Bleeding Ears

Radio hell: anything but baseball. Real hell: anywhere Rush Limbaugh is audible.

While I agree that Gary O'Brian may be the most mind numbing radio host that's not in public radio, I will say that WDWS is the best place to find news in this town. I know IP loves to link N-G stories (and if WDWS were smart, they'd put their stories online too) but if you compare the N-G, the TV stations (which are sheer rubbish), and WDWS, I don't think there's a better place to find news than on WDWS.

But that's just one person's opinion.

I boycott WDWS becuase of the pain it cause me to start my car and accidently have to listen to one moment of that washed-up pill-popper Limbaugh.  The 5:04 pm newscast on WDWS is about 90 seconds long lately.  The WCIA TV website  (illinoishomepage) is at least timely, although you have to read the announcer's scripts verbatim.

If WDWS wants to claim that Rush is a success because their ratings are the highest locally its a logically false argument.  Their ratings would be even higher with white noise than with that bag-o-hot-air.

I too wish that Brant Hansen would come back, but alas, he has found himself a new home in Florida. Can't blame WDWS for him moving to S. Florida. 

After a quick Google, here's a link to his blog - 

http://www.brantsblogofawesomeness.typepad.com/

As far as O'Brian goes, I'd rather listen to NPR while sitting in a smoldering fire and covered with bees. A good guy I'm almost postive (without ever meeting him), but a good on air guy for the highest ranked talk station in the area? I don't think so. Might as well put on Thom Hartman to drive away the listeners.

John Farney,

What time period are those ratings for?

To others, let me say, because I don't care if liberals like me or care that I may be called a racist, I like Rush Limbaugh a lot.  With half his brain tied behind his back he infuriates liberals.  With half his brain tied behind his back and while drug-addled and washed-up he runs rings around them.  How can you not like him? A good way to judge his effectiveness is to watch the vigor with which people claim he is ineffective.

Keep in mind that when things get slow with Rush, WIND (560) out of Chicago has lots of conservative programming.  Dennis Miller, Laura Ingram and Michael Medved there are all very good.  Michael Savage, not so much.

John

I think they're still taking tax dollars.  And they've eschewed the greedy world of corporate advertisting, instead opting for thirty second sponsorship non-ads.

Sure it does. It pays low wages, broadcasts Little League games and non-revenue U of I sports, doesn't pay to broadcast the Bears or Colts, pre-empts Cardinals games for wrestling meets, and it's only higher cost feeds are Rush and Hannity. Except for U of I football and basketball contracts, it's paying next to nothing.

When your prime radio show is an old geezer bringing in locals to interview or kids putting on shows, it doesn't cost much to fire up a transmitter that doesn't even make it to Paxton or Tuscola.

Brian Barnhart is a joke, when you listen carefully to him, he misses what is going on while making up the goofiest expressions, and there's the afternoon guy who is dull as a brick.

Loane does a good job, he is very good at women's sports broadcasts, and Gentry is the best they have. Otherwise, it's a bunch of retirees on contract or intern level quality.

Why do I listen to WDWS? I really have no idea. Probably the same reason I drive the same route to work each day. It's mindlessly easy to do.

This is fun reading.  Not sure if anyone's still on this thread, but THANK YOU to anyone who actually misses me.  That's an honor.

Just to correct a couple things:  I'm really happy to have worked for WDWS.  I'm not sure how I gave the impression that I left because of something they did, but I sure didn't mean to do that.  And the News-Gazette hierarchy was wonderfully supportive.  I have no complaints about my bosses.  They let me do some writing for the paper, too.  They went out of their way to help me and my family. 

"D. Boon" brought back some great memories.  The "stooge producer" was (and is) a very brilliant liberal friend of mine.  The reaction to that tape was hilarious:  the activists said, simultaneously, that they were "misquoted" but were also "correct anyway."  My liberal, anti-war producer did the editing.  The folks were just embarrassed to have their actual opinions aired.  Ricky Somebody -- the guy with AWARE -- was cool about it, first upset that we aired their answers, but then admitting it's what they actually thought. 

Note to self:  Some people will talk into a microphone, then resent you for airing what they actually said. 

Like I say, I got a kick out of that.  My wife and I hung out with several members of AWARE, and, to a person, they'd all happily say that Bush is a worse dictator than Hussein.  And they'd do it happily. 

So, D. Boon, you bring back great angry liberal memories.  It just wasn't fair that we aired actual opinions, that wound up sounding kinda strange when aired in public.  "Misquoted" but still "true".  (Jeremiah Wright, anyone?)  Oh, the outrage at everyone hearing what you said into a mic. 

I got a nice note from the editor/publisher at the alternative paper in C-U when I left, thanking me for being open about my own beliefs, but fair to others.  That was seriously the most encouraging note I ever got.  Mission accomplished.

I think WILL is great, David Inge is great, and WDWS does a sensational job of being what it has ALWAYS been:  Over-the-fence talk about Champaign-Urbana.  That's it, folks.  It's a small market, and they do exactly what they set out to do.  You can only compete with intruding Chicago stations and satellite by being local, local, local.   You can't compete on production values, you can't compete for the same talent, you can't sound better.  You can be C-U, and, largely, they pull that off pretty well.

BTW, not only was my "stooge" producer a remarkably bright liberal, Brian Barnhart is one of the most genuine guys you'll ever meet.  Totally humble, no big ego trip.  Refreshing.  I miss him.

Brant 

Thanks!  I just re-read my hurriedly-written comment, and the last sentence implicates Brian Barnhart as a "remarkably bright liberal."   He *is* remarkably bright, but I'm referring to two different people there. 

BTW, my actual personal blog is www.branthansen.typepad.com, if anyone's ever in the mood for complete confusion, coupled with genuine dismay.

I'm glad I happened on this site by googling myself.  Seems like a cool way to keep up with the central Illinois scene.