Media Smedia...As most of my regular readers know, I've sort of followed the demise of the
lamestream media for a good while now because I've secretly wanted to do something in radio or TV or print--thus the genesis of this blog.
What's killed me all along was the crappy service the legacy mainstream A.K.A.
lamestream media generally provides--and the extent of their efforts to eliminate competition in order to prevent anyone from realizing how crappy their products really are.
For instance, when I moved to Atlanta from south Alabama we had the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution (lovingly referred to as the Atlanta Urinal and Constipation) which had already been consolidated into one mega-enterprise under the Cox media name.
Basically it was one newspaper, printed twice a day--Journal in the morning and Constitution in the evening--with the same lame
ASSociated Press so-called "news" pablum and liberal editorial commentary packaged under different names but coming from the same building.
Then in the northwest Atlanta Metro area there was the Marietta Daily Journal which still survives today on the ad revenue of Cobb county legal notices
To the Northeast, the populace read the
Gwinette Daily News--a paper which in the seventies and eighties found itself serving one of the fastest growing counties in the entire US.
Then you know what happened?
The Cox empire (owners of the aforementioned Urinal and Constipation) swooped in, bought the paper, and then you know what they immediately did?
They closed that sucker down.
Boarded it up...lock stock and barrel.
Fired virtually everyone young and old--all in the name of increasing their core newspaper's circulation and in the name preventing competition in
Gwinette County, Georgia.
Some people I know still survive on USA Today or day old copies of the NY Times or Wall Street Journal delivered by mail because they were so appalled by the situation.
Now fast forward to 2008, and we find that after NBC Universal acquired The Weather Channel this past summer, that they've proceeded to run the 26 year old widely acclaimed institution into the ground.
Here's the story that's got my Boxers in a bunch this morning:NBC Universal made the first of potentially several rounds of staffing cuts at The Weather Channel (TWC) on Wednesday, axing the entire staff of the "Forecast Earth" environmental program during the middle of NBC's "Green Week," as well as several on-camera meteorologists. The layoffs totaled about 10 percent of the workforce, and are among the first major changes made since NBC completed its purchase of the venerable weather network in September.
Keep reading for more on The Weather Channel cuts...
The layoffs affected about 80 people, but left the long-term leadership of the network unclear, according to a source who requested anonymity due to the continuing uncertainty at the station.
Among the meteorologists who was let go was Dave Schwartz, a Weather Channel veteran and a viewer staple due to his lively on camera presentations. USA Today reported that meteorologists Cheryl Lemke and Eboni Deon were also let go.
The timing of the Forecast Earth cancellation was ironic, since it came in the middle of NBC's "Green Week," during which the network has been touting its environmental coverage across all of its platforms. Forecast Earth normally aired on weekends, but its presumed last episode was shown on a weekday due to the environmentally-oriented week.
Forecast Earth was hosted by former CNN anchor Natalie Allen, with contributions from climate expert Heidi Cullen. It was the sole program on TWC that focused on global climate change, which raises the question of whether the station will still report on the subject. Cullen's future role at the network is not known.
NBC released the following statement in response to questions about the firings:
The economic realities of recent months have created challenges for everyone in our business. In addition, when NBC Universal purchased the Weather Channel earlier this year, we expected that there would be cost synergies as part of a company reorganization. While it is always difficult to lose valued employees, we are doing our best to minimize the impact, and remain committed to providing the highest quality content that our viewers have come to expect from the Weather Channel.
Here's what this story isn't telling you.
NBC's management has been in the process of transforming the formerly neutral, science based, weather reporting Weather Channel programming into their own watered down but still pro-Global Warming based media outlet.
I'd been a Weather Channel junkie since its inception, I'd noticed the changes, and it pissed me off.
Forecast earth was almost total bullshit.
Natalie Allen and Heidi
Cullem were wild eyed Global Warming bullshit spewing leftist bimbos and never should have been on the air on the Weather Channel.
This is yet another perfect example of the strategy of conquer and divide.
Let's face it folks, the single source of semi-unbiased weather information on the TV has been compromised, and firing Allen and
Cullem would have been the only solution to their problems, but what do they do?
The rocket scientists over at NBC dump Schwartz,
Lemke, and Deon while also cancelling their Owl Gore Global Warming promoting "Network Earth" programming.
Of course the shows gone because it's a complete failure and besides...
even Owl Gore's now retreating to the "Climate Change" Hysteria rather than "Global Warming" mantra.
The important thing to remember is that Allen and
Cullem are still out there, and it's just a matter of time until they're repackaged with new makeup and hair and tossed back in our face to tell us that Capitalism and good clean American living is something to be despised because it's killing the environment.
Anyone remember the
1974 Time Magazine article on the coming Ice Age ?It was 17 degrees here on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River last night, and I put more stock in a coming Ice age than I do global warming--but I really think it's still true that "everyone complains about the weather...but no one ever does anything about it."
I say that someone needs to tell the politicians and the government to find something else to worry about.
Dammit...
