First off it's going to be a Clear Channel station on FM. Pittsburgh is a market that marches to it's own drummer. FM talk has been limited to religous and some NPR - if you count NPR. If CC does some promotion and makes the station visible it could be a threat to KDKA which is the Big Kahunna. It' probably won't affect little WPTT but more on that later.
Secondly Jim Quinn and Rose from WRRK are going to host the morning show. They have a big following here and are the only morning show I listen to, with the obvious exception of the stations where I work becuase, well, I'm usually there in the morning.
Quinn does a good show...keeps things interesting..and the few times he gets off track -say, doing an entire show on home schooling (worthwhile but boring) - aren't noticible. I think WRRK management was keeping his hands tied on several fronts as well. He was always complaing about the equipment but I have been in his studio and I didn't see anything wrong. One rule in Radio is "learn to work around problems". In any case CC should give him top equipment.
Thirdly is if they back up the morning show with a decent line up. LOCAL hosts would be preferred along with a couple of syndies as seasoning.
Fourth they need to have a news department. Yes it costs money, but that is returned in visiblity and credibility. They could run a national feed then use a couple of local anchors for the second news block. One thing they DON'T WANT TO DO is use METRO NEWS! Kidz playing newspeople. If I use a metro story in my newscast I do a complete re-write. It's THAT bad. One sentence I read cold comes to mind..."Overnight a car collided under the West End Bridge." It is noted however, KDKA is famous for "Someone drowned to death..."...sigh.
Lastly they are going to have to live with the fact it sin't going to work overnight. Our older demographics don't change stations. Heck, most of them don't even know about FM.
Now to Democrat, Leftists radio. We have a couple...Mike Romigh on KDKA in the evening is one...and there are a couple of fill-ins as well on KDKA. Mike pulls decent ratings but the traditional Lefty in Pittsburgh radio has to be Lynn Cullen on WPTT. I see her every once in a while and she HATES me no end. Maybe hate isn't the word, I think I threaten her...she sees me in the hall and gets frightened what with my uncombed hair, beard and right wing rants.
Her afternoon show is typical of what lefty radio can expect. Even here in the belly of American socialism she only pulls a few hundred listeners...we call it her Coffee Clatch.
They're dedidcated and vocal but her style of leftist propaganda just doesn't have wide appeal, even here. It's the same thing with National Democrat radio. They can spew all they want but they'll only attract they're Coffee Clatch. Ask Jim Hightower.
prisoner6
Hate radio should be best left to the professionals, not aspiring leftist Rush Limbaugh wannabes.
The most successful radio jocks I've known and listened to tend to either be strongly rooted Conservatives and those who will swear on The Bible they have no party affiliation whatsoever, who will venture all over the political spectrum at a moments notice. (much like the average voter with a conscience). These independent minded thinkers will call Bush and/or Clinton on the carpet on any number of issues.
I may not agree with the jock or the callers, but it's very stimulating talk radio.