I am stunned to learn that Entercom has actually done something smart. Republican political consultant Charley Manning has been named to replace Rush Limbaugh’s syndicated noon-to-3 p.m. show on WRKO Radio (AM 680), reports the Boston Herald’s Jessica Heslam.
Limbaugh will be moving to Clear Channel’s WXKS (AM 1200), which is loading up on syndicated national shows. Perhaps Entercom can persuade Clear Channel to take Laura Ingraham and Michael Savage off its hands, too.
Congratulations to Manning, a good guy who, I’m sure, will do well.
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I’m curious to see how the new 1200 will play in Boston. Going all-national seems a risk — my impression is that local works much better in this area. I’m also curious to see how many tune into Manning’s show, and don’t follow Rush to whatever station. Also, how many people will have difficulty finding out where to hear Limbaugh?
I actually enjoyed 1200 when it was liberal — Al Franken’s show, in particular, was much better than most people realize.
@John: This is ultra-cheap programming for Clear Channel. My guess is that the ratings can be very low and the station will still make money. This sort of approach is the direct result of the Telecomm Act of 1996, which removed all meaningful ownership restrictions in a given market. If a company were only allowed to own one (or maybe two) stations, there’s little likelihood that it would choose to compete at such a low level.
This movie has played here before. Radio-station conglomerate Salem Broadcasting operated a far-right-wing outlet on 1150 AM for a couple of years. (The call letters then were WTTT; never heard of it? You’re not alone.) They tried a local show hosted by Don Feder, followed by all-satellite right-wing radio….ratings: zilch. Now it’s all Spanish-language religion with the strange call letters WWDJ. Shouldn’t those be used on a radio station playing recorded material?