Blogs

sounds like Cal Deal spends ALL his time listening to talk radio

since you don't seem to like the line-up now perhaps this would be an opportune time to go out and find a life!

as for the Defede's ratings...if the were bad at WINZ they must really suck now!

I think the moves are great! Ed Schultz is a doofus, a North Dakota-calibre radio host who benefitted from good timing.

Thom Hartmann is brilliant and his show is entertaining as well as interesting.

And I happen to like Nicole in the morning. DeFede was knowledgeable about local issues, but he's not a broadcaster, and was often painful to listen to!

Thom Hartmann is one of the most thoughtful, erudite and well-spoken hosts in all of talk radio.

I give him about a month.

Turn on NPR's All Things Considered (Jim Zaroli reporting) and hear about Clear Channel's attempts to be on the sales block. Hint: the talks with potential buyers have nothing to do with the quality of your favorite talk show host.

Hey Ken, you want ratings? I'm available in 9 months. No offense to Nicole, but can she really have better ratings than DeFeces?

Nobody likes Ed Schultz. His ratings are bad, his staff is snotty and big headed. Station by station they are waking up and dropping him.

Thom Hartmann is way more talented and listenable than Schultz. He actually talks about issues of political importance rather that football, fishing and the campaign bodyslam.

Glad Schultz is gone.

I was very surprised when I turned on Ed this afternoon and heard Thom Hartman, yes he is good but I like Ed's show and am disappointed to see him go, I do not believe that Lionel has higher ratings, in fact I can barely tune in Lionel the signal seems to be powering down at that time...I noticed there was no mention of Randi's ratings....if she is dumped then we will know for sure that this move was political

This sucks. Hartman talks about too many "so what?" things in an attempt to sound "smart".

Ed Schultz is probably the best answer to Rush... I don't understand why he is being dropped, and why some of you dislike him so much. So he talks about football and fishing, wow, he must be a normal everyday guy. That's part of his appeal. He's one of the very very few progressives that is able to get through to some of these hard headed conservatives because he's very relatable. Many democratic leaders love him. I really hope this wasn't a political move. I hear the same thing happened in LA, switching Ed with Thom... Coincidence? Now both of these markets' schedules are primarily airing Air America hosts.

I'm surprised Ed got the boot in Miami... always thought he attracted more male listeners, and that the powers-that-be at 940am would guarantee him a job for life. VERY surprised to hear his ratings were lower than Stephanie's. (She's very smart and witty, but her show content is so vacuous.)

As for Ed, he got off (literally) on a deceptive, trash-talking, anti-Hillary Clinton tirade a couple of months ago, and I do believe that was his undoing. People must have complained. And if the same thing happened in the City of Angels, well, I would almost bet my life on it. I called into his show about six weeks ago with some real facts on Obama (you know, the few that are out there), and he spent the break doing some "research", came back and distorted everything I had just laid out for listeners to look up for themselves. After they heard Ed's "facts" would anyone bother? Naah.

Good riddance, Ed. Thom Hartmann is a welcome replacement, and we will all learn a lot from him regarding the founding of this nation. Plus, he actually puts "the other side" on his show for some lively discussions. Thom's AAR's best daily host. And "Ring of Fire" (weekends) with RFK Jr. is the best three hours on their network.

But hey, Nicole Sandler is a local treasure. She's sharp, knowledgable, skilled with callers, and has a melodious voice. DeFede was/is good on local politics, and he should have stayed. Look where he is now -- on a Right Wing screamer. Poor guy. He needs to find a better home...

Here in New York, Ed Schultz just replaced Thom Hartmann. Schultz sounds like a used car salesperson. Thom Hartmann is much better. You are lucky to have him.

The thing is no one remembers the past, in the 2000 election cycle Clear Channel came to South Florida and bought up all the Progressive and Liberal stations, and then proceeded to fire everybody except Randi who was consigned to 1290AM. WJNO 1230AM's message which was heard from the Keys to Port St. Lucie was now a West Palm Beach Station only! And Randi was surrounded by the right, by Rush and one of a dozen failed host who couldn't keep an audience. Randi was sent on a cruise in the Mediterranean during the run up to the 2000 election and
returned a short time before the election.

Here we go again? Ed Shultz is gone months before the 2008 election, Randi is suspened for being funny and using the "f" word in a comedy club, at the expense of a Clinton. Is this the continuation of Clear Channels attemp at controlling the information we hear in that both Randi and Ed seem to be leaning towards Obama as the canidate of the Democratic Party and not Hillary.

The thing is no one remembers the past, in the 2000 election cycle Clear Channel came to South Florida and bought up all the Progressive and Liberal stations, and then proceeded to fire everybody except Randi who was consigned to 1290AM. WJNO 1230AM's message which was heard from the Keys to Port St. Lucie was now a West Palm Beach Station only! And Randi was surrounded by the right, by Rush and one of a dozen failed host who couldn't keep an audience. Randi was sent on a cruise in the Mediterranean during the run up to the 2000 election and
returned a short time before the election.

Here we go again? Ed Shultz is gone months before the 2008 election, Randi is suspened for being funny and using the "f" word in a comedy club, at the expense of a Clinton. Is this the continuation of Clear Channels attemp at controlling the information we hear in that both Randi and Ed seem to be leaning towards Obama as the canidate of the Democratic Party and not Hillary.

I notice Kenny's response had nothing about the snake oil running on the weekends. Clear Channel basically programs its talk radio stations to drive people AWAY on Saturday and Sunday. Would love to listen to a talk station that had a no-infomercial pledge. Brokered shows have ruined South Florida AM radio.

The only thing keeping WIOD and WINZ in business is WFTL's slipping-on-a-banana-peel ineptitude.

I think Ed Schultz does good "blue" talk for "red" states. Miami is the opposite -- Limbaugh was a non-factor in SoFla for his first dozen or so years on the air. So more of the East Coast approach (Lionel) makes more sense here.

I've listened to Thom Hartman all week. I guess i'm just used to listening to Ed Schultz. Say what you want about Ed, but at least he had a personality and passion when he spoke. Thom is very subdued and that is very boring to listen to.

As mentioned in previous posts, I also can not believe that Nicole Sandler has better ratings than Jim Defede. If and that is a big IF I happened to tune in on my way to work about 6:20 AM, it always seems like she is complaining about something or talking about her daughter, which makes me change the channel. I'm sure her (as we've been told what seems like a million + times "adopted daughter")is a great kid, but if I want updates ok someones offspring, I will check with family or close friends. I have tried to be fair and give her a chance, but sorry Nicole, you do absolutely nothing to make me want to tune you in anymore.

Outside of Randi from 3-6, WINZ-AM has lost my support as a listener. I have XM and they will get my listenership as well as my dollars. To me, it is worth it.

Thom Hartman is great. But so is Ed Schultz. BTW -- I live in West Boca and in the evening the WINZ signal gets turned down so I have to go elsewhere.

Lionel and Molloy and Stephanie are all good. Nicole Sandler is good for local and state news and issues.

They're all good and should be carried over the air.

Just shows you how the "Market" fails the People.

Best regards

-- GP

====

I have lived in Miami for 4 years, and except on weekends when I can't take the snake oil salesmen or RFK Jr.'s voice, my radio has been locked onto 940 WINZ since I found it about a week after I moved here. I enjoy having a progressive station around and listening to hosts and callers who seem to have a clue, are knowledgable and educated and who seem fair in their thought processes and can have a good exchange of ideas, even with people who don't necessarily agree with them(unlike Rush, O'Reilly and Michael Savage who just shout over or cut off anyone who doesn't think the same way they do). That being said, in my opinion WINZ makes too many changes, and switches their lineup with no prior notice far too often. First we lost Jerry Springer (no great loss, in my opinion), then it was removing Rachael Maddow in the morning and bringing Jim Defede onboard (which I thought was a bad idea at the time, as I rather enjoyed Rachael's show during my drive to work). Jim may have been OK on local issues and politics, but sounded amateurish at best, didn't have a voice for radio, couldn't annunciate half of his words, and was a slob (newspapers spoke about how he showed up in big, baggy jeans, faded T-shirts and unlaced tennis shoes, and this is how he looked when interviewing high-profile celebs and serious politicians!) Then it was the switch to the positioning slogan "940 winz...Think for yourself!" and the new local liners introducing each talk show which are painful and amateurish at best (the one where the guy sounds like a hippie when intoducing Lionel's show and sounds like a bored guy operating a roller coaster at an amusement park when introducing Randi). Then there was the change in the sounder for the traffic report from something professional to the theme song from "Naked Gun". In between, there were several swaps in hosts and moving them to different time slots, then they dumped Jim Defede and started using Nicole, who sounds like she should be working for some radio station in a town with a population of about 5,000 people, but certainly doesn't have the intelligence, talent or ability to do AM drive on a major market radio station like 940. Now we lose Ed for Thom, and Randi is still under suspension. Oh, did I mention the switch from CNN to CBS radio news in there as well? Change can be good, but constant changes like this, some not for the better, just drive away listenership. People get attached to hosts and shows, then they swap them every few months and people don't like that. Also, overall, WINZ sounded like a professional, major market station when I first started listening. Now it sounds like a college station at times with some overly opinionated and assertive trailer park person with an 8th grade education named Nicole doing a morning show. Hey Mr. Charles...Find something that works, and please stick with it for a while!

I am happy Ed if FINALLY gone. He is not missed and Tom is brilliant! Way to go!

At least they did the right think by bringing Randy back after Air America shafted her!

I find Thom Hartmann boring. I confess that I actually tune in to Rush when Hartmann is on the radio. And I hate Rush!

I'm committed to 940 almost non-stop, since I work from home, and am so grateful to have access to this brave and intelligent station. Regarding personalities, I find Nicole Sandler to be excellent. She's become forceful, courageous, and willing to stand up to callers. A real asset to the station. Ed Schultz has a more interesting style than Tom Hartmann but Tom is highly intelligent and doesn't delight in discussing his (ugh) hunting exploits. Stephanie Miller and Randi Rhodes are true treasures. Thank you, WINZ for helping us "think for ourselves" and yes, I DO patronize your sponsors.