The 2010 T Dog Media Blog Turkey Awards

Here's a jive turkey - LeBron James took an hour of ESPN's time - and wasted the rest of ours - by announcing he was signing with the Miami Heat.  The move so far hasn't worked out well for the self-titled King. 


Breakout the turkeys, because it’s that time of year again – it’s the 5th annual T Dog Media Blog Turkey Awards. Gobble up this goodness of mediocrity!

Jersey Shore. Enough said.

Democrats. The party… to the left… to the left… got sacked in this year’s elections as much as Vikings quarterback Brett Favre has (on Twitter, yours truly said Bears QB Jay Cutler, but the joke is now outdated for some reason...)


Randy Michaels, Sam Zell, and Lee Abrams. The media business’ version of The Three Stooges screwed up Tribune co. so badly with their poker parties, NSFW videos, and sexual harassment allegations - not to mention possible fraud surrounding the sale of the company to Zell in the first place. It’ll take years for the company to recover. Their departures won’t be missed.


Kevin Metheny. Pig Virus took over WGN Radio and made a mess of the schedule, resulting in a decline in ratings and revenue with the one-time Howard Stern nemesis losing his job.

Jim Laski. Seriously. No, seriously. This guy? As a radio talk show host? An 88 year-old woman could do a better job than Jim Laski, who was fired on the same day Kevin Metheny was.


Big Willie. This four-episode daytime run featuring Cincinnati radio host Bill Cunningham was tested in a few markets last summer with bargain basement production values and inane topics. A future T Dog Media Blog TV Hall of Shame Nominee if this series even makes it on the air.

ESPN Baseball Today. When podcast co-host Peter Pascarelli was suddenly replaced by former WEPN-AM New York host Seth Everett, the show went south in a hurry. It should be noted Everett is now pre-game and post-game host on New Jersey Nets radio telecasts - a job even worse than working for Pig Virus.  

Jay Leno. After his prime-time show flopped, he got his Tonight Show gig back – at the expense of Conan O’Brien, who moved to TBS. And the long-chinned one seem less than gracious about it in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. And his late-night ratings since his return? The adult 18-49 numbers have been awful, and he's running neck-and-neck with David Letterman. Congrats Jay, you've received your second straight turkey award.

NBC. And speaking of NBC, this network is now a regular in this column, winning their fourth turkey award thanks to their handling of the Conan-Leno mess. Their continued prime-time woes give a new meaning to the phrases “PR disaster” and “black eye”.

CBS 2 News (WBBM-TV). The return of Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson did nothing to boost their  6 p.m. news ratings and the station also has the worst late-night newscast. Can those people at The Church of Tisch ever get anything right? Their second turkey award.

Monsters And Money In The Morning.  And here's another blunder from The Church: you can call this The Jay Leno Show of morning TV. Mike North’s and Dan Jiggett’s ultra-low local show on WBBM-TV was painful to watch. Clearly one of the biggest bombs in Chicago television history, Monsters lasted exactly six months.


Minnesota Vikings. This soap opera featured Brad Childress, Randy Moss, Brett Favre (who has his own subplot) among the cast of characters. The result? 3-7, out of the playoff picture, Moss out of town, and Brad Childress out of a job. And now Favre is the target of an investigation over a sexual harassment claim with a now-former New York Jets employee when he played for the team. He un-retired for this?

Jay Mariotti. Another frequent turkey award winner, this asshat smacked around his woman and brought the former Sun-Times columnist an indefinite (and likely permanent) suspension from ESPN’s Around The Horn and his termination from AOL’s Fanhouse. Once a turkey, always a turkey.


The Marriage Ref. Perhaps the most inane program to air on network TV in the last year (and no doubt a T Dog Media Blog TV Hall of Shame nominee), it's no surprise NBC would be dumb enough to air such crap. Since when the networks started airing fare only sustainable for first-run syndication? And here's another example....

Minute to Win It. Stacking cups in a minute. Balancing a marble on your nose. Shooting rubber bands in a cup. Yes, this is actually a prime-time show in the United States of America.  Thanks again, NBC!

LeBron James and ESPN. The Decision was an hour of television that made you want to throw out your television. Another low for The Worldwide Leader in B.S. , which is actually a compliment to them.


My Generation and Lonestar. Two network series which lasted just two episodes.  Two turkeys.


Outlaw. Jimmy Smits decides to step down from the Supreme Court to become a small-town lawyer in this now-canceled farce – an premise so unbelievable, the 1980's sitcom with the girl robot was more realistic.


One in a Million.  Mark Burnett's plan to launch a daily syndicated talent-singing talent competition for fall 2011 ran into a brick wall when the proposed project was soundly rejected by stations.

Nate Berkus. People will watch Oprah Winfrey's interior decorator on her show - but are viewers watching his own show? So far, the answer is no.

Martha Stewart's move to Hallmark. And their not watching her, either. 

Heroes. For its insipid and uneven storytelling and Tim Kring calling his fans dip- wait a minute… this isn’t on the air anymore? Sorry, force of habit.

Survivor: Nicaragua. The Young vs. Old gimmick didn't work, the only likable player - Fox football analyst and former coach Jimmy Johnson was eliminated in the third week, leaving us with a bunch of idiots who are clearly qualified to be Chicago politicians.


Scooby-Doo, Mystery, Incorporated. This disappointing reboot of the classic Saturday Morning series has been turned into an unappealing CW soap opera knockoff, with awful dialogue and romantic entanglements. Since this is the second Scooby-Doo series to receive a turkey award, maybe they need to leave well enough alone.
 
Happy Thanksgiving!

updated at 7:30 a.m. on 2010-11-29