Most boring local talk markets

[Don62]

Yeah. Limbaugh is really a shell of what he used to be.

It's like he's frozen in time, say 1994.

Instead of Clinton being in office, it's those dirty and tricky Dems in the House and Senate.

I don't see the host having a lot of personal, intimate connection with his listeners like other radio hosts do.
(Or use to, this being 2007 with corporate control over radio - liner notes, not letting jocks talk much on their own, no choosing of music or playing real requests, etc.).

Other hosts are much better at connecting with their audiences.

Savage is more of a conversationalist, (though he does get politcal and sometimes too heated) Savage talks, like Beck- whom I like - about many things other than just politics.
Both of those don't seem to be Limbaugh wannabees, unlike some other hosts.

Hannity: Well, let's just say he doesn't read (only opinions he agrees with) and doesn't like to hear others tell him there's another side to the story other than Bush is always right about Iraq. Other opinions county, fella. Start listening to your callers who don't swallow the co. line as much as you do. Show some respect to them instead of denigrating them after you cut them off.

Again, I don't see a lot of riverting radio with Hannity. Just political talking points to an audience in a trance.

 

[jimwalsh2001]

Beck and Rush are seriously downtrending in many markets. Hannity is one of those accidents of history: somebody in the right place at the right time with an act that pleased people with more money than sense. While he certainly does have some star quality (and he can do a decent interview), I don't see a lot of meat and potatoes under all the gravy and his "success" in indicative of much that's wrong with the industry.

 

[larnov]

The Philips Phile on Real Radio 104.1 and XM 152 blows away Hannity and a local guy Bud Henniger 540 Orlando in the ratings,
Philips des some local talk and some national otherwise it is all sorts of stuff. Hennigers 1st hour is also on a local Christian TV station too.

 

[DaleGriffin]

Beck and Rush are seriously downtrending in many markets. Hannity is one of those accidents of history: somebody in the right place at the right time with an act that pleased people with more money than sense. While he certainly does have some star quality (and he can do a decent interview), I don't see a lot of meat and potatoes under all the gravy and his "success" in indicative of much that's wrong with the industry.

Please let us be serious for a moment, you can dislike them/their styles/their politics all you want. But from a success standpoint, Rush and Sean are still consistently high performers across the board. Any station to drop them is making a mistake and will surely have them picked up ASAP.

Hannity is a multi-media juggernaut with no signs of slowing down and Rush is Rush.

 

[hammondo]

Dale Jackson said;
you can dislike them/their styles/their politics all you want. But from a success standpoint, Rush and Sean are still consistently high performers across the board. Any station to drop them is making a mistake and will surely have them picked up ASAP.
_________________
Dale, Your comment is exactly right.

 

[KevinFodor]

Philadelphia talk continues to suffer from the implosion of WWDB-FM years ago and the all-newser on steroids, KYW.

Tampa suffers because CC controls all the good AM signals except 820 -- it sold that one to a Spanish company to make sure there'd be no competition. CC also sold 1040 to Genesis. They must have known Bruce Maduri would never have the smarts to know how to take on their juggernaut. Tampa also suffers because it is perhaps the most infomercial- and brokered-saturated market in the country, with the possible exception of South Florida and Las Vegas (before KDWN was sold).

Yup. Real nice of that harmless mega-chain which is always defended as not trying to run or harm radio...

Buy up everything you can and leave only crumbs for anyone else.

That's what the public "necessity and convenience" clause was all about, right?

CC, since it couldn't get "sellable" numbers with progressive talk in Columbus (a 1.4 12 plus is not sellable in any format there), and, given the fact that an FM talker has come in the market, appears to be running that station as
merely a "flanker" to protect the position of their format leading talk station, WTVN. It appears they don't care about numbers with this tactic, they are protecting WTVN by putting programming on the other station which, if it got on FM, could affect WTVN.

And, before you scream "fairness doctrine", this practice is legal and has been done now for a decade or more.

 

[Don62]

Philadelphia talk continues to suffer from the implosion of WWDB-FM years ago and the all-newser on steroids, KYW.

Tampa suffers because CC controls all the good AM signals except 820 -- it sold that one to a Spanish company to make sure there'd be no competition. CC also sold 1040 to Genesis. They must have known Bruce Maduri would never have the smarts to know how to take on their juggernaut. Tampa also suffers because it is perhaps the most infomercial- and brokered-saturated market in the country, with the possible exception of South Florida and Las Vegas (before KDWN was sold).

Yup. Real nice of that harmless mega-chain which is always defended as not trying to run or harm radio...

Buy up everything you can and leave only crumbs for anyone else.

That's what the public "necessity and convenience" clause was all about, right?

CC, since it couldn't get "sellable" numbers with progressive talk in Columbus (a 1.4 12 plus is not sellable in any format there), and, given the fact that an FM talker has come in the market, appears to be running that station as
merely a "flanker" to protect the position of their format leading talk station, WTVN. It appears they don't care about numbers with this tactic, they are protecting WTVN by putting programming on the other station which, if it got on FM, could affect WTVN.

And, before you scream "fairness doctrine", this practice is legal and has been done now for a decade or more.

Doesn't make it right, though.

Much like Microsoft, the Railroad Barons, etc. Buy everything you can and don't dare let anyone else in on the party.

I don't think shutting out other voices and monopolizing the airwaves - as CC apparently does with Tampa - isn't good for the listener or even CC.

Not only does this stifle competition and creativity, it keeps many prospective voices from working in the field ( They're too expensive, we can go with syndicated crap ) and makes radio stale, boring, and unoriginal.

 

[SeanMGilbow]

CC, since it couldn't get "sellable" numbers with progressive talk in Columbus (a 1.4 12 plus is not sellable in any format there), and, given the fact that an FM talker has come in the market, appears to be running that station as
merely a "flanker" to protect the position of their format leading talk station, WTVN. It appears they don't care about numbers with this tactic, they are protecting WTVN by putting programming on the other station which, if it got on FM, could affect WTVN.

And, before you scream "fairness doctrine", this practice is legal and has been done now for a decade or more.



[/quote]

I'm not about to scream fairness doctrine, but I will instead use the term "license challenge."

WYTS is now at the audience level that it had prior to becoming progressive talk--0.4 according to the latest Arbitron survey.

And WTVN continues to gradually drop listeners--note I say gradual, but the Arbitron numbers point this out if you look at them.

Meanwhile, WTDA got an interesting little boost with the arrival of Glenn Beck.

Nonetheless, while flanking may be legal, it does not necessarily mean a station is programming in the public interest.

 

[hammondo]

LICENSE CHALLENGE!!!! HA!!!!

My friend, the fcc doesn't give a RIP what is programmed on any station - as long as it is not objectionble.

There are DOZENS of "flank" stations all over the US. All legal.

All you'll do is make some shyster lawyer RICH with YOU paying the legal bills.

 

[Don62]

With regards to the thread title ( which I originated, with a point of view, of course - much like the opinonated talk radio shows ), I think the most boring talk radio markets are the ones that have little local content, ala Miami, Tampa, Tulsa, Philadelphia.

It's the markets where the progressive and farsighted owners see fit to lazily air only cheap, syndicated filler programming, with very little effort.

Those type of shows, while they may generate ratings, don't generate a lot of personal listener connection - what radio is all about, right> -- with the stations, much like KMOX, WOR, WGN and KOA used to do.

Belch ( I have a harsher word in mid ) all you want about about how such great compelling local shows would detract from the easy way of making stockholders $$$ -- and no one would listen, right (tell us another one) -, but automat radio is sure is boring and predictable as all get out.

 

[Board Editor]

Some posts in this topic have been moved to Take It Outside.

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[talkproducer]

I know Beck and Hannity are huge, but check this out: Beck's ratings were so poor here in Louisville, and he was on live, that they yanked him. And what blows my mind, is that Michael Medved has beat Hannity in the ratings the last TWO books! How does that happen here in Louisville?