By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Bert Weiss, given the first opportunity to talk on air about his feelings regarding Jeff Dauler's sudden departure from his show to Star 94, more or less punted. His emotions were clearly raw and he said he didn't want to say anything he would regret in the future.
At about 7 a.m. this morning, he announced Dauler leaving the Bert Show without specifying where he went, just saying he had gone in a "different direction."
Weiss, who began working with Dauler in 2001 when Q100 and the Bert Show launched, admitted that he was "blindsided" by the news. (Indeed, he dismissed the idea of Dauler leaving to me in a text Monday when I posed the rumor to him.)
"I'm not ready to talk about it yet," Weiss said on air. "I kind of feel like, when you're emotional about something, that is probably the worst time to be 100 percent authentic. If I did that this morning, I think I would end up saying things I would regret long term."
He said he was still "sifting through the feelings. There are a lot levels to this whole thing... some professional, some personal. I know what you guys want to hear... 'Hey, he's moved on in his life to something he considers bigger and better and I'm happy for my friend and partner of 15 years.' I can't do that today based on a lot of things that have happened behind the scenes. I'm not going to even try. I'm not there yet. I don't want to knee jerk my way through an inauthentic response to it."
Bottom line: "I'm not ready to be transparent."
After gabbing a bit more, he said, "My default is to keep talking about it so I'm not going to."
I expect Weiss will soon be seeking a replacement but given how important Dauler was to the show, he does not have an easy task ahead.
The Bert Show, heard locally on Q100, is also available on 16 other stations nationwide.
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