Area417

Talk Radio, Springfield: Chuck Booms, the Other White Meat

Chuck Booms, of Kiley and Booms fame, is a recent addition to KWTO's Morningline. I'd never heard of Booms before, but Jason (Life of Jason) has.

If it weren't for all bitching from callers on the weekends to Morningline, I wouldn't even have known there was a new guy in town. He's causing an insurrection among longtime listeners of that station, seemingly egged along by the remaining old timers at the station.

So what's their beef? Ostensibly, it's his voice, which is unlovely. But if Mark Levin can rocket up the talk radio charts with his voice, it shouldn't be an insurmountable problem for Booms.

No, the real problem is the change in policy. Long-time callers are being banned from calling the weekday show. They can call in on weekends and do, to complain bitterly about the ban. I get the impression that a lot (most) of them have nothing else to do except call KWTO. My heart goes out to them, really it does.

I also completely understand the ban. Most of these banned callers are elderly. Bless their hearts, their halting conversations take a long, leisurely trip, destination nowhere. It's like being seated at a table of  friends who have known each other for 80 years. You're the odd man out because there's a long history there and you are privy to none of it. You have no point of reference. You are left out of the conversation.

Not exactly compelling radio. I'm guessing the ratings verify that. It remains to be seen if Chuck Booms can turn that around. Let's hope, for the sake of Springfield radiophiles, that he does.

*Disclaimer: I'm already favorably inclined toward Booms because, even though a conservative, he has not displayed the usual, knee-jerk dissing of Ron Paul that you hear from right-wing radio talkers. Rather shocking from someone with close ties to Faux News. Kudos Chuck.

Thanks, Vince Jericho

Last night a little dog greeted me in our yard as I got home from work. Nobody on our street knew anything about the little guy. Much as I would have loved to bring him in our house to keep him safe, one of our own dogs, who is much larger, would have savaged the poor thing. So we went to bed in hopes that he would go home.

As I left for work this morning, the Yorkie greeted me at the door and volunteered to ride shotgun on my drive to work. Had he looked like he was proficient with computers, it might have worked. Unfortunately, this was a BIG Yorkie, so I doubt he was great with a keyboard,  with the bigger paws and all.

I spent the morning worrying that something would happen to him before we could find where he belonged. Finally, it occurred to me that I might try and enlist some help in getting the word out, so I emailed local talk show host Vince Jericho (KSGF) and asked if he would give a shout out to his listeners to help this little guy find his way home.

Realizing that his program isn't all about yard sales and lost pets, I asked that he please consider replacing his usual "Bone Head of the Day" segment that he ends the morning with and let people know that this poor little dog had shown up on our doorstep last night.

Much to my surprise, Vince not only put the word out, he didn't wait until the end of his program, but made an  announcement soon after getting my email. I'm very happy to report that this adorable little dog was reunited with his owner about 30 minutes later:)

Yes Vince, I do owe you coffee--consider this a long-winded thank you until then!