Monday, May 4, 2009

Cincinnati Sports Radio Shaves Down Local Shows


I have always been a critic of the Cincinnati sports radio scene. When I first moved here a decade ago, I was amazed at the lack of national sports talk at then 1360Homer. Aside from the Jim Rome Show, everything else was local personalities talking about local teams.

That's fine and dandy but there is just so much about the Bengals, Reds and the local colleges that you can discuss. It makes for stale radio and a lot of reaching for stories.

So I was pleased to see when Homer (which moved to 1530) added ESPN Radio to the 1360 channel. It gave everyone here a chance at hearing about some NBA, NHL and events that happen outside of this area.

That being said, I'm sad to see that Clear Channel (which owns both 1530 and 1360) is all but scrapping the local talent. In yet another lineup change, the only local show to make it on the rundown is Lance McAlister from 3pm to 6pm. The Dan Patrick Show replaces the local Mo Egger (which is a shame) and go-to guy C. Trent Rosencrans has been let go.

Again, I like having the national beat on, but that's what the ESPN Radio and Rome was for. I feel sad for Cincinnati fans who get just a small window to make their gripes about which Red they need to run out of town and which Bengal is next on the police blotter.

Also, this makes Cincinnati look bad. Would other big cities have limited local sports talk on the air? I also think this is a bad move for an area that is so insulated that they don't really like anything outside the 275 loop.

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