They say you'd better listen to the voice of reason

I'm not sure what the heck is happening at KSTP, but the transformation has been rapid, ruthless and ultimately pointless. My friend Brad Carlson, who keeps a close watch on these things, has the scoop. Essentially in the past fortnight, the station has cashiered longtime host Dave Thompson and now mid-morning man Bob Davis. This follows the earlier sackings of Tommy Mischke and Willie Clark.

The moves have left KSTP as a station without much of an identity. The firing of Clark didn't matter that much, as he was probably the least interesting person on KSTP's air, with a mildly creepy on-air persona that didn't really appeal to anyone. Mischke, who has since landed an internet radio gig with City Pages, is sui generis. It's difficult to explain what Mischke does without listening to him, but I've always thought of him as the radio talk show host equivalent of Neil Young, in other words a true eccentric who is touched with genius and sometimes just touched. He is an acquired taste and I'm glad he's found the new gig, but I'll admit that I haven't gotten around to listening to him again.

Thompson and Davis, the most recent castoffs, are another matter. Thompson is an attorney by trade and his show was always logical, forthright and he was always willing to air views that were contrary to his own. KSTP never left him in a time slot long enough to find an audience; lately he'd moved to Mischke's old 12-2 slot but he was probably better suited for the early evening slot he'd held before the move. The problem Thompson had was that the Twins broadcasts would often pre-empt his show and he ended up doing sports as much as political talk. He was capable of doing sports, but it really wasn't his thing. Since Thompson has always had a law practice, he's not facing any financial ramifications from leaving the air and, in a very intriguing development, it appears that he will be running for the position of chairman for the Minnesota GOP. That's worth another post and I'll get to that soon.

Davis got his walking papers yesterday and the move is pretty inexplicable. He is a very smart, very funny guy and probably the best devil's advocate I've ever heard. He can argue for or against any position at any time and wouldn't hesitate to switch sides in the middle of an argument just to throw someone off. He also has an otherworldly cackle of a laugh that drove more than a few people nuts, including me sometimes. He started out at KSTP as the late night guy and that was probably the best slot for him, but he did a surprisingly good job in the morning drive slot until he got moved to mid-mornings when the station brought in Clark a few years back. I haven't heard Davis that much since he moved to the mid-morning slot, but the last time I had a chance to listen he was still highly entertaining. I suspect he'll land somewhere soon, but it may not be in the Twin Cities.

What's left at KSTP? Well, the venerable Joe Soucheray remains at the helm during afternoon drive time, doing essentially the same show he's done for 20 years now. While he's usually funny in a curmudgeonly sort of way, his shtick is starting show signs of wear and tear. Meanwhile, longtime Star Tribune sportswriter Pat Reusse, who has done regular spots on KSTP (mostly with Soucheray) for years, has now taken over the morning drive slot. Reusse is an excellent storyteller and raconteur, but his dim leftist politics are too much a part of things. He's managed to give just about every DFL hack in the legislature 5-7 sympathetic minutes since he's taken over the slot. Frankly, these people have never been lacking for a platform and I really don't care what Michael Paymar or Carlos Mariani thinks about the issues of the day. Dave Thompson is a political guy who is able to do sports, but Reusse, like way too many other sports guys, doesn't do politics well. Meanwhile, KSTP has also been using WCCO castoff Al Malmberg pretty regularly in the 8-10 p.m. time slot. Malmberg is an old pro but his homespun act made a lot more sense on WCCO.

What's left -- a station without much of an identity. I'd follow the matter more closely, but it's getting to the point now where KSTP is not worth the bother. As Elvis Costello so memorably put it, the radio is in the hands of such a lot fools trying to anesthetize the way that you feel.