Speed Gibson

Reviewing: MPR's Morning Edition

I last reviewed Morning Edition not quite five years ago.  The format of this 4 AM to 9 AM program hasn't changed, the first two hours basically just the national NPR feed and a little local weather.  And what I wrote then largely applies today.  But there was one big change: quality, as in down.  Let me give you a few examples.

One story told of a study of Gulf area victims of the BP oil spill.  They were stressed and anxious, clearly needing professional mental health professionals to help them.  Not mentioned was that many of these residents are out of work from an arbitrary Presidential order, in defiance of a court order in fact.  That the economy hasn't responded in general to the President's economic agenda was also not mentioned.  They need jobs, not grief counselors.

Another story about the Congressional battle over spending cuts focused almost entirely on closing tax loopholes (more revenue) and defense cuts.  What a surprise - not!  A later related story of President Obama's proposal to limit the charity deduction for high income filers pointed out that people also worried that Reagan's tax changes would depress giving, which it didn't.  The apple and orange detail overlooked was that Reagan was cutting taxes, with the top rates falling into the 28-31% range.  Yes, this reduced the net deduction, but you still paid less tax.  You could afford to be more generous and many were.  Under Obama's proposal, you'll simply have less cash, and no marginal discount on big donations.  Some discussion of the Alternative Minimum Tax should also have been included.

A feature on some Australian island claimed that Man-Made Global Warming (MMGW) would eventually put it under water, MMGW being unchallenged "settled science" to this reporter.  A later story claimed that storms increased in intensity the past 10 years, and that "thousands of computer simulations" ... "linked this to [MMGW]."  This is dishonest reporting, especially given the recent scandal of faked data.  The claim of increased intensity is also suspect in that no prior such claim has been found to have any basis in fact.  (That phrase "thousands of computer simulations" is very telling even from a journalism perspective.  Where's the editor / gatekeeper?)

Speaking of what BIll Kling called "credible, accurate news coverage," that fourth Borders store to be closed is in Maple Grove, not Maplewood.  Google it! 

The story of Florida walking away from one of President Obama's high speed rail projects had a tone of "What's Wrong with Kansas" incredulity throughout.  Why, even some Republicans were in shock when the Governor Scott said no!  It was a slap in Obama's face! 

I'll stop here, but I noted three more examples like the above, in just this one day.  "No rant, no slant!" claims host Cathy Wurzer.  "No clue, all skew" would be closer to the truth.  And there's another problem I noticed after listening to a detailed report on the Egyptian situation.  Yes, it was a bit naive about the role and future of the Muslim Brotherhood whom they portrayed like a college fraternity.  But otherwise, it was a good, comprehensive report.  The problem?  It was stale - old news, all of it a good three days old.  I learned nothing.  In my 2006 review I noted this as well, that after reading the newspaper, Morning Edition adds very little more to what you read, the least of the other morning news/talk programs I reviewed then.

Nothing showed this better than the fracas in Wisconsin.  On Feb 17th, Morning Edition had nothing but a headline until the 7 am hour, and they didn't get the story right until near the end of the show at 9 am.  Mostly this was Cathy Wurzer trying to adlib around the pre-recorded story and the pledge week activity.  Even her headlines were not consistent on this story.  As in 2006, I again find Cathy Wurzer just not good enough for radio, even public radio.

Compare these two 4.5 minute segments with what Bob Davis provided the next morning.  He had sparkling, informative interviews with a Milwaukee newspaper editorial writer (11 minutes) and a Milwaukee talk radio host (and former teacher) (9 minutes).  Tom Emmer and callers (some liberal) added still more insight.  The MPR focus was on the protests, which Davis correctly notes always seems to obsess the media, from Cairo to Madison.  KTLK looked at the whole issue: the history, current situation, and the numbers themselves.  MPR did "he said, she said" reporting from the protest.  Davis and guests read the bill.

I truly was expecting better.  But all I heard was an operation going through the motions, thinking that their calm delivery of thin stories is enough.  My grade this year: an unqualified F.

 

Reviewing: KTLK Mornings with Bob Davis

Most of us are more than familiar with Bob Davis from his KSTP days.  Many of us are pleased to hear him again in his new gig on the generically named "KTLK Mornings" program, 6 to 9 AM on KTLK 100.3 FM.  Apparently management doesn't want to spend money rebranding with each change of morning host, alas, a frequent event in this most competitive of radio time slots.

But morning radio is the biggest problem here.  Davis was initially hired as a 10 pm to midnight host, kind of like T. D. Mischke, who now hosts that slot on WCCO 830 AM.  It is his first, best destiny as he himself has hinted when describing his sleep management.  He's not a morning person, but professional enough to do what's required.

More to my point, most of us cannot listen to morning drive for extended periods.  But Davis holds seminars that go longer, so it is frustrating to pull into work knowing you'll miss the remainder of a good topic.  On the other hand, his old 10 pm slot interfered with my sleep management, so I'm a bit ambivalent here.

The rest of the broadcast remains intact, with the same news, weather, and (sigh) traffic report segments and times, as detailed previously for Chris Baker.  It's just different content, more serious, more depth, less humor, less sports.  From the few days sample I've recorded, I'd say it's a bit more local as well, which I personally like. Put it all together and you get an excellent dissection of Governor Dayton's state of the State speech.

But Davis does get a little preachy at times, not always careful enough to say "this is what I think" instead of proclaiming "this is what you should think."  Bloggers, yes we do this all the time I suppose.  So do certain hosts like Rush Limbaugh, no question, but I don't mind it there.  So I'm not really certain why this is bothering me a little, but it does.

But all in all, welcome back Bob Davis, a solid B in my grade book.

Next up: Minnesota Public Radio (91.1 FM).

 

Reviewing: Chris Baker's "Big Show"

Yes, Chris Baker is no longer on KTLK, officially having resigned.  But I think he deserves a review here for his several years here.  Besides, I kind of liked him.  Typically I would and still do for now switch over from Bill Bennett at 6 am.  Listening to the last three shows I taped last week, I have a theory or two as to why he left, assuming it wasn't simply ratings.

First of all, Baker was local, one of us, who could cover local races, local schools, local taxes, the Legislature, light rail, etc.  I can live with network national radio the rest of the day, but I really value a local briefing and perspective each morning, even TV news if necessary.  Bob Davis, his successor, will continue in that motif, but the rest I'll leave for his review next week.

Second, Baker has a sharp wit and good sense of humor, though opinions seem to vary on this point.  It may have been a little "masculine" for some tender ears out there, but I thought it was a plus as did many of his female callers.

Third, Baker is solidly conservative, and willing to reconsider his views given fresh evidence.  Recently, for example, he decided to oppose the coming Vikings stadium bill as just too expensive, certainly with unemployment still way too high.  Oh wait, KTLK carries the VIkings.  That's theory #1.

But theory #2 is that maybe management was getting overly involved.  The Egyptian situation occupied maybe half the shows, including several interviews with Fox News reporters.  These interviews were dutifully done but I sensed that he (and I) could have done with a little less coverage.  Let the national shows cover that. 

Instead, why not spend time on that Vikings stadium and now the Saints and Timberwolves?  Let's talk about the 4 day school week as he did Monday.  He received several excellent callers with some new perspectives I had not yet considered.  And sure, a little local sports.  And above all, let's have it sound like a local show, which is not the near shouting breaks in between, and yes, the incessant traffic reports.  It's just too "hot" a signal for morning radio, which I think should be a bit calmer.  I was surprised to find the content per hour was a respectable 36 minutes, the breaks annoyingly endless it seems.

Mr. Baker, thanks for the good radio which I grade a B minus.  It would be higher but for the factors I listed beyond your control.  Good luck to you at the next gig.

 

Reviewing: Bill Bennett's Morning in America

First up in my 2011 review of Twin Cities talk radio is Bill Bennett's Morning in America, carried live weekday mornings 5-8 AM on AM 1280 The Patriot.  If you're somehow unfamiliar with him or his show, see his bio on the program's website linked.  As an early riser, I often start my day with the 5 AM hour, usually moving on to Chris Baker whom I'm recording this week for my second review.

Perhaps the most unique format feature of this program is the time segmentation, 4 segments each hour totaling about 33 minutes of net content (host actually talking).  Most are 5 segments, so the breaks are longer here, 9 minutes at the top of the hour, 6 minutes at the bottom of the hour.  This gets a bit tedious, especially with traffic reports we don't need.  As seems accepted practice these days, the time of day that we would appreciate is never given.

Another time consideration is that Bennett takes Fridays off, not to mention more than his share of other absences.  Previously, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele filled in on these Fridays and now, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum.  Steele was acceptable, sometimes inspiring, but Santorum does nothing for me.  (Note: This week, Salem Radio gave 15 minutes of show time on Thursday toward Haiti relief that I treated as normal content here.)

Morning in America is the calmest talk radio I know other than public radio of course.  It is largely based on interviews, and Bennett may well be the best at that across the dial.  He lets the guests talk, unlike say, a Laura Ingraham who constantly interrupts.  But then, Bennett only interviews his friends which obviously leads to that calmness I speak of, and that's probably a good thing in the morning.  The call screeners appear to do the same, seldom putting through a liberal or contentious caller.

The problem is that this gets to be bland, even when at a higher intellectual level as it often is.  It is often less, however.  The President's State of the Union speech was Tuesday, and the entirety of the analysis was entirely predictable and shallow.  The speech itself deserved little more I suppose, but that doesn't justify spending all that time if you have little to add beyond the obvious.

It's not a bad show, just not as flashy and provocative as most.  I subscribed to the premium site at two different times, in fact, but both times felt the net content didn't justify my time and expense listening to the podcasts.  But there are times, like when Obamacare passed, where a calm voice is indeed welcome.  And like I said, the good interviews are really good. 

Another point in Bennett's favor is that he might be the only host older than me.  Like Rush Limbaugh who is slightly my junior, we share love and respect for the country, values, and music we grew up with in the 1950's and early 1960's. Thus, Bennett may not relate as well to a younger audience and therefore I can only give the show a solid C grade.  But in my case, once I'm done reviewing the other morning radio fare, I think I'll have my Pogo return to recording Bill Bennett's Morning in America.  Except Fridays.