The annual BSM Summit took place in New York City this week, and one of the more anticipated moments of the conference didn’t involve presentations or networking, but came and went in the blink of an eye.
Current WFAN afternoon co-host Craig Carton found himself in the path of former afternoon drive king Mike Francesa while in the Anne Bernstein Theater on Thursday. It is very clear the two do not care for one another, and Carton has been very public about that since returning to the airwaves of WFAN.
Carton said on Thursday’s Carton & Roberts that despite the two not being on good terms, their meeting at the BSM Summit didn’t spark a brawl.
“I have to tell ya, it’s going to be disappointing to a lot of you,” Carton said to co-host Evan Roberts. “It was cordial. It was cordial on both sides.”
Carton said he was speaking with some folks in the theater when Francesa appeared through the elevator doors. He said Francesa was on a direct path through him. But Carton said people definitely noticed.
“He saw me, and I saw him. And the room stopped,” he said. “Honestly, it’s one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever experienced… They’re waiting for the moment that he and I are in the same room.”
Noting that there was suddenly anticipation of what would happen when the two spoke to each other, Carton said they said hello to one another and that was it. No fireworks, no bad blood rehashed.
“I will say this, it went great,” Carton said. “It lasted half a second and, ladies and gentlemen, it was phenomenal… Like wind passing wind, and that’s what it was.”
Carton said WFAN management did have someone planted in the audience at the theater to specifically document the interaction when it happened, but it never got recorded. Roberts asked if Craig considered trying to have an actual conversation beyond hello with Francesa.
“I thought about that, but I think I kind of did that with my presentation today,” Carton said. “Cause I was asked a lot of questions about like the business and radio and about how program directors fail talent, and how local radio is dropping the ball in a lot of ways. All those sorts of things.”