Free Republic

If you thought the point of a major daily paper was to report news, not make headlines, then recent events at the Washington Post may seem a bit odd. First, the strange new fascination with adding reporters to the airwaves continues, where "Washington Post Radio", covered here previously, apparently finds some newsroom staffers with stars in their eyes. Especially brilliant points from Dave Hughes at DCRTV: Posties Prepare To Be Radio Stars - 1/21 - DCRTV hears that a number of Washington Posties are running around the newspaper's downtown DC HQ preparing themselves for their new radio careers ....................snip..................

Thanks to a help-wanted ad placed today, we're getting a slightly better sense of how "Washington Post Radio" will sound once on the air. Sure enough, they do realize they'll need qualified broadcasters to get through each day. What in the world, however, are they going to talk about? Will it simply come down to rehashing the headlines every ten minutes? And since they've indicated it's an attempt to steal away liberal NPR listeners, how will this format accomplish that goal? ................snip...........................

Try placing a year on this scenario: a crusty, old-line newspaper teams up with an equally risk-averse broadcasting outfit, to provide a full time outlet for reporters to discuss their stories on the AM radio dial. What era do you think we'd be talking about here, the fifties? At best, the sixties? How about 2006! Yes, the Washington Post, notorious print media fossil, has teamed up with Bonneville Broadcasting to provide "Washington Post Radio" on 1500 AM, until now home to WTOP-AM news radio. Secondarily, its programming will also be heard on 107.7 FM, with its very limited signal reach.....................