Newsmax.com is out with a predictable, flawed and troubling list of  “Little Limbaughs” – 25 local talk radio hosts who make an impact in their markets.  The list was compiled for Newsmax by former WABC/New York programmer John Mainelli.  First, kudos to Newsmax for recognizing the importance of local talkers.  Of course, as with any “best of” list, there is plenty of room for disagreement.   Here are some eyebrow-raisers:

News/talk: the Buick of radio formats.  Man, this really is a list of Little Limbaughs — a group dominated by older white guys who have been behind the microphone for a very long time.  While all the honorees are talented, and many have great ratings, this list fuels concern for the format’s future.  What is being done to insure that news/talk doesn’t meet the fate of Beautiful Music?Are these guys going to attract the next wave of talk listeners?  If so, how?  And when are they going to start?  If not, is anyone investing in the next generation of talkers — and exploring how talk programming must evolve to stay relevant to a younger audience?

WSB's Boortz

Where’s Boortz?  Newsmax might argue that WSB/Atlanta’s  Neal Boortz is a syndicated host, but he’s really an Atlanta talker.  Boortz does an hour-and-a-half of Atlanta-centric talk every day and never hesitates  to bring up Atlanta-generated topics during his network hours.  He is the once-and-probably-forever king of Atlanta talk radio.

Herman Cain?  The WSB evening host is smart and worldly-wise.  But Cain’s presentation and content are a siren-song to the elderly.  The Cox Radio station’s decision to hire Cain instead of building for the future at night was curious, to say the least.

No Bill Cunningham from WLW/Cincinnati?  Which leads to…

Where are the Mid-majors?  Talk radio hosts often have truly amazing influence in cities such as  New Orleans, Richmond and Charlotte.  Yet there is only one Little Limbaugh from outside the top 21 markets –  KFAB/Omaha’s Tom Becka.