The shear cry of a dinosaur unwilling to accept a dubious and certain fate drowned out the incessant murmur of 75,000 attendees buzzing over the 1,600 plus exhibits representing the entirety of the shooting, hunting and outdoors trade show.
Aside from the clever acronym dreamed-up by the event’s founders, the subsequent lineage of the eldest form of broadcast medium, formed the backbone of a watered-down press which is sure to be limited by the forthcoming historic presidential inauguration Friday.
From the show’s onset, the presence of radio hosts from around the country creating a fully-automatic stream of compelling interviews established a momentary yet viable threat to the reality of the digital and social networking empire.
The aptly named “Radio Row” formed a semi-circle outside of the main exhibition hall housing the industry behemoths including Smith & Wesson, Browning, Colt, and Ruger. The magic and intrigue of the live talk shows provided a simple and direct interface for a global audience.
Mark Walters, host of the nationally-syndicated Armed American Radio program, was fired-up by the overall talent and array of talk show hosts covering the event. “When you have such a huge turnout of people and exhibitors packed into one location in the rockin’ destination of Vegas, you need on-air professionals who can get the job done and are able to capture the many moments for the audience,” he exclaimed. “The guests have been awesome, we have had Alan Gottlieb, Karl Malone, and one of my radio favorites, Mike Gallagher.” (Gallagher is also a host at the event)
Walter’s and his colleagues were able to generate original content utilizing time-tested methods of broadcast along with new technology highlighted by portability. Ben Ferguson, host of the Ben Ferguson Show summed it up profoundly, “When my internet and cellphone broadcast stream are backed-up by a high quality ISDN line, I feel pretty confident about staying on the air.”
At one point, when NBA legend Karl Malone negotiated part of his 6’8 frame into the comfort of a chair at a table with Walters, the entire moving walls of people walking Radio Row momentarily paused to witness the spectacle.
David Webb, the host of his own show on Sirius satellite radio, downplayed the presence of radio and acknowledged the group effort of media for effectively covering the entirety of the Shot Show, “Look around, you’ve got television, radio, bloggers, print-media of all types to share the story of Americans coming together to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
Radio is certainly not dead as long as radio show legends continue to send their message to the cloud and to the devices we hold so dear.
