Holley is named Arnold's co-host
Michael Holley has had success as a newspaper columnist (Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune), best-selling author ("Patriot Reign"), and television guest ("Sports Xtra," "I, Max").
Next Tuesday, he tackles the radio world. Holley yesterday was introduced as the co-host of the 10 a.m.-2 p.m. "Dale & Holley" show with Dale Arnold on WEEI (850 AM).
He's no stranger to the station or its listeners, having been an occasional co-host since leaving the Globe last April and signing on to Fox Sports Net's "I, Max" show with Max Kellerman.
" `I, Max' had four or five format changes and a time change," Holley said. "Once you change formats, as anyone associated with TV can tell you, you could see it [cancellation] coming. The surprising thing is that it went under about 2 1/2 months before its one-year anniversary."
The WEEI opening, however, came as a surprise. "What I couldn't see coming was the change in `Dale & Neumy,' " Holley said. "Bob [Neumeier] left on Feb. 10 and our last `I, Max' show was Feb. 18. You can't make that up. It's a case of truth being stranger than fiction."
Both Holley and Jason Wolfe, Entercom's director of sports programming, downplayed the significance of Holley becoming the station's first full-time African-American host.
"It says the station continues its string of hiring the best people," said Wolfe.
If the timing of Neumeier's departure was good for Holley, it also was good for WEEI. Wolfe's immediate short list of candidates contained a woman (Globe columnist Jackie MacMullan) and Holley, making it a slam dunk to hire the best available person and also symbolically answer critics who long have pointed out that there was neither a minority nor a woman among the station's six full-time hosts.
Holley has been in the same situation before. "There are times when I could have written the exact same [Globe column] as Bob Ryan, but people would say, `You're writing it from a black perspective.' " he said. "And they could say that positively or negatively. I can't control those perceptions."
What he does know is that performance means everything.
"I signed a multiyear contract here," he said. "After the first or second day on the air, the novelty of having an African-American host is gone. All that matters is what I bring to the table every Monday to Friday. I don't think race will play into it. Still, the way society is, people will see the African-American face, and it will mean something to them."
Arnold and Holley planned to talk about show plans and toss around ideas for possible daily elements that would identify with "Dale & Holley," much as the "Whiner Line" is the signature segment of "The Big Show" and "Headlines" is associated with the morning "Dennis & Callahan" show. "I think we've debunked one myth about the Boston sports media," said Arnold. "You know, the one that says the only time it works is when people have something to complain about. Since Boston has been on this little title run, the notion that people only call or listen when there's something to complain about is completely gone as we keep posting these goofy golf numbers for ratings."
For his part, Holley doesn't want to fix what isn't broken.
"It's not like I'm going to a show that needs tremendous help," he said. "It's been No. 1 for quite some time without me. I know we'll go in a different direction because I'm a different personality. It just better not be in the ratings."
Holley, who grew up in Akron, Ohio, learned he wanted to stay in Boston when he left to write for the Chicago Tribune in 2001, deciding to return before the Globe had filled his slot. He also said, "When I left the Globe again last April, one of the attractions of TV was it was Monday to Friday with a manageable schedule. I know it sounds crazy, but one reason I left a writing job was so I could do more writing."
That would be his book. And he says he wants to do another, once he finds the right topic.
But for now, the important book in his life will be the
That's why the show has the simple "Dale & Holley" name. "Frankly, it has an easy flow," said Wolfe. "When listeners write in their diary, the first thing they remember after the station is the names of the people they were listening to. Michael could be anyone. Holley isn't [just anyone]."
