Save Progressive Radio!
Progressive
Talk Radio: Can it Work?
Sue Wilson
article in the Bee: Sunday, May 11, 2008
There's a mournful hush in Sacramento these
days, the empty sound of an entire political viewpoint quieted.
More than 32,000 weekly listeners who once tuned to KSAC
(1240 AM) to hear partisan Democrats beat up on President
George W. Bush, now hear only Christian hip-hop.
There's nothing wrong with Christian hip-hop; it's a great
outlet for artists breaking out of the gansta rap mold.
But there are six other commercial radio stations licensed
in the Sacramento area programming the Christian message.
In the political realm, three local radio stations program
264 hours of partisan Republican radio talkers beating up
on Democrats every week. Now, zero stations program any
Democratic view whatsoever: 264-0.
This follows the national trend revealed in the 2007 Free
Press and Center for American Progress study, "The
Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio." Nationally,
90 percent of commercial talk radio is conservative; only
10 percent is liberal. (This study does not include Public
Radio, which by statute is required to provide differing
points of view. One is as likely to hear a Republican's
views as a Democrat's. And NPR hosts don't beat up on anybody.)
KSAC shared another characteristic with other liberal radio
stations: It had a tiny, 1,000-watt transmitter. Tough for
a little station that barely reached Sacramento's suburbs
to compete with 50,000 watt giant KFBK, whose signal stretches
from Chico to Modesto, from Reno to that little town of
San Francisco. Despite KFBK reaching millions more potential
listeners, KSAC mustered an audience nearly 20 percent that
of KFBK's. (Its ratings were double local conservative station
KTKZ, which has a 5,000-watt transmitter.) And Arbitron
showed the progressive station's audience was steadily growing.
KSAC was the little station that could.
Until it couldn't.
In the Bee: http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/927485.html
Printable
PDF file
Margie Metzler response:
This article was one of the most valuable
the Bee has ever printed. Town & Country Democrats
(www.tcdems.org) has
a group dedicated to bringing back Progressive radio which
has been absolutely stymied, after demonstrating, joining
the stations (KCTC and, now, KSAC) to help drum up support
and advertisers, and listening rabidly. We participated
in events Christine Craft organized and we loved what
our stations did for us. We tried everything, including
starting our own stations. The 1996 Congressional action
you cited obliterated smaller, local stations and created
an environment where a radio station costs many millions
of dollars if you can find one for sale at all.
We are bereft without our Progressive radio hosts because
they are educated, civil, and most of all, while they
certainly ferreted out information favorable to our Progressive
worldview, they give us facts and they annotated their
sources. Thom Hartmann, Peter B. Collins, Randi Rhodes
and others told us exactly where they got their information
and their websites had direct links. This information
was often not available anywhere on TV, newspapers or
other radio stations. They also took calls from everyone
and treated them civilly. They sent us to bookstores,
libraries and websites in droves, and we loved them for
it. None of this happens with conservative talk shows!
Democracy can survive only if voters have the
facts they need to make thoughtful decisions.
My personal efforts now have been to join Access Sacramento
(http://www.accesssacramento.org/
) and the common Cause Sacramento Media Group (http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=2896519).
I am talking all the TV and radio classes I can find.
I also listen to Air America, Ed Schultz and Peter B Collins
on the Internet whenever I can. But none of this gives
me back my friends on my car radio, and that leaves a
huge void in my life.
From John Chendo:
Mark Twain, a local Sacramento reporter
in the 1850's, said: "It's very hard to change the
opinion of anyone who's being paid to hold it."
We have a media market, especially among talk radio hosts,
which is dominated by big corporations, some of them under
the cover of religious tax exemptions.
Ronald Reagan, when he rescinded the Fairness Doctrine
in 1987, which had worked for fifty years , said that
he thought big corporations would voluntarily provide
fair and balanced reporting, because big corporations
automatically act in the nation's best interest (this
was before the pervasive growth of multinational corporations).
A strange idea: that corporations, but not people, can
be automatically trusted to observe ethics and laws by
making all laws and regulations "voluntary"
for corporations.
This has led us down a slippery slope of unchecked permissiveness
for the rich to get up to 45% of media market control.
Not having access to a variety of sources (e.g. Why is
there always a Business section but never a Labor section?)
has led to the current corruption of language, and a budget-busting
war without being declared and with no specific reasons
-- no exits, and overwhelming repercussions on every state
and local budget. As LBJ proved: we cannot afford both
"guns and butter." Our war budget hits every
U.S. school, construction site, hospital, health plan,
food price, fuel cost, and emergency preparedness. We
have a Katrina-kind of government run by no-bid contractors-in-chief
who get to decide what we hear on the radio. Mostly noisy
screaming which makes torture seem normal.
It is worth remembering that the Kremlin-sponsored newspaper
was named "Pravda," the (Absolute) Truth.
Thomas Jefferson wrote: "If a nation expects to
be ignorant and free,in a state of civilization,it expects
what never was and never will be." Pope John XXIII
in Pacem in Terris (1963) referred to the UN Declaration
of Human Rights of 1948: "in most solemn form, the
dignity of a person is acknowledged to all human beings;
and as a consequence there is proclaimed, as a fundamental
right, the right of free movement in search for truth...and
the right to a dignified life."
Progressive
Talk Radio: Can it Work? (Meeting, April 9, 2008)
As you probably know by now, our only
progressive radio station, KSAC 1240 AM, morphed into a
gospel music station this week. On April 9, our meeting
was devoted to a discussion of what happened, and immediate
and long-term possible solutions.
Steve Reed and Arnie Godmintz shared
their insider information about what happened this week.
Both agreed that it was not ideology, but economics, that
caused KSAC to drop progressive talk. We knew they needed
more sponsors, and Steve talked about his efforts in that
direction. They really needed some large corporate sponsors,
but that never happened for a combination of reasons. David
Quinlan, who is new to our group,, brought in the Arbitron
ratings, which showed that KSAC was trending up and was
by no means in a bad position. Steve noted that Progressive
talk shows need to have marketing staff familiar with the
Progressive community.
Margie noted that she is educating
herself about media issues and technology by taking classes
at Access Sacramento. (They're free and you can have your
own online show after you complete training: http://www.accesssacramento.org/).
We came to the conclusion that our
best bet in the long run is to talk to other local stations
and get them interested in running "our" shows.
We will all see what we can do individually and stay in
contact. (Contact Margie at margiemetz@hotmail.com
to get on the list.)
In the meantime, Steve talked about
his SIRIUS receiver and how to use it, Lyn Stueve described
using an IPOD to download podcasts, and we all noted that
you can still hear some stations online:
About KSAC
- From the Sac Bee: (http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/820109.html)
KSAC (1240 AM) adopting gospel format
By Rachel Leibrock - rleibrock@sacbee.com
Last Updated 6:13 pm PDT Friday, March 28, 2008
Nationally syndicated talk show host Mike Malloy
just called to confirm that the KSAC (1240 AM) rumors
are true:
The station is changing to a gospel format Monday morning.
"I got the call from (KSAC general manager) Paula
Nelson today -- she told me it broke her heart to have
to make the change," Malloy says.
The Atlanta-based talk show host, whose show has been
carried daily on the station, says he first heard about
the switch earlier this week via his boss, Nova M Radio
CEO John Manzo.
Manzo, on the phone from Phoenix, also confirms the switch.
The reason? Economics.
"They don't have the revenue to support the format,"
Manzo says.
Malloy put it in even clearer terms.
"It's not a ratings thing -- we have plenty of listeners,"
Malloy says. "KSAC is experiencing what most other
liberal talk show format stations are experiencing - it's
not a lack of audience, it's a lack of business support."
In other words, not enough advertising dollars.
Big-name, deep-pocketed businesses, Malloy says, are turned
off by the station's progressive format.
"If you listen to Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity,
you'll hear (plenty) of national ads," he says. "If
you listen to someone like me or Randi Rhodes, there's
a complete lack of those types of sponsors."
It's a problem plaguing liberal talk radio in markets
across the United States, he adds, noting that stations
in San Francisco and San Diego have been forced to make
similar changes.
For more on this, read Leibrock's blog postings at 21Q
(www.sacbee.com/21q).
Archives:
How we tried to get back KCTC (Feb. 2007)
Bring
back Progressive Talk, KCTC (Meet at
the station, 5345 Madison Ave., Sac. 95841 -- near Garfield)
4:30-6, Wed., Feb. 21): Margie
Metzler (916-921-5008) or Steve
Reed. (This action now has its own page!
Click here!) Call the station: direct
line to General Manager John Geary, 339-4209); jgeary@entercom.com;
Call Entercom: Phone: 610-660-5610; Fax: 610-660-5620
Contents: (The latest news and events
are on the top; see bottom for the basic news and explanations
of events.)
Other Great Links!
The Latest News
Air
America grounded for good?
February 16, 2007
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/ticket/archives/005655.html
The small but loyal Air America following in Sacramento
is casting about, trying to find a place to listen to Randi
Rhodes (pictured) and other lefty talkers now that KCTC
(1320 AM) has announced it's going all-sports as of Feb.
26.
One place Air America probably won't turn up is on rival
liberal station KSAC (1240 AM). This is not a surprise.
There are some bad feelings between management.
"Probably not gonna happen," says Paula Nelson,
owner of KSAC. "You just don't burn bridges like that.
I just don't see it, but I suppose you can never say never."
You may recall that Air America programming originally
aired on KSAC, but the syndicated company jumped ship in
November 2005, ostensibly because KCTC offered a bigger
signal to reach areas outside of Sacramento. After Air America
left the KSAC airwaves, Nelson filed a claim saying she
was owed nearly $1 million from the company. The claim is
pending, Nelson says.
Meanwhile, KSAC cultivated its own left-leaning syndicated
talkers, including Ed Schultz. Nelson says she believes
her lineup is superior to the old Air America lineup - especially
since Al Franken has left the air to run for the U.S. Senate.
Might KSAC nab some of KCTC's local lefty talkers, such
as Enid Goldstein and Scott & Sims, and use them to
supplement afternoon drivetime talent Christine Craft?
"Oh, I don't know," Nelson says. "It's too
soon to think about that. It's just sad what (KCTC) did."
Posted: Sam McManis on February 16, 2007 12:13 PM
From Aldous Tyler
at NonStop Radio
From: NonStop Radio [mailto:proceed@NonStopRadio.com]
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 5:19 AM
To: margie metzler
Subject: Re: Clarification: Sacramento!
On http://www.nonstopradio.com/efforts.html
it now reads:
Sacramento -
Sacramento, California's oldest incorporated city, has
had two Progressive Talk outlets, and the one devoted to
Air America and local Progressive voices is in jeopardy!
KCTC 1320 AM is scheduled to be flipped to ESPN SportsTalk
as of February 26th. KCTC's success in blending the best
of national and local Progressive voices must be saved!
Sacramento proves that there is more than enough programming
to have more than one Progressive Talk outlet in a city.
More, with how many conservative talk outlets there are,
two doesn't even begin to balance the scales. One, alone,
is simply not acceptable.
I am more than willing to be of more help, as well. Have
you started a petition yet? I didn't see one.
Aldous
Finally, KCTC Announces
the Changes on its Site
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.
Back to top
(Feb. 16 2007) The demonstration today was
just terrific! About 30-35 people were there at various
times Some came at 8 (and made signs at La Bou) and we
stood in front of KCTC till 11. Then we regrouped at La
Bou and had a post-mortem of the event.
Everyone had a great time, the
people who showed up were just terrific, and we
are doing it again: Wednesday, Feb.21st, 4:30 to 6
(so we can include more full-time workers and catch the
commuter traffic on Madison) Again, the address is 5345
Madison Ave. (near Garfield). Our signs were great but
we felt that we should have had KCTC and/or 1320 on all
of them, plus John Geary's e-mail (jgeary@entercom.com)
on some signs so people driving by can write as well..We
had hoped to speak to the manager, John Geary, but that
didn't happen. Maybe next time.
Lots of people honked and cheered, one guy jeered us.
Not bad.
We need to write to John Geary (at jgeary@entercom.com
). Read the article from teh Sacramento Bee below. He
thinks "they really haven't heard any outcry."
Please prove him wrong. Please also continue writing and
calling Entercom corporation (610-660-5610 phone or 610-660-5620
fax.)
Our groups represented a whole bunch of organizations:
Town & Country Democrats (www.tcdems.org
), Capitol Area Progressives (CAP). Sacramento MoveOn,
Sacramento for Democracy (www.sacramentofordemocracy.org
), Placer County Democrats, Democracy for America, Grandmothers
for Peace, Stonewall
Democratic Club, Freedom from War (now TeachPeace,
http://www.teachpeace.com),
Indy Media (www.indymedia.org
), Sac County Democratic
Central Committee, the Sierra Club, Gray Panthers,
(www.gpcal.org), Davis
Democratic Club (http://yvm.net/vme/democrats/),
and probably a host of other organizations.
We are in for a lot of research on radio stations and
the media. We do have some real expertise in several areas.
Entercom is a huge corporation; someone said it is second
only to Clear Channel.
We will be contacting Media Matters, Alice Germond at
alicegermond@dnc.org,
Kucinich (Margie thought he is head of the Media Oversight
Committee... but now notes she can't find any such committee....)
Back to top
Margie: Letter to the
Bee re article below (Feb. 17)
Re: Media Insider: Left-leaning
1320 readies shift to all-ESPN format, Feb. 16
I read with dismay the Feb. 16 article regarding loss
of Air America radio on KCTC, as well as very beloved
locals Scott Forrington, Andy Sims, Enid Goldstein, and
Manager Charlie Weiss. Not only do they give us real news
and information, but they have been wonderful to the community
in terms of participating and publicizing local events
of the many progressive organizations in the Sacramento
area. The comment by station manager John Geary particularly
stunned me: "It was a pretty small (Air America)
audience, and we really haven't had any outcry."
There are thousands of us who are outraged and/or depressed
by this action. In fact, 30 people demonstrated at the
studio on Friday, which was a weekday and with only 2
days notice. We'll be there again at 4:30 Wednesday, Feb.
21. In addition, I must protest the comment "A group
of Air America supporters calling themselves Town &
Country Democrats." The Town & Country Democratic
Club (http://www.tcdems.org/)
has been active for over 40 years, and the Bee should
know it. But while we started the ball rolling, every
Progressive organization in the greater Sacramento area
is now involved and making noise. We'll show Mr. Geary
"outcry"!
Back to top
Bee article
Feb. 16: Media Insider: Left-leaning 1320 readies shift
to all-ESPN format
By Joe Davidson - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:07 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C2
At long last, Sacramento can soon boast of having two
all-sports radio stations to match markets of similar
or larger size across the country.
Thursday, officials from KCTC (1320 AM)confirmed the
station will ditch its liberal talk format and go with
continuous ESPN sports programming beginning Feb. 26.
John Geary, general manager of Entercom Sacramento, which
owns KCTC, said the 5,000-watt station was changing from
Air America programming to sports to pursue "a new
direction," which is pretty obvious.
The ESPN lineup will provide new options for local listeners
who receive their sports fix from KCTC (1140 AM), the
Kings' flagship, or San Francisco's KNBR (680 AM), home
of the Giants and Gary Radnich in the morning.
The move marks another in a number of big changes at KCTC,
including dismissal of hosts and program directors. It
also means 1140, easily the dominant sports programmer
in town, can expect a serious challenge for listener loyalty
and local advertising dollars, though it might be awhile
before KCTC develops local programming.
The audience that tuned into Air America shows
simply wasn't broad enough, Geary said. In short, there
are more fans of left-handed pitchers and passers than
there are of left-leaning politics.
"It was too narrow for us," Geary said.
"So we started looking at ESPN. It was a pretty small
(Air America) audience, and we really haven't had any
outcry. We couldn't see growing with what we had.
"We don't look at this as, Oh, boy! We're going
after 1140! Their success at 1140 speaks for itself. But
we feel we're offering something, too."
And in some cases, something better.
KHTK has some excellent, entertaining hosts, including
the morning "Rise Guys," featuring Whitey, Phantom
and F.P.; Mike Lamb in the afternoon; Jim Kozimor when
his program is on in the evening; and Jim Crandell and
Chris Townsend and Larry Krueger on Saturdays.
But programming holes include the "Don & Mike
Show," a sudden switch from sports in the afternoon
(though too popular to drop). When KCTC switches over,
listeners during that noon-4 p.m. slot who want to stick
with sports can listen to "The Dan Patrick Show."
A group of Air America supporters calling themselves
Town & Country Democrats have planned a protest rally
for 9 a.m. today in front of Entercom's Madison Avenue
studios.
Entercom looks at the change -- pending official approval
by ESPN, that company's officials said Thursday -- as
much-needed good news. Another Entercom station in Sacramento,
The End (KDND, 107.9 FM), elicited significant public
disgust when a participant in one of its contests died
after consuming too much water while station "personalities"
egged her on.
Geary said that topic remains "something I can't
talk about."
Back to top
More Info from Bill Lackemacher
Also, last year Air America lost it's station in Phoenix
(KXXT 1010). The station was bought by a Christian group
that wants to close down AA stations across the country.
While Phoenix did lose that station, they fought back
and got another signal and started another AA station
(KPHX 1480). Note: It's not really an AA station, they
actually have a bunch of non-AA hosts (Jones: Miller,
Press; Nova-M: Malloy, etc...). Malloy was very instrumental
in getting progressive radio back on the air in Phoenix.
I could be wrong, but if I remember correctly, Ed Schultz
was very negative about the whole deal (kind of a why
waste your time attitude).
This was one of the ways they got a new station. They
sold pixel ad space on this website: http://www.gotstation.com/
We may want to try something similar. They also had another
site, www.SaveAirAmericaPhoenix.com
I think they raised $500,000 in a month to get the new
station.
Here's some more background on it.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/3/6/14224/15872
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheldon-drobny/save-air-america-in-phoen_b_16874.html
Back to top
Second e-mail regarding the Demonstation
with more info on Attempts to Stifle Air America
Subject: Focus on the real goal: stopping corporations
from controlling the media
I have gotten e-mails from a couple of people who think
this fight is about one or two people. It's not.
I wouldn't ask you wonderful people to go to all this
trouble unless I thought there were a larger goal. To
me, the issue is whether we take a stand to keep corporations
from wiping out the only honest media we have. I added
three articles below, two about a similar stand the folks
in Madison, WI took when the same thing happened to them.
(They won!) The third is about something called non-stop
radio, which is working to keep progressive radio alive.
We may lose, of course, but I want to try. I want to go
on record as saying I am going to fight back.
I will come up with a petition and bring it to the demonstration
tomorrow. (Download
petition here.)
Two different people have pointed out that John Geary
is the General manager and we should communicate with
him. They also pointed out that this change in programming
is a done deal. I know that. It was a done deal in Madison,
too, and the decision was reversed.
New contact info for KCTC: John Geary is the General
Manager. Charlie Weiss has not been heard from so please
contact Mr. Geary. I know you don't get heard and I know
they just pass you on. The point is to have large numbers
of people continuing to complain. PLEASE don't stop yet!!
Also, continue to contact Entercom corp. You could fax
them if you won't want to hear their callous indifference!
General Manager John Geary (direct line 339-4209); jgeary@entercom.com
Margie
Back to top
Wikipedia Article: Madison
Air America will Stay on the air in Madison,
WI POLITICS – After a large backlash, Clear
Channel Radio is keeping its Air America affiliate on
the air instead of switching the progressive talk format
to Fox sports. Citing the overwhelming negative reaction
to the planned change, the nation's largest radio station
operator said it would keep 92.1 FM on the air as a progressive
talk station.
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison,_Wisconsin
Air America's Madison affiliate The Mic 92.1 FM, WXXM
announced on November 10, 2006 it would switch to all
sports programming by the end of the year; a spokesperson
for Clear Channel in Madison later announced that the
station would remain an Air America affiliate after a
massive public outcry against the proposed change in format.[21]
The public protest included thousands sending petitions,
emails, and letters, and a public protest of 500 people
along with elected officials Madison's Mayor Dave Cieslewicz
and U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison. Promising improved
support and advertising sales, a local investment group
plans to make Air America and The Mic more successful.
Valerie Walasek, an organizer of the protests stated,
"It's evidence that as people stand up and demand
what they want and demand they are going to take back
the airwaves, somebody will listen."[22] The station
features the Air America lineup and local programs with
Matthew Rothchild's Progressive Radio and Free Thought
Radio from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Back to top
Non-Stop Radio:
See http://www.nonstopradio.com/:
NonStop Radio has three core purposes:
1. To discover and assist grassroots movements in keeping
threatened Progressive Talk stations on the air for their
communities,
2. To assist grassroots efforts in re-establishing Progressive
Talk stations where they have been canceled, or set up
new Progressive Talk stations for markets not yet exposed
to it, and
3. To act as a clearinghouse of information so that activists
everywhere can come to the aid of threatened and canceled
stations, and to also distribute tips and tricks so that
any non-threatened station can be made less vulnerable
by its supporters.
Back to top
The Original Call to Action
Join Town & Country Democrats! Demonstrate,
make phone calls and write letters to save Sacramento’s
Air America access
On Tuesday afternoon of Feb. 12, most of the staff of
radio station KCTC suddenly found themselves unemployed.
KCTC had two local radio shows, the Morning Retort with
Scott and Sims, and an evening show, Enid Live. These
two shows were wonderful to the Progressive community;
they provided financial and emotional support and publicized
Progressive events in the area.
In addition, the rest of their programming was Air America
and included Thom Hartmann, Ring of Fire, and Randi Rhodes.
KCTC is the only station in the area to carry those programs.
Air America is still going strong, but we in this area
will not hear them. The layoffs were ostensibly about
money, but this would not be the first time corporations
have tried to silence Air America. We can’t let
that happen here! Time is of the essence! It is clear
that the station’s corporate offices (Entercom,
www.entercom.com, 610-660-5610) intend to drop Air America
and make the KCTC a sports channel. Our sources indicate
that this will happen as early as next week, so please
act now. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO STOP THIS ATTACK ON THE
BEST PROGRESSIVE RADIO THERE IS!
- Come to a Demonstration at the station in Sacramento,
Friday, Feb. 16, 9-11 am. Meet at La Bou, Madison and
Garfield, between 8 and 9, or just go to the station.
BRING SIGNS! Info about the station:
Phone: 866-303-2270; 5345 Madison Ave., Sac. 95841;
ofc hours 8:30-5:30; Manager, Charlie Weiss, 916-334-7777;
advertising, Jennifer George, 916-339-4574. PLEASE show
up, and bring everyone else you can find!
- Write KCTC, 5345 Madison Ave., Sac. 95841 or go to
http://www.kctc.com/contactus.asp, and complain bitterly.
And call them at 866-303-2270. Why not do all three?
- Call or fax their corporate offices:
Entercom Communications Corp.
401 City Avenue, Suite 809
Bala Cynwyd, Pa 19004
Phone: 610-660-5610
Fax: 610-660-5620
- Pass on this information to every Progressive individual
and organization you know!
- Write letters to the local newspapers!
- Contact anyone you may know in the media.
- Are there more options?? Can we start our own radio
station? Got more ideas???
Questions? Call us!
Margie Metzler, (916) 921-5008 or 248-6148 or margiemetz@hotmail.com
Steve Reed, (916) 202-8577 or stevreed@hotmail.com
Back to top
Pictures
Feb. 16 Demonstration
(Margie and Paula took these)
|
