— In a region known for hostility toward syndicated talk, WXKS will feature almost no local content. This alone makes it not much of a threat to established competition.
— Rather than build a line-up based on market demand, Clear Channel is using WXKS to dump Premiere Radio’s national shows, some of which have already failed here or have little chance of success in our area. If there is no budget for local talk, why run Jason Lewis (a Premiere host) at 6pm when Mark Levin (Citadel – ABC) is up for grabs?
— Instead of bringing major-market programming talent to the new outlet, Clear Channel appears to be recycling Providence management to save money. Yes, the Boston mafia was once run from the Ocean State, but the very folks who have done little with WHJJ-AM aren’t likely to succeed here. Boston is a top ten market, so the stakes are much higher.
If I were advising Limbaugh, I’d recommend he steer clear of 1200 until there’s a credible plan for success.
Here’s the clearest indication yet that WRKO is about to lose Rush Limbaugh to Clear Channel’s new Boston talk outlet: signs of life at newly-registered “RushRadio1200.com“. I’ve been checking this address for weeks, today was the first indication of any activity.
The question: what does this mean for WRKO’s future?
As Patches Kennedy unexpectedly bows out of what would have been a fairly tough re-election bid, one thing is certain: the gods are once again smiling on talk radio. Howie Carr can relax knowing Friday’s show has written itself.
From a Greater Media press release sent this morning:
*** MEDIA ALERT ***
Mr. Brown Goes to Washington and Michele McPhee Goes Too
McPhee to Attend Senator Scott Brown’s Swearing-In
Live Broadcast from D.C. TONIGHT
WHAT: Following the swearing-in of newly elected Massachusetts GOP Senator Scott Brown, 96.9 FM-WTKK’s Michele McPhee will broadcast live from our Nation’s Capitol TONIGHT. McPhee’s program will be heard loud and clear in Boston and New England from the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. from 6 to 10 p.m. She will be talking with special guests and listeners throughout the evening.
96.9 FM-WTKK is Boston and New England’s “Campaign Connection” and has provided the Commonwealth with thorough political insight and perspective for over a decade.
If you think Democrats are going overboard spinning Scott Brown’s victory, you ain’t seen nothin’: radio programmers are masters at making excuses for bad ratings. And the fresh monthly release of Boston audience figures will most certainly test their skills.
That’s because for most local news-talkers, the final 2009 ratings period was generally a stinker. Yes, here come the excuses: our hosts were away for their extended vay-cays, etc. How’d that work out for Martha Coakley?
Another classic: we’ve recently changed our line-up and station logo and need at least a year to see how well it works!
Here are news-talk highlights for Arbitron’s Holiday 2009 ratings period (December 10 2009 to January 06 2010):
— WBZ-AM produced flat ratings, good for fourth place with 5.7 share of the overall (6 and older) audience. But it certainly no longer dominates the region. In terms of actual listeners (cume), WBZ takes seventh with 822,400.
Dan Rea, Martha Coakley and Curt Schilling have probably done more for WBZ in recent weeks than any marketing campaign could, so we’ll see if any election benefit shows up in the next trend.
— Sports WEEI continues to suffer after new competitor WBZ-FM carved away a chunk of its audience. But it did tick up a bit this month, to 3.8 from 3.6 share and ninth place overall (its remaining listeners are hard core and stick around longer).
Body count: 444,000, down from 462,000 last month and 642,600 in September, thirteenth place in cume.
— WRKO continues its long slide, falling to 3.6 from 4.0 last month and 5.5 in August. That means tenth place overall. Audience count: 347,800, down from 378,400 previously and 639,000 in August.
Next month, the white-hot Senate race should show up as a boost for January’s numbers. But the upcoming launch of a new Clear Channel talker will hit WRKO hard in the long run.
— It was another up month for upstart sports talker WBZ-FM, rising to 3.5 from 3.1. Tied for twelfth, cume audience: 687,500, more than 200,000 greater than WEEI! CBS is now busy looking to copy its success in other cities.
— WTKK-FM: the struggling FM talker didn’t get any good news this month, either, but with much of its lineup away, how hard did it really try? Falling to 2.6 share from 3.1 (tied for fifteenth place), there was also a cume loss of 50,000 from last month (to 371,900).
‘TKK did push the election hard and hosted a key debate, we’ll see if it enjoys a boost in the next ratings release.
— David Rodham Gergen is a WINNER in the Senate election battle? His boneheaded “Kennedy seat” loaded question gave birth to Scott’s brilliant reply: “it’s the people’s seat.” Only a Globie could come up with crap like this.
— Maddow links robocalls for Joe Kennedy to voter confusion, then why does Joe have only 1% of the vote
— Another unwatched MSNBC host, Rachel Maddow appears to deliver the bad news
— Chris Matthews is rambling on about Haiti and “wars”, have another drink, buddy
— Brown winning Quincy is huge, that’s not GOP territory, it’s a fairly large city
— some of Brown’s best suburbs on the North Shore have yet to report
— It looks like a funeral at MSNBC right now, Chris Matthews looks glum, am I the only person watching?
— Brown not doing as badly as one would expect in Boston, but it’s a bit early there
— Brown wins several outer / lower Cape towns that went for Obama in 2008
— Brown winning Plymouth, Obama won there in 2008
— Very difficult to reach Herald and Globie websites, isn’t it?
— Just returned from last-minute sign-waving outside the precinct. Brown supporters upbeat, one die-hard Coakley backer there as well. Lots of friendly waves and honks…
— Looks like Martha’s banking on placing a cloud over the election with her crazy tampering allegation. But who will believe that the GOP has fixed the election in Cambridge and Brighton? Isn’t that a joke?
— RNC’s Michael Steele arriving in Boston to celebrate potential win. But if Scott wins, it will be despite the national party’s efforts, not because of it.
— GLOBIES CALL IT FOR MARSHA? Yes, it’s a practice page, but you’ve got to love their wishful thinking
— I’m hearing from a number of listeners who are baffled as to why WRKO would preempt Rush Limbaugh at such an important time. Sure, local talent is filling in, but Rush is talking about Massachusetts! So why the switcheroo?
I believe this is Entercom’s way of sticking it to Limbaugh’s syndicator ahead of a likely move to Clear Channel’s new talk station, scheduled to debut here in April. Expect more petty silliness between now and then.
In my area, however, this isn’t a problem: WXTK-FM offers a excellent alternative.
We’ll cover the issue more after the election is sorted out.
— Hey, who needs Obama when Pags is available? Steve Pagliuca, who took fourth (last) place in the Dem primary despite spending millions from his own bank account, is officially on the trail for Martha:
Nearby, former Democratic Senate hopeful Steve Pagliuca, a venture capitalist who lost to Coakley in the primary, was stumping for her.
He said the economy – not Coakley herself – was most to blame for her campaign woes.
“People are frustrated about the lack of progress in the economy,” Pagliuca said. “This is really about frustration.”
Yes, Pags, we’re frustrated all right, but with you and your cronies.
… As we’ve got a cockroach problem here in Massachusetts. (Fraudulently) appointed House of Lords life peer Paul Kirk (address him as Lord Kirk) just can’t be trusted to leave office at 12:01am Wednesday. Instead, this creep is going to fight to remain in power until forced out.
In fact, I suspect if he could get away with it, the special election would be cancelled and Kirk would serve out the rest of Kennedy’s term. Even Martha Coakley is a threat to this mega-creep.
Democrats in Massachusetts have talked about delaying Brown’s “certification,” should he defeat Democrat Martha Coakley on Tuesday. Their aim would be to allow Kirk to remain in the Senate and vote the health care bill.
But based on Massachusetts law, Senate precedent, and the U.S. Constitution, Republican attorneys said Kirk will no longer be a senator after election day, period. Brown meets the age, citizenship, and residency requirements in the Constitution to qualify for the Senate. “Qualification” does not require state “certification,” the lawyers said.
An appointed senator’s right to vote is not dependent on whether his successor has been certified, the lawyers said. In Massachusetts, the election of a senator must be certified by the governor, the governor’s council, and the secretary of state – all of them Democrats.
If Brown wins narrowly and a recount is being conducted, Democratic lawyers might claim that he hasn’t been “duly elected.” Republican attorneys believe, however, that a candidate has actually been elected, though it won’t be clear who that is until the recount is completed. In Massachusetts, a recount can occur if the margin of victory is less than half a percent of the total vote.
Republican lawyers have examined Massachusetts particularly to find the rules governing a recount. They also studied the law passed after Kennedy’s death on a Senate successor.
At The Hill, Kirk makes it appear he supports an orderly transition, but one that gives him at least ten extra days in office. It’s when one reads between the lines in the confusing scenario he presents that it becomes clear he’ll be happy for extra time should the Dems succeed in pulling a Franken-Gregoire (recounting votes endless until their candidate wins).
Barnes is correct: Kirk is out no matter what happens. Tuesday MUST be his last day, even if he has to be forcibly removed from the Senate chamber.
Beacon Hill legislators created a monster in the appointment of Kirk, a factor that may be contributing to Coakley’s weakness. I saw this point cited on today’s Meet The Press.
