Friday, January 20, 2012

What's Next for Joe Crummey?

While it may surprise many of the vocally vociferous Facebook fans of Joe Crummey who were flummoxed and flabbergasted when it was revealed towards the end of 2011 that Crummey would be replaced by Geraldo Rivera on WABC radio, Joe Crummey is not angry. Quite the contrary. He sees this change in employment status as little more than a bump in life’s swooping road. An opportunity for him to find a venue where he could continue to broaden his base. Arizona, Los Angeles, New York…what’s next?

He blew in like a hard charging storm cloud with a laid back sass which caused the half-listening listener to up and take notice; he disappeared like a mirage; almost as though you had imagined the whole thing.

Still now that WABC 770 AM in New York City and Joe Crummey are no more, that doesn’t mean the listening masses should give up on him. What has Crummey been up to in the days since leaving WABC? Plenty actually. I recently got the chance to sit down with Crummey and talk with him about his severance from Cumulus Media and 77 WABC, new media, what he's been up to, and what's next.

Me: So I guess the biggest question on everyone’s minds is ‘what’s up?’ ‘Where can we hear you again?’
Joe: “I’m interviewing. I can’t tell you with who, but I’ve got to tell you, I’m excited.”
Me: What happened at WABC?
Joe: “Well, ya know…change.”
Me: Are you okay? What have you been up to?
Joe: “I’m not in a funk. You go through a range of emotions when you get fired and I was in LA for a couple of weeks, hanging out but I finally decided, ‘enough.’ You know I got myself a really good agent and they know everybody.”

When I pressed him further for more details about what he and his agent had going he was pretty mum about the whole thing. However Joe did open up generally saying: “LA stuff, Boston stuff, San Diego stuff,” and he promised that he would be streaming online.

Maybe the most interesting thing about our conversation was that Joe Crummey has got his own new website where he promises all of his ranting’s and ravings and musings and discussions will live. Fans who love the Crummey experience can check out the still under-construction website at

http://joescrummeywebsite.com

Joe seems to be taking pause from this time outside of the working world to be tackling broader issues. To hear him tell it, Joe sounds as though he wants to be back in Los Angeles; back with his family; but that he would be open to offers from stations in a variety of markets. He also is very honed in on the new media side of things; he seems to want to be partners in his working arrangement rather than working for the man.

Still, to this listener, at WABC I felt like he had a great deal of control over his own image and his own message. If I didn’t know any better I would say that a show like the one he had at WABC is exactly what Joe wants to have back again.

Speaking for parties in my circle, that is what his fans want back too.

Joe Crummey’s microphone at 770 WABC radio in New York has gone dark for now. But don’t worry about that New York; when I asked him if he’s coming back to the Big Apple, his answer was promising:

“I plan on being back on the air in this town. It won’t be like the first time; it will be much bigger.”

While I wonder how much bandwidth it would require for a voice that’s bigger than the one he exerted before, Crummey’s got a message for all the fans who are bummed out that he’s gone:

“Wait and see what’s next.”

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