Progressive Talk Radio in Boston? You'd Think So...

The Boston area had a progressive talk station (simulcasting on two AM frequencies) for about a year and a half, before the owner, Clear Channel, switched over in December to a format they're calling "Rumba" -- which offers a variety of Latin music, though, oddly, not so much rumba.

Having a progressive voice on the radio was kinda fun, especially during the long run-up to the mid-term elections. The programming included Al Franken, Rachel Maddow, and others (it kept shifting) from Air America, as well as Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller from the Jones Radio Network. The management never really went after local programming or local advertisers in any meaningful way, and I don't recall seeing much print advertising for the station, although Clear Channel owns a ton of billboards around here. It didn't help much that their signal was quite weak, especially after sundown. "Hey Boss, I got a great idea! Let's offer a progressive talk format, with call-in programs, that nobody can pick up all night long. Most lefties are early-to-bed / early-to-rise types anyway, right? No night-owls in that crowd!"

Still, people responded and some became loyal listeners, grateful for something from the blue end of the political spectrum.

Since the Rumbafication of WKOX and WXKS, Boston has no outlet for progressive talk. The folks who appreciated the progressive format are fighting to get it back. They have a petition at their website and who know? maybe it will accomplish something.