I don't like Mondays

Here it is, the start of the week, and the start of March. As I wake up this morning, it's 12 degrees above zero and snowing. Spring can't start soon enough.

Uh, Monday.

So here we go, an update of sorts. Enjoy.

Air America shuffle

Now that Thom Hartmann is hanging his shingle at Dial Global, he will no longer be part of the lineup at Air America, not even on the webstream. In his place, the network's journeyman David Bender will take the 12-3P ET time slot, with little fanfare and nary a simple announcement or press release.

Nonetheless, it could be worth tuning in for today's guest, notorious rock legend David Crosby. And if that isn't worth listening for (so long as he dishes more about his music and rather colorful rock star life as opposed to boring personal musings about government policy). In addition, he'll take calls, so perhaps that will help.

And there shouldn't be any changes at most (if not all) of his radio affiliates. For streaming, KPOJ in Portland seems to typically be the best bet.

The show listings in the center column of this page will be updated in the next few days.

Oh Cullen, where art thou?

Columnist Tom Taylor of Radio-Info is quoting that site's message board in floating a rumor about the possible on-air return of Pittsburgh's Lynn Cullen.

The station most likely to be her new stomping grounds is WAMO (860). Cullen was laid off last year when WPTT (1360) switched from general talk to an all-business talk format. Station management told her at the time that if he had a few more saleable shows like hers, they wouldn't have dropped the talk format.

You know you miss him

Another tidbit floated by Taylor concerns the infamous Jerry Springer. The television personality, who once did a radio show with Air America, could be coming back to the AM airwaves, albeit temporarily.

The venerable talk station WGN in Chicago has been using fill-ins for the vacant midafternoon shift, vacated when John Williams moved to mornings. The station has already tapped local radio veteran Garry Meier and a rumor floated by the Chicago Sun-Times claims that Springer could even be enlisted for fill-in duties.

According to the paper's Lewis Lazare, "Meier has the advantage of being a known quantity in Chicago radio, but some broadcasting execs wonder if he can carry a daily radio talk show by himself. Springer, on the other hand, could simply be too wild to fit the bill at WGN. Then again, it may take someone like a Springer to spark a buzz and perhaps attract a few more younger listeners."

Springer? Wild? Obviously Lazare has never heard his Air America show.

More Nova (M)ayhem

Things are obviously chugging along at the former Nova M Radio (now On Second Thought). They haven't been in the news lately, so that must mean things are fairly hunky dory.

But that isn't stopping some former Nova M'ers from casting a few flies in the ointment. Former weekend host King Daevid MacKenzie offers another installment of his adventures at the former network (and he STOLE MY HEADLINE TOO!!!). Click here for his own "Nova Mess". Remember, as with many of the other tell-alls by former Nova M personnel, this is merely his take. I'm just linking to it.

Fat man talking

And finally, I include this, not just because it's from BuzzFlash, but because it's the best headline I've read all week. Here is editor Mark Karlin's take on the Rush Limbaugh lovefest that was the rather grim CPAC conference. The title? "Limbaugh at CPAC: It’s Not Over Until the Fat Man Rants."

Super Tuesday Quickies

Oh, there's just so much stuff that goes on when one is out of town for the week. So much to talk about. And since today is Super Tuesday, we shall celebrate with an extra-long wrap-up entry.

Green revolution

First off, the move by KKGN ("Green 960") in San Francisco to interrupt two hours of Stephanie Miller's morning show there was even more ill-fated than New Coke, Windows Me, the spaceship-looking third generation Ford Taurus and that terrible "E.T." video game on the old Atari system. This time around, the local morning show featuring Operations Manager John Scott lasted less than two weeks, as Miller's fans revolted very loudly. listeners flooded the station with emails and phone calls, and even voted overwhelmingly for Miller's return in an online poll on the site. Claimed Scott, "The netroots feedback we have received is unlike anything I have ever seen for any show, in any format, in my entire career. It was real, it was raw, and it was passionate. The bottom line: Our audience loves her."

Scott said in Radio and Records that he's not offended that listeners didn't want him on the air, saying the events "energized me like few things have." He adds, "I'm sick of columns that say our business sucks. This is a good reminder that perhaps we need to market our products and look for listeners."

Scott's local show ended as he welcomed Miller back via the phone, she promised to sleep with every fan who voted yes in the online poll. Miller made a local appearance this past Friday night in neighboring Redwood City. No word on whether she made good on her promise.

Springer's Super Tuesday and Whad'Ya Know?

Remember Jerry Springer? Of course you do. Best known for his former Air America morning show, "Dancing With The Stars," "America's Got Talent," his own opera, and yeah, that trailer trash 'fight club' he does every day on TV, Springer is returning to talk radio. Sort of. The Chicago-based Springer will provide a live and local 'Super Tuesday' primary wrap-up (I know, I need to make another endorsement) for local station WCPT (820AM) this Wednesday (February 6) from 6:45A (when the station signs on) until 11A CT. Co-hosting will be Dick Kay, former political editor of local NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV (Ch. 5).

They'll look at results from all 24 state primaries taking place Tuesday, and if there's time, may even feature spurned lovers flashing their mammaries and beating the crap out of each other. Just kidding about that last part. No word on whether Steve Wilkos will be there to provide muscle. Listen for it Wednesday morning.

Speaking of WCPT, as a daytime-only operation, the station faces issues on their ability to actually do a local show without displacing popular syndicated hosts such as Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz. But they do get a bit closer, as they sealed a deal to pick up "Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?" from Public Radio International. Okay, it's not exactly local, but the oft-funny weekend quiz show, based in nearby Madison, WI, has been a fixture on Chicago non-commercial for many years. The show was dropped from its longtime home at Chicago Public Radio's WBEZ earlier this month after 22 years on the station. If WCPT adds the show, it will air without commercials. If all goes as planned, the show will be on Saturday mornings at 10A.

This is not the first time that WCPT's owner, Newsweb Corp. has aired public radio fare. Prior to WCPT's debut, the frequency aired "World Cafe," then also carried by PRI.


KTLK shakes it up, minus Schultz

Things have been quite chaotic at KTLK (1150AM) as of late. it appears the station has settled on a post-Mr. K lineup, and made some changes.First, they become the flagship station for Phil Hendrie's syndicated show, which will air from 9P-1A live. The station also adds Mike Malloy live, as will also slot in Rachel Maddow's two hour show into a three hour afternoon drive shift. How does that work? Air America is expanding the show to three hours, effective March 10, adding David Bender for the last hour. The first hour of Hendrie's show will be local to KTLK. Oh, and "Clout" with Richard Greene will air from 1-3A for the insomniacs.

Lost in the shuffle is Ed Schultz. He previously held down the 6-9P shift. The reason given by station PD Don Martin (who I'm sure is not the late, great Mad Magazine cartoonist) is that the station wants a mostly live lineup, meaning as little tape delay as possible. But EdHeads shouldn't worry too much. Paul Woodhull, president of Media Syndication Services, told Radio and Records that Schultz had been approached by another station in Los Angeles (KGIL, perhaps?). He says, “Out of loyalty to our broadcast partner KTLK, we declined that offer. Now that we have fulfilled our obligation to KTLK we look forward to competing against them in Los Angeles very soon.”

Speaking of the deposed former Mr. K, Marc Germain is back, doing a thirty minute podcast via his website.

"Indie Talk" comes to Sirius

Seeking to reinvent the rotting corpse that ego-driven talk radio is quickly becoming, Sirius Satellite Radio claims to be doing something different. Enter "Indie Talk," which they promise will "give an equal voice to individuals from any affiliation or background, target the blogger generation, and be a platform for listeners across the country to react to breaking news, issues and buzz." The most prominent personality on the channel will be veteran actor Ron Silver, a self-described former Democrat who became a Republican after 9/11/01, obviously in awe of what the Bush Administration did to prevent the terrorist attacks (hint: nothing). Nonetheless, Silver's hosting a call-in show from 9-11A (of course). No word on the other voices for "Indie Talk," but I'm sure there's got to be a left or two in there, lest Sirius listeners decide to just give the middle finger to the whole venture.

Radio Free Bellingham

Naysayers keep claiming progressive talk is dying. If that's the case, why are so many stations signing on with the format as of late? This week, we welcome to a new progressive talk station. This one is in Bellingham, WA, up by the Canadian border, as KBAI (930AM) drops oldies and picks up the likes of Thom Hartman, Rachel Maddow and Alan Colmes. A local voice, Joe Teehan, has also been added. No website exists for the station, dubbed 'Radio Free Bellingham,' as of yet. KBAI is owned by Saga Communications, which has had success with the format in several East Coast markets.

Spring cleaning

Hi kids! Miss me?

Okay, news has been slow lately. So, I've been taking a bit of a break. Lots of things going on in the outside world, ya know.

Not to mention that this beautiful spring weather brings other things that are not so beautiful - namely every airborne allergen one can possibly imagine. Needless to say, I've been feeling pretty crappy as of late.

But there's oh so much to talk about. so without further ado, here we go:

Yes indeed, Lionel is now on Air America Radio. Lionel wrapped up his WOR gig just over a week ago, and some right-wing dork named Steve Malzberg has been hired to take his place. Nonetheless, Lionel fans (and I know you're out there) can tune in every day now, twelve hours earlier than normal, to hear "The Lionel Show" on Air America.

The rest of Air America's roster changes will be phased in starting this weekend, with Sam Seder's new Sunday afternoon show debuting this Sunday, May 20. Next Monday sees the weekday shuffle, as they launch "The Air Americans" weeknights (8P-midnight ET), bump Jon Elliott to three hours later (midnight-3AM ET) and make other changes. You can see the rest here.

And soon, you'll see a whole new Air America website. That is, if you can actually pull up their website (which seems to have been on the fritz too frequently as of late). I dunno, when I redesigned my site, I worked on it offline, then launched it in mere seconds, with no disruption. Then again, it doesn't seem like a real web-saavy bunch over there. Nonetheless, look for a redesigned presence and allegedly a new logo for Air America sometime soon. Perhaps prior to next week's on-air makeover. So if you haven't listened to or downloaded those year-old airchecks currently at the bottom of their front page, better get a move on. Stop procrastinating.

One show that will be displaced is "EcoTalk" with Betsy Rosenberg. Air America programmers dropped it from the weekday lineup, in order to roll out the new lineup. They did however reserve a Sunday slot for the show, 10A-noon ET. Only thing is, Rosenberg and company are trying to line up sponsors to keep it going. Doing a radio show isn't cheap, and they actually have to pay out of their own pocket. You can read more here.

As Lionel makes his Air America debut today, another liberal talk show makes its return today. After pondering the shuttering of the whole operation, Radiopower.org has rebounded, deciding to rebuild instead. And today, they welcome Tony Trupiano to the fold, with a new show airing exclusively on Radiopower. It will air from noon-3P ET weekdays, displacing Thom Hartmann, who will no longer be on the service. Trupiano has been around talk radio for awhile, mostly syndicated around his home state of Michigan. A few years back, he left radio to run for Congress. As of late, he has returned to the airwaves, often as a fill-in for Ed Schultz. Now, he's back on the air. Other shows on Radiopower currently include "American AM," a Tampa-area morning show, "KC Live," which I have absolutely no information on, and Peter Werbe's Sunday night show, which airs on WRIF in Detroit. Replays of the shows fill out the remainder of the schedule.

Another web radio service serving up liberal talk is Head-On Radio Network, which I regrettably don't get around to covering much (and some of those guys have been getting on my ass about it). Like Radiopower, they carry a generous slate of original programming, running a live lineup from 10A to 9P ET weekdays, with replays filling out the remainder of the lineup. There's been quite a bit of shuffling as of late, a new website layout (take THAT, Air America!) and other tweaks. You can check out shows such as "The Cup-o-Joe Radio Show" with Joe Vecchio, "Fox'd Up" with Jon Fox, Jeff Alan Wolf, Bill O' Brien, Guy James, Mark Levine and Bob Kincaid. They do a pretty bang-up job, pay out of pocket to provide quality talk radio to the streaming masses, and generally kick ass and take names. So instead of bitching and moaning about Air America and their balancing act of trying to please fickle listeners and terrestrial radio people at the same time, you can check out some legitimate alternatives. Check them out at Headonradionetwork.com.

Fans of Stephanie Miller are still gushing over her MSNBC simulcasts a few weeks ago. Don't look for this to become permanent. Miller said she would not want to do it again, whatever that means. MSNBC, in the wake of the whole Imus fiasco, has been in the process of throwing things against the wall to see what sticks. Last week was Moral Court radio clown Larry Elder. MSNBC has also been shuffling their own hosts in and out of the slot, and this week White House correspondent David Gregory steps in, and he may get the gig permanently.

If you're a fan of fine theater looking for something a little more esoteric, then head over to Chicago, where "Jerry Springer: The Opera" has made its trek across the Atlantic from 609 performances in London. The production, about the talk show host and former Air America personality, starts on May 14 at Bailiwick Repertory in Chicago. How intriguing is this? David Soul, the former "Hutch" of "Starsky and Hutch" played Springer at one point, and both Harvey Keitel and Kevin Kline have reportedly been courted to play the role. Wow. Just plain wow.

Last we checked, WCMI in Asheville KY/Huntington, WV was still on the air and carrying Air America Radio programming. And they're evidently getting some attention, since the local paper even wrote an article about the syndicated radio show that appears on the station - The Young Turks. "They're one of the hottest commodities in progressive radio," WCMI Assistant Program Director Brandon Millman said recently. You can read more courtesy of the Herald-Dispatch.

Another newspaper article about a talk radio station came Sunday, as the Traverse City Record-Eagle did an article about Petoskey, MI move-in WJML. As you read here last week, the owner of WJML consummated some station-swapping, dealing mostly liberal talk WWKK and a quarter million in cash to another company in exchange for their high-powered Traverse City station. As a result, the best of the former WWKK and WJML have been combined on one station, simulcast in both Petoskey and Traverse City. So, liberal talk fans in Traverse City can now hear Ed Schultz every afternoon right before Michael Savage, and maybe even tune in to Air America, albeit delayed into the wee hours. Provided they don't sleep at night, of course.

Conservodorks are paranoid and live in perpetual fear that liberals are coming after them to force Limbaugh, Hannity, et. al. off the airwaves. Oh boo fucking hoo!

Oh shit. It's back. Just what we need - more unfunny comedy on television.

And finally, a side note to President Bush: Never, NEVER accidently joke about a 281 81-year old woman being alive during the the time of the 13 colonies. Especially if she's the Queen of England. Just plain embarassing. I'm beginning to worry about the 28% that still like this guy. Perhaps expected incoming British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will remember this, as he's expected to be less of a lapdog to the Bush Administration. We shall see.

Springer's "Got Talent" with new job

Three months after leaving Air America Radio, Jerry Springer is still as busy as ever. He's still doing his infamous daily hour of chaos ("The Jerry Springer Show") and dipping his feet into film and commercials. And now he's got a new hosting gig.

This summer, television audiences will see him as host of NBC's "America's Got Talent," replacing last year's host, Regis Philbin.

Springer is "the perfect ringmaster" for the TV talent competition, NBC's Craig Plestis said in a statement. "To say the least, he is known for presiding over an unpredictable show where the unexpected is the typical order of each day."

"I've been around some of America's most talented individuals on my talk show," the 63-year-old host said, "so I'll feel right at home hosting `America's Got Talent.'"

After hosting the inaugural season last year, Philbin backed out of season two due to heavy work and travel conflicts, and the problem of commuting between his home in New York and the show's tapings in Los Angeles.

Springer hosted a weekday show for Air America Radio for almost two years, until he ended the show on December 8 to concentrate on other ventures. He was also featured on ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" last season.

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.

Springer to end radio show

The writing was on the wall.

As part of an on-going shift in the liberal talk radio landscape, and three months after a schedule alignment at Air America Radio that saw him scuttled off to the secondary syndicated feed, mid-morning host Jerry Springer announced on his show today that, due to a heavy schedule of outside commitments, he is leaving his radio show effective Friday December 8.

Springer has offers of a movie role and a possible Super Bowl commercial, partly thanks to his exposure on Dancing With The Stars. "These things are not going to come around again, particularly at my age, so I might as well take advantage of them," said Springer, 62.

He's filming a Bud Light commercial next week, which may air during the Super Bowl. And he recently taped a guest shot on ABC’s George Lopez sitcom, as a boyfriend for Lopez’s mother, and was asked to become a recurring character, he says. In February, he’ll play a rabbi in a feature film called God Only Knows. With all of that, a daily radio show, and a still-popular daily TV show, fitting everything into his schedule proved difficult.

"Radio is a full-time job, and I just couldn’t do it," Springer said.

He will be live on the air through at least Wednesday, but scheduling conflicts may result in best-of shows on Thursday and Friday.

Springer's departure was rumored last week, as one of his few remaining affiliates, WCPT in Chicago, announced that they were dropping his show, effective December 8. No word on what his other high-profile affiliate, WSAI in Cincinnati, will slot in his place, though an announcement regarding the station's future will be made later on this week. Recently, the website for his radio show was taken down, and now redirects to AAR's official site.

Springer, the former Cincinnati mayor most known for his outrageous, trashy TV talk show, made his radio debut on January 17, 2005 on WCKY in Cincinnati (eventually moving to WSAI), with the intent of taking "Springer on the Radio" into national syndication. A month later, he was on WDTW in Detroit, and a couple more stations followed, most notably WTAM in Cleveland, which airs mostly conservative talk. By April 1, Air America took over syndication of his show, and added him to their daily schedule, replacing Unfiltered.

Things went well for Springer. Though his lack of radio talk experience was initially noticeable, he added more affiliates, particularly stations that were airing the straight AAR feed. But there was a new presense to be dealt with, namely the rapidly-rising Stephanie Miller, whose breezy, humorous take on the liberal talk genre was quickly winning her affiliates, listeners and ratings in the same time slot. Springer's show hardly stood a chance.

As time went on, more and more affiliates began replacing the morning AAR programming with Miller's increasingly successful show. And AAR was looking to make even more changes. Following a turbulent August 2006, which saw the firing of night host Mike Malloy, the departure of evening co-host Janeane Garofalo (due to outside demands of her own) and rumors of a pending bankruptcy, AAR announced a revamp of their on-air roster, which saw Garofalo's co-host Sam Seder moving to the network's mid-morning shift. Springer, rumored to be dropped by the network, was shuffled over to and buried in a secondary syndicated feed, available to any affiliate that opted to carry the show. As a result, many of Springer's affiliates were gone, leaving WCPT, WSAI and perhaps a few other stations still carrying his show. The outcome of this was that Springer seemed to rebel against his syndicator, enlisting exiled hosts like Malloy and Mark Maron as vacation fill-ins. But with the loss of his affiliates, and the conflicts with his other gigs, the demise of Springer on the Radio was inevitable

Radio was certainly not Springer's main job. Initially, he fit in the radio gig with tapings of the TV show on Mondays and Tuesdays in his home base of Chicago, and commuted back and forth between there and Cincinnati. In recent months, he was in Cincinnati only once, due to his hectic schedule. "I did one show in three months from Cincinnati. That’s absurd. That’s not fair," said Springer.

He also recently appeared in Season Three of the hit ABC show Dancing With The Stars, which he took on in part so he could learn how to dance for his daughter's upcoming wedding.

Springer's name was practically a household word due to his long-running television show (provided, of course, that the household in question was either a single or double-wide). And he was an actual former politician. While a mere two years in radio is hardly enough time to create a legacy, Springer did manage to accomplish a few key things. First, he helped bring a more mainstream, commercial feel to the genre, as his show was produced by Clear Channel and syndicated in partnership with AAR. Predominantly conservative talk stations like WTAM briefly picked up his show, then unheard of for AAR. Fill-in hosts consisted of unpredictable choices like longtime Cleveland radio morning host/recovering Republican John Lanigan and Clear Channel-Cleveland exec Kevin Metheny (a.k.a. the venemous boss "Pig Vomit" of Howard Stern's book and film "Private Parts"), who was, surprisingly, not bad (though I kinda expected him to sound like Paul Giamatti). He also sought to prove that the 'ringmaster' of trash TV was indeed capable of serious thought.

The Jerry Springer of radio was considerably different than the Jerry Springer of shlock TV. And believe it or not, he was more outspoken on his much more toned-down radio show. Keep in mind that on his TV show, Springer often just steps back and lets the chairs and fists fly. He doesn't really inject a whole lot of opinion during the course of an hour. In the radio studio, it was all him, talking about the liberal and Democratic issues he was concerned with, and speaking his mind freely. His goal was to distance himself somewhat from his rather silly TV show and prove that he does, in fact, have something to say. And he did.

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.

Mike Malloy coming back to radio (almost)

From Mike Malloy's site:



Listen to Mike Malloy as he substitutes for Jerry Springer next Thursday and Friday October 19 & 20! Check your local Springer on the Radio affiliates for broadcast times.

(snip)

We hope to have some good news to share with you in the next few days (as well as our Air America saga), thanks for hanging in there! What a long, strange trip its been.

Yes, indeed. It sounds as if Malloy will return to Air America (somewhat) by way of Springer's morning show, which airs on WSAI in Cincy, WCPT in Chicago and WDTW in Detroit, among other places. The show will be streamed as well. Look for it next week. And there are persistent rumors about a new job for him as well, but we'll have to wait for that.

Where's Jerry?

Well, the whole Air America Radio bankruptcy is behind us (for now), and the wingnut vultures have stopped circling the expected corpse.

Since the whole bankruptcy thing was sooo last week, and AAR's schedule is finally set (except for that late night shift - why don't they just bring back Mike Malloy and be done with it?), there's not a whole lot of stuff to write about. But Ohio Media Watch chimes in with a very interesting topic, and one I'm sure is keeping many up late at night.

Namely, where's Jerry Springer?

In case you haven't been keeping up, or just didn't really care, Springer is still around (contrary to the bankruptcy story last week). And he's still being carried by Air America. Sort of. With the new schedule in place, Sam Seder will now take Springer's spot on the official network feed, as Jerry is sent off to the syndicated feed with Thom Hartmann. Affiliates (or at least the ones that haven't opted for Stephanie Miller or a local show instead) now have the option of taking either Seder or Springer.

In the fallout, it looks like Seder picked up a few affiliates (though many of them delayed) including flagship station WWRL in New York. Jerry's whereabouts are yet to be fully determined, though Jerry's people remain fairly optimistic. I reported last week that Jerry could be lost in this whole linup shuffle, as affiliates were likely to go in other directions. It was a given that WSAI in Cincinnati would carry him (as Cincy is Jerry's old stomping grounds, and WSAI considers him the closest thing to a local show that they really see fit to spend money on). And WCPT in Chicago (Jerry's current stomping grounds) was also a likely affiliate. But what about the rest?

Allegedly, Springer is still on WWWW (which still refers to itself by its former call letters WDTW - don't ask) in Detroit. They unveiled their new schedule that appears to carry the entire Air America lineup. As I do not live in Detroit, I have no idea how accurate this thing is. It almost appears that the webmaster got lazy, or just plain doesn't give a shit, and just cut and pasted the AAR lineup. I had even heard that Miller is on that station, but I'm really not sure (any Detroit listeners out there that can set me straight?) Furthermore, is Ed Schultz really gone from that station? Hmmm...

"WDTW"'s nearby sister station, WLBY in Ann Arbor, has more or less been a carbon copy of its Detroit sister, and it's obvious they haven't updated their site in a while. They do appear to be airing Miller's show. Again, help set me straight!

The listing of stations on Jerry's site, which is extremely out of date and chock full of errors, are as follows:

Cincinnati, Ohio: 1360 WSAI - a given
Detroit, Michigan: 1310 WXDX - Two call letter changes later...
South Florida: 940 WINZ - Dropped Jerry long ago
San Antonio, Texas: 925 KRPT - Now playing "Texas Music" a.k.a. country
Sarasota & Bradenton, Florida: 1450 WSRQ - just flipped to adult standards Monday, also dropped Hannity
Boston, Massachusetts: 1200/1430 WKOX/WXKS - Switched to Stephanie Miller a while ago
San Diego, California: 1360 KLSD - live and local in the morning
Memphis, Tennessee: 680 WWTQ - Ugliest website of all affiliates. Did Entercom really OK this?
Albuquerque, New Mexico: 1350 KABQ - I doubt they even know. This station's site is always slow to update.

New Haven, Connecticut: 1300 WAVZ - Updated schedule. Miller has the mid-morning shift
St. Albans, Vermont: 1070 WTWK - I'm not really sure this station still exists, but they have Miller on.
Ann Arbor, Michigan: 1290 WLBY - Miller has the shift
Key West, Florida: 1500 WKIZ - Out-of-date website
Northampton, Massachusetts: 1200/1400/1600 WHMP - Very up-to-date site. Miller affiliate.
Willamette Valley, Oregon: 990 KRKT - out-of-date site
Brattleboro, Vermont: 1490 WKVT - not updated yet
New York, NY: 1190 WLIB - Umm... HELLO?
Dallas-F. Worth, TX: 910 KXEB - Springer affiliate, but site needs updating
Philadelphia, PA: 1340 WHAT - Dropped AAR a long time ago
Detroit, MI: 1310 WDTW - Deja vu? This is listed further up the page!
San Antonio, TX: 92.5 WHTY - Ditto.
Austin, TX: 1600 KOKE - Runs same programming as KXEB in Dallas
Akron, OH: 1540 WJMP - Affiliation went to WARF a long time ago. Currently FOX Sports.
Burlington, VT & Plattsburg, NY: 1070 WTWK - More deja vu. Already listed.
Corpus Christi, TX: 1150 WCCT - Who knows?
Eugene, OR: 1450 KKXO - Now KOPT. Runs local programming in mornings.
Portland, ME: 870 WMTW - Has been WLVP for awhile. Runs straight AAR schedule, including Seder in the 9-12 slot.
San Luis Obispo, CA: 1340 KYNS - Unknown. Site has been down for awhile.
Sante Fe, NM: 1260 KTRC - No website.
Chapel Hill, NC: 1360 WCHL - Miller affiliate.

And no, WCPT in Chicago is not listed.

Now, keep in mind, this listing is straight from Springer's AAR site. And it is horribly out of date and full of errors. Of course, there is nothing wrong with Springer being on only two affiliates (though there may be more). Being on the air in Chicago and Cincy is a pretty nice gig for most shows. The mid-morning shift is highly competitive, with the red-hot Stephanie Miller show being the most popular option and Seder's AAR show. Factor in the west coast stations running local morning shows, and it's plain to see that Springer is in a fight for any affiliates.

Who is the power behind Springer's show? It's more or less a Clear Channel show, having started out on WCKY in Cincy (since moved to WSAI). But instead of being syndicated by Clear Channel's syndication arm, Premiere, it's distributed by Air America.

In the beginning, I was surprised that Premiere did not jump on liberal talk. Given that they have some very strong talk show hosts in their massive cluster, such as Jay Marvin, Cary Harrison, Jon Elliott, and Will and Willie, and the fact that they own quite a few 'progressive talk' stations as well, it is somewhat baffling that they did not try to corner the market on syndicated liberal talk. Keep in mind that Ed Schult, Randi Rhodes, Stephanie Miller and Bill Press started out on Clear Channel stations, but went with other syndicators instead.

I have heard rumors in the past about Premiere's 800 lb. gorilla, Rush Limbaugh, forbidding Premiere from doing anything resembling left-leaning talk, but it's an old rumor, and seeing as Rush is a radio business guy first, would likely encourage it (plus give him more ammo for his drug-fueled three hour bloviation fest). The fact that Clear Channel/Premiere is notorious for foisting ridiculous programming concepts on the masses does make one wonder why they didn't go for progressive talk, which would have been an obvious choice for them.

In ThinkProgress' (since retracted) story about Air America's alleged bankruptcy and financial reorganization last week, the Center for American Progress (which runs thinkprogress.org) is teaming up with Clear Channel and MSS Inc. to conduct a nationwide search for the next "Progressive Talk Radio Star". Whether this means Premiere is finally getting serious about syndicating liberal talk, or is looking to put more local programming on their stations (a very good idea, IMO), remains to be seen.

No fooling: Springer's show joins AAR lineup April 1

CINCINNATI - More people will be able to hear trash TV host Jerry Springer under a deal announced Wednesday to take his radio program nationwide.

Springer's show will go live weekdays on the Air America Radio network beginning April 1. The liberal all-talk network currently broadcasts on 51 radio stations and on the Sirius and XM satellite networks.

Springer will be heard on about 45 of those stations initially.

"I said when I started the show that I am committed to making this radio program work, not only because I enjoy it, but because we need to hear progressive voices as well as conservative voices in our conversation today," Springer said in a telephone interview from Chicago.

Note: Springer's show airs from 9AM-12N ET, the same time as the floundering 'Unfiltered'. No word as to the fate of the show, which recently lost co-host Lizz Winstead.

Jerry Springer, Air America talking

JERRY Springer is trying to hook up with the all-liberal Air America network — meaning his new radio talk show could soon be heard in New York.

"Obviously, I would love to be in New York — that's where I grew up," said Springer, 60, who was born in London and raised in Kew Gardens, Queens.

"Hopefully, something will be worked out in the next couple weeks," Springer told The Post late yesterday.

The trash-TV titan surprised many last January by turning serious and launching a daily political talk show based in Cincinnati. He continues to tape his controversial TV show in Chicago.

His radio show is already in five cities. Springer could be the spark Air America needs — in New York at least, where it's based at WLIB (1190 AM). After a solid debut last spring, especially among younger listeners, it appeared to fade last fall.

Springer: Talking a new game

The right end of Cincinnati's AM radio dial starts leaning to the left Monday.

The city's first liberal radio talk format debuts at 9 a.m. Monday with Jerry Springer's new serious talk show, "Springer on the Radio."

The Clear Channel station, which will revert to its original WCKY-AM (1530) call letters Monday, also gives its 50,000-watt voice to syndicated hosts comedian-author Al Franken, Ed Schultz and Randi Rhodes.

(snip)

"Cincinnati is clearly ready for this. Talk radio now is all (conservatives) Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. It does not make sense to only have the same (conservative) point of view," says Springer, 60, who wants to syndicate his show nationally, starting with Detroit next month. He will continue to host his syndicated TV show from Chicago.

From this article, here is WCKY's new schedule:

5-6 AM: Wall Street Journal Report
6-9 AM: (debuts Tuesday): "Morning Sedition" with Mark Riley and Marc Maron
9 AM-N: "Springer on the Radio," with Jerry Springer, Jene Galvin and Megan Hils.
N-3 PM: Al Franken
3-6 PM: Ed Schultz
6-10 PM: Randi Rhodes
10 PM-M: Lionel
M-5 AM: Paid religious broadcasts on the half-hour.

Galvin to be Springer's sidekick

Jerry Springer will have a sidekick when his local talk show debuts at 9 a.m. Monday on Cincinnati's new liberal talk radio station being launched by Clear Channel.

He is Gene Galvin, teacher, writer, longtime worker for the Democratic Party, former talk host on WDBZ-AM (1230) and a 35-year buddy of Springer's.

(snip)

Starting Monday, what is now WSAI-AM (1530) will drop its oldies format picking up the frequency's historical call letters of WCKY-AM (The WSAI letters will go back to 1360, which is now known as the "Sports Animal/Homer").

The new liberal talker will be known as "1530 WCKY: The Revolution in Talk Radio."

The schedule so far:

6-9 Morning Sedition (likely)
9-12 Springer/Galvin
12-3 Al Franken
3-6 Ed Schultz
6-10 Randi Rhodes
10-1 Mike Malloy or Lionel (TBA)

JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!

TV talk show host Jerry Springer will debut a three-hour weekday radio talk show here in January.

The former Cincinnati mayor and TV anchor will launch a 9 a.m.-noon call-in show on WSAI-AM (1530) when the Clear Channel station switches from oldies music to liberal talk. He wants to syndicate the show nationally from Cincinnati, he said.

"There is clearly an opportunity for new voices to be heard today around the country," Springer, 60, said today. "There is so much going on in the world today, and to be part of that dialogue will be fun."

Darryl Parks, operations director for Clear Channel's four AM stations here, said the station had been negotiating with the former politician for months.

(more)

A few other notes from the article:

- Springer will do the radio show Monday-Wednesday from Chicago, where he tapes his TV show. Likely, this will be from Clear Channel's studios there. He will do his show from Cincinnati on Thursday and Friday.

- This is a one-year deal so far, and he will continue with his TV gig until he gets tired of it.

- No word on who will syndicate his show, but Clear Channel owns Premiere Networks, which syndicates Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, Glen Beck, Jim Rome and Bob and Tom, among others. If he goes with Premiere, this will mark Clear Channel's entry into the liberal talk syndication fray, and he could turn up on other Clear Channel liberal talkers. For now, it's a local show.

- And, as many know, Springer has deep Cincinnati roots, and was even the mayor of the city at one time. He was also a TV news anchor before launching his TV show.

- No word on whether Steve the bouncer will join him, or if there will be fighting spouses on his show.