WebKittyn Warbles
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Let’s Be Heard! Thank You, Bob.
Bob Grant did his last show yesterday. I wanted to comment on it since Bob really was the biggest name to hit talkradio and I'm in high freak out mode now as it is. Going home is always a sad thing for me and going home to my cat's biopsy is even worse. I'm trying not to dwell on it but it's so freakin' hard.
Bob Grant. Talkradio icon and predecessor for the Sean Hannitys, Rush Limbaughs and all the rest. Had Bob not caught on as much as he did who knows what talkradio would have ended up sounding like, right and left. I've met Bob Grant, I wasn't chummy with him as with Lionel, Sean and Jay Diamond but Bob was always the elder statesman who got my respect. It didn't matter that I personally found him a bit far to the right for my tastes, he was damn good radio.
I 'produced' a show on WABC, it didn't go where it needed to but I still blame Princess Diana for that. I've walked in the world of 50,000 watts and uber radio. Unlike some, I don't feel the need to throw my 'experience' out into the wind every chance I get but I have it. I learned a lot from Bob Grant; what not to say, how to boost a show's popularity by incorporating listeners into it, how to stand tall and speak from the heart even if it's not the popular opinion. I learned about demographics and how they work, laughed at the 'focus groups' hired who were supposed to reflect the listeners and so much more.
I find myself saying 'alright' on my show just like Bob did. Not intentionally, I guess I just listened so many times it sunk in (that reminds me, I really have to ask Sean for a webkittyn promo).
I've also learned about the backstabbing from Bob in a lot of ways. Jay Diamond should have been the heir apparent to Bob but internal maliciousness and a big rat named Malzberg took care of that. I remember when Bob left WABC, it was a sad day for WABC and the first shot WOR had in a long time. Now the only show on WOR worth a damn is Lionel.
People don't realise how huge a market talkradio is. It's massive. The listeners are like a giant extended family. Hell, look at the Hannity forums, they're intense. Bob Grant was a pioneer and he paved the streets for many to walk down. Maybe it's silly but he was the only personality that I was awed to meet.
It didn't matter if I agreed with him or not. Either way he made me think and always led me to debate between listeners who felt differently. That's a strong indicator of success when people go on talking/posting about what you said hours after your show is over. Bob had this. I remember the lines out the door and filling the parking lot at the book signing DS and I went to, it was like a major sporting event.
I'm going to miss Bob Grant coming across my radio but I am appreciative for 20 years of listening enjoyment. I wish for him a happy retirement and much good juju. As for me, I've lost Bob and Jay now and Brian Whitman since he went back to California (booooo, come home Brian). I've still got Lionel, Sean and Lynn Samuels on Sirius but the holes are getting bigger and I'd rather lick vomit off the floor than pretend Monica Crowley is interesting.
Good luck, Bob. Health and happiness to you and thank you deeply from this New Yorker. I practically grew up listening to you and each and every minute was worth it.
(again, all links are actually linked! I ask talkradio listeners who wander here by mistake to stop and say hey and if you feel so inclined, hit the button and toss me a vote! If not, a link works too!)
(Look! More! This is the internet after all. Should any of the old crowd or a Hannity intern he has googling his name run across this, it wasn't webkittyn back then. It was Brandy2133 Heatherlyn and yes, I'm still alive.
John Blaise Gomez, where are you?
Jay Diamond - where are you?)
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Bob was the real King of Talk Radio. He will be missed.
All the others are a copy of the Great One.
Thanks Bob, for telling it like it is!DD2
DD2 on 02/21 at 08:28 AM
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