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Local Radio's Silly Season About To Begin
I call it the "silly season" because programming on most of the stations I listen to is either interrupted or changed for the two weeks of the Christmas season. For the most part, music stations are a little more immune to this, because if all you're doing is playing the hits (or Xmas music) it really doesn't matter who's behind the mic.
But talk and sports radio are very different. At this time of year, the hosts who do make a huge difference on air, are pretty much either winding down, appearing less frequently or disappear on vacation entirely. 640's John Oakley is already off for the holidays and won't return until January. Same with CFRB's Jerry Agar. Corus' Roy Green told listeners last week his final weekend show of the year will be a "best of."
At some point, John Moore will also take the rest of the month off, and so will most of the regular voices. The question is what replaces them. I think RB has a deeper bullpen that they can draw from (640 only seems to have Arlene Bynon and Rubina Ahmed-Haq waiting in the wings.)
But this is a difficult time of year for those who believe in consistency. When I tune into 1010 and hear them playing Christmas music - as happens every year around Dec. 25th - it seems to me they just couldn't think of anything else. A station that makes its bones all year talking should not be playing non-stop monaural music for days on end. Yet that's been their track record every year. Maybe this time, with Robert Turner at the helm, they'll have found a way to stay true to the format while still acknowledging the holiday.
I expect 640 to go to their old standby, endless repeats of Christmas-themed old time radio shows played over and over and over again until Dec. 27th. Hey, but at least it's spoken word.
In any event, for listeners who aren't seeking music, this is definitely not the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year. (Speaking of that song, there's this ridiculous controversy about it in the U.K.)
Thank God for Funny 820!
- Ms. C.
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Re: Local Radio's Silly Season About To Begin
RadioActive wrote:
Thank God for Funny 820!
Now THAT's funny!
- Hansa
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Re: Local Radio's Silly Season About To Begin
I miss Pete & Geets' playing punk christmas carols.
Wasn't there a station somewhere that played the hundreds of different covers of White Christmas, 24-7?
- RadioActive
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Re: Local Radio's Silly Season About To Begin
That, at least, would show some imagination and that people were thinking of doing something other than the same old-same old every single year. And I probably listen to Funny 820 more during Christmas Eve and the few days following than at any other time of the year. Because it's the only way to escape it.
Let me be clear - I have nothing against Christmas. It's a terrific holiday and I love the spirit of it. What I don't love is having it on every single station non-stop for an entire week, with no variety or chance to hear anything else. It's just not that interesting for 72 hours straight.
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Thread Starter- fybush
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Re: Local Radio's Silly Season About To Begin
I always find this discussion fascinating, if only because it's one thing that's very different across the border. There are some "best-of" shows and substitute hosts on our news/talk stations, sure, but the basic flow of the programming usually continues uninterrupted through the holidays here.
(As for me, I'm working eight days straight at WXXI starting next Wednesday, covering for our regular local news anchors during All Things Considered, Weekend Edition and Morning Edition. As the "newsroom Jew," I've worked Christmas Day for years and always enjoy the shift. It's usually very peaceful - except for the one year we had a guy set his house on fire on Christmas Eve morning and then open fire on the firefighters who responded. That was an unusual holiday shift, to be sure.)
- alangee
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Thank God for Funny 820!
Now THAT's funny!
I used to love listening to Funny 820, but they don't seem to play anything new these days. I've probably heard every bit on their playlist dozens and dozens of times. Now that's NOT funny!
- RadioActive
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I always used to work the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day shift in the newsroom to give those with kids and family a break. It was quiet and there wasn't much news (the Queen, the P.M. and the Pope's Xmas address were sure to be there) and outside of the occasional fire and preview of Boxing Day, there really wasn't much news.
I do recall one year when there was a terrible story of a local GTA family that got killed in a terrible traffic tragedy while they were on vacation down south (I think it was on icy Pennsylvania roads.) It happened on Dec. 25th, and of course, was a big story here. A mom, dad, and several young kids were the victims.
We put it on our website as the lead, which is where it belonged. And then the phone rang. A viewer/reader tore a strip out of me for putting that up, complaining I had just ruined his Christmas. When I pointed out that it was a legitimate top story and that every other station and newspaper in town was also leading with it, he didn't care, continuing his rant and calling me an idiot. And then he hung up!
So much for the spirit of the season! But other than that, most of my newsroom Christmases were pretty quiet affairs.
And by the way, Mr. Fybush - Happy Hannukah!
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Thread Starter- Walter
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I like Christmas for the holiday, and the family time, but I loathe Christmas music, so that isn't an option, and as a talk radio junkie, it is the most horrible time of the year. It's like going through withdrawal. 680 News is my methadone, but it's no substitute for the good stuff.
- Tomas Barlow
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I always find this discussion fascinating
I don't.
For someone complaining about rerolls he sure doesn't mind rerolling the same discussion here every single year.
- Dale Patterson
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As per Christmas music, I tend to avoid all Christmas stations because the playlists are so narrow. How many times can you hear Jingle Bell Rock before it wears on you. As a side note, it's funny to me how all-Christmas stations will play songs by artists they wouldn't touch the rest of the year, like Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis, Brenda Lee, Sinatra, etc. Have a Merry Christmas, everybody!
"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
- paterson1
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I always find this discussion fascinating
I don't.
For someone complaining about rerolls he sure doesn't mind rerolling the same discussion here every single year.
Hahaha, good one. Yes the Christmas/New Year break and every long holiday weekend, the same discussion. As long as you can tune in some news if you are travelling is about all the audience over Christmas cares about. In the mid 70's the station I was working at was all pre-recorded for days over Christmas, so this is nothing new.