We have a radio war, folks.
WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti blasted ESPN Radio New York’s Michael Kay on Thursday morning. He ripped Kay for last week’s on-air threats to get a colleague fired, as well as his subsequent claim the rageful rant was all an act.
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Kay then returned fire in the afternoon. He suggested Giannotti unjustly attempts to take credit for WFAN’s dominance in his time slot and took aim at his work. Co-host Peter Rosenberg also suggested no one knows who Giannotti is. That was because Giannotti pretended to not know who Rosenberg was and said he and co-host Don La Greca were “bootlicking” by letting Kay explain things away without pushback.
The bulk of Kay’s broadside (hat tip to @MetsKevin11):
Somehow, through the grace of God — through the grace of God! — I’ve lasted 21 years on the air in New York. Without any shred of talent. Without the ability to do hackneyed imitations of people. None of that. … And it’s something that Don (La Greca and I built. We didn’t take it over from anybody and move into the penthouse, already furnished. This is our creation. And if we want to tear it down — which it looks like we’re doing, we’ll do it. … Preening around like you built it. You had nothing to do with building it. The guy who’s on in the afternoon (Craig Carton) built it, not you.
Five things:
1. Giannotti’s imitations are hilarious.
2. Yes, Carton and Boomer Esiason had a wildly entertaining and successful morning show before Carton’s arrest. But Carton was arrested in Sept. 2017 and Giannotti started with Esiason in January 2018. He’s been doing the show for five years now. Not five minutes. Giannotti has every right to take credit for the program’s success.
3. If we’re going to talk about who built what, let’s be clear: Don Imus built the WFAN morning show. Full stop.
4. What I would give to get everyone in a room and have Mike Francesa moderate.
5. There remains no excuse for what Kay said about ESPN morning show producer Ray Santiago. And his explanation still carries no water.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
