Tag: "Media Matters"

Friday, February 17, 2012

Unapologetic Progressive Talk Media Star Ed Schultz Wins Hubert Humphrey Award from Teachers Union; Forging Ahead Undaunted in Election Year.  Progressive talk media icon Ed Schultz – seen nightly on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” and heard daily on his nationally syndicated Dial Global radio program – recently accepted the 2012 Hubert Humphrey Humanitarian Award from the United Federation of Teachers at the organization’s Social Studies Conference on February 4.  Schultz was recognized for his work backing the stance of teachers unions in 2011.  Schultz says, “I’m just excited to receive this award and I’m very appreciative of the recognition.  We’ve worked hard in supporting teachers and public education and to have my name on the same plaque with Hubert Humphrey is certainly an honor.”  Schultz tells TALKERS magazine he makes no apologies for the fact that he operates a political talk show and he sees his role as disseminating the truth about President Obama’s record.  “I think people listening to liberal talk want to see the president defended.  There’s been so much negativity…I think we end up becoming a filtering house on what is the truth and what is the record.”  From an industrial standpoint, Schultz says he believes his program has all the elements it needs to keep an audience interested and he points to his nine years of success as proof.  He takes the opportunity to question the political motives of major broadcasting operators.  “There are companies out there that will not program any type of progressive talk.  You have a ceiling of maybe 100 stations, you have some independent owners out there…it’s still a right-wing industry.  Whether it’s Obama’s re-election campaign, no candidate is going to change the landscape of who owns signals.”  Schultz’s anger about the misconceptions he believes the radio industry holds about the potential of progressive talk is hard to miss.  He tells TALKERS, “Don’t give me this garbage that we don’t sell because we do, and I’m tired of that conversation.  I was supposed to last 90 days; I’m in year number nine.”

KFI, Los Angeles Suspends John and Ken for Whitney Houston Comments.  The Orange County Register’s Gary Lycan tips TALKERS that Clear Channel’s KFI, Los Angeles is suspending PM drive duo John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou for comments about Whitney Houston.  The station says, “Effective immediately, KFI AM 640 hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou have been suspended for making insensitive and inappropriate comments about the late Whitney Houston.  KFI AM 640 management does not condone, support or tolerate statements of this kind.”  John Kobylt says in the statement, “We made a mistake and we accept the station’s decision.  We used language that was inappropriate and we sincerely apologize to our listeners and to the family of Ms. Houston.”  During a discussion of Houston’s passing and reported drug abuse John Kobylt said, “At some point you’re just sick of it all, and so is everybody else in the industry.  All her friends and hangers on, everybody who knew had to deal with her.  It’s like ‘Ah Jesus…here comes the crack ho again, what’s she gonna do?  Ah look at that she’s doin’ handstands next to the pool. Very good crack ho…’  After while everybody’s exhausted.  And then you find out she’s dead. It’s like, ‘Really?  Took this long?’”  The station reports John and Ken will return to the air on February 27.

Clear Channel Houston Talk Host Michael Berry Embroiled in Bizarre Legal Tangle Stemming from Alleged Hit-and-Run.  KTRH, Houston talk show host and former Houston city councilman Michael Berry is being accused of hitting another car outside a bar in Houston and taking off.  The accuser is the owner of the car that got hit but the complicating circumstances are the pub in question is a well-known gay bar in the city and the establishment’s security cameras appear to confirm the conservative Berry was inside the bar.  What’s complicating the issue further is the allegation the city’s hit-and-run division did not investigate the incident fully, perhaps because it involved Berry.  KPRC-TV reports the Harris County District Attorney’s office met with Houston Police Department officials for three hours on February 16 asking officers involved why a full investigation wasn’t done.  Police are being asked to reinvestigate the matter.  Berry said on his radio show that he can’t talk about it but that listeners should “just trust that there are two sides to every story.”  At issue according to KPRC-TV is that several witnesses say they told police they saw Berry behind the wheel but authorities maintain they were not told that during the initial investigation after which they decided not to file charges.

The Fox News-Media Matters Battle Heats Up; The Daily Caller Reports MM’s Tax Exempt Status Under Scrutiny.  The non-profit Media Matters for America organization makes no bones about its campaign against Fox News and its programming.  In May of last year the organization created the DropFox.com website designed to convince advertisers to end marketing campaigns on the cable news/talk channel.  Now, The Hollywood Reporter writes that Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel-founded The Daily Caller is supplying Fox News with “ammunition” from its own reporting alleging Media Matters “coordinates its messages with the White House, a no-no for a tax-exempt organization that claims to be nonpartisan.”  The Daily Caller also claims Republican lawmakers are looking into the tax status of Media Matters.  Tucker Carlson is a regular contributor to Fox News Channel and this relationship led the news and opinion blog Mediaite to ask if Fox and The Daily Caller are working to together to which Fox told Mediaite, “There is absolutely no coordination with The Daily Caller” and Fox doesn’t know what is motivating Carlson’s timing on the reporting.  The Daily Caller promises the next in the series about Media Matters alleges the organization has written scripts for NBC News.

Stacy Taylor Weekend Program to Leave KGO, San Francisco.  Rich Lieberman 415 Media reports San Diego-based talk host Stacy Taylor is off the weekend schedule at Cumulus Media Group’s KGO, San Francisco.  Lieberman says Taylor told him, “I’m disappointed, but that’s the way the business is today.” Taylor’s Saturday and Sunday afternoon program – which will air the final editions this weekend – is reportedly being replaced by a newsier program hosted by the station’s Pat Thurston.  Editor’s Note:  An earlier version of this story stated that Christine Craft was a co-host of the Stacy Taylor program and was also let go from KGO.  Craft is a fill-in host at KGO — not affiliated with Taylor — and remains at the station in that capacity.  TALKERS regrets the error.

“Coast To Coast AM” Host George Noory Helps Raise Funds for Contributor’s Medical Bills.  The host of the Premiere Networks late night program learned that frequent expert guest Mitch Barros – a weather/earth science reporter and creator of the “Earth Changes Media” podcast – was dealing with dreadful medical bills due to his newborn daughter Sophia’s heart complications.  George Noory enlisted the help of his loyal listeners and helped raise more than $18,000 to help Barros pay the outstanding bill.  Noory states, “I want to thank the “Coast to Coast AM” listeners for their generosity.  Thanks to them, Mitch and his family can focus on what matters most – Sophia’s continued health and wellness.”

WOR, New York Celebrates 90 Years on the Air.  Buckley Broadcasting’s WOR, New York is celebrating its 90^th year on the air in the New York City area.  The station first signed on February 22, 1922 from Bamberger’s Department Store in Newark, New Jersey.  Vice president and general manager Jerry Crowley says, “From the moment we first signed on the air with a broadcast of Al Jolson’s ‘April Showers,’ generations of listeners have counted on WOR for the best in information and entertainment.  We are not only proud of our rich history, but also of our present stature as one of the top talk stations in the country and home of New York morning radio’s top-rated show.  The years ahead look brighter than ever for WOR.”  The station says it will commemorate its 90 years of continuous broadcasting by airing a series of archival audio pieces over the next week and a half, as well as remembrances and reflections from its current air staff.  A larger celebration is being planned for later this year.

Ronnie “Night Train” Lane Exits Genesis’ WHBO, Tampa.  Afternoon “Prime Time” co-host Ronnie “Night Train” Lane has been let go by Genesis Communications’ sports talk WHBO, Tampa.  Lane tells the Tampa Bay Times he was very surprised by the move.  “I asked if the decision was performance based.  And all I was told was ‘We’re taking the show in another direction.’  That’s all I got.  That’s all I was told.”  Host Tom Krasniqi continues hosting the PM drive show solo.  The two had been together co-hosting the show for the past 18 months.  Last summer the station let third personality, former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mark Carrier, go from the program.

Conservative Talk Radio Documentary Getting Attention (and Ratings!) on Public TV in Milwaukee.  Former talk radio producer and talk show host Brien Farley’s new documentary film “Liberty or Lies?” examines the popularity of conservative talk radio in the Milwaukee market.  The film was initially a graduate level independent study that took off and eventually found a home on Milwaukee Public Television where a two-hour version of the film premiered on January 30 from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm and aired again on February 4.  Interestingly, Farley’s work on the film began just before Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Republican state officials faced recall elections in 2011 that put the state in the center of the national discourse about public policy relative to public workers’ labor rights.  Farley’s film covers talk radio in the market from the perspectives of its biggest local stars, its biggest media critics and many perspectives in between.  He tells TALKERS that local response to the film has been excellent noting that public television audience research firm TRAC Media Services reported the film garnered a 2.7 share for the January 30 airing.  Farley is an admitted fan of the format and says he believes the Milwaukee news/talk stations serve the market well.  “I think the Milwaukee market is a fantastic example of the vibrancy and power of news/talk radio when done right. The programmers at WISN and WTMJ are very tuned into their audiences and responsive to what the people want…which is the real power of the news/talk format.  They’ve also corralled some excellent homegrown talent which means a lot to local listeners.”  The question, “Why is conservative talk radio successful?” is an ongoing curiosity among many mainstream journalists.  In fact it’s a question TALKERS editors are asked almost daily by journalists working in the consumer media.  Farley says he believes his film, in many ways, shows Milwaukee to be a microcosm of news/talk’s success on the national level.  “AM radio is perhaps the lowest rung of the broadcast venues and yet the impact of the genre is huge!  In Wisconsin, this was manifest in the November 2010 election results in which we saw the most comprehensive turnover in power – from Democrat to Republican – of any state in the country.  This would not have happened without Milwaukee’s conservative talk radio.  And now with the attempted recall of Republican Governor Scott Walker, conservatives, right-leaning independents and converted Democrats are flocking to talk hosts like Jay Weber and Vicki McKenna of WISN and Charlie Sykes and Jeff Wagner of WTMJ to hear the latest and find out what they can do to join the fight.  Like it or not, Wisconsin is becoming a very different place because of conservative talk radio.  I believe the same can be said of our nation thanks to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin et al.”  Read more about Farley’s film and watch it here.

Phil Valentine’s “An Inconsistent Truth” Premiers in Memphis Tonight.  The independently produced film by Nashville-based talk show host Phil Valentine and director Shayne Edwards that challenges contemporary theories of global warming, premiers in Memphis after several weeks in Nashville where Valentine calls it the “top-grossing event in theatres” there.  Valentine is getting sponsorship and promotional help from MPS Broadcasting which operates news/talk WMPS, Memphis.  MPS Broadcasting president Mark Skoda – who also hosts his own show on the station – says, “Phil’s new film is both entertaining and informative. It not only offers insights into the scientific skepticism of the global warming debate, but entertains as well. I have to say that after watching a copy of the film, this is a completely enjoyable 90 minutes of fun.  And Phil brings his wit and sarcasm to the movie as few can. I hope our listeners will come out and join us for some fun in this premier event.”

Jacqueline Cohen Named National Account Manager at Dial Global.  Jacqueline Cohen comes to Dial Global after 11 years with Cumulus Media Networks.  She’ll be based in Los Angeles.  Dial Global EVP of national sales Chris Long states, “It’s exciting whenever you can add someone as talented as Jacqueline to your team.  She is a perfect fit for Dial Global and will do a great job representing us to the major agencies and advertisers on the West Coast.”

GOP Primary/2012 Presidential Race Top News/Talk Story for Week of February 13-17.  The GOP primary race and the larger 2012 presidential campaign was #1 on the Talkers Ten^TM chart of the week’s most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio.  At #2 was the violence in Syria and America’s response.  Coming in at #3 was the Iran-Israel tensions and at #4 was President Obama’s 2013 budget.  The Talkers Ten^TM chart is the result of ongoing research by TALKERS and is published at Talkers.com every Friday.  See the entire chart here.

TALKERS Weekly Affiliate Roundup.  Dial Global’s “Overnight America” with John Grayson is added to the lineup at WMPS, Memphis…..WSJM, Benton Harbor, Michigan adds “Free Talk Live” with Ian Freeman and Mark Edge to the weeknight lineup and WKZO, Kalamazoo, Michigan adds FTL’s live Sunday edition…..The independently syndicated Armstrong Williams show recently debuted on WTNT-AM/FM, Washington and WGNU, St. Louis.