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Tommy G- NJ 101.5

J

jd01245

Guest
Has Tommy G. Left 101.5? Or is it just contract negotiations? I noticed last night the best of Denis and Michele was playing during his time slot. And he is off of the website and it currently just has the "Best of" in his place.

Any word?
 
I was about to post a sarcastic comment saying that it's something called "Vacation"...I'm glad I didn't because I just went on the website and saw that indeed his profile is not up. Hope it's not a permanent thing, he's a good guy and a great talk show host.
 
After Craig Carton and Judi Franco left NJ101.5 Tommy G was the only show I still listened and looked forward to. As a person who works nights I hope he's not gone. You can tell Tommy G. cared about what he did rarely taking time off and always putting the audience first. My girlfriend cried the night Tommy explained how hard it was to put his dog Lacey to sleep and his joy and pride talking about his daughters recent wedding. Tommy G has a passion and knowledge for life that is rare today and that I admired. He cared about others like helping to save the life of the lost Old Bridge man. Maybe NJ 101.5 is going to go all music because the declining talk hosts that are left there either sound like frogs or really aren't that compelling to listen to. God bless Tommy G I hope he's not gone. If Tommy is gone I hope he pops up on another station with the very talented and also very missed Judi Franco.
 
That SUCKS. I haven't listened to Tommy as much recently as I used to due to a change in my schedule , but he was a class act who treated the callers like actual participants of the show. He had a pretty decent run there, over 5 years I would guess.

"Layoffs", but that talentless, unfunny hack who works with Ray is still collecting a paycheck??

After reading this thread yesterday, I naively e-mailed the program director asking him what the deal was, expecting that maybe I'd actually get a response. Obviously, calling and asking Tommys producer was the only way to get an actual answer.
 
101.5 must be run by amateurs who deserve to go bankrupt. Craig Carton, Judi Franco and now Tommy G ? Who's running this station a deaf person ? Working nights as I do we always had Tommy G on playing over the intercom system. Tommy G was our morning show who made us feel like don't worry everything is under control in NJ at night during floods. bad weather, lost people or breaking and major news events. The kicker was Tommy G. was good and very entertaining at it.

With Craig Carton, Judi Franco and now Tommy G gone it makes you wonder if NJ101.5 just doesn't care about their talk format anymore. Every other commercial on the station is about 80's music anyway so maybe they're changing to that. They lost sight that the overall quality of NJ 101.5 is in a major decline with the loss of these talk personalities. Tommy G was indeed a class act who just recently went to the funerals of the fallen hero cop and one of his listeners. Who else currently on that station would do or did something like that ? He cares about us the listeners and this is a real shame and loss to us late night listeners. Hopefully he and management will come to terms and he'll be back on soon or at another station.

Good luck to Tommy G who will forever be New Jersey's Leader of the Late Night !
 
regibold said:
Called Spanky last night, he told me there was a bunch of layoffs and Tommy G. was one of them. Asked if he'll be coming back and he told me "As far as I know....no".
Click to expand...
Does anyone know if any other on-air talent on the station got the boot, if so, who?
 
Nah calling Tommy a cracker isn't bad, hell one of the news reporters used the F - word during morning drive a few months ago and I still hear him. I believe Spanky that Tommy was laid off with others this week due to budgetary cuts. For any reason it's a major loss to us fans of Tommy G.
 
Update !

Tommy G. posted a note on his facebook and confirmed what Spanky told me when I called the station. They eliminated the night time host position at 101.5 because of the budget and others were also let go this week. A very emotional facebook note from Tommy G. I almost cried after I read it.

Now more than ever I'm going to make it a mission to get him back on the air somewhere, he helped us through many nights and saved the life of a NJ man and now I'm going to organize to help him !!!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/TommyG.radio#/home.php?ref=logo
 
That absolutely stinks. I very much enjoyed listening to Tommy G. at night and I appreciated the diverse topics that the show offered - everything from politics to lighter subjects, such as television. I also enjoyed the cast of regulars that appeared on the show, which helped make the show even more entertaining. New Jersey has lost a great on-air talent, and I am extremely disappointed in Millennium Radio's decision to drop Tommy G. I plan on sending GM Eric Johnson a message regarding this and encourage everyone else who was a fan to "The Leader Of The Late Night" to do the same.

And look at what they're replacing Tommy G. with. Best Of? From 11 PM - 5 AM? Why not just literally spit in the face of everyone that listens to radio at these hours while you're at it? I really wish they would come to their senses and bring back Tommy G., but I hope they have plans to put on another live show in his place if they don't.

Chalk this up as one of three moves in New Jersey radio that many feel were extremely boneheaded (the others being Press Communications dropping G Rock for another hit music station, and Millennium Radio replacing the NJ 101.5 simulcast on FM in South Jersey with ESPN Radio).

Maybe someone in sales just isn't doing a good job - ever think of that? If you can't sell advertising on the most listened to radio station in New Jersey, you're in the wrong line of work.
 
Good nothing but BS came out of his mouth.it was the same thing every night no one wanted to fight him,he talked about his car,night after night all BS.he was #1 but yet the same 15 people called in hour after hour night after night.BS every night.his name Tommy Gordon.
 
Anyone who listened to Tommy G nightly like where I work knows he had about 15 calls an hour from different people of various ages from 18-50 and both genders.

On Monday his last night 3 woman identified themselves as nurses driving home after their midnight shift. Yes he did have stalkers and nutjobs calling in but that's what made it a zany Jersey late night show. Very unique. People driving home or working the night shift in NJ identified with Tommy's show as their own and not a stale recycled show from the daytime. I hope NJ 101.5 reconsiders since where I'm at work right now NJ 101.5 hasn't been on the overhead system day or night since Tommy G hasn't been on.
 
SoulCrusher said:
I plan on sending GM Eric Johnson a message regarding this and encourage everyone else who was a fan to "The Leader Of The Late Night" to do the same.
Click to expand...

Why bother? I didn't even get a simple courtesy reply stating that yes, Tommy is no longer employed by the station. If this move was a "programming decision", I'd be more inclined to "complain". But if it's simply a money issue, what can you really say....the station's primary goal is to make money and they did what they thought made the most sense. It sucks, but it is what it is.

BTW, what exactly does "Best Of..." mean?? It sure doesn't sound like they've gone out of their way to replay anything that interesting or any shows covering major topics...they just grab random hours of previous shows and throw it on under the misnamed banner of "Best Of".
 
I wouldn't bother writing the station either since it was cut backs. I've been in that situation and there's nothing a PD can do when a corporate bean counter says cut you cut even when you know it's not a good decision to do so. It's certainly a rough spot to be in and I feel for Eric Johnson in this situation, give him time, he'll respond to your e-mail. I hated to let anyone good go simply based on the orders of a corporate budget bean counter but this is radio in the new Millennium. ( No pun intended ).

With all this happening it leads to speculation that with so much of the heart and soul talk radio talent that left NJ101.5 WKXW Trenton recently like Craig Carton, Judi Franco and now Tommy G. does NJ101.5 appear ripe for some online competition ? Has anyone been in a Verizon or Apple store lately ? I have and they are packed with people buying iphones and Blackberries currently capable of radio online streams. The future radio will be your phone and the future is right now. Here's what I feel will work.

Offer a streaming only live radio station that caters to NJ talk like NJ101.5 also with traffic and weather.

The following personalities already have a following along with name recognition in NJ talk radio and are currently available. These radio personalities can bring instant buzz, publicity and credibility to this new online NJ radio venture.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mornings - Big Jay and Anita - Jay and Anita had a good show and Big Jay is a NJ talk radio Icon with a big following and name recognition. Jim Gearhart is getting on in age and speaking about the same topics each day of taxes, tolls and bad democrats. Big Jay and Anita could add in lifestyle issues as well and take some of that audience away from 101.5 .

Mid days - Judi Franco and Family - Because Judi is home taking care of the family she can broadcast from her home with her family in the background. What made mid days on 101.5 so fun, exciting and entertaining was Judi and her dad calling in along with her family drama. Dennis and Michelle just don't have the chemistry, one of them has to go. Judi Franco and Family would capture the mid day audience right from under 101.5 very quickly.

Afternoon Drive - Tommy G. with or without a partner. Tommy G has tons of personality and if you ever heard his show woman love him. Tommy comes on the air prepared and researched, with the facts correct unlike Casey on 101.5. I'm not sure who I would team Tommy G up with a male, female or have him do it himself which he's shown to be capable of to save money.

Evenings with Roberta - Who cares she lives in Az. people in NJ still know and love her. Roberta is a very funny and talented woman with a wide variety of knowledge.

Benefits of a totally online New Jersey radio station to compete with NJ 101.5 equals much LOWER OVERHEAD - Each of these shows can come directly from the hosts own homes into a central location with a phone screener and board op making 10 bucks an hour. No need to spend more than 10 bucks an hour for any phone screener or board op. Most ad sales can be done online with rates changing according to availabilty like airline seats.


The radio delivery system is changing very rapidly and online streaming radio is here to stay and will grow quickly putting brick and mortor radio stations like NJ101.5 at a disadvantage due to their huge overhead.

OK - what do you think ?
 
Update: Eric Johnson replied to my e-mail. He was courteous and more detailed about the situation than I could have expected. He also confirmed what a lot of you may have known... he does read this message board. Which makes it that much cooler that he responded the way he did, because if he does read this board, he's seen that I've blasted a lot of things about the station in the past.
 
Why do Best Of when they could do a all request show.play everything from the 50's-80's by request.they played music overnight back in the 90's..
 
JoeFromTomsRiver said:
Update: Eric Johnson replied to my e-mail. He was courteous and more detailed about the situation than I could have expected. He also confirmed what a lot of you may have known... he does read this message board. Which makes it that much cooler that he responded the way he did, because if he does read this board, he's seen that I've blasted a lot of things about the station in the past.
Click to expand...
What did he say about the firing of Tommy G?
 
Here's the response I got back.

Subject: RE: Tommy G.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I was away much of last
week.

The difficult economic climate has affected the advertising sales market
and sadly the entire radio industry (along with just about all other
industries in New Jersey and America.) New Jersey 101.5 and Millennium
are not immune to today's economy and unfortunately layoffs occurred
here last week.

Tommy G and 6 other employees from the company were laid off.

We know you are a fan of the show, and we appreciate that you were a
loyal, dedicated listener of Tommy since 2004. We are sorry for this
void from your radio...we certainly do understand your feeling of anger
and loss.

Tommy will not be replaced. This week we will start doing same day
playbacks of "Dennis and Michele" 'till 2am, and then "The Jersey Guys"
until 5am. The "Best Of" broadcasts from earlier that day will also
include fresh live traffic, weather and news reports.

Again we are sorry for the loss, and appreciate that you took the time
to write.

ej

Eric Johnson
Program Director
Millennium Radio New Jersey
NEW JERSEY 101.5/SoJO 1049



You are losing money because your new shows suck !

The problem is Dennis and Michelle don't really talk Jersey much, they are talking about boring nonsense and not Jersey, Dennis will rant about socialism under Obama but we can get that from a nationally syndicated show. Judi Franco was much better talking Jersey and a lot more entertaining. If they are going to talk about general nonsense and not Jersey the station should just syndicate a national show and just save their salaries also. Casey's voice is impossible to listen to day or night and Ray was Carton's punching bag which was funny but now that show is just awful. Casey's muppet voice and laughing after every sentence is just turn off radio.

NJ101.5 without Carton, Franco or Tommy G is now a shell. Every business realizes don't skimp on your product because you will lose your customers/audience and eventually revenue. I predict the station will go syndicated talk or all music.
 
Been listening to 101.5 for a good couple years now. Didn't know Carton at all, DO miss Judi Franco dearly. She was very much on target when she spoke about NJ, and I used to laugh my ass off at how she dismissed idiotic callers and how she reigned in Dennis before he could go completely off the deep end. It was a magic chemistry, and I emailed the station about it many times. She could be rough, but she had Skills. Anyway, she left, her decision and thats that.
Casey, is a little off sometimes (hes not from NJ) , but he is extremely intelligent and fast paced which I enjoy him a lot, Ray is just Ray, god Bless him. hes a typical NJ EYEtalian, Loveable Guy.
Dennis is also extremely witty and Talented IMO, and as we all know Michele "not so much" , but what can you do.
Michele Jerson, at first was very amusing, but now IMO is just annoying. Same lame crap & boring stories every night. yawn. So I skip that show.

Now, as far as Tommy G,
And I stay up late at night so i listened a LOT.
At first I kind of liked the guy. He was different,and not afraid to speak his mind. But as I listened more closely, I realized what a PHONEY he was and what Whacky Stalkers he attracted (like Loura,the crazy stalker who was forever sending him pics and got lost going to Manalapan , thats one scary lady) I used to think it was all part of the STICK (esp Oscar & his other fake charachters, who was kinda funny sometimes) , but it was NOT an ACT . He attracted some very very strange individuals: Stalkers, flat out Racists (both white and black) , Hookers, raging Drunks & drug addicts, extremists of every kind. And these were the freaks he would give the most airtime to. Like he enjoyed living on the edge, or maybe he thought he could change them, like he always bragged. He bragged about a LOT of things , over and over about his heart operation & how he was invincible, Driving his Corvette yet he was Boycotting the Oil companies ?, about how GENEROUS he was and how HIGHLY rated the show was, about how SMART & successful everyone in his family was, how obedient his wife was... BLA BLA BLA.
Biggest Braggart Blow Hard I had ever heard. Humble , was NOT in his dictionary.
And the way he YELLED at some of the callers who disagreed with him on something, and called them STUPID, meanwhile letting the Freaks spew their Hatred and Filth . Disgraceful
Not sure if it is just my perception, but it just became a real CARNIE, FREAK show, and frankly I think the station just said enough is enough.
I had enough, and I hope he and spanky take that cow bell and shove IT & Obama right up their butts.

Thank god that show is over.
I will continue to listen to 101.5, whatever they come up with CANT be any worse than the Tommy G Freak Show.
 
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