WBT is horrible

[Seen the light]

Why is it that I'm stuck listening to that garbage? Is there nobody around here that will pick up the banner and run with it?

[Greylyn58]

1. They are horrible

That's why I don't listen to them. I keep hoping a station around here will pick up Air America because I can't get the Asheville or Chapel Hill stations that run AAR.

Charlotte is conservative, but not so much so that we can't get some progressive radio in here.

I keep hoping for it.

[cwydro]

2. Yeah, I grew up there

and fled as soon as possible...I can't believe they still don't have Air America there...on second thought, I CAN believe it.

[_Loki_]

5. Are You Kidding Me?

"Charlotte is conservative,"



By what standard?
I know that this thread is about WBT, in general, but the city itself is far from a bastion of conservativism.

[Lex]

6. Charlotte's Mayor is conservative?

City council?

Has the county ever been "blue" in a Senate or Prez election?

[_Loki_]

7. Re

The entire county, or the majority of it?

The majority of voters withing the borders of Mecklenburg voted for Kerry in the most recent presidential election. I do not remember what was the outcome of the 2000 election, in terms of how the county voted.

I wouldn't call McCrory "conservative", though, just because he wears an R.

[wildeyed]

8. I think that Bush just edged out Gore in Mecklenberg in 2000.

Kerry won by 5% in 2004. Last year we also elected dems to *all* of the at-large County Commissioner positions.

[GreenInNC]

9. Blue County

Democratic City Council, County Commission, School Board (supposed to be non partisan but majority of members Dems). Plus several of the other towns in the county have Democratic Mayors, Mint Hill and Matthews for sure.

[Esse Quam Videri]

3. If you have access

to a computer go to Air America Radio and stream their broadcast. I guarantee that you will love it!

[wildeyed]

4. Here is how they got AAR in Baton Rouge.

It could be done here, too.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/12/171516/153

[mwooldri]

10. Well XM's getting cheaper...

$50 for a Roady 2 and $13/month to get Air America.

Yes, it would be nice to get Air America on in Charlotte (or anywhere else in NC for that matter).

The problem is signal, signal and signal.

There are not enough FM's to go around for music, so AM is the choice. However, to cover Charlotte you have three candidate frequencies to work well:

1) 1110 WBT. Well, you know who it's owned by, and what's going to happen: nothing.
2) 610 WFNZ. Owned by Infinity (i.e. Viacom). It makes some decent cash and has a reasonably good market share for an AM.
3) 930 WYFQ. Owned by the Bible Broadcasting Network. They are unlikely to dump their evangelism for Air America.

There is a chance that 1660 WNFA could switch but there'd have to be a concerted campaign to Infinity to get them to dump the simulcast of WFNZ and show them the money, so to speak. Radio is a capitalist industry, and if Al Franken will bill more than the alternative (whatever format it is) in the Queen City (and the other shows that would be aired on a Progressive Talk station) then it might work. But it's all down to $$$'s and not just market share (though often market share goes with $$$).

BTW same problem exists in the Piedmont Triad. At least Alan Colmes is on overnight on WZTK - but there's hardly any good AM signals around in the Piedmont. Even the heritage WSJS needed WSML to cover the east of the region. You'd have to put up a lot of money to Truth Broadcasting to get them to switch 830 WTRU (the only signal that would cover the Piedmont Triad well on AM) to anything other than Christian Education.

Mark.

[Seen the light]

11. Thanks