http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770129027

Franken just mentioned it on the air.

I'm not surprised - I've long predicted that he wouldn't want to do radio forever.

It will be interesting to know how KPOJ will change. The news release says Thom Hartmann will take over his slot on KPOJ 9-noon but will Hartmann continue to broadcast his local show? Six hours of Thom at one slot seems a bit much. Maybe Thom mentioned it on his local show this morning and I missed it.

If I were them, I'd chop Thom's local show to an hour 8-9 and put the first two hours of Sam Seder on live before him, giving us four hours of Hartmann. Then the 9-midnight slot will have to be filled because now it's Hartman's national show plus replace Seder's show in the evening. Maybe AAR's Politically Direct, now on on the weekends on KPOJ, will show up in an evening slot.

Or they could simply move the now tape-delayed Ed Schultz and Randi Rhodes up 3 hours each so they are LIVE, then broadcast Rachel Maddow live too during afternoon drive. Be interesting to see what they do regardless.

Andrew

Franken's got the name recognition, but I thought his show was one of the weakest on AAR. He had some good interviews, but when he's on by himself, he just mumbles and has nothing much to say.

I'd put Seeder 9-noon on KPOJ and put Hartmann's national show 6-9pm, leaving the rest alone.

"he just mumbles and has nothing much to say"

Typical Liberal!

Move Schultz to 9am...national show at night. Leave local am show alone

What does VGIS represent? Is it an acronym or something? Just curious!

Agreed with the Cedar suggestion. IMHO the Schultz and Rhodes shows are in good time slots.

Time to re-activate Elvis, Super 62.
John Williams, Scott Tom and other DJ's are available now.

Here's how I think KPOJ might change their lineup:

6 AM-9 AM: Thom Hartmann (local)
9 AM-noon: Ed Schultz
Noon-3 PM: Randi Rhodes
3 PM-6 PM: ? (Sam Seder, Peter B Collins, or Rachel Maddow)
6 PM-9 PM: Mike Malloy (KPOJ has been rumored to pick up his new Nova M show)
9 PM-midnight: Thom Hartmann (national)

I like live radio, and I agree with Clbuck that this would be a good schedule - if Rachel Maddow (only 2 hours) could be put on live. As it is now, KPOJ is only live 6AM-noon daily. I enjoy Sam Seder's show but hearing him delayed by 12 hours really sucks.

I agree that Franken when not with a guest is usually pretty boring. But he has had great guests on and I will miss them.

Andrew

Honestly, I think Al Franken's show got preachier and more boring when his co-host left to write her book. Not that she was all that great, herself. But there was some chemistry between them that hasn't been replaced since Al's been basically solo.

And Andrew's right, he's got great guests. Those people make his show interesting.

I like this potential schedule. Live is better.

Funny, after Thom ended up with a local show, I nearly always missed most of Franken. The difference in styles is stark. Liked the guests too.

If KPOJ pulls Randi from afternoon drive, put Ceder in. He's really getting his stride now. IMHO, perfect for that time of day.

Seder is broadcast live 6-9AM PST, the same time at Thom's local show. I enjoy Thom's show but I don't need to hear him (or anyone) six hours a day, especially not in a row. I say, broadcast Seder from 6-8 live (keep Heidi doing the news), Thom and Heidi 8-9, then Thom 9-noon live, national. I'm wondering if AAR news will be hanging around anyway - if I were running the place, that would be the first thing I'd cut. It's awful (Bill Crowley is EXCELLENT though, Mark Sheerer is fine, the rest are AWFUL).

Andrew

I think that they will probably put Schultz on live 9-noon, but I would rather have them put Sam Seder in the 9-12 slot. I sent an email to Mike Dirkx requesting that they put Seder in the evening slot when the last shakeup occurred and that seemed to work. So I guess I'll give it another try.

I really liked Franken's show, but I realize his show didn't have the appeal it needed to succeed. His decision not to take listener calls was a partial reason for this.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Not a thing from Herb, Deane and the gang.....

I guess they know this will do nothing but breathe new life into the liberal cause.

Al Franken off the air? Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

As far as I'm concerned he ranks right up there with Howard Stern, Dennis Rodman and Michael Moore. They are all a waste of skin.

I saw a book at Costco, I think the title was The Truth by Al Franken. That's an oxymoron.

That being said, I'm not a big fan of Rush, Lars, or any of those kind of talk shows. All they do is whine about the same stuff over and over and over.

Give me music! Preferably with no commercials!

Aok, How's that!!!!

Skybill said: "Give me music! Preferably with no commercials!"

That pretty much puts you at odds with most people on this forum that say they want it live, local, and with real DJ's.

Those on the left will not like you dissing one of their stars.

Those on the right will not like you dissing their stars.

I guess that means not many on this board like you, eh? 8-)

Yeah, I know! I guess I’m just that kind of guy!

I'm just not a big fan of talk radio. To me it gets boring after a few minutes.

It's always the same thing over and over, no matter what side you are on.

The left side is always complaining about Bush and the war, the right side is always complaining about Hillary, Obama and the others.

Each side is just digging for dirt!

I just prefer music.

I have never heard Air America. Like Skybill I simply don't listen to talk radio. Then again I hardly listen to radio at all, even though I have been in radio nearly 30 years. When and if I do listen it's usually NPR but only for a while. I like quiet in the car, which is the only time I actually listen to radio...oh wait...I don't. I like quiet. I can think better.

I like quiet but only if it's voicetracked.

Given that TSLs are what they are, I don't see any problem with 6 straight hours of Thom. He does not tend to use the same guests on both shows since the morning drive show is much more locally focused.

I suspect Ed Schultz has a clause in his contract that requires his show to be carried live, so don't expect to see that time slot change. Randi is at home in PM drive, so I doubt KPOJ would pull a KQKE and banish her to late night. I suppose Sam Seder could go on 9-noon but I think his show actually works better at night, and I'd rather see live content running during the day anyway.

Just my $0.02.

Well, a lot of stations including KPOJ carry Schultz delayed by three hours so I doubt he has such a clause. After 11:59AM, the rest of KPOJ's talk day is DELAYED which sucks for what is probably the nation's most successful progressive talk station!

It would be a shame if KPOJ was "six hours of Thom live and everything else delayed!" Too bad local listeners can't participate in a single other show besides Thom's.

Andrew

KPOJ now has a page regarding Franken's departure, with a comments section for suggestions on how their lineup could be changed.

http://www.620kpoj.com/pages/pages/franken_feedback.php

"he just makes crap up and blames everyone else"

Typical neo-CON!

Here are the comments I just posted. I bet they will censor it:

"The Franken-stien program was an abomination. Good Riddence! In fact, the entire program lineup on 620 is an error! What a waste of the frequency. If your listeners want talk, tell them to tune up the dial to 750 to hear Bill O'rielly at 9 AM, followed by Lars at 11.

There is now opportunity staring you right in the face to resume Super-62 format, given the goodbye last night of 91-wonderful KISN Many unemplyed local good-guy DJ's are seeking to return to work right away."

No doubt, they will not post your comment because the thread was about how to adjust the progressive talk lineup to handle Franken's departure; it wasn't a thread about why you hate progressive talk and liberals in general. Off-topic stuff doesn't belong there.

Andrew

62kgw sez: ""The Franken-stien program was an abomination. Good Riddence! In fact, the entire program lineup on 620 is an error!"

I'm calling you out 62kgw. what a hypocrite you are. on another kpxradio thread you blasted a poster for calling KXL boring because its a CONSERVATIVE (your caps) station (even though the poster didn't say conservative), and here you are blasting KPOJ because its a LIBERAL station.

Comments like these don't belong on this side. Continuing to make hyprocritical posts makes one a troll.

I just searched by keyword for case sensitive "CONSERVATIVE", and found just 3 matches (one of which is your post Skept).
I wrote neither. Perhaps you have me mixed up with digitaldextor, who made comment kind of like what you referenced, but about KTRO, not KXL (on the KISN thread).
Typical progressive thought process...you are only allowed to suggest other progressive hosts. No alternative viewpoints or alternate programming formats are allowed to be suggested. Not to mention throwing around false accusations about being a hypocrite. Did you ever suggest any station dump a format for something else?
Another suggestion would be to have Rush Limbaugh move back to 620 (9 to noon slot) for the 4th (?) time.

62: Well if we are considering hosts on their merits alone, the entire lineup is not in error.

Other hosts on that station do really great radio. Schultz, Rhodes and Ceder are all on par with similar programming on KXL.

IMHO, your comment on Franken is defensible. The other elements of your post really aren't, because one host in particular does not a station make. This is what touched off the hot button, for what that's worth.

And I like both Lars and O'reilly, even though I don't agree with them. Both run solid radio programs, if we are talking strictly about executing talk radio.

Either it's a political comment, or it isn't. If it isn't, you've made a significant error by lumping all the hosts into one catagory, despite their clear differences.

If it is political, then playing off of the sale and one host leaving, to marginalize the others clearly puts you on the right side of the dial; otherwise, why do it when many of the programs are just fine talk radio programs?

I've no issue with your political stand. Join us on the other side to hash that out. You would be welcome for sure. On that side, you can do this and more --and have some fun doing it to boot.

Doing it here, then claiming otherwise is just less than honest, that's all.

In any other situation, it would be tempting to pile on here about the demise of scare America.

But I won't. It's just too easy. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

Herb

Hey, we've a venue for that you know. It's right there, just below the excellent history forum sub-catagory.

Afraid maybe? Sure, it's a turkey shoot here because most folks know better than to clog this portion of the board with that stuff.

C'mon, take a real shot at it! Jump in, the waters just fine!

Herb said>>>
In any other situation, it would be tempting to pile on here about the demise of scare America.

But I won't. It's just too easy. Like shooting fish in a barrel.


Kind of like the demise of the neo-CON politician and his/her political views.

Take it to the other side, or better yet, just go bowling or something.

Speaking of AA affiliates going oldies, a station serving Monterey/Santa Cruz just did. http://www.komyradio.com/ They were a no-show in the ratings though.

"Take it to the other side, or better yet, just go bowling or something."

Read the thread heading. If my comments belong on the political side, then so does this thread.

Herb

Randy, that seems like a solid switch. Talk listeners trend older right?

For that station, nowhere to go but up. Oldies will at least snag some of their existing listeners.

I think this is the station that I read about that said they could/did not sell any spots while they were broadcasting AAR. They did not understand why they couldn't in one of the most liberal areas in the country. If they change to oldies and sell two spots, that is an improvement.

Maybe the owners main interest is making money or maybe being able to pay the bills rather than pushing a political philosophy.

I like the lines on their website:
"One Million milliwatts of Golden Oldies Power"
"We're blasting one million milliwatts* of Full Spectrum High Fidelity Mono across Western North America"
"* — Our power is reduced to a mere 850,000 milliwatts at night due to government restrictions."

Isn't a "milliwatt" a thousandth of a watt? It sounds like we're talking about a 1kw station and they're trying to say "a millionth of a watt".

1 million milliwatts is 1000 watts or 1KW.

850,000 milliwatts is 850 watts.

Interesting. The owners of KOMY also own KSCO. Both stations share the same towers. KSCO is a talk station which appears to be mainly conservative... Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, with Alan Colmes and Coast to Coast.
KOMY was liberal AAR until they quit.
It was like CC in Portland. One AM was sorta conservative, the other totally liberal.

They use some kind of internet streaming that I don't know or my system doesn't know what to do with it.

Wonder how they tried to sell those spots?

"Did you ever suggest any station dump a format for something else?"

Not in a long timne.

Jimbo>>some kind of internet streaming that I don't know or my system doesn't know what to do with it.

There are links for four different players in the middle of the page. Do none of them work?

I did get weird results for some of them, maybe partly due to settings in the individual players. The RealPlayer link worked, the iTunes link got me a WinAmp player, the WinAmp link gave me RealPlayer, and Windows Media Player didn't work. (There is a new upgrade for Windows Player that I haven't downloaded yet.)

KOMY appears to be aimed at oldies "geeks" who like a large playlist. Live & local DJs and PAMS jingle re-sings are supposted to be forthcoming.

Randy,
I only tried Windows media player. I don't have winamp at this time. Haven't needed it. I don't have any itunes stuff or programs. I don't use Real Player because it always wants to access the internet and customize my system and do all kinds of other stuff.
I have had problems with my computers accessing the internet randomly and at times when they are just sitting there supposedly doing nothing. I see disk action and look at my modem and see action. So, I loaded zone alarm and looked at who was doing what and I started allowing and denying. Real Player was a major culprit. So, I deleted it and deny access from it. Things work much better now. I also had similar problems with Nero 7 Essentials. Deleted that program the first day I loaded it.

I could not get the streaming to work with Windows Media Player. It did not know what to do with the file. I downloaded something from the station but still no success.
They appear to be programming to me.... 50's and 60's. I seem to prefer that to 60's and 70's and other mixes. Just haven't gotten the streaming to work to check it out.

Sorry about that! Apparently, I had a brain freeze and was confusing 1kw with 1 watt.

All Access Monday: KFGO-A Fargo (The Mighty 790)[5kw] dumps Rush Limbaugh.

Didn't a station there dump Ed Schultz too?

Ed Schultz is on KFGO weekday mornings 8:30 to 10:30am.

Must be another market then.

Nice calls on that one, BTW.

An update to KPOJ's schedule, from their newsletter:

Starting Thursday, they're going to air Sam Seder TWICE, from 9 AM-noon, and from 6 PM-9 PM. Bizzare.

Here's the announcement:

"AM 620 KPOJ believes in the theory of evolution. That's why, as Al Franken leaves KPOJ and the Air America Radio Network, our line-up will once again, slowly evolve. One small step at a time. Beginning Thursday, KPOJ welcomes Sam Seder to the 9am-12pm timeslot. And, for those who still want Sam in the evening on the drive home from work, nothing will change. Sam will still be there, 6pm-9pm. Is this the final change to the line-up? No. Keep listening as the evolution continues on Portland's Only Progressive Talk Station – AM 620 KPOJ!"

That is bizarre. I'm wondering if this isn't a transition for Seder's fans; I think he (originally with Janeane) has been in that 6-9/7-10 timeslot since AAR's launch in March 2004. Presumably fans would scream if he were moved. But perhaps if Seder gets good ratings 9-noon, they can cut the cord at 6-9.

Now this is weird. AAR's talk day will have six hours of Sam Seder and six hours of Thom Hartman. And of the entire broadcast day, only 3 hours (Hartmann's morning show) will be live. That's pathetic.

Still, it's probably a good step to have Seder on only three hours delayed instead of twelve hours delayed.

From KPOJ's standpoint, it would make good sense for Thom Hartmann to swap his national and local shows: do national 6-9AM pacific, local 9-noon. Then Seder could be on 6-9AM live, Hartmann 9-noon live. Then again, I seem to be about the only KPOJ listener who cares whether the shows are live or not. Too bad.

Andrew

My casual observation:
I think "progressive" radio, in the form it has had been tried in, will fail, because the audience is probably not filled with as many "joiners". If you think about it, people who go to church, join the NRA, and ALWAYS vote Republican feel disenfranchised by a society they see as heading the wrong direction, and unraveling. This probably makes them more accepting of "heros" on the air who champion their causes. There might not be as much individual thought going on either among an audience who joins churches, NRA, etc. I'm an independent myself, and I'm not calling anyone stupid, but I think maybe the core audience of the conservative commentators is filled with fewer independent thinkers, causing more acceptance and loyal listening

I would also add that there has been too much focus on one network.

People don't listen to a network, they listen to hosts and shows.

Even though "Air America" has become a brand for KPOJ, it would mean nothing without people like Ed Schultz and Randi Rhodes. The challenge for progressive radio operators is to find talk hosts who are entertaining and compelling while staying within the lefty world.

They'll build numbers with talent. Honestly, Air America's struggles have been a focus-buster for progressive radio operators, and they need to just get back to basics. Find the talent, and promote 'em.

BTW, Andrew, I respect the hell out of you for demanding live talent. I'm not sure, however, that it's any more important to people that Ed Schultz be live ... than it is for anything from Keith Olbermann to Brian Williams to all NPR programming be live. Keep banging that drum, though, my friend.

Ed Schultz's great touch with breaking news stories makes me regard carrying him even on a three hour delay as a loss. He just has a way of ,as he would put it, of "gettin' after it"

Sutton, I do think people often pick a default station and stick with it. I'm tuned to KPOJ about 90% of the time in my car. (Tuning out when Air America Radio News comes on, sometimes.) I find Randi Rhodes difficult to listen to but sometimes I just grit my teeth and leave her on. Once in a while I'll seek out a different show on a different station, but I like KPOJ and tune to it by default. I'm sure many of its other listeners do, too.

I don't think live talk radio is the same as commentary or news as reported by Olbermann or Williams or NPR. There's an immediacy to live talk radio that ages it if delayed; sometimes it covers breaking news that seems stale if it's delayed 3 hours (or 12 hours - Seder at night) and I've already heard updates to the story. Sometimes Schultz will say, "The House is in session RIGHT NOW talking about..." and I know that's already old news.

Of course, there's the idea that unless people are listening to these delayed shows LIVE in Portland via XM or the internet, they can't really call in. It's pathetic that KPOJ, probably the nation's most successful progressive talk station, doesn't give it's listeners an opportunity to participate in ANY of its national radio shows.

Andrew

Agreed on the call-ins, we should be encouraging people to do just that.

Defaults for me are kopj, kxl, knrk. One for each of the easy bandswitch modes on my car radio. The kids get the other two FM bands and the buttons.

Speaking of Olberman & similar shows, they could almost work on radio. At least the special comment segment could.

KPOJ could steal a page from the KNRK playbook and air the olberman special comment like KNRK does for Jon Stewart. God knows there is room with all the PSA's.

Take out a few spot slots and set the expectation that fewer is better. Could end up with premium spot slots in the end, given it's framed properly.

I still love Rhodes. The appeal for me is the reasoned expression of the rage and frustration along with her solid and ongoing calls for people to do stuff. For some, that expression is a bit much --understandable. Frankly, I like it. It's thearaputic to know that others are feeling it and that's all good as far as I'm concerned.

She does need better bits though.

I can't stand listening to Rhodes's show because of her regular hyperbole, her exaggerated sense of self-importance, and her indulgence of what I consider to be some pretty nutty, unsubstantiated theories as if they were fact. I'd much rather be hearing Rachel Maddow (live!) from 3-5 than Rhodes if I had the choice, but in the car, I don't.

I would love to hear Olberman's commentary played regularly on KPOJ shows - I'd listen for sure. (Don't get expanded basic cable, sorry, no MSNBC, even though many of his commentaries wind up on YouTube).

Andrew

Yep, that's an issue for her. What can I say? I like strong, smart and opinionated women!

Maddow runs a fantastic show. I catch her when I'm in the Seattle area.

To be fair to Rhodes, she does qualify those theories nearly every time, encouraging people to go digging. IMHO, there is no harm in that, and for me it's easily ignored.

My fave is her, "Ok, Why are you a Republican?" bit. Those generally hit home hard. Ceder does this too and it's quite effective at highlighting the difference between what is still considered conservative values and the current behavior and record of the GOP. Nicely done.

I think I'll send the Olberman suggestion in. Would be a great value add. They can do Colbert and Stewart too as a way to break up the routine and give the programming a bit more texture.

They just don't appear to need all of the spot slots right now, and if these changes, plus a greater focus on live, bumped their ratings up, wouldn't they then be in a position to demand a bit of a premium on their remaining airtime, or at the least be able to demonstrate a strong value add for those already buying?

>>>I can't stand listening to Rhodes's show because of her regular hyperbole, her exaggerated sense of self-importance, and her indulgence of what I consider to be some pretty nutty, unsubstantiated theories as if they were fact.

Andrew, I am totally there with you on this one. Being as doctrinaire and non-fact-based as she is, I think of her as the Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly of the left.

No, She is the Ann Coulter of the left.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge in New York on Friday (Feb. 16) gave thumbs-up to the sale of Air America Radio to real estate entrepreneur Stephen L. Green for $4.28 million. By approving the deal, Judge Robert Drain cleared the way for Green to save the liberal talk network from a certain demise. Green has agreed to spend another $200,000 in cash to keep the operation liquid until the deal's Feb. 23 closing.

Air America, which has been on a Chapter 11 respirator since October 2006, was in the past on the brink of being shuttered as it ran out of money and its ability to borrow additional operational funds lapsed.

Under the plan approved by Drain, Green's investment company, Green Family Media LLC, will also repay $3.25 million in debt Air America has acquired since October 2006, provide $500,000 in cash and pay $526,000 in back rent owed for the network's New York City headquarters, according to a report by Reuters.

Green has also agreed to pick up all immediate debt. Air America, which has lost more than $40 million since its startup three years ago, appears to be in debt for as much as $20 million today, according to its bankruptcy filing.

Stephen Green, founder and chairman of SL Green Realty Corp., has made a fortune in commercial real estate and controls 27 million square feet of mostly Manhattan property.

On Wednesday, Al Franken, Air America's biggest personality, announced on his final show for the network that he intends to run for the Senate from his home state of Minnesota. Franken's noon-to-3-p.m. ET time slot will now be hosted by veteran liberal talker Thom Hartmann. Hartmann's show is already heard on about 30 stations and has an audience of about 1 million. The new slot gives his show about 80 radio stations coast-to-coast, including Air America affiliates in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Miami. With the additional stations, "The Thom Hartmann Show" will have an estimated audience of 3 million listeners.

Today, T.H. got all kinds of free friendly non-critical publicity on front page of the Fish-Wrapper, and local TV news.

I am wondering if Lars got similar free publicity when he started his national show? Y/N

Yes

It's no big deal.

I'll bet Lars can tell us...

Andrew

A MESSAGE FOR THE LISTENERS OF AM 1320 SACRAMENTO'S LEFT CHANNEL: For the last 1 ½ years, KCTC has been Sacramento's Left Channel. As an Air America affiliate, with its own staple of local programming, the station has been a voice for the liberal point of view. We wanted you to know, however, that there are changes ahead for KCTC. On Monday, February 26th, KCTC will become ESPN 1320, carrying the complete sports programming of the ESPN radio network. For the first time, Sacramento will have a station that is all sports...24 hours a day, seven days a week. We appreciate your past support of the Left Channel. If you would like to express an opinion on this change, you may do so by sending an e-mail to kctccomments@kctc.com.

What? They could have put on Elvis and instead they switched to ESPN??? Sacrilege!

Isn't it funny that the same company (Entercom) that dumped KISN in Portland dumped Progressive Talk in Sacramento (after dumping MAX 910 for KISN)? Sounds more like a screwed-up company (Entercom) than the failure of Progressive Talk radio.

Andrew

KQDS/Duluth drops liberal talk

Listeners in the Twin Ports got a rude awakening this morning when they turned on the radio expecting to hear Sam Seder, but instead heard golden oldies.

In a surprise move, KQDS in Duluth-Superior, which had been airing Ed Schultz and programs from Air America Radio for the past year and a half, has dropped liberal talk for oldies music