Last month, Joe Weachter, the producer of the morning show at SportsRadio 94WIP, announced his retirement after 38 years working with the station. Weachter worked his final show on March 20 as the station celebrated his legacy working alongside morning program hosts Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie, as well as his 33 years previously with Angelo Cataldi, Rhea Hughes, and Al Morganti.
Subsequently, Cataldi joined longtime WIP host Howard Eskin on the most recent episode of The Howard Eskin Show on YouTube and was asked about the reasons why he felt Weachter departed when he did.
“What happened to my producer, who was my producer for pretty much the whole time I was there,” explained Cataldi. “Joe Weachter, a great producer and a terrific guy, was just wrong. It was awful. It was, in my estimation, age discrimination.”
At that point, Cataldi was discussing the current environment of broadcast radio, specifically when it came to his opinion on 94WIP since his own and Eskin’s departures from the station in recent years. Moreover, he noted that Weachter’s salary came into play as the longtime producer announced his departure as a retirement from the Philadelphia sports radio brand.
“He was let go because he was older, and because on a ledger sheet he made a certain amount of money. The corporate people couldn’t justify it,” said Cataldi. “It’s a different world than it was now what it was then. Frankly, it’s not a world I’m happy about. I don’t think it treats people fairly the way it used to. So many people now get caught because it’s better for the company not to have to pay them. It’s a money decision.”
In response, Eskin then noted the history of Audacy’s—who owns and operates 94WIP—chapter 11 bankruptcy tale over the past year, saying that there are issues within the company when it comes to dealing with their own people.
“It’s too expensive for what you get any more on radio,” noted Eskin. “You got to find a way for people that have helped you become the success that you were. That’s my point there, and I feel bad. I feel bad for those people.”
Cataldi agreed, further noting that one of the main reasons he left radio when he did was because the culture for the product he was delivering has changed regarding what’s acceptable to audiences today in comparison to years past.
“I got to the end of my tenure realizing that things I had said and done in the first 10 years would have gotten me fired immediately,” Cataldi said. “I was having a hard time judging where the line was. When you reach that point, and you’ve been so many years in it, and there’s a cancel culture like there is today, you’re better off sitting it out or doing what you’re doing now on a podcast where you have more control.”
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It was so great to hear a civil discussion between these two legends, who I worked with for many, many years (there weren’t many civil discussions between them in those days, many of which I refereed).
I agree with so much of what they said. Radio needs more Howard’s and Angelo’s to bring their own unique styles to the airwaves! While the times have changed, strong opinions about sports will never die!