As I watched this bombshell report on the background of former Catholic priest-turned-KGO / San Francisco talk show host Bernie Ward, one question came to mind: were it a major Hub-based political or media insider facing charges, would one of our TV stations dare to do this kind of investigative research and reporting?

Boston TV news is little more than car crashes, fires and the latest shootings in Dorchester and Roxbury. And it certainly isn't interested in taking down well-connected insiders from our media-politics regime.

Know there's not much of a local angle here (other than the fact that his show was heard after that of Gene Burns each night), but I have the latest on indicted libtalker Bernie Ward here.

I can't stand it when certain American antique media outlets use "Myanmar" and "Yangon" to refer to Burma and its capital, Rangoon. The former terms are inventions of the current regime rather than a decision made by its people.

Foreign media outlets, including the BBC, almost always correctly call it Burma, while the NYT sticks with Myanmar, even "correcting" the US ambassador's wife when she uses the proper name.

To their credit, The Globies seem to be defying their New York masters and using Burma.

Again, it should never, ever be called "Myanmar" unless you enjoy seeing monks tortured as they fight for the freedom of Burma's citizens.

Thanks for letting me vent on this one. Now back to our regular programming.

Gotta love that Cheese Man! It's North End cheese mania!

When does his radio talk show begin?

During CNN's election night coverage, Hillary supporter Lanny Davis cited Massachusetts as a reason why Barack Obama should not get the Dem nomination.

Davis referenced this April poll, which shows Senator John McCain and Obama neck-and-neck in a November Bay State match-up, while Hillary would beat McCain here by 15 points.

Hey, we've already been burned once by Deval Patrick, why fall for the same tired act from Obama, his political twin?

Yeah, fry that evil Yankees fan! Leave it to our local TV news panderers to play up the Yanks-Sox angle on this sad story.

But what if it turns out team rivalries had nothing to do with her vehicular rage? Will they apologize or retract it?

Otherwise, this is little more than fanning the flames for no reason beyond ratings. It's baseball, not gang warfare.

Have you ever noticed how The Globies always seem eager to prop up kooky talk radio programming moves?

Here's the latest example.

Suddenly, John Kerry is making appearances in the Bay State. Don't blink, you might miss him. And he won't be back for another six years.

Do you ever wonder whether our local stations are intentionally programmed just to provide this site with extra fodder?

Between Spackle & Paste on WRKO and now Huggy Bear on WTKK, the fun never ends around here.

For a moment, let's put aside whatever feelings we might have about House Speaker Sal DiMasi's clearly shaky political future and look at his ethics mess from a whole different perspective.

Based on how they handle the events of the coming days, various Bay State organizations have a great deal to gain or potentially lose. Let's take a look:

Bay State Republicans: now completely shut out of power and without substantial numbers anywhere on Beacon Hill, the GOP needs to prove to voters that it still has a relevant purpose.

That can be accomplished here by firmly positioning itself as a fearless watchdog against abuses of power during a period of one-party rule.

During the DiMasi mess, it has been out in front and particularly noisy. Whether the party will show a new, competent side over the long term is anyone's guess. If London can elect a Conservative mayor, then anything is possible, even in Massachusetts.

Them Dems: could this be the new incompetent Bay State political party? How does one take the gift of single-party rule and screw it up this badly? Overconfidence is the culprit, the feeling that Bay State voters will overlook virtually any Democrat scandal.

Right now, they've become a fodder machine for pundits, a situation that will hurt them in November.

Newspapers: the DiMasi mess is unusual because the story was broken by the Democrat-friendly Globe, which normally serves to protect Beacon Hill's corruptocrats. The Herald has had to play catch-up for once, but has been all over it since Sunday's Globie front-pager.

This odd switcheroo might explain why DiMasi's political position is now so threatened: the beautiful people still read the Sunday Globe.

Talk Radio: a medium that was created (largely in Boston!) as a natural citizen watchdog has now been so badly compromised that area listeners no longer trust it. All three local talk stations have been tripping over each other to see who could suck up to Beacon Hill the most, with embarrassing results.

Rather than serving as a voice for Massachusetts voters and taxpayers, all three stations now actively fight them, with perhaps a couple of exceptions on the schedule.

Think about it: while The Felon defends local crooks and WTKK features hour-long suck-up fests, THE GLOBIES went after DiMasi. When the Boring Broadsheet is more trustworthy than WRKO, WTKK and WBZ combined, we are in SERIOUS trouble.

While the commonwealth's most powerful political figure goes down to defeat, all of these players need to have battle plans in place.

And when Sal gets the boot, I've little doubt that a local talk station will be waiting in the wings with a mega-bucks contract. How did the situation deteriorate to this point?

UPDATE: I'd left out a whole category here, that of local television news. During Friday's 11pm newscasts WCVB-5 reported on the alleged threat against a female lawmaker by a colleague, but ignored the DiMasi scandal. WHDH-7 focused on the harassment angle but worked in a mention of Sal's troubles.

But hey, aren't car crashes on Route 3 more important?

Let's do the Reese Hopkins limbo: how low can you go?

Just try and sneak below Reese's record-low ratings! Based on data obtained by SaveWRKO, Hopkins scored the kind of numbers any last-place team would envy.

In the 25-54 adult demographic, the New Jersey hip hop promoter turned in a stunningly tiny 0.6 share for the 10am hour, followed by an even more miniscule 0.3 at 11am.

By contrast, Howie is still generating a 2.6 in afternoon drive, while Michael Savage gets a 3.0. Morning drive as a whole (6-10am) is down to a pathetic 1.1.

... It turns out that Barbara Walters carried on an affair for years with married former US Senator Edward Brooke (R-MA).

At least it wasn't a Kennedy.

Already, the inevitable speculation over The Felon's fate has begun in the face of devastatingly bad ratings. The numbers are so stunningly pathetic that it really does seem hard to believe Tom Finneran could survive at WRKO.

Unless you're new to this site, however, it should be clear that Entercom management will not fire His Crookedness. That would mean CEO David Field admitting to a mistake, something that isn't likely in our lifetime.

Actually, focusing on Finneran's future is a mistake, as there is a much larger issue facing WRKO: a staff that has come to resent arrogant company management so much that it is cheering the station's ratings nosedive.

When there's no support from within, you know an operation's days are numbered.

Just as a station can't force people to listen to bad programming, crappy managers can't compel employees to like them. When WRKO completes its high-profile collapse, that's the lesson all of us must learn and appreciate.

As the race toward mediocrity in Boston talk radio continues, new ratings have seen WRKO crushed to bits while the competition eats its lunch.

For the first time in memory, WTKK has beaten WRKO in the overall 12+ ratings, with the former rising from 2.8 in the fall to 4.1 for the winter. The latter fell from 4.2 to 3.8 during the same time period.

As the Herald reports today, The Felon's wildly unpopular program has dragged down the station's all-important morning drive ratings:

WRKO radio host Tom Finneran has been hit with his worst ratings yet - and has failed to attract the throngs of listeners station suits were banking on during his 14 months on the air.

With Finneran manning the morning drive, WRKO-AM (680) lost more than 23,000 key listeners this winter compared to the fall among the revenue-generating 25- to 54-year-old demographic, according to Arbitron ratings released yesterday.

Finneran had a 1.1. share and 35,800 average weekly listeners in that important group of listeners this winter, from Jan. 10 to April 2. The resurrected Don Imus at WTKK-FM (96.9) beat Finneran more than 3-to-1, ranking 10th with a 3.5 share in the key demo.

Finneran debuted on WRKO in February 2007 with much hype but has languished in 15th and 16th place in morning-drive among 25- to 54-year-olds. During winter 2007, he had a 1.6 share in that demo; followed by a 1.9 last spring; a 1.6 last summer and a 2.0 last fall.

While it's no surprise that Imus is regaining some of his previous base, it's amazing to see Finneran actually losing many of his few remaining listeners. Might Air America be interested in hiring him?

From Coffee Boy, here's the quote of the year:

“Tom is working extremely hard and he’ll do what he needs to do to bounce back,” said WRKO program director Jason Wolfe.

Bounce back? To what? There's no past record of success!

Meanwhile, Jay Severin is winning the afternoon drive war by default, as a demoralized Howie Carr turns in the weakest possible performance allowed by law.

And with Reese "ask me about my bogus bio" Hopkins now in midmornings, the 10am - 3pm daypart has never looked weaker.

Watch here for more analysis. In particular, I'm waiting for more detailed data that breaks out hosts individually, which will provide an even clearer picture of the current situation.

On Air America Radio, Roseanne Barr has called for a repeat of the violence that plagued the 1968 Democrat National Convention in Chicago. She's even willing to fund the effort herself, if necessary to make sure it happens.

*** NOTE: closer to home, Boston ratings were released today. We'll have a rundown a bit later ***

While we await fresh new ratings for Boston radio, here's an update on how Don Imus and others are doing in New York City.

This excerpt from today's Herald piece on Marjorie Clapprood sums up WRKO's current environment perfectly:

Clapprood recently co-hosted a show with WRKO (680 AM) morning-drive host Tom Finneran and she’s scheduled to go on again today.

“He’s one of the smartest guys that I know,” Clapprood said of the ex-House speaker. “I think he’s finding his voice. I was always much better with a partner than without. A lot of people really don’t want to admit that.”

WRKO is pairing the solo Finneran up with a rotating roster of co-hosts, said Entercom vice president Julie Kahn. Kahn added that the station is “really considering” having Clapprood on “Finneran’s Forum” more frequently.

“She’s a big part of the history and past success of WRKO,” Kahn said. “We’re definitely in conversations with her about coming on board as some sort of contributor.”

So much for the station's concern about The Felon's lobbying practice, this makes it clear they're set with Finneran and his tiny ratings for years to come.

While I agree with a few of the points made here, I'm not sure how I feel about the messenger.

Why won't the Globies rip apart Entercom stations these days? Is the relationship now that cozy?

Dear WTKK:

You appear to be "Boston's Talk Evolution." Or so say your advertising geniuses, anyway. I admit to being confused. Your typical broadcast day, which has you tied for 11th place in the market, according to the last Arbitron book, consists of the following: the renovated Imus Wrinkle Farm in morning drive; a guy named Graham who is working to become a wit and, thus far, has made it only halfway; a pair of apologetic demi-liberals at midday; and Jay Severin, the Sage of Sag Harbor who thinks Hillary Clinton is a communist but is far more concerned about the size of her thighs, still on evening drive.

He's followed by a woman who sounds like she's shouting her program off the back porch of a three-decker in Revere. Later at night, you run a recorded program by Laura Ingraham; in other words, it's a call-in show to which nobody in your audience can call in. Does this make any sense? And even if they could call, how is WTKK different from the festival of sniggering Caucasians over on the AM? If this is the evidence that talk radio is evolving, well, it pretty plainly hasn't yet developed opposable thumbs. More to the point, though, what is this completely conventional dreck doing on my FM dial?

It's bad enough that this cheaply produced cheese eliminated AM Top 40. Now, it's beginning to filter over onto the frequencies through which Iron Butterfly once flitted. FM used to be the place where we all fled to get away from the likes of Bobby Goldsboro. Then it became the place we fled to get away from the likes of Jay Severin. Now there's no place to hide. Evolution isn't supposed to be this brutal.

Charles P. Pierce

This sounds like a lot of fun:

Hear Elman speak

A free public event marking the 50th anniversary of talk radio in New England and the release of “Burning Up the Air: Jerry Williams, Talk Radio and Life in Between” will be held at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, in the dance theater at Boston University’s Fitness and Recreation Center, 915 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215. Parking is available, and free tickets can be redeemed by contacting Barnes & Noble at 617-267-8484. More information on “Burning Up the Air: Jerry Williams, Talk Radio and Life in Between” can be found online at www.jerrywilliams.org.

It's my understanding that Howie Carr will be one of the event's speakers. The book can still be ordered through Amazon here.

Here's my update on the latest Rush Limbaugh flap, where Denver media outlets are claiming he called for riots at the upcoming Democrat convention.

I'm all for defending one's on-air staffers when under fire, but covering for dishonesty or violent public outbursts is too much.

First we had Reese's bogus bio, which was first met with shoulder-shrugging by WRKO's management and then rewarded with a week-long stint filling in for Howie Carr.

Now, Sunbeam- WHDH-7 / WSVN-7 bigwig Ed Ansin has weighed in from Miami regarding the fate of drunken airport maniac Randi Goldklank:

“The unfortunate events of last Sunday night were unanticipated and Ms. Goldklank is deeply regretful,” President Ed Ansin said in a statement. “She is currently undergoing medical treatment and is on administrative leave from the company. We wish her a speedy recovery, as do her many friends in Boston and throughout the broadcasting industry.”

Ansin called Goldklank “an outstanding broadcast executive with a record of great success.”

Goldklank, 40, was arrested Sunday night and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer after an incident aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Philadelphia. She will be arraigned May 19 in East Boston District Court.

Aren't you tired of seeing the dishonest and / or outrageously irresponsible actions of others downplayed by their defenders and enablers?

Taken to the extreme, this is the kind of sentiment that results in 9-11 being labeled a "tragedy", as though the buildings were hit a tornado or hurricane.

Isn't it amazing what it sometimes takes for an addict to finally get help?

There's no doubt it isn't too late for WHDH-7 GM Randi Goldklank to turn her life around. In the meantime, she's gone from obscure corporate suit to household word in a flash.

While I wish her the best, I don't think Goldklank should be off the hook for her public behavior just because she's in rehab. Let's hope she's held accountable for her actions.

Sure enough, the worst fears of those holding Entercom shares for its huge dividend were realized today, as the company slashed the payout from 38 cents to 10.

That has the share price up over a dollar, a relief rally I predicted earlier this week:

If the dividend is cut, it could bring a temporary relief rally, but long term, the lower yield might make shares less attractive.

CEO David Field says excess cash will be used to repurchase shares, but the company made no specific buyback announcement today, which investors would ordinarily hope to see.

It also reported earnings, which beat the expectations of the few analysts still covering the beleaguered radio industry.

But the tiny figures also underscored what a bit player Entercom and other radio companies (outside of Clear Channel) have become on Wall Street. They are well into small cap territory and unlikely to break out of the basement anytime soon.

As long as Citadel is out there trading at $1.20 a share, Entercom will appear comparatively healthy. But playing this "we're not the worst company in radio" game of diminished expectations parallels Boston's talk radio scene, where a host's best defense is now that the competition is even worse.

How about striving for achievement and success? Why is that environment now absent from broadcasting?

At his Boston Herald blog page, Tai Irwin takes on Howie Carr, accusing him of "phoning-in" his radio program and newspaper column.

Irwin says he is willing to do both for free, if that's what it takes to put some energy back into our tired local media scene.

While I agree with some of his points, Tai's timing is off: Carr's listeners can't wait for him to return after suffering through a week of Fung Wah, his replacement.

The emails we've been receiving on this subject are amazing. Apparently, this is the first many had heard of the New Jersey hip hop promoter. Suddenly, Col Hunt's ramblings actually seem coherent by comparison.

I've received quite a few emails from readers wondering when we would get to the white-hot story of WHDH-7's general manager Randi Goldklank and her drunken tirade at Logan.

You know interest is high when even the boring Globies are all over it. After initially avoiding the story, Channel 7 and owner Sunbeam are now addressing it on their website.

Initially, I'd wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt: what if she really had been harassed by a man on the plane?

But the subsequent reporting indicates she was drunker than a skunk.

Because Goldklank is relatively new to the market, she's an unknown quantity in Boston's über-insular media environment. Unless you work at WHDH-7 or identical twin WSVN-7 in Miami, you'd probably never heard of her until now.

Now, however, Randi's a household word, joining her namesake Randi Rhodes in the Public Drunkenness Hall Of Shame.

Full of high pressure and job insecurity, broadcasting is a brutal business. That lends itself to substance abuse, with good old-fashioned heavy drinking still common, in the management ranks as much as anywhere else inside the station.

It's a story that would have been tailor-made for Howie Carr, who now spends more time away from the show than on the air. He now seems to have one-and-a-half feet in Florida, with just one or two toes still firmly planted in Massachusetts.

Soon enough, he'll be just another Bay State retiree in the Naples area, as common as swamps in the Everglades.

UPDATE: Howie managed to file a Herald column on this matter from Sunny South Florida.

Image: Nancy Lane, Boston Herald