I've been listening to local talk radio since the advent of "The Morning Exchange" on WCHS 580 in the early 1990's. It has undergone many changes over the years and I have found something that I liked about each new expression of the medium, at least until now.
Other than a couple of different sports talk shows that are scattered through the weekly schedule, 580's talk show offerings are:
1. The infomercial-like "Ask The Expert" show where local egomaniacs and narcissists pay money to be on the air for an hour a day to promote their particular interest; or
2. "58 Live" in the afternoon where neo-con Mike Agnello and flaming moderate Rick Johnson host 3 hours of milquetoast banter every day. Agnello is always bringing on conservative guests who spew right-wing propaganda about the hot topic of the day, but the listeners and callers seem to only want to talk about the most innocuous of topics. The result is 3 hours of nothing every day. It is the single most dreadful show I have ever heard. While on the way home from work most days I will switch to one of our two sports stations to listen to commentary on the latest misadventures of Pac Man Jones or Michael Vick, ad-nauseum.
The other talk station, 950 on your dial, has Andy Albertini's "Andy & Company" that I posted about last week. The good thing about this early morning show is you only need to listen to it for about five minutes per hour to hear everything they have to say. You could pick up a copy of "Conservatism for Dummies" and pretty much figure out what Andy's going to say about everything. Andy's co-host and one-man "Amen Corner" does little to create interesting counter-point. The incessant drumbeat of "our government is oppressing us and our leaders are selling us out" gets very old, very quickly.
Even Jerry Waters, the nattering nabob of negativism that he was, was at least entertaining because his rhetoric raised the hackles of enough people on both sides of an issue to induce them to call the show. His downfall, in my opinion, was having school board member Pete Thaw on the air virtually every day. Pete's laugh (which, incidentally, sounds just like The Penguin from the Batman TV series) was grating and his commentary was beyond dull.
I can't believe it, but I am actually nostalgiac for the days of Danny Jones' show on 950 every morning as it was in the late 1990's. He was so much better as a talk show host than he is a mayor.
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7 comments:
And how about the "Statewide Sportsline"?
Since when did statewide mean Morgantown?
No matter what the subject is, Goober from Logan always calls in and steers the topic to "Whattaya think Coach Rod is going to do this week."
I could have written this! You're dead-on: Rick Johnson wont allow any caller to get really passionate on his show. It's a "flat-line" show. There's no ups and downs.. no highs and lows. It's just the same old preachy crap. This is not to offend advertisers of course. Andys show is a repeat: He could play the same show 5 days a week and no one would notice. Waters? Well.. at least he had highs and lows. Just when you though it was safe to turn on the radio, he'd something so off the wall that you'd almost wreck your car if driving. Danny was good in the beginning. Towards the end however, he seemed to really pull in his horns, as though he were about to run for something...
What gets me about 58 Live is the fact that major advertisers get instant access to the show. Show me something that Agnello believes in that doesn't relate directly to a major advertiser and I'll give way more credence to that show.
Why did the Kanawha County School board approve the superintendent being allowed to spend sources say 2 million for cosmetic work to select schools in the valley(some of them are new buildings) to impress visiting administrators on 10/09 from around the country when they say there is no money for text books? Some schools have to have bake sells in order to buy books. This is disgraceful Pete Thaw!!!!The public does not seem to know about this special event!
Which schools are you talking about? I have seen people working over the weekends and after hours at some.
Which schools are you talking about? I have seen people working over the weekends and after hours at some.
The so called select schools are: Webber Wood Elementary, Alban Elementary, Stonewall Jackson Middle School, Capital High School, George Washington High School, St. Albans High School, South Charleston High School, Ben Franklin Technical and Career Center...those are some I have seen and some been told about
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