What Happened To The New "TALK 1580 WPGC-AM"?

This week, a question that has been on my mind has been, "What happened to the new "Talk 1580 WPGC-AM"?

A good friend of mine in the radio industry pulled my coat about this most recent format change for WPGC-AM just as I was beginning to get in the groove of checking out their "Black Talk" programming.

I woke up Monday morning, tuned into WPGC-AM, only to hear a simulcast of Rhythmic contemporary/Hip-Hop/Go-Go, WPGC-FM (95.5) "DC's #1, Blazin' At Least 18 Jamz in A Row".

So, what happened?

On Monday, October 6th, 2008, CBS Radio pulled the plug on the Black Talk format on WPGC-AM (1580) and replaced it with a simulcast of WPGC-FM (95.5). WPGC-AM (1580) used to be known as "Heaven 1580" which was a Contemporary Gospel Music Formatted Station. "Heaven 1580" had the most musical flavor of any station that I heard on the AM side in the DC/MD/VA listening area.

Earlier this year, CBS pulled the plug on Heaven 1580's Contemporary Gospel Music Format not too long after Radio One's launch of "Praise 104.1" FM in April 2007.

Below is Industry Ears Paul Porter's article on the real deal of what happened to Talk 1580 WPGC-AM and why and what CBS plans to reveal on WPGC-AM next. Black Talk is one of my favorite radio formats and it is so extremely needed. We need more Black Talk formatted radio stations and programs for numerous various reasons I have blogged on before. This article points out a disturbing trend in the radio industry on the misbelief by the large radio conglomerates that Black Talk Radio doesn't work.

In my opinion, Black Talk Radio is one of the most needed formats radio needs right now. Look at the success of Michael Baisden and how he has even extended his discussions with nationwide listeners and callers. There is definitely an audience for Black Talk Radio out here. It's amazing to me that CBS would not market or promote Talk 1580 WPGC-AM properly in all this time. I believe if they had, more folks would have tuned in. Had it not been for WUSA 9's J.C. Hayward's weekly interview with the Afro Newspaper Editor, I had not even heard of the format change from Gospel to Black Talk myself.
~LT

"CBS Radio Turns Black Talk Radio White"
By Paul Porter, Industry Ears

"Here's the story of how you have an all Black Radio Talk station with no full time announcers, earning twenty dollars an hour fired and replaced with conservative talk show announcers, like Rush Limbaugh earning six figures salaries or more.

"On Monday Sam Rodgers, General Manager of CBS Radio in Washington, DC fell victim to the industry standard of radio profiling. One CBS employee said off the record "African Americans don't listen to talk radio". While WPGC FM makes tens of millions of dollars yearly, playing misogynist, violent and drug laden hip hop, Rodgers fired the staff of TALK 1580 only nine months after its inception. What Rodgers won't tell you is there is not one Black Radio Talk station in the country that has been given the budget or signal strength that any of the 400 hundred successful conservative talkers have. Translation, African Americans dance but don't listen excuse.

"WPGC TALK 1580 AM, was a rare Black Radio Talk station in DC, only the second of its type of the 140 stations CBS Radio owns. TALK 1580 had no marketing or promotion budget, and wasn’t expected to survive in the competitive DC Metropolitan Area however Armstrong Williams, Lavar Arrington created successful shows in the past three months that. CBS Radio also won't tell you, for now there simulcasting WPGC-FM on AM, simply to calm the storm of complaints. In January, WPGC AM TALK 1580 will be back with conservative talk.

"Freedom of speech continues to be America's biggest myth. Millions of Americans views, news and music are never broadcast on over 9,000 radio stations that are licensed to serve their local community. While the First Amendment sounds great on paper, broadcaster diversity mirrors a monolithic corporate society. People of color make up one-third the U.S. population, but a mere six percent own television or radio stations combined.

"For decades Black radio was the heart and soul of information and entertainment in the Black community. Radio jocks were the messengers for the civil rights movement, news and information. Strategically, the voices have been silenced but the profits continue, while equity of power has diminished for people of color.

"Corporate America has cashed in on Urban radio, keeping Black America dancing with music intensive formats. To date, there is only one Black Talk formatted station in the nation, which can be heard in more than a five mile radius of any major Urban city. WVON in Chicago happens to be minority owned.

"News and Talk formats continue to be literally all white and mainly conservative. Russ Limbaugh alone makes more money and reaches more listeners in a week than all Black Talk formatted stations do in one year.

"CBS Radio is just another candid example of how corporate greed and serving the local community is no match. Radio stations are licensed by the FCC to serve their local communities, and in this case CBS Radio, has failed to serve the community they have profited from for over a decade."

Paul Porter
IndustryEars.com