Cumulus Media Networks has announced that Geraldo Rivera will end his daily syndicated talk show at the end of the year.
Rivera has been distributed live in the 9am to 12pm daypart since August 2012. Before entering national syndication he hosted two unique local shows for 770 WABC New York and 790 KABC Los Angeles. Cumulus has not revealed its plans if any for replacement programming for the daypart.
Geraldo will not be leaving Cumulus as he will shift his program back to a New York only focus airing from 10am-12pm on WABC beginning January 1, 2014. WABC will be seeing the bulk of its daily lineup changing that day as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity move to Clear Channel’s 710 WOR. Michael Savage’s syndicated show will move from late nights to afternoon drive, however no replacements have been named yet for Limbaugh’s 12-3pm and Savage’s vacated 9pm-12am timeslots.
The full press release announcing Geraldo’s transition to a New York only focus follows:
Cumulus announces award-winning journalist and iconic media personality Geraldo Rivera will launch “Geraldo” exclusively on 77 WABC as a live radio show focusing on his hometown beginning January 1, 2014. The program will also stream simultaneously on WABCRadio.com for fans across the country and worldwide.
“Geraldo” will air weekdays from 10a-12p ET and will focus on the most talked about topics involving the nation’s largest city – everything from social issues to politics. Rivera will also continue his fight against unemployment by broadcasting live from upcoming “Put Americans Back to Work” job expos and events hosted by Cumulus.
“For the last four decades, in war and peace I’ve been chasing the news around the world. But there’s a universe of stories right here in my hometown. Energized and excited by this opportunity, I’m taking our show to the four corners of the five boroughs. I’ll be on the streets and in the face of lawbreakers and newsmakers, ready with a hot mike and a helping hand,” Geraldo said.
“We are excited that one of the most recognized and respected names in media will be sharing his perspectives on New York issues and supporting local causes that matter most to listeners in one of our top markets,” said John Dickey, co-COO and Executive Vice President of Cumulus.
Born in New York City, Rivera started his broadcast career on WABC-TV’s “Eyewitness News” in 1970 and during his 40-plus years in the media has become one of the most recognized and admired personalities. A veteran host and correspondent, Rivera was a member of the original casts of “Good Morning America” and “20/20,” hosted the syndicated “Geraldo Rivera Show” for eleven years and hosted CNBC’s top-rated program “Rivera Live.” Rivera has received numerous awards throughout his journalism career, including the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, three national and seven local Emmys, two DuPont-Columbia University Awards and two Scripps Howard Journalism Awards.
Nathan Obral
Geraldo was also the inspiration of this little gem: http://youtu.be/nH46Gc8fiPA
To Cumulus’ credit, they didn’t dump Geraldo outright like Citadel unofficially canceled Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s program a few years back (yanking it off of WABC and WMAL for “retooling,” which never came to pass).
If they are turning Geraldo’s show into a local program on WABC, what purpose would they have to launch a national talk show (or move one up a la Huckabee) in that time slot when it won’t get cleared in market #1?
My hunch is, Cumulus will not mandate clearance of a specific program on their talk stations from 9am to noon BUT will direct the stations to use only WestwoodOne and Cumulus product. Herman Cain – whose WSB show is distributed by WW1 in that same exact time slot – could benefit from this move.