DC Hybrid Talk Station 3WT Shutting Down

3-W-TERRIBLE

Dreadful Lib/Conservative Talk Outlet Fails







Hey, here's an idea: let's create a new FM music station that plays country in morning drive, followed by hip-hop in the afternoon and classical after dark!

Would you want to be a manager stuck implementing that crazy idea? Luckily, because it is so preposterous, the concept would probably never get off of the drawing board. Somewhere in the chain of command, a corporate suit would know better, right?

When it comes to talk radio, however, even the most experienced executives seem baffled by the basics of programming. That's certainly the only way to explain Washington's 3WT.

Featuring a bizarre mix of liberal and conservative talk programming, its slogan was even harder to comprehend: "Left, Right and Whatever We Want". Huh?

Yesterday, station owner Bonneville announced that 3WT would soon disappear, less than a year after its initial kickoff.

Utilizing three Beltway frequencies, 3WT has featured libtalker Stephanie Miller in the morning, followed by Bill O'Reilly, Neal Boortz, Glenn Beck, fellow "progressive" Randi Rhodes in the afternoon and conservative talker Jerry Doyle. In addition, Washington Nationals baseball has often pre-empted 3WT's evening lineup.

Isn't that a lot like mixing country, hip-hop and classical on the same station?


Not only was the mix of syndicated programming bizarre, but there was a complete absence of local hosts in a region that could sure use a few more. Is it any wonder this concept failed?

And this isn't the only format idea that has flopped using these signals. From the Washington Business Journal:

“We didn’t get the kind of ratings that we were looking for and therefore didn’t have the revenue or the profit,” said Joel Oxley, senior vice president of Bonneville. “This lets us move our distribution to WFED, which has a tremendous growth opportunity.”

The latest moves also make WTOP a trimulcast station, broadcasting on three FM frequencies, further increasing its regional coverage.

This is the third incarnation for the trio of stations since March 2006 when Bonneville partnered with The Washington Post to launch Washington Post Radio. Bonneville and the Post ended that relationship last August, citing low ratings.

Now, they're simply giving up.


Here we are, a full twenty years after Rush Limbaugh took radio by storm, blazing a trail that helped to build radio's most important format. More recently, FM music has rapidly been abandoned by young people, meaning that talk represents land-based radio's only real future.

And yet, judging by the incompetence, you'd think the medium had been created yesterday.

With so much on the line, why have talk radio programming decisions been placed in the hands of executives who lack even a basic understanding of the audience and its interests?

Because radio is the one industry that never seems to learn from its mistakes, expect to see 3WT's hopeless format tried again elsewhere. Bet on it.


FOR New England regional talk radio updates, see our other site.



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