Axe falls on WRKO news Dept.

[Dan Strassberg]

Sounds like an alarmist view to me. I think you've been spending too much
time at radio-info.com, or are you trying to take the wild-eyed predictor
baton (not the musical kind of baton) away from Joseph Gallant (who no
longer posts at radio-info)? WRKO may have had a top-flight news department
(and from the roster, it certainly seemed that way), but people don't listen
to THE Talk Station for news; they listen for talk--although with the stuff
they have on, heaven only knows why. So if Jason Wolfe can slash expenses by
several hundred $k (and from the roster of people Entercom sent to the
beach, it sure SOUNDS as if he has), he's probably doing the right thing.
Using Metro/Shadow for news will not make WRKO any more unlistenable and
will improve the bottom line. Someone at Entercom should read this month's
electrion returns and find someone more moderate than the people they have
on. Jay Diamond comes to mind. He has shown his ability to be as liberal or
as conservative as management wants him to be. In his last gig at WRKO, he
was playing liberal. I think getting him back, putting him into
mid-mornings, and having him play liberal again would be a good move--but
then, my politics are showing. However, if after a few books, the numbers
looked bad, he could easily flip to conservative; he is very flexible.

--
Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net
eFax 707-215-6367

----- Original Message -----
From: "Laurence Glavin" <lglavin@mail.com>
To: "Bill O'Neill" <me@billoneill.us>; "Bob Nelson" <raccoonradio@gmail.com>
Cc: <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
Sent: Friday, November 17, 2006 4:08 PM
Subject: Re: Axe falls on WRKO news Dept.


> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Bill O'Neill"
> >To: "Bob Nelson"
> >Subject: Re: Axe falls on WRKO news Dept.
> >Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 07:17:21 -0500
> >Bob Nelson wrote:
> > Boston Radio Watch (http://www.bostonradiowatch.com) reports that WRKO
has
> > fired its entire news department including Rod Fritz, Marga Besette,
> > Listo Fisher, Paul Tuthill, and Sharon Smith.
> >That's huge. What a statement. Speaks volumes.
> >Bill O'Neill
>
> This could be the beginning of the end of AM radio hereabouts;  sure,
WBZ-AM and
> WEEI will continue to do well, but WRKO is slipping already in key
> demographics according to The Herald, and its 12+ number may not be far
behind.
> As there's more and more bad publicity about WRKO, the Red Sox may be
> looking for a way out, so the unthinkable could happen: if not a sale,
> the flip of 680 AM to commercial "religion" or a foreign-language format.
>
>
> --
>
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