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Seattle Talk Radio

A

Andy Travis

Collecting some general thoughts:

1. Tagney's leaving KIRO - what's the speculation on who joins Curley next?

2. Todd Herman's leaving AM drive at KTTH. The station's not getting great ratings overall, but obviously has a following, and Rantz has put a lot into it (politics aside, he's very visible and works his brand well) so it obviously has a role in the cluster (and there's no logical "other" format for it anyways.)

Curley's already got a cabin out of town and showing up at school board meetings. Herman's broadcasting from Idaho and pursuing podcasting and a more religious oriented angle to his content.

I listen pretty heavily to KIRO (FM) and it seems to be that with the exception of Dori, they generally avoid solo personalities. Unlike KTTH. KIRO seems centered around a "duo" format with frequent guest contributors. It's also my impression that the ones who are most "forcefully" opinionated are the conservative hosts (Dori and Curley.) The "liberals" - Tagney (retiring) and Ross simply come across as less dominant in tone and delivery. Gee and Ursula I consider a separate thing, as the tone of their show and format is much more "optimistic" and less polarized.

Now, I find the station entertaining and don't think it's supposed to be a "liberal" talk station (Curley I find hysterically funny and of all of them, a bit more willing to be edgy in his humor) but I wonder if this is a determined editorial tone, or simply a reflection of the personality and preferences of the host. It also seems the contributors and freelancers that are brought in to guest host tend to lean rightward. Which again, isn't a reflection on talent but seems a bit redundant with KTTH in the building. If there's a goal to lean KIRO (FM) more right/suburban when KTTH is doing a 1.4 with the same approach, what's the point? Or am I just overanalyzing it?

Also, for trivia's sake does anyone know when KIRO stopped taking calls on air (and if that was an executive decision to do so?) I don't listen to other Bonneville talkers so I don't know if this is a company wide policy.
 
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I would say that KTTH focuses a bit more on national politics and the traditional conservative angle when compared to KIRO. While there are conservative voices on KIRO, most of the content (and perspectives) centers on local issues. I think it's a fair to say that the bulk of the KIRO and KTTH audience are probably suburban listeners, and I would have to assume that the formula has worked well for them. Likewise, I would assume that KUOW does very well with listeners in Seattle proper. Phone calls appear to have been fazed out a decade ago when KIRO first started simulcasting 97.3. I'm not sure about the exact timeline, but the emphasis (in the modern era) has been on the host providing all of the commentary with little listener interaction.
 
They don't really take phone calls on KTTH either... With the exception of the syndicated Medved show. I don't listen to 710 enough to know what they do with phones. That being said I too have noticed fewer hosts taking actual calls lately. I personally thought it was because their phone system was old and unreliable like a lot of their other infrastructure... which they are working on.

Personally I would love to see the now available Brandy Kruse take over one of those vacant slots.... Either Tom or Todd's show. She would do great on KTTH in the AM drive slot... Not sure she is inclined to do that but I'd listen.
 
I think a lot of Kruse's fans would like to see her on 770, especially from the reaction when she subbed for Rantz a few days ago, but I also think her "moderate" tone might equally tick off some conservatives - they already think Medved is a RINO, so not sure if Kruse expressed some of her opinions she'd be regarded as conservative enough. Plus, would she want to add that to her plate with this new (seemingly successful so far) crowdfunded project she has?
 
Rantz will likely move to AM Drive. That will help with his frequent appearances on Fox News.
Hopefully Curley will also retire. He should have after KING gave him the heave-ho.
As for Brandi (not Brandy) Kruse - she's not really a talk host, but with what she's done at Channel 13 she could get a shot at 770.
 
Dave Ross cited the Wired article "The Death of of the Phone Call" in July 2010, and said something like, "Phone calls can't die. That's my job!" But then some time after that it dawned on me, "Hey, Dave hasn't taken any phone calls in a while." For a while he chatted with rotating segments of guest journalists, until settling on cohosting with Luke Burbank.
 
I think that talk radio started to move away from live phone calls when social networking websites became a one-stop shop for personal opinion. Listener interaction is still a major component of sports talk radio however, as I've heard multiple hosts on 710 taking live calls. And of course, a regular component of KISW from 2-6pm.
 
All 3 Bonneville stations have text lines. How many phone calls have been replaced with a text. With the phone line only so many listeners can get in or get a busy signal. Not with the text. I hear text from listeners being read on all 3 stations. Some host feel it a more effective way to get more opinions on the air and interact with their audience.
 
xmtrland said:
I hear text from listeners being read on all 3 stations. Some host feel it a more effective way to get more opinions on the air and interact with their audience.
Click to expand...

I would think it would be more effective to have a high-quality text-to-speech voice "read" the texts on-air. Would make it feel more personable and would set the content apart from the host.
 
Circling back to Seattle, I noticed a version of Herman's statement was quoting him as asking the audience to be patient and kind to the new morning "and/or" afternoon host. Does that suggest Rantz is moving to AM drive and someone new to KTTH afternoons?
 
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