The New Face Of Conservative Talk Radio

10-7-13

Syndicated talker Andrea Tantaros is on the cover of the October 7 issue of Radio Ink magazine which is winging its way across the country via snail mail today. Tantaros is one of the new faces of conservative talk radio. From our interview, on the topic of organizations trying to stifle talk radio, Tantaros says, "I think they are probably threatened to have anybody who is a female with an ethnic last name who is not a liberal turn to a Talk radio mic every day and have the attention of some of the biggest cities in America for three hours. They don?t like that." To subscribe to Radio Ink and have this issue immediately download to your digital device, so you can read the entire interview, CLICK HERE.

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Salem Communications CEO Ed Atsinger is Christian Conservative Power

7-10-13

Ed Atsinger has been on Radio Ink's 40 Most Powerful People in Radio list for 17 years. That will be no different when the 2013 issue, and Atsinger's position on our list, are revealed next week. Salem Communications has a corner on the conservative Christian market. With nearly 100 stations pumping out $165 million in revenue, Atsinger and company are superserving its target audience, and no one has been able to compete in Salem?s particular arena. Here's a sneak preview of what Atsinger says about the radio industry in our power issue.

Ed Atsinger has been CEO, a director of the company, and a director of each of the company?s subsidiaries since Salem?s inception and was president from its launch through June 2007. He?s been engaged in the ownership and operation of radio stations since 1969, and has been a member of the board of directors of the National Religious Broadcasters for a number of years; he was re-elected to a new three-year term on the NRB board in February. He?s been a member of the NAB board since 2008.

Atsinger believes radio has not been able to tell a better story for two primary reasons, ?First,? he says, ?the sheer magnitude of technological developments impacting audio and video entertainment ? whether it be the creation of new audio platforms, complementary video platforms, or the technological evolution of existing platforms ? has so monopolized the popular imagination and so dominated the news media that there has been little room left to promote the impact and effectiveness of free, local, over-the-air terrestrial radio. Second, that same rapidity of technological development has presented a major challenge to the radio industry in terms of the emergence of a coherent industry consensus about that ?better story.??

Atsiner says ?Radio does have a better story.' In our 40 Most Powerful Pople in Radio issue, which you can order HERE, Atsinger summarizes his points in five bullet points. Here are two of those five:

?The automobile continues to be the number one location where audio content is consumed, and in spite of all of the technologically sophisticated talk of the ?wired dashboard,? safety, simplicity of use, local information, and being free of all costs, including bandwidth, will likely ensure radio?s prominence.

?In spite of online audio competition having a minor impact on time spent listening, terrestrial radio, with its 93 percent reach, is more effective today because the digital revolution allows terrestrial radio to more fully exploit its inherent advantages of being free, live, and local with enormously expanded interactive capability. This provides a richer experience for our audiences and improved accountability for our advertisers.

Salem owns the Salem Radio Network, which syndicates both secular and religious talk and news and Christian music to 2,000 affiliates; Salem Radio Representatives, a national radio advertising sales force; Salem Web Network, a leading Internet provider of Christian content and online streaming; and Salem Publishing, a leading publisher of Christian-themed magazines. Salem owns and operates 60 stations in the nation?s top 25 markets, with 29 in the top 10. And over the past year, it?s been gobbling up digital properties like Godvine.com and SermonSpice.com and has launched the all-new ChristianRadio.com.

To see what else Atsinger - and everyone on our Power List - has to say, subscribe to Radio Ink in time to receive the Top 40 Issue  delivered to your home or downloaded to your device.

(7/10/2013 6:45:55 AM)
I've known Ed and his brother-in-law, Stu Epperson, for 34 years. The wise counsel they offer their employees behind the scenes is deeply touching. If all employers related to their employees in the manner of Ed and Stu, I believe we would be a happier nation. Knowing Ed, I'm sure he's embarrassed by the headline, "Ed Atsinger is...Power." In their private lives, these guys do nothing that would indicate, "I have power." They're even gracious and kind to really bad waiters in restaurants.

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KGED Sees Opening, Drives Conservative Truck Through It

1-21-2013

KGED 1680AM, in Fresno, announced a new lineup Tuesday that will feature Bill Bennett, Laura Ingraham, Mike Huckabee, Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt, Clark Howard, and Dennis Prager. Former Mayor, and also co-owner of the station, Jim Patterson, is on the air Saturday and Sunday 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Jim and Cyndi Franklin, also co-owners, will provide a daily commentary called ?Something to Talk About.? Before the flip, the station was Christian Talk.

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Salem Launches Another Conservative Talker

12-3-2012

This one, at 100K watt WMUU-FM in Greenville, South Carolina, will be called "Conservative Talk 94.5" and the lineup will include Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt, and Mark Levin. Former CBS Morning News Co-Host and Greenville native Jane Robelot will anchor the station's morning news beginning in January. This is Salem's 26th News Talk station.

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Randy's Conservative Trifecta Plan For Philly?

4-10-2012

Much is being speculated about what Randy Michaels plans to do at WKDN-FM (106.9) in Philadelphia, especially after the announcement that CBS owned WPHT-AM lost Rush Limbaugh. Most syndicated agreements with affiliates include a 90-day opt-out and it appears that's what happened at WPHT. The CBS Corporate office provided Radio Ink with this statement last night, "Premiere recently notified WPHT they will be syndicating Rush Limbaugh on a new station in Philadelphia.  As a result, we are pleased to be able to now showcase Michael, who is a well-known and acclaimed broadcaster in Philadelphia, in this new time period." When Smerconish is moved to the new time period is "to be determined."

Smerconish was already airing on WPHT after Rush's program. It's also important to note that both Sean Hannity and Glen Beck are not on in Philadelphia. Both left the market in late 2010. A likely scenario for WKDN-FM, following a local morning show, could be for Michaels to land the conservative trifecta of Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck on his Philly FM. The move puts Limbaugh on an FM signal in Philadelphia which, little by little, is where a lot of news and talk stations are migrating to try to draw in the younger demos. This also guarantees the show would not be bumped by any Philadelphia Phillies games.

Michaels would only say to us last night that more details about the station would be coming "soon."

(4/10/2012 9:21:31 PM)
Rush was simply not a good fit for WPHT 1210 anymore. The station is stressing local personalities and Limbaugh's show was often pre-empted by Phillies games. It just wasn't working.
Rush doesn't like being pre-empted.
(4/10/2012 1:39:37 PM)
Joe B....are you serious? I take it you're not a programmer or at least not a successful programmer. Rush may be on the back side of his product life cycle peak but he's still an 800-pound gorilla with a lot of life left. He will get numbers and he will get good numbers.
(4/10/2012 9:45:33 AM)
From over here, on the other side of the lake, the question becomes one of: Do rational, reasonable and moderate people make up a large enough, valid and worthwhile "target audience"...? If so, the next consideration is: Do the stations have credible and engaging presenters? Or, are we talking about the flip side of the same coin?
(4/10/2012 8:24:27 AM)
Big loss for PHT. Rush is the gold standard and gives instant credibility to 106.9
(4/10/2012 7:10:00 AM)
Rush fans will move with him. Big loss for WPHT.

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