Who Killed KPOJ? (Portland OR lib radio)

Willamette Week ^ | 11/28/12 | Aaron Mesh

[MovementConservative]

Many see a right-wing conspiracy in the death of Portland’s commercial progressive talk-radio station. But Bain didn’t act alone.

Carl Wolfson’s last show on KPOJ-AM 620 sounded like victory. For the past six years, Wolfson, a former standup comedian, hosted a three-hour morning drive-time show that had turned into a radio clubhouse for Portland liberals.

Wolfson—laser-fast with a quip and constantly in defense of Democrats—spent the weeks before the Nov. 6 election boosting liberal candidates and puncturing Mitt Romney.

“Romney has zero foreign-policy experience,” Wolfson liked to say during the campaign. “He was asked about the Middle East, and his only response was that Donald Trump’s hair should return to its pre-1967 borders.”

The days following the election were celebratory, with President Barack Obama’s re-election, and with Democrats triumphant in all Oregon statewide races and in control of the Oregon House.

When he signed off the air Nov. 9, Wolfson was giddy with momentum. Then his Clear Channel boss walked into the KPOJ studio.

“‘Man, what great shows this week,” Wolfson recalls telling Chris Sargent, operations manager for the station’s owner, Clear Channel.

But Sargent had an executioner’s grimace. “I looked at his face,” Wolfson says, “and I knew.”

Sargent then dropped the ax—not just on Wolfson, but on the only commercial left-wing political talk station in this overwhelmingly blue city. By 5:30 that evening, KPOJ—what many Portland liberals believed was their own megaphone—had become Fox Sports Radio 620, the city’s third all-sports radio station.

[Cymbaline]

Their chief weapon: ridicule. Very little, if anything of substance.

Their chief weapon is Ridicule. Ridicule and Surprise; their two weapons are Fear, Ridicule, and Surprise, and Ruthless Efficiency; Oops, I'll come in again.

[AnAmericanAbroad]

I don't know if they're still part of the Pacifica network; it's been well over a decade since the last time I heard them. They may still be. All I recall is their seemingly never-ending fund drives. Unlike KMHD, the jazz station, which seemed to run their fund-raisers on a quarterly schedule, it seemed like KBOO was always hitting the listeners up for donations. Of course, where I'm at, we have ČT 1 and ČT2, Czech Television, both of which are government-funded, as are some of the radio stations here. Of course, there's also private networks like Prima and Nova (and Prima has 'Columbo' reruns!). So it's something of a mix. Czech Television is one of the larger film producers in the country as well; Most Czech films have some level of funding from Czech Television and also from the Ministry of Culture.

[AnAmericanAbroad]

Don’t forget Comcast and General Electric, both of whom actually NBC.

[AnAmericanAbroad]

Don’t forget Comcast and General Electric, both of whom actually own NBC.

[ExNewsExSpook]

Nail, meet hammer. Here are the most recent ratings for KPOJ and those of its conservative competitors, KXL-FM (Lars Larson’s flagship), and KEX-AM, the local Rush outlet. Ratings periods reflect average quarter hour share of all listeners over the age of 6, for the months of September, October and November 2012:

KPOJ: 0.8, 1.4, 1.4
KXL-FM: 4.7, 4.8, 5.5
KEX-AM: 2.7, 3.3, 3.5

Not too many years ago, KPOJ was being hailed as “proof” that liberal talk radio could be successful. Some success. Clearly, lib talk wasn’t attracting an audience—or making money—in one of the most liberal cities in the country.

Even as a #3 sports station, KPOJ will be much better off. Fox supplies all the programming (for less than the morning comedian was making), and sports is a much easier sell than progressive talk.

On the down side, this type of crash and burn is why libs want to bring back the fairness doctrine and other restrictions on free speech (read: conservative media). If the Dims retake the House in 2014, look for the fairness doctrine to return, along with “stimulus” money for MSM companies.

[Berlin_Freeper]

“I looked at his face,” Wolfson says, “and I knew.”

Doesn’t he ever look at Obama?

[ExCTCitizen]

“Romney has zero foreign-policy experience,” Wolfson liked to say during the campaign.

To this day, Wolfson, President Zerio still have ZERO foreign-policy expenience. And President ZERO been president for 4 years now!!!

The days following the election were celebratory, with President Barack Obama’s re-election, and with Democrats triumphant in all Oregon statewide races and in control of the Oregon House.

If Liberalism can't be successful in a blue part of a blue state, it won't work ANYWHERE!!

By 5:30 that evening, KPOJ—what many Portland liberals believed was their own megaphone—had become Fox Sports Radio 620, the city’s third all-sports radio station.

Oh, Liberals, I'm so sorry...why not get a short wave radio to pick up RADIO NORTH KOREA -- unless that is to FAR RIGHT for you... /s

[G Larry]

Let’s see...
Radio is a business, with the objective of making money.

If this format wasn’t producing the revenue, available via the Sports format,
then, tough!

This isn’t some public service with an obligation to keep leaches happy......yet...

[raccoonradio]

I’ve been all over this on FR and elsewhere.

—Sports is popular and makes $$

—KPOJ owned by Clear Channel—yeah that Bain-Romney-Clear Channel Format Change machine! Yet KFNQ Seattle, which is
also going sports, is owned by CBS. Can’t blame them for that one!

—Conservative talk makes money (though it isn’t always successful; CC’s WXKS Boston dumped it for comedy. Yeah
blame Romney-Bain for THAT one). Liberal talk does not.
So what do they listen to? On a national radio messageboard’s Oregon sub-board someone said they knew a bunch of Democrats and he asked them about KPOJ. They never heard of it. Got blank stares. OK, so what do you guys listen to?... “NPR.”

—So yes, liberal talk is successful...on TAXPAYER FUNDED
NPR that is. Not on commercial stations. “Yeah these
big corporations are all evil, like WalMart...so we’ll
be right back after this...er...public service message...”
Ironically enough for all the bellyaching libs do about eeeeevil corporations, many big companies DO give to
NPR...from movie studios to automakers to “Fox Broadcasting Company.” Here’s the thing: these are voluntary contributions.

I _don’t_ wany MY tax dollars to pay for NPR! Let the FCC
change the rules and let them run SOME ads. Keep your hands out of MY pocket, NPR! (And by the way would you ever hear a show praising the tea party or conservatism on NPR?
Libs talk about Fox being biased, etc but when you ask them about NPR they say it’s fair and balance. Bovine
excrement.

—Anyway, these days many stations want sports because it
attracts younger listeners, or listeners in all age demos,
etc. There are actually 5 big networks now: Fox/Clear Channel, CBS/Cumulus, ESPN & ESPN Deportes, NBC Sports/Dial
Global, and Yahoo. They want affiliates nation wide to run their shows, etc...and the ads. A lot of people want to talk football. More that want to talk Benghazi.

And of the latter they go to conservative talk radio.
In these cities you would expect liberal talk to flourish
and conservative talk to suffer:

Boston
Seattle
Portland OR

It’s the other way ‘round actually. But the NPR stations
do well..

You have a store and want to advertise on talk radio.
Would you rather go with

—good local hosts and Rush, Savage, Ingraham

or

—crappy local hosts and Schultz, Steph Miller, Randi Rhodes

Your choice.

[SkyDancer]

Thanks for all that plus the time you spent putting it together.

[raccoonradio]

Ratings were low despite having a pretty good signal.

As for whether they really need another sports station, there’s money to be made. Even if it’s something like Fox Sports Radio (nationally). Companies advertise. Clear
Channel makes money.

And even if there is no football or baseball team there’s
college sports etc.

What I get a kick out of is when this happens the libs
bleat, “But...the airwaves belong to the people!”

No they don’t. Well, there are only so many frequencies out there. The FCC grants licenses to companies ranging from
Clear Channel to mom-and-pop operations. These people spend money on facilities (studios and transmitters), talent,
tech staff, etc. The object for commercial stations is to MAKE MONEY. The FCC can’t step in because people complain that the libtalk is going away.

Freedom of the press/speech.

Free market.

In a city like Boston sports does very well

WEEI AM—ESPN
WEEI FM—local talk, Red Sox, Celtics, some ESPN
WBZ FM—local talk, Patriots, Bruins, Fox Sports, CBS Sports
WUFC—local talk, NBC SPorts

And maybe the AM Clear Channel owns (WXKS) that had
conservative talk and now runs comedy—maybe they would take
Fox Sports if they leave WBZ FM

Sports makes $$$

[raccoonradio]

There was a book called Censorship about how the libs are trying to get the Fairness Docrine back and it talked in the beginning about how Michael Moore publicized Lars Larson’s
phone number to a crowd of people and Lars and his family got harrassed BIG time by the haters.

On the messageboards, libs are saying under sports the station will fail. Wrong. In fact even if numbers are the same or even less, it can still make money by running
national ads. Sports works, not so much liberal talk.

[raccoonradio]

You’re welcome—of course when I get on the lib messageboards they fire back at me and preface their replies with stuff like:

>>RACCOONRADIO PROPAGANDIZED: (quote)

In other words I can give them experinced views of how
radio works, etc. and they think I’m just full of crap. Much like how anyone on the Right gets treated by them of course.
“Well, the problem with Rethuglicans is they can’t
think critically...”

[raccoonradio]

>>Radio is a business, with the objective of making money.

Exactly and I like to make a couple quotes from the first episode of “WKRP”:

Mrs Carlson, station owner, after her new program director changes the format from elevator music to rock: Young man,
this radio station is a business. It is not here for your personal listening pleasure.

Andy Travis: Ma’am, I know it’s a business. And that’s why I had no choice but to change the format.

(AND FOR THOSE SAYING THERE’S TOO MUCH SPORTS):

Les: But there are already a lot of rock and roll
stations in Cincinnati!

Andy: Well, why do you think that is, Les?

Les: Well, I think it’s a plot of some sort.

Andy: (chuckles) No, Les, rock and roll is where the money is.

(Substitute “sports” for “rock and roll”)

[raccoonradio]

>>By 5:30 that evening,

The irony is one of the first things they carried was a basketball game in which one coach was Mooshelle Obama’s
brother!

In 2004 Al Franken set up a big party/broadcast in Boston
to celebrate what he thought would be a big victory for
“President Kerry”. It soon turned to “tears and bitterness”
and Franken’s shows over the next few days were depressing and angry, with charges of another stolen election.

But this year “happy days were here again” for the Dems.

Until...
“Off the Air”...

[PROCON]

LOL Ping-a-ling for the Oregon Ping list.

[SkyDancer]

Exactly and thanks again.

[AppyPappy]

“KPOJ—what many Portland liberals believed was their own megaphone—had become Fox Sports Radio 620, the city’s third all-sports radio station.”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....oh, my sides....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....

Nothing says “I just made you my prison wife” like having your liberal mouthpiece become the third sports radio station in a town with only one professional team.

[bmwcyle]

BINGO!!!

[AlexW]

“Oh, Liberals, I’m so sorry...why not get a short wave radio to pick up RADIO NORTH KOREA — unless that is to FAR RIGHT for you... /s “
________________________________________________

Liberals need the old Radio Albania, where every sentence
had the term “Marxist-Leninist”.