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sports talk radio ditching callers?

C

california

Guest
would love to have an opinion on this one. has pittsburgh sports talk radio ditched callers in favor of host driven dribble? i counted the number of listener calls during an hour of one of the local shows. one call. seems to me the fun is gone. is this a trend deliberatly imposed by programming? hosts playing off the callers is more entertaining. just seems it's been lost in the mix. anyone care to comment? has anyone noticed? CALIFORNIA.
 
That's more the rule than the exception now in all forms of talk radio, not just sports.

The other question is, what show was it? Maybe they just didn't get any calls.
 
Been trending that way for a while. Started with allowing the caller one point or question, potting him down and hanging up. Now it's less reliance on callers, especially when the show has multiple hosts who can converse among themselves. It's a hedge against no calls or a board full of bad callers.
 
thanks for your thoughts. makes sense. but it doesn't keep me listening. larger audience talking, more diversity, less boring, more opportunity for the hosts to score entertainment points. i can see it on shows with political agendas. those listeners just want someone to re-enforce their views. (limbaugh, quinn, hannity, even the few lefties out there) BUT WHAT THE HECK IS SO SERIOUS ABOUT SPORTS TALK? i don't get it. thanks again, california
 
california said:
thanks for your thoughts. makes sense. but it doesn't keep me listening. larger audience talking, more diversity, less boring, more opportunity for the hosts to score entertainment points. i can see it on shows with political agendas. those listeners just want someone to re-enforce their views. (limbaugh, quinn, hannity, even the few lefties out there) BUT WHAT THE HECK IS SO SERIOUS ABOUT SPORTS TALK? i don't get it. thanks again, california
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I know he does not come on in Pittsburgh, but Colin Cowherd has a whole theory on callers and how he can usually predict what they are going to say before they say it. Granted, he's a little different. As a matter of fact, I believe he's the only radio show on ESPN that actually takes calls. Neither of the other "big 3" do.
 
Herd's whole shtick is that he thinks he's smarter than everyone else. I think he honestly believes it. And he may be the worst-prepared host on national radio. His NFL picks one week included the statement that he was picking against the 49ers because he didn't think much of their QB, Alex Smith. One problem... Smith went on Injured Reserve for the season back in training camp. I mean, I know there are 32 starting QBs to keep track of, but any fantasy football geek can do it, you'd think a guy with a national show might have a clue.

Having said that, the show is pretty entertaining nonetheless (I listen to it on Sirius most every day). His real purpose on the network is that he's the west coast AM drive show, and his first hour (9-10A east) is covered up nationally by Mike & Mike.
 
I like the Herd. When Stan and Guy are off I listen to him on Sirius. I find him very entertaining. He, however, is one of those people who think the Seattle Seahawks were robbed out of a Super Bowl victory by the officials. He has never given the soon to be six time Super Bowl champs Pittsburgh Steelers any credit for that victory. This is my only problem with him.
 
the herd is big in the west. he'd be big here too, but eae opts not to use him except on holidays. i heard the herd remark about the 49's qb. you are correct sir. he isn't the most prepared guy in the business, but he is entertaining. and isn't that what listeners really want? i would love to hear him in pittsburgh, but eae is hell bent on making unentertaining local programming work. so far it's a no go. ok, maybe among 18 to 25 male pizza delivery boy hockey nerds, but not with a bigger audience. changes are in the wind..........
 
I think Cowherd does well on the West Coast because he is a West Coast guy.

I actually don't think he'd do well in Pittsburgh- not just because of the Seattle Super Bowl whining- but simply because he is not in touch with what is popular here- such as hockey and classic rock.

His style is different yet similar to Jim Rome. Of all the towns Rome is carried in, he is LESS popular in Pittsburgh than any of the others if an old gauge they used to have on his website was to be believed.

On the other hand, I believe Cowherd to be the most accurate gauge of the CULTURE of ESPN. Their editorial slants are usually defended and reflected by Cowherd's explainations.

But I have not listened to him in awhile, basically because I am a Pittsburgher and he is a Portlander and the cultures just don't mix. I'd much rather listen to Stan and Guy- who may be old school vets but are still the most accurate gauge of PITTSBURGH sports culture.
 
Now, as to sports talk ditching callers-

This isn't a Pittsburgh thing. It is, as another poster said above, a change in the industry.

Back when ESPN Radio first started as syndicated weekend programming about 17 years ago it was rather novel in that they DIDN'T take calls. Tony Bruno would gab and joke with a sidekick and they'd do interviews and updates and play-by-play calls, just like now.

I think it changed the industry standard.

The internet did too- there's no waiting on hold to get your point across on a message board.

But one of the reasons I like listening to local talk radio is because it is an gauge of local public opinion- be it who is going to win the Super Bowl or the local dog catcher election.

When we had Rick Starr here awhile back, he spoke of Chris Cross' contributions to the station. He took calls on the Pirates- with Pittsburghers telling 38 states and half of Canada how even with the team down how much they meant to us and we don't want them to move and all of that.

That had to have more of a positive effect than having a cynical sportswriter gab with a host about how the team is as good as gone.

I hope the ESPNization of all contemporary sports coverage hasn't changed things to the point where local sports talk radio can't be a local gauge or be a bully pulpit for both host and fan to make positive change.
 
california said:
the herd is big in the west. he'd be big here too, but eae opts not to use him except on holidays. i heard the herd remark about the 49's qb. you are correct sir. he isn't the most prepared guy in the business, but he is entertaining. and isn't that what listeners really want? i would love to hear him in pittsburgh, but eae is hell bent on making unentertaining local programming work. so far it's a no go. ok, maybe among 18 to 25 male pizza delivery boy hockey nerds, but not with a bigger audience. changes are in the wind..........
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1250 is owned by ESPN, so if they thought Herd would outrate Stan & Guy they'd flip that switch in a heartbeat. Plus it's about local sales. Frankly I think he's covered up by local programming in most eastern markets.

And you can't look at 12+ numbers for that station, it's all about male 18-34 and 25-54 numbers. My understanding is that they do fine there. Maybe not at Madden's level, but he offended enough sponsors to make his number less productive as well.
 
get rid of stan and guy? no way. they are the best thing about eae. they could ditch the extra voice in the mack, he's just adding blabber and bad impersonations of old jimmy kren impersonations. i was suggesting other day parts for the herd. i,m not sure there are any. eae seems determined to keep it live and local even if it means "the bloated drive" show. is john steigerwald anywhere to be found?
 
Why would ESPN delay one of their own shows to cover up another of their own shows? If they put Herd on here it would be live.

Frankly I think if Stan didn't have TV commitments he & Guy would draw better 12+ PM drive numbers than the drive (I used to listen to his show on 970 a lot), but Paulsen's demos are better. The management rap on Stan for years has been that his audience is too old.
 
california said:
is john steigerwald anywhere to be found?
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He still must be in Pittsburgh media somewhere. I just saw him doing an advertisement for Laurel Eye Clinic on tv.
 
Steigerwald writes a weekly column that's in some of the suburban newspapers. He's also a frequent guest on WTAE's Sunday night sports discussion show at 11:35.
 
Boss Radio said:
Steigerwald writes a weekly column that's in some of the suburban newspapers. He's also a frequent guest on WTAE's Sunday night sports discussion show at 11:35.
Click to expand...

Saw him on the Sunday TV show a few days ago...
 
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