Colbert Calls Out ‘Local Radio Station’
• It’s a situation as old as the often dicey relationship between radio and its younger, more arrogant younger sibling, television, and to a lesser degree, newspapers, which more often than not, when covering the goings-on of “a local radio station,” usually default to referring to said station as just that, while conveniently leaving out the important identifiers, like, say, the call letters and dial position. Decent local coverage of a radio station is hard enough to come by; national coverage, however, is considered a gift from the media gods.
Which brings us to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, fresh off last Sunday’s big Emmy win for “Outstanding Variety Special (Live)” for the lengthily titled Showtime special, Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand Building Back America Great Again Better 2020. Colbert took several minutes at the top of the show to brag that Variety‘s post-Emmy coverage had praised the red carpet fashions of Colbert’s head writer Ariel Dumas and writer Eliana Kwartler.
Sadly, that temporary fashion high was crushed when Colbert was informed that, for reasons still unclear, both Dumas and Kwartler were inexplicably included on the “Worst Dressed” Emmy blog posted on “the website of the world’s preeminent fashion experts, Boston’s Rock 92.9FM, Boston’s Rock Leader.” And with that, Colbert’s national roast of Beasley Classic Rock WBOS (Rock 92.9)/Boston was underway.
“I’ve long relied on Boston’s Rock 92.9 for my fashion advice,” Colbert said, sarcastically adding, “After all, who’s more qualified to comment on someone’s appearance than people who work in radio? Clearly warming to the task at hand, Colbert exclaimed, “How dare you malign my writers like this — and in the middle of Classic Rock’s most sacred, month, ‘Zeptember?'”
Still trying to process this distressing fashion insult to his staff, Colbert admitted, “This news blindsided me, coming from the home of style experts like Al Beck, Greg Beharrell, and of course, the ‘Anna Wintours of radio,’ Dave and Chuck The Freak.” I’m not surprised to hear this from Dave, but I expected more from The Freak.”
And so, in the wake of what Colbert described as Rock 92.9’s “betrayal,” he noted, “I’ll have to start getting my fashion advice from somewhere else, other than than the website of a mid-tier suburban Boston Classic Alt-Rock radio station…. it’s all on you now, SUNY New Paltz’s WFNP (88.7 The Edge)! Don’t let me down.”
