Posted on 08/16/2011 12:48:07 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Radio bomb-tosser Jay Severin, fired from WTKK after he boasted of bedding a bevy of “mostly attractive young women” who worked for him, returns to the Boston airwaves on WXKS-AM Talk 1200 Thursday in his old afternoon-drive slot.
“I’m tremendously excited,” Severin told the Track. “Everybody wants to play for the hometown club, and these are the guys I listen to. To be a part of that team and that lineup is a tremendous opportunity and honor.”
Severin joins a roster that includes local yakker Jeff Katz in morning drive and syndicated talent Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity in the other day and evening timeslots.
“Jay will be a force to be reckoned with,” said Mary Menna, Clear Channel Radio president and market manager for Boston and Providence. “Jay has a proven track record as one of Boston’s top radio hosts for over a decade. We are fortunate to add him to the TALK 1200 team.”
Severin said he is champing at the bit to get back on the air with presidential politics heating up and with only one instruction from his new employers: Be yourself.
“That stands in profoundly stark contrast to the last set of directions I received,” he said.
Severin’s tenure at ’TKK was marked by controversy after the station signed him to a seven-year deal in 2006 that paid their once-top-rated talker more than $1 million a year. Then the economy tanked and a new ratings system kicked in that eroded Severin’s once-strong numbers and the long honeymoon was over.
In 2009, ’TKK suspended the afternoon yakker for a month after he made crude comments about Mexican immigrants. In April, Severin was suspended indefinitely, then ultimately fired, after he said on his show that when he owned his own company, he hired “mostly attractive young women” and had sex with nearly all of them.
“I slept with virtually every young college girl I hired to be an intern or an employee for my firm,” Severin said. “All I was was a young man who was the boss and I did it because I could.”
The comments were made while defending American Apparel chief Dov Charney, who was being sued for sexual harassment by a number of female ex-employees.
Severin’s agent George Tobia, who made the deal with WXKS-AM, said the new gig will free his client up to do “a Jay Severin show.”
“There appeared to be a format change at WTKK that was not conducive to Jay’s talent,” he said. “It seemed more of a ‘Good Morning America’ type format.”
Former FOX25 traffic reporter Doug Meehan, whose show has been far less controversial, replaced the sometimes-shock talker in ’TKK’s afternoon drive.
Neither Tobia nor Severin would discuss their previous vows to sue his former station for wrongful termination, but we’d say stay tuned on that one. For now, Severin said he’s just happy to be working again.
“In broadcasting everyone has rules to follow,” he said. “But the basis of our courtship and now marriage was based on one premise: We’d like you to come here and be yourself, in parenthesis, again.”
File Under: Talk Back.
Howie’s competition is back—on the AM dial. Howie Carr list ping
(btw: Col Hunt tomorrow and Thu, Avi Nelson Wed & Fri)
Severin starts Thu 8/18 according to tweets by him and by Talk 1200. (When Howie’s contract ends will he want to try to get on 96.9 FM Talk or AM 1200—but are there any slots available on 1200 now?)
Displacing Hannity?
Only becasue he wants to advocate for his buddy, Mitt Romney.
Yes, in the 3-6 slot; I was on the WXKS site and the new lineup isn’t posted yet but it will prob be:
5-10a Jeff Katz
10-noon Glenn Beck
Noon-3 El Rushbo
3-6 Jay Severin
6-7 Probably “Rush Replay” or maybe an hr of Hannity?
7-10 Currently the Andy Dean show...or Sean...or?
10-mid. Currently Mark Levin
Then coast to Coast
There’s a site called jayseverin.org that takes on Jay and his opinions, etc. and there used to be a page spotlighting “Jay’s Governor”. I think the guy who runs it is a libertarian (Jay has claimed to be that, and a “libertine”
besides)
Thanks for the info. I’ve never been to those sites, but I have been listening to Severin off and on for the past ten years. Let’s just say my opinion of him has changed somewhat, and not for the better...
I think Howie Carr is likely to stay put on WRKO at this point. For all his posturing to move to the FM dial after his contract runs out, he's got to realize that a lot of his male audience will go to Severin if he makes that move.
My only beef with Severin is his obsession with Mitt Romney. But I will attribute that to Severin just being loyal to his good friend. Once Romney is knocked out (as he will be), he'll get on board with Palin/Perry/Bachmann
Liberals hate Severin because of his non-PC ways (Howie Carr has gotten very PC in recent years). Personally, the things he got suspended and then fired for on WTKK were pretty lame. There is no doubt that the station was bound and determined to be rid of him and his high salary.
Starting on 9/11/2001 I started listening to WTKK everyday....until they changed ....Marjorie and Jim in the morning....liberal drivel. The only show worth listening to is Michael Graham who is on opposite Glenn Beck. Needless to say, Beck wins my ears every day! Since this new station “Rush Radio”(1200am here in Boston) started I listen all the time via the internet! Jeff Katz is fabulous and does a great job with local issues as well as national ones. I would have erased WTKK from my pre-sets in the car except their “money” show on the weekends is still good.
Good luck to Jay.
Never heard of him, but sounds like an A1 dirtbag.
Levin is on from 10p to 1a then Coast to Coast - so like RKO XKS goes from bad to worse!
He's a disgusting pig and should be banned from radio!
Sounds like Severin likes to brag about his sexual exploits. Maybe young guys who listen to Howard Stern like Severin's show.
Damn it! I was starting to enjoy Hannity on the drive home, at least when he wasn’t getting into pedantic arguments with his listeners, especially moonbats calling in. His interview with top notch political types are great.
Looks like Hannity will be coming on after severin - see the fourth paragraph
http://www.talk1200.com/pages/schedule.html?feed=389171&article=8973090
But it looks like Hannity won’t be on until after 6:00, which is later than my drive time.
With the exception of Rush, I'd rather listen to paint dry.
I like Michael Graham too but his talent is being wasted in that midday slot - I’m surprised they didn’t move him to afternoon drive after Jay left. Now that Jay is coming back, I think I’ll be on 1200 AM most of the time now.
Yup I didn’t see the press release till now (it was posted on a site called Boston Radio Watch) and it does sound like Hannity is “back to back” with him. Again Talk 1200’s site doesn’t actually give the “new” schedule yet but I hope they update it soon. My guess is Katz, Beck, Rush, Jay, Hannity (no more Rush replay at 6?), then either Andy Dean or
Mark Levin (prob the former) then Coast to Coast. Maybe Dean or Levin could be moved to weekend replays?
Not crazy about Graham’s voice. Katz isn’t bad. Hannity can be good for days when Howie’s off—oops, not any longer, as he indeed will be pushed into early evenings (though if he starts at 6...) Jay may even be interesting in a small dose and I wonder if he may soon be making the news in the
media columns (Jessica Heslam, Herald) again for his remarks.
Howie may wind up staying at RKO, true, though who knows, he may try to go for 96.9 if the money’s good. I would think his male audience might follow him there, but you could be right. WTKK probably does OK in money and ratings but could do a lot better. I wonder if they’re waiting for Howie to finish up at RKO.
My moonbat sister, when I posted that Jim and Margery would be gaining an extra hour? “Jim and Margery? I LOVE them!” Then when I posted about 1200 signing Jay: “Looks like he’s
really hit rock bottom.”
Eventually Howie may wind up on FM in Boston if Entercom finds a way to simulcast or move the station to FM, but as conditions are now it’s doubtful. For those who don’t know here’s what Entercom owns in Boston:
WRKO 680 talk
WEEI 850 sports talk, Celts, Sox
(Both stations have problems to the west after sunset)
WMKK 93.7 “Mike” variety hits (no DJs= low cost= high profit)
WKAF 97.7 Simulcasts WAAF
WAAF 107.3 Rock
If you have an HD radio, WMKK has “Funkytown” on their HD2.
WKAF and WAAF have WEEI on their HD2 signals, and WAAF has
WRKO on their HD 3 signal. That may benefit listeners to the west.
I have an HD radio. Not too many other people do.
WAAF and WKAF probably do well with rock, and WMKK does
well with “variety hits”. This is why you haven’t read in the paper “WRKO” (or WEEI) “is moving to FM”. Not yet at least. In many cities, FM stations are switching to talk.
Either AM talk stations are moving there, or they’re simulcasting. So far Entercom hasn’t done this yet.
(Oh, back to HD radio: Talk 1200 is on the HD2 signal
of WXKS-FM 107.9)
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