WHMP Radio Revolt

montage by d. vazquez

Valley liberal talk show host and sometimes politico Bill Dwight (above) is back in business, or in the pod to be precise. He is now creating podcasts at various intervals as the latest evolution of The Bill Dwight Show after he and producer Jaz Tupelo ended up no longer employed by local radio station WHMP. What happened? According to the program's Facebook page:

Bill was told by Chris Collins, the station's program director, that Michael Kusek, an area publicist, was no longer allowed on the show because one of the businesses he represented was no longer airing ads with the station's FM affiliate, 96.9 The River.

Shortly after, Dwight said he was told by Sean O'Mealy, the station's general manager, that "either Michael is off the show or 'The Bill Dwight Show' is finished." WHMP maintains Bill's decision to leave was voluntary. However, one indicator that this was not truly voluntary, his fine producer, Jaz Tupelo, has been fired as well.

Not surprisingly WHMP has a different perspective on what went down, as they explained in the following statement:

Like any other business, we set up some rules that we think are important for our employees to follow. We try very hard not to be too bureaucratic especially in an entertainment based business in which creativity is valued. We have many long-time employees who have carved out their own identity following some simple guidelines. For his own reasons Bill became uncomfortable with those guidelines and chose to leave WHMP. He was not asked to leave and in fact, we were not expecting for this to be a significant issue - it certainly hasn’t been for our other staff members. 

 



More details surfaced in a message Chris Collins (above) wrote to Dwight fan Susan Apgar:

Bill wanted complete autonomy to book his own guests on the show. That autonomy doesn't exist in our company, and pretty much every other radio company in the world, if the truth be told. Bill was not willing to adhere to our mandate regarding editorial control, and there was NO WAY we were going to cede that control to anyone, least of all a part-time host, popularity notwithstanding.

You should also know that I did cut Bill a wide berth during his tenure, and allowed him to book a wide range and variety of guests, yourself included, and 99.9 percent of the time, I had no problem with the people he had in. This time, I did have a problem, and that's what led to this impasse, and his eventual departure.

You can feel free to classify us as the "bad guys" if you choose, but I have a sneaking suspicion that anyone who has had a boss or has been a boss is going to very much understand and appreciate our position.

The bottom line is, in the "real world," even in radio, you don't get to have everything your way, and, at the end of the day, that's what this was really all about.

The switch to a podcast will give Dwight all the creative control he wants, but also has certain drawbacks. Eventually all of what we now call "radio" will be some form of podcast, but that day ain't now. Traditional broadcast radio still has the advantage of being freely available over the air to nearly all the population, while podcasts still have a limited, tech-savvy audience that makes it hard to draw the numbers necessary to sell advertising. Soon that won't be a barrier, when digital becomes the only medium, but at present most successful podcasts are primarily supplements to programs that are also available on the airwaves. That doesn't mean Dwight can't succeed, but it does mean he has to show persistence, patience and a knack for economics.

Having knocked around the Valley radio scene myself, I wrote on Dwight's Facebook page the following appraisal of the radio profession:

As the former host of several versions of The Tommy Devine Show I can testify that radio is a ruthless, bullshit business where you can find yourself off the air at any time and for any reason or for no reason at all. The pay generally sucks, the management is reptilian and the gratitude level is zero, but if you fall in love with the medium you'll put up with it.

Personally I like Bill Dwight, WHMP, Jaz Tupelo, The River, Chris Collins and everybody else involved, and I'm sure I speak for many fans when I say that I just wish all this drama would go away.

Artist/designer Jon Sendelbach recently completed a beautiful metal townscape of Amherst for display in Raos Coffeeshop. 

Pretty neat, eh? It shows from the right, Grace Church(on the Amherst Common), the Octagon (Amherst College), Amherst Town Hall, Johnson Chapel (Amherst College), Old Chapel (UMass) and Emily Dickinson's house.

Montague Bookmill by Greg Saulmon.

Locally harvested maple syrup at the Northampton Farmer's Market. Only 52 bucks a gallon!

Flowers in a mug at the Haymarket Cafe. 

The first rays of the rising sun strike these flags. 

Grateful Dead bear shirt for sale in Hamp. 

I like these little Smart cars, or "Smarties" as they're affectionately called, but I wonder how safe they are.

Interesting paint job. 

Outside now. 

The Great Smokeout

Featuring Karma the Smokehound

 



This was back in the old times, before everyone started smoking pot. The marijuana scene was still underground then. No one ever spoke about it except to those whom you knew also partook of the weed, or unless you had a really strong suspicion. 

In those times there was a real feel of doing something subversive by smoking marijuana. It automatically made you a member of a secretive world that was removed from mainstream society. We liked that about it almost as much as the buzz. But it couldn't last. The first time I realized that marijuana had gone mainstream was when the football players at the High School of Commerce started bragging about their reefer consumption. Except they didn't call it toking, they called it "partying." I didn't like that phrase. Our parents went to parties. The pot scene couldn't be underground or subversive anymore if the jocks were doing it and making it just an appetizer at their beer blasts.

As more people started smoking, the coolness of the scene also declined. Suddenly you saw people who had no sense of the customs and rituals of the herb. They smoked too much, too fast, they "bogarted" the joint by talking and holding it in their hand, taking hit after hit and not passing it on until it was half gone. The worst of this new breed was someone we called High Hank, who was like the guy who shows up at the party with one half drunk beer in his hand and then proceeds to stay the whole night drinking everybody elses.

We called him High Hank because he was so bold about his greedy weed-crazed ways. All around Pine Point he would flutter like a stoned butterfly from group to group, wherever he saw weed being toked or thought he could bum a joint. He invited himself into every circle of cannabis friendship, even though he wasn't really anybody's friend. He was so shameless that he liked to boast about his consumption, claiming that he could smoke more than any other person in the Point. Some people thought it might be true while others were unsure, but none doubted that he intended to smoke everyone's pot, wherever it was or in whatever quantity.

One day we were over my friend Jerry's house playing pool. My other friends Jim and Jay were there as well. Jerry's little dog Karma was sleeping under the pool table, like he always did. Watching the game from the sidelines was a girl we called Patty Pot, so called because of one time at a stoned gathering everyone was telling their best sexual fantasy. There were some pretty raunchy fantasies described, but when it came to Patty she surprised everyone by saying that her fantasy was to run naked through an endless field of marijuana. For that weird wish she earned her name Patty Pot.

Also present that day was High Hank, who had followed us over from the Nora's Variety Store where we had the misfortune to run into him when buying rolling papers. We probably should have rejected him with an insult or a threat or something, as some people actually did, but we sort of felt sorry for him for being friendless and let him tag along. That particular day Jerry was waiting for the pot dealer Leon to come over. No one anticipated Leon's arrival more than High Hank, who boasted that he could smoke Leon's whole stash.

Patty Pot decided she had heard enough. "I could smoke you under this table anytime!" she dared. Hank High scoffed, "Are you crazy girl? I'll smoke you unconscious." It went on like this, getting a bit heated, until Leon the dealer showed up. He seemed amused by the boastful sleaze and charmed by the brave young lady who said that she could outsmoke him. Leon had a good business, and was the sort to act on a whim, so we were surprised but not shocked when he suddenly said, "Let's put it to the test!"

Leon, whose weed was always above average, reached into his knapsack and threw a bag on the pool table. There was a gasp as we saw what it was - a whole ounce of primo Acapulco Gold intermingled with some pungent Panama Red. "I don't care who you are, no one can smoke that entire bag." Leon said. "But let's see which one of you can smoke the most!"

So it began. A big thick joint was rolled. To enhance the enjoyment of the spectators, each joint was to be passed around among all present until it was half smoked. Then the second half would be smoked exclusively by Patty Pot and High Hank. Every hit had to be held in your lungs for at least ten seconds. When the joint came round to me I was amazed by the smooth rich taste. By my second hit I was noticeably stoned. By my third I was glad that it was time for Harry and Patty to go at it one on one.

Despite the incredible power of the righteous weed, neither contestant seemed overly stoned. When the second joint went around, Jim announced that he could smoke no more. The third joint saw Jerry drop out. Jay and I declined after joint number four. Leon, who smoked this powerful weed all the time, had very high tolerance, but even he had to quit at joint number five. That left Patty Pot and High Hank to go at it head to head for the coveted title of the Highest Head in All Pine Point!

It was obvious that joint number six would be the last, which was just as well because there was no pot left for another joint anyway. Both Patty and Hank had bloodshot, unfocused eyes. A dreamy sleepiness had overcome them and their words were slurred. But back and forth the joint went. Patty's head began to nod, as if she was about to pass out, but she suddenly rallied and managed to snap to attention just in time to pass the joint to the equally woozy High Hank. Slowly Hank tried to raise the joint to his lips, but seemed unable to focus on what he intended to do, staring at the joint like it was something from another planet.

It seemed as if victory might be within Patty's reach, as the stupefied High Hank began swaying on his feet. Then suddenly Karma the dog came bounding out from its spot beneath the pool table, where everyone had forgotten he was sleeping. The dog leaped onto the pool table, something he had never done before! The dog's eyes were all bloodshot. The poor animal had become stoned out of its mind by the smoke that filled the cellar from the powerful weed. All at once the dog lunged for the joint in Hank High's hand and with a cry of fear he dropped it.

To our utter amazement, the dog took the joint in its mouth and scarfed it down its throat whole, the burning head of it and all. Karma then calmly returned to its place under the table, walked around in a small circle a couple of times, then lay down, curled up, and slept for twelve hours.

So we never did find out who was the biggest toker in the Point, because Leon never sprung for a free bag again. He said he would, but we never pressed him on the matter because everybody knows that its the dope dealer's creed that the first bag is always free, but then you pay top dollar for the rest of your life.

 

 


Today's Video

Bill Dwight of WHMP took this photo of Greg Saulmon from Local Buzz with the big black dude from the Haymarket performing among the fruits and vegetables of Serios Market.

This is something called The Snizz performing in Northampton a few nights ago.

 

Red and Blue 2008

Final Figures

For you political junkies, here's a graphic showing how each county in the nation voted in the 2008 Presidential election. Notice how in New England only one county up in Maine voted for McCain. The Republican Party is indeed in sad shape in our region of the country. 

Farewell Poem

Here's a great poem by the recently departed Massachusetts writer John Updike about getting too old to die young.

It came to me the other day:

Were I to die, no one would say,

‘Oh, what a shame! So young, so full

Of promise - depths unplumbable!

Instead, a shrug and tearless eyes

Will greet my overdue demise;

The wide response will be, I know,

‘I thought he died a while ago.’

For life’s a shabby subterfuge,

And death is real, and dark, and huge.

The shock of it will register

Nowhere but where it will occur. 

 

(From Endpoint, a new collection of Updike poems to be published by Knopf in September ‘09)

In Danger

People in Northampton are concerned because the gay store is for sale. Shops of that type don't always find a buyer. 

Then again, if a store like that can't prosper in Northampton, where can it?

Missing Animals

I went over to the farm at Hampshire College to check out the animals. However when I got there not a creature was to be found anywhere with not even any footprints in the snow. Wonder where they went to?

I decided to walk a little ways up to the Hampshire College sugar shack, perhaps to purchase some of their delicious Pioneer Valley maple syrup. But alas, they were closed.

Some days you just can't win for trying. 

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More Endless Winter

You know we've had enough of winter when you see this:

It snowed again today, not much but enough to dust the frog statue over the container in front of Hamp's First Church where you give money to the poor.

I was surprised to hear an advocate for the poor criticize that statue because the frog seems to be happily relaxing, giving the impression that the poor are just lazily waiting for a handout.

Today in Amherst I ran into Local Buzzer Greg Saulmon.

He was at UMass to cover the rally on behalf of Jason Vassell, who was arrested a year ago over a fight that some say had racist overtones. I don't really know what to make of the case. While Vassell hardly seems the purely innocent victim his defenders claim he is, there also seem to be legitiment questions about how he's being prosecuted. To check out Greg's coverage click here. 

Today's Video

I like this clip of Marines doing the Cha Cha Slide in Iraq.

Pioneer Valley Limbaugh

Rush in the Valley.

 



When going through the material on Fred King yesterday, I came across an old WHYN promotional flyer that listed on it "Rush Limbaugh's Undeniable Truths of Life." It is open to debate how undeniably true his pronouncements are, but there is no question that Rush Limabaugh was one of the great pioneers of talk radio nationally and who also had an impact on talk radio in the Pioneer Valley.

Limbaugh was the first to grasp how to really exploit the repeal of the so-called Fairness Doctrine. This was an FCC regulation that required any radio station that aired a political opinion of any kind to offer equal time to anyone with an opposing view. In theory it was a well meaning regulation, designed to prevent radio station owners from using their stations to promote political candidates through biased coverage.

In reality, it turned radio into a vast wasteland of political blandness. In radio time is money, so any free time that a station had to give out to balance political views meant less time available for regular programming and airing ads. Therefore almost all stations had a strict rule that radio hosts must not express a single political opinion on any subject. Many had the policy that if an announcer accidentally did express an opinion which caused the station to have to give away free air time to opponents, then that announcer would be fired. Therefore the Fairness Doctrine was despised by everyone who worked in radio and anyone who treasured free speech and democracy.

In 1980, a former radio personality named Ronald Reagan was elected to the Presidency of the United States, and delighted every radio worker in America by forcing the FCC to repeal the hated Fairness Doctrine. At last radio announcers enjoyed the freedom that all Americans do of speaking their minds freely in public.

Conservative Rush Limbaugh was convinced that there was a large audience of political conservatives that didn't hear their political opinions on the airwaves much. He decided he would become their spokesperson, and build a radio network that would exploit the new freedom that the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine had created. He therefore went around the country signing up stations to carry his show. One of them was Dan Yorke, who was then the owner of WSPR and a local radio pioneer in his own right. Like Rush, Yorke felt that there was an audience locally that was not getting the political news they needed and wanted, and so if Yorke was offering it on the local level, then Rush offering it on national issues would be a perfect match. 

Dan Yorke, through his own program and by introducing the Valley to Rush, revolutionized local talk radio. Even despite the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, before Yorke it was extremely rare for local politicians to face any critical commentary on the radio. What coverage they received was either fawning or spinelessly neutral in that the politician was allowed to say whatever they wanted on the air without any meaningful challenge from the host. Political coverage also reflected the very strong bias towards the Democrat Party in the Valley, so it was rare to hear conservative or Republican views. When Yorke took over WSPR and began attacking local Democrats while simultaneously bringing in the Rush Limbaugh Show it was like a blast of fresh air blowing away the cobwebs of years of political and ideological stagnation in the local media.

In the late 80's Rush was still new enough so that whenever a new station signed up for his EIB Network, then Rush himself would appear to promote the show locally. So one day Rush and Yorke were down at Baystate West (now called Tower Square) with Rush greeting and signing autographs for the local shoppers. Afterwards, Yorke took Rush to the bar in the Springfield Marriot for some adult beverages. 

Rush's career was almost derailed when it was ultimately discovered that he was secretly a bigtime drug addict. Yet he managed to survive that scandal, and remains an important force in American politics right up to this day.





Buzzboy Greg Saulmon (above) gives good soundbite on all things New Media in a radio interview you can listen to by clicking here. Hotboy Paolo Mastrangelo has a great series on the clumsy attempts the Hampshire Gazette is making online that you can read by clicking here.

I recently had my own minor run-in with Gazette online ineptness when I tried to send an email to the letters section of their sister publication The Amherst Bulletin. Nowhere on their Letters page did it tell you where to send an email! Nor did it tell you anything about their policies for accepting emails, or for that matter, just plain old letters! I wrote a pissy prelude to the email I eventually sent to the highest person on their masthead, accusing them of not actually wanting feedback from their readers.

I don't really believe that, I just wrote it because I was annoyed. But the truth is unfortunately worse than that, because I'll bet the real reason that there was no information was because no one on the staff had ever been to their online letters page to notice that the information was missing. I suspect most of the Gazette staff is in their ivory tower, clinging to their credentials and thinking of themselves purely as "print journalists" and don't really know nor care what their publications are like online. Okay if that's how they feel, but the online financial websites are writing almost daily the obituaries of publications with that attitude.

The worst mistake the Gazette is making is not grasping the essential truth that the business model for newspapers on and off the internet is IDENTICAL. The goal of both newspapers and websites is to attract a large audience and then sell that audience to advertisers. The larger the audience, the more you can charge for your ads. When you put any restrictions on the size of that audience, such as charging a subscription like the Gazette does for its online content, then you are artificially limiting your audience size and thereby lowering the price of what you can sell your ads for. That's not just a bad cyberspace policy, that's a suicidal one. 

Today for lunch I went to Earthfoods at the UMass Student Union. Every day it puts its menu for the day up on a board outside the entrance. It lists yesterday's menu as well, since it is usually still available as leftovers. (click photo to enlarge)

Earthfoods has a militantly organic/healthfood menu, with much of the food purchased just down the road from the farmfields of Hadley.

They say that students love junk food (and they do) but they can also be enticed to enjoy healthier fare, as you can see. 

Even if you're not crazy about healthfood (I'm not) you have to like Earthfood's positive message. 

Check it out next time when you're looking for an extra healthy lunch.