Sorry, but Doug's explanation doesn't make sense. KFYI takes phone calls---at least on some limited level and they have superior numbers to KTAR.
Talk radio thrives on the give and take, not simply some host bloviating talking points or shtick. Listeners want to feel like they can weigh in on topics as well, if they don't feel involved then why listen? After all, I thought the purpose of terrestrial radio was to "serve the community".
I know the people on this board like to spout the same tired jokes about Edna in Sun City and say most callers aren't very articulate, but isn't that what a phone screener is for? I hear many shows with quality callers that have a point on all forms of talk radio. I'd rather hear some give-and-take from callers than hosts trying to fill time with their own unobstructed agendas.
Talk radio without callers or interaction grows tiresome very quickly, especially during breaking news events. KTAR has been a running joke for some time now. We know that it's pretty humiliating when national pundits ask a host at KTAR "what's been the listener's reaction to [insert story here]?" and the host stares blankly as if he was just asked to explain Zeno's paradox. Oh, wait, they do read a few tweets on the air or a facebook message... nevermind that they either a) agree totally with the host/make the host look better or b) the listener really has no way of knowing if they're real or not. I have no problem with the idae of integrating social media into a talk show, but this market was already a lame place for local talk and KTAR has only made matters worse.
Imagine a message board where you couldn't reply to threads, instead it was just one opinion. You have a discussion with your friends and only one person is allowed to talk. Give me a break, take some callers KTAR... especially KTAR-AM... sports talk without callers, how uninteresting is that? Why trust a host on the station that airs the Diamondbacks to give me an objective opinion regarding the team? Especially when that host no longer takes phone calls and their opinion goes completely unchallenged.
Doesn't anyone on this board actually think about these points?