Mike McGuff is the ultimate hermit!

So my neighbor saw my appearance on Houston 8 last week with Ernie Manouse (The show airs on Channel 8 KUHT PBS Fridays at 8pm. Get why it is called Houston 8?).  The amazing thing is that I did not talk to him about, hold a watching party, fly the Good Year Blimp over or hang flyers on light posts around the neighborhood.

Anyway, when he saw my wife he told her how much he liked it but was surprised by me. He told her, "Your husband is like the ultimate hermit. He sits inside all day and comes out only late at night or early in the morning when he thinks no one is watching." (Guess I'll have to be more careful now I know he is watching!)

This blog keeps me a hermit. That's why I need you to send me tips and links! If you work at a Houston media outlet, make sure to drop me a line via email, Twitter, Facebook or whatever the next social networking site is (I'll probably be on it).

Former Fox 26 reporter to Harris County Sheriff's Department

Miya Shay is reporting via Twitter that former Fox 26 KRIV reporter Christina Garza is leaving the Greater Houston Partnership for the Harris County Sheriff's Department. LINK

From real news to media moves, Miya Shay is on top of it!

(Christina Garza photo courtesy of frankandpaco.com)

Record producer spills the beans

We all know that the music business is really full of smoke and mirrors. Not everything is as it appears.

Mikemcguff.com blog reader James B. reminded me how mega-producer Tom Werman (Molly Hatchet, Cheap Trick, Motley Crue, Ted Nugent) is now writing a blog on PopDose and he is telling it all. If you are interested in the music business, his stories are very revealing and worth it.

Two recent posts caught my attention. The first one is on how most live records are partially re-recorded in a studio!:

Live LPs in those days (and I’m sure today, as well) were carefully crafted affairs, designed to sound as if they were recorded at the show, but in actuality fairly worked-over in the studio to repair the mistakes.

Live recordings had tracks for the hall’s public address system and for the audience, to capture the size of the hall and the size and energy of the crowd; because they already carried a record of what happened onstage, we couldn’t depart very much from what was actually played, but if you were careful, you could either correct or completely replace the vocal and guitar tracks. READ THE REST

The next one is about Werman's time with Motley Crue. He says the time he spent with the band wasn't as wild as portrayed in the bio The Dirt. READ IT

TV station billboard war

I am a true TV geek because I enjoy going to other television markets and seeing the station billboards. I've noticed Dallas always seems to have a TV station billboard war going on.  In Houston, the TV billboard war caused one television meteorologist to lose his head!

JL Watkins of LittleLostRobot fame (and KPRC Channel 2 employee) has a great idea. Start a Flickr group for TV station billboards:

So I’ve started my very own Flickr group called, “Local TV Personality Billboards” and I’m looking for folks to submit shots of their area TV news anchors on roadside billboards. Anyone can join/post, and I give bonus points to those who have the “Mount Rushmore” shots of anchors cut-n-pasted together, defying lighting and spacial composition. Anyone interested? It’s like a scavenger hunt! READ THE REST

That billboard Watkins featured is of Mia Gradney from Houston's Chanel 39 KIAH.

I love the Flickr idea! It would be a big hit across the country.

New Google Chrome OS

Google announces free operating system called Chrome OS.

- Would You Miss Windows With a Google Operating System?
- Google Operating System's Impact Seen Limited
- A Microsoft nightmare? Google to launch Chrome operating system
- 5 Ways Microsoft Will Bring the Hurt to Google Chrome OS
- The big winner from Google Chrome OS: Telcos
- Why Google's Chrome OS Bomb Has Minimal Fallout On Apple

Chris Baker fills in for Glenn Beck on radio

I understand Chris Baker filled in on the Glenn Beck radio show this week. From 950 KPRC to 100.3 KTLK-FM, K-TALK Minneapolis/St. Paul, Baker is one busy guy. Of course there is another Houston connection to the Glenn Beck program as Pat Gray is leaving 700 KSEV to join it.

RELATED
- Pat Gray leaving Houston's 700 KSEV for Glenn Beck

Cincinnati Bengals Chad Ochocinco has new Twitter app

The LA Times is reporting about Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco's appearance on 1560 KGOW The Game in Houston. It's concerning Twitter and his plans for the social networking service of 140 characters or less:

[Ochocinco] likes Twitter "because it gives me the opportunity to reach out to thousands of people at one time. It gives me a chance to get my story across when something goes wrong.

"It's big for me and I'm taking it a step further. I have my own application coming out where people will be able to interact and follow me. You know, more than through just the keyboard and reading my messages -- you'll actually be able to follow me and when the season starts, it's going to get even worse.

"I'm going to really make it fun. I'm using Twitter during games, during halftime, after the games. I'm going to be taking it to the next level."

That's big for Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis to know. Very soon, Ochocinco could be taking team fines to the next level. READ THE REST

(Image courtesy of Flickr user ickey.woodz)

KXAS NBC 5 anchor Mike Snyder leaves 10pm

After 19 years, Dallas-Fort Worth anchorman Mike Snyder is leaving the 10pm news chair at NBC 5 KXAS. 4pm anchor Brian Curtis replaces him.

- After 19 years, KXAS/Channel 5 anchorman Mike Snyder leaving 10 p.m. newscast
- Snyder out as anchor of NBC5's 10 p.m. newscasts, continues at 5 and 6 p.m.
- Post-Snyder 10 p.m. era ushers in subs for now on NBC5
- Brian Curtis in as new 10 p.m. co-anchor at NBC5
- NBC 5 Reaches New Agreement with Mike Snyder

PS22 Chorus is most famous school choir on the Net

If you haven't checked out the song performances by the P.S. 22 Chorus in Graniteville, Staten Island, then do it now.

WATCH "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN" by JOURNEY

New York Magazine did a full profile - Gaga for P.S. 22 A fifth-grade chorus gets famous, with a little help from Perez Hilton.

http://ps22chorus.blogspot.com/

The most rocking school district PIO

By day he lets the media know what's going on at the Houston Independent School District, but at night he tickles the ivories in the band Brother 2 Brother. This is why I say HISD's Norm Uhl is the most rocking school public information officer ever!

Norm sent me this info on his bands upcoming album:

We just started our second CD. We are recording at Sugar Hill. It'll be a while before it's done. We anticipate releasing the new CD sometime after October 1. That's a cut off date for GRAMMY ballots. That means we are eligible for next year, which gives us more time to promote it. We got on the first GRAMMY ballot in 06 for our first CD, "Looking for Texas", in two categories. Best contemporary Blues CD and best rock performance with vocals for a song called Power to Drive the Blues away. I wrote the song and sang it on the CD. I have three songs on the new CD and another one in the works. One of them, Texas Blues Rocks, is the title track. The guitar player wrote a great song called Wrong Side of the Blues. The Bass player wrote a song called Johnny Wannabe and we are doing a couple of covers. Cool Guitars by Jimmy Thackery and my arrangement of Summertime. I guess I get equal billing with Gershwin on that. The rough mix of the first six songs sounds great! The whole band is really pleased with what we've done, so far.

www.brother2brother.com

Serial prankster hits Baytown restaurants

This sounds like Bart Simpson lives in Baytown, TX (near Houston). Here is the account from The Baytown Sun:

A man who claimed to be from the fire department tricked a local restaurant manager into taking action that resulted in a costly incident Sunday.

Baytown police said that at about 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, the general manager of the Arby’s on Garth Road answered a telephone call at the fast-food establishment and spoke with a man who claimed to be with the Baytown Fire Department. That man told the manager that he needed to pull the lever for the fire suppression equipment to enable a test to be performed, but assured him that the system was off and that nothing would happen.

The manager did as instructed and at first nothing did happen, but the caller told him to pull the lever again.

That time something did happen. The fire suppression system did what it was supposed to do. Sprayers in the ceiling sprayed out a fire suppressing foam on cooking areas and other locations.

The caller told the manager that he and any other employees present should immediately vacate the premises and also break out windows to ventilate the area. READ THE REST

I'm thinking stupid!

CNN's Twitter king Rick Sanchez gets parodied

He is the Twitter newscaster on CNN everyday and he even used to work in Houston at KHOU. Now Rick Sanchez is getting some comedic attention from a comedy troupe called Plan C.

The dramatic pauses, the passionate speeches and his crazed obsession with every social networking website in existence - Rick "Twitter" Sanchez has been ripe for satire from the first day he stepped into the CNN studios.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Did they capture the speech pattern?

RELATED
- TV networks using Twitter, be careful

KXAS Dallas criticized for Hot on Homes remake

Uncle Barky tells us how NBC 5 KXAS Dallas Fort Worth got in some hot water with critics over its recent house coverage:

Even so, the Fort Worth-based station outdid itself last week with a quintet of 10 p.m. newscast "reports" that played much more like Hot on Homes segments. That's the half-hour infomercial currently airing Sunday mornings on CBS11 after previously residing on WFAA8.

Assisted by the DFW Metrotex Association of Realtors, NBC5's Lindsay Wilcox gushed about three available homes per newscast, with prices beginning in the $150,000 range Monday and ending with a trio of million dollar babies on Friday. READ THE REST

Dumbest Moments in Business 2009

Fortune has already compiled a Dumbest Moments in Business 2009 list and we are only mid-year! The editors have plenty of material.

From Kentucky Grilled Chicken running out of chicken, the SEC doing nothing about Madoff all these years and the Chinese openly laughing at Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, there is more than enough for a top ten list.

SEE THE LIST

(Thanks Brian)

REVIEW: Hit Hard by Aerosmith's Joey Kramer

A couple of weeks ago I told you how Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer was releasing a new biography titled Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top. I just finished it and highly recommend it.

The book obviously takes a look at Kramer's and Aerosmith's histories. That's good enough for a fan like myself. But if you've ever struggled with drugs, depression, codependency, abuse or dying parents, I think the book is worth a read on that alone.

Kramer discusses the pain he's experienced, how he always managed to bury it and why that did not work out for him. It goes to show that no matter how much success and money you have, life isn't always as great as it appears.

One particular theme I found interesting is how Kramer equated Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler with his father. That was not a good thing either.

The book reads more like a straight on biography than recent releases like Nikki Sixx's The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star (Sixx does the forward to Kramer's book by the way) or Tommyland by Tommy Lee.

I give it five drumsticks!

More info at amazon.com

RELATED
- Nikki Sixx's Heroin Diaries
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- David Lee Roth's book, "Crazy from the Heat"
- New tell-all Aerosmith book coming soon

KIAH 39 News Multi-Media Journalists

Based on the amount of links I received based on my old post that KIAH 39 News was looking for Multi-Media Journalists, I must have been the first to let everyone know the station was hiring for this.

Now we get a chance to check out more about the KIAH multi-media journalists.  39 photographer Matt Robins got the gig and shoots with a Sony PMW-EX1 XDCAM EX Camcorder. READ THE REST

(Image courtesy of Flickr user wsulistio)

Ben and Skin out at 105.3-FM The Fan

Baseball Time in Arlington posts a link to the Dallas Morning News who says Ben and Skin are out at 105.3-FM The Fan KRLD in Dallas/Fort Worth. READ MORE

TV Guide Network to Telecast Michael Jackson Memorial Service Live and Commercial Free

I imagine almost all the news networks will have the Michael Jackson memorial service on, but here is the one I received a release from:

TV Guide Network will provide live, commercial free coverage of the Michael Jackson’s memorial service on Tuesday, July 7 starting at 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m. PT. TV Guide Network “Hollywood 411” host Chris Harrison will anchor coverage live at Staples Center before, during and after the pop icon’s service, to bring fans comprehensive and timely coverage.

In addition to extensive live coverage Tuesday morning, TV Guide Network will rebroadcast the complete memorial service on Tuesday evening beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Sudoku Puzzles on the mikemcguff.com blog

Jeff Ehling's kids always complained to me that my blog had no games. I am changing that. Located on the right hand side of the page, you will see a new section that has Sudoku Puzzles.

That means one day when all my posts really suck, at least you know that you can play a quick game of Sudoku to pass the time at work!

VIDEO: New KPRC Local 2 Investigates promos shot on still camera

It is clear to me that JL Watkins of LittleLostRobot fame is shaking things up in Houston at KPRC Channel 2 in a good way.

Check out his latest promos for Local 2 Investigates with Robert Arnold, Stephen Dean and Amy Davis. WATCH IT

This reminds me of the 1990s edge KPRC used to have - just obviously with a new 2009 style. It definitely gets your attention! I should add it was shot on a still camera! A Canon 5D2.

RELATED
- KPRC Channel 2 Stephen Dean's predator book

(Image courtesy of Flickr user LittleLostRobot)

Wayne Dolcefino calls Ken Hoffman 'dude'

Actually Ken, Wayne calls most people dude! READ IT

Why Ghostbusters 3 has been so slow to come out

It's been 20 years since the last Ghostbusters film. Seem like a long time to wait for the next movie to you too? I think I understand part of the reason. It seems like Harold Ramis and Bill Murray hate each other according to this AVClub interview:

AVC: It’s been a few years since you’ve worked with Bill Murray. What do you think the experience will be like, working with him again on that film?

HR: I have no idea. We have no social relationship whatsoever, it’d be hard to predict.

[snip]

I’m the only one who talks about [our relationship]. He won’t tell you… [Pauses.] He’s a very private person. He doesn’t do serious interviews. Once in a while, but he’s not self-revealing. The most self-revealing thing I ever saw was never in the press or publicity, it was in Lost In Translation or Rushmore. [Laughs.] Those movies kind of defined a side of him the public is not aware of. I think if you looked at his career, he got tired of being the crazy, life-of-the-party guy. That’s quite a load to carry, and he carried it a bunch of times so successfully, and he just didn’t want to do it anymore, and started exploring this more adult, serious side of himself. That’s fine, I’d admired and respected it, and like his work in those films. I just had so little social contact with him that I don’t have any perspective on anything he does, thinks, or feels, and he gives no clues.

HR: I’ve had many dreams about him, that we’re friends again. There was a great reunion feeling in those dreams. Bill was a strong man. [John] Belushi had that before, too. He was a rock for us. You’d do a movie with Bill, a big comedy in those early days, just knowing he could save the day no matter how bad the script was, that we’d find something through improvisation. That was our alliance, kind of, our big bond. I could help him be the best funny Bill Murray he could be, and I think he appreciated that then. And I don’t know where that went, but it’s there on film. So whatever happens between us in the future, at least we have those expressions. READ THE REST

The AVClub interview also reveals more about Ghostbusters 3. To get more context of how the relationship between Murray and Ramis went south, I found part of The New Yorker profile Ramis talks about.

RELATED
- New Ghostbusters sequel actually a video game
- Ghostbusters 3 - back from the dead?

(Image courtesy of Flickr user musicneverstopped1)

Houston morning radio player on NBC reality show

Ricardo 'Chico' Rico of the Houston morning radio show "The Mexicanz" is going on NBC for a reality show called the "Great American Road Trip:"

Erica and Ricardo Rico, and their kids, Ricky and Danielle, were chosen from more than 2,000 applicants to appear on the series that pits seven RV-driving families against one another as they make their way through challenges across the country.
Erica Rico, 31, was born in Tucson and grew up in Barrio Hollywood. She worked as a DJ for Mega 106.3-FM before moving to Texas four years ago. Ricardo was also at 106.3, but was better known as "Chico," one of the hosts of the short-lived Hot 98.3 (98.3-FM) morning show "The Mexicanz."
The Ricos moved to Houston after Ricardo, 35, was offered a show there. The family makes frequent trips back to Tucson. READ THE REST

The show will air on KPRC Channel 2 this Tuesday at 7pm.  I know the Mexicanz have moved around the radio dial. Is the show still on Houston radio?

http://www.nbc.com/great-american-road-trip/contestants/rico/

RELATED
- Houston radio moves
- Mega 101 KLOL makes on-air changes

Behind the scenes at Houston's 'Millionaire' suditions

I told you how the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire hosted by Today's Meredith Vieira is holding tryouts in Houston.

Turns out some auditions were also for the big man Regis Philbin too.

Jason Bargas of Houstonist was at the tryouts and says it was like being in a pack of sardines. READ IT

Pixies, Aerosmith, Michael Jackson, Ratt, Alice in Chains and more

Pixies Frontman Talks New Album

Aerosmith on the Road: Backstage With Steven Tyler and Co.
- AEROSMITH Guitarist Putting Finishing Touches On New Solo Album

On the Charts: Michael Jackson Catalog Breaks Records
- WATCH: Jackson Dancing in AEG Rehearsal Video
- Michael Jackson Photos From “This Is It!” Rehearsals Emerge
- O2 Promoters Say Footage Shows Strong Jackson, “Amazing” Show
- Michael Jackson Was Working on Two Albums
- Michael Jackson “Desperately” Sought Sedative, Nutritionist Says
- Smooth Criminal Secrets Revealed!

U2 Reveal Innovative Stage Design as First 360 Tour Gig Kicks Off

Rob Halford on Recording at Ringo’s, Opening for Led Zeppelin

Def Leppard, Poison, Cheap Trick Deliver Big Riffs at Tour Kick-Off

Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, And John Paul Jones Collaborating Together?

RATT: Footage From Michigan's 'Stars & Stripes Festival' Posted Online

Alice In Chains Releases New Single For Download

Watch Houston 8 tonight at 5pm on KUHT Channel 8 PBS

My appearance on Houston 8 with Ernie Manouse on KUHT Channel 8 PBS has received some great feedback.

 The topic is social media and I share the set with Michael Garfield "The High Tech Texan" and Dave Fehling, a reporter at KHOU Channel 11.

The show re-airs tonight at 5pm on Channel 8 (Comcast HD 308). Check it out!

'A Show of Faith' moves to 1070 KNTH from KPRC

What do you get in Houston when you mix a rabbi, minister and priest together? "A Show of Faith" on the radio and it is moving from 950 KPRC to 1070 KNTH:

Beginning Sunday, July 19, “A Show of Faith” will broadcast live on 1070-AM KNTH, from 7 to 9 p.m. The radio program moves to its new home on 1070 after more than five years of broadcast on 950-AM KPRC.

“A Show of Faith” is a live, listener call-in show. It features three local clergy, representing three different religious traditions and perspectives. Co-hosts are Rabbi Stuart Federow, rabbi of Congregation Shaar Hashalom in Clear Lake; Rev. David Capes, past chairman of the department of Christianity and Philosophy at Houston Baptist University and interim dean of the HBU Honors College; and Fr. Mario Arroyo, pastor of St. Cyril of Alexandria Roman Catholic Church.

Fr. Brendan Cahill, rector of St. Mary’s Seminary, serves as the show’s monthly co-host. The program also features regular guest appearances by other local faith-based community leaders, including Javed Aslam and Rodwan Saleh, both of The Islamic Society of Greater Houston. READ THE REST

Ever wonder where TV jobs disappear to? Part 3

TVNewsDay published an article called Outsourcing Master Control Gains Traction:

Broadcasters never really wanted to outsource these functions "until the double hit of the economy and the fragmentation of revenues," says Karl Paulsen, CTO of AZCAR Technology, a systems integrator that has been working on the concept for nearly a decade.

"It takes somebody with the guts to do it and somebody to step up to the plate and say we'll manage this for you, we'll take it off your plate," he says.

Among those stepping up — or at least thinking about it — are TV broadcasters that have implemented centralcasting or hubbing for their own stations. They include Raycom Media, LIN Television, Media General, Lockwood Broadcast and Fusion Communications. READ THE REST

RELATED
- See where the other TV jobs went to

Former KSAT San Antonio sports anchor now infomercial guy

From a popular San Antonio sports anchor to current TV pitchman, former KSAT staffer Joe Fowler remembers Billy Mays:

Former KSAT sportscaster Joe Fowler, known for his crazy antics and shouts of "Boo!" when he didn't like something, is now a big name in infomercials. He, like so many, was shocked and saddened when he heard about the sudden death of the man he considered the best of the TV pitchmen, Billy Mays.

Fowler said he'd known Mays for more than 10 years and liked him right away when he first heard his "booming" voice at the Wisconsin State Fair. "We struck up a friendship right before he exploded on the scene with OxiClean," Fowler said.
He always appreciated that fame never changed Mays. "He had a right to have a big ego," Fowler said, "but he didn't. He always was real and a gentleman." READ THE REST

RELATED
VIDEO: RIP Billy Mays

KHOU Channel 11 wins national Murrow Award

Congrats to the folks at Channel 11 KHOU in Houston for grabbing a big-time Murrow Award:

National Murrow AwardsBelo Corp. (NYSE: BLC), one of the nation's largest pure-play, publicly-traded television companies, announced today that its television stations have won three national Edward R. Murrow Awards and one UNITY Award for 2009 from the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). One Murrow Award went to KHOU-TV in Houston in the Hard News category and two Awards went to KTVB-TV in Boise in the categories of Continuing Coverage and Videography. The UNITY honor went to KMOV-TV in St. Louis for the station's outstanding diversity coverage.

Since 2000, Belo stations have been honored with a total of 26 national Edward R. Murrow Awards, more than any other television group in the nation. KHOU, Belo's CBS station in Houston, was recognized with a Murrow in the large-market television category for its in- depth coverage of the slaughter of thousands of U.S. horses in Mexico for food and the deplorable conditions facing these animals while en route to slaughter. This is the fourth national Murrow KHOU has received since 2000. READ THE REST