WINZ: Randi Rhodes in dispute with NovaM?

[Chris_Rose]

Randi Rhodes has been off the air since Wednesday 2/4 with no explanation from WINZ, NovaM or her fill-in host Nancy Skinner. Rumors are beginning to run rampant on her website at www.therandirhodesshow.com that Randi has been forced off due to some disparaging comments she made concerning Rush Limbaugh and Clear Channel. Specifically Randi had been criticizing Rush's $100 million dollar deal with Clear Channel, while recently the company laid off almost 200 employees.

Off course this is all pure speculation at this point, because there has been no word from either NovaM, Randi, Clear Channel and certainly not Limbaugh. More on this story can be found here: http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2009/02/libtalker-randi-rhodes-exits-show-at.html

 

[Chris_Rose]

Correction: Clear Channel recently laid off almost 2,000 employees nationwide.

 

[livingfruitvirus]

Why would Nova M care what Clear Channel thinks?

 

[NamJock]

Why would Nova M care what Clear Channel thinks?

Because many of her affiliates are CC stations? Because the CC stations are the ones she gave a shout to, at the end of the truncated Larry King interview? Because they're huge and can smite you mightily with one paw? Which may be what's going on.

Gotta give her credit for not taking that into consideration and tempering her remarks about Rush-Bo. The woman speaks her mind. Sometimes without regard to what effect - even if damaging to herself.

 

[livingfruitvirus]

So she's on some of their stations. I don't recall the last time Clear Channel threw a talk show host off of all their stations because he/she talked bad about someone in the CC stable. She's not the first either.

 

[DaleGriffin]

Clear Channel or Karl Rove... pick your boogeyman.

Reality... this is a Nova M/Randi Rhodes issue.

 

[Chris_Rose]

Re: Message from Nova M regarding Randi Rhodes controversy...

The following message re: Randi Rhodes has been attributed to Anita Drobny co-owner of Nova M.

(Source: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/02/nova_m_meltdown_randi_rhodes_d.php)

To all of Randi's listeners;

You are all correct - I have not had the option to disclose what has been happening between Randi and Nova M...

You see, it's in her contract that she has total control, but, after Wednesday night, I want you all to know that Nova M has done everything we can to get her back on the air.

All this is her choice; if she wants to tell you all what the issue is, then I hope she does, but I can't according to her contract rules.

But I can tell you this I have wanted her back on the air. She's an amazing talent and needs to be heard.

Thank you all for all of your support.

Randi now has to make her decisions as to what she must do with her career...

Anita Drobny


More here: http://www.pbcliberal.com/index.php/2009/02/12/whenever-randi-rhodes-can-put-her-ass-in-the-seat/

 

[top4odj]

It appears Randi is gone from Nova M. I was listening in on the way home this evening and there was no mention of Randi at all. The rejoiners or bumpers were promoting the woman who has been filling in. Out of a commercial break, there was a taped message from Randi saying not to believe what you've been hearing or reading that she has tried her best to get the situation resolved and is (from what I read into it) looking for a new home.

Aint radio grand! :-\

 

[strangelove]

Looks like even her website has been shut down.

 

[fmboi]

What's weird is that WINZ was playing Air America at the start of the show today. It was the Ron Kuby show, but he was off and Nicole Sandler was filling in. Then after the first break they switched back to Nova M and Nancy Skinner.

 

[strangelove]

What's weird is that WINZ was playing Air America at the start of the show today. It was the Ron Kuby show, but he was off and Nicole Sandler was filling in. Then after the first break they switched back to Nova M and Nancy Skinner.

If it was Sandler then she was in Miami and maybe someone had the studio live to 940 rather than direct to the network?

 

[Chris_Rose]

The following message (attributed to Randi Rhodes) was recently posted to www.TheRandiRhodesShow.com:

TO ALL:

NOVA M RADIO HAS NOT YET CORRECTED THE PROBLEM THAT HAS KEPT ME OFF THE AIR
DESPITE MY STRONG DESIRE AND READINESS TO BROADCAST MY SHOW. RESPECTING THE
EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP THAT HAS EXISTED BETWEEN NOVA M AND ME, AND
EXPECTING THE SOLUTION TO BE QUICKLY ACHIEVED, DETALIS OF THE TRIGGERING
EVENT WERE WITHHELD IN GOOD FAITH. BUT I CAN TELL YOU THIS MUCH: ANY
STATEMENT IMPLICATING ME AS BEING IN ANY WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DISRUPTION
IN THE RANDI RHODES SHOW IS PATENTLY FALSE. THIS ENTIRE SITUATION IS
SOLELY WITHIN THE CONTROL OF NOVA M.

IN LIGHT OF MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS, MY SHOW WILL BE SEEKING A NEW HOME.
I WOULD ASK FOR YOUR CONTINUED PATIENCE AND INDULGENCE IN RESPECTING MY
RIGHTS DURING THIS TIME. YOUR UNWAVERING SUPPORT IS CHERISHED. THANK YOU.

RANDI RHODES

***

A couple of things strike me as odd about this... first this message is just thrown up at the website. Everything else has been taken down. EVERYTHING! No opportunity for comments or questions whatsoever. Second, the typos, grammatical errors and the ALL CAPS makes this look like it was written by an extremely emotional and perhaps desperate Randi Rhodes. Last... the virtual silence on this issue in the industry trades. INSIDE RADIO (which is owned by Clear Channel) has been most conspicuously silent on this issue. That leads me to believe that the "triggering event" may very well have had something to do with Clear Channel (as originally speculated).

One more note... Mike Malloy opened his show tonight by announcing that "Randi Rhodes is no longer employed by Nova M". He then went on to say that he would have no further comments on the matter and that he has not talked to Randi and has no way of getting in touch with her. He said, if anyone knows where Randi is... "tell her Malloy says hi."

 

[Uncensored]

Nicole Sandler being on and then off the air can be chalked up to the bumbling management over at WIOD/WINZ. Nicole Sandler has been doing fill-in work for Air America, from Ron Kuby's show to also Thom Hartman's. However, Charles In Charge refuses to allow Nicole Sandler on their airwaves, NO MATTER WHAT. I have heard from the insiders that their on-the-record excuse is that they don't want to confuse the listeners, but that would mean they actually care what their listeners want, and we all know that isn't the case. Thom Hartman's show has been bumped for the previous day's Thom Hartman (that's right... the current day's show for a repeat), in order to prevent Nicole Sandler from airing when she has filled in. Now, I'm no Nicole Sandler fan. In fact, I believe with all of my heart that she sucks. However, the mess that has been made of that station while it has been under Clear Channel's operation in its current format is a disgrace not only to radio, but to media and communications everywhere.

 

[Chris_Rose]

Nicole Sandler being on and then off the air can be chalked up to the bumbling management over at WIOD/WINZ. Nicole Sandler has been doing fill-in work for Air America, from Ron Kuby's show to also Thom Hartman's. However, Charles In Charge refuses to allow Nicole Sandler on their airwaves, NO MATTER WHAT. I have heard from the insiders that their on-the-record excuse is that they don't want to confuse the listeners, but that would mean they actually care what their listeners want, and we all know that isn't the case. Thom Hartman's show has been bumped for the previous day's Thom Hartman (that's right... the current day's show for a repeat), in order to prevent Nicole Sandler from airing when she has filled in. Now, I'm no Nicole Sandler fan. In fact, I believe with all of my heart that she sucks. However, the mess that has been made of that station while it has been under Clear Channel's operation in its current format is a disgrace not only to radio, but to media and communications everywhere.

WINZ 940 is an excellent example of what can happen to an otherwise viable radio signal in the hands of a politically compromised, right-wing loving, corporate behemoth like Clear Channel. They clearly do not care about this format or this station. Routinely I will hear long 5-10 minute stretches of DEAD AIR. Often, simultaneous unintelligible streams will air on & on uninterrupted. Clearly their studio is nothing more than a PC in a closet. It's obvious that Clear Channel is intentionally sabotaging WINZ! Much like they've done in other markets to similiarly formatted progressive stations, even those that were doing well in the ratings!

This would not happen if the station were in the care and management of a broadcaster who viewed it as more than just an asset (or a liability) on a corporate balance sheet. This exemplifies why the 1996 Telcom Act is bad for radio and bad for the public interest. Unfortunately, this is not something that can be fixed with a so-called "fairness doctrine". The 1996 Telcom Act needs to be repealed and the corporate radio oligarchy needs to be broken up and sold off to individual owners. A return to the old days of government enforced ownership limits is the only thing that can save our industry now!

 

[DaleGriffin]

So Clear Channel is sabotaging Randi Rhodes so Clear Channel can pick her up at WJNO?

That's some amazing logic.

 

[strangelove]

No love for CC here but if CC has such a problem with progressive talk why did they even bother carrying Air America on so many of their stations in the first place? They could have turned down Air America affiliation if they were genuinely offended by the likes of Randi, Lionel, Stephanie, et al but they didn't. No one made them take them on.

All that matters is the bottom line and if a show is profitable then the host and crew will have a job as long as the owners are making money with them. If a show has no advertisers and no audience then they'll either put someone on that will make money or something that will save them money. It makes no difference if they show leans left or right, just ask Neil Rogers.

 

[Uncensored]

From what I have been told by people in the know, it is simply a matter of having more money than the rest. They have no idea how to sell it, how to program it, or how to promote it, but they also have the belief that someone else out there might. So, they would prefer to bury it on their stations, doing what it is that it's been doing, with no effort, and barely any investment, rather than cutting it loose and having someone else pick it up and turn it into a success. Because, if another PD at a competitor was able to orchestrate such a turnaround, then that'd be some people's jobs.

 

[Chris_Rose]

No love for CC here but if CC has such a problem with progressive talk why did they even bother carrying Air America on so many of their stations in the first place? They could have turned down Air America affiliation if they were genuinely offended by the likes of Randi, Lionel, Stephanie, et al but they didn't. No one made them take them on.

All that matters is the bottom line and if a show is profitable then the host and crew will have a job as long as the owners are making money with them. If a show has no advertisers and no audience then they'll either put someone on that will make money or something that will save them money. It makes no difference if they show leans left or right, just ask Neil Rogers.

I think Neil would disagree with your premise, but that is neither here nor there. It's very common for huge radio companies like CC to buy a show and shelve it. The strategy here is to own the rights locally, to keep it out of a more competent competitors hands. Meanwhile, they do nothing to invest in or otherwise support the show; instead, they put all of their muscle behind the show that fits in with their corporate agenda. This explains the "success" of no talent hacks like Hannity and Beck. I will admit that Limbaugh has talent... but he's nothing more than a drug addicted blowhard with absolutely no moral compass... as such, his success is undeserved.

Randi Rhodes is unique because she actually is MORE talented than Rush Limbaugh... and Clear Channel knows it! That's why she was sandwiched in between Limbaugh and Hannity on WJNO in Palm Beach. It was an experiment; however, Randi hit a nerve when she started talking about Limbaugh's $100 million contract, inlight of CC's layoff of almost 2000 employees (the "triggering event"), and she was RIGHT to shed light on it. It's obscene! Especially in light of the current economy. That kind of cold-blooded truth is hard to take (even if the show is profitable). Next thing you know... Randi is gone!

 

[DaleGriffin]

No love for CC here but if CC has such a problem with progressive talk why did they even bother carrying Air America on so many of their stations in the first place? They could have turned down Air America affiliation if they were genuinely offended by the likes of Randi, Lionel, Stephanie, et al but they didn't. No one made them take them on.

All that matters is the bottom line and if a show is profitable then the host and crew will have a job as long as the owners are making money with them. If a show has no advertisers and no audience then they'll either put someone on that will make money or something that will save them money. It makes no difference if they show leans left or right, just ask Neil Rogers.

I think Neil would disagree with your premise, but that is neither here nor there. It's very common for huge radio companies like CC to buy a show and shelve it. The strategy here is to own the rights locally, to keep it out of a more competent competitors hands. Meanwhile, they do nothing to invest in or otherwise support the show; instead, they put all of their muscle behind the show that fits in with their corporate agenda. This explains the "success" of no talent hacks like Hannity and Beck. I will admit that Limbaugh has talent... but he's nothing more than a drug addicted blowhard with absolutely no moral compass... as such, his success is undeserved.

Randi Rhodes is unique because she actually is MORE talented than Rush Limbaugh... and Clear Channel knows it! That's why she was sandwiched in between Limbaugh and Hannity on WJNO in Palm Beach. It was an experiment; however, Randi hit a nerve when she started talking about Limbaugh's $100 million contract, inlight of CC's layoff of almost 2000 employees (the "triggering event"), and she was RIGHT to shed light on it. It's obscene! Especially in light of the current economy. That kind of cold-blooded truth is hard to take (even if the show is profitable). Next thing you know... Randi is gone!

Good lord there is so much that needs to be addressed here.

1. Rhodes and Nova M have made it clear the issue is between them. Why are you hung up on CC, incorrectly.
2. I am impressed with the new theory of "they took on AA" in order to keep it away from others and thereby kill it." It's insane, but I like it.
3. Radio's problems are not related to Rush's big contract, find me a station running PSAs during Rush and I will show you a sales team that needs firing. Fact is Rush's success has lead to MORE radio jobs in his format, not less.
4. Rhodes is better than Rush? Maybe in parroting your views. But I don't think even she would say she is better at radio than Rush.

 

[Uncensored]

Actually, Dale, the idea that cc is holding onto the format in order to prevent it from being utilized by a competitor is not a theory, and it comes straight from those within the Miramar compound. In 2 of the highest Democratic counties in FL (Broward and Miami-Dade), where WIOD's ratings for their conservative-centric programs continue to decline, how come a progressive talk format is not taken advantage of with staff, promotion, etc., and given the opportunity to grab a share of the market that no other station can?