All Access' The Letter is back, and today's looks forward to 2007, sort of:
And... we're back.
I'd like to say that after the holidays, I'm all rested up and brimming with energy and new ideas for The Letter, but I've pretty much dropped right back into the regular last-second what-do-I-write-now? routine, so don't get your hopes up. I guess I could do the New Year's Resolutions or New Year's Predictions thing, but I never make resolutions and I'll admit right here that I have no idea what's gonna happen in talk radio for 2007. Instead, maybe it's better to tell you what I HOPE will happen in talk radio this year, and what I fear WILL happen. So...
I hope that the cutbacks come to an end and there are more opportunities for talent, especially on the local level. I fear that it'll be another budget-slashing bonanza.
I hope that "FM Talk" programmers realize that reaching young guys doesn't mean you just stick someone on to talk about sex and do prank calls all day. I fear, despite some promising signs otherwise, that we'll just hear more sub-Maxim yukfests, soon to be supplanted by "The Best Variety Of The 80's, 90's, and Today."
I hope that hosts who talk about nothing but politics will mix it up a little and talk about pop culture and life in general, because we're between national elections. I fear we're going to hear a lot of talk about the 2008 election in 2007- too early, man, too early.
I hope that more shows and stations address the vast majority of folks who don't think of themselves as strictly liberal or strictly conservative- not moderate, really, more like unpredictable or non-aligned. (After all, if people know where you're gonna stand on every issue before they tune in, what incentive is there to tune in?) I fear that the Balkanization of talk may be too entrenched by now, but I can dream....
I hope that advertisers start to make the next wave of radio technology- podcasts and streaming audio- economically viable soon, so that more of you can find outlets that pay enough to cover the rent and health insurance. I fear we're still a few years off for that.
I hope that the Eagles beat the Giants on Sunday and... oh, sorry, we're not talking about that.
I hope that... well, I hope that 2007 is a better year than 2006. And considering how 2006 went, I'm pretty confident that it will be better. We set the bar way low last year.
So there's that, and what better way to get 2007 off to a roaring start than to fill your show with the kind of material you'll only find at All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics column- same great topics, same boring name. And we're coming out of the box with a lot of fun and interesting stuff, including stories about the ridiculously mild winter (not valid in Colorado), why Sting may put down his lute (we can only hope), another theory on why all those homers were hit in '98, where the Steve Irwin tape has gone, the trouble in Manhattan gym locker rooms, a remorseless dolphin shooter, the continuing bedbug invasion, why the government may soon be reading your Capital One credit card junk mail, how you know Miss America has hit rock bottom, a cheap asparagus joke, the demise of "The O.C.," the reason some people will be taking second-rate organs for transplants, mystery stuff falling from the sky, what Parkour is and why the people who do it are nuts, why you want to sta y awake while dumpster diving, and why you always want to keep plenty of vegetable oil around your cell if you're in prison, plus links and notes and useless commentary about all the "real" news out there. While you're here, you'll want to check out "10 Questions With..." WKRK (Live 97.1 Free FM)/Detroit "Hamtramck House Party" co-host and producer Josh Bachmeier and the Talent Toolkit with three sites where people try to predict what's gonna happen this year, and the rest of All Access with the industry's best/fastest/most complete news, the incredibly complete (and searchable) Industry Directory, great columns, Mediabase charts, and plenty more, all free and indispensable.
Next week: I dunno. For now, though, happy new year and welcome back.
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