Early Morning radio is a tough sell – for AM stations just barely clinging to life, the 6-9 AM morning drive is the only time they can make money to pay the electricity bill. They are not going to turn that time over to a nationally syndicated show coming from far away.<\/p>\n
In case you haven’t heard of Doug Stephan’s Good Day, the network feed begins at 4 AM ET. The first hour is usually, but not always, Talk Radio Countdown where Doug plays clips and segments of things other hosts said yesterday, and then Doug tells you why they or their callers are wrong. Then, up until 10 AM, he does an ensemble show from his New England farmhouse talking about various topics of the day.<\/p>\n
Doug casts himself as a Republican – he likes money – but his political views are to the left of even New England Republicans. This becomes most apparent near election time. Doug is 68 years old, and mentioned a few months ago that he has had serious financial problems – I think he said he lost his farm. His attempts to donate his AM radio station in Ohio to his alma mater fell through.<\/p>\n
Molly Paige is a relatively young California based news reporter. She worked for a while for Talk Radio Network’s America’s Radio News, then went to westwood One’s failed attempt to revive the NBC News brand on radio. She now will join the morning crew of Good Day, which means staying up late if she stays in California – rather than waking up with the cows.<\/p>\n
Even though carried nationally, the show has a tiny audience. Many of the affiliates are on the west coast who just think they need noise on the air at 2 AM. East Coast affiliates are mostly low power AM stations in tiny markets too small to support a local host for 3 hours a day – just treading water until a religious broadcaster agrees to take the station as a tax write off or the 85 year old owner dies in the nursing home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Early Morning radio is a tough sell – for AM stations just barely clinging to life, the 6-9 AM morning drive is the only time they can make money to pay the electricity bill. They are not going to turn … Continue reading