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Josh Innes and Operations Manager Andy Bloom spent 17 minutes starting at 3 p.m. today explaining that Tony Bruno had not only left the show, but also retired from radio, a revelation that was given, apparently, with Bruno’s blessing.

[Some quotes after the jump.]

Innes, given the situation, handled it quite well. He explained that he enjoyed working with Bruno, that he thought Bruno enjoyed working with him, and framed Bruno’s decision in a way that made it seem like it had nothing to do with anyone at WIP. Though he did acknowledge that he and Bruno may not have always seen eye-to-eye.

Bloom came on the air and read portions of an email Bruno sent him in which Bruno explained that he wanted to pursue other opportunities and wished the show well. Bloom also claimed our reports about discord and unhappiness were untrue (which is apparently Bloom’s go to move when everything written on this site comes to fruition). As usual, I stand by every word. Bloom’s a snake.

So, was the announcement truthful? Yes and no. Bruno was not fired. Despite how this might seem, this was Bruno’s decision. I can confirm that. It wasn’t some long, drawn out plan either. It was unexpected. But Innes and Bloom did their very best to soften the blow and smooth out the obvious awkwardness of a host leaving after only six months with a show that is number one in the ratings. Quite frankly, they did a nice job of that.

The reality, however, is that while there are were no known blowups between Bruno or Innes, or one specific incident that led to this, the decision to “retire” wasn’t without its reasons– which you could interpret as Bruno having to play second fiddle to Innes and his frequent on-air antics. Several sources close to the situation have indicated that’s the case. Because if this was as amicable as it seemed, you don’t get a retirement without the retiring party being present. As is often the case, there’s more to the story than how it was messaged. But admittedly, it was handled well by both sides, today.

We will have more later. TONES:

Quotes from Innes:

  • “This is not a radio stunt … a stunt like this wouldn’t have sales people pacing in the hallways.”
  • “Tony Bruno is Philadelphia, and he is beloved by people, and he was given a really, really raw deal over at 97.5.”
  • Paired a “young, dumb guy” and a “veteran who wanted to take down the evil empire that treated him so poorly.”
  • “Tony’s got one style, I’ve got another style.”
  • “There were never fights … I’d argue that we’re both passive-agressive types … we didn’t talk a ton … but the reality is the show built a really strong following and it was a really, really good show. … Never once did we fight.”
  • “Thursday we do a show … over the weekend, there were retweets of things of people saying negative things about me. Because I’m a hothead, I get angry about that, I respond to it … what do they call that, subtweeting way? … Maybe it upset them, I’m sure it did … But everything works out over the weekend [and] I assume we’re coming to work on Monday.”
  • “On Monday … Tony responds [via email] ‘Don’t know if Andy told you, but I’m not in today.”
  • “Would I lie to you and say that I think Tony was 100% in love with me as a human being? No … I think Tony liked doing the show with me, and I think that we have a really good rapport.”
  • “Come to work today, and I was told today that Tony is not only leaving the show but Tony is retiring from radio, and that’s his call.”
  • “It’s not a personal thing, and I don’t talk to him enough to know his overall personal feelings about me, but I think we liked each other.”
  • Tony, via email: “I’m not angry in any way, shape, or form. In fact, I feel at peace knowing what I’m doing is right. I totally understand that my radio career in Philadelphia is over … I don’t feel like I’m throwing anything away … Modern day corporate-run radio has zapped the fun out of even being number one.”
  • The future of the afternoon show: “I will still be here.”

Quotes from Bloom:

  • Tony is in “good spirits.”
  • “He said he feels like a kid after finals … he’s kinda free.”
  • “He said that after 45 years maybe it’s just time to move on and do something other than radio.”
  • “He said the effort to do a daily show just isn’t worth it anymore.”
  • “Said Josh will continue to beat Missanelli and that’s best part of all of this.”
  • “He said nothing to do with Josh, or me [Bloom], or anyone else at the station.”
  • “He said the talk about how he couldn’t stand you [Innes] is B.S., and the stuff about the guy who called and was high or messed up or whatever the other week, this had nothing to do with.”