KDWB's War of the Roses is fake
(Thursday, March 10, 2011)
The first clue that the feature entitled “War of the Roses” on local Top 40 station 101.3 KDWB-FM is fake is that when a station calls someone they must inform the person they are calling that they are being recorded. That alone should tip people off that the insanity that ensues when a suspicious woman sets up her man to see who he will send a dozen roses to is entirely fabricated. But some people fail to see the truth.
It’s been discussed back and forth in the inner circles of media insiders
In short, the callers are provided by a company called United Stations Radio Networks (helmed by Dick Clark). The bulk of the talent used for this bit and other pot-stirring radio bits on a number of large Top 40 radio stations are actors plucked from New York City among other places across the country. They are given talking points and a basic outline but the majority is ad libbed and done so quite well.
But it doesn’t stop at staged bits to expose supposedly cheating spouses. When a ludicrous topic is posed by a morning DJ, often times a caller conveniently pops up with an equally ludicrous take on the topic. Many of those scenarios are staged by Dick Clark’s United Stations Radio Network as well. The bottom line is if it sounds too crazy to be real then it’s probably bullshit.
Now while I’m not saying that every wacky bit Dave Ryan (Kibler if you’re all for realism and truth) does on his KDWB morning show is straight up bullshit I think that this company set up by Dick Clark and Premiere Radio Networks (a company under the Clear Channel umbrella) to provide actors for radio bits and calls should be proof enough to be at least skeptical about what you hear during your favorite morning show. Just take t hings with a grain of salt and remember that radio was originally billed as theater of the mind -- not everything you hear is real.
Posted in Labels: fake, KDWB, Minneapolis, radio Posted by Sornie at Thursday, March 10, 2011
You know, I expect you're right about it being fake, except one thing is still a little confusing if that's the case: why does it just totally suck some weeks? Like sometimes, they call the dude's phone, and he doesn't answer. Then Dave Ryan is just like, "Oh well, guess we can't do it." And listeners are like, WTF that was stupid! Or sometimes they'll call the dude, and he'll answer just long enough to hang up when he doesn't want to take a stupid cell phone survey.
So you think they make it suck on purpose half the time to make the other half more believable? yea, I guess that's possible.
I tend to suspect that the fakery probably does extend to the level of making War of the Roses suck some weeks. If it went off without a hitch every time if would quickly be exposed for what it likely is.
The fact that WOTR sucks some weeks is evidence that it's fake. Dave and Lena have said several times that they do 4-5 WOTR calls per week before they get one that works. Why, then, would they air the ones that don't? Also, some times they admit they record these calls in advance (at times playing clips the day before), while other times they act as though they're doing them live.
I've noticed the same voices calling in for WOTR and other things multiple times. It's funny how none of them have even a hint of a Minnesotan accent. They are all quite articulate considering they act so dumb. I've noticed that they all have a similar sort of style to their voices. This is quite a contrast from the people calling in for Gary Spivey or Lena's Quiz.
I still enjoy the show for what it is - entertainment. It's just surprising to me that more people haven't caught on to all the actors they use.
Who cares?! It's funny!!!