KDKA drops Red Eye for new concept
February 17, 2024Come Monday night, KDKA-AM (1020 and W261AX 100.1) will be home to a new, locally-produced and hosted talk show. “KDKA Next Take” won’t have a familiar voice attached to it though. Instead it will feature students from the University of Pittsburgh. From 1:00 – 5:00 a.m. students will share different points of view while still providing news, information and talk.
The hosts – Margaux Rentzel, Jaime Ely, and Ryan Tarabokia have been honing their radio skills with Kevin Michael Smith who is the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Broadcast at Pitt.
Audacy Pittsburgh VP and Market Manager Michael Spacciapolli has been working on this project for a few years and feels this is the right time to launch the program. He said, “This show will bring a fresh look at local news from the perspective of the next generation, which is so crucial in 2024 and beyond.”
KDKA Next Take will air weeknights beginning February 19, but already it has its critics.
“check your audience – most students are asleep at this time–old people r listening and like the current programming.” (sic) said one commenter on the station’s Facebook post.
Another comment asked if this move was because “George Soros bought the company”, referring to the recent announcement that Soros Fund Management recently bought out $415 Million – or a little more than half – of Audacy’s debt becoming the largest stakeholder of the company after bankruptcy. Soros is notoriously progressive in political view and that is sparking concern among listeners that the typically conservative talk programming will be taken away.
Still though some commenters – seemingly from both sides of the political spectrum – offered praise and encouraged other listeners to give the program a chance.
Meanwhile, Red Eye Radio is carried regionally. One Facebook poster indicated the the program is carried by stations in Fairmont – WMMN (920 and 95.7) and WGYE (105.7) – and Clarksburg, West Virginia – WHTI (102.7) – owned by LHTC Media with a License Marketing Agreement (LMA) with John Fredericks Radio Network.
Wow, a pretty bold step by Audacy and the big nighttime signal of KDKA. Hope it builds an audience and sponsor base. Truly an alternative talk format on a big stick.
[…] submitted by /u/joevelocity [link] […]
It also has run overnights on the John Fredericks stations at AM 910 in Apollo and AM 1480 in Latrobe (I forget the call signs).
Happiness should abound through the hallways of KDKA. Now Larry Richert won’t have to walk into a vacant studio every morning. Congrats to the powers that be for making an effort to do something “different”-which may reach a new audience. Is there a place for Red Eye Radio? Of course. But not on multiple signals.
I’ll always like something local, I’ll have to try the new programming. I’m in favor of college radio and students having something to work for on a commercial station. Student and small radio stations around Pittsburgh don’t really compete with one another and don’t always have the best broadcasters behind their microphones, of course they are just starting, but once in a while I hear a student with ambition, and it seems like they’re going to go somewhere.
I like Red-Eye Radio and having it on KDKA’s strapping AM signal that I can hear anywhere. It’s conversational, Gary and Eric are like two brothers talking, and they often have breaking news, since the show is live and they start at 1 am. I like that it’s not a caller-driven show, and it’s not monologue, it’s two friends, easy to become captivated by their banter and style because it’s not interrupted by anything, more like overhearing a couple of old buddies talking in the room next to you.
920 in Fairmont WV is unlikely to be heard here in AM radio ‘soup’ of noise at night, at least not well enough to really hear it. 910 and 1480 aren’t really good in Pittsburgh at night either. I’d say best bets for hearing Red-Eye now are going to be WJR 760 Detroit, though their audio can be muffled, and doesn’t really cut through all that well. 700 WLW Cincinnati might be another good bet.
Boomer
My initial reaction? Intense jealousy. When I was in college I would have given my right arm to get myself on a 50,000 watt blowtorch signal (getting on the college’s 13 watt FM was enough of a struggle). Things like this absolutely did not happen back then. What an outstanding opportunity for these young people. Good for them! Hope it works out.
I’ll admit I was a little jealous too. But there are several things at play here… aside from the normal market ranking excuse and Audacy bankruptcy issue, people are putting themselves out into the broadcast world via social media on the internet these days. There is no regulation to what can be put out there. Of course it can be taken away, but you still have a little more wiggle room to get away with stuff you can’t do on radio. So if you can do anything there, things need to change for radio and TV… not to the extent that they aren’t regulated as they have been, but giving more opportunity to those who are passionate. And of course, these are students of broadcasting, so yay… good for them. They’ll carry things forward!
this may be a good move but it is prerecorded. i have listen the last 3 days and if these are college students it is no wonder our country is in such bad shape.
Please tell us more. I have not been able to listen. What about what they are talking about make you think the country is in bad shape?
Wrta.com Altoona, Pa. carries red eye radio. This is where I listen via internet. No loss for me. They also carry Wendy Bell show which some people have a problem with. This station is not funded by George Soros.
I want Red Eye Radio back as the new show does not COMPARE in quality to it. Please bring them back. Mary R/
I LOVE Red Eye Radio and want it back on WQED radio please. I listen every night and it is so good. This new pgm. does not compare.
Mary, you DO mean KDKA Radio, right? WQED is even less likely to pick up Red Eye!
I have many listening capabilities in my vehicle. Pandora, Sirius-XM, along with the regular FM and AM stations. Out of all the local radio stations, the ONLY one I listened to overnight was KDKA-AM specifically for Red Eye Radio. One must wonder did George Soros strike again? I understand this is a unique opportunity for College Students but to have a pre-recorded show instead of the live Red Eye Radio just diminishes my interest in even giving it a chance. I also understand that maybe this new show isn’t for people like me but it is people like me who religiously listened to Red Eye Radio. I find local Pittsburgh radio a bore outside of 93.7 the FAN and Paul Zeise. Forget the local music stations who have been playing the same old stuff forever and a day. The only local talk radio, again, I like is the FAN and Paul Zeise. Even though the show wasn’t local, I connected with Red Eye Radio and was entertained. I tried your new show a few times last week and this week. NOT FOR ME! You definitely lost an overnight listener.
Could we cut it with the George Soros conspiracy BS? His affiliation with Audacy has yet to officially take hold while this project has been in the works for some time.
What really needs to happen here is we can’t have everything we want when we want it. As you pointed out, there are many resources for entertainment nowadays… and i don’t disagree that conventional radio lacks a one-size fits all model.
That said, however, as much as we would like it to stay exactly as it was 50 years ago, change is inevitable. What’s more is if we want this business to stick around at all, the new generations need to cut their teeth somewhere… It’s almost like a rebirth for the business. It may not be your cup of tea and for all we know it could be a flop, but I’m hopeful it will be successful. It’s gotta be better than some of the crap any rando can post on YouTube…
For a different perspective on KDKA, I suggest PBRTV subscribers read the lead story at fybush.com (Northeast Radio Watch) Feb. 26 lead post on KDKA “Next Take”.
I second this!
I will no longer listen to KDKA radio overnight. I’d rather listen to BBC at 90.5 FM than the KDKA show currently on overnight.