Flack's Revenge

Goodbye To a Master of Attention and Story Telling

He launched his career based on advice from a high school teacher.

He pioneered innovative techniques for delivering information and capturing attention.  He was a master at crafting stories that hit home with people.   He devised a novel method and format for delivering his stories.

People programmed their electronic devices to follow his musings, and eagerly consumed his wireless missives.  Over time he became a source of information that we valued and his "traffic" grew tremendously.

Was this some Internet pioneer?  A Web 2.0 Savant?

No, in this case the electronic devices were radios.  The "traffic" was listeners, and over the years many people got to know and love this person's gravelly voice.

His staccato delivery and novel story format - in which he presented interesting facts about a famous personality and only revealed the actual name at the end - compelled people to stop whatever else they were doing and listen until he delivered his surprise ending.

This person I am talking about of course is radio pioneer Paul Harvey, who we unfortunately lost over the weekend, after a long and stellar career.

And now you know the rest of the story!

Goodbye, Paul, we will miss you.

Goodbye, Tony

Just thought I'd write this brief post to note the passing of former White House press secretary Tony Snow over the weekend.  Although I was aware that he had been ill with cancer, I guess I did not realize how bad it was until this sudden news.

The press secretary position is a thankless job, and I was surprised when Tony took it after a successful career as a high profile right wing commentator and syndicated columnist.  It seemed to be a tribute to the communications profession and press secretary office that he would take a such a position, which I am sure involved a substantial pay cut.  I guess it was an offer (and a calling) from the President that he simply could not refuse.

Some might think that the press secretary position is just about obfuscation, spinning and mindless recitation of the party line.  But watching Tony in action proved that this was not so.  He brought a real flair to the role, and was more soft spoken and glib than bellicose.  His journalism bona fides earned him credibility with the DC press corps.  He did not hold back in dealing with the media, and often gave as good as he got.

Although I did not agree with his politics, he seemed to be a straight shooter, a genuinely nice guy, and was a tribute to the communications profession.

Goodbye Tony, we will miss you.

Goodbye, Tim and George

First Tim Russert and then George Carlin - it has been a rough couple of weeks as we have lost two icons that I grew up with and loved - both suddenly and unexpectedly, both from heart problems, and now we have heavy hearts.

I loved to watch Tim because I love politics.  To me, he showed no obvious bias and seemed to be equally tough on both Republicans and Democrats.  Although some identified him with the left (righty hot head Mark Levin called the show "Meet the Depressed"), Tim's trademark confrontational but plain-spoken style seemed to be both feared (by those who went before him) and respected by all.

It was only during the many eulogies after his sudden death that I learned that Tim was  a PR guy for Pat Moynihan at one point early in his career.

Carlin - what can you say about him but that he was a comedic genius.  I sometimes found his radical anti-business, anarchist views a little grating, but that is quibbling.  His contributions to the world of comedy and our culture are incalculable.

Although I am sure he'd rip apart the world in which me and my readers live in (his riff on "soft language," which was mentioned in his NY Times obit - see the YouTube video  - comes close), I loved George for his love of words.  He was the ultimate everyman hipster, his timing and delivery impeccable and his material original and cutting.