by
Vince Santarelli

Vinceapple2002@yahoo.com

Internet Volume 9 - No. 1  Winter, 2010

First of all, happy new year! May this year be much better than the old one. I know for me, personally, it couldn’t possibly be any worse. And let us all now start referring to the year as “twenty-ten” and not “two thousand ten.” Best wishes to you and your family. And now, on we go as I take you on a trip around the country for a look at talk radio.

Talk radio has been around probably a lot longer than you would guess. KFSG was a radio station owned by a lady named Aimee Semple McPherson back in the early ‘20’s. Starting in 1935, Ms. McPherson put a program on her station called “America’s Town Meeting of the Air.” It broadcast once a week and actually allowed audience participation. Members of the studio audience were allowed to question the guests. Sometimes the questioning would turn into pure heckling. But it, technically, was a form of talk radio.

In 1945, Barry Gray was spinning discs at WMCA and talking about the music in between tunes. One night, feeling totally bored with his job as a disc jockey, he decided to talk with bandleader Woody Herman live on the air. He talked with Herman and put the telephone up to the microphone so his audience could hear what Herman was saying. This was soon followed by Gray taking listener call-ins in the same manner, and thus was born talk radio. In some instances, folks have been known to refer to Gray as “The hot mama of talk radio.”

Another so-called inventor of talk radio was a man named George Roy Clough who owned KLUF (that’s how his last name was pronounced) in Galveston, Texas. On that station, supposedly in the1940’s, the announcer would come on, give the topic of the day and the listeners would call in to debate the topic.

The Alan Courtney Open Phone Forum was started in 1948 over several south Florida radio stations and supposedly was one of the first conservative, anti-communist political forums.

In the 1950’s the talk medium began to expand as guys like Joe Pyne, Long John Nebel, Jean Shepherd and Jerry Williams began to dabble. Long John started his talking on WOR in 1956. In 1962, he moved to WNBC and became one of the great all-night listens in the metropolitan area. In 1973, he moved to WMCA where he stayed, and eventually worked with his wife Candy until his death in 1978. Long John’s shows were pretty much discussions on UFO’s, voodoo, witchcraft, parapsychology, conspiracy theories and just plain old ghosts. Very similar to what George Noory does on his syndicated overnight show these days. By the way, one of the sponsors of Long John’s overnight shows was No-Doz pills.

Meanwhile, a guy by the name of Jean Shepherd just happened into town way back in 1956 to do some talking at WOR. Shep wasn’t your typical political commentator. Oh no, Shep was a teller of tales, humorous anecdotes and commentaries on the everyday human being. Shep did observations on life, told tales from his childhood, and related stories about just plain ordinary life in America. All very curiously a pre-cursor to modern day talk radio.

In 1964 WNBC adopted a talk radio format. The show’s hosts included morning man Big Wilson, Ed McMahon, Robert Alda, Mort Sahl, Sterling Yates, Joe Pyne, Lee Leonard, Jim Gearhart, Bill Mazer, Brad Crandall and Long John Nebel. On weekends, WNBC carried another talk radio pre-cursor, the NBC Radio Network’s Monitor. At that time, Monitor ran for 16 hours per weekend and featured such hosts as Jim Backus, Red Barber, Frank Blair, David Brinkley, Dave Garroway, Durward Kirby, Frank McGee, Tony Randall, John Cameron Swayze, Mel Allen, Bill Cullen, Hugh Downs, Allen Funt, Joe Garagiola, Monty Hall, Ed McMahon, Garry Moore, Henry Morgan, Bert Parks, Gene Rayburn and John Bartholomew Tucker. Monitor ran as a news and entertainment show, every weekend on the NBC Radio Network, from June 12, 1955 until the final show on January 26, 1975. John Bartholomew Tucker was the final host. The final Monitor news update was delivered by Bob Gibson.

In 1960, two American radio stations adopted an all-talk radio format, both of which are still alive today - KMOX in St. Louis and KABC in Los Angeles. KABC station manager Ben Hoberman and KMOX station manager Robert Hyland both claim to be the original developer of all-talk radio.

As FM began to flourish and overtake the AM band in listenership, more and more AM stations began to drop music in favor of talk radio. In 1978, Larry King was broadcasting six hours of talk programming on the Mutual Broadcasting System. This led both NBC and ABC to develop their own talk radio offerings - Talknet on NBC and TalkRadio on ABC.

Of course, locally, on September 21, 1970, WMCA dropped the Top 40 and went all-talk. The format was called “Dial-Log Radio 57” and featured none other than Jack Spector, Bob Grant, Alex Bennett, Leon Lewis, Long John Nebel, and Ken Fairchild. It was at WMCA that New York first heard John Sterling, hosting a very confrontational sports talk show. Sterling also did play-by-play for the Islanders and Nets who were carried by WMCA at the time. For the most part, WMCA did well in the ratings as a talk station. Most of the time, the station was in the Top 10. In the late ‘80’s, the Strauss family sold the station to Federal Broadcasting. They kept the talk format until they sold the station to Salem Communications who turned WMCA into a religious radio station on September 17, 1989.

In 1968, someone new came to town. His name was Alex Bennett and, for my money, he was one of the first liberal talk hosts on the scene. He started out at WMCA as a disc jockey, but when they changed to talk, he stayed on and did a talk show. Early in 1971, he moved over to WPLJ to do mornings but a year later, he moved to the overnights. He stayed for almost three years and did some of the most entertaining talk radio I have ever heard. Alex was cool and irreverent and always spoke his mind. I have two very vivid memories of the Alex Bennett show on WPLJ. The first was when a listener called in and commenced to complaining about how long he had to hang on the phone before Bennett got to him. The man got sort of angry, so Bennett replied, “sir, you make a copy of that phone bill, circle that one phone call and send it to use here at WPLJ. We’ll be more than happy to look it over and laugh like hell.” The other was one night when Gil Gross was doing overnight news at both WPLJ and WABC. The PLJ newscast went off at :15 and the ABC newscast went off at :25. Well, Bennett introduced Gil Gross at :15 and the two of them proceeded to get into a major conversation about the happenings of the day. The conversation went on and on and on until Gross, all of a sudden, realized it was :25 and he had to be on the AM. He jumped up out of the chair and ran down the hall to the WABC news booth. On the air at WABC, you heard the news sounder go off and fade and fade into dead air. Suddenly, a totally out of breath Gil Gross comes on with, “news, puff puff, five minutes sooner, puff puff, on WABC New York.” Very funny stuff. But that’s what Alex Bennett was all about. Off the cuff, out of left field stuff that very often made you laugh and many times, made you think.

While talk radio was gaining strength across America, it still was not a major factor in New York City. WOR was pretty much the only talk station in the market and they did okay, but no great shakes. Then, on May 10, 1982, WABC dropped the Top 40 that they’d been doing for almost 22 years and became an all-talk radio station. At first, they carried the programming of ABC TalkRadio. Eventually they hired their own hosts and soon became the number one talk station in the city. Rush Limbaugh started at the station on July 4, 1988 and soon went into syndication on August 1, 1988. When the station fired Bob Grant in 1996, they hired Sean Hannity to take over the afternoon slot. Hannity went into syndication on September 10, 2001, and the rest is history. One after another of WABC’s time slots went to syndicated hosts until, what should be the premiere talk radio station in America is nothing more than syndication central. You could listen for 22 hours a day and not hear a mention of anything New York, except on the newscasts. Mayor Bloomberg and the race for mayor, the race for city comptroller and public advocate, the New Jersey gubernatorial race, what the Yankees did last night, you know, stuff that New Yorkers and suburbanites would like to talk about. Forget it. You just won’t hear it on WABC. The only thing you’ll hear on WABC is rah-rah-siss-boom-bah for the Republican party. It really stinks.

Which leads me to my look at talk radio across the country. I think you’ll be quite surprised to see who’s doing what. And just how many major market radio stations actually have live and local talent. As a matter of fact, after our look, you’ll probably find that there’s only one talk radio station in the country that does not have a live and local anything. I mean, outside of East Bumphuc, Egypt. We’ll look at the top 20 markets and maybe a little more beyond. I must warn you, though. If you think New York City talk radio is good and want  to continue thinking that, then you probably don’t want to read this.

1 - New York - As I’ve already pointed out, WABC (770 AM) now has only one hour a day that are local and that;s  between 5 and 6 AM. They also do some live programming on Sunday afternoon. All prime times for local programming. As far as what they offer during the week, well it reads like a who’s who of conservative American talk show hosts. Imus, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, George Noory’s weird Coast To Coast. All shows I wouldn’t listen to if you threatened me. Unless, of course, I was looking for a good laugh. And that’s a fact. They’ve all become such caricatures of themselves. It’s the same crap day after day after day. I used to think Rush Limbaugh was a dangerous person. Now, I don’t really think there’s anyone with half a brain who even thinks of taking him seriously. Same goes for Hannity.  Personally, I don’t see how they do so well in the ratings. If I’m a New Yorker, I’m going to listen to something that talks about New York. And that’s something that WABC just doesn’t do. In the last rating, WABC garnered a 3.8. I find that mind boggling.

As far as WOR (710 AM) goes, they have a live and local morning show in John R. Gambling. John does a fine job of covering New York in the morning. His weekly talk with Mayor Bloomberg is a must-listen to anyone who has an interest in the city. WOR is also live between noon and 2 PM with Joan Hamburg. Joan’s been with WOR since the early ‘70’s so I’m sure she has her fans. Steve Malzberg is in the 4 to 6 PM slot and Joey Reynolds does overnights, but both shows air on the WOR Radio Network which, technically, makes them syndicated. Let us also not forget that WOR airs Glenn Beck and Michael Savage both syndicated conservative Republican rah-rahs. WOR currently pulling a 2.4.

New York has two other talk radio stations. One is WNYM (970 AM). They call themselves the Apple, but there’s nothing Big Apple about this radio station at all. Syndicated, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All stuffed shirt conservatives. About the only thing interesting about WNYM is, uh, well, umm, I’ll get back to you on that.  Interesting? They pulled a 0.2 in the last book. WWRL (1600 AM) has a live morning show with Errol Louis from 6 to 9 AM. The rest of the day, syndicated stuff and shows from Air America. Not very New York here either. Not much to worry about here, though. Unless you live in East Rutherford, you probably can’t hear them. They also pull a whopping 0.2.

Let us not forget WNYC AM (820) and FM (93.9). FM pulls a 1.7 and AM pulls a 0.7. While WNYC broadcasts the usual NPR fare, they do have some local talk shows that are very good. Brian Lehrer comes to mind. Another would be Leonard Lopate. Both have been at WNYC for quite some time and both do very good local talk shows. Listening to NPR doesn’t have to be an old, stuffy situation anymore. This is good radio.

2 - Los Angeles - We don’t have to look any further than the market’s number three radio station to find our first talk radio station. KFI (640 AM) is live and local in the morning with Bill Handel, who hosts Los Angeles’ number one morning show with over 1 million listeners. Handel comes back in the noon to 2 slot where he does a syndicated show. They’re also very live in the afternoon with John and Ken. John and Ken used to work at New Jersey 101.5. They’re perhaps best known for attempting a state-wide protest again then governor Jim Florio. The protest was to be called “Hands Across New Jersey” and would theoretically, cut the state in half. When it was pointed out that blocking traffic was illegal, the protest turned into  a rally  in front of the State House in Trenton. 65,000 people attended the event while another 100,000 had to be turned away because of a lack of parking and overcrowding. They also lobbied heavily for the abolition of tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike and they lobbied for the opening of the HOV lanes to regular traffic. They left New Jersey 101.5 in 1992 to move to KFI. (Geez, you’d think a local talk radio station in New York might have wanted them, wouldn’t you?). But no, locally, dumber heads prevailed and the duo went on to  win the Radio & Records News/Talk Local Personality of the Year award in 2006 and were also named one of the 100 most influential people in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times. In 2003, John and Ken were instrumental in the recall of California governor Gray Davis. KFI is also live in the night time slot. There you’ll find Bryan Suits. Suits joined KFI in December of 2007 after stints in Bosnia in the National Guard, 14 months in Iraq where he earned a purple heart and a bronze star. He worked for a while as a talk show host at KIRO in Seattle before joining KFI. Besides Bill Handel’s afternoon syndicated show, KFI also runs Rush Limbaugh from 9 AM to noon and the George Noory Coast To Coast over nights. Just from the station’s Web site and what I’ve read about their hosts, if I lived in LA this is a station that I would listen to. In the last ratings they pulled a 4.0.

As we move down the list of Los Angeles radio stations, the next talk station we come to is KABC (790 AM). KABC is owned by the same company that owns WABC in New York, Citadel. However, out in LA, Citadel seems to care about their local listeners in that KABC actually has live and local programming. The morning show which runs from 5 to 9 AM is hosted by Peter Tilden. According to the KABC Web site, Peter Tilden has been entertaining Los Angeles radio listeners since the early ‘90’s. Peter is also an Emmy-nominated television writer and producer and won the Country Music Video of the Year award for producing and directing “Waiting On A Woman” by Brad Paisley. Peter just recently returned to Los Angeles morning drive radio when Doug McIntyre was moved out to WABC in New York. KABC is also live from 9 AM to noon with the Frosty, Heidi and Frank Show. The trio was working at LA’s KLSX before that station dropped talk in favor of Top 40. Following their release from KLSX, they were producing podcasts in a studio in Santa Monica that were available for download through iTunes. Following the syndicated Sean Hannity and Mark Levin from noon to 6 PM, KABC once again goes live with John Phillips. Phillips was the producer for evening talker Al Rantel on KABC. When Rantel retired because of health reasons, Phillips moved into the slot from 6 to 11 PM. Phillips describes his show as a “blend of local news, national news and all those wonderful tabloid stores that make Gerald Rivera get excited.” From 11 PM until 3 AM, KABC carries Curtis Sliwa and a mixture of various specialty programming. From 3 to 5 AM, the station carries Imus. In the latest ratings, KABC pulled a 1.9.

Next on the list would be KPCC (89.3 FM), which is a non-commercial public radio station. They carry the usual mix of NPR programs along with some nice local programming. In the latest Arbitron, they pulled a 1.6.

KFWB (980 AM) used to be a news station, but in September of ‘09, they switched to news/talk. Actually, the only time they do news is in morning drive, which is also the only time they’re local. The rest of the day, they just fill the time with syndicated programming including Laura Ingraham, Dr. Laura, and Michael Smerconish. Not a terribly interesting line up. They pulled a 0.7 in the last ratings.

Then there’s KRLA (870 AM). The only thing I can say about them is that they’re owned by Salem and they carry the same Conservative dredge that you hear on WNYM in New York. And they pull a 1.0 in the ratings.

Next on the list of LA talkers is KTLK (1150 AM). They are just a hodgepodge collection of syndicated talkers and Air America programming. Nothing local. 0.8 in the latest ARB.

3 - Chicago - Once again, we find the number three station in the market to be a talker. WGN (720 AM), owned by Tribune Broadcasting, is live and local, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The day starts at 5 AM with Greg Jarrett who’s been with WGN since June of 2009. Prior to that, he worked at KGO in San Francisco. He has also been a correspondent for ABC News, covering such events as Operation Desert Storm and the last Bush-Gorbachev summit in Moscow. From noon to 1 PM, Chicago broadcasting legend Bob Sirott holds forth. Most of us will remember Bob Sirott from his days at WLS from 1973 through 1980. Bob has also worked at several TV jobs in Chicago before landing at WGN. Following Sirott is another Chicago legend, Gary Meier. Meier worked at WLUP and teamed up with Steve Dahl in the morning slot in 1979. Perhaps his greatest claim to fame is the infamous Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park. The two came up with idea to “end disco once an for all.” People were allowed into the stadium that night if they brought 98 cents and at least one disco record. The records were then collected, piled up in center field, and blown up. The event took place between games of a doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. The Disco Demolition resulted in the second game of the doubleheader being cancelled due to rowdy fans storming the field and refusing to leave. American League president Lee MacPhail later declared the second game of the doubleheader a forfeit victory for the Detroit Tigers. Six people were treated for minor injuries and 39 were arrested for disorderly conduct. Steve Cochran hosts the afternoon show on WGN. His big claim to fame is playing the TV weatherman in the movie Grumpy Ole Men with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The evening hours on WGN are filled with Sports Central with Dave Kaplan from 7 to 9 and Extension 720 with Mike Rosenberg from 9 to 11. The overnights, from 11 PM to 5 AM are hosted by Steve and Johnnie on “Life After Dark.” Steve King has been with WGN since Christmas Eve of 1984. His wife, Johnnie Putman joined him at WGN in 1985 and their pairing has made them “Chicago’s number one nightly radio habit” for more than 20 years. As was mentioned at the top of this piece, WGN is number one in Chicago with a 5.1.

Next up is WLS (890 AM), another Citadel product. And while they pretty much carry the same syndicated drivel that WABC carries, they do have a brief live and local time slot. The morning show is local with Don Wade and Roma doing 5 to 9 AM. The two have been together since 1985, making them longest running morning drive team in Chicago. The neat thing is that they’re a team away from the radio station as well since the two of them have been married since 1979. Don Wade will also always be known as the guy who replaced Larry Lujack at WLS. From 9 to 11 AM, WLS broadcasts Mancow and Cassidy. It’s hard to tell just how live and local this is, though, since Mancow does a syndicated show from 5:30 to 10 AM CT. The rest of the day is syndicated - Limbaugh, Levin, Hannity, Roe Conn, etc, etc. In the latest rating WLS pulled a 4.5.

Next up is WBEZ (91.5 FM). Chicago Public Radio broadcasts a nice mix of NPR and local programs and pulls a 2.0 in the ratings.

WIND (560 AM) - Other than 5 to 9 AM, this is the place to come to hear all of the Salem Conservative drivel. I’m beginning to see a pattern here. All of the Salem stations are pretty much the same. Even their Web sites are pretty much the same. They do, however, have a live and local morning show with Big John Howell and Cisco Cotto. On their Web site, at Halloween time, they were touting the fact that they have a few remaining controversial costumes that have been pulled off the shelves of retailers and they would be giving them away. That costume was? An illegal alien. They did have a live and local overnight show with Jeff Pinkus, but he recently left the station and has been replaced by Dennis Prager and Michael Medved. WIND pulls a 0.9.

WCPT (820 AM) is a daytime only radio station broadcasting a complete line-up of syndicated shows. They call themselves Chicago’s Progressive Talk so chances are some of their shows come from Air America. Well sure enough, there’s the Ron Reagan show. Along with that we have Bill Press, Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, and Thom Hartmann. I guess you can’t get any more progressive than that. By the way, when did progressive come to mean liberal. WCPT burns up the Arbitrons with a 0.3.

WVON (1690 AM) is an African-American oriented talk format. They’re live and local except for noon to 3 PM when they air the Al Sharpton Show and from 10 PM to 1 AM when they air the Bev Smith Show. One of the local hosts on WVON is Santita Jackson who is the oldest child of Rev. Jesse Jackson. WVON pulls a 0.4 in the ratings.

4 - San Francisco - A case of “the” talk station in the market also being the number one station in the market. And I find this rather surprising because KGO (810 AM) is owned by Citadel. KGO is almost all local except for the Dr. Dean Edell show daily from 1 to 2 PM. They run news in the morning from 5 to 9 AM and again in the afternoon from 4 to 7 PM. The other live and local hosts include Ray Talliaferro in the overnights, Ronn Owens 9 AM to noon, Len Tillem noon to 1 PM, Gil Gross 2 to 4 PM, Gene Burns 7 to 10 PM and John Rothmann 10 PM to 1 AM.  They even run mostly live and local on the weekends. In the most recent book they pulled a 6.2.

KQED (88.5 FM) is an NPR station with a mix of local and network programming. They pulled a 4.2 in the last rating.

KSFO (560 AM) also owed by Citadel and this is where all of their syndicated programming is. Coast to Coast, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Dr. Laura, they’re all here. However, KSFO does have two live and local time slots. Lee Rodgers does morning from 5 to 9 AM and Brian Sussman does nights from 6 to 8 PM. The only thing KSFO doesn’t have is Imus. In the most recent ratings, KSFO pulled a 3.2.

KNEW (910 AM) is a mixture of live and syndicated hosts. The morning show is Armstrong and Getty. Their show also airs on KSTE in Sacramento with a televised version airing on KFTY TV in Santa Rosa. Rob Black hosts a money-related show from 10 AM to noon. Glenn Beck airs from noon to 3 PM and John and Ken, from KFI in Los Angeles air from 3 to 7 PM. Bill Handel, also from KFI airs from 7 to 9 PM. More syndicated programming airs from 9 PM until 6 AM. KNEW manages a 1.0.

KKGN (960 AM) is known as “Green 960” with an emphasis on environmental issues. Most of the day is nationally syndicated with Thom Hartmann the only host who is terribly interested in the environment. The rest of the day consists of Bill Press, Rachel Maddow, Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes and Alan Colmes. In the ratings they pull a 0.5.

KALW (91.7 FM) is another public radio station with a mix of NPR and local. They pull a 0.3.

5 - Dallas-Ft. Worth - Ah yes, another Citadel talker here in WBAP (820 AM). As you might expect, the station is only live and local from 5 to 11 AM. The rest of the day is filled with Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham and Curtis Sliwa. The overnight is filled with the Midnight Trucking Radio Network. In fact, WBAP is the originating station for this overnight talk program. In the last rating they were sixth in the market with a 4.1.

KERA (90.1 FM) is the National Public Radio outlet. They supply local news and talk shows mixed in with shows from NPR, Public Radio International and BBC Radio. They pull a 1.9.

KLIF (570 AM) is live in morning drive with Jeff Bolton. Bolton likes to take his show on the road and has been honored for his broadcasts from Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, New York after September 11^th and New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He was also the first American talk show host to broadcast live from Middle East war zones, and he also completed the first ever live talk show at sea with the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson. They are also live in the afternoon from 4 to 7 PM with Jon-David Wells. The rest of the day is filled with the usual syndicated programming. Glenn Beck, Fred Thompson, Dave Ramsey, Michael Savage and Rusty Humphries. In the last book, KLIF pulled a 1.3.

KSKY (660 AM) is the local Salem outlet in Dallas and here you’ll find all of the usual Salem talkers. The same stuff you hear on WNYM here in the city. KSKY pulls a 0.4.

KMNY (1360 AM) sounds like one of those radio stations that you just have to listen to to hear for sure if it’s real. They call themselves “Rational Radio” and while they have Bill Press, Thom Hartmann, Ed Schultz, Mike Malloy and Stephanie Miller, they also have a live and local show hosted by Pugs and Kelly. The Web site describes the show as “a lifestyle show that uses entertainment to confront social issues. ‘If you can take everyday situations and examine them to see how ridiculous they really are that’s entertainment.’” Pugs is hilariously over the top, dramatic and passionate. Kelly’s approach is from an independent woman’s perspective, unyielding and maintains her equal footing. This one show just might be worth something. In the October, 2009 book they pulled a 0.2. They didn’t show in the November book. Oh well.

6- Houston-Galveston - KTRH (740 AM) is live and local in the morning with KTRH Morning News and from 5 to 8 PM with Michael Berry. The rest of the day is the usual syndicated lineup Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Coast to Coast, etc., etc. In the last book they were seventh in the market with a 4.4.

KPRC (950 AM) is live in the morning with Joe Pags, from 9 to 11 with Michael Garfield who calls himself “Garf the High Tech Texan,” from 11 AM to 1 PM with Outlaw Dave and from 3 to 5 PM with Chris Baker. The rest of the day is filled with Fred Thompson, Phil Hendrie, Mancow, Dave Ramsey, Michael Savage and Dennis Miller. They pull a 0.9.

KSEV (700 AM) from what I could ascertain from a poor Web site, this station appears to be mostly syndicated, with a few local shows, but nothing that really stands out. They pull a 0.7.

KNTH (1070 AM) a Salem station with all the usual Salem talkers. Geez, even the Web sites of these Salem stations are all the same. Seriously, they’ve all been drawn from the same template. And being a Salem station, they’re at the bottom of the ratings barrel with a 0.3.

7- Atlanta - We start out here with the number two station in Atlanta WSB (750 AM). This station is live only in the morning with “Atlanta’s Morning News” and from 7 to 10 PM with The New Herman Cain Show. The rest of the day is filled with the usual syndication: Neil Boortz, Clark Howard, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage. Still they do pull a 7.2 in the ratings.

WGST (640 AM) Nothing live and local about this radio station. This is the syndicator’s heaven. You name it, it’s here. Smerconish, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Dave Ramsey, Mark Levin, Coast to Coast. The WABC of Atlanta, except WGST doesn’t even throw you two lousy hours a day, oh wait a minute, now it’s one lousy hour a day. They pull a 1.8.

WAOK (1380 AM) Another talk station aimed at the African American community and from what I can tell, they’re live and local except for 1 to 4 PM and 7 to 10 PM. In the last book, they pulled a 0.4.

WGKA (920 AM) Let’s just say Salem should be synonymous with syndicated. We’re doing a 0.3 here.

8 - Philadelphia - WPHT (1210 AM) Michael Smerconish, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity. That fills up your 5 AM to 6 PM. Dom Giordano is your only live and local host here and he‘s on from 6 to 10 PM. The station is also host to Sid Mark who hosts Friday with Frank on Fridays from 6 to 8 PM and Sunday with Sinatra on Sundays from 8 AM to 1 PM. They pull a 4.2 in the ratings.

WHYY (90.9 FM) The local NPR outlet with a nice mix of NPR and local programming. They pull a 2.8.

WNTP (990 AM) Station is owned by Salem and carries all of the Salem syndication. They pull a 0.9.

WURD (900 AM) is aimed at the African American community. Appears to be mostly live and local with one or two syndicated shows. In the last Arbitron they pulled a 0.2.

9 - Washington, DC -  The top talk station in Washington, DC comes in at number four with a 6.3 rating. That station is WAMU (88.5 FM). Yes, it’s a public radio station producing a mix of local shows and shows from NPR, Public Radio International, American Public Media and the BBC.

WMAL (630 AM) is the Citadel station in Washington and you can hear the usual batch of syndication - John Batchelor, Coast to Coast, Joe Scarborough, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Curtis Sliwa. Gee, maybe they just moved 770 New York to Washington, DC. Oh no, wait, WMAL actually has one live and local time slot. 5 to 10 AM where they have Grandy and Andy. The rest of the day, though, well it’s a carbon copy of talk radio stations in other markets all around the country. They pulled a 3.6 in the last book.

WFED (1500 AM) - This is the old WTOP and their format is Federal News Radio. They’re local 24/7 with programs such as “Federal Drive,” “Federal Security Spotlight,” “Inside Government,” “IBM Business of Government Hour,” “Fed Access” and “Gateway to Government Sales.” This is probably one of the most ingenious formats I’ve ever seen. In the nation’s capital, put on a format that appeals to employees of the federal government. You would think this would be a big winner. Well, in the last book they pulled a 0.2.

WTNT (570 AM) - They call themselves “Freedom 570” and except for 6 to 9 AM, they are completely syndicated. Laura Ingraham, Ed Schultz, Jerry Doyle, Michael Savage, Mancow, Phil Hendrie, name your syndication, you’ll find it here. They pulled a 0.3 in the last book.

10 - Boston - WBZ (1030 AM) - While they’re primarily a news station, they do some talk. From 5 AM to 8 PM, they’re an all news station with traffic on the 3’s and weather on the 10’s. But they do live and local talk from 8 PM to 5 AM. Dan Rea hosts Nightside from 8 PM to 12 Midnight. Steve Leveille host the overnight show. Funny thing about Steve Leveille. He had been the overnight host on WBZ since 1991. Back in the beginning of January, he was fired amid a round of budget cuts. The audience was so outraged at his departure, that four weeks later, the station was pretty much forced to bring him back and return him to the overnights. In the last book, WBZ was number three with a 6.1.

WRKO (680 AM) - They’re live from 5:30 to 9 AM with Finneran’s Forum and in the afternoon from 3 to 7 PM with Howie Carr. The rest of the day (yawn) Laura Ingraham, Limbaugh, Savage, etc. etc. etc. zzzzzzzz…………… They do pull a 4.4 in the ratings.

WBUR (90.9 FM) - Another public radio station with the usual mix of NPR and local pulling a 4.6 in the last book.

WTKK (96.9 FM) - Live and local from 7 AM to 10 PM. From 10 PM to 7 AM, the usual syndicated suspects. In the last book they pulled a 3.4.

WRCN (830 AM) - Live and local from 5 AM to 1 PM. Syndicated 1 PM to 5 AM. Currently pulling a 0.2.

WILD (1090 AM) - This is the Boston affiliate for Radio One’s African American-targeted news talk network. It carries almost all of the network programming. In the last book they pulled a 0.1.

11 - Detroit - WJR (760 AM) is live and local from 5:30 to 9 AM with the Paul W. Smith show. They’re also local from 9 AM to noon with Frank Beckmann. From noon until 5:30 AM, you can hear the usual syndicated lineup of Limbaugh, Hannity, Albom, Levin and good ole Dr. Laura. Also here at WJR, between the hours of 1 and 5 AM, you’ll once again find the Midnight Trucking Radio Network, only WJR drops the “trucking” from the show title on their Web site. They do pull a 5.3 in the latest ratings.

WUOM (91.7 FM) is the local public radio station, once again airing local and NPR programs. They pull a 1.1.

WDET (101.9 FM) Another NPR station that pulls a 0.6.

WDTW (1310 AM) - They call themselves “Detroit’s Progressive Talk” and that’s exactly what they are, and it’s all syndicated, nothing live or local. And they manage a 0.2.

CKLW (800 AM) - You know, I have to tell you, writing this one really sort of broke my heart. I remember listening to CK back when they were a super Top 40 powerhouse. It’s where I first heard Walt “Baby” Love and Max Kinkel. “The Big 8, CKLW, the motor city” (remember, Canada didn’t have the top of the hour ID rule that we had in America.). Anyway, they’re a talk station now and believe it or not, they actually look like they’re trying to be as live and local as possible. The places where they’re syndicated is in the overnight with “Coast To Coast”, from 1 to 3 PM with Dr. Joy Browne, then from 7 to 9 PM with Joy Browne again and Clark Howard, and 10 PM to midnight with Dr. Ronald Hoffman and Duke and the Doctor. The rest of the time, live, live, live! And believe it or not, they only managed a 0.1 in the last book.

WDTK (1400 AM) - Another terribly interesting Salem station, same ole, same ole. 0.2 in the last book.

12 - Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood, Fl. - The top talk station in South Florida is WIOD (610 AM) and they’re only live and local in the morning from 5:45 to 10 AM with “South Florida’s First News.” The rest of the day, syndication heaven with Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, Coast to Coast, and on an on. Last book they pulled a 3.1.

WFTL (850 AM) - Live only in morning and afternoon drive. 6 to 9 AM it’s the WFTL Morning News and from 2 to 5 PM they have the Joyce Kaufman show and from 5 to 6 PM it’s WFTL Afternoon News. The rest of the day is filled with Joey Reynolds, Steve Malzberg, Dr. Laura, Michael Savage, and Dennis Miller. In the last ratings they managed a 0.4.

13 - Seattle-Tacoma - The top talk show in Seattle is KUOW (94.9 FM) and is owned by the University of Washington. You can hear the usual NPR shows here, Morning Edition and All Things Considered, but they do mix in some local programming, too. And, believe it or not, this public station pulled a 3.7 in the last book.

KTTH (770 AM) - Live and local from 3 to 6 PM. The rest of the day, Beck, Limbaugh, Medved, Savage, Dr. Laura. And for all their trouble, they managed to pull a 2.8.

KIRO (97.3 FM) - Live and local all day except for the overnight. The day starts with “Seattle’s Morning News” followed at 9 AM by “The Crusader for Common Sense” with Dave Ross. Noon sees Dori Monson take to the airwaves followed at 3 by Ron and Don. The Web site says it’s their job to “give you something to talk about and something to laugh about.” 7 PM and it’s time for “Northwest Nights” with Frank Shiers. They manage to pull a 3.4.

KVI (570 AM) - Live and local only 5 to 6 PM. Just this past November, the station did not renew the contract of their local morning host, instead replacing him with the syndicated Laura Ingraham show. The rest of the day is also the usual syndicated Coast to Coast, Hannity, Levin, and so on. They pull a 1.4.

KPTK (1090 AM) - Completely syndicated progressive talk hosts. Rachel Maddow, Bill Press, Stephanie Miller, Ron Reagan, Randi Rhodes and Mike Malloy. They pull a 1.2.

14 - Puerto Rico -  I have to tell you, this one was a challenge. I don’t speak a whole lot of Spanish, some, but not much. And, of course, all of the Puerto Rican radio station Web sites were in Spanish. So, with the help of a free translator Web site, here goes on the situation with talk radio in Puerto Rico.

The top talk station on the island is the number three overall station WKAQ (580 AM), and from what I was able to figure out, they’re live and local 24/7. They pull a 5.3.

WUNO (630 AM) - Live and local 24/7. Right behind WKAQ with a 3.7.

WSKN (1320 AM) - Also live and local all the time pulling a 3.3. It would seem to me that the people of Puerto Rico have more interest in talk radio than some of us do on the mainland. Oh well, maybe it’s because they have no syndication down there. I’m surprised, though, that no one has come up with a plan to translate Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, et al into Spanish and sell it to our Latin American friends.

15 - Phoenix - The number one talk station in Phoenix is the number four, overall station in the market. And it’s, for your information, KFYI (550 AM). They are live and local from 5 to 10 AM. First up at 5 it’s Michael Broomhead and then at 8 it’s “The Nearly Famous Barry Young Show.” Young, by the by, is the founder, president & CEO of the West Star Talk Radio Network. He is married to syndicated talker Kim Komando. They’re also live and local in the afternoon from 4 to 7 PM with J.D. Hayworth. Hayworth served as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 5^th district of Arizona from 1995-2007. Before his election to congress, he was a sportscaster on KTSP TV in Phoenix. The rest of the day is Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage and Coast to Coast. In the last book, they pulled a 5.2.

Next up is KTAR (92.3 FM). They are live and local in the morning from 5 AM to 12 noon. 5 to 9 is “Arizona’s Morning News” with Ned Foster and Connie Weber. Then from 9 AM to 12 noon it’s Darrell Ankarlo. Ankarlo was involved in a bad traffic accident in April and just recently returned to the air after suffering a mild traumatic brain injury. Ankarlo is quoted as saying that the “scariest words ever said to me were ‘if you were an athlete, this would definitely end your season and most likely end your career.’” He went through months of grueling therapy and finally returned to the airwaves this past September. After three hours of Glenn Beck, the station goes back to being live at 3 PM with Mac and Gaydos. Then at 7 PM, it’s Joe Crummey. You know him, right? If you do, you know him better as “E.J.” He did morning drive at WAPP 1982 to the end of 1983 and then again overnights for a while in 1984 on WNBC. Just for the record, on the KTAR

Web site, he lists his number one sports team as the Yankees. There was nothing listed on the Web site for what’s programmed between 10 PM and 5 AM. In the last ARB, they pulled a 4.4.

KJZZ (91.5 FM) is another public radio station. Along with “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” they put some local programming on the air. They pulled a 2.8 in the last book.

KKNT (960 AM) is another Salem station with the same syndicated Salem programming. Oh, there is one difference here, however. Between 6 and 9 PM they carry Mark Levin. They pull a 1.0.

KFNN (1510 AM) bills themselves as “Financial News Radio.” As near as I could figure out from their terribly complicated Web site, the station is live and local from 6 to 9 AM and again from 4 to 6 PM. The rest of the time looks like it is syndicated, but it is all financial programming. The pull a 0.1 in the ratings.

KFNX (1100 AM) - Another syndicator’s dream station. Imus, Lou Dobbs, Laura Ingraham, Neal Boortz, you name them they’re probably here. Another 0.1.

KPHX (1480 AM) - This one’s the syndicated progressive talker in the market. Bill Press, Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes, etc., etc. And still another 0.2.

16 - Minneapolis-St. Paul - The number five station in the twin-cities is none other than WCCO (830 AM). They are live and local all day long except for the overnights. During that time period, they run “Overnight America” with Jon Grayson, a program that also airs on KMOX in St. Louis and KDKA in Pittsburgh. The station pulled a 6.6 in the last book.

KNOW (91.1 FM) - Another public station that does very well with a mix of NPR stuff and local shows. They pull a 4.8.

KTLK (100.3 FM) - This Clear Channel station went talk on January 2, 2006 and promptly wrestled away the rights to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from KSTP in the market. They are live and local in the morning with Chris Baker from 5 to 9 AM. The rest of the day, though, is just plain syndication. The two mentioned above along with Jason Lewis, Laura Ingraham, Glenn Beck and on and on and on. They pull a 3.7.

KSTP (1500 AM) - KTLK actually did KSTP a favor by taking Limbaugh and Hannity. The station is now live and local from 5:30 AM to midnight. Their afternoon show is called “Garage Logic.” At first glance, I figured, this must be a show all about cars and hot rods and what have you. Wrong. Quoting from the Web site here: “The program is a daily examination of the hottest topics impacting the Twin Cities, untangling the chaotic, and making them understandable with common sense and a sense of humor.” Joe Soucheray, the program’s host says, “anything that needs to be figured out, can be figured out in the garage.” Yeah, I’d probably listen if I lived here. In the last book, KSTP pulled a 1.9. Talk about a ratings roller coaster. In the September book, they pulled a 2.9, went to a 4.5 in October and down to a 1.9 in November. I smell a government bailout coming here.

WFMP (107.1 FM) - This is a women-oriented talk station emphasizing women’s issues, family, lifestyles and fashion. They do not have a working Web site, so it is almost impossible to tell if they’re live or not. They pull a 1.8 in the ratings.

KTNF (950 AM) - All of your favorite progressive syndicated folks are here. They pull a 0.8.

WWTC (1280 AM) - All of your favorite Salem syndicated folks are here. Oh wait, Michael Savage fills the 8 to 11 PM time slot.  Oh, and they call themselves “The Patriot.” What else? They pull a 0.8.

17 - San Diego - KOGO (600 AM) ranks fourth in the market, and they’re local in morning drive between 5 and 9 AM and again from 6 to 8 PM.  Morning drive is “Chip Franklin Mornings.“ Evenings it’s Chris Reed. The rest of the day is the usual” Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, Roger Hedgecock, Overnight. They pull a 5.3 in the ratings.

KPBS (89.5 FM) - Another public station that mixes NPR with local talk. And they do well in the ratings with a 3.5.

KFMB (760 AM) - Once again, live and local only in the mornings between 5 and 9 AM. Rick Roberts is the host of the morning show and he has filled in for Michael Savage. Roberts also makes it a point to occasionally shout out the names of known sexual offenders in the city. They pull a 2.9.

KCBQ (1170 AM) - Once a great Top 40 station, now just another Salem cookie cutter syndicator. They pull a 0.6.

XEPE (1700 AM) - Live and local only from noon to 1 PM and again from 3 to 6 PM. Host of the afternoon program is Jon Elliott. Elliott is the one, you may remember, who, back in 2007, falsely accused “right wingers” of physically attacking Randi Rhodes outside of their radio station. Rhodes later admitted that she fell and hit her head while having a smoke outside of a bar that she was patronizing. Elliott apologized for his accusations.  They pull a 0.2.

18 - Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fl. - WFLA (970 AM) is live only in morning drive from 5 to 9 AM with “AM Tampa Bay.” Jack Harris and Ted Webb host this classic morning show. Webb has been a broadcaster in the Tampa Bay area for over thirty years. The station’s Web site says of Ted, “He is such a fixture around the bay area that it's quite feasible he's met every one living here at least once. “ Harris has been a Tampa Bay broadcaster since 1970. He says one of his first jobs was being a part of the original broadcast team of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He did the locker room show while the team was going 0 and 26. The rest of the day, after 9 AM, is all syndicated, the usual fare. The station does well, though. Last book they pulled a 7.2, good enough for number two

overall.

WHNZ (1250 AM) - Completely and 100% syndicated. They pull a 0.6.

WWBA (820 AM) - Once again, almost totally syndicated except for “Morning Magazine with Mark Larsen” from 6 to 9 A and “Malcolm Out Loud” from 4 to 6 PM. They pull a 0.5.

WGUL (860 AM) - Another Salem syndication special with a 0.4 rating.

WWJB (1450 AM) - Live and local from 6 AM to 2 PM. You have the “WWJB Morning Krew” from 6 to 9 AM, “The Haywire Talk Show” with Bob Haa from 9 AM to 1 PM and the Bob Penrod Show 1 to 2 PM. The rest of the time, all the usual syndicated characters. They pull a 0.7.

19 - Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island), NY - The top talk station on Long Island is WABC (770 AM) with a 3.4, followed by WOR (710 AM) with a 2.3 and WWRL (1600 AM) pulls a 0.1.

20 - St. Louis - For well over 130 books, KMOX (1120 AM) has been the number one station in the St. Louis market. When Arbitron switched St. Louis over to PPM in July, the number one station became WARH, an adult hits station. In July they pulled a 9.2 to KMOX’s 7.3, August saw them at 8.9 to 7.7 and September was 8.8 to 7.1. As you might imagine, with call letters like that, they call themselves “The Arch.” Very clever, huh? Anyway, KMOX is still number two in the market and the only time they’re not live and local is during the Rush Limbaugh show from 11 AM to 2 PM and in the overnight when “Overnight America” with Jon Grayson airs. As was mentioned before, Overnight America also airs on KDKA and WCCO. The rest of the time, they’re completely live and local. One interesting host which I found is a guy by the name of John Carney, who does 8 PM to midnight. John is the son of St. Louis legend, and former WABC afternoon man Jack Carney. As it says on their Web site, “For over 40 years, St. Louisans’ have found comfort in the fact that there has been a Carney on the KMOX radiowaves.” As I mentioned before, KMOX is number two in the market with a 7.9.

KTRS (550 AM) - This is probably one very interesting talk station. They are only syndicated in the overnights with Coast To Coast airing from 9 PM to 5 AM. The rest of the time is all local. From “Agri-Biz” with Dave Schumacher at 5 AM to “The Large Morning Show in the Afternoon”, this station seems to be the kind you could sit and listen to for a while. From noon to 3 PM they have a show called “The Mindset with John Brown and Trish Gazall.” Here’s a brief description of the show from their Web site, “John Brown has been called a truth detector. He’s even one or two parts conspiracy theorist. One thing is for sure, he’s infinitely curious about what makes people tick.” As for “The Large Morning Show in the Afternoon”, it’s hosted by, ready?, Frank O. Pinion, the highest rated and highest paid radio personality in St. Louis. Along for the ride is Frank, the world’s worst producer, Ian Geisz, otherwise known as “Ian the peon” and Tina Dalpiaz. Does it sound interesting? I think I’d listen to see what’s it’s all about. In the last book, they pulled a 2.1. Here’s another downward spiral for you. In August and September they pulled a 5.2. October down to 4.0 and 2.1 in November.

KWMU (90.7 FM) - St. Louis Public Radio. The usual mix of NPR and local pulling a 3.2.

KTFK (97.1 FM) - They’re live and local from 6 to 9 AM with “Allman in the Morning,” 4 to 7 PM with ‘The Dave Glover Show” and from 7 to 8 PM with “The Dana Show.” The rest of the time, syndicated with the likes of Laura Ingraham, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Michael Savage. They pull a 2.8 in the ratings.

21 - Denver-Boulder - The big talker here is KOA (850 AM). The station starts out the day live and local with “Colorado’s Morning News” with Steffan Tubbs and April Zesbaugh. If the name Steffan Tubbs means something to you, you’re probably right. He worked at ABC Radio for several years and was on the air the night of September 11, 2001. He also worked for WNYW Channel 5 here in New York for awhile. Live an local continues from 9 AM to noon with Mike Rosen. Rosen has filled in for Rush Limbaugh a few times and is listed by Talkers Magazine at number 82 on their list of the most important radio talk show hosts. After a three hour pause for Rush Limbaugh, KOA returns to live and local with “The Ride Home” with Dave and Lois. From 7 to 10 PM they do a show called “KOA Evenings.” From 10 PM to 1 AM is Jon Caldara who calls himself the president of “the Independence Institute” Colorado's free-market think tank in Golden, Colorado. KOA is even live and local overnight with Rick Barber. Barber has been described as “an Eisenhower Republican who hates George Bush with a passion.” KOA is the radio station where Alan Berg broadcast. Berg, you might remember, was shot and killed by members of the white supremacist group “The Order” in 1984. Another famous ex-KOA talker was our own George Weber who worked here in 1987as a highly rated night time talk show host. In the last book, KOA pulled a 6.5, good enough for number two in the market.

KCFR (90.1 FM) - Colorado Public Radio. They carry all the usual NPR shows, “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition,” etc., along with their own local program called “Colorado Matters.” They pull a 3.4.

KHOW (630 AM) - Live and local 5 to 9 AM with Peter Boyles and again the afternoon from 3 to 6 PM with Caplis and Silverman. The rest of the time, the usual syndication crew. They pull a 2.7.

KNUS (710 AM) - All the usual Salem syndication here along with Sean Hannity and Mark Levin, good Americans one and all. They do the usual Salem 0.6 here.

KKZN (760 AM) - Live and local in the morning from 6 to 10 AM, and again from 4 to 7 PM, with the rest of the time filled by most of the syndicated progressive talkers. They pull a 0.7.

KTNI (101.5 FM) - The call themselves “The Truth” and the truth is, they are  100% syndicated. Mancow, Boortz, Doyle, Savage, Humphries, Sliwa, yeah, they’re all here. And the further truth is, they only manage a 0.1.

Now that we’ve done the top 20, let’s take a look at some other important markets.

22 - Baltimore - WBAL (1090 AM) - Live and local from 5 AM to 9 PM. 5 AM starts the day with “Maryland’s Morning News” with Dave Durian. Next at 9 is Shari Elliker who has been awarded “Best Talk Show” by the Associated Press in 2007 and 2008 and has  won two Air Awards. At noon is the “C4” Show, hosted by Clarence M. Mitchell IV. Clarence graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute at age 17 and was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1998, representing the same district that his father, Clarence M. Mitchell III did. At 3 PM Ron Smith takes to the air. Ron has been involved in discussions with his audience for some 18 years. 6 PM it’s “Sportsline” and then at 9, WBAL gets into their syndication. They do well, pulling a 3.7.

WYPR (88.1 FM) - Another public station with some local programming like “Maryland Morning,” “Midday with Dan Rodricks” and “The Signal.” The pull a 2.9.

WCBM (680 AM) - Live and local in the morning from 6 to 9 AM, and from 9 AM to noon. They also do a tad of live and local from 6 to 7 PM. The refer to themselves as “The most powerful names in talk.” Well, after the local stuff, you get Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, Savage, Coast To Coast and Les Kinsolving. They manage to do a 3.0.

WAMU (88.5 FM) - Another public radio station. They pull a 1.5.

WOLB (1010 AM) - This is another talk station aimed at the African-American community and is owned by Radio One. The programming, however, leaves a lot to be desired. They’re only live and local in the morning from 6 to 10:15 AM. The rest of the day is filled with syndicated Warren Ballentine and Al Sharpton, who, according to their Web site, is on from 3 to 6 AM, 1 to 3:45 PM and 6 PM to midnight. The pull a 0.1.

24 - Pittsburgh - KDKA (1020 AM) - They’re the number two station in the market overall. They’re live and local from 5 AM to 10 PM and syndicated 10 PM to 5 AM. KDKA Morning News starts the day with Larry Richert and John Shumway. KDKA Afternoon News takes you home with Paul Rasmussen and Rose Ryan-Douglas. There’s also “The Inside Story” with Marty Griffin 9 AM to noon, The Fred Honsberger Show from noon to 3 PM, and Pintek Tonight with Mike Pintek from 6 to 10 PM. KDKA pulled a 7.7 in the last rating. As you probably know, Fred Honsberger passed away on December 16^th. His show is still listed on the schedule page at the Web site. There are, however, links on the homepage where you can contribute to the Salvation Army in Mr. Honsberger’s name. He started at KDKA on January 5^th of this year after working at the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel since 1999. His last show on KDKA was December 8^th. He was 58 years old.

WPGB (104.7 FM) - The station is only live from 6 to 10 AM with Quinn and Rose and from 6 to 8 PM with Ellis Cannon. The rest of the time, Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, Coast To Coast. Oh, and that Quinn on in the morning is none other than Jim Quinn who worked at WPLJ in 1974 and WPIX FM back in 1973. “FM News Talk” pulls a 6.9 in the ratings.

WMNY (1360 AM) - This is Pittsburgh’s business and financial information station. They take syndicated feeds from Bloomberg, Business Talk Radio, CNN, Wall Street Journal Radio, Fox News Radio, Neal Cavuto and Lou Dobbs. They also air some local programming. Their Web site claims that they target “an affluent educated adult 25-54 listener, bringing a blend of breaking national, international and local discussion. However, in today’s rapidly changing economy with more people investing in the stock and bond markets through employer benefits, the audience will include a broader base of success oriented consumers.” As such, they pull a 0.2 in the ratings.

28 - Cincinnati - The number one station in the market is WLW (700 AM). The station is almost entirely live and local except for “America’s Truckin’ Network” from midnight to 5 AM. In fact, WLW is the flagship station for the truckin’ network. You may know the morning man here at WLW. His name is Jim Scott and he worked at WNBC way back in 1972. In the last book they pulled a 10.2. Just goes to show what you can do when you have 50,000 watts and a total commitment to your community.

WKRC (550 AM) - This station is live only from 5 to 9 AM and from 6 to 7 PM. The rest of the time, Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, you know the lot. They are number three in the market with a 6.3.

29 - Cleveland - The number one station in the market is WTAM (1100 AM) - Here you’ll find “Cleveland’s most comprehensive morning information program.” Bill Wills and Mike Snyder host this live and local morning show from 5 to 9 AM. Then at 3 PM it’s Mike Trivisonno, host of “the most entertaining and  informative show on Cleveland radio.” 7 PM brings us Bob Frantz with live, local talk every week night. Of course, you’ll also find Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Coast To Coast here, too. Number one with an 8.3.

WHK (1420 AM) - The station that once hosted Don Imus (funny days, pre-syndication), Johnny Holliday, Russ “Weird Beard” Knight, Neil McIntyre, Tim Byrd, Pete (Mad Daddy) Myers and Norm N. Nite now hosts Salem syndication. Yuck with a capital Y. Hey, for a Salem station, they do alright, though. A hefty 1.1.

WEOL (930 AM) - This station is live and local only from 6:30 to 9 AM. The rest of the time, all of the usual syndication. They pull a 0.5.

32 - Kansas City - The big talker in Kansas City is KMBZ (980 AM). They have a live and local morning show “Kansas City’s Morning News” with EJ and Ellen. They’re also live in afternoon drive with “Shanin and Parks.” Then from 6 to 9 PM it’s “980 Live with Darla Jaye.” Now this is nice, I mean live and local nine hours a day and in the most crucial time slots. The rest of the time is syndicated stuff with a repeat on Rush Limbaugh from 1 to 4 AM. For all of you right wing insomniacs. KMBZ does well with a 4.9 in the last book.

KCMO (710 AM) - This is one of those we only care about you in the morning radio stations with a live morning show and syndication clogging up the rest of the day. They pull a 3.4.

33 - Las Vegas - KNXT (840 AM) - Live and local morning and afternoon drive. The rest of the time, the usual syndicated stuff. They pull a 4.2.

KDWN (720 AM) - Live and local in the morning only with Heidi Harris. Heidi was honored by Talkers Magazine as one of the 100 most influential talk hosts in America in 2004, 2005 and 2006. She got these honors while working at KNXT. The rest of the day is syndicated. They pulled a 2.1 in the last book.

KDOX (1280 AM) - Total, 100% syndication. Very attractive Web site, however, showing all these pictures of all of their syndicated hosts. Good enough for a 0.8.

37 - Milwaukee-Racine - WTMJ (620 AM) is the number one station in this market. And well they should be. They’re live and local from 5 AM to 8 PM except for a break between 2 and 3 PM. They also appear to be fairly live and local on the weekends. Gee, all this good stuff in market number 37. They pull a 10.7. Once again, it’s just amazing what you can do with 50,000 watts and mostly local radio station. Well, here in New York, at least we have the 50,000 watts. Now if we only knew what to do with it.

WISN (1130 AM) - They are live and local from 6 AM to noon and again from 3 to 6 PM. The rest of the time syndicated. They pull a 6.2.

WMCS (1290 AM) - This is an African-American talk station and appears to be live except for the Rev. Al Sharpton’s show from noon to 3 PM. From 6 to 11 PM, the station plays “Blues After Dark” with Phil Anderson. They pull a 1.4.

40 - Indianapolis - WIBC (93.1 FM) - They are live and local from 5 AM to noon and again from 3 to 7 PM. They pull a 6.4.

WXNT (1430 AM) - Live and local on from 5 to 9 AM. They pull a 0.9.

44 - Nashville - WWTN (99.7 FM) - Live and local 5 AM to noon. They pull a 4.9.

WLAC (1510 AM) - Live and local from 5 to 11 AM.  In the last book they pulled a 3.7. In looking at the Nashville ARB’s, I noticed that the big country station in the market came in fifth with a 5.7. I found that sort of odd considering that this is the country music capital of the world.

48 - Oklahoma City - KTOK (1000 AM) - That’s for those of you who pronounce “talk” as “tok.” Anyway, they’re live and local from 5 to 8 AM (morning drive ends quickly in Oklahoma City. And again from 5 to7 PM. I thought this was funny. On their Web site, they had these beautiful pictures of all of their syndicated hosts but no pictures of the local hosts. Well, I guess they know which side of the bread is buttered, huh? They pull a 5.5.

KOKC (1520 AM) - Once again, live and local only in morning drive from 5 to 8 AM. I guess there’s not much traffic in Oklahoma City and everybody makes it to work by 8. They pull a 1.1.

KRMG (740 AM / 102.3 FM) - Here’s where you find Limbaugh, Hannity and Savage. Live and local only from 5 to 8:30 AM. Gee, they give you an extra half hour of morning drive here. They pull a 0.5.

55 - New Orleans - WWL AM& FM (870 & 105.3)- The fourth ranked station in the Big Easy. They are live and local except for the overnights between midnight and 5 AM. WWL pulls a 6.6.

WRNO (99.5 FM) - Believe it or not, they actually call themselves “Rush Radio.” The only time they’re live and local is 5 to 9 AM and again from 5 to 8 PM. With a name like “Rush Radio,” guess who’s on daily from 11 AM to 2 PM. You’ll also find Hannity, Levin, Beck, Dennis Miller and Coast To Coast here. Rush manages a 5.1.

WIST (690 AM) - They’re live and local from 10 AM to 6 PM. Then from 6 PM to 10 AM, they play America’s Greatest Music. They pull a 0.4.

Before I close this look at talk radio, I’d like to go to the absolutely last rated Arbitron market. That would be market number 318, Santa Fe, New Mexico. And the big talk station in that market is KKOB (770 AM). KKOB used to be known as KOB and is best known around here as the only other 50,000 watt radio station on 770 in the United States. KKOB, in the last rated market in the country, is live and local from 5 to 10 AM with Bob Clark. Bob’s been with KKOB since 2006. They’re live again from 3 to 7 PM with Jim Villanucci. Jim was at one time a writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. From 7 to 9 PM it’s “Sportstalk” with Scott Stiegler. Scott’s been a broadcaster in Santa Fe since 1988, having worked as a sportscaster at KOB TV from 1988 to 1998. He’s also a two-time champion of a local media fantasy football league. KKOB is number three in the market with a 5.2. By the way, KKOB is owned by Citadel. They spend their money in Santa Fe but not New York.

And that pretty much sums up the state of talk radio in America. If you haven’t gathered by now, then I must tell you that I am not a big fan of syndication. I like live and local. Not just talk radio, but everywhere in radio programming. I don’t like Ryan Seacrest, Billy Bush, Delilah or Blair Garner who does the overnight country show. To me, syndication of any kind is just another way of putting people out of jobs. And for what it’s worth, that’s just the way things are today. The big corps don’t want to pay the money and it’s easier and cheaper to go with syndication. Actually, it’s not that the big corps don’t want to pay the money, they just figure that if they don’t pay the money, that’s that much more money that they’re making. Get it? As you may have gathered from my last “Editor’s Notes,” I’m not a big fan of talk radio syndication in any way, shape, or form. I used to like Sean Hannity, now he’s just another rich Republican cheer leader trying to shove his opinions down my throat. He and Rush and Michael Savage can keep their opinions to themselves because I’m not interested in being told how to live my life or what I should think. I understand Glenn Beck is now traveling around with an armed body guard. I guess you really do pay for what you say. But you want to know what really, really bothers me. We live in the greatest city in the world. A-number-one, top of the heap, king of the hill. The city that never sleeps. And what do we get here for talk radio. Garbage. I can’t tell you the last time I listened to a New York City talk radio station. Look at Los Angeles and Chicago. They have two of the greatest talk stations in the country and what do we get here in New York? WABC, once the greatest radio station in the world and now nothing more than a cesspool of talk radio syndication. Oh they throw us a lousy live two hours, no wait, now it’s only a lousy one hour a day. From 5 to 6 AM. I don’t wake up until 6 AM. And they throw us a bone for a few hours on Sunday. Who listens to the radio on Sunday? WABC doesn’t need a program director. All they need is someone to make sure the wires to the supplying networks are all hooked up properly. People always say it’s a shame New York doesn’t have a country station, or an adult standards station. What is really a shame is that New York doesn’t have a radio station where we can go to discuss topics that concern our city. For crying out loud, we had a mayoral election going on and a bitterly contested gubernatorial election in New Jersey and you couldn’t talk about it on New York radio. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what’s really a shame. That’s it. I’ve said my peace, for what it’s worth. And once again, I must tell you that if you really want good talk radio around here, check out New Jersey 101.5. It’s all mostly New Jersey talk, but at least it’s local talk.

So just where does all of this syndication come from. There are several major suppliers. Probably the biggest syndicator is the Premier Radio Network. Their roster of talk shows includes: Coast To Coast with George Noory, Dr. Dean Edell, Dr. Laura (by the way, her PhD is in physiology, a degree which has absolutely nothing to do with human interpersonal relationships), Glenn Beck, Jason Lewis, Randi Rhodes, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and they also have a syndicated show called “The Jesus Christ Show,” with your host, Jesus Christ. You can look it up if you want.

Next up would probably be Citadel Media who’s syndicated lineup includes Mark Levin, Mike Huckabee, Imus, Joe Scarborough, Curtis Sliwa, Roe Conn, Doug Limerick Morning and Afternoon News and Focus On the Family.

Talk Radio Network is where Phil Boyce went after he left WABC. Boyce is now president of the TRN syndication unit. TRN’s syndication includes Michael Savage, Rusty Humphries, Laura Ingraham, Jerry Doyle, Mancow, Phil Hendrie and Monica Crowley.

The Salem Radio Network provides Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt, Howard Garrett, Karen Masterson Koch and Mark Walters. You can hear them all on every single Salem talk radio station in the country.

The WOR Radio Network supplies such syndication as Dr. Joy Browne, Steve Malzberg, Dr. Ronald Hoffman, Joan Hamburg and Joey Reynolds.

Westwood One is another syndicator of talk shows. Their lineup includes America In the Morning with Jim Bohannon, Larry King Live, Dennis Miller, Fred Thompson and Phil Valentine.

Let us not forget Air America. Here you’ll find Montel Williams, Rachel Maddow, Lionel, Ron Reagan and Nicole Sandler. Problem here, of course, is that most of the Air America affiliates have a daytime coverage map of maybe three miles.

West Star Radio Network is a fledgling syndicator who’s only big show now is Kim Komando.

Another big syndicator is Dial Global who’s responsible for Bill Press, Clark Howard, Ed Schultz, Neil Boortz, Smerconish, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann and the Midnight Radio Network. Turns out that the Midnight Radio Network is a syndicated show that runs from 1 to 6 AM and is hosted by Eric Harley, described as a legend in the trucking industry, and Gary McNamara, a 15-year talk radio veteran. While the show aims at the trucking industry, they cover everything from national news, weather, road conditions, sports and business updates. They do manage to cover most of the country, being carried on such 50,000 watt powerhouses as WJR, WLS, WBAP, KBOI and KOKC.

Fox News Radio is another big syndicator supplying such shows as Alan Colmes, Brian and the Judge, Tom Sullivan and John Gibson.

Through all my research into talk radio and the syndicators, I did find one network that made me realize just how far we’ve come in our thinking processes. That network is the “Free Thought Radio Network” and it’s pretty much aimed at atheists and agnostics. In it’s scrolling at the top of the page it also includes religion critics and historians, freethinkers, skeptics, secular humanists and naturalists, liberal and conservative atheists. They’re proud to be celebrating five years of free radio for free thinkers. It’s pretty much just an Internet feed, but I thought I’d mention it here because I looked at this one and shook my head. I wanted you to be able to do the same if you so desire.

There is one more thing that I wanted to discuss here, that being Sean Hannity’s use of the song “Independence Day” as his theme song. I’m sure Sean thinks this is a good ole American song. It stands for freedom and independence. This song is all about the fourth of July, the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air. Hooray for all of us good Americans. For those of you who may not know, the song is about a poor woman who gets herself out of an abusive relationship by burning down her house and killing herself and her abusive husband, leaving behind an eight-year-old daughter. Independence Day refers to the woman finally getting her independence from some bum who used to beat her up. How glorious is that? The writer of this song Gretchen Peters has objected to Hannity’s use of this song as a theme. She has staged her own personal protests to his use of this song by donating to organizations such as the ACLU, PFLAG and MoveOn.org. In October of 2008, the song was used to introduce Sarah Palin at a Republican rally. Peters publicly objected to this use of her song and decided to donate all royalties from the song during the election cycle to Planned Parenthood in Palin’s name. Peters said that Palin’s opposition to abortion even in cases of rape or incest represented the exact opposite of what this song was all about.

And that is my look at talk radio in the U.S. today. There’s a lot of good, and there’s a lot of bad. I guess it’s just like everything else. You either love it, or you hate it. Unfortunately, the way I see things, there’s a lot more to hate than to love. Unless it’s live and local.

And now for our annual look back on anniversaries divided by five.

1925 - 85 years ago

WMCA first signs on - 1 February

John B. Gambling starts at WOR - 4 November

1930 - 80 years ago

NBC first broadcasts from 30 Rock - 11 November

1935 - 75 years ago

First Make Believe Ballroom on WNEW - 3 February

WOR goes to 50,000 watts - 4 March

1940 - 70 years ago

WNBC FM signs on as W2XWG - 11 January

1945 - 65 years ago

ABC Radio Network debuts - 15 June

First Arthur Godfrey Time - 30 April

1955 - 55 years ago

First Monitor on NBC - 12 June

WGHF (101.9 FM) changes call letters to WBFM - 17 November

1960 - 50 years ago

WABC changes format to Top 40 - December 7

WRCA changes call letters to WNBC - 20 May

Alan Freed & Mel Leeds, WINS PD indicted for payola - 19 May

1965 - 45 years ago

WLIB FM (107.5) signs on - 15 September

WINS changes format to all news - 19 April

WJRZ changes format to country - 15 September

WQXR moves transmitter to Empire State Building - 9 December

Chuck Leonard starts at WABC - 6 September

Ron Lundy starts at WABC - 1 September

Murray the K leaves WINS - 27 February

Alan Freed dies - 20 January

1970 - 40 years ago

WCBS expands all news format to 24 hours - 1 January

WMCA switches from Top 40 to all talk - 21 September

American Top 40 debuts - 4 July

Dan Daniel leaves WMCA - 11 July

1975 - 35 years ago

WHOM FM (92.3) switches from Spanish to WKTU mellow - 5 June

WNBC FM (97.1) changes call letters to WNWS - 18 June

WQIV (104.3 FM) ends its run as an AOR station - 19 August

WNCN classical format returns to 104.3 FM - 25 August

Monitor does last show on NBC - 26 January

Joe McCoy starts as a disc jockey at WCBS FM - 2 February

1980 - 30 years ago

Storer sells WHN (1050 AM) to Mutual for $14 million - 29 February

WPIX FM (101.9) changes format from new wave back to pop - 14 April

WRVR (106.7) jazz becomes WKHK country - 8 September

Randy Davis starts at WYNY (97.1 FM) - 15 December

Harry Harrison starts at WCBS FM - 24 March

Mike McCann starts at WYNY - 27 July

1985 - 25 years ago

WKTU (92.3) CHR becomes WXRK AOR - 13 July

Dan Ingram starts at WKTU (92.3 FM) - 14 January

1990 - 20 years ago

John R. Gambling takes over Rambling With Gambling - 15 December

1995 - 15 years ago

WSKQ (620 AM) becomes WXLX - 3 April

Howard Cosell dies - 23 April

2000 - 10 years ago

WKDM (1380 AM) changes call letters to WNNY - 21 July

WNNY launches Spanish all news format - 27 September

WCBS FM moves to 1515 Broadway - 17 August

WADO (1280 AM) powers up to 50 Kw day / 7.2 Kw night - 7 August

Frankie Crocker dies - 21 October

John R. Gambling does last show at WOR - 11 September

2005 - 5 years ago

WCBS FM switches to the Jack format - 3 June

WCAA (105.9 FM) switches to “Reggaeton” “La Kalle” - 27 May

WOR moves to 111 Broadway - 30 April

Ted Brown dies - 20 March

APPLE BITES CALENDAR FOR

JANUARY

BIRTHDAYS

  1 - Ted Cott - WNYC, WNEW, WNBC

  1 - Clay Cole - WINS

  2 - Julius La Rosa - WNEW

  4 - Al “Jazzbeaux” Collins - WNEW, WNBC, WINS,

  8 - Soupy Sales - WNBC

10 - Don Gardiner - ABC Staff Announcer

11 - Pete Salant - WYNY (PD)

12 - Rush Limbaugh - WABC

12 - Howard Stern - WXRK, Sirius

12 - Paul Cassidy - WCBS FM

14 - George Ansbro - ABC Staff Announcer

14 - Bumper Morgan - WXLO - WPIX FM - WNBC

16 - Bob Gibson - NBC Radio News, WCBS, ABC Radio News, WCBS, WNEW     AM, WMCA, WINS, WOR

18 - Dene Hallam - WHN (PD), WKHK (PD)

21 - Wolfman Jack - WNBC

21 - Felix Hernandez - WBGO & WRKS

25 - APPLE BITES Editor Vince Santarelli

25 - Ernie Harwell - Dodgers & Giants baseball play-by-play

25 - Norm N. Nite - WCBS FM

25 - Tommy Smalls (“Dr. Jive”) - WWRL

25 - B.J. Stone - WNJR, WRKS

26 - Alison Steele - WNEW FM, WPIX FM, WXRK

26 - Lauren Santarelli - Daughter of Vince (see above)

27 - Dead Air Dave / Dylan - WXRK, WWFS

28 - Bill White - Voice of The Yankees 1971 - 1988

28 - Wayne Cabot - WINS, WCBS

31 - Joe Causi - WKTU, WNEW FM, WCBS FM

31 - Craig Carton - WFAN

 DEATHS

  1 - Jim Karvellas - voice of New York Knicks - 2007

  2 - Milton Cross - Voice of The Metropolitan Opera on WQXR - 1975

  3 - Marty Glickman - Voice of Giants, Knicks & Rangers - 2001

  6 - Thom O’Hair - WQIV PD - 2001

  8 - John A. Gambling - WOR - 2004

  8 - Jim Lounsberry - WPIX FM, WOR FM, WABC, WRFM - 2006

10 - Dean Hunter - WHN - 1999

14 - Don Carney - WOR (Uncle Don) - 1954

17 - Joel Sebastian - WNEW - WKHK - WHN - WNBC - 1986

18 - Steve Flanders - WCBS - 1983

18 - Harry Fleetwood - WNBC, WRCA, WNCN - 2004

20 - Alan Freed - WINS, WABC - 1965

20 - Ken Harper - WPIX FM - 1988

23 - Bob "Bob-A-Loo" Lewis - WABC - WABC FM - WCBS FM - 1987

24 - Mary Thomas - WKTU, WBLS, WXLO/WRKS, WQHT, WQCD - 1999

25 - Bill Slater - Voice of New York Giants (Baseball) - 1965

26 - Bob Brown - WAAT, WNTA, WJRZ, WWDJ, WNWS, WVNJ - 2005

28 - Stan Martin - WPIX FM, WNEW, WRFM, WTFM, WHN, WKTU, WQEW - 2003

30 - Pegeen Fitzgerald - WOR - 1989

31 - Major Edwin Armstrong - founder of FM radio - 1954

31 - Irv Smith - WINS - 1959

31 - Peter Tripp - WMGM - 2000

31 - Michael O’Neill - WMCA, WHN, WINS - 2006

RADIO ANNIVERSARIES

  1 - Blue Network signs on - 1927

  1 - Martin Block Moves TO WABC (770 AM) - 1954

  1 - WRVR (106.7 FM) Signs on - 1961

  1 - ABC Radio Network splits into four separate networks - 1968

  1 - Alison Steele starts at AOR WNEW FM (102.7) - 1968

  1 - Roby Yonge officially starts at WABC - 1968

  1 - WCBS Expands news format to 24-hours - 1970

  1 - WNWS Becomes WYNY (Y-97) (97.1 FM) - 1977

  1 - WEVD (97.9 FM) Switches to 1050 AM - 1989

  1 - 1050 WUKQ moves to 620 AM

  1 - WSKQ Takes over 97.9 FM - 1989

  1 - WXRK (92.3 FM) changes call letters to WFNY - 2006

  2- WABC (770 AM) transmitter moves to Lodi, NJ - 1944

  3 - Cap Cites takes over ABC - 1986

  3 - “Free FM” debuts on WFNY - 2006

  4 - Last “Music Till Dawn” on WCBS - 1970

  4 - WBBR (1130 AM) Begins financial news programming - 1993

  5 - WXRK (92.3 FM) changes to Modern Rock - 1996

  8 - Max Kinkel starts at WCBS FM - 1983

  9 - Howard Stern moves to Sirius Satellite Radio - 2006

  9 - WNEW FM (102.7) changes call letters to WWFS - 2007

10 - Howard Cosell does first “Speaking of Everything” program on WABC - 1965

11 - WNBC FM signs on as W2XWG at 42.6 Mhz - 1940

12 - Last “Top 20 Countdown on WCBS FM - 2003 (the year was 1974)

13 - Bob Grant does last show at WOR - 2006

14 - NBC starts top of the hour newscasts, 7 AM - 11 PM - 1957

14 - Dan Ingram starts at WKTU (92.3 FM) - 1985

14 - Radio Unica buys WBAH (1660 AM) and changes call letters to WWRU

18 - First Howard Cosell “Speaking of Everything” - 1965

20 - WPAT FM (93.1) changes to the "Suave" format - 1996

21 - WYNY (103.5 FM) confirms rumors that they are dropping country - 1996

21 - WNSR (105.1 FM) becomes WBIX “Big 105” - 1998

22 - “Casey’s Top 40” debuts on WHTZ (100.3 FM) - 1989

23 - WNBC (660 AM) switches from classical to pop - 1954

23 - WKHK (106.7 FM) country becomes WLTW "Lite FM" - 1984

25 - WQXR purchased by New York Times for $1 million - 1944

26 - NBC’s  “Monitor” broadcast for the last time (John Bartholomew Tucker host) - 1975

26 - Bob Gibson does the last Monitor News Update - 1975

27 - WNYC (820 AM & 93.9 FM) taken over by “WNYC Foundation” - 1997

27 - WNEW FM (102.7) drops talk format in favor of music - 2003

30 - WGL signs on - 1927 (would eventually become WOV and WADO)

APPLE BITES CALENDAR FOR

FEBRUARY

BIRTHDAYS

 2 - Kenny Albert - New York Rangers

 2 - Michael Kay - New York Yankees & YES

 2 - Jack the Wack - WPIX FM, WHTZ

 2 - Linda Silver - WMXV (MD) (aka Shauna King at WHTZ)

 2 - Joe Causi - WKTU, WNEW FM, WCBS FM

 3 - Dennis Elsas - WNEW FM, WFUV

 3 - Helen Little, WBLS, WWPR, WLTW

 4 - Al Bandiero - WXLO, WKTU, WQHT, WPLJ, WTJM, WKTU

 5 - John A. Gambling - WOR

 6 - Kathy Millar - WLTW

 6 - Chris Quimby - WCBS (PD)

 7 - Oscar Brand - WNYC

 7 - G. Keith Alexander - WBLS, WRKS, WKTU (original), WRVR, WTJM

 9 - Ian Eagle - WFAN, Nets

 9 - Bob Hite - CBS announcer

11 - Bill Buchner - WLTW

12 - Pat St. John - WPLJ, WNEW FM, WCBS FM, WAXQ

12 - Maureen Donnelly  (wife of Dan Ingram)

12 - Ed Lover - WBLS, WQHT, WTJM, WWPR

14 - Mel Allen - Voice of the Yankees

14 - Gabe Pressman - WRCA

14 - Murray the K - WMCA, WMGM, WINS, WOR FM, WNBC, WKTU

14 - John Rydgren (“Brother John”) - WABC FM

14 - Joe Nolan - WPLJ Traffic Guy

17 - Red Barber - Dodgers, Yankees (“The Ole Red Head”)

17 - Chris Angelo - WCBS FM (Production Director)

18 - Bill Cullen - WNBC

19 - Sandy Becker - WWRL, WNBC, WNEW

19 - Jim Gordon - WINS, WABC, WNEW, Voice of the football Giants 1977 - 1995

18 - Bill Cullen - WNBC

22 - Tony Warren - WCBS FM

DEATHS

  4 - Jim Ameche - WHN - 1983

  4 - Junior Hernandez - WSKQ - 1998

  9 - Willie Bryant - WOR, WHOM - 1964

  9 - Johnny Michaels - WOR FM, WMCA, WNEW FM, WCBS FM, WJTU, WBLS,                                                    WNBC - 2002

15 - Wally Parker - WNEW, WABC - 2005

17 - Barney Pip - WPIX FM - 1994

17 - Jim Gordon - Voice of the New York football Giants - 2003

18 - Bob Hite - CBS announcer - 2000

19 - Bob Cruz - WABC - 1995

20 - Jim Woods - Yankees, Giants baseball - 1988

21 - Murray The K - WINS - 1982

21 - Tom Mercein - WNEW, WPIX FM  - 1999

25 - Jack Lazare - WNEW - 2006

26 - Bert Lee - WOR, WMCA, WHN, WINS - 2004

28 - Paul Harvey - ABC Radio Network - 2009

RADIO ANNIVERSARIES

  1 - WOR (710 AM) officially moves to New York City - 1941

  1 - WRFM moves transmitter to ESB - 1967

  1 - 1050 AM becomes WEVD - 1989

  2 - Joe McCoy starts as a disc jockey at WCBS FM - 1975

  2 - Laurie Cantillo starts as PD at WABC - 2009

  3 - Martin Block starts at WNEW (1130 AM) - 1935

  4 - WYNY (103.5 FM) drops country - 1996

  5 - WNYC FM signs on as W39NY - 1941

  5 - WQCD Smooth Jazz becomes WRXP Rock - 2008

  6 - WMCA signs on at 88 AM - 1925

  6 - Former WMCA Good Guy Joe O’Brien retires - 2000

  7 - Beatles arrive in New York - 1964

  9 - Murray The K brings John, Paul & Ringo to the Peppermint Lounge - 1964

10 - Johnny Holliday starts at WINS - 1964

10 - “The New” WKTU officially debuts at 103.5 FM - 1996

10 - WLIB (1190 AM) switches to 24-hour operation - 1999

11 - Last “Soul Of the City” on WCBS FM - 2001

11 - WNYZ FM (87.7 FM) signs on - 2008

12 - Beatles concert at Carnegie Hall with WMCA Good Guys - 1964

13 - WNEW (1130 AM) Signs on - 1934

13 - The “Make Believe Ballroom” debuts on WNEW - 1935

14 - WABC FM (95.5) becomes WPLJ - 1971

14 - Last “Jukebox Saturday Night” on WCBS FM - 2001

22 - WOR (710 AM) signs on - 1922

22 - WABC announces that they will change to a talk format -1982

23 - Jay Reynolds does first show at WABC (770 AM) - 1970

26 - WMCA FM changes call letters to WHOM FM - 1951

26 - WHN (1050 AM) changes to country music - 1973

26 - Jay Reynolds does last show at WABC - 1976

27 - Murray the K does last show at WINS (1010 AM) - 1965

28 - WMGM (1050 AM) - Top 40 becomes WHN - MOR - 1962

28 - WABC FM starts “Love” format - 1969

28 - WNSW (1430 AM) drops the adult standards format - 2001

28 - Sale of WEVD (1050 AM) to ABC approved by FCC - 2003

29 - Storer sells WHN (1050 AM) to Mutual for $14 million - 1980

29 - John R. Gambling does last show at WABC - 2008

APPLE BITES CALENDAR FOR

MARCH

BIRTHDAYS

  1 - Vaughn Harper - WBLS

  4 - Tommy Edwards - WOR FM

  5 - Hank Spann - WWRL

  6 - Sean Casey - WOR FM, WPLJ, WWDJ, WCBS FM

  8 - Douglas “Jocko” Henderson - WHAT, WOV, WNTA, WADO, WWRL

  9 - Joe Franklin - WOR

  9 - Dave Stewart - WPLJ

11 - Johnny Allen - WRKS, WTJM, WKTU

12 - Cynthia Jay wife of WCBS FM’s Bobby Jay

14 - Bob Grant - WMCA, WABC, WOR, WABC

15 - Mel Phillips - WCBS FM programming assistant - former PD WXLO, WNBC

15 - Chris Welch - WRKS, WBLS, WDBZ

15 - Steve Young - WNEW (PD)

17 - E-Bro - WQHT (PD)

19 - Bob Cruz - WABC

20 - Ray Goulding - WINS, WHN, WOR

20 - Mike Francesa - WFAN

21 - Phil Pepe - former WCBS FM Sports Director

23 - George Weber - WABC

24 - George Michael - WABC

25 - Howard Cosell - WABC Sports

25 - Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton - WHTZ, WKTU

26 - Bob Elliott - WINS, WHN, WOR (of Bob & Ray fame)

26 - Luis Jimenez - WSKQ, WCAA

27 - Dr. Bob Lee - WBLS

29 - Walt “Clyde” Frazier - Knicks (player & broadcaster)

29 - Danielle Monaro - WHTZ

30 - Chuck Leonard - WABC, WRKS, WBLS, WNSW

31 - Henry Morgan - WMCA, WOR, WABC

DEATHS

  3 - Chuck Browning - WMCA - 1988

  5 - John Kennelly - WNEW, WBBR - 1999

  6 - Raymond Reinoso - WSKQ - 2007

  8 - Jack Spector - WMCA - 1994

  8 - Lee “Baby” Gray - WMCA - 1996

10 - Connie Desmond - Dodgers, Giants (baseball & football), Knicks - 1983

13 - Spanky McFarland - WHTZ - 1988

13 - Jim Harlan - WKTU, WXRK, WNEW - 2003

16 - Arthur Godfrey - WCBS - 1983

16 - B. Mitchell Reed - WMCA - 1983

17 - J.J. Jackson - WABC FM, MTV - 2004

20 - Ted Brown, WOR, WMGM, WNBC, WNEW - 2005

20 - George Weber - WABC - 2009

23 - Samori Marksman - WBAI (PD) - 1999

24 - Ray Goulding - WINS, WHN, WOR - 1990

25 - Bernard Meltzer - WOR - 1998

27 - Don Gardiner - ABC RADIO - 1977

29 - Dee Finch - WNEW (Klavan & Finch)  - 1983

31 - Darian O’Toole - WAXQ - 2008

RADIO ANNIVERSARIES

  1 - WJZ (770 AM) changes call letters to WABC - 1953

  1 - WBIX (105.1 FM) changes call letters to WTJM - 1999

  4- WOR goes to 50 kW - 1935

  6 - KE2XCC (93.1 FM), the station owned by Maj. Armstrong, closes down for         the final time at 9 PM

  8 - John B. Gambling starts at WOR - 1925

10 - Family Stations purchases WFME (94.7 FM) - 1966

11 - WXRK changes to “Now FM” Top 40 - 2009

12 - WOV (WADO) signs on - 1934

13 - First CBS World News Roundup - 1938

13 - WPLJ moves to 2 Penn Plaza - 1989

14 - WTJM (105.1) switches from classic soul to “Hip Hop” - 2002

15 - Alan Freed indicted by Federal Grand jury for income tax evasion - 1964

17 - WABC moves to 2 Penn Plaza - 1989

18 - Jim Kerr starts at WPLJ - 1974

19 - Harry Harrison does last show at WCBS FM - 2003

20 - B. Mitchell Reed does last show at WMCA - 1965

21 - Alan Freed’s first “Moondog Coronation Ball” at Cleveland Arena - 1952

22 - WNJR changes format to Adult Standards - 1999

23 - Jack Kratoville starts at WLTW - 1997

24 - Jean Shepherd does last show at WOR - 1977

24 - Harry Harrison starts at WCBS FM - 1980

25 - B. Mitchell Reed does last show at WMCA - 1965

26 - WPAT (930 AM) switches to Spanish format - 1996

26 - WJWR (620 AM) switches call letters to WSNR - 2001

29 - AFTRA strike begins - 1967

30 - The Great AM Frequency Re-alignment - 1941

30 - WNSR changes to WMXV - 1992

31 - WNTA (970 AM) changes call letters to WJRZ - 1962

31 - Great Newspaper Strike ends - 1963

EDITOR'S NOTE

As I look back on another decade, first of all, I realize that I’m getting older. I had the great pleasure of talking with an old friend, my old newsman from my days in Wilkes-Barre, recently. As we talked, he asked me, “do you still have incredibly long hair?” I told him no. And I also told him my hair isn’t as brown as it used to be either. We talked and reminisced about all of our good times back then. And I got to thinking. As the years go by, yes we’re getting older, but it’s also nice to have good memories and old friends. So instead of complaining about one thing or another here, let me take this time to say how much I enjoy participating in the New ;York Radio Message Board and new New York Broadcasting History Board. Even though I have never met many of you, I feel that you are all my friends. It’s a pleasant atmosphere and everyone is there to share facts and opinions. So thank you to Allan Sniffen who founded this great board way back when. And thank you to Ted David who moderates the new history board. And most of all, thanks to all of you who take the time to read my little newsletter here and also take the time to be good friends on the message boards. Happy New Year to all of you.

Vince Santarelli

Editor

Apple Bites is written and maintained by Vince Santarelli.
If you have suggestions for additions or comments you can e-mail Vince at

Vinceapple2002@yahoo.com

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