--- Meanwhile, in Sacramento, there's quite a flap brewing over the recent termination of KFBK-AM talk host Mark Williams.
Partly led by KSFO-AM morning host Melanie Morgan's Move America Forward organization, angry Central Valley talk radio fans are calling KFBK to demand answers.
In addition, an advertiser boycott is underway, with some success already reported. Now, the uproar is catching the attention of local news media, including the Sacramento Bee:
The decision by KFBK (1530 AM) to oust conservative talk-show host Mark Williams in favor of moderate 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.
Oddly, when news of his sacking reached radio trades, the official line was that it was due to budget cuts.
But when Williams was quickly and quietly replaced by former rock DJ Bruce Maiman, controversy soon followed. That's because conservative groups consider Maiman to be an anti-war liberal and therefore believe KFBK is undergoing a stealth format change.
Unless Maiman is working for half of his predecessor's salary, how is this actually a budget issue? What was the real reason Williams left?
Letters from upset KFBK listeners and press releases from groups denouncing the move have been reaching my in-box this week. In an email sent to me Tuesday evening, Morgan indicated her support for Williams:
"Brian, at a time when the anti-war left is actively engaging in the propaganda war to undermine support for the United States in Iraq, and the larger War on Terror, to lose a voice like Mark Williams is a punch to the gut.
When did it become a firing offense in this country to be proud of our troops and their families? I shouldn't be surprised, though. This is what the Left does best: shout-down and dismiss voices of patriotism and pride. It's disgusting."
In addition, a statement from Northern California Marine Moms and Military Families, which has been active in counter-protests against left wing activist Cindy Sheehan, spells out their concerns:
As Marine and Military families, we are distressed to learn that NightTalk Live host Mark Williams is no longer with KFBK after five successful years with the station, and further, that station management has apparently decided to turn KFBK into a liberal station by replacing the Emmy Award-winning host with liberal talk show host Bruce Maiman.
Military families in the Sacramento region thought we could always count on KFBK for support in regard to our fundraising efforts, rallies, luncheons, deployments and homecomings for our loved ones who are serving this great nation in the war on terror. Clearly, we were wrong in that assumption. KFBK’s abrupt change in direction demonstrates that we can no longer depend on the support of KFBK for our military men and women and the families who stand behind them.
Therefore, we are calling for a boycott of KFBK and sponsors who advertise on the liberal Maiman show. It is our understanding that Griffin & Reed Eye Care has already pulled their ads and we expect several other companies to drop their ad schedules as well.
We have provided the information contained in this letter to all of the sponsors who advertise on that show and asked them to discontinue support of KFBK because the station has turned its back not only on Mark Williams but on all the military, their families, and conservative listeners from around the region.
We have also sent this notice to the numerous military web sites, blogs, military magazines, newspapers and the hundreds of sponsors we have around the country to boycott KFBK’s liberal efforts.
We‘d appreciate an explanation as to why KFBK has decided to stop supporting this large target market in the greater Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley and beyond, which is a conservative media market. This reckless decision to turn a successful and highly profitable NewsTalk station into a liberal broadcast media center would be better served in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Will the protests have any effect on KFBK? While boycotts usually have little impact on a station's programming decisions, this one does appear to benefit from some high-profile backing.
But the big question remains, however: was this move the result of a deliberate ideological shift at KFBK, the result of an unknown personnel issue, or something else altogether? So far, station Program Director Jeff Holden doesn't appear to be saying much about it.
If this effort intensifies, will that stance change? We'll be watching.