Is this a reward for sucking up to Deval Patrick during WRKO’s Tommy Tune Out show?
According to today’s Boston Herald, Massachusetts is spending $86,000 on ads touting the Bay State’s high tech sector, with the entire account going to Entercom’s stations:
Gov. Deval Patrick has taken to the airwaves to tout the commonwealth to major technology companies.
Recently, Patrick began spreading that message in three radio commercials with local tech executives as part of an $86,000 ad buy on Entercom Communication Corp.’s New England network of stations.
Recorded at the State House, Patrick is in the ads with iRobot Corp. Chairman Helen Greiner, Acumentrics Chief Executive Gary Simon and Wyeth Senior Vice President Michael Kamarck.
The first spot ran on March 17 and others were aired during the Boston Red Sox [team stats] opening game Monday.
The ads are part of a marketing push on behalf of the Massachusetts Department for Economic Development. “This is part of an overall marketing campaign designed to help the economic development of the entire state,” said spokeswoman Kofi Jones.
Of course, this sweet deal with Entercom has us wondering:
- Why was the entire contract awarded to Entercom, rather than split with CBS, Greater Media, Clear Channel and other area broadcasters?
- Why promote the Bay State’s high tech sector within Massachusetts? If the goal is to bring jobs here, these spots should run in Seattle, Silicon Valley, Austin and other tech-rich locales.
As a result, one truly must wonder if Empress Julie is being rewarded for watering down WRKO and in particular, installing one of Deval’s pals in the morning drive slot.
Otherwise, how does the Bay State benefit from this expenditure? Something smells rotten here and it’s more than just Tommy Tune Out’s cologne.
When you find a body (WRKO), you look for who had opportunity and motive. It appears the reasons for the changes are now getting clearer.
When the state solicits business, the law states that the job must be publicly advertised and put out for bids. Would this apply to a media buy also? One would think so.
In addition, the story does not state who actually produced the ads – was it Entercom? All of this should have been put out to bid – was it? And if so, what made Entercom the most qualified vendor for the job?
Surprisingly, the Herald article does not explore this. I will attempt to do a search of the state’s vendor web site to see if anything can be found.
If this was some sort of sinister quid pro quo, wouldn’t Greater Media, who give Patrick his own show, stand to benefit at least a little bit?
Government agencies make media buys all the time (the Lottery, for example) and they hire agencies (who fill out RFP’s) to create spots and place them on their behalf. Stations fill out a battery of forms to qualify as a vendor for the Commonwealth, but do not have to submit RFPs for individual buys.
I suppose this sounds like, “Move along, nothing to see here”, but this sort of thing is business as usual. $86K isn’t really that much money for a buy and if they are only going to buy a couple of stations it makes sense that their best deal may lie with giving one company the business.
I’m sure the “I know better than you” sarcasm is coming, so have at it…
My uncle Tommy is not a no-nothing, do-nothing, Julie Kahn rumpswab. He knows plenty, including how to avoid jail time.
So show him da proper respect in dis here blog, please.
My uncle Tommy is not a no-nothing, do-nothing, Julie Kahn rumpswab. He knows plenty, including how to avoid jail time.
So show him da proper respect in dis here blog, please.
“Why promote the Bay State’s high tech sector within Massachusetts? If the goal is to bring jobs here, these spots should run in Seattle, Silicon Valley, Austin and other tech-rich locales.”
-Perhaps the intent is to keep local money here rather than in other less expensive places to do business.
I think if you tell an untruth long enough and hard enough, you’ll convince yourself that it IS true. So it is here: Massachusetts is trying, through advertising, to convince itself that it is a mecca for high-tech. Those companies that are in Massachusetts are being pushed to a conclusion that it’s NOT a good place to be…smooth radio advertising or not. And forgive us if we’re not impressed by an endorsement by iRobot. They are a MIT-spinoff and as beholden to Massachusetts as you can get.
Looks like WRKO’s web stream has Fox Sports on again–and WRKO isn’t even carrying the Sox today (it’s on WEEI instead). I just emailed them
to complain.
Howie is being pre-empted by sports talk on WRKO streaming again today (4/5). This is obviously planned by these creep Julie Kahnt and Jason Wont. They’re trying to destroy RKO as a conservative talk station – this is obvious. I don’t mind if they get a liberal talker on there for balance, but stop screwing with Howie YOU BASTARDS!!!!
After being informed off air, apparently, about the WRKO webstream running the wrong thing, Howie said on air, “We got a new show, we got a new problem–Entercom happens!”
Oooh. Then there was a promo talking about how
WRKO was the official Red Sox station. Even
though the Sox game actually was on WEEI…
I’m listening to Howie on WNTK on streaming. I don’t understand how Julie Kahnt and her minions think this is going to work. Are they trying to capture that massive Air America audience???? Or is Deval Patrick going to keep funnelling money to them to keep more programs like Felon Finneran’s on the air?
“After being informed off air, apparently, about the WRKO webstream running the wrong thing, Howie said on air, “We got a new show, we got a new problem–Entercom happens!”
Surely this treatment must be in violation of whatever contract Howie has???? I hope he sues. As for me, I’m just listening on streaming now, RKO “management” never responds anymore. They’re obviously just the propaganda arm of the Mass Hackarama.