Jim Ellis, RIP

I posted this over at Daily Kos. It started as a tirade on the New Republic, but turned into something...more...
From the point of digression:
Anyway, that's not important right now. What is important is Jim Ellis' Life:
(...)I was going to Broadcast Center at he time, which was basically a radio trade school. The MSM talking heads and mouthpieces of St. Louis were the teachers.
(BTW, condolences to Jim Ellis' family, whom I heard today died of a heart attack Saturday. Worked for KSHE 95 in StL just before they took AM Drive satellite. He was the only teacher that wore a "do rag. RIP, Jim, you are missed already)
Anyway, back to the message. This I when I "edu-ma-ca-ted" myself on HOW media frame(ing) issues.
As far as I'm concerned, TNR has always been one of the main sources of what we now know as "spin".
And this was in the early 90's. And I'll be frank, (this is why) my radio career flopped. Why? Because I saw the influence on media advertisers had.
(THEY WERE THE CENSORS!!!)
I talked about Jim Ellis before. I was just remembering that one of the "issues of the day" were when I was attending BC:
The Telecom Act of 1996. The bill that gave the MSM a green light to "consolidate".
It also gave Rupert Murdoch the exemption he needed to fully fund FOX NEWS.
Unfortunately, Jim Ellis and our instructors bought the corporate line. (They weren't union, so what do you expect? But I digress), and I mentioned before, Jim was THE LAST LOCAL LIVE HOST ON KSHE's MORNING SHOW. Oh, he did fight for his job, but it was too little, too late. I tried to convince him it was a bad bill, that would kill jobs (and more importantly, independent voices) and possibly HIS job.
After the Telecom bill, Jim reluctantly agreed with me. He was working up north, along the Canadian border. (I'm trying to remember, just not coming to me: Ysplanti, Int. Falls, Saginaw?)
He had remembered our arguments. He cussed a lot when we ate his crow, too.
Can you blame him? I don't. the same thing that killed his radio career was the same reason as mine: Deregulation of media ownership.
I almost think that bitternes about it caued his death. He died of a heart attack, after all.
But I don't know for sure (what he wa thinkinng)what he was thinking (these past few years). I just know Jim doesn't have to worry about it anymore...