The Howie Carr Show

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The Howie Carr Show

Genre Current affairs
Running time 4 hours
Country USA
Home station WRKO AM 680
Starring Howie Carr
Executive producers Nancy "Sandy" Shack
Air dates 1994 to present (on WRKO)
Opening theme "Who Do You Love?" by George Thorogood with an audio montage
Website
HowieCarr.com

The Howie Carr Show is an American radio talk-show presented by award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author Howie Carr. Its home station is Boston's WRKO AM 680, on which the show airs every weekday between 3 and 7pm, and is heard throughout northern and central New England and northeastern New York.

On July 9, 2007, it was announced that Carr was terminating his relationship with WRKO when his contract expired in September 2007 and would begin hosting his show weekdays 5:30 to 9 AM on competitor WTKK.[1][2] On September 19, 2007, the show went on hiatus, due to the expiration of Carr's contract with WRKO and a court ruling barring him from moving to WTKK.[3] However, on November 16, Carr returned to hosting on WRKO, under a contract expiring in 2012.

Contents

[edit] Background

Carr has had a radio talk-show for close to two decades, first at WHDH-AM 850, then (when WHDH became WEEI in 1994) at WRKO-AM 680 in Boston, Massachusetts. He took over the afternoon drive-time slot from Jerry Williams [1], on whose show Carr often made appearances, originally during a segment called "The Governors," with Jerry and Barbara Anderson. The show's first producer was Kevin Straley, known on-air as "Little Al". The name was derived from a ruse about the then-program director Al Mayers ("Big Al"). Straley is presently a Vice President at XM Radio; Mayers is the General Manager of Bloomberg Radio in New York City. The show's present producer is Nancy "Sandy" Shack, who was Dick Syatt’s producer during his dating show. Doug ("Virgin Boy" or "VB") Goudie was Carr's former producer, and left to be an on-air personality for the Fox 25 Morning News on WFXT. Goudie is Carr's primary substitute host. Other substitute hosts include Shack, Colonel David Hunt, and fellow WRKO hosts Todd Feinburg and Avi Nelson.

[edit] Syndication

In September 1996, the show experimented with local syndication, sending the show out via ISDN connections to a group of stations around New England. The local experiment was such a success that, in January 1998, ABC Radio Today started syndicating the show nationally. The show did not sustain a large nationwide following and syndication was handed over to SupeRadio. In 2005, WRKO corporate owner Entercom Communications took over syndication and the show was only offered to New England stations.

[edit] Show features

[edit] The "Chump Line"

Listeners can call Carr's "Chump Line" (+1 617-779-3469) and leave message "at any time of the day or night" which "may or may not be played" in the third hour of the show (starting at 5:07 pm) each day. Carr often remarks how others have copied his format, alluding to the The Whiner Line on WRKO's sister station, WEEI. The Chump Line is available as a download from WRKO's website. The last message is always followed by a "Thank you for calling Howie Carr -- you chump!" recorded sign-off.

[edit] J. Max Robins

J. Max Robins, of the website MediaZulu and vice president of the Paley Center for Media, guests every Monday after "Chump Line" to answer listeners' television questions.

[edit] Illegal-immigrant driver roll call

Carr has a frequent segment in which those traffic violators with Hispanic names are read from police blotters. The name of the offender is read in an exaggerated Spanish-accented English, along with the offender's traffic violation, typically including driving without a valid license, driving without proof of insurance, and/or driving without valid registration. After each name is read, the first few bars of "La Cucaracha" is played in a car-horn rendition. The segment is usually bookended around Carr's opinions on the dangers of illegal immigrants. The segment was introduced in August 2006, when the question of in-state drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants was a controversial issue among Massachusetts gubernatorial candidates.

[edit] "Wizard of Uhs" & "Mumbles" Menino

The show also features other contests in which prizes - usually of low expense - are given out. In the "Celebrity Death Pool," callers choose which celebrity they believe will die next. In the "Wizard of Uhs" segment, Carr plays a clip, usually thirty seconds or so in duration, of the senior Massachusetts Senator, Ted Kennedy. Listeners have to count the number of uhs that Kennedy says. "Wizard of Uhs" was originally crafted for Joe Kennedy's ramblings, but it has evolved to include Ted Kennedy. In all cases, final decisions as to the actual number of uhs heard in the segment are left to the judge, namely Carr.

Another special feature is "Mumbles" - named in honor of Thomas M. Menino, the current mayor of Boston - in which Carr tries to decipher what Menino is saying.

[edit] Who needs a caning?

A segment started after Michael P. Fay, an American, was caned in Singapore on May 5, 1994, for theft and vandalism, despite pleas from the United States government and press for clemency. Callers give the name of a person who should be caned. A sound effect of a cane hitting an object is then played. The segment has evolved to allow for "felony" and "misdemeanor" canings. A "WHACK" sound effect is played three times for felony canings and a "whip" once for misdemeanor canings. A "violation"-level caning features the sound of a cat meowing once, followed by a "swipe."

[edit] Voice changer

Callers wishing to relay unsavory or embarrassing details about themselves can request the "voice-changer". In this feature, named by Carr as "the Witness Protection Program of The Howie Carr Show", the host plays cheesy 1950s sci-fi sound effects (which actually do nothing to obscure the caller's voice) while they brag about things they got away with, or disparage popular Boston entities.

[edit] Nicknames

[edit] Given to Carr

  • "Baby-faced Assassin" - given to him in his younger years.
  • "Brittle Bastard" - attributed to his self-disclosed osteoporosis.
  • "Cap'n" - self-named after the time Carr once went out and interviewed "bums" to lampoon a Boston-area community's distribution of vouchers for the homeless. Carr would offer either money for alcohol or sizable vouchers for food to the homeless. The homeless men invariably chose the drink. To get the cash, Howie requested that they called him "Cap'n" before awarding the gift. It is used affectionately by the listeners and Carr.
  • "Fat Bastard" - used by listeners often in jest in reference to his waist size, though Carr uses the term to describe Ted Kennedy.
  • "Paper Boy" - given to him in honor of his job as a journalist.
  • "A Civil Howie" - in jest for his role in the film A Civil Action.

[edit] Given by Carr

[edit] Catch phrases

Carr has several catch phrases. These include:

  • "I didn't come here to be made sport of."
  • "I'm shocked." (said sarcastically when relaying a news story)
  • "How many more, Mr. Speaker? How many more?" (also said sarcastically when relaying a news story)
  • "[He/she] won't be down for breakfast." (Carr's compassionate way of mentioning a person's passing)
  • "No good deed goes unpunished."
  • "They're only killing people Americans can't be bothered killing." (in reference to illegal-alien drivers, a play on the belief that immigrants tend only to take jobs that Americans won't undertake)
  • "Try not to let this destroy your faith in the hip-hop community." (said when relaying a story in which a rapper is killed or involved in some illicit activities)

[edit] Affiliates

Carr's program is broadcast on nine stations:

Calls Freq. Branding Format Market/Market Rank Timeslot Group Owner
WRKO 680 kHz Image:Triangle-red.gifAM 680 WRKO News/Talk Boston, MA / 11 Live 3P-7P Entercom Communications
WHYN 560 kHz News/Talk 560 WHYN News/Talk Springfield, MA / 84 Live 3P-6P Clear Channel Communications
WVMT 620 kHz News/Talk 620 WVMT News/Talk Burlington-Plattsburgh, VT-NY / 138 Live 4P-7P Sison Broadcasting
WGAN 560 kHz News Radio 560 WGAN News/Talk Portland, ME / 167 Live 3P-6P Saga Communications
WUVR 1490 kHz Image:Triangle-red.gifWNTK Talk Radio News/Talk Lebanon-Rutland-White River Junction, NH-VT / 179 Live 3P-6P Koor Communications
WNTK-FM 99.7 MHz
WXTK 95.1 MHz News Radio 95 WXTK News/Talk Cape Cod, MA / 189 Live 3P-7P Qantam of Cape Cod, LLC
WKBK 1290 kHz 1290 WKBK News/Talk Keene, NH / 190 Live 3P-6P Saga Communications
WVOM 103.9 MHz 103.9 WVOM - The Voice of Maine News/Talk Bangor, ME / 220 Live 3P-7P Clear Channel Communications

Image:Triangle-red.gif— Show is streamed via the internet.

WCRN in Worcester, Massachusetts, previously carried Carr's show, but dropped it in response to Carr's ongoing legal battle with WRKO. The program was last broadcast on the station on September 14. Since Carr came back to WRKO in late 2007, WCRN has begun to air The Howie Carr Show in the 5-7 PM time slot. This allows listeners west of Boston to hear the show as WRKO's signal is reduced after sunset

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Carr Wars: Legal fight brews as Carr leaves WRKO in radio daze" - Boston Herald
  2. ^ "Talk show host prepares move to rival" - Boston.com
  3. ^ "Ruling leaves Howie Carr in limbo" - Boston Herald

[edit] External links