RADIO WARS: Things Got Weird Today

Twitter lit up a bit this afternoon because things got weird on WIP when a caller forced Josh Innes to again bring up the fact that he and Anthony Gargano didn’t like each other (confirmed– Gargano hated him). But Josh reiterated that he didn’t push Cuz out and shouldn’t be faulted for gunning for his Afternoon spot. It’s all the more awkward because Innes was co-hosting with Rob Ellis, Anthony’s partner and the guy whom Innes pretty much campaigned against with this Tweet:

Ellis can’t possibly be happy about joining Innes on the air, where the pair has all the chemistry of Harry Kalas and Chris Wheeler sitting together at a wedding. This combo isn’t going to work.

At one point during the show, a caller expressed his desire for Innes and Bruno to be a longterm partnership, to which Ellis responded, “Thanks!” Before that, someone called in imitating Gargano (not well). Another caller requested to speak to Rob only and asked if Anthony would be coming back.

But all of that was nothing compared to Innes’ closing monologue, punctuated with assorted “yep”s and “true”s from Ellis, acknowledging the awkwardness:

“That wasn’t too much of a train wreck today. Aside from that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln? And we can acknowledge this, because listen, we talked about it earlier. Obviously things were awkward today. Whatever. I mean, you got to be honest with people. And there’s no ill will towards you. I don’t know if you have any ill will towards me– I don’t think so. You would have a right to, I’m kind of an A-hole, and I understand that. Today started out normal, but then the guy sets me off and it sets off this barrage of people calling me telling me I’m a scumbag or this would be a better show […]. When somebody leaves, it’s awkward. When Glen left, I imagine it was pretty awkward for you (Rob: “Absolutely”). What people need to understand is, I have no idea and you have no idea what the hell’s gonna happen, and that’s the god’s honest truth. I don’t know what’s going to happen with this show, this daypart. Whatever. I don’t know what’s gonna happen (Rob: “Nor do I”). So when people call [and say they miss the Cuz], I respect that. You like the guy, or whatever. Listen, like I’m not trying to be your dad, but maybe in time you learn to respect me as a father figure, as I’ve been told by a stepdad before. It’s like being a stepdad, you know?”

Here’s some audio of the aforementioned exchanges:

http://vimeo.com/116299266

Ellis is getting caught in the crossfire here through no fault of his own– he’s a good dude who knows his stuff, and this whole thing would be settled if they just put him on Middays in place of either Michael Barkann or Ike Reese. Quite frankly, it’s amazing to me that Glen Macnow, Anthony Gargano, and now seemingly Rob Ellis, are getting the shaft while Mike and Ike are still, like, a thing. LUDA!