Re: B96's Erica Walks Out on Eddie & Jobo

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: : B-96 co-host takes flight in Wright fight : : Phil Rosenthal | Media : : May 7, 2008 : : As the studio door shut behind her, Erica Cobb's first thought wasn't that she might be risking her relationship with WBBM-FM 96.3 on-air partners Ed Volkman and Joe Bohannon by walking out in the middle of Tuesday's show after protesting Volkman's impersonation of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. : : "I just thought, 'I can't believe I cried on the air,' " Cobb said by phone a few hours later. "I was more angry at myself for getting that upset, but I needed to take a timeout and kind of sit back." : : The walkout lasted only a half hour or so. By then, Eddie and Jobo had moved on to another topic, and Cobb had regained her composure. : : "I know people would really like to believe that there was this huge argument and we tried to kill each other," Cobb said. "I don't want to throw anybody under the bus, because Eddie and Jobo are great guys. Things like this are few and far between. … I just didn't want to say something out of anger or frustration that would have been more detrimental. Sometimes it's better to say nothing than to say something you don't really mean." : : What will be interesting, however, is whether there will be lingering effects for the Chicago market's No. 5-rated morning radio show among listeners age 18 to 34, according to the most recent Arbitron survey, and one tied for 13th among everyone age 12 and up. : : "We've seen things happen like that with other teams in radio where things haven't been the same, where they've been icy for a while, maybe forever," said Volkman, who, like Cobb, was still weighing what happened and why. : : Rod Zimmerman, who oversees Chicago's CBS Radio stations, was unavailable for comment late Tuesday. : : Volkman, Bohannon and Cobb were discussing the White Sox's over-the-top offensively sexist clubhouse display of a female blowup doll, which didn't bother Cobb much. Then, Bohannon asked Volkman what Wright thought, launching Volkman into his self-described caricature. : : "I didn't find it racially offensive," Cobb explained in an interview. "It was just pointless. There were things we were talking about that were so great and topical and could have been discussed as regular people. I didn't find it necessary to talk about in the context of Jeremiah Wright." : : Cobb earlier had made it clear off the air she was not a fan of the Wright impersonation. : : Although Cobb "grew up in the black church," she said her chief objection is Wright and his association with Sen. Barack Obama is past its freshness date. : : "I personally don't feel there is a need to continue to bring him up unless, in the future, Barack was going to use him," Cobb said. "I don't want to participate in that. I don't think it's relevant. I don't think it's necessary." : : Volkman thought Cobb looked especially unhappy Tuesday, so he asked her to talk to them about it. : : "That was probably a bad move on my part because I've found in my years working with Jobo, don't ever get into an argument with him," Volkman said. "He's the king of debate club." : : Then the phone lines were opened and listeners defended Eddie and Jobo. : : "I totally broke down. I felt like I was being misrepresented," she said. "A lot of people took it as being racially motivated on my part, but really I don't get the whole point of constantly bringing up someone who this candidate has obviously distanced himself from." : : Volkman and Bohannon were stunned when she walked. "It's one of those situations where you're frustrated, angry and sad," Volkman said. "I don't like to see that. I like happiness." : : Volkman said normally there would be a postshow meeting with B-96 program director Todd Cavanah, which would defuse the situation. But Cavanah was on vacation, he said, "So we basically finished the show and headed home." : : As for the Wright character, Volkman said: "I'd feel very uncomfortable going in [Wednesday] and doing the character, even though I'm enjoying it. ... I might give it a day off." : These guys know they're done, past their prime, don't know what to do anymore and just don't care. They're just livin it up until the contract runs out, collectin that paycheck. : This morning I heard them talking about how WOJO and the other spanish stations were beating them, but it doesn't count because they don't speak English. And how GCI beat them too but GCI doesn't count because it's "in another league."

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