TALKERS HEAVY 100

[jaymarvin]

Julus I never did get an answer as to where you worked in radio. You remind me of the old "can you fly one of these things? No but I stayed at a Holiday Inn once." You're free to feel as you do. I just know from time in radio and all kinds of formats what you're saying always sounds good, and many such as yourself think it's true, but it has no facts in the face of reality. The thing that is hurting radio, in all formats, is Telcom 96. And this not beating a dead horse. This is reality. If all left-wing talk grabbed big numbers talk stations across the country would jump on it.Why did KLSD in San Diego change from Progressive to sports? Was it a plot on the part of Clear Channel to get progressive talk off the air? No. It was because they couldn't sell it on the street, and they felt they could Sports Talk. Until the Progressive format is done right, and sales figures out how to sell it the same thing is going to happen in market after market. It's about sales in this day and age and nothing more.

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

I'd like to think my observations (and my opinions derived from them) can stand on their own. The same for your's and anybody else's. If a conclusion is valid, it doesn't matter who said it. And I agree with Socrates that wisdom comes in not knowing.

I'd just as soon preserve my ability to speak freely.

However, I am curious, given your criticisms of progressive talk radio generally, how do you see what you do as different than what the others do? What do you offer more/different/better than they?

I listen to your show online from time to time and I enjoy it. But I can say the same of Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann and Michael Jackson (but not really the rest). You don't seem out the mainstream of progressive talk radio to me. How do you differentiate your program from their's? What is it you think they could learn from you?

 

[DaleGriffin]

If all left-wing talk grabbed big numbers talk stations across the country would jump on it.Why did KLSD in San Diego change from Progressive to sports? Was it a plot on the part of Clear Channel to get progressive talk off the air? No. It was because they couldn't sell it on the street, and they felt they could Sports Talk. Until the Progressive format is done right, and sales figures out how to sell it the same thing is going to happen in market after market. It's about sales in this day and age and nothing more.

Jay I have been saying this for over a year on here, let's watch and see how your liberal bretheren react to you...

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

Why did KLSD in San Diego change from Progressive to sports? Was it a plot on the part of Clear Channel to get progressive talk off the air? No. It was because they couldn't sell it on the street, and they felt they could Sports Talk. Until the Progressive format is done right, and sales figures out how to sell it the same thing is going to happen in market after market. It's about sales in this day and age and nothing more.

Do you have any evidence for this assertion (beyond management's dubious claims)?

Interesting that Clear Channel has used current former right-wing talk show hosts as program directors of its liberal talk stations. One of whom, who oversees Clear Channel talk stations throughout the Midwest, says he wants to be the "grim reaper" for liberal talk.

 

[Shoot From Hip]

Were it not for Clear Channel, Air America would never have gotten off the ground. Ask Evan Cohen or Dean Sorensen or anyone else in the first generation of (badly flawed) Air America ownership. If memory serves, its earliest affiliates were CC stations in Portland and Los Angeles (and they stayed with it even while CC was owed substantial sums of money-- another documented fact). The format has a 1.1 share (12+) in LA in today's Trends...and my guess is that's the highest it's ever been...while remaining in the bottom tier in billing. But still it continues. I don't have a clue what CC's current corporate agenda is...but I do know they supported the format in a way no other company ever did. And no, I've never worked for either Clear Channel or Air America.

 

[DaleGriffin]

One of whom, who oversees Clear Channel talk stations throughout the Midwest, says he wants to be the "grim reaper" for liberal talk.

Source this please.

 

[ajhenderson]

I, too, would like to see a source. However, do you really think with CC in cutting mode than a PD wants to cut off a viable format with ratings and revenue just to make a political statement?

BTW, it works both ways. Kevin Metheny, VP of CC Cleveland (or some such) blew out Glenn Beck, who had double digit shares in some demos on WTAM, and replaced him with Jerry Springer. That lasted less than a year, but it solved Kevin's problem because he didn't get along with Glenn.

 

[jaymarvin]

Julus, it's been nice going back and forth with you. No matter what I say or what facts I point out you feel the way you do and that's fine. I'm not going to change your mind no matter what I say. So let's end it now. As far as how my liberal cohorts will react to me. I'll make this prediction right now. Air America will find some more sugar daddies to keep it alive through the 08 election. Then after that it will go bust. Not because their is an agenda by ownership but because it's bad radio for the most part with people on the air who don't even know the basics of what to do and not to do. How do I know this Julus? Because I learned how to do talk radio 19 years ago from two of the best Randy Michaels and Gabe Hobbs.

 

[DaleGriffin]

Were it not for Clear Channel, Air America would never have gotten off the ground. Ask Evan Cohen or Dean Sorensen or anyone else in the first generation of (badly flawed) Air America ownership. If memory serves, its earliest affiliates were CC stations in Portland and Los Angeles (and they stayed with it even while CC was owed substantial sums of money-- another documented fact). The format has a 1.1 share (12+) in LA in today's Trends...and my guess is that's the highest it's ever been...while remaining in the bottom tier in billing. But still it continues. I don't have a clue what CC's current corporate agenda is...but I do know they supported the format in a way no other company ever did. And no, I've never worked for either Clear Channel or Air America.

I think and this is a guess, CC put AAR on a bunch of sticks for 2 reasons:

1. They were underperforming anyway so "what the hell it may work."
2. To attempt to shut up the "evil RW coporation" crap and head off an unlikely push for a fairness doctrine.

 

[jaymarvin]

They put them on because they thought they could get better numbers than those stations had and because they thought they could make money. In some cases they're right. Some of the stations are making money. The station I'm on AM760 is making money because we have a great Sales Manager and a good sales team that knows how to sell the station and works very hard at it. This could turn out to be a record year for us.

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

One of whom, who oversees Clear Channel talk stations throughout the Midwest, says he wants to be the "grim reaper" for liberal talk.

Source this please.

The comment was from Clear Channel regional operations manager Darryl Parks in blog on the WLW website. Parks also does a weekend (right-wing) talk show. Parks at this time had flipped three Ohio progressive talk stations to other formats and attempted to flip the company's well-rated progressive talk station in Madison, WI (apparently against the wishes of the local program director). It was Parks who tried to make a liberal talk show host out of trash TV host Jerry Springer (possibly an attempt to scuttle liberal talk at the outset).

http://700wlw.com/pages/onair_parks.html?page=26
The page number for this blog entry may change as additional items are added to the blog.

THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!
Thursday 03-29-2007 5:19pm ET

If you read the liberal blog-o-sphere, you know I single handedly killed off "progressive" talk radio and Air America Radio in North America. Believe me, I'm not that powerful. If the radio sucks, the program will be on a suicide mission all by itself. Well, check out this article that was written on March 28, 2007, months after I finally went on the mission of mercy and pulled the plug on the "progressive talk" station in Cincinnati, after giving it almost two years to work. They just can't stop blaming me. Here's some of the article:

Shortly, thereafter Clear Channel Communication started switching out lib talk stations. The first station to go was WSAI-AM, 1360 in Cincinnati, which flipped to non-political talk on December 7. A month later, WTPG (now called WYTS) flipped to conservative talk even though CC was already operating a right wing talk station in the Democratic leaning Central Ohio town . Now just over two months later CC has completed the trifecta, by flipping from lib talk to sports in Akron.

CC’s Cincinnati Operation Manager, Darryl Parks, told the Cincinnati Post in December that lib talk needed to be dropped in the Queen City because it was "agenda driven."

"It was a format that was set up not to entertain, but it seemed set up to get people elected, for a lack of a better way to put it," Parks said. " "There were some good (liberal) shows, but they need to start looking to more broad-based subjects than just harping on politics."

Now that there are no lib talk stations in Ohio, Parks is probably less worried about losing elections.

Tom Thon, CC’s Market Manager in Columbus, was a bit more politically correct when he told Columbus Dispatch why they thought two conservative stations was a better idea than having one liberal and one conservative station.

What? I'm a bad guy because I wasn't politically correct? So I guess I should have said, "The programming really sucks. It really blows. It was looking for a grave to hop into." Comments like that would have surely made them cry.

Well here's the real outrage. On this blog, they put a mug shot picture of what they think is me. It's not! The picture below is not me. The picture to the left in color is.

I demand satisfaction! In the meantime, I continue to enjoy being the Grim Reaper to "progressive" talk radio (at least in some minds). Read the entire blog by CLICKING HERE. As they say, no publicity is bad publicity!

Kevin Metheny, mentioned in a related post (above) is a former WNBC, New York program director, whom Howard Stern made famous as "Pig Virus" ("Pig Vomit" in the movie "Private Parts"). He filled in as host of Jerry Springer's Show on occasion.

 

[kaufcom]

Source this please.

http://talkingradio.blogspot.com/2007/05/clear-channels-ohio-trifecta-revisited.html#links

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

Julus, it's been nice going back and forth with you. No matter what I say or what facts I point out you feel the way you do and that's fine. I'm not going to change your mind no matter what I say. So let's end it now. As far as how my liberal cohorts will react to me. I'll make this prediction right now. Air America will find some more sugar daddies to keep it alive through the 08 election. Then after that it will go bust. Not because their is an agenda by ownership but because it's bad radio for the most part with people on the air who don't even know the basics of what to do and not to do. How do I know this Julus? Because I learned how to do talk radio 19 years ago from two of the best Randy Michaels and Gabe Hobbs.

I've enjoyed the interaction with you, too. And mostly I agree with you (including the comment you just made about Air America and sugar daddies). Again, I am skeptical of management claims that it's only about money. It just doesn't fit and it doesn't seem that simple. That's about the only one of your premises I question. Maybe I have erred in not stating other points you've made I agree with completely.

If when you talk about the "third way," you mean something like NJ 101.5, I agree. That could/should be the future. If you mean a mixed schedule of liberal and conservative political talk as practiced now, I am doubtful. People seek agreement. The two current styles of political talk are both about preaching to the choir. Those listeners don't want dissonance.

Randy Michaels is now backing Ed Schultz. Maybe some of his knowledge of talk radio will rub off on Big Ed, too.

PS: Baroosk, thanks for adding the link to your article. Truth is, that's where I went to find Parks' original blog entry (cited above). I highly recommend your blog site to anyone else reading this.

 

[DaleGriffin]

One of whom, who oversees Clear Channel talk stations throughout the Midwest, says he wants to be the "grim reaper" for liberal talk.

Is not an accurate representation of this statement, which was obvious sarcasm...

I demand satisfaction! In the meantime, I continue to enjoy being the Grim Reaper to "progressive" talk radio (at least in some minds). Read the entire blog by CLICKING HERE. As they say, no publicity is bad publicity!

But you already knew that.

 

[kaufcom]

Randy Michaels is now backing Ed Schultz. Maybe some of his knowledge of talk radio will rub off on Big Ed, too.

Randy Michaels has little involvement with Ed Schultz right now. He's focusing most of his attention on Local TV LLC, which owns seven TV stations (He's CEO and a primary investor in that venture.) His partner in Product 1st, Stu Crane, still keeps his eye on the Schultz venture. But I understand that they don't get along and that Product 1st will be pulling out soon.

 

[jimwalsh2001]

If when you talk about the "third way," you mean something like NJ 101.5, I agree. That could/should be the future. If you mean a mixed schedule of liberal and conservative political talk as practiced now, I am doubtful.

There's a wide-open market for all kinds of cool spoken-word formatting, other than the same ol' conserva-clone stuff...if only the powers-that-be would pull their crania from whence the sun don't shine and get a damn clue. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so...

 

[ajhenderson]

I think and this is a guess, CC put AAR on a bunch of sticks for 2 reasons:

1. They were underperforming anyway so "what the hell it may work."

Of course; even CC owns some dog AMs that are constantly flipping, and PT was the next stop on the never-ending train ride. This is how it works; if a format sticks on a crappy signal with no promotion and no money, it gets moved to a better signal. Conservative talk stations, depending on whether they are co-owned and competing, swap or steal shows from each other all the time. KKOB/Abq. used to have Dr. Laura, but when Hannity started getting numbers much better than the average of its weak, unpromoted, all-syndie flank station sister station, Hannity moved to the big stick and Dr. Laura, who's numbers were lower than the average on her station, got downgraded to the throwaway station. If Ed Schultz could beat Rush in ratings and revenue, or if he was so outpacing the station he was on and management thought he could, he'd be on the big stations, too.

Everyone here talks about how hot talk is dead and uses FreeFM as the latest example. Here in the western U.S., all the FreeFMs except the one that always existed in LA, are gone. Tom Leykis was #1 or #2 in men 18-54 in Phoenix and San Diego, and has gotten five and six shares on AM hot talk stations in the past as well. His problem is that the "talents" that made up the other 19-20 hours a day are unlistenable. You can't have a viable station when your only one show has any traction. That will be liberal talks' problem; sure, Schultz or Miller might outdo Beck or Rush in some markets if put on the monster stations the ladder hold, but Bill Press, Thom Hartmann, Rachel Maddow, and others of the ilk would bomb compared to the rest of the conservative lineup they replace. What is a station supposed to do; throw out an overall very good lineup to accomodate one or two shows at the expense of putting on absolute garbage 18 hours a day?

 

[SeanMGilbow]

Something tells me all of you will be watching what just happened in Columbus very closely.

Compared with what was heard on AM 1230 when it was progressive talk, 1580 WVKO has three things going for it: a stronger signal, call letters with a history (especially with the African-American community), and advertisers.

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

Something tells me all of you will be watching what just happened in Columbus very closely.

Compared with what was heard on AM 1230 when it was progressive talk, 1580 WVKO has three things going for it: a stronger signal, call letters with a history (especially with the African-American community), and advertisers.

A stronger signal but at the high end of the band. Signal strength is less effective (I will let those tecnically oriented explain it) and the high-end is off the mental map for most people who just don't think about going there.

Liberal talk is not a Black-targeted format. If you were running Sharpton and Dyson, an association of the calls with a former Black format might help (a little). Not here. History doesn't count in radio and come-backs don't work.

Advertisers? "Corporate underwriters" might be a better word. Try running a station like a business instead of a crusade, and stop using public radio as your model. Get your heads out of the public sector. I know you all think you mean well but (as the saying goes) if you are unwilling to learn from the mistakes of the past, you are doomed to repeat them (just like Air America).

The more you all keep screwing up libtalk, the more credence you give to the wing-nuts selling the line that liberal talk can't work.

 

[ajhenderson]

I hope libtalk does succeed in Columbus. In reality, the expectations for ANYTHING you'd put on that station would be really low. But I doubt they have any radio geniuses running the thing. The first order of business to bring in money is not to hit the streets but to get every infomercial, every gold show, and every local dentist, chiropractor, or mortgage broker who wants a show on the weekend. You could at least keep the lights on doing that, and start spot sales once you've built up and audience. It's all gravy at that point.