Norman Goldman picks up eight stations

Not surprisingly, one of the biggest winners in the post-Air America world of progressive talk radio is Norman Goldman, who has gained eight new affiliates looking to fill a gap in their afternoon/evening rosters.

According to RadioInfo, the show, distributed by Compass Media Networks, picks up WCPT Chicago, WWZN Boston, KKGN San Francisco, KPOJ Portland, KJFK Reno, WXXM Madison and WNYY in Ithaca, NY. His most noteworthy affiliate prior to this was KPTK in Seattle, where his company reportedly paid for the clearance.

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National syndicator picks up Norman Goldman show

Norman Goldman's recently launched radio talk show has been picked up for syndication by Compass Media Networks. The show airs weekdays 6-9p ET, and is being aimed by Compass at progressive talk radio stations.

From the presser:

"Don't know Norman Goldman? You will soon," said Peter Kosann, CEO and Founder of Compass Media Networks. "Norman has compelling rags to righteous life-story, track record of success and -- if given the chance -- will help progressive talk stations win."


"We have methodically developed Norman's brand to give local affiliates a clear and compelling programming opportunity," said Bill Figenshu, President of FigMedia1 and advisor to The Norman Goldman Show. "After guest hosting for Ed Schultz frequently over the past four years, Norman is already well known and liked by audiences and advertisers of Progressive Talk stations from coast to coast. He has recently been added to the Huffington Post as a blogger in addition to his fill in work and full time show.


Affiliate benefits include: reduced network inventory, an all purpose fill in host at no charge, guaranteed market visits also at no charge and a prominent legal analyst made available to the entire cluster.


"I am honored and enthusiastic to work with Compass Media Networks and our radio affiliates." said Norman Goldman, "Each station carrying our show can expect extraordinary service, with a focused attention to audience and revenue development."

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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.