At least in Charlotte.
WBT is now half way to becoming just another syndicated booster-rocket for the same half-dozen logorrhea suffers the rest of the nation endures. Still, Tara Servatius had to see this coming.
As I said when BT said bye to Pete Kaliner in March, once Bill White left in January there was no advocate for actual local programming at the station — that I could see. You could tell by the way — at least from my listener perch — segments were choked down in length and Servatius was steered away from her local strengths and told to ape the national and international tropes favored by uber-doofus Sean Hannity, who was just down the dial at 1660AM.
At the same time, it was an open secret that Greater Media looked at the numbers Rush Limbaugh delivered Servatius and wondered what a syndicated Jason Lewis could do in that spot. I’d be shocked if Lewis does not end up 3-6 on BT. Greater Media could then plug their Boston-based property Michael Graham into the 9pm-12 slot Lewis inherited after Kaliner’s departure.
And maybe the station’s numbers would improve with that lineup, who knows? I just know I’ve been listening less and less this year and know that Tara was responsible for one of the most interesting bits of radio I’ve ever heard when she interviewed — at length — Wachovia/Wells Fargo chief economist John Silvia. That was real, actual value add broadcasting for the local community.
Can’t imagine that WBT will have much more of that in its future.
