Friday, December 08, 2006

Peter Brown Checks In

Back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the e....no, wait...when new Cleveland sports talk radio station WKNR/1220 started making its mark in Northeast Ohio, your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) checked in more than once as a listener with Peter Brown, the station's controversial afternoon drive host.

Fast forward to 2006, and Peter Brown checks in with OMW.

In a missive directly to Your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm), Mr. Brown tells us that he's "flattered" that his name is being mentioned as part of the mix of possible changes at the new Good Karma-owned incarnation of his former station, now at 850 AM.

But no, Peter says, he has NOT talked with Good Karma boss Craig Karmazin about any possible role on the revamped sports talk station, though he said he would make his own contact with Mr. Karmazin "in the near future".

Peter Brown competed with Good Karma sports talk outlet WAUK/1510(-WMCS/1290) "ESPN Milwaukee" as the afternoon drive host at WSSP/1250 "SportsRadio 1250".

Well, until recently, when the Entercom station said goodbye to the former WKNR host.

And he has nothing but good things to say about the man who's taken over his former Cleveland radio home, saying it would be "an honor and a privilege" to work with Mr. Karmazin:

I have great respect for Craig Karmazin and Good Karma Broadcasting. He has a great sense of what a market needs, and the correct way to operate a successful sports station. I admire the fact that he continually defeated a much larger company in Entercom with less money and a weaker signal. Present company excluded, of course.

With the last line, Brown notes that he bested WAUK's highest-profile local host, Steve "The Homer" True, in the last ratings period.

After his stints outside Northeast Ohio radio, including runs at both ESPN Radio and Sporting News Radio, Peter says this area still has "a special place in my heart", and notes that not only did he find his first afternoon drive gig here - he met his wife here.

(He also notes that he was NOT fired from WKNR the first time around...saying he turned down a raise from a modest salary and went without work for a few months, before ESPN Radio hired him. He tells us he continued to live in the area after taking that job.)

Mr. Brown calls Karmazin "an innovative mind" in a business he says is now "filled with mediocrity".

So, yes, it would appear Peter Brown IS interested in returning to Cleveland. We don't know yet if Mr. Karmazin is returning the interest.

We have heard his name kicked around on the Who Could Good Karma Hire List, but we've heard a few names kicked around - as far as we know, no one's actually been hired yet, even seemingly sure lock Tony Rizzo, the only name of all of them who has actually done sports talk radio work for WKNR's new owner - even if only for one weekend morning.

But Peter Brown being even in the "possible" mix has sure kicked up some dust here...

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peter Brown? Who?

Proven ratings Leader?

Where?

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Anonymous said...

I think Peter is pretty good. Sunday afternoons on ESPN radio he and Tony Bruno made me laugh. Bruno would make fun of Modells trench coat.

Anonymous said...

No, no, NO, NOoooooooo. Peter, there are 49 other states, plus the rest of the known-world. Please apply for a job there. You weren't popular (being kind, there) when you were in Cleveland the first time, and your reputation hasn't changed among fans.

We like our local people. Your style was both condescending and intentionally-aggravating. Even respected fellow media people didn't like the "schtick." We don't need you here "manufacturing" controversy for the sake of talk. There's enough REAL news.

Syndicated, nationally...fine...paired with someone else, apparently. But not local talk here in Cleveland for you. Have you tried Milwaukee?

Anonymous said...

Yeah we in Cleveland want to hear excuses over and over and hear our hosts make excuses for why the Browns and Indians stink year after year. Peter Brown told the truth about Cleveland sports. Please give us Greg Brinda and Kevin Keane. Homers that never find anything wrong with our teams.
And you wonder why Cleveland is considered a joke around the country.

Anonymous said...

Now Kevin Keane is the world's biggest cheerleader, all he needs are pom-poms and a skirt.

Greg Brinda, however, is hardly a homer. He rips the teams as much than anybody.

In fact, he is turning into the "grumpy old man" of sports talk.

As far as Peter Brown goes, I think all of his schtick was a gimmick.

To put in in pro wresting terms, Brown played the heel (bad guy).

He was the guy you were supposed to hate.

He wouldn't work here today because now everyone is on to him, knowing it was all a gimmick, thus shooting any and all credibility to hell.

Anonymous said...

Kevin Keane is by far the worst talk show host in this town. No matter how bad the Browns and Indians are you think they are on the way to the Super Bowl or World Series. Why are we stuck with such mediocrity with sports talk?

Anonymous said...

Brown only beat Craig Karmazin's station in Milwaukee in one ratings book only - great job Peter it took you 2 yrs to beat the competition -

PS the only reason Brown is doing this - because he NEEDS A JOB - HE IS DESPERATE

Anonymous said...

Amen sour, Kevin is a complete shill for Cleveland teams, and the fans in our town are too smart for that. The guy makes Ahmad Rashad look like a respectable journalist. As far as the Peter Brown/anyone else talk....I'm just so tired of hearing about past hosts coming into play. I just want something new, something fresh with this incarnation of 'KNR. I don't know if that means giving younger guys a shot, because, in this market, that could be a disaster. But I'm sure there's a ton of Clevelanders out there who have paid there dues in smaller markets who should be given their just due.

Lightning Man said...

Having worked with Peter, while some was show biz, since that's what we were in, most wasn't an act or schtick; it was just him. I wish him well wherever he is and whatever he's doing. I still think he had a point when he called Cleveland the Land of Almost.

slandis said...

Peter Brown was the only one on the air in this crappy town with enough balls to be objective.

These so called sports guys like Kevin "butt kisser" Kean and Mike "knee pads" Trivisonno are a joke. None of these guys have ever had an original thought.

There's nothing wrong with supporting the home team. However if you are either so stupid or blind that you cant call a spade a spade then you are useless. (yes Kevin and Mike you suck). Sure you have good ratings because the mindless masses just want to be assured their team is not as crappy as they appear.

Cleveland blows and always will.

pookeye said...

I think they are all on crack, Kevin if anything was a damn good entertaining host... way better than any of the other ones.. Brinda isnt bad i like him..


but frantz, he is a joke, and triv that guy is a troll under the bridge... guys a dumba$$ in all sense... clevelanders listening to that crap deserve less respect..