Why have local talk shows almost disappeared? I remember when I first discovered talk radio about 30 years ago: it was a discussion of irradiated food, on a Saturday afternoon, and I think the host was Bob Mohan...but it could have been the guy who ran for the legislature....I can't remember his name. Just remembered, Earl Baldwin! Listeners called in with their thoughts. I learned a lot from that show. And other similar shows.
But in those days, KFYI had almost all local hosts, as did KTAR.
It was a big turning point for me when KTAR and David Leibowitz parted. Leibowitz had local guests, talked about local issues, and was both interesting and provocative. Tony Snow is no substitue. Even if they have a dozen canned sound bites to try and make you think he is in their studio, when you know he isn't.
(For some reason I put Ted Simons in a different class....he isn't quite as provocative as Leibo was. More of the Pat McMahon school.)
I find Bruce Jacobs hard to listen to.....too opinionated, whining, and he has to repeat everything 3 or 4 times, as if he can't think ahead. He is also too biased, spends too much time complaining about the Arizona Republic. He should do as I did about 10 years ago: quit reading it! And too much sports talk for me. Jacobs seldom let's his callers express their thoughts. (Unless they agree with him!)
I used to like Barry Young, until his show moved to later in the day. Now when I tune in and hear him and his female cohost, it just is not the same. I haven't listened enough recently. Does he take calls from listeners?
The only other local host I can think of that is still on is John Dayle. (Is Mike Newcomb still on locally?)
I wish I had kept a list of the good ones. Now the only three I can think of that I liked are David Lebowitz, Bob Mohan and Sam Steiger.
I liked it when they talked about local issues. The location of the Cardinals stadium, freeway routes, bond issues, the alternative fuel fiasco. Listening to opinions of callers was like reading pages of letters to the editors. From listening to talk radio, you could get a feeling of the pulse of the community.
Now you hear nothing. The light rail fiasco is going to effect all of us in a big way, but I haven't heard anyone discuss it in months.
I often wonder why almost all talk radio is syndicated. Is it just easier to pull a show off a satellite, or is it more profitable? Because the owners sit in ivory towers in other cities, have they given up totally on their local responsibility? My guess is that the lack of local ownership is the main cause.
Broadcasters are worried about XM and Sirrius, but they feed us the same. They should be worried.
But in those days, KFYI had almost all local hosts, as did KTAR.
It was a big turning point for me when KTAR and David Leibowitz parted. Leibowitz had local guests, talked about local issues, and was both interesting and provocative. Tony Snow is no substitue. Even if they have a dozen canned sound bites to try and make you think he is in their studio, when you know he isn't.
(For some reason I put Ted Simons in a different class....he isn't quite as provocative as Leibo was. More of the Pat McMahon school.)
I find Bruce Jacobs hard to listen to.....too opinionated, whining, and he has to repeat everything 3 or 4 times, as if he can't think ahead. He is also too biased, spends too much time complaining about the Arizona Republic. He should do as I did about 10 years ago: quit reading it! And too much sports talk for me. Jacobs seldom let's his callers express their thoughts. (Unless they agree with him!)
I used to like Barry Young, until his show moved to later in the day. Now when I tune in and hear him and his female cohost, it just is not the same. I haven't listened enough recently. Does he take calls from listeners?
The only other local host I can think of that is still on is John Dayle. (Is Mike Newcomb still on locally?)
I wish I had kept a list of the good ones. Now the only three I can think of that I liked are David Lebowitz, Bob Mohan and Sam Steiger.
I liked it when they talked about local issues. The location of the Cardinals stadium, freeway routes, bond issues, the alternative fuel fiasco. Listening to opinions of callers was like reading pages of letters to the editors. From listening to talk radio, you could get a feeling of the pulse of the community.
Now you hear nothing. The light rail fiasco is going to effect all of us in a big way, but I haven't heard anyone discuss it in months.
I often wonder why almost all talk radio is syndicated. Is it just easier to pull a show off a satellite, or is it more profitable? Because the owners sit in ivory towers in other cities, have they given up totally on their local responsibility? My guess is that the lack of local ownership is the main cause.
Broadcasters are worried about XM and Sirrius, but they feed us the same. They should be worried.