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stevensonair
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Perhaps some of us would rather hear a conversation about whatever the views were, rather than a shouting match.
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Where Are the Moderate and Non-Political Syndicated Talk Hosts?
- Thread starter Gregg.
- Start date
Does Ramsey yell? Does Rush?
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stevensonair
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Does Ramsey yell? It's irrelevant to me. It's a financial show. My comments generally relate to political shows.
Does Rush yell? Used to listen years ago when I found him humorous. The more recent times I hear him rant, rave and trash the opposition rather than articulate alternative ideas. He used to be brash AND funny. Now he's brash and rude.
So you've asked me about one mostly non political talk show and one that's gotten increasingly one-note and bitter.
Does Rush yell? Used to listen years ago when I found him humorous. The more recent times I hear him rant, rave and trash the opposition rather than articulate alternative ideas. He used to be brash AND funny. Now he's brash and rude.
So you've asked me about one mostly non political talk show and one that's gotten increasingly one-note and bitter.
I think what's wrong with much of today's talk radio is that it has an agenda (other than simply to entertain.)
Air America had a political agenda ... Dave Ramsay has a personal agenda ... Rush morphed from being a brilliant satirist into a mouthpiece for the Republican party. I realize that everyone has an agenda of some sort but some hosts manage to check it at the door.
As for "facts," when discussing complex political issues there's often no pure "truth." Some things are a matter of "opinion." A host without a political agenda will offer his/her opinion -- often with great passion -- but stops short of "selling" it. Hannity is like a used car salesman -- his pitch is unrelenting and he fights furiously to overcome every objection -- not my idea of entertainment but apparently it works for him.
Air America had a political agenda ... Dave Ramsay has a personal agenda ... Rush morphed from being a brilliant satirist into a mouthpiece for the Republican party. I realize that everyone has an agenda of some sort but some hosts manage to check it at the door.
As for "facts," when discussing complex political issues there's often no pure "truth." Some things are a matter of "opinion." A host without a political agenda will offer his/her opinion -- often with great passion -- but stops short of "selling" it. Hannity is like a used car salesman -- his pitch is unrelenting and he fights furiously to overcome every objection -- not my idea of entertainment but apparently it works for him.
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RD Operations
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Some posts from this thread have been moved to Take It Outside
http://radiodiscussions.com/showthr...l-Syndicated-Talk-Hosts&p=5934746#post5934746
http://radiodiscussions.com/showthr...l-Syndicated-Talk-Hosts&p=5934746#post5934746
I've noticed--more so on the TV side but to an extent on the radio side as well--that many hosts tend to adjust their agenda over time to fit the expectations of their audiences. Bill O'Reilly & Chris Matthews were always opinionated, but seemed to give both sides a more fair shake in the early days of their respective programs. But as Fox began to veer more sharply to the right, O'Reilly's program drifted more to the right; and as MSNBC veered sharply to the left, Matthews' program drifted more to the left. Greta Van Sustren does a very conservative political program now for Fox, though her CNN program (& even her Fox program at first) was almost entirely a court show that rarely touched on politics. (It's also interesting to note that she & her husband were big supporters of John Kerry & Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns.)
Even the hosts who've remained consistent with their political message tend to adjust their tone depending on the platform. Ed Schultz comes off as a reasonable liberal on his radio show, but more of a raving lunatic lib on TV. Hannity is somewhat the opposite, but same principal--he comes off as more of a raving lunatic conservative on the radio, but is somewhat more reserved on TV.
While these shifts aren't as apparent on radio, I'm sure there's some adjusting there as well. Most of us know what Rush sounds like on the radio, but off air he's embraced some folks who, at least in some listeners' minds, would bring the adamancy of his conservatism into question.
Not sure if serious.
Funny how there are few things people are as passionate about as politics, religion, and sex. The order depends on the person. And combination of the three and you've got ratings magic.
When I started K***, I retained (name brand consultant) as a consultant - mabye one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made in radio, and I will tell you I have made some REALLY big ones. I had the concept of doing a station that was not hard-aligned left or right, with some "lifestyle" shows as well - ergo, Lou Dobbs, Joy Browne and Clarke Howard. Instead of telling me it would not work, (name brand consultant) helped me put together exactly the station I envisioned. (He is personally left-leaning ...)
We failed completely. I had Lou Dobbs do a marvelous TV commercial for me and we played it to death for two months on all five of the Comcast news channels. Result of the consultant fees, all that work, all that money, and all that promotion: a product that advertisers were uninterested in and a 0.0 share in Arbitron. Hard lessons learned.
My unfocused programming on K*** roughly reflects trying to do a playlist that is too large on a music station.
We failed completely. I had Lou Dobbs do a marvelous TV commercial for me and we played it to death for two months on all five of the Comcast news channels. Result of the consultant fees, all that work, all that money, and all that promotion: a product that advertisers were uninterested in and a 0.0 share in Arbitron. Hard lessons learned.
My unfocused programming on K*** roughly reflects trying to do a playlist that is too large on a music station.
There is a lot of programming available that is non-political or moderate. ABQRADIO mentioned several of the names and Jim Bohannon was mentioned at the start of the thread. I'll add Doug Stephan to the mix. His show is one of the best on radio, IMO. Such programming is available, but it likely needs to be part of a lineup that includes Rush or Hannity to draw in the listeners who may stay for the other programming. I don't say this to promote their POV, only in acknowledgement that they have the #1 and #2 most listened to shows on radio.
Other apolitical talk programming, Car Care Clinic, Kim Komando, Bob Brinker, Jill on Money, etc. Yes, these are 'how to' type shows but they can round out the content of a station. Ultimately though, people need a reason to listen.
Other apolitical talk programming, Car Care Clinic, Kim Komando, Bob Brinker, Jill on Money, etc. Yes, these are 'how to' type shows but they can round out the content of a station. Ultimately though, people need a reason to listen.
Nobody here wants to hear your real world experience. They'd rather stick to their pipe dreams of running Rush Limbaugh off the air so they won't have to hear opinions they disagree with anymore.
OMG! I can't stand that guy. Nicey-nice talk and count-downs are a complete snore-fest, IMO.
I'm actually more annoyed by mediocrity than just plain bad. At one point I changed my overnight listening to avoid having to hear the aforementioned Stephan intone, "GOOOOD MOOORNING!" at 5 am.
I think ABQRADIO's problem might have had more to do with the mix of hosts than the mix of topics. My first choice straight news/talk when available, but Lou Dobbs radio show was pretty much the standard non-stop Obama bashing. Although I generally don't listen to lifestyles shows I enjoy Clark Howard because his show has substance. Joy Browne is several steps below Doug Stephan in my book. So, as a station, K*** would not have appealed to me, nor to a Joy Browne fan nor to a Lou Dobbs fan.
I should have qualified that statement by saying he "comes off as a somewhat more reasonable liberal on his radio show...." And I thought I had said that. Maybe someday I'll learn to give it one more proofread before hitting Reply.
Anyway, when I have listened to Ed's radio show, he has seemed a bit more reasonable and subdued, whereas he comes off as more of a screamer on TV. But I haven't really listened to his radio show much since the Bush years, tbh, so maybe he's more of a screamer on the radio now too.
Interestingly, when a given party is in power, I've often found myself agreeing with the pundits from the opposite side more than when their own guys are in power. Not that I agree with either side 100% of the time, but that seems to be the trend for me. When Bush was in office, I'd find myself listening to lefty pundits & thinking, "He/she has a good point," whereas now, when I try to listen to a lib I often think, "These guys are idiots." Likewise, I often found myself turned off by the conservative pundits during the Bush years, whereas now I'm more likely to think they're right on. I guess I'm the politics geek version of "hard to please."
Maybe part of the problem was having LOU DOBBS and JOY BROWNE on the air.
Triple YAWN.
Stop perpetuating this idea that those who don't want a political/ideological echo chamber are against anybody they don't agree with. It's an all-to-easy and trite cop-out.
There are plenty of hosts that I don't agree with, but I still listen to them because they are interesting in the way they do a show. I actually find Michael Savage infinitely more entertaining than Limbaugh, even though I disagree with more than half of what he says. I'm tired of boring, doctrinaire radio. I mean, Lou Dobbs & Joy Browne? Really? I can't imagine why that didn't work. LOL
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Maybe we would like to hear his real world experience. Maybe not.
Maybe we would like to hear your real life opinions. Maybe not.
Would we all be better served if people who post could post what we think,
people who post could engage in civilized, back-and-forth discussion on the merits of what they think,
and as painful as it is, we would left some people post themselves into a corner, and hope they can recognize what they have done, without us having to say to them: Your point of view doesn't deserve to be heard, please keep it quiet.
As I read in another forum this week: (a whole thread on the topic by the way) My mistakes are my best teacher.
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stevensonair
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I was reading some of the comments by broadcasters to the initial proposal for the LPFM service. The following struck me as amusing:
"But what can be done to assure that the programming offered by these micro-broadcasters will be of interest or useful to the neighborhood that they serve? After all the FCC cannot and will not regulate the content of what is broadcast. What's to keep militiamen, religious fanatics, drug cultists, alternative life stylists and various and assorted crackpots, hucksters, and con artists from taking over the new service?"
Some would venture today that AM radio, in particular talk formats, has become what this Roswell, NM broadcaster feared from LPFM.
"But what can be done to assure that the programming offered by these micro-broadcasters will be of interest or useful to the neighborhood that they serve? After all the FCC cannot and will not regulate the content of what is broadcast. What's to keep militiamen, religious fanatics, drug cultists, alternative life stylists and various and assorted crackpots, hucksters, and con artists from taking over the new service?"
Some would venture today that AM radio, in particular talk formats, has become what this Roswell, NM broadcaster feared from LPFM.
Your sarcasm detector is malfunctioning.
That could be.
I'm an ol' farm guy. From first-hand experience, I know what a manure spreader is.
They look funny.... and they smell funny. That way the less skilled farm help does not bring a manure spreader out to the peach orchard thinking it is a trailer for hauling freshly picked peaches.
I guess I am one of the less skilled forum readers. Maybe you could make sure your sarcasm is distinguised from trash talk by making it look funny.... and smell funny.
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