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.

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!

News for short attentions spans

Lots of little stuff going on in the wacky world of media, and since I haven't had much time to really dig into it, I'll do yet another one of those catch-all entries.

The Randi wrap-up

First, a follow-up in regard to the whole Randi Rhodes saga. With Rhodes finally finding a happy home courtesy of Nova M Radio, she opened up about what led to the falling-out with Air America Radio. And, contrary to popular belief, it wasn't the 'whoregate' thing that led to her departure. A very candid Rhodes opened up on the air about what transpired over the past few weeks.

"It wasn’t about what I said, it was about locking me into something that I had deserved the right not to be locked into," claimed Rhodes. The whole dilemma was the result of contract issues. The most recent one ended on April 6. Air America was willing to sign her to a new one, and even offered her more money to do so. But there was a catch. The new contract would strip her of much of her freedom, mainly the right to leave at will, and install a new clause that would allow her bosses to fire her on a whim. After years of fighting for the generous contract she had been working under, this was unacceptable. During the contract impasse, she was indeed yanked off the air, as occasionally happens in the radio business.

During this time, Air America decided to test Rhodes' strength, and importance to the network. They floated the San Francisco appearance in the media, and even announced that she was 'suspended.' "My own company fed this story to the press… They released the statement saying I was indefinitely suspended." Rhodes, who had no 'morals clause' in her contract, was "shunned and banished."

"There had been no coverage of the (San Francisco) event, pro or con. I called them and said, tell me what news story are you reacting to? They said they wanted to see the real value of the company and the ripple effect. What they found out was that without me they were nothing."

Yet Air America played hardball, and told her that if she did not agree to the new conditions, she would not be back on the air. Rhodes, who had made a decision immediately following the suspension to jump ship, called their bluff and told them she was done with them.

"They aren’t radio professionals and have no radio background," she said on her show.

As soon as word started leaking out, Rhodes' supporters rallied around her. First to her defense was Clear Channel, which owns many of her affiliates, including longtime flagship WJNO in West Palm Beach. KKGN in San Francisco was first to announce they were bringing her back, with or without Air America. By the next afternoon, Nova M Radio, which is currently run by several of the people who initially brought her to Air America, reached an agreement to syndicate her show, which would originate from WJNO's studios.

As for other matters, Rhodes has no idea what happened to her website, which was pulled down as soon as Air America announced her departure and replaced with a redirect to their site (the site later redirected to Nova M). Rhodes owns her website, claiming "It’s not a civil matter it’s a criminal matter. That’s my property." She hopes that the content on her site was saved.

Nova M Radio will offer podcasts of her show, as they do with Mike Malloy, Jeff Farias and others. They do charge a subscription fee, and will also ensure that her affiliates that carried podcasts of her show in the past, including KKGN and KTLK in Los Angeles, will no longer do so.

Musical chairs on Air America

While Rhodes has moved on to a seemingly more satisfying experience at Nova M, Air America is still in transition mode in regard to her old shift there. They're still using celebrities as fill-ins, under the banner "American Afternoon." Actor/comedian Richard Belzer has been guest hosting this whole week, and while rumored future hosts, including Rosie O'Donnell and Fran Drescher will not be hosting anytime soon, others, including talk show host Ron Reagan, actress/comedian/TV personality Rosanne Barr (with Johnny Argent), and "The View" co-host Joy Behar will be. Interestingly enough, all three, plus Belzer, have talk radio hosting experience. So far, there is no word on any permanent replacement for Rhodes.

"American Afternoon" currently airs on the network's webstream and satellite feed, and on affiliates WWRL in New York, WCPT in Chicago and WROC in Rochester, NY, among others. WWKB in Buffalo, NY is reportedly returning to carrying Rhodes, and there is no word from WXXM in Madison, WI, which is running "American Afternoon" this week and is looking into their options. A web poll on their site showed a strong preference by listeners for Rhodes, who garnered nearly 83% of the online vote.

As for a permanent replacement, Air America has made no announcement as of yet, though the ever-loyal Sam Seder has indicated to management that he wants to return to hosting a weekday show. A petition to support just that is currently online, via Brave New Films. You can also find a petition here.

New contracts that actually were signed

While Rhodes balked at the contract presented her by Air America, a couple progressive voices re-upped with their current stations this week. Popular longtime Miami talker Neil Rogers signed a new five year contract with WQAM, The deal calls for a substantial pay cut, reportedly from a maximum range around $1.5 million per year, to about half of that. The drastic drop is more a reflection of the financial situation at the station and in the industry than Rogers' performance. However, Rogers remains the highest paid personality in South Florida radio by a longshot. In addition, Rogers has dropped hints that he will move back to Miami from Toronto, from where he had been doing most of his shows.

In addition, Jay Marvin of KKZN in Denver has signed a two year contract to remain with that station, according to AllAccess.

Robbins lays it out for the broadcast industry

And finally, The National Association of Broadcasters must have realized what they were getting themselves into when they enlisted actor/filmmaker/activist Tim Robbins as the keynote speaker at the NAB conference in Las Vegas this week. The oft-outspoken Robbins held nothing back as he lashed out at the nation's television and radio broadcasters for fostering an environment that promoted irresponsible news reporting, homogenized programming and right-wing bloviators like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and others. In light of what many viewed as a rather tawdry and gutter-dwelling presidential debate a few days later on ABC, his words carried on even greater meaning.

“Shouldn’t broadcasters see themselves as part of a larger picture, isn’t there an obligation to honestly report on what’s going on, to pursue stories past their headlines,’’ Robbins said. “Haven’t criminal acts occurred in government? Shouldn’t there be accountability for inept policy decisions? Shouldn’t someone be fired? And you know something? I didn’t hear any of that, because I am still thinking about that starlet getting out of the car without the panties."

You can hear the entire speech via FAIR's website. Definitely worth a listen.

Bernstein gets the boot

Updated 11/16/07

Jay Marvin, morning personality at KKZN (760AM) in Denver, dropped a bombshell yesterday morning on his blog when he claimed that Air America Radio VP/Programming David Bernstein's position has been eliminated.

Furthermore, Marvin claims that the privately-owned network is having financial issues as well.

Of course, given that as a private company Air America doesn't have to tell anyone anything, and usually doesn't, they are officially mum about current goings-on. Not surprisingly, no reason has been given as to Bernstein's departure.

Recently, Bernstein, who was hired in March, created a stir when he was quoted as saying that the network has "been far too extremist… It's not our job to get a Democrat elected to Congress. We need to be funny, we need to be enjoyable, and I don't think that existed at this company three years ago."

To be honest, I thought he was right. I also felt Air America was suffering an identity crisis. He was gutsy, and quite frankly, Air America had been bogged down by too many yes-men. But Air America's listeners do not like to hear stuff like that. The comments, coupled with the controversial hiring of Lionel for the network's midday slot, did not go further in endearing himself to fans. Whether this was what ultimately did him in is unknown.

Following his hiring, Bernstein was not shy in voicing where he saw Air America going. "I want people, after they've heard Air America, to say they learned something - that whether they agreed or not, we gave them honest information they didn't have before." Furthermore, he adds, "We want to talk to everyone and help everyone make the right choice."

Was Bernstein forced out due to ideological clashes with Mark Green? Was it a financial issue? Thinning of the front office? Rumors of Green's unhappiness with the lack of success of some of the network's newer shows have been rampant, with him even taking charge of the entire relaunch in May. Apparently, the current management of Air America are as tight-lipped as the old one.

UPDATE: Tom Taylor, a columnist for Radio-Info, spoke with Air America chief operating officer Scott Elberg, who claimed the VP/Programming position “isn’t going away.” However, “It may be a little different,” as the network moves to take advantage of its online growth potential. One avenue toward growth would be to target people via their web presence and internet audio streaming, to reach people who aren't within earshot of an over-the-air affiliate. Bernstein's successor will likely have a different title and will likely have experience in web-based content.

Elberg also said “I’ve known David for 20 years” and he convinced him to put aside his consulting business to join Air America when it changed ownership. Now, “David can go back to that, and he certainly did a lot of good, good things for us” in his seven month stint at Air America.

As for the rumors about the network's solvency, Elberg paraphrased the Mark Twain line about “the rumors of our demise” and says they’re still very much alive. Air America’s become the company that some people love to hate, and they’ve been predicting its crash-and-burn since before it launched with Al Franken pledging an antidote to right-wing talk radio. Elberg also brushed off industry rumors that the network will fold soon and send some of the more successful shows to WOR Radio Network for syndication. "No truth to that at all," he said.

Jay Marvin gets the KKZN/Denver morning gig

Controversial talk-show host Jay Marvin will return to the Denver airwaves on Feb. 28, Clear Channel Communications announced today.

Marvin will host the 6-10 a.m. timeslot on KKZN (760-AM), the local outlet for the liberal Air America network.

Kris Olinger, director of AM programming for Clear Channel in Denver, said Marvin "will be his old self - loud and liberal and funny."

(snip)

He was released by Chicago's WLS-AM last month. The station declined to comment on Marvin's departure, but Marvin told The Post last month that "I was way too liberal for the station. It's become very right-wing."

Marvin was previously on KHOW in Denver, prior to going to WLS in 1999.

Jay Marvin to fill in on KKZN/Denver morning show. Will he get the job permanently?

(note: free subscription required for All Access link)

A familiar voice will be on the air in DENVER on FRIDAY, as former KHOW-A host JAY MARVIN, most recently on WLS-A/CHICAGO, hosts the 7-10a time slot on CLEAR CHANNEL Talk KKZN-A (AM 760, DENVER's PROGRESSIVE TALK). Could this be a precursor to something more permanent for JAY?