Wednesday, January 24, 2024

The Incredibly Shrinking Michael Medved Show

I used to listen to the Michael Medved Show as much as I could on live radio, and then the paid podcast when he was dropped by Salem for Gorka.

I eventually stopped allowing that subscription to renew, and very rarely would catch that show live via the home station’s (AM 770 KTTH Seattle) website. Supposedly it was also syndicated, by another company other than Salem.

Last month, that station announced that as of the turn of the year, it was going to air the national Guy Benson show in the the slot Medved had (Noon-3pm Pacific).

As of this posting, I don’t know if there is any radio station carrying Medved’s show. I can’t find any listed on the show’s website.

It looks to me like the program for now is strictly Internet, and people can listen live (for free, I guess.... I'm not sure) or pay for the podcast, which is simply a recorded version of the live program.

This change didn't cause much buzz. As far as I can tell the same basic article, essentially "copy pasta" from the station's press release, was carried in a few places, with someone erroneously implying Medved had still been syndicated by Salem. Nobody has bothered to update Medved's Wikipedia page since August 2023 (as of this posting).

It's been a few years since Tom Leykis gave up doing this live, call-in Internet program because not enough people were paying to subscribe (Leykis is strictly podcast now, when he feels like recording). I don't know what Medved's situation is as far as the program's finances. More people are used to listening online now, so online programs might have a better go than Leykis did.

There are multiple national shows airing live Noon - 3pm Pacific. Medved's now-former home station apparently has a deal with Fox, which carries the Benson show. Not that a show has to air live, but it's better if it does. A couple of other things were going against Medved: age and his criticisms of Trump and various other Republicans as well as conservatives. His target audience no doubt preferred he spend more time pointing out the flaws of the Democrats and the Left.

I'd be interested in the inside scoop as far as the Medved Show's finances, reach, and if he retained any staff or if that staff stayed with the station or went somewhere else entirely. What are his plans? Will he keep the show going even if it costs him money instead of paying him? Having a website, live stream, phone lines, a screener, a producer, and a podcast archive costs money. Is he the kind of guy who wants to (or feels he needs to) work until the day he dies, or does he plan to retire?

There were many times I enjoyed his analysis and perspective over the years. I found his movie reviews worthwhile, too. His history programs played when he was out were the only long-since-recorded talk radio to which I'd listen. And of course he regularly had "Disagreement Day" and guests with whom he differed. He was a big presence in talk radio for decades. But I hadn't listened to his program much since I dropped that podcast subscription.

Whatever is or is not going on with him, I wish him well.

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