Tom Athans Launches Talk USA Radio - New Liberal Talk Syndicator

[bigtalkradiofan]

http://www.allaccess.com/

Athans Launches New Liberal Talk Syndicator

Former AIR AMERICA SYNDICATION chief and DEMOCRACY RADIO Founder/CEO TOM ATHANS has launched TALK USA RADIO, described as a "new radio program supplier that will develop new progressive talk shows in an effort to broaden the format and provide more options to listeners across the nation." ATHANS was involved in the launch of ED SCHULTZ and STEPHANIE MILLER's syndicated shows before joining AIR AMERICA RADIO. ...

[Click link above for the complete article.]




So what is the P/L T line-up now?

Progressive-Liberal Talk Radio Networks:

• Air America Radio Network
• Drobny's Nova M Network (Mike Malloy and Zogby)

Progressive-Liberal Talk Radio Syndicators:

• Jones Media syndication (distributes Schultz, Miller and Press - although the shows are produced by other outfits, I believe)
• Talk USA Radio syndication (Tom Athans group)

What other P/LT networks and syndicators am I missing?

 

[fred flintstone]

Although not a P/LT distributor as such, WOR Networks produces and syndicates Lionel. Fox distributes Alan Colmes.

WYD produces Stephanie Miller.
P1 produces Ed Schultz.

In addition to Malloy, Nova M has also announced distribution for Mike Newcomb (now local on their Phoenix station) and for Peter B. Collins (from KRXA in Monterey). (See separate Nova M thread)

Tom Athans was formerly head of AAR's syndication division, and before that of Democracy Radio. He is listed as one of the people to whom AAR owes money. He is married to US Senator Debbie Stabenow (Michigan Democrat).

 

[dampier]

Everyone and their cat is starting a new libtalk outfit all of a sudden. I'm sure conservatives who love to hate AAR may end up being their own worst enemy. Increasing competition among libtalk choices means the quality of shows is going to need to improve or a lot of shows are going to be shown the door. Jerry Springer anyone? Bill Press' show is pretty bad too.

 

[fred flintstone]

Everyone and their cat is starting a new libtalk outfit all of a sudden. I'm sure conservatives who love to hate AAR may end up being their own worst enemy. Increasing competition among libtalk choices means the quality of shows is going to need to improve or a lot of shows are going to be shown the door. Jerry Springer anyone? Bill Press' show is pretty bad too.

It's Radio Darwinism time for progressive talk. Time for natural selection - survival of the fittest to start working. Adapt or perish. The big meteor has hit and many species will become extinct. New species will emerge.

Progressive talk right now is where traditional right-wing talk was in the mid-80s, with ABC and NBC operating talk networks, mostly on turnkey stations and O&Os getting saddled with their product (wanted or not). Meanwhile the future works in semi-obscurity in Sacramento.

 

[MightyFrenchman]

Isn't that the way it is with any format? The best continue.

It's Radio Darwinism time for progressive talk. Time for natural selection - survival of the fittest to start working. Adapt or perish. The big meteor has hit and many species will become extinct. New species will emerge.

 

[fred flintstone]

Isn't that the way it is with any format? The best continue.

Yes. But progressive talk shows have been in some ways protected from competition and market forces up to now.
Now we have four providers poised to compete for stations, not a single one-size-fits-all format provider.

By the end of the month, we will have:

Morning Drive: Turks, Press (2 shows) plus any local shows.
Mid-morning: Miller, Springer, Seder, Newcomb (4 shows) plus any local shows in the West.
Midday: Franken, Hartmann (2 shows).
Afternoon Drive: Schultz, Rhodes (2 shows).
Early Evening: Maddow, Collins (2 shows) plus Rhodes delayed.
Late Night: Lionel, Malloy, Elliot, Colmes (4 shows).

Mid-morning and Late Night are way over-populated already. And Athans is ready to come into the game besides.

 

[FightingIrish]

http://www.allaccess.com/

Athans Launches New Liberal Talk Syndicator

Former AIR AMERICA SYNDICATION chief and DEMOCRACY RADIO Founder/CEO TOM ATHANS has launched TALK USA RADIO, described as a "new radio program supplier that will develop new progressive talk shows in an effort to broaden the format and provide more options to listeners across the nation." ATHANS was involved in the launch of ED SCHULTZ and STEPHANIE MILLER's syndicated shows before joining AIR AMERICA RADIO. ...

[Click link above for the complete article.]




So what is the P/L T line-up now?

Progressive-Liberal Talk Radio Networks:

• Air America Radio Network
• Drobny's Nova M Network (Mike Malloy and Zogby)

Progressive-Liberal Talk Radio Syndicators:

• Jones Media syndication (distributes Schultz, Miller and Press - although the shows are produced by other outfits, I believe)
• Talk USA Radio syndication (Tom Athans group)

What other P/LT networks and syndicators am I missing?

I wouldn't exactly call Nova M's new network a full-service operation. Their schedule is not round-the-clock, and it sounds to me as if they'll be willing to syndicate individual shows.

 

[fred flintstone]

I wouldn't exactly call Nova M's new network a full-service operation. Their schedule is not round-the-clock, and it sounds to me as if they'll be willing to syndicate individual shows.

Why not? It sounds like the infatuation with the idea of a full-service, round-the-clock, one-size-fits-all "network" has (thankfully) passed. Nothing in Nova M's announcement suggests they are trying to be a turnkey provider. Conservative talk dispensed with "networks" in the mid 80s and did fine without "networks" until Salem launched.

Currently, progressive talk stations have a choice of two or more programs in every day-part. There is no need for a network, even for turnkeys.

BTW: I left out Doug Basham in the list of shows I posted earlier in this thread (updated list below). Basham's show is rep'ed by RadioLinx which also sold Mike Newcomb, Peter B. Collins and (originally) Thom Hartmann. It's not clear whether RadioLinx will continue to do affiliate sales for Nova M and whether Basham might come under Nova M's umbrella (despite the fact that Basham and Nova M's Malloy are both in the very over-crowded late night time slot). One possibility would be for Basham to return to the 1 am to 4 am (or 5 am) time slot, giving West Coast progressive talk stations a live late-night show and stations in the East a live overnight show (and progressive talk live coverage around the clock).

Morning Fringe: Reilly (1 show)
Morning Drive: Turks, Press (2 shows) plus any local shows.
Mid-morning: Miller, Springer, Seder, Newcomb (4 shows) plus any local shows in the West.
Midday: Franken, Hartmann (2 shows).
Afternoon Drive: Schultz, Rhodes (2 shows).
Early Evening: Maddow, Collins (2 shows) plus Rhodes delayed.
Late Night: Lionel, Malloy, Elliot, Colmes, Basham (5 shows).
Overnight: --- (0 shows)

 

[FightingIrish]

I wouldn't exactly call Nova M's new network a full-service operation. Their schedule is not round-the-clock, and it sounds to me as if they'll be willing to syndicate individual shows.

Why not? It sounds like the infatuation with the idea of a full-service, round-the-clock, one-size-fits-all "network" has (thankfully) passed. Nothing in Nova M's announcement suggests they are trying to be a turnkey provider. Conservative talk dispensed with "networks" in the mid 80s and did fine without "networks" until Salem launched.

Currently, progressive talk stations have a choice of two or more programs in every day-part. There is no need for a network, even for turnkeys.

BTW: I left out Doug Basham in the list of shows I posted earlier in this thread (updated list below). Basham's show is rep'ed by RadioLinx which also sold Mike Newcomb, Peter B. Collins and (originally) Thom Hartmann. It's not clear whether RadioLinx will continue to do affiliate sales for Nova M and whether Basham might come under Nova M's umbrella (despite the fact that Basham and Nova M's Malloy are both in the very over-crowded late night time slot). One possibility would be for Basham to return to the 1 am to 4 am (or 5 am) time slot, giving West Coast progressive talk stations a live late-night show and stations in the East a live overnight show (and progressive talk live coverage around the clock).

Morning Fringe: Reilly (1 show)
Morning Drive: Turks, Press (2 shows) plus any local shows.
Mid-morning: Miller, Springer, Seder, Newcomb (4 shows) plus any local shows in the West.
Midday: Franken, Hartmann (2 shows).
Afternoon Drive: Schultz, Rhodes (2 shows).
Early Evening: Maddow, Collins (2 shows) plus Rhodes delayed.
Late Night: Lionel, Malloy, Elliot, Colmes, Basham (5 shows).
Overnight: --- (0 shows)

Nova M is all individual shows. Hell, Nova M's two stations air a mix of shows from different syndicators, and I haven't seen any indication that they'll stop doing that. They're offering Malloy and Newcomb, helping out Collins, and offering Zogby on the weekends.

 

[fred flintstone]

Nova M is all individual shows. Hell, Nova M's two stations air a mix of shows from different syndicators, and I haven't seen any indication that they'll stop doing that. They're offering Malloy and Newcomb, helping out Collins, and offering Zogby on the weekends.

Which is as it should be. Although, Media Week says Nova M is syndicating Collins, as well.

ABC stations take ABC, Premiere, and shows from other syndicators.
Clear Channel stations take Premiere, ABC and shows from others, too.
The brand is the host - and the station - not the syndicator.
Stations are phasing out AAR as a brand, too, according to the LA Times.

 

[bigtalkradiofan]

Everyone and their cat is starting a new libtalk outfit all of a sudden. I'm sure conservatives who love to hate AAR may end up being their own worst enemy. Increasing competition among libtalk choices means the quality of shows is going to need to improve or a lot of shows are going to be shown the door. Jerry Springer anyone? Bill Press' show is pretty bad too.

Phil,

I agree everyone seems to be starting a new libtalk outfit recently, I agree there is a market out there for libtalk, and I agree that more competition will improve show quality.

But I do have an ongoing concern that there isn't currently enough libtalk infrastructure to support AAR (recognizing their business model problems); moreorless, AAR, Drobny, Athens, etc. Sheldon Drobny talks about the lack of liberal infrastructure support in his book on the early days of AAR (I believe, I've only read reviews of the book), and Taylor Marsh has similarly contended on the Huffington Post that the libtalk infrastucture just isn't there or just doesn't support libtalk (like the right currently does).

So my concern is whether or not the libtalk infrastructure can provide enough support to assist a now larger group of libtalk outfits.

 

[kaufcom]

So my concern is whether or not the libtalk infrastructure can provide enough support to assist a now larger group of libtalk outfits.

The most successuful lib talk show on radio is the Ed Schultz Show -- now carried on over 100 stations. The Ed Shultz Show is owned by Product 1st which is run by Randy Michaels and Stu Krane. Randy Michaels used to run a company called Clear Channel and Stu Krane was Rush Limbaugh's original syndicator. Hardly sounds like the "libtalk infrastructure."

 

[bigtalkradiofan]

So my concern is whether or not the libtalk infrastructure can provide enough support to assist a now larger group of libtalk outfits.

The most successuful lib talk show on radio is the Ed Schultz Show -- now carried on over 100 stations. The Ed Shultz Show is owned by Product 1st which is run by Randy Michaels and Stu Krane. Randy Michaels used to run a company called Clear Channel and Stu Krane was Rush Limbaugh's original syndicator. Hardly sounds like the "libtalk infrastructure."

Barooosk,

Actually, you make my point really well - because Democracy Radio (Tom Athans early group) which launched Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller received something like $1.8 million from the Democratic infrastructure - to help get it off the ground and running. This type of infrastructure support - is exactly the type of "assist" that I was talking about that these new libtalk ventures will need.

 

[ajhenderson]

Enid Goldstein should be next on the list. She has as much major market experience as any (most) of them and is on in the early evening (ET) spot. I like Randi, but she seems kind of like an all news operation: hear 22 minutes and you've heard it all. Perhaps better suited for later at night for the more die-hard listeners, or PMD, where TSL is shorter, on upcoming secondary PT stations.

"Everyone and their cat is starting a new libtalk outfit all of a sudden."
I like it.