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CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

P

Pratte4Life

http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9010418

I hate to see anyone lose their job, but the thing I recall about Bernier was back circa 1999 I called his show and during the course of conversation he asked me the most offensive question I have ever heard on a radio talk show-

"Did baseball get rid of Marge Schott to appease the Jews?"

My jaw still drops when I think he asked me that question.

That's something even a shock jock shouldn't get away with. In most areas, he'd have been gone before his show was over.

Also, it bothers me that he's been on the air for 10 years here and he is quoted as saying "eventually I was going to move up here."

WHAT WERE YOU WAITING FOR?

Still, gotta love Bristol Broadcasting, huh? No warning, despite the fact Bill Hagy is quoted as saying he'd been considering making a move for a long time. Bernier got no offer to do weekends or renegotiate.

WFHG used to be a real contender with WJCW but I just don't see that happening anymore.

NOW- ON TO WXSM-

Bobby Rader has replaced Don Helman as the host of the "Morning Monster," thus doing a number of things-

1- It finally gives us a talk show show in the market whose primary host is not a white guy more than 50 years of age.

He's a white guy more than 40 years of age.

And the fact that IS a significance around here speaks volumes.

2- The ratings have gone up in the first fall trend, but whether that is because of Rader or because it was football season and fans wanted a forum where they could attack Phil Fulmer- I don't know.

3- Helman is really getting the shaft. They not only pulled him off mornings, they aren't having him pinch-hit when either Rader or Bill Meade need a day off. Instead one of the later two pulls a double shift.

Furthermore, Helman, who used to provide color for all the Arby's Classic games, has been replaced.

4- With Rader, the content of the station is much more "Volcentric."
 
Re: CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

Nobody seems to give a rat's... on this topic, so I'll give it a shot. I've indulged myself in so much FM music detail, that I know too little about AM talk radio to post an intelligent reply, so I give you an ignorant reply...

-This post sounds like it's posted by A #1 Don Helman fan.
-I like Don Helman (he's my myspace friend)
-I also like Bobby Rader (not my myspace friend)
-Bobby Rader can be sometimes heard on the Vol Network
-Don Helman is the voice of the Lady Bucs.
-More Tri-Cities residents care about the Vols than the Bucs (assumption)
-J-Sandos would be turning over in his grave, were he dead.

Definition of Sandos: Noun
San Fernando, larger of the two cities in Trinidad and Tobago, and the second largest municipality. It occupies 18 km² and is located in the southwestern part of the island of Trinidad. It is bounded to the North by the Guaracara River, the south by the Oropouche River, the east by the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway, and the West by the Gulf of Paria.

-Anyone who listens to enough talk radio to know when people are subbed in and out must not have a real job.

and what really matters here...

-Anyone who is fired or hired in Tri-Cities radio and gets an article about it posted on any local news website KNOWS SOMEONE or is SLEEPING WITH someone.

We all love radio, oh yes we do. But our local hirings and firings ARE NOT NEWS. Unless someone starts the website "alltricitiesradioaccess.com." Go buy it up! I think its available! Just goes to show what a sad, sad website it must be to post such "news."

Barney Fife was fired from the Mayberry PD. Someone go notify Times News and QUICK!

just stirring the pot :eek:
 
Re: CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

I always found it funny that we had someone all the way down in Florida trying to do a local show for us here in the Tri-Cities. Although I am not to familiar with terrestrial radio...surely it is not a practice for a radio station to have someone over 700 miles away doing a radio show that is supposed to be "local." Although Bernier would try to talk about local issues that made it to the front of the local newspapers or were featured in the local news update on the station, he often would mention local news in the Daytona Beach area...and then try to pawn it off as being applicable to us in the Tri-Cities. What I found even more entertaining about this "local Tri-Cities show" were the calls from his fans in Florida that listened to him via the web. They would often bring up issues unique to Florida...which I would think would just cause a local listener to tune out.

In my opinion, Bernier also failed to keep up the same pace with his WFHG show as he did with his WNDB show. I have listened to his WNDB show online before, and found that it seemed to go at a much faster pace and had a lot more content. On WFHG, it seemed that Bernier was just grabbing for straws when noone was calling in.

Although he had a good generic conservtive radio personality, I hope that they find someone that is less biased and local to this area to fill in.
 
Re: CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

It's somewhat more practical to do a "local" show outside of the market- any market- than it once was prior to the internet.

Still, I think you have a valid point. He said he was eventually going to move up here- but after 10 years . . .

The thing is I believe it is unlikely for WFHG to replace him with someone locally. They already are going with Laura Ingraham.

So we've lost a forum to speak local issues, even if it is from a Florida host asking bizarre, borderline anti-semetic questions.
 
Re: CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

J-Street- We're not talking DJs here, who are a dime a dozen.

We're talking talk show hosts. And yes, when a personality who advances the news and culture, not the time and temperature, of the area is let go or replaced it is news.

Just ask Don Imus.

I like Rader too, but you mentioned how he was on the Vol Network and Helman was an ETSU broadcaster and since UT > ETSU hiring Rader makes sense.

The question here is if it would be nice if a sports talk show host was hired who wasn't a paid shill- I MEAN ANNOUNCER- to the home teams.
 
Re: CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

I think this is why the sports guys even get into announcing on radio to begin with....Bill Meade has done sports for local cable in addition to his show as well as filling in for Jay Sandos when he was in Iraq...Hellman worked with Bill then moved on to doing the girls sports...TomTaylor was or is the voice of BMS...Rader with the Vol network..it is like a funny cycle...the on air announcers want to work outside of the radio station...all the sales people want to get on radio so they work the local ball games to be sports announcers...its a cycle of wanting to do what your not...and wanting to get extra money for doing it...what baffles me is all the time that stations seem to let their employees take off...from missing shows and air times to losing ad revenue because the salesmen are playing sports caster...can stations really afford to lose their talent and salesmen so they can do other things during work time...never made sense to me.
 
Re: CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

Actually, I think you're wrong on this. While it's true many sales people do sports in this market, I think overall the product suffers because of this.

I know once I inquired why in the world we had on so much high school basketball. They were changing their whole schedule to give us details of the "exciting" action of David Crockett High School or whatever.

Basically, the line came down that since the sales people often call the games, they are motivated to sell the games, but less so the regular programming.

How many radio sales guys around here, for instance, do you really think "get" Jim Rome?

Hence, a Mark Bernier may suffer for it because they are not motivated to sell his show, but we do get some 60-24 basketball game that only has the interest of parents and girlfriends.
 
Re: CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

I agree with you on the games...but it still seems to me that the time they take out to prepare...travel..etc...is time spent selling the other products...and sports seems to still get spread out...still trying to figure out why they let salesmen do this...for example...a salesman I would add saleswoman but don't know of any cases of that here...start getting on the air via sports...I have seen that sports gig turn into sports plus fill in...which goes to less time in sales and more time on air...and though Hellman does an outstanding job for the Bucs...that is a lot of time gone from sales...especially during those times he traveled...unfortunately I have also heard some people talking...overhearing at Jersey Mike's one day when the sport magazine got delivered that these outside paid gigs give them less credibility when they discuss issues on the air...that day the men were complaining that Meade and Hellman were both biased on the football issue since they are affiliated with the bucs...don't think that is true..but appearances and preceptions can alter listenership...but it seems the bigs dogs in talk like rush are the only ones you don't have to work to sale...the only other morning show that never seemed to suffer the sales was when Tom Taylor was on WKIN...but he was basically a one man show on that station...talk...he did all DB sports...all of the sports was sold out.
 
Re: CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

J-Street:
THAT ETSU EDUCATION DID YOU WELL SON! NO i'M NOT MAD OR YELLING. JUST RAISING MY HAND AND SAYING "WAY TO GO SON! I'M PROUD OF YA!" By the way, Bobby Rader is around if not 50 already. So is Bill Meade. No need to talk age here. It's whatever BS you can shovel out to please the listeners. Have you listened to at least 5 minutes of ESPN Radio? Somebody should tell those guys who know it all where Tusculum College is. They posed that question once when Denzel Washington's son's team(some school in Ky.) played Tusculum in football. Duh? Back to the doghouse. It's time for my Kibbles.
 
Re: CHANGES IN TRI-CITIES TALK RADIO-MARC BERNIER GONE FROM WFHG- BOBBY RADER & MORE

Tusculum is not an athletic program of national interest. There is no reason for ESPN types to pay it any attention. I doubt ESPN Radio even gives the score of the Division II National Championship Games in football and basketball when they occur.

Age IS a factor. The personalities of The Monster hosts simply aren't cutting edge or able to keep listeners who are less than 40. The tragic thing is there are no talk show hosts in this market who can.

The best radio that is on there is when Kasey Mahler pinch-hits and makes strong points- the way a sports talk show host is supposed to- or when Bud is given a chance to shine.

In other words, two hosts who don't worry that they might be thrown out of church with their comments and make their points objectively- and not through orange colored glasses.

During the past book, the ratings went down to 0.8 during the fall. Fall is the book in which sports radio stations are supposed to peak.

WXSM had their second-worst book ever. Maybe hosts scolding their listeners they aren't real fans if they criticize Phil Fulmer isn't the way to go.
 
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