talk radio
because I've always meant to, here's Pittsburgh Talk Radio:
0500 - 0600: The WSJ Report. Boooooooring.
0600-1000: Quinn. Check out the "Warroom", on the side. Overall, entertaining, informative, with a bit of analysis. Good First thing of the day radio and great for a local host; personally, I think he needs wider syndication. He used to tend toward kook theories, but that seems to have cut down since he's become syndicated. As soon as Rose comes on, I change the station. Alternates: Bob and Tom, Alan Cox, and, as a last resort, Howard Stern.
1000-1200: Glenn Beck. My personal favorite. Focuses on "Right and wrong, not right and left"; but despite that mantra remains a great host. Informative on what you need to know without boring you to death, but primarily an entertainment format. Dosen't let that stick up his ass get in the way of irreverant humor; perfect for the loosely conservative individual. Or anyone remotely conservative with a sense of humor. He balances information and entertainment perfectly, and is, as said, my favorite host out there.
1200-1500: El Rushbo. Rush, in my mind, remains the single best right-wing political anylist on the radio. I don't need to tell you this, but if you want politics all the time, Rush is the man. 'Nuff Said, take it with a grain of salt, but he's the man when you want right-wing commentary.
1500-1800: Hannity. Hannity drives me crazy on several levels, but I'm still a fairly consistent listener for one reason. First, the bad: his opposite interview style drives me crazy. He usually corners someone into an asinine, unanswerable question then won't take another question until that is answered, cutting off any sensible argument. His debate style, overall, sucks. On top of that, I have no use for his Jesus-freak sensibilities. His religion is fine by me, but I would like to know how it fits into the larger picture of a mixed culture. Unfortunatly, he has no time for such arguments. The sole reason I still listen regularly isn't for his monologue, but for his guests. Much as Hannity irritates me, he provides remarkably candid interviews with important folks with whom he is sympathetic. I've heard interviews with Condi, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and others that would have only been soundbytes elsewhere.
1800-2000: Ellis, sports talk. It's a learned skill, but once you learn it, you'll love it.
2000-2300: Savage. Don't care for him. One of the things I have always loved about the Right is that our arguments make logical, consistent sense; whereas the Left seems to base theirs more on feelings. Savage takes the emotional approach, yelling and screaming instead of debating, and I have no use for that. On top of that, his general style and personality grates me.
after the reruns, 0100-0500: George Norrie. Inheritor of Art Bell. In other words, amusing background noise. Someday I'm going to call that show.
