Wednesday oddems: KVI sucks, KIRO blows, weather talk sucks, bryan suits blows, big pants sucks, dave reichert blows; but we do like stephen king

~ sucky, sucky, sucky. That's KVI according to the important 25-54 demo for summer we've been looking at.  Big losers: the brave new, The Commentators (m-f, 9-12a) with a puny 1.1. They make it up in the older 35-64 demo, Fisher defenders tell us, but here's where the money is. Sean Hannity at only 1.6(!) is beaten by everybody all over the dial. Bryan Suits is bombing in the afternoon drive with a 1.8 share; and Mark Levin, the pusillanimous little prig from 6-8p can't get Suits leftovers.

~ we don't like the weather on talk radio as a topic. Cliff Mass on Weekday with Steve Scher (KUOW m-f, 9a-12p) on Fridays is ho-hummable- but hell, it's public radio. So what's Bryan Suits' excuse for his soporific new regular feetch on Wednesdays when he invites a climatologist over from the U-Dub and tries to talk him out of global warning?

~ speaking of talk radio, Weekday with Steve Scher will have Stephen King as a guest at 10a, Weds., a rare enough occurrence; but we'll get nothing before we line up and take our medicine with Vaughn Palmer and a power-hour of Canadian politics. The good news: no fish biology this week!

No. No. No. Bedtime stories by Frank Shiers on the radie-yo is verboten! On Halloween, Frank, using his best voice-over voice, read (acted) a LONNNGGG short story on the air. It seemed to be a good enough piece of fiction, but since we didn't get in on the beginning, we weren't interested in starting in the middle, so our fingers on the radio buttons jumped past KIRO for the better part of a half hour. Not too good for the TSL, bud. Leave the readin' to NPR.

~ Even with the new lowered expectations of talk radio, this wall-to-wall coverage of the Kerry blooper demonstrates how effective it is for Republicans to communicate to their base. We'll see if any of those sticky double digit numbers that have the R's stuck in the shit will be pried up in time for the election after this poopstorm.

~ what a snitch! Dave Reichert called school officials after he and the President rolled by  an Issaquah school bus and its driver gave Bush the finger. Reichert, ever the cop,  got his way, and the driver, a woman, was fired. The President, whose reported fart jokes with staff has started a cottage industry of 'George Bush pull my finger dolls'; couldn't have been all that shocked. Maybe he'll pardon the driver when he leaves office.

~ don't get a big head, KIRO; those numbers didn't look so great for you. Dave Ross is behind both Thom Hartmann (KPTK m-f, 9a-12p) and Limbaugh (KTTH) and pulling way ahead of only The Tators. (All that moving around didn't do Dave much good. Liberals have the strong Hartmann; the conservatives have their Big Pants and middlebrow Dave is getting it from both ends). Reagan is doing just OK;  as is Dori- who's beating Hannity, but gettoing beaten by Medved on KTTH. Ron & Don are doing miserably; but Rachel Maddow (KPTK m-f, 3-5p) is kicking major butt against them an Suits in the afternoon drive. Evenings are better- with Vinnie, and the mix of fill-ins. If Frank Shiers would ever work in one spot for a whole quarter, we could get a gauge on him. Bryan Styblehead's last book and gift to the station gift was a solid .09%. Guess you could point your finger at him when you're feeling like blaming somebody for losing live and local on the overnight.

~ Here's a delightful video which catches the charm and élan of Mr. Big Pants himself, inspired by his salacious hit on Michael J. Fox. (hat tip to elaine).

~ KTTH, is doing pretty well overall, but their only local program, Sytman & Boze is pulling a sad 1.1 share. It's too bad, Dan Sytman and David Boze put a lot of heart in their destructive, nihilistic show, but unfortunately, their fans keep shooting themselves, holds them back on the AQH thing.

Comments

[Brian In Lacey wa]

Thanks Styblehead!

[mercifurious]

On behalf of everyone here in the Bla'M Fam, I'd like to congradulate Styblehead on the OUTSTANDING upturn in his ratings - a whole 0.01%!

[joanie]

Cliff Mass and Jeff Renner are two forces behind the campaign to reinvent the math curriculum in Seattle and Bellevue particularly and get it legislated in Olympia through a group called "Where's the Math." Guess these atmospheric science majors are big-time activists. Cliff, especially, has been outspoken in Seattle.

Sorry about Dave Ross. Interesting that Reagan is doing a bit better. Dave is suffering from the crossover to AA but some people apparently return to Reagan at noon . . .

Also, your comment, Michael, about Schram finding less and less about which to disagree with Carlson may bode badly for their show.

Who knows? :)

[Stephen Schwartz]

How in hell does anyone get through to the no wits at Entercom that Shires and trucking are offensive yet boring. This programming lacks even the titillating provocateurs of the Publiconazis. Medved may have the morals of Abramovitz, but Medved is literate and Limbaugh could make a good living as contemporary Mort Sahl.

I have an idea ... clone the Montlake. Move the Goldstein fan club from Montlake to Eastlake. The barkeep can be the host and KIRO can sell virtual beer.

[John]

When is KVI going out of business? What a bunch of fucking losers. I can't listen any more, I'll fall asleep and crash my car.

[coiler]

If you must crash while listening, please be on Vashon Island, here is KVI's transmitter location
http://www.ontheradio.net/maps/kviam.aspx?Lat=47.42194&Lon=-122.42889

[spambutcher]

Dave Ross was better before he started asserting his own view point so consistently.

Used to do a great job of facilitating open discussion on any given topic. Now he's condescending (yet polite) to anyone who doesn’t agree with him.

So he looses the lefty’s to Air America – and the rest of us go elsewhere.

Commentators make for far better radio. Maybe their ratings will pick up in the long run…

Wish they’d put Reagon on some other time when I could hear him – I’m not entirely down with his politics – but he seems less of a nanny-stater than Dave Ross.

[Dana]

Reichart is a weenie and I nearly gagged when I heard Shiers doing his "reading" the other night. My husband and I both listened; between gales of laughter and utter astonishment, we remarked that he sounded like a train wreck. Wasn't that the awfulest thing you ever heard?

And he actually thinks he has TALENT!!!

[DOUG.]

Remember when Bush FLIPPED OFF AMERICA? BIg time!

[coiler]

Yes, he and Big Dick also called Adam Clymer of the NYT "a major league asshole, big time" on a open mic. Something the kool aid drinkers have forgotten

[neo-realist]

But how is Ed Schultz doing against Medved and Dori?

[slugworth]

Bring back Mike Webb!

[mac]

Yeah Mike is better than Shiers, but all he can talk about is Bush. Don't know if you listen to his podcast, but all it is is him playing tapes from Keith Olberman and CNN and then Mike laughing.

[umo]

When Mike was on KIRO he was only on the air for 3hrs/day. Now his internet radio show is on all day and night.

[coiler]

Do you expect any host to stay up all day and nite, doing live radio?