Could Jimmy Myers survive (even prosper) at WRKO?

[Dan Strassberg]

Jimmy Myers has quite possibly had the most troubled history of any Boston
radio personality--ever. He is also generally thought of as a sports-talk
guy. In fact, though, he is a talented host for issue-oriented talk as well
as for sports, and has proven his ability in both areas at several local
stations. He is probably more talented as a talk host than any but a
half-dozen or so stars who have done two-way talk in Boston since the format
was invented almost half a century ago. WRKO desperately needs top-flight
talk talent and Myers is not working in radio at this time. Is there a fit?

With Myers' history, it would certainly take guts even to just consider him.
And with Entercom's reputation for having people on the air who are, shall
we say, insensitive to the concerns of minoritites, could Myers survive in
the Guest St environment? Would he even consider subjecting himself to that
environment? If Entercom were to announce that Myers had been hired, would
advertisers bring pressure on the company to ditch a guy with Myers' baggage
before he ever got to say word one on the air? Or would Ms Kahn simply
dismiss the idea of hiring Myers with a statement to the effect that his
main appeal is to a demo that WRKO (and Entercom in general) are not
courting?

If Myers could keep his cool and survive the pressures to which he would
doubtless be subjected, I believe that he could really begin a renaissance
at WRKO. And with the recent statement that new hosts on the station will
have to be able to hold their own in discussions of sports, Myers certainly
qualifies big-time on that score.

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Dan Strassberg
dan.strassberg@att.net
Fax: 1-707-215-6367