The drama continues...
There are many reports circulating today claiming many different things in regard to the status of Randi Rhodes and her (now former) employer, Nova M Radio. For those of you keeping score at home, here's where it all stands:
1. Randi Rhodes and Nova M Radio are apparently through with each other. As mentioned in an update to a previous entry, she has issued a vague statement claiming that the problems that have kept Rhodes' show off the air are not of her doing.
2. If and when she comes back, will anyone still want her? One programmer that's sick and tired of all the finger-pointing and back-and-forth legal letters was at one time one of her biggest supporters, John Scott of Green 960 in San Francisco. In a blog post, he says that he will offer the station's highest-rated host, Stephanie Miller, in a replay during the 4-7P PT timeslot, observing that his listeners want to be entertained rather than listen to what he calls "Debbie Downers":
I do not know if Randi Rhodes is coming back. I have spoken to program directors and talkhosts around the country this past weekend, and this is what I came up with: The network [Nova M] is in chaos, Randi is on the bench, and this might be it.” Scott deduces that Randi “is fighting with [Nova M] over a contractual issue, and is apparently not coming back to Nova M unless they do some stuff for her. I am not assigning blame here, but the bottom line is, the show I made a deal with Nova M for is not available. And I may be prepared to move on, friends...
While Rush and Hannity and Mark Levin and Hedgecock and Michael Savage chug along, full steam ahead, I am surrounded by drama, inconsistency, miscommunication, ego and a trail of wreckage of some very, very bad decisions made by the networks who supply the shows to affiliates like Green 960.
3. Rumors are swirling right now that Nova M has folded. Proving that he's in a world of his own, the Tranquilizer is claiming that Rhodes' lawyer sent him a letter claiming that Nova M didn't make payroll and is about to fold, that Mike Malloy's show has been cancelled and that the network's co-founder, Sheldon Drobny, is in the hospital after an apparent 'suicide attempt.' Suicide??? Basically, Brian Maloney has topped himself on the crass-o-meter.
Sheldon's wife, Anita, confirmed that her husband was in the hospital, but it was a 'nervous breakdown'. So, like anything regarding either Nova M, Randi Rhodes or, heck, most liberal talk radio in general, there are a lot of mixed signals here...
4. So, if Nova M is totally and completely kaput and the Malloy show has been outright cancelled, then that's news to Mike and Kathy Malloy. The show should go on as scheduled tonight.
5. Radio & Records, a more reliable source for industry news than right-wing blogs run by crazy people, cites Nova M's general manager, Eric Reinert, who said that Nova M is no longer an entity and that a new company called On Second Thought LLC has been formed and is moving forward. Reinart also confirmed that Rhodes is officially out. The new network will continue to offer Mike Malloy, Phoenix host Mike Newcomb and a new show from Nancy Skinner, who had been filling in for Rhodes.
6. Oh, and that lawsuit brought against Nova M by former CEO John Manzo? Reinart wouldn't comment on that. The 16-page complaint alleges, among other things, that the syndicator breached Manzo's contract, failed to pay state and federal taxes on his behalf, defamed his character and cast him in a false light.
Confused by all of this? You should be.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Nova M(ess)?
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Eureka, CA 
9 comments:
I bet Brian Maloney is popping a bottle of champagne tonight that another large step in the complete elimination of liberal talk radio was taken today.
FWIW, John Scott has posted a press release from Randi's attorney confirming Maloney's post...
http://tinyurl.com/bzrpk7
Fresh meat:
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/02/nova_m_deader_than_bernie_mac.php
Let's try this again...
Fresh Meat:
http://tinyurl.com/akx94y
Sean "LobsterGram Ruth's Chris Freedom Concert You're A Great American" Hannity on WJNO for now
John Scott is dead-on. Progressive talk's number one enemy is itself -- not devious program directors, not right-wing conglomerates, not corporate advertisers. I've been a radio programmer myself, and I know: When you're running a radio station, you want consistency. You don't want drama, financial troubles, and ego battles.
Prog radio is finally starting to grow up and establish itself as a predictable format with a bit of a track record for ratings success. This blowup, whoever is at fault, is another big black eye for the format. I wish the people who can't hack the radio business would simply get out, and let the competent managers and personalities succeed.
I, for one, am SOOOOO glad to see Randi Rhodes off the air, for good, hopefull, this time.
She was really good in the beginning, but then morphed into the self-proclaimed "Goddess of Liberal Talk," with dysfunctional ego who couldn't seem to stop telling us how great she was. Randi became a bad representative of the left, began running her message board like a nazi (no real anti-Randi comments allowed, basically), and turned into the same kind of dishonest, hypocritical windbag we're so used to having to put up with on the right (Limbaugh, O'Reilly, etc.).
She began to make liberalism look bad, especially with her consistent flakiness, the final proof of which we've just seen.
Oh well. We've got a few truly professional, wonderfully engaging, powerfully spoken liberal talkers who can now take over without "The Goddess" providing her unhelpful distractions and sad, self-congratulatory ego-based comments seemingly all the time.
Randi had her heart in the right place at one time, but she was unprofessional, and liberal talk is much, much better off without her.
ISE -
The suicide claim is from Randi's lawyer. Take it for what it's worth.
I do think it's pretty tasteless of him to make that sort of claim about Shelly Drobny and send it to a notorious right-wing blogger who has waged a long battle against Rhodes.
Did he actually attempt suicide? I don't know. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have gone with that information as 'fact' when presented. It's essentially a claim from Rhodes' attorney.
Otherwise, I detest getting into nasty gossip. These are peoples' private lives we're talking about here. And I think other bloggers should use that kind of discretion.
I am convinced Lynn Samuels is has deevolved into a total bonafide mongoloid retard, or else she was replaced by space aliens with a robot/clone. Her idiotic rap yesterday about how LTR is so bad because you don't post your name and handle, you're apparently not credible, but YIPPY for that OTHER site--I love that! Radio Tranquilizer! I'm all for free speech, but her on Sirius Left is all but a joke. And I'm all for criticizing Democrats when they act like shithead republitards (again, sorry to be redundant!), but cripes bitch, Obama NEVER will do anything right, blah blah blah quake quake, and when will she admit she's insanely jealous of Randi?!
Singed, yours truly,
Lu Cifer
PS Lynn, if you're reading this, Lu Cifer IS my real name. HAIL SATAN!
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