July 1st, 2010 @ 5:04pm
SALT LAKE CITY -- KSL Newsradio announced Thursday it has ended its relationship with syndicated talk show host Sean Hannity, effective this fall.
The move is intended to make room for more local programming, according to KSL Broadcasting Chief Executive Officer Mark Willes.
He said the company believes its future success depends on creating unique local content.
"We acknowledge the great partnership we've had with Sean Hannity and appreciate his contributions to furthering public dialogue," said Willes. "At the end of the day, we simply feel our future success and competitive advantage reside in creating unique local content, and that is our objective for developing replacement programming."
Hannity has been on KSL Newsradio since October 2001.
The Sean Hannity Show is on the air from 1 to 4 p.m. and will remain on KSL until Oct. 1.
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Those I know who are closer to the situation tell me it has been in the works for a year. It is apparently believed that Sean has become too polarizing in the community, and they want to replace his radio show with programming that will be more conciliatory and positive.
Honestly, I can't blame the owners (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Sean has become so shrill and critical (yes, it's richly deserved) of President Obama that I can't tune in very often anymore. I could say the same for Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
A little bit of that stuff goes a very long way today. Obama is a radical, Obama has radical friends and associates, Obama is bankrupting America, Obama is taking the country down the path to socialism, Obama is a progressive, Obama is a Marxist, Obama is the worst president in the history of the world. Sean Hannity absolutely nailed it on the head in the election campaign season of 2008. His dire warnings about what would happen if Obama were elected have absolutely come true.
Okay, Sean, I heard you the first time, and I get it, and I hope and pray the American public will strip him of his filibuster-proof Senate majority and his simple majority in the House. I don't have to be shouted at every day on the air waves to get the point.
I get it. I heard you the first time, Sean, and I love you brother. . . but. . .
Apparently, the owners and operators of KSL Newsradio have had enough too. I for one will be looking forward to whatever replacement programming comes next. Will it shut down Sean's voice? No, he'll just move to another channel in the local market and Sean Hannity fans will not be disappointed or disenfranchised in the least. You can find Rush and Glenn too. Order Sean's latest book from Amazon (click on the link and be happy). No problem.
But you can't be the true and living church advocating peace, civility, love and brotherhood, and continue to promote that type of vitriol day in and day out with impunity no matter how popular it may be with the predominantly conservative talk radio market crowd here in Salt Lake.
Score another victory for the living prophets among us who lead the way.
"But you can't be the true and living church advocating peace, civility, love and brotherhood, and continue to promote that type of vitriol day in and day out with impunity"
ReplyDeleteYes, the key word is civility. Next to our educational system, he and his peers in the industry, including Olbermann, Maddow, and Matthews, are perhaps most to blame for the irrationality and immaturity of public discourse today. Rudeness, intolerance, and in the case of Beck, sophmoric behavior prevail. They thrive on the spirit of contention. I think that you'll find at the root of it the love of money, not love of country. I wouldn't be surprised if Limbaugh is really a lefty.
That would be something if KSL could find or create an intelligent program where issues and opposing views could be addressed analytically. A show that would focus on coming to a consensus on what we should do rather than just cursing the darkness. Good luck. Would anyone listen? Note to KSL: it ain't the Nightside Project.
Your post begs the logical question "How can they justify airing NBC's content?"