General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why I Find Big Ed's Demotion To Weekends Troubling [View all]KharmaTrain
(31,706 posts)I firmly believe Ed is the one who initiated the changes for several reasons.
For the past 3 plus years Ed has commuted every week from his home in Fargo to Minneapolis the onto New York to do his show 4 or 5 nights a week. In addition he still does his daily radio show that runs live from Noon-3pm EST...meaning his work days generally started at 10 or so in the morning and probably didn't wrap up until 10 at night. That's a schedule that would be grueling for someone half his age...and it was starting to take a toll on him.
The big change came last year when Ed's wife was diagnosed with cancer and Ed was away from home a lot of the time while she was undergoing chemo. He took some time off and I've noticed he was doing more and more shows from Minneapolis...he was being torn in too many directions.
Lastly Ed has said he wants to travel and meet the people...he can do this a lot easier with just his radio show and the weekend TV gig. Taking a teevee show on location involves a lot more moving parts than doing radio and will allow him to work on segments for the two TV shows rather than constantly having to prepare for five a week.
As an old broken-down mediatype, I can attest to a lot of age discrimination in the broadcast world...and it's a major reason the industry has gone into the shitter. Many experienced and creative souls were replaced by brown-nosers and bean counters...or kids who'd do three jobs for the price of one.
I wish both Ed and Chris the best...I see this as a positive move for all involved...