I see a frequently-mentioned notion on these boards that NJ 101.5 does as well as it does mainly because its talk hosts stay away from political topics and their accompanying agendas. This is such a load of bull.
First, the station's shows over the years have gotten PLENTY political. Some shows more than others yes, but anyone who says the station's all about fluffy topics is clearly not listening. Sure, much of the politics are state-centric as opposed to federal-, but the topics still evoke passionate opinions from listeners just like your typical Clear Channel-owned Beck-Rush-Hannity machine.
Secondly, NJ 101.5 enjoys a very unique situation. When the format launched almost 25 years ago, listeners in a hefty chunk of the signal's footprint really had no "go-to" broadcast news source. Some states have strong identities (NJ, Delaware, Texas). Some don't (Pennsylvania). With no mainstream commercial TV presence-- and no big heritage AM signals-- New Jersey was fertile ground for something like a NJ 101.5. Suddenly these new listeners had a voice for their state, and weren't stuck with the scraps from Philly and NY. (Just like conservatives in the late '80s/early '90s felt about the Limbaugh show.) NJ 101.5 has offered solid broadcast news service for a quarter-century now. It is much of New Jersey's "KYW."
But Philadelphia doesn't need a second KYW. (Just ask anyone who worked at WCAU from 1975-78.) In fact, with each passing day, Philadelphia is demonstrating it doesn't even need *one* KYW.
I can't speak much to the only other place I know of the "Sabo format" really working, Orlando. That city obviously is its own TV market, and had no shortage of broadcast news and talk when WTKS debuted-- so I don't know. I was only in Orlando once, in 1993. "Real Radio" was relatively new then, and I was very impressed. I have no idea how it sounds now, 20 years later. Maybe the hosts there are just *that* good.
NJ 101.5 will go down in modern radio history as one of America's last, great Full-Service radio stations. It truly is mass appeal. But it works so well because of the whole package. News, traffic, weather, personalities, and even weekend music. Plus the almost-total lack of TV news competition keeps both New Jersey listeners and ad dollars in the state and on the radio side of broadcasting.
Just having a struggling station suddenly talking about fluff instead of politics isn't going make it successful like NJ 101.5. And on AM, it's downright foolhardy.