Thursday, April 17, 2014

Boston Radio: Michael Graham Packing For Atlanta

Michael Graham
Talk host Michael Graham has announced that he is leaving his show on WCRN in Worcester to host a daily FM show in Atlanta for Cumulus Broadcasting's WYAY 106.7 FM.

according to golocalworcester.comGraham announced the news via his website Wednesday stating that Friday, April 25 will be his last broadcast on the New England Talk Network and Boston Herald Radio.

Graham expressed mixed emotions about leaving and said that he loves Boston, but stated that the current state of conservative talk radio in New England played a major role in his decision.

Speaking of New England, Graham wrote on his website: “What doesn’t exist is a company willing to ignore the political pressure, step up and meet that demand. WTKK wasn’t killed by the marketplace. Conservative political talk was smothered to death by political and social pressure to silence the one meaningful voice of dissent on the airwaves.”

“Talk radio is a format sitting on death’s door in New England. Much of that damage is self-inflicted. Angry, paranoid and unpleasant is no way to go through life, son,” added Graham.

Graham has been a mainstay on conservative talk radio since 1998. Prior to his most recent gig on WCRN, Graham hosted the daily talk show, The Natural Truth on the Boston station WTKK. Graham is also the author of several books and is a columnist for the Boston Herald.

WYAY 106.7 FM (77Kw) 60dBu Coverage
With the addition of Graham.  WYAY All News 106.7 continues to whittle away the “news” part of its  operation.  The Atlanta-based Cumulus radio station debuted in May, 2012 as an all-news station.

According to Atlanta Media Blogger Rodney Ho, ratings have been modest but growing steadily. In March, the station drew a 1.7 share, ranking 19th, which is a tie for its best to date.

Last fall, the station plucked Kim “The Kimmer” Peterson out of retirement to host a talk show from noon to 3 p.m. and began airing Atlanta Braves games this season.

Ho notes, the Kimmer’s ratings have been comparable, if not slightly better, than that of the rest of the station.

Graham will be coming to Atlanta with little to no name recognition, unlike the Kimmer, who had an existing fan base from his WGST days.

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