Posted on 11/26/2008 8:37:20 AM PST by raccoonradio
Joe Scarborough looks like radio’s next syndicated talker.
Can he make it, this time? The former Republican Congressman and current MSNBC "Morning Joe" host wants another shot at talk radio, and Citadel’s ABC Radio Networks is probably going to give him that chance. It would be for a late-morning program that might air 10-11:45am on WABC (770) and be syndicated nationally. Scarborough briefly hosted a show for Westwood in 2005. But it had trouble getting clearances in its 10am-1pm live timeslot and he left after about four months - the blink of an eye, in syndication terms. So what’s different today? ABC hopes that Scarborough’s exposure on cable’s MSNBC has made him more of a household name. Also: Joe’s perceived as more of a maverick now. For instance, he’s been criticizing the GOP for over-spending during its years in control of Congress and other things that won’ t go down well with movement conservatives. That includes the guys who would follow him on WABC - Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Another thing - adding a syndicated show to the WABC lineup between Don Imus and Limbaugh would potentially make WABC a total syndication showcase during the week - all syndicated, all the time. That’s partly because -
Laura Ingraham replaces Bob Grant in the nighttime lineup at WABC, New York.
Is it true that he learned his fate in a 7pm phone call from an operations supervisor, while he was doing show prep on Monday night? That’s what I hear. And that’s when they plugged in TRN’s Laura Ingraham. So that’s two more hours of syndicated, non-New York-focused programming on WABC (770), from 8-10pm. The sometimes irascible Grant (“get off my phone!”) is turning 80 soon, but he’s still got the fire that made him one of the early stars of talk radio, at WMCA (570), then later WABC, WOR (710) and then WABC again. Now he’s off the weekday schedule at Citadel’s WABC, but still under contract. Grant’s had some stormy times in New York and in syndication (where he didn’t really thrive). In 1996 then-WABC PD Phil Boyce had to make an emergency flight from Disney meetings in Florida to fire Bob after his widely-circulated comments about the plane-crash death of Clinton cabinet member Ron Brown. (You can only imagine how Media Matters would’ve circulated that clip, if the current Internet was around in ’96.) Boyce was eventually able to rehabilitate Grant enough through guest appearances to bring him back fulltime for 8-10pm. That was in August 2007 – but now he’s on the shelf. One more new piece of the schedule at WABC -
Charles McCord will anchor a full hour of early-morning news, leading into Don Imus on WABC.
He tells New York Daily News columnist David Hinckley "The way the news has been sounding these days, I think a lot of folks just want to know if it’s safe to get out of bed." That will be his role - uninterrupted by Imus - on the new 5-6am hour that replaces one of Curtis Sliwa’s many shifts on WABC. That helps clear the way for Sliwa to do his new WABC-based evening talkshow (already signed up for L.A., Boston and Washington). While longtime Imus cast member McCord creates a show that gives CBS all-newsers WCBS (880) and 1010 WINS some competition. McCord says the hour is a natural extension, because the regular Imus show is almost entirely news-driven. It will be billed as part of the Imus empire.
I figures Sacrborough was on a short leash at MSNBC for some time now. He’s gone an awful lot and many times be is on a split screen from Washington instead of hosting in New York. He’s probably tired of trying to get along with all those flaming liberals that appear with him.
Scarborough’s inability to let others talk will result in his show failing, if this is whats coming.
Moring Joe is a much better program on MSNBC when he’s not there, to be blunt.
Finally, didn’t we just watch what happens when a ‘maverick’ is put before a national audience?
The Sliwa show, 10 pm-1 am, is on WABC 770 NYC, WTKK 96.9
Boston, WMAL 630 Wash. DC (I believe), and KABC 790 LA (tape delayed)
I listen to Bob often and I hope some station finds a spot for him in their lineup. That said, Laura will likely draw bigger ratings and ultimately end up costing the station less (assuming the syndication fee for Laura is less than the salary and costs of having an in-house host like Bob).
In Boston, WRKO picked Ingraham up off the waiver wire
from WTKK when they picked up Sliwa; cost-cutting at Entercom
had eliminated the late morning show with Reese Hopkins (Reese
was then arrested for alleged child rape, mere days later).
That station (WRKO) is now all syndicated except for
morning drive (Tom Finneran) and aft drive (Howie Carr).
So Entercom saves money (and gets to run Laura live;
WTKK had her on 13 hr tape delay)
Morning Joe = Good Night Ratings
Good points all.
I have never seen ‘Morning Joe’ and I don’t believe I’ve ever deliberately had MSNBC on my TV, but it sounds like Scarborough suffers from Hannityitis. Sean is a great American and definitely has his heart in the right place, but his TV show is unwatchable.
I never thought I'd say this, "Bring back Ron Kuby".
At least you'll see what the left is up to. YOu won't learn anything new from Ingraham.
They dumped Laura here in Colorado and put that big windbag Mike Gallagher on.
RE Joe’s perceived as more of a maverick now
We saw his Hillary worship. This guy is now a liberal but maybe with dem win he will find the $$$ in going after dems.
WABC needs to dump the horrible Imus.
I used to watch Morning Joe until he started giving Obama daily tips on how to defeat McCain. I'm starting to think that for the most part, it's only Republicans watching MSNBC. Democrats are watching things like 'Dancing with the Stars' and 'American Idol.'
You might learn what hip restaurant she went to or which celebrity she saw at her gym. ;^)
I heard that WABC wants to drop Laura’s show but the syndicator threatened to sue. As much as I like Laura, WABC should not have a tape delayed show in the evening. Their plan is to eventually find a place for Bob back in the regular lineup and his current status as a fill-in host is only temporary.
I switch from Fox to MSNBC repeatedly in the mornings. I can only take so much fluff from the dim trio Fox puts on in the mornings.
I can’t take much of Kilmeade that early, to be honest. His ‘go off on weird tangents’ schtick is annoying, especially if the topic is something of interest.
Depending on who the Morning Joe program has on, I’ll watch for a few minutes. This morning, unfortunately, they had the oh so smug looking Peggy Noonan on again. After seeing her get caught saying one thing on air, and the exact opposite when she thought the camera was off, I don’t bother with her.
As for Hannity, I listen to the radio program here in the office, but its rare I bother with H&C. I’m hoping the program is improved when Colmes is gone - we can all get the DNC talking points of the day so who needs him? - with the addition of Kirsten Powers.
Back to Scarborough, how can a radio talk show gain an audience when the host is gone 60% of the time, as is the case with Scarborough at MSNBC?
I predict that will happen eventually, but he has a "eight-figure, multiyear contract." I wonder what kind of ratings Imus has.
Surprisingly, the “corpse in a cowboy hat” allegedly does very well in the ratings at WTKK in Boston. (When the I-man got knocked off the air, WTKK had plans to hire Howie Carr away
from Entercom, but judges ruled that Carr had to stay for
another 5 years at WRKO/Entercom. Had the ruling been
different, Howie would have had morning drive at 96.9.
So shortly after that got settled, right around this
time last year, Imus got another show started via WABC
and WTKK brought him back. He continues to do “Kiss Me
I’m Imus” shows in Boston on St Patrick’s Day).
You’d think they could keep Grant on until his contract is up. The man can’t be far from retirement and he is a talk radio pioneer.
When Ingraham did her aborted two weeks worth of shows on Fox a couple of months back, 55krc in Cincinnati replaced her with Glenn Beck.
I can’t take Beck’s 20 minutes per hour whining, it just grates on my nerves.
Joe will be whatever will get him attention. He was a conservative Republican until he got his gig on MSNBC. He then went rogue and began to criticize the Republicans while pandering to Hillary. Joe will say and do what it takes to remain viable on a liberal channel. An absolute tool.
She doesn’t talk as much as she used to, which makes for a better show. I’ve noticed a change in her since she got what she wanted, The Messiah as the next President.
She reminds me of a woman I once dated. Didn’t have much use for her outside of the bedroom....(chuckle)
from the radio equalizer
http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/
BY BRIAN MALONEY:
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough Takes New WABC/ NYC Radio Talk Show
MR $CARBOR-DOUGH
Joe’s Personal Economic Stimulus Plan Has Internal Critics
*** EXCLUSIVE TO THE RADIO EQUALIZER ***
Ever since Rush Limbaugh’s massive mega-contract renewal deal was announced earlier this year, envious cable talkers have wondered how they too could grab a piece of the radio pie.
And while they may be clueless about what it takes to succeed in this competitive medium, that hasn’t stopped TV hosts from trying anyway. Worse, in order to pad their salaries, some are willing to sell out their beliefs to fit the other venue.
Topping that list is MSNBC morning host Joe Scarborough, who according to a source inside the NBC-owned network, will begin a new radio talk show on New York’s WABC radio as soon as Monday.
Morning Joe will apparently get the 10am to noon slot to host a local program, but that will most likely later turn into a syndicated show heard from 9am to noon.
With a previous syndicated program, Scarborough has tried talk radio in the past, but failed miserably. Then, he played a conservative, but on MSNBC, he’s steadily moved leftward.
This past Radio Equalizer post has a round-up of links to Scarborough’s numerous past flaps, including the infamous Arnold hoax (which to this day remains one of this site’s most popular posts of all time).
In July of this year, Joe did a series of late night, unannounced tryouts with liberal co-host Mika Brzezinski. Clearly, that was in preparation for this new program. A source indicates that Mika might be part of the new WABC show, or he could potentially be paired with someone else down the road.
But within MSNBC, there is said to be a great deal of concern with Scarborough’s move. Why? According to a network source, NBC has spent a great deal of time and money shifting Scarborough leftward, but at WABC, it is recognized that his only real chance for success would be to follow the station’s right-leaning philosophy.
So how could Scarborough play a liberal on TV and be conservative on the radio? Could he really show two political faces and maintain what little credibility he retains with the audience?
“The only way to get ratings is to move to the right on the radio, though it will be fun to watch him try to juggle the two positions, he just can’t be himself,” said one industry observer.
For WABC, it’s even riskier: Scarborough is a proven failure at radio and now, making matters far worse, he has a solidly liberal reputation. With a conservative lineup, the station has generated huge ratings. If Joe chases away its mid-morning audience, the outlet could be badly damaged.
Given Citadel - ABC Radio’s precarious financial situation (it may be close to bankruptcy and currently trades for 17 cents a share on the NYSE), they can’t afford even the slightest misstep.
Beyond that, one wonders what Citadel would see in Scarborough, given his dodgy reputation and likely fatigue coming off of the TV show each morning.
In his quest to attain Limbaugh-like status, Joe Scarborough seems willing to do just about anything. But how can potential fans bond with someone who comes across as such a phony?
(end)
>> Joe will say and do what it takes to remain viable on a liberal channel. An absolute tool.
See my post from the Radio Equalizer...will Joe play a liberal on TV and a conservative on radio...?
WABC needs to dump the horrible Imus.I've had to change from 770 am to 970 am for my radio alarm. Don Imus is the worst wakeup program ever.
http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2008/07/joe-scarborough-no-longer-hiding-his.html
Joe’s move to the left for MSNBC etc
‘In his quest to attain Limbaugh-like status....’
To quote a movie, ‘There can be only one’
And thats Rush.
Imus bragging on the best ratings ever and the most money made from advertisers.
Until that changes or he’s talking thru his hat, we’re stuck with him.
But then I never did get Howard Stern either and it seems the morning moron on WFAN and Imus are perfect together.
Idiots all.
Looks like WOR 710 is the place with local talk in NYC;
WABC just about totally syndie as is The Apple 970 (and
the libs have WWRL 1600 which I guess does have some
local talk
Back “in the day” there was an excellent talk station here in Philadelphia with nothing but “local talent.” WWBD (96.5FM) had Paul W. Smith, Susan Bray, Irv Homer, Diane Alexander, Dominick Quinn, and Dom Giordano (and others I’m forgetting). Saturday night featured Frank Ford followed by Tom Marr’s “Saturday Night Shootout”. Tom would drive up from Baltimore to do the show every Saturday.
Rush was the first syndication. Who knew then that “local talent” would all but disappear within ten years? After Rush was added, WWDB hired Tom Marr full time and brought Phil Valentine up from Tennessee to do the morning show. After a year of that lineup (circa 1996), everybody was fired (except they kept Rush’s show, of course) and a pack of unknown lightweights was brought in apparently to move the talk away from politics. That was one bizarre decision. WWBD was dead and gone within a year.
Now we have “the Big Talker” (1210AM) and WNTP (990AM) and they are nearly exclusively syndicated. 1210 has Michael Smerconish in the morning and Dom Giordano at night, and that’s it for “local talent” on either of those stations (as far as I know).
Both stations have good lineups. 990 has Bill Bennett, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, and Mike Gallagher. They used to have Laura. 1210 has Glenn Beck, Rush, Hannity, and the Bill O’Reilly tape-delayed show at night, after Dom Giordano.
But everything is mostly syndicated these days.
Bob Grant is from a bygone era, and he simply is not syndicatable (if that’s a word). He is New York all the way, and at 80, he has slowed down a little. It is remarkable that he has lasted as long as he has, but that is a testament to his loyal listeners.
710 has John Gambling. On both sides of every issue and famous for kneepadding Mayor Bloomberg.
The only good show on that station is Steve Malzberg.
I am just too un-erudite to get Dennis Miller most of the time.
970 has become the best alternative.
To begin with Laura Ingram and Neil Boortz own most of the good affiliates and the rest is so convoluted and crowded with radio wannabes like Glen Beck and G.Gordon Liddy or boring nice guys that don't belong on radio like Mike Gallagher why bother.then there is the nastiest of the nasty Dr. Laura proving that the 9-12 slot is slow if not quick death for anyone who is not a household name with tons of broadcast credentials. Morning Joe scarcely falls into that category.
ML/NJ
Imus really does brag....constantly. He's also a hypocondriac. I don't listen to him anymore. I would have thought that John Gambling on WOR would beat him in the ratings.
Yaa... today he was sucking up to countrywide Dodd..
Scarborough is a suck up and a sellout. I wouldn’t give him 10 minutes of my listening time.
How is Smerconish doing in the ratings since he endorsed Obama?
Steve is good. He takes it to the libs without holding back.
I was happy to find 97 in the morning. I can’t take Imus and his nothingness and his music and anything about him. Give me Bill Bennett any time.
But they put Laura on 560 opposite Gallagher and she is on for three hours!
What a perfect description of Mika! Her facial expressions are unbelievable.
But wow, I can’t believe that Laura Ingraham is not everyones fav! I’ve been listening to her on XM for a while now and I used to flip back and forth between her and Rush, now I don’t even bother to flip...it’s Laura all the time. I especially love to hear her debate a pro-death abortion supporter, she’s very passionate about that issue.
Bob Grant on WABC pre-1996 was the King and greatest all time talk show host. Thinking back to him in those days shows you just how watered down, PC, milk toast and overly "civilized" conservative talk has become. Who on the radio today calls people "savages" , "sub-human garbage", "men's room attendant", or tells callers to "get off my phone you creep, tell me where you are,I'd like to come down there are punch you in the nose!!"
Nobody says this stuff anymore and I have to blame Rush in a way. he kind of ushered in the new style. Michael Savage is the only one who even comes close.
As for Smerconish and Giordano, I live in Jersey and both those RINOs make me ill.
Mark Levin comes close, too.
As for Smerconish and Giordano, I live in Jersey and both those RINOs make me ill.
Smerconish is a childish putz. I like Dom, though, although I occasionally disagree with him on some things.
Bob Grant just recently delivered big ratings in his time slot, much bigger than they’ve had in that time slot for a long time. His show is still WAY better than Laura Ingraham’s. Bob Grant is one of the best interviewers you’ll ever hear, he’s the only guy who will bring on authors of great books that you might not have otherwise heard of and have great discussions about a variety of subjects.
Bob Grant always refers to history as it pertains to the issues of the day, even at his age he still has a better grasp of what’s going on than 99% of other hosts. Bob Grant was the only person who had the O.J. Simpson case figured out, he said from the day that they moved the jury from Brentwood to a jury of O.J’s “peers” that he would never be convicted. He said it constantly, he called the jury nullification long before it happened. Did he get any credit for it? No.
Dennis Prager, when he was marketing himself as a “passionate centrist” asked Bob to come on his TV show under false pretenses and totally sand-bagged him, painting him as a racist using the same lies and out of context quotes that the liberals were trying to smear him with. Bob Grant is the Godfather of Talk Radio and Prager tried to make himself famous by sand-bagging him. Prager was hoping to be the new, fat version of Phil Donahue.
His ratings are almost inconsequential. His best asset for a radio station is his ability to garner the most lucrative advertising rates on his show. In other words, a thirty-second ad spot on Imus' show costs a lot more than a comparable spot on another show with much higher ratings.
Bob should be on 10-12 as a lead in to Rush.
I can’t believe ABC hired Imus, he’s horrible and always has been. I guess he appeals to the psuedo-intellectual demographic.
I was an avid fan of Grant back in his heyday, but you have to remember that Grant's appeal was strictly limited to the heavily vulgarized (often in a good way) climate of New York City. Even though he broadcast his show from New York back then, Rush Limbaugh was a nationally syndicated host from the day he first got on the air back in the late 1980s. Bob Grant's style would never play well on a national stage, and Rush surpassed Grant in every way simply because he became a national giant that Grant never could have been.
Some years ago Rush Limbaugh had a show in which he only took callers from people in the New York City metro area (I forget what the hot topic was, but there was reason why this was the case that day). From the start of the show any objective listener could tell that there was a serious disconnect between the host and his callers. It was almost embarrassing to listen to (many callers were rude, obnoxious, arrogant, overbearing, etc.) . . . and Rush himself will sometimes mention it years later as the one day he ever got hot-tempered and hostile with many of his callers.
I don’t know about his ratings. I know that I certainly don’t listen to him.
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