Inside TV & Radio

National television networks to zoom in on Harley bash

By TIM CUPRISIN of the Journal Sentinel staff

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

All those motorcycles around town over the next few days won't just be annoying local residents.

They'll be attracting national TV cameras along with celebs like Jay Leno.

It starts Thursday morning, when Dave Price, the new weather guy from CBS' "Early Show," does his wacky weather bits from the lakefront.

"Far be it from me to predict what will happen when you combine live television, Harley-Davidsons and Dave Price," he tells Inside TV & Radio.

And the traditional big TV event of Labor Day weekend, Jerry Lewis' Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon, will feature live segments focusing on the entertainment at the Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary bash Sunday starting around 8 p.m.

That's just what's scheduled right now. But you can expect more coverage, especially on network newscasts and cable news shows.

It's a telegenic event, with the bikes, the bikers and the sounds emanating from both. And, maybe most importantly, we're staring down the Labor Day weekend, a time when there's not a lot of other stuff going on.

You have to hope the folks at the Great Circus Parade will be watching this coverage closely.

Their telegenic event, stretching over several days and culminating in a big parade, could tie into the last big summer weekend -- a three-day holiday when TV's looking for something to look at.

SPINNING THE DIAL: WMIL-FM (106.1) is one of five nominees for best large-market country music station in this year's Country Music Association Awards. The awards are handed out Nov. 5. . . . The Milwaukee Area Radio Enthusiasts re-create old-time radio in a spoof of "The Lone Ranger" at 2 p.m. Sept. 21 in Community Room G-110 in the lower level of Mayfair Mall. It's free and open to the public. . . . Radio talker Rush Limbaugh changed his vacation plans, so Mark Belling won't be filling in for him this week after all. You can hear Mark at his normal time, 3 to 6 p.m., this Thursday and Friday on WISN-AM (1130). . . . But syndicated talker Sean Hannity is taking Friday off, and comedian Dennis Miller fills in for him. The show runs on WISN from 8 to 11 p.m.

MORE VIEWERS, MORE HDTV: Time Warner Cable reports that it's hit the 10,000 mark in the number of subscribers with high-definition boxes, a sign that the newest generation of TV is starting to move into the mainstream.