Local Radio News

It was reported first on Facebook (believe it or not) and then in the Scranton Times that local morning radio personality John Webster is leaving his long running "Daniels and Webster" show on WEZX (Rock 107). I think the Facebook thing is rather telling actually. Viva la Internet!

Now I don't know Mr Webster, but actually my cousin Jeanine does and I hear that he is a great guy. To the extent that this change was:

a) of his doing
b) gets him to a better place personally or professionally

then I say a resounding "Cool!". I can't say that I've actually listened to Daniels & Webster at any length in years, although I will tell you that a long time ago they put out a cassette called "Tubes & Take Recorders" (or something like that) which was very funny. It was the kind of thing that you should force outsiders to listen to as a sort of cultural primer on Northeastern Pennsylvania. Anyway it sounds like Mr Webster may have future plans already laid out, so to him I wish nothing but the best.

Speaking of local radio, I am off this week and I've yet to turn on WILK. I did try to listen to Sue Henry last week, but it became unbearable with the constant barrage of "ditto" callers. Is it me or do people who disagree with Sue Henry always seem to end up calling right before their next commercial break? I've also heard a few callers try and get Sue to admit when Limbaugh is being nothing more than a hypocritical dolt, but by and large Sue either ignores the question/comment or talks over it ("Yeah that's wacky Rush for ya say how about 'dem Red Soxs?"). By the way, you can't seem to listen to more than about 10 minutes straight without hitting a commercial on WILK; maybe it just appears that way, but boy it seems that about half of their air time is spent selling stuff. Even longer when you consider the locally produced paid programming they deploy on the weekends.

I noted my favorite WILK boner in a previous blog: that was when Sue Henry was carrying on about how Howard Stern and Opie/Anthony don't represent "her profession". Of course the during the next commercial break there was a spot for a "natural male enhancement" product. So much for that striking difference. This same product is advertised regularly on the Howard Stern Show. Yupp, that's some moral high ground for you.

These days I'm not really listening to much radio myself. I do listen to Sirius while I'm in the car, and 95% of that time it's Howard Stern. Howard's contract with Sirius is up at the end of this year, and if he doesn't re-sign I probably will not renew my subscription. I know very bright people who simply can't stand Stern and that's okay as truth be told, there are times when I have to turn it off myself. However most of the time, Stern's show is good to great, and with some regularity you hear stuff that's sheer genius. I personally think that the stuff he did in the early 1990's with Billy West (Marge Schott impersonations, Jackie Puppet, Mayor Dinkins. etc.) were some of the funniest bits ever broadcast on the airwaves.

And bababooey to ya'll!