by Matt Rowan
WBEZ Chicago will soon be broadcasting edited down versions of the very popular WTF Podcast by Marc Maron. If you've never had the chance to check out WTF with Marc Maron the run down of the show is Maron talking to himself for around fifteen minutes to a half hour until he ?brings out? his guest in which he talks to any sort of celebrity (mostly stand up comedians) and interviews his guest. The interviews are generally well intended with some notable exceptions (Gallagher). Interviewees can expect questions ranging from their thoughts on comedy to their political feelings. Shows are generally an hour or more, and will almost always include Maron complaining about his family and life as a comic.
The only worry that comes up when thinking of Marc Maron on WBEZ is that in listening to both, Maron's show does not seem like it is a good match for a very well known, family friendly, middle of the road NPR powerhouse that is WBEZ Chicago. WTF is in essence a long form chat show that is VERY vulgar. Nothing much is off limits for Maron and guest when talking openly about any and all topics of conversation, generally it's line of sex, drugs and comedy. Previously doing a radio show on Air America, Maron is no stranger to broadcast standard, the confusing part is how they are ever going to edit the show to FCC standard and keep the content the same.
Another worry about the change over from internet to NPR for Maron's show is that the WTF podcast is in a word pedantic, it rambles, wanders, and generally has an undecided path at the outset of every show, this isn't so much an issue in creation but in editing. It is well known that NPR programming can be niche, inside, and even at times strange, but something that unifies the programming on WBEZ is that it is full of content. Maron's show just isn't full of content, and maybe that's a sign of the times, but the one thing that broadcast radio that it is great at pushing content.
The silver lining in this news is that it brings new hope to the scores of people who are diligently pushing to make a name in the world of personality ?broadcast? with a podcast of their own. If public broadcast stations around the country follow suit then this could be a great way for smaller shows to finally get some notoriety and open up a new revenue stream while reaching people who would have never gone out of their way to listen to podcasts or internet radio.
So it would seem that the WTF Podcast is the very first toe dip in the water for cross promotion from a show created on the internet and moving it into terrestrial radio. It will be important to watch to see what happens in this first real test of podcast viability outside of internet play. If this is successful this could be the start of a period of ?Freelance? radio performer, but only time will tell.
Matt Rowan is a Blogger for Radio Ink from Chicago. You can reach him via e-mail at matt.e.rowan@gmail.com or check him out at his website www.MattRowan.com
Add a Comment Send This Story To A Friend
