KXAM Sold... by the lying liars that lied to us.

[JeffryOBrien]

Nobody likes to be lied to... but that is exactly what happened.

Not that any of us are surprised when it comes to the Gersons.

But it turns out that the license for 1310 KXAM has now been sold to a Catholic organization for $1 Million.

I figure the why is... Matt Gerson's wife (former ASU professor) is very Catholic... that is the only reason this family would practically give this station away with so much weirdness.

I guess it was part of the deal to keep Matt from having a stage 7 meltdown... a nice gesture for dismantling his adult daycare.

I can not think of any other reason the Jewish family owners would shut out the only employees they have had since they began that treated them right (some who are also Jewish) from the discussion of purchasing the station and saving jobs... and then give it away for a song... to a Catholic organization (nothing against them).

Hey... it's theirs to do with as they please... but all the weird cloak and dagger?

I think we all would have had more respect for them if they had just been straight about it.

Probably the best thing that can happen to radio in this town is the Gersons no longer being in it... there is another family in this town I think we could do without as well.

I guess it all makes sense now... sort of.

 

[ironbear]

Entropy is the natural order of all things, including broadcasting, Jeffry.

It's natural to expect more religion or hate/conservative talk in AM's future. It's the dying gasp of a dying culture. Unfortunately.

 

[DrAkbar]

Nurse Jeff and I suspected KXAM would not remain dark for long. IHR is no slouch when it comes to both AM & FM ownership http://www.ihradio.org/stations Last year they paid TMISU $15m for the old KYA 12~Sixty frequency in San Francisco. A million dollars for KXAM and it's crummy night signal sounds about right. As far as the lying liars go....hey it's all cash and this is radio afterall!

 

[KOHS]

I would hazzard to guess that Mr. Gerson would say that he merely "misspoke" or "misstated" certain facts when he lied to you.

Lying sounds so eeeevil and bad. 8) Cut that liar some slack!!

 

[Legend City]

Matt Gerson has a wife?

eeeewwwww!

No wonder she is so Catholic, she must be really up on how much suffering it takes to become a saint.

A Gerson lied? Imagine that :

 

[DrAkbar]

The Nurse and I wonder if IHR sniffed around 8~Sixty or 11~Ninety before purchasing 13~Ten? TMISU think KMVP is worth at least $2m (ha-ha) and who knows what 11~Ninety is really worth. Both have better dial positions and since moving to the landfill, 8~Sixty has better coverage of the metro at night than 13~Ten.

 

[Nik]

It's natural to expect more... hate/conservative talk in AM's future. It's the dying gasp of a dying culture. Unfortunately.

Wow, you aren't jaded at all, are you?

Maybe someday mindless liberal whining will come back to the airwaves and be sucessful and/or profitable.

:

Nah, doubt it.

 

[ironbear]

It's natural to expect more... hate/conservative talk in AM's future. It's the dying gasp of a dying culture. Unfortunately.

Wow, you aren't jaded at all, are you?

Maybe someday mindless liberal whining will come back to the airwaves and be sucessful and/or profitable.

:

Nah, doubt it.

I doubt it, too. I believe liberals, and there are tons of us out here according to the latest election results, have grown beyond typical talk radio formulas, and AM radio in particular. It's clearly a different psychology (my theory is that we steer clear of authoritarian-type blowhards completely.)

So, programmers are wise to go deep into the Michael Savage talent incubator. I know who WON'T be listening: sane people.

 

[KOHS]

I doubt it, too. I believe liberals, and there are tons of us out here according to the latest election results, have grown beyond typical talk radio formulas, and AM radio in particular. It's clearly a different psychology (my theory is that we steer clear of authoritarian-type blowhards completely.)

So, programmers are wise to go deep into the Michael Savage talent incubator. I know who WON'T be listening: sane people.

Your faulty assertions do not hold up, Iron Bear.

First of all, the exit polls do not bear out your statement about "tons" of liberal voters. Only 22% of the respondents identified themselves as Liberal, with 89% of those voting for Obama and 11% voting for McCain. 44% of the respondents identified themselves as Moderate, with Obama grabbing 60% of that voting block. 34% of the respondents identified themselves as Conservative, with McCain winning 78% of that voting block and Obama taking the remainder. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/ExitPolls/

The idea that liberals "have grown beyond typical talk radio formulas" is ludicrous and lacking in supporting data. If we simply look at the exit polls from the 2008 Presidential Election and see a mere 22% of the voting population identifying themselves as liberal and the majority describing themselves as moderate or conservative, it would seem on the surface that there is likely NOT a huge market for liberal talk radio.

Conservative talkers like Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck are commercial successes because they do more than just talk--they entertain. Al Franken was a distastrous flop on Air America because he didn't know how to entertain the listeners. He just wasn't fun to listen to.

Anyhow, your arguments and theories just don't hold up.

 

[ironbear]

I doubt it, too. I believe liberals, and there are tons of us out here according to the latest election results, have grown beyond typical talk radio formulas, and AM radio in particular. It's clearly a different psychology (my theory is that we steer clear of authoritarian-type blowhards completely.)

So, programmers are wise to go deep into the Michael Savage talent incubator. I know who WON'T be listening: sane people.

Your faulty assertions do not hold up, Iron Bear.

First of all, the exit polls do not bear out your statement about "tons" of liberal voters. Only 22% of the respondents identified themselves as Liberal, with 89% of those voting for Obama and 11% voting for McCain. 44% of the respondents identified themselves as Moderate, with Obama grabbing 60% of that voting block. 34% of the respondents identified themselves as Conservative, with McCain winning 78% of that voting block and Obama taking the remainder. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/ExitPolls/

The idea that liberals "have grown beyond typical talk radio formulas" is ludicrous and lacking in supporting data. If we simply look at the exit polls from the 2008 Presidential Election and see a mere 22% of the voting population identifying themselves as liberal and the majority describing themselves as moderate or conservative, it would seem on the surface that there is likely NOT a huge market for liberal talk radio.

Conservative talkers like Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck are commercial successes because they do more than just talk--they entertain. Al Franken was a distastrous flop on Air America because he didn't know how to entertain the listeners. He just wasn't fun to listen to.

Anyhow, your arguments and theories just don't hold up.

Good grief, man.

With all respect, KOHS, may I suggest that you read John Dean's excellent "Conservatives Without Conscience?" Dean, a close friend of Barry Goldwater's, really nails what's wrong with conservatism right now, and why Rush, Laura and Savage overtly push a certain psychological button in their listeners.

BTW, I grew up around the inside of Barry's campaigns, and Arizona and national level Republican operatives. Dean was a good man then, and he is one now, representing an older vision of conservatism.

We agree that there isn't much market for progressive talk radio. We disagree as to why that is.

By the book: along with Dean, I'm a fan of Valerie Geller's books (they're really outstanding for anyone doing talk, and understanding what makes audiences tick.) I assure you that liberal talkers like Franken, Thom Hartmann and even Mike Malloy more than meet her general definitions of 'compelling', 'entertaining' and 'targeted.'

The audience isn't buying, however, and no liberal talk station has ever even remotely reached the 22 share they would have if liberals listened in proportion to their composition of the audience.

It's awful. I'm cursed with feelings, empathy and a middle of the road sort of liberalism. Just listen to them rant about people like me every day on hate talk radio. You just know I'm evil...very evil.

 

[ironbear]

(dup post deleted)

 

[KOHS]

Ironbear, thanks for your response.

I guess there will always be room for friendly disagreement.

I found Franken to be extremely boorish and dare I say...contrived. Randi Rhodes on the other hand was exactly the cure, in my opinion, for liberal talk radio. She was engaging, compelling, funny and topical. I didn't listen much to Hartman or Malloy, so I can't say much about either of them.

Your not evil, Ironbear. Just on the wrong side of Rush (which is not a bad place to be, mind you). ;D

 

[50kguy]

The Gersons have made an interesting, although unfeeling, business decision. It is quite possible they really did intend to return the license to the FCC if no one contacted them about a dark station. A purchaser of a dark station does not have to deal with an existing staff with chips on their shoulders, current advertisers looking for a better deal or whatever listeners may exist unhappy with a format change. In short, they get a blank canvas connected to a transmitter.

There are several religious radio groups seeking sticks across the country. Look at some of the battles being waged on the lower end of the FM dial between religious operators and other public radio operators. Many of the religious stations are 100% satellite with no local presence. I don't know if they're still doing it, but Air 1 on KZAI (89.9) used to run a combined legal ID for 20 stations!

Catholic radio has been slower to develop than the numerous evangelical nets. One of the Clear Channel bigwigs left the company about 10 years ago to start a Catholic network that I don't believe survived. Today, Catholic stations have access to programs from the EWTN cable network. While the evangelicals have developed multiple formats from youth-oriented religious rock to scriptural talk, the Catholic stations with which I am familiar have a message that does not fit the medium. They take a very strict view of dogma and theology that is almost anti-Vatican II. Their production is similarly old church: lots of repetitive talk about the same topics interspersed with organ music.

Back to the Gersons. I don't know how much they paid for KXAM, but the difference between what the paid and the price they receive could represent a capital gain. That has tax consequences. Since the new ownership is presumably non-profit, they may be structuring a deal under which they take the $1 million in cash, demonstrate the station is actually worth more and turn the difference into a tax deductible charitable donation. As Keith DeGreen could better explain, donating appreciated assets avoids the payment of capital gains taxes.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

As Keith DeGreen could better explain, donating appreciated assets avoids the payment of capital gains taxes.

But he'll only explain it to you if your portfolio is a minimum of one million dollars. :

 

[DrAkbar]

Back to the Gersons. I don't know how much they paid for KXAM, but the difference between what the paid and the price they receive could represent a capital gain. That has tax consequences.

Doubt it as Nurse Jeff and I think KXAM's operating losses after almost 20 years would easily wipe out any gain on the sale.

Since the new ownership is presumably non-profit, they may be structuring a deal under which they take the $1 million in cash, demonstrate the station is actually worth more and turn the difference into a tax deductible charitable donation. As Keith DeGreen could better explain, donating appreciated assets avoids the payment of capital gains taxes.

Pure Voodoo Economics. IHR is non-profit and they would be hard pressed to prove KXAM is worth more than $1m.

 

[j henry waugh]

1. Matt Gerson has a wife?

2. Regarding conservative v. liberal radio —it's a sinking ship, and a sewer scraping mission now. You guys/gals heard of Pandora, RadioShift, last.fm, iTunes, Podcasts, etc.…? Instead of listening to narrow band, diversity lacking, extremist fringe far right bellowing, you can listen to commercial free radio of your own beckoning, discussion programs that educate, edify and entertain, tune into radio stream around the globe etc…?