Granted, it's not easy to find substitutes for a host who seems to be away for half of the year or more, but why does WTKK seem to consistently struggle on this front?
According to Radio-Info, WTKK has been using Curtis Sliwa of WABC in New York as a sub for Vay Cay Jay. Fine enough, he's certainly qualified, but take a look at this:
Curtis Sliwa of Guardian Angel fame is putting in a lot of hours this week, notes radio-info's Tom Taylor:
"Curtis Sliwa may be the hardest-working man in talk radio this week: the New York Daily News says the WABC personality is hosting his usual 5-6am and 10am-noon shifts there, plus vacation fill-ins for both KABC, Los Angeles and for Jay Severin at Boston’s WTKK. And on Fridays he's been filling in for Westwood’s Bill O’Reilly. That’s as much as 10 hours a day on the radio, all live."
Ten hours a day of live talk? That's unacceptable. Even if a host's vocal cords can hold up that long, how is it possible to perform at your best in hours six, seven, eight, nine and ten?
I don't care who it is, that's just too much. Imagine being the station that foolishly booked him for his final show of the day. What are you getting for your money? Is talk radio now this desperate for fill-in help?
While at KIRO in Seattle, I also did regular fill-ins for stations in other cities that were owned by the company (in addition to the former Susquehanna's KLIF-AM in Dallas-Fort Worth). Around holiday periods, it was tempting to book three or four shows a day, because programmers were screaming for extra help.
At one point, I gave in and accepted three daily for several days in a row. I quickly realized it was a serious mistake, no matter how good the money. Even my program director was concerned at the hours I was suddenly keeping.
From that point on, I stuck to a two per day limit. Anything more than that just isn't fair to yourself or the stations desperate enough to use you in those circumstances.
