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.

Easter eggs (the digest version)

Nothing fancy for the day after Easter. A few articles you may (or may not) enjoy.

First, we hear from Air America's newest host, Montel Williams, who has a firm idea of what he wants with his new show. And he told the New York Daily News' David Hinckley what he has in mind:

"My beliefs include both left and right," says the 52-year-old Williams, looking fit in casual blue jeans and, of course, his signature shaved scalp. "That's the way it should be. Don't just pick a side. Look at each issue."

(snip)

"What media put out, most people follow," he says. "We are lemmings. That's why it's a concern that 80% of radio talk is conservative. That's why it's a problem to see the same six or seven people on talk shows every day. There are plenty of people with different views who are just as informed. Let's bring them in."

(snip)

"There's so much anger behind it," he says. "It brings the discussion down to a playground level, when what we need to do is lift the discussion up.

"I don't call people names. There's nothing in the world I'm afraid to discuss, but let's argue using facts."

And in the "Uh oh, here we go again" department, Williams says that he is considering a career in politics, though not in the short term. He's looking about a decade or so down the road.

Moving right along, here's a pretty good blurb about another recently introduced Air America offering, the online-only "BreakRoom Live with Maron & Seder":

Remember Air America Radio? Remember radio? Well after video killed the radio stars Air America Media buried some bodies and sat Marc Maron and Sam Seder in their break room and started breaking new ground. The show mostly consists of Marc and Sam comically battling and boiling down hot topics and politics, bouncing subjects off guests like Janeane Garofalo, and batting out the occasional sketch or rant. All followed by the post show chat with the online audience.

Marc and Sam have a wealth of experience that helps make a live broadcast look easy... These guys are sharp and witty and it shows. Producers Carl Ginsburg and Brendan McDonald have given the show the appropriate polish that keeps it feeling real while delivering comedy on par with The Daily Show and Colbert Report.

(snip)

While this show is live, there is a wealth of comedy to be mined out of the archives. You can find Maron product testing electric cigarettes or ranting about his ex-wife in the reoccurring segment, The Angry Chef. Sam delivers his own laughs with his regular segment, Survival Sam.

Next, Bill Mann provides his own take on Rachel Maddow, who has achieved what Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura Schlessinger - a so-far successful career in television, and she's only been doing it for five months.

From the HuffPo article:

...Most evenings on her show, Maddow -- described by Keith Olbermann as MSNBC's "resident policy wonk," looks relaxed and highly informed. It's obvious that Maddow does a lot of show prep; she brings to light issues often ignored on cable-news outlets.

Paul Krugman, for example, would have been proud of Maddow's detailed, plain-English explanation of why economic stimulus is far better served by creating jobs than by the Feds just handing out tax cuts. That show in February deserves serious Peabody Award consideration.

MSNBC's other liberal hosts can provide the bombast and the passion. The thoughtful Maddow has established a lower-key approach with her "just the facts, ma'am" essays, and she's carved out an important niche for herself at MSNBC...

And we close with a piece on MSNBC's newest host, radio talker Ed Schultz. This one is yet another sneering screed from those masters of silly spin, nonsensical namecalling and manufactured outrage. Yes, I'm talking about the 'tighty righties' over at the Media Research Center's NewsBusters blog. And it seems they're getting so desperate, they're digging up stuff from five years ago and claiming it 'news'. This is essentially intended to be a hit-piece on Schultz (who recently got his own MSNBC show). Since they couldn't to task because (gasp!) they got financial help from well-known Democratic politicians. Oh, the horror!

Brian Maloney has tried in vain to make people think Schultz is crazy because he's never been shy about showing his hot temper. Keep in mind that Maloney says this while practically turning his blog into a kiss-ass shrine to high-strung head cases like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly, so consider the source.

I won't bother to paraphrase anything here. It's pretty stale stuff. But you can read the latest meme from MRC here.

Maybe we should take a look at how the MRC built up its own war chest. Hmmm...

Brent Bozell's bozos and the rest of their ilk failed miserably at trying to take down Maddow. Now they're trying again with Schultz. But it will likely fail, apart from becoming the typical standard conservoporn for (what's left of) their die-hard flock. After all, these guys couldn't find their asses with both hands, a flashlight and a head start.

Friday catch-all

Just a round-up of the latest happenings, including a few things I didn't get around to posting. Enjoy.

Montel producer named

Here's the whole press release, so I don't leave anything out:

Air America Media has named radio veteran Mike Opelka executive producer of "Montel Across America," debuting next Monday, April 6. In this role, Mike will oversee the overall structure and content of the show, and will assist in booking guests.

"Mike’s the perfect guy to join with Montel in creating this exciting new radio program", said Bill Hess, senior vice president of programming for Air America Media. "We’re thrilled he’s joined us."

"I’m looking forward to working with Montel and the entire Air America team to launch this one-of-a-kind radio show," said Opelka. "As preparations are well underway, I’m excited to be a part of bringing Montel’s passion and talent to Air America’s listeners."

Opelka is a media veteran with more than 20 years of experience in radio, network and cable television, internet production, management and publishing. Most recently he was executive producer of CBS Radio’s syndicated "Opie & Anthony" show. Prior, he was producer and director for the launch of Premiere Radio Network’s "Wake Up with Whoopi," starring Whoopi Goldberg. Additionally, he’s served as executive producer of WKTU’s "Baltazar & Goumba Johnny Morning Show," and assistant program director of the station. From 1988-1998, Opelka was a producer for Z-100’s "Morning Zoo" with Scott Shannon, Ross Brittain, Gary Bryan and Adam Curry.

In addition to his radio credits, Opelka produced shows and projects for Fox Television, including "Fox After Breakfast" and original programming for the launch of the FX Network.

"Montel Across America," hosted by Montel Williams, will air weekdays from 9A-12P ET on radio stations across the country, and streamed live online at airamerica.com.

WINZ flips tonight

Progressive talk fans in Miami should enjoy the last few hours if they can. The worst kept radio secret of the year, the long-rumored format switch at WINZ (940AM) to sports talk will finally happen tonight (Friday) at 6P.

The new station will feature all nationally syndicated hosts from FOX Sports Radio, which is owned by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel, owner of WINZ. The only local presence on the station will be Miami Heat basketball. Also Florida Gators football and basketball, if you consider that local.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel sez:

"We also intend to pick up as much play-by-play (of various sports) as we can," program director Ken Charles said.

WINZ will become the sixth all-sports radio station in South Florida, an area that has shown it can support only one, if that.

No word on whether another area station will pick up the deposed progressive talk format, which garnered pretty decent ratings in its almost five year run. Perhaps one of the other five sports talk stations will consider.

Ironically, progressive talk replaced... (drum roll)... FOX SPORTS(!!!) back in July 2004. And we all know what the definition of insanity is, right?

The last terrestrial domino falls

Remember a few weeks back when I mentioned the fading of CBS' old "Hot Talk" push? The company flipped their New York and L.A. stations to top 40 and completely torpedoed guy talk. Coinciding with that, the syndicated shows of testosterone-fueled talkers Adam Carolla and Tom Leykis effectively ended. And now, Opie and Anthony have officially gasped their last terrestrial breath, as their final affiliate has thrown in the towel.

A couple days ago, their sole remaining affiliate, WROX in Norfolk dropped the delayed weekday airing of their show (in addition to the just plain awful Mancow show). The duo, however, can still be heard (and uncut, at that) via Sirius XM.

'Guiding Light' gets turned off

Never thought I'd be writing about a soap opera, but this one is pretty historic. After all, how many shows are still around that go back 72 years?

After this unlikely long run, CBS is pulling the plug on "Guiding Light", which will broadcast its final episode on Friday, September 18, 2009 after a whopping total 15,700 (now try buying the complete set on DVD!).

The show is older than commercial TV itself, as NBC Radio launched the 15-minute serial "The Guiding Light" on January 25, 1937. The show moved to television, on CBS, on June 30, 1952 (though the radio version continued until 1956). In 1967, the show switched to color and expanded from 15 minutes to a half-hour. The expansion to an hour happened in 1977.

In recent years, to cut costs in an era where seemingly nobody but retirees watch soap operas, they started taping the show outdoors with camcorders, in order to cut costs and give it that hip "YouTube" look. That didn't fly, and the ratings still tanked.

The show will likely be replaced by yet another talk show or perhaps yet another courtroom offering moderated by a sassy judge (I made up that last part).

For the die-hards, there is talk of some other entity continuing the "Guiding Light" saga, so, stay tuned.

From anal cysts to anal poisoning

Okay, sorry for being so nasty. But considering this last item was broadcast live on Rush Limbaugh's show to millions of people across the country, well, it is indeed worth mentioning. Some people just don't know when to shut up before they say something really, really dumb. Take, for instance, the GOP's current great white hope, certainly no stranger to saying utterly stupid stuff.

HuffPo sez:

...Limbaugh went waaaaaay over the top in insulting Gordon Brown with a mental image that one must work at to un-think about, warning that if the British Prime Minister keeps "slobbering" over President Barack Obama, he'll "come down with anal poisoning and may die from it."

Naturally, how Limbaugh gained such innovative insight into the epidemiological vectors of saliva-borne ass toxins remains an open question.

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

After all, who better an expert on assholes than America's biggest asshole? Perhaps Rush should have issued this warning to his fave brown-noser, Brian Maloney...

HuffPo and blatherWatch have the audio of this rather sordid soundbyte.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go hurl.

Everything's Gone Green

I don't care if I'm Irish, I usually don't do much to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. To me, it's just a day where all you non-Irish people (who normally would be directing hostile and idiotic insults toward people like me about my ancestry and family's religious background) go out, get plowed at the local watering holes and make fools out of yourselves. And on top of it all - you tell everyone you're Irish! No wonder us 'real deals' get such a bad name!

Hey, I don't go 'round telling people I'm Italian on Columbus Day. Or tell people I'm Jewish on Yom Kippur. And I certainly don't claim to be African-American on MLK Day (I don't think they'd believe me). Leave us Irish folk alone!

So, not much to report, but I'll do it in green text, just to make it look festive. Drive safe!

The Air America mystery wheel lands on... Nicole Sandler

So far, there's an opening at Air America for what was once their highest-profile time slot. The network has, in typical fashion, refrained from naming a permanent replacement for the recently departed Thom Hartmann. David Bender filled in the past two weeks, and this week, you can hear Nicole Sandler, formerly of WINZ Miami, on the network from 12-3P.

Beyond that? Who knows?

I do, however, know of at least one experienced and respected radio host that's available for a gig...

Montel's first affiliate?

Speaking of Air America, the network may have found at least one new affiliate for incoming mid-morning host Montel Williams. Robin Bertolucci, PD of KTLK in Los Angeles, is keeping her options open.

"I am definitely interested in hearing his radio show," said Bertolucci. "At this point we're trying to see what's going on with Randi Rhodes and such but I am excited to hear him," she said in an e-mail to the Orange County Register.

But Williams' new show would air live on the West Coast from 6-9A, the same time as Stephanie Miller, who's show airs from KTLK's studios. Not to worry - KTLK will not lay a finger on Miller's show.

A more likely time would be 12-3P PT. Currently, the station is airing Nancy Skinner in the time slot, but this doesn't sound permanent. And given that Skinner's 'network' is an unknown entity at this point, it may not be a long-term thing.

Randi update

Most of the emails I get concern either Nova M Radio (or what's left of it) and their former afternoon host, Randi Rhodes. The same Orange County Register article quoted above has the only thing close to an update on the status of her show. Here's what they say:

She has been off the air since she left her syndicator. Word is if and when a deal is worked out with a new company to distribute her program nationwide, she will return to the air.

And yes, that is all I know too. Randi and her people aren't known for telling anyone much about her or her show, and they most certainly don't tell me anything, so for now, it's all speculation. Same as it ever was.

ESPN Radio ups its affiliate price

So, all you radio management types that thought running a syndicated sports radio feed off the board would be a stupid-proof way to rake in some ad income, right?

Wrong.

And for this, I turn to Sports By Brooks:

...A source told me that ESPN is planning to charge some non-ESPN owned and operated sports radio stations fees to carry its radio network programming. For big markets (Top 30), the annual charge to stations is as high as $100,000.

Even in good economical times, that move is a serious horse pill to ingest for local sports talk radio stations.

My reaction, as a former sports radio program director and on-air personality for 16 years (including on ESPN radio affiliates), is that very, very few (if any) Top 30 markets would pay a six-figure sum to air ESPN network programming.

So, let's do the math. Cost to run ESPN in a large market: $100K/year.

Cost to run an all-syndicated progressive talk format: Zero, aside from ceding aside some ad time to the syndicator.

Then again, radio doesn't operate on the common sense plan.

Not green - gangrene

I was going to mention something yesterday, and even started an entry, but I got a bit distracted by reality and didn't get a chance to make a clean entry out of it all. Yesterday saw Don Imus announcing that he has stage II prostate cancer, and we also saw the announced passings of both Ron Silver kicked the bucket and yet another major city newspaper, which has bitten the dust. Pretty grim, huh?

Well, it's not like either of those two guys will get much sympathy from the types of people reading this blog, particularly Imus, if all the stories that I've heard from first-hand sources regarding his personality are true.

Probably not much love from the left for actor Ron Silver either, particularly given his ideological turnaround in recent years, as he became one of those "9/11 Republicans" that think the best way to protect our country from terrorists is to support the people who let the attacks happen (i.e. Bush and Cheney). Nonetheless, Silver had a passion for what he did, and he was a very actor, particularly in roles where the audience is supposed to really hate the character. It was too bad Jeremy Irons blew everybody off the screen in "Reversal Of Fortune", otherwise Silver's role of Alan Dershowitz would have been remembered even more fondly.

Sure, the guy came off sometimes as kind of a creep, and does anyone really believe that he was more or less 'blacklisted' from Hollywood, especially since staunch right-wingers like Robert Duvall and Adam Sandler still get lots of work? As for his political bent, who cares? Misguided or not, he was what he was.

And finally, yet another newspaper has folded. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is kaput after 146 years and shift to an online-only presence, yet another victim of the rough economy.

This move comes less than two weeks after another major daily, Denver's Rocky Mountain News, also ended its run altogether. The Tuscon Citizen will likely shut down this Saturday.

Hearst, which owns the Post-Intelligencer, put the paper on the market in January, warning that it would close down the printing presses if a buyer didn't come forward.

In addition, as yet another sign that the newspaper industry is hurting due to modern technology such as the internet and the lousy economy, Hearst has also made noise about selling or even shutting down their highest-profile paper, the San Francisco Chronicle. Tough times indeed.

Time magazine recently published a column on their website, claiming that the newspaper shuttering could go even further. They cite 24/7 Wall St. with an article that says venerable dailies such as the Chicago Sun-Times, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Boston Globe and the Miami Herald might not make it to the end of the year, unless things turn around.


Okay, enough of the gloom and doom. Have a safe and happy St. Patty's. And by all means, if you're not Irish, don't tell people you are. Sheesh!

Montel Williams joins Air America

Apparently, the rumors have been confirmed and former television talk show host and author Montel Williams will join the regular Air America lineup.

Williams' show, "Montel Across America", will debut in the 9A-12P timeslot on April 6, and will replace Lionel, who is reportedly developing a new show for the network.

From the press release:

“Montel is a multi-media star and a familiar name to millions of people across the country,” said Bennett Zier, chief executive officer of Air America Media. “The addition of Montel to our talent line-up is an important step for the continued growth of Air America, as we look to distribute Montel’s show across America.”

“We’re extremely pleased to be able to add such a talented, passionate voice to our programming line-up,” added Bill Hess, senior vice president of programming for Air America Media. “This program will give Montel an outlet to do what he does best--reach people with his probing questions and insatiable quest for knowledge.”

“After being on television for more than 17 years, I’m looking forward to engaging in lively conversations and interacting with the American public,” said Williams. “Air America is providing me with the perfect environment to do this every day from New York City, as well as reporting from cities around the world as a travelling correspondent.”

And in other TV-turned-radio talker news, Jerry Springer, who once held down the same slot on Air America to be taken over by Williams, is back in radio, albeit temporarily. You can hear him do the 1-4P CT shift on Chicago's WGN (720AM) this week, though this will not be permanent, as Springer has no desire to return to radio.