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Entercom's "Hot Mess"

Before they get swelled heads over their 'above-the-fold' appearance in The Herald, let's make sure that Dennis and Callahan--since either they or their people read this message board--understand a simple FACT about themselves: Dennis is a failed sports anchor from a (then) third-rate TV station; Callahan is a hack columnist from a newspaper that may cease to exist in the near future. Now, people: These aren't Einsteins we're dealing with. They are members of the self-anointed 'We-Are-Larger-Than-Life' society. And as such, they feel as though the world is their oyster here. And maybe in the not-so-intelligent world of radio station management, they are. But HOW hard can it POSSIBLY be to find another pair of sports hacks...one from a failing newspaper and another from a failing TV station, and plop them on the air?? As TV stations and newspapers collapse under their own weight of increasing irrelevance, radio becomes a sort of life preserver for sports hacks looking for their 'next-big-thing', or simply a greedy grab for more money. Have people gotten SO enamored of D&C so that they forget just how 'ordinary' they really are? These are NOT 'A-List' people we're dealing with here. A small amount of cultivation, and ANY pair of sports hacks could step right in and make people go, 'Callahan? Dennis? WHO???' These are two men who are closer to being Wal-Mart door greeters than they are to being 'walk-on-water radio celebrities.'
 
It doesn't matter what they did before radio, what counts is what they are doing now. How many times did Rush fail before getting a talk radio gig in Sacramento in 84... and now he has changed radio.. for better or worse and become so big we need not use his last name.

You are only as good as your last book, or so they say, and D&C do very well in the ratings, and that translates to money for Entercom. Enough money that no matter what they do or say, they are still employed.

Since I don't listen to AM drive, I have never heard them. Is it they have talent? Is it they have a signal that the smaller sports stations (current and failed) that gets and retains listeners? or is it they are no talent hacks who cater to the knuckle dragging sports fan. Irregardless they are a pair that the ad sales people can go out and sell for big money and that is what radio is really all about isn't it?

I wonder how long Entercoms corporate suits are going to sit around and watch their Boston cluster self destruct? They can't be blind to the happenings at WRKO and now this.

AM radio is heading to extinction. A vast wasteland of stations that have trouble getting signal across town due to construction and cell towers that have reduced their coverage to CB radio levels. If WRKO and WEEI lose their big buck talent, and they go to a FM signal, you can kiss Boston AM radio goodbye. WBZ will be the only major player left, with some niche stations that will aways have a core group of dedicated listeners (wrol, wcas, among others) and then the rest will be leased time/LMA'd ethnics.
 
You bring up an excellent point: Once the leaves start falling from the trees and the sun starts rising later and setting earlier, WEEI and WRKO have NOTHING for signals, unless you live no further from their transmitters than Joe's Pizza on Comm Ave. With their talent pools both in shambles, WEEI and WRKO are staring at a bleak fall & winter. Maybe there are some more glass figurines that Wolf can toss around behind his closed office door when D&C finally go elsewhere, sung to the lovely refrain of 'WE HAD AN EFF-IN DEAL!!!'
 
Depends where you live/work; WRKO does well for me, WEEI not bad (north shore...'RKO stick in Burlington,
'EEI in Needham) though could be better at night (when I used to work in Woburn I could see the 'RKO
sticks from the parking lot of my workplace).

D&C and Howie get high ratings and get lowballed, and we'll have to see how the ratings are once Howie
moves to Morrissey Blvd. (just down the street from the Boston Globe-Democrat) and D&C perhaps move
to CBS-land or wherever. Yeah, maybe it won't affect either station, but how do you think WRKO will do
with The Colonel Hunt Show in afternoon drive, or how will 'EEI do with The Larry Johnson show in
mornings?

>>If WRKO and WEEI lose their big buck talent, and they go to a FM signal, you can kiss Boston AM radio goodbye.

Maybe they should have considered setting up talk radio or sports talk radio on "93.7 and 97.7"...
no static, no static at all.

>>But HOW hard can it POSSIBLY be to find another pair of sports hacks...one from a failing newspaper and another from a failing TV station, and plop them on the air??

That's a good point, too...you never know, they might be able to pluck someone in from off the streets
and make them a star. Happened years ago with some guys chatting about sports in a bar. Result:
Hi Howaya! and the Sports Fumble, er, Huddle...
 
It's interesting to see that Bob Neumeier keeps floating around Boston media kinda like how a horse racing junkie floats around Suffolk Downs in a leisure suit (Ooops! Hits close to home, there, Neumie, huh?). He's a miserable entity. Then there's good old Bob Lobel--the other 'Bob.' He actually can lay some sort of claim to pioneering 'Calling all Sports' on WBZ in days of yore. I believe he was paired with the mighty Upton Bell then, in a laughable 'Bell & Lobel' tag team. Neither has risen to anything more than mediocrity, with Lobel languishing in his microscopic sports segment on also-ran WBZ TV. At one point--had he remained, uh, stable--Lobel was earmarked for national work with some network. We are thankful that he did not remain, uh, stable and instead treads water at 'BZ. As for Upton Bell (and his hairpiece), who knows where he ended up? Is he selling cars somewhere or something?
 
When Howie leaves [ not soon enough in this poster's opinion...watch for a predictable "Death Pool" on Monday because of the death of Merv Griffin] listen as WRKO does something outrageous like putting Home Shopping Network or QVC or the like on the radio. Since most drivers have cellphones an adjusted home shopping format on the radio would work with additional descriptions on the items for sale. Entercom would barter this out, cut costs and stay solvent. Of course, the demos would skew from male to female but all Entercom cares about is the bottom line no matter how it achieves it.
 
Is a radio version of a TV test pattern a possibility for WRKO's future? There's always that lovely one-minute 'beeeeeeeeep' from the Emergency Broadcast System. Being government-funded, there's free money!!!
 
EBS was never government funded it was cooperate or else. Anyone remember the super secret authentication package that had all the idiotic words to confirm that we were indeed about to get nuked?

I have not heard an EAS test that I can remember. I know WBMX runs their tests around 3 AM sunday because the EAS monitor would have a roll of toilet paper hanging out of it when I worked Sundays... log the test, staple the receipt to the log...... now that I think of it the EAS system sends down a data package that sounds a lot like your old AOL dial up connecting to the AOL network. It only lasts about 5 seconds IIRC.

I propose they do something useful with WRKO and WEEI and that would be becoming a relay for the Talking Information Center.
 
It's interesting to see that Bob Neumeier keeps floating around Boston media kinda like how a horse racing junkie floats around Suffolk Downs in a leisure suit (Ooops! Hits close to home, there, Neumie, huh?).

Neumeier has been a network horse racing commentator for close to two decades. The fact that he likes, and plays, the ponies is probably surprising to nobody but the usual suspects. As for sartorial preferences for railbirds at Suffolk Downs, we'll have to defer to your expertise on the matter.

Then there's good old Bob Lobel--the other 'Bob.' He actually can lay some sort of claim to pioneering 'Calling all Sports' on WBZ in days of yore.

Actually, Lobel was still in school when Guy Mainella originated Calling All Sports on WBZ.

I believe he was paired with the mighty Upton Bell then, in a laughable 'Bell & Lobel' tag team.

Ummm...when I worked at WBZ, CAS with Bell and Lobel did pretty nice numbers and was usually sold out. It may have been different when you worked for WBZ.

Neither has risen to anything more than mediocrity,

Are you refering to the time Lobel signed the largest sports anchor contract in Boston history at a mediocre 600K?

Bell, on the other hand, was a mercurial fellow, and his rep for being difficult to work for, and with, has given him a rather spotting career in broadcasting. He'll never be more than a footnote, whereas Lobel has is a permanent place in the Boston broadcast landscape.

Thanks for another insightful and knowledgeable piece on broadcast history.

Regards,
TSB
 
If D&C go somewhere else, Bob Nuemeir and Steve DeOssie for AM Drive. For those worried about Mustard and Johnson, I dont think Craig Mustard is going to give up his day job at wellseley HS. But Lary might do AM drive.
 
It's easy to pick up a couple of sports geeks for replacements if you want them to talk sports. It's a bit more complicated if you want them carrying on about the angry man's beef of the day.
D&C do sports and Drudge: they take the effeminate gossip's stuff and give no credit. EEI is where they are because the drive-time shows are more than run-of-the-mill sports content.
I think they could be as successful with RS/Pats talk if they gave it a chance, but that's not in their formula. Which is why D&C will be resigned.
 
Blackroc said:
It's easy to pick up a couple of sports geeks for replacements if you want them to talk sports. It's a bit more complicated if you want them carrying on about the angry man's beef of the day.
D&C do sports and Drudge: they take the effeminate gossip's stuff and give no credit. EEI is where they are because the drive-time shows are more than run-of-the-mill sports content.
I think they could be as successful with RS/Pats talk if they gave it a chance, but that's not in their formula. Which is why D&C will be resigned.
Click to expand...

If you want someone who can talk more than sports, who knows the area, is familiar with the teams, the people, the personality of the people, and who has contacts in the media and on the teams, then why not look to Sean McDonough? He is a name, Sox fans remember him. He works for ESPN and has been on CBS (and NBC?) nationally. He's been on radio before, albeit on the Zone. He can intelligently talk football, baseball, and basketball, college and professional. However, he is also very opinionated and will beef with people about anything and everything. Pair him up with Neumier or Lobel and I think you would find the ratings would be fine with a little more sports talk but the same edge.

The question is, would he give up his ESPN college hoops schedule? The Big Monday games are pretty good to watch. Also, would he return to radio?
 
Jason and Julie are really hitting D&C where it hurts, right in Entercoms wallets. If they keep going at this rate how long before paychecks bounce?

How would you like to be a sales rep for Entercom Boston right now? I wonder if the reps can sell all 5 stations or if they are dedicated to one station? Either way the sales people must be taking a hit in the bank account between Howie headed out the door and now the D&C advertisers wanting lower rates. Commission based sales is such a fun job I bet.
 
TSBench said:
It's interesting to see that Bob Neumeier keeps floating around Boston media kinda like how a horse racing junkie floats around Suffolk Downs in a leisure suit (Ooops! Hits close to home, there, Neumie, huh?).

Neumeier has been a network horse racing commentator for close to two decades. The fact that he likes, and plays, the ponies is probably surprising to nobody but the usual suspects. As for sartorial preferences for railbirds at Suffolk Downs, we'll have to defer to your expertise on the matter.

Then there's good old Bob Lobel--the other 'Bob.' He actually can lay some sort of claim to pioneering 'Calling all Sports' on WBZ in days of yore.

Actually, Lobel was still in school when Guy Mainella originated Calling All Sports on WBZ.

I believe he was paired with the mighty Upton Bell then, in a laughable 'Bell & Lobel' tag team.

Ummm...when I worked at WBZ, CAS with Bell and Lobel did pretty nice numbers and was usually sold out. It may have been different when you worked for WBZ.

Neither has risen to anything more than mediocrity,

Are you refering to the time Lobel signed the largest sports anchor contract in Boston history at a mediocre 600K?

Bell, on the other hand, was a mercurial fellow, and his rep for being difficult to work for, and with, has given him a rather spotting career in broadcasting. He'll never be more than a footnote, whereas Lobel has is a permanent place in the Boston broadcast landscape.

Thanks for another insightful and knowledgeable piece on broadcast history.

Regards,
TSB
Click to expand...

"Are you refering to the time Lobel signed the largest sports anchor contract in Boston history at a mediocre 600K?"

Well, so much for the Einsteins in TV and radio management. They pay big bucks to someone like Lobel (and we know where he spent it) and hatched a whole generation of people that believe their press clippings and inflated sense of self worth. That is the MO, right TSB? It comes through in your holier-than-thou posture, which is quite humorous to read. Let me bow one more time to your WBZ pedigree.
 
I just heard Larry Johnson say to Curt Schilling "Curt, I noticed that you've been sniffing while you're out on the mound....are your allergies bothering you?" Is it any wonder that the advertisers are looking for lower rates?
 
By the way a few days ago, Howie said he'd be off "next Tue" due to "jury duty". Yesterday he said that yes,
he would be off "tomorrow" but it "wasn't jury duty, it's something else". It's possible he's off today because of
something legal though; maybe legal proceedings behind closed doors, as this gets settled (...eventually).
Expect HC to burn off a few more vacation days later on, too...so Cheapercom Boston has the Carr
situation to deal with as well.
 
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