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CC San Antonio Libtalker Flips To "Texas Music"

Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

> I don't think San Antonio is quite 50% Hispanic, but so is
> Miami (well, close); talk radio gets miserable audience
> there. Perhaps WOAI outperforms WIOD by a factor of two
> because there are more second generation Hispanics, speaking
> more English, in Texas than Florida?

According to Arbitron, San Antonio is 50% Hispanic and Miami is 45% Hispanic.
<P ID="signature">______________
http://talkingradio.blogspot.com/</P>
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

>
> WTDY is a joke. What a pollution of the X-band. The national
> shows of any merit went to CC's WXXM, the first of (now) two
> FM libtalkers.

That is nice to say about one of only a handful of non AAR lib talk stations in the counry. In fact, WTDY has been a lib talker as long a I can remember, which pretty much starts in early 2004. When AAR came into Madison on WXXM everyone thought that WTDY would be history. Well they're hanging tough attracting half the lib talk audience. (combined the two stations are getting a share just under 4.0) WTDY does not do nationally syndicated talk. That's to their credit. WXXM grabbed Stephanie Miller so that WTDY couldn't get her.
<P ID="signature">______________
http://talkingradio.blogspot.com/</P>
 
Re: KRPT never stood a chance

> Quite frankly, I've always wondered why CC flipped this
> thing to progressive talk in the first place. It was one of
> those stations (like WHJJ and WHAT) where I honestly thought
> flipping was a very strange idea. Unless it was to keep
> tabs on the format in CC's home market. Or hoping that
> listeners were gung-ho enough about the format that they'd
> put up with the static.

Probably so that CC execs could listen to lib talk while driving around in San Antonio, which is where CC maintains its corporate office.
<P ID="signature">______________
http://talkingradio.blogspot.com/</P>
 
Re: KRPT never stood a chance

> > The Phoenix affiliate has been doing well in the ratings,
> > even with a less-than-stellar signal. It's been pounding
> > the second-tier talk stations in the market. They've done

I was in Arizona last week. Drove from Tucson to Phoenix in a rental car with a good radio. Was able to listen to KFYI and KTAR from just outside of Tucson. Was able to pick up KKNT (Salem)when I got to Phoenix. I was never able to pick up KXXT even when I got to Phoenix.

<P ID="signature">______________
http://talkingradio.blogspot.com/</P>
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

I wouldn't call WTDY progressive talk. They seem to be one of those stations (like WPTT in Pittsburgh) which manages to do OK with a mix of talk show types. They have a mix of local and sports talk shows during the day, and in the evening they take both Colmes and O'Reilly in syndication. I'm not sure how I would characterize the local hosts by ideology; mostly they seem to look for water-cooler topics so they can stir up sh*. The local programming appears to be more like FM talk on AM than straight political talk (left or right). I could be wrong, but somehow I got the impression they carried more non-AAR progressive talk programming in the past.

>
> WTDY in Madison is alive and well. After falling behind AAR
> about a year ago, they have gained share in the last few
> surveys and are now tied with the AAR affiate.
>
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

> This is great post. You should send it to Tamara Karcev,
> Affiliate Relations director at AAR and to Dano Walkoff of
> Envision, the firm contracting with AAR to provide affiliate
> relations services.
>
> Your comment about KLSD is relevant. Not only is it fourth
> rated political talk station, but one of the stations
> beating it is KFI from Los Angeles, broadcasting from 200
> miles away. More disturbing is that since earning a 2.8
> share about a year ago, KLSD has gone steadily downhill.
> Their current average share is down 40% since this high
> point.
>

They rose a bit in the latest trend (overall). As a matter of fact, talk radio in the market took a dive since last winter, but is coming back up. Seems like a pattern.

KOGO dropped quite a bit since last winter but bounced considerably in the new trend.

KFMB also dropped considerably but is up again.

KLSD seems to have taken the same path.

KFI dropped and is behind KLSD. And they come in clear through virtually the whole market, particularly to the north. And no, L.A. is not 200 miles away (though it may seem like it). It's 125. KFI's tower is even closer, since it is near Long Beach.

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KFI&service=AM&status=L&hours=U

http://www.hm-usa.com/distance/ca.html


Salem's KCBQ is a bottom-feeder. No real activity here.

The only other AM station ahead of KLSD is sports XPRS, which has been going up considerably over the past year, beneficiaries of XETRA-AM's flip to standards and the Chargers' success.

And from what I've found, KLSD is doing pretty decent in demographic and daypart breakdowns.

http://www.radioandrecords.com/
<P ID="signature">______________
The Liberal Talk Radio Update</P>
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

> If you had been paying attention - which clearly you have
> not - you would know I have been saying that for months.
> AAR is out there selling the progressive talk format, even
> though they may think they are selling their network.
> Instead of trying to find as many stations as they can which
> are desperate enough to flip to any turn-key format that
> comes along, they need to be selective about where they go
> to get programs cleared. Read what I actually wrote before
> you start playing devils advocate.
>

Is this the same approach that Rush did?

Did Hannity do the same thing?

Really, I can't see any syndicator saying to a station, "Sorry, but you're a loser, We'd rather be out of this market than be on your station".

A less-than-stellar clearance is better than no clearance, right?
<P ID="signature">______________
The Liberal Talk Radio Update</P>
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

> >
> > WTDY is a joke. What a pollution of the X-band. The
> national
> > shows of any merit went to CC's WXXM, the first of (now)
> two
> > FM libtalkers.
>
> That is nice to say about one of only a handful of non AAR
> lib talk stations in the counry. In fact, WTDY has been a
> lib talker as long a I can remember, which pretty much
> starts in early 2004. When AAR came into Madison on WXXM
> everyone thought that WTDY would be history. Well they're
> hanging tough attracting half the lib talk audience.
> (combined the two stations are getting a share just under
> 4.0) WTDY does not do nationally syndicated talk. That's to
> their credit. WXXM grabbed Stephanie Miller so that WTDY
> couldn't get her.
>

Stephanie Miller started out on WTDY (along with Ed Schultz) but Miller's show was delayed into the evening hours. WXXM offered a live clearance.<P ID="signature">______________
The Liberal Talk Radio Update</P>
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

Again, read my post. I specifically did not say they should necessarily turn somebody down (or even drop weak affiliates without a replacement). I am talking about where they should target and concentrate their efforts.

At the same time, there are instances when no clearance might be better any clearance. I understand AAR has refused stations which wanted to mix progressive talk programming with certain conservative shows. And they might well pass on stations with management which will not properly support the format (like KOMY in Santa Cruz).

And, yes, Rush's and Hannity's syndicators do select and qualify their targets. It's what good sales people do.
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

> At the same time, there are instances when no clearance
> might be better any clearance. I understand AAR has refused
> stations which wanted to mix progressive talk programming
> with certain conservative shows. And they might well pass
> on stations with management which will not properly support
> the format (like KOMY in Santa Cruz).

And oddly enough, this station also fits into the first category. KOMY/KSCO's colorful owner wanted to run AAR programming on the same station with TRN's Michael Savage, which AAR reportedly balked on. (This was also back in the days where AAR wanted to clear as much of the schedule as possible.)

A mere couple of months or so after KOMY/KSCO's owner agreed to run AAR's Al Franken and Randi Rhodes on 1340, he openly complained how difficult it was so sell progressive talk. A station that can't sell left-leaning talk in Santa Cruz, for crying out loud? What's he doing, driving them away?

The funny thing is...a certain radio blogger who concentrates on talking about talk radio from a conservative perspective knows this all too well, as he used to work for that man...and he knows his quirks first hand. But he didn't mention it at all when he reported on Mr. Z's complaints above.

This all doesn't mean that AAR on KOMY (or for that matter, competitor KRXA/540) would own the market, even in liberal Santa Cruz. For one, there are other options there, including moderate to liberal hosts on San Francisco's KGO/810, which booms down into the Monterey Bay Area. But the presence of the, well, odd owner of KOMY/KSCO is a factor there.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

> They've been doing it your way. They took any station they
> could get. Some have fallen by the wayside, much to glee of
> those who want progressive talk radio to disappear. They
> have shown they can lose. They need to do more to show they
> can win.

And then there's the elephant you're not talking about in the middle of the room.

Another component of the AAR launch has been a need, in their eyes, to spread far and wide to try to influence elections, and politics, and policy. That's clearly the wrong way to start a radio business, or to run one at all. It's really AAR's biggest problem...and why they end up in some "red state" markets where they don't have much chance of success.

It's something that Jones Radio doesn't do, since it's a traditional syndicator trying to get shows cleared in situations where the station operator believes the program will work.

Heck, it's something not even the most "diehard" conservative syndicator, Salem, does. They're about as close as you get on the right to what AAR does, as far as "spreading the message"...but even their anemic stations are basically set up to sell secular time to advertisers trying to reach like-minded listeners who may not be interested in their religious formats.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
What Rush Did (Add One)

Short History: Former ABC Radio executive Edward McLaughlin took Rush national starting in August, 1988 with a reported 20 stations (one of which was WABC, New York). Rush had been doing a local show on Group W's KFBK, Sacramento.

McLaughlin had been the network route before with ABC's Talk Net, which attempted the same strategy used a quarter century by Air America Radio (and failed) of attempting to create a network "brand" and sign as many stations as possible. In starting his own company, EFM Radio (later sold Jacor Communications and then acquired by Clear Channel) McLaughlin specifically picked two hosts he believed had the potential for national syndication (the other was KGO's Dr. Dean Edell, who also remains in syndication today) and sold them to selected individual stations. McLaughlin cherry-picked his stations. He did not always get his first choice (some early stations were later replaced as the show caught on)but he was selective in selling the show and controlled the growth of the clearance list. Rush's station list grew more slowly at first than AAR's, but with a track record of success having been established, Rush had over 200 stations after two years. In contrast, the rate of conversion of stations to progressive talk appears to have slowed in the second year of the format's life (a tortoise-hare metaphor comes to mind here).

As OA pointed, AAR's backers' intent was not successful radio syndication but winning elections. They may end up doing neither. In contrast to Rush, who started out to do a winning syndication radio show and became influential. Possibly there is a lesson in Zen and the art of radio in there some place.

>
> Is this the same approach that Rush did?
>
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

Thanks for the compliment. I already give out too many freebies just for fun on R-I. I really should charge for this stuff.

I don't envy Dano. My experience is that public sector/non-profit/political clients are very difficult and very high maintenance; one's credibility is based on the extent to which the client hears what he wants to hear. Although AAR is supposedly a commercial enterprise, they seem to hire people largely based on political connection. As OA implied, it is more of a political campaign organization than a business. And their affiliate relations strategy seems more to resemble that of religious broadcasters (who apparently operate based on the Parable of the Seed Sower, which is fine if seed is cheap and you don't care how much you waste).

> This is great post. You should send it to Tamara Karcev,
> Affiliate Relations director at AAR and to Dano Walkoff of
> Envision, the firm contracting with AAR to provide affiliate
> relations services.
>
 
Re: Progressive Talk - Not For Everybody

> That is nice to say about one of only a handful of non AAR
> lib talk stations in the counry. In fact, WTDY has been a
> lib talker as long a I can remember, which pretty much
> starts in early 2004. When AAR came into Madison on WXXM
> everyone thought that WTDY would be history. Well they're
> hanging tough attracting half the lib talk audience.
> (combined the two stations are getting a share just under
> 4.0) WTDY does not do nationally syndicated talk. That's to
> their credit. WXXM grabbed Stephanie Miller so that WTDY
> couldn't get her.

First off, I wouldn't call a station with Bill O'Reilly a libtalker. They also seem to abandon format to some degree at night with John & Jeff; good show, but not the best fit for hard-core Madison liberals.

The rest of the station is a joke. I appreciate local talk, but the talents are weak. Sly got such miserable ratings in the morning, he's been bounced to middays. Alan Colmes, pity him as I may, is not an audience getter because his show is boring. Even if the weak local talkers were all liberal, which is true to some extent, I wouldn't call them libtalkers, just like I don't classify KGO or KIRO "libtalkers". They're local stations reflecting the demographics of their community. Madison is practically socialist. So it fits. Not to nitpick, but I would say the "liberal talk" format is one that, like Salem's "conservatalk", has stong opinions that play to a niche of a community, even though only a percent or two may care. On contrast, stations like KIRO, KGO, WTAM/Cleveland, etc., air programs that, while may occassionally be conservative or liberal, do some not to fit a format, but to appeal to their communities.
 
Re: KRPT never stood a chance

> I was in Arizona last week. Drove from Tucson to Phoenix in
> a rental car with a good radio. Was able to listen to KFYI
> and KTAR from just outside of Tucson. Was able to pick up
> KKNT (Salem)when I got to Phoenix. I was never able to pick
> up KXXT even when I got to Phoenix.

Hmmm. It's not always going to happen, but you can pick up a lot of stations through Casa Grande even into Marana in your car. I've heard 5kW KXAM/Mesa pretty clearly almost all the way to Tucson, as well as KXXT perhaps a little further than halfway. Have faintly made out KXXT in Tucson, not KXAM, because of local KJLL. Of course, you can also hear KFNX/Cave Creek with mediocre quality in all but downtown Tucson.

Nevertheless, KXXT does directionalize south.
 
Re: What Rush Did (Add One)

Dean Edell was already part of Talkradio's lineup but McLaughlin took over the show. He did target certain markets, but we were talking about a time when there was little to pick from. McLaughlin also remained loyal to many stations that were loyal to him..keeping the show on WXYT, Detroit even when WJR, which originally turned it down, showed renewed interest. WGL in Ft. Wayne is another example. Owner Frank Kovas was as liberal as you could get, but gave the show a shot and kept it away from WOWO until Jacor bought out McLaughlin.

AAR doesn't have the same opportunity to be selective. I'm sure someone's banging the phones all day for larger and smaller markets alike, but unless the only thing that's going to make Mr. Station Owner dump whatever he's doing for AAR, especially on a big signal, is AAR delivering audience and revenue.
 
Dr. Dean?

> Dean Edell was already part of Talkradio's lineup but
> McLaughlin took over the show.

I don't know if I'd bet the house against this, but I'm pretty sure Dr. Dean wasn't syndicated until EFM took him up. And I'm also pretty sure he was never on the ABC Talkradio lineup, despite his presence at ABC O&O KGO/810 in San Francisco.

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