Boston Phoenix talk radio...?

[Bob Nelson]

I have mentioned this in passing before but it may be worth a try...It has been 246 days approximately
since prog. talk went off air in Boston and who knows if it would succeed if given a second try
(it's going off apparently in San Diego, now as well). But I wonder if Stephen Mindich of the Boston
Phoenix/WFNX, if given the opportunity to buy a station (most likely AM) would consider doing
what would basically be Boston Phoenix Talkradio?

1) The political content could be like the first section of the paper--left-leaning (I am mostly
right-leaning, but will admit they do cover local and national politics from their own
perspective). Don't Quote Me!

2) Mostly local shows during the day and they could sprinkle some national content like Stephanie
Miller, Ed Schulz, Thom Hartmann, etc.

3) For night shows, etc., talk with local musicians/comedians/artists. Tai did some stuff
like that on his WRKO night show and even Todd Feinburg's Taste of Boston Tonight tried it.
Who knows. Have some "Boston After Dark" moments in there, too (does WFNX still run those?)

4) Sell advertising. Agressively. See all the ads in the paper? Get them to buy time on
the radio, too.

5) Promote the station in the paper, etc.

I'm sure the thought may have crossed Mindich's mind at one point but you wonder. Whether
or not it would be a success is unknown but for those complaining about the lack of
prog. talk in Boston, you have that long-running paper...already into the radio business
for a couple decades...sitting right here, and the possibility exists.

(By the way, I wonder if prog. talk is handicapped by the fact that many young people,
who tend to be liberal, might be more interested in music stations/mp3 players?
That could be one reason the format is suffering. Or do they prefer to get their
political content from The Daily Show, Rolling Stone, the Net, the Phoenix paper, etc.?