Let me preface this blog post by saying that I am a huge fan and critic of talk radio and that the talk radio in Detroit was mediocre at best. I would listen to it not because it was good by any means but rather because I wanted to see what they did wrong and what they did right so I wouldn’t make the same mistakes on my show. It was kind of a learning tool.
Talk radio in the motor city is DEAD. I was driving home from work yesterday and I put on 97.1 Free FM, which is the talk radio station here in Detroit, like I do everyday. I was expecting to either hear the voices of Deminski & Doyle (D&D) or a long winded commercial. Instead I heard one of the worlds most boring creations… Sports Talk. UGH. Once I realized that it was not a commercial I quickly pulled out my iPod and put on a podcast.I shrugged off the incident thinking that maybe D&D were on vacation or the wacky management over there at Free FM had changed their time slot.
The next day I hop in my car turn the dial to 97.1 expecting to hear my favorite talk radio show, Opie and Anthony (which just started to grow on me about 4 months ago). What do I hear instead? I hear D&D… WTF? What is going on here? I keep listening to the (soon to be former) Detroit stars as they start talking about the “big change over”. Right then I knew that it was a format change. The worst kind of format change… Sports Radio.
Well there it goes. No more talk radio in Detroit besides some other shitty morning talk shows. I am sure that there are a lot of Detroiters that are really pissed about this. I know I am.
If you are a Detroit talk radio fan, let me offer you some salvation. Welcome to the world of podcasts. Now before you ignorantly roll your eyes at the thought, hear me out. I have been listening to podcasts for over 2 years now and I can say confidently that there are a lot of podcasts out there that are A LOT better than anything Broadcast talk radio had to offer. Podcasts are completely uncensored. You can literally say anything you’d like without getting in trouble no matter how vulgar, repulsive, offensive, racial, or tasteless it is. It is completely unfiltered and raw. And the best part is that there are so many shows to choose from about every topic under the sun, there is definitely a podcast out there for you. Oh yeah, and a common misconception is that you need an ipod to listen to podcasts. THIS IS NOT TRUE!
I have been podcasting for almost 2 years now and I know the ins and outs of it. If you’d like to try out a podcast I suggest taking a listen to mine. It is a comedy talk radio show called Wreckless Media Radio. http://wrecklessmediaradio.com Take a listen and you will soon realize that you have been missing out by only listening to broadcast radio.
So you want to find more podcasts? Maybe about cars or cooking or one of your other hobbies? Where do you start? A podcast directory. A pretty popular one is http://podcastalley.com or you can search on iTunes.
After you are introduced to the world of podcasts you’ll realize that the demise of Detroit’s 97.1 Free FM is not the worst thing in the world.
For more behind the scenes happenings over at the former 97.1 Free FM camp check out Gregg Hensons blog at http://gregghenson.typepad.com/gregg_hensoncom/
I was devastated when October came around and my midnight talk shows were gone. Luckily I can listen to LoveLine live online, during the normal time, but Leykis is gone and I can’t find his daily show archives like LoveLine has. So I’m rather pissed and upset and have submitted quite a few comments via their website and around the net. What a retarded move to go to sports radio, it’s the lowest rung of the radio ladder.
Oh well, guess it’s time to take all eight hours of my radio listening time online. This also makes a good case for satellite radio, since “free” radio seems to just want to screw their loyal listeners. This might just be the straw that broke this camels back.
In any case, I’m pissed, and if I ever met the station manager of 97.1 FM, I’d punch him in the face repeatedly. Just because I get pissed with people screwing with my regular routine. I’m OCD like that.
Couldn’t agree more…can’t believe they switched formats…give me back my D & D…sports talk…ugh
I am very dissapointed by the change at 97.1. I am okay with a little of sports talk but who needs it for an entire day? Not to mention that the few minutes that I listened it was the most boring sports talk I’ve ever heard. I hope their ratings suck.
Just getting used to O&A and realizing their was life after Howard and they pull this crap. Like D&D but in the p.m. not in the a.m.! How much sports stations do you need anyway? Boring bone-headed move.
I am also very pissed off! I not only expect to here Lykis nightly….But also Lovelines and the Factor too! Any other station that picks up the best in nitetime broadcasts will reap the rewards of my almighty dollar. As for D&D…I don’t miss them nor Opie and Arsehole. As for 97.1 and the simulcast sports talk with 1270 am? Neither are on my preset stations…They are dead to me.
good riddens 97.1!
I have listened to D&D for 6 years, I can’t stand the fact
that some fat ass sports announcer that isn’t even
broadcasting from Detroit is now unindating the frequency
with his obnoxious voice and it’s only about sports….
boring.
So now its time to break out my cd collection and use the
cd player. I drive 80+ miles round trip to work 5 days
a week. Weekends were the worst cause there wasn’t any
Midday or D&D…the management of Free Radio are scumbags
and don’t know the first thing about what Detoiters want
on their radio. Come on Detroit shut-em down….I would
rather listen to the Red Wings on AM, Michigan State football on 760am, I don’t care about the Lions.. since
they don’t care about winning. I do like hearing the Tigers
but won’t listen since they are broadcast on 97.1….
I loved listening to D & D till they moved them to mornings, and now I hear D & D were fired from 97.1.
Why in the world would you change the format to sports talk the entire day, they must talk about the same sport issues over and over and over again throughout the day, each and every day. They have ruined the station, my only hope is that the pinheads realize that they screwed up and bring back talk radio, if not, I hope the stations bigwigs sink into the Detroit River.