WAOK Programming Issues

By:  B.J.

Posted:  July 8, 2005

WAOK could be a tremendous asset for the black community, but I honestly have to question if it really wants to be. Those who follow this station should be ashamed of themselves if they support the message that is currently presented throughout the piss-poor programs on that station at this time. I can only hope that the new program director, Reggie Rouse, is going to address the problems with this station. It's amazing that this station is allowed to get away with calling itself "the voice of the community", when it's obvious that it's ONLY the voice of either the Liberal establishment, Democratic plantation, or the obsolete NAACP.  In 2005 black Americans are freer, more educated, and more affluent than ever, and we know that this liberal, socialist garbage just doesn't wash.  Some of us can think for ourselves, and we should be represented on radio as well. WAOK programming currently doesn't represent this type of black person.  If they were to add our program to their lineup, then we would finally be represented.  We could at least get SOMEONE to advertise on that station for crying out loud!  Haven't you noticed that 90% of their breaks are filled with promos and PSAs?  There's a reason for that--THEY CAN'T GET ANYONE TO ADVERTISE!!!  That's a testament to the quality (or lack thereof) of the programming on that station.  Let me now offer brief descriptions of the problems with each current program on that station:

Crosstalk (Jean Ross) (6 AM – 10 AM) – This is the worst talk show (by far) I have EVER heard on radio--and I've listened to talk radio shows all over the country.  For a morning show (especially), she has NO energy in her delivery, her content is lousy, and she is horribly misinformed.  This is a very sad commentary for someone who also has the title of News Director.  What's even more amazing is that she has the nerve to call her show Crosstalk, however, she REFUSES to dialogue with a caller that disagrees with her “plantation" position. She would rather hang up, and then ask the hung-up caller questions that they can no longer answer because they are hung up on. That's not a "cross" talk--that's just “talk”--all by the host. She has NO problem letting the same whining callers bitch, gripe, and moan (from the same "slot" mind you) about issues for several minutes at a time, however, anyone who has even a slight disagreement with her position has only precious seconds to comment. Since she can't refute any logical position, she simply hangs up. She runs from the "truth" because she can't handle the truth. It goes against the "plantation" rhetoric, and she doesn't even have the courage to engage in dialogue. She also doesn't have the talent to handle the duties of a talk show host. She has no personality at all, nor does her show have any entertainment value. This is the first show that should be eliminated from the programming lineup if WAOK is serious about addressing the obvious programming issues.

Jay McLaughlin Show (10 AM – 12 PM) – This show, although not a great show, may actually have a place on WAOK, but not during the 10 o'clock hour. This show is too "alternative" (being as nice as possible), and should be insulting to "real" men. He is far too "soft" to be the "voice" of the black MAN regarding issues. Real black men reject this soft effeminate image of a black man also. This assessment has nothing to do with sexual orientation--this has all to do with general masculinity. Men aren't interested in a litany of gay issues, or "church choir" issues, if you will. We are interested in women, sports, financial matters, and current events. Yes, I know that we are talking about Atlanta, and with its large black homosexual male population there is a place for the type of show Jay has, however, 10 o'clock is not the time slot. This is the time slot for BUSINESS people, and generally speaking (minus exceptions, of course) gay folks aren't too privy on business matters. This show would work best in the evening hours--prior to "clubbin" time. It could also work well on Sunday mornings, because the choir members (most of which are gay) will be getting ready for church. It would actually be a very effective show in the previously mentioned time slots due to the large black gay population in metro Atlanta. However, productive men who are providers for their wives and children, are not too thrilled about listening to issues discussed from a soft, feminine male perspective. True enough, gay blacks might be interested, however, they aren't listening from 10-12 during the week.

Rob Wilson's Show (12 PM – 3 PM) – has a place, but again, it’s in the wrong time slot. This would be a great opportunity to put a very intelligent show (like my show, no doubt) to go against Rush Limbaugh. There isn't a better opportunity to launch a "black Rush" alternative than the 12-3 slot. Rob's show is more of a specialty show that should be given specialty status (i.e., weekend programming). If he can handle current events and general issues, he would be a much better fit in the 10 o'clock slot. The 12-3 slot should be the most intellectually stimulating conversation that could be found on WAOK.

PowerTalk (Dr. Lorraine White) (3 PM – 6 PM) – by far the current best program on WAOK, however, that's not saying much at the moment. True enough, Dr. White has the personality, entertainment value, and energy to facilitate a quality talk show, however her content is totally non-existent. I also believe that she intentionally "dumbs down" her commentary in order to cater to the assumed audience of WAOK. I honestly believe (I have to, since she’s a minister) that she is smarter than she displays in her discourse, and especially since she is a minister, she should know FULL WELL the true source of the vast majority of the problems within the black community. However, she continues to toe the liberal, Democratic Plantation line while allowing only minimal logical commentary to be expressed on her show. She does have a little more patience with disagreeable callers than Jean Ross; however, she doesn't offer the same amount of time to those that disagree with her position than those that do agree. The lack of true intelligent dialogue on PowerTalk really eats away at the quality of the program.  I believe that if Dr. White was able to "spread her wings" and fly, she could be a very good host. She needs to improve her content, discuss more relevant issues, and welcome intelligent dialogue to her show, and it would be a much more effective talk radio program. I think Dr. White is a very nice person, and you can feel her smile over the airwaves, but some of the comments heard on that show couldn't be rooted any deeper in stupidity. Simple fixes could do her show very well.

The current 6 o'clock show should be reserved for the current sports show. From what I hear, their sports show is the best show on WAOK, and if it is, then it should air BEFORE the sporting events actually take place (not WHEN the sporting events are on live), so WAOK needs to dump the current 6 o'clock show, replace it with the sports show, and find appropriate programming for the 8 o'clock show.

The Bev Smith Show (10 PM – 1 AM) – also another terrible, outdated, "civil rights struggle" show that should be eliminated.  There is NOTHING of current relevance discussed on this show, and her show does nothing but promote the very division these "types" claim to be against.  In 2005, race relations (although not perfect) are really not THAT bad, however after hearing the content of The Bev Smith Show, you would swear it was still 1955.  Maybe the Jay McLaughlin show (with all those gay related issues) would work well in this time slot.

I don't know who truly makes the programming assessments or decisions, but they obviously aren't aware of what it really takes to make a GOOD radio program. For example, a "church choir" that sings to the same tune of stupidity is not good radio.  However, intelligent dialogue IS good radio—especially if there’s contrasting views expressed.  It's okay for black people to be intelligent--even if some blacks don't understand intelligent thoughts. They will begin to understand if they are exposed more and more to intelligent dialogue, however. If they are already ignorant, then exposing them to more ignorance does NOTHING to empower them at all.  If WAOK is serious about getting some advertising revenue and truly uplifting the black community, then they need to expose the listening public to INTELLIGENT discussion. The same old "blame whitey for everything" rhetoric is NOT intelligent discussion. The obsolete NAACP doctrine is not intellectually stimulating, nor will it generate ANY new advertising revenue. If Infinity Broadcasting (the owners of WAOK, and V-103, respectfully) is only concerned with V-103, then they need to sell that station to someone who is actually interested with bringing WAOK up to speed.