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Freedom of Speech Award Presentation
Following lunch, attendees gathered again in the theater for the afternoon sessions, which began with the presentation of the 2008 Freedom of Speech Award.
Prior to that, however, Salem Radio Network talk host Michael Medved delivered the “Annual State of the First Amendment Address.” Medved, alluding to the specter of the return of the Fairness Doctrine, told the crowd, “People get the First Amendment wrong all the time. The First Amendment does not guarantee diversity of opinion. What the First Amendment guarantees is that the government won’t interfere either to shut down diversity of speech or to guarantee diversity of speech.”
In presenting the 2008 Freedom of Speech Award to WOL, Washington and XM Satellite Radio talk host Joe Madison, TALKERS magazine publisher Michael Harrison said Madison is someone he points to when people tell him how hateful and horrible talk radio is. Harrison used Madison’s position in the industry to note how talk radio’s tendency to tightly program stations along political philosophical lines can cause it problems. “I’ve always believed that when you start to superserve the core, it implodes. It’s easy to superserve the core but what you wind up with is: times start to change, the core starts to shift and you will have a happier but smaller audience. The key is, while serving the core, to expand, to keep it growing and growing short of bursting the bubble. My vision of talk radio is: debate is where it’s at. I want more black people here. I want more liberals here. I want more doctors and psychiatrists. I want to see talk radio expand to FM. I want to see white and black on the same station. I believe that this is the heart of art, the heart of politics and the heart of freedom.”
During his acceptance speech, Joe Madison spoke extensively about his experiences in Southern Sudan. He also strongly championed the importance of free speech in America today. “Contrary to what some people may think, I believe talk radio is one of the most important professions in modern media. You are the vanguards of free speech. Let no one tell you differently. We are the disseminators of information and information is power.”
Talk Radio and Race
This panel was moderated by TALKERS magazine publisher Michael Harrison and it addressed the issues facing black talk show hosts, urban-targeted stations and race relations as they affect talk radio in general. The panel featured Coz Carson, WWRL, New York; Charles W. Etheridge III, KISS-FM, New York; Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, The Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny; Sunny James, The Sunny James Show; Lincoln Ware, WDBZ, Cincinnati; and Larry Young, WOLB, Baltimore.
Then-WWRL, New York morning host Coz Carson told the attendees that he doesn’t like the moniker “black talk” because it alienates people. “To me, it says, ‘We’re talking to an exclusive audience and you’re not invited.’ What I like to do is good talk radio. I’m a talk radio host.” He also referred to his days programming WVON, Chicago and said, “If you’re going to do ‘black’ talk radio you have to find a way to be financially successful. You have to understand the nuts and bolts of radio.”
Lincoln Ware was asked if there is a need for “black” talk radio. He said, “I think there is a need because you have to counter some of the right-wing myths and stereotypes out there. We still have people in Ohio who think Barack Obama is a Muslim. Some of the talk show hosts feed into that frenzy. That’s where they got the idea.”
The most traditionally conservative member of the panel, Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, said his purpose on the radio is to unite. “I happen to agree with Pat Buchanan that blacks should be proud to be Americans. And thank God that he got us here because we could be stuck in Africa. This is the greatest country in the world. Everybody and their momma are trying to get here and we have black Americans complaining rather than giving back to this country. When it comes to freedom of speech on the radio, white Americans should be able to tell the truth just as black Americans should.”
Charles W. Etheridge III said he wanted to show talk radio as an example of the media in general when it comes to race. “Madison Avenue has continually and still does create a separate and unequal media system where black consumers, black programs and black stations are relegated a separate and unequal paradigm. Black listeners get 90 cents on the dollar and white talk radio listeners get $1.27. That’s some 33% discrepancy in terms of fair value for a commodity. So after 400 years, black people are still existing at the same discount as we existed when the Declaration of Independence was signed.”
Sunny James was asked what her dream talk radio job would be as an African-American woman and would it be at a black talk station. She replied, “I would do my podcast. I pass along information from the L.A. Times, from the Chronicle, from coast to coast. I tell them, ‘This is what you need to know about.’” But James said it wouldn’t be on a black station. “NPR is still trying to figure out how to program a black show for a black audience. So what’s the point in trying to get on a black station? Everyone who has a white face or an Asian face needs to know what’s going in our community if we’re expected to build any bridges.”
Larry Young told the attendees that although his talk station is the lowest ranked station of the four Radio One-owned stations in the Baltimore cluster, his program has influence. “The advantage I have is that nobody can get elected in Baltimore City unless they come by WOLB. The governor who got elected said he’d never go on WOLB and within a month he was on WOLB. Anyone who has any issues that are important within our community, they come to WOLB. When something happens in Baltimore at 11:00 pm, the first station they tune to the next morning is my station. I’m proud to say that, according to Arbitron, I have a 17% to 22% white audience –– not because I’ve changed but because the information is there.”
A Dialogue Between Neal Boortz and Ed Schultz About Talk Radio
This presentation was introduced by Valerie Geller of Geller Media International.
Jones Radio Networks talk show hosts Neal Boortz and Ed Schultz delivered their presentation beginning with an explanation of how the U.S. State Department contacted Neal Boortz to ask for help bringing talk show hosts to meet with the British and Irish press in July to talk about American talk radio and the presidential race.
Schultz asked Boortz if it’s easier doing a talk radio show now than it was in the past. Boortz told the crowd, “I’ve been doing talk radio for 38 years now and I remember when our primary sponsors were nursing homes and Geritol. But getting an out-of-town newspaper back then was pretty much impossible and the Internet was many, many years away – so was syndication. The audience is much younger now than when I started. The demographics were 60+ back then and I was in my 20s. With the younger, more in-tune demographic and the unbelievable amount of information that we have at our fingertips and the fact that, by some surveys, we’re the number one format in broadcasting, it’s much easier.”
Schultz told the attendees that everyone is aware promotional and travel dollars at stations and networks are fewer than ever before and it’s incumbent upon hosts to invest in their brand and to branch out beyond radio. “My wife and I invested in our own satellite uplink camera for $150,000 from a firm in Boston. We have a room dedicated at KFGO, Fargo. All I have to do is go in, put mic and earpiece on and, boom, I’m on the air on any one of the networks. They run the lights, focus the camera and do everything from Boston. Tonight I’ll be on ‘Larry King.’ It’s not because I’m in with Hillary or because I know more about Barack Obama than anyone else, it’s because I’m accessible.” Schultz said he has done 67 TV hits since January and figures he’s exposed the Ed Schultz brand to a potential 40 million people in that time.
Managing a Talk Show Hosting Career
This panel was introduced by KDWN, Las Vegas talk host Heidi Harris and moderated by Harrison Strategies principals Steven J.J. Weisman and Matthew B. Harrison. Panelists included: David Bernstein, Bernstein Talent; Allan Handelman, Rock Talk/WZTK-FM, Raleigh; Ron Hartenbaum, WYD Media; Larry Kramer, Kramer Talent; Jeff Schwartz, Media Management Group; Doug Stephan, Stephan Multimedia; and Jason Insalaco, The Kelton Agency.
A number of the panelists were lawyers, including Jason Insalaco, who was asked if it’s necessary for talk media talent to have counsel. He told the attendees, “I think it’s helpful to have counsel and to have an agent who is not just looking out for your business and legal interests but also to develop and grow your career. With new media, station owners will say, ‘We’re not making any money off of you, yet.’ That may be true presently but that will change and it needs to change for stations to remain competitive. You should at least have a lawyer to look over your agreements to make sure your interests are protected, to determine who’s going to own the content once it’s done.”
David Bernstein was asked what advice he has for talent not happy where they are but not certain they are ready to go out on their own. “It’s important to know where you are. It’s very hard to self-assess. As talent move up from smaller to bigger markets in their careers, that’s where mistakes occur – branding for example. Someone who stays at one local station for a long time has a great career but that doesn’t include the branding part. You are a local celebrity, period. If you see yourself in a bigger light, as someone who can represent a specific area of expertise, get the feedback and the advice to see if what you do is acceptable to those who are going to judge you. Take the time to have somebody else look at it, whether it’s a professional or somebody whose opinion you trust.”
Allen Handelman told the crowd that things in the syndication end have changed greatly since he first got into it but the good news is that the new media present many more opportunities. “You can actually get your foot in the door without even using terrestrial radio, there is so much you can do on the Internet. But I remember going to conventions in the late 1990s and talking with people who wanted to be in talk radio but they didn’t even have an ideology, they just wanted to out-Rush Rush. Whatever you do, don’t fake it.”
Many talk show hosts covet the opportunity to become syndicated seeking a bigger profile and, hopefully, more money. Ron Hartenbaum said his experience at the network level tells him those people almost always have a track record as a successful local host. “What’s interesting is when you see some programs developed, even from some major broadcasting companies, and we saw this with Clear Channel and Whoopi Goldberg. I remember thinking, ‘Whoopi Goldberg! How is she going to do 15 hours of radio plus a couple of hours a day of show prep? Is somebody who’s had the success that she has in other media actually going to do this?’ The results speak for themselves. That show isn’t really tracking anymore.”
Larry Kramer said in his experience he believes talent in general needs to do a better job of listening. “The careers that I manage, we spend a fair amount of time on that. Talent needs to hear what people are saying. Just because you are saying it doesn’t mean it’s right. Taking in a lot of input, feedback and criticism are some of the best things you can do. Also, be open-minded to other media out there. You’re a content person. You are the brand you create. It’s easy to fall into the pattern of being an employee. ‘I come in, they tell me what to do, I go home and do it again tomorrow.’ You’re all creative people, there’s no reason to be in that pattern.”
Taking Larry Kramer’s comments concerning the attitude of the talent a step further, Doug Stephan told the attendees, “There are many people in this business whom I’ve run across who feel they are owed a certain amount of attention. That’s nonsense and the completely wrong attitude. There are some great practitioners of what I’ve learned over the years. Sean Hannity is a master at serving his stations. Alan Colmes is, too. Getting on the station is important but staying on the station is just as important. The sales managers are more important than anybody else at the stations today. Sorry program directors.”
Jeff Schwartz agreed that the most important thing a talent can do today is to stop thinking about oneself as talent. “It’s a paradigm shift in how you observe yourself and think of yourself in the business. Content is king. It will always win out and it doesn’t matter whether it is radio, television, carrier pigeon or smoke signals. You have to ask yourself, ‘How much content can I produce based on the media available at the time?’ And you have to stop thinking of yourself as an individual and start thinking of yourself as a business.”
The Future of Terrestrial Talk Radio
The final panel of the 2008 New Media Seminar was sponsored by Stephan Multimedia. The panel was introduced by WPRO, Providence talk show host Dan Yorke and moderated by Citadel VP of newstalk and sports Brian Jennings. Panelists included: Robin Bertolucci, KFI, Los Angeles; Grace Blazer, WTKK-FM, Boston; James Derby, KXL, Portland; Dave Elswick, KARN, Little Rock; Scott Lakefield, WOR, New York; Jack Landreth, KXNT, Las Vegas; Mark Masters, Talk Radio Network; Bob Shomper, WGN, Chicago; and Bill White, WBT, Charlotte.
Robin Bertolucci, who appeared from Los Angeles via Paltalk, was asked what her programming philosophy is that makes KFI, Los Angeles one the country’s great talk radio outlets. She said, “Our mantra and objective at all times is to try to be more stimulating. If in everything we do we can realize that slogan then we are doing our jobs right. Our target audience is 35-54 and we just try to keep it very lively. I’m a fan of big energy and forward momentum. I also think that whatever we do content-wise, it’s less important where we do it and more important that the content is magnificent. Whether it’s on a podcast, streaming or free, over-the-air radio, as long as it’s great, it’ll be fine.”
Grace Blazer echoes Robin Bertolucci’s statement about quality of content. “We branded WTKK ‘Boston’s Talk Evolution’ and we really work on playing the hits with great hosts day after day.”
According to Dave Elswick, local is the key for terrestrial radio. “I believe that the more local you are, the more you are talking about the issues that are involving the people you are talking to, the more they’re going to want to listen to you. The word to my staff this year is ‘impact.’ The news stories you do, the topics you do, must impact the people you are talking to or it’s not even worth listening to.”
At KXL in Portland, James Derby says their focus goes beyond the radio. “We’re really looking at the future. My boss recently told the staff that we’re not really a radio company, we’re a marketing company. We have the Internet, we have a regional radio network we operate and we have two stations that invest heavily in local content. We figure we reach about a million people and the state of Oregon has about three and a half million people. Every single show we have on the station is up on podcast. We use video extensively on the websites. We’re looking at the future and how people are going to use media.”
Scott Lakefield told the attendees WOR had always been a station with a variety of different programs and recently they branded it “News/Talk Radio 710 WOR.” “We realized that there was an opportunity in the morning to really go local and talk about what people want to know about locally as well as the big national headlines. But if you’re not talking local stuff your audience isn’t necessarily going to connect with you.”
It doesn’t matter whether you are talking about radio, podcasting or streaming, it’s all about getting people to come to your product, according to Jack Landreth. “What we do with KXNT is we have a very good blend of local in morning and afternoon drive along with Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh in middays. At the same time, Sean and Mark are real good friends of the station. They are on the station in morning and afternoon drive all the time. People know they’re not local but they’re very good friends of the station. Our company has a huge initiative with webcasting, streaming and podcasting. I’m able to look at numbers, almost PPM-like, as a topic is on the air and see how many people are coming in and coming out of the website and it follows very closely with the Coleman study of Rush Limbaugh.”
Mark Masters predicted all it’s going to take is a major news event to change the face of talk radio. “I believe that we have to prepare for event-driven opportunities and those who prepare for those events are going to win. I think we’re going to have a war with Iran. I think it’s inevitable and nobody’s going to listen to music when that happens. Obama’s activated the young people to be interested. When a major regional conflict breaks out, you’re going to see a lot of underperforming FMs immediately cling to talk.”
Bob Shomper told the crowd his totally live and local station is ready if a conflict such as a war with Iran should break out. “Because we still have resources. We have an ABC Network that we rely on. We have the Tribune Broadcasting System that we rely on. We have the second biggest news department in the city next to WBBM. We’re prepared for it and we’re in the Tribune Tower, which is a target.”
The common denominator for the future of terrestrial radio is local according to Bill White, who echoed what a number of panelists said about being on top of local content. “They key to our success, frankly, has been our sales manager and our sales team. I talked to our afternoon guy who wants to go on the air today [Saturday] to talk about Hillary [conceding to Obama]. I called our sales manager and told him we’re going to lose a lot of revenue this afternoon and he said, ‘I don’t even want to talk about it. It sounds like a good idea, let’s go for it.’ Those are the kinds of relationships that we have in our group.”
Farewell Bash
The seminar wrapped up with a party sponsored by Podjockey and included the presentation of the Judy Jarvis Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions by a Woman to Talk Radio to Talk Radio Network star Laura Ingraham. The award was presented to Ingraham by WINK, Fort Myers, Florida talk show host Mandy Connell.
In accepting the award Laura Ingraham said, “I’d be really remiss in not acknowledging the women who’ve come before me in this field: Dr. Laura, of course, who I know gave a great speech earlier in the conference. She really busted through the walls of radio syndication. And people like Kate Coplowitz of USA Networks who was this woman who decided she was going to launch her own cable network and did so with aplomb and grace. And believe it or not…I even think of Hillary Clinton. In her run for the presidency – and this is coming from someone who wrote The Hillary Trap, so I know the Clintons – no matter what you think of her, no one can deprive her of the recognition for being this person with perseverance and stick-to-itiveness and resolve and she demonstrated through this really long primary season that at 60 years old, she was going to keep on ticking and I’ve got to say we have to recognize her as well.”
The 2008 New Media Seminar was sponsored by: ABC Radio Networks, Accuracy in Media, Allen Hunt Show, Alliance for School Choice, Altria, Broadcasters General Store, CelleCast, Comrex Corporation, CRN Digital Talk, FAIR, Foneshow, Harrison Strategies, Media Research Center, Paltalk, PodJockey, Premiere Radio Networks, Stephan Multimedia, Talk Radio First Amendment Committee, Talk Radio Network, Talk Radio News Service and Young American Broadcasters.
