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Pending Doom For Talk 1200 In Boston

600 stations for Rush; Hannity and Beck (despite recent defections) still have many many more than
prog talkers. Surely those on the right can accuse those on the left of the "same old same old", etc.
It all depends on where you're standing (and indeed, your views of Mr. McCain, Mr. O'Reilly,
and Mr. Romney can be vastly different--arch-conservatives to the Left, "Republicans In Name
Only" to the Right).
If anything the Right should be faulted for not finding a way to have taxpayers fund their
viewpoints, as the Left does with NPR.`Darn, missed opportunity. For a true "fairness doctrine",
NPR should give equal time to Rightie talkers, and on the taxpayers' dime. Talk Of The Nation
with Ed Schultz and Rush Limbaugh, today on NPR. Yeah, that would be fun. (NPR has many
affiliates, too; but Rush's show isn't paid for in part by taxpayer dollars. There's the difference.
Why bother listening to Air America when you can have taxpayer-funded NPR?)

Ed Schultz: "I tell you what, if I lived in Massachusetts I'd try to vote 10 times. I don't know if they'd let me or not, but I'd try to. Yeah, that's right. I'd cheat to keep these bastards out. I would. 'Cause that's exactly what they are."

Amazing he isn't on 600 stations too...eh.
 
And btw if libtalk is so good why hasn't Entercom, Greater Media, or CBS tried it on WRKO, WTKK,
or WBZ, respectively? (Admittedly Eagan and Braude and Steve Leveille may be less conservative than most hosts though). Or maybe Clear Channel would return 1200 to libtalk, with that nice strong signal.
They even syndie Randi Rhodes, IIRC*. But why hasn't RKO tried to go lefty since its ratings are
dwindling? Surely they can cast aside Howie Carr for that dazzling Thom Hartmann. WTKK likes
being local--they should contact Jeff Santos to do local progressive talk on 96.9, shouldn't they?
Surely TKK could run Mike Malloy instead of Smerconish or Batchelor. Wouldn't RKO do better with
Schultz (Ed, not Dwight--an occasional fill in for Savage) instead of Savage. That would put their
ratings in the stratosphere...

*-- http://premiereradio.com/shows/view/randi_rhodes.html
 
progressivetalk said:
Maybe the "real" reason no one is listening to AM 1200 is that this nation is finally sick and tired of listening to "the drugster" (Rush), Hannity and Beck and the three of them combined haven't had an original or intelligent thought in decades?? Even bullshit walks only so far before someone calls it out!!!
Click to expand...

you wish!!
 
raccoonradio said:
For a true "fairness doctrine", NPR should give equal time to Rightie talkers, and on the taxpayers' dime.
Click to expand...

You obviously don't listen to NPR. NPR does just that and has been doing just that for several decades. Don't give me O'Keefe's (or whatever his name is) video as proof that I'm wrong. The video was taken apart by no less an authority than Glenn Beck! The video that O'Keefe released was a clever job of editing to make a stupid (and now terminated) NPR exec look even more stupid than he already was. Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly), the fact that the video was a hatchet job never reached 90+ percent of those who watched and ate up O'Keefe's original version.
 
Talk 1200 (or Blowhard 1200) shouldn't feel too bad. They are one tenth of a percentage point ahead of WOKQ Dover, N.H., WWBB,and WSNE, Providence.
 
Not sure how they do in 25-54s, prob not much better, but if you're going by 6+ even WRKO
has gotten horrible ratings lately what with PPMs. If anything I wouldn't mind some of the 1200
shows shifting to RKO or TKK, and do what you will with the 1200 (even prog talk) but I'm not holding my breath--and also unless they make a sudden change in plans, the "pending doom" will not come soon. Hiring of Paula and Eric, TV ads, etc. I see them hanging on till at least after the '12
elections.

Some of us have been talking on twitter about news/talk shifting to FM...AM's days are numbered etc. Will a shift happen here? Will RKO or XKS change to a diff format?
----------------------------------------
bostonradio tweeted: model car building will outlive AM broadcasting...For most big corporate radio chains a critical mass audience must generate a profit margin of at least 50%....In Boston there are only two stations that can generate that--Entercom's WEEI 850 and CBS' WBZ 1030. WRKO 680's days r numbered
-----------------------------------------

Don't know when their time will run out for certain but I'd anticipate XKS and RKO to stay with it awhile longer at least
 
I haven't heard much NPR news, but some past experiences with NPR talk have given me the impression.

Beck btw may be imploding, so maybe he may not be much of an authority anymore. As for
creative editing, when O'Keefe does it (if so), it's a travesty. When Michael Moore does it
(see previous deconstructions on the Web and in books), it's "speaking truth to power" :)
 
Jimmy128 said:
Talk 1200 (or Blowhard 1200) shouldn't feel too bad. They are one tenth of a percentage point ahead of WOKQ Dover, N.H., WWBB,and WSNE, Providence.
Click to expand...

So back to the matter at hand, this station has no listeners.

Is it possible that Boston is just "overtalked"? I spend a lot of time in Nashville, where there are three serious talk stations: a heritage AM owned by Clear Channel with Rush & Co., an upstart FM with heavy local programming, and the popular sports-talk FM which actually talks sports. The local NPR station runs classical music during nights/overnights/weekends, and talk the rest of the time.

If you look at Boston, Talk 1200, 96.9 FM Talk, and 680 WRKO are really all offering the same product. None of these hosts are pulling waiting room radios away from WODS or WMJX, you just have talk listeners flipping from one to another.

Add in sports radio with 98.5 The Sports Hub and WEEI, not to mention the NPR talk on 89.7 WGBH and 90.9 WBUR, and you have seven stations going after the spoken-word audience. It seems like no surprise that some of them (WGBH, 1200, and now 98.5's slump) aren't going to be doing too well. It also seems really clear why Kiss is pulling a 10 share.
 
It could well be overtalked which is what I was saying in some earlier posts--of WRKO, WTKK, and
WXKS at least one could fall and there would be room for two solid stations--local and syndie alike.

"No" listeners a slight exagerration; that would be a 0.0, but let's say "hardly any".
WBZ does have talk 8 pm-5:30 am (or so with Rea and then Leveille/Rich), they can easily stay the same. BZ is not full time talk; most of their lineup is news.

>>some of them (WGBH, 1200, and now 98.5's slump) aren't going to be doing too well.

98.5 may get peaks and valleys but just imagine if there's no NFL season this upcoming fall!

Imaginary lineups--I know, just playing fantasy radio (like fantasy baseball) here

WRKO:
6 am Jeff Katz
9 am Laura Ingraham
Noon Money Matters
1 pm Finneran, Fineberg, and Michele or Dennis Miller but try to keep local
3 pm Howie Carr
7 pm Hannity tape delay? Savage? Local? Levin?
10 pm Savage? Doyle?
1 am Redeye

WTKK:
6 am: Eagan and Braude (under contract still)
9 am: Graham
Noon: Rush Limbaugh
3 pm Severin
7 pm Hannity tape delay
10 pm Who knows. Randi Rhodes? Alan Colmes?
1 am Coast to Coast

WXKS 1200: Name your format

In some ways I wouldn't want to see 1200 go due to the talkers but I'd prefer to have them
on a strong signal like 96.9 instead.

My changes may not necessarily make a difference, other than consolidating lineups onto 2 stations from 3. Imagine Rush on a powerful FM, just like on Rush Radio 99.5 New Orleans...
 
Jimmy128 said:
Talk 1200... shouldn't feel too bad. They are one tenth of a percentage point ahead of WOKQ Dover, N.H., WWBB, and WSNE, Providence.
Click to expand...

It'll be interesting if WALE in Providence gives 1200 a run for their money!
 
It was mentioned in an earlier reply that to help "Blowhard 1200" is to have Katz go out and make public appearances .......a reliable source reports that as soon as the Fox News hits at 10:00 am - Katz is out the door. He is more concerned about going home than getting better ratings.

On another note I feel it is time for Katz to stop saying that he is putting info on his webpage and preparing for the show at 1:00 am - "Cry me a river !!!!!"

With ratings as low as his I would show up to the station 5 minutes before the show......
 
If it's the same reliable source predicting doom for them...

Well, it may come, but not as soon as one would think. And that could also apply to a station like
RKO, but they're sticking with talk for the time being even if they're pushing for the few that haven't
totally fled to FM and/or the 65-to-death demo. OK, exaggerating a bit there, though the talk
demo does tend to be older. Some companies are moving or simulcasting their news/talk stations
on FM because of the "AM? what's that?" deal. Maybe younger listeners can be found on FM.
So, doom on the way maybe but not as soon as one would think.

Jeff Katz on his facebook page: "every once in a while i check out a "discussion board" for laughs...just too funny to read "inside" info and trade "secrets" from folks who obviously do not now, nor have ever, worked in the radio business ROFLMAO is it just radio that has boards like this or does your profession have them too?"

(for the record I am in the radio biz--30 yrs...)
 
I enjoy the Katz morning show. I still mostly listen to T&R, but with 2012 getting closer and closer I'll switch from sports to politics. I think the downfall of 1200 is Beck. I can't take him and his lap dog producer. Since they got rid of the Rush brand, maybe they should switch Beck with a more left leaning show? I'd love a local show coming from a POV I don't see eye to eye with.
 
Well, CC/Premiere is pressuring them to run Beck for clearance but who knows how long he may keep doing the radio and/or TV show and he may have been getting wild and crazy (or at least
gloom and doom--part of the time) lately. I half wonder if he will next ask listeners to get out of their chairs, to go to their windows, open them up, stick their head out and yell 'I'm as mad as hell and
I'm not going to take this anymore!' (RIP Mr. Chayefsky, Mr. Holden, and Mr. Williams!)

I think Buckley Radio has dropped him in several markets including Hartford, now (WDRC and its sister stations). This is where, as expected, you hear me mention Dennis Miller as a possible
substitute (he is to the left socially) but right now he's back on RKO, Sunday nights apparently.

>>I'd love a local show coming from a POV I don't see eye to eye with.

Local can be good. They already are doing one thing 1200 didn't do in the prog talk days: having a daily local show (Santos was only on Sun afternoons)
 
Talk 1200 needs to do at least 2 things to hope they get some ratings......Come up with a different morning show....Katz has bounced around from market to market - he clearly doens't have the talent to get listeners in a major market. His act may work in smaller markets but not here. Talk 1200 also needs to add more local programming , just having Katz and Lobel and Bell on Sunday's is clearly not enough.

Maybe Katz needs someone to play off in the AM - they should let him banter with Angela Anderson - the morning news anchor.
 
Good points; I have enjoyed Katz when he filled in for Howie, though I work the type of hours where I don't get up till right around the very end of his show, if at all.
 
bobbailey said:
[Katz] clearly doens't have the talent to get listeners in a major market. His act may work in smaller markets but not here. Talk 1200 also needs to add more local programming...

Katz needs someone to play off in the AM - they should let him banter with Angela Anderson - the morning news anchor.
Click to expand...

Yes! And if he could stop lauging at everything he says and Angela could get the local sports teams schedules correct it would be sweet!

And bring back Beck's first hour (I know I'm in the minority on that one)
 
You are correct, the only person that thinks his material is funny is Katz himself. It is also funny that you mentioned Angela Anderson getting the local sports teams schedules right....never mind that .....how about getting the names of the teams that the local teams play correct......I remember laughing out loud the fact that when the Red Sox were playing the L.A. Angels last year - she referred to them as the L.A. Dodgers in at least 5 newscasts..............was anyone listening ????? of coarse not !!!!!!!!!!

Katz has also stated many times on the air that he is not a sports fan and doesn't know a football from a hockey puck......get with the program you fool....what kind of man , especially in this market, would say that publicly......

Another negitive thing that Katz did in his career - there are so many - appear as the "new" boyfriend on the Jerry Springer Show - check out the link - Katz comes on stage 5 minutes into the clip.......

GREAT career move Jeff !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzL-EK-0Kwc
 
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