Will she or won’t she?
A little more than three weeks after meeting with Phoenix station 96.9 about their job offer, “Dancing With the Stars” reality star Bristol Palin still hasn’t decided whether she’ll accept a radio co-host position.
Host Mathew Blades told The Daily Caller that the radio station is “at a total standstill right now” until Palin makes her decision.
“We’re waiting to find out what she’s going to come back with,” Blades told TheDC. “The ball is really in her court, we’re just waiting to hear a definitive yes or no from her.”
Blades said his last meeting with Palin, the daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, took place about three weeks ago.
“Well no, I don’t know if we’re going to set a deadline yet, but I do know that, me personally, I’m getting anxious to figure out what she wants to do because ultimately of course I want somebody in this room who wants to be in this room,” Blades told TheDC. “So, we’ll see what happens.”
Blades said his meeting with the “reserved” Palin went well.
“It was a cool meeting, you know, she was real quiet, I mean, she’s a quiet, shy person, but once we started talking about her kid and hockey, she kind of lit up a little bit,” Blades told TheDC. “She’s pretty shy, pretty reserved.”
When asked if Palin’s shyness would weaken her radio hosting abilities, Blades said he’s met plenty of quiet individuals who have been successful in the radio business.
“I have friends in radio who are the shiest, most introverted people, and you get them in a room with a microphone and they become a different person, and so I hate to judge her on the shyness of the interview,” Blades said.
Palin’s Arizona move sparked the station’s interest in hiring her.
“She bought a house here, and there were some rumors that she was going to go into communications at ASU (Arizona State University), and my boss kind of jumped on it and said, ‘Well, if you want to get into communications, if you’re going to live here, you know maybe this opportunity would be something for you,” Blades told TheDC.
Blades said Palin didn’t say anything during their meeting about why she wouldn’t want to take the job.
“I think because of her travel commitments with some of the responsibility that she has, that could spook her a little bit, but she didn’t get into it at all,” Blades said.
Blades said the radio station received a lot of press in the aftermath of his meeting with Palin.
“It’s kind of trailed off in the past couple of weeks,” Blades said of news coverage.
Blades said his management calls or emails Palin’s agent once or twice a week to check on updates.
“I don’t think we’re prepared to offer an ultimatum yet like, ‘You gotta sign by March or we’re done,'” Blades told TheDC. “I don’t think that’s anything worth thinking, we’re not in a super big rush to fill that position. We’d like for it to be Bristol, so if that’s the case, then we’ll wait a little while.”
Jeff England, the president and market manager of Clear Channel Broadcasting, reiterated to TheDC that there’s no update on Palin’s decision.
“My understanding is she has a number of options on the table, and she is still considering what direction to take,” England told TheDC, adding that the station hope she joins their team. “We enjoyed our visit with her and hope things work out.”