AAR: Buh-bye, Providence?

[raccoonradio]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1481911/posts

The PD of WHJJ in Providence is pulling Springer off in favor of
"Survivor: Thailand"'s Helen Glover, and word has it Franken will
soon be gone, too. "The Air America experiment is essentially over".

Hmm, too bad AAR couldn't make it in such a conservative area like
the Northeast (file under Spinal Tap "Well, it doesn't matter
that the Boston gig got cancelled. Not many college students there."

Is AAR's future as a syndicator of individual shows rather than a network,
if this is any indication?<P ID="signature">______________
News and views about Boston and New England Radio:

http://www.livejournal.com/community/boston_radio</P>

 

[dampier]

> http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1481911/posts
>
> The PD of WHJJ in Providence is pulling Springer off in
> favor of
> "Survivor: Thailand"'s Helen Glover, and word has it Franken
> will
> soon be gone, too. "The Air America experiment is
> essentially over".

People should be aware that the link to the article appears to be written by the author of this message himself. I'm not sure what value there is in linking to it. It's a blog, not a news article, so we'll see what actually transpires over the coming weeks, and see if any other stations fill the gap, if one opens up.

 

[morescrapple]

>
> People should be aware that the link to the article appears
> to be written by the author of this message himself. I'm
> not sure what value there is in linking to it. It's a blog,
> not a news article, so we'll see what actually transpires
> over the coming weeks, and see if any other stations fill
> the gap, if one opens up.
>

More misleading posts here. It's in the Providence Journal newspaper today. Visit the Providence board here.

 

[robbbc]

> > http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1481911/posts
>
> >
> > The PD of WHJJ in Providence is pulling Springer off in
> > favor of
> > "Survivor: Thailand"'s Helen Glover, and word has it
> Franken
> > will
> > soon be gone, too. "The Air America experiment is
> > essentially over".
>
> People should be aware that the link to the article appears
> to be written by the author of this message himself. I'm
> not sure what value there is in linking to it. It's a blog,
> not a news article, so we'll see what actually transpires
> over the coming weeks, and see if any other stations fill
> the gap, if one opens up.
>
Wow, click on the link and you are in right wing world. One of the posters is looking for someone to pass on Ann Coulter's genes! Since very few libs are in love with Springer not much of a shock. The castaway is supposed to be right wing. Has this ever been much of an AAR station? Here is the schedule:

http://www.whjjam.com/program.html

Wonder if the Boston stations can reach this far already?

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by robbbc on 09/11/05 01:07 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[OldAkronite]

> Wow, click on the link and you are in right wing world. One
> of the posters is looking for someone to pass on Ann
> Coulter's genes! Since very few libs are in love with
> Springer not much of a shock. The castaway is supposed to be
> right wing. Has this ever been much of an AAR station? Here
> is the schedule:

Well, carrying three of AAR's signature shows at least puts it near that level...

And an observation: Springer is just not all that good. Both Springer and Franken wouldn't have a talk show if it weren't for their high national media profile.

I wonder how this "experiment" would have gone if, say, WHJJ had Democracy/WYD/Jones' Stephanie Miller in middays instead of Springer?

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>

 

[bierkenstock]

NOT EXACTLY - NICE TRY RACCOON

Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

This would not be the first time some PD made a bad decision and said something dumb but quotable in justifying it. Ironically, the Philadelphia board is reporting the departure of a PD in the region who, more than a decade ago, dropped Rush and said the show had "peaked."

WHJJ, a Clear Channel station, was weak in the Arbitron numbers in Spring '04. Granted they are even weaker now. But so is their stronger competitor. Both WHJJ and WPRO are down 1.3 points between the Spring 04 and Spring 05 books. WHJJ's decline, if this PD would read the trades, may reflect the general audience decline in talk radio listenership over the past year or so.

The newspaper article also reflects the poor quality of newspaper reporting of local radio, and the willingness of too many newspaper reporters covering local radio to believe whatever anybody tells them and not to dig deeper (in that, they are a lot like most radio news people).

The Providence station is a bit of a hodge-podge of Imus (in morning drive - the most important daypart for revenue and in calculating the average ratings posted online), local hosts in afternoon drive and most of the evening, plus some progressive talk. (Their website says "affiliated IN PART (emphasis added) with Air America Radio").

The Providence Journal article says the station is going to LOCAL talk. It does not indicate the station is going to conservative local talk; at least two of the local hosts are liberals. Ironically, they apparently are going to continue with Imus in morning drive WHEN THEY SHOULD BE LOCAL. Jeez.

Progressive talk radio will always be a marginal format until it develops strong local hosts in major and large markets - especially in morning drive. Progressive talk stations also need to establish a decent local news news prescence. As long as progressive talk is a turn-key low-budget syndicated format, it will continue to have weak numbers (like Salem, it's conservative counter-part).

Traditional talk radio has been down the "network model" path, too. ABC tried it in the early 80's. So did NBC. Progressive talk will never break out as long as it tied exclusively to AAR. Not all hosts work equally well in all markets. Stations need to pick what works for them.

I disagree with your assesment: Franken is not that good. Springer is good but has a lot of trash TV baggage to carry. But he is the strongest host they have. But, here again, a dumb is taking from the AAR playbook and brining in somebody with name-recognition (a Survivor contestant), rather than a real radio person. I don't see that Stephanie instead of Springer would have made any difference. WHJJ is a weak 2nd talk station in the market historically (and even get beat by stations from Boston). They had to rearrange the deck chairs.


>
> Well, carrying three of AAR's signature shows at least puts
> it near that level...
>
> And an observation: Springer is just not all that good.
> Both Springer and Franken wouldn't have a talk show if it
> weren't for their high national media profile.
>
> I wonder how this "experiment" would have gone if, say, WHJJ
> had Democracy/WYD/Jones' Stephanie Miller in middays instead
> of Springer?
>
> -OA
>

 

[dampier]

> And an observation: Springer is just not all that good.
> Both Springer and Franken wouldn't have a talk show if it
> weren't for their high national media profile.
>
> I wonder how this "experiment" would have gone if, say, WHJJ
> had Democracy/WYD/Jones' Stephanie Miller in middays instead
> of Springer?

I agree. Miller's show just passed its first anniversary. It's still not well-noticed and it should be. She easily would run Springer into the ground.

 

[dampier]

> More misleading posts here. It's in the Providence Journal
> newspaper today. Visit the Providence board here.

I'm not sure what you think is misleading. People visit the link provided and see the article which appears to have been written by the same person who gave the link. If it came from somewhere else, it should be labeled as such.

 

[ajhenderson]

Wow, that was quick for Springer.

 

[RobertGoldberg]

>
> Hmm, too bad AAR couldn't make it in such a conservative
> area like
> the Northeast (file under Spinal Tap "Well, it doesn't
> matter
> that the Boston gig got cancelled. Not many college students
> there."

Typical right wing propaganda. Do you think those college students are all listening to Rush?

AAR's problem is that most liberals don't listen to talk radio. It wouldn't matter who is on the air. Talk radio hold no interest to most liberals. As a proud liberal myself, I never listen to talk radio. Who needs it?

 

[bierkenstock]

Liberals and talk radio

Some liberals do listen to public radio. The problem AAR is it's not the kind of radio to which many liberals want to listen. AAR is bad radio, period. Beyond that they hired comedians and guys who made their chops on Crossfire-type shows. As a result, AAR is too much smart-ass, cheap shot, in your face, I got attitude invective. They are trying to be Rush only liberal. Maybe, more accurately, they are trying to be Glenn Beck or Mike Gallagher only liberal. Liberals not only have different opinions, they tend to look at things differently, think about things differently and talk about things differently. Public radio comes much closer to capturing the liberal mind set (if only there were not quite so pretentious).

What AAR (and DR) need to do is develop talk radio for people who can and do read.


>
> AAR's problem is that most liberals don't listen to talk
> radio. It wouldn't matter who is on the air. Talk radio
> hold no interest to most liberals. As a proud liberal
> myself, I never listen to talk radio. Who needs it?
>

 

[RobertGoldberg]

Re: Liberals and talk radio

> Some liberals do listen to public radio. The problem AAR is
> it's not the kind of radio to which many liberals want to
> listen.

The whole talk radio format is a turn off for myself and I think for most liberals. Liberals will listen to NPR because they provide information in an intelligent way and they spend enough time on an issue to give a real understanding of the issue. Talk radio is sound bites and opinions.

 

[NewsVet]

Re: Liberals and talk radio

> Some liberals do listen to public radio. The problem AAR is
> it's not the kind of radio to which many liberals want to
> listen. AAR is bad radio, period. Beyond that they hired
> comedians and guys who made their chops on Crossfire-type
> shows. As a result, AAR is too much smart-ass, cheap shot,
> in your face, I got attitude invective.

A perfect description of Stephanie Miller. Why people on this board think she is the future of libtalk is beyond me. I can't stand to listen to more than a couple of minutes of her smart-ass, cheap-shot, in-your-face, I got attitude, aren't I funny act -- while I can listen to an entire Rachel Maddow, Laura Flanders or Thom Hartmann show (and sometimes Al Franken). The standing cliche on this board seems to be that talk radio has to be "entertaining" in the Stephanie Miller mode, but I want something more substansive than that.

 

[dampier]

Re: Liberals and talk radio

> A perfect description of Stephanie Miller. Why people on
> this board think she is the future of libtalk is beyond me.

She is adding stations all over the place, so your views are evidently not representative of everyone. She's probably the closest to The Daily Show on radio as far as demos go. Her obvious target is Gen X.

> The standing cliche on this board seems to be
> that talk radio has to be "entertaining" in the Stephanie
> Miller mode, but I want something more substansive than
> that.

You mentioned several shows that seem to do that, so listen to them.

 

[NewsVet]

Re: Liberals and talk radio

> She is adding stations all over the place, so your views are
> evidently not representative of everyone.

All over the place? Huh? How many stations is she on? Ten? And she has yet to get any decent ratings, anywhere. And of course my views are "not representative of everyone." So what? But as far as I know, Miller has yet to get a two percent share anywhere, much less "everyone."

> > The standing cliche on this board seems to be
> > that talk radio has to be "entertaining" in the Stephanie
> > Miller mode, but I want something more substansive than
> > that.
>
> You mentioned several shows that seem to do that, so listen
> to them.

I do listen to them. i just wanted to exercise my right to point out that not all liberals want the sort of "entertainment" that Miller is dishing out.
>

 

[dampier]

Re: Liberals and talk radio

> > She is adding stations all over the place, so your views
> are
> > evidently not representative of everyone.
>
> All over the place? Huh? How many stations is she on?
> Ten?

She is on dozens of stations according to the Democracy Radio website. So you are wrong there.

> And she has yet to get any decent ratings, anywhere.

Wrong two times.

The Stephanie Miller Show was the number one ranked daypart on WWRC Washington in the among men 25-54, men 18-49, and persons 25-54. KTLK jumped from a .2 to a 1.4 share during her show in her first ratings book.

> I do listen to them. i just wanted to exercise my right to
> point out that not all liberals want the sort of
> "entertainment" that Miller is dishing out.

Nobody prevented you from doing that.

 

[NewsVet]

Re: Liberals and talk radio

> She is on dozens of stations according to the Democracy
> Radio website. So you are wrong there.

No, according to the website she is on "dozens" of stations in THREE markets.

Launched in September 2004, her fresh and funny morning show airs on dozens of affiliates in the major markets of Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington, D.C.

Huh? That must mean that she has an average of at least eight affiliates in each of those three markets!

Actually, "dozens" sounds like wishful thinking, especially since no other markets are mentioned and no other numbers of stations are given.

> > And she has yet to get any decent ratings, anywhere.
>
> Wrong two times.
>
> The Stephanie Miller Show was the number one ranked daypart
> on WWRC Washington in the among men 25-54, men 18-49, and
> persons 25-54. KTLK jumped from a .2 to a 1.4 share during
> her show in her first ratings book.

So after a full year of syndication, a 1.4 share in her home market (where she was already established) is the best she can point to? I repeat, she has yet to get any decent ratings, anywhere.

 

[dampier]

Re: Liberals and talk radio

> > She is on dozens of stations according to the Democracy
> > Radio website. So you are wrong there.
>
> No, according to the website she is on "dozens" of stations
> in THREE markets.
>
> Launched in September 2004, her fresh and funny morning show
> airs on dozens of affiliates in the major markets of Los
> Angeles, Boston, and Washington, D.C.
>
> Huh? That must mean that she has an average of at least
> eight affiliates in each of those three markets!

She's on across the country. I think the writing there was trying to combine the thought she's also on in those major markets.

> Actually, "dozens" sounds like wishful thinking, especially
> since no other markets are mentioned and no other numbers of
> stations are given.

I'll have to go and look for a station list.

> So after a full year of syndication, a 1.4 share in her home
> market (where she was already established) is the best she
> can point to? I repeat, she has yet to get any decent
> ratings, anywhere.

She's only been on in LA for one ratings period, not a whole year. She has the buzz going for her, so I think you'll see a lot of new stations added in the coming year.

 

[robmidmi]

Stations that carry Stephanie Miller's show

I found the following stations list <a target="_blank" href=http://www.stephaniemiller.com/>The Stephanie Miller Show</a> on their respective Web sites (I cannot say this list is complete):
1. KUDO 1080 AM, Anchorage, Alaska
2. KXXT 1010 AM, Tolleson, Arizona (Phoenix area)
3. KTLK 1150 AM, Los Angeles, California
4. KIST 1340 AM, Santa Barbara, California
5. WAVZ 1300 AM, New Haven, Connecticut
6. WKBF 1270 AM, Rock Island, Illinois ("Quad Cities" area which includes Davenport, Iowa)
7. WKOX 1200 AM, Framingham, Massachusetts (Boston area)
8. WXKS 1430 AM, Everett, Massachusetts (Boston area)
9. WMAS 1450 AM, Springfield, Massachusetts
10. WYOS 1360 AM, Binghamton, New York
11. WCHL 1360 AM, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
12. WARF 1350 AM, Akron, Ohio (Cleveland area)
13. WTPG 1230 AM, Columbus, Ohio
14. KOPT 1600 AM, Eugene, Oregon
15. KPTK 1090 AM, Seattle, Washington
16. WWRC 1260 AM, Washington, D.C.
17. WXXM 92.1 FM, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (Madison area)

> > > She is on dozens of stations according to the Democracy
> > > Radio website. So you are wrong there.
> >
> > No, according to the website she is on "dozens" of
> stations
> > in THREE markets.
> >
> > Launched in September 2004, her fresh and funny morning
> show
> > airs on dozens of affiliates in the major markets of Los
> > Angeles, Boston, and Washington, D.C.
> >
> > Huh? That must mean that she has an average of at least
> > eight affiliates in each of those three markets!
>
> She's on across the country. I think the writing there was
> trying to combine the thought she's also on in those major
> markets.
>
> > Actually, "dozens" sounds like wishful thinking,
> especially
> > since no other markets are mentioned and no other numbers
> of
> > stations are given.
>
> I'll have to go and look for a station list.
>
> > So after a full year of syndication, a 1.4 share in her
> home
> > market (where she was already established) is the best she
>
> > can point to? I repeat, she has yet to get any decent
> > ratings, anywhere.
>
> She's only been on in LA for one ratings period, not a whole
> year. She has the buzz going for her, so I think you'll see
> a lot of new stations added in the coming year.

 

[dampier]

Re: Stations that carry Stephanie Miller's show

> I found the following stations list The Stephanie Miller
> Show on their respective Web sites (I cannot say this list
> is complete):

She's on in Rochester on weekends on what is probably a trial basis, so there are some other stations out there. To get the list on her own site, you have to plug in zip codes - no comprehensive easy to get to list there.