Randy’s Reminder is Right-On

Chicago media critic Robert Feder reports that Tribune Company CEO Randy Michaels has issued a list of 119 words and phrases that WGN-AM newspeople are no longer allowed to use on-air.  Feder looks askance at this effort,  calling it insulting and suggesting that Michaels has better things to do with his time.  Feder couldn’t be [...]

If You can’t Say Something Nice, Better Stay off Irish Talk Radio

American broadcasters justifiably complain and fret about the FCC’s content regulation. But here’s a reminder that it could be worse.  A lot worse. Dublin-based  Newstalk 106-108 was recently censured by Ireland’s version of the FCC because morning co-host Claire Byrne called spinster singing sensation Susan Boyle “a freak” and “not right in the head.”   [...]

A New Category for Talk Radio Brokered Programming

Has your sales department talked to labor unions while prospecting for paid programs?  Might be worth a meeting or two.  Sure, unions don’t have as much money as they used to — but who does?

Well, You Can’t Believe Everything You Read on the Internet

The Daily Beast recently posted a list of talk show hosts who are supposedly poised to be “the next Glenn Beck.” This apparently means a personality capable of transcending radio to become a political or cultural force. You know, somebody who will one day be the subject of a fretful Time magazine cover story.
Daily Beast [...]

Exposed! What Really Killed Air America! (And Why Other Liberal Talkers Should Be Afraid)

The recent demise of Air America Media reignited the debate over why liberal talk radio has struggled to find a viable audience.  You’ve heard all the theories: bad business plan; putting politics ahead of entertainment; the mainstream media provides enough liberal news and comment, et cetera.  Now former liberal talk host Steve Young puts forth a [...]

“Maverick! Engage, Dammit!”

Boston Phoenix blogger Adam Reilly offers an insightful post-mortem on talk radio’s role in Scott Brown’s election to the U.S. Senate. The bottom-line: Relationships and engagement matter — a lot.
True, most Beantown talkers were ideologically pre-disposed to support the Republican Brown.  But Brown also benefited tremendously from his long-time courtship of  the radio crowd.  Even [...]

Callers: PPM’s Next Victim?

A recent column in Toronto’s Globe and Mail reports that Canadian sports-talk stations have developed a serious bias against callers, with some shows banning them all together, and others limiting listener participation to special “hot-button topic” segments or post-game shows.
The most eyebrow-raising observation in the column comes from Bob McCown, host of an afternoon drive [...]

Five Take-Aways from Talk Show Boot Camp

Don Anthony’s first Talk Show Boot Camp was an excellent event — 36 hours of laser-focused discussion on what it takes to create great talk radio.   It was both educational and motivational.  If there’s a 2010 edition (and there probably will be) you need to be there.  In the meantime, here are five themes [...]

Welcome to Talk Frontier — The Next Generation

Dear Friends and Colleagues –  I started  TalkFrontier.com eight months ago as an experiment, as a way to learn about New Media while continuing to share my opinions and ideas about talk radio.  At the time, I took a pretty dim view of radio’s prospects.  But a funny thing happened across those eight months and 95 blog posts.  The more [...]

Rush and Jay-Z: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Excellent insight in this NYT opinion piece on what talk radio hosts and rappers have in common. Hint: A lot, including a hunger for financial success and its rewards. Jay-Z could have been talking about Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck when he wrote, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.”