RIP Toucher and Rich Show ... It was fun while it lasted

dirtynine

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If Rich was waiting for some kind of on-air apology from Fred, I don't think whatever he said yesterday ("I was scared, tweeting dumb stuff, it was wrong, whattayagonnado") really checked the box.
 

RyanBros14

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I think the conjecture of "being cancer-free" that was discussed yesterday may also be a sore spot with Rich as well.
 

Andy Merchant

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Yea, I'm not sure its "taking a couple of days to recharge". I definitely HOPE it is, but the T and R twitter has been silent. No show promotion and no retweets. I feel like that speaks volumes.

I haven't been able to listen today. How is Fred's voice compared to yesterday? Hoping it isn't worse the more he talks.
I've listened sporadically the past couple of days, but Fred's voice was pretty good but he did have some hoarseness a couple times. He did do voices today, so hopefully that means he's feeling pretty good.

If Rich was waiting for some kind of on-air apology from Fred, I don't think whatever he said yesterday ("I was scared, tweeting dumb stuff, it was wrong, whattayagonnado") really checked the box.
Yeah, he took responsibility but didn't apologize. I could certainly understand if that bothered Rich.
 

HomeBrew1901

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I think the conjecture of "being cancer-free" that was discussed yesterday may also be a sore spot with Rich as well.
That and Fred sure seems to be milking the thought that he had cancer.

Makes you wonder how long ago he knew that he was cancer free and he’s still bringing it up, as in before or after his now deleted tweets.

Even Wallach corrected Fred yesterday when he brought it up.”You didn’t have cancer”
 

Haunted

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Regarding the ratings, I think we need to consider the competition as well. I don't have a commute so I don't really listen in the mornings, but the Hillman-on-WEEI show was abysmal when I listened. Greg had zero sports interest and entirely relied on the others to carry any discussion. It was terrible radio. And now with WAAF and WBCN in the distant rear view mirror, there are few active rock stations left.

Sure, it's great that they have a huge piece of the listener pie, but when the pie itself is 1/20th of what it was even 10 years ago...
 

hube

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The "cancer survivor" thing was one point where I thought Fred was contrite even though he didn't outright apologize. I disagree that he's milking it - cancer directly related to your ability to perform your livelihood even if you don't die seems like a pretty big deal. That's no small fear.
 

DisgruntledSoxFan77

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The "cancer survivor" thing was one point where I thought Fred was contrite even though he didn't outright apologize. I disagree that he's milking it - cancer directly related to your ability to perform your livelihood even if you don't die seems like a pretty big deal. That's no small fear.
I mean the man admitted he was scared. That’s not an easy thing to admit for a lot of people
 

Patriot_Reign

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In Minihane's last podcast he said he's heard from two separate people at 98.5 that earlier this week there was a meeting with Fred, Rich, the PD, and other important people where they discussed the show and Fred. Supposedly Rich refused to speak and eventually put his wife on who said that it was a hostile work environment and that Rich does not want to return to the show.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/birdman/id1467438756?i=1000612805948
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I will betray myself and admit that I have absolutely no idea who those people are.
Consider yourself lucky. It's a typical morning zoo program on 92.9 (which is not a bad station). They're out of Detroit, I believe, and have all of the cliches: KWAZY callers! (I think about this one, I've listened to the show a few times but the ads are incessant). Veiled sexual innuendo that would make Angus Young roll his eyes. Two loud idiots and their wacky, can-you-believe-we-hired-these-people, co-workers. Wacky headlines. Noises. Drops. It's exactly what you think.
 

joe dokes

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In Minihane's last podcast he said he's heard from two separate people at 98.5 that earlier this week there was a meeting with Fred, Rich, the PD, and other important people where they discussed the show and Fred. Supposedly Rich refused to speak and eventually put his wife on who said that it was a hostile work environment and that Rich does not want to return to the show.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/birdman/id1467438756?i=1000612805948
"Hostile work envronment" is a legal term of art applied to discrimination claims. "My insufferable co-worker makes work suck" is unlikely to allow him to quit *and* get paid.
 

Haunted

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Consider yourself lucky. It's a typical morning zoo program on 92.9 (which is not a bad station). They're out of Detroit, I believe, and have all of the cliches: KWAZY callers! (I think about this one, I've listened to the show a few times but the ads are incessant). Veiled sexual innuendo that would make Angus Young roll his eyes. Two loud idiots and their wacky, can-you-believe-we-hired-these-people, co-workers. Wacky headlines. Noises. Drops. It's exactly what you think.
Oof. Yuck. I'm sure they're still doing all those canned bits that O@A used to make fun of relentlessly.
 

NortheasternPJ

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In Minihane's last podcast he said he's heard from two separate people at 98.5 that earlier this week there was a meeting with Fred, Rich, the PD, and other important people where they discussed the show and Fred. Supposedly Rich refused to speak and eventually put his wife on who said that it was a hostile work environment and that Rich does not want to return to the show.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/birdman/id1467438756?i=1000612805948
I painfully got through 10 minutes of that. I don't get how anyone listens to Minihane, Everything about him is awful.
 

sezwho

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Oof. Yuck. I'm sure they're still doing all those canned bits that O@A used to make fun of relentlessly.
Even hearing their promos is so aggravating that changing the channel is not enough. I need to switch to a podcast just to make sure they’re not in my life again for a while.

On topic, the more I learn about this situation the worse it seems. Yikes.
 

dirtynine

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I tried to look at Twitter for more detail but it’s all filtered through Minihane fan accounts. Gotta go take a shower.
 

NortheasternPJ

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I don’t get the end game here for Rich. Is anyone going to pay him half what he’s getting now vs him and Fred together? Fred’s Batman and Rich’s Robin. He’s a great 1b but he’s not the alpha. They’ve been sustaining ratings but I know i listen a lot less when there’s no Fred.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I don’t get the end game here for Rich. Is anyone going to pay him half what he’s getting now vs him and Fred together? Fred’s Batman and Rich’s Robin. He’s a great 1b but he’s not the alpha. They’ve been sustaining ratings but I know i listen a lot less when there’s no Fred.
Maybe he has enough cash and he’s just looking to be happy in his next gig? I would think that if he’s done with Fred’s shit this isn’t something that happened overnight.

Spending years in a shitty relationship sucks. Getting out, even if it costs you cash in the short term might be worth it long term. Life’s too short, you know? Especially if you’ve got some extra cash.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Maybe he has enough cash and he’s just looking to be happy in his next gig? I would think that if he’s done with Fred’s shit this isn’t something that happened overnight.

Spending years in a shitty relationship sucks. Getting out, even if it costs you cash in the short term might be worth it long term. Life’s too short, you know? Especially if you’ve got some extra cash.
If so, good for him and hope he does well and is happy. I can imagine Dealing with Fred for being gone for over 2 years on and off and being a dick about it sucks.
 

Patriot_Reign

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Maybe he has enough cash and he’s just looking to be happy in his next gig? I would think that if he’s done with Fred’s shit this isn’t something that happened overnight.

Spending years in a shitty relationship sucks. Getting out, even if it costs you cash in the short term might be worth it long term. Life’s too short, you know? Especially if you’ve got some extra cash.
Given the extent of his wife's illness I'd wager he's paid a lot of out of pocket money into paying for her care. And given the unknown, in his case he probably can't ever have enough money.

They've been together so long, and had so much success it's hard to imagine that with Fred back and healthy they can't find a way to negotiate through their differences and become a team again.

I mean if Rich is in studio Tuesday morning at 6am the show will probably pull a 50 share.
 

8slim

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Maybe he has enough cash and he’s just looking to be happy in his next gig? I would think that if he’s done with Fred’s shit this isn’t something that happened overnight.

Spending years in a shitty relationship sucks. Getting out, even if it costs you cash in the short term might be worth it long term. Life’s too short, you know? Especially if you’ve got some extra cash.
I mean, just ask Stephanie.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Given the extent of his wife's illness I'd wager he's paid a lot of out of pocket money into paying for her care. And given the unknown, in his case he probably can't ever have enough money.

They've been together so long, and had so much success it's hard to imagine that with Fred back and healthy they can't find a way to negotiate through their differences and become a team again.

I mean if Rich is in studio Tuesday morning at 6am the show will probably pull a 50 share.
I don’t know what Rich’s health insurance is like, maybe it’s good? IDK. But that’s another reason for Rich not to put up with Fred’s shit.

And it’s not like Rich is going to start temping or something. The dude is talented, he’s part of a number one radio juggernaut in a top six market. He’s always going to have a job. Will it be as fulfilling as the good times with Fred? Probably not. Will it be as maddening as the bad times with Fred? Also probably not.

My guess is that he takes a haircut paywise, but I bet he’ll still do pretty well. Let’s put it this way, if he’s able to pay a producer his salary out of his own pocket, after his wife went through her shit, my guess is that he’s doing more than okay.

I’m not Rich’s accountant but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was closer to being correct in my assumption.
 

8slim

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That and Fred sure seems to be milking the thought that he had cancer.

Makes you wonder how long ago he knew that he was cancer free and he’s still bringing it up, as in before or after his now deleted tweets.

Even Wallach corrected Fred yesterday when he brought it up.”You didn’t have cancer”
Maybe I’m wrong, but I coulda swore that 10-12 days into his absence Fred posted that it wasn’t cancer. Or alluded to it.

It was also interesting that when Fred told his tale of the last few weeks Wallace deadpanned “well, good for you, Fred”. Struck me as an oddly detached comment, given how John tends to react to everything else Fred says.
 

Granite Sox

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If Rich pulls the ripchord, he has to know he’s putting Lockhart’s continued employment at risk as well. After all, Beasley isn’t paying Lockhart (allegedly). So I imagine Rich will have to help get that straightened out in some fashion. Outside of that, go do what makes you happy.
 

Salem's Lot

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If Rich pulls the ripchord, he has to know he’s putting Lockhart’s continued employment at risk as well. After all, Beasley isn’t paying Lockhart (allegedly). So I imagine Rich will have to help get that straightened out in some fashion. Outside of that, go do what makes you happy.
I would imagine that if Rich is seriously considering pulling the ripcord, he’s already got something else nearly locked up and he’ll still need a producer.
 

joe dokes

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Given the extent of his wife's illness I'd wager he's paid a lot of out of pocket money into paying for her care. And given the unknown, in his case he probably can't ever have enough money.

They've been together so long, and had so much success it's hard to imagine that with Fred back and healthy they can't find a way to negotiate through their differences and become a team again.

I mean if Rich is in studio Tuesday morning at 6am the show will probably pull a 50 share.
Its just as likely that Rich and his family have decided that health and happiness is most important now. More important than "becoming a team again" with a guy who is at best, kind of fucked up, and at worst, a colossal asshole. And more important than a 50 share.
Anyone who has been in the adult working world for any length of time has experienced the ill effects of working with someone that makes you dread coming to work every day. Sometimes, you keep doing it because you have to, not because you want to. And then at some point, you decide what "have to" really means.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Regarding the ratings, I think we need to consider the competition as well. I don't have a commute so I don't really listen in the mornings, but the Hillman-on-WEEI show was abysmal when I listened. Greg had zero sports interest and entirely relied on the others to carry any discussion. It was terrible radio. And now with WAAF and WBCN in the distant rear view mirror, there are few active rock stations left.
To be fair, Greg Hill has had zero interest in anything peripheral to his career for a long time. He didn't give two shits about music on 'AAF (where his show slowly morphed into a bad Stern show clone and you were lucky to get more than a couple songs an hour), or sports (he was or is the worst kind of "fan," only using the teams' successes to pump up his importance). Greg Hill only has interest in being paid as much as possible to do as little work as possible while letting everyone else carry the show with his name on it.

That rant aside, the signal isn't as strong (but seems to be getting stronger), but 100.1 (The Pike, I think) is pretty decent for rock radio and has at least two former 'AAF DJs in Hsu and Carrie anchoring the rotation.
 

Haunted

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To be fair, Greg Hill has had zero interest in anything peripheral to his career for a long time. He didn't give two shits about music on 'AAF (where his show slowly morphed into a bad Stern show clone and you were lucky to get more than a couple songs an hour), or sports (he was or is the worst kind of "fan," only using the teams' successes to pump up his importance). Greg Hill only has interest in being paid as much as possible to do as little work as possible while letting everyone else carry the show with his name on it.

That rant aside, the signal isn't as strong (but seems to be getting stronger), but 100.1 (The Pike, I think) is pretty decent for rock radio and has at least two former 'AAF DJs in Hsu and Carrie anchoring the rotation.
All true. They also have Adam XII I think?
 

Haunted

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Mike Hsu lives in my neighborhood (no idea where specifically but he’s posted “this is a neighbors house” pictures that are very close to me) and has turned into an outstanding weed and food influencer for Worcester. I take a lot of restaurant tips from him.
 

Patriot_Reign

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Anyone who has been in the adult working world for any length of time has experienced the ill effects of working with someone that makes you dread coming to work every day.
I've worked with some genuine top rank assholes who are ruthless in the way they treat others and the people above them are happy to look the other way because they bring in so much money to their companies.

Fred acting like a narcissistic low self confidence baby and putting out the occasional passive agressive social media posts is not that big a deal.
 

Murby

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I don’t know what Rich’s health insurance is like, maybe it’s good? IDK. But that’s another reason for Rich not to put up with Fred’s shit.

And it’s not like Rich is going to start temping or something. The dude is talented, he’s part of a number one radio juggernaut in a top six market. He’s always going to have a job. Will it be as fulfilling as the good times with Fred? Probably not. Will it be as maddening as the bad times with Fred? Also probably not.

My guess is that he takes a haircut paywise, but I bet he’ll still do pretty well. Let’s put it this way, if he’s able to pay a producer his salary out of his own pocket, after his wife went through her shit, my guess is that he’s doing more than okay.

I’m not Rich’s accountant but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was closer to being correct in my assumption.
I agree with this take, & will add that being a person who has had a lifetime of health issues myself…the notion that Rich’s wife allegedly gotten involved suggests to me they’ve been planning this & they have an exit prepared wherein she’s going to be protected vis-á-vis healthcare. I’ve never left a job without having one lined up, but that’s my cautious nature.

Alternate note re: Minihane: I have nothing nice to say.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Mike Hsu lives in my neighborhood (no idea where specifically but he’s posted “this is a neighbors house” pictures that are very close to me) and has turned into an outstanding weed and food influencer for Worcester. I take a lot of restaurant tips from him.
Have you heard about Lux Auto Plus? /s
 

GreenMonster49

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All true. They also have Adam XII I think?
Adam 12 is on 92.9 from 11-4 on weekdays (he’s been there for a while now after being on RadioBDC and then Indie617, respectively former and current streaming outfits).
 

joe dokes

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I've worked with some genuine top rank assholes who are ruthless in the way they treat others and the people above them are happy to look the other way because they bring in so much money to their companies.

Fred acting like a narcissistic low self confidence baby and putting out the occasional passive agressive social media posts is not that big a deal.
I agree it's probably not a big deal to bottom-line driven higher-ups.
But co-workers at roughly the same level might see it differently.
 

JCizzle

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Geeze, Chad Finn was on Ringer's Off the Pike podcast and it sounds like this show might be done. He basically hit my thoughts - the show is bigger than the sum of its parts, but does it really work if everyone is miserable? His (admittedly entirely uninformed) best guess is that it's done. Such a bummer, they've given me so much entertainment over the years.
 

Rusty13

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Fred is claiming it’s all “fan fiction” on IG and for everyone to “calm down”.