Broadway Bill Out-of-Bounds

Here is a copy of an email I sent today to "Broadway Bill" Schmalfeldt about the political addition to his column here today ....

Hello "Broadway Bill",

As a new XM subscriber, I followed your lead to BroadwayWorld.com and opened your latest column to enjoy your observations about Broadway.

My dismay over the closing of your column for today (July 7) was large. It is hard to believe there still people like you whining about (I presume) the presidential election of nearly three years ago ....

"Just a reminder that there’s a presidential election next year. Maybe THIS one will COUNT?"

If you'd pull your nose out of a "Playbill" for a few minutes, you'd discover that about every major news media outlet -- led by The New York Times" -- did their own recounts of the Florida vote and all reached the same conclusion ..... The outcome of the election would not have changed.

If you're anti-Bush, anti-Republican, anti-conservative or anti-a-bunch-of-things, that's fine and you are welcomed to your own opinions. But to use your entertainment column to display your lack of information on a political topic and then whine about an outcome you didn't personally want, well, that's silly as well as misguided.

Please, please avoid alienating at least half of your audience in the future by keeping such commentary to yourself. Thanks!

I'm glad you called him on it, but I'm also glad he did it. One of the things that differentiates satellite and Internet radio from the pap of Clear-Channel-dominated terrestrial radio is the fact that the DJs in alternate spaces are free to have strong personalities. If I were Schmalfeldt, I'd just be happy someone noticed. If the man had no personality or opinions, there'd be no reason for him to speak up at all! So -- kudos to both of you.

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Updated On: 7/8/03 at 03:41 PM

To Broadway Bill's very good credit, he quite promptly sent me a thorough email response. Among other things, he pointed out that his complaint about the previous presidential election was aimed not so much at George Bush, but at the Electoral College.

He also defended his right to have opinions on social issues since the field of entertainment is rife with shows exploring various issues. He phrased all this much better than I am doing here, but he was gracious in his self-defense.

I thought everyone reading this thread should know he was thoughtful enough to generate a good response.

Seems like you just have to fill out a form and the job is yours! Kind of like how you get hired at McDonald's! :) (Just kidding, Rob!!!)

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I'll e-mail you my pitch later. It's a really great idea. BroadwayGuy2 will love it! :)

Cue the distant rumble of thunder in the distance....