KTAR Programmer's Posts

Thanks, Again

A quick note about ratings.

Radio stations get updated ratings four times a year.  The ratings "book" for summer was released earlier this week. 

FM News/Talk 92.3 KTAR once again had the most listeners of any news/talk/sports station in Arizona with more than 300,000 people tuned in each week.  Sports 620 KTAR had the second most listeners.  Combined, the stations had more than 560,000 people listening to them.

To give you some perspective, the #3 news/talk/sports station in the ratings had a total of roughly 240,000 listeners. 

When we drafted our projections for where 92.3 and 620 would be 9 months after we made the historic split of news/talk and sports the numbers were no where near that level.  We owe you, the listener, a great deal of gratitude.  Thank you for adapting to the major changes we have made in the last 12 months. 

Maybe you'd be interested in a couple other nuggets from the latest ratings update. 

The age of the average listener of KTAR-FM has dropped 15 years.  KTAR-FM's nearest news/talk competitor's average age range is 63-72 years old.  KTAR-FM's average age range is 47-56. 

And, KTAR-FM looks different from traditional news/talk stations on AM in gender composition as well.  FM News/Talk 92.3 KTAR has an audience that is 55% male and 45% female.  KTAR-FM's nearest news/talk competitor on AM is 79% male/21% female. 

Unlike news/talk stations on AM that share listeners, KTAR-FM's audience is not the typical AM political talk radio junkie.  Only 8% of KTAR-FM listeners listen to its nearest competitor on AM. 

I'm sure I likely lost your interest 10 paragraphs ago.  I know these are a bunch of boring statistics.  And, they're only early indicators.   When we made the historic split of news/talk and sports and moved the news/talk product to a place no other station in the same format had ever existed, we did so with 2008, 2009, and beyond in mind. 

You'll have to forgive the rambling on about numbers, but it's quite exciting for those of us who have worked at several news/talk stations in our career in different markets who are now a part of KTAR.  In radio you rarely get to blaze a trail or do something unique.  For those of us involved it's incredibly exciting and rewarding. 

And, we owe you, the audience gratitude.  Thank you.

In The Crossfire

Kudos to KTAR's Jim Cross and Aaron Farnham who are working around the clock to bring home the stories of one of the worst disasters the southwest U.S. has ever seen. 

As this country deals with its largest evacuations since Hurricane Katrina, our team is on the scene to make sure we report every development first and put this story in context.  Jim has literally spent weeks receiving training and experience from some of Arizona's best firefighters over the last few years.  The investment he's made pays off in moments like this when he is allowed rare access to the front lines and is able to understand the complexities these fires present.  He's no fire rookie.

You can hear Jim's in-depth reports with Ned & Connie in the mornings and his updates every hour on FM News/Talk 92.3 KTAR.  Make sure you check out his photo gallery on KTAR.com as well.

Our commitment to covering this story doesn't end there.  Our news management team was on a late conference call with ABC News out of New York City tonight to coordinate our coverage.  As one of ABC News's top affiliates we are granted unusual access to national correspondents and experts on major stories like this.  You'll hear them in the next few days.

And, today we coordinated with our company's top news/talk stations on additional resources we're sending in to make sure you have the highest quality coverage.  A team from our sister station, KIRO-AM, in Seattle was dispatched late Tuesday morning.  You'll hear them on 92.3 in the next few days as well.

This coordination is all aimed at making sure KTAR has access to reporters fanned out all across the fire zone.  If flames make a surprise attack, if damage escalates quickly in one area, or if this story gets even worse, we'll be able to get word the moment it happens.

We will not be covering this story by relying on national news satellite feeds or news wire services. 

Once again, KTAR is uniquely positioned to provide unmatched coverage of this major story.  We know that's what you expect.

The Phones Go Silent

Every once in a while I get the calls.  Sometimes they come from offended listeners.  Other times they come from powerful decision makers.  And occasionally it's a business professional who controls millions of dollars. 

The calls go something like this:

"Russ, what __(fill in the name of the talk show host)___ said is not only irresponsible, it's racist.  This is not a positive reflection on you or your station."

The calls come after one of our hosts has hit some nerve in his monologue about the latest developments in the emotional debate over illegal immigration.  The person on the other end of the phone usually makes one of the following threats: stop listening,  pull ad dollars, tell all their bridge partners, complain to our advertisers, or cancel their contract with us.

My part of the conversation goes something like this:

"Thanks for caring so much about this issue.  Like you, I understand the size of our audience and the impact of the things our personalities say.

The illegal immigration debate is an emotional one.  Both sides are very passionate.  And, no matter what our talk show hosts say on this issue they will offend people.  Yes, our hosts have strong opinions but they seek out those who disagree with them and will treat them with great respect on the air as long as that treatment is matched by the guest."

Normally, whatever I say makes little difference.  The caller is so upset that our host has taken such a strong position against illegal immigration that they are unwilling to listen.  Then, they usually throw out a few more claims of racism.  I defend the integrity of our employee.  The caller and I agree to disagree and the call ends diplomatically.

A few days pass.  And, the process repeats itself.

The calls never bother me. 

In fact, they reassure me that our personalities are talking about the most important issues in our community.

But, something does bother me. 

The irresponsible comments made by an outspoken activist in our community comparing a media hore sheriff, who seems to be the only one enforcing immigration laws, to one of the most infamous Nazi leaders makes our hosts look like embarrassingly boring and lifeless NPR "personalities." 

The hypocrisy that has been demonstrated in this community in the last 24 hours is shameful.

My phone rings from individuals anxious to be offended when our talk show hosts say something as outrageous as "secure the border" or "those who have violated the law should be prosecuted." 

Those who complain embarrass themselves by claiming racism.

And yet, I wonder how many of them have today dialed the phone number of this activist who has damaged his reputation by making a reckless comparison to one of the most evil groups that has ever occupied this planet. 

I'll put money on the bet that the same cell phones that have dialed my number to protest in the past have not used many of their airtime minutes today to call the activist featured in our news reports.

Their silence speaks volumes.

Paul Harvey Update

I promised to keep all of you updated on Paul Harvey.  Here's the latest:

ABC cleared us to continue running Paul Harvey for the last six weeks while they looked for a new station for him.  We, and ABC, both expected the relocation of Harvey to take two weeks, at the most.  It's now six weeks later.  We are no longer cleared to run his broadcasts.

It's my understanding from the good folks at ABC that they are extremely close to reaching an agreement with a Phoenix-area AM radio station.  ABC has asked me to not mention what station might air Harvey's broadcasts since the agreement is not complete.  I will, of course, honor that. 

So, it's my expectation that Paul Harvey will soon be back on the Phoenix airwaves on a different station.  And, while ABC and that AM station negotiate their agreement concerning Paul Harvey, KTAR is not licensed to carry his broadcasts. 

That is the very latest. 

One Year Later

Wow, what a year!

One  year ago, we were literally working around the clock as we searched the country for talent and spent all of our time building two stations that would both be a part of the KTAR brand.  For those of us involved in managing the construction project it was one of the busiest times of our lives.  We were preparing for a historic change involving Arizona's most storied call letters.

Now, 12 months later, it is nearly impossible to avoid the KTAR brand.  Whether you're following the Diamondbacks in their incredible run, are deeply engaged in the illegal immigration battle brewing among our law enforcement agencies, want to know what Matt Leinart's diagnosis is, are looking for the latest traffic report on increasingly congested highways, want to read the latest breaking news online, are gearing up for the Suns season, or are listening to the most compelling talk shows on the radio, you are tuned to some part of KTAR.

We are extremely fortunate.  All of us who work here at KTAR have spent our careers at stations that are able to offer a portion of what KTAR does each day.  But, none of us have been a part of anything that comes even close to putting out the scope of content this brand distributes every day. 

That was the vision we had a year ago.  But, not once did we think we would be at this point this quickly. 

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting interview with Roger Ailes, the CEO of Fox News yesterday.  A reporter asked Ailes about the new Fox Business Channel that is soon to debut.   One question was about how quickly Ailes expected to the new channel to reach measurable success.  Ailes predicted it would take about four years.  It is a monumental effort for brands, even established ones, to offer new products or change the way they are distributed.  And, it takes time for them to achieve their potential.

At KTAR, we recently marked the one year anniversary of our existence on FM.  After 85 years of being on AM, and 20 years of being a station that offered both news and sports on one frequency, we now celebrate 12 months of expanding our brand onto two stations, on different bands.  And, add to that an unmatched commitment from a radio operation to the new media space.  Our competition in that space is not radio, though, it's much larger than that.

For generations, KTAR has epitomized radio, news, sports, and community commitment.  We're thrilled that after a historic year, that reputation has grown notably stronger. 

It's because of two things.  First, a company that invests in us in a way that makes headlines in our industry.  And, second, having the most talented professionals in the country.  You hear many of those pros on the air every day.  Dozens of them, however, work feverishly behind the scenes to make the big name talent you are familiar with sound great.

So, one year into our new home on FM, and 10 months into growing this brand into three major entities on AM, FM, and the Internet, we are thrilled with our situation and indebted to you, the audience, for your patience with the changes and your response to the product.

We remain committed to being the brand that has more local content than any other station (we currently offer at least 26 hours a day of local programming between KTAR-FM & KTAR-AM).  Our closest competitor offers 7. 

And, we remain committed to covering, and talking about the issues you care about most.  Whether it's a tragic murder of a police officer, two news choppers colliding in mid-air, following the local teams at training camp and the playoffs, or facilitating dialog on what happened in your city today, we will be there.