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Air America Comes to Rochester

Last Friday, at 950 on the AM dial, WROC-AM (formerly WBBF) began airing select Air America programming. Rochester now has an alternative to Bob Lonsberry and Rush Limbaugh. Actually, the station did a flip-flop, replacing Sean Hannity, Dr. Laura, and Bill O'Reilly (whoops, sorry. wrong link) with the liberal Air America lineup.

But wait. Before you accuse the management of WROC of either seeing the light or losing their minds, consider the business angle. In the Byzantine world of radio ratings, the demographics are constantly sliced and shaved as the Entercoms and ClearChannels of the world wrestle for market share. Local AM radio personality Bob Smith provides a reasonable market-savvy explanation for this switch.

It's all designed to pull just enough listenership away from WHAM to solidify the leadership position of Entercom's WBEE atop the 12+ and 25-54 standings in the market (along with the extra national spot business that a market leader gets).

In any case, I doubt this move will draw my listening attention away from WXXI for any extended period of time, but it gives me a listenable alternative during WXXI's fundraising drives. BTW, for a fascinating look at the inside world of radio-land, check out this bulletin board, frequented by radio professionals and fans, covering markets and listening formats across the country.