I can't answer the morning show or music radio questions... it's been a couple or more years since I have let some PD program my music for me, it's all on my pod. For morning news the first 5 minutes of any half hour on Channel 9 and a quick look at the TU site covers my local news and a flip over to Fox and a couple of aggregate news sites puts me ahead of the local news readers and tells me what I'll be seeing on TV as "breaking news" hours later.
The ride in is occupied by my RSS audio feed menu and a real-time traffic service (which is unnecessary since I already know the drill; Twin Bridges, Exit 7, etc...)
Best news talk has got to be WGY, some shocking weakness (Roney, the anemic news operation, Don Weeks' 1960's vintage "humor) and struggling but in a better position than anybody else in the market simply because they were so far ahead to start with that it will take them longer to entropy. Not to mention Rush and Sean who are second only to school closings in driving 810's ratings.
Best hiring, nobody
Best HIRE would be Rigatti
Best firing, got nothin' for you. The fires are almost a routine elimination of experience and talent.
New catagoy: Best business model adapted with apparent success: PV and Talk1300. Will never be listenable but could be one of those rare AM stand alones that makes money (block programming and infomercials are a very old standby for such stations... the guy who started Home Shopping Netowrk had one in Flordia and built his fortune by selling stuff on air that he got on trade from sponors who owed him money)
