Not the Howie Carr Show live thread week of Oct 1-5, 2007

Not the Howie Carr Show live thread for the week of Oct 1. This was supposed to originally be the day Howie was to debut on WTKK. As the Sept 19 deadline got closer there was speculation he'd debut on 96.9 on Sept 20 but a judge's ruling has delayed it. A judge ruled that while a non-compete clause was not valid, a "right to match" was. Now while Entercom claims they have the rights to Howie for the next 5 years, Howie was been sitting it out, refusing to report for work. Listeners have been getting Todd Feinburg. It's NOT the Howie Carr Show, despite what WRKO tells you.

Appeals are in motion and a meeting between the various parties is expected on Oct 15.

I like the idea of recording the shows online. That would mean never being able to call in again, which would be too bad, but better than not having Howie around!

Hey, did you notice that WRKO has a job opening for a 9-12 radio show? I wonder if they're considering that Feinberg will be a permanent afternoon fixture. I'm going to be optimistic and say that's a good sign!

WRKO is looking for a midday show host to fill our 9A- noon slot. Candidates should have at least two years experience hosting or co-hosting their own show. The host must have an intimate knowledge of national and global issues in addition to local Massachusetts politics, history and culture. The WRKO midday host will be expected to possess a savvy understanding of the news cycle, including spending a considerable amount of time in the field, establishing connections with community leaders, political principals and other influential and notable people. We're searching for a personality, someone who can establish a relationship with the audience beyond just the exchanging of ideas. Candidates should be extremely opinionated who are unfazed by a back-and-forth of strong ideas and opinions, and someone who is a team player, supportive and respective of fellow staffers. Please forward your resumes to hrboston@entercom.com or Entercom Boston, Attn: Human Resources, 20 Guest Street, 3rd Floor, Brighton, MA 02135. Entercom is an equal opportunity employer.

I especially like the "team player" bit (emboldened above). They want someone who is opinionated and obnoxious, yet respectful and meek. Bipolar candidates line up!

The Thu. re-ping.
Here’s a blog entry by Brian Maloney from SaveWRKO.com
and some comments.

BY BRIAN MALONEY:
Not Fooling Anybody

Tuning in for the first few minutes of what is still called “The Howie Carr Show”, it just seemed incredible that WRKO and Entercom believe the station’s remaining audience is that stupid.

Tell me, who out there doesn’t know that Howie Carr QUIT his show, sued the station, was counter-sued and would rather have his forearm fed into a garbage disposal (Whitey Bulger really did this once, to a completely innocent woman) than return to Guest Street?

Anybody not clear on this concept? He HATES the place and would rather be off the air than forced back to WRKO.

That said, every day that WRKO continues this phony “Howie Carr” charade only compounds the foolishness. Today, Todd Fill-in-burg made a point of repeatedly mentioning Howie’s name, as though that could keep Carr’s fans tuned in.

The station is only embarrassing itself by continuing this sham.

some comments from that site:

Chris:
Entercom’s financial picture isn’t fooling anyone, either: They’ve gone from a 16.1m profit at the end of Q3 2006 to a 12.5m LOSS at the end of Q2 this year. I can’t wait to see Q3 and Q4 of this year. Those Boston idiots will be Wal-Mart door greeters just in time for the Christmas rush. Oh...did I say ‘Christmas?’ Sorry! ‘Holiday rush.’

Brian P. Henchey:
Two comments:

First, Todd Feinburg is a great guy who has principles and, like everyone else, is trying to further his own career. If you worked for ‘RKO and management asked you to fill-in and say Howie’s name a bunch of times, and if through doing this they would maybe put you on permanently for the afternoon drive, wouldn’t YOU do it?

I agree that claiming the “Howie Carr Show” is still at ‘RKO is a bit ridiculous, but they do have 14 years of precedent and they’re fighting to keep him. Just don’t blame Todd for any “sham”; blame management.

Second, all this “I need Howie or I’m gonna die!”-crap is pathetic. CHILL THE BLEEP OUT. Howie will be back eventually. Relax. In the meantime check out Hannity at AM-1150 WTTT or Severin at 96.9-FM WTKK. You can also check out Scottie McCall 4-6p at AM-1120 WBNW (moneymattersradio.net) — he’s pretty funny.

Hugh Jass:
Todd Feinburg is good people, IMO. Management has put him in a tough position. But he is talented and hardworking.

He is no Howie, but who is, really?

Further, I think WRKO clinging to the “Howie Carr Show “ sobriquet is a legal ploy for Entercom to show they still want Howie (and, therefore, the judge should not free him to work at WTKK).

Barbara:
LMAO @ entercom, how ridiculous are these people? How much longer are they going to continue this charade? Granted Howie goes back to court on the 15th so does that mean entercom is going to continue with the “Howie’s off this week” crap until the 15h? Then what? It’s obvious Howie isn’t comimg back, do they really think they can force him back? How uncomfortable will that be for entercom cuz you know Howie will not be his usual self if he’s forced to sit back in front of the mic @ RKO, it will be very unpleasant for Howie and his listeners. I just don’t understand why entercom can’t be gracious and just let it go, the longer it goes on, the worse entercom looks, trying to prove a point is one thing, dragging it on and on at the expense of listeners and making yourself look like an ass is just,,,,well, it’s just what entercom is doing.

Joy:
-I never heard anything so retarded as that station.
-does anyone know if it was part of the “decision” in court that they could not remove his name from the show as long as they were going to hold him to the first refusal portion of the contract? That would make sense. Has anyone read the decision.
- is Save Wrko still appropriate name for this site?

Stocky:
Don’t be so sure Howie won’t pull a D+C and come crawling back to WRKO. What choice does he have? He’s losing a lot of cake each day he’s not on the air.

Lisa:
Just got a new car with XM radio (free for a month) - should I sign up is there any good talk on there? I’ll do almost anything to fill the void left by Howie’s departure. And I am as fed up as you with the charade, Brian. It would be laughable if I didn’t miss his show so much.

What is the timeline now? When does Howie next go to court and what are the various possible outcomes?

Reality Check:
It is still the Howie Carr Show because regardless of what you all think, there is a better chance he will be back on WRKO than there is that he will be on WTKK (not impossible, but not likely any time soon). Howie got his clock cleaned in court and will probably not fare any better in the future.

Howie is in this position due to hubris, bad legal advice and bad faith bargaining on his part. He should be sitting on the beach and getting ready to start on WTKK in January, if that is what he really wanted.

Not sure where Chris is pulling his figures from, but for years Entercom has been no worse than on par with the other radio companies in its sector and it outperforms them in most quarters. In Boston, this band of incompetents manages to return large margins on all of its other stations and a modest profit on WRKO. WEEI is the top billing station in Boston and Entercom is the top billing cluster (despite one less station than CBS) in Boston during baseball season. Try talking to a real live radio executive at CBS, Greater Media or Clear Channel and they will have a different opinion of Entercom than what you get on this site.

We are all welcome to our opinions about radio programming, but don’t think you are learning much about the radio business on this site. If you’d like, of course you can spout off, feel smart, call people idiots and prattle on about how foolish these dolts who are actually drawing paychecks in the industry are, go right ahead, and by all means watch out for the windmills.

The Fri. re-ping

Steve Bailey in today’s Globe write the following—note that Bailey works
for WRKO (and Emily Rooney’s show)—my guess is that
Jay was so angry at being left off “EMILY’s List”
(Early Money Is Like Yeast...) that he typed fast
and furious and got those mis-spellings.....

At home, and all alone

By Steve Bailey | October 5, 2007
(The Boston Globe-Democrat)

Jay Severin, WTKK radio’s libertarian loudmouth, is hurt - wounded really - and Emily Rooney, WGBH-TV’s thermally challenged queen bee, is off his show and his station. Says Rooney: “I didn’t think the punishment fit the crime.”

Rooney’s crime? Inadvertently leaving Severin off the invitation list for WGBH’s party last week marking the 10th anniversary of her show, “Greater Boston.” Everyone was there, even me.

“Dear Emily,” Severin e-mailed Rooney on Wednesday evening just minutes before the big event was to begin.

“As I imagine you well know, I do wish you congratulations on the most impressive achievement of ten years on the air choreographing your own presentation. Extraordinary.

“And please do not misconsture [sic] what I ask as mitigating in any way the earnestness of my best wishes.

“However: I am very personally disappointed (although from what you have frankly told me of WGBH’s attitude toward myself, not necessarily greatly surprised) not to have been among those from 96.9 to have been invited to the WGBH celebratory event. After all, we are, I think, friends; and we do broadcast together here weekly, for an audience which is very considerably larger than even your television audience, correctr? [sic] It thus strkes [sic] me as fairly appropriate that I might have anticipated being included - especially considering others here at 96.9 were.

“Am I wrong and/or presumptuous to wonder why, under the circumstances, I am not included?”

Since January, Rooney has done a weekly (paid) segment with Severin, discussing the media. But on Friday, Rooney got a call from WTKK’s program director, Grace Blazer, telling her not to bother coming to the station. The segment was being canceled; she cited “budgetary” issues, Rooney says. (Disclosure: I occasionally appear on Rooney’s “Beat the Press” show; I hope she was getting paid more from WTKK than the $100 I get from WGBH.)

“I feel terrible about this. I honestly do. I literally lost sleep over it,” she says. (Then again, not terrible enough to call Severin or reply to his e-mail.) As for Severin’s snide remark about ratings or the lack thereof, Rooney says: “I didn’t understand how that was relevant to the issue.”

Neither Severin nor Blazer returned my calls or e-mails.

In Severin’s world, Hillary Clinton is “a lying [expletive],” Ted Kennedy is “a fat piece of lying garbage,” and Al Gore is “Al Whore.” All things considered, it’s surprising the guy is asked out at all

Howie Carr column ping

Wave of pol flights to lobbying makes it special time of year

by Howie Carr/ Boston Herald
10/5/07

Is it my imagination, or is Gov. Deval Patrick doing pretty much nothing?

Inertia in government is not a bad thing, you understand. Mostly the governor likes to talk about hope and opportunity. He must be hoping for an opportunity.

You’ve heard a lot lately about casinos. But there is no casino bill. Maybe next week - wink wink, nudge nudge.

You’ve read about the proposal to consolidate the transportation agencies. There is no “MassTrans” bill. The only bills are for the new drapes in the Corner Office, the Coupe Deval and the gas. But it’s gas well-wasted, if it keeps Deval on the road and away from the State House.

He said he was going to cut your property taxes and he hasn’t done it. That’s the bad news. The good news - he hasn’t raised them either.

But even by modern State House standards of sloth, the Patrick administration is setting the pace for others to follow - or not, as the case may be. For instance, after nine months in office, Deval just got around to picking his final Cabinet secretary. To fill the utterly worthless job of running the Office of Elder Affairs, he selected the utterly worthless state rep Mike Festa of Melrose. Does this mean there will be yet another special election?

There’s a “special” almost every Tuesday now, whenever a rep quits to become a lobbyist, or to have a cup of coffee in the Patrick administration before he becomes a lobbyist. What’s odd about this proliferation of lobbyists is that there are fewer solons than ever to actually lobby. All a lobbyist needs is the ear of either the Senate president or the House speaker and he’s all set - at least to block legislation, which is what most lobbying comes down to: stopping somebody else from getting whatever it is your client wants.

So it’s understandable that hacks further down the totem pole are quitting to become “lobbyists.” And the League of Women Voters and other goo-goos feel they have to be replaced, even though 99 percent of them weren’t doing anything at the State House anyway except collecting per diems.

Next Tuesday’s “special” features Anthony Gallucio of Cambridge, a two-time OUI loser last seen breathing a sigh of relief after dodging a third driving under. Now he’s running unopposed for a gerrymandered 617-area-code Senate seat vacated by a guy who quit to go to work for a health insurer.

Then on Oct. 16 it’s the special election to fill the seat of U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan, who bailed to fatten his pension at UMass-Lowell. On Oct. 23 it’s the final fight to replace East Boston Rep. Tony Petrucelli, who won still another special election to replace Senate President Bob Travaglini, who quit to become a lobbyist.

Meanwhile, Trav’s brother, who runs the state pension system for globe-trotting State Treasurer Tim Cahill, got a massive pay raise this week. It’s a kiss for the thoroughly mediocre job Mike Trav has been doing, the theory being that if he hadn’t gotten that extra $120K, he might have bailed. Let him quit - I’ll bet we can find someone else who can lose $30 million in public funds in a single hedge fund.

Then there’s Speaker Sal DiMasi. He’s against casinos, for reasons no one can fathom. When Sal DiMasi emerges as the conscience of the Legislature, you’ve got even more problems than usual. I spotted Sal a couple of weeks ago, leaving a breakfast “time” at a major downtown law firm. He was accompanied by Paul Scapicchio, a former Boston city councilor who quit to become a, well, you know what he’s doing now.

Then there’s the president of the Senate, Therese Murray. She digs Russia, don’t ask me to explain it. It’s like Sal being against casinos - a sorrowful mystery. One of her senators, Bob Havern of Arlington, just quit to become a lobbyist. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. I believe they’ve scheduled a special election.

from SaveWRKO.com:

by Brian Maloney:
Hanging On

For the last several weeks, we've been tracking Howie Carr's regional affiliates to see if any had dropped the show that is still his in name only.

Because some stations have been slow to return messages (if at all) and don't keep websites up-to-date with programming changes, this has been a frustrating experience.

As far as I can tell, however, all are still running "The Howie Carr Show", even while hosted by Todd Fill-inburg. A quick double-check shows Portland's WGAN, Springfield's WHYN and the Cape's WXTK 95 FM all still carrying the program as of today.

With Howie Carr having quit the program, the big question is why his former affiliates haven't yet dumped it.

One programmer who was kind enough to explain her station's position is WXTK General Manager Allison Makkay, who told me by phone two weeks ago that contractual obligations are a key reason. As long as "The Howie Carr Show" continues to exist, even sans Howie, it must be carried through their agreement's end date.

Makkay also indicated they had not begun to look for a replacement program as of that point.

In other conversations with regional radio insiders, two other issues have emerged: one, a perception by some, apparently created by Entercom, that Howie will soon be returning to WRKO's afternoon drive slot.p> Another biggie: what to run instead? For a relatively small fee, New England stations have enjoyed running a talk show that focused at least partly on regional issues. Howie's absence now means either picking up a nationally syndicated show in afternoon drive (free, but not a very appealing programming option) or hiring a local host (a great move, but could be slightly more expensive).

No wonder they'd prefer to believe Howie will soon return to WRKO. I think he'd rather meet up with Whitey Bulger in It-lee than go back to Guest Street, however.

Howie column ping

The Unforgettable Dapper O’Neil

by Howie Carr/Boston Herald 10/10/07

How do you thank a guy for a million laughs?

That’s a line from the end of Edwin O’Connor’s novel, “The Last Hurrah.” The fictional mayor, patterned after James Michael Curley, is dying, and he’s saying goodbye to one of his oldest aides, a guy named Ditto who always kept him amused. That’s the mayor’s question to Ditto: How do you thank a guy for a million laughs?

So here is Albert Leo “Dapper” O’Neil, 14-term at-large Boston city councilor, now 87 years old and confined to Room 204 of the Deutsches Altenheim rest home on Centre Street in West Roxbury. On Columbus Day around noon, he was lying in his bed, half-asleep. Dapper’s legally blind now, and he had to finally quit smoking, at age 86, before he was allowed to move into the Altenheim.

Dapper is at least 100 pounds lighter than he was in his prime, when he was battling the people he called “social-planning liberal do-gooders,” when he carried a .38 and had a bumper sticker on his car that said: “Liberals: An American Cancer.”

“Good to see you,” he was saying to his two visitors, me and City Councilor Steve Murphy. He recognized our voices. “Howie, I knew you when you were a kid.”

That’s right, I told him. One day at City Hall you asked me where I lived, and I said Somerville, and you said, “I pity you.”

“And I still do,” the Dap said.

The Dap’s girlfriend of 54 years, Helen Suski, is now his legal guardian, but she lives in Plymouth - 32 miles away, and she can’t get up to West Roxbury every day. Dapper doesn’t get nearly as many visitors as he should, given what he has meant to this city. The regulars include Murphy and ex-councilor Joe Tierney, Richie Masterson from Eustis Street in Roxbury, John Fahey the cable guy, restaurant guys Sal Lombardo and Vinny Marino, his niece Dolly and a campaign worker named Dorothy.

I asked Dapper, does the mayor ever stop by?

“No,” the Dap said sadly. “I can’t remember the last time I saw him.”

Somebody ought to remind Menino he’s where he is today because he got seven votes for City Council president in 1993. That set him up to become mayor-for-life when Ray Flynn quit. One of those seven votes came from the Dap, not that he had much choice. The other candidate for Council president that year was Maura Hennigan, whom Dapper used to call “Veronica Lake,” unless she was huddling with the other three female councilors, in which case he referred to them collectively as “the Andrews Sisters.”

Murphy and I tried to make small talk with Dapper, but he was tired. We couldn’t even get him going on the subject of Rosaria Salerno, a/k/a Sister Sunshine, the ex-nun from Chicago who got elected to the Council and drove him crazy. I remember one day, it must have been around 1987, he was campaigning at Florian Hall in Dorchester, and the old-timers were all cooing about Rosaria, that nice nun. Dapper finally exploded.

“She’s not a nun, dammit, she’s an ex-nun. That means she turned her back on God. You know what that means? If she’d turn her back on God, think what she’d do to you, the voters!”

All these years later, Dapper looked up at me and asked how old my daughters were now. I told him and he nodded.

“Remember Millie (his late sister) used to give them ice cream and they’d sit in the kitchen, eating it up, wearing my hats?”

Sure do remember it, Dap. Like it was yesterday. I mentioned how he’d outlasted them all - Freddie, Chris, Pat McDonough, Gabe Piemonte, the Kerrigans, Louise. All gone, except for the Dap. Steve Murphy brought up the Roslindale parade next Sunday.
“I’m ready for that!” Dapper said, but then he closed his eyes.

“I’m going to sleep now,” he said. “Thank you very much for coming by.”

If you’d like to send Dapper a card, someone will make sure it’s read to him. Doesn’t have to be a get-well card, just a note letting him know you haven’t forgotten the Dap. His address is 2222 Centre Street, Room 204, West Roxbury MA 02132

also in today’s Herald:

It looks like fallen shock jock Don Imus will return to the airwaves in December, but WTKK (96.9) FM - where Imus was heard on morning drive for eight years - is still holding out for Howie.

When asked if Imus could return to WTKK, station spokeswoman Heidi Raphael said today: “As you know, we are pursuing another avenue for mornings and we expect to prevail.”

In the days after the remarks and before CBS and MSNBC gave Imus got the boot, WTKK was willing to give him another chance. “I’m not going to take him off the air,” Peter Smyth, chief executive of Greater Media Inc., which owns WTKK, told the Herald at the time.

“I would very much like to see him come back and see what he can do,” Smyth said. “If this behavior happens again, then all bets are off.”

Carr’s legal battle to take over Imus’ old morning drive spot on WTKK heads to a court hearing on Monday. WRKO (680 AM) continues to tout him as their host even though he’s been off the air for nearly three weeks.

Newsday reports that Imus will return to radio in early December on WABC in New York. ABC Radio is owned by Citadel Broadcasting, which owns nearly 250 radio stations nationwide. Ex-sidekick Bernard McGuirk is expected to be on the show.

In April, Imus was famously fired from the CBS-owned WFAN in New York after calling members of the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed ho’s.” His syndicated show was heard on more than 60 stations and was simulcast on MSNBC.

Earlier today, the National Association of Black Journalists urged Citadel Broadcasting chief executive Farid Suleman and Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes to halt negotiations to return Imus to radio and TV.

The group had called for Imus to be fired last spring after the Rutgers remarks.

In a statement, the organization said recent reports that Imus is in informal talks with Fox Chairman Roger Ailes and is finalizing contractual details with Citadel Broadcasting are unimaginable.

“NABJ remains outraged after the racially inflammatory insults made by Don Imus last spring. He used his free speech to broadcast hate speech. To put him back on the air now makes light of his serious and offensive racial remarks that are still ringing in the ears of people all over this country,” said Barbara Ciara, NABJ president.

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