Rambunctious Radio Returns

Boat/US Magazine, Nov, 2000 by Michael G. Sciulla

All politics is local, said the late Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Thomas P "Tip" O'Neill. The same could be said of radio for the past 100 years.

It wasn't long ago that radio, especially AM radio, was written off as old technology that had reached its heyday with President Roosevelt's fireside chats and the comedy and mystery shows of the 1930s, '40s and early '50s. But today, new technologies are propelling radio to the forefront of mass entertainment, and recreational boaters and anglers from coast to coast stand to benefit.

Thanks to the convergence of satellite and computer technologies, you are now able to tune into local and regional radio programs which heretofore had been limited to audiences within the relatively short reach of a radio signal.

But technology is not the only thing that has changed. Radio's resurgence is due in part to the explosion in talk radio over the past decade or so. Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and other talkmeisters have built huge followings for their radio programs which are syndicated over hundreds of independent radio stations across the country.

These radio personalities have been successful because the audiences for these broad-based political and self-help shows number in the tens of millions and advertisers find them a very cost-effective way to get their message out. Limbaugh, for example, claims 20 million listeners a week on more than 650 radio stations.

Until recently, it's been a different story for people who would like to listen to a national broadcast covering something other than ideological politics, self-help and financial management. While Click and Clack have done a remarkable job with their "Car Talk Show" on National Public Radio, those who might want to dial up a national radio show on golf or gardening haven't been as lucky. Boaters and anglers, too, have been relegated to listening to a handful of local boating and fishing shows in the wee hours of the morning -- until now.

One of the first to explore the potential of the $23 billion marine market is broadcaster L.J. Wallace, "The Radio Buccaneer," whose Boat Show Radio Network, sponsored in part by Boat U.S., was launched last April.

Wallace's two-hour weekly broadcast on Saturday mornings from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. EST features an eclectic potpourri of news, views and irreverent commentary on everything nautical from coastal living to boating and fishing. But, beware, it's not your father's radio show. It's "Prop Stoppin', Anchor Droppin' Maritime Mayhem on the Radio," screams the promotional headline on his Web site, www.boatshowrabio.net.

L.J. Wallace makes no bones about it. He's not conventional or politically correct, and he doesn't pretend to be all things to all people.

"Boating is all about fun," says Wallace, a serious angler and seasoned skipper, who launched his first radio show nearly 10 years ago from the wharves of Charleston, SC, and has been building towards a national audience ever since. "Even if a controversial subject comes up, I try to look for the light side." His show does include a good bit of innuendo, but, he says, "We keep the show pretty clean even when discussing bikinis, cocktails and the fair sex. Boaters aren't prudish and we make the most of that while remaining within the bounds of good taste usually," he adds.

"We try to do radio according to the old 'theater of the mind' concept that was so popular back in the early days of radio," says Wallace, who is known to one and all simply as "L.J." "I take people on a radio voyage exploring the endless facets of the boating life. We don't get bogged down with boat buying and maintenance tips and we don't call one another captain and such. It's just great entertainment whether you're heading for the water or not," he says.

As for subject matter, Wallace feels that everything from the stars above to the depths of the ocean below is suitable for the show. "Boaters," he observes, "don't live in a vacuum. They like to know about the design and building technology that goes into their boats; they are big freaks for understanding weather; they like to know about the history and trends of boating; they are technologically savvy and are not afraid of all the electronic gadgets they use to navigate, find fish and run their boats.

"A lot of people ask if we actually broadcast from onboard a boat out at sea and my response is always: Who cares if we do or not? When you watch a TV show or a Broadway play, do you really have to believe that the cast is actually in that situation? Of course not, it's all make believe, but at the time it's believable enough to simply enjoy for pure entertainment value. If a listener subsequently talks about something he or she heard on the show, then we've done our job. Sure, we provide lots of useful information and nautical food for thought, but in the end we're simply entertaining people and celebrating the boating and coastal lifestyle," he says.

To put on the show, Wallace gets a hand from his crew which includes Ishmael (Michael Hart), his producer; Mr. Starbuck (Devon Grant), the show engineer and call screener; and his Cabin Wench (Anonymous), a throaty-voiced female who spices things up between the snippets of nautical music and the short outtakes from classic nautical movies.