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Vancouver Talk Radio Begins Monday, April 4

by lewwaters

UPDATE: Unfortunately, this platform never materialized, leaving many of us very disappointed.

I was very pleased to run across a small article on the Radio Business Report – Television Business Report recently, Sunny 1550 flipping to Vancouver’s Talk Station and the Columbian’s article AM radio station to switch from music to talk format telling us that Pamplin Media, owners of KPAM 860 will be switching the format of KKOV AM 1550 from adult standards music to a 24/7 talk format.

Some people, as always is, don’t like the switch, grumbling about “noise pollution,” “right wing talk BS” and such. Mostly, they are still upset that Air America went belly up due to no listeners, most likely including those grumbling about the switch.

Like many claiming to be ‘liberals,’ they feel the world must conform to their views and if they don’t like something, you shouldn’t either. You know the type, the ones always boasting about their “diversity.”

There are several 24/7 talk stations currently on the air bringing us national speakers like Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved and Hugh Hewitt, but for local issues, we only have Victoria Taft heard daily from 11 AM to 3 PM on KPAM AM 860, who does a really good job of covering local issues of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.

I feel honored to not only count myself as one of her ‘Intrepid Bloggers,’ but as a friend too.

Looking forward to more local coverage, since other than Victoria’s, we in Vancouver are largely forgotten and ignored by both Portland and Washington State media, I was disappointed to see the line-up offered for now does not include anything or anyone actually in Vancouver or Clark County.

Salem Radio Network will be supplying much of the broadcasting of the national talk shows, including Bill Bennett’s Morning in America.

Since I have no actual connection to Pamplin Media or KPAM 860, I don’t know the why of the switch or what future plans are in regards to “Vancouver Talk Radio” actually covering Vancouver. Suggestions by some that I apply for a show are, to say the least, highly unlikely since I have no background in or experience in radio.

The short Southwest Washington Update I do for Victoria each week is hardly enough experience to qualify for a full hour or more show. So, while the suggestions are appreciative, don’t expect it.

No, I’m quite content to keep listening to Victoria every day and do my short call on Wednesdays to being in some more Vancouver and Southwest Washington opinion to her show.

From a business standpoint, I think Pamplin is making a good move and will draw some more listeners to these national programs. But, from a practical standpoint of desiring local coverage of what goes on Southwest Washington, I will continue listening and calling into Victoria Taft’s program.

There is a reason she was named 2010 Best On-Air Radio Personality by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters.

Posted on April 2, 2011 at 10:15 AM in Clark County Issues, Oregon Politics, Uncategorized, Vancouver   |  RSS feed

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14 Responses to “Vancouver Talk Radio Begins Monday, April 4”

    
  1. Martin Hash
    April 2, 2011 at 11:33 AM

    “Talk” radio is inherently conservative. It focuses on people’s shared experiences and expectations, often stereotypically, but none-the-less entertaining and inclusive.

    NPR is liberal radio programming. (People who say NPR isn’t liberal are afraid to stand up for the word “liberal.”) It’s a mixture of science, art, literature, and philosophy. You can’t simply listen to it – you have to pay attention – so it’s not inclusive like Talk radio. NPR could probably survive without public funding but it would not be the same if it had paid advertising. (Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh hawking gold coins comes to mind.)

    Frankly, I listen to the Internet now.

  2. lewwaters
    April 2, 2011 at 12:32 PM

    Yes Martin, talk radio is inherently conservative. At the same time, though, the print media and televised media is inherently liberal giving the left much more exposure than the right.

    Fox News is an exception as their talk programs are more right leaning, but their news broadcasts are covrage of both sides, not just one as in CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and such.

    As for NPR, in this day of the necissity of cutting spending, I fail to understand the expressions of outrage over NPR’s funding being cut since they claim they only receive 5.4% of their funding from taxes. They’ll hardly go off the air.

    The internet, used properly is a good source too. But, I like to at least verify much of what I read and see before accepting it as accurate.

  3. Martin Hash
    April 2, 2011 at 1:26 PM

    “Liberal” is not just a word associated with Democrats. In a real sense, liberal means science, art, literature, and philosophy. No matter what political affiliation or partisanship, every parent wants their children to be liberal. (That’s where the term “Liberal Arts” comes from.) Bright children are especially encouraged towards liberalism. That’s where the outrage is coming from – not politics so much but it gets mixed up in politics.

    NPR is in the National interest but the battle is so confused I won’t get involved.

  4. lewwaters
    April 2, 2011 at 1:52 PM

    Liberal is not necessarily a bad word. It’s that it has become corrupted in the political sense by those who masquerade something so much worse behind it.

    And, as I indicated, NPR receives so little in public funds, 5.8%, not 5.4% as i previously said, what’s the big deal? Can 5.8% actually hurt all that much?

    http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/publicradiofinances.html

  5. Jack
    April 2, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    NPR should have to stand on it’s own. If enough people think it’s worthwhile and want NPR to continue, it shouldn’t have any problem.

    If NPR can’t make it on it’s own, then it should die.

  6. Jack
    April 3, 2011 at 5:06 PM

    The reason Liberals can’t make it on talk radio is because they can’t be honest. The Conservatives on talk radio back up their statements with cites and facts; and facts are to a Liberal what a wooden stake is to a vampire.

  7. lewwaters
    April 3, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    Even liberals aren’t entertained by 24/7 insane hatred being spewed.

    That’s the main down fall of liberal radio and even TV media the last few years.

    Conservative talk radio is entertaining while disseminating information.

    All the far left knows it hatred.

  8. Jackson
    April 4, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    You are vastly underestimating the subsidies that public radio receives. Take KMHD, the latest NPR ‘air grab’. It’s run out of Mt. Hood Community college, which I believe provides both the studios and some of the funding for full time staff. Mt. Hood is a public university whos tuition covers only a franction of the cost of an education there. Mount Hood Community College about two years ago turned over management of the station to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

    OPB receives funds from both the State of Oregon and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It then pays a bunch of this money BACK to NPR license it’s shows.

    In addition to all these direct stimulus activities, NPR, CPB, OPB and KMHD are all non-profits. This means that they are receiving tax subsidies as are their benefactors. In effect big companies that choose to subsidize the leftist gunk that pours out of the NPR machine get to write it off as a tax deduction.

    Should the same company want to advertise on Rush, the cost of the ad isn’t deductable.

    When you add all this up the total subsidy to the public radio cartel in Oregon is hard to overestimate. And of course, somehow they manage to be granted “repeaters” all over the state, so that no corner is free from their incessent nattering.

    It is reminiscent of a Soviet era propaganda operation. The kulacks in the hinterland are instructed by their moral superiors of the Central Comittee of the center city (Portland), daily. There is no opportunity to question, or complain. The Programming of the Portland Central Committee shall be made available in all cooperative regions of the Oregon Soviet Socialist Repubic by order of the Kommisar, Kitzhaber.

  9. Greg Owens
    April 4, 2011 at 2:01 PM

    Just a clarification…

    KHMD is a bad example of the point you are trying to make. KHMD is listener and corporate sponsor supported, and not funded by OPB.

    I don’t disagree with your argument, but when making an argument, valid, accurate facts should be used.

    That is all.

  10. Greg Owens
    April 4, 2011 at 2:01 PM

    Sorry…that should have been KMHD. Got a little lysdexic there… 🙂

  11. lewwaters
    April 4, 2011 at 2:14 PM

    You’re in good company. General George S. Patton was too 😉

  12. lewwaters
    April 4, 2011 at 2:17 PM

    Actually, Jackson, I took the number from the NPR website in an effort to show the outrage being expressed is not justified. If they truly only receive 5.8% of funding from the public, that is hardly enough to cause them to shut down.

    Now, if they engaging in questionable accounting and in fact receive much more funding from public funds, that is another matter all together.

    Myeffort though, was to show, using their own numbers, that the protestations are not truly justified.

  13. Jeremy
    April 9, 2011 at 6:37 AM

    And in this day and age, we need every dollar to be cut from the federal budget.

    Though I would say to Lew, there are some of the NPR stations and public television systems in the land that are not like KCTS and KOPB, who have huge financial interests that surround them. That may need some help. The Pacific Northwest has well established and well funded public communications systems of this variety.

    So I can say, I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments that they should be forced to cut their budgets by 5 to 10 percent to help our country out.

    And finally to Jackson, I think you made a wonderful example of KMHD. Sounds very much like a lot of the other local and Pacific Northwest public systems. I may not agree with them politically but I darn like some of their non-political audio shows like CarTalk, which by the way is one of their highest rated shows and I believe gets near the same radio syndication payments as some other non-political radio shows do.

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