A Hero In Your Own Mind

From time to time I have noticed that radio personalities start to believe their own hype a bit too much. This usually happens when they become the central figure in the morning show.

I noticed this when Hal Anderson moved from Power 97 in Winnipeg to CJOB. The morning show was left to Wheeler as the star. He became preachy at times and can be quite arrogant. He ruined a great bit and turned it into just another thing that has to be done. I remember the moment it changed. It's too bad, when Hal was there it was an engaging bit with real conversation. Now it is just a syndicated personality going through a script.

This situation has appeared in my life again.

Since moving to Ottawa I have started listening to Virgin 106.9. It plays similar music to Power 97 in Ottawa. As far as I can tell the station was rebranded Virgin about 2 years ago. Before that is was known as The Bear. I don't know all the details as it was not part of my life before two months ago.

So many of the listeners want the station to go back to The Bear. Gonzo, the central character of the morning show was apparently told by the station management to stop discussing it on the air. He did not and has apparently quit over this.

Now this may all be a hoax, the station may be going back to being The Bear, or this may be real. In any case, Gonzo is a little full of himself in any case. If someone thinks that they matter so much that quitting their radio job will make a difference then they are sadly mis-informed. If they think this hoax will drive up ratings, again they are sadly mistaken.

People listen to radio that plays music for the music. I don't listen to country or hip hop stations no matter how good the personalities are. People don't go out of their way to listen to music radio. This whole thing is just foolish.

I really only chose this station because ether play a lot of music I enjoy. I don't care what it's called or who is talking between songs. In fact all radio would be better if they had more rock and less talk. However, from time to time radio personalities start to believe their own hype a bit too much.