Five Markets Lose Their Progressive Talk Stations

[EJ204]

I'm disappointed to note that Progressive Talk is ending or has ended in

Boston
Detroit
Seattle
Portland
Columbus

In three cities (Boston, Settle, Portland) it's because Sports stations are taking over the frequency. That's also how San Diego and Miami lost their Progressive Talk stations a few years ago. In Detroit, it's because Clear Channel is donating the station to a non-profit minority training organization. In Columbus, an LMA is running out.

I really can't listen to Conservative Talk on the radio. I don't think Liberals have all the answers either, but I like listening to Thom Hartmann, Ed Schultz, Alan Combs, Stephanie Miller, etc. I also like hosts who are middle of the road... Michael Smerconish and Jim Bohannon. And hosts like Dr. Joy Browne who don't do political shows.

But it's a shame. Most cities never hear these people. Seattle has a good local Talk station in KIRO-FM. But in the other cities, you're only going to hear Rush, Hannity, Beck and nothing else, unless you tune in NPR.

While I don't accept the premise that NPR is really Liberal Talk without commercials, I guess many people who lean left like NPR because it's informative and doesn't simply go for the lowest common denominator: All Conservatives Good, All Liberals Evil.

 

[raccoonradio]

Santos in Boston had to buy time to put it on the air at WWZN now WUFC, in one of the blue-est areas of the nation. 1510, and 1200/1430 before it (Boston's Prog Talk 2004-06) did have signal
problems but by day aren't bad. Admittedly Clear channel didn't have a daily local talk show during the prog talk days (they had Santos on Sun afternoons). But during the day at least 1510's signal wasn't bad (neither was 1200 lately after a trans. move/power boost--and for the record Clear Channel wiped out the _conservative_ talk they had, recently.)

It could be that prog talk fans did prefer powerful NPR stations like WBUR and WGBH. They do lean left. Also some hosts on 96.9 may at least be moderate and maybe they listened to them (my liberal sister loves "Jim and Margery"). It comes down to ratings and billing and talk in general esp.
prog talk is having a tough time with aging demos, etc. Whether it could have succeeded at,
say, WRKO 680 (they did run Steph Miller in late 90s) or a half decent FM station, I don't know.
Talent? Who knows. But on half decent signals libtalked failed in BOSTON where about 99 per
cent of office holders are Democrats. (Entercom's CEO is supposedly a liberal politically BUT
WRKO remains conservative...because it makes money.)

The fact is that CBS, Entercom, Greater Media (other than the moderate hosts on TKK),
and Clear Channel did not opt (other than CC as mentioned above) to put on prog. talk.
Clear Channel has had some prog talkers in other markets (like KPOJ Portland which went
sports--and sports makes money). Entercom has it in Buffalo. etc. But when you have to have
somebody put prog talk on as brokered time in BOSTON, something's wrong. (Santos does buy
one hour at WAZN in Boston, and one hour on WCRN Worcester. I will say 'CRN does have a powerful signal and his 2-3 pm shift there now has the potential to reach a lot of listeners.

Should stations just brand themselves as "talk" and put on hosts of varied opinions, or should
they focus on left or right? The Right tends to succeed partially because so much other media
out there leans left (including TV, Hollywood movies, papers) and it's a counterweight. Mr.
Limbaugh: "I _am_ equal time". It could be the entertainment factor.

There's strident voices, namecalling, etc. on both sides and people on either side (and some
are not totally left or right) can say, "Yikes! how can ANYone listen to that garbage?" when
someone brings up a talk host who is on the opposite side. Cons. talk tends to do better
but even now it's dwindling a bit due to aging audiences. And sports makes money. There
are now 5 major networks, out there to sell advertising to a good demo.

CC admittedly has been burdened with debt, too. That's why they took off _conservative
talk_ in Boston (billing, ratings a factor too of course). It's gone from 1.4 with c-talk to
0.6 with comedy, but they shed a lot of salary.

 

[MC]

can not make a buck I guess, listen on the net or podcast etc. I bet some of the conservo-talk goes bye bye next year as well.

 

[raccoonradio]

There may be fewer shows and the conserv. hosts out there may have fewer stations; that may include Savage and Ingraham who start anew with new syndicators (Cumulus, Courtside). Maybe they'll reach the same number of affiliates/listeners as before but for now both probably trail
what they had before (or Laura will, come Jan 2, trail what she used to have). Anyway political
talk of either stripe is indeed going downhill at least on broadcast radio...and some may prefer
to listen to it later as a podcast.

 

[ronald54321]

More and more, people listen to what they want, when they want. Terrestrial radio is terrible, and hyper limited in what's available.

 

[johndavis]

Political talk is going the way of the dinosaur, regardless of the left-right spectrum. How much money does Salem shovel into getting a 0.6 with its hosts? How long can they afford to do that?

Sports makes money. That's why everyone is getting on that train. Once they've oversaturated the market with too many third rate network shows, they'll find something else. But let's face it, the future of AM is brokered ethnic or turning in the license and selling the tower site. The real estate is worth more than most AM stations.

As for progressive talk, the more interesting shows aren't on the radio, they're podcasts. Some are even worth paying for.

 

[raccoonradio]

The following was a post in Nov to the WDTW (AM) facebook:
>>So why is Clear Channel turning all its financially successful progressive/liberal talk radio stations and turning them into barely successful Fox Sports clones? Did you not think that folk would miss KPOJ 620AM in Portland or KTLK 1150 AM in Los Angeles?

It then goes on to blame Romney etc.
First, that first sentence... come on! Tell me another one. If it were financially successful it would still be on, and even if it were, sports can earn them more money and a desirable demo. (I don't
think KTLK is changing though despite what he says)

>>Political talk is going the way of the dinosaur, regardless of the left-right spectrum. How much money does Salem shovel into getting a 0.6 with its hosts? How long can they afford to do that?
Sports makes money. That's why everyone is getting on that train. Once they've oversaturated the market with too many third rate network shows, they'll find something else. But let's face it, the future of AM is brokered ethnic or turning in the license and selling the tower site. The real estate is worth more than most AM stations. As for progressive talk, the more interesting shows aren't on the radio, they're podcasts. Some are even worth paying for.

Agreed. Selling the tower site--it's like the old days when the drive in theatres went away and the land was sold to developers to put up shopping malls.

 

[Mike Schwartz]

The following was a post in Nov to the WDTW (AM) facebook:
>>So why is Clear Channel turning all its financially successful progressive/liberal talk radio stations and turning them into barely successful Fox Sports clones? Did you not think that folk would miss KPOJ 620AM in Portland or KTLK 1150 AM in Los Angeles?

It then goes on to blame Romney etc.
First, that first sentence... come on! Tell me another one. If it were financially successful it would still be on, and even if it were, sports can earn them more money and a desirable demo. (I don't
think KTLK is changing though despite what he says)

>>Political talk is going the way of the dinosaur, regardless of the left-right spectrum. How much money does Salem shovel into getting a 0.6 with its hosts? How long can they afford to do that?
Sports makes money. That's why everyone is getting on that train. Once they've oversaturated the market with too many third rate network shows, they'll find something else. But let's face it, the future of AM is brokered ethnic or turning in the license and selling the tower site. The real estate is worth more than most AM stations. As for progressive talk, the more interesting shows aren't on the radio, they're podcasts. Some are even worth paying for.

Agreed. Selling the tower site--it's like the old days when the drive in theatres went away and the land was sold to developers to put up shopping malls.

@johndavis which podcasts are you referring to?

 

[radiobum]

i'm guessing Portland, Seattle and Boston are about the most liberal cities in country so if Prog. talk won't work there I'd say it's pretty hopeless.

i maintain most lefties like the sleepy pace of NPR with no screaming commericals.

 

[johndavis]

@johndavis which podcasts are you referring to?

Kagro In The Morning/Daily Kos Radio isn't the most professionally produced program (some days it's downright amateurish) and sometimes gets too wonky, but is very informative. It's kind of like listening to a group of congressional aides talking shop.

Sam Seder's Majority Report podcast (an extension of his former Air America program) is well done and worth subscribing to, but even the free version has great interviews.

Stitcher is a great app for finding different feeds and creating a playlist of shows for the commute.

 

[FreddyE1977]

i maintain most lefties like the sleepy pace of NPR with no screaming commericals.

In other words, they don't like commercials. Because they don't like Capitalism.
Which makes it a really hard sell to potential advertisers.

 

[radiobum]

i maintain most lefties like the sleepy pace of NPR with no screaming commericals.

In other words, they don't like commercials. Because they don't like Capitalism.
Which makes it a really hard sell to potential advertisers.

NO - they don't like to be screamed at. They may or may not like Capitalism.

 

[umfan]

So called 'Progressive Talk' generated minimal ratings.

That is the reason the product is being pulled.

In Detroit, it was more cost effective to give the station away than continue to carry that programming.

 

[del_griffith]

i maintain most lefties like the sleepy pace of NPR with no screaming commericals.

In other words, they don't like commercials. Because they don't like Capitalism.
Which makes it a really hard sell to potential advertisers.

NO - they don't like to be screamed at. They may or may not like Capitalism.

Lot's of thruth there. At least in my situation.

I used to go to great lengths to hear Rush's show before it was carried in my market. And for a long time I continued to listen. But something shifted. And the more I no longer identified with the message or the presentation. And for the record, I still think overall Rush is a one of the better entertainers out there. But I seldom listen any more.

When progressive radio came to my market I listened because it was something different. And then it became another angry fest and while I never identified with the message to begin with, it was different. I at first liked Schultz. But as time went by he just became another angry talk radio host.

So yes, I've gravitated to NPR. Not necessarily because of message, but because of presentation. Yes, I wish they'd goose it up a bit. But between Rush and Schultz, they seem a safe haven for information.

 

[KeithE4]

Lot's of thruth there. At least in my situation.

I used to go to great lengths to hear Rush's show before it was carried in my market. And for a long time I continued to listen. But something shifted. And the more I no longer identified with the message or the presentation. And for the record, I still think overall Rush is a used to be one of the better entertainers out there. But I seldom listen any more.

Fixed. ;D

Trouble is, he stopped being an entertainer and became a semi-official voice of the Republican Party back around 2000. His drug problems and possibly-resultant deafness didn't help. He also became rich and complacent, and still thinks that his word is party policy. He went from being an entertaining gadfly to a bitter old man. His type of Republican is dying of old age, and deep down, I think he knows it.

When progressive radio came to my market I listened because it was something different. And then it became another angry fest and while I never identified with the message to begin with, it was different. I at first liked Schultz. But as time went by he just became another angry talk radio host.

Air America and its ilk were over-the-hill bitter, angry, '60s/'70s-relic lefties from the word "go." Thom Hartman is the only guy that I can think of that's not bitter and/or angry. Not only that, they weren't entertaining and were trying to be on the left what Limbaugh is on the right - a semi-official voice of their party. Didn't work.

And Schultz is as crazy as Beck.

So yes, I've gravitated to NPR. Not necessarily because of message, but because of presentation. Yes, I wish they'd goose it up a bit. But between Rush and Schultz, they seem a safe haven for information.

Their presentation is why I don't usually listen to NPR. I don't want to fall asleep while driving. ;D

 

[MC]

Shultz spent too much time on "Wisconson recall" then lost, the "Romney landslide" crowd on conservo-talk flopped big time too. Savage does have an interesting story from time to time, but for my tastes Inghram falls flat and spends to much time moralizing (better on a religious station)

Stephanie Miller is too mush noise for me in the morning and I can not here her with all the fast paced sound effects.

Limbaugh has gotten predictable and Hannity has boring guests. The Hannity radio show seems to have dropped Dick Morris and Rove just like FOX???

I think the money is leaving talk radio across the political spectrum.

 

[raccoonradio]

Maybe shifting talk stations to weaker signals...whether liberal or conservative...low power AMs, etc.Could be what he meant. When talk gets poor ratings, etc., it may wind up on a weaker
signal eventually.

>>When they are relegated to second and third tier signals, the deck is stacked against them right out of the gate.

In Boston Santos was buying time on 1510 to put on his own show plus syndicated shows. Dial Global and he broke off, he got other shows--then eventually it was just his show and finally when 1510
went all sports he was cut off. He did wind up buying an hour per day on WCRN 830 in Worcester MA
with a pretty decent signal...but only for a hr per day. He could have bought time on a weaker
AM signal and get more shows on, but... Entercom, CBS, CC and other owners didn't want to air
the progtalk --so he wound up on various smaller AMs.

 

[kc1ih]

When I see someone post something about Portland my first reaction is to ask “Which Portland, Oregon or Maine”, but in this case it’s actually both.

 

[Mike Schwartz]

When I see someone post something about Portland my first reaction is to ask “Which Portland, Oregon or Maine”, but in this case it’s actually both.

Not quite Portland, Maine, but in Bangor, Steven King still runs a progressive talker (WZON) which he has no intention of abandoning, regardless of the financial challenges.

 

[raccoonradio]

Though pulled off the FM; for now they're doing Christmas music but format change coming. The FM has new calls, and acc to their site:
>>From now through Christmas we will be playing holiday music on 103.1 FM, in the meantime we are working on a BIG surprise that we will reveal after Christmas. Thank you for listening to The Pulse and we hope you will continue to enjoy that programming on AM 620 WZON.