Is FTL Hot Talk or Political Talk?

100% Political Talk / 0% Hot Talk

1 (2.1%)

90% Political Talk / 10% Hot Talk

9 (19.1%)

80% Political Talk / 20% Hot Talk

16 (34%)

70% Political Talk / 30% Hot Talk

15 (31.9%)

60% Political Talk / 40% Hot Talk

2 (4.3%)

50% Political Talk / 50% Hot Talk

3 (6.4%)

40% Political Talk / 60% Hot Talk

1 (2.1%)

30% Political Talk / 70% Hot Talk

0 (0%)

20% Political Talk / 80% Hot Talk

0 (0%)

10% Political Talk / 90% Hot Talk

0 (0%)

0% Political Talk / 100% Hot Talk

0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 29

[Ed]

Us funny fat guys gotta stick together.

[Soundwave]

Good to see you back, Torgo. 

Agreed! I think of Torgo almost everyday, when I make Frontegas at work.

[Johnson]

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...   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?

[Lindsey]

Underworld Frank, Gay Chris, and Jorge.  Good times. 

[Johnson]

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

[Ed]

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.

[FTL_Ian]

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.

[Johnson]

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.

[Ed]

KICK HIS ASS, SEABASS!

[FTL_Ian]

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...

[Johnson]

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.

[Ed]

I will be hearded.

[Johnson]

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.

[FTL_Ian]

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.   

[mrapplecastle]

I wouldn't listen if FTL consisted mostly of "hot talk"
I could watch the news for that