Change may be in the air now that President Barack Obama is in the White House, but don't expect much to change on the radio airwaves.

The repeal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, combined with eight years of a Democratic administration in the 1990s, created the perfect storm that helped spawn the rise of conservative talk radio.

The doctrine, a policy that dictated broadcast coverage of controversial issues should be balanced and fair, was met with President Reagan's veto when Congress tried to make it law. That set the stage for the Clinton '90s to coincide with the rise of Rush Limbaugh and others who followed -- Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Glenn Beck, whose syndicated programs air here on talk station WPGB-FM (104.7). And in the eight years of George W. Bush that followed, both former President Clinton and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton remained popular targets.

Will a new administration, with the Democrats in the White House again and dominating the Senate, fan the flames even more?

WPGB program director Jay Bohannon believes that the election of 2008 will energize the format in '09.

"These guys are pretty much salivating over the whole state of politics at this point. You see a Democratic sweep and the liberal power base that's amassed here after the election. Now that there's a Democratic majority in Congress, it just gives these guys such a plateful every day. I see them becoming more aggressive.

"I do see the conservative genre of talk radio being extraordinarily popular over the next four years. When Bill Clinton was in office, Rush Limbaugh exploded. He was already the king of talk radio, and he grew so big during those years."

But the relationship among politics, talk radio and ratings is not so simple as who holds the nation's highest office, says Michael Harrison, publisher of the trade publication Talkers Magazine.

"There are so many angles on current events. It's more of a credit to the hosts in how they utilize what's happening to get ratings. It's not about their existence to bash or support a president. The success of a host has to do with their talent."

Locally, talk-radio formats are ratings-grabbers. In the latest Arbitron ratings, which covered October through December, news/talk KDKA (1020) ranked second among total listeners, followed by WPGB in third place.

Rose Tennent of WPGB's "Quinn and Rose" program believes talk audiences will continue to stay tuned in the next four years.

"Our audience is very conservative, and they are very bright," Tennent says. During the campaign, she adds, "They heard Obama say a lot of things that scared them. They're concerned -- so they no doubt will continue to tune in to keep tabs on him. …

"Ironic, isn't it? An Obama presidency is good for our ratings."

Change has come to the White House, but the hosts on KDKA don't foresee a change in what they do.

Mike Pintek, the former talk host who returned to KDKA's lineup earlier this month, describes himself as a "political mutt." "My political viewpoint is I'm sick and tired of both parties. If Obama does something right, I'm going to say good for him, and if he does something I think is wrong, I'm going to say that, too.

"My personal agenda is not about being conservative or liberal, or anything else other than trying to be myself and call them as I see them. And offer our listeners to call in and express their viewpoints without being shouted down, without being shut down, without being hung up on."

Pintek says talk radio's success is not driven by a host's politics. "If you're not entertaining, and if all you're doing is pushing that conservative Republican line, and you're trying to act as a propagandist for that political viewpoint, you're going to be doomed. People can see through that. They're sick and tired of that, because look what that got us."

KDKA afternoon host Fred Honsberger is a veteran of several administrations, from George H.W. Bush through his son George W. Bush. He believes things don't change that much in terms of talk radio.

"It doesn't really matter who's in power," Honsberger says. "There's always something to talk about.

"So far, since the election, Barack Obama has been saying some interesting things that I think are upsetting his own party. That's an interesting dynamic. Obama's going to have maybe more problems with his own party than he is with the Republicans."

He does find the changing of the guard energizing.

"It's part of history -- the first African-American president being sworn in. There's a lot of energy involved. And I think we share in that. Obama was sworn in during my air shift, and that's an honor."