227 replies to this topic

[AquaNarc]

This guy is unlistenable. He makes Mutnansky look like Edward R. Murrow. Another smart move by WEEI!

Edited by AquaNarc, 09 April 2011 - 09:21 AM.

[sportstalkmattboston]

nm

Edited by sportstalkmattboston, 14 April 2011 - 11:55 AM.

[dirtynine]

Well, by doing that you automatically become the most media-savvy WEEI host I've ever encountered. Good luck - I'm sure folks here will give you a fair shake.

[sportstalkmattboston]

Thanks Dirty. Again - I think message boards are an awesome way to talk to fans. Yes - some of the stuff is ridiculous and attacking but I think you can get the temp. on a topic via the boards. I might get killed for being on here but until I do - I hope people are willing to get to know me either through the new show on Saturdays or on here.

[Toe Nash]

I find sports talk radio to be generally unlistenable (especially in Boston and especially re: the Red Sox), but based on your posting here and your seeming interest in improving, I'll give the show a listen and let you know what I think. If every member of the media did the same this forum would have about half as many posts.

If by "might get killed" you mean that your bosses would come down on you, then that's honestly too bad.

[Dalton Jones]

I'd start by dropping the word "awesome".

[sportstalkmattboston]

Dalton Jones, on 13 April 2011 - 02:03 PM, said:

I'd start by dropping the word "awesome".

Do you mean dropping as don't use it ... or drop into the conversation? I have never been told what I can and can not do online but since I'm brand new and I consider this site to be the best message board in New England, I think it's good for me to come on here and talk to you guys.

[HomeBrew1901]

sportstalkmattboston, on 13 April 2011 - 02:55 PM, said:

Do you mean dropping as don't use it ... or drop into the conversation? I have never been told what I can and can not do online but since I'm brand new and I consider this site to be the best message board in New England, I think it's good for me to come on here and talk to you guys.

For your sake I hope your bosses feel the same way.

[jnlevetoncnmt]

I might be banned for saying this, but I spent a few months in Boston a few years back and I really liked WEEI. I live in central Florida and all the talk, even this time of year, is college football. Spring practice gets more coverage than mlb games. I love college football, but there is virtually zero MLB talk on the radio, or in real life here. I was in Boston the night that Theo "quit", and the calls into WEEI were just hystericaly funny.

I'm sure it could get old if I lived there for a few years, but it was a breath of fresh air compared to talk radio in the south. The food is better too. (but the roads are awful, and the toolbooth at I90/95 is the work of satan)

[mabrowndog]

jnlevetoncnmt, on 13 April 2011 - 09:23 PM, said:

I might be banned for saying this, but I spent a few months in Boston a few years back and I really liked WEEI. I live in central Florida and all the talk, even this time of year, is college football. Spring practice gets more coverage than mlb games. I love college football, but there is virtually zero MLB talk on the radio, or in real life here. I was in Boston the night that Theo "quit", and the calls into WEEI were just hystericaly funny.

The WEEI of then and the WEEI of now are completely different animals.

[weeba]

Actually, they're the same animal as they were back then. It's just that we have options now that help us realize how bad WEEI is/was

[sportstalkmattboston]

nm

Edited by sportstalkmattboston, 14 April 2011 - 11:55 AM.

[BellhornsBiatch]

Matt - you need to swap Trags for Speier. Thanks.

WEEI isn't 'so bad' - it's that in the last few months they've made some reactionary moves that were necessary, but incorrect at the same time. I think one of the main problems is that once the King gets to the top of the mountain, they get fat and lazy and don't continue to improve or innovate... and 98.5's competition has cut into the market share considerably enough to force your best pairing (Dale & Holley) into remission. WEEI has revamped the Big Show into a very awkward listen in an attempt to get younger, cooler, whatever you want to call it.

WEEI seems to me at least, to be a King that climbed to the top yet demonstrated an uncanny amount of hubris in assuming their success had nothing to do with being the only pizza shop in town, and as a result, said 'here's the product... don't like it? then don't listen to sports radio.' Now they can't do that anymore.

[The Four Peters]

Matt, thanks for coming on and doing this. Very cool to see someone willing and ready to both improve and take feedback directly from listeners. As BB said above, that attitude is/was not common at WEEI, it was definitely a "our way is the only way" mindset, so it's good to see that changing.

For me, and most people on this site, WEEI was lowest common denominator radio. Now, the hardest part is separating how much is WEEI specific and how much is just the nature of sports talk radio. Let's face it, rational and intelligent discussion of sports isn't always entertaining, and it certainly won't generate callers and listeners like the "They're ruining my summahh!" reactions do. When I hear any talk show getting into the tired talking points about baseball or football, it just turns me off. But...that's what works, to an extent.

I'll be honest though, I rarely listen to WEEI anymore. D+C are a nonstarter for me. Their political rantings just aren't what I want to hear in the morning, regardless of whether I agree with them or not (I don't). But beyond that, their sports talk comes off as entitled, lazy, and second rate. I am fully confident I know eons more about sports than them. And then in the afternoons, the Big Show really turned me off with the lack of quality in their co-hosts for a while. Guys like Fred Smerlas, Steve Burton, Butch Stearns, Larry Johnson, etc may be the nicest guys in the world, but they are just not intelligent by any means. I have no desire to hear their opinions on anything, to be honest. When the Big Show had knowledgeable guests on (Buckley, McAdam, Merloni, Bradford for baseball for example), it would be a pleasureable listen. But that was the exception rather than the norm so I left for the other station.

I haven't listened to your specific show (I don't usually listen on the weekends) so I don't have any specific feedback for you yet. However, you coming on here will definitely give me reason to give you a listen, so your reaching out has worked.

[dirtynine]

EEI acted like, for lack of a better word, a bully for a long time. If they were a person, they'd be Biff from Back to the Future. Watching TSH come in and completely humble them has been awesome, and for the most part they don't appear smart or capable or interesting enough to keep up. Maybe you'll be an exception and create an oasis of interesting, good radio - like, for instance, the old Baseball Show used to be - but for the most part I see EEI waxing George McFly's car in the near future, if not already.

[NortheasternPJ]

I haven't listened yet but I may give it shot on some Saturday, I usually avoid WEEI but lately the biggest thing for me is how terrible AM radio sounds. It sounds like WEEI is broadcasting out of a tin can vs The Sports Hub

Quote

I've been asked to make our Saturday show more interactive and social media friendly

As for more interactive / social media friendly I wonder if they're going for more of The DA Show vibe which is very heavy on texts, twitter and interaction.

[sportstalkmattboston]

nm

Edited by sportstalkmattboston, 14 April 2011 - 11:55 AM.

[weeba]

Aww, what did Matt say?

[weeba]

Oh, they're all deleted at the same time.

Wonder if WEEI caught wind of him posting here?

[Dave Stapleton]

Well that really tells us all we need to know about EEI. Probably don't want any "content" any place other than their website or the content share arrangements.

They really don't have a clue do they.

[NortheasternPJ]

Glad to see WEEI has learned a lot from the past 18 months. God forbid someone reach out to people who they've lost as an audience and see what would help get them back.

"i see you're interacting with fans on a Boston sports message board"
"yeah, i figured it was a good way to see what fans want to hear and get honest feedback about the show, they currently think it sucks"
"That's not what we're about here"

[Billy Jo Robidoux]

This is so awesome. The guy makes a tiny, earnest attempt to improve the quality of his show, and EEI banhammers him!

[jose melendez]

So what did he say?

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

jose melendez, on 14 April 2011 - 01:05 PM, said:

So what did he say?

He was wondering if someone could please phone in a five-minute "Keys to the Game" special announcement about the upcoming Red Sox week every Saturday or Sunday. He mentioned that the person doing so would get a "high six-figure" salary with perks (sports tickets, dates with Kate Upton, half-off ice cream sundaes at Friendly's). We told him that we couldn't help him and to pound sand.

Do you know anyone?

[Jeff Van GULLY]

I don't see any evidence or acknowledgement that WEEI forced Mr. Perrault to remove his posts. Perhaps this is a case of jumping the gun?

Edited by Jeff Van GULLY, 14 April 2011 - 01:31 PM.

[Corsi]

Methinks Bradford basically told Matt not to talk out of school.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Rob's started a new thread for questions, so I'd head over there if you want to chat with him.

[Rob Bradford]

Corsi, on 14 April 2011 - 01:30 PM, said:

Methinks Bradford basically told Matt not to talk out of school.

First off, I have no authority to do anything like that. Secondly, I didn't, and to my knowledge, neither did anybody else.