Posted by madcityradio.com on May 23, 2009 at 15:18:20:
The Mic proves it's more than an election-year stop on the radio dial
Samara Kalk Derby | May 21, 2009 | 77 Square
After some high-profile programming blunders, layoffs that included the loss of its program director, and its progressive talk format continually in jeopardy, The Mic 92.1 finds itself riding high on recent rating news.
Overall, the station has climbed to seventh place in local stations among listeners 12 and older. But among the audience advertisers care most about -- adults 25 to 54 -- the station ranks fourth, behind only WZEE-FM 104.1 (Z104), WMGN-FM 98.1 (Magic 98) and WMMM-FM 105.5 (Triple M).
"This station is still very strong despite the fact that a lot of people have been writing it off for years," said Mike Ferris, FM operations manager for Clear Channel Madison, which runs Mic 92.1 and five other local stations.
The new ratings, released by Arbitron this month, prove that the station's fourth-place ratings last fall were not a one-time spike tied to Democratic success at the ballot box.
Ferris attributes the strong showing to The Mic's former program director, Brian Turany, who had been with the station from its beginning in 2004 and was laid off in January, the victim of corporate downsizing.
"Obviously The Mic listeners have voted and they have chosen. They stand by their station. The fact is that Brian has built a great foundation that not even I can screw up too badly, at least not to this point," said Ferris, who besides serving as operations manager, has acted as program director for the station since Turany left.
He also credits the faithful listeners and the national radio hosts who have strong local followings. "Obviously the show hosts are 99 percent of it because they are the ones who are telling us stories and talking about the issues that are obviously interesting to people," he said.
Turany laughs when he hears that Ferris gives him much of the credit for the station's success.
"Mike has kept the station on the air and kept it clicking along," Turany countered. "He's done a lot of work to make sure nothing falls through the cracks."
As far as getting a new job, Turany said he's still looking, adding that he's more committed to staying in the Madison area than he is to radio. "I think I'm probably done with radio but I definitely want to find something still in Madison."
Instead of a programmer, Turany is a listener now. He still listens to Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz and Thom Hartmann every day and said the format still sounds strong.
"They have plenty of material to work with without George Bush to beat up on anymore," he said.
Turany said that the last two books of solid ratings certainly help the case for the station. "The initial criticism of its success in the fall was that it was all due to the election. But that it continues out of the election cycle to still be dominant is a sign that it's going to be a popular format for months and years to come and that progressive talk works whether there is a Democrat in the White House or a Republican."
More good news for the station is that it recently signed Randi Rhodes, who returns to the lineup on Tuesday. Her show will air weekdays from 6 to 9 p.m.
To make room, Ferris will push the Mike Malloy show back an hour to 9 p.m. To see a full schedule go to
themic921.com.
Rhodes left the Air America radio network, from which The Mic draws many of its programs, about a year ago, and The Mic filled her time slot with Hartmann.
Rhodes debuted nationally May 11 but it took The Mic extra time to negotiate, Ferris said. Her network, Premiere Radio Network, also owned by Clear Channel, insisted that The Mic air her show live from 2 to 5 p.m., but Ferris didn't want to juggle the lineup again after missteps last winter he refers to as the "Thom Hartmann/Dave Ramsey debacle."
In January, Ferris replaced Hartmann's program, which airs from 2 to 5 p.m. weekdays, with "The Dave Ramsey Show," a nationally syndicated financial program.
The station's local morning drive-time host, Lee Rayburn, abruptly quit over the move, telling management he wanted to keep the daytime lineup progressive.
A week later, Ferris announced he was bringing Hartmann's program back. Turany and Ferris estimate they each received between 350 and 400 angry e-mails from listeners.
Ferris put Ramsey in the morning for about a week before pulling the plug altogether. Rayburn was never brought back. Instead, the station began airing Bill Press, based in Washington, D.C., in the early mornings.
The new ratings keep The Mic safe from the threat of format changes, Ferris said. Two years ago when the station was in jeopardy of becoming part of the Fox Sports Radio network, more than 5,000 people signed petitions opposing the move. According to Ferris, the station reaches 29,600 different listeners each week, but that's not necessarily enough to sustain the station, he said. "I mean, we're still not making money. Frankly, between you and me, the success of the other stations is what helps keep us running."
Besides The Mic 92.1 (WXXM-FM), Clear Channel operates five other stations in the Madison market: WIBA-AM (1310), WIBA-FM (101.5), WMAD-FM (96.3), WTSO-AM (1070) and WZEE-FM (104.1).
There are still national advertisers that shy away from The Mic because they consider it controversial programming, Ferris said. But as progressive and liberal views become more mainstream or at least more popular, advertisers may come around, he said.
"These advertisers hopefully will realize we buy houses, we make car payments, we buy groceries, we do all the same things that conservatives do, we just do it with a different mindset and we obviously are a big audience so it's important for them to pay attention," Ferris said.