Letters to the Editor: Could Karen Bass and Rick Caruso form a ‘team of rivals’?
I am always thrilled to see Karen Bass and Rick Caruso on television. After all, these two TV personalities are two of the most popular, highest rated, highest income earners in the radio industry.
But could they be another team of rivals? Could Karen and Rick possibly compete in the marketplace at the same time and make a lot more money?
I think not. It is time to stop thinking about them as inextricably intertwined, and they should start thinking about themselves in that big, big way.
Let’s start with a little historical background.
Like many other radio hosts who were brought into radio by their television careers, Karen and Rick started out in radio as young professionals, but over the years, they worked their way up the ladder of radio success, first at WEEI in Boston, then to WFAN in New York.
But Karen and Rick’s media careers really took off in the 1990s. In the mid-1990s, they were working for ABC Radio, and in 1998 they joined CBS Radio.
In the early 2000s, Karen and Rick started their own show, the Talk of the Town. It was produced by Dan Rather.
And in 2007, Karen and Rick were offered opportunities to work at CBS Radio, and they accepted.
In 2008, Karen and Rick received their very first Emmy Award for the hour-long series The Today Show, called “Today with Karen and Rick.” Karen and Rick brought the humor, wisdom and knowledge that New Yorkers have about the city to the national stage. They also brought the passion they have about their work to the national stage, by getting on camera with their co-workers to talk about the day-to-day challenges of their job, and get real feedback and constructive criticism. And when they were done, they made everyone around them laugh.
Over the past two decades, Karen and Rick have made a lot of friends who worked with them. They are extremely social people. And they are some of the most generous people you’ll ever meet in radio. I mean, just a quick glance at their business cards reveals their genuine enthusiasm for their work, and for many of us, their work is the best thing we’ve seen in decades.
And they bring that same energy and enthusiasm to their radio