I loved Rod Fritz -- he filled in a couple of times (for Howie Carr, I think), and he was great!
Yes it was a surprise to me--I could tell something was up tonight as I listened to Greg Jackson of Pundit Review
Radio filling in for Todd Feinburg. It was a very good
show--Jackson was talking about the legislature _breaking the law_ by recessing without voting on the vote for gay
marriage. A boneheaded rep from Danvers, Spiliotis, was
on, taking the heat.
And during the newsbreaks, there was Fox News at the top of the hour and at :20 and :40 past, a guy with a raspy
voice doing headlines, etc. Huh? Well now I know why.
Really too bad--Fisher, Tuthill, Blake, and the rest
were all very good.
WRKO actually has half decent ratings in "12 + over"
(these ratings can be seen by the public at
radioandrecords.com) but in 25-54 which is a more
valuable demographic, the news is not good apparently.
Could be WRKO/Entercom paid SO much for the Sox rights
that they have to cut corners somewhere. Shocking how
ratings plunged but note that Howie didn't lose as much
as others (he should be safe!). But Savage or Rush
may be gone, etc.
I had heard/read in papers that his (DePetro's) ratings had gone from 2.2 to 1.1 and that was one reason for him getting fired. But that was an inkling of things to come: they knew
that they'd probably be getting rid of him for that,
and the "fat lesbian" comment gave them an excuse. He
prob. would have been sacked anyway due to low
ratings and cost cutting.
But there is good news: Franken is leaving Air America
AND with Clear Channel being bought out, AAR might be
on even thinner ice--since in many cities (like Boston)
Clear Channel owns the stations that run Air America.
And if their ratings are low (they ARE: 0.5!), AAR
may not be long for your radio dial.
Rod's a high school classmate of mine; we did school plays together 'way back when. Our high school class reunion is a week from tomorrow night, and he's scheduled to emcee a musical review we're putting on. This is very sad news....
Rod's a great guy, and a highly experienced news professional. I'm sure he'll land on his feet, and be back soon in a new incarnation. I just hope he'll be staying in Boston.