Got Laid Off At The Factory...

[JustPastBuffalo]

Merle Haggard's classic "If We Make It Through December" would fit right... about... now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-IJxTd8dCo

According to cnyradio.com, Town Square told Matt Herkimer to clean out his locker after 25 years with the Big Frog. There are no legacies any more. So what was it: Approaching 55 and getting a little long in the tooth? Making a little too much? TS management is being tight-lipped, no doubt tidying up the fourth quarter and tightening up for Q1 '14. Happy holidays.

BTW, Matt Herkimer is a cool name for a U-R personality... and it shouldn't take a guy from the west end of the 90 to bring this up on the S-U-R board.

Hello? Anybody out there... out there... out there... ?

 

[BobRoss]

Definitely big news. I'll admit, I just haven't been checking this board as much lately since the changes in the last year or so. First there was the transition from radio-info to radiodiscussions -- even though it looked the same, it seemed to be running much slower. And now, it looks entirely different. I don't really like the new look... too many ads cluttering it up.

I think "Matt" was more than 55... he already had plenty of experience before he helped launch the Frog.

Some of the factors I suspect were behind this decision:
- I agree TSM may have thought Matt was making too much but I'd call that a weak excuse in light of WFRG's solid ratings over the years. The station is consistently #1 or #2 (and if #2, it's because sister station WLZW is #1) and no other country station in the market has ever come close.
- Over the years, Matt has proven he's just as capable hosting solo as he is with a co-host. If morning show talent budget was too high, why not keep him and ditch the co-host who's only been there a few years?
- Oh, right... the co-host, Polly Wogg, is married to the program director, who also happens to be the afternoon host that just moved into mornings to take Matt's place. Apparently these two have co-hosted mornings elsewhere in the past. In hindsight, I now wonder how long they've been planning a way to reunite on the same shift. I guess TSM isn't among the many companies that have a written anti-nepotism policy. Just ask the PD's son, a part-time jock... or the former GM, who hired her daughter as a sales rep.

I could see them handling things this way if Matt had only been around a couple years, or if he had crappy ratings, or if he did something stupid like cursing on the air. But when you have a jock who has been on the air for 25 years, dating back to the first day of a successful format, I think it's poor to just make him disappear without a single word. If the station were smart, they would have framed it as a "retirement" complete with a farewell show or listener party of some sort. They could have even made some NTR on it.

 

[chas108]

JRB, it's hard not to tear up, thinking how it used to be 30 years ago in CNY.

WHEN-AM, for example..."The Entertainer". Full-service, musically Hot AC, presentation-wise...each jock was a great storyteller. Kind of radio where you'd stay in the car until the bit was finished. Even weekends. I'd have loved to work there.

I was at WKFM for a few months in the Fall of '82 after it went live...some good people there and I made the contacts to find my first full-time gig in Cortland the following Spring.

Last time I was in CNY, it was the way it's been for years...Premium Choice on the CC stations and Cumulus being, well, Cumulus.

I know the market rank - and corresponding ability to make a profit - has dropped off even worse than Buffalo since 1982 but it's still sad to drive thru knowing it's a crapshoot you'll hear anything live and interesting after 10AM on any given day. Even worse...family members who once spoke of fave stations now talk the same way about, well, Pandora...Spotify...Sirius XM...

At least out your way, JPB, there's still a pulse.