Black Information Network

[TheBigA]

You don't have to be angry, 60+ or white for that matter to listen to something other than the mainstream media which is generally slanted to the left.

This "mainstream media" thing is mythology perpetuated by Fox News talk show hosts to set up a battle between "us" and "them." It's an effective marketing technique, and has helped Fox become #1 in cable news. By definition, if you're #1, you are the mainstream. The other news groups are doing something different. They're reporting news that isn't bound by ideology.

Also when you present the world as "us" and "them," you're by definition creating a battle between sides to inspire passion, If you don't like the word "anger," then how about passion? Is that better? Either way, they haven't spent this time and energy creating this mythology because they want the viewers to be emotionless couch potatoes. They want their viewers to get up, open their windows, and shout "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" That's what we're talking about here. That passion is very distinct from what most people get from David Muir.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

You don't have to be angry, 60+ or white for that matter to listen to something other than the mainstream media

You don't have to be, but if you do, you almost certainly are at least one of those three.

 

[boombox4]

You don't have to be angry, 60+ or white for that matter to listen to something other than the mainstream media which is generally slanted to the left. I suppose then liberals who only listen to shows like Stephanie Miller or progressive stations like WCPT in Chicago are "angry" too?

Some of the listeners probably were. A lot of them may have listened because they wanted to hear the viewpoints. I did. Now, Mike Malloy (a progressive who was on the local progressive talk station KPTK 1090 before it flipped to CBS Sports Radio in 2013) -- there was an angry progressive guy on the radio. I listened to him, despite his anger, because sometimes he presented a viewpoint that actually made sense, and was not always in line with mainstream or conservative thinking.

 

[Kelly A]

Some of the listeners probably were. A lot of them may have listened because they wanted to hear the viewpoints. I did. Now, Mike Malloy (a progressive who was on the local progressive talk station KPTK 1090 before it flipped to CBS Sports Radio in 2013) -- there was an angry progressive guy on the radio. I listened to him, despite his anger, because sometimes he presented a viewpoint that actually made sense, and was not always in line with mainstream or conservative thinking.

That's the thing, the hosts come up with topics to make you angry. When you get angry about today's topic, whether it's; taxes, inflation, 'owning-the-Lib's', 'woke-culture', taking away your gas stove, 2nd Amendment/gun rights being threatened, being forced to buy an EV, Black Lives Matter, Critical Race Theory, Feminism, Abortion Rights (or not), Supreme Court cases, etc.
All these topics are meant to get the audience cortisol levels increasing in their brains. What better way to raise cortisol levels? Get the audience angry about the topic! And, not coincidentally, the vast majority of the population who get excited about these topics, are white males 60+ who grew up with AM radio, so the type of media isn't as foreign to them as someone younger who listens to podcasts, or streaming options.

 

[Kelly A]

Yes.

The lyrics from a Styx song come to mind:

You see the world through your cynical eyes
You're a troubled (old) man I can tell
You've got it all in the palm of your hand
But your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest
And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
Why must you be such an angry (old) man
When your future looks quite bright to me?
How can there be such a sinister plan
That could hide such a lamb, such a caring (old) man?
You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
Get up, get back on your feet!
You're the one they can't beat and you know it
Come on, let's see what you've got
Just take your best shot and don't blow it

 

[MarkW]

The whole notion that you're "helping" the African American community by catering to them on a string of mostly antiquated AM stations with signal deficiencies is an amusing value proposition, I must say.

 

[MarkW]

Let me say this again: They aren't selling individual station ratings. This is a national network. They are selling national reach. That isn't measured by local station ratings. You're trying to measure a national network with a local tool. That's not how it works.

Is national cume that appears to be in the vicinity of 100,000 enough to justify expensive programming that requires numerous anchors, reporters and producers? Is it enough to compel its financial backers to continue writing checks?

I'm skeptical, obviously.

 

[Kelly A]

Is national cume that appears to be in the vicinity of 100,000 enough to justify expensive programming that requires numerous anchors, reporters and producers? Is it enough to compel its financial backers to continue writing checks?

I'm skeptical, obviously.

For one thing, it's owned by iHeart, so not exactly a stand-alone product/business. Any financial interest would be for the greater company, not a single division/format.

 

[gr8oldies]

"But radio never does anything different!"
(Radio does something different)
"But not that!"

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

The whole notion that you're "helping" the African American community by catering to them on a string of mostly antiquated AM stations with signal deficiencies is an amusing value proposition, I must say.

Some time back a wealthy white man took control of our states 50,000 watt black music station. He dumped the soul to go after white middle class women. Blacks in other cities were left without airwaves and no one listened to them. The man who did this is recognized as an entrepreneur and a hero of this board because he knew how to make money.

 

[Mikey Radio]

Now, Mike Malloy (a progressive who was on the local progressive talk station KPTK 1090 before it flipped to CBS Sports Radio in 2013) -- there was an angry progressive guy on the radio. I listened to him, despite his anger, because sometimes he presented a viewpoint that actually made sense,

Lol, that's a host and a name I hadn't heard/thought of in years. If I'm not mistaken he'd get angry to the point of dropping a G.D. here and there, which I remember thinking, especially back then, may have crossed the line considering he as on terrestrial radio and FCC fines were still making the news on occasion. If I recall, his playout music at the end of the show ended with the line "I'm going toooooooo.....Heeeeeellllllllllllll!"

 

[Mikey Radio]

The whole notion that you're "helping" the African American community by catering to them on a string of mostly antiquated AM stations with signal deficiencies is an amusing value proposition, I must say.

Have you ever actually listened to BIN yourself before making all these comments? I have and do so a few times per week on average (though I'm not African-American, If my stations of choice are crap I'll sometimes jump to BIN to have a listen, as it's still on my vehicle's presets from when that station was finance/news/talk_. No one on BIN claims to be "helping" the black community. It's basically a non-stop news and information channel that broadcasts local, state and national news, information and sports scores along with some bits about black people who've made a difference or little known stories about black people who made an impact on our world or society but are rarely mentioned. They also have commentaries every so often, both left leaning and notably conservative. There is no music, there are no "shows" or "programs", no interactive talk, etc. It's just news 24/7 that may be of interest or that may impact the black community (which is how I think they sum it up in their positioning slogans).

In other words, you may have the wrong idea about what BIN is or the programming it offers or why it was created and the purpose it was intended to serve. Also, like most 24/7 news stations, it was never intended to be a ratings powerhouse. I'm guessing they were intending for people to listen in for a round of news, possibly during their commutes, before going elsewhere for music and other programming. As others in this thread have mentioned, they have several large corporations that act as "partners" or "underwriters".

 

[Kelly A]

Some time back a wealthy white man took control of our states 50,000 watt black music station. He dumped the soul to go after white middle class women. Blacks in other cities were left without airwaves and no one listened to them. The man who did this is recognized as an entrepreneur and a hero of this board because he knew how to make money.

As stated from a white male.

 

[Kelly A]

Have you ever actually listened to BIN yourself before making all these comments? I have and do so a few times per week on average (though I'm not African-American, If my stations of choice are crap I'll sometimes jump to BIN to have a listen, as it's still on my vehicle's presets from when that station was finance/news/talk_. No one on BIN claims to be "helping" the black community. It's basically a non-stop news and information channel that broadcasts local, state and national news, information and sports scores along with some bits about black people who've made a difference or little known stories about black people who made an impact on our world or society but are rarely mentioned. They also have commentaries every so often, both left leaning and notably conservative. There is no music, there are no "shows" or "programs", no interactive talk, etc. It's just news 24/7 that may be of interest or that may impact the black community (which is how I think they sum it up in their positioning slogans).

In other words, you may have the wrong idea about what BIN is or the programming it offers or why it was created and the purpose it was intended to serve. Also, like most 24/7 news stations, it was never intended to be a ratings powerhouse. I'm guessing they were intending for people to listen in for a round of news, possibly during their commutes, before going elsewhere for music and other programming. As others in this thread have mentioned, they have several large corporations that act as "partners" or "underwriters".

All great points. I'm willing to bet that nobody in this thread who's been questioning BIN's viability based on useless local market cume, (mainly because they don't understand the business model), are African American's either. Let alone ever having listened to BIN's content...

 

[wadio]

This "mainstream media" thing is mythology perpetuated by Fox News talk show hosts to set up a battle between "us" and "them." It's an effective marketing technique, and has helped Fox become #1 in cable news. By definition, if you're #1, you are the mainstream. The other news groups are doing something different. They're reporting news that isn't bound by ideology.

Have you watched Fox News lately? Bret Baier has a show segment and a podcast called, "Common Ground," where he invites guests from opposite sides of the aisle to discuss a topic or topics with which they agree. That's really tearing the audience apart, right?

Also when you present the world as "us" and "them," you're by definition creating a battle between sides to inspire passion, If you don't like the word "anger," then how about passion? Is that better? Either way, they haven't spent this time and energy creating this mythology because they want the viewers to be emotionless couch potatoes. They want their viewers to get up, open their windows, and shout "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" That's what we're talking about here. That passion is very distinct from what most people get from David Muir.

I can't speak to the motive of those who program talk radio, but the notion that presenting content that people agree with causes their blood pressure to rise is absurd. It's exactly the opposite! It's more likely to have a calming effect because they've found someone whose values they share.

So where is the logic that you can spark anger in listeners by broadcasting something they agree with?

WABC had a weekend program hosted a shouting lefty by the name of Chris Hahn (maybe he's still there, I don't know.) I listened to it once and I'll freely admit it made me mad as hell. I presume those on the left who sample Mark Levin's show get equally angry. So again, the premise of many of these discussions makes no sense.

 

[wadio]

The lyrics from a Styx song come to mind:

You see the world through your cynical eyes
You're a troubled (old) man I can tell
You've got it all in the palm of your hand
But your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest
And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
Why must you be such an angry (old) man
When your future looks quite bright to me?
How can there be such a sinister plan
That could hide such a lamb, such a caring (old) man?
You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
Get up, get back on your feet!
You're the one they can't beat and you know it
Come on, let's see what you've got
Just take your best shot and don't blow it

What a clever self-assessment. Well done old man!

 

[Kelly A]

What a clever self-assessment. Well done old man!

Actually those lyrics came to mind regarding your denial of being old and angry.

 

[Larry]

All great points. I'm willing to bet that nobody in this thread who's been questioning BIN's viability based on useless local market cume, (mainly because they don't understand the business model), are African American's either. Let alone ever having listened to BIN's content...

I am not black, have listened to BIN a few times. Although I haven’t listened in over a year I was disappointed as I thought the news content was stale, as though it had been recorded yesterday or the day before that. Maybe (hopefully) that is different now but when I’m listening for news I have the expectation it be relatively current.

 

[TheBigA]

So where is the logic that you can spark anger in listeners by broadcasting something they agree with?

The issue isn't whether or not they agree with it. It's whether or not it's the truth. People who watch Fox News agree that the election was stolen and the dems are socialists. Being told that over & over seems to get the results the company wants.

 

[wadio]

The issue isn't whether or not they agree with it. It's whether or not it's the truth. People who watch Fox News agree that the election was stolen and the dems are socialists.

And, if true, what does that have to do with "anger?"

Being told that over & over seems to get the results the company wants.

Yes, the result is that the audience is happy, not angry!!