Talk Show Hosts - Are they trolls?

eyekwah

eyekwah

Well-Known Member
Living in central Iowa KXNO offers a morning sports show. One of the host is named Travis and I believe he also is a host on Sound Off after Iowa games. I usually only catch a few minutes on Mondays. I caught a few minutes of Sound Off on Saturday on my way to Bettendorf. After about 30 minutes of that guy I have reached the conclusion that he likes to troll listeners who are Hawkeye fans. This morning the talk of football attendance was raised by a caller in relation to the situation at Michigan. Now this is a guy who is suppose to know what is happening in college football. So the guy makes some remarks that Iowa has not sold out all its games. He reaches the conclusion that the reason why is the action on the field isn't that appealing. Well others have made that excuse before and yet when it comes to big games it does get sold out. His rationale is fans of the opponent is buying up the tickets.

What the guy should know is that college game attendance is flagging. Florida State isn't putting butts in the seats either and they are national champs. Alabama isn't either. Look around an actual attendance is down nationally. Many seats that are paid for go on unfilled. Even Nebraska has had to use some creative accounting to reach the sell out status. I'm sure his antics rile the most passionate fans or the ones most critical to react, which is his way to get calls.

On Saturday the few calls I listened to were from the pee and moan crowd about the usual things that they complain about. He was sure willing to feed the beast in the critics by agreeing pretty much with every complaint whether it had merit or not. KXNO really needs to reconsider this guy as a talk show host.
 
I agree. That guy stinks to high heaven.

They should bring Larry Cotlar back. He wasn't perfect, but he tried to be fair and objective. Much better than this clown
 
larry cotlar was on soundoff with zabel for a year. Now THAT was brutal. he is terrible, and was terrible and there was clear and present evidence why he is no longer on the radio around here (i assume).
 
eyekwah said:
Living in central Iowa KXNO offers a morning sports show. One of the host is named Travis and I believe he also is a host on Sound Off after Iowa games. I usually only catch a few minutes on Mondays. I caught a few minutes of Sound Off on Saturday on my way to Bettendorf. After about 30 minutes of that guy I have reached the conclusion that he likes to troll listeners who are Hawkeye fans. This morning the talk of football attendance was raised by a caller in relation to the situation at Michigan. Now this is a guy who is suppose to know what is happening in college football. So the guy makes some remarks that Iowa has not sold out all its games. He reaches the conclusion that the reason why is the action on the field isn't that appealing. Well others have made that excuse before and yet when it comes to big games it does get sold out. His rationale is fans of the opponent is buying up the tickets.

What the guy should know is that college game attendance is flagging. Florida State isn't putting butts in the seats either and they are national champs. Alabama isn't either. Look around an actual attendance is down nationally. Many seats that are paid for go on unfilled. Even Nebraska has had to use some creative accounting to reach the sell out status. I'm sure his antics rile the most passionate fans or the ones most critical to react, which is his way to get calls.

On Saturday the few calls I listened to were from the pee and moan crowd about the usual things that they complain about. He was sure willing to feed the beast in the critics by agreeing pretty much with every complaint whether it had merit or not. KXNO really needs to reconsider this guy as a talk show host.
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He sure got your attention, though.
 
ThunderHawk said:
He sure got your attention, though.
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February 8, 2013 is making more sense now.

Let me make this simple for the OP - if you're listening to AM radio for anything other than Dolph and Eddy calling the Hox or JD's post game call in show, you're getting trolled. Period. Full stop. I guess I could make an exception for live sports if you're driving out in the sticks and the only thing on the radio is Randy Travis, but that's it.

Think about it. Rush. He's trolling, brah, hard. Boers and Bernstein and every other sports talk guy. Trolls. They just say moronic stuff to get people to listen and call in. And the dead air. Ugh. NPR. That is the best troll of all. They get suckers to listen to someone pontificate about the Burmese comfort girls who service the men who make t-shirts in Cambodian sweat shops and troll the morons who listen to that drivel think they are smart AND then, get this, they get those same morons to SEND THEM MONEY in a pledge drive in exchange for a coffee cup so the idiot who got swindled can show the mug off and act superior. I won't even get into the religious programming on AM radio, but I think you get my general drift.
 
Oh God, I just remembered back to the time when I didn't have a car and wanted to go to IC for a game. I had bought Mega Bus tickets to and from a bunch of games, but for one game, this dude I knew was liek "Oh don't take the Mega Bus, I'm rolling over and you can ride with me." Let's just say I was really thankful I had printed the Mega Bus ticket for the return ride. I knew it was going to be a disaster when I saw the Prius. 5 people crammed into a Prius, me, as the interloper, in the middle of the back seat. I had already missed the Friday night Mega Bus and was stuck going in this Prius.

The whole ride, NPR.

Let's just say, Mega Bus on the ride home was awesome. Best bus ride ever.
 
I think in general, there is a good bit of 'trolling' that goes on in sports talk radio. Contrivance...I never much cared for that, but there were times where I did it, especially in the 'off season' of sports talk radio in Iowa, which was basically mid-April through early July. That was really the time you had to actually put in a good bit of 'work' to come up with anything compelling to talk about and get the audience involved. Even then I didn't have much of a stomach for it, which is why I liked doing things like 'Beat It' and other bits.

The problem with trolling and contriving controversy is after a while, the audience won't trust you...and if that is your crutch, you're going to erode all of your trust after a while and just become the bearded lady at the fair; a novelty act that people become less and less interested in.

If trolling and contriving controversies where there are none is your go to move, your shelf life in Iowa probably won't be all that long....but there is an important caveat here, and this is not about any specific show; the radio station cluster aspects make individual show ratings far less important than they once were.

Clear Channel owns several stations in Des Moines, for example. If one show isn't getting great ratings, it isn't as important because the ownership cluster stands a good chance of getting better ratings in the same time slot down the dial. It becomes more about your share of market from the standpoint of the cluster as opposed to what one show can pull in. This is the same in other markets as Clear Channel is the 900-pound gorilla in American radio.

But really in the end, if people are talking about a show or posting about it, even negatively, that's a win for the show. The worst is when there is no chatter anywhere.

I will tune into KXNO via iheartradio a few times per week during morning and afternoon commutes. There are times where I specifically do not tune in, such as when Ken Silverstein was on with Miller & Brinson. The 'mmmkay' radio segment was like fingernails on a chalk board. But I enjoy the Monday Evening QB segment, more so now that it's just Ken as Ken is not a troll...he loves the hardcore aspects of sports and that is what I prefer in season, too. I think he will be better off sans Brinson. Jim is a very nice guy, but as it related to talking college football (maybe it was just in Iowa given his lack of any historical context), he was quite lacking and you could hear Ken's eyes rolling through the radio. Morning Shows are a different flavor from afternoon shows, as they can focus more on general 'entertainment'...some morning shows lean more to the lowest common denominators, talking boobs and beer...some people enjoy that sort of talk, especially in the out of season. I am not a fan of that, but it comes down to personal preference there and more of them do that than don't.

Again, if you are talking about the shows and hosts, that is a win for the show and host.
 
Jon,

there really hasn't been a decent local sports focused (iowa and iowa state) show on local radio for years. Everything is pro out of state sports.

This just isn't the case in cities outside of Des Moines. Sports-talk radio in Des Moines Iowa has a problem with being in Iowa. The hosts aren't really interested in Iowa sports, as many of them would rather cover anything else.

Matt Perrault during the 09 season and Kieth Murphy are perfect examples. They both think covering local sports teams is just a complete joke and waste of time.

I voted with my dial and just no longer listen. WHO is a ditto-machine now. Where is this generation's Zabel or Reagan to add some color and Iowa pride to the radio?
 
I listen to talk every time I get into the car for a long trip or commute. For me, it's 90% podcast now...I love the On Iowa pod, and then I listen to Hardcore History series...right now, that's about it.
 
cincyhawk said:
I voted with my dial and just no longer listen. WHO is a ditto-machine now. Where is this generation's Zabel or Reagan to add some color and Iowa pride to the radio?
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Have you considered an exciting career in VCR or typewriter repair? Where have you been? Radio is dead.
 
Interesting topic ... I find local sports talk in Des Moines to be truly lacking. Podcasts have become my new best friends. I find the morning KXNO show to be horrible. I would tune in to hear about local sports and instead I tuned into a variety show. I often wonder how many of these local sports shows even succeed ... My honest 2 cents is the last time I enjoyed local morning talk was Miller and Deace ...
 
Local "sports radio" in Des Moines is horrible. The KXNO lineup is more like a variety show lineup. I tuned out a long time ago and Podcasts are now my best friend. Last time I listened to and enjoyed local sports radio was Miller and Deace in the morning ...
 
okeefe4prez said:
Oh God, I just remembered back to the time when I didn't have a car and wanted to go to IC for a game. I had bought Mega Bus tickets to and from a bunch of games, but for one game, this dude I knew was liek "Oh don't take the Mega Bus, I'm rolling over and you can ride with me." Let's just say I was really thankful I had printed the Mega Bus ticket for the return ride. I knew it was going to be a disaster when I saw the Prius. 5 people crammed into a Prius, me, as the interloper, in the middle of the back seat. I had already missed the Friday night Mega Bus and was stuck going in this Prius.

The whole ride, NPR.

Let's just say, Mega Bus on the ride home was awesome. Best bus ride ever.
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Dude, the $X required for the coffee mug in exchange for feelings of superiority is money effing well-spent in the Pruis owner's mind.
 
DesMoinesHawki said:
Local "sports radio" in Des Moines is horrible. The KXNO lineup is more like a variety show lineup. I tuned out a long time ago and Podcasts are now my best friend. Last time I listened to and enjoyed local sports radio was Miller and Deace in the morning ...
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The problem is all the legends of Iowa radio leave the state. Reagan, Zabel and Miller all moved away.
 
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