Gerry Callahan’s 20-plus year career at the Entercom-owned Boston sports radio station WEEI abruptly came to an end this morning. Evidently Entercom suits told the Mut and Callahan co-host that he was done after he finished his shift at 10 a.m. Eastern.
With WEEI’s ratings in a tailspin, there was some prior speculation that Entercom would decline to renew Callahan’s lucrative contract which was up for renewal next month.
[See updates below]
Corporate Censorship
It’s hardly unusual for radio stations to suddenly change formats and jettison jobs in the process. Unfortunately, this appears to be another example of corporate America caving to outside influences and special interests over free-speech-related matters.
Most people could never achieve Gerry Callahan’s accomplishments in journalism and sports radio or relate to his income level (estimated to be about $750,000 to $1 million per year at WEEI). Many can relate, however, to losing gigs (or having to keep quiet for a job) because their belief system is other than left-wing virtue-signaling.
According to WEEI, the non-controversial, pop-culture oriented Greg Hill Morning Show will move over from a Boston sister station and replace Mut and Callahan entirely. To make way for the Hillman, Mike Mutnansky “will transition back to hosting evenings at the station, a position he previously occupied.”
“WEEI is likely to have less revenue, lower ratings, and fewer headaches with Hill’s show,” the anti-Callahan Boston Globe admitted.
The Callahan departure comes with the release of the Spring ratings book and more dismal results for the entire WEEI schedule.
“The latest ratings showdown between Boston’s two sports radio stations turned into a runaway win.The Sports Hub (98.5 FM) earned a 9.2 share overall in the men 25-54 demographic from the period of March 28-June 19 to finish first. WEEI (93.7 FM) was fourth with a 5.4. In morning drive (6-10 a.m.), The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich show was first (9.1). WEEI’s Mut and Callahan was fifth (6.5, including 0.4 from WVEI and 0.4 from its stream),” the Boston Globe reported on the day before Callahan’s final air shift.
As Kirk and Callahan, the WEEI 6 a.m.-to 10 a.m. show was once a ratings powerhouse. The station subsequently came under pressure from a local activist, the Boston Red Sox, and the Boston Globe, among others, because libertarian Kirk Minihane and conservative Gerry Callahan were often noncompliant with the politically correct playbook. (Google it.) Several advertisers fled to avoid the hassle, and the station allegedly lost millions in revenue.
About the end of Callahan’s tenure, WEEI had this to say:
“Callahan has been a dominant force and a big part of WEEI over the years. While it is now time for a new chapter, we thank him for his many contributions and the indelible mark he has made at WEEI, including his tireless work on behalf of Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
After exiting the morning drive show, Minihane parted ways with Entercom on May 22 when it became clear that the corporation was stalling the debut of his live show on the clunky Radio.com app. Minihane since joined Barstool Sports and does a Boston-based daily podcast.
Since Minihane’s farewell from WEEI, ratings have cratered.
With Minihane gone and Callahan muzzled, and despite the efforts of Mut and a few rotating personalities, the morning show got very boring, and the ratings reflected that.
Political Correctness Rather Than Content Is King
In February 2013, the station added Kirk Minihane as a third voice to what was then called Dennis and Callahan. John “Dino” Dennis later retired after frequent conflicts with Minihane over the direction of the show.
The show’s motto when Dennis was around was “we talk about things that sports fans talk about,” not necessarily just tiresome sports dialogue. In addition to sports chatter, the Kirk and Callahan broadcast nonetheless similarly became known for delving into hot-button social and political issues on both the local and national level.
That form of content increasingly fell out of favor with liberal Entercom suits for various reasons even though it was a ratings winner.
Writes Jerry Thornton of Barstool Sports:
“[Callahan has] always been an unapologetic right-wing conservative, but you don’t have to agree with his politics or embrace his worldview to concede how talented he is at backing up his arguments. I’d say the same thing if he was a moderate, progressive or a libertarian…Of course in 20 years he’s said some dumb, regrettable shit that he’d love to have back. Welcome to the world of speaking extemporaneously into a hot mic for 20 hours a week with millions of people listening. That said, controversial, polarizing, smart and well-informed? You’d assume that would be the perfect formula for a morning talk show host in a major media market like Boston. Not in 2019, it would appear.”
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Updates
At TB Daily News, Uncle Turtleboy addresses the bad-faith activist campaign against the WEEI morning show.
On Friday, WEEI afternoon host Glenn Ordway discussed Gerry Callahan’s departure from the radio station, the trend toward suppressing debate about certain issues, and the ripple effect of boring radio on jobs and revenue across the entire station. “Even those people who disagree with Gerry Callahan have to admit that deep down inside [that he’s really smart]…Gerry produced great content over the years.”
Click on the link below to listen to the entire sequence.
Former radio partner Kirk Minihane reacted to the Gerry Callahan-WEEI separation on Monday morning. Click here to listen.
For anyone who has followed the WEEI drama, an expected Gerry Callahan appearance on the Kirk Minihane Show will be a must listen.
