Liberal radio fans lament loss
By ROBERT STRUCKMAN of the Missoulian
Liberal listeners of KKNS 105.9 FM reacted with outrage this week after Salt Lake City-based Simmons Media Group killed the station's progressive talk format.
About six weeks ago, Simmons Media took over the operation of three new Missoula stations previously run by Mount Sentinel Broadcasting, part of a Chicago-based media group known more for wheeling-and-dealing stations than running stations for the long term.
The liberal talk featuring local news and Air America Radio made waves in Missoula when Mount Sentinel first began airing the format last summer. And Air America host Al Franken visited the city for a taping of his show earlier this year.
On Monday and Tuesday this week, Simmons replaced the liberal talk format with “jack rock,” saying the station's advertising space wasn't selling despite a respectable 3.6 share of the area's radio audience - as measured by Oregon-based Eastlan Resources. “Jack” is a term meaning a mix of Top 40, hair band, rock and pop music.
The switch didn't sit well with the station's audience.
“I got dozens of calls,” said Dave Cowan, general manager of KKNS and its two sister stations, KDTR 103.3 FM and KKVU 104.5 FM.
Many listeners cried foul, saying the death of liberal talk on KKNS is another example of conservative media owners influencing the content. Simmons owner David E. Simmons gave $12,000 to the Republican Party and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in 2005. He has also contributed to President Bush, as well as local Utah candidates.
But Simmons denied any political motivation in the programming change.
“I have donated to the Republican Party. I've also donated to Democratic candidates,” Simmons said. The bulk of his contributions have gone to Republicans who happen to be his friends and because “Utah is a heavily Republican state,” he said.
As for a political bias in the decision to cut liberal programming, Simmons said, “The answer is absolutely and unequivocally no.”
Simmons radio stations run the gamut, he said, from very liberal to ultra-conservative. One host, Tom Barberry, is an “unabashed Democrat who castigates the Republican party on a daily basis to the constant chagrin of conservatives,” he said.
Michael Savage airs after Barberry. Savage is “one of the most obnoxious conservatives that you can find on the dial. I'd rather listen to Al Franken than Mike Savage,” Simmons said.
“I think it's extremely dangerous to be in broadcasting and to have a political agenda,” he said. [/b]“The reality for us is we're much more interested in what's going to create success in the markets where we operate.”[/b]
When best-selling author and Air America Radio host Franken heard the news about KKNS, he said: “It's a shock. It doesn't make any sense to me. Our ratings were great. We were beating Rush Limbaugh. I was wiping the floor with Rush.”
Franken, whose show was a popular centerpiece on KKNS, said he doesn't pay much attention to the business side of the radio business. But he loved the turnout at his Missoula benefit show.
“We had like 2 percent of the town!” he said.
And the ratings?
“I looked at those ratings and went, this IS the model. This is what we should be touting. This is THE model,” he said.
“If you're generating those numbers, you should be able to sell to somebody. Advertisers have to know that Missoula is a pretty liberal town. I don't see why advertising on our station would be something to be afraid of,” Franken said.
The decision to kill the station after only eight months on the air showed, at least, that Simmons Media was eager to pull the plug, he said.
Cowan said none of the three stations, bought in a Federal Communications Auction last year, have been profitable yet. But KKNS was on the wrong track, he said.
The station's advertising spots were a tough sell. He said Mount Sentinel ad staff tried to sell time on the three stations together, offering discounts for cross-station buys.
But retailers who flocked to The Trail held KKNS at arm's reach, Cowan said. Company representatives told him they feared alienating customers.
Cowan switched tactics, asking the station's ad reps to sell dry, 15-second National Public Radio-type underwriting ads. The reps also offered cut-rate spots for firms wanting to promote a favorite nonprofit, he said.
But the spots never sold well. The show was simply losing too much money, Cowan said.
Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers Magazine in Springfield, Mass., said talk radio stations are sometimes hard sells in small markets where relationships often mean more than ratings.
“Anything beyond plain vanilla entertainment runs the risk of earning a spot on a ‘no buy' list,” Harrison said.
Station owners rarely make decisions based on political leanings, he said. Radio is ultimately an economic medium, not a political one, Harrison said.
For example, Clear Channel, a publicly traded company owned in large part by the conservative Mays family, has turned more stations into liberal-talk, Air America stations than any other company. Clear Channel is also one of the nation's largest radio companies, with about 1,200 stations.
“The marketplace dictates many times what people get to hear,” Harrison said.
Cowan said advertisers in Missoula simply didn't embrace the liberal format. He regrets not selling the station more creatively, he said.
“It can be done,” Cowan said.
“I hope we get another station there,” Franken said. He said he would gladly return to Missoula.
As for North of Hamilton, he'll change the dial reset button on his car radio. More likely, he'll tune out radio altogether.
“It's discouraging. I only discovered it about six weeks ago. I loved it,” North said.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/03/03/news/local/news03.txt
By ROBERT STRUCKMAN of the Missoulian
Liberal listeners of KKNS 105.9 FM reacted with outrage this week after Salt Lake City-based Simmons Media Group killed the station's progressive talk format.
About six weeks ago, Simmons Media took over the operation of three new Missoula stations previously run by Mount Sentinel Broadcasting, part of a Chicago-based media group known more for wheeling-and-dealing stations than running stations for the long term.
The liberal talk featuring local news and Air America Radio made waves in Missoula when Mount Sentinel first began airing the format last summer. And Air America host Al Franken visited the city for a taping of his show earlier this year.
On Monday and Tuesday this week, Simmons replaced the liberal talk format with “jack rock,” saying the station's advertising space wasn't selling despite a respectable 3.6 share of the area's radio audience - as measured by Oregon-based Eastlan Resources. “Jack” is a term meaning a mix of Top 40, hair band, rock and pop music.
The switch didn't sit well with the station's audience.
“I got dozens of calls,” said Dave Cowan, general manager of KKNS and its two sister stations, KDTR 103.3 FM and KKVU 104.5 FM.
Many listeners cried foul, saying the death of liberal talk on KKNS is another example of conservative media owners influencing the content. Simmons owner David E. Simmons gave $12,000 to the Republican Party and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in 2005. He has also contributed to President Bush, as well as local Utah candidates.
But Simmons denied any political motivation in the programming change.
“I have donated to the Republican Party. I've also donated to Democratic candidates,” Simmons said. The bulk of his contributions have gone to Republicans who happen to be his friends and because “Utah is a heavily Republican state,” he said.
As for a political bias in the decision to cut liberal programming, Simmons said, “The answer is absolutely and unequivocally no.”
Simmons radio stations run the gamut, he said, from very liberal to ultra-conservative. One host, Tom Barberry, is an “unabashed Democrat who castigates the Republican party on a daily basis to the constant chagrin of conservatives,” he said.
Michael Savage airs after Barberry. Savage is “one of the most obnoxious conservatives that you can find on the dial. I'd rather listen to Al Franken than Mike Savage,” Simmons said.
“I think it's extremely dangerous to be in broadcasting and to have a political agenda,” he said. [/b]“The reality for us is we're much more interested in what's going to create success in the markets where we operate.”[/b]
When best-selling author and Air America Radio host Franken heard the news about KKNS, he said: “It's a shock. It doesn't make any sense to me. Our ratings were great. We were beating Rush Limbaugh. I was wiping the floor with Rush.”
Franken, whose show was a popular centerpiece on KKNS, said he doesn't pay much attention to the business side of the radio business. But he loved the turnout at his Missoula benefit show.
“We had like 2 percent of the town!” he said.
And the ratings?
“I looked at those ratings and went, this IS the model. This is what we should be touting. This is THE model,” he said.
“If you're generating those numbers, you should be able to sell to somebody. Advertisers have to know that Missoula is a pretty liberal town. I don't see why advertising on our station would be something to be afraid of,” Franken said.
The decision to kill the station after only eight months on the air showed, at least, that Simmons Media was eager to pull the plug, he said.
Cowan said none of the three stations, bought in a Federal Communications Auction last year, have been profitable yet. But KKNS was on the wrong track, he said.
The station's advertising spots were a tough sell. He said Mount Sentinel ad staff tried to sell time on the three stations together, offering discounts for cross-station buys.
But retailers who flocked to The Trail held KKNS at arm's reach, Cowan said. Company representatives told him they feared alienating customers.
Cowan switched tactics, asking the station's ad reps to sell dry, 15-second National Public Radio-type underwriting ads. The reps also offered cut-rate spots for firms wanting to promote a favorite nonprofit, he said.
But the spots never sold well. The show was simply losing too much money, Cowan said.
Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers Magazine in Springfield, Mass., said talk radio stations are sometimes hard sells in small markets where relationships often mean more than ratings.
“Anything beyond plain vanilla entertainment runs the risk of earning a spot on a ‘no buy' list,” Harrison said.
Station owners rarely make decisions based on political leanings, he said. Radio is ultimately an economic medium, not a political one, Harrison said.
For example, Clear Channel, a publicly traded company owned in large part by the conservative Mays family, has turned more stations into liberal-talk, Air America stations than any other company. Clear Channel is also one of the nation's largest radio companies, with about 1,200 stations.
“The marketplace dictates many times what people get to hear,” Harrison said.
Cowan said advertisers in Missoula simply didn't embrace the liberal format. He regrets not selling the station more creatively, he said.
“It can be done,” Cowan said.
“I hope we get another station there,” Franken said. He said he would gladly return to Missoula.
As for North of Hamilton, he'll change the dial reset button on his car radio. More likely, he'll tune out radio altogether.
“It's discouraging. I only discovered it about six weeks ago. I loved it,” North said.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/03/03/news/local/news03.txt
