Strathlachlan

Media Meltdown

Back in 2002, I blogged about the impending crash of the real estate market, music and sports industries, the airlines and telecom, and higher education. I think I got a few of those right already and some more continue to teeter on the brink.

Monday's Financial Times had an opinion piece by Eli Noam titled "Market failure in the media sector" [via Jeff Jarvis] that paints an equally bleak picture. Noam believes that the underlying structure of the information economy might bring it all crashing down.

"The basic structural reason for this problem is that information products are characterised by high fixed costs and low marginal costs. They are expensive to produce but cheap to reproduce and distribute, and therefore exhibit strong economies of scale with incentives to an over-supply. Second, more information products are continuously being offered to users. And information products and services are becoming more "commodified", open, and competitive." - Eli Noam, "Market failure in the media sector"

Every time I talk to someone who gets a paycheck for producing content of one kind or another I always get the feeling they know the gravy train might come to an end. The Internet and other technologies have not only made information and news ubiquitous but also just plain free for the taking. It was as if overnight someone rigged the content candy machine to dispense goodies with the push of a button. The Cult of Free had everyone, including the producers and distributors, drinking the Kool-Aid.

But enough of the doom, gloom, and finger pointing. I'm beginning to warm up to Jeff Jarvis's opinion that "the big get bigger....but underneath them, we are seeing little guys grow on an entirely different scale." Consolidation among the big media players will continue until someone decides it's actually cheaper to break or sell parts off. Meanwhile the little guys will find a way to make a living operating because they do not need the tremendous infrastructure or resources to produce the content.

Nick Denton is proving, from what few details he's given out, that micro-content can be a money making business model. Micro-content doesn't make billions or millions but it probably can make thousands. Most of this revenue will come from paid advertising or automated ads like Google AdSense or Blogads. The rest will probably come from reader donations or tip jars placed on the site.

According to Wired, Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo blog garners $1,200 a month for the best ad placement spot on the site. Andrew Sullivan offers a 1-year subscription to his private email newsletter for a $20 donation. Other bloggers like Halley Suitt and Virginia Postrel keep it simple with just a PayPal donation button. (Google says I can't mention the very clickable ads on my site.)

Something tells me that bloggers are going to become a lot like musicians. Some bloggers will do it because it allows them to express themselves, but will never make a dime. Some bloggers will make enough money to pay some bills, but not enough to quit their day job. Some bloggers will make it to the big time, and remain either independent or get scooped up by a big media giant. I'd be happy just to be a drummer in a cover band that plays for beer and gas money on the weekends.

Howard Dean Ends Campaign

Latest breaking news this morning is that Howard Dean will end his campaign for the presidential nomination, according to the Associated Press. It's all over but the crying for the Dean campaign. The report notes that Dean was to announce his plans at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

The real winner here is John Edwards. After narrowly loosing to John Kerry in last night's Wisconsin primary, Edwards will probably pick up a lot of Howard Dean supporters. As if those folks are gonna vote for John Kerry. Let's be honest here. Edwards could make a strong late run against Kerry with "Super Tuesday" still left and a lot of delegates to be had. Stay tuned...

Winners and Losers

Winners:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the Daytona 500, six years to the day after his late father drove to victory in NASCAR's biggest race for the first and only time. John Daly wins the Buick Invitational, nine years after his last PGA Tour victory and following countless ups and downs in his personal and professional life. Alex Rodriguez is on his way to become a New York Yankee and George Steinbrenner gets bragging rights over the Boston Red Sox.

Losers:
The Texas Rangers still have to pay A-Rod $67 million of the $179 million left on his contract. Aaron Boone just lost his third base job with the Yankees, although his off-season fun probably put the final nail in the coffin. The Boston Red Sox are having Babe Ruth trade flashbacks and even an 11th hour run at A-Rod was too little too late. The NBA had it's All-Star game last night and no one cares. Except of course the morons at ABC/ESPN and TNT that paid $4.6 billion for the broadcast rights.

EM Fest 2004

Today is the big day for EM Fest 2004 on the campus of Winthrop University. Adobe and New Riders have put up more than $2500 in prizes and it's now a day long event! EM Fest is an electronic media awards competition open to college students from across Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The goal of EM Fest is to spotlight the top electronic media design students and academic programs from across the region.

WHAT: EM Fest, a regional electronic media festival
WHEN: Friday, February 13th, 2004
WHERE: Plowden Auditorium in the Withers Building at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC.
COST: $5 per person for the entire day.

SCHEDULE:
12pm - 1pm EM Fest Registration

1pm – 1:45pm
Ed Cone, Senior Writer, Baseline magazine and Weblogger
"Will Work for No Food: Confessions of a Professional Journalist with a Weblog"

Ed Cone is senior writer for New York-based Baseline magazine, specializing in case studies on business and technology. He is also an opinion columnist at the News & Record, the monopoly daily newspaper in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina. Ed has worked as a contributing editor at Wired, a staff writer at Forbes, and a freelancer. He lives in Greensboro with his wife, Lisa, their two children and their dog, Luna.

2pm – 2:45pm
Steve MacLaughlin, EM Fest Organizer
"Get a Job: How to get hired in Electronic Media"

Steve MacLaughlin is an experienced Interaction Architect who has helped develop award winning sites for a variety of clients including Eli Lilly, Finish Line, the NCAA, RCA, and Verizon. His views on the technology industry have appeared in Fast Company, Business 2.0, BtoB Magazine, and USA Today. Steve has taught the fundamentals of interactive design at respected institutions like Indiana University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

3pm – 3:45pm
Samantha Bailey, VP of Information Architecture, Wachovia Corporation
"Big Company, Small Company: Working in two very different worlds"

Samantha Bailey is the lead information architect at Wachovia where she provides strategy and direction for the information architecture and interaction design of the corporate website. Prior to joining Wachovia, Samantha was Vice President of Operations at Argus Associates, a pioneering information architecture firm, where she worked with clients such as AT&T, Procter & Gamble, Ernst & Young, and Microsoft.

4pm – 4:45pm
Ron Jones, President, Symetri
"The Right Stuff: Skills needed to succeed in Web Development"

Ron Jones is the president and motivational leader of Symetri - an ebusiness company that specializes in helping clients mold technology, user research, and innovative thinking into solid business solutions that deliver an excellent customer experience and competitive advantage. Jones has more than 14 years technical experience. Prior to Symetri, Jones was a senior manager with MCI where he led development initiatives for MCI's client base.

5pm – 5:45pm
Bob DeLano, Vice President, The Film Foundry
"Life behind the Camera: Working in the Video and Film Industry"

Bob Delano is an award-winning on-line editor, now the Vice President of The Film Foundry, a digital film and video finishing facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. A video post-production veteran of over 20 years, Bob's current projects include four 3-D animated children's specials, along with episodic programs and broadcast specials for HGTV, The Food Channel, Turner South, and Speed Channel.

7pm – 8pm
EM Fest Awards Show

Trainwreck Spotting

Matt Drudge 's report on an alleged infidelity scandal in the John F. Kerry campaign broke about an hour ago. Fact or fiction, I've been having fun watching the impending trainwreck. Wonkette and Instapundit [11:46 AM] were the first mainstream bloggers (Did I just say that???) to post something about it.

The wonderful thing about the Internet and weblogs are the timestamps. Here's the moment the story broke on Howard Dean's Blog for America:

second and check out DRUDGE! HERE IT COMES!!!Posted by barry in va at February 12, 2004 11:37 AM

Google's news search had just two articles ("Will Press Pounce on Drudge's Kerry Rumor?" and "Media investigating alleged recent infidelity Democrat rivals...") as of 12:30 PM. Though one outlet is for journalists and the other is something I'd put in the right-wing category to say the least.

I guess at the moment I am much more interested in how this unfolds from a media coverage perspective, than whether or not there is any truth in the story. Either way, this is going to be a trainwreck for either Kerry or the sharks that get caught chasing nothing more than blood in the water.

At the moment, much of bloggerdom appears to be silent. Either they're getting real work done or waiting to see which direction things turn. As of 1 PM there's no word from Dave Winer, Doc Searls, Jeff Jarvis, or David Weinberger on the story. More importantly, I don't see anything from Mickey Kaus, Joshua Marshall, or Eric Alterman. Nothing from Jim Romenesko either but Andrew Sullivan has a very brief mention of the Drudge story in the Daily Dish.

Perhaps the real story and commentary is unfolding on the campaign blogs themselves. The Dean Blog has been on fire with comments and the John Kerry Blog has comments full of back-and-forth between Kerry and Dean supporters. The John Edwards Blog has comments that read like kids on Christmas morning.

At 2 PM there's nothing from CNN, although it appears as though Ken and Barbie are breaking up, Fox News isn't going near the story at the moment, and MSNBC is covering human cloning and the "battle" over gay marriage.

Of course, all of this is very early in terms of coverage and reaction. But it reminds me of past alleged scandals where the big voices let someone else like Drudge break the story and then pounced. Not only are most of the big media not covering this one but the tech bloggers turned political bloggers (and the just plain political bloggers) are no where to be found. Granted, there are a few exceptions.

Leave it to one of my daily reads, The Scotsman, to run the first mainstream story: "Mystery of Kerry and the Intern". It's essentially a rehash of the original Drudge story, but it leads with "Allegations against Vietnam war hero John Kerry today threatened his runaway presidential campaign." Something tells me the over-the-pond tabloids are redoing tomorrow's front pages as we speak, but what about The New York Times or The Washington Post?.

The original Drudge story alleges that "A serious investigation....has been underway at TIME magazine, ABC NEWS, the WASHINGTON POST, THE HILL and the ASSOCIATED PRESS." So is Drudge just lighting the match on a lot of gasoline that's already been spilled?

As of 3 PM the most active discussions about the story are happening at the Howard Dean Blog, the John Kerry Blog, the John Edwards Blog, and even the now defunct Wesley Clark Blog has something to talk about. Although they appear to be more interested in the actual news report that Clark will endorse Kerry tomorrow.

Nick Denton's latest micro-content blog, Wonkette, has some additional posts this afternoon. Editor Ana Marie Cox reports that ABC radio in DC has reported the story and she also links to a NewsMax.com article from April of last year titled "The Hill: Boston Globe to Probe Kerry Private Affairs". Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds has a few more links up, including one back to this site. Now I'm finally starting to see the blogosphere abuzz like gangbusters over the story.

Mickey Kaus finally chimes in [11:23 AM PT] and references a September 2, 1998 Boston Herald story about Kerry and a young Georgetown grad. Looks like he's writing, linking, and thinking fast and furious right now. Eric Alterman has also just referenced the story but notes that "I don’t ipso facto believe anything I read on Drudge, so I’m not going to make a big deal about its hypothetical implications."

This all reminds me of those Tootsie Roll pop commercials growing up as a kid. ("How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop?") The new questions is this: How long does it take for a potentially major story to hit the mainstream blogosphere? It looks like 2 1/2 to 3 hours. It could take that many days to reach the mainstream media. Blog on the rumor and print on the news? Perhaps not for everyone. Even some of the well known bloggers now have too much to loose by moving too quickly on a story. The cycle repeats itself. Stay tuned...

Speed Channel's F1 TV Schedule

Speed Channel has released their broadcast schedule for the upcoming 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship. It is only 24 days until the 2004 Australian Grand Prix. All telecasts are US Eastern Time.

Australia
Practice Thu, Mar 4 11pm SD
Qualifying Fri, Mar 5 12am SD
Australian Grand Prix Sat, Mar 6 9:30pm LIVE

Malaysia
Practice Thu, Mar 18 1am LIVE
Qualifying Fri, Mar 19 2am LIVE
Malaysia Grand Prix Sat, Mar 20 1:30am LIVE

Bahrain
Practice Fri, Apr 2 6am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Apr 3 7am LIVE
Grand Prix of Bahrain Sun, Apr 4 7am LIVE

San Marino
Practice Fri, Apr 23 8am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Apr 24 9am LIVE
San Marino Grand Prix Sun, Apr 25 7:30am LIVE

Spain
Practice Fri, May 7 8am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, May 8 9am LIVE
Spanish Grand Prix Sun, May 9 7:30am LIVE

Monaco
Practice Thu, May 20 8am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, May 22 9am LIVE
Monaco Grand Prix Sun, May 23 7:30am LIVE

Europe (Nurburg)
Practice Fri, May 28 8am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, May 29 9am LIVE
Grand Prix of Europe Sun, May 30 7:30am LIVE

Canada
Practice Fri, Jun 11 2pm LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Jun 12 2pm LIVE
Canadian Grand Prix Sun, Jun 13 12 noon LIVE

USA
Practice Sat, Jun 19 10am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Jun 19 2pm LIVE
United States Grand Prix Sun, Jun 20 12:30pm LIVE

France
Practice Fri, Jul 2 8am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Jul 3 9am LIVE
French Grand Prix Sun, Jul 4 7:30am LIVE

Britain
Practice Fri, Jul 9 9am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Jul 10 10am LIVE
British Grand Prix Sun, Jul 11 7:30am LIVE

Germany
Practice Fri, Jul 23 8am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Jul 24 9am LIVE
German Grand Prix Sun, Jul 25 7:30am LIVE

Hungary
Practice Fri, Aug 13 8am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Aug 14 9am LIVE
Hungarian Grand Prix Sun, Aug 15 7:30am LIVE

Belgium
Practice Fri, Aug 27 8am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Aug 28 9am LIVE
Grand Prix of Belgium Sun, Aug 29 7:30am LIVE

Italy
Practice Fri, Sep 10 8am LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Sep 11 9am LIVE
Italian Grand Prix Sun, Sep 12 7:30am LIVE

China (Shanghai)
Practice Thu, Sep 23 2am LIVE
Qualifying Fri, Sep 24 3am LIVE
Grand Prix of China Sat, Sep 25 1:30am LIVE

Japan
Practice Thu, Oct 7 1am LIVE
Qualifying Fri, Oct 8 2am LIVE
Japanese Grand Prix Sat, Oct 9 1am LIVE

Brazil
Practice Fri, Oct 22 12pm LIVE
Qualifying Sat, Oct 23 3:30pm SD
Brazilian Grand Prix Sun, Oct 24 12:30pm LIVE

Events from Australia, Malaysia, China and Japan which begin after midnight Eastern Time are listed as occurring on the previous day. SD = Same Day Delay

Kornheiser Radio Show Plot Thickens

Over the past few days I have received a lot of emails regarding my reporting of Tony Kornheiser's decision to leave his radio show on ESPN Radio. Kornheiser addressed the decision with his listeners yesterday, and emails I received yesterday filled in some additional details.

Kornheiser's Contract with ESPN Radio:
Tony Kornheiser is in the middle of a contract to host his ESPN Radio show. Kornheiser has two and a half years left on that contract. (This information conflicts with published reports that Kornheiser only has a year left on his current contract.) When Mr. Tony mentioned that he would have to take some time off ("a bunch of months") he was referring to the fact that he is still under contract with ESPN Radio. More than likely he will be paid for the remainder of his contract as long as he does not go elsewhere. Kornheiser's deal with ESPN to co-host PTI is under a different contract.

Large Market Programming Changes:
Kornheiser made comments about the show being dropped in certain markets in favor of other local programming. What he was referring to was decisions in large markets like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas to drop Kornheiser's show. Sadly, these were decisions by ESPN Radio and this caused some disappointment on the part of Tony. National ratings took a backseat to local ratings in these markets.

New York City's 1050 ESPN Radio replaced Kornheiser with The Michael Kay Show. Kay is the radio broadcaster for the New York Yankees. Los Angeles' ESPN Radio 710 airs a repeat of Mike and Mike in the Morning in Kornheiser's time slot. Dallas' ESPN 103.3 FM airs the first hour of The Tony Kornheiser Show followed by two hours of local content before airing The Dan Patrick Show. At the end of January, Chicago's ESPN 1000 replaced the show with Sun-Times sports columnist Jay Mariotti. Kornheiser was none too happy about Mariotti's Windy City moves.

ESPN Radio's decision to replace Kornheiser's show with local content or replays of other ESPN Radio programs was an attempt to boost ratings in these markets. They were willing to sacrifice a national audience for ratings in select cities. 1050 ESPN Radio is trying to compete with WFAN in New York City and the same is true in large markets where there is more than one sports radio station. But in the mid-size and smaller markets are not in the same kind of position. They end up being the big losers in all of this. Along with their listeners.

Kornheiser's Replacement:
The biggest unanswered question at the moment is who will be Tony Kornheiser's replacement. I have received a few tips, but none of them have been confirmed yet. The short list of suspects include Max Kellerman, host of ESPN's Around the Hornluxury hotels in Bath, which I believe is doing poorly in it's time slot before PTI. The other rumored host is Dan Le Batard who currently hosts the Saturday morning program ESPN the Magazine on ESPN Radio. Another rumored possibility is that Jay Mariotti's new show in Chicago may fill the time slot.

Although something tells me that no self-respecting sports writer would take the job. Kornheiser is well respected by just about everyone in sports journalism, and ESPN Radio's antics are a sore subject with most of them. ESPN Radio might decide to go in a completely different direction as well. Stay tuned...

Kornheiser addresses Radio Audience

This morning during The Tony Kornheiser Show, on ESPN Radio, Mr. Tony addressed the reality that he will be leaving the show on March 26th, if not sooner. To summarize, Kornheiser noted how he has been doing a radio show for 11 years now, including the past six on ESPN Radio, and he's been blessed to have succeeded to the degree that he has. Tony also noted how the strain of working three jobs (Washington Post sports columnist, host of The Tony Kornheiser Show, and co-host of ESPN's PTI) was going to kill him.

The obvious question is why leave the radio show, and I think Kornheiser also made some eluded to his rationale. If you have read, listened, or watched Mr. Tony for any length of time you now that he is still a writer. He's gone on to do radio and TV, but he brings the talent and style of a sports writer with him. Kornheiser has been at The Washington Post for over 20 years and PTI has become a huge success on ESPN. But the radio show has been caught up in the current local vs. national content battle.

Kornheiser noted that he's had run-ins with ESPN Radio management in the past, but for the past several months he's been able to have the kind of radio show he's always wanted. Perhaps they were letting Mr. Tony go out on his own terms, but it should also be noted that ESPN replaced most of the old management. The show had been dropped in several markets in favor of local content, and Mr. Tony is the direct antithesis of clowns like Jim Rome and Tony Bruno.

When it comes to sports radio it's nearly impossible to make everyone happy. Some folks only want to hear about their local teams and could care less about sports they don't follow. Some folks love the in-your-face style that really only works on radio. (Anyone remember Mohr Sports or seen the ratings for Rome is Burning????) Kornheiser's radio show doesn't really fit into either category, although I think he would probably return to just doing Washington, DC sports radio in the future.

Kornheiser also experienced some health problems towards the end of last year, and I think he's looking to scale back his life a bit. A recent visit to the Maryland vs. Duke basketball game reminded Mr. Tony of how much fun it can be to go out and have fun. Waking up at 5am to walk his dog Maggie and get ready for the radio show probably cuts into his social life to say the least. Live life Tony....live life!

But I think that there might be a silver lining in all of this. Some of the best parts of "The Internet Show" were Michael Wilbon's calls to Tony during the commercial breaks. Some foul language and complaints put an end to the fun, but it was essentially PTI on the radio. If ESPN were smart they would reformat the show to put Tony and Wilbon together on the air for three hours. Not only would it be a huge ratings hit, but they could reach listeners that can't always watch PTI. Hell, in a lot of ways TK's show is the extended version of PTI anyhow. Just my $.02.

Bob Knight checkmates Chancellor

People either love Bob Knight or they hate him. I've never known anyone in-between when it comes to Robert Montgomery Knight. The latest salad bar episode appears to be the one thing to get sports writers, sports talk shows, and SportsCenter from discussing Janet Jackson's breast exposure, or "costume reveal," as she called it.

The media is constantly waiting for the next Bob Knight "meltdown" or "explosion" or "boorish" episode. ESPN and all the other networks have a whole section in their tape archives just ready to play over and over and over again. Every newspaper or web site has a Knight timeline just ready to go. Bob Knight has become the easiest target in the sporting world, and in a way he has become his own worst enemy.

But lets look at the latest incident, if that's what you want to call it. The initial reports said that Texas Tech Chancellor, Dr. David Smith, approached Knight at a salad bar at an "upscale" Lubbock grocery store. These same initial reports said that Smith complemented Knight for his recent good behavior, and that Knight just went nuts and followed the chancellor out of the store. If you've seen the reels and reels of Knight footage all thrown together you would probably believe that is exactly what happened.

But it appears as though the real details of exactly what happened show that Knight didn't just go off on some tirade like a madman. According to ESPN, Knight gave his version of the spat after the game, saying Smith followed him to the side of a salad bar and said, "You've got issues. What are they?" Knight said that, "Right then is where I think I was at fault. I should have shook my head, walked away, done a lot of other things, and I didn't. I went on to tell him what one of those issues was and then it got back and forth a little bit. ... But the one thing there was, that I absolutely did not instigate anything."

It sounds like Chancellor Smith tried to get into a little verbal chess match with Coach Knight, and there are few people who wouldn't say Knight is a chess master. The game was on the moment Smith pushed past his comment about Knight's recent behavior. And subsequent reports indicate that it was Smith that continued the argument outside of the store. If you start poking a sleeping grizzly bear with a stick, then don't be surprised when he pokes you back. It's his nature.

Now, I am not going to pretend to have some personal relationship with Bob Knight. I went to Indiana University while Knight was still coaching there, and I was fortunate enough to run into him a few times near Assembly Hall. He keeps a very close circle of friends and for Knight loyalty is everything. But I have read enough, learned enough, and witnessed enough about Bob Knight to know the following:

What you see is what you get with Bob Knight. He's going to say what he thinks and he is going to do what he wants. The one thing you can't say about him is that he's a phony or disingenuous. You might not like everything he says or does, but there are very few people left in this world that are the genuine article. Bob Knight is wicked smart, a student of history, a motivator, a fierce competitor, and yes, a guy with a temper. If you challenge him, then he is going to challenge you back. And Bob Knight always plays to win no matter the situation. That's his nature. That's why Knight has the most wins among active coaches in college basketball.

Bob Knight checkmated Chancellor Smith, plain and simple. It appears as though he didn't instigate the episode, but he ended it. I am sure that lots of reporters and pundits will say that Texas Tech is just appeasing Knight by not suspending him. But once again the facts are more telling. According to ESPN's Jay Billus, Knight was willing to take a suspension to get the whole thing behind him, but the president of the university stepped in after hearing what had really happened. Something tells me that David Smith might want to start polishing his resume.

The Ford GT Gamble

Millions of you saw Ford Motor Company's advertisement for the Ford GT just before the kickoff of Super Bowl XXXVIII. As I blogged about previously, the muscle car is back, and Ford is taking a gamble on the Ford GT. That's because the reaction of most people to the ad was just one question: So how much does it cost?

The Ford GT goes into production in early summer 2004 with deliveries beginning shortly after that for the low, low price of just $139,995. That's right, $139,995. A pretty penny even for a car with a hand-built aluminum 5.4-litre DOHC supercharged V8 producing 500 horsepower that goes 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds. But for Ford this is probably more about restoring its image than trying to sell a lot of GTs.

The entire Ford GT project began as a concept car for the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The design was inspired by Ford GT40s of the 1960s, which in 1966 finished 1-2-3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the time, Henry Ford II tried to buy Ferrari for $10 million, but at the last minute Enzo Ferrari pulled out of the deal. The GT40 was born out of Ford's desire to show "The Old Man" that his company could build a world class automobile. William Clay Ford Jr. appears to have a similar plan in mind for the Ford GT.

In the wake of the Firestone tire fiasco and changes in management, Ford is looking to restore some of the past glory of the Blue Oval. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker was also recently bumped from the No. 2 spot in sales by Toyota. Ford can still argue that including sales by it's partially owned Mazda unit give them back their spot, but the writing is on the wall. Ford needs to reestablish itself as a leader in both quality and performance...and quickly.

So why drop a lot of money on a Super Bowl ad for a car that most people watching can't afford? Because it gives Ford a chance to show that it has the vision and ability to produce innovative cars. The major advertising blitz for the new F-150 was just a glimpse and hopefully future promotion of the Ford GT will create some buzz for the company. Ford's other brands include Lincoln, Mercury, Aston Martin, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Mazda (33%). But at the moment Ford is hoping that the new Ford GT can be a rising tide that lifts all its boats.

Kornheiser Leaving Radio Show

Say it ain't so Mr. Tony! Say it ain't so! Tony Kornheiser, Washington Post sports columnist, host of The Tony Kornheiser Show, on ESPN Radio, co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, and the inspiration behind a new CBS show starring Jason Alexander, will leave his nationally syndicated radio show at the end of March.

An article in The Washington Post quotes Kornheiser as saying, "I'm not retiring from radio, I'm just taking a break." Another article quotes Mr. Tony as saying, "If I continue to work three jobs, I'm going to die, so I have decided that it's time to take a break from the radio show." Tony Kornheiser's last day will be March 26.

For several weeks now Kornheiser has hinted on the air that his days on the show were numbered. But most of us loyal listeners thought Mr. Tony was just being his typical pessimistic self. Kornheiser wants to lighten his schedule and focus more on Pardon the Interruption, which he co-hosts with The Washington Post's Michael Wilbon. I have also gotten the impression that Tony has had some health problems related to his hectic schedule.

Kornheiser started in radio at WTEM-AM in Washington D.C. in 1992. He joined ESPN Radio in November 1997, with his weekday 10 am to 1 pm show premiering on January 5, 1998. The Tony Kornheiser Show is heard on 243 stations and reaches 1.35 million listeners each week. Mr. Tony has had his run-ins with ESPN management in the past, but the success of his radio program and PTI have kept him around. PTI has been one of the few experiments that have worked for ESPN in the ratings department.

I am really going to miss Mr. Tony. For years now he's been a source of entertainment and insight about sports and the world in general. I'll still watch PTI and I will still read his columns in the Post, but I can't say there won't be a tear in my eye when he signs off his radio show for the last time. He's been a great friend that I've never met for many years now. So long for now Mr. Tony and I hope you will return one day very soon. Rack him, he's out!

A Moment in Space and Time

A year ago today I had awoken to a report on CNN that NASA had lost contact with the Space Shuttle Columbia during its descent for landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I had followed the US space program my entire life and immediately knew that something just didn't sound right. By the time I got up and went into the living room there was the first video of the shuttle breaking up over Texas. The reporters didn't know what they were seeing, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach grew, and I knew exactly what was happening.

After flipping through all the networks I just kept getting the sense that most of the reporters had no clue what they were talking about. I pretty quickly jumped online and my first instinct was to start blogging what I was thinking, seeing, reading, and observing about the situation. After getting a basic summary of what had happened I hit publish at 10:07 AM. For the next seven days I blogged every facet and fact behind the tragedy. Here are links to the coverage at Saltire:

February 1, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia Breaks Up On Landing
February 2, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia Technical Details
February 3, 2003 - Media Coverage Of Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy
February 4, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia Nose Cone Information
February 5, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia Debris And Crew Recovery Update
February 6, 2003 - NASA Searches For Combination Of Factors
February 7, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia Investigation Widens

By about 11:45 AM that Saturday morning I was already predicting that a Thermal Protection System Failure was the cause of the accident, and began going through lots of old materials. It was a very surreal experience to be honest. I was reporting on a subject that I had a certain level of expertise about, but I was also feeling the enormity of what had happened. The positive feedback from readers and the media at least let me know I was doing a good job despite the circumstances.

By the end of the week I was just drained from following and reporting on the whole topic. It had become a little bit too technical, clinical, and non-human at that point. I guess I'm still too human to forget about the real loss and the real tragedy of the event. I took two weeks off from writing just to get my bearings and perspective on life back. I returned with the infamous Blogger Sells Out post, and that marked a big change in my approach to writing. That change is still evident a year later.