BURKARD'S BLOG
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20 JUN 03: TALK SOUP
Our sympathies to radio talk show host Russ Hollenbeck, whose father died this week. Our condolences as well to WRCG Radio - for running out of people to fill in for him on "Talk Line."
We were surprised Thursday morning at 10:05 a.m. to hear Neal Boortz on WRCG, instead of Talk Line. We had to call the station to confirm what happened to the local talk show - because we thought Archway Broadcasting might have dropped it, to buy a couple more radio stations.
Russ Hollenback was the call screener and producer of Talk Line, then moved over to host the show. So why can't HIS
screener/producer fill in when he's away? Other people on Channel 16 have shown you don't have to worry about having a "face for radio."
Where is Jerry Laquire at a time like this, to fill in on Talk Line as he has before? His nightly TV show on WCGT was dropped several months ago. Maybe he's trying to get a new show with Al Fleming -- "Point, Point and Point Some More."
WRCG still has several people on the staff who could have filled in on Talk Line:
+ Robbie Watson has told me she'd rather do news, than host a talk show. That's too bad - because she has a great loud voice for provoking upset callers.
+ Mike Vee has a sports show in the afternoon - but from what he's said about hockey, he'd simply encourage everybody to beat each other up.
+ D.J. Jones co-hosts the sports show with Vee - but having him host Talk Line? Check the top-left corner of today's Ledger-Enquirer front page for the reason why not.... (ahem)
The lack of Talk Line meant Columbus radio had absolutely no local talk shows about the news of the day. Well, there might be one exception - but Jim Foster on WMLF rambles on and on, without taking any phone calls.
And speaking of WRCG talk shows - Q: Why does Bill O'Reilly never go to laundromats?
A: All the washers have spin cycles!
As for other talkers - are you watching the two-part "Nightline" report about teenage preachers, including Columbus's Ben Shuler? ABC News probably is surprising people with this series. For one thing, not one liberal has appeared yet to call them misguided idiots.
Did we hear it right - Ben Shuler entered a national preaching competition at Grace Christian School to meet a "fine arts"
requirement?! We never thought of preaching as a fine art. But then again, some ministers in African-American churches DO break out in song during sermons.
(For those of you who don't consider preaching a "fine art" - well, now you know how the rest of us felt when those anti-Christian paintings went up at New York galleries.)