Dems need to get in there and fight

Boston Phoenix blogger Adam Reilly offers an insightful post-mortem on talk radio’s role in Scott Brown‘s election to the U.S. Senate. The bottom-line: Relationships and engagement matter — a lot.

True, most Beantown talkers were ideologically pre-disposed to support the Republican Brown.  But Brown also benefited tremendously from his long-time courtship of  the radio crowd.  Even before the U.S. Senate campaign, then-State Senator Brown would often call local shows unannounced just to share an opinion or bit of news. Conversely, Democrat Martha Coakley‘s campaign typically didn’t even bother to return calls from shows they deemed hostile.  The result: hosts who were inclined to disagree with Coakley came to dislike her. (Coakley is not unique in this attitude.  I’ve seen it many times, including at WMAL/Washington, where we were never able to get Democratic candidate/Congressman Chris Van Hollen (MD-8) on the air — not even with our easy-going morning guys.

The lesson Reilly offers is the same one we learned in the climactic scene of Top Gun: You can’t win the dogfight unless you overcome your anxiety and engage your opponent.  Of course, you need the skills necessary to mix it up with a professional talker, but most hosts aren’t that daunting.

While a liberal politician may not “win” every talk radio encounter, their very appearance can help blunt the harshness of future criticism.  As WTKK-FM/Boston personality and former political activist Jim Braude observes in the Phoenix post: “Democrats should start dialing. Most if not all conservative talk-show hosts are paper tigers. It’s also hard for any human to completely eviscerate someone who talks to them, and most talk-show hosts are human. And in my experience, after I called a show, I’d get e-mails saying, ‘You know, I hate everything you stand for — but I gotta give you credit for having the courage to come on.’

While WTKK and owner Greater Media did a less-than-stellar job of managing the Severin controversy, there is one lesson here for talk radio managers:  Don’t reflexively give into critics when they huff and puff.   They may not be as powerful, passionate or organized as you fear.

Severin’s apology came at the start of the show, cordoned off by lengthy music beds.  The acerbic host apologized for letting down his audience, his co-workers, the Mexican and Mexican-American communities, and anyone who was offended by his remarks.  Interestingly, Severin also apologized to listeners who were not offended, saying he was guilty of appealing to “that which is less than the best and brightest in you.”   Severin closed his remarks with “Thank you for my job.”

Jay Severin

WTKK-FM/Boston today announced that  suspended host Jay Severin will return to the airwaves on Tuesday at 3pm.  Severin was yanked April 30th after the station received complaints about Severin’s harsh remarks connecting  illegal Mexican immigrants and the swine flu.

Now it’s white-knuckle time for WTKK and owner Greater Media.  The Boston Hispanic community has been oddly quiet on this issue.  Will that change with Severin’s return?  Will advertisers who expressed concern over Severin’s remarks return to the air?   Will Severin’s ratings continue the downward drift that began with the start of PPM in Boston?  If press reports about Severin’s salary are correct, these are all million dollar questions.

Here’s the statement issued  by WTKK management:

On Tuesday June 2nd, at 3 p.m., Jay Severin will return to the weekday afternoon timeslot on Boston’s Talk Evolution 96.9 FM-WTKK.   Jay regrets the remarks for which he was suspended and understands that his comments were indeed wrong and hurtful to the Mexican and Mexican-American communities.  Accordingly, we feel it is time to end Jay’s suspension and welcome him back to WTKK. All of our hosts have strong opinions and talk radio is a format for open and spirited debate about the many issues we face in Boston, New England, our nation and our world. There will no doubt be times when you disagree with Jay – and our other hosts too – but our ultimate goal is to maintain a level of conversation that is entertaining, compelling, and thought-provoking, yet civil and respectful. While we will no t always succeed in walking this line, we will continually strive to do so.
Warm regards,

We hope you’ll experience what Jay has to say this Tuesday and every weekday from 3 to 7 p.m.

Many thanks for listening to Boston’s Talk Evolution 96.9 FM-WTKK.

WTKK Management

The Sunday Boston Globe marked Severin’s looming milepost with what is known in the newspaper business as a thumb-sucker — a piece that sort of ruminates without delivering any new information or a fresh point of view.  For that, check out Talk Frontier’s most recent Severin update.

To quote the great Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park, “Boy, do I hate being right all the time!”

Jay Severin

  Severin, who hosts afternoon drive on Greater Media’s WTKK-FM/Boston, was suspended without pay this past Thursday for some nasty remarks about Hispanics.  Now comes word that Severin’s suspension will last “until further notice.”

This situation gets worse for Severin and WTKK with every passing day.  The on-going coverage of the story is alerting Boston and its opinion leaders to Severin’s often distasteful comments and worldview.  Prior to this flap, only those who listened to Severin were familiar with his style.  No more.  Now every preacher, politician and civil rights leader in The Hub of the liberal universe has been alerted to exactly what’s been going on from 3p to 7p on WTKK.  

So, how would Severin’s possible  return to the airwaves play out?  No way that happens without a ritual humbling of the miscreant, including at least one on-air apology.  But if he apologizes, Severin is mortally wounded.  Listeners will instantly brand him a sell-out and a coward, and slowly drift away.

In the meantime, Greater Media management, which already looks weak for its knee-jerk reaction to complaints about Severin from a New York City Hispanic civil rights group,  now appears indecisive and dithering.  Severin’s smallish but fanatical audience is asking, “Is Jay your guy, or not?  If so, why was he summarily yanked off the air — and why isn’t he back?”  Critics, conversely, are wondering what the hell is talking so long to fire this guy.  After all, Greater Media has already suspended Severin without pay, told the media he had been warned about his edgy remarks, and put a message decrying Severin’s remarks on the WTKK homepage. 

The best possible play at this point is for Severin and WTKK to part ways as quickly and quietly as possible.  Greater Media should pay Severin something to ensure his silence, and/or waive his non-compete.  It’s a sad way to end the relationship, but it allows WTKK to avoid getting stuck with a crippled host, and permits Severin to take his act elsewhere with his credibility intact.

Operation Homefront -  This San Antonio-based organization provides emergency assistance to military families faced with a deployed spouse or a recovering wounded warrior.  If the furnace goes out in January and the family can’t afford the repairs, Operation Homefront gets it fixed.  The group has chapters in most states, which means all donations stay local.   Operation Homefront’s website includes links to the state chapter sites.

Fisher House Foundation - Think of it as Ronald McDonald House for the military community.  Fisher House maintains residences at several military hospitals across the country where the group provides lodging and other support to families of recovering military personnel.  This partnership works best if Fisher House operates or hopes to build a house in the station’s market.

These are excellent causes for conservative news/talk stations because they resonate with an audience that loves to show its patriotism and has great respect for America’s fighting men and women.  Since 2004, WMAL/Washington listeners have donated $4 million to Fisher House.  WTKK/Boston raised $250,00  for Fisher House during one week in December 2008.  WGST/Atlanta’s audience has donated $434,000 to Operation Homefront/Georgia over the past three years, including $250,000 during a 2007 holiday campaign.

Both groups are excellent partners.  They bring resources to the table and are wide-open to including a sales component in the fundraising effort.  For more information and ideas based on my experience with these organizations, contact me at randall@talkfrontier.com