The ratings at WSAU Radio are on the rise.

Operations manager Chris Conley says it's partly because staying informed is a top priority for people these days.

"It's more important than ever to get information about what happened since I went to bed," Conley says.

He also reads the news for 55SAU Wisconsin Morning News. Tom King does the sports. Pat Snyder is the host.

A call-in show called 55Feedback is on after that. Many times it features guests discussing various topics. On this day it's a doctor is on the phone, talking about colonoscopies.

While that sort of information is undoubtedly important, 55Feedback perhaps gets more ears to listen because of exchanges like this.

"We talked about bush and the war and we were called unpatriotic."
"You were."
"And now you're saying the democrats are trying to destroy the economy."
"They are."
"You're saying you hope the president fails."
"I hope his policies fail."
"And that's not unpatriotic?"
"We don't want socialism, Tom."
"You're not going to see socialism."
"You wouldn't know socialism if it hit you in the face."

That's just one example of a debate between pat with his conservative viewpoint.

Tom, who says he's moderate, but is pegged as a liberal by most.

And a caller who refers to himself the great pontificator.

Most of the callers to the open phone line portion show come from the right as well.

Tom says, even though he's idiologically outnumbered most days, he can take it, "our listeners are intelligent and passionate and conservative, so they're not going to agree with me very often."

Both Pat and Tom say they're not just representing a side in a debate on a radio station, they both live by what they say when the mic is on or off.

"The question I get asked is does he really beleieve what he says and i say yes, he couldn't fake it. He's passionate, just like me, says Pat.

Pat says the show really started to evolved into what's it's become after the 911 attacks. But, he knew when he first got the job and moved to the area several hears ago he and tom, who's a Wausau native, probably wouldn't be hanging out away from the office.

"We're collegues, but we don't socialize our ideologies are so different. We don't run in the same packs I guess."

Even though they sit on different sides of the policitical isle, both these guys have the same point of view about what the listeners are tuning in for.

Tom says "we here it a lot in public. They like it when we argue. To a point."

55SAU Wisconsin Morning News runs from 5-to-9 Monday through Friday mornings.

55Feedback is on from 9-to-10:30am.