Posts filed under 'Finneran Deal'
Does this mean we’re stuck with him on WRKO?
Felon Finneran’s stubborn bid to regain his ability to practice law has once and for all been snuffed out. The Dem-friendly Supreme Judicial Court didn’t side with one of its own this time, ruling the former House speaker should be permanently disbarred.
From the Boston Herald:
Finneran, who pled guilty in 2007 to obstruction of justice, had sought a lesser punishment of suspension, but the court sided with the Board of Bar Overseers. “(Finneran’s)” misconduct implicates both the integrity of the judicial system and the honesty of a member of the bar,” Justice Margot Botsford wrote for the court.
“We have no reason to disagree with the finding that (Finneran’s) conduct during the voting rights lawsuit represented an aberrant event in his long career of serving his constituency and the public with loyalty and distinction. But the respondent was convicted of a serious crime involving false testimony to a court under oath in a significant case about fundamental rights.”
The decision is retroactive to Jan. 23, 2007, the date when Finneran’s law license was temporarily suspended.
Finneran pled guilty in 2007 to making misleading statements under oath about a redistricting plan that was challenged by advocates for minorities. In arguing for suspension rather than disbarment, Finneran’s attorney said his 26-year career in public service, as well as testimony asserting that Finneran’s crime was “aberrant” from his normal conduct, should mitigate his punishment.
The big question: is he now locked in at WRKO? The program is as boring as ever, it’s astounding he’s still there after three long years. What motivates Entercom in their desire to keep him on their schedule?
The bottom line: it’s a great day to be Howie Carr.
Image: John Wilcox, Boston Herald
Tags: Howie Carr, massachusetts politics, Thomas Finneran, WRKO
January 11th, 2010
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Graham writes about celebrity divorce, with the Susan Sarandon - Tim Robbins breakup at the center of the Op-Ed piece. If that surname sounds familiar, it should, it’s WTKK midmorning talker Michael Graham’s ex.
Any personal anecdotes you’d like to share, Jennifer? The essay is strangely devoid of them.
January 8th, 2010
Since the primary election, one of the strangest developments in the US Senate race has been unusually balanced coverage from the Boston Globe. Normally an ultra-partisan outfit dedicated to propping up the establishment at all costs, the Boring Broadsheet’s sudden shift is puzzling.
It’s not just SaveWRKO taking note of this odd trend, Howie Carr has discussed it on his program as well.
Here’s how we’ve seen it play out to date:
— Republican Scott Brown is generally treated like a human being and coverage contains the premise that he has at least an outside chance of winning the election, if remote.
— The usual puff pieces touting the wonders of the Democrat are missing almost entirely.
— Democrat Martha Coakley is even slammed by reliably liberal, water-carrying partisans.
— Coakley is also held accountable for some of the dubious past moves she’s made as prosecutor, including a hard-hitting, downright devastating piece on her near-free pass for a Somerville officer accused (and later convicted) of a particularly horrible child rape:
In October 2005, a Somerville police officer living in Melrose raped his 23-month-old niece with a hot object, most likely a curling iron.
Keith Winfield, then 31, told police he was alone with the toddler that day and made additional statements that would ultimately be used to convict him.
But in the aftermath of the crime, a Middlesex County grand jury overseen by Martha Coakley, then the district attorney, investigated without taking action.
It was only after the toddler’s mother filed applications for criminal complaints that Coakley won grand jury indictments charging rape and assault and battery.
Even then, nearly 10 months after the crime, Coakley’s office recommended that Winfield be released on personal recognizance, with no cash bail. He remained free until December 2007, when Coakley’s successor as district attorney won a conviction and two life terms.
Coakley, now the Democratic candidate for US Senate, has made much of her record prosecuting crimes against children, and says her office handled this investigation appropriately. But the case stands out as one in which she drew criticism for not being aggressive enough. Indeed, the case gave rise to Coakley’s last competitive election.
Before Brown supporters get too excited about this trend, however, there are several points to consider:
— So far, The Globies have NOT revisited Coakley’s biggest past scandal, her shameless role in the Amirault - Fells Acres case, where preschool workers were falsely accused of molesting children in a strangely psychotic manner.
The Wall Street Journal’s Dorothy Rabinowitz won an award for her tireless efforts in uncovering the details of this notorious case. Click here for a timeline and archive links.
— As Politico’s Ben Smith notes, Democrats may actually be looking to turn this into a “real race” so that Coakley’s potential victory would have national significance. Since they don’t believe Brown could actually succeed, it’s okay to promote this a horse race, “as long as Brown doesn’t, you know, win.” The Globies could simply be playing along with their party’s strategy.
— The Boring Broadsheet could be setting readers up for a last-minute hit piece on Brown, the details of which are still a mystery.
— Finally, it most certainly won’t be endorsing Brown, which means this “fair” advance coverage could be intended to counter critics when Coakley inevitably receives its official nod.
Brown’s people should take all of this into account and tread carefully wherever and whenever Globies might be within range.
January 6th, 2010
Convicted felon Tom Finneran’s morning show trainwreck was written off by nearly everyone so long ago that it’s easy to forget the program is still on the air. It’s boring and he’s awful.
But one subject can sure get the former Democratic House Speaker worked up: any suggestion that his friends on Beacon Hill are corrupt and working to hurt Massachusetts taxpayers.
Indictments? Cash stuffed into undergarments? Sales taxes going up without any real public input or debate? None of this bothers The Felon.
In fact, the idea that ANYONE might oppose his crooked partisan buddies in the legislature infuriates Finneran, to the point of losing control on the airwaves. We’ve seen it before, now, here it is again, according to the Boston Herald:
The heated banter over ex-House Speaker Sal DiMasi’s legal woes was apparently too much for WRKO radio host Tom Finneran, who blurted “bull(expletive)” while on the air the other morning.
Finneran - an ex-House speaker himself who pleaded guilty to a federal charge of obstruction of justice - lost his temper Wednesday at about 6:35 a.m when his producer began playing banjo music as he went on and on about DiMasi.
“Take your banjo and shove it up your ass, Cooksey,” Finneran fumed at his producer, Bill Cooksey, according to audio of the show, which was heard over the terrestrial airwaves. “I’m going to shove it down your throat next.”
“Why are you so defensive and sensitive about this?” laughed his co-host, Todd Feinburg.
“This is bull(expletive) - what’s going on,” Finneran said. “You’re playing dumb, and Cooksey’s being a wiseass.”
The Federal Communications Commission can fine on-air users of offensive language up to $325,000.
In defending brazen, arrogant political corruption, The Felon is fighting the loneliest battle in the world. It’s as though he’s determined to destroy Massachusetts for all eternity and doesn’t want anyone in the way.
WHY is this nutcase still behind a microphone? With his latest profane outburst on the air, Entercom should have cause to tear up his contract. That kind of language could trigger large fines and place WRKO’s license in jeopardy.
Finneran image: John Wilcox - Boston Herald library picture
June 5th, 2009
At Radio-Info.com, the claim has been made that WBZ’s newsroom is now “closed” (unstaffed) between 8pm and the early hours of the morning. Given the cuts that have taken place, this seems plausible.
But isn’t WBZ primarily a news station? Doesn’t that require a staffed newsroom?
Some of the biggest stories in history have broken during evenings, weekends and holidays: Saddam’s capture, Diana’s death and the last Space Shuttle explosion are just a few of many.
If it can’t afford to maintain a news presence, the only real options are to revert to satellite-based network news feeds or dump it all and run syndicated talk programs.
Funny enough, while CBS Radio can’t seem to afford on-air staff, there are many layers of management still in place. Without reporters and hosts to oversee, why will they remain necessary?
January 7th, 2009
What does the American media business have in common with the Zimbabwean Dollar? With a seemingly-endless series of setbacks, both are spiraling out of control.
In the southern African nation, a bankrupt, ruined society pretends to maintain a sovereign currency that is essentially useless due to hyperinflation caused by the policies of a sickening dictator.
Meanwhile, an obsolete mainstream news media pretends it can successfuly force-feed unpopular content down the throats of consumers, yet is baffled when subscribers, listeners and viewers flee. As companies fail, they blame everyone but themselves.
I’ve made the connection largely because this computer came with a foreign currency widget installed in the sidebar. Just for kicks, I’d switched it to show a US$ to Z$ comparison a few weeks ago. Sometimes, the moves in a single day can be shocking: US$1 can surge from Z$90,000 to Z$108,500 in a matter of hours.
Remember, that’s the New, New, New Z$, where zeros are removed each time. So one US dollar is essentially now worth quadrillions of old Z$.
Where does it end? Hopefully, with Robert Mugabe’s overthrow.
With the media, it’s the same kind of hopeless, downward spiral, but without the starvation, political repression and cholera outbreaks.
And yet the impact can’t be understated: every day brings new layoffs, which hit home particularly hard when former co-workers are affected. The average radio person has lived in many cites over the course of a career, so it’s hard not to know some, if not many of these people.
Now, we’re seeing the bankruptcies begin, starting with a doozy: the Tribune Company, owner of the Chicago Tribune, news-talker WGN, the Los Angeles Times and others, can no longer manage its massive debt load. A similar fate awaits nearly every other owner and operator of newspapers, radio and television stations.
The New York Times Company, owner of the Boston Globe, is now resorting to extreme measures to remain alive in the face of the coming evaporation of its credit line. How will that affect what’s left of the Globe? Could the Herald (shockingly) emerge as the surviving Hub paper?
Only the strongest will survive this mess, one they’ve largely brought upon themselves.
Despite the brutal macroeconomic environment, some radio operators are still pretending all is well. Firings are repositioned as “exits”, as though staffers and managers simply went for lunch.
We know that WRKO-WEEI owner Entercom and WPRO’s Citadel Communications are in deep doo-doo, but what about WTKK’s Greater Media? It isn’t publicly traded, so we don’t see their figures.
What we do know is that two key people have departed the company in the past week: WBT afternoon drive host Jeff Katz (formerly of WRKO) and now, in a shocking shake-up, Boston VP Phil Redo. Two big salaries cut just days apart. Seem like a coincidence? Didn’t think so.
Listening to these stations, the number of PSAs and promos where paid spots used to be tells the tale. WRKO runs the Ducks Unlimited spot so often I’ve just about memorized Morgan Freeman’s voiceover.
And if Greater Media can’t afford Katz and Redo, how can it possibly continue to pay Vay Cay Jay a million a year to sit on his ass, doing almost nothing?
Through his reckless and selfish policies, Robert Mugabe has destroyed Zimbabwe. Through their own rampant mismanagement, media operators have been brought to their knees, with no end in sight.
Radio has its own little Mugabes, mini-tyrants in the form of CEOs who stubbornly insist they have it all under control, even as the walls collapse around them.
Watch for newspapers shutting down, radio stations signing off and networks cutting back on programming (already in the works at NBC). Where does it end?
Newer Zim$ note: CBC
December 8th, 2008
You know the routine: whenever Beacon Hill and City Hall Democrats are in meltdown mode (with no better example than this), we inevitably begin to see media grumbling over Howie Carr’s job having become “too easy”. Watch for that this week and report back here with your findings, please.
What’s stopping other local hosts from picking this low-hanging fruit, however? Other than The Felon, who will defend these creeps until the end, this corruption fiasco should be great for all of them.
My favorite bit so far: Chuck Turner complaining that he was being mistreated by “Channel 27″, which is actually the local Univision outlet.
Tags: Beacon Hill, channel 27, Chuck Turner, Corruption, Howie Carr, univision
November 24th, 2008
Continue Reading August 1st, 2008
Continue Reading February 1st, 2008
Older Posts
