Because I’m on the wrong side of 50, you’ll have to indulge me for a few moments as I remember what WRKO Radio (AM 680) used to be. Twenty years ago, you had Janet Jeghelian and Ted O’Brien in the morning, Gene Burns during the midday and the late, great Jerry Williams in the afternoon. Jeghelian and O’Brien later gave way to Marjorie Clapprood and Pat Whitley without missing a beat. It was great radio, and you really weren’t tempted to change the station at any point during the day.
Now? Howie Carr is a pipsqueak compared to those towering figures, but at least he has some ties to that golden era. It was Williams, after all, who gave him his start. And Carr is a huge talent, even if he’s squandered it over the years, devolving into a homophobic race-baiter with a lazy show that usually sounds like it took all of five minutes to put together.
Even so, Carr is really all WRKO has. Now, with Carr leaving this October for WTKK (96.9 FM) — a deal we have to assume will come to fruition, despite some contract hassles — the folks at Entercom might as well turn out the lights, especially once baseball season is over.
(Disclosure: I was a regular paid guest on a late-morning show hosted by Whitley a few years ago, and one Saturday picked up a few bucks hosting a liberal program ‘RKO was then running. However, despite what N. thinks, I never had any sort of tryout at ‘RKO or any other radio station.)
The Herald, of course, is firmly in Howie’s camp, as he is the tabloid’s star columnist. But I wonder if Carr will be tempted to stop writing, or at least to cut back. A morning drive-time show typically is more heavily produced than an afternoon show, with guests and interviews. Maybe he thinks he can wing it. But if he’s going to justify the money ‘TKK is paying him, he’ll need to work harder than he has at ‘RKO in recent years.
Still, I’d rather have ‘TKK’s problems than ‘RKO’s. By far the two most important segments of the day are the morning and afternoon commutes. Consider:
- In the morning, Carr will compete against former Massachusetts House speaker Tom Finneran. As I told the Globe’s Carolyn Johnson, ‘RKO has already done much of ‘TKK’s promotional work by playing Finneran’s hiring earlier this year as a phony feud between the two men. My heart’s with Finneran, but my head is with Carr. Howie is going to beat the overly loquacious Finneran like a drum.
- In the afternoon, Jay Severin will have a clear field. Severin was actually ahead of Carr in the ratings a few years ago, then left to go national. Severin hasn’t been able to duplicate that feat since his return, but now he’ll have no competition.
As much of a coup as this is for WTKK, I would argue that station managers made a mistake by not giving the morning show to Margery Eagan and Jim Braude, who are on from noon to 3 p.m. Two can be better than one in the morning, and I think they’d do a better job of handling the fast pace, the guest interviews and the like that are characteristic of a good show in that time slot.
And what of the state of talk radio in Boston? Not good. With Paul Sullivan having semi-retired from WBZ (AM 1030) in order to take care of his health, by far the best talk-show host in Boston now is Tom Ashbrook, of “On Point,” on WBUR (90.9 FM). Ashbrook is very good indeed, but “On Point” is more of an interview program than it is a talk show; and because it’s syndicated by NPR, there’s not much local flavor. I’d love to see Christopher Lydon take Sullivan’s slot on WBZ, but, frankly, I can’t imagine its happening.
This would be a great opportunity for WRKO to try liberal talk, despite its long-term commitment to Finneran, a moderate conservative. Pair Finneran with a liberal co-host; run Stephanie Miller‘s and Ed Schultz‘s syndicated shows during the midday; and then come back with a talented liberal local host during the afternoon drive, and ‘RKO would have something with which to counter ‘TKK’s mostly right-wing lineup.
But I suppose that would make too much sense.
Howie Carr photo (cc) by Paul Keleher. Some rights reserved.
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EB3 here.I agree with you Dan, but I see Howie mailing it in like he has been doing with his current show and for the most part his column the last few years.Can he blast illegal immigrants all morning? I don’t think so. If Finneran could add some comedy he will kill Howie. Howie plays the same song over and over again.Even Frank Sinatra’s biggest fan would get tired of watching him sing “My Way” all day everyday.One reason for Howie’s big radio numbers is that the competition sucks. You have sport radio and WTTK crap up against him. The morning ratings battle with be alot different for Howie. Also WTTK seems not to do alot to improve the shows they currently have. Braude and Eagan have gotten very boring and predictable. Michelle McPhee is simply god awful. To call her a cop sniff is an insult to cop sniffs. She is in a league of her own. As a result her show and her writing is far from journalistic standards. She is a stenographer. Write what the police tell her to write.So what will TTK give Howie to work with? Not much I bet.
Dan,If turning RKO into Air America Redux is the solution, get ready for another of those “head/heart” conflicts. Appealing to every guy (like me)who has spent 4+ hours in an emergency room behind non-English speaking folks (who got to jump the line with their interpreter after 15 minutes)is not necessarily political. One could be to the left of Marx and still be frustrated by the experience. Howie is shooting fish in a barrel, sure. Is it his fault no other populist chooses to shoot? Personally, I don’t think he is in the same league with Michael Graham but if people want simplistic pap, who am I to tell them they’re wrong? (Enquirer outsells The Nation, after all). Everyday people are seeing their lives affected. Sadly, they see Howie as their best advocate. The guy has a PBK key, he’s no dope. Dumbing down appears to sell in Boston. If speaking truth to power requires words of one syllable, so be it.
As a newborn (under the premise that life begins at 40) I, too, remember the golden age of ‘RKO, and I don’t even put ironic quotation marks around golden age. Jerry Williams was a crank, but he got his audience engaged like few others (I still can’t get his “Cry Baby Stockton” campaign out of my head — his petulant response to some slight by the CBS sportscaster Dick Stockton). Gene Burns, a straight-up libertarian, may have been the brightest talk show host ever and, though his pomposity was often palpable, he was always respectful to callers and guests who disagreed with him (Remember the days of political debate before ad hominem attacks?). But the story doesn’t end with ‘RKO; while 680 AM focused on politics, WBZ had an excellent sports show, “Calling All Sports,” which competed with WHDH’s “Sports Huddle with Eddie Andelman.” At night, ‘BZ boasted Larry Glick, the late Norm Nathan (though also, it must be said, the execrable Bob Rawley — Raleigh?). And, of course, ‘HDH’s mornings kicked off with the classy and funny (what, those things can go together on talk radio?) Jess Cain. Sadly, those days are gone forever and, while I might enjoy hearing some liberal voices, most liberal programs are garbage-filled rantfests with hosts as dutiful in their recitation of lefty talking points as the Fox News “personalities” (there are those ironic quotes) are with regurgitating the right’s marching orders.Whew. Sorry about the length of this screed, but the delight in being reminded of Janet Jeghelian and Ted O’Brien has just given way to the depressing reality of just how far Boston talk radio has fallen. At least Lowell’s WCAP has Dr. Joy Browne.
If I may Dan, weren’t we talking about this 10 years ago? http://politizine.blogspot.com/
EB3, this is common error…but it’s WTKK, not WTTK. :-)Is it wild speculation that Entercom would just sell off 680AM to someone else? It’d bring in serious bucks, and probably invalidate that goofy Red Sox carriage agreement; presumably getting the Sox back on WEEI full time…something I’m sure the Sox have loved (it separates the games from the biting criticism of the Sox during the regular shows) but I’m still very skeptical that it’s gone as smoothly as Jason Wolfe has claimed.
Howie has been boringly predictable for a long time–his only interesting feature is the PutzLine (thx Mike Connors). We used to listen to ‘RKO in the 1980s, but after Gene Burns left and Howie displaced Jerry Williams, the station stagnated, and it wasn’t improved by their addition of the musings of Rush Lamebrain.Thank goodness for Internet streaming and downloading. We listen to Ed Schultz, who actually is entertaining via a San Francisco station (960the quake) and subscribe to Stephanie Miller’s Stephicast. Stephanie knows how to run a truly entertaining show. I have a few quibbles with Ed on the facts, but he’s entertaining, too. One problem is that talk radio people, particularly on the right, seem to have lost the idea that radio is supposed to be, not so much ideological, but entertaining.–raj
WRKO can hire Chris Lydon for the afternoon slot. That should give them a few thousand listeners.
if you think WRKO has fallen now, how low whould it go if it went liberal. no one wants to hear a bunch of shreaking cindy sheehan and jeneane garafallo (sp) types for 12hrs a day.
If you’re willing to look past their “shock jock” reputation, you will find that Opie and Anthony offer the most intelligent and entertaining morning radio show available in Boston. Dan, what do you think of them?
Raj,”talk radio people, particularly on the right, seem to have lost the idea that radio is supposed to be, not so much ideological, but entertaining.” Yeah, Air America was riveting, no preaching to the choir there!
Have we all forgot the late great David Brudnoy?I would love to hear someone who has just a clue about economics and can make their talk interesting. Braude, Eagan, and Severin couldn’t play checkers with Brudnoy forget about chess. I almost fell asleep today hearing Ozzie Nelson. Todd Feinberg may sound libertarian but he is a terrible model of someone who only half gets it. In less than a generation having a national government run school monopoly has led us to the dumbing down of talk radio. We get what we have grown up on.
Yes! re: Brundnoy. I posted earlier (Burns, Glick, Jeghelian, et al) but neglected to include Brudnoy in the list of all that was once great about Boston talk. Mea culpa. I also miss his late-night, perhaps short-lived TV show on Channel 7 (I think it was called “Nightside,” used Spyro Gyra’s hit “Catch the Sun” as theme music, and was on Sundays at 11:30 p.m.); it ran, I think, in the late-70s and offered an early look into what his radio show would become years later.
David Brudnoy and Jerry Williams were the two greatest radio talk-show hosts Boston ever had. I didn’t mention Brudnoy only because I was talking about WRKO’s heyday. Yes, Bruds did a stint at ‘RKO, but it was a long time ago, and he was much more a part of the WBZ tradition, along with Peter Meade, David Finnegan and a few others.
Shame on the Globe for not mentioning that Carr is a herald columnist. They’re withholding the full truth from their readers. How silly.
To anonymous @ 6:11 PM Neither Ed Schultz nor Stephanie Miller are associated with Air America Radio. They are syndicated by another syndicator. So, I’m not exactly sure what your point is.To anonymous @ 7:14 PM Have we all forgot the late great David Brudnoy?No, we haven’t all forgotten Brudnoy, but his heyday was in the 1980s. Indeed, he was the first talk radio host that I would actually listen to after moving to the Boston area in 1979. The sad fact, though, is that, in his later years, talk radio took a significant turn towards the more (right wing) ideological and he seemed to go gleefully with it. Shortly after he recovered from his bash with AIDS, he seemed to be more genteel, but as time went on, it became clear that he was reverting to his ideological form. Sad, but true.On another note, every once in a while, we click onto Gene Burns’s San Francsico station’s web site, and listened to him. It actually is very disheartening to hear what his show has devolved to. He was excellent in Boston in the 1980s. Not in SF.–raj
Actually, anon 8:29, today’s Boston Globe story (http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/07/11/carr_sues_wrko_says_it_cant_stop_him_from_leaving/) states in the seventh paragraph Carr works for the Herald.Personally, I hope he succeeds in morning drive — and I know I won’t be listening to him as much as before, since (like many of us) I’ll be sleeping through most of his show.
EB3 hereJerry Williams was a windbag. Very much over rated.
I think WRKO ought to focus on Liberal talk-radio. Then, we’ll know whether the format really has a future. Air America was able to ‘hide behind’ weak, no-name stations as the reason for its demise. But let WRKO go Liberal. If it fails miserably, then we’ll know that Air America’s problems had more to do with a rally against Liberal radio than simply ‘weak-signaled’ stations. And if it succeeds wildly–which it really ought to do in such a Liberal, socialistic state–then we’ll learn that there is an appetite for that kind of programming in the region.
I for one, would love to hear liberal talk in the car but I’m not even given the option. When Imus was on, I’d listen on the way into work but on the way home I couldn’t turn the dial fast enough when I started up and that weasel Micheal Graham’s voice would come on.Now I just listen to news and CDs. Too bad some advertiser wouldn’t like to tap into my 100K liberal disposable income spending.
Chris: Who’s talking about Air America? Well, a few people here, but not me. I’m talking about Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller, two well-established, popular, liberal hosts with the Jones network.
A few notes:- “Shame on the Globe for not mentioning that Carr is a herald columnist. They’re withholding the full truth from their readers. How silly. 8:29 PM “Actually what caught my attention on the first couple of articles on the Herald site is that none of those couple of initial report mention that he was indeed a columnist for the paper breaking the news about him. I would start there if you wanted to fault someone. It is easy to assume that most will obviously know Howie has been linked to the Herald for so long, but I still expected a boring but necessary reminder. It wasn’t there. Lay off the Globe on this one. No shifting blames and discussions on this one.- raj: I am not sure how big of a slice of people that only listens to/thinks greatly on ONLY Ed Shultz and Miller. That must be a tiny tiny sliver of people. Both are good people and very capable hosts, but don’t cut the mustard well-enough.I especially like Stephanie who seems like a really nice person, a very smart one, passionate one but her shtick needs a lot of honest tweaking to make it more..shall we say…gracious and national. As of now, she would only appeal to a certain profile, which is a shame.- As for Brudnoy this argument will continue indefinitely. His popularity is a product of media ellitist circles chumminess. He never rose to be a national host or widely syndicated one. Without BZ’s strong signal (again) he would have never been heard by anyone outside this state, apart from an occasional op-ed. Can someone explain how come he was never “shown the love” outside of local confines?Out of respect for a dead person’s memory, I’ll limit my criticism minimally to some mild but necessary one to explain why this exageration is so out of step with reality. You didn’t like his shtick/weren’t approved by him unless you were a certain ethnic profile. At least demaguoges like Rush and O’Reilly are pretty explicit about whom they target and favor. David made it seem like he was this wonderful intellectual but his positions were intellectually dishonest. He sounded very snooty and that doesn’t sit well with a large part of listeners.He made it a signature hobby to trash religion but on his death bed, he confesses that he prayed in “many” religions.” Huh?He was this great honest intellectual, but hid his lifestyle for a long time, most importantly from a conservative following he spent years pandering to. Someone tell me how wonderful that is and how commendable. And we are not talking 60’s and 70’s but 80’s and 90’s and early 2000’s, so it wasn’t a mortal sin anymore to be ‘out’ and public. Why didn’t he?And why was he canceled by BZ in 1990? I truly don’t know. SOmeone inform me, but that doesn’t infer greatness, does it? Was it that his bosses were bothered by his hypocrisy between what he preaches and his lying about his lifestyle? The issue here is not the lifestyle, but his lying about it. If he were that passionate and outspoken, why wasn’t he as fearless on being open with the world? Only a circle of Boston Patrician ellitist media-types elevate him as high. When you hear regular people reminisce about old hosts, you can hear they have alot of warmth for Jerry Williams but you don’t hear that coming as often about David. He was a conflicted man and not a unanymous first choice. He had it in him to be great, but he was playing fast and loose with too many things to be called great.May he rest in Peace.- Brian Baloney: Does it get more cynical than that phoney and the the two delusinonal nuts with him? First they put up an ad among the Howie postings to remind people to click back and not ignore them like they do the rest of the time. It looks like only Julie and Jason are regular visitors to SaveWRKO. Then there is this gem of hypocrisy: Mr Brian argues that it is ok to have an uncomfortable situation where Howie crosses so many old adversaries in TKK hallways since ‘you know’, it is a business and management should do whatever to prop up ratings. ‘It is a business, you know.’But it ISN’T ok to have Finneran alongside Howie, because in that case…what? it isn’t about money, ratings and bottomline? Or do we only play the ‘Business Guru’ card when it is people we like and decisions we approve of? THAT is why Brian is a failed host and desperate webmaster. He isn’t honest with himself, let alone…. Oh, and being one of Rush’s stack among other stacks is because 70% of the posts are these pandering fluff pieces about Rush and his ‘greatness.’ Not his intellectual or investigative merits. Equalizer barely budged in ratings according to Alexa, despite the fury of posts.Surprisingly, neither did the Herald’s click count unfortunately.- Can we officially call WRKO as the ‘toothless station’ now if the the only two stable host are two out-of-step 80 year-olds? Out of repsect for their seniority, we won’t go into their shtick today, so is it fitting then?N.
In Howie’s statement, he says the WRKO deal makes him “an indentured servant.”Can you imagine Carr’s reaction if an athlete or a Beacon Hill big $$ contractor used that expresion?
EB3 said:>>Can he blast illegal immigrants all morning? I don’t think so.<<Why not? He’s been doing it for years in the afternoon. (And sucessfully.) Whats to stop him from doing so in the morning?I don’t get your point.>>Finneran could add some comedy he will kill Howie. <<Finneran has not proven himself in any measured way as even a moderately sucessful talk-show host.Simply “adding comedy” won’t make him suddenly sucessful.>>Even Frank Sinatra’s biggest fan would get tired of watching him sing “My Way” all day everyday.<<Sinatra sang “My Way” at every concert until his passing. And thats what his audience wanted to hear.EB3, I think your reasoning is getting clouded by your personal tastes and dislikes….
Guy in BizEB3 here”Can he blast illegal immigrants all morning? I don’t think so.”<<You say:”Why not? He’s been doing it for years in the afternoon. (And sucessfully.) Whats to stop him from doing so in the morning?”My responseMorning radio is different than afternoon. Howie gets big boost from old people listening in afternoon. They doin’t listen in the morning. They’re asleep. More competition in morning. Esp. among females. They like Matty in the Morning or Loren and Wally or have other fav. shows that are more talk than music but not on in afternoon. Also more people listen to WBZ for news and weather in the morning than they do on the drive home. Basically in the afternoon you have news radio, sports radio, Howie, or music. Sort of like before there was cable TV we had 4,5, 7, 38 and 56. Howies Candlepins for Cash. (you should know this, your in the biz)————————–“Finneran has not proven himself in any measured way as even a moderately sucessful talk-show host.”I like him. I wish I could buy stock in his show. I would be buying low. Too early for any real ratings return. You need a good 12 months to really catch and we only have ratings for first quarter for which lower ratings could reasonably be expected. (you should know this, you’re in the biz)—————————“Simply “adding comedy” won’t make him suddenly sucessful.”True. It has to be good comedy. You should know this, you’re in the biz)—————————“Sinatra sang “My Way” at every concert until his passing. And thats what his audience wanted to hear.”Not my point. Try sitting in front of Sinatra every day for four hours listening to him sing the same song. That’s Howie. Yet he’s more Jerry Vale than Sinatra(You should know this. You’re in the biz)—————————“EB3, I think your reasoning is getting clouded by your personal tastes and dislikes…. “No. I think people in the media like you, who have been kicking the crap out of Finneran for years, and are insulted that he was handed this gig that is so coveted by so many are being clouded by your likes and dislikes. HaHaHaHa if Finneran kicks ass in ratings. (Which I believe he will once Jason Wolfe fine turns the show)He has no training behind a mike. (Like that is important) And what is worse he actually knows what he is talking about and backs it up with facts. he also is respectful of callers, but demands facts. My God, you are right. He does not belong in the media biz. He has standards. (you should know this, you’re in the biz)
EB3 said: >>Morning radio is different than afternoon. Howie gets big boost from old people listening in afternoon. They doin’t listen in the morning. They’re asleep<<#1.) I’m not sure where you get this fact…but it’s just not true. Plenty of older people are up in the morning. If you have a reference, please cite your source.#2.)Howie’s audience in the afternoon is relatively young. As a matter of fact, it is the youngest audience WRKO has all day. Check the 25-54 ratings and Howie does just fine. >>I like him. I wish I could buy stock in his show.<<Like I said, your personal bias’ are showing. >>Too early for any real ratings return. You need a good 12 months to really catch<<Not true. Quite often the best showing for a new product is right out of the gate. >>True. It has to be good comedy.<<God OR bad…Comedy is not what people would expect from a Finneran in the morning. >>Try sitting in front of Sinatra every day for four hours listening to him sing the same song.<<While “immigrant issues” are one of Howies hot topics…he doesn’t do it for “every day for four hours”. He has lots of other trivial topics. >>No. I think people in the media like you, who have been kicking the crap out of Finneran for years<<I have nothing against Finneran. Good *OR* bad… I could care less that he got this gig.The fact is that he has not proven himself. Considering the show he replaced was at an all-time low…he had nowhere to go but up! (But hasn’t!)Considering the amount of free publicity he had going in….you think there’d be SOME interest in his show. (But there isn’t!)>>(you should know this, you’re in the biz)<<Thanks for allowing me to straighten you out! 😉
guy in biz,EB3 here.1. plenty of older people are up in the morning is not an argument. your in the biz, check out stats for ‘elderly” not older people. howie has many many 65+ listeners and most aren’t listening to radio between 6 AM AND 9 AM. 2. Did you read what I wrote? these same you say are younger people who listen to howie in the afternoon listen because there are few choices. Afternoon drive time is very limited in choices. Morning has many choices.then you make this crazy statement that i am bias because i said i like his show and would buy stock if i could. My god man, i don’t follow your logic. Did you go to any other school besides c t. school of broadcasting? My opinion is the show is good and will catch on. Your opinion is the show stinks and will fail. therefore, according to you Socrates, i am bias and you are not. hmmmmmmhowie does not just talk about immigrants. he mixes in bulgers and taxes. But he is shallow and appeals to morons. He is good on his institutional memory and boston stuff. but because he has been syndicated he doesn’t talk much about that. just immigration and other ultra-conservative talking points of the day.you may not care less about finneran getting the gig but an unbias observer, like you, would agree that the localtalk radio media has knocked the idea of giving him a show more than have applauded. And i take it as jealousy as they all pray for him to failnow guy in biz, you, like some in the media are apt to do, read into my comments what you wanted.and therefore misinterpret them. you make no mention of the differences in competition and listerner wants of morning v. afternoon radio.and you assert i am bias because i have an opinion opposite of yours.Howie in the afternoon because no matty in the morning, no oppie and anthony, no loren and wally, no need for wbz news for many, most chicks don’t listen to sports radio. choices are very limited in afternoon. please respond to that
Not “in the biz”, but I do have a few off-the-cuff reactions from a transplant who’s been listening to talk radio here since 2003 …1. On Brudnoy: I came to Brudnoy in 2004, very late in his last stint at WBZ, with no knowledge of how he was before. I’m no elitist and no golden-ager, but my impression of Brudnoy is that he was one of the few talk hosts I’ve ever heard who genuinely seemed to be LISTENING to his callers and LEARNING from them. He gave the impression of someone who was not a know-it-all. I would say in the last five years of listening to talk radio here, he’s the best I’ve heard.2. Carr — and I listen to him as often as possible — works better in the afternoon than the morning. I agree that it’s a mistake to move him away from his audience, but what was WTKK going to do, oust Severin? (I wouldn’t mind, but he might!) I don’t think Carr would take noon-3. Nobody’s listening. A compromise might be to break up the drivetime into two slots — say, Howie 2-6, Jay 6-9, or vice versa. But Howie’s shtick is building a community and b*tching about the news after a half-day’s reflection. I don’t think it’ll work as well with half-asleep morning commuters. Nor do I think the middle-aged news consumer wants to hear Angry Howie on the kitchen radio while frying eggs. But hey, I’d like to see him try.3. The question nobody’s answering is: what does this do to the affiliates? In Worcester County, is WRCN going to keep simulcasting Howie, in his new time slot? What will that do to Peter Blute, who actually has a decent handle on the drivetime? I wouldn’t mind Peter in the afternoon; I also wouldn’t mind seeing Jordan Levy follow Hank Stoltz to the 50,000-watt signal (and thereby kill WTAG even more than WTKK is killing WRKO). What I’d really like to see is something local in the early afternoon. I’m sick of flipping back and forth between Ingrahm and Limbaugh. And don’t talk to me about Egan and Braude.4. I’d like to see WRKO go liberal, as one poster already said, just to see if it would work. I’m a conservative, but if someone can do a show as entertaining as Carr’s from the left, I’ll listen.5. Finneran is toast. He is too wordy and too wishy-washy — he talks like a politician (go figure). If they could pair him up with a real firecracker co-host, witty, well-read and pugnacious, he might have a chance. I love the idea of WRKO going lib and giving Finneran a moonbat (‘scuse me — “progressive”) cohost. Even Finneran and Fineburg as a pair would be better than the status quo (it could be 10 lbs. of prolix in a 5-lb. bag, or it could be intellectually engaging — both have the same strong suit and the same drawback, but they could cancel each other out).
“I love the idea of WRKO going lib and giving Finneran a moonbat (‘scuse me — “progressive”) cohost”BUBBLES! Where is SHE these days?(I’m sorry, Ms. CLAPP-rooooddd)
>>check out stats for ‘elderly” not older people. howie has many many 65+ listeners and most aren’t listening to radio between 6 AM AND 9 AM.<<When we are talking 25-54 demos…65+ are not a factor.>>these same you say are younger people who listen to howie in the >>afternoon listen because there are few choices. Afternoon drive time >>is very limited in choices. Morning has many choices.<<And on FM Howie will have access to many more younger demos that weren’t even available to him at RKO.>>Did you go to any other school besides c t. school of broadcasting? <<B.A., Boston University…you?>>My opinion is the show is good and will catch on. Your opinion is the show stinks and will fail.<<My opinion is based on his track record, so far (or lack of one) Your opinion is based on “wishful thinking” and personal bias.>>howie does not just talk about immigrants. he mixes in bulgers and taxes. >>But he is shallow and appeals to morons.<<We are not talking about our personal likes or dislikes about his content…we are talking about his sucesses. Wether or not you or I like him personally doesn’t affect his ability to attract ratings, listeners, advertisers, etc.>>but an unbias observer, like you, would agree that the localtalk radio >>media has knocked the idea of giving him a show<<I too was surprised after 30 days the papers proclaimed his show a failure. However, maybe they knew Finneran and knew he didn’t have what it takes….as is evident now.Maybe they listened and heard that his show and talent lack what it needs to be sucessful.>>you make no mention of the differences in competition and listerner >>wants of morning v. afternoon radio<<Then let’s address that. You are correct that he had less competition in the afternoon…and there are more choices in the morning.I’d say he’s proven his ability to get listeners in the afternoon and has a better than average shot than any other choice that WTKK had for that slot.But WTKK hiring is is two-fold.One, is for a replacement for Imus.Two, is to clear the competition in the afternoon for Jay severin.>>and you assert i am bias because i have an opinion opposite of >>yours.<<No, I assert your bias because they are based on feelings, not track records, trends or fact. Your visceral attitude is evident in your use of the word “morons”…and “(you should know this, your in the biz)”…and “c t. school of broadcasting?”>>Howie in the afternoon because no matty in the morning, no oppie and >>anthony, no loren and wally, <<If Howie can maintain the meager ratings that Imus had….the move would be considered a sucess.If Howie can coninually beat WRKO in the morning, it would be considered sucessful.If Howie keeps WTKK in the top 10 in the demo….it would be considered a sucess.He doesn’t have to beat L&W or Matty, BZ…which are all in the top 5.
Hey biz guy,EB3 here.’And on FM Howie will have access to many more younger demos that weren’t even available to him at RKO.’oh really. hmmm the aaf crowd and bcn crowd are going over to howie? I don’t think so. Like tkk is on a memory button for the 20 somethin crowd. ‘I too was surprised after 30 days the papers proclaimed his show a failure. However, maybe they knew Finneran and knew he didn’t have what it takes….as is evident now.”so the papers initial dismissal of him is better than my initial projections. hmmmand what is evident now/ what has changed? what info do you have? It is still very early and i stand by my projections and you and thethe papers stand by your’s. Yet you say I am bias. We are watching the same rookie and have different scouting reports based on our persoanl observations and experience.those are where my “feelings” come from.I do not deny howie has good ratings for the afternoon. we all know that. i go beyond and analyse.You just say he is good on rko in the afternoon right now so obviously he will be good in morning in future. You are the bettor at the race track who the horse players make their money off of. Other than the first quarter ratings, which i have addressed, what other trends or facts are you looking at regarding finneran.’If Howie can maintain the meager ratings that Imus had….the move would be considered a sucess.’it is my understanding that it will cost tkk more $$$ to have howie than imus. so he needs bigger ratings than imus to cover the differnce. Am i wrong about that biz guy?finallyI can’t believe you found it necessary to tell me you have a bachelors degree from B.U. because of a joke i made. and then you feel compelled and ask about my education. Why? You are obviously thin skinned with an unheaqlthy need to establish your credentials. (guy in biz, b.u. degree)and a self-esteem problem perhaps. Your debarting skills are somewhat obtuse. Of course you know a b.A is what a high school diploma use to be. No graduate degree? i believe many of the top people in radio have graduate degrees like most in other businesses. And b.u. Obviously you are a transplant.
Biz-guy, go sell some time.EB3, take your “debarting skills”(sic) somewhere else for a while. Those of us with lives are weary.
Anon 10:50EB3 Here”Those of us with lives are weary.”Wht would you bother reading me then? Obviously you do not have a life.
>>>’And on FM Howie will have access to many more younger demos that weren’t even available to him at RKO.'<<<>> oh really. hmmm the aaf crowd and bcn crowd are going over to howie? <<Gee did I say that? No I didn’t.However, if you are on AM…you barely have acess to anyone under 45…because to them the AM band is like shortwave. Check out the AM presets of anyone under 35….they are probably not even set.Who said anything about AAF & BCN listeners? Are they the only ones on FM?>>so the papers initial dismissal of him is better than my initial projections.<<Only in that they were proven correct…and we have yet to see your projections take root.>>what is evident now/ what has changed? what info do you have? <<Every month of ratings that have yet to show *any* traction for the Finneran show. (i.,e…they’re lower than the guy they fired previously in that time slot because of his low ratings.)>>You just say he is good on rko in the afternoon right now so obviously he will be good in morning in future.<<No…what I said was with his sucess in the morning…and in the market…he’s pretty well qalified to make a go of it. (I can’t think of another person that could/would be a better bet…than someone who has proven himself in the afternoon…and in the market. Can you?)>>it is my understanding that it will cost tkk more $$$ to have howie than imus. so he needs bigger ratings than imus to cover the differnce. Am i wrong about that biz guy?<<I don’t know the exact cost of the Imus show…..but it was pretty expensive. Remember WEEI dropped them because of the cost. I believe the contract was in the millions. So they are saving the money they paid for the Imus show.Second, with the Imus show, the network took 1/2 of all the spots. With Howie, WTKK gets to sell ALL the spots in morning drive.Third, with the Howie move, they expect an increase in ratings and revenue on Severin’s afternoon-drive slot. With Howie out of the way, look for that to clear the way for increase listenership/revenue for Jay Severin. All this with Howie simply matching the meager numbers that Imus produced. Now if there’s an increase over the Imus numbers…they hit the jackpot. Again, a rising tide lifts all boats…so a sucessful mornming show would benefit the station as a whole in all dayparts.>>I can’t believe you found it necessary to tell me you have a bachelors degree from B.U. because of a joke i made.<<I can’t believe you tried to belittle me with a joke instead of debating facts and ideas. >>You are obviously thin skinned with an unheaqlthy need to establish your credentials.<<No, you asked for them.Also, you must be thinned skinned to name call others when you feel you cannot debate. >>Of course you know a b.A is what a high school diploma use to be<<Again, you decide to derride me instead of staying on topic. Nice touch. >>i believe many of the top people in radio have graduate degrees like most in other businesses. <<Actually many in the Biz have no degree. Larry King is one of them. >>And b.u. Obviously you are a transplant.<<Born in Salem Mass in 1955.