CARPE MEDIA

by Greg T. Spielberg

Chris Russo, left, and Mike Francesa. Russo starts his own channel on Sirius XM radio Sept. 15. (Credit: New York Times)

For New York sports fans, the end of the Mike and the Mad Dog show is as big as Michael Strahan’s retirement. My friend, Joe Grinere, got the news before he stepped out of bed; his father sent him a text. All of my Long Island friends listened to Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, and we all got our first taste with our fathers. “My dad got me on them when I was 13. I remember coming home (with him) from getting pizza,” says Grinere.

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by Greg T. Spielberg

Rolling Stone is downsizing its stage space. After 41 years of performing from its 10×11.75” pages, the bi-weekly is going to the standard trim size of 8×10.86”. Jann Wenner, Rolling Stone’s co-founder, told the New York Times that the larger size was awkward on the newsstand. Gary Armstrong, Wenner Media’s chief marketing officer, commented that “The consumer we want to reach … is agnostic to format.”

Despite what Armstrong says, the demand-driven evolution of portable things is smaller, thinner and lighter. Cell phones are a far cry from their brick ancestors, Mac’s Air laptop can fit inside a manila, and iPods compete with pocket lint for featherweight status. Though RS will be sacrificing its iconic, larger-than-life cover, standardizing its trim size will give the title equity on the newsstand.

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by Greg T. Spielberg
John McCain’s campaign started in earnest this week after airing his celebrity ad. Until Wednesday, his presidential race was meek and ill-defined. Promising to run respectable campaigns, Obama and McCain mostly did their own thing. Sure, there were some skirmishes: health care, Iraq, the economy. But since when do elections hinge on real, complicated issues? I do not know what Obama or McCain’s health-care promises are. I don’t know what Hillary’s was, and I don’t know what mine is.

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by Greg T. Spielberg

It’s always strange to read about cigarette legislation. The discussions by lawmakers are inane and creepy since:

a) Cigarettes kill people every day, and

b) Tobacco lobbying is so transparent.

Everyone knows who big tobacco is, so donations to politicians and political action committees are clear as the air in smoke-free bars. Indoor nicotine clouds have been extinguished through the work of local and state governments — not Washington.

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by Greg T. Spielberg

The beauty in journalism is when writers tell stories that haven’t been beaten to death or weren’t irrelevant to begin with. I don’t know what the deal is with Alex Rodriguez and Madonna; I couldn’t tell you what Jesse Jackson said about Obama; I don’t need fifty-four opinions on Iran’s Photoshop skills. What I want to read are new and thorough insights into the expansive cultural and social worlds.

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by Greg T. Spielberg

Yankee Stadium looked old-fashioned Monday night when its bare blue outfield walls played host to the game’s best sluggers. Parallel parked behind left field, the long, pin-striped Adidas ad just looked outdated. The black seats and matching Armitron formed a gaping hole where, in other stadiums, there are slides, pools and grassy meadows.

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 by Greg T. Spielberg

CBS’ new series “Swingtown” is having trouble attracting advertisers, largely because of the Parents Television Council. The group’s stated mission is protecting children “against sex, violence, and profanity in entertainment,” and it calls itself “the nation’s most influential advocacy organization.”

One reason for the PTC’s effectiveness is that its website provides fed-up parents with clear and detailed instructions for waging war against networks that broadcast sexy and violent content. The site also functions as a checkpoint reference by providing its own ratings of new releases. (“Wall-E,” for example, got a green light of approval in spite of “minor fantasy violence (ray guns blasting rocks)” and the use of the word “heck.”

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by Greg T. Spielberg

Stanley Fish, the erudite elder of The New York Times’ editorial/op-ed/blog pages and a former medievalist, is never too simple. (Why is it important to note that he was a medievalist? Because medievalists are special people: they speak many a tongue and usually wear grey.)

Fish is fine. His pieces swim with theory, reference classic thinkers, and sometimes go off the deep end in reaction to everyday life. He’s the perfect Grey Lady mascot for the (literally) dying breed of Sutton Place and Streeterville readers. He’s comfort food for folks who vacationed in colonies and wept at FDR’s funeral.

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