January 2015 - Page 2 of 4 - The Dudek Abides

There are 13 months in a radio year; Saga joins ratings fray

Posted January 22, 2015 by Duane Dudek

We all know the rhyme.

Thirty days has September, April June and November.

All the rest have 31, except February which has 28.

This is true everywhere that uses the western or Gregorian calendar. Except in radio.

The A.C. Nielsen service measures radio listening year round and releases monthly ratings results – 13 of them! In other words, only in the world of radio are there 13 months.

How? If every month had 28 days, 364 days would be the equivalent of 13 months. That’s how. Radio measures in four week increments.

Scripps/JBG merger “months” away; broadcast execs named

Posted January 21, 2015 by Duane Dudek

Debbie Turner

Debbie Turner, vice president of TV for the Journal Broadcast Group and general manager of WTVF-TV in Nashville, has been named vice president of TV for the E.W. Scripps broadcast group.

The announcement was made by Brian Lawlor, senior vice president of TV for Scripps. Turner joined WTVF in 1992.

Steve Wexler, formerly executive vice president of radio and television for JBG and general manager of WTMJ-TV (Channel 4), was already named vice president of the Scripps radio division. Wexler and Turner will report to Lawlor.

Trailer for PBS’ “Wolf Hall” with Milwaukeean Mark Rylance

Posted January 21, 2015 by Duane Dudek

Below watch a trailer for the six part series “Wolf Hall,” based on the book by Hilary Mantel.

The books are the fictional biography of Thomas Cromwell, played by former Milwaukeean Mark Rylance. Cromwell was one of the most powerful advisors of Henry VII, played by Damian Lewis.

Cromwell facilitated the monarch’s marriages to Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, negotiated the king’s split from the Roman Catholic Church and oversaw dissolution of the monasteries.

“Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies” are the first two books in Mantel’s announced trilogy.

Packers send ‘best fans in NFL’ conciliatory note

Posted January 21, 2015 by Duane Dudek

Three days after their disappointing meltdown in the NFC championship game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Green Bay Packers sent fans a conciliatory email thanking them for their support.

“It’s the love that makes us leap,” it said, and showed a Packer player jumping into the stands after a touchdown.

Does it help ease the pain? It should go to every one in Wisconsin.

It includes the message: “Forward to a fan.”

‘Amazing Race’ cast includes Milwaukee area athlete

Posted January 21, 2015 by Duane Dudek

The long running CBS globetrotting reality show “The Amazing Race” has been very, very good to competitors from Wisconsin.

This bodes well for Hales Corners native and speedskater Alyson Dudek, 24, who will compete in the upcoming season starting Feb. 25.

Dudek – no relation – who won the short track bronze medal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics – has been skating since the age of seven.

She will compete with her boyfriend Steven Langdon, 31 .

Langdon, a Boston resident, won two bronze medals at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.

Wisconsin grey and the art of “Mr. Turner”

Posted January 20, 2015 by Duane Dudek

Wisconsin winter grey fits right into the palette of “Mr. Turner,” about the controversial 19th century landscape artist J. M. W. Turner tentatively scheduled to open in Milwaukee Friday.

Bridges, storms, castles and sea battles figured prominently into his work, at a time when artists needed patrons and art was displayed in salons and galleries that were the cultural nerve centers of their day.

If you haven’t taken art history you probably know little to nothing about Turner, making Mike Leigh’s film an introductory course in the man and his art. Tim Spall, named best actor at the Cannes Film Festival, deserved but was denied an Oscar nomination as the crude and profane man capable of such creating such perceptive works.

Oscar nominated short films coming to Milwaukee

Posted January 19, 2015 by Duane Dudek

The annual Oscar nominated short film program will be coming to the Oriental Theater on Jan. 30.

The program presents live action and animated films as separate events .

The shorts being shown are.

ANIMATED

“The Bigger Picture (Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees) – 7 minutes/UK

“The Dam Keeper” (Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi) – 18 minutes/USA

“Feast” (Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed) – 6 minutes/USA

“Me and My Moulton” (Torill Kove) – 14 minutes/Canada

Ratings lower, but Packer loss dwarfs competition

Posted January 19, 2015 by Duane Dudek

It’s going to be hard to avert mine eyes from any media mention of the Packer loss today.

The first thing I saw when I turned on the “CBS Morning News” was the botched onside kick, which was also the main photo on the sports page of the New York Times. And then there was hard to watch game itself, on WITI-TV (Channel 6), which ruined everyone’s half time meal. What’s a cheesehead to do?

Yesterday’s telecast of the NFC championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks earned a ratings average of 53.5 for Fox affiliate WITI-TV (Channel 6).

Reviews of ten films currently playing Milwaukee

Posted January 17, 2015 by Duane Dudek

Going to the movies this weekend?

Before you do, consult this handy guide to reviews – with words and stars – of films currently playing in the Milwaukee area.

American Sniper ***

Blackhat **1/2

Selma ***

Inherent Vice ***

Into the Woods **1/2

Big Eyes ***

Wild ***

Foxcatcher ***1/2

“The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies” **

The Imitation Game ***

Anxiety runs through “American Sniper” like fault line

Posted January 16, 2015 by Duane Dudek

I’ve always admired the terse, curmudgeonly style of Clint Eastwood, the one-take scene stacking that moves a story forward. It’s the engine that turns fact-based “American Sniper,” Oscar nominee for best picture, into complex, nuanced and tragic arc of a life.

More “Born on the 4th of July” than “Zero Dark Thirty” it portrays in flip book fashion the measure of a man motivated by patriotism to join the military, and who paid a steep price for becoming the most lethal sniper in American history.

The Dudek Abides

Archive for January, 2015

There are 13 months in a radio year; Saga joins ratings fray

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Scripps/JBG merger “months” away; broadcast execs named

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Trailer for PBS’ “Wolf Hall” with Milwaukeean Mark Rylance

Like this:

Packers send ‘best fans in NFL’ conciliatory note

Like this:

‘Amazing Race’ cast includes Milwaukee area athlete

Like this:

Wisconsin grey and the art of “Mr. Turner”

Like this:

Oscar nominated short films coming to Milwaukee

Like this:

Ratings lower, but Packer loss dwarfs competition

Like this:

Reviews of ten films currently playing Milwaukee

Like this:

Anxiety runs through “American Sniper” like fault line

Like this: