Oregon Media Insiders

KPAM is doing cartwheels over the fact it's getting OSU athletics. Sorry-- KEX hasn't become successfull because it airs OSU sports-- KPAM'srogramming is lame-- no one cares-- try something different.

KPAM is caught in a trap of its own (or perhaps its consultants') making. The station botched its launch by airing an edgy series of TV commercials that bore no discernable resemblance to its bland and conventional (albeit localized) on-air product. It compounded the mistake by intially airing center-liberal talk programs alongside conservative ones. This is like playing both hip-hop and country - few talk-radio listeners spend significant amounts of time listening to hosts whose general worldview is opposed to their own. KPAM then made the fateful decision to veer right instead of left, just before the public started to grow weary of conservatism. KPAM should have grabbed Air America programming when it first became available, but instead it went to Clear Channel, where KPOJ has since beaten KPAM in every single book despite its own less-than-stellar performance.

Now, it's too late to change course. KPAM is too heavily invested in Bob Miller, Sean Hannity and OSU to be able to do much rebranding. Even if this weren't true, virtually every other formatic possibility for AM radio (sports talk, hot talk, oldies, Spanish) is already hyper-competitive in the Portland market. There's nowhere for them to go.

Clapper is spending most of his time bragging about his success (Huh???) with Loren Parks latest ballot measure attack.

Maybe YOU should spend more time making people's lives better than bashing people you know nothing about. Politics is politics because people's views vary widely. You know nothing of what you say about Gregg Clapper. He is a good person and just because you may not agree with his political views gives you no right to attack him on a whole other level. He is a person who cares deeply about his family and friends as his family and friends care deeply for him. I know him better than almost anyone, and believe it or not, I haven't always agreed with his politics, however I have never questioned his character and will defend him as a person 100%. He is a passionate guy who speaks his mind and believes what he says to the core, as I am sure you do. However, political views do not define someone, so maybe you should leave this discussion political (as it should be)and check your personal judgment about him at the door.