The stories Toledo media personalities used to tell about their viewers and listeners are becoming their own.
Amid industry cutbacks, familiar faces and voices are disappearing from the airwaves.
“I think it’s the toughest downturn that’s happened in modern television, modern broadcasting, modern media, for that matter,” said Jim Blue, former primary anchor at WNWO-TV NBC 24 and Toledo Free Press contributor. Blue was one of the first visible casualties at the station when his contract was not renewed in 2008.
Later the same year, when interviewing for her position, former sports and news reporter Rebecca Solomon said she was told there had been 20 layoffs at the station in April.
This story does a great job of explaining what is happening in the broadcasting industry. So why did I post a story from Toledo on a blog read mostly by Topeka area residents?
Simple. People here want to blame local management for what has happened to people like me. But in my case, the blame goes to Atlanta, where corporate suits, who have never met me, are the ones who decided my fate.
And, I could take the blame a step further, to Washington, DC. They are the ones who changed the ownership laws so the majority of radio and tv stations are now owned by only a few huge companies.
So, how does local talk radio survive in this current climate? Stay tuned to your local Internet computer. News is coming soon.
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