Personally, I think Jacob Townsend provides a breath of fresh air and much needed youth to WXSM.
He provides a stronger guest list than Rader, who would not book writers on as guests.
THAT SAID:
Rader did sports talk for 15 years on WXSM and was for most of his time the leading sports talker in the market. Now that he's returned to Greeneville, he's doing news.
That's telling, but not so much about Rader's talents as just the mindset of local radio. I'd think after establishing himself as a personality his old home of WGRV would wish to embrace it- recruit his old sponsors- do a big promotion that they have a leading radio personality of the market (which he was- witness the fact he motivated this thread) on their airwaves now, and basically take his old show and put it on their station(s).
Instead they have him ripping and reading at the top of the hour.
Unless he was burned out doing sports or had the motivation so many who do sports get at one point in their career and decide they wish to do news, the station is pigeonholing when they should be promoting.
This is a gross mishandling of Rader's talents. Both he and the market deserve better.
