It seems David Lee Roth has finally given in to his gormless bosses.
"Characterizing this morning’s show as a "new format," DAVID LEE ROTH – claiming that he had been suspended for the last two days — returned to the air this morning attempting to adhere to a new set of programming rules, while simultaneously criticizing them."
The first time I posted the following, it didn’t attract much attention. Let’s see if I can get more reaction this time.
When Howard Stern left terrestrial radio (thank God) and moved to satellite, he left a gaping hole in morning drive radio. Infinity Radio decided to replace Stern with David Lee Roth in some markets (including Pittsburgh), and I think it was of the few smart decisions they’ve ever made. Diamond Dave’s show rocks.
I’m the kind of guy who usually hates talk radio in the morning. The last thing I want to hear when I’m still half asleep on the way to work is a bunch of idiots trying to be funny and failing. I want music. Better yet, I want music that’ll wake me up. If I must listen to talk, it better be good. When Stern was polluting the terrestrial airwaves, I avoided him like the plague. His adolescent shanigans were old 10 or 15 years ago. I only found him interesting at the end because he stopped being perverted long enough to talk about the real issues surrounding how his bosses were stifling his free speech, generally behaving like asses, and having no appreciation for the man who made them filthy rich. But I digress.
When Roth replaced Stern, I decided to give him a shot. I figured since almost every decent rock station has talk shows on in the morning, I’m pretty much stuck listening to one. Maybe Roth Radio will be good. Well, it is. In fact, it’s better than good. David Lee Roth is a breath of fresh air for morning drive radio. He is intelligent, funny, fair to his callers, has interesting guests, cool people in the studio, and his format is not the same ol’ song and dance. In short, he’s not only the least of evil morning talkers, he’s interesting to listen to. I actually look forward to tuning in and I’m bummed when I forget to.
Dave’s producers, though, want to change all that. The ratings haven’t been what they’d hoped for. So he’s lost most of Stern’s audience, so what? Who wants folks who act like their IQ is lower than their shoe size? Tom Chiusano and his overlord Mark Chernoff want Dave to change his format entirely in order to better cater to the demographic that matters to them, white Generation X males whose favorite style of music is classic rock. Well, I’m a white Generation Y male who digs classic rock and I don’t want Roth to change a thing. If you feel the same way, save a copy of the above graphic, put it on your site, and spread the word. Let’s overwhelm CBS with a grassroots Roth revolution!
Addendum: If you’d like call WFNY 92.3 Free-FM to complain about this crap, call 212-314-9230.