San Antonio To Get Two Liberal Talkers

Taking Texas by storm...

In spite of its slogan, “where hip-hop lives,” Clear Channel R&B/hip-hop KHTY (Hot 92.5) San Antonio will flip to liberal talk on March 17 as KRPT. It joins a short list of liberal talkers on the FM dial.

Jerry Springer, Phil Hendrie, Lionel, Jesse Jackson and Ed Schultz will all have a presence on the new station, as will local talk vet Ron Aaron, according to WOAI.com.

The station’s lineup, interestingly, doesn’t appear to include any offerings from Air America, who CC has partnered with in its other liberal launches. That has lead to speculation that a second liberal talker is on the horizon for San Antonio.Air America is currently on in Corpus Christi and Austin, and will debut in Dallas on March 21.

The new KRPT site can be found here. The station has a rimshot signal, with a tower based near Pearsall, TX, southwest of San Antonio. The signal is relatively weak in San Antonio. It is rumored by several trade magazines that Air America may surface on KZDC 1250AM, whose daytime and nighttime signals are local, and therefore easier to receive in the San Antonio area.

Air America does Dallas

Air America's round-the-clock political talk will hit the air Monday in Austin and debut March 21 in the Dallas area, replacing the Spanish-language programming on KXEB-AM (910). Air America is already on in Corpus Christi.

In North Texas, Air America's success could be limited by the reach of the low-wattage station. Static nearly drowns out KXEB in some areas, but officials at Border Media Partners, the station's owners, said they were trying to strengthen the signal.

Air America executives, who called the expansion in Texas the high point for the network, said Mr. Franken will find an audience, even in President Bush's home state.

"We're providing an alternative for a minority that feels alienated," CEO Danny Goldberg said.

KXEB's signal is not the greatest, and it gets a bit fuzzy to the west in Fort Worth. You can see the predicted signal contours here.

KOKE (1600) in Austin picks up the format next week. Brownsville is another market that has been rumored as well. And Corpus Cristi just signed on a few weeks ago.

Winstead Exits Air America

Lizz Winstead, one of the original programmers for Air America Radio and co-host of the network’s mid-morning show Unfiltered (9 a.m. to Noon), has exited the liberal radio network.

No reason for her departure was given. In a prepared statement, the network said, “We plan to take the show in a different direction.” Winstead, the comedian who co-created Comedy Central’s Daily Show, has been with the network since its debut last March. Winstead’s current co-hosts, Rapper Chuck D and Rachel Maddow are still on the air.

Thom Hartmann picks up affiliates in Pittsburgh and Los Alamos, NM

WPTT-AM (1360) will add the syndicated "Thom Hartmann Show" to its talk lineup, starting March 14. It will air weeknights from 8 to 10.

The station ran Hartmann's program as a temporary fill-in last month while host Lynn Cullen was on a month-long leave. Because of the high volume of listener response, WPTT decided to pick it up as part of its regular schedule, said WPTT program director John Poister.

The new program will replace two hours of the four-hour syndicated Michael Reagan show, which will air from 6 to 8 p.m. starting March 14.

The Vermont-based Hartmann is one of the few nationally syndicated hosts with a progressive/liberal point of view. His career started in 1968, and he has worked in all areas of radio programming -- as disc jockey, news anchor and reporter, as well as talk host. His syndicated program was launched in 2003. Hartmann also is a psychotherapist and author.

Also, Hartmann replaces his old Santa Fe affiliate with one in nearby Los Alamos, NM. He will be heard on KRSN-AM (1490), displacing Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.

Jay Marvin now archived at White Rose Society

Thanks to Ben Burch for the heads up.

You can find archived shows (by permission) on Ben's site:

http://www.whiterosesociety.org/Marvin.html

You can also find archived shows from Mike Malloy, Thom Hartmann, Randi Rhodes, Jay Marvin, Peter Werbe and many others on this great site site.

Jay Marvin is now heard on AM 760 in Denver/Boulder. You can also find Jay's official website here.