When Gary Null disappeared from WBAI's air at the end of the last fundraising marathon, some listeners wondered what had triggered the departure this time. It was rumored that Tony Bates had called this shot, the implication being that jealousy was a factor, but there are as many reasons for Null to leave WBAI as there are for him to stay—or are there? The game he and Reimers play has no clear cut rules, but money and vanity are incentives.
This morning (April 24, 2017), the affair was on again and Null offered details—such as they were. His monumental announcement was almost peripheral, more air time being devoted to a naked, foul-mouthed black woman ranting on a balcony (expletives deleted) and the plight of starving Liberian chimpanzees. I assume that Null had success selling his dining room table (remember that one?), because he had plans to buy the chimps dinner. Of course, Null also threw in a fistful of self-serving fantasies... here, very briefly, is a pertinent excerpt from this tiresome re-run: His royal highness is back, just in time for another long fundraiser, and he promises to win back the 97% of listenership that departed with him.
The hell with Null – that fanfare you used at the opening was great! What the hell is/was it?
ReplyDelete~ 'indigopirate'
I found it on YouTube. The guys work for the Queen, so they know their stuff.
DeleteThey do indeed – thanks :)
Delete~ 'indigo'
Funny how Null can never seem to make up his mind about whether all the premiums have been sent or not. Same old shit.
ReplyDeleteHe claims that Bates called him back, but didn't mention talking to Reimers. Important point? I don't know, unless Null and Reimers aren't speaking directly, using Bates as intermediary.
SDL
These con men won't know truth when it gives them that final push out the door. They might even see those bologna sandwices as beuf-tartar.
DeleteThe ongoing soap opera is worse than the actual issue itself. If Null is going to stay on the air, he needs to stop criticizing and threatening to sue WBAI on its own air. Berthold went from taking him off Fridays, removing him altogether to apparently restoring him to five days. He needs to stop this nonsense, make a decision and get to work on the audit.
ReplyDeleteSometimes one gets the distinct feeling that WBAI exists solely for the benefit of those whose narcissism and ignorance has disfigured it.
DeleteNull claims that his temporary banishment lost the station 97% of his listenership. That may be so, but how many people are we talking about?
I'll be generous and say, 63—give or take 4.
Looking at it another way (the way I have stated in the past), if Null's claim is anywhere near true, it would prove that his listenership only really listens to his show and doesn't spill over to other shows. I believe this is the same thing with the classical music shows.
DeleteWhether this is a good or bad thing, I don't know. What it would prove is that neither the Null listenership nor the classical music listenership give a crap about WBAI's other offerings.
SDL
I'm inclined to agree, but Null brags of having a mega, global listenership.... I think that's pure BS.
DeleteThat's a good point about audiences sticking around for the next show. I don't know how that can be measured in the case of WBAI. If there is no 'crossover' appeal then each program in theory has a block of listeners that come and go with the show. They may or may not donate to the station. Since there is little if any promotion of the station within the programs, the station is raising nowhere near the amounts it needs and winds up pre-empting programming for fundraisers which drive the listeners away until their show comes back on the air.
DeleteI heard part of "Haitian All-stars this morning and had to double check the frequency. Sure enough, it was WBAI, but in a black stereotype scrape from the bottom of the barrel.
DeleteThe station is adrift and, for the most part, unlistenable. A new marathon fund drive starts next week and I bet the obligations made to gullible listener-victims last month (hell, last year) remain unfulfilled.
A few random, recent Null observations... Gary's been running a "special" on Survival Stuff, which has been discontinued. I'm confused by this... doesn't Gary want his followers to survive his return to 'BAI?
ReplyDeleteGary Null, "PhD", research scientist extraordinaire, continues to mispronounce the most basic science terminology. He was going on the other day about botanicals in the "sat-eh-vah" family. Gary mispronounces "big" words all the time. And often, when reading op-eds written by others on-air, he'll simply skip over a word he can't pronounce. He provides no synonym, so it's obvious that he doesn't know what the words mean, nor has he proofread the articles beforehand.
Gary Null, on-air plagiarizer, continues to read left-leaning articles during his show. Occasionally, he even gives the author credit. But in every case, he adds his own commentary mid-read, without ever indicating when the author's words end, and his begin. He clearly wishes his audience to believe that thoughtful commentary by the likes of Chris Hedges and Glenn Greenwald is actually his own. Now there's some integrity and scholarship. Even the worst of the American right-wing blowhards don't stoop to that.
I have made the same observations—the man is a slick fraud, his claims are inconsistent. ai was reminded of Null earlier this evening when the series "American Greed" rebroadcast an episode devoted to Kevin Trudeau.
DeleteKevin Trudeau was beyond a fraud; he was a psychopath. I knew someone like him once, albeit on a much smaller level. The important thing wasn't the money but "getting over" on someone. It was all about thinking he was smarter than anyone else. He pretty much went into hiding when he messed with a few wrong people.
DeleteSDL
It's a thin line, isn't it?
Deleteit's all nonsense, gary's listenership is miniscule. every number that comes out of his mouth is an invention. he's a pathological liar from way back.
ReplyDeleteI know that Null lies and exaggerates. In fact, so routinely that it tells me more about his disdain for the listeners than it does about the background and accomplishments he claims to have.
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