Tampa Radio: Bubba, Mike Talk On-Air

Bubba Clem

It was the first battle in the latest trash-talking Radio War to hit the Tampa Market.

Bubba the Love Sponge Clem returned to the Tampa Bay airwaves Monday morning — on Beasley Broadcasting's WHFS-98.7 FM, as was expected.

He and his on-air cohorts spent their first few hours hurling taunts and insults at his morning show rival, Mike "Cowhead" Calta, who took Clem's spot at Cox Media's WHPT 102.5 FM "The Bone."

The two personalities, who characterize themselves as bitter enemies, spoke by phone on the air.

According to Clem, Calta said on the radio that he would punch Clem in his "fat face."


According to the Tampa Business Journal, Calte added a bit of theater to the war of words by parking his tour bus — which touts his radio show and his band, Pitbull Toddler — outside Clem's studio off Cypress Avenue in Tampa's Westshore area.

Inside the studio — which is tricked out like a nightclub with full bar and stage — staffers walked around in camouflage T-shirts emblazoned with "Operation Bury the Bone."

Clem was perched, throne-style, at his workstation, which has the trappings of a DJ booth, while his sidekicks sat at floor level facing him.

Just after 9 a.m., Clem hosted the media for an on-air Q&A.

He confirmed some things that have been widely reported, and offered a few further details:
Cox fired him (not his words) in August and paid him his "seven-figure" compensation to stay off the air until Dec. 31.

He did reveal that Beasley, which owns six Tampa Bay stations, is building 98.7's programming around Clem's a.m. show, and will have a plan in place by February.

Asked if his talk-intensive show could change, perhaps to include music, Clem said he was not sure, although he has final say-so. "We have veto power over the format they pick," he added, referring to Beasley