Transcript
On The Late Show’s Cancelation with Keegan Kelly (Hour 2)
The Todd Allbaugh Show · Wed Aug 20, 2025
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Good afternoon, everybody.
We are live on location in Wisconsin Rapids, the HOMA WFHR WIRI on their 85th anniversary.
Our producer and engineer, Mr. Aaron Zommer is back at the world headquarters in downtown Madison, Wisconsin and joining us via stream yard from our nation's capital or just outside.
Mr. Trigby Olson, the senior advisor on the Lincoln Project.
It is Wednesday, the 20th of August, 2025, and it's a great
day to be Wisconsinite and it
That's right, we packed up the cable, put him in the back of the old Dodge Ram and we made it here safe and sound and happy to be on location.
We got to get to what's worse here in a moment.
Trick V, but we are being joined by another one of the great staff members here at WF HR Laura Berg, who is voice talent producer, cohost of a couple of different shows is at the table here with us.
Laura, welcome.
Yes, hi.
Hello.
How the heck are
you?
I'm good.
I'm tired, but I'm good.
I've been here since seven.
That's incredible.
Congratulations on your 85th anniversary.
Very, very excited.
Not yours, but the station.
No, I personally have not been here for 85 years, but it is really, really cool to be able to celebrate 85 years at the station that I'm working at.
It's really kind of neat.
Tell folks a little bit about yourself, Laura, where you grew up, what led you into radio and here at
WFHR.
Well, I grew up in Nassita, Wisconsin about an hour from here.
I grew up in such a rural town that we only really got a couple of radio stations and despite that I still fell in love with radio and went to school for it right out of college and then I got a little distracted getting married and having kids and you know a few decades later here we are.
Hi.
It's
great to have you here.
I've been here
for a year and a half.
I'm the head of production at the talk radio side at WFHR.
I'm one of the regular voices on air on WIRI.
I have my own shows that I produce and voice myself one on FHR, one on IRI.
And yeah,
give us the the low down to a minute each if you could.
I have two two different shows burned before listening.
Love the title and red, folk and blue.
Well, Burn Before Listening is on Sundays at 9 p.m.
on WFHR, and it is basically a millennial music show.
I cover music from 2000 to 2009.
This past Sunday and this coming Sunday, it's a country music playlist.
I just went ahead and made a two-parter because there's a lot of millennial country music out there that's worth covering.
And then Red, Folk, and Blue is an Americana show that I do Saturday nights at 7 on WIRI.
I focus on bluegrass, folk music.
lose a little bit of soul.
You know, if it's American ish, I'm playing it.
Trigby, I know you were here last year with our friend Reed Galen on the President of the Union.
And you know, I think what Laura, we hear these stories, Trigby, as you and I travel around Wisconsin or what makes Wisconsin great tours.
I mean, here's somebody Laura who grew up not that far away in Nicosia.
It's hometown people committing to where they grew up to make it better.
the things I so agree and trivia.
I Laura, like I said, we've been all over the state and lucky to have that opportunity, but your story is is unique to you in this place, but it's not necessarily.
You did there are different lawyers in every community where they're like, hey, I want to give back and I want to.
I don't want to go away to Milwaukee or Madison or whatever and you know I grew up Richland Center.
I went back to Richland Center.
I still am the fortunate enough to get to go back once awhile.
What is this part of the state?
The Cusa Rapids, the central part of the state.
As you talk to people right now around the state of Wisconsin that aren't from here, what do you think people miss about the Cusa Rapids and this part of the state?
What are they not understanding?
The thing about Central Wisconsin is.
It's just about the land here.
People.
aren't caught up in a lot of things.
They're here because they love what it looks like
here.
They like being within a 10 minute distance from the nearest.
state park.
They like being within walking distance of the Wisconsin River so they can go fishing.
I grew up, like I said, in Nassita.
I was right by the Nassita Wildlife Refuge, which is a huge deal.
It's where the whooping cranes come back every summer.
People in Central Wisconsin love the nature of Wisconsin.
They love Wisconsin.
I totally agree.
And the other thing that captures me when we talked about at the top of the show is that you've got folks here, community service organizations.
You got the VFW next to an ecumenical table of pastors who have rainbow shirts on.
This is everybody is accepted.
You have a Mexican food truck back here, which are the tacos were fantastic.
By the way, I had one.
I
had a torta.
Highly recommend great stuff.
But I think this to me is someone who also grew up in a smaller town, rapids bigger than Richland Center by about 5,000 people or so.
But I think that there's a misnomer that we can't have diversity in small towns.
We can't all get along.
But what brings us together or agree or disagree, Laura, what you said, the outdoors, the conservation, the land.
I'm going to echo what Mel said this morning on Mordings with Pat Kratlow.
As she said, we have a lot more in common than we have that's different.
And in Central Wisconsin, we learn that every day because.
I mean, I'm sorry to break it to everybody, but it's already diverse here.
I mean, we don't have this taco truck by coincidence.
These people are from town,
right?
They're at all of the events and they're just as much a part of this community as everybody else and they make excellent tacos.
Great taco.
Yeah, absolutely.
Like it.
You realize that what really matters is that your neighbors.
are okay and you're okay.
No matter what your neighbor is, and if you reach out that hand and get to know them, it's the cold town's going to be better for it.
The
whole community's going to be better.
You nailed it, I think.
Understanding our friends and neighbors, we've talked about that so many times.
You've got to take time to listen to people that might be a little different than you, but you can find commonalities, Trigby, if we just listen to one another.
hats.
packer fans through and through.
Laura, anything we haven't asked you yet?
You want to make sure people know either about you at the show, FHR?
Oh gosh, probably not.
Also, my brain is dead today.
So you've been here a long time.
Yep.
And if people are listening to us on FHR or any of our other stations and want to make the trip over, you're here until six o'clock tonight.
We are here until six o'clock tonight.
And I also would just like to say thank you for listening.
Yeah, absolutely.
And thank you for stopping by.
Thank you for what you do, Laura.
You're a part of what makes Wisconsin great and part of what makes
media great.
So thank you so much.
So are you
Todd.
Alright, two nights on Laura Berg.
Everybody would have a great voice.
Tell producers and cohosts here at WFHR and WIRI here in Central Wisconsin.
Thanks Laura.
We appreciate that.
I just now 14 minutes past the hour of three o'clock.
Time once again for what's worse.
Let's go.
Time once again for once worse.
Nothing to give away.
No prize money evolves.
Is your chance to have your voice heard on all 10 news, talk and sports states stations across the Pacific media ready to work.
We are live on location here in Wisconsin.
A rapids for their 85th anniversary.
Trig V. Olsen joining us from the nation's capital.
Alright, Trig V. The category today as we got on the road, as people say, wasn't it?
What didn't Tommy used to say?
There are two kinds of seasons in Wisconsin, winter and road construction.
So, today's category is, what's worse, road construction or potholes.
Road construction or potholes.
855-752-4842.
855-752-4842.
You can also text us on the Civic Media app.
What's worse, road construction.
or Potholes.
Also Terry Barr, the one, the only, the Emmy Award winning Terry Barr cohost of Max Inc Radio every Saturday night from six until I believe nine now or six until 10 on WMDX also available on the Civic Media app.
Terry weighs in, says 85 years of local radio.
Congratulations to WFHR.
Of course you can hear Terry Barr's slice of Wisconsin stories on WFHR across the Civic Media Radio Network as well.
Well, all right, what's worse road construction or potholes?
Trek lead, you want to go first?
He wants to
answer.
Very good.
And I'm just
on.
You
I heard.
I heard that.
Oh, my God.
star.
knows her music, too.
Yeah.
Oh,
What were spec bottles and
Road construction or potholes was worse 8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2 8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
Let's go to Mark in prayer to sack.
Mark is on the phone.
Mark, road construction or potholes, what's worse?
Well, first of all, I'll say potholes.
And that's really not the reason I called it.
This is that I wanted to
You guys are all rock stars, but as Trigby was pointing out, it is just shocking to me the absolute failure that Donald Trump's education apparently was when it comes to the Constitution, because the preamble of the Constitution lays out that three of the people, in order to form a more perfect union, which is different from the Confederate Constitution preamble, which is each state in its own sovereign nation,
Actually, the actual union of the United States is actually stronger because we recognize that it's we the people forming a governing union rather than the southern states were supplying a permanent government.
But the media is just shocking that Donald Trump does not seem to grasp the whole Constitution.
His admiration of dictators is telling that
Well, thanks for the call, Mark.
I really appreciate it because it's the clock right now.
But yeah, I mean, we know that you know, you had to copy a mine comp on his on his bedstand.
So when you're reading that at night, I mean, it's no wonder that he wants to talk less about slavery in the Smithsonian and American museums.
And this trivia night said the first hour totally disagree with that.
I think it's a dangerous road to back the matters of hands.
So Mark is in for potholes is worse.
What's worse road construction potholes 8 5 5 7 5.
2, 4, 8, 4, 2, 8, 5, 5, 7, 5, 2, 4, 8, 4, 2.
Brett, listening in Brown, Deer, Wisconsin on AUK, says potholes are worse.
I like it when they are fixing the roads and I can slow down and prepare for construction.
Potholes can really mess up your car.
Well, that's certainly true, right?
It could be.
there.
Well, that's true too, right?
That can slow you down.
I'm not tipping my hand, though.
Are you going to give your answer after the
saying?
so I don't
He says, the grumpy old man, get off my lawn.
All right, thank you, Trigby.
We appreciate you as always, my friend.
Wish you were here.
Hope to get on the road soon with you.
too.
Because that's what I am,
So not true.
All right, come on back.
What's more, what's worse, live from Wisconsin Rapids?
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little Willie Nelson for you.
We are indeed on the road again coming at you.
The title of all show live from Wisconsin Rapids today on the 85th anniversary of W F H R our great news talk stations up here in Wisconsin Rapids as well as W I R I the great country station here as well.
So thankful to have the host here to help let us do the show.
Big parking lot party going on until six o'clock tonight.
If you're in the area listening to us on F H
or if you want to take a little drive this afternoon, come on in here to Wisconsin Rapids and you can get a great taco, street taco behind us.
You can get an elephant ear, a funnel cake.
You can throw an axe.
There's brats and hamburgers.
Also the VFW people are here.
We get a family center tables for the aging or senior citizens.
All kinds of great community things to learn.
Fund that be had here at the.
Parking Lot Party for the 85th anniversary of WFHR.
23 now past the hour of three o'clock.
Todd here on location in Rapids and Zomers back at the World Headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.
Many thanks to Trig V. Olson for sticking around for hour two.
We're doing a little what's worse for you today.
road construction or potholes, road construction or potholes.
What's worse?
855-752-4842.
855-752-4842.
My youngest niece, my favorite youngest niece, Isabel, watching.
And this is a very big Xamers because, you know, she doesn't watch me on the regular.
She doesn't tune in on the regular.
By the way, I was on the way up here.
I had to pull over for gas and I pulled over next to an Arby's and this is this.
It was a a sign for my youngest niece.
It said the sign said quote low key are cordon blue slaps.
I thought it was pretty good.
Low key are cordon blue slaps.
All right, Isabel says.
I think construction is worse because it slows down traffic.
Potholes are kind of fun to dodge.
I like playing Mario Kart.
yeah.
Oh yeah, it's like playing Mario Kart.
Don't tell that to Grandma Linda.
She will not approve of that.
All right, Isabelle?
Yeah, I would say no.
My sister, her mother thinks potholes are worse because they can surprise you.
Usually there are signs for construction.
Keyword,
Well, that's true too.
All right, what's worse road construction or potholes 8557524842 8557524842 Jim listening in beautiful Brookfield says you could avoid potholes, but not road construction.
So road construction is worse.
Plus I've hit fresh tar through road construction.
It splashed on my car.
I've had
that do that.
That's terrible.
That's not foot at all.
Sean, one of our great drivers and friends and
Richland Center listening on WRCE says potholes are terrible, but the construction could ruin my route.
Construction is worse.
Well, yeah, if you're trying to make deliveries and kind of clock, do you mean you don't want construction?
Roger in Stevens Point, not too far away from where we're at here in beautiful Wisconsin Rapids.
Roger in point says potholes are worse.
Never know when you're going to hit one.
He says, I tuned into 97.5 FM here in point, but a 50 year old plus listener of WFHR.
Well, thank you very much.
We appreciate that, Roger, for your longtime listenership of WFHR, where we are at today.
Len in Madison, listening on WMDX, says potholes are worse than road construction.
Potholes won't go away without road construction.
Road construction will go away when the job is completed.
Do we do Tom and New Berlin saying scotholes are worse?
Scott Walker.
That's pretty good.
All right, now we're caught up.
All right, so yeah, so what's worse, road construction or potholes, Aaron Zommeres?
just
It sucks, but that's how it works.
Potholes, unless the road is just a series of potholes, you can usually drive around.
Road construction, as some people have said, usually takes a long time and you can't drive around it without changing your route significantly.
And so
Unless it's well signed ahead of time and you have time to plan and know when you need to leave early for stuff, I think road construction is worse.
Alright, I'm going to say opposite action.
I'm going to say potholes are worse because often times I don't see them in time and then you get that where you just it knocks the filling out of my teeth and it can mess up the alignment in your car.
And yeah, I'm not a Fanner Road construction, but you deal with it.
It's just one of the things you deal with in Wisconsin where where potholes I mean it could just.
You know, you can blow out a tire or misalign the car or truck or whatever.
So I would I would rather see the the construction work being done.
That's that's why it
Is that what they say?
All right, get good.
as Gen X or Gen Z and Gen Y Speak here on the on the all-ball show today What's worse road construction or potholes 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 also of note today by the way
Well, we wait for any more responses.
And many thanks to Dave and New Berlin for reminding us that today happens to be George Web... I'm sorry, Jim and Brookfield.
Jim and Brookfield.
George Web delivering on their free hamburger giveaway today for our listeners in Milwaukee area on WAUK says, I just collected mine with two friends.
The line was only 20 minutes long.
George Web was very organized.
Well, congrats.
And a reminder, other people are saying this.
If you go to George Webb for that free burger, buy something else from him to say thanks and tip generously.
It's going to be a tough day for those people at George Webb.
We thank them for making good on their burgers.
Come on back to Wisconsin Rapids.
It's the title ball show on location at WFHR on the Civic Media Radio Network.
Pursuing truth wherever it may lead and having fun doing it.
Welcome back to the title ball show on the Civic Media Radio Network.
We're alive on location in beautiful Wisconsin Rapids in the central.
part of the state at the just outside of W. F. H. R. I. R. I. It's the 85th anniversary of W. F. H. R. Gonna talk to Kelly in just a moment from cracked dot com on Stephen Colbert being canceled.
There's all kinds of television news.
There's political news will sort of all out with Keegan in just a minute, but first sitting here at the table and already Roger watching on Facebook says Pam is a legend.
Unquote also our own.
Carol, our traffic director back at the World Headquarters and Civic Media says hello.
We have at the table Pam Hilke, who is the traffic manager here at the FHR, the IRI in Wisconsin Rapids.
Pam, welcome.
Well, thank you.
Thank you.
It's a pleasure to be on your show this afternoon.
Well, it's great to be here.
You were on with us when we were up here last fall in late October.
Much warmer today.
That's what I was thinking.
I was thinking nice, beautiful day.
The sun's coming out here and.
What a better day to have a party, right?
Absolutely.
I know.
For people that didn't listen last year, tell folks a little bit where you grew up and what led you to the FHR.
Well, I grew up right here in Wisconsin Rapids, lived here all my life.
I just kind of stumbled into radio.
I was not planning a radio career.
I had just received a degree in accounting, two-year degree in accounting, and a month later, here is an opening.
WFHR, the little hometown radio station in Rapids for a traffic manager.
And
tell people who are familiar with radio, whether you're traffic, the thing stop lights.
Tell people what traffic means in radio land and how it's changed in your time here at FHR.
Well, traffic is managing.
are making sure that all the commercials that are scheduled to air on our radio stations actually do get scheduled and logged.
We have official logs that we create in the afternoons for the next day and the next days and the next days, and I'm making sure that the commercials are logged, that they're copied, which is the audio part, which is synced to...
Certain they're all identified by a copy number all that is all synced together and lands on the official log for the next day and Make sure our systems play the commercials and yes, it has changed over the years
Yeah, we're talking before the show when we both started radio everything was on on paper and And now there might be some paper used but now it's all of course digital and computerized
That's for sure right right when I first started it was
totally different and everything was.
And very quickly here, what's your best memory?
I guess it's probably hard to choose the best one, but give us a memory of your time here at FHR in terms of what this station means to you and the community, Pam.
You know, I think it's just being part of the community and just the people, the listeners are what make your
Station successful and
just
being part of that community and know that you're you know, you've got listeners out there and And doing things hopefully that they enjoy putting our entertainment on our sports on our music I guess that and for me just all the people that I've worked for right with it Well worked for and worked with over the years.
That's
That's a lot of good memories.
Well, you're certainly a part of what makes Civic great, what makes WFHR great, and we could not do our job on the on-air side without you and all the people behind the scenes because literally you're making sure that our sponsors, our partners who are paying the money to have their ads put on the air, which pays all our salaries and keeps us on the air.
You're making sure all that lines up.
So thank you, Pam, for what you and all the folks in traffic do for this company.
We really appreciate you.
All right, thank you very much, Pam.
Okay,
thank you.
Nice to talk to you.
My pleasure.
Pam Hilke, everybody, one of our great people here at WFHR, the 85th anniversary of this fine station.
We'd like to talk to one more person here before the end of the show in terms of FHR as well.
But right now, we turn our attention to the entertainment world.
No better person to keep us up to speed on that.
He is a writer editor for Cracked.com.
Mr. Keegan Kelly, who joins us via StreamYard.
Keegan, welcome back to the show.
Hi, Todd.
Thanks for having me back.
It's always a pleasure and you know you've touched on one of my all-time favorite subjects in terms of late night television.
As you know, I'm a huge Letterman fan, certainly a Colbert fan as well.
And, you know, recently Paramount Global...
VS CBS decided to cancel the late show with Stephen Colbert and this came shortly after Colbert had gone after Trump and his own company, Paramount and CBS, for doing a settlement with the Trump administration over, and we don't need to get too far down the politics, but it was over a 60 minutes piece in which Trump claimed that the interview with Kamala Harris in 60 minutes was edited to misrepresent that.
When all came out, it was clear that didn't happen, but yet Paramount decided to pay 16 million to Trump's so-called presidential library, quote-unquote, because they needed the merger with Paramount and Skydance to go through Trump's FCC.
And so the allegation is that this was essentially a bribe by Paramount to get Trump to do this.
And not too long after this went through,
Paramount said, hey, Steven, you're done.
Do I have that about right, Keegan Kelly?
You do.
The timeline is a little iffy there on when exactly the FCC approved this merger.
I believe that I believe that the Colbert cancellation came shortly before that.
And, you know, depending on who you're talking to and who's connecting the dots, that timeline is very important because.
A lot of people speculated that the FCC was, as Colbert suggested, doing Trump's bidding and holding up this multi-billion dollar acquisition deal by Skydance Media to acquire Paramount Global and, thus, everything underneath its umbrella, including CBS.
But beyond that, yeah, that's basically what happened.
Colbert criticized Paramount.
He criticized Trump for years.
Weeks later, he gets the ax as does the entire Late Show franchise, disappointingly for Colbert fans and for Letterman fans, because that, of course, was where we fell in love with him.
And it's a huge blow to his legacy as well.
Yeah, absolutely.
Letterman's spoken out of this and it's not been particularly kind when it came to his former employer at CBS.
We can't say all the words on broadcast radio, but he said you can't have CBS without BS, basically.
So we know where Letterman stands with this.
How long did Speaker Keegan Kelly at Crack.com?
How long did Colbert have left on his deal, Keegan?
So he and the late show are gonna stick around in their time slot until May 2026.
And that was a big part of industry insiders had been speculating for a long time leading up to the cancellation that, you know, the extension talks between him and CBS.
were going to play a part in this acquisition deal that may be in a move to appease Trump and the FCC that they were going to end that contract and what do you know that's exactly what happened just as the insiders predicted.
The CBS claim, Paramount claimed that the late Joe Krupp, if I'm wrong on the figure, was losing 40, 40, 40 million dollars a year.
And as this had nothing to do with the merger with Skydance, it was all about that they just couldn't lose 40 million dollars a year.
What was your reporting found on that Keegan?
Is there some truth to that?
Is it in the middle?
What's your
thoughts?
hard to nail down the exact number because they don't, you know, they really have no reason to release the real numbers.
But I find it hard to believe that the late show was losing $40 million a year because I find it hard to believe that the late show was spending $40 million a year.
I mean, this is, they own the soundstage, they own all the cameras already.
It's
in
the same place every night.
I mean that that that number to me is a little ludicrous and other members of the late night community have been similarly critical like Jimmy Kimmel for example was like there's no way that just that makes no sense because it's it it's no secret that the late night industry has been kind of lagging behind the rest of the entertainment world but Colbert was one of the top performers leading up to this cancellation decision so it doesn't make sense that
Colbert would be the big failure, the big loser there.
When guys like Kimmel himself, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, all these people are chugging along business as usual.
Well, yeah, and correct me if I'm wrong.
I mean, over the late night franchise on NBC, Seth Meyer, I mean, Universal basically said, look, we got to cut costs here.
And so they got rid of his live band, right?
Yeah.
And I find it hard to believe that Colbert's musical accompaniment is costing them eight figures a year.
So I don't really understand how.
Yeah, I mean, I know that and you follow this stuff a lot closer than I do in the industry.
But I mean, I know that if you look at, say, maybe Jimmy Fallon on on the tonight show or even Kimmel, they have larger digital footprints.
That was the big thing with James Corden, right?
Well, he had a late, late show after after Colbert.
He had this huge at the carpool karaoke and the the brought the the the.
crosswalk Broadway stuff.
I mean, that was very Instagrammable, very tick-tock-ish.
I'm probably using all these in the wrong context.
But he had a large digital footprint.
Colbert, not so much.
That's true.
He was definitely a more button-down, traditional late-night host.
He still is.
I shouldn't talk about him in the past tense just yet.
But it's definitely true that he kind of resisted that urge to
play to the YouTube channel, to play to Twitter, and they didn't have the kinds of segments that the people who did succeed in this modern era of late night had.
So there's certainly some truth that Colbert was maybe of a different era of late night, but going forward, CBS is pulling out of the late night game entirely.
So they're not trying to modernize, they're just giving up.
Yeah, and that's what I find so very interesting because as you know, and maybe our listeners don't follow this stuff as much as you and I do.
I mean, for a long time, I mean, CBS flirted with Pat Sajak back in the 90s.
That lasted, what, one or two years at most?
And then they had nothing.
And then, you know, Les Moonves at CBS made the big deal for Letterman because NBC passed over Letterman when Johnny Carson retired for Jay Leno.
And Letterman and the historic thing,
They brought back the Ed Sullivan Theater that was in disrepair.
They fixed it up for Letterman.
They brought on Milwaukee native Tom Schneider to follow Letterman on the Late Late Show.
So you're absolutely right.
It was Letterman who re-energized Late Night at CBS.
And of course, Letterman for a while was number one, then dipped down below Leno.
And now how many years has it been?
I mean, it's been quite a run for Colbert at the top of Late Night, right?
Yeah, I think it's been 10 years now.
I might not have that timeline correct, but he's been successful in that time slot, and he's been competitive on a nightly basis, and it really does, it concerns me that even a frontrunner like this, someone who's leading the ratings night in, night out, maybe not in late night as a whole, but in his time slot specifically, that the
prevailing narrative coming out of CBS is even that's not enough that even that is somehow this huge burning this huge hole in their pocket which as as we've already discussed
I don't I don't know if that figure is reliable, but it does.
It's it's not good for late night that even that can't stick.
Well, I mean, you know, you're a big Conan fan as well.
I mean, Conan said here what this week on some podcaster program, he thinks that that late night as a whole will be gone within five years.
Agree or disagree?
I disagree.
Maybe late night as he knows it.
All right, very good.
Hold that thought King and come back more King Kelly on the other side We were talking about the demise of late night or the late show I should say with Stephen Colbert is the all ball show live on location not our demise yet Come on back.
You're listening to civic media find the latest news information and archives of all your favorite shows on the civic media website civic media dot us
Welcome back to the Taliban show live on location in Wisconsin Rapids, the hobo W F H R W I R I. It's the 85th anniversary coming up to be F HR been here on location the.
block party.
The parking lot party goes until six o'clock tonight.
So if you're in the Rapids area or you want to get in the car, the truck, whatever it is, the SUV, the UVV, the horse, whatever you want to do, come here to Rapids to the studios.
We'll be in the parking lot until six o'clock.
Great food, great community activities and tables.
Learn about all kinds of different community events here and stop by and meet the staff of the 8th FHR and have some great sweet treats as well.
Right now we're talking to Keegan Kelly.
editor or writer editor at crack.com on the late show cancellation and Stephen Colbert.
He got asked right before the break there.
Conan O'Brien has said he's predicting the former host of late night and also the tonight show.
He thinks within five years or so there won't be any late night programming on network television or maybe even any television at all.
You said you disagreed.
Why?
I disagree for a few reasons.
First of all, despite the financial problems that shows like the late show have been having in recent years and maybe their struggle to adapt to the digital age, they provide a value to not just their channel but their parent company that doesn't show up on the balance sheet.
And that is four or five times a week they get two or three big stars from
you know movies TV shows whatever it is and they get to promote their movie their TV show tell a little anecdote and provide this very valuable marketing now all of these channels at this point they're owned by Disney they're owned by Paramount whatever it is
those companies still need that cross-brand synergy.
They still need to be able to get the word out about their movies, about all of these non-late-night projects.
So even if they do lose money, at the end of the day there's value there for these giant companies that can frankly afford to lose a couple million for some extra marketing.
And another reason why I don't think late night as a whole is going to disappear, which is a little darker, is that while
critics of Trump like Colbert and maybe even Kimmel if Trump gets his way might be falling off of network television.
There's another big name that's only been rising and that is Greg Gutfeld.
Fox has been a major power player in the late night comedy industry.
Greg Gutfeld, as he'll remind everyone who will listen, he leads the ratings in the late night genre.
What he won't say is that his show is an hour and a half before everyone else's, so he doesn't have to compete in the time slot, because
his
viewers are already asleep when Colbert comes on the air.
But Fox is actually doing very well in their foray into late night, and I don't think that's disappearing anytime soon.
Like he can give us one minute if you can.
Where do you feel that Stephen Colbert is going to land after a late night or the late show goes off the air in the spring?
He's going to have a podcast.
I promise you now you're going to be competing with Colbert.
He's going to have a podcast at a radio show.
Well, look, if you want it, I'll say right now on behalf of this company, if Colbert wants to join Civic Media, he's got a home.
He's got a home.
I'd love that.
I think that's perfect.
Keegan, we love having you on.
Thank you so much for your time and adjusting with our all-location situation here.
You can find all of Keegan's work at Crack.com.
Thank you very much.
Keegan, we'll have you back on soon.
Thank you, Todd.
Take care.
Always a pleasure.
Keegan Kelly, everybody.
And now turning our attention closer to home, literally next to me here at the table at WFHR.
She is one of the great voice talents here.
Beth Halfhager is at the table.
Beth, thanks for joining us.
How are you?
I'm doing well.
How
are
you?
I am absolutely great.
Got about three minutes left here.
Tell us a little bit about you and also about your experience at FHR.
I started with the company in October, and I started on WIRI as Dotty B, and I host the Weekends, 8 a.m.
to 12 noon.
It's a show called Weekend Wake Up.
And on Sundays from 10 to 11, I put together the Gospel Country Music Hour, so I try to celebrate the roots of Gospel and Country as they blend together.
And then on the FHR side, I host a segment of the morning show on Monday mornings called The Kitchen's Open.
which has been a lot of fun.
Do you actually cooking on the show?
I
don't actually cook, but I pick a topic and I research the topic and then I do try to include recipes and things like that.
Some of the things I do make at home and just to test it out.
I was part of the sweet off that was going on today.
I made some cookies.
The cooking were fantastic.
Thank
you.
They were really, really, I mean, there was nothing bad there on the table,
by the way.
Right.
Did you grow up around this area?
I am a nomad.
My father is a retired pastor.
So we had lived in this area just outside of town.
My dad served two congregations that were yoke together.
But that was when I was one year old to five years old.
And so we moved, I moved back to the area with my family about six years ago.
I'm also a full-time pastor.
And so that church brought me into the area.
My husband happens to work for the company as well.
It's Seth Habhager.
So he's been working and when they, he said that they need
I did some voice talent for WIRI.
I said, well, you know, we met doing theater.
It's something I wanted to try.
And so I auditioned and was able to get the job and have been having a ball doing it.
I think it's what you just said is so important.
Bringing people's faith, community, cooking.
theater.
I mean, I mean, FHR to me is the quintessential community radio station because it brings folks together who might not always come together.
And we are proudly, I mean, we're locally grown radio is what we like to promote ourselves as because we really are a part of the community.
And I love what James does with the Rapids report.
He's intentional about making sure that we get our nonprofits on the air so we can advertise what's going on in our community at WIRI on the weekends.
I'm always talking about these are the events that are happening in our area.
Go check this out.
Go check this out.
Here's a blood drive.
Consider giving the gift of life at that.
So it's great the way that we interact with our community and the community is coming to interact with us today.
Well, Beth, I can't thank you enough for joining us.
Congratulations on the 85th anniversary.
You can listen to Beth and everyone here at FHR and IRI on the Civic Media app for free, by the way, or if you're in Central Wisconsin dial it up over the terrestrial radio.
That's right.
Terrestrial.
I heard you talking about that yesterday.
That was news to me.
It's good to know that.
Well, thank you.
You're part of what makes Wisconsin great.
And thanks for joining us today.
Thank you for having
me.
Our pleasure.
Beth Halfmager, one of the voice talents here at WFHRI.
Thank you to the entire staff.
Congratulations on 85 years.
Many thanks to Pat Crichtlow, Trigvie Olsen, Melissa Kay, Pam Hilke, who else we have?
James, James.
Mailoff.
Mailoff as well.
Thank you, Pam.
And all of you for listening.
Maggie Donna.
whatever you're fighting for, whatever you believe in, keep banging your drum.
Thanks to Zomers as well.
We'll see you tomorrow.
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