26 Comments Add your own

• 1. Celtic Frost  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 7:35 am

  Don’t you worry, Brian: Jay Severin is getting set to lift WTKKK up from the bowels of banality. Their ratings will soar. Ad revenues will skyrocket.

  And how will he do all this? By finally owning up to being a progressive in good standing (the Emily Rooney snit fit notwithstanding). Well, that and by working a full 5 days a week and not leaving his shift early and not mailing it in anymore. This will be huge.

• 2. the real Barbara  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 8:09 am

  Let’s see, we’ve got inexperienced columnists on one station, convicted felons on the other. Then we’ve got conservatives being fired, others being harassed for no reason other than they speak the truth, the way we WANT to hear it, oh yeah, and let’s introduce the fairness doctrine just for good measure. What happened to these United States? What happened to freedom of speech? What happened to intelligent, well programmed, well managed radio stations? Maybe Santa can brings us a few?

• 3. Pat Lucci  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 9:42 am

  Barbara,

  I worked at Greater Media and Entercom. They are both examples of the axiom first spoken by Al McQuire, legendary college basketball coach at Marquette, “It is unfortunate, but the world is run by C students.”

• 4. NHradiofan  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 10:40 am

  I’m looking for a real news story from the world of radio management. One that begins with the headline…

  Radio Ownership Group Fires Entire Management Staff Over Lack of Programming Skills, Promises to “Give Quality Radio Back To Listeners”

  Now THAT would be news to me!

  Brian, could we look for a story like that? Do they even exist?

• 5. the real Barbara  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 11:04 am

  Pat, a C student running anything these days would be a great improvement over what we have now, anywhere, any industry, it astounds me the lack of knowledge people have these days about the business they are in, any business, and customer service is non-existent.

  I do recovery work for BIG name companies and it amazes me how stupid people are today. I call clients for these companies and ask for accounts receivable and every single time I get accounts payable. People don’t return phone calls, they don’t give correct information, they’re rude and they don’t care. So if I was dealing with “C” students it would be a HUGE improvement over what I’m dealing with now and I’m sure a “C” student would do a hell of a better job at programming and even managing a radio station than what we are seeing now!

  So I ask again, what has happened to these United States? What happened to pride in one’s self, one’s work, what about ethics, morals, scrupples, courtesy, a goal to produce the best you can each and every day?

• 6. Pat Lucci  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 11:42 am

  Barbara,

  Before I took my current position, I worked for a couple of Venture Capital groups as a troubleshooter. They would put me into troubled investments and I would advise on how to fix them if possible. More often than not, they would put good money after bad to try to save an investment that they should not have made in the first place.

  The other classic error was to continually hire recent MBA’s to make investment decisions and to sit on boards of start-ups. Well educated types who are used to hearing how smart they are, but with no experience so no understanding of how things work.

  This view of the world spills into journalism as well. When I wrote for CNET, a journalist 15 years my junior exclaimed that it must have been difficult for me to cover computer technology in the 70s and 80s because I had to learn the technology by myself and on the fly. He said his generation was so much more computer literate because his generation was born with a mouse in its hand. I simply laughed and explained that my generation invented that very mouse.

  I think you get the picture.

• 7. WRKO Staffer  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 12:37 pm

  I’m going to let you all in on a secret about Jay Severin, Michelle McPhee, Jim and Margery, Howie etc., their sole job on radio is to have you purchase mattresses, be sedated while having your teeth clean and call up 1-800 GIANT. How they do it is to get you (Joe and Jane Public) continually riled up over “outrages of the week”, public sector “hacks”, Rev. Wright, moms who breastfeed in public, etc., etc. It is as simple as that. So long as you are “outraged”, you may also be a candidate for sedation dentistry. McPhee has dumbed this down to its bare essence in having a show that is nothing but “outrages” (all delivered with as much nuance as a frying pan over the head). Anyway, you may already know how all this works but it never hurts to have a “checkup”. Anyway….get outraged!!! Still, don’t forget to buy some matresses while your at it.

• 8. Skunky  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 1:40 pm

  I think you’re right, WRKO Staffer and that is why people who are Talk Radio fans ought to use the internet AND satellite radio and truely find the GREAT talk radio shows. They are out there in abundance for conservatives (sorry, Liiiiiiberals…your shows and idealogy are about as exciting as a bread sandwich!).

  Vay Cay Jay has been on, well what the hell do you know, permanent VACATION since the election (along with his slide to the left since then as well…he’s as credible as a pathological liar or Bill Clinton…take your pick!) and the others listed are just not good radio! I’m listing the shows I really love and if you wanna learn something, check ‘em out…

  Quinn & Rose
  Dennis Prager
  Michael Graham
  Glenn Beck
  Michael Medved
  Hugh Hewitt
  Rusty Humphries
  Rush Limbaugh (since the election!)
  Laura Ingraham
  Monica Crowley
  John Gibson…his radio show is soooo funny!

  Those are the heavy hitters. Sean Hannity Tammy Bruce and Mike Gallagher are ok…I really love Gallagher’s show even though he’s not as deep as the above. Rollye James is good for the obscure R&B music…but I’m not a Libertarian and think conspiracy theories are for loser.

  We all know McPhee is a raging joke, but she makes that dope Margery Eagen look like a Rhodes Scholar. Great radio is out there…don’t be lazy and keep it in Boston.

• 9. mojoe  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 1:43 pm

  WRKO Staffer,

  I noticed you left the last “S” off for savings!

  “Still, don’t forget to buy some matresses while your at it.”

• 10. mojoe  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 1:46 pm

  Oops, or a “T” for … I got nothing.

• 11. bjd  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 1:59 pm

  staffer,
  This is why radio / journalism is dying. This is A reason for this blog.

  It USED to be that the media would watch and expose government. Outrage was a by product of that, and “change” happened because it needed to.

  When the media gives passes, we end up with things like obamessiah in office, government run heatlh care, devil patrick, and public schools like we have today. (I could list many more, but you get the point.) What’s sorely needed is a media outlet that will expose corruption, and point out those responsible for it. There are times that RKO does that, case in point the “playtex bank bandit”. The problem with that is the morning jack-ass is telling the audience there is nothing wrong with her doing that. Howie had fun with it, caused some outrage, but it was correctly placed outrage. The problem lies soley with those that hiring the dolt in the morning. THEY are the ones responsible for twisting the media to give passes.

  Apparently they have failed miserably in doing this. How many people do you figure purchased a mattress as a result of the morning moron? How many people listen to him? Want to know why ETM is little more than a penny stock?

  Go back to “old school” journalism and watch what happens. This is certainly a target rich environment. Everybody will have a white teeth and new windshield, wether the old windshield was broke or not.

• 12. WRKO Staffer  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 2:02 pm

  Skunky….a lot of that “great radio” listed is really corporate paint-by-numbers syndication stuff. I mean, it may have appeal to you ideologically so if that is the case then I suppose it speaks to you on that level. Still, Ingraham and Rush are about as innovative to radio as Dockers are to fashion. In other words, it is safe, corporate conservative radio.. Certainly Rush will go down as important and innovative to the medium of talk radio (maybe one of the most important since Father Charles Coughlin) but at this point he is in cruise control and his audience is the aging set who need to purchase Gold Bond and commemorative coins. Locally, it is almost too painful to go into. Jay is in panic mode because I think he knows his whole “persona” is gonna soon crash (if you know what I mean). Eagan and Braude are openly at war on the air now (it is not the cute back and forth of old but real anger most likely born from lowering ratings). McPhee represents the quinnesential novice who seems to now think she is doing great radio (sorry Michelle, cutting off callers and talking over people makes you sound like a joke). Ah…I could go on but you know the drill.

• 13. WRKO Staffer  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 2:10 pm

  bjd….the thing is, the “outrages” I speak of are merely tools of the trade. I indicate that McPhee is such a novice because she has based her entire damn show on “outrages” thus exposing just how crass and low level thinking she is when it comes to radio. Everyone knows that the easiest way to “light up the lines” is to pose some highly charged issue about corrupt unions and meter maids who take a few coins home as their own. DePetro tried this stuff when he was at WRKO. Like McPhee, he is a botom feeder of radio. Think back to a time (way back) when you had Norm Nathan actually base his show on whimsical stuff such as old jazz greats, Scollay Square vaudville acts, local issues, etc. It was all fair game. He was a pro you see. Believe it or not, Howie is in this tradition, although, he often doesn’t reveal it because he falls into the cheap outrage and even worse Vet Pet nonsense (anyway, I digress).

• 14. Skunky  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 2:13 pm

  No, Staffer, the radio I listed is the REAL DEAL. Of course YOU would disagree…you are a Liberal and Obama supporter so that means YOU just want to FEEL as if you’re doing/believing the right thing in lieu of being pragmatic and accepting the TRUTH…ugly or not. You don’t like the ideology of the shows I listed…so you’re not going to think they are super great.

  I know…I USED to be a liberal. I was on that side and I see that I didn’t know ANYTHING then. Now, as a conservative, I can look at the truth and think instead of feeling. It’s NOT about feeling what is right, it’s about accepting the truth of the matter.

  ONE WILL LEARN if you listen to “Quinn & Rose”, “Dennis Prager”, “Michael Medved” and yes, even Rush Limbaugh…since the election, his show has been a fountain of information that EVERYONE should know. His transcripts are on his website. I NEVER really listened to Rush that much…he was not my kinda radio…but he has been the BEST since the election and as someone who didn’t like his show before, I think it shows I have credibility. These shows are like and education.

  To steal a Vay Cay Jay-ism…just listen to any of the shows I listed and compare them to the Boston pap and you’ll see the difference between a chicken salad sandwich and a chicken sh** sandwich!

• 15. Celtic Frost  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 2:15 pm

  Howie is a big, fat loser.

• 16. JSYK  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 2:19 pm

  Celtic Fraud,

  NO ONE is a bigger, FATTER looooosah than you!

  Did you get your SSI check today? LOL.

• 17. WRKO Staffer  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm

  Skunky…if you are conviced with what is true and what is not then so be it. Just don’t tell me you like Dennis and Callahan.

• 18. Skunky  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 2:34 pm

  Staffer, truth can be pondered, measured and put to the test. Only those who are misinformed (or like to be misinformed) and can’t think for themselves can’t figure out what is more likely or not.

  Of course I don’t like D & C! The only local host worth listening to is Michael Graham and I even turned him off this AM (and put on Laura Ingraham) because local stuff just makes me sick these days. There is no hope here when dummies vote for whoever has the D at the end of their name and they are woefully misinformed.

• 19. bjd  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 2:50 pm

  julie (staffer),
  I guess with ratings as low as they are over there you have time to play here.

  Outrage may be a tool of the trade, but it is also a reaction to fraud and corruption. I don’t listen to mcphee, don’t care about jay, or D & C. I enjoyed Jerry Williams, and DePetro was right to stir outrage when the tunnel collapsed. Like I said this is a target rich environment. You literally can’t do a show where you do not call out somebody padding their bra, decorating their office, STEALING from the tax payers, or exposing the state of the schools. I challenge you, in this area, to come up with a topic that will NOT spark outrage.

  Clean up corruption, waste, fraud, and rid the airwaves of those that condone and accept these things as normal, and radio will change. Changing the topics the hosts are allowed to cover or the hosts for that matter is only going to put ratings through the floor.

  Station somebody at the state house, corner the reps and devil patrick, and force them to be accountable for their actions. Do it live on the air. (You could find the money for this by showing morning moron the door.) Don’t give them a puff piece where you can call in and tell devil just how wonderful of a job he’s doing on the air.

  Become part of the public, not a media outlet for those stealing from the public. THAT makes great radio. Basically what I am suggesting is, DO YOUR DAMN JOB!

  Everybody wins when that happens. We get honest government, radio stations ratings go through the roof, and we’ll all have white teeth, new windshields, and sleep better.

• 20. WRKO Staffer  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 2:59 pm

  You’re all going to get ulcers. Sing it, 1-800-54-GIANT.

• 21. Celtic Frost  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 3:57 pm

  JSYK, I have never hidden the fact that I am a short, balding, stocky, Jewish queer. But thanks for reminding everyone! See you ’round the hood, cuz.

• 22. Cap'n Spackle  |  December 3rd, 2008 at 5:28 pm

  When the media gives passes, we end up with things like obamessiah in office

  They were doing a hell of a lot more than giving Øbama a pass, I’m afraid.

• 23. Massgopguy  |  December 4th, 2008 at 9:20 am

  Howie stole Cooksey’s Raymond Chandler book.

• 24. LadyTalks  |  December 4th, 2008 at 5:52 pm

  Does anyone know why Jay’s show repeats content during about the 5 0′Clock hour? I was just listening and I am hearing the same conversation he had earlier with a woman caller on the subject of food stamps.

  I thought the repetition was just a Friday thing, but here it is Thursday, and I have never experienced this before with talk radio.

• 25. LadyTalks  |  December 4th, 2008 at 6:01 pm

  “Vay Cay Jay has been on, well what the hell do you know, permanent VACATION since the election (along with his slide to the left since then as well…he’s as credible as a pathological liar or Bill Clinton…take your pick!)”–Skunky

  That’s funny. lol…at least he has stopped with the incessant name calling. He has changed A LOT. Seems like he is moving more away from the “shock” jockish persona. He doesn’t say things like “effing” any more, and he has stopped calling Obama racist and a terrorist. He no longer refers to Hillary as a pig. Has he just matured? What gives?

• 26. raccoonradio  |  December 8th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

  WTKK has parted ways with Phil Redo</a

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