I don’t follow talk radio around the country quite as much as I used to; it’s not like I’m about to go move across the country to take a talk show gig or anything.
Fifteen or twenty years ago, when I still followed talk radio obsessively – almost like I was trying to make it a career or something – I’d have known that a DC-area station had christened itself “Obama 1260”. The station was a liberal talk operation, featuring the likes of Bill Press, Stephanie Miller and Fast Eddie Schultz.
I said “was”:
President Obama may be riding high in Washington, but OBAMA 1260 is not.
The area’s only progressive talk station is changing formats…The move by Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who purchased the station, WWRC, and others in Washington last summer, leaves the city without a liberal radio outlet. Program Director Greg Tantum says he thought the station could work because of enthusiasm over Obama, but that ratings collapsed to a level that could not be measured after the election.
“Of course, it’s because all talk radio is tanking”, you might hear someone say.
Er, no:
But ratings nearly doubled, he says, at Snyder’s conservative station, WTNT, which features Laura Ingraham and Bill Bennett. Tantum said he will move Schultz to WTNT to give him another shot.
Which isn’t so much a nod to the efficacy of liberal talk radio as to the fact that Schultz – dumb as a bag of hammers as he is notwithstanding – understands the basics of making a talk show entertaining, unlike just about every other liberal host in the nation.
This brings up an interesting question, though; one of the purported justifications for the “Fairness” Doctrine is to make sure there’s “competition” between ideologies, and a variety of them, on the airwaves. And yet in Washington DC – the ultimate “buyer’s market” for political talk, and a place with the most favorable demographics for liberal talk anywhere this side of Berkeley, and in a perfectly free market, let me repeat, “ratings collapsed to a level that could not be measured”.
The pattern holds true everywhere. After a poor start, Air America is barely clinging to existence. Locally, AM950 – after making a play of it for a few ratings books back in 2006 – is well behind AM1280 in ratings, even though it has a vastly more powerful signal than The Patriot (disclosure for those who are new to this blog; I do a show on the weekends at AM1280) and revenue (where it’s not even close).
How exaggerated were rumors of conservative talk’s death? Leaving aside Rush Limbaugh’s titanic eight year contract, conservative talk is the only format in radio that’s even making a pretense of holding its numbers and revenues during the current recession.
Locally? Of the six commercial talk stations in the Twin Cities (WCCO, KSTP-AM, KTLK-FM, Chicktalk 107, Air America Minnesota 950 and the Patriot), the Patriot has by far the weakest signal – and yet the Patriot crushes AM950 in all time slots. On the vitally-important Saturday time slot, the Northern Alliance is not only demolishing AM950, but from 1-3PM is even beating KSTP and WCCO, to say nothing of KTLK and 107.
Conservative talk is not only alive; it’s moving silently through the woods and taking aim at the left’s packed masses of rhetorical redcoats marching in step down the road…
Damn, this is fun!
At any rate, best of luck to all you Obama 1260 people. You might wanna think about leaving the ideology at home, swallowing your pride, and looking for a gig in a format that can survive…
(Via Ed)
When I was a spry youngster, I used to listen to Rush almost daily. Haven’t tuned in hardly at all in the past 12 or so years. Now that he is getting free advertising from The One, I have decided to listen in again. Yesterday Jason Lewis was subbing for Rush.
When Lewis goes on one of his right wing rants, I sometimes turn it off. But he is best when his cause is just. Such as it was yesterday.
Hey Mitch, I see you have 26 blog entries, including this one, about the “Fairness Doctrine.” Clearly the prospect has the far-right blogosphere in a Defcon-1 tizzy (Homeland Security threat level: RED!)
Yet there is no evidence the Obama administration supports it, that it would pass if supported or that it would be upheld by the Supreme Court if passed. So why all the pants-wetting? Seriously, I hate to see you guys get so nervous about things that clearly aren’t going to happen. Yet you do it all the time. Maybe an SSRI is indicated at this point?
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
Yet there is no evidence the Obama administration supports it,
that it would pass if supported
Leaving aside that both Reid and Pelosi support it, it’s irrelevant; it can be handled entirely by the FCC, without Congressional approval.
or that it would be upheld by the Supreme Court if passed.
Oh, goody! We can park our civil rights for five to fifteen years while we find a case and work it up through the system!
So why all the pants-wetting? Seriously, I hate to see you guys get so nervous about things that clearly aren’t going to happen.
Y’mean, like Dems did over all the civil liberties that the Bush Administration didn’t touch? Thanks. But as they say, the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
Amen, brotha! Take my talk radio away? From my cold, dead hands. >:-|
Obama has ruled that an empoyer cannot put up a sign in his private business that says “You are free to work here without joing a union”. If The One makes that illegal, what else would he ban?
I’d be on your side, Mitch, if I didn’t think you were being all sky-is-falling for partisan political reasons. But there’s no reason to think this is in the works. Wake me up if there’s ever a serious proposal and I’ll march next to you in the protest.
Mitch said: “as they say, the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”
True dat, my brother. Angryclown welcomes the awakening of the wingnutosphere from the somnolence of the past 8 years. Rub the sleep out of your eyes, little wingnuts! The Constitution applies once again!
you were being all sky-is-falling for partisan political reasons.
What?
Me? Partisan? Perish the thought.
But there’s no reason to think this is in the works. Wake me up if there’s ever a serious proposal and I’ll march next to you in the protest.
Duly noted.
Curiously enough, I posted a little something on “POD” yesterday regarding the joys of calling into AirScamerica and dropping a big turd into their kool-aid.
I also encourage conservatives to tune in and join the fun…..it’s just my way of helping the helpless.
I’ve said this before but it bears repeating: The fairness doctrine will not be reinstated. It is much easier to change the rules of licensees to discourage franchised content. Combine this with a shorter license term and a review period with ‘input from the local community’ and you’ll have all sports and crop reports, all the time. Except for Larry King’s three daily three hours.
The move […] leaves the city without a liberal radio outlet.
Obviously the author doesn’t listen to CBS Radio!
I join a few others here; I don’t see the Fairness Doctrine being reinstated.
As to who is successful on talk radio — I think it is more about the individual hosts and their abilities than the political position in the great spectrum of idealogy.
Which says a lot for Mitch and Ed winning their time slot so handily.
“without a liberal radio outlet” hmmm no Public Radio in that town?
DogGone,
No offense meant to Mitch and Ed, but they don’t have much competition from the big stations on the weekends. It’s pretty barren.
Which says a lot for Mitch and Ed winning their time slot so handily.
Ha, ha, let’s see the Saturday afternoon broadcast titans Mitch and Ed are “slaying”:
AM 950:
1-2pm The Wine Vibe
2-3pm Purity Products
WCCO:
1-7pm: WCCO Sports Saturday with Steve Thomson and Eric Nelson
KSTP:
1-4pm: Auto Talk with Paul Brand
KTLK:
12-2pm: Holding Court with Ron Rosenbaum
2-3pm: Money Talks with Terry Sandvold
FM107:
1-2pm: More Than Money
2-3pm: LOL! Live
Aim high bruthas.
Tim,
Not surprised you missed the muted irony.
Although bear in mind that CCO and KSTP have ten times our power, Brand is a long-time favorite (and a great guy), and Rosenbaum is a marquee talent.
So as usual, I’m right and you’re wrong.
Brand and Rosenbaum are nothing to sneeze at. *shrug*
Paul Brand’s got a good show… but it is hardly sweeping the Metro area. It’s like a Home and Garden show… you tune in when you need the advice.
And Rosenbaum… he’s kind of a douchebag. So, while he’s nothing to sneeze at, he’s something to, uh… you know.
Does anyone even know Rosenbaum is on Saturdays? I accidentally found his show (my radio was on KTLK from listening to Jason the night before). I don’t hear a lot of ads for him on K-Talk.
And Paul Brand is the reason I’d oppose the Fairness Doctrine.
I knew Ronnie was on Saturday. There was this huge cliche vacuum on University Ave. so he had to be somewhere…
If they actually try this again, I’m with you 100% (110% for lefties that cannot do math) As for “The Constitution applies once again!” I have news, it is the constitution that the lefties like Sotero think they have to override, like Clinton and his blatent defiance of the constitution (I have it on voideo tape). Side note: If Hitler wer a modern extremist leftie, he might have called his “Final Solution” something like: “The Justice Emforcement Movement” (A JEM of an idea!) I like the way lefties alwasy name things in a “good soundling” light: “Fairness Doctrine” – as if there were no fairness in a feree market, “Affirmative Action” as if it were really affirmative, and not simply quotas. We all know the list goes on and on, so I am looking forward to the “Happy Camps” me and my kind will be sent to once Barry consolidates his power, after burning the constitution. I should have a wonderful time on the: “Fitness Machine” (The Rack)…
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