Running on fumes: discussions of WEEI

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Fred and Hardy with Wallach spent 40 minutes or so the last week or two around this. Why was everyone at WEEI giant assholes to each other? They had egos through the roof. Both Hardy and Fred said in their 30 years in radio, they never ran into the toxic WEEI experience.

I love Fred & Hardy & Beetle & Zolak. I think F&M is the worst show possible, but obviously I'm in the minority.

I have no real clue but my thought is EEI radio was hyper alpha male bullshit and I guess that translated into what it was like behind the scenes too. I can't even imagine being a regular worker and having to deal with John Dennis. Or Ordway when he was top dog. Or Andelman. The egos in that place was insane. I read a really good book about WBCN a few years ago, I bet an EEI book would be better.

I thought the one interesting thing WEEI was doing was trying to introduce female voices into Boston sports talk radio. Sidelining MegO is a mistake, in my opinion. In fact, if they wanted to be interesting, they'd go the other direction. Why not try an all-woman drive-time, where they talk not just the big four, but WNBA, soccer, etc.? The Sun just sold out the TD Garden. Caitlin Clarke is the most interesting sports story of the past few years in terms of fan momentum. Instead of chasing past glory and trying to emulate whatever attracts the old core of male sports fans, why not go after a new market and create a bigger pie? Whatever they're doing is a disaster in the ratings. Not sure how it could get worse.

That's what made TSH interesting in their first year or so, they touched on sports that EEI didn't give a shit about, namely hockey and soccer (the World Cup was going on when they debuted, IIRC). They didn't treat their callers like idiots and they didn't sit around and smell each other's farts. Now that TSH is like a toned down EEI, why isn't EEI taking a page out of their playbook and doing the same thing? Maybe have shows hosted by people of color? Women? How could it hurt? Don't put Mego with Jones. Most ex jocks know less about sports than the fans, keep them away from the mics. Retreads like Gresh and Hart don't have fanbases, why are they still around?

EEI's problem is that they're not bold enough. You want a Felger guy at 2:00, you can go to TSH at that exact time. You want a big guy and an ex football player at 10:00? Same thing. I know that these shows are no more, but man, they need ot shake things up. A lot.

 

[Kliq]

That's what made TSH interesting in their first year or so, they touched on sports that EEI didn't give a shit about, namely hockey and soccer (the World Cup was going on when they debuted, IIRC). They didn't treat their callers like idiots and they didn't sit around and smell each other's farts. Now that TSH is like a toned down EEI, why isn't EEI taking a page out of their playbook and doing the same thing? Maybe have shows hosted by people of color? Women? How could it hurt? Don't put Mego with Jones. Most ex jocks know less about sports than the fans, keep them away from the mics. Retreads like Gresh and Hart don't have fanbases, why are they still around?

EEI's problem is that they're not bold enough. You want a Felger guy at 2:00, you can go to TSH at that exact time. You want a big guy and an ex football player at 10:00? Same thing. I know that these shows are no more, but man, they need ot shake things up. A lot.

I just don't know if the listener audience in Boston is big enough to support two all-sports stations at this point, particularly in the more key demo. So many listeners under 40 have moved on to being podcast listeners in the car, I feel like all radio stations are just catering to older audiences at this point, which is why conservative talk radio and Christian music stations seem to be taking over a lot of stations. WEEI is a distant second at this point, the old station on an old format, and I'm not sure if they'll ever be able to get it back.

 

[StuckOnYouk]

I can't stand Jones, I can't believe he survived the cut. Seems like he's a Felger wannabe.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

I have no real clue but my thought is EEI radio was hyper alpha male bullshit and I guess that translated into what it was like behind the scenes too. I can't even imagine being a regular worker and having to deal with John Dennis. Or Ordway when he was top dog. Or Andelman. The egos in that place was insane. I read a really good book about WBCN a few years ago, I bet an EEI book would be better.



That's what made TSH interesting in their first year or so, they touched on sports that EEI didn't give a shit about, namely hockey and soccer (the World Cup was going on when they debuted, IIRC). They didn't treat their callers like idiots and they didn't sit around and smell each other's farts. Now that TSH is like a toned down EEI, why isn't EEI taking a page out of their playbook and doing the same thing? Maybe have shows hosted by people of color? Women? How could it hurt? Don't put Mego with Jones. Most ex jocks know less about sports than the fans, keep them away from the mics. Retreads like Gresh and Hart don't have fanbases, why are they still around?

EEI's problem is that they're not bold enough. You want a Felger guy at 2:00, you can go to TSH at that exact time. You want a big guy and an ex football player at 10:00? Same thing. I know that these shows are no more, but man, they need ot shake things up. A lot.

my favorite shows on a Saturday is Leroy and Cerrone. Im as white as they come but love their show.

 

[Rusty13]

I thought the one interesting thing WEEI was doing was trying to introduce female voices into Boston sports talk radio. Sidelining MegO is a mistake, in my opinion. In fact, if they wanted to be interesting, they'd go the other direction. Why not try an all-woman drive-time, where they talk not just the big four, but WNBA, soccer, etc.? The Sun just sold out the TD Garden. Caitlin Clarke is the most interesting sports story of the past few years in terms of fan momentum. Instead of chasing past glory and trying to emulate whatever attracts the old core of male sports fans, why not go after a new market and create a bigger pie? Whatever they're doing is a disaster in the ratings. Not sure how it could get worse.

Rich should strongly consider poaching Mego to his show. Not sure if it would work. But he could use a female voice there I think.

 

[bigq]

Rich should strongly consider poaching Mego to his show. Not sure if it would work. But he could use a female voice there I think.

Good suggestion. I don’t consume much sports radio these days as I work from home and no longer commute but I liked listening to Mego when I happened to be in the car in the afternoon. I preferred listening to her, Jones and Arcand over F&M.

 

[Andy Merchant]

Done.

It's crazy to me how much of a powerhouse EEI once was. The Big O Show, Dennis and Callahan, Dale and Eddie (and Holley and Neuimier) even Ted Sarandis or Mikey Adams were all shows that people actually discussed. If it didn't have the Red Sox, I have no idea where they'd be.

I'm not sure I'm sad, Dennis, Callahan and Ordway were bullying assholes. But for the folks who work there, it has to be a real drag.

After Obama was elected, I quickly got to the "why am I listening to this?" point with Dennis & Callahan. It took a little longer, but I got there with Ordway too. The hubris of putting Fred Smerlas, Butch Sterns, Larry Johnson, etc. on to talk about nothing and expect people to listen baffles me to this day.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

Rich should strongly consider poaching Mego to his show. Not sure if it would work. But he could use a female voice there I think.

I like Mego. I’m pretty sure any female wouldn’t work with Rich. See: Trenni and Wilder.

 

[gryoung]

Well, Gresh is a dipshit with a junior high school sense of humor.

Fauria is just an idiot.

Armand and Keefe are pretty good. Hope they make a dent.

 

[Ale Xander]

This f’ing sucks Mego (with Arcand) was the best part of of Boston sports radio (low bar but still) and now not only Fauria gets the boot but she’s goes to writing (maybe good for her I don’t know but it was refreshing to hear a woman’s voice on the radio especially since she was both knowledgeable and entertaining. )

happy for arcand I guess

 

[faceface]

Jones was the what now?

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Always love reading these press releases, they never disappoint.

‘“These exciting updates bring together a dynamic mix of talent with New England roots that will continue to deliver top-tier content to Boston’s biggest sports fans,” said Mike Thomas, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Boston. “Adam Jones and Rich Keefe's notable on-air styles and rapport will energize our midday show, while Andy Hart and Christian Arcand’s experience will help bolster afternoon drive. We’re looking forward to this next chapter of WEEI weekdays continuing to make WEEI the go-to destination for everything Boston sports.”’

Just a series of totally interchangeable descriptive phrases. Must be a hoot to write these.

View: https://youtu.be/jgB20KVIF28?si=suF0BXcRs_knFVxc

 

[hube]

Jones’ consistent failing up continues to amaze me. He’s way more Jim Murray than Mike Felger.

Fauria is fine on the Patriots Fifth Quarter but that’s always seemed like his ceiling. Otherwise a black hole of charisma and a lack of real insight.

Cutting Mego seems like a shame, sticking her in a closet is even worse. In an industry lacking any innovation it’s a step in the wrong direction

 

[BrandyWhine]

I can't stand Jones, I can't believe he survived the cut. Seems like he's a Felger wannabe.

This!

 

[Rusty13]

I like Mego. I’m pretty sure any female wouldn’t work with Rich. See: Trenni and Wilder.

What happened with Wilder? Wasn’t she only on the show one time?

 

[NortheasternPJ]

What happened with Wilder? Wasn’t she only on the show one time?

I'm not sure, but she was featured as Wilder Wednesdays, showed up once and was never heard from again. It's very odd.

 

[Bigdogx]

I bet tomorrow if you put the Big O show back on in the afternoon and D&C with Kirk in the mornings they would be right back to number 1 rankings for both shows with how terrible sports radio talk is in Boston right now. The fact that Felgers show is somehow this bellcow now to attain towards is laughable, that show stinks and so doesn't their morning show now that Fred is the only one there! It is telling how they only continue to fall backwards at WEEI and that's because they now only hire the wrong people for the most part.

I miss the old days of when both WEEI and WFAN were powerhouses in sports talk, it is a straight hard listen today for both channels, the Morning show with Greg has it's good moments but for WEEI that is all today mid days and afternoons have been forgettable. I will say im glad they are giving Keefer another shot though, he is imo one of their better talk personalities.

 

[yeahlunchbox]

Dennis and Callahan with Kirk were irrelevant before, haven't done anything to gain relevance since, and would get absolutely stomped if someone was dumb enough to hire them now.

 

[j-man]

once the red sox go to 98.5 and they will in time give it 5 years it will mean 2 things
1 Bye-Bye WEEI
and less feglar and mazz

 

[NortheasternPJ]

once the red sox go to 98.5 and they will in time give it 5 years it will mean 2 things
1 Bye-Bye WEEI
and less feglar and mazz

I don’t see any reason why 98.5 would want the Red Sox. Joe Murray stomps them in ratings and probably costs 2% of what the Sox would be looking for.

 

[RedOctober3829]

I bet tomorrow if you put the Big O show back on in the afternoon and D&C with Kirk in the mornings they would be right back to number 1 rankings for both shows with how terrible sports radio talk is in Boston right now. The fact that Felgers show is somehow this bellcow now to attain towards is laughable, that show stinks and so doesn't their morning show now that Fred is the only one there! It is telling how they only continue to fall backwards at WEEI and that's because they now only hire the wrong people for the most part.

I miss the old days of when both WEEI and WFAN were powerhouses in sports talk, it is a straight hard listen today for both channels, the Morning show with Greg has it's good moments but for WEEI that is all today mid days and afternoons have been forgettable. I will say im glad they are giving Keefer another shot though, he is imo one of their better talk personalities.

Felger and Mazz may not appeal to you, but their approach to how they do it is brilliant.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

Felger and Mazz may not appeal to you, but their approach to how they do it is brilliant.

I absolutely hate the show and it’s not for me but I 100% agree with you.

98.5 killed the #1 SPORTS STATION IN AMERICA for a reason.

 

[Rusty13]

Dennis and Callahan with Kirk were irrelevant before, haven't done anything to gain relevance since, and would get absolutely stomped if someone was dumb enough to hire them now.

When they dumped Dennis and switched to just Kirk and Callahan, that show did explode in the ratings though.

 

[RedOctober3829]

I absolutely hate the show and it’s not for me but I 100% agree with you.

98.5 killed the #1 SPORTS STATION IN AMERICA for a reason.

F&M have been at the top of the books every quarter for something like 10 straight years.

 

[Bigdogx]

Dennis and Callahan with Kirk were irrelevant before, haven't done anything to gain relevance since, and would get absolutely stomped if someone was dumb enough to hire them now.

When they dumped Dennis and switched to just Kirk and Callahan, that show did explode in the ratings though.

Yes it was ranked number 1 with Kirk heading it, lunchbox just making it up as he goes i guess. Some people here clearly hate their politics, so they like to pretend their reach was not far and wide, i guess lying makes these people feel better. Facts are they were the best rated station in town at that time and the shows today compared to then dont even come close. The afternoon drive is in a far worse spot though, it is absolute garbage, Mego was the only redeeming part of that team and of course these idiots let her go and kept the beta brothers to continue making the station a worse listen!

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

I bet tomorrow if you put the Big O show back on in the afternoon and D&C with Kirk in the mornings they would be right back to number 1 rankings for both shows with how terrible sports radio talk is in Boston right now. The fact that Felgers show is somehow this bellcow now to attain towards is laughable, that show stinks and so doesn't their morning show now that Fred is the only one there! It is telling how they only continue to fall backwards at WEEI and that's because they now only hire the wrong people for the most part.

I miss the old days of when both WEEI and WFAN were powerhouses in sports talk, it is a straight hard listen today for both channels, the Morning show with Greg has it's good moments but for WEEI that is all today mid days and afternoons have been forgettable. I will say im glad they are giving Keefer another shot though, he is imo one of their better talk personalities.

I'm really glad that Pete Sheppard found SoSH you guys.

 

[ifmanis5]

I'm really glad that Pete Sheppard found SoSH you guys.

LOL.
WEEI should hire Pete back so he can quit on air again. That would be good for ratings.

 

[Rusty13]

LOL.
WEEI should hire Pete back so he can quit on air again. That would be good for ratings.

Haha. I actually miss Sheppard and his buffoonery. "Pete picked the Rams! Pete picked the rams!"

 

[Patriot_Reign]

View: https://twitter.com/TheRealGresh/status/1370449654932856834

 

[thurin68]

Nothing will ever beat the classic Sheppard mistake on The Flash when he said, “Good news out of Florida Dale Earnhardt died today”

 

[Rusty13]

Haha. I actually miss Sheppard and his buffoonery. "Pete picked the Rams! Pete picked the rams!"

Ha speaking of Sheppard! This was a bunch of years ago, so he was a little off. But this is still kind of funny looking back in retrospect. Is 1510 even around in any capacity now?

 

[JohnnyTheBone]

Ha speaking of Sheppard! This was a bunch of years ago, so he was a little off. But this is still kind of funny looking back in retrospect. Is 1510 even around in any capacity now?

Thanks for posting that. Hilarious!
Meat is murder.

 

[Bigdogx]

Haha. I actually miss Sheppard and his buffoonery. "Pete picked the Rams! Pete picked the rams!"

Listening in those days was enjoyable
[QUOT

Ha speaking of Sheppard! This was a bunch of years ago, so he was a little off. But this is still kind of funny looking back in retrospect. Is 1510 even around in any capacity now?

Not sure about that station, but I dont think Pete works there anymore. Last i seen him he was actually trying to stream shows on twitch and youtube under a network Tony Bruno was trying to get started early this year. I have not seen it for months now so dont think it went over so well.

 

[Rusty13]

Not sure about that station, but I dont think Pete works there anymore. Last i seen him he was actually trying to stream shows on twitch and youtube under a network Tony Bruno was trying to get started early this year. I have not seen it for months now so dont think it went over

Looks like Sheppard has a morning sports radio show down in the Tampa area. So I guess he's doing ok.

 

[Andy Merchant]

View: https://twitter.com/TheRealGresh/status/1370449654932856834

Yikes, that didn't age very well.

 

[sezwho]

Nothing will ever beat the classic Sheppard mistake on The Flash when he said, “Good news out of Florida Dale Earnhardt died today”

Truly an all timer.

 

[j-man]

I don’t see any reason why 98.5 would want the Red Sox. Joe Murray stomps them in ratings and probably costs 2% of what the Sox would be looking for.

they would want the red sox in around 5 10 years at the latest when tony retire esp tony u cant have a fegler and murray do the show they are the same person

the red sox might not have a choice because i could see EEI out of biz in 2 years

although if i ran 98.5 it would be easy for me during the summer have them lead into baseball if the sox play at night they are on during the day and if the sox play during the day have them on at night from their homes

BUT if i was john Henry i dont do it unlees they fire fegler

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

they would want the red sox in around 5 10 years at the latest when tony retire esp tony u cant have a fegler and murray do the show they are the same person

the red sox might not have a choice because i could see EEI out of biz in 2 years

although if i ran 98.5 it would be easy for me during the summer have them lead into baseball if the sox play at night they are on during the day and if the sox play during the day have them on at night from their homes

BUT if i was john Henry i dont do it unlees they fire fegler

I have no idea what the current contract situation is, but WEEI no longer being a sports station wouldn't negate it. The station would still exist in some capacity and would still broadcast the games until the contract expired. It certainly wouldn't be the first time a station maintained flagship broadcast rights through a format change.

 

[Patriot_Reign]

Exactly, remember that BCN had the Pats radio rights when they were still the rock station.

 

[Chad Finn]

I'm not sure, but she was featured as Wilder Wednesdays, showed up once and was never heard from again. It's very odd.

I finally got an answer on this. Apparently there is language in her contract with her “real job” (I think this means LeBatard) preventing her from doing radio elsewhere.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

I finally got an answer on this. Apparently there is language in her contract with her “real job” (I think this means LeBatard) preventing her from doing radio elsewhere.

Awesome thanks Chad! Weird how it was missed when he launched. But good to know.

 

[Humphrey]

once the red sox go to 98.5 and they will in time give it 5 years it will mean 2 things
1 Bye-Bye WEEI
and less feglar and mazz

I wonder how many people have followed the same listening/viewing path as myself.

Used to listen to the games bouncing from errand to errand in the early evening; settle down at night and watch the rest of the game.

Now, I DVR the whole game and watch it starting around 9-930. Don't even think about listening to the radio earlier, probably less than 5 of the 120 plus games I've known something about the score, etc. before watrching.

Point being, there's no reason to tune into WEEI or some other station that carries the Sox. Probably listen to 5-10 minutes of the combined sports talk stations driving around in the daytime. Doesn't take much for me to change it to a music station.

 

[gryoung]

I'll be leaving the Cape sometime this afternoon and will have the Sox on the radio.

 

[j-man]

I wonder how many people have followed the same listening/viewing path as myself.

Used to listen to the games bouncing from errand to errand in the early evening; settle down at night and watch the rest of the game.

Now, I DVR the whole game and watch it starting around 9-930. Don't even think about listening to the radio earlier, probably less than 5 of the 120 plus games I've known something about the score, etc. before watrching.

Point being, there's no reason to tune into WEEI or some other station that carries the Sox. Probably listen to 5-10 minutes of the combined sports talk stations driving around in the daytime. Doesn't take much for me to change it to a music station.

and plus if u miss the game go on mlb.com youtube page a hour after the game and they play the whole game in 8-12 min
shows everything not like QP

 

[j-man]

BTW i went through John Henry hometown Last Week i am only 80 miles away he was born in forrest city Arkansas and other than the downtown looks like 1965 its not that bad they have HUGE baketball gym a nice football buling everything in the town is like only 4 miles long and close together 2 or 3 nice hotels and their high school logo is the broncos logo way better than wynne that town has a unhealthy obbison with high school football

 

[Pablo's TB Lover]

Awesome thanks Chad! Weird how it was missed when he launched. But good to know.

I'm guessing it was a miscommunication, the Meadowlark side must have thought this was a "guest spot" for her. But once she spent a full show there and they rolled out the "Wilder Wednesdays" promotion that was a bit much for her other employer.

 

[grimshaw]

The nice thing about Keefe is that he wants to have reasonable sports takes and had good discussions with Holley and Gresh (whom I loathe). Keefe is informed about all 4 teams and I think will just call out Jones' constant bullshit takes. Sure seems like the station is still holding him back.

Hart and Arcand will be bland but listenable. Not sure why they'd pull Meg O. She's fine.

 

[Bigdogx]

The nice thing about Keefe is that he wants to have reasonable sports takes and had good discussions with Holley and Gresh (whom I loathe). Keefe is informed about all 4 teams and I think will just call out Jones' constant bullshit takes. Sure seems like the station is still holding him back.

Hart and Arcand will be bland but listenable. Not sure why they'd pull Meg O. She's fine.

Pretty savage, she gets married and a month later they let her go.. The Arcand - Hart combo is a guarantee of mediocrity and low ratings imo.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

I listened to a bunch of both shows via podcast last night and I thought both were pretty good. Hart surprisingly toned it back and they had some good Patriots talk.

 

[Bigdogx]

Would be interesting to see ratings and if they have moved the needle at all, other then the morning show i can't really get into any other time slots right now. The afternoon show is dreadfully boring, maybe i have just burned out on sports talk radio idk.
I find the Fan is no better, decent in the morning with Boomer and Gio but the drop off is like going off a cliff after that.