Craig Carton began his final show of Carton and Roberts by thanking the listeners, who he recalled being the ultimate unknown when he made his return to WFAN.
The question was, would the listeners and fans welcome Craig back?
“I always knew I could still do radio…the question mark we had was that there was no guarantee the audience would accept you back, because you hurt them,” Craig said. “Because they loved the show so much, Boomer and Carton, just like they loved Joe and Evan, Mike and Chris, that personal connection.
“The only thing that’s unaccounted for is whether or not the audience accepts you back, and there’s no way to predict that…we just weren’t sure. I’ll never forget, we had been on the air for literally two days…and there was an article written that we lost in the ratings. Two shows. And that burned me, that pissed me off, that we’re writing a ratings story when we had literally done two shows.”
Craig wasn’t sure if the fans would come back after those first few shows with Evan, but it didn’t take long for those concerns to dissipate.
“I remember going into that Thanksgiving in 2020, and being unsure,” Craig said. “I knew we were gonna do a good show, but I was like ‘Man, they just did a story that our ratings weren’t good after just two shows, is the audience going to come back and accept me back?’ I will tell you, from January of 2021 through July of 2023, you have not only accepted me back, but you have accepted the concept of Carton and Roberts, and I am forever grateful to the men and women who make up our audience. You have proven that second chances are possible, that redemption is possible, and if you are honest and transparent about the mistakes you made, and if you lean on the audience to support you, they audience is there for you.”
So, as Craig began his final lap on Carton and Roberts, he made sure to thank those that made the show, and his radio return, a success in the first place.
“I am forever grateful to the listeners of WFAN, who said it was OK for me to be back,” Craig said. “I don’t pay lip service to that. That’s real. No other medium has that level of personal connection…I am grateful to all of you for allowing Evan and I to get to No. 1.”
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