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It's been suggested by a few that I'm sufferin' me a case of dreaded Mike North Disease. Let's dig into one of the reasons why a few have written or said that. I hope to get to more of 'em tomorrow morning, but it's a packed sked...especially grilling for 100 people right around the corner.
Qualifiers: For the record, I regard Mike as the single biggest factor in the Score's early success. Dig into previous sections and posts if you want more on that, but never let it be said I have not acknowledged Pappy's enormous influence on the Score and the way other stations programmed. I also believe Mike possesses many good qualities as a man, including being generous to those around him, being loyal to those who were willing to sweat for him (sometimes to a fault maybe), and how he is a "survivor" and made his own mark despite limited education, upbrining and experience. In short, I have been a Mike North fan in many ways....
...and there are things about Mike I dislike. They are professional criticisms of the man... and characteristics of what I believe to be the most bothersome "symptoms" of Mike North Disease. Here's one item on the list. I'll compare and contrast. Feel free to do that same because I will read them, digest them, and perhaps ACT on them. A perfect segue!
1) Taking criticism and making changes.
Some do and some don't. My presence here, and a littany of ideas suggested by CSFMBers that wound up actually being employed on the show, are reasons this conversation could be closed now. Northy was oblivious to suggestions and talked about what he wanted, interviewed who he wanted and listened to almost nobody who advised him with his best interests in mind.
Not only did Mike fail to embrace the technology that's available to connect with listeners in a forum like this, he didn't care about what you thought. The smartest ones... in any business... are the ones who don't have all the answers and try to keep growing. There is much to be said about being your own man... and standing up for himself was a big part of Mike's success story... but North became beyond reproach with his audience. In another thread, I just accepted an S.I.D. criticism of me as 100% valid (superfans nonsense) and that I would attempt to diminish that greatly when we're in Bears discussion. It is a crutch and it rarely adds anything.
You can assume much of what's been expressed for several years here about Mike was said to him by station management, colleagues, friends and sponsors. I don't mean small shit... I mean big picture problems like having the burning desire to talk about things about which he had no knowledge or credibility. Pappy on the Social Security Administration or Jesse Jackson? Please. In '99 when they split up the Monsters and the Heavy Fuel Crew, North was given the freedom to do what he wanted. That was a bad decision because we got a good dose of politics, dated entertainment stars and free pets.
Let's compare. While I don't act on every complaint, when I hear the same ones over and over, I think it would be really stupid to not consider that it has merit. I then have to decide whether it's better to keep doing it, modify it, or eliminate it completely. The audience has steered some of the programming I've done over the years. Co-hosts and producers have input. If I didn't at least consider commonly placed criticism, I'd be an idiot. I'm not. If I didn't listen to showmates, it would mean I'm a bigger idiot because those are the ones you SHOULD trust the most. Spiegel, Miska and Zawasky are free to slap me verbally more than you know. It also was true with Jurko, Terry, Adam Delevitt, Finji, Jeff Dickerson, Danny Zederman, Judd Sirott, Matt Fishman, Jonathon Hood, Lawrence Holmes, Mike Alzamora and almost EVERYONE who's produced my shows. You think I got overloaded by "take me with you" sentiments expressed this past January when I got fired because I told the producers they didn't have a thought worthy of my attention?
Producers and I didn't always agree and voices often were raised, but NOBODY I've worked with was made to feel like it was a dictatorship. North's crew was GIVEN its opinion more often than not. Jesus, when we were in Platteville one summer in the late '90s Jesse Rogers wouldn't burn one with me (after hours of course) because he didn't want Mike to find out. Mike's crew was Mike's crew because they were told they couldn't be or think anything else. If you were going to be on Mike's show, you were doing it his way or be shown the highway. I have veto power, but I rarely have exercized it. Finfer talked me out of firing Zederman last winter. In 2003, Finfer has given me as harsh an e-mail as I've ever received from a colleague. He earned my respect for doing so.
I'm a big believer in the "no asshole rule." We operate openly and without fear of repercussion. Told both Miska and Zawasky today that they should take me aside and slap me if I get sleepy late in the show as I did Tuesday. I meant literally, like Ed Farmer told the fleshy Herm Schneider to do when he felt he didn't have it warming up one night in the early '80s.
Your recent suggestions to back off the '70s pop culture has been noted. It is not totally absent... but I have tried to cut way back on it. Years back, I would have played Alice Cooper music all week because I'm going to see him Sunday night. Likely, I also would have asked for a Cooper interview. Stopped programming it for selfish reasons years ago. I quote old movies like Mike... but who in his late 40s speaks comedies of this decade (on the air) as deftly as I do? It has found a home for the younger audience in my audience. Won't play a million Slapshot or Cuckoo's Nest anymore. I get it. You've grown tired of it and I will try -- not always succeed -- to back off. I also am ready for a new opening song for the 9 and 11 opens. Not certain I'm gonna change it... and it's really almost not even worth discussing because the lyric is a whopping six seconds or so (2x a day)... but I am considering it and only because I've heard it more than a few times lately.
Here's another Northy nugget... When I quit the Score in Oct. of '00, he told Meatpants, who was his baseball expert, to discontinue being in a fantasy football league with me or discontinue appearing on the show. He told Shakey Siuntres to disassociate with me. What the fuck is that?
Next up.... "handpicking a staff".... is it a symptom of Mike North Disease from which I suffer? We'll compare the motivating factors on why our shows were/have been assembled. I'll do that as soon as I have completed the musical open ideas for my college roommate Frank Sartini's "Frankie's Night On The Town" segment.
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