Tag Results for talk radio

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. So maybe Howie Carr’s suspension from WRKO Radio (AM 680) is just a suspension. But let me inject some uninformed speculation into the matter. The once-great station has been running on fumes for some time. Maybe its corporate owner, Entercom, has decided to force an end game, let Carr out of his contract and turn ’RKO into an outlet for, oh, let’s say Spanish-language infomercials.

The Boston Globe’s Erin Ailsworth reports that Carr (photo) was suspended for a week for badmouthing the station on the air — something he has done continuously since he was forced into staying in 2007. (Apparently it’s gotten worse lately.) Carr is said to be unhappy that Rush Limbaugh’s syndicated show recently moved to Clear Channel’s WXKS (AM 1200), part of a national “Rush Radio” network.

Funny, but I thought one of the reasons the station replaced Rush with Republican political consultant Charley Manning was that Howie and Manning are buddies, and that Charley might keep the petulant star more or less in line. I don’t have any numbers in front of me, but Boston radio observers have long noted that this is one of Limbaugh’s worst markets. The idea of not fighting to keep Limbaugh and going with a local show struck me as pretty smart, even if Manning’s show is a work in progress.

Carr does seem to be wallowing in bitterness lately. For instance, he recently wrote in his Boston Herald column that President Obama wouldn’t have made it through college and law school if he weren’t black:

Of course, no one expects Barack Obama to really know anything. We understand, all too well, exactly how he got through Columbia and Harvard Law. He had certain … intangibles, shall we say.

That’s pretty rancid even by Howie’s standards. No, I’m not leaving anything out — the ellipses are his, not mine.

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"Beat the Press" panelists sound off on their rants and raves of the week: the media's obsession with high-profile sex rehab; Gov. Patrick's debut on talk radio; MSNBC suspends anchor David Shuster; ABC's "This Week" teams up with PolitiFact; and the New York Times debuts four new features.

Governor Deval Patrick says he's not going to make the same mistake Martha Coakley did in her US Senate race by ducking Boston's legion of right-wing radio talkers. Patrick's determined to go into the lion's den, but will it help him snatch victory from jaws of defeat, or will the likes of Howie Carr, Gerry Callahan, and Michael Graham simply have him for lunch?

The majority of hosts backed Scott Brown, interviewing him regularly and giving him positive exposure. Did talk radio play in the Senate election?

It did not escape anyone's notice that Boston talk radio was, for the most part, in the bag for Scott Brown. WTKK's Michael Graham, Jay Severin and Michele McPhee used every breath of their substantial airtime the last few weeks to push the candidate - with Brown frequently appearing as the only guest, as in, no Martha Coakley, or Joe L. Kennedy for that matter. Same went for WRKO's Finneran's Forum and The Howie Carr Show - even WBZ's Dan Rea was on the Brown wagon. Only 'TKK's Margery Eagan and Jim Braude offered a little balance.

Okay. But now libertarian blogger David Gold, an edgy force in talk radio, is raising the tired old saw that Scott Brown's win, fueled by talk radio, will bring more liberal pressure to regulate the air waves, even though there's no evidence that's true.

The quirky local writer and essayist, Steve Almond says of all the "lies told by the pooh-bahs of talk radio," the most desperate and deluded is that the Fairness Doctrine would quash free speech. He's even challenged any conservative talk radio yakker to a debate. No one locally has accepted.

While I don't think a Fairness Doctrine would quash free speech either, I certainly don't want to see it come back. I would however, like to see some basic fairness when it comes to balance on the airwaves.

Full disclosure: Emily Rooney is also a radio talk show host, appearing daily on "The Emily Rooney Show" on WGBH-FM 89.7 at noon.

CNN news president Jonathan Klein has ordered producers to restrain from booking radio talk show hosts as guests. Do radio talk show hosts lend substance to televised debates, or are they just making noise?

Jay Severin's suspension will end next week, and he will return to WTKK Radio (96.9 FM) on Tuesday. The following statement is from Heidi Raphael, spokeswoman for Greater Media, WTKK's parent corporation:

"We have had conversations with Jay Severin over the past several weeks about his hurtful, inappropriate remarks. He understands that we will not accept this type of commentary on our airwaves in the future. Based on this understanding, we have agreed to conclude Jay's suspension and he will return to the 96.9 FM WTKK airwaves on

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 WTKK's Jay Severin was suspended three weeks ago and there is still no official word when or if the controversial talk show host will be back on the air. Why is the fate of Severin's career being treated so mysteriously?