elitist, intellectualized snits, kiro, air america, ktth, and arbitron ratings pigs

No numbers, yet, but according to sources, new ratings are devastating to KIRO radio. What’s more, it’s official: KVI has passed  KTTH, KIRO’s Entercom l’il sister, whose ratings have dropped as fast as they went up last year after they stole Rush Limbaugh.

The station, meanwhile, has been left dangling slowly, slowly in the wind by the new management frantic to save KIRO as it slips below the surface.

At least that’s what the help says.

Radio biz Cassandras all over town are predicting the mighty 710 KIRO blowtorch of local news-talk will go the way of the old KING1090, for decades on top of the Seattle AM heap before it tipped over rather suddenly in the early ‘90’s.

(Interesting footnote is that KING, owned by the enlightened, liberal Bullitt family, tried Rush Limbaugh on in the late ‘80’s, as he was just starting in national syndication. After a few months, they decided he was not a fit for them...or Seattle. Ironically, a few years later, the KING was dead and Big Pants was king). 

Herein is a lesson for Air America affiliate, 1090AM: stations with little more than syndicated programming won’t make it--even when one of the syndicated is Limbaugh. At least that’s what radio hands tell me.

I never agree with Brian Maloney, the conservative KIRO talk jock fired because he called on-air for CBS’ Dan Rather’s resignation after the pre-election faked memo scandal. It was bad form--KIRO is a CBS affiliate. The now long-gone PD Ken Berry denied Maloney was fired for that reason, but he never came up with any other reason, and despite that it made cable news for a week, fired he was. Maloney left the local market.

Maloney’s ambitious blog, The Radio Equalizer is well-received by the pleistocene crowd both on the East coast where he now resides, and locally. As a conservative host on KVI and KIRO, he used to infuriate me, but he blogs convincingly on talk radio biz, a subject about which he knows considerably more than I.

In a post that should provoke thought by anyone interested in the success of liberal talk radio, Does Sean Hannity Help or Hurt Talk Radio? How Stations Benefit From Local Programming, he writes:

“Ratings are still strong overall for news/talk stations, but the future is much less certain, especially for AM "heritage" stations.
While competition heats up from every angle, including talk television, blogs, Internet broadcasting, podcasting, satellite radio and more, talk radio programmers have been ordered to focus on cost-cutting rather than battling the new threats. Would you slash the defense budget at the height of wartime?
The result has been a severe decline in what talk radio had long been doing right: spurring discussion on local issues where there had been no previous outlet....Stations had the opportunity to sell to clients these area personalities for endorsements, events and community involvement. Commercial sales opportunities are greater by far for local programs than syndicated ones.
So why were the local shows cut? To satisfy a shortsighted, relentless, cost-cutting push that undermined the very success talk radio had created.
At first, stations blended local "drivetime" programs with syndication to fill other parts of the day. Then, bean-counting cut even that away, removing successful area shows for sometimes marginal national shows. These lack the ability to discuss what's going on at the local or state level, leaving a station's schedule with show after show, beating to death the same few issues.
There are only a handful of nationally syndicated shows good enough to build a strong radio station. The rest are barely airworthy.”

KTTH’s sad story should be a cautionary tale for Air America, not only in Seattle where 1090 AM has nobody (!) live and local, but elsewhere in the country where liberal talk is gaining much too slowly for my taste.

Maloney cites KTTH’s sin of omission as a cogent example of how the all-politics-are-local dictum came to kick KTTH’s ass:

“When the controversy over the heavily disputed Washington state governor's race heated up to explosive levels last November, KVI was able to capitalize on enormous local listener interest in the controversy, while KTTH squandered the opportunity with national shows unwilling and unable to address it.”

It also kicked Democrats’ ass because this is more than radio biz, this is politics. The Republicans drove that debate, because we have no John Carlson or Kirby Wilbur to pound Republican sand up the public’s culo day-in and day-out. We have our NPR with its metered reporting and Dave Ross with his balanced style. We have our Allen Prell who no one listens to. We have Erin Hart and Mike Webb, voices ringing in the evening dead zones.

Radio is first and foremost a business. But what makes sound business, here--the marriage of local issues and local talk programming--also makes good politics.

I’d love to see Democratic Chairman Paul Berendt use some of his celebrated recruiting talents to find and prepare a field of broadcasters. I’d love to see some energy and money spent on an infrastructure that would encourage and help young progressives interested in broadcasting. The right did it and it’s paid off.

Talk radio is a powerful medium, one used well by the right. Whether it can work for progressives, has yet to be proven. If it doesn’t work for us, my prayer is that it’ll be because we gave it a good shot and failed--not because we walked away in one of our famous elitist, intellectualized snits.

Got any talk-radio poop to dish? Blab it at [email protected]. Discretion assured.

Comments

[mick horan]

I’d like to see something I’ll call the “(Round),(Kitchen),(Bar) Table Show”.

It could be 4 GOOD talkers, 2 men and 2 women that would cover local politics, current events, National and International news events. They could talk about the lies being told on other local talk shows…hopefully naming names. They could cover Cable TV and the crap they put out.

Well I can dream can’t I or do the republicans want to stop me from doing that too.

Mick

[michael at blatherWatch]

How about a Fox News for Democrats?

[Rollup Gridd]

Dear Mick,

RE: "Well I can dream can’t I or do the republicans want to stop me from doing that too"

Sorry, my misguided, liberal compatriot, it's already happening. I've been trying numerous alphanumeric combinations on the keypad of my "RightThink-Dreamware" in a vain attempt to unlock the neuraltransmitter device implanted by my hygenist last month during an annual dentist visit.

Though I am troubled by this neocon patented technology, there is one great side effect. Ann Coulter, despite her "born once too often" status, does give great.....

Rollup Gridd

[John]

I take issue with the assertion that Maloney was "fired" for what he said about Rather. Monson, Weissbach and KTTH were all hammering Rather.

Maloney was fired for poor ratings nothing more. He used to have two slots - one on Saturday, another on Sunday. This was cut back to one on Sunday a long time before the Rather mess. After this it was only a matter of time.

The guy was an embarassment. His show sucked. A legend in his own mind. Good riddance.

[linercard]

Amen. Myron Baloney was canned by KVI. Canned by KRKO in Everett when he tried a weekend business show. Canned by KIRO. Booted after 2 days with Jones. And not working in radio now. Quite the track record

[Sheesh]

"Linercard" is a very bitter David Boze.

[Chris]

Jeez, who admits listening to Dori Monson and Weissbach? How tragic.

[Kevin22262]

I would like to see Erin Hart take alan prells spot.. or give Dave Ross his spot back and put Erin on at 3.

Mike webb is OK but he needs... somethin.

[John]

"Brainless Baloney" "Brainfart Baloney"

and let's not forget:

"Dorky Moron"