News/talk billings

[Karen McTrotsky]

WTOP is again the top billing station in the US. There are five news and
talk stations in the Top 10, plus a sports talker and legendary AC WLTW.

Seven of Boston's top 10 rated stations have adult formats (I include
sports on that list)

Clear Channel, CBS andGreater Media have been blowing up stations to battle
for the kid-demo in Boston. It seems to be about 20 percent of the
audience, although the WXKX-FM piece includes a decent spread of 34+.

There will be big losers in this one.  It all makes me wonder if
intelligent talk will ultimately have a spot on commercial stations. Not
in-your-face conservative
name-calling, and not the silly attempts at news for the stupid seen in
other markets in what appears to have been a short-lived fad, but newstalk
based on intelligence the wayWRKO was based when it had O'Brien and
Jeghelian, Burns,
Williams and Brudnoy?  RKO's decline began when Gencorp exited Broadcasting
and the folkswho bought the station eventually added Limbaugh, whose
numbers covered up for the structural and perception damage that he
inflicted on the station. Of course the plummet was aided mightily when
Entercom management took over, continuing the death spiral that began under
the leadership of the people who pretended to be broadcaster --  Mr. Dodge
(who is now a condo developer), Mr. Shultz (now CEO of a health plan) and
Mr. Winn (now counting the millions he made when the company decided it
liked antennas more than broadcasting)