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Progressive talk

A

ajhenderson

I'm sure this has been covered here before, but I was scrolling through the latest trends and it appears Tampa is (once BMP's stations in Dallas and Houston sign on) the largest market without liberal talk. Certainly, brokered and (also brokered) religious stations are especially prominent across Florida, but are they any other possibilities?

WTIS 1110 - probably have to be sold first, and it's a daytimer, but don't they have trouble competing against Salem's two Christian talkers?
WQBN 1300 - anemic night signal, but barely shows in Arbitron
WAMA 1500 - same signal problem, and ratings no show (not many other Spanish choices, though)

Just a thought
 
Funny that this topic comes up on here today... I was talking with someone (who works in the IT industry) just yesterday who lives in Tampa and listens to AAR -- via the internet. He told me he'd listen over the air if it was an option.

> WTIS 1110 - probably have to be sold first, and it's a
> daytimer, but don't they have trouble competing against
> Salem's two Christian talkers?

That 10,000 watt daytime signal is strong, to be sure, though because it is a daytime-only station it is at a disadvantage. Unlike Salem's talkers, this one is very locally oriented, from what little I know about it. I concur with the thought that it would have to be sold first for it to change formats.

> WQBN 1300 - anemic night signal, but barely shows in Arbitron

At least this one has a nighttime signal. Efrain Archilla-Roig (the station owner) would likely have to sell first for AAR to come there.

> WAMA 1500 - same signal problem, and ratings no show (not
> many other Spanish choices, though)

WAMA is part of a two station cluster with WRMD (owned by ZGS Broadcast Holdings), so it could be sold in combo. I'd imagine that until Tampa sees a Spanish FM station, the Spanish AMs won't give up their piece of the pie.

<P ID="signature">______________
Lou Pickney
Tampa, FL
RadioHotTalk.com & VarietyHits.com</P>
 
The problem with this market regarding AM stations is that too many of them are either Spanish Language programmed or religious of some sort. I used to do contract engineering and Satellite feed installations all over Florida and it's been my experience that the religious stations Especially TV, have the most stuff, best equipped studios. When the money gets a little low, they cry and whine on the air that the earth is falling. Just like Jim and Tammy, only without the makeup. This does not leave many stations that truly cover the market left. We are missing other formats that you normally see on AM stations: Pre Beatles Oldies, Classic Country, but there isnt a signal to put them on that would support it. The smaller stations have to pimp time by the hour, and the better stations have more lucrative formats. I doubt you will see AAR on a Tampa station unless Clear Channel does it on one of their 3 superiour signals. They did blow up their Detroit Sports format for it, so, who knows, it could happen here. They also flipped one of the most powerful stations in the country, WSAI now back to WCKY 1530 in Covington KY (Cincy. If you want AAR on the radio, you can easily get it on either 1690, or 1530 after dark. Just remember, this format does not get very good ratings. In New York, Air America should do well, but it has lower ratings than the Carribean format it replaced.





> Funny that this topic comes up on here today... I was
> talking with someone (who works in the IT industry) just
> yesterday who lives in Tampa and listens to AAR -- via the
> internet. He told me he'd listen over the air if it was an
> option.
>
> > WTIS 1110 - probably have to be sold first, and it's a
> > daytimer, but don't they have trouble competing against
> > Salem's two Christian talkers?
>
> That 10,000 watt daytime signal is strong, to be sure,
> though because it is a daytime-only station it is at a
> disadvantage. Unlike Salem's talkers, this one is very
> locally oriented, from what little I know about it. I
> concur with the thought that it would have to be sold first
> for it to change formats.
>
> > WQBN 1300 - anemic night signal, but barely shows in
> Arbitron
>
> At least this one has a nighttime signal. Efrain
> Archilla-Roig (the station owner) would likely have to sell
> first for AAR to come there.
>
> > WAMA 1500 - same signal problem, and ratings no show (not
> > many other Spanish choices, though)
>
> WAMA is part of a two station cluster with WRMD (owned by
> ZGS Broadcast Holdings), so it could be sold in combo. I'd
> imagine that until Tampa sees a Spanish FM station, the
> Spanish AMs won't give up their piece of the pie.
>
 
Okay so let me ask you a question... who the hell really wants to listen to Liberal Talk Radio (Air America) ???

I hit their website and have listened to the streaming audio for the past two hours and have a few thoughts to share...follow along with me here.

In the early 80's, Ronald Reagan had just taken the White House. Both houses of congress were liberal. The Supreme Court and most benches acorss America were liberal. Fox News Channel was just a twinkle in Roger Ailes' eyes.

The only place you heard grass roots GOP banter was on local talkradio... mostly from aging Goldwater conservative callers who were old and feeble. They were AWFUL callers by todays standards... The hosts were mostly old disc jockeys who didn't want to offend anyone, but is was ENTERTAINING to hear the hosts bait the old farts into calling.... and they did. Local Talkradio was freakin' AWSOME.

Then the Rush wanna bees took over... the callers had the same opinions as the hosts... it was the same ideas and conversations day in and day out. And it sucked.

Then the Telecommunications Act of 96 came along and killed local talkradio, but that's another thread.

Today's Liberal Talkradio is not funny, it's not entertaining, it's not educational, and it sure as hell isn't profitable.
Listen to the streaming fed from their website... the commercials aren't paying spots... it's a bunch of PI's (Per inquiries) Even the institutional national advertisers who refuse to air spots in conservative talkradio won't even sponsor this garbage.

It's just like a group of GOP callers calling and agreeing with Rush everyday. YAWN!!! AAR's hosts are angry and frustrated that they're no longer in power and they sound like a bunch of crybabies... and the callers... what a bunch of loosers. They're either intellectual pinheads, or screaming Dean-iacs. It SUCKS !!!!

Face it... AAR doesn't even work in the blue states in large urban areas (democratic strongholds) why the hell do you think it would work HERE ????

jeez... Howard Stern can't even get a following here... what makes you think Al Franken, Jeanne Garafolo, and that shrill b*tch Randi Rhodes will attract an audience, and thus advertisers.

You want Air America to be a success... tell them to jettison the entire airstaff of whiny, activist liberal weenies. Hire a group of left leaning, (but not whiny liberal) radio entertainers, clean up the production elements, ban those hideous liberal callers, encourage so called NASCAR Dads and soccer Moms to call, then Am-bush (no pun intended)them with the "truth" Now, THAT would be fun to listen to.

(Just imagine a 21st century version of the Bob Lassiter Show!)

Ed



> I'm sure this has been covered here before, but I was
> scrolling through the latest trends and it appears Tampa is
> (once BMP's stations in Dallas and Houston sign on) the
> largest market without liberal talk.
 
> The problem with this market regarding AM stations is that
> too many of them are either Spanish Language programmed or
> religious of some sort. I used to do contract engineering
> and Satellite feed installations all over Florida and it's
> been my experience that the religious stations Especially
> TV, have the most stuff, best equipped studios. When the
> money gets a little low, they cry and whine on the air that
> the earth is falling. Just like Jim and Tammy, only without
> the makeup. This does not leave many stations that truly
> cover the market left. We are missing other formats that
> you normally see on AM stations: Pre Beatles Oldies,
> Classic Country, but there isnt a signal to put them on that
> would support it. The smaller stations have to pimp time by
> the hour, and the better stations have more lucrative
> formats. I doubt you will see AAR on a Tampa station unless
> Clear Channel does it on one of their 3 superiour signals.
> They did blow up their Detroit Sports format for it, so, who
> knows, it could happen here. They also flipped one of the
> most powerful stations in the country, WSAI now back to WCKY
> 1530 in Covington KY (Cincy. If you want AAR on the radio,
> you can easily get it on either 1690, or 1530 after dark.
> Just remember, this format does not get very good ratings.
> In New York, Air America should do well, but it has lower
> ratings than the Carribean format it replaced.

They actually flipped WXDX - their conservative talker (Beck, Savage, Hendrie) - in Detroit. WDFN is still sports.
 
First of all, please cite where I singled out AAR. If I were to program a libtalk station, I'd use Rhodes and Franken (only until ANYONE ELSE gets syndicated in that spot) only. Steph Miller, Ed Schultz, etc., are the talkers that will do well, because they don't have to be on rabid leftwing stations.

And as to Randi, I don't know about Tampa Bay, but she is still kicking in WPB (of course, more liberal).
 
you can easily get it on either 1690, or 1530 after dark.
> Just remember, this format does not get very good ratings.
> In New York, Air America should do well, but it has lower
> ratings than the Carribean format it replaced.

Sigh. This has become something like a right-wing urban legend. The Air America station in New York is WLIB, which has a lousy signal and therefore will never have very good ratings. Since it changed formats there have been a couple of Arbitron books where its 12+ share was one-tenth of one percent lower than it had with its former format, but generally its shares have been as good or better than during its Caribbean music days. Not that there's anything wrong with a Caribbean format, since the number two radio station in New York has a tropical music format. And the current WLIB audience -- relatively affulent liberals -- is more desirable to advertisers than Caribbean immigrants.

Meanwhile, despite its lousy signal, WLIB has become the number two political talk station in New York in the demographic that advertisers really carry about -- 25 to 54. It beats 50,000 watt WOR (Bill O'Reilly and Michael Savage) in that demo and isn't that far behind 50,000 watt WABC (Limbaugh and Hannity) in 25-54.

By the way, the latest Arbitrend shows that WABC has lost 29 percent of its overall audience since last fall, while WLIB has increased its overall audience by eight percent.
 
Brokered radio keeps prog talk out

The reason why progressive talk isn't on here and in many other Florida markets is brokered talk. Brokering shows at $50 a pop keeps small stations going and makes it impossible for them to switch format. Florida is number one or number two for brokered AM radio in the entire country, between the paid religion, the financial shows, the health shows, and the foreign language programs. 1110 isn't changing its format until the last check bounces and the last worn-out tape of the last radio preacher who passed on in 1972 dies in the tape machine. Then they'll just go dark and sell their bayside real estate for more than the station was ever worth.

P.S. If you want to hear talk radio like it was in the early 80's, check out KDWN 720 in Las Vegas. Ancient callers and nearly-ancient hosts. It's like a radio time warp. Of course, the station isn't owned by a chain with hundreds of others...
 
Liberal radio would rule the airwaves, but the FCC would never allow. Hopefully we can overturn the illegal election of Bush and get a real liberal to run the FCC. Then we can shut down the religious right driven Clear Channel, and get real American liberal talk on the air.

Hillary for President in '08!!!
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by TampaRadioFan on 06/24/05 12:44 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> Liberal radio would rule the airwaves, but the FCC would
> never allow. Hopefully we can overturn the illegal election
> of Bush and get a real liberal to run the FCC. Then we can
> shut down the religious right driven Clear Channel, and get
> real American liberal talk on the air.
>
> Hillary for President in '08!!!
>

Umm, I am speechless and I am a liberal myself...<P ID="signature">______________
graham at TPA
America's Favorite Airport</P>
 
> > Liberal radio would rule the airwaves, but the FCC would
> > never allow. Hopefully we can overturn the illegal
> election
> > of Bush and get a real liberal to run the FCC. Then we
> can
> > shut down the religious right driven Clear Channel, and
> get
> > real American liberal talk on the air.
> >
> > Hillary for President in '08!!!
> >
>
> Umm, I am speechless and I am a liberal myself...

It's a spoof, designed to make liberals look bad. Clear Channel, of course, has been instrumental in keeping Air America, Ed Schultz, and other liberals on the air.

Interestingly, there was a recent poll on the liberal blog "dailykos.com" and Hillary got little support. The top choice for the Democratic presidential nomination in '08 was Wes Clark.
 
> Clear Channel, of course, has been instrumental in keeping
> Air America and Ed Schultz on the air.

There's a simple explanation for why "liberal" radio has a tough time gaining traction. Conservatives, by and large, are quite intolerant of opposing viewpoints and will refuse to read or listen to anything that conflicts with their belief system. Liberals, on the other hand, listen to conservative talk radio in large numbers.

So "conservative" radio can make it in most any market, "liberal" radio can survive only in heavily liberal areas.
 
>
> There's a simple explanation for why "liberal" radio has a
> tough time gaining traction. Conservatives, by and large,
> are quite intolerant of opposing viewpoints and will refuse
> to read or listen to anything that conflicts with their
> belief system. Liberals, on the other hand, listen to
> conservative talk radio in large numbers.
>
> So "conservative" radio can make it in most any market,
> "liberal" radio can survive only in heavily liberal areas.
>

WOW! Wish I would have wrote that. So what we need are all us liberals to boycott conversative radio, while only supporting liberal radio. I guess we are our own worst enemies as we listen to Rush, Sean, Bill, etc. - and support this conversative bull. What should I be listening to in the Tampa area? No more WFLA for me.
 
> There's a simple explanation for why "liberal" radio has a
> tough time gaining traction. Conservatives, by and large,
> are quite intolerant of opposing viewpoints and will refuse
> to read or listen to anything that conflicts with their
> belief system. Liberals, on the other hand, listen to
> conservative talk radio in large numbers.
>
> So "conservative" radio can make it in most any market,
> "liberal" radio can survive only in heavily liberal areas.

Interesting take. A friend of mine, who is a lifetime Democrat/liberal, told me this past weekend that he listens to the right-wing talkers sometimes for laughs. Only one problem: he had his car radio (no joke) get stuck on one of the righty talkers (not sure which one, it's in the city where he lives, St. Louis), and it was stuck like that for 3 months. His wife was not amused. At all.

I think the real problem is that liberal/progressive radio needs more people like Ed Schultz, and less comedic types like Al Franken. Just my opinion, though. BTW, have any of you heard Jerry Springer's show? Is it any good? Springer is articulate, and I think he's smarter than 99% of the population realizes. But that alone does not make one a good radio host. I haven't been in Sarasota when his show has been on to hear it down there, and it doesn't air in Tampa (at least not at this time).<P ID="signature">______________
Lou Pickney
Tampa, FL
RadioHotTalk.com & VarietyHits.com</P>
 
> So "conservative" radio can make it in most any market,
> "liberal" radio can survive only in heavily liberal areas.
>
Not really. You only need a 1.5 share (or even less) to make money, especially if you're running nothing but syndicated programming and not paying local talent. Radio is a niche medium and there are enough liberals almost anywhere to make lib talk pay. Kerry got 48 percent of the vote nationally and at least that in most big markets, even in so-called "red states."
 
> So what we need are all
> us liberals to boycott conversative radio, while only
> supporting liberal radio. I guess we are our own worst
> enemies as we listen to Rush, Sean, Bill, etc. - and support
> this conversative bull. What should I be listening to in
> the Tampa area? No more WFLA for me.
>
Of course it makes no difference what station or host you listen to. The only thing that counts is entries in Arbitron diaries, whether the diary keepers have been listening to the radio or not. Hardly scientific and subject to tremendous abuse by "fans."
 
Progressive talk will make it to Tampa eventually, though currently there is no obvious potential outlet. I would think "The Buzz" might weigh the Prog Talk option once Stern goes bye-bye. And I wouldn't count out a receiveable out-of market signal doing so sooner. For example, Orlando's "The Team" is a non-starter in the ratings and has a fair to good daytime signal here in Pinellas.

Of AAR's lineup, Franken is my favorite (I've always preferred humor to bombast), but I'll be the first to admit his approach is not for everyone. Bombast is what traditional talk listeners have come to expect, and smart and funny is the polar opposite of the current face of talk radio (a.k.a. Rush).

Franken and Springer may be the big names, but I wouldn't be suprised if someone else at AAR (or elsewhere) ends up being "the" progressive radio talk icon.

As an aside, Clear Channel recently launched a non-AAR Prog talk outlet in Ohio (was already an AAR affil. in the market). So you know there's money in it.
 
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