Why Archer’s Line?
Because most media criticism is written by people who’ve never worked in a newsroom, never programmed a station, never anchored a breaking news block while the wires are moving and the phones are ringing.
Archer’s Line is different. It’s written by someone who spent decades inside the machine — at KNX News 97.1 FM and KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles, two of the most listened-to radio stations in the country. The analysis here isn’t academic. It’s earned.
If you want to understand what’s actually happening to local news, talk radio, and the broadcast industry — the business decisions, the editorial compromises, the slow hollowing-out of institutions that used to matter — this is where to read it.
About Rob Archer
Rob Archer spent more than 25 years as a broadcaster in major Los Angeles radio — first as a programmer and personality in music radio, then as a news anchor at KFI AM 640 and, for a decade, at KNX News 97.1 FM, one of the nation’s most respected all-news stations.
His work has been recognized with Edward R. Murrow, RTNA, and Los Angeles Press Club Awards — honors that reflect a career built on clarity, precision, and the belief that good writing is the foundation of good broadcasting.
Now he writes Archer’s Line: a newsletter covering the business, culture, and decline of American broadcasting. It’s the kind of media commentary that only makes sense coming from someone who was there — inside the consolidation, the format changes, the newsroom cuts, and the slow erosion of things that once defined the industry.
Rob is available for podcast appearances, interviews, and media commentary on broadcasting, journalism, and the current state of the news industry.
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