Democracy Has Prevailed.

August 19, 2008

No left on the dial

I know that David already blogged on the elimination of Lynn Cullen's radio show, but I felt compelled to blog on this too because:

1) I'm a fan! I've been listening to her on and off (job permitting) since I moved back to Pittsburgh ten years ago and I've been live streaming her show for the past couple of months at my new job. I get to work at 8:00, and let me tell you, I really looked forward to 9:00 rolling around.

I agree wholeheartedly with John McIntire when he wrote "I always enjoyed Lynn most when she got pissed. Her outraged spontaneous ranting is inspired."

The recent program she did after reading Vincent Bugliosi's new book The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder was one such show. God, I loved it when she was firing on all cylinders! (Too bad the often quirky stream wasn't working the day she interviewed him.)

Lynn Cullen
2) Lynn and her producer Matt were real friends of this blog. David was invited to substitute host for Lynn numerous times and I even hosted once last fall (absolutely terrifying being responsible for filling up three hours).

We thank her for the opportunities that she gave us.

3) Damn it! We're losing "The Lone Liberal" local voice in the midst of a presidential election! No McIntire, no Cullen -- this sucks! And, didn't McIntire lose his TV show right before election season four years ago? Forgive a girl for feeling like there's a conspiracy (yeah, yeah, I know that radio stations change formats all the time).

4) I also must note that we're losing a unique female voice in an industry dominated by men.

[sigh]



"They say you better listen to the voice of reason.
But they don't give you any choice
'cause they think that it's treason . . .
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
tryin' to anaesthetize the way that you feel."

.

25 comments:

Gary said...

Lynn is quoted in the P-G as saying there might be a spot somewhere else in Pittsburgh radio. My guess is you'll be hearing her again, and soon. Maybe not five days a week, but I have the feeling she'll be on the air somewhere, on a station that people can actually hear.

McIntire's departure from PCNC had more to do with their unwillingness to pay him. The show never had many viewers and never generated much revenue, so they opted to fill the spot with a part-timer. Money drives most decisions in broadcasting more than political ideology.

John K. said...

John K: Well of course you enjoyed listening to Cullen when she got pissed.  When is a liberal not pissed at something.  LOL  Its part of their being. LMAO

John K. said...

John K: If Gary is right, there should be no need for a fairness doctrine.

Sherry Pasquarello said...

i am just so upset. i've been a fan for years.

i didn't always agree with her but she always had a valid argument even then.

i will miss her and matt and her sister and her friends that she had on a few times a year, just talking about whatever subject they fancied.

macyapper@blogspot.com said...

Gary... how is it possible that you know so much about my departure when you're not me and you weren't there? Perhaps these convenient "don't have the money" things happen when they do for a reason. Perhaps not. But this much I know for sure. YOU HAVE NO IDEA. So stop speaking definitively about things of which you can't possibly be certain.

Gary said...

Yeah, that's right, Mr. McIntire, you were done in by a huge political conspiracy.

Here's how it happened, if you could be honest enough to admit it. WPXI had high hopes for PCNC. Looked all over the country for someone to host "Night Talk," which was the signature show. Hired you at a pretty good salary. Put simply, the show tanked. It never drew much of an audience and certainly never generated any revenue. So the station tries to adjust by cutting overhead. Mr. McIntire won't settle for less, so he's gone. He's replaced by Ann Devlin, who is hired as a freelancer at a greatly reduced cost. When she puts everyone to sleep, they launch another county-wide search and find Pintek willing to do the show, again as a freelancer.

Meantime, Mr. McIntire gets on KDKA, falls for CBS/Infinity's BS about "The Zone" being a place where edgy talk will be the order of the day. Station tanks, CBS pulls the plug. Mr. McIntire is back to blogging, OffQ and City Paper, none of which pays very well. Mr. McIntire does stand-up comedy in small rooms for 30 drunks, unleashes some "A" material like how much he'd like to nail Betty Ford now that Gerald is dead.

Comedy stuff bombs, too, but Mr. McIntire chalks it up to just being too hip for a jerkwater town like Picksburgh.

Don't tell me that I don't know, Mr. McIntire. I know. I'm just more comfortable with the truth than you are.

Social Justice NPC Anti-Paladin™ said...

"I always enjoyed Lynn most when she got pissed. Her outraged spontaneous ranting is inspired."
You mean like this classic I heard her screech back in 2004?
Which I paraphrase
George Bush is going back to Texas after 4 years just like his father!!!!

Infinonymous said...

Why so dismissive of the point that Pittsburgh is a jerkwater town . . . is there any substantial argument to the contrary?

John K. said...

John K:  What I don't understand about Pittsburgh is why the left does not take pride in that fact.  They have run the area since 1932.  You would think Jim Burn and Fitzgerald would be on their soap box and proclaim, "Hey, one of our fellow liberals, Macintire, has proclaimed Pittsburgh a jerwater town and it is all due to the Democrat's party politics and how we have managed government.  Potholes are us."  LMAO LMAO That is the part I don't understand.  But instead Macintire and Burn et al blame it all on 4 years of Roddey rule or Bush.  LMAO Do I know liberals?

macyapper@blogspot.com said...

You don't know. Even I don't know for sure, and that's how I know that you know nothing. You're one of these idiots who's obsessed with media folk. Your life is so pathetic that it's all you have to focus on. Unless you were in the room when any of these decisions were made, you would have no earthly idea. And unless you were inside the heads of the people who made them, you would have no earthly idea. You claim to have been in every room and apparently at every show, and even managed to gauge the level of intoxication of those in the audience. And by the way, you're writing this from Renda Broadcasting. So you're no longer completely anonymous. But of course, you don't have the balls to reveal who you really are.

Gary said...

I'm writing this from Renda Broadcasting? Uh, don't think so. I have never worked for Renda Broadcasting. So now who doesn't know what they're talking about?

You're not even media folk these days, are you? You're just another middle aged guy with a bad dye job and a blog.

My life is pathetic? You're unemployed, your wife left you, you live in a rental shithole on the North Side. You're the poster boy for pathetic.

No balls? You're the one who disabled the comments on your blog when people started handing you your ass.

Try again, Mr. McIntire.

Gab Bonesso said...

First of all: Johnny Mac, as one of your very close friends, I beg of you... Don't interact with Gary! Gary is scary! I don't care where he works or what he writes, the dude is scary! He despises you yet follows your career very closely, he thinks he knows about your personal life and he knows where you live. The dude is STALKING your ass! Leave him alone! I don't want you to become the James Caan to his Kathy Bates. For the love of God (and your friends) PLEASE STOP before Gary KILLS you!

Second of all: Scary Gary... I think you are a very nice man with wonderful writing skills. I also think you are handsome and smart. I beg of you... Leave Johnny Mac alone! Yes, I'm the Chris Crocker to McIntire's Britney, but that's not the point. Stop this bad energy, yo!

Third of all, Lynn Cullen was fired. That's the point. Can we please stop this mean bickering and have a moment of silence for the end of an amazing era?

Fourth of all: I have one last thing to say to Scary Gary. Don't you dare comment on McIntire's balls. This guy has put his political/social views out there through various mediums whether it be his own TV show, Radio show, City Paper Column, as a Pundit on WQED, as a blogger and as a Public Activist. Beyond that, Mac performs the art of stand-up comedy which takes more balls than anything in the World! You can disagree with his views, you can dislike his comedy, you can think he's a lousy writer, but you cannot deny that John McIntire has some of the biggest f'ing balls in Pittsburgh!

The End.

Gary said...

Ms. Gab, you should notice that this thread started with an innocent comment from me about the demise of Mr. McIntire's tenure at PCNC. From there, Mr. McIntire chose to come in snarling and name calling, which is, of course, his MO. He wants to lob the stink bombs, but he sure does run fast if they start coming back at him.

Really, what are the chances someone will get stagefright in front of 30 people, most of whom are personal acquaintances anyway? When Mr. McIntire goes on the road and stakes his survival on his stand-up skills, then we'll revisit his testicluar size.

Don't worry about Lynn Cullen. She's smart and resourceful and she'll be fine. She won't have to resort to climbing onstage at Big Bob's Comedy Bidet.

macyapper@blogspot.com said...

I wasn't name calling AT ALL in my first post, but now I am. Any time you want to hand me my ass, meet me at my rented shithole. You are obsessed with me. And you are a pussy who won't reveal his true identity. You are an insignificant dweeb who has no life, except to stalk others, mostly media types. I didn't come out snarling. You have tracked my career. You are in love with me. And you also hate me. But you can't stop obsessing on me. And all I did was point out that your stupid ass couldn't possibly ascertain with certainty the motives of my former employers. Nor would you have access to revenue figures or any other inside info you'd have to have to make your claims definitively. Come out of the closet Gary. Come meet me in person and we'll have a little chat. Oh, that's right, that could never happen because you're a pussy stalker hiding behind your anonymous blog comment name. Good luck with the rest of your pathetic, insignificant life and your stalking.

Gary said...

Mr. McIntire, I will copy your post and send it to the managers of every major radio and television station to make sure you remain unemployable. I think your body of work should assure that, but I want to make sure all the bases are covered.

Knock 'em dead at the Comedy Cubbyhole, classy guy.

macyapper@blogspot.com said...

Goodnight Mr. Irrelevant. Revel in your smug ignorance and your cowardly anonymity. It's all you've got. And yes, I do know from where you are blogging.

Social Justice NPC Anti-Paladin™ said...

Gary,
I am so jealous of the Olbermannish rage you got from John McIntire.
Of course Mr. McIntire hates to have an argument without a dump button.

BTW, Here is something else we can miss about Lynn Cullen.
The Democrat callers only crying day (like the ones in 2000 and 2004) after the election if Obama loses.

Gary said...

One good thing, Mr. McIntire: Since you're pals with Cyril Wecht, maybe he'll do the autopsy on your career for free.

cathcatz said...

wow.

"gary" almost makes me miss john k.

yeesh!


chill out.

Gary said...

It's my fault? Better sign up for some reading comprehension courses.

Gewurztraminer said...

No matter what Macyapper says Gary doesn’t back down. It’s pretty humorous if you ask me (I know, you didn’t). I’d say Gary has significant content in his scrotum.

macyapper@blogspot.com said...

Yes it takes an infinite amount of courage to hurl insults anonymously. He doesn't back down. What balls. If he had guts... any... he'd reveal his identity. And he won't do that. He's too frightened. He's still a pathetic dweeb who stalks me. And that my friend is the definition of a loser. I await his brave and courageous response. Olbermannish. I like that.

Dayvoe said...

Ladies and Gentlemen;

A little civility, please.

And before anyone shouts, "But HE started it!" I want to say that I don't care who started it. It doesn't matter. Things got ugly today.

We're quite tolerant, here at 2PJ, of a moderate noise-to-signal ratio - that's the price for a lively discussion. But today's two-way insults went over the line.

Let's try to stay on topic and take the insults to e-mail.

If things get any worse, I'll stop the comment thread on this post and end it myself.

You got a problem with that, drop me an e-mail.

phree said...

Gary is clueless, but correct insofar as Cullen will be back. I hope we call all hear her in the Pgh area.

Gary said...

Don't talk shit about me.