When Jack Berkovits first went on air at was then called AM 640 a few months ago, I listened to his premiere show out of curiosity. The one thing I distinctly recall him saying at the start of it was that it was not a sponsored show, that it has nothing to do with his businesses and that it was a serious outlet for exploring serious issues.
 
I’ve tuned in and out since then but on Sunday afternoon, I happened to hear his latest show. Almost the entire first hour was devoted to his outrage over a poor review his restaurant received and he went on and on and on about it, wondering why a customer would be trying to harm his business with a bad rating online. No surprise, he also managed to get in copious and repeated references to his jewelry business as well. 
 
I can’t help but wonder if anyone from Corus is listening to this thing and if they are, why they’re a) not charging him for the commercial time and b) not labeling the show as being a paid program. I admit I don’t listen a lot, but every single time I have, there are constant mentions of his jewelry store by name. I’m sure he’ll claim it’s just a coincidence or related to the topic, but it happens so often I would find that hard to believe.
 
He also went on air Sunday and started talking how the Numeris numbers came out this week and claimed his ratings have tripled since he started doing the show. First, while I suppose it’s allowed, it’s generally considered bad form to talk about your ratings on air. Second, what he didn’t say is that CFMJ had an absolutely atrocious book, coming in with an awful 1.8 share of the audience, down from the previous survey.
 
As for his numbers going up, I believe this was somewhat disingenuous, as well. If I increased from, say a 0.1 to a 0.4 (and I’m not saying that’s his rating, merely an example), I might be able to claim my numbers had skyrocketed, too. But that doesn’t mean they’re any good.
 
I have nothing personal against Mr. Berkovits and I wish him success in his broadcasting endeavours. I just wish he’d lose the ridiculous spin that puts whatever credibility he might still have at further risk every week. And for God's sake, stop with the free commercials.