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iHeart WONK's DC

TheBigA said:
What it really comes down to is attention span. Older retired people can devote 4 hours to listen to Rush or a particular host. Younger folks have less time, and want their media to get to the point quicker. Rush can spend 20 minutes building his case. That's too long for a younger listener. Assuming the younger listener even cares what Rush's point is. So having a station that plays the essence of a talk show, the hit version if you will, might work better for those who don't want to listen to an entire show.
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The youngsters seem to have less of a problem listening to Ben Shapiro drone on for an hour or three.


TheBigA said:
People in DC have multiple choices for talk. This is something different. What's the problem? One station diverges from the official format talking points, and regular listeners don't like it.
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Again, have you listened to the station? Dropping a series of pedestrian observations together by theme, based solely on IHeart's ownership of the content does not an entertaining format make. You alleged that 'regular' talk radio isn't entertaining, which would be a surprise to its audience. If it wasn't entertaining, it would no longer exist. Air America wasn't entertaining. Whether or not Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity is your taste isn't the point. Limbaugh just passed 30 years in syndication, Hannity's coming up on 18. You don't get there by not being entertaining.


DavidEduardo said:
Talk radio's ratings are, for the most part, composed of folks over 55.

A good example is WGN in Chicago... in 25-54, it is not even in the top 25... and that's in a market driven substantially by agency business that ignores 55 and over. And now, even in 12+, it is down to an average of 12th to 13th.

And billing is off 40% in the last 7 years.

Even often mentioned KFI is down to 7th in 12+ and 19th in 25-54, using a three book rolling average.

That's not "fine".
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JBraddock said:
Talk radio's ratings are fine in most markets, and those stations, mostly AM, are going to serve that audience what they want until they're gone. That's about all they can do.
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How would you program those AM stations differently, David? What other format options are they missing that they could avail themselves of and bill better/younger?
 
JBraddock said:
You alleged that 'regular' talk radio isn't entertaining, which would be a surprise to its audience. If it wasn't entertaining, it would no longer exist.
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I agree. Some people are entertained by listening to someone rant for a few hours. I have nothing to be angry about, so that's not entertaining to me. I prefer humor, wit, and maybe some conversation. Imus and Howard Stern used to have characters (some fictional) in their shows. That to me is entertaining. Some talk show hosts know how to do this. They're not lecturing me on their politics, but instead using words and observations in funny and entertaining ways. If I want a lecture, I can listen to an audio book. But yes, Rush and Sean are very successful at what they do, but I have absolutely no interest in it. Their audience hovers around the 7 million mark, which means there are a lot of people who agree with me.

This station is not for someone who wants to listen to Rush & Sean. This station is for people who want to hear some LOCAL talk by LOCAL talk hosts. Maybe they're looking for an alternative to Rush & Sean. Someone who might share their views, but talks about it in a different way. That's what they're doing here. I was just listening to Handel On The Law on WONK. Great show that most Washingtonians can't hear other than on this station.
 
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JBraddock said:
Have you actually listened to the station? Or are you just pontificating from 30,000 feet?
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Bingo! As I said in my OP, at first I thought it was a good concept. Then I actually listened to it.

JBraddock said:
Successful greatest hits collections are carefully sequenced for maximum listenability. The best ones don't just plunk the material down in chronological order.
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YES! The concept isn't the problem, it's the execution.

JBraddock, you are spot on on both counts.
 
TheBigA said:
This station is for people who want to hear some LOCAL talk by LOCAL talk hosts. Maybe they're looking for an alternative to Rush & Sean. Someone who might share their views, but talks about it in a different way. That's what they're doing here. I was just listening to Handel On The Law on WONK. Great show that most Washingtonians can't hear other than on this station.
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I'm not a regular DC listener accept when streaming WFED. I do appreciate local programming in my home town. There's far too little of it, and the amount of nationally syndicated programming dominates my local broadcasters more than I like. Local programming is a really critical part of society. Ho-hum topics like land use, K-12 schools, sanitation and public safety have more to do with quality of life than many national issues. I'm always kind of amazed how much attention the national news gets, while local issues seem to take a back seat.
 
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