Al Sharpton at Sweet Auburn Bistro in downtown Atlanta April 29 being introduced to WAOK-AM. CREDIT: Helen Kim

Management at 1180/WAOK-AM brought Al Sharpton and Warren Ballentine into Atlanta Wednesday to introduce them to the radio station. They met with fans at Sweet Auburn Bistro.

Sharpton told the crowd not to let the fact a black president is in office to let their guard down. “This is not a time to relax,” he said. “It’s time to make real mileage out of this.”

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In a separate interview, Sharpton said he will stay on doing a weekend show for Majic 107.5/97.5 as well as five days a week on WAOK-AM. He started his radio show three years ago and said many folks believed he wouldn’t be able or willing to go on the …

Continue reading 4/30: Morning Mash with Al Sharpton and Warren Ballentine interviews, UK “Office” on Adult Swim »

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Al Roker, the “Today” show meteorologist, really likes to work. So he’s going to get up even earlier and co-host a show for The Weather Channel from 6 to 7 a.m. with Stephanie Abrams. The show title: “Wake Up With Al.”

Abrams will host from Atlanta while Roker, of course, will remain in New York.

From the press release, including a quote from Lisa Gersh, interim CEO for the Atlanta-based channel:

“Simply put – Al Roker is synonymous with weather. He has an energy and a style that jumps off the screen, and we already know that people want to wake up with him in the morning,” said Gersh. “We have spent months coming up with the right way to integrate Al into The Weather Channel programming, and I think, alongside Stephanie, we’ve come up with the perfect formula with this announcement.”

Do you think Al Roker is a good addition to the Weather Channel?

• Yes. This gives me a good reason to check out the Weather Channel at 6 a.m.!
• Nope. I get enough of him from …

Continue reading 4/29: Morning Mash with Al Roker coming to The Weather Channel, Top Chef visit to Atlanta, TNT casting all »

I just spoke with Ray Romano by phone. He’s going to be in Atlanta next Tuesday for a show at the Fox Theatre with his former “Everybody Loves Raymond” castmate Brad Garrett. He was, as expected, down to earth and just plain nice. (Details below)

Four years removed from “Raymond,” 51-year-old Romano has pocketed his (many many) millions. But the actor has had a tough time deciding what his next act would be.

He’s voiced Manny for two “Ice Age” sequels, dabbled in a couple of small films (none of his non-”Ice Age” films have been hits) and plays in charity golf tourneys.

Plus, he does some standup gigs. And for a week each year, he and Garrett hit a few cities to do standup and reminisce about the show’s nine years.

And he has finally found his next TV gig: Atlanta-based TNT has picked up Romano’s drama “Men of a Certain Age,” which will hit the air January 2010. (I’ll talk to him more about that later in the year.)

Continue reading 4/28: Morning Mash with Ray Romano interview »

Most studies of TV viewing shows how awful it can be, that it instills violence, turns our brains to mush and transforms our kids into anorexic, sex-crazed idiots.

Here are a few that reveal the tube helps people ward off loneliness.

According to sciencedaily.com:

New research by psychologists at the University at Buffalo and Miami University, Ohio, indicates that illusionary relationships with the characters and personalities on favorite TV shows can provide people with feelings of belonging, even in the face of low self esteem or after being rejected by friends or family members.

Okay, that actually sounds kind of sad and depressing. Yes, the average person watches more than four hours of TV a day. Yes, four hours a day. We only work and sleep more. And that despite the fact we also spend oodles of time in front of our Blackberries and computer.

–The Regular Guys began their stint in Dallas (Quality Rock FM 93.3, formerly the Bone) as a syndicated show this morning. The …

Continue reading 4/27: TV drives way loneliness, day one of syndication for the Regular Guys, Warren Ballentine & Al Sharpton joining WAOK Wednesday »

Angriest… departure… ever!

More than 100 people have been eliminated from this show over the years. Melissa Rivers took it by far the worst ever. She declined any post-show interview with the producers, cursed up a storm and called Brande Roderick and Annie Duke “whore pit vipers.” (Those Rivers know the descriptive nasties, eh?) What’s cooler, Joan Rivers joined her daughter in solidarity and left in disgust.

‘You are a piece of xxxx and you’re a stupid blonde!” Joan said to the two of them as they returned. She then accused Roderick of being manipulated, which the former Playboy Playmate noted, “I’m still here!”

Roderick also said (rightly) that this is about raising the most money, which gave Rivers an excuse to go after Duke one more time: “You give money with blood on it. You’re a poker player. You’re beyond white trash.”

Continue reading 4/26: Celebrity Apprentice recap: Melissa Rivers dumped »

Eric Von Haessler, one of the Regular Guys on Rock 100.5, is seriously considering a run for Senate as a Libertarian candidate against Johnny Isaakson.

The problem is if he runs for office, he may have to give up his radio spot because there could be issues of fairness.

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“I don’t know what all kinds of FCC regulations come into play,” he said. “There are two schools of thought. One is that I’d have to leave the air as soon as I got the nomination for the Libertarian Party [in April of 2010]. Some think it might only have to be four weeks out.”

So for now, “I’m officially just exploring the idea.”

He noted that this is not a radio stunt. …

Continue reading 4/24: Morning Mash with Eric Von Haessler pondering a Senate race, Regular Guys syndicating »

Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the tough-love radio host heard locally on 1160/WCFO-AM, almost didn’t become a mom.

Imbued with feminist ideals in the 1960s and ‘70s, she said she only got around to having a child at age 35.

“I never had any intention to be a mom,” she said. “Then it struck me – something is missing in my life. I was a late bloomer!” (Her son is now 23 and in the military.)

Schlessinger is embracing the world of moms for a live show at the Irvine Barclay Theatre on the University of California’s Irvine campus May 5. It will be seen at 450 movie theaters nationwide, including eight in metro Atlanta. You can buy tix for $20 each here.

Q: So what’s this show going to be like?

A: It’s just me on the stage, a one-woman show. I’ll be rejoicing motherhood in a positive way when so many negatives are going on. It’ll be a multi-media kind of thing. They’ll be music and video, slides and commentary from people.

Q: Any singing and dancing.

A: I may …

Continue reading 4/23: Morning Mash with Dr. Laura, TV ratings »

ABC is bringing back Regis Philbin for an 11-night tenth anniversary “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” extravaganza August 9 to August 23, Sundays through Thursdays.

It’s hard to believe but it’s been nearly 10 years since the British import came out of nowhere in August of 1999 as a fill-in summer show for ABC and take the country by storm. Phrases such as “I need a lifeline” and “Is that your final answer?” turned into instant pop culture nuggets. Regis, already a popular morning talk show host, became HUGE. Heck, I tried out for the show via phone at least 130 times. I got past the first round at least 30 times but never won the lottery to get to the second round.

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For a few months, the show would easily surpass 30 million viewers per show. ABC began airing it up to …

Continue reading 4/22: Regis Philbin is back on “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” in August »

As usual, broadcast TV did not have a terribly good year.

There was one breakout new show: “The Mentalist” on CBS. And two new Fox shows have done well: “Fringe” and “Lie to Me.” Otherwise, it’s been slim pickings.

Hollywood Reporter has listed a bunch of broadcast shows that are “on the bubble.” I’ve also checked with other Web sites, too. Here’s a list in alphabetical order of shows that may be on the “bubble.” Dead shows will come next followed by those already or likely to be renewed.

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“Better Off Ted” ABC – Strange, quirky, not quite as good as “Scrubs” and doing barely “According to Jim”-level numbers. 50/50 …

Continue reading 4/22: Morning Mash with TV shows on the bubble »

UGA alum and football great Herschel Walker hasn’t watched a single episode of “Celebrity Apprentice,” the NBC show he was just fired from Sunday night.

Of course, the episodes were taped months ago. Walker told me he has a good memory and recalls the details, even though he isn’t sure how it was edited.

He said he was disappointed he didn’t end up winning money for his charity of choice, Alternative Community Development Services. (He lost the challenges in which he was project manager.) But he’s proud he raised so much money in the fundraising challenges, second only to Annie Duke.

“I had fun,” he said. “I had a lot of fun.” At first, he figured he was busy with his food services company so he’d stick around a week for his friend Donald Trump. But once he got into it, he thought, “Let me stay here a while bit longer… I wanted to go all the way.”

For the challenge Sunday, he selected a chicken dish for the Schwan’s frozen food challenge (since it was the most popular meat …

Continue reading 4/21: Herschel Walker interview, post “Celebrity Apprentice” »