the white underbelly of seattle ratings: KIRO, KTTH, KKOL, KVI, medved messes in the butter barn

Comment in a radio-trade message board: KIRO has one thing in common with their older audience. Both could scream "Help, I've fallen and I can't get back up."

We get lots of letters from radio-folk who'd rather remain nameless...Is it retaliation they fear, or just that broadcasting is so secretive and allergic to scrutiny and criticism, that, like wombats and philanderers, they best function in the dark?

(Having functioned as both wombats and philanders, we'll be leading a panel on this topic at the 1st Annual BlatherWatch Talk Radio Critics Convention in Orlando next year).

Monday's post on Seattle talk radio Spring ratings generated more than usual of these whisperings, con-knivings, and stack-babbings.

Many of our readers suspected something was going on over at KIRO and KTTH since so many regular jocks have been out this week--like Dave Ross, Dori Monson, Lou Pate, Tony Ventrella, Mike Siegel.

We doubt this is anything more than vacation time, although we're beginning to worry about Siegel, there are rumors that he's eloped while in France, and may never come back to face the music and will spend the rest of his life drinking Perrier and eating French fries out of French envelopes. The rumorists insist that the phone calls Siegel makes to the show are actually pieced together from old nose-job commercials he made years ago.

Several people think Michael Medved's dithering explains Rush Limbaugh's drop from 3rd place to 18th in the 10a-3p slot they share on KTTH.

We'd really love to see Butter Barn fall on his pasty, drug-mottled face, but we're realistic enough to suspect that it's The Cultural Crusader who's not performing.

We reported a few months ago that the articulate neocon might go to Salem's KKOL (Medved's a Salem talent) when it goes to 50k watts. We were lectured by his snappish producer about rumor-mongering, though we were pretty sure from sources that there had been serious discussion. KKOL (1300 KHz) might look pretty good to Medved now that KTTH is in the toilet, but with these numbers, will they want him?

This is academic, anyway--Salem's Dennis Siopora told us last week they probably wouldn't be ready to pump it up on KKOL until the 1st or 2nd quarter of next year.

(Is it just us, or does anyone else think KKOL has rather unfortunate k-k-kall letters for a right wing station?)

Despite how smart his show is, Medved has never become a big player in national syndication. The talk radio audience seems to prefer a smarmy liar like Hannity--(who had a knee-up--ABC bought his way onto talk radio) or a raffish bomb-thrower like Savage--both of whom entered the biz later than Medved and passed him by.

Another reader says KVI's high evening ratings are due to Coast To Coast AM with George Noory, the Art Bell surrogate, not Bryan Suits. "Noory," he says, "gets huge ratings every time."

Everybody has an idea for what to do with the husks of KIRO/KTTH which now lie moldering in the ratings swamps collecting rainwater and breeding mosquitoes. The most interesting one is this, from "Old Radio Guy."

When I first heard about this plan B a year ago, I laughed, thinking they would never do it. Now I think they have no choice: that is, abandon KTTH, move Rush to KIRO and leave Dori and Dave where they are now.

Why? Simple--they would have one stronger station rather than two dead ones. In terms of revenues, having Rush's ratings in there gives it a major boost. They would still need to blow up nights and weekends on KIRO, but that's not a big deal.

(Maybe not to you, there ORG--you still have a job, but night and weekend folks have to eat, too--and crow or humble pie doesn't stick to the ribs. And these egos would turn up their noses at such entrees as those. Besides, Webb has Lexus payments, Erin Hart has a new baby, and Frank Shiers needs to retire).

ORG says: "It's no longer absurd to think this will happen, I'd put the odds at 50%."
~~
Got any dish from the white underbelly of talk radio? You're not alone--drop us a line at [email protected]. Discretion, of course.

COMING SOON: the sad, infuriating state of liberal talk's KPTK.

Comments

[Michael B.]

Great report Blathering Michael. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.

By the way you don't need two K's in your call sign for lefties to invoke the KKK. The moonbats at a rally I attended last year had signs lambasting KKKVI and they only have one K in their call sign.

[blathering michael]

that wasn't a slur. It used to be KOL, but the FCC made almost all stations have four call letters- hence,KKOL. One exception is KVI, who successfully pled to the FCC that the call letters of the old station were historic...

[marko]

what have you got against Frank Shiers?

[blathering michael]

he's bland, smug, and conservative- a bad, boring combination. He has a good broadcast voice, but unfortunately, speaks in cliches. otherwise he's just fine- conservative talk's version of US Today.

[Andrew]

I don't think Limbaugh on KIRO would work out because if you're a liberal who tolerates Dori Monson and listens for Dave Ross it will be realy inconvenient to have to dodge the station when Limbaugh is on. KOMO used to put "Doctor Laura" on before and after liberal hosts and that didn't work for long. I think they need to hire smarter hosts that can give insight that isn't obvious and average. They should be able to find better.

[JDB]

How long does Limbaugh's contract with KTTH last, does it have an escape clause for bad ratings, and what are the chances of Limbaugh in a drug induced haze staggering back to KVI?

And why won't local conservatives listen to Medved? Sure, having read local conservative blogs, I realise that the movement which use to be proud of its intellectuals (William Buckly, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you), now prefers liars like Hannity, but Medved has the one right wing talk show that you don't have to be embarrased to listen to.

[Michael B.]

JDB: I would add Dennis Prager to your list of non-embarassing conservative talk shows. Don't you think?

I too am surprised by Medved's lackluster showing. But remember even in the best of times talk show hosts rarely puncture the 3.0 rating mark.

Ratings wise, Liberal Seattle is dominated by Country Music! I thnk the Country station gets an incredible 7.0 rating.

[Lump]

It appears that there are no lefty talk show hosts that pull any weight cept Dave Ross. As bm calls Frank Shier bland, I guess he hasn't listened to Ross. Talk about bland and monotone. Medved is a talented host, but he won't shut up long enough for call ins to talk. All the name calling against Limbaugh and Hannity only show the pettiness of the lefties. I believe Limbaugh has just started his 18th year and has been king of the hill for most of them. Calling him drug crazed or operating in a fog is just imature and petty. If a loonie successfully completed a drug rehab program, they would be the toast of the town in the land of the Left. Alas, the left talk shows are such failures, name calling is the only thing left for them to do.

[chris]

Its Limbaugh's hipocrisy on drugs that makes him looney and petty. You also failed to mention that name calling and other errata he claims as 'factoids' are the basis of his show. And Limbaugh is not mature enough to face the drug courts on this one as well and take his lumps when it comes to sentencing. That seems to be the whole strategic plan of Rush and Co. is to dish it out, but...

[ExDem]

Did Limbaugh talk a lot about drug addicts on his show over the years? I realize he's conservative, but I'm not aware that he really covered drugs as a big issue.

Seems like he's been caught in a drug addiction and now he's fighting a legal battle about that in the courts. Let the system do it's work and let's see how things turn out. If he's such a hypocrite on this issue, what things has he said about drug penalties in the past that conflict with what's happening now? I think the hypocrisy charge here is a red herring - I think he's been pretty silent on the drug issue and now he's in the middle of a legal proceeding.

[andrew]

http://fair.org/index.php?page=1159

[Lump]

Chris says,
"Its Limbaugh's hipocrisy on drugs that makes him looney and petty. You also failed to mention that name calling and other errata he claims as 'factoids' are the basis of his show. And Limbaugh is not mature enough to face the drug courts on this one as well and take his lumps when it comes to sentencing."

Well Chris, it appears you are a little out of date. And, I doubt if you've listened to him very much, but have gotten your talking points from others. True story, he did become addicted to pain killers. Is that worse than cocaine or pot? To be decided. Did he resist being blackmailed by his maid and her husband? Did he fess up and tell his audience several times how it came about and how hard it was to shake it. Did he go into rehab and apparently successfully kick it? Is he being prosecuted by a partisan DA about Doctor/Client privelege? Not mature to face the courts? Just play the facts as they are and get a grip on it. If this was Clinton, would you be so spiteful? Of course not, this is nothing more than partisan politics and you are on one side and I'm on the other. I have a daughter going thru the same thing now and it's not a pretty sight, but I now have a grip on how easy it is to get there when medicine cannot treat a problem.

[sparkey]

Lump..sorry about your daughter. I'm sure it gives you a unique insight.

Bottom line, Rush said, several times, that people who abuse drugs should go straight to jail. No pussyfooting around with excuses--straight to jail.
So far the prosecutors have found no evidence that he was being blackmailed by anyone, and even if she did threaten to reveal all, the fact that he was ( is?) consuming VAST quantities of an addictive drug is undeniable--he admitted it.
If Clinton was handing out advice on daily radio about being faithful to one's spouse, while shagging Monica, I would feel the same way about him. I dislike hypocrites on both sides of the aisle, and I especially dislike religious figures who tout a level of morality that they cannot follow themselves.
Regarding his trip to rehab--an admirable first step. But many doctors and other specialists who deal with addiction said at the time that 30 days would only begin the process of a long and painful recovery. He was only fooling himself if he thought that was all he had to do.
Rush used to lean much more toward the liberal viewpoint until he discovered how much money he could make blabbering his right wing nonsense on the airwaves. So, I take most of what he says with a grain of salt. Now, he has gotten caught breaking the law, and he should step up to the plate and accept the same punishments he said -on the air--that the "drug using scum" he talked about would get in the same circumstance.

[umo]

Why do idiots continue to assume that only dittoheads listen to the Limbaugh show? Rush's most loyal and dedicated listeners are the legions who tune in faithfully to hate him every day. Limbaugh would dominate on KIRO-AM just like he does everywhere.

[chris]

I didn't know Rush had a S&M following

[Mike]

David Fields is in town this week. Those of you who want to meet Mr. Tom Clendening, might stop in at the Unemployment office on Monday.

Dave Pridemore, is going to be demoted this week to his sales (Support the biggest tittys) Director role.

[sparkey]

I understand that management bears the responsibility for the decisions they make..but its the on-air talent that makes me decide to change the station or stick around and listen...so, what happens to the poopy pants on the air???

[Lump]

Sparky says,
"Rush used to lean much more toward the liberal viewpoint until he discovered how much money he could make blabbering his right wing nonsense on the airwaves." I don't agree with that at all. Perhaps he became more conservative with time, but he never spouted liberal bunk. I spent quite a bit of time in Sacramento and listened to him a lot including his first week on the air there with KFBK when I thought he was a nutcase. I saw him at the MGM Grand in Reno when he did his Rush to Excellence Tours and he hasn't changed that much. Perhaps it not blabbering nonsense when you are the #1 radio host in the nation for as many years as he has been and nobody else is even close. Perhaps he might just be one of the most influential media types in the country. I define blabbering nonsense as Air America, but nobody is listening.
Also, thanks for the kind words at the beginning of your post.

[chris]

that's Bullshit! Wait, I just stole Novak's line

[Bryan Styble]

To those who read this blog and may (or may not) have heard Bryan Styble's call-in hosting work since April 2005 on KIRO/Seattle:

You should know that the poster using the name "Bible Styble" is NOT Bryan Styble. I am Bryan Styble, and I have no idea who has been doing this, nor can I fathom why anyone would want to impersonate me, especially on a blog which, ahem, seems unimpressed with my talent as a radio personality.

While I do frequently state on the air that my name "rhymes with Bible" (since otherwise the preponderance of callers seem to hear my unusual surname as "Stydell", "Strybell", etc.), please be assured that an imposter has been posting herein with the pseudonym "Bible Styble".

If anyone is interested, one of the many things I detest about standard cyber-protocol is nearly everyone's seeming aversion to not owning up to their own ideas. I can count on two hands the number of posters whose musings I've read since 1994 other than myself who invariably not only use their full, true names, but as well always cite the city from which they post.

Whatever anyone thinks of my broadcast efforts here on KIRO (or previously, over the years, in Albuquerque, Detroit, Chicago and the Bay Area), I am proud that EVERY posting I've ever made to any blog or newsgroup--and this is the first time I've posted to "BlatherWatch" under any name--has identified my full name and my location, as I am doing below.

Sincerely,
BRYAN STYBLE/Seattle

[blathering michael]

Thanks Bryan. It's the price we pay for allowing anonymous and pseudononymous commenters in here. I do it because, I think it encourages unfettered comment. We try to mirror talk radio which allows--thrives on--the same kind of anonymity.

Bryan makes a good point: nothing on the Net should be taken as the truth w/out further investigation...

Please don't take it personally, Bryan--we're liberal around here, and don't usually have more than grudging respect for most conservative talk jocks. I have your IP, now and will try to make sure no one impersonates you further. Feel welcome to get into the discussion, here any time--under your name, or anyone else's.

[sparky]

My choice of name has nothing to do with any lack of conviction in my ideas...it is all about safety.
I have no idea who lurks here without responding, and because I have strong viewpoints, I have no desire to lead someone to my doorstep to disagree in ways that might not just be verbal.

It's a girl thing...

[rickwatts]

Hi Bryan,

hope all is well at your Seattle home!

Rick Watts

[Howard Bancroft]

Hey Bryan are you still in Seattle and how are you doing? ABQ misses your hyper-radio active presence.