The only progressive AM talk radio station, Green960, in one of the nation’s most progressive cities, San Francisco, may be allowed to stay on the public airwaves after all in the 2012 Presidential Election year!
Last week we detailed corporate radio giant Clear Channel’s plans to remove Green960 (call letters KKGN) from the AM dial and send it to the radio ghetto otherwise known as “HD2,” a band that requires a special receiver that very few people actually own. Adding insult to injury, the 960 spot on the AM dial would be replaced with Glenn Beck and other Rightwing talkers from Clear Channel’s “conservative” talk station “Fox News Radio KNEW” which is currently on 910, but would move to the 960 frequency.
In the 910 slot, Clear Channel had planned to launch a new talk station, which would also include some Fox talkers, branded as “San Francisco’s Talk 910 KKSF.”
If plans move ahead as previously announced, the end result would be that — except for progressive talker Randi Rhodes, who is syndicated by Clear Channel’s syndication arm Premier Broadcasting and who would be allowed to keep her live Noon-3p PT slot on both the new KNEW 960, as well as the “HD2” schedule where the current Green960 line-up would be sent to — there would be no progressive AM talk station on the air in San Francisco.
The entire shuffle was set to occur at the beginning of the 2012 Presidential Election year on January 3rd, a move that had raised at least a few eyebrows, as Clear Channel is now owned by the Mitt Romney-founded venture capital firm, Bain Capital LLC.
Well, now that entire plan, according to one industry website and several insider sources I’ve spoken to today, may be on hold and Green960’s popular line-up of progressive talkers like Rhodes, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Norman Goldman, Mike Malloy (for whom I am a regular guest-host, including on tonight’s show), and others may be allowed to stay on the AM air after all!…
Radio industry website All Access is reporting today that they’ve learned that “several of the shows scheduled to be dropped” from 960 have now been “uncanceled.”
They go on to report that “several sources” tell them that “Clear Channel has changed its mind and will keep KKGN (Green960) intact.”
They cite the major shake-up at San Francisco’s long-time local talk station KGO, announced just days after Clear Channel’s announcement last week, as the likely reason for the reported change of plans at Green960. We detailed some of KGO’s plans for a new format — a move described by radio news outlet Talkers Magazine as a “San Francisco Earthquake!” — in our article last week as well. The changes at KGO entailed laying off the bulk of the station’s stable of long-time talk show hosts — several of whom were much beloved regulars on the station for decades — to replace the bulk of the schedule with a less expensive all-news format. Those changes have already occurred at KGO as of this week.
While I’ve yet to get get a hard confirm of Clear Channel’s reported plan to “uncancel” Green960 in San Francisco, insider sources I’ve spoken to indicate that All Access’ report may, in fact, be correct and commercial progressive talk radio may stay on the air in the Bay Area after all.
Apologies for not being able to offer more specific details on those conversations with insiders at this time. While I can’t confirm that Clear Channel has changed it’s plans, I can confirm that some of the changes, previously in the works for the Jan 3 format change, are, for the moment, at least in a temporary holding pattern.
As mentioned above, I’ll be guest hosting for Mike Malloy, live from 6p-9p PT/9p-Mid ET tonight, and if I’m able to learn anything more by showtime, I’ll be happy to both share what I know there, as well as update this item with more information.
Please tune in tonight if you can! The Mike Malloy Show is heard live on air affiliates around the nation as well as SiriusXM ch. 127. As usual, we will have links to live Internet streams right here (including Green960’s!) at The BRAD BLOG this evening, in the event that you’re not lucky enough to have a progressive station in your town, much less one that carries Malloy live.
As usual, we’ll also have a live Chat Room right here during tonight’s “BradCast”!
UPDATE 12/21/11: Clear Channel confirmed their new plan to reverse their previous one, with some odd changes — including the addition of Glenn Beck(!) — to the Green960 line-up at the same time. Full details now here…
“uncanceled” is a word? Who knew?
That sounds like an xMas gift, so here is a celebratory writ for the right and wrong:
Trying not to get too excited until there’s hard confirmation, but this would be fantastic news.
If Brad is reading the same industry sources that I read, then Green960’s lineup isn’t going away in a hurry and yes those shows were “uncancelled”.
It appears our national action to “occupy” Clear Channel stations last Monday is having an effect.
Last Monday, Media Action Center joined the Sacramento Media Group and Occupy Sacramento to announce a national action to have ALL voices heard on our public airwaves at Clear Channel stations throughout the entire country.
We scored a major media victory by bringing every TV camera and newspaper in Sacramento to our press conference, thus bringing this message to hundreds of thousands.
More importantly, we reminded Clear Channel who really owns the airwaves – we the people. All day Monday, we sent teams past Sacramento Sheriffs to go inside Clear Channel’s building in Sacramento to inspect the public files. (Commercial radio stations are required to report to the public as part of their duties in “serving the public interest.” They don’t want us to know that we have this right, but guess what, we know it now – and they know we know it now.)
Clear Channel Sacramento is key because KFBK launched Rush Limbaugh into the national consciousness. (This is why Rush calls Sacramento his adopted hometown.)
But we didn’t stop with Sacramento. On the same day as our protest, Media Action Center teams entered Clear Channel stations in West Palm Beach, Florida (Rush’s newly adopted hometown,) Sarasota and Jacksonville, Washington DC, Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, – and San Francisco, home of the threatened Green 960.
We entered, we inspected files, and we met with management. No question, we sent a message to Clear Channel corporate headquarters that we the people are just beginning to stand for our rights as the owners of the publicly owned airwaves.
Note: the San Francisco Clear Channel public file inspection was done with the aid of the Media Alliance.
did someone talk with the FEC or the FCC I wonder?
All I can say is Thank you, thank you. This is another example of the 1% trying to push their agenda on the 99%. Although, I cannot imagine what CEO thought that a diet of Glenn Beck would turn the Bay Area into Republican voting sheep.
If they do go through with this dastardly plan, we must continue to Occupy Clear Channel-calling their corporate office, e-mailing until their servers implode, etc.
Keep keeping together folks!
I was appalled to hear of the proposed cancellation. Thom Hartmann to be replaced by Glenn Beck? From the sublime to the ridiculous. But total silence from Thom Hartmann and from Green 960. Many thanks to all who have sought to get this “uncancelled”. May you be successful. How can “we all” help?
Green 960 must not fall in with the ranks of the corporate media. It is a beacon of free and fair voices / dialog, and must be supported!
I hope Brad is right in reporting thatthe proposed changes may not go through after all.
Don’t make those changes, Hannity & Beck are on other stations in the area, if I want to listen I can change the channel. Bring them to 960 and you will lose me as a listener.
We have been slowly cornered out of the air waves. I live near the delta where I can barely pick up Sacramento and SF stations.
Sacramento’s former Air America station is gone along with the entire Air America network, NPR (which is the least psychotically right of state/corporate controlled-radio) is not available in many areas to fill the gap and now “Green 960” is history.
In fact anything that is good and happy on the air is going away and being replaced with meanness, vicious war rhetoric and pro-corporate garbage…anyone remember San Francisco’s energy 92.7 FM ?
I don’t buy the line that these stations aren’t pulling their weight: This IS a conspiracy to control and manipulate and destroy the last hints of truthful investigative reporting in the interest of the “1%”…imagine they are killing off profitable radio stations followed by the masses with what amounts to pocket change to them