Mark Richards, one of the longest-running program directors in town, is out at country station Kicks 101.5.

He survived two regime changes. He joined the station early 2003 when ABC owned Kicks, survived the switch to Citadel in 2007, then lasted another 16 months under the latest Cumulus ownership change. While the station has been the dominant country station in Atlanta for much of the past decade, 94.9/The Bull has given Kicks a serious kick in the rear the past six years. For a brief time, the Bull even pulled ahead of Kicks. But for the most part, Kicks had kept an edge among older listeners while the Bull does better among younger country music fans.

That makes sense, since Kicks is the longer-established player and plays more 1990s music.

Based on Arbitron calculations I just did today, Kicks averaged a 3.7 share while the Bull averaged 3.3 in 2012, excluding the final three weeks of the year. Among 25 to 54 year olds, Kicks averaged 3.9, ahead of the Bull at 3.5. Among …

Continue reading Kicks 101.5 lets go program director Mark Richards »

Bert Weiss made a confession last month about a drinking problem. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/ajc.com

Q100 host Bert Weiss told listeners this morning that he has been a binge drinker but feels he is not an alcoholic.

“I’m not the guy who craves alcohol every day or even every two weeks,” he said. “My problem and my concern is when I do go out, if I’m with a whole bunch of friends, it’s difficult for me to put the brakes on. That means I’ll be hung over the next day. I’ll do stupid things and I’ll spend a large amount of time the next day texting apologies.”

Weiss dubbed himself a “binge drinker,” saying he’s been following this pattern going back to college. But now he’s in his mid-40s and feels it’s time to grow up.

Last month, he first told listeners about the issue and 11 Alive talked to him about it. “I’ve got two kids now, I’ve got a 10 year old and a 5 year old, who I’m just getting more present to — I just want to be a role model to them when they’re not around,” Weiss told …

Continue reading Q100’s Bert Weiss says he has been a ‘binge drinker,’ but not an alcoholic »

CineStars’ Brittany Umar and I discuss “Cougar Town” as it premieres on TBS, Kris Allen’s upcoming show and controversy over “All My Babies’ Mamas.”

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Continue reading Video: talking ‘Cougar Town,’ Kris Allen, ‘All My Babies’ Mamas’ »

Kris Allen shows off his cast (in a mirror). CREDIT: Kris Allen's Instagram

Season 8 “idol” winner Kris Allen broke his right wrist in a New Year’s Day head-on auto collision that wasn’t his fault. Fortunately, the wrist will heal,within a couple of months, he said, and he’ll be able to get back to playing guitar.

Also good news: his pregnant wife and high school sweetheart Katy made it out okay and the baby in her belly, due in July, is fine. Plus, his tour is alive and well. He will stop at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur January 20 for two shows. Details here. Tix are $15 in advance, $18 at the door.

“It definitely hurts,” he said in an interview Monday. “But the show must go on.”

He briefly described the accident:

“My wife and I were driving home. We were getting into a turning lane and this lady came out of nowhere and hit us head on. We were going about 25 miles an hour.”

His Ford Escape absorbed the shock.. He passed out, but his wife got him back awake.  He realized …

Continue reading Interview with Kris Allen, season 8 ‘Idol’ winner coming to Eddie’s Attic Jan. 20 »

Opening scene of “Cougar Town,” TBS edition. The gang enter Jules’ kitchen.

“It feels like we’ve been gone over a year!” says Laurie, played by Busy Phillips. (Actually, it’s only been eight months but who’s counting?)

Jules (Courteney Cox): “I honestly thought we’d never be in this kitchen again just hanging out telling our stories to each other, to the world.”

Travis, her son, played by former Marietta resident Dan Byrd: “Where were you guys?”

Jules: “Over at Ellie’s. We ran out of wine. Really intense!”

They go through their ritual of opening wine bottles.

Yes, the “Cougar Town” crew is back and ready to get their drink on. Creator Bill Lawrence sensed ABC wavering on renewal last year and approached TBS, a network he …

Continue reading TBS opens the ‘Cougar Town’ wine bar Jan. 8 »

I didn’t learn much from last night’s “Honey Boo Boo” Halloween special but here’s my grand effort:

1) Wop sided is a word – at least on this show. Yes, this is a very casual term for lop sided. The kids found a “wop sided” pumpkin. Family members compared it to Mama’s buttock’s cheeks and her stomach.

2) Don’t stick a pumpkin your head. We actually learned this from many a sitcom (see “Friends”) But Uncle Poodle decided to try it anyway and yes, he couldn’t get it off.”It looks like Mama’s pumpkin was eating Poodle,” Honey Boo Boo said.  He eventually banged his way out.

3) Mayonnaise is scary! The producers took the labels off the jars of mayonnaise Honey Boo Boo is glopping into bowls (see right). Probably smart because this was not a good advertisement for what looked like unappetizing gloppy gook. Apparently, Mama is not a fan (though she will eat chicken and tuna salad.) “It’s like a phobia,” she said. She runs away when presented with said mayo.

4) Fatter is as fatter …

Continue reading Seven things I (sorta) learned from the Halloween special of ‘Honey Boo Boo’ »

Cyndi Lauper's reality show debuts on WE-TV Saturday night. CREDIT: WE-TV

Viewers this week get inundated with new and returning shows.

You can get some reality show “love” (the 17th season of “The Bachelor” on ABC on Monday), time with your drinkin’ buddies (the fourth season of “Cougar Town,” no longer on ABC but now on TBS, on Tuesday), neurotic twentysomethings (”Girls” on HBO Sunday), a tough sheriff in a small town (FX’s “Justified” on Tuesday) or a crass, messed-up family (”Shameless” on Showtime Sunday).

And both baseball legend Pete Rose and quirky 1980s singer Cyndi Lauper get reality shows on TLC and WE, respectively.

And if you’re into films, the Golden Globes arrive on Sunday to give a preview of what the hot critics’ favorites are.

MONDAY

“The Bachelor” 8 p.m. ABC (17th season debut) — Dallas businessman Sean Lowe tries to show some personality as the new “Bachelor.”

“The Biggest Loser” 8 p.m. NBC — The NFL’s Antonio Gates encourages the contestants …

Continue reading TV best bets with Golden Globes, return of ‘The Bachelor,’ ‘Cougar Town,’ ‘Justified,’ ‘Girls’ »

NeNe shows her grandsdaughter Bri'Asia to Cynthia. CREDIT: Bravo

This was without a doubt by far the dullest episode of the season to date. The producers were groping in the dark for drama that never happened. Good news for me: a sweet, short recap. And if you missed the episode because they moved it back an hour earlier, no loss at all.

The pseudo-relationship between Kenya Moore and Walter Jackson is deflating faster than Lindsay Lohan’s career.

Kenya and Walter, since they came back from Anguilla, have not been spending much time together. She complains about it to Kandi, who senses this relationship is going nowhere.

They go fishing (something he likes to do) and she asks him if he even cares for her. He skirts the subject, just says things haven’t been right since Anguilla, that he feels “rushed and pressured” into an engagement he has no desire to get into. In a sense, that’s true. He told Frank Ski on V-103 last month that he wasn’t aware going in that she was going to …

Continue reading ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ recap (’Off the Hook’): season 5, episode 10 »

Hine Ward with Rachael Ray on the "Celebrity Cook-Off" CREDIT: Food Network

Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas of the Atlanta girl group TLC and UGA and Pittsburgh Steeler football player Hines Ward have known each other for years.

On Sunday, Jan. 6 at 9 p.m., the two metro Atlanta stars will be facing off against six other celebrities trying to win $50,000 for their respective charities on Food Network’s second season of “Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Food Cook-Off.”(Hines and Chilli each have their own charity. Chilli’s Crew holds a summer camp for young girls. Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation improves literacy among inner-city children.)

Chilli was on Guy Fieri’s team with Cornelia Guest, Dean McDermott, and Johnny Weir. Ward was on the opposing Rachael Ray’s team with Carnie Wilson, Kathy Najimy and Gilbert Gottfried.

“We smack talked all day for Atlanta bragging rights,” Ward said in a phone interview last month.

“I don’t like lose in anything,” he added. But he admitted others …

Continue reading Chilli of TLC and Hines Ward battle in the kitchen on ‘Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off” Jan. 6 »

Shawty Lo's reality special is generating outrage, which means it has to be darn outrageous in a world with "Mob Wives" and "Bad Girls Club." CREDIT: Oxygen

Atlanta rapper’s Oxygen special “All My Babies’ Mamas,’ which has yet to get a specific air date in the spring, is already receiving heavy backlash.

Why? He has had 11 children with 10 different women in what one person is calling “ghetto polygamy.” Here’s the original Oxygen press release from Dec. 26:

Oxygen Media announces production of a new one-hour special, “All My Babies’ Mamas” (working title), revealing the complicated lives of one man, his children’s mamas, and their army of children. Premiering in spring 2013, this real-life special from creative duo Liz Gateley and Tony DiSanto of DiGa Vision will capture the highs and lows of this extreme ‘blended family’ that is anything but ordinary, while also showing the drama and the passion behind life’s most unexpected situations.

“Oxygen will give fans …

Continue reading Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo’s Oxygen special ‘All My Babies’ Mamas’ »