Worst radio stations

[hbelkins]

Baltimore's WBAL-AM radio (a news/talk format) got rid of Limbaugh after carrying him for many years.

His show moved from Cumulus to Clear Channel stations in several markets last year. Was that decision part of that switch?

[Desert Man]

When K-News in the Palm springs area dropped Dr Laura and Glenn Beck, I was relieved (I don't have to listen to them anyway). That was a few years ago, even conservative talk stations decide who to keep or not (based on contracts to air as their affiliates). Dr Laura is now on Sirius/XM with Howard Stern, both hoped they will have more freedom of speech without FCC regulations terrestrial radio has. K-News on the AM (970) and FM (94.3) doesn't interest me anymore, the station used to air Coast-to-Coast AM which has a paranormal format, and hosted by Art Bell later replaced by George Noory.

[golden eagle]

The lowest place for radio stations are those that do not try.  AMs that just repeat their FM owner, just to keep the license valid.   Stations that just carry crud they get free off the sat.  Channels that are managed from afar and are just going to carry the same mix as that company's (CLEAR CHANNEL) mix, the local demographics be damned (black music in 99% white markets, etc).

The problem with Clear Channel is that it is/was a publicly trade company. As such, they have to maximize as much profit as they can for the shareholders. Which is understandable. However, the things that made radio great (like 24/7 local jocks, local programming control, etc.) has been taken away from the local stations, especially in smaller markets.

Ownership rules were greatly relaxed under several administrations.  While this is from a business standpoint, it killed diversity and fertility in radio.  Coupled with the RIAA freakouts of the early 2000s, it really put the screws to good local radio stations.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 opened the doors for such a thing to happen. As a Clinton supporter during his years in office, he got this one very wrong.

[jwolfer]

A waste of a frequency is 92.1 WJXR in macclenny/Jacksonville. It is a radio version of eBay/swap meet. I cringe when I flip thru the dial and hear the DJ with her phoney sounding overdone country accent. ( and I have a Southern accent, l say y'all, fixin' anda shopping cart is a buggy, so I am not hatin' on southerners)

  Thank God for Pandora and Spotify

[roadman65]

I noticed pretty much that Christian Stations on the FM dial seem to be all placed with low frequency numbers.  At one time classical music stations used to dominate the high 80's on the dial, but like Elevator Music that seemed to have died with it.

Then as far as people you cannot stand like Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, etc. that is why they have a radio dial or preset station button if its your car radio.  There are plenty of people I cannot stand on radio, and I just never listen to them.  The same goes for TV, like Bill Maher, I just do not tune into HBO.  Even Beck does not interest me so I stay away from Fox.

BTW Limbaugh does not usually interest me unless I am pissed off at Obama, then I happen to switch my dial to him as he is the best for exploiting his mistakes next to Hannity (who  I also cannot stand because hethinks that Dick Scott of Florida has created jobs in The Sunshine State as well as being a good conservative despite him only becoming one the day he ran off [literally in election]for GOP nominee as Governor) I will tolerate for the moment as Obama is worse.  Nonetheless, when I do listen to them I TURN THEM ON with my hands.

[SteveG1988]

The lowest place for radio stations are those that do not try.  AMs that just repeat their FM owner, just to keep the license valid.   Stations that just carry crud they get free off the sat.  Channels that are managed from afar and are just going to carry the same mix as that company's (CLEAR CHANNEL) mix, the local demographics be damned (black music in 99% white markets, etc).

The problem with Clear Channel is that it is/was a publicly trade company. As such, they have to maximize as much profit as they can for the shareholders. Which is understandable. However, the things that made radio great (like 24/7 local jocks, local programming control, etc.) has been taken away from the local stations, especially in smaller markets.

Ownership rules were greatly relaxed under several administrations.  While this is from a business standpoint, it killed diversity and fertility in radio.  Coupled with the RIAA freakouts of the early 2000s, it really put the screws to good local radio stations.

How about Pay for Play. When a DJ was paid a bit of cash to play a certain record to make it "Hot"

[1995hoo]

I seldom listen to terrestrial radio except for news, live sports, or traffic reports (though I suppose the traffic reports are part of the news). When I listen to the radio in the car, I listen to XM except when I want a traffic report (I find the local FM reports more reliable than XM's); if I'm driving my wife's car, which doesn't have an XM device, I tend to play CDs.

But when I do listen to terrestrial radio, I avoid so-called "Mix" radio stations because I feel like they all play the same five or six things nobody likes over and over again. The songs they play may vary by year, but their style seldom changes. In the mid-1990s, for example, they'd endlessly play "Only Wanna Be with You" by Hootie and the Blowjob, that "Crash" song by Dave Matthews,* "Every Day Is a Winding Road" by Sheryl Crow, "Runaround" by whoever sang that, and one or two others.

There are other radio stations I don't listen to because I don't care for the entire genre (country music stations, for example), but I don't feel that they're "bad" or "worst" on that basis.

*The first time I heard Dave Matthews play was in college at my first-year class welcome picnic. There was some skinny guy playing an acoustic guitar and singing in a whiny voice. We all asked who this turkey was and they said he was a local musician named Dave Matthews who was hoping to make it big in the next few years. We all sort of smiled tolerantly because we figured with his voice, he'd never make it! This was about three years before his band did become a commercial success.

[SidS1045]

Just a question: If a particular area receives signals from both a 102.5 and a 102.9 station, will you be able to hear both if set to 102.7?

Usually, no.

[SidS1045]

Baltimore's WBAL-AM radio (a news/talk format) got rid of Limbaugh after carrying him for many years.

His show moved from Cumulus to Clear Channel stations in several markets last year. Was that decision part of that switch?

Doubtful, since Limbaugh's new home in Baltimore, WCBM, is owned by the Mangione family (d/b/a M-10 Broadcasting).  The change also occurred because WBAL was moving toward having fewer syndicated hosts and more local content (including an all-news format in drive times).

Limbaugh's syndicator, Premiere Networks, is owned by iHeart Media (Clear Channel's new name), so in many markets, Limbaugh's show moved from whatever station it was on to the iHeart-owned station (for example, in NYC the show moved from Cumulus' WABC to iHeart's WOR).

[vdeane]

I TURN THEM ON with my hands.

You don't even want to know what I'm thinking of right now.

[roadman65]

I TURN THEM ON with my hands.

You don't even want to know what I'm thinking of right now.

Probably not.

[1995hoo]

I TURN THEM ON with my hands.

You don't even want to know what I'm thinking of right now.

This video is mistitled (I believe it's Opie and Anthony), but it's the right song. Flashback almost 20 years already with this music. Where has the time gone?

[bing101]

Anything that carries Limbaugh or Beck. 

Baltimore's WBAL-AM radio (a news/talk format) got rid of Limbaugh after carrying him for many years.

Rush Limbaugh has been on KFBK Sacramento since the 1980's and is the flagship station for him.

Iheartradio KFBK's owner carry's contracts for Rush to go nationwide. The interesting part is that Rush is considered a local Sacramento host even though he has been in Florida for 25 years?

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore's WBAL-AM radio (a news/talk format) got rid of Limbaugh after carrying him for many years.

His show moved from Cumulus to Clear Channel stations in several markets last year. Was that decision part of that switch?

WBAL has been owned by Hearst for many years, so I don't think it was anything more than a business decision by the owners (and it was apparently not about his politics - Limbaugh has traditionally done very well in Maryland, because there are plenty of disgruntled listeners that like him).

[cpzilliacus]

The interesting part is that Rush is considered a local Sacramento host even though he has been in Florida for 25 years?

I thought Limbaugh's "flagship" station was WABC (770 AM) in New York City, though at some point he moved to WOR.

[roadman65]

That would explain how Sean Hannity knows the misconceptions about our economy here in the Sunshine State.  Limbaugh tells him what a great guy Scott is being governor of our state, so he tells the world how great a conservative we have running our state.

As some should know Hannity and Limbaugh are almost butt buddies in politics and have the same MO.  When one thinks one way so does the other.

[Billy F 1988]

Lip dink brittled?

About that, I didn't want to say the other D word because that'd come out wrong, so "dink" is what I came up with. The "lip d!{k brittled" phrase came from one YouTuber expressing his disgust towards Pat Robinson of the 700 Club. Robinson and 700 Club is one of several great examples of the worst TV shows.

[SidS1045]

The interesting part is that Rush is considered a local Sacramento host even though he has been in Florida for 25 years?

I thought Limbaugh's "flagship" station was WABC (770 AM) in New York City, though at some point he moved to WOR.

Neither one is correct.  Rush hasn't shown up at WABC in years.  He does his show from a studio in Florida near his home.

[bing101]

The interesting part is that Rush is considered a local Sacramento host even though he has been in Florida for 25 years?

I thought Limbaugh's "flagship" station was WABC (770 AM) in New York City, though at some point he moved to WOR.

Neither one is correct.  Rush hasn't shown up at WABC in years.  He does his show from a studio in Florida near his home.

http://insuremekevin.com/birth-place-of-rush-limbaugh-kfbk-set-to-move-studios/

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2009/11/10/rush_celebrates_25_years_on_kfbk

http://www.playlistresearch.com/sacradio-kfbk80s.htm

But for some reason you have broadcast experts still insist that Rush Limbaugh holds the KFBK as his home station for three decades. But 25 of those years has been from his florida home.

[triplemultiplex]

I thought it was deliciously evil for Clear Channel to change its name to "iHeartRadio" after people started catching on that Clear Channel was turning radio into homogeneous suckage.  Slap a new label on that turd and push it out the door!  Well done, corporate media!