|
|
|
CORPORATE RADIO AT ITS WORST; VAN PATRICK FIRED AT KCMO DURING CUMULUS TAKEOVER Van Patrick, one of the most genuine and popular talk show hosts to ever hit the Kansas City market, was let go suddenly during his morning show (5/9) on KCMO-710 AM. Permanent radio sub in the KC market Chris Stigall has filled in since May 10. Patrick, who has a six-month non-compete agreement, had been on the air from 5-9 a.m. for about a year after relocating from Minneapolis-St. Paul where he was on the air at KS95-FM for seven years. He replaced George Woods at KCMO and his ratings had been good. Patrick had been upset that new media conglomerate owner Cumulus Media had taken over his station (and other Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff stations) in this market and had fired one of his staffers ("josh.com") and others, including veteran Katey McGuckin. Patrick had privately told the Cumulus folks that he was resigning effective June 27. However, when a caller around 8:30 a.m. asked him what he was going to do--and he told her---the station immediately suspended him and cut to national programming. The Web site was taken down almost immediately. "I'm a firm believer that you treat people the way you want to be treated," said Patrick in an interview with us. "I've always been honest with my listeners and I told the caller my feelings. That was it." Patrick says he does not know what will happen with the other staffers at 710, but stressed that he really felt that Program Director Chris Hoffman "is a good guy." He does not speak as highly about Dave Alpert (see below). According to sources (5/14), Patrick could very likely show up on a non-Cumulus station in the near future in the KC market. Rival program directors know his ratings were excellent on a station with a very poor signal and many dislike the Cumulus way of treating it talent. He has received numerous inquiries locally and nationally, however, he wants to stay in the KC market where he has extended family. Look for increased media attention of Patrick's departure in the Kansas City Star and local TV stations.
Patrick responded to the posters on gatewaycityradio.com who have posted a variety of responses to his departure. Many of them have been extremely critical of his former producer Andrew Yates for not supporting him during the ordeal. Here is Patrick's response as written: This is me. I don't have a problem posting my real name here. A lot of speculation posted about how and why I left. Some true, most bull. In the interest of clarity, from the horses mouth, here goes. A. I did not "walk off" and planned on finishing the
not only that show, but shows all the way up to June 27th and three months
beyond that if asked. I don't want to work for people that would do what
they did to Katie, Josh and all the others without even meeting them or learning
what they did on their jobs. I was told by Mr. Andrew Rosen face to face (he's a
cumulus bigwig and seemed decent enough) that not only had he never listened to
my show, or any of the shows before making the cuts. Susquhanna was a good company. Cumulus, is well, Cumulus. If this is what radio has come to, I'll take a pass. In the good old days, people hired wonderful personalities like Mike Murphy, Phil Jay, etc, and let them do their jobs. They paid them well. They talked about local things. They made tons of money for themselves and their stations, and all was good. Now it's all syndicated from out of town, voice tracked, homogenized, and generally poor radio not only for the listener, but for the owners. It doesn't make good business sense to me, but then again I'm just a lowly talent. I am who I am. If you talk to Josh or Andy they'll tell you. I am intensely loyal and I live by the golden rule. Sometimes my foot is in my mouth and my heart is on my sleeve. It's what got me on the air in the first place. When Cumulus came in they fired the best kid I'd ever had working for me. He was a number on a sheet, on a show that they had never taken time to even listen to. The big guy from Cumulus told me that day that he understood my being upset, and said if he was in a foxhole, I was the guy he'd want beside him. He told me the way radio works now is pretty horrible. It was refreshing to hear a bit of honesty in the building, but it came way too late. As to where I'll go and what I'll do? I'll decide
that. I may go fishing. I may do more radio here in KC. I'm sure there are
companies that still treat people with respect and dignity and we'll certainly
talk. Haters? Snipe away. This is my last post here, I
sign my real name. By the way, any haters that want to meet me and talk up close
can see me every Wed at noon when Mike Murphy holds court at 85th and Wornall at
the Corner Cocktail. Great burgers, and the good guys from radio. You can
certainly come down and I'll have a civil discussion with you. If you scream at
me as Mr. Alpert did, pray that you too are 5 foot 3 and I'll kiss the top of
your head and let you walk away. All this beating on Andy Yates should really stop too. He's a goodfella and I genuinely like him. There's a lot of hatred on this page and in this business and I don't understand it. I guess I do though really as I think about it. Some hate comes from the never wuzzes, some comes from good people made bitter by the biz. Some hate comes from ignorance. I don't hate any of you. As Buck O'Neil told me, "Life's too short to hate anyone." To my friends, don't you worry about me. Several job offers have already rolled in and it will be my decision. I'm going to take some time and decide what's best for me and my family. I may go work at a lumberyard. For me, this biz has never been about ego or money, it's always been about those magic moments when you do great radio. Being a part of getting Paul Hayes out of New Orleans this year was the greatest thing I can imagine being involved in. He and Mr. Murphy and my wonderful wife threw me a surprise birthday party yesterday. Me and Murph laughed at the state of the biz. There's a great scene at the end of the original "Longest Yard". Remember when the crooked warden told Burt to betray his friends and throw the game? He thought about it, then did the right thing, he stood up for his pals. As he's walkin off the field he asks the old trainer of the team (who gotten a life sentence for decking the old warden 80 years ago), "Was it worth it?" The old man tells him, "Hell yes it was worth it". Burt was in jail for being a character and sinking a
car. I was in jail for answering a listener's question honestly. They broke
several of my friends' legs in the game with cheap shots. I could have sucked it
up, collected my pay and threw the game. I didn't. I can live with that. |
