Melissa Carter left the Bert Show more than three years go. Bert Weiss soon after found a replacement: Kristen Klingshirn, who has successfully melded into the show.
But after Jenn Hobby moved to country station Kicks 101.5 in late 2012, Weiss has taken a far more deliberate path finding a fourth member of the team. More than 20 months have passed since Hobby's departure and the Bert Show remains a trio, including the two original guys Weiss and Jeff Dauler going back to 2001, the dawn of Q100.
Weiss said he is still on the hunt but is in no rush to make a selection. The Bert Show has done just fine since Hobby left. Ratings remain solid in Atlanta, where the show is top 3 in all key demographics. And Weiss in recent years has been able to expand the show to more than 20 markets nationwide, including Indianapolis, Dallas and Nashville. (One notable failure was D.C.).
He wrote in a text that the talent pool is "shallow for what I'm looking for and won't fill it with 'just anyone.' "
Ironically, syndication is part of the reason why the talent pool is so shallow but that's the choice of the large radio companies. Many opt to use known syndicated talent in smaller markets rather than develop their own, which is far riskier and far more difficult.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Meanwhile, the Regular Guys have not added any major on-air talent since Eric Von Haessler was unceremoniously dismissed ten months ago.
Their website shows the trio - Larry Wachs, "Southside" Steve Rickman and Tim Andrews.
Sebastian Davis, known on the show as "Sebas," was promoted in April to executive producer, taking that job from Andrews, who remains as a Regular Guy. For many years, Sebas has provided the show with comic relief, taping many interviews of, say, drunks at bars or Dragon Con attendees.
Wachs, in a text, considers Sebas a Regular Guy in a sense, but he has not been officially given that designation.
Bottom line: management and Wachs, the effective leader of the team, have chosen not to fill Haessler's spot.
Haessler had worked with Wachs for two decades and for many years, the Regular Guys consisted of just Wachs and Von Haessler, a very successful partnership of yin and yang. (Rickman was their sidekick, latter joined by Andrews.)
Their peak years of popularity were on 96rock in the early 2000s. They were then fired in 2004 over a "backwards porn" bit meant to mock all the post Janet Jackson Super Bowl brouhaha that accidentally went over the air over a car ad that was explicit. They were ultimately given a second chance. When the duo was fired a second time in 2006 (details here), it appeared the Regular Guys were gone for good.
When Cumulus media created Rock 100.5 in 2008, management brought back the Regular Guys for a third shot and promoted Rickman to become an official Regular Guy, on par with Von Haessler and Wachs. In 2009, Andrews was promoted as well.
But during the last couple of years Von Haessler was there, he felt increasingly marginalized and in interviews since he was let go, he admitted he gave up battling Wachs' needs and desires.
The show certainly has a lot less tension now that Von Haessler is gone. Wachs sounds happier on air. And the show's content includes far less politics than it did when Von Haessler did his news jog.
Much to the relief of the Rock 100.5 brass and chagrin of Von Haessler fans, his departure has not caused viewers to flee the Regular Guys en masse. Among 25 to 54 year olds, the show is more or less flat since he left, averaging a 2.7 share, ranking about 16th among all morning shows. And among 18 to 34 year olds, it's a steady top 10 performer with ratings actually higher the past nine months (a 4.98 average share, excluding Christmas) vs. the final nine months with Van Haessler. (4.56).
Cynics might say Rock 100.5 is simply happy not to have to pay Von Haessler's salary anymore. And the ratings aren't forcing management to add new voices to the mix.
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