(Most) Premiere talkers homeless in Boston

[davideduardo]

San Francisco: KNEW

IIRC, he had been on 560 previously. Major downgrade in signal, much more than the 640 to 1150 LA downgrade.

There was a huge article in the LA Times about Rush's move, and it was covered in heavy detail through conservative media.

That brings up an interesting question of how many conservatives read the LA Times.

I only knew of the change from sources like Inside Radio and Tom Taylor's report; while I would occasionally sample Handel on KFI, I did not hear of the change there except by deduction from hearing the promos for the replacement show. Then again, I am not a Dittohead and was probably not paying attention.

 

[TheBigA]

I am not a Dittohead and was probably not paying attention.

We're talking about the #1 talk show host in the country, with a sizeable fan base, an equally sizable direct email list, with the ability to reach millions of fans with his every thought. His audience knew what was happening, and had the ability to follow him wherever he went. It gets back to what I said earlier in this thread: People CAN do lots of things, but they often CHOOSE not to. That seems to be the case here.

And as someone else suggested, was his power & influence because of his talent, or because he happened to be on the best signal in town, and had a captive audience?

 

[Oscar Madison]

We're talking about the #1 talk show host in the country, with a sizeable fan base, an equally sizable direct email list, with the ability to reach millions of fans with his every thought. His audience knew what was happening, and had the ability to follow him wherever he went. It gets back to what I said earlier in this thread: People CAN do lots of things, but they often CHOOSE not to. That seems to be the case here.

And as someone else suggested, was his power & influence because of his talent, or because he happened to be on the best signal in town, and had a captive audience?

Inertia can be a powerful force. Many of those best signals were dominant in talk or full service long before Rush. Never under estimate loyalty to a station, especially when people have been listening for years.

I have to wonder how much residual loyalty or good will Talkradio 77 holds among Baby Boomers who now listen to talk from its days at Musicradio 77 when Baby Boomers listened to Top 40.

 

[nowradioguy]

Inertia can be a powerful force. Many of those best signals were dominant in talk or full service long before Rush. Never under estimate loyalty to a station, especially when people have been listening for years.

I have to wonder how much residual loyalty or good will Talkradio 77 holds among Baby Boomers who now listen to talk from its days at Musicradio 77 when Baby Boomers listened to Top 40.

Oscar,

I can go along with this, but only to a certain extent.

As a Boomer myself, I used to listen to WABC evenings when I lived in Providence back in the 60s (Cousin Brucie). I also was a listener to WBZ and, of course, "The Big 68 WRKO" when both were Top 40. Well, guess what? I still listen to the latter two now that I live up here in northern MA. In other words, if an established station is still chugging along AND it has something I like, I will listen to it. (I think I'd draw the line if either WBZ 1030 or WRKO were to go all sports all the time, but neither is likely with the current market configuration.)

OTOH, I liked 96.9 WTKK and Oldies 103.3, but cannot bring myself to listen to either of those stations now; ditto 98.5. Some formats just leave a bad taste in my mouth, and for the Boston market right now, I need a lot of mouthwash!

 

[Oscar Madison]

Oscar,

I can go along with this, but only to a certain extent.

As a Boomer myself, I used to listen to WABC evenings when I lived in Providence back in the 60s (Cousin Brucie). I also was a listener to WBZ and, of course, "The Big 68 WRKO" when both were Top 40. Well, guess what? I still listen to the latter two now that I live up here in northern MA. In other words, if an established station is still chugging along AND it has something I like, I will listen to it. (I think I'd draw the line if either WBZ 1030 or WRKO were to go all sports all the time, but neither is likely with the current market configuration.)

OTOH, I liked 96.9 WTKK and Oldies 103.3, but cannot bring myself to listen to either of those stations now; ditto 98.5. Some formats just leave a bad taste in my mouth, and for the Boston market right now, I need a lot of mouthwash!

Nobody here is a typical listener. And out of market DX'ers aren't either.

Many talk stations evolved rather than flipped. They were Old Time Radio, which morphed into full service, which morphed into talk. WOR. WJR. WCCO. KMOX.... WBZ was top 40/full service (as were other Group W stations). Not typical of either format. But the full service stations gradually found fewer network OTR shows available and started running personality MOR shows plus news, sports, features, public service.... Then cut back on the music. Then cut back on everything but talk. Then became exclusively polical. Then became exclusively right-wing. And a lot of people stayed with them.