Ron and Fez, protests, Blink, and more...

[Tenbatsuzen]

A lot of people might think that I'm anti-Ron and Fez because I don't take part in protests, or letter writing, or bashing the Blink because it doesn't have R&F on there.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm one of the biggest R&F supporters around, in fact, if it wasn't for Ron and Fez and Al Dukes, I wouldn't be working in radio, I wouldn't be incredibly happy, and I wouldn't have one of the most beautiful people I've ever had the pleasure knowing putting up with my immature crap for the last six months.

I support R&F in my own ways, and I just am a realist when it comes to understanding how the radio business (and the entertainment industry) works in general.

Issue #1. Right now, in NYC, there is no station that can carry Ron and Fez. K-Rock is an outside exception, but that's it. WABC is skewed towards an older demographic, and NJ 101.5 is skewed towards women for the most part. Those previous two stations are moot point anyway, because they aren't owned by Infinity.

Issue #2. A lot of people, with their own selfish, narrow-minded vision, fail to realize how far Infinity has gone to support Ron and Fez. Infinity is NOT THE BAD GUY IN THIS SITUATION. They never have been. Infinity could have dumped R&F as soon as they dumped O&A and the rest of the station, but they didn't. They have pretty much given R&F luxuries that no other show has been given to help them in DC.

Issue #3. The "bad guys" in this situation, if you can call them that, are ironically enough, O&A. Why? Simple. O&A turned everyone in New York against Don and Mike, just like they did with Leykis. If D&M had gotten support in NY, hot talk at WNEW and R&F in NYC could have been saved, because WNEW probably would have been turned into a similar model as WJFK and WYSP. But without a second "anchor" show to support the station, especially without Howard Stern, Infinity had no reason to salvage WNEW.

Issue #4 - BLINK. There is no reason to protest Blink. No one there remembers or cares about Ron and Fez. The amount of money, preparation, and execution into this concept means that there is not a chance in hell Ron and Fez would be heard on the 102.7 frequency for a long, long time. This isn't some slap-dashed format, this is a new experiment in radio that will be constantly tweaked...

Issue #5 - There's a little more than a year before O&A come back. When they do, hope Ron and Fez went year-to-year on their contracts instead of long term. Because I guarantee, if Infinity doesn't bring them back, Clear Channel will scoop both of them up and re-start something new in NYC.

So my prediction? As long as the contracts work out, R&F will be back on the air in NYC by Summer, 2004. But that's just an educated guess. Your mileage may vary.



<img src="http://tenbatsuzen.homestead.com/files/franksig1.jpg">

[silera]

O&A turned everyone in New York against Don and Mike, just like they did with Leykis.

I think O & A could've sucked Don & Mike's dick on air, and let them shove wiffle ball bats up their asses to promote them, and Don & Mike would still have been two of the most unamusing tools I've ever had the displeasure of listening to.

Ditto for Leykis.

I can pretty much agree with the rest, except that if Infinity seemed to have wanted to scrap the talk format on WNEW for quite some time. They never got a replacement show for D & M that was a viable option. They dumped Ferrel just as the show was starting to take off.

Ron & Fez aren't lucky to have DC. DC is lucky to have them.

I'm just hoping that it will all be back soon.



<center>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silera/files/Silera/sig4.gif

<font size=3><font color=red>I can't stand myself either.</font></font></center>
<font color=FBF2F7>

[TheMojoPin]

Matty's very right on a lot of these points. Since O&A bit the big one and took WNEW's chances of survival with them, R&F have not been off the air for even a day. They were kept on at WNEW for another six months, and were immediately put on WJFK...sure, WNEW messed up on advertising and tossing the boys around to different time slots, but they ARE still on the air in a decent market. Hope is still alive...

<img src="http://members.hostedscripts.com/randomimage.cgi?user=TheMojoPin">
2% << FREE YERDADDY! >> "You can tell some lies about the good times you've had/But I've kissed your mother twice and now I'm working on your dad..."

[TheMojoPin]

I think O & A could've sucked Don & Mike's dick on air, and let them shove wiffle ball bats up their asses to promote them, and Don & Mike would still have been two of the most unamusing tools I've ever had the displeasure of listening to.

But sometimes you gotta just suck it up. I can't stand D&M, Bill O'Reilly or hearing the Redskins on the radio, but as a whole they keep the station that I listen to R&F on strong and a stable place for them to work. WNEW was on shaky ground for the longest time because they wouldn't settle on a morning show or midday show. What, do people really need a station where they love ALL the shows? How the hell sits around their radio for 16+ hours a day?

<img src="http://members.hostedscripts.com/randomimage.cgi?user=TheMojoPin">
2% << FREE YERDADDY! >> "You can tell some lies about the good times you've had/But I've kissed your mother twice and now I'm working on your dad..."

[Duke]

this is a self test

<IMG
http://www.angelfire.com/film/mikeyboy/dukesig.jpg>

[Duke]

this is self test beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeep............

<IMG
http://www.angelfire.com/film/mikeyboy/dukesig.jpg>

[Shecky]

I agree. WNEW fucked the boys up by moving them around all the time not allowing them to build a steady audience. It was very unfair to us, the R&F family NY capos, what Infinty did BUT they are still on in DC. I hope to see them on sometime real soon.

I blame O&A for leaving Ron and Fez hanging.
O&A's strong lead in would have help out the guys in the long run.
They were The Cosby Show to Ron & Fez's A Different World, ok bad analogy, but i think you get the point.... or least I hope you do anyway.

<IMG SRC="http://hometown.aol.com/anttrisano/myhomepage/index.html">

PRAY FOR THE TROOPS!!!!

Later On,
SHECKY

[Heather 8]

Who the hell sits around their radio for 16+ hours a day?



Allan Sniffen? :)

[center]http://home.earthlink.net/~hdm1976/_uimages/torrielimo.jpg
''If you're asking if I would ever date a wrestler, certainly I would. However, it wouldn't be good business for me to get romantically involved with anyone in any aspect of our business.''--Stephanie McMahon, Off The Record, 6/3/99
[center]

[SatCam]

Now you're turning me against Ron and Fez and Opie and Anthony. I dont know who to believe!

<marquee bgcolor=red width=300>I will not <b>DIE</b>!</marquee>
<IMG SRC="http://satcam.4t.com/sig35_general_blink1027.gif">
<marquee bgcolor=red width=300>You will <b>burn</b>!</marquee>
BLINK 102.7: Sig #35 [4.05.03]
<A HREF=http://www.satelitecam.tk>>>Sig Pic Archive + RnF Site</A>

[Shecky]

AND MY GOD DAMN SIG PIC STILL DOESN'T WORK!!!!

<IMG SRC="http://hometown.aol.com/anttrisano/myhomepage/index.html">

PRAY FOR THE TROOPS!!!!

Later On,
SHECKY

[chesta]

AFRO are radio devils! Stay away. Bring back the WMCA good guys!

[silera]

Don and Mike got cancelled in New York before O & A got cancelled. Once they got cancelled, Don & Mike could've been brought back live in the afternoons. They weren't for a reason. They didn't fit in with the New York market.

Opie HATED the Radio Chick. It didn't keep me from listening to her show, and it didn't get her show cancelled. Her ratings sucked at WNEW and they replaced her.

O & A getting cancelled had a lot to do with the station going to shit. However, Infinity was the one that caved after they signed off on the bit.


<center>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silera/files/Silera/sig4.gif

<font size=3><font color=red>I can't stand myself either.</font></font></center>
<font color=FBF2F7>

[Bob Impact]

If D&M had gotten support in NY, hot talk at WNEW and R&F in NYC could have been saved, because WNEW probably would have been turned into a similar model as WJFK and WYSP.

IF you really want to argue this go find copies off all the times O&A simulcasted with Don and Mike, or spoke kindly of them, I can think of at least twice, once when O&A did an interview with them after the Good Morning America WOW, and once after that. O&A didn't really go off on D&M until it was obvious they were failing in NYC and they came after O&A.

But without a second "anchor" show to support the station, especially without Howard Stern, Infinity had no reason to salvage WNEW.
Without O&A who was the anchor going to be? Don and Mike? They routinely pulled a 1 share. Put a retarted Monkey in front of a mic, that's what it'll pull.

<center><img src="http://czm.racknine.net/images/bobimpactfog.gif"><br>
Thanks, FlufferNutter and CZM! - <a href="http://bobimpact.coolfreepage.com/">Ron and Fez Drop Archive</a>
My Head is Bloody but unbowed.
Ron and Fez live in NYC or the real nightmare begins.</center>

[clubberlang]

don & mike failed in nyc because they're not funny and they suck. leykis dosen't deserve to be mentioned in the same paragraph as o&a or ron & fez. don & mike dug their own grave because they are unable to make it any where except second rate markets like green bay. ron & fez will return to new york they are the most talented guys in radio and they belong in market #1.

<IMG SRC="http://members.aol.com/clubbrlang/images/sig1.jpg">

[UnknownPD]

This has got to be the dumbest fucking thing I've ever read.
O&A were canned for doing what management approved. Ron and Fez were troopers. They never complained, never said no. They did whatever infinity asked including shift changes and two a days. For this infinity didn't even give them the dignity of a last New York show.

The arugument that there is no place for Ron and Fez is dopey. Remember there was no room for Howard, Opie and Anthony, Rush Limbaugh and the rest. They have all been ratings success. The format makes way for good programming not the other way around.

Lastly infinity IS the Bad Guy. There is no excuse for the way they reacted to the O&A situation and no excuse for mistreating Ron and Fez. Or for the fact that that it took 8 months to come up with a new format and all it is is a copy of everything else. The brass at infinity are morons and I am still waiting for the day we will all eat cake.

[A.J.]

Ron & Fez aren't lucky to have DC. DC is lucky to have them.

True.

<IMG SRC="http://www.silentspic.com/images/sighost/ajdcsig.jpg">

A Skidmark production.

http://www.internerd.com/frink.retired/frinkv.2/stuff/littlepc.gif

[TooCute]

Issue #2. A lot of people, with their own selfish, narrow-minded vision, fail to realize how far Infinity has gone to support Ron and Fez.
Selfish and narrow-minded? Ignorant, maybe.
Issue #3. The "bad guys" in this situation, if you can call them that, are ironically enough, O&A. Why? Simple. O&A turned everyone in New York against Don and Mike, just like they did with Leykis. If D&M had gotten support in NY, hot talk at WNEW and R&F in NYC could have been saved, because WNEW probably would have been turned into a similar model as WJFK and WYSP. But without a second "anchor" show to support the station, especially without Howard Stern, Infinity had no reason to salvage WNEW.

Wrong. D&M and Leykis sucking have nothing to do with O&A. Their failuer in NY has to do with where and who their shows are geared for.

Issue #4 - BLINK. There is no reason to protest Blink. No one there remembers or cares about Ron and Fez. The amount of money, preparation, and execution into this concept means that there is not a chance in hell Ron and Fez would be heard on the 102.7 frequency for a long, long time. This isn't some slap-dashed format, this is a new experiment in radio that will be constantly tweaked...
No shit, Sherlock. People aren't "protesting" Blink because they think R&F are going to be on Blink. People call and IM Blink because it makes them feel like they're letting someone know how many people miss R&F and there's a chance that word will get out to higher ups. If it makes them feel better, who cares?

<img src=http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/toocute2.gif>
!! 2% !!<font color=FBF2F7>

[Snoogans]

The other thing is this, even big wigs have a heart. So people sent heart felt things because there is a chance someone who matters will read it. Now is it a long shot that it will really make a difference, sure. But the chance is 0 if you dont do anything. At least if things get sent they feel better and you never know, by some small chance someone important may read or hear something and be moved. Dont call it narrow minded or selfish, cause at some point there was something that pissed you off and you needed to vent to somebody too

Iris Loves You!

http://wnewsgirl.homestead.com/files/Snoogans.jpg

Snootchie Bootchies!

[RicGillis]

100 percent agreed! To say that there's just "NO SPACE" on any other station for Ron & Fez is just ludicrous! And it's not a matter of legality either! It's the horse that leads the wagon!, and not the opposite! Infinity wanted out of WNEW Talk sooo badly until you could feel it! The O&A situation was just their scapegoat to bail on! Anyone can see that this "BLINK" deal is going to belly up as soon as people get tired of ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, and MTV on radio, and see that blink is just another way of looping the other station's formats! Infinity can TWEAK blink's format all they want!, but it cannot tweak the facts---)@

Love What You See!, Or Leave What You Saw---)@

[Tenbatsuzen]

This has got to be the dumbest fucking thing I've ever read.
O&A were canned for doing what management approved. Ron and Fez were troopers. They never complained, never said no. They did whatever infinity asked including shift changes and two a days. For this infinity didn't even give them the dignity of a last New York show.

Newsflash. Nobody ever gets a goodbye show. The liability that you're being fired, no matter how low it is, still exists. Infinity knew they were in FCC Hot Water with the St. Pat's stunt. They weren't going to risk it no matter what.

Don't forget, it wasn't O&A who did something to get in trouble - it was Mercurio and the couple from Virginia. Let's say Ron and Fez did have a last NYC show, and someone decided to pull a stunt as an F-U to Infinity?

Again, this is selfish shit. Ron and Fez are still getting a nice paycheck from Infinity, they get to telecommute, and they have been given luxuries that I've never SEEN another radio show get. You're bitching about a "last NYC show..." WTF? Like the party at the Hard Rock wasn't good enough? Like you still can't hear them if you try hard enough?

It's not like they are dead, or not around period, like O&A.

No shit, Sherlock. People aren't "protesting" Blink because they think R&F are going to be on Blink. People call and IM Blink because it makes them feel like they're letting someone know how many people miss R&F and there's a chance that word will get out to higher ups. If it makes them feel better, who cares?

Like the letters, banners, etc. made an impact on the higher-ups?

At this point, sending messages to Blink about Ron And Fez is akin to sending a message to WPLJ about wanting to hear Dan Patrick in the afternoon. Same company, different radio stations, different concepts, wrong message sent.



<img src="http://tenbatsuzen.homestead.com/files/franksig1.jpg">

[Noonan]

I like how you ignored Silera's and others posts regarding D&M, fuckface. What a douche! Try backpeddling now....

[mikef]

Issue #1. Right now, in NYC, there is no station that can carry Ron and Fez. K-Rock is an outside exception, but that's it. WABC is skewed towards an older demographic, and NJ 101.5 is skewed towards women for the most part. Those previous two stations are moot point anyway, because they aren't owned by Infinity.


and one out of two of those previously mentioned stations is even mooter (more moot) than the other, because unless I'm wrong I don't think NJ101.5's singal makes it all the way to NY.
am I wrong?

[Tenbatsuzen]

Who is backpeddling? I made my points, Silera and others made theirs. There's gotta be a reason D&M works in Philly yet didn't in New York. The markets are not that dissimilar.

Besides, this isn't about D&M. This is about R&F and why people cannot understand that they aren't going to be in NYC for the near forseeable future, and a rational explanation of why they aren't going to be around.





<img src="http://tenbatsuzen.homestead.com/files/franksig1.jpg">

[Tenbatsuzen]

and one out of two of those previously mentioned stations is even mooter (more moot) than the other, because unless I'm wrong I don't think NJ101.5's singal makes it all the way to NY.
am I wrong?


AFAIK, NJ101.5's signal does reach the 5 boroughs. North of there, I'm not sure, but they have transmitters set up so the signal of the station reaches the ENTIRE state of NJ, from East Rutherford and points west all the way down to Cape May.



<img src="http://tenbatsuzen.homestead.com/files/franksig1.jpg">

[Tenbatsuzen]

Since I like covering bases...

Don and Mike got cancelled in New York before O & A got cancelled. Once they got cancelled, Don & Mike could've been brought back live in the afternoons. They weren't for a reason. They didn't fit in with the New York market.


According to D&M, and I'm not even sure how accurate this is, they said they were offered afternoons in NYC and chose not to take it because they refused to be associated with WNEW "after how we were treated the first time."

I take that with a grain of salt, but I believe that D&M's ratings were a bit better than Leykis's... but I think WNEW was all about saving money, which is why R&F were in evenings towards the end (incentives in their contracts would have paid them more if they were in afternoons) and Leykis was already under a long-term syndication deal. (which is why you always heard him on the weekends)



<img src="http://tenbatsuzen.homestead.com/files/franksig1.jpg">

[TooCute]

Like the letters, banners, etc. made an impact on the higher-ups?

At this point, sending messages to Blink about Ron And Fez is akin to sending a message to WPLJ about wanting to hear Dan Patrick in the afternoon. Same company, different radio stations, different concepts, wrong message sent.

I don't think anyone ever claimed that they had made any change whatsoever. And if you read what I wrote, all I said that it makes the listeners feel better. They're spending their own time, effort and money and it has absolutely no effect on you. Why deride them for that? Nobody's asking you to join in - I haven't even seen anyone on this board comment negatively about you NOT joining in. So what is the problem? Particularly dumb to call these people "selfish and narrow minded" on a messageboard that even has an entire forum devoted to "Save Ron and Fez". If you don't like it, don't read it.

There's gotta be a reason D&M works in Philly yet didn't in New York. The markets are not that dissimilar.


Have you been to the suburbs of Philly? There is your answer. It's similar to DC in the sense that you have a large city surrounded by backwoods rednecks, only in DC there's a bit more of a "southern" influence that makes the callers sound even slower and in Philly there is a bit more of a "civilzed" suburb area before you get to the real rednecks. NY doesn't have any rednecks. We've got Long Island and New Jersey mallrats.

<img src=http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/toocute2.gif>
!! 2% !!<font color=FBF2F7>

[teksis]

we all the same


/y42.photos.yahoo.com/bc/kutiotm/vwp?.dir=/My+Photos&.dnm=hook.jpg&.src=ph

[Tenbatsuzen]

Have you been to the suburbs of Philly? There is your answer. It's similar to DC in the sense that you have a large city surrounded by backwoods rednecks, only in DC there's a bit more of a "southern" influence that makes the callers sound even slower and in Philly there is a bit more of a "civilzed" suburb area before you get to the real rednecks. NY doesn't have any rednecks. We've got Long Island and New Jersey mallrats.


I don't know if you caught this or not, but Ron & Fez was originally a show started in Florida, home to shows like "Bubba the Love Sponge" and "The John Boy and Billy" show.

The thing is, Ron and Fez adjusted their show for a Northern audience.

D&M's show has undergone a lot of changes to adjust it... and I'm sure if given a chance in NYC, the show would have changed more to adjust it again.

Consultants are paid tons and tons of money to help in matters like this... whether the talent is willing to listen to the advice is another matter.

It's probably the reason why O&A bombed in DC. They weren't willing to adjust the show for that area, even though the syndicated version of O&A was very different than pre-syndicated.

I don't even like D&M, I'm just saying that the problem - why Hot Talk couldn't have been saved on WNEW - is because there was NOTHING to anchor the station. That was my point. We are quibbling over an EXAMPLE I had.

BTW, if you think there are no Rednecks in the NJ area, let me ask you this - when was the last time you went to a New Jersey Devils game? Mulletmania, brother.



<img src="http://tenbatsuzen.homestead.com/files/franksig1.jpg">

[East Side Dave]

Ditto for what TooCute said. The protests and/or other nonsense is partly because we feel that there is hope to bring back Ron & Fez but mainly because we want to show we still care about our buddies. Don't be such a Maggie Meanspirit.

<img src=http://www.richstillwell.com/ESD.gif>
Big Ass Mafia

[East Side Dave]

............ron and fez, ron and fez,
ron-and-fez,
ron-and-fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
Ron-And-Fez,
RON AND FEZ!
RON AND FEZ!
RON AND FEZ!
RON AND FEZ!
RON AND FEZ!
RON AND FEZ!
RON AND FEZ!
Yeeeeeeehhhhhaaaaawwww!!!

Never stop. Never stop fighting 'till the fight is done.
-Elliot Ness, "Untouchables"

Adrian!!!
-Rocky Balboa, "Rocky"

I'd keep playing.
-groundskeeper(Bill Murray), "Caddyshack"

Would you like me to pass the creamer, dog?
-Max Fisher, "Rushmore"

<img src=http://www.richstillwell.com/ESD.gif>
Big Ass Mafia

[TheMojoPin]

only in DC there's a bit more of a "southern" influence that makes the callers sound even slower and in Philly there is a bit more of a "civilzed" suburb area before you get to the real rednecks.

HEY! I'm in one of those DC suburbs...we're the computer tech corridor of the entire country! We just got the new horse plough last week and everything...and boy, is it SHINY!

<img src="http://members.hostedscripts.com/randomimage.cgi?user=TheMojoPin">
2% << FREE YERDADDY! >> "You can tell some lies about the good times you've had/But I've kissed your mother twice and now I'm working on your dad..."

[ChickenHawk]

You said it, TooCute!


<IMG SRC="http://homepage.mac.com/fathernoel/.Pictures/chickenhawk3.gif">
HEY BLINK! SUCK MY DINK!
(fluffernutter draws good birds.)

[CYYYFYYY]

I agree with most of what you are saying..... But you saying you support Ron and Fez
in your own ways..... Please tell these ways. By discouraging others to go to rallies
and stuff. I agree that they don;t help but it can't hurt. So please tell me how you
support them........................


Everyone Loves CYYYFYYY
I am just a Simple jewish Boy
from the Lower east Side
I am the CYYYFYYY
Party Harty!!!!!!

[TooCute]

I don't know if you caught this or not, but Ron & Fez was originally a show started in Florida, home to shows like "Bubba the Love Sponge" and "The John Boy and Billy" show.

The thing is, Ron and Fez adjusted their show for a Northern audience.


Where R&F started is completely irrelevant.

When R&F were broadcasting from NY, their show was aimed at the NYC audience. I don't know if you caught this or not, but since they've been on in DC, their show is different, and aimed at the slower pace that people in DC seem to move at. Having a show that is aimed at both audiences apparently does not work.

Consultants are paid tons and tons of money to help in matters like this... whether the talent is willing to listen to the advice is another matter.

It's probably the reason why O&A bombed in DC. They weren't willing to adjust the show for that area, even though the syndicated version of O&A was very different than pre-syndicated.

Probably. But then again, one wonders whether there is a way that a call-in talk show like O&A or D&M or particularly R&F, which is even more caller based, can do well in both DC and NY. New York and DC sensibilities seem particularly at odds, as evidenced by O&A and D&M; if O&A were able to immediately do so well in other markets after syndication, that is evidence that it is something unique to DC that is different from NYC. Are there any call-in talk shows that have done well in both markets?

I don't even like D&M, I'm just saying that the problem - why Hot Talk couldn't have been saved on WNEW - is because there was NOTHING to anchor the station. That was my point. We are quibbling over an EXAMPLE I had.

I don't care why you think WNEW couldn't be saved. It's gone. Your opinion is irrelevant. I think you've also stated it on several occasions in the past. What spurred this unsolicited restatement?

Actually, I was taking exception at your calling people selfish and narrow-minded and saying that they were wasting their time doing things that make them feel better, nevermind that it makes the R&F crew smile to know how much we care.

BTW, if you think there are no Rednecks in the NJ area, let me ask you this - when was the last time you went to a New Jersey Devils game? Mulletmania, brother.

NJ Devils games may be "mulletmania", but that doesn't mean that the show was aimed at them when it was on in NYC. All you need to do is compare the DC and NY callers to figure out who is listening to the show.

<img src=http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/toocute2.gif>
!! 2% !!<font color=FBF2F7>

This message was edited by TooCute on 4-20-03 @ 2:31 PM

[Noonan]

Tenbats,

Sorry for the vitriole last night, it really is unlike me...especially on an internet message board. With that said, I am sooo tired of seeing revisionist history concerning the O&A and D&M feud. Comments like yours and the demented Dentist, skewing the facts, infuriate me. Bob Impact succinctly and perfectly acurately described the support that O&A gave to D&M when they came on board at WNEW. I heard the mp3's not long ago and I'd forgotten how happy Opie in particular was that Leykis was gone and now D&M were part of the team. People too easily forget this...and then D&M attacked first. They also failed on their own merits, or lack thereof. So excuse me if I was offended by your comments. I think the people here and at the extinct oa.com, for the most part, are entirely capable of knowing good or bad radio when they hear it. So please, Tenbats, D&M fans, Nazi Dentists, etc., please don't insult our intelligence and twist the truth.

"Why would anyone listen to an inferior radio show?" - Greg Hughes

And, ESDave..."I don't think the heavy stuff is comin' down for a while now..."

[ADF]

I remember it as OnA "attacking" first. Actually, it was more Opie making barely veiled comments toward Don and Mike's ratings. It was my impresson that Opie didn't like their lead-in. After Opie's comments became less-veiled, Don started making "Dopey and Acne" jokes and the like. I never saw the point of any of this infighting. Don and Mike's poor ratings got them fired from New York, and we all know what happened to OnA.

<center><a href = "http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com"><img src = http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/adftron.gif title = "2%" width = 300 height = 100></a>
Do you know the way to San Jose?
</center>

[TheMojoPin]

New York and DC sensibilities seem particularly at odds, as evidenced by O&A and D&M: if O&A were able to immediately do so well in other markets after syndication, that is evidence that it is something unique to DC that is different from NYC.

D&M are a curious beast. Shocking as it may be, their show wasn't always as awful as it is now. The crappiness factor really didn't kick in until around 1998, 1999, when the really big money came rolling in. The show, especially Don, simply became lazy. They settled into routines, and made the shows focus simply on themselves instead of outside characters and the callers as they had always done so well in the past. Their attitude, again, especially Don's, really, REALLY changed against the callers. For years, much like R&F and O&A, they had welcomed the callers to participate, and really seemed to act like the callers added to the show. But then around 1998, the attitude suddenly become one of annoyance with the callers, like it was an ordeal to even answer the phones, and the boys really started talking down to the callers and basically attacking and insulting almost all of them. Then the routines really started kicking in, and you got the almost daily calls to the wife and kid, spending entire shows talking about what they did on the weekends and holidays (Which in theory is fine, but when all you hear about are problems with your spacious beach house, it's not good radio), and playing the same crappy radio games (ALWAYS the show's weak point) left and right, right when scheduled. The problem was that by the time this happened, they had gotten to #1 by a huge margin because of their GOOD radio, so they knew they had the room to slack off, and they happily grabbed at the chance to not work as hard. They reached the golden apple and promptly decided to sit on their fat asses. So like so many crappy bands that stay on top of the charts, or crappy TV shows that were once good but jumped the shark and still stayed atop the Neilsons, D&M had their huge ratings margin, and DC was stuck with them. People listen to them because that's all they knew for a good ten years, and it's familiar. It's the mindless nature of the majority of the radio business. It sure as hell wasn't the quality of the radio, because D&M's ratings dipped HARD when they went to middays for O&A. I have no doubt that by this time now had they stayed on O&A would be well within the top ten listings, and maybe even the top five.

The point? Well, I think I lost it...but please, PLEASE, we're not idiots here in DC. We're not all bad callers, and it'll take time to catch up to the style of show R&F have perfected, which IS "new again" thanks to 6 years of craptacular radio from D&M and co.. Besides, people talk like the NYC callers were great off the bat, but until the "crazy hour" of past 2 AM, I remember a LOT of the NYC callers sucking and wasting airtime for much of 2000. Things take time, and we're gaining ground...LEAVE US ALONE.

<img src="http://members.hostedscripts.com/randomimage.cgi?user=TheMojoPin">
2% << December boys got it BAD. >> "You can tell some lies about the good times you've had/But I've kissed your mother twice and now I'm working on your dad..."

[Noonan]

GREAT post Mojo...I think D&M and radio people in general can let that sink in...

And ADF, point well taken because 3-11pm used to be party time for me and sometimes my memory can be elusive at best. I do recall O&A being very unhappy about empty phone lines heading into their show AND the smell of the mics after D&M had been in studio...

Also, Tenbats again, I give you credit for adding "and more" to the topic title. :)

My last thought is this: I think we would all agree that R&F is a night-time show which would mean that they REALLY need a station devoted to TALK, unlike 'YSP or 'XRK, soo, don't you think O&A is going to be the show which leads them back to NYC? I may be wrong, but I don't think so because the shows really compliment each other pefectly. Well, just my belief....

[Bob Impact]

Regarding the RnF goodbye show:
Newsflash. Nobody ever gets a goodbye show. The liability that you're being fired, no matter how low it is, still exists. Infinity knew they were in FCC Hot Water with the St. Pat's stunt. They weren't going to risk it no matter what.

Ron and Fez were not fired, but pulled from the NY Station, they still work for infinity and it was entirely plausable for them to gave a goodbye show, seeing as how they wouldn't give up their job in DC to say fuck off to infinity. Despite how much we all argue, Ron and Fez both understand that radio is a business. They understand what got them where they are and why they are there and wouldn't (in my estimation) take shots at infinity while they were still employed there.

New York and DC sensibilities seem particularly at odds, as evidenced by O&A and D&M: if O&A were able to immediately do so well in other markets after syndication, that is evidence that it is something unique to DC that is different from NYC. Are there any call-in talk shows that have done well in both markets?


Stern does well in both markets, as did Rush. I think it's also important to note that O&A took over Don and Mikes slot, meaning that all of Don and Mikes listeners had to be purged before the show could be a sucess. While this isn't unheard of, D&M were in that slot for a long long time. Also worth noting is that after a couple of months O&A began trending up in DC.

<center><img src="http://czm.racknine.net/images/bobimpactfog.gif"><br>
Thanks, FlufferNutter and CZM! - <a href="http://bobimpact.coolfreepage.com/">Ron and Fez Drop Archive</a>
My Head is Bloody but unbowed.
Ron and Fez live in NYC or the real nightmare begins.</center>

[TooCute]

The point? Well, I think I lost it...but please, PLEASE, we're not idiots here in DC.

I didn't mean to make it sound like DCers are idiots. I mean that they are literally slower than NYers. They talk more slowly, take longer to say things. It's just different. Redneck, even - and I can say that cause my dad's one ;)

<img src=http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/toocute2.gif>
!! 2% !!<font color=FBF2F7>

[GaryWyze]

A lot of people might think that I'm anti-Ron and Fez because I don't take part in protests, or letter writing, or bashing the Blink because it doesn't have R&F on there.

<font color=purple>Well, I can't speak for anybody else, but I know that I've spent many a days wondering why you haven't joined in the protest.

Nothing could be further from the truth

Grrrrr, NOW YOU TELL ME!!!

I don't get the point of your post. Other than to seemingly discourage people for trying to bring back R&F and label them as selfish and narrow-minded for doing so.

What difference does it make it people blame Infinity or not? Say what you will, but they were cowards for caving on the whole O&A thing so quickly, and R&F never received the kind of support that would've given them a fighting chance.

WNEW was a cluster fuck from day one. If managed correctly, it could've been a force to be reckoned with. It wasn't, and that's reason enough to fault Infinity.

The "bad guys" in this situation, if you can call them that, are ironically enough, O&A. Why? Simple. O&A turned everyone in New York against Don and Mike, just like they did with Leykis. If D&M had gotten support in NY, hot talk at WNEW and R&F in NYC could have been saved, because WNEW probably would have been turned into a similar model as WJFK and WYSP.

O&A had nothing to do with D&M failure in New York. In fact, they were very behind the show at first. Despite their endorsement, NY'ers just didn't *feel* D&M.

I offer up country music as a good example why. Despite its huge popularity in hundreds of markets, with artist who out sell every other genre of music, it just doesn't work in NYC.

That's not to say that it isn't a valuable commodity, but one man's gold is another man's beat up pick-up truck with a gun rack and "honk if you love grits" bumper sticker on the back. Don & Mike were never gonna make it here! As with country music, the show is just too slow. Too mundane. And worst of all, too formulaic.

There is no reason to protest Blink. No one there remembers or cares about Ron and Fez.

Doesn't matter. They don't need to remember, we're more than happy to remind them.

As someone who's been at the forefront in the the effort to keep R&F in NYC (and now bring them back), I can tell you that we don't do so because we have some unrealistic expectation of instant gratification.

It's a marathon, not a race. So while it may not be today, or tomorrow,we will get them back here eventually.

In the interim, I personally know that both Ron & Fez greatly appreciate our actions on their behalf. That's more than reason enough to do what we're doing, ya big traitor!

<center>http://czm.racknine.net/images/krustysig.jpg

Much thanks to CZM for the killer sig

>>Fuck YERDADDY, Free Our POWs<<

This message was edited by GaryWyze on 4-21-03 @ 12:54 PM