The departure of two members of the media will be felt

Feb. 21, 2022 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

In our business, too many of the departures are unexpected and sad.

This week there were two big changes in the media landscape of Western Massachusetts. Both weren’t anticipated by the audiences served by these two people.

Morning radio mainstay John O’Brien made the following announcement through his Facebook page on Feb 8: “Even tho I haven’t and can’t say too much about why I’m not back on the air, I then [sic] some people might have come to the conclusion that I won’t be. Oh, and on top of that – I have COVID. And you all thought I would never be positive.”

It’s well known among his listeners that O’Brien doesn’t have too much love for social media and his message was both somewhat cryptic and reflective of his “sunny” nature.

A subsequent story noted that O’Brien had been terminated in January during a time that he was taking time off at least in part due to some health issues. As is typical in these cases, O’Brien’s bosses and co-workers cannot address the issue and O’Brien can’t talk about it much, either.

The fact is simply that someone who has been on air in this market about 30 years is out of a job and his fans are feeling it.
This is no disrespect to either of his teammates who are now a double act on Rock 102.

As someone who has had the privilege and pleasure of being a guest on Bax and O’Brien a number of times, I can tell you that O’Brien and I have had some fun with one another. There have been some good-natured jabs back and forth and John made it a habit to appear as if he hadn’t done much, if any, prep for my segments.

If anyone thought we harbored any ill will towards each other, they would be totally wrong.

For years, I would frequently see O’Brien at the late and much-missed Thursday concerts in downtown Springfield, and we would often talk and exchange pleasantries.

John walked an interesting line between his entertainment persona – that of a crusty curmudgeon – and that of a guy who immersed himself in news and was very interested in what was going on in the Valley.

It’s always a shame when folks in the media cannot depart with some element of acknowledging their audience, however in many cases that is the norm.

Good luck, John. You did many positive things for this region, and you should be proud of the work you did.

Chris Collins was more than just a broadcaster and journalist. He was an authentic and enduring voice for Hampshire and Franklin counties.

Collins died last week. He had a number of health issues during his life and had managed to overcome them. What made his passing even more poignant is that he had made several videos for Facebook from his hospital room. He clearly understood what was confronting him, but he also clearly had not given up.

Collins worked in radio for years, including a long stint at WHMP. He was a popular columnist for the Greenfield Recorder and had done much work in public access television. He was an accomplished sports reporter and knew politics inside and out.
We would run into each other at events occasionally and did many episodes of “The Short List” together at New England Public Media.

He was a guy who I immediately liked and respected.
My sincere condolences to his wife and his family as well to the thousands of people who knew and loved his work.

Blind item, no item

Some weeks ago, I ran a “blind item” about a potential economic development story in downtown Springfield. I was hoping one day to actually get someone associated with the story to go on record, but none would comment.

As a policy I have very rarely allowed myself the shortcut of quoting unnamed sources for stories.

I’ve since been told on the best of authority that the deal to redevelop an entire city block has fallen through at this time.

Now, who knows if the parties involved will reach an agreement or if another developer steps in? Both are well within the realm of possibility.

Perhaps at some point there will be a story I can report.

Share this: