iHeart Boston Layoff?

[spt87]

When Limbaugh goes - I wonder what happens. Do the listeners just keep the dial tuned to the same place cause they have had it there for 30 years or abandon ship as the Stern fans did taking out rock stations all over the country.

Certainly don’t want to speed up his retirement and wish him the best and hopefully some medical good news. Love him or hate him he played a huge role in bringing a new format to radio and extending the life of many AM stations.

 

[TheBigA]

When Limbaugh goes - I wonder what happens.

The show is owned by iHeart and Premiere. I'm sure they have a plan. Fill-in hosts for a while, then a replacement. Affiliates likely have an out of the contract once an official name change is announced. What do the listeners do? They tend to be followers. If the change is done respectfully, I'd expect they'd remain loyal.

The Stern example was different in that Stern went to a different radio outlet. That won't be the case here.

 

[Cap-n Spackle]

They continue to run promos for the VB In The Middle show on RKO.

 

[raccoonradio]

I guess they haven't bothered to remove it from
automation.
The day after the election they ran a promo with
Kuhner plugging his Election Night show.
At one point RKO ran a weather forecast talking of storms rumbling through the area.That was from the day before.Someone later said they were dealing with a different automation setup and it went out in error.

 

[Cap-n Spackle]

I recall at least one long holiday weekend when 1200 ran the Thursday weather forecast for at least 4 days in a row.

 

[Methuselah]

RKO finally got around to scrubbing VB from the lineup on their web site.

Did someone tell VB though?

 

[vmorrison99]

The Baghdad Bob of Boston radio is under tremendous pressure to join Trump during his 2nd term.

The last two days have been so insane Crazy Kuhner is starting to sound more and more like Alex Jones and less like his mentor Michael Savage. The lunatic fridge that make up his audience and the core of regular callers are so far out of the mainstream it is hysterical.

I have been told by more than one friend who still work at IHEART that Kuhner is far less of a right winger than he portrays on the air. At the end of the day, they tell me he is an establishment Republican. But his core audience eats it up allowing IHEART to attract advertisers with the right product targeted at his small but loyal following to get a ROI. That and a lack of talk talent has allowed him to survive in the market much longer than many excepted.

Only in America can a Canadian ( now a US Citizen) with limited knowledge of the area or the local political landscape a Gypsy accent and a stutter achieve some level of success in broadcasting.

 

[spt87]

Hearing that about Kuhner doesn't surprise me. I've long figured most of these people are playing a role not speaking their mind. Radio and TV are entertainment - including the news and talk shows. Its all about getting people worked up so they watch/listen more.

The days of uncle Walter are gone for sure - everything is spin and hype to go after the desired demographic. Actually, I have my doubts that the days of uncle Walter were any different, the presentation was just different.

 

[nowradioguy]

Hearing that about Kuhner doesn't surprise me. I've long figured most of these people are playing a role not speaking their mind. Radio and TV are entertainment - including the news and talk shows. Its all about getting people worked up so they watch/listen more.

The days of uncle Walter are gone for sure - everything is spin and hype to go after the desired demographic. Actually, I have my doubts that the days of uncle Walter were any different, the presentation was just different.

I believe it's not solely news and talk that have people "playing a role". I don't know, nor have I ever met, KISS 108's Matt Siegel, but he supposedly said in an interview that HIS favorite music when he's off-air is country, not the stuff he plays on the radio.

 

[CTListener]

I believe it's not solely news and talk that have people "playing a role". I don't know, nor have I ever met, KISS 108's Matt Siegel, but he supposedly said in an interview that HIS favorite music when he's off-air is country, not the stuff he plays on the radio.

Carl DeSuze absolutely hated the stuff he had to play on his morning show when WBZ was a Top 40 station in the '60s. I remember knowing that after only a few years of listening, so I must have read it somewhere.

I wouldn't be surprised if many more extreme right-wing talkers are just putting on a show for people they sneer at off-air.

 

[freqlost]

Matt has been pretty clear about that for decades, so I don't think you can say he is LARPing.

 

[Methuselah]

To be fair to K00nah, I think he does somewhat play a "role" on the radio (principally that of a drama queen), but most of the right-wing alex-jones lunatics tend to be his callers, not him. He's just an outlet for the crazies. Then again, most of the crazies tend to be before 8:20am, which explains a great deal, since institutes tend to give meds about 8am, so it'll take 20 minutes or so for the thorazine to kick in. Perhaps he encourages the crazies a little, but isn't that what you're supposed to do for ratings? Appeal to your audience?

The drama queen thing is what turns me off, but truthfully I find most of his political commentary to be well thought out and presented, although no doubt some people would disagree with his conclusions.

If you search for the Edmund Burke Institute on the internet wayback machine you'll find some of his past writings. Of course, we have to assume those opinions are likewise his "real" views. However, you have to also consider aspects of his personal life he discusses on the air, such as his adoption of two children. His actions in his personal life would tend to support what he espouses on the air, in terms of his morality and religious convictions.

I am not really sure what "establishment republican" is. I tend to vote party-line republican but that's because they (mostly) tend to represent the views of myself and my family more than, say, the AOC-crazies. Paul Feeney, my state senator, is a decent guy even though I disagree with many of his political positions. I blanked Baker on the last ballot, even if I held my nose I couldn't bring myself to vote for him.

I've never met Kuhner, although I live in his neck of the woods. I suspect he's a pretty normal guy in person, someone you could sit around and have a beer with (as long as you do not discuss politics if you're on the other side of the aisle).

Edmund Burke Institute

 

[TheBigA]

Keep in mind that for anyone on radio, it's a JOB. Your garbage man doesn't love garbage. The lady who takes your order at the fast food place probably doesn't eat there. And the DJ might listen to music other than what he plays. When you're not working, you like to do other things that don't involve work. Same for people in radio.

 

[Methuselah]

Keep in mind that for anyone on radio, it's a JOB. Your garbage man doesn't love garbage. The lady who takes your order at the fast food place probably doesn't eat there. And the DJ might listen to music other than what he plays. When you're not working, you like to do other things that don't involve work. Same for people in radio.

I think it depends on what you do. I've always told my kids the best job they could have is one where its also their hobby. I knew a guy, Hoyt, who loved to surf and snowboard. He opened his own shop, Xtremely Board, and sold snowboard, paddle boards, surf boards, etc. His job was his hobby, and he loved doing it.

 

[TheBigA]

His job was his hobby, and he loved doing it.

Yep, that's certainly the case for me. I've never worked a day in my life. And back when there were only a few thousand radio stations, it may have been more prevalent. But today, with 16,000 radio stations, and we're 100 years removed from the very first commercial station, there are a lot of people for whom it is strictly a job. The way I determine who's in it for love or who's in it for money is ask if they'd do it for free. If the answer isn't yes, then we know that it's strictly a job.

 

[davideduardo]

Yep, that's certainly the case for me. I've never worked a day in my life. And back when there were only a few thousand radio stations, it may have been more prevalent. But today, with 16,000 radio stations, and we're 100 years removed from the very first commercial station, there are a lot of people for whom it is strictly a job. The way I determine who's in it for love or who's in it for money is ask if they'd do it for free. If the answer isn't yes, then we know that it's strictly a job.

Bravo, BigA!

I think today that the downsizing and uncertainty within the radio business has made what was a vocation for many into just a job.

The nature of broadcasting changed with consolidation. The industry's largest companies had multiple hierarchical levels to the point that most people did not know the top executives and were, thus, afraid of them.

The team spirit of companies like Storz and McLendon and proud followers of leaders like Gary Stevens at Doubleday or Norman Wain at Metroplex is gone.

Only a few companies have leaders we respect and for whom we'd love to work: Ed Christian comes to mind.

With a lack of inspiring and confidence-instilling people at the top, we can't expect the rest of us to be excited, loyal and dedicated. When fear replaces fun, the industry collapses.

 

[davideduardo]

I think it depends on what you do. I've always told my kids the best job they could have is one where its also their hobby. I knew a guy, Hoyt, who loved to surf and snowboard. He opened his own shop, Xtremely Board, and sold snowboard, paddle boards, surf boards, etc. His job was his hobby, and he loved doing it.

This is a good segue into how or why those of us who are in the industry got into broadcasting.

By the time I was in 6th grade, my father would give me single shares of NYSE traded companies for birthday and Christmas gifts. I learned to follow the companies, and read annual reports and shareholder data the way some friends collected baseball cards.

One company I got a single $16 share in was Storer Broadcasting. I watched their local TV stations and listened to their radio station. I found I could hear the Toledo and Wheeling stations at night. I became an AM radio DXer, trying to hear all the Storer stations.

I visited several Storer startions, and continued to DX and heard McLendon's and Storz' wonderful Top 40 stations and the Grand Ole Opry and the blues shows on WLAC and KAAY. I hung around a nearby r&b station with a jazz FM. I was hired to do odd jobs and board op. I would have done it for free and that was 62 years ago.

I can't think of an American radio company I'd wish to work for today.

 

[TheBigA]

The nature of broadcasting changed with consolidation. The industry's largest companies had multiple hierarchical levels to the point that most people did not know the top executives and were, thus, afraid of them.

It depends. Before consolidation, a lot of radio stations were owned by large conglomerates with very diversified interests. Radio was often the poor stepchild in a much bigger company. The advantage of consolidation is that it may have been a big company, but radio was the only business. If you worked for a union shop in the 1950s, where roles are narrowly defined by which union you're in, it becomes very easy to view radio as just another job.

 

[Methuselah]

This is a good segue into how or why those of us who are in the industry got into broadcasting.
I can't think of an American radio company I'd wish to work for today.

Probably holds true for most American companies in general. Companies of today aren't the same of our grandparents.

There was a time when companies had loyalty to employees, and vice versa. Now either will throw the other under the bus for a buck.

 

[Cap-n Spackle]

Today on RKO instead of being the 2nd Boston station playing Limbaugh, they have some guy Vinnie-something who claims that he's "filling in" all this week. Left unsaid is what he's filling in for. https://wrko.iheart.com/ still claims that Limbaugh is on.