ANOTHER progressive station (Seattle 1090) flipping to sports in Jan. 2013?

[alp227]

Wow, as if it wasn't bad enough Portland's KPOJ switched from progressive tlak to sports abruptly on Friday, BlatherWatch reports: "As heard on the Stephanie Miller show this morning, they have announced that AM1090 will flip formats in Janurary. We put in a call to AM 1090 and haven't heard back from programming. We'll update to confirm or deny."

In fact, CBS Radio, the company that owns KPTK 1090 Seattle, is launching a 24/7 sports radio network that will debut on 1/2/13. CBS Sports Radio has already secured a bunch of big market stations according to the Wikipedia entry I linked to, but Wikipedia lists nothing for Seattle. We've already seen that WWZN 1510 in Boston flipped from progressive talk to NBC Sports Radio after the summer ended. I did a little more research and found the SeaTacRadio.com blog quoting a program director:

Andrew Skotdal, owner of FOX Sports 1380 KRKO and 1520 Country KKXA Snohomish, comments in RadioDiscussions.com:

"Well, get ready for CBS Sports 1090, Seattle. I received a phone call from a syndicator today offering us...progressive talk. I was told cancellation letters have gone out."

Don't you find the cancellations of progressive talk stations in two extremely liberal markets (Seattle and Portland) after the re-election of Pres. Obama suspicious?

(However I should add that Detroit's WXYT 1270 after a yearlong or so experiment with a conservative format that included Glenn Beck, Todd Schnitt, and Laura Ingraham among other wingnuts, WXYT is reverting to its original sports format with CBS Sports Radio. The Detroit/southeast Michigan area already has other right wing stations: Cumulus' 50 kW blowtorch WJR 760 and Salem's WDTK 1400 as well as Ann Arbor's 1600 WAAM.)

(Most stations picking up CBS Sports Radio are currently sports formatted, but another exception to the rule is KYDZ 1140, a children's AM station in Las Vegas.)

Like KPOJ down in Portland used to, AM 1090 currently plays The Mike Malloy Show on delay right after the live Malloy show ends, so I've used the 1090 online stream to listen to Malloy. Also sometimes to stream 1090's live presentations of Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann, and Norman Goldman. Cool thing is that 1090's online stream has a 2 minute or so delay so I can catch up on the shows in case I was busy doing something and can't tune in exactly 6 minutes after the hour (when the talk shows start).

If you want to sound off, call AM 1090's comment line: 1 [phone]

Email the program director: [e-mail]

Write a letter:
KPTK 1090 AM
1000 Dexter Avenue North, Suite 100
Seattle, WA 98109

Also get the word out to the corporate HQ:

CBS RADIO
1271 Avenue of the Americas FL 44
New York, NY 10020

[phone]

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. We lost our station after 2004

Even before Air America went.

Locally stations are now online.

[LTR]

2. Sports talk is the flavor of the month for AM radio

Especially with two new sports networks starting up. They're even replacing wingnut talk.

Now, it makes no sense to be the 3rd, 4th or 5th sports talk station in the market. Just like it makes no sense being the 3-5th conservotalk station. But sports is a non-controversial format that directly targets men, so it's easy to sell to sponsors. Stupid, I know, but the radio industry has become stupid. And they wonder why their listeners are switching to online options. They just don't give a shit about their listeners.

[brooklynite]

3. Has it occurred to you that liberals may just not care for talk radio?

I have no problem with Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz et al, but I never listen to them, in part because I have a productive work life and don't listen to radio at all during the day time.

[LTR]

4. Very true

I find myself listen more to music stations, or online offerings like Pandora or webcasters like Radio Paradise. I usually only listen to news or talk when there's a big news story. I am thankful it's around though.

[alp227]

6. Problem is, there's got to be an alternative to right wing stink over the air

that unsuspecting average Joes and Janes listen to when they've got the radio blaring in the background in the morning and then when returning home from work. That is how the right wing noise machine suckers low-info voters who otherwise don't follow politics very closely or have no idea about conservatism/liberalism into believing in right wing crap.

[gravity]

11. Those unsuspecting American will listen to sports radio

if they want to listen to talk radio.

[alp227]

12. And what if they're not fans of sports or popular music and find NPR too boring?

They'll land at the local "news/talk" station, chances are the station has a generic morning drive time news show maybe in the afternoon too but otherwise sandwiched in between by LimBeckAnnity type shows. Some "news/talk" stations may actually have opinion/commentary shows in the drive time slots staffed by wannabe Rush Limbaugh types! That is how right wing propaganda creeps into the average radio listener's brain!

[JeffHead]

5. I don't much listen to terrestrial radio any more.

Although we have a locally owned and operated progressive station WCPT in Chicago. Not that I don't like the content,
I love it! The reason is I am an electrician and I work in a lot of factories and get no radio reception inside them. What I do is buy podcast subscriptions for my favorite shows like Mike Malloy, Thom Hartmann, The Majority Report with Sam Seder, Ring of Fire Radio, and Norman Goldman. Plus a few other free ones. That way my money goes to the source of the content rather than through CBS or Clear Channel. Most of these are just 60 bucks a year and are commercial free. I listen to this stuff from the time I get in the van in the am till I get home in the evening. I know since Mike Malloy has gone independent my podcast subscription really helps to keep him on the air and not buying some fat cat CEO's summer home in Bermuda. I believe the internet is the future of progressive talk due to the consolidation of media ownership in regular radio most of which are right wing leaning companies. It's not much but it's about all I can do.

[regnaD kciN]

7. "Podcast subscriptions" don't help...

...when you're in your car much of the day, and do most of your radio listening from there.

[phylny]

9. I actually enjoy my Thom Hartmann podcast BECAUSE I'm in my car.

Granted, I'm not in my car 7 hours a day, but I am in the car 2-3 hours a day most weekdays, and like to be able to stop and start the audio as I get out and get back in. I will miss KPOJ, though, because I'd listen to Randi Rhodes on the way home from work, or Ed during the day for a change of pace via iHeart Radio.

[JeffHead]

10. Don't get me wrong.

I'm a big fan of progressive talk radio. I wish it was more widespread. All I'm saying is my job puts me in situations that radio reception is near impossible due to interference from humming transformers and the like. So I do what I can to get the message. If you are in the car all day, You might try XM or smartphone apps patched into your car stereo, or bluetooth. There are other ways of listening than terrestrial radio. Just sayin.

[CTyankee]

8. This exact same thing happened to our progressive station right after the 2004 election.

It was horrible. I woke up one day to find that I could no longer get Stephanie Miller's show. Just like that! I was in shock. I hated it! I was so mad. All thru the election I had depended on that station for my Steph, then my Al Franken, then Ed, etc.

I was just in a state of shock. I could not believe it. How could this happen so fast?

[crws]

13. West Coast Coup d'état, beggining at the start of the Romney campaign.

[link:http://markcrispinmiller.com/2011/12/clear-channel-ends-green-960-in-san-francisco-kkgns-new-line-up-will-include-glenn-beck/|