One of the nice things about living in Lincoln, Nebraska is morning “rush hour”. I put that in quotes because while there is a peak of traffic in the am hours, it is a far cry from the stop-and-go gridlock that other cities experience. On an average day, my 8 mile commute takes 25-30 minutes – and that includes dropping my daughter off at daycare.
During that drive, I flip between a few morning radio shows in an attempt to a) avoid commercials, b) hear the news/weather/traffic, c) catch a decent song, d) listen to a conversation that is appropriate for three-year-old ears. Since I detest country music, and cannot bring myself to convert to AM, that means I’m going between four stations playing the rainbow of rock music (classic, hard, modern, and minivan).
Of those stations (104.1, The Blaze), one featured a morning duo (Tim & The Animal) that I truly enjoyed listening to. On the others, the on-air “talent” was something I tolerated between songs or until the news came on. So I was disappointed to hear that Tim & The Animal were recently fired.
I guess I can understand why it happened. Apparently their ratings had dipped quite a bit over the years, and my opinion (having never met either of them) was that the brash, opinionated personas that made them worth listening to might not have endeared them to management (or so I speculate). Regardless, management (Three Eagles) is free to run their station however they see fit, and if that means cancelling a morning show of almost 20 years, then so be it.
But then The Blaze went and did something completely stupid and idiotic: they replaced Tim & The Animal with the Todd & Tyler Radio Empire, a syndicated radio show based out of Omaha’s Z-92. To be clear, I’m not saying that Todd & Tyler are stupid*, I’m saying the decision is stupid.
*Todd & Tyler are egocentric jerks who enjoy making raunchy (and unfunny) jokes, talking about drugs, and mercilessly beating down anybody who disagrees with them. I listened to them for a few years in the late 90s, and got tired of their schtick. I gave them another chance last fall and was not impressed.
No, the brain-numbingly stupid part of Three Eagles’ decision is this: I can already hear Todd & Tyler on the radio in Lincoln. Z-92’s signal comes in loud and clear throughout town. So if I’m a fan of T&T, why oh why would I bother going to a different station to hear the same thing? The analogy I use is this: ABC’s “Good Morning America” sags in the ratings, so instead of trying something different, they cut their losses and simulcast NBC’s “Today Show”. It just makes no sense.
Personally, I think this move is an attempt to sabotage the ratings enough for a full-scale format change, but I’m not sure if the station’s management is smart enough to be that conniving.
Regardless, I’m going to be using my CD player a little more often in the mornings.
Feit Can Write 