But this one isn’t what you think. This latest battle involves employees at the same radio station. ESPN Radio’s Michael Kay threatened to get a producer fired from another ESPN radio show after he took a verbal swipe at Kay’s recent ratings performance.
Kay’s show runs in afternoon drive on the station. The “DiPietro & Rothenberg” show airs during morning drive. According to Fox News, the producer for the morning show Ray Santiago said, “Is it the fear that this show is now on the rise, and that show’s kind of gone in the other direction lately?”
Kay heard it and didn’t appreciate the comments: “Ray Santiago made a comment about ratings? Do you realize, Ray, that all I’d have to do is make one phone call and you’d be on the unemployment line? You have the nerve to say something like that about this show? One phone call, which I’m considering making, and you will be fired. Do you realize that?”
Kay has been around the New York sports broadcasting world a long time and battled WFAN’s Mike Francesa for years. It’s been reported that he’s considering retiring from radio. He’s also a broadcaster for the New York Yankees.
Well, this has done something good for the medium, it’s gotten people talking about it. Whether it’s real or not, this quibble has gotten some notice. I remember when KVIL-FM in Dallas’ morning guy got into a “spat” with their PM driver. It culminated in a “race around the world” where Ron Chapman took off headed east, while the PM driver headed west to see who could get back to Dallas first. It put KVIL on the map where it stayed for decades. This little issue will probably be cleared up- but it’s not always bad when people are talking about radio-and no one’s getting hurt. (Hope that “not hurt” thing stays.)