Progressive talk gone in Missoula... again

Missoula listeners were no doubt shocked when, tuning in to listen to Stephanie Miller last week, they heard liners like "A new attitude and a great line-up or some of the best conservative talk!" Yep, KMPT (930AM) has abruptly shifted ideology. The station now airs a conservotalk format.

Market manager Scott Lindahl said the station under-performed with its progressive talk format, and they had to either "turn it off," sell it or change formats. Sports was considered, but they decided instead to go with conservotalk.

Lindahl said corporate members at GapWest Broadcasting gave the station input, but local programmers ultimately made the decision to go conservative. The station says they've answered several calls from progressive listeners.

"Did they like it? No." said Lindahl. "Did they understand it? Yes."

The KMPT flip is a sign of the times for radio. The current slump in broadcast advertising revenue has especially hit small AM stations hard. Many have flipped to tried-and-true predictable formats like sports and conservotalk to stop the bleeding. Some have gone off the air completely. Lesser-established formats like progressive talk are having a rough time as a result.

KMPT had adopted the format in January, 2008, after the market's previous libtalker, KKNS, switched to the Jack-FM format.

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Pittsburgh businessman to bring African-America voice back to local airwaves

Following the demise of two local stations catering to African-American listeners, Pittsburgh media executive Eddie Edwards Sr. promised to give the community a new radio outlet for the disenfranchised listeners. And so far, he's delivered.

Edwards has struck a deal to purchase WPYT (660AM), licensed to nearby Wilkinsburg, for the daytime-only AM station, with the intent of creating a news/talk format focusing on Pittsburgh's African-American community. The purchase price was reportedly $500,000.

The new format will not hit the airwaves any time soon, as Edwards needs to construct studios and hire a staff. He hopes to have that accomplished by early January.

In addition, he is also seeking out an FM station to fill the void left by the sale of WAMO-AM and FM several months ago. The two stations, purchased by Catholic operator St. Joseph Missions, have since changed to religious formats.

A proposed FM station would carry an adult-oriented classic R&B format, in contrast to WAMO-FM's more contemporary approach.

Edwards was highly motivated by bringing a black voice back to the local airwaves. He claimed, with a big mayoral election coming up in Pittsburgh, not having a radio voice for the local black community was "shameful."

All in all, it just goes to show how one person can respond to grassroots outcry, and deliver to a potential audience.

Tuesday talkin'

A new show is hitting the airwaves soon, another radio goofball gets visited by the Secret Service, Jay Marvin's in the hospital, and there's some noise being made in the radio industry. Here's the lowdown:

Goldman gets own show

(Updated with correction)

Norman Goldman, legal analyst and frequent fill-in host for Ed Schultz, is finally getting his own show. His program, which will air weeknights 6-9P ET, will debut September 8.

Goldman's website can be found here.Thanks to Sean for the heads-up.

CBS sale could have impact for Portland listeners

The big media deal over the past week has been in Portland, OR, where CBS has sold its entire radio cluster to upstart broadcaster Larry Wilson, and his company Alpha Broadcasting. Alpha has already struck a deal to buy talker KXL and FM sports talker KTXG from another company, and the portfolio will be complete with the acquisition of CBS' KINK, KUPL, KUFO and KCMD.

The last station, KCMD (970AM), may be familiar to Portland-area readers of this blog. They carry a talk format consisting of syndicated talk shows from across the ideological spectrum, including Michael Smerconish, Phil Hendrie and Stephanie Miller. Now, KCMD has never been a ratings force. And Radio-Info's Tom Taylor says that the new management team could make some changes at the station:

Larry Wilson indicates that strong possibility to the Oregonian. The paper says "Alpha doesn’t plan to make format changes at any of the stations, and will generally leave existing personnel and broadcast lineups in place." But – "one possible exception is KCMD (970AM) , he said, which lags the others in reach."

To many readers of this blog, the only show of significance on the station is Miller's. What changes will be made at the station (if there are any) have yet to be determined.

L.A.'s KFWB goes talk

After four decades, CBS is scaling down the all-news fare at KFWB, as they add syndicated talk programming to the lineup. The new roster will be built around two Lauras - Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Laura Ingraham. Local all-news programming will still be around in selected dayparts.

Ho-hum, you say. But the shakeup of a longtime all-news pioneer is a telling sign of the current state of radio. Syndicated talk is much cheaper than live-and-local all-news programming, especially when the same company owns another local station, KNX, carrying the same format (though KFWB has, in typical L.A. fashion, differentiated itself with a more entertainment industry-heavy focus). One wonders what this could mean for other stations carrying the extremely expensive all-news format. CBS, for example, has a similar situation in New York, where both WCBS and WINS do the format, albeit with very high ratings.

Interview with Montel

Shelly from Air America chimes in with a link to an interview of mid-morning host Montel Williams. It comes from Inside Radio, and you can find it (in PDF format) here.

They just never learn, do they?

A week after some dim-bulb right-wing jock threatened the president, the Secret Service is investigating another on-air threat, this time from an Uncle Fester-lookalike FM morning guy named 'Spaz'. Here's the scoop:

A Boston radio host was interviewed by the Secret Service after he made a threatening comment about President Barack Obama while talking about national health care, the Boston Herald reported Saturday.

Anthony Parziale, a co-host on the WAAF "Hill-Man Morning Show," plans to write a letter to Obama to apologize for his remarks, George Regan, a station spokesman said.

"He plays a tough-guy role on the show. He regretted what he said," Regan said. "It wasn’t meant to be said in that context."

Robert Buster, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Boston office, confirmed they interviewed Parziale, but declined to elaborate. "It’s an ongoing investigation," Buster told the newspaper.

'Spaz' says he intends to write a letter of apology to the president, and also wants to invite him over for a beer.

No more albums for Radiohead?

Going off-topic for this one, but the music of one of today's greatest bands helps fuel the content that you read here on this very blog. If you've never heard Radiohead, you're missing out. Simply amazing band.

But leader Thom Yorke says that the band is currently exploring the short-form online concept, intending to release singles and EPs, rather than full albums like last year's excellent In Rainbows (initially released sans record label as a 'name your price' download.

Radiohead have no plans to release another album, Thom Yorke has revealed. Long-playing records, it seems, have "just become a real drag".

Yorke's comments emerge just days after his band released a download-only single, in tribute to first world war veteran Harry Patch. This model of instantly available singles and quick EPs is the way that Radiohead now wish to proceed, Yorke told the Believer magazine.

"None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again," he said. "Not straight off ... It worked with In Rainbows because we had a real fixed idea about where we were going. But we've all said that we can't possibly dive into that again. It'll kill us."

The problem isn't the format – "obviously, there's still something great about the album," Yorke said – but with the scale and consistency of vision that is required. "In Rainbows was a particular aesthetic and I can't bear the idea of doing that again. Not that it's not good, I just can't ... bear ... that."

BTW - For music aficionados who haven't taken the Radiohead plunge yet (and shame on you if you haven't), I would suggest starting with their best, Kid A or In Rainbows, both representative of their most solid work. The esoteric critical fave OK Computer would be a nice one to hear after that, and then perhaps delve into some of their earlier guitar-oriented fare. After awhile, you could seek out the less-known stuff, such as their EP releases, live recordings and even Yorke's solo album. Radiohead is certainly an acquired taste for some, but if you appreciate a great modern cutting-edge band (even music legend Paul McCartney cites them as the most innovative group out there today), then you're in for a listening treat.

Jay Marvin recuperating

Finally, best wishes go out to veteran talker and KKZN/Denver morning man Jay Marvin, who underwent back surgery Monday in Galloway, NJ.

Marvin underwent the surgery to address the spinal infection that has kept him off the air since March.

Even if everything goes as planned, Jay has a long road ahead of him before he can consider returning to the studio. Still, Mary says he's as positive as he can be under the circumstances. "I think he's anxious about the surgery, but his spirits are pretty good," she notes. "He's had a long time to think about everything, and he's eager to get started."

Likewise, (his wife) Mary adds, "He's very grateful to everybody for all the cards and the good wishes he's gotten. They've helped keep his spirits up as much as anything."

Again, best wishes.

The tide is turning - the death of WBCN and the move of WQXR

America’s radio landscape is looking to shift considerably in the next month, with several industry moves that will topple two pioneering stations. First, a 65 year-old New York classical music radio icon is ending. And in the other, CBS Radio is looking to boost it's FM sports presence with two format flips. One of those moves was long-rumored. The other one effectively kills a four decade rock institution. And both are closely related to the current economic landscape hurting many media owners.

To begin with, there's the complicated deal completed late yesterday. New York's WQXR, one of the oldest FM stations in America (it went on the air in 1939, and has carried its current format since 1944), is being sold by its cash-strapped owner, the New York Times. The Times will sell the 96.3FM frequency to Univision, which will move its Spanish hits "La Kalle" format from the current, lesser-powered 105.9FM. In turn, the Times will sell WQXR's classical music format to WNYC Radio, which will take over 105.9FM and operate it as a non-commercial classical station.
The Times will get $45 million out of the two deals - $33.5 million from Univision plus another $11.5 million from non-commercial outlet WNYC (93.9FM). Times CEO Janet Robinson sees the three-way transaction as the best chance to preserve WQXR's format, though the move will sever the station's ties with the Times' reporters and resources. In addition, WNYC, which broadcasts some classical music in the evening, will likely shift to all news/talk. WNYC has already begun a $15 million campaign to fund the purchase of the new frequency and its equipment.

At least WQXR's classical format will survive. Another iconic station is not so lucky. Earlier in the day, another notable incident of format shuffling was announced, as CBS announced the pending flip of two large-market FM stations. In Washington, DC, FM talker WJFK's shift to sports has been a poorly-kept secret for several weeks. Therefore, that announcement was not surprising. But the most notable part of this story is the pending implosion, set for mid-August, of one of this country's most iconic rock stations, WBCN in Boston.

The changes in Boston are a little more complicated than a mere format flip. What essentially is happening is CBS is moving the adult contemporary format of WBMX (Mix 98.5) to the 104.1 FM frequency. The 98.5 frequency will become WBZ-FM, "The Hub", which will be all-sports.

Sports on FM is a growing fad for many of the big corporate broadcasters across the country. First, some music formats don't seem to be faring well in Arbitron's new flaw-ridden PPM-derived surveys (which use 'people meters' rather than diaries). Second, with music industry lobbyists pushing Congress to mandate performance royalties from radio stations, some radio owners see talk-oriented programming as a way of giving the music industry the middle finger. It also shows the impulsive nature of the major corporate broadcasters.

But today's changes are most notable in a different way. After all, it's not every day that a company abruptly blows up a 41 year-old radio institution. Honestly, though, WBCN's pending demise should come as no surprise, given that it has practically been dying for years. Many similar stations also lost their way as their corporate owners have been clueless as to how to remain relevant. WBCN suffered the death of a thousand cuts.

For over half a century, WBCN has been a local institution. Since its inception in May, 1958, they aired a classical music format (with the same call letters), while most ears were glued to AM radio. By 1968, 'underground' free-form rock was making waves on the FM dial, as struggling stations on that band were eager to try just about anything to get people to listen. It started with KMPX in San Francisco and WOR-FM in New York, and spread like wildfire across the landscape. It could be argued effectively that free-form rock contributed greatly to the growth of FM radio.

WBCN, engulfed in fierce competition with other FM classical outlets, began to experiment with cutting-edge rock when it leased its nighttime hours to a local promoter/nightclub owner, who wanted to use the airwaves to draw traffic to his shows. "The American Revolution" launched on March 15, 1968, with "I Feel Free" by Cream. Within a year, and with skyrocketing listenership, WBCN adopted free-form rock full-time.

Like many similar stations of the day, the programming was adventurous, heavy with album cuts, diverse genres of music, and no playlists. The newscasts and the overall attitude of the station was unabashedly left-wing and, well, revolutionary. The jocks talked with the listeners, rather than at them. And they were fully in tune with who and what they were. It is highly doubtful, for example, that a station would actually air a show dedicated to, of all demographics, prison inmates in these more rigid, uptight times. WBCN became the epicenter of the growing Boston rock scene, which helped to spawn such bands as Aerosmith and The Cars. Peter Wolf, who went on to international fame as the lead singer of the local J. Geils Band, was originally the station's wild nighttime personality.

As music, culture and lifestyles changed, WBCN was still able to keep up. They championed the arrival of punk and new wave in the late 1970s, as similar stations were befuddled as to how to mix it with Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.

As with many of their contemporaries, WBCN soon grew up. A new corporate owner, along with consultants, playlists and a more rigid format began entering the picture by the late 1970s. Competitors also bit at their heels. With its listeners growing older and a new generation of rock fans entering the picture, WBCN arrived at a crossroads. By the 1980s, the station's original listeners began flocking to classic rocker WZLX and the younger listeners tuned in to modern rocker WFNX. WBCN straddled the fence with a mix of both old and new. But like many of their pioneering contemporaries, they struggled.

By 1994, Infinity Broadcasting decided a generational update was in order. Following their purchase of WZLX, they gave WBCN a modern rock format similar to that of WFNX. Infinity's New York-based morning superstar Howard Stern was brought in and a year later, they became the flagship station for New England Patriots football. The music evolved over the next decade, as heavy metal and soon, even classic rock acts, were added. Soon, the station's music would be diminished further, with CBS' growing addiction to FM male-oriented talk. Opie and Anthony and the local Toucher and Rich shows were added, as Howard Stern departed from terrestrial radio. Like many other CBS rock stations, it became a matter of too much of everything and not enough of one thing.

But the passing of WBCN is not surprising in the 2009 radio landscape. External forces, such as webcasting, satellite radio, MP3 players, Arbitron's PPM, performance royalties, uninspiring programming ideas, the economy and corporate radio's itchy trigger finger obviously helped to seal the fate of WBCN and other similar stations. Legacy rock stations, the ones that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, are a rapidly vanishing breed, often propped up by big ticket sports contracts and popular morning shows, but not by the very thing that made them successful in the first place. There are only a scant few of these stations still around, such as WMMS in Cleveland, KQRS in Minneapolis and WEBN in Cincinnati. And, like WBCN, these stations long ago became hollow corporate-owned shells of their former selves, twisting in the winds with uninspired programming and little connection to their glorious pasts aside from their history and call letters. In the 1960s and 1970s (and even into the 1980s), radio was exciting to listen to. They had great live jocks, terrific music, lots of personality, and a finger on the community's pulse. Today, it's almost all done by computer. Radio stations in this day and age all sound as if they're run by account executives and focus groups. In short, it's just plain depressing.

And the fact that WBCN and other once-great stations like it, rich histories and all, are being replaced by the trendy sports talk format and work-friendly adult pop music is certainly a telling sign of where radio is headed. No wonder radio is dying.

Finally, in a fitting funeral well-suited for modern-day radio, CBS vows that WBCN will live on, as a fully automated jockless HD Radio side channel on 98.3FM, that likely few will listen to. Welcome to 2009.

Departing glances

A few demises to note today. One's a well-known Miami talk show host who was dismissed from his job, another a national radio icon hosting his last show next week, and finally, we mark the real-life passing of a late-night television icon.

Rogers, WQAM part ways

First, after 12 years, Miami midday radio talker Neil Rogers, of note to some readers here, has been let go from sports talker WQAM (560AM).

The parting of ways is almost not surprising, given Rogers' increasingly scaled-down schedule, his 'telecommuting' from places such as Toronto and Amsterdam, his enormous paycheck and, of course, his prickly demeanor.

Owner Beasley Broadcasting recently signed Neil to a new contract that even allowed him a Summer-time schedule of working just Tuesdays and Thursdays, initially set to kick in next week.

But in recent weeks, Rogers, 66, got into hot water last month after accidently dropping an unbleeped 'f-bomb' on the air, and directed it at one of his bosses. He was angered over the departure of his longtime producer Jorge Rodriguez.

Rogers’ current contract is for five-years and pays $800,000 annually (down from $1.5 million). No word on whether Beasley will buy it out or settle. There is no noncompete clause, meaning that Rogers could work for another station at any time. However, Rogers has no plans to seek another on-air job at this time.

Rogers has been in Miami radio for 36 years.

Kasem hangs up his headphones

Meanwhile,a nationally-known radio icon is preparing to count backwards for perhaps the very last time. Casey Kasem, who had been hosting nationally-syndicated countdown shows since 1970, will do his last show during the July 4 weekend. Kasem and his syndicator, Premiere Radio Networks, mutually opted to cancel American Top 20, which airs weekly on mostly adult contemporary stations.

But that won't be the end of the road for Kasem. In recent years, Premiere has restored and remastered tapes of Kasem's old countdown shows from the 70s and 80s and currently offers them to oldies stations and satellite radio via syndication (which is perhaps one of the best ideas they ever came up with).

In addition, Kasem, 77, will continue with other lucrative projects, such as voice work, cartoons (hey, he was Shaggy in "Scooby Doo"!), and whatnot. He can also devote more time to outside causes, such as Lebanese-American and Arab-American issues (Kasem is Lebanese). He is also a vegan, and was a big supporter of Dennis Kucinich during his past two presidential runs (though he was a Nader guy in 2000, but don't hold that against him).

So, a tip of the hat to a legend and inspiration, Casey Kasem. Just be careful what you say when the mic is on.

McMahon dies

Finally, a real-life departure, this one of a longtime fixture on late night television. Former Tonight Show sidekick and announcer Ed McMahon passed away early this morning. He was 86.

No cause of death was given, but McMahon has been known to be suffering from many health problems over the last few months, including bone cancer and pneumonia. He also had to deal with a neck injury and many financial problems in recent years.

You can read more via the L.A. Times.

Another sign of the radio apocalypse - Radio & Records folds

The radio business has been a pretty rough ride as of late, and one sure sign is the demise of the industry's 'bible' - Radio & Records magazine.

After 36 years, it's publisher has decided to axe the publication and merge much of its content with sister Billboard, which has given much more inferior coverage of the industry, concentrating mostly on the music business.

The magazine's last print issue will be this Friday, and their web page has already been shut down, with only a farewell message in its place:

Dear Radio & Records Reader:

Given the consolidation of the radio and music industries, Nielsen Business Media has determined that the best way to leverage its assets and resources in support of these industries is to consolidate its music brands.

Consequently, we have decided to consolidate R&R magazine and RadioandRecords.com into Billboard magazine and Billboard.biz and to expand their coverage of the radio industry. In particular, the R&R airplay charts, which are powered by Nielsen BDS and which have become a key tracker of industry performance, will now appear in the pages of Billboard magazine and on Billboard.biz.

If you are a subscriber to Radio & Records, the remaining value of your subscription will be automatically applied to a new subscription to Billboard magazine starting with the June 20 issue that mails on June 11. If you already receive Billboard, your subscription will be automatically extended by the remaining value of your R&R subscription.

The magazine began in 1973, and has long been a primary go-to publication for radio news, airplay charts, ratings reports and industry job listings. It's music charts, while never topping those of Billboard, were used by several radio countdown shows.

Once the internet became a force, many rivals stepped up. Some sites were all-encompassing, such as Radio Online and All Access. Others concentrated on regional industry news, job listings, industry schmoozing and whatnot. And a few years ago, R&R was purchased by its leading rival, Billboard. And now, it is no more.

When I was in the biz, before all the cool content came to the web, I often read through the pages of R&R. I checked out what other stations were playing. I scoured through the job listings, hoping to better my own position in the world, and caught up with what was happening in the world of radio. But times change, and many sites have started to eclipse R&R. Essentially, they couldn't keep up.

So, farewell to R&R, and the passing of an era in the radio industry.

P.S.: While we're on the topic of final farewells, let us tip our hats and raise our glasses to two icons of different fields. Chicago blues legend Koko Taylor passed away yesterday at the age of 80. And in a real shocker, actor David Carradine, most famous for "Kung Fu" and "Kill Bill", was found dead in a Bankok hotel room earlier today. He was 72.

Another Tuesday newsday

Here's what's the haps for today...

More Randi on the radio

As kind of an update to last week's entry, a couple more affiliates have added Randi Rhodes, both owned by Clear Channel, which syndicates her show. WXXM Madison, after not being able to agree with her on a suitable time slot, has compromised with a little shuffling. Her show will air on 92.1 The Mic weeknights 6-9P (CT) starting May 26. Mike Malloy has been shifted to 9P-12A, followed by Ron Reagan 12-3A.

In Denver, KKZN adds her to the 7-10P (MT) shift, replacing Ron Kuby.

And if you don't mind staying up late, Ohio Majority Radio, which offers its own streaming station, is webcasting her show in the 1-4A ET time slot.

WWR(e)Location time

With the shuffling of Air America's talent lineup, 'flagship' station WWRL in New York has done some minor tweaking. Montel Williams is now airing in the 3-6P ET time slot in place of Ron Kuby. Also the station has added the third hour of Stephanie Miller's show in the 11A-12P slot, following the station's two-hour mid-morning infomercial juggernaut.

In case you missed it, Kuby moved his show to the vacant 12-3P slot, and Air America is currently airing a replay of Williams' late-morning show in the (now vacant) 3-6P slot.

And Jon Elliot is no longer at Air America, having taken over afternoons at XEPE in San Diego. You can hear his show streamed 3-6P PT (6-9P ET) here.

No further word on any network replacements thus far.

More radio mayhem

They say that radio programming runs in waves. Some formats become the flavor of the month, while others become audio pariahs. The latest dying format appears to be smooth jazz, which has just been nuked in two of America's biggest markets. In San Francisco, KKSF dropped the format after a more than two decade run, switching to classic rock. And in Chicago, WNUA, another long-running smooth jazz outlet, is reportedly reaching for the handle. Both stations are owned by Clear Channel, which appears to make all their programming decisions in bulk.

Granted, perhaps only a scant few will shed tears over the slow demise of smooth jazz. The mix of bland funk and elevator music really can't be considered 'jazz' (I call it 'supermarket jazz'), particularly when the likes of Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and other true 'jazz' geniuses (which, incidentally never get played on a smooth 'jazz' outlet) are weighed in on the mix. Rather, the increasingly watered-down 'fuzak' format features unspontaneous light jazzers like Kenny G (who is to jazz what Nickleback is to grunge) mixed with dreary lite-rock fare like Phil Collins, a recipe for an audio valium tablet. I briefly did a smooth jazz format myself and found it quite dreadful, but perhaps that's just me.

Granted 'real' jazz is an even deader format on the nation's airwaves (save for a few non-commercial outlets and some really good streaming services), but maybe, just maybe, a pending death of smooth 'jazz' will help return the term 'jazz' to it's proper place.

Steel Town shakedown

Here's an added update for Wednesday. Sheridan Broadcasting is selling three of its Pittsburgh stations, including WAMO-AM/FM and WPGR to a religious broadcaster. For local listeners, that means that the city's only urban contemporary-formatted station, the venerable WAMO-FM, will soon be gone, and along with it a strong community voice and employer of African-Americans in on-air and management positions.

What it means to liberal talk listeners in the city is that local talk fixture Lynn Cullen will soon be out of a job again. She started working at WAMO's AM outlet only a few months ago. Also gone will be the syndicated Bev Smith. Cullen is pondering retirement, as she refuses to leave Pittsburgh and her on-air options there are very limited.

KMNY shuffles lineup

Here's another Wednesday item. KMNY (1360AM) Dallas ("Rational Radio") is not adding Randi Rhodes at this time (as far as I can tell). However, they are replacing Ron Kuby with a popular local duo. Pugs & Kelly (a.k.a. John Myron and Kelly Mohr) will air from 1-4P CT, taking over Kuby's 2-4P shift, and cutting off the last hour of Thom Hartmann's show.

Pugs & Kelly have worked at three local stations in the past year, with a long stint on the now-defunct FM hot-talker KLLI (Live 105.3), and briefly at KDBN ("The Bone").

The station airs a healthy amount of local programming compared to other similar stations.

Friday catch-all

Just a round-up of the latest happenings, including a few things I didn't get around to posting. Enjoy.

Montel producer named

Here's the whole press release, so I don't leave anything out:

Air America Media has named radio veteran Mike Opelka executive producer of "Montel Across America," debuting next Monday, April 6. In this role, Mike will oversee the overall structure and content of the show, and will assist in booking guests.

"Mike’s the perfect guy to join with Montel in creating this exciting new radio program", said Bill Hess, senior vice president of programming for Air America Media. "We’re thrilled he’s joined us."

"I’m looking forward to working with Montel and the entire Air America team to launch this one-of-a-kind radio show," said Opelka. "As preparations are well underway, I’m excited to be a part of bringing Montel’s passion and talent to Air America’s listeners."

Opelka is a media veteran with more than 20 years of experience in radio, network and cable television, internet production, management and publishing. Most recently he was executive producer of CBS Radio’s syndicated "Opie & Anthony" show. Prior, he was producer and director for the launch of Premiere Radio Network’s "Wake Up with Whoopi," starring Whoopi Goldberg. Additionally, he’s served as executive producer of WKTU’s "Baltazar & Goumba Johnny Morning Show," and assistant program director of the station. From 1988-1998, Opelka was a producer for Z-100’s "Morning Zoo" with Scott Shannon, Ross Brittain, Gary Bryan and Adam Curry.

In addition to his radio credits, Opelka produced shows and projects for Fox Television, including "Fox After Breakfast" and original programming for the launch of the FX Network.

"Montel Across America," hosted by Montel Williams, will air weekdays from 9A-12P ET on radio stations across the country, and streamed live online at airamerica.com.

WINZ flips tonight

Progressive talk fans in Miami should enjoy the last few hours if they can. The worst kept radio secret of the year, the long-rumored format switch at WINZ (940AM) to sports talk will finally happen tonight (Friday) at 6P.

The new station will feature all nationally syndicated hosts from FOX Sports Radio, which is owned by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel, owner of WINZ. The only local presence on the station will be Miami Heat basketball. Also Florida Gators football and basketball, if you consider that local.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel sez:

"We also intend to pick up as much play-by-play (of various sports) as we can," program director Ken Charles said.

WINZ will become the sixth all-sports radio station in South Florida, an area that has shown it can support only one, if that.

No word on whether another area station will pick up the deposed progressive talk format, which garnered pretty decent ratings in its almost five year run. Perhaps one of the other five sports talk stations will consider.

Ironically, progressive talk replaced... (drum roll)... FOX SPORTS(!!!) back in July 2004. And we all know what the definition of insanity is, right?

The last terrestrial domino falls

Remember a few weeks back when I mentioned the fading of CBS' old "Hot Talk" push? The company flipped their New York and L.A. stations to top 40 and completely torpedoed guy talk. Coinciding with that, the syndicated shows of testosterone-fueled talkers Adam Carolla and Tom Leykis effectively ended. And now, Opie and Anthony have officially gasped their last terrestrial breath, as their final affiliate has thrown in the towel.

A couple days ago, their sole remaining affiliate, WROX in Norfolk dropped the delayed weekday airing of their show (in addition to the just plain awful Mancow show). The duo, however, can still be heard (and uncut, at that) via Sirius XM.

'Guiding Light' gets turned off

Never thought I'd be writing about a soap opera, but this one is pretty historic. After all, how many shows are still around that go back 72 years?

After this unlikely long run, CBS is pulling the plug on "Guiding Light", which will broadcast its final episode on Friday, September 18, 2009 after a whopping total 15,700 (now try buying the complete set on DVD!).

The show is older than commercial TV itself, as NBC Radio launched the 15-minute serial "The Guiding Light" on January 25, 1937. The show moved to television, on CBS, on June 30, 1952 (though the radio version continued until 1956). In 1967, the show switched to color and expanded from 15 minutes to a half-hour. The expansion to an hour happened in 1977.

In recent years, to cut costs in an era where seemingly nobody but retirees watch soap operas, they started taping the show outdoors with camcorders, in order to cut costs and give it that hip "YouTube" look. That didn't fly, and the ratings still tanked.

The show will likely be replaced by yet another talk show or perhaps yet another courtroom offering moderated by a sassy judge (I made up that last part).

For the die-hards, there is talk of some other entity continuing the "Guiding Light" saga, so, stay tuned.

From anal cysts to anal poisoning

Okay, sorry for being so nasty. But considering this last item was broadcast live on Rush Limbaugh's show to millions of people across the country, well, it is indeed worth mentioning. Some people just don't know when to shut up before they say something really, really dumb. Take, for instance, the GOP's current great white hope, certainly no stranger to saying utterly stupid stuff.

HuffPo sez:

...Limbaugh went waaaaaay over the top in insulting Gordon Brown with a mental image that one must work at to un-think about, warning that if the British Prime Minister keeps "slobbering" over President Barack Obama, he'll "come down with anal poisoning and may die from it."

Naturally, how Limbaugh gained such innovative insight into the epidemiological vectors of saliva-borne ass toxins remains an open question.

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

After all, who better an expert on assholes than America's biggest asshole? Perhaps Rush should have issued this warning to his fave brown-noser, Brian Maloney...

HuffPo and blatherWatch have the audio of this rather sordid soundbyte.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go hurl.

Just another manic Monday

And now... the rest of the news.

Hartmann takes over your cell phone

Can't get enough of Thom Hartmann? Well, you can get him on your cell phone. No, he's not going to call you. But highlights from his show are now available via cell phone programming service Foneshow. The segments are available for free subscription at Foneshow or Hartmann's own site.

"As a lifelong telephone junkie myself, I'm so very pleased that my fans can now hear the show anywhere they want on their cell phones," said Hartmann. "Foneshow is thrilled to add Thom Hartmann to our roster of programming. After our initial success with the Stephanie Miller show, it was only natural that as soon as Thom joined Dial Global he'd be available via Foneshow,” said Foneshow Founder and CEO Erik Schwartz. "The demand for progressive commentary has never been higher, and Foneshow is the perfect solution for users that want this type of content in an on-demand environment."

Invasion of the robot swine

KPIG (107oink5 FM), the venerable free-form eclectic country/rock station based in Santa Cruz, CA, has long had a devoted, piggish following, both on-air and online.

And in yet another testament to the woes afflicting the radio industry as a whole, the station has done what many other stations have done, scaling back its airstaff and going automated from 8P to 6A.

In 2006, the station, which once prided itself on live on-air personalities 24/7, went on autopilot from midnight to 6A.

This is nothing new. Most stations across the country are run by a computer, which can hold virtually any kind of audio file, including music, commercials and even prerecorded talksets. And the computers allow those stations to run unattended, which many do at one time or another.

With the economy wreaking havoc on the radio industry, often the first area to see cutbacks is the on-air staff, who sadly tend to be underpaid for what they do. Because of that, jocks are either offered the opportunity to prerecord their shows (at a drastic pay cut), get replaced by canned syndicated programming (wonder why so many stations have added such hideous offerings like John Tesh and Delilah?), or are not replaced at all, with the computer simply shuffling in and out of songs and commercials.

Back in the day, going directly from a song into a commercial spot, and vice-versa, without even a simple liner telling folks what station they're listening to, would be the ultimate in amateurism - a virtual radio sin. Nowadays, it's not uncommon. Even Clear Channel stations in big cities do this. The spontaneous live advantage once enjoyed by radio has long ago been pissed away. Essentially, the typical radio station has turned into nothing more than a hands-free iPod. Only difference is, your iPod probably has better stuff on it.

Get a new Bob Dylan tune - free and legal

Speaking of your iPod, perhaps its high time you feed it with some new music. And in the interest of giving, I now turn attention over to arguably the greatest songwriter who ever lived, the legendary Bob Dylan.

The song is called "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'", and Bob, feeling mighty generous, is giving it away. Free. And legally. Really.

It's a promo for the new album "Together Through Life", which comes out at the end of April.

Don't procrastinate. You can get it only until 4A tomorrow morning at BobDylan.com. Just look on the front page.

Now if you'll excuse me, my iPod is hungry.

WINZ flip coming mid-April, to become 6th area sports talk station

There has been no real official statement, but the pending switch of Clear Channel's WINZ (940AM) in Miami to an all-sports talk has been a poorly kept secret, especially coming on the wresting of the FOX Sports Radio affiliation from another area station and the recent dropping of Don Imus' morning show for four replays of Rachel Maddow's one-hour show.

And now, it looks like WINZ will become the sixth sports talk-formatted station in South Florida.

From the Miami Herald:

WQAM general manager Joe Bell cracks that "we're not going to rest until there are more sports stations than gas stations" in South Florida.

It's certainly headed that way.

When WINZ-940 switches to an all-sports format by mid-April, South Florida will have more sports radio stations than pro teams -- six if you include West Palm Beach, as well as Miami and Fort Lauderdale; and five if you include the stations that can be heard throughout Broward County and at least part of Miami-Dade.

Can that many stations survive in a reeling economy? And why would a few of these stations even try?

"Of course it's too many," said Howard Davis, station manager of 790 The Ticket. "In my mind, there are two sports stations in this market -- us and WQAM. I don't consider syndicated [programs] local radio."

For the record, the other sports stations include locally-oriented stalwart WQAM (560AM); WAXY (790AM), which also carries a large amount of local programming; WFTL (640AM), which lost the FOX Sports affiliation to WINZ and recently picked up another syndicated service, Sporting News Radio; WFTL's sister station, WFLL (1400AM).

The real irony? Over the past year, WINZ's liberal talk format bested the area's top sports talker, WQAM, in the overall ratings.

Is South Florida really that sports-crazy, or is it just radio station owners that are crazy?

Tuesday newsday

A few little things to swirl around in your craniums...

Peter B. in at KPTK

KPTK Seattle sorts out it's afternoon vacancy following Randi Rhodes' temporary(?) descent into limbo. They had been airing Rhodes' Nova M/OST replacement Nancy Skinner, but with that network being an even bigger question mark at this point, the station has opted for a more established and stable syndicated host, Peter B. Collins. The show will run on delay from 6-9P PT.

Another west coast station, KKGN (Green 960) in San Francisco, started running Collins' show last week, but no word on whether this will be permanent.

MSNBC grooming Schultz?

As radio host Ed Schultz is guesting MSNBC's 6P show "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" today, The New York Observer and Politico are both wondering if this is really just an audition for a potential new 10P post-Rachel Maddow show on the network.

But perhaps it's too early to read anything into that. It's just a fill-in gig, as regular host David Schuster will be filling in for Keith Olbermann on" Countdown". Official word at MSNBC says it's just that. Period.

A few months ago, MSNBC president Phil Griffin got the rumor train rolling when he told the NY Times that he was considering a 10P show to run instead of the "Countdown" rerun. Since then, there has been some grassroots lobbying by certain people who really want the gig, including a proposed joint effort by Cenk Uygur, of "The Young Turks." and Air America's Sam Seder.

Another one bites the dust

Things are pretty tough these days if you happen to be a radio talk show host. Even tougher if you happen to be a radio talk show host for CBS.

CBS blew out their whole talk roster at KLSX (97.1FM) in Los Angeles last month, when they flipped to CHR, and killed two syndicated shows from Tom Leykis and Adam Carolla altogether. Add Opie and Anthony to that list, as the duo, who have been losing many stations over the past year or so, have lost their New York flagship, WXRK, which is also flipping to CHR.

With the flip of the former K-Rock, th-th-that's pretty much all for CBS' syndication of the show. But Opie and Anthony will continue via their Sirius XM satellite gig. The loss of the show signals that CBS and Westwood One have virtually cut ties with the Howard Stern shock-jock era as a whole, though they still have one 'hot talker' in Washington DC (WJFK), and still syndicate that station's Mike O'Meara (one half of the former "Don and Mike" show. Other than that, there's not much left.

CORRECTION: Opie And Anthony still have one sole terrestrial outlet left. It's WROX in Norfolk, VA, though the station delays the show and airs it the evening hours.

Another day, another Maddow article

For those of you who haven't read enough mainstream media articles about Rachel Maddow, here's another one, from entertainment industry trade magazine Variety.

Spring Cleaning

As mentioned last week, I'm still slowly sorting through all the links and listings in the center column. That means shows, stations and whatnot.

With that, some stations have been removed from the listings, including KGIL in L.A. (which is all-wingnuts, all the time after dropping Ed Schultz) and WWRC in D.C. (which flipped to money talk -- I thought I had already removed that one).

And one station has been updated. KPTR in Palm Springs, CA has a website now, in addition to an audio stream. I'm sorting out new web addresses, listening links, etc. With some of these, it's often difficult to figure out what's going on (like in Jacksonville, for example, where the format seems to move to a different frequency every month or so).

I know that some of the show listings are a bit out-of-date. For example, I removed all the old Nova M shows a few weeks back as it appeared that hardly any of them were even on the air anymore, or had changed timeslots. Now that they're pretty much D.O.A., the point is obviously moot.

Know of any corrections? Let me know. Thanks.

Buzzflash interviews... Me!

In the four and a half years since I started this crazy thing (for reasons I sometimes don't understand), I have always held the desire of keeping a somewhat low profile. I don't crave personal attention. I don't see myself as any kind of expert or guru. And I'm certainly no pundit. Definitely not an attention whore. Actually just preferred to casually lurk in the shadows. That's just my personal style, kinda modest in that way. I'm really just an aggregator of information, who also likes to dispense a little opinion once in a while. No big deal, really.

Over the years, I have gotten many requests for interviews, writing assignments, P.R. puff pieces and whatnot. We're even talking a few notable media outlets. Because of the reasons stated above, I have always turned them down or ignored them (sorry, it was nothing personal). As far as I was concerned, whatever I really needed to say was written on my blog. I'm also not Mr. Know-It-All. Serious writer? Moi? Maybe I just didn't give myself enough credit. Perhaps I just didn't feel this blog, while better than most similar ones out there, was all that fantastic. There are certainly some people who do it better than me. Yeah, I guess I am a little humble. And I was certainly a bit bashful about all the attention and fuss. It was, however, inevitable that I would crawl out of my little hidey-hole and come clean with a third party.

And that's when Mark and the gang over at Buzzflash came calling. He'd been meaning to interview me (of all people!) for quite some time, to get some kind of opinion as to the ever-increasing world of liberal talk, which they have written heavily about. And since I'm one of the few bloggers left writing about just that, hey, why not me?

So, why now? Well, liberal talk has been on a wild ride as of late, as even a casual glance of the contents of this blog can attest. Most of the analysis of the various situations have come from right-wing blogs, which have dispensed much disinformation, spun nonsensically in ways that attempt to support their often flimsy, misinformed arguments. Analysis from the other side often sounded a bit like Baghdad Bob and his clueless affirmations, or gleamed a 'sky is falling' response after reading the right-wing blogs. It was time to cut through all the spin and bullshit.

Enter Buzzflash. Buzzflash has always been kind to me. They're all big fans of the blog, and have sent a ton of traffic this way. They were also one of the first left-leaning sites I had ever discovered, all those years ago, when I wanted to get away from obtaining my news from frivolous sources like Drudge Report. I figured, if I was to do a very rare interview, why not with friends? There was really no good reason I could come up with to say no. And I guess I owed it to them.

So, with this rare, exclusive interview, I hope to clear the air a bit about what I feel is going on with progressive talk radio, what I feel is a rather honest and realistic assessment. What the world needed was some plain speak, and someone to break up some of the misinformation and misunderstanding of it all, without the lies, grave-pissing and idiocy. Some of it's positive, some of it is pretty blunt. But above all, I think it's all a fair assessment. The entire interview can be found at Buzzflash, and below as well, though I did correct some grammatical errors and made it a little easier to understand.

So, here we go...

1) You've been an excellent resource for BuzzFlash on news relating to progressive radio. Anyone reading your site knows that it's been a rough ride. Do you think progressive radio is in better or worse shape than 5 years ago?

Yeah, things have been a bit crazy lately. But you know what? I think progressive talk is in better shape nowadays, even with all the chaos. It is certainly a bit more established than it was five years ago. The problems affecting the format now are similar to those affecting the radio industry in general. The economy has really battered the radio business, particularly in decreased advertising revenue. Whatever Air America, Nova M, mom-and-pop outlets, etc. are going through, the big guns like Clear Channel, CBS and especially Sirius XM, are experiencing even more of, though they have a softer cushion to fall back on.

And the big radio owners are going with cheaper, homogenized programming, in order to cut costs and go for the lowest common denominator. They're trying to play it safe, as opposed to doing something original, creative and more personal that may actually attract listeners. How many music stations are currently building afternoon drive shows out of canned talk breaks from Ryan Seacrest's L.A. morning show, in place of a live-and-local personality? Listeners aren't gonna go for it in the long run. Add to that new technology. As a result, more people find that they can simply load their iPod with whatever they want, listen to streaming radio and even discover new music via MySpace and other sites. Radio is becoming a dinosaur, because listeners are becoming more and more savvy. The industry has no clue how to deal with this.

I've been expecting a bit of a liberal talk shakeup for years now, with lesser shows and content providers falling by the wayside, and the strongest ones getting stronger. As it turns out, the biggest player in the format now is Dial Global, which is actually a very successful radio network that recently swallowed up Jones Radio, another successful player in the marketplace. They've been doing well with Ed Schultz, Bill Press and Stephanie Miller, and now they're bringing in Thom Hartmann. That move is a game changer. Dial Global succeeds because they're a radio company. Sure, they carry conservatives like Neal Boortz, and a bunch of music programming. But selling radio content is what they know. What's on the shows is secondary, and as a result, it's not as distracting to their inevitable goal. They don't care what it is - they just move it. As a result, they've indirectly carved out a nice niche for themselves.

When Jones started with Schultz, they set out to prove that a liberal show could play the same game as any other ones. Schultz prides himself on attracting blue chip advertisers like Office Depot and GM. And that's a good thing. Small businesses with progressive owners don't wield that kind of advertising muscle, though it's great that they're buying time on radio shows. But sadly, too many outlets have been concentrating and relying too much on these kinds of businesses, at the expense of the big advertisers. After all, you're not selling the content, you're selling the people listening to it. And left-leaning listeners buy the same stuff as right-wingers do. They drive the same cars, eat the same food and drink the same beer. For liberal talk to succeed, they have to know how to play the radio game, rather than just build an ideological wall around themselves.

So, you've got Dial Global, which is doing good. Then you've got stations in places like Madison and Portland, which recently had huge ratings books. And you've got a few strong, stable hosts anchoring the format, along with a few erratic ones. So all in all, things aren't all that dire. It just takes time. After all, Rush Limbaugh's show started out on a few crappy AM stations before things really got rolling. It takes time to build.

2) Is the challenge that progressive radio faces insufficient capitalization, the wrong models, or obstruction from a largely Republican corporate radio infrastructure?

There are a lot of people involved that don't really understand the radio business. It's much more complicated than they think. And it involves a lot of game playing and a different sort of inflated ego.

Another problem is the funding is very lopsided. We all saw the ridiculous stuff the early investors and management teams of Air America were spending money on, as opposed to things they should have been investing in. And just last night, I was reading the whole 16-page lawsuit recently filed by John Manzo against Nova M. In it, he claims that there were too many instances of the whole operation being run on the cheap, with management not paying the right bills on time for whatever strange reason.

A really big problem is that too many people running these operations are concerned too much with the message, or content. Sure, that's ultimately what it's all about, but it's much more than that. They often fall into the trap of trying too hard to be a megaphone for their ideas. But that's not the way broadcasting works. For example, how many commercial FM stations are run successfully by hardcore music fans nowadays? Not very many. Look what happened to Indie 103.1 in L.A. last month. A station run by music fans for music fans. And it was a great station. Unfortunately, they're no longer on the air. But here's how the radio business works. First, you have to have a strong business model. Second, you have to make it entertaining, or worth listening to. And if those steps are taken, the content will take care of itself. Keith Olbermann's successful because he knows how to do a show. He didn't even come from any sort of progressive background - he's a sports guy! Jon Stewart isn't an ideologue. He's an entertainer. Yet, they both know how to build compelling shows, how to inject the right amount of personality and humor, and how to get people to tune in. The ideology is just icing on the cake.

As for the corporate infrastructure, yes and no. Keep in mind that the most successful progressive talk stations in the country are run by companies like Clear Channel and CBS. In the markets where they program the format, they stick with it because it delivers listeners and revenue. I get the feeling that the big owners really don't care what the programming is, so long as it yields results. Look at Entercom. A big radio company that donates as heavily to Democrats as Clear Channel does to Republicans. Yet they've done a mostly crappy job with the progressive talk format. The only station left doing it is in Buffalo, and who knows how long that will stay around. Meanwhile, there's Saga Communications. I have no idea what the general ideology of their upper management structure is, or who they donate to, or if they even give a rip about politics. Yet they run the format in quite a few mid-sized and smaller markets, and do well with it. They keep progressive talk around because it works for them. And that's what most radio station owners do. They stick with what works.

I do think we'd see more of a commitment to the format if there were more independent owners, and fewer corporate monopolies. In addition, we could see more of a local approach, which is something that iPods and webcasters can't provide that radio can. But ironically, there is a problem with some of the mom-and-pop owned stations. Many are shoestring operations. They have a tough time competing with the big guys. And all too often, they don't make as much of an effort to sell advertising, or just don't have the infrastructure to do so. Witness what happened in Santa Cruz, where the owner just expected people to walk in off the street to buy ads. He got pissed that they weren't doing so, and pulled the format. There are some stations that have tried to go with a listener-supported model, which almost always fails, because a) their fundraising is not as organized and established as most noncommercial operations, b) commercial radio listeners typically don't like to pay for something they assume they can get for free, and above all, c) it smacks of desperation. That's part of what happened to Nova M.

3) When progressive radio has succeeded, it appears to be based on the brand "personality" of the host. In short, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Ed Schultz, Rachel Maddow -- and until a couple of weeks ago, Randi Rhodes -- created their own personal followings, just as Limbaugh and Hannity have. And one of the biggest impacts progressive radio had was that some of these people crossed over into television and provided a counterbalance to the right wing blowhards in the last couple of years. Of course, Rachel Maddow is the best example of this. What are your thoughts on the marketing the personality issue?

Maddow was certainly effective in crossing over. Luckily, Keith Olbermann helped pave the way. As for personalities, that is important. That's how Rush Limbaugh became successful. He was a Top 40 jock back in the 70's, and that kind of situation was very personality-oriented. People come back to listen to personalities they like, the ones that they are entertained by, and the ones that keep them from turning off the radio. That's the key in broadcasting - keep 'em coming back and keep 'em tuned in.

4) Back to the capitalization issue. Has Air America just been underfunded and at times poorly managed financially -- or has the model of a progressive network been flawed from the beginning. For example, Air America has had a revolving door of hosts. When a host leaves, his or her particular audience doesn't necessarily transfer to the new host, does it?

With Air America, there were too many rich people who wanted to play radio, but didn't have the experience or the stomach to fight it out in such a crazy environment. In the early years, it was a clash of egos. At least now, Air America has hired some actual radio people, though they've hemorrhaged a lot of talent in the past few years. Now, they're trying to do a more web-based approach, a sort of Huffington Post with audio. It's a good idea, but HuffPo does the web content thing a lot better than Air America, which has a lousy reputation to combat in regard to their web approaches. As for their on-air lineup, they're kinda like a baseball team rebuilding after losing their best players. They have to work on the shows they have now, just like in the early days. Rachel Maddow was once a mere bit player there, and look what happened. And they have to make sure it's about the entertainment value, rather than the message. I've been saying that for years. After all, they can't get the message out if nobody's listening.

5) Although BuzzFlash has been on a lot of progressive radio programs, I've personally felt that progressive radio producers, owners, and hosts have never really grasped the potential for a synergy between the liberal Internet sites and the promotion of their shows. An enormous audience for progressive radio gets their news from the Internet. What are your thoughts on this?

It seems the more progressive hosts are better at synergy with the web than the conservative ones. And a new kind of format has the advantage of tapping into newer forms of technology. I've often joked that conservatives dominate the old, fuzzy, antiquated AM dial, which has been around for 90 years, while we on the left dominate the new and innovative internet. Nice metaphor, huh? Which has more future potential? I'll take the web.

As for the synergy, you're probably right. Radio people in general need to keep doing more and more to meld with technology. Air America, for example, has kind of the right idea, in that they're trying to push their web content. But they need to make it better. Huffington Post, for example, is a very good example of what can be accomplished. It's a very good, informative site with a little of everything to bring in readers, and their web traffic is simply amazing.

I think one area that just hasn't been taken advantage of enough is podcasting. I criticize Clear Channel for many things, but their podcasting is impressive. I can download Thom Hartmann shows from three different stations. One smart thing some stations do is to sell sponsorship for their podcasts. No commercial overkill, just a few messages and perhaps a couple short spots. NPR does this too. Podcasting costs money, and while some operations and shows charge membership fees to pay for bandwidth and the guy who edits and uploads them, a sponsorship approach could cover that. Besides, it gets the advertiser more involved with the station. I think some shows could grow if they went with this approach and offered free downloadable episodes. Someone who just wants to sample Ed Schultz isn't just going to fork over an annual fee to do so. If I can download the entire audio from Bill Maher's HBO show for free from iTunes, why should I have to pay to get whole Stephanie Miller shows? I'm sure it's a question many people have. Better availability will draw listeners.

6) Rush Limbaugh has, at times, claimed he's really just an entertainer. Is progressive radio, with the exception perhaps of Stephanie Miller, just too serious? (No one would accuse Stephanie of being too serious, yet she is distinctively progressive.)

I think Rush used to be more of an 'entertainer' than he is now. Now, he's got too much of a messiah complex, thinking that he has the power to single-handedly influence government policy, and I get the feeling that most of his listeners tune in nowadays just out of habit. The 'entertainer' claim is basically a cop-out.

And yeah, some hosts are a bit too serious. Again, it's easy to fall into the trap of message over entertainment value, and dry, dour rants can get a bit exhausting after awhile. Hardcore liberal talk listeners may chastise someone like Ed Schultz, who goes off-topic with things like football and fishing, but it breaks things up. Hey, you chew your food before you swallow, right? It also makes him more personable. Listeners like people who seem to have lives. Talk radio listening is, often, about companionship. You're driving alone in the car, and sometimes you want a traveling companion. People like Schultz have a human quality. More so than robots barking talking points.

There are many shows that are just way too serious, and not entertaining enough. Often, they fall into the trap of being too angry. As far as more serious shows go, Thom Hartmann is one of those who can pull it off. Sure, the show gets a bit wonky when he debates the Ayn Rand folks about supply-side economics. That's a bit too heavy. Perhaps he needs to loosen up a little. However, Thom does have a strong, positive personality, which comes from many years spent working in radio. He's pleasant to listen to because he's enthusiastic. Rachel Maddow is another example - she has the right kind of personality to pull it all off. Not a vast resume, but a natural talent who has a feel for what her listeners want. Both liberal and conservative radio have way too many dull personalities that are all about pounding ideology down peoples' throats. That may appeal to some people, but not to all. It's like a music station playing nothing but Frank Zappa. Very intense music that may appeal to a small, die-hard crowd, but not the kind of thing one would do if looking to make a viable mass-appeal business venture out of it. That's the way the game is played.

7) Why, in your opinion, haven't the big bucks liberals invested in progressive radio in the way Republican corporate America has?

I really don't know. Perhaps some were turned off by the business models. The backers that filtered in and out of Air America in the early days did have some pretty strong egos. Could this have been a turn-off? I don't know. Perhaps there were too many question marks with some of these ventures. Although I do recall that Ed Schultz did have some help from well-heeled people when he got started in syndication. Bill Press got help from a liberal think tank. Perhaps there was more of a realistic game plan here than the 'if you build it they will come' idea.

In addition, the corporations that invest in conservative radio do so primarily as a business decision. They're radio people, mostly. Not a lot of outside investors, except for stockholders. Some of the smaller groups, like Salem and the religious networks, are an exception. And I've always held the theory that conservative radio grew because of Limbaugh. Radio is a copycat business. They imitate what works. Rush Limbaugh, like him or hate him, got listeners. That's why we see so many Rush clones. Remember, Howard Stern inspired a ton of imitators. If a liberal host all of a sudden exploded on the marketplace and became a massive success, we'd no doubt see lots of imitators. That's how the business works.

8) WCPT here in Chicago has really gotten creative in its marketing and appears to have picked up a lot of actual paid advertising. That is because the owner of the station is a committed liberal and understands marketing and advertising. How important is owning the bricks, mortar and radio license?

WCPT is fortunate in that it is owned by a very experienced broadcaster, Fred Eyechaner. He used to be in television, and built a successful independent UHF station virtually from scratch. He sold it to News Corp. a few years ago, at the perfect time, for a ton of money. With that, he bought a bunch of small suburban Chicago stations, some that he leases out and the AM, and now three FM, stations that carry WCPT. Ironically, we have Rupert Murdoch to thank indirectly for giving Chicago a progressive voice on the radio.

They'll never be a ratings monster. Not in a market like Chicago, with some pretty dominant stations that cover the entire area (which is huge). But they can most certainly carve out a successful niche. And Eyechaner has hired some salespeople who know how to sell the format. Plus, he makes some money leasing out the nighttime hours, when talk listenership goes down, to the Dance Factory folks. Kind of a weird combination, liberal talk and club-mix music. But it works.

As for owning the whole operation, it's definitely a plus. Eyechaner is definitely dedicated to the format - he's a big Democratic fundraiser - and is not at the mercy of some crazy owner that people have to pay rent to. And some of the small owners that own the leased stations can be a bit peculiar. We've seen many examples of shaky leased time scenarios. There's one going on in Boston as we speak, and I don't really hold out much hope for it, sadly.

9) Progressive listeners can make a difference, however. Tell us a little about how the Madison, Wisconsin, liberal radio station was kept from dropping progressive programming.

WXXM (92.1 The Mic) has some big initial success, but then had a really bad ratings book. As far as I can tell, ultimate programming decisions are often made by regional managers. Around that time, they evidently saw the revenues the station was bringing in and felt it was time for a change. As I said before, all too often we see operations where the account executives are intimidated by the format, or are too set in their ways with their own accounts. In short, they don't know how to sell it. And we saw a perfect example when a listener, who had no sales or radio background to speak of, actually went out and lined up a long list of area businesses that were willing to advertise on the station, getting more results than the highly-paid sales department ever accomplished. That had to be embarrassing.

In short, the listeners rallied around the station, and the local Madison management told the regional manager, who had killed the format in three Ohio markets, that the station should stay as-is. It paid off. In the most recent Arbitron ratings book, The Mic actually tied its sister station, the top country station in the market, at #6. For a midwestern market, that's huge. Ironically, that book came out after they tried to swap in Dave Ramsey for Thom Hartmann, and the listeners once again revolted. Whether that ratings success was a fluke, during the election season, or whether they can build on that, remains to be seen. Look at it this way - the station is dirt cheap to run. The syndicated shows they run are offered virtually for free (via a barter deal). There are currently no local personalities to pay. They pay a guy to cut on-air promos and liners, and that's probably it. It's as simple as a computer in a closet.

10) Finally, is having a Democratic president good or bad for progressive radio?

It's definitely a paradigm shift. Now that Bush and Cheney are gone, who's the bogeyman now? Actually, I'm being simplistic here. Right-wingers use that meme. But remember, conservative radio thrived even after they didn't have the Clintons to kick around anymore. Progressive radio can succeed with Obama in the White House. With the stimulus package, the war and whatever else is going on, there's plenty to talk about. Plus, it removes a common crutch that all too many rely on - bashing Bush. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but it becomes a cliche after awhile. And if further in doubt, there are quite a few liberal talk personalities today who were doing talk radio during the Clinton years - I'm thinking Mike Malloy, Randi Rhodes, Amy Goodman and others - so they know how to do it.

---------------------------

The whole interview can be found here.

Talkers Magazine rolls out the Heavy Hundred

Now, I don't necessarily take as gospel this annual ranking of talk show hosts. I often wonder about the exact accuracy of it all. And I have always suspected that quite a bit of it had been pulled out of thin air.

Nonetheless, Talkers Magazine, which writes about the talk radio industry as a whole, has come out with its annual ranking of the Top 100 talk radio hosts in America for 2009, a.k.a the Heavy Hundred (plus 150 other names).

In their own words, the rankings are compiled by the editorial staff, and include several criteria, which they admit is 'a combination of hard and soft factors.' They include (in alphabetical order), courage, effort, impact, longevity, potential, ratings, recognition, revenue, service, talent and uniqueness. In short, almost how I come up with my own personal annual list. So it's not all scientific, and subject to much dispute and scrutiny.

Nonetheless, it is what it is, and a lot of people put a lot of faith in it.

Some notable names which many of you may be interested in...

10. Thom Hartmann
16. Alan Colmes
18. Ed Schultz
23. Lionel
30. Stephanie Miller
46. Rachel Maddow
48. Randi Rhodes
100. Leslie Marshall

And... bubbling under (in alphabetical order)...

Alex Bennett
Ron Kuby
Mike Malloy
Ron Reagan

So, there you go. Not the way I'd rank them, but again, it is what it is.

Perhaps that's why I don't really put much stock in Talkers Magazine's surveys. It's certainly not the gospel.

Uptight (everything's alright)

Last week, Stabenow was on Bill Press' show, and told him that she thought there needs to be more balance in broadcasting, also suggesting there would be hearings in the Senate during this Congress on possibly reinstating the right-wing's favorite bogeyman, the Fairness Doctrine. This followed discussion about the demise of WWRC.

Not surprisingly, they're shitting bricks over in the conservative blogosphere. Some are even crying 'foul', since Stabenow's husband, Tom Athans, has been a player in progressive talk radio, due to his efforts in launching the Ed Schultz Show and his later stint at Air America. But you know the crybaby conservative brigade has to whine and complain about something, right?

Now, I've really got nothing to add about the Fairness Doctrine that I haven't already said. So I'll let the others do the talking. And boy, are they ever talking!

First, the Pillsbury Dough Boy weighs in, with typical sneering demeanor and personal attacks galore. Brent Bozell's site is eating it all up too, with extra sauce.

Then we have this asshole, who thinks Athans should just simply off himself. He even mentions the word 'suicide'. Compassionate conservatism, I guess.

A bit more mild take from the Toledo Blade.

All in all, conservatives are a funny lot to watch nowadays, with their movement, mostly responsible for the mess this country's currently in, standing on the sidelines like an unwanted dog. And while I have been quite vocal about my opposition to a new Fairness Doctrine (you can't put the shit back in the horse), I do wholeheartedly support our politicians scaring the crap out of the tighty-righties by bringing it up as often as they see fit.

A not-so-balanced take from the Delaware County Daily Times, with Reagan worship and Clinton blow job references galore.

Now, as many readers here know, I have been a bit skeptical of a return to the Fairness Doctrine. I prefer to just watch conservative radio hang itself with its own rope, as their narrow-minded and naive listeners die off or find some other meaningless distraction to replace it. As a firm believer in karma, I do feel that conservative radio will die as people just get sick and tired of the crudeness, nastiness and desire to create drastic partisan divisions. They'll all get theirs in the end.

Suffice it to say, all the Fairness Doctrine does in micromanage radio programming. However, I do feel that the Obama-era FCC should definitely look into ownership and local content rules. That could be a better solution.

Nonetheless, while I really don't feel the Fairness Doctrine from the old days should be reinstated, I do heartily encourage our politicians to use it to scare the living crap out of uptight right-wing goofballs. They deserve the torment.

The no-nonsense Thursday update

Because I couldn't come up with a cute theme.

About face at The Mic

Seems like only a few weeks ago that WXXM (92.1FM) in Madison was in panic mode, as they attempted to plop financial talker Dave Ramsey into the afternoon drive shift held by Thom Hartmann. After the outcry from many of the station's pissed-off listeners, they quickly retreated, and put Ramsey's show in morning drive delay. Then the station's program director, Brian Turaney was one of many nationwide who got caught up in ongoing Clear Channel downsizing moves.

Then the Arbitron Fall ratings book came out.

After picking their jaws off the floor following the sight of that nifty 4.7 overall share, station management obviously saw that they had a good thing going. Considering that the station actually tied with sister WMAD, the top country station in the market, they grew a brain and thought, 'hey, why fix what isn't broken, right?"

So, another lineup change will occur next Monday. And it looks like Bill Press is in, and it appears that Ramsey's out. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Buying Time

Sure, things are likely looking a bit murky over at Air America Media. There's been a lot of changes over the past year or so. They're also losing a couple big affiliates. And their best-known host Rachel Maddow has taken a lower profile there to suit her main TV gig. Their other top talent, Thom Hartmann is jumping ship to Dial Global next month. But the network that just won't die is still going.

And what better place to start than the sales team? After all, money makes the radio world go 'round. Air America is beefing up its sales team to work their radio, online and video platforms by hiring two new account executives and appointing Scott Elberg as chief revenue officer to oversee the division.

New hires include Lory George (director of digital sales) and Terry Howard (account manager). Angela Loftus will stay in her position as vice president of sponsorship sales while Joe Kenavan will also remain as the vice president and director of national and network sales.

In addition, a Washington, D.C. sales office will open later this year.

"With President Obama in office, progressive media is now the mainstream," said Elberg, who has served as Air America's chief operating officer since 2007.

"Air America Media's goal in 2009 is to focus on listeners, readers and viewers, which will include a Web site redesign, the launch of an online video offering, and several on-air initiatives," CEO Bennett Zier said in a statement.

Sirius XM suitor?

The recently formed Sirius XM has been a victim of the sluggish economy. And it looks like a bigger fish has the company in its sights.

Echostar, which owns Dish Networks, has been assuming quite a bit of Sirius XM debt that matures February 17. No word on why Echostar owner Charles Ergen is doing this, but some think Sirius' ground facilities and transmitters would be a nice fit.

Make it end already... Please!

As hinted at here the other day, the DTV transition date has been moved. Instead of the February 17 "hard" date for the end of analog television transmission, that magic date is now June 12.

Yesterday the House did an about-face and decided to postpone the change until June, as requested by many, including President Obama. And, as mentioned the other day, there is now funding for the $40 converter box voucher coupons, available to you procrastinators at this link.

But, that doesn't mean that your favorite station will still be broadcasting ghosting, static-filled analog pictures up until June. Station operators can still shut down their analog facilities at any time until that date, and there are estimates that as many as 300 may just do that. Some are being forced to, since they have already made arrangements to vacate the channel allocation or the broadcast tower facilities. And it may also come down to money. Shutting down sooner will be much easier on the bottom line, particularly in this cash-strapped economic environment.

I hope that this will be my final word on this subject until June (when I may just do a farewell salute to analog television). If you haven't already gotten your box (if you need one), then by all means do so. If you're too lazy to send away for the vouchers, then you can still pay full price at the big box retailer (as the clerks snicker at you for shelling out the extra $40). Just do it already, and join the rest of us in the 21st century.

Another one bites the dust

Times are tough in radio. In a few years, we could see nothing but sports talk on the AM dial and nothing but Ryan Seacrest on the FM. And they wonder why terrestrial broadcasting is dying.

The latest talk show casualty is Los Angeles talker Tom Leykis. He does an afternoon syndicated show for Westwood One, and while it was never huge, did have a significant presence during the FM shock talk craze a few years ago.

But now, with many of those FM talkers flipping to other formats (like sports), Leykis' raunchy guy talk has been heard in fewer and fewer markets. And now, Westwood One has finally thrown in the towel. Come March 6, Leykis' show will only be heard in his home LA market, where it isn't doing too badly.

Also gone are his other two syndicated weekend shows, a 'best-of' show and one devoted to cigar smoking.

The Clear Channel bloodbath

I was tempted to sit on this one for a few days, just to let the smoke clear. But to be quite honest, I really don't know if and when that will ever happen.

So, while the real world is caught up in the whirlwind of President Obama's inauguration, the radio world is reeling with news of massive layoffs by the industry's giant, Clear Channel. In essence, 1,850 positions, or about 9 percent of its staff, have been wiped out, effective immediately. These cuts are occurring at the outdoor advertising division and the company's stations nationwide, and have affected everyone, including management, salespeople, office staffers, part-timers and even full-time air talents.

The cuts began yesterday, and they keep coming in (industry bible Radio and Records is keeping a running update on their site). And where it all stops, no one knows.

Most of the paring down is due to the economy. As companies struggle, that leaves far less money to put toward advertising. And that lack of advertising revenue is hurting the media, especially newspapers, magazines and radio.

Of course, the cynical among us assume that the woeful state of broadcast revenue makes it quite convenient for radio station owners to cut staff down to a minimum to minimize expenses and maximize revenue. After all, does anyone expect radio stations to hire more on-air staffers once the economy rebounds? Considering that even music-oriented radio stations are filling afternoon and evening shifts with syndicated programming, that doesn't bode well for the local guy. The big corporations will see this as an opportunity to program stations from regional or even national offices. Look at all of this as a trend toward the national homogenization of radio.

Rumor has it that the Obama Administration's FCC will make the corporatization of the radio dial a heavy priority over the next few years. They would certainly like to expand access to the airwaves to more parties as opposed to the Bush/Clinton approach of letting a few big groups own virtually everything. This would certainly be a welcome development in the industry.

As for what layoffs concern stations covered by this blog, there are so far only a few. WXXM program director Brian Turany is one of those who have gotten the axe, which is a shame, since he has been a stalwart and sympathetic supporter of the station's progressive talk format.

And in San Diego, former progressive talk station KLSD, currently withering away with its sports talk format, has virtually eliminated its local presence on the airwaves. Four of its five on-air hosts are gone, with the remaining personality teaming up with the station's program director to host a four hour afternoon show. The rest of the schedule is straight off the FOX Sports national feed.

And for those curious, KLSD's sports format is still mostly a no-show in the local ratings, having fallen off the list with the departure of its old progressive talk format.

Indie 103.1 leaves the air

Say it ain't so!

First we lose Ricardo Montalban, and now it's the end of the coolest and most adventurous rock station in America. KHAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!

After five years, Entravision is pulling the plug on Los Angeles' KDLD & KDLE (a.k.a. Indie 103.1). Along with the end of Indie is the dismissal of the radically diverse airstaff, which even includes former Sex Pistol Steve Jones.

The station is currently running a loop of a few songs with the message that "Indie can no longer compete with the corporate radio game."

Dubbed "the coolest commercial station in America" by Rolling Stone, Indie will move its cutting-edge alternative format online to digitalindie.com.

An earlier message was posted there:

Indie 103.1 will cease broadcasting over this frequency effective immediately. Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge. Due to these challenges, Indie 103.1 was recently faced with only one option -- to play the corporate radio game.

We have decided not to play that game any longer. Rather than changing the sound, spirit, and soul of what has made Indie 103.1 great Indie 103.1 will bid farewell to the terrestrial airwaves and take an alternative course.

This could only be done on the Internet, a place where rules do not apply and where new music thrives; be it grunge, punk, or alternative ? simply put, only the best music.

No word yet on the new format at the terrestrial frequencies, rumored to debut this weekend. It certainly won't be as cool as Indie 103.1.

More:

Los Angeles Times: Ex-Indie 103.1 host Chris Morris on the end of the station, Indie 103.1 is going off the air
Rolling Stone Magazine: Los Angeles Rock Station Indie 103 Going Web-Only, Quits “Corporate Radio Game”
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