Why Anita Marks Should Have A Show on WQAM

[Wordmandc]

Let me state for the record that I am a fan of Anita Marks...

If we have learned one thing over the past few weeks it is that Anita Marks has the talent and personality to have her own show on WQAM.
She is a local girl who went to Baltimore for the past four years and her drive time show was #1 from day signed on till the day she left Charm City. Her program was simulcast on the Mid Atlantic Sports Network and seen in seven states.

Baltimore was tough for Anita yet she was a winner. The city does not warm up to out of town broadcasters and especially women. She had a large number of fans, was big hit with the sponsors and was great doing players shows.
She was a frequent guest on ESPNEWS talking about major issues of the day also did other programs both TV and radio for the network.

Anita had her critiques mainly men 18 to 34 who did not like hearing sports from a woman who knew more about it than they did.
But numbers don’t lie #1 sports talk show from 3pm to 7pm against two other all sports talk stations and a success with the sponsors.
In the end despite CBS Radio offering her more money to stay Anita wanted to do some TV which the radio station did not want her to do. So they parted ways – it happens in business – people agree to disagree.

Marks would take some flack in Baltimore about being that “Miami girl” who did not know Baltimore sports. She was proud of her Miami roots and never backed down in a debate over Miami fans vs., Baltimore.

So for the past two months she has stepped into a tough job working as the co-host of The Jim Mandich Show. She has been able to show Miami listeners that she is funny, entertaining but most of all can talk sports.

I for one hope that there is a happy ending and the hometown girl gets a regular spot on WQAM – she has developed into a good broadcaster worthy of working in her hometown.

Thanks for your time!

 

[tunchwoman]

Wordman, she had a show with Carl Foster on a station that went kaput. Numbers were horrible for her during her previous stint in Miami. You can sing the praises all you want but she was a failure her first go round in the market. Having said that, she doesn't sound as horrible as the amatuer sidekick she is working with but that show is not a viable option against LeBatard and the other competition in pm drive. A better suggestion for WQAM is to probably move Sid to the 3 slot and move her to middays where there is substantially less competition. She could easily compete against syndicated programming and the Sports Brothers. That would be the smarter move on QAM's slot although I still vote for bringing Hank back.

 

[SportsDotCom]

Thanks for the post Anita! I'm sure Joe Bell will read this and hire you because you & your PR firm have posted on this site. ;D

Take it from someone who worked in sales for years. The reality is this, the concept of a woman in sports is a great one. The problem is execution and talent. South Florida has never had one who could pull off both.

Now, is Anita better than when she was on w/ Carl "Banana's" Foster? Sure. That doesn't mean she's capable of handling drive time in a market like this. That's not a shot at her. It's reality. She worked in Baltimore for a while and they realized she couldn't handle doing the show alone. Then they hired a co-host. Except technically she became the co-host. They spun it in the media that she wasn't getting demoted, but if you know anything about the business you knew that was the case.

Was she a ratings success? No. She was on a heritage station competing against a station with a bad signal for all those years. You were stuck with her. They even created a website to get her canned. Which, personally I think is tasteless.

How many other women have worked out in this market? CJ Silas? No. Krystal Fernandez? No. Anita? No.
Hell, QAM used to air The Sports Babe mid days in the early 90's and that was not very good. Nancy even had the luxury of having ESPN behind her for a while. Ironically, QAM brought her in for a tryout a few years ago at night and that was a disaster too.

Leslie Visser who is on Lapas' station is excellent. She knows sports, but she's only on a few days out of the week. Why? Because, women who are good in sports end up on television. Which, means she has real work to do. Well, and no one hears her because she works for THE LAPA NATION.

Anita has gotten better. Does she deserve a shot? Maybe, but not in drive time.

 

[Wordmandc]

Folks I am not saying that she should be the drive time host. I am saying she should be an option for a day time show on the station.

 

[Hockeyfan]

Folks I am not saying that she should be the drive time host. I am saying she should be an option for a day time show on the station.

You guys are tough on her. She is doing an admirable job, paired with an amateur who is lucky to be on because of Mandich. Even though I personally do not care for LeBatard, obviously I am in the minority and like a poster above said, put her in mid-day. Let Sid get crushed by his former employer during weekday drive.

 

[tunchwoman]

Sid would beat LeBatard I think. At some point, people would get tired of calling 790 with silly made up names and just useless banter. Sid puts on a good product and I think he would give 790 a run for the money. Of course QAM could add Rocky Pendola or Kenny Walker or some of the other disasters from the past.

 

[DJ Oldschool]

I like Anita Marks...which means WQAM probably won't hire her! I agree with the above poster...I like LeBatard until it gets too silly (which is often). But I don't miss Hank.

 

[SportsDotCom]

Sid would beat LeBatard I think. At some point, people would get tired of calling 790 with silly made up names and just useless banter. Sid puts on a good product and I think he would give 790 a run for the money. Of course QAM could add Rocky Pendola or Kenny Walker or some of the other disasters from the past.

I happen to enjoy Sid's show. I've always thought he was a good talent. I think he's a bit insecure. That's obvious from his rantings & posting on sites like this. Though let's face it, if he can barely beat syndicated programming in midday what makes you believe he can beat LeBatard? You say people will get tired of calling up with made up names, but you're wrong. Not only is LeBatard putting up excellent 25-54 numbers but the younger listener 18-34 is an even stronger category for them. So, he's not going anywhere.

It's a tough spot.

 

[Leebo65]

No.... I want Kim Bokamper doing non-stop Dolphin Talk from 2 PM to 6 PM

Got it...good...BTW Fire Joe Bell

 

[Hockeyfan]

No.... I want Kim Bokamper doing non-stop Dolphin Talk from 2 PM to 6 PM

Got it...good...BTW Fire Joe Bell

Well I agree with the fire Joe Bell part and obviously, you are being facetious about Kim Bokamper with "All Dolphins All Day". And besides, he won't have time since Channel 4 canned Prim however you spell her last name.

 

[the cutter]

The best thing I recall about Anita Marks when she was on air with Bananas Foster was a time she was not on air. Host Dino Costa remarked how he didn't think she was that good looking over the air and took it a bit far when Foster called in and practically fired him on his own show.

Have not heard her since she's come back. I didn't care for her back then. I will have to give a listen to see if time has changed anything.

 

[Leebo65]

No.... I want Kim Bokamper doing non-stop Dolphin Talk from 2 PM to 6 PM

Got it...good...BTW Fire Joe Bell

Well I agree with the fire Joe Bell part and obviously, you are being facetious about Kim Bokamper with "All Dolphins All Day". And besides, he won't have time since Channel 4 canned Prim however you spell her last name.

Not being facetious. I want non-stop Dolphin Talk from Kim Bokamper. Don't need to hear about the Canes or the heat or the Marlins.

 

[560QAMFAN]

Hey The Creator of This Post Must Be Paid Off By Anita And Another Thing Anita Talks To Curtis and The Audience Like We Are Stupid Explaining Things We As Sports Fans Should Know..... So I Totally Disagree Of Her Having A Show On WQAM... LET HER GO JOIN WINZ FOR OVERNIGHT SO SHE CAN HELP THE THIRD SHIFTER GET WORK DONE FASTER..... AND PLUS IT SEEMS LIKE SHE DOESNT RESPECT CURTIS AT ALL ALWAYS BASHING HIM AND OVER TALKING HIM

 

[Hockeyfan]

Hey The Creator of This Post Must Be Paid Off By Anita And Another Thing Anita Talks To Curtis and The Audience Like We Are Stupid Explaining Things We As Sports Fans Should Know..... So I Totally Disagree Of Her Having A Show On WQAM... LET HER GO JOIN WINZ FOR OVERNIGHT SO SHE CAN HELP THE THIRD SHIFTER GET WORK DONE FASTER..... AND PLUS IT SEEMS LIKE SHE DOESNT RESPECT CURTIS AT ALL ALWAYS BASHING HIM AND OVER TALKING HIM

Curtis has his "ups and downs" and I honestly think that if Jim Mandich hadn't been "pimping" him all these years, he would be toast. I also think though that the banter between him and Anita is contrived somewhat although I may be wrong.

 

[560QAMFAN]

isnt this the same anita marks that got fired by the baltimore station for whatever reason (which probably for not listening to bosses and jumping to conclusions) and why are you guy defending her? is it because she posed for playboy?

 

[Hockeyfan]

From different articles I've read, it's debatable if she got fired or not but that isn't the point. In Radio it's not that uncommon. Look at Jeff DeForrest. Anyway, to me she is refreshing and funny and isn't a 100% Dolphin "homer" and discusses other topics. And I could care less if she posed in Playboy. Good for her.

 

[GatorTesla]

She like the Big "O" is flip with their 'factual opinions'. This is a trend among the Gen Y hosts, they think flipant opinions are what we want to hear. Another gripe I have with Curtis and some of the other College educated on air producers is. Heck, did you get an education, do you have any depth to your comments and opinion that comes from knowledge beyond sports. None of these on-air producer types ever articulate their opinions with experiences learned. Very skin-deep articulation.

The opposite of what I am describing is Defo. He often backs up his sports knowledge with real life experiences and a sense of being educated.

Mandich, even kids Curtis, Asking him. " Do you ever read the newspaper."

 

[Hockeyfan]

She like the Big "O" is flip with their 'factual opinions'. This is a trend among the Gen Y hosts, they think flipant opinions are what we want to hear. Another gripe I have with Curtis and some of the other College educated on air producers is. Heck, did you get an education, do you have any depth to your comments and opinion that comes from knowledge beyond sports. None of these on-air producer types ever articulate their opinions with experiences learned. Very skin-deep articulation.

The opposite of what I am describing is Defo. He often backs up his sports knowledge with real life experiences and a sense of being educated.

Mandich, even kids Curtis, Asking him. " Do you ever read the newspaper."

EXCELLENT observations and totally "spot on". I have a couple of sons in early 20's and I doubt if they even know what a newspaper is since they get all their info online, texting, etc., etc. As far as DeFo, this AM he was talking about how they are trying to get him to get away from his old format and in fact the station may be changing formats and he may be out of a job AGAIN.

 

[tunchwoman]

Aside from all of the personal shots taken on this topic, the truth of the matter is that Curtis and Anita are not drive time talent for a major market. Like them or not for their strong personalities, Hank and Neil and even Steve Goldstein are major market talent. QAM has to clean up their lineup or eventually advertisers are going to flip.

 

[Hockeyfan]

I like Goldy and they used to use him as filler but not sure why they haven't lately unless Hockey is taking too much of his time. I noticed a lot of Adam Kuperstein and Will Manso filling in on QAM. They need to get rid of Joe Bell to start with.