Air America, et al..

[David Tomm]

On Aug 1, 2005, at 7:56 AM, Steve West wrote:
>
> So... I think we've got a serious problem where meaty discussions are 
> turning into shouting matches where generalities rule and facts seem 
> nowhere to be found - and its moving from the talk radio world out 
> into mainstream society... Heck, I saw two women get into it about 
> President Bush at a Kroger grocery store the other day.  Sheesh!  
> While its great that everyone's informed, aren't we who are 
> broadcasters shirking our responsibility to report facts and not get 
> everyone angry to the point of coming to blows?

There was a link to a story on All Access not too long ago which 
basically said that talk radio listeners tend to be more polarized 
politically than the rest of the population as a whole.  You have to 
wonder if all of the partisan bickering has chased away some listeners. 
  Nationwide, news-talk stations have taken a ratings hit since the 
election.  If this trend continues, I wouldn't be surprised to see more 
moderate talk show hosts finding airtime.  Progressive talker Ed 
Schultz's views are more centrist than most of other hosts on his 
affiliates, and his show continues to grow.  Could we see this 
happening on conservative talk stations too?

>  I know with me it's NOT my intent to allow the discussions to depart 
> from radio.... but in the case of the Boston board, there are three 
> talk stations in the market (4 if you count the WXKS-AM/WKOX AAR 
> simulcast as two different signals) and it's difficult to ban the 
> entire subject of talk radio when it's so prevalent on the air.

Actually, there are four talk stations if you count WTTT.  At least as 
far as Boston goes, you'd almost have to include WBUR in the discussion 
because it really serves as a viable alternative to   traditional talk 
stations for many listeners.

--Dave Tomm
"MIke Thomas"