Sunday, October 30, 2005

Al Franken Beats Rush Limbaugh in San Francisco & Portland, Ore.

News from Air America:

THE AL FRANKEN SHOW BEATS THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW

Al Franken Beats Rush Limbaugh in San Francisco & Portland, Ore.

NEW YORK – October 28, 2005 – Air America Radio announced today that “The Al Franken Show” beat “The Rush Limbaugh Show” for the first time in San Francisco and Portland, Ore., 2 of the top 25 markets, in the target demo of 25-54, according to Arbitron Summer 2005 Metro. The two shows air at the same time (9am-12pm) in both markets.

In San Francisco, the #4 Metro, “The Al Franken Show, “ heard on KQKE, came in with a11,400 AQH and a 1.8 Share. “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” heard on KSFO, had an 8,500 AQH and a 1.4 Share.

In Portland, Ore., the #24 Metro, “The Al Franken Show,” heard on KPOJ, was ranked #4 with an 11,800 AQH and a 5.6 Share. “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” heard on KEX, was ranked #7 and came in with a 10, 400 AQH and a 4.9 Share.


And not to be outdone, Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates Rush Limbaugh's program, put out their own press release, boasting about Rush beating Franken, Jerry Springer and Ed Schultz in the Top 25 markets. Never mind that these hosts cannot be heard in all of these markets, but it does smack of a little desperation by the folks at Premiere.

Friday, October 28, 2005

WELY-AM/Ely-Hibbing, MN listed as new AAR affiliate

According to Air America Radio's website, WELY (1450) in Northern Minnesota is a new affiliate. What is unknown is what show or shows WELY will air, since it's current format is mostly community-oriented variety programming. My guess is they will air Al Franken's show only, but I will keep you posted.

Still a unique station worth checking out. And they do live streaming as well.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Infinity Unveils Stern Replacement, "Free FM" Plans

Not much going on in liberal talk, but the big news in talk radio will be about Infinity Broadcasting, who have officially rolled out their post-Stern strategy.

Finally, INFINITY announces its "HOWARD STERN Replacement Strategy,' and as ALL ACCESS was first to confirm, the station is relaunching several stations as FM Talk "FREE FM." As part of the new strategy, DAVID LEE ROTH and ADAM CAROLLA have been officially announced as STERN's replacement in NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, respectively, starting JANUARY 3. STERN will have his last broadcast on the INFINITY stations DECEMBER 16.

ROTH's show will also air on KLLI (LIVE 105.3)/DALLAS, WYSP/PHILADELPHIA, WBCN/BOSTON, WRKZ/PITTSBURGH. WNCX/CLEVELAND, and WPBZ (103.1 THE BUZZ)/WEST PALM BEACH. CAROLLA will air on new FM Talk convert KIFR/SAN FRANCISCO, KPLN (THE PLANET)/SAN DIEGO, KZON/PHOENIX, KUFO/PORTLAND, and KXTE (EXTREME RADIO)/LAS VEGAS.

CAROLLA's longtime comedy partner JIMMY KIMMEL will serve as Creative Consultant for CAROLLA's show and an advisor for INFINITY.

WXTM/CLEVELAND morning man ROVER will add WCKG/CHICAGO, WKRK/DETROIT, WAQZ/CINCINNATI, WMFS/MEMPHIS, and WZNE/ROCHESTER and will be based at WCKG. THE JUNKIES will move to mornings at WJFK/WASHINTON and will also be heard on WHFS/BALTIMORE. KITS (LIVE 105.3)/SAN FRANCISCO will replace STERN with "THE MORNING MUSIC CO-OP," a music-intensive show.

Rock WYSP/PHILADELPHIA, Classic Rock KPLN/SAN DIEGO, and the new KIFR/SAN FRAOCISCO are launching the "FREE FM" Talk format TODAY (10/25). WXRK (92.3 K-ROCK)/NEW YORK will flip to Talk as "FREE FM" in JANUARY, and FM Talk KLSX/LOS ANGELES, WCKG/CHICAGO, KLLI/DALLAS, WJFK/WASHINGTON, WKRK/DETROIT, and WHFS/BALTIMORE are all being rebranded "FREE FM" as of TODAY as well.

Part of the new programming will be a one-hour daily show starting JANUARY for "PENN AND TELLER"'s PENN JILLETTE. The show will air on WXRK, WCKG, KIFR, WJFK, WKRK, KPLN, WHFS, and KSFN-A/LAS VEGAS.

INFINITY's JOEL HOLLANDER says “when we set out to find a replacement for HOWARD STERN we took the opportunity to cultivate a wide array of talent, from both in and out of the radio industry. With ROTH, we’ve found someone who continues to evolve his career and deliver for his legion of fans. ADAM’s depth of entertainment experience is unmatched in radio. And JIMMY has a proven track record of creating winning shows for both radio and television. Couple that with an impressive roster of emerging talent and formats and we have all the necessary elements for INFINITY to continue as the major player in morning drive.”

At KXBT (THE BEAT 104.3)/AUSTIN, STERN's replacement will be the syndicated STAR AND BUC WILD.

ALL ACCESS hears that the lineup at the new KIFR/SAN FRANCISCO may include some former morning shows in the market.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

XM moves Colmes from Air America channel to new 'Fox News Talk' channel

Effective in January, XM Satellite Radio will introduce the new 'Fox News Talk' channel. This probably means little to readers of this blog, but in effect, it accomplishes two things. First, it ghettoizes the likes of Bill O'Reilly, John Gibson, Tony Snow and any other Fox News meat puppet that can talk on the mic for three hours at a time. Likely, filler will come in the way of Fox News programs already airing on another XM channel.

This is good news for Air America listeners who subscribe to XM, as this means that Alan Colmes will move off XM167 to the new channel. XM167 will become 100% Air America Radio, as previously promised.

XM moves Colmes from Air America channel to new 'Fox News Talk' channel

Schultz Charges Pentagon With Censorship

P-1 (and Jones Radio Network-syndicated) talker Ed Schultz is crying "foul" over what he says is censorship of his radio show by the Pentagon.

Schultz says he had written confirmation that his daily show was supposed to debut on American Forces Radio this past Monday. However, the talk host says the deal was nixed at the last minute by Deputy Asst. Secretary of Defense, Allison Barber, and Schultz thinks it's political retribution for comments he made against Barber on the show last week.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman has denied that Schultz's comments had any bearing on whether or not AFN would air the program, saying that the confusion was due to an AFN staff member jumping the gun on any final decision to air the show on the government-owned network that reaches American military personnel and their families worldwide.

Monday, October 17, 2005

About Face: Military reverses plan to add Ed Schultz show to Armed Forces Radio

The United States' military's Armed Forces Radio has reversed a decision to add The Ed Schultz show to their lineup abroad.

Schultz was told Sept. 29 he would be added to the military's programming today. That decision was reversed this morning. His producers are currently seeking answers from the military.

On his program Friday, Schultz attacked Alison Barber, an Armed Forces official, over President Bush's staged conversation with U.S. troops in Iraq. Barber is an Assistant Secretary of Defense.

(snip)

"Barber told [producer] James Holm that the Ed Shultz show would not start on AFR today because her boss, Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita, was out of the country and couldn’t approve it. Barber also said she was going out of the country soon for a week-and-a-half. Holm asked Barber if the show would begin when DiRita and Barber returned. Barber said she couldn’t guarantee that.

(more)

Ed Schultz Interview: Starting on Armed Forces Radio today

Thanks to The Moderate Voice for this great interview:

...Some consider The Ed Schultz Show the wave of the future. Amid suggestions that conservative talk shows may be getting tired, Schultz's show has been purchased by two major broadcasting executives who were instrumental in developing Limbaugh and Clear Channel, it's now on 105 stations in 9 of the top 10 radio markets (it started on two small stations in January 2004 and within a few months it was on 25 stations) versus Air America's 95 stations, two satellite feeds — and its style differs from both Air America's and conservative talk shows.

ON THE IMPACT OF PROGRESSIVE TALK RADIO

Schultz: Well, I don’t think you can make an impact in less than a year. Let’s be honest about this. You’ve got to have critical mass. If you don’t have critical mass, it’s going to be hard to have an impact. That’s just the radio business.You know, I’m not on the air to make sure somebody gets elected. I’m on the air to do a great radio show. I’m part of a business plan. I’m not part of an election plan. I happen to be a progressive and liberal on many issues — and centrist on quite a few as well....I’m on a mission to do a great radio show and tell the truth.

(more)

Thursday, October 13, 2005

KXXT/Phoenix sold

Not sure if this means that liberal talk may have to find a new home in Phoenix. Communicom currently owns a station in New Orleans, which airs religious programming and infomercials. Not much is known about Communicom, though they did contribute to a Republican congressman in California, for what it's worth. KXXT may just stay as-is, as they are actually doing better in the ratings than they possibly could with any other format.

Stay tuned.

James Crystal Enterprises Sells Trio Of AMs To Communicom

Communicom Broadcasting, the owners of Religious WLNO/New Orleans, have purchased Religious WLVJ/West Palm Beach-Miami and two AMs in Phoenix — Talker KXXT (Air America Phoenix) and Religious KXEG — from James Crystal Enterprises for $20 million in cash.

The deal marks a return to multiple-station ownership for Communicom, which at one time owned religious stations in such markets as New York, Philadelphia, Boston and San Antonio. James Crystal will continue to own and operate WDJA, WFTL, WJBW & WJNA/West Palm Beach, in addition to KNIF/Roswell, NM. John Pierce served as the exclusive broker in the Communicom deal.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Liberal talk moves around in New Mexico

Thanks to Robmidi for this:

Air America Radio moved back to back to a station with a stronger daytime signal, KTRC 1260 AM in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Oct. 3, 2005. (AAR was first heard in Santa Fe, on KTRC 1260 AM, from Nov. 15, 2004 until it was moved to KVSF 1400 AM on Mar. 29, 2005.)

And Air America welcomes a new affiliate in New Mexico. KVOT (95.9FM) in Taos, New Mexico will make the switch on October 17.

Long an outlet for the GOP message, talk radio undergoes a shift

(snip)

There are signs that the Republicans could be losing some of their overwhelming edge, however. Ratings for Limbaugh and Hannity slipped this spring in some markets. Liberals such as Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller and Al Franken are carving out their own radio niche. And Democrats argue that they have an edge on the Internet, where explosive growth could dwarf the political impact of radio.

Some of that could be just wishful thinking by Democrats. The slip in ratings, for example, could be a normal drop in political interest after an election year. They also could be untrue - radio ratings are difficult to measure. And even if Limbaugh and Hannity have fewer listeners than they did in the past, they still have millions more than liberal talk show hosts.

"We're not there yet," Franken said in an interview.

"My numbers are going up, and theirs are going down. But if I have a million and half people listening to me, that's still just one-tenth of Rush's audience."

(snip)

Limbaugh lost 30 percent of his audience in Minneapolis-St. Paul this spring from a year earlier. He also lost 9 percent in Miami and 7 percent in Kansas City, Mo. He did have gains in some smaller markets, however, including Charlotte, N.C., and Fort Wayne, Ind.

Some of the loss can be attributed to listeners tuning out after an election year. But they also might be growing weary of the Limbaugh and Hannity format.

"They're pretty much talking about the same thing every day," said Holland Cooke, a Cleveland-based radio industry consultant who said the hosts tend to talk about the same subjects and interview the same guests over and over.

"Last week, Sean Hannity had Newt Gingrich coming on. I've already heard that show. Then he said he had Ann Coulter coming on. I've already heard that show. It's a rerun. You already know what he's going to say."

(snip)

(Democrats) think they can reach more people through the Internet than Republicans. Internet users are younger and more independent-minded than radio listeners and more open to the Democratic message, Lehane said. Democrats

Howard Dean and John Kerry showed in their 2004 presidential campaigns that they could reach and organize millions of people through the Internet.

Yet if the communications of politics is changing, it hasn't changed that much yet.

(more)

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Ed Schultz coming to Armed Forces Radio

Ed announced on his show yesterday that his show will be on Armed Forces Radio (AFRTS) starting October 17.

No news link as of yet, but you can follow-up with these two links:

The Ed Schultz Show

AFRTS Home Page


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