🚀 go-pugleaf

Friends and Fans of Pierre!  Do you miss our favorite 'MMR DJ these last
few 
weeks?  Wondering what's become of ol' Pierre?  Well, read the article
below 
and find out!  Station management needs to know how much we love and
miss 
our friend, and you can let them know in any number of ways.   You can
call 
the station at (215) 238-8000 and leave a message for Chuck Fee; you can 
write them at 101 S. Independance Mall East, Philadelphia, PA  19106;
you 
can FAX Chuck at (215) 238-4737; or you can e-mail Chuck by attaching to
the 
WMMR web page at HTTP://WMMR.COM; or you can do all of the above.  Let's
let 
those station managers know how important Pierre is to his listeners!! 
We 
know Pierre would appreciate anything you can do.  Thanks.

                                                                        
 ******************************

           Philadelphia Online -- The Philadelphia Inquirer,
Entertainment 
 -- Copyright Tuesday, July 9, 1996

          Pierre Robert off the air in salary dispute

                              By Kevin L. Carter
                         INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

If you listen to WMMR-FM (93.3), by now you might have noticed something 
about its morning show: Pierre Robert's not on it.

He was last on the air Friday, June 28.

Robert's three-year contract expired June 30, and he said that he chose
not 
to work without a contract while management and his agent, Steve
Mountain,
negotiate a new  deal.

The long-haired, mellow Robert, 40, said he was dismayed by the
station's 
latest proposal: a 50 percent pay cut on a one-year contract.

``I am just really perplexed,'' Robert said yesterday. ``I have always
tried 
to do good work for them, and it really takes me by surprise that they
would
come in with . . .  a massive pay cut.''

Through a spokesman, 'MMR general manager Chuck Fee declined comment.

Could this hard bargaining be the result of a new austerity at 'MMR 
following the
blockbuster deal that brought it, and five other Philadelphia stations,
under the
corporate  aegis of Westinghouse and Infinity Broadcasting? Or even a
result of
the deal last year that made the station part of CBS?

By most indications, WMMR is doing well financially, but the station --
like  Robert -- 
has been declining in the ratings lately.

When the last Arbitron ratings book was released in April, 'MMR ranked
a  ghastly 
5th overall.  Robert's show was 13th among morning shows. In '93 and
'94, Robert 
consistently placed in the top five.

Part of the reason for the decline, said Robert, was that the station
had moved from
its well-known album rock format to the new ``adult album alternative''
format, and that 
the station's entire lineup had declined as a result.

``I am a team player, and I realize that I could do better,'' said
Robert.  But he pointed
to his 15 years in the market and the connections he has established
with listeners. 
``I believe the people have really responded nicely to me.''

DJ Earl Bailey, who normally works from 5 to 6 a.m. solo and appears on 
Robert's
6-10 a.m. show as well, has been filling in for Robert, a gentle
Californian who has, in 
recent years, been the station's top personality. His long, graying hair
has been a
fixture of 'MMR's billboards, and he has been one of the more visible
radio DJs in the
area.

He began at 'MMR in 1981 as the overnight man, moved to middays and
took  over
the morning show from John DeBella in April 1993.

There is always the chance that Robert will return to 'MMR with a new 
contract. Right
now, however, Robert is a nonentity on 'MMR airwaves. His name has not
been 
mentioned since his contract expired. ``I want to point out that this
dispute is not ugly,'' 
said Robert, who added that he considers Fee a dear friend. ``I hope
this works out --
it is my desire to come back, but there are principles here.''