The Cry of the Loon …(I’ve Got Some Swampland To Sell You)

Ed Schultz is leaving his security blanket. It was announced yesterday that Ed was no longer going to be doing his local “News and Views” show on KFGO and will be taking his national show to the time slot previously held by Jack and Sandy. This caused a stir in the talk radio circles. Callers quickly began voicing their sadness over the axing of Jack and Sandy and also wishing Ed success with his new time slot. Rush Limbaugh and corporate America took most of the heat for the changes being made. The degree of delusion was startling. The following is a hunch on what really took place from someone who learned about the radio business from Ed up close.

The first rule in radio is too look out for yourself which is convenient because it is also the first rule of Ed. Ed is concerned with Ed and Ed only. If you haven’t realized, Ed also has a fairly large ego. Ed’s ego tells him that his national show is his ticket to stardom. Stardom too Ed includes the possibility of a cable TV show. The only way to become a star is to leave your nest and become a success on a national basis. To become a star also takes time and effort and two shows doesn’t leave much time to market his new show. It has become time for him to leave “News and Views” behind and look to the future. This is where the story changes from the version that is being portrayed publicly.

The radio business is ruthless. I liken it to a bunch of hookers. Radio personalities jump from one station to another freely. They will bad mouth another company and three weeks later are working for them. The same thing can happen within one station or stations owned by the same company. Radio personalities act like they all are the best of buddies while behind the scenes jealousies and backstabbings occur all in the name of ratings. Whoever has the top ratings does whatever necessary to stay at the top while the others will do what they have too in order to get to the top. Not every single person is like this but those with an ego as large as Ed’s most certainly are. So here we have Ed, a so called sympathetic democrat, moving to a new time slot that ends up costing two other liberals losing their jobs. How ironic. Does Ed lose anything in this deal? Does it hurt his chances at stardom? Did such a caring Democrat stand up and say no, I can’t leverage my success on the loss of two of my friends’ jobs? No, it is much easier to spin a story of blame on evil management. Would a true Democrat stand on principle and not allow his co-workers to be sacrificed? If you believe all that has transpired was against the will of Ed and that Ed does not benefit in someway from the results then I have some swampland I’d like to sell you. It could take a month or it could take 10 years but if you stand in the way of Ed’s progress your going to be stepped on. Ed wins and others lose, I guess Jack and Sandy learned that lesson.