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Hello Liberal Talk Radio Station Investors – Are You Out There?

The Stephanie Miller Show is probably carried on far fewer than 46 stations across the country.  Here’s a list of 46 supposed affiliates from the liberal talk radio wiki – http://ltradio.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Stephanie_Miller_affiliates – but I know for a fact that Stephanie is not on several of them: E.g., 1) WWWT in Washington no longer exists, 2) KMPT 930 AM in Missoula, MT, is now all conservative, and 3) the Columbus, OH, affiliate WVKO has changed call letters and format.  Maybe, Stephanie is on 40 stations.

Ed Schultz’s wiki lists 69 affiliates – http://ltradio.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Ed_Schultz_affiliates – I would be surprised if he has more than 50.

Randi Rhodes’s list includes even fewer stations than Stephanie’s but the list is two+ years old and she may be on a few more now.

Thom Hartmann identifies 70 affiliates at his website.  I am inclined to view this as the most accurate count of the various hosts.  At their sites, Stephanie, Ed, and Randi make you search by state which makes computing the total number of affiliates very difficult, you have to check 50 different links and many states don’t have any stations that carry liberal talkers.  But, while Thom’s count is apparently relatively accurate, he includes low-power FM stations and community stations which reach a few thousand people at most.

With the exception of the low power and community stations, nearly all the affiliates are owned by Clear Channel which has made clear that it will only put liberal talkers on less powerful stations that often have to reduce power at night and protect stations in other markets.

Right-wing liars Limbaugh and Hannity are each heard on many hundreds of affiliates.  Even third-tier right-wing hosts like Dennis Miller can dredge up 80 stations when they start up.  http://talkingradio.blogspot.com/2007/03/dennis-millers-underwhelming-affiliate.html

Liberal talk radio makes a huge difference.  We hold democrats accountable.  Unlike the corporate media, we understand that Republican policies are morally and intellectually bankrupt.  Simply put, we make a compelling case for progressive government.  Where we are, decent honest politicians have a much better chance of getting elected.  Nevertheless, it’s very tough, if not downright impossible, to get well-heeled liberals to invest in us.  Despite the fact that KRXA plays the Media Matters Minute numerous times each day and broadcasts the Stephanie Miller Show which features a Media Matters rep every day, my efforts to reach CEO David Brock who recently received a well-publicized $1 million from billionaire George Soros have been fruitless.  Simply put, Brock will not take calls from a liberal talk radio station owner who is determined to propagate the format and whose station is showing a profit.  Other wealthy liberals are similarly uninterested.

Sad huh?

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19 Responses to Hello Liberal Talk Radio Station Investors – Are You Out There?

  1. Fia says:

    Hi Hal,

    It is sad! Thanks for gathering this information. It’s critical that we work to get more independently owned and operated liberal stations. I think we should call Congressman Alan Grayson and see if he’s interested in owning a station.

    Fia

  2. Reginald says:

    “Brock will not take calls from a liberal talk radio station owner who is determined to propagate the format and whose station is showing a profit…”

    Why is that?

    • peter says:

      Reginald, it IS because VERY few people have a vision and/ or the guts to step outside their shell..be it left OR right….That’s why! No brainer..Why do you think?

  3. Denica says:

    (side note: Fia rocks)
    We need more real info, I agree. I fear that in America now, there will always be more people interested in the circus. :( We can drop ideas in the pool and hope the ripples become waves. ;)

  4. “Bring Me the Head of a Liberal Talk Radio Station Investor!”????
    I’m not sure you want to ask for the head of a liberal talk radio station investor… yours is the easiest to find & you probably want it to remain attached.

    • Title change says:

      I was just giving you a bad time Hal. The old title was funny, but I guess the new one is more likely to garner the desired effect from those you are making your appeal to. Merry Christmas.

  5. Nona Mills says:

    Thanks, Denica! You rock too!!! I agree with the hope that ripples may turn into waves. Fia

  6. Max says:

    Are you the Hal that called Stephanie Miller’s show this morning when Hal Sparks was hosting? If so, I think the reason you aren’t getting any traction for more affiliates is because you come off as a whiny, screechy, little gadfly. Show you want to have actual debate and not to shout over other people, and you could have more success.

    • hal says:

      Max – so glad to get your comments. I just want to be clear on something though. Am I correct in my impression that you agree with Stephanie, Randi, and Sparks that Obama is above criticism?

  7. John says:

    No disagreements here, just points of discussion.
    1. You can’t tell someone what to do with their money, it’s theirs.
    2. A report released a few years ago said, in essence, 90% or more of all political talk radio is “right wing conservative”, so your conclusion is correct; there are definite reasons so many sheeple are thinking the way they are.
    3. There has to be a business plan and frankly it may not include radio at all. You left out satellite receivers and online listeners. I don’t have a radio station to listen to and rely on the internet. Many, many people do. I listen to whatever is on.

    KRXA is a great station and true to its home area, I also listen to green 960, KPOJ, and LA, Seattle, Denver, Chicago and Twin Cities stations. (I live in Haiku, Maui and work in Wailuku.)
    I use a Clear 4G Hotspot and an ipod touch, that system works very well as I commute and while at work. It costs me $2.00 a day or three dollars if you only count work days (20 days a month, $55.00 a month.)
    4. Then there is the approach to the message. Limbaugh had it to himself for quite a few years and built his audience and station loyalty. You can’t expect to walk onto the stage and own it immediately.
    The key is: No one owns loyalty to our nation or its people. No one owns patriotism or the appreciation towards our military. The “Cons” have framed the issues to push anyone out of their tent who doesn’t agree. Progressives on the other hand welcome everybody into their tent(s). There is a lot of pent up passion and frustration within the “liberal” ranks right now and whomever can attract and frame the issues positively for that wide constituency will win their loyalty.
    The 50 state strategy got Obama into the White House, why on Earth his people did not continue that strategy leaves me flummoxed. It would have worked during this last election and saved our collective “okole’s”.

  8. Michael Greenspan says:

    Hal, great idea, but most of us progressives work for a living and don’t have the funds that the investor class has, but! We know how to organize and there-in lies the answer, form a co-op which we progressives would buy units at an affordable price like, oh, say $5.00 a unit but with numbers of people outhere and upset we could put together a respectable sum of capital to purchase a station or many stations.

    I would bet that Norman Goldman as legal counsul, would set up the correct vehicle in which to launch this type of enterprise.

  9. patrick taylr says:

    Hal,

    I wish i had the money to invest in a radio station. it’s too bad clear channel holds most of the stations and makes sure right wingers get the best signals and lefties get a tiny piece of what’s left over.

  10. patrick taylor says:

    hal, i just wanted to let you know that i listen to krxa on sunday nights. i enjoy freedom from religion and ring of fire. i live in san diego.

  11. SANCHEZ in MONTEBELLO says:

    Hal,

    Our friend, Mike Malloy once “Went-Off” on the subject of
    the lack Liberal Investors in Progressive Media by telling the story of a meeting between the original Air America organizers and a roomful of “Hollywood Liberals”… This was before the network got off the ground. The room was filled with Liberals. But… After the organizers had finished their presentation, they left EMPTY-HANDED!
    There seems to be a pervasive attitude of: “I’ve Got Mine” with many wealthy Hollywood Folks. Quite frankly, I don’t consider many “Celebrities” to be well-informed, politically-speaking. Others may be afraid to speak-out like elder members of the Hollywood Community like Ed Asner. I only wish I could one day be lucky-enough to have enough scratch to be able to invest in something so
    important as a radio station which broadcasts TRUTH and a REAL Progressive Agenda.

  12. Hal, Our friend, Mike Malloy once “Went-Off” on the subject of the lack Liberal Investors in Progressive Media by telling the story of a meeting between the original Air America organizers and a roomful of “Hollywood Liberals”… This was before the network got off the ground. The room was filled with Liberals. But… After the organizers had finished their presentation, they left EMPTY-HANDED! There seems to be a pervasive attitude of: “I’ve Got Mine” with many wealthy Hollywood Folks. Quite frankly, I don’t consider many “Celebrities” to be well-informed, politically-speaking. Others may be afraid to speak-out like elder members of the Hollywood Community like Ed Asner. I only wish I could one day be lucky-enough to have enough scratch to be able to invest in something so important as a radio station which broadcasts TRUTH and a REAL Progressive Agenda.

  13. Don says:

    I read the initial comment and all subsequent posts. Seems obvious to me that as advertising supports the right wing stations, all liberals have to do is SUPPORT the advertisers when a liberal station goes on air. Result, if the comments are correct, would be a strong liberal presence on the airwaves. Otherwise you are nothing but whiners!

  14. Luana says:

    Ratings bring advertisers.
    Long haul truckers are to American society today as International Typographic Union printers were in the age of the printed word. Union printers could slip up and work a stint here or there all across the country, every town had a daily paper. They spread the message of labor one on one, they told the workers’ struggle, and taught one town at a time that workers together could make a difference. Printers were human wikipedia and spell checkers, and men who spotted typos upside down and backwards in hot type faster than any editor. The were an educated blue collar work force.
    The generally unschooled truck drivers are radiating and spreading the poisonous garbage spewed out on station after corporate owned station from madmen Beck,Limbaugh, et al. They are spreading it one on one at truck stops, home town bars, and at sporting events.
    Owning more stations won’t really help, those who need to listen simply are not interested, it doesn’t fit their world view. We need one-on-one neighbor to neighbor. Put down your cell phones, quit texting, get out and talk to people. . .

  15. Browns44 says:

    If the left had a product that was believable, they would have no problem growing in a free market place. The fact that they haven’t is not because there is some vast right wing cabal against them, it’s because their product sucks, big time.
    Any radio station owner, be they right wing or left wing could care less how they make a profit, as long as they make one. Without profit, they will not be station owners.

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