BRW: Sarandis to leave WEEI

[John J. Francini]

At 23:30 -0400 10/1/05, Bob Nelson wrote:
>  >>what is it about sports-radio types that tends
>to lean to the right?
>
>I don't know, but I'm picturing liberal sports talk radio:
>
>--Why the Cleveland Indians should change their name/logo

Gack. The same sort of thing that's been attacking other teams that 
use similar names of late.

>
>--Why it's so unfair that one team has to win. Let's not keep score.
>(Don't laugh--this is being done in some schools.)

I'd heard about that. So that the poor dears won't develop a complex 
or something like that. Drivel.  As Homo Sapiens, we are what we are. 
We're wired (not culturally conditioned, but _wired_) to compete 
against one another. To even think that it can be whitewashed out of 
us is intellectual folly of the worst kind.

>
>--Why the government should be in every facet of our lives--but 
>taxpayer funded
>stadiums? NO WAY! :)

Or as the former Mass. Senate president used to say (and which was 
repeated ad nauseum on WEEI: "You can chisel that on my gravestone!" 
I guess the idea is that, to the seriously liberal mind, sports 
stadia and the games therein are a throwback, a stark reminder of our 
baser, competitive natures.  Therefore, if we must have the damnable 
things around, complete with overpaid Neandertals on the field and 
nearly-as-bad fans frothing at the mouth in alcohol-induced frenzy, 
_we_ (the better-than-thou types) are damn well not going to let it 
be paid for from the public purse.


>
>Ted was definitely different in that he was much more serious, unlike
>the freewheeling,
>irreverent hosts on earlier in the day. And you want a big contrast?
>Stay tuned at
>midnight for something completely different: J.T. The Brick, where 
>he encourages
>listeners to be passionate (AND YELL A LOT) and "live and die for 
>their teams".
>No sedate talk here, "are you frickin' kidding me?," as JT would say.

Indeed. Even though JTTB's stuff is more schtick than the Boston 
hosts (how can it not be when you're hosting a nationwide show?), it 
fits the station's mold much better than Ted Nation.

What I'd never understood was why he had such good ratings numbers.

>I used to wonder why Ted never let kids or teens call in--he'd notice
>a listener who somehow got through his call screener that sounded like
>he's 17 or 18 or
>even younger, and then he'd rudely tell the kid to call back in about
>10 or 15 years.

I'd heard that too. Nothing like public embarrassment to potentially 
sour someone on calling in for years to come.

>Later I found out that WEEI's policy is apparently to not allow people
>under a certain age on. Now, who's to say that some kid that age might
>actually have something interesting to say, and might be a big sports
>buff? Sure, WEEI has their policy, but Ted could have just said,
>"Excuse me, but how old are you...16? We have a policy that you have
>to be at least 20 to call. Sorry about that" Maybe Ted really said
>something like that on occasion,
>but during those times he cut off these callers he sounded like an old
>sourpuss. Sure,
>"them's the rules", but at least SAY so on the air, Ted...

There actually HAVE been occasions when someone like that (an 
eloquent teenager) has gotten through on the other shows and made a 
substantial contribution.  But these are outnumbered by the times 
that kids have gotten through and have found themselves caught out 
with the audio equivalent of 'deer-in-the-headlights' syndrome.  Even 
so, Ted could well have done better.

John


-- 
----
John Francini <mailto:francini@mac.com>
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| "I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; |
|  that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress.|
|  And by God I have had _this_ Congress!"                                  |
|                                                       -- John Adams       |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+