Whither Print

The long standing traditions surrounding the print media industry in this country kind of goes without saying too much. But, has it played out? Is there a place in our world for such a thing? In this episode, Ric takes a look at newspapers, magazines and other such news sources from the perspective of the internet. Is it all just a waste of time and resources to manufacture the paper or the glossy (whatever that stuff is) magazine slickness?

Also, the observation of a man who has just seen his old world slip right on by. Plus, Ric saw a show and he'll tell you about that. And the passing of a great musician as well as this week's unpopular thought.



NEXT WEEK: You Are Being Targeted

The Unravelling of An Idiot

Occasionally, you get to see reason surmount in situations that beg you to wonder where in the world reason has gone. In this case, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. He's being sued for some consequences as a result of his rabid and false statements. Specifically the Sandy Hook school shooting.

You'll hear some excerpts from his deposition he gave a couple weeks ago. All in the interest of transparency.



Additional audio courtesy of Katie Mettler of The Washington Post and Kaster, Lynch, Farrar & Ball, LLP.

NEXT WEEK: Was SNL ever relevant?

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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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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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I Got Nuthin'

There is a question I get asked every once in a while regarding this podcast.

"How do you do what you do?"

Actually, it's not a very easy question to answer. There is no short cut and certainly no brief way to explain it. So there is this episode.

Sadly, there are so many people out there who think they have the "gift of the gab" when they don't and when they put themselves out there as one who can and fail, they never really know they fail until it dawns on them that no one cares.

Plus, music from The Incredible Hook.



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NEXT WEEK: The false bravery of being an argumentative ass online. Plus music from Dan Cunningham.

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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.

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