Meghan Ottolini deserved better, and other thoughts on WEEI’s reshuffled lineup
A few thoughts on WEEI’s lineup reshuffling while wondering how many more messages I will receive comparing this to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We hit double figures before sundown Wednesday
▪ It’s a shame Meghan Ottolini was demoted from cohosting afternoon drive to a fill-in/writing role.
When she was hired in April 2022, joining Lou Merloni and Christian Fauria on the 2-6 p.m. program, she probably could have benefitted from easing in to sports radio in a lower-profile role than drive-time host up against The Sports Hub’s “Felger and Mazz” ratings powerhouse.
But she grew into it, rapidly, with a sharp sense of humor and clear-eyed, authentic opinions on Boston sports. Sports radio desperately needs fresh voices, especially female voices. WEEI had found one.
When WEEI broke up that show in December that same year — choosing not to renew Merloni’s contract and moving Fauria to middays with Andy Gresh — I thought it was a mistake. The trio of hosts had developed chemistry, and in their last quarterly in fall 2022, they were second to “Felger and Mazz” in the Nielsen Audio ratings in that day part, with a 9.2 share. That show had something good going.
WEEI longs for those kinds of ratings in the afternoon now. The replacement program, “Jones and Mego” with Christian Arcand, was 17th with a 2.1 share this past spring, the most recent full ratings period.
Pairing her with the transparently negative Adam Jones was a setup for failure in a head-to-head matchup with “Felger and Mazz,” who weren’t about to be challenged, let alone beaten, at their own here’s-why-this-stinks game.
As one Twitter/X follower put it, “She pulled off one of the most impressive feats in radio history — she made a @JonesWEEI show listenable. Deserves all the praise for that alone.”
WEEI was smart to hire Ottolini. Too bad it didn’t give her more of a chance to thrive. She can, and will, be a bright star in this market with the right opportunity again.
▪ The change in midday probably was inevitable given that “Gresh and Fauria” wasn’t holding the audience from “The Greg Hill Show” in morning drive. In the spring, Hill’s show had a 10.3 share. That fell to a 2.1, tied for 17th in the 10 a.m.-2 p.m. window, for “Gresh and Fauria.”
In a brief conversation Wednesday, Fauria acknowledged he wasn’t caught off-guard.
I have to admit, though, I was surprised that the program struggled so badly. Gresh, though often sophomoric, had mellowed out a bit since his Sports Hub days. And Fauria was about as good-natured and willing to laugh at himself as any host on either sports station.
Yet the listenership just was not there. In the spring, the Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Betrand” show had nearly eight times the share, 16.7, to the aforementioned 2.1.
▪ Back in January 2023, Jones called out your friendly neighborhood sports media columnist for writing a second time that his negative approach was not going to succeed.
A more vindictive friendly neighborhood sports media columnist would write it for the third time here — after all, there’s no reason to change an opinion if it remains correct.
But I have to be honest. I actually think the “Jones and Keefe” show could work in middays — at least to the point that it does better in the ratings than “Gresh and Fauria” had been doing, which I guess is small progress.
They worked together previously on the evening show at the Sports Hub from January 2013 through December 2016, drawing strong ratings, though Celtics and Bruins broadcasts also had a major effect in that time slot.
They do have a rapport as genuine friends, and Keefe’s wit counters Jones’s pessimistic approach. It might work, and WEEI could use any modest progress in the daytime.
▪ It was telling that Mike Thomas, the vice president and market manager of Audacy Boston, emphasized reuniting Jones and Keefe in middays rather than the change in the much more important afternoon drive time slot.
I enjoy listening to both Andy Hart and Arcand. (Full disclosure: I used to go on Arcand’s show in New Hampshire many years ago.) Hart, the new addition to the show but familiar to WEEI listeners and visitors to their website, is known mostly as a Patriots-focused personality, but he emerged as one of the more thoughtful voices on the Celtics during their championship run last season.
Their show should be a pretty easy listen, and by that I mean one in which the hosts aren’t out to antagonize you.
But this is also true: Pairing two personalities who are familiar but not necessarily high-profile is a tacit acknowledgement that nothing WEEI does right now is going to come close to challenging “Felger and Mazz.”
Given how often the station has reshuffled those ol’ deck chairs in afternoon drive, it’s fair to wonder whether it ever will