One thing about talk radio that can’t be controlled is the news cycle. The sports talk world could not control the way COVID-19 stopped all sports for months. And of course the news talk world can’t control its news cycle either.
So when you get a hot cycle, ride it. And that’s what news talk continues to get.
In many ways, this feels like the grand finale, but in some ways, this feels like just the start of something even bigger.
This week alone has included the balance of the U.S. Senate hanging in Georgia, several U.S. Senators objecting to the Electoral College votes, the President giving multiple national speeches that lasted over an hour, plus the protests on and in the U.S. Capitol that went through the day on Wednesday.
Of course, with what took place Wednesday at the Capitol, preaching peace and order is priority No. 1 for any responsible host. Regardless of political stripes or opinion on the outcome of the election, what took place on Wednesday was an embarrassment for the greatest country in the world. Talk show hosts will need to navigate a very tense and emotional few days moving forward.
But as I look to the start of the New Year and where the news cycle has been, in Kansas City, we’ve been fortunate to be able to localize the Electoral College objection as two of our senators, Josh Hawley in Missouri and Roger Marshall in Kansas, were on the list of 12 senators who would be objecting to the Electoral College vote. Also, Kansas GOP chairman Mike Kuckelman was going door-to-door in Georgia for the Senate run offs, so we were able to do check-ins with him as a local voice. We also carried the President’s entire speech uninterrupted from Washington D.C. on Wednesday. Regardless of one’s opinion on this, it was the biggest news item of the moment and KCMO Talk Radio was the only station in town to carry it.
Is this the last hurrah of what has been an incredible news cycle dating back to Donald Trump coming down the escalator and running for President in 2015? Or is it “just the start” as the President said towards the end of his speech on Wednesday?
For news talk, it feels like a little bit of both.
In the short-term, things will quiet down. Heck, they have to based on where the news cycle has been the last few months. Joe Biden will be President, news talk can play the dissenting voice which it has always been good at, but without the lightning rod that is Donald Trump, the news cycle can’t possibly move any faster.
In the long-term, the fracture within the Republican Party is something that might be around for a while. We saw it building in recent months and weeks, but it’s arguably the biggest thing to keep a close eye on as we move into 2021. And in many ways, talk radio will be Ground Zero for this debate to take place. Sure, there are different media outlets that will take different angles to the future of conservatism, and social will be buzzing, but still, talk radio reaches millions of Americans every week and creates important and unique dialogue that no other medium duplicates. 2020 was some ride for news talk and while 2021 might slow down some, it may not be as much as we all originally thought and expected.
Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the morning show host and program director for KCMO in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. Pete was also the sports and news director for Omni Media Group at K-1O1/Z-92 in Woodward, Oklahoma. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on Twitter @PeteMundo.
