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The Mighty 1090 Ceases Operations

“Well, it’s not pretty,” Kaplan responded when asked to describe the scene when management let him know the station was no longer in operation.

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Two weeks after losing their spot on the AM dial, The Mighty 1090 has fully ceased operations. Mid day host Darren Smith tweeted that management at 1090’s parent company, the Broadcast Company of the Americas, pulled the plug on the station’s stream in the middle of his show on Monday.

When reached via text Smith told Barrett Sports Media that he wouldn’t describe the shutdown as a surprise necessarily. “My best guess was that Monday was the final day and we’d be told of our shutdown on Tuesday morning.”

Emotions of the Mighty 1090 staff were on full display in a Twitter video on Scott Kaplan’s account.

“For the last two weeks, Mighty 1090 programming has only been available online and through our mobile app,” a message on The Mighty 1090’s website reads. “We can’t thank you enough for bearing with us through this ordeal. Unfortunately, we have ceased operations. We are forever grateful for your passion, loyalty, and all your support over the years.”

“Well, it’s not pretty,” Kaplan responded when asked to describe the scene when management let him know the station was no longer in operation.

Darren Smith echoed the disappointment. “It’s brutal,” he said in a text. “Change is inevitable in the biz and we all know that but this is just wrong.”

In a three part message on Twitter morning man Ben Higgins expressed his disappointment and then took time to celebrate what he and his co-workers had created.

https://twitter.com/BenHigginsSD/status/1122990664809996290

As for next steps, Smith told BSM that while he was focused on making the streaming station a success, he was always aware that this could be The Mighty 1090’s ultimate fate.

“Personally, I’ve thought about health insurance and preparing financially for loss of income.  How long can I survive in San Diego without income?  I’ve had those talks with my wife and advisor for months.  

“Professionally, what decisions might I have to make – stay local or look out of market?  Talk radio or something different entirely?  Stay in sports or a different media field?  

“I hoped we’d have a different endgame but wasn’t naive about the reality.”  

Kaplan said he was focused on making the company a success in the streaming space. “I believe we have a winning team and can have a real digital business,” he said in a text.

He has also been working on putting together a group of investors to purchase Mighty 1090. Kaplan said that effort is not dead. He told Barrett Sports Media that he intends to present a letter of intent to take over operation of the station on Wednesday.

Barrett Sports Media will bring you more on this story as it develops.

UPDATE (4/30 @ 9:57 AM)

Scott Kaplan tweeted this morning that there is a meeting scheduled for 11 AM. There he plans to unveil his plan for taking over the station.

Fans of Mighty 1090 responded to the Tweet with excitement. Kaplan then singled out San Diego Union-Tribune business reporter Lori Weisberg in a Tweet alluding to her interest in the meeting.

UPDATE (4/30 @ 4:11 PM)

Scott Kaplan’s Twitter feed hosted a live video earlier today at noon Pacific time. Many 1090 staffers expressed their frustration and disappointment after leaving a meeting with management where they were told that the station is shutting down.

Craig Elsten accused GM Mike Glickenhaus of hiding from his staff during the meeting where they were informed that the station was officially out of business. It is similar to a remark he made on Twitter earlier in the day.

Kaplan himself reiterated that his goal is to keep this team together. How quickly that happens remains to be seen. Several hosts apparently told Kaplan they need a break before resuming their broadcasting duties.

“Sponsors have said ‘we will stay with you,'” Kaplan could be overhead telling one off-screen co-worker. He claims to have a broadcast space ready to go, and will be doing his afternoon show from there today beginning at 3pm Pacific.

As for reactions to the news, they varied widely. Kaplan noted that the staff “did not let 1090 die. 1090 died as a result of a big, cancerous tumor in the office down there.” It was clear he was talking about management, but he did not say who specifically.

Linda Welby, who was part of Kaplan’s afternoon show took the high road. She described herself as “sad, but not mad,” offering a very matter of fact assessment of the situation. “This is radio and that’s how it goes.”

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Sports Radio News

Jason Puckett Launches PuckSports.com

“I am super motivated right now and I can’t wait. I have probably been busier now than I’ve ever been in the last 48 hours.”

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Logo for PuckSports.com

Jason Puckett, who decided to walk away from a contract offer from iHeartMedia’s KJR in Seattle after finding out his partner Jim Moore had been laid off, has launched a new venture – PuckSports.com. ‘Puck’ has a baseball opening day show posted on the Puck Sports YouTube page and also posted an introductory message about his new venture and what led to creating it.

“I wanted to talk to you guys, the listeners out there, the viewers out there, sorry for all of this,” an emotional Puckett said. “Sorry for what has happened and what has taken place. Thank you for all of the comments and the well-wishes and what you have said about myself and Jim.

“It has been a whirlwind of a last few days, for sure and I do want to say that I feel for the people that we used to work with. “I know it’s not easy to go through that, I have been on that side of it many, many times in this industry when someone is let go and you have to sit there and answer all the questions about them and for them…It’s unfortunate and it shouldn’t be that way, but the reality of this business is it’s like that.”

Puckett then told his fans that PuckSports.com and YouTube are where you will be finding his content along with Moore. “I am going to take what I have learned over the years and apply it to a new age of media,” he said and noted this was a direction he had been thinking about for a while.

As for what took place that led to his decision to not sign his contract and talk away, he said, “I just want to take you briefly back to last week. I don’t want to get too much in the weeds, I’m not here to lay any blame or point any fingers at anybody…there’s too many good people that I have worked with that I don’t want to drag into this. It was a process that was at times handled fine, handled perfectly, and at other times it got to a point where it just went on too long. But that’s corporate media and that’s what happens.”

Continuing on Puckett said, “…I had been without a contract since about January…when I was away from the station that was something that we and the station agreed upon…to see if we could get something done and we were all hopeful that we would…I was only supposed to be gone a couple of days…unfortunately as these things sometimes happen, it just went a little bit longer…We received the deal and it was what we wanted, but unfortunately with that news a few hours later came the news from corporate that Jim had lost his job. Obviously there was a mix of emotions with that from me.

“I wrestled with that and the decision and what I would do. It was hard for me to move forward…I couldn’t fight the perception more than anything that I had received a new deal while at the same time, my partner and good friend, guy I love to death, who I grew up reading…it was a hard reality…The loyalty I have, I couldn’t live with myself even though Jim knew what the truth was.”

Puckett said he was aware Moore was planning to step away from the radio show at the end of the year and was looking forward to the nine months they would have left to work with one another. Then, when iHeartMedia made the decision to make Moore a casualty of their latest round of layoffs, Puckett knew he needed to revisit the idea of starting his own venture.

He said, “It has kind of changed my timeline as far as what I wanted to do and where I felt I was at…I am super motivated right now and I can’t wait. I have probably been busier now than I’ve ever been in the last 48 hours.”

Puckett said several of the show’s regular guests would stay with the show and he thanked several sponsors who he said would remain supporters of the show with the new venture. ‘Puck’ noted that starting next week, “…We get underway in full force…I’m going to continue to try and make people laugh and entertain you and talk about sports…and all of the other things you have become accustomed to with this show.”

As he started to wrap up, Puckett said, “I’m jumping into the deep end of the pool and I am going to see if I can swim or sink.”

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Sports Radio News

Kirk Minihane: WEEI is “Going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in Afternoons”

“It’s going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in the afternoons, which is going to be so awful.”

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Photos of Kirk Minihane and Rich Shertenlieb

As the speculation continues on where Boston sports talker Rich Shertenlieb will end up, one former WEEI host said he has the scoop on what is going to happen. Kirk Minihane, now with Barstool Sports, said, “What I heard was, initially, was they were moving Rich Keefe from nights to middays, moving Adam Jones from afternoons to middays and keeping Fauria there, and moving Andy Gresh to afternoons…But now it appears Rich Shertenlieb is going to do afternoons with Andy Gresh.”

On Wednesday, Boston Globe sports and sports media columnist Chad Finn put out a post on X, saying, “Didn’t think Rich Shertenlieb would end up at WEEI after leaving Sports Hub. I do now, most likely in afternoon drive. Audacy management has been telling people to expect changes.”

Minihane continued commenting on the matter, saying, “It’s going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in the afternoons, which is going to be so awful. Maybe the two most sensitive c***s in the history of radio. That’s a show we are going to ruin…we haven’t done that in a while, we are going to take that show down…Once that show starts, we are just going to blitz them with phone calls because Gresh can’t handle that.

“What they don’t understand, because they are so dumb, is that…Rich Shertenlieb has no fan base…no fan of [Toucher and Hardy] in the morning is going to be like ‘I’m not going to listen to Felger in the afternoons, I’ll now listen to Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb.’ It’s going to be dreadful.”

Recapping what he has heard the rest of the WEEI lineup will be, Minihane said, “…And then in middays you have Adam Jones, failed afternoons. Rich Keefe who has now failed middays, drivetime, nights and is now going to fail again in middays… and Christian Fauria who has never drawn a rating in his life.”

WEEI has not commented on any of the speculation. BSM will have more as the story unfolds.

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Sports Radio News

Former 670 The Score Host Tommy Williams Has Died

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Photo of Tommy Williams
Courtesy: Lakeshore Public Media

Tommy Williams, who was heard for a decade on 670 The Score, died on Wednesday at the age of 66.

Williams began his broadcasting career in his hometown of Gary, Indiana in 1982 at WLTH before moving on to The Score. In 2003, Williams became the PA Announcer for the Gary Southshore RailCats of the American Association where he had his signature call to get the attention of the fans, “People, People, People.”

A story in The Times of Northwest Indiana said, “The longtime RailCats public address announcer and Lakeshore Public Media sports journalist was known for broadcasting countless games, interviewing countless athletes and covering Region sports at all levels. The Gary native and co-host of “Prep Sports Report,” “Prep Football Report,” and “Lakeshore PBS Scoreboard” often signed off shows saying, “Gary, Indiana, you know I love you.”

“The cadence he had in his voice echoed across the Region in a way we may never see again. He was widely known and widely loved,” Tom Maloney, vice president of radio operations at Lakeshore Public Media told the paper.

“He’d want to be remembered as the voice of Lakeshore sports,” his Regionally Speaking co-host and producer Dee Dotson told The Times. “Most people will remember him for covering prep sports all the way up to semi-pros. He’ll be remembered for treating each of his subjects like they were world champions. His depth of knowledge of sports at all levels is commendable. He was a walking encyclopedia of stats.” 

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