Posted on 10/29/2005 8:57:49 AM PDT by raccoonradio
QUINCY -- Two powerhouses of urban radio are teaming up to launch an African-American-centered talk-radio network, the cornerstone of which will be programming hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Baltimore-based Radio One, the nation's seventh-largest radio company, and Reach Media, which owns and syndicates the highly successful ''Tom Joyner Morning Show," aim to roll out the network after the first of the year. Radio One owns a controlling interest in Reach Media.
The ambitious plan was discussed yesterday by Radio One CEO Alfred Liggins III during an interview at the new WILD offices at Marina Bay. WILD-AM, which will carry the new network's programming, and its sister station, WILD-FM (the former Hot 97.7 WBOT-FM), underwent format changes on Oct. 20. Both are owned by Radio One.
If all goes as planned, the fledgling talk network will begin broadcasting on as many as 10 of Radio One's 70 stations, including AM outlets in Baltimore, Detroit, Miami, Cleveland, Washington D.C., and a handful of other cities. The programming would also be offered to stations not owned by Radio One.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
"As the centerpiece of the new programming, Sharpton is expected to be topical, if not entirely political. ''Life is political," said Liggins. ''Rush Limbaugh is political. Howard Stern has been political. That's the nature of the human existence. We won't focus exclusively on politics. We'll deal with the human existence of African-Americans in the broader landscape of America." Sharpton's show is scheduled to air weekdays from 1 to 4 p.m:
Does that mean a white radio network would be cool?
Wasn't there a black-oriented cable station? Was it BET? How is that doing?
>>Does that mean a white radio network would be cool?
My God...how racist! :)
If's a safe BET they're still on air.
http://www.bet.com/
:)
Isn't Teresa Heinz an African American? (born in Mozambique to Portuguese parents)
I'll be tuning in for Harry Belefonte's three hour show
"The Banana Conspiracy".
Yes,she is.Her claim to fame,of course,is having married well (at least once).
Manfred Mann was born in South Africa. If he became a US citizen he, too, could be called an African-American. Come on
without, come on, within. You've not seen nothing like the Mighty Quinn...
Will they speak English or Ebonics?
Semper Fi
Air-African-America ?
So is Al Franken gonna do the broadcast in blackface ?
As long as one of the stations keeps playing soul and contemporary gospel, I don't care what they do. (It'd be nice if they also played jazz like they used to years ago, but other FM stations do that now.)
Well, their "sister station" FM 97.7 is now known as WILD-FM
(formerly rap as "WBOT") and they play "urban adult contemporary" during the daytime, then shift to rap and
finally ballads. They won't run this new network though they do have Tom Joyner.
No sign of the "classic soul" (Harold
Melvin and Blue Notes, Al Green, Aretha) that the AM side had been doing.
WILD (AM) was soul for years (and nurtured the career of
the late Sunny Joe White) and they played gospel on Sundays.
Now they're temporarily all gospel but starting in Jan.
WILD (AM) will have this new talk network and their
own programming (maybe gospel?) on weekends.
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