Hotcha!

Last weekend I asked if something was up with WREC AM600's Saturday afternoon lineup. Today we have the answer. Jim Montgomery's Computer Connection now runs at 10AM. At noon we now have Andrew L. Clark, Sr. Yeah! Clark has been doing a Sunday afternoon show that gets good marks, but low listenership because of the day. He's now been expanded after listener request.

I really like Clark. Unlike Mike Phlegming, who is shallow, hysterical and absolutist, Clark is thoughtful and respectful. By virtue of his weekend show, he can allow his callers time to make their points; he has time to question them. Mike's show is crammed full of station promos and ads, so he's constantly doing slice'n'dice to callers to hustle them along. Not to mention that Mike is seemingly incapable of making a point succintly and clearly. His writer's roots always trip him up. He gets lost in sentences, searching for a word or following a thought down a rabbit hole; he trails off, then jerks awkwardly to a similar thought or inadequate word to finish up. He doesn't have time to go back and restate himself. For some reason, though, every break he summarises his point for folks just tuning in. (Or he thinks he has to?)

Sorry for the digression.... Anyway, Clark's first show wasn't auspicious. He wandered into a long discussion about Catholicism and its role in American politics, then was forced to defend against charges of anti-Catholic bias. Still, it was refreshing to hear actual back-and-forth on local WREC programming.

Following that was the return (revival?) of "The Weekend." This is Clear Channel's nationwide call-in show, where a CC jock takes it national for two hours. Every week, different host. I like this, as we get to hear folks who might otherwise stay unknown. It's how I discovered Jane Norris from Virginia; she's a great host. One can hope she'll come back in the rotation this time.

And speaking of the 800 lb. napalm gorilla, Fleming has done a turn or two on this program. It was fascinating. He deliberately lower his tonal range and spoke more slowly than he does here. Still the same doof, but apparently he's heard about his voice.