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An age-old radio adage is “You haven’t been in radio until you’ve been fired.” And 77 WABC host Curtis Sliwa believes that to be true.
While working mornings alongside colleague Greg Kelly on Thursday, Sliwa reacted to the statement from his temporary co-host that former New York mayor and 77 WABC host Rudy Giuliani “never learned” that “everybody’s got a boss,” which ultimately led to his high-profile exit from the station earlier this year.
“If you’ve been in this business long enough, TV or radio, you either move on on your own or you get fired,” said Sliwa. “You know how many times I’ve been fired? Sports radio, three times alone. I was fired twice at WABC, once at ESPN. I did that as my side hustle. You know how long you’ve been in this business based on how many times you’ve been fired.”
Kelly agreed — before noting that Sliwa can be a “colorful character” in the office, which might have led to some of his firings.
Curtis Sliwa didn’t disagree but said the idea that the job is always temporary is something he tries to impart to those he works with.
“I explained to all of our colleagues. They lend you the microphone every day. It’s not ours. It could say The Greg Kelly Show, it could say ‘Curtis.’ It doesn’t. It’s not ours,” said Sliwa. “They lend you the microphone every day. This is the life we’ve chosen.”
