Talk Radio Network used to have Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, Phil Hendrie, Rusty Humphries and others
A little over a year ago, Talk Radio Network imploded. The Daily news program died (except for the morning news with a new host), Rusty Humphries quit, Jerry Doyle left the air (he returned a few months later)
From IRS filings, we know that TRN is a for profit subsidiary of the Religion named the Foundation for Human Understanding, which is run by Roy Masters to market his mind control tapes (Be Still and Know) as a non-profit entity (a religion but not a church according to the IRS) which allows FHU to not pay taxes to the IRS. Last year, the IRS ruled FHU is not a church, and therefore is required to file an annual financial report, subject to perjury if it is inaccurate.
Here is the new schedule
http://www.trncorporate.com/writeable/manual_uploads/TRN_XDS_Schedule_Template_11-17-14.pdf
Gone from the weekend schedule:
– Monica Crowley
– Barry Farber
– Motor Trend Weekend
The most curious thing is “B1” Bob Dornan is listed on the satellite schedule as a weekday host, but not as a TRN host. There is nothing about a new show in the News section and nothing I can find in Google. Maybe he is renting the satellite time.
TRN sued Dial Global who distributed and “repped” their programs to radio stations. Dial Global was acquired by Cumulus. The lawsuit was settled, but Cumulus dropped TRN programming from its stations and appears to have no interest in helping TRN survive.
Which syndicated host do you think was the ‘domino’ that started the exodus? Savage?
At one time, I would occasionally listen to Masters’ FHU show for its rather twisted entertainment value (I was living in a location with limited station options). Typically, a caller (often female) would spill their story, Roy would gently ‘build them up’ during the conversation and then, just before Roy was ready to move on to his next caller (victim), he would viciously humiliate the person with his P/A mental abuse tactics.
I believe the first domino wasn’t a host at all – it was the death of Reverand Moon in South Korea. His relatives withdrew financial support from the Washington Times, forcing. The TRN news programs to find a new studio (at WTNT for a while) and new funding.
The IRS also has ruled that FHU must file an annual financial report (retroactively) after a ruling that FHU is a non-profit educational entity but not a church. Given the amount of interaction between FHU and TRN, their attention may be more on talking with CPAs.
What caved them in was Cumulus dropping TRN’s programs. Cumulus was by far their biggest customer. Andrea Tantaros realized too late that her show had no signifcant affiliates, and her contract was a revenue share. She probably was working for minimum wage.
That’s too bad. I liked to listen to Crowley’s live show Saturday afternoons if I happened to be working in my garage, or around a radio at the time.
Alan Taylor is now at a different syndicator with a show called The Drive
http://www.ernlive.com/show/the-drive-with-alan-taylor/15