Steve Malzberg

WMAL has a good vibe going, IMO - a good station "sound." Vince Colonaise gets it, so do Chris Plante and Larry O'Connor. It's political opinion without the nastiness.

Unfortunately that comes to a screeching halt at noon and 6 pm with Limbaugh and Levin. Are these "must carry" shows?

Steve Malzberg did a great job keeping the vibe going last week when he filled in for Larry O'Connor. WMAL should hire Steve for either noon or 6 pm. They localized the afternoon drive show - why not take it to the next step?

wadio said:

Are these "must carry" shows?

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Depends on what you mean. Limbaugh is an iHeart show, and WMAL is not owned by iHeart. But there is a contract, and they must fulfill the contract.

The reason those two shows stick out is they're national shows, while the others you mention are local. The local shows fit the goals of the local PD. The national shows don't.

Of course. They removed Savage recently in favor of local. Shows it can be done.

wadio said:

Of course. They removed Savage recently in favor of local. Shows it can be done.

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I don't expect them to go local at night. The AM's nighttime signal isn't too good.

Limbaugh brings his own dedicated audience. They might not listen to the rest of the lineup, but they're Limbaugh loyalists.

OTOH, it worked for KFI (they went Limbaughless.)

wadio said:

OTOH, it worked for KFI (they went Limbaughless.)

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And that station is owned by iHeart, Limbaugh's syndicator. They moved him to another station they owned in town. Cumulus doesn't have that option.

TheBigA said:

Depends on what you mean. Limbaugh is an iHeart show, and WMAL is not owned by iHeart. But there is a contract, and they must fulfill the contract.

The reason those two shows stick out is they're national shows, while the others you mention are local. The local shows fit the goals of the local PD. The national shows don't.

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"Must Carry?" That sounds like stuff Sinclair would say when they want their pundits to appear between local news segments.

But overall he means contract for the shows though.

RadioPatrol said:

But overall he means contract for the shows though.

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Yes I know, I said that in my first sentence.

Just an observation...

I listen to WMAL quite a bit. Chris Plante went "national" a few months ago...although not many stations carry him besides WMAL....KKOH out of Reno, NV does. And he's catching on quickly. He is very quite witted and thinks on his feet....and is very funny also.

azcoyote said:

Just an observation...

I listen to WMAL quite a bit. Chris Plante went "national" a few months ago...although not many stations carry him besides WMAL....KKOH out of Reno, NV does. And he's catching on quickly. He is very quite witted and thinks on his feet....and is very funny also.

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Agree! Plante is what Limbaugh was in his very early years - quick, funny, sarcastic but in a totally entertaining way.

WABC in New York carries Plante.