Please Tell Me I Don’t Need To Do Another Take, This Is Embarrassing
Telling asthmatics to stay clear of city buses while Volkswagen and Exxon are allowed to exist.
Posted on November 16, 2015
Own A Vizio Smart TV? It’s Watching You
By Julia Angwin/ProPublica
TV makers are constantly crowing about the tricks their smart TVs can do. But one of the most popular brands has a feature that it’s not advertising: Vizio’s Smart TVs track your viewing habits and share it with advertisers, who can then find you on your phone and other devices.
The tracking – which Vizio calls “Smart Interactivity” – is turned on by default for the more than 10 million Smart TVs that the company has sold. Customers who want to escape it have to opt-out.
Posted on November 12, 2015
Charlie Brown Voice Actor Pleads Guilty To Threat Charges
By Marty Graham/Reuters
The actor who once gave voice to beloved cartoon character Charlie Brown pled guilty on Tuesday to making threats against a mobile home park manager and a Southern California sheriff, prosecutors said.
Three of the charges initially filed against 59-year-old Peter Robbins were dismissed on Tuesday after he pled guilty to threatening the manager and San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore, San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Brenda Daly said.
Posted on November 11, 2015
Jonathan Pie, TV Reporter! Explains The Economy
One Word: Growth
“We report record profits as if that’s good news . . . ”
Posted on October 30, 2015
Free Spirit Local TV News
Kinda The Way It Should Be
More true or less than the dreck we see on commercial channels every night?
Posted on October 28, 2015
Primetime Live 1989: Wait ‘Til This Year
Back To The Future
A brilliant managing job, young kids who didn’t know any better, and a bright future. Guess what?
Posted on October 26, 2015
Former Chicago TV Reporter Has Mets Mania!
Reporting Live From America’s Last Shopping Mall
Jennifer McLogan still asking the tough questions.
Posted on October 19, 2015
The Refund Kevin Trudeau Doesn’t Want You To Know About
By Steve Rhodes
“The Federal Trade Commission plans to start refunding customers duped into buying fraudster Kevin Trudeau’s diet book ‘as soon as possible’ after a judge gave final approval to the plan, its lawyer said,” the Sun-Times Media Wire (whatever that is) reports.
“Calling it the ‘fairest way we can do this,’ U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman gave his blessing [last] Wednesday to the FTC’s proposal to use $8 million of Trudeau’s fortune to begin compensating people who were conned through false infomercials into buying the TV pitchman’s book.
“The book Trudeau promoted as ‘an easy weight-loss program’ actually offered a 500 calorie-a-day diet, off-label injections of a fertility drug, frequent colonics and ‘extraordinary, lifelong’ diet restrictions, according to the FTC.”
Here’s my favorite part:
Posted on October 14, 2015
Goodbye Live Lottery Drawings
Linda Kollmeyer Draws Her Last Ball
Live TV lottery drawings have come to an end in Illinois.
“Wednesday’s drawing was the last one aired live on WGN-TV, marking the end of an era as the Illinois Lottery transitions to a new digital system,” the Tribune reports. “Starting Thursday, drawings for Pick 3, Pick 4, Lotto with Extra Shot and Lucky Day Lotto will simply be posted on www.illinoislottery.com.”
Let’s take a look at live TV lottery drawings over the years.
*
1976, WSNS Channel 44:
Posted on October 2, 2015
Yogi Berra Was A World-Class Shill
From Cat Food To Foot Spray, Never Met A Product He Wouldn’t Hawk
“In 1993, Berra’s sons, Larry, Tim, and Dale, and Tim’s wife Betsy, formed LTD Enterprises,” Carlo DeVito writes in his 2014 Yogi: The Life & Times of an American Original.
“According to business reporter Patricia Winters Lauro, their intention was ‘to market their father’s career after they realized that Mr. Berra was inundated with about 100 letters a week, most of them seeking his autograph. As sports memorabilia grew in popularity, the sons decided they were better suited than agents to protect and promote their father’s image. LTD now runs a thriving mail-order business and has a Yogi site on the World Wide Web, complete with a Yogi store, a whole range of memorabilia, and Yogi links to to favorite sports sites.’
“I couldn’t sell widgets, but I can sell Yogi Berra – it’s so easy,” said Dale.
Oh, but it started decades before that – when he was still playing. Let’s take a look.
1987 Miller Lite, With Jason Alexander.
Posted on September 30, 2015