State Of Right Wing Talk Radio In Boston Area

[Casablanca]

Right wing talk radio in Boston did its best to discredit the gubernatorial polling which showed the eventual Democratic primary winner, Deval Patrick, in the lead. The polling was conducted by independent polling companies and one by the University of New Hampshire which certainly did not have dog in this fight. Nonetheless, right-wing talk radio droned on that the polling was rigged against any conservative.

Obviously, the polling was correct and even a bit conservative since Deval Patrick did better than any of the polling predicted.

The question now remains whether this is an indication that right-wing talk radio's influence in voting direction has waned.

Seems that it is a clear indication that right-wing talk radio is only preaching to the choir and it audience is retrenching rather than expanding. Perhaps, they are not going to AirAmerica but this primary race shows the Emperor has no clothes if he had any to begin with.

Time may be running out on the contentious but very predictable and boring right-wing talk radio.

 

[raccoonradio]

>>Totally boring, unpopular shows go on and on

boring to left-wingers, maybe, not to right wingers or moderates. And I find Franken, etc. boring. So it cuts both ways.

If the shows are so unpopular why are they still on? Why hasn't WRKO become Classic Country 680
or La Mega 680? Why is WTKK running Graham, Severin, and Ingraham instead of Kenny G and Tom Scott?
Money, money, money...People are listening.

How 'bout the state of Left Wing talk radio in Boston, stations whose ratings, if translated to baseball,
would be the Tampa Bay Devil Rays or Kansas City Royals (both are 58-94; 34 and 33 games behind,
respectively.) A state where Democrats dominate politically yet lefty talk radio swings and misses.
One, two, three strikes you're out at the old talkradio game.

 

[raccoonradio]

In the latest 12+ ratings, twice as many people listen to WJIB as do listen to both Air America stations combined...

For the record, Salem's conservatalker WTTT is a no-show.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

The question now remains whether this is an indication that right-wing talk radio's influence in voting direction has waned.

No. The question is whether right-wing talk radio had any influence to begin with. Touting audience shares for Rush, Hannity et al., which are generally less than 10 in each of their markets, as being "influential" is an exercise in futility...no, make that hysterical laughter. Moreover, what credentials do these talk show hosts have anyhow? The only credential they all have is that some company pays them to talk on the radio. They are entertainers, not purveyors of fact. That's what they're paid for, despite Rush's pompous and out-of-touch bumblings about "The Limbaugh Institute for Conservative Thought" (which is a misnomer if I ever heard one).

 

[Casablanca]

Actually, Al Franken is sometimes interesting and fun to listen to. He has a Bob & Ray sense of humor and you hear viewpoints and guest the right wing would never let you hear.

Agree or disagree it is at least an attempt at balance.

Far from perfect radio but good to have an alternative

 

[AKLes]

He has a Bob & Ray sense of humor......

To Bob & Ray purists you have just performed the equivalent of a public flag burning!

 

[raccoonradio]

>>Bob & Ray sense of humor

not much in the delivery department. I tried to watch him talk just now on Tucker Carlson. Not a radio, or
even TV-friendly voice.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

How 'bout the state of Left Wing talk radio in Boston, stations whose ratings, if translated to baseball, would be the Tampa Bay Devil Rays or Kansas City Royals (both are 58-94; 34 and 33 games behind, respectively.) A state where Democrats dominate politically yet lefty talk radio swings and misses.

Because they're non-comm, WBUR's ratings are not published to the public, but I'm sure they're still blowing all other news/talkers out of the water in the 25-54, as they have been for a while now. I haven't seen the latest non-comm trends myself, but they were topping that demo in the spring book, and within the top five in the 12+, well above RKO.

It's hard to say how much better (if at all) the AAR affiliates would do if not for WBUR. I think that many public radio listeners don't care for the delivery and sound of a lot of commercial talk radio regardless of any viewpoints or politics that may be expressed.

 

[Lucylu]

I liked Franken way back in the 80's when he was still funny. He seemed to have lost most of his sense of humor when he got sober. It was very funny to hear him on AAF the other morning walking all over Greg "ummmmm" Hill.

Even funnier was listening to LB wait until Franken hung up before he grew his beer muscles and started jumping in with his rather weak attack on Franken. Personally I am conservative, but that morning show on AAF is really hurting the right wing with their poorly constructed arguments and holding up their mildly retarded board op. Spaz as the voice of the left is pathetic.

Sure, they can prove their point when arguing with a pin-headed tub of goo, but they run like they are French when faced with someone with half a brain like Franken. Sad.

 

[TowerBuzz]

I liked Franken way back in the 80's when he was still funny. He seemed to have lost most of his sense of humor when he got sober. It was very funny to hear him on AAF the other morning walking all over Greg "ummmmm" Hill.

Even funnier was listening to LB wait until Franken hung up before he grew his beer muscles and started jumping in with his rather weak attack on Franken. Personally I am conservative, but that morning show on AAF is really hurting the right wing with their poorly constructed arguments and holding up their mildly retarded board op. Spaz as the voice of the left is pathetic.

Sure, they can prove their point when arguing with a pin-headed tub of goo, but they run like they are French when faced with someone with half a brain like Franken. Sad.


I agree with lucy that Franken was great way back when he was funny. He thinks he has a purpose now annd he's not just there to get a laugh anymore. Those guys have always been that way tough guys when they dont have their adversary in front of them. LB never made it past the locker room evolutionally speaking, the high school locker room. Like most blue collar conservative dudes they are and do not even really know why. Not huge thinkers there.

 

[Django]

I'll listen to Greg some mornings, he's a solid broadcaster but they should all run and hide from politics on that show, they're not as good at doing it occassionaly as Opie and Anthony are.

 

[Mickey37]

The influence of talk radio itself is still significant. THAT's what I'm glad about. Whether it's 'RKO, 'TKK, or 'BZ at night, politics still matters, to host/proucers and the audience as well.

Important topics are discussed, debated and dissected, so that hopefully, listeners will learn something about the people who want to serve in public office.

Be a left-wing liberal, or be an arch-conservative, but get involved. Vote.

 

[False]

Maybe WRKO's mission is to attract an audience for its advertisers, not to get any particular person or party elected. Complain about WRKO and WTKK all you like but they each have a much larger audience than WKOX/WXKS because WRKO and WTKK both put content first while Air America merely carries on a political crusade that veers from boring at times to embarrassingly silly. You might not like the content's message, but their content is relevant and delivered in a very engaging way. Since WRKO upped Jason Wolfe to program director and the station re-imaged itself, the morning, mid-day, and night timeslots especially have become much more aggressive and focused.

Jason Wolfe has long been the program director at WEEI. That station's hosts are famous for viciously attacking the Red Sox's owners and players even though the Red Sox are probably more popular in Boston than the Democratic Party is. The paradox is that the more WEEI attacks the Sox (and the Celtics, and the Bruins, etc) the higher the ratings go. It may be counter-intuitive, but it works because it's more interesting to hear a good radio personality go after a sacred cow than to praise it. WRKO might be playing by the same "reverse psychology" strategy. Talk radio stations in other dominantly liberal cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Detroit, and Philadelphia do the same with considerable success.

Don't forget that many if not most Boston listeners have no idea what WRKO is due to an almost total lack of promotion, marketing, and advertising of the station since Entercom bought it. When the Red Sox are heard on WRKO next spring and more people learn what that station is, once again it will be a serious force to be reckoned with in this market.

 

[raccoonradio]

I agree. And note that WRKO doesn't always praise Bush/Republicans, etc. When they disagree (about
the ports deal, immigration, etc.) the hosts and callers say so.
Lib talk host Alan Colmes--not heard here--was the same way during the Clinton years and afterward:
if he disagreed with a Dem. President/Congressman/Senator about something he'd say so. Would hope AAR
does the same with liberals/Democrats. Though their hosts are so off-putting to me that I don't bother to tune in to find out.

 

[Varulven]

what a joke. Clear Channel puts the Progressive Talk on a small signal with awful PSAs and advertising.

Try airing Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music on FNX, AAF or BCN and see how many listeners you attract.

By the way - nice job on the new site, Radio-Info. I think Brand X board is following the leader today and making changes...will now go take a peek to see ...

 

[chuckydoll]

Re: State of Right Wing Talk Radio in Boston Area

If the shows are so unpopular why are they still on? Why hasn't WRKO become Classic Country 680 or La Mega 680? Why is WTKK running Graham, Severin, and Ingraham instead of Kenny G and Tom Scott? Money, money, money...People are listening.

There is a reason why right-wing radio is all over the place. Most stations are owned by companies whose managers have a hard right-wing bias. That has been true of local radio going back to the "Golden Age".

WRKO has to pay big money to carry Rush Limbaugh. His views border on fascism, thus he scares off any chance to get national advertisers. If he was able to get national advertisers in his show WRKO would be able to pick him up at no cost.

Don't be surprised if WRKO drops Limbaugh when it gets the Red Sox back next year. WBAL-1090 in Baltimore (the Orioles' flagship BTW) dropped Limbaugh last spring and hasn't been the worse for it.

 

[raccoonradio]

Right wing radio gets ratings. If WRKO went to AAR their ratings will plummet. Rush fascist? Islamic
terrorists are fascists. Rush is a zillionaire because he knows how to do talk radio and has better
"pipes" than Stuart Smalley.

By the way, (humor alert), I didn't know that Greg Hill of WAAF is Muffy Healey's running mate. I saw
the bumper stickers--Healey-Hillman. That's right, the Hill-man is running for Lt Gov! What? Oh...
oh, Reed HILLMAN? Oh.

Never mind ;D

>>a hard right-wing bias

This means a "desire to make money". Capitalism, comrade! Ees evil!

 

[Ron Jippey]

Right wing radio gets ratings. If WRKO went to AAR their ratings will plummet. Rush fascist? Islamic
terrorists are fascists. Rush is a zillionaire because he knows how to do talk radio and has better
"pipes" than Stuart Smalley.

By the way, (humor alert), I didn't know that Greg Hill of WAAF is Muffy Healey's running mate. I saw
the bumper stickers--Healey-Hillman. That's right, the Hill-man is running for Lt Gov! What? Oh...
oh, Reed HILLMAN? Oh.

Never mind ;D

>>a hard right-wing bias

This means a "desire to make money". Capitalism, comrade! Ees evil!

How again are "Islamic terrorists" fascists?

Are they in cahoots with corporate power and nationalism?

That's fascism's definition, look it up.

RW radio exists because it's been there first, it's a medium that lends itself to slogans and tirades, which is the basis of the right wing everywhere. There's no give and take on these stations, as that would only enrage the P1's, as you well know.

Every group needs their "jungle drum" and the right's is talk radio.

 

[HHH]

Just remember that it took Rush many, many years to build up his ratings.

Also, as I have said before, remember the nature of right-wing talk radio vs. left wing talk radio in the commercial arena.

For better or worse, left-wing ideology is that of being "inclusive" and "tollerant"......to minorities, the poor, gays and lesbians, etc. Whether it is actually good for the country or not or that the individuals are sincere or not is another topic.

The point that I am making is that it is much more natural a fit in the commercial marketplace for a WWF style "good guys vs. bad guys" format--which is generally used by Rush, Hannity, etc---than the (often) nuanced offerings of Al Franken. Franken goes into (sometimes) painfully dull detail to make a point, illustrating the complicated nature of most political and social situations. It is the right thing to do on "Meet The Press", but for the tabloid tastes of the masses on AM talk radio, it is much more effective to stir up people based on primal emotions.

This is why, while Al is mechanically listing the crooked dealings of Tom DeLay, O'Reilly is screaming about Liberals wanting to ban Christmas, and Howie is talking about tearing down the Citgo sign.

Right-wing talkers just plain know how to manipulate the masses better through emotional trigger points.

 

[Lucylu]

By the way, (humor alert), I didn't know that Greg Hill of WAAF is Muffy Healey's running mate. I saw
the bumper stickers--Healey-Hillman. That's right, the Hill-man is running for Lt Gov! What? Oh...
oh, Reed HILLMAN? Oh.

Never mind ;D



Had it been Greg the bumper sticker would have read "Healey - Ummmm- ah- Hill, umm Hillman"