Michael Brown, Clear Channel respond to David Sirota's KHOW ouster
Update: As we reported yesterday, David Sirota was suddenly disappeared from the KHOW afternoon-drive show he'd shared since June with Michael Brown; see our original coverage below.
David Sirota.
Since that post first appeared, we've received responses from Greg Foster, vice president of programming for the Denver branch of Clear Channel, KHOW's owner, as well as Brown -- not that they provide much more insight into the change.
Here's a statement from Foster, sent via e-mail:
"We wish David Sirota the best in his future endeavors and thank him for his service. We look forward to continuing our commitment to live, local talk programming on TalkRadio 630 KHOW. Michael Brown will continue to be heard weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. on TalkRadio 630 KHOW."Brown was copied on Foster's message and wrote in a subsequent note, "I would add that I'm looking forward to continuing live, local talk on KHOW. The show will continue to be a blend of politics, culture, current events."
Brown has yet to elaborate on his station blog: The item published yesterday involves his take on crime statistics shared on Glenn Beck's website.
Michael Brown.
In the absence of new information, the sort of speculation we predicted is beginning to bubble up. For instance, the Huffington Post is floating the possibility that Sirota was handed his head for ideological reasons. Here's an excerpt from the site's item:
In November of 2012, Clear Channel shut down KPOJ in Portland, a popular progressive talk radio station that also reportedly had solid ratings after broadcasting for more than eight years. Overnight the format turned into a Sports station.In the meantime, inside sources suggest that Sirota and Brown had been on the outs due to comments the former made about the latter's time as FEMA director and the Hurricane Katrina deaths that took place on his watch. The implication: This odd couple partnership proved too odd to work over the long term.In early 2012, Clear Channel went back and forth on the future of California Bay Area progressive talk radio station Green 960. It was first reported that the media behemoth was going to take Green 960 off of the regular airwaves and move it onto a different HD2 format. But after that plan was scuttled, Clear Channel kept Green 960 but renamed it KNEW 960 and added conservative firebrand Glenn Beck.
Clear Channel was purchased in 2008 by Bain Capital, the company founded by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Continue for our previous coverage.
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
