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1. JBM
   

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   Posts: 186

   From Lars Larson on Facebook: "Liberal Talk Alert***Clear Channel pulls the plug on Lib talker KPOJ in one of the most liberal cities in the country. Replaced by sports talk in a city already well served by 'The Game' (our sister station) which has Canzano, Chad, Rome, Patrick, The Ducks, Timbers, NFL westwood one, march madness. I wish my radio brothers well but what does it say when liberal talk can't make money in 'Havana on the Willamette'."

   Anyone hear anything about a format change there? Maybe that has something to do with the big deal CC signed with Oregon State.

   Posted on November 9, 2012 - 12:44 PM #
2. JBM
   

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   Posts: 186

   Confirmed by Willamette Week:
   http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-29441-kpoj_cancelling_political_talk_radio_on_monday.html

   Posted on November 9, 2012 - 12:59 PM #
3. JBM
   

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   Posts: 186

   And from Carl Wolfson's Facebook page today: "To my friends -- Clear Channel informed me this morning that they are moving in a new direction with KPOJ, beginning on Monday. I appreciate the opportunity they gave me for six years to be a voice for progressive causes in our state and nation. I will miss all of my fun friends at work (my excellent producer Paul, remains employed!). I love all of you, my loyal listeners. It has been my honor to give a platform to all of the outstanding groups, volunteers, elected officials and good people who make Oregon so special."

   Posted on November 9, 2012 - 12:59 PM #
4. Liberal Agenda
   

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   Posts: 1,260

   Hmm. Can't really say I'll miss it.

   Posted on November 9, 2012 - 01:00 PM #
5. Jbpdx
   

   flaming capacitor
   Posts: 55

   This is revenge for Roboto losing the election. Isn't Clear Channel owned by Bain?

   Posted on November 9, 2012 - 01:11 PM #
6. Jbpdx
   

   flaming capacitor
   Posts: 55

   I don't see anything on his Facebook page...

   Posted on November 9, 2012 - 01:16 PM #
7. Andy_brown
   

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   Posts: 4,657

   Clear Channel was taken private by Bain Capital, LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners in a leveraged buyout in 2008; as a result, the company now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of CC Media Holdings, Inc..

   Not to hard to figure out what's really going on here.

   Posted on November 9, 2012 - 01:16 PM #
8. motozak3
   

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   Posts: 4,400

   "Havana on the Willamette". That's good!

   Posted on November 9, 2012 - 01:47 PM #
9. Andrew
   

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   Posts: 3,748

   Is anyone really surprised? I was going to post a thread in the last few weeks wondering if KPOJ would last til January, but I thought that would have been in bad taste.

   It should be pretty easy to listen to my fav shows online at home. Radio in the car is going to suck, though...

   Posted on November 9, 2012 - 01:48 PM #
10. missing_kskd
    

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    Posts: 11,648

    Fuck...

    Now it's time to automate the podcasts and get them onto the phone. Was thinking of getting a new radio for the car...

    Maybe just get an amp!

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 02:01 PM #
11. jr_tech
    

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    Posts: 3,158

    Or perhaps a WiFi car radio set to automatically download selected podcasts while sitting in your garage at night?

    KPOJ will be missed.

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 02:09 PM #
12. Andrew
    

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    Posts: 3,748

    The most logical thing would be to use your smartphone (which I don't have as of yet) and just play podcasts through the car stereo. My car stereo is ancient though, not even an Aux input...

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 02:19 PM #
13. itsvern
    

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    Posts: 449

    Why do we need another sports station? Will 1080 The Fan and
    750 The Game make changes?

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 02:33 PM #
14. Jbpdx
    

    flaming capacitor
    Posts: 55

    If they thought their ratings were low before, wait until they go sports. The TuneIn Radio app for iPad etc. is not owned by Clear Channel and carries a lot of progressive stations from around the country. iHeartRadio is owned by Clear Channel, so I won't be listening to it or any other Clear Channel stations. I usually listen to classical in the car anyway.

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 02:49 PM #
15. destinyoverrun
    

    flaming capacitor
    Posts: 49

    Why do i have the sneaking suspicion that there will be far more people upset about this than actually listened. It's a great testimony to the average listener, if you like a station, listen to it, and support it's advertisers, cause at the end of the day, if it doesnt make money, there's no reason to keep it....

    i also strongly suspect that 6 months from now there are only 2 sports talks left in Portland....we'll see which one folds it's hand first, but my guess is it's not 1080

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 02:50 PM #
16. Notalent
    

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    Posts: 1,950

    Looks like 1090 KPTK Seattle is going the same direction, only in its case an all new CBS sports radio network with an as yet unnamed live local afternoon drive host.

    Will be interesting to see if anyone will pick up the CBS offering in PDX now that CBS is no longer in the market.

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 02:58 PM #
17. pdxsportsradiolistener
    

    junior diode
    Posts: 8

    This could have to do with the Ducks contract being up for grabs. I don't think that CC will make a play for the Ducks, seeing how they have the Beavs and Blazers (could they even have rights to both UO and OSU?), but if 1080 gets the Ducks, this could be the end for the Game.

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 03:44 PM #
18. Listener_Pete
    

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    Posts: 4,114

    This really sucks, but if given the choice of progressive radio or having President Obama reelected, I pick President Obama being re-elected.

    If you have a smart phone or and Ipod touch (with Wifi) you can listen the following on WCPT (Chicago) using Tunein Radio:

    The Bill Press Show
    3:00am-6:00am

    The Stephanie Miller Show
    6:00am-9:00am

    The Ed Schultz Show
    9:00am-12:00pm

    The Thom Hartmann Radio Program
    12:00pm-3:00pm

    The Norman Goldman Show
    3:00pm-6:00pm

    Leslie Marshall
    6:00pm-7:00pm

    Alan Colmes
    7:00pm-10:00am

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 04:16 PM #
19. W7PAT
    

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    Posts: 281

    I'm surprised KPOJ didn't do it, but now is the time for 750 or 1080 to go all news. And it's hard for me to believe that one of them couldn't pencil it out compared to three sports stations.

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 04:30 PM #
20. Scott Young
    

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    Posts: 288

    How about 750 and 101.1 become KXL AM&FM simulcating news/talk. 1080 becomes KWJJ with automated classic country and (assuming they still exist) the old KWJJ jingles from across the years.

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 06:12 PM #
21. Broadway
    

    vacuum tube
    Posts: 1,936

    More dominoes are going to fall here before any dust settles...

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 06:25 PM #
22. Crackers
    

    new electron
    Posts: 4

    Where's the industry shill who shot down my KPOJ suicide announcement October 11?

    I really hate shills. The ones in the on-air industry are particularly insufferable. They piss and moan, they spin, they sneer, they mock, and they lie. They're all like little Willard Romneys: vacuous, empty, liars.

    Be aware that "ratings" are easily managed: Just keep adding little turds to the listener punch-bowl, and eventually listeners notice. Listeners tune out, an excuse is born, and industry shills can point to and blame "ratings".

    How could anybody think/imagine that another sports station is needed in Portland? It's 100-percent hype, and just because "ratings" is repeated here so often doesn't make it anything but hype.

    No, this has been planned for some time. Be aware that corporate media strategy has a bigger goal than mere dollars. Industry shills won't tell you this. Neither will Bain/Clear-Channel or their clones.

    Information is power. Enjoy your sports. If you tire of that, there's always Limbaugh.

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 07:31 PM #
23. Brianl
    

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    Posts: 4,623

    THREE sports stations in this market? Oy vey ... maybe Clear Channel is thinking of somehow putting that format on 620, and moving Oregon State athletics and the Blazers there?

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 07:34 PM #
24. motozak3
    

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    Posts: 4,400

    "If you have a stupid phone with 802-11 capability, you can listen the following on WCPT (Chicago) using Tunein Radio:"

    Or you could just use your computer and VLC:
    http://provisioning.streamtheworld.com/pls/WCPTAM.pls (open it with a text editor to get the direct stream URLs)

    "I really hate shills. The ones in the on-air industry are particularly insufferable. They piss and moan, they spin, they sneer, they mock, and they lie. They're all like little Willard Romneys: vacuous, empty, liars."

    You missed a great one last weekend...

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 07:37 PM #
25. missing_kskd
    

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    Posts: 11,648

    I think this should cost some money.

    Time to join the people phoning Limbaugh advertisers next week.

    Money is speech right?

    Time to also recruit some others too. Want to join me?

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 09:46 PM #
26. DanOregon
    

    tough transistor
    Posts: 63

    Sad news. Listened to a ton of KPOJ this week. Enjoyed Carl's show, but I do think CC should get a tip of the hat for letting it play out this week, and I figure Carl might have had an inkling with his chat with Christine this week. If a channel can end well - this one did. Hopefully someone will take up the format.
    I know The Game took Yahoo Sports and the NBC Sports network on a week or so ago. Rome is scheduled to be on CBS Sports Radio when it launches in January. The Fan is still ESPN.
    620 is going to get killed outside of live sports. Fox Sports without Patrick or Rome (and a really bad morning drive) isn't going to go well. They will air a local show with Lynn and Callan 9-noon. Though I do like the Petros and Money show in the afternoon.
    Figure CC is just trying to round out its ad demos.

    Posted on November 9, 2012 - 11:09 PM #
27. Jbpdx
    

    flaming capacitor
    Posts: 55

    Fuck Clear Channel and iHeartRadio.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 01:17 AM #
28. semoochie
    

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    Posts: 3,915

    It now becomes quite apparent what Clear Channel plans to do with the 92.7 translator. I thought that repeating K103 seemed a little suspicious.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 01:24 AM #
29. DanOregon
    

    tough transistor
    Posts: 63

    One of the things I really liked about KPOJ was their top of the hour news. If I wasn't on it already, I'd always flip to it for the ABC news at the top of the hour. Anyone know of another station with ABC or CBS news at the top of the hour in Portland? Fox News just doesn't cut it.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 05:01 AM #
30. Craig_Adams
    

    Radio historian
    Posts: 7,279

    How does SRN cut it with you?

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 06:38 AM #
31. DanOregon
    

    tough transistor
    Posts: 63

    Like I said - I like ABC and CBS network reports. Four minutes or so and you get an idea of what is going on in the nation and world. Doug Limerick has a great set of pipes.
    It's been a pretty rough year for me and my love of radio. First KGO-San Francisco implodes (they run the "top of the hour" news at 15 past, and now KPOJ.
    I guess KUGN out of Eugene will work for me now for news.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 07:04 AM #
32. Czarcasm
    

    tough transistor
    Posts: 84

    What is this station going to cover that the other stations don't-air hockey and curling?

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 07:50 AM #
33. murdock
    

    junior diode
    Posts: 35

    KKOV 1550 is running CBS top of the hour.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 09:16 AM #
34. Uncle Mort
    

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    Posts: 838

    So why did progressive talk fail in a progressive town? do conservative talk radio listeners need it more? ie a sarcastic Rush daddy to pound home basic concepts hour after hour? Do lefties get the point and just move on to the music? I once floated a mix of oldies & talk, but apparently each side just wanted to turn the other side down.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 09:27 AM #
35. Andrew
    

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    I'm not sure progressive talk "failed" here completely. It seems more like Clear Channel abandoned it. I'm not saying it was a smashing success, obviously, but it's been a few years since Clear Channel did anything to promote KPOJ. It was clearly running on fumes for quite a while.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 09:33 AM #
36. Andrew
    

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    Posts: 3,748

    As for ABC News: I hate it, and I was disappointed when KPOJ moved to it a couple of years ago (the old Air America Radio News was pretty lame, though, I admit). I enjoyed the local news during Thom's and then Carl's shows until that was cut. I find ABC news too sensationalistic and trivial, and I found myself often switching to NPR at the top of the hour instead of listening to ABC.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 09:36 AM #
37. destinyoverrun
    

    flaming capacitor
    Posts: 49

    I think the reason KPOJ failed is pretty simple, too many years of "their guy"...look at Rush's rating over the years, and conservative talk in general...they simply do better when the "other team" is in charge...democrat rule, conservative talk thrives....so logic would dictate that would apply to progressive talk. Now with Obama winning, and the campaign over, i see prog talk stations dropping like flies. I wonder why? Could it be that the format is so tenuous that it couldnt survive another 4 years? Me thinks the answer is yes. Combine that with the fact that the non overly partisan folks on either side (which amount to 90% of the population of this country) are in severe political fatigue, this move makes perfect sense. If they are getting only a blip higher than a 1 share in the midst of a heated campaign, it ain't getting better. Face it folks, the only thing that might have saved KPOJ, KPTK and others like it, would have been a Romney win. Thats the ultimate irony. That, and as expected, i see more people complaining online about this move than i think actually listened to the station, which is ironic, because they would rather point fingers and spout conspiracy theories than truly understand why the format went away....lack of listeners and lack of advertising response. And thats on them...not Bain Capital LOL

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 10:07 AM #
38. stevewa
    

    junior diode
    Posts: 27

    It seems to me that CC had it in for liberal talk from the time they let Mike Dirkx go. Since then KPOJ was essentially on auto pilot with a slow but steady dis-investment (co-host, local news, etc).

    I'm sure management thought they could slip this by the public after the elections were over. In other markets popular demonstrations have been effective in restoring programming, given the ownership of CC today that seems unlikely this time.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 10:59 AM #
39. Bigpuppy
    

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    Top of the hour network newscasts these days are largely indistinguishable, as you can tell from the "Hourly News" smartphone app which replays the latest of each on demand. Differences are mainly stylistic. ABC is peppier, CBS is stodgier, Fox usually brisker with a high story count and lots of quick audio cuts and natural sound (and despite the brand, it doesn't have foul Rovian aroma of its TV counterpart). But they're all headline services and they're all on top of things.

    KPOJ is no vast loss, IMHO. I caught much of Randi's last narcissistic show, beginning with her odd "Bounce your Boobies" Friday song and ending with a pedagogical debate over whether Republicans are Keynesians or redistributionists. I'd heard about the change and wanted to hear the flip; otherwise, my need for stimulation of the lefty side of my brain are more than satisfied by Sirius/XM's POTUS, and NPR.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 11:10 AM #
40. W7PAT
    

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    Posts: 281

    So, here is the deal:
    Progressive talk goes to 910 - KKSN
    KXTG moves to 970 taking all of the sport with it.
    750 becomes KXL with all news
    101.1 becomes KXL-FM with all talk

    Other Option:

    KXL moves back to 750 with news/talk
    KUFO moves to 101.1 and rebrands itself
    KPAM becomes all news

    Any other takes on this?

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 11:31 AM #
41. missing_kskd
    

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    Posts: 11,648

    I actually agree on Rhodes. She's insightful, but also flammable!

    Early on, her show was better than it often is now.

    Norman Goldman, Thom, Ed, and most of all Carl were the big draws. "Ring of Fire" is hard to get too.

    Rhodes and Malloy are take or leave, but I will be seeking out the other hosts, either via podcast or some live stream.

    Streaming actually is a reasonable proposition for me. I've got the data plan to deal, but for a lot of folks, it won't work that way, costing real $$$

    Podcasts are behind, not live, which is an issue sometimes. Actually regularly.

    Might be worth it to get a satellite radio. That's on the table now for sure. Maybe a portable one, if it works well enough. Need to start tinkering.

    Thing is, I have mostly great AM radios. Too damn bad I've got to listen to dullards, haters and morons most of the time. Sports is a TV thing for me, non starter on radio.

    Music? Sometimes. Depends. In a group setting, sure. If we can take the LOUD SPOTS. Mostly, we will fish around in pockets to see who has a pod with good tunes on it and use that.

    Dirkx was a loss for sure. He bootstrapped AAR, mixing in Ed Schultz for a great line up. Only a matter of time after he was let go. Liked him, and we conversed a few times too. He was a proponent.

    What CC is going to find is exploiting a solid niche can pay off. Airing diluted down stuff in an already bloated and general purpose one won't really.

    That and maybe Limbaugh might continue to get expensive. Serious about that.

    So I don't need an HD radio. High quality shit is still shit, just with a better signal to noise ratio.

    Sat? Yeah. Lower quality gold is still gold, despite the artifacts and such.

    Clowns. Really. Bunch of clowns. I'm most annoyed by the loss of Carl. He did a great job, actually did give a shit, and worked hard to produce a quality show. Hope he gets another gig somewhere. I'll be watching.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 11:35 AM #
42. missing_kskd
    

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    Posts: 11,648

    Hey, that's a great thought about 910!

    Carl should be talking to those guys right now. 910 can't have too much going on. Nice idea there, but rebroadcasting that niche HD2 really isn't catching fire.

    I'm off to send some notes!

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 11:37 AM #
43. jr_tech
    

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    Posts: 3,158

    Semoochie said:

    It now becomes quite apparent what Clear Channel plans to do with the 92.7 translator. I thought that repeating K103 seemed a little suspicious.

    When did/will this happen? I just tuned in 92.7 and it is still Air One programming.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 11:39 AM #
44. semoochie
    

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    Posts: 3,915

    It was mentioned here a short time back that KPOJ had dropped the "progressive talk" moniker", setting them up to air any kind of Talk. I thought that they had already moved in that direction. There are two translators that operate on 92.7. One is changing frequency and the other is moving to the west hills and increasing power to 99 watts, like 93.5, 102.3 and 104.5. Both of these translators are said to rebroadcast K103 and the construction permits were issued awhile back. Here's the info, provided by Field Strength from "Towers & Such": "K224CP Hazel Dell, WA has applied to move to 103.5 at the same tower site, reducing power to 4 watts." Here's the FCC information: http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1492460
    K224DL Portland has applied to move from the Newberg area to Skyline and increase power to 99 watts. (It was later revealed that it's the Sylvan Tower.)

    My guess is that this is EMF's plan to preserve their Air1 service in the Portland area. They will loose their current 102.7 translator when (if?) KYTE moves inland. They will probably lease one of the HD signals on KKCW (or another CC station) in order to be able to feed the 99 watt translator. I wouldn't be surprised if a similar plan is being put together for K-Love's 95.9 translator." Here are your comments, Jr.: "field_strength:

    Make sense!... In addition the Hazel Dell translator CP (for moving from ch 224 to ch 278) lists KKCW as its input station."

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 12:08 PM #
45. jr_tech
    

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    Posts: 3,158

    Ok, It appeared that the original plans for the translator moves/changes was to preserve Air One programming in the Portland metro area by feeding from a HD channel of KKCW... but I thought from your post above that you implied that one of them now perhaps would be re-purposed for KPOJ sports programming.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 12:50 PM #
46. semoochie
    

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    Posts: 3,915

    I'm not thinking about an HD channel, only about the 92.7 translator, which it appears, is going to rebroadcast KPOJ, instead of KKCW, which I never expected to happen anyway.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 01:03 PM #
47. stevewa
    

    junior diode
    Posts: 27

    One last comment, Lars' suggestion that liberal talk "didn't make money" ain't necessarily so...what it means is that CC thinks it can make MORE money by duplicating the format of two other stations already in the market, instead of having an exclusive on liberal talk in one of the bluest markets in the country.

    Lotsa luck with that, CC.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 03:11 PM #
48. semoochie
    

    vacuum tube
    Posts: 3,915

    PPM has not been kind to Progressive Talk. It appears that the diary system exagerated listening habits.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 03:45 PM #
49. NoParty
    

    vacuum tube
    Posts: 9,545

    More dominoes are going to fall here before any dust settles...

    That's what happens when CONs own the media.....

    Just like the games they played for the election this won't work either....

    Get ready for shitty ratings!

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 10:00 PM #
50. Notalent
    

    vacuum tube
    Posts: 1,950

    Corporate Radio inherently wants an audience that spends money with the advertisers. Lib/prog radio tends to follow the mainstream DEM demographic of being dominated by takers and not makers.

    takers got no money for new Cadillacs or Benzes.

    You might be all proud of yourselves, but you are a poor target demo.

    Posted on November 10, 2012 - 10:55 PM #

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