It’s no longer The Truth. It’s no longer “Right Talk for Tucson.” But it is more local, and it will hope to use that local appeal to improve its standing against the nation’s top talker.
KQTH 104.1 FM, the market’s lone news/talk FM, will on Monday follow the lead of stations in other cities and move its best known talent out of morning drive in hopes a local presence will cut into KNST AM 790’s mid-day talk advantage with Rush Limbaugh. Jon Justice, who has locked down KQTH’s more traditional morning talk slot since its launch seven years ago, will broadcast his program from 8:30 to noon weekdays.
Limbaugh dominates other syndicated talk programs, but has experienced ratings lags in some markets that have countered with local programming. On the surface, it’s a counterintuitive move. The thought has been putting the station’s most listened to element in morning drive, but whereas morning drive—the roughly 5:30 to 9 window when people prepare for work—has been radio’s traditional hotspot, of late that has applied more to music based formats than the talk model.
To my recollection, this is the first effort a Tucson talk station has made to go with live, local programming in middays opposite Limbaugh.
In place of Justice in morning drive, 104.1 will add a news block hosted by Program Director Bill White. The news block, a series of reports that generally includes national, state and local news, weather, sports and traffic, also features opportunities for the host to chat about the day’s topics of note before returning to the next block of headlines.
The news block is generally fast-paced, and if done well, times nicely with listener driving habits, which tend to average in the neighborhood of 20 minutes in Tucson. It’s also a format that has been dreadfully underrepresented in this market, largely the result of cutbacks.
Tucson hasn’t opted for a morning news block since KCUB 1290 AM jettisoned an effort last decade. During that time it was an aggressive effort to model 1290, which had just wrested the UA sports contract from KNST AM 790, to transition into a news/talk oriented station that broadcast UA games. Basically, it wanted to out-KNST KNST.
Chuck Meyer, Mike Rapp and Betsy Bruce, among others, put together the best radio show in Tucson that nobody heard. When the expensive effort came up short of expectations, it was scrapped, along with 1290’s news/talk designs, which played a role in laying the foundation for the station’s current all-sports format.
But instead of copying KNST, 104.1 FM is offering alternative programming. Now listeners won’t have to choose between the market’s top-rated morning talkers Garrett Lewis and Justice (KVOI AM 1030 and KEVT AM 1210 have local morning talk shows as well, but their numbers don’t generate the same audience comparisons), the new battle will be how effective a news block is against Lewis’ talk format. It helps that the station can utilize news resources from its television counterpart, Journal owned KGUN TV 9, an advantage not available to any other media cluster in the market.
Tucson’s Morning News will air from 6-8:30 weekdays. All told, KQTH will offer nine hours of local programming every weekday. In addition to Tucson’s Morning News and the Jon Justice Show, James T. Harris will continue to broadcast his talk show weekdays from 3-6.
However, they will no longer do so as “The Truth.” That moniker, and “right talk for Tucson” are being scrapped in favor of “104.1 KQTH, Tucson’s News and Talk.” A new website domain, kqth.com, was purchased a few weeks ago. The talk show tone will remain conservative, so the programming change doesn’t affect the content and approach for Justice and Harris.
Nationally syndicated programming will include Dave Ramsey from noon-3 weekdays and Laura Ingraham, who will move into evenings from 6-9. Mark Levin will continue in his 9-midnight time slot.
Adding more local on the schedule also helps with limitations in syndication. KQTH was hurt when some of its programs suffered contractual snafus related to problems with syndicator TRN, or the Talk Radio Network.
While heavyweights Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have been able to weather the storm, the Sandra Fluke controversy has taken a significant toll on the smaller players in the talk radio syndication landscape.
Even KQTH seems leery of political polarization. While the change in moniker and addition of a local news clock won’t affect the tone of Justice and Harris’ shows, 104.1 could have simply maintained a conservative feel during its day parts by transitioning Ingraham to afternoons. It opted for Ramsey’s financial advice show in that slot instead while moving Ingraham to evenings, where listenership dips dramatically.
This article appears in Apr 10-16, 2014.
Too late.
People who listen to this garbage are generally whack jobs.
One might argue that they dumped the truth quite some time ago…
Another bone-headed programming move. Conservatives are too busy working to pay taxes. They don’t have time to listen .
Me thinks you liberal commenters are just mad that NO ONE wants to listen to a progressive talk radio show. You may now put your heads back into your posterior.
What Progressive Talk Radio???
Progressive talk radio: people saying things that make sense and intelligent people respond to by saying things like “yes, I agree” or “it WOULD be better for everyone if that were to happen”.
Right-Wing talk radio: entertainment for people with closed minds that intelligent people respond to by saying things like “what a fucking idiot” or “i feel like I should shower after listening to that moron” or “how does this stuff get on the air” or my favorite “every second I listen to this i feel myself getting dumber, pretty soon I’ll be a Libertarian…then a Republican…then Forrest Gump…then a Tea-Partier”
What about James T. Harris?
Check out the new talk station in town, KEVT AM 1210
I guess the progressive faction, in your mind, is the only way to the solution, Kinda like 2+3=6 sorta…It’s not right, but it’s close enough for you.
Not a Rancho Snob. What a name. Sounds pretty snobbish to me. Typical lib. “Either agree with what we say or you are an idiot.” Most of us are in the middle. Not left wing morons or right wing nutjobs. Unlike you, I like to listen to both sides then research the issue myself. Then I make my own conclusion. Not just agree with everything someone says because they are “Progressive” or “Conservative”. Both sides are destroying this country and making people take sides. Think for yourself, not what other people want you to think.
I think it’s a good move to bring the news block, and go back to “News Talk for Tucson” slogan. I never liked the change to “Right Talk for Tucson”. Truth has a metric ton of listeners, which is good for advertisers that don’t want to alienate the “other faction”. I, for one, would be much happier about a more neutral talker on FM for advertising. Let’s hope they manage to get there. Besides, people that are listening for Jon and James are still going to listen, regardless of the moniker, and regardless of additional opposing viewpoints.
If it ain’t broke don’t “fix” it.
They’ll continue to survive as long as they blame everything on everyone else in an angry, simple-minded, and bigoted way. Yee-haw!
I like the fact that Jon Justice actually focuses on local politics. All too often do we have to suffer through the drudge on the national level – but it’s our state and local governments that are most affected by us voters.
Like him or hate him, Tucson has voted him number one for years, and there’s a reason for that.
What I’d really like to see is someone who is neither liberal nor conservative – a true neutral voice for independents and moderates. IMO, Jon most closely fits this bill.
Most of Jon’s audience will be at work when his show comes on. This will wipe out the comedic bits that he and April Madison have recently perfected, and most of his interviews with Katie Pavlich, Steven Cruiser, S.E. Cupp and others will occur when the primary audience’s radios have been turned off. James T Harris didn’t fare well in that time slot, but now flourishes in the afternoon drive time slot. Moving Jon from the morning drive slot is simply a bone-headed action on the part of KQTH’s management.
Good bye to this station. I don’t want more national news. I like the local content which has now been moved to a time when I can’t listen. Another news block turns me off completely. I like James T also but I can only catch the last few minutes of his show so I guess it is time for another station. All the local programming they are talking about is on at times when many of use can not listen. I used to listen to another station in town in the mornings for their local morning show but they moved them to Phoenix – now it is not about Tucson anymore- have not listened since. Good luck to Jon and James T I will miss them but it is time to look elsewhere.
I remember when Mike Rapp was on–he did an excellent job and he’s sorely missed. I haven’t listened since he left…
Its true that I don’t agree with all of Justice’s viewpoints, I do like how he discusses local issues. We need more of that in Tucson, the whole world doesn’t revolve around Worshington after all.
Time to listen to my music on my morning drive to work. I loved to listen to Jon and his talking about Tucson. It’s too bad the filthy Libs have gotten to this radio station big wigs. I don’t want to listen to the news because most of it can’t be believed anymore. KQTH will always be “The Truth” station no matter what you fool Libs try to change it to. Love Jon and James and I truly hope they can still get the “truth” out there for us concerned Tucson citizens.
“THE TRUTH” hardly, – consider the false advertising cease and decist notice served and the conservatives’ insanity defense plea overruled.
Listen to the liberal whiners. Yet black unemployment has increased under the current President. He must be a racist…but wait…he’s not white…so he can’t be a racist.
Could it be that he is as incompetent as his voters?
Bingo!
I can’t stand the new format. That guy is as boring as dirt! Forced me to listen to the competition which i cant stand either! Bring back Jon and April for my ride to work entertainment.