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New entry gives talk-radio fans another stop on dial KMED takes Rush, Dr. Laura from KCMX By Dani Dodge Anyone who wanted Dr. Laura to tell them to "Do the right thing" was sorely disappointed Monday. In the opening volley of a radio talk-show war between Marathon Media/Medford and Clear Channel Communications of Southern Oregon, Dr. Laura was the first casualty. Her show disappeared from its usual afternoon slot on Marathon Media�s KCMX-AM. Today her acerbic advice will return on a new station: Clear Channel�s KMED-AM. The station currently features "nostalgia music" like Neil Diamond and Connie Francis ballads. KMED-AM will complete a transition to a news-and-talk format Sept. 17, when it adds local news and Rush Limbaugh to its morning lineup. "It�s a business decision," said Keith Lollis, general manager of Clear Channel Communications of Southern Oregon. "(KMED-AM) was just losing money, and we had the opportunity to pick up these talk programs. "Hopefully, we will do it a little differently and I�d like to say better, but I don�t want to throw down a gauntlet." But Bret Fox, general manager of Marathon Media/Medford, called Clear Channel�s move "stealing" by a "big bully." Clear Channel Communications has 1,200 radio stations nationwide compared to Marathon Media�s 28. Lollis isn�t apologetic. "That�s business these days," he said. "They�d do the same thing to us if it were the other way around. We aren�t doing public radio here." Marathon Media had been the only talk-show game in town for years and was one of the first stations in the nation to carry "El Rushbo." It spent years building up the local audience for his and other conservative talk shows. But the shows are produced by Premiere Radio Networks, a company owned by Clear Channel Communications. So when the local Clear Channel affiliate wanted a piece of the talk-show action, it just pulled a few strings, and Rush and other top-rated talk shows such as Art Bell and Dr. Laura had a new home. "I welcome the competition, that�s no big deal," said Fox. "But it is frustrating to have them pull the programming from us. It�s an unfair advantage. "The only way I can put it is they are jealous of the success that we�ve had with the programs." Fox said Marathon Media is trying to see the change as an opportunity rather than a setback. It already has contracts for new top-notch talent, including replacing Dr. Laura with Portland-based Lars Larson. "I think he�ll develop more fans than Dr. Laura here because he�s an Oregonian and will have an Oregonian outlook," Fox said. "Dr. Laura upsets a lot of people. She�s not very nice to listeners." Lollis said in addition to carrying many of the shows that have been popular in the Rogue Valley, KMED-AM will feature a local news and talk program in the morning. He said, though, it won�t be a carbon copy of KCMX�s "Morning Express." "I�m hoping it won�t be Rosemary and Garth," he said. "It will be a program that has more to do with facts than rhetoric." In its new talk format, KMED-AM will air shows that have been gaining popularity around the country such as San Francisco-based Michael Savage, who attacks big government and liberal media bias while championing the environment and animal rights. In addition to adding Larson, KCMX-AM will add Michael Medved, a Seattle-based talk show host who is friends with Vice President Dick Cheney. Fox said he has not decided who will replace Rush when the station loses the three-hour show Sept. 17. "I would have kept Rush," Fox said. "But you can�t build a whole radio station off of three hours of programming � we�ll put some competition up there and offer a better product 21 hours of the day, at least." While Fox hopes the station will keep the talk-show crowd listening to 880 AM, Brian Bishop, the KMED-AM program director, thinks there will be a lot of talk-show fanatics changing their car radio pre-sets to 1440 AM. "We expect that the people who are fans of Rush and Dr. Laura will follow them wherever they go," Bishop said. "As far as the rest of the day � competition only makes everyone better. "I really expect this to be a good thing for talk listeners everywhere in the valley." Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.