There is all kids of stuff here on many levels
"News Talk" has been around for awhile so it may be getting stale. However there is no "Next Great Thing" in sight. Around here talk began in the early1960's in Fall River with little WALE 1400 AM. However it was done in a roundabout way. The First big time station int the region was WBZ with Jerry Williams ca 1968. Also at that time populoar music was emigrating to FM. In 1974 Avi Nelson got on WHDH in Boston, bringing the Right into the previously liberal-dominated genre. This led to the Channel 7 debates between Avi and Jerry, which, by popular vote Nelson won 6 to 1. Since FM had superior fidelity, that is where music was headed. Beginning in ca 1979. Talk Radio exploded withWSAR 1480 AM Fall River, WRKO, 680 AM Boston, WEAN, 790 AM Providence for awhile and WPRO with WJAR increasing their amount of it. Then Rush Limbaugh came along and put syndicated talk on the map in 1988. There had been syndie shows like Ed Bush, David Visccott and a couple of others. But Limbaugh generated "buzz"
Then WFAN 66 NY promoted sports talk, followed by the conversion of WHDH to WEEI. 790 was WSKO for awhile and that added fuel. However talk was not an unqualified success 550 tried it under the "buzz" format, hiring the venerable Ron Santa and couldn't make a go of it. nor could 790 in the middle 1980's. Both of these stations also experimented with an Oldies format as well and 550, one the venerable WPAW, WXTR and WGNG could not even sustain a Disney format and 790 is now reduced to a biz format after failing as a sports talk station and even they are doing some syndie talk with Geraldo Rivera and Mike Huccabee
With this as the backdrop, let's look at the current state of affiars. WPRO, with the exception of John Bachelor and Red-Eye has gone local, meaning all Providence all the time. WHJJ is doing more national stuff. John DePetro is a clown. How could anyone take his demigoguingh seriously. Dan York overdoes the histrionics a bit. Buddy and Matt are more straightforward. But it is for the most part all Providence all the time. Who needs that? Beyond that, what has changed; read "what has been the impact"? Matt Allen may be onto something with "the putrid Rhode Island Gene" but you canpretty much say that about all of New England for the last 45 years judging by the seats lost in Congress
The only really horrid thing on WHJJ is Coast to Coast, the success of which is an challenge to the mental health of the nation, with Wall Stree Wrap being second: Too wonky. By and large, I think the 790 program lineup is mor cosmopolitan than WPRO, which now may be living on past glory. Having given us Salty Brine, Larry "Ice Cold" Kruger (which joke probably most persons listening will not get) and Jack Burns.. But their heyday was in the music era
There is also the question that I brought up earlier of the format getting stale. It has hadd a history of almost 50 years and a good successful run of over 30. Now the question is what wouild replace it? will it still be talk but mostly niche shows like Don Soa's "Money Talk"; the kinds of things that dominate weekend redio? But that is so boutique that I think it signifies that the stations have trhownin the towel on weekends and just use these things to keep the equipment minimally functioning. AM fidelity has improved greatly, could music make a comeback. The Spanish stations seem to be doing all right with that. Besides which just about any station has worldwide reachon the Web. My Grace Digital gets Voz Emigrati from Albania (I kind of like it): This is better than shortwave. Just a wireless router is all you need if you have the Internet and anywhere from $130 to $250 will start you off pretty well. I get little WARL strong with that for Guido and the Doowoppers (I definitly like THAT. Maybe they should syndicte it, it could get a following inthe 9 PM to midnight time slot). I would not mind trying my ham
d at a late '58 - mid '63 music format
