Examining Media Shifts: Where Every Dog Has Its Day in Animated Radio and Beyond in Delco
In the dynamic landscape of media, it appears every dog has its day, from prime-time television shifts to the often-overlooked world of local radio. This is particularly true in Delco, where the airwaves, once seemingly static, are becoming unexpectedly animated by industry upheaval, mirroring changes seen in national broadcasting and entertainment commentary.
My reaction is perhaps too simplistic, too self-indulgent, but I couldn’t help repeatedly humming “Ding Dong” upon hearing that Joy Reid, whom I consider the most disagreeable program host on television, is losing her 7 p.m. weekday slot on MSNBC, “The ReidOut.” While I wouldn’t wish personal misfortune upon Reid, may she live well and remain relatively quiet, away from the significant platform a national television show at 7 p.m. provides.
Among commentators across all biased and unreliable networks – and yes, I include every single one – Reid was the most consistent purveyor of outrageous opinions, ideas, and forecasts. She could be relied upon absolutely to make statements serving her viewpoint, which is further left than progressive, and she frequently employed fear and suggestions of wrongdoing or adverse outcomes to stir up MSNBC’s left-leaning audience. On multiple occasions, I found her commentary over-the-top and called it despicable, and I consider it a relief to see her removed from the airwaves.
It doesn’t bother me if someone holds opinions different from mine or is on the opposing side of a political issue. The standard Reid consistently violated was prioritizing ideology and its spread over anything resembling sound, reasoned judgment. I read and listen to numerous opinions from across the political spectrum. I consume articles from The Nation and The New Republic, browse The Guardian and The New York Post, follow various writers on Substack and The Free Press (both offering diverse perspectives), look at Politico and The Hill, and read editorials from The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
This broad sampling is necessary to grasp even a semblance of truth, accuracy, or fairness in this era of partisan, pandering, and propagandistic news organizations. From the 17th to the early 20th centuries, publications at least openly declared their allegiances. Today, those who advocate for the government eradicating “misinformation” are frequently its most egregious disseminators.
Joy Reid was, in my view, the worst of this group. She was certainly not alone – I also give little credit to conservative Tucker Carlson – but I found her to be the most ineffective and least journalistic of all the voices I summarily dismiss on television news, both cable and network. So, ding dong, and good riddance.
Reid’s departure – using the term in television, not “social justice,” context – is reportedly part of a restructuring at MSNBC led by its new president, Rebecca Kutler, who succeeded Rashida Jones last year. Kutler recognizes MSNBC’s position as an opposition voice to President Donald Trump. The network’s prime-time ratings, which initially dropped between Trump’s election and inauguration, have significantly increased since he took office. Perhaps Kutler has realized, and I emphasize “perhaps” as I don’t have inside information, that more measured voices than Reid’s might be more effective in sustaining these newly high ratings, which some estimate have seen a 77 percent boost.
I am not particularly enthusiastic about the trio the industry predicts will replace Reid at 7 p.m. These are the current hosts of a Sunday program that has built a following, “Weekend”: Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez. Sanders-Townsend gained prominence as the press secretary for Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign. She also worked in the Biden administration and served as an advisor to Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign. She is less abrasive than Reid, but I would not consider her objective. Steele is a former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland who chaired the Republican National Committee in the late 2010s but endorsed Joe Biden for president in 2020. Menendez leans more toward the center than her co-hosts. She is the daughter of former N.J. Senator Robert Menendez, who was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison last month on bribery and other charges, which I must clarify does not discredit Alicia Menendez. I would prefer to see this group in a prime-time setting before offering judgment.
In other MSNBC news, Alex Wagner will no longer occupy the 9 p.m. weekday slot she held while Rachel Maddow takes a break and appears only once a week. Industry buzz suggests Kutler holds former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki in high regard and that Psaki might find herself in one of the more prominent prime-time positions.
On Witless Writing and Memorable Commercials
Mostly due to the Eagles’ dominant performance, Super Bowl LIX remains vivid in my memory even another week later. I also reflect on television’s overall role in delivering the game and the Super Bowl experience to audiences worldwide. With the Oscars broadcast scheduled within two weeks, some elements I observed during the Super Bowl broadcast concern me, primarily regarding writing.
During the Super Bowl, the NFL presented two public service messages, one delivered by Brad Pitt and the other by Tom Cruise. Between the two, Cruise seems to be aging better or had superior makeup. Both messages were terrible, and for the same fundamental reason. Many reasons, in fact, as I can’t distinctly recall what either star was droning on about. It was likely something related to the NFL’s commitment to fairness and community involvement – admirable goals, certainly, if only active language and conversational tone had replaced high-sounding but low-impact platitudes in the delivery.
Tom Cruise in a promotional photo from a 'Mission: Impossible' film, used to illustrate criticism of poor scriptwriting in Super Bowl commercials.
Listening to whatever Pitt or Cruise recited, I questioned throughout both their speeches, “Who writes this garbage?” I have the same thought when I hear presenters at show business awards ceremonies, especially the Oscars, describing the work of nominees in specific categories, be it animation or sound design. The copy, or script, is invariably overwrought and self-important. It feels as though the writers are competing to compose the most elaborate, innocuous, yet irritating prose. The problem is that these category introductions are so uniformly bad that, in the 21st-century spirit, all the writers collectively win the award for crafting the worst material.
I am interested in movies and their production, and I simultaneously laugh and wince at the verbal nonsense presenters are expected to utter. It’s excessively serious, bordering on superficial. They aim for profundity but land on the unintentionally amusing or outright foolish. I keep hoping a star with sufficient influence will look at the drivel on their teleprompter, refuse to read it, and simply move on to the task at hand: announcing nominees and the winner. I am particularly astonished when a pair of presenters, given contrasting dialogue that barely rises above “drivel,” agree to embarrass themselves by proceeding with the awkward bit. Melissa McCarthy often seems to find herself in these kinds of fiascos. I felt sympathetic towards Pitt and Cruise for having to deliver the NFL’s bilge, just as I felt sorry for several presenters at the recent Golden Globes who were handed gibberish to read.
What happened to wit? What happened to simply conversing with an audience instead of lecturing it? What happened to writing that makes sense and generates interest rather than boring or amusing people with supposedly intellectual rambling? As I noted, the Oscars are typically the biggest offenders. This year, that could pose a greater problem than usual, as we might see a return to presenters and recipients indulging the urge to spout political messages. I am already anticipating with trepidation what Jacques Audiard of “Emilia Pérez” might say when he inevitably collects at least one statuette two Sundays from now. I steeled myself throughout the weekend for what Jane Fonda might say while accepting the Screen Actors Guild award for Lifetime Achievement. The deadline arrives before I know if my anxiety was warranted.
Which brings us to commercials. Most of those designed to impress us during Super Bowl LIX either overreached or felt like a decent idea poorly executed, rather than examples of clever, let alone effective, salesmanship. The writers seem afflicted by an epidemic of juvenile thinking that feels funny during conception but utterly fails in reality. That’s why the best commercial shown during the Super Bowl is also the single best commercial currently airing anywhere. It is Volkswagen’s minute-long spot for its ID.Buzz battery-powered minivan.
Disregard the car itself, which is shown driving through various scenic and lively environments. It’s the accompanying song that matters, a lively, spirited performance of a 1930s tune titled “Are You Having Any Fun?” I don’t know about Volkswagen’s sales, but the commercial has earned me some money or, more frequently, a complimentary “Guinness-aged Jameson neat in a tumbler, no ice.” This is achieved by betting people won’t believe me when I tell them the artist singing it: Elaine Stritch.
I am aware she passed away over 10 years ago and was an Irish woman from Detroit, not a Latin firecracker, as her accent in the song might suggest. What? No outcry from fiery activists about “appropriation?” She was also one of the greatest performers of all time. I consider myself fortunate to have seen her perform “Here’s to the Ladies Who Lunch” (Forrest Theatre, 1971) and “I’m Still Here” (“At Liberty” on Broadway, 2002, and in Philly 2003) live. “Are You Having Any Fun?” originates from the 1939 Broadway show “George White’s Scandals.” It was written by Jack Yellin and Sammy Fain, and its original hit recording was by the Tommy Dorsey band with Edythe Wilson on vocals. The version used by Volkswagen is from Stritch’s 1956 album, “Stritch,” now a collector’s item. You can hear the entire song, which never loses its wit or zest, on YouTube, regrettably without a visual of Miss Stritch performing.
More Upheaval in Philadelphia Market Radio
Bex, who hosted the contemporary music show from 3 to 7 p.m. on WIOQ (102.1 FM) for over three years, is among the recent employees laid off by iHeart Radio. She received the news while on maternity leave from the show she co-hosted with her longtime partner, Buster. Bex is also known as Rebekah Maroun, and Buster as Brandon Satterfield. Buster will continue hosting the afternoon drive show solo for the time being.
In other local radio news affecting Delco and the wider Philadelphia market, David Field, who served as president and CEO of Philly-based Audacy for 27 years, resigned from his position. Days later, Rich Schmaeling, Audacy’s chief financial officer, also resigned from the post he had held for a year of his six-year tenure at the broadcast entity formerly known as Entercom. Field is being temporarily replaced by Audacy board member Kelli Turner. Field leaves his position after guiding Audacy through a period of solvency following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year. Notably, one of the investors providing financial support to Audacy is the leftist activist George Soros.
Locally, Audacy owns KYW Newsradio (103.9 FM and 1060 AM), WPHT (The Big Talker, 1210 AM), WIP Sportstalk (94.1 FM), WOGL (98.1 FM), WBEB (101.1 FM), and WTDY (96.5 FM), the station listened to by 80 percent of the Uber drivers who chauffeured me during my recent recovery. Audacy, iHeart, and Beasley account for the majority of ownership or management of local radio stations in the region.
Increasingly, the concern is for the survival of live and local radio. It still exists on some stations, but recent layoffs, such as those affecting Bex and Andre Gardner at WMGK (102.9 FM), clearly demonstrate the attrition. What I am observing is that more and more local stations are airing programs that have been taped in other markets and broadcast here as if they were new and fresh, or that the remaining staff at local stations, like WIOQ and WMGK, are recording pre-packaged programs that can air in other markets. This strategy allows owners, who arguably are looking out for a diminishing bottom line as radio becomes less important as a mass medium, to employ fewer hosts and deejays to provide programming for multiple markets simultaneously.
The fundamental issue with recent layoffs is that they reduce the distinct individual voices heard anywhere. With those voices go unique personalities, the kind that cultivated loyal followings. Bex, for instance, established herself in Philadelphia before moving to and returning from Boston between approximately 2019 and 2021, while Gardner was a beloved fixture for over 20 years at several stations before settling into his ‘MGK role where he continued his popularity. I doubt that unfamiliar, intermittent voices from distant, random markets can impress, build a listenership, or entertain audiences in the same way.
