Free Republic

Hello, There has been a lot of talk since the election about the potential revival of the Fairness Doctrine. The recent vote elevating Senator Harvey Waxman to replace Senator John Dingell as Chair of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee lends some weight to this speculation. And while President-Elect Obama has suggested that he does not support reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, there are several senior Democratic members of Congress who have expressed strong support for it. In light of all this anxiety, I wanted to take a few minutes to describe the history of the Fairness Doctrine and to explain...

Don’t breathe a word of this. Because nobody’s supposed to know. But the real reason Charles Laquidara and WBOS parted ways was because the station believed the Boston radio legend was being too political - and he wouldn’t sit for censorship. Laquidara resigned his gig as host of a daily one-hour music show called “Back Spin” after catching heat from station suits for airing his way-left-of-center views on the prez, the war, etc. Our spies in the studio say that after Laquidara played Neil Young’s new tune “Impeach the President,” he was reprimanded by his boss, who told him something...

In a stunning turn of events, radio company Greater Media this morning pulled out of the long-running bidding war with Entercom Communications for broadcasting rights for Boston Red Sox games. Sources say Entercom has won the hotly contested battle for Red Sox play-by-play. Entercom, parent company of local stations WEEI-AM (850) and WRKO-AM (680), is the only remaining bidder. WEEI, the top sports talker in the country, has been the longtime partner with the Sox. Entercom’s bid was said to have offered the Sox an option to buy an equity stake in WRKO in the future. Sources say that under...

"Radio bases loaded : Sox to change channels "Red Sox, Entercom, and Greater Media are all about to end playing hardball any minute now. While Sox and Greater Media managements remains mum, some of their personnel are now openly bragging around town that the Sox broadcasts will move from WEEI AM 850 after 12 years. The shortly-to-be-announced "done deal" has the Sox purchasing a majority interest in WBOS 92.9FM with Greater Media retaining a remaining share of the station. A Sox source tells BRW that the deal may be announced as soon as Monday(4/24)."

The Boston Red Sox are within days of announcing a blockbuster multimillion-dollar radio-rights deal that could dramatically reshuffle the team’s broadcast lineup, executives close to the deal said. The Sox are in ninth-inning negotiations with media companies vying for the deal, with Greater Media’s WBOS-FM (92.9) having an edge, executives said. An agreement could be announced early next week, if not sooner, executives said. The price could hit $14 million per year. Sources say both Greater Media and Entercom, whose WEEI-AM (850) is the incumbent, have offered that much. But Entercom is said to be offering cash, while Greater Media...

Team in talks to buy 25% stake in station The Red Sox are negotiating with the owner of radio station WBOS to take an ownership stake in the station and move its radio broadcast rights there, a move that would effectively end the team's relationship with Boston's dominant sports station, WEEI. The talks are ongoing, and no deal has been reached, according to three executives briefed on the situation. WEEI could still make a rich, last-minute bid to retain the right to broadcast Sox games, though the executives said that appears less likely than it did last year. If WBOS...

It's official: New WTKK afternoon/ drivetime guy is Michael Graham. (More below) Jay Severin? Still in limbo. Apparently WTKK's owner, Greater Media, has exclusive rights to _negotiate with him_ in the hope of carrying his new show, Jay Severin has Issues; this "window" runs till the end of the year, and Jay's new show starts nationwide in Jan. Could be on WTKK, WBZ, who knows. ALLACCESS.COM reports: Graham Takes Afternoons At WTKK/Boston Michael Graham As previously tipped on ALL ACCESS, former WMAL-A/WASHINGTON midday host MICHAEL GRAHAM is taking over afternoons on GREATER MEDIA Talk WTKK (96.9 FM TALK)/BOSTON, effective TODAY...