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Saturday, December 15, 2007

Exclusive: Adam Carolla fans in a panic

Is Adam Carolla finally leaving morning radio? For once, the monotonous morning radio offender is keeping his trap shut, and the void is being filled by anguished squeals of panic from fans on his message board. Carolla's unusual absence from broadcasts this week— and the unprecedented decision to allow second banana Danny Bonaduce run the show with Carolla’s weepy, depressed newsgirl-- have fueled speculation that the self-proclaimed "genius" is playing a game of chicken with his CBS Radio overlords— a game, sources say, he is about to lose.

Carolla, formerly Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick on the fake-macho Man Show and hero to the overweight, underlaid xenophobic woman-fearing fratboy crowd, was promoted heavily as a “genius” comedian when he was handed Howard Stern’s morning slot in LA and other west coast stations two years ago. But an amateurish, immature and grating presentation resulted in low ratings, and in January 2007, led CBS Radio bosses to yank creative control, fire his on-air staff, and install radio pro, former child star and tabloid figure Bonaduce as co-host.

Bonaduce’s presence, honesty and knack for generating publicity led to a ratings rise, while at the same time an on-air insult and cold shoulder campaign by Carolla and his female newsreader. We reported exclusively in October that Carolla was ready to walk away from the radio show to concentrate on more suitable pursuits and despite refutations from his fans, the story has apparently come to pass.

As speculation intensified this week and the insider site LA Radio.com reported on the possibility that Carolla is out, The Official Adam Carolla Show Message Board, run and censored by CBS Radio, is banning commenters who support Bonaduce or who link to news posts on sites like this one, while other commenters point to indications that Carolla himself is monitoring fan reaction and commenting under a pseudonym.

And today, with no official explanation from their leader, fans are in a real tizzy, as reflected in this post from Carolla fan “Jericho”:

OK people, enough talk. Time for action. It seems quite obvious to me that something is going down and Adam's fans need to show their support. Jack's bosses may or may not be checking out this message board, so we need to take the message straight to management. And don't think this effort would be in vain.

There was a similar situation with Loveline a few years back and it seems like us sploozers over at The Loveline Companion may have actually made a difference...

I'll summarize. Adam was in contract negotiations and many people from the Companion message board contacted the bigwigs at Westwood One and Adam got a raise and stayed with Loveline until he got the morning show. According to reliable sources, the support from the community had at least some influence on the contract extension.

So, I suggest the campaign begins. First, we start doing some research to find e-mail addresses and phone numbers of CBS radio management and post them here. Then everyone writes or phones with their respectful, intelligent support of Ace. If you slam anyone, give well thought out, coherent arguments about why you don't like them. Writing "Adam rulz!! Danny and Jack suck it!!!!" won't help. Put some thought into what you say/write…

Here's a list of e-mail addresses to start with. I think this may get you to some of the top dogs at CBS. Dan Mason is the President and CEO, apparently. E-mail him and cc the others. Hopefully some of you will add more people at CBS as well as sponsors…

(--NOTE: Email addresses omitted--)

Also, the physical address and phone number of corporate HQ:

CBS RADIO
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
212-***-****

Act quickly. Time is of the essence.


Replied a commenter called "mr421":

DONE and DONE. i already got an auto-reply from one of the dudes saying he was not available.

Ironically, our own petition in support of Bonaduce helped convince CBS Radio bosses to keep him from ankling to Chicago, and give him the substantial salary boost and contract extension that has apparently led Carolla to see the writing on the wall.

Stay tuned.

(Carolla's show goes on an ill-advised hiatus beginning Monday. Live broadcasts, with on air staff TBA, won't resume until January 2nd. The Carolla staff massacre took place during last year's hiatus).

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who would of thunk it. A gossip hack likes Bonaduce's morning zoo radio drivel.

Let me guess, your walls are also adorned with Godard prints.

Thanks for supporting the arts...lol

Anonymous said...

If Tabloid Baby is so far off base, then how do you explain why CBS execs are in favor of giving Bonaduce the Carolla slot?

Anonymous said...

Dave Dameshek would know how to spell his own name! Jerk!

Anonymous said...

I don't know who that jerk is, but I've got to agree with him!

Anonymous said...

If Adam is amateurish and Danny is a pro, then this is a sad reflection on what the radio audience is willing to call entertainment.

I wouldn't listen to a Danny show if you paid me. There's nothing worth hearing that I haven't already heard from the guy.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know there were people who support Bonaduce, even the only fan of the Douche , who called himself "dannyfan", turned out to be a fake poster.
I just can't see why anyone would enjoy listening to that... "on-air personality"

Anonymous said...

lol at this premise, bonaduce is what he is and i dont understand the venom directed his way, but that show without carrolla is UNLISTENABLE, goto the website and listen to monday - weds last week, and then danny trying to carry it on thursday friday, his act is tiresome and his voice grating, the constant I WAS IN REHAB NINE TIMES, OR COME HERE AND ILL hAVE SEX WITH YOU LADY, that carrolla has to moderate are enough of a distraction that is does derail the show a little, but overrall i think he is good for the program

on the other hand carrolla is smart, fast, and most importantly genuinely funny and insightful. what a joke this blog is.

Anonymous said...

I'm not really a player in any of this. I listen to Adam daily via PODCAST on the East Coast. I like Adam's sense of humor and I can tolerate Strasser's "about to have a nervous breakdown" style of delivery. I can only tolerate Danny if Adam is there to reign him i. Danny is an accident waiting to happen and for that reason alone, I would guess that he makes a lot of sense for the upscale morning drive time sensibilities of LA. Why don't we go back to Howard as the ultimate source on all this. He had Adam on any number of times and really seemed to value what Adam brought to the table. I don't remember Danny's parlor trick ever being on Howard.

Anonymous said...

I love Adam's show, his sense of humor, and his commentary. I don't feel the same about Danny. I am shocked that the general public (and the radio heads) think Danny is more entertaining than Adam.

Anonymous said...

I only started listening to Adam within the last year, flipping between him and Escalante when Danny would drone on. Fucking hysterical but in a subtle way. Guess they only want vagina talk and booger jokes. What's next, bringing back Jamie? I will have to get Sirius now. Or stalk Adam and sing Journey. Hmmm, anyone else game?

Anonymous said...

Here's the situation. Carolla is funny but he's cold and distant. People don't want to that when they're driving to work. Bonaduce, however, is warm, friendly, and funny. He draws the crowd. He is also liked by staff. Which one do you you prefer listening to in the morning? Either way, send your comments to CBS Radio at 1515 Broadway, New York, NY.

Anonymous said...

^ Looks like you were wrong across the board. Better luck next time, hack.