Art's Return - What Should It Look Like?

[Wintermute]

I hate using the word "should". It's judgemental and puts me in a position of authority, like I know what is best. I do not know what is best for Art or any show he decides to do. I do however have an educated opinion and it looks like many of you do too!

Why the whole "pseudo-sci", ghost, UFO, Yeti thing is dying on the vine?

1. Modern Science Fiction: Face it, it's pretty much the best it's ever been as far as TV, movies and culture. The only part that I feel things are lagging is in literature. But one could argue that more SciFi is being written today than ever before and that the aggregate quality is much higher. We just don't have the one "big-time" book to point to. The C2C-style shows just don't capture the imagination like they used to.

2. Conspiracy Theories: Very few hosts are doing anything on this topic that isn't laughable. This time in the USA, with the NSA, drone wars, Internet Freedom... you would think some hosts would latch on to the topic and find meaningful content. Not just the run of the mill "New World Order" "Sky is falling" "Buy bulk food and gold" stuff. There is plenty to talk about, but hosts are going to the lowest common denominator for subject fodder.

3. Guests:  Listeners are fickle and far smarter today than in the 1990's. If you start down the path of people like Dr. Lear or Bob Lazar, you will be ignored. It's just not doable to have crackpots on because the next guy on the podcast list will have actual content that is "real" and maybe even interesting.

4. The Audience: Tastes change. Doom and gloom are not scaleable topics. Fear only gets you so far. People want to feel better when listening to any content. In fact #3 above makes listeners feel like the host is trying to dupe them. People want to feel "accepted" into a special club... it;s called "community building" in marketing terms. Art / C2C did have a community and it was stomped out for a number of reason. At the end of the day, you have to pander to the audience and the topics of the day.

5. Saturation: Paranormal has been done to death! Is there really anything more to say on a radio that hasn't been said in movies, TV, books and in other radio programs? Shows like Ghost Hunters and other staged reality shows have crushed the market for this content. Why do you think C2C / Snorry has no real direction? Because the entire subject class has been diluted, outed, and marketed. It's over... for now.


So what does that leave Art Bell with?

1. Intelligent discussions about today's political issues with a conspiracy bend. Art said he didn't want to get into politics... well everything is political. I don't believe for a second Art doesn't want to get political and stir a little controversy. Do an intelligent version of what the "prison planet" style shows do today. Those shows are dumb... be smarter, have better topics and guests.

2. Talk technology... AND be ready to talk the talk. Tech is today's popular science and the basis for a lot of SciFi today. Have on interesting guests that you might normally see on a TED Talk. Real next-gen tech people are far more interesting and rarely get good marketing opportunities outside of Cons. When they come on, BE PREPARED! I hated when Kaku came on and Art seemed dazed. Bad sci-tech interviews drive me nuts.

3. Ask the hard questions... having a forum for blow-hards is yesterday's news. They all have their own podcasts to spout about whatever alien autopsy they did last week in New Mexico. You don't have to be confrontation, but (as Ian Punnett did) you do have to ask the obvious questions and cut them off on their circular arguments. The show suffers when the interviews suffer and then your audience suffers.

4. Get into topics that are not being discussed. It's real easy to read the first few pages of the national paper and go off of that. Dig and mine the Internet for what is really going on.


I don't know Thoughts?

[cweb]

He needs to keep the crackpot ratio fairly low, as well as the repeats down.

Maybe have a controversial topic with a pair of opposing viewpoints every now and then. As long as it isn't dry.

As for other topics, keep them weird. Something that's out of the ordinary, but makes a logical person wonder if it just might be possible.

[Bart Ell]

Not asking much of a 70 year old who has been pretty much retired for over a decade I see. If those are your expectations then you need to find a new god.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

Wintermute, I am not sure what kind of reply you want.

[RedMichael]

I think he is asking what a new show should focus on to be successful. I have no idea myself.

Maybe some ground rule like "If you have a guest, you shouldn't have that guest back before a year...with the exception of new information that is very large to that subject"

[West of the Rockies]

Such a show, with Art or someone else at the helm, would be a challenge.  Yes, people are still quite thirsty for the kind of material Art has explored for years.  But the market is so saturated by crap content with reasonable production value (and starring mostly lazy grifters)...  I am astonished that anyone watches those ghost programs featuring fat forty-something's in tee shirts and jeans calling out, "Did you hear that?  I definitely heard something!"  (And don't forget the night-vision green hue and jittery camera work.).

Reduce the content to the audio-only radio/podcast format, and things get more challenging...

Intelligent listeners don't want to be duped, don't like condescension.  However, we still yearn for that campfire ghost story tone we so enjoyed as kids!

Ditch the whacko guests, don't coddle stupid callers with moronic questions.  Avoid overt grasping for the bible and religion for answers.  Avoid rightwing politicizing.  Avoid touchy-feely left wing solutions.

These are some of my thoughts (for what they're worth).

[Mind Flayer Monk]

I think the guests are irrelevant. What is important is a shared broadcast during the late night hours. Live interaction in the late night time slot.
What really made the show successful was it was a social interaction at night.
That is why Noory is so bad-no one wants to interact with him-he is horrible at interacting.

For an analogy, if I go to the grocery store there are many types of potato chips-ranch-flavored, barbeque-flavored, sour cream and chives, classic, with ruffles, etc, but what I am really eating is salt.
As long as your potato chips have plenty of salt, any flavor will work.

[ksm32]

it should look like a big ole pair O teets

[Eddie Coyle]

     A lime green Winnebago with Playboy mudflaps and a St Pauli girl mural on the right side. With a psychedelic scorpion painting on the left side.

[ItsOver]

I think the guests are irrelevant. What is important is a shared broadcast during the late night hours. Live interaction in the late night time slot.
What really made the show successful was it was a social interaction at night.
That is why Noory is so bad-no one wants to interact with him-he is horrible at interacting.

For an analogy, if I go to the grocery store there are many types of potato chips-ranch-flavored, barbeque-flavored, sour cream and chives, classic, with ruffles, etc, but what I am really eating is salt.
As long as your potato chips have plenty of salt, any flavor will work.

Art's like a big bag of Ruffles with french onion dip.  Noory's like eating an empty chip bag.  After it fell in the toilet.

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

Such a show, with Art or someone else at the helm, would be a challenge.  Yes, people are still quite thirsty for the kind of material Art has explored for years.  But the market is so saturated by crap content with reasonable production value (and starring mostly lazy grifters)...  I am astonished that anyone watches those ghost programs featuring fat forty-something's in tee shirts and jeans calling out, "Did you hear that?  I definitely heard something!"  (And don't forget the night-vision green hue and jittery camera work.).

Reduce the content to the audio-only radio/podcast format, and things get more challenging...

Intelligent listeners don't want to be duped, don't like condescension.  However, we still yearn for that campfire ghost story tone we so enjoyed as kids!

Ditch the whacko guests, don't coddle stupid callers with moronic questions.  Avoid overt grasping for the bible and religion for answers.  Avoid rightwing politicizing.  Avoid touchy-feely left wing solutions.

These are some of my thoughts (for what they're worth).

They are worthy thoughts indeed!  Well said!

[Eddie Coyle]

Art's like a big bag of Ruffles with french onion dip.  Noory's like eating an empty chip bag.  After it fell in the toilet.

   Yeah, I was thinking a bag of Funyuns that a sickly water rat got into.

[RealCool Daddio]

I'm guessing it looks like 8 weeks, give or take.

[ksm32]

I'm guessing it looks like 8 weeks, give or take.

I won't take that bet.

[jazmunda]

I'm guessing it looks like 8 weeks, give or take.

I'll be thrilled with another 8 weeks.

[nooryisawesome]

I'll be thrilled with another 8 weeks.

Haters art is going to come back and prove why he is the mother fucking king. 12 million listners.

[West of the Rockies]

They are worthy thoughts indeed!  Well said!

Thank you, sir!  What are your thoughts?

The show could not be paranormal five nights a week (it never was).  This is all utterly subjective, but I would like any CT talk to at least be a bit reality-based.  No more of this Obama To Wed Bat Boy type crap. http://www.bing.com/fd/ls/GLinkPing.aspx?IG=237841b3a381426cb14b5e4a440dc878&&ID=SERP,5245.1&SUIH=pcPMgY0idGjxYemDhqgkEw&redir=aHR0cDovL2VuLndpa2lwZWRpYS5vcmcvd2lraS9CYXRfQm95XyhjaGFyYWN0ZXIp

Conversations with actual scientists about deep space exploration, chats with somewhat credible cryptozoologists, ghost stories, all that sort of thing is great.

[nooryisawesome]

Thank you, sir!  What are your thoughts?

The show could not be paranormal five nights a week (it never was).  This is all utterly subjective, but I would like any CT talk to at least be a bit reality-based.  No more of this Obama To Wed Bat Boy type crap. http://www.bing.com/fd/ls/GLinkPing.aspx?IG=237841b3a381426cb14b5e4a440dc878&&ID=SERP,5245.1&SUIH=pcPMgY0idGjxYemDhqgkEw&redir=aHR0cDovL2VuLndpa2lwZWRpYS5vcmcvd2lraS9CYXRfQm95XyhjaGFyYWN0ZXIp

I liked his old serial killers, FBI profilers, strange medical, etc shows too.

Art has and will do them again when he comes back.

[West of the Rockies]

Agreed... Those are good topics, too.

[Heather Wade]

Haters art is going to come back and prove why he is the mother fucking king. 12 million listners.

That's the spirit.   

[ACE of CLUBS]

Not asking much of a 70 year old who has been pretty much retired for over a decade I see. If those are your expectations then you need to find a new god.

Agree ...... Art's time has come and gone .......
We were a different audience then ...... it was a time of wonder ..... with an intelligent host and guests.

To think that a 70 year old man can/will jump back into the paranormal fray and have the vigor that we 'remember' just isn't going to happen.  We've had over a decade of George, and although he's dull and boring, he's all that some listeners know.  To many of them, George is listen-able ....

To be realistic ...... remember the magic when Art asked "wanna' take a ride ...... ?"  it's only a dimming memory now ....

To Art ....... enjoy your family and retirement, and thank you!

[jazmunda]

Haters art is going to come back and prove why he is the mother fucking king. 12 million listners.

Thanks for that Pahrump Pete.

[albrecht]

I liked his old serial killers, FBI profilers, strange medical, etc shows too.

Art has and will do them again when he comes back.

I also liked when he interviewed some celebrities but good ones like Merle, Carlin, Willie, Crystal Gayle, Gordon Lightfoot, etc. Some of those interviews were long and interesting. I like a mix of paranormal, conspiracy, and "normal" interviews- if you could call people like them "normal." Also, back to interviewing controversial people (William Pierce or crazed militia types for goodness sake!? Could you imagine anyone interview the likes of Pierce on an FCC over-the-airwaves broadcast? Or advertising supported program?)

[ItsOver]

Thanks for that Pahrump Pete.

It will be The Mother of All Comebacks!    Maybe at least several months this time.  Tremble in your Pampers, Dave Noorie!

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

Thank you, sir!  What are your thoughts?

The show could not be paranormal five nights a week (it never was).  This is all utterly subjective, but I would like any CT talk to at least be a bit reality-based.  No more of this Obama To Wed Bat Boy type crap.

Conversations with actual scientists about deep space exploration, chats with somewhat credible cryptozoologists, ghost stories, all that sort of thing is great.

I have nothing to add.  You summed it up very nicely!