> > From both the Columbus board and cleveland.com's Listener
> > Party:
> >
> > WTVN 610-AM late night host Steve "Boom Boom" Cannon was
> > just the latest CC budget cut victim. George Norry reruns
> > now air in the 10p-1a slot, in place of what has since
> > become an anomoly - live, local talk in the twilight
> hours.
> >
> > Before joining WTVN, Steve worked at both WGAR 1220-AM and
>
> > WHLO 640-AM (in its
> > original news/talk phase) back in the 1970's.
>
> That's a shame. WTVN was IMHO among the best medium-market
> talk stations in the country, which so much local talk and
> news throughout the day, up to 1am. I could get over it
> despite Cannon's talents, but hopefully Noory is not the
> permanent replacement. It's too early for his show; put John
> Batchelor or Phil Hendrie on 10-1.
>
> But you're saying a huge CC station dominating the market
> couldn't schlock a few spots at 10 at night?
>
I feel bad for Steve, but I feel vindicated at the same time since he hung up on me on Election Night a year ago.
I listened to Steve during his WHLO days when I was in my teens. And I liked his interaction with guests. When WTVN was still a full-service AC (pre-Rush), I would tune in to Steve while driving home from work. But as other former 610 employees like John Layne and John Remy will tell you (and Sally Wagner if she were still with us), things have changed from the time I graduated from Kent State 20 years ago. Back then, the 7-station rule and the Fairness Doctrine were still in existence.
My hope was to work for a station like WTVN, but I'm thankful that I never got my career in radio news off the ground. I couldn't work for anyplace where news is covered lightly (miminal substance) or indicates a slant to reflect Fox News or airs a lot of fluff.
Steve would fit well on a station like WAKR (or WMNI here in Columbus), but if you even put him on morning drive on WHLO now, the fit would be very uncomfortable. He is a natural for hosting a fun show with interesting guests, but he was never meant to be a conservative talking head.
If I ever get back on the radio myself, it would be doing something I never envisioned doing 20 years ago: liberal talk. While Steve was an inspiration way back when, he has since been replaced by Lionel. And like Bob Friend, Adam Jones, Bill Hart and others I listened to while growing up, Steve just became the latest victim of the domination of ultraconservative talk.
Another reason to mourn for the death of full-service radio. <P ID="signature">______________
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Edited by SeanMGilbow on 11/12/05 01:15 AM.</FONT></P>
