Does NPR Have An East Coast Bias?

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

National Public Radio aired the last episode of it's popular newsmagazine Day to Day last Friday. This comes just six years after making a commitment to the West Coast as a hub of it's news operation. Day to Day was produced in Southern California.

There are a lot of people upset about the demise of this program. It was a good show. I featured it in our links as part of the Bosco Radio: News and Information lineup. I am a huge Madeleine Brand fan and I am sure she will continue to be a major player in radio news.

But, what I don't understand is the mild uproar. Do you know how radio shows are kept on the air? Usually it takes a lot of people listening. If not enough people are listening then it's not viable to keep throwing money at the show. Apparently not enough of us were listening to keep it on the air. Or in this case, not enough funding was raised to keep it going.

And it's not as if NPR is totally going away from the West. Even though 39 jobs were cut with this move, the Culver City studio is still staffed with nearly 30 reporters, producers, and support staff. Renee Montagne co-host of Morning Edition will still continue to work from the Culver City facility. And reporters still remain in such places as Denver and Tucson. So I don't see a so-called East Coast Bias going here. By the way...that's why it's called National Public Radio...it should appeal to a national audience....not just one region of the country.

Day to Day was really an extension of All Things Considered which was an extension of Morning Edition. It all sounds similar to me. High quality news and information to be sure but there's a limit to what can be produced in today's economy. With the way the economy is and corporate funding for public radio projected to be down 25% this year this was all inevitable. I'd rather cut one hour of this show and save the two aforementioned shows.


Photo Credit: Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times

US Food Banks Stretched To The Limit

Due to the economic turndown and high demand food banks across America are being stretched to the limit

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

You can see the signs everywhere that things are offsides economically. Many people I talk to are flat out worried. Layoffs, foreclosures...a very tentative attitude toward spending. When Salvation Army and Goodwill are now becoming the store of choice for clothes and home items something is amiss.

But nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to wondering where your next meal is coming from. I was in for an eye-opener when I visited a local Food Bank recently.

The Interfaith Food Center which services Whittier and La Mirada in Southern California is stretched almost beyond capacity. The IFC which started in 1983 servicing 30 families is now providing food for over 1000 families a month. Let me repeat that...1000 families...That's shocking. And this is only one town in America. A town in a relatively affluent area of the country. The day I visited, a slow day....a Monday, Director Veronica Hernandez showed me a list that filled the front and back of three sheets of paper...this is people that availed themselves of the valuable service.

What's making it hard is that there is a strain on the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. It's the old supply and demand. Too much demand now is taking away some of the supply from the local agencies.

In Whittier, one of the major supermarkets decided to not give their surplus to the IFC without a reasonable explanation, making things even harder. Fortunately, private donations, support from most of the area supermarkets, and the LA Regional Food Bank along with an extremely hard-working group of volunteers that is comprised of most religious faiths in Whittier is making a difference.

But there is always room for more help. If you can help, check to see the volunteer opportunities for the food banks that service your city or town.

Here's a couple of ideas for agencies to support from this area: The Interfaith Food Center of Whittier and La Mirada. Call them at 562.903.1478 to see what opportunities exist to help....Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Services can be contacted at 714.680.3691. Any time, money and donations would be greatly appreciated at both centers.

Stimulus Jobs Should Go To US Citizens

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Thousands of jobs created by the economic stimulus law could end up going to illegal immigrants, particularly in states where undocumented workers are primarily in the construction field.

Conservative statistics estimate illegal immigrants in the United States could take 300,000 construction jobs, or 15% of the 2 million jobs that new taxpayer-financed projects are predicted to create.

Part of the fault lies with Congress for failing to require that employers certify legal immigration status of workers before hiring by using a Department of Homeland Security program called E-Verify even though the Bush administration made the verification procedure mandatory.

The program allows employers to check the validity of Social Security numbers provided by new hires. It is available to employers on a voluntary basis. While it has been argued that the program is faulty, it should not take too much effort to make it better.

The estimate is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and other independent findings that 15% of all construction workers in the United States are either illegal immigrants or lack the status of legal immigrant authorized to work.

Settling the economic crisis is not going to be easy. But there are some things that can be done so that the taxpayers of America get more stimulus bang for the buck.

For instance, there should be incentives for employers to keep jobs here in America..not sending jobs and manufacturing overseas just because it's cheaper to do so. The jobs sent elsewhere stimulate other country economies...not the United States.

While it is true Illegal Immigrants put a portion of their income back into the US economy, it is also true that much of the money...I would argue most of the money...goes back to their families and friends in other countries and stimulates other economies...Not the United States.

The value of the Illegal Immigrants in this country is another discussion that can be debated. But when it comes to taking monies that are supposed to help US citizens and the US economy...it just doesn't make sense to let it go to somebody who is not as apt to put it back into the system.

The statistics at the beginning of this Op-Ed piece were obtained from various sources including an article by William M. Welch in USA Today

A Southern California Tea Party

By Doug Vehle
For The Daily Bosco

It was a dilettante tax revolt in Fullerton, CA with radio personalities John and Ken, meaning the revolutionaries drank the tea instead of dumping it. KFI radio had an on air event dubbed 'Total Recall 2009' in the SOCO district of the Southern California town, offering a day of Arianna Huffington style anger and hatred for all those who delight in such things. The slogan of the day was "Head on a stick," but ironically it was requested that there be no sign on a stick, handheld only was the order of the day.

In some ways it was a post modernists dream: The kids got to play games like 'Tic Tax Doe,' and the impossible maze of 'Avoid the Car Tax Pitfall' with the hole in every path for your ball to fall through. (Though I had an idea what might have worked.) Darn, if only there'd been a big muscled guy to get wet in 'The Dunkinator.' And this throwing, make a mess game that I'm not sure I understood, but maybe that was the point. At least there was valet lineups, people to park you in the right lines for the petitions they wanted you to sign, mostly involving, of course, recalls.

But amid the frivolity it was also the day of the living demonstrator. Zombie sign carriers slowly bumped their way through the crowd they never seemed to actually see, many expressing the hatred as usual of the head of the target of scorn on a degradatory body, or messages amounting to wanting someone's head on that stick they were told to leave at home, possibly to ensure that such mountings occurred on another day. Twisting names around to "SchwartzNEUTER,' and OBanana,' without offering any real insight why they're on the attack. The only truly telling sign was the man whose sign asked "No job, more TAXES?"

But he might have been the only one present in that predicament. Some people weren't embarrassed to acknowledge their new alloy bicycle had cost $1,000, some of the Ducati (Foreign) and Harley Davidson (AMERICAN, at least) motorcycles parked in the crowd run well into 5 figures. $3 'Tax Revolt Punch.' $10 for a walk past the MODEST buffet table, for a few dollars more you could do better at the crowded Slidebar Cafe. T-shirt sales, and other fun things, this little rave could run you $100. Oh, look, one of the zombies had a "Born free, taxed to death" sign.

All the while, Ken and John raged on stage, and on the air, sounding like they mean business about this recall. I have to admit that would be a bold step for a major radio station to take. They bragged that they'd had Arnold on their show during the recall campaign that put him in office, and now they were going to take him out. All the while seeming like that continuously cranking engine that drew these flesh eaters awkwardly toward new horror.

But events like this cast no such spell on me. The same glassy eyed activists indeed did recall Gray Davis to put in the Governator, and had great fun doing it. Tens of millions who voted for Bush in 2004 then voted for Obama in 2008, and are now screaming that the only thing he's changing is his mind. And now the natives are restless. AGAIN.

I might suggest, instead of the complex recall demands, other than the opposition to ballot propositions they say are actually closet tax hikes, and rather than vague screams about cutting "Waste," why not put these socalled budget experts that you claim are on your side to work on drawing up a good, practical budget that makes the cuts? You wouldn't even have to bother with a petition to put it on the ballot as a proposition, you just put it out there with the message from the public: If you haven't passed this by October, don't bother running in November. This will all be fresh in our minds, and wouldn't even require a special election.

Oh, I know, I know. Here you're mounting the real world solution of a major hate campaign, and I'm talking all this will of the public nonsense. Like back in school when people were calling for a law to put an end to the practice of term papers being due the Monday after Prom, and here I arrogantly suggested they just go ahead and finish those papers BEFORE Prom. How dare someone like me with no Prom date make a suggestion about something that doesn't involve me? And how dare I expect people to think BEFORE they vote?

World Baseball Classic Needs Tweaking

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

The World Baseball Classic opens on Thursday morning at 1:30 AM PST with a game between China and Japan.

As much as I am excited about the fact that second round action and the Championship game will be held near my home in Southern California there are some flaws in the approach for the Classic.

For the uninformed the World Baseball Classic is a tournament where theoretically the best players in the world, professional and amateur, are put on teams according to their nationality.

You would think that the United States would romp in this setting, but the fact was in 2006 (the tournament is held every three years) that a team from Japan comprised of all members of the Japan Professional Baseball League and a few amateurs and Ichiro Suzuki won the whole thing over a team from Cuba.

The United States didn't even make it to the Semi-finals thanks to a spirited and easily the most compelling game of the series when Team Mexico beat the USA to keep them from advancing.

One of the flaws of the Classic is that it is held in March. This is when everybody is in spring training or supposed to be in Spring Training. So you don't see players at their very best. Pitchers are on short pitch counts. Players are hesitant to run out ground balls or outfielders, as was the case with Ken Griffey Jr. in 2006, are overweight and can't get to flyballs like they should. Junior really had no business playing centerfield that year for Team USA.

I like the fact that the series is held every three years...better than four years...and better than one year where it would become too commonplace and taken for granted. But the Classic should really be held in the Summer. The professional leagues should shut down for two weeks and let the Classic be played when players are at their optimum performing level....the middle of the natural baseball season.

One of the reasons that Japan had to field a team of almost all Japan League Players in 2006 is that Major League owners were not allowing members of their teams to participate or putting pressure on them not to participate. You can see the reason why...they are protecting their investment.

The owners need to see the big picture here...baseball has a chance to promote itself on the international scene and attract more of an audience. So you let your player (who is heavily insured) go for a couple weeks to promote the game. The dividends in the long run will outweigh the risk of injury to that player. Besides that, the owners are allowing them to play against the best competition in the world. Your player is an advertisement for his pro team too. The benefits are all good.

This year the finals will be held in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. Good for me. I get to go without too much expense since it's in my backyard. But bad for the rest of the world. I propose that the host country be the country that won it last. In 2009 it should have been Japan. Besides the fact that Japan has a great fan base who love both Pro Yakyu and Major League Baseball and would pack out Tokyo Dome every game of the Classic, the fact is that it would be in a roofed stadium in March. You only have to go back to the World Series this year to see the benefit of that.

You also could go back to the 2006 World Baseball Classic Championship game which was played in a rainstorm at Petco Park in San Diego and delayed a couple of times. That's because despite the sentiments of the 70's song...It actually does rain in California. In March.

Which brings up yet another situation...why are the semi-finals and the finals back in Southern California to begin with? Again, I love the fact I can go...it's a short train ride for me. But as long as those games are going to be played in the US, let's share the love and play the games in places like Seattle or Milwaukee or Tampa Bay...places that retractable roofs or permanent roofs where there would be no chance of a rainout or delay.

The World Baseball Classic starts Thursday. Follow the action by linking to audio and video via ESPN360.com and ESPN2

The Sad State of News Radio

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

There used to be a time, living in the Southern California area, if I was in my car or out hiking with my radio headset I could get the news instantly. 24-7 Up-to-the minute....Even on the weekends. I took it for granted that it would always be there when I needed it.

The station was KFWB 980 News Radio and between them and rival KNX 1070 and the occaisional third news station that would crop up from time to time, the state of news radio was in good hands. We were a very informed bunch of Southern Californians.

"Give Us 22 minutes and we'll give you the world" was the motto on KFWB. And it had some great personalities..real news people that delivered the news. Like Gary Franklin ("Car 98..out") who once told me that if you're a journalist you have to live and breathe the news all the time...there are no breaks. The station had a bunch of Gary Franklins.

So imagine my shock when I was out over the weekend and wanted to get a quick hit of what was happening in the world and state and dialed in the familiar 980 and was met with infomercials. One after the other. About real estate...about how to get out of debt...about vitamin supplements.

The problem with these particular infomercials is that they are designed to sound like legitimate news programs. To the casual listener it would sound like KFWB is creating these programs. But listen carefully and you will find they are clever 30 minute commercials hawking one product. I don't need to tell you the problem with this. My reliable news station has turned into the Home Shopping Network.

The weirdest one I heard was funny man Tim Conway Jr. (formerly of the now defunct KLSX) hosting an infomercial for a Debt Consolidation company. Like I'm going to take anything that Tim Conway Jr. says seriously now.

I understand that the world has changed. The economy is bad and the news industry in particular is taking a big hit. You are seeing things that never used to happen. Like advertising on the front page of The New York Times and other papers. And let's be real honest. Radio stations make a lot of money by selling time to these informercial companies. But to set yourself up as a legitimate News Radio Station for all these years and to let this happen is just wrong and misleading. KFWB should be ashamed of itself.

The other station in town is at least staying true to it's mandate. But they are a different animal than KFWB. They blend news programs like 60 Minutes or Money 101 with hard news. But the only problem with that is that if you need a quick read from the radio on the news you can't get it at least here in Southern California. You used to be able to do that with KFWB.

It was always good to have two news stations competing in the same market. Like when there used to be more than one paper in Los Angeles. The competitors would keep each other honest. Then KFWB and KNX were owned by the same company. Not sure if that was a good idea.

A word to KFWB. Figure out who you are and figure it out real quick. Because in your current state, as a news station, you can't be trusted anymore.

Tom Leykis Has One More For The Road

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

In what had to be the most inexplicable move in radio history, the immensely popular KLSX 97.1, a radio station specializing in raunchy, explicit and crass talk went off the air in Los Angeles last Friday.

The station was replaced at 5:00 PM with the techno-dance beats of the new Amp 97.1, which sounded a lot like Top 40 KIIS FM in the Southern California market.

Let me state that the old KLSX talk radio was at the same time very simple but pure genius....There's apparently a huge market for talking about sex, women with big breasts, bathroom habits, belching and passing gas on air, etc. It just gave people what they wanted. Then when you have that established you can go out and get advertising from highly lucrative places like Strip Clubs, Casinos, Penis Enlargement, Breast Augmentation and the like. It had to be a cash cow.

Which is why it is so puzzling that this station was taken off the air for another Top 40 radio station. Did the owners of the station all of a sudden find their conscience?

One reason could be the Economy. Talent like Tom Leykis and Adam Carolla are not cheap. Young unestablished DJ's playing hit records are a lot cheaper.

I'm not worried about Leykis and Carolla and company. They are all big enough to get offers in multiple medias. And believe it or not, Leykis can play it straight if he wants to. Before he had his sophomoric talk show on KLSX he had a very intelligent issues show on KFI Radio here in LA...but apparently there's not much of a market for that anymore.

If you're looking for a radio station eulogy...you aren't going to get it here. I might be in the minority but with the demise of KLSX...it's a very happy day here in the Southland.

Good riddance.