Media: One Less Live and Local

TORONTO, ONTARIO - In the latest edition of Northeast Radio Watch, Scott Fybush has reported the news that WBZ Newsradio 1030 out of Boston has dropped its live and local overnight talk programming. As part of layoffs that also included afternoon sports reporter Tom Cuddy and the overnight news position, WBZ chose to let go Saturday night hosts Pat Desmarais and Lovell Dyett (who Fybush notes had been at the station for 37 years!) and, most critically, overnight host Steve LeVeille. This means that WBZ will no longer be live and local in the overnight hours.

Fybush notes in his article that this isn't the first time WBZ has tried syndication--in 1990, David Brudnoy was briefly supplanted by the nationwide Tom Snyder program, but the public outcry was overwhelming and Brudnoy was literally brought back for the rest of his life. The Libertarian Brudnoy was a clear radio highlight of living in the Boston area, worth listening to for at least a portion of his five-hour show each weeknight. Fybush also opines that the environment has changed so much that there is basically no possibility of a reversal of this decision--Jon Grayson or a successor will likely be on overnight on WBZ's amazing signal reputedly reaching 30 states after dark. Grayson's show, out of St. Louis' KMOX, will also air on KDKA from Pittsburgh and WCCO out of Minneapolis. A listener in, say, Indiana, would be able to hear the program on all of these powerhouse stations.

For those that care about broadcasting, the end of live and local overnight programming on WBZ is not a trivial matter. Having a local voice on the air at all times of day to turn to when a crisis occurs--or simply to call in and complain about a local issue--is something that ought to be available everywhere. As recently as fifteen years ago, there was a station that was live and local all day in virtually every major market--and those stations tended to be the ratings leaders. They were popular for a reason--they connected with their local audiences. While the significant audiences are during the daytime, the commitment to be local and available to listeners all the time was part of the appeal of these stations.

Slowly, one by one, these stations have given up on being live and local in significant day parts and turned to syndicated and repeat programming. Stations as remarkable as WABC in New York City and KIRO in Seattle no longer offer unique programming in the night-time hours. WABC has joined the herd of stations across the country running Coast to Coast AM, while KIRO offers Phil Hendrie and repeats of its own Dave Ross show.

The loss of WBZ's live and local status matters because as recently as when I left Boston in 2005, the thought of WBZ offering syndicated programming was unthinkable. Its commitment to serve the community all day and all night was long-standing, steadfast, and well-known. That the unthinkable would occur only three years later shows just how much the broadcasting industry is hurting.

Clearly, everything is on the table now. Might KGO's overnight Ray Taliaferro and John Rothmann be next? That was once unthinkable, but with KGO's late evening slot still open and the change at WBZ, it doesn't seem so unthinkable anymore.