SYRACUSE -- Longtime market fixture Tony Bombardo will be performing his very last traffic reports on radio and TV tomorrow (Friday) morning. Bombardo's decision to quit his reports comes after he and ABC affiliate NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV) failed to agree on a new contract for Bombardo's services.
According to a report published on the Syracuse Post-Standard's website late Thursday afternoon, Bombardo was never paid by the station. Rather, he made a living by selling the sponsorships he read during his own traffic reports. We presume it's the same deal with MOViN 100.3/96.5 (WMVN), which, without Channel 9, would be Bombardo's only station -- likely not enough to pay the bills.
Bombardo, who first lent his "eye in the sky" to WHEN in 1977, told the newspaper he's not pleased about his abrupt departure from the airwaves.
As for TV, the newspaper says morning co-anchor Christie Casciano will handle traffic reports starting next week. No word yet on how MOViN will handle traffic following Bombardo's exit, but it's probably a safe guess one of the station's morning co-hosts, Skip Clark or Heather Daley, will step up to the plate for mornings, and we're guessing afternoon host Yo! Sunny Joe will handle his own traffic reports.
You may recall Bombardo was relieved of his duties from Classic Hits 92.1 WSEN back in October. At the time, GM Judy Kelly told CNYRadio.com an airborne traffic reporter is no longer necessary, thanks in part to the NYS Department of Transportation recently making local traffic cameras accessible to the general public.
Not too long before that, Bombardo was dropped from Citadel CHR 93Q (WNTQ); morning co-host Ted Long has been handling traffic reports in the morning since that time, and his counterpart Rick Roberts has been doing the reports during afternoon drive. Bombardo had been a long-time fixture on the station, even participating in an April Fools' prank or two along the way.