Seattle venture sees big potential in talk 'for women, by women'

As a format, talk radio has tended to be done by men for men.

A newly formed Seattle-based company wants to test the idea that that approach leaves a huge untapped market for radio -- talk for women.

GreenStone Media has announced a lineup of shows it hopes to distribute to radio stations around the country and a team of radio industry veterans to run the new venture.

What it needs now are stations to actually air the programs.

Jim LaMarca, formerly with program syndicator Jones Radio Networks and now GreenStone's vice president, says the fledgling network's hosts are already in the studio producing material and are ready to go. "It's just a matter of us coming up with the affiliates," he says. The first affiliates could be named as soon as the end of this month, he adds.

GreenStone was formed by Susan Ness, a former Federal Communications Commission member who is president and chief executive of the new venture, and Edie Hilliard, another former Jones Radio executive. The network's aim is to create a "mass appeal format for FM radio -- expressly for women, by women."

It's not that women haven't made it nationally as talk hosts. Relationship consultants Laura Schlessinger and Joy Browne, political commentators including Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes and Laura Ingraham, sports-talker Nanci "the Fabulous Sports Babe" Donnellan and technology-show host Kim Komando come to mind.

But what GreenStone believes is lacking, and the niche it hopes to fill, is a single source of 24-hour programming with a perspective provided by female hosts and aimed at female listeners.

LaMarca says the idea is to move talk radio back to what it was before politics swamped the format, to more general-interest discussions. Those interests, for women listeners, range from relationships to entertainment to personal finances to current events. Women "want to talk about news, but not from a political point of view," he says. The television equivalents would be "Oprah" or "The View," although as LaMarca says with those programs "you can't really talk back" to the hosts, as listeners can with talk radio.

So far GreenStone's programming lineup (the shows will be produced in New York and Los Angeles) includes a morning show hosted by comics Maureen Langan, Cory Kahaney and Nelsie Spencer. The midmorning show will be hosted by Lisa Birnbach, a writer perhaps best known for "The Official Preppy Handbook." Comedian Mo Gaffney heads "The Mo & Friends Radio Show" in the afternoons. GreenStone hopes to add a fourth show by midyear.

LaMarca says GreenStone believes its offerings could help radio stem the loss of women listeners.

"With the advent of satellite radio, the iPod and streaming, the uniqueness of music on the air in the last year has been lost," he says. "People are using FM less and less for music every day."

In other radio notes:

Haley Jones has been named music director, assistant program director and midday host for KMTT-FM (103.7). She succeeds Shawn Stewart, who has been named program director for The Mountain. Jones, who starts March 27, most recently was with KFOG in San Francisco and has worked at KAEP and KEZE in Spokane.

So, readers ask, whatever happened to Tom Dahlstrom, the former afternoon drive-time host on KING-FM? As it turns out, Dahlstrom recently spent four months filling in as the morning host on a classical public radio station in Ashland, Ore. While he describes it as "a good gig," Dahlstrom says the lure of friends and the cultural community in Seattle brought him back to look for opportunities here.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, KGRG-FM (89.9) is airing two hours of Irish punk music at 3 p.m. Friday.

The Metropolitan Opera performs Tchaikovsky's "Mazeppa" at 10:30 a.m. Saturday on KING-FM (98.1).

"Music With Moskowitz" at noon Saturday on KSER-FM (90.7) features songs about farms and agriculture.

Kate Daniels interviews Bonnie Dunbar, president of the Museum of Flight, on "Sunday Morning magazine" at 5:30 a.m. on KRWM-FM (106.9).

Lizz Sommars' guests on "Conversations" at 6 a.m. Sunday on KBSG-FM (97.3) and KISW-FM (99.9) include Christopher Scott, executive director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics Program in Stem Cells and Society and author of a book on the debate.

Tami Kosch interviews Marie Wheatley, chief executive of the American Humane Association, on "Community Matters Weekend Edition" at 9 a.m. Sunday on KPTK-AM (1090).

"Sunday's Hornpipe" at 3 p.m. on KBCS-FM (91.3) features a special on The Chieftains.

The Sunday edition of Jim French's "Imagination Theatre," heard at 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on KIXI-AM (880), includes a new Sherlock Holmes adventure.

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