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Great News/Talks

Stations that break in immediately when there is severe weather. I really hate it when the sky is turning green the hail starts
hitting my windshield and they keep talking about what they had for dinner last night. If I ever ran a N/T station that would be
my number 1 priority to break in immediately with emergency information and stick with it until the danger passes.
 
KJCB said:
Topics that are explained more in depth.
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Can you not understand the simplicity of the topic? Okay, I'll add more filler words... "In your opinion, what things make a News/Talk station GREAT to you?"
 
Originality. Strong committment to the local community. Entertaining and compelling radio.

Some stations that are doing it right:

KMOX
WTDY
New Jersey 101.5.

Aside from the above factors, what do these stations have in common?

Nothing...that's the point.
 
Have you seen WTDY's ratings? Horrible! WTDY may be local, but apparently the listeners in Madison don't care.

WTMJ is a better example of a great N/T in Wisconsin. They have excellent news coverage, local talk shows, and all of the major sports contracts (Packers, Brewers, Bucks, Badgers).
 
WTDY is, in my opinion, a great station that suffers from, among other things, a horrible dial position. The ratings rarely tell the whole story...
 
WHAM 1180 and WYSL 1040 in the Rochester NY are are both good news/talk stations in my opinion. WHAM does both morning and evening newscasts, while WYSL has local content as well as simulcasting a local TV station's newscasts in the evening.

Infact any news/talk station that has local news in the evenings or a local PM rush host is always good by me. I hate those stations that only devote time to just a morning show then syndicated shows the rest of the day with only brief updates through out.
 
dustintv said:
WHAM 1180 and WYSL 1040 in the Rochester NY are are both good news/talk stations in my opinion. WHAM does both morning and evening newscasts, while WYSL has local content as well as simulcasting a local TV station's newscasts in the evening.

Infact any news/talk station that has local news in the evenings or a local PM rush host is always good by me. I hate those stations that only devote time to just a morning show then syndicated shows the rest of the day with only brief updates through out.
Click to expand...

While we're mentioning Western NY, you cannot ignore recent Marconi award nominee WBEN/Buffalo. Local programming from 5A-10P and a history of dedication to covering local issues.
 
The nation's first FM talk station, WNIR in Akron, is local from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays. The station has consistently ranked #1 in the market. And it's always been locally owned.

www.wnir.com
 
WNBC makes the list twice:

In the 60s with (at various times) Brad Crandall, Bill Mazer, Ed McMahon, Big Wilson, Joe Pyne, Lee Leonard, Long John Nebel and weekend Monitor.

And in the 80s with Don Imus, Howard Stern and Soupy Sales.
 
Steven21 said:
HHH said:
WJR, Detroit

KMOX, St. Louis

WBZ, Boston

WGN, Chicago

Cream of the crop.
Click to expand...

Especially if you're 90.
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Oh, brother.

You don't get the numbers that these stations get with just 90 year-olds!

They all have great news, service and top flight on-air people. That's what I define as "great". Not sure what your criteria is.
 
WLW. Still an almost all-local lineup and they especially shined yesterday and today with tributes to long-time Reds broadcaster Joe Nuxhall, who passed away late Thursday. WHIO, with a good morning news show, and though syndicated the rest of the day, local news into the evening and breaking news and weather 24/7.
 
dustintv said:
[size=10pt]WHAM 1180 and WYSL 1040 in the Rochester NY are are both good news/talk stations in my opinion. WHAM does both morning and evening newscasts, while WYSL has local content as well as simulcasting a local TV station's newscasts in the evening.

Infact any news/talk station that has local news in the evenings or a local PM rush host is always good by me. I hate those stations that only devote time to just a morning show then syndicated shows the rest of the day with only brief updates through out.[/size]
Click to expand...
Well-stated. There's a place for syndicated shows, but c'mon, this is radio, not some repeater or translator station.

Now, this doesn't apply to small market stations, such as Salina, Kan., or Grand Junction, Colo., where market demographics woudln't likely support a big live and local presence, so most of the day is understandably "off the bird."

But the "legacy" talk stations, such as KLIF, Dallas, KGO, Frisco, KMBZ, Kansas City, should and do have strong local talkers.

I like how legendary WIOD, Miami, recently dumped their morning syndicated host (moved him to evenings) and brought back a market talk radio veteran, th Footy show.

I heard the show a couple of weeks ago when part of the city was locked down after a vicious killer killed a cop and was on the loose. The veteran host did what Beck, Limbo or others could never do- provided interactive talk and updates about the situation, and bringing in many people on the phone who could talk about the breaking situation.

It was true "talk rado" at its best.

What I like best was the host in normal times isn't always mouthing off or whining about how bad certiain politicians or political parties are, unlike that Wallbanger pipsqueak Slantity.

Sounding opposite of the cookie-cutter stations also makes for a good talker.
 
WIOD is also where Larry King got his start, as well as Randi Rhodes. WIOD is not afraid to run local programming, unlike most talk/news stations. (I always thought that new/talk was a misnomer, since they generally have a little news sprinkled in with the syndicated talk).

Regretably, the St. Petersburg/Tampa market may be in the top 20 markets nationwide, but no afternoon news block and what used to be a great station 970-WFLA is a shadow of it's former self; other than the morning opinion/entertainment/news block everything is syndicated except for one or two local programs on the weekend mornings. (afternoons are reruns of the weekday sub-mediocre programming.

A great station would be news/talk; more news than idle chatter and both morning and afternoon drive news blocks and more live and local programming during the day; this includes weekends, where many stations have few if any live personnel on the premises during the weekends; emergencies can happen during the weekend as well.
 
It's AMAZING how many major talk stations around the country are loaded to the roof with sydication.

Makes you wonder where all the new talent is going to be cultivated.

So many of the radio stars of today were cultivvated using the farm system---you know, the system that has been all but destroyed in an effort to put those stars on as many stations as possible coast to coast.

How's THAT for irony?
 
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