This is too good not to highlight for Confessors. From an Anonymous commenter to the last post, I offer the following. Yes, it could be made up, I could be a sap. But it's not sensationalistic, it has the ring of truth. Best, it gives us a very helpful framework for considering both Greg's and Richie's account. Bosses change, and what was OK one day might not be OK the next.
Accounting for everyone's claimed shock at their sacking.
It basically tells a story of the inmates running the asylum, sponsors stopping by for a look-see, but those who stick around sometimes thinking they're more inside than they really are. Result: breakdown of professionalism and discipline. Sometimes no choice but to get out the brooms, which CBS eventually determined to do.
Here's the comment from Anonymous, who has my thanks:
Talked to a buddy of mine today who is in the industry. No he doesn't work for any of the sports stations. Nor does he work for Cumulus or CBS. But the insight and bits of scuttlebutt he gave me were interesting so I thought I'd pass them along.
Ratings and RaGE. Whitt has always maintained that it's advertising dollars that matter, not ratings. Well ratings don't matter as much as we think and so they're not the end all be all measure of success. Buddy says that's partly true but it's a bit misleading. The 2 go hand in hand. Without ratings sponsors will eventually look elsewhere. CBS is big enough to keep finding clients willing to give them a shot, but the bigger clients usually leave as soon as their contract is up. Most of RaGE's sponsors were on the nickel and dime plan and the few that remained for a long period of time ended up being friends of the show, which can and from what buddy says in a few cases did become problematic. Wanting special favors, access, deals, and stuff like that.
Also told that from what he's heard for months now, way before the firing went down, that this move had been in the works for a long time. Long before Whitt's Nov. 15th Greggo Armageddon that he writes about. Kinda like the ads, RaGE and the management before Spittle and the receptionists and everyone else had all gotten way too close. It was an unprofessional and unproductive work environment. Everyone was having way too good of a time, but in their own ways. Everything was OK'd and permitted by the 2 regimes prior to Spittle. The proverbial other way was looked on just about everything for every member involved. So when Whitt says his relationship and all the rest was approved by management he speaks the truth. But that was the problem. You can't have such a permissive work place and still think it's going to end well. When you have people like Williams and Whitt, guys who will take advantage of a situation, though one obviously in a much different and disturbing way than the other, and such an anything goes work environment the outcome won't be good and it wasn't. After re reading Whitt's last two blog posts and looking at the Twitter material it's very obvious that my buddy while maybe not in the direct know, does know enough to have the gist of the heart of the matter. Some of that Twitter material and some of the things said are the sorts of things that any properly or sanely run work place steers well clear of. Unless you want HR involved in a nanosecond.
Basically Spittle was brought in to clean up and clean house. That meant RaGE. Buddy says he's heard that there will be more changes but nothing mind blowing like The Ticket and The FAN merging or the whole thing going national. Spittle is most likely watching each show closely until around mid July and at that time see who if anyone needs to be replaced by new talent.
Thanks again, Anonymous. Although you neglected to pass along what your pal said about this site's and its readers' immense influence on the DFW sports/guy radio scene.
* * *
CONFIDENTIAL TO RICHIE WHITT: Richie, I'm sure you're too busy to visit some of your favorite websites, but in case you swing by here: You have got, got, got to get rid of the charcoal background to your comment section with its black typeface. Or get rid of the black typeface and go to white. Why make your readers any more sour towards you than some of them, at least, are already inclined to be?
Let me know if you need a consult on cultivating a highbrow online community of readers.
The anon's info sounds plausible enough. I sure have been a part of a couple of work environments that became far too chummy and eventually became counterproductive because of the closeness. But isn't the radio business, at least at the local level of it, a bit different than most work places? Different sets of standards and expectations? After all, you are dealing with (supposedly) creative and artistic folk. Then again, maybe that's the way it once was, or maybe I watched too many episodes of WKRP while growing up and mistook them for an accurate portrayal of what it's like at a radio station. Don't know. Don't know if anon is pulling our legs. It wouldn't be the first time, it won't be the last if s/he is. Whatever the case, at least it isn't making claims of personal info on either RW or GW. That alone gives it more credence than your average bear. Truthfully, I doubt we'll ever know the whole scoop on what went down. RW is human, and we humans have a very difficult time admitting, wholly, our mistakes. Heck, we have a hard time, some say nearly impossible time, even understanding our actual role in some of the events in our lives.
ReplyDeleteNow everyone wants to jump back on the Mike Rhyner is greatness bandwagon.
ReplyDeleteRichie Whitt @richiewhitt 2h
Hey @theoldgreywolf, any time you wanna hang out and compare "Greggo did _" tales, I'm down. LOL.
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Typical Whitt. This whole thing is him trying to save face after years of backing GW. He gets burned and now he wants everyone to know how innocent he was while falling victim to GW's lies. Are the Ticket guys really onboard with this? I thought they would rather just stay out of this mess completely since they want nothing to do with GW. Corby providing that private message conversation might say otherwise though
ReplyDeleteI guarantee you won't hear more than two words about this on The Ticket. For all we know, there might be more involvement than we've seen so far and who knows what RW will put out there. Obviously he has spies who can get him very personal info.
ReplyDeleteSo, what do we think about Corby exchanging apparently sympathetic messages with Greg in the waning days of RaGE? There's not a lot there to draw conclusions from, but I can't say I'm surprised that the two of them were at least in touch with one another.
ReplyDeleteThey were acquainted for a long time, and for me, at least, the "Corby stabbed Greggo in the back" theory has never made any sense given Greg's gradual decline and withdrawal from participation in the day-to-day Hardline festivities.
And, as Greg has constantly announced to us that his departure from The Ticket was entirely his fault, he probably knows it's not much of a theory, either.
So myself, I didn't find it surprising. Whether it softens critics' view of Corby would depend, I think, on more information than we have from the single exchange Richie Whitt has reported.
So far.
And . . . Part III is up:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dfwsportatorium.com/
Wow.
ReplyDeleteAmazing stuff. Too much to write about now. Actual job stuff is calling. Hollering, actually.
But I will note this: Early on in this piece, Richie quotes his boss Gavin Spittle from an early meeting with RaGE shortly after his return to The Fan. Richie quotes him as follows:
"'Look, we got a problem. You guys aren't big enough names to be talking about your personal lives as segments,' he said to Williams and me. 'Richie, we gotta work on your teases. Greggo, your list - whatever it's supposed to be - is gone. And I feel like there's too much estrogen on this station. You're gonna pull back on Sybil's involvement. Armen's going to talk only when one of you guys directly address him. And you guys play too much music. I want two guys passionately talking in a bar, making me want to jump in and join the conversation.'"
Richie suggests this was not a good evaluation of the situation. But when I read that, it sort of made me think maybe Gavin Spittle knew what he was doing. How's about y'all?
George gets in a shot (A SHOT!?)
ReplyDeleteTo Gordon: "You spend too much time reading blogs of people who aren't in radio anymore."
I stand somewhat corrected. The Musers were just talking about life after The Ticket and they mentioned that some people always tend to get a job and stick around. More than likely a reference to the Hammer.
ReplyDeleteFollowed up by (in the context of a poll about people who hate their jobs or retire):
ReplyDelete"You want to be one of those guys who keeps getting jobs in radio over and over?"
Reading Richie's long post was eye opening...Sounds like you have way too much ego combined with a sociopath. That is probably not a good recipe for success...
ReplyDeleteAlso, the scorched earth factor in this is off the charts!
ReplyDeleteWhat's with the Greggo gag order on the Ticket? I can understand some sort of legal agreement not to discuss the details of his firing, but they act as if no Cumulus employee can ever mention him (as Rhyner would say) "in perpetuity". Not that they really should be talking about him more, but just they act as if they're somehow afraid of him.
ReplyDeleteI've mentioned this a few times but always good to review.
ReplyDeleteGreg's departure from The Ticket was negotiated. There is undoubtedly some kind of written separation agreement in place. It is very likely -- although I have no certain knowledge of this -- that that agreement has what is called a "mutual nondisparagement" provision, which means that after the parties separate, they agree not to bad-mouth one another. Those mutual promises tend to be unlimited in duration.
In fact, the Hammer is sometimes mentioned on The Ticket, and Greg sometimes mentions his old colleagues. But, you'll notice, never in an outright disparaging manner in either case. (Greg's drops and segments in which he appears were probably acknowledged to be The Ticket's property to do with as it pleases.)
It's not surprising that The Ticket would not want to give publicity to a competitor, so they're not going to go out of their way to cast him in a positive light. Result: If you can't say something bad about the guy (per the contract), there isn't much point in saying anything at all, except for the occasional nostalgic reference or his appearance in archival audio.
As I say, I'm not privy to the deal the parties made. But it's probably a pretty good guess.
And, frankly, in the case of an individual, any association with whom tends to lead to impossibly tangled problems, the best broadcast policy is to treat him as having ceased almost entirely to exist. That's what The Ticket's done, and the result has been that it has had zero involvement in any of Greg's post-Ticket failures, and suffered zero lawsuits.
So -- regret his departure or not, pretty good policy to take him off the topic wheel.
(In the early days of this site, and when I was posting elsewhere in the pre-MTC days, I followed Mike R's locution and referred to Greg as "Hee Hoo." As in, "he whose name is not to be mentioned.")
Your explanation makes perfect sense. Probably a smart and safe decision, just comes off as wimpish. For a station that established itself as "Hardline" it sometimes wimps out. I would even say that Greggo leaving took some of the teeth out of the station.
ReplyDeleteIf the mere mention of Greggo on the air can result in a lawsuit, then RW better prepare for the terrible swift sword of the dreaded RG Williams legal team!
ReplyDeleteWell, (1) Richie probably has no deal in which he agreed not to disparage Greg. Doesn't mean he isn't susceptible to defamation actions for FALSE statements, just means he hasn't breached any contracts by saying CRITICAL things (true or false) about his ol' pard.
ReplyDelete(2) Dunno about Greg's legal team, no idea who it is. However, doubt that they put the screws to The Ticket beyond sending a request to cease-and-desist mentioning Greg on the air after he was dumped (but before a severance was negotiated). They never filed any legal proceeding against The Ticket that I have been able to find. Greg refused a drug test and later admitted he couldn't have passed it. Doesn't give even a bomber legal team a whole lot to work with, especially under the circumstances of his deteriorating performance in the months prior to his a dismissal. I'm guessing his severance deal was pretty reasonable for The Ticket.
Yesterday morning, Gordo made a very quick, very off-mike Greggo impersonation. I forget what it was in reference to, but George and Craig almost broke their ankles distancing from it. I would be surprised if they have had some very serious staff meetings where they were warned to be very, very judicious in what they say.
ReplyDeletePART TWO
ReplyDelete6. It appears from these first three installments that RW, in his eyes, is in no way to blame for his termination. It is all placed solely and squarely on the shoulders of GW (more about this below). Sustained, poor ratings mean nothing. After all, their "real" competition is ESPN, not The Ticket. How can they expect to beat the number one show in their time slot? CBS dropped all of that money for nearly five years to what, come in pretend first, while the real first place show/station, using less than half their funds and with zero advertising, remains a distant first? Even in the screwed up world of radio, that is just not the case. But I believe RW believes it to be as such. RW, like Mark Cuban, seems to enjoy revisionist history; likes to go back and "form" facts so that they may conform to his narrative. Then again, maybe he was right; he did claim the ratings were on an uptick and that they were bringing in sponsor monies (the way in which he describes it comports with the Anonymous account, by the way). I kid. On the other hand, I can see where RW believes certain people at CBS lied to him and screwed him over. Alas this happens everyday in the corporate world: "You're gold, you're safe, we couldn't do this without you." Cue the whirling t.v. screen and you see the same employee scouring the want-ads. It's the harsh reality of that world. Everyone is in CYA mode; that means they'll say anything to avoid confrontation and avoid being involved on the losing side of things. I have a feeling RW was a deadman talking long before he realized/and even today still realizes.
RW on GW:
End game: No matter the machinations, the turmoil, and the circumstances, at the end of the day, RaGE wasn't good radio. RW vastly overrates its reach and mistakes a few hundred individual, if that, Tweeters and commenters to mean that what they were doing was not just good, but great (sorry Tony Tiger). It wasn't. The ratings bear that out. The lack of interest in RW by other media outlets bears that out. It just wasn't that good, and sadly (it is a bit sad) RW's rather robust ego, sense of self importance and ability will not or cannot grasp this fact. I also must say, to echo Plainsman, nothing that Spittle said regarding his assessment of the show or of RW's role (ought to be a number two) seems out of line or wrongheaded. Indeed, quite quite the opposite.
In the end what you have here is one person who, while probably is a pretty decent guy once you scratch the surface (only that surface has become inured by an out of control ego that will most likely come down to earth over the next 6-8 months), has erroneously inflated his sense of self, and another who seems to be poisonous to himself and all those who come into contact with him. A person who has found the perfect cohort and enabler--which makes for a perfect storm; one that pours down acid rain. Neither is a leader. Neither is a number one. It was a poor idea to give them a show to begin with; it quickly became a bad one, a real bad one. But it is now over. For me, there's no reason to read the last two installments. I believe I now know the story RW wishes to present. Frankly, it's become boring; I almost stopped reading after the seventh page.
PART ONE
ReplyDelete1. The Anonymous whose comment this article is based around seems to be very much in the know. The first 3 pages alone smack of a waaaaaay too close relationship between employer and employee. Something which rarely works out. Perhaps only in a small, very small, business. As the article goes on, it even becomes more evident that the workplace environment, at least where RaGE, fellow employees of all stripes, and management is concerned is about as unhealthy as it gets. Shockingly so, actually.
2. I underestimated RW's ego. I think his image of himself and his perceived station in both the business on the whole and within his former position is drastically different than reality.
3. I've tried to withhold judgment, but I'm sorry, RW really is a Chris Chris douche. The brand dropping, name dropping, salary dropping/hinting, the yeah I'm a bad boy/asshole but I love it assertions and embracement, claims of basically hiring and constructing The FAN's lineup, that basically he was The FAN (which I wouldn't admit that if I were him), et alia is just too much. There's no way around it, the guy is far too full of himself, annoying, and unfortunately for him, rather forgettable. In short, he's the quintessential douche bag.
4. The demeaning of his former part-time hosts like Pete Stein not only buttresses my 3rd point, but it shows a person who ranks others in their importance to his success. It says nothing kind about RW. The use of Tweets and the very few, far between, and obviously softened admissions of not being perfect are as opaque as a dog that thinks its hidden because its head is underneath the couch, not realizing its tail is sticking out for all to see. RW's "evidence" does nothing to make him look like the good guy or the one actually presenting the "unvarnished" truth. It makes him look slimy. Additionally, his involving so many third parties in order to provide evidence is further evidence of RW’s hazy ethics--even if said third parties allowed him to use their personal Tweets and e-mails, it still reeks of a bad touch, poor form.
5. After reading this installment, I've come to the conclusion that RW is not a good writer. Being a good writer means to be able to think coherently. I understand that the subject matter at hand is highly personal for him and that he's most likely writing it in an emotionally charged way. The problem is, you can tell that he's trying to shoehorn in certain prosaic phrases that finds, I don't know, "eloquent." E.g., "The morning after declining his co-workers' polite-yet-passionate pleas for him to accompany us for food and fellowship at the annual Super Bowl Media Party[...]" I would insert a snarky comment here, but it really doesn't need one, does it. Sort of makes one for you.
Sorry. GW's perfect cohort and enabler is his girlfriend Jenn, not RW.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I meant to write about RW on GW but decided not to; a bit too obvious. I forgot to delete that heading.
RW's blog makes me miss his writing. I haven't always agreed with the guy but his stories, when he was committed 100% to writing, were typically on target. When he got into radio, the quality of his writing or time put into it submarined.
ReplyDeleteIt is what it is I guess.
In terms of scorched earth, I have been surprised that he's called out and even used screenshots from PD's that he worked for. Is it smart to drag those guys into it? I sometimes wonder that if this type of drama happens in other markets. I'm sure it does we just don'e see it like we have with Greggo melting down at every opportunity.
Greggo kind of reminds me of that hot ass chick you meet at the strip club and you think, wow, she's just in the wrong place, but I can help her. She tells you she doesn't want to strip and do drugs and that she just needs a way out and then you help her and you think things are ok, but then things go bad or she needs money and goes right back to stripping and drugs. Point is, even when someone says they're sober, a week a year, ten years, they're standing on the ledge everyday. If you hitch your wagon to them or in this case Greggo, you're setting yourself up for a high percentage letdown.
Greggo smoked, sniffed, and popped his career away. Disgusting that his girlfriend and friends just keep empowering him.
@ the radish
ReplyDeleteI think you have nicely summed up what Whitt has brought forth so far.
He seems to think he is "Papa FAN". He was a very spare host, not the PD. What he does not realize is that he, indeed, had a role in the show getting the ax. It is called crappy radio.
The sharing of texts and e-mails from CBS operatives certainly should make any other potential employer take notice. I cannot fathom that these missives from the higher ups in management were meant to be aired in a public forum outside of possible litigation.
It could possibly be construed that getting rid of Greggo was planned by the suits over there and then when they got rid of him, they used the excuse of "poor ratings". In the future, any employee of CBS that gets fired for missing 17 of 37 work days with flimsy excuses now can point to the Greggo case. It is now possible that precedence has been set in their termination practices.
I highly doubt that any audio-visual media will give Whitt a future spot given his performance in both radio (piss poor) and this written forum. He may think that he is "telling it like it is", but the corporate types of radio and TV won't touch him with a 10 foot pole. The sharing of texts and e-mails seem to show that he is "keeping score" so to speak.
I never have met him, but a lot of folks talk about how vertically challenged he is. The picture of him standing next to Wash on his web site makes Wash look like a giant.
I'm thinking Greggo handles this by laying low until sometime next week or the week after. Tweeting out or posting up little tidbits about it not being ready just yet and how it's taking more time than originally expected. I think he believes that if he ignores it and then acts as if it (Whitt's blog) doesn't exist, that it'll eventually go away. Sort of the way the world of professional athletics and Hollywood and politics operate: pretend like it never happened and sooner or later, it's as if it never did. If that's what he's doing, he's smart for doing so. On a related note, I'm beginning to think that anything sent from his Twitter account or posted up on his blog that is coherent and decently written is not by him but by his girlfriend.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the legality of RW's use of the personal conversations of the folks he's been using? How would he get ahold to private DM's from GW to Corby? Just wondering aloud really, would like for it to cost him some future hairplugs.
ReplyDeleteHey guys, here's the deal: Greggo has burned his last bridge in the area and RW has played the radion superstar angle to the hil, and I can't believe that TWWL would ever throw him a life line.
RaGe was horrible, Greggo's effort was non existent and RW's radio schtick was terribly offputting.
I tried them out a couple of times when Greggo first started, liked Greggo's junk or whatever it was called..but RW just drove the car into a ditch everytime he spoke.
Reminds of the the old frog/scorpion story..why do you think he bit ya RW!
Ya. This whole blog thing is pathetic. What sort of professional does what either of these two numbskulls has done? I can't stand Fish. He's jock sniffer, a braggart, and totally full of himself. But you know what? The dude sure wouldn't have went scorched earth like either of these two idiot sticks have. Why? Because dislike him or not, the guy is a professional journalist and media member. Whitt and Williams are two fools stuck in high school who are desperately trying to hang on to their F-List local yokel "fame" by any means necessary. Both have ruined their reps beyond belief with their "unvarnished truth telling." Williams, well that one is obvious. Whitt, well let me give you the following little tale a guy who owns a bar once told me. He's at a neighborhood bar having some drinks. The bartender knows who he is. Bartender hints around at whether there's an opening or will be soon at his bar. At the end of the night the bartender comps the whole thing. Ya know, VIP'n him and also expecting basically a tip the size of the bill. All wink wink nudge nudge like. Dude insists on paying the tab, tips appropriately and leaves. Tells me that he would never in a million years hire the bartender. Why? He just stole over $40 from his current employer. Guess what he's gonna do if he comes to work for him? Ya. Bingo. You got it. That's basically what Whitt has done with his childish tell all.
ReplyDeleteWhen D&M mentioned Greggo today during retirement discussion, Jer played a Rhynes drop and all three made audible comments or moans and Craig said something to the effect of "don't go there Jer"......anyone else get that? Any upcoming Rhynes news??
ReplyDeleteWhether or not the Ticket and GW had a legal agreement , The Ticket made a smart business decision to move forward on building the Tickets Market share . Getting in the middle of a Mud slinging Pig Stye with GW would have been fatal for the Ticket . Plus HR and Legal most likely advised everyone , correctly , that GW personal melt down should be treated with some dignity as its GW business , not the Tickets ...I respect the fact the Ticket , moved forward and hoped GW would get the Help he needed while they continued to their jobs .
ReplyDeleteAs far as RaGe , take out the names , plugin anybody in a corporate setting and you get - VPs , RVPs , whatever , not wanting to get any stray shrapnel from employees they were not vested in nor were worth putting their careers at CBS on the line . RW most likely created so much attention to the situation , he had to go , no Boss wants an employee going up the ladder raising red flags to save his own rear .
RW best move would have been to resign let things blow up , then return to Build a new Show .
No sane Boss in the world is going to buy into an employee telling them to push everyone off the cliff except themselves ? Just tells that Boss he would push him off the cliff as well , if needed . RW misread CBS , Once Bruce left , he was toast .
Regardless , Its a good read . I hope GW gets Help and I hope RW gets what he is looking for ?
Corby Davidson @corbydavidson 3h
ReplyDelete@IrishTxn74 had no permission, have no clue how he got that. I assume that's illegal. If I gave a sh*t about the story, I would look into it
Hmm so there's that. Whitt, on top of that tweet he sent to Rhyner, is just trying to do anything he can to gain attention. I'm guessing their opinion of him won't be any better after this.
I burned about an hour and half reading and laughing at alot of the comments on Richtards new blog. Theres a bunch of em! Lets see, there were like 500 comments on Richie's first Hard Lie story, and now this! Seems like writing about Greggo gets alot of attention. Whatcha gonna do after beating down Greggo [the cat that got you a pretty good paycheck for 3 years, that you would not have gotten otherwise]? Go back to your spare columns and commenters kicking you square in your shriveled up 50 year old nut sack?!! Loser!
ReplyDeletePart IV is just an account of their final day and firing. Building on the idea that CBS's failure to get rid of Greg earlier on was the real reason for the demise of RaGE.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dfwsportatorium.com/
I'm not burned out on the RaGE drama, not yet. We speculated for years as to what was going on with that peculiar crew, a crew that could, on occasion, turn out some entertaining radio, but were somehow missing the boat even with the legendary Greggo and the well-known Richie and the yummy Sybil. Well, now we know a whole lot of the stuff we were puzzling over for so long.
Sorry if you're burned out on this. I'm going to linger awhile. Got some thoughts I'll post when I get some time.
It's always good to come hear and read other MTC'ers takes. I try to keep an open mind on everything before I post and try not to post on emotion.
ReplyDeleteTwo things about Whitt and this blog.
First, I think the people posting about him being a whiny bitch about him posting all this in a blog, I think, why are you reading it? You obviously came to the blog to read it. The story was going to come out for 3 reasons. 1) Greggo put his story out there which anyone that believed it 100% in the first place, well, they're those people. 2) There were probably tons of people emailing, tweeting, and facebooking him on what happened. Kudos to him for not doing what Greggo did. He decided to put the story out the way a reputable reporter would with sources, documentation, but the thing I think missing is objectivity. He admits that there was no way they were ever beating the Ticket but I'm not sure he alludes to his performance and how he would grade himself. I think being cast as a #1 is just a failure in itself for him. He's a #2 in terms of color commentary on things, and maybe even just a #3 when it all comes down to it. and 3) ego. It sucks getting fired and I empathize with him there. Did management drop the ball? Yes. Did they screw him in the end by not getting rid of Greggo and pairing him with someone stable? Maybe, we'll never know. It's hard to say that the Greggo faction wouldn't have turned against the show completely with Greggo out. To be honest, Whitt probably wouldn't have had a chance with the way he gets constantly nutkicked. The longer he was married to Greggo the more it became the issue about them as a pair.
Which comes to my next question, and maybe this is a good topic to write on. When you have someone like Greggo and then he just goes off the deep end and you have to get rid of him, what's the best way to do it? Even THL had backlash with Greggo, and now this curtain pulling back with Whitt just reinforces the decision the Ticket made.
Also, what do you make of Corby and Greggo talking? It doesn't seem like Corby was interested in how Greggo was doing, but more about getting intelligence on how things were going at the Fan. I think if you look at it as more than that, you're mistaken.
I'm always interested in reading articles about the best way to handle a firing. I mean, when you don't see it coming, what can you do? I know if I was fired and then wrote a blog about it that included tweets, emails, and texts, I'd probably be burning all my chances of getting a job doing the same thing in this market. It seems like it would have been easier for Whitt to just say "hey Greggo screwed us because he lied, did drugs, etc." Of course if he does that, then people will just call him a liar for not providing proof.
And one more thing....he hasn't mentioned ANYTHING about Ben and Skin. Greggo lit them up on his blog.
Hold on to your butts.
ReplyDeleteAuto- everyone sez people like myself are Greggo apologist. I've been to Greggo's blog once [diners? Really?], but reading some of Richie's responses to comments proves how clueless, or just stupid, he really is. Remember when RaGE first started? That show was an unlistenable circus with Richie as ring master. You could tell Greggo was hangin on solely for the gigs sake. Remember how little douche-twerp Richie banned Bryan Dolgin from the show because he said something little midgi-douche didn't like? Karma is a bitch,ain't it Richie? According to commenters, Greggo never has really said anything about Richie. Screwed up or not, Greggo is a radio personalilty, Richie is not and he can't accept it!
ReplyDeleteauto : In our PC correct world , its hard to " fire " someone without giving the ample time to address health issues , correct or seek help and give them ample time to continue to do their job.
ReplyDeleteThe Ticket was spot on , " can you pass a drug test ? " , " No " . Boom ! , you're fired without cause for a multitude of violations . ( All of which must be focused on maintaining a safe workplace and protecting the integrity of the Company's Core .
Hiring a " two " time offender of substance abuse , without a proven track record of sobriety and cleaning up his life .That employer is rolling the dice , and then you have to document the heck out of continued violations of Corp. Policy . I do not know all the " On Air Rules " regarding eating , drinking , cussing , being stoned etc ... The KTCK gave GW ample time to come clean , respecting all the time spent building the station , he just crossed the line , endangering the entire HL show and all those associated with it .
Trust me , as an employer , you got to be carefull , document everything and make sure you have given that employee every opportunity to keep their , job , clean up their lives and be productive .
Corby was an idiot for contacting GW , even if it was out of compassion as friend to help him .
In my opinion , CBS decided to punt on the whole show ,GW alleged drug abuse RW dipping in company ink :), employees not following the corporate ladder regarding HR issues it was a mess . CBS is way to Big to put up with all the shenanigans on RaGe ( unless they were making so much $ that made everyone look good .)
Auto : You have to be fair , confidential and maintain a factual records to support any critical HR moves . give the employee the opportunity to correct a situation
then you have to do what you have to do .
Being consistent in your HR policies and enforcement of policies eliminates any possible accusations of racism , favoritism or selective enforcement of HR due to race , sex etc...
I am an old timer and not an eloquent blogger so just CYA .
It is my guess MR had a hard time watching GW implode , while trying to keep the wheels on the station and the show and not have his fingerprints all over the mess .
He did well keeping on track and his distance from the problem .
There is never a real winner with beating addiction , maintaining a career and keeping friendships .
BTW ; The end of RaGe was not about GW & RW , it was about CBS , Stockholder value and in the end , are you making the company enough $ to put up with the BS .
ReplyDeleteOh oh. The mysterious but oddly well-informed Gypo Nolan is urging us to take firm hold of our hindquarters. Something big must be coming down.
ReplyDeleteFan or Ticket, Gypo? Can you tease us further?
Is that poster truly reliable?0
DeleteI have to admit I'm more interested in the RW and GW dramas than speculation on which of the Ticket JV we should keep an eye on.
ReplyDeleteThe more I read and Think about ( GRASS), it is perplexing as to what RW hopes to accomplish ? Seems to me he has no upside on what he is doing .
ReplyDeleteAuto sums it up , If RW continues a scorched earth policy , continues to show future employers hes always out for himself , continues to look for righteous affirmation in the court of public opinion and continues to make unqualified medical and HR assumptions , he continues to be perceived as a self serving jerk . RW will end up getting a job at the Greensheet and I don't have a clue what GW options are ? ( I suggest he work on 12 stepping a bunch of his baggage ? ) .
GW is Toast , RW is Toast , RaGe was burnt Toast .
Slinky, are you Brian Dolgin?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteRW isn't very sophisticated. GJW and Autocorrect have nailed the situation perfectly. When you add in the "Anonymous Perspective" this thread is based upon, I think we have about as close to the "unvarnished" truth of the matter as we'll ever get.
Summation: RW and GW are immature, opaque, rubes who (mistakenly) think themselves the opposite. It's bad enough to misread the environment around you; it's worse to misread those closest to you; but it's worst when you do both AND not have a real sense of who and what you are. All three of these apply to GW and RW. In the end they deserved each other. That being said, it does not excuse GW's behavior. I don't know how you classify someone like GW. He appears to have many severe flaws that affect not only himself but others. The one thing I do believe is that his problems go much deeper than having an addictive personality. And on that note, there's been a lot of psychological terms bandied about here (e.g., sociopath) that I'm not comfortable applying to someone whom I've never met, much less know; I think we all ought to be careful on that front. Then again, it is the internet and everyone is an expert at everything, fearlessly diagnosing at will.
I look forward to reading tomorrow's last edition of THLP2. And yet I'm glad it's the last. My gut tells me that this is most likely the last we'll see of RW or GW on the big stage. To find them you'll have to seek them out. After tomorrow, I'll look no longer. My gut also tells me that if (and that's a mighty big if) GW reemerges from his technical difficulties break, he will repay RW in scorched earth kind. But, as I just implied, I won't be reading it.
Stay Hard, RW and GW (after all, THL is all you wanted to be, anyway).
C'mon Gypo, I know you're into being a tad on the cryptic side, but dang it, whenever you show up something usually happens soon thereafter, and usually it's right along the lines of what you said or implied. So c'mon bring it on. Give an MTCer a hint.
ReplyDeleteWas Bob and Dan's fried chicken challenge racist?
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/06/the_ticket_went_to_a_southern.php#more
I swear, the Dallas Observer is a publication for children, by children.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, all it takes is for one motivated moron to run screaming to the hills and whomever else will listen to get the ball rolling. And once that ball gets rolling, usually, the only thing that stops it is a head (in this case heads) on a chopping block.
I hope nothing comes of this crap. But if it does, I won't be surprised. Nope. The only thing that surprises me is that it hasn't already happened.
yeah, right after Dan speaks out against the history of slavery in America, he excitedly jumps right into a racist bit and claps his hands like a sea lion in San Antonio.
ReplyDeleteHolding bottom tightly. Tell me more Gypo!
ReplyDeleteI am certain that I do not need to remind diligent Confessors that this very site has taken a strong interest in fried chicken, and set forth its own thoughts on local chain fried chicken (not the local specicalists) ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, prompting a lively exchange with readers over their favorite joints:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8577236709648198825#editor/target=post;postID=750377632687496566;onPublishedMenu=overview;onClosedMenu=overview;postNum=6;src=postname
I've written extensively on the mediocrity of Cain's, while acknowledging the hilarity of Gordon's and George's ads. (Above link and others.) And I set forth my thoughts on a comparo of Golden Chick and Chicken Express:
http://myticketconfession.blogspot.com/2012/08/and-winner-based-on-small-sample-size.html
And, of course, I pointed out to the Confessor where George's "I Like Chicken" song comes from:
http://myticketconfession.blogspot.com/2012/11/liking-chicken.html
No, I don't think anything is going to come of this. No one reading beyond the author's itchy intro could think BaD was doing anything to denigrate our black citizens.
Chicken taste-tests aside, the bit did very easily qualify as offensive if not racist by 2013's PC standards. While it takes a lot to offend me, the bigger agitator in my opinion was Dan prefacing the bit in a previous segment with raised voice over the U.S.' history of treatment toward Native Americans and Blacks.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a deuced nuisance to fire even the most incompetent, dishonest, lazy, and jerkish employee. It's gotten to the point where I think it's a safe bet that our antidiscrimination laws -- state and federal -- are a factor (not a huge factor) in keeping unemployment figures high -- they discourage employers from taking chances on disabled, oddball, grammar-challenged, and, yes, minority applicants.
ReplyDeleteGreg is something of a different case. I don't know what the state of the law is on whether addicts are protected by "disability" antidiscrimination laws. But I'm guessing that employees who are caught fibbing about excessive absences are not.
Can we at least have a big MTC "THANKS" to Richie Whitt for changing the background of his comments section from black-font-on-charcoal to something much more pleasant and easier to read?
ReplyDeleteWell, Richie, you have my thanks, anyway.
Game 7 of the NBA Finals and not a single Tweet from Greggo. Neither peep nor Tweet from him since Monday's 12 minute fiasco of a podcast that ended with a barely audible "Get me outta here." The day that happened to coincide with the first installment of Richie's first article. I think Greggo's gone into hiding for a long long time. Maybe forever. It wouldn't surprise me if he's already had a moving company pack his stuff and is heading off to a new city in a different part of Texas or to a new state altogether. It also wouldn't surprise me if he thinks that by laying low for an extended period of time all of this will die down and be forgotten, and at that time reappear. Drama. Drama. Drama.
ReplyDelete6/21/13 = 10/28/62
ReplyDeleteOn Monday, either all will be normal, or all will be revealed.
Jeez a whiz, Gypo. You're putting your ass on the line with this one, pal.
ReplyDeleteOctober 28, 1962, was the date that the Cuban Missile Crisis ended with an agreement between Kennedy and Khruschev brokered by U Thant (UN Secy-Gen).
ReplyDeleteNot sure how that applies to any current crisis, including GRASS (Greg, Richie, and Sybil Smackdown). Richie and Greg exchange olive branches? Seems unlikely.
Trying to think of any other sports/guy radio controversies, the resolution of which should be requiring me to hold on to my butt as counseled by Gypo Nolan.
Richie wraps it up:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dfwsportatorium.com/
The money shot:
"It remains my opinion that CBS feared retribution for Williams' singular firing in the form of a lawsuit filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and therefore axed me and Sybil and reduced Armen's role as a collective buffer."
This is not delusional, but entirely plausible (overlook misuse of "singular" and perplexing "collective buffer"). Companies sometimes use reductions in force to rid themselves of troublesome employees to reduce the risk of crippling unmeritorious discrimination suits. To get rid of the stinky bathwater, the baby is sacrificed.
And in this case, irrespective of what you think about Richie's radio presentation, this does somewhat explain CBS's earlier expressions of support to Richie, followed by their 180 in letting him and Sybil go.
Between those two events, what changed?
Lawyers.
On reflection, maybe that is not a misuse of "singular." Just unusual, since the word is usually used in its connotative sense as "out of the ordinary."
ReplyDeleteSorry, Richie.
this is a very big day for the ticket. remember this post.
ReplyDelete@GJW---I'm totally with you on your post. It's interesting to hear stories of how people were fired and what led up to it. Most of us have probably been fired at some time or another and either own it or have an issue with it. The best I can relate this situation to my life montage is the whistleblowing aspect. Doing the "right" thing isn't always in your best interest. I blew the whistle on a Manager I worked with once, I wasn't expecting to get promoted or anything but after that there was a ceiling on my career with that company. If the company would have found out on its own it would have screwed me anyways, so long story short, when your success is so closely intertwined with someone else more or as equally important as you and that person shits the bed, it in all chances taints your work as well(TAINT!!). I blew the whistle and expected something to happen and after taking secret calls off hours with corporate HR and my director, it still took two months to fire him. Gotta love big companies covering their asses!!!!
ReplyDelete@slinky--there's a real difference between Whitt and GW....GW cannot take criticism. I posted something in his comments section that wasn't completely critical but basically just to the effect of him not accepting responsibility, and it got deleted. Other people posted comments prefacing or ending their comment with "I know you'll probably delete this" and they were right. GW is a fake, fraud, and a phony. I don't know how anyone can believe him these days. I hate calling into question his relationship with Chris Kyle but now I'm having problems believing most of it simply because Kyle is no longer with us.
@birdie--+1
@blergoyen--there are times when I think about the guy that just landed at DFW with no knowledge of sports radio in the area and what he/she would think if that kind of segment was on and how completely racist that scenario would seem. Then I realize that even finding the Ticket if you're not from here is challenging due to AM and the poor signal, and stop worrying about it. One of the cool things about the Ticket is that even if there's an elephant in the room situation and it's uncomfortable, they'll find a way to get it out there even if just for a segment or a quick hit.
I held off on my opinion on RW's week long expose for the sole reason that I wanted to read the whole thing before I weighed in on it. He was capable of keeping me interested enough that every morning while drinking the obligatory magic bean juice I was reading the latest installment. It reminded me of an RW I had missed since the DO days. I read him back at the Startlegram and I read him regularly at the DO, but when he was hired on at CBS the whole feel of it changed.
ReplyDeleteLook, you can say he is douchey, egotistical and opinionated. It is immaterial to me. There are tons of guys in sports writing and the media with those same personal characteristics. Hell, Faulkner was drunker than Cooter Brown when giving his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. I can handle a writer or sports talker's quirks if they put out a product that interests me.
I think the Plainsman summed it up well in the last comment he made on this thread. What happened to Spittle between promises made and what actually happened? Lawyers. It was a chicken S move IMO but thems the breaks. CBS is not likely to ever ever break silence over all this. I expect RW did the necessary CYA before posting the tweets, texts and emails. He is a trained reporter and understands the concept of sources. I am not terribly concerned about a slander charge or a cease and desist order in his future. If the same Lawyers could find an angle to put a stop to it, it never would have made it to Friday.
On to who I believe more. RW. Lookit, I liked Greggo as much as everybody else but in light of the recent revelation by Riggs which backs up what RW was saying this week, the lack of a response by CBS and GW's deafening silence I tend to think RW's version of the events are closer to what happened than what GW presented earlier.
I know there are some Confessors that want this story to go away. I am not quite ready to do so. If there is a continuing mortar battle lobbing shells at each other from blogs I will be glad to watch the battle. I have bookmarked RW and he is now on my blogger feed. I expect I will be a regular reader. Today was the first Whitt's End I have read in a while. I kinda missed it.
Read this 3 years later, and tell me the author (RW) wasn't aware of what he was getting into. Looking back, the timeline seems that RW was indeed the recruiter of Greggo to Fan in middle the JCW project/fallout that he was writing daily updates on at the time. Journalistic integrity?...not a bit.
ReplyDeletehttp://wolferadio11.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/my-comments-to-this-story-in-dallas-observer/#more-2510