Finn said:
brightonboris said:
Funny thing is Greater Media never really wanted Howie. He kind of just fell into their lap because one guy lost his job and then the other guy wanted to be on Hardball every week. . I also doubt Barncile pushed for Howie to take over mornings. Otherwise, Barnicle would've never left just to prevent Carr from entering the building. If Imus or Barnicle was still doing mornings at WTKK, I could see Howie still be doing his Chump Line on WRKO, and liking it, with or without a new deal way past Sept.19. I doubt either Entercom or Greater Media really wanted Howie as much as misguided Howie fans here would like the world to believe.
Anybody remember Carr ever saying he wanted a morning drive slot before this came up? on WRKO or anywhere else?
Howie went for the money. Of course, it certainly looks better for him to say that WRKO 'dissed' him, and that FM talk is the wave of the future, but that's just 'boob bait for the bubbas' over at SaveWRKO and the internet boards.
First off, FM talk, as envisioned, is going nowhere. The most successful FM talker in the US is WTKK, and they can't crack the Top 10 after almost a decade of trying. Everywhere else, it scratches. The entire theory behind FM Talk was that it was supposed to be 'edgier' and skew younger with better qualitatives. WTKK seems to have given up on that, especially with the hiring of Carr, and is now just trying to compete with the other adult-oriented stations.
WRKO seems to have treated Carr very well. He's by far the highest paid person on the station, has a dedicated production staff, and the majority of WRKO promotional activity is for his benefit. If Carr, or anyone, thinks that it was an affront to Howie to have a couple of Red Sox preempts and lose the last 1/2 hour of his show on occasion, either Howie, or they, are delusional. Carr had a deal that probably everyone on this board, and WRKO critics like Maloney, would have killed for, especially Maloney.
Howie wants folks to think that he was 'dissed' by WRKO when they hired his long-time nemesis, Finneran. So, what does he do? He moves to a station where implacable enemies reside; Barnicle hates his guts, Graham things he's a lightweight and is probably bitter than he didn't get the AM slot, Braude thinks he's a jerk and has for years, and Severin thinks he's pond scum and has made a hobby out of bad-mouthing him as a crude, lowest-common-denominator hack. Of course, Severin is also the only guaranteed winner in all this, so he probably thinks (or more likely, knows) that Christmas came early this year.
There would have been no reason for WRKO to move Carr to AMD, since he was performing well in PMD, and they've always promoted the crap out of him in that slot (remember when Severin was making inroads and you couldn't go by a bus, taxi, newspaper, or billboard without seeing Carr's smiling mug?). WTKK appears to be the one taking a chance here, betting millions that Carr will perform.
But, one of the secrets to Carr's success is that he has, in PMD, been the first string talent up against the JV. The one time a station made a run at him with above average talent, WTKK with Severin, Severin occasionally beat him straight up, always beat him in the demo, and, until his ill-considered move to syndication, basically fought him to a draw.
Carr wants to position this as his revenge against WRKO and Finneran. But his competition in AMD isn't Finneran, it's folks with names like Walsh, Callahan, Dennis, Brine, Owens, O&A, Seigel, Adams, Dorman, Hill, and Lander. With many of these guys, he has absolutely zero chance of making a dent in their audiences. Of the others, he's going against D&C just as the Sox hit the playoffs and the Pats season is getting up to speed, WBZ will just keep doing their thing as the only game in town, and L&W are funnier and more clever, with the most loyal audience which has stayed with them as stations and formats changed around them (plus, they are in the same building, and GM is going to have to walk a fine promotional line not to cannibalize the audience of two guys just locked into a long term deal.) His other problem is that all his afternoon listeners already have a favorite morning show and, with radio being a notorious 'habit medium', thinking that they'll all, or even most, switch could be very expensive wishful thinking. And, he has to try to keep the current WTKK audience, which could be problematic since I don't think Imus/Barnicle listeners have a natural affinity toward Howie's style of show. Morning Drive is different than PMD, and his act is going to have to change for him to have a chance. And, after doing the same act for 20 years, there is no evidence than he can successfully pull that off.
His fabled 'revenue generation' at WRKO was mostly based on his numbers, not his charisma. Other than that lawyer who specializes in having the taxpayers pick up medical tabs so the kids can inherit those 'sacred savings' and, perhaps, the Hearth & Kettle, exactly which clients are going to follow him to WTKK if he doesn't do a respectable number?
If all he does is beat Finneran, he'll make the record books as the greatest big-money bust in the history of local broadcasting. This isn't anywhere near the slam dunk that some Carr fans seem to think it is.
Regards,
TSB
