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is there a market for Progressive radio?
- Thread starter LITTLEBOYBLUE
- Start date
I think you just hit on one of the main differences between the "progressive" political talk show hosts and the large bank of "conservative" ones. I'd say most of the progressive and liberal voices seem to have had to develop their own shows, on their own. A few of them had local shows, but had to do their own legwork to expand their audiences nationwide - well, at least in a few more markets (ie., Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes).
I think there's a lot more "conservative" hosts because they're put there by patrons with deep pockets, and most of them I don't think had to start their own shows and pitch potential affiliates, one by one. Contrast that with the Clear Channel president's recent speech in which he describes Limbaugh as being the heart of what his company is all about. Add to that the "million dollar babies" that the Heritage Foundation just funded, and you'll see that the lack of numbers for "progressive radio" is not a simple matter of there not being an audience waiting for them. You've got to have outlets, too. And promote them. And maybe a little money to go with the wattage behind you, if you really want it to succeed.
By the way, does anyone know if any stations here or anywhere did anything special on the air at 12:12 on Dec 12? (I wasn't free to dial around then.) Might have been something fun, eh? If there was anyone marking the occasion on the air with something clever, then I'd like to suggest they play Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is" on December 26, as the first song after all of the Christmas tunes are pulled from rotation. Magic moments to match the occasion, indeed.
I think there's a lot more "conservative" hosts because they're put there by patrons with deep pockets, and most of them I don't think had to start their own shows and pitch potential affiliates, one by one. Contrast that with the Clear Channel president's recent speech in which he describes Limbaugh as being the heart of what his company is all about. Add to that the "million dollar babies" that the Heritage Foundation just funded, and you'll see that the lack of numbers for "progressive radio" is not a simple matter of there not being an audience waiting for them. You've got to have outlets, too. And promote them. And maybe a little money to go with the wattage behind you, if you really want it to succeed.
By the way, does anyone know if any stations here or anywhere did anything special on the air at 12:12 on Dec 12? (I wasn't free to dial around then.) Might have been something fun, eh? If there was anyone marking the occasion on the air with something clever, then I'd like to suggest they play Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is" on December 26, as the first song after all of the Christmas tunes are pulled from rotation. Magic moments to match the occasion, indeed.
there are several factors here to consider. one is the re-election of obama. if romney had been elected, the progressive talk of 1090 would most likely be sticking around, as the bummed out, broken hearts of seattle would flock to 1090 for political comraderie, comfort, and a few more rating points. most likely the same reason KVI conservative talk is back, since obama won.
also, in my opinion the lack of good left wing progressive radio talent. in the late 70's, through the 80's i used to listen to ray taliaferro, at night on KGO, while making a living on the road. ray, was a hard core liberal, and probably one of the first talkers i heard gettin' into hot headed arguments, and heated political debates with callers. this was some great radio back then, regardless of my opposite politics. in fact, former angry seattle KIRO leftist talker, mike webb seemed to continuously try and copy cat the ray style of talk and shtick during his evening shows. copy cats rarely succeed, and we all know how that shtick act ended.
also, in my opinion the lack of good left wing progressive radio talent. in the late 70's, through the 80's i used to listen to ray taliaferro, at night on KGO, while making a living on the road. ray, was a hard core liberal, and probably one of the first talkers i heard gettin' into hot headed arguments, and heated political debates with callers. this was some great radio back then, regardless of my opposite politics. in fact, former angry seattle KIRO leftist talker, mike webb seemed to continuously try and copy cat the ray style of talk and shtick during his evening shows. copy cats rarely succeed, and we all know how that shtick act ended.
I listened to Ray a lot in the 90's when I was a late nighter. Always informative, but as he often pointed out, he considered his show entertainment above all. If people wanted comedy mixed in with their politics, I think Stephanie Miller and her crew did a pretty good job.
scott salvatori said:
CBS Sports Radio was a done deal before the election, with 1090 at a 1.0 share or worse for the longest time, it made sense to make that the logical station for the new network. KVI is not doing all that great, especially since the local personality factor is gone.
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