The Not-So-Big 830, Continued

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Since our last post on the changes at WCCO Radio (some of you might remember it), the station has made some more.  This time, two familiar voices are sent packing as another one jumps aboard.

Two of its news staffers are the latest to take CBS' money and running.  First there's Eric Eskola, who's been the station's government reporter for three decades, and is generally well-regarded.  He'll still be co-hosting TPT's "Almanac" with wife Cathy Wurzer of Minnesota Public Radio.  Other than that, who would want him in this digital age?

Then there's Jeff McKinney, the news reader who attained some kind of notice when he started bantering with Don Shelby when he used to have a show.  We hear he's going to St. Louis.

For a station that bills itself as "Newsradio 8-3-0", their commitment to news is shrinking to the point where it's just CBS News at the top of the hour, and the Frank and Amelia simulcast with Channel 4 at six.  It's getting to the point where, if you want news on the radio, then MPR's the place to go--when they're not begging for money they don't need.

The addition is Tom Mischke, who's taking over Dark Star's old 10-to-midnight time period.  He was employed off and on at KSTP-AM 1500 for several years until they finally gave him the boot.  Then he did podcasts for City Pages, for whom he will continue to provide a column for the alternative weekly.

For those of you who have never heard of Mischke (much less heard him), he's an acquired taste who usually uses his airtime to ramble on about nothing in particular.  He'll fit right into the on-the-air billboard that is WCCO, shilling for his favorite jewelry store.  But there's also the possiblilty that he might be too quirky for the station and its audience, who are more used to normal-sounding people with normal-sounding views.
Let's see how long this lasts.

You have to give WCCO credit for making a run at reinventing itself in the 21st century with the hiring of Mischke.  But getting rid of all those familiar voices will probably end up backfiring on them, if it hasn't already.  That's how it is in broadcasting these days--loyalty takes a back seat to the bottom line.