News Talk 1110 WBT 99.3 FM

I love listening to this station everyday to get my news or traffic reports every 15 minutes. They do a great job covering Panthers football games too.

This station signed on before anyone else in the area. They are the one station in Charlotte with a rich, coherent, and cohesive history behind them.
Yes, the format is news/​talk, and the commentary is predominantly conservative. That can be a bit insular and self-​absorbed to the point of blindness at times, but no more so than the perspective of the popular liberal press, a la The Observer or CBS/​ABC/​NBC/​PBS/​NPR. Neither side believes the other is truthful, but then seldom is the truth revealed completely by either side.
So, I listen to ‘BT for media balance in my life, and for the traffic reports, and because they’re local. Tara keeps the uptown crowd nervous. Keith keeps everyone nervous. John keeps people relaxed. Pete is the Libertarian voice of reason. Al and Stacey are straight news, all sides of the issue. Rush is… ADWeekMedia’s radio personality of the decade! Love him or hate him, he’s effective.
If you want to reach an upscale, conservative audience, I’m sure ‘BT is a good ad buy.
The flip side of this conservative talk radio concept is WBCN, 1660. They’re all syndicated conservative talk, all the time, except for local news, weather, and traffic breaks. WBT has some real competition now, since WBCN’s signal is stronger in the region than WDYT’s signal was when they were around.
I find myself switching back and forth between Hannity and Servatius now, in the afternoons, especially when Tara’s callers are blithering idiots, or she’s out sick.
Jason Lewis, a former afternoon guy at WBT, is now on opposite Hancock in the evenings on WBCN. His understanding of economics is unparalleled in this radio market, so he’s always interesting.
As an aside, I’ve always found it interesting that *liberal* talk radio seems to be an oxymoron in this country. The only place I’ve ever heard it was in Portland, Oregon. It sounded really, really lame. I concluded then and there that liberals get their messages across much better with visuals (TV, magazines, Internet). When you only get to *listen* to their arguments, they seem to make less sense. The brain processes logic in linear fashion that way, without the noise of non-​linear emotional interference.

Say what you will about politics (I’m quite tired of it myself, so I’ll go to the kitchen and fix myself a drink while you say it) I give major props to WBT just for being a mostly local station — with quite a bit of unique character — in a world of mostly very synthetic radio that all sounds alike — and is very boring.
Keith Larson — 9am to Noon — is the best part to my ear. Can be quite funny as he tweaks the conventions of radio and sticks a finger in the eye of the powers that be whoever they may be. Fun jingle package, interesting guests, and even fun to listen to when he rants (which is rare).

This is one of the 2 radio stations I actually listen to while in the car or at the computer. I’ve really gotten away from music radio & have gravitated towards the news/​political/​sports talk radio channels.
WBT is a right winged station, so don’t expect any liberal views on this station. Each on air personality is on for a 3 hour time segment, with Rush Limbaugh being the main big time personality. But the local guys are pretty good & I enjoy listening to them more than Rush. The local guys will talk about both local & national topics, so you can tie it into your actual community.
This station really is informing & gets some topics out there about Charlotte that no one else covers, such as the Charlotte Disturber. While I may agree with most of their discussions, I still do take up some argument in what they have to say, but that makes for good radio. You don’t want your listeners always agreeing with you.

This is a news/​talk radio station. Best times to listen are 9-​noon with Keith Larson, and 6−9pm with Charlotte’s most beloved… John Hancock. The noon to 3 slot has Flush Bimbo at the «Golden EIB Mike». From 3−6pm you have the latest Rush wannabe. Noon to 6pm has just a bit too much vitriol for my tastes. Listen to some music instead!