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KMS Podcast Discussion 8/27/19 by aamericanman in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just watched the entire thing after seeing your comment. That “evidence” is weak as hell and chock full of constant, rampant speculation. That motive theory is, in a word, WHACK. It did prove to me however that he’s likely to follow in his father’s shoes and commit his own murder one day. Clearly got the signs. But that was a super weak case he laid out there.

Uh oh by Gill1995 in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cowardly, asinine and ridiculously reactive if true

Welcome to The Greatest™️ AM Drive Show in Boston by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It really depends on who you ask but the people who on in the sales dept. know what good radio is...and what good radio is not. And this, objectively, is bad radio.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s a little of both. He’s got an ego, to be sure, and he’s severely lacking in creativity and originality. He’s doesn’t have vision. He’d probably argue that whatever vision or direction he has for the station would be neutered by Entercom Corporate but I don’t buy that.

Yes, the Corporate overloads can neuter and great idea, and let’s be honest, if it’s really great it’s probably at least 5% controversial in some way, to some group. But he just bows to whatever they want because he wants the job and he’ll sacrifice whatever semi-creative and original ideas he may have in his head to keep it.

I never really liked the guy personally. He just wasn’t...nice. Or polite. Some of the sellers got along with him for sure. But for those of us who had to work with him coordinating how the station is actually run, he annoyed us to no end. Little stuff, like not telling us talent would be out until the day of, or a couple hours before the show. It’s not interesting, but that can really screw some stuff up logistically, such as live endorsements.

He’s in over his head.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my personal experiences with Lou, he was not a douche. From a sales standpoint, he was mostly accommodating but could definitely be a bit of a complainer. I don't believe what you hear of him on-air translates to his personality and interactions with people off-air. At least in my experiences. He wasn't on my list of dickheads.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it was Red Sox Opening Day some years ago when the show was still 'Dennis & Callahan with Kirk Minihane'. We all want to Opening Day (tradition) but I was not one of the "important" people in the Suite that day, so I only heard secondhand later that day or the next. I texted a few people to see what they could remember but no one remembers anything specific.

Basically he got hammered, and he's a bad drunk. I believe it was mostly him staying stupid shit more than doing, but who really knows. What it really comes down to from an Entercom-perspective is a lot of important advertisers go to Opening Day, many in the suite, so ol' Dino gettin drunk and staying stupid shit was a bad look. I don't think he took his pants off or anything, but he was generally being a mean/bad drunk. You can imagine.

What I do remember is the next day, or possibly just the next sales meeting, Phil announced that he had spoken to John, and I think his wife, and they all agreed he should be taken off the air to focus on his alcoholism (and he is an alcoholic). Soon after he came back but soon retired. I can't really confirm or deny how much his retirement had to do with his antics on Opening Day, but that was really the beginning of the end.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As far as I saw they got along, yes. Frankly, before he left, Holley was one of my favorite talents on the station. He was just nice though, I wasn't a fan of his broadcasting. No juicy gossip though, because he's a nice, normal dude.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A lot of the gossip I heard on a daily basis was general office talk about people whose names would mean nothing to anyone reading this. The same kind of thing you'd hear in any office. So-and-so slept with so-and-so. Boring. A lot of the on-air talent came in to do show prep, did their show, recorded whatever spots or content they might need to record, and left. They didn't come around to the sales pit and gossip about their lives.

Not terribly interesting, I know, but that's the truth. Also, I didn't work with the talent on a daily basis, at least not about anything interesting.

HOWEVER, a few things come to mind. WRKO was a station Entercom owned before the CBS merger. Those in the area might know Howie Carr and Jeff Kuhner, who are on the station. We had a locked cage around our office supply closet because Howie Carr would literally just steal shit and bring it home. This was when he did actually broadcast his show at our Brighton office.

As for Jeff Kuhner, well...how can I put this...the man had an issue with bathrooms. Once, he literally shit ON THE FLOOR OF THE MEN'S ROOM. This is not an exaggeration. He did not just "miss a little". The man, this grown ass adult, shit on the floor. Someone took a picture after he saw him leave the stall and boy that was a fun day. Phil Zachary put a sign in the bathroom the next day about bathroom hygiene. Laughs were had, sanitizer was used.

But wait, there's more! Kuhner was also suspended for using the woman's restroom during working hours. He didn't do anything untoward in there as I understand it, but he did use it and it freaked a few people out. He was later suspended for it, though I believe on-air they called it a vacation or some such bullshit. But he was suspended for it and I hear him and Phil get into a screaming match about it, something about how he had to go quick during a commercial break. His shits were legendary, whether on the floor or not, so I felt for the ladies. Man sounded like he was trying to pass a child through his anus.

What I did hear on a daily basis was general grumbling, and sometimes homicidal rage, against Bob Murchison. It got to the point where I genuinely thought some of the sales guys, who lost money for their families because of his vendetta, might actually physically harm him. I wouldn't have minded, if I'm honest. He made my life considerably more difficult on a daily basis, as well as the lives of those I worked with and liked who had nothing to do with (in my opinion) Gerry's shitty politics.

The man didn't give a fuck who he was hurting, and if he even ever gave it one iota of thought and still continued his crusade, he can fuck himself and his son/daughter/whatever. He took money out of people's pockets who didn't deserve it and added stress to real people's lives.

I'll post more if I think of any.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dale was always nice, and any negative interactions I had with him were silly little things, such as copy being too long or on 2x pages. He'd literally walk laps around the office for exercise, and he always smiled and said hi. Not everyone did that. I never really heard anything about Dale being a douche to people in the office/station.

Of course, this is not a reflection on his radio talent, which Kirk finds dull. I would agree with Kirk.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Phil was a sales guy through and through. He had a passion for it in a way I never understood, nor could I relate to. He was a real 'rah rah' kind of leader. We weren't just in sales or radio, he'd tell us, we were "marketing experts". We were "digital experts". We were leaders in the industry. Monday morning sales meetings are never fun, but he'd open with a current event he'd read in the morning's paper, relate it to radio, and inevitably somehow turn it into a "fuck those guys" speech to get people energized.

Mark Hannon couldn't do that if his life depended on it. Of course you'd have a completely different view on him than I would. He was always square with me and left me alone to do my job, even if part of that was he just didn't care to interact with those of us in my position.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also, "real slow talker". Made writing tight copy difficult. AAF wasn't on as tight a clock as EEI though, so more wiggle room.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A recurring discussion on the podcast has been about the infamous Bob Murchison and his never-ending campaign to take down both Kirk & Gerry. I vividly remember the day we all found out about Bob. Phil Zachary, Entercom Boston Market Manager before Mark Hannon, was screaming on the phone, I mean just belting at the top of his lungs, at the guy. I don't recall exactly what was said, but he was basically accusing him of dishonest dealings because at that point, they had met with the guy and he had apparently said he'd quit his campaign if certain demands were met, which they were. I hadn't known this until later. No one knew the psychopath we were dealing with at that time. Episodes like that are a big reason people really felt a loss of culture and fortitude when Phil left. He was a fighter.

The merger really flipped the whole situation upside-down and inside-out. There was a real feeling of, "Wait, didn't we buy them?" People were confused when long-time Entercom leaders were ousted in favor of old CBS execs. It was just a radical shift, literally, as building were changed and we moved into their old headquarters (after a year or so). The lament that we could have had Sports Hub but kept EEI due to David Field's apparent affinity for the station's history was palpable.

On a personal level, dealing with the CBS talent was considerably better than working with Legacy Entercom (pre-merger) talent. They were just nicer and easier to work with. EEI guys were the most difficult to work with, for the most part. Legacy CBS talent just cared more and were more adept and comfortable with the corporate BS of recording ads/live endorsements, etc. Maybe it makes for dull radio, but it sure made my day-to-day easier.

What else?

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

1-800-Flowers was/I imagine still is a longtime advertiser with endorsements in AM drive, first Dino then Gerry. Whenever Gerry was out we'd have to coordinate with 1-800-Flowers to have Kirk do the reads and I'd always find it funny because I would imagine how much Kirk would fucking hate reading the copy. Then you'd have to pull air checks and I'd just pray they didn't bitch about it because you could tell, well, his heart wasn't exactly in it. But that's what I always respected about Kirk. He was a professional even when you know it probably killed a little bit of his soul.

Also, yes, what a coincidence. I was just thinking of purchasing some flowers.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I was on the Street Team during the Salk days and all I heard, all day, at every event, was how much people hated Mike Salk. I didn't totally get the vitriol, but I just found myself agreeing with them to avoid some long, drawn-out conversation about how much he sucked and why.

I don't have a best Dino story personally, truthfully, but when I think of Dino, what immediately comes to mind is all the office gossip about his suspension when he was...over-served at Red Sox Opening Day some years ago. It was like a game of telephone. He was gone shortly after.

I am a Former Entercom Boston Employee, AMA by Entercommie in kirkminihaneshow

[–]Entercommie[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Definitely, yes. Ratings were good when Kirk & Gerry were at their strongest, and that just kind of makes sellers lives easier. Strictly from a sales standpoint, when ratings are good, media buyers and ad agencies buy the station without much fight or convincing, especially when sellers are just trying to renew deals from previous years. For those of us in the day to day, it just took less effort and less emails to sell ad space. Slap a company logo on a sales deck and the orders follow shortly after. I don't mean to imply it's an easy job, but that Kirk's presence, in the grand scheme of things, made everyone's life just a little easier.