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Television
John Kiesewetter on the world of local and national TV


Senior Entertainment Reporter John Kiesewetter has been covering TV and media issues for 20 years. After joining the Cincinnati Enquirer in 1975 as a summer intern, he worked as a county government and suburban reporter; assistant city editor and suburban editor; and features editor supervising the Life section. He has a B.S. in journalism from Ohio University.

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Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Andy Furman Fired

If you didn't see the short story we just posted on the web, here's the news: WLW-AM fired "SportsTalk" host Andy Furman today. I know some of you count on it this blog for the latest info, and that's it. I'll be busy reporting/writing my story for Thursday publication, and won't post any more details here. We'll update Cincinnati.com later this afternoon.
You can comment/react here.


60 Comments:

at 11/01/2006 3:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

good wlw needed to fire furman. I have a question. Why are the ads for news5 featuring furball still running.

 
at 11/01/2006 3:15 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am a big fan of Andy Furman, but he went too far.

 
at 11/01/2006 3:54 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Willy can say anything he wants and keep his job...Andy was fired by Mike Brown and the Bengals. They keep felons on the payroll and slit Andy's throat in the middle of the night....It's about the money...

 
at 11/01/2006 4:03 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

How I miss the days of Trumpy followed by Collinsworth. The shotgun would make for a great replacement.Furman's act was getting really old and tired. PS: It's always about the money.

 
at 11/01/2006 4:34 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm glad he's gone...his act was so so tired.
But now the CC Peter Principle kicks in...loyal mushmouths like Bill Dennison, Jeff Picoro and Greg Waddell might get more airtime, so the station remains just as unlistenable as it did before.
I think Lance is the right move, but I'd miss that afternoon quality sports talk show.

 
at 11/01/2006 4:45 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

he called him a "racist"? What? He got fired for that? And Cunningham gets away with the crap that he spews? This smells like the Bengals had something to do with this deal.

 
at 11/01/2006 5:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe they can replace him with Rich Apuzzo! He needs a job!!

Ken Blackwell will need a job in a week. How about Ken?

I say bring back Bubba Bo to Sportstalk!

What about Wildman Walker? Oh wait, he drinks after 6p.

Pete Rose? Yeah, I'll bet they hire him!

Johnny Bench perhaps?

Lets see..700 should hire someone with class..Hmmmm...geeez, can't think of anyone!

 
at 11/01/2006 5:02 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

This one time at band camp, a bunch of us got lost in the woods..and we ran into this big bear...then we all headed home and hid underneath the covers until it was all over.

 
at 11/01/2006 5:07 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Goodbye Andy!

Can we bring back Art Schlister?

Mike Wolf?

How about Don Burrows?

Fred Wymore?

Dan Brady?

Paul Sommerkamp?

Paul Schuering?

The Night Owl?

Mark Sebastian?

 
at 11/01/2006 5:15 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

To paraphrase Marge......

Andy was good in the begining, but he just went to far.

Good riddance

 
at 11/01/2006 6:46 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

MARK SEBASTIAN!!!

Holy crap. Next thing you know, we'll be back to the good ol' WEBN vs. Q102 days. Compelte with froggies in blenders. I actually loved that crap. But of course, remember: Sebastian would want to see you totally and completely...NAKED!!!

 
at 11/01/2006 9:42 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why, exactly, was it that Furman was fired? It doesn't make sense that the comments about TJ are the only reason, unless it was determined he made it up for radio sake.

 
at 11/01/2006 9:43 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why, exactly, was it that Furman was fired? It doesn't make sense that the comments about TJ are the only reason, unless it was determined he made it up for radio sake.

 
at 11/01/2006 10:47 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good...maybe someone in Texas will fire Willie and Parks. They are just as bad if not worse. I love how they can talk about everything on WLW but the man they fired.

 
at 11/01/2006 11:06 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

They will love all of this all the way down the sinking ship.

 
at 11/01/2006 11:08 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

maybe the furball will go to fox19 to fill the sports anchor/reporter spot NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO please NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 
at 11/02/2006 12:32 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's all about money. That's the only thing the Clear Channel cares about. Here's my take on things: Andy makes TJ & the Bengals mad. TJ complains to Clear Channel. Clear Channel say's we need to act quickly so this doesn't screw up our multi-billion dollar deal. So they take a stand and fire him. Andy's a good guy that made a mistake. He went to far in an effort to entertain his listeners, just like he always does. This would have been just another vacation/suspension like before if it wasn't going to hurt Clear Channel in the pocket book. In the end a decent guy looses his job and the Clear Channel owners stand to get richer when they are sold. It's sad. Andy if you happen to read this good luck to you and your family. I'm sure you will land on your feet and hopefully you can entertain listeners again. I wonder what Helen Mays would think about all this?

 
at 11/02/2006 7:31 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agree with those above who find the comman thread "all about the money."

Mike Brown quietly has his fingerprints all over this one, for the TJ episode and incidents dating back to the 90's when Brown pulled the Bengals broadcasts from WLW and put them on WUBE for a couple of seasons.(Remember Pete Arbogast). Brown can always hold that gun to CC's head when he doesn't like what he hears on WLW or Homer.

Furman was hosed, because he was only doing as he was told. Daryl Parks told him to go "lay it on TJ". Don't be surprised if Parks isn't the next one out.

McAlister is the only logical choice. SEG needs to get rid of his stuttering problem. Piecoro needs to learn the english language.

Hey Jeff, the local football team is the BENGALS,not BINGals. You also use the work INTERSTRING quite often. Do you mean interesting? And, during an interview Wednesday you used the word "obviously" 36 times in 11 minutes. You "obviously" were not prepared and were grasping for words.

 
at 11/02/2006 7:45 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

The money comments make sense, but why fire furball if he was doing what he was told?

 
at 11/02/2006 8:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

What to hear some real stuttering out of SEG tonight.

Somebody call and ask him if he can tell you where Sam Wyche played college football.

The answer, of course, is FURMAN.
Is he allowed to use that word?

 
at 11/02/2006 9:07 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Furman makes a lot of money for a local talking head -- who wants to bet Clearchannel isn't shedding any tears over losing that number off the balance sheet, especially given they're trying to make their radio properties more appealing for a potential buyer.

And agreed with those who say Brown had a lot to do with this. Brown hates Furman and I'm sure his lawyers made sure WLW knew that.

 
at 11/02/2006 10:10 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

My guess:

Furman gets fired.

Mays family sells Cincy cluster of Radio and TV to Radioactive

Furman gets rehired.

Parks goes to Cleveland.

 
at 11/02/2006 11:12 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here's a fun concept...Furman starts a local sports talk show in the evenings on the new 96.5 Supertalker.
Since his attorney is already mouthpiecing for him, my guess is she'll get any non-compete clause waived in short order to prevent a long drawn-out legal scenario.

Seriously, we're going to need a flow chart to figure out what station is where on the dial, what's the format, and who's on the air.

 
at 11/02/2006 11:26 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

So what will happen to Randy Furman now?

 
at 11/02/2006 11:57 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rich Apuzzo was on Dayton 45 last night (Nov 1)

 
at 11/02/2006 12:33 PM Blogger John Kiesewetter said...

Yes, I heard he was on in Dayton. He'll be on again Saturday night. Just doing some fill-in work. Nothing permanent. Thanks.

 
at 11/02/2006 12:50 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey John....

Can you ask TimeWarner why the analog channels are still horribly digitized, sometimes to the point of not being able to watch a program because of the constant distractions?

I wish we were paying for their experimentations. I was happy with their channels 99 and lower before they decided to make them "digital" and time delayed.

Too bad customers can't ask for rebates because of poor product service.

 
at 11/02/2006 2:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can we get Alan Browning to replace Furman?

 
at 11/02/2006 3:04 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

LOLOLOL or the ol' Zip-ster

 
at 11/02/2006 9:55 PM Blogger Unknown said...

I agree with the person who suggested putting Furman on that new 96.5 station. I tried to listen to it for awhile today. What a waste. Buncha syndicated talk crap that was rejected by all the CC talkers in town. It's as useful as a fork in a soup kitchen.

Give Furman the two to four slot now being occupied by some third-rate sports talk network, and THEN the station will generate immediate buzz and interest. Right now? They got nuttin.

 
at 11/02/2006 11:49 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Seg is so bad on Sports Talk he is almost good. Ranks very high on the unintentional comedy scale. He knows very little about sports for a guy who has been around as long as he has. About the only reason to listen is to laugh at him.

 
at 11/03/2006 6:45 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Seg may have to take a few days off to defend his title as the WORLD STAMMERING/STUTTERING CHAMPION.

I spent 30 years in broadcasting back in the days when you had to be able to speak clearly and make sentences.

If you listen to SEG or Piecoro or any of the other minimum wage hosts at Clear Channel, you will realize diction and grammer are no longer a job requirement.

 
at 11/03/2006 9:37 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

John,

Any thoughts on Jim O'Brien replacing Rich Appuzo as Fox 19 Chief Meteorologist?

 
at 11/03/2006 9:39 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

6:45 anon wrote: ...you will realize diction and GRAMMER are no longer a job requirement.


I now realize spelling is not a requirement for posting on a blog.

 
at 11/03/2006 11:21 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

we wont see apuzzo on in cinci til at least april due to a non compete clause per johns article in todays paper

 
at 11/03/2006 12:12 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

No station in Cincinnati would be dumb enough to hire Apuzzo.

He's a liability risk no station would be willing to take on.

 
at 11/03/2006 6:50 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey why is everybody quiet during sweeps. yesterday the first day of sweeps heres the results
morning
local 12
news5today close 2nd
gmt
fox 19
NOON
local12
9news
news5
5-630
News 5 won the 5pm hour by 3 percentage points
then 9news
local 12
10PM
fox19
my local 12
11PM
local 12
news5
9news

 
at 11/03/2006 10:54 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

That would be a great thing. Does Trump still live in Glendale? How's his relationship with CC? I haven't listened to a Bengals pregame, is he still involved? What ever happened with the weekly Boomer and Trump show?

 
at 11/04/2006 10:04 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just a quick comment and a big serving of crow for Bill Cunningham ,who spent his show yesterday afternoon bashing the Monroe Hornets(I guess he'a an alum of Deer Park.) And Monroe really kicked butt!
So there Willie!

 
at 11/04/2006 6:27 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

You're all wrong!!! Furman got fired because of his salary. The Bengals tirade was just a convenient way to get him out. Clear Channel is selling, so they're cutting costs. John Phillips is next!

 
at 11/05/2006 11:29 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey, what if 96.5 got serious and built a news and traffic team? How would WLW handle it?

 
at 11/05/2006 11:46 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey John, Why doesn't the CW show up anywhere in the Sunday TV guide?

 
at 11/05/2006 12:12 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Trumpy isn't around anymore because Lance McAlister got him fired. Him and Lance used to do a Bengals show on Friday afternoons, and Trumpy said something on air that Lance wanted kept private, so Lance went to Parks and said its either him or me.

 
at 11/05/2006 9:22 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Quite frankly, Lance is a pretty slimy guy.

Not to be trusted.

 
at 11/06/2006 12:13 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

What did Trumpy say that McAlister wanted kept "private"? Dish...

 
at 11/06/2006 6:41 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Never turn you back when Lance is around, lest you find a knife in it.

Hey, that new FM talker sounds great on the weekend with Sporting News programming. It's a million times better than what Homer and WLW offers. FRESH and TOPICAL. Or as Jeff Piecoro might say INTERSTRING.

The management there should re-think its programming. Hire a bunch of local guys for talk shows and news/sports update and go after the stale and worn-out offerings from Clear Channel.

 
at 11/06/2006 9:43 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

And a new possiblity presents itself...Tim "the Big Dog" Lewis is back in town and looking for an on-air gig. Seems like there are soom available...

 
at 11/06/2006 6:20 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

why isnt the csi ohio story on local 12.

 
at 11/06/2006 6:21 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey heres an update on sweeps results
news 5 is the leader for morning
and at 5pm by a whopping 4 percentage points.
At 11pm 5 is only trailing 12 by 1.5 percentage points.

Folks your looking at the fastest growing newsteam in the tristate

 
at 11/06/2006 9:57 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

growing as in inward or outward???

Based on the looks of one anchorperson, it's definitely on the outward!

 
at 11/06/2006 10:44 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for a good laugh!!!

I don't know what ratings YOU'RE looking at, but the only ones that count...wait, there's only one, the Nielsens...show WLWT/Ch. 5 WAY "down the list".

In first place??? Not a chance. Not even in third place (late news)!

Please pass the bottle.

By the way, please log off this little-read blog and get back to work. You've gotta LOT of work to do there at Ch. 5...if you could even hope for SECOND!

 
at 11/07/2006 7:02 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Channel 9 reports that Tom Gamble will be replacing Furman.

As for that alledged #1 news at Channel 5, they got hammered again last night on the high speed chase story. 5's chopper showed the stolen SUV on a tow truck from the air. Meanwhile, 9 was there on the ground and actually talked to the bloody-faced kid who did it, before the cops hauled him away.

 
at 11/07/2006 9:14 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Breaking up the Angry Guys is another Clear Channel mistake, but at this point "corporate" doesn't care.

They think they own the market, so why pay two guys to do the job one guy could do, even though the pay low.

Note: The next big salaries on the chopping block, Parks and Phillips.

 
at 11/07/2006 12:58 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keep John Phillips. Otherwise, 96.5 might hire him away to do airborne traffic reports. (remember those???)

Plus, he's one of the best music directors around....just in case a certain CC station goes to AC/hot wax.

 
at 11/08/2006 10:17 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

To Anon 9:57...the anchors people at 5 were wearing black, which is slimming, so you couldn't really tell any outward growth... but i do agree with you! bummer huh?

 
at 11/15/2006 10:24 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I loved Andy and feel as though I have lost a friend. I won't listen to Sports Talk anymore. Just another example of the RACE CARD BEING PLAYED IN CINCINNATI!

TJ GOT WHAT WAS COMING TO HIM ON SUNDAY!

The Furball lives on!

 
at 11/16/2006 9:06 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can't believe that after all these years, all the antics and potentially offensive remarks made on the air by several WLW talking heads that now is when Andy is fired! He's always stirring the pot...that's what makes him entertaining! Plus, he knows his sports. I'm a female listener who had listened to him for more years than I want to admit, and I will miss him dearly. Andy, please grab another gig quick...the Furman withdrawal symptoms are horrible!!

 
at 11/21/2006 8:54 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I, for one will miss Andy
and wish him well in future
endeavors. Hey Andy, come to the Columbus area. There is a guy up here called "Munch" that could be
replaced with you..

Central Ohio Listener

 
at 12/23/2006 11:32 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Andy Furman thought a player kneeling to pray or crossing himself after a touchdown was the same as poor sportsmanship and should be banned from Pro Football. I decided to no longer listen to his show. I believe this is the only way to show WLW what we want. Goodbye Andy. Hello Me

 
at 1/18/2007 6:08 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

i am also a female listener/baseballnut from cincy-dayton area now in lexington. our whole family loves andy, and listen to the games on the radio as god intended it. can i say that??? but i can't pick up the station here---love SEG but no sportscaster. we miss you andy.

 
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