The State of Progressive Talk

[will_in_chicago]

It has been a few months since Air America Radio went off the air, so I thought it might be good to look at where progressive talk is now.

By the time of AAR's demise, the network was less than what it was several years back. Several of the most prominent hosts -- http://www.billpressshow.com/Bill Press], http://www.stephaniemiller.com/">Stephanie Miller, http://www.thomhartmann.com/">Thom Hartmann, http://www.bigeddieradio.com/">Ed Schultz, http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/main.html">Randi Rhodes, http://www.mikemalloy.com/">Mike Malloy -- had either left AAR or were never formally associated with the network. Dial Global, which now syndicates Thom Hartmann's show, syndicates four of the top six hosts in progressive talk. (Randi Rhodes and Mike Malloy were part of Nova M Radio, which ended last year.)[br />
After AAR folded, Ron Reagan soon decided to end his show. Here in Chicago, http://normangoldman.com/">Norman Goldman has taken over Ron Reagan's old slot.

I suspect that the folding of AAR will mean a chance for independent hosts and small networks to reach listeners on the air or over on the internet. For example, http://www.thejefffariasshow.com/">Jeff Farias hosts a daily talk show -- with IMHO, a good selection of guests and great callers -- form 6 PM to 9 PM Eastern. His site is also the home to programs hosted by some other online personalities including former Phoenix on air personalities Herb "Sarge" Phelps and Roman Ulman.

The http://headonradionetwork.com/">Head On Radio Network was going strong before AAR folded, with such hosts as Bob Kincaid, Guy James, Rick Smith, Cynthia Black, and Jon Fox on during the week or the weekend.

So far, few of the internet hosts are on the air waves. Herb "Sarge" Phelps, Roman Ulman and several other weekend hosts, who as previously mentioned also broadcast on http://www.thejefffariasshow.com/">http://www.thejefffariasshow.com, on are on http://wxbh.org/">WXBH 92.7 FM in Louisville, Kentucky. Possibly, we may see more progressive stations looking to fill their hours with internet hosts. They represent a talent pool of new hosts, and already can offer a listener base.

As for the progressive talk stations themselves, some are doing better than others. I think what leads to success for a station are good hosts, including local hosts, a decent signal, and committed management. KPOJ, WCPT and its sister stations in Chicago's Progressive Talk, and Green 960 are doing well -- especially considering that they do not have the strongest signals. One challenge for progressive talk seems to be media consolidation -- the ownership of most stations by a handful of companies and similar programming. If an alien were to listen to our talk radio shows, and had that as the only evidence of American political opinions, said alien would conclude that Americans are overwhelmingly conservative and would be puzzled why the Democrats are in power. Also, it would be good to hear some more local voices to address local issues.

I think that we need to see an end to media consolidation and break up the oligopoly. Radio stations managed well in the 1980s and before with many owners, not five or six gigantic corporations owning most of the radio stations -- music radio as well as talk radio stations.

So far, I do not see AM or FM radio giving way yet to internet radio entirely -- although I think internet radio programs are a rising force in the industry. Part of the problem is that many people listen in their cars, and we will have to see if we get a technology that would make a transition to internet radio. Perhaps we will see such a technology, but I think we will have broadcast radio for several years to come.

So, enough of my opinions. What do YOU think?

[will_in_chicago]

1. Where did some of the hosts go?

So, any thoughts?

One thing I am curious about is what happened to some of the former AAR hosts. I know that Ring of Fire is syndicated by Westwood One and Hollywood Clout is on WCPT in Chicago and WWRL in New York? But what happened to some of the other AAR alumni? Does anyone know if Chuck D is still doing a show?

Also, I know that Sam Seder and Marc Maron sometimes do internet radio shows. Why AAR did NOT use them more effectively is beyond me, but seems typical of the poor management decisions that AAR made.

[Sebastian Doyle]

2. Sam Seder got screwed by Air America's mismanagement on at least three different occasions.

They killed The Majority Report, even though he was pretty much carrying the show. Then they killed his morning show before he really had a chance to find an audience. Finally they pulled the plug on his weekly show "Seder on Sunday".

For a while there, I thought Sam was going to jump ship for Nova M. Maybe Maron as well, since they were both filling in for Malloy on occasion. Maybe if Nova M would have built a morning show around Maron & Seder, they could have had a better shot at surviving? Still don't know what finally killed that network, though what was said and what was NOT said at the time leads me to believe the blame lies with the Randi Rhodes camp. Not coincidentally, her show went into the toilet the minute she moved inside the beltway and seemed to be infected with the same mental disease that has affected so many in that region.

Ron Reagan was the only show in the daily AAR lineup worth listening to by the time the final curtain came down. It's a damn shame he didn't come out on top of this with all of his affiliates intact. Hope he comes back one day.

[will_in_chicago]

4. Nova M Radio

My understanding that Nova M Radio had financial problems, and it was not related to Randi. The Phoenix New Times had a few articles on this: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/02/nova_m_deader_than_bernie_mac.php">Nova M Deader than Bernie Mac? Sheldon Drobny's Mental Breakdown, and More on Randi Rhodes and 1190 AM's Implosion and http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2009-02-19/news/this-pelican-sticks-a-fork-in-nova-m-finds-out-if-obama-is-a-red-and-logs-on-to-grant-woods-web-cast">Nova M Deader than Bernie Mac? Sheldon Drobny's Mental Breakdown, and More on Randi Rhodes and 1190 AM's Implosion as well as http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/02/nova_m_meltdown_randi_rhodes_d.php">Nova M Meltdown? Randi Rhodes Disappears, and a Note for Friends of Desert Politics

Also, the fate of 1190 KNUV was detailed at http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/03/nova_ms_successor_on_second_th.php">The Curse of Randi Rhodes: Nova M's Successor "On Second Thought" Padlocked in Phoenix (w/Update)

[Azturq]

5. NovaM just ran out of money even tho ...

it had a good cash flow. It looks like the Drobny's took the money out to cover other business failures

[will_in_chicago]

6. Robbing Peter to Pay Paul?

If this was indeed the Drobny's strategy, it did a lot of harm to progressive talk in Phoenix and elsewhere.

I think a good progressive talk station or network needs a sound business plan. That ultimately seemed to be lacking at AAR and Nova M Radio.

[Azturq]

3. What about Peter B. Collins?

I used to enjoy his filling in for Mike Malloy and Thom Hartmann so I listened to his show on KRXA in Monterey.
Just today I found out that he is still podcasting from his site at http://www.peterbcollins.com/ and on iTunes.
I know I'm subscribing

[will_in_chicago]

7. I always liked Peter B. Collins

I always enjoyed Peter B. Collins and wondered why he did not have more success. Hopefully, he can get back on the airwaves soon.

So, are there any other progressive show hosts whom we should perhaps take a look at and deserve more attention from listeners?