What's Up With Robin Meade...Country Music?

I had a chance to talk with Robin Meade at the CMA Country Music Fest this weekend in Nashville.  Yes, that Robin Meade.  Robin Meade who presides over HLN's Morning Express each day, and apparently dabbles in country music. 

 

It may seem a bit unlikely, but she has a country music CD coming out, and it's actually pretty good.  She was making the rounds the whole week in Nashville and even performed on one of the smaller stages Sunday afternoon.  I was kind of rushed, so I hate that I missed her performance, but here's the info on her CD. It's called Brand New Day, and it's set for a June 21 release. You can get it at Target or through iTunes.

Robin has some big names guesting on her debut CD, including country singer and Celebrity Apprentice winner John Rich, American Idol's Bo Bice, Kix Brooks and Sarah Buxton.

She was as nice as ever and was having a great time, although I'm sure a lot of country music fans didn't know who she was.  She made it a point that she wants to do both; her HLN gig and also country music.

If anyone can do it all, it's Robin.

Sports Talker 'Papa Joe' Chevalier Dies at 62

If you have listened to nationallt syndicated sports talk radio in the last 20 years, you know the name, "Papa Joe" Chevalier.

"Papa Joe" Chevalier, a longtime Las Vegas resident who built a wide following with his local and syndicated sports talk radio show, died Friday from complications of a stroke at Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas. He was 62.

Chevalier, popular for expressing views that largely represented the average sports fan, suffered a stroke in late March that resulted in paralysis to his right side. His speech and cognitive processes were not affected.

Chevalier was born and raised in Pittsburgh but made his name in Las Vegas. He eventually moved to Chicago, where "The Papa Joe Show" was nationally syndicated by the Sporting News Radio Network until 2005.

Chevalier became known for "Bite Me Wednesday," in which he would encourage fans to call in and air grievances, and his show was featured in "Sports Talk: A Journey Inside the World of Sports Talk Radio," a 2001 book by Alan Eisenstock about the genre's growing popularity.

Art Chevalier said his brother was the same person off the air as on it, which resonated with his fans and friends.

"He didn't mince words, and that's why people loved him," Art Chevalier said. "You might not agree with him, but you knew where he stood."

Radio Station Van Catches Fire During Memorial Day Parade

A Memorial Day parade in Wisconsin was briefly interrupted after a van in the parade caught fire.

De Pere, WI Fire Captain Rich Annen says the call came in about 10:39 a.m., but he says firefighters could see the smoke from the radio station van before the call came in.

Once crews arrived on the Claude Allouez Bridge they found the Star 98 van on fire. The flames were on the base of windshield both inside and outside the vehicle.

The two people in the van smelled smoke and got out of the vehicle. There were no injuries.

Annen says the fire was quickly extinguished.

The Star 98 van was near the middle of the parade, which was held up behind the vehicle until the fire was put out. Annen says the parade was allowed to continue while crews cleaned up the scene. He says the parade delay was only about 15 to 20 minutes.

No word on whether STAR 98 is going to change their name to HOT 98.



Atlanta Radio Host/Producer Fired for Tweets Critical of Advertiser

You would think a big company like Delta Air Lines would have something better to do than get an Atlanta sports radio host and producer fired for sarcasm laced Twitter messages.  Note to Delta: Use social media to help customers, not get them fired!

It happened today when Chadd Scott, producer of the Chuck and Chernoff show on 680 the Fan was fired for giving updates on his Delta flight delays while in St. Louis.

Delta is a big advertiser on 680 and they apparently monitor tweets from Atlanta radio personalities and if they don't like what they are saying, even though it may be the truth, they throw their weight around to get them fired.

Although Scott is taking it in stride, I think Delta is wrong for holding something like this over the heads of a radio station, and 680 the Fan and Dickey Broadcasting are spineless for not supporting an employee. 

Delta prides itself on helping customers through the use of social media with its new DeltaAssist endeavor, it also looks like it will use social media like Twitter and Facebook to play bully.

Even though Scott feels ok about what he did, I'm sure he would've acted differently if he knew what the end result was going to be. 

Looks like lessons should be learned by all the parties involved.

Microsoft to Kill Off Zune

According to this piece in Engadget, Microsoft plants to end its Zune platform.

It appears Microsoft will not be putting out any new hardware in the line, and will be henceforward focusing on integrating Zune functionality with the Windows Phone 7 platform.  I guess this is a smart move at this point.  The Zune HD is actually a great device, it's a shame Microsoft didn't promote it at all.

I would recommend gettig one as soon as possible.  The sound is great and the HD radio stations come in handy.