Rush gone from WRKO

[Rob Landry]

On Thu, 21 May 2015, Karen McTrotsky wrote:

> Limbaugh is done, much like Mr. Carr who had to eat his words because 
> there just isn't much of a market for his routine any longer. Rush 
> founders in his own irrelevance and in the irrelevance of AM 
> broadcasting.  He's run his course.  The trouble for the syndicator, 
> thorugh, is there's nothing to replace him.

Sports talk. That appears to be the future of talk radio, at least in the 
near term.

AM broadcasting and FM broadcasting aren't particularly different. It's 
the content that matters. Where there is something on AM radio worth 
listening to, people listen to it. Where there is not, people ignore it.

The problem is, I think, that many broadcasters are too deeply in debt to 
be able to afford the talent they need to attract and keep an audience. 
They have forgotten that radio is show business, and air talent is what 
draws people to listen. You can't substitute machines for artists, nor can 
you take a random person off the street and make him or her a star.

Consider all the people who've tried to compete with Rush Limbaugh over 
the years, including big name politicians like Fred Thompson and Mike 
Huckabee. They all failed. Limbaugh, who started as a local DJ in 
(Missouri? I forget) had the talent to succeed in radio where they did 
not.

There are AM radio stations that are nurturing local talent. WSRO's Frilei 
Bras and Leandrinho Moura are doing an amazing job connecting to their 
listeners; the enthusiasm and excitement they generate can be felt in 
their shows even if you don't understand a word of what they say ("I'm on 
a Brazilian, wo-wo, radio..."), and the station is getting noticed, both 
by political leaders and by major advertisers. No, AM is not dead yet.


Rob