FDH Lounge 1000th post/State of the Union

By Rick Morris

On the occasion of the 1000th post here on The FDH Lounge Multimedia Magazine, it’s an opportune time to address the overall state of the enterprise and how we got to this point. Courtesy of the FDH Facebook page, this “25 random things about FDH” feature helps paint the picture as well.

The story’s been told many times before: after spinning off of our good friend Pat Luft’s great Drafthelp.com site back in ’06, Jason Jones and I wanted to put our own theories and practices into place with FantasyDrafthelp.com. And when we got that up and running by the end of that year, we partnered up with the crew we assembled that would become known as The Dignitaries of The FDH Lounge. The premise was simultaneously simple and extravagant: nothing is off-topic. Just as we dissected the fantasy sports world with the initial division of FDH Enterprises, LLC, so too would we examine the entire world – sports and non-sports – with the same kind of focus.

Our program on SportsTalkNetwork.com (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT) proved that shows on that station could exist with a range that went beyond sports and, in all candor, helped pave the way for the broader mix of material you see on that Internet TV station to this day. Politics, geopolitics, music, movies, pop culture and any other number of topics have since been discussed on the STN airwaves by any number of talented people, many of whom were not yet around when the program debuted on January 14, 2007.

In August of that year, we opened this site, then known simply as The FDH Lounge Blog. As we came to add pictures, videos and other features beyond the written word, we subsequently adopted our identity as The FDH Lounge Multimedia Magazine, recognizing that this blog now possessed a great many more features than the general public tends to associate with this medium. Also, while some of our columns adhere to the common blog convention of shorter length, others have more detail and are in more of the “magazine style.” We are adding “bite-size” versions of our program in the form of videoblogging right here in the near future, further blurring the distinctions between the different manifestations of our entirely unique brand. We have also added a presence on Facebook and Twitter in order to add further exposure to our brand.

If The FDH Lounge is truly about anything, it is about a restless energy that always seeks to examine different topics and find ways to enlighten and entertain in regards to them. As such, we can point to no better representation of this project than this: our FDH Lounge Ultimate Links Page, now up to 1,230 links on all subjects. We always love to say that it’s the only web page that you will ever really need and if you check out the comprehensive-yet-highly-organized page even once, you’ll know what we mean.

The management team of myself, Senior Editor Jason Jones and Entertainment Editor Samantha Jones has worked very well together, notwithstanding the regrettable fact that we have been separated geographically since late 2007; I remain in the Cleveland area while they now hold down the fort with the FDH Western Office in Greater Denver. Our team of Dignitaries is likewise incomparable, the best friends and wisest colleagues that anyone could ever want. They can collectively speak energetically with great knowledge and entertainment value on an incredibly vast number of topics. Additionally, along the way, we picked up somebody who really transcends even the lofty tag of FDH Lounge Dignitary: our FDH New York Bureau, Creative Consultant/Producer Steve Cirvello. This veteran of the East Coast media scene has contributed so much to us in terms of guest booking, show ideas and the like and is truly one of the most talented all-around contributors working the business today.

In addition to the people purely under our own banner, we have struck up valuable relationships with other growing New Media enterprises. Last summer, we used the occasion of the 500th post at The FDH Lounge to announce the formation of The Friends of FDH Club, a cooperative society that would provide a useful banner for us to work together. I can now announce with pride that we have found a more representative name that sums up the scope of all of these ventures: the 21st Century Media Alliance. We are pleased to be associated with such a wide range of growing enterprises, such as Sportsology, Card Corner Club, The Pullins Report, 1stDownScouting.com, SportsTalkNetwork.com and recent SportsCenter subject Outside the Boxscore.

And so, in the spirit of the 1,000th post here, I will add one final announcement to the noting of the Ultimate Links page expanding to 1,230 and the 21st Century Media Alliance: the most famous guest we have ever had on our program, because he is one of the most famous people in America. This Wednesday, May 20, right at the top of our program at 7 PM EDT, we welcome in legendary television personality Bob Barker. He recently penned his life story, “Priceless Memories,” and he’ll be discussing anything and everything you ever wanted to know about him. In a way, I find it quite fitting: Bob helped set a standard of success in the broadcasting business in the 20th century that we are trying to reach in the 21st century. Nobody knows exactly what the future holds, so I can’t say for sure what lies ahead – but I can promise you that we’re going to continue to make this journey very compelling as we have thus far.