Stephanie Miller Show finally back in L.A.

WASHINGTON, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Progressive Talk superstar Stephanie Miller will bring her nationally-syndicated show to Los Angeles, starting May 2nd when KTLK AM-1150 begins broadcasting her daily program. From 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. local time, Angelinos will again be able to wake up and commute to work with The Stephanie Miller Show. KTLK will become the flagship station for Stephanie, who is well-known in L.A., having previously hosted shows on KABC and KFI.

In her first ratings book (Fall 2004) Stephanie won remarkable audience shares in key markets like New Haven, Connecticut, Columbus, Ohio, and Asheville, North Carolina. More impressively, the show earned higher audiences with men 25-54 than adults in the same age cohort.

Los Angeles is the biggest radio market in the nation, measured by advertising revenue. The announcement by KTLK caps a recent spate of affiliate clearances, which have been picking up the show at a feverish pace. In the last month, Stephanie has added local affiliates in Reno, Nevada, Binghamton, New York, San Antonio, Texas, Quad Cites, Iowa, Eugene, Oregon, Eureka, California, and Daytona Beach, Florida.

On KTLK, The Stephanie Miller Show replaces Air America's Morning Sedition.
"I am beyond thrilled to be back on the radio live in my hometown, and especially with the great team at KTLK," said Stephanie Miller. "Finally, progressive talk in L.A.!"

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Air America comes to Akron/Cleveland

WJMP AM/1520 in Akron will start airing the liberal talk-humor network Monday, May 2.

The network, which launched in March 2004, is billed as an alternative to the conservative voices dominating talk radio. It features Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Janeane Garofalo and recently added Jerry Springer. It's on 53 stations nationwide but was slow coming to Ohio.

"We're targeting the NPR crowd," said Bill Klaus, vice president of Media-Com, which owns WJMP, WNIR FM/100.1 (America's monophonic, FM-talk wonder) and two TV stations. "There's an audience out there looking for a different viewpoint."

Liberal talk is a minor radio trend. Last month, Clear Channel-owned WTAM AM/1100 dumped Glenn Beck in favor of Springer in its 9-11:30 morning slot. On WJMP, which can broadcast only from sunrise to sunset, Springer will be on from 9 a.m. to noon, followed by Franken from noon to 3 p.m. and Rhodes from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Chicago liberal talker rumors heat up

The RadioInfo message board is buzzing about 850 AM, which is supposedly changing its call letters from WAIT to WCPT. Could WCPT stand for "We're Chicago's Progressive Talk"? The station has long been rumored to be flipping to the format, and those rumors persist. 850 AM is a daytime-only station, so it goes off the air at sunset.

Stay tuned, and click the headline link for more discussion on this.

KPOJ Adds Hartmann For Local Mornings

Left-leaning talk KPOJ (Progressive Talk) Portland, Ore., which bills itself as “The World’s First Air America Radio Affiliate,” goes live and local in mornings, adding syndicated talk host and best selling author Thom Hartmann to its lineup.

Hartmann, who will move from his home in Vermont, has recently filled in for Air America host Randi Rhodes while she was off the air for health reasons.

Local news vet Heidi Tauber and longtime news and talk show producer Paul Pimentel will join Hartmann in mornings.

AA’s “Morning Sedition” will move to an earlier time slot on the station.

XM to be 'official satellite provider' for Air America Radio

Washington D.C., April 11, 2005 -- XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR), the nation's leading satellite radio provider with more than 3.77 million subscribers, has announced a new long-term agreement with Air America Radio, the national progressive entertainment talk radio network home to Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Janeane Garofalo. As part of this agreement XM will be the official satellite radio network for Air America Radio.

Beginning in May, XM's liberal talk channel, America Left (XM Channel 167) will be renamed Air America Radio. The channel will include an expanded line-up of Air America Radio programming, including the recently debuted "Springer on the Radio" hosted by Jerry Springer and upcoming "Rachel Maddow Show," among others. XM's Air America Radio channel also will feature popular shows currently carried on America Left, including "The Ed Shultz Show" and "The Alan Colmes Show."

"XM was a natural fit to be the official satellite radio network of Air America Radio, given its large subscriber base, numerous distribution channels and demonstrated growth," said Danny Goldberg, CEO of Air America Radio. "The quality of XM's other partnerships, their Washington, D.C. location and proximity to the center of our nation's political workings, along with millions of subscribers, made our decision easy."

XM's Washington, D.C. headquarters will offer dedicated studio space for special live broadcasts throughout the year for Air America Radio programs featuring Rachel Maddow, Marc Marron, Mark Riley, Al Franken, Katherine Lanpher, Jerry Springer, Randi Rhodes, Sam Seder, Janeane Garofalo, Chuck D, Mike Malloy, Laura Flanders, Steve Earle, Robert Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio, Kyle Jason, Marty Kaplan, and Betsy Rosenberg.

"The surge in Air America Radio's listenership blends well with XM's strong subscriber growth and we look forward to growing with them in the coming years," said XM Satellite Radio President and CEO Hugh Panero. "Here at XM we pride ourselves on challenging our listeners, whatever their political ideology, and are pleased to offer a broad range of programming that reflects our nation's diverse social and political landscape."

Liberal talk comes to Youngstown/Warren, OH

Starting today, WANR (1570) in the Youngstown/Warren radio market, flipped to a mostly Air America-supplied format, with local shows also filling the schedule.

Here is how the new WANR shakes out:

6-9 "Morning Sedition" with Marc Marion and Mark Riley.
9-12 Jerry Springer "Springer on the radio"
12-3pm WANR's local daily show "The New Talk of the Town" with Don Hanni III.
3-6pm Randi Rhodes - "The Randi Rhodes Show"
6pm-8pm local programming TBA
Other hours will consist of Air America programming.

The signal is relatively weak, covering Warren well, but spotty in neighboring Youngstown. You can get an idea of the station's coverage here.

Gore's "Current TV" becoming reality

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Former Vice President Al Gore Monday unveiled his new television network, Current, which aims to attract younger viewers with its short videos and a tie-in with the popular Google Inc. search engine.

The network plans to debut Aug. 1 and be available to 19 million subscription television viewers, Gore said at a news conference at the cable industry's annual convention. Gore led an investment group that last May bought the network from Vivendi Universal for an undisclosed sum.

The channel will show professionally produced segments as well as viewer-produced videos mostly short in length, running from a few seconds to up to 15 minutes.

"We are about empowering this generation of young people in their 20s, the 18 to 34 population, to engage in a dialogue of democracy and to tell their stories about what's going in their lives in the dominant media of our time," he said.

(click headline link for more)

Note: This endeavor was previously known as InDTV. You can check out their website here. And Gore claims that Current will not be a liberal or left-leaning news channel. It is simply a news/culture/information network aimed at a younger demographic. Think CNN mixed with MTV, but without the crappy reality shows and bickering talking heads of those two networks.

Quad Cities (Illinois-Iowa) talk radio making left turn starting Monday

Starting next week, right-wing conservative commentators will have some contrary competition on area radio.

A progressive talk station featuring Air America's Al Franken, Janeanne Garofalo, Randi Rhodes and more will debut at 5 a.m. Monday on WKBF-AM 1270, formerly Classic Country 1270.
"The Quad-Cities has been clamoring for a new talk radio station like this, and we think (Progressive Talk 1270) will satisfy that need," said Rod Evans, program director for the station.

"We are excited about coming to the heart of the Midwest," said Jon Sinton, president of Air America Radio. "This area now has an opportunity to voice its local and national concerns."

The 24-hour syndicated chat outlet kicks off its day with Air America's a.m. show "Morning Sedition" from 5 to 8 a.m., followed by Stephanie Miller from 8 to 11 a.m., Al Franken from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Ed Shultz from 2 to 5 p.m., Randi Rhodes from 5 to 6 p.m., "The Majority Report" with Janeanne Garofalo from 6 to 9 p.m., and Lionel from 9 p.m. to midnight. Repeats of the day's highlights will run from midnight to 5 a.m.

(click headline for more)

Here's the website:

Progressive Talk 1270

And the 5000 watt signal:

Day
Night

Rachel Maddow to get new Air America show

From the Unfiltered blog:

Fear not, faithful listeners! Dr. Rachel Maddow is in the midst of creating the most important, attitudinal, well-informed, edgiest news hour you've ever heard in your life. The Rachel Maddow Show (working title) will be the kick-start you need in the morning to stay informed, win at the water cooler and annoy your Republican relatives. Rachel's show will air from 5am to 6am (Eastern Standard Time), Monday through Friday on the Air America Radio Network. Jerry Springer will replace Unfiltered beginning Friday April 1st, 2005.

Air America shifts to the right on Santa Fe dial

Air America, the liberal talk network that had been broadcasting on KTRC 1260 AM since November, has a new home on the dial -- KVSF 1400 AM.

Meanwhile, the 1260 AM signal is now simulcasting a new Albuquerque talk station, KAGM, which features Albuquerque broadcasting personalities Larry Ahrens, Dianne Anderson, Chris Jackson and Phil Sisneros.

Both stations are owned by American General Media, a Bakersfield, Calif., corporation that owns several stations in the Santa Fe-Albuquerque area.

The changes took place Tuesday afternoon.