Progressive talk moves to 1360 in Cincinnati

July 7 is the day that progressive talk will be dropped from WCKY (1530) in Cincinnati to make room for the sports talk format presently on co-owned WSAI (1360). The current progressive talk format will wind up on the lower-powered but still decent 1360 frequency.

WCKY (1530) is one of the most powerful progressive talkers in regard to signal strength, and it's 50,000 watts covers much of the eastern half of the country after dark. Unfortunately, much of that airtime is taken up by overnight paid programming that consists mostly of religious talk.

The good news is that supposedly, the religious talk will stay on 1530 with the sports talk (an even stranger combination). That may lead to 1360 being progressive talk 24/7, though this is unknown at the current time.

WWAA/Atlanta drops Air America

...Joe Weber, the new owner of 1690, has dropped Air America as of today except for Al Franken. He is hoping to convert some AA listeners to his standards format but that could be a challenge.

I’m certain Air America will find another signal on the AM dial down the road so fans of the format shouldn’t be bummed for too long. And if you’re at work with a broadband connection, you can stream. Or you can get XM Satellite Radio ($12.99 a month).

1160, which had been Weber’s “Voice of the Arts,” is now business talk, if that’s your cup of tea. There are rumors that 1160, which has taken the WWAA call letters, could be the future home of AAR.

WCKY/Cincinnati in trouble?

Nationally syndicated talk host Ed Schultz is asking Hamilton County Democrats to help keep his show on progressive-talk WCKY-AM (1530).

"Republicans and conservatives ... are trying to get WCKY-AM in Cincinnati to take us off the air," Shultz writes in a letter e-mailed to party members last week.

"Sources inform us right-wingers have even gone so far as to call local advertisers and tell them they will not do business with them because they buy advertising during 'The Ed Schultz Show' (3-6 p.m.)," Schultz says.

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Liberal talk has not been a hit here since WCKY launched the format 18 months ago with Springer's national talk show. WCKY ranks No. 18 among stations here, with a 0.9 audience share for winter quarter, down from a 1.3 in summer and fall. Schultz's show, with a 1.0 audience share, outperforms the station average. More people listened to oldies on the station in 2004 before the format switched.

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Clear Channel could drop the liberal talk format if the WCKY audience doesn't grow, says Darryl Parks, Clear Channel's AM operations director here.

"We're not happy with the (ratings) results. We're always looking for a way to improve our product (stations)," Parks says. "This isn't about any political ideology. This is all about ratings and revenues."

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