With Rush Limbaugh moving over to iHeartMedia’s 1430 WKOX on Monday following Entercom’s decision to not renew his contract, Talk 680 WRKO Boston has set their new lineup.
Current morning host Jeff Kuhner will move to Limbuagh’s former 12-3pm slot. That will make room for a new morning show in partnership with The Boston Globe’s Boston.com. “The Boston.com Morning Show” will be anchored by longtime Boston television anchor Kim Carrigan, former WEEI morning sidekick Jon Meterparel and producer David Cullinane. Carrigan most recently had been co-hosting WRKO’s “Financial Exchange” with Barry Armstrong from 10am-12pm.
The Financial Exchange and Howie Carr from 3-7pm will remain in place.
Legacy Boston talk station WRKO has announced a sweeping change to its lineup that includes shifting its current morning show to replace Rush Limbaugh and a groundbreaking joint venture in morning drive with the Boston.com website. The new program will be called The Boston.com Morning Show and will feature veteran Boston television anchor Kim Carrigan hosting four hours of rapid-cadence news, talk and trending live from the newsroom at Boston.com. The show will lean heavily on contributing writers and columnists from the highly-trafficked, regional website as well as national correspondents from ABC News. Joining Carrigan will be former WEEI morning personality and play-by-play talent Jon Meterparel and producer David Cullinane.
Concurrently, WRKO’s popular Kuhner Report morning talk show featuring Jeff Kuhner will move to the 12-3 p.m. slot formerly occupied by Rush Limbaugh. Barry Armstrong’s Financial Exchange remains in the 10 a.m.-12 p.m. slot, while Howie Carr anchors afternoon drive 3-7 p.m. All of WRKO’s programming in weekday prime will be live and local for the first time in more than 20 years. To reflect that fact, the station is adopting a new logo and positioning statement as “The Voice of Boston.”
Entercom Boston VP/Market Manager Phil Zachary says this is a logical evolutionary step for the talk format. “On the cusp of the 2016 election cycle, it’s very clear traditional talk radio is facing strong headwinds,” he said. “As ideological lines blur and new technologies afford almost limitless tractability in audio news options, now is the time to deliver highly targeted, local content that’s unavailable to consumers anywhere else. This new lineup, anchored by our alliance with New England’s second largest news website, squarely positions WRKO for the next decade.”
The station’s revamped on-air schedule debuts Monday, June 29.
