On 26 Dec 2003 14:53:39 GMT, Ron Hardin
wrote:

What's with the wall-to-wall AM band Christmas music? I don't know if
it's particularly bad this year and I never noticed, or if it's that
Big Radio owns everything and is saving on staffing this year (are they
thinking nobody is listening so they might as well force the issue?).

It's a combination of those factors.

* Christmas Day is a very, very, very low listening day for AM
news/talk stations. When you're out with the family, exchanging
presents, doing all those Christmas things...listening to
issue-oriented talk is perhaps the last thing you want to do. I'm a
news/talk junkie, and even *I* am not really "in the mood" for it on
Christmas Day. There's not usually a lot going on in the world aside
from Christmas-related "news", so it's almost not worth bothering.

* Most stations give their full-time/regular staff Christmas Day off.
That leaves either automation or board ops as the only people working.
And as you noted, even Rush strayed from format on that day, with a
probably pre-recorded Christmas Music show for whatever stations were
not preempting him with something else.

* There are many syndicated packages and shows aimed at news/talk
stations who are providing the non-traditional programing. I know of
at least two "Christmas music syndicators" which air a satellite feed
of Christmas music for news/talk stations, from early evening
Christmas Eve through late night Christmas Day. The traditional radio
networks offer things, too...like ABC's Disney Christmas 3 hour
special (almost an in-house production for the Mouse House .

I did hear some "regular" talk Christmas Eve night...syndicated Rollye
James was live on Wednesday night (heard locally on CC's WHLO/640
Akron). And I'm pretty sure "Coast to Coast AM" ran a regular George
Noory show, though it was likely a best of.

Mike