John Gambling
Posted on 03/03/2008 9:59:39 AM PST by neverdem
John Gambling
City radio veteran John Gambling is out - and Curtis Sliwa is in.
Gambling was fired from WABC, a victim of hard times at the station's parent company, Citadel Broadcasting.
Sliwa will get Gambling's 10 a.m. slot starting Monday. Also out is WPLJ afternoon host Rocky Allen.
Further changes seemed imminent following a scorched-earth fourth quarter financial report from Citadel CEO Farid Suleman.
There was no official announcement from WABC or Citadel that Gambling and newsman George Weber were dismissed, but company sources confirmed it. They said Sliwa will take over Gambling's 10-11:45 a.m. slot.
That's a prominent position on the station because Mayor Bloomberg is a live guest on the show every Friday. It was not immediately clear if Sliwa will host the mayoral segment.
Asked for comment, Bloomberg spokesman John Gallagher said: "The mayor thinks John Gambling is a class act and enjoyed spending Friday mornings with him."
Gambling and Weber were just two of numerous employees Citadel fired in several cities Friday. Citadel bought WABC (770 AM), WPLJ (95.5 FM) and most of Disney's other radio stations last year.
"The fourth quarter and the year was difficult for the broadcasting industry and the company," Suleman said in his year-end conference call. "The performance of the larger-market radio stations acquired in the ABC merger was particularly disappointing."
Suleman said he remained confident about long-term prospects, but promised "a major restructuring of these stations to both improve short-term profitability as well as position them for future growth."
Suleman's remarks seemed to place WPLJ on the firing line.
He said rival station WWFS (102.7 FM, "Fresh"), which began playing some of the same music as WPLJ last year, had delivered a devastating blow to WPLJ's advertising revenues.
Cash flow was "down over 50% on a 70% decline in revenues," he said.
WPLJ has long had modest ratings, but made a lot of money because it is popular with the "soccer moms" whom advertisers love to reach.
WPLJ was "totally repositioned because there was a void in our music programming, and 'Fresh' came in and provided a real good format alternative for people to go, all day," Suleman said. "We allowed that to happen. We're not going to do that going forward."
Reports that Sliwa would get Gambling's WABC slot began to surface last fall after WABC hired Don Imus for the morning show, displacing Sliwa and Ron Kuby.
Sliwa was kept on the payroll, reinforcing his image as WABC's ultimate survivor.
Gambling's ratings were solid, but he was vulnerable because he was the only purely local host in WABC's daytime lineup. The rest are syndicated national hosts who are harder to remove.
John Gambling is a class act and should land on his feet.
gambling was such a moderate republican he made me sick...his POV, that it was correct to fire that other radio talk show go who breathed the horrid name HUSSEIN talking about Obama proved him to be NOWHERE.....
White Port & Lemon Juice?
No offense to Mr. Gambling, but . . .
YES!!!
He’ll get hired again somewhere. People have been listening to him and his family for generations.
Frank Zappa, or the 4 Deuces version?
I have liked WABC.. I get Laura at 6 AM here, and Kook to Kook from 7 to 11 AM.
Imus is now hosted by WABC..I just as soon he dry up and blow away.. I can take only so many pandering “ He/she is such a great guy...I just love em to death” (barf)
Of course, I use WABC mostly for Rush.
I liked Gambling and will miss him, but I also like Curtis.
Except for Imus, the station has a good conservative line-up.
Heard Sliwa doing the 5 - 6 AM show before Imus.
Wondered what slot he was waiting around for.
He’s horrible in the AM. I liked him better, paired with Kuby.
I grew up in NYC listening to Rambling With Gambling.
Jeez, trading a bright, connected, right thinking class act for Slip Mahoney!
I miss the dynamic duo of Curtis & Koby. Imus is horrible...he mutters, mumbles, & coughs incessantly. I shut him off & turn it on when Rush comes on!
I say WPLJ, it really tastes good to me
WPLJ won’t you take a drink with me
Well, it’s a good good wine
It really makes me feel so fine, so fine, so fine, so fine
I went to the store when they open up the door
I said: “Please please please gimme some more”
White port & lemon juice, white port & lemon juice,
White port & lemon juice, ooh what a good to you!
You take the bottle, you take the can, shake it up fine
You get a good good wine.
White port & lemon juice, white port & lemon juice,
White port & lemon juice, ooh what a good to you!
The W is the white, the P is the port
The L is the lemon, the J is the juice
White port & lemon juice, white port & lemon juice,
White port & lemon juice, ooh what a good to you!
Well I feel so good, I feel so fine
I got plenty of lemon, I got plenty of wine
White port & lemon juice, white port & lemon juice,
I said white port & lemon juice, ooh what a good to you!
I also listened to Rambling With Gambling growing up. Also listend to Jack Sterling.
Hey Silvie, more Citadel firings...
"He better have his eyes examined by an Octopus".
When I was a young child, I remember my Mom turning to “Rambling with Gambling” on the kitchen radio.
Some things just stick in your mind. I have no memory of anything else she listened to.
I was thinking of FZ.
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