Posted on 06/06/2006 7:23:15 PM PDT by editor-surveyor
Friends,
Last night I updated you on the decision by KFBK 1530 AM/Clear Channel to move away from their "conservative" reputation, including the firing of a pro-troop/pro-military talk show host, a man who has been a hero to our cause - Mark Williams.
We have several updates for you that you need to hear about.
1) KFBK has now posted online the biography of the man who has been hired to replace Mark Williams. His name is Mr. Bruce Maiman and he announced on the airwaves that he is a "liberal" who is also anti-war. He is also apparently a relative of one of the sales executives at KFBK, which might explain how he got his job.
You MUST read the biography KFBK has posted on this Mr. Maiman. It is insulting to see the kind of crass approach they have taken in their efforts to rebrand their station and shed their long-established conservative pedigree. This was the station that launched the "Rush Limbaugh Show," and now they dump a pro-troop advocate for a man with this as his bio:
http://www.kfbk.com/pages/maiman.html
2) The news media has begun covering the growing backlash as outraged listeners and sponsors have bombarded the station with phone calls and emails of protest. Read this report from the Sacramento Bee:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mark Williams fallout: The decision by KFBK (1530 AM) to oust conservative talk-show host Mark Williams in favor of moderate [sic] Bruce Maiman has angered many of Williams' fans.
Griffin & Reed Eye Care, which pays for on-air media endorsements (including Williams') for its lasik eye surgery, has pulled all advertisements from KFBK.
"Our relationship with the personalities that help us with our advertising is something we take very seriously,"
writes Brad Mitchell, Griffin & Reed's chief operating officer, in an e-mail.
"... I'm sure the absence of our money on KFBK won't be felt too much, but hopefully the position will."
And a Granite Bay organization called Marine Moms & Military Families, which has held many events supporting the troops in Iraq and protesting Cindy Sheehan's opposition to the war, is banning KFBK from covering future events.
"We take (Williams' firing) as a personal attack and lack of support against our military men and women and their families," reads a letter sent to KFBK boss Jeff Holden by the group's leaders, Michelle Souza and Deborah Johns.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/story/14264297p-15077028c
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It's time for those of us who appreciated Mark Williams' unwavering commitment to our troops and their fight against terrorism to take action. We must speak out and let KFBK/Clear Channel know how much they've let us all down.
1) FIRST: Send an email to these people and let them know you are saddened by the news that Mark Williams has been fired and replaced with an anti-war liberal. I've also included the email addresses for 2 reporters covering this issue - include them on the same emails. We need them to hear our voices!
jeffholden@clearchannel.com
markpmays@clearchannel.com
apeterson@radioandrecords.com
smcmanis@sacbee.com
2) SECOND: Place a telephone call to Jeff Holden, the KFBK Program Director who FIRED Mark Williams, and politely and calmly state that you are calling to have your name added to those who are disappointed with the decision by KFBK to fire pro-military talk show host, Mark Williams.
The number to call: (916) 576-2223
We need for them to be besieged with phone calls. So, please, if the line is busy when you call, try back a few minutes later.
3) THIRD: Please also send a FAX and let the management at KFBK know how thoroughly displeased you are to see this station switch from being a proud sponsor of our troops and their mission, and becoming a mouthpiece for an anti-war, left-wing agenda.
The FAX number is: (916) 921-5555
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
*Please forward this to 5 other people you know who support our troops and their missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every night the Mark Williams Show was broadcast over the Internet to units in Iraq and Afghanistan - where Mark had a lot of admirers. Many nights, Mark would sign off for the evening by sending out a message of support - complete with music and voices of Americans expressing their love for our troops - as a morale boost to all those who were listening over the Internet and serving in the war for freedom.
These troops have now lost their voice in Sacramento, and they've lost a radio program that they could count on to be there for them when the other media outlets had them feeling so down and discouraged.
If you have a pro-troop email list or website - could you please pass on this information?
Thank you!
Melanie Morgan
Chairman, Move America Forward
http://www.MoveAmericaForward.org
WOOHOO!! I've been surprised because I've found a number of people I know who have been willing to do this. Once I spit out the "he's been replaced with some anti-war liberal guy who..." people are convinced. No one can believe that KFBK would do this to the conservative listernship here.
Your comment about there being no ratings at night was not one I would concur with. Williams had a huge audience. I was a regular listener and never fully appreciated how big his audience was for an evening program!
He may have had the largest night-time audience in Sac, but whether he did or didn't doesn't change the fact that night time radio has little effect on a station's revenues or overall audience.
As far as KTKZ's numbers are concerned, I don't know how specific day parts show up, but overall, KTKZ was running behind KCTC, as a Music of your Life station, and now as Air America.
As I said before, KFBK is #1 because of Rush. The only thing the PD has to worry about is whether or not the balance of the programming is good enough not to drive listeners away.
To prove the point, most stations are driven by the morning show, with the total audience declining as the day goes on. But practically from the day he started on KFBK in 1984, Rush's show has consistently outrated the morning news.
KFBK has been my antidote to Liberal poisoning via the air waves for probably two decades on vehicle trips in N California. This is really sad.
Click here, then choose Sacramento.
This move doesn't look too smart.
It's about maximizing profits. Making just "a little bit more" money. Beating profit targets, etc....
A Program Director would be run out of the business if he accepted that "ah heck, I'll make 90% of my station revenue from Rush" - because if that was all that mattered they'd sell you the time for free after 7:00 PM, and they don't (I've been with a couple clients/organizations who have bought that time).
That said (and here's where I agree with you) he has nowhere near the analytical acumen of a Hewett, Medved, Limbaugh, Prager, or Ingraham.
Don't mean to drag this on, (besides, I'm celebrating Zarqawi's descent into Hell, as I'm sure you are) but, in fact, stations virtually do give the time after 7 away "free". They do this with packages that include spots in the evening to "flesh out" the schedule, and keep the "average" of the spot cost down. It's called ROS, or run of schedule, which means, generally, that you buy the entire day, 5 AM to 12 midnite, and the spot rate is less than if you bought a specific day part such as AM or PM Drive, or in KFBK's case, the Rush Limbaugh show.
Rarely have I ever seen someone specifically ask to buy time after 7, although I'm sure it's been done.
You're right, however, that stations want to maximize profit, and in my first post on this subject, I said the reason for Williams release was money. I stand by that, and in fact, a month ago, when the Bee first reported that Williams was gone, I think money was the cited factor. I don't know what difference in salary there is between Williams and Maiman, but I suspect that Williams was getting to be high maintenance in a lot of other ways, and I also suspect he may have come with some baggage from the manager who had originally hired him (now departed from KFBK)
Bottom line, income revenues won't be affected by this move, and there may be some slight savings in personnel.
That's right!...they apparently fired Mark Williams the DAY BEFORE we obliterated Zarqawi's terrorist meeting with two, 500-pound, laser-guided bombs-on Bullseye!
Great timing, KFBK! A real management coup!
Good night...and Good Luck!!
Years ago the clowns at KFBK put Ward on in the afternoon -- he was gone in a matter of a few weeks.
What do they say about insanity? Doing something over and over expecting different results?
They didn't learn anything from the dismal failure that is Air America?
There is nothing for them to learn; they are not worried about the money, but about the truth.
Mark spouting mainstream American views over such a powerful station was bothering them a bunch. it's all about mind control.
You may be right.
Even when Limbaugh was big (no pun) before moving to New York KFBK used to introduce his Saturday replay as "the worst of Rush Limbaugh."
The guy Limbaugh replaced was fired for saying "Chinaman" -- also a conservative-type and outspoken. Not welcome in a city where the local government, in particular mayor at the time Ann Rudin, tried mightily to rid Sacramento of its U.S. military bases; and the loco PBS station actually broadcast a documentary praising North Viet Nam's "heroic" struggle against American imperialists - on OUR Memorial Day!)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.