Posted on 07/11/2007 12:36:39 AM PDT by raccoonradio
(with some new details & a second article, and we're starting to hear statements from Howie)
A day after shaking up Boston’s talk radio scene with a bombshell announcement, WRKO talk meister Howie Carr has slapped the AM station with a lawsuit, accusing them of illegally trying to block his new deal with rival WTKK-FM.
The lawsuit, filed today in Suffolk Superior Court, accuses the Entercom-owned WRKO (680) of including illegal restrictions in Carr’s contract designed to prevent the witty Herald columnist from jumping ship.
"Entercom is willing to negotiate my contract - as long as the bottom line means keeping me as a virtual indentured servant," Carr said in a statement today. "My lawyer suggested I not talk about this. What does he think, I might say something controversial?
"I’ve wanted to be on FM for a long time and being on in the mornings is the greatest challenge in radio," Carr added. "I plan to bring fast paced, ’felon-free’ entertainment to morning drive."
WTKK has offered Carr a five-year contract for his own morning-drive show. His contract with WRKO ends in September.
“Without relief from this court, Mr. Carr will be unlawfully precluded from pursuing this opportunity, and will be forced to continue working for an employer whom he no longer wants to work,” said the lawsuit, filed by Carr’s attorney, Bret Cohen of Mintz Levin.
“Mr. Carr seeks a declaration from this court that these provisions are illegal under Massachusetts law and unenforceable as applied to him, and an award of his attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in bringing this present action,” the lawsuit says.
Carr’s contract with WRKO contained a renewal option, which would have allowed Entercom to extend his contract by one year had the company sent a written letter to Carr by March 19 of this year.
According to the complaint, WRKO Program Director Jason Wolfe asked Carr to sign a one-week extension two days before the March deadline, which Carr signed. Over the next month, Carr gave Entercom two more extension deadlines for the renewal option, but the company failed to extend Carr’s contract.
About a month ago, Wolfe contacted Carr to discuss his contract, and Carr told him he had reservations about staying at WRKO, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says WTKK would give Carr a bigger audience, a“substantially higher profile” and more“bonus potential” than WRKO.
The legal battle over radio host Howie Carr is heating up, with the button-pushing talk jock slapping a lawsuit on his WRKO bosses even as they matched rival WTKK’s contract offer in an effort to stop his defection.
“(WRKO owner) Entercom is willing to negotiate my contract - as long as the bottom line means keeping me as a virtual indentured servant,” Carr said in a statement. “My lawyer suggested I not talk about this. What does he think, that I might say something controversial?”
“I’ve wanted to be on FM for a long time and being on in the mornings is the greatest challenge in radio,” said Carr, a Herald columnist who plans to return from vacation and get behind the WRKO microphone tomorrow.
In a reference to WRKO’s morning host, disgraced ex-House Speaker Tom Finneran, Carr vowed “to bring fast-paced, felon-free entertainment to morning drive” on WTKK 96.9 FM Talk.
But WRKO Program Director Jason Wolfe said: “We had the right to extend Howie’s existing deal for one year but instead we mutually agreed to work collectively towards executing a new long-term contract. As we said yesterday, we have great respect and admiration for Howie and we look forward to working with Howie for many more years.”
Carr’s lawyers yesterday filed a lawsuit claiming his contract with WRKO (680 AM) contains illegal provisions that prevent him from going to work at rival radio stations. WTKK has offered Carr a five-year deal to host its morning drive show.
Yesterday, WRKO matched that offer, said ’RKO attorney Shepard Davidson of Burns & Levinson. He would not disclose details.
“We look at it as fighting for him because we’re not trying to fight with him or against him,” Davidson said. “We want him to stay.” The afternoon-drive host’s contract with WRKO contains a “right to match” clause, which Davidson said is valid and enforceable under Massachusetts law.
“Howie Carr expressly agreed in his employment contract with Entercom that Entercom could have up to 72 hours to match any offer of employment made to him by a competing broadcasting entity, and Entercom exercised its right in this regard in less than 24 hours because it genuinely wanted to retain Mr. Carr’s services,” Davidson said in a statement.
Carr’s contract, which is up in September, gave Entercom the right to renew his contract for another year by March 19. While Carr extended the deadline three times, Entercom failed to exercise its option to renew it.
Carr’s lawyer, Bret Cohen of Mintz Levin said, “We would not have filed a declaratory judgment action if we were not confident of our position.”
Wasn’t this guy in Howie’s death pool? Charles Lane will not be down for breakfast.
The actor’s son, Tom Lane, said he was talking with his father Monday evening. “He was lying in bed with his eyes real wide open,” the younger Lane said. “Then he closed his eyes and stopped breathing.”
Lane, whose career spanned more than 60 years, appeared in such film classics as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” and “Twentieth Century.”
He also had a recurring role as the scheming railroad man, Homer Beadle, on the 1960s TV sitcom “Petticoat Junction” and appeared often on television’s “I Love Lucy.”
That’s 2:30 to 6 AM Pacific!
UNNNGH.
With his new lawsuit against WRKO, is it a given that he won't be returning to the AM airwaves after his vacation?
What is going on with Entercom?
1. They hire Finneran, who I do admit isn’t as bad as he’s made out to be (my opinion). Of course, I still listen to WEEI in the morning anyway. But that will be changing.
2. They are now the “Flagship Station for the Boston Red Sox”. Ok, so now Entercom has two sports radio stations?!?
3. They fire the news staff. I did enjoy Listoe Fisher’s news updates.
Now this crap with Howie. I think Howie is the goods. One thing about him: once you cross him, you are finished. Entercom has been jerking him around, now they’re out. I don’t see what they can do about Howie leaving, unless they try to pull a CBS vs. Howard Stern type of lawsuit, which was a total waste of time.
WRKO is finished. Simple as that.
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