700 WLW host Bill Cunningham took home the top spot in the Barrett News Media Top 20 Mid-Market Midday Shows rankings again. It marked the third consecutive year he took home the award.
What makes Cunningham so dominant in the rankings? In addition to being plugged into the local audience like no one else in Cincinnati, he’s a fine interviewer.
On Monday, Bill Cunningham welcomed Barrett Media President Jason Barrett to his program to discuss hot-button topics in the talk radio space, and Barrett’s column centered on the three major issues facing the industry.
Dubbed as “The Great American,” Cunningham has been known to ask tough questions of political leaders at the city, state, and national levels.
So what did his questions to Barrett entail? First of all, he began by telling an anecdote about his career. When he first joined 700 WLW, Bill Cunningham shared that he was told to avoid politics, sex, and anything else that might cause any potential issues for the station and company. He then compared the “eras” he’s hosted under, before noting that today’s digital and podcasting era is wildly different than others.
“What do you see — from afar — as some of the big problems in talk radio, if any?”
It’s a good first question. Now, it would be easy to knock the Cincinnati host for taking nearly two minutes to get to his first question. But I think, in this case, I’ll give him a pass. Listeners tune into Bill Cunningham because he’s an established voice in the market who holds high credibility. And part of that credibility comes from knowing his stuff. A good storyteller, I think he spent about 90 seconds telling a story that led to a question, instead of asking a two-minute question. There’s a finite distinction there, but one that I think is important to point out.
The conversation continued by Cunningham sharing his thoughts on what the future of talk radio looks like, while also opining that the future looks bleak in some aspects due to the lack of proving grounds available to up-and-coming talent. During this portion of the interview, however, he made one of the deadly sins of interviewing: he didn’t ask a question. He made a statement with the expectation of the guest to react to his opinion.
And truth be told, I think that is the most forgivable of the deadly sins of interviewing. I always think the best version of talk radio feels like eavesdropping on a conversation. And when in a normal back-and-forth discussion, you’re not always dependent on a question to move the conversation along.
Ultimately, in the nearly 19-minute-long conversation, the 700 WLW host only asked one real question, the one showcased above.
Last week, I was somewhat critical of an interview on KMOX for failing to ask questions, instead opting for what I dubbed the “Talk About Trap.” Now, Bill Cunningham didn’t fall into that trap during this conversation, but he did fail to ask questions. Which goes against what great interviewers do.
But I think there’s room for what took place in this segment, too. This was as much a conversation as it was an interview. Just because there’s a guest on your show doesn’t mean it has to be an interview. And that’s something I need to remember just as much as a host needs to keep in mind.
Bill Cunningham grew to his stature in this business by being able to master several different things. And while he didn’t show off his interview chops in this particular instance, I think the segment shows why he’s still at the top of his game at 77. Did his audience have a vested interest in the inner workings of the talk radio industry? Probably not. But for nearly 20 minutes, he told great stories, showcased expert opinions, and entertained. That, to me, is how he took home the top spot in his category.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
When he’s on—
Bill Cunningham is seamlessly educating, exaggerating, enlightening, enraging, embellishing, explaining, and entertaining.
Whether its a jury of twelve or an audience thousands…
If an answer needs be heard…
He’ll ask a question.