Milwaukee's Next Talk Star: Unveiled!!
Saturday Morning Update: Please be sure to check out the comments in this post. Some excellent observations by Merkhead.
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Well, the "listeners" have spoken, and the new Milwaukee Talk Star is Nicole.
What a travesty. A competition that started out in good faith to give WISN listeners a chance to provide input on the new morning show host ended up turning into a political machination.
This website is probably the tip of the iceburg of what went on behind the scenes, and that is a shame. Instead of legitimately lobbying local radio stations to provide more liberal programming, these people decided to take over this contest and elect an unqualified person just because she appears to believe in the same things they do.
Who really wins here? No one will. The people who voted for Nicole will probably not be listening to the morning show, even though, as pointed out by one of my anonymous commenters, it is available on the internet. The true WISN listeners didn't win, I'm sure the bulk of them will find somewhere else on the dial to call home in the morning. WISN didn't win, I'm sure they enjoyed a ratings boost during the contest, but it won't last after the new show starts.
And poor Nicole (I have nothing against Nicole, she just did not perform well enough to make it this far, in my opinion), wow, I would hate to be Nicole when the remnants of the WISN audience finds its voice and calls her on her views. I think, during the contest, the audience politely refrained from calling in to rebut her comments on some potentially controversial issues ("Birth Control at UW," "Women Incubators"). Most, including myself, thought that she would be "voted off the island" and didn't want to make waves or make her look/feel bad. Thanks to this organized political machine, that didn't happen. All bets will be off if she continues with her current trains of thought, and very few of the people who voted for her are going to be around to offer support, because they won't be listening.
I certainly hope that WISN will have ratings-based escape clauses in any contract that they make with Nicole. They will surely need them.
What started as a fun contest turned into a political event. That wasn't fair to anyone.
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Well, the "listeners" have spoken, and the new Milwaukee Talk Star is Nicole.
What a travesty. A competition that started out in good faith to give WISN listeners a chance to provide input on the new morning show host ended up turning into a political machination.
This website is probably the tip of the iceburg of what went on behind the scenes, and that is a shame. Instead of legitimately lobbying local radio stations to provide more liberal programming, these people decided to take over this contest and elect an unqualified person just because she appears to believe in the same things they do.
Who really wins here? No one will. The people who voted for Nicole will probably not be listening to the morning show, even though, as pointed out by one of my anonymous commenters, it is available on the internet. The true WISN listeners didn't win, I'm sure the bulk of them will find somewhere else on the dial to call home in the morning. WISN didn't win, I'm sure they enjoyed a ratings boost during the contest, but it won't last after the new show starts.
And poor Nicole (I have nothing against Nicole, she just did not perform well enough to make it this far, in my opinion), wow, I would hate to be Nicole when the remnants of the WISN audience finds its voice and calls her on her views. I think, during the contest, the audience politely refrained from calling in to rebut her comments on some potentially controversial issues ("Birth Control at UW," "Women Incubators"). Most, including myself, thought that she would be "voted off the island" and didn't want to make waves or make her look/feel bad. Thanks to this organized political machine, that didn't happen. All bets will be off if she continues with her current trains of thought, and very few of the people who voted for her are going to be around to offer support, because they won't be listening.
I certainly hope that WISN will have ratings-based escape clauses in any contract that they make with Nicole. They will surely need them.
What started as a fun contest turned into a political event. That wasn't fair to anyone.
posted by Larry in Gibbsville at 5:50 PM
33 Comments:
Nice Catch Larry! The Kos Kids prove once again that Liberals can't win an honest election.
The whole thing stinks. And to think, you guys at one point were concerned about Michelle's e-mail campaign - at least she was reaching out to people in the community.
I also have nothing against Nicole, but Chris, Michelle and many others have far more talent. I suspect that WISN will still have Chris filling in, much as Pat did this morning. I really wanted a woman in the morning, but not this one :(
A1 here...
I'm going to have to take a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka.
I'll weigh in on this tomorrow.
you go, girl....
Chris seemed sure of the outcome before the show. I really felt sorry for him, because I could tell in round one that he really wanted the job. I enjoyed finally meeting Robin, by the way, Chris. Sorry to forget my manners. That was Kelly you met tonight.
I also met with Michelle after the show. I joked with her about going off to ride her bike, of course. She's a very warm person, and I'm glad to have met her. I think we'll get to hear her again, too.
I was actually afraid to try and catch Nicole's attention. Even at the "gang of 20" meeting, I got the distinct impression that she's a person with a very strong space bubble. She's one of the contestants that I felt was all business and wasn't really getting the idea that this should be fun. I suppose that's a typical radio personality.
There didn't appear to be any other contestants in the crowd, but then, I haven't met Andy.
I would've liked to meet you, A1. Perhaps if you know her, Larry, you could send my email address. Otherwise, I'll post my junkmail address for you.
AK
I actually feel sorry for Nicole. I have the sense that she is politically “aware” with strong opinions on many issues, but by no means a zealot. Her topics and style didn’t convey to me that she had an ideological passion to change the world with her core values and beliefs. It seemed that she simply and naturally used a more youthful reactive attitude to try to introduce diversity. I can imagine her entering a contest of this type more for the fun of it without thinking through the costs of winning - doing it more to see how far she could advance. I can also see her associates at CS using their little venue as a platform to help their friend move forward to realize her “moment of fame”. I believe that early on, on a local scale, this worked very effectively to her advantage. But as she moved on and more of Nicole was uncovered to the public, the nature of the contest, her involvement and very role in it began to change dramatically.
I believe one day Nicole woke up and realized that her efforts to “win” the contest were becoming inconsequential. The contest had taken on a life of its own and was beginning to in fact, win her. The initial grass-roots support was beginning to grow faster than her likely abilities to gain on-air respect and she (admittedly) knew it. Her destiny had now moved into the hands of an amassed agenda which grew beyond the local attentions – a movement where the purpose had now taken precedence over the person.
I’m sure for her it was gratifying at first to see each of her rivals fall, even inspirational. But like any personal goal achieved outside of one’s own true efforts, the underlying, gnawing reminder of illegitimacy must have been extreme. Nicole was now caught in a momentum that shifted her role from being an equal competitor to one greater than she had perhaps bargained for at Serb Hall. She was now the icon of a more superior contest; where the prize was less about Nicole and most about injecting a seemingly liberal aficionado into a major, conservative broadcast medium. How could anyone not feel responsible and affected after finding themselves thrust into such a role in a few short weeks? I wonder if Nicole ever pondered this and attempted to face the incredible embarrassment of dropping out to regain her sense of self.
Now that it is over - or just begun, I can only hope she doesn’t take on the enormous burden of the indefinable and unattainable expectations placed on her by the headless force. For 2 years, Nicole will face a daily, 3 hour chore of mopping up what cascading effects were left by those who propped her up, won their cause and long moved on.
In a strange turn of irony, Nicole has entered a new contest where she now goes head-to-head with a new contestant - the adversaries of those who placed her. With the goal of her unseen backers complete, they will be gone. Nicole D. will finally operate alone.
Time will tell what inner resources she can muster to meet this new challenge and where the real final vote will fall.
"For 2 years, Nicole will face a daily, 3 hour chore of mopping up what cascading effects were left by those who propped her up, won their cause and long moved on."
Well put. You've found the words I've been looking for.
AK
Merkhead,
An excellent post, very well thought out. I was thinking many of the same things last night and this morning. She's going to have a tough row to hoe, that is for sure.
So, everyone, what was your favorite Talkstar moment? Here are some of my picks.
1) I don't think I'll ever forget "Laddie! Don't put your bag there. You'll soil your satchel!"
2) Or, the jag caller on DAY ONE who told Marie she wasn't cut out for this.
3) Women as incubators? Reminded me of a line in Stephen King's "Gerald's Game."
4) The fact that BOTH bombings in London happened between rounds... Conspiracy???
5) "Go ride you bike" returns, and it's MUCH improved. I thought this was a good bit, and I was happy to see Michelle make it radio ready.
6) Quotes from me make it on the air (thanks, Chris) and some ultra-lefty blog site... Sweeeeet!
AK
I have to disagree with those who have sympathy for Nicole's situation. She's all business and willingly became Kos's partner in this endeavor. I have some contacts at CS, and this whole process/plan was thought out well in advance. I hope she gets absolute hell each and every day from the callers, and she deserves to go down in flames. I wonder how long Bott will take to put her on the air?
And, trust me, her ideological passion (and that of her friends and associates) does creep into liberal zealotry, and this will become more apparent once she hits the air again. Let me make this perfectly clear. Nicole wants to inflict her liberal views on WISN's conservative audience. And she's every bit as extreme as Kos and the others she conspired with.
She's not some innocent girl swallowed up by larger forces. Not by a long shot...
A1 here...
Anonymous, can you elaborate on the information you heard? I'm sorry, it's just that there have been so many speculative comments posted during this "contest" that I've become a little dubious. Don't get me wrong, I'm infuriated by what happened. But I wouldn't mind hearing some more specifics on what you heard about Nicole.
I myself (while angered by the machinations of the liberal network) was feeling sympathetic toward Nicole herself. It seemed the activists got behind her without her invitation. What could she do? But you have suggested quite the contrary. Are you willing to say more?
"She's all business and willingly became Kos's partner in this endeavor. I have some contacts at CS, and this whole process/plan was thought out well in advance.....And, trust me, her ideological passion (and that of her friends and associates) does creep into liberal zealotry"
"anonymous" is, without a doubt, full of it and just trying to stir up more trouble. Of all comments made, merkhead is closest to the mark.
I wouldn't consider myself her friend, as I only know Nicole through a couple degrees of separation, but I can confidently say that she's no liberal zealot. From what I've heard, she's got a couple issues that she's VERY passionate about, and the rest is pretty down the middle. I think the libs simply jumped to the conclusion and made her into a poster child. There was no sinister plan... only networking the same as all the others (and they ALL had email campains).
Personally, I was really pulling for Chris.... he seemed to have it all, and if WISN knows anything at all, they'll give him something. However, I'm still bothered by the attempts to villify Nicole. Just because our guy (or girl) didn't win, despite the circumstances, we shouldn't be fueling the fire with crap. I'm NOT overly impressed with this whole process, but that's where my dissapointment lies... *not* with Nicole personally.
"Anonymous, can you elaborate on the information you heard? I'm sorry, it's just that there have been so many speculative comments posted during this "contest" that I've become a little dubious. Don't get me wrong, I'm infuriated by what happened. But I wouldn't mind hearing some more specifics on what you heard about Nicole."
Well, Nicole was in constant contact with Kos beginning immediately after her making the finals. I don't think she was recruited, but it was either her or one of her friend's ideas to make this thing a politcal contest, and Kos is the best at getting the vote out, so to speak. Nicole definitely had sites like Kos in mind if she survived the cut and this went way beyond local networking. And her posse/rooting section was immediately in contact with liberal bloggers after her win was announced last night.
I made the rounds at State Fair Park, hearing her friends say things like "this is gonna piss off the conservative f**** that listen to WISN. I love it." And how about "Belling can go to f****** hell." Nicole's is not a moderate political voice, and her views aren't close to the middle.
Any notion that she is being used as some sort of poster child against her wishes is ridiculous to the extreme.
And the culture clash in expo hall was hilarious. It was painfully evident who Nicole's entourage was vs the typical listener to the radio station. It's not a good fit.
Does anyone know why Dan Deibert and Jamie aren't going to be the permanent morning show hosts? They are great together.
Does Nicole actually have to be awarded the morning show, or can they just pay her the $50,000 and have her making copies and faxing?
My guess is that what you're currently hearing is Jerry Bott's way of dealing with the fiasco that is Nicole.
He essentially premiered the new show last Friday by having Dan, Jamie and Pat on and interacting all through the show, not just at news time. Didja notice that Pat is suddenly doing a "sports" segment?
My guess is that Nicole's role will be limited to two portions: "Good Morning. This is the Nicole Devin show." and "Thanks for listening. Talk to you tomorrow."
Maybe she'll just be a news reader. There is no way they can actually make her an interactive part of the show. She's a disaster... and I'm a 30-year-old woman saying that. I'd be her target audience... except that I don't have a liberal bone in my body!
I, too, have become a fan of Dan Diebert's morning show with Jamie. I e-mailed him to ask if he'll remain on the air in any capacity. He responded by saying that he can't answer that question now because he is "bound by agreement not to mention it at this time." Sounds to me like there may be hope.
If you're interested, his website is www.dandeibert.com
Speaking of the female audience: I didn't notice something until almost 24 hours after it happened.
Michelle was the runner up! That means there was probably a HUGE out-of-demo female audience for this contest.
If Nicole had the extra votes and she split the female vote with Michelle, what do you suppose the final numbers looked like? Should Chris have bothered getting out of bed? He sure seemed to know that his goose was cooked.
I really hope they put the results out for review. I want to see if there were spikes in participation on the days that Mr. Schilke was working his mojo.
AK
"Well, Nicole was in constant contact with Kos beginning immediately after her making the finals. I don't think she was recruited, but it was either her or one of her friend's ideas to make this thing a politcal contest, and Kos is the best at getting the vote out, so to speak. Nicole definitely had sites like Kos in mind if she survived the cut and this went way beyond local networking. And her posse/rooting section was immediately in contact with liberal bloggers after her win was announced last night."
What the...??? Why are you (Anonymous) posting such blatent lies? All this BS you're spewing would be laffable if it weren't helping to produce such an horrible, unnessary backlash. Honestly? Nicole had NO IDEA about the liberal blog-whomever people until the LAST week of the contest and at no point was she EVER interested in making this a political contest. Perhaps some in her circle of friends wouldn't appear as the usual WISN demographic, but you can't judge a book by it's cover... a very close portion of that circle is decidedly republican, and Nicole herself is NOT a "liberal zealot". (And out of curiosity, since when is it a bad thing to support your friend? I sincerly hope anyone of you would also have a sizeable support system/cheering section during the high points in your life.)
I know nothing I say is going to stop your wave of hate, and that my post (most likely) will sadly be in vain. However, I still encourage you to listen when the show starts up... you may find a lot more common ground than you ever imagined. Until then, be wary of those whose only intention is simply to stir up the pot.
"Nicole had NO IDEA about the liberal blog-whomever people until the LAST week of the contest and at no point was she EVER interested in making this a political contest."
I don't know everything that went on, but this statement is factually incorrect. Nicole was very clued in as far back as right after the first round was completed. I'm sure others know the exact timeline of this "conspiracy" and will let us know soon.
BTW, WISN has been flooded with angry calls and e-mails regarding this whole fiasco. And there is consideration being given to just paying the money and never letting Nicole near the mic.
And I wouldn't call Nicole "extreme" in all her political views, but her support of partial birth abortion isn't exactly in the mainstream of American society. Same with her views on gay marriage, and her hostility to religion. Fiscally, she is more moderate, but that's only in comparison.
Sorry, pal, I don't buy your righteous indignation. If WISN was a liberal station and conservative bloggers had "conspired" to have a conservative contestant win the vote, I seriously doubt you'd be complaining.
Maybe Nicole won't last long, and maybe WISN should have had more constraints on who could vote. But the simple fact is that Nicole won fair and square, and your rant is merely sour grapes. Suck it up and deal with it for the next two years. If you're lucky, maybe you'll learn something from Nicole.
"But the simple fact is that Nicole won fair and square, and your rant is merely sour grapes."
Yes, she did, and I never stated otherwise. WISN had no restrictions on voting and the Libs took full advantage. None of that takes away the fact that Nicole is too far left of center to ever be a success in talk radio, unless it's on NPR. But this is what she wanted, so I hope WISN's listeners give her all she can handle. And I wonder if she'll actually be able to engage any callers, instead of hanging up first and then replying?
"Suck it up and deal with it for the next two years. If you're lucky, maybe you'll learn something from Nicole."
I'm really looking forward to being lectured about the joys of partial-birth abortion from Nicole. But I highly doubt that Milwaukee will have to suffer through two years of her on the radio. This experiment will end sooner rather than later.
Bear with me as I enjoy playing "Devil's Advocate" from time to time: IF Nicole is so completely left AND knew in advance that the Kos-network was going to ensure her victory, why didn't she she venture farther out left in her topics? I know all about the first on-air topic (re: the UWM ban on birth control), but I don't remember, or didn't hear all that much else that would suggest she's going to subject the WISN listening audience with her political views on a daily/weekly basis. All I can seem to recall are endless details about her personal life.
A new anonymous (This thread needs another)
Two things about the "ColdFusion04" who is the guy who slanted the vote through Kos.
One, he says he is the author of Growing up Red (http://www.growingupred.com/index.php?option=content&task=category§ionid=4&id=9&Itemid=27) and secondly, he's a guest blogger at Folkbum's Rambles and Rants... (This is not just based on handles; Google reveals both ColdFusion04s claim authorship of growing up red)
ColdFusion04 is by his own posts a strong zealot in the whole area of bringing liberal radio through whatever means necessary... and that he's connected to a big liberal Wisconsin blog...
Just a quick FYI, easily googled for more information (along with confirmation)
Aaron said:
"Michelle was the runner up! That means there was probably a HUGE out-of-demo female audience for this contest. If Nicole had the extra votes and she split the female vote with Michelle, what do you suppose the final numbers looked like?"
Aaron, you seem to think that women only vote for women and that men only vote for men. Let me remind you that I am a loyal WISN listener and a woman. My support went to a man (Neal) from the start. I thought Michelle was good, but not because she was a woman. In the final round my vote went to Chris (a man). He was a little cynical for my tastes, but I considered him the best show host by far. Don't you think most objective listeners voted for the hosts with the most talent-regardless of gender?
"Two things about the "ColdFusion04" who is the guy who slanted the vote through Kos."
You're not googling hard enough.
It's easy enough to find more information about Tim. For an anonymous pot-stirrer, he's not very anonymous. I stopped researching when people started asking for money. I am, afterall a tight-fisted conservative.
AK
"Aaron, you seem to think that women only vote for women and that men only vote for men. "
NO! NO! NO!
I think that they voted for the person that they most identified with. In most of Michelle's matchups, I think she probably appealed more to women than her opponent.
Between Chris and Michelle, I think the cynicsm that you mentioned was a turn off for women. Not all of them were able to put that aside and vote for Chris anyway, as you did.
I liked both of them. They are both very nice, friendly people, is was Neal. I'm eagerly awaiting the day when we get to hear one (or all) of them again. Until then, I suggest you keep an eye out for the next BlueGrace show or "Chris Tarjan in ???." :)
AK
Aaron, do I infer correctly from some of your posts that you went to see Neal's band perform?
"Aaron, do I infer correctly from some of your posts that you went to see Neal's band perform?"
Of course. I really wanted to make this fun for all of us. I wanted to show my support for Neal by going to see him perform. He was nice enough to get me passes to the Harley festivities that day (thanks, Neal). It was a good show, check it out!
I also treated some friends to "Shear Madness" before Chris and I competed in round 1. I think if it hadn't been for Chris, I'd have totally forgotten to see the show again! As I said on the air: well worth the money. When's the next big show, Chris?
Oddly enough, I'd been to Comedy Sportz just before the whole Talkstar thing got started. I don't remember Nicole, though.
The rest of the contestants have "day jobs." So, there's not much rallying I could do for them. But, those that replied to my emails got show prep and feedback.
This should've been an enjoyable experience for everyone. Tim hasn't ruined it for me, yet.
AK
Larry, I'm worried about you. While the outcome sucks, you shouldn't stop posting!! You're not hiding under your bed until the Nicole show flops and you can safely listen to WISN again, are you?
Come out from under the bed and repeat after me . . .she's not going to have a forum, she's not going to have a forum . . .
Does anyone have an update on what's going on in the contest? I didn't even see the contest mentioned on the WISN website any more. Did Nicole just implode on her own?
Thanks for your concern, Anonymous... No, I'm not hiding under the bed, I've had a busy couple of weeks... More on that (with pictures!!) later...
The "Nicole Show" is supposed to debut sometime in September. I'm sure they are going to have to train her how to do radio, and come up with some kind of format for the show that might appeal to the listeners.
In today's paper, Tim Cuprisin ended his Talk Star Segment with this: "She could fade into the background of whatever morning team she'll become a part of, a team that just might include current fill-in Dan Deibert."
He also mentioned it in one of his chats. I don't think he'd say it unless he had at least SOME inside info that Diebert was staying.
Like someone above, I emailed Dan and asked him if he were staying and I got kind of the same response. He said that he said nothing had been discussed either way.
I think Dan and Jaime work very well together. I don't know if they plan on just throwing Nicole in the mix or what but I hate to see them break up what they have.
We could almost pull our own KOS here and make sure we let it be knowns that if they have to have Nicole on, they better keep Dan and Jamie there, too!
These contacts are from the WISN website:
Program Director - Jerry Bott
comments@newstalk1130.com
News Director - Harold Mester
haroldmester@clearchannel.com
Promotions/Marketing Director - Joe Stribl
joestribl@clearchannel.com
General Sales Manager - Phil Kurth
philkurth@clearchannel.com
Just my $.02
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