News Talk 1260 AM adds SBJ content to morning show

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The Springfield Business Journal is hitting the airwaves via KSGF-AM, News Talk 1260, beginning Sept. 16. "Springfield Business Journal This Week" will air 7:45-8 a.m. Monday mornings.|ret||ret||tab|

The Journal Broadcast Group Inc.-owned station, on air for almost one year, reports local news, weather, sports and traffic as well as national news topics. Daily national syndicated shows include Bill O'Reilly's "The Radio Factor" and Michael Savage's "The Savage Nation."|ret||ret||tab|

The station's heavy local news content appears on Springfield's Morning News,' hosted by Morris James and Dave Richmann from 6-9 a.m. SBJ's 15-minute weekly segment will highlight the headlines and news content from that week's issue.|ret||ret||tab|

"Springfield Business Journal writes about everything that has to do with business in the Ozarks," said Brad Hansen, the station's operations manager. "You get a comprehensive look at the business climate every week. We're trying to do that with a 15-minute show on Mondays that tells people the headlines to look for in the Business Journal."|ret||ret||tab|

SBJ Managing Editor Clarissa French said the new venue should suit the paper well.|ret||ret||tab|

"We think that talk radio is a good venue for us," she said, especially with a news station targeting a similar audience.|ret||ret||tab|

General Manager Rex Hansen said the station's focus is conservative talk mixed with news and information. KSGF has an eight-person news staff and is served by the KTTS 24-hour news center.|ret||ret||tab|

About two months ago, station officials changed the name from News Radio to News Talk to more accurately describe the station, Hansen said. Two syndicated advice shows, Dave Ramsey's debt relief and Clark Howard's consumer advice, were moved to the evening hours at that time as well. "If we're not delivering the news, we're talking about the news," Hansen said.|ret||ret||tab|

National syndicates O'Reilly and Savage, Neal Boortz, Shawn Hannity and Rusty Humphreys lead the national news discussions throughout the day. Savage and Humphreys are the newest additions to 1260 AM. They began airing Sept. 3.|ret||ret||tab|

According to SBJ Advertising Manager Steve Blalock, getting SBJ on a weekly radio show has been a long, thought-out process, with research spanning a four-year period.|ret||ret||tab|

"We had to find a broadcast venue that matched our audience," Blalock said. "(News Talk) wants to reach business people. They are the closest match to what we want."|ret||ret||tab|

The ultimate goal is to gain exposure, he said. |ret||ret||tab|

"Although many people know about the Business Journal, we want to remind them," said Blalock. "We have partnered with a very prominent local station."|ret||ret||tab|

News Talk's parent company, Milwaukee-based Journal Broad-cast Group, has gained national attention for its news stations, according to Hansen.|ret||ret||tab|

"Our company is pretty well known in the industry for our news-talk product," led by Milwaukee's WTMJ-AM 620, he said. Hansen said the station could be best compared locally to St. Louis' KMOX-AM 1120.|ret||ret||tab|

"KMOX and WTMJ are both stations that have performed exceedingly well in their markets, and have created a tremendous appetite for news talk," Hansen said. "We think that's a brand of talk and news that's going to play very well in Springfield."|ret||ret||tab|

Brad Hansen thinks the partnership may lead to similar arrangements down the road. "Whenever you can access local experts on what your listeners want to know, we're going to take advantage of that," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

SBJ representatives will rotate weekly, mostly dominated by the editorial department, French said. Discussions also will involve SBJ's annual special products like Women in Business, Economic Impact Awards and 40 Under 40. The show is slated to run for one year.|ret||ret||tab|

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