Severino Press Release Omits Controversies

CBS DOESN'T CARE

Hopes To Fool Listeners With "Jay Severin" Show






While radio talk show hosts facing arrest and criminal charges may be infrequent, ethics flaps continue to plague the medium like a nasty bird flu epidemic.

For full disclosure of my own potential conflict of interest in further discussing this story, please see the comments section below.

With newly syndicated "libertarian/libertine" (read: anti-Bush quasi-liberal) host Jay Severin (real name: Jimmy Severino) still leading the pack, many controversies emanate from just a small number of questionable personalities.


Even after exposes by the Boston-area news media on Sag Harbor, New York-based Severin's wild claims of winning a Pulitzer Prize for "online journalism" and other highly questionable assertions, CBS still went ahead with plans to take him national.

What does that say about how very little has changed at the network since Rathergate?

Teaming up with sister firm Westwood One, a highly misleading press release has been issued, leaving out Severin's credibility-destroying claims:

Westwood One (NYSE: WON) announced today an agreement with CBS Radio to become the exclusive national advertising representative of the new three-hour talk program, the new Jay Severin national radio show. In addition, Westwood One will also exclusively distribute the program to all non-CBS Radio stations nationwide.

Hosted by self-proclaimed Radical Independent Jay Severin, the new show will air weekdays 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM ET, debuting on Tuesday, January 3, 2006. Stations debuting the program upon its launch include: WTKK-FM Boston and CBS Radio's KRLD-AM Dallas; WPHT-AM Philadelphia; WJFK-FM Washington DC; and KMOX-AM St. Louis.

Jay Severin's show is a fast, irreverent, insightful three-hour talk program, which focuses on the issues of the moment; what happened today, what it really means, and what will happen tomorrow. The program will also feature call-ins from listeners nationwide.

"Radio is the premier town meeting of America," said Jay Severin. "More than caring about what you think, I care that you think. One thing I guarantee: we will both learn and laugh. I cannot imagine a more exciting opportunity than performing for the extraordinary Westwood One community."

"Jay is an original who informs and entertains like no other," said Bart Tessler SVP-News and Talk, Westwood One. "We're thrilled to be able to bring his winning program to affiliates across the country and to national advertisers."

"Jay is an incredible talent, with a proven track record," said Peter Kosann, Westwood One Co-COO. "With these core major market stations, Jay will quickly establish himself as a major force in the national talk arena."

For the past six years, Jay Severin served as host of a top-rated talk radio program on WTKK-FM Boston. Since 1978, Jay Severin has been engaged in the business of politics and media: serving as media & political advisor to Republican incumbents and candidates in circa 30 major campaigns nationwide for Governor, U.S. House, U. S. Senate, and President. Severin has served as political analyst for MSNBC, and as a featured columnist for MSNBC.com.

In 2004, Severin was nominated for the radio industry's highest honor, the Marconi Award. His other extensive media experience includes the BBC, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, PBS, CNBC, Fox News, and foreign television; his comments have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Newsweek, et. al.; he is the author of Op-Ed articles for the New York Times, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, et. al.; and a frequent guest on Westwood One's Imus in the Morning.

While we certainly didn't expect CBS/Westwood One to come clean about Severin's behavioral and ethical shortcomings, previously covered here, here and here, it also isn't clear why the network continued to show interest in one of radio's biggest ticking time bombs.

Worse, unverified claims made in this press release only further invite unwanted background scrutiny. Funny enough, Severin's now considered a "self-proclaimed radical independent" (read: closet liberal).

Raising a huge red flag should have been the backstage antics that got him canned from a commentator role at MSNBC:

But the suggestion that leaving the Situation was Severin's decision is a "complete absolute lie," an insider tells TVNewser.

In fact, he's been banned from the network: "You won't see him on MSNBC again," the source says. (And based on Severin's actions in Secaucus, "we were shocked to read in Page Six that he has a wife and daughter," the insider adds...)

Adding to the mystery is Westwood One's own inner turmoil, where head honcho Shane Coppola was recently shown the door. Somehow, in the midst of that leadership vacuum, Severin's syndication deal still managed to find itself approved.

That sure doesn't say much for CBS, obviously no more concerned with honesty now than pre-Rathergate.

Say what you want about the Boston Globe, I'm personally no fan, but they nailed Jimmy Severino on his blatant dishonesty. Now, Jimmy's deal harms talk radio's national image.

Will newspapers, based where new stations are signing up for his program, also report the truth?

UPDATE: Radio and Records reports today on Westwood One's financial uncertainty:

Analyst Cuts Westwood One Rating

Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes on Wednesday lowered his rating on Westwood One shares from "outperform" to "in-line," based on his belief that the company's stock won't demonstrate any major movement while the company's near-term challenges are addressed.

ALSO: there's a false, but lingering sentiment that Severin is at least nominally conservative on the air. My point is that he's increasingly trying to be all things to all people, which comes across as phony, hence his new "radical independent" label.

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