Allen Hunt Show Ending

[RhubarbFan]

If you missed it last night at the end of his show Allen Hunt announced that this Sunday will be his last show,his show had recently been airing from 7-9 on Sunday nights,because of the Bulls and Bears show.He said that with his work with the Dynamic Catholic Institute and other engagements,he said it was too much to do a live show on Sunday nights. I will miss him.

 

[onetake]

WSB will be ok as well. I heard he was really a nice fellow but I never understood the point of the show. It took forever for the points to be made. Any idea why a guy who had never done radio prior to that show not only is on WSB but also had airings on other Cox stations either live or delayed? Always seemed like he had a WSB connection to start but his website always seemed to overstate the syndication impact.

 

[Mike_Rafone]

Mr. Hunt had coerced his congregation at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church to give him extra free time in order to develop and produce his initial radio program. He proclaimed himself to be "The Radio Pastor of Atlanta." In the beginning his show was quite balanced, but then began to tilt left. After some time he resigned from the United Methodist Church and gave all those who asked "Why?" the answer it was none of their business. He left the congregation in a lurch since his departure was not at the time of the usual Methodist reassignments. Then shortly thereafter he announced he had converted to Catholicism and became aggressively liberal. WSB dropped his show for a period while Cox syndicated it, notably to Charlotte and Orlando.

The last time broadcast I heard of his was following the memorial service in Arizona after the shootings there. He was railing, ranting, going beserk because he could not fathom why the service began with "Fanfare for A Common Man" (which is repeatedly identified as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey). Anyone who could identify the music correctly could see the logic and appropriateness of the music.

I would suspect his Roman handlers were finding him a bit much to manage and encouraged him to move to a less visible venue.

As previously posted, it will be no great loss to WSB Radio.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

In the beginning his show was quite balanced, but then began to tilt left. After some time he resigned from the United Methodist Church and gave all those who asked "Why?" the answer it was none of their business. He left the congregation in a lurch since his departure was not at the time of the usual Methodist reassignments. Then shortly thereafter he announced he had converted to Catholicism and became aggressively liberal.

That is interesting. I guess I only heard him 2 or 3 times, and then I didn't stay with him for a full broadcast. I'm not suggesting that your analysis of his leanings (left or right) are incorrect... I just know that the couple of times I heard him he was leaning to the RIGHT. Not knowing what the "room temperature" is at Mt. Pisgah, I wonder when he left the congregation if his tilt, whatever it was, didn't match his "flock" and it was time to get out of Dodge.

Methodist Churches nationally often have a slight Liberal tilt (some a significant tilt!) but in the Atlanta Area I was amazed how tilted to the Right Methodist congregations can tend to be (compared to Methodists in other parts of the country). Overall, nationally, I consider them to be Centrist, or Mainline as the ecelesiastical crowd speaks.

But when Allen Hunt announced his move to Catholic Circles, that certainly explained his departure from Mt. Pisgah. But doesn't tell us much about his departure from WSB.

 

[Mike_Rafone]

But doesn't tell us much about his departure from WSB.

Other than his numbers were definitely sufficient, or his leanings were becoming a bur under the saddle of Cox management, or that legitimately he couldn't do his other tasks and be on the radio, too. It really is not significant; what is to be commended is he recognized the time to move on and did so without a grand finale or extended "good bye" (as others in this market have condcuted).

IMHO, discussions of poltical and societal issues from a religious slant are not conducive to good radio. They need to be conducted on a personal level. One can't adequately express positions in 240 seconds. Mr. Hunt may have better performed (and I believe there is room in this market for such) as a reference and resource on biblical study issues and not moral anchor points.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

IMHO, discussions of poltical and societal issues from a religious slant are not conducive to good radio. They need to be conducted on a personal level. One can't adequately express positions in 240 seconds. Mr. Hunt may have better performed (and I believe there is room in this market for such) as a reference and resource on biblical study issues and not moral anchor points.

A lot of us would like to agree with you on that. HOWEVER! The entire political discourse of our nation today, and the entirety of Talk Radio in our nation today, is one giant discussion of political and societal discussion from a religious point of view. What made Mr. Hunt different was that he didn't wear his cammo garb when he went out to battle.... other broadcasters do.

 

[Mike_Rafone]

Cowboy, if what you are saying were correct -- that the majority of our decisions were based on religious standards -- this would be a marvelous nation. It is, in fact, not so. A great many of the leadership is based on what would be politically expedient and what would generate the greatest support by voters. Not always the same thing as what would be the religiously correct decision. Take what is being done to Paul Deen as an example. The faith correct response to her honesty would be to forgive her, acknowledge that hat she had done (if, in fact, she had) and continue on. Instead the media is out to totally destroy what she has struggled to build. Do you see the difference?

But to Mr. Hunt, may have started out on the right track, but soon caved in to his own press clippings and ended up a far piece from where he started.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Cowboy, if what you are saying were correct -- that the majority of our decisions were based on religious standards -- this would be a marvelous nation.

How do I say this graciously? What YOU think to READ is NOT what I THINK I wrote. Go back and read my post. Nowhere did I suggest that the majority of our decisions were based on religious standards.

I was responding to your post in which you said:

IMHO, discussions of poltical and societal issues from a religious slant are not conducive to good radio.

In response to that I posted:

The entire political discourse of our nation today, and the entirety of Talk Radio in our nation today, is one giant discussion of political and societal discussion from a religious point of view.

Here is the point I was trying to make, and must have done poorly in my attempt. I took it that you were critical of Mr. Hunt's style of Talk Radio because he tried to: have discussions of poltical and societal issues from a religious slant which is not conducive to good radio. And I won't argue with you on that. I might have some caveats and disclaimers on the subject, but basically we agree there.

My point was this: I took it you consider the basic "talk scheme" of WIBC and Talk Radio in general to be in the right direction, a healthy approach to things civil and political. But they do the same thing Mr. Hunt was doing.

What are Talk Radio and the people who appear on WIBC in that role talking about these days?

Abortion. A religious topic.
Birth Control. Wether birth control is legitimate and is part of women's health care is a religious topic.
DOMA. Same Sex Marriage. A religious topic.
Immigration. Once again, a religious topic when you get beneath the layers.

So, tell me again. Why is it a bad choice for Allen Hunt to bring religious values into the discussion of political values, but it is the primary thrust of Talk Radio and Conservative values proponents.

 

[Mike_Rafone]

Meant no offense, Cowboy, none at all. My choice of words implying I know what you are thinking was inappropriate.

I am not a great fan of Talk Radio as it has evolved. I much preferred what WRNG was in its first year or so, when the discussions were about topics and events and things, not issues. Then Talk Radio was entertainment; now it is full-fledge warfare between philosophies.

My objection to Mr. Hunt was, first, he veered from what could have been a good concept -- as I said, biblical study and reference. When he (or any other "talk master") turns the conversation into a soapbox for espousing a political view that they attempt to support with religious "principles" then it is a major dial away for me. And I still maintain that seriious, deep religioius issue discussions cannot be conducted on a radio program with the caller limited to "X minutes." Such conversations can become deep, involved, intricate, and cannot be done as they are done on broadcast stations.

PS - Is your automatic "correct and replace" on? I'm not certain why the references to WIBC when I thought WSB was the subject station?

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I fat-fingered the wrong key while typing. Actual message intended to go here found in the next panel of the comics page.

(Have you noticed how many of the comic strips today make fun of the mechanics of comes by standing out side the boxes of the cartoon strips and other free-wheeling artistic things.)

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I've been busted! I lived in the shadow of WIBC for 33 years, I've only lived near WSB for 15 years. By force of habit, my brain instructed my fingers incorrectly. Comparable stations, comparable ranking and track records in the two communities.

No offense taken. I saw this as an opportunity that as you and I sorted out our respective feelings about talk radio and the place of religious influence in our society, that it might be instructive to others who are reading this thread who may have never thought about Talk Radio in these terms. I guess it could be considered a bit arrogant on my part to suggest that other people could use an opportunity to rethink (1)how Talk Radio works (2) how our political process works (3) Whether all these IN GOD WE TRUST stickers on license plates in Georgia have real meaning (4)do we think religious institutions and dogma have any impact on how we govern ourselves (5) are we happy with our answers on all of the above.

 

[monkeymanmoi]

I'm not religious, but always enjoyed his show. It's different. He wasn't afraid to let opposing views on the air (for me, that's always important to keep things fresh).

 

[RhubarbFan]

Mr.Hunt had good points on some issues,but there were other issues that made you wonder what he was thinking. Methodist are more conservative in the south,they are similar to southern baptist,I know Methodist support the immigration bill being debated in the senate.

 

[secondchoice]

I know Methodist support the immigration bill being debated in the senate.

Please do not try to group all Methodist Churches and or congregations and the national organization together. Most Methodists are independent thinkers so any national endorsement doesn't carry as much weigh as in some churches. And besides Allen Hunt is no longer a Methodist by his own choice.

 

[onetake]

Probably more interest here in Mr Hunt leaving than when he was on the air. I may never get a good answer on how a show with no track record, on once a week, got on some larger signal AMs propped up by some Cox call letters.

I could be wrong, but remembered when Mr. Hunt left his church he had a backer who's name escapes me. They seemed to come at this with a feeling talk radio needed some moral grounding that nobody was giving, and the aggressive push they had didn't go far. It's hard to get a good PD enthused about some a talk show on once a week in a daypart they don't especially notice.

I suspected Mr Hunt was Dialing it up a notch, in efforts to be seen as edgier to the doubting PD's that they needed the show. It seemed just odd at times he'd ramble about his pick up truck and chat with a producer just wasting a lot of time as he looked for a topic then searched to make a point on it. It was slow. I was surprised WSB didn't coach him unless he was hands off. For a show that was supposed to be calmer and reflective than the topics talked to death all week, he'd go off in a dramatic and overstated position that seemed like the same kind of drama and tone we'd been hearing all week after all. I couldn't tell if he was trying to be one of them...or was fighting some feeling of "nobody takes me seriously."

He was probably fighting a bigger enemy of little management feedback or interest, fewer callers other than the agreeable regulars, and the fact you can't syndicate a show that's on once a week. It lasted longer than I guessed it would. I'd ask what they're replacing it with and bet nobody cares either way. It's Sunday night.

 

[Mike_Rafone]

a backer who's name escapes me

Doubtless someone high up with Cox corporate because he got a big splash in the AJC the week before he debuted. Someone might could check Mt. Pisgah's membership roll and find a familiar name.

It seemed just odd at times he'd ramble about his pick up truck and chat with a producer just wasting a lot of time as he looked for a topic then searched to make a point on it. It was slow

Ever hear the expression "vamping 'til ready?" I'm certain those long interludes were the result of no callers, or difficulty in screening the callers he had.

To continue my explanation of why I find current "talk radio" unattractive -- so many of the "hosts" spend minute after minute in a monologue (Rush, Mr. Levine, Mr. Hannity). It is almost as though they would rather rant themselves that let callers come on the air. The guy on AM America, Dr. Bennett, does a much better job of it. To me I know what the host thinks, let's hear what someone else has to say. "Vamping" is certainly not their goal; it is to put as much of themselves on digital record as possible. They are what is important, not the listeners.

The old WRNG approach, the way Milton Metz did on WHAS for years -- that's "talk radio."

 

[gnd]

2 pages and not one mention of who is/should replace him!!!!! My vote is for Mark Arum

 

[Mike_Rafone]

Now, Mark Arum would be a smart choice.

But lately when has Cox made a smart move in programming? They're likely to offer "The Cain Break -- The Best of Herman Cain."

 

[RhubarbFan]

Bulls and Bears will take that time slot,the original plan was to move Allen Hunt to 3-5 on Sunday afternoons.

 

[tylerSC]

Bring back Neal Boortz. A reduced schedule may not interfere with his retirement plans.