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Pet telethon re-airs
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Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
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Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
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QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
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NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
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Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
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Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
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Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
Published on Friday, Nov 16, 2007
An Akron Gospel Homecoming. Time Warner Cable has finally added Gospel Music Channel (at position 131), and no one is happier than GMC President Charles Humbard.
Humbard is a son of the Akron area's own Rex Humbard, and ''Dad had a profound influence on my life,'' the younger Humbard said in a recent telephone interview. ''In a spiritual way, obviously, in the exposure to the Gospel and Christian ministry, but also in a business way — doing good business and being fair to people.''
Rex, who died in September, was also a pioneer in using television as a basis for ministry. ''He was taking advantage of a new technology,'' Charles said, ''and it seems as if he passed that on to me.''
Inclusion. Another lesson Charles learned from his father involved including different people: ''Our church had every kind of artist (performing), every style of artist,'' he said. And with GMC, ''you have to appeal to a broad range of family members — have music for kids and teens, for mom and dad, for grandma and grandpa.''
One way GMC does that is to build each night around a different musical theme: country and Southern music on Monday, rock on Tuesday, soul on Wednesday, contemporary Christian hits on Thursday, and rock and hip-hop on Fridays.
Saturday is devoted to world premieres and a new show called Kitchen Sink that covers ''everything that's new in the world of gospel,'' Humbard said.
The GMC lineup also includes shows such as Faith & Fame, which features interviews with artists, with each installment tailored to the night's theme.
What's Playing? One GMC list contains Yolanda Adams, Avalon, Blind Boys of Alabama, Kirk Franklin, the Goodmans, John Tesh, Carrie Underwood, Albertina Walker, Jars of Clay and others.
''The 8-Year-Old Rule.'' Even as it embraces different genres, GMC insists that its material must at all times be appropriate for an 8-year-old viewer, Humbard said. ''Being clean or being family-appropriate is in the DNA of gospel and Christian music.''
That extends beyond the music and videos played. If an artist is leading an improper public life, that could trump the songs being performed.
''It's a fine line,'' Humbard admitted. ''The last thing we want to do is judge people.''
But GMC also wants its viewers to trust that they're getting something acceptable 24/7.
So How's It Working? Humbard said the three-year-old channel is in 20 million homes, and added 1.4 million homes in November alone. It's in 46 of the 50 largest TV markets, and all of the top 10, he said. ''Cable operators have realized that this is truly unique for their audiences, and a great family programming alternative.''
Getting into Akron took time, but ''Akron has been on our radar,'' he said. ''It's such a strong music area, and such a strong gospel and Christian area.''
And on to other topics . . .
More Sexy Guys. The issue of People magazine on newsstands today includes far, far more beefcake than its latest Sexiest Man Alive (Matt Damon).
Other categories include ''TV geeks . . . dripping with sex appeal'' (among them Rainn Wilson, Masi Oka and Reggie Hayes) and ''three guys worth running home to'' (John Stamos, Nathan Fillion and Seth Gabel). Also, the year's sexiest song: Lost Without U by Robin Thicke.
Murdoch, Regan and Satan. Humorist Andy Borowitz offered this take on the Judith Regan-Rupert Murdoch feud:
The lawsuit filed yesterday by O.J. Simpson publisher Judith Regan against her former employer, Rupert Murdoch, has created a ''difficult personal dilemma for me,'' Satan said in a press conference today.
For the Prince of Darkness, who has had long-standing ties to both Ms. Regan and Mr. Murdoch, the lawsuit ''leaves me feeling very much caught in the middle,'' Satan told reporters.
You can find the complete column at http://www.borowitzreport.com.
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Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://www.ohio.com. Contact him at 330-996-3582 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
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