Competition Returns To Providence
by Brian Maloney, September 6th, 2007 at 11:01am
*** UPDATED BELOW ***
With word that Rush Limbaugh is switching stations in Providence, the local talk radio market is experiencing a major round of upheaval. And the good news is that competition is returning to Rhode Island, at least in theory.
Leaving WPRO, his longtime Providence home, Limbaugh will soon be heard on Clear Channel’s WHJJ-AM, which has been dead in the water since an ill-fated move to carry liberal talk programming several years ago.
Though the station ultimately cancelled Air America Radio, it didn’t recover after a series of subsequent programming moves that can only be described as bizarre.
As a result, WPRO has effectively been without competition in Providence, but all bets are now off. Shifting away from a Rush ratings benefit to competing against him has been painful for the other stations that have experienced it, with Baltimore’s WBAL-AM as the most recent example.
According to All Access, an industry trade publication, WPRO has responded by turning John DePetro into a morning drive news presenter, while convicted felon Buddy Cianci, fresh out of federal prison, will be propped up by former news anchor Ron St Pierre from 10am-2pm. Dan Yorke will be heard from 2pm-6pm.
While the Rush move will hurt WPRO (I personally think Limbaugh will crush Cianci, who is tired and washed-up after five years in prison), whether WHJJ truly re-emerges as the talk radio powerhouse it once was is frankly up to Clear Channel. It has been badly neglected for years and mistakenly moved its focus away from issues- oriented talk radio.
With Limbaugh on board, however, it makes sense to put some resources back into WHJJ, for the sake of ratings and revenue.
UPDATE: WPRO is apparently trying to spin the loss of Limbaugh into a positive, as though it “dumped” Rush willingly, rather than losing it to WHJJ. Nobody in their right mind would volunteer Limbaugh to the competition, that’s crazy.
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3 Comments
1. ~~~bjd~~~ | September 6th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Rush needs to leave WRKO. Rush deserves better than WRKO. Besides, he’d sound a lot better on FM.
Maybe WRKO can find another felon to fill 12:00 – 3:00.
2. raccoonradio | September 6th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
WHJJ now has the top 3 syndicated poli-talkers
in Rush, Hannity, and Beck. Of course it also
leaves them without a local host from 6 am
to 6 pm (I don’t know if they plan to move
Helen Glover, currently 12-3 pm, to Hannity’s
3-6 pm slot…maybe they could put her on
after Hannity but that’s Mark Levin for now;
I’m guessing Hannity stays at 3 though).
While Rush is a powerhouse it’s also important to have good, strong, local talk. Of course
HJJ’s more recent talkers have featured the
likes of Howie Barte, Arlene Violet, and
Helen Glover who may not have been all
that strong.
Glover was talking about the Station Nightclub
settlement today…a local issue. WPRO can
pound its chest saying they’re all local. But I do think that Clr Chnl/Premiere took Rush away from them, not “we got rid of Rush”…
3. Johnny Boy Soprano | September 6th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
My people have always loved John DePetro, da Independent Man. No one (I mean no one) was better at determining who made the best gravy on Federal Hill.
He is a “friend of ours” — and that still matters for something down here in RI. Youse guys better get used to listening to John DePetro in the am!!!