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BY BRIAN MALONEY

FREE HOWIE: ROUND TWO
Today, the battle against forced employment will once again be fought in a local courtroom, as Howie Carr attempts to convince a judge he should be allowed to take his marbles to another playground.

It’s FREE HOWIE: ROUND TWO. Don’t Blame Me, I Voted For WTKK.

As there are three competing interests, here’s a scorecard:

-— WRKO / Entercom: using a variety of tactics, the company has played hardball to keep highly-rated, yet unhappy employees in line. It recently humiliated its top morning sports talk team by cutting a deal with a rival outfit they were expected to join.

Since one of the hosts had previously played a key role in busting the union inside Entercom’s Boston facility, the old adage that “no good deed goes unpunished” seemed especially apt here.

In Howie’s case, it has been willing to incur many billable hours to force him to remain at WRKO against his will. Entercom has long used heavy-handed tactics in an attempt to make up for its lack of programming savvy.

-— WTKK / Greater Media: though it acts like it doesn’t have a dog in this fight, it’s really at the very center of the battle. But that won’t be apparent in the courtroom.

Playing it cool, however, has been smart because it keeps the focus on Carr v Entercom. More importantly, it doesn’t want to appear to be interfering with a rival’s operation.

In another way, Greater has also positioned itself well: recent rumors that Don Imus might return to WTKK were quickly quashed. Instead, the company says it will wait for Howie’s legal battle to end.

But WTKK desperately needs Howie Carr to join its lineup as soon as possible. Despite the advantages of its key FM band position (to where all talk radio stations will soon be migrating), it has never come even close to its potential. In fact, as major lineup issues beyond morning drive went unaddressed, ratings have recently plunged.

-— Howie Carr: while the media focus is on his fight to move to a new station, the Boston radio buzz has Carr ready to dump talk radio altogether if the move doesn’t work out. For years, Howie’s already had one foot in Florida anyway.

He’s made a lot of money, can easily continue his Herald column from anywhere and might very well have another book or two up his sleeve. Sources say he’s enjoying his holiday and may well be rethinking his future plans. Time away from the daily grind can do that to a person sometimes.

What’s next? Stay Tuned.