For weeks now, if you visit the Web site of WTKK Radio (96.9 FM) you’ll find this:
WTKK and Greater Media value an open and vigorous dialogue, but we also adhere to basic principles of civility, common decency and respect for all cultures. We believe Jay’s suspension is the best way to uphold both of these corporate policies. WTKK Management met with Jay Severin and his agent today. He will remain on suspension until further notice.
Like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day,” every day for Severin is the same day: he gets up, realizes he’s been suspended and sits down for a meeting with management and his agent.
You really get the feeling that station officials are in no hurry to resolve this. And Joe Kahn’s story in the Boston Globe on Monday (I was among those quoted) did nothing to dispel that notion.
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Dan – I love that you also noticed this and blogged about it. Why can’t a high profile / big budget station like WTKK keep their website up to date? It makes them look like they are asleep at the wheel.
They can’t update it. They’re in meetings 24/7 with Severin, apparently.
“Better watch that first step Jay, It’s a Doozie”
‘m not surprised that WTKK is in now rush to have Severin back. The guy who is filling Serverin’s time slot, Michael Smerconish from Philadelphia, is everything that Severin is not: respectful to guests and the audience members alike, funny, informative, and interactive. He is on top of the day’s news and Zeitgeist — from the serious to the quirky — and conducts terrific interviews with newsmakers. He also doesn’t wear his politics on his sleeve. After several weeks of listening to his show I’m still not sure what his political views are, which indicates levels of independent thinking and a discipline that Severin lacks.
‘TKK will bring Severin back if and when it makes financial sense. If Smerconish’s show proves to be relatively profitable — and keep in mind TKK is paying only a pittance in syndication fees compared to Severin’s reported million-dollar-a-year salary — then Jay would be well advised to quickly Google directions to the Hurley Building downtown, where he can file for unemployment.
I’ll say it again , I think Greater Media as a privately held company with little history of shock jocks is genuinely uncomfortable with Severin and they may have toyed with pushing the envelope, but decided that’s not the business they are in.I am genuinely cynical about broadcasters and their greed, but this company in this circumstance I think stands for more than how to leverage “community concerns” into congtract negotiations. Just look at Greater Media’s history and compare it to what Severin became after he desperately needed to ramp up the attacks on his traditional topics after the election.Nope, cynical as I am I think the company is retreating from Severan’s act because its not what they do. remmeber, one of the principals of the company now lives on the Cape (that’s Cape Cod for we north shorers who think the Cape is Ann) and may well have decided he doesn’t want that on his air — if it was about the money, this group would have sold out years ago.
Have to agree with what Tim said. Smerconish, while not perfect, is everything Severin sometimes pretended to be, when he wasn’t being misogynistic, racist, or knee-jerk violent. And the totals exceed 100% due to rounding, mmmkay?Anyway, Smerconish makes the afternoon drive more interesting. Howie Carr is, well, an idiot who panders to idiots, and so far, 1510 AM has put me to sleep, mornings and afternoons. If they bring back Severin I’ll just have to listen to music or something.