''1090Am: where are you?''

"BlatherWatch is frequently accused of having it out for KIRO; we've been charged with wreaking vengeance on KVI's talk hosts. KTTH fans and employees say we trash them unfairly.

These same people give us hell because we seem to favor the fledgling progressive Air America station KPTK 1090AM.

We are a liberal blog, for god's sake, but we're going on the record right now to say, we've been holding our fire, biting our lip, pulling our punches--resorting to lame cliches and excuses while hoping, chanting--even praying--that THE TEPID, TIMID, CHEAPSKATE INFINITY MANAGEMENT would DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE to build this fucking station!

And it's obvious what needs to be done.

What brings all this up are the room temperature numbers rung up by KPTK in the new Spring 25-54 book. The station went up overall from 24th to 23rd, but that ignoble hop was based on only a 10th of a point--statistically no change at all. (23rd place in the market is down there mucking around with the likes of Mike Siegel, (KTTH m-f 6-9a) Mike Webb (KIRO m-f, 9p-1a) and Mt. Vernon High School basketball broadcasts. At least it's going in the right direction--especially considering the downturn in talk radio ratings across the board--KIRO's management would problably consider KPTK's shame a victory.

KPTK has been in a holding pattern with only syndicated shows.

BlatherWatch, our readers, 1090's listeners, the progressive establishment, NPR listeners, the old guard, the new order, the meta beta community, the socker moms, the working class, the drinking class, the Christian left, the homeless service providers, the peace community, the yacht clubbers, the women's health providers, the foodies, the mass transit ravers, the buck-naked community, the buck-toothed community, the leather people, the rubber people, vinyl community, the Mountaineers, the Valley girls, the sushi freaks, the Swedish Club, the BBQ buffs, the fetish community, gays and lesbians, breeders, feeders, the eaters--we all believe that the local programming station manager Jim Trapp has been promising us for months would do the trick.

It's amazing how the advantages and opportunities given this progressive station in this progressive town have been ignored or wasted. The implosion of KIRO, the wasting away of KTTH, the star power of Al Franken, the media attention, Ed Schultz's appearance...we could go on but we're getting weepy.

You only have to look at the wreckage of KTTH and compare it to KVI to get the picture. Because of local jocks doing local issues, a real local listener base has been cemented, ratings and a come-back were built. KTTH with Rush Limbaugh, but only one local (the lame Mike Siegel--who's had bad ratings as long as he's been on the station) went down the primrose path like Tiny Tim. Over the same time period, 1090AM stoked up a comment line, made some "community-building" spots and barely kept its head above water at the shallow end of the pool.

Have you heard that goofy 1090AM spot with House Speaker Frank Chopp and the sexy pimp jazz background music? Kids: Frank's cool. His politics are great. He's from Seattle--but for god's sake--he's a legislator, not Shaft!

We're liberal political activists, here at blatherWatch--big picturewise, we don't give a damn about the radio business. Having a successful liberal talk station in this town would be good for the good guys. The Republicans play their talk stations like a French horn--delivering not only the political goods, but also scoring good ratings keeping GM's & PD's happy at the same time.

We know for sure that Trapp has had some great local applicants. We know for sure there's terrific broadcast talent across the fruited plains. We know for sure there's a big blue state audience out there waiting for new places to go."-from the post today on BlatherWatch. Read the rest of the post, including the "private message to State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt and his posse."