On the loss of San Diego's Progressive Radio KLSD...

From The San Diego Union-Tribune:

Radio should go left, right and up, but the loss of voices takes it down

By Karla Peterson
TELEVISION CRITIC

November 12, 2007

He is rich, famous and aging very nicely. But while Bruce Springsteen may look like a man who has everything, his single “Radio Nowhere” suggests that at least one area of his life could use some work.

I want a thousand guitars, he sings. I want pounding drums/I want a million different voices speaking in tongues.

Bruce may be cash rich, but he is radio poor. And if your Radio Somewhere happens to be San Diego, your assets aren't what they used to be, either.

After months of doomsday buzz from the industry and some heartfelt protests from supporters, progressive talk-radio outlet KLSD/AM 1360 is going dark.

Last Friday, the Clear Channel-owned KLSD becomes XTRA Sports Radio, whose lineup will include shows by Lee Hamilton, Chris Ello and sportswriters from the Union-Tribune. Liberal rants and raves from San Diego's Stacy Taylor and such Air America favorites as Randi Rhodes and Thom Hartmann will give way to Padres talk and Chargers chat. And our radio chorus will be missing the robust voice of dissent.

Through the years, many radio experts have said that San Diego has one of the most diverse dials in the country, and that San Diego listeners don't know how lucky we are. And the experts have a point.

We don't have a strong classical-music presence, and our college-radio stations are stranded in the cable hinterlands. But we do have multiple country, alternative-rock, hip-hop and Spanish-language stations, along with classic rock, hard rock, smooth jazz, traditional jazz, old-school R&B, public radio, and enough pop-happy contemporary-hits stations to keep Pink in the black for the rest of her colorful life.

We used to have four major political talk-radio stations, but now that KLSD is gone, we are down to three. And when it comes to talk-radio viewpoints, we are down to one.

Like it or not (and judging by its consistently anemic ratings, plenty of people fell into the “not” camp), KLSD was an important part of the local radio landscape. Not because it was liberal, but because being liberal meant it was different.

When it comes to music, San Diego radio is a comforting cacophony of sounds and languages. When it comes to talk, we have become a mono town.

From Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura Schlessinger on KOGO-AM, to Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity on KFMB-AM to Bill Bennett and Laura Ingraham on KCBQ-AM, the San Diego talk-radio landscape is dominated by personalities who do their talking from the conservative side of the political fence.

Depending on your point of view, this is either a great thing or a horrific thing. But there is no question that it is a boring thing.

Variety is not only the spice of life, it is the life blood of culture. And when your cultural options get smaller, life gets smaller, too.

When the lowly rated KSCF/103.7 FM dropped its ribald Free FM all-talk format in June to become the peppy Radio Sophie, I didn't think I would mind much. But it turns out that I do.

For reasons that remain mysterious even to me, I miss Adam Carolla's hairy morning zoo. But mostly, I miss the twisted evenings I spent hearing Tom Leykis giving politically incorrect advice to the many misguided male souls who packed his audio locker room. I didn't belong there, but thanks to my radio, I could lurk as long as I liked. And it was fascinating.

When Free FM changed formats, we lost a voice we weren't hearing anywhere else and we gained another place to hear Maroon 5. When KLSD becomes XTRA, we add a third sports station to the lineup and we lose the only progressive-talk station we had.

One of the great joys of radio is its ability to let you explore various worlds just by scanning the dial. You may not want to live in some of these places, but when they disappear, your visitation rights disappear right along with them.

Like Bruce, I would love to hear a million different voices speaking in tongues. But right now, I would be happy just to hear the howl of KLSD's lone radio wolf.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karla Peterson: karla.peterson@uniontrib.com; (619) 293-1275.

Wrap...