Libtalkers Brace For KOPT / Eugene Loss

EVEN IN EUGENE

'Progressive' Talk Could Vanish In Lefty Hotbed







Long ago, writing about the latest station to lose liberal talk radio programming had become redundant for your Radio Equalizer.

One in particular, however, demands to be noted here: the likely end of "progressive" talk in Eugene, Oregon. As a hotbed of extreme- left radicalism, it just seems stunning to think the format couldn't work there.

Yet, Oregon lefties are bracing for the planned takeover of KOPT-AM by Oregon Public Broadcasting, which plans a music format for the station. It's been home to Stephanie Miller (right photo), Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz and many other "progressive" hosts.

You read that correctly: far from a right- wing plot to remove lefty views from the local airwaves, it's the NPR folks who are putting it out of business.

Not that it was doing much of that, as the Eugene Register- Guard reports:

Churchill Media believed it had a winner with the progressive radio format in liberal Eugene, broadcasting Air America’s slate of talk shows that included comedian Al Franken, Stephanie Miller and Randi Rhodes, beginning in 2004. A few months later, the station added local news and talk programs allowing people to debate a range of issues from the war in Iraq to the West Eugene Parkway.

While it did lure a devoted audience, said Churchill General Manager Paul Danitz, the advertising required to support the expenses never quite materialized.

Local staff cost about $500,000 annually in salary and benefits, and monthly expenses at the station were in the $40,000 range, Danitz said. To break even would have required $1 million in annual revenue, and KOPT never quite got there, he said.

While sales staff could make the initial sales, advertisers didn’t see a return on their investment in the form of listeners doing business with them, Danitz said.

Last summer, KOPT cut all the local programming, laying off experienced broadcasters such as news director Rick Little and talk show host Brian Shaw.

The Salem Statesman- Journal has more here.

Actually, ratings were small as well, according to the most recent data available: KOPT generated a mere 2.1 overall share, while Limbaugh affiliate KPNW pulled a 4.9.

Though the format may yet find a new home, the fact that Eugene's politically- extreme local environment didn't save libtalk from sinking just seems shocking.


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