Jim Ladd, the Inspiration for Tom Petty's 'The Last DJ,' Laid Off From Radio Gig

Layoffs hit the radio industry hard on Wednesday as reports emerged that Clear Channel was letting go hundreds of employees in small to mid-sized markets in favor of "Premium Choice" content; format-specific programming syndicated to stations on a regional and national basis (like On Air with Ryan Seacrest).our editor recommendsFormer Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels Arrested For DUIHoward Stern Bids Goodbye to Radio Alma Mater WYSP With Half-Hour Phone Call (Audio)Why Podcasts Are Comedy's Second Coming: Adam Carolla, Marc Maron and Greg Proops Weigh In (Q&A) And now comes word that Cumulus Media, new owners of Citadel Broadcasting's popular Los Angeles stations KABC (talk) and KLOS (classic rock) have let as many as 27 people go, among them: legendary disc jockey Jim Ladd, who is hailed as the last freeform jock still working in the U.S. and was the subject of Tom Petty's 2002 song "The Last DJ," itself an indictment of the radio industry which was eventually banned by Clear Channel. STORY:Michele Norris Steps Down From NPR Ladd began his radio career in 1969 at Long Beach rock station KNAC. He spent more than 14 years at KLOS, where his show aired from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, consistently leading in ratings for its time slot. He released a book, Radio Waves, in 1992. "My disappointment is I didn't have a farewell show," Ladd told the Orange County Register."I was very stunned and I still am. I have been through this before, but it is always traumatic." His last song was Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." STORY:New Study Finds Top 10 Hits Dominated by Synths, Lyrics About 'Hooking Up' In 2003, Petty explained the meaning of the song "The Last DJ," off the album of the same name, telling journalist Jim DeRogatis that it's "about a DJ who becomes so frustrated with his inability to play what he wants that he moves to Mexico and gets his freedom back." According to radio tipsheet RAMP(Radio and Music Pros), Jack Silver has stepped in as PD for both KABC and KLOS, with Uncle Joe Benson taking over the afternoon slot and Gary Moore expanding to midnight. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are set to play two nights of benefit shows at the Performance Theater at Cal State Northridgefor L.A. public radio station KCSN's fall pledge drive. Listen to Ladd's 1974 interview with John Lennon below and read the lyrics toPetty's "The Last DJ" after the jump... Related Topics 1 2 next last

Netflix's Reed Hastings Hasn't Considered Walking Lower, 'Not for just about any Second'

NY - Netflix Boss Reed Hastings apologized again for your streaming video company's recent problems, telling the NY Occasions that "everyone knows that we must fare best moving forwardInch and proclaiming that he hasn't considered walking lower. Which he stressed that Netflix is not trying to place Cinemax together with other premium TV services bankrupt. Faced while using company's recent stock decline from greater than $300 within this summer time to under $120 now, the Occasions asked for him if he's considered resigning as Boss. "No, not for just about any second," Hastings responded. "I founded Netflix. I've built it continuously over 12 years, first with DVD becoming lucrative in 2002, a mind-to-mind ferocious fight with Blockbuster and altering the business toward streaming. This really is really the first time there's been material problems. In the event you think about the cumulative history, it is extremely positive." Asked for of a recent turnaround of the agenda to part ways Netflix's DVD rental in the streaming business by creating a DVD service referred to as Qwikster, Hastings referred to: "Throughout the final couple of years, we've been on your way to streaming, doing the Starz deal, doing the Xbox 360 360 deal. We simply moved too quickly, which is that you get people missed execution particulars. It's resulting in, naturally, an inside reflectiveness...We need to have a handful of breathing and not move as quickly." But more youthful crowd added that his team doesn't want "to overcorrect and start moving stodgily." Faced using the question once the Qwikster plan was an arrogant move, he responded: "No, It only decided to be a mistake in underestimating the depth of emotional attachment to Netflix." Asked for what Apple co-founder Jobs would say about how precisely Netflix has operated in the last handful of several days, Hastings mentioned: "I'm not prone to put words in the deceased man's mouth." Netflix remains concentrating on original series House of Cards, which has put the competition in direct competition with Cinemax, Starz and Showtime. Is Netflix's goal to put places like Cinemax bankrupt? "We're not trying to place Cinemax bankrupt," Hastings told the Occasions. "I'm an Cinemax customer, which i watch lots of great shows on Cinemax. We did deal with Cinemax for House of Cards. All of us do compete for viewers' time, for dollars and content, but they're bigger and certainly the incumbent." Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Subjects Netflix Cinemax

'Monk' guy lines up set of photos

Grey-Stanford Following a two-year absence from both large and small screens, "Monk" thesp Jason Grey-Stanford has arranged two roles, indie "Phantom" and Hallmark Channel's original telepic "Lucky Christmas." "Phantom" reunites Grey-Stanford together with his "Lonely Hearts" helmer Todd Robinson, who's pointing the Cold War-era submarine thriller, which stars David Duchovny and Erectile dysfunction Harris. Grey-Stanford will have Sasha, the Soviet submarine's weapons officer. The new sony Pictures Worldwide Purchases Group has domestic distribution for that pic, presently lensing in North Park. "Lucky Christmas," which debuts November. 12, is really a holiday comedy that pairs Grey-Stanford with Elizabeth Berkley. Grey-Stanford, repped by manager Gladys Gonzalez, is better noted for his role as Lt. Disher on "Monk," which went for seven seasons on USA Network. Contact Shaun Sneider at shaun.sneider@variety.com

RENEWALS: Fox Picks Up Dance, Adult Swim To Bring Back NTSF:SD:SUV

It was busy day for renewals and cancellations today. Two more that happened this afternoon: Fox has officially ordered a ninth season of summer staple So You Think You Can Dance, while Adult Swim committed to a second season of NTSF:SD:SUV:: Desdpite sliding in the ratings this past summer, So You Think You Can Dance still ranked as No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Teens. It was created by Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and comes from 19 Entertainment and dick clark productions. Returning for a second season of 15-minute cop procedural parody, NTSF:SD:SUV:: are creator, star and executive producer Paul Scheer, executive producers Jonathan Stern and Curtis Gwinn and the series’ cast. Production on Season 2 will begin in early 2012. The first season finale airs tonight at 12:15 AM. NTSF:SD:SUV::, also known as the National Terrorism Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle::, is a clandestine team of government agents working together to protect San Diego from numerous terrorist threats coming in daily from such evil countries as Mexico, Canada and Guam. The series stars Scheer, Rebecca Romijn, Rob Riggle, Kate Mulgrew, Brandon Johnson, June Diane Raphael, Martin Starr and sentient robot S.A.M. (voiced by Peter Serafinowicz). Scheer is repped by UTA and Principato-Young, Stern is repped by Principato-Young and Gwinn is repped by The Rothman-Brecher Agency and Principato-Young.

BBC to reduce 2,000 jobs

LONDON -- The BBC features numerous hefty cuts towards the methods, which will see losing around 2,000 jobs, and slashes to services for just about any savings near to 670 million ($1.03 billion) every year until 2016/17.The slash, which reps a 20% cut within the methods, is produced to ensure that they are able to carve the thing that was known to love a "smaller sized and considerably cool BBC."The cuts, which add a phased but full exit due to its West London methods to northern Blighty, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, come incorporated within the pubcasters remit to fulfill last year's license fee agreement while using U.K. government and additional funding responsibilities.Cuts will uncover a 15% reduction in the BBC sports budget (including careful analysis share rights for F1 with BSkyB), a 25% slash inside the budget of the website, that will uncover a "radical refocus," a reduction in the acquired film and series budget, and cuts in entertainment programs that have "lower impact" on large occasions on BBC One and BBC Two.Completely new general daytime programs will probably be moved for the BBC One funnel so BBC Two will air more worldwide matters programs and sports.It is also closing its BBC HD funnel and altering it getting just one version of BBC Two in HD.In addition, radio content will uncover numerous changes getting a reduction in originated from several hours of programming across BBC systems for instance comedy on Radio 2 and Radio 5 additionally to less lunch concerts on Radio 3.Overall content scope savings total $313 million every year. BBC An individual's underlying finances will probably fall simply by 3% inside the period while Radio 4 and recent acquisition of the BBC's children's programs will probably be protected.The Beeb will goal for "slimmer, flatter management structures" with no more than five layers of staff involving the director general and junior staffers.Senior positions inside the org will appear reduced near to 1% of staff -- the figure familiar with spend some time at 3%.Beeb states that no matter the cuts, its points of interest for reinvestment come under two areas: buying and selling in the digital public space and buying and selling in new content and programs on BBC services."This is often a plan which puts quality and creativity first," mentioned BBC director-general Mark Thompson. "It's a request a far more compact BBC, but a BBC which utilizes its assets better and collaboratively use a complete choice of services for the public. This program meets the savings target we agreed in last year's license-fee settlement, but furthermore identifies nearly $229 million every year to buy new high-quality output, too as with the platforms and services for future years.InchHowever it really is an agenda meaning stretching efficiencies and significant job deficits. It's my judgement this is really the final time the BBC will have a way to get this amount of savings without any substantial insufficient services or quality or both."In October 2010, the us government as well as the Beeb locked a deal the present license fee, which every single U.K. resident pays yearly, should remain at $223 before finish in the BBC Charter in 2017, giving certainty of funding for six years.In addition, it absolutely was made a decision a year ago the BBC would fund the extra broadcasting-related activities composed in the BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring, an extended partnership while using Welsh-language television service S4C, support for completely new local television services and raising and stretching the current ring-fence inside the license fee for digital TV switchover from $204 every year to $230 every year, repurposed to assist the broadband unveil."The BBC is definately not perfect, but it is a great institution and, at its best, a great broadcaster," mentioned Chris Patten, chairman in the BBC Trust. "There exists a tough and challenging new license fee settlement, however it ought to be possible to use an excellent broadcaster on 3.5 billion pounds ($5.36 billion) yearly.Inch Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com

Film Academy Leaders Hype New LACMA Movie Museum Plans: All The Pieces Fit Together

Just if you believe it is an inactive duck, it’s back and quacking. For people who've had the make a global class movie museum going to fruitionin L.A.,film capital around the world(countme in on that), last evening’s announcement the Academy of motion Picture Arts & Sciences as well as the La County Museum of Arthave begun the whole process of finally making that dream be realized is great news throughout. Andthat longtime dream museum, which was turning intomore from the nightmare for your Academy, will beright lower the street within the Acad’s own Beverly Slopes headquarters (no less than that’s this program). The Academy issaying the project situated inside the historic old May Co. on Wilshire Blvd now known to as LACMA West will need three to five years to complete. “We are saved to the short track but it'll be according to fund raising,” mentioned the Acad’s new Boss Beginning Hudson, who spoke with me at night todayin a celebration callwith Academy Leader Tom Sherak and LACMA Boss and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan. Hudson wasn’t throwing out official figures but states she needs you'll cough up under half the rough estimate of $480 million the Academy had specific for earlier foiledplan to erect this museum in Hollywood where theyspent about$50 million up to now buying land (which theynow own outright) near their Pickford Concentrate on Vine Street. Nevertheless the idea to support the museum rather within the old 300,000-square-ft space on Wilshire really goes back decades when it absolutely was broached by former Academy Presidents Walter Mirisch and Bob Rehme. It heated up again of a year . 5 ago getting an informal conversation between another Govan and also the other former Academy Leader Sid Ganis, who then introduced the museum mind to Sherak after which it Boss Bruce Davis. “For approximately one hour . 5 I did so something I rarely do. I merely required directly into someone talk who stood a vision together with an aspiration of the items this might mean for the Capital of scotland - La to produce different artistic representations, especially our two artistic representations together in a single location,” mentioned Sherak, who stressed the Board wanted a museum inside their lifetime however the Academy didn’t know how extended it could bring them to enhance the money making one themselves. Govan found save your day. “Being inside the museum world, I see film programs at museums in Paris and Frankfurt. I desired that in La which i understood the Academy stood a dream and so they stood a great resource. And so the question was what could we offer to help that was the beginning of the conversation,” mentioned Govan. Sherak referred to the Board approved further studying the alliance with LACMA and hang a committee together. But after June 1 when Davis outdated and Hudson turned up, things really started moving. Before she lefther previous job,Hudson forged an alliance with LACMA and Govan through which Film Independent would take overrunning themuseum’s troubled film program so she already understood him and sparked immediately for the new museum idea. “It was like prone to target practice and punching the bulls-eye 15 occasions back to back. Before anybody understood it, including me, there has been budgets, and he or she was like Road Runner. Next factor I understood i had been all in the room and finally talked about an M.O.U. (Memorandum of Understanding) which he presented it to his Board which we provided to our Board last evening which we made a decision i had been gonna go to a museum inside our lifetime,” mentioned a clearly revived Sherak. The running process cannot are available in a much better time since it seemsmajor collections that certainly might have been area of the completely new museum Are going available on the market and on offer piecemeal to non-public fanatics, many in the country.Seven-hundred items within the John Wayne estate including keycostumes, honours, scripts and documents choosing for auction a couple of days ago, while Darlene Reynolds is ongoing to promote off her invaluable range of costumes after fruitless attempts to acquire a museum going herself. “Not that we could request that individuals could ever have bought the Darlene Reynolds collection generally. We couldn’t did that. The range’s worth a lot of money, you'd have required to put an oil well up,” mentioned Sherak. But Hudson desires to stress just what the Academy already has alone. “As you well be familiar with Academy makes plenty of investment over time in building our world-class archive and film library like none other now our year-round work could have a house, an area to exhibit it, a distillation of all the Academy’s missions that everybody doesn’t know enough about, ” mentioned Hudson in mentioning that you have a much more for the organization than the Oscars. “We have 42,000 movie posters and ten million catalogued movie photographs. We've such beautiful products within our film background there hasn’t been a public place to determine people or access people.” Sherak highlights the Academy is certainly trying to find purchases. “We have an overabundance stuff saved than Carter has liver pills. The finish outcome is we never stop doing that. That is in many regions of the organization within the first printing press of motion picture one-sheets. We've stuff saved which will spin the mind, that nobody understands. It’s a ongoing factor for people,” according to him. And Govan thinks the completely new museum might even breed more. “From a museum perspective Personally, i've spoken toa great deal of people in regards to the products and posters and things they have but there’s that sense when there has been a museum people would donate. Urban centers build great museums those appear like there’s a home for your objects they have cared for in their existence and so they be familiar with public can be helped by that,” according to him. Sherak also desires to make apparent they haven't abandoned the Hollywood site (although I am toldkey figures within the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce were caught suddenly — and not happy campers — after they read todayof the Academy’s proposednew locationfor their museum). “We own that land. It’s ours free and apparent which we’re now on the way of trading money to raze people structures and making it an area to go to. We’ll probably carry out some exhibits there. We’ll carry out some stuff while using land. I’ve always had this imagine running an outdooor theatre there which I do think in. We’re certainly in Hollywood. The Pickford Center sits there. We’re invested. We’re not going anywhere. This program is always to make that land useful to us,” Sherak states. But clearly the momentum has moved from Hollywood for the historic building that sits on the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax which was built-in 1939, the season many still feel was the best ever for your movies. “It just made an appearance like the timing was right,” Hudson mentioned. “All the pieces fit together.”

New Trailer For That Lady Online

Luc Besson's Aung San Suu Kyi biopicA couple of days on in the teaser, here is a full trailer for that Lady, Luc Besson's biopic from the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, starring Michelle Yeoh and David Thewlis.As you'd expect, a lot more is revealed this time around, both when it comes to the film's epic sweep, and it is more intimate target the dynamic-but-conflicted Yeoh (Suu Kyi) along with a weary-searching Thewlis (Suu Kyi's husband Michael Aris, who had been struggling with cancer throughout the time the film covers).Suu Kyi is called The Woman through the Burmese population, since reference to her actual title is forbidden. Shespent 15 years under house arrest in Rangoon, after her National League For Democracy won 60% from the election from the Burmese military Junta within the 1990 general election, however the outcome was declared void. She was finally launched last November. Instead of consume her whole story, the film happens within the years between 1988 and 1999.Besson calls Suu Kyi "much more of a heroine than Joan of Arc," and describes her cause as "your dream of the lady with no weapons but kindness." The Woman has gone out in many of Europe in November and December, but there does not appear to become a United kingdom release date to date.