LarryD
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MARK WASHBURN
Observer TV/Radio Writer
Commentator Gerry Vaillancourt – whose trademark radio sign-off line was “Love, live and laugh, it’s a short pony ride” – was fired Wednesday from his evening talk show after three years, as WBT (1110 AM) announced a major shift from sports programming.
The news-talk station will continue to carry North Carolina men’s basketball and football, but canceled Vaillancourt’s 6-8 p.m. “Gerry V” show, its key sports presence.
“This wasn’t a shock,” said Vaillancourt. “That station treated me like a king. I had a great run.”
Rick Jackson, WBT’s vice president and general manager, said the loss of the Hornets, the Rae Carruth trial, the Panthers’ lackluster 2001 season and other factors have created a “lack of appetite” among listeners for sports in the Charlotte market.
“I think we’ve hit low tide,” he said. “That’s no fault of Gerry’s.”
Jackson said the station would announce this week what would fill Vaillancourt’s shift. Evening-show host John Hancock is a likely candidate to take over the slot.
The station’s news department will continue to provide spot sports coverage for the “Charlotte Morning News” drive-time show and other day parts, Jackson said.
Vaillancourt learned of the cancellation Wednesday afternoon meeting with Jackson and producer Bill Higgins. A temporary host was found Wednesday while Vaillancourt found solace in a Newcastle beer and a sack of peanuts.
Vaillancourt said the station signaled three months ago that it was considering a de-emphasis on sports.
Vaillancourt was an unlikely success in Charlotte, a city where New Yorkers often are politely tolerated and privately mocked.
His Brooklyn accent, brassy style and unabashed Yankee sympathies set him apart from the chummy sports broadcasting fraternity when he first went on the air with a talk show on WCCB (Ch. 18) in the early 1990s, a gig that led to a call-in show that started in 1991 on the forerunner of sports-talk station WFNZ (610 AM).
After WBT acquired Panthers and Hornets broadcasts, Vaillancourt moved to the station, doing a postgame football show – which endured even though game broadcasts were switched to WRFX (99.7 FM) – and color and commentary for the Hornets.
Three years ago, WBT put Vaillancourt on evenings, where he demonstrated a broad intellectual command across the spectrum of sports and a flair for provocative showmanship.
Jabs and counterjabs between host, guest and callers were customary, and it was the rare listener who could leave the broadcast without a strong opinion – one side or the other – about Vaillancourt’s ability.
“I love people calling, disagreeing with me,” Vaillancourt said. “I love being taken to task.”
Vaillancourt never planned a career in broadcasting; it found him. He came to Charlotte with a marketing job for Converse after being an assistant college basketball coach for James Madison, Davidson and Appalachian State.
He took a shot at the sports show on Channel 18, inspiring a belief in the production staff that he knew what he was doing.
“I didn’t even know what the red light on the camera was for,” he recalled. “The guys are talking into my earpiece, ‘Now close up the question and go to commercial in 15 seconds. Nod if you hear me,’ and Jim Palmer is my guest, and he says, ‘You’re not agreeing with everything I’m saying, are you?’ and I say, ‘No, I’m trying to talk to my producer.’”
He built a following as one of the earliest hosts on what became WFNZ and parlayed his Hornets coverage into occasional network appearances.
Vaillancourt said he has no immediate plans but would not rule out following the Hornets to New Orleans.
“I still have a lot of play in me. I still have a lot of fire,” he said.
Observer TV/Radio Writer
Commentator Gerry Vaillancourt – whose trademark radio sign-off line was “Love, live and laugh, it’s a short pony ride” – was fired Wednesday from his evening talk show after three years, as WBT (1110 AM) announced a major shift from sports programming.
The news-talk station will continue to carry North Carolina men’s basketball and football, but canceled Vaillancourt’s 6-8 p.m. “Gerry V” show, its key sports presence.
“This wasn’t a shock,” said Vaillancourt. “That station treated me like a king. I had a great run.”
Rick Jackson, WBT’s vice president and general manager, said the loss of the Hornets, the Rae Carruth trial, the Panthers’ lackluster 2001 season and other factors have created a “lack of appetite” among listeners for sports in the Charlotte market.
“I think we’ve hit low tide,” he said. “That’s no fault of Gerry’s.”
Jackson said the station would announce this week what would fill Vaillancourt’s shift. Evening-show host John Hancock is a likely candidate to take over the slot.
The station’s news department will continue to provide spot sports coverage for the “Charlotte Morning News” drive-time show and other day parts, Jackson said.
Vaillancourt learned of the cancellation Wednesday afternoon meeting with Jackson and producer Bill Higgins. A temporary host was found Wednesday while Vaillancourt found solace in a Newcastle beer and a sack of peanuts.
Vaillancourt said the station signaled three months ago that it was considering a de-emphasis on sports.
Vaillancourt was an unlikely success in Charlotte, a city where New Yorkers often are politely tolerated and privately mocked.
His Brooklyn accent, brassy style and unabashed Yankee sympathies set him apart from the chummy sports broadcasting fraternity when he first went on the air with a talk show on WCCB (Ch. 18) in the early 1990s, a gig that led to a call-in show that started in 1991 on the forerunner of sports-talk station WFNZ (610 AM).
After WBT acquired Panthers and Hornets broadcasts, Vaillancourt moved to the station, doing a postgame football show – which endured even though game broadcasts were switched to WRFX (99.7 FM) – and color and commentary for the Hornets.
Three years ago, WBT put Vaillancourt on evenings, where he demonstrated a broad intellectual command across the spectrum of sports and a flair for provocative showmanship.
Jabs and counterjabs between host, guest and callers were customary, and it was the rare listener who could leave the broadcast without a strong opinion – one side or the other – about Vaillancourt’s ability.
“I love people calling, disagreeing with me,” Vaillancourt said. “I love being taken to task.”
Vaillancourt never planned a career in broadcasting; it found him. He came to Charlotte with a marketing job for Converse after being an assistant college basketball coach for James Madison, Davidson and Appalachian State.
He took a shot at the sports show on Channel 18, inspiring a belief in the production staff that he knew what he was doing.
“I didn’t even know what the red light on the camera was for,” he recalled. “The guys are talking into my earpiece, ‘Now close up the question and go to commercial in 15 seconds. Nod if you hear me,’ and Jim Palmer is my guest, and he says, ‘You’re not agreeing with everything I’m saying, are you?’ and I say, ‘No, I’m trying to talk to my producer.’”
He built a following as one of the earliest hosts on what became WFNZ and parlayed his Hornets coverage into occasional network appearances.
Vaillancourt said he has no immediate plans but would not rule out following the Hornets to New Orleans.
“I still have a lot of play in me. I still have a lot of fire,” he said.
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