Why is liberal radio stations being dropped across the country?

[CatWoman]

what's going on?

someone please enlighten me.

It can't be due to a lack of audience :-(

[AX10]

1. Ed Schultz in number 1.

What is going on? Air America?

[melm00se]

2. the same reason

that any station changes formats:

larger/better audience that generates more ad revenue

[don954]

i wouldnt say that

several stations that are currently #1 in their market are changing their format to sports or misc talk.

[lapfog_1]

19. You are wrong about that.

Many are changing to Xian broadcasting in markets that a saturated with Xian broadcasting.

The individual stations are cheap, some being sold for as little as $150K. I f'ing guarantee you that a cabal of wingnuts like Mitt Romney are running around buying up these stations and changing the format to keep the progressive voice off the air. Not everything done is being done for a profit motive.

[Bluzmann57]

22. Well, I gotta tell you something here

I live in a place that is certainly not a major market, and yet, we now have four "christian" radio stations due to the recent buyout of our local Progressive talk station. There is no chance that this "christian talk" format will rate any higher than the Progressive station did. The station in question has long been an albatross type station, but was slowly making strides in ratings success. No, I don't think it is always about larger/better audience shares. I think it is abject fear. The Right wing is scared that people have finally awakened from their years long slumber, led in part by Progressive radio.

[melm00se]

46. there are 2 kinds of audience

size and quality

for example: way back when I worked for a "music of your life" station (big band etc) and while we didn't have the largest audience (best we ever did was #9 in the market and generally we were in the mid teens in a 40 station makret) our audience had significant disposable income and was very attractive to certain kinds of businesses (motorhomes, travel agencies, investment companies and the like) and they would pay top dollar to advertise into this audience.

don't know much about christian audiences and their demographics but I do know that station owners wouldn't program for/to them unless they felt they could make money at it, they are, after all, in the business to make a profit.

[PSPS]

27. AAR should have fired all their sales people

Have you heard what they play in the stops on AAR? They are way too heavy on PSA's, meaning a lazy and moribund (or absent) sales department.

The paid ads they play are almost all for nefarious products like baldness remedies, get rich quick schemes, predatory lenders, "image" ads for big pharma, etc.

The local affiliate here does a little better in the local spots, with a few notable ad buys by real local businesses offering a real product or service. But even on the local level, there are way too many PSA's as well as ads for predatory lenders and snake-oil "supplements." (The local affiliate even plays a program hosted by a predatory sub-prime mortgage lender on Saturdays.)

There's really no excuse for this. The shows do better in the ratings than other stations which don't rely so heavily on these "give away" deals for illegitimate products and services.

[Cleita]

36. I agree. n/t

[Doctor_J]

32. According to Fighting Irish down below, the one in Cinncinnati

is switching to all how-to shows. You think that generates more revenue than Randi and Malloy?

:wtf:

[OzarkDem]

34. Cincinnati is worried

They came very, very close to losing a safe GOP Congressional seat in their area when Vic Wulsin nearly defeated Mean Jean.

Cincinnati media owners aren't going to let that happen again.

[OzarkDem]

33. Baloney

There are more liberals than right wing conservatives, yet the latter dominates talk radio.

If shows were truly being driven by consumer demand, there would be far more liberal and moderate radio talk shows.

This is a prime example of why there is such a huge push for media reform.

[melm00se]

48. see #46

quantity of audience does not always equal quality of audience

[villager]

3. instead of just co-opting dissent, it accidentally helped sway an election

can't have that!

[ReadTomPaine]

4. Mitt Romney recently purchased Clear Channel.

That's a big part of the explanation right there.

[itsmesgd]

5. the liberal stations are dropping Air America because it is about to go

belly up. If I had to guess, I'd say that they wont make it to the new year. Most will go on vacation around winter solstice and play reruns til the station dies before the 31st. Malloy has said that he is going national and satellite after the new year and believes AAR to be in their last throws. Sam and Randy will survive to talk another day, but the turks and Franken are toast.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. AAR may die, but there will always be liberal talk radio somewhere in some format

[Eric J in MN]

35. Al Franken is the #2 liberal talker, after Ed Schultz.

Franken can stay in radio if wants to, even if AAR folds.

It wouldn't be surprising though, if AAR folded, for Al Franken to concentrate on a Senate run full-time, and Sam Seder to do a TV or movie project.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. liberals don't need a radio to know how to think.

Just a thought.

:shrug:

[orpupilofnature57]

10. I think your right.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Just look at libraries.

Go in a library, and you'll find that most books have very many words and very few pictures. Clear evidence that books are biased towards liberals.

[Anakin Skywalker]

17. Not If You Go Into the Juvenile Section

where I see a lot of Freepers hanging out.

[orpupilofnature57]

25. Solace in 'My Pet Goat'

[drm604]

12. True, but

the point isn't to preach to the choir. The point is to get the truth out and win converts.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Sure...

but who turns on the radio in order to change their minds? Certainly not republicans.

[drm604]

47. Nobody intends to change their mind.

That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.

[don954]

21. yes, but it sure helps to get the message out...

[Cha]

51. Too true..

That was my first thought.

[Journeyman]

7. Anyone have Arbitron numbers for Progressive Radio?. . .

I always thought it a bad move, myself, as I don't picture modern progressives as radio listeners. We seem more the reading set, film watchers at best, and not so taken with the necessarily truncated views so dominant on radio and tv.

[Norrin Radd]

8. Monopolistic media and multinational corporations are to blame.

They are the next giants whose massive grip we need to remove from our government.

[orpupilofnature57]

16. MSM did more to promote Shrub than anyone ,persecuting feasibly the

best manager this country has had since F.D.R. helped fanaticism and Shrub ruin our country for the last five years.Russert 'The Evil Elf ' Matt (poppies golf bud) Lauder, and all the rest of the shit dispensers that have a message as opposed to information, fuck MSM, God bless the internet.

[Bluzmann57]

13. Fear

The right wingers are scared of the truth and since they have lots of money, they are buying up stations all over America, including where I live. We all should contact our Congress people and demand a return to fairness on the airwaves.

[Anakin Skywalker]

15. No Advert. Dollars? :-( Bigwig Corporations Generally Do Not Support Liberal Shows.

[LTR]

29. That sounds like lazy salesman talk

If stations can't sell this format, then they have nobody else to blame.

Here's what I had to say about that yesterday:

http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2006/12/mixed-signals-in-boston.html

For all the criticism that Air America and other progressive talk syndicators receive, much of it should deservedly be directed toward the stations that air the programming. Some stations are run very well (KPOJ, KLSD, WINZ, KKZN, KPTK, and KRXA, just to name a few), while many of them are a complete joke. It's as if a particular station's management just slapped it on the air and sat around waiting for things to happen. Their own salespeople ignored the station because they were too lazy to figure out how to sell the format. There have been countless stories of station automation software running amok, and sometimes airing the wrong shows or two shows at the same time. As Schultz has said on his radio show, this is no way to run a radio station, and if he was in charge, heads would be rolling. And he's right. No upstart station can succeed without promotion, advertising sales or even at least a little attention. This is not Air America's fault, and certainly not the fault of any of the syndicators. It all boils down to the people at the ground level, running the station. And if they're too lethargic to make their product the best it can be, they don't belong in business.

Clear Channel is notorious for using cost-cutting as a primary means for making money. Granted, a miser's approach toward the budget is often important, but it is not the be-all, end-all of becoming profitable. They have to create a strong station and give it all the tools it needs to succeed. Syndicated talk is a very cheap format to run. The programming costs the stations nothing. It's offered on a barter basis. All the network asks for is to hold back 5-6 minutes an hour for their own advertising. The station gets the rest of the time to sell their own ads (and this local inventory is often the same or greater than for more expensive music formats). Why is this so difficult for these people to understand? And why can't salespeople sell it?
Granted, we all know they'd rather sell spots for sports or rock music formats, because they're so easy to sell. But any good salesperson (and believe me, I know) will be the type to get creative and sell a rather diverse format, bringing in many potential clients who likely had never considered advertising on radio before. Here's a hint: Just about every metropolitan area has a local independent weekly paper or even a college paper, and many of these tend to be very left-leaning in their content. And many of the papers' sponsors even put their phone numbers in their ads (hint, hint). And the sales clowns can't sell spots on their own radio station??? Unfreakingbelievable!

Progressive talk can succeed. Just ask Nancy Leichter, general manager of little KYNS (1340AM) in San Luis Opispo, CA. She's confident in the format's chances, and this newspaper article even features the testimonial of a local repair shop owner, who saw her business increase after advertising on the station. Listeners even proclaimed that they brought their cars to her garage because she advertises on KYNS and supports their programming. And Clear Channel account executives still can't sell time on their big market 'progressive talk' stations? Aye carumba!

In closing, it's pretty easy to rip on Air America (and much of the criticism directed at them is well-deserved). But any station owner that thinks they can coast along and run a crappy organization is naive. And Clear Channel should know better. This is no way to run multi-million dollar radio properties. Perhaps this is why the Mays family is looking to get out.

[ChazII]

38. Here in Phoenix

there are many commercials by local businesses that support our station. Phoenix lost its station once but like the mythical bird we are named after, our station rose again. Perhaps the different stations should contact Phoenix. Just a suggestion.

[LTR]

49. Same with KRXA in Monterey

I listen to their stream occasionally, and I hear a lot of local businesses advertising there. And their ratings aren't even that stellar.

Meanwhile, the local AAR affiliate that they compete with is constantly whining about lack of advertising support. Of course, selling ad time is difficult when they don't even try to sell time and don't even have much of a sales department.

There's a liberal talk station in San Luis Obispo (KYNS) that is also very committed to the format. There was an article in the local paper about them the other day where a business owner claimed that she saw her business increase because she advertised with the station. Her new customers said they did business with her because she supported the programming on KYNS.

Seems like the little mom-and-pop stations are taking the big guns like Clear Channel to school.

[ContraBass Black]

18. "It can't be due to a lack of audience"

Yes it can. Liberals don't need to hear their own opinions repeatedly.

[Maat]

20. I'm glad Malloy is "goin' satellite.'

I can listen to him while driving around (I'm a realtor).

[Ron Green]

23. Lowbrow entertainment disguised as public discourse appeals only to

right-wingers, IMO.

[tanyev]

24. Libs prefer to listen online than to AM radio???

[bunkerbuster1]

41. I'm thinking liberals really don't care for AM talk radio so much

Yes, we have our AM radio heros, and I happen to love some of the liberal voices out there, but in my experience, most left-leaners tend to find the kind of slick issues packaging that the format necessitates to be kinda gross.

I'm not saying that left-leaning radio can't be a commercial success. But I think it's going to be dominated by righties for quite awhile, and that's not the end of the world. We have our radio outlets, and we've got kick-ass TV personalities like KO, Stewart, and Colbert.

[LTR]

45. I think liberals are too sophisticated for typical talk radio

And I honestly think that liberal talk show hosts and syndicators need to think outside the proverbial box in order to meet this challenge.

Air America's primary problem is that they're trying too hard to follow the conservotalk model, which consists of a political shill getting on a soapbox and screaming for three hours. That template has grown tired.

In order to succeed, they have to realize that their listeners are too smart to be talked at like that. They want something more engaging. I'm not talking the often-dry NPR model. Rather, they need to find out what liberals enjoy. And the names I hear most mentioned are Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher and Keith Olbermann. These are smart, witty and informative shows that are both engaging and entertaining. One host who 'gets it' is Stephanie Miller. Her show is radically different than the screaming and pontificating of AAR, in that it's a very funny and entertaining show. And it 's a show with a very sophisticated sense of humor. It's not a show about 'my talking points can beat your talking points'. It's just different than anything else on the AM dial.

I'll mention Ed Schultz as well. Granted, many here hate it when he goes off topic and talks about stuff like travel, barbequeing, hunting and sports, but I think it's a smart move. As much as I like Randi, her three hour rants on Iraq can get a bit tedious. And notice that she rarely takes phone calls anymore? Dumb move. Schultz knows how to shuffle the topics and converse with people well. This helps to keep listeners from flipping the dial. That's something that even Hannity can't do! Ed succeeds because his show is more of a conversation, rather than a lecture.

I just hope future liberal talk hosts grow a set, break the mold and try something different. Something that intelligent people will want to listen to.

Smart people don't want to listen to propaganda. And they don't want to be talked down to, with stuff they already know. Smart people want to challenged by what they hear, as well as entertained. And a carbon copy of what everyone else is doing will not do that. Talk radio is, first and foremost, entertainment.

[bunkerbuster1]

50. Variety is good (duh)

So far, the NovaM "lineup" -- ok, it's two guys named Mike -- seems a decent mix.

Dr. Mike is much nicer, deals fairly with opposing views, yadda yadda.

Mike Malloy is, well, Malloy. I love the guy, I love his rants, nobody does it better, nobody should try to do it better. He's a perfect late-night host.

Perhaps they'll expand this variety, make good on their promise not to be just kneejerk pro-Democrat, but more anti-Establishment.

[LTR]

52. I like Mike

He does what he does well, though he does occasionally get a little too over-the-top for my tastes.

And I wouldn't exactly call Nova M a network yet. Once they get satellite access, then we'll talk.

[marmar]

26. I guess I've been kind of oblivious....

The Detroit market has two of them (Detroit and Ann Arbor), and they seem to be doing fine.

[LTR]

28. Nobody knows

There could be many reasons.

First, I discount the whole Mitt Romney thing. Though he was one of the founders of Bain Capital, one of CC's buyers, he has no control over what CC is doing. And they don't even own it yet.

CC has been on a tear lately, flipping the formats of many of their stations. They also announced plans to sell off stations in markets outside the top 100.

One of the stock answers local CC managers have given for dropping liberal talk is that they don't know what will happen with AAR and their whole bankruptcy thing (rumor is they now have a buyer). I don't buy that, especially since quite a few of these stations air a lot of product outside of AAR programming.

I'm not a real tinfoil hat kind of guy, but I'm almost guessing that this is the Mays family's way of wishing us liberals a Merry Christmas, in their own twisted sort of way.

I've never been a big supporter of the return of the Fairness Doctrine, since I was hoping that liberal talk would eventually succeed playing by the conservatives' rules. Now I'm starting to change my stance. Quite frankly, I would love to see the misers who own the so-called liberal media to get their day of reckoning by reinstatement. Or even better, I'd love to see the new media take over. Once cars have radios with wi-fi access, and more areas are hooked up to the technology, kiss those shitty AM stations goodbye!

For the record, here are some of the stations that have dropped liberal talk in the past month, or are planning to:

WSMB/New Orleans (owned by Entercom) - now WWWL, airing delayed shows from their sister station WWL.
WXXM/Madison (Clear Channel) - Will flip from highly-rated liberal talk to lower-tier high school/college sports 1/1/07. Go Mallards!
WKBF/Quad Cities (owned by Marathon, run by Clear Channel) - station sold to fundies
WKOX-WXKS/Boston (Clear Channel) - Switching to Spanish-language tropical music as "Rumba"
WSAI/Cincinnati (Clear Channel) - Will air delayed how-to shows

[Doctor_J]

31. If you don't think channels owned by Mitt Romney will be ardently pro-Romney,

you need to put down the crack pipe. One word: Berlusconi.

[LTR]

39. Romney will not own the stations

I'm not even sure if he's still even a minor investor in Bain. In fact, Romney cashed out of Bain in 2001:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2001/08/20/daily27.html
http://www.bizforward.com/bos/issues/2001-07/firstforward/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bain_Capital

Each of the new investors in Clear Channel will have about as much or less power over programming decisions at individual stations as Kirk Kerkorian had while on the board of GM. Meaning, not as much as they think.


So no, I'm not on crack. But I'm thinking many of the misinformed people here may be.

[Doctor_J]

30. it's too small-d democratic

It helped toss the 4th reich out of power for a couple years. Anything that's good for democracy must be destroyed in order for tyranny to remain in place.

[Doctor_J]

37. At least as many DUers listen to Limpballs as listen to Franken

and the ratio of "On Hannity today" threads to "On Hartmann today" threads is at least 10-1. So for whatever reason, even Dems (though self-hating ones) prefer hate radio to the truth.

[NotGivingUp]

40. the ruling elite do not want the message getting out....period.

[orpupilofnature57]

42. The 1%,, though they rule 20% of the wealth, they have the most to fear

which is why they need us paranoid,hence MSM infiltrates deep in our conscience.

[rocktivity]

43. In a word, Liberal radio WORKS.

And the Neocon-artists can't allow it to, because it results in their worst nightmare: a level playing field.

Liberal radio played as much a role in Election '06 any anything else. But of course, that's why liberal voices in the media are so hard to come by in the first place: Neocons know their ideas can't stand on their own merits, so it's always been essential for them to ensure that liberal voices get as little exposure as possible. It started with the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine and is now manifesting itself with the war on internet neutrality, the purchase of Youtube, and now a rash of alleged "business decisions" to shut down radio stations that can't attract corporate advertisers for some reason, and which express a political view that is now in the majority!

:headbang:
rocknation

[Donald Ian Rankin]

44. My guess is that your confidence is misplaced, I'm afraid.

I suspect that the number one contributing factor is lack of audience, or at any rate lack of response to advertisments by the audience - it doesn't strike me as absurd that the kind of people who listen to left-wing political radio programmes might be non-trivially less prone to buying things they hear advertised than other demographics.

[AX10]

53. kick