Steve Cochran on WGN-AM Chicago...

Most of you outside of Chicago are SO lucky you don't have this clown's radio show coming out of your toasters like we do. Giving his .02 on Obama this morning and bitching about Democrats not coming up with alternative ideas for Iraq.

the only decent program on any station in chicago is Boers and Bernstein

what about This is Hell?

Nate Clay?

Nick Digilio?

you're right about BandB, though. pretty entertaining, especially their drops

never heard nick, what station is he on? i`m 100 miles straight west

Friday nights, 11-2

Saturday nights, 8-midnight

Sunday nights, 10-2

mostly entertainment stuff, but he's funny, and left leaning, mostly

and sizable, audience of largely credulous mouthbreathers, incapable of thinking for themselves

Cochran is a failed standup/actor (is it fair to mention alcoholic?), who trades on his folksy bonhomie, yet trades in outright fascist spewings

one of his favorite guests, for example, is Ollie North

he also spent the weeks around the release of former Treasury Secretary ONeil's book making fun of him as a whining, sour grapes liar.

Progressive Talk. Air America. Randi Rhodes, Stephanie Miller, et al.

They go off the air at 5:30 pm (drat) but I've switched from WGN to them for morning drivetime. And then the True Oldies Station FM 94.7 in the evening. John "Records" Landecker for evening drive, and DICK BIONDI (yes, THE Dick Biondi) from 9 til midnight.

I have satellite, and mostly listen to that, but when I want to get really angry, I turn on Uncle Milty at 9PM, and tear my hair out, listening to his platform of insane wingnuts like David Horowitz, the Kagans, Daniel Pipes, Joe Morris, etal

I even got to talk to Ann Coulter once, after being forced to listenn to him give her verbal lavage for over an hour.

I got them all the way to Madison WI one day

that's one of AAR's worst, if not the worst problems, aside from the declining quality of their hosts: low signal power

I can't even listen to my favorite anymore (on air, or online), because they've got him on in the morning, when everybody's at work

what a joke

I'm very familiar with the "company" that operates the station...and the signal problems are the least of their troubles.

There's no local programming...on a station attempting to compete in the #3 market in the country. Yep, the signal is a problem...but it wasn't designed to cover anything more than McHenry county. The company also owns other stations around the Chicago area that are wasting dial space that would be better platforms for Progressive Talk. For example, they own a station in Kankakee that covers a good portion of the South and Southwest suburbs as well as Northwest Indiana that is on auto-pilot of CNN News. They could easily flip that station, but it would require spending money.

Speaking of which...I'm curious what the new owner of AAR has planned...other than wanting to do his own talk show (the reason he bought the network). The network needs a big time redesign of their marketing and affiliate relationships...getting the word out about the network and helping develop programming that generate ratings which not only will make money but get the network on bigger and better stations.

With the impending break-up of Cheap Channel and the on-going financial messes that are driving other companies to bankruptcy, there's a great opportunity for Progressive radio to grow and expand in the next couple years.

or one of the Dahl offspring

and AFA AAR, really....I hope that guy has some ideas to along with his hopefully Mariannas Trench-deep pockets

that said, I'm listening to WILL/Urbana (usually I can get them on my car radio during the day), where McChesney is talking about radio consolidation, media reform:

www.freepress.net

enforce media license renewal NOW!

to listen for EIGHT minutes a day!

It was mandated to happen in 2002...and guess who controlled Congress then and avoided this? Wanna "take back the airwaves", this is more vital that putzing with the "Fairness Doctrine"...this is what opened the door to the corporates monopolizing the radio and television dials.

I also pop on WILL from time to time, but I'm listening regularly to WPR...Ideas Network of Wisconsin Public Radio...they have a powerful station out of Milwaukee I hear almost everywhere and recently they opened a repeater station in Elgin. If I'm in the city, I'm popping on WZRD...which is a Pacifica affiliate.

Dahl's another waste of electrons and protoplasm. It's a shame to see how bad radio has become...and the loss of so much good talent to the corporate bottom line.

Cheers...

:toast:

I've called in there a few times to try to set record straight with a few neocon liars

was kidding about Dahl, btw......whatever happened to the days of Richard Lewis, Albert Brooks, Harry Shearer?

don't forget This is Hell!

and you KNOW why congress isn't talking about the Telecom Bill. same reason GORE pushed in 96.

Definitely...This Is Hell on WNUR is a great program...just a tough catch unless you're near Evanston on a Saturday morning. I usually catch them on the web these days.

I loved the "Classic LOOP-AM" Days...Brandmeier, Matthews and Dahl AND Meier...it was fun to listen to. I really miss the late Sondra Gair on WBEZ...her contacts and viewpoints on the Middle East would be invaluable these days.

Don't get me started on Telcom '96...both Clinton and Gore and many other Democrats pushed for it. And, yes, they knew how they and their political allies would benefit big time from it. Remember, this Bill came up right before the elections and soon Clinton's campaign coffers were overflowing.

I have fun "truth squadding" right wing talk shows. I have a way to listen to stations around the country...even those that don't have webcasts and once in a while I'll catch some small market yokel blabbing talking points and decide to have some fun. The fact I'm calling from hundreds or thousands of miles away (especially if they're not webcasting) always gets me on and then I just pound the poor bastards. LOL

Cheers...

:toast:

in control, mostly, and why we need progressive control of its inner workings (where's the fairy dust?). one republican party is much more than enough

I could never bear to hang on to a wingnut show long enough get on.....I admire your stamina, though

He pauses for a laugh ("{lame joke} but... ahhhhhh... ") even though there's no audience.
Don't know about the alcoholism-- never heard that. I think he's talked about a problem along those lines with his parents, though.
He's been run out of Chicago a couple of times already but it seems he's found a home now and I worry he's probably in line to take the morning drive slot in a couple years ('GN likes to promote from within and the pm drive guy's probably got a little too much smartypants book learnin' for the morning shift).

he's one of the luckiest guys in the world. he should forever be relegated to his deserved status as a 3d featured warmup for Beetlejuice or Bob Levy

I've lived in the Chicago area all my life and never had WGN set on a push button...a boring, worthless station.

Kudos to WCPT...the other day I was driving on the Kennedy Expressway and on a large billboard was one saying "Mr. President, Stop The War Now!"...very simple wording with WCPT at the bottom. There was another message on the other side. I wish I had a camera and place to stash it online...the board is in a prominent location with thousands of drivers going past it every day.

Cubs games.

As for 850AM, I can't pick it up in my house, there's something out here in the southwest burbs that interferes with it. I can pick it up on my car radio but the signal still isn't great.

I'm not really into talk radio of any kind, but I'd love to be able to listen to Stephanie Miller. Sounds like her show is a real hoot...

Listeners graying but not going away. WGN has tried to freshen it's lineup (Nick Digilio is an example) but can't seem to pull the trigger, maybe for fear of losing their current audience and actually having to compete-- elderly bird in the hand...

First...the Tribune may be forced to sell WGN in the next year. They're thing is strictly television and WGN is not only a grey, old lady for most Chicago listeners but within the company's portfolio...that has been in a shambles.

About 10 years ago, when WLS had Jay Marvin AND Mike Malloy, they had a great line-up and I would put up with Wade and his inane, scripted rantings as I knew there was some balance to the station. That ended on 9/11...they've long been off the push buttons. Every so often I'll tune in for some Nate Clay, but lately unless someone here on DU notes what he's doing, I'm listening to other shows...especially Bernie Ward and Ray Tallifero.

The rap on the elderly is one of radio's stupidest short-term mindsets. The "conventional wisdom" is they aren't impulse buyers and not as easily targeted by the large corporations. It flies in the face that the largest disposible income belongs to those over 55...empty nesters who buy more big tickets than someone half their age can or does. Also, with consolidation, these stations became very reliant on agency...most based on New York...to do their selling...and most of these agencies are staffed by "young pups" who don't want to buy the older audiences they can't relate to.

I've never found anything worth listening to on WGN. Even my late parents...who lived all their 80 plus years in Chicago, prefered to listen to WBBM over WGN.

Cheers...

:hi:

and I drive much of the day. The station is independently owned by a left winger named Fred Eychaner who donates lots of money to dems. He also gives money to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and to Innocence Project, a project that leads to the release of wrongfully convicted prisoners. This is no clear channel station. Oh and the highway billboards kick ass! I just wish they were bigger.

http://www.ilcampaign.org/sunshine/patrons/profiles/Eychaner.asp

I could at least tape his show, then.