Air America Loses Madison, WI Affiliate to Fox Sports Radio

[bigtalkradiofan]

Latest newspaper articles:


http://my.execpc.com/~mikeber/politics/TheMic/

Long Live Progressive Radio
Support 92.1 the Mic


http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=5047

Advertisers join progressive radio listeners at WXXM

Listeners and businesses upset with format change at The Mic looking to gather forces

Kristian Knutsen on Tuesday 12/12/2006 04:12:28,
Isthmus


http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=5049

'Stand up with The Mic'

Overflow crowd packs the High Noon in rally to support progressive talk radio in Madison

Kristian Knutsen on Tuesday 12/12/2006 09:12:01
Isthmus

 

[evnlee]

Re: Air America Loses Madison, Moonbats Morun

Latest newspaper articles:


http://my.execpc.com/~mikeber/politics/TheMic/

Long Live Progressive Radio
Support 92.1 the Mic


http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=5047

Advertisers join progressive radio listeners at WXXM

Listeners and businesses upset with format change at The Mic looking to gather forces

Kristian Knutsen on Tuesday 12/12/2006 04:12:28,
Isthmus


http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=5049

'Stand up with The Mic'

Overflow crowd packs the High Noon in rally to support progressive talk radio in Madison

Kristian Knutsen on Tuesday 12/12/2006 09:12:01
Isthmus

A small group of supporters of the Mic 92.1 FM put signs that read "The death of free speech" on their backpacks, car dashboards, bumpers and windows for the procession.

The fake funeral procession was also marked with black crepe paper, supporters said to indicate a somber occasion as a local station prepares to shut down liberal talk radio in the area.

One driver in the mock processional, Judy Skog, of Madison, said she is devastated by the news that her favorite station is losing the programming she loves.

"I can't stand right-wing talk radio. Other than public radio, this is the only radio I listen to," Skog said.

"I'm just real sorry to see this station go off the air, or essentially go off the air, change its format," said Jeff Lange, of Madison, who attended the mock procession.

With their car radios tuned to 92.1 FM, about 30 people in 15 cars drove with their lights flashing to the source of their disappointment -- the local version of radio giant Clear Channel Radio.

Supporters rolled into the front office parking lot on Wednesday, car after car, carrying one message: Don't dump The Mic's Air America Radio network, hosted by liberals like Al Franken.

They were greeted by Clear Channel FM Operations Manager Mike Ferris. The group presented him with a petition with over 4,500 signatures asking Clear Channel to keep Madison's only liberal talk radio station and not replace it with an all-sports format from Fox Radio.

Clear Channel managers have said in the past that the decision was based on audience research and a lack of advertisers.

"We are hearing your voices, and your voice has been heard. We appreciate you coming out and supporting this," Ferris said as he accepted the petition.

Ferris was cordial but refused further comment. The doors to the offices were locked and a police officer was visible inside, WISC-TV reported.

Protest leaders said they believe Clear Channel is committed to sticking with its format change but remain hopeful.

That's because AM station WTDY has agreed to take over the Mic's locally produced shows, and organizers said they are working with some investors and a Milwaukee group to possibly buy a radio station.

Lead organizer Valerie Walasek said the efforts to keep liberal talk on local airwaves have only just begun.

"We're going to keep working until we have a permanent community voice on progressive radio in Madison," Walasek said.

The Mic plans to change to sports Jan. 1.


http://www.channel3000.com/news/10578496/detail.html

wow. 4,500 signatures and only 30 liberals show up? makes you question the validity of those 'signatures'.

I sure would be concerned about those 30 or so moonbats unhappy with the format change. :

 

[raccoonradio]

In Boston:
http://www.wkoxam.com now redirects you to the rumba1200am.com site. As does bostonsnewtalk.com
and bostonsprogressivetalk.com

Embrace diversity! Who needs English as an official language? Just escuche Rumba 1200 en su radio.

"Hasta la victoria!"--Ted Kennedy
at a pro-illegal immigration rally

 

[Radio_Realist]

I read somewhere that Clear Channel changed their mind about making the format switch.

One would think that such news would have been posted in this thread.

 

[FightingIrish]

I read somewhere that Clear Channel changed their mind about making the format switch.

One would think that such news would have been posted in this thread.

It was posted in another thread, just to piss you off.

 

[Radio_Realist]

It was posted in another thread, just to piss you off.

Then the effort failed. The launching of a redundant thread to post that information didn't piss me off. It made me chuckle. It proved once again that people who believe in a particular political point of view often just don't have a clue about some things.

I wonder how many people will be pissed off if it is discovered that the entire episode of pretending to swap formats and then backing down in the face of public pressure (and tons of free promotion) was nothing but a well-planned and executed publicity stunt.

I suggest anyone who works in radio and is responsible for promoting his station look at this entire deal as an example of how to advertise your station without paying for any ads.

For supplemental reading, do a search for pro wrestling websites and look up the term "work", as it pertains to pro wrestling jargon. This was a work, and those who fell for it were a bunch of marks. I do not know for sure if this was a work or not, but it sure smells like one.

 

[bigtalkradiofan]

The MIC 92.1 will be there when 2007 starts!

MADISON, Wisc. – December 22, 2006 – Clear Channel Radio-Madison today announced that the progressive talk format on WXXM FM, The MIC 92.1 will continue into 2007. The decision reverses an earlier announcement that the station would switch to local sports programming on that date..

'We are overwhelmed by the recent outpouring of support for our Progressive Talk format from the public, some of our community leaders and some dedicated local advertisers," said Jeff Tyler, Vice President/Market Manager of Clear Channel Radio-Madison. "As a result, we have decided not to change the format of WXXMFM, The MIC 92.1 on January 1, 2007. We thank everyone who spoke, called, e-mailed and wrote to us intelligently and actively about keeping progressive talk on Clear Channel Radio in Madison . We deeply appreciate the local business leaders who are pledging their advertising support -- they are playing an enormous role in helping to keep progressive talk on the air in our community.'

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4419439.html

Dec. 21, 2006, 4:48PM

Clear Channel Keeps Air America Station

By RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

 

[raccoonradio]

Well, supposedly the town that's home to Michael
Feldman's "Whad Ya Know" gave the station some half decent ratings, and I guess 5,000 people signed a petition, etc. So they won't go to Fox Sports
after all (JT The Brick, etc.)

Meanwhile it's off air in liberal Boston, though attempts are being made (where, on a pirate
station?) to land it elsewhere.

SPINAL TAP
"Well, lads, the show got cancelled in Boston,
but not to worry. I hear it's not a big college town anyway."

AIR AMERICA
"Well, lads, the stations in Boston got pulled,
but not to worry. I hear it's not a big liberal
town anyway."

 

[FightingIrish]

Well, supposedly the town that's home to Michael
Feldman's "Whad Ya Know" gave the station some half decent ratings, and I guess 5,000 people signed a petition, etc. So they won't go to Fox Sports
after all (JT The Brick, etc.)

Meanwhile it's off air in liberal Boston, though attempts are being made (where, on a pirate
station?) to land it elsewhere.

SPINAL TAP
"Well, lads, the show got cancelled in Boston,
but not to worry. I hear it's not a big college town anyway."

AIR AMERICA
"Well, lads, the stations in Boston got pulled,
but not to worry. I hear it's not a big liberal
town anyway."

Raccoon, you know that whole argument is nonsense. It doesn't matter if the market is more conservative or liberal. If that were the case, why don't conservative talk stations get at least 28% of the audience (based on current presidential approval ratings)? Why don't Salem talk stations get over a 1.5? It's stupid reasoning.

I think other factors, such as amount of talk competition, signal strength/quality, promotion and overall content have more to do with the success or failure of a station.

 

[robbbc]

Well, supposedly the town that's home to Michael
Feldman's "Whad Ya Know" gave the station some half decent ratings, and I guess 5,000 people signed a petition, etc. So they won't go to Fox Sports
after all (JT The Brick, etc.)

Meanwhile it's off air in liberal Boston, though attempts are being made (where, on a pirate
station?) to land it elsewhere.

SPINAL TAP
"Well, lads, the show got cancelled in Boston,
but not to worry. I hear it's not a big college town anyway."

AIR AMERICA
"Well, lads, the stations in Boston got pulled,
but not to worry. I hear it's not a big liberal
town anyway."

Since there are a handful of Zero ratings AM stations in Boston- many with better signals than WKOX/XKS no pirate station seems necessary. WWZN...

 

[raccoonradio]

WWZN...yes that would indeed make sense (some spots have trouble getting it but in many places it should be fine). I don't know if/when Paul Allen will sell that station; and if he were approached about keeping that station but changing to AAR, well, it would prob. be against his personal politics (I've read that unlike Bill Gates,
Allen is a conservative...but if he thinks it'd get better ratings and higher billing...?)
Other possibility would be daytimer WILD at 1090... (i.e. buying a station)

there are several other stations with weak signals but I don't know if they could be convinced to run it
(they'd be laughed off by the folks at Salem, for sure: WEZE, WROL, WTTT, but who knows...?)

 

[raccoonradio]

>>I think other factors, such as amount of talk competition, signal strength/quality, promotion and overall content have more to do with the success or failure of a station.

Good point, but I was kinda making a joke comparing it to the line in Spinal Tap...and the whole idea that if
liberal talk were to make it anywhere, Boston would be ideal, and yet here it is off the air. If anything the
mostly conservative lineups at WTKK and WRKO seem odd when you consider that the state is probably
the most liberal/Democratic in the nation, especially in terms of the number of Dem. officeholders BUT you
could argue that the success (well, moderate success) of those two stations is that they provide an
alternative viewpoint. For the same reason, we do have the Herald to give some balance...to the more
liberal Globe.

And there is no shortage of liberal media in Boston: Globe, Phoenix, WBUR (which does very well I believe)
and you wonder if AAR might have done something if placed on a better signal. The signal and CC's
low budget ways doomed them (maybe their billing wasn't all that great either and they figured Spanish
would be a better sell)

 

[FightingIrish]

>>I think other factors, such as amount of talk competition, signal strength/quality, promotion and overall content have more to do with the success or failure of a station.

Good point, but I was kinda making a joke comparing it to the line in Spinal Tap...and the whole idea that if
liberal talk were to make it anywhere, Boston would be ideal, and yet here it is off the air. If anything the
mostly conservative lineups at WTKK and WRKO seem odd when you consider that the state is probably
the most liberal/Democratic in the nation, especially in terms of the number of Dem. officeholders BUT you
could argue that the success (well, moderate success) of those two stations is that they provide an
alternative viewpoint. For the same reason, we do have the Herald to give some balance...to the more
liberal Globe.

And there is no shortage of liberal media in Boston: Globe, Phoenix, WBUR (which does very well I believe)
and you wonder if AAR might have done something if placed on a better signal. The signal and CC's
low budget ways doomed them (maybe their billing wasn't all that great either and they figured Spanish
would be a better sell)

The problem in markets like Boston, Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York and others is that there are way too many stations already. That's a lot of slices out of the pie!

Compare that to Minneapolis, considered an 'underradioed' market with a ton of 100,000 watt FM sticks. The top three stations get consistently well over an 8.0 share. The morning guy at KQRS has consistently gotten a 20-25 share. No way this could happen in a market with more stations! Often in the big markets, a 3 share is considered a massive success.

It has little to do with political demographics. Many metro areas have the same kind of makeup, with urban areas voting Democratic and suburbs leaning more Republican. And don't forget racial/ethnic makeup either. That's a huge factor, and probably why that little AAR outlet in El Paso didn't stand a chance (80% Hispanic population). Of course, they did little to promote it, but that's another story for another time.

 

[Radio_Realist]

It has little to do with political demographics.

It also has a lot to do with how satisfied listeners are with the status quo. Regardless of whether a listener is liberal or conservative, they're more likely to want to have their personal opinions reinforced by a talk show host they agree with if they are in surroundings where the prevailing attitude disagrees with them. If liberals perceive themselves as the majority, as they do in Boston, then they don't need to hear someone like Al Franken validate their opinions. That same liberal in a conservative city would be more likely to need the emotional/intellectual reassurance found in liberal talk radio.

The same is true for conservatives.

 

[raccoonradio]

Very good point, but there have been a few liberals who anxiously pounced on AAR because it was "at last,
a station for us!"--they didn't like Rush, Hannity, et al, but hearing their own opinions re-inforced was what they wanted. But yes Boston is SO Dem/liberal based that the "alternative" of a Howie Carr or Jay Severin (and
the various national hosts) caught on with disgruntled conservatives/Republicans/Right-leaning independents.

>>more likely to want to have their personal opinions reinforced by a talk show host they agree with if they are in surroundings where the prevailing attitude disagrees with them

Precisely. Example: outgoing Republican governor Mitt Romney tries to take down Turnpike tolls. He finally gets to put people who agree with him on the Turnpike board, and they vote to do so, but not so fast: now the new
Gov. is a Democrat, Deval Patrick, who says that due to various reasons, this is out of the question. Result:
the likes of Carr get on the air to take calls from angry motorists who feel they've been cheated, again, and
Carr points out that patronage (he says many toll takers are "hacks", related to politicians) is a big reason
why Patrick doesn't want to take the tolls down. So you have an issue which stirs people up.

Supposed AAR Boston (now gone) were to have a local host. They could argue, "We need to keep the tolls
up to keep the road in good repair," etc. Yes, they too could make their point and take calls, but again
the prevailing political mindset in MA is liberal/Democrat--and like you say these people don't really need
to have their opinions validated (or, do they?)--while someone of the opposite viewpoint can get
good ratings by challenging the status quo.

 

[smedge2006]

But why doesn't it work both ways?

If conservative talk radio works in Boston because it is contrarian, are there not liberals in conservative markets who chafe at the prevailing climate and would welcome psychological reinforcement? Imagine
being a liberal in Oklahoma City OK. The Oklahoman newspaper is rabidly right-wing. Talk radio is all conservative. There's no local voice to really give it to the likes of Senator Inhofe and other conservative pols. A liberal would really feel under siege there. The same conditions would exist in many other Sunbelt markets. Yet talk radio in southern cities is almost all conservative, except for Miami and (?) Asheville, North Carolina.

 

[Radio_Realist]

If conservative talk radio works in Boston because it is contrarian, are there not liberals in conservative markets who chafe at the prevailing climate and would welcome psychological reinforcement?

It does work both ways. However, to work the political minority must still be large enough to constitute enough people for a decent market segment. If the minority is still large enough to amount to a few ratings points, then it works. But if the minority consists of only a half a dozen people, that's below the critical mass needed for success.

After all, it's not just a question of how many people vote liberal or conservative. It's how many people who care about politics vote liberal or conservative. Having much of the population consistently vote Democrat because they remember that FDR was for the little guy doesn't mean that portion of the population is liberal. It could just mean that portion of the population is really, really old. That's why the Democrats always win in Pittsburgh.

 

[raccoonradio]

News about WTPG 1230 in Columbus Ohio from OhioMedia.blogspot.com:

"1230 will become a sister talk station (without the current liberal lineup) to 610."

The lineup, starting 1/8/07, will be: Quinn and Rose (out of Pittsburgh; recently added
to WHJJ in RI), Laura Ingraham, sports guy Jim Rome, money guy Dave Ramsey, and
Michael Savage. Call letters said to be changing to WYTS (Your Talk Station?)