1090Am: where are you?

BlatherWatch is frequently accused of having it out for KIRO; we've been charged with wreaking vengeance on KVI's talk hosts. KTTH fans and employees say we trash them unfairly.

These same people give us hell because we seem to favor the fledgling progressive Air America station KPTK 1090AM.

We are a liberal blog, for god's sake, but we're going on the record right now to say, we've been holding our fire, biting our lip, pulling our punches--resorting to lame cliches and excuses while  hoping, chanting--even praying--that THE TEPID, TIMID, CHEAPSKATE INFINITY MANAGEMENT would DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE to build this fucking station!

And it's obvious what needs to be done.

What brings all this up are the room temperature numbers rung up by KPTK in the new Spring 25-54 book. The station went up overall from 24th to 23rd, but that ignoble hop was based on only a 10th of a point--statistically no change at all. (23rd place in the market is down there mucking around with the likes of Mike Siegel, (KTTH m-f 6-9a) Mike Webb (KIRO m-f, 9p-1a) and Mt. Vernon High School basketball broadcasts. 

At least it's going in the right direction--especially considering the downturn in talk radio ratings across the board--KIRO's management would problably consider KPTK's shame a victory.

KPTK has been in a holding pattern with only syndicated shows.

BlatherWatch, our readers, 1090's listeners, the progressive establishment,  NPR listeners, the old guard, the new order, the meta beta community, the socker moms, the working class, the drinking class, the Christian left, the homeless service providers, the peace community, the yacht clubbers, the women's health providers, the foodies, the mass transit ravers, the buck-naked community, the buck-toothed community, the leather people, the rubber people, vinyl community, the Mountaineers, the Valley girls, the sushi freaks, the Swedish Club, the BBQ buffs, the fetish community, gays and lesbians, breeders, feeders, the eaters--we all believe that the local programming station manager Jim Trapp has been promising us for months would do the trick.

It's amazing how the advantages and opportunities given this progressive station in this progressive town have been ignored or wasted. The implosion of KIRO, the wasting away of KTTH, the star power of Al Franken, the media attention, Ed Schultz's appearance...we could go on but we're getting weepy. 

You only have to look at the wreckage of KTTH and compare it to KVI to get the picture. Because of local jocks doing local issues, a real local listener base has been cemented, ratings and a come-back were built. KTTH with Rush Limbaugh, but only one  local (the lame Mike Siegel--who's had bad ratings as long as he's been on the station) went down the primrose path like Tiny Tim.

Over the same time period, 1090AM stoked up a comment line, made some "community-building" spots and barely kept its head above water at the shallow end of the pool.

Have you heard that goofy 1090AM spot with House Speaker Frank Chopp and the sexy pimp jazz background music? Kids: Frank's cool. His politics are great. He's from Seattle--but for god's sake--he's a legislator, not Shaft!

We're liberal political activists, here at blatherWatch--big picturewise, we don't give a damn about the radio business. Having a successful liberal talk station in this town is would be good for the good guys. The Republicans play their talk stations like a French horn--delivering not only the political goods, but also scoring good ratings keeping GM's & PD's happy at the same time.

We know for sure that Trapp has had some great local applicants. We know for sure there's terrific broadcast talent across the fruited plains. We know for sure there's a big blue state audience out there waiting for new places to go.

This last section is a private message to State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt and his posse: If you're not Paul Berendt, or one of his homies, consider this the end of this post--and have a nice rest of the day.
~~
Dude: You guys haven't stepped up to the new media, either. You seem to be in denial of the blogosphere now used so effectively by the right to kick your sorry ass. Many of your politicans (Ron Sims!) avoid right-wing stations--and we need to tell you--the people are there, even if they're not. In absentia, they're letting themselves be portrayed as guilty as charged, chickenshit or whatever a right-wing host wants to hang on them--and all by default!

Republicans with their blogs and two drivetime talk hosts mounted a frivolous and cynically political lawsuit to unseat Governor Gregoire and even as the judge threw out the case, they turned the people against her and made a hero out of the guy who lost the election. You won the battle, but they won the war.

The same two talk hosts have now succeeded putting an initiative on the ballot to defund the roads repair bill, which will not only harm the state if it passes, but will further declaw the governor and embarrass the Democratic Legislature.

You oughta be helping Jim Trapp recruit talk show hosts. You oughta be putting kids through broadcast schools. You oughta buy KTTH. You oughta be giving money to blogs like BlatherWatch.

Comments

[Lump]

Michael,
What a great articulated column from one who is on the other side. It's a shame to see you waste talent on the left cause.
I don't agree with you on the star power of Al Franken though. He's a pretty good comedian, but a bland talk show host. I do enjoy Ed Schultz from time to time but I think he's mostly independently signed on. On the very liberal left coast, it seems only Portland has any audience as SEA,SMF,FAT, and LAX are no shows. San Diego appears to have some lift. How much longer can they go on without generating any profit? Anyway, good post.

[sparky]

As I said in another post, 1090 does not only have to worry about competing radio shows, it should be worried about the Internet, and our ability to stream either the AA website for the feed from NYC or KPOJ for Thom Hartmann in the mornings during the week. I dont care for the Morning Sedition crew so I stream KPOJ until 9 am. On weekends, if 1090 is running that horrible Clark Howard or Jerry Springer, or worst of all -NASCAR!!!-- I just turn OFF the radio ( and all your commercials, guys) and stream Robert Kennedy and Ring of Fire--one of the smartest radio shows on the air anywhere-- and then Laura Flanders.
The San Diego station has a great guy on from 6-9 who is much like Thom Hartmann and Dave Ross. If 1090 puts someone like Erin Hart or Mike Webb in the 6-9 local slot, that will not help their ratings at all...Dave might help because he is similar to what is offered elsewhere at that time, but is our own local guy. That will probably never happen, but I will always choose streaming over the radio as long as 1090 continues to mess around with things.

[Political Pulpit]

I have stopped listening to 1090AM. Why bother? I have XM radio and I can Air America anywhere.

I have called 1090, I have emailed them, I have even sent them a cake with the words: "Local Talent: Get a clue", but obviously they don't care.

So if they don't care, I don't care. My only dream at this point is that KIRO yanks the AAR format away from 1090 and gives us the best of both worlds.

[mayra alejandra lamas torres]

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