Radio Equalizer: Brian Maloney
04 December 2007
CNN Anchor Latest To Try Talk Radio

ANOTHER ONE JUMPS IN

Lou Dobbs Plans "Moderate" Show, Will Challenge Hannity

Joining the ranks of so many other actors, anchors, pundits and assorted n'er-do-wells who have tried and subsequently failed in talk radio, CNN anchor Lou Dobbs today announced he will take a stab at national syndication.

And rather than find a nice, quiet timeslot to slip into, Dobbs is set to directly challenge Sean Hannity in afternoon drive! How big does one's ego need to be to believe that could be viable?

Even more baffling: Dobbs somehow believes there's a untapped market for "moderate" talk radio out there.

Go ahead Lou, stand in the middle of the road and see how that works out.

From today's press release:

ou Dobbs to Launch National Radio Talk Show in Partnership With United Stations Radio Networks, Inc.


Prominent CNN Anchor and Best-Selling Author to Hit the Afternoon Airwaves

Each Weekday Beginning March, 2008

The Lou Dobbs Show Will Occupy Gap Between Conservative and Liberal Talk Radio


NEW YORK, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning broadcast journalist and author Lou Dobbs announced today that he will be bringing his influential and popular point of view to a coast-to-coast radio audience with a new daily Talk Show.

The show, tentatively titled "The Lou Dobbs Show," will be produced, distributed to affiliates and sold to advertisers by United Stations Radio Networks, Inc. ("USRN"), a privately-held radio programming company based in New York. Dobbs, who is best known as the anchor of the nightly "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on CNN, has become an ideological flashpoint himself in recent years and is certain to bring his insightful journalism along with his provocative views to this new daily program. Lou Dobbs and United Stations Chairman/CEO Nicholas J. Verbitsky made this announcement today in New York City.

"Lou Dobbs brings a true independent voice to Talk Radio, occupying the vital middle ground between the conservative and liberal voices that dominate much of the segment today, particularly as we move toward a critical election for our country," said Verbitsky. "At the same time, this announcement demonstrates the growing importance of the Talk Radio segment to the industry today, both on AM and increasingly on FM. We look forward to stirring up the competitive mix in Talk Radio."

Commenting on the announcement, Dobbs remarked, "The political climate is rapidly changing. Independents are registering at an unprecedented rate and will determine the outcome of the 2008 election. I'm excited to be adding my voice to the talk show arena and have an opportunity, along with my listeners, to help enrich our national dialogue."

United Stations, an independent leader in network radio programming, will collaborate with Lou Dobbs to create the daily content for this new Talk Radio series. The program is slated to begin daily broadcasts on March 3, 2008 and will be fed to affiliates live-via-satellite each weekday (Monday through Friday) from 3 - 6 pm Eastern Time. The format of the program is still in development, but both newsmaker guests and caller interaction are expected to be important components of the program along with stories brought to the forefront by Dobbs.


Your Radio Equalizer isn't doubting the clear fact that Dobbs has a lot of television fans, but he's won them over mostly by taking conservative views on issues such as illegal immigration. Until he repositioned himself that way, Lou had never seemingly gained much traction with the audience.

More important is that Lou's move means the celeb crowd still hasn't learned from the failure of so many talk radio novices. Let's call it Whoopi Syndrome.

Just what does it take to put together a three- hour daily talk show, especially on top of his current workload? Where are the available stations ready to carry this new program? Why would anyone cancel Sean Hannity for Lou Dobbs?

This is truly a half- baked plan, good luck guys!

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The new radio show is being classified as "moderate"; this bothers me a little because Lou has never been 'moderate' about his anti-illegal immigration stance. I hope his conservatismm is not going to be diluted to appeal to both sides of the aisle.

We can assume Lou won't be running for President!