What a horrible afternoon for John Oakley's show on AM640 Wednesday - and it had nothing to do with the content. The broadcaster went on the air at 3 PM from his home studio and immediately disappeared seconds later when the connection was lost. 

They quickly cut to commercials, came back with a pre-recorded interview, then finally re-established contact. But that wasn't the end of this sudden vanishing act. The signal cut out at least four more times over the next two hours, sometimes in the middle of an interview, often leaving the guests hanging. The generic Global filler music was played over and over and over as they attempted to re-established contact, and most of the time it came back quickly. 

But the constant interruptions made for something of a hash of the whole afternoon. I have to say I feel sorry for the board op, who had to constantly be on the alert for a talent that was there one second and gone the next. Unlike music radio, where you can just start another tune, there's no back-up for a talk show host who's there one second and gone the next. 

I point this out only because I've been incredibly impressed with how well this technology has worked over the last two years-plus of the pandemic. But boy, when it fails, it's really noticeable. And Wednesday's show was one of the worst failures I've ever heard.