Talkin' TV with Mickey Burns

 It's a big week in America. There is this election coming up and we are all sitting in the midst of a pandemic. The truth is, we are all a bit tired of the whole thing. If you feel you are getting beat up over the news, you might want to take a look at the phenomenon that is the "Fear of Missing Out" also known as FOMO. 

In this episode, Ric takes a look at that concept. Also, his conversation with Mickey Burns. Mickey is the host of the television show Profiles and was instrumental in the creation of the show COPS. How did that happen? Take a listen.

NEXT WEEK: A conversation with Sherry Nelson. 

It's All An Act

 Everything you consume through any sort of media is not being honest with you. It's not so much an outright lie as it is just in the manner of presentation. In this episode, Ric is going to lay out the vibe all content creators go with when it comes to the dissemination of any thing. 

From all your news to your music, it's all a big fat lie carefully designed to do one thing. Here's a hint, Ric will explain this by using two bands KISS & Ghost. 

NEXT WEEK: The Post-Pandemic Panic 

Headline Whiplash

A connected society certainly has it's benefits. It also has it's drawbacks. One of the major drawbacks is dealing with the idea of too much accessibility. In essence, the idea that we can simply look up ANY subject and learn all there is to know about that thing is absolutely a good thing.

The dark side of that means we have to filter out all the untrue things. Hence the objectification of false news. Because of all of this, we have become quite desensitized to all the things happening in the world.

In this episode, Ric will pull from the current headlines to sort out what this means and how it affects everyone.



NEXT WEEK: From Radioland Exclusive, Exclusivity is A Damn Lie.

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Video Dizzy

You probably don't give too much thought about how your videos come to you. It's all about format. Much like last week's episode about audio format, in this episode, Ric takes you through a very abbreviated history of how moving pictures came to you.

Starting with the basics of film and the transition to digital devices to the latest in video technologies. Have we reached peaked video? Not so fast, all eyes are on the one industry who have been guiding the advancement through the years and you are probably not going to believe your ears when you hear who is behind it all. Plus, Ric's unpopular thought and more.



NEXT WEEK: The Keyboard Cowboys

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Sarcastic Bullets

 Part of what it takes to being on the air these days is healthy sense of sarcasm and being a bit of a cynic. In this episode, Ric talks about why he speaks like that. In light of the recent mass shootings, he uses that subject to display just how powerful sarcasm can be. It's the vehicle that drives others to react in interesting ways.

Some of you out there may not like what they hear in this episode and Ric makes no apologies. As he says, "You have the right to freedom of speech, but you are not free from the consequences of your speech." He'll explain as he lays out the current status of what seems to be happening in America.



NEXT WEEK: TV on the internet.

Don't Look Over There

There are a few things you might hear regarding the news media. Aside from the fact a good number of them are some form of jackal. You might hear people say there is one thing happening to "distract" you from something else happening. It begs the question of how stupid do some people think the general public really is? The idea you can only hold one thought at a time when it comes to something of "national importance" is ludicrous.

In this episode, Ric is going to prove to you your own ability to maintain tons of thoughts at the same time. Plus, how do you really research something in the news? Ric will show you how he does just that. Also, it is the Memorial Day weekend and Ric has a little history about what it all means.



NEXT WEEK: Riding those coat tails to oblivion.

No Foolin' & The Memphis Snake Doctors

No, there is no April Fool's joke here. Personally, I think the whole idea of pranks to be kind of cruel and a waste of everyone's time. Practical jokes tend to bring out the worst in people. With that in mind, notice how the major news outlets have refrained from the annual wacky news piece? You know why that is, don't you?

Also, an evening with The Memphis Snake Doctors.



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NEXT WEEK: Something Different. No, really.

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Blow Me Down

The Memorial Day weekend was an interesting experience for Memphians this year. A major storm came through and put a lot of people in the dark. As of the publishing of this episode, there are still those who are dealing with the aftermath of The Week The Lights Went Out in Memphis. But, kudos to the city for staying on top of the job at hand.

Trees came down, power lines were snapped, people lost the food in their refrigerators and there was a few moments of chaos. The biggest problem? People trying to find ice and a place to charge their phones.

Plus, music from Donnell London.



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NEXT WEEK: Pitchforks and torches to the funny people. A special episode From Radioland.

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Stop The Presses

Seriously, go ahead and turn them off. Here in Memphis, the local newspaper went through an evolutionary process that seems all too familiar. Cutting their way into prosperity. At least, that is one way to look at what happened. But it points to the big elephant in the room.

That being the internet.

Plus music from Dory Drive.



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NEXT WEEK: The battle on the air no one is paying attention to. also music from Davis Coen.

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Dizzy From The Spin

Oh yeah... there is some seriously interesting shit happening in the United States. What is interesting, to me at least, is how this is all being brought to the public through the media. Despite the title of this episode, there isn't much spin being placed into this immigration story.

There is an interesting reason as to why there isn't much spin on the current situation. You know why? Simple. You can't polish this turd enough.

Plus music from with Bravado.



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NEXT WEEK: Organizational skills... or not.

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Peeing In The Reporter's Pool

I spent quite a few years in the world of journalism. It was a great time and at the same time, I'm glad I am not in that industry anymore. There is no way I could survive in today's newsrooms. With that said, there are a lot of things about the people who work as journalists and reporters many people don't really understand.

News is a difficult business. These days, it's a whole different ballgame. These days, the public likes to shoot the messenger, a lot.

Plus music from Lucero.



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NEXT WEEK: Oversaturation in the spin cycle. Plus music from the band with... Bravado.

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New Media Doesn't Mean No Media

You can think of this as part 1 of a two part show regarding the state of the media in this country. In this episode, I take a pretty fervent stand in defending the news media, in general terms, mind you. Part two will look into the actual people that make up the news media. More on that next week.

There has been some talk that the President Elect wants to close the White House Press Room and do away with the White House Press Corps. Can he do that? Sure. He can do what he wants. Is it a good idea? Nope.

Plus music from Dan Montgomery.



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NEXT WEEK: The people in the news media are kind of sick. Plus music from Lucero.

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The So-Called "Media Conspiracy"

When of the things that comes with being in this business for the better part of 30 plus years, is you get to hear all about "the media conspiracy". It is this ridiculous notion that all of us in this industry are working together to manipulate everything from the political races to all the crime statistics.

This could not be further from the truth.

It's as if those of us in this business are actually interested in such matters.

The reason is pretty simple. Those of us in the broadcast business are the absolute worst at communicating. Seems reasonable.

Plus music from Super Witch.



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NEXT WEEK: Your reality is not my reality... TV. Plus music from Cary Hudson.

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Zen, Broadcasting and The Internet

Everyday, moment to moment we are swamped with news from the internet. Some of it is good and most of it is bad. Plus, there is a bunch of it that is just bullshit taken to an extreme.

We all put up with it the best we can. But, there is a time when we all have had enough. We tire of this crap and when we do, we go from being slightly annoyed to being outright put out over this stuff. What do you do when this happens?

Just breathe. That's all you can do.



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NEXT WEEK: Dying to be on television.

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This Just In, The News is Awful

Those who know me, know that I spent some time working in the television news world. I was a reporter and an anchor. Fun job. At least it can be if you are numb to the shit you are telling the public. When I did it, I did get numb. Dangerously so. But, we'll save that for another day.

What I wanted to get into on this episode was the perspective of how the media is supposed to be in the category of "infotainment" (shocking that word actually exists). Here's the thing, it is neither informative nor entertaining. At least if you are entertained by watching the drunk anchor man stumble through his copy. Every stinking night.

Is there a great media conspiracy? Nope. Give this a listen and I'll explain.



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NEXT WEEK: Crazy From The Hate

A little side note here: I just noticed that iTunes actually censored an episode of this show. Episode 71: Assholes With Money was censored. Not the content of the show of course. But the title was. It was changed to Episode 71: A**holes With Money. Even though the episode was tagged with the Explicit tag. Funny how that works. God forbid I should offend someone with that word. Assholes.

Stay tuned...

Day To Day Rhythms

Everyday, we all have a set routine of things we do. Some of them have to be done, some not so much. I'm no different. I live a different life than others. That's no big deal either. The thing is, we seem to incorporate things and activities into our weirdly scheduled lives either for our entertainment or exact purpose of our existence.

The newspaper is one of those things. For years, I have been a subscriber to our local paper. Now days, specifically for my wife. She loves to read it. She bitches about incessantly, but she does read it for her amusement and for her ability to know about things in the world. Or as the case may be, she learns about "stuff".

How long is this archaic form of news delivery going to stick around? It's a question that has been on the table for sometime now. Is it dying or merely evolving?



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NEXT WEEK: Ric says some remarkable things. 22 minutes in, he says something that will blow your mind.

Stay tuned...