WSB picks up Rush Limbaugh, moves Clark Howard to 8 p.m.
Rush Limbaugh jumps to 95.5FM and AM 750 News/Talk WSB starting at noon, October 1, 2012. CREDIT: AP
Rush Limbaugh, the most popular radio talk show host in America for more than two decades, is moving to AM 750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB.
Limbaugh will take WSB’s noon-to-3 p.m. weekday time slot starting Monday. Oct. 1.
“When you have the biggest talk personality on the biggest news/talk station in Atlanta, I expect the chemical reaction will be positive,” said Ben Reed, Atlanta market manager for Cox Media Group, which includes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Our listeners will benefit from it.”
Limbaugh has been on news-talk 640/WGST-AM since the late 1980s and consistently has been the station’s biggest draw.
For WSB, Limbaugh’s arrival means several changes to its weekday lineup:
- Syndicated talk show host Neal Boortz, now based primarily out of Naples, Fla., will see his daily stint cut back an hour. He will be on the air from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Boortz is retiring in January and will be replaced by businessman and former presidential candidate Herman Cain, who had already planned to do three hours a day.
- Consumer advocate Clark Howard, who has been with WSB radio since 1991 and is now heard on more than 220 stations nationwide, is moving to the 8-10 p.m. slot from his current 1-3 p.m. time period. Howard — who recently began co-hosting an HLN TV news program from 5-7 p.m. weekdays called “Evening Express” — will still tape his Atlanta-based radio show from 1-3 p.m. because other markets will continue to run it live. He explains the changes on his popular website www.clarkhoward.com.
- Syndicated radio and Fox News host Sean Hannity’s program will air live from 3-5 p.m., but WSB will be adding a news program from 5-7 p.m. Erick Erickson, who runs the website RedState.com will be the show’s host/commentator. Hannity’s third hour, from 7-8 p.m., will be tape-delayed (Erickson has been hosting a talk show from 6-8 p.m.).
- Local talk show host Adam Goldfein gets pushed two hours later to 10 p.m. to midnight.
- Syndicated financial expert Dave Ramsey also gets moved two hours later and will start at midnight instead of 10 p.m.
WSB, which ranked ninth in Atlanta Arbitron ratings in August, has lost some steam since All News 106.7 (WYAY-FM) hit the airwaves in May.
“Summer is usually very tough for news talk stations,” Reed said, “so I don’t panic when I have a month that dips in the summer.”
WSB’s new 5-7 p.m. news program will try to counter that.
“Atlanta depends on WSB for news, weather and traffic information, and now WSB will provide even more,” Reed said.
Limbaugh has remained a durable powerhouse in radio despite controversies he has faced over the years. He is heard on more than 600 stations nationwide and draws more than 14.75 million listeners each week, according to Talkers magazine. Hannity is the nation’s second most popular radio host, with at least 14 million listeners a week.
WGST, which was a soft rock station in the early 1970s, went all news in 1977 and morphed into news/talk in the 1980s.
Howard, Boortz, Hannity and Ramsey were all personalities previously on WGST, which was competitive with WSB in ratings in the 1990s but now lags far behind. WGST ranked 21st in the August ratings.
Word is that WGST has laid off several people today in preparation for a likely format change. Right now, while Rusty Humphries is normally airing, WGST is running a Glenn Beck repeat. (He normally airs from 9 a.m. to noon.)
“I think I speak for a lot of people who used to work at GST to say that this is a very very sad day to see this happen,” said Mike Rose, who worked at the station from 1985 to 1998 in roles including producer and program director. “It was a great operation, a family-like atmosphere. It cultivated a lot of the great performers on radio today.”
The two likely formats available are syndicated comedy or Spanish sports talk, said Eric Seidel, who was station manager from GST from 1986 to 1997 and developed Howard and Hannity. “Hannity was a diamond in the rough when we found him and he got his radio legs with us,” Seidel said. And Howard was an accidental talk show host who started covering travel as a travel agent and adjusted into talk show work with Seidel’s help.
The station was ahead of its time when it was simulcast on FM from 1993 to 200 at 105.7 and its ratings were competitive with WSB for a time. Losing that simulcast hurt the station’s power, which slipped steadily throughout the 2000s as its core listeners moved further outside its AM grasp and outside the Perimeter.
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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305 comments Add your comment
marc
September 26th, 2012
10:44 pm
Has anyone called the Betty Ford Center to get a comment from Jerry Del Core? I’m sure that Jerry would be thrilled to hear that his efforts to destroy WGST have come to fruition.
Brewmaster
September 26th, 2012
10:45 pm
Come On, maybe you can use your windmill-powered kayak and paddle yourself to Cuba. But they do have good cigars going for them, which is nice. You can then “occupy” a shack while receiving excellent health care on a steady diet of government cheese or maybe live in a van down by the river.
The Day Talk Radio Died at WGST | Top Talk Radio
September 26th, 2012
10:49 pm
[...] the years. They will be missed. For a detailed report click here and local Atlanta article click here. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. This entry was posted in [...]
Sue
September 26th, 2012
10:51 pm
I will not pollute my brain by listening to Rush. He will be on when I am driving, and usually listening to WSB. It was a good run while it lasted, WSB, but as we all know nothing good or bad lasts forever. I will be looking for a station to listen to Clark live, instead of prerecorded during a time when I don’t even listen to the radio. Did WSB even truly consider what it’s loyal listeners REALLY wanted?
edward
September 26th, 2012
10:53 pm
Bye-Bye WSB. Will not waste one second on Rush.
Sam
September 26th, 2012
10:57 pm
Hey, even Cox has to offer the people what they want to make a buck. I suppose they can continue to serve up the mindless liberal gruel in the good old AJC.
RIP: WGST
September 26th, 2012
11:04 pm
[...] been caused by Rush Limbaugh switching his show to WSB. The new all news 106.7 surely hurt as well. Rodney Ho has more on new lineup at WSB. Our buddy Erick Erickson will move to the 5-7 slot and do more of a [...]
David
September 26th, 2012
11:09 pm
The Atlanta radio market is a joke! The arm pit of right talk. No Wonder Georgia is so far outside the political mainstream. Having grown up in Atlanta and worked in this radio market years ago.”Welcome South Brother” (WSB) is the example why some call for the return of the Fairness Doctrine” For a progressive city the likes of Atlanta this is the trash that’s put out on it’s 50 thousand watt clear channel radio station.I stopped listening to radio in this town 10 years ago. I love my Sirusxm and KPTK out of Seattle on my smart phone.
ramblwrk68
September 26th, 2012
11:11 pm
‘A shame about GST, its days are truly numbered! From the late ’20s as “The Ga. Tech” station to this fiasco. I was a loyal GST listener at Tech from ‘63 to ‘68, whenever I drove through town on trips, and when I moved back permanently in ‘77. The day I rolled into town looking for an apartment, they changed to the news/talk format (Sat., Oct. 1 1977). Loved the Tom Houck/Dick Williams shows, that gal on late-night, and Al Ciralto calling Tech games!
Hope Kimmer collected all his severance pay by now, ’cause the coffers will be empty soon.
RIP, GST! Hope 106.7 can give “Wisbee” a true competitor, by adding some local talk (like maybe Clark?).
Chuckles™
September 26th, 2012
11:16 pm
RIP WGST. Now if only Rush would go to SiriusXM, I could eliminate any local radio…
Rodney Ho
September 26th, 2012
11:24 pm
@Come on and @Brewmaster. Come on kids. Keep it civil.
former cox ceo bob neil
September 26th, 2012
11:32 pm
What a coup! When I was running WSB, I would have bent over backward, as well a forward of course, to get Rush Limbaugh!
Melaine
September 26th, 2012
11:53 pm
To relegate Clark Howard to a night time slot in his home market is awful for him and his loyal listeners. Kick Hanity to the curb and let us have Clark. Next January, Cain is going to have a hard time sliding into the Boortz slot. He is okay for a fill-in but I don’t think he is going to be able to handle it full time. Looks like 106.7 is going to pick up a lot of listeners.
Laura
September 27th, 2012
12:11 am
This is awful. I love Clark Howard, but the rest of the programming is pathetic right wing ranting. WSB your listeners deserve better! At least we can listen to real news on NPR when Rush is spewing his vitriol.
sugarloaf madame
September 27th, 2012
12:19 am
It’s a shame Neal is leaving. Can you imagine the promos on WSB? “Limbaugh and Boortz: The Pill Popper and The Ho’ Hopper”
Elmo Ellis
September 27th, 2012
12:30 am
Aubrey Morris and Elmo Ellis must be spinning in their graves!
(google them)
belinda gump skelton
September 27th, 2012
12:56 am
Don’t fret none Rob I’m shore Nale will hep me inny way he kin! If not, I kin always tap mah ratahrmint account.
Ulee
September 27th, 2012
2:44 am
Belinder you kin start back up hauling white liquor back from the mountains like ya dids tha last time cash was short. By tha way, ya need to call up that farrier to come over and grind yer teeth back agin.
Jay El
September 27th, 2012
4:32 am
All News 106.7……thanks. No WSB since it started.
Hotair
September 27th, 2012
4:46 am
It’s not just the Atlanta market. I took a road trip from Atlanta to New York and I’m telling you that the only clear stations that I was able to pick up were those that followed the talk format that has Limbaugh, Hannity, Boortz, Levin, Mancow….etc. I, literally, listened to their shows from Atlanta to New York, then back from New York to Atlanta. There’s no real variety of voices, even within the conservative talk realm.
Tell The Truth
September 27th, 2012
4:52 am
Maybe “The News Monster” ate Rusty. Maybe their going to call The Kimmer to “Flush the Lines”. Maybe Ian Punit can fill in for Rush, like he does on Coast to Coast AM.
Tell The Truth
September 27th, 2012
4:53 am
Speaking of Coast to Coast AM, what’s happening with that program, in all of this mess?
jwc
September 27th, 2012
5:50 am
Why not a little Tokyo Rose to add to your daily spew?
OTP
September 27th, 2012
6:47 am
They are obviously switching things up for the revenue stream. Don’t ever falsely believe they do anything for the listeners. Moving anything like Clark Howard to the hours after drive time is the kiss of death. Heck, by this time next year, you may have Howard on in the mornings, because Cain is going to be an absolute failure there.
RosieW
September 27th, 2012
7:04 am
Oh, ugh! I will miss Clark Howard’s daytime slot to the max. Certainly won’t listen to the man I consider a bombastic fool, aka Rush Limbaugh. And Herman Cain, another ugh. Sighing.
Miss J
September 27th, 2012
7:22 am
106.7 thank you thank you thank you.
I use to listen to WSB in the morning and switch to sports radio at 8:30.
Hey WSB execs where’s the balance? You mean to tell me that you could not find a liberal talk show host to balance out Boortz’s trash talk.
Wow…….RIP WSB Radio “Goodbye”……Hello 106.7
Angela Minyard
September 27th, 2012
7:23 am
I will miss Clark Howard. I don’t listen to the radio at 8pm. I won’t listen to the rest of the right wing crazies during the day, so bye-bye WSB. You used to be dedicated to real talk and real news, now you have gone to fiction and brain washing.
Bob
September 27th, 2012
7:24 am
jwc, Tokyo rose is available, head out of town into the boonies and you can pick up several PBS channels.
Miss J
September 27th, 2012
7:26 am
RIP Neal
GoodbyeWSB
September 27th, 2012
7:27 am
Well, I’ll continue to listen to O’neill Outside, The Lawn and Garden show, and the Home FixIt show, but as far as the rest of it goes, they can transform into the Lithuanian History channel, 106.7 Fm, here I come.
Kyngxchrys
September 27th, 2012
7:36 am
I don’t understand some people comment about “yuck,gross, and hatred Rush and Sean”. When WSB is more of a conservative radio program. Also WSB has always had Sean on the program. If you’ve listen to WSB you know Sean is on the program. Even Dave Ramsey is conservative with comments he’s made on his show, you should be able to tell. WSB even has Rick and Bubba early on the weekends, just to show what kind of a station it is. I do miss Rob and Dave also I’ll miss Rusty.
Rickster
September 27th, 2012
7:44 am
The only reason I ever tuned into WSB 750 was to listen to Clark Howard in the afternoons. Between bortz and hannity, it made my @$$ sick to even try to stomach more than a couple of minutes listening to their venomous lies and vitriolic hate. Now that they’re adding a narcissistic idiot/polarizing drug addicted bigot to mix, well, goodbye wsb!
Logical Dad
September 27th, 2012
7:52 am
While I certainly “get” all the right-wing vs. left-wing stuff being discussed, can I sneak in a question about the WGST flip? Nothing different so far today (except for, obviously, all of the local on-air staff is MIA – although Art Mehring is still doing traffic). Any news on the what and when, Rodney?
Steve
September 27th, 2012
7:55 am
Well, I guess I can change my car’s button from 750 to 106.7. Also very sad that WGST, a pioneer station, has slipped so far into the depths.
Just Damn!
September 27th, 2012
7:59 am
Wow, really hate to WGST go….much better talk than the drivel at WSB. Boortz ain’t bad, but wasn’t gonna listen to Cain when he takes over….too shallow and boring. Hannutty is a constant shill for the Republicans as is Rush….nothing wrong with that per se as I am a conservative myself, but it gets old….and if you listen to Lush Windbag, you have already heard what Hannutty will say later, just with a different accent….
Kim
September 27th, 2012
8:04 am
gross
MaryRoswell
September 27th, 2012
8:17 am
How did ATL radio fall so far, so fast? DaveFM, 96 Rock, now this? It’s embarrassing…
Producer
September 27th, 2012
8:27 am
Used to love WGST back in the early 90’s. Neal, Rush, Brian Wilson. Loved The Kimmer later. But from a business standpoint even you libs need to see this is a huge coup for WSB. To have the two top rated talk shows in the business live will mean monster ratings and ad revenue.
I do agree that Sperman Cain won’t last a year, though.
TG
September 27th, 2012
8:35 am
Just wow. I guess no more WSB for me. They serioulsy decided to get even red-der! Bump Clark, slide in the most foul, racist counterproductive voice in the country Limbaugh. Keep the second most foul Hannity, and bump the only local voice Goldfein?
WSB now has the trifecta, the red-dest, meanest, most racist hosts in the land–Hannity, Limbaugh, and Erickson. Great.
That station has now lost all credibility. They clearly want to attract only a certain kind of listener–the kind that doesn’t look anything like me. The only quality shows they had–or at least those that were about more than politics–Clark and Ramsey have essentially been given the shaft.
Something is going on in Georgia, but I’m not sure what. At one time this state was somewhat moderate, we had Democratic governors and even voted for Bill Clinton. The state thrived then. Since Tornado Bush touched down though, the state has gotten redder and redder and we’ve been faltering ever since. Something has happened to our water or something. I’m not sure, but I know I’m officially done.
LG
September 27th, 2012
8:50 am
WGST had its heyday, and even though I don’t mostly agree with Hannity (nor with Kimmer back then, tho he could be funny), for WSB to now pick up the likes of Rush and the others is unfortunate.
Can you imagine how much more reasonable and kind people in this country would be if they didn’t listen to Rush and Hannity et al spew hatred for three hours at a time? The demise of civility in this country is directly proportional to the time these type shows have been on the air. How do you people listen to that mess all day!? SO much angst, anger, viciousness, etc. Sad. I won’t be listening to WSB.
Jerky Miester
September 27th, 2012
8:51 am
Every thing that ClearChannel touches turns to dust! Unbelievable! Let these weasels know how you feel!
publicrelations@clearchannel.com
theRiceman
September 27th, 2012
8:54 am
If you don’t want to be informed, click! If you choose to know the truth behind the liberal media veil (more like a curtain), then listen in. Only a democrat wouldn’t understand WSB wanting to fill their schedule with the most listened to talk shows. It is a business you know….(or maybe you actually don’t understand the concept) Smart move WSB!!
James
September 27th, 2012
8:57 am
What a bunch of liberal left-wing whiners on this blog.
WSB program changes will only make the station stronger.
Rush and Boortz Rule!
Wond
September 27th, 2012
8:59 am
Enter your comments here
TG
September 27th, 2012
9:00 am
Good Talk, I think you mean Rob Reding on WAOK. He and Derek what’s-his-face at least show some modicum of independent thinking. Mo Ivory like Lorrain White and most others are just Obama mouthpieces. There is no “there” there. Sorry.
Wondering
September 27th, 2012
9:02 am
What happened to the Kimmer?
WSB needs to bring the Kimmer over to their station!
And get the left wing, bed wetting, tree hugging, democratic, nut cases off of this blog.
Producer
September 27th, 2012
9:04 am
Are you libs ready to screech to WSB, “You didn’t build that?” LOL! Ummmmm, yes, they did build that are are building it even stronger!
Producer
September 27th, 2012
9:07 am
Rodney, where is your pic on the front page so we can access your blog? I had to get here from the Peach Pundit link.
Ronbo
September 27th, 2012
9:08 am
All of these idiotic comments show just show who reads the AJC. Why do you lefties listen to talk radio in the first place?
Bill
September 27th, 2012
9:14 am
I like Boortz,.but after him I turn it off. Cain will not last 3 months after Boortz is gone. I have no idea why they picked him as he is a wretched as a replacement host and the idea of him covering 3 and a half hours a day,5 days a week…is laughable. While I am sure he is a nice guy, his ignorance on certain subjects is embarrassing to the point that I can hear Jaime Dupree cringe every time they are on the radio together.
I can not stand Limbaugh and Hannity and now that they are on back to back means WSB is off for the rest of the day. Too bad as I used to tune back in every now and then for Adam Goldfein but that isn’t happening ever again. Looks like it is 88.5FM for some good music for the rest of the day.
I guess after Boortz leaves,WSB will be off my radio forever.So long and thanks for all the fish.