MARK DAVIS LEAVING WBAP

[chrisdanger]

Here's a thought: Would it be too totally out of the realm of sane thinking to consider that Mark is being groomed for the rush slot? Seeing that he's less of a total jackhole in both his professional and personal lives, he would be a better fit for that slot at WABC and other stations around the country..

 

[dismuke]

Here's a thought: Would it be too totally out of the realm of sane thinking to consider that Mark is being groomed for the rush slot? Seeing that he's less of a total jackhole in both his professional and personal lives, he would be a better fit for that slot at WABC and other stations around the country..

I think the chances of that being the case are next to zero.

First, I strongly suspect that your appraisal of Rush as being a "total jackhole" has more to do with your own personal political sympathies than it does anything that is any factor at all for the people who tune into Rush's program.

I strongly suspect that which makes you regard him as a "total jackhole" with regard to his professional life are the exact same attributes which endear him to millions of loyal listeners. And as for his personal life - well, let's just say that Rush is downright saintly compared to the sordid personal lives of countless public figures for whom it has had either minimal or zero impact on their careers. To use an example from the other end of the political spectrum: Ted Kennedy. Kennedy's personal life was thoroughly repugnant. And yet he was regarded as an icon who was and remains adored by millions. It is very easy for people to hold double standards when it comes to the behavior of those they dislike or disagree with. If a Left leaning public figure lives an out of control, irresponsible life and becomes addled with a cocktail of assorted recreational drugs - and then overcomes the addiction, turns his life around and rebuilds his career to new heights - the press will champion that person as a hero and (quite properly) openly admire the person's triumph over adversity and tragedy. But, by Jingo, if a conservative commentator has a medical condition which necessitates the use of powerful and potentially very addictive prescription drugs - and the person actually does become addicted to them - well, that person is regarded as a total scumbag who needs to be taken off the airwaves.

Rush's real sin in the eyes of his critics is the fact that he unapologetically holds views inimical to theirs along with his refusal to be "politically correct" and the joy he takes in tossing out verbal potshots which often hit way too close to home for certain people's comfort. And quite frankly, that is also why millions adore him and tune in to hear more.

As for Mark Davis - he is no Rush Limbaugh. And that is not intended as criticism in any way. And my guess is that Davis would be the very first person to acknowledge it. One of Rush's abilities is to be "edgy" and "controversial" in ways that infuriate and drive his political opponents downright batty - while, at the same time, causing his core audience to cheer him on and wish they had said it first. That's not Mark's style. NO other talk show host can be "groomed" to replace Rush. There is a reason why, after being on the air for well over 20 years, audiences have not grown weary of them and countless other perfectly talented hosts have not been able to catch up with him. Rush has carved out a niche for himself that only he can fill.

As for Davis being groomed for WABC in particular - that makes no sense at all. WABC is part of the same station group that Cumulus acquired along with WBAP. If WABC had big plans for Davis why would Cumulus be trying to nickel and dime him on his WBAP contract and risk losing him to someone else as a result?

Perhaps some other station group will pick up Davis with plans for bigger and better things in mind. But I seriously doubt it will be to take on or replace Rush. Indeed, my own personal opinion (for what little it is worth on such things) is that Cumulus was dumb and perhaps even downright incompetent to plug its Huckabee program as a direct challenge to the Rush Limbaugh program. Sure, all the anti-Rush press releases and talk of an alleged desire for "non-strident" Right of center talk radio did generate a lot more press and perhaps even affiliate interest than the collective yawn that would otherwise have occurred at the mere announcement that Huckabee is the latest public figure to try his hand at a radio talk show. So, to that degree, it might have made some sense. But long term .....well, battle lines have been drawn and very high expectations have been set. Let's say the program attracts enough audience to be successful in terms of profitability and market coverage but fails to gain enough listeners to break the Top 3. If that happens, even though there might be lesser rated programs that would be regarded as "successful" Huckabee's program would be looked upon by many as a failure merely because it did not live up to its initial boasts. Cumulus risks doing the exact opposite of the common sense rule to under promise and over perform.

If Davis (or any other host) aspires to national distribution, his best bet would be to find and carve out a niche that is uniquely his - a niche that is independent of any particular time slot or the success or failure of any other host.

 

[Megapsycle]

Noticed this morning on Ch 8's "Inside Politics" Davis identified himself with "News-talk 820 AM/96.7 FM WBAP" .

 

[grantchester]

Dismuke mentions:

a conservative commentator has a medical condition which necessitates the use of powerful and potentially very addictive prescription drugs -

It wasn't addiction that got Rush in trouble, it was breaking the law to get his pills. And what was the deal with the Viagra he was found carrying (with someone else's name on the prescription)? He was between marriages at the time.

I think the listening public is growing weary of the hypocracy, the bullying, the lack of veracity and the general meanness of it all. Conservative talk ratings are falling. God bless Mark Davis, but I think he's going to have to re-invent himself, or step down to a smaller and less lucrative market.

Huckabee is a nice guy and has some conservative credibility, but he's a bit boring. I don't know what he has to offer that will motivate listeners.

It's time for talk-radio to turn the page, and find some new way to appeal to listeners.

 

[ropertex]

Huckabee is a nice guy and has some conservative credibility, but he's a bit boring. I don't know what he has to offer that will motivate listeners.

It's time for talk-radio to turn the page, and find some new way to appeal to listeners.

Ed Busch, WFAA-570 and guest atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair made for great talk radio fun....

 

[dismuke]

It wasn't addiction that got Rush in trouble, it was breaking the law to get his pills.

Well, it sort of goes without saying that, unless one is an alcoholic, a person addicted to drugs probably has and is breaking some laws in the process.

Again, it goes back to the double standard applied to conservative public figures. If a non-conservative public figure becomes addicted or is arrested for using drugs illegally, the reaction in the press is usually that of pity and compassion and a recognition of a tragedy. If the public figure is Right of center he is vilified for life.

Furthermore, this is OLD NEWS. This happened six years ago. It did not cause his audience to go away at that time - even despite his being off the air for a few weeks while he went through rehab. If it did not turn his audience off then, it is not likely that ancient history is suddenly going to become an issue now (unless, of course, he has a relapse or something of the sort).

And what was the deal with the Viagra he was found carrying (with someone else's name on the prescription)? He was between marriages at the time.

I am sorry - but this made me laugh. Are you saying that the possibility that, as a single man between marriages, Rush might have engaged in....S-E-X? Oh, please! Say it isn't true! The horror that he would even THINK of doing something so unspeakable...it's just too horrible to contemplate! Oh, the scandal.

Actually, consider the reaction that would likely occur if it somehow came out that a successful, wealthy single man with millions of female fans and admirers did NOT have some sort of sex life? He would likely be the but of jokes in certain quarters and be portrayed as being pathetic.

I recognize that there is, among certain circles on the Left, a caricature that everybody that is Right of center must necessarily be some sort of puritanical prude. But the very real danger of viewing one's adversaries through a cartoonish lens is that it does not accurately reflect reality. I guarantee you that the vast majority of single adults who regularly listen to Rush have had sexual partners outside of marriage.

And if his having a sex life was something that would scandalize his listeners - why did he refer to his girlfriend for a while as his "mistress."?

I think the listening public is growing weary of the hypocracy, the bullying, the lack of veracity and the general meanness of it all.

Quite frankly, people on the Left have been saying this for over 20 years ever since he came on the air. Such an evaluation of him is your personal opinion. The vast majority of those who are loyal listeners to his program do not share that opinion.

Conservative talk ratings are falling.

I actually addressed this earlier in the thread (not that I necessarily expect people to have read every posting in a lengthy thread). Briefly, what I said was that, if there is indeed such a decline, it does not necessarily follow that it is the result of a decline in interest for principled (i.e, "strident" ) Right of center commentary. Such a decline could also be caused by the fact that the explosion of alternative media outlets online provides a great many more options for people who used to have no other venue to turn to other than talk radio for an alternative to the mainstream media.

There is certainly no evidence that there is drop in demand for Right of center ideas. Indeed, interest in such ideas is at an all time high. Conservatives may despise President Obama - but the reality is that his administration has resulted in unprecedented numbers of people seeking to learn more about free market economics, individual liberty and the country's founding principles. The people involved with the tea parties - most of whom had no previous political engagement - are but the visible tip of the iceberg. For example, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, a 50 plus year old novel of more than a thousand pages was for weeks near the top of the Amazon.com best seller list. Another example that made it near the top of the Amazon list: James Madison's Federalist Papers written over 220 years ago in language that most people today would consider archaic - a book that through most of its existence was mostly read only by those who were forced to do so in college.

My point is that there is the exact opposite of a decline in interest for Right of center ideas and opinions. But much of the growth in interest is from people who tend to be very tech savvy and have a lot more options open to them to learn and interact with like minded individuals than talk radio - and many are of a generation that is barely aware that the AM band even exists.

God bless Mark Davis, but I think he's going to have to re-invent himself, or step down to a smaller and less lucrative market.

Mark Davis does need to re-invent himself. But not by becoming "less strident" or abandoning his principles. He needs to reinvent himself by significantly expanding his brand to online venues beyond wherever his next radio gig is. He needs to do that in order to reach new audiences who might be receptive to what he has to say but either don't like or don't have the time to listen to the radio. Given current trends, every personality in radio and television, regardless of their political orientation, needs to do that.

 

[dismuke]

Ed Busch, WFAA-570 and guest atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair made for great talk radio fun....

I am actually old enough to remember "News Talk 57" (I still remember the station ID jingle) as a child - but too young to remember much in the way of content. But my father who worked as a photographer and spent a lot of time in dark rooms listened to the station a lot and I remember him talking about and being a fan of Ed Busch's program.

Somebody said something to me years ago that the station apparently sometimes found itself opening Fairness Doctrine/FCC related can of worms because they would sometimes have very controversial guests on - if I recall correctly, the head of the Ku Klux Klan or some similar organization was once a guest on one of those shows. Anyhow, what I was told was that whenever they had an especially controversial guest on that they would have to deal with listener complaints to the FCC which were a bigger deal in those days and demands for equal time.

I don't remember personally listening to anything controversial - perhaps, in part, because I was too young to necessarily recognize it as such. I remember the station had a lot of interviews with various authors trying to promote books. And I remember listening to a show where the guest one evening was a pet psychic - which even at that age I was suspicious of as being a scam. The program I remember most was a show where the guest's topic was UFOs - and I was going through that phase where I really, really wanted to personally see things such as ghosts, UFOs etc. I had a question for the UFO guy and decided to call in. I got through - but when the person answering the phone heard my voice, he asked how old I was and told me that I was too young to be put on the radio. I was furious! I had what I thought was a good question and felt how old I happened to be was utterly irrelevant. So after a number of minutes of fuming over the injustice of it all, I decided to call back - and this time I tried to talk real slow and lower the pitch of my voice. The man on the phone didn't question my age - he just said that the show would end soon and they weren't going to take any more callers. I never did get the answer to my question.

 

[grantchester]

Sorry, Dis, I'm not buying it. Rush himself repeatedly criticised people who use illegal drugs, and said a white man who does should be locked up. It's not that he was an addict, it was that he revealed his hypocracy. Likewise, carrying around someone else's prescription to Viagra (found when re-entering the country); His moral superiority is eroded, plus, once again, he broke the law.
Now, as to the declining ratings of conservative talk radio... It's a fact. No matter how you spin it, the audience is smaller, and is aging past the 54 year old cut-off that agencies will buy.

What you will find in the future is a merging of Tea-Party and Occupy Wall Street, the common feeling that an elite few are controlling government for their own benefit. The Moral Majority and the Wall Street financial powers are splitting the sheets, as the realities of our increasingly desperate situation become apparent.

The mistaken belief that there is some monolithic left, in lock-step like the right has been, fools you into battling ephemera, while your own base erodes like sand in a rip-tide.

So, bottom line, Mark Davis has to find a new use for his talents. He's a smart man, and hopefully has made some good investments...maybe his departure from radio will be a 'Therapeutic Divorce".

 

[dismuke]

Sorry, Dis, I'm not buying it. Rush himself repeatedly criticised people who use illegal drugs, and said a white man who does should be locked up. It's not that he was an addict, it was that he revealed his hypocracy.

Well, actually, I am inclined to agree with you up to a certain point with regard to your above evaluation. While I do not abuse drugs or use them recreationally and have a very low opinion of such behavior, I don't think it should be criminalized. I don't think it is the government's business what a person chooses to put into his own body (so long as one does not put himself in a position of placing others in danger while doing so - for example, driving an automobile). This is one of the areas in which I have disagreements with Rush.

But what I personally think of it and what you personally think of it is utterly irrelevant to what the majority of his audience thinks of it. I guarantee you that if Rush came around to what I consider to be a more consistent (or less "hypocritical" if you prefer) point of view on the matter it would not sit well at all with a large segment of his audience. In fact, my very strong guess is that Limbaugh and much of his audience does not regard his support of drug laws as being hypocritical. I suspect that they would take the position that a person's moral failings do not entitle him to rewrite morality around those failings. I suspect that they would take the position that the mere fact a given person fails to obey the law has no bearing whatsoever on the validity of the law. I suspect that most in his audience would say that rather than wallowing in and defending one's failings a person should acknowledge and correct them. Again - we are talking about something that occurred six years ago. If it did not offend his audience back then it is not going to suddenly occur to them all these years later that they should be outraged.

Once again, the fact that YOU don't like Limbaugh and that YOU consider him to be offensive, outrageous or whatever has ZERO bearing on what HIS AUDIENCE thinks of him. You may feel that your opinions are correct and that you have good reasons to hold them. But, in the context of the loyalty of his audience it is irrelevant. And I promise you that engaging in wishful thinking about such matters is not productive either for you or for the advancement of your particular point of view.

Now, as to the declining ratings of conservative talk radio... It's a fact. No matter how you spin it, the audience is smaller, and is aging past the 54 year old cut-off that agencies will buy.

Perhaps that is the case. I am not in a position to know one way or another. I certainly am not attempting to dispute it in any way. My point is that if there is such a decline it does not necessarily follow that it is because there is a decline in interest in Right of center ideas and opinions - which is what Cumulus is asserting and what you have been suggesting. The fact is that interest in such thought has never been higher - and it is certainly at a far greater level than when Rush first hit the airwaves and became popular. But given the fact that there are more outlets for such ideas and opinions and convenient formats such as blogs and rss feeds where one can pick and choose the topics of interest and which do not require the time commitment that listening to a radio program does it shouldn't be surprising that once talk radio lost its monopoly position in the world of conservative alternative media that it would have an impact on audience size.

The audience of the nightly television newscasts of the Big Three networks has been in steady decline for years - and the average age of viewers is very much up there. But it does not follow that there is somehow a lack of demand for news or that young people have no interest in the news. People simply have more options in terms of where they get their news - options that are more convenient and give people more control over the subject matter and level of depth they wish to delve into on any given story.

Given that interest in Right of center ideas is at an all time high, if there is a decline in talk radio, I would say it is not so much a matter of Right verses Left as it is Old Media verses New.

 

[grantchester]

YOU don't like Limbaugh and that YOU consider him to be offensive, outrageous or whatever

you assume too much. My own views are not revealed.

Right of center ideas is at an all time high

I'll ask President Steve Forbes about that... oh, wait. He's not President. Nor Newt, Nor Rick or Rick or Mitt or Armey or the Koch brothers or any of the other right-wing ideologues.
Despite what you have been told, Mr. Obama governs from the center. The right denies it at their own peril.
The schtick has run its course; our country doesn't have time or patience with such blather any more. It's time to move on and deal. There's a place for Mark Davis somewhere in all this, but the paradigm is changing. Things will never be the same again.

 

[dismuke]

Word on the street: Davis has about 45 days to show Cumulus a better offer than they gave him and let them match it or take the offer they have left on the table for him and stay on WBAP.

Looks like you are correct: Mark himself has more or less confirmed this. See: http://markdavisshow.typepad.com/marksworld-multimedia-adv/2012/04/-thanks-nyc-back-home-in-tx.html The relevant passage is:

"The status quo remains the same (as status quos tend to do, or they wouldn’t be status quos)-- anything is possible and all options are open. I am restrained from fully examining some of those options until next month, so hang with me here and I’ll have details on my next exploits as soon as I can offer them."

 

[MC]

He was syndicated, is he still syndicated?

 

[ropertex]

Here's a thought: Would it be too totally out of the realm of sane thinking to consider that Mark is being groomed for the rush slot?

Considering Mark has had two national shows already and was treated so shabbily at WBAP, seems like zero chance of that happening.

 

[Gopher]

From his Facebook fan's page yesterday.

Wow, I need to check in here more often. Thanks to all of you for the support and patience. Hearing neither "see ya later" or "we've rethought our offer" from Cumulus, I am moving forward. Everyone knows where to find me, and the only question is where and when my next show will be. Rest assured I am working on that, and various vistas will open in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. Blessings to all, and thanks again.

 

[chrisdanger]

Here's a thought: Would it be too totally out of the realm of sane thinking to consider that Mark is being groomed for the rush slot?

Considering Mark has had two national shows already and was treated so shabbily at WBAP, seems like zero chance of that happening.

Just a thought...I had a feeling he'd leave Terrestrial radio and pursue something outside it..I wish him good fortune..

 

[dismuke]

How about some wild and just for fun speculation as to where Davis might end up on the Dallas/Fort Worth radio dial if he either does not reach an agreement with WBAP or does not get snapped up by a station in some other market?

KRLD perhaps? From previous threads I have read on this board I get the impression that, at least in the past, they have been rather tight when it comes to spending money on the station.

KSKY? Could they even afford Mark Davis?

Could Clear Channel perhaps launch a talk station on a stronger AM frequency than 1190 or perhaps with an 1190/FM simulcast with Davis being its initial centerpiece? I have read lots of talk about Cumulus ditching Rush on its stations in favor of their own Huckabee program when their contracts with Rush are over. But will they do it if Huckabee flops in the meanwhile? If the Huckabee program does flop and Limbaugh continues to do well, perhaps it would be to Clear Channel's advantage to PULL Limbaugh from Cumulus stations in certain markets so that they and not Cumulus can profit from the audience he draws to the station.

Is WBAP profitable? Comments made over time on this board suggest that it is - which would mean that it is profitable even with the levels it is currently paying on-air talent. What happens when the contracts of other WBAP personalities come up? Will Cumulus try to do to them what they are doing to Mark Davis? Perhaps Cumulus's recent behavior could be an opportunity for Clear Channel or some local station to essentially grab up WBAP talent, including the all important Limbaugh program, and replicate WBAP's winning formula for themselves. Cumulus did such a great, outstanding job at turning KLIF into a ratings powerhouse - it will be interesting to see what is left of WBAP and its ratings once Cumulus is finished. Seems to me that there are some opportunities to be had for anyone who has an interest in and is willing to spend a bit of money making a grab for WBAP's audience and taking over the decades old dominance the station has had over talk radio in the market.

Anyone have thoughts or speculation?

One thing I know for sure based on what I have read in recent months: if I had money to play with in the stock market, I would be shorting Cumulus stock.

 

[arnoldevns]

I would offer up a couple of observations. Previous syndicated efforts for Davis should not be indicative of whether or not he'd succeed with his own national show - or as a successor to Limbaugh. The shows were secondary in importance to his local show. That meant they were on at a time so he could continue most of his local show and do the national show. That created the situation where the latest version of it also ran against Limbaugh, meaning it was on smaller stations. His previous national show was on the weekends. It was essentially filler for stations that didn't want to run infomercials or didn't have sports. It also meant he had no weekend to himself. That had to be pretty rough.

I don't know where Mark will end up on the dial. I'm sure he wants to stay in this market. If you read his blog, you can tell that's the case.
As much as some want to suggest that a station like KRLD wouldn't take him due to format concerns, I think ratings potential would trump that. It really is a matter of money though. If he gets an offer that's better than the one he got from Cumulus (and is within whatever range he wants) he'll take it.

I would also not discount the notion that he'll do something out of the ordinary. I don't think he'll go the satellite route. But I could see him going the internet route. For that matter, he's recently spent some time around Glenn Beck and seems friendly with him. Beck seems to be having some success with his website TV channel. He's also looking for more programs too. It could be a perfect fit.

 

[chrisdanger]

I had the same thought about internet based programming ala Glenn Beck, both he and mark float in the same circles..also, Mark still has his sight and sanity LOL (bad joke about Glenn Beck...i'll ask the man upstairs for forgiveness later)

 

[dismuke]

But if Mark were to start something Internet related, wouldn't it still make sense for him to have a terrestrial radio talk show as a means of promoting and referring listeners to the endeavor? Let's say he starts one. Getting word out to the majority of his WBAP listeners would be a challenge unless he was willing to spend some big money on advertising. WBAP is certainly not gong to promote it for him. He might get a certain amount of free publicity in the local press for a day or so and perhaps though his Dallas Morning News column. But it would be difficult to reach a majority of his former listeners that way.

My understanding is that the foundation for Glenn Beck's television network subscriber base consisted of people who were already paying for premium access to his website. And my guess is it is promoted though his radio program which continues. One big advantage of being on terrestrial radio over the Internet is that people can find you by accident when they are surfing the dial to see if there is anything worth listening to. Social networking is helping to bridge that gap a bit - but it is still not the same. Seems to me if he did want to go online, it would make sense to do a terrestrial broadcast for at least awhile, even if it is not at his accustomed rate of pay, as a sort of loss leader to get people interested.

 

[dismuke]

Update on dfw.com: http://www.dfw.com/2012/05/01/615003/mark-davis-and-wbap-the-latest.html

Sounds like he is writing Cumulus off:

" I have heard nothing from [WBAP owner] Cumulus and I have no expectation of hearing anything," Davis writes. "If they should choose to reach me, I will be pleased to listen to them, but my my attention is focused on the future, and my time is devoted to exploring a number of options available to me. I am thoroughly enjoying the gift of some time off, combining family time with my familiar pursuits of writing, speaking engagements and TV appearances. I am enormously uplifted by a continuing wave of support from listeners, and I look forward to having news for them in the near future."