Radio legend Anthony Cumia was the OG Cancel Tradition sufferer.
Cumia, together with radio accomplice Gregg “Opie” Hughes, acquired fired from their well-liked present in 1998 for an April Idiot’s bit falsely suggesting Boston Mayor Tom Menino had died.
The “Opie and Anthony” duo acquired the pink slip once more in 2002 after two of their followers tried to have intercourse in St. Patrick’s Cathedral as a part of an on-air stunt.
Extra not too long ago, Cumia acquired canned from SiriusXM satellite tv for pc radio in 2014 for racially-charged Twitter feedback. It’s why he created Compound Media later that yr, a subscription service the place he known as the pictures.
Now, Cumia says he’s coming house to terrestrial radio. It’s one other signal, following President Donald Trump’s re-election, that the tradition is extra forgiving to the “completely” canceled.
The broadcaster teased his Huge Apple reunion with WABC-AM on X. He beforehand was heard on WNEW-FM throughout his “O and A” days.
Seems like I’m the latest member of the WABC Discuss Radio household.
Particulars about present days & instances to come back subsequent week. This won’t have an effect on my present on CompoundCensored in any respect.
Wanting very ahead to my triumphant return to broadcast radio in NYC.
Due to everybody at WABC Radio.— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) February 21, 2025
The brand new gig isn’t set in stone, and WABC-AM hasn’t formally introduced Cumia’s arrival. The radio talker has spoken extensively about it by way of his CompoundCensored platform. Cumia merged Compound Media with Censored.TV in 2024.
Earlier this week, Cumia talked about a contract is being drawn up on the station however he couldn’t share extra particulars. He talked about being “shunned from the enterprise,” and the way the WABC-AM gig modified that standing.
“Some individuals inform you it’s not a giant deal, it’s AM radio. Radio’s useless,” Cumia stated Tuesday on his self-titled speak present. “It’s not the reality of the matter.”
He lauded WABC-AM radio’s rankings and administration type.
“They’re very cognizant of what the individuals need,” he stated, evaluating the station to his former satellite tv for pc employers. “You take a look at a spot like SiriusXM, they’re signing these Hollywood celebrities who know nothing about doing an entertaining present.”
“They’re very old-school radio,” he stated of his new potential employer. “They wanna win … they wanna make some noise.”
The radio star stated he’ll proceed his Monday-Thursday present on CompoundCensored together with the brand new gig.
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The terrestrial radio return is the most recent signal that Cancel Tradition is ebbing. Cumia’s colourful historical past, together with the 2014 firing that concerned an argument with a black lady in New York, recommended radio had no use for his unexpurgated type.
It could assist that Cumia leans to the Proper, and within the second Trump administration, these voices have extra energy than earlier than.
Cumia will observe FCC guidelines on his eventual WABC-AM showcase, one thing he’s not sure to on his CompoundCensored broadcasts.
And, if anybody thought the broadcaster has been pulling his punches of late, suppose once more. His X feed is crammed with riffs many would deem “problematic.” WABC-AM brass, apparently, isn’t concerned with canceling him earlier than he joins the station.
The tradition is altering.
Cumia’s sharp-elbowed humor stays unchanged. In the meantime, his decades-long radio competitor Howard Stern has swung aggressively to the Left and toned down his “shock jock” type.
WABC-AM, previously the house of New York radio legend Bob Grant, at the moment options personalities like Invoice O’Reilly, Rita Cosby, Mark Levin and Sid Rosenberg.