KVI has dropped Mouthing Off, with Dave Carson and Kevin Dodrill (Sundays 6-7p) who were attempting to make a talk show that might be listenable to the Millennials, and drag the lagging KVI into a generation of listeners under the age of 50.
Self-described as, “The View with Balls,” these guys did everything to promote this show except take their clothes off and do the hula - even scraping up their own advertisers for their one little hour in the most unlistened-to corner of the listening week.
(Now "Freedom 570" can match the hour to the rest oftheir weekend programming with another odious info-mercial selling gold, colon-blowing meds, or rip-off
vitamins).MO, of course, received no promotion or real support from KVI. No web page, No
on-air promos, few mentions. As we wrote at the beginning: It was as if KVI didn't want anyone to listen...
(KVI’s web site isn’t worth a shit- there’s no podcasting or interactivity with listeners, the MO boys put up their own Facebook page and podcasted on podbean).The show took a lot of hits over the past two years, the first being the loss of Matt Haver, Kirby's Wilbur's producer who quit KVI in a fiery crash; they were even cut to a half hour for awhile. (BlatherWatch liked them, and they talked to us - that may not have been useful).
They probably lost their cover when PD Dennis Kelly recently left the company.
KVI has chosen to go forward with local talk programming - that’s good - but they re-invested in the old model, re-hiring former talk hosts Bryan Suits (m-f, 6-9a) and John Carlson (m-f, 3-6p) who may or may not be able bring back the sheen and the earballs that KVI once enjoyed.These next-gen talkers were briefly what passes as a talk radio bench in this town. Once up-and-comers like them were in all the stations polishing their skills and waiting to take the next step up. Weekends and evenings were incubators for talent and new ideas.
No more.
There's the KIRO baseball and SeaHawks Sunday fill-in chat show, Phil the News Junkie, (Sundays, 4-7p when there's no game) with Dori Monson's producer, Phil Vandervort. The phone rarely rings, and Dori's got his back but wonder how long his off-and-on-again show will last with a new program director?
They're back at being just producers now, (Dodrill for Suits, Carson for Carlson). It’s a high-pressure, thankless job doing the real work of talk radio while the host gets the glory, and you are paid like a Wendy’s manager. (Read our very, very long 2007 series on producers: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3).Why would anyone young listen to talk radio, much less think there’s a career in it?
Interesting bit about producers, and well written in places.
Posted by: Emile Flournoy | March 09, 2010 at 09:10 PM
'these guys did everything except take their clothes off '
I bet the gay guy that writes the blog here would like to see these guys with their clothes off.....typical of radical gays...
Posted by: nancy | March 09, 2010 at 09:26 PM
Week-end radio is one tough gig. Trying to compete with the Purity Products of the world has to be a challenge, since no one seems to be listening any way. I know I find myself doing far more other things on week-ends than listening to the radio. If I do listen, it's thru head-phones while mowing the lawn or doing yard work - and generally tuned to C@W music to 'speed-me-along'. Bottom line is I feel for any one trying to make a 'go of it' in that venue at that time period. Sorry, asi es la vida -smile.
Posted by: Duffman | March 10, 2010 at 08:53 AM
Speaking of mouthing off, I do love him but had to chuckle a few minutes ago as Dori Monson (KIRO-FM, 93.7, 12:00 - 15:00) announced the apparent winner of KIRO's 'employee-of-the-month' (for Feb) to be none other than DORI MONSON. Get's to move up a couple of parking spaces :)
Reminds me of Minn.'s newest Senator's alter-ego Stuart Smalley: 'I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-gone-it people like me'. You da man, Dori!
Posted by: Duffman | March 10, 2010 at 02:05 PM