Friday talkin'

Been a rather quiet week, which is nice once in a while when I feel I need to get away from this thing (which is more often than you think). So here's what's going on in the media and whatnot.

You say it's your birthday

Only a few scant weeks since Air America turned the Big Five, another radio programming service celebrated an even bigger milestone earlier this week.

At 3P on April 15, 1949, Lew Hill and a staff of four launched the first listener-supported radio station in the world, uttering the words: "This is KPFA Berkeley." And thus began Pacifica Radio, which is now 60 years old.

Since then, local residents created four more Pacifica stations - KPFK in Los Angeles, WBAI in New York City, KPFT in Houston, and WPFW in Washington DC. And there are approximately 150 other listener-supported stations airing Pacifica-created programming.

Pacifica sez:

For sixty years, since the McCarthy era, America’s oldest independent media network has defied political pressures and the conventions and internal censors inherent to mainstream media. A haven and training ground for artists and journalists, Pacifica has been the vanguard of free media. Breaking important news, providing historical and political analysis, and discovering some of our greatest artistic talents, Pacifica Radio has brought us the great voices of each era.

So, happy 60th, Pacifica. You never looked so young.

Now pass the cake.

Reminiscin'

A couple former progressive talkers are in the news this week.

First, KOMY (1340AM) Santa Cruz, which had a rather stormy relationship with the format before switching to oldies a couple years ago, has flipped again.

Since a rival station, KIDD (630AM) had ditched adult standards and gone oldies, KOMY swaps places, dropping their own oldies format and going with KIDD's former format.

The Zwerling family, which owns KOMY and sister conservotalker KSCO, put both stations on the selling block back in September 2007. No word on whether they're still available, but i'm sure they'd sell for the right price. Then again, with so many AM station simply shutting off the transmitters and going dark these days, in the wake of the rotten economy, is there is any kind of demand for two stations such as these?

On the other coast, remember WKOX (1200AM) Boston? And remember that supposed signal upgrade Clear Channel was trying to work out? Well, it has finally happened. Currently, they are pumping out the long-promised 50,000 watts.

The station simulcasts with another Boston AM, WXKS (1430), and both dropped liberal talk for Latin tropical music two and a half years ago.

There is no word on whether WXKS will be split off, since WXKS now has full-market coverage. There is also no word on whether either station will keep the "Rumba" format. After all, if ratings were part of the whole equation, well, let's just say that "Rumba" ain't doing so hot. Overall ratings (I know, I know) are not only lower than they were with progressive talk - they're currently nonexistent. But that's just another one of those crazy things with Clear Channel. But hey, if they feel they're making money with it, well...

The slow, painful death of terrestrial radio

Just as Arbitron and Edison Research released a study saying that online radio listening has risen so much, it's actually shown up in local ratings surveys, the terrestrial pack continue to shoot themselves in the foot.

Clear Channel, most notably, has been sweatin' up a storm. Listening and revenue has plummeted. And the idea of programming ideas being essentially generated by salespeople and bean counters likely hasn't made the situation any better.

So, in order to give listeners what they can potentially offer and what online radio can't - namely localism and immediacy, they have vowed to take a more locally-oriented approach at each of their stations. All fine and dandy. The homogenization and removal of all local flavor has probably been one of the nails in the proverbial coffin. Only thing is, they still don't get it.

Clear Channel's amazing, fantastic solution? Run more PSAs. Seriously.

And they plan on running more local public-affairs programming in better dayparts. And make local station managers available to local officials at all times. It is also part of their plan to mollify President Obama's FCC, which is calling for more localism.

The radio monolith acknowledges that programming needs to improve as well. So, does that mean more locally-oriented programming ideas, made at station level? Wider playlists for music stations? More local talk show hosts? Well, if you thought that, you just don't know Clear Channel.

No, instead, the two-pronged assault announced to the trade publications include adding more distinct HD Radio channels, even though nobody listens to HD Radio. And, in more earth-shattering news, they're adding another hour of Ryan Seacrest. Oh brother!

And that's why radio is dying, folks. They still don't get it.

And the cruiser rides off into the sunset

Couldn't conclude this entry without noting a major broadcast milestone. And for fans of the NFL, this is very notable.

Asked to name a football color commentator, and likely the first name that comes to mind is John Madden. After almost thirty years in the broadcast booth, Madden has announced his retirement. Well, with Brett Favre now retired (?), perhaps Madden has finally run out of things to ramble on about.

All kidding aside, love him or detest him, the guy is a legend.

The good news for fans is that the highly capable Cris Collinsworth will replace him on "Sunday Night Football", which is a pretty darn good idea.

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.

Ratings Roundup Winter 2007: Part 1

Well, it's that time again. Over the next week or so, Arbitron ratings survey reports for this past winter will be released. And the results for some of the biggest markets have already come out.

In New York (#1), WWRL is holding steady, dropping from a 0.8 to a 0.7 (yes, I would consider this 'holding steady,' given the usual margin of error). This is similar to where the station has been since becoming the flagship for Air America Radio last September, and is not bad considering the signal drop-off after sunset, which comes much earlier in the winter months. In the Long Island (#18) market, this early sunset seems to be a factor, as they slide from a 0.7 to a 0.5. In Middlesex, NJ (#39) they dip a tenth of a point from 0.5 to 0.4.

The verdict is still out on whether the recent changes at KTLK in Los Angeles (#2) will result in stronger ratings. The station dips a fifth, from 0.8 to 0.6. In mid-March, KTLK completely overhauled their schedule with the addition of popular local talker Marc Germain. It's too soon to tell what effect these moves will have.

WCPT in Chicago (#3) rises a tenth of a point, from 0.7 to 0.8, only a fifth of a point behind CBS-owned FM talker WCKG (which this week dropped the "Free FM" moniker from their on-air branding). Salem's strong-signalled conservotalker WIND falls a fifth of a point from 1.2 to 0.7, virtually half their audience, dropping it behind WCPT. Hoffmania points out that conservotalk, so far, has taken a beating in the recently released ratings books, with even WLS, dropping almost a full point in the last year. It should be noted that WCPT carries no local programming. Incidentally, WCPT, with a suburban daytime-only signal, again beats their FM sister station, Nine FM, which covers almost all of the Chicago market via three suburban frequencies. Which begs the question, why not WCPT-FM?

WDTW in Detroit (#10) has been showing signs of life as of late, and this past winter, has risen from a 0.5 to 0.7. In the last year, their audience has almost doubled. Like WCPT, the station does not carry any local shows.

In Boston (#11), the duo of WXKS and WKOX have completely dropped off the ratings chart following their switch from progressive talk to "Rhumba." Ironically, Arbitron survey methods tend to be rather favorable to Spanish-language stations. Obviously, in the case of these two stations, it hasn't.

KLSD in San Diego (#17) has consistenly been one of the more successful progressive talk stations, thanks partly to a larger local presence. The station jumps from 1.9 to 2.2 as every conservotalker in the market drops considerably.

And in Akron (#73), WARF rises slightly, from 0.6 to 0.8 for its final book as a progressive talk station.

You can catch up on market ratings at Radio and Records or at Stationratings.com. New markets are added daily at around 5P ET. Stay tuned here as well for updates.

Ratings Roundup: Phase 2 Winter trend, part 1

The second of the Winter 2006 Arbitron ratings trend reports is being released over the next week or two. This rolling trend report survey period covers this past December, January and February. It is the run-up to the official Winter ratings books, which will be released starting later this month.

While there really isn't a whole lot earth-shattering to report progressive talk-wise, there are a few interesting tidbits. First off, WWRL in New York (#1) seems to be adjusting well to being the new Air America Radio flagship. They hold at 0.8 overall, which may not sound like much, but given the station's limited and interference-enhanced signal at 1600AM and the dearth of competition, they are pretty close to the numbers achieved by predecessor WLIB, whose ratings dropped in half following the departure of Air America and the switch to a black gospel music format. Even with the signal limitations, WWRL does make a small showing in the books for Long Island (#18), northeastern New Jersey (#39) and the Hamptons (#260).

In Chicago (#3), WCPT is making a strong showing, considering its own limited suburban signal. So, what's so significant about a 0.8 share? Well, considering the station only airs during the daytime hours, transmits from the northwest suburbs and has ratings equal to Salem's strong-signaled conservotalker WIND, I would consider that to be pretty damn remarkable. They are also close to equaling the 1.1 share of WCKG-FM, a CBS-owned talk station airing the company's Free FM format. Speaking of Free FM, in San Francisco (#4), KQKE beats KIFR, which broadcasts on one of the strongest FM signals in the Bay Area.

If Clear Channel was hoping to find better ratings by flipping WXKS and WKOX in Boston (#11) to a Spanish-language format, well, they didn't. Both stations are completely absent from the ratings survey. The long-awaited new tower and transmission facilities for WKOX are currently under construction, but it is doubtful that even this will save the stations.

And in another market that recently lost a liberal talk station, KRXA in Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz (#80) has shot up significantly in the most recent trend, jumping from a 0.8 to a 1.3 share, likely helped by Air America-affiliated KOMY's recent switch to oldies. In addition, KRXA is now tied with KOMY's sister station, conservotalker KSCO. Incidentally, a casual listen to either station shows that KRXA appears to sell a lot more advertising than KSCO. So congrats to the gang out in the Monterey Bay area.

More trend reports for other markets are on the way. If you want to see the overall (12+) numbers for yourself, you can check them out at Radio and Records or StationRatings.com.

Disenfranchised radio listeners increase grassroots efforts

A grassroots swelling of Clear Channel-owned WXXM/Madison listeners succeeded last week when station management reversed a decision to flip the station's format to all-sports. This has obviously inspired other groups in similar situations to start up their own efforts to save their favorite stations.

After a few weeks of speculation, Boston's Clear Channel-owned liberal talk simulcast of WKOX and WXKS changed formats last Thursday to a Spanish-language tropical music format as "Rumba 1200". A group of livid listeners to "Boston's Progressive Talk" took action, setting up a Yahoo! group and a website, with the goal of returning the talk programming to local airwaves.

And in Columbus, where another Clear Channel-owned station, WTPG, plans to drop liberal talk in favor of shows from Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, Dave Ramsey and others, listeners have begun taking action as well, with a website, petition and Yahoo! group already established.

Grassroots support for the format is nothing new. A group of listeners in Portland, ME banded together two years ago to help save WLVP, which was planning a flip to ESPN Radio. The station's owners, Nassau Broadcasting, changed their minds and kept the format, which carried mostly shows from Air America Radio. Since then, other listener efforts helped bring the format to markets such as St. Louis, Iowa City (albeit briefly), and New Orleans. A dedicated effort helped bring the format back to Phoenix, a mere few weeks after being dropped following the sale of KXXT, and following the demise of liberal talk stations in Dallas, Missoula and Atlanta, listener-supported movements sprung up to help bring liberal talk back to the local airwaves. A petition with over 18,000 names on it obviously helped get Mike Malloy's show back on the air after its much-criticized cancellation by Air America.

Fans of liberal talk obviously took a cue from television fans who rallied in years past to help save shows such as "Star Trek", "Beauty and the Beast", "Due South", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Arrested Development", "Stargate: SG1", and even the current "Studio 60", among others.

Will it all succeed? Who knows? But doing nothing certainly won't work. LTR wishes all the supporters the best of luck in their efforts, and of you can keep up with developments on their sites and, of course, here.

"Boston's Progressive Talk" flips to "Rumba" on Thursday

After weeks of speculation, Clear Channel stations WKOX (1200AM) and WXKS (1430AM) will switch from "Boston's Progressive Talk" to "La Nueva Rumba," both simulcasting a "tropical" format of primarily Spanish-language announcers and music, ranging from salsa, merengue, and bachata to the contemporary sound of reggaeton. The move will come Thursday at noon.

WKOX plans to boost its power to 50,000 watts by August. (The station currently operates at around 10,000 watts during the day.) After the upgrade, the two stations will separate , with WXKS getting its own, as yet undetermined format. Station management may look at returning the progressive talk format to WXKS when the power upgrade goes into effect, if no other station has picked it up.

Management hopes that the two stations will fare better than the similar-sounding "Mega" stations, WAMG-AM (890) and WLLH-AM (1400) which gave up on the "tropical" format and were sold.

The two stations began airing the progressive talk format, consisting of Ed Schultz and shows from Air America Radio, on October 4, 2004.

As mentioned in comments for this post, former listeners of the two simulcast stations have started a Yahoo! Group, and one supporter has reserved a domain name, Bostonprogressivetalk.net, which will be active within a few days.

Mixed signals in Boston

Okay, so does anyone know the fate of WXKS/WKOX?

Last week, rumors were flying on radio message boards about the future of the two stations, which both simulcast a progressive talk format consisting of Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller and assorted programming from Air America Radio. Some personnel connected with the station had no idea of any pending format change, and some Clear Channel executives claimed the rumors were true.

In fact, just yesterday evening, station listeners received an email, enlisting their help in determining their new lineup, even after the station announced their changes last week. The email encouraged listeners to vote for who they thought should be on during the 12-3PM ET shift, since Ed Schultz was moving his syndicated show to that slot. The choices were Schultz (who the station had already announced as staying in his current 3-6PM slot), Al Franken (who was going to be dropped altogether) and Thom Hartmann (who would inherit the slot).

With this email, the station does a backpedal, claiming that the addition of Hartmann is temporary, and anything could happen. And they ain't kidding!

The Boston Globe reports today that the station may wind up dropping the format altogether. While Clear Channel representatives are not discussing details, the national radio group, which has been selling stations across the country, acknowledges that change is in the works for WXKS-AM (1430) and WKOX-AM (1200). Saying that details will be released within two weeks, Clear Channel vice president of programming "Cadillac Jack" McCartney acknowledged this week that changes are pending and that Air America "is history." In fact, their own website kinda reveals their hand, as they are currently looking for a bilingual sales manager for the stations, which will soon air a format called "Rumba". The last day for liberal talk will be December 22. Merry F'in Christmas, from the fine folks at Clear Channel!

Since the company entered into a sale agreement, Clear Channel has been on a tear to trim as much fat as possible. They quickly announced that they were divesting of all stations outside of the top 100 radio markets that they own stations in. They've been consolidating more staff positions. Formats for several stations have flipped or are in the process of being flipped to in-house syndicated products like Premiere Networks or FOX Sports (which they own). And even stations like WGST in Atlanta have dropped all local talk from the schedule and replaced it with cheaper syndicated offerings. Needless to say, Clear Channel is looking to scale down hard.

For all the criticism that Air America and other progressive talk syndicators receive, much of it should deservedly be directed toward the stations that air the programming. Some stations are run very well (KPOJ, KLSD, WINZ, KKZN, KPTK, and KRXA, just to name a few), while many of them are a complete joke. It's as if a particular station's management just slapped it on the air and sat around waiting for things to happen. Their own salespeople ignored the station because they were too lazy to figure out how to sell the format. There have been countless stories of station automation software running amok, and sometimes airing the wrong shows or two shows at the same time. As Schultz has said on his radio show, this is no way to run a radio station, and if he was in charge, heads would be rolling. And he's right. No upstart station can succeed without promotion, advertising sales or even at least a little attention. This is not Air America's fault, and certainly not the fault of any of the syndicators. It all boils down to the people at the ground level, running the station. And if they're too lethargic to make their product the best it can be, they don't belong in business.

Clear Channel is notorious for using cost-cutting as a primary means for making money. Granted, a miser's approach toward the budget is often important, but it is not the be-all, end-all of becoming profitable. They have to create a strong station and give it all the tools it needs to succeed. Syndicated talk is a very cheap format to run. The programming costs the stations nothing. It's offered on a barter basis. All the network asks for is to hold back 5-6 minutes an hour for their own advertising. The station gets the rest of the time to sell their own ads (and this local inventory is often the same or greater than for more expensive music formats). Why is this so difficult for these people to understand? And why can't salespeople sell it?

Granted, we all know they'd rather sell spots for sports or rock music formats, because they're so easy to sell. But any good salesperson (and believe me, I know) will be the type to get creative and sell a rather diverse format, bringing in many potential clients who likely had never considered advertising on radio before. Here's a hint: Just about every metropolitan area has a local independent weekly paper or even a college paper, and many of these tend to be very left-leaning in their content. And many of the papers' sponsors even put their phone numbers in their ads (hint, hint). And the sales clowns can't sell spots on their own radio station??? Unfreakingbelievable!

Progressive talk can succeed. Just ask Nancy Leichter, general manager of little KYNS (1340AM) in San Luis Opispo, CA. She's confident in the format's chances, and this newspaper article even features the testimonial of a local repair shop owner, who saw her business increase after advertising on the station. Listeners even proclaimed that they brought their cars to her garage because she advertises on KYNS and supports their programming. And Clear Channel account executives still can't sell time on their big market 'progressive talk' stations? Aye carumba!

In closing, it's pretty easy to rip on Air America (and much of the criticism directed at them is well-deserved). But any station owner that thinks they can coast along and run a crappy organization is naive. And Clear Channel should know better. This is no way to run multi-million dollar radio properties. Perhaps this is why the Mays family is looking to get out.

And if you feel somewhat burned by Clear Channel-Boston's dirty tricks, you can send back some holiday cheer at this email address, or just give them a call at 781-396-1430.

A little of this, a little of that

There aren't any really big stories to report, so this article will cover a bunch of little ones.

First up, Aldous Tyler checks in with the latest on WXXM in Madison (92.1 The Mic):

Here we go...We have a final push this week.The Petition to save The Mic 92.1 has almost 5000 signatures. It has only been up a month. That is incredible!! In fact, 5000 signatures was the original goal set for it, but with one more week until it will be presented, the goal has been raised.Help us meet it.We need just over 2000 more signatures to hit the new goal of 7000. This will then be presented at the rally at the High Noon Saloon, at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, December 12th.I know this can be done. There will be no way that the demand for local Progressive Talk can be denied once we complete this.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/720087508 has the petition. I'm #14, and I recognize names both below and above me in order. I am so very proud of each and every one. Now we need to get numbers 5014, 6014 and even 7014... so pass this on to everyone you know who supports local, alternative voices in Madison, or Progressive Talk in general.Oh, and if you miss Lee Rayburn and Jodie Shawback's "The Pro Show" make sure to catch weekly brand-new podcasts being recorded live every Tuesday until Christmas at Escape Coffee (916 Willy Street) from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, or listen to the recorded podcasts on http://mortymadcat.libsyn.com/

Let's go. Spread the word. Get the signatures. Let's show everyone that the airwaves DO belong to the people!

Aldous Tyler,
"TLYMAWYA",
The Liberal Your Mother Always Warned You About

And listeners to WKBF in the Quad Cities were taken by surprise this morning at 10:47 when, during an airing of The Stephanie Miller Show, the station's signal abruptly went dead, and soon returned with the sounds of holiday Christmas music as "Truth 1270" took to the airwaves. This format flip was expected, since Mercury Broadcasting (Clear Channel operated the station for them, but were required by FCC rules to divest of it) sold the station back in October to a new owner who planned to program a Christian-based format. The station, which initially picked up progressive talk in April 2005 will air the sounds of the season all the way through Christmas. Bill O'Reilly would be so proud!

Vague rumors of the demise of Boston's liberal talk simulcast of WXKS/WKOX have circulated around for the past week or so, but have died down a bit in recent days as "Boston's Progressive Talk" decided to shuffle their schedule a bit, dropping Al Franken's show for Thom Hartmann. Now, they seem to be second-guessing, as they have now asked the listeners' help in determining their mid-afternoon lineup. Since Ed Schultz will begin airing his show live in the 12-3PM ET slot starting next week, the station asks its listeners who they should put on. Should they air Schultz live? Go with the recently added Hartmann in the slot, or put on Franken (who they announced last week as being dropped from the station). Decisions, decisions. So take your pick, and vote here.

Jerry Springer, who yesterday announced his departure from radio, did his last live show today, and will air in reruns to finish out the week. Chicago's WCPT will waste no time replacing him, as Stephanie Miller makes her Windy City debut tomorrow. Look for Miller and her sidekick Jim Ward to make heavy use of their mock 'Chicahhhgoh' accents. Springer's other main affiliate, WSAI in Cincinnati, will announce their future plans later this week.

And speaking of left-leaning low-brow TV talk show hosts, remember Richard Bey? Well, the former TV talker has been filling in for Alex Bennett on his Sirius Left show, though Bennett's fans have mixed opinions of him. Look for Alex, whose San Francisco morning radio shows of the 80s and 90s made for some of the funniest moments in the history of broadcasting (yes, it's true!) to return tomorrow.

Air America negotiations go into overtime

So, I assume you were all waiting with nervous anticipation to find out the fate of Air America Radio, right? Today was supposed to be the day, with representatives of the network in a corporate pow-wow, followed by a court hearing this afternoon, supposedly to announce a deal to guarantee the fledgeling network's survival.

Well, we'll all have to wait.

According to All Access, Air America is deep in negotiations with a potential buyer and may have an announcement possibly by the middle of next week about plans to continue the network's operation.

The network has sent an e-mail to affiliates from VP/Public Relations Jaime Horn about a "plan to take us into a future beyond bankruptcy... we appreciate your patience and dedication to Air America through this difficult period, we know that we continue to exist because of your faith in our programming."

AAR had been given an extra week beyond the original court-imposed November 22 deadline to find a buyer, but the negotiations have gone into overtime and the network continues to receive financing while the deal is negotiated.

Meanwhile, in a few moves that will likely see Brian Maloney having triple orgasms (eeeewwwww!), his best friend Al Franken, who's future in radio has been the topic of many rumors, has been moved or altogether dropped by several stations, a couple likely due to Ed Schultz's move into direct competition with him effective December 11. Franken's weekday show has been dropped by WXKS/WKOX in Boston, as well as WARF in Akron, OH. At WCPT in Chicago, Franken and Schultz swap timeslots. The three stations are likely hedging their bets against Franken's rumored departure from his radio show. The move in Boston can be partly attributed to the recent success of timeslot competitor Thom Hartmann, whose show actually beats 800 lb. radio gorilla Rush Limbaugh head to head in Seattle.

Stations start shuffling lineups, Springer might leave radio

In the wake of The Ed Schultz Show moving to an earlier timeslot, the first station to adjust their schedule in response is WCPT (850AM) in Chicago, which has announced a lineup change, as reported by the Sun-Times' Robert Feder.

Effective Dec. 11, the daytime-only station will air Bill Press from sign-on to 8AM (CT), adds Stephanie Miller (previously heard on weekends in best-of form) from 8 to 11AM, Ed Schultz from 11AM to 2PM, Al Franken on tape-delay from 2 to 5PM, and Randi Rhodes on tape-delay from 5PM to sign-off.

It should be noted that the move of Schultz's show to middays may not affect all of his affiliates, since Jones Radio Networks will offer a refeed of the program during his original slot (3-6PM ET), for stations that can't air him in middays or are unable to record his show for later airing. As a result, it's likely that not all stations will choose to follow his move immediately.

One name missing from WCPT's new roster is Jerry Springer, whose radio show has been airing from 8 to 11AM local time. Springer will exit the Newsweb-owned station for now -- and could be stepping down from radio entirely. This would not be a surprising move, since his show has been losing serious traction in the past year. Currently, Springer airs only on a few stations, most notably WCPT and WSAI (1360AM) in his hometown of Cincinnati.

The late-morning time slot is a difficult one, due mostly to the fact that on the West Coast, this is morning drive, and quite a few stations there carry their own local programming. Of course Springer has also struggled against one of the highest-rated talents in the format, namely Stephanie Miller, who's show airs at the same time and has picked up many affiliates. Add in Air America Radio's roster realignment this past September, which had Springer shuffled off to a secondary feed and Sam Seder taking his main network timeslot, and it was evident that Springer's days were numbered.

Springer, who's experience has been in Cincinnati politics (as former mayor) and television, has done a respectable job as a radio novice, but never really caught on with progressive talk listeners, who feel he's a bit bland. As the format shakes itself out, and the fate of Air America could be learned today, Schultz' move and Springer's departure could be just the first shoes to drop.

And special thanks to Bob, who posted a comment about WKOX/WXKS in Boston, which will drop Franken and replace him with Thom Hartmann. Schultz will remain in the 3-6PM slot, via the delayed feed. This also seems to contradict rumors that the two stations will change formats in the near future. I expect local Clear Channel management to make a decision on the future of "Boston's Progressive Talk" once the pending power upgrade to WKOX is complete, which could see at least one of the stations changing format, as WKOX's new 50,000 watt day and night signal should clear up their current reception issues. The new signal will improve on WXKS' better city coverage, making the two signals redundant. And as updated, it looks like the two stations are changing formats anyway, so this is all a moot point.

Hartmann has also recently replaced Franken on KQKE in San Francisco and new affiliate WCMI in Ashland, KY/Huntington, WV.

The Central Massachusetts trio of WHMP/WHNP/WHMQ has dropped Randi Rhodes and has replaced her with Schultz. However, she may be brought back via evening time delay if Franken decides to leave radio. Franken's decision could happen as soon as Tuesday December 5.

And WINZ in Miami will carry Schultz live starting Monday December 11, bumping Franken to the delayed 6-9PM ET slot. As a result, Randi Rhodes' show will air live 3-6p ET. Rhodes is no stranger to success in South Florida, as her current radio show got its start on WJNO in West Palm Beach, located just north of Miami.

Washington, DC's WWRC is adding Bill Press to morning drive effective next Monday, displacing The Young Turks. Schultz gets a live clearance in the nation's capital from 12-3PM, and Franken will air on delay from 3-6PM.

In the Twin Cities, KTNF (950AM) will give Schultz another live clearance, moving hometown host Franken to 2-5ET. From December 18 through the end of the year, while Franken is in reruns while he's touring with the USO in Iraq, Hartmann will air during that timeslot.

Liberal talk radio stations shuffle lineups

UPDATED 9/18. All times local.

In response to recent lineup changes at Air America Radio, several affiliates have announced their own schedule changes.

First, Clear Channel-owned KTLK in Los Angeles has adjusted its on-air roster, picking up Rachel Maddow's new evening show for 6-8PM and picking up WOR Radio Network's Lionel for 10PM-1AM. Cary Harrison's local show moves up the schedule to the 8-10PM slot.

Further north, after conducting an online vote on their updated lineup, KQKE in San Francisco, also owned by Clear Channel, adds Stephanie Miller to weekdays, airing an hour of her show from 6-7AM, displacing the locally-produced "The Progressive News Hour". The Quake will air the last two hours of Al Franken's midday show from 10AM-12PM followed by Ed Schultz live, add "EcoTalk" in the 6-7PM slot. Thom Hartmann's show, which has experienced great success in West Coast markets, will air delayed from 7-10PM, and Lionel comes to the station for the 10PM-2AM shift, including a repeat of one hour of the three hour show. Mark Riley's one hour show will follow at 2AM, and Bill Press is added live 3-6AM. Air America's new morning show, The Young Turks, will not be picked up by the station.

Entercom-owned KCTC in Sacramento lists Peter Werbe in the live 7-9PM slot, followed by a replay of Franken's show from 9PM-12AM. Press will air live 3-5:30AM, followed by the local morning show, "The Morning Retort", hosted by Scott & Sims.

And CBS Radio's KPTK in Seattle also shuffles it's schedule, The new weekday lineup adds The Young Turks (who had been on weekends) to weekdays live 3-6AM PT and Rachel Maddow live 3-5PM. KPTK moves Al Franken's delayed show to 5-8PM and Randi Rhodes 8-11PM.

Dave McDonald, senior vice president and market manager for CBS Radio's Seattle stations, said he's pleased to be able to add Maddow's show to the lineup. The new lineup also helps KPTK shift more of its programming to live, he added.

KPTK listeners have also expressed their disappointment over the loss of Mike Malloy, whose show was dropped by Air America, McDonald said.

In Portland, KPOJ substitutes live airings of Riley and The Young Turks for the current Air America Mornings bloc from 2-6AM. Seder's new show will air on delay around the time of the Majority Report's former shift, from 6-9PM. And following the success of Hartmann's local morning show, KPOJ adds his national show to evenings, delayed to 9PM-12AM, and taking over Malloy's former shift. Maddow follows from 12-2AM.

Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, WINZ in Miami picks up Maddow for 9-11PM and moves Sam Seder from overnights to the 11PM-2AM shift. The rest of the schedule remains unchanged, except for the shortening of Rhodes' show.

At WXXM in Madison, Maddow, "Politically Direct" with David Bender, and "EcoTalk" with Betsy Rosenberg will be added, along with a few other changes.

KTNF in Minneapolis/St. Paul adds Press for mornings, following Riley. Hartmann's show is also added, airing from 6-9PM, bumping Rhodes to 9Pm-12AM. Seder's show airs on delay from 12-2AM. The station does seem to remain open to Malloy's return, if he indeed does.

KKZN in Denver/Boulder CO adds Maddow from 7-9PM, followed by EcoTalk 9-10PM, Politically Direct 10-11PM, Werbe 11-1AM, and a replay of Franken from 1-3AM. Riley airs live from 3-4AM and The Young Turks air 4-6AM, followed by local host Jay Marvin. The rest of the schedule remains the same.

As reported earlier, KRFT in St. Louis, currently airing Franken's show, adds Randi Rhodes to the 3-6PM shift. St. Louis listeners can see Franken as he does a live broadcast from St. Louis on Tuesday 9/19.

KLSD in San Diego updated their own schedule, picking up Maddow for 6-7PM, sending Jon Elliott back to weekends and airing Werbe evenings 7-9PM. A Franken replay airs from 9-10PM, followed by The Lionel Show. Mark Riley and The Young Turks air live during the early morning hours. Seder's show will air on weekends as 'best-of' programming.

In Columbus, WTPG picks up The Young Turks for mornings. Maddow gets the 6-8 shift, followed by Politically Direct and EcoTalk. Fans of Rhodes will be disappointed, as her show moves to overnight hours (3-5AM) in a surprise move.

WXKS/WKOX in Boston adds Riley and The Young Turks for mornings and EcoTalk from 9-10PM. The 10PM-12AM shift is undetermined, but for now, Werbe will have the shift.

The WHMP trimulcast in central Massachusetts is also altering its lineup, moving Maddow to evenings. Stephanie Miller debuts on the station and picks up Maddow's previous timeslot, 10AM-12PM.

KPHX in Phoenix will air the straight Air America feed live for much of the day, outside of Mike Newcomb's morning show. Hartmann will air from 9PM-12AM in delay.

In the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area, WHLD adds Seder to mornings and will also air Franken, Rhodes and one hour of Maddow live. Democracy Now follows at 7PM, followed by various non-commercial shows, including Flashpoints, Building Bridges, Uprising Radio, Counterspin and others on a daily rotating basis.

Chicago's WCPT switches out morning shows, adding Bill Press. Jerry Springer remains in his mid-morning shift. The station is a Class D AM station, meaning it signs off the air from sunset to sunrise.

WRVC in Huntington, WV adds a second Air America show to the lineup, as they bring in The Young Turks for morning drive. The station currently carries Franken, as well as Ed Schultz. The rest of the schedule is heavy with local programming and ESPN Radio and other sports programming.

And syndicated host Lionel picks up a few new affiliates, including the aforementioned KTLK and KQKE. He also lands on WKJK in Louisville KY, WWKB in Buffalo NY, WHNZ in Tampa FL and WCRN in Worcester MA weekdays and WOND in Atlantic City NJ, KTLK-FM in Minneapolis MN on weekends. It should be noted that WKJK, WHNZ, WCRN and KTLK-FM air predominantly conservative talk shows.

And what about Jerry Springer? The bankruptcy rumors this week claimed that Air America and Springer have parted ways. It looks like the previous story about Springer being taken off the main Air America feed and shuffled to their syndication arm is actually correct, at least according to Springer's Cincinnati sales team in The Cincinnati Post, who claim that almost all their 50-some affiliates are staying with the show, while Springer will be dropped at the New York affiliate in favor of Seder. Whether Springer actually has 50 affiliates (I count twenty or so at most, and this is a very old list) is probably something that can be debated. Nonetheless, Jerry is still out there, plugging away, and will likely stay at WSAI in Cincy.
be

Editorial: Liberal talk radio

Liberal talk radio has come to eastern Massachusetts - just in time to add its volume to what is shaping up as the loudest presidential campaign in history.

Air America, the network that debuted in March calling itself the progressive alternative to a medium long dominated by conservatives, was slow to find an outlet here in what should be fertile ground for its liberal message. It has now found its voice on AM 1200, Framingham's WKOX, and AM 1430, WXKS in Medford.

(snip)

Politics is infecting all media in this most political year. Campaign talk dominates cable TV and political documentaries have now invaded the local cineplex. Rock stars are turning concert tours into campaign rallies. The Internet is awash with political news, views and rumors.

At a political moment, in a market as politically savvy as greater Boston, there should be enough ears for several distinct political radio voices. Radio has been a niche medium for years, and we see no reason why the flavors of political talk shouldn't multiply just as popular music has fragmented into dozens of formats. As long as there are buttons on the dial to hit when the host says something truly obnoxious, all voices are welcome.

News and rumor roundup

Some of this is old news, gathered from my DU posting:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=109x13938

* KQKE (960) in San Francisco went on the air 9/28.

* Boston got liberal talk on Monday 10/4 when WKOX-AM (1200) and WXKS-AM (1430) pick up Clear Channel's 'progressive talk' format. As for the signal reach, 1430 has a good signal in the city proper, while 1200 hits the outside areas of the city better, reaching as far as Providence, but is not very audible in the city itself. 1200 does have a construction permit to move its tower and boost its signal to cover all of the Boston area, but they are having problems building the tower. It's new city of licence, Newton, is not allowing the tower to be built in their city, and the massive road construction in the area is also slowing things down. Looks like this will be a while, hence the two signals. Here's the site: http://www.bostonsnewtalk.com/

* KSNB-AM is the new affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul as of Friday 10/1. The station, Straight Talk Radio, was originally on 1330 and 1530 under a local marketing agreement (LMA). 1330 was sold a few months ago to Starboard, and the station picked up WMIN-AM 740, a low-powered AM daytimer out of Hudson, WI as a simulcast. The owners of Straight Talk Radio recenty purchased 950 from Infinity, and officially take over the 24-hour frequency, dropping 740 and (allegedly) 1530. I'm not sure of 950's new schedule, but they are keeping the sports play-by-play contracts from the previous ownership, and may keep a few hosts.

This is the new schedule for 950:

Temporary Monday-Friday lineup:

9:00-11:00am Wendy Wilde
11:00- 1:00pm Al Franken
1:00- 4:00pm Ruth Koscielak
4:00-5:00pm Al Franken
5:00- 8:00pm Ed Schultz

The station is still officially owned by Infinity Broadcasting, and operated under an LMA until the FCC approves the sale to the new owners, likely in a few weeks. Due to a contractual agreement (and really messy lawsuit with Infinty's WCCO radio), Ruth Koscielak's show is required to be carried. Hence, Franken's show is temporarily broken up for really boring coffee talk for middle-aged soccer moms. Ed Schultz's show is bumped a couple hours, and the rest of the schedule looks to be AAR programming, though no Malloy, Rhodes or 'Unfiltered'.

Once the sale is official, Ruth is back to her network of suburban rimshot stations.

AFFILIATE NEWS

* Upstate in Minnesota, according to AAR's site, WWWI-AM (1270) in Brainerd is now an affiliate. I'm not sure if this is legit, though, as WWWI's site still shows 'liberal talkers' such as, umm... Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura. Likely, they will pick up one or two AAR shows, perhaps Franken, and tape delay.

* Speaking of affiliates that pick up only a show or two, there is one AAR affiliate that is not mentioned on their site. WQNX-AM (1350) in Aberdeen, NC airs one show. Actually they air one hour of one show, Morning Sedition from 8-9AM:

Topical information presented in a humorous fashion with a slant to the left. It's a peek inside the Dem's camp.

Uhhh...yeah sure.

So, AAR welcomes Aberdeen, NC. Kinda. Other stations do serious cherrypicking as well. KCAA in Riverside seems to run just Randi Rhodes and Al Franken, and surround the shows with the likes of G. Gordon Liddy and Don Imus. And the South Lake Tahoe, CA affiliate buries Franken in the overnight hours. Not exactly a true AAR affiliate as we are familiar with.* There was a bit of turmoil involving the Sacramento, CA affiliate. KSQR-AM (1240) has recently been sold, and it looks like AAR's programming is there to stay for the immediate future. AAR still leases time on KSQR, but does not lease the entire station. KSQR still airs alternate programming overnight and on weekends (often soul music). Not sure how long this arrangement will last, as I imagine AAR will pull out if another station in the market decides to pick up the programming.


RUMORS AND SPECULATION

* Al Franken let slip that a Washington, DC affiliate is in the works. No concrete plans have been announced, but DCRTV.com thinks it may be Clear Channel's WWRC-AM (1260), which currently programs a poorly-rated syndicated sports format (FOX Sports).

* Howard Stern annouced he will jump to Sirius in January 2006. Not true liberal talk, per se, but he bashes Bush harder than anyone out there.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041006/nyw109_1.html

Howard Stern and SIRIUS Announce the Most Important Deal in Radio History
Wednesday October 6, 8:37 am ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- "King of All Media" Howard Stern and SIRIUS announced today an epic agreement whereby Stern will move to SIRIUS beginning January 1, 2006. SIRIUS is the premium satellite radio provider known for delivering the very best in commercial-free music and sports programming to cars and homes across the country.The world-renowned Stern is credited with revolutionizing the talk radio format. He is the No. 1 national radio host among males 18-49 years of age and ranks No. 1 in many of the 46 major markets where his show is broadcast, including New York and Los Angeles."It has been my dream to have the top-rated show in radio since I was five years old," said Stern. "SIRIUS -- the future of radio -- will take this dream to a whole new level as I bring my fans my show my way. It will be the best radio they will ever hear."

In the meantime, if you're within earshot of these stations, you can hear Stern here:

New York, N.Y. WXRK 92.3 FM
Philadelphia, PA. WYSP 94.1 FM
Washington D.C. WJFK 106.7 FM
Los Angeles, CA. KLSX 97.1 FM
Baltimore, MD. WXYV 105.7 FM
Cleveland, OH. WNCX 98.5 FM
Albany, N.Y. WQBK 103.9 FM
Las Vegas, NV. KXTE 107.5 FM
Boston, MA. WBCN 104.1 FM
Chicago, IL. WCKG 105.9 FM
York, PA. WQXA 105.7 FM
Hartford, CT. WCCC 106.9 FM & 1290 AM
Memphis, TN. WMFS 92.9 FM
yracuse, N.Y. WAQX 95.7 FM
Columbus, OH. WBZX 99.7 FM
Detroit, MI. WKRK 97.1 FM
Ft. Myers, FL. WRXK 96.1 FM
Portland, OR. KUFO 101.1 FM
Providence, RI. WWKX 106.3 FM & 102.7 FM
St. Louis, MO. KPNT 105.7 FM
Burlington, VT. WIZN 106.7 FM
San Francisco, CA. KITS 105.3 FM
Cape Cod, MA. WPXC 102.9 FM
Atlantic City, N.J. WJSE 102.7 FM
Dallas, TX. KLLI 105.3 FM
Cincinnati, OH. WAQZ 97.3 FM
Buffalo, NY. WBUF 92.9 FM
Reno, NV. KBZZ 1270 AM
Seattle, WA. KISW 99.9 FM
Sacramento, CA. KXOA 93.7 FM
Phoenix, AZ. KZON 101.5 FM
Charleston, S.C. WYBB 98.1 FM
Lexington, KY. WLXO 96.1 FM
Grand Rapids, MI. WBBL 1340 AM
Fall River, MA. WKKB 100.3 FM
Portland, ME. WHXR 106.7 FM & WHXQ 104.7 FM
Pittsburgh, PA. WRKZ 93.7 FM
West Palm Beach, FL. WPBZ 103.1 FM
San Diego, CA. KPLN 103.7 FM
Orlando, FL. WOCL 105.9 FM
Rochester, NY. WZNE 94.1 FM
Fresno, CA. KRNC 105.9 FM
Austin, TX. KQBT 104.3 FM
Tampa, FL. WBZZ 1010 AM
Houston, TX. KIKK 650 AM

* KQDS/1490 (Duluth, MN) has added the Ed Schultz show, replacing Dr. Laura in the 2-5 p.m. slot. (10/7/2004)Alan Colmes is also on this station, so Duluth/Superior at least gets something resembling liberal talk. There is always the possibility of more liberal talk added, since they really have nothing going on the rest of the day (Tony Snow, a simulcast of their FM sister's morning show, and Bruce Williams - in other words, pretty uninspiring). The ratings are pretty poor. Might they see the liberal light and pick up, perhaps, AAR?

And Dr. Laura loses another affiliate.

http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/index.html