BY DAN
KENNEDY
Notes and observations on
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See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes (Rodale, October 2003),
click
here.
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
The end of Ozone. Most of
the time, when someone screws up he's given a second or even a third
chance. Sometimes, though, a screw-up forces management to reassess
-- to decide that the person who committed said screw-up isn't the
right person for the job after all.
That's what happened to former
New York Times executive editor Howell Raines, who was forced
out not because of the Jayson Blair scandal but because, in its
aftermath, it became clear that Raines had fostered an atmosphere of
fear and favoritism that allowed a con artist like Blair to
thrive.
Not to compare WRKO Radio (AM 680)
with the Times -- or John "Ozone" Osterlind with Raines, who
is, despite his flaws, a great journalist -- but that's apparently
what happened to Osterlind yesterday when program director Mike Elder
let him go.
According to coverage today in the
Herald
and the Globe,
Osterlind is stunned that he has been dropped from Blute &
Ozone, the morning-drive-time show. And he denied to the
Herald -- as he has from the beginning -- that he ever called
for the entire Arab race to be "eradicated."
Osterlind was initially suspended
for two weeks following reports that, on August 12, he called for the
"eradication" of the Palestinians. The sequence of events that led to
his suspension began when I received an anonymous tip that Osterlind
had advocated the Palestinians' "extermination."
I asked Elder about it, and, after
he listened to a partial tape of the show (he said a full tape didn't
exist), he told me that he'd heard Osterlind say "eradicate," which
was apparently close enough for Elder. (Disclosure: I'm paid to blab
about the media on WRKO's Pat Whitley Show every Friday at 9
a.m.)
The suspension was reported
exclusively
on Boston Phoenix Media Log
later that afternoon, with the Globe and the Herald not
having the story until the next day.
When I interviewed Osterlind
shortly after he'd learned about his suspension, I couldn't help but
feel bad for the guy. He obviously didn't get it, and I can
understand why. He'd been paid to be as outrageous as possible, he is
not someone who's particularly well-versed on the issues, and he'd
just gotten nailed for doing pretty much what he always does. On a
personal level, I don't think he's got a mean bone in his
body.
But you certainly can't blame Elder
for taking advantage of the situation to elevate the tone of his
station. Now let's see if he'll do something about his venom-spewing
afternoon star, Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr, and
syndicated host Michael Savage, the hate-mongering right-winger who
holds down the evening shift.
Ten to 15 years ago, WRKO was a
model for what great talk radio could be, with first-class hosts such
as the late, great Jerry Williams, Gene Burns, Janet Jeghelian, and
Ted O'Brien. Osterlind sneers in today's Herald that Elder
apparently wants to turn 'RKO into NPR -- yet, with the exception of
Burns, the station's stars of yesteryear were every bit as populist
and occasionally outrageous (especially Williams) as today's fakers
like to think they are.
Can the old formula work today?
Well, David Brudnoy is still the ratings king on WBZ Radio (AM 1030),
so clearly there is a market for intelligent talk. And Osterlind's
dismissal of NPR aside, public station WBUR Radio (90.9 FM) pulls
down good numbers while broadcasting hours of talk each
day.
So maybe it's time for WRKO to try
quality. It's certainly tried everything else.
A remarkable look at an unfit
mother. If you haven't been reading the Globe's series on
Barbara Paul and her sons, you can catch up by clicking
here.
Reporter Patricia Wen and
photographer Suzanne Kreiter have done a remarkable job of
documenting the life of a mother who neglected her children, and yet
who loved them -- and still does. Paul gave up her parental-custody
rights under pressure from state authorities.
One minor quibble: I would have
liked to see a stronger point of view. After all, it was Wen and
Kreiter who spent nine months with Paul, not us.
But their even-handedness is a
strength, too. We find ourselves emphathizing with Paul and yet
understanding why social workers concluded that she was an unfit
mother.
posted at 9:01 AM |
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MEDIA LOG ARCHIVES
Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
