The Free Talk Live BBS
Free Talk Live => The Polling Pit => Topic started by: Johnson on July 26, 2007, 09:39:52 PM
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_talk
As listed on Wikipedia, Examples of Hot Talk Shows include:
* Adam Carolla Show
* Big O and Dukes
* The Bob and Tom Show
* Bubba the Love Sponge
* Don and Mike
* The Frank Show
* Frosty Heidi & Frank
* The Howard Stern Show
* John and Jeff
* The Junkies
* Lex and Terry
* Tom Leykis
* The Monsters in the Morning
* The MJ Morning Show
* Opie and Anthony
* Ron and Fez
* Rover's Morning Glory
* Mancow's Morning Madhouse
* The Asylum
* Best In Show Radio
* Keith and the Girl
* Red Bar Radio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_radio
As listed on Wikipedia, Examples of Politcal Talk Shows include:
* Ben Ferguson
* Lars Larson
* Sean Hannity
* G. Gordon Liddy
* Laura Ingraham
* Neal Boortz
* Michael Savage
* Bill O'Reilly
* Glenn Beck
* Larry Elder
* Mark Levin
* Michael Reagan
* Ken Hamblin
* Anthony Harper
* Christian Hugh
* Hewitt Dennis Prager
* Michael Medved.
* Free Talk Live (based in New Hampshire) (yes we are listed on politics on wikipedia)
* Penn Jillette
* Jay Severin
* Mark Davis
* Al Franken
* Ed Schultz
* Alan Colmes
* Lionel,
* Thom Hartmann
* Bill Press
* Stephanie Miller
* Bernie Ward
* Jack Ellery
* Dave Ross
* Marc Germain
-
"70% Political Talk / 30% Hot Talk" to me.
-
I'd like to see it go back closer to 50/50. The hot talk topics seem to generate a lot of interest and occasionally phone calls.
-
Hmm...
Wednesday 07/25/07
P Personality Disorders, Depleted Uranium, and Experimental Injections
P Convincing the troops to refuse bad orders?
P The right time for activism.
P Ron Paul and Immigration
P US Immigration Laws Suck
P Protectionist Whiner
P Lawyers Love Immigration Laws
P The Yard Cop
H Culture
Tuesday 07/24/07
H Metaphysics
H Free Minds TV's Nick Joins the Show
P Drug Dealers
P Middle School Sex Offenders?
H Cowardly Journalists
H The misuse of "pedophile".
P Military kicking out gay Arab linguists!
H Animals and Children
H 10 things to not do on a first date.
H Bizarre Dating Story
P Communists and Violence
P Free Market Food
Monday 07/23/07
P Another frightening expansion of executive power.
H Raw Deal
P State of Emergency
P Decentralization
P More philosophical discussion on property rights and political systems, this time with Gardner Goldsmith.
Saturday 07/21/07
P More on property rights and belief systems.
P Polluting Property
P The Indians and Property
P NH Dave Is Free Again
P More on Property
P Ethanol is a subsidy we're all going to pay dearly for.
H Nuclear Power
H Liquid Petroleum
P Juvenile Detention Hell
P Restitution
H Hemp Fuel
P Victimless Crimes
Friday 07/20/07
P Steve Kubby endorses Ron Paul
P An extensive discussion of social contracts, common law, property rights, communism, capitalism, and the free market.
I may have misunderstood the categories or misremembered the topics, and the list is not time-weighted (or statistically significant), but I'd put FTL at about 70% political.
-
Mark is all about selling ads...
-
Well, the way you laid it out, it was 12 Hot top talk issues to 28 political. That's about 43% Hot talk... but you listed...
THESE TOPICS as Hot Talk?
H Culture
H Metaphysics
H Free Minds TV's Nick Joins the Show
H Cowardly Journalists
H The misuse of "pedophile".
H Animals and Children
H 10 things to not do on a first date.
H Bizarre Dating Story
H Raw Deal
H Nuclear Power
H Liquid Petroleum
H Hemp Fuel
These are ISSUES oriented topics... Even Bill O'Reilly, Medved, Savage... Limbaugh... etc etc... They do ISSUES talk. That's what a Political talk show DOES to add some salt and pepper interest...
Out of those above issues...
I'd call THESE TWO hot talk.
H 10 things to not do on a first date.
H Bizarre Dating Story
2 out of 28 is about 7% Hot Talk. That's probably about accurate.
I'd go ahead and say 10% Hot Talk, 25% Issues, and about 75% politics...
-
Doesn't having more listeners sell ads?
So you guys are blaming the level of political vs hot talk on Mark?
Maybe, if he's somehow convinced Ian of something... but when the show first started, Mark was on it... and it was WAY further toward Hot Talk back then.
-
Doesn't having more listeners sell ads?
I heard FTL wasn't taking advertising.
-
Well, the way you laid it out, it was 12 Hot top talk issues to 28 political. That's about 43% Hot talk...
You may want to check again (http://www.google.com/search?q=12%2F%2812%2B28%29). Or publish. :wink:
-
2 out of 28 is about 7% Hot Talk. That's probably about accurate.
I'd go ahead and say 10% Hot Talk, 25% Issues, and about 75% politics...
110%
-
Well, the way you laid it out, it was 12 Hot top talk issues to 28 political. That's about 43% Hot talk...
You may want to check again (http://www.google.com/search?q=12%2F%2812%2B28%29). Or publish. :wink:
Umm, I don't know what equation that is, but it's not the one for calculation of percentages...
12/28 = .4285 *100 = 43%
or an easier one you can verify in your head
9/27 = .33(repeating) *100 = 33% (or 33.33 if you want to not round)
Anyway... 12 is NOT 30% of 28. 8.4 is.
Where did you learn that silly equation? (Government school?)
-
I like the mix up between hot talk and political issues. I think its about 70% / 30%, but its a good mix up and makes me a little less depressed about the government for a few minutes
-
Doesn't having more listeners sell ads?
So you guys are blaming the level of political vs hot talk on Mark?
Maybe, if he's somehow convinced Ian of something... but when the show first started, Mark was on it... and it was WAY further toward Hot Talk back then.
No one on the show made a conscious decision to go more political. It used to be more Hot Talk in the past simply because we were on a Hot Talk station.
Our Hot Talk topics are doing better these days than they were a couple of years ago because we have a slightly wider live listenership during our weekday show. Still, 100% of our affiliates are News/Talk stations.
-
In addition, there are two reasons why it is difficult to get this show on a Hot Talk station.
1. They're just simply aren't very many of them, (may be less than 10 of them nationwide) so it's statistically far less likely.
2. Many of the program directors of Hot Talkers are laboring under the misconception that their listeners only want to hear pop-culture (dumb) talk, so they have a natural bias against a show with some intelligence.
I predict that as we add more FM News/Talk stations to our affiliate list, the Hot Talk topics will do better and better as a result of the generally younger audience on the FM band.
-
I agree with the guy who called in to say you have a conundrum on your hands. If the AMP program is for spreading talk about liberty, then the show is, nominally about spreading liberty, or the AMP program reads are somewhat less than accurate.
-
Not to massage Ian's balls or anything, but I don't think you could improve on the format. The occasional discussion of Mark beating his meat in a prison cell is great for lightening things up, but it sure seems that all of the AMPers and advertisers are on board for the freedom oriented talk.
-
I agree with the guy who called in to say you have a conundrum on your hands. If the AMP program is for spreading talk about liberty, then the show is, nominally about spreading liberty, or the AMP program reads are somewhat less than accurate.
I'm not sure why you're discussing AMP on a thread about talk radio formats, but here's a bit of clarification for you:
The show is about letting anyone call about anything and it happens to be hosted by two liberty minded people. Hence, one of the benefits of the show is the spread of pro-liberty ideas.
-
I agree with the guy who called in to say you have a conundrum on your hands. If the AMP program is for spreading talk about liberty, then the show is, nominally about spreading liberty, or the AMP program reads are somewhat less than accurate.
I'm not sure why you're discussing AMP on a thread about talk radio formats, but here's a bit of clarification for you:
The show is about letting anyone call about anything and it happens to be hosted by two liberty minded people. Hence, one of the benefits of the show is the spread of pro-liberty ideas.
I don't see how it's off-topic, and I don't think the conflict between the AMP message and that statement is imagined.
-
I went with 90/10 political/hot talk because even the hot talk topics on the show are viewed from a political angle. That's fine by me though. I like FTL (obviously) ;)
-
Il n'est ni l'un ni l'autre.
C'est la voix de... la résistance!
-
Whoever said that it was more hot talk in the old days because it was on that kind of station is who I agree with. There is much more in the way of political talk now because of the listener base and the kind of stations the show is on. GCN brought a lot of...interesting folk as well. I think I'll go with the 70/30, political/hot talk crowd.
-
No one on the show made a conscious decision to go more political. It used to be more Hot Talk in the past simply because we were on a Hot Talk station.
Our Hot Talk topics are doing better these days than they were a couple of years ago because we have a slightly wider live listenership during our weekday show. Still, 100% of our affiliates are News/Talk stations.
Wow, I really feel the need to reply to THAT statement... That is just dripping with disingenuous oozings.
Dude... the person who made the decision to make the show more political was YOU - to the general kicking and screaming of most of the cohosts around you. Even Mark was hesitant at first, but then decided to take the stance of "let's go all the way political if we are going to be MOSTLY political" which YOU then disagreed with.
I KNOW Todd S. would not even have COOPERATED with allowing the show to be this political... Torgo, for the most part didn't cooperate with that either.
Mike N struggled... After that, have you not specifically hunted down political activists as cohosts?
Am I tearing down a wall of radio? This facade of "there was no conscious decision made" is totally bogus. MANY decisions have been made over and over again... Even to little minutia like what category to put the show in on podcast and radio listing directories.
At every turn when the cohosts have brought up the topic of bringing the show back a little bit more towards Hot Talk, we have been shut down... We are told its the attitudes of the listeners on the syndicate (GCN) and that the show will "naturally" become more Hot Talk oriented when we pick up more affiliates, and especially when we get more FM affiliates.
You've even sort of done that here
Our Hot Talk topics are doing better these days than they were a couple of years ago because we have a slightly wider live listenership during our weekday show. Still, 100% of our affiliates are News/Talk stations.
That excuse is garbage.
What those of us who ACTUALLY LISTEN to talk radio have been telling you all along is that... NO... That is not true... Political talk shows cause most average listeners who might enjoy hot talk, to change the station. The same goes in reverse - a hot talk segment on a political talk show causes more conservative listeners to bail out.
I know we'll never keep the socially conservative listeners (and Mark's strategy of being all political talk will never REALLY fly, as you are a super liberal atheist - which is guaranteed to offend most average political talk show listeners)
and my personal opinion on that is, of course, good riddance... YUCK - but the show still needs to WORK.
I brought this up, to reiterate my points from the other thread... because of two (maybe three) very strong opinions.
1. I don't think the show is nearly as balanced Ian thinks and has claimed it is.
2. I think that if we included more of the hot talk that we have been labeled as, that the show would grow and accumulate listeners more quickly, and we would also have more callers with dissenting opinions to have heated issues oriented debates with more often as well, so the quality of even the political discussions would go up.
The third opinion is that I also strongly feel that Free Talk Live could be more effective at actually creating and attracting more Libertarians if it didn't scare people off so much.
Now, I would say that there is no way to track how many people get scared off by Free Talk Live, but then I can think to ask...
"How many of you who are reading this thread, have tried to show FTL to friends... only have them bail out n the show after a VERY short amount of time? (but still enough time listening to catch the jist of the show?)"
See, I personally know a bunch of people who say... "Free Talk Live used to be better and more entertaining"
and I feel that FTL would be more effective at spreading a message of Liberty if it weren't CONSTANTLY trying to hammer home DOOM and GLOOM...
The sky is falling! police state! Government will eat your babies! We think Alex Jones is a kook - but are becoming more like him every day... www.freemindstv.com (DVDs coming soon!)
Ok - I'm mostly kidding about the latter jokes... but I KNOW for a fact that FTL would pack a MUCH more powerful punch of a message as a show if it could keep a positive, upbeat, and LIGHTER feel to it that KEPT people entertained, KEPT people listening and coming back, and EXPOSED those that just came for some entertainment to a message of liberty... a little more gradually...
Shock and Awe if only going to work on a small percentage of people... and as far as our affiliates are concerned... I'm pretty well positive they would not be bothered if we were slightly more hot talk, as (as far as a news and talk station is concerned - FTL is already extreme politically, and hot talk on sensitive issues ENOUGH that we are far enough out there that the station isn't too scared of offending folks)
It is because of that, that I feel FTL should embrace that opportunity a little more, and be a little more varied on topic materials... and a little more conscious of the mood of the show... I don't know why FTL spend so much time being negative... but it's bothered me for a while... I love listening for the debates, but I have higher expectations.
I really guess that part of this is that I'm disappointed in knowing that Free Talk Live, isn't really so much Free Talk Live anymore... the part that pissed me off about the dishonesty of your statement Ian, that no one makes a conscious decision to make FTL more political is such bullshit, and you KNOW IT. I'm bothered by you now lying about that.
Anyone can go and listen to the First Seasons and see that back in the day, if a caller called to talk about Hamburgers... you'd stop down.. and REALLY actually discuss that... Now, if that were to happen... You MIGHT say two or three words, then it's "thanks for the call" so we can get back to our political nerding.
So, I'm sort of offended by that... because I believe in the IDEA.. and the CONCEPT of a Libertarian show with a Libertarian principle... but I have a deep gut feeling that I know it's no longer that show anymore... and that it's being deliberately steered away from that...
I don't feel like allowing that dishonesty to continue... Hell, I REALLY don't like it when I see that criticism about how "FTL actually just hangs up up people that try to change the topic" on other websites...
I want to believe the show is actually about the listeners, and I was going to encourage people to make an effort to call in an bring up some hot-talk like topics and stories and try to discuss them... but that thought is what got me discussing this, because I'm fairly certain those callers would be dumped out quickly.
I think that's a problem.
If you don't think FTL is better when it's more Hot Talk - go look up the threads on what people's favorite episodes are.
-
See, I personally know a bunch of people who say... "Free Talk Live used to be better and more entertaining"
This.
-
What about that...
Lindsey... Listener/Fan who has been listening since day 1?
(Like how I addressed that question?)
-
What about that...
Lindsey... Listener/Fan who has been listening since day 1?
(Like how I addressed that question?)
Actually, I think you'll find this as surprising as I did...but...
I believe I agreed with your last post wholly.
-
I'm going to get in the middle of this. Not because it is any of my business, but I do give a shit, nonetheless.
These opinions come from an outsider who has only listened to the show for maybe two years and has no experience with the show before that. I do, however, listen every night and do so with a critical ear to make sure my money is being spent wisely. So, if I am totally wrong, ignore me.
It sounds to me that this is not simply a discussion of formats, but that Johnson is advocating a change in format. Thus, I would like to suggest otherwise.
Ian and Mark are not funny enough to run a hot talk show. This is not to say I do not like them nor that they are not great radio personalities. They are just not Opie and Anthony. Maybe they were back in the day, and maybe they could be again. I just don't see it.
The hot talk topics are fun, but cannot carry this show. Everyone has internet now. These stories are days old by the time they get talked about on the air. Unless you can bring a new and hilarious perspective to the topic, it's not going to go anywhere. Ian and Mark just do not take it to that level. Their skills lie in taking issues that affect the everyday man and applying simple libertarian analysis that the everyday man can comprehend. News stories + libertarian perspective = fresh radio content. No one else does this. Plenty of other people do hot talk and do it well. Ian and Mark cannot compete.
There is alot of doom and gloom in this country and in the world. It's got to be hard to keep an upbeat message going out when every day you have two or three stories of cops brutalizing citizens. In spite of this, they do talk about activist activities that people are conducting and encouraging people to participate in the Free State Project. I am not the biggest fan of the project, but that kind of helps put a positve spin on things. "Hey, life sucks, but come to New Hampshire and be with like-minded folk."
If the show format changed, the reality is that they would be trading the current listenership / advertisership for new ones. That might equal a net positive change in revenue. I doubt it, for the reasons stated above.
-
I miss Johnson.
-
No, I am not suggesting a format change at all.
I am suggesting an addition of light hearted topics - and a CONSCIOUS AWARENESS of the MOOD of the show.
No, Mark and Ian will never be O+A - I agree with that wholeheartedly. That is definitely not the format of FTL.
I *DO* Feel Ian and Mark could definitely match the rapport of Adam Corrolla and Drew Pinksi level of humor...
I'm sure you have access to the AMP stuff, so I definitely recommend listening to some of the Season One archives.
I would never want FTL to do the average gimmicky hot talk format at all. No wacky stunts or bits... special phone call days... etc etc...
When I mean that I want FTL to conscious of moods, I mean that if you are going to talk about a cop beat down story, that you follow up with an upbeat story... to get people back in a good mood...
I would suggest that FTL always try to end the show on a positive note... I would suggest that FTL try to break up the moods within the hour... so that you don't get a 2 hour block of just being depressed....
Simple things...
I'm merely talking about topics of discussion and maybe the occasionally lighthearted guest: See - Gene Ray.
I would never recommend a format shift.
-
I miss Johnson.
Says the one who ACTUALLY massages Ian's balls ;)
-
I miss Johnson.
Says the one who ACTUALLY massages Ian's balls ;)
You have no proof.
-
I really didn't like the Gene Ray Hour.
-
I'm sure you have access to the AMP stuff, so I definitely recommend listening to some of the Season One archives.
I've never asked, but Ian would probably make me pay the $3 a month for it. :P
-
I really didn't like the Gene Ray Hour.
It was just sort of an example... What about Wiley Brooks?
-
To accuse me of lying is absurd.
There was never a conscious decision to go more political, but there was a realization that the Hot Talk topics weren't performing any more. That realization came not long after we started on our first AM station.
Also, to label the show as politics isn't quite accurate either. We discuss issues and ideas and if a politician's name is dropped its usually Ron Paul.
I still bring stories to the table that interest me, and that's still a variety while it does lean a little more towards freedom issues than it ever has. That is probably because the situation in this country has become more dire in the last five years.
Also, to accuse me of dumping callers with more general interest topics is also crap, simply because we don't get many of those calls. I don't think anyone has called in to talk about hamburgers or our favorite cheese or ice cream for several years.
To completely counter your claim, simply listen to hour number two of last night's show. Someone called in and mentioned arcades, and that led us to talking about arcade games for an entire hour.
All things considered, this show is doing extremely well for having only been on the air for five years and having the content it does. We're closing in on 30 stations, have listeners contributing directly to the program, and are selling advertising.
The Hot Talk topics are working better than they did two years ago, so you should be feeling better and not upset. :roll:
-
While I agree with a few things Johnson is saying - I can't imagine someone who calls to talk about hamburgers getting more than a minute on the air (though rightfully so, how much can you say about hamburgers without putting people to sleep) - I've never found the Season 1 archives to be that entertaining. They have their moments, but most of the topics are stretched out, because they let callers stay on the phones forever, and there was a lot of immaturity, due to all the 15 year old callers. What I found most funny about the early shows is how big of an asshole Mark was, and how much more horny Ian was. If I had come across Season 1 instead of Season 3, I never would have listened, nor would I have found liberty. I agree with Menger - you might gain some listeners, but you'd lose others.
-
I would never want FTL to do the average gimmicky hot talk format at all. No wacky stunts or bits... special phone call days... etc etc...
That would be awful. My rock radio days are long over. In addition, it's worth noting that of the list of all of the Hot Talk shows you posted earlier in the thread, only a handful of them are on a bunch of stations, and those shows that are, like Bob and Tom and Opie and Anthony, have been at it for years.
When I mean that I want FTL to conscious of moods, I mean that if you are going to talk about a cop beat down story, that you follow up with an upbeat story... to get people back in a good mood...
I would suggest that FTL always try to end the show on a positive note... I would suggest that FTL try to break up the moods within the hour... so that you don't get a 2 hour block of just being depressed....
Maybe you're just too easily depressed... :P Listening to FTL doesn't depress me, I'm usually entertained.
Besides, when the show is working as it is intended to work, the callers completely direct the program. Trying to impose some sort of structure on that would be a problem.
Johnson's Edit: I accidentally hit "modify" when I meant to "quote"
-
Johnson, I really do appreciate your concern but it seems to me that everything is going along just fine.
-
I really didn't like the Gene Ray Hour.
??? :o :o
-
Either way, talk shows should do what gets ratings, thats how you survive. If talking about sex gets more listenership one evening, then by all means. Life isn't just politics anyway. Shows like Rush Limbaugh's, in which he only bashes democrats, gets extremely boring.
Pissing people off (which I assume FTL does fairly often) gets even enemies of the libertarian philosophy to listen.
I haven't really read much of this thread, so this is just what I think.
Finding out what people want to hear and then giving it to them is the best way to promote the free market/capitalism.
-
Actually, I think you'll find this as surprising as I did...but...
I believe I agreed with your last post wholly.
Well, that would explain why it's raining blood and frogs outside... :-P
-Torgo
-
I thought you were dead? *Escape from New York reference*
-
Actually, I think you'll find this as surprising as I did...but...
I believe I agreed with your last post wholly.
Well, that would explain why it's raining blood and frogs outside... :-P
-Torgo
Awww it's Torgo, he was the most wondrous cohost of FTL, fucking faggots.
You did steal their money though, fatass.
-
Awww it's Torgo, he was the most wondrous cohost of FTL, fucking faggots.
You did steal their money though, fatass.
Just to clarify, the loan I received from Ian is being repaid...and hopefully at much more regular intervals now that I have steady work with decent pay. I think that's all that needs to be said here, the rest of it is between Ian and I. Let's keep it that way, please.
Thanks, sweetie! :-P
-Torgo
-
Good to see you back, Torgo. 8)
-
Awww it's Torgo, he was the most wondrous cohost of FTL, fucking faggots.
You did steal their money though, fatass.
Just to clarify, the loan I received from Ian is being repaid...and hopefully at much more regular intervals now that I have steady work with decent pay. I think that's all that needs to be said here, the rest of it is between Ian and I. Let's keep it that way, please.
Thanks, sweetie! :-P
-Torgo
Dude I love you, you really were my favorite cohost. Please, I was just high, sir.
I am not worthy *bows before Torgo*.
Bless me Torgo Jesus.
-
Us funny fat guys gotta stick together.
-
Good to see you back, Torgo. 8)
Agreed! I think of Torgo almost everyday, when I make Frontegas at work.
-
I would never want FTL to do the average gimmicky hot talk format at all. No wacky stunts or bits... special phone call days... etc etc...
That would be awful. My rock radio days are long over. In addition, it's worth noting that of the list of all of the Hot Talk shows you posted earlier in the thread, only a handful of them are on a bunch of stations, and those shows that are, like Bob and Tom and Opie and Anthony, have been at it for years.
[/quote]
While I don't know about Bob and Tom, FTL is about half as old as Opie and Anthony which started in 1995. FTL started in 2002. O+A were off terrestrial airwaves for 4 years... Which means that they are technically only 3 years older than FTL - just to be clear.
Bob and Tom, a show I have heard of (through Torgo) , but never actually listened to... Has indeed been on the air for a long time, since 1983.
When I mean that I want FTL to conscious of moods, I mean that if you are going to talk about a cop beat down story, that you follow up with an upbeat story... to get people back in a good mood...
I would suggest that FTL always try to end the show on a positive note... I would suggest that FTL try to break up the moods within the hour... so that you don't get a 2 hour block of just being depressed....
Maybe you're just too easily depressed... :P Listening to FTL doesn't depress me, I'm usually entertained.
Besides, when the show is working as it is intended to work, the callers completely direct the program. Trying to impose some sort of structure on that would be a problem.
Well, if you are going to keep pretending that you don't dump out really fast now on callers with non issues oriented, or politically oriented topics... Then I am going to return to my initial call to action for people to phone in with more generalized topics and even bits.
The "character" callers that used to be attracted to FTL were fantastic... Now, instead of Sanjay and Underworld Frank, we have callers like Paula and Rita. Yuck.
Hell even Corey calling Ian a douche was more entertaining than some of the kooks droning incessant nonsense.
Eh, I have done what I wanted to do... which is to pull the lid off this and reveal it to the listeners. I'm not outright saying you are lying Ian, and I was leaving it open for you being completely unaware of the fact that you act completely differently on the show now, and have mostly stopped being playful with topics and have moved toward what SEEMS like intentionally trying to drive the show toward political topics, and rarely ever bringing up any non-political topics of your own.
However, you can no longer claim to be unaware of it, and I wanted the listeners to be aware of it as well, and to actually let it be known that you are openly saying that it is their job to call in with different topics and that you will supposedly interact and go with those topics as per the principle of Free Talk Live.
I also wanted it to be clear that most people DEFINITELY do not see FTL as being 50/50 Hot Talk / Political talk, and that it is definitely and strongly weighted toward political topics.
There is another question that needs to be asked... you simply ASSUME things work. I'm someone who likes to push boundaries to see what is possible. I think things like market research, and demographics are proven concepts that work, and work well. Some of the biggest mistakes businesses have ever made, were made by ASSUMING they were doing EVERYTHING right, and not pushing to define and redefine their boundaries.
I mean, how often have I now provided you with information that was totally contradictory to your ASSUMPTIONS simply because I had the wherewithal to ASK?
-
Underworld Frank, Gay Chris, and Jorge. Good times.
-
I think a couple of questions need to be asked... not just this one, to get a little more info about people's feelings on this...
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=15242.0
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=15243.0
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=15244.0
-
Underworld Frank, Gay Chris, and Jorge. Good times.
I tried to make a character caller (Billy from Alabama) but got cut off so quick I realized it wasn't even worth it to try again. I love listening to character callers.
-
I would like to say that I appreciate your intentions. It is important for me to be challenged on the programming of the show.
Well, if you are going to keep pretending that you don't dump out really fast now on callers with non issues oriented, or politically oriented topics... Then I am going to return to my initial call to action for people to phone in with more generalized topics and even bits.
The only people that are consistently dumped on are the awful crank callers we get these days, and I even give them a chance to shine when I could just dump them as soon as I recognize their voice.
The "character" callers that used to be attracted to FTL were fantastic... Now, instead of Sanjay and Underworld Frank, we have callers like Paula and Rita. Yuck.
Hell even Corey calling Ian a douche was more entertaining than some of the kooks droning incessant nonsense.
We have far less kook calls these days than we did back in 2005 when our primary listenership was GCN listeners. Caller quality has increased as our station count has increased, as I predicted it would.
I loved those character callers too, but those people don't typically listen to News/Talk stations.
Eh, I have done what I wanted to do... which is to pull the lid off this and reveal it to the listeners. I'm not outright saying you are lying Ian, and I was leaving it open for you being completely unaware of the fact that you act completely differently on the show now, and have mostly stopped being playful with topics and have moved toward what SEEMS like intentionally trying to drive the show toward political topics, and rarely ever bringing up any non-political topics of your own.
It has been five years since we started the show, of course I'm going to change. Of course the show is going to change. Our audience has changed, and the show reflects the interests of the audience.
I wish you would acknowledge my claim that Hot Talk topics are doing better on the show today than they did two years ago.
However, you can no longer claim to be unaware of it, and I wanted the listeners to be aware of it as well, and to actually let it be known that you are openly saying that it is their job to call in with different topics and that you will supposedly interact and go with those topics as per the principle of Free Talk Live.
I have publicly stated that I wish we got more personal issues. It doesn't do any good, as no one hardly ever calls with them. When they do, no one calls in to comment. Additionally, I virtually never get any personal issues e-mails, so it's not like I'm covering up this cadre of listeners to just wants us to address their personal problems.
There is another question that needs to be asked... you simply ASSUME things work. I'm someone who likes to push boundaries to see what is possible. I think things like market research, and demographics are proven concepts that work, and work well. Some of the biggest mistakes businesses have ever made, were made by ASSUMING they were doing EVERYTHING right, and not pushing to define and redefine their boundaries.
I mean, how often have I now provided you with information that was totally contradictory to your ASSUMPTIONS simply because I had the wherewithal to ASK?
As I said, I appreciate what you're doing. Are things working? Yes. Could they be working better? Sure they could. Is forcing more Hot Talk topics down the throat of a News/Talk audience necessarily an improvement? I don't think so.
Let the calls fall where they may, as they always have.
-
I'm going to continue to express that I believe that you are underestimating the desire of your audience for a wider variety of topics.
I'll wait for the results of the polls though.
As far as acknowledging that hot talk topics are performing better... I'd say "slightly"
What I'd really acknowledge is merely that the show has a bunch more callers in general. ALL topics are performing better. The only topics that did really well back in those days were talking about conspiracies or conspiracy theorists - then the phones lit right up with rabid kookery.
-
KICK HIS ASS, SEABASS!
-
I'm going to continue to express that I believe that you are underestimating the desire of your audience for a wider variety of topics.
I'll wait for the results of the polls though.
I predict that the results of the polls will be mixed, as they always are. Whether or not they skew one way or the other has no bearing on what our radio listeners desire. Your polls only show the interests of those who frequent this forum.
What I'd really acknowledge is merely that the show has a bunch more callers in general. ALL topics are performing better.
True. We must be doing something right. ;)
The only topics that did really well back in those days were talking about conspiracies or conspiracy theorists - then the phones lit right up with rabid kookery.
No, the phones lit up with the conspiracy theorists regardless of what topic we were talking about. Thank goodness that's not happening anymore. We've effectively scared off those callers. The only ones that call these days are not usually even listening to the show. They are just the run-of-the-mill GCN callers who will pick up the phone and call the GCN number any time of day or night and talk to whoever happens to be on. That problem will be eliminated as soon as we bring all call screening in-house. The occasional conspiracy call can be fun to trash on, of course...
-
Yeah, and those that frequent this forum tend to be our activist listeners, our advertisers, our ampers...
Ya know.. generally the people who make the show even moderately successful.
But yeah, I see your point.. fuck them.. they are only a tiny cross section of our listening population and cannot POSSIBLY be representative of ANYTHING.
-
I will be hearded.
-
What I'd really acknowledge is merely that the show has a bunch more callers in general. ALL topics are performing better.
True. We must be doing something right. ;)
Making phone calls to add more stations? Yeah... I'd say as a radio show, that's possibly the right thing to do.
-
But yeah, I see your point.. fuck them.. they are only a tiny cross section of our listening population and cannot POSSIBLY be representative of ANYTHING.
Don't put words in my mouth. They are simply representatives of themselves, and they tend to disagree on a lot. :roll:
-
I wouldn't listen if FTL consisted mostly of "hot talk"
I could watch the news for that :D
-
I'm sure they are somewhat representative of our audience at large, who, I'm sure, also disagrees on a lot.
Without question, they are in large part, the audience that matters. They are the folks that care about the show enough to make some sort of an attempt to participate.
-
I wouldn't listen if FTL consisted mostly of "hot talk"
I could watch the news for that :D
What about Friday nights being dedicated solely to Julia talking sex related issues? I'd tune in every Friday for sure.
-
I wouldn't listen if FTL consisted mostly of "hot talk"
I could watch the news for that :D
What about Friday nights being dedicated solely to Julia talking sex related issues? I'd tune in every Friday for sure.
That's because you're a teenage boy. I'd probably listen too, but for slightly different reasons. Anyhow. On to my point...
FTL will never again consist mostly of "hot talk". It would suck if Corey was still calling in nightly to remind us unfailingly that Ian is a douche. Once a week wouldn't hurt, but whatever.
But it also sucks that all we ever hear about are conspiracy theories from whackjob callers, and the occasional corrupt cops story has grown entirely too frequent, it seems. I almost feel as if there's no way we can avoid redundancy if you don't actually allow the listeners to change the topic. One of these days, I'm calling in to talk about hamburgers. Seriously. Recipes, favorite burger joints, etc. It will go on for hours.
Okay, I wouldn't take it that far. But you see my point. Or maybe you don't. Fuck it. Ian will be Ian, and he will do what he pleases. After all, it is his brainchild.
-
I wouldn't listen if FTL consisted mostly of "hot talk"
I could watch the news for that :D
What about Friday nights being dedicated solely to Julia talking sex related issues? I'd tune in every Friday for sure.
"QFT"
thanks,
oh yeah, fuck hot talk, Stick with the liberty message!
-
We quite frequently talk about sex and relationship issues with Julia on the show. In fact, I had an article about people that don't want kids that we didn't get to:
http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/181902.html
While I appreciate his concern, I think Johnson's just way too sensitive on this issue. :P
He's kind of like a Free Talk Live conservative in that he wants to return to the way things used to be...
-
They are simply representatives of themselves, and they tend to disagree on a lot. :roll:
I disagree.
:P
-
I think FTL is great the way it is...I do enjoy the interviews once in awhile, especially with Dr. Gene Ray, that was classic. Especially the reaction of folk on this message board, some of them genuinely confused and/or upset with you guys, awesome. I have to say my only minor complaint was this past week it seemed that you guys got stuck discussing philosophical stuff all week, the reality of property etc. etc. It was interesting for maybe an hour, but going on and off about it for days? That kind of wore me out a bit. I like the amount of "hot talk" you're doing now. It works well with the format, lightens things up but doesn't veer to far from libertarian discussion.
-
We quite frequently talk about sex and relationship issues with Julia on the show. In fact, I had an article about people that don't want kids that we didn't get to:
http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/181902.html
While I appreciate his concern, I think Johnson's just way too sensitive on this issue. :P
He's kind of like a Free Talk Live conservative in that he wants to return to the way things used to be...
He does have a concern for the show though, and he brought up an excellent point.
Monday, I'm calling in about tacos.
-
I have to say my only minor complaint was this past week it seemed that you guys got stuck discussing philosophical stuff all week, the reality of property etc. etc. It was interesting for maybe an hour, but going on and off about it for days? That kind of wore me out a bit.
That's because people were calling in about it. Which, of course, is the whole point of the show. Don't like it? Call up and change the topic.
-
I think part of the point of what I was saying about all this, is that I'm under the impression that the show isn't as much about the callers anymore. It seems that caller driven topics are now handled more as an interruption to the ongoing conversation (initially brought up by a host usually), rather than a change of direction.
I'd also like to point out that the polls are reflecting EXACTLY my beliefs on this.
- That people believe the show is heavily weighted toward politics... and that the split between people who like that and people who would like to see it be SOMEWHAT more hot talk-y is about 50/50. Many of the votes being simple "I like the status quo" style votes.... If the show is, as the poll suggests, weighted about 80/20, a slight increase in different topics and a slightly lighter mood to the show would generally make the show better, as it would compromise to the overall audience. This is exactly what I am saying is needed, NOT that FTL needs to return to the old days, or that the show needs to be primarily hot talk - that has been put into my mouth.
Ian likes to call me "too sensitive..." I call it "in touch". I talk to the listeners enough, and pay attention to subtle things in places like the cam chat room, or IRC, and on the BBS... Or simply friends I know online who don't participate in those things, but I know when theylhave been bothering to listen. So, I notice when I see a TREND occurring of people being in the chat rooms or onliine, but not caring to actually LISTEN to the show... or when the BBS dies down... When sales for products slow...
Those things aren't all directly related, but when big swings in trends occur in multiples of those things.. I notice. I tend to have a finger on having a pretty good idea of what the pulse of a lot of things are.
There is also just my OWN gut, when I think to myself "Goddamn this is repetetive..." I know FTL needs to be repetetive to continue to get a message out there, and that's good for the politics... but it isn't as good for a radio show trying to hold on to long term p1 listeners. I think repeated topics need to be handled from new and different angles.
Back in the old days, FTL was MORE Hot Talk and issues than political talk, but it was still CLEARLY Libertarian. That's what DREW ME to the show, so, I'm speaking from experience.
I'd probably place FTL in the first seasons at 30 p /70 h. Based on what I'm hearing from talking and listening to people... I think the split now, should be closer to about 50/50. That's where I generally believe our listenership is at. I'd be perfectly happy if it were about 65/45 or even 60/40.
I doubt most of the political types would even notice a 10-15% increase in more varied topics, and I say that because I know the political types are always going to be focused on the fact that a MESSAGE is being conveyed...
At a 60/40 split, or a 50/50 split... that message is still being conveyed... It's simply being conveyed to a wider audience.
-
I'm listening to the 6-5-06 episode. It's so good.
-
That's because people were calling in about it. Which, of course, is the whole point of the show. Don't like it? Call up and change the topic.
Error, not quite, I'm a long time listener so I know its about what people call in about sometimes. But they were arguing about it between themselves quite a bit for days. Oh and I did call in with my own topic.
-
Well, the way you laid it out, it was 12 Hot top talk issues to 28 political. That's about 43% Hot talk...
You may want to check again (http://www.google.com/search?q=12%2F%2812%2B28%29). Or publish. :wink:
Umm, I don't know what equation that is, but it's not the one for calculation of percentages...
12/28 = .4285 *100 = 43%
Are you serious? I always considered you the smartest host. (12 hot talk issues) + (28 political issues) = 40 issues. (12 hot talk issues) / (40 issues) = 0.3 = 30% hot talk.
For verification, (28 political issues) / (40 issues) = 0.7 = 70% political. 30% hot talk + 70% political = 100% of content.
Where did you learn that silly equation? (Government school?)
Yes, actually. But it's still correct.
-
Oops... yeah that was like a "forgot to carry the one" error.
Yeah, when I looked at your original formula, I didn't see the 40, so it didn't dawn on me that you were adding the numbers together to get the total number of issues...
Admittedly, I just sort of glanced - said to myself "what the hell is THAT?" and then rechecked the work on MY formula...
Although... my mistake is not actually that bad for me...
because, actually, my original math made HIGHER percentages of Hot Talk by far... after all 12/28 is a much higher percentage than 12/40.
So, by my original glance at the list of issues you posted...
So 2 issues out of 40 is about 5% hot talk.
-
Back onto the subject at hand... if they were to increase the Issues topics (which I listed as Hot Talk) at the expense of Political—keeping Hot Talk at the same virtually nonexistent level—would you consider that a positive change?
-
Plus, what about issues where the lines are blurred like tonight's topic about old people and leased phones? I consider that a Hot Talk topic, but we were able to mention the government approved monopoly for AT&T...
-
It's also about the way that you handle the topics...
Tonight's show was an improvement.. there was some brevity...
I also liked the caller making fun, bringing up a "pop culture" issue... (again, to your shagrin, as you hustle him to start talking about it)
and then he talks about the video game...
and after he finishes his first sentence.. there are some crickets... so he says some more...
and THEN finally you guys interact a bit... and it was good.
However, it was the combination and shift of topics... and also the fact that the caller pulled you guys from some doom and gloom about Ma Bell...
-
I love the show, however I could do with less politically charged topics, and am thoroughly entertained, however there are some shows where I do come away feeling depressed.
It still remains my favourite podcast.
This topic reminds me of a line from the cartoon Catdog by the way:
"We can't even agree to disagree about disagreeing"
"I disagree I think we can agree"
-
I'd like to reply with a personal example to counter Johnson's argument that FTL is mostly "doom and gloom" now. I have successfully gotten my brother to start listening to FTL after sending him a few episodes where I called in. He is someone who doesn't watch mainstream news specifically because it is so negative and almost exclusively about bad things that are happening in the world. What drew him to keep listening to FTL was that even though it talks about "negative things" that are happening in the world, he saw them as being presented in a positive light because solutions (i.e. less government, and why that works) are always offered for each issue. So he sees FTL as being positive since it offers a light of hope as to how the country and the world could get better.