I worked in "Full Service" radio in the 80s...I programmed a station that featured a mix of local talk, news and sports. We worked hard to connect with the community and the station made a lot of money. Today that station has few listeners or advertisers...totally gutted of talent and its spirit. It deregulated itself into irrelevance.
In August '88 I was part of a station that was one of rushbo's original affiliates and got to actually interview Oxy-boy. I got a look at the inside of what would become the "EIB" machine. It was highly partisan...sold as a "hot hits" talk format...that old-fashioned "full service" was dull and boring and they were gonna spice things up...and spice it up they did. Credit where credit's due...rushbo and his people knew the market and created not only their own niche but a full media machine. I didn't like a lot of what I saw at the time and headed in another direction...a move I'm grateful I made.
Next year should be an interesting one. Bain/Cheap Channel will have to face dealing with a $15 billion dollar debt. Bain bought Cheap Channel in '07 (right as Willard was amping up his '08 run) and now that his political life is over, I suspect Bain will go ahead with what they do best...cannibalize! We're seeing talk station being switched to sports to try to fatten up poor revenues and avoid the controversy that keeps many advertisers away. Look for a lot of ugly days ahead for this once vibrant biz in the year ahead. I'm glad I can be a spectator...
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