BobLassiterAirchecks.com

Hurricane Erin has touched down and is approaching Tampa, and everybody is battening down the hatches. Some people are talking about that, but there are also a lot of crank calls and fools. It prompts an impromptu monologue from Bob about how talk radio is losing its viability as a radio format. Sharon tells some animal stories, too.

DOWNLOAD - Hurricane Erin: Part 1, Part 2

• Station: WSUN 620AM
• Date: August 2, 1995
• Run Time: 58:48 (part 1); 58:57 (part 2)
• Format: mp3
• Size: 13.8MB (part 1); 13.8MB (part 2)

Courtesy of Jerry Nelson

Bob starts off the show as “Random Comments” (i.e., open phones), but it’s a lousy day and things just aren’t going the way he wants. He tries other topics, like listener monologues and “What political issue to you care about the least?” but it’s just not happening. Complete show.

DOWNLOAD - Random Comments

• Station: WFLA 970AM
• Date: April 12, 1988
• Run Time: 3:00:13
• Format: mp3
• Size: 41.2MB

Courtesy of Mike West & The Pharm

This show begins Bob’s long confrontation with the NFD. Just before he goes on, David Caton (head of the local chapter) calls and threatens WPLP if Bob doesn’t “clean up his act.” An angry Lassiter takes to the airwaves to talk about the NFD, their advocacy of censorship and their tactics, and asks his listeners not to take it lying down. Complete show.

DOWNLOAD - Bob vs. National Federation for Decency

• Station: WPLP 570AM
• Date: July 23, 1987
• Run Time: 2:30:05
• Format: mp3
• Size: 34.3MB

Courtesy of Mike West & The Pharm

Closing arguments are being held in the O.J. Simpson trial, and Bob, Sharon, and the callers are discussing the evidence (or lack thereof) and debating what the verdict will be.

DOWNLOAD - Talking O.J.

• Station: WSUN 620AM
• Date: September 27, 1995
• Run Time: 45:06
• Format: mp3
• Size: 10.3MB

Courtesy of Rich Marino

This show is in two parts. The first involves a lady from Arcadia who calls to complain that Bob’s not talking about serious topics. The scorching “Looters” monologue is Bob’s response.

The second part, from the same show, mentions the lady and the monologue briefly, but is more focused on Judge Ito’s turning off the courtroom camera in the OJ Trial.

DOWNLOAD - For the Lady From Arcadia: Part 1, Part 2

• Station: WSUN 620AM
• Date: September 26, 1995
• Run Time: 49:39 (part 1); 1:03:10 (part 2)
• Format: mp3
• Size: 14.2MB (part 1); 7.23MB (part 2)

Courtesy of Rich Marino

My all-time favorite Classic Call: Bernadine from Seminole. (From the Saturday with Jacob show.)

DOWNLOAD - Bernadine and the Lassiter Impersonators

• Station: WFLA 970AM
• Date: December 5, 1987
• Run Time: 3:27
• Format: mp3
• Size: 3.15MB

Courtesy of Nelson Norwood & Kerry Bennett

NOTE: This article isn’t about Bob Lassiter; it’s the news article about Cox Broadcasting that inspired his great “Radio for One” show on the same day that it was published.

WFNS-AM Drops Sports Format

by ERNEST HOOPER and ERIK ERLENDSSON

Officials at Cox Broadcasting, which recently purchased WFNS-AM 910, dismissed the station’s 15 employees Wednesday night and said they were changing the sports-talk format that has been a part of the Tampa Bay airwaves since 1990.

At 8 p.m. Wednesday, WFNS began broadcasting the greatest hits of the ’70s from a Cox sister station.

WSUN-AM 620, another sister station, continued to broadcast a New York Yankees game Wednesday, but it too will undergo changes.

WFNS and WSUN operated under a joint agreement for more than a year, simulcasting Tampa Bay Lightning broadcasts. On Nov. 28, WSUN became the market’s third sports-talk station and, along with WFNS, simulcast the popular Scot Brantley-Steve Duemig afternoon show.

Last month, Cox exercised an option in its agreement to buy WFNS from Brent Harmon, then informed staff members in a meeting Wednesday of the format change. WSUN will continue to broadcast Yankees and Lightning games this season, but its status as a sports-talk station is uncertain.

Among those looking for new jobs this morning are several on-air personalities, including Brantley, Duemig, Todd Wright, Paul Porter and Jim “J.L.” Lighthall.

Todd Leiser, general manager of Cox Broadcasting’s WSUN, WWRM-FM 94.9 and WCOF-FM 107.3, said the decision was not talent-based.

“I don’t expect the loyal sports fans to understand our decision, and I feel bad about that because they are very passionate about sports and the radio stations, and if I was a listener I would be disappointed,” Leiser said. “But there is a business to run, and this is why we made the decision.”

WSUN will continue to broadcast the Ron & Ron Show, but the station’s commitment to ESPN Radio and The Fabulous Sports Babe Show is undetermined.

Brantley was one of the first to work for WFNS, the first station in the state to have a pure sports-talk format. He was philosophical about the decision.

“All things happen for a reason, and when one door shuts another opens,” Brantley said. “We always talk about teams dealing with adversity and asking are they going to stick their heads in the sand or are they going to pull themselves up. That’s what I’m hoping to do, go forward and make something happen.”

Duemig, a former touring golf pro, described the decision as a dagger in his heart. “I played on the golf tour and I loved that,” he said, “but this was the one job I loved getting up to do every day.”

This actually is the second dismissal Wright has had to endure. Before starting his second stint at WFNS in 1994, he was let go by an Orlando radio station after an ownership change.

“I’m disappointed I’m not going to be able to do what I’m so passionate about tomorrow morning and afternoon, but I remain confident that this is not the end of my career,” Wright said. “I’ll just have to add another line to my resume.”

Depending on what happens with WSUN, WZTM-AM 820 may become the market’s only sports-talk radio station. WZTM general manager Drew Rashbaum said it would be premature to gauge the impact of Cox’s decision, or consider the possibility of hiring any former WFNS employees.

Lassiter Back on Airwaves

Bob Lassiter can talk again.

Muzzled by contract after breaking off from WSUN-AM 620 in December, the veteran Tampa Bay radio talk show host will re-emerge on WFLA-AM 970 on April 1.

“We called him up and said, `Hey, how would you like to go back on the radio in Tampa again?’ ” WFLA operations manager Gabe Hobbs said Tuesday. “He said, `I’d love to.’ ”

Lassiter, whose career took off at WFLA in the late 1980s, moved to Chicago’s WLS in June 1989 and returned to Tampa Bay with WSUN in January 1993. When the station switched from general talk to all sports in November, Lassiter was left with a contract but no job.

A standard non-compete clause in his contract doesn’t expire until March 31, Hobbs said, and Lassiter will go to work after that, hosting the 7 to 10 p.m. shift on WFLA. He had been WSUN’s afternoon host when he was let go.

“I think that my longer-form style is obviously better suited to the evenings,” Lassiter said Tuesday, “and WFLA has put together a (financial) package that makes it attractive for me. They want to rekindle local nighttime talk radio and are serious about it.” WFLA will tweak its nighttime schedule, delaying the Bruce Williams advice program from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Johnny Capuccino, who had been hosting 10 to 1, “will pursue other career opportunities,” Hobbs said.

Lassiter Show Is Canceled

Bob Lassiter was the most notable among casualties of a format change at talk radio WSUN-AM 620 Monday. Lassiter’s 2 to 6 p.m. talk show was canceled along with WSUN’s 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hooters On The Radio and the 6 to 8 p.m. Gary Spivey show, as WSUN adopts an all-sports format beginning today (see related story Section C). WSUN, long a giant in the country music area before the FM stations dominated, switched to all-talk in the summer of 1992 and hired Lassiter the following January. Lassiter worked mornings until the station hired Ron & Ron. Lassiter was shifted to afternoon drive time a year later. A host at WFLA-AM 970 in the 1980s, Lassiter will be invited by station operations manager Gabe Hobbs to do a farewell program on WFLA. “We are pleased to see this change,” Hobbs said. “We think it will be a good thing for us.” Lassiter could not be reached Monday for comment.

Now Hear This - Bob Lassiter’s Back Feb. 1

by ROGER FISCHER

Bob Lassiter, whose loud mouth helped pave the success of talk station WFLA (970-AM) in the late 1980s, will join rival talk station WSUN (620-AM) on Feb. 1. He’ll host the bay area’s only morning-drive local talk program, 6-10 a.m. weekdays. WSUN has carried an all-news block in the morning since changing its format from country music last summer.

Lassiter’s program will become WSUN’s first locally originated talk show; the rest of the station’s programs originate from WIOD in Miami. He left WFLA in 1989, and worked at WLS in Chicago from 1989 to September 1991.

“Since changing to news/talk last June, we’ve received a steady stream of calls from Bob’s Tampa Bay fans requesting his return,” WSUN general manager Todd Leiser said in a statement.

“Honestly, I have no reaction,” said Gabe Hobbs, WFLA operations manager. He then continued: “He certainly proved to be an embarrassment for us and was a failure in Chicago. It’s certainly a good, cheap way (for WSUN) to get publicity.”

WSUN is quitting the morning news block just as WHNZ (570-AM) is set to rev up a more localized all-news, all-day format. “(WHNZ) will be a powerhouse news facility,” WHNZ general manager Drew Rashbaum said, adding that the Paxson Broadcasting station is taking advantage of the growth of both WFLA and WSUN on what not long ago was a very sleepy AM radio dial in Tampa Bay.

The addition of Lassiter’s all-talk show will bring three distinctive informational choices for morning AM radio listeners. While WHNZ will emphasize all-news programing, WFLA’s highly successful Gardner and Co. remains a blend of news reports and longer behind-the-news interviews and features.

‘Mad Dog’ Lassiter Leaves WFLA

by ROGER FISCHER

Bob Lassiter, the “Mad Dog” talk show host for WFLA-AM, is leaving the station for Chicago’s WLS Radio.

Lassiter’s final day on the air was Wednesday, WFLA general manager David Macejko said before Lassiter took the chair on his 3-6 p.m. shift.

“It’s kind of with mixed emotions that we see Bob leave,” Macejko said. “I hate to see him go, but I’m happy for him.

“When we took over in May of 1988, Bob was the one whom we built the station around,” said Macejko, who became general manager of WFLA-WFLZ when Jacor Communications of Cincinnati purchased WFLA in the spring of 1988.

Lassiter was the highest-rated talk show host in the Tampa Bay market, and WFLA has steadily risen in the overall station ratings. WFLA was eighth place among all radio stations in the target 25-54 age group, the only AM station in the area’s top 10, according to Arbitron figures measured for the year’s first quarter.

Lassiter said he will be the 1-4 p.m. talk show host at WLS, beginning in September. He said he was given a two-year, no-cut contract for $2-million.

Macejko said WFLA will seek a replacement for Lassiter.

Radio Talk Show Host’s Ads Have Restaurant in a Stew

by Carrie Teegardin

Somehow, Ken Schuiling got into politics.

He thought he was just the owner of a local seafood restaurant. But since the Longshoreman started advertising on WPLP (570-AM) using a talk show host to endorse the restaurant, the establishment has become a battleground for liberals and conservatives.

Some patrons of the Longshoreman are now boycotting the restaurant because they are offended by the liberal views of Bob Lassiter, who is host of WPLP’s late afternoon talk show. Because Lassiter personally recommends the restaurant in the advertisements, some listeners have said they think Schuiling agrees with Lassiter’s political opinions.

“I advertised on the radio and for some reason people started thinking that those were my views,” Schuiling said. “It has no reflection on me. I never advertised before, and all of the sudden this turned into a nightmare.”

A church group and a veterans’ group had been Sunday regulars at the Longshoreman, but they called Schuiling on Monday to say they were fed up with the advertisements and that they wouldn’t be back.

Ever since Lassiter mentioned that boycott on his Tuesday show, the phone at the Longshoreman has been ringing off the hook, Schuiling said.

And the callers haven’t reached a consensus. Schuiling said about half the callers support Lassiter and the other half oppose him. And both factions have threatened to organize boycotts of the restaurant, depending on whether Schuiling continues to advertise on Lassiter’s show.

“I don’t know which direction to go in,” Schuiling said. “I hate to just take it (the advertisement) off because of some people saying that what he said is wrong. And on the other hand, I just don’t know what to do to get ahead.”

Lassiter had been endorsing the restaurant for less than a week when the boycott threats began. He said people who disagree with his views are trying to turn advertisers away, figuring that will hit him where it will hurt - his paycheck.

Lassiter said he gets one-fifth of the station’s advertising fee for personal endorsements, such as the one he had been doing for the Longshoreman, 2901 66th St. N in St. Petersburg.

“It’s obvious that there’s a cadre out there that’s highly organized that’s put a cap on my income,” Lassiter said. “That distresses me to no end, and disgusts me with the market.”

Timothy Williams, WPLP’s general manager, said Lassiter often sparks controversy. “I think there are people out there who don’t like Bob’s show and they resent his being on the air,” Williams said. “For a long time this radio station was known for having strictly conservative people on and in the last few years we’ve tried to give a lot more balance. Some of the core audience resents that.”

Williams said that “without a doubt” conservative listeners are behind the plot to hurt Lassiter and the Longshoreman. “He’s definitely a liberal.”

“I’m my own man,” Lassiter said. “Basically I don’t take any c— from anybody.”

Lassiter said he may offend religious listeners because he is an agnostic and discusses religion frequently on his show.

“The people who disagree with him often disagree vehemently,” Williams said. “I hate to see people get that upset with any portion of our programing, but I think it’s important that our radio station present a balance.”

Schuiling stopped the endorsement spot soon after the boycott threats started coming in, and he’s undecided about how he’ll advertise on WPLP next. He said he was just trying to reach the public the best way he could when he started advertising last week. “I’ve found out they do get a lot of coverage.”