After all that, we’re going to have Howie Carr back in his old time slot on WRKO (AM 680) and a new/old Imus show in the morning on WTKK (96.9 FM)? Apparently so. WRKO is milking Carr’s return for all its worth, running a huge “I’M BAAACCK!” graphic on its Web site this morning.
Prediction: Howie’s numbers will be better than they were before he disappeared from the airwaves, at least for a while. He’ll have an opportunity to show some energy and attract some new listeners — or maybe bring back a few old ones who’d given up on him in recent years. But Imus, who hasn’t had the benefit of all the free publicity Carr received during the past few months, will have to rebuild.
Brian Maloney, who earlier this week was wondering if Carr might move to a talk station in Charlotte, N.C., now says, “Other than a higher salary, Howie doesn’t seem to have won a single battle.” Other than a higher salary? Good grief. We should all be such losers.
And why can’t someone come up with a new idea in this market that actually works?
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zadig
Howie can only benefit by comparison to how bad his replacement has been. I had thought that being worse than Howie Carr was impossible, but Todd Feinburg really blew.I wonder if the afternoon drive will ever get an alternative to the mindless hatred of Carr/Feinburg/Severin?
Steve
So if Romney wins the Republican nomination, will Howie reprise Jerry Williams’s 1988 campaign against the ex-governor (that launched Howie’s career in talk radio)?
AnatInc
Great post on the radio-info board on the Radio equalizer’s greatest hits:http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,85726.0.html
raccoonradio
Apparently not turning one’s country over to illegal immigrants, bowing to al Queda, allowing taxpayers to actually keep some of the money they earn, etc., is hatred. Only in MAwhere it’s verboten in Cambridge to collect supplies for our troops…
Rick in Duxbury
Couple of thoughts:Like hatred, political persuasion of ANY type can be mindless. Dan, yeah, he makes a lot of money but there’s a lot of difference between x dollars a month and 12x annually. As the dollars get bigger, so does the pressure, the risk and the schadenfreude. The grass is always greener….
Tony
Umm, yeah, at $7M over five years, to essentially phone it in, we should all be so lucky.
Steve
Y’know, Raccoon, as I was listening to the call-in on WBZ on Wednesday night, I recalled a poster from the 60s that read:”It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.”We spend over a BILLION DOLLARS A WEEK on this war, yet we have to trust to charity to supply our troops with toothpaste and deodorant. That’s disgusting.Perhaps we’re allowing taxpayers to keep too much of their money to afford this war – instead, we’re charging it to our descendants.Oh and who’s “bowing to al Qaeda”? That’s just nonsense.
Anonymous
Maloney?Cliff’s Notes: Just another disgruntled ex-employee with a web site and a singular disinclination to provide facts when they get in the way of telling his tall tales.
man who's a lydon fan
And why can’t someone come up with a new idea in this market that actually works?If you thought Chris Lydon’s Radio Open Source didn’t work…as many of us, myself included, thought earlier this year…apparently we were mistaken. According to their site, their “hiatus” is over; no word on exactly when and on what frequency…or even if it’ll be a true radio show. One can only hope…
Amusedbutinformedobserver
Did anyone else notice how Howie did some actual reporting for a couple of his recent columns, rather than simply reprise a discussion off his radio program? Of course one instance of the reporting was more acting as a flak for a city council candidate, and the premise of the column was ironically absurd — the candidate whining that someone said bad things about him. Boo-hoo. What’s the over/under on the first column to quote a radio listener? My guess is Sunday.BTW, when he uttered “I’m back” when rejoining WRKO he took a line from … Jerry Williams, who said the precise same thing when he joined WRKO after being away from Boston for several years (“I’m back Kevin. I’m back…’) Personally, I think the greatest ‘return to duty’ line came from George Frazier, rehired by the Globe after a campaign led by Eddie Andelman (whose influence on Boston media is woefully under-appreciated). Wrote Frazier to lead his first column back: It’s been a long time between dances…”
Rick in Duxbury
So saying “I’m back” when you’re, ah, “back”, is trite? I had no idea the standards of Boston were so high. Yeah, I really miss Frazier complaining that only Brooks Brothers cotton dress shirts had sufficient “duende” in the collar. Methinks we’re all taking ourselves a bit too seriously here….
Dan Kennedy
I missed the first hour because we were taping “Beat the Press.” But I caught quite a bit of the second hour and a little more later. I thought Howie sounded really hyper and nervous. Did anyone else have that reaction?
Anonymous
Is there anyone less relevant that Howie Carr?
Rick in Duxbury
DK,you would be nervous and hyper too if you just suffered a near-death experience. I know I would!
Amusedbutinformedobserver
Saying I’m Back when you’re back when you opened the door in order for the guy who said it first to go down the stairs is trite, yes.Look up duende and get back to me. The dictionary is as close as you’ll get.As far as Howie being hyper, he sounded like a high school sophomore on three cans of Red Bull