Krenn missing from airwaves
Pittsburgh:The Post-Gazette reports that 24-year WDVE-FM (102.5) air veteran, Jim Krenn has been off the air since December 6. Co-host Randy Baumann has stated on the air that Mr. Krenn has been using up vacation time. Some observers, however, said it was unusual for Krenn to not appear at the station Christmas party last night where he co-emcees with Baumann. Krenn's agent, David Sedelmeier told the PG that Krenn was removed from the airwaves claiming it was a unilateral decision by DVE management. Links to Krenn's Facebook and Twitter pages are still present on the DVE website.
In January 2010, Baumann, a 12-year veteran of the station, was off for an extended period of time while having problems negotiating a new contract with the station. At the time of his return, it was announced that both he and Krenn had signed multiyear contracts.
Readers’ Forum
Surely DVE isn’t dumb enough to make the same mistake with the other host of their morning show…are they? I thought I had noticed he was absent, but this time of year Radio show hosts tend to disappear for weeks at a time.
Dave B. - December 17, 2011 at 12:03 pm
If you mean DVE as in the guys who locally run the cluster, even I, one of about 9 DVE bashers in this area, cannot imagine the management being dumb enough to let Krenn walk. Proven talent must be recognized and rewarded accordingly. If you’re talking about the highers-up, as in Clear Channel’s top brass, then that bet is off.
Rick - December 18, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Like Dave B. I thought I had noticed his absence, but Krenn has been coming on air around 7:30am since this past spring (or earlier) and I figured I was just missing him or he was running late. Could this absence be linked to his 7:30am start times? Is he or a family member having health issues?
DaveWL - December 19, 2011 at 09:47 am
If this is a health or family issue, Dave WL, that’s a better-than-fair question.
Rick - December 19, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Any updates? The whole morning show was missing this morning.
chris - December 21, 2011 at 12:26 pm
@chris- Not unusual for most, if not all, of the morning team to be on vacation this time of year (week before/after Christmas). We might not hear anything more about this until after New Years. Didn’t notice this morning (although they are playing more music than usual), but on Tuesday Val was on and told Mike she wouldn’t talk to him again until after the holidays/Christmas.
DaveWL - December 22, 2011 at 08:54 am
Chris – they always take off for like 2 or 3 weeks after the Christmas special.. standard issue for the morning show.
Expect them to be back in 2012.. probably Monday the 2nd, and hopefully we get some resolution then.
Brandon - December 22, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Folks say DVE would be dumb to let Krenn go. Actually, where would he go if cut loose? What morning show would he immediately go to?
Remember, Scott Paulsen is not on the air anywhere and he’s arguably the smartest guy in the market (excluding Jerry Bowyer).
TomL11 - December 24, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Was looking at DVE’s website this evening and seems they have removed all traces of Krenn; as part of the morning show, his recent on-demand outings, etc. Could he be gone for good?
DaveWL - December 26, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Is it possible he violated his contract OR violated FCC rules? He and Randy just signed a multi year contract according to the PG article. I am a 25 year listener to the morning show and thought they’d NEVER be able to replace Scott Paulsen, but Randy has filled in nicely (and to be honest, I find him funnier than Jim). With that said, it still wouldn’t be the same.
MarkyMark - December 28, 2011 at 08:29 am
The fact that Krenn wasn’t part of the annual Christmas show was very unusual. Although, listening to the Steeler broadcast on ‘DVE on Christmas eve, some of the bumpers still mentioned “Jim Krenn, Randy Baughman, and the ‘DVE Morning Show.” But removing all Krenn-affiliated material from the website certainly can’t be a good sign.
deerejohn - December 28, 2011 at 09:54 am