Posted on 02/14/2010 3:27:01 PM PST by bd476
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
By Richard Wagoner, Radio Columnist
Posted: 02/11/2010 09:34:47 PM PST
Ever since Doug McIntyre was shown the door at KABC (790 AM) last year, I have received letters and e-mails almost daily asking where he is or when he will be back.
McIntyre had been with KABC for years, first as the overnight host on a program called "Red Eye Radio," and most recently as the station's morning man. When he was dropped from the roster, he mentioned the possibility of resurrecting "Red Eye Radio" as a syndicated program. I figured the syndication would happen, but that there was no way he would be back on KABC.
I was wrong. As of Feb. 8, McIntyre is now heard weeknights coast to coast on WABC/New York and KABC in Southern California (from midnight to 3 a.m. here), with more markets being added.
Now something isn't quite right with that, since he can be heard in New York from 1 to 5 a.m. EST. That's four hours beginning at 10 p.m. our time. Where is the missing hour on KABC — and why the tape delay? Only the programming gurus at KABC can explain that.
If you've never heard "Red Eye Radio," you're in for a treat. This is McIntyre at his best, talking about whatever comes to mind: politics, history, music, sports - whatever. And he does it in a decidedly upbeat and intelligent manner that will help you stay awake on long drives, or keep you entertained when you can't sleep.
Schizophrenic radio
Considering he was let go by current management, I cannot fathom why McIntyre is back on KABC, even at night. More peculiar is programmer David G. Hall's statement regarding McIntyre: "I used to hate to compete with his shows. They had huge ratings and audiences that were way above average in listener loyalty."
Oh, really? Then why let him go?My instinct tells me something is up here. Either McIntyre was forced back on the station - indeed, the distributor for "Red Eye Radio" is Citadel Broadcasting, the same company that owns KABC and WABC - or Hall is admitting a mistake (which would be unlikely).
Consider KABC's overall programming: nice guy Peter Tilden in the morning with topical comedy; Frosty Heidi and Frank late morning with nothing serious going on; syndicated conservative fare the rest of the day with the exception of a paid infomercial investment program right in prime-time; and now the intelligence of McIntyre overnights. Does that make any sense?
With KABC at its lowest rating in the history of the station, I wonder how much time current management has left.
Digital power
One of the problems with digital HD Radio on FM is the reception. Without a good antenna, it generally isn't reliable.
Now the Federal Communications Commission has approved a power increase for FM HD stations, allowing many to increase power from the current 1 percent of analog power to as high as 10 percent with approval. Without approval, stations will be allowed to go to 6 percent as long as they don't cause analog interference to neighboring stations. This should put digital reception on par with analog for a great number of listeners.
While this may result in a sudden increase in digital reliability for those of us with HD radios, it may cause problems with interference. I'll be checking reception and interference on my end. If you notice anything different on either digital broadcasts or analog, drop me a line and I'll check it out
Talk Radio Host Doug McIntyre, jazz aficionado and television writer and his wife actress Penny Peyser wrote, developed, directed and created the award winning film "Trying To Get Good - the Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon" about Jazz Trumpet player Jack Sheldon.
Who is Jack Sheldon? You may remember him as Merv Griffin’s comedic trumpet-wielding sidekick, or the indelible voice on School House Rock, but musicians know him as a jazz giant.
Unlike his close friend and collaborator, Chet Baker, Jack Sheldon survived the demons of drugs, alcohol and unspeakable personal tragedy. His signature sound continues to paint the landscape of American music. As friend Billy Crystal puts it, Jack Sheldon is “the last cat standing” from the bebop generation. Trying to Get Good features historic footage with Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and other legends, on-camera interviews with Clint Eastwood, Billy Crystal, Merv Griffin, Chris Botti, Tierney Sutton, Johnny Mandel and many more, as well as never before seen performances with The Jack Sheldon Orchestra.
Trying to Get Good exposes Hollywood’s best kept secret - when the stars come out to play, it’s Jack Sheldon who plays for them. Trying to Get Good takes a look deep inside the eternally tormented soul of an artist who’s not just “trying to get good” on the trumpet, but in his life as well.
Trying to Get Good
Talk Radio Host Doug McIntyre began on Los Angeles 790 KABC Talk Radio overnights doing his Red Eye Radio show then later was promoted to KABC's morning drive.
Doug McIntyre, also renowned as a jazz aficionado and television writer is now being moved to the time slot previously occupied by Coast to Coast with Art Bell, George Noory, Ian Punnett on WABC New York City.
So he is going up against George Nooory?
I will listen.
It’s good to hear that Doug is back on the radio. KABC has really done a great job of screwing up their programming.
Also see:
Premiere Reacts To WABC's Cancellation Of 'Coast To Coast AM'
Posted on Monday, February 08, 2010 10:33:38 PM by Dajjal
He is on starting at 1 a.m. in NY on WABC. He has replaced Noory.
They need to get rid of that IDIOT Peter Tilden!!!
Frosty Heidi and Frank plumbs the depths of idiocy.
KABC purged the good people like Larry Elder and we are let with pablum like Tiden and FHF.
“They need to get rid of that IDIOT Peter Tilden!!!”
I agree. He is a lefty and I quit listening to him after a couple of shows. It did not take long for his points of view to come out.
Yes, not sure which New York station will pick up Coast to Coast with George Noory but McIntyre is replacing Coast to Coast on WABC in the same time slot.
In Los Angeles, Doug McIntyre will be heard midnight through 3 am on 790 KABC Talk Radio with hopefully his standard opening theme of Frank Sinatra singing "Come Fly With Me."
Well, i see McIntyre is on from midnight to 3AM. I’m on the road from 5AM to 5:30AM. Looks like I will continue to need to investing in audiobooks.
Grumble.
In LA Mcintyre was particularly good because he was alone in covering local Los Angeles politics. Stunning with the insane antics of the LA City Council and Mayor Tony.
Doug seemed to relish poking them.
It's good to hear that others are also happy about Doug McIntyre returning to KABC.
He was best on his overnight show because his morning show had far too many commercial breaks which cramped everything good about McIntyre's show, including his spontaneity and creative wit.
He is annoying enough with his 5-6am one hour lead-in to liberal Don Imus. I cannot fathom why anyone would put him on for four hours straight.
Once my dial was fixed on WABC all day long. Now I'll listen to Rush and Levin and sometimes Batchelor, but that's it.
I miss "Coast To Coast" immensely. I hope someone in the NYC area picks it up soon (but no one did when they dropped it for a few months some years ago).
I just can't listen in the middle of the night. Has he apologized YET for that fiasco??
Peter Tilden is an acquired taste and like McIntyre, he was best on overnights. I started listening to Tilden on his first return to KABC a few years ago, really liked his show then suddenly he disappeared. He's extremely bright, and as I recall his education and degrees had nothing at all to do with anything in entertainment.
However there have been times recently when I turned off the radio because Tilden was going for the easy sex joke rather than maintaining his regular intelligent banter. Still I would take 100 Peter Tilden shows in one day rather than listen to one 15 minute segment of Handel who is grating at best.
Then again Handel is also intelligent, and it may be that Handel's strict reliance on grotesque sex jokes and crude banter is simply a case of Handel playing the lowest common denominator in the ratings game.
Radio is theater of the mind yet the bottom line rules in Radio as it does for all businesses. Hosts remain on-air only if what they do on-air results in sales for the advertisers who pay premium prices for commercial time slots.
I was soooo mad at him about that. But Peter Tilden is such a loser compared to Mcintyre.
Not sure this fits into my schedule.
Agree with you on the FHF show. Ick. But again, and as I wrote above, the bottom line is the only thing that radio stations are paying attention to, especially now. If you're hearing gross banter on the air, it's only because a majority of listeners demand that type of entertainment via ratings surveys.
If you ever have the opportunity or are ever invited to keep an Arbitron diary, then please do it and remain for the long haul.
Yes, good point Ernest and me too.
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