Dessis and Callahan hit new low

[ArtSpooner]

I usually don't listen, but today I wanted to hear the Doc Rivers' interview on D&C. For some reason the two jackasses and their pet weasel found the death of Heath Ledger(sp) hilarious. I had never heard of this guy until a couple of days ago. My wife told me that he played the oldest son in The Patriot. I really don't remember much about him. However I've also never heard anything bad about him either.

Why do these jerks find it so amusing that a young man has died? You know what I found amusing? Callahan's throat surgery; unfortunately he recovered.

 

[dhoule]

I would guess that they find his death funny because he played a gay man in Brokeback Mountain. Anything associated with difference, they make fun of. Sad, but true.

 

[blamethemayo]

callahan was also questioning the catholicism of john kerry and ted kennedy.

because they are.....democrats. apparently to callahan, democrat and/or liberal=godless heathen.

sometimes i wonder what the iq level of the average d&c listener is...

 

[TSBench]

I usually don't listen

Of course. That goes without saying.

This could make a great paper for a j-school grad student. Coming up with a way to describe the phenomenon where folks who go out of their way not to listen to a station inadvertently land on it at the just the moment when something is said with which they take umbrage. Based on this board, it seems to happen with amazing regularity.

The usual EDS doesn’t fit, because it crosses station and ownership lines (Imus, Severin, Carr, Rea, Finneran, T&R, O&A, etc.)

Perhaps ROS (Random Offense Syndrome) is more appropriate?

Is the Cambridge Center for Short-Lived Phenomena still in operation? They could devote an entire section to this, and give everyone a heads-up when something untoward is about to be said, perhaps utilizing an e-mail or cell phone alert. These could also include notifications of six minute commercial breaks, retired ‘personalities’ voicing ads or promos for spot sales, slips-of-the-tongue by play by play announcers, somebody waxing poetic about a family member, annoying caller updates, or even broadcast pattern shifts. They could add, for a small fee, a transcript service for folks without a push button radio, and maybe a digest Podcast for people on vacation.

If nothing else, it could increase the traffic on this board five-fold on slow news days

Regards,
TSB

 

[TSBench]

callahan was also questioning the catholicism of john kerry and ted kennedy.

I'm going to assume you mean Catholic in the religious, and not the small 'c' universal, sense.

Not to be argumentative, but, IIRC, that was mostly based on their positions on abortion, which are, to say the least, at some variance with Catholic teachings. This has been a continuing source of discussion amongst Catholic theologians and intellectuals. Nominal RC pols who seemingly disagree with every non-trendy Church teaching, except when it's time to go to church and pitch for votes, are not especially rare, so Callahan is not exactly the Lone Ranger on this.

because they are.....democrats. apparently to callahan, democrat and/or liberal=godless heathen.

This would appear to be either a reductio ad absurbum or a deliberate strawman. Whereas the Dems are not exactly welcoming to conservative religious views (if he was still around you could ask former PA gov Bob Casey how beating Planned Parenthood in the USSC advanced his standing in the party) I don't see how you can imply this conclusion to Callahan, or anyone for that matter, when, at the very least, the majority of Catholics who are registered voters are registered as Democrats, although they may not always vote that way (they've gone from being a Democat 'lock' to a swing vote.)

Regards,
TSB

 

[SonicOverload]

why would they be talking about Heath Ledger on a sports show? I mean, besides the fact that "Brokeback Mountain" had some rodeo elements in there. Answer? It's not a sports show, it's a "guy" show with sports content.

I don't know about IQ but the demographic they cater to are insecure, white, angry conservative males in the 25-54 demographic. I'm sure there are a lot of guys who were grade school bullies. Add a good amount of alcohol to any post-game call-in show. My term for those kind of fans are belly-bumpers because I have visions of portly guys naked from the waist up, their guts painted blue and bumping bellies while one of 'em calls Fred and Pete and screams into the phone, talking about "we" and "us," when, in fact, they should be referring to the Red Sox or Patriots, unless they're on the team. And I really hope they're not driving while making those calls.

 

[TSBench]

why would they be talking about Heath Ledger on a sports show?

Because D&C isn't a sports show. It is a current events and opinion show, which just happens to concentrates on sports, It has been this way since it started, so going off on this tangent shouldn't have been particularly surprising.

For some reason, I caught the channel 7 late news the day it happened, and they devoted 7 minutes to the Ledger story, including an on-the-scene reporter, and ZERO about Iraq, Afghanistan, Wall Street, or the upcoming election.

They didn't do this because they thought there wasn't a market for this story. The cult of celebrity is triumphant. And this was about an Australian who was in two movies that anyone ever saw.

It's still getting major play in the papers and cable today, with talking heads analysing the police and coroners reports like they're the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Regards,
TSB

 

[TravisWMLN]

I always feel like an outsider on this board....but I actually enjoy D & C...partially because I find callahan so whacked out with some of his thoughts and ideas that he makes me laugh....but I don't think that makes and an angry white racist...does it? eh...either way i still think dale and holley have the best show on WEEI

 

[SonicOverload]

why would they be talking about Heath Ledger on a sports show?

Because D&C isn't a sports show. It is a current events and opinion show, which just happens to concentrates on sports, It has been this way since it started, so going off on this tangent shouldn't have been particularly surprising.

For some reason, I caught the channel 7 late news the day it happened, and they devoted 7 minutes to the Ledger story, including an on-the-scene reporter, and ZERO about Iraq, Afghanistan, Wall Street, or the upcoming election.

They didn't do this because they thought there wasn't a market for this story. The cult of celebrity is triumphant. And this was about an Australian who was in two movies that anyone ever saw.

It's still getting major play in the papers and cable today, with talking heads analysing the police and coroners reports like they're the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Regards,
TSB

correct on all accounts. I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek with the "why is it on a sports show" thing because I know the deal there. And you're right about what gets priority.

outside the market but here's what John Gibson had to say about the Ledger death. Pretty bad...

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/23/gibson-mocks-ledger/

 

[dsturdy5]

I normally listen to the 5:30 AM instant replay and up through the the Sports Flash at the top of the hour. I had left the radio on today and heard some of their drivel at about 6:45 yesterday morning. They talked about how he must have had at least one homosexual encounter since he and Jake Gellenall (sp?) spent so much time together during the shooting of that movie. I thought it was a throw away line but they kept going with it until the top of the hour break.

Between that and Mike Greenburg's obsession with Tom Brady (in a bad way), if I want sports talk in the morning, I'll listen to Sirius' NFL radio station.

 

[brassband]

I like D&C and find them very entertaining. They are often crude and tasteless, but they're very entertaining most of the time.

I thought their Heath Ledger stuff was inappropriate. Look, when the poor guy died there was a lot of stuff about how much he loved his daughter and what a great dad he was . . . none of us knows anything about that, but D&C were questioning the quality of his fatherhood. I listened of and on for about thirty minutes and from what I heard every caller took them to task for their approach to this issue.

They were off base; there's no appropriate way to get laughs at the expense of the memory of someone who just died.

 

[Blackroc]

I tuned in and left shortly thereafter. It is odd that some--not just D/C-- seem to value Ledger's life less, because of a role he played.
I have to admit I don't get it. Dwelling on sickness and death is something I'd stay away from. I've never read Brudnoy's book for example: I don't want to.

 

[bjohns]

Dennis and Callahan, best local morning show in Boston. The fact that this board spends so much time talking about them tends to prove it. Not to mention their huge ratings.

I hate sports radio and I listen.

 

[Blackroc]

"Best" and most listened to, are two different things. Was Stern the best morning show in NYC?

 

[Dark Knight]

Yes (re: Stern).

Lived there many years and listened regularly. Listened in Boston too. He did decline somewhat after he got divorced, IMHO.

 

[BRNout]

These guys were just vocalizing the feelings of a lot of "Joe six-packs" out there. In other words, folks who work some thankless job all week and still struggle to pay the bills. Guys who end up spending much of their free time sitting in traffic. And, here's a guy celebrated all over TV who had the whole world at his feet and didn't seem to appreciate it.

I think the initial reaction of many is to be incredulous at seeing Heath Ledger, who has all the fame, money, looks and perks to go with them (things that many of us couldn't even dream of) and he doesn't value his own life enough to stick around and enjoy them. How he ended his life was stupid and a waste of an allegedly promising life. He had all these things and he blew them away through a $20 bill. Is everyone supposed to wear black? Would he care if you croaked? Probably wouldn't have even moved his SUV out of the way of your funeral procession.

In the meantime, we have people of the same age who don't have those advantages and who die in Iraq and Afghanistan without getting their lives hyped on Extra or Entertainment Tonight. Young people die in the streets and on the roads and these were people who actually valued their lives. Only we heard a little less about them this week because we were barraged with coverage of this guy's suicide. Or death by irresponsibility. Take your pick; to me they are the same thing.

So, no, I'd imagine that there are a lot of people who were not all teared up about the death of Mr. Ledger. Perhaps D & C pushed the envelope of bad taste. But let's not go overboard with the game of "gotcha". They also expressed the feelings of many about the absurdity of our celebrity culture and actors who make about 10,000 times more money than their relative importance to society would dictate. Distasteful yes - but also based on real resentments.

Some of the fawning adulation of Heath Ledger that I saw on TV this week was nothing short of nauseating. By the way, when was first announced, I thought it was that quarterback from the Carolina Panthers. Shows what I know. :-\

 

[fieldmarshallcinque]

Some of the fawning adulation of Heath Ledger that I saw on TV this week was nothing short of nauseating. By the way, when was first announced, I thought it was that quarterback from the Carolina Panthers. Shows what I know. :-\

Heath Shuler?

Not in the NFL anymore, in the House of Reps.

 

[SonicOverload]

speaking of D&C, anyone catch the "rap" that Dennis allegedly did in the 80s. I have to admit it's funny--if it's real--but if you missed it, I'm sure they'll play it another 25 or 30 times before 6 PM and a few hundred more next week. I have to admit that the childish humor on that show makes me laugh because it doesn't seem nearly as malicious as the attempts on the morning show.

 

[SonicOverload]

Heath Shuler?

Not in the NFL anymore, in the House of Reps.

as a Democrat, no less. Of course, an extremely conservative Democrat but I'd imagine that's kind of rare in the NFL. Incidentally, there was a Q&A session in the Globe with Belichick years ago and he said he was Democrat. That's apparently the case. This story references it...

http://www.bear-left.com/original/2002/0210patriots.html

and since Bill appears on WEEI, then it falls into the radio realm ;D

 

[freqlost]

speaking of D&C, anyone catch the "rap" that Dennis allegedly did in the 80s. I have to admit it's funny--if it's real--but if you missed it, I'm sure they'll play it another 25 or 30 times before 6 PM and a few hundred more next week. I have to admit that the childish humor on that show makes me laugh because it doesn't seem nearly as malicious as the attempts on the morning show.

I hope someone has video they upload to YouTube.
Will Lobel play it over the weekend?