SUMMARY: Former KCSP-610 morning sports talk host Damon Amendolara, who has moved to the larger radio market of Miami, comments on the situation today at his former station (see KCSP in Death Spiral?).
AMENDOLARA COMMENTS ON CURRENT STATE OF KCSP 05-12-2008 "It pains me to say this since 610 will always be the station that helped launch my career, but the ratings hit is really not that surprising. "A lot of loyal 610 listeners felt bind-sided by the changes. Think about listeners that had tuned in devotedly every morning for four years, expecting to hear myself and Grunny. Then, all of a sudden, without explanation, very abruptly there are two new shows, both of which are extremely different from their predecessors. "It puts the new shows at a serious disadvantage and it devalues the emotional connection our listeners had with the old programs. I take no pleasure in seeing my old station hurt like this. "I still have emails pouring in every day, FIVE months later, talking about missing the old lineup and how hurt people were by the secrecy of it. That's an emotional attachment and loyalty that you simply cannot bastardize or ignore without serious repercussions. You have to honor it, appreciate it and be humbled by it. Once you ignore it in local radio, you've lost touch with your most valuable asset and you've also lost your way.
"It's like being burned by a girlfriend you once trusted. You hold a certain resentment and you refuse to let her back into your life. I have such an affinity for our loyal listenership in Kansas City, I felt like the station let them down and that still bothers me. "We asked so much from them as we built the station, but in the end, we didn't return the loyalty."
