Category Archives: Radio

Why I don’t listen to talk radio

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Mark Ramsey observes that broadcasters have given listeners the talk radio they want… but do a crappy job of giving them the non-music radio they might want:

“Wandering amidst the posters at NAB promoting radio’s prime Talk properties, it’s hard not to be struck by the fact that these talents are overwhelmingly Male, late-middle-aged, conservative, politically-charged white guys in suits. Sure, there are the exceptions, but for every Dave Ramsey there are a dozen Michael Savages.”

Ramsey goes on to point out that younger folk are not listening to these guys. You think?

Newspapers doing radio (and TV)

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I just listened an interview that Mark Ramsey did with a couple of guys from the San Diego Union-Tribune (runs 17 min). Twenty minutes ago I’d have described Ron James and Marc Balanky as newspapers guys. Now, I’ll call them media guys.

And they’re gearing up to do what we used to call radio (and, eventually, TV). A couple of things they said jumped out at me:

"We have a newsroom that works 24 hours a day" and "…we have more than 300 reporters."

I flashed on all the empty or near-empty radio newsrooms out there. These guys are serious as a heart attack and I’d be damned worried if I were "just" a radio station in that market. On the other hand, if you aren’t already well down the road to being more than just a radio station, don’t sweat it. Squeeze what you can from old Bossie and remember the good times.

CBS Radio is putting “60 Minutes” on iTunes

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CBS Radio News is making the entire program available as an audio podcast free on iTunes, CBSNews.com and CBS Radio News affiliate websites.  An audio-only version of “60 Minutes” has been offered for radio syndication for years.  And some audio and video segments have been posted online.  But this is the first time the entire weekly show will be downloadable.  Executive producer Jeff Fager says the show is “perfect for this kind of audio podcasting because its relied on “solid storytelling, with or without the pictures.” [Inside Radio]

This American Life: Poker Pros

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“Ira travels to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker, gets hooked, and tries to figure out what it would mean if he ditched his job in radio to become a professional card player. What he learns: a professional gambler can suffer two heartbreaking losses back-to-back, costing him over $100,000, and moments later, at the casino bar, calculate the million-to-one odds of his unlikely losses…in his head.”

By all means, go to the This American Life website and listen to the program there. (26 minutes)  As always, this is brilliant story telling, but it’s a must-listen for anyone that ever thought they’d like to play cards for a living.