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iHM Corporate's silence on the Jay Weber debacle is disturbing

M

MarkW

The fact this guy (1130 WISN's morning drive host) wasn't fired or suspended immediately is disturbing. At the very least, iHM on Friday should have publicly condemned Weber's Twitter remarks regarding Gus Walz.

It is now Monday, yet the company remains radio silent on the matter.

It's interesting how broadcasting behemoths are so poor at public relations.

deadline.com

Conservative Radio Host Apologizes, Skips Own Show After Backlash Over His Criticism Of Gus Walz

Conservative radio host Jay Weber is being criticized for remarks about the 17-year-old son of the Minnesota governor Tim Walz.
deadline.com deadline.com
 
There are numerous folks threatening boycotts of advertisers and taking the station to task for its refusal (so far) to repudiate his remarks.

Brushing this under the rug is NOT the right move, in my opinion. This is more than merely a "personnel" problem. This is a public image problem for the radio station.

Weber's remarks are worse than the controversial remarks that got the morning team at WGRF in Buffalo fired a couple years back, in my opinion. In that instance, Cumulus' response was swift, very public and decisive.
 
MarkW said:
Brushing this under the rug is NOT the right move, in my opinion. This is more than merely a "personnel" problem. This is a public image problem for the radio station.
Click to expand...

I don't consider telling someone to apologize "brushing it under the rug." The responsibility is on the person who said it. There SHOULD be advertiser boycotts. They should all pull their ads permanently. Even if he resigns.

Yes it's a PR problem for the station, and someone should complain to the FCC. It's more obscene than saying an obscenity. There are lots of steps that need to be taken. But it should ALL be directed specifically at the talent. Leave him hanging out to dry with no support or even acknowledgement that he exists. He is on his own. We as a people need to ask ourselves if this is who we are.
 
doesnt surprise me this comes from WISN.. and hes only sorry because he got called out. I'm facebook friends, for some odd reason... with someone at WISN... and over 90 percent of what he posts is factually deliquent stuff about the democrats or other somewhat disparraging memes Hard right and hes right, youre wrong.
 
So here's a hypothetical question: If Limbaugh were still alive and tweeted, or said something like this on the air, (which wasn't unusual) would he have been as persecuted as Weber was? Because you know Limbaugh wouldn't have apologized. In fact, he would have doubled down the following day.
 
Kelly A said:
So here's a hypothetical question: If Limbaugh were still alive and tweeted, or said something like this on the air, (which wasn't unusual) would he have been as persecuted as Weber was? Because you know Limbaugh wouldn't have apologized. In fact, he would have doubled down the following day.
Click to expand...
There's a tactic certain pundits and politicians do like claim they are being "Canceled" while going after their targets usually their opponents or going after their former fans in the process.
 
fybush said:
"Persecuted" isn't the word I would use here. Weber made a choice to post what he posted. Whatever consequences he faces (or not) from his employer are on him.
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Sure, but it seems to me there's a fair amount of textual persecution going on here on this very site.

Whereas I agree that he said something really stupid and inappropriate, as mentioned; talk radio personalities say similar heartless and callous things all the time. So do similar cable TV hosts. Like this incident, that includes on their social media pages plus the air.
My question is whether ramifications from an employer for what amounts to tasteless speech, are equally expected for talent less popular (and less revenue I imagine) than talent at the level of say, Rush Limbaugh?
 
Kelly A said:
My question is whether ramifications from an employer for what amounts to tasteless speech, are equally expected for talent less popular (and less revenue I imagine) than talent at the level of say, Rush Limbaugh?
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If you have to ask the question, I think you know the answer.
 
gr8oldies said:
For anyone not familiar with Rush Limbaugh's incident concerning Georgetown student Sandra Fluke, here it is. Rush Limbaugh Apologizes for Calling Sandra Fluke a 'Slut'
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The ad boycott that resulted is still in place. What has changed, mostly thanks to Rush, was the creation of an alternative advertising pool where the advertisers are on the same page as talk show hosts, and their advertising is designed to keep them on the air. The most notable part of this is the pillow guy.
 
I listen to a fair amount of conservative talk radio as I travel, and what strikes me the most these days is how unimaginative most of it is. It's a Xerox of a Xerox of a Xerox of what Rush did, and so much of it is just punching down.

It's all the same talking points and the same tired "Soros and Hunter and border invasion," and the only way any particular talker can stand out these days is by taking it to an even more extreme level.

It's chasing an ever smaller, ever older demographic niche, and every time someone like Weber goes a little too far over the edge, it loses any chance of reaching non-extreme listeners who don't live in the talk radio cinematic universe and who might have a family member who's also neurodivergent.

If I sound like I don't have any sympathy for Jay Weber for facing whatever consequences he ends up facing... well, I don't. This is the game he set out to play.
 
TheBigA said:
<...> was the creation of an alternative advertising pool where the advertisers are on the same page as talk show hosts, and their advertising is designed to keep them on the air. The most notable part of this is the pillow guy.
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Isn't that empire rapidly dwindling away over the last couple of years?

The only one that seems to be surviving (eh, maybe...) is Elon & X/Twitter.
 

The issue with political talk is that some of the pundits ran with the playbook Morton Downey Jr, Wally George and Jerry Springer used at the time they were the top talk shows of that era. Al Yankovic crew from UHF the movie was originally doing a parody of Wally George and Morton Downey Jr at the time of the film. But the parody later turned out to be true for multiple talk show hosts on radio and on TV today especially the ones trying to claim they are the "Next Limbaugh".
 
fybush said:
If I sound like I don't have any sympathy for Jay Weber for facing whatever consequences he ends up facing... well, I don't. This is the game he set out to play.
Click to expand...
And that's the key statement. Just like the old 'shock jocks' of thirty years ago, mean-spirited, distasteful, or callous speech on the radio intentionally pushes societal limits. Limits that seem to be more accepted as time rolls on. It used to be if enough of society complained to advertisers that contracts get canceled or boycotts threatened, that's the only time action is taken. It just seems like they are less willing to take their outrage to the advertisers.
Moreover, if the host is just speaking with the base, most of that base will find whatever insulting or callous comments funny or entertaining anyway.
I've had friends and some family members brush off radio talk host vile comments as; 'oh, you just don't understand satire.'
 
We should mention that 1130 WISN is the #1 station in Milwaukee. And that's against a very strong rival talk station, 620 WTMJ. WISN is FIVE points above the #2 Milwaukee station, classic rock WKLH. That's amazing, especially in this era of declining listening to AM radio. Other than WLW, can you name another AM station at #1 in a sizable market? And WLW does that with a lot of Cincinnati sports teams. WISN does it just with talk shows.

WISN has double digit ratings. And that's with no FM translator. WTMJ has a translator and promotes being on FM 103.3. (I can't tell you what the rating is for WTMJ because Good Karma no longer subscribes. It had bounced around the top ten when it did subscribe but mostly a few places behind WISN.)

I dislike Conservative Talk Radio with a passion. In the NYC area, I'm lucky to have a couple of All-News stations (well, that is until Sunday night) and a couple of good NPR affiliates. I don't need this type of station even if I want to hear some news or talk. If Morning Host Jay Weber were not flying on a high ratings cloud, iHeart would have likely been stronger in its response. You DO NOT say anything negative about politicians' minor children, or even adult children if they are not politically active.
 
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