100.3 is now talk radio

If you are as interested in the lastest media trends around the Twin Cities as I am, you may have heard that 100.3 FM is no longer Smooth Jazz KJZI, but is now Talk Radio KTLK.

According to a Star Tribune article on this topic, parent-company Clear Channel Communications is turning FM stations all over the nation into the talk radio format. From the Star Tribune:

"There are tens of thousands of listeners who never go to the AM dial," said Mick Anselmo, regional vice president of Clear Channel. "We want to be there early, mining a new generation."

Estimates vary, but the trade magazine Talkers projects that FM listenership is three to four times higher than AM's.

Clear Channel, the nation's largest media conglomerate, lost the self-appointed "King of all Media" Howard Stern at the "beginning of this year when he moved to Sirius Satellite Radio.

I guess it is time for me to get rid of my 8-track-tape-playing A.M. radio!