Schultz dropped in D.C.

Syndicated talker Ed Schultz is without a Washington, DC affiliate for the first time in five years as WTNT (570AM) has dropped him from the on-air roster in favor of local conservotalker Jeff Kuhner.

Station management cites ratings, though ratings for the station as a whole are pretty lousy all-around.


DCRTV.com's Dave Hughes sums it all up this way:

WTNT does a splendid job keeping all its programming changes a deep dark secret. And, as a result, it has almost no listeners. Great station, huh! What? 30th in the PPMs. The only reason it exists is to satisfy the egos of a batch of syndicated talkers who can claim that they're "on the air in the Nation's Capital." Keep up the good work, WTNT owner Dan Snyder. At least you get one or two people to listen, which is more than the cluckheads at CBS get for "The Big Talker 1580," which has yet to even show up in the PPMs. Sheesh.....

And Hughes is right. Aside from WMAL, all-news WTOP, and public radio, talk radio in D.C. gets crummy ratings all around. Getting a D.C. clearance typically seems to be more about bragging rights. That's conservative, liberal and everything else in between.

Schultz was added to WTNT's lineup in February after the demise of sister station WWRC's progressive talk format.

Breaking news, fun and frivolity, always on LTR's Twitter Page. If you have Twitter, please follow.

Tuesday Tweets

With the relaunch of "LTR @ Twitter," I thought I'd shake things up a little. To be honest, I've never been a big fan of those 'catch-all' entries I've done. They've always seemed so sloppy and disjointed to me. But they did seem to be the most effective way to forward a bunch of information in one fell swoop.

Well, thanks to Twitter, I can cobble it all together in a thematic sort of way, without getting into too much detail. And I can go a bit further in relating some stories I find quite interesting. Most, if not all of this stuff are things I posted onto Twitter, with lots of quick hits. And you can see a sampling of what's posted there by looking on the far right column of this blog. Lots of politics, lots of humor, and lots of stuff you normally read here.

So, here goes...

First, a profile of sorts about Ed Schultz, originally from the Fargo Forum (and syndicated to other area newspapers). It's about him pulling up stakes and moving to the East Coast for his new MSNBC gig. Of course, this also means that Schultz had to give up his local presence. BTW, Beautiful house, Ed.

Listeners in Central Iowa (that's the Des Moines area for you fly-over folks) are getting something resembling 'progressive talk radio'. Former Iowa state legislator Ed Fallon and his wife Lynn are launching a daily hour-long talk show on KWQW ("98.3 WOW-FM") in Des Moines next Monday at 7P CT. The "Fallon Forum" will offer a liberal/progressive viewpoint Monday through Thursday. And the even better news? They're hacking off an hour of Michael Savage. The show is a leased-time deal, with the Fallons and their sponsors paying $350 per shift.

Hey, remember that crazy 'birther lady'? The one who's filed numerous ridiculous lawsuits claiming our President is not a natural-born citizen? Well, the California Bar has grown tired of Orly Taitz's antics, and they're looking to have her disbarred. With luck, they'll also look to have her committed.

The CBS/Dan Rather lawsuit is getting more and more interesting. Hopefully, the ultimate outcome of the trial will show that Rather was right about the Bush/National Guard story. On a side note, I highly recommend reading Mary Mapes' book about the controversy.

Looks like the GOP's shift toward the lunatic fringe base has cost them a key official. The chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Hispanic Assembly and member of the Republican Central Committee says he has quit the party, mostly due to Rep. Joe Wilson's embarrassing outburst in Congress two weeks ago. He's tired of the xenophobia and race-baiting.

And the truth apparently is coming out about the right-wing vendetta against ACORN. Ambush videographer James O’Keefe admitted he went after ACORN because it registers minorities likely to vote against Republicans: "Politicians are getting elected single-handedly due to this organization," O’Keefe told The Washington Post. "No one was holding this organization accountable." And O'Keefe has been accused of questionable editing tactics in the past.

Minnesota governor and GOP presidential 'hopeful' Tim Pawlenty screwed up last Friday morning on his weekly radio show. Instead of giving his office number, he gave out the number for a phone sex chat line. DOH!

Speaking of stupid, if you ever needed more proof that CNN's Wolf Blitzer is indeed a self-righteous moron (as if the nonsensical questions he asks on his show don't give enough proof), there's this compelling piece of evidence. Yes, he got his ass kicked on "Celebrity Jeopardy" by, of all people, Andy Richter, best known as Conan O'Brien's sidekick on "The Tonight Show", as well as one of the coolest and wittiest guys on the planet. Now doubt, "The Situation Room with Andy Richter" would be compelling viewing, and could perhaps be a solution to CNN's ratings woes.

Now, I could post a few things about Glenn Beck, perhaps a satirical story about how he can't hold on to his AlAnon sponsors, or how he spent his childhood smoking dope and listening to Supertramp (which explains a lot!) but quite frankly, I'm getting pretty bored with this loon. Let's face it, the guy's an attention whore, who would eat dog shit on television just to get people to tune in. And we all know Beck obviously gets off even when people laugh at him. Really, we all know he's a kook, and like the pied piper, he's leading other goofy rats through the village. But for now, I'm tired of feeding this goofball's ego.

There are a few things left off this entry, such as the FOX Agitprop Channel's latest attempt at fairness and balanced, but I may hold that back for a separate entry. In the meantime, you can catch all the latest Tweets here.

Schultz drops local Fargo show

Well, that didn't last long.

After just two weeks at his newest affiliate, KQLX (106.1FM), Schultz announced on-air during his one-hour local morning show on Tuesday that he is ending his short-lived run on his new Fargo-area affiliate.

Between his weekday MSNBC show and his three-hour nationally syndicated radio show, the Fargo admitted that he just didn't have the time to do an effective job with the local show.

Shultz announced his signing with KQLX in July.

This is the second time Schultz has dropped his local show in less than half a year. After being tapped for the MSNBC show, he left his former station KFGO.

KQLX will also drop Schultz' national show and an audio simulcast of his MSNBC show, reverting to its previous country music format in those time slots. Hence, Schultz is without an affiliate in his former hometown.

Tuesday talkin'

A new show is hitting the airwaves soon, another radio goofball gets visited by the Secret Service, Jay Marvin's in the hospital, and there's some noise being made in the radio industry. Here's the lowdown:

Goldman gets own show

(Updated with correction)

Norman Goldman, legal analyst and frequent fill-in host for Ed Schultz, is finally getting his own show. His program, which will air weeknights 6-9P ET, will debut September 8.

Goldman's website can be found here.Thanks to Sean for the heads-up.

CBS sale could have impact for Portland listeners

The big media deal over the past week has been in Portland, OR, where CBS has sold its entire radio cluster to upstart broadcaster Larry Wilson, and his company Alpha Broadcasting. Alpha has already struck a deal to buy talker KXL and FM sports talker KTXG from another company, and the portfolio will be complete with the acquisition of CBS' KINK, KUPL, KUFO and KCMD.

The last station, KCMD (970AM), may be familiar to Portland-area readers of this blog. They carry a talk format consisting of syndicated talk shows from across the ideological spectrum, including Michael Smerconish, Phil Hendrie and Stephanie Miller. Now, KCMD has never been a ratings force. And Radio-Info's Tom Taylor says that the new management team could make some changes at the station:

Larry Wilson indicates that strong possibility to the Oregonian. The paper says "Alpha doesn’t plan to make format changes at any of the stations, and will generally leave existing personnel and broadcast lineups in place." But – "one possible exception is KCMD (970AM) , he said, which lags the others in reach."

To many readers of this blog, the only show of significance on the station is Miller's. What changes will be made at the station (if there are any) have yet to be determined.

L.A.'s KFWB goes talk

After four decades, CBS is scaling down the all-news fare at KFWB, as they add syndicated talk programming to the lineup. The new roster will be built around two Lauras - Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Laura Ingraham. Local all-news programming will still be around in selected dayparts.

Ho-hum, you say. But the shakeup of a longtime all-news pioneer is a telling sign of the current state of radio. Syndicated talk is much cheaper than live-and-local all-news programming, especially when the same company owns another local station, KNX, carrying the same format (though KFWB has, in typical L.A. fashion, differentiated itself with a more entertainment industry-heavy focus). One wonders what this could mean for other stations carrying the extremely expensive all-news format. CBS, for example, has a similar situation in New York, where both WCBS and WINS do the format, albeit with very high ratings.

Interview with Montel

Shelly from Air America chimes in with a link to an interview of mid-morning host Montel Williams. It comes from Inside Radio, and you can find it (in PDF format) here.

They just never learn, do they?

A week after some dim-bulb right-wing jock threatened the president, the Secret Service is investigating another on-air threat, this time from an Uncle Fester-lookalike FM morning guy named 'Spaz'. Here's the scoop:

A Boston radio host was interviewed by the Secret Service after he made a threatening comment about President Barack Obama while talking about national health care, the Boston Herald reported Saturday.

Anthony Parziale, a co-host on the WAAF "Hill-Man Morning Show," plans to write a letter to Obama to apologize for his remarks, George Regan, a station spokesman said.

"He plays a tough-guy role on the show. He regretted what he said," Regan said. "It wasn’t meant to be said in that context."

Robert Buster, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Boston office, confirmed they interviewed Parziale, but declined to elaborate. "It’s an ongoing investigation," Buster told the newspaper.

'Spaz' says he intends to write a letter of apology to the president, and also wants to invite him over for a beer.

No more albums for Radiohead?

Going off-topic for this one, but the music of one of today's greatest bands helps fuel the content that you read here on this very blog. If you've never heard Radiohead, you're missing out. Simply amazing band.

But leader Thom Yorke says that the band is currently exploring the short-form online concept, intending to release singles and EPs, rather than full albums like last year's excellent In Rainbows (initially released sans record label as a 'name your price' download.

Radiohead have no plans to release another album, Thom Yorke has revealed. Long-playing records, it seems, have "just become a real drag".

Yorke's comments emerge just days after his band released a download-only single, in tribute to first world war veteran Harry Patch. This model of instantly available singles and quick EPs is the way that Radiohead now wish to proceed, Yorke told the Believer magazine.

"None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again," he said. "Not straight off ... It worked with In Rainbows because we had a real fixed idea about where we were going. But we've all said that we can't possibly dive into that again. It'll kill us."

The problem isn't the format – "obviously, there's still something great about the album," Yorke said – but with the scale and consistency of vision that is required. "In Rainbows was a particular aesthetic and I can't bear the idea of doing that again. Not that it's not good, I just can't ... bear ... that."

BTW - For music aficionados who haven't taken the Radiohead plunge yet (and shame on you if you haven't), I would suggest starting with their best, Kid A or In Rainbows, both representative of their most solid work. The esoteric critical fave OK Computer would be a nice one to hear after that, and then perhaps delve into some of their earlier guitar-oriented fare. After awhile, you could seek out the less-known stuff, such as their EP releases, live recordings and even Yorke's solo album. Radiohead is certainly an acquired taste for some, but if you appreciate a great modern cutting-edge band (even music legend Paul McCartney cites them as the most innovative group out there today), then you're in for a listening treat.

Jay Marvin recuperating

Finally, best wishes go out to veteran talker and KKZN/Denver morning man Jay Marvin, who underwent back surgery Monday in Galloway, NJ.

Marvin underwent the surgery to address the spinal infection that has kept him off the air since March.

Even if everything goes as planned, Jay has a long road ahead of him before he can consider returning to the studio. Still, Mary says he's as positive as he can be under the circumstances. "I think he's anxious about the surgery, but his spirits are pretty good," she notes. "He's had a long time to think about everything, and he's eager to get started."

Likewise, (his wife) Mary adds, "He's very grateful to everybody for all the cards and the good wishes he's gotten. They've helped keep his spirits up as much as anything."

Again, best wishes.

Schultz solidifies homebase, gets bigger workload

After several years of bouncing around various affiliates in his home market of Fargo, Ed Schultz has solidified his home base with a new local show.

Local right-wing radio host Scott Hennen recently purchased two stations, KQLX and KQLX-FM (106.1FM). The AM station is all-farm news, the FM airs a talk format. Back in March, he offered to air Schultz' syndicated show live, as opposed to the delayed evening airing on his previous affiliate KFGO.

In addition, Schultz will once again host a locally-oriented show, airing 8-9AM weekdays. This is in addition to his own three hour national radio show and his nightly gig on MSNBC. Schultz had previously hosted a locally-oriented show for KFGO.

The pairing of political opposites, Hennen on the right and Schultz on the left, was announced at a news conference Monday morning in Fargo.

"If you set the politics aside and look at the business side, it makes perfect sense," Hennen said.

MSNBC... with added Ed

Looks like we were all thrown for a loop. MSNBC is indeed creating a new show around Ed Schultz... only in an earlier time slot.

From the New York Times:

MSNBC will soon add another liberal radio host, the latest in a series of changes intended to position the network as a venue for left-leaning voices in the evening.

Ed Schultz, a radio veteran with a blue-state appeal, will anchor the 6 p.m. hour, to be called “The Ed Show,” starting Monday, MSNBC, a unit of NBC Universal, announced Wednesday night.

(snip)

Mr. Schultz said his show would take a “hard-hitting approach to issues,” with a “folksy style when it’s called for.”

(snip)

The network said David Shuster, the current anchor of the 6 p.m. hour, would co-host the 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. hours with Tamron Hall and substitute as host of “Countdown With Keith Olbermann,” its top-rated program.

And it appears that Schultz will have a little extra time on his hands for the MSNBC gig, as he will no longer do a local show, "News And Views", for his Fargo flagship, KFGO.

MSNBC puts new show plans on hold

For the past few months, MSNBC has been toying with the idea of building on their prime time lineup, possibly by adding a new show in the 10P ET hour following "The Rachel Maddow Show", in place of a rerun of Keith Olbermann's highly-rated "Countdown". But don't look for it anytime soon.

MSNBC will continue airing "Countdown" twice each weeknight in prime time, with the possibility of adding a new show put on "indefinite hold." No reason was given, but it could be due to the rough economic climate affecting the media as a whole, and the fact that the Olbermann rerun actually pulls in a respectable audience, considering that rerunning it is a lot cheaper than starting something new.

MSNBC chief executive Phil Griffin suggested earlier this year he was on the lookout for a new show. He never named names, but the potential host most bandied about was Ed Schultz, who had done some fill-in work for the network on various shows. Fans of the online show "The Young Turks" and of Air America's Sam Seder have been lobbying to get MSNBC to consider them.

From Huffington Post:

Fox has 2.1 million viewers, on average, in the time slot in March. Cooper on CNN has 1.2 million and Olbermann has 902,000, according to Nielsen Media Research. On a handful of nights, a rerun of Olbermann has even beaten a live Cooper in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic that MSNBC watches most closely.

MSNBC may give up entirely on the idea of putting a new live show in that time slot, Griffin said.
"We're not going to mess with it until we see where it levels off," he said. "It places the burden, if we are going to put a show there, (for it) to be a big show because the repeat of `Countdown' is doing so well."

Speaking of MSNBC and cable news, CNN is poised to finish March third in the prime-time weeknight ratings behind Fox News Channel and MSNBC, according to the Associated Press. This would be the first time this has ever happened for the channel that pioneered the cable news genre back in the early 1980s.

EdTV? MSNBC/Schultz rumors persist

This rumor has floated for quite a while, and still won't die. The New York Times makes it seem as there has been some continued activity on this front behind closed doors. The Times account cites an unnamed source from last Friday, so this new blurb doesn't seem to be part of any kind of echo chamber ripple effect.

From The Times:

MSNBC is in talks with Ed Schultz, the progressive radio talk-show host, about a permanent position, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said on Friday. The source requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the network’s deal-making. MSNBC, which has become well known for its liberal-leaning prime-time lineup, is seeking a 10 p.m. host to replace the time slot’s repeat of “Countdown With Keith Olbermann.” Mr. Schultz has been a guest host on MSNBC twice this month, leading to speculation that he was in the running for a position...

...Mr. Schultz did not reply to an e-mail message Friday evening. An MSNBC spokeswoman said a contract had not been offered to Mr. Schultz and declined to comment further.

Speaking of MSNBC, the network has replaced its early morning newscast "First Look" with a re-air of "The Rachel Maddow Show", according to TVNewser.

"First Look," which aired at 5A ET, often re-purposed stories from NBC's "Early Today" which airs at 4:30A in many markets, leading in to NBC affiliate morning shows. TVNewser quotes an insider as claiming the purpose of the move "is to give "Morning Joe" the best lead-in possible."

And in a clever method of segueing smoothly from one topic to another, Rolling Stone magazine has ranked Maddow #22 on its "RS100: Agents Of Change." Congrats!

Tuesday newsday

A few little things to swirl around in your craniums...

Peter B. in at KPTK

KPTK Seattle sorts out it's afternoon vacancy following Randi Rhodes' temporary(?) descent into limbo. They had been airing Rhodes' Nova M/OST replacement Nancy Skinner, but with that network being an even bigger question mark at this point, the station has opted for a more established and stable syndicated host, Peter B. Collins. The show will run on delay from 6-9P PT.

Another west coast station, KKGN (Green 960) in San Francisco, started running Collins' show last week, but no word on whether this will be permanent.

MSNBC grooming Schultz?

As radio host Ed Schultz is guesting MSNBC's 6P show "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" today, The New York Observer and Politico are both wondering if this is really just an audition for a potential new 10P post-Rachel Maddow show on the network.

But perhaps it's too early to read anything into that. It's just a fill-in gig, as regular host David Schuster will be filling in for Keith Olbermann on" Countdown". Official word at MSNBC says it's just that. Period.

A few months ago, MSNBC president Phil Griffin got the rumor train rolling when he told the NY Times that he was considering a 10P show to run instead of the "Countdown" rerun. Since then, there has been some grassroots lobbying by certain people who really want the gig, including a proposed joint effort by Cenk Uygur, of "The Young Turks." and Air America's Sam Seder.

Another one bites the dust

Things are pretty tough these days if you happen to be a radio talk show host. Even tougher if you happen to be a radio talk show host for CBS.

CBS blew out their whole talk roster at KLSX (97.1FM) in Los Angeles last month, when they flipped to CHR, and killed two syndicated shows from Tom Leykis and Adam Carolla altogether. Add Opie and Anthony to that list, as the duo, who have been losing many stations over the past year or so, have lost their New York flagship, WXRK, which is also flipping to CHR.

With the flip of the former K-Rock, th-th-that's pretty much all for CBS' syndication of the show. But Opie and Anthony will continue via their Sirius XM satellite gig. The loss of the show signals that CBS and Westwood One have virtually cut ties with the Howard Stern shock-jock era as a whole, though they still have one 'hot talker' in Washington DC (WJFK), and still syndicate that station's Mike O'Meara (one half of the former "Don and Mike" show. Other than that, there's not much left.

CORRECTION: Opie And Anthony still have one sole terrestrial outlet left. It's WROX in Norfolk, VA, though the station delays the show and airs it the evening hours.

Another day, another Maddow article

For those of you who haven't read enough mainstream media articles about Rachel Maddow, here's another one, from entertainment industry trade magazine Variety.

Spring Cleaning

As mentioned last week, I'm still slowly sorting through all the links and listings in the center column. That means shows, stations and whatnot.

With that, some stations have been removed from the listings, including KGIL in L.A. (which is all-wingnuts, all the time after dropping Ed Schultz) and WWRC in D.C. (which flipped to money talk -- I thought I had already removed that one).

And one station has been updated. KPTR in Palm Springs, CA has a website now, in addition to an audio stream. I'm sorting out new web addresses, listening links, etc. With some of these, it's often difficult to figure out what's going on (like in Jacksonville, for example, where the format seems to move to a different frequency every month or so).

I know that some of the show listings are a bit out-of-date. For example, I removed all the old Nova M shows a few weeks back as it appeared that hardly any of them were even on the air anymore, or had changed timeslots. Now that they're pretty much D.O.A., the point is obviously moot.

Know of any corrections? Let me know. Thanks.

Ladies and gentlemen... the Monday update

Yet another historic anniversary on this day. Forty-five years ago, on Sunday February 9, 1964, Beatlemania officially began, as the Liverpool band took the stage on The Ed Sullivan Show, in front of 73 million Americans, then a record audience. Not bad for a British rock band nobody had even heard of more than a month prior.

Otherwise, here's a little roundup of what's going on, including a few things I've forgotten to write about...

Roots Up Radio hits the web

Many apologies for the delay in bringing up this one. I just plain forgot. Winter must be freezing my brain too.

Anyway, following his departure from WXXM Madison, Lee Rayburn has resurfaced via a new online project, Roots Up Radio, which launched on Inauguration Day. The new venture is described as "a new-media collective of community broadcasters from across the country."

Joining him will be Jeff Farias, formerly of KPHX in Phoenix, who's show will run 7-10ET. In addition, other hosts, including KTLK Los Angeles' Bree Walker will soon join the venture.

Roots Up Radio was founded by Joe Connolly with the intent of giving local broadcasters a forum they have lost as media corporations have grown and local programming has given way to syndicated hosts.

"Most of the hosts are veteran broadcasters," Connolly said of his planned Roots Up Radio lineup. "With all the change happening in radio, most stations seem to be run by one or two people now and there's not a lot of support for local points of view. That's what we're trying to provide."

Bye Bye, Obama 1260

As of today, liberal talk on WWRC (1260AM) in Washington, DC is no more. Replacing it is business talk, which was tried years ago on the same frequency and failed, along with many, many other formats. As they say, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Oh well.

For those of you needing at least some kind of liberal talk fix, Ed Schultz has been moved over to sister station WTNT (570AM). And to their credit, they are airing the show live from 12-3P.

Bill Press has a Washington Post op-ed about the format change here.

And for those station programmers that can't figure out how to attract ratings with progressive talk, perhaps they should talk to whoever's running similar stations in Madison, where WXXM had a phenomenal book, or even Portland, where KPOJ is currently the #4 station overall in the market, with a 4.3 share. Oh wait - the tighty-righties are saying nobody's listening. Yeah, whatever.

It was 45 years ago today...

Oh yeah - Here's video of The Beatles' first appearance on Ed Sullivan. Enjoy!

Another video can be found here.

MSNBC looking to add new show

With the success of Countdown with Keith Olbermann and The Rachel Maddow Show helping to make MSNBC a contender among cable news outlets, there are reports that the network is looking to expand even further.

The New York Times' Brian Stelter reports that MSNBC is looking to add a new show in the 10P hour, immediately following Maddow.

"It's almost like we're one personality away," MSNBC president Phil Griffin told Stelter. Olbermann supports the move as well. "Losing the 10P replay (of Countdown) is a very small price to pay for a last piece to the puzzle." Olbermann says. MSNBC insiders tell us there is nothing currently in development, but the network's goal is to add a 10P show when it finds the right host.

A reader poll on the TV Newser site, asking who should get the nod, showed Sam Seder in the lead as of yesterday (though the page keeps crashing my browser today). There is a movement to get The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur the nod, however.

And Ed Schultz has confirmed that he has been involved in negotiations for a TV gig following the move of his show to Washington, DC, though he has not gone into specifics, in particular naming the entity (entities) that he has been talking with. We shall see.

Schultz says farewell to Fargo - off to D.C.

Since launching his syndicated radio show five years ago, Ed Schultz has long resisted leaving his home of Fargo, ND. That is, until now.

Schultz is pulling up stakes and leaving NoDak to be closer to the action is - Washington, DC. So goodbye to the pickup truck, the dog, the Minnesota Vikings and the house in Detroit Lakes, MN and hello to the bright lights and the big city.

Starting next week, he will be based at least half the time at the offices of the Center for American Progress, run by John Podesta, who headed the transition team of President Obama. The think-tank is also home base to another syndicated talker, Bill Press. Both Press and Schultz are syndicated by Dial Global.

The move more easily allows Schultz to be available for more media opportunities.
"I need to be more accessible to the networks," he told the Fargo Forum, adding that a couple of business deals now in the works could come to fruition in the next few months.

"There is a real possibility of a television opportunity on the horizon, but that’s really all I can say about it right now,” said Schultz.

In addition, he wants to witness the unveiling of the Obama Administration first hand. "This is just a real exciting time for the country, and I want to be there," he told The Forum. "I want to see it. I want to be around it. That’s another reason for this change."

Schultz won’t necessarily leave the truck, the dog and the tackle box behind for good. He will still spend quite a bit of time in the Fargo area. Many shows will still originate from Fargo.

As for his local show on KFGO, "News and Views," nothing will change. The show will keep its local and regional focus, as well as its host.

Picking up the pieces

A few tidbits worth mentioning...

Up around the Bend

Ed Schultz fans in Bend, Oregon will have something to celebrate come this weekend, as a pair of stations, KWLZ (Lazer 96.5) and new sign-on KBNW (1340AM) will simulcast a talk format, featuring Schultz, as well as Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and the usual gang of idiots. Phil Hendrie will also air on the station. Nothing so far is known about timeslots and whatnot.

Red Zebra makes programming move

Since purchasing three AM properties from Clear Channel a few months back, Washington, DC's Red Zebra Broadcasting, owned by Redskins owner Dan Snyder, has enacted its first format flip. Luckily, it isn't WWRC. In order to break up an overlap simulcast, the company is flipping WXTR (730AM) to Spanish-language sports, airing the ESPN Deportes feed. For anyone who cares, the flip will occur on September 1. Hey, cut me some slack - news has been slow lately.

Air America at the Convention

Shelly at Air America Media forwards the on-air lineup for next week's Democratic National Convention in Denver:

· "The Thom Hartmann Program" (weekdays 12-3P EDT) and "The Rachel Maddow Show" (weekdays 6-9pm EDT), will both be broadcasting live from Denver, as will Jon Elliott hosting “This is America” from 11P-1A EDT.

· "Convention: Special Team Coverage" airs all four nights of the convention beginning at 8P EDT, featuring Maddow, Hartmann, Green, Bender, Chuck D and Elliott interviewing special guests and discussing the daily happenings on and off the convention floor.

· Air America's Web site editor-in-chief Sam Seder is blogging live from Denver, posting text, audio and video updates throughout the conventions.

Plans for the Republican National Convention September 1-4 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, include AAR's outspoken liberal hosts reporting from the decidedly conservative convention:

· "The Lionel Show" (weekdays 9A-12P EDT), "The Thom Hartmann Program," "The Rachel Maddow Show" and David Bender will be broadcasting live from Minneapolis-St. Paul.

In addition, the network will feature other events, such as "Authors Turning the Page: Ideas on Election 2008," on Monday, August 25 from 3-6 pm MT in the Big Tent near the Convention Center. The three panels, introduced by Air America Radio host Rachel Maddow, will include various authors such as Ted Sorenson, Jonathan Alter, Paul Krugman, Arianna Huffington, John Podesta and others. All three panels will be webcast live on http://www.airamerica.com/, with highlights airing on Air America Radio during Convention week.

Also on Monday, from 1:30-3:00P MT, Thom Hartmann will participate in a live debate with conservative talk radio host Dennis Prager. This event will be webcast at http://www.starzgreenroom.com/.

On Tuesday, August 26 from 12:00-1:30 pm MT, Air America will be headlining "Air America: Insights from the Inside of Progressive Talk Radio," a panel exploring the opportunities for independent media voices. Moderated by Bill Hess, Air America’s senior vice president of programming, participants include Air America on-air hosts David Bender, Richard Greene and Mike Papantonio. The event will also be webcast at http://www.starzgreenroom.com/.

Who's on second?

Finally, this is likely the week when we'll find out who presumptive Democratic nominee for President Barack Obama will choose as his running mate (some say the announcement could come as soon as tomorrow). And the Obama campaign, as many know, will announce it first to their supporters in a rather unique way, by text message or email. If you want to be in the know, you can sign up now on the Obama website or you can text "VP" to #62262 from your mobile phone. Not to be outdone, Obama's rival John McCain will announce his running mate by next week, via Western Union telegraph. (rimshot!)

As for my prediction (and yes, for some reason, people have been asking me who I think it will be), I can safely say it won't be John Edwards. Okay, seriously, I've been saying to others for months that I think he'll enlist a foreign policy wonk with a huge resume, especially considering the current Russia-Georgia situation. And he'll want a guy who can be a real pitbull on the soapbox. Who else but Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE)? Virginia Governor Tom Kaine and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh have also been talked about, but I really think it will be Biden. And that would be a really good choice, IMHO. And no, I highly doubt Hillary Clinton will get the nod.

As for McCain, there ain't a whole lot out there that really seems impressive. Many of the possible choices are a bit of a bore, or have the taint of the Bush Administration on them. Some are saying Mitt Romney, but the guy completely lacks anything resembling substance. Tom Ridge is another, but wingnuts tend to get uptight about the whole abortion thing (both Ridge and Romney are pro-choice). Bobby Jindal? Not a chance. My prediction for months has been either Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty or Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan (current darling of the think tank set). Seeing as the Republicans actually think they have a chance of winning Minnesota (haw haw!), I think they'll go with Pawlenty and bore their way to the November election.

So there you have it: Biden and Pawlenty. Let's see if I actually get this right for once. If all goes well, I'll give you my NFL picks in the coming weeks.

A peek inside XM's retooled 'America Left'

Come Monday, fans of XM's Air America channel (ch. 167) will notice quite a few changes, as they ditch the Air America moniker and return to the original name, America Left.

After several weeks of speculation, XM has quietly unveiled their new lineup, with a few notable additions and a few subtractions as well. One theme that carries throughout is their attempt to air as many shows as possible by cutting off an hour on several of them. Unfortunately, they didn't go for my idea of setting up several devoted progressive talk channels. Yet.

First, Bill Press remains from the old lineup, but gets an hour shaved off. You can find him 6-8A ET.

The Young Turks, formerly of Sirius and Air America, return to the weekday radio grind after airing exclusively online since January. The new show, airing on America Left weekday mornings 8-10 ET, will actually be a replay of their online show from the night before (which will air 9-11P). At least the gang will be able to sleep in, given that they're based in California, and would otherwise be up very early in the morning to do their morning thing.

Stephanie Miller fans will be happy to hear that her show finally makes it to the XM satellites. She will air in truncated form from 10A-noon.

One personality who's show will not get sliced up is Ed Schultz, who will air live from noon to 3P. Ditto for Randi Rhodes, who's three hour show will follow in its entirety.

Rachel Maddow will air on America Left in truncated form, from 6-8P. Unfortunately, that means listeners will get that obnoxious MSNBC screaming pundits show that makes up the first hour of her show.

Thom Hartmann is still on XM, but only two hours of his show will air on delay, from 8-10P. As with many Air America affiliates these days, he'll get a replay from 4-6A.

In the late night hours, Mike Malloy comes on from 10P-midnight, followed by Air America's Clout from midnight to 2A and Jon Elliot in two hour form from 2-4A.

Speaking of XM, the proposed merger with Sirius, which was rumored many times to have been consummated by now, is still plodding along. In the most recent development, 16 state attorneys general have come out and criticized the merger, and are also on board the bandwagon that favors leasing part of the combined satellite radio spectrum to outside programmers.

Post-holiday scribblings (travel edition)

With the nation's 232nd birthday firmly in the rearview mirror, this is a good opportunity to catch up with a few happenings that we missed. And seeing as the Fourth of July weekend is a heavy travel weekend, and ridiculously high gas prices have likely kept many motorists closer to home, we here have decided to do the traveling for you.

Get your kicks on Route 66

From the 'blink and miss it' file comes word of what is arguably the most obscure liberal talk station in the country. KSZL (1230AM) is a little AM station smack dab in the middle of the Mojave Desert. I'm sure most people claimed the best thing coming out of Barstow was Route 66, in either direction. Well, supposedly, KSZL has been a pass-through outlet for Air America Radio programming since it adopted the format three years ago. For all we know, this station may still be running Air America, but nobody, not even a simple Wikipedia editor, has stepped forward to verify this. The only thing I've really found regarding current programming is that they carry Paul Harvey. Then again, is Paul Harvey still broadcasting?

Nonetheless, KSZL and its three sister stations have been sold by Roland Ulloa’s Dos Costas Communications, according to Tom Taylor at Radio-Info. The buyer is Dex Allen-run California Communications of Barstow, a.k.a. Dallas-based First Broadcasting Investment Partners. The selling price is $4.3 million. First Broadcasting specializes in upgrades and move-ins of existing stations. No word on the fate of their new acquisitions. Hell, I don't even know if KSZL's still running progressive talk (my guess is not). If there's anyone reading this that is in the know, drop a line, okay? After all, Google Analytics tells me that this here blog has gotten traffic from 53 countries around the world, in places like China, Australia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya (lions and tigers!) and even Norway (crabs!). Certainly someone reading this must live in or has been to the California desert. Hell, even I've been there!

Northern Exposure

From the Mojave Desert, we now travel to the Alaskan coast, more specifically the remote state capital of Juneau. KXLJ (1330AM) is a fairly new sign-on, and allegedly, they are indeed carrying a straight feed of Air America Radio. This was one of the stations announced last fall by the network as a new affiliate, and supposedly, they signed on in February. To the best of my knowledge, they did just that, and to prove it, they even offer two streams (!!!) for their on-air signal.

The station's owner, Ketchikan Television, also owns the local CBS television affiliate, and once owned WKIZ, a former Air America affiliate in Key West, Florida.

Not quite the Great White North

And now we travel to Minneapolis, home to several of Minnesota's 10,000-plus lakes. A couple weeks ago, Minneapolis played host to the annual Conclave, a major industry convention where radio people gather to talk shop, listen to speeches, get drunk and pass around tapes and resumes. On Friday, Fargo, North Dakota's own Ed Schultz delivered the afternoon keynote address.

According to accounts by AllAccess and Radio & Records, Schultz doled out advice for aspiring radio professionals and managers alike, talking about his love of challenges and dealing with naysayers like the manager he said signed his release from his local Fargo contract in 2004 to allow him to go into syndication. The manager then crumpled it into a ball and threw it at Schultz, asserting, "You'll never make it."

The talker's pep talk also exhorted managers to encourage risk-taking and new ideas. "You want dreamers," he said. "You want believers. You want passion."

Schultz, who told the audience that he taped a television pilot sitting in the late Tim Russert's chair in Washington the previous day, joked, "How come this didn't happen to me when I was 40?" but answered, "I wasn't ready."

"You’ve gotta keep believing in yourself," Schultz said, tailoring his remarks to younger talents for the Conclave. He said, “I’ve got the best black Lab in the world” and says his dog “goes after rabbits (at his rural North Dakota lakeside home) the way I go after a radio show.” That is, with passion and fire in the belly. “Your reputation in this business is so vital, and I made mistakes that have come back to bite me.” He also dispensed more wise advice: “You don’t know who you’re going to be working with” in the future – so think before you talk and act.

In closing, he said "be willing to bet on yourself." After Schultz went into syndication, he had to pass up multiple opportunities to appear on cable talk shows because nobody in Fargo had a video uplink. So he and his wife sucked it up and invested $150,000 to get one. It paid off.

Head for the Rockies

Congratulations to KKZN morning host Jay Marvin, who was named Best Talk Show Host by both readers and editors of the print edition of 5280 Magazine in the publication's annual "Top Of The Town" issue, spotlighting the best of Denver.

The magazine noted that Marvin is among the few talk show hosts truly interested in having conversations with the listeners instead of yelling at them.

Speaking of Denver, the Colorado city will take center stage come late August as the Democratic National Convention will roll into town. And nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama announced yesterday that he will accept the nomination and close out the convention not in the Pepsi Center but down the street at Invesco Field, the 75,000 seat home of the Denver Broncos. Naturally, the news media is bitching about the logistics of covering two places at once, but seeing as they can immediately dispatch helicopters in the air to cover even the most mundane car chases and stake out camera crews outside of L.A. County Jail at the last minute to watch Paris Hilton walk out of lockup, I'm sure they should have no problem with getting a seven week heads-up to put a few cameras and microphones in an NFL football stadium.

Way down yonder down in N'awlins

Some snide jokesters are claiming that, like Obama, even Republicans can pack stadiums. Speaking of New Orleans, remember WSMB? The Entercom-owned station was formerly a progressive talk outlet. Following Katrina, the station flipped to a time-shifted simulcast of talk outlet WWL. With that idea not working out at all, and the flip of a local sports talk station to gospel music, the station spins the format wheel once again, this time picking up the ESPN affiliation and going all-sports. Okay, it's not all sports. The station will still continue to air Tom Fitzmorris' long-running "The Food Show." In afternoon drive. Must be a New Orleans thing.

How Swede it is

Sirius is evidently giving even more people a reason to subscribe to satellite radio. Yesterday, they launched a groundbreaking channel designed to attract even more subscribers. This thing could be even bigger than Howard Stern! So, what is this monumental moment in broadcasting? Well, they're devoting a whole channel to the music of (drumroll)... ABBA. Yes, ABBA. It's a movie tie-in, naturally, for this summer's scariest horror flick movie musical, Mama Mia! which could likely rival both Moulin Rouge! and The Blair Witch Project as the most irritatingly awful film of the past decade.

In what could provoke international outrage, Sirius' satellites do travel an orbit that can easily hit Guantanamo Bay, leading human rights observers to worry about cruel and inhumane torture techniques that could be carried out upon al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners being held there.

Nonetheless, pain aficionados can find ABBA Radio on Sirius channel 3. Hey, you know you want to listen...

Across America in a few keystrokes

And finally, you may have noticed a few minor changes to this blog. First, most of the major blog graphics have been moved to Google image servers (a.k.a. Picasa). That should speed up loading time somewhat. In addition, there is a slew of new stations added to the listings at right. Many of these new additions may carry only one or two liberal shows, such as Ed Schultz or Stephanie Miller. They were added in order to inform readers of stations in their home towns or whatnot that may be carrying these shows. For scheduling, please refer to the individual station websites (if they have one). Did you know that you can listen to Schultz in red states such as Oklahoma or Alabama? You can. Or that you can tune into the top 40 hits station in State College, PA to hear Miller in the late evening hours? Yep.

Be sure to check out the list (which should be somewhat accurate). Of course, many of the small town stations listed may also carry stuff like Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity, but hey - at least they carry some liberal talk. And that's getting somewhere, right?

And for those of you who like keeping up with comments (and that means you too, Mensa Man!), a widget on the left side of the page lists the five most recent ones. You can also subscribe to the comments feed by clicking here.

Happy traveling!

WWRL owner purchases stake in Schultz' show

The Ed Schultz Show is under new management.

Radio-Info.com is reporting that Randy Michaels and Stu Krane's syndication group, Product 1st, has apparently sold its ownership interest to Access.1 Communications and its SupeRadio syndication division.

Access.1 also owns radio stations, including WWRL (1600AM) in New York, which acts as the default 'flagship' station for Air America Radio. WWRL recently added Schultz' show to it's lineup, and the station also carries another SupeRadio offering, the Al Sharpton Show.

The company recently reached an agreement to sell their Atlantic City group, including progressive talker WTAA.

Schultz' show will still air noon-3P weekdays, and its ad sales and some distribution will continue to be handled by Jones MediaAmerica.

SuperRadio is a general market syndication company which distributes 40 radio programs in various types of formats to more than 725 radio stations nationwide. Michaels, the former Clear Channel executive that co-owned the show, is now the Chief Operations Officer of the Tribune Company media empire.

McCain furious at Schultz over "warmonger" remark

Proving that there's more going on than Randi Rhodes' "Whoregate," fellow progressive talker Ed Schultz is also making waves. He gets back clearances in a couple markets in Southern California, and now, he's also becoming a target in this year's election campaign.

Following on the heels of the whole Rhodes brewhaha, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, John McCain, is calling on Democratic front-runner Barack Obama to condemn Schultz for remarks he made while warming up the crowd at an Obama event.

So what did Big Eddie say? Did he call McCain a 'whore?' No, even worse.

Actually, what he called McCain was probably even more offensive. So devastating that people should take to the streets of Schultz' hometown of Detroit Lakes, MN with torches, pitchforks and shotguns. Okay, not really

Because you see, Schultz had the audacity to call McCain a... get ready... "Warmonger."

Yes, you read that right. I am not making this up. And as you can see from the link above, it appears that McCain's protectors at FOX Noise, the same network where John Gibson demanded Rhodes apologize for her 'whore' comments the other day even though Gibson often says way worse, are gearing up to spread this ridiculous meme.

To make it even more ridiculous, the McCain campaign likened the insult to the language used by conservotalk radio goon Bill Cunningham, who warmed up the crowd for a McCain rally in Cincinnati in late February by repeatedly invoking Obama’s middle name, “Hussein,” mocking him as a “hack” and suggesting that as president he’d cozy up to Hezbollah and Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. McCain, in quick damage control mode, condemned Cunningham, and Cunningham subseqently turned on him.

So, what provoked this vile insult? Could it have been that time last year at a VFW hall when he launched into a clever little ditty called "Bomb, bomb, bomb. Bomb, bomb Iran?" Or the fact that he's long been one of the most vocal cheerleaders of the war in Iraq? The guy who said that if it came right down to it, spending 100 years in Iraq "would be fine by me." Yeah, doesn't sound like a warmonger to me.

You see, there's a big difference between the race-baiting antics of Cunningham, and calling a spade a spade (figuratively speaking). McCain certainly ain't no agent of peace. And it's likely this ridiculous demand from the McCain camp will open up a can of worms that he doesn't really want opened.

And yes, the Obama campaign responded promptly to McCain's finger-pointing. And they didn't even throw Schultz under the bus in doing it. Campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement: "John McCain is not a warmonger and should not be described as such. He's a supporter of a war that Senator Obama believes should have never been authorized and never been waged."

Notice the nice little polite dig at McCain there? It was a classy and clever response.

Meanwhile, Schultz didn't back down in a telephone interview. He said he has used the term many times on the air to refer to McCain because of his support for the war in Iraq.

"He voted for this war. He's a perpetrator of the war. He's an advocate of the war," Schultz said. "In my personal definition, that's a warmonger."

Needless to say, this proves once again how thin-skinned crybaby conservative Republicans really are. In a nutshell, anyone offended by the 'warmonger' slur has serious self-esteem issues, especially McCain. Rather than call out his opponent over this ridiculous matter, perhaps McCain should prove to the voters of America why he isn't a warmonger.' But that would be only slightly easier than squeezing blood out of a rock. Therefore, labeling a notorious war hawk like McCain a 'warmonger' is not a slur. Anyone who thinks it is should go suck on a pacifier.

Just another twist in this often silly election cycle. Sometimes I wish this whole campaign cycle would just end. But where would I get my laughs?

Speaking of Schultz, Big Eddie fans in Southern California will be able to hear him via the airwaves once again. The co-owned combo of KGIL (1260AM) and XESURF (540AM) in Tijuana/San Diego have added Schultz's show, albeit only on Saturday afternoons for now. Listeners can tune in from 4-7P PT.

Schultz was previously heard in the market on KTLK (1150AM), until the station dropped his show a few months ago. He was also on KLSD (1360AM) in San Diego, which flipped to sports last fall and has since spiraled down the ratings sewer, dropping almost 75% of its Arbitron ratings share.

Shakeups in New York, Sacramento and Palm Springs

In my month-long sabbatical from LTR, I was surprised that I didn't really miss a whole heck of a lot. I noticed that comparable blogs, on both sides, have been rather quiet as well. So, I guess I picked the perfect time to be burnt out.

There are a few situations to catch up on, just to keep y'all in the know. First in New York, WWRL (1600AM) has been undergoing some radical changes as of late. First, morning man Richard Bey left the station, due to what has been cited as a 'personal situation.' And now, the flagship station of Air America Radio has suddenly found itself with a whole lot less Air America. First, hometown host Lionel is gone, replaced by infomercials. Thom Hartmann has now been replaced by Ed Schultz. And Clout has been replaced by Al Sharpton's syndicated show. All that's left really of Air America on the station is Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow.

Air America is said to be looking for another New York station that could be more of a full flagship. Meanwhile, a more limited agreement will keep some Air America programs where they are.

And while Hartmann is no longer on WWRL, he has picked up four affiliates. WINZ (940AM) in Miami (where he replaces Ed Schultz), WZNZ (1460AM) in Jacksonville, WNWF (1120AM) in Destin, FL and KBAI (930AM) in Bellingham, WA are now carrying his show.

In Sacramento, progressive talk and Air America are gone for good, as KSAC (1240AM) has pulled the plug, flipping last Friday to gospel music as KRJY. "It's not a ratings thing - we have plenty of listeners," said nighttime host Mike Malloy on his show. "KSAC is experiencing what most other liberal talk show format stations are experiencing - it's not a lack of audience, it's a lack of business support." Meaning that the station isn't selling much in the way of advertising. Of course, selling advertising time on a station with no sales staff is a challenge in itself.

Owner/GM Paula Nelson said that she's happy with her decision."I was ready for this change - I just wasn't having fun anymore," Nelson says. "The whole political thing has gotten nasty, dirty and contentious."

And it didn't help that major political companies didn't support the station during its four years as a liberal talk radio station, she says.

"There are all these Sacramento Democratic organizations that haven't spent a dime on (advertising) for our station," Nelson says. "To them I say, 'You did this - you were complicit, you shut us down.'

"If you're not sending us the marketing dollars, then you're part of the problem."

Malloy said that his network, Nova M Radio, is currently searching for a new home for his show.

In Palm Springs, some listeners of KPTR (1340AM) have been a little worried about some developments at their owner, RR Broadcasting. In a complicated set of transactions, the company is buying the station's former FM sister, KWXY, and selling one of their stations to a Spanish-language broadcaster, which plans to move the station closer to the Riverside/San Bernadino area. KWXY's easy listening format will move to its former home at 1340AM, displacing progressive talk. But not to worry - progressive talk will survive. The format will move to 1450, replacing mostly-wingnut talker KGAM. The move is expected to take place in the next few months.

Super Tuesday Quickies

Oh, there's just so much stuff that goes on when one is out of town for the week. So much to talk about. And since today is Super Tuesday, we shall celebrate with an extra-long wrap-up entry.

Green revolution

First off, the move by KKGN ("Green 960") in San Francisco to interrupt two hours of Stephanie Miller's morning show there was even more ill-fated than New Coke, Windows Me, the spaceship-looking third generation Ford Taurus and that terrible "E.T." video game on the old Atari system. This time around, the local morning show featuring Operations Manager John Scott lasted less than two weeks, as Miller's fans revolted very loudly. listeners flooded the station with emails and phone calls, and even voted overwhelmingly for Miller's return in an online poll on the site. Claimed Scott, "The netroots feedback we have received is unlike anything I have ever seen for any show, in any format, in my entire career. It was real, it was raw, and it was passionate. The bottom line: Our audience loves her."

Scott said in Radio and Records that he's not offended that listeners didn't want him on the air, saying the events "energized me like few things have." He adds, "I'm sick of columns that say our business sucks. This is a good reminder that perhaps we need to market our products and look for listeners."

Scott's local show ended as he welcomed Miller back via the phone, she promised to sleep with every fan who voted yes in the online poll. Miller made a local appearance this past Friday night in neighboring Redwood City. No word on whether she made good on her promise.

Springer's Super Tuesday and Whad'Ya Know?

Remember Jerry Springer? Of course you do. Best known for his former Air America morning show, "Dancing With The Stars," "America's Got Talent," his own opera, and yeah, that trailer trash 'fight club' he does every day on TV, Springer is returning to talk radio. Sort of. The Chicago-based Springer will provide a live and local 'Super Tuesday' primary wrap-up (I know, I need to make another endorsement) for local station WCPT (820AM) this Wednesday (February 6) from 6:45A (when the station signs on) until 11A CT. Co-hosting will be Dick Kay, former political editor of local NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV (Ch. 5).

They'll look at results from all 24 state primaries taking place Tuesday, and if there's time, may even feature spurned lovers flashing their mammaries and beating the crap out of each other. Just kidding about that last part. No word on whether Steve Wilkos will be there to provide muscle. Listen for it Wednesday morning.

Speaking of WCPT, as a daytime-only operation, the station faces issues on their ability to actually do a local show without displacing popular syndicated hosts such as Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz. But they do get a bit closer, as they sealed a deal to pick up "Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?" from Public Radio International. Okay, it's not exactly local, but the oft-funny weekend quiz show, based in nearby Madison, WI, has been a fixture on Chicago non-commercial for many years. The show was dropped from its longtime home at Chicago Public Radio's WBEZ earlier this month after 22 years on the station. If WCPT adds the show, it will air without commercials. If all goes as planned, the show will be on Saturday mornings at 10A.

This is not the first time that WCPT's owner, Newsweb Corp. has aired public radio fare. Prior to WCPT's debut, the frequency aired "World Cafe," then also carried by PRI.


KTLK shakes it up, minus Schultz

Things have been quite chaotic at KTLK (1150AM) as of late. it appears the station has settled on a post-Mr. K lineup, and made some changes.First, they become the flagship station for Phil Hendrie's syndicated show, which will air from 9P-1A live. The station also adds Mike Malloy live, as will also slot in Rachel Maddow's two hour show into a three hour afternoon drive shift. How does that work? Air America is expanding the show to three hours, effective March 10, adding David Bender for the last hour. The first hour of Hendrie's show will be local to KTLK. Oh, and "Clout" with Richard Greene will air from 1-3A for the insomniacs.

Lost in the shuffle is Ed Schultz. He previously held down the 6-9P shift. The reason given by station PD Don Martin (who I'm sure is not the late, great Mad Magazine cartoonist) is that the station wants a mostly live lineup, meaning as little tape delay as possible. But EdHeads shouldn't worry too much. Paul Woodhull, president of Media Syndication Services, told Radio and Records that Schultz had been approached by another station in Los Angeles (KGIL, perhaps?). He says, “Out of loyalty to our broadcast partner KTLK, we declined that offer. Now that we have fulfilled our obligation to KTLK we look forward to competing against them in Los Angeles very soon.”

Speaking of the deposed former Mr. K, Marc Germain is back, doing a thirty minute podcast via his website.

"Indie Talk" comes to Sirius

Seeking to reinvent the rotting corpse that ego-driven talk radio is quickly becoming, Sirius Satellite Radio claims to be doing something different. Enter "Indie Talk," which they promise will "give an equal voice to individuals from any affiliation or background, target the blogger generation, and be a platform for listeners across the country to react to breaking news, issues and buzz." The most prominent personality on the channel will be veteran actor Ron Silver, a self-described former Democrat who became a Republican after 9/11/01, obviously in awe of what the Bush Administration did to prevent the terrorist attacks (hint: nothing). Nonetheless, Silver's hosting a call-in show from 9-11A (of course). No word on the other voices for "Indie Talk," but I'm sure there's got to be a left or two in there, lest Sirius listeners decide to just give the middle finger to the whole venture.

Radio Free Bellingham

Naysayers keep claiming progressive talk is dying. If that's the case, why are so many stations signing on with the format as of late? This week, we welcome to a new progressive talk station. This one is in Bellingham, WA, up by the Canadian border, as KBAI (930AM) drops oldies and picks up the likes of Thom Hartman, Rachel Maddow and Alan Colmes. A local voice, Joe Teehan, has also been added. No website exists for the station, dubbed 'Radio Free Bellingham,' as of yet. KBAI is owned by Saga Communications, which has had success with the format in several East Coast markets.

Hybrid talker in Oregon flipping to sports

According to AllAccess, KEZX (730AM) in Medford, OR will drop their liberal/conservative hybrid talk format next month and flip to sports.

The station, owned by Opus Broadcasting Systems, will carry programming from FOX Sports Radio and Jim Rome's syndicated sports talk show starting February 4.

The move will displace progressive talkers Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz and Thom Hartmann, as well as conservatives Neal Boortz, Dennis Miller and Tammy Bruce. Syndicated morning show Steve and D.C. will also be gone in the shakeup.

KEZX flipped from easy listening to their current talk format in October 2006, after no doubt witnessing the success of upstate progressive talker KPOJ, as well as a few other similar stations in the state. Since flipping, ratings have been down from the old elevator music format in the one ratings book released since the flip.

When the format launched, I was a bit skeptical of it. Their intent was to compete against the other established talk stations in the market by trying to emulate the massively successful KPOJ. But they went about it all wrong. While they added Stephanie Miller, Schultz and former Air America Radio host Al Franken to the lineup, they also opted to air pseudo-libertarian Boortz, a ratings dud who's usually a last resort for filling midday slots on conservotalk stations, and the oft-cranky Don Imus, who's show has rarely done well outside East Coast markets. While doing right/left talk is a commendable thing, and I certainly wish more stations would return to the way it used to be done, this wasn't what made stations like KPOJ, which got bold and went with an all-progressive lineup, a success. In addition, the schedule seemed to be a slapped together mishmash of random talk shows, with no form or flow. Hybrid talk formats tend to work better with more local hosts that can flow in and out of opposing viewpoint shows. During the 1990s, there were quite a few stations that had left-leaning hosts leading out of Rush Limbaugh, and they were successful at it.

Another problem for KEZX was that they were scraping the bottom of the barrel and taking on lower-tier conservotalk offerings, since the top-tier stuff was scooped up by the other two talk stations. Were hardcore conservotalk fans really going to flip from Sean Hannity and syndicated Oregonian Lars Larson on KMED or Laura Ingraham and Michael Weiner on KCMX to listen to C-list talkers like Boortz or Dennis Miller on the weak-signalled KEZX? Doubtful. It was as if the folks at Opus were afraid to really carve out their own niche. As a result, it just didn't work.

Hybrid talk can and should work. It did for many years. But the case in Medford, as is the one with the similar KRFT in St. Louis, which itself is scheduled to flip to sports soon, shows how not to do it.