Name: Bob Goodrich
Age: 76
Occupation: owner, Goodrich Quality Theatres and WPRR Public Reality Radio
Last Seen: Grand Rapids, MI
Bee-otched For: firing the heart and soul of his radio station
----
Christmas is a time for being around loved ones, for being thankful for what you have and yes, celebrating the observed birthday of Jesus.
But for some, it's the season to get fired.
On Monday, I got a text from my good pal Darren Gibson, who had been the programming director of WPRR - Public Reality Radio, which is AM 1680 in Ada plus 95.3 FM here in Grand Rapids. He informed me that he was fired from the liberal talker and several other shows were canned as well, including his Wednesday morning show, Southpaws. According to Gibson, he claimed that owner Bob Goodrich told him that he didn't produce the numbers he wanted. Yet according to Gibson, he said otherwise and he had the numbers to prove it.
Gibson had a mental breakdown on Wednesday's Southpaws, claiming that he was afraid that it was going to be his final show and was upset that others were telling him what to do and say. Callers stormed the lines and asked him to stay. Gibson told me that his Southpaws co-host, Jack Prince told him about a closed door meeting at a recent Democratic Party convention that involved fellow WPRR host Tyrone Bynum, Grand Rapids attorney Traci Kornak, Michigan Democratic Party field manager Jeff Winston, Michigan Democratic Party chair Brandon Dillon and State Rep. David LaGrand might have played a role in Gibson's departure.
Gibson had been critical of the Democratic Party on his show, especially on their treatment of Bernie Sanders. Because of this, he announced his endorsement of Jill Stein of the Green Party. Of course, he pissed off a lot of Dems because of his statement, but he did have a point.
Now, Darren feels that he's been screwed over and personally, I have to wonder what the hell Goodrich is thinking. To me, Darren was the heart and soul of WPRR and helped make the station what it is now. To me, the station has one less listener, and eventually, the station will be an empty memory like what's left of The Quad Cinemas on 29th Street. I even remembered Darren mentioning that because of his show and others on WPRR, one listener donated $1,000. Another even mentioned that she only listens to WPRR instead of NPR since they're not as corporate.
As for Darren, I hope somebody will listen to some of his old shows and realize what they're missing. If given the chance, he can show that a program like his can educate and inform a lot of people. He's very talented, though he thinks he isn't.
I hope somebody in radio can prove him otherwise.
---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com!
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Age: 76
Occupation: owner, Goodrich Quality Theatres and WPRR Public Reality Radio
Last Seen: Grand Rapids, MI
Bee-otched For: firing the heart and soul of his radio station
----
Christmas is a time for being around loved ones, for being thankful for what you have and yes, celebrating the observed birthday of Jesus.
But for some, it's the season to get fired.
On Monday, I got a text from my good pal Darren Gibson, who had been the programming director of WPRR - Public Reality Radio, which is AM 1680 in Ada plus 95.3 FM here in Grand Rapids. He informed me that he was fired from the liberal talker and several other shows were canned as well, including his Wednesday morning show, Southpaws. According to Gibson, he claimed that owner Bob Goodrich told him that he didn't produce the numbers he wanted. Yet according to Gibson, he said otherwise and he had the numbers to prove it.
Gibson had a mental breakdown on Wednesday's Southpaws, claiming that he was afraid that it was going to be his final show and was upset that others were telling him what to do and say. Callers stormed the lines and asked him to stay. Gibson told me that his Southpaws co-host, Jack Prince told him about a closed door meeting at a recent Democratic Party convention that involved fellow WPRR host Tyrone Bynum, Grand Rapids attorney Traci Kornak, Michigan Democratic Party field manager Jeff Winston, Michigan Democratic Party chair Brandon Dillon and State Rep. David LaGrand might have played a role in Gibson's departure.
Gibson had been critical of the Democratic Party on his show, especially on their treatment of Bernie Sanders. Because of this, he announced his endorsement of Jill Stein of the Green Party. Of course, he pissed off a lot of Dems because of his statement, but he did have a point.
Now, Darren feels that he's been screwed over and personally, I have to wonder what the hell Goodrich is thinking. To me, Darren was the heart and soul of WPRR and helped make the station what it is now. To me, the station has one less listener, and eventually, the station will be an empty memory like what's left of The Quad Cinemas on 29th Street. I even remembered Darren mentioning that because of his show and others on WPRR, one listener donated $1,000. Another even mentioned that she only listens to WPRR instead of NPR since they're not as corporate.
As for Darren, I hope somebody will listen to some of his old shows and realize what they're missing. If given the chance, he can show that a program like his can educate and inform a lot of people. He's very talented, though he thinks he isn't.
I hope somebody in radio can prove him otherwise.
---
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com!
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!
No comments:
Post a Comment