Why Does KABC keep screwing up Doug McIntyre's show?

[ftracy3]

First of all I'm a huge McIntyre fan--I think he is the funniest and most sensible guy in LA talk radio, as well as (potentially) the most entertaining. I was thrilled they were bringing him back to morning drive even though I was having a blast listening to podcasts of his Redeye show. But KABC management is doing the same "fixing" they did the last time the show struggled. Rather than letting McIntyre do more of McIntyre..they have now
a) killed the iconic jazz and American standards bumper music and even his signature theme music. Now we get Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and a bunch of other stuff we can hear anywhere else. I can just hear some program exec.."this is old music..people will think the show is for old people.....let's bring in something current like......Led Zeppelin"
b) Flooded the broadcast with more commercials than the competition (I haven't timed it but it sure seems that way)
c) Made the show so hourly "headline updates" dependent that I almost feel like just switching over to KNX.
d) Made the segments so short that virtually every phone interview with a newsmaker is cut off too quickly by Doug giving the final word with an abrupt cut to commercial.

I don't particularly like Bill Handel (although he's grown on me over the years), but although I firmly believe McIntyre is the more entertaining broadcaster, I have to admit that Handel has the more entertaining show. They break up the news a little more, have more people to interact with, and have more fun.

Here's a suggestion, KABC: ADVERTISE THE SHOW. And bring in some more people for him to interact with..Rob Marenko(sp?), Nathan Baker...it's awful lonely with just him, Terri Raye and almost no callers. Give up on the four solid hours of news headlines with just an occasional five minute spot for McIntyre to editorialize. The current show is an improvement over Peter Tilden (who is clearly more liberal but unwilling to offend anyone by having a strong opinion about anything). I'm still listening to McIntyre but now it's almost in spite of the show, not because of it.

 

[wadio]

Rather than letting McIntyre do more of McIntyre..they have now

e) added a woman to talk entertainment with Doug
f) added a guy to give sports scores and talk sports with Doug

ftracy3, as you point out, the show is already overloaded with features and headlines and commercials ... the last thing it needs is more voices! (That's the only point on which we apparently disagree.)

I'm in NY and when WABC gave McIntyre the 5-6a hour preceding Imus I listened a few times and didn't like him. The reason, it turned out, is that he had no time to develop ideas, play his quirky music, tell stories and all the other things Doug does so uniquely well. The hour was chock-a-block with traffic, weather and featurettes from Rush, Huckabee, John Bachelor, the Wall Street Journal, etc. It was a mess.

Then a few months later I started listening to Red Eye Radio and was hooked ... immediately. My assumption is that then-PD of WABC, Laurie Cantillo, who brought Doug in after the KABC firing, gave him the freedom to develop the overnight show according to his instincts (and whatever he was doing in its previous local form.) If that's the case, KABC management needs to get out of the way and let Doug do his thing according to his gut. The current show is way too restrictive and therefore too predictable.

Doug McIntyre has so much going for him ... I'd go so far as to say he may be the most entertaining and informative talk show host I've ever heard. What a colossal waste of talent.

 

[nmoore6676]

Rather than letting McIntyre do more of McIntyre..they have now

e) added a woman to talk entertainment with Doug
f) added a guy to give sports scores and talk sports with Doug

ftracy3, as you point out, the show is already overloaded with features and headlines and commercials ... the last thing it needs is more voices! (That's the only point on which we apparently disagree.)

I'm in NY and when WABC gave McIntyre the 5-6a hour preceding Imus I listened a few times and didn't like him. The reason, it turned out, is that he had no time to develop ideas, play his quirky music, tell stories and all the other things Doug does so uniquely well. The hour was chock-a-block with traffic, weather and featurettes from Rush, Huckabee, John Bachelor, the Wall Street Journal, etc. It was a mess.

Then a few months later I started listening to Red Eye Radio and was hooked ... immediately. My assumption is that then-PD of WABC, Laurie Cantillo, who brought Doug in after the KABC firing, gave him the freedom to develop the overnight show according to his instincts (and whatever he was doing in its previous local form.) If that's the case, KABC management needs to get out of the way and let Doug do his thing according to his gut. The current show is way too restrictive and therefore too predictable.

Doug McIntyre has so much going for him ... I'd go so far as to say he may be the most entertaining and informative talk show host I've ever heard. What a colossal waste of talent.

Agreed, McIntyre is what radio used to be and still should be. Handel is good but at times irritating and egotistical which Doug never is.

 

[MC]

Do people turn on the TV, Radio or go to the movies for normal? well adjusted people?

 

[hotpatrick2004]

I agree!!!Douglas is way to good for kabc i dont know why he stays???His former show red eye radio is okay but not near as good as it was and peter tilden???

Yuk peter i think would be fine for red eye radio but he isnt a very good talk show host!!!He brags way to much about the people he knows in the industry. He says he will talk about one thing before the break and never brings up what he said he would.He just isnt very entertaining.

Doug knows alot of people in the industry but doesnt brag about it.


Cumulus really screwed up and should have given peter his walking papers when they took over!!!

Whom ever owned kabc when mr kabc worked there really screwed up letting him go!!!

But douglas should go somewhere where they appreciate his talent!!!

 

[pjc1961]

L.A. Times article dated 5/1/12 addresses the disappearance of the jazz bumper music from Doug's show:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...on-los-angeles-radio-20120430,0,1985180.story

 

[youngsag]

If KABC could possibly find any way to add to the mess that is the KABC morning fiasco - they have. Rock bumper music is truly the way to attract listeners, can we agree? I mean, taking away McIntyre's one defining element of individuality is really going to kick up the sagging, stagnant ratings? Right? Sports is not doing it. Traffic "on the twos" isn't clever. Bunching commercials in such an outrageous manner so that the entire show is choking with commercials, well, that makes sense, right? That laughing at nothing sidekick really adds a lot, wouldn't you say?

Doug's reading of two day old news, when he is able to talk between commercials, is absurd. And his choice of topics for morning drive is particularly terrible. Seems to read the most gruesome crime stories. Nice to wake up to, wouldn't you say?

Fire whoever the exec producer is (Nathan somebody, who also screwed up Tilden's morning fest). Pay off Doug and Ms. Bad Stomach (re: commercial she does) Elmer. Dump the whole morning line and start over. One might think a TALK RADIO (or, as we called it in old KLAC days, "Two Way Radio") format might work. Hmmm.

I think KRLA's "ANSWER" (what is the QUESTION?) is trying to develop something fairly good in mornings with KDWN alumna Heidi Harris. Crazy, talks way, way too fast, wrong more often than right, but she has a style that she might develop into something decent for big market radio if she remembers that a talk format traditionally involves the taking of lots of calls -- not rambling monologues. Taking calls, involving listeners, current events, giving enough time to a topic is, btw, what KABC, KLAC, KGIL, old KIEV (now KRLA) lived on well -- very well -- for years.

But it is interesting to ponder just how many meetings at KABC it took to decide to kill off morning jazz bumpers. Whoa!

 

[wadio]

L.A. Times article dated 5/1/12 addresses the disappearance of the jazz bumper music from Doug's show:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...on-los-angeles-radio-20120430,0,1985180.story

It's funny ... reading the article I realized I know nothing about this music. I don't really care about "preserving" it, but I found Doug's enthusiasm for the music so infectious that I enjoyed the hell out of it.

This is a perfect example of hiring someone for his unique talents and then telling him to "do it our way." Happens all the time. Sad. Stupid!

 

[Bongwater]

Ray Taliaferro (formerly of KGO) played a lot of jazz. I thought it was a classy touch......

 

[hotpatrick2004]

How far the mighty(kabc) have fallen!!!

Does mr dickey realize he has made the station worse and not better???Now not allowing doug to be doug shame on you clueulus!!!

Lets see i still think doug is much better then mr tilden for mornings!!!But after that geraldo what a huge mistake and making mr levin not live bad idea!!!

They had a good thing going on at nights with i know alot of you dont like him but john phillips had a good show 7-10 and they replace his show and part of red eye radio with peter tilden???There whole live remote from fresh restuarant?

They dont even do sometimes due to technical difficulties.

It is just a sad sad sad story for kabc!!!Just blow it up into god knows what!!!

 

[calguy]

Double Post

 

[calguy]

Hate to say it, but you might as well put a fork in KABC because it's done. They don't have the money and/or apparently the smarts to compete, not to mention a a 5K transmission that can't really hope to match the market leader's signal. As for McIntyre's show, it really makes no sense to hire a guy for his talent and then to not let him use it. Why force all of these changes on him? Makes zero sense. I always admired Silver's abilities as a PD, but now I guess I may have been wrong, and I won't even touch on how KLOS could sound better. 20 years ago you could assemble a great "live" staff by cherry picking the best talent from around the country. Under the current model, which just about everyone uses now, KABC doesn't even seem to be able to assemble the best syndicated talent. They don't have the money to program it correctly either, so why bother with this patchwork of a broadcast day? I say pack it in, block program foreign language and be done with it, it's just a tax write off now...

All that being said, I would simulcast on FM and follow the Public radio model and shoot for a cool, modern way to do it. It's working in other cities and to do it commercially in a compelling and intelligent way "could" work, but that would cost money, and Cumulus won't spend it, plus they would need to out bill what KLOS currently brings in or it would be a disaster to go FM...

 

[oh holland]

I miss McIntyre doing overnights, when the relatively open format allowed his talent to air in full. Wish he'd dump loser KABC and start a podcast a la Adam Carolla, and see his fans flock to it.

 

[wadio]

I miss McIntyre doing overnights, when the relatively open format allowed his talent to air in full. Wish he'd dump loser KABC and start a podcast a la Adam Carolla, and see his fans flock to it.

I'm sure nothing beats a paycheck. The Internet streamers are folks who were dumped -- not the other way around.

If Doug were willing to go back to overnights, and if KFI were willing to spend the money and take a chance on rounding out its schedule of local programs by dumping the tired Coast-to-Coast in favor of a vibrant, live overnight show (that they could ultimately syndicate) that would be wonderful. I wonder if Cumulus retained the "Red Eye Radio" name in order to be prepared for such an eventuality.

 

[westfield60]

I miss McIntyre doing overnights, when the relatively open format allowed his talent to air in full. Wish he'd dump loser KABC and start a podcast a la Adam Carolla, and see his fans flock to it.

I hate saying it but podcasting as a viable revenue generating medium is still a pipe dream. I was a huge fan of Leykis and yet he has been back a month and I have yet to be bothered to find his podcast and subscribe to the stream. It was much better that when I got in the car on the drive home he would be there on terrestrial radio. I don't think Adam Corolla makes that much money either.

Doug would have an even harder time at it. His audience is much older than Leykis or Carolla and I think most of them would first have to understand what an ipod was before even attempting to follow his podcast.

It ain't happening.

In reference to KFI picking up his show. I doubt it. Even though Coast to Coast is showing its age and is virtually unlistenable, Doug's show is far from "vibrant" as it was described. There would be plenty of nights on his show when the conspiracy freaks would show up and it would ground to a boring halt. The people that are up all night and particuarly calling talk radio are not too stable to begin with. I just don't see any interest in KFI picking him up.

Infact KFI seems to be digging themselves into a hole too. Look at the weekend lineup, besides Handel and Leo Laporte, everyone else is a disaster. Come on is anyone listening to the fork report?

 

[wadio]

Doug would have an even harder time at it. His audience is much older than Leykis or Carolla and I think most of them would first have to understand what an ipod was before even attempting to follow his podcast.

Come on, that's a ridiculous and prejudiced remark. Older people aren't stupid and they have the leisure time to screw around with technology while younger people, by your own admission, are often too busy to bother.

 

[ftracy3]

I forced myself to listen again today. Between "traffic on the two's" (six times an hour!), news, endless commercials, I actually heard three or four minutes of Doug McIntyre. My last gasp unsolicited suggestions to KABC:
1) Listen to Handel, imagine McIntyre in the same format/hourly schedule, and follow it reasonably closely. Or even better, listen to John Phillips and strike a balance between the two formats. Apparently at 9:00 a.m. KABC figures people no longer need constant traffic, news headlines, sports updates, and so Phillips actually has the better show.
2) Bring back the jazz, lose the rock, and if he needs to shorten the bumper cuts, so be it. But the rock intros suck. Even if I"m not a jazz fan, I'd rather hear Doug talk about something he's passionate about--it becomes interesting whether or not it's my "style" of music.
3) Give him more people to interact with while still being the host--there isn't a lot of chemistry with Terri-Rae but she's a good newscaster and works better when reacting to a team or more (as with John and Ken). The old morning show (for which he got fired) was actually pretty entertaining before they started mucking with it by dragging in Deborah Mark. He had John Phillips as "sports princess," and Mike Timpson and Nathan Baker were on mike more. Actually the most listenable part of the show now is the ending five minutes when he's got Phillips, Baker, and Elmer with him.
4) Put the talk back in talk radio...more callers.
5) Less headlines other than the top and bottom of the hour. Less traffic. More Doug.

I have no idea what management was thinking when they pulled him from RedEye. "Doug, we were wrong to fire you from morning drive before, you're doing a great job here now, very successful. We'd like to bring you back to mornings if you'll have us. But one thing...whatever you're doing here to make the show so good? When you start mornings stop doing that."

 

[ChannelFlipper]

I forced myself to listen again today. Between "traffic on the two's" (six times an hour!), news, endless commercials, I actually heard three or four minutes of Doug McIntyre. My last gasp unsolicited suggestions to KABC:
1) Listen to Handel, imagine McIntyre in the same format/hourly schedule, and follow it reasonably closely. Or even better, listen to John Phillips and strike a balance between the two formats. Apparently at 9:00 a.m. KABC figures people no longer need constant traffic, news headlines, sports updates, and so Phillips actually has the better show.
2) Bring back the jazz, lose the rock, and if he needs to shorten the bumper cuts, so be it. But the rock intros suck. Even if I"m not a jazz fan, I'd rather hear Doug talk about something he's passionate about--it becomes interesting whether or not it's my "style" of music.
3) Give him more people to interact with while still being the host--there isn't a lot of chemistry with Terri-Rae but she's a good newscaster and works better when reacting to a team or more (as with John and Ken). The old morning show (for which he got fired) was actually pretty entertaining before they started mucking with it by dragging in Deborah Mark. He had John Phillips as "sports princess," and Mike Timpson and Nathan Baker were on mike more. Actually the most listenable part of the show now is the ending five minutes when he's got Phillips, Baker, and Elmer with him.
4) Put the talk back in talk radio...more callers.
5) Less headlines other than the top and bottom of the hour. Less traffic. More Doug.

I have no idea what management was thinking when they pulled him from RedEye. "Doug, we were wrong to fire you from morning drive before, you're doing a great job here now, very successful. We'd like to bring you back to mornings if you'll have us. But one thing...whatever you're doing here to make the show so good? When you start mornings stop doing that."

KABC is talkradio's WKRP. Without the comedy.

 

[oh holland]

To those who question the success of post-terrestrial-radio Adam Carolla, have a gander at this article:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/144/pod-star.html

No reason that radio talent like Doug McIntyre could not do also well as a podcaster, which would remove the constraints that let Doug be Doug. Yeah, I'm sure he likes the regular paycheck, but radio broadcasting is in trouble and those checks risk turning to rubber.

And those who say audiences of a certain age won't migrate with the talent they like have tunnel vision. I'm willing to bet radios of 60+ year-olds continue to become doorstops as the quality of traditional radio broadcasting declines. Check out your local gym and note how many iPods are being used by the social security set as they pump iron. These people are not going by the wayside so don't dismiss them (or me. I'm a hella 62-year-old!)