Channel 8 Interview with Russ

[jasonzbtzl]

I find it interesting that he always said he didn't want the attention for the foundation but he's on the air, the day after the policeman's death and they're flashing a copy of the check with his signature and the amount. The only way they had a photograph of the check was if he gave it to them. The piece they did on him didn't paint a very good picture of him. The piece was used to promote him, not the foundation, the day after an officer's death. Total lack of class.

Oh, and if it was meant to bring attention to how anyone could donate to the foundation to help, where was the contact information so people could donate? Didn't see that in the piece. He could have stipulated that be put out there when he gave them the copy of the check to flash on the screen.

Honestly in this day and age, if you have money to give away to charity, I would think you would be able to find contact info for a charity with just the name, type in name on any search engine and I can imagine contact info would come up.

 

[tah]

The piece was used to promote him, not the foundation, the day after an officer's death. Total lack of class.

Right on!! Donate 30k to the family of a fallen police officer - what a total classless bastard eh?

First, the money came from the Russ Martin Listeners Foundation so Mr. Martin is garnering praise from his listener's money not his own funds. Do you honestly think that money is all from him?

Secondly, the piece was initially filmed before the December benefit concert. Why sit on it for almost a month? IMHO, Mr. Martin requested that the piece not be aired at all. Then comes the needless death of Cpl. Smith and the piece airs with a handy-dandy copy of the donation check to the family. Yeah, that's classless in my book.

Thirdly, this quote "What about your fans that he didn't get a chance to say goodbye to? "All right, bye," he said." Mr. Martin really has a deep regard for his loyal listeners, huh? :

 

[jasonzbtzl]

Thirdly, this quote "What about your fans that he didn't get a chance to say goodbye to? "All right, bye," he said." Mr. Martin really has a deep regard for his loyal listeners, huh? :

and was qualified in the piece with Janet's tongue in cheek response about said response to his fans, that's his shtick, always has been

 

[satradio]

Russ has learned a tough lesson. After getting the boot from 105.3, where he was supposedly soooo popular, there's been very little outcry, no protests, no vigils, no NOTHING. He's found out that nobody cares. He's found out he's not nearly as famous or popular as he thought he was, and that has to hurt.

Oh..The Fan sucks, with or without Russ Martin.

 

[WheredidMergeGo]

There is that common sense thing kicking in again... or is it..

First, the money came from the Russ Martin Listeners Foundation so Mr. Martin is garnering praise from his listener's money not his own funds. Do you honestly think that money is all from him?

I don't think anyone stated that at all. But again, the fact is whether you like it or not (and I'm still not sure how you feel about it) is he setup the foundation and carried the cost associated and held events to fund said foundation. But yea, probably would have been better to secretly setup a fund and tell no one and do noting to promote it. Watch the donations roll in!

Secondly, the piece was initially filmed before the December benefit concert. Why sit on it for almost a month? IMHO, Mr. Martin requested that the piece not be aired at all. Then comes the needless death of Cpl. Smith and the piece airs with a handy-dandy copy of the donation check to the family. Yeah, that's classless in my book.

Your opinion being the keyword here. Do you really think he had that kind of control over WFAA? Obviously he did have that kind of control over the piece - since they mentioned his arrest and showed his mugshot! "sure you can film a piece on me but don't air it until a police officer gets shot" Honestly? Can you not see how insane that sounds? Are you so blind in your hate for a radio personality you have have never met personally that would would not only assume something like that but go so far as to post it on a public forum?

Thirdly, this quote "What about your fans that he didn't get a chance to say goodbye to? "All right, bye," he said." Mr. Martin really has a deep regard for his loyal listeners, huh? :

Yea - again, really? Did you see how shocked Janet was at his reaction as well?!?! The nerve of that guy!!


Why is it that common sense goes out the window when people rant about people they hate?

But now that you bring it up, he was driving a replica general lee from the TV show dukes of hazzard. How classless of him to flaunt his car while the dodge motor company is struggling. Oh and how convenient was it that they showed a picture of his batmobiles? Can you believe he would flaunt like that?!?! The NERVE?? And did you see his jacket with the batman logo on the back, someone should call up the copyright office as I bet he is violating the trademark, typical russ eh?

Or ya know, maybe the piece was just filmed in December about a local ex radio DJ and his listeners foundation and it sat on the shelves at WFAA as it wasn't really relevant nor news worthy then a Dallas Officer was shot in the line of duty and the local news needing more "news" about it pulled the piece out and ran it as it was relevant along with the donation made to the family of the fallen officer.

nah.. that's just too obvious.

sorry to interrupt, carry on.. classless evil bad man not on the radio....

 

[SirFreebie1975]

Russ has learned a tough lesson. After getting the boot from 105.3, where he was supposedly soooo popular, there's been very little outcry, no protests, no vigils, no NOTHING. He's found out that nobody cares. He's found out he's not nearly as famous or popular as he thought he was, and that has to hurt.

Oh..The Fan sucks, with or without Russ Martin.

very little outcry? maybe your just looking at it just in this messageboard because
I know alot of people that are upset about Russ not being on the air. you're trying to spin
something that is not even there..

 

[jd]

Russ Martin will be back on the air here in DFW before the end of 2009, possibly back on 105.3 when the sports format fails due to too many sports stations in the market.

You may be onto something, but only about the first part. I think the RMS in a re-tooled form could happen somewhere else, not on 105.3. It wouldn't surprise me if CBS somehow makes the sports format work. Sure the Ticket has the formula down, and a superior line-up (for now, anyway) but they're lacking signal-wise and if The Fan grabbed the right people the fight would be on.

That's like saying Gavin will soon be promoted to head the entire local CBS cluster.

At the risk of taking this thread in a totally different direction, remember who we're talking about here: Gavin the man and CBS the radio group. Then go back in time and remember how both of them surprised a lot of us. Did anyone expect that Gavin would be put in charge at KRLD? Was he the logical choice, the most qualified person to take on duties at an AM news talker? I worked for CBS a couple of times and I've learned not to be surprised by anything they do, so in answer to your question, Mike, here's another. With Gavin overseeing KRLD and the all-new KRLD-FM "The Fan" do you really think it has to stop there? If it's in CBS's interest, which means first and foremost the bottom line, it could happen.

 

[little1]

and if The Fan grabbed the right people the fight would be on.

Who do you think would be the 'right people'? Ben and Skin apparently suck so much that they've had to resort to running Tim Colwlishaw in there for a couple of hours a day, every day, to give them someone who can really talk sports.

 

[jd]

and if The Fan grabbed the right people the fight would be on.

Who do you think would be the 'right people'? Ben and Skin apparently suck so much that they've had to resort to running Tim Colwlishaw in there for a couple of hours a day, every day, to give them someone who can really talk sports.

Exactly, let the nominations begin. Or maybe that should be the subject of an entirely new thread...after all, we were talking about Russ and the interview on Channel 8 here when we got sidetracked (I'm guilty). I will restate, however, that I think the Fan could actually become a player somewhere down the road. What we've heard so far is not the way it will remain. And who knows, Russ could indeed work a deal that would get him back on the air...but not on 105.3.

 

[jasonzbtzl]

and if The Fan grabbed the right people the fight would be on.

Who do you think would be the 'right people'? Ben and Skin apparently suck so much that they've had to resort to running Tim Colwlishaw in there for a couple of hours a day, every day, to give them someone who can really talk sports.

Exactly, let the nominations begin. Or maybe that should be the subject of an entirely new thread...after all, we were talking about Russ and the interview on Channel 8 here when we got sidetracked (I'm guilty). I will restate, however, that I think the Fan could actually become a player somewhere down the road. What we've heard so far is not the way it will remain. And who knows, Russ could indeed work a deal that would get him back on the air...but not on 105.3.

I could not agree more, besides an additional sports segment, what does the morning drive have to do with Sports?? Jagger's show is not a sports show, they are on borrowed time.

hi-jack over.

 

[greencougar7]

I can see Russ has his fans here.and thats okay it provides a balanced no matter how blind they are to opposition facts. I will give Russ some credit,no he didnt have a "content control" on the story,but in case you haven't notice WFAA has been doing some "tabloid fluff " pieces for at least the the last 6 months alone. The "teasers" are enough to make one reach for Beano before and after they eat. The showing of the check was unnecessary and self promotional plus signifies that NO the story was not shot in December<sorry Rusty Fans..the clue is evident> they did use footage from past concerts he gave. In the end. Russ is over done..gone by June in discussion <thankfully> He better get back to practicing saying "Hello thank you for calling Pizza Hut may I take your order please".

 

[WheredidMergeGo]

The showing of the check was unnecessary and self promotional plus signifies that NO the story was not shot in December<sorry Rusty Fans..the clue is evident> they did use footage from past concerts he gave.

Yea your right - they probably went out and shot footage in the past few days outside Coach Joes to make it look like it was done in December....

Obviously the shot of the check is new. Allow me to restate - they shot the "piece" in Dec and shelved it. Wasn't news worthy. Then the fallen officer.

Janet was very familiar with the show, as was everyone here (like it or not) and the check was written. Slap that onto an old piece from Dec and now WFAA has 4 minutes they don't have to fill about a recent tragedy in Dallas. But no you are probably right, this little piece that included info about his arrest and his mugshot was all about self promotion!!

Bravo there Mr. Stone.

It never ceases to amaze how far people will leap with common sense when they have an axe to grind.

 

[PoPo84]

$30,000 to a family in their time of need is $30,000 to a family in their time of need. Self promotion or not, a good deed is a good deed! My friends, a $30,000 donation is a good deed.

 

[Stinkymess]

A little of this, a little of that.

Merge. You're right on a lot of points. There are a ton of people out there that want to hate Russ, and will grab on to anything that makes him look bad. His show was at one time (to quote News 8 ) "Wildly Popular".
But the show had grown tired, old, and was losing listeners and more importantly to the suits, advertisers.
Russ said it many times, his show was the only thing keeping that station afloat. But with his salary and bonus structure and that of the half-dozen coat-tail riders on the show, there had to be a sort of financial balancing point.
The point where he and his staff cost more than they were worth to keep the station and the format going.

But getting back to the meat of the original posts.

Russ looked bad in the story. The car, the peeling out, the chaw and spit, the cocky jerk attitude.
And if you don't think a good part of the story was staged, watch it again with an open mind.
The piece was obviously shot the night of the concert. No doubt about that.
Watch the early part of the video, where Russ turns towards the camera. He's posed at the front of the car, turns and starts towards the camera. Not caught unawares getting out of the car, suprised by the crew. He's posed. Next, listen to JSJ as she says "Russ, Russ why won't you talk to us?" and his response.
Very tongue in cheek. Very staged. The rest of the piece had a more natural feel until the goodbye at the end.

The package was indeed shelved, only to be pulled and have the part about the check edited in.
That's what made the story worth airing.

And for all of you blasting away at the Russ about the check, I doubt Russ showed the check to anyone. The check goes from the foundation to the family THROUGH contacts in the PD. Anyone involved in that process could have taken a moment, out of the immense gratitude they felt for Russ sending a check that large to the family, taken a picture and e-mailed it to news 8 with the details.

Like Russ, or hate him. I don't care. But at least watch the story, pay attention to detail and think about the options before shooting your mouth off.
The guy only does two decent things in his life. Supports the cops and firefighters and takes care of animals.
So at least give him credit for that.

You may now resume your normal bashing, flaming and biatching.

 

[scrtr84]

Russ? Russ, who?

Seriously, it's good for him to donate money like this, as it is for a good cause. But promoting it during a story that was originally shelved, was a dumb idea. They coulda just had an anchor say something like "Former radio host Russ Martin has donated money to the officer's family", and be done with it. The rest of it is just 3 1/2 minutes of unessential garbage. In fact I find it quite counterproductive, because it just reminds everyone how old and tired the guy really is.

I would agree this charity needs a new leader. Kraddick might be a good choice.

 

[TheRover]

I saw the piece (minus the part about money for the fallen police officer's family) with Russ as all total acting....

Like.... wrestlin' .... Even though I know it's an act.... when it's done really well, I appreciate it...

That part of him sacrastically saying goodbye to his fans... Pure unadultered acting... Nobody could be that psychotic for real.....

But wait a minute..... What's he charged with ? ? ?

But really, I don't do talk radio unless it's The Ticket, and even they aren't perfect.

 

[scrtr84]

But wait a minute..... What's he charged with ? ? ?

Assault with a deadly weapon.

He's also being charged for breaking and entering the egg. Of all the sperm that could have gotten in, why this one?

 

[MikeShannon914]

And for all of you blasting away at the Russ about the check, I doubt Russ showed the check to anyone. The check goes from the foundation to the family THROUGH contacts in the PD. Anyone involved in that process could have taken a moment, out of the immense gratitude they felt for Russ sending a check that large to the family, taken a picture and e-mailed it to news 8 with the details.

Isn't there some discussion out there that Martin's issue with the IRS involves "reportedly" and "alledgedly" misusing funds from that very foundation? Nah, maybe Martin just has an ATM card for that account instead.

Whose signature was on the check, BTW?

And BTW, true philanthropy IS nameless...I don't care who names their foundation what. You can bet that the Gateses and Getty's of the world are equally as interested in the tax writeoff that comes with donations. Others, of course, are into the ego stroking. Then again, I guess it's no worse than "Kidd's Kids."

 

[bluze1]

Isn't there some discussion out there that Martin's issue with the IRS involves "reportedly" and "alledgedly" misusing funds from that very foundation? Nah, maybe Martin just has an ATM card for that account instead.

Whose signature was on the check, BTW?

Russ's signature was on the check. Second of all and most importantly if his IRS issue involved the foundation it would be a secondary to an FBI investigation and Federal charges being filed. This is NOT something that has happened so I would chalk any rumors of the sort up to BS.

 

[jasonzbtzl]

Apparently there a few folks wanting to know what happened, it got WFAA good ratings and all they did was a 60 second "fluff" piece as some call it. Looks like he still has an audience that want to still hear him and or about him.

http://www.unclebarky.com/dfw_files/4b82bd7a97a1449ed36384dfe1ca1825-917.html