The Morning Show Divide

I've been surprised by the sheer number of people who have asked me about the fate of Star 98.7's "Jamie, Jack and Stench" show. I find the show unlistenable -- but others apparently feel quite different.

When Star 98.7 yanked the show off the air a few weeks ago (as part of a marketing campaign to focus on its music product), a friend of mine complained. I told her to give KROQ's Kevin & Bean a try. She did -- and hated it:

I have to say I tried kevin and bean like you suggested and I'm sorry but they are the most boring morning radio personalities ever!!! Not only do they have those fake radio voices where you don't believe they are having a spontaneous conversation for a second, but they are the worst celebrity interviewers. They had a hockey player on who is canadian but now plays for a u.s. team and asked that hard hitting question "so do you like living in the u.s. or canada better?" arrgh! I wanted to kill myself after 5 minutes! But I kept trying since you suggested it. Bottom line -- really hate them.

Oops. I thought she'd enjoy their pop culture musings (the reality show recaps, the Britney Spears/Kevin Federline parodies, etc.) -- but boy, was I wrong. But much to her relief, "Jamie, Jack and Stench" were back on the air this Monday.

People hold such loyalty when it comes to morning shows, and have trouble settling for something else. (Maybe that's why we haven't seen the Howard Stern audience migrate to other shows -- they've probably just given up on morning drive radio altogether.) It's heartening, though, to see radio -- a medium I truly love -- still incite such passion in people.



But will Whoopi Goldberg find a radio audience? As Variety reports today, Goldberg has signed on with Clear Channel to join the morning radio wars, syndicating a daily four-hour show:

Clear Channel Radio prexyprexy-CEO John Hogan said the show will be made available to the company's stations in the next few months, then to other stations through Premiere Radio Networks.

"She's exactly what adult contemporary radio needs for the morning drive," Hogan said. Morning-drive time has been a male bastion for years, which has helped drive away female listeners. Hogan and Goldberg acknowledged there is a need for a female voice and that women will be a target, but both emphasized that the goal is a large spectrum of listeners of both sexes, in various demos.

Broadcast from Manhattan, "Wake Up With Whoopi" will air live 5-9 a.m. in the Eastern time zone, while Hogan said stations in other zones can customize it (tape delayed or a combo of live-and-delayed) to their market.

The format will include daily topics, call-ins, guests and music. Clear Channel is not disclosing yet which stations will air the show, but Hogan said interest has been high and "a very top station in New York has committed, and that's even before we've officially made the show available."

My guess is Whoopi's show lands here on Hot 92 Jamz (KHHT 92.3).