Local Media Meltdowns Continue
by Brian Maloney, February 12th, 2009 at 01:25am
Though we certainly expected further local media meltdowns this year, so far at least, the venues have changed.
For several weeks, WRKO, Entercom, their criminal element and financial troubles have been out of the news, while turmoil repeatedly hits what ought to be the most stable local outlet, WBZ 1030 and even more unexpectedly, at WHDH-7.
First, I think we can all agree that WHDH’s news operation and station credibility has disintegrated before our our eyes. It’s more than just the high-profile departures of longtime anchor Randy Price and weekender Brandon Rudat (at 29, was he considered over-the-hill?), Seven’s news presentation is a mess.
In today’s Boston Herald, Jessica Heslam details WHDH’s descent into the abyss, as ACTION (!!!) SHOCK (!!!) and EXCITEMENT (!!!) replace any final trace of depth and sincerity.
In the past, when radio or TV outlets sold their souls, one could usually “justify” it by pointing to higher ratings. But WHDH’s approach has been an audience-killer and those inside who’ve complained have been sent packing. So what gives?
What’s largely missing from Boston’s local TV news is compelling content that matters to the viewer. Another issue not often discussed, mostly because it’s been a long time since many of us have taken these guys seriously, is trust: their newscasts are heavily biased toward the ruling class, operating with the assumption that local politicians can be trusted until it is otherwise shown.
But anyone living in Massachusetts should know that the opposite is actually true: citizens should always assume their elected officials are sleazy, crooked liars until they can demonstrate otherwise.
Meanwhile, at WBZ Radio, General Manager Ted Jordan is leaving after 33 years with the company. Given his length of tenure, the official “retirement” explanation seems to fit, but the timing is nonetheless suspicious.
Because problems at parent company CBS have overshadowed local concerns, WBZ’s precarious state of affairs generally aren’t getting the attention they deserve. But a botched series of recent sackings of on-air talent, including WBZ’s overnight host, resulted in a huge public backlash.
But it’s almost certain that Jordan didn’t order those cuts, they were mandated by the corporate office. Where criticism of local management does become fair is in WBZ’s on-air presentation, which is decades behind the times during a cutthroat era for the media.
I don’t believe WBZ has even the slightest clue how to move forward from here. During the day, it continues a boring newswheel increasingly free of meaningful content. While commuters use it for traffic and weather updates, it’s good for little else. If WBZ still had a reasonably-staffed newsroom, the format might work, but right now, CBS wants to have its cake and eat it too.
Beyond that, WBZ has responded to the increasing popularity of talk radio by fighting it tooth and nail. Despite a respected legacy in the medium, thanks to the late David Brudnoy and others, station management has actually reduced its evening lineup in recent years. With the newsroom now virtually unstaffed during these hours, this makes less sense than ever.
What little talk programming it still provides is kept intentionally milquetoast, with the exception of whatever might slip through the cracks at 3am. The number of stations still clinging to this dinosaur format can be counted on one hand nationwide and nearly all are owned by CBS.
Frankly, the best thing that could happen to WBZ Radio now is to break free from CBS network ownership, leave the building entirely and no longer exist in the shadow of the equally-curmudgeonly WBZ-4.
It desperately needs a survival plan, one that would require the addition of more talk programming and a restoration of at least some newsroom cuts. Otherwise, its largely elderly audience will eventually slip away, leaving WBZ with nothing.
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25 Comments Add your own
1. raccoonradio | February 12th, 2009 at 2:49 am
Herald also reports that Reese Hopkins (still at Riker’s Island after 3 months) has fired his legal aid attorney and will be assigned new counsel. He can’t afford bail and gets paid $10/wk to sweep and mop. I think a “father’s rights” specialist
is trying to help him out
2. Circlet Soft | February 12th, 2009 at 7:18 am
Oh, it’s within a “father’s right” to (allegedly) rape a young friend of your daughter???!!!
Reese sickens me. He reminds me of a quote (Thoreau? Johnson? I forget):
“The more he proclaimed his honor, the faster we counted the spoons.”
The guy seems a sleaze.
3. Larry | February 12th, 2009 at 9:19 am
There are two problems with BZ programming. The Bruins, despite their success on the ice, break up the development of a loyal audience in the 8 pm slot. The other problem is the news delivery during the day that uses too many teasers for weak stories. The stories themselves are so thin that they are little more than headlines. It is “content” that will keep listeners from changing the dial.
4. James Huberty | February 12th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Glenn Sachs…a very creepy guy is supposedly in Reeese’s corner. Entercom should be proud of hiring such a zero.
5. WRKO Staffer | February 12th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Entercom is letting Finneran’s show just rot on the vine. Today, they were discussing the on campus statues and crucifixes that some Boston College professors have taken issue with. Tommy was hamming his Catholic devotion up (much in the same way he hams it up over Raaaygun) and then was about to sing the Boston College fight song (For Boston, for Boston…), at the very point he was going to break out into song, a commercial break came out of nowhere. Do Tommy and Todd even know when the commercials are coming in? They seem to take them by suprise. Also, now they have to shill for infomercials on their show (not to mention the show has been cut). I think Entercom are just trying to force Tommy to leave in frustration because it is clear to me that Entercom are picking away at his show via more commericals, commericals that come out of nowhere, informercials, cutting of hours, etc.
6. Pat Lucci | February 12th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Staffer,
The Felon will never leave on his own.. He has absolutely no sense of professionalism and no shame or pride. He looks in the mirror and laughs at the fact that as a person and as a host he sucks out loud and is handsomely paid for sucking.
From his perspeective, the joke is on Entercom, and it is.
7. WRKO Staffer | February 12th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Speaking of “absolutely no sense of professionalism”, how about that Margery Eagan?
8. Pat Lucci | February 12th, 2009 at 10:34 am
You mean Giggles?? That is all she does.
Are she and Jim a couple?
9. WRKO Staffer | February 12th, 2009 at 10:37 am
They may have been. She called him “pizza ass” on the air yesterday (see my lack of professionalism post). She also seems to do a lot of sexual inuendo in regards to Jim. Yesterday, she made reference to his “big, fat…”, then she stopped and giggled. I guess the joke’s on me because I was listening to her trainwreck approach to radio.
10. Pat Lucci | February 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am
The interesting thing about her is tthat as bad as she is on radio, her columns are worse.
If you want to see her Skelitor impression, go to TKK’s site and look at the pictures of her at the party they just sponsored.
Were you ar RKO when I was there?
11. Circlet Soft | February 12th, 2009 at 11:14 am
I am not now, nor have I ever been, an Entercom employee… I must be in the minority here.
12. ChrisNH | February 12th, 2009 at 11:56 am
WBZ-AM should be forced to add a fourth letter to its ID (like, maybe, WBZS) and shave 45,000 watts from its signal. It’s behaving like a two-bit station and the best way to defend against that is to make sure people in only one state–NOT 38–can hear it.
13. WRKO Staffer | February 12th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Pat, I came to WRKO back in 2003.
14. Pat Lucci | February 12th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Staffer,
I was there from 2001 and left in 2003.
I left because a part time gig was not worth it if you had to put up with Elder and Carbury.
15. piratetoby | February 12th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Ok, if J & M were sleeping together that would explain what happened to the show. They were very good and quite funny a few years ago. No matter how much people think they can sleep together and their professional relationship won’t be affected, it never happens.
Margery appears to have lost her brain. Unable to speak about any issue, she’s reduced to sophomoric jabs at Jim, fishing for compliments, sexual innuendo, inane blathering about body parts and seems relieved/excited when they (her) have a provocative (i.e. sexual) topic scheduled.
She is becoming so annoying. At times she’s almost impossible listen to. A woman in heat, constantly giggling, she sounds like an idiot. She’s gone soft in the brain.
16. WRKO Staffer | February 12th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Yeah piratetoby, I tend to agree. It seems as if Margery had a relationship with Jim, it ended and now she is playing out all her insecurities, desires, pent up frustration, etc. on the air. Jim attempts to keep it professional but Margery is a lost cause at this point. BTW, on the whole, they really don’t give a crap about the positions they take. It is the classic talk radio technique of point counterpoint. Margery is kind of a joke in the biz. It is also well known that she is very insecure about her own ability to hold on to her talk radio gig.
17. James Huberty | February 12th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Margery is so bad, it makes one long for the days of “The Radio Factor”…
Well…I got carried away there,but my point is, she’s an absolute joke. The ditziest airhead on radio.
18. piratetoby | February 12th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Staffer,
See, this is what happens when the “honeymoon” is over and two people have to retain their professional relationship.
Now Margery is well paid. She should spend some of her compensation on a therapist and talk about her insecurities there. Not on the air. She talks about spending $$ on cosmetic procedures, as if keeping a youthful appearance is going to fix her.
I understand the classic technique of point/counterpoint. However regardless of whether they actually give a crap about their positions or not, for that technique to work, one must make a legitimate point. Margery seems less interested in making a point than she is about getting a dig at Jim.
Funny, the current caller just compared them to “60 Minutes Point/Counterpoint”. Margery took delight in calling herself “Jane the ignorant slut”.
19. piratetoby | February 12th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Hub,
“The ditziest airhead on radio.”
I agree, but she wasn’t always such a ditz, was she?
There was a time when I found her and Jim very funny. She was not always the ditz she’s evolved into.
It’s too bad because it’s tough to turn a ditzy persona around.
That must be difficult for Jim. He can’t be happy with sharing a show with a ditz. You can only joke about it so much, and it starts to get tired and old.
20. James Huberty | February 12th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I was never a fan of her,print or radio,but she has really devolved in the past 2 years or so. Could be “change of life” related. One shouldn’t become more puerile in middle-age.
But even when she was “with it”, I still saw her as a total lightweight. To hear such a truly mediocre “talent” then talk about glass ceilings…I mean,the LAST person to talk about “glass ceilings” is her…AND Emily Rooney.
21. piratetoby | February 13th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I was just listening to Graham’s show (barf) but was delighted to hear Mel Robbins.
Mel sounds like a natural for talk radio. She is well spoken, seems to have a brain, sounds informed AND she’s young and great-looking.
It may be time to de-claw Margery.
22. James Huberty | February 13th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
First thing I thought of when saw a picture of this Robbins chick was “how long before Margery gets the boot”
Ditch the aged Rosacea-faced beldame and replace her with new blood.
23. piratetoby | February 13th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
And what makes Mel REALLY attractive is she CAN THINK AND SPEAK AT THE SAME TIME. No giggles.
Should we take a collection to buy Margery a few sessions with a good therapist? It must be a nightmare to see Mel around the studio.
24. piratetoby | February 13th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
This just occurred to me…..if (when) J & M start broadcasting w/a video cam, how will Margery function? Having to worry about her appearance during the show will only add to her stress/insecurities.
25. piratetoby | February 13th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Funeral director! Ms. Eagan! At least she’s thinking about another career.
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