Axe falls on WRKO news Dept.

[Dan Strassberg]

Well, my original post, which Bob Nelson only excerpted in his reply,
suggested the return of Jay Diamond to fill WRKO's mid-morning opening.
Diamond is not an idalogue; he is a radio pro and his shows are far superior
to most of the stuff on WRKO. In various gigs, he has been both a "liberal,"
as he was in his weekend WRKO gig, and a "conservative," as I recall his
being in several NYC gigs. He seems able to play whichever role management
asks him to play. My suggestion was that he try liberal or moderate for a
couple of books and if the ratings didn't materialize, he could switch. I
guess the big problem with a talk host changing sides is that the audience
might not get it; most listeners probably can't comprehend the concept of a
talk host who merely plays a role to entertain the audience. WRKO's current
on-air product provides living proof that the station could do a lot worse
than Diamond; the station has done so--over, and over, and over--and does so
currently throughout its broadcast day. It is not clear that they can do any
better than Diamond.

Since you don't work in Programming, Sid, I know that picking on-air talent
isn't part of your job description, but if you have friends in Programming,
please pass this along to them. They probably don't care what listeners (or
former listeners) think, but listening to the listeners might turn out to be
a new and beneficial experience for them. Gotta beat rearranging the deck
chairs on Titanic 680 ;>(  PS: Don't you think Titanic 680 has a provocative
ring? Just might catch on; the programmers ought to worry about that!

--

Dan Strassberg
dan.strassberg@att.net
Fax: 1-707-215-6367

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sid Schweiger" <sid@wrko.com>
To: <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2006 6:59 AM
Subject: Re: Axe falls on WRKO news Dept.


> >>Someone at Entercom should read this month's election returns and find
> someone more moderate than the people they have on.<<
>
> One has nothing to do with the other.  I'm obviously not in a position
> to be making programming decisions, but all the research shows that
> effective talk radio is NOT about preaching to the converted.  First and
> last, it's about being entertaining.  The success of talk hosts like
> Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity didn't occur because most listeners
> necessarily agree with their philosophy.  It occurred because they knew
> how to be entertaining, and the failure of a number of talk-show hosts,
> on the right or left, is attributable to the fact that they came across
> as whiny and preaching.
>
>
> Further, one could reasonably make the argument that the right-wing
> talkers now have more to talk about, since the country has made a
> decisive move back toward the center in the recent election.
>
>
>
> Sid Schweiger
> IT Manager, Entercom New England
> WAAF - WEEI AM/FM - WKAF - WMKK - WRKO - WVEI AM/FM
> 20 Guest St / 3d Floor
> Boston MA  02135-2040
> Phone: 617-779-5369
> Fax: 617-779-5379
> E-Mail: sid@wrko.com