I was just browsing around the other day and did a Google search about George Noory. Why? Because I am a long-term listener to that show and I simply cannot believe how long the powers-that-be at Premiere have allowed this inept, clueless, inane, lame-brained host hang on to his job. When George began his guest-host duties, I thought he would get better, given a bit of time. He didn't. Then, when he took over full-time for Art Bell, I figured he would HAVE to get better or the folks at Premier wouldn't give him more than a year. In the intervening years, George has, if anything, gotten even worse at his job -- which is amazing because he never was any good and I just didn't believe he could actually *get* worse.
I will preface this by saying that I listened to Art Bell since he was doing political discussions on KDWN in Las Vegas. I used to think his show was great after he transitioned to discussions of the paranormal, and, like many others, I suffered through his constant dramas and absences. But this post isn't about THAT show; it's about the "new" Coast To Coast AM with George Noory at the helm...
I have to say that George is, by far, the worst interviewer I have ever heard. He can't conduct an interview to save his life... George is just NEVER prepared -- and hey, they pay him to be prepared to conduct effective interviews. (Or maybe Premiere will say, "No, we pay him to increase ratings...) He constantly steers guests away from areas that are potentially interesting. When the show goes to break, he is INCAPABLE of returning to the topic previously under discussion, even when that discussion was not complete. I think George is doing his taxes during the show. At least he sounds like it... Of course, I understand that he is really scanning FastBlasts for questions -- since he rarely has any but the most generic questions or comments of his own. It's laughable when George cannot find audience-written questions to ask guests on FastBlast because the show pretty much grinds to a halt as he asks questions he has already asked or that his guest has already very clearly answered during his or her presentation. I mean, you can actually hear the gears grinding in George's head -- and the uncomfortable silence on the air -- as he desperately tries to think of *something* -- ANYTHING -- he can ask the guest.
It is almost as if George comes in an hour before the show, learns who the guest and the topic is, and then asks a staff member to write down some generic questions. Then, when he's interviewing, he'll come out of left field to interrupt the guest (who is talking about something really interesting), and ask, "So what got you interested in this profession/interest/research/whatever?" Then we never get back to what the guest was talking about before George interrupted. I can frequently hear the frustration in the guest's voice.
George's constant refrain has become, over the past several months, "I love it." Well, I wish his listeners and guests loved it. It's like George just can't get to callers soon enough so listener's won't expect anything more from him -- he can pretty much stop talking, kick back, and collect a paycheck. Oh, but I got a kick out of it the other night when he was doing a show about oil/alternative fuels and someone asked him what kind of car he drives. I'll paraphrase his response: "Er... I don't like to give that out because someone might follow me. It's American though!" Shoot, what he doesn't want to admit is that it's a big honking Escalade... And he doesn't want us to know that because he realizes the extent to which it will alienate him from the everyday folks who comprise the core of his audience. That, and the fact that he can talk about the price of gas and how irresponsible the government is, but he can drive something that gets about 5 miles per gallon because HE can afford it.
But he doesn't have to worry about incongruities like miles per gallon because he believes in abiotic oil -- that the Earth constantly replenishes it's oil supply. George vehemently opposes the idea that "fossil fuels" are created by decomposition of dinosaurs, as he always puts it. Well, of fucking course not. Fossil fuels were created by all kinds of decaying organic matter like millions and millions of years of trees, grasses, and other plants. Of course there were dinosaurs (and mammals, marsupials, insects, and so on) thrown into that mix, but George, in case you can't figure this out, there are lots of sources of organic matter besides dinosaurs. All you have to do is look at a British peat bog or a Louisiana swamp to realize the vastness of organic matter that used to completely COVER the land masses of the Earth. If you do this, it is not at all difficult to understand how hundreds of millions of years worth of organic matter under tremendous pressure for even more hundreds of millions of years can eventually turn into oil or coal.
Finally, in the last hour of the July 3, 2008 show, Matt Savinar lit into George for spreading this bullcrap about abiotic oil. Basically, Savinar took George apart and did everything except call him an idiot for believing the Earth simply "manufactures" oil with no need for organic matter. I believe at one point Matt actually called George "irresponsible" and it certainly was not lost on critical listeners that Matt was saying, "George, you are a stupid fuck." You could tell Savinar was frustrated with George's idiocy; you could also tell that Savinar didn't care if he was ever invited back on the show. I'll bet that show was his last. It's still on StreamLink as I write this, so if you have access, give a listen. It's funny to hear George being handed his nit-wittery on a plate.
Another thing that bothers me is the extent to which callers routinely begin their discussions with, "George, I love this show and you are the best host I have ever heard." What, do the producers/screeners PAY these people to say these things? Or is this the price of admission to get on the air? Now, I do understand that some people are not especially intelligent -- hell, 1/4 of the adult population of the U.S. cannot point to North America on a map or a globe. (This is true, BTW, not hyperbole.) So, maybe these folks really do think George is a great host, I dunno. But I just do not understand how anyone with one ounce of grey matter can actually believe this. I always have to snicker when someone calls Ian and basically says, "Whew, I'm glad you are on on Sunday nights because I get so sick of how stupid George is during the week." Ian always tries to cover this up as gracefully as possible, but you can tell that he realizes George is an idiot.
So, C2C makes it because it's the only game in town -- well, maybe that's an overstatement because there are some very good local/regional early A.M. shows. But C2C is the only *national* show at that hour of the early A.M. because it's still rolling on the head of steam that Art provided. However, if someone came out and syndicated a quality show that actually deals with the paranormal and various conspiracy-related topics, I've got to believe listeners would abandon C2C in droves.
If the good folks at Premiere are happy with the penetration of this show now, they should try getting a good host and they'd see things getting even better. Why don't they do this? Is it THAT difficult to find an interesting, intelligent, thoughtful, host? I have GOT to believe that the folks at Premier are not complete idiots -- that they can tell the difference between a good host and one who has his head stuck up his ass...
