WBAL radio changes
DCRTV had this report last week:
BAL Cans DeFilippo – 12/30 – DCRTV hears that Democratic political commentator Frank “Flip” DeFilippo has been let go at news talk WBAL (1090 AM). DeFilippo was heard Mondays with Ron Smith in the 5 PM hour. A few weeks ago, WBAL radio restaurant reviewer Doug Roberts was relieved of those duties, but will stay on to do other assignments…..
That wasn’t apparently exactly how things went according to Laura Vozzella:
Frank “Flip” DeFilippo, former press secretary for Gov. Marvin Mandel, is former something else now. He is no longer Ron Smith’s Monday sidekick on WBAL-AM radio.
DeFilippo had appeared with Smith from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays. (Full disclosure: Smith writes a weekly op-ed column for The Baltimore Sun.) DCRTV.com, a Web site that covers area radio and television, reported that “DeFilippo has been let go” from the news talk station. That’s not exactly the case, WBAL general manager Ed Kiernan told me.
“Frank’s steady employment on Monday is not going to happen anymore, but he’ll still be a part of the WBAL radio team,” Kiernan said. “We’ll be using Frank in different ways. … We haven’t cut his head off. We still love the guy.”
Kiernan said the station is trying to “shake it up a little bit.” Eliminating DeFilippo’s fixed slot will give WBAL “more flexibility on Mondays to do different things”
Ray Frager points out another minor change at the station:
With 1370 AM running Fox Sports network programming, WBAL (1090) had to switch to another network with the new year. Sporting News Radio has replaced Fox Sports for WBAL’s weekend and late weeknight air not otherwise filled by local or other programs.
Related posts:
5 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
1
Frank DeFilippo was the one reason I listened to Ron on Mondays. No more. Don’t the bigwigs ever consult the listeners before they make these dumb moves?
Spence Coleman
Catonsville, Md.
Comment by Spence Coleman — January 17, 2009 @ 6:30 pm
2
This was a bad move. Ron and Flip had a good rapport and it was enjoyable listening to them on Monday afternoons. He will be missed.
Comment by Jimmy — February 16, 2009 @ 8:40 am
3
WBAL radio is making a concerted effort to appeal to no one. Employing Chip Franklin was the first step on the way down. Replacing local talk shows with Sporting News radio is probably the final nail in the coffin. The Erlich’s shameless eternal campaigning and C4, a less than stellar member of an otherwise outstanding family are two more reasons to tune out rather than tune in!
Comment by Gabby Lever — February 16, 2009 @ 9:27 am
4
And Steve Davis has been replaced by what/whom?
Comment by robert bruch — February 20, 2009 @ 8:39 pm
5
Dropping Alan Prell was the first step in WBAL’s freefall. They lost the Orioles and Terps, they dropped Rush Limbaugh for C4. What kind of trade off was that ? The morning show is unlistenable, Sports Talk has been shortened to one hour. What will the program directors do for an encore, lose the Ravens ?
In the old days ‘BAL was on all day long. Now it’s not worth the time. It’s sad to see a great station be run into the ground.
Comment by John — March 9, 2009 @ 6:52 pm