The 'greening' of The Quake, part 2

Last week, you read here about the 'former' KQKE in San Francisco and some online hints about their upcoming new direction. Well, it looks like 960AM is going green next week.

Already, there have been a few hints dropped so far. Earlier this month, the call letters were officially changed to KKGN. Owner Clear Channel reserved several domains, including green960.com and 960green.com. And an email sent to me by the station's promotions director teased claims of 'turning a new leaf.'

As of next Monday, August 27, the new "Green 960" will debut. The station will keep liberal talk, but will supplement it with more environmental and locally-oriented programming. Green Seed Radio, a co-production of the Green Building Exchange that currently airs on Saturday afternoons, will move to weekdays 3-4P. The local Progressive News Hour with John Scott will expand by an hour, airing from 4-6P.

With these changes comes some schedule shuffling of popular syndicated shows. Rachel Maddow, currently airing live from 3-5P, is being bumped to 9-11P. Randi Rhodes slides back down to the 6-9P shift. And Mike Malloy's show will move to late night, from 11P-2A.

Commenting on the new imaging and scheduling shift, KKGN PD Bob Agnew claimed, "This is a natural evolution for the station. We are in the most environmentally-conscientious market in the country, and our listeners have let us know the depth of their concern and their desire to be part of the solution. 'Green 960' will entertain, educate, and motivate people on the need to recycle, sustain, preserve, and protect this place we call Mother Earth."

The Quake goes Green

Eco-consciousness is a big buzzword these days, as many of us have become more aware of our surroundings. Suddenly, we've become more concerned about melting glaciers, smog, landfills, the air we breath and our lakes and rivers.

And we most certainly see it at the gas pumps. Notice how many Toyota Prius hybrid cars are on the road these days?

Needless to say, the environment is slowly bringing us all together, save for conservative flacks who think this is all some twisted plot by Al Gore. Some wiser conservatives are actually reverting to the old Barry Goldwater ethic of protecting our surroundings. Even religious groups are starting to bring the issue to the forefront, as they move away from the old divisive Jerry Falwell-style nonsense.

Well, with this newfound environmental awareness that has thankfully entered our daily lives, it was only inevitable that radio enter the picture. And what better place than in eco-friendly San Francisco? On a progressive talk station?

RadioInsight.com is reporting that KQKE (960AM) is undergoing an image makeover. That's right, they're going green.

Look for new imaging, new graphics and even a new call sign, KKGN, which the station flipped to on Monday. Additionally, a number of domain names, such as green960.com and 960green.com have been registered by Clear Channel this week.

Now, keep in mind, The Quake is not just installing a new marketing gimmick. They're pretty tuned-in to the local community, going so far as to carry blocks of environmentally-oriented programming on the weekends, as well as a 'green' page on their website.

The station's promotions director, in an email response, is even claiming that they "will be 'turning a new leaf' by the end of this month." So far, there's no other information available. I tried to get a pic of the new station logo, going so far as to sthreaten to post either the Boston Celtics logo or a picture of an avocado on this article. He was against the Celtics idea, and quite frankly, after the Kevin Garnett trade a few weeks ago (I'm a Timberwolves fan), so was I.

To be fair, the new KKGN is not the first station to tie in a 'global' theme to their imaging. CBS Radio's WTGB (94.7 The Globe) in Washington, DC has them beat by a few months. But this could be the start of the 'greening' of radio.

Oh, and I'm posting the avocado pic. Hey, it's green, right?

Air America 2.0: But will it float?

Over the last week or so, there's been a lot of talk about the 'new and improved' Air America Radio. With a new web presence, new personalities and shows, and a new lineup, they obviously expect great thing to come of it.

Yesterday was a good start, as they launched the new website and logo with a press release, and even featured an in-studio chat between New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former rival Mark Green, now president of Air America. The meeting of the former political foes was packed with New York-area reporters, and will air sometime next week.

But the question lingers in the back of everyones' minds: Is this whole 2.0 thing really going to work?

Lionel was the first addition, and a very controversial one at that. After a fairly successful run at late night radio syndication via WOR Networks, he moved his show over to Air America and late mornings. The goal obviously was to help the network gain new affiliates, or even bump time slot rival Stephanie Miller from a few. Less than a week into it, the results have been disappointing. Not only has Lionel not gained many fresh affiliates, he lost roughly a half dozen that carried Seder on delay. The only station he seems to have been added to is WINZ in Miami, on delay from 6-9P ET. Lots of stations still list him on their website schedules for his former show, but it is unknown if they are still running his new Air America show in those time slots. And judging by the response on various blogs, message boards and even Air America's own site, listeners are very vocal about "The Lionel Show."

Of course, time will tell if the show will grow and expand, and its up to Scott Ellberg and David Bernstein to make this happen. Particularly since predecessor Sam Seder actually improved his ratings on flagship station WWRL in the most recent Arbitron book.

In regard to the other changes, so far the only one that seems to be working is the move of Jon Elliott to three hours later. This was one move that made sense on paper, since it carves out a new shift for the network (Midnight-3A), gets him out of the way of Mike Malloy's 9-Midnight show, and many of Elliott's affiliates delay him to a later time slot anyway. In essence, Elliott's new shift is nearly competition-free, since Lionel is now gone from late nights and FOX News Radio's Alan Colmes wraps up his show an hour into Elliott's.

As a result, Elliott's flagship station, KLSD in San Diego, will now carry his entire show live, immediately following Malloy's, which gets a full three hour clearance starting Monday. Elliott has also been picked up by KQKE in San Francisco, KKZN in Denver, KPHX in Phoenix (ironically), KPTK in Seattle, KPOJ in Portland, KRXA in Monterey/Santa Cruz (which carries the straight Air America feed in overnights anyway), and other stations.

"The Air Americans" is the other new show coming to Air America. Basically, the Mark Riley-anchored show is a hodge-podge of various hosts at the station, including correspondents Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Mike Papantonio, David Bender and Laura Flanders. The four hour show essentially replaces two cancelled ones: "Politically Direct" (who's host Bender stays with the new show) and "EcoTalk" (which was going to die anyway). Thus far, no affiliate has announced their intentions of picking up "The Air Americans" and rumor has it not many people in the building are optimistic about its chances. Furthermore, there's a chance that WWRL may not even carry it, which in effect would kill the show, given that Air America all too often seems to be a bit too New Yorkish. Buzz about "The Air Americans" is not good. Nonetheless, they will promote the hell out of it, and even have some strong guests lined up.

For the weekends, the network has said very little about the changes and new shows that will debut. The only one we've really heard anything about is Seder's new Sunday show, but that's due to obvious reasons.

So, will Air America 2.0 be a success, or will it be yet another bit of bad luck for the much-beleaguered network? Only time will tell. Should be an interesting few weeks, so stay tuned.

Ratings Roundup Winter 2007: Part 2

Earlier, I gave you part one of the Winter 2007 Arbitron reports for various markets across the fruited plain. Today, you get a few more.

Just a quick note to add, these ratings are the overall ones, ages 12+ in all measurable dayparts. Demographic and daypart breakdowns are not publicly released by Arbitron, and are rather rare to come by, unless one pays the money to subscribe. Advertisers don't really rely on overall numbers to place buys, but at least these numbers give a glimpse of how stations are doing. So without further ado...

KQKE in San Francisco is still shaking the bay almost as much as that MacArthur Maze chaos currently jamming up local traffic. This time, they move from 1.1 to 1.3. They beat sister conservotalker KNEW by a tenth of a point and high-powered CBS Free FM outlet KIFR, which gets a 0.8. KGO, which some expected to lose it's #1 perch, stays on top with a significant lead at 5.5, almost a full point ahead of its nearest rival, adult contemporary-formatted KOIT. Oh, and ultra-right wing KSFO edges up slightly. In San Jose (#35), KQKE is down from 1.1 to 0.6. And KGO is at the top of the heap.

Down the road in the Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz market (#80), KRXA makes a spectacular leap, from 0.6 to 1.1. They are only a fifth of a point behind local conservotalker KSCO. The most recent trend report actually had KRXA tied with them. KGO is the #2 station in this market, and other area conservotalkers, such as KSFO, Fresno's KMJ and the new local Clear Channel Hannity/Savage/Dr. Laura outlet KION all sit at the bottom of the ratings, in the 0.4-0.6 range. KOMY, the former Air America affiliate that recently switched to oldies, has dropped off the ratings list.

In Washington, DC (#8), WWRC, usually good for a half-share, is a no-show in the book this time around, but that's not surprising. Talk radio gets mediocre ratings in this market, save for all-news WTOP and, to a lesser extent, WMAL. Free FM'er WJFK has a 1.6 with their non-political shock jock format and the rest, including all-news WTWP, African-American talker WOL and Clear Channel conservotalker WTNT are below a one share. Given the demographic breakdown of this market and the abundance of news/talk stations, an AM station with a puny signal like WWRC has an uphill struggle ahead of it. Luckily, the station is run on the cheap, with no local programming (syndicated progressive talk programming, and most talk programming in general, is offered on a barter basis, with no upfront money necessary). There are quite a few other talk stations that are a no-show in the book, including WFED, which is directed heavily at Beltway political wonks; 50,000 watt WMET, which is basically Greaseman's right-wing morning show, various brokered talk shows, and Music Of Your Life filling in occasional gaps; and suburban talker WAGE. Not to mention noncommercial stations like NPR outlet WAMU, Pacifica's WPFW and C-Span radio on WCSP. That's a lot of talk! Thirteen stations, including WWRC, air news and/0r talk formats.

Coming later today, books will be released for Minneapolis, Denver, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Buffalo and a few others. You can see all the market ratings results at Radio and Records or Stationratings.com.

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.

Ratings Roundup Fall 2006: Part 5

For the last of this series of Arbitron ratings reports for liberal talk radio stations across the country, we arrive in the Northeast. This one will take a look at the upper East Coast.

In New York, WWRL finally makes an appearance in its first ratings book since becoming the new flagship for Air America. Whereas the signal-challenged station rarely appeared in the rankings prior to the September flip, they now come on with a 0.8 share, tied for 26th place. WWRL also makes a first-time showing in other regional books, garnering a 0.7 share in Long Island (market #18), where they only have a partial presence, and 0.5 in Middlesex, NJ (market #39). Meanwhile, WLIB, now airing a gospel music format, drops from a 1.0 to a 0.5 share in New York City. They did not show up in other regional market surveys, where they have done well under its previous format. All in all, considering the station switch and signal limitations, WWRL did not do too badly, as they beat a few 50,000 watt stations and are even competitive with stronger, higher-profile FM stations like WFNY, airing CBS Radio's expensive "Free FM" talk format.

Upstate, in Buffalo/Niagara Falls (#52), little WHLD maintained a mid-share figure for its last ratings book before its recent flip to gospel music. Since picking up Air America and other liberal talk programming, the station has gone from a perrenial no-show to actually making a dent in the ratings book. Its final number was a 0.5. Entercom-owned rival WWKB finished just a tenth of a point ahead, with a 0.6, down from a 1.0 in the Summer. WWKB appears to be a rather neglected station, with a neglected website and a midday show rerun in the evening hours. Perhaps with WHLD's dropping of Air America, WWKB will have some new programming options. The station does have a fairly strong signal, and could be a success if they figured out how to utilize it properly. To the east, WWKB's sister station WROC in nearby Rochester (#53) made a pretty big jump, rising from a 0.9 to a 1.3, good for 15th place overall. The Arbitron book for Ithaca (#283) has been embargoed, meaning that overall ratings are not available to the public, so there's no word on how WNYY did in that market as of yet. They flipped from oldies to progressive talk last June.

In Boston (#11), the two weak signals of WKOX and WXKS maintained a half share with their recently-dropped progressive talk format. The current ratings for Central Massachusetts' trimulcast of WHMP are unknown in the Springfield (#84) ratings, since the book is under an embargo by Arbitron. In the last available ratings, from one year ago, the station held a 1.6 share, making it the #2 talk station in the market. WAVZ in New Haven (#109), armed with a weak signal and little support from owner Clear Channel, did not register overall in the current ratings book. The station switched to ESPN Radio last week. And WLVP in Portland, ME (#167) drops slightly for the fall, down from a 0.9 to 0.6 share.

Pittsburgh (#24) is the home of two Air America Radio affiliates. The stronger, more established suburban rimshot WPTT, which carries Thom Hartmann, local liberal talker Lynn Cullen and an assortment of other talkers from various sides of the political spectrum, comes in at a 1.2 share. WPTT has recently gotten the go-ahead from the FCC to swap dial positions soon, moving from 1360AM to 910AM, which will give them a stronger daytime signal, though they will cease nighttime broadcasting as a trade-off. WURP, one of Air America's newest affiliates, is a no-show in the book, mostly due to a very tiny predominantly daytime signal that doesn't really get cover much area (at night, they power down from 1000 watts to a measly 4 watts). They have a construction permit pending that will double the daytime power and move the transmitter into the city, which will give the urban areas of Pittsburgh 12 watts at night. The station has long carried The Young Turks, and recently picked up Air America programming for weekends. During the week, they run 'hot talk' personalities such as Don and Mike and Tom Leykis, as well as G. Gordon Liddy.

And finally, this analysis consists mostly of the overall numbers, ages 12+ for all time periods 6AM-Midnight, since these are the only numbers that Arbitron officially releases to the public. Therefore, these numbers do not give any substantial information in regard to daypart, age and gender breakdowns, which are highly coveted by advertisers looking to target specific audiences. Occasionally, more specific information does seep through, such as a statement on Hartmann's website, claiming that his show enjoyed massive increases in listenership in several markets, including WPTT Pittsburgh, with a 100% increase, KPHX Phoenix up 186%, KTNF Minneapolis-St. Paul up 120%, KQKE San Francisco up 100% and his hometown of Grand Rapids, where WTKG is up 114%.



The next series of Arbitron ratings reports will be coming in late March, which will take into account the ratings for this Winter.

Ratings Roundup Fall 2006: Part 2

In part one of this report, LTR analyzed how progressive talk radio stations did in in the recent Arbitron ratings book in the midwest. In this installment, you'll see how stations on the 'Left Coast' did.

KTLK in Los Angeles is still holding steady with a 0.8, up a tenth of a point from the Summer book. They are tied with Salem's conservotalk KRLA, ESPN's KSPN and KTNQ, a Spanish-language news/talk station. Los Angeles, like many other large markets, is a highly competitive market. The news/talk competition is very fierce, with even larger players such as CBS' Free FM affiliate KLSX and their two all-news stations (KCBS and KFWB) not very far ahead of KTLK. San Diego's KLSD is on the rise again after sliding a bit since last fall. In market #17, it moves up almost half a point to a 1.9 share.

Up the coast in Santa Barbara (market #211), KIST, which was recently sold to a local group, is doing very well, tied for 7th place overall with a 3.4 share. Further north, in San Luis Obispo (#172), KYNS, a well-run small market liberal talker that will soon add Mike Malloy to the lineup, holds steady tied for 16th place with a 1.7 share. KFPT in Fresno (#66), recently sold by CBS to local Peak Broadcasting, holds steady with a 1.0, no change since Summer, but more than double what they had last Fall. According to radio industry site AllAccess, KFPT could soon be sold again, with former general manager Chris Pacheco rumored as the buyer. Whether this sale will go through, or if this means a change in format remains to be seen (thanks for the tip, Jim).

In the Monterey Bay area (#80), a market whose sole dominant talk station is high-powered KGO, located roughly a hundred miles away in San Francisco, KRXA is relatively unchanged in the book, as it drops a tenth of a point to a 0.6. They are up a fifth of a point since last Fall. Low-powered KOMY, which carries a mash-up of several Air America Radio shows, infomercials, and whatever else, and recently switched to oldies, is a no-show in the book. Incidently, in response to my article from last week regarding KOMY and their format switch, I got an email from owner Michael Zwerling, which will be posted here shortly. Trust me, you don't want to miss this!

Speaking of the Bay Area, KGO maintains its two decade grip as the top overall station in the market with a rather centrist-leaning talk format. Liberal talker KQKE is tied at #26 overall in the San Francisco (#4) book, and holding at 1.1, which is just a tenth of a point lower than its conservative sister, KNEW. The Quake also has a 1.1 share in neighboring San Jose (#35). In the North Bay, the station has a very strong showing in the Santa Rosa (#119) book jumping all the way up to #12 overall, rising from a 1.0 in the Spring to a 2.5 for the Fall.

In the battle of the Sacramento (#27) liberal talk stations, KCTC, the Air America affiliate, drops slightly to a 0.8 share. KSAC, which airs a mostly liberal talk format, slides to the near bottom of the ranked stations with a 0.4.

The northwestern has been one of the strongest areas for the liberal talk format. Portland, OR (#23) is no exception. Since its debut almost three years ago, KPOJ has been one of the strongest stations in the format. Fall was especially good for them, as they rise all the way up to #5 with a gain of almost a full point, at a 3.7 share. In Seattle (#14), KPTK, a strong performer in some daypart breakdowns, holds at a 2.0 from the summer in this highly competitive talk market. They are down slightly in comparison to last fall. BlatherWatch, a Seattle talk radio blog, claims that conservotalk station KTTH got a huge boost in the recent book, thanks mostly to Rush Limbaugh, who doubled his local ratings from over a year ago (and I assume BlatherWatch's Michael Hood is using last fall as a comparison). Thom Hartmann, who had dominated the 9AM-Noon timeslot in comparison to all other area talk stations throughout the past year, dropped to #2 behind Limbaugh. Hartmann is still the most-listened to host on KPTK. Ed Schultz tied with Sean Hannity among all listeners in the recent Seattle book, though he did reportedly beat him in some demographic breakdowns. In general, conservotalk fared rather poorly in Seattle this past fall, with Limbaugh being the sole exception.

On the other side of the state, KPTQ in Spokane (#93) holds somewhat steady, rising from a 1.0 to a 1.3 share. In Eugene, OR (#150), KOPT continues its rollercoaster ride, from a 2.4 last fall to 3.4 this past spring and back down to a 1.9 for this past fall. Whether this has to do with the erratic nature of twice-yearly Arbitron ratings reports in small markets (in Duluth, MN, KQDS jumped from 0.9 to 2.1) is unknown.

In Anchorage, AK (#172), KUDO, which is owned and backed by IBEW Local 1547, comes in with a 1.3 share. KUMU in Honolulu (#63), which carries a hodgepodge of mostly delayed talk programming including Air America, Stephanie Miller, Schultz, and various non-political talk shows, rises slightly to grab a 0.7 share.

Coming soon, we'll give you the lowdown on other parts of the country. As always, stay tuned!

Want to support liberal talk on the radio? Here's a place to start

Much has been made as of late about the lack of advertiser support on liberal talk radio stations. This has been a reason cited by some owners when they decided to change their formats.

We've also seen the power of sponsorship in other places. When WXXM in Madison was on the chopping block, loyal listeners rallied to persuade Clear Channel management to keep it on the air. They signed petitions, spread the story to media outlets across the country, and even enlisted the efforts of nationally-syndicated talk show hosts. Most importantly, they enlisted advertising support. This is key. Even a low-rated station will stay on the air if enough sponsors support it. This is why all-sports formats are so desirable to broadcasters. Often, sports performs poorly in the ratings, but its narrow demographic of mostly male listeners is an audience that is in high demand for advertisers.

Advertiser support is very important for radio stations to succeed. Bob Agnew, program director of KQKE in San Francisco points this out in a call-to-arms posted on the station's website. No, The Quake is not in danger of getting the axe. Ratings have been fairly decent, and are on the rise. But in order to stay alive, they need sponsors. Here's what Agnew has to say:

YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS!

I’m Bob Agnew, the Program Director of 960 the Quake. I wanted to take a moment and tell you how much we appreciate your loyalty. We appreciate the input we get from you: we responded TO that feedback by creating a lineup of strong progressive talkers like Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Mike Malloy, Ed Schultz and John Scott’s Progressive News Hour. We have partnerships with many local businesses that believe in this mission as you and I do. For 2007 this is our challenge: Without local advertiser support, we will be unable to provide you WITH the shows you want. And if you’re a local business, know this: Quake listeners are loyal, passionate, and THEY WILL support YOU. We have big plans for the Quake, on air and online. With your support, we will remain viable today, tomorrow, and beyond.

If you have any questions about how we can be a partner to your business, or if you'd be interested in advertising with 960 the Quake,call us and ask for Megan: 415-538-5120

If you have questions about Quake programming or promotions we might work on together, please email me anytime: bobagnew@quakeradio.com

We will soon be announcing some new listener initiatives, designed to increase our
awareness..and how you can HELP SPREAD THE WORD..Come back to this page for details!

But wait a minute! Didn't I blast stations in the past for not getting out and finding advertisers? And didn't I rip on the owners of KOMY in Santa Cruz for holding their format hostage? Yes, I did. The purpose of Agnew's memo is to reach out to businesses their salespeople haven't reached. Unlike the Zwerlings of KOMY and other stations (including Clear Channel clusters in other markets), KQKE has been very aggressive in tailoring the station to its listeners. Though they run mostly syndicated shows from Air America Radio and Jones Radio Networks, they have also maintained a local presense with John Scott's local "Progressive News Hour", Harry O's "The Green Hour" and "Queer Channel Radio". While many other stations seem to run their progressive talk stations out of a computer in a broom closet, The Quake has been one of the most aggressive at doing something with it. On the other hand, the management of stations like KOMY, WTPG, WKOX, and WSAI, among others, made little effort besides merely putting it on the air.

Of course, this doesn't pertain solely to The Quake. If you have a liberal talk station in your town (or any station you're passionate about), make your preference known. If you support a sponsor of your favorite station, let them know you heard their ad on that station, and that's why you walked in the door. This means so much to sponsors. And if you own a business and you love hearing Air America or Mike Malloy or Ed Schultz on your local airwaves, why aren't you advertising on that station?

Ever wonder why your local station airs hockey or college basketball games in the evenings? Sportscasts bring in money. Or those obnoxious bowel movement infomercials on Sunday mornings (ewwww... gross!)? Same thing. And conservotalk stations air even more of that stuff, so don't feel alienated. Simply put, they've gotta make money.

As for you radio Account Executives out there, this doesn't get you off the hook. Get off your butts, stop cherry-picking the ad agencies and bring in some business! Hell, you get paid off it, right?

____ ______ to be new Sirius Left night host

The rumor was hinted at a few weeks ago. Alex Bennett took a call on his late morning show regarding Sirius Left's replay of Bill Press in the 6-9PM slot (which belonged to The Young Turks prior to their signing with Air America this past September. Seems that an increasing number of listeners were a bit miffed hearing the same Bill Press show on the way home that they had listened to that morning. Bennett sympathized, and promised that a replacement for the evening replay was forthcoming, but he couldn't go into detail. All he said was that people would really be happy when they found out. Will weekend host Mike Feder take the timeslot? No, said Alex.

It was a rumor that slipped my mind after that. I really don't like jumping on every little piddly rumor like some other people. And I figured this would get a bit more hot n' heavy in the coming weeks. But the folks over at Sirius Backstage have been buzzing about it. And thanks to Aaron, who emailed me, jogged my memory and prodded my ass to actually make some sort of mention of this here. Remember, this is only a rumor. But as far as rumors go, this isn't bad. The truthseekers out there that visit this site will be happy to know that ____ ______ will take over nights at Sirius Left. Uhh, sorry. Can't say it yet.

Next week will involve some schedule alignments over at Sirius Left. The Press replay from 6-9PM will be bumped for Stephanie Miller. Yesterday, Lynn Samuels announced her show will being replayed around 03:00am EDT starting that day.

So, that leaves the 9-Midnight shift. And likely, it won't be a replay of Bill Press. Most likely, it will be a live show. So, who's on at that hour? It likely won't be Bennett's friend Lionel, since his syndicated show doesn't start until 10PM. And it certainly won't be Jon Elliott, since Air America Radio is exclusive to XM. So... who else is left? Who's gonna rage a radio battle against the 'flying monkey right'?

Well, there is this guy in Atlanta who's upstart Phoenix-based network is close to getting satellite access (they've been negotiating with Westwood One). One who had a petition started to get him back on the radio, complete with roughly 18,000 signatures. Who could it possibly be?

Nobody's saying names at this point, but the most obvious guess is Mike Malloy. Oooops, did I say that?

Now, nothing is official yet, so don't take this as anything close to being 'the gospel'. I'm just passing on the vague rumors I've heard. And KPHX/Phoenix morning host Mike Newcomb lends credibility to the rumors, saying that Malloy will be on Sirius very soon. (mp3 link, 6 min. in)

Malloy's budding syndicator, Nova M Radio, has been in a bit of a holding pattern as of late. Without satellite access, the only way they were able to transmit programming was through land lines, or ISDN. This process is a real pain in the ass, and KQKE in San Francisco deserves credit for going to the trouble of carrying him live from the beginning. Reportedly, the satellite uplink is now working. WINZ in Miami has said they will carry the show, and KPTK in Seattle will air it on delay starting next week, from 11PM-2AM.

Nova M has been negotiating to get Malloy's show on a satellite service. Judging from the obvious number of emails that Sirius in particular have received, I'd be shocked if, given the opportunity to run Malloy, they'd pass on it. After all, Malloy obviously comes at a cheaper price tag than Howard Stern or NASCAR. I'd be surprised if carrying Malloy cost Sirius anything, for that matter, since Malloy, like most other syndicated talk shows, is available to radio affiliates on a barter basis. And Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin needs more subscribers to contribute to the bottom line, as the Stern well has likely been tapped dry by now. Adding Malloy certainly would not be a bad way to do it. Ironically, adding someone with the rabid following that he brings could actually make Wall Street happy. Who'da thunk?

And this would not be the first time Malloy's been on Sirius. He was one of the original voices on Sirius Left, prior to Air America, when the channel carried programming from the defunct I.E. America Network. And Sirius briefly carried Air America, until the network signed an exclusive deal with XM.

Again, this is all a vague rumor, albeit one that's growing longer and longer legs. For all we know, they could opt to air three hours of something else in that slot. But my money's on ____ ______. Again, this is strictly hush-hush, and you didn't read this here. Unless, of course, this is all legit.

RUMOR: Franken leaving Air America December 10

I guess this is as good a way to spread a rumor as possible but here goes.

According to What A Mockery!, Al Franken is planning to leave his midday shift at Air America Radio effective December 10. WAM got the information from KQKE/San Francisco's John Scott, host of their "Progressive News Hour". Audio should be up soon of the show, so I'll pass it along and either confirm or discard this rumor if need be.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Franken's not leaving Air America. Though he will take some time off during the holidays to perform with the USO for the troops in Iraq. We wish him well.

More tremors at The Quake, as Hartmann will go live

Thom Hartmann announced on his Friday radio show that effective Monday November 6, KQKE (960AM, "The Quake") in San Francisco will carry his show live, locally from 9AM-Noon PT.

The Air America Radio-syndicated show is currently heard on delay on The Quake from 6-9PM.

What is interesting is that Hartmann will displace Al Franken's show, which will presumably move into Hartmann's current slot. Air America is notorious for making rigid demands of affiliates regarding Franken, forcing many of them to carry his show live. It's likely that the rise of competitors such as Jones Radio and the relative decline in quality of Air America's weekday lineup gave KQKE the upper hand in negotiations, Likely this is a scenario of an affiliate in a very large market playing hardball.

Hartmann's show, which originates from Portland, OR, has been doing extremely well in some West Coast markets, even ranking #1 in his time slot in Seattle.

UPDATE: Hartmann's move is not the only one at the station. Bob Agnew, program director of KQKE, posted an announcement on the station's website, announcing the addition of Mike Malloy and Rachel Maddow and the dropping of Al Franken. Randi Rhodes' show will be delayed to the evening hours:

As we get close to one of the most important elections in our time, 960 The
Quake is putting more outstanding talent on the air to help you understand where
this country is heading and what you can do about it.

No one Air America personality's departure created as much of a stir as did Mike Malloy. 960 The Quake is pleased to announce that Mike Malloy is returning to the Quake's airwaves. On Monday, November 6th Mike Malloy will be heard live from 6pm to 9pm. Thom Hartmann will now move into the mid morning 9am to noon slot, replacing Al Franken.

There has been lots of speculation about Al Franken's future with Air America and his planned moved into the political arena. While there is nothing official at this time, it has been made clear to us that Al Franken will not be with Air America in the future. We feel it is important to you that we have the most talented hosts on the air, who will be with us for the long term. We believe that Thom Hartmann is the new rising star in Progressive Talk radio and he is firmly committed to 960 The Quake for the long term.

We have also brought Rachel Maddow back to 960 The Quake in her new time of 3p-5p. John Scott will also return to host the afternoon version of the Progressive News Hour. We feel that circumstances with Air America has helped 960 The Quake build its strongest line-up ever: Our programming is live from 3a until 9p so you can become much more involved in the Progressive Process.

The new schedule, effective Monday:

6AM-9AM Stephanie Miller
9AM-12N Thom Hartmann
12N-3PM Ed Schultz
3PM-5PM Rachel Maddow
5PM-6PM Progressive News Hour
6PM-9PM Mike Malloy
9PM-11PM Randi Rhodes
11PM-12AM EcoTalk w/ Betsy Rosenberg
12AM-3AM Lionel
3AM-6AM Bill Press

Morning shakeup at "The Quake"

From AllAccess.com:

CLEAR CHANNEL Talk KQKE-A (960 THE QUAKE)/SAN FRANCISCO expands its carriage of STEPHANIE MILLER's JONES syndicated show from 6-7a to 6-9a, starting OCTOBER 2, with AIR AMERICA RADIO's AL FRANKEN expanding from 10a-Noon to 9-Noon, replacing the local 7-10a show with former Mayor WILLIE BROWN and comic WILL DURST, who remain on the staff for special appearances.

What it looks like is KQKE is further shaking up its on-air schedule, in an attempt to become more competitive in a very tough market. Miller's show has been a strong performer all over the West Coast, so The Quake hopes that she will bring her magic to them.

The station's current morning show, Will and Willie have had a difficult time matching the success of other similarly-formatted stations. And the fact that Miller will obviously be cheaper to run (since she is syndicated) makes this move a no-brainer. Franken will also get back all three hours of his local clearance.

The Quake has recently done a complete overhaul on its schedule. The Quake took a cue from markets such as Portland and Seattle and added the popular Thom Hartmann to an evening delay. EcoTalk was also added to evenings, and the station also airs Bill Press' show live in overnights.

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.
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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