NonStop Radio - NonStop Questions

NonStop Radio
has three core purposes:

To discover and assist grassroots movements in keeping threatened Progressive Talk stations on the air for their communities,
To assist grassroots efforts in re-establishing Progressive Talk stations where they have been canceled, or set up new Progressive Talk stations for markets not yet exposed to it, and
To act as a clearinghouse of information so that activists everywhere can come to the aid of threatened and canceled stations, and to also distribute tips and tricks so that any non-threatened station can be made less vulnerable by its supporters.

ALL TALK, ALL ACTION.

NonStop Asked Questions:

Many questions come in repeatedly, so in an effort to make sure the answers are out here and easy to access, below is a list of some of them. If you don't see your question there, feel free to email NonStop Radio about it. If you do see it but need more info, likewise, talk to us.

Is Progressive Talk is being taken off the air because of poor ratings?

In almost every case, the answer is "no". If you hear this from the decision makers, let it be your first red flag that they are hiding their true motivations. In Madison, The Mic 92.1 Fm was slated to be flipped despite being the #2 talk station in town!

WTPG 1230 AM, the Progressive Talk station that Clear Channel decided to take off the air last week, was rated 20th in the market. The Columbus market can boast up to 72 stations, depending on which you want to count as being within the market, but in no case can it be said to be less than 40. On the morning of the rally to save the station, Clear Channel's cronies put out station banners that had spray painted on them "20th in ratings, 24th in sales". That sounds bad, doesn’t it?

Context is so very important. 1230 AM's signal was very weak. To achieve the top half of the ratings field (20th of at LEAST 40) with that handicap is nothing short of amazing.

This plays out over and over. Progressive Talk, as a format, engenders incredible listener loyalty, not only to the station but to the advertisers that support it.

We put up a petition. We only want signatures from people from our listening area, right?

While it is important to get a good number locally, getting a number that are national in nature is not harmful. After all, radio station owners are WELL aware that road travelers use radio more than any other medium for entertainment and information when passing through an area, so knowing that there is strong support for a format from those who don't regularly live there is not a bad thing per se.

On top of that, many of these stations are owned by large media conglomerates (Entercom, Clear Channel, Meridian, etc.) and the sheer size of them makes them vulnerable to public opinion not just locally, but nationally as well. They do not want what they are doing to draw national attention to them, which, coincidentally, NonStop Radio is designed to give. Sunshine grows the grassroots and disinfects the scum.

Can you explain a little more how this works?

How this works is, your petition goes up online. Normally, it will have a very LONG web address to link to it like http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/692333316 for example. Imagine asking folks to remember that one if you met them on the street, talked to them over the phone, or if you were announcing it on a call-in segment of a talk show. Even printed out, it's a real pain to type in.

Now, imagine instead of that, telling them "just go to NonStopRadio.com and click on 'Townsville' (if that's your market) to join our Yahoo Group and sign our petition." It is VERY easy for people to recall NonStop Radio, easy to spell, and easy to remember your market name. NonStop Radio will even send you out a PDF that you can use on Avery standard 10-up business card sheets that you can hand people to help promote your effort, allowing you to make a good impression on nearly anyone.

On top of that, NonStop Radio will put your effort into the podcasts, talk up your effort on talk shows and interviews, and even work out special ways to help you promote your fight. As an example, NonStop got Stephanie Miller to record a one minute promo ad for Columbus' use, gratis. Add to that the fact that NonStopRadio.com is constantly being renovated to allow for more and higher quality sunshine to reach your grassroots efforts, and I hope that the benefits to listing your effort with NonStop Radio become clear.

To top that all off, it costs you and your effort absolutely nothing. NonStop Radio is 100% donation-supported by people around the world who want to hold back the attack on Progressive Talk and allow it to grow and thrive in the future. We generally ask you to link back to us if you have a separate webpage for your effort (above and beyond a Yahoo Group and/or PetitionSite.com page). If you don't have anything online but those two items, I'll make a page for you at NonStopRadio.com that will be used to link to your Petition and Group, as well as listing anything else you'd like to have it say about contact methods and the like.

Do you have some language available that people are using for the petitions that we could borrow?

Petitions are very customized to the situation they are addressing. Email NonStop Radio some of the details surrounding what exactly happened to your station, and we'll be happy to write up a solid petition wording for you.

We want to convince our station to stay on/convince another station to flip to Progressive Talk. What do we do about Advertisers?

Whether trying to flip another station in your area to Progressive Talk or trying to preserve the one you have, you'll want to get talking to advertisers ASAP. If you have former advertisers, use them as a base and then stake out some new ones. What you want is to get all of them to sign a pledge saying that they want Progressive Talk on the air so they can put ads out to reach that audience. The more of them you get to promise to advertise on Progressive Talk, the harder it will be to resist keeping it on or taking it on.

On top of that, local businesses often have resources beyond what individuals normally possess. A few of these potential advertisers may be willing to let you use their business as a rallying place, a meeting point, or otherwise help you in your effort.

They just took off my favorite Progressive Talk Show/Host! Can NonStop Radio help me?

It depends what they replaced that Show or Host with, and the remaining content of the station. Many people are not lucky enough to have stations that are 24/7 Progressive Talk and sometimes other programming slips in.

NonStop Radio considers a station to still be a Progressive Talk outlet if they carry at least 51% Progressive programming. A Show or Host is considered Progressive Talk if they can be found on this list.

If the program was replaced with another Progressive Host or Show, NonStop Radio will not interfere. We will offer advice, if you want, on what you cna do, but we will not list a fight for one Progressive Talk show over another. We are focused on the preservation of Progressive Talk outlets.

If the program was replaced with a conservative talk or other format program, and it drives the station under 51% Progressive Talk, NonStop Radio will list your effort. If it does not go under 51%, we will consider each case individually.