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Could Gene Burns Be Enticed To Come Back To Boston ?

C

Casablanca

Guest
I know Gene Burns is in his 60's. To which I say, ' so what ' unless you are an ageism jerk like Howie Carr it shouldn't matter, but wonder what it would take to get Gene Burns back in Boston in his old time slot - 10-12 on WRKO.

Of course, I don't know why he would want to leave New/Talk KGO in San Francisco the WBZ Radio equivalent. Sure he has a great life out there and would probably never want to leave.

Gene did a stint by ISDN line from San Francisco at the failed new WMEX in 2000 as he continued his KKO program at night. Suppose it could be done again but it is always better to be in the city from which you are broadcasting.

Gene Burns would certainly give WRKO credibility which it has lost over the past ten years. WRKO has become a joke. As a tool of the right wing it has limited its audience to the choir. It needs to expand or it will fall further and further in the ratings.

Burns is a libertarian and unpredictable. He is not a knee jerk anything except an outstanding talk show host.

Gene Burns is really too good for WRKO but it would be great to have him back in Boston.
 
I think at this point in time Burns is mandatory for Boston radio. I'm not a big fan but he certainly has the
smarts.

Jay Diamond was heading in the right direction. Rich Carberry did not give him enough time. Given how the election turned out, having Jay Diamond on 9 am to noon would've been the smartest move.
 
People tend not to leave the number one station in Market Four, to work at a half assed sports station in Market Eleven.
 
Gene is too intelligent for what WRKO has become, a knee jerk reactionary and predictable anti-intellectual repository. When he was here it was a different station - on the verge of going tabloid but not the drek it has become today.

On second thought as much as I would like Gene Burns to "cross the meridian" boston in his old time slot I wouldn't wish the current WRKO on him.
 
my prediction is that he wouldn't do well here. Times have changed, Gene hasn't. This obsessive glorification of a talk radio dinosaur reveals an unwillingness to be realistic about talk radio and wrko. Wrko is not a bad talk station, despite the endless, Kerry Healey type hammering that a couple of posters here give it each day. For a two station market, its ratings are good. It needs a new morning show, but will see a spike in ratings when that happens along with the jump the red sox will provide. WHile the Healey crowd may wish it to be in some kind of life support condition, this is not reality.
 
Classics are never dinosaurs.

WRKO has just become a classless, anti-intellectual outlet for the worst in human communications.
 
>>> For a two station market, its ratings are good. It needs a new morning show, but will see a spike in ratings when that happens along with the jump the red sox will provide. >>>

not true, 25 -- 54 's really blow, sox aren't enough w/o good shows..
 
Casablanca said:
I know Gene Burns is in his 60's. To which I say, ' so what ' unless you are an ageism jerk like Howie Carr it shouldn't matter, but wonder what it would take to get Gene Burns back in Boston in his old time slot - 10-12 on WRKO.
Click to expand...

Thirteen days ago (on 11/3/06), Gary Francis of WCAP (and Gary's Ice Cream), who, I believe, used to produce Gene's shows on WRKO, posted on the Boston Radio Interest list that he had been in contact with Gene as soon as it became clear that WRKO's 9:00AM-noon slot was open. Gene told Gary that there is "no way" he would even consider returning to Boston, either in the flesh or by ISDN. I got the impression that it wouldn't matter if it was WRKO or some other station; he likes San Francisco and just isn't interested in a Boston gig.
 
excellent. We are spared even having to contemplate resorting to throwback talk in Boston.
 
Johnwas 5 looks like we can look forward to more WRKO morning drek
from totally anti-intellectual Neanderthals.

That's the world of current talk radio with very few exceptions and not writing about AirAmerica.
 
Gene is a classy guy and a talented broadcaster.

It's no surprise he has no interest in going back on in Boston, in person or otherwise.

He does quite well at a powerhouse news/talk station in a top 5 market that has ratings WRKO would kill to get. And from what I know of him, he's truly a Northern Californian now. He's probably even stopped really keeping track of Boston.
 
The Boston market needs to look ahead, not Back To The Future. As great a broadcaster as Burns is, he's become firmly entrenched out there, and he's not looking back. Neither should RKO or its audience.

Any industry must at some point turn the reins of hope over to the next generation. In this case, I would hope 'RKO seeks out voices who perhaps aren't as well known as Gene Burns, but have passion not only in their beliefs but the verbal jousting that comes with defending those beliefs.

Wouldn't it be great to see a Talk Radio Renaissance at one of the stations that helped pioneer the format?
 
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