RADIO GAGA: Call it local radio’s Black Friday. KUFO 101.1-FM’s morning crew—Rick Emerson, Sarah X. Dylan, Tim Riley and Greg Nibler—as well as the station’s afternoon duo, Cort Fatboy, were all fired last Friday afternoon. Earlier in the week Alpha Broadcasting, which bought the radio station in August, replaced KUFO programming director Chris Patyk with a San Diego “afternoon drive personality” called Ditch. Although fans call foul, KUFO Director of Marketing Promotion Susan Reynolds says low ratings spurred the bloodletting. However, she would not confirm rumors that Jägermeister- and Pam Anderson-lovin’ KISW 99.9-FM “Rock of Seattle” personality Ricker had been hired by KUFO to replace the geeky Emerson crew. “What I can tell you is that the station is a rock station and will continue to be a rock station,” Reynolds told Scoop. Right now that translates to a recorded loop on 101.1 of a robot voice, noting that the “mothership must refuel,” counting down to 7 am this morning since this past weekend.
KEN’S FRENCH CLASS: Local filmmaker Heather Harlow’s Nous Deux Encorekeeps picking up awards: Portland International Film Festival audiences voted it the best short film in February, and now NW Film and Video Festival judge Kenneth Turan (the LA Times film critic) has bestowed his Best of Show prize on the 17-minute documentary, calling it “a truly, madly, deeply moving love story.” Decide for yourself: The movie, a chronicle of 80-year-old retired French TV reporter Maxie Leoussis’ love for her late husband, screens at the festival at 7 pm Friday, Nov. 6. See nwfilm.org for details.
SOUND SITE: Journalism isn’t dead. At least online. That’s part of the thinking behind a new Web venture that aims to be a one-stop destination for local music. Oregon Music News (oregonmusicnews.com) is the brainchild of writer Tom D’Antoni, a longtime reporter-producer on OPB’s Oregon Art Beat who wanted to make a comprehensive website that covers everything from rock, dance, jazz, and indie to classical. “Oregon Music News exists because there is no longer one source for news and information about music in Oregon,” D’Antoni writes on the site. Huh. Anyway, still looking to expand, OMN already has one thing going for it: an editorial intern.
CALLING ALL TWILIGHT MOMS: Desperate to get an early look at the not-actually-shot-in-Portland Twilight sequel New Moon? Of course you are. WW Screen Editor Aaron Mesh has exactly one extra ticket for the sneak-preview screening on Wednesday, Nov. 18. He is willing to give that seat to the reader who comes to WW World Headquarters (2220 NW Quimby St.) and performs the best reenactment of a scene from the first film. (Bonus points for the inclusion of restless leg syndrome.) The rest of you will get your glimpse of the werewolves and Vancouver, B.C., scenery two whole days later, on Nov. 20.
Oregon Music News is a collaborative effort involving Terry Currier of Music Millennium, Tom D'Antoni, editor-in-chief of OMN and Nancy Glass, publisher of OMN. While we'd like to give Tom full credit for the site's vision, in reality he was a very important key partner in the development of the magazine. He's responsible for the content and managing the writers. And we have some excellent writers.
There is no music website that is a one-stop source of information about music in Oregon. The Oregonian, WW, the Mercury, etc. all have certain niches and demographics that they write for but many people's interests are excluded. We are trying to fill those needs and then some.
We have also gotten an enormous amount of community support. We had nearly 1000 fans on Facebook just in the week prior to launching and we are currently over 1700. We're nearly halfway to the amount the WW has and we've only been live for three days. Needless to say, we are very excited about the amount of interest people are showing.
Oregon Music News has some of the best music writers in town from Barbara Mitchell to James Bash and Tom D'Antoni. Everyone involved is passionately interested in the Oregon music scene, across the musical boards, from classical to rock to experimental. OMN makes it easy for people to find information on the genre of music they are looking for. Obviously, we haven't covered EVERYTHING but we'll get as close as we can. If you really want to know about us, read the "about us" section on the website. Or contact us, for crying out loud.
We deserve more than a slightly incorrect blurb. We'd even be happy to resend our press release.
I forgot to mention that the brilliant John Nastos is also a major partner in Oregon Music News. As webmaster, he was instrumental in getting the website alive and breathing and, most importantly, keeping it functional.
I’ve since found that there were attempts by the WW to reach Tom D’Antoni for an interview and phone tag ensued. Unfortunately, contact was not made prior to the deadline. I apologize for stating that the WW didn’t try to contact us.
Thanks for the comment, and I agree with you about proper due for everyone involved with the site. I actually tried to talk to Tom a few times before the blurb went to press but wasn't able to reach him. I plan on talking to Tom this week and running a piece on our music blog, LocalCut.com, so check back in a few days for a story that does OMN justice.
There is no music website that is a one-stop source of information about music in Oregon. The Oregonian, WW, the Mercury, etc. all have certain niches and demographics that they write for but many people's interests are excluded. We are trying to fill those needs and then some.
We have also gotten an enormous amount of community support. We had nearly 1000 fans on Facebook just in the week prior to launching and we are currently over 1700. We're nearly halfway to the amount the WW has and we've only been live for three days. Needless to say, we are very excited about the amount of interest people are showing.
Oregon Music News has some of the best music writers in town from Barbara Mitchell to James Bash and Tom D'Antoni. Everyone involved is passionately interested in the Oregon music scene, across the musical boards, from classical to rock to experimental. OMN makes it easy for people to find information on the genre of music they are looking for. Obviously, we haven't covered EVERYTHING but we'll get as close as we can. If you really want to know about us, read the "about us" section on the website. Or contact us, for crying out loud.
We deserve more than a slightly incorrect blurb. We'd even be happy to resend our press release.
I forgot to mention that the brilliant John Nastos is also a major partner in Oregon Music News. As webmaster, he was instrumental in getting the website alive and breathing and, most importantly, keeping it functional.
I’ve since found that there were attempts by the WW to reach Tom D’Antoni for an interview and phone tag ensued. Unfortunately, contact was not made prior to the deadline. I apologize for stating that the WW didn’t try to contact us.
Thanks for the comment, and I agree with you about proper due for everyone involved with the site. I actually tried to talk to Tom a few times before the blurb went to press but wasn't able to reach him. I plan on talking to Tom this week and running a piece on our music blog, LocalCut.com, so check back in a few days for a story that does OMN justice.