Posted on 05/14/2009 5:25:41 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Station may cut ties
WTKK talker Jay Severin’s future at the radio station still remains in limbo two weeks after he was yanked off the air.
Station spokeswoman Heidi Raphael said yesterday that Severin remains on suspension. She declined further comment.
Severin was suspended indefinitely without pay April 30 after calling illegal Mexican immigrants “leeches” and the world’s “lowest of primitives” when talking about the swine flu on his show.
Severin’s drawn-out absence - and silence - has fueled speculation that the station wants to reduce his hefty salary or cut him loose altogether.
“I just get the impression from the outside that they do not want him,” said Tom Taylor, news editor of Radio-Info.com.
Media and political analyst Brian Maloney, author of the Radio Equalizer blog, has thought all along that the lengthy suspension is a “negotiating ploy” by ’TKK to get Severin back for less pay.
“I think that what they’re looking at is a sharp reduction in salary,” Maloney said.
Severin has declined to comment and his agent, George Tobia, hasn’t returned calls.
Severin inked a seven-year deal with WTKK-FM (96.9) in 2006 that pays him more than a million a year in salary, but his ratings have slipped dramatically so far this year.
Curtis Sliwa has been filling in for Severin from a studio in New York City. Yesterday, ex-WRIF-FM (101.1) host Drew Lane filled in from Detroit.
Thanks for posting this...I listen to Jay every day coming home from work and I was wondering what the heck happened to him. It’s bad enough WTTK got rid of Quinn & Rose in the morning and now Jay?
I don’t think WTKK had Quinn and Rose—they have been running Imus for years. WHJJ 920 in Prov. RI has, or had, Quinn and Rose (who are out of Pittsburgh IIRC)
Since the suspension started, it has been mostly Curtis Sliwa though Howie’s former sidekick Doug “VB” Goudie did one day;
they plugged in a guy from Florida named Todd Schnitt another; Drew Lane, formerly from a Greater Media station
in Detroit yesterday...but mostly Sliwa.
Last year WTKK hired Sliwa to do a nightly show for them—
intended to be local—which he would do along with his NYC
show on WABC. Then Sliwa started to get the show syndicated
and now it’s coast to coast...on in Boston, NY, LA, etc. So Sliwa
still does 10 pm-1 am ET nationally but figured he’d pull in some extra money from filling in for Jay. He had done
fill ins for Jay before (as well as filling in for
Hannity, etc.)
That’s right...Quinn and Rose were on WHJJ 920. Got mixed up there. I couldn’t stand to listen to Imus in The Morning so Quinn and Rose were a good alternative. Now it Wall Street Journal radio or something.
“Severin was suspended indefinitely without pay April 30 after calling illegal Mexican immigrants “leeches” and the world’s “lowest of primitives” when talking about the swine flu on his show.”
Obviously someone failed to tell Jay that this kind of thing must be said by circumlocution. Only leftists like Barney Fwank and “Rev.” Al Not-so-Sharpton are allowed to say what is really on their minds.
I didn’t hear the show where Jay made the comments, my employers only recently supplied me with a PC that has the capability to play internet radio. I hope they get him back on air soon. I have missed him for 7 years now.
If they lose Jay, it's just a matter of time for them.
I am at the point now that I only listen to WTKK when Michael Graham is on. I switch to country music when Eagan and Braude come on. I used to listen to them but I can’t take them anymore.
SMYTH, PETER
BOSTON, MA 02108
GREATER BOSTON RADIO INC
MCGOVERN, JIM
VIA RE-ELECT MCGOVERN COMMITTEE
06/24/1997 250.00 97032283731
SMYTH, PETER H
MILTON, MA 02186
KERRY, JOHN F
VIA KERRY COMMITTEE
06/30/2001 1000.00 21020110810
SMYTH, PETER H
MILTON, MA 02186
GREATER MEDIA INC/PRESIDENT CEO
MARKEY, EDWARD J MR.
VIA MARKEY COMMITTEE, THE
03/23/2007 1000.00 27930558257
SMYTH, PETER H. MR.
BRAINTREE, MA 02184
GREATER MEDIA INC/PRESIDENT/CEO
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (NABPAC)
04/08/2002 500.00 22990979045
05/23/2003 500.00 23991123149
03/15/2004 500.00 24991055317
12/26/2007 2100.00 28930285637
05/13/2008 2500.00 28991289635
Schnitt?? - if he’s the guy I remember he does 2 shows under 2 names in Tampa - Glenn Beck used to abuse him (ratings-wise) regularly when he was local in Tampa (Of course Bubba owned that town in terms of ratings).
Greater Media Inc owns WTKK. The above explains a lot.
WTKK is going Lefty.
Yep. He's pretty un-listenable.
I can only listen during drive-time and ImAss is dull, dull, dull; which only leaves the afternoon drive for me and Curtis is also very dull. When ImAss was off the air, Michael Graham had the morning time slot and I thought he did a fine job there.
Oh well. If WTKK can make money with their new line-up, more power to them.
I like Graham, but one good host is simply not enough.
There's also Michelle McPhee at night and Joe "the Guy from Boston" on Saturday.
I thought Graham was better than Severin: Jay's too much of a show-off.
I gave up on Jim and Marjorie when Obama came along. Marjorie fell in love with him and Jim started to sound like the sane one (as strange as that would have been a few months before).
It is; I looked him up. He was only on one day
Michele’s got some good stuff on hacks, Deval, toll increases, etc. but I can’t take her squeaky voice.
They also own the country station in town (WKLB) so for the person in this thread who says they tune to country (I like
country myself) at times, Greater Media is still drawing you in. Both stations broadcast from the Greater Media Bldg at
55 Morrissey Blvd, next to the Boston Globe-Democrat.
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