would a fm news talk work here??

[thirdendorsed]

First of all, I wouldn't "whack" any of the Boston CBS FM's and replace it with WBZ AM, not unless it's with just the news day part, then go to music at night.

Check out WKXW (FM) Trenton. They talk all day and do music overnight and on weekends, nights are an advice to the lovelorn program that's big on all the gritty details

I think the definition of WBZ as "all-news" is overstated and not just because there is no news coverage at night and talk shows for nine hours a day. Rather, I find the morning block more akin to a chat show with long newscasts than to an all news station. You can't tune-in and get the news, you tune in and wait for the top or bottom of the hour. Even headlines are rarely heard during the hour (I'm talking headlines in the nature of an update, not teases.) BZ management apparently thinks the news is boring and has to break it up with insipid features and boring chats that seem to be growing increasingly insipid. Part of it may be that CBS is not as good a content provider as it once was, but I'd take the World News Roundup over the BZ 8a news for the stupid any day.

WEEI in its heyday did a far superior job, with excellent reporters, both in-house and from CBS, who did radio like radio, unlike BZ, which does radio like television.

At least WBZ has not sunk as low as EEI did in the Doug Stephan era, when he actually ran an exercise show. Yup, on radio. Yup, in mid-day. And one and two and one and two.