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Date Posted: 07:48:06 06/16/03 Mon
Author: Rockford
Subject: The Radio Is In the Hands of Such A Lot of Fools

Surf has posted on the front page a pretty revealing article about the Infinity / AOL for Broadband partnership and what's expected of on-air personalities. Hosts are being "encouraged" to slip in mentions of what a wonderful service AOL for Broadband is, but make sure it doesn't sound like a commercial.

So, while Glen Macnow was talking movies on WIP Friday night, he just happened to remember a very interesting feature on Arnold Schwarzenegger that he just happened to see on AOL for broadband earlier in the day. Gee, what a great service!

I'd expected the unprincipled bunch at PHT to play ball, but...... Et tu Macnow?

It's been noted here that in recent weeks that Jeff Katz has done at least two "interviews" which were not interviews at all, but commercials in disguise.

Infinity Radio pre-empted part of Smerconish's show last week for a Hillary Clinton interview, which really amounted to a commercial for sister company Simon & Shuster.

Now that Irv Homer is enjoying retirement, is there anyone left in radio with a watt of integrity? MAS once quit a gig across town over the issue of infomercials. Where is he on these latest insults? Hello? Michael? I guess his fighting
spirit has been crushed beneath the massive weight of his paycheck.

Leading up to the latest FCC regulation loosening, there was comment on this page that it would not be the death of radio. Once upon a time, the coming of TV was proclaimed to be the end of radio, etc. I agree with that. Regulation loosening alone would not kill radio.

What might kill radio (at least the sort of talk radio to which this page is devoted) is the complete absence of anything resembling basic human integrity.

Here's what these geniuses who run the industry, both locally and nationally don't seem to have clue about: When the line between what is a commercial and what is not becomes blurred, everything a talk-host says becomes suspect. Every subject they choose to talk about (or to not
talk about) is tarred with the cynical brush of cold business calculation. And everything talked about on radio becomes COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT TO EVERYONE!

Self-marginalization, that could kill talk radio. How ironic.

Follow that Mel? Grace? Anyone?

Irv Homer use to say "follow the money trail." Bernie McCain would admonish that if "you want to understand what's happening on the front page,you better start by reading the business page."

I'll bet they are laughing their retired butts off.

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Replies:

[> ditto -- Freddy, 10:39:20 06/16/03 Mon

Once again, you have demonstrated how deregulation has led to conglomerates buying up entire markets as a tool to sell their wares at the cost of meaningful radio. I read Surf's article and it merely confirmed something I instinctively knew anyway.

The easiest confirmation that talk radio is garbage though is listening to the product itself. It is simply boring and repitive to the point of tears.


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[> Irv did tons on infomercials at WWDB, so he hardly took what I would call "a noble stand" on infomercials. As a matter of fact, he still does them on WBCB. Most hosts, here and across the country, have guns put to their heads (pointed by management) when it comes to infomercials. -- Jay, 08:35:51 06/17/03 Tue


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[> [> Perhaps we hear different stations, but Philly's the only market where I've heard the first-string day-to-day hosts forced to do infomercials during their normal timeslots. But if you're correct, then the current, steady growth of talk-radio is short-lived indeed. These hosts need to realize that, long-term, they're selling themselves right out of a job and guaranteeing their stations will flip to country oldies or whatever passes for AM music radio today. -- "Vince From Villanova" (All hail the "king," baby.), 13:28:24 06/17/03 Tue


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[> I know how much you all LOVE Glenn Beck so you may have missed him TRASHING Infinity and the deal with Hilary Clinton and her book. "Manufactured News" he called it. It was in a commentary about deregulation and how the Liberals don't complain when it benefits them. -- Surf, 18:47:58 06/18/03 Wed


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[> [> Yeah, but it's Glenn Beck we're talking about here. It was probably just another dumb parody skit again, right? -- "Vince From Villanova" (wink-wink nudge-nudge), 01:41:09 06/19/03 Thu


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[> [> I can't speak for "the liberals", (whoever they are), but I complain about it all the time. And by the way, you're right, I did miss Glenn Beck talking about it. In fact, I miss everything Glenn Beck does. -- Rockford, 09:40:01 06/19/03 Thu


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