Blueberry makes move and midcoast legend Don Shields loses job :(

[Maine-i-ac]

After working in the midcoast for over 24 years, Don Shields job has been eliminated. Details here about Blueberry's consolidation move and Don's firing...via telephone yet. GRRRRR!!

http://knox.villagesoup.com/Community/story.cfm?StoryID=177087

And you can read a letter from Don here:

http://knox.villagesoup.com/opinion/story.cfm?storyID=177091

Thank you for your many years of service Don and I hope all goes well for you.

 

[True Grit]

FTA--Don Shields said he received a call on Sept. 14 from his supervisor at Blueberry Broadcasting

So what's this supervisor's name?

Only worked with Don peripherally a couple times but few PBP guys were more enthusiastic. Best of luck to you.

 

[oldrover]

Don started at WRKD/WMCM a few years after I left. I did some sports-casting on the station, but Don was the real deal, both for play-by-play and as an honest-to-goodness local morning man. He is what is good and right about local broadcasting. Didn't he just win an MAB award? This is very disappointing news.

 

[coz]

The story I heard is that Don was fired by phone on a Monday, told there was no severence and asked if he could work through Friday!?! The issue here is not the format move, easy to see the country consolidation coming and understandable that they would shut thier Rockland building and operations down. But really, a Blueberry manager couldn't drive from Augusta to Rockland to let Don Shields go? An MAB Hall or Fame member with 24 years of service at these stations, whose son (Jon Shields) is the Operations Manager for thier Bangor stations!?! These are competent operators?

 

[True Grit]

The story I heard is that Don was fired by phone on a Monday, told there was no severence and asked if he could work through Friday!?! The issue here is not the format move, easy to see the country consolidation coming and understandable that they would shut thier Rockland building and operations down. But really, a Blueberry manager couldn't drive from Augusta to Rockland to let Don Shields go? An MAB Hall or Fame member with 24 years of service at these stations, whose son (Jon Shields) is the Operations Manager for thier Bangor stations!?! These are competent operators?

One of the most classless moves I've ever seen. And considering what's been happening in Maine radio (and radio nationwide) the last few years, the bar is set pretty high.

 

[rjoc]

Pretty tacky move....and friends often wonder why I am not trying to get back in radio.

 

[CygnusX1]

An MAB Hall or Fame member with 24 years of service at these stations, whose son (Jon Shields) is the Operations Manager for thier Bangor stations!?!

So if I read the letter and this thread correctly, if the stations have been consolidated and are based in bangor, does this mean Jon Shields is now in charge of the same stations that his dad once ran until he was let go? I'm not suggesting anything--I don't know either of them--only that if that's the case, it's got to be a little awkward.