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When is it time for a Talk Show Host / DJ to Retire

C

ChancellorDukat

I have a question for all you radio fans. Have any of you had a favorite on air personality that was considered popular back in the day but over the last few years has become boring and stale?

I have noticed that many hosts and DJs who were considered hot shots back in the day, are so booring and stale now days because all they do is ramble on about stuff that most audience members wouldn’t care about.

For example, I listened to Doug Hoerth when he was back on WTAE AM but within the past few years he has been boring me to tears as he talks about his prostate exams and which dead 1950 actresses he had the hots for. I would feel bad for him but I don’t because I’ve heard from my uncle who met him about 4 years ago during the Regetta or something that when he isn’t behind the mike he is a bitter little old man who is rude to his followers, but that is another story.

I can see this starting to happen to people like Rush Limbaugh and Scott Paulsen and Fred Honsberger. I would say Michael Savage as well but I think in his old age he has become dilusional and is starting to suffer from Dementia so its kind of funny to hear what he will say next kind of like my great aunt who had it and the things she said and claimed in her old age that made my sister and I secretly chuckle.

The point I am trying to make here and what I would like to know is if any of you had a favorite radio personality that you enjoyed when then were in the spot light but now seem to be out of the circle on topics because they don’t relate to their audience anymore.

And if you were a program director and had the opportunity to bring in fresh hosts to replace these old timers, would you? Or would you leave them alone because you know other old timers may complain?

Just a thought. Curious to here what you all think.
 
There are a lot of people who stay 'way past their expiration date. I think Jim Krenn is an example of that. How many times can you revert to the "dumb yinzer" accent to substitute for actual material? As long as the audience buys the redundant "Hey, yinz goin' down to Primanti's 'n at?" crap. As long as it sells, it stays. Doesn't matter how stale it might be.

Hoerth is a prime example of someone who's been on auto-pilot for a decade. But he has a following -- small as it is -- and it's worth the station keeping him.

Madden is probably past the point where his act has any freshness. It was never that clever to begin with and once you've heard "You're a jackass" and "I'd do her" a thousand times, what's the point? There is certainly no shock value left.

The mass audience has a great tolerance for same old/same old. There must be a certain comfort in hearing the same voices saying the same things.
 
"Curious to here what you all think."

Are you really curious, or do you only want to hear responses that you agree with?

The time for a Talk Host or DJ to retire is when he's so old his pipes give out.

But, the time for a Talk Host or DJ to move on to a new venue with a new audience is when he's run out of material. The great thing about getting a new audience is that when you re-cycle all your old schtick, they think it's new because they never heard it before. That's the reason why many stand-up comics wouldn't appear on television, because once they used a piece of their act on TV, they couldn't use it in clubs any more.

Take someone like Doug Hoerth or Mark Madden, move him to Cleveland, and all his tired old schtick becomes new again.

Of course, Krenn's Yinzer character might not work well outside of the 'Burgh.
 
Cleveland speaking here: Madden would never work here (nor do we want him). We already have our own fat, intelligible, bloviating sports talk host. His name is Mike Trivisonno. The only difference between he and Madden is that one says Pittsburgh sucks; the other says Cleveland sucks.

Hoerth might works here, it sure would be new. But I doubt he'd find an audience. Your premise is correct in the abstract, but as much as Clevelanders like their comfort, we're a little more willing to accept change (which isn't always a good thing).
 
"Cleveland speaking here:"

I was only using Cleveland as an example. Feel free to substitute Toledo, Ashtabula, Newark, or any other such urban paradise instead.

Hoerth might do well in Florida, where there is a large, elderly population who'd get his references to the Dean Martin Show from the late 1960's.

And Madden might do well in the city where the show "The Sopranos" is set, as loud and obnoxious fat guys seem to be the main demographic there.
 
Any relationship between Toledo and paradise is pure sarcasm (or fantasy)! :)
 
I've been listening to "Uncle Douggie" since 1980, but I too think he's become stale, especially since he keeps having boring guests like Cyril Wecht on.
 
After his embarrassing foray into "hot talk" on Bruce Gilbert's WTAE, Hoerth settled back into the same old/same old act that he'd always done. He tells stories and you can almost go word-for-word with him if you've listened in the past.
 
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