Quappe returns to Cayman Crosstalk mic

| 04/01/2021 | 91 Comments
Barrie Quappe

(CNS): Local musician and former host of the morning talk show, Barrie Quappe, is taking back the mic at Cayman Crosstalk after Compass Media fired controversial host Woody DaCosta last week. The Compass has now taken formal ownership of Hurley’s Media following the acquisition in November. Quappe was the host between 2002 and 2006, when she was replaced by Austin Harris and Ellio Solomon.

She returned to the show briefly in 2016 after Hurley’s fired Kenneth Bryan (now MP for George Town Central) as co-host with Woody DaCosta, who went on to host the show, largely alone but with the occasional guest co-host.

According to the show’s Facebook page, Quappe will be back on Tuesday morning with Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee as her first guest.

The Compass is also believed to be reshuffling a number of members of staff at the paper and adding to the team after a number of people were sacked.

Caroline James, a British news reporter who came to Cayman from Sky News in the UK to work at Cayman 27 and then moved to GIS, has been appointed as the news editor. Meanwhile, CNS understands that the former editor, Norma Connolly, one of the paper’s longest members of the editorial team, is returning to the role of reporter.

In response to CNS queries, the Compass confirmed some of the changes and said in a press release that James would be joining, pending her work permit approval. OfReg approved the sale of the radio broadcasting company at the end of December, which the publisher, Kathleen Capetta, said would allow the media company to reach even more people through the Hurley’s brand.

“The expanded product line allows us to create unique impactful multi-media campaigns for our clients,” she said.

The company transition, she added, will take place over the coming month and will see the Hurley’s Media office, including the radio stations, relocate from Camana Bay to the Compass Centre on Shedden Road.


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Comments (91)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Oh well, back to Sterling!

  2. Anonymous says:

    CNS better be careful…Alden the king might just close you down also…just like he did with the news 27. Reminds me of North Korea.

  3. Anonymous says:

    The third world is missing its show. Now they will have to complain to each other about how their problems are not their fault or comment and spread their hate on CNS.

  4. Anonymous says:

    I was fine with Woody for the most part but a few small issues bugged be for quite a bit

    One such occurence was when he literally said absolutely nothing in September when a caller said that gay people here should be “gathered up and put in front of firing squads” and “deported en masse”

    I can’t imagine that is the kind of thing that advertisers and new owners like the Compass want to associate themselves with so it is no real surprise that he was let go

  5. Anonymous says:

    Has Subway and Wok n Roll dropped their sponsorship of this show?…Good on them if they have..

  6. Anonymous says:

    I never listened to this boring show. No loss!!!!

  7. Anonymous says:

    Austin will be available again soon.

  8. Anonymous says:

    They did Cayman dirty was more smh. Freedom of speech is dangerous to these dictators. Woodys show was the last place for free speech and where you could express real concerns. Reminds me of china and other places where they control what gets out to the people and what/who you can/can’t critisize. Point is roper, alden and dart hates when you tell the truth about them.

    • Anonymous says:

      I normally turned off immediately after his Good morning greeting. I refuse to start my day with so much negativity.

      The rooster crow contest was ridiculous.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Bring back ‘Snap’ (Stuart Diamond)!

  10. Just saying... says:

    Vickie Wheaton? Fleur Coleman? I don’t see either of those power houses shying away from any uncomfortable conversations.

  11. Anonymous says:

    On the bright side, maybe the guests will actually get to talk now. Woody didn’t know when to shut up and listen. It was all about him.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Beaumont you missed my point. I meant the talk shows as a launching ramp for the talk show hosts – Elio, Austin, Kenneth. Now Woody? OMG!

  13. George Nowak says:

    Relax Cayman Kind people don’t be so damn mean…. If you dont know Barrie or her brother Jimmy personally …. dont be so judgmental – Both are very intelligent , successful people , I also know Woody , also a super smart guy who will always succeed no matter what he does …. like him very much – he’s always been a great supporter of local music….. / Now concentrate on something important…. anyone know who the dog poisoners are ???? …… turn them in …… and make yourself useful

  14. Anonymous says:

    Eat fresh, EAT DELICIOUSSSSSSSSSSS!! I’ll miss ya Woody. No more rooster for me on the radio or facebook. Unuh did ma boy dirty!

  15. BeaumontZodecloun says:

    I don’t really have a dog in this race; I guess it is too much to ask that we listen to the show, give it a few weeks and then judge based upon our own impressions. Nope, we have to declare it baaad right out of the gate.

    I will listen. It may not be my cup o’ tea. It might be interesting. I’ll see for myself.

    • Anonymous says:

      We’ve all heard her before, Beau. She’s been around for a long time.

      • BeaumontZodecloun says:

        I know.

        I have changed in that time. Have you?

        • Anonymous says:

          She still sounds very monotone without an iota of radio personality….a real snooze fest. Woody talked too much sometimes, but he did draw you in and made many people listen. He also had a backbone and asked hard questions. Barrie will be PC and Zzzzz.

  16. Anonymous says:

    Makes me want to break out with Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

  17. Anonymous says:

    “The expanded product line allows us to create unique impactful multi-media campaigns for our clients,” she said.

    And there you have it. Cayman’s most established media company is now in the business of creating advertising campaigns for clients. Desmond Seales is smiling from above.

  18. Anonymous says:

    Recycling is a good thing, but not in this context….. It’s becoming very fatiguing honestly.

  19. Anonymous says:

    the last good talk show radio host was jay ehrhart….

    • Anonymous says:

      Yep! But Jay was too honest for Cayman to handle and too many of the right questions for Cayman to handle..

      • Anonymous says:

        I know Jay to be an MC/radio personality/newscaster which he is exceptionally good at. Not exactly the Stephen Sakur of the cayman islands as you’ll are implying.

  20. Anonymous says:

    Jimmy crackin’ corn and he don’t care.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Karma finally caught up on Woody. I know a hard working Caymanian that is out of a good job now because of him so what goes around, comes around. Time….

    • Anonymous says:

      Wow! I actually listened to Rooster for my entire drive to work this morning without getting sick to my stomach.

      Thank you Cayman Compass.

      Say no to verbal garbage.

      • Albert Conolly says:

        It was boring as hell

      • Anonymous says:

        Same here. I would like to personally shake the hand of the person at the Compass for making this decision. I will continue to listen to my favourite radio station and Barrie has my full support. Don’t care who wants to get puffed up.

      • Anonymous says:

        You were one of the few. The numbers have dropped HORRIBLY on Facebook and I bet the same is true of the radio too! Ha!

  22. PhenomAnon says:

    Caymanians, we need to wake up to what is really going on here. Regardless of what you thought about Woody, at least he spoke truth to power. Remember the cruise berthing facility that our government tried to ram down our throats? Remember the half-truths and out right lies spewed by the cruise facility consortium? Woody’s show was a daily source of the information that was necessary for the public to become informed of the real dangers that project posed to the Cayman Islands. The attention that Woody’s show placed on the cruise port project directly resulted in hundreds of people registering to vote for the first time, and thousands signing the petition that eventually led to the project being halted and a referendum being called for. The referendum is still up in the air and the cruise project will no doubt be revisited in the near future. Who will speak truth to power now? Certainly not Barrie or OC. Ruth Anne is gone now too, and Marl Road is more entertainment than real journalism. Control the media and you control the narrative. I fear dangerous times ahead.

    • Anonymous says:

      Woody is annoying. He stirred crap about the military…. Just because he happened to be on the right side of the cruise dock (which isn’t impressive since 90% were against as well) doesn’t make him qualified to have that platform. Well done Barrie.

  23. Barrie and Woody are both wonderfully talented, intelligent people who love Cayman dearly and truly want what is best for all. People, please learn how to write constructive criticism rather than hateful, destructive, hurtful drivel. Woody bravely took on any topic in the frying pan of the time, ever mindful of what is best for the greater good, regardless of potential political backlash. I didn’t hear every issue, but what I did hear never gave me the impression that Woody used controversy simply for ratings sake. THAT is what Crosstalk should be about… the greater good rather than ratings. Ratings will naturally follow if the discussion is honest and helpful. Go for it Barrie!

  24. Anonymous says:

    As the old people used to say – and there was/is no offence intended in this old saying – its just like “switching black dog for monkey”.

    Barrie was a joke when she held the post earlier – she was not one to accommodate dissenting opinions or commentary. Has she changed?

    BTW, I’m wondering why the Cayman populace has allowed a simple talk show (a valuable media source) to become a launching ramp for wanna-be or “successful” politicians! Why?? Let them stay in their lanes! None of then have ever been politically-educated or even trained journalists or media professionals anyway, just men & woman with the gift of gab! Seems like that’s enough for most voting Caymanians though. Sickening!!

    • BeaumontZodecloun says:

      Simple question: Where else do people on all three islands get a sense of our political candidates? I think ALL of them should be invited to talk about their views.

  25. Anonymous says:

    Just listened to 5 minutes of Barrie. Is her objective to put listeners to sleep? And her kissing up to how wonderful dr lee is was repulsive. I suppose we know what side the show will be taking going forward.

  26. Rooster now Clucking says:

    Unfortunately CNS that photoshopped picture of the new host speaks volumes also about roosters new agenda too . Sad Sad not much of a Woody fan but his no holes bar and bear knuckles views is now being substitute for plastic smiles and counterfeit regard for people complaints and views.

  27. Robert Mugabe IV says:

    Woody loved the sound of his own voice and put himself up on a pedestal as someone with better ‘morals’ than the majority. He was NEVER a host, always spoke as if he was his own guest, I stopped listening to him over two years ago.
    Here’s a hypothetical question for you all.
    Would a host of any radio show, be right or morally correct to stay working for a company IF, pension contributions were taken from employees wages and not put into the pension fund? (Another word for that would be theft)

  28. ppm Distress Signal says:

    A total stooge of this government and totally out of touch with reality but that is how we like here in Cayman isn’t it? The recycling of individuals such as Barrie Quappe is what this government mantra and ethos is built on. This is however welcome news and a great opportunity in light of and up coming elections where even the UK desires status quo and where this government brainwashed propaganda and mind numbing agenda have a platform and venue and host now, where it can air and promote it’s so called “Fair and balanced “views and agendas now safely without little or no interference or disruption from any type of opposition or non government candidates and where its clones and stooge like ppm tryptophan and Koolaid drinkers can spout off it’s a wonderful life stories and plain old lies and distortions to the gullible . The rooster will turn into their favorite bird the TURKEY 101.9!

  29. Ex Hurley’s staff says:

    Barrie is horrible as a host and does not prepare or understand the topics and real issues. An out of touch American pretending to understand or respect Caymanians and local issues will be exposed.

    CNS: Barrie is Caymanian. I think all Caymanians know that.

    • Kiss me neck says:

      No matter dat she Caymanian or not, can she do the job her bosses expect her to do, that is the question. The newcomers owners clearly saw this move as an opportunity to maximize their earnings . I am confident that if she does not add value to the brand sisters or not she will be gone. This I believe will be nothing about people who wish to vilify and scandalize like the previous format ur rather to make money. I bet you’ll see more Government people featured now. The previous host is a good talker but was an untrained Radio host and did nothing to improve himself on the job. Told ya so Woody, Ezzard looking Fe ya campaign dollars. Good luck you will need it.

      • Anonymous says:

        You think the people that own the Compass bought that to make money? Or the Compass bought Hurleys media to make money? LOL. I have a bridge to Little to sell you. It’s about controlling the media – that has a value way beyond making advertising dollars.

    • Anonymous says:

      What generation though?

      • Anonymous says:

        1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. They’re all just as much Caymanian as anyone. More so as they took a risk and moved here on their own.

  30. Anonymous says:

    Funny I just noticed that Dr. Lee will be her first guest tomorrow. Why as he afraid to come on while Woody was there? Was Dr. Lee afraid that he may be asked some hard questions?

    Will Barrie allow the public to question him tomorrow or will it be like the Port meetings and Radio Cayman where the callers are screened?

    Will anyone be ask able to ask him about the Doctors Express muck up

    I think not..There is no thick skin on any of these politicians or their lackeys.

    • BeaumontZodecloun says:

      Do you know for a fact that Dr. Lee was invited by Woody and declined? Or does that not fit the persecution narrative?

  31. Anonymous says:

    Wont be listening with BQ as the host.

  32. Philip says:

    Good, woody was already starting his political campaign for election, he was getting very tiring to listen to, very one sided in his views, not something that you would want in a talk show host if your a neutral organization, , history has shown us what goes wrong with talk show host that end up being voted in to government, I will say no more.

  33. Anonymous says:

    They should have just cancelled crosstalk and actually played some music in the mornings

  34. Anonymous says:

    Kathleen Capetta…whoever she is…I couldn’t even understand the quote that she gave at the end of that article. Just a jumble of meaningless words. Any chance anyone is going to say something sensible? No, I suppose not.

    • Anonymous says:

      Makes you long for the days of David Legge. At least he had things to say, arguments to make, even if you sometimes disagreed with his conservative American politics.

  35. Roosta out! says:

    Frankly I don’t find Barrie entertaining aka boring, and Woody talks too much, often repeating himself so much that he loses all but the most ardent and listeners who call almost daily.

    How anyone could refer to Woody as “brilliant” is beyond me!

    I’d stopped listening to the show for quite some time and don’t see a return.

  36. Anonymous says:

    Crosstalk listeners are just Marl Road followers who can’t read.

  37. WBW Premier. says:

    Rooster just lost a listener. Barrie go back to doing what you are good at.

  38. Anonymous says:

    Wait, thought you all said Dart owned both of them?

    • Anonymous says:

      If you spend more time tearing down your own people than bigging them up then you are the problem.

      I applaud this decision. Long time coming.

      • Anonymous says:

        Another voice silenced..yes long time coming. The Government monitored and cringed every morning when he got on radio for fear that he told the truth about any of them..

        Cayman is losing its right to free speech very quickly..

        Believe me you will not ever hear Barrie call the government out.

        • Anonymous says:

          The biggest reason why she will never call them out is because she doesn’t have the ability. It will just be shallow, surface chat.

          Woody gets it. Woody understands law and business and Cayman and, therefore, has the wherewithal to speak in a learned fashion. Woody is a real champion for Cayman, not just for a paycheque or to hear himself speak.

  39. Anonymous says:

    This is music to the people’s ears. Liquid sunshine even!

    How many days until Woody declares his next failed run for office?

  40. Anonymous says:

    I will miss you, Woody. I can’t wait to see what new greener pasture you move onto next!!! You’re brilliant,, Woody. The Compass are idiots.

    I have no interest in listening anymore to the show with Ms Quappe, as I find her completely off putting.

    I hope the new work permit is not approved for Ms James. There are lots of talented Caymanians who can do the job…. heck, one was just turfed for no good reason, for a foreigner who isn’t even in Cayman.

    Deny the work permit.

  41. Anonymous says:

    Nepotism at its finest. 🤮 Barrie’s brother is the owner of Compass.

    “Compass Media is owned by James Bergstrom, a well-known and highly respected local lawyer. James is Caymanian and grew up in the district of East End. As the proprietor of the Cayman Compass, it is important to James and his wife Laura Aull that the Cayman Islands has a responsible and respected daily newspaper at the heart of the community.”

  42. Anonymous says:

    This is probably the worse decision the Compass has made since purchasing Hurley’s Media.

    Barrie has failed on many occasions both on TV and radio to gain traction with her audiences on the many shows she has anchored. It is impossible for her to ask the hard questions and this will turn in to another watered down politically correct talk show.

    The decision to move Woody is obviously a political one and just in time to silence the media before the upcoming elections. Remember a big part of the Compass’ income and portfolio is the current government and they are protecting their interests.

    Whilst I cannot fault the owners for protecting their precious income but by doing so they will lose a large portion of their listeners and ultimately their sponsors and advertisers.

    Already on Facebook, people are unfollowing, printing and posting they have done so in protest. There is also a lot of chatter about boycotting not only Crosstalk but Rooster itself. I can’t see many of the Advertisers hanging on for a show that will based on a host with a very poor track record and a show that is sure to have very seriously low ratings.

  43. Gillian rudd says:

    Woody was a brilliant host. what a huge shame. so sorry to hear this news.no reason to tune in any more …

    • Anonymous says:

      Sometimes Woody would get on my nerves…a lot of unnecessary words, but truth be told, I thought he was on vacation and was really starting to miss him. Unfortunately, the Brac only receives 2 stations and I will be missing Crosstalk on my drive to work. Was glad when Barry left before.

    • Anonymous says:

      He was! If you liked someone droning on and on and on and on…….

  44. Anonymous says:

    Love Barrie – good luck!

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