Free Republic

A further update to the evening talk shuffling taking place in RHODE ISLAND: with Jay Severin replacing Sean Hannity in the 7-10 PM slot on WPRO (630 Providence), Hannity moves to the 10 PM-1 AM slot there. That displaces Michael Savage, who moves up the dial to Clear Channel's WHJJ (920 Providence), knocking ideological opposite Randi Rhodes and local host Geoff Charles off the late-night lineup.

For talk radio hosts seeking fresh fodder, it was just what the doctor ordered: yet another flap involving Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), son of the notorious Teddy (D-Chappaquidick). Call it talk's instant battery recharge. How could anyone resist this one? Late Thursday, news spread like wildfire that Rep. Kennedy had been involved in his second car accident in just the past two weeks, this time at 3am, near the Capitol. Unlike his father's infamous 1969 wreck, there were no fatalities this time. One striking similarity, however: in all three crashes, based on available details, favoritism allegations seem to have substantial...

WESTWOOD ONE LAUNCHES THE MONICA CROWLEY SHOW --New Program to Air Saturdays, Noon - 3 p.m. ET-- Beginning Saturday, April 1, 2006 New York, NY Monday, Mar 20, 2006 - Westwood One (NYSE: WON) is proud to announce the national launch of The Monica Crowley Show, the three-hour talk program hosted by author and news personality Monica Crowley. The show begins Saturday, April 1, 2006, and will air from noon to 3 p.m. ET. The Monica Crowley Show will debut on major market stations across the country including: WABC-AM New York, WTKK-FM Boston and WTNT-AM Washington DC. The show will...

(sic)I listened to this person arlene violet. She is not happy with election in Iraq. This arlene does not liking of America in Iraq! My Iraqi brothers love the freedoms soldeirs of Americans give us. This woman is worried about Saddamists and there rights. How is this woman so crazy. My people are good and braeve, My people no what blood is given by Anerica. We will not forget! I heard her today, why is she on the side of Saddam! It is her words I swear . This whjj is agaist you the liberators why? This woman should be...

The plug's finally been pulled at Air America affiliate WHJJ-AM, where enormous ratings losses have nearly killed a once-successful Providence conservative talk station. While at least two tiny stations have already dropped Air America, this is significant because the Rhode Island talker has been one of the network's largest outlets. According to the Providence Journal, Jerry Springer's show is the first to be yanked and will be followed by Al Franken's imminent cancellation:

Helen Glover of Portsmouth (RI), a contestant on Survivor: Thailand in 2002, will host her own talk show on WHJJ, 920-AM, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., replacing syndicated host Jerry Springer. Glover, a former swim instructor for the Navy, starts on Tuesday. "Right now, I'm excited and nervous," Glover said in a phone interview yesterday. "I'm like a horse in the starting gate." Glover was among several local candidates who auditioned for WHJJ after John DePetro left last year to take a job with WRKO in Boston. But WHJJ decided to go with a syndicated lineup from liberal talk...

Yes, it's all about Providence this morning, not the sappy NBC-TV drama, rather a disturbing radio tragedy. In one of talk radio's biggest-ever screw-ups, a once well-performing conservative talk station has been destroyed by switching to "progressive" Air America programming. Most astounding: it took only a year to kill Providence's WHJJ-AM.

Philip Johnson of Barrington thinks it's "an unmitigated disaster." Rosalie Nocera of Providence thinks it's "excellent, excellent!" They're radio listeners talking about Air America, the liberal talk-show network that showed up on local news/talk station WHJJ-AM (920) Oct. 15. Nocera and Johnson both wrote to the station to express their strong feelings about the new format. Carrying Air America was a risky move, particularly for a station that had been airing conservative local talk host John DePetro from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. DePetro dubbed himself "The Independent Man," but when it came to national politics, he was a consistently...

Rarely has more attention been devoted to a broadcasting-related topic than to the latest attempt at making liberal talk radio work. But how is it really faring? Where a number of national left-wing programs had failed one after another over the years, 2004 saw a concerted effort, backed by partisan funding, to make the Air America Network fly. Other radio syndication companies have since stepped into the mix with their own offerings. Some pretty bold claims are being made at the moment: Jones Radio's Ed Schultz, of Fargo, N.D., claims his show grew faster than Rush Limbaugh's did in his...