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WSCR may switch Mike North off mornings
Inside sports media , June 6, 2008
Mike North believes people make too much of his seven-figure salary. He once chided a reporter for his frequent mentions of North's $1.5 million annual take.
But with his contract at WSCR-AM 670 set to expire July 1 and rumors swirling that he could lose his morning gig, money remains a huge topic on his show.
In the final 40 minutes Thursday, North twice brought up big bucks. That's when he and Fred Huebner were not debating Erin Andrews' choice of lipstick during the National Spelling Bee on ABC.
After Huebner mentioned the batting averages of Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Nick Swisher, he asked: "How many teams have three starters hitting sub-.210?"
"Who are making that much money?" North added.
Later North mentioned Ed McMahon, who is said to be fighting to avoid foreclosure on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home.
"That blew my mind," North said. "All the commercials, "Star Search" ... how much money could he have banked?"
North himself has banked $4 million (or so he said in February) with "real estate all over the country."
You would think that would make it easier for him to accept far less money - a "major haircut," in industry-speak—to stay with WSCR.
But there's another potential ego-shrinking issue at play: Would North, a Score founding father, accept a move to midday? Or a role as a designated interviewer, with his conversations dropped into shows throughout the day?
Both possibilities are on the table, at least from management's perspective.
"They know they're getting killed with North in mornings, but they still want him to have a presence," one industry source said.
Rod Zimmerman, senior vice president for CBS Radio Chicago, declined to comment Thursday on any aspect of the negotiations.
Score insiders, mindful of recent ratings, have been buzzing about a possible lineup shift that would have midday hosts Mike Mulligan and Brian Hanley taking over North's slot.
"Mully and Hanley" earned a jumbo 5.6 rating (men 25-54) in the winter during its 10 a.m.-noon slot. North garnered 3.7 percent of radio listeners from 6-10 a.m., and his latest monthly "trend" for April was a disastrous 2.2 (compared with a 5.3 for "Mike and Mike in the Morning," his WMVP-AM 1000 competitor).
Trends do fluctuate, and nearly every WSCR show was down in April. Still, this would be like Konerko trying to negotiate an extension after hitting below .200 in September.
If the Score's best offer is in the $800,000 range - still an absurd amount for the blue-collar crew that makes up most of his audience - would North return or walk away and hope that his purportedly loyal advertisers follow him? North has told associates he has other options in Chicago, although various station officials have denied it. He could even buy time at a radio station that's desperate for a big name.
"I wouldn't put that past him," said a source with ties to WSCR. "He could walk in with his friends from Budweiser and announce he's making seven figures. No one would know."
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Jackie "Smoke" Davis. Da Butcha Da Betta.
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