Random Notes

Down the Rathole
Paul Vandenburgh used “rathole” as a stand-in for President Trump’s “shithole” remark this week. Coincidentally, both rathole and shithole are acceptable when used to describe his radio station.

Wrap This
Anybody else sick of these ads that are wrapped around your goddamn Times Union every day?

The Ripoff Report
I like the Empire Report website and visit frequently. It’s a great way to keep up with New York political news, but I’m perpetually bothered by the site’s design, which is basically swiped from Drudge Report. Here’s the thing: when you steal someone’s design, you’re also taking all the hard work they did to build their brand — and in the case of Drudge, that’s worth a fortune.

3 thoughts on “Random Notes

  1. Paul Vandenburgh. He works in radio for so many years and that piece of crap station is the best he can do? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but what is surprising is that so many legitimate businesses are willing to sully their reputation by advertising on that shithole.

  2. What is the television version of a wrap-ad? WNYT can’t afford Lydia Kulbida (huge mistake) but it seems they have more ads than ever. Has ad revenue actually dropped that much? Or is it viewers? (I don’t have Arbitron or Nielsen access)

    1. Local TV news is a money machine. It’s a product you can’t get anywhere else and a great place for your spots to run.

      The last 20 years have been difficult because the ad dollars are spread around in more places, but it’s still very lucrative. Since there are so many more newscasts that ever before, there’s much more ad inventory — and greater revenue. As for spending, TV station general managers often have an incentive to keep expenses down. Imagine if you had a big bonus coming based on keeping costs in line? History has shown that ratings don’t usually go down when high profile (expensive) talent leaves, so it’s a gamble one might be happy to take.

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