NO HOLIDAY SPRIT AT WRKO

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them:  for this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12)

Not long ago on this blog I "took a shot" at Boston's 96.9 FMTalk for its shoddy treatment of radio talk show host Michael Graham.  Today, I want to take a shot at their AM competitor, WRKO "The Talk Station".

In a "nice" move for the holidays. WRKO "canned" their entire news staff! It's all covered in The Boston Herald (Friday, November 17, 2006) on page 7.  On Thursday afternoon of this week, the news staff was called in and "axed" to use the Herald's term.  That includes Listo Fisher who was a mainstay at the old WHDH radio before he came to 'RKO.  (Larry Glick fans may remember Larry's silly song, "Listo Fisher is my pal"!)  We also won't hear Rod Fritz, Paul Tuthill, Marga Bessette, Mary Blake or any of the rest of 'em anymore.  Instead we get to hear Generic right-wing national news from the Fox News Network.  (96.9 FMTalk DOES have Generic left-wing CNN news late at night and on weekends, to be fair, but during the weekdays, they've got Ed Cherubino and Hank Morse who cover the local news and do a super job.  They also feature headlines from NBC.)

What 'RKO did is actually much nastier than what 96.9 FMTalk did to Michael Graham.  Do people really care THAT much about news personalities?  Well, let me tell you a story...

There is a woman named Tammy who is a Member of our church.  She lives in a housing complex for the disabled.  Tammy has been through some real difficulties in life.  A few years ago, I was quite surprised when she told me she was going to spend a major holiday in the Midwest with former WRKO newsman Owen May and his wife.  I remembered that Owen May used to be the weekend guy who did the news during the Mo Lauzier shows around 1990. I asked Tammy how she knew them.  She told me that during those years when she was desperately lonely, she would call Owen May because he was such a pleasant person to listen to on the radio.  May and his wife took a real interest in Tammy and befriended her.  They've stayed in close contact.  Once again, this Christmas, Tammy will be going to the Midwest to spend Christmas with Owen May and his wife.  It's touching to hear that a radio broadcaster who is a (small scale) celebrity and his wife have such a holiday spirit as to want to help and encourage a lonely person who doesn't have many relatives.  It would be nice if the WRKO management had a small fraction of that holiday spirit.

No, I'm not going to STOP listening to WRKO, but if I want local news I'll listen to WBZ or 96.9 FMTalk, but NOT 'RKO!