NYC to lose last free non-commercial AM Progressive Talk Radio Station January 1.
WWRL is changing formats from progressive talk radio to Spanish. Access One which owns the station is making this change January 1.
Taking inventory, there are two rightwing talk show stations, WABC and WWOR. (I'm not counting WNYM as it's in NJ and has lousy reception.) There is one independent station (National Public Radio), WNYC. And there is a progressive station, WBAI, on FM, but it's wholly listener-supported. Its finances are shaky and its control dictated by Pacifica Radio on the West Coast.
It's been like a prolonged death rattle. We lost WEVD in 2001 when the format was flipped by The Forward to all sports (Disney/ABC). Then WLIB started with Air America despite being a gospel station. Air America jumped to WWRL and WLIB died. Air America died and RL struggled with syndicated shows like Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann. Now, that too will be gone.
You'd think with NYC electing an unabashedly progressive dem like Bill DeBlasio and the obvious demographics, there would be one token progressive radio station. Not anymore. Back in the Eighties and Nineties, WABC at least had a mixture of conservatives like Rush and liberals like Lynn Samuels.
The only places left are WNYC and WBAI and while they're good for their formats, it isn't progressive talk radio.
(Note: Thom Hartmann is on WBAI 5-6 p.m. Monday through Friday.)