Peter Boyles - I'll be back. He speaks on his firing and return Monday on 710 KNUS. UPDATE: Boyles' KNUS program wasn't on Monday, back Wednesday instead.

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle:

Blasting With Boyles – I’ll Be Back

And so, as I was saying on the radio before I was abruptly interrupted. It’s not much of a secret in Denver, Colorado, or across the United States of America, or all the ships at sea as we go to press because I made national news. I got canned, tapped out, knocked out, booted, clipped, excused, asked to leave, dumped, “Bain Capitaled” (Bain Capital is the owner of Clear Channel radio for those who don’t know). Bain is now fondly known as the “Mack the Knife” corporation with a pink slip. Recently across America, Bain Capital has made more hits than the mafia.

So as I was saying, they asked me to go home like I was the kid who drew the picture of the handgun in the third grade. I had the inexcusable behavior of grabbing a lifelong friend and co-worker, who I really do see as a son, by the lanyard. I do own this, I did this; I grabbed his lanyard and pulled him to me. That act has been declared by Bain as workplace violence. Does anyone have any idea how much sadness Bain Capital, as a venture capitalist firm, has brought to the world? The destruction of families, family incomes, housing losses and everything that goes with it. These people now have the right to deem me as reportedly violent.

The producer who I grabbed and I had breakfast together the next morning at Zaidy’s. He was also not allowed back in the building. If I was the kid who drew the gun, he pretended he was a superhero. And thus that part of the story ends.

It took Bain Capital 10 days to decide my fate, and I now believe that they were waiting for my contract to expire. (And remember from The Godfather, Tessio was always smarter — I was Luca Brasi and got to sleep with the fishes). I had been in negotiations about my contract, which happened to expire a week after the incident, and they were trying to hand me a drastic reduction in pay. The day my contract expired I received a phone call from a fellow employee who had been told by one of the top senior supervisors at Clear Channel that I was about to be brought back that day to sign papers and go back to the job on Monday morning.

Then after waiting three hours for that phone call that never came I called the senior supervisor’s cell phone. He did not answer his phone so I left him a message and right before end of business on Friday he sent me a simple text message that read, “Everything is on hold until Monday.”

And then of course everything went black. On that Friday night at midnight my contract expired and on the next Monday afternoon I got a phone call to go into the lobby of Clear Channel and waited there to be escorted to the basement where I was fired after 26 years with zero severance pay and a month’s health benefits. I was told that if I filed for unemployment it would be denied because I was fired for workplace violence. That was the last I’ve ever heard from Clear Channel.

As Kurt Vonnegut said, “And so it goes.” I requested that no one walk me out of the building and the HR woman who I absolutely love walked with me to my car and I gave her my pass so I could never re-enter the building. I was never allowed to go back to my desk to pick up anything that was mine. Instead Bain Channel boxed up everything and sent it to my house. Unbelievable and a very unnecessary expense.

So let’s recap. I OWN WHAT I DID BY GRABBING THE SHEIK’S LANYARD. I’m not a victim, I’ve never been a victim and don’t plan on being a victim now. And before anyone starts feeling sorry for me or have a sorrowful thought about me, please don’t. Instead feel sorry for people who Bain Capital destroyed when they crushed their jobs in industrial communities all over America. Bain destroyed their futures, their retirements and the lives of their children. Those are the people who deserve your sadness — it sure as hell isn’t me.

I don’t put fault on anyone at the Colorado headquarters of Clear Channel. These are really good people who are just doing their job. (Remember in Cool Hand Luke when the guard is walking Luke to the hot box and he says, “Luke I’m just doing my job.” To which Luke responds, “If that makes you feel better.”) The owners of Bain Capital sleep with baggies of their native soil in New York, California, and of course Texas.

Inside of Bain Channel radio exists a culture of fear. The people in that building who are in charge are scared to death and the people they are in charge of have been made to fear that their jobs could disappear as well at any moment. And the people who are in charge of the people outside of Bain Channel are also scared to death because the handful of bosses, the oligarchs of Bain, are scared to death. These are the robber barons of their own empire.

They really are afraid of a handful of people who have no idea what radio is about but they know the billions of dollars of debt that they burdened Clear Channel with will eventually destroy what’s left of the radio landscape. Bain has no idea what love of the radio business can give to people and what people can give that business in return. I loved doing radio. For me it was not “work” doing a radio show four hours a day, five days a week, 50 weeks a year.

American business is now in the hands of malefactors like Bain Capital, massive banking firms, Wall Street, the oil businesses and multi-national companies. Our government has become truly frightening. If you are wondering how your government views you just look at all the recent scandals. Look at 12 years of senseless wars that have taken the lives of so many fine young Americans. And politicians claim Richard Snowden is the enemy? Oh my God.

What happened to me was peanuts. I’m fine.
I’m not done yet. I’ve had some people whisper in my ear about jobs. In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator — “I’ll be back.”

See you on the radio.

Peter

more (http://www.glendalecherrycreek.com/blasting-with-boyles-ill-be-back/)

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:

192

Peter Boyles will launch a new morning radio show Monday on Denver's KNUS (710 AM).

The controversial talk-show host, booted from Clear Channel's KHOW after an incident of workplace violence last month, will be on the air 6-9 a.m. with an additional hour online only, 9-10 a.m.

Boyles publicly took responsibility for his aggressive actions against a producer in May in a column he wrote for the Cherry Creek Chronicle.

"It was my fault," he said Thursday. At the same time, he said of his previous employer, "Clear Channel is a culture of fear."

"He's a legend," said KNUS VP and general manager Brian Taylor, who hired Boyles for the morning slot. "He really cares about wanting to speak for his audience."

"I could not be happier," Boyles said Thursday.

Boyles cited what he called a Zen expression to express how he hopes the smaller KNUS will compete against his former station, KHOW: "We will be the fish that swallowed the whale."

Steve Kelley's show will move to afternoons, 1-4 p.m., Taylor said.

KNUS is operated by Salem Media of Colorado Inc.

more (http://www.denverpost.com/television/ci_23554986/peter-boyles-lands-new-morning-talk-show-at)

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From All Access:

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PETER BOYLES has a new home in DENVER, where the former CLEAR CHANNEL Talk KHOW-A host has landed at crosstown SALEM Talk KNUS-A for mornings, reports the DENVER POST's JOANNE OSTROW.
BOYLES, who was fired by KHOW after a physical confrontation with his producer last month, will host 6-9a (MT) weekdays on KNUS, with an additional hour online only 9-10a.
The addition of BOYLES on MONDAY (7/1) bumps STEVE KELLEY to 1-4p weekdays.



more (http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/119837/knus-hires-peter-boyles?ref=rss)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/allaccess/radio-news/~4/6ZrNQuS2djQ

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From Westword:

Peter Boyles on his firing and return Monday on 710 KNUS

Earlier this month, KHOW talk-show host Peter Boyles was fired after an incident involving his longtime producer.
Since then, Boyles has been uncharacteristically remained silent about exactly what happened. But he's talking now, and in detail, about his ouster, as well as his return to the Denver airwaves.

Beginning at 6 a.m. on Monday, July 1, he'll be back behind the microphone, this time at 710 KNUS.

"The day I was let go, I was contacted by Salem," says Boyles in reference to Salem Media of Colorado, KNUS' owner. "That was my first meeting, and it was a question of making a change in their lineup and what I could do."

At the time Boyles was let go, veteran host Steve Kelley manned the early shift at KNUS with his Kelley and Company program. But rather than giving Kelley the heave-ho, KNUS management subsequently decided to move Kelley and Company to afternoons in order to make room for Boyles.
"We've been talking, in some cases daily, for about ten working days -- two weeks," Boyles continues. "We came to an agreement on Monday and have spent this week ironing out the details. And I feel great about it. I'm just pumped up -- really excited."

Part of his enthusiasm has to do with the opportunity to go up against his old employer, Clear Channel Denver, which owns KHOW.

"There's a line I use -- 'the fish that swallowed the whale,'" Boyles notes. "It comes from Zen Buddhism. And we have the opportunity to be the fish."

In broadcasting, it's exceedingly rare for anyone to speak ill publicly about one's former company. But Boyles gleefully breaks that maxim.

"Just listening to KHOW and Clear Channel in general, they seem to be in total disarray," he allows. "I don't know if you're listening to the people who've been filling in during the mornings at KHOW, but they're pretty rough."

"It was hard going in there," he says about his last months at Clear Channel. "I describe it as like going to the Kremlin. You never knew if you were going to be purged. That's how Clear Channel works. It's pretty brutal."

The same term could be applied to his version of the events that led to his departure from KHOW, which he recently shared in a self-written column for the Glendale/Cherry Creek Chronicle. In conversation, he confirms the broad outlines of the account we reported earlier this month.
At around 8 a.m. on May 23, when a 9News crew was in the studio to witness Tom Tancredo declaring his candidacy for governor in 2014, Boyles says he and producer Greg Hollenback, nicknamed the Sheik of Cherry Creek, got into an argument that led to Boyles yanking him by a lanyard around his neck. Hollenback wound up with red marks on his neck. Afterward, the dust-up was reported to KHOW supervisors, who suspended Boyles that day before firing him just over a week later.

The timing of his axing doesn't strike Boyles as coincidental.

At the time of the confrontation with Hollenback, Boyles and Clear Channel had been involved in protracted contract negotiations that had stalled -- and he was kicked to the curb immediately after the pact expired. In his view, the suspension over the lanyard-grabbing was seized upon as an opportunity by the corporation. "If they were going to fire me because of what happened with Sheik, they would have done it that day," he maintains. "When they heard about it, some guys in Texas or New York or wherever the hell just thought, 'We'll fire his ass after his contract's up and we won't have to pay him any money.'"
"No one talked to me for something like ten days," he goes on. "I would have expected them to at least call me at home and see how I was, but they never did. And then, on the day the contract ran out, a good friend from the building called and said, 'One of the big bosses told an advertiser, 'Good news. We're going to bring Peter in, sign papers and bring him back on Monday.' And I got really excited. But then I waited and waited and waited, and no one called. So I called the boss on his cell phone and he wouldn't take my call, so I left a message. And he texted me back and said, 'Nothing will be settled today.'"

"Then, on Monday, I got a call to come in and wait in the lobby -- and that's when I knew it was over. They took me down into the basement and told me I was being fired without severance, and if I filed for unemployment, they would fight it, because they claimed workplace violence."
No question Boyles took the sacking hard. A day or so later, he was talking about the circumstances of his dismissal in the parking lot of a restaurant when he vomited from the emotion.

Now, however, Boyles says, "I'm not angry. I mean, this is how companies like Bane Capital exist: 'We've got to take care of Mrs. Romney's horses for another six months.' And I know this wasn't done by anybody in Denver. These guys here are so afraid for their jobs; there's a culture of fear in that building. So even though the local guys fired me, they didn't make the decision. The guys at headquarters did -- and they don't know this business. All they know is shrinking profits and getting rid of people."
In contrast, he's found Salem executives to be "really human. They way they dealt with Steve Kelley really told me something. He didn't read about it in Westword like he would've done if it had been Clear Channel. They worked something out and I think it's going to be great for everybody."

"Radio hosts are like head coaches. They hire you because some day they're going to fire you." He laughs before adding, "George Karl getting fired by the Nuggets knocked me off the front page of the Denver Post. George Karl getting fired was bigger than me getting fired."

Keeping mum until the new deal with Salem was ready to be unveiled hasn't been easy for someone as loquacious as Boyles. "I've been getting all kinds of really good social-media support, but I didn't want to spend that capital and get people's hopes up -- I didn't want to say, 'Something good's going to happen,' because I wasn't sure. But now it's come true. I hope it will give people a place to be with the radio show again. And in some ways, I'm glad about what happened at KHOW. It's really renewed my energy for the business."

According to Boyles, he hasn't been given a do-and-don't list by his new supervisors, meaning he has the freedom to discuss anything and everything that strikes his fancy -- and he can't wait for Monday. "It's like that novel The Last Hurrah. And I didn't know if I was going to get it. I didn't get a last moment at KHOW -- but now, I'm going to get a first moment."


more (http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2013/06/peter_boyles_back_knus_710.php)

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From Radio Online:

Peter Boyles joins Salem's Talk KNUS-AM/Denver for mornings (6-9am), effective July 1. Most recently, he was with crosstown Clear Channel Talk KHOW-AM until being fired after a physical confrontation with his producer last month. The move shifts Steve Kelley to 1-4pm.

more (http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=c37224)

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From Westword:

196

On Friday, we shared the news that Peter Boyles, who was fired at KHOW following an incident with his longtime producer, would be making his debut with a new station, 710 KNUS, this morning at 6 a.m. But when the time came, Boyles didn't take to the airwaves.

Why not? We just spoke with Boyles, and he offered no comment. His silence will no doubt fuel speculation that his appearance has been blocked by Clear Channel, owner of KHOW and his previous employer. But the one executive there that we've been able to reach this morning has no answers.

Greg Foster, vice president of programming for Clear Channel's Denver branch, is out of town. But despite the early hour, we got in touch with Dan Mandis, program director for KHOW. The quote he offered us: "I don't know what happened."

In the meantime, Boyles's name has been removed from the KNUS website, as has that of Steve Kelley, whose Kelley and Company show was set to move to afternoons in order to make room for Boyles.

Could the Boyles deal have fallen apart without any interference from Clear Channel? Certainly. But it's fairly common for radio contracts to include what's called a non-compete clause, which prevents personalities from immediately jumping to another station. Instead, they mandate a delay before such a move can be made.

As Boyles explained to us in last week's interview, his contract had just expired when he was fired -- and he was told he wouldn't be able to file for unemployment, because Clear Channel would argue that he had been dismissed due to workplace violence. He admitted to grabbing the lanyard of producer Greg Hollenback during a late May program, resulting in red marks on Hollenback's neck.

In any event, what promised to be a memorable morning for Denver talk radio just turned into a mystery.

more (http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2013/07/peter_boyles_not_on_air_knus.php)

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From 9 News:

197

Talk radio-show host Peter Boyles did not appear Monday as the new host of the morning drive on 710 KNUS as expected.

Boyles told 9Wants to Know investigative reporter Jace Larson that he can't comment on what happened.

On the KNUS Facebook page, a statement was posted Monday morning:

"Due to circumstances beyond our control - we are unable to debut our new program this morning at 6AM - We will air our regular programming today and are working diligently to add a new program to our daily lineup at the earliest possible date. Stay tuned for breaking news and intelligent talk. Good things are coming," the statement said.

Read Boyles headed to KNUS here: http://on9news.tv/18qNm3c

Boyles was fired by Clear Channel after a May incident where he admits he got physical with his producer on the day Tom Tancredo announced he would run for governor.

In an interview on Friday, Boyles said he blames no one but himself for the incident.

Watch Boyles' interview here: http://on9news.tv/11YsoS2

Clear Channel has not responded to questions about whether Boyles' past contract contained a non-compete clause. Such causes are common in broadcast contracts and often are used to prevent a personality from switching to the competition without a several month waiting period.


more (http://www.9news.com/news/article/343026/339/Boyles-not-on-radio-as-expected)

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:

198
Peter Boyles, longtime local radio talk host, was a no-show for what was to be his debut on 710 KNUS.

Peter Boyles was absent from the KNUS Radio airwaves on Monday morning, despite last week’s announcement that his new morning show would launch. (http://www.denverpost.com/television/ci_23554986/peter-boyles-denver-knus-710-am-radio-show)
A statement on the News/Talk 710 KNUS (http://www.coloradomedia.net/forums/www.710knus.com) Facebook page read: “Due to circumstances beyond our control – we are unable to debut our new program this morning at 6AM – We will air our regular programming today and are working diligently to add a new program to our daily lineup at the earliest possible date. Stay tuned for breaking news and intelligent talk. Good things are coming,” the statement said. Station management did not respond to requests for comment.
Speculation was rife that Clear Channel, Boyles’ previous and longtime employer, had blocked his debut via a non-compete clause. Station management declined to address that issue. Lawyers reportedly worked through the weekend on the deal but are cautioning against making any comments for now.
Boyles had no comment. General manager Brian Taylor would say only that he hopes Boyles is on the air on Tuesday.

more (http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/2013/07/01/boyles-a-no-show-on-knus-710-am/15151/)

[Rob]

In the meantime, Boyles's name has been removed from the KNUS website, as has that of Steve Kelley, whose Kelley and Company show was set to move to afternoons in order to make room for Boyles.


Interesting development that both Boyles and Kelley's shows were pulled from the KNUS web site. Kelley has been off the air for the last few weeks recovering from injuries suffered from a car accident.

I'm hearing there are 3 possibilities in play here for why Boyles' show did not start today.

1) Boyles' new contract terms with KNUS and the amount of compensation Boyles was wanting.
and/or
2) Clear Channel trying to enforce some kind of non-compete clause with Boyles.
and/or
3) Kelley's contract with KNUS and how it may need to be redone with the changes... or if Kelley even agrees with the change.

I'm sure whatever it is will come out soon... as they always say... stay tuned!

[Rob]

I've just been told by a source that Peter Boyles will be back on the air Wednesday morning.

These images were on the KNUS website and then removed...and then reappeared.

200

201

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From Westword:

Peter Boyles makes KNUS debut, says he can't legally talk about delay

202
Peter Boyles.

Update: Yesterday at this time, we reported that Peter Boyles, who was fired at KHOW following an incident with his longtime producer, would tentatively debut Wednesday on a new station, 710 KNUS, after the program failed to launch on its planned date, Monday, July 1.

No need for the word "tentatively" now. Teased by a musical intro featuring Eminem's "My Name Is," Boyles appeared on KNUS at 6 a.m. sharp -- but without revealing the reasons behind the delay.

There were plenty of online indications that Boyles would be behind the microphone this a.m. KNUS' website, which had removed references to the host on Monday, shared the following image....

203



...and this schedule:

204


By the way, Steve Kelley, whose Kelley & Company program is moving from the mornings to the afternoons due to Boyles's arrival, is said to be under the weather -- the reason why he won't be heard at 1 p.m. today.
In addition, KNUS' Facebook page posted a graphic....

205



...that fans immediately (and correctly) interpreted as a teaser for Boyles.
Still, those who tuned moments ago hoping that Boyles would reveal why he didn't start broadcasting for KNUS on Monday were disappointed. While chatting with a flurry of congratulatory callers, he said, "There are some legal things that have occurred that I'm really not able to talk about."

Minutes later, he added, "I have a lot of constraints, things I can't talk about, but it's been an interesting couple of days."

No doubt listeners will interpret these remarks as indicating that Clear Channel, his former employer, had threatened action against him if he took to the airwaves, even though any non-compete clause in his contract had presumably expired. The contract lapsed shortly before he was fired for yanking a lanyard around the neck of producer Greg Hollenback -- an action that left red marks.


206
Tom Tancredo guested on what turned out to be Peter Boyles's last show on KHOW.

Rather than dishing behind-the-scenes dirt, Boyles chose to stir the political pot, announcing that his first guest would be Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo -- who happened to be his last visitor on KHOW. In response to a caller who noted ruefully that Tancredo's critics think he's crazy, Boyles said, "If he's crazy, so what. We need crazy people."
That's the kind of comment calculated to get people talking.

more (http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2013/07/peter_boyles_not_on_air_knus.php)

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:

http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/files/2013/07/Peter-Boyles-show-495x474.jpg
A promotion for Peter Boyles’ new morning talk show is prominently displayed on the KNUS website, as seen July 3, 2013.

“The lines are jammed, lots of emails this morning*” Peter Boyles told listeners Monday. The talk-show host was newly ensconced at KNUS (710 AM) (http://www.710knus.com/) Wednesday after being bounced from KHOW, following an incident of workplace violence and a subsequent salary dispute and legal tangle. His previously announced start on KNUS slated for Monday was a misfire, as reported (http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/2013/07/01/boyles-a-no-show-on-knus-710-am/15151/), and lawyers have been working overtime to remove obstacles to his new employment.
Wednesday he sounded relieved, chastened by his embarrassing physical run-in with his producer (he admits to yanking the lanyard of longtime producer Greg Hollenback, hard enough to leave a red mark) and, mostly, respectful of the “legal constraints” he continues to honor. Is he angry at Clear Channel? He can’t say much on the record, but listeners know about the long line of laid off and fired CC employees who’ve been shown the door (http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/2012/12/06/kbpis-uncle-nasty-fired-clear-channel/11943/) in favor of cheaper syndicated fare. He’s glad to have signed on with Salem Broadcasting.
His show is 6-9 a.m. and available to stream online.


More... (http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/2013/07/03/boyles-is-back-on-710-knus/15213/)