WABC Radio (”NewsTalkRadio 77″) appears to be trying to spread their wings by  stepping outside of their comfort zone of older, conservative, male listeners to a younger demographic with the launch of The Flipper and Lynda Show.

WABC (the number one talk radio station in the country) has long been the home of dominant, conservative media dons like Rush Limbaugh, Joe Scarborough, Sean Hannity and Don Imus.

While WABC has long enjoyed stratospheric ratings for its roster of talk shows (and the bountiful advertising dollars those ratings bring in), they (like every other old-media organization in the country) seem very well aware of the fact that they need to start drawing a younger audience if they’re going to transition into the new-media era.  The old-media ship is sinking.  Magazines, newspapers and tv feel the pinch of a new generation that prefers to get their content online at social media sites like Facebook and Twitter rather than be dictated to by corporate cogs.  Furthermore, being more multicultural than ever, this new younger audience wants to see and hear people like them on these shows  – not their parents).  Radio is just as vulnerable to this technological and generational seismic shift as the tv and print giants are.

Enter Jill Vital (”Flipper”) and Lynda McLaughlin (co-hosts of “The Flipper and Lynda Show”) – two young, fiercely intelligent and outspoken producers at WABC Radio who have been given the opportunity to host their own weekly radio show that will focus on everything from politics to pop culture from a social viewpoint.  But with this new opportunity comes the seemingly impossible burden of drawing young, edgy listeners like themselves to a radio station that usually caters to their parent’s generation.  In this video clip, Lynda and Flipper explain the vision behind their new show in their own words:

I had the pleasure of being in-studio for the premier of The Flipper and Lynda Show.   I witnessed first-hand what their bosses must have seen in them to give them this opportunity.  Their opposing opinions are about as harmonious as oil and water yet they have chemistry and an easygoing, fun rapport with each other that makes it clear that, despite their differences (or maybe because of them), they get along like peanut butter and jelly.

Their topics of conversation with their listeners ranged from Sarah Palin’s true political potential, texting while driving, Jon & Kate Plus 8 , and the tragic Taconic crash that killed 7 people.  No matter the topic, Lynda and Flipper analyzed it, sparred about it and then flipped it over to the listeners for their two cents on the subject (and the listeners eagerly responded).

Which brings us to the social media aspect of this program that will be familiar and welcome to the younger audience they’re attempting to reach (even while perplexing and rustling the feathers of the much older audience WABC Radio already has).  While Lynda and Flipper worked the mic, their production team (a dedicated, energetic group of producers and interns) fed the social media beast by talking to listeners on the show’s Facebook and Twitter pages as well as in the live chat-room set up on the live video stream web page.  People called, emailed, Facebook’d, Tweeted and live-chatted… it was a scene!  Lynda and Flipper (as familiar with these tools as a plumber is with his wrench), managed multiple conversations with their audience with incredible ease.

This was a pilot episode.  Whether WABC Radio has the courage to step outside of their old-media closet to engage a younger more technologically inclined audience with The Flipper and Lynda Show remains to be seen.  But these women pack a punch and have a lot to say (and their listeners responded).  We’ll see what the outcome is.

Below is video footage of my in-studio interview with Lynda and Flipper after their show which was more like sitting in the kitchen and talking to friends (to quote one listener who tweeted their opinion of the show).  After the interview, you can watch the entire show.  If you believe the show should be picked up, contact WABC Radio and tell them!  Watch out Imus and Limbaugh — it’s a new day!

Full “Flipper and Lynda” Show

Twitter tag: WABC Radio