Friday, July 2, 2010
Media Matters: Sean Hannity Canceled by KSL Radio
Posted By Josh Loftin on July 2, 2010, 10:39 AM
Sean Hannity fails to spread the light, so KSL Radio sends his syndicated show to pasture.---
The extremely popular talk-show host will reportedly end his run on KSL 1160 (and also, somewhere on FM) Oct. 1 in a continued shake-up of Mormon-owned media companies. This move, insiders are telling the Trib's Glen Warchol, has everything to do with Hannity's lack of civility on the air.
That civility runs counter to the revised mission statement for Deseret Media Companies, which focuses on "spreading light." And it's apparently a mission statement that Mark Willes, the overlord of all of the Mormon media properties, is taking very seriously.
There are other moves that can be attributed to this mission statement, such as the firing of Jeff Bell from his one-hour Saturday slot on KSL Radio and the beat changes at the D-News. (For anyone curious about what it looks like when the Mormon media starts spreading their light, read the new D-News blog, The Big Lever. As for the title, it comes from a quote from some dead philosopher, which is a great premise for a blog. Also, it's always advisable to choose a name that is so easily mockable that it overloads my smart-ass circuitry.)
Getting rid of Hannity, however, shows that Willes has guts, even if he seems to lack brains. After all, Hannity is easily one of the most popular people among conservative Utahns, who make up the core of KSL Radio's audience. Now, Hannity's show will almost surely jump to another station—likely KNRS 105.7, which already has Glenn Beck and has a scheduling hole thanks to the now prescient firing of Bob Lonsberry. If I were a betting man (and I am), I would put money on KSL Radio hiring a local afternoon host who complements Doug Wright and, more importantly, will embrace the new mission statement (hello, Enid Greene?).
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