I know I should be the last one to offer sympathy when it comes to the subject of the RMS...but really, it must be a chore to be topical and funny and engaging when you have to come up with material constantly to fill 20 hours of chatter a week. My little foray into doing a radio show last year was pretty challenging, and that was to just fill 2 hours, once a week, and having music to use for a crutch when needed. You can do all the show prep you want, but that doesn't guarantee a good show. There's hardly a radio show host today who I can stand to listen to for any amount of time, but I've developed a new respect for what they do. There's just not enough stories in the Naked City that are worthy of airtime, and I know now why those hosts jump at those hot-button issues when they come up, and milk them to death for hours, days and weeks. And you have to have some level of perception to know what people will find interesting, and what they'll tune away from. It's almost an art form, and that's why not just anyone can do it and be successful with it. I spent 4 years listening to Stern every morning on The Eagle, and I'd consider that 90s era to be Stern's best, and I also consider Stern to be the master of the art. But when I tuned him in on KLLI here and there in the 2000s, sheesh, it was a rehash of old stuff every day. Reminisces of him running for governor...stripper interviews...on-air fights with the same celebrities (most of whom were yesterday's news now, 10 yrs later)...same old arguments with Chiasano and Stern's crew...etc etc etc. There's something to be said for stepping down while you're on top, instead of milking things to the bitter end. Some folks can reinvent themselves and enjoy wave after wave of popularity over a long period of time, but others can't let go of what they once were. Listeners age, their tastes change, the new breed of listeners coming up have way too many choices, and it becomes a "tough crowd" to work and keep. For me, I know I wouldn't want my income and success attached to something with that many variables. And there's no real prospect for things to get better or to return to how they used to be.
And one last little point...I'm seeing more and more people tuning in talk radio based on the subject being discussed, and not out of a daily loyalty to a certain host. It's much akin to channel surfers who flip around to find their favorite song and have no true "favorite station." Again, that makes it hard on a host to find something new and intriguing and compelling that will keep the listeners tuning in daily.
