Why was Jim Bohannon respected in national talk radio?

He earned that respect by building a loyal, late-night audience over decades without resorting to the screaming matches or partisan hackery that defines so much of the format. I always found it refreshing that his show felt more like a conversation than a lecture, and he didn't seem to need a sidekick or a producer to feed him talking points to sound smart. It helped that he was a genuine broadcaster's broadcaster, someone who understood the craft of radio long before it became a political weapon.