Barry says he was fired from WMOJ-FM (Mojo 100.3) last October after being accused of “corporate espionage” for forwarding a station email to long-time friend Randy Michaels.
Using his real name of Barry Tingley, he sued Radio One and Blue Chip Broadcasting 8/5 in Hamilton County, OH Common Pleas Court saying he was refused “severance, vacation or other accrued benefits using a false…reason of corporate espionage” for his termination after 13 months 10/25/12.
Two weeks later, the station dropped the “Mojo” format and announced it would become a sports talker in January. The station was WCFN-FM “The Fan 100.3″ from January until last week, when it changed to old school R&B.
Barry, 61, told Cincinnati.com blogger John Kiesewetter he did forward an email to Michaels, inviting Radio One employees to a teleconference with CEO Alfred Liggins last October. But Barry said the email did not include any passwords or proprietary info.
“I never wanted to do this (sue), but they didn’t give me any choice. I’ve never been treated so poorly,” said Barry, a local DJ or TV weatherman here for 40 years.
When Doug Spak was GM in 2011, Barry signed a two-year contract with a one-year extension calling for $120,000 a year, including a base salary of $65,000 and benefits, according to the suit. The contract called for the station to promote Barry, and market him for paid personal appearances and commercials, the suit said. Spak and others “induced him” to turn down a full-time Dayton broadcasting job to work at WMOJ-FM, it said.
According to the suit, MOJO managers decided in May last year to flip the format to sports talk, and planned to terminate him in November last year. Barry also claims he was “qualified” to remain at the station after going sports talk because of his “deep contacts in the Cincinnati sports world.”
See the Cincinnati.com story here
RBR-TVBR observation: Perhaps they changed to Sports Talk in 2012 as a way not to pay what they promised the morning driver. Depending on the email to Michaels (what specifics were in it), the espionage claim for firing may stick—especially if it could be proven with IT or phone records that Michaels was listening in on the call. The rest of the suit will depend on what was in the contract, of course.
