Cowboy,
The reason is hasn't been able to work is the Suits are so much younger than that audience, and their liberal-titled minds can't grasp how Ludlow's perspective is entertaining. "It's not demeaning someone; it isn't demanding something; it isn't trying to stir updissension." That's the kind of radio they want, whether it is left or right wing.
I cannot listen to Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh for any length of time. First of all, I don't enjoy monolgues; aren't there listeners out there? Aren't you supposed to interact with them?
Second, they never have solutions, only problems. They can point out everything that is wrong with the world, but their view is so gloomy! They don't offer hope. They don't suggest alternatives. No matter the issue, their position is that it is the wrong issue. We do need new fresh thinkers looking outside the box for answers. Ludlow and his step-brother Lewis Grizzard were successful because they said, "Hell, we can't fix it, but let's look at some things that we can fix or that are just plain silly and relax a bit. Anxiety is going to kill us if we don't lighten up.
But the execs of the stations and the networks can't conceive of that kind of entertainment. It has to be edgy, provocative, politically motivating. For gosh sakes, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Edgar Bergen all were hits for decades. Sure, they personally had causes and fought hard for them, but they never used their broadcasts to crusade for an issue (excepot, perhaps, as a closing PSA). Dennis Miller comes the closest to that mold right now. And that's because Miller sounds like he's half-louded all the time, and he's not going to take anything seriously.
We need to bring back that kind of programming, that kind of laughter.
