Boston's ball of confusion (or, a tale of two Jeffs)

On a day when Pontiac is going to the glue factory, Sen. Arlen Spector is calling himself a Democrat, and 'swine flu' is a pig virus not named Rush Limbaugh, you most certainly have a right to be befuddled. And if you're a progressive talk fan in Boston, well, you have even more right to scratch your head in bewilderment.

So, for those of you keeping score at home, let's see if you can follow all of this.

1. Last fall, sports-formatted WWZN (1510AM) in Boston added a local progressive talk morning show, by way of Jeff Santos, who had previously worked with WXKS and WKOX, the Clear Channel combo that had dropped progressive talk two years earlier. Santos was leasing time on the station, and planned to add Peter B. Collins' syndicated show to another time slot. The new juggernaut started its own barebones website for the venture, revolutionboston.com.

2. The state of the Santos/WWZN alliance seemed a bit confusing to us out-of-towners (and likely area residents as well). It never seemed to gel.

3. Last week, Jeff Kline, the general manager of WAZN (1470AM), only one letter and one slight turn to the left on the radio dial, announced plans to add Dial Global's liberal talk lineup via delay in the nocturnal hours of the otherwise ethnic-formatted station.

4. Kline opted not to do the lefty talk thing on WWZN, but said it would pop up on the dial anyway. Instead, the other Jeff, Mr. Santos, announced that WWZN would program a 6A-7P ET slate of progressive talk, including his morning show (6-10A) and the Dial Global lineup, which includes Stephanie Miller (10A-12P), Ed Schultz (12-3P)and Thom Hartmann (3-6P) (a 6-7P show will be forthcoming).

5. So, WWZN was in. Then WWZN was seemingly out. Then WAZN was in. Then WAZN was out. WWZN is now back in. And that's what it's all about.

Confused?

All in all, it looks like progressive talk fans in Boston have found a new station, and yes, it will be on WWZN (1510AM) starting next Monday. And it will be on a much stronger signal than the two Clear Channel peashooters that carried the format before in the market.

Boston redux?

This thing's happened so often in Boston that it's starting to sound like "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".

Nevertheless, it kinda sorta does look like progressive talk is making a return to the city's airwaves, via WAZN (1470AM).

WAZN GM Jeff Kline sez:

Many of you have expressed an interest in this type of programming.

It can now be revealed: WAZN-AM 1470 will soon be adding Progressive Talk, airing weekday evenings, from the Jones Radio Network. These will be the programs that aired live earlier the same day. The specifics are not yet worked out, as to which particular programs and/or hours we will be carrying, initially.

WAZN is now looking for commission-only sales people to sell this new format. If you have previously sold airtime (either radio or TV) in the Boston area, I want to hear from you!

Email only to: jeffk@mrbi.net

Jeff Kline
General Manager,
WAZN/WLYN

Essentially, Dial Global progressive talk programming (they have Bill Press, Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz and Thom Hartmann in their stable) will air at night, and the station's current ethnic programming will stay during the day.

BTW - the ethnic programming is mostly Russian, and please hold the lame-ass jokes. We've heard them all.

The WAZN juggernaut seeming has nothing to do with the often up-in-the-air endeavor from last fall, on similarly-named WWZN (1510AM), which apparently never really got off the ground. This one seems like the real deal.

The recession-proof Tuesday update

Okay, so it's now official. Break out the cat food and ramen noodles! The National Bureau of Economic Research on Monday announced that we're in a recession, and have been for a year now, pretty much saying the same thing everyone else besides the news media has been saying for months.

But in these parts, the only recession going on is the hairline of the guy typing this. Hey, blogging's still free, right? Though it would be nice if y'all could click some advertising links to the right and send this poor, balding fool a little substinance (or Rogaine money) to get through these rough times.

With that aside, let's catch up with some news...

Zoning

In case you were wondering, WWZN (1510AM) in Boston has started its liberal talk transition effective yesterday. So far, it's former WKOX/WXKS host Jeff Santos in mornings, 6-9A. Peter B. Collins' syndicated show airs live weeknights 6-9P. Other shows are forthcoming (such as either Thom Hartmann or Ed Schultz in middays, reportedly). Currently, the rest of the lineup is mostly sports and paid programming.

You can stream the station here.

RFK Jr. not interested in Senate seat

With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) about to give up her Senate seat to become President-elect Obama's new Secretary of State, a few names have surfaced for Governor David Paterson to consider. He'd like to name a woman or a minority, but would also be really open to a well-known name. Like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., son of the former senator from the state.

But Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and co-host of Air America's "Ring Of Fire," said this morning that he had telephoned Gov. David A. Paterson and explained that he was not interested in being appointed to the United States Senate. Kennedy has said that he did not feel the time was right, and he wanted to devote more time to his family.

"Baby, if you ever wondered..."

Moving on to the semi-whimsical, many have wondered for the past three decades or so whether there was actually a WKRP in Cincinnati, similar to the faux radio show on the old CBS sitcom. The answer, obviously, has always been no, but that's about to change.

Okay, it won't be a radio station picking up the call letters, but a low-power independent TV station. Henceforth, Channel 38 in Cincy will be known as WKRP-TV (actually low-power WKRP-LP, if you want to get technical about it).

Not surprisingly, the station is heavy with old sitcoms. Unfortunately, there is one obvious show exception, which kinda messes up the whole concept, right?

Bill Drake (1937-2008)


Finally, a sad farewell to a radio pioneer. Bill Drake, the legendary radio programmer who revamped Top 40 radio in the 1960s and helped launch highly successful "93/KHJ Boss Radio" in Los Angeles, passed away Saturday of lung cancer. He was 71.


In the '60s, Drake was known as one of the most powerful men in the radio industry. His formula for success was called the Drake format: less talk, fewer commercials and more music.

Back to Boston

Two years after the switch of Clear Channel combo WKOX and WXKS, it looks like progressive talk is slowly returning to the Boston dial.

WWZN (1510AM) is adding a local progressive talk morning show, to be hosted by Jeff Santos. Santos had previously hosted a daily hour-long afternoon show during the election season. In addition, the syndicated show from West Coast talker Peter B. Collins will air from 6-9P ET. Both shows launch on The Zone beginning December 1. Another syndicated progressive talk show will be added in January, according to the Save Progressive Talk Yahoo! group.

The transition, whatever there is of it, will be a gradual one. The station, for now, is still holding on to some of its sports programming, including "Young Guns Radio," will move from mornings back to the afternoons. Eventually, the station may go full-time progressive talk.

Unlike WKOX and WXKS, WWZN has a 50,000 watt signal, which is centrally located in the Boston area and covers the entire city proper. The station is independently owned, by Blackstrap Broadcasting, which purchased the station earlier in the year and also owns a station in the New York City market.