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Kantor on Radio One/Reach Media's minority Talk net

Filling a major void in network Talk radio, Radio One and Reach Media (in which Radio One owns a controlling interest) will launch a minority talk network in January. The plan was unveiled 10/28 by Radio One CEO Alfred Liggins during an interview at his WILD-AM Boston. Indeed, Radio One's roots are in minority/African-American Talk, via their first station, WOL-AM DC.

The new, yet unnamed network will launch 10AM-7PM Monday-Friday on as many as 10 of Radio One's stations, including WILD and AMs in Baltimore, Detroit, Miami, Cleveland and DC. Programming will also be offered to non-Radio One affiliates.


The Rev. Al Sharpton will air weekdays from 1-4P. Liggins said they are currently seeking a network-wide midday host to fill a 10A-1P shift, and that each market will have its own local morning host from 6-10 a.m. Doug and Ryan Stewart, Atlanta-based brothers (WQXI Atlanta) who have a sports program on ESPN2 as ''2 Live Stews," are set to follow Sharpton with a show from 4-7PM network-wide.

Reach is also offering its "Tom Joyner Morning Show" to new affiliates, under certain circumstances. "In smaller markets where affiliates under the same ownership are carrying Tom Joyner on their FMs, if they want to simulcast him on their AM, along with this lineup, we're going to let them do that," Reach Media CEO David Kantor tells RBR/TVBR. "In smaller markets, it may not make sense for them to have the expense of a morning show - - especially since a lot of that audience is Tom's. Each of these products will be syndicatable by themselves. We're not going to be like Air America where you have to take the entire lineup."

Premiere Radio Networks will handle ad sales for the net, Kantor tells us.

Kantor says Sharpton is entertaining as well as informative - - "It's tough sometimes to find a host who is can do both."

Sharpton's show will largely cover general market talk station issues of the day, but the focus will be on how they are important to the minority population.

Kantor says the network will be positioned similarly: "You know, most of the talk networks out there are either conservative or geared toward the general marketplace. The differentiation of our network is it is going to have all of the components of a talk network - - news talk, sports talk, political talk - - all of the things you would find on a news talk station, just our emphasis is going to be what's of interest to minority populations. Clearly it is not going to be Spanish-language, but we think some issues that are of concern to African-Americans are also of concern to the other minority populations."

RBR observation:
We suggested WOL-AM's Joe Madison for that 10A-1P slot. We've interviewed him before and he's great. Stay tuned, we're pretty sure this net will expand fast.




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