Posted on 05/14/2009 5:25:41 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Station may cut ties
WTKK talker Jay Severins 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 worlds lowest of primitives when talking about the swine flu on his show.
Severins 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 theyre looking at is a sharp reduction in salary, Maloney said.
Severin has declined to comment and his agent, George Tobia, hasnt 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.
Imho, Graham and Severin are the stars of the WTKK lineup.
Ya got Curtis Sliwa wid da Noo Yawk accent, doin' the freaky-deaky, the urge to merge the FM with the AM, talkin' bout da liars for hire...oofah wid dat! :)
"(S)He wore a raspberry beret
The kind you find in a secondhand store..."
**********************
LOL! Curtis! Is that you? :)
Thank goodness I wasn't having anything to drink when I read your response, I would have spit it out. Truly "LOL!" I think the picture puts it over the top.
Thanks for the laugh
Yeah sounds like him doesn’t it! Oofah!
Mark Schnyder of Boston Radio Watch says:
“(ED. Note : As I said from the beginning when this all happened, the bottom line is the bottom line. This is not about free speech, stereotyping or offensive language as being spun in the newsprint, on non-profit media shows and other blogs. When Severin got into trouble in 2004 and actually had an official FCC complaint filed against him and WTKK, Greater Media backed him all the way. Why? Because his ratings were hot and he was making money for his employers. It was love at the cash register. This time around, his ratings are not hot, not even warm(Severin is not even in Top 10) and with the advertising market being what it is, you don’t need to be an economics genius to figure out that paying $1 million a year plus bonuses just doesn’t make sense in this business environment. What happens next? There are only two options to consider : an agreed buyout or one big pay cut. )”
http://www.bostonradiowatch.com
Someone on the Boston radio-info board heard Michael Smerconish say on his Philly-based show that he would be doing aft drive in Boston today and Smerconish added that he would be doing the live show today to introduce himself to the Boston market because he had signed a deal with a station there.
I thought I heard Smerconish on WTKK last night (prob his syndie show). The post on radio-info supposed that if this were true WTKK could do Imus, then Jim and Margery 9-noon followed by Smerconish 12-2 pm and then Michael Graham 2-7 (5 hours? who knows )
Just a rumor now but who knows.
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