News Flash
By Mitch Berg
A source in the Twin Cities talk radio industry tells me that KTLK-FM’s Chris Baker is being replaced by longtime KSTP great Bob Davis, “effective immediately”.
I’m going to run this down when I get a chance.
If it’s true, it’s great news for Bob, and for Twin Cities talk radio listeners.
UPDATE: It’s on the KTLK website. I guess that’s official enough for me.
Congrats, Bob!
UPDATE 2: According to Brauer, Baker quit, and Davis is just temping.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Now if they could dump Glenn Beck too, and promote Laura Ingraham to the 8-11a shift.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:05 pm
My long morning drive just got a whole lot better.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Jeez, Baker was quite a workhorse over there. Was this ratings-driven?
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:35 pm
Now if they could dump Glenn Beck too, and promote Laura Ingraham to the 8-11a shift.
Unlikely. Clear Channel owns KTLK, and also Premiere, for whom Beck (and Limbaugh, and Hannity) works. Ingraham is with TRN (same as Dennis Miller). A Clear Channel station is going to push the Clear Channel and Premiere shows first.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:40 pm
My long morning drive just got a whole lot better
At the risk of sounding catty and of dancing on others’ vocational graves – I never liked Baker’s show. His voice rubbed me the wrong way, and his attempts to rile up the audience seemed to betray a very limited understanding of what he was talking about. His broadcast with Sue Jeffers the day of the Tuscon Schooting was a great, bad example.
Like I said, no dancing on graves. I hope he gigs up soon – in fact, I think he has another station on which he does afternoon drives via ISDN. Hope it works for him.
He was just never my thing.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Someone should pick Ingraham locally. I would actually listen to her show. Salem, are you listening? Gallagher, no. Ingraham, yes.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Put me on the Ingraham!, yes, Gallagher, no! list.
Fair or not, Gallagher comes off as bigoted and uninformed, the kind of conservative who disses the unemployed as lazy and who becomes uncomfortable if there is a black person in the room.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Like I said, no dancing on graves. I hope he gigs up soon – in fact, I think he has another station on which he does afternoon drives via ISDN. Hope it works for him.
I agree with that. I don’t have any problem with Baker per se, I just really, really like Bob Davis.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Not to mention that Laura’s manlier than Mike (that’s a dig at Mike, not Laura).
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:58 pm
My long morning drive just got a whole lot better.
Mine as well. Now if they could just replace Ben Ferguson and Bill Cunningham with something listenable for my Sunday evening commute, I’d really be set.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:12 pm
My dislike for Mike Gallagher’s show is that it seems to focus mainly (not entirely) on riling up rather than informing or persuading his audience. He doesn’t strike me as the sort of host who devotes a lot of time or effort into preparing for his show or mastering the subject material beyond the minimum necessary to press his targeted audience’s buttons.
Sort of like Sean Hannity but with fewer regular guests.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:17 pm
That’s too bad. After listening to him then subsequently meeting and talking with him at the State Fair, I really liked Baker. I know that he and his wife really liked MN and his contract was just recently renewed, so I wonder what happened to have such an abrupt change?
Haven’t listened to Bob Davis in awhile, but, I like him, too – just wish he didn’t get the gig at someone elses expense.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:19 pm
“Haven’t listened to Bob Davis in awhile, but, I like him, too – just wish he didn’t get the gig at someone elses expense.”
My very thoughts.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Mike Gallagher is simply un-listenable anymore. Most recent examples is his bashing of the Catholic church (using the Pope for his verbal punching bag) and his patented ALWAYS-DEFEND-PALIN meme. I do like his Chris Wallace segments on Friday, but that’s the ONLY good bit of radio he does.
Unfortunately, Salem ain’t dumping a Salem product (which is how Laura was bumped off to begin with). Davis certainly is a better option and will be where I go to now.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:27 pm
All Gallagher does is bitch-bitch-bitch-bitch-bitch. No witty comments. No insight or guests. Just pick up the newspaper and bitch. And when he does get a liberal on the line, its a double-bitch-fest.
Not good radio. Too bad The Patriot doesn’t listen to its listeners. The responses I get from my comments are akin to a pat on the head.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:30 pm
WOW! Baker was still listed, even though Bob Davis’ name appeared in the schedule line up in different format and by the time I went back, it was gone.
I wish him and his smokin’ hot wife, all the best.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:32 pm
Gallagher hasn’t been the same since his wife passed away. I guess that’s understandable.
Whenever I email the Patriot, I get NO response. I do think they could fix Saturdays by shoveling all that infomercial/real estate/josh arnold sh** to their AM1570 frequency.
Ingraham is on KTLK-FM at 8 p.m.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Whenever I email the Patriot, I get NO response.
Other than Saturday I don’t think The Patriot has any actual humans on site. I joked to David Strom once about the overlapping ads, and how they must be charging double for a single spot. It took them a year to fix that glitch.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Agreed. I’ve heard tecnical glitches on the Patriot that last forever. Especially late at night. I can’t imagine that they get more than “a dollar a holler” for spots, so I’m sure they’re short-staffed. I also find it odd that every few months the sales manager’s running a spot looking for news sales people.
It’s sad because Salem basically has the conservative-Christian niche to themselves nationally, but it seems like they have trouble monitizing it, at least locally.
February 2nd, 2011 at 5:04 pm
Baker was filling in for Glenn Beck on occasion so I don’t think they would be looking to get rid of him. Clear Channel has booted two people I know of lately who interviewed with Tribune radio, which is run by Clear Channel Radio’s former CEO. Hey Mitch, that radio’s a crazy business, huh?
February 2nd, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Schweet. I really enjoyed Davis, and am happy he’s coming back.
February 2nd, 2011 at 6:50 pm
you guys are on the Ingraham bandwagon anyone want to start a petition to get Mark Levin off the 8-11pm slot on 1280 and Savage back on? I cannot stand Levin personally and his voice is so high pitched and whiny. I really like Savage even if he does go off the deep end sometimes.
February 2nd, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Michael Weiner is not fit to clean the jockstrap of Mark Levine.
February 2nd, 2011 at 8:37 pm
I agree. Mark Levin is a constitutional scholar much like Jason Lewis (albeit a bit more excitable). Savage goes off on insane rants or hour long stories about restaurants, his health issues, his time in the islands picking flowers or his dead mother (God rest her soul). I learn nothing from Savage. I learn something from Levin every time I listen to him.
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:16 pm
According to the Minnpost update linked by Mitch:
So “Gays” and “women” are mutually exclusive? How . . . exclusive.
I guess “son of a Kenyan Marxist post-colonial economist” is considered less insulting than “Obammy”. Been to Kenya lately?
Calling a transgendered man a “mutilated lesbian” is probably inaccurate. “mutilated sex-obsessed man” is probably more accurate. Ever met any post-operative transgendered men? They are weird. I bet real Lesbians stay the hell away from them.
February 3rd, 2011 at 7:14 am
Baker never tripped my trigger. I listened only because I found Bill Bennett sometimes too vanilla to my liking. All in all, I’m curious to see what fills the void.
February 3rd, 2011 at 9:34 am
“Such gibes earned him a spot on ex-MSNBC host Keith Olbermann’s “Worst Persons in the World.”
Even though Olbernazi is just as irrelevant as Brauer, I can bet that having this standing is a badge of honor to Baker.
February 3rd, 2011 at 9:44 am
“mutilated lesbian” was a bit over the top, and not accurate. Mutilated woman is the correct, non-vitriolic(TM) description.
Although for a spot on Keith Olbermann’s WPITW list, I can’t blame Chris.
February 3rd, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Ben Says: “I cannot stand Levin personally and his voice is so high pitched and whiny.”
I think Levin is a hoot, I love it when he gets really worked up, he does like to call a spade a spade!
I really took a liking to him when I heard the story of Sprite, one of the many dogs he’s rescued from shelters over the years. He wrote a book about it: “Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover’s Story of Joy and Anguish”
February 3rd, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Well, I guess I can get going on my review of Chris Baker! Three shows are all I’m going to get on my recorder. For now, Godspeed to Mr. Baker.
Hmmm. Maybe I should move up hosts I’d like to see gone, like Gallagher, Hannity, Savage, …
February 4th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
you guys are on the Ingraham bandwagon anyone want to start a petition to get Mark Levin off the 8-11pm slot on 1280 and Savage back on? I cannot stand Levin personally and his voice is so high pitched and whiny.
No, while I’m not a Mark Levin fan particularly when he goes off on a rant and shouts into his microphone, Michael Savage is much worse.