Geraldo Rivera Exits WABC/New York Amidst Drama, Acrimony

Rivera

GERALDO RIVERA told his FACEBOOK followers this weekend that he has been let go at CUMULUS News-Talk WABC-A/NEW YORK, and he blamed new CEO MARY BERNER and NEW YORK VP/Market Manager CHAD LOPEZ for not honoring his handshake agreement with former CUMULUS programming chief JOHN DICKEY.

A post on WEDNESDAY (11/25) said, "To fans of my ‪#‎77WABCradio‬ show this may be goodbye.  I’ve just been informed by Mary.Berner@Cumulus.com the new CUMULUS MEDIA CEO & by Chad.Lopez@Cumulus.com the NEW YORK VP/Market Manager that they do not intend to honor the handshake deal I made with the ousted company chief JOHN DICKEY, an agreement to extend my current contract for a year.  The decision to renege on our deal on the eve of THANKSGIVING is especially upsetting coming in the wake of my emotionally charged and highly rated coverage of the PARIS massacre and frantic efforts by authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.  Last year, the VILLAGE VOICE named me the ‘2014 Best AM Radio Host in NYC’, writing in part, 'GERALDO RIVERA actually has something to say. The guy understands the issues of the day and has enough confidence in his opinions to call bullshit on blowhards,' which I’m doing here."

A subsequent, much longer post on SATURDAY outlined CUMULUS' financial problems, called LEW and JOHN DICKEY "honorable" but "over-extended and prey to hedge funders who gobbled up enough clout to oust them as managers and install someone who had no experience in broadcasting but who apparently impressed those adventurous investors."  He said he was locked out of his studio as of FRIDAY although his contract expires DECEMBER 31st, and threatened to sue CUMULUS, saying that "because of their unforgivable disrespect I will fight them and they will end up costing their battered company far more in damages than they expect to save in my salary."

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