Farewell, Nichols Gallardia... and fart jokes.
On Friday morning, 107.7 the Franchise fired longtime Oklahoma City morning radio personality Dave "Lump" Hernandez. The move comes only a few weeks after the fledgling sports talk channel parted ways with Tony Casillas, and a month or two before they probably get rid of the other 1/3 of their morning show, John Rohde.
Here's a tweet Lump sent out about the news:
That has to suck for Lump. If you remember correctly, he bolted The Sports Animal for The Franchise along with his "Morning Animals" co-host Mike Steely in the summer of 2013. I think it's safe to say it's a move they both regret. At The Sports Animal, they had job security, the backing of a powerful brand, and good ratings – three things they've missed since making the jump to The Franchise.
Here are a few other thoughts and comments...
• If you think this is all part of a plan by the Franchise to shake things up, cut their losses and improve ratings, congratulations, you have fundamental logic and reasoning skills. Although they have been able to take a decent percentage of The Sports Animals listeners, they're still behind The Sports Animal in most, if not all, of the ratings demographics. Plus, it's been a challenge to lure advertisers. Say what you want about The Sports Animal and their content, but they are really good at selling commercials.
• It's kind of difficult for me to comment on Lump's job performance. That's because I love to sleep in the morning and have probably only listened to three combined minutes of the Franchise's morning show since they made the move.
That being said, I've heard Lump was kind of struggling. I was never a big fan of his sense of humor, and more than one person has told me he had lost his edge and creativity. It's like he went from telling fart jokes to just farting.
• Some of Lump's fans – yes, he had fans – are criticizing the Scrooges at the Franchise for the timing of the decision. Yes, it's kind of a dick move to fire someone in December, but when is a good time? When I was laid off from my last corporate job, it happened in January. Hell, I kind of wished they would have done it in December so I would have known to put "Cash for Mortgage Payment" on my Christmas list instead of "Kegerator."
Anyway, we wish Lump the best of luck finding a new job. I think he'd be a better fit on more of a traditional music show, and probably won't have a problem landing on his feet.
Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the Franchise makes a few other changes over the next few months. The first would be to sever all ties with the consultant who thought hiring Tony Casillas and stealing the Morning Animals would be a good idea. The next would be to hire or find entertaining personalities to compete with The Sports Animal. I hope they're able to do it.
