Posted by Blah on January 12, 2009 at 06:58:59:
In Reply to: Re: 92.1 changes posted by 4DFM on January 12, 2009 at 06:00:43:
: You may have noticed that they put new liners into the rotation at the beginning of the year that de-emphasize "progressive talk" (i.e. the term isn't even used). Oh sure, some of the old "Madison's progressive talk" liners are still in use, and some of the new liners make mention of Stephanie Miller, Rachel Maddow, etc., but the new liners make the station sound as if it's just another talk station. Perhaps that's Clear Channel's plan, to somewhat reposition The Mic as, though not quite a carbon copy of WIBA, not entirely all left-wing all the time.
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I did notice that, and I hesitated mentioning the feeling that CC was trying to shift it just to "talk" without a connection to the progressive world. But I think you've hit it on the nail. Gah.
I still think they might bring MAD RADIO back for a 6th time. Is Quinn still in-house to handle this? Or did he go back to Subway after the last MAD axe?
: I imagine that you'll see that de-emphasis on a lot of other progressive talk stations (and maybe a few right-wing talk stations) around the country this year. With the election year behind us, the average listener may be tired of all-politics and desires to listen (and talk) more about the economy. Perhaps that's why The Mic added, in Dave Ramsey, a financial-oriented talk show.
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You might be right, but I hope that isn't true. I think the progressive format really built a lot of exciting steam over the last few years (and the last year particularly). I also think that excited progressives aren't going to turn the radio off just because Obama is inaugurated. In fact, I don't necessarily know if Obama was the #1 progressive candidate. So there will continue to be things to talk about.