The Future Of Commercial Talk Radio

[JustPastBuffalo]

Darryl Parks, Clear Channel VP Talk Radio (former WGR program director and pride of Lackawanna) offered this observation late Tuesday night on his Facebook page:

What I think #4. This is directed to my associates in talk radio. Life as you know it changed tonight. If you continue with the shrill act and constantly talk politics focusing on an ever shrinking ultra partisan audience, choosing to exclude instead of include, your future in the medium is bleak.

A salient real world observation from a guy who makes a lot of decisions and still pulls a weekend airshift on WLW. It's all about the demographics.

 

[Bob1370]

Darryl Parks points out, "What I think #4. This is directed to my associates in talk radio. Life as you know it changed tonight. If you continue with the shrill act and constantly talk politics focusing on an ever shrinking ultra partisan audience, choosing to exclude instead of include, your future in the medium is bleak."

A wise assessment. The interesting question now is, who (other than NPR stations, which have been enjoying strong growth lately) will take heed?

 

[SirRoxalot]

From what I hear, Tom Bauerle (at least) didn't get the memo.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Things can change. Here in Charlotte right leaning WBT (they still have Rush) now has an entertaining afternoon show with guys who are a bit left of center. Yesterday while everyone was talking politics they were talking about a rumor that our Panthers might be leaving town for LA. I give them credit for doing something different. Maybe there is hope for WBEN and the others.

 

[listener-in]

After over 4 years of vitriol, insults and lies hurled his way by the Limbaughs of this world, not to mention an unprecedented superpac campaign spending by supposedly smart superrich business people who got a return of precisely zero on their investment of hundreds of $$$millions, our Community Organizer-in-Chief out-organized them with his grass-roots campaign - a richly-deserved comeuppance.

This should be a wakeup call to the suits in the commercial radio industry who think they know best. You have to wonder what they are thinking. Do they really make out airing punk talkers with grossly inflated contracts? Are they really OK with a business model relying on overpaid personalities who attract a diminishing audience of hard-core fanatics?

After seeing the way Limbaugh reacted to the election in a frenzy of inarticulate anger, I would not be surprised if Premiere Networks bought out Limbaugh’s contract and put him out to an overdue pasture, so it could put a better business model in place. Maybe it will happen if the affiliates grow restless. I can’t think of another industry that thinks it can prosper by alienating most of its potential base.

 

[Element9]

Limbaugh was full-tilt fringe and any rational person who listened to WBEN's two local talk shows Wednesday might have thought the United States was under military attack. The hosts were beside themselves. The callers were sometimes embarrassing, the poor man's version of Donald Trump's election night hateful tweets. To be fair, there were a few sensible callers who rationally expressed their displeasure with the election, but those calls were few and far between. The level of hate and ignorance was off the charts. It's not a matter of being republican, conservative, moderate, liberal or progressive; WBEN won't change. Their listeners won't let that happen because a moderate republican host would be branded a RINO. The station's ratings are skewed 60+; after Wednesday's shows it's fair to say they won't be getting younger any time soon.

 

[TheBigA]

It's not a matter of being republican, conservative, moderate, liberal or progressive; WBEN won't change. Their listeners won't let that happen because a moderate republican host would be branded a RINO.

So what are you suggesting they do?

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

It's not a matter of being republican, conservative, moderate, liberal or progressive; WBEN won't change. Their listeners won't let that happen because a moderate republican host would be branded a RINO.

The message of Talk Radio, conservative or liberal... seems to be: I'm here to save the nation from the barbarians.

Maybe it's time for radio management, radio ownership to let it be known: WE ARE HERE to save RADIO from the barbarians. The people who served our nation for a couple of generations quite well thank you, are today labeled as RINOs by the barbarians. It will be painful (translate that: expensive) to take the airwaves back from the zealots. But somebody has to do it. Only radio management can get the job done... unless they want to outsource the task to: (drum roll, please) Government!

In one of his outstandingly lucent moments I heard Joe Biden recently explain how in the era he was elected to congress circa 1970 the liberals in reaction to Viet Nam were out there, way out there in LEFT SPACE so to speak, but through the years they have ventured back to something of a "Center Left" position.

In reaction to 9/11 it can be argued that the conservatives have wandered out into RIGHT SPACE. It can also be argued that they must return to their traditional position of "Center Right" if our country is going to be what we claim it is.

Radio management/ownership has let Talk Radio have "run of the house" like a nine year old kid with Aspergers Syndrome. Somebody is going to have to corral the little incorrigible truant and force him to take his medicine before he ends up in a detention facility.

Well meaning conservatives have to step up and demand that radio change its course because NO ONE hates the idea of government stepping in to fix the problem more than conservatives.

Its a matter of "Do It or Lose It".

 

[TheBigA]

Radio management/ownership has let Talk Radio have "run of the house" like a nine year old kid with Aspergers Syndrome. Somebody is going to have to corral the little incorrigible truant and force him to take his medicine before he ends up in a detention facility.

Censorship?

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Radio management/ownership has let Talk Radio have "run of the house" like a nine year old kid with Aspergers Syndrome. Somebody is going to have to corral the little incorrigible truant and force him to take his medicine before he ends up in a detention facility.

Censorship?

What I propose could easily be viewed as censorship, if done incorrectly!

Here is the bullet that I propose broadcasters have to bite. If you are carrying the main line right wing talkers, you have to find some way to get the inverse views into the recipie. If liberals won't buy the time, if liberals haven't found the talent that can generate audience, then broadcasters have to hire some one who comes on the air and says: In the last hour you heard the following report: " xy qtm mmh myh my." That was a clear lie. Here is what publicly available records report.

Censorship would be to tell the current talkers (right and left) "You are not allowed to say the following:"

Stewardship of community, stewardship of free speech would be to find some way to present the anti-dote, the anti-poison. Go find the other side. Go hire your own fact checker. If day after day you follow the offender (no matter which side) with valid info instead of rotted tripe, then the original presenter will eventually be shamed into mending his/her way.

There are facts, and there are opinions. My proposal is that broadcasters at least have responsibility to see that "factual facts" are acceptable; patently "fractured facts" go out the side of the dairy barn on the conveyor with the rest of the manure.

I'm well aware we need the biblical character King Solomon to referee such transactions. But we need to have the discussion. Just as the Republicans and the Democrats in the House of Representatives need to quit stone-walling each other and sit down and negotiate, we need for broadcasters to make it evident the Talk Radio people need to sit down and negotiate what equals health discourse.

SELF-CENSORSHIP does not violate our American tradition... it FULFILLS the tradition.

 

[TheBigA]

Here is the bullet that I propose broadcasters have to bite. If you are carrying the main line right wing talkers, you have to find some way to get the inverse views into the recipie.

Why?

The ratings track record on "progressive talk" is very weak. The audience is equally old and unsellable. So what's the upside?

The motivation in commercial radio is either money or ratings. Yes, we know conservative talk is dying. But I have no reason to believe the opposite will improve the situation.

It's like telling music radio they have to play "good music," rather than popular music. That's not radio's job.

 

[GeorgeKramer]

Bauerle and Beach have been acting totally bonkers the past two days.

It is pure hatred. Beach's show today was borderline racist.

The board ops must cringe having to listen to that. Sounds like the producers agree, but the guys answering the phones must want to run to the closest bar to consume many drinks and try and forget the past three hours.

 

[Philip_Airtime]

I'd like to add my two cents to this topic. First of all, I want to acknowledge that Sandy Beach and Tom Bauerle are top notch broadcasters. When Sandy does his opening monologue, it reminds me of the sharp wit we used to hear when he was spinning records on KB. And Bauerle's shows that veer away from politics are always interesting and entertaining.

But when it comes to politics, I turn off these guys. I will admit to tuning in Wednesday morning to find out what Bauerle was saying. It's like a car wreck. You can't look away. And what I heard was extremism. Am I wrong here? Objectively, does the re-election of Barack Obama really mean we're heading to destruction of the US as we know it? C'mon! Hearing Bauerle explain that he's telling his kids to be prepared to leave this country is extreme. It's not a rational position. And it's that kind of talk that scares me much more. I clicked to another station.

I used to be a frequent WBEN listener. But not anymore. I'll tune in for an occasional top of the hour newscast. Then, it's on to something else. And perhaps others are tuning away. WBEN's summer numbers, 12+ (that's all we have access to) were way down. The station dropped from its customary number two position to number three. As others have pointed out here, the move to 107.7FM has not helped attract a larger or younger audience. Now, it was summer. People are vacationing and doing other things. But if this continues into the Fall, especially in the midst of a presidential election, then maybe the station does have a problem. Then again, this is a community that gave a majority to tea party favorite Carl Paladino in the race for governor two years ago, so perhaps WBEN can't lose by continuing to throw red meat to its right-leaning audience.

I'm just glad there are other options out there, such as Tom Ashbrook's "On Point," that present a reasoned and civil discussion of the day's news. It might not be local. But it doesn't raise my blood pressure like Beach and Bauerle do. And lest someone accuse me of being a flaming liberal, I'm not. When I hear David Brooks espouse his conservative point of view each week on "All Things Considered," I can accept his argument and point of view and might even be in agreement on occasion. It's the extremism on both sides (and I have heard some awful bloviating from KB's Randi Rhodes) that I find distasteful.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Like Phil, I also listened to Tom Ashbrook's "On Point" Wednesday. It was a superb show, with democrats and republicans equally represented among guests and callers. I also listened to WBEN. The difference was palpable.

I initially posted Mr. Parks' comments for a number of reasons. He oversees Clear Channels talk stations. As such, his comments were significant. He also has experience in Buffalo, programming WGR against WBEN. Parks was responsible for bring John Otto back to WGR after a previous PD cut him a few years earlier. And he also does a weekly talk shift and fills in on WLW. His Facebook page is topical, opinionated and leans right of center. So when he says something to the effect that talk radio has some major challenges ahead, it's noteworthy.

Every analyst commentary that I've heard and read, left, right or center, says this election came down to demographics and the demographics are changing rapidly. It's no longer our parents' generation's meme; and the clock is ticking on the baby boomers' grip. This are so many similarities to radio and media in general. (This from a guy who programmed news-talk and worked Classic Rock, Classic Hits and Oldies.) To quote (Bob) Dylan...

 

[SirRoxalot]

Considering the razor-thin margins of victory or loss in most of the "battleground" states, I'd say that the pundits are looking for something to blame other than issues. The candidates who promised progress, working across the aisle, and to keep their nose out of peoples' personal business beat the combative obstructionists promising to legislate morality. If this election determined anything, it's that more people are centrist than extremist - on either end of the spectrum.

Talk radio is going to need to pull itself back from either lunatic fringe if it's going to remain dominant - a least in a market the size of Buffalo. People are getting sick of the act - whether they tune in to agree, or tune in to observe the train wreck. This past election cycle has certainly burned people out.

Then again, in major markets, where a 5-share makes you a market leader, you might be able to stay near the top by appealing to the rabid supporters of almost any political philosophy - and right-wingers allegedly have more spendable income.

 

[average_listener]

One of the talk shows I listen to regularly on Sirius has a host who frequently tells his listeners that he is an entertainer and they shouldn't take his views as gospel or get their news from talk shows. I have never heard Rush or Hannity or anyone of their ilk (or for that matter anyone on the left) remind their listeners of the same thing. Unfortunately the low information voter audience they draw takes everything they spout as the TRUTH.

By the way, didn't Rush promise to leave the country if Obama was re-elected? How's that working out?

Had to work overnight election night and on the way home I listened to Patriot on Sirius for the above mentioned train wreck interest and some wing nut called in saying that every good American needs to arm himself so they can take over the government. He called for a "truckers militia". The host (never heard of him before and don't know his name) did not object or discourage him in any way. That's a very dangerous side of this whole mess.

-aL

 

[therealjm12]

When Rush first started, he did remind listeners this was entertainment. As time went on he started taking himself seriously, and does dictate to people how they should think.

 

[GeorgeKramer]

WBEN's Sandy Beach and Tom Bauerle should be ashamed of themselves for essentially labeling all Democrats who voted for Obama as losers who are just looking for government handouts. Bauerle actually said yesterday that some Democrats purposely get pregnant/impregnate someone just so they can qualify for public assistance.

Don’t they realize there are some hard-working Democrats out there, especially here in WNY? I know it's the style of both hosts to senationalize and draw reaction from their listeners, but they are really going off of the deep end because Obama was re-elected.

I don't listen to Rush so I'm not sure what he's saying from a national perspective, but the local boys on WBEN are blowing their gaskets!

 

[SirRoxalot]

How much longer will Sandy continue? How much longer will Bauerle settle for second-place money on the WBEN roster? Both are likely to take a pay cut if the rating continue to slide. Will they modify their schtick for the sake of ratings? If they don't, the demographics aren't in their favor.

Darryl Parks gets it. It remains to be seen if Dumb and Dumber come to the same conclusion.

 

[TheBigA]

Will they modify their schtick for the sake of ratings? If they don't, the demographics aren't in their favor.

This is one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations. Let's say he "modifies" his routine. Then his dedicated fan base will object. Sure, he'll explain he's doing it for the money, and they approve of that. They want their guy to be comfortable. But the reason they like him is because of the "schtick." So the downward spiral begins.

This is the problem that faces all of news/talk radio. They can soften their approach, but that will disappoint the base. And there's really no other organized fan base like conservatives....on many levels. Trekkies are similar, but they're also starting to die out. Radio needs a dedicated, dependable, mass audience that will tune in day after day. Not just when it's convenient. But "appointment listeners." Conservative talk radio gets those kinds of listeners. But they like raw meat being thrown. No raw meat, they go elsewhere. And they have lots of other places who want their business.