Free Republic

Last night, WBZ-TV hosted the annual Boston Pops 4th of July Concert in Boston. Whether through sheer stupidity or through dislike of country, they chose as host a amazing doofus who had recently become a US citizen. His comments to the audience were astonishing: "I'm an American citizen now so if you give me any crap, I can shoot you back." "So here again is the good-looking and good-smelling Keith Lockhart." There were more but I did not write them down. WTF is wrong with one of the country's biggest TV stations (part of CBS, BTW) that they would chose...

Boston (WBZ Newsroom) -- A few words about one of our esteemed and valued colleagues. Paul Sullivan, recuperating from his fourth brain surgery for cancer, has decided against returning to his nightly, top-rated talk show on WBZ. It's not a question of how he's feeling these days, but he says right now, his health is a priority. Sully will be back next week for one more show, and he'll be an important part not just of our legacy, but of our future: contributing commentary, observations and attitude for some time to come. A letter from Paul Sullivan: To my friends...

For those of us who grew up in New England and listened to the radio, Larry Glick is a legend. Recently, I became a little nostalgic for those times and did a Google search for Larry. I found a clip of one of his most famous calls "The Orangutan." A gentleman from the South ('BZs signal reached a large portion of the country) called in with a story about a guy who bought an orangutan for a pet after watching the movie "Every Which Way But Loose" and things went from bad to worse. Click (Glick?) here for the audio....

Don’t touch that dial Prodigal FM yakker Jay Severin will return to 96.9 FM beginning Jan. 3, and will broadcast his new, nationally syndicated show in the 7 to 10 p.m. slot. Severin, the former afternoon drive host, was yanked off the air several months ago after he signed a national syndication deal with Infinity Broadcasting. But yesterday, Severin’s agent, George Tobia, told the Track he had reached an agreement for Severin to broadcast his show on WTKK for at least a year. “We’re really excited to be back,” he said. When Severin returns to the station, he’ll bump Laura...

(CBS4) METHUEN-- A Lawrence man has been banned from all Home Depots for one year after accidentally walking out of the store with a sharpened pencil he used to write down some notes after buying over $100 worth of lumber. Michael Panorelli, 51, was with the owner of Salas Auto Repair, George Salas, when the incident occurred. The Eagle-Tribune is reporting that Panorelli and Salas were heading to the parking lot of the Methuen Home Depot when the store’s security guard stopped the two men. Apparently Panorelli put the pencil he used to take notes into his pocket and forgot...

Louis Farrakhan's increasingly incoherent ramblings, making news this weekend, reminded the Radio Equalizer of another so-called civil rights leader, Al Sharpton. What happened to his planned liberal talk radio show? After revealing his intentions to the media in May, we've heard almost nothing since. At the time, Rush Limbaugh thought Sharpton's prospects were fairly decent, but the whole issue now seems to be forgotten. According to reports at the time, "The Al Sharpton Show" should have been on the air by now.

Jay Severin may never do another show on any Boston radio station. Or he may. At this point it might be just way too much of embarrassment and somewhat of a credibility issue for the embattled WTKK 96.9FM afternoon host to face the music after this latest episode of embellishing his educational/professional achievements. It now turns out that Severin never received a Master's degree from Boston University(story ink courtesy of the Boston Herald). Although his 'Best and Brightest' may not be the readers of the low-brow Herald or missed the original Globe story, the news about the talkshow host's inaccuracies...

BRIAN MALONEY: "Was a veteran CBS radio reporter sacked after complaining about her spiked terrorism reporting?"

Was a veteran CBS radio reporter sacked after complaining about her spiked terrorism reporting? That's what Flo Jonic, now fired from WBZ-AM Boston, claims. Among her allegations: that her report on weak security at Boston's One Center Plaza was pulled after FBI complaints. When Jonic sent a scathing newsroom memo objecting to the censorship, she was immediately fired by local CBS/Infinity Broadcasting management.

Flo Jonic's story on potential security risks at the FBI's Boston offices never saw the light of day. WBZ (1030 AM) didn't run it after the FBI complained. And today, Jonic is out of a job. Lashing out at management in a memo sent to the entire newsroom staff may not have been the best idea. Until 8:02 a.m. yesterday, Jonic was a general assignment reporter for WBZ, respected for her aggressive and hard-nosed brand of journalism. But insiders also say it's not the first time Jonic has gotten herself in hot water for speaking her mind. Jonic was suspended...

(latest radio ratings in Boston): WBZ holds first place with a 7.3. Conservative talker WRKO up slightly, from a 4.1 to a 4.3, for sixth place overall. Conservative WTKK-FM turns in a flat performance and ranks 10th. Air America's two Boston stations disappear from the radar screen, that's right, they are no-shows. Blame the signal quality all you want, but they were getting at least some ratings before. Even major free publicity from the Boston Globe didn't help one bit. Can't wait to hear the lame excuses. Bet the Globers won't be dwelling on this news.