US talk radio
 

Very long feature just finished on "Broadcasting House" on Radio 4 this
morning , about right wing and left wing stations in the US and the up and
coming liberal station.

Played air checks of various broadcasters.

Are these what used to be called shock jocks? They are more shocking than
ours in the UK!

Rush Limbaugh seems to be in a sad state, his catchphrase is "Talent on loan
from God"!

G Gordon Liddy seems very opinionated.

I quote from the programme "radio is to the right".

I wonder if the new station, Air America, will be welcomed to widen the
dialogue. Will advertisers aim to the liberal market?

Mike

Mike Terry wrote:
Very long feature just finished on "Broadcasting House" on Radio 4 this
morning , about right wing and left wing stations in the US and the up and
coming liberal station.

Played air checks of various broadcasters.

Are these what used to be called shock jocks? They are more shocking than
ours in the UK!

Rush Limbaugh seems to be in a sad state, his catchphrase is "Talent on loan
from God"!

G Gordon Liddy seems very opinionated.

I quote from the programme "radio is to the right".

I wonder if the new station, Air America, will be welcomed to widen the
dialogue. Will advertisers aim to the liberal market?

What is not widely publicized about this new network is that it's on a
bunch of technically-weak stations. None of them are competitive, from
a signal standpoint, with the stations that air the right-of-center
programs.

No, "shock jocks" refer to attempts to shock with sexual innuendo.
"Shock" announcers generally don't have any particular political agenda.

IMHO advertisers will buy any program that people who buy their products
listen to.
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
[...] new liberal talk show network


What is not widely publicized about this new network is that it's on a
bunch of technically-weak stations. None of them are competitive, from
a signal standpoint, with the stations that air the right-of-center
programs.

The LA station on 1580 is a 50kw, that dumps most of its power over the
Pacific Ocean (to protect stations in Mexico....)

Mike Terry wrote:
Very long feature just finished on "Broadcasting House" on Radio 4 this
morning , about right wing and left wing stations in the US and the up and
coming liberal station.

Played air checks of various broadcasters.

Who did they play (besides Rush and Liddy?)


Are these what used to be called shock jocks? They are more shocking than
ours in the UK!

I don't know....I heard some downright bizarre stuff on "TalkSport" one
night in London!


Rush Limbaugh seems to be in a sad state, his catchphrase is "Talent on loan
from God"!

He's been saying that for years...



G Gordon Liddy seems very opinionated.

I quote from the programme "radio is to the right".

I wonder if the new station, Air America, will be welcomed to widen the
dialogue.

I don't know. They've selected four stations (LA, NY, Chicago and I think
San Francisco). None of the stations has particularly good coverage....

Charles Hobbs wrote in message ...
Mike Terry wrote:
Very long feature just finished on "Broadcasting House" on Radio 4 this
morning , about right wing and left wing stations in the US and the up and
coming liberal station.

Played air checks of various broadcasters.

Who did they play (besides Rush and Liddy?)


Are these what used to be called shock jocks? They are more shocking than
ours in the UK!

I don't know....I heard some downright bizarre stuff on "TalkSport" one
night in London!


Rush Limbaugh seems to be in a sad state, his catchphrase is "Talent on loan
from God"!

He's been saying that for years...



G Gordon Liddy seems very opinionated.

I quote from the programme "radio is to the right".

I wonder if the new station, Air America, will be welcomed to widen the
dialogue.

I don't know. They've selected four stations (LA, NY, Chicago and I think
San Francisco). None of the stations has particularly good coverage....

What are the other stations?

I would imagine that it's rather difficult to find available outlets
in the major markets for an unproved product, when the big stations
already run the rightwing stuff.

"Mike Terry" wrote in message ...
Very long feature just finished on "Broadcasting House" on Radio 4 this
morning , about right wing and left wing stations in the US and the up and
coming liberal station.

Played air checks of various broadcasters.

Are these what used to be called shock jocks? They are more shocking than
ours in the UK!

Rush Limbaugh seems to be in a sad state, his catchphrase is "Talent on loan
from God"!

He is in a bad state. He is a drug offender and could face prison
time. He should, given what he has said about drug offenders in the
past. I have to wonder why he needed all those painkillers when he has
such a cushy job in radio.

G Gordon Liddy seems very opinionated.

He always was (so is Rush). Liddy's also a convicted felon; one of the
"Watergate" conspirators.

I quote from the programme "radio is to the right".

The people with money are generally conservative, so that's where they
target the ads.

I wonder if the new station, Air America, will be welcomed to widen the
dialogue. Will advertisers aim to the liberal market?

Probably not.

Mike

"Charles Hobbs" wrote in message
...
Mike Terry wrote:
Very long feature just finished on "Broadcasting House" on Radio 4 this
morning , about right wing and left wing stations in the US and the up
and
coming liberal station.

Played air checks of various broadcasters.

Who did they play (besides Rush and Liddy?)


yes I think so, Mike.

Charles Hobbs wrote in message ...
Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
[...] new liberal talk show network


What is not widely publicized about this new network is that it's on a
bunch of technically-weak stations. None of them are competitive, from
a signal standpoint, with the stations that air the right-of-center
programs.

The LA station on 1580 is a 50kw, that dumps most of its power over the
Pacific Ocean (to protect stations in Mexico....)

If you're referring to the former KDAY in Santa Monica, it has a
decent signal to the North but does have to protect the Mexican (used
to be XEDM, I believe) on the same frequency.

On 28 Mar 2004 16:02:05 GMT, "Mike Terry"
wrote:

Are these what used to be called shock jocks? They are more shocking than
ours in the UK!

Rush Limbaugh seems to be in a sad state, his catchphrase is "Talent on loan
from God"!

I'm afraid the BBC is stuck in the last century. Rush Limbaugh has
been using that slogan almost since day one well over a decade ago.
It's a little like saying WINS is in a sad state because they've used
"Give us 22 minutes and we'll give you the world." Sometimes a slogan
stands up to the test of time. Advertising agencies have orgasmic
incedents when they discover one of their slogans enters popular
culture.

G Gordon Liddy seems very opinionated.

Duh!

I quote from the programme "radio is to the right".

Duh!

I wonder if the new station, Air America, will be welcomed to widen the
dialogue.

First, a very small percentage of the population will have access to
Air America programming compared with its conservative competition.
It'll take many years to develop the coverage enjoyed by Limbaugh
(600+ for Limbaugh. Fewer than 20 marginal signals for Air America).
The conservatives already have the best signals on well branded
stations.

New York will be very difficult because their outlet is solidly
branded as a Black station, both Black talk and Dominican music. The
WLIB heritage (sadly) will have to be destroyed before a new one can
be created. That'll require a call letter change and very expensive
promotion. Their competition will be WABC. WABC does a lot of transit
promotion and television during important rating surveys. WABC and
KFI, Los Angeles compete for the title of the most listened-to Talk
station in the nation.

I have the feeling that Al Franken, in partifcular, will make it an
"us vs. them" atmosphere. If he does, it'll be a wonderful promotional
medium for conservative stations. The more he mentions O'Reilly and
Limbaugh the more Air America should charge Premiere and Westwood One
for advertising time. I say that sadly because I really like Al
Franken and Randi Rhodes.

Will advertisers aim to the liberal market?

By and large advertisers avoid any kind of controversy. That's why
Laura Schlessinger lost 30 million in billing over her slam at the gay
community and Michael Savage threatened to sue everyone on earth for
complaining to his advertisers for something similar (excuse: "I
didn't know the mic was on"). Large network advertisers avoid
controversy like the plague. It doesn't matter if the controversy is
on the right or the left.

I can't believe the BBC is just noticing that Talk Radio in the US is
right wing.

Rich

Hard to imagine they'd want to ditch the WLIB calls as they take on liberal
talk. I noticed you mentioned WINS in the same post. Heavily branded Top 40
calls, and scandal-tarnished as well. Became quite a successful news brand
nonetheless.

(You mentioned WABC as well. Highly branded calls but in that case
obviously untouchable. I was amazed a few years back when they briefly
experimented with "770" as their "channel brand.")

Jerome

"Rich Wood" wrote in message
I'm afraid the BBC is stuck in the last century. Rush Limbaugh has
been using that slogan almost since day one well over a decade ago.
It's a little like saying WINS is in a sad state because they've used
"Give us 22 minutes and we'll give you the world." Sometimes a slogan
stands up to the test of time. Advertising agencies have orgasmic
incedents when they discover one of their slogans enters popular
culture.
...
New York will be very difficult because their outlet is solidly
branded as a Black station, both Black talk and Dominican music. The
WLIB heritage (sadly) will have to be destroyed before a new one can
be created. That'll require a call letter change and very expensive
promotion. Their competition will be WABC. WABC does a lot of transit
promotion and television during important rating surveys. WABC and
KFI, Los Angeles compete for the title of the most listened-to Talk
station in the nation.

Richard Cranium wrote:
Charles Hobbs wrote in message ...

Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
[...] new liberal talk show network


What is not widely publicized about this new network is that it's on a
bunch of technically-weak stations. None of them are competitive, from
a signal standpoint, with the stations that air the right-of-center
programs.

The LA station on 1580 is a 50kw, that dumps most of its power over the
Pacific Ocean (to protect stations in Mexico....)


If you're referring to the former KDAY in Santa Monica, it has a
decent signal to the North but does have to protect the Mexican (used
to be XEDM, I believe) on the same frequency.

How far north? It doesn't seem to put much of a signal into the
San Fernando Valley during the day (at night, all bets are off)....

Rich,

Generally in the UK we have a relaxed and permissive attitude and on air
presenters do not try to make fools of those who 'phone in.

Mike.

"Richard Cranium" wrote in message
...

He is in a bad state. He is a drug offender and could face prison
time. He should, given what he has said about drug offenders in the
past. I have to wonder why he needed all those painkillers when he has
such a cushy job in radio.

A cushy job in radio prevents pain?

"Richard Cranium" wrote in message
...
Charles Hobbs wrote in message
...
Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
[...] new liberal talk show network


What is not widely publicized about this new network is that it's on a
bunch of technically-weak stations. None of them are competitive, from
a signal standpoint, with the stations that air the right-of-center
programs.

The LA station on 1580 is a 50kw, that dumps most of its power over the
Pacific Ocean (to protect stations in Mexico....)

If you're referring to the former KDAY in Santa Monica, it has a
decent signal to the North but does have to protect the Mexican (used
to be XEDM, I believe) on the same frequency.

It is only moderately listenable in the San Fernando Valley in the daytime,
and virtually useless there at night. That is to the North.

1580 in the US protects, if I am not mistaken, the B assignments in both the
US and Canada.

And XEDM in Hermosillo, a non-directional 50 kw station, virtually wipes it
out in the fringe areas at night.

"Richard Cranium" wrote in message
...

I wonder if the new station, Air America, will be welcomed to widen the
dialogue. Will advertisers aim to the liberal market?

Probably not.

Advertisers aim at large audiences. They seldom care about political
opinions.

On 29 Mar 2004 21:42:07 GMT, "Cooperstown.Net"
wrote:

Hard to imagine they'd want to ditch the WLIB calls as they take on liberal
talk. I noticed you mentioned WINS in the same post. Heavily branded Top 40
calls, and scandal-tarnished as well. Became quite a successful news brand
nonetheless.

(You mentioned WABC as well. Highly branded calls but in that case
obviously untouchable. I was amazed a few years back when they briefly
experimented with "770" as their "channel brand.")

Both stations took many years to change their branding. As I recall,
WINS took about 8 years to really take off. I don't believe WLIB will
have the luxury of that kind of time. Talk Radio is a slow build.

If the deal instantly makes WLIB profitable, Percy Sutton will give it
all the time it needs. Will Air America have the money it takes to
survive?

I hope it does and I hope they focus on entertainment rather than
rabid politics.

Rich

On 30 Mar 2004 05:18:53 GMT, "Mike Terry"
wrote:

Generally in the UK we have a relaxed and permissive attitude and on air
presenters do not try to make fools of those who 'phone in.

Unfortunately, making fools of callers is what drives most US Talk
Radio. We get a reprieve on the weekends when the "lifestyle" shows
predominate. It's hard for a pet show to make mean-spiriited fun of
someone who chooses a pig as a pet. You can criticize our President,
but keep your opinions to yourself when it comes to our pets. In this
case, the pig is smarter.

Rich

Rich Wood wrote in :

If the deal instantly makes WLIB profitable, Percy Sutton will give it
all the time it needs.

It was my understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong on this) that Air
America is leasing WLIB; presumably, profit for Percy is built into the
lease terms. Inner City has said that they weren't making a profit with
the old format.

The question then becomes whether Air America will ever make a profit; and
they have said that their business plan calls for them to lose money for
the first two years.


--
|I always wanted to be someone,| Tom Betz, Generalist |
|but now I think I should have | Want to send me email? |
|been a wee bit more specific. | http://tinyurl.com/ps2u |

"Mike Terry" wrote in news:c46stt$giu$1
@xuxa.iecc.com:

I wonder if the new station, Air America, will be welcomed to widen the
dialogue. Will advertisers aim to the liberal market?

So far today, the only advertising has been PSAs, promos for other
programs, and an XM trade. And Franken pushing his books, of course.

G. Gordon Liddy calling in from his show to congratulate Franken on HIS
show is a nice touch.

FWIW, Air America is streaming at:

http://play.rbn.com/?url=airam/airam/live/live.rm

off of http://airamericaradio.com.

--
|I always wanted to be someone,| Tom Betz, Generalist |
|but now I think I should have | Want to send me email? |
|been a wee bit more specific. | http://tinyurl.com/ps2u |

On 31 Mar 2004 23:06:37 GMT, Tom Betz wrote:

It was my understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong on this) that Air
America is leasing WLIB; presumably, profit for Percy is built into the
lease terms. Inner City has said that they weren't making a profit with
the old format.

Percy Sutton is a very smart man. I'm certain this arrangement brings
WLIB into the black financially. I would bet there's also a piece of
the advertising action built in. It's been reported that Air America
is chargin $1500 a minute. With 6 stations I can only imagine how many
bonus spots that includes.

The question then becomes whether Air America will ever make a profit; and
they have said that their business plan calls for them to lose money for
the first two years.

Walsh and Cohen were interviewed on 60 Minutes II and declared there
was enough money to lose for years to come.

The rollout of Franken was disappointing. He was clearly out of his
element and I have to replace the glass in my car that was shattered
by the piercing laugh of his NPR sidekick. This should have been the
best show they could have done as their debut, having months to
prepare. It wasn't. I think there's too much TV influence to
understand radio.

The production values were bad, as was the interface between Air
America's feed and XM's. Air America's levels were all over the place.
When XM took over levels came back to normal. It sounds like AM
operators who rely on processing to ride gain. Even the 60 Minutes
video showed pinned meters much of the time.

For a few minutes I thought Rush Limbaugh's feed got crossed. Ed
Shultz sounds like a wannabe Rush with only the content changed.

I wish they hadn't gotten so much advance publicity and caused
expectations to be so high and not met.

Rich

On 3 Apr 2004 15:32:18 GMT, Rich Wood wrote:

For a few minutes I thought Rush Limbaugh's feed got crossed. Ed
Shultz sounds like a wannabe Rush with only the content changed.

For what it's worth, Mr. Schultz is not part of the Air America
operation...he's syndicated separately by Jones Radio (in an unusual
arrangement...I believe a left-leaning group actually bankrolls the
syndication for Jones).

XM picks him up instead of 3 out of Randi Rhodes' 4 hours. They moved
him (or are moving him) from the "Buzz" channel, which becomes
"America Right" on Monday. One of the other AA affiliates, Clear
Channel-owned KPOJ/620 Portland, also carries Ed Schultz separately
from AA.

Alan Colmes (Fox News) is also on the XM "America Left" channel,
pre-empting some of AA's programming in his live slot of 10 PM-1 AM
ET.