Will KPTK step up to radio reality?

Seattle liberal-interest money groups have long talked up the possibility of buying a radio station to counter the overwhelmingly conservative news talk stations in a market that's overwhelmingly liberal.

That's probably not a good idea, since it's been proven many times that radio should be left to radio professionals...Oh wait, that's right, a generation of professionals put radio where it is today: in the shit.

KVI, KTTH, and KKOL have always been rock-ribbed conservative; while KIRO had a few progressives. That's over. There are no liberals there any more- Dave Ross (m-f, 9a-12p) comes close: he's a left-leaning moderate in the old Dan Evans mode. They recently added the right-wing, but live & local Frank Shiers, (7-11p) and a forgettable religious right-winger on the late night (11p-1a) whose show they don't even bother to mention on their website.

(We hear the studiously inane Ron & Don Show. KIROFM m-f, 3-7p) are in the sights of Bonneville programmers: they're hoping to inject some news-meat into the troubled show. Can the Curly & Moe of drivetime pull off pith? We doubt it).

No matter what former King of Seattle Talk Radio Dori Monson claims, KIROFM's PPM numbers haven't budged: they're still number 20 in the market. Even their own right-wing talker, KTTH, boosted by Limbaugh and Beck still pulls better numbers in the rankings- it's still 19th. 

(Fun, but sad, fact: KKOL's Mike Siegel moved from morning drive to evening drive (!) and nobody knew. How the mighty has fallen- Siegel once owned Seattle talk. KKOL is so unlistened-to, it's not on any rating list).

Music rules now, but KOMO showed well again, and public radio news talker KUOW gained impressively in the new book, again proving that listeners in Seattle can handle smart radio that doesn't yell at you. It's a market whose audience could be wider than the over-50 white males talk radio has been catering to since its inception. You know, like women, fr'instance?

It's counterintuitive that a liberal talk station wouldn't work here. But we'd posit: it's never really been tried. KPTK, the CBS-owned progressive station has ventured very little into the station. It's run by robots who beep down cheap, syndicated shows from the satellites. CBS is loving their kicking-ass music stations (KMPS, KJAQ, KZOK) and have laid-off almost everybody at AM1090.

It's got a great line-up of the best progressive talkers: Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Ed Schultz, Ron Reagan, Randi Rhodes... but obviously, that's not enough. There's nothing giving the station a local connection; nothing to make listeners loyal to AM1090.

(We dream of talk star David Goldstein (KPTK m-f, 3-6p) doing a live remote from Les Schwab in Lynnwood, and taking the payola in frozen meat). 

We know that running a station as a no-risk, low-overhead, low-profit money generator has been in vogue, but we gotta ask: how's that been working for you?

By our lights, not well. KPTK is scraping the basement with numbers even lower than KVI's, even.OK, we know that radio in general is still swan diving after going lower in revenues than anyone thought possible. It's also true that KIRO, with all its local jocks, is in the shit-can too. 

You'd think KPTK would have little to lose.

We're just listeners around here, we couldn't possibly know as much as the suits who have done this to radio, but isn't it time to try something different?

Comments

[AuthenticAndrew]

Dave Ross and KUOW do well, which means liberal talk can work at a certain temperature and humidity. It doesn't work when it's a shrill partisan like David Goldstein, or a paranoid misanthrope like Mike Webb, or a batshit cat lady like Erin Hart. I think what listeners really want more than anything can be summed up in one word: erudite.

[Dangerous Dan]

Show me progressive radio in ANY market that is a viable ratings competitor. Or even is respectable among only that market's other talk stations? I agree, for those looking for progressive talk, 1090 has put together the best that's out there. As long as there are local talk shows that welcome dissenting opinions, the progressive take on local issues is getting out there. Are you telling me there are local progressives who DON'T know about KPTK and they would have a huge audience if only they had more promotion or a local host? I guess that's why Ron Reagan's numbers soared when he was on 710 AM.

[joanie]

I don't know why kptk doesn't show better. The Ron Reagan three hours feels local to me. Lots of referentce to Seattle and a fair amount of Seattle callers. He seems to be doing very well nationally as well.

I still think there's too much of Lee. She must sleep at the station. She's loyal. I'll hand her that. I have taken to turning off the radio when certain ads are repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated . . .

Oh sorry. KPTK has a lousy weekend schedule. But, I can get them at Birch Bay so they are a leg up on KIRO in that department.

Now, where are my posts, Michael? or was I too mean to chux? That poor socialist baby.

[radioactivegavin]

I worked at AM 1090 starting in Spring 2005 until eventually giving up after moving to Olympia to finish school at Evergreen in 2006. During that period the only time I spoke on the air was from a Northgate parking lot during a school supply drive for kids in Katrina evacuees. What we did during that time to bring local voices to the air on 50,000 watts was the "Seattle Speaks Out About the War in Iraq" campaign. I'm really proud of that campaign, even though CBS didn't give me on-air credit as a producer. Also, the "Mayor for a Minute" campaign occasionally featured very insightful content. Check out some highlights here- http://honorama.org/radioactivegavin/Dahl_AM1090StreetSounds.mp3
However, AM1090 has never brought about a local call-in show aimed at the peace movement, has never gotten engaged in local politics and in my opinion has failed to make anywhere near as much money as possible by attracting a wider range of advertisers through truly mainstream progressive radio. There are still a few good people there. But I encourage your readers instead to start tuning in to One World Report every Thursday and check out the other great news programs on KBCS 91.3fm. http://kbcs.fm/site/PageServer?pagename=OneWorldReport

[Puget Sound]

My three cents:
Pair Goldy in the evening with someone like Sharkansky and you got radio gold. Goldy is interesting when he has someone in studio to argue with.
Let Goldy be by himself and pontificate I fear it will likely be a repeat of what happened last time. Boring.

[sparky]

I thought according to that new system that 1190 was #4 on the Seattle listner list?

The weekday hosts all have strong followings. But the weekends are awful, with the exception of Ring of Fire. Most of the rest of the weekend is reruns. Lee Callahan has a weekend morning show, but she is not an interviewer with any skill.
Weekends would be great for Goldy. Somewhere out there should be someone who could review movies, music, restaurants, etc. and talk local politics from a liberal standpoint. But, as you say, CNS has no interest in investing in something like that.

[chucks]

Have they been able to come up with the new technology that allows pictures over the radio? Until that invention is perfected, lib radio can not survive.

[ExPatBrit]

I am surprised that you can receive KPTK in Birch Bay. In East King County the signal merges with what appears to be a mariachi band and a sports station.

I listen mainly to and from work.
It's almost impossible in the mornings and I expect as the temperatures drop the evenings will be the same.

Back to iPod I guess.

[AuthenticAndrew]

Dear chucks. The "television" was invented by Paul Gottlieb Nipkow in 1884. Today the great majority of people in the world have access to one of these "televisions". They can often be found for sale on craigslist.

[chucks]

No Andy, there must be something better. If that were the answer, MSNBC would get the attention of liberals. Looking at their ratings, night after night, teevee is not going to be a winner.
(If it is on Craigs list, it well may be stolen)

[AuthenticAndrew]

chucks, you're making no sense

[sparky]

chucks, the only shows that are liberal on MSNBC is Countdown and The Rachel Maddow show.

[Tigsnort]

Liberal radio (and TV) gets lower ratings - and always will get lower ratings - because the target audience (progressives and liberal-minded independents) are not the kind of people who desperately need their worldview reinforced every day by partisan media. Conservatives are always going to win in that regard, because they are driven by fear and angst, and need constant, daily reaffirmation in order to keep psychosis at bay.

[Coiler]

Prior to adopting the present format, KPOJ was an oldies station with low Arbitron ratings. Immediately after picking up talk, KPOJ quadrupled their number of listeners, and in its first Arbitron ratings book became the most-listened AM station in the market, particularly among younger listeners coveted by advertisers. Following their success in Portland, Clear Channel rolled out the format and a nearly identical on-air lineup on many of their struggling AM stations in other markets, to mostly modest success.[citation needed]

With the switch to its current format, KPOJ, in just two years, has gone from a low-rated afterthought, with many format and call letter changes over the years, to one of the most influential stations in the country.

[chucks]

Don't forget Ed Schultz and Chris (Mr Tingle) Matthews Sparky. That pretty well covers the night time. All of them committed liberals.
(wonder if this will post)

[chucks]

In effort to respond to Sparky, I am going to try this again.
Besides committed lib Maddow, and needs to be committed Olbermann, MSNBC also makes a home for Ed Schultz and Chris (Mr Boy Tingles) Matthews. Both are unquestionably liberal. That pretty well handles the night time programming.
I do hear that the network does pretty well with prison lock up shows. They just can't get many people to watch their opinion blather.

[joanie]

Pulling it out of his you-know-what as usual. The same place he plants on that high-roller seat in his socialist entertainment palace.

Brit, I get pretty good KPTK until about 8 p.m. and then I turn to KGO unless it's the grumpy old man's show. Then I just turn it off. I've been turning it off a lot lately.

Sparky, I'm a little tired of Mike on Ring of Fire. He interrupts constantly. I'm surprised his guests haven't called him on it. Just annoying.

I think liberal radio might have a hard time in Seattle where books, C-Span, outdoor activities, KUOW and KPLU reign. It's the right who live for sports on-and-off TV and Fixed News the rest of the time who seem to keep conservative radio alive. Although, if KVI is any indication, conservative radio isn't doing so well either.

[sparky]

Yes, chucks, I did leave out Ed. But Chris Matthews spent 8 years kissing up to Bush and Cheney, so I see him as a chameleon...he will be whatever he thinks will get him the biggest audience at the time. Right now, he is being liberal. I would not be surprised if that changed down the road. And to me, that means he isnt really liberal at all.

[Crystal from the old KIRO chat]

AM1090 is good radio in the greater Seattle market. I love Steph and the mooks. Then Hartmann and ED is getting more passionate by the day,
Ron Reagan is good to but I really like Nicole Sandler too 1090 should find a permanent spot for her too.

[twitter.com/teracorona]

I really enjoy AM1090 I love steph and the mooks, hartmann, ed is getting passionate lately too, and
ron reagan is good, however I wish they would find a spot for nicole sandler I like her a lot too

[joanie]

I don't like Nicole. I tried her last weekend but finally turned her off and enjoyed the silence.

I love the way you keep explaining yourself to chux, sparky. Just like you think he'll actually "get it" one of these days.