My addiction to talk radio started with listening to the great Bob Grant on WABC in New York City…read more From Grant to Lynn Samuels, I loved the medium and recognized it as critical to local discussion. Social media has replaced it to a degree I suppose, but I still think it plays an important role in our public discourse.
It appears some other reviewers have slammed this station primarily because of their political views, so I will try to balance the scales with a fair review.
Talk 1300 is a small city radio station that has a mix of local talk, showcases local business and features some syndicated hosts. The morning drive host (and part owner), Paul Vandenburgh, is entertaining and brings passion and pointed opinion. Love him or hate him, he generally keeps listeners engaged with hot topics of the day. And while Vandenburgh is not quite as cranky as Bob Grant was, I would like to hear him shout at a caller, "Get off my phone!!"
The State Capital show with Fred Dicker is always enlightening and features a fair number of high profile guests to discuss state and national politics.
Some of the local guests are especially insightful, e.g., Sal Ferlazzo, Steve Coffey, Socha, Marini...
There is a small stable of regular callers who can be entertaining. M.A., Tony from Burnt Hills, Tom and a few more. Although, I wish they spent more time on callers. That is the magic and color of local radio.
On the CON side...
Some of the other local hosts can be predictable, and quite honestly, don't delve much deeper than bumper sticker level discussion.
The local "news" appears to be a regurgitation of headlines from local papers - there is no real news gathering. Whenever Paul asks the News Director a question about a current topic, he will stammer and add little to the discussion... often just repeating the same scripted lines he just read.
Some of the regular guests can be a bore. For example, the guy from the local bank who is always stiffly plugging mortgage rates and branches in Florida. Yawn. I change the station.
Overall, Talk 1300 does a good job doing what it is supposed to do: aggressively discuss local issues and wave the pom poms for local businesses.
