Michael Graham of Boston (of the now defunct WTKK-FM talk station) is heading to Hotlanta Georgia at WYAY-FM, which is running a mixed news / News talk format. Atlanta is the home of Cumulus Media, who just so happen to own this station. I interpret this as the Dickey brothers considering Graham for a future syndicated role as long as he’ll work for a local salary. He’s been working at an Internet only station run by one of Boston’s newspaper since WTKK-FM folded. He’s in for a culture shock if he actually moves to Atlanta. If he is going to ISDN in remotely to do the show, it will go nowhere as a local show.
The other big news was massive layoffs in Clear Channel in the Sales departments. Cutting sales force does wonders for EBITDA (for a couple months)
Maybe Cumulus wants a Plan B for 3-6 pm Eastern. Yesterday, The Savage Weiner had an on-air meltdown over a technical problem with studio monitors. He threatened to play Mantovani music if a KSFO engineer didn’t come out of the toilet and fix the problem. That didn’t happen, so he ordered someone to start playing a recorded “best-of” show. I then got out of the car and forgot to check to see if he ever came back on live.
This won’t mean anything to anyone but me, but Mark Scott (a big gun rights defender and Ayn Rand objectivist) on WXYT-AM in Detroit in the 1980s used to threaten the audience with playing Montovani music if people didn’t call. Since Savage didn’t start radio until 1994, Mark Scott didn’t steal that line from Savage, but it has never prevented Savage from making similar accusations. For those who may not know, Montovani recorded a lot of “elevator” music designed to set a mood, but not be the focus of your attention.
I listened to Michael Graham years ago when he was on WMAL during his Islam flap that got him fired and most recently on WCRN in Boston. On some subjects he is fairly good (the Justina Pelletier custody case), but I doubt that his style will translate to Atlanta.
Exactly my reaction. I’ve not lived in Atlanta, but spent some time there exploring in my youth to a sense of the people who live there. Atlanta has similarities to Charlotte in that it is a magnet for educated people located outside of New England. While it is a Southern city, it is not nearly as much a Bible Belt city as Charlotte.
Unlike any other city I an think of, Atlanta has a well educated prosperous black upper middle class. I think a lot of that was due to Coca-Cola, and it is also a major regional hub for Federal Government Agencies, as well as a full branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. What I think is changing (mostly things Boortz said) is that “the city” has deteriorated significantly and the middle class blacks who ave the means have moved outside the city limits, similar to Southfield on the NW corner of Detroit. There is very little racial tension on the streets and people interact and socialize freely.
A guy who has spent his life in the Northeast will more than likely want to “fight” Atlanta than to embrace it. Southerners pick up very quickly on that vibe. Southerners also tend to view the people who focus on being patriots (by dressing up as Betsy Ross and wearing 3 corner hats) as reflecting the New England culture that ruthlessly burned Atlanta to the ground a hundred years later.
That’s kind of why I think the Dickeys have plans for him beyond just hosting a local show. I hadn’t heard about Savage blowing up on air yesterday. My guess Savage would last five weeks with Cumulus was too pessimistic, but the Dickeys have a reputation of being ruthless with on-air talent. Graham could step into that slot in a heartbeat.