Shertenlieb Show? Rich Radio? - mornings on ZLX

dirtynine

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Dec 17, 2002
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I don’t know anything about her, but I got a good vibe from that clip. She seems cool. A bit of Amy-Poehler-Hillary in that spontaneous laugh.
 

Rusty13

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Nov 3, 2007
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About 30 minutes in and I already think Ted Johnson on for 4 hours on a regular basis was a mistake. And Hurley as the quasi Flash guy? Eh. Well they have some kinks to work through.
 

Granite Sox

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Feb 6, 2003
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Worked right away on the app for me. ZLX was playing November Rain as the lead-in song to the show. Wonder if that was a planned homage to Rich's exit timing...
 

Rusty13

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Nov 3, 2007
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Worked right away on the app for me. ZLX was playing November Rain as the lead-in song to the show. Wonder if that was a planned homage to Rich's exit timing...
Good catch. And no real shots by Rich at Fred/98.5 other than him being upset about his social media sites being taken away and almost taking legal action against them.
 

yeahlunchbox

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Jan 21, 2008
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Worked right away on the app for me. ZLX was playing November Rain as the lead-in song to the show. Wonder if that was a planned homage to Rich's exit timing...
Weird. When I searched directly for him all I got were ads for his show starting today, Foxy Lady, and some online casino. When I went to ZLX I got a Stevie Nicks song.
 

Rusty13

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Nov 3, 2007
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Love how he said "the cancer foundation only deserves my donation if I get followers"
Yeah not sure he thought that announcement through. How about announcing a donation but then doubling it if you reach that followers total?
 

Granite Sox

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I didn't hear it that way... I heard him say that the money he otherwise would have had to spend paying lawyers would go to Dana Farber if he could re-generate the number followers he had under his old handles. He also qualified it by saying "maybe I won't get there", but I didn't hear him say they only "deserve" it if he gets his followers back. I was at the Dunks Drive-thru at the time so perhaps I was distracted... :) Not to make excuses for him, but I'm confident that he's donated and/or raised plenty of money for Dana Farber in the past.
 

NDame616

will bailey
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Jul 31, 2006
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What's his beef about the social media? He was literally using the show's accounts and they just kept them when he left. It wasn't *his* account, it was the show's.

He can clearly bitch "well I used it and grew a following" and I'm sure the show said "that's cute, you used the likeness of our radio show and the account was under that name, so pound sand with threats of legal action"

He doesn't have a leg to stand on regarding that.
 

Granite Sox

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Rich wasn't the one threatening legal action. He received a letter from Beasley indicating that he had to "return" the accounts, and he stated that he wanted to hold onto the accounts because he had a lot of personal messages/DMs sent to him that he wanted to keep but felt that he wasn't given a lot of time to react/respond. Hence his calls to lawyers to understand his options (and the associated cost). I think it was perfectly fine for him to lament the situation, but at the end of the day he relented. So no harm, no foul. The figure for his potential DF donation arose from the legal cost of developing a response to Beasley (which would have likely triggered additional legal action).
 

Andy Merchant

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Aug 2, 2010
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I listened for a bit, was wondering if Rich would address Fred or what went down at 98.5. I heard the social media topic, didn't think he was being a dick about it. Not sure why he co-mingled personal and business accounts in the first place though.

The part I heard was a bit meh, but it was the first day. It was weird that they played an entire song when returning from breaks though, almost seemed like they needed filler.
 

Hal Waffid

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Nov 14, 2023
160
Yeah, but retaining those existing listeners who tune in for music during their commute will be tough since there won’t be any music. they might get their classic rock elsewhere.
I think the plan is to take listeners away from T&H and Hill and not worry about the ZLX listeners.

Doesn't sound like they made a good start of it if the discussion here is about social media and not how good the show is.
 

hube

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Apr 4, 2010
284
I put it on around 7:30 and thought it was ok. Some first day issues for sure. No real salt from Rich for the hour or so I listened apart from the social media stuff, and I don't think he's the type of guy to air his grievances in detail.

I heard a bit of the new 911 segment which was a nice throwback but got a call right as it got good. By the time I turned back it was Teddy J talking about how he bulked up eating 7,000 calories a day, so that was that, but I was in the parking lot at the office anyway.

If the result is TSH forcing its morning show to raise its game beyond the middling "Fred and Friends" format of the last several months, plus we get back some of the classics from Rich, and we can time it so we miss both stations' commercial breaks, we all win.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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I listened for a bit, was wondering if Rich would address Fred or what went down at 98.5. I heard the social media topic, didn't think he was being a dick about it. Not sure why he co-mingled personal and business accounts in the first place though.

The part I heard was a bit meh, but it was the first day. It was weird that they played an entire song when returning from breaks though, almost seemed like they needed filler.
I tuned in a bit and it felt just like T&R without Fred and some random fill ins. It was weird having Ted there. I think Charlotte will be good.

I guess it’s a little different. headlines are more fun!

I’ll tune in during commercials or when Fred talks about SNL for the 3,000 time as if anyone cares about SNL.
 

YuppieScum

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Feb 14, 2008
27
Waiting for them to upload the podcast and catch up on the rerun. There's no nicholas to blame for the delay!
 

sharts

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Dec 22, 2023
83
Kinda weird to hold your social media followers hostage. Now if I unfollow him before he gets to 150k followers I hate cancer
 

Hal Waffid

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Nov 14, 2023
160
I listened for a bit, was wondering if Rich would address Fred or what went down at 98.5. I heard the social media topic, didn't think he was being a dick about it. Not sure why he co-mingled personal and business accounts in the first place though.

The part I heard was a bit meh, but it was the first day. It was weird that they played an entire song when returning from breaks though, almost seemed like they needed filler.
I don't think Rich will ever go at Fred on-air, no matter what Fred says. As for the co-mingling, I think it was just naive on Rich's part. Like if you're interviewing for a job and someone says "we're like a family here" it means something different if you've had a job or two vs just starting out.
 

Granite Sox

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I think the plan is to take listeners away from T&H and Hill and not worry about the ZLX listeners.

Doesn't sound like they made a good start of it if the discussion here is about social media and not how good the show is.
The social media stuff was about 5 mins of the one segment (which Rich himself had indicated was coming) where he got some things off of his chest regarding his exit from TSH. It was a minor point in the show that a previous poster took issue with.

I think there was plenty there for prior ZLX listeners. Discussion/references to The Rolling Stones (ticket plugs!), Alice In Chains, Slipknot, Outkast, and Norwegian metal in the first couple of hours alone. Doesn’t even include all the May-tallica commercials. So there were morsels there for classic rock enthusiasts hoping for (at least) a little bit of continuity. It was noticeably more “music talk” than T&H, which should be an obvious distinction.
 

8slim

has trust issues
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Nov 6, 2001
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Is the donation contingent on him getting social media followers? If so, without saying those exact words, that is the effective outcome of his grandstanding
If you're going to use "quotes" then they should represent a "thing" that the "person" actually "said".
 

Hal Waffid

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
160
I'm listening to the podcast and Jesus, the music bumpers are way too loud relative to the voices (subsequently fixed). Only been listening for 4 minutes but sounds pretty amateur. I don't mind Ted Johnson as much as some, though he tends to be a bit long winded.

Also, "Yehyehyehyehyehyehyehyeah" and "wildly" I didn't miss that.
 
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8slim

has trust issues
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Nov 6, 2001
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Unreal America
I had to turn this morning's show off when they started talking about Ted's dumps. For all of their talent, both Rich and Fred just looooove to talk about taking shits. I just can't bear it.
 

Hal Waffid

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Nov 14, 2023
160
One thing I have liked is that when they have trouble with the equipment Rich doesn't turn into an angry crab and throw a tantrum.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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I had to turn this morning's show off when they started talking about Ted's dumps. For all of their talent, both Rich and Fred just looooove to talk about taking shits. I just can't bear it.
Yeah Fred and Hardy had a 20 minute segment about people taking dumps in the woods on a golf course.

I could 100% use less dump talks and porn talk across any of the shows.
 

NewInTown

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May 16, 2023
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The drunken recaps segment sucked, I don't think the roadsteamer bit on T&H was very good, but in comparison to this it was Marconi worthy.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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I put it on around 7:30 and thought it was ok. Some first day issues for sure. No real salt from Rich for the hour or so I listened apart from the social media stuff, and I don't think he's the type of guy to air his grievances in detail.

I heard a bit of the new 911 segment which was a nice throwback but got a call right as it got good. By the time I turned back it was Teddy J talking about how he bulked up eating 7,000 calories a day, so that was that, but I was in the parking lot at the office anyway.

If the result is TSH forcing its morning show to raise its game beyond the middling "Fred and Friends" format of the last several months, plus we get back some of the classics from Rich, and we can time it so we miss both stations' commercial breaks, we all win.
I’m not going to be that guy and posting here about how it’s not T&R going forward but the 911 segment is the best example of why this won’t work. It’s not the phone calls, it was Fred’s reaction that made it work.

That 911 segment was awful awful radio. Hey, that’s a wacky phone call, haha they shouldn’t call 911! Laugh laugh laugh.

So bad.
 

hube

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Apr 4, 2010
284
I'll agree with you on Fred's ability to riff taking it to another level (same with Armpits, same with Finebaum) - I enjoy the absurdity of the calls themselves, but if as good as it got was an operator bluntly saying "no one" back to a caller and the hosts just guffawing over that on repeat for an entire segment, then I don't feel like I missed anything.
 

Patriot_Reign

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Apr 21, 2011
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I’m not going to be that guy and posting here about how it’s not T&R going forward but the 911 segment is the best example of why this won’t work. It’s not the phone calls, it was Fred’s reaction that made it work.

That 911 segment was awful awful radio. Hey, that’s a wacky phone call, haha they shouldn’t call 911! Laugh laugh laugh.

So bad.
This nails it. Rich needs someone who can riff off his bits and these guys aren't it.
 

Hal Waffid

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Nov 14, 2023
160
I didn't hear the "follow us on twitter or the cancer patients get unhooked" or whatever that was so they must have scrubbed it from the podcasts.

I thought this was OK, not must-listen like T&R was back in the day. It took T&R quite a bit of time to get to be that great though. The early days of T&R were so try-hard that I mostly listened to WBUR until I discovered they had found their footing. I don't mind Ted. He seems like a happy enough guy and he always plays along with the bits (even when he shouldn't - that's what almost got him killed by VW). Hurley wasn't bad but I'd like RJ better too. I guess it's possible RJ wasn't interested in working with Rich again.

I do like the idea that they're planning a "freezing cold takes" on the bets they recommend but I think having the hosts, like, eat something gross as punishment for losing the bet is not really all that interesting for the radio. Rich needs to recruit Jon from Vegas to come up with the stuff for that. That guy was a genius. Anyone know what Sarge has been up to these days?

Probably the best thing about the show is no Wallach.

This nails it. Rich needs someone who can riff off his bits and these guys aren't it.
I agree but that wasn't a particularly good 911 call. I don't think anything will ever beat "there is a very stupid child kicking up dirt on the baseball field". Hopefully he'll have better material for Char.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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I didn't hear the "follow us on twitter or the cancer patients get unhooked" or whatever that was so they must have scrubbed it from the podcasts.

I thought this was OK, not must-listen like T&R was back in the day. It took T&R quite a bit of time to get to be that great though. The early days of T&R were so try-hard that I mostly listened to WBUR until I discovered they had found their footing. I don't mind Ted. He seems like a happy enough guy and he always plays along with the bits (even when he shouldn't - that's what almost got him killed by VW). Hurley wasn't bad but I'd like RJ better too. I guess it's possible RJ wasn't interested in working with Rich again.

I do like the idea that they're planning a "freezing cold takes" on the bets they recommend but I think having the hosts, like, eat something gross as punishment for losing the bet is not really all that interesting for the radio. Rich needs to recruit Jon from Vegas to come up with the stuff for that. That guy was a genius. Anyone know what Sarge has been up to these days?
Ugh. I just brought the podcast up and the Mike Behind the Mic song was good, the rest of it was so bad. Hey wacky morning zoo! crap. It’s weird because T&R always mocked people would call them a morning zoo and they weren’t. TRSS is by definition a morning zoo.

It’s day one but good news is there’s no where to go but up. Rich only did 2 phoners in one segment!!

It was everything I feared with a Rich led show. I love everyone on there but is not working. Let’s all laugh at our own jokes and laugh at each other! Wocka Wocka Wocka! Sweep the leg!
 
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dirtynine

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I thought it was a fine day 1 show. Rich needs somebody else with charisma. It doesn’t have to be Fred-esque or cynical, just somebody who you can’t wait to hear. A comic voice. I think Wilder might be partly that.

I think the Rich Show actually has a better long-term outlook than Toucher & Hardy. The Fred-sized hole on TRSS is more easily filled than the Rich-sized one on T&H. The production style, structure, bits (they’ll get there), even stuff like the way Rich interjects audio drops - his sensibility is unique and I missed it. T&H misses it too, IMO - even if you never heard Rich speak, T&R’s production vibe was his. Now on T&H the feel of the show is a lot less interesting.

Conversely, production will be fine on Rich’s show. No, he can’t carry a show by himself. No, the current co-host lineup won’t save him. I’m confident they can find one or two more compelling voices. (If I’m an early TRSS hire I’m treating the job like a slightly extended audition - I imagine they’ll figure out what’s working and what’s not pretty quickly and adjust.)
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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They were giving away Stones tickets… 10th caller…
The two times I heard it he did even finish the number. Just the 617… and caught himself. Maybe he was just doing a big market trade but I’m not going to really judge the show for 3 months. We will see.
 

Granite Sox

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I thought it was a fine day 1 show. Rich needs somebody else with charisma. It doesn’t have to be Fred-esque or cynical, just somebody who you can’t wait to hear. A comic voice. I think Wilder might be partly that.

I think the Rich Show actually has a better long-term outlook than Toucher & Hardy. The Fred-sized hole on TRSS is more easily filled than the Rich-sized one on T&H. The production style, structure, bits (they’ll get there), even stuff like the way Rich interjects audio drops - his sensibility is unique and I missed it. T&H misses it too, IMO - even if you never heard Rich speak, T&R’s production vibe was his. Now on T&H the feel of the show is a lot less interesting.

Conversely, production will be fine on Rich’s show. No, he can’t carry a show by himself. No, the current co-host lineup won’t save him. I’m confident they can find one or two more compelling voices. (If I’m an early TRSS hire I’m treating the job like a slightly extended audition - I imagine they’ll figure out what’s working and what’s not pretty quickly and adjust.)
Agree with this.

There were a couple of occasions where Rich acknowledged that it would be a bit chaotic, and that you can’t rehearse a live show because it’s ‘live’. So for a first show with an inexperienced co-host it was fine. If you were expecting Rich to pick things up where he left off at TSH then I think that’s an unfair point of reference.

I actually think he cut the 911 segment short because it didn’t land well, so I’m glad he read the room and pulled the ripchord. He also said he had lots more calls in reserve so I suspect (hope?) he figures out how to set things up better.
 

Rusty13

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Nov 3, 2007
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Rich needs somebody else with charisma. It doesn’t have to be Fred-esque or cynical, just somebody who you can’t wait to hear
Agreed. He needs someone who is actually funny and/or brings something to the table in real time. Maybe that’s Wilder. Or maybe he starts bringing in other personalities like local comics etc. See what sticks.
 

HarvardSqr

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Dec 18, 2023
32
Before the co-hosts were announced, and before we realized it was going to be a sports show, I was first thinking that Rich was going to bring experienced radio people from out of market in, but then I was considering that maybe he was going to have comedians as co-hosts.

Also, the issues I had with Hurley as a guest journalist on T&R basically don't matter with him as a co-host on the new show, and I'm fine with him on it. Having said that, if Rich wants a fun, comedy first, sports show, the group of co-hosts should have included one or more people who aren't sports reporters or analysts. There needs to be an entertainer/comedian on air. That can't be Rich because he's producing the material in his style, which people are supposed to react to and riff on. He shouldn't have chosen sports analysts for that role.
 

Bigdogx

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Jul 21, 2020
292
Ted Johnson is dreadful for 4 hours. Otherwise I thought it was OK with predictable early show jitters/inconsistency.
Lol what would he fill the 4 hours of time with now that Bill is not the coach? I loved Johnson as a player but man his salty Bill takes over the last few years has made him a miserable listen.