Josh Innes responds to caller's question about missing co-host Tony Bruno
The speculation about Tony Bruno’s absence from Sportsradio 94.1 WIP reached the airwaves today after Josh Innes responded to a caller’s question about his missing co-host.
UPDATE: Tony Bruno has decided to walk away from the show
The speculation about Tony Bruno's absence from Sportsradio 94.1 WIP reached the airwaves today after Josh Innes responded to a caller's question about his missing co-host.
"I do not know. He's off today, I guess." Innes told the caller, obviously a bit surprised by the question. "Simply put, that's what I was told."
Reluctant to speak about the situation on air, Innes did say he hasn't spoken to Bruno in a couple of days and told the caller, "as far as I know, Tony's supposed to be back.
"If there is something to know, I will tell you there is something to know," Innes said.
Sources indicate the absence is a cooling-off period following raising tensions between the two over the way Innes mocked a caller under the influence of drugs. Crossing Broad was the first to report about a rift forming between the two co-hosts.
A source close to the situation said tensions came to a head when a couple of tweets calling for Innes to be fired were re-tweeted by Tony Bruno's account, including this one:
According to multiple sources, Innes wasn't happy about the re-tweets and took to Twitter himself to respond:
Officials at WIP are hoping to meet with both hosts this week, with the goal of getting them back on the air together as quickly as possible.
The rift comes as the pair continue to be a ratings hit. According to data released today, during the spring ratings period Innes and Bruno were tops in the market among Men 25-54, the show's target demo. 97.5 The Fanatic and host Mike Missanelli, their chief competition among sports fans, tied with Radio 104.5 WRFF for 4th place.