Gurgle
By Mitch Berg
Last week, KSTP-AM fired longtime utility infielder Dave Thompson.
And yesterday, we’re told, was Bob Davis’ last broadcast on the Evil Talk Empire.
This email made the rounds among KSTP-AM fans yesterday:
Hi [Fan, redacted],
Below is an e-mail just distributed to AM1500 Staff regarding Bob Davis:
I come to you today with news that Bob Davis is no longer with AM1500
KSTP.His last show was today, April 7.
Bob’s contributions over the last eight years are appreciated and we
wish him well. His effervescent demeanor, his always-ready belly laugh and
his iconic head of hair leave a lasting impression on all who meet him.Starting Thursday morning at 9am, we will have a brand new radio program
for the Twin Cities. I could tell you their names (yes, a two-person
show), but you have not heard of them. They are new to Twin Cities radio, but not new to upper Midwest radio and both guys have personal ties to the Twin Cities metro.
Any bets on this one?
I, for one, haven’t the faintest clue, other than they’ll be innocuous, politically “neutral”, a neutered nod to the “glory days” of WCCO (in an era where nobody’s asking for any suc thing); I wouldn’t bet against a couple of sports guys, probably from one of the Twin Cities dailies. That’s just a hunch, worth exactly what you’re paying for it, and I’m certainly not betting my mortgage on any part of it…
…except that’s not going to take the world by storm.
Expect an e-mail from me Thursday morning about 8am with further
details.I am excited about this addition to AM1500 KSTP and I encourage you to
share your view of them after you give them a few listens.As for Dave Thompson, I think you may be interested in the headline of a
news release that was issued earlier this afternoon:Dave Thompson Announces Candidacy to become next State Chair of the
Minnesota Republican Party
Now, that is interesting news.
Thank you for your continued support of AM1500 KSTP as we further
dedicate our focus on serving the Twin Cities.
Steve Konrad
Program Director
This stinks, of course; both Davis and Thompson are longtime friends of the MOB, and deserve a whole lot better than the misbegotten pile that KSTP-AM has become.
Will KSTP-AM’s last listeners please lock up on your way out?
April 8th, 2009 at 8:13 am
ugh, it’s just so depressing I’m all verklempt. I don’t know where to begin. I’ve listened to Bob almost every day since 9/11, he is the reason I’m conservative. The man changed my life. And wherever he goes, my ears will follow. So, I may be just one puny listener, but I am done with KSTP. And I say to them the same thing Bob said every day to end his show. Buh-bye.
April 8th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Saw this the other day… pity.
I remember the glory days of Mischke’s show preceeding Bob Davis. Gold, pure gold.
I was surprised to learn he moved to the morning drive show, but he further surprised me by doing better than I expected. Much better. The post-morning drive slot didn’t seem to fit, but he did well enough in that slot.
KSTP never really knew what to do with Dave Thompson. A great talker, great with callers, knew just when to put his foot down… worked well in the evening. It is great that he’s going on to better things… but if he hadn’t, KSTP wouldn’t know how to best use him as a resource.
Dave was a great poor-man’s Jason Lewis, but that description doesn’t give him enough credit. He was also a great substitute host for just about anyone at KSTP. I believe he even subed for Paul Brand at one time.
April 8th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Well, they’ve all but hired Al Malmberg, and he’s certainly not politically neutral.
I didn’t like Bob Davis too much. He reminded me of a kinder swiftee; He’d ridicule a point of view without making his own clear.
Anyway, the station is clearly putting all of its chips on the Twins and hoping to reboot come fall.
April 8th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Like TOLOWEN said previously, I remember back on 911, I was stranded in Colorado on business because none of the planes were flying that week– so I decided to drive my rental car back to Minnesota. Somewhere out side of North Platt, late in the evening, I got lucky and the AM1500 signal bounced down to my car radio and low and behold there I heard this maniac of a guy named Bob Davis squawken away about the fresh disaster of 911- I liked him immediately!!
One thing he used to do often that is good for us conservatives is to challenge some of our knee jerk preconceptions. For instance, back during the election when the “s” word socialist was being slung around, he challenged and stumped plenty of callers as to what is the definition of a socialist.
Thanks to the internet, when Bob pops up again on another station, I will simply stream him or podcast him. But I won’t be listening to AM1500 very often. It seems to me that KSTP is simply morphing into some species of a sports talk station. I always liked Reusse for his “inside baseball” stories about sports personalities that he would tell as he chimed in on somebodies show; but I am not digging his morning show. And I kind of like Souchery once is a while, but he is such a cranky old fart that I wish the Rookie would tell him to F- himself ON AIR and then after cleaning out his locker go out to the parking lot and hide a dead fish in Joes car.
So- for powerhouse exclusive LOCAL consevative talk, we still have the NARN guys. Thank the lord up above!!! Jason Lewis won’t be able to go deep on local politics now that his show is national. Good luck to Bob Davis and Dave Thompson. I would hold them up to any convservative talk show hosts that I have heard around the country!
April 8th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
And yesterday, out of the blue, am1500KSTP is following me on Twitter. And I live in California.
Things are afoot, methinks…