Report: Murdoch's Ex-Radio Critic May PD CBS' FreeFM Talker

[fred flintstone]

From the "It's A Small World After All" Department.
John Mainelli was PD at Talkradio 77, WABC.
Then he was a consultant and moonlighted as radio columnist for Rupert Murdoch's New York Post.
Reportedly, he was invited to leave the Post after a complaint from Howard Stern, who objected to a column saying Stern would return to terrestrial radio (like O&A).
Now Mainelli may take over as PD at Stern's former station.
During his days at the Post, Mainelli was often a harsh critic of (among others) Air America Radio.

Sources: Mainelli To NY's Free FM
ALL ACCESS hears from multiple well-placed sources that those rumors about veteran talk programmer and former NEW YORK POST radio reporter JOHN MAINELLI getting the nod as the new PD at CBS Talk WFNY-F (92.3 FREE FM)/NEW YORK are on the money, with an announcement coming soon. If and when it's a go, MAINELLI, who programmed WABC-A and WOR-A in the market, will be sort-of-reunited with morning guys OPIE AND ANTHONY, who were at WNEW when MAINELLI consulted that station.

 

[Panago]

you guys can make a political agenda out of anything.

 

[fred flintstone]

you guys can make a political agenda out of anything.

Excuse me? How so (in this thread)? Could you be projecting your own tendencies?

John Mainelli in his comments as a columnist and a consultant has indicated he believes that progressive talk radio can't/won't work. He does not appear to see this as problems with various broadcasters' execution of the format but with the format concept itself. He moved two New York radio stations strongly in the direction of strident advocacy conservative talk radio. I do not know Mr. Mainelli and I don't know whether his statements and actions represent his programming judgment and experience, or his own political predispositions. Clearly, the type of conservative talk he champions has performed well. But programming consultants sometimes conclude a past success means they have discovered a "winning "formula" and they can easily become stuck in that formula, trying endlessly to repeat it.

So far, FreeFM has straddled "shock talk" and "lifestyle talk" (sort of a kinder, gentler, more FCC-acceptable version of Howard's act). Will Mainelli attempt to move FreeFM closer to the Rush-Hannity model? To a more outrageous Howard model? Or to something more along the lines of NJ101.5 ("water cooler talk" combining elements of political talk - minus a fixed ideological position - with lifestyle topics). The industry trend in talk radio - especially in talkers attempting to appeal to younger demos - is away from political talk. But now CBS Radio has hired a guy most known for political talk. CBS' entire New York FM cluster is in bad shape - one of the few station groups in which AM stations consistently out-perform FM. FreeFM's numbers have been heading South since Howard left; dumping David Lee Roth and picking up O&A has not had much effect. This is the kind of situation in which suits take drastic action in station programming (knowing the expensive Italian suits on the top floors at Black Rock will be thinking about management changes). Stay tuned.