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Let’s hope that Howie has a clear out from his contract this time. He really miscalculated the last time by signing with a competitor and enabling WRKO to match the terms.

VB is better on television than on the radio, IMO.

Yes, well we’ll see what happens. I just posted this on a couple radio boards:

Some past TV reporters, etc. have wound up going to local radio. John Dennis, Kim Carrigan, Dan Rea (tho I think he’d done radio before his TV stint), etc. Now the pending swap of TV stations from Cox to Fox which puts Fox 25 in the camp of Cox, pending FCC approval, has some at 25 “nervous”; Inside Track in Herald names high-priced talent (it says) like Maria Stephanos and Doug VB Goudie. If they were to be cut would they wind up (back) on radio?
Doug of course was the longtime producer/co-producer of Howie Carr, nicknamed “Virgin Boy” (or Victor Bravo as he put it) who made a move to TV around ’03 or so. He didn’t really come back to appear on Howie’s show in the meantime though at least once I heard him on the old WTKK filling in for Severin I think. Not too many fill ins, though.
VB had his own RKO show briefly, The Pit, which took over Dr Laura’s slot late night but he gave it up when he moved to TV. I have a cass. somewhere of his last show also featuring Paul “Butchie” Brennan (later worked for Leslie
“The Radio Chick” Gold in NY) and Nancy “Sandy” Shack and Cosmo Macero (who also teamed up with him on TV as the “heavy hitters”…

Also Howie may control his own destiny THIS time. He has signed with Global Media who could then offer the show to RKO, and we’d hope the deal would give him an “out clause”. Radio columnist Tom Taylor writes:

“Boston-based talk host Howie Carr signs with Tony Garcia’s new Global Media Services. Garcia calls him ‘an icon and legend in New England, and I look forward to partnering with him to bring his unique views on politics, pop culture and society to the entire nation.’ Carr’s heard in Boston from 3-7pm on Entercom’s talk WRKO (680), which is the station that fought so hard to keep him from jumping to Greater Media. Before moving to Denver to work with RegionalHelpWanted.com, Garcia led the Charlotte-based syndication of Bob & Sheri.”

So he’ll be with a syndicator and who knows if he can do his show from RKO (despite them not employing him directly) or a home studio, or Florida, or the Cape, or who knows. Global Media would syndicate the show and no doubt offer it to the likes of WRKO here and the other stations currently carrying him—WCRN, WVMT, WGAN, WXTK, WNTK and more....and perhaps also put him in diff. markets outside New England. He briefly had affiliates in some far flung places but will his regional/New England focus harm him? Will Mass. politics “play in Peoria”? (I have thought he could do something like 2 hours for national and then go local...)