Heard or seen something on the pop culture landscape that appalled/delighted/enlightened you? Of course you have. That's what Station Break with Paul Farhi is here for. Local stations, cable, radio shows, commercials, pop culture -- they're all fair game.

Farhi was online Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 1 p.m. ET.

Farhi is a reporter in the Post's Style section, writing about media and popular culture. He's been watching TV and listening to the radio since "The Monkees" were in first run and Adam West was a star. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Los Angeles, Farhi had brief stints in the movie business (as an usher at the Picwood Theater), and in the auto industry (rental-car lot guy) before devoting himself fulltime to word processing. His car has 15 radio pre-sets and his cable system has 500 channels. He vows to use all of them for good instead of evil.

A transcript follows.

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Paul Farhi: Greetings, all, and welcome to our pre-Thanksgiving virtual potluck dinner chat n' chew. Come on in and set a while. We'll be eating shortly, after the chat. You don't have to sit at the kids table if you don't want to (and I hear some very special guests may be dropping by later!)...So, a moment of silence: Mr. Whipple is no longer with us. People of a certain age (me) know Mr. W. was inescapable there for a few decades. You couldn't turn a TV set on without him popping up. I have to say, of all the long running ad campaigns in TV history, the please-don't-squeeze-the-Charmin campaign was the strangest. Please don't squeeze it? What the...? Who the heck ever squeezed (squoze?) the toilet paper? And Charmin? What kind of a name is that for toilet paper? There's a Ph. D. thesis in psychology in this one, I tell ya...Anyway, onward. Let's go to the phones.

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Herndon, Va.: Mr. F: I hope the Station Break dancers are wearing their leggings today for their outside appearances. Since you're plugged in with the movers and shakers -- how much longer is the writers' strike going to last?

Paul Farhi: Interesting about the Station Breakdancers--what with Broadway stagehands on strike, their manager was talking about putting on a big, non-union show in one of those dark houses. He's got a name all picked out: "Scab!"...As for the writers strike, I think this one doesn't go as long as the last one (22 weeks). I mean, they're only a few cents apart on the Internet royalty issue. But who really knows for sure?

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CBS News Writers are Striking?: Wait, I'm confused...I thought the fiction writers went out a couple weeks ago.

Paul Farhi: Now, now. The anti-media chat is down the hall. Please proceed in an orderly fashion...

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Bluffton, S.C.: Paul,

Why do you think "Dancing with the Stars", Monday night, is #1 in popularity? Do you believe it will hold that place in the next few years, maybe two or three? And, why is Marie Osmond, who is only an average dancer, holding on, when so many other dancers were more adept?

Paul Farhi: This is why I would make a very bad TV executive. "Dancing with the Stars" is an okay show, perfect throwaway stuff. But a big hit? I don't get it. Ditto "American Idol." I don't get that, either. Obviously, Americans like simple, mindless, not too demanding entertainment. This has been true, of course, since before vaudeville. We're a very disparate country; you have to communicate simply to appeal to many different kinds of people. As for Marie's success, beats me...

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Falls Church, Va.: What is your take on the future of the print media? Will the hard copy version of the Post be gone in 10 years? What are the prospects for a young person entering news journalism these days?

Paul Farhi: Well, thanks for the plugola opportunity: I have a story on this very subject upcoming very soon in the American Journalism Review, which I write for from time to time. The short answer is: The future isn't so hot. There are serious questions not just about the future of print news, but the future of online news, at least insofar as newspapers making the transition to the online world. But check out the story--should be (yes) online soon.

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Arlington, Va.: I wanted to comment on your article about why rock radio stations have low ratings in this town, in particular 94.7 The Globe. I listen to a lot of radio online, stations that are similar to the Globe, but are far better like KFOG in San Francisco, KINK in Portland and WXPN in Philadelphia. The reason I don't listen to the Globe is that they have incredibly long commercial breaks (I've clocked a few at around 10 minutes.) And their DJ's, even though they are legends, don't know when to shut up. I've heard Weasel take 5 minutes to introduce a 3 minute song. And the repetition of old stale music, most similarly formatted stations play 3 to 4 new tracks an hour, check the Globe's playlist at yes.com and you'll see they play only 2 new songs an hour. Perhaps if the station was presented with a little more imagination, more current music and less talking, they might have something really special. But for now I have no reason to switch my iPod or Internet to tune them in.

Paul Farhi: Well, I happened to like Weasel's 9 p.m. show ("Boxed Set"?), wherein he featured a particular band or artist and played their work, with much commentary. Very informative and entertaining. But I think some people might agree with your criticism. Interestingly enough, the future may actually favor rock stations. The "people meter" technology that will be used by Arbitron Inc. to measure audiences in the D.C. market late next year is showing big gains for rock stations in Philly and Houston (the two places it has been used). So, maybe "the death of rock stations" is really about measurement error/underestimation of the "true" rock audience up to now. We'll see.

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Washington: Nothing personal, but do you kids (or kids of other parents you know) make fun of you for still listening to the radio instead of using an iPod or something else? It seems younger kids today have no time for radio at all. Just wondering what observations you've noticed.

Paul Farhi: I have to say, it's SHOCKING to me how few young people seem to listen to the radio. I've spoken to a few college journalism classes, and I always ask the students about their media habits. Many read the paper (online, not in print); many watch TV; almost everyone has an iPod. But hardly any of them listen to regular old radio. I always follow up by asking, "How do you find out about new music?" This always starts an interesting discussion. But it shocks me--and should really concern radio people.

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Annandale, Va.: Paul,

It's that time of year again. Is there anything you can do to stop WASH FM from repeatedly playing their Holiday commercial to the tune of Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmas Time? It bad enough on it's own, but it's also the precursor to Zales, Kay Jewelers, and Lexus to onslaught us with the same.

Paul Farhi: I like holiday/Christmas music (much of it, anyway). I hate holiday/Christmas-themed commercials. They just feel oppressive and obligatory.

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Mr. Whipple: You've pointed to the brilliance of the campaign. No one ever squeezed the toilet paper until Mr. Whipple came along and told us NOT to -- at which point we all decided that squeezing was the way to evaluate toilet paper. Advertising genius!

Paul Farhi: Quite possibly true, yes. But was Charmin noticeably softer or squeezier than, say, Scott's? I don't recall. And I notice with Mr. W's passing as a commercial icon, Charmin and other TP makers have moved on to other criteria, such as "absorbency." I guess it would be hard NOT to have a weird ad campaign for toilet paper.

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Washington, D.C.: What is the final word about Imus and whether his new show will be heard in DC? Two weeks and counting!

Paul Farhi: Clear Channel and WTNT (570 AM) seem to have dibs on Imus (they had his show before he got fired). Word is, however, that he would not start on 570 until January, more than a month after Imus goes back on the radio in New York.

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College Park, Md.: Without intending any disrespect to the actor who played Mr. Whipple, I have to say that I detested those Charmin commercials. They made me swear I'd never buy that brand of toilet paper -- ever. And I never have.

Paul Farhi: I can't imagine why anyone would ever go back to Mr. Whipple's store. He was kind of a fussy guy, wasn't it? Always ordering people around. I'd say screw it, and head to Giant or Safeway.

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Dancing with the Stars: Marie is so successful because she has like 27 kids and so do all of her brothers. They must all man the phones to vote all night long.

Paul Farhi: Scandal in the making! Marie Osmond's kin jams DWTS phone lines! Oh, wait...that's kosher. You can do that all you want...

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Tucson, Ariz.: Re: "Dancing With The Stars"... are you kidding me? Some of the costumes are near soft-porn! That's why it's a hit. Legs, legs, legs and ample cleavage...

Paul Farhi: I said "simple entertainment," didn't I? Doesn't get more simple than that....

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And their DJ's, even though they are legends, don't know when to shut up.: Not only that, but they often talk over the beginning of the song. That drives me nuts.

Paul Farhi: I'm not sure why talking over the intro became a commonly accepted radio deejay technique. It IS annoying. Just play the song--the whole song.

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As for Marie's success, beats me... : She fainted and fell on a dancing show. We're keeping her around to see what else happens.

Paul Farhi: Yes. Good soap opera that. Strangely enough, I tuned in to that episode of "Dancing" just seconds before Marie lost it. I thought it was a bit or something....And did you ever notice that people on TV, when they turn on the TV, it's JUST the right moment for a major plot development? They always hit the newscast just at the right moment, when the anchor guy is saying something of consequence about the character who's watching the TV. Stoopid cliche.

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Re: Obviously, Americans like simple, mindless, not too demanding entertainment.: But it's more complicated than that. Americans are very particular about what kind of simple, mindless, not too demanding entertainment they enjoy. Not every piece of simple, mindless, not too demanding entertainment is a huge hit. Some are big flops. You can't just say, "This show is lame; it'll be huge!"

Paul Farhi: Yes. True. There's an X factor that no one can predict, and that no one can really understand except in hindsight. Why would anyone think that, say, "American Idol" would be a monster hit? You could not have predicted how that would connect with the audience. If you could, every show on TV would be a hit.

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Arlington, Va.: Can you or the chatters recommend a good FM transmitter to be used with the iTouch, for my car and home stereo? I have older electronics in my car, so I need one that does not have to plug into a headphones or mp3 jack. Thanks.

Paul Farhi: Since I only understand about 47 percent of this posting, I will gladly turn it over to our hugely well informed chattees. Fire away, gang....

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Alexandria, Va.: Please make the "Duh" commercial stop...

Paul Farhi: The "Duh" commercial? Um...I don't know it (duh).

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Me just in: Paul, if I understand your bio, you and I must be almost the same age (late 40s?) Well, I just move to central Maryland and get both Washington and Baltimore stations, but can't find MY playlist.

So you probably know which station plays the most 1968-1976 oldies? I think I found a 60s and an 80s station, but which is the best (particularly early) 70s station?

Paul Farhi: Have you tried WMDM-FM (97.7), out of Lexington Park area? Last I recall, and it's been a few months so don't hold me to it, they were playing what WBIG-FM (100.3) had abandoned--namely, your '60s pop, Motown, etc.

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Olney, Md.: I agree, Paul, print journalism and the print industry are in for some hard times ahead. But for the most part, they can only blame themselves.

They took a while to embrace bloggers like the Express does, as a regular feature.

Part of the fault, in my opinion, is content.

I find myself zipping faster and faster through the daily and Sunday Post. Only on Sunday, do I have the opportunity to read the stock financial listings, since they are in abbreviated form during the week.

I shocked myself this past Sunday when I found, a very interesting " I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Mike Conners, is indeed a cool guy. Glad he's still around, even though, as the article stated, there are no DVD releases of this hit TV show yet available.

Now this subject was very interesting to me, and I assume with others, something that I could not find on the net. That's something the Post could expand. Making more articles interesting might keep most of readership happy. There is something almost back to the future about holding a newspaper and just reading. A novel idea!

Paul Farhi: Ah. Got it. Make the articles more interesting. Great idea!

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Wooodbridge, Va.: Let's show Mr. Whipple and Charmon some love. They hearken back to a more innocent time, when a store manager had time to worry about customers squeezing the life out of the TP. Thise days are gone, my friends, and we are the poorer for it.

(Sniff)

Paul Farhi: I don't know. It always seemed a little pervy to me.

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more words or phrases to ban from a football commentator's vocabulary: the word "athlete" or any of its derivations in, "to make that play requires an amazing amount of athletic skill" or, "____ is an amazing athlete"

Yes. They're football players, I think we got it.

Paul Farhi: There's a great video somewhere (probably YouTube) that comically delineates the subtle way announcers call some players "athletes" and other "leaders." Usually, it comes down to race (as in, "Tom Brady is a great leader of his team" while Donovan McNabb is "a great athlete").

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"How do you find out about new music?": I'm 48, and there's no music on D.C. radio for me (except the great old school blues and R and B on Saturday morning on WPFW). I listen to Pandora online, and other relatively obscure sources, and I've been buying more music recently based on their recommendations. I'm listening to a Pandora station based on R.E.M. right now, and have heard them, the Lemonheads and Nada Surf over the last ten minutes. What radio station would program THAT?

Paul Farhi: You know, let's point out one thing about radio--there's a limit number of stations. They can't be all things to all people. But they can be the most POPULAR thing to the largest number of people. So, they go for mass. Not really a crime, and not really any other way to do it. Satellite and the Internet are great alternatives. And by the way, the most popular stations on XM and Sirius? Those would be the channels playing the same formats that are popular on terrestrial radio.

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But was Charmin noticeably softer or squeezier than, say, Scott's? : Everything is softer than Scott's. That stuff is hard as notebook paper.

Paul Farhi: My brilliant chat producer (what, you think I can be this brilliant all by myself?) was making a similar point. Charmin, he says, forced other toilet paper makers to make their products softer. Softness became THE selling point. Maybe Scott's just never got that memo.

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1968-1976 oldies? : What a diff a few years makes. I'm 46 and I consider MY playlist to be circa late 70s, early 80s -- college years essentially. Still can't find it on the radio, though.

Paul Farhi: I'm 49, and I went to college in the latter half of the 1970s. But I listened to "oldies" (late 50s,''60s rock) from the early '70s on. I also happen to like 80s, 90s and contempo tunes, too. So one's "playlist" can be pretty expansive, no?

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Characters turning on the TV: Yes, it's always just at the moment when the main character is being wrongly accused by the media for some murder. That's when they realize they must go underground and investigate it themselves, to find the real murderer and clear their name. Then we find out the friend they stay in touch with, who is supposed to be helping them, is actually NOT ON THEIR SIDE!

We need some new plots.

Paul Farhi: Exactly! You have a perfect ear for TV cliches. Say, you wouldn't want to be a TV writer, would you? I understand there are a few openings right now...

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Mr. Whipple: When I was in college, we had a convenience store managed by a grumpy Mr. Whipple type. I never got caught squeezing the toilet paper. But, I was in there once when a guy brought a lit cigarette in the store, and he got kicked out. Immediately after, the manager turned to my friend and I and yelled "What about YOU?!" We thought for a second he was going to kick us out, too. (We were a tad tipsy, but not too bad). Then he continued yelling "Do YOU like it when people smoke in the store?! I DON'T!! I don't like it when people smoke in my store!" We politely said "No, sir, we don't like it either," made our purchases and left. I did not go back too often.

Paul Farhi: Mr. Whipple, moonlighting again!

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I'm not sure why talking over the intro became a commonly accepted radio deejay technique.: back in the old days we said it was to keep people from taping a song off the radio and not paying for the 45 at the store.

Paul Farhi: Ah. Very interesting. Seems plausible. But think about it: To screw up the few people who might have been taping, radio stations hurt the vast majority who weren't....

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Laurel: BTW, I still buy Mr. Whipple's brand; but about two years ago they started claiming that their new rolls are just like 2-2.5 of the old ones, and I started noticing I was running out a lot sooner.

Paul Farhi: Fascinating how much mileage we can get out toilet paper ads! This subject obviously chafes a lot of people....

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Radio in decline: How are NPR ratings for their news, both locally and nationwide? Seems like they keep hiring more reporters than they used to have a few years ago, which makes me wonder if they're getting more listeners as commercial stations decline.

Paul Farhi: The trend has been generally up for NPR since 9-11 (there have been dips, of course). This has, in turn, really helped local stations raise money--through pledge drives and "underwriting." Plus, NPR got a huge windfall--some $200 million--from Ray Kroc's widow, which has really helped their financial stability.

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Falls Church, Va.: What is your take on the manner in which new music will be distributed in the future? Interesting to see Eagles new record fly off the shelves at Wal-Mart.

Paul Farhi: Radiohead tried something interesting--making their new stuff available over the web, pay whatever you can. Turns out that most people DIDN'T pay much at all. But it's still an interesting model/experiment...I think we already can see the future of music distribution: Downloads, downloads, downloads.

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Georgetown, Washington, D.C.: So how do they find new music?

I gave up on radio a few years back, when I heard three stations playing Jane Said at the same time. Maybe four -- you remember those days.

I do still listen to TOP for news and WETA (which has turned out to be a wonderful resolution of the WGMS death), but as far as current music is concerned, I'm out of the loop.

Paul Farhi: They seem to get it over the Internet, peer-to-peer, and via word-of-mouth, etc. I think they're underselling how much their choices are reinforced (or really created) by radio, but that's what they say. I mean, the top downloads also happen to be on the radio, more or less. I can't say which caused which, but I would not discount radio's influence on the process.

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So one's "playlist" can be pretty expansive, no? : True cuz I like Sinatra and the Clash. I agree with earlier caller that I learn about new music (or new to me) by listening to Pandora and AccuRadio online.

Paul Farhi: Yes. The thing about Internet radio, of course, is that no one site really has a huge audience in a given city. It's kind of like satradio that way--many miles wide, but an inch deep in any one place.

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Different Person in Olney, Md.: In grocery stores, people were admonished not to squeeze the tomatoes or the peaches or whatever produce. Mr. Whipple was a parody of the typical small grocery store owner. In the 1970s not everyone was under 25. Most shoppers remembered small grocery stores from their childhood, so Mr. Whipple was appealing to people's memories of the past, and being cute about not squeezing a non-produce item. Nowadays, my 20-something children can't figure out why so many commercial seems to have a 1968-1975 song in it. Same theory, new decade.

Paul Farhi: That's some excellent historical context, Olney! Thanks. And, yes, I do remember small grocery stores in the 1960s. (At the one near our house in Brooklyn, you gave them your list, they pulled and bagged the items, and the proprietor added up the total on the bag, with a black crayon). Anyway, yes, they had their charms, but you kind of longed for the anonymity (and selection and low prices) of supermarkets.

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What I heard:"Can you or the chatters recommend a good FM transmitter to be used with the blahblahbal, for my car and home stereo? I have older electronics in my car, so I need one that does not have to plug into a headphones or blahblah.

Paul Farhi: Hahaha! I felt the same way (and I'm not proud of it, tell ya the truth). I felt like a dog whose master is reading the preamble to the Constitution to him.

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"How do you find out about new music?": I use iTunes and some Web sites where one can find people's favorite playlists posts.

I search iTunes for stuff I like, and see what is recommended. I look at their "must have" lists.

On the playlist Web sites, I look up a song I like, and see what other people who like that song are listening to. Same idea. There's also one you can search by "mood," so if you're feeling mellow or angry, or whatever, you can see what's recommended for that. Wish I could remember the Web site, I've got it bookmarked at home.

Paul Farhi: Yes. This is what the college kids say, too. Only much less articulately than you just did.

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Football commentator's vocabulary: Let's also ban "execute." They had a game plan, they just didn't execute. The coaching's fine, they just need to execute. On paper, the team looks terrific -- they just aren't executing.

If you consistently aren't "executing" you're just not good. Can't we say that?

Paul Farhi: Seems to me, that word suggests the military overtones of football, as in "executing a campaign." No one ever talks about "executing" in other sports ("The Nationals just aren't executing down the stretch"--see what I mean?).

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New music: I think a lot of y geners surf bands' MySpace pages for new downloads...

and YouTube

Paul Farhi: Yes, them, too.

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Richmond, Va.: I find myself reading less in the paper too. It seems to have more fluff stories and fewer informative articles. Bigger photos, more white space and graphic elements. So, I buy it less often and buy other information sources such as other national papers and magazines. They're appealing to the lowest common denominator and losing their real core audience: readers.

Paul Farhi: I'm not sure this is true. Newsrooms HAVE been cut back, but the cutbacks have tended to affect all sections of the paper, not just the substantive work. In other words, newspapers probably have less of everything, not just of one particular thing.

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New music distribution: As you say, radio (traditional radio) reaches more people than any other single format. Radiohead can afford to give away music on the Internet because they have a fan base. Most acts still need radio to help them become big successes. Even music critics (and there aren't that many of those) don't break big artists with reviews alone. I can name two dozen good indie performers introduced to me by friends of mine, but they're still obscure because none of them have big labels backing them on the radio. Until (unless?) someone gets to be a big hit without radio it's going to remain the biggest voice in the process.

Paul Farhi: Very, very true. It's still very hard (possibly impossible) to make it without radio airplay. And it's absolutely impossible to become a superstar without it.

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Paul Farhi: Well, now, that was certainly eclectic. Toilet paper ads, Marie Osmond, radio's decline, Don Imus, the news industry's decline. What don't you people know about? Me, I'm hungry. Gonna grab me some of that delicious virtual pumpkin pie someone brought to today's chat. But while I'm munching, please welcome today's Very Special Guests....the Station Breakdancers! [sound of screaming fans, booming music, shooting confetti....] Kids, take us right out of here and into Thanksgiving. Hope your holiday is a great one! Let's do this again next time, same place. In the meantime, regards to all....Paul.

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