Rayburn back on The Mic

Closing the book on a long drawn-out drama, Lee Rayburn is finally back on "The Mic."

As in 92.1 The Mic, WXXM in Madison, WI.

The good news was announced Saturday night at a local Stephanie Miller appearance at the Barrymore Theatre. And Rayburn's return also marks a return of a local presence for the station, which ditched his old show last November when management pondered a switch to sports. Since then, Rayburn has been building up a national profile as a frequent fill-in on Air America Radio.

Well, as we all know, the station's hardcore fans did a good job of rallying behind the station and recruiting more sponsors, thus saving it from extinction. And ratings have continued to be strong. Granted, the station has been somewhat of an afterthought since the format switch debacle. Management has been a bit snippy about there not being enough sponsors. No local shows had been added to the weekday lineup. And they devote five hours every Friday and Saturday night playing Mexican music. But it appears that now, they have finally realized they own a station broadcasting at 92.1FM.

In addition to Rayburn's return, The Mic is doing some more roster shuffling. They're adding Mike Malloy's show on delay, from 11P-2A. And they're also giving a four-hour live clearance to "The Air Americans," the new show set to debut Monday night. Gone in this transition is Jon Elliott and Thom Hartmann, who previously aired on delay from 11P-2A.

Rayburn will air on the station from 6-8A, replacing the last two hours of The Young Turks, who continue at WXXM from 5-6A.