Source: Rush Limbaugh to return to WPHT

[Small Market Guy]

Can't believe I agree for once with SMG, but yes, hot talk would work if stations did it correctly, which means NOT doing T&A talk like they tried years ago. That was dumb and boring.

A perfect example of "hot talk" would be Tom Leykis circa 1991-1993 when he ruled PM drive in Los Angeles. He did current events/issue-oriented talk, but with high energy and a lot of provocative and edgy conversation.

"Hot talk" content was similar in a lot of ways to traditional talkradio, but the delivery was so much younger sounding.

All you need are talk hosts who are interesting, animated and non-ideologues. With the torpedoing of the farm system and the reliance on conserva-talk for so long, I'm not even sure where you find those these days is beyond me.

Even O&A and Stern don't do T&A talk anymore (at least I don't think Stern does as much of it). But the PC police still wouldn't allow the kind of Hot Talk that would work. Even Leykis can't find a gig now. With professional complainers out there listening to every word every hosts says, it's just too much trouble to take a chance anymore. Hence the reliance on political talk.

 

[flybynight]

Even O&A and Stern don't do T&A talk anymore (at least I don't think Stern does as much of it). But the PC police still wouldn't allow the kind of Hot Talk that would work. Even Leykis can't find a gig now. With professional complainers out there listening to every word every hosts says, it's just too much trouble to take a chance anymore. Hence the reliance on political talk.

Actually, Leykis has said himself that he has been offered jobs, but the money isn't what he's worth---and he's not taking a paycut to subsidize the big, fat payouts to the very executives who've ruined/gutted the industry.

By the way, the classic Leykis of the KFI days was void of much T&A type material. It's the "Leykis 101" period that would be problematic today. To this day I'm not sure why he changed his act so dramatically. He had a lot of ratings success as a straight-ahead talk host. Maybe he just got bored. lol

 

[TheBigA]

Actually, Leykis has said himself that he has been offered jobs, but the money isn't what he's worth---and he's not taking a paycut to subsidize the big, fat payouts to the very executives who've ruined/gutted the industry.

Of course that didn't stop HIM from accepting a big fat payout when he was dropped by CBS. It allowed him to live very comfortably, not working, and smoking his big expensive cigars just like the executives.