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WABC starts petition to save AM radio

CTListener said:
Don't forget WABC talk legend Bob "Get off the phone, you creep!" Grant, who was Limbaugh and Savage all rolled into one long before either of those two came to AM.
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Grant wasn't as much a demagogue as Limbaugh. He was too educated for that. Savage is so nasty it's actually funny.
 
gr8oldies said:
We started with Randy Michaels at WKRC and then "teaching the Grand Old Lady to dance" at WLW with at-times outrageous (though not all political) talk, and more talk stations at least trying for a general audience. Even Limbaugh affiliates wanted both the "We love Limbaugh" and "We hate Limbaugh" listeners. In recent years it's become "Republicans are pure and holy, Democrats are evil Socialist pedophile groomers" as a constant mantra
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Talkradio could've extended AM radio's relevance by maintaining a mixed audience, but as you say, they "purified" the programming and drove away anybody left of nuts. Now it's thoroughly predictable and boring.
 
flybynight said:
Talkradio could've extended AM radio's relevance by maintaining a mixed audience, but as you say, they "purified" the programming and drove away anybody left of nuts. Now it's thoroughly predictable and boring.
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What's interesting was in one AM radio Facebook groups, someone posted an old KZIM Cape Girardeau billboard that said "Rush is Right" with the "right" crossed out and "not" beside it. He seemed to be angered that an affiliate would do that. Of course some of us explained that back in that day, KZIM wanted listeners from both sides of the aisle.
 
If people wanted AM radio and there was a market for it, the manufactures would continue to offer it. There is not and I don't believe that most people would ave noticed it wasn't in their new car if hysterics like this WABC petition drive didn't point it out. WABC has one of the best AM signals in the country and the noise of all the electronic crap we buy makes them mostly unlistenable in much of what used to be their coverage area. While I agree that if AM stations offered some real quality programs people would be interested in keeping them in cars, I don't think anyone other than former radio people, radio die hard groupies and a few guys who have lived in Mom's basement since 1977 will even notice that it's gone. Let's turn off the transmitters and use the electricity for something people will enjoy. Even if the government makes Ford keep AM radio, and they raise the cost of a new car by 200 bucks to do so, how do you suppose you'll get drivers to turn on that expensive AM radio? If they aren't listening now, they're not going to listen later just because the government made the manufactures include the band.
 
gr8oldies said:
What's interesting was in one AM radio Facebook groups, someone posted an old KZIM Cape Girardeau billboard that said "Rush is Right" with the "right" crossed out and "not" beside it. He seemed to be angered that an affiliate would do that. Of course some of us explained that back in that day, KZIM wanted listeners from both sides of the aisle.
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A station with both sides of the issue is more interesting,less predictable, and MORE HEALTHY for the country.
 
flybynight said:
Talkradio could've extended AM radio's relevance by maintaining a mixed audience, but as you say, they "purified" the programming and drove away anybody left of nuts. Now it's thoroughly predictable and boring.
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I've heard people say that. I don't know if I buy it. If you're playing music you play songs along the lines on one format. You don't play a CHR format and throw in some country to try and include everyone. If you play one side of the street and build a large audience of enthusiastic followers, you may lose them when you play a guy with opposite views. I don't know if airing guys from both teams will hold the talk audience. I may be wrong, but I think you need talk consistency just as you need music consistency in formats. Rush was right about one thing. The job of the broadcaster is to build the largest possible audience to hear the commercials. It is a business. Whether it is fair or not we can argue, but I don't think playing both sides of the street would have helped maintain AM's importance. I think narrowcasting probably gave it the extra years it enjoyed once FM completely took over music formats. Our friend is at the end of it's life. It's time to say a prayer and unplug the transmitters from life support.
AM had a very good life. I'll call the funeral home and get flowers.
 
Hyrum said:
I've heard people say that. I don't know if I buy it. If you're playing music you play songs along the lines on one format. You don't play a CHR format and throw in some country to try and include everyone. If you play one side of the street and build a large audience of enthusiastic followers, you may lose them when you play a guy with opposite views. I don't know if airing guys from both teams will hold the talk audience. I may be wrong, but I think you need talk consistency just as you need music consistency in formats. Rush was right about one thing. The job of the broadcaster is to build the largest possible audience to hear the commercials. It is a business. Whether it is fair or not we can argue, but I don't think playing both sides of the street would have helped maintain AM's importance. I think narrowcasting probably gave it the extra years it enjoyed once FM completely took over music formats. Our friend is at the end of it's life. It's time to say a prayer and unplug the transmitters from life support.
AM had a very good life. I'll call the funeral home and get flowers.
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Agree you have to "play the hits" and Rush knew it as well as anyone. There was a time before it was all partisan "hooray for my team" though. You probably couldn't re-create that today, though it still exists in some areas (I don't mean 4 hours liberal, 4 hours conservative but still mixing in community topics, humor, lifestyle).

Now, especially with the Trump indictment, talk radio is talking about the overthrow of the United States government and Civil War, accusing Democratic voters of being pedophiles and wanting to live in pure MAGA states. All for ratings of course.
 
The only way I know to revive talk radio, and I mean this is a LONG shot, is to have 20-something hosts describing how they see the world, and even include late teens. Obviously, they would all have to be extremely prepared, and incorporate every element laid out in a previous post, focusing on community. Otherwise, the current tribal warfare wins out (or loses out). However, a relatively-new AM in our area that plays oldies is more than holding its own, ratings-wise. It does have two FM translators, however, for full disclosure.
 
Greg Goodfellow said:
The only way I know to revive talk radio, and I mean this is a LONG shot, is to have 20-something hosts describing how they see the world, and even include late teens. Obviously, they would all have to be extremely prepared, and incorporate every element laid out in a previous post, focusing on community. Otherwise, the current tribal warfare wins out (or loses out). However, a relatively-new AM in our area that plays oldies is more than holding its own, ratings-wise. It does have two FM translators, however, for full disclosure.
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The problem with that is that younger, and even middle-aged people, are turning to podcasts on-demand for their spoken-word programming.
 
gr8oldies said:
The problem with that is that younger, and even middle-aged people, are turning to podcasts on-demand for their spoken-word programming.
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True, and I was thinking about podcasts-I was wondering if folks that age would want their podcast on AM-IF promoted enough, there might be a flicker of hope in making an antique somehow relevant, at least for a little while. On demand is a game-changer; just consider how many of us DVR our favorite shows to watch when it’s convenient for us.
 
Greg Goodfellow said:
True, and I was thinking about podcasts-I was wondering if folks that age would want their podcast on AM-IF promoted enough, there might be a flicker of hope in making an antique somehow relevant, at least for a little while. On demand is a game-changer; just consider how many of us DVR our favorite shows to watch when it’s convenient for us.
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That generation doesn't even watch live TV, I doubt they're going to rush to the car at lunchtime to catch 15 minutes of a podcast
 
Hyrum said:
I've heard people say that. I don't know if I buy it. If you're playing music you play songs along the lines on one format. You don't play a CHR format and throw in some country to try and include everyone. If you play one side of the street and build a large audience of enthusiastic followers, you may lose them when you play a guy with opposite views. I don't know if airing guys from both teams will hold the talk audience. I may be wrong, but I think you need talk consistency just as you need music consistency in formats. Rush was right about one thing. The job of the broadcaster is to build the largest possible audience to hear the commercials. It is a business. Whether it is fair or not we can argue, but I don't think playing both sides of the street would have helped maintain AM's importance. I think narrowcasting probably gave it the extra years it enjoyed once FM completely took over music formats. Our friend is at the end of it's life. It's time to say a prayer and unplug the transmitters from life support.
AM had a very good life. I'll call the funeral home and get flowers.
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In response to your third sentence, this song recently topped the Hot 100 and receives regular airplay on CHR and if it isn't Country, I don't know what is:
 
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