Posted on 09/17/2007 6:04:39 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Yes, I'm putting up the ping list 6 hours before the start of Howie's show but I wanted to get things rolling. It will be an interesting week as far as Howie is concerned. He'll start it on WRKO but could end it on WTKK--or perhaps off the air while things settle down. At least one of his affiliates (Worcester's WCRN 830) has dropped him, not wanting to wait for it all to get settled.
As far as some people like Howie are concerned, he will end his show Wed. on WRKO when his contract expires and start on WTKK 5:30-9 am Thursday morning, but will lawyers step in?
--Once I hear definitely what's going on, I'll pass it on
--The Howie thread will continue through all this, and will also continue should he move to FM
Below is by Tom Taylor of radio-info.com: ------------------------------------
So...Will Howie Carr switch to WTKK, in time for Thursday’s start of the Fall (ratings) book in Boston?
The Herald’s Jessica Heslam says he’ll try (links to article from last Friday) – while WTKK owner Greater Media expects a “last-ditch legal effort to block the move” from Entercom’s WRKO. That’s what Carr’s attorney Bret Cohen says, though neither Greater Media nor Entercom’s talking for the record. Howie’s contract with Entercom expires on Wednesday, and Entercom argues that it’s got a “right-to-match” provision that should keep him on the premises after that. But Carr’s legal position is that Entercom fumbled its six-month window on a renewal – and in any case, Carr really wants to fill the former Don Imus morning slot on FM talker WTKK (96.9), and to accept a contract that could theoretically make him $7 million over the next five years (if he hits all his ratings targets).
The Herald says WTKK “has built a new office for Carr, who has attended at least one station staff meeting.” Meanwhile there’s an impact outside of Boston: Carter Broadcasting’s WCRN, Worcester (830) had been using Howie’s WRKO-syndicated afternoon show, but it tells the Herald “there’s been so much talk about his going over to WTKK” that WCRN’s Hank Stolz will fill Howie’s PM drive slot. Carr took the unusual step of filing a pre-emptive lawsuit over the validity of his non-compete, and Entercom counter-sued.
Danny Aiello...via Wikipedia:
Aiello during a interview with Sean Hannity pointed out that he is also a Conservative and was raised Roman Catholic. He has also criticized the overuse of foul language in films and television series, as well as movies and television shows featuring poor portrayals of Italian-Americans, especially The Sopranos.
Aiello is the uncle of New York Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay. (He also played Madonna’s father in the Papa
Don’t Preach video, and Sal the pizza shop owner in
Do The Right Thing)
...a Yankee fan. Said he tuned out because he thought Ortiz was going to hit a grand slam.
One of my co-workers is Italian-American and loves the Yanks for the various Italian players, etc., they’ve had over the years (so Rico Petrocelli didn’t cut it for him)
...Moonstruck was mentioned. When Olympia Dukakis won her
Oscar she used her speech to urge on her cousin:
“OK Michael, let’s go!”
It was worse than that. She said “...the next president of the United States”.
It was worse than that. She said “...the next president of the United States”.
It was worse than that. She said “...the next president of the United States”.
We may have liftoff soon on WTKK. Clue #1: a message heard tonight during Phil Hendrie show: “If you think something special is coming to Boston radio, you’re right. WTKK.”
Clue 2—apparently a testing/working version of the new
WTKK site. And there he is. Howie.
they’re just testing it out. example:
>>.on the Howie Carr show
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
Want more of the Howie Carr show?
Of course this doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll start there
this week; they’re just trying out a new website. Still
we should check out 96.9 Thu morning just in case...?
From SaveWRKO.com by Brian Maloney:
WTKK Plans Leak Themselves
Regarding big changes coming to WTKK, the cat has let itself out of the bag. Based on a website redesign in progress that has been made available for public view, likely by accident, we’re able to glean a number of details about its plans.
Here’s the link, just don’t be surprised if access has been yanked by the time you read this. It pays to check SaveWRKO at all hours, doesn’t it?
Highlights:
— The new lineup is simple enough: Howie Carr in morning drive, Michael Graham back in midmornings, Eagan & Braude maintain early afternoons, while Jay Severin stays put in the 3-7pm slot.
— Overall, the new website represents an improvement over the previous version, with a bit more interactivity and news updates. The current one can’t be retired fast enough!
— WTKK’s station logo has been redesigned and a new slogan adopted: “Boston’s Talk Evolution”. The new graphic features “WTKK” rather than “FM Talk”, which didn’t prove as Arbitron-friendly as station suits had wanted. These are good moves.
What’s revealed here more than anything is that Greater Media is finally serious about boosting WTKK’s performance and position in the market. Let’s hope a number of weird programming quirks unique to WTKK are also swept away with these changes.
The wild card, however, is Howie Carr. While Greater Media is smart to create the strongest possible impression that he has joined WTKK, in reality, he hasn’t. With Entercom showing no sign of letting Howie go, it will be up to the judicial system to determine his professional fate.
It was also nice that Mark Steyn plugged Howie Carr in his article two days ago, and this was mentioned on Howie’s show on Monday.
Yup! Damn they took that site down. It had the new logo and there were tabs in the upper section showing Howie,
Eagan and Braude, etc. Someone at Greater Media must have
leaked it either on purpose or by accident (maybe the
latter) and it got pulled.
Maybe someone read about it here on Free Republic before reporting it. There are many lurkers here on Free Republic! ;)
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