Oh, Mr. Grant...! Back to WABC

[raccoonradio]

http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2007/08/bob-grant-returns-to-wabc-talk-radio.html

8 to 10 pm slot...announcement expected later today.

[raydofan]

http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2007/08/bob-grant-returns-to-wabc-talk-radio.html

8 to 10 pm slot...announcement expected later today.

"Smithers, who is that corpse?"

[PeteRFNY]

Nice. Bob may be a lot of things, but he's never dull. Welcome back, Bob! 

[BRNout]

And what becomes of Jerry Agar?  He's BETTER than Grant (who just sounds ancient).

[artiemad]

Good for Bob! Who says you can't return  home, although I was hoping the station would consider Neal Boortz, close friend of Hannity's who worked in Atlanta many years ago. Boortz is out of Atlanta and is very entertaining as a libertarian who takes shots at both sides of the aisle.

[LinoNYC]

Quoting the article:.... there are questions about whether Grant is a good fit for WABC's long- term needs. At 78, he remains a legend, but it's hard to imagine this run as more than one last lap around the track.

And:
In the big picture, talk radio is still failing terribly at building the next generation of talkers who can move it forward. As it now stands, the medium appears to be milking its oldest hosts until their final days. When they are gone, does radio's most important format simply shut down?

The essense of AM talk radio's problem is that after losing the ability to appeal to younger listeners the managers decide to re-mine a audience of aged, reactionary hotheads with an increasingly bizarre parade of droners, and whackos.

Resurrecting Mr Gigante is just a symptom of what WABC a station with the oldest listeners in the market now faces.

Listening to AM today you'ld think you were still in the Clinton Administration.  Well just like the broken clock, they'll be right again in 17 months.

Re-quoting: When they are gone, does radio's most important format simply shut down?

Here is where these articles are short-sighted, the young, educated listenership have already discovered talk radio via NPR/PRI..     

It is no coincidence that aside from ethnic formats, non-commercial NPR style radio is the only area in radio to see growth over the last 18 years.

Lino

[Radknowski]

...The essense of AM talk radio's problem is that after losing the ability to appeal to younger listeners the managers decide to re-mine a audience of aged, reactionary hotheads with an increasingly bizarre parade of droners, and whackos.
Resurrecting Mr Gigante is just a symptom of what WABC a station with the oldest listeners in the market now faces...

Point well made. When I first read the news of Grant's hiring, my first thought was, "Is this the best the legendary WABC could do?" Is there no 38 year old man or woman who can equally or better articulate and work the time slot? It only makes it appear that WABC management took the path of least resistance. Well, perhaps this will shore up the 50+ numbers at night.

Just my buck tree eighty.

[Old Crow]

This penchant for utilizing the "old guys" in talk radio....conservative talk radio...stems from radio's fear of anything new.  Look at the music stations.  How much really new music gets played?  Zilch.  They just rehash the same 200 songs over and over again.  Why?  Fear of sticking their necks out.  It's the same for talk radio.  If I were in the position of having to freshen up my stable of talk hosts, the first place I'd look would be among the current crop of military veterans who are getting out of the service.  If you want someone who's well versed, articulate, and has his facts together (for the most part), grab a fresh-faced military officer who's leaving the service after his first or second hitch.  He's 'been there, done that', and did it with a college education under his belt.  You can bet he's got a head full of opinions, and experiences to back them up.  It's a good bet that he/she won't be reciting a partisan line, either.  During the next ten years, talk radio will wish they had recruited from this area.

[DToTheJ]

Good for Bob! Who says you can't return  home, although I was hoping the station would consider Neal Boortz, close friend of Hannity's who worked in Atlanta many years ago. Boortz is out of Atlanta and is very entertaining as a libertarian who takes shots at both sides of the aisle.

At this rate, New York will probably get Boortz before Glenn "Now Broadcasting From New York Even Though Nobody Here Can Hear Me" Beck!

[BRNout]

When I first read the news of Grant's hiring, my first thought was, "Is this the best the legendary WABC could do?" Is there no 38 year old man or woman who can equally or better articulate and work the time slot? It only makes it appear that WABC management took the path of least resistance. Well, perhaps this will shore up the 50+ numbers at night.

I have to agree with you.  After listening to Grant on that shift (including a couple of nights earlier this Summer, when he was in for Agar), I just don't get it.  Jerry Agar's show was SO MUCH BETTER than this geezerfest that it's not even funny.  Honestly, Bob Grant's show simply sounds too old.  And, it's not all that interesting either. 

Interestingly, that other (dental) board is filled with folks gushing over Bob Grant to the extent that I dare not express an opinion over there for fear of being flamed into the stone age.  And, I still just don't get it.  Citadel has me shaking my head.