Cumulus Conservative Talk 770 WABC New York is adding a local Sunday night show from 7-9pm hosted by Larry Mendte.
Mendte, a long time television newscaster in Philadelphia and New York, previously co-hosted mornings at Merlin Media’s now-defunct “IQ 106.9” in Philadelphia. The new program will be the only non-brokered or syndicated program to air on WABC’s weekend schedule.
77 WABC announces the addition of The Larry Mendte Show to Sunday nights, 7 pm to 9 pm, starting this weekend.
Mendte is a familiar voice to the New York metro area, having most recently been a contributor to WPIX-TV’s nightly newscast, producing commentaries that showcased Mendte’s strong opinions on a wide range of topics. Returning to New York on 77 WABC allows Mendte to expand upon these commentaries, talk about New York’s biggest stories, and speak to Tri – State listeners with warmth, wit, and honesty that New York listeners have come to expect from Mendte and 77 WABC.
Mendte’s commentaries at WPIX-TV are credited with helping to pass the 9/11 First Responder’s Health and Compensation Bill. As one of the nation’s most honored broadcasters, Mendte won four New York Emmy awards for his PIX commentaries, giving him a total of 90 regional Emmy awards for his 30 years in broadcasting. He also has 6 Edward R. Murrow Awards and a National Sigma Delta Chi Award.
77 WABC Program Director Craig Schwalb said, “The addition of Larry Mendte to our roster of trusted New York personalities makes Sunday nights on 77 WABC an appealing and exciting destination for our listeners.”
Larry Mendte said, “77 WABC is an iconic radio station with some of the biggest names in talk radio. I am thrilled to be a part of it.”
Previously, Mendte hosted a successful morning radio talk show on WWIQ-FM in 2012, and was the 6 and 11 PM anchor at KYW, the CBS television station in Philadelphia. Mendte earned 40 of his regional Emmy Awards in Philly, a record four of them in the “Best Anchor” category.
Mendte also hosts a television news and public affairs show for Me TV in Philadelphia. The show will soon air in New York on Me TV.
The Larry Mendte Show will air Sundays each week from 7 pm to 9pm ET on 77 WABC and is streamed live on wabcradio.com. Listeners may join The Larry Mendte Show at 800-848-WABC.
INSTANT INSIGHT More of the same. While Mendte could be an intriguing bench option for WABC should Don Imus retire or Michael Savage’s ratings fail to improve, he’s simply another older political voice that will do nothing to bring new listeners to the format.
Well, well! This is the same Larry Mendte who was fired from KYW-TV in Philadelphia for hacking into his co-anchor’s email account.
Yup, also the same guy Chicago columnist Roger Feder called “Scary Larry” for his outrageous stunts as a mic holder at WBBM-TV. The same guy who hosted the syndicated tabloid trash TV show “Access Hollywood.”
Some people in broadcasting seem to keep getting jobs no matter how bad they are and how much they screw up. Like cockroaches, you can’t get rid of them.
But given WABC’s recent audience numbers and the fact that we are talking about two hours on Sunday night, Larry is the tree falling in an empty forest.
Replace the I-man? Larry tried morning drive on Merlin’s attempt at an FM talk station in Philly (where he was a much more prominent media presence). While he set a house on fire for a stand-up piece in Chicago, he didn’t set the world on fire doing morning drive talk. If Cumulus gives him morning drive in New York, they really must have a death wish.