09-17-2008, 07:22 PM
I've been wondering about this for a while, so I might as well toss it out for discussion.
As the story has been told many times, when FBHW first got started on WGRD in Grand Rapids four or so years ago, it was a local-only-to-Grand Rapids show that had a syndication agreement with the show's previous station in New Jersey, and of course, it has grown considerably from there.
It's been my observation that the show seems to purposely avoid local content in the national (syndicated) portion. Is this done on purpose? If so, is it because of some part of the affiliate agreement, or just because the show doesn't think that local content will play out nationally?
For example, once in a while somebody will call into the Stump The Show segment with a question like, "How far from the I-96/US131 interchange is Kalamazoo," which is something that only makes the slightest bit of sense in west Michigan, and is a stupid question there anyway. FB, HW, and Zane usually cut the caller off, make a quick mocking comment about their stupidity, and then go on. It gives the impression, perhaps unintentionally, that they don't *want* any mention of their local/regional basis in the national segment.
I can see the merit in this, insofar as somebody in South Carolina or New Hampshire won't care much about what's going on in some other state.
On the other hand, though, west Michigan -- and Grand Rapids in particular -- is often a very amusing and curious place. Garrison Keillor has made a career out of Lake Wobegon, which though fictional, is mostly a playing up of the regional curiosities of rural Minnesota. Certainly to some extent, there are amusing, funny, and stupid things in Grand Rapids that would play well nationally.
The show has done some of these -- 'weiner poopy' is an obvious example -- but I'm curious whether anybody else has noticed that at many other times, the show shies away from mentioning where it's based out of.
I assume that this isn't a lack of pride on the part of the show; they said in a Grand Haven (Mich.) Tribune article that they were proud of Grand Rapids and wanted to make that known, and have said on numerous occasions that coming back to Michigan was something that they all wanted to do.
Am I wrong about downplaying Michigan content in the national/syndicated segments? If not, what's the back story?
As the story has been told many times, when FBHW first got started on WGRD in Grand Rapids four or so years ago, it was a local-only-to-Grand Rapids show that had a syndication agreement with the show's previous station in New Jersey, and of course, it has grown considerably from there.
It's been my observation that the show seems to purposely avoid local content in the national (syndicated) portion. Is this done on purpose? If so, is it because of some part of the affiliate agreement, or just because the show doesn't think that local content will play out nationally?
For example, once in a while somebody will call into the Stump The Show segment with a question like, "How far from the I-96/US131 interchange is Kalamazoo," which is something that only makes the slightest bit of sense in west Michigan, and is a stupid question there anyway. FB, HW, and Zane usually cut the caller off, make a quick mocking comment about their stupidity, and then go on. It gives the impression, perhaps unintentionally, that they don't *want* any mention of their local/regional basis in the national segment.
I can see the merit in this, insofar as somebody in South Carolina or New Hampshire won't care much about what's going on in some other state.
On the other hand, though, west Michigan -- and Grand Rapids in particular -- is often a very amusing and curious place. Garrison Keillor has made a career out of Lake Wobegon, which though fictional, is mostly a playing up of the regional curiosities of rural Minnesota. Certainly to some extent, there are amusing, funny, and stupid things in Grand Rapids that would play well nationally.
The show has done some of these -- 'weiner poopy' is an obvious example -- but I'm curious whether anybody else has noticed that at many other times, the show shies away from mentioning where it's based out of.
I assume that this isn't a lack of pride on the part of the show; they said in a Grand Haven (Mich.) Tribune article that they were proud of Grand Rapids and wanted to make that known, and have said on numerous occasions that coming back to Michigan was something that they all wanted to do.
Am I wrong about downplaying Michigan content in the national/syndicated segments? If not, what's the back story?
