KDKA Radio fires Miller & Steigerwald but brings Pintek back

[RamboLiberal]

Not much of an improvement. Pintek is as big a RW idiot as Steigerwald. And still no liberals or Progressives. Pintek is another idiot who's been running with the Obama is not a citizen crap.


News/talk KDKA-AM (1020) will shake up its programming schedule in the new year, and bring back a voice familiar to the station's regular talk show listeners.

The station announced yesterday that starting Jan. 5, former KDKA talk host Mike Pintek will return to the station to host an evening talk show weeknights from 6 to 10 p.m.

Afternoon drive talk host Fred Honsberger will move to the noon-to-3 p.m. shift.

In Honsberger's current drive-time shift, the station will put a three-hour block of news from 3 to 6 p.m., which will be anchored by Paul Rasmussen and Rose Ryan-Douglas.

The changes displace current noon-to-3 p.m. host Kevin Miller and evening host John Steigerwald, who were both let go and are now off the air here. Steigerwald signed on to host the evening talk show last February, along with Scott Paulsen, who left the show a few months later. Miller joined KDKA in 2007.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08351/935376-42.stm

[Bunny]

1. Do we know why Paulsen left that show he did with Steigerwald?

I always liked Paulsen from way back in his 'DVE days, but when he had a show on that short-lived man channel last year, he talked about hosting a fund-raiser at his farm for Rudy Guiliani. That kind of turned me off to Scott Paulsen. When I heard he was going to do that show with Steiggy, I wondered why and after he left so quickly, I wondered even more.

Pintek is just an ass. It's a shame they have to bring back that old retread, when they could be giving Lynn Cullen a chance. And now Honsburger will be on 12-3, but that's good for me because now I can listen to news on KDKA on the drive home.

[RamboLiberal]

2. When Paulsen did the show with Steigerass it was my understanding

it was a trial by KDKA and they were only going to pick one of them.

I'm betting by end of next year if not sooner KDKA will be changing again. If the economy was better I think they'd be sold. And if the economy stays bad I wonder if advertisers pulling back won't kill them for local hosts.

I don't think Honz is in that good of health and I wouldn't bet against him retiring at some point.

[Bunny]

3. Oh, okay. I didn't realize the tag team thing was actually an audition of sorts.

I don't think Honsburger has been well since he had that gastric bypass thing. But doesn't he work from his home studio? Maybe he can hang on for quite a while longer if his health holds up.

KDKA really just sucks, in so many ways. On the afternoon drive, I've been tuning in to the Youngstown station. The guy's name is Ron Verb, he was very pro-Obama, and spent quite a bit of time trying to persuade the Youngstown yokels to vote for Barack. For the past month or so he's been all about the crisis in the auto industry, and while I am concerned and sympathetic, I am getting tired of listening to it.

[RamboLiberal]

4. There was a Youngstown guy on last night on KD

Said he worked morning talk radio in Youngstown, and he lived in New Castle. I only caught a few minutes. He seemed like he might be liberal but hard to tell since he was talking about that case of the woman who shot the FBI agent. Wonder if that was Ron Verb(maybe not since you said he's afternoon). He will be on tonight in the 7-10 slot, I'll have to catch the name. Guess they have whomever will come in till they make the switch first week of January.

Yeah, Honz has broadcast from home - nice gig and nice employers that give him so much sick time. :sarcasm: But I thought since he came back in Sept he's back in studio. But I might be mistaken, I only catch him once in a while, and even then I have to switch him off or watch my blood pressure rise.

[Bunny]

5. I wasn't listening last night, but I'm guessing the guy was an ass called Mangino.

I think that's his last name, he just goes by the one name. I've heard him on KDKA before, he's from NewC but does Youngstown radio. Right wing jagoff, IIRC.

[RamboLiberal]

6. Yeah that was the guy now that you mention the name

I only heard him for about 20 minutes.

[livetohike]

7. I'm glad Kevin Miller is gone too - that guy is a jerk

No room for Lynn :-(. KDKA is a joke. You'd think they would make good use of their powerful signal instead of filling the airwaves with crap.

[RamboLiberal]

8. Yeah wonderful choice - Pintek has gone completely looney

More On Pintek

A few questions:

In their discussions leading up to his triumphant return to KDKA's airwaves, I wonder if the good folks AT KDKA asked Mike Pintek about this:

On The War Room With Quinn & Rose, guest host Mike Pintek opened the show by saying, "You need to know that Barack Obama is a monster and a liar who would be very much at home in Communist China, where killing babies is an industry." Pintek went on to claim that Obama "believes so firmly in abortion, he is so radical in his support for abortion and infanticide that he believes that if a woman chooses abortion, she's entitled to a dead body no matter what."

Or this (linked to from yesterday's post):

On The War Room With Quinn & Rose, guest host Mike Pintek echoed right-wing websites in questioning the authenticity of Sen. Barack Obama's birth certificate, claiming: "I still keep wondering about his birthplace and his birth certificate. I'm still not convinced that he actually was born a natural-born citizen."
Or about how Pintek thinks Global Climate Change is a hoax and is not above spinning the news (aka "lying") to "prove" it.

http://2politicaljunkies.blogspot.com/

Wonder if he will carry that on to KD?

[livetohike]

9. Sickening

I don't remember him being such a right wing looney :shrug:. If KDKA got rid of Miller and Steigerwald (and I think they went way too far with their craziness), maybe Pintek will have to tone it down.

[MrMickeysMom]

10. So, now we have crap on a big signal...

... and a money show on what could have been a big signal.

I have officially entered the world of full time internet radio and NPR. Good-bye AM. I hope you drown knee deep in your right wing agendas and Limbaugh blows up until he pops.

I'm that disgusted in the media here.

[livetohike]

11. Me too. For a democratic town (Pgh) and county you wouldn't

know it by the radio shows. If I had the means to start a station, I would.

[MrMickeysMom]

12. Hmmmm... if you could start a station...

What would your line up be?

I'd of course include Cullen and replay it at night, Thom Hartmann, but I'd also have someone I previously did not like- Uncle Doug (Hurtz? sp?) just cause he's so well liked by Pittsburghers.

What the heck, you may as well dream. :-)

[livetohike]

13. I agree with your choices and I'd include Chris Moore somewhere

in the line up. There is a guy out in San Diego (Stacy Taylor) that I listened to when I lived there and I read that he lost his job this week, so I'd sign him up too :-).

[yasmina27]

19. Add Rick Bergman

and you'd have a gold mine!

[tigereye]

24. Chris Moore used to be on KDKA at night, didn't he?

I don't listen to it much, but you are right about how RW out radio is - it's truly bizarre that there isn't any room for liberal voices like Lynn Cullen, for gawd's sake. It's embarrassing.

[RamboLiberal]

25. Chris always had a weekend show except for a few

time they'd have him sub and drive the Honzman listeners nuts. Then they started going to RW'ers who weren't even Pittsburghers to fill in for Honz.

Chris used to have both Saturday and Sunday nights. Then they reduced him to just Sundays 4 - 9. Instead of giving him back Saturday nights after several shows failed there they brought in another RW nut Dmitri to take over that slot.

You can still catch Chris Sundays 4-9. He gets some great guests. For instance he had Ray McGovern on. Now that Steeler season is over I hope I can catch him more often.

[femmocrat]

16. Doug Hoerth.

Wonder what became of him? I got tired of his show, but always liked him personally.

They used to have such a good line-up with Lynn, Thom, and Doug. :cry:

[MrMickeysMom]

18. That's it... Hoerth

I didn't really like him either. But, knowing there should be a good mix on a station worth listening to around here, he'd be the one to balance it out a bit.

I think one of the most honest things about him was his admission to alcoholism. I like it when people admit they are human beings with a history. I'm more interested in what Lynn Cullen is doing. I should visit Squirrel Hill and find out.

[RamboLiberal]

20. Keep an eye out for the pundits show the Cabaret does

It's late night at 10:30 on either a Thursday or a Friday and it's a great time. They seem to do it once a month. It's John McIntyre as host, Gab Bonesso does a comedy bit, then they have a panel of talkers. Lynn has done all the ones I've attended and other guests have included Tony Norman, Chris Potter from the city paper, John Brabender to give the Republican perspective (he was a campaign consultant for Santorum among others), and one time when Branbender couldn't make some RW lady named Heather(forgot her last name). I'll post the info if I hear of the next show.

Lynn did tell me in November that she was working on a gig with a local station, but I didn't talk to her at last week's show so I don't know if that is still a possibility.

[Joe Bacon]

14. Oh, how KDKA has fallen.

I left Ambridge in 1982, still remember listening to Bogut in the morning, coming home listening to Bill Steinbach's 90 to 6 and then liberal Roy Fox going after right winger John Cigna.

And I remember the times I'd see Art Pallan with a big grin on his face waving to everyone from the Kaufman's first floor window during Christmas and getting farkelberry muffins, or tarts or cookies to us after we would empty our coffecan change for Children's Hospital at Christmastime.

Oh, I was thinking about the farkelberry treats today when I decided to google KDKA to see if they still did it. Good lord, how KDKA has fallen, now it's just another outlet for right wing bullshit.

[femmocrat]

15. I haven't listened to KDKA since Bogut left.

I no longer listen to the station that used to carry Lynn either. I've switched to NPR (in the car mostly) and DUQ on weekends.

[Joe Bacon]

17. I didn't know Bogut left KDKA

I see John Cigna booted Bogut from KDKA, and then they booted Art Pallan. What a shame.

I see Bogut's now on WJAS along with Chilly Billy! I still remember when WJAS was 13-Q.

[RamboLiberal]

21. PG did an editorial on KDKA on Friday

Right radio: KD's new lineup is more of the same
Friday, December 19, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh talk radio isn't exactly a model of ideological diversity. Even so, there was a time when voices from across the political spectrum could be heard.

There used to be a radio home for the unabashed liberalism of Lynn Cullen. If libertarianism is your bag, there was no smarter advocate for it than Jerry Bowyer. Who doesn't miss the moderate politics of Phil Musick or the wacky pop anarchy of "Uncle" Doug Hoerth's show?

Alas, most of these examples go back to when programmers were willing to entertain the possibility that listeners could weigh contrary views without their heads exploding. You would never know Pittsburgh talk could be that diverse by what's on the air these days.

This week KDKA-AM announced a reshuffling of its schedule, effective Jan. 5, but kept its overwhelmingly conservative slant. KDKA veteran Mike Pintek, who was dismissed in 2005, was called back to take the evening slot. He will follow a 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. block of news, and right-wing firebrand Fred Honsberger will take the mike at noon.

Instead of trying a different flavor of political talk, KDKA has opted for more of the same. Mr. Pintek and Mr. Honsberger do what they do well, but with a new administration coming, wouldn't it have been worth considering a talk host who reflects the national political mood?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08354/936179-35.stm

[demodonkey]

22. Good for the Post-Gazette!

Now if only they would really "get it" about the bad voting machines in Western PA...

[RamboLiberal]

23. Pintek had wacky Obama is not a citizen Phillip Berg on last night

For a 90 friggin' minutes!