Mike Teacher
08-22-2002, 06:31 PM
OK; taking a step back to relax.....
In the grand scheme of things; couldn't O+A firing; and quite possibly R+F and Ferrel leaving WNEW end up being a good thing?
1. Both shows are proven ratings successes.
2. WNEW wasn't giving the shows the support they deserved.
3. From the looks of the WNEW want ads; it looked like the station was so desperate to get ANYONE to fill in the missing time slots; they would have gotten crappy shows that further dragged down the station.
4. It seemed to me that while O+A and R+F were solid; the whole station was giving off the 'any day the big bosses are going to chuck the whole thing and try a new format' vibe.
5. Look back; the O+A debacle in Boston ended up bringing them to NYC, the #1 radio market. Like them or not, the O+A show was the springboard for the success of R+F.
SO: I envision other stations right now falling over each other trying to grab O+A. I can't imagine that we won't be able to hear the O+A show, in whatever form it takes, on whatever station. With hope, R+F would be brought along. The result might well be us fans still having O+A and R+F on the air, but at a station that gives them the real support they need, especially financially. This goes especially for R+F, they are, for me, the best thing on radio, but they are not getting the promotional support they need to bring in listeners in numbers large enough that none of us has to worry about all the things we're all worrying about.
This all sounds nice and calm. In fact, I'm furious. But once I bounced off the walls for a while I realized this is not tragedy. 9-11 was tragedy. If someone on either show got hurt or killed, that would be tragedy.
The anger I feel, will be channeled not at WNEW, or Paul Mercurio, or Ken Stevens or Jeremy Coleman. It's directed at the forces that wield so much power and money that they can tell a radio station: fire your hosts of lose your license. THAT, for me, is the real tragedy here.
I've been lucky enough to be a frequent caller on R+F, in the studio a few times, and even had 2 bits I wrote for them used on the show. So I have to sound calm like this, because R+F aren't just 2 voices for me, they're guys I know, and who know me a little bit.
Flame away if you disagree. But as you flame away and/or agree, celebrate the fact that we CAN speak our minds on excellent forums such as these, there are many countries where free speech like this are a distant dream.
Mike The Teacher
<IMG SRC="http://members.aol.com/miketeachr/MikeTheTeacher.gif">
In the grand scheme of things; couldn't O+A firing; and quite possibly R+F and Ferrel leaving WNEW end up being a good thing?
1. Both shows are proven ratings successes.
2. WNEW wasn't giving the shows the support they deserved.
3. From the looks of the WNEW want ads; it looked like the station was so desperate to get ANYONE to fill in the missing time slots; they would have gotten crappy shows that further dragged down the station.
4. It seemed to me that while O+A and R+F were solid; the whole station was giving off the 'any day the big bosses are going to chuck the whole thing and try a new format' vibe.
5. Look back; the O+A debacle in Boston ended up bringing them to NYC, the #1 radio market. Like them or not, the O+A show was the springboard for the success of R+F.
SO: I envision other stations right now falling over each other trying to grab O+A. I can't imagine that we won't be able to hear the O+A show, in whatever form it takes, on whatever station. With hope, R+F would be brought along. The result might well be us fans still having O+A and R+F on the air, but at a station that gives them the real support they need, especially financially. This goes especially for R+F, they are, for me, the best thing on radio, but they are not getting the promotional support they need to bring in listeners in numbers large enough that none of us has to worry about all the things we're all worrying about.
This all sounds nice and calm. In fact, I'm furious. But once I bounced off the walls for a while I realized this is not tragedy. 9-11 was tragedy. If someone on either show got hurt or killed, that would be tragedy.
The anger I feel, will be channeled not at WNEW, or Paul Mercurio, or Ken Stevens or Jeremy Coleman. It's directed at the forces that wield so much power and money that they can tell a radio station: fire your hosts of lose your license. THAT, for me, is the real tragedy here.
I've been lucky enough to be a frequent caller on R+F, in the studio a few times, and even had 2 bits I wrote for them used on the show. So I have to sound calm like this, because R+F aren't just 2 voices for me, they're guys I know, and who know me a little bit.
Flame away if you disagree. But as you flame away and/or agree, celebrate the fact that we CAN speak our minds on excellent forums such as these, there are many countries where free speech like this are a distant dream.
Mike The Teacher
<IMG SRC="http://members.aol.com/miketeachr/MikeTheTeacher.gif">