Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Sly in the Morning...staff Fired!!! Local voice in Madison, Region Silenced.

A real hit in the gut.

I'm still numb. Sly, John Sylvester, has been a very good friend of mine since the mid 80's. I was lucky enough to have recently returned as his regular vacation fill-in. His news partner Crystal McKenzie will also be greatly missed.

Sly in the Morning will no longer be the only local and regional voice of the energized liberal movement on Madison radio. Sorry, the Mic's Doug Cunningham doesn't come close to knowing this state, the political history and faces that have come and gone.

There's more here at the Wisconsin State Journal.

Here's the local TV coverage from Channel3000 and WKOW TV:



From Politiscoop:
“Message to everybody: I just want to inform you that today was my last day of employment at WTDY,” Sylvester posted on his Facebook page Wednesday. “After 15 years, I was told that my services were no longer needed. I would like to thank everybody that’s supported my program. It’s been a pleasure to share this wonderful experience with you.”

By mid-afternoon, the station was playing Christmas music and its website had been replaced with a static "Happy Holidays" message. The pink slips were also handed out to Dylan Brogan, Shawn Prebil, Crystal McKenzie, Deanna Wright and Lindsay Adjavor and news director Amy Barrilleaux.

Reaction to the news has been fast and furious as droves of users across the media-sphere have vowed to not listen to any of the (groups) stations, as well as dumping those stations' mobile applications. Calls to Mid-West went unanswered at the time of this post as we attempted to get answers regarding why a successful group of broadcasters were suddenly let go.
Here's a followup story with a little more of Sly:




4 comments:

  1. A terrible loss for Wisonsin!

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  2. This is disturbing news. I count on Sly in the Morning for keeping a pulse on the Wisconsin political scene. Although I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I listen to Sly in the Morning for good reporting, excellent interviews and some comic relief or appropriate outrage to politics in Wisconsin, the nation and around the world.

    On a positive note: I am certain that the Sly staff will find in this event, an opportunity to continue to be of service in ways that are completely unexpected, but vibrant.

    Today is Thanksgiving and I feel the usual thanks that one gives on this day. But every morning, while listening to Sly in the Morning, I found myself filled with gratitude for the internet, streaming radio and the airwaves that carried the powerful voices that Sly brought to those who were "dialed in."

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  3. Beautifully said KAMESHWARI!

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  4. Very well said. I think we all feel the same way.

    It's interesting that no ratings were provided, especially in the important demographic groups. It used to be normal for the local paper to list the ratings numbers, but we all know what happened to WSJ staffing and coverage.

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