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KABC ship continues to sink

I do think that Al was forced out. I listened to that last show and I think he dropped more than a few hints that it really wasn't his choice and that he would have loved to have continued. As for KABC, they must have paid a fortune for Al's medical bills and I'm sure that became huge liability for them. He practically spent a whole year in the hospital recovering from the Blood cancer (I think that is what he had) and then the fall that broke his hip caused more hospitalization. I can imagine that KABC's cost of medical insurance must have gone through the roof, particularly in the next years premiums. Al said he was going to Canada to get some rehab (I wonder if it is because they have socialized medicine over there and now without employment that's all Al could afford). But in the end I wish him luck and I have a sense that if he recovers we will see him back on radio, contrary to him saying that he was retiring from radio on his last show. His voice wasn't affected so there is no reason he couldn't do a show even from his home as many hosts do. I think it was because of the medical costs to KABC that he was forced out.
 
If it is like England's system then I don't think you need to be a citizen. I think a lot of non-citizens or non-residents go to England for health issues.
 
SuperRadioFan said:
Wow, I was just thinking about the KABC schedule 18-20 months or so ago (when Al Rantel was healthier)....

McIntyre 5-9 am; O'Reilly 9-11 am; Al Rantel 11-11:45 am; Paul Harvey 11:45-noon; Hannity noon-3 pm; Larry Elder 3-6 pm; Al Rantel 6-9 pm; Mr KABC Marc Germain 9-mid. Did I remember it correctly? Talk about turnover, other than a format change, has there ever been a turnover like this in any format in so short a time?
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct. This apology for a station has gone, in a very short time, from 19 hours of local programming each day to just EIGHT. If KABC was a horse, it would have been put out of its misery long ago.
 
westfield60 said:
If it is like England's system then I don't think you need to be a citizen. I think a lot of non-citizens or non-residents go to England for health issues.
Click to expand...

Just to clarify a couple of things here:

1) There is no such thing as "England's system" in this context. The National Health Service, as the name suggests, covers the entire sovereign nation known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of which England is a constituent part.

2) While no-one is refused treatment, the NHS will endeavour to recover costs where reasonably possible to do so - also, in the case of most EU countries, there are reciprocal arrangements with those countries' health services.
 
I saw on the SoCal Media Scoop site that there was a rumor that FHF could be joining KABC. Does that have any legs?
 
westfield60 said:
.. As for KABC, they must have paid a fortune for Al's medical bills and I'm sure that became huge liability for them..

.. I can imagine that KABC's cost of medical insurance must have gone through the roof, particularly in the next years premiums. . I think it was because of the medical costs to KABC that he was forced out.
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I can't imagine why KABC would have to pay Al's medical bills. KABC is (or was) the big time, and that still means AFTRA in many--but certainly no longer all--cases. And an AFTRA shop should mean AFTRA HR, with few exceptions. He may have had a clause in his contract with Citadel paying over and above AFTRA HR, but the union's insurance would have handled the basics. Maybe they agreed to pay his salary or personal services fee for the duration of his contract if he was on disability (after SDI from the State of California first.) And if he was somehow covered under Citadel, with or without AFTRA, they would pay premiums based on a group rate, which would be a lot less than KABC alone. (Or is Disney still providing corporate health? I doubt it. Even with the reverse Morris Trust, the Mouse House has a miserable deal on its individual hands.) Please enligten me if I am wrong.
 
You may be right, but I do think that once a company (KABC or not) has an employee with cancer and then with the broken bones that poor Al had, there is no way you can stop the insurance premiums from shooting from the roof. It happens to companies every day, our company premiums have gone up by an average 10 percent per year and even today the news had a story on how companies will have to pay even more next year. On his last show, Al did say he was going to Canada for rehab, he obviously must have a good reason.
 
Word from New York is that Imus' deal with FOX Business Channel requires Charles McCord to drop the 5-6AM news hour he currently does because of logistics (too far from WABC to the FOX Business Channel studios)...and that McIntyre is their pick to replace McCord in that hour.

---Michael Hagerty
 
I wish Al all the best but isn't his going to Canada for treatment a little strange, considering his right wing take on all things?
 
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