamlined presentation. No one had ever heard radio like this before - as smooth, simple in its complex formatics and as clearly defined.

The entertainment world was changing as rapidly as the new, younger target audiences.Society was transforming and this was another exelent standard of West Coast thorough comprehension, execution and ingenuity.

Boss jock wanna-bes blossomed across the land.

Several generations of broadcasters watched with amazement as KHJ grabbed ratings, listeners and the very pulse of each market within which it took residence. Giants of the Industry were listening with all their might as these new, trancendentaly aware Programmers and performers percolated behind the design Among them:

Bill Drake, the ultimate radio wizard, able to see beyond the chaos of creation to envision the bigger picture radio audiences of the era were hungering for.
Ron Jacobs, whose whose mind was constantly overflowing, like a popcorn in a tub too small, bursting with evolutionary new broadcast techniques, impressions, ways, concepts and whose vision was constantly exploding with programming ideas and evolutions.
Bill Mouzis,  who fought for America's freedom in the Navy, turning battles that seemed destined for defeat into U. S. victories, then continued into the broadcasting arena, where he discovered he had a master surgeon's skills in the Production Room, turning tape recorders into magic lanterns that would do exactly what he wanted. He was the original technician behind the Drake Consultancy's phenomenal Radio Presentation, The History Of Rock And Roll.

The Boss Jocks on the air during this "must listen-t" aircheck were Johnny Williams, flawless, smooth consistent; The Real Don Steele, bigger than bigger-than-life, and the Boss Format specialist, whose signature was perfection, Johnny Mitchell.
And I'll be with them all, counting down your favorite songs from 1965 (in fact, my second year in broadcasting).
   
Unca Ricky of The Aircheck Channel, and most professional broadcaster subscribers would agree, however - it takes a real Boss Jock to provide authenticity to Time Travel PLayback like this. That's why I was drafted to pop up on ths link: to keep it real for you (that, and the indelible fun). I'll jump in occasionally with a few short "Between-The-Lines" In-Progress Bookmarks... - to keep the official countdown songs from this live recording FLOWING.

Having worked all the Boss Radio Shops in the West, I was at KHJ as well, from the mid-70s for a half dozen years. It was a dream-come-true for me, to finally make it to Hollywood. I got to know the Boss Ground Of Being well enough to create programs in my sleep. Along with Reel-Radio's Richard Irwin, Uncle Ricky, on all tech duties (without which, this would not be possible) I'll fill in the blanks, with intentions of making this one of the biggest, most thoroughly researched, recreated and entertaining Countdown Airchecks you have ever heard.

You hear the countdown sounding even better than the first time, with more KHJ staff and support involved in the presentation. You'll hear cleaner, more ear-friendly digital audio and all the original Boss Radio jingles.

When I say this is a Collector's Item, you sense in your bones, eardrums and soul it is true. Hope this info reached you in time!!

--0--

IN THE BEGINNING, whoops, wait a min...

How Could There Be WORD With No Lips Yet?

Words are so much fun, so fragile in their understanding and, at the same time, oh, so powerful.

They can also be so misunderstood. In English, my native tongue, there are numerous little traps and pitfalls, misunderstandings and close-enough calls, that accuracy is a constant challenge.

Are You Up For The Challenge?
Here are two words, along with their meanings, to help make this point. You have used them all your life.

1 - AFFECT: To have an effect on; to make a difference, produce a result, leave the impression of...

2 - EFFECT: linked with "cause" meaning to bring about the state or its opertion, label its progress and, in Physics, a phenomenon named after its discoverer.

Both are verbs and nouns but only 'effect' is in common usage as a noun, where its definition is "result, consequence, affect; used principally as a verb." Just two words, in an entire vocabulary, that show how complicated our communications and their understanding can be.

It can become a real challenge, as one takes steps toward learning more about Life's Big Questions, "Who are we, really?" and "What are we doing here?" The Bible has been translated so many times, through so many different languages that, in order to study it in earnest, this fact must be taken into consideration from the first page. Other scripture, books on mysticism, the occult, the Meaning of Life, Meditation, Yoga, Lives of the Spiritual Masters and so on, can be very helpful or mere hearsay, depending on the student's state of being.

I Remember A Story...
It wasn't an easy walk for this fellow traveler, either. From my own career choice as a radio broadcaster, which means jack of all on-air trades, mostly DJ work, communication was held in high regard but still misunderstandings would occur. Memory provides a few cobbled together scenes from personal occasions here and there, wherein this situation of uncertainty we all share in the use of language was nailed home again. It happened just the other decade or so. Seems like yesterday...

The whole point of this story revolves around the setting in which it took place, and while I cannot remember where, I DO recall it was a fun gathering of radio folk, probably a small convention or large conference, visiting jocks, job possibilities and fresh stories from other metropolis hot spots.

We enter the story and it's abuzz, rolling in full tilt boogie. Everyone in attendance, it seems, is having a peak moment and these were all spilling over each other; while this took place in a spacious room but seemed elbow-room full. There were plenty of chairs, the necessary tables for literature snacks and purses and many spirited people.

There was then in progress, as there always was, an enthusiastic, raging war of words that we then referred to as "talking stink," or putting our spin on things. What sorts of things? Every. Jovial conversation involved sharing promotions, jingles, recordings, and DJ stories of the trade.

It was in this setting I witnessed a Personal First that, to this day, still retains the power to impress. I learned another of what I call "Universals," which are powerful broadcast styles, tools and tricks that make what you're doing better.

There they were - the bigger-than-life DJs, personalities and characters had clustered, found common language and begun to share their stories. This is WHY everyone was there in that room, really.

The tales flew like frisbies on the beach, and the band of strangers-become best friends, had landed a juicy prey! In the fury of their over enthusiastic conversation they pounced upon one particular word (I forget which; not necessary to this story) and were conducting an autopsy for the purpose of determining what it really means. Examples, processes of defining, degrees of distinctness and use-in-sentences were being brandied and parried in the attempt at reaching a more exact, or far out, meaning.

To set the picture more distinctly in your mind's eye, add: the roar of human voices over each other, the night time ambiance of music, outdoor traffic, several different TV shows above the open bar, and, overall, a wonderfully encapsulated cocktail and Happy Hour snack fueled evening. This was typical broadcast after hour conduct - boistrous but beautifully slurred voices, opinionated for effect, synopses on every tongue of any topic in the world, but more frequently the love of our lives, top-forty radio and its menu of possibilities, from current music acts, other DJs and other stations, ratings inaccuracies, to that hilarious thing we did in San Diego last Fall and all the stuff of our so-called great civilized conversation.

Then, during a heated debate over some language distinction, the always-hoped-for Bomber One Liner hit and everyone heard. One phrase, well paced, perfectly placed, landed as if scripted, and the entire roomful of attentive participants stopped silent. As it happened, one man, affected with frustration over not having his definition either understood or accepted, threw up his hands as if to discharge the entire argument exclaiming, "Ah, that's just semantics!"

Not missing a beat, his adversary immediately rejoined, "Semantics? That's ALL there is!"

Stillness.

The room fell suddenly silent as his point sunk in. Every skull in the room seemed to have been opened up for a split second.

Then, applause. Cheering. Not everyone understood what had just been exchanged, but they instinctively knew, as there was a truth behind all this loud verbal fencing that, that answer was more powerful than the regular question-and-answer dynamics they were used to. The argument had very effectively been Grand Slammed.

It was a magic moment, shared by all, and the electricity that passed among us seemed as if it could have easily lit up the entire metropolis.

Reviewing on playback, we can see all the elements in effect there. The rhythms of call-and-response one-liners between professionals. The rising and waning volumes of tone, the precision inflections, the uncanny timing. This is what these mad men were really capable of - fast paced, highly stylized oral presentation. Each and every one in this room had the DNA markings for a screamingly funny stand-up comic.

What more than a few minds missed was the stiletto of truth in that final rejoinder. One guy said, as if to end the debate, "It's JUST semantics." The other guy topped him with his come-back, "It's ALL semantics".

What a perfect zinger. That comeback liner didn't object to what had just been said (so there was no resistance, nothing left to swing at) but included his opponent's argument in a well chosen, more inclusive statement, in effect, "That's all there is!"

There was nothing left to come back TO.

"Semantics - THAT'S ALL THERE IS," (truly a spiritual koan if there ever was one).
Meaning, "it's all in the eye of the beholder."
Meaning, "It's all relative."
Meaning, "Ego is a product of thought. While of and about it, never real, never actual.
Thought is a concept of something else, something real. Any thought, even a word's most correct definition, is still only a concept of the real thing; as are all words and symbols.
Meaning: "You are not what you imagined yourself to be.
Meaning: "It's ALL semantics."

Following that which is Real, is its wake, all swirling spin-offs, reflections, innuendo and reference; not things. Real You is perfectly silent, solidly still and loving without effort. Its shadow, or mental clone, is made of thought-logic, so-called Common Sense, conceptual form, implied reference and the Stuff Of Semantics, is other than the Unmanifested Reality and is very needy. This imitation you needs your attention to feel really alive.

Only You are the Real Thing. Not the idea, notion, opinion, definition, humanity, personality, or any other shade of You. Being you is a full time job and your Principle Purpose here.

Everything else is Semantics.

--0--

Lock Em And Load Em

Big Shots Named

The Big Guns in the U.S. Commercial Gun Industry acknowledge that the most powerful and strangely secretive force among them is The Freedom Group, and this single private company is quite a thing of a mystery.

Never heard of The Freedom Group? Neither had I, until only recently. Already, I'm guessing they're pro-gun. Or not. Depends on which rumor I warm up to, however.

By its own count, the Freedom Group sold 1.2 million long guns and 2.6 billion rounds of ammunition in the 12 months ended March 2010, the most recent year for which figures are publicly available. Within long gun circles where the big money is, that is the stuff of myth and folklore.

That's also just about 1.2 million guns and 2.6 bullets more than I've peddled lately at my garage sale.

I operate out of California, The Freedom Group originates from Manhattan.

But, ooh, TV movie conspiracy plot:
Backing this gargantuan Freedom Group is the private investment company, Cerberus Capital Management, which may cause a flicker of recognition to sweep across your windscreen.

Cerberus first came to a higher level of national attention when, as if on a tip in 2007, it acquired Chrysler. That deal meant widespread cash flow, never mind that Chrysler soon afterward had to be fiscally rescued by taxpayers.

So! You and I - we - had never previously been aware of this virus called "The Cerberus Freedom Grope," yet it has already cost us a heap of money. Huge Dollars; not immediately grasp-able amounts of dinero. We "bailed out" multi-billionaires? My mind'll have a time getting a grip on THAT.

It's just like a sci-fi TV show where the bad guys have been there in the shadows all along, maneuver with limitless funds, can have any of the latest gear they want and designer hideouts too. Headquartered in New York City, Cerberus has silently been acquiring big guns and ammunition.

Sold to Cerebrus:
Bushmaster, with gas-powered "black guns," that fire as rapidly as fast as the trigger can be squeezed. "It's clear that the militarized stuff is the stuff that sells and is defining the industry," its previous owner said on record.
DPMS (Defense Procurement Manufacturing Services) Panther Arms manufactures a wide range of military and civilian rifles. They're huge.
Remington, who, from flintlocks to M24 sniper rifles, is now making handguns for the first time in decades and supplying firepower to other governments including Afghanistan.
S&K Industries, which supplies wood and laminate for gun stocks,
Advanced Armament Corp., which makes silencers.
Barnes Bullets, which makes copper-jacketed bullets popular with precision shooters and police departments.
Marlin Firearms, a classic maker with two niche shotgun brands,
    Harrington & Richardson, and
    L.C. Smith
Dakota Arms, not an apartment complex,as the name might suggest, but a maker of high-end big-game rifles.

"We believe our scale and product breadth are unmatched within the industry," Carebrus' Freedom Group has recently said, sounding not unlike some puffed-up, stuffed-into-his-suit, spokes-cartoon.

Camera pulls back, pans over a multide of colorful graphs and dollar signs which tell the whole successful tale to this point: Cerberus manages more than $20 billion in capital. The companies it owns together generate a revenue of about $40 billion annually - more than either Amazon or Coca-Cola lately. Now they're practically an artillery monopoly.

With just one word, the Pandora's lid flies open with an ear-splitting, sky rocketing flare up. One word, one query: "Why?"

Once this inside info enters the Realm Of Our Attention, it finds a vacuum of intelligence and a nice, dry mound of conspiracy tinder, and boom! --all precipitation is over; it has happened. The catalyst has met its anticipated element. The predicted chemical reaction, known as, "Let The Rumors Fly," seems to explode everywhere at once.

And now everyone hears as the rumor bandwagon marches by. Maybe that's part of the plan. Wondering Why is certainly part of the plot in this script.

Oh, The Rumors!
Some Pro Gun Slinger theories suggest that the mysterious shadow power behind Carebrus' Freedom Group is actually some liberal and hedge-fund billionaire with a secret agenda all his own.

You don't need to know that "Hang the Second Amendment slash Secret Agena Rumor" because it's already been discredited. The shameful speculation involving dismantling the gun industry was so powerful that, just this October, the National Rifle Association issued a statement denying it. As far as rumors go, THAT rumor has SOME street cred.

You Say "Toom-Ah-Tow."
Bush Had Skull And Crossbones, These Guys Got A Mean Dog. The company's name is taken from Greek mythology, and a fabled three-headed dog, Cerberus, who guards the gates of Hades - to keep the resident in or the relatives out? Only now, we wonder.

But, nice ambience. Company's named after a dog from Hell. Oka-a-ay. Sure trumps wearing a red power tie at the next meeting. Wonder if they provide Dental Coverage at Dog-from-Hell Company; they'd have my fangs.

There's a rumor that this new gun industry has sold weapons to several questionable kingdoms, not only of Afghanistan, but also Thailand, Mexico and Malaysia, among others. Oh yes, and the USA! Cerebrus apparently obtained a brand new batch of business from our own U.S. Army, including a contract worth up to $28.2 million. [note: NOT a rumor, that; already been done.]

So, who are these guys? Who is it that's Involved In all this? Let's check the script's credits and meet our Cast Of Characters:

Financial Backer, George Soro; mysterious, very wealthy shadow figure behind sunglasses, lurking in streetcorners, shady side of boulevard. Stephen Feinberg, Co-Founder Cerebrus, chief Executive Officer and Senior Managing Directors.

The longtime Chairman of Cerberus' Global Investments Group, is a renowened individual. Perhaps you've already heard of him? An affable guy, Mr. D. Quayle. Yep, that Quale! Army Nation Guard Seargent, and former Vice President, Dan "Pototato" Quale.

Cerebrus' subsidiary Freedom Group, not to be outdone, has TWO retired generals on its board. Marines AND Army:

George Joulwan, former Supreme Allied Commander of Europe, retired from the Army, and

Michael Hagee, formerly Commandant of the Marine Corps.

These are the names behind the mystery. Ask them what's going on and you will not get the truth, but a good spin.

These guys cost you SO much of your future. These guys, a Secret Zillionaire and a handful of Once-Upon-A-Time Power Players, cost you SO much money, and the country more hassle and trouble than most of the famous bad guys you can think of. Most, not all. Still that's way too much to go unacknowledged, that'd be like trying to cross the freeway with your eyes closed.

Whew! And just think: next time a Chrysler Event pops up and they need a broad daylight "Highway Bailout," they got the D-list celebrities and the firepower to back it up.

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DRUGMAKER MERCK CHALLENGES POP SOCIAL SITE

Wants To Know Why Rival Has A Facebook Page They Thought Was Theirs
It's an enormous world. Although we may continue watching in earnest, everyone is bound to miss something. Maybe that's why there are so many of us.

You know how you start noticing specific names, things, and trends only after they are brought to your attention? You may have gone a lifetime without discovering the value of Acid Stained Concrete Floors, or Pomegranate Jelly, but once someone you know raves about it, you give it a try, you begin to notice it wherever it is. And it has been there in the open all along.

That happens to me all the time, especially since I enjoy reading. After Victor Hugo, I have a whole new POV regarding Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. Before, it was only a lyric in a pop tune.

And so it is with my Attention Span falling upon the Merck Chemical Companies of Germany and the U.S.

Never heard of them, or really payed any attention, until I read the rock autobiography of Rolling Stones co-founder, Keith Richards, The book is simply entitled "Life," and contains the surprisingly well documented recollections of the guitarist, songwriter, performer and conciousness alterer, Richards, among which include mention of this distinctive drug maker's honorific monitor.
  Now I seem to notice that name more often, and when I do, a flicker of recognition lights up inside whenever I see it.

‘If you wanna get down, down on the ground, cocaine..."

Piracy On The High Seize 
The webpage, www.facebook.com/merck, was established over a year and a half ago by Merck KGaA in Germany, but, inexplicably, is has been seized and is being utilized by it's US rival, Merck & Co. in New Jersey, and now proclaims, "...This site is intended ONLY for residents of the United States and its territories..."

The German drug making firm, Merck KGaA, established nearly three-and-a-half centuries hence by a pharmacy owner in the city of Darmstad, in 1668, has begun legal action against social networking site, Facebook, after discovering the apparent takeover of its Business Page by American rival of the same name and origin, Merck and Company of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. The Germans believe the Facebook page is owned by them and that the American-based chemical manufacturer is, in fact, poaching.

The two drug makers both originated from the one commercial enterprise set up by a pharmacy owner in the German city of Darmstadt in 1668. After World War I, as part of the Reparations Package imposed on Germany, the business was split into two separate entities.

Lack Of Either Understanding Or Fair Play 
Merck KGaA's lawyer, reportedly stated that he had sent a letter and a series of emails to various Facebook staff asking to discuss what had happened to the webpage.

Simple enough: "please explain to your customer what happened to our web page." I understand that last sentence and I think you do, too. But, Merck KGaA  says the Facebook crowd "either did not understand the problem... [or were] intentionally giving unresponsive answers".

Merck's attorney said that when he had requested a telephone conversation, one of Facebook's staff "incredibly replied that 'no-one is available for a call at this time....' Later, Facebook limply recited, "We are looking into it."

I don't think this could EVER make a good reality TV movie with overused lines like that, long since cooked lifeless and limp.

"Don't forget this fact, you can't get it back, Cocaine..."

Are Legal Steps Taken Even On The Path Of Justice? 
Merck KGaA has documentation: these materials prove it had entered into an agreement with Facebook for the exclusive rights to www.facebook.com/merck in March of 2010. The German firm added that a number of its employees had been subsequently assigned administrative rights to the page, something that can only take place during the originating process, not afterward.

However, Merck KGaA said that when it had checked the site on 11 October this year it had discovered it had lost control of the page, and that content on the site now belonged to the American Merck. Of course they were surprised. A petition was filed immediately with the Supreme Court of the State of New York by Merck KGaA for the purpose of obtaining information as to why a website believed in good faith to be owned by the German firm suddenly is not anymore.

Covering Their Assets And Eating Them, Too 
Merck KGaA filed in New York rather than courts in California because that is Facebook’s headquarters state, and doesn’t allow pre-action disclosure to identify defendants.

"We are just trying to learn what happened,"a spokesman for Merck KGaA, Dr Gangolf Schrimpf, told the BBC.“We took action against Facebook and not against Merck & Co.

Someone's In Trouble
However, while Merck KGaA stressed that it had not taken any further action than requesting information, against its US counterpart at this stage, the court filing states that: "Merck is considering causes of action for breach of conduct, tortious interference with contract, tortious interference with prospective business advantage, and/or conversion."

Merck KGaA said Facebook “had not been cooperative” in attempts to seek information about the change. E-mails to Palo Alto, California-based Facebook’s press department didn’t receive a response. Facebook was unwilling to make a comment beyond saying that it was looking into the case.

Check That Cloud Lining: 

The good new for online marketers is found in between the lines. The "asides," comments seemingly thrown away or used in garnishing these statements, present a bright belief that, for commerce, Social Networks offer a much better way.

Branding experts say the Merck vs Merck Case reflects a growing realization that Social Networks can offer firms a better way of reaching their customers than through their own websites.

"Company communication departments have realised that many of the people they want to reach and influence are already on Facebook," said Simon Myers, speaking for the consultancy Figtree Network.

"As corporate content becomes more tailored and engaging, social media sites such as Facebook represent a brighter future of greater customer dialogue and interaction than the current corporate website with static content and pictures of people shaking hands."

That's an A-plus for Social Media marketing overall, and lesser grades all around for a few of it's manifold, confused players and users.

This is still a story with more questions than answers. 
Is Facebook playing favorites, being purchased under the table like a polititian or just plain stumbling through stupid missteps on its Way? Is Merck USA cutting a line?

None of the above? All of the above? Let's keep watching.

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On Becoming Better At It All

IF POOR RICHARD HAD A BLOG
                        by Bobby Ocean

[first posted on Obtuse Angles just a few days ago)

The fastest way to accomplishing any goal is to first realize that aim inside. Once you take the time to know your idea's design well, your deeper, intuitive, creative mental facilities have a blueprint with which to undulge in Mysterious Ways.

That's a nice little piece of knowledge there. Just those words alone at the begining of a project can eliminate a lot of mis-steps, save a huge chunk of money.

As we all travel along through Life, many Common Sensical Sayings cross our attention span to remind us our priorities, pass along valuable insights, help us more surely achieve our goals. When it so happens that certain adages continue to apply, decade after decade, we know we have a Truism, what I call a Universal. Universals cross almost all barriers, work as currency Here as well as Over There, as Down Yonder, everywhere.

UNIVERSALS, A HYPER DRIVE STARTER SET:
There are some real gems in this marble bag:

ON LOOKING FORWARD
• Looking Forward means ALWAYS looking forward, into infinity, where anything can happen and the One Looking had better always be ready. There's only one way to always be ready and that is to Look Forward, Expecting Anything. This leaves no time for looking back or measuring sideways.

TWO POWERFUL FORCES
• Circumstances never turn out the way that you expected. Also, they continue turning. Because you know these Two Invaluable Insights they may act on your behalf. These are powerful forces you got going for you here.

THINK POSITIVE, ATTRACT POSITIVE •
Take care of yourself and maintain a sense of humor. If you are not well, don't come to work and infect the staff, stay in bed and recuperate at least until it's worked its way through your throat. If you have a bad cough go to the theater.

EACH TURN PRECARIUS
• The experience of yearning for that which is "out there" springs from one large false notion we call Desire. The choice to covet bears a Terrible Price. It leaves a Blind Spot. Similarly, one is frustrated with fighting such negative influences toward longing; go against them and you not only spend energy, you surrender the sum of it to the very thing you resist. Choose carefully.

STAY FAMISHED
• It is not supposed to be comfortable taking the time with eager business partners to define how you will share expenses or the division of labor until the terms have been agreed to afterward.

BE STILL = RESIST NOT
• Concerning negative thoughts and emotions: just be completely aware of them. For Each One, Bring Into Your Acceptance.
    -The current frame in which these impolses exist,
    -The feelings experienced,
    -The connections beneath the surface,
    -Your opinions, feelings, views of the entire picture,
    -Everything, and purely witnessing, just really be there.

GETTING CLEAR.01
• Bringing your completely non-judgmental understanding to each negative thought thread, past failure or unhappiness only seems difficult; it's not. those ghosts are not even here. Only the chemicals you call emotion and the images you call thoughts are here, at your beckoning. You can bear it. Bear witness.

GETTING CLEAR.02
• Novice executive samaraii and very green disciples who are seen getting rid of personal belongings, are not only practicing a protocol of non-attachment, but are also dis-attaching from poor grammer, such is redundant language. How, for example, can a belonging be other than personal?

GETTING CLEAR.03
• Being more concerned with how the other sees you than with the other, is a typical example of how and why the magicians' tool, Misdirection, works, this time as always with Thought being the Deceiver and the One Concerned, the Deluded.

EVEN SHORTER:

• A mind filled with fear is the melting pot of failure, a devout mind the portal to unlimited success.

• Dashed expectations may be only the surge or crest of the wave whose ocean of possibilities is still in motion.

• A disappointing income appies to the future, a disappointing outcome to the past. Neither addresses the present moment.

• Humor travels a twisted way to here, but usually brings a friend and makes more.

• It's hard to go against cravings that seem to come from the heart. If it helps, they don't come from it but at it, attacking. Resist not. Instead, watch the watcher.

• Pay less dues; pay more attention.

•  Cease desires,
    Still the heart,
    Regain your sight,
    Then re-start.

• Often you can recognize your true direction by the simple observation that it's not going the way you expected.

• It's often just a case of crossed wires. Pull back, take a breath. Next time you come together see where things stand from a WiFi POV.

• Anchor yourself in the present moment and prevent yourself from becoming swept away in thought and emotion.

• Boy have I got problems,"- epitaph, math teacher; "Boy. have I got Projects," - joyful exclamation of Someone Playing In The Infinite.

• It's play if you like what you do. It's work when you MUST play. It's art when you do your best soley because you can.

• Get it down. Lift it up. Pay it forward.

• Be willing to allow Higher Design to speak through you.

• Today is far too immense for just one word and yet it IS both the tomorrow you helped create yesterday, and the only game in town right now.

• Every time you remove a label, look deeper, the world around you  feels more alive, fresh and new, and grateful. You broaden the dimension of space.

• Perceiving without interference is the 'looking deeper,' beyond name tags and brand names, without engaging in concepts.

• Being open means not blocking new information trying to reach you with a shield of having all the answers. The seeming contradiction, "Be less so that you may be more," insists on continued inclusion.

• Leave the audience wanting.

--Hoping for that effect, I'll stop here.

In the ideas, special tips and enlightenments expressed above, that worked for countless others, self included, please find inclusive tools, no-strings helping hands, honest contributions - from a gradient sampling of souls, bakers through candlestick makers, the lofty, the lowly, enlightened, even lost, all intending us well. Ponder in good heart,

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Notes On Radio:

What It Was Like To Be On The Air

YOU HAD TO BE THERE

I get a lot of requests which I suppose is normal for a person who played at being a disc jockey while playing the hits.

Readers of this space ask for my reflections on the wonder of what it was like to be square in the middle of that magical time when radio was really in service to its listeners, respected them and actually liked them. It was very transparent. You can hear when someone's smiling while talking to you on the phone. Same deal for someone on the radio.

Once, not very long ago, Radio was the most fun in the whole wide world. It had no world wide web sites, no way to Tweet about itself and rather than streaming online was making waves freely in the air outside.

"Look Ma! No wires! I'm just modulating the atmosphere!"

For many of us it was, at first, the entire world, and then later, our personal doorway, opened just for us, to the inside power knowledge of The Real Deal outside. Radio was power.

Radio just a few yesterdays hence was way ahead of merely being listenable, it was compelling in the sense that a magnet is to steel. Compelling all across the dial, not by force, coercion or constraint but by being so alive and entertaining as to necessitate listening.

One didn't want to miss a thing; this was one of a kind and all ours, these songs, fashions and events. It was the first time the largest slice of the demographic had even been recognized by the rest of society and it intoxicated us with the satisfaction that can only come from an audience wanting more. These things we couldn't miss were all so much bigger than life and fit into each one's imagination like it was cut to their lifestyle by an excellent tailor.

The dream became surreal and hyper enjoyable if you were the one on the radio, playing the records, the disc jockey!

Disc Jockys, that amalgem of the savage and the sacred, were the ones holding open that new doorway, our personal portal. They inspired wonder. Who were these guys? The very association with show business was for them like a Harvard diploma, elevating the headphone wearer to either the head of the table or very near the power players there seated by power of their sheepskins or relatives.

The era was one of the Top-40 radioman as much as it was of the chart topping songs and artists of the day in the same way hand-held wax cartons were a part of drinking milk then. The DJ's adulation was unfair in comparison and performance with hard driving, well rehearsed troubadours but it was popular vote. It was pure pop, non-stop and all part of the show.

We worked six days a week and there was no recorded DJ shows. You had to be there. Yes we were professionals and yes we deserved our paychecks. and yet, if you were to look a little deeper into each DJ, certainly the ones I have known, broadcasting was not so much our vocation as it was our obsession, a hobby-gone-wild more than a career. When the music grooved, when our scripts were clearly written, when the mic switch cracked open and the studio muted, we were at play.

WHAT HAPPENED
It was play because we wanted to do it. Play ceases to be play and becomes work only when we MUST do it.

It was play to execute our play better then the other station in contention. it also stops being much of a game when there are no competitors, no adversaries.

Once, not very long ago, entertainers and broadcasters owned all the radio stations all across the land. Then, laws written to protect people from any one owner posessing too many broadcast facilities, radio and TV - too much influence in any one market - were re-written, blotted out, the protection afforded your ears terminated, ethics quashed and careers dashed. Radio stations all across the land were made offers they could not refuse. They sold their heritage business to corporations that gobbled up radio stations like guitar players on pot gobble munchies, or brass sections down boilermakers.

For too many radio folks, the corporate environment, through cost-cutting, removed too many of the people we need to play WITH, but worse, eliminated our opponents, and thus the game itself.

I wonder how many stories there are from Broadcast Owners who, having heard what happened, now regret having sold out. We never hear from them.

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