The difference is, this time I'm not working at the station that's changing format. But, interestingly enough, it still hurts!
It hurts because, even though the Democrats control both houses of Congress and the White House, the giant corporation and conglomerates that own and operate the majority of the radio stations in the country continue to push the fallacy that liberal talk radio can't work.
The fact is that it can. In cities where the signals of the "liberal" and the "conservative" stations are on par with each other, and where the stations are also on an equal footing when it comes to resources, they are quite competitive.
But let's look at it another way... Most radio stations are operated by BIG business. As much as the right likes to label the media as liberal, the fact is that most media outlets are owned by BIG corporations, whose interests are best served by the Republican agenda. Deregulation, tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, tax loopholes for those same BIG businesses... you get the idea.
It's no wonder that 90% of the stations that air political talk opt to promote their conservative/Republican ideology.
Do they have an audience? Yes. Is there an audience for an opposing viewpoint? YES!
We're seeing the growth of the opposing viewpoint on MSNBC. They just hired Ed Schultz to host a new show at 6pm weeknights. On the other hand, MSNBC has the right-wing ideologue Joe Scarborough on in the morning, and just renewed Chris Matthews for another four years (I really don't get him at all...).
They're straddling a fence, but at least giving "our side" a voice. That's more than I can say for radio where, since the election of President Obama, we've seen the number of "progressive talk" stations dwindle! It doesn't make sense, unless you realize who controls the purse strings at these stations!
So, on today's Radio or Not Podcast, I take a walk down memory lane, and lament the loss of South Florida's Progressive Talk (even though they stopped using that phrase last year). And I ask you a couple of questions:
- With the loss of South Florida's only progressive radio voice, would you like to see Radio or Not deal with local issues at least once a week?
-What do you want from Radio or Not? More politics or more lifestyle/fun/pop culture? Something else?
-How do you listen to Radio or Not? Do you subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or download it from the website? Do you put it on your iPod and listen in the car, or do you listen from your computer?
-Your comments, suggestions, thoughts, feedback about Radio or Not.
You can email me here, post your responses below in the comments section of the blog, or post on our message board. Any or all of the above.
I do appreciate the extra effort it takes to listen to the Radio or Not Podcast. I know that the day will come, in the not-too-distant future, when listening to a podcast in your car will be as easy as pushing a button. Unfortunately, timing is not on our side in South Florida today, where at 6:00 this evening, the option of pushing a button and hearing someone who is politically in line with the people who run our country will be lost. Somehow, that seems very un-American!
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12 comments:
Breaks my heart and I wonder what Clear Channel will do around the country. Even here in the San Francisco Bay Area everything is owned by Clear Channel.
Joe Scarborough is a pig to resort to the lowest level of my consciousness. Still and all he frightens me-he still sees things as he did when in Congress and these suckers must be getting together to plan more than radio station deaths.
I'm so upset to hear about the demise of 940WINZ - it was the ONLY station I ever listened to when I lived in S.FL! This is very distressing to me. Progressive radio is a voice that needs to be heard.
I was sickened when Nicole was replaced by the crusty, croaking, disgusting, Eye Puss in the Morning. I was compelled to change the setting on my clock radio to the ever corporatist apologist/tool, NPR affiliate, WLRN. Uggh!
Then, about a month ago, perchance I tuned in to WINZ to find that Eye Puss had been replaced by the sweet voice of logic and reason, Rachel Maddow. YES! The ship of liberal discourse had been righted and 940 WINZ had learned its lesson . . .
Apparently not. But, I do hold out hope for the future. So, in the spirit of Rush Limbaugh, here's hoping that 940 WINZ "The Sports Animal" fails quickly and completely. A quick and painless death so to speak. I'm sure Nicole, Rachel, Tom, Randy, Lionel, Mike, et al. will forgive, forget and come back. Hey, maybe Al could resume his show from the floor of the Senate. Seriously! Al could pull it off. ;)
You wonder where some of the billions went? Clear Hate Radio! They are buying up the airwaves with a propaganda machine. Kill the Hate!!
Anybody STILL wanna puke out that "liberal media" tired dead rotting GOPuketard talking point?!!?!?!?
Don't worry, WINZ will end up with lower ratings than KLSD!
ZERO...POINT...ZERO!!!
So this leaves only Bubba The Love Sponge & Neil Rogers as the ONLY good radio in South FL. Better than nothing! Let the Crap Channel boycott being!!!
http://Lu666Cifer.blogspot.com
PS If Air America wasn't run by shmitheads, they'd have the Nicole Sandler Show syndicated already!
Glad to see someone else is a little offput about the way 940 WINZ, a station CC initially put considerable effort into making a competitive and (mostly) interesting free informational and entertainment outlet. The firing of Nicole Sandler was just the beginning of the end for this station (as evidenced by the mere 5 months from replacing her with Imus to getting rid of Imus and then, the format overall).
South Florida radio listeners are clearly happier with some mindless sporthole chat. So be it. Podcasts have gone a long way towards making antiquated concepts like FCC regulation and scheduled broadcast times as obsolete as the serial radio drama.
What happened? The democrats won Congress in 2007 and now also control the White House, yet, "progressive" talk has failed in a state that went from Red to Blue! We should go for a new Fairness Doctrine! It's not fair that lib radio is boring, one-note, angry, over emotional and dry! Libs have the RIGHT to be heard eventhough nobody, apparently wants to hear you guys! AH HA HA HA HA! You guys should have seen this coming when that socialist chick was replaced by that racist dude in the mornings! AH HA HA HA! This is proof positive once again that liberals/democrats/"progressives"/socialists have absolutely NO IDEA of what's going on with in your own pary (kind of like the Obama Admin! AH HA HA AH) because if they did, they would listen more to lib talk and advertisers would put more money towards the radio stations and your brand of monotonous goo could continue to posion middle and low income losers who don't want to take responsibility for their own lives
and expect the government to baby sit them from womb to tomb. Stupid Liberals, Paychecks are for workers! AH HA HA HA HA HA! I'm going to back to work (Yes, I have a job!) and listen to the live webcast on WIOD 610...I think Rush Limbaugh is on right now! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Palin in 2012!
The Confused Conservative appears to be really out of touch. For one, Nicole Sandler's show was taken off the air before the White House shifted sides. For another, you're clearly misunderstanding the dynamics of how a behemoth like Clear Channel operates.
Imagine that. A "conservative" fails to grasp big business's motivations. Is my Irony Meter stirring?
And, well, I think it's damning enough that you'd publicly profess your intention to vote for Sarah Failin' in 2012. Any scorn I could heap upon you would be drowned out in the mass laughter.
4 years ago, when I left the military and moved to Miami, I was politically ignorant and had voted just twice in my whole life. Because of 940AM WINZ, not only did I learn politics, I became a progressive animal due to my fustration with Bush/Cheney and the Neoconservatives.
The shows on 940WINZ revealed to me, how ignorant, misleading, and even sinister the corporate media is. Progressive talk shows were the only ones I trusted for honest news on the airwaves, and now I feel like I've been punched in the gut.
Miami has enough ignorant people already. Do we need another sports radio station to cater to them? Capitalism, as we misapply it in America, looks more and more like a total sham to me everyday. Big business won't be happy until everyone in this country is uneducated, broke, enslaved, and attacking each other.
I only just realized 940 WINZ became a ridiculous sports station. I only listen (with a very bad signal in Vero Beach) when I'm in the car and don't want to miss out on the Stephanie Miller Show and was sickened with finding it's all sports. I sure hope they gloriously fail. It makes me so angry that I can get strong signals in two stations for idiot glenn beck but the voice of reason got stamped out in Florida. Something needs to be done! This is bull$hit!
Let buy Clear Channel (CCMO) $1.50 todays close, And make it into Air America owned buy tipthe people
I hear ya bitchywaitress. I'm over in Okeechobee (REEEEEEEEEEEE!) and same deal, only COULD (notice PAST tense) that station in me car. I hope they do worst than KLSD! At the very least I hope Crap Channel/Premiere puts Randi on WIOD, hell, how about trash all the KKKon talk on that friggin station and put something on like oh I don't know, LIBERAL TALK THAT MORE THAN 10 PEOPLE WILL LISTEN TO!
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