KMPT at AM 930 on Your Radio Dial
Progressive Talk Back in Missoula
By Robert Struckman, 12-31-07
Liberal talk will be back in Missoula, starting in the wee hours of the morning Thursday.
And no, Al Franken will not be involved. The former star of Air America Radio, the national New York-based progressive talk radio network, has moved to Minnesota to pursue his political career.
The new progressive talk will be on the dial at AM930, formerly KLCY.
“It’ll be KMPT, Missoula’s progressive talk,” said Dave Cowan. Cowan was recently named general manager of Missoula’s six Gap West stations. Gap West, a Denver-based media company, recently purchased 57 stations from Clear Channel in small and mid-sized markets across the northern Mountain West and in the Midwest. (In early December, Gap West sold its four Iowa stations.)
Cowan, who helped a Missoula startup radio company run a short-lived progressive talk station on the FM dial a few years ago, said he learned some important lessons from his first go-around. Foremost, the ad sales will target professional people, such as real estate agents and accounts, rather than the typical retailers who advertise on the radio.
Cowan said the program may build to include locally produced talk shows and will share news resources with the other Gap West stations. A soft start without a huge initial cash is key to the station’s long-term success, he said.
Air America shows will air on KMPT, Cowan said, as well as shows syndicated by Jones Radio, including Bill Press from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. Stephanie Miller from Los Angeles will follow with her syndicated show, which has a mixture of humor and current politics. Thom Hartmann from Portland will air from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A populist hunter from North Dakota, Ed Schultz, will air from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“Judging from the one ratings book we had with KKNS (the last progressive talk station in Missoula), there is a demand. It had a very respectable listenership,” Cowan said. “I thought we were figuring it out when they (Simmons Media) pulled the plug back in 2006.”
This time, Cowan has some breathing room, he said.
“There are not immediate revenue demands. We don’t have to hit a home run in January,” he said.
[End of article]Don't quit your day job Dave.
Comment By Matthew Koehler, 1-01-08The more outlets for information the better. In fact, I would say it's a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Missoula, and western Montana, desperately need more locally produced talk shows (especially from a progressive perspective) about the important issues facing our region.
This is a popular format in other progressive cities around the country (Portland, Seattle, Madison, Boulder, Austin, Ann Arbor, Asheville, etc), but for some reason it has never taken hold here in Missoula. Montana Public Radio doesn't seem interested in providing this type of important programming, despite the fact that most public radio stations around the country do. And to be honest, too often, I get the feeling when listening to their news coverage that someone is just reading the AP Wire to me, or worst yet, reading me the paper from a few days ago. So I hope AM 930 can manage to pull a locally produced, progressive talk show together so that important news and information about our region can be shared with the public.
At http://www.NonStopRadio.com, we supported Missoula's efforts to bring back Progressive Talk when Missoula's website was up and running. We here at NSR salute Dave Cowan and everyone else who was involved in bringing balance back to Missoula's airwaves.
Yours in the Cause,
Aldous Tyler,
NonStop Radio
http://www.NonStopRadio.com/
I wrote an article about this a few months back-- there was a very organised boycott, led by right-wingers who evidently don't believe in freedom of speech, and it scared off a number of national advertisers. Let's hope that this time, progressive talk gets a fair chance. Both Ed and Stephanie are profitable, as I believe Thom Hartmann is too.
Air America may have made its mistakes and had a poor business model, but what matters now is that there are some very well-respected progressive hosts, and their ideas deserve a chance to be heard. The Jones-syndicated talkers like Ed and Steph, as well as several AAR talkers, have continued to win people over -- Ed happens to be in the top 5 most influential talk hosts nationally, according to Talkers magazine. He has as many weekly listeners as Bill O'Reilly, despite Bill O being on many more stations.
Whether listeners agree with progressive talk or not, the issue is having both sides of the story told. Over 95% of talk radio is conservative, so a few liberal voices couldn't hurt!!! A tip of the hat to Mr Cowan, and my hope is that listeners will give progressive talk a chance-- he has chosen some wonderful hosts, and Missoula will benefit from hearing their perspectives.
Donna L. Halper, author, radio consultant, media historian
Boston MA
Donna:
Did you work in Washington DC in the late 70's in progressive album rock radio? If so, you & Tim Powell had quite a station.
By the way Mark....this IS my day job.
dave
Congratulations on your return to democracy on the radio dial and if GAP West has an interest in buying up Clear Channel stations in the Fresno market, there is a similarly respectable and robust group of listeners here as well. We lost our radio lifeline early in 2007 when KFPT, Fresno's progressive talk radio, was sold to a sports broadcaster, adding one more to about a half dozen other sports radio stations in the area. Two credible radio business sources have said that the buyer signed a no-compete clause, (the seller owns the area's 50K-watt conservotalker) which kinda suggests, too, that the format worked well enough here also (why wouldn't it?). You're lucky to have a guy like Dave Cowan who appears to understand that the format works when attended to properly. By the way, the replacement format in Fresno on AM 790 is not doing well. Progressive talk did much better, even at its lowest point. I wish only the best for KMPT and Mr. Cowan.
Comment By Patia, 1-01-08Cool. I'll listen. Assuming I still have a radio that gets AM -- I'll have to check.
Comment By Pamela, 1-01-08This is great to hear!
Congratulations to all involved in bringing progressive talk to Missoula. Being in Illinois, I can't listen, but I'll try to support the advertisers if I can. Good luck to all of you.
To Dave Cowan: Yes, that was yours truly-- I worked at WAVA, having come over from NY and Cleveland (where I discovered the rock group Rush). Happy new year!!!
Comment By Donna Halper, 1-01-08PS to Dave-- if I can ever be of help to you, say the word. And if you ever decide to buy a station in the East, there are a surprising number of markets (Boston among them) that need you!!! May you have excellent ratings and lots of sponsor support in the new year.
Comment By TZ, 1-01-08For those not familiar with the Ed Schultz show, here's what we've been missing:
(1/2/2008) On Wednesday's show:
Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX, joins the 1st hour of the show, live with Big Eddie to talk about his run for President.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-IA, joins the 3rd hour of Tuesday's show to report the latest on the Iowa Caucuses.
----------------------------------
Sen. Kent Conrad, Chairman of the Budget Committee joined the 1st hour of Monday's show to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for President.
Elizabeth Edwards joined the 2nd hour of Monday's show to report the latest on the John Edwards for President Campaign.
David Shuster of MSNBC joined the 3rd hour of Monday's show to report the latest on the Iowa Caucus.
----------------------------------
Former Sen. John Edwards, D-NC, joined the 2nd hour of Friday's show to discuss his conversation with President Musharraf and the latest on the Iowa Caucus.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-CA, joined the 1st hour of Friday's show to discuss his run for President.
----------------------------------
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-WI, joined the 1st hour of Thursday's show to talk about what the assassination of Benazir Bhutto means to America.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-CT, joined the 3rd hour of Thursday's show to talk about the latest from the Iowa caucuses.
Bravo to Dave Cowan, KMPT and Aldous Taylor at NonStopRadio. I'll be listening on vacation this summer.
Now if we can only achive the same results in the San Diego, CA area.
Ken
It seems to me that many westerners think they are conservative but since they also want their rights and the constitution protected--they may gain some insight with big Eddie in the mix!?!?
Congratulations to Dave Cowan and crew for giving the listeners a great line up.
Radio historians have always recognized that getting Missoula was the first step to moving on to Moscow (ID), Walla Walla, Nampa, and perhaps even Boise.
http://BoreAmerica.com
MSG1987381-OPCEN-AUTH-17
Hooray!
Thanks for bringing progressive talk radio back to Missoula. It has been sorely missed. We subscribed to XMRadio for a year, and since it just ran out (and we decided not to renew), I was lamenting my loss. I'll look forward to engaging programming through KMPT!
My prayers have been answered!! I was quite upset when progressive talk went off the air; I am now pumped that Missoula is getting Big Eddie back!!! Finally a breath of fresh air in the Garden City. Thanks Dave.
Comment By flounder, 1-03-08Ed Schultz made this point when he was on MSNBC's Hardball show a few months ago: People mock Progressive Radio as being some sort of ratings loser, but Ed Schultz beats Sean Hannity's ratings in most markets where they are head to head.
He ascribes this to the monopolies created by media consolidation. Clear Channel and Disney are corporations run by very right-wing management that doesn't want competing voices. They also control the majority of the airwaves. They would rather have lower ratings and profits with Hannity or Dan Savage or the rest of the B-Team hate radio crew than better ratings by putting on an Ed Schultz.
The freeze out of progressive voices essentially comes down to radio providing a "loss leader" for pro corporate policies.
People will whine, but look at the money Air America lost, and to them I will point out that the financing for Air America stunk and their programming choices often stunk. This had to do with having a bad business plan, not ideology. Plus, how long did FOX News lose money after it started? They had a leader that both didn't really care about profits ("loss leader" again) and had deep pockets.
Can someone explain to me what Progressive radio is? Best I can tell it is a liberal orientated radio show. I happen to be a Libertarian and would love to hear about a local show that would engage me. (I am pretty sure this show might not be the right one.) But it is fun to hear that people that post here think that the Left stands for Liberty and Freedom, as the Demo. congress writes more and more laws into the books. Is there a call in political debate show? A show that allows both sides to be heard would be a big step in the right direction! Ron Paul 2008.
Comment By Aldous Tyler, 1-03-08Hey Ron Paul supporter!
It may surprise you that one of these Progressive Talk hosts, Ed Schultz, just gave Ron Paul a 20 minute interview yesterday, and was very fair and nice to Dr. Paul. Schultz prides himself on having a show that allows anyone of any persuasion to call in and debate politics, and he's a pretty fair debater. Also, he broadcasts out of Fargo, which, while it is hardly local, isn't too far removed, culturally, from Missoula.
One of the reasons why Progressive Talk and Liberalism sees itself as a voice for freedom is because every time the Democratic Congress has failed to stop the Republicans from eating away more of our rights, ProgTalk has taken them to task, and heavily! Keep in mind that the current popular strain of "Conservative" that sits in our government is a far cry from the Libertarian type of yesteryear. I think you know this, or Ron Paul wouldn't be your guy. Progressive Talk is anti-Authoritarian as well as pro-Liberal.
Give the new format a shot, man! :-) I guarantee you that it will make you think, and more than that, that it will make you see how much Liberals nowadays have in common with Libertarians.
930 AM, Missoula. It's a whole new day for radio.
Yours in the Cause,
Aldous Tyler,
NonStop Radio
I have found that Ed, Schultz, Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann, Sam Seder, and other Progressive talk hosts will take Libertarian, Conservative, Liberal, and Middle of the Road callers.
They are far more open-minded than idiots like Insannity, Bill LIEly,
Micheal Savage (i.e. Wiener) who will shut off other than Reich Wingers.
Ken D and Aldous, you are both right. Whoever reads this, I challenge you to listen to Hannity, O'Reilly, or Rush's show and consciously listen to how they treat their callers they disagree with. Listen for the cut-off points. Hannity is an expert for coming out of the blue by bringing up some totally unrelated trick question. They also usually pick the dumbest liberals they can find, you can listen to some examples of someone that can challenge them getting through at the "Calling all Wingnuts" blog.
Then go listen to Ed Schultz. The guy is smart enough to debate instead of browbeat. I don't think Bill O'Reilly has ever been accused of this.
Excellent work. I'v added a page here:
http://LiberalTalkRadio.com/?title=KMPT_930_Missoula
Dave Cownan - Congrats and thanks for getting back in the saddle for progressive talk radio in Missoula. One of the things I've been most interested in and curious about is the advertising you would run out of the gate. I have been extremely impressed with the diversity and large amount of local advertising that I am hearing; not that I am surprised that there is significant support for this format in Missoula, but it is a very good sign for the long term sustainability of the station and format that was questioned the last go around. Nice work connecting with the community for support! I can't say this enough - Thanks for helping get a much needed and appreciated alternative viewpoint on the airwaves of Missoula!
Next up for Missoula, a locally run and produced not for profit community radio station - Missoula Community Radio
http://mcrfm.org/
http://mcrfm.wordpress.com/
Speaking of Ron Paul, I found this article in The New Republic and though I'd pass it along. If this is for real, maybe Dr. Paul's supporters should take a closer look at the man. The last thing this country needs is a person like the one described in this article leading our great country.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=e2f15397-a3c7-4720-ac15-4532a7da84ca
Leftie,
I don't really want to turn this forum into a debate on Ron Paul, but I do have a few thoughts on that "article." First of all it sites very few quotes from others, just personal opinion such as "These were often paranoid and rambling---." And you will notice he doesn't site which Newsletters most of his quotes are pulled from, just that some of them might have come from Ron Paul. I am sure you don't want to be associated with every writer for the dailyKos. In fact many of the quotes go firmly against the Libertarian ideal. I have been voting Libertarian since I was 18, on the basis that liberty is supposed to be for all!
On top of that at the end he had many of the easiest to check facts wrong (Ron Paul was in the Army???), which really makes me question if the other less checkable facts are accurate.
Another fun fact is that while the author infers that Paul was in complete control of every word in the newsletters, yet he starts with this disclaimer: "Of course, with few bylines, it is difficult to know whether any particular article was written by Paul himself. Some of the earlier newsletters are signed by him, though the vast majority of the editions I saw contain no bylines at all." That is like saying that every word that comes out of Fox New's shows is straight from the mouth of Rupert Murdoch, lol ok bad example but you get the point.
The fact is, that Thomas Jefferson was a conspiracy theorist to the established Gov, (Britain) and he was a libertarian. Ben Franklin published some "very questionable" pamphlets in his day and was ridiculed by British Patriots for doing so.
Lastly, I know race seems to be a big hang up for a lot of Anti Ronner's out there, but I look around and don't see 2 separate water fountains or bus assigned seating; but I do see runaway inflation that is failing and war that is dragging the $ into a deep hole. But then again maybe I'm just a conspiracy theorist, only time will tell. Ron Paul 2008.
So Ron Paul puts out racist stuff in something called the Ron Paul Report for twenty years, with a format that makes it look like the racist stuff is coming straight from his pen, but he really isn't responsible for it? He really is a Republican!
Comment By N8, 1-13-08I hate to deflate your balloon, but the Democrats are the only party with a certified racist. Look up Robert Byrd KKK memeber and congressman, I don't see anyones comments about him. He's not running for president, he is already elected.
I will be voting for Ron Paul based on his Foreign Policy, Fiscal policy and his Libertarian viewpoint. I worry more about presidents that have had problems with drugs (Cocaine) and have blatantly lied to the American public and planted questions in the crowd so they can seem more intelligent. At least Ron Paul answers all and any question people ask of him, and as a Libertarian I know he won't be forcing his viewpoints down my throat no matter what his personal views are. This thread is way off topic now. Send me an email if you want to continue this discourse, I am always open to nonemotionally based debates! Have a great day.
Liberal Talk Radio? Wow never heard of such a thing. Well how long will that last? Not long I hope. Rush is Right.
Comment By DAN, 8-04-08Racism ? If you want an example of racism look no further than Mr Obama !!!!!!!
Comment By Ken D, 8-05-08Dan, you've really been drinking too much of the Kool-aid.
Rush is Right and WRONG at the same time. Try listening to Progessive talk radio and open up your viewpoints.
Where is Progressive Talk radio in Missoula this morning? What happened to KMPT? I am most upset that we may have lost the right to listen to something rational on election day, of all days. Please tell me that progressive radio has not been preempted by the right wing, even in Missoula? Say it ain't so!
Comment By Ken D, 11-03-09Lorraine, I hope they haven't pulled the plug on KMPT. If you want Progressive Radio I suggest you get an XM satellite radio and subscribe to their service. It's cheaper to subscribe for 3 years than one or monthly.
You'll find Progressive Talk on channel 167, America Left, plus all sorts of other programming, music, talk etc.