Ah WOR, home of the legendary Jean Shepherd
Posted on 10/14/2007 11:01:18 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Howie Carr live thread for the week of Oct 14. Including his Sun 10/14 Herald column.
The show is still up in the air; meeting is supposedly being held tomorrow. Greater Media wants Howie to do mornings for them but Entercom still feels he is their property, etc. Todd Feinburg has been filling in in the meantime. If I hear anything I'll pass it along.
Howie Carr column ping. The best talk radio show NOT on
the radio (due to legal crap)
Hill brings The Fear — and loathing
by Howie Carr 10/14/07 Boston Herald
Once again, it’s looking like 1992, and I have The Fear.
I try to concentrate on other topics - how ’bout them Red Sox, Patriots, etc? - but always the same dark cloud returns to blot out the sun.
Hillary Clinton is going to be the next president of the United States.
They’re getting picked off, one by one, everyone who stands in her way. This week it was John Edwards, a phony’s phony we’d all agree, but he was hanging in there in the Iowa polls. So suddenly one of the Clinton house organs, the National Enquirer, is running with a story about Edwards’ alleged affair with a horse-faced 44-year-old bottle blonde.
The New York papers are full of stories about an impending indictment of Rudy’s buddy, former Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik. And the Enquirer, with Edwards’ scalp fresh on its belt, has been hinting for months about a new Giuliani galpal.
The Internet moonbats are trying to take out Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly. This time their shots went wide of the mark, but next time, who knows?
Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize and now we get a week of nostalgia pieces from the lamestream media, starting with the wires saying that after he lost the 2000 presidential race, Gore fled to Europe and “puzzlingly” grew a beard.
Memo to The Associated Press: If you have a falling-out with the Clintons like Gore did in 2000, it behooves you to assume a disguise. Nothing puzzling about it.
Hillary announces she has a million ideas, but “the country can’t afford them all.”
I don’t know about the country, but I know I sure can’t afford any of them.
I look at the map of next year’s Senate races and I see ... devastation. The only Republican who isn’t retiring is Larry Craig. And the few GOP senators who aren’t throwing in the towel all seem to come from the blue states. Who knew - Sununu? Susan Collins, call your office.
Hunter S. Thompson called it The Fear, and it came over him whenever he thought about Richard Nixon. I get it thinking about what’s coming down the road. In the Fifth Congressional District on Tuesday, I see the polls showing Jim Ogonowski close and he must be or Niki Tsongas wouldn’t be running all these negative spots, and Chester Atkins wouldn’t be so nasty. I hope Ogonowski’s got a shot but ... I’ve got The Fear.
I close my eyes and it’s 1993 again and my paycheck has suddenly shrunk. Bill Clinton’s “middle-class tax cut” has become the largest tax increase in American history - at least until 2009, that is.
I see new justices of the Supreme Court and they all look like Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And the GOP can’t even filibuster because they have fewer than 40 seats left.
It’s early, the Republicans keep saying. Bill Clinton never got more than 49 percent of the vote, and Hillary’s even less popular than the man who never had sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.
But this country is dumbing down. That was - and is - the genius of Bill Clinton. He was the first national politician to understand that an ever-larger percentage of Americans now have the attention span of a fruit fly. Those are the people whose pain Bill Clinton feels. They’re the 47 percent who pay 3 percent of the taxes, they took out the subprime loans without reading the fine print. They work for “nonprofits.”
Their numbers grow every year. From 43 percent of the electorate in 1992 to 49 percent in 1996 to 50-plus percent (adding Gore and Nader’s votes) in 2000. Only three words prevented a Democratic landslide in 2004: John Forbes Kerry.
I close my eyes and I see Vernon Jordan and Terry McAuliffe and Bernard Schwartz and Sandy “Burglar” ... I see pardons by the dozen ... I see The Dream Act, not to mention driver’s licenses for illegals. Think the transgender-civil rights movement.I’ve got The Fear.
WHEN will this nonsense end? I can’t listen to the felon, he’s a snore fest........I used to like to hear feinberg from 10-12 - I do listen if Avi Nelson is on, can’t take Bob Hedlund another snore fest.....I don’t do Rush, I looked forward to Howie as my afternoon sanity,,,feinberg is ok, he’s in a difficult position so I cut him some slack, I hope tomorrow brings a conclusion to this insanity. Entercom just continues to show how stubborn and unprofessional (Scotto - Wikpedia) they are.....julie and jason need to be fired asap.
I hope it ends soon. It’s been a month with no Howie. The
legal crap has to be ironed out, even if Greater Media (WTKK)
has to pay some kind of settlement. Or a judge over-rules
the decision that said that Entercom had a legal right-
to-match.
Can Howie prove that Greater Media would give him things
he can’t get with Entercom, like a morning slot, on FM,
no Sox pre-emptions, no Felons on the air staff, etc.?
Avi Nelson isn’t bad...one of the old-timers.
Watch WRKO’s ratings, esp. when the Sox season ends.
(New ratings are out this week but they’re “12 plus”
(not the 25-54s that are more important) and they
won’t tell us show-by-show. It’s possible the 25-54s
are out too but we aren’t allowed to see them. Anyway,
Finneran’s ratings are prob. a bust, the 3-7 pm slot
with Finebore in for Howie is prob. too...and when the
Sox season ends (hopefully after the World Series) WRKO
will be stuck with a sad selection of local talk hosts...
and a signal that fades away for many at (an earlier)
sunset...
ratings will be shown off mid-week at
http://www.radioandrecords.com
click Ratings then Boston
but again it won’t tell you by time slot, just the
average, and just “12 plus”
Why is Howie Carr absent? Where is he?
I may be wrong but I believe that Howie will bite the bullet, wait out the 180 days, forgedabout the $450,000 or so of money that he will forfeit for not working for the Dark Side and will eventually come back on a new FM station broadcasting in the same time slot AGAINST the FELLON Finneran and he will clean WRKO's and Finneran's clock (I hope he takes Sandy with him when the time comes.
Frankly, in spite of the short term financial loss, I hope Howie has the stones and moral fortitude to take this stand. Because it is the right course of action and shows that in the end, it IS about principle and taking a stand for what is right and not just about the money. If he does go back to WRKO it kind of sends the message that for Howie, it is about nothing more than the money.
Now I know that some may say, "well it is easy for you to say "turn down $450,000" because it does not cost you anything. But in my own small way that is not the case. The FELLON Finneran has been offering FREE tickets to the Red Sox play off games IF I and others will just "Tune it to FELLON Finneran's broadcast". I wrote the station back and told them that they can shove their Red Sox tickets where the sun don't shine because I refuse to listen to a Felons commentary of the moral and political issues of the day. Would I love to see the Red Sox Play? Absolutely, but not at the cost of my integrity. So yes, it has cost me and may others something as well.
Howie, on the odd chance that you read this, hang in there, stand firm and hold to your principles because when all is said and done, a good name is more to be desired than money. Your listening audience is loyal and we will follow you to your new station. And look on the bright side, now you have the time to write your second book ABOUT THE CROOKED KENNEDY'S!
Ditto that!
Howie, on the odd chance that you read this, hang in there, stand firm and hold to your principles because when all is said and done, a good name is more to be desired than money. Your listening audience is loyal and we will follow you to your new station. And look on the bright side, now you have the time to write your second book ABOUT THE CROOKED KENNEDY'S!
MEGA ditto that!
Is Avi Nelson still on the radio?
I used to listen to him 30 years ago!
who is doing afternoon drive 3 oclock hour on internet &4-6 pm eastern over at WOR.
We usually have a live thread up too.
Ah WOR, home of the legendary Jean Shepherd
Amen...yes, maybe he’ll be back in a few months but I’d
hope it would be earlier.
Howie prob. does read this. I know—he’s stolen lines from
me (but I don’t mind! One of ‘em: “Fung Wah is Chinese
for “The Bus Is On Fire!”) :)
Sandy does as well. I think Sandy will bolt for WTKK
to help Howie out once the coast is clear (for now she’s
still on w/ Feinburg filling in)
Howie may actually be kinda taking a “pay cut” to go
to WTKK but with the incentive bonuses he could ultimately
make more (and he’s be on a clearer signal, etc.; no
static at all, no night time fade!) WRKO actually wanted to CUT his pay but once they found out WTKK made an offer
they “matched it”. Yeah...
Right...
Much more is at http://www.savewrko.com
Some of this stuff made the papers (though in some cases
it was buried in the business section, or wound up on
“Inside Track”) but some people don’t know why Howie
has been off. No, he hasn’t been sick...it’s just legal
crap.
We need Howie now more than ever.
Thanks!
“I close my eyes and it’s 1993 again and my paycheck has suddenly shrunk.”
Heh...
Thanks for the info on WOR and Steve Maltzberg!
The Monday re-ping
Unbelievable. No Howie on the air at WRKO but you can have him on your computer by going to
http://www.wrko.com and clicking on Virtual Howie. It plays sound clips of Howie talking. Click on each one to hear it
when you get there.
Take it away mumbles
Is this fair?
Whitey Bulger
Ted Kennedy (the Howie “sock puppet” has a puppet of his own, Ted K with two jugs of booze)
I Didn’t Come Here To Be Made Sport Of
It’s reminiscent of the “soundboards” at the MarkLevinFan site (where Levin says things like
“Get off the phone you big dope” or “Yhello!” in tandem with Ted K’s “Hello? Hello”)
For a station that may lose Howie soon (but who knows with all this legal crap) it’s puzzling. How
long have they been working on this? Again go to WRKO site and it’s right up top.
Here’s an example of the Virtual Howie in action, with me
going through various sound cuts.
http://howiecarr.freehostia.com/VirtualHowie.mp3
BY BRIAN MALONEY
FREE HOWIE: ROUND TWO
Today, the battle against forced employment will once again be fought in a local courtroom, as Howie Carr attempts to convince a judge he should be allowed to take his marbles to another playground.
It’s FREE HOWIE: ROUND TWO. Don’t Blame Me, I Voted For WTKK.
As there are three competing interests, here’s a scorecard:
-— WRKO / Entercom: using a variety of tactics, the company has played hardball to keep highly-rated, yet unhappy employees in line. It recently humiliated its top morning sports talk team by cutting a deal with a rival outfit they were expected to join.
Since one of the hosts had previously played a key role in busting the union inside Entercom’s Boston facility, the old adage that “no good deed goes unpunished” seemed especially apt here.
In Howie’s case, it has been willing to incur many billable hours to force him to remain at WRKO against his will. Entercom has long used heavy-handed tactics in an attempt to make up for its lack of programming savvy.
-— WTKK / Greater Media: though it acts like it doesn’t have a dog in this fight, it’s really at the very center of the battle. But that won’t be apparent in the courtroom.
Playing it cool, however, has been smart because it keeps the focus on Carr v Entercom. More importantly, it doesn’t want to appear to be interfering with a rival’s operation.
In another way, Greater has also positioned itself well: recent rumors that Don Imus might return to WTKK were quickly quashed. Instead, the company says it will wait for Howie’s legal battle to end.
But WTKK desperately needs Howie Carr to join its lineup as soon as possible. Despite the advantages of its key FM band position (to where all talk radio stations will soon be migrating), it has never come even close to its potential. In fact, as major lineup issues beyond morning drive went unaddressed, ratings have recently plunged.
-— Howie Carr: while the media focus is on his fight to move to a new station, the Boston radio buzz has Carr ready to dump talk radio altogether if the move doesn’t work out. For years, Howie’s already had one foot in Florida anyway.
He’s made a lot of money, can easily continue his Herald column from anywhere and might very well have another book or two up his sleeve. Sources say he’s enjoying his holiday and may well be rethinking his future plans. Time away from the daily grind can do that to a person sometimes.
What’s next? Stay Tuned.
an example of the Mark Levin soundboard (first one,
manipulated by me)
http://howiecarr.freehostia.com/marklevin.mp3
board:
http://marklevinfan.com/MarkLevinBoard.htm
That cartoon brought a smile and a flood of memories back for me. I grew up listening to Shep’s Army stories and cultural musings on WOR’s clear-channel signal on a transistor radio under my pillow at night. When I was 12, I got a clock radio for Christmas and was able to hear him louder and clearer than before and the very next night, I think, he recited Robert Service’s “The Cremation of Sam McGee”. To this day, I owe a good portion of my wild imagination and sardonic sense of humor to Jean Shepherd. I’ve got a fair collection of airchecks from his shows, which I listen to rarely, but appreciatively. And I can still recite extended passages of Mr. Service’s work when so challenged.
Yes Shep was great. I have DVDs of A Christmas Story (and
also My Summer Story, the sequel, which was narrated
by him as well). I also have tapes of 4 of his comedy albums
and a friend of mine has videos of some of his TV shows
(”Shepherd’s Pie”, “Jean Shepherd’s America”).
Jean is not to be confused with country singer Jean Shepard...
His name is spelled the French way but is pronounced like
“Gene”. This dilemma—having what seemed like a girl’s
name—prompted his friend Shel Silverstein to write what
later became a hit for Johnny Cash: A Boy Named Sue!
Some of the army stories (Signal Corps) show up on
the albums and in his books (I have 3 of em: A Fistful
of Fig Newtons, Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden
Memories, and A Christmas Story—which features stories
from “Wanda Hickey” and “In God We Trust, All Others
Pay Cash”. His tales of “dish night at the movies”
and “rainy summers at camp”—hello, Allen Sherman—
were hilarious.
Great book: Excelsior You Fathead by Eugene B. Bergmann
Great site: http://www.flicklives.com
I think he did do an album with him reading Robert
Service’s works.
The airchecks are available, to those who are
curious, at sites related to flicklives.
“You’ll shoot your eye out, kid...”
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