KBLA

[TomásEstefan]

As I said in a previous post Larry Elder is not a Republican/Conservative he is a Libertarian! I listened in on him now and again for years on KABC and he generally disagrees with most standard conservative as well as traditional liberal positions on most issues. He is a Capitol "L" Libertarian. It's a different universe.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

That would be anti-conservative. Libertarians believe in free will. Flipping someone takes away their free will.

Endorsing Elder because he is black would be the progressive thing to do, which is why he'd object.

As I said, he wants no advantages because he's black

I guess you also missed where he said that himself

I think Big A is having some SERIOUS reading comprehension problems. I have said quite clearly in at least two posts that I do not "want" anything, I am making an observation about local radio. I am not in the habit of reporting fellow posters to admin, but I will not tolerate being deliberately misquoted. I will accept your retraction.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

As I said in a previous post Larry Elder is not a Republican/Conservative he is a Libertarian! I listened in on him now and again for years on KABC and he generally disagrees with most standard conservative as well as traditional liberal positions on most issues. He is a Capitol "L" Libertarian. It's a different universe.

He started out as a "Big L" Libertarian in the 90s, particularly in 1996 and 2000 when Harry Browne was the Libertarian Party candidate for president (Note to BIG A - Larry interviewed and endorsed Harry Browne on air during those two elections).

After the 2000 election, the Libertarian Party slowly evolved into a sort of "libertine" party whose main policy objective was marijuana legalization and what little organization and infrastructure they had fizzled away. That is when Larry started referring to himself as a "small l" libertarian, as he started to ingratiate himself more with mainstream conservatism, which he saw as necessary to forward career progress.

Larry is still true to his libertarian ideals, but like Trump*, decided they can best be advanced through the Republican party and not third parties that have no money, infrastructure, or ability to win national elections.

*Trump is a conservative/populist and not a true libertarian, but the point is he made the same type of decision. Many people wanted him to start a 3rd party but he saw that was a no-win strategy.

 

[TheBigA]

I think Big A is having some SERIOUS reading comprehension problems. I have said quite clearly in at least two posts that I do not "want" anything, I am making an observation about local radio.

That's what I said. You said so and I saw that. That post refers to this comment by you:

I don't "want" KBLA to do anything.

We've all moved on, or at least I have.

But I still don't understand what's so surprising that a station that has always billed itself as “unapologetically Progressive" might place progressive politics above other factors. It's not like they're hiding it. At the same time, they were willing to have Elder as a guest on their station to talk about his candidacy. That's a nice thing to do.

I am not in the habit of reporting fellow posters to admin, but I will not tolerate being deliberately misquoted. I will accept your retraction.

What are you talking about?

 

[ChannelFlipper]

We've all moved on, or at least I have.

People that have moved on don't keep posting.

 

[TheBigA]

People that have moved on don't keep posting.

Huh? I moved on from that one comment.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

As far as KBLA's impact on KFI, does a camel notice the gnat on his hump?

But there are far more interesting dynamics going on here. There is a recall of the governor election coming up next month and the leading opponent is a black man who was raised in South Central LA. Will KBLA be supporting the only legitimate chance California has ever seen to put a black man in the governor's office? My guess is not. People should be asking, "why not"? Most likely, liberal ideology will take precedence over skin color. Kind of odd for a station where skin color is the foundational principle of the entire station's existence (they would never admit to that of course, but check out the identity of all of their hosts).

KFI still subtly positions itself as a right of center talk station, although of course actual conservatives who take real conservative stances are not found on their air any more; they have been shooed away like a drunken crazy uncle from the family Sunday dinner. But of all of the outside candidates with a reasonable chance to win, Larry Elder most closely matches the views of John and Ken (at least when they were allowed to have their own views), but I am pretty sure they will not do anything that will assist a former direct competitor in their timeslot and who is now still an uncouth conservative/libertarian competitor on a different station that does actually represent a small, but nevertheless real, competitive threat to the station.

So most likely corporate interests and professional competition will guide their positioning. In fact, they probably feel that having Newsome in office gives them better show fodder and ratings since they have very liberal politics embodied by a very unlikable person to rail against. Having Elder in office, someone who would shift California policies substantially to the right, would force them into the position of being an uneasy/unwilling cheerleader, a much more challenging environment for them. They will want no part of it.

Well, it didn't take KFI (and John and Ken in particular) very long to show their true colors like I knew they would. To recap, I said that both KFI and KBLA would not be supporting Larry Elder candidacy for their own reasons, and sure enough KFI came through even more spectacularly than I thought they would. They found Larry's ex-fiance who says Larry once pulled a gun on her. Oooohhhh....

Alexandra Datig Discusses Her Past Relationship With Larry Elder | KFI AM 640 | Producer Ray's Blog

Alexandra Datig is the ex-fiancée of Larry Elder. She claims Elder brandished a gun at her one day when they were dating... She joined the John and Ken Show today to discuss those claims.

kfiam640.iheart.com

Ah yes, the old "find an ex-flame to get any dirt we possibly can on a candidate" trick. Never seen that one before. So instead of discussing the actual merits of the race and what it means to Californians, particularly their listening audience, they dig deep for the dirt. Say what you will about John and Ken, I sure would never want to share a foxhole with these guys. BTW, usually John and Ken have a voting guide - will they have one for the recall? Hmmm....

BTW, a fun fact (again, subject to memory issues; please correct if you know better): I believe "producer Ray" on John and Ken's show was also the producer for Larry's show on KABC way back in the day. Would sort of explain how it is that J&K got the juicy interview.

After seeing this, I thought I would check in on my KBLA prediction and lo and behold, there is action over there too. Dominique DiPrima, the morning drive host found a very old tape of Larry doing some stand-up monologue about OJ Simpson lawyer F. Lee Baily and somehow has turned it against Larry as some sort of a racist rant thing and has been running with it.

EXCLUSIVE: Dominique DiPrima reveals shocking Larry Elder clip by Tavis Smiley

Dominique DiPrima reveals an exclusive clip of Larry Elder, one of the front runners in the California gubernatorial recall election, disparaging Black folx and using the N word, in this bonus KBLA crossover episode. Photo: Gage Skidmore

anchor.fm

The only thing is that she aired it a few weeks before I posted, although I had no knowledge of it. It was clearly used to paint Larry as a racist. I always find it amazing when they try to call black men like Clarence Thomas (who did experience real racism in his life) and Larry Elder "racists". Seems a little hard to believe, but whatever. So in fact KBLA took a similar cheap shot before the noted Larry interview.

TO BE FAIR, if you go to the KBLA website today, the tape is not highlighted nor is there anything specifically anti-Larry on the homepage. Larry's interview with Tavis is still up and is at the top of the page (as it should be). I only listened to a few minutes, but it seems, as I expected, Tavis had some challenging questions for Larry (including about the tape), but gave Larry a chance to address them. In fact,I heard two concerned black men responsibly discussing how to solve inner-city problems from different point of views.

 

[TheBigA]

TO BE FAIR, if you go to the KBLA website today, the tape is not highlighted nor is there anything specifically anti-Larry on the homepage. Larry's interview with Tavis is still up and is at the top of the page (as it should be). I only listened to a few minutes, but it seems, as I expected, Tavis had some challenging questions for Larry (including about the tape), but gave Larry a chance to address them. In fact,I heard two concerned black men responsibly discussing how to solve inner-city problems from different point of views.

That's what I'd expect. I'm sure it's a difficult position for most black people. Just as voting for women is tough for other women. They might all want to see a woman president, but not all of them are ready for Kamala or Hillary. There are a lot of factors in the process.

My prediction is that, with Tavis as the owner, he'll keep the station out of it. He's not going to censor other hosts. But he will focus on people voting no on the main question. Rather than dealing with question 2. That's MY prediction.

 

[davideduardo]

That's what I'd expect. I'm sure it's a difficult position for most black people. Just as voting for women is tough for other women. They might all want to see a woman president, but not all of them are ready for Kamala or Hillary. There are a lot of factors in the process.

My prediction is that, with Tavis as the owner, he'll keep the station out of it. He's not going to censor other hosts. But he will focus on people voting no on the main question. Rather than dealing with question 2. That's MY prediction.

The real issue here is that "nobody" is listening to KBLA. We are going to get week 2 of the August book on Monday, and up to now, no book and no week has even had a 0.1 share.

As I don't live in LA and am not close to the target audience zones within the market, I don't know what, if anything, they have done to make people aware of the station.

If they are counting on word of mouth, it is not working yet.

(That said, we need to keep in mind that LA is less than 6% African American so the sample is very small and it is very possible that they are victims of the small PPM panel of which only about one in twenty panelists is Black.)

 

[ChannelFlipper]

That's what I'd expect. I'm sure it's a difficult position for most black people. Just as voting for women is tough for other women. They might all want to see a woman president, but not all of them are ready for Kamala or Hillary. There are a lot of factors in the process.

My prediction is that, with Tavis as the owner, he'll keep the station out of it. He's not going to censor other hosts. But he will focus on people voting no on the main question. Rather than dealing with question 2. That's MY prediction.

My prediction is his station will suffer for that. It is a freaking talk station. If you let major issues that impact your audience go by with little comment and and a que sera attitude, multitudes of listeners will take the trouble of not tuning in. Be pro, be against, but at least have something to say.

Fortunately, they can't really lose any audience for this, because you can't lose what you never had.

 

[TheBigA]

My prediction is his station will suffer for that. It is a freaking talk station. If you let major issues that impact your audience go by with little comment and and a que sera attitude

Which "major issues" are you talking about?

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

There’s little to no cume on this station and most people aren’t likely using the seek button looking for AM talk radio, especially on that end of the dial. They need promotion, but still it’s an uphill climb.

 

[DrAkbar]

Smiley has until the end of October to close on the sale. $7.125m for a high end Ancient Modulation station, plus sufficient capital to handle operating costs. That's unapologetically a lot of money!

 

[boombox4]

I thought KBLA is also a (part time) BIN station? BIN apparently are doing okay so far, with low ratings. Some of the BIN stations are pulling at least some ratings, which isn't bad for Ancient Modulation with no promotion.

 

[TheBigA]

I thought KBLA is also a (part time) BIN station?

If so they're not running any programming. I had thought iHeart might have been bankrolling Tavis, but maybe not.

BIN just announced they will be hiring local news staffs in the markets where they operate.

Black Information Network Elevates Four; Will Expand Local News In All Markets Next Year.

The Black Information Network plans to expand its local news coverage in all of its 32 affiliate markets in 2022. The expansion coincides with the promotions of Tanita Myers to

www.insideradio.com

 

[TomásEstefan]

If so they're not running any programming. I had thought iHeart might have been bankrolling Tavis, but maybe not.

BIN just announced they will be hiring local news staffs in the markets where they operate.

Black Information Network Elevates Four; Will Expand Local News In All Markets Next Year.

The Black Information Network plans to expand its local news coverage in all of its 32 affiliate markets in 2022. The expansion coincides with the promotions of Tanita Myers to

www.insideradio.com

I think BIN is on 92.3 HD-2 in LA.

 

[DrAkbar]

I had thought iHeart might have been bankrolling Tavis, but maybe not.

IHR purchased some stations to kick start BIN in larger markets. Dallas ($950k), Washington ($1.2m), and Miami ($1m). The prices they paid for those Ancient Modulation stations are nowhere close to the $7.125m price tag of KBLA.

 

[TheBigA]

IHR purchased some stations to kick start BIN in larger markets. Dallas ($950k), Washington ($1.2m), and Miami ($1m). The prices they paid for those Ancient Modulation stations are nowhere close to the $7.125m price tag of KBLA.

Which is why I thought they might kick in a million in exchange for an affiliation. According to the article I linked, LA is still a void market. Given the size of the black population, it may not rate as much money as Atlanta. It may be on an HD-2, but that won't count for sales.

 

[davideduardo]

There’s little to no cume on this station and most people aren’t likely using the seek button looking for AM talk radio, especially on that end of the dial. They need promotion, but still it’s an uphill climb.

There is no measurable cume, proven again today in the weekly trend reports. Zip.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

There is no measurable cume, proven again today in the weekly trend reports. Zip.

This makes the $7.125 million seem even larger. I am sure they can monetize by selling spots to local merchants that serve the community. Well, not really sure... but maybe, right?