A tale of two talkers (Creative Loafing talks to Mike Malloy)

You want to know about the sorry state of talk radio in America -- and Atlanta? Consider the fates of two homeboys, Neal Boortz and Mike Malloy.

They used to do the right-left gig when both aired on WSB radio and CNN. That was when broadcasting had balance, when Malloy and Boortz defined the limits of debate. And when there were 400 owners of stations. Now, there are a half-dozen mega-corporations.

"Malloy and I were a good example of how two people can disagree so harshly on matters, yet still get along in the real world," Boortz recalls.

Their fates since those halcyon days tell a lot about American media, as well as our disintegrating political culture. And two anecdotes illustrate how right-wing media have captured unparalleled access to power, in return for whoring themselves out as propagandists, while left radio is all but DOA.

On Sept. 15, five members of the Vast Right-Wing Radio Conspiracy were summoned for a private soiree with George Bush. The topic was hush-hush. Gee, I wonder if the quintet was being given its pre-election marching orders to ratchet up fear and defame Democrats. Or to create smoke screens to protect Republicans from criticism about the rich-win-poor-lose economy, their inattention to America's critical needs, their attacks on liberty, and that awful, bloody disaster deceitfully spun as Bush's "war on terror."

The secrecy was undone by Boortz, however. On Sept. 16, he breathlessly proclaimed on his website how he, Sean Hannity, Mike Gallagher, Michael Medved and Laura Ingraham -- a group that has amassed an incredible record of lies, distortion and bigotry -- had the day before been allowed to grovel at Fearless Leader's feet.

Keep that picture in mind.

About two weeks earlier, on Aug. 30, Malloy, who had a daily late-evening gig on the liberal Air America network, was driving to a studio to substitute for another host. En route, he got a call from Jon Sinton, an Atlanta radio veteran who had been, at Air America's birth in March 2004, the network's main man for programming. Sinton describes his current role as "very informally involved."

Despite Sinton's exile, he'd been tapped to deliver bad news to his old pal Malloy: The ax had already fallen, with money as the excuse.

Booting Malloy "was very stupid," Sinton says. "Malloy in many ways was the heart and soul of Air America."

Malloy, who was denied a goodbye broadcast, says: "Even WSB didn't dump me as unceremoniously as Air America did. They didn't notify me or the affiliates. Hell, the affiliates went berserk. 'Where's Malloy?' they demanded."

Check out more from this interesting article at Creative Loafing. In it, an industry columnist's take on the liberal talk format, a little about Evan Cohen and the whole Gloria Wise mess that Brian Baloney orgasms over, and more.

Speaking of Malloy, here's an update from his site:

Still no official radio news to report, but of the three radio opportunities we've been writing about, one is now out of the picture, one remains unchanged (but seems to be cooling off as time passes) and one has become slightly more likely. The bad news is that we do not have a concrete time frame as to when we'll be back on the air. As you know we are very eager to get back behind that mic! We do hope it will be before the end of the month.

As for media news: Here's an article in the latest issue of Creative Loafing. Mike was also recently interviewed by salon.com for an article they're writing about Air America Radio past, present, and future. Atlanta Magazine is also considering an article, or at least a blog.

We're still working on a few issues before we can openly reveal what we've come to believe is the backstory to our untimely dismissal from Air America. You better get out a flow chart because there are more twists and turns than entire seasons of "Lost" and "24" combined. It is truly bizarre.

And it's come to our attention that there are one or two Internet efforts underway to initiate some kind of independent syndication for the Mike Malloy Show. We want to thank all those folks who are working to establish a self-syndicating operation for us. As we've stated in response to your many inquiries via email, we are awaiting official word from a couple of traditional radio outlets before we delve into the world of at-home syndication or netcasting.

We do remain confident that the Mike Malloy Show will be picked up by a network very soon. If not, then we'll certainly entertain all these other opportunities and generous offers in the near future. As always, we so appreciate your support and efforts on our behalf.In fact, your email, calls, and petitions are tremendously helpful. It certainly is a big boost to our morale and is noticed by potential radio outlets as well. Thank you thank you thank you so much, we'll be in touch.

Watch your back,

Malloys
10/07/06

Oh, and Malloy fans can catch him on MSNBC on Sunday 10/08 at 2PM ET.

"The Next Progressive Talk Radio Star"

SAN ANTONIO, WASHINGTON DC, and CENTENNIAL Colo. – October 6, 2006 - Clear Channel Radio, The Center for American Progress Action Fund, Jones Radio Networks, and MSS, Inc, announced today a collaboration to launch a nationwide search for the next Progressive Talk Radio Star. The groups announced the contest will begin on Monday, October 9 with local promotions at participating stations and culminate in a final broadcast in front of a live studio audience in Washington, DC on Thursday, November 16. Entries will be judged by an expert panel including one of the highest-rated progressive talk hosts on the airwaves, Ed Schultz.

A national at-large contest will be held at the same time as the local promotions at TalkProgress.com, a website designed by Nakea LLC. “TalkProgress.com will combine the topical heat of top blogs like Think Progress with the cool media richness of YouTube. TalkProgress promises to be one of the most dynamic interactive communities for the online user,” said Chris Nakea, President and CEO of Nakea, LLC. In addition to holding the At Large contest, the site will follow contestants’ progress and provide behind-the-scenes interviews, candid moments, and other elements of a contest that’s sure to enhance the experience of the audience.

The Progressive Talk Format was born in March 2004 in Portland, OR, when Clear Channel Radio’s 50,000 watt AM radio station changed its call letters to KPOJ and became the first major market talk radio station to program all Progressive Talk. To demonstrate the popularity and scope of the Progressive talk format, KPOJ skyrocketed up the charts from #23 to #1 (Adults 25-54) based on the first full ratings evaluation period, according to Arbitron. Since that time, nearly 100 radio stations nationwide (including 8 out of the top 10 markets) have programmed Ed Schultz and other progressive talkers.

Center for American Progress Action Fund President John Podesta said, “Talk radio has emerged as a potent force for driving the national debate. We’re working towards a return to a balance in the airwaves by supporting this initiative to bring more progressive voices to the microphone.” “

Progressive Talk has grown so big, so fast, that all of us in the industry are searching high and low for more great Progressive Talk radio talent,” observed MSS president and radio entrepreneur Paul “Woody” Woodhull. “Great talkers like Ed Schultz, Bill Press, and Al Franken are hard to find.”

“Clear Channel has championed Progressive Talk by committing 23 great radio stations to the format,” commented Clear Channel VP of AM programming Gabe Hobbs. “We need to follow that commitment with finding and training the next generation of great talkers.”

Amy Bolton, 2005 and 2006 Talk Radio Industry Executive of the Year and Vice President/General Manager of the Talk Radio division of Jones Radio Networks, predicted, “This national talent search will be the ideal training ground for many local talkers to break into the national arena,” and added, “From the beginning, Jones Radio Networks has pioneered the discovery and syndication of new Progressive Talk talent and we’ve only just begun!”

The local winners and an at-large winner, who will each receive a $1,000 cash prize, will proceed to the next phase of the competition when a panel of judges announces the final eight participants on Saturday, November 4 during the inaugural broadcast of the network program, Progressive Talk Radio Star. The contestants will be narrowed down through quarterfinal and semifinal broadcasts, with two finalists winning an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC to participate in the final broadcast on Thursday, November 16. These final two contestants, competing for a nationally syndicated radio show, will perform live before the judges, the media, and a studio audience at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

KOMY/Santa Cruz to finally drop Air America, so will the Zwerlings finally just shut up?

The Zwerling/Air America Radio soap opera will soon be over. KOMY co-owner Michael Zwerling is vowing once again to drop AAR programming (or what little they actually have of it) by next month.

So, the question everyone, including the media wonks, seems to ask is, why isn’t Air America doing well in that liberal hotbed known as Santa Cruz? Well, if they had to listen to the programming on a station like KOMY, the answer would be obvious.

KOMY is owned by Zwerling, along with his mother Kay. The two also own conservo-talker KSCO, which seems to be their pride and joy. KOMY is perhaps the weakest of AAR's affiliates, in that the station is hardly promoted, the owners obviously hate the programming (they're staunch conservatives), and they constantly complain about lack of advertisers, even though the station appears to have no substantial sales department. The two-station cluster is a mom-and-pop operation (actually, a mom-and-son operation) in every sense of the word, and often, it seems the two stations take a backseat to the strange antics of the eccentric owners.

Some may remember a controversial dustup in October 2001, when Peter Werbe's then-syndicated show aired on KOMY in the mornings. The Zwerlings were appalled by Werbe's controversial attacks on the Bush Administration, and Michael Zwerling went on the air during Werbe's show and denounced the show and its host, 'apologizing' to the people of Santa Cruz for having him on "his" airwaves. On Oct. 18, Zwerling, called Peter an "asshole," because the station was allegedly receiving so many complaints. Local residents were taken aback by the owner's on-air language, a violation of FCC standards.

If that wasn't enough, Mom went on the air with her own editorial, and bashed Werbe for being such a meanie.

Fast-forward three years later. KOMY and the Zwerlings give it another go. They affiliate with Air America after some tough negotiations (the Zwerlings wanted to put Michael Savage's show on the same station, and AAR would not allow it). Finally, KOMY cleared three shows from AAR - Franken, Rhodes and the Majority Report. But this was not the end of it. A couple months later, Michael Zwerling went on a whinefest to the local media, complaining that area liberals weren't beating down the door to buy advertising time on KOMY. In protest, they even pulled "Majority Report" and started airing infomercials in its place. After receiving some not-so-nice letters from listeners, Zwerling even went on the air again (the Zwerlings are fond of on-air editorials) and blasted the listeners who sent them. They aired another announcement that they had received “vicious hate mail” critizing the Kay Zwerling editorials, and saying that they want “hypocritical Air America listeners” to send in money or they would yank the AAR programming off the station.

Of course, the conventional wisdom was that they amped up the drama a bit in 'playing the victim', and it was likely that the Zwerlings' over the top editorializing was turning off listeners.

And the most likely possibility is that the Zwerlings are rather inept at running radio stations. They don’t seem to have much of a sales department, and if they do, they’re certainly not doing their job. Heck, the Zwerlings don’t even pay their on-air talent, instead demanding they go out and find their own sponsors!

Of course, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. And a combination of only two Air America shows, surrounded by unpaid local hosts and lots and lots of infomercials does not a successful station make. Obviously, the Zwerlings misunderstood the message of “Field Of Dreams”, because, quite frankly, they didn’t build much, and as a result, nobody came to listen. KOMY doesn’t even have its own website. Rather, there are a few mentions of the station on KSCO’s site, along with their own webstream. Otherwise, one would never even know that KOMY existed, or what they put on the air.

One really wonders what the Zwerlings hope to accomplish by dropping Air America. They only carry Al Franken and Randi Rhodes, last time I checked. And those shows are offered on a barter basis, meaning that they cost nothing to carry. Are they going to put on more unpaid local hsots? Infomercials? And they wonder why nobody is listening. Why would they? It all seems like a lot of grandstanding to me.

Meanwhile, across the Monterey Bay, another independently-owned AM station is also airing a liberal talk format. While KOMY airs only two or so Air America shows, surrounded by a ton of infomercials and whatnot, KRXA is fully devoted to the format. The station is owned by Washington, DC lawyer Hal Ginsberg and Bay Area radio legend Peter B. Collins. Ginsburg and Collins purchased the station and signed on their talk format shortly after KOMY. Since KOMY had the rights to the regular Air America programming, KRXA worked around it, signing a whole slate of non-Air America talk talent, including Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, and Thom Hartmann from Air America’s secondary syndication arm. The experienced and talented Collins himself hosts an afternoon show on the station, which is currently in syndication. They also do other local shows, and as far as I know, employees are being paid. So yes, to answer the questions everyone seems to ask, liberal talk can and does work in the Monterey/Santa Cruz area.

In the battle of the two stations, KRXA’s full-time liberal talk format easily beat KOMY’s half-hearted on-air train wreck. Collins is serious about the format, and the on-air presentation of KRXA proves this. While the station is not a massive success yet, local advertisers do seem to be buying time on the station. And the station is slowly rising up the ratings chart.

So, let this be a lesson to radio owners. As the saying goes, you get out what you put into it. The Zwerlings are running their stations on the cheap, and it shows (the ratings of their main station, KSCO, are pretty poor compared to what they should be doing). Air America should be happy that this melodrama will soon be behind them. Now the Zwerlings can go off and simmer in their own self-pity without being an obnoxious distraction.

And for listeners, fret not, since there happens to be a very good station on the air in the Bay Area. One that is dedicated to the format. That is KRXA, and they can be found at 540 on the AM dial. Give them a listen, and be sure to support their sponsors, and tell them why you do.

What's wrong with this picture?

Take a close look at this FOX 'News' screen grab, as shown on the October 3 "O'Reilly Factor":



Yep, this is what FAUX calls "Fair and Balanced". If one of your guys embarasses your party, and it looks like the GOP is imploding in a very messy fashion, 'accidentally' tag him as a Democrat! FOX 'News' and Bill O'Reilly must really think their viewers are idiots!

All this on a show they refer to as "The No-Spin Zone". Yeah, right.



Thanks to BradBlog and Democratic Underground for this. Ahh, the smell of desperation.

Air America Radio webcast listenership is up once again

Yeah, I know. it seems all you ever read about in the blogosphere is how Air America Radio is going bankrupt and is bilking nonprofit community centers out of money (which makes me wonder, would these conservative hacks even give two shits about an inner city youth center if Air America wasn't involved?)

Nonetheless, the latest Webcast Metrics, ratings (see this entry) give Air America some pretty positive news, and positive news for webcasting in general. In the just-released "Internet Radio Top 20" rankings of the top audio streaming services on the internet for August 2006, Air America's online listening audience is up.

In the current ratings, Air America Radio moves up from #12 to #11 overall from 6AM-Midnight, and stays put at #11 from 6AM-8PM.

In the 6AM-Midnight segment, overall listenership to the official Airamerica.com webstreams grows from 203,183 to 231,014 (with Average Quarter Hour listenership rising from 3,214 to 3,931). The listening audience from 6AM-8PM increases from 141,403 to 163,865 (AQH rises from 4,349 to 5,028).

The "Average Quarter Hour" estimate, or AQH, is defined as the estimated average number of persons tuned to a channel for at least five minutes during a 15 minute period. It can more simply be understood as "the number of people listening to a station at the average moment." Cumulative listeners, or "cume," is the non-duplicated number of different people tuning in at least once (for at least five minutes) during the time period in question.

It should be noted again that many of the services ranked have multiple channels with full-time programming. The only single-stream service that ranks higher than Air America is ESPN Radio.

Here's how they stacked up, from 6AM-Midnight:

1. Digitally Imported (Electronic/Dance)
2. 202.fm (Multiple formats)
3. AccuRadio (Multiple formats)
4. 1.FM (Multiple formats)
5. ABC Radio Group (Multiple formats)
6. Club977 (Multiple formats)
7. RadioIO (Multiple formats)
8. EMF Broadcasting (Multiple religious formats)
9. ESPN Radio (Sports Talk)
10. Big R Radio (Multiple formats)
11. Air America Radio (Political talk)
12. Soma.FM (Electronic/Dance)
13. Beethoven.com (Classical music)
14. WNYC (Public Radio)
15. BoomerRadio.com (Multiple Formats)
16. GotRadio.com (Multiple Formats)
17. WFUV (Public Radio)
18. KPLU (puclic radio)
19. WOXY.com (two alternative rock streams)
20. Saga Networks (radio station group)

You can see Kurt Hanson's report on the August rankings here, or go directly to the Webcast Metrics site.

And finally, it should be noted that the numbers provided are for the official Air America streams only. They do not include the webstreams of individual affiliates, which make up a sizeable percentage of online listening.