Updated Action Alert: Save Air America Radio in Sacramento!

Updated Action Alert: Save Air America Radio in Sacramento!

Thanks to all of you who have been active in this campaign. TJ, Bonnie, Steve and Bill L. have all critical info and I am very grateful!

We have an online petition! Demonstrate, make phone calls and write letters to save Sacramento’s Air America access.

New Important Info:

Sign our petition! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/312998868 (please sign here even if you've signed a paper petition.)

Non-Stop Radio now has an article about us! http://www.nonstopradio.com/efforts.html
Our effort now has its own page: http://www.tcdems.org/kctc.htm

Don't Forget our Demo Feb. 21 (Wed.) at 4:30-6! Meet at the station, 5345 Madison, Near Garfield. Contact Margie Metzler (921-5008 or 248-6148; margiemetz [at] hotmail.com ) or Steve Reed (916-202-8577 or stevereed [at] hotmail.com)

Call the station: direct line to General Manager John Geary, 339-4209); jgeary [at] entercom.com; Call Entercom Corporate Offices: Phone: 610-660-5610; Fax: 610-660-5620

Below is the Entire History of our Campaign so far! (as of Feb. 21, 2007)
(The latest news and events are on the top; see bottom for the basic news and explanations of events.)

From Aldous Tyler at NonStop Radio
Finally, KCTC announces ESPN move on their site
Second Call for Action Wed., Feb. 21: Meet at the station and demonstrate 4:30-6
Report on the Feb. 16 Demonstration
Margie: Letter to the Bee re article below (Feb. 17)
Article in the Bee Feb. 16
More Info from Bill Lackemacher
Second e-mail regarding the Demonstation with more info on Attempts to Stifle Air America
Wikipedia Article: Madison
Non-Stop Radio
The original Call to Action


From Aldous Tyler at NonStop Radio

From: NonStop Radio [mailto:proceed [at] NonStopRadio.com]
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 5:19 AM
To: margie metzler
Subject: Re: Clarification: Sacramento!

On http://www.nonstopradiocom/efforts.html it now reads:

Sacramento -

Sacramento, California's oldest incorporated city, has had two Progressive Talk outlets, and the one devoted to Air America and local Progressive voices is in jeopardy! KCTC 1320 AM is scheduled to be flipped to ESPN SportsTalk as of February 26th. KCTC's success in blending the best of national and local Progressive voices must be saved! Sacramento proves that there is more than enough programming to have more than one Progressive Talk outlet in a city. More, with how many conservative talk outlets there are, two doesn't even begin to balance the scales. One, alone, is simply not acceptable.

I am more than willing to be of more help, as well. Have you started a petition yet? I didn't see one.

Aldous
Finally, KCTC Announces the Changes on its Site
A MESSAGE FOR THE LISTENERS OF AM 1320 SACRAMENTO'S LEFT CHANNEL: For the last 1 ? years, KCTC has been Sacramento's Left Channel. As an Air America affiliate, with its own staple of local programming, the station has been a voice for the liberal point of view. We wanted you to know, however, that there are changes ahead for KCTC. On Monday, February 26th, KCTC will become ESPN 1320, carrying the complete sports programming of the ESPN radio network. For the first time, Sacramento will have a station that is all sports...24 hours a day, seven days a week. We appreciate your past support of the Left Channel. If you would like to express an opinion on this change, you may do so by sending an e-mail to kctccomments [at] kctc.com.
Report on the Feb. 16 Demonstration

(Feb. 16 2007) The demonstration today was just terrific! About 30-35 people were there at various times Some came at 8 (and made signs at La Bou) and we stood in front of KCTC till 11. Then we regrouped at La Bou and had a post-mortem of the event.

Everyone had a great time, the people who showed up were just terrific, and we are doing it again: Wednesday, Feb.21st, 4:30 to 6 (so we can include more full-time workers and catch the commuter traffic on Madison) Again, the address is 5345 Madison Ave. (near Garfield). Our signs were great but we felt that we should have had KCTC and/or 1320 on all of them, plus John Geary's e-mail (jgeary [at] entercom.com) on some signs so people driving by can write as well..We had hoped to speak to the manager, John Geary, but that didn't happen. Maybe next time.

Lots of people honked and cheered, one guy jeered us. Not bad.

We need to write to John Geary (at jgeary [at] entercom.com ). Read the article from teh Sacramento Bee below. He thinks "they really haven't heard any outcry." Please prove him wrong. Please also continue writing and calling Entercom corporation (610-660-5610 phone or 610-660-5620 fax.)

Our groups represented a whole bunch of organizations: Town & Country Democrats (http://www.tcdems.org ), Capitol Area Progressives (CAP). Sacramento MoveOn, Sacramento for Democracy (http://www.sacramentofordemocracy.org ), Placer County Democrats, Democracy for America, Grandmothers for Peace, Stonewall Democratic Club, Freedom from War (now TeachPeace, http://www.teachpeace.com), Indy Media (http://www.indymedia.org ), Sac County Democratic Central Committee, the Sierra Club, Gray Panthers, (http://www.gpcal.org), Davis Democratic Club (http://yvm.net/vme/democrats/), and probably a host of other organizations.

We are in for a lot of research on radio stations and the media. We do have some real expertise in several areas.
Entercom is a huge corporation; someone said it is second only to Clear Channel.

We will be contacting Media Matters, Alice Germond at alicegermond [at] dnc.org, Kucinich (Margie thought he is head of the Media Oversight Committee... but now notes she can't find any such committee....)
Margie: Letter to the Bee re article below (Feb. 17)
Re: Media Insider: Left-leaning 1320 readies shift to all-ESPN format, Feb. 16

I read with dismay the Feb. 16 article regarding loss of Air America radio on KCTC, as well as very beloved locals Scott Forrington, Andy Sims, Enid Goldstein, and Manager Charlie Weiss. Not only do they give us real news and information, but they have been wonderful to the community in terms of participating and publicizing local events of the many progressive organizations in the Sacramento area. The comment by station manager John Geary particularly stunned me: "It was a pretty small (Air America) audience, and we really haven't had any outcry."

There are thousands of us who are outraged and/or depressed by this action. In fact, 30 people demonstrated at the studio on Friday, which was a weekday and with only 2 days notice. We'll be there again at 4:30 Wednesday, Feb. 21. In addition, I must protest the comment "A group of Air America supporters calling themselves Town & Country Democrats." The Town & Country Democratic Club (http://www.tcdems.org/) has been active for over 40 years, and the Bee should know it. But while we started the ball rolling, every Progressive organization in the greater Sacramento area is now involved and making noise. We'll show Mr. Geary "outcry"!

Bee article Feb. 16: Media Insider: Left-leaning 1320 readies shift to all-ESPN format

By Joe Davidson - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:07 am PST Friday, February 16, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C2

At long last, Sacramento can soon boast of having two all-sports radio stations to match markets of similar or larger size across the country.

Thursday, officials from KCTC (1320 AM)confirmed the station will ditch its liberal talk format and go with continuous ESPN sports programming beginning Feb. 26.

John Geary, general manager of Entercom Sacramento, which owns KCTC, said the 5,000-watt station was changing from Air America programming to sports to pursue "a new direction," which is pretty obvious.

The ESPN lineup will provide new options for local listeners who receive their sports fix from KCTC (1140 AM), the Kings' flagship, or San Francisco's KNBR (680 AM), home of the Giants and Gary Radnich in the morning.
The move marks another in a number of big changes at KCTC, including dismissal of hosts and program directors. It also means 1140, easily the dominant sports programmer in town, can expect a serious challenge for listener loyalty and local advertising dollars, though it might be awhile before KCTC develops local programming.

The audience that tuned into Air America shows simply wasn't broad enough, Geary said. In short, there are more fans of left-handed pitchers and passers than there are of left-leaning politics.

"It was too narrow for us," Geary said. "So we started looking at ESPN. It was a pretty small (Air America) audience, and we really haven't had any outcry. We couldn't see growing with what we had.

"We don't look at this as, Oh, boy! We're going after 1140! Their success at 1140 speaks for itself. But we feel we're offering something, too."

And in some cases, something better.

KHTK has some excellent, entertaining hosts, including the morning "Rise Guys," featuring Whitey, Phantom and F.P.; Mike Lamb in the afternoon; Jim Kozimor when his program is on in the evening; and Jim Crandell and Chris Townsend and Larry Krueger on Saturdays.

But programming holes include the "Don & Mike Show," a sudden switch from sports in the afternoon (though too popular to drop). When KCTC switches over, listeners during that noon-4 p.m. slot who want to stick with sports can listen to "The Dan Patrick Show."

A group of Air America supporters calling themselves Town & Country Democrats have planned a protest rally for 9 a.m. today in front of Entercom's Madison Avenue studios.

Entercom looks at the change -- pending official approval by ESPN, that company's officials said Thursday -- as much-needed good news. Another Entercom station in Sacramento, The End (KDND, 107.9 FM), elicited significant public disgust when a participant in one of its contests died after consuming too much water while station "personalities" egged her on.

Geary said that topic remains "something I can't talk about."
More Info from Bill Lackemacher

Also, last year Air America lost it's station in Phoenix (KXXT 1010). The station was bought by a Christian group that wants to close down AA stations across the country.

While Phoenix did lose that station, they fought back and got another signal and started another AA station (KPHX 1480). Note: It's not really an AA station, they actually have a bunch of non-AA hosts (Jones: Miller, Press; Nova-M: Malloy, etc...). Malloy was very instrumental in getting progressive radio back on the air in Phoenix. I could be wrong, but if I remember correctly, Ed Schultz was very negative about the whole deal (kind of a why waste your time attitude).

This was one of the ways they got a new station. They sold pixel ad space on this website: http://www.gotstation.com/ We may want to try something similar. They also had another site, http://www.SaveAirAmericaPhoenix.com I think they raised $500,000 in a month to get the new station.

Here's some more background on it.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/3/6/14224/15872

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheldon-drobny/save-air-america-in-phoen_b_16874.html
Second e-mail regarding the Demonstation with more info on Attempts to Stifle Air America

Subject: Focus on the real goal: stopping corporations from controlling the media

I have gotten e-mails from a couple of people who think this fight is about one or two people. It's not.

I wouldn't ask you wonderful people to go to all this trouble unless I thought there were a larger goal. To me, the issue is whether we take a stand to keep corporations from wiping out the only honest media we have. I added three articles below, two about a similar stand the folks in Madison, WI took when the same thing happened to them. (They won!) The third is about something called non-stop radio, which is working to keep progressive radio alive. We may lose, of course, but I want to try. I want to go on record as saying I am going to fight back.

I will come up with a petition and bring it to the demonstration tomorrow. (Download petition here.)

Two different people have pointed out that John Geary is the General manager and we should communicate with him. They also pointed out that this change in programming is a done deal. I know that. It was a done deal in Madison, too, and the decision was reversed.

New contact info for KCTC: John Geary is the General Manager. Charlie Weiss has not been heard from so please contact Mr. Geary. I know you don't get heard and I know they just pass you on. The point is to have large numbers of people continuing to complain. PLEASE don't stop yet!! Also, continue to contact Entercom corp. You could fax them if you won't want to hear their callous indifference!

General Manager John Geary (direct line 339-4209); jgeary [at] entercom.com

Margie
Wikipedia Article: Madison

Air America will Stay on the air in Madison, WI POLITICS – After a large backlash, Clear Channel Radio is keeping its Air America affiliate on the air instead of switching the progressive talk format to Fox sports. Citing the overwhelming negative reaction to the planned change, the nation's largest radio station operator said it would keep 92.1 FM on the air as a progressive talk station.

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison,_Wisconsin

Air America's Madison affiliate The Mic 92.1 FM, WXXM announced on November 10, 2006 it would switch to all sports programming by the end of the year; a spokesperson for Clear Channel in Madison later announced that the station would remain an Air America affiliate after a massive public outcry against the proposed change in format.[21] The public protest included thousands sending petitions, emails, and letters, and a public protest of 500 people along with elected officials Madison's Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison. Promising improved support and advertising sales, a local investment group plans to make Air America and The Mic more successful. Valerie Walasek, an organizer of the protests stated, "It's evidence that as people stand up and demand what they want and demand they are going to take back the airwaves, somebody will listen."[22] The station features the Air America lineup and local programs with Matthew Rothchild's Progressive Radio and Free Thought Radio from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Non-Stop Radio: See http://www.nonstopradio.com/:

NonStop Radio has three core purposes:

1. To discover and assist grassroots movements in keeping threatened Progressive Talk stations on the air for their communities,

2. To assist grassroots efforts in re-establishing Progressive Talk stations where they have been canceled, or set up new Progressive Talk stations for markets not yet exposed to it, and

3. To act as a clearinghouse of information so that activists everywhere can come to the aid of threatened and canceled stations, and to also distribute tips and tricks so that any non-threatened station can be made less vulnerable by its supporters.
The Original Call to Action

Join Town & Country Democrats! Demonstrate, make phone calls and write letters to save Sacramento’s Air America access

On Tuesday afternoon of Feb. 12, most of the staff of radio station KCTC suddenly found themselves unemployed. KCTC had two local radio shows, the Morning Retort with Scott and Sims, and an evening show, Enid Live. These two shows were wonderful to the Progressive community; they provided financial and emotional support and publicized Progressive events in the area.

In addition, the rest of their programming was Air America and included Thom Hartmann, Ring of Fire, and Randi Rhodes. KCTC is the only station in the area to carry those programs. Air America is still going strong, but we in this area will not hear them. The layoffs were ostensibly about money, but this would not be the first time corporations have tried to silence Air America. We can’t let that happen here! Time is of the essence! It is clear that the station’s corporate offices (Entercom, http://www.entercom.com, 610-660-5610) intend to drop Air America and make the KCTC a sports channel. Our sources indicate that this will happen as early as next week, so please act now. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO STOP THIS ATTACK ON THE BEST PROGRESSIVE RADIO THERE IS!

Come to a Demonstration at the station in Sacramento, Friday, Feb. 16, 9-11 am. Meet at La Bou, Madison and Garfield, between 8 and 9, or just go to the station. BRING SIGNS! Info about the station:

Phone: 866-303-2270; 5345 Madison Ave., Sac. 95841; ofc hours 8:30-5:30; Manager, Charlie Weiss, 916-334-7777; advertising, Jennifer George, 916-339-4574. PLEASE show up, and bring everyone else you can find!

Write KCTC, 5345 Madison Ave., Sac. 95841 or go to http://www.kctc.com/contactus.asp, and complain bitterly. And call them at 866-303-2270. Why not do all three?

Call or fax their corporate offices:
Entercom Communications Corp.
401 City Avenue, Suite 809
Bala Cynwyd, Pa 19004
Phone: 610-660-5610
Fax: 610-660-5620

Pass on this information to every Progressive individual and organization you know!
Write letters to the local newspapers!
Contact anyone you may know in the media.
Are there more options?? Can we start our own radio station? Got more ideas???
Questions? Call us!

Margie Metzler, (916) 921-5008 or 248-6148 or margiemetz [at] hotmail.com

Steve Reed, (916) 202-8577 or stevreed [at] hotmail.com

Margie Metzler
President, Town & Country Democrats
(916) 921-5008 or (c) 248-6148
margiemetz [at] hotmail.com
http://www.tcdems.org